Copyright Issues

February 25th, 2014  Tagged ,

This week in class we learned about the basic of copyright issues, and fair sharing of digitized information. The question that has been presented in wether or not the Calvin and Hobbes comic in the headers of the syllabus violates copyright laws or not. At first, I assumed that it did not, because a digital historian would not knowingly violate copyright laws. Upon further investigation of the copyright laws of Calvin and Hobbes comics, I discovered that it depends on the year that each comic was published. Calvin and Hobbes was a daily comic strip that was published from 1985 to 1995. Bill Watterson, the creator and artist, fought a long battle to prevent the comic strip from being merchandized, which led to a lot of bootlegging. However, the comic strip series is now registered with Universal Uclick Reprints, and it can be used without permission for all educational purposes, but only in the classroom itself. You can use up to seven comics a year without payment under the fair use policy, but if you need more than seven, you have to pay. Calvin and Hobbes comics can be used in educational purposes for syllabi, overheads, reprinted on tests or exams, passed out for sharing during lectures, or other uses that are strictly IN the classroom.

Using these comics on the syllabus of this website both violates and does not violate copyright laws, because it is is used is a syllabus, however, Calvin and Hobbes comics are not supposed to be reprinted online, on webpages, on the internet, or e-mailed. Because it is an online syllabus, technically it does violate copyright laws.

Demonstration Post

January 27th, 2014

It is the second day of class. We are reviewing the administrative end of wordpress. This is the first full week of school, and hopefully we will not have any snow day cancellations this eek. I want to start the semester. I’m excited for my classes.

The HRC

Today is my second week at the HRC, but my first real day. My boss will actually be back from Amsterdam, and I’ll actually get some real assignments. I spent last Wednesday and Friday essentially getting up to speed, and today I get to truly start my job.

Myself and a short digital autobiography

January 23rd, 2014

Hello there, OnMason!

I am Jess Sturges, a freshman at George Mason University! I’m currently a sociology major, and a hopeful double minor in Non-Profit studies, and Women/Gender Studies with an LGBTQ Studies concentration. I was raised in Georgia, but I moved to Virginia so that I could follow my human rights activism dreams in DC. I am currently an intern with the Human Rights Campaign, and loving every minute of it. I am involved in GMU Hillel, Habitat for Humanity, Pride Alliance, and I enjoy just hanging out with my friends.

My digital autobiography is pretty short, but I do use technology a lot. I am active on Tumblr, because I use it as a way to put my writing/poetry out into the world. It helps me connect to other people who share common issues, ideas, thoughts, and lifestyles. It’s a great place to have debates, share images, text, and audio files. I use the typical social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, texting, etc. I use each of these tools to stay connected to other people, and friends who I do not speak to on a day to day basis. I also use the internet itself a great deal for my job, which involves a lot of searching for information and compiling resources. I use tools such as Wufoo and Excel to create spreadsheets and forms. I use Expression Engine to edit the HRC’s website.

The HRC

The HRC has already expanded my use of various types of technological tools in it’s attempt to touch people, and provide them with resources. As my work with the foundation increases, I will continue to learn new programs and tools.

Hello world!

January 23rd, 2014

Welcome to onMason. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!