This dissertation explores the social worlds of pirated software discs and free/open source software in Vietnam to describe the practices of copying, evangelizing, and translation. This dissertation also reveals the cultural logics of similarity and continuity that sustain these social worlds. Taken together, this dissertation argues that the…

Low-cost personal computers, wireless access technologies, the Internet, and computer-equipped classrooms allow the design of novel and complementary methodologies for teaching digital information security in electrical engineering curricula. The challenges of the current digital information era require experts who are effectively able to…

Colleges have deployed various tactics over the years to deter illegal file sharing, usually of commercial music and movies, by their students. This month, the U.S. Department of Education will begin crafting regulations that specify strategies, a prospect that is making some campus officials wonder if plans they have already invested in will pass…

This article reports on a monitoring project commenced by the campus-network officials at Illinois State University that shows that the campus network is a haven for illegal activity. In an effort to bridge the divide between the university and the entertainment industry, Illinois State designed an unorthodox research program to give a detailed…

Computer security is one of the most complicated and challenging fields in technology today. A security metrics program provides a major benefit: looking at the metrics on a regular basis offers early clues to changes in attack patterns or environmental factors that may require changes in security strategy. The term "security metrics"…

The library, as we once knew it, may no longer be relevant. And, yet, this is undoubtedly the most exciting time in history to be a librarian. The future of the school library as a relevant and viable institution is largely dependent on librarians and how quickly they respond to change. They worry about their field and their practice. They worry…

When Lars Ulrich, drummer for the rock group Metallica, testified before Congress about his group's lawsuit against Napster in 2000, many people who followed copyright issues in the music industry were not surprised (Ulrich, 2000). Ever since downloading audio files became as easy as clicking a few buttons on a personal computer, charges of…

Description of the Library of Congress' Networking Advisory Committee focuses on recommendations it has made concerning issues pertinent to intellectual property in an information network environment. Alternatives to the present Copyright Act are examined, the economics of sharing information are discussed, and questions involving databases and…

Discusses the use of computer networking such as the Internet for the creation and dissemination of copyright works. Topics include the need for data structures for organizing and identifying units of digital information; and the copyright status of original works of authorship structured as digital objects. (LRW)

U.S. Supreme Court justices struggled in a lively debate with how to balance the competing interests of the entertainment industry and developers of file-sharing technology. Some justices sharply questioned whether it was fair to hold inventors of a distribution technology liable for copyright infringement, while others suggested that it was wrong…

Representatives of American publishers have agreed that an assertive new effort is needed to prevent unauthorized copying of electronic materials, particularly through computers linked to the World Wide Web. Copyright management systems are proposed as a means to provide protection for content of intellectual property and for on-line financial…

Discusses microcomputer-based reformatting of text to help learners with disabilities. Highlights include letter size; spacing; copyright problems; expanding the target audience to make systems more cost effective; writing skills; voice input; and further enhancements, including networked systems and the use of hypertext. (14 references) (LRW)

To assess their knowledge, use, and attitudes regarding peer-to-peer (P2P) applications, this study surveyed academic librarians (n = 162) via a mail-in survey. Correlations between the sample characteristics (age, gender, year of MLS, type of library job) and P2P knowledge, use, and attitudes were also explored. Overall, academic librarians…

Considers ethical questions related to the copying and use of information from World Wide Web sites, especially graphics. Copyright violation, control of distribution, commercial online users, problems of perception, asking permission, and standards of ethical behavior are discussed. (LRW)

As computer databases become more publicly accessible through public networks, there is a growing need to provide effective protection for proprietary information. Without adequate assurances that their works will be protected, authors and other copyright owners may be reluctant to allow the full text of their works to be accessed through computer…