Gina's example of the visiting colleague who wanted copies of the VHS tapes that would be relevant to nursing students in his country makes this question more concrete for me. Under current law, the library he was visiting could not copy the tapes for him. He would not have the money to purchase the tapes from legitimate sources; he could afford blank tapes on which to copy them.
Copyright law seems to focus on the holder's ownership of the work/product. In contrast, this example highlights the need for the information.
A parallel situation has arisen in Africa with the need for HIV/AIDS drugs. An accommodation has been made so that the drugs in that situation can be acquired for much less than in the "developed" world.
One difference between the library situation and the AIDS situation is that AIDS was solved at an institutional/international level. One decision resolved multi-country problems. The visiting colleague was trying to solve a problem that was more specific to the people whom he was working with (whether on institution or across institutions in one country). He sought an immediate solution to a pressing problem.
In this country, individuals resolve this in a variety of ways including violating copyright law. It would be interesting to know what the cultural expectations are in the colleague's culture. Is there a clash between the ownership that is paramount in the US and Canada and the possible communal ownership in his own country? Are we imposing standards by following our assumptions?
Nancy Riffer
Posts made by Nancy Riffer
Tracy,
I'm curious about the discussion of the Patriot Act. Was it seen as a barrier provided by the government or as a boundary that individuals set for themselves when they know the intrusion possible under the Patriot Act. Or was the line of thinking different from these?
I'm curious about the discussion of the Patriot Act. Was it seen as a barrier provided by the government or as a boundary that individuals set for themselves when they know the intrusion possible under the Patriot Act. Or was the line of thinking different from these?
Laura
Thank you for hosting this discussion. The topic caught my eye several weeks ago as something I wanted to pursue. I look forward to exploring the resources you reference and participating in the discussion.
Nancy
Thank you for hosting this discussion. The topic caught my eye several weeks ago as something I wanted to pursue. I look forward to exploring the resources you reference and participating in the discussion.
Nancy
Given the expense of using telephone connections, I thought you might find the idea of doing Web 2.0 work offline useful.
I found this blog post about students and faculty working offline. It reviews one platform. This author also has a tag for other posts written on this topic.
Twenty years ago, the fifth grade teacher at my daughter's school introduced multi-media work to her class. She had 180 free minutes from Prodigy (web host). All student activities and reports for the year were done within that many minutes of connect time.
I found this blog post about students and faculty working offline. It reviews one platform. This author also has a tag for other posts written on this topic.
Twenty years ago, the fifth grade teacher at my daughter's school introduced multi-media work to her class. She had 180 free minutes from Prodigy (web host). All student activities and reports for the year were done within that many minutes of connect time.
I found this archived SCoPE discussion on Rethinking Teaching in the Sciences: April 7-27, 2008 . I've linked to a particular thread but you may want to look at the whole discussion. This thread talks about using simulation for teaching and evaluating.