A literati roundup: New digital archives… Google?s Music Timeline… Twitter data for academics…

Turnitin Put to the Test

Did the plagiarism detection software Turnitin cut “unoriginal writing” by almost 40 percent? Not so fast, one researcher says

E-Reading Rises as Device Ownership Jumps

Source: Pew Research Center From Overview: The proportion of Americans who read e-books is growing, but few have completely replaced print books for electronic versions. The percentage of adults who read an e-book in the past year has risen to 28%, up from 23% at the end of 2012. A

Is Blogging Unscholarly?

After the International Studies Association proposes to ban journal editors from blogging, infuriated faculty members take to their blogs

Google?s Music Timeline: A Visualization of 60 Years of Changing Musical Tastes

The state of music has changed radically in recent years. Of course, the largest change that springs to mind is Napster, the program that made collective musical sharing possible and triggered the inexorable decline in record sales in the early 2000s. Business model aside, however, the music industry has also weathered tremendously volatile changes in taste over the past half-century.

Reflections on the State of Islamic Studies

The prominent scholar Omid Safi has written a commentary on Jadaliyya entitled ?Reflections on the State of Islamic Studies?. It is well worth reading. I attach the beginning paragraphs below.