Holeton, Research Links for Chapter 8

Chapter 8 index || Forward Thinking || Discussion Threads || More Online Readings & Resources ||

1. Write an argumentative paper taking a position on the Lehman Commission's recommendations about copyright in the digital age. The Web version of Ann Okerson's article includes a number of links to more information. You can find both the Commission's Report and the CONFU Conference of Fair Use online. Follow these links, and other related links you find in the process, to flesh out your understanding of current copyright issues; keep bookmarks and a working bibliography of the Internet sites you visit. You should be able to locate primary materials online, such as the text of the U.S. Copyright Act, as well as secondary sources from organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Center for Democracy and Technology. You may find, at least on the Internet, that there's less consensus about digital copyright than Okerson implies. For library research, start with the "further reading" suggested by Okerson, and look up articles in law and technology law reviews that you see referenced both online and in print. If possible, interview professors or local attorneys knowledgeable about copyright and intellectual property issues.

2. Research and update the Scientology controversy and legal battles examined by Mark Fearer. In the library, use newspaper and magazine indexes to locate the latest news. On the Internet, study the Scientology home page and anti-Scientology sites such as Operation Clambake. The online versions of Mark Fearer's article and a longer article about the Scientology controversy published at the same time (December, 1995) in Wired, "alt.scientology.war" by Wendy M. Grossman, both include other Web links you can follow. Argue a position about copyright, trade secrets, fair use, or free speech based on this case. How do you weigh the interests of religious or quasi-religious organizations in wishing to protect selected materials versus the interests of outsiders in wishing to access those materials?

3. Herb Brody discusses two major events that catalyzed electronic communication among scientists: significant advances in research about superconductivity, and the controversy about cold fusion. Choose one of these events (or another recent scientific advance or controversy, such as the successful cloning of a sheep by a Scottish research lab in 1997), and analyze in more depth how the Internet affected this incident or area of research. Each of these examples was covered extensively in the traditional press as well as on the Internet.

4. Follow the Internet links provided with the Web version of Herb Brody's article to explore further some aspect of "wired science" or Brody's analysis that interests you. For example, links are provided to both kinds of science-oriented newsgroups that Brody discusses -- the public, unmoderated kind "that contain little serious scientific discussion," and the moderated kind "where some reasoned and informed discussion can be found." If you have regular Internet access, make your own study of such groups (if you're interested in physics, you might compare sci.physics with sci.physics.research) by reading them daily over a period of weeks, recording your impressions, and if possible making a text archive you can refer to when writing your analysis. Test Brody's claims and assert your own judgment about the kinds and level of discourse in these online discussions.

5. Compare William Gibson's "Burning Chrome" with other short stories in this book in terms of how information and knowledge are valued, controlled, and shared. John Shirley's "Wolves of the Plateau" (Chapter 3), E.M. Forster's "The Air-Ship" (Chapter 4), and Gibson's "Johnny Mnemonic" (Chapter 1) might make especially good comparisons. Which stories strike you as the most persuasive cautionary tales, or the most cogent reflections of today's trends in the uses of information technologies? Why? For a more extended research project, read more works by two of these authors, along with critical commentary from sources such as the MLA Bibliography, and compare their visions of information control in society.

6. Several movies have addressed hackers and "crackers," today's equivalent of William Gibson's "console cowboys" in stories such as "Burning Chrome" or novels such as Neuromancer. Movies you might choose to analyze include Tron (Walt Disney Productions, 1982; directed by Steven Lisberger), Sneakers (MCA/Universal Pictures, 1992; directed by Phil Alden Robinson), and Hackers (United Artists, 1995; directed by Iain Softley). Compare how hackers or the ethics of computer hacking and cracking are portrayed in these movies. You might begin your research in the library with Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier by Katie Hafner and John Markoff (Simon & Schuster, 1991). Not surprisingly, these issues (and these movies) have been widely discussed on the Internet; starting places for online research include The New Hacker's Dictionary, 2600: The Hacker Quarterly, and Steve Mizrach's "Old and New Hacker Ethics".