The Long-Form Census and the Fate of Canadian History
Late last month, the federal government surprised statisticians, businesses, economists, academics and many other Canadians by announcing an end to the issuing of a mandatory long census form. With little explanation and unsatisfactory justification, the government has proposed to very significantly diminish the quality of the national census. The outcry from those interested parties is just now starting to become audible and mainstream public criticism is mounting.
Read the full story here.
Textbooks in a Digital Age: The History of Canada Online
Digital technologies are changing the way we read history. With the popularization of consumer electronic e-readers like Kindle, Sony Reader, Kobo, and (yes) iPad, many textbook publishers are trying to take advantage of this opportunity to reach digital reading audiences.
To read the full story, click here.
What the Copyright Modernization Act Means for Historians
Last week the federal government tabled its long anticipated copyright reform legislation for first reading in the House of Commons. The Copyright Modernization Act or Bill C-32 attempts to overhaul many of the out-dated provisions of Canada's copyright law that have fallen far behind major technological changes of the last thirty years.
Last week the federal government tabled its long anticipated copyright reform legislation for first reading in the House of Commons. The Copyright Modernization Act or Bill C-32 attempts to overhaul many of the out-dated provisions of Canada's copyright law that have fallen far behind major technological changes of the last thirty years. For instance, under the proposed legislation, it would now be legal for Canadians to rip a CD to an iPod. Unfortunately, as we give a sarcastic slow-clap for this long overdue "reform" to legalize what has been common (and soon to be obsolete) consumer behaviour for nearly a generation, the canonization of digital locks overrides all of the new fair dealing rights in the bill. And this may be a huge problem for history researchers and educators.
Read the full story here on the Knowledge Mobilization blog.
A Quick Look at Copyright: Mini-Documentary
Cory Doctorow recently posted a link to a great short documentary called "When Copyright Goes Bad". It explores, in brief, some of the implications of modern copyright law for consumers, artists, and educators. I thought this served as a pretty good resource for explaining some of the current debates surrounding copyright reform. It also touches of many of the challenges for educators.
Read more here.
Follow ASEH 2010 on Twitter
For those of you who are interested in following what happens at the 2010 American Society for Environmental History Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon this week, you can follow the Twitter hashtag #aseh2010. If you're at the conference and you're using Twitter, be sure to use this hashtag.
Canadian Historians Should Sign the Public Domain Manifesto
COMMUNIA, the European Thematic Network on the Digital Public Domain, recently produced The Public Domain Manifesto, an omnibus statement on the importance of the public domain for cultural production and community knowledge. Read more about it and its significance for Canadian history here.
Will the iPad Help Historians?
Now that the much-hyped Apple iPad has been revealed, will it have any use for historians? Read more here.
Library & Archives of Canada Survey
The Library and Archives of Canada is working on digitizing its collection and it wants to hear from historical researchers. Read more here.
Historical Knowledge Mobilization and ACTA
What will be the effect of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement on historical knowledge mobilization? The summer copyright consultations are over and the Canadian government is now negotiating a new intellectual property rights treaty. Read the full story here.
Read more about these issues on the Notes on Knowledge Mobilization blog.
E-Books and the Future of Reading
As environmental historians, we do a lot of reading and writing. Readers of this blog (and many other scholars) are beginning to do more of their reading in a digital format. If we consider how much digital reading we do each day, including websites and email, it is obvious that this new medium of writing has become a significant component of academic work.
The development of mass market consumer digital reading devices, including the iPhone, Kindle, and Nook will have implications for how scholars read and write. The Digital Campus podcast has been covering this subject a lot lately and CNET's Reporters' Roundtable recently discussed the growth of digital reading. Have a listen to find out more about the strengths and limitations of these digital technologies for knowledge mobilization.