lecture 2011.01: general introduction and open access (digital sustainability)
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Digital Sustainabilityin the Knowledge Society
Welcome to Class 2011 ! :)
Dr. Marcus M. DappLecturer ETH Zurich & IT strategist, City of Munich
26.09.2011
Today
• GOAL: you come back next week :)
• Message: Knowledge is different!• Scientific publishing & Open Access
• Lecture overview• «How to get credits & make friends»
• »If you have an apple andI have an apple and we exchange them, you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.«
• George Bernard Shaw
What did we learn?
• Physical stuff• One original,
no copies• Only one can
eat the whole• Prevent others
from access is easy
• Information stuff• All copies ident.,
„original“?• Can be shared
easily• Prevent others
from access is <...>?
Economists: Two Characteristics of Goods
• How excludable is access?• Easy/Diffult to prevent people from
access?
• How rival is consumption?• Does one person‘s use of the good
diminish another person‘s enjoyment of it? (Verbrauch vs. Gebrauch)
Characteristics of Knowledge
Knowledge »as such« is nonrivalrous and hardtoexclude.
Private Goods
Car, Book(most stuff...)
Natural Monopolies
Fire protectionCable TV
Common Resources
Fish in the oceanThe environment
Public Goods
Peace/Nat’l DefenseKnowledge/Culture
Consumption
exc
lud
ible
rivalrous nonrivalrous
non
exc
lud
ible
N. Gregory Mankiw, Principles of Economics, Dryden 1998.
Consumption
Does one person‘s use diminish another person‘s enjoyment of it?
Access
Can people be prevented from using the good?
Ac
ce
s s
But markets‘ need rivalry...
• Pricing needs scarcity
• Scarcity needs rivalry
• What if there is no rivalry?
• Create it!
How to make knowledge rivalrous
• »Intellectual property rights«• Exclude others from access/use• By creating legal monopolies
• Copyrights, patents, trademarks, ...• Underlying assumption: No new
knowledge created if• No incentives• No rewards
Do youagree?
<ethical position>
• »For if a thing is not diminishedby being shared with others, it is not rightly owned if it is only owned and not shared.«
• Saint Augustinus (397 AD)
What happens when information goes digital?
• Analog world• costly production
& distribution need investments
• Risky investments need incentives
• »digital effects«• … of PCs on
production• … of the Internet
on distribution
Many »things« are knowledge artifacts
• Science• Traditions• Literature• Human genome• Design plans• ...
• Software• MP3 Audio• Video• JPEG image• Blog/Wiki entry• ...
Example: Scientific publishing
• Scholars publish articles (in journals)• Use references to:
• Learn• Build on previous work• Measure performance
• Important system for• Knowledge exchange• Reputation building
Science: How much does one brain contribute?
ALMOST ALL?
ONLY A BIT ATTHE TOP?
The »all alone« theory
• How did Edison invent the light bulb?• By working hard for a long time? By
being an individual genius?
ALL ALONE
The »just a bit« theory
• How did Einstein build the Theory of Relativity?
• All by his own? By building on previous work?
• Was he »just« the last missingpiece in a long chain?
PREVIOUSWORK
How does science evolve?
• »If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.«Isaac Newton, 1676
• »Genius is one per cent inspiration, ninetynine per cent perspiration.«Thomas Alva Edison, 18471931
• »Creativity and innovation always builds on the past.«Lawrence Lessig, 2001
Different »theories« lead to different world views
• Goal = Ensure• Protection• Incentives
• for creator only
• Goal = Ensure• Access• Information Flow
• for many/all
Example: STM publishing industry
Source: UK House of Commons, Science and Technology Committee,10th Report, Scientific Publications: Free for all?, 20. July 2004
• Scientific, technical and medical journals (STM)
• 8 largest = 2/3 of the market
• Market size: $7.3 billion(NAM, EU)
• Where are the “Developing Countries”?
STM publishing market
WriteReview &
select
Edit & proofread
Publish
¥€$!
scientific community
publishing industry
Publishers like the status quo
• Get content• Highquality (peerreviewed)• Gratis• Plus: Copyright transfer
• Costs get lower• Digital technology
• Income • Loyal readers
The market is a pyramid
• Motto »Reach the top«• No product substitution• Demand is independent of supply• Does market play?
Uhm...
www.plos.org
• «All researchers, regardless of the nature of their institution, should be granted access to the scientific journals they need to carry out their work effectively.»
• 10th Report of Science and Technology Committee (UK House of Commons)
»Open Access Publishing«
Open access publishing process
WriteReview &
select
Edit & proofread
Publish
scientific community
(industry is skipped)
Open Access model
• Different pricing/costing models• free for readers• authorpays upfront• contractual expiration of ©
• Market• Quickly increasing• OA ~5% of STM market in 2004
Open access initiatives
• Public Library of Science• www.plos.org
• Directory of Open Access Journals• www.doaj.org
• Wikipedia encyclopedia• www.wikipedia.org
There is much more...
• ‚Journals‘ are one example in the big
• about the use of digital resources in our society. Important aspects:
• stakeholder groups• costs & benefits• levels of power
DEBATE
Goal #1 of this class – Understand the big picture!
Law PoliticsEconomics
Digital Technology
Production & Distribution ofKnowledge & Culture
Sustainable approaches
Stakeholders PowerCost/Benefit
Traditional models
Use of digital resources
Goal #2 of this class – Reflect on selected issues
• Groups of 3 students produce• report (5000 words)• presentation in class (10'+5')
• Can get 2 credits• Space limit: max.15 groups
• Solution: »Apply« online for a topic
ReaderPackage
• Jeanette Hofmann (Hrsg.), Wissen und Eigentum, bpb 2006.
• Volker Grassmuck, Freie Software, bpb 2004.
• Konrad Becker, Die Politik der Infosphäre, bpb 2003.
• All available as online PDFs.
Next week
• Discussing Key Terms• HOWTO groupwork
• Write the report• Run a presentation