Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: April 27, 2020

Citation Databases for Legal Scholarship

Beatty, John, Citation Databases for Legal Scholarship (February 26, 2020). 39 Legal Reference Services Quarterly 56 (2020); University at Buffalo School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2019-014. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3577192
“Traditional citation sources, such as Web of Science, index limited numbers of law journals. Consequently, although not designed for generating scholarship citation metrics, many law scholarship citation studies use law-specific databases like Westlaw or LexisNexis to gather citations. This article compares citation metrics derived from Web of Science and Westlaw to metrics derived from Google Scholar and HeinOnline’s citation tools. The study finds that HeinOnline and Westlaw generate higher metrics than Web of Science, and Google Scholar generates higher metrics than both. However, metrics from all four sources are highly correlated, so rankings generated from any may be very similar.”

Searching Covid-19 Finding Patterns in Our Need for Knowledge

This project is sponsored by Schema, Google Trends, and Axios: “In late 2019 a novel coronavirus emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Over the following months, the regional outbreak exploded into a devastating global crisis with unsettling levels of uncertainty. How does the virus spread? How will we pay the bills? What will happen… Continue Reading

White House is reviewing detailed guidance for gradual reopening

Washington Post – “…The guidance under review, drafted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is considerably more detailed. Changes could be made, but the guidance is likely to be released within the next seven days, officials said. The 17-page guidance lists recommendations for each of six settings. It says all decisions should be… Continue Reading

Georgia Copyright Loss at High Court Could Jolt Many States

Bloomberg Law: “Georgia lost a close U.S. Supreme Court case over the state’s ability to copyright its annotated legal code, in a ruling heralded by public access advocates over dissent that lamented its disruptive impact on states’ existing business arrangements. Copyright protection doesn’t extend to annotations in the state’s official annotated code, Chief Justice John… Continue Reading

Online database with 26 million documents on Nazi victims, survivors now online

Jewish News Syndicate: “The world’s most comprehensive archive on the victims and survivors of Nazi persecution reached a “milestone” on Tuesday by publishing 26 million documents to its online database, including new information on forced laborers and deported Jews. The Arolsen Archives–International Centre on Nazi Persecution, formerly known as the International Tracing Service, has a… Continue Reading

German minister backs creating legal right to work from home

AP: “Germany’s labor minister wants to enshrine into law the right to work from home if it is feasible to do so, even after the coronavirus pandemic subsides. Labor Minister Hubertus Heil told Sunday’s edition of the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that he aims to put forward such legislation this fall. He said initial estimates… Continue Reading

NYC will close public roads to traffic to create more recreational space

Road/Show: The coronavirus means there’s a need for more socially distanced rec space, and closing down roads near parks is expected to help. “Social distancing in a major city, in the age of the coronavirus, is nearly impossible, and as more New York residents try to get outside and practice social distancing, there simply isn’t… Continue Reading

The Virus vs The Virus A Trump Twitter Timeline, Self Praise, and American Medicine in Crisis

Dave Pell: “Here’s a look at what the President of the United States was Tweeting as America’s Covid-19 body count continued to mount. The below examples are not exhaustive. But they are certainly exhausting…” See also The New York Times – 260,000 Words, Full of Self-Praise, From Trump on the Virus See also The New… Continue Reading

The Pandemic Will Change American Retail Forever

The Atlantic– “…To see how the pandemic is already reshaping American retail, you don’t even have to go outside and count storefronts. Your receipts and credit-card statements tell the whole story. On Thursday, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that retail spending in March collapsed by the largest number on record. Travel spending—including on airlines, hotels,… Continue Reading

Supreme Court Rules That Georgia Can’t Copyright Its Annotated Code

Reason.com: “The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5–4 today that the state of Georgia can’t claim copyright over its annotated code. The ruling is a victory for Carl Malamud, an open government activist who posted the state’s annotated code online in 2013. Malamud and his organization, Public.Resource.Org, have been working for more than a decade to digitally… Continue Reading