copyleft v. copyright RE: [xmca] Subtleties of Presentation Media

From: Tony Whitson (twhitson@UDel.Edu)
Date: Sat Feb 17 2007 - 10:19:23 PST


I followed the wikipedia link under #2 in my previous message just to
check that the link is working; it works, and when I got there I was
reminded theat those licensing provisions are referred to as "copyleft,"
as opposed to "copyright."

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007, Tony Whitson wrote:

> David, I agree that the idea of copyright is relevant, but also possibly
> misleading insofar as we in the US have become accustomed to thinking of
> copyright as a protection for intellectual property as an economic asset.
> That's not the only (or perhaps even the original) function of copyright,
> which also serves the function of protecting the INTEGRITY of expression,
> including such things as your concern to preserve the signification of
> authorship within specific discourse.
>
> Two things:
>
> 1. an example in use: I think you have a digitized copy of the slides from
> Etienne Wenger's presentation to the Research on Math Ed SIG at AERA last
> time we were in San Diego. Notice the copyright in the bottom corner of each
> slide. Acrobat provides security settings to allow protection of the
> integrity of the complete document.
>
> 2. another example with links on licensing options: See
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CurriculumConcept.svg
>
> If you go down to the links that explain licensing, the links lead to an
> array of possibilities, which provide ways to preserve integrity without
> restricting circulation.
>
> I will prepare a different post on Presentation Media per se. I'm doing
> relatively mindless scanning now while listening to the US Senate Floor
> debate. So far the one speech that rose above the usual, IMHO, is one by Carl
> Levin demolishing the argument that debate in the US Senate "emboldens our
> enemies" and "demoralizes our troops."
>
> On Fri, 16 Feb 2007, David H Kirshner wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Michael,
>> I think what links your musings about connectivity to my PowerPoint story
>> is the shift from representational media to presentational media. The
>> PowerPoint medium is obviously presentational. But what's subtly changing
>> is the gradual drift of other media from representational to
>> presentational. For instance, what could be more representational than a
>> picture, except that with new technologies these static representations
>> can
>> be enjoined by the original creator, or by subsequent participants to
>> become something else. The key, of course, is digitalization. The analog
>> medium of pictures is static. The digitalization of the picture enables it
>> to participate in subsequent performance, hence it loses it's place in
>> time, and with that it's originary vectors, such as its owner.
>> David
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "Michael Glassman"
>> <MGlassman who-is-at ehe.ohio To: "eXtended Mind,
>> Culture, Activity"
>> -state.edu> <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
>> Sent by: cc: (bcc: David H
>> Kirshner/dkirsh/LSU)
>> xmca-bounces who-is-at weber. Subject: RE: [xmca]
>> Subtleties of Presentation Media
>> ucsd.edu
>>
>>
>> 02/16/2007 05:17 PM
>> Please respond to
>> "eXtended Mind,
>> Culture, Activity"
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> David,
>>
>> What an interesting story. I have been doing some reading and thinking on
>> connectivity lately and have come to the conclusion that three little
>> letters - www - are going to change our universe in ways that we can't
>> imagine. One of the ways I believe it is going to change things is by
>> changing the concept of boundaries, and the notion that ideas can somehow
>> can be treated as property. That's right - I think there is a real
>> possibility that intellectual property will become a thing of the past.
>> Is
>> this a good thing or a bad thing. It's hard to say, but I think it is
>> coming. Industries that live on intellectual property rights - like
>> recording, publishing, entertainment - are fighting like mad, but I'm not
>> sure they will be able to do anything to stop the wave.
>>
>> So getting back to your particular scenario. What would have been the
>> difference if the TA found your Power Point presentation on the internet,
>> and downloaded it, or better yet hyperlinked it (so many of my students
>> bring their portables to class - and at Cornell my nephew had to buy one
>> as
>> a freshman). And then some of those students thought there was something
>> interesting and hyperlinked it to some people they know. Unless you had a
>> trackback function, you wouldn't even know where it was going or who was
>> using it. People would change it, people would add to it, people would
>> desecrate it. But every person using the idea would be equal because what
>> was important were the ideas that you created and they took on a life of
>> their own. Perhaps the slides would come back to you in a form you didn't
>> even recognize. But it wouldn't matter because you connected with all of
>> these people - your ideas became viral rather than remaining hierarchical.
>> The only thing that creates boundaries on the ideas is rationality. Of
>> cours there may be a really dark side to this whole phenomenon, there
>> always is. But like I said, I'm thinkng we need to redefine our ideas of
>> boundaries and ownership.
>>
>> Michael
>>
>>
>> ________________________________
>>
>> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu on behalf of David H Kirshner
>> Sent: Fri 2/16/2007 11:07 AM
>> To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
>> Subject: [xmca] Subtleties of Presentation Media
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> A few days ago I gave a PowerPoint presentation of my research to our
>> department. After the presentation, a graduate teaching assistant in the
>> department whom I've known for a number of years asked me if he could have
>> a copy of the presentation so that he could follow-up with one of his
>> classes (some of his students also were at the presentation). I
>> immediately
>> agreed, but after some debate with myself, I decided to give him hard copy
>> of the slides instead. The medium of PowerPoint would erode the boundaries
>> between him and me.
>>
>> Here's a snippet from my note to him. I wonder if this phenomenon has been
>> observed/discussed before in the media literature.
>> Comments welcome.
>>
>> David Kirshner
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>> Hi xxxx,
>>
>> I've copied out all of my slides (about 50), and left them in your
>> mailbox.
>> I'd intended to send you the PowerPoint presentation itself, but in the
>> end
>> felt uncomfortable about doing that.
>> It's an interesting media phenomenon. If I give you photocopies of the
>> slides and you distribute them for discussion to your students, it's very
>> clear what are the boundaries between my contribution, and yours. The
>> slides are mine, the discussion is yours. However, the PowerPoint medium
>> is
>> inherently incomplete. If you present my slides as a PowerPoint
>> presentation, it no longer is possible to clearly demarcate our
>> boundaries.
>> That's because the in the PowerPoint setting, the slides are inseparable
>> from the commentary. Thus it's not possible to distinguish what part of
>> the
>> commentary is you and what part is me.
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>> (See attached file: winmail.dat)
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>>
>
> Tony Whitson
> UD School of Education
> NEWARK DE 19716
>
> twhitson@udel.edu
> _______________________________
>
> "those who fail to reread
> are obliged to read the same story everywhere"
> -- Roland Barthes, S/Z (1970)
>

Tony Whitson
UD School of Education
NEWARK DE 19716

twhitson@udel.edu
_______________________________

"those who fail to reread
  are obliged to read the same story everywhere"
                   -- Roland Barthes, S/Z (1970)
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