This Canadian website lists authors whose work has become public domain on 1 January 2008. This will vary country by country but the Internet will probably be introduced to them as early as possible. The list includes works by authors like Walter Runciman, Philip Snowden, Elihu Root, Amelia Earhart (presuming she really died), Maurice Ravel, Alfred Adler, Edith Wharton, and hundreds more.

New study to reveal impact of universities | higher news | EducationGuardian.co.uk The value of higher education in the UK will come under scrutiny this week when a £3m, three-year study into the social and economic impact of British universities is launched at Strathclyde University.

The project will link researchers from 15 institutions to build a national picture of how universities affect life in regions throughout the UK.

It will cover nine research areas, from regional transformation to how universities engage with their local community, and whether students are catalysts for urban and regional growth.

This looks like an interesting study worth watching.

The recent 50th anniversary of the Sputnik launch produced a veritable chorus of reminiscences and soul searching about the past and future of science education in the West.