Blogs

From Thursday morning to Saturday night, I have been (and will continue to be) reporting live from the Society for American Archaeology 2012 conference in Memphis, TN. I am currently a second year PhD graduate student in Anthropology, with a focus on Archaeology. Conferences are important, regardless of your discipline. As a grad student we can easily settle into our departments, but the real world is much more diverse and is a reality we need to learn to face. Not only are the people attending your academic conference the same individuals who shape the discipline, they are also your peers.

The Supremes have agreed to hear a case that has some troubling implications for libraries. Kirtsaeng v. Wiley is not just about textbooks. It’s about whether any work that is copyrighted and produced outside the United States can be legally loaned or resold in the U.S. without the copyright owner’s permission. We’re talking about the First Sale Doctrine, which is how libraries get away with our profligate sharing.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been avoiding the inter library loans sections of my university’s library. Guiltily, I’ve been clicking ‘delete’ on the several emails they’ve sent me to remind me to return about twenty books borrowed from other South African libraries.

When people learn that I am both a full professor of Mathematics and an Economist who studies the economics of nonprofit organizations, they are often confused. “What do you teach?” is the common question that follows, to which there is a quick answer, a short answer and a long answer.

The first in a series of stupid questions I'm asking because I don't know the answers.

When did Microsoft Word become such a lumbering, bloated behemoth?

Inside Higher Ed reports on the predictable growth of MOOCs at America's leading universities, many of whose professors are as interested as UD was when she was approached by Udemy's Faculty Project (her MOOC on poetry is on its way to 250 students from around the world - far short of thousands, but we're just getting started here).

As a continuation on the Foundations of Strategy theme, this post is about the supply of educational opportunities. In short, they’re exploding.