Sounding the Revolution. Viva La Revolución! (Image via iStockphoto) Same same, but different. This is my favorite Thai expression. It can mean any number of things depending on the context. Often it is used in sales situations at the night markets: “Are these real Nike shoes?” “Yes. This expression came to mind after reading a recent article in the Guardian by John Naughton. The first printed bibles emerged in 1455 from the press created by Johannes Gutenberg in the German city of Mainz. (a) Undermine the authority of the Catholic church? (b) Power the Reformation? (c) Enable the rise of modern science? (d) Create entirely new social classes and professions? (e) Change our conceptions of “childhood” as a protected early period in a person’s life? Naughton’s overarching point — that is it impossible to know the longterm consequences of a revolution — is well taken.
To which I say, same same but different. Yes, there are some useful points of comparison. Same same? But will this be the case indefinitely? Same same? Did Weak Copyright Laws Help Germany Outpace The British Empire? | Epicenter There’s a new thesis making the rounds that has already stimulated plenty of discussion about the benefits and costs of copyright laws. It comes from the German economic historian Eckhard Höffner, his work summarized in a Der Spiegel review titled “No Copyright Law: The Real Reason for Germany’s Industrial Expansion.” Höffner contends (according to the review) that the near absence of copyright law in eighteenth and nineteenth century Germany laid the groundwork for the “Gründerzeit”—the enormous wave of economic growth that Deutschland experienced in the middle and later nineteenth century.
An “incomparable mass of reading material was being produced in Germany” by the 1830s, Höffner notes. Some 14,000 publications appeared in the region in 1836, widely distributed thanks to the presence of “plagiarizers”—competing publishing houses unafraid of infringement suits. The result was a cheap mass book market catering to a huge reading public.
Going medieval. Publish or post? A new European-funded initiative is advocating an entirely new system of science publishing, in which scientists avoid the hassles of traditional peer review by taking a quietly radical step: post their results on their websites. Image: Wikimedia commons, GfloresAs the linkurl:news release; for LiquidPublication simply states: "Don't print it; post it. " To disseminate the information, the progra A new European-funded initiative is advocating an entirely new system of science publishing, in which scientists avoid the hassles of traditional peer review by taking a quietly radical step: post their results on their websites. As the linkurl:news release; The Hugh Cudlipp lecture: Does journalism exist? | Alan Rusbridger | Media.
Thank you for inviting me to give this lecture in honour of the memory of Hugh Cudlipp. Ask any British journalist who were their editor-heroes over the last 30 or 40 years and two names keep recurring. One is Harry Evans. The other is Hugh Cudlipp. Why were they so admired? Because they seemed to represent the best of journalistic virtues – courage, campaigning, toughness, compassion, humour, irreverence; a serious engagement with serious things; a sense of fairness; an eye for injustice; a passion for explaining; knowing how to achieve impact; a connection with readers. Even if you missed their editorships – as I did with Hugh Cudlipp – both men wrote inspiring books about journalism: about how to do it, but, more importantly, about why it mattered.
It is wonderful that Jodi Cudlipp is here tonight, though I hope she will not misunderstand me when I say a tiny part of me is quite glad Lord Cudlipp is not here in person. He once wrote: Of course, you know why people ask. Interview With Jean-Claude Bradley - The Impact of Open Notebook Science. FEATURE Interview With Jean-Claude Bradley The Impact of Open Notebook Science by Richard Poynder Jean-Claude Bradley is an organic chemist at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
As with most scientists, Bradley used to be very secretive. He kept his research under wraps until publication and frequently applied for patents on his work in nanotechnology and gene therapy. However, he asked himself a difficult question 5 years ago: Was his research having the kind of impact he would like? Q: Can you tell us about your job and research interests?
A: I am an associate professor of chemistry and an organic chemist at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Additionally, in the process of doing this we discovered that sometimes these compounds will precipitate out in pure form. And for the past 5 years, I have been practicing open science. Q: For nonchemists, can you clarify what you mean when you say these compounds sometimes precipitate out in pure form? A: Exactly. A: That’s true. Q: Why not? Liquid Publications: Scientific Publications meet the Web — LiquidPub Project. Eptcs slides-for-coasp-2010.