Smallpox inoculation and quarantine in colonial America
In colonial America, quarantine was a state-sponsored restriction on individual liberty in the name of public health, and was accepted by the public. Early inoculation, on the other hand, was done by individuals, and was immediately resisted by the public.
Copyright for Librarians: free and useful training
Copyright for Librarians is a useful resource for anyone – not just librarians – to learn about the current state of copyright law.
Are universities about selling information?
I don’t believe universities (in their best form, at least) are easily replicated by technological means of information dissemination. But despite the advantages their physicality and tradition offers, many universities have tended to see themselves as simply the means to fill students up with information, stick an “approved” stamp on them, and send them out into the world.
Is scientific peer review censorship?
Does scientific peer review constitute censorship? There is a sense in which peer reviewers — especially in the sciences — do act in a kind of censorial capacity.
Are books -- electronic or not -- becoming "fringe media"?
Kevin Kelleher of GigaOM believes that “books are becoming a fringe media.” I say: true for non-fiction, not so much for fiction.
Six more of the best WordPress plugins
I admit it. I’m a WordPress plugin junkie. I’m continually updating, adding, removing, and adjusting the list of plugins I have running this site. Here are six of my current favorites.
Wait, Second Life still exists? And universities still use it?
I was surprised to read in the Chronicle of Higher Education that universities are still using Second Life, a “virtual worlds” system I honestly thought died in 2007. No one I know ever used it. Why is this, considering the people I know tend to be early adopters of pretty much everything technological?
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