Support for National Institutes of Health (NIH) Implementation of the Revised Public Access Policy

Comments submitted by SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) in response to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) “Request for Information: NIH Public Access Policy” issued on March 31, 2008 (73 Federal Register 16881)

Ghosts of Colonialism : Discursive struggles over memory and identity in Finland

Tutkielma käsittelee Suomen ja suomalaisuuden suhdetta koloniaalisuuteen eli kolonialismin jälkiin nykypäivän yhteiskunnassa ja kulttuurissa. Erityisesti tutkielma käsittelee näiden aiheiden näkymistä julkisessa keskustelussa eli sosiaalisessa mediassa, jossa vastakkaiset poliittiset ryhmät käyvät erilaisten kohujen kautta diskursiivista kamppailua muistin ja identiteetin rakentamisesta. Kontekstina toimivat vuoden 2020 kesästä alkaneet kansainväliset protestiaallot ja niitä seurannut keskustelu, joka kiinnitti huomiota rasismiin ja sen taustalla häilyviin koloniaalisiin valtarakenteisiin. Yhteiskunnallinen liikehdintä alkoi Pohjois-Amerikasta ja laajentui Länsi-Eurooppaan. Molemmissa imperialismin ja kolonisaation historia on ilmeinen, mutta keskustelu on levinnyt Suomeenkin. Tutkielma pyrkii valottamaan Suomen suhdetta koloniaalisuuteen keskustan periferiaseutuna, joka on nähtävissä kolonialismiin epäsuorasti osallisena, mutta siitä kuitenkin omalla tavallaan erillisenä tilana. Lähestymistapa on poikkitieteellinen: siinä yhdistyvät jälkikolonialistinen/dekoloniaalinen tutkimus, diskurssiteoria sekä muistin politiikan tutkimus. Tutkielmassa identifioidaan kolme ulottuvuutta, joissa koloniaalisuus tänä päivänä näkyy diskursiivisissa vastakkainasetteluissa Suomessa: tiedostaminen, sovinnonteko ja kosmeettinen dekoloniaalisuus. Näitä ulottuvuuksia edustavat mainitussa järjestyksessä kolme tapaustutkimusta: Afrikan tähti -lautapeli, kansanedustaja Pirkka-Pekka Peteliuksen julkinen anteeksipyyntö saamelaisilta sekä stereotypisoivia nimiä ja kuvastoa kantavien perinteisten kuluttajatuotteiden uudelleenbrändäys. Tutkielmassa analysoidaan myös kuhunkin tapaustutkimukseen liittyviä sosiaalisen median keskusteluketjuja. Keskeisenä analyyttisenä kehyksenä toimii Laclaun diskurssiteoria sovellettuna eritoten populistisiin liikkeisiin. Teoriassa korostuu toisaalta tiettyjen arvojen ja asenteiden lähentyminen poliittisen ryhmän sisällä ja toisaalta siitä kumpuava eri ryhmien välinen vastakkainasettelu. Tutkielma pyrkii kvalitatiivisen analyysin kautta arvioimaan näiden ilmiöiden ilmenemistä nimenomaan koloniaalisuuteen liittyvissä väittelyissä sosiaalisessa mediassa, jossa mainittujen vastakkainasetteluiden on nähty kärjistyvän. Loppupäätelmässä nähdään, että koloniaalisuuteen liittyvät teemat ovat vahvasti esillä Suomessakin ja että niistä käydään useilla eri rintamilla paljolti poliittiseen ideologiaan perustuvaa diskursiivista kamppailua, vaikka monia nyanssejakin löytyy. Suhteellisen tuore tutkimusaihe ja -näkökulma ainakin Suomen kontekstissa kaipaa laajempaa ja kattavampaa jatkotutkimusta. Näin etenkin, kun suomalaisen identiteetin muovautumiseen liittyvät väittelyt saavat koloniaalisuuden ja sen kanssa tilin tekemisen kautta yhä enemmän jalansijaa julkisessa keskustelussa.The counterintuitive relationship between Finland/Finnishness and coloniality – traces of colonialism in contemporary society and culture – is an expanding area of academic research. This thesis contributes to the field by reflecting on this relationship with a focus particularly on manifestations of issues of coloniality in public debates on social media. On these platforms, contrasting political groups engage in discursive struggles over the construction of memory and identity narratives. The context of the research is the international wave of protests that started in the summer of 2020, which attracted vast popular attention to racism and inequality, and the colonial power structures lying behind them. The social movements began in North America and expanded to Western Europe, where the history of imperialism and colonization is apparent – but the debate also reached Finland, a country that has, until recently, rarely been associated with questions of colonialism and coloniality. This thesis aims to shed light on Finland’s relationship to coloniality as a periphery-of-the-center space, which retains a share of colonial complicity, but also distinct differences vis-à-vis traditional colonial centers. The approach of the study is interdisciplinary, synthesizing features of postcolonial/decolonial theory, discourse theory and memory studies. The research identifies three of the dimensions in which coloniality is involved in discursive struggles in Finland: acknowledgement, reconciliation, and cosmetic decoloniality. In the research, these dimensions are represented, respectively, by three case studies: the Afrikan tähti boardgame, the public apology by MP Pirkka-Pekka Petelius to the indigenous Sámi people, and the rebranding of traditional consumer products exhibiting stereotypical orientalist names and imagery. Each case study includes an analysis of a social media discussion thread related to it. A central analytical framework is provided by Laclau’s discourse theory applied to populist movements, which emphasizes the convergence of attitudes and values within a group following equivalential logic, and the construction of antagonistic frontiers between different groups. By means of qualitative analysis, the thesis reflects on these processes particularly as they pertain to discursive struggles related to coloniality in Finland on social media, where such polarizing features can be identified. Finland is, in its own way, embedded in coloniality, and issues related to coloniality are an increasingly contentious topic in Finnish public debate. Negotiations and struggles over narrative and identity construction can be seen to follow ideological lines to some extent, but there is plenty of nuance in the re-negotiation of Finnish identity in the comparatively novel context of coloniality. Further, more detailed and broader study of discursive struggles related to coloniality and decoloniality is in order, as these issues become ever more prevalent in Finland

Following New Lights: Critical Legal Research Strategies as a Spark for Law Reform in Appalachia

The nascent “critical legal research” movement applies the constellation of critical theory to the American legal research regime. Work in this discourse has unpacked the means through which commercial print and online legal resources (e.g., Westlaw and Lexis) insidiously channel the efforts of legal researchers, essentially predetermining research outcomes. Although legal research is commonly conceived as a normatively neutral paradigm, such commercial homogenizing agents (paired with traditional methods of legal analysis) in fact reflect and perpetuate society’s dominant interests. As grounded in the existing literature, this Article outlines novel strategies that may together constitute one potential version of a critically reconstructed legal research process. The overarching aim of this reconstructed process is to jumpstart the development of progressive law reform initiatives. Such key strategies include a more targeted utilization of commercial and non-commercial legal resources, an increased practitioner reliance upon a wide range of theoretical materials (i.e., as potential touchstones for innovation), and the cultivation of synergistic brainstorming sessions involving grassroots activists and other diverse constituents. This Article explores the critical legal research process in the specific context of Appalachian law reform efforts. Currently, mountaintop removal mining is wreaking social, economic, and environmental devastation on the region. In applying the critical research process to the sociolegal framework governing mountaintop removal, it becomes clear that core feminist methodologies—and the ecofeminism movement, in particular—may yet offer crucial insights that can contribute greatly to reform efforts. This illustrative application of critical research strategies demonstrates the transformative potential of the novel reformist practice

A Bird’s-Eye View of the Past: Digital History, Distant Reading and Sport History

Advances in computer technologies have made it easier than ever before for historians to access a wealth of sources made available in the digital era. This article investigates one way that historians have engaged with the challenges and opportunities of this ‘infinite archive’: distant reading. We define distant reading as an umbrella term that embraces many practices, including data mining, aggregation, text analysis, and the visual representations of these practices. This paper investigates the utility of distant reading as a research tool via three newspaper case studies concerning Muhammad Ali, women’s surfing in Australia, and homophobic language and Australian sport. The research reveals that the usefulness, effectiveness, and success of distant reading is dependent on numerous factors. While valuable in many instances, distant reading is rarely an end in itself and can be most powerful when paired with the traditional historical skills of close reading

Using learning design as a framework for supporting the design and reuse of OER

The paper will argue that adopting a learning design methodology may provide a vehicle for enabling better design and reuse of Open Educational Resources (OERs). It will describe a learning design methodology, which is being developed and implemented at the Open University in the UK. The aim is to develop a 'pick and mix' learning design toolbox of different resources and tools to help designers/teachers make informed decisions about creating new or adapting existing learning activities. The methodology is applicable for designers/teachers designing in a traditional context – such as creation of materials as part of a formal curriculum, but also has value for those wanting to create OERs or adapt and repurpose existing OERs. With the increasing range of OERs now available through initiatives as part of the Open Courseware movement, we believe that methodologies, such as the one we describe in this paper, which can help guide reuse and adaptation will become increasingly important and arguably are an important aspect of ensuring longer term sustainability and uptake of OERs. Our approach adopts an empirically based approach to understanding and representing the design process. This includes a range of evaluation studies (capturing of case studies, interviews with designers/teachers, in-depth course evaluation and focus groups/workshops), which are helping to develop our understanding of how designers/teachers go about creating new learning activities. Alongside this we are collating an extensive set of tools and resources to support the design process, as well as developing a new Learning Design tool that helps teachers articulate and represent their design ideas. The paper will describe how we have adapted a mind mapping and argumentation tool, Compendium, for this purpose and how it is being used to help designers and teachers create and share learning activities. It will consider how initial evaluation of the use of the tool for learning design has been positive; users report that the tool is easy to use and helps them organise and articulate their learning designs. Importantly the tool also enables them to share and discuss their thinking about the design process. However it is also clear that visualising the design process is only one aspect of design, which is complex and multi-faceted

Using learning design as a framework for supporting the design and reuse of OER

The paper will argue that adopting a learning design methodology may provide a vehicle for enabling better design and reuse of Open Educational Resources (OERs). It will describe a learning design methodology, which is being developed and implemented at the Open University in the UK. The aim is to develop a 'pick and mix' learning design toolbox of different resources and tools to help designers/teachers make informed decisions about creating new or adapting existing learning activities. The methodology is applicable for designers/teachers designing in a traditional context – such as creation of materials as part of a formal curriculum, but also has value for those wanting to create OERs or adapt and repurpose existing OERs. With the increasing range of OERs now available through initiatives as part of the Open Courseware movement, we believe that methodologies, such as the one we describe in this paper, which can help guide reuse and adaptation will become increasingly important and arguably are an important aspect of ensuring longer term sustainability and uptake of OERs. Our approach adopts an empirically based approach to understanding and representing the design process. This includes a range of evaluation studies (capturing of case studies, interviews with designers/teachers, in-depth course evaluation and focus groups/workshops), which are helping to develop our understanding of how designers/teachers go about creating new learning activities. Alongside this we are collating an extensive set of tools and resources to support the design process, as well as developing a new Learning Design tool that helps teachers articulate and represent their design ideas. The paper will describe how we have adapted a mind mapping and argumentation tool, Compendium, for this purpose and how it is being used to help designers and teachers create and share learning activities. It will consider how initial evaluation of the use of the tool for learning design has been positive; users report that the tool is easy to use and helps them organise and articulate their learning designs. Importantly the tool also enables them to share and discuss their thinking about the design process. However it is also clear that visualising the design process is only one aspect of design, which is complex and multi-faceted

Comparative analysis of national approaches on voluntary copyright relinquishment

The report considers first the question of how copyright is justified, as this may have some bearing on whether a country will allow an author to make a voluntary statement leading to the expiration of his/her rights. Copyright can variously be described as a natural right, as a reward for creators, as a stimulus for creativity, as a property right, as an economic reward and as part of the public interest. Two justifications are explored, the moral and the utilitarian. The moral justification places the existence of intellectual property as a natural result of the right of the creator to anything he or she produces. The moral element of copyright has given way to the economic one, but the existence of moral rights, particularly important in civil law jurisdictions, continues to strongly represent the elements of copyright as a personality right

Social Media and the Decline of Truth

In media history, there exists a perpetual cycle in which humanity’s innovation of communication technology shapes world culture and political climate, eventually resulting in humanity’s delayed response to these changes. Using this framework, this paper addresses the recent innovations of the social media era and the spread of online communication in regards to their impact on behavioral conditioning, democracy, and generally how people process information. The discussion takes a nuanced stance between two popular ways of imagining social media’s effect on the world: arguing for both an oppressive, authoritarian reality, likened to Orwell’s 1984, and a senseless, over-stimulated one, likened to Huxley’s Brave New World. First, the paper addresses themes in human reasoning that have contributed to the success of social media as well as the ways social media exploits and reinforces certain aspects of human behavior. The discussion then turns to the politicization of social media and the ways society has used current media technology to shape political climates and additionally frame news, both internationally and domestically. Lastly, the paper addresses the deviance of social media platforms into problematic uses, including the empowerment of authoritarian regimes and the incitement of polarizing, extremist sentiments.Plan II Honors Progra

Design patterns for promoting peer interaction in discussion forums in MOOCs

Design patterns are a way of sharing evidence-based solutions to educational design problems. The design patterns presented in this paper were produced through a series of workshops, which aimed to identify Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) design principles from workshop participants’ experiences of designing, teaching and learning on these courses. MOOCs present a challenge for the existing pedagogy of online learning, particularly as it relates to promoting peer interaction and discussion. MOOC cohort sizes, participation patterns and diversity of learners mean that discussions can remain superficial, become difficult to navigate, or never develop beyond isolated posts. In addition, MOOC platforms may not provide sufficient tools to support moderation. This paper draws on four case studies of designing and teaching on a range of MOOCs presenting seven design narratives relating to the experience in these MOOCs. Evidence presented in the narratives is abstracted in the form of three design patterns created through a collaborative process using techniques similar to those used in collective autoethnography. The patterns: “Special Interest Discussions”, “Celebrity Touch” and “Look and Engage”, draw together shared lessons and present possible solutions to the problem of creating, managing and facilitating meaningful discussion in MOOCs through the careful use of staged learning activities and facilitation strategies

Support for National Institutes of Health (NIH) Implementation of the Revised Public Access Policy

Comments submitted by SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) in response to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) “Request for Information: NIH Public Access Policy” issued on March 31, 2008 (73 Federal Register 16881)