By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Ewa Callahan: Cultural Similarities and Differences in the Design of University Websites, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication November 7, 2005

I'm not sure how useful this is, but I nonetheless found this exploration of cultural differences in university websites fascinating. "Certain characteristics occurred more frequently than in other countries: use of photos in Sweden, art depiction in Greece, use of animation in Malaysia and Ecuador, pastel colors in Japan, etc." More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Michael Geist: The Canadian Move Toward Open Access November 7, 2005

Follows up on Arthur Carty's editorial a couple weeks ago advocating an open research agenda in Canada. The author makes the (accurate) point that the canadian research environment could be much more open, and that policy and legislation is tending to close it more than to open it. "The failure to include policy reforms to facilitate the unlocking knowledge is an embarrassment," he writes. "Canada has a world class Internet infrastructure and has experienced impressive growth in university based research and development.... If Canada is to maintain that growth, we should follow the advice of our new national science advisor. Science and research success depends on tearing down barriers, not erecting them. A national commitment to open access is the right place to start." Hear hear. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Bill Ives: Academic Bloggers – Blog and Perish?, Portals and KM November 7, 2005

More coverage of (the dangers of) academic blogging. Some people still ask, "What is the purpose of broadcasting one's unfiltered thoughts to the whole wired world?" If such a person had followed this forum over the ten years of its existence, they would have no such question. And they understand why running the risk of being wrong, or appearing stupid, in public is well worth the reward. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Jenny Levine: Digital Utes, The Shifted Librarian November 7, 2005

Another Pew report (is this a new one? I've lost track - they must be paid by the piece). The usual: "12 to 17-year-olds look to web tools to share what they think and do online. It also said they were much more likely than adults to read and have a weblog. The report found that those who did have blogs were far more likely to remix and share music and images." Summary with links to articles and commentary. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Dick Hardt: Identity 2.0, OSCON 2005 November 7, 2005

I have been sitting on this widely circulated video for a while, waiting to actually view it before passing it along in this list. Now that I actually have viewed it, I can pass it along with an enthusiastic recommendation. Much of what the author, Dick Hardt, says about identity has been echoed in these pages. Moreover, the 2.0 of Identifty 2.0 is the same as the 2.0 of e-learning 2.0 - it means an end to walled gardens, user control, transparent access to resources. More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Adam Bosworth: Learning from The Web, ACM Queue November 7, 2005

I think this is a pretty important article, at least, the first half is, because of the advice it gives people who are trying to develop systems and standards. It repeats a mantra I have been known to utter on occasion: learn from the web. What, specifically? Well, things like this: "Simple, relaxed, sloppily extensible text formats and protocols often work better than complex and efficient binary ones." because they're easier to use, and when you want abillion people to use something, it needs to be easy. More...