Book Riot: “Everyone—you, your grandma, your best frenemy—should buy used books. In fact, I will go so far as to say that everyone should buy used books as often as they can, reserving purchases of new paper books for special occasions, gifting, and those rare, delicious occasions when you get a gift certificate for your… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Economy
The end of the beginning – changes in technology shift
Stratechery: “The story tech most loves to tell about itself is the story of disruption: sure, companies may appear dominant today, but it is only a matter of time until they are usurped by the next wave of startups. And indeed, that is exactly what happened half a century ago: IBM’s mainframe monopoly was suddenly… Continue Reading
The Case for an Institutionally Owned Knowledge Infrastructure
Inside Higher Education: The many bottlenecks that the commercial monopoly on research information has imposed are stimulating new strategies, write James W. Weis, Amy Brand and Joi Ito. “Science and technology are propelled forward by the sharing of knowledge. Yet despite their vital importance in today’s innovation-driven economy, our knowledge infrastructures have failed to scale… Continue Reading
ProPublica Database to Investigate Professors’ Conflicts of Interest
ProPublica: “When professors moonlight, the income may influence their research and policy views. Although most universities track this outside work, the records have rarely been accessible to the public, potentially obscuring conflicts of interests. That changed last month when ProPublica launched Dollars for Profs, an interactive database that, for the first time ever, allows you… Continue Reading
Elite Law Firms Are Quietly Outsourcing High-Value Functions
The American Lawyer: “Sullivan & Cromwell spends millions of dollars on technology, ensuring its equipment is accessible to its lawyers around the globe and that its digital security can keep clients safe. Chairman Joe Shenker, citing bank surveys, says the Wall Street firm’s tech costs per lawyer are higher than any of its peers. Still,… Continue Reading
The rise and rise of the books you do not read
BBC Culture: “Audiobooks are in the midst of a boom, with Deloitte predicting that the global market will grow by 25 per cent in 2020 to US$3.5 billion (£2.6 billion). Compared with physical book sales, audio is the baby of the publishing world, but it is growing up fast. Gone are the days of dusty… Continue Reading
What you’d spend to prevent climate change and what you could get with your money
ABC.net.au: “As the country burns and temperatures rise, climate change is once again at the forefront of our national consciousness. It’s a problem that seems intractable, and has dogged politics for decades. More than 54,000 Australians took part in the nationally representative Australia Talks National Survey, and the number one thing they said was keeping… Continue Reading
A History of Buying Books Onto the Bestseller List
BookRiot: “…For those unaware of how bestseller lists work, here’s a primer. They each use different metrics and data sources, but the NYT is considered to be the most “curated,” with a secretive process. It is known that they poll a large selection of independent booksellers and major retailers. These are often called “reporting” bookstores.… Continue Reading
Eurasia Group’s Top risks For 2020
This is Eurasia Group’s annual forecast of the political risks that are most likely to play out over the course of the year. This year’s report was published on 6 January 2020. “2020 is a tipping point. We’ve lived with growing levels of geopolitical risk for nearly a decade, but without a true international crisis.… Continue Reading
An elegy for cash: the technology we might never replace
MIT Technology Review – Cash is gradually dying out. Will we ever have a digital alternative that offers the same mix of convenience and freedom? – “This is a feature of physical cash that payment cards and apps do not have: freedom. Called “bearer instruments,” banknotes and coins are presumed to be owned by whoever holds… Continue Reading
Free Textbooks for Law Students
Inside Higher Ed – “Legal scholars are increasingly adopting and creating free textbooks in an attempt to increase affordability for students. But are these textbooks considered open educational resources? Law school is notoriously expensive, but a growing number of professors are pushing back on the idea that law textbooks must be expensive, too. Faculty members… Continue Reading
The Internet Is No Longer a Disruptive Technology
Bloomberg – The disruptive innovators of 10 years ago are today’s stable incumbents. “Internet-enabled industry disruption defined business strategy in the 2010s, but as 2020 begins, that era appears to be winding down. The disruptors have largely become the new establishment, and unlike a decade ago, it doesn’t look like the new leaders will be… Continue Reading
