Scholarship in the Digital Age: Information, Infrastructure, and the Internet Review

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Scholarship in the Digital Age: Information, Infrastructure, and the Internet ReviewFINAL REVIEW 22 June 2008
This is not a technical book, it focuses more on the socio-political aspects of how knowledge is communicated among scholars. While it addresses fraud, it does not address the ideological war against science, high crimes and misdemeanors including deliberate lies to the public, or the nuances of "fog facts" and "lost history."
The author brings to this effort past experience in the Alexandria Digital Earth prototype project, and the National Research Council's signposts in cyberspace inquiry.
It would be good to have other reviews.
Overview comment: The author has done an extraordinary job in designing this book--writing it must have been easy once the seven page outline of detailed contents was created.
My notes:
+ National Science Foundation (NSF) did not begin investing in cyber-infrastructure until 2006 (my first web site was created in 1994).
+ Grab this lady for the project. She integrates informaiton science, information psychology, information sociology, information politics, and information culture in a manner so well presented I don't mind the headache.
+ Cites G. C. Bowker on data diversity, and ends the book with the observation that search and retrieval across specialized data sources is till very difficult (See Steve Arnold's chapter , URL in the comment.
+ Words and concepts covered by the author, with substantive citation, that I found particularly interesting:
- Data withholding
- Knowledge diffusion
- Consequences of misconduct
- Cultural memory
- Open standards
- Accidents
- History and sense-making
- Cultural boundaries of science (see Dick Klavans and Brad Ashfords' lovely Maps of Science web site)
- Knowledge lost
- Bibliometrics, data as capital
- Ecologies of knowledge
- Ethnography of infrastructure within communities
- Communities of learning, meaning, identity
- Internet Time and unreliability of search engines
- Geographies of the Internet (the project is mapping substnative knowledge)
- The end of isolated inquiry and isolated conclusions (far future)
- "outcomes" and "results" are not in this book--it is a survey
- book's major self-limitation is its exclusive focus on academia--the other seven tribes of intelligence (government, military, law enforcement, commerce, media, non-profits, and civil societies including religions and labor unions are not addresses at all)
- talk about data intensive science but unwitting of urgency of getting to real-time science (changes that used to take 10,000 years now take 3)
- no discussion of retrospective research
- dismissive of self-publishing
- pre-print lag times to publishing are worse than the government
- peer review is broken (as well as tedious)
- conferences not yet digital
- dissemination, diffusion, publicity, transparency, discourse
- search and dfiscovery very corrupt (see Arnold--less than 2% efficacy)
- publishers losing ground to online (greed is killing them as well)
- termporal patterns and pattern analysis of the aggregate knowledge
Heart of the book is the issue of open access combined with the immaturity of the content, tools, and architecture of the digital world of knowledge. Legal, cultural, and technical obstacles will not be settled soon.
I put this book down with two thoughts: it is a stellar piece of well-documented and well-conceived reflection--and it barely scratches the surface of what can and should be known about scholarship in the digital age, to include call centers in China and India able to teach their respective 1.5 billion poor populations one cell call at a time. Schools and universities are still in the industrial era, half advanced day care and half prison. Knowledge is no longer an academic domain--it is the world brain emergent, with eight tribes of knowledge ignoring one another in 183 languages we don't speak, with the cell phone, not the laptop, as the great equalizer and enabler of the wealth of networks.See also:
The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World
The Age of Missing Information
Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin
Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth'
Forbidden Knowledge: From Prometheus to Pornography
Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West
Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq
Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World
Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at PeaceScholarship in the Digital Age: Information, Infrastructure, and the Internet Overview

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Learning Objects for Instruction: Design and Evaluation Review

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Learning Objects for Instruction: Design and Evaluation ReviewThis book is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to know more about learning objects. Chapters include information on their history, design, reuse, repositories, authoring tools, and more. It includes experts from a variety of backgrounds. The contributors are: Cathleen S. Alfano, Susie L. Henderson, Argiris Tzikopoulos, Nikos Manouselis, Riina Vourikari, Robert R. Saum, David B. Dawson, Ed Morris, Rosemary M. Lehman, Simone C. O. Conceicão, Vanessa P. Dennen, Kevin Oliver, Kira S. King, Pamela T. Northrup, William T. Harrison Jr., Anne-Marie Armstrong, Christine H. Olgren, Patricia Ploetz, Charlotte J. Boling, Tom Cavanagh, Tom Hapgood, Karen L. Rasmussen, Janette R. Hill, Michael J. Hannafin, Arthur Recesso, and Elspeth McCulloch.Learning Objects for Instruction: Design and Evaluation Overview

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How to Build a Digital Library, Second Edition (Morgan Kaufmann Series in Multimedia Information and Systems) Review

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How to Build a Digital Library, Second Edition (Morgan Kaufmann Series in Multimedia Information and Systems) ReviewThere is some really good information in this book regarding the fundamentals, history, theory and practice of building digital libraries. I'd recommend the first half of the book to anybody.
However, the second half of the book is burdened by heavy reliance on the Greenstone software package: a gnarly hack of Perl, C++ and Java code which should be relegated to the software dustbin. It's a shame when quality guidance is burdened by bad software.How to Build a Digital Library, Second Edition (Morgan Kaufmann Series in Multimedia Information and Systems) Overview

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Handbook of Digital Forensics and Investigation Review

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Handbook of Digital Forensics and Investigation ReviewThis book has become one of my three "go to" books when it comes to digital forensics along with Brian Carrier's File System Forensic Analysis and Harlan Carvey's Windows Forensic Analysis DVD Toolkit, Second Edition.
Don't skip Rob Lee's excellent forward to this book. Lee crafts a very concise explanation of how the digital forensics field is growing and evolving.
Eoghan Casey's introduction further expands on the theme with a very thoughtful analysis of the current state of digital forensics and how the scientific method can and should be applied to our field. In this section, Casey begins to bring out one of the primary themes of the first portion of the book which is that there are different aspects to digital forensics that can be summarized in the three main disciplines of traditional forensic analysis, electronic discovery and intrusion investigation.
The first part of the book (chapters two through four) is devoted to exploring the three disciplines by devoting a chapter to each one. These individual chapters are exemplary overviews of each of the disciplines.
Chapter two is one of the finest overviews that I've seen regarding digital forensics. Casey and Curtis Rose provide set what will be a persistent theme in the book which imparting technical information in a very approachable manner, but also in a relatively short amount of space. This chapter builds and expands on Casey's invocation of the scientific method and it's role in forensic analysis via a thorough explanation of forensic analysis that is well illustrated by a sample case scenario created by the authors to help explain their methodology.
Chapter three is a fantastic overview of e-discovery and coupled with chapter two provides an effective answer to the question of what the difference is between electronic discovery and forensic analysis. Chapter three shouldn't be dismissed as an overview, however. The authors put forth quite a bit of effort in explaining some tactical level issues such as how to properly interview an evidence custodian to determine the universe of data that might be relevant to a particular matter and how to use various tools to capture data.
Chapter four provides a detailed overview of intrusion investigations using the incident response life cycle. Similar to chapter three, this chapter not only provides an expert overview of the life cycle, but also provides the reader with tactical level advice such as the use of timeline analysis to assist a responder with an incident handling scenario. Like chapter two, the authors use investigative scenarios to illustrate their points.
The second half of the book is more tactical in nature and will have great appeal to both the experience practitioner and those who are merely curious about digital forensics. As in the first half of this book, the authors and their editor Casey, take great pains to make sometimes very technical information approachable to all audiences.

Chapter five is the section on Windows forensic analysis. Authors Ryan Pittman and David Shaver provide probably the most concise, yet effective overview of Windows forensic analysis that I've read recently especially given the fact that they have just a chapter in which to do their work. At the time the chapter was written, the authors had access to early versions of Windows 7 so the chapter spends a certain amount of time comparing and contrasting the differences between Windows XP compared to Vista\Windows 7. The authors also provide a very effective overview of traditional forensic artifacts such as $MFT artifacts and registry artifacts. While this chapter doesn't serve as a replacement for the Carrier and Carvey books, it's an examplary primer for those just starting in Windows forensic analysis and an excellent "cheat sheet" for more experienced practitioners. This is not to say that the authors are merely rehashing existing data. Far from it. Even an experienced examiner is likely to learn new information by reading their work. They, for example, put a lot of effort into explaining data destruction, file deletion and defragmentation. It's amazing how much content they managed to include in this chapter.
Chapter six continues on the theme of packing a lot of information into a short amount of space, but doing so in an approachable manner. This chapter on UNIX Forensic Analysis includes at it's beginning a very helpful explanation of the Unix and Linux worlds. Like chapter five the authors provide valuable information on the inner workings of file system forensic analysis as well as well as more application level artifacts such as Firefox browser analysis and chat analysis. A nice bonus is that this chapter also covers removable media analysis. Most work that I have seen in this area has been relative to Windows operating systems so it was good to see this content for a non-Windows operating system. The authors also spend quite a few pages on the examination of email artifacts which is also a welcome addition.
Anthony Kokocinski's Macintosh Forensic Analysis makes up Chapter seven. Given that this is a weakness in my individual skill set, I learned an incredible amount from this chapter. Kokocinski continues the overall theme of the book in that he presents his knowledge on the subject in a very approachable manner. Kokocinski also includes a detailed section on popular Mac applications such as Safari, iCal, Mail, etc.
Chapter eight is Ronald van der Knijff's amazing chapter on embedded system analysis. In a book this good, it's hard to pick a chapter that can be considered a highlight, but this chapter would be a top contender. It covers a wide area of devices from traditional technological tools such as cellphones and GPS systems to devices such as parking meters and pacemakers. The chapter provides a solid overview of the various technologies that comprise this wide range of devices, but also delves into tactical matters such as how to preserve and even repair damaged devices that might contain useful data.
Chapter nine is the excellent and extensive network investigation chapter. Like the previous chapters, this is a more tactical treatment of a subject that is introduce earlier in the book and is an excellent overview how to practically apply the themes introduced in chapter four. The chapter includes an overview of TCP/IP networking down that includes an explanation of the structure of an Ethernet frame and TCP/IP packet headers. The authors make extensive use of the Wireshark tool which makes it easy for a student of network investigations to emulate the work being done as part of their overall learning experience. The later portions of the chapter delve into the work of investigating networking technologies such as Cisco routers. The Cisco section includes an overview of how to use Cisco IOS to help facilitate a network investigation.
Chapter ten is an amazing chapter on mobile network investigations put together by Dario Forte and Andrea de Donno. As it's title suggestion, this isn't a chapter on the examination of digital communication devices such as cell phones, but how to understand and investigate the network environments in which they operate. The authors deal with such issues as determining the location of particular devices, what networking data might be available and the interception of data. As one would expect with a chapter such as this, the authors also cover legal issues with an emphasis on relevant EU legislation.
Full Disclosure: While I haven't had the privilege of meeting most of the authors of this excellent book, I'm honored to have connections with some of the authors including, but not limited to, being on a board with Rob Lee and Eoghan Casey.Handbook of Digital Forensics and Investigation Overview

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Networks and States: The Global Politics of Internet Governance (Information Revolution and Global Politics) Review

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Networks and States: The Global Politics of Internet Governance (Information Revolution and Global Politics) ReviewMilton Mueller's "Networks and States: The Global Politics of Internet Governance," continues his exploration of the forces shaping Internet policy across the globe. What Mueller is doing in his work in this book and elsewhere is becoming the early chronicler of the unfolding Internet governance scene. He meticulously reports on, and then deconstructs, ongoing governance developments along the cyber-frontier. He is, in effect, a sort of de Tocqueville for cyberspace; an outsider looking in and asking questions about what makes this new world tick. Fifty years from now, when historians look back on the opening era of Internet governance squabbles, Milton Mueller's work will be among the first things they consult.
Mueller's goal in "Networks and States" is two-fold and has both an empirical and normative element. First, he aims to extend his exploration of the actors and forces affecting Internet governance debates and then develop a framework and taxonomy to better map and understand these forces and actors. He does a wonderful job on that front, even though many Net governance issues (especially those related to domain name system issues and ICANN) can be incredibly boring. Mueller finds a way to make them far more interesting, especially by helping to familiarize the reader with the personalities and organizations that increasingly dominate these debates and the issues and principles that drive their actions or activism.
Mueller's second goal in "Networks and States" is to breathe new life into the old cyber-libertarian philosophy that was more prevalent during the Net's founding era but has lost favor today. Mueller says his "normative stance is rooted in the Internet's early promise of unfettered and borderless global communication, and its largely accidental and temporary escape from traditional institutional mechanisms of control." Mueller makes a convincing case for giving cyber-libertarianism, or what he calls "denationalized liberalism," another chance; a chance that it really never had. "At its core," Mueller continues, "denationalized liberalism favors a universal right to receive and impart information regardless of frontiers, and sees freedom to communicate and exchange information as fundamental and primary elements of human choice and political and social activity." Moreover, "this ideology holds a presumption in favor of networked, associative relations over hierarchical relations as a mode of transnational governance," he argues. "Governance should emerge primarily as a byproduct of many unilateral and bilateral decisions by its members to exchange or negotiate with other members (or refuse to do so)." Finally, he says, "a denationalized liberalism strives to make Internet users and suppliers an autonomous, global polity." In essence, it's about free will, freedom of action, and freedom of association. It's essentially classical liberalism for the Information Age. Mueller admits that "such an ideology needs to answer tough questions about when hierarchical exercises of power are justified and through which instruments they are exercised." But he continues on to make the case for "question[ing] the scope of national sovereignty over communications." "The governance of the Internet needs to explicitly recognize and embrace the principle that there are limits to national sovereignty over the flow of information," he says.
Mueller makes two additional crucial points in formulating his normative approach. First, he argues that from the perspective of Internet governance and individual rights, it is almost impossible to imagine an expansion of global Net governance for speech that does not also entail more significant economic regulation, or vice-versa. Second, he notes that "Denationalized liberalism embraces both property and commons and seeks to leverage their complementarities. It recognizes the coexistence and interdependence of markets, exclusive property rights, and shared/unowned resources in communication and information. It rejects the false idea that commons and property are mutually exclusive, totalizing principles for economic organization, seeing them instead as distinctive methods of organizing access to resources with their own virtues and failings." In other words, a proper understanding of cyber-libertarianism or denationalized liberalism shows that it is fundamentally agnostic as it pertains to proprietary versus commons-based form of production.
Mueller has made a beautiful case for cyber-libertarianism and he has given the movement its marching orders: "In short, we need to find ways to translate classical liberal rights and freedom into a governance framework suitable for the global Internet. There can be no cyberliberty without a political movement to define, defend, and institutionalize individual rights and freedoms on a transnational scale."
Even if you aren't compelled to join the cause, however, I highly recommend you pick up Mueller's "Network and States," anyway. It's a terrific survey of the current state of Internet governance and an important work of political science since it offers us a useful spectrum of Net governance viewpoints. It belongs on the bookshelf of every serious student of cyberlaw and information technology policy.Networks and States: The Global Politics of Internet Governance (Information Revolution and Global Politics) Overview

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