Ipad redux, this time for digital textbooks

My husband's students prefer to buy his book on the list of recommended books. They know that his lecture notes are the basis of the book. When he taught summer school at the University of Victoria, there was no recommended text for the course so they asked him to write one! He did. Unfortunately, it took ten years to write. Have a stroll through the second edition:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=e5d8_CSaS34C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Structure+and+Function+James+Watkins&lr=&cd=1#v=onepage&q&f=false

No, not at all. They choose a school, pay the tuition. Then somebody comes and tells them to buy this particular book.

This isn't as abstruse as you're keep trying to twist it.

Nobody said random.

What I said was, and you've been fidgeting around with all this crap is that if consumers are being compelled to buy a certain product, it's a rigged market.

You might be the only person outside the Commnist Bloc who has trouble accepting that.

Yes, people generally think rigged markets are not a good thing for the consumer, and benefit the seller.
So do you, actually, you're just digging in your squirmer on this one because you think it's something that works "the other direction".

It's like a "captive clientele"... that's why hamburgers cost ten bucks in airports. Benefit of seller, detriment to consumer.

This is pretty basic.

I don't know why you think I'd be "proposing an alternative". (Actually you don't think that: it's another squirm. And a logical fallacy. What is it you teach, again?)

But when you have a market rigged up, it's really naive (or selectively myopic) to think it won't be exploited. And that those who rig the market and those who sell to it won't work together for mutual benefit.

Again, pretty basic.

[

No. The student has no choice.

If you choose to feel there is no mutual pressure/enriching between the academic community and the publishing community to exploit this compulsory market, that's fine. One sees what one sees.
But I have seen a lot to persuade me otherwise.
Like I say, it's almost inevitable that such a captive market would be exploited. But I doubt you'd hear it in the faculty lounge.

"Exploitation" doesn't mean "harmed". As in the sentence, "The colonists moved to exploit the rich forest and hydro resources of the area."

Just WHAT IS IT you teach?????? (Again) If it's English or economics or logic, I'm glad I don't go wherever it is.

The funny thing is, I've been in discussions about that whole academic/industrial complex on textbooks before and nobody has ever, once voiced the idea that it isn't a reality, just like the coziness between Big Pharm and doctors.

But maybe that's because there was never anybody in the discussion before that's both on a faculty and also working for textbook publishers.

[

Ah, so you're saying it's just a matter of degree?

I was just trying to get by your "who's being harmed" squirm and reminding you of the word usage.

It's hard to harm students. They buy and study one book, the other, doesn't matter: all they have to do is pass a test and pile up enough logs to get a degree.

That doesn't mean that it's not a rigged-up market full of cozy deals.
Like I say, you're the first person I've run into naive enough to deny that.


Oh, you don't work for a publishing company? So the paychecks you keep posting and ranting about and all the textbooks you claim to write aren't for real?

There's been some conjecture on that.

And if you're writing those textbooks for free, I'd add Business to the lists of subjects I hope to hell you aren't teaching.

[quote="LC"]

Shelagh wrote:

My husband's students prefer to buy his book on the list of recommended books. They know that his lecture notes are the basis of the book. When he taught summer school at the University of Victoria, there was no recommended text for the course so they asked him to write one! He did. Unfortunately, it took ten years to write. Have a stroll through the second edition:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=e5d8_CSaS34C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Structure+and+Function+James+Watkins&lr=&cd=1#v=onepage&q&f=false[/quote]

Hey, Shelagh, I just took a look, what an impressive book! When did it go into a second edition? Are the drawings the same as in the first? I think you said he did them all, right? Wow!

Does it have a lot of adoptions?

btw: apple up another 4 points today, on top of 14 points yesterday.

The RRP for the book is $79 so students must really want the book if they are prepared to fork out that much money. It is a beautiful book. My husband did all the drawings for the first edition. The drawings were sent to professional illustrators to re-draw for the second edition. I may not be very successful in my writing but I'm married to a very successful textbook author:

http://www.graduateswales.ac.uk/staff/academic/Engineering/watkinsjames/

$79 is cheap for a text like that. What do the students use instead for the class? Why isn't it required reading?

As a matter of fact, you DID post a check from a publishing company here. I'm sure many remember it, you made a real scene about it.

And if you are trying to say "they paid me for work, but I don't work for them" I just gotta send you the brass-plated Squirmin' Vermin' award. I'm continually amazed at the stuff you try to smoke by people.

Sorry you haven't gotten any cozy deals. Maybe you need to get cozier?

I don't work for them. I just DO work for them.

Wriggle, wriggle.

Textbook publishers aren't "trade" publishers.
"Trade publishers" don't publish text books.

Squirm, squirm.

4/29/2010

Shelagh..

I was reading your husband's book,
he did one fantastic job, very informative about
the human skeleton, congratulations...


Cheers..Joe

Thanks Joe! The second edition is a big improvement on the first: more content, attractive layout, colour illustrations. It was well worth all the effort!

... and here's a review:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WFR-4YR8B03-2&_user=10&_coverDate=03%2F31%2F2010&_rdoc=12&_fmt=high&_orig=browse&_srch=doc-info%28%23toc%236801%232010%23999799998%231936699%23FLA%23display%23Volume%29&_cdi=6801&_sort=d&_docanchor=&_ct=14&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=de752697851d2832993ff27b372c477c