12.30 Tue 2nd Oct 2012 Paperlessness, Open Access and Open Source Prof Gabriel Egan TDC Lunchtime

Update

The slides from Gabriel's talk are at:

   http://gabrielegan.com/scratch/index.odp Open Document Presentation format

   http://gabrielegan.com/scratch/index.ppt  PowerPoint format

Paperlessness, Open Access and Open Source
Prof Gabriel Egan Faculty of Art, Design & Humanities
12.30 Tue 2nd Oct 2012, Transdisciplinary Common Room

The first TDC Lunchtime Session of Autumn 2012 

This talk will combine a practical consideration of where we are in going paperless with some speculations about the future importance of Open Access and Open Source principles.

The existence of heaps of paper in an office has long been the signifier of intellectual activity and in the 20 years since computers started to appear on non-technical tutors' desks the trickle of paper has turned into a flood. In Shakespeare's depiction of Jack Cade's rebellion of 1450 the accusation against Lord Saye is that he has encouraged elitist learning by opening a grammar school, (anachronistically) promoted book printing, and worst of all ""thou has built a paper-mill"" (2 Henry 6). But the heyday of paper is coming to an end. Once the majority of our material is inside the computer, we can respond to any request--'May I see that article?', 'What are the essential materials for this course?', 'How many versions of Ode to a Nightingale are there?'--by handing over electronic copy for the questioner to reproduce at will. This fundamental change in medium has implications for the circulation of power in societies, as many of the laws regulating intellectual exchange--and associated ideas about copyright, intellectual property, and originality--are predicated on the difficulty and expense of reproduction on paper.


How TDC lunchtimes work
TDC Lunchtimes offer an opportunity to mix informally with colleagues from across the university. There is always a pot of tea on the go so why not bring your sandwiches and enjoy lunch with us? This term we meet every Tuesday for an hour from 12.30-13.30. There will be a talk or video or workshop for about 30 minutes, then the rest of the time will be taken up with conversation and networking around the teapot.

There are still some spare slots so if you'd like to offer a session please fill in the form here or contact sue.thomas@dmu.ac.uk to discuss your idea.

Location
The TDC is based in the old surgery behind Fletcher building, No.36 on the Campus Map. Access is by staff card, or ring the doorbell.