Muddy point class 12

I was just wondering when the final grades for the term will be posted on Courseweb.

Class 12 readings

Joseph E. Stiglitz "Intellectual-Property Rights and Wrongs"

I agree with Stiglitz's statement that "Ideas are the most important input into research, and if intellectual property slows down the ability to use others’ ideas, then scientific and technological progress will suffer."
I think that there is abalance to be considered with intellectual property laws. We need intellectual property laws to protect scientists' ideas. At the same time, if those laws are too strict, they may stifle further attempts in scientific research. Scientists should be able to use others' ideas in their research, as long as they give those ideas proper credit.

Clifford Lynch "Where do we go from here: the next decade for digital libraries"

I think that this article offers some very interesting perspectives on the future of digital libraries, patriculary in the area of preservation. Lynch writes, "how do you prove that your approach in fact will preserve data for a thousand years without having to wait that long?". I think that this is a very good question, and I agree with Lynch that it is one which should be investigated.

Muddy point class 11

I do not completely understand the Shibboleth process. Does this mean that the user only needs one user name and password for all resources that require authorization?