An Introduction to Branding
What do we mean by “branding”? Ten quick tips.
Andy Warhol and his Influence on Media and Culture
A new Andy Warhol retrospective offers a chance to look back at both his prescience and his influence on our current culture.
How-to: Getting to the End of Your Comfort Zone
What topic makes you uncomfortable in our industry? For me, it’s diversity: a subject that impacts me, but that I’ve never been courageous enough to address.
Words for Colors
How do languages develop words for colors? A fascinating look at a commonality in human language development.
Ask the Community (and Chefs): How Can We Achieve Equitable Participation in Open Research?
As we think about open research and equity, we introduce a new type of post: “Ask the Community”, where we invite others to answer the same question put to the Chefs, with a deliberate focus on some of the people or regions of the world that often are disadvantaged in the global research landscape.
Libraries and Archives: A Humanities Take on Discovery
Scholars are interested in discovering libraries and archives as institutional producers of knowledge, not only using them as providers of resources.
Guest Post: Safiya Umoja Noble and the Ethics of Social Justice in Information (Part 2)
Jocelyn Dawson and Rebecca McLeod interview Safiya Noble, author of “Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism”.
Guest Post: Safiya Umoja Noble and the Ethics of Social Justice in Information (Part 1)
Jocelyn Dawson and Rebecca McLeod interview Safiya Noble, author of “Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism”.
Hipster Antitrust and Structural Dominance — What Is a Monopoly Now?
Calling something a “monopoly” has been misleading in many cases, but the new economy may require a complete rethinking of the anti-competitiveness created by intermediaries at scale.
Fourth of July: Use Your Freedom of Choice (We’re on hiatus)
It’s time for our annual summer hiatus. In the meantime, a look at a band and a song that at first seemed clever, and now prophetic.
The Core vs. the Crowd — Why Barriers to Entry May Help Restore Trust
A history of the rise of coercive media suggests that raising barriers to entry may be a remedy. Could a business model shift do most of the work for us?
Interview: The BMJ’s Patient Review Initiative — A Novel Expansion of Peer Review
Kent Anderson looks at an innovative approach to peer review that has expanded, changed review approaches, and impressed authors.
The Global Battle for Attention and Authority – Have We Already Lost?
As we learn more on an almost daily basis about the growing power and influence of social media and Facebook in particular, Alison Mudditt spoke recently with Siva Vaidhyanathan about the intricate relationship between media and democracy, and the critical role that cultural institutions – including scholarship, publishers and libraries – need to play in countering this pernicious hold on our attention.
Is Copyright Piracy Morally Wrong or Merely Illegal? The Malum Prohibitum/Malum in Se Conundrum
Is copyright infringement malum prohibitum (wrong only because it’s prohibited) or malum in se (morally wrong in and of itself)? Interestingly, scholcomm commentators and legal reference materials often characterize it as the former–while both statute and case law treat it like the latter, classifying it as “property theft” and regularly awarding its victims both statutory and punitive damages.
The Race to the Bottom — Short-term Bargains versus Long-term Vitality
Haggling for cheaper content today will certainly have hidden and unpleasant costs — large and small — down the road.