<< Chapter < Page Chapter >> Page >

Social psychologists have also thought deeply about the potent grip of these Idols of the Tribe. They are aware of how cultural norms establish and propagate themselves, and tell us how the imposition of limits creates hierarchies of recognition. Thinking in their way, along with the way the web works, one potential solution on the demand side might come not from the scarcity of production, as it did in a print world, but from the scarcity of attention. That is, value will be perceived in any community-accepted process that narrows the seemingly limitless texts to read or websites to view. Again, curation becomes more important than publication once publication ceases to be limited.

The idols of the marketplace

Price’s frank discussion of sustaining digital projects like the Whitman Archive and Civil War Washington shows two paths to success. The former has had a strong series of funding and is building an endowment; the latter, sweat equity and a good home in an established digital humanities center. Similarly, I have become increasingly convinced that sustainability is most likely at the high and low ends of digital project cost structures, a conclusion also reached by Ithaka in two recent reports on sustaining digital resources. Nancy L. Maron, K. Kirby Smith, and Matthew Loy, “Sustaining Digital Resources: An On-the-Ground View of Projects Today” (Ithaka Case Studies in Sustainability, July 2009), available at (External Link) ; Kevin Guthrie, Rebecca Griffiths, and Nancy Maron, “Sustainability and Revenue Models for Online Academic Resources” (Strategic Content Alliance/Ithaka, May 2008), available at (External Link) .

On the low end, advances in creating, hosting, and maintaining a website have come down sharply over the last decade. Even if Price did not have access to servers and bandwidth at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he and his colleagues working on the site could run it for a few dollars a month and their labor. The advent of high-quality, open-source content management systems such as Drupal, WordPress, and (if I may) Omeka, all of which include plugins for once-complex elements such as maps as well as themes that make them look professionally designed, make it far easier and less costly than it once was to produce a scholarly website.

Of course, as Price notes, there is no free lunch. Many “low cost” digital projects are hosted at digital humanities centers that spread costs (such as running a server) over many projects. The time given by faculty and technical staff—often at the margins of their “regular” work—add up to significant hidden costs that can become troubling if staff move on or the center loses overall funding. On the other hand, the act of freely giving labor is a time-honored way of supporting scholarship. We already give our free labor for the peer review of books and articles. Ithaka also points to “in-kind support from host institutions,” “outsourcing and partnerships,” and “harnessing volunteer efforts” (evidently under consideration by Price and the Civil War Washington Project) as ways to minimize direct costs and do it on the cheap. Maron et al., “Sustaining Digital Resources,” 17-20.

Questions & Answers

what is mutation
Janga Reply
what is a cell
Sifune Reply
how is urine form
Sifune
what is antagonism?
mahase Reply
classification of plants, gymnosperm features.
Linsy Reply
what is the features of gymnosperm
Linsy
how many types of solid did we have
Samuel Reply
what is an ionic bond
Samuel
What is Atoms
Daprince Reply
what is fallopian tube
Merolyn
what is bladder
Merolyn
what's bulbourethral gland
Eduek Reply
urine is formed in the nephron of the renal medulla in the kidney. It starts from filtration, then selective reabsorption and finally secretion
onuoha Reply
State the evolution relation and relevance between endoplasmic reticulum and cytoskeleton as it relates to cell.
Jeremiah
what is heart
Konadu Reply
how is urine formed in human
Konadu
how is urine formed in human
Rahma
what is the diference between a cavity and a canal
Pelagie Reply
what is the causative agent of malaria
Diamond
malaria is caused by an insect called mosquito.
Naomi
Malaria is cause by female anopheles mosquito
Isaac
Malaria is caused by plasmodium Female anopheles mosquitoe is d carrier
Olalekan
a canal is more needed in a root but a cavity is a bad effect
Commander
what are pathogens
Don Reply
In biology, a pathogen (Greek: πάθος pathos "suffering", "passion" and -γενής -genēs "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is anything that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ. The term pathogen came into use in the 1880s.[1][2
Zainab
A virus
Commander
Definition of respiration
Muhsin Reply
respiration is the process in which we breath in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide
Achor
how are lungs work
Commander
where does digestion begins
Achiri Reply
in the mouth
EZEKIEL
what are the functions of follicle stimulating harmones?
Rashima Reply
stimulates the follicle to release the mature ovum into the oviduct
Davonte
what are the functions of Endocrine and pituitary gland
Chinaza
endocrine secrete hormone and regulate body process
Achor
while pituitary gland is an example of endocrine system and it's found in the Brain
Achor
what's biology?
Egbodo Reply
Biology is the study of living organisms, divided into many specialized field that cover their morphology, physiology,anatomy, behaviour,origin and distribution.
Lisah
biology is the study of life.
Alfreda
Biology is the study of how living organisms live and survive in a specific environment
Sifune
Got questions? Join the online conversation and get instant answers!
Jobilize.com Reply

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Online humanities scholarship: the shape of things to come. OpenStax CNX. May 08, 2010 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11199/1.1
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Online humanities scholarship: the shape of things to come' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask