Despair in the Open Education World
Thus far, 2013 has been a tough year for open-education advocates. As Flat World Knowledge promised at the tail-end of 2012, the publisher no longer provides a CC 3.0 NC SA version of its textbooks for students. In response, Leslie Scott endeavored to defend the commons by crowd-sourcing an effort to harvest Flat World Knowledge’s catalog…
North Dakota State U Bans Federal Sex Education Grant to Faculty
North Dakota State University President Dean Bresciani has announced a ban on a federal research grant to two faculty for a sex education program, after Republican legislators objected to its connection with Planned Parenthood. Bresciani claims to be obeying a state law, but that law only relates to family planning programs. Below is an open…
Contrary to Arguments by Hardcore Open Education Advocates, Creative Commons NC ND Is A Valid License for Academic Authors
Various talented folks and communities (e.g., the Open Knowledge Foundation and QuestionCopyright.org) believe Creative Commons should retire its NC ND clauses. Students for Free Culture argue the NC clause is “completely antithetical to free culture (it retains a commercial monopoly on the work).” Timothy Vollmer asserts the NC ND clauses should be renamed ““Commercial Rights Reserved” because this license fails…
Banning Ag Research at Iowa State
Michael Gartner has an excellent op-ed in the Des Moines Register today about the serious threat to academic freedom posed by Iowa State president Steve Leath, who has banned the Harkin Institute from conducting research on agriculture without getting the approval of another research institute on campus, the Center for Agricultural Research and Development (CARD).…
The Civility and Decorum Police at NEIU, and the Continuing Shutdown of WZRD
More than four months after Northeastern Illinois University shut down the student-run radio station WZRD and banned the students from broadcasting, the lockout continues. On November 6, acting director of Student Leadership Development Veronica Rodriguez wrote a memo announcing her decision about the fate of WZRD. Rodriguez declared that WZRD could be restored to an…
The Kings of Hypocrisy: Dinesh D’Souza’s Downfall
Q&A: Colin Ramsey and Martha McCaughey on faculty copyrights
Colin Ramsey and Martha McCaughey are the authors of “Copyright for Academics in the Digital Age,” the lead feature article in the new issue of Academe. Their article discusses the potential copyright problems that can arise for faculty and staff, what rights faculty have, and how best to protect those rights and ensure access to scholarly work.…
AAUP Concerns Over Pathways Rekindled
Cary Nelson’s Media Strategies
Cary Nelson recently ended a six-year stint as president of the AAUP, and while in the office, he made a priority of media outreach. In “Media Matters,” Nelson’s article in the newest issue of Academe, he gives readers tips on successfully getting the AAUP name and viewpoint into the news and into public awareness. It’s…