First Monday September 2004

\Dear Reader,

The September 2004 issue of First Monday (volume 9, number 9) is now
available at http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_9/

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Table of Contents

Volume 9, Number 9 - September 6th 2004

Asynchronous discussion groups as Small World and Scale Free Networks
by Gilad Ravid and Sheizaf Rafaeli
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_9/ravid/

Abstract:
What is the network form of online discussion groups? What are the
topological parameters delineating the interaction on such groups? We
report an empirical examination of the form of online discussion
groups. We are interested in examining whether such groups conform to
the Small World and the Scale Free models of networks. Support for
these expectations provides a formal expression of growth, survival
potential and preferential attachment in the connection patterns in
discussion groups. The research questions were tested with a sample
of over 8,000 active participants, and over 30,000 messages. We find
that the social network resulting from discussion groups is indeed a
Scale Free Network, based on In, Out and All Degree distributions. We
also find that, for the same sample, discussion groups are a Small
World Network too. As expected, the clustering coefficients for these
groups differ significantly from random networks, while their
characteristic path lengths are similar to random networks.
Implications of the topology for the design and understanding of
discussion groups include the stability and control of such groups,
as well as their longevity.

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Lost in gallery space: A conceptual framework for analyzing the
usability flaws of museum Web sites
by Paul F. Marty and Michael B. Twidale
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_9/marty/

Abstract:
This article reports on a study which used results from 119
scenario-based evaluations of 36 museum Web sites to develop a
conceptual framework for analyzing the usability flaws of museum Web
sites. It identifies 15 unique dimensions, grouped into five
categories, that exemplify usability problems common to many museum
Web sites. Each dimension is discussed in detail, and typical
examples are provided, based on actual usability flaws observed
during the evaluations. The availability of this conceptual framework
will help the designers of museum Web sites improve the overall
usability of museum Web sites in general.

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Small ads as first steps to Internet business: A preliminary survey
of Cameroon's commercial Internet usage
by David Zeitlyn and Francine Barone
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_9/zeitlyn/

Abstract:
We have surveyed current commercial use of the Internet in Cameroon.
This paper provides some data on Cameroon's presence on the Internet
as an initial means of assessing the impact information technologies
and the Internet have had on local business practices in Cameroon. We
have found some NGOs promoting entrepreneurs and artisan producers to
sell their wares. Alongside tourism and import/export listings, the
use of small ads is predominant. Connectivity via fixed lines remains
a bottleneck impeding expansion. Since mobile phone use is
mushrooming, a suggested solution is the development of SMS-Web
bridges.

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The economics of open source hijacking and the declining quality of
digital information resources: A case for copyleft
by Andrea Ciffolilli
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_9/ciffolilli/

Abstract:
The economics of information goods suggest the need for institutional
intervention to address the problem of revenue extraction from
investments in those resources characterized by high fixed costs of
production and low marginal costs of reproduction and distribution.
Solutions to the appropriation issue, such as copyright, are supposed
to guarantee an incentive for innovative activities at the price of
few vices marring their rationale. In the case of digital information
resources, apart from conventional inefficiencies, copyright shows an
extra vice since it might be used perversely as a tool to "hijack"
and privatise collectively provided open source and open content
knowledge assemblages, even in the case in which the original
information was not otherwise copyrightable. Whilst the impact of
hijacking on open source software development may be uncertain or
uneven, some risks are clear in the case of open content works. The
paper presents some evidence of malicious effects of hijacking in the
Internet search market by discussing the case of The Open Directory
Project. Furthermore, it calls for a wider use of novel institutional
remedies such as copyleft and Creative Commons licensing, built upon
the paradigm of copyright customisation.

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Cons in the panopticon: Anti-globalization and cyber-piracy
by Indhu Rajagopal with Nis Bojin
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_9/rajagopal/

Abstract:
This paper examines the paradox of the digital telecommunications
revolution that augured the transcendence of big business and big
government, but also extended to the World Wide Web the processes of
privatization and commodification. Instead of facilitating
individuals to design, through interactive technology, their own
media and directly express their will, the Internet has come to
embody a panopticon that extends the reach of corporatists. We
discuss the panopticon in the context of the globalizing
cyber-technology, and argue that piracy is an anti-globalization
movement.

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Is copyright necessary?
by Terrence A. Maxwell
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_9/maxwell/

Abstract:
Copyright is a legal mechanism for promotion of useful knowledge.
However, it is not the only means society could use to encourage
information dissemination, and several alternative models have been
suggested over the last 200 years. This article provides the results
of a dynamic simulation of the publishing industry in the United
States from 1800 to 2100, and tests the impact of different
protection schemes on the development of authorship, the publishing
industry, and reader access. It closes with a discussion of
intellectual property information policy decisions that can be
currently made, and their likely impacts on domestic and
international copyright protection.

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Letters to the Editor
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_9/letters/

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