User talk:Simon/Downloading

A download symbol

07.05.19 workshop with bodo balasz

Profile: https://www.uva.nl/en/profile/b/o/b.bodo/b.bodo.html

Reading: Bodó, Balázs (2019): The science of piracy, the piracy of science. Who are the science pirates and where do they come from Part I + Part II

Workshop with economist Bodo Balasz, whose research is on shadow libraries and the forces that drive them, taking the point of view that "if you do not understand the black market, you can not organize legality". Bodo's recent work is on the dataset of the biggest shadow libraries (which for certain reason, I won't name here). The most striking conclusions drawn from his analysis show that use of the shadow library has increased dramatically in the developing world, it is actually those in the privileged, richer countries that are using the service most, raising questions if cost competition is the driving factor of use of shadow libraries. Also examined are file formats, which reveals interesting facts about the duplication process involved in creating copies.

The process differs historically between Eastern and Western countries due to cultural and technological differences. In the East (particularly in Russia and eastern bloc countries) texts were initially re-typed. This follows the tradition established in samizdat publishing of duplicating texts by hand. The need to have developed systems of private distribution was higher in former Soviet countries. In the West, most texts were photocopied or scanned initially, due to cheaper access to the technology.

Bodo examines the dataset using a browser-based interactive python server. By running code on the csv file of the dataset, it is possible to establish trends and make inferences on the behaviour of the users of the shadow library. Certain problems may arise due to the metadata associated with each file - different character sets, errors, lack of information and "inaccurate" information can make some analyses difficult to pin down. Using interactive python, we did single variable analysis, and also two-dimensional analysis.

open syllabus project

The Open Syllabus Project publishes the syllabi of academic courses, seeing them as the DNA, not just the byproduct of academic research.

http://explorer.opensyllabusproject.org/

bootleg book: Information ages: literacy, numeracy, and the computer revolution

Printed: 26.11.19
Dimensions: 155x235mm
Cover stock: Clairefontaine Trophee (white) 210gsm
Text stock: Laser 80gsm
Binding: Perfect bound, cold glue
Pages: 320pp

I could only find this as a printed book available for purchase online, or to borrow from the closest library, which is the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in The Hague. So, I went to the KB in the Hague, registered a membership (costing 7,50 euro per year) and borrowed the book. I scanned the book on a photocopier back at PZI (it took about 40 mins and many apologies to those who wanted to use it), and then printed and bound it by hand using a cold glue binding technique. The file produced by scanning actually took longer to be transferred over the network than it did to scan the entire book. I optimised the file after receiving it, which produced splotchy text and images (in some places the print looked damaged by water). The cover was an impromptu decision - to use the same method. The copy was made in about 2 hours.

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  Front cover: Bootleg (left) and source publication (right)

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  Spine: Source publication

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  Spine: Bootleg

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  Spines: Source publication (left) and bootleg (right)

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  Spread: Source publication (left) and bootleg (right)

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  Spread: Images in source publication

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  Spread: Images in bootleg