ethics & religion

How to research political candidates

Submitted by Adelle Frank on November 1, 2009
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A follow-up to the checklist of things to do before election day, this post gives an overview of 4 criteria for evaluating political candidates, seeing through distortion techniques, and 5 places voters might find candidate information.

Canadian ISP allows parody of Ralph Lauren's unhealthy model photoshop to stay

Submitted by Adelle Frank on October 11, 2009
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Big-headed modelBoingBoing.net ticked off Ralph Lauren by noting that, in this model's photo, "her head is bigger than her pelvis."   Thanks to photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com for the image.

However, note the "blogspot.com" in that URL?  That's Google, who totally caved to Ralph Lauren's spurious copyright infringement claim.  Spurious, because parody is an excellent example of Fair Use.

Happily, BoingBoing is hosted by a Canadian company who is not subservient to the DCMA.

The lesson?  Host your controversial blog outside the U.S. :)

See the video of BoingBoing talking with Rachel Maddow.

Huge non-profit news coop and web 2.0: a match made in heaven

Submitted by Adelle Frank on July 5, 2009
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What are the technological and semantic web possibilities for the recently-formed Investigative News Network?

Online Voter Behavior and Needs: preliminary research

Submitted by Adelle Frank on February 28, 2009
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How can web developers make it easier for voters to keep government honest and make informed decisions in the voting booth? To begin to answer this question, I've done a preliminary survey of research on voter information behavior, especially as it relates to online usage.

Is web linking becoming illegal? A copyright case.

Submitted by Adelle Frank on February 26, 2009
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Yikes and copyright, Batman! Will hyperlinks be penned in and no longer free range? A big law firm tells a web site how they can and cannot link to the law firm's web site.

Georgia healthcare & government go transparent with new web sites

Submitted by Adelle Frank on January 26, 2009
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Georgia's Government rolled out two new websites in January, aimed at making government and healthcare more transparent in Georgia:

Open Access, Open Source and Digital Libraries: A Current Trend in University Libraries Around the World

Submitted by Adelle Frank on November 20, 2008
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Abstract: Krishnamurthy maps a trend toward open models in digital libraries worldwide, including both open access publishing and open source software, and gives a brief overview, as well as references for these trends.

Faith at the Front Desk: Spirituality and Patron Service

Submitted by Adelle Frank on October 28, 2008
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Abstract: Wessells argues that the neutral bastion of the public library is one of the few places remaining where a person may explore deep spiritual issues. However, in order for the library to serve these needs well, he recommends instituting more sensitive collection policies and training staff to be sensitive to spiritual queries. He recommends that librarians:

Copyright in a Social World

Submitted by Adelle Frank on October 19, 2008
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Abstract: Miller gives a basic overview of and urges that students be educated in copyright law. She notes copyright's implications for online social networking using three web 2.0 examples: YouTube, MySpace, and Flickr. Finally, she discusses plagiarism both by students and of students' work.