Publishing industry goes digital with book scanners
(gulfnews.com): With the release of products such as Amazon's Kindle and Apple's Ipad, it seems that going digital is the way to go for the publishing industry. That was demonstrated to interested passers-by by representatives from Omni Turnkey Solutions, a UAE based software company at the Abu Dhabi International Book… Read More
Justices Reinstate Settlement With Writers
(nytimes.com): The Supreme Court has resurrected a possible settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought by freelance writers who said that newspapers and magazines had committed copyright infringement by making their contributions available on electronic databases. The proposed settlement was prompted by a 2001 decision from the Supreme Court in favor… Read More
Wanted: a verb meaning
(earlham.edu): English speakers need a verb that means "to provide OA to". It should be as succinct as "sell" for use in sentences such as, "We sell the print edition but ____ the digital edition." We could revive and hijack a rare word like "derestrict" or "debouche" (the way gamers… Read More
Transparency only works when everyone is transparent
(postbulletin.com): Paul Scott in his monthly column recently suggested that The Mayo Clinic Proceedings is currently used as a platform for drug companies. He challenged some of the policies of the current editor, and berated Merck pharmaceuticals for distributing a PhRMA favorable editorial to health care professionals. The author disagrees… Read More
Real Time Research Papers Readership Stats That Shake up Traditional Scientific Publishing
(sbwire.com): One of the sharpest debates in science right now is centred on the future of academic publishing. Scientists and researchers are predicting the end of traditional models of research publication because they are not aligned with the digital world, in which speed, transparency and social ties are key requirements.… Read More
Information Literacy: A Neglected Core Competency
(educause.edu): Researchers at the Information School at the University of Washington released an important and thought-provoking report in late 2009: "Lessons Learned: How College Students Seek Information in the Digital Age." The study confirms and expands on the results of other reports. Its particular value is the size of the… Read More
Fixing US STEM education is possible, but will take money
(arstechnica.com): The state of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in the United States has seen some unflattering appraisals in recent years, and deservedly so. In early February, the House of Representatives heard testimony on undergraduate and graduate education. The message from the panel, which included experts from academia,… Read More
Social networking, personalisation form core of new CSIRO intranet
(computerworld.com.au): Social networking and personalisation features lie at the core of CSIRO's new intranet, which is currently being deployed by digital agency Next Digital. The government organisation chose the SiteCore content management system (CMS) to replace several platforms currently in use. The CMS will also form the basis of revamped… Read More
Discussion on moral rights of content creators
(iwr.co.uk): Intellectual Property Minister David Lammy launched a debate over whether moral rights for creators need to be strengthened. While the discussion did not provide a definitive solution, it brought together practitioners, academia and the government officials from the UK and abroad to explore how moral rights work in the… Read More
Institute for Web Science partnership announced
(alphagalileo.org): The University of Southampton and the University of Oxford have agreed to partner in the establishment of a joint Institute for Web Science. The Institute will ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of developments in the World Wide Web, and understands, anticipates and fully exploits the economic… Read More
