In the years of the Reagan–Bush era, the controversy over ‘political correctness’ erupted on American campuses, spreading to the mainstream media as right-wing pundits like Dinesh D’Souza and Roger Kimball prosecuted their publicity campaign against progressive academics. Michael Bérubé’s brilliant new book explains how and why the political correctness furore emerged, and how the right’s apparent stranglehold on popular opinion about the academy can be loosened. Traversing the terrain of contemporary cultural criticism, Bérubé examines the state of cultural studies, the significance of postmodernism, the continuing debate over multicultural curricula, and the recent revisions of literary history in American studies. Also included is Bérubé’s witty and self-deprecating autobiographical reflection on why interpretive theory has emerged as an indispensable part of education in the humanities over the past decade Public Access insists that academics must exercise more responsibility towards the publics who underwrite but often misunderstand their work and its significance. Taken seriously as a potential audience, Bérubé argues, such publics can be weaned from their present inclination to believe the distortions and half-truths peddled by the right’s ideologues. The goal of such ‘public access’ criticism is not just a better environment for teachers and scholars, but a world in which education itself achieves its proper place in a society committed to equality of opportunity and true critical thinking.

For two decades, Ricky Powell has prowled the streets of his native New York, toured the world with hip hop's biggest acts, and full-on crashed celebrity-studded parties on both coasts. Equipped with only his wits and an instamatic camera, Powell elbowed his way into the center of the scene with no shame. "It's for public access," Powell could be heard, pleading for an interview with a pizza shop owner on his cult cable TV show, "Rappin' with the Rickster."

"This manual provides PACER users with a better understanding of what PACER is and how it works ... The United States Courts designed an electronic public access system called PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) for the U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, and the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals. PACER systems are beneficial for quickly tracking or retrieving accurate information about current federal cases."--Page 1

Presents proceedings of the hearings held in June & July 1996. Testimony from: U.S. Senators, U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth, the U.S. Government Printing Office; Nat. Tech. Info. Service; Government Documents Librarian; Amer. Library Assoc.; Univ. of Pittsburgh; Prof. of Computer Science; Univ. of Virginia; Interactive Services Assoc.; U.S. Nat. Commission on Libraries & Info. Science; Info. Industry Assoc.; ABC Advisors Inc.; LEXIS-NEXIS; Nat. Archives & Records Admin.; Printing Industries of Amer.; Claitor's Law Books; Office of Mgmt. & Budget; Departments of Justice, Commerce, & Interior.

Public venues are vital to information access across the globe, yet few formal studies exist of the complex ways people in developing countries use information technologies in public access places.Libraries, Telecentres, Cybercafes and Public Access to ICT: International Comparisons presents groundbreaking research on the new challenges and opportunities faced by public libraries, community telecentres, and cybercafés that offer public access to computers and other information and communication technologies. Written in plain language, the book presents an in-depth analysis of the spaces that serve underserved populations, bridge "digital divides," and further social and economic development objectives, including employability. With examples and experiences from around the world, this book sheds light on a surprising and understudied facet of the digital revolution at a time when effective digital inclusion strategies are needed more than ever.

A systematic assessment of the impact of public access to computers and the Internet, with findings from developing countries in South America, Asia, and Africa. Shared public access to computers and the Internet in developing countries is often hailed as an effective, low-cost way to share the benefits of digital technology. Yet research on the economic and social effects of public access to computers is lacking. This volume offers the first systematic assessment of the impact of shared public access in the developing world, with findings from ten countries in South America, Asia, and Africa. It provides evidence that the benefits of diversified participation in digital society go beyond providing access to technology. Public access venues—most often Internet cafés in cities and state-run telecenters in rural areas—are places for learning, sharing, working, empowerment and finding opportunities. The book documents the impact of public access on individuals, on society and networks, and on women. Chapters report findings and examine policy implications of research on such topics as users' perceptions of the benefits of Internet café use in Jordan; ICT job training in Rwanda; understanding user motivations and risk factors for overuse and Internet addiction in China; the effect of technology use on social inclusion among low-income urban youth in Argentina; productive uses of technologies by grassroots organizations in Peru; use of technology by migrant ethnic minority Burmese women in Thailand to maintain ties with their culture and their family and friends; and women's limited access to the most ubiquitous type of venue, cybercafés, in practically all countries studied—and quite severely in some places, e.g. Uttar Pradesh, India. Contributing Editors Erwin A. Alampay, Roxana Barrantes Cáceres, Hernan Galperin, Abiodun Jagun, George Sciadas, Ramata Molo Thioune, Kentaro Toyama Chapter authors Ali Farhan AbuSeileek, Carolina Aguerre, Oluwasefunmi 'Tale Arogundade, Nor Aziah Alias, Sebastián Benítez Larghi, Jorge Bossio, Juan Fernando Bossio, Marina Laura Calamari, Nikos Dacanay, Jean Damascène Mazimpaka, Laurent Aristide Eyinga Eyinga, Mary Luz Feranil, Ariel Fontecoba, Omar Fraihat, Martin S. Hagger, Jianbin Hao, Sulaiman Hashim, Izaham Shah Ismail, Haziah Jamaludin, Xuemei Jiang, Laura León, Guoxin Li, Balwant Singh Mehta, Nidhi Mehta, Marina Moguillansky, Marhaini Mohd Noor, Avis Momeni, Théodomir Mugiraneza, Jimena Orchuela, Patricia Peña Miranda, Alejandra Phillippi, Jimena Ponce de León, Ghaleb Rabab'ah, Saif Addeen AlRababah, Wei Shang, Ryan V. Silverio, Sylvie Siyam Siwe, Efenita M. Taqueban, Olga Balbine Tsafack Nguekeng, Xiaoguang Yang