October 2001 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Digital Millennium Copyright Act
by Sandra Braman 01 Oct '01

01 Oct '01

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires network services providers -- including schools and universities -- to shut down any websites it hosts if there are complaints to the institution that there is copyright infringement. For this purpose, each such institution must have a person whose responsibility for copyright infringement via the system is made public along with contact info. The website must be shut down BEFORE it has actually been decided in a court of law that there is in fact copyright infringement, which is a significant change in copyright law many find distressing. However, this Act does NOT limit links to home pages only. All legislation is complex, this particularly so, and many folks in good faith make a decision to read as restrictively as possible out of prudence (or fear) -- but in this case the requirement being asked to limit links to home pages is not necessary. Sandra Braman

1 0

Re: [Air-l] "legal" question
by Zunt＠aol.com 01 Oct '01

01 Oct '01

In a message dated 10/1/2001 9:49:40 AM Eastern Daylight Time, ell(a)hilltop.bradley.edu writes: > Digital Millenium Copyright Act Well, information about that Act is available on the 'net, but I've not yet seen the act itself. I certainly hope all its provisions are not quite as silly as the one suggested. Try to get an accurate citation from the lawyer who offered the advice. Cheers, Bob Briggs Westport, MA

1 0

With all due respect to Ken Friedman
by thom 01 Oct '01

01 Oct '01

> From: Ken Friedman <ken.friedman(a)bi.no> > Subject: [Air-l] Two important books on Web design: Content Critical, > Web Content Style Guide > Our universities, schools and departments are spending -- and wasting > -- millions of dollars, pounds, kroner, lira, markka, etc., on Web > sites that do not work. Far too many organizations mount Web sites > loaded with special effects and fancy images, without attending to > accessible information, ease of use, or good navigation. Many > organizations mount Web sites that must be repeatedly redesigned. If > we can develop and retain key knowledge on basic issues, the future > investments we make will become a long-term gain. This is not a comment on the value of the books recommended by Ken but I think the statement above is far too simplistic and similar to the usual Jakob Nielsen rant on usability which might have made sense in 1995 but doesn't make any more sense today than it would to recommend that all books be designed like text books, film like Red Cross training films or television like news programming on PBS/BBC. The content, goal and audience determines the structure and style. Web design is not about web design, it is about web-d 'media' design. We are talking about a medium of expression which will be expressed in many ways. Sometimes the best way to get across an idea is with the ambiguity and obfuscation common to art. A critique of the Bible and other holy documents could be that they might have been easier understood if they hadn't been written in parable form and just used bulleted action points not open to interpretation. Just another POV. Excuse me while I go look up the books Ken recommends which I might use in class but with a proviso. --Thom, Director of the MIME program in total media obfuscation \\\\//// tHoM gIllEsPiE /ww ww\ Indiana University, Telecommunications Dept 6 (*][*) ? 1229 E 7th St Radio & TV Bldg \ .7 / Bloomington, IN 47405-5501 USA ( --') thom(a)indiana.edu 812-855-3254 (v) WWWW THE MIME PROGRAM: www.mime.indiana.edu / WW \ www.indiana.edu/~slizzard/resume/page.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What is the use of a book, thought Alice, without pictures or conversation. -Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventure in Wonderland

4 4

Pew Internet & American Life Writing Fellowship
by Philip Howard 01 Oct '01

01 Oct '01

Dear AIR: This fellowship is intended for ABD or senior graduate students who want a little extra financial support while preparing some hot research for submission to a journal or other scholarly publication. Several Pew staffers and I will be attending the meetings in Minneapolis, so please feel free to approach us with ideas. p. Philip Howard Sociology, Northwestern University, pubweb.nwu.edu/~pho442/ Pew Internet & American Life Project, www.pewinternet.org ph. (773) 274-6817 / c. (202) 271-7170 / p-howard(a)northwestern.edu Pew Internet & American Life Writing Fellowship 9/30/01 Through its Open Research Initiative, The Pew Internet and American Life Project (www.pewinternet.org) seeks to support scholarly and accessible research on the role of the Internet in contemporary American society. This fellowship is for students who have advanced to candidacy in their PhD program and are in need of financial assistance while preparing research for submission to a scholarly journal or other publication. The fellowship has three goals: - to support students writing about the complex roles of new media technologies in social life; - to support students writing about how new media technologies are managed by different economic and political actors governments, businesses, civic groups and individuals around the United States; - to make the research results of young scholars who critically assess the consequences of technology-related social, economic, political and cultural trends accessible to a wide audience. - to give young scholars access to Pew survey data. Fellowship holders can maintain their residence of choice. This support is for writing up the results from research projects that are well advanced or that can be supplemented with survey data collected by the Project. Applicants should view this as an opportunity to turn their part of a well-developed dissertation argument into a focused, polished piece for publication as a Project Working Paper and ultimately for submission to a scholarly journal. The Project will promote these pieces to a wider audience through its schedule of widely respected media briefs and research reports. Applicants should submit a 5-page proposal that identifies the research questions, summarizes the status of the larger research agenda, and sketches an outline of the piece to be produced over the two-month period. The proposal should include a reasonable time frame for completing the writing, suggest several individuals to act as peer reviewers, and identify the scholarly journals to which the piece may ultimately be submitted. Name: Pew Internet and American Life Project Writing Fellowship Deadline: March 1, 2002 Value: $2,000 each Number of Fellowships: 5 Eligibility: Students in the social sciences, humanities, and related scientific or engineering fields. Applications are considered from students who have advanced to candidacy but not yet completed their Ph.D. program. This grant may be held in conjunction with other forms of financial support. Terms: Student must be registered and in good standing at an accredited university. The student must devote 2 months to writing up research results in a scholarly and accessible manner. For more details on the research priorities of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, see website. Web: www.pewinternet.org Contact: Philip Howard, Research Fellow, Pew Internet & American Life Project, c/o Department of Sociology, Northwestern University, 1810 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, Illinois, 60208-1330, Email: p-howard(a)northwestern.edu.

1 0