Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Objections To The Proposed Access Copyright Post-Secondary Tariff And Its Progeny Licenses: A Working Paper, Samuel Trosow, Scott Armstrong, Brent Harasym

FIMS Publications

On March 31, 2010, Access Copyright applied to the Copyright Board to certify a tariff that would govern the relationship between the organization and the members of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) and the Association of Community Colleges of Canada (ACCC). Previously, the relationship had been governed by a series of license agreements between the organizations which had been periodically renewed. But Access Copyright chose not to seek renewal of the licenses, and applied to the Board to certify a general tariff that would cover all post-secondary institutions for the period of 2011 through 2013.

Access …

Technology Transfer And Innovation Policy At Canadian Universities: Opportunities And Social Costs, Samuel Trosow, Michael B. Mcnally, Laura E. Briggs, Cameron Hoffman, Cassandra D. Ball, Adam Jacobs, Bridget Moran

FIMS Publications

This report, supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Knowledge Synthesis Grant, critically examines the role of universities in transmitting knowledge in the forms of technology transfer mechanisms, intellectual property agreements and other knowledge diffusion policies. In reviewing and synthesizing the recent literature on the topic, we seek to provide some initial evidence-based policy recommendations in order to generally strengthen Canada‘s innovation ecosystem and more specifically to maximize the return on the nation‘s investment in higher education research and development.

Discerning Truth From Deception: Human Judgments And Automation Efforts, Victoria L. Rubin, Niall Conroy

FIMS Publications

Recent improvements in effectiveness and accuracy of the emerging field of automated deception detection and the associated potential of language technologies have triggered increased interest in mass media and general public. Computational tools capable of alerting users to potentially deceptive content in computer–mediated messages are invaluable for supporting undisrupted, computer–mediated communication and information practices, credibility assessment and decision–making. The goal of this ongoing research is to inform creation of such automated capabilities. In this study we elicit a sample of 90 computer–mediated personal stories with varying levels of deception. Each story has 10 associated human deception level judgments, confidence scores, …

Is The Uses And Gratifications Approach Still Relevant In A Digital Society? Theoretical And Methodological Applications To Social Media, Anabel Quan-Haase

FIMS Publications

A wide range of new theories, approaches, and methodologies have been proposed as a response to the changes occurring in the digitization of content, the creation and distribution of digital artifacts (e.g., documents, images, and videos), and the increasing production and dissemination of news on the Internet. These new trends have also motivated scholars to revive traditional theories in the field of mass communication and journalism, which could aid in examining digital communication. In this editorial note, the uses and gratifications approach (U&G) is presented as a theoretical lens and empirical means for studying how audiences engage with digital media. …

Social Media For Academic Libraries, David J. Fiander

FIMS Publications

This chapter discusses the value of the academic library engaging with its users via social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. The chapter provides some background on research into how libraries have experimented with using Facebook for outreach and how the user community has responded. It gives a brief outline of the process for creating a rich Facebook page for an academic library system and tips for how to market a Facebook page or Twitter account, and how to use social media accounts to promote the library’s services. Finally, it provides some guidance for how an academic library should think …

Public Library Use Of Free E-Resources, Heather Hill, Jenny Bossaller

FIMS Publications

This article describes a multi-method research project examining the use of various freely available online collections and projects, such as Project Gutenberg, the Internet Archive, and Creative Commons-licensed ebooks, by public libraries. This research begins with the questions: what are libraries doing with freely available materials? Are there barriers to incorporating them into the collection? What role are librarians playing in expanding access and awareness of these resources?

Open Textbooks And Provincial Government Policy: A Look At The Issues, Lisa Di Valentino

FIMS Publications

In 2012, the British Columbia government announced a plan to fund a program that will result in the creation of open access textbooks for 40 lower-year university courses — the first such program in any of the provinces. This paper will argue that Ontario should follow British Columbia’s lead and invest in the development of a project to create and promote the use of open textbooks. The introduction will discuss the concept of open textbooks and the various initiatives and legislation that have been introduced in the United States, and British Columbia’s plan will be described in more detail. The …

‘America’S “Engagement” Delusion: Critiquing A Public Diplomacy Consensus’, Hamilton Bean, Edward Comor

FIMS Publications

The Obama administration has embraced ‘engagement’ as the dominant concept informing US public diplomacy. Despite its emphasis on facilitating dialogue with and among Muslims overseas, this article demonstrates that, in practice, engagement aims to leverage social media and related technologies to persuade skeptical audiences to empathize with American policies. Indeed, its primary means of implementation – participatory interactions with foreign publics – is inherently duplicitous. Through the authors’ description of how engagement is rooted in long-standing public relations and corporate marketing discourses, and in light of the historical and structural foundations of anti-Americanism, this contemporary public diplomacy strategy is shown …

What Is Public Library Management Outsourcing?, Heather Hill

FIMS Publications

No abstract provided.

The Firm Foundation Of Organizational Flexibility: The 360 Contract In The Digitalizing Music Industry, Matt Stahl, Leslie Meier

FIMS Publications

The devaluation of the recorded music commodity under digitalization has destabilized the recording industry. One primary record industry response is the new “360 deal” form of the recording contract. By securing rights to individual acts’ live performance, music publishing and licensing, and merchandizing activities, this new deal expands record companies’ access to more profitable fields of music industry activity (if in piecemeal fashion). We examine the context, evolution, and varieties of the 360 deal, and argue that it re-secures record industry profitability and further stratifies the population of recording artists by shifting risk onto performers.