Acland's DVD Atlas of Anatomy.

[NorthernLight]

I don't know where this sits on the philosophical spectrum, but there's a difference between "can't afford to buy" and "choose to spend my money on other things even though said DVD will be an invaluable aid to my learning."

[chicken66]

Warwick have Acklands available for students to use/download as well. Might be worth asking your uni if they also have it, or something similar

[Madimi]

Originally Posted by NorthernLight

I don't know where this sits on the philosophical spectrum, but there's a difference between "can't afford to buy" and "choose to spend my money on other things even though said DVD will be an invaluable aid to my learning."

Ah well, that's a good point! Personally I am very impoverished and just buying one at a time - well worth cutting back for in other areas in my opinion!

[welshdragon291]

anatomy.tv is used at Swansea along with 3D models and lectures from anatomists + clinicians.

All work is relevant to the case of the week

[Bob Acland]

I've been catching up with some of the questions that have been raised here recently. I'd like to respond to some recent comments.

Copyright law makes sure that sales of my Anatomy DVD series lead to a flow of royalty income, that I share with my University. This compensates me somewhat for the ten years I spent making the video series; and it compensates my University, for the ten years it spent supporting me while I did so. Copyright law also ensures a return to the Publisher, on the six-figure investment it made in developing the product. Without the incentives and safeguards that are based on Copyright law, the DVD Atlas of Human Anatomy would never have come into existence.

A member suggested that I must have ethics, and that these must include a willingness to approve the acquisition of this video footage for free. I feel the same way about this, as I would if a stranger stopped me on the street, and told me that I must have ethics, and that these must include my willingness to give him the price of a meal. When the person who made this suggestion begins to earn their own living, I'm sure there will be a change in his or her thoughts on what other peoples' ethics should be.

With regard to an earlier comment about video quality, the videos were shot and edited not in VHS format, but in the high quality analog video format SP Beta, which was the broadcast industry standard back then. The six volumes initially had to be released as VHS tapes, which entailed a serious loss of image quality compared to the original. When the conversion to DVD was made a few years later, the original SP Beta footage was used as the source. The DVDs look as good as the original footage, and markedly better than the VHS version. As someone has commented, the streaming version that many medical schools provide is of much lower quality than the DVDs.

Best wishes,

Bob Acland

[Dr Spike Hilton]

"I feel the same way about this, as I would if a stranger stopped me on the street, and told me that I must have ethics, and that these must include my willingness to give him the price of a meal."

Bad analogy as giving someone the price of a meal will leave you with that much less money. Giving a digital file to someone who otherwise can not acquire it will leave you in the same position as before. Practically speaking though, I'm sure you are right about the ethics thing - was just chancing my arm since I can't spare 200 quid for the foreseeable future!

All the best!

[Pammy]

Originally Posted by Dr Spike Hilton

Bad analogy as giving someone the price of a meal will leave you with that much less money. Giving a digital file to someone who otherwise can not acquire it will leave you in the same position as before. Practically speaking though, I'm sure you are right about the ethics thing - was just chancing my arm since I can't spare 200 quid for the foreseeable future!

Now that's wrong!
He is also left with less money here, as he could have spent the time that he took making the DVDs on another lucrative activity - e.g. giving an hour's private tutorial to a student who pays him for this service, rather than buying his DVD!

It's like saying: imagine you're a pianist and you give a concert to 100 people, you only charge one of them. After all, you are not left with less if another 99 join to listen for free!

You see, this argument doesn't really hold. I think the economic term for this is "opportunity cost" - the cost of missing out on the next best alternative (e.g. giving tutorials).

[Dr Spike Hilton]

Hi there. I disagree.
If a pianist gives a concert in a hall with 100 seats, and only 1 person in town can -genuinely- afford to pay for a ticket, it is a mathematical fact that the pianist will not lose money if he admits 99 people for free. Although it might seem unfair to the person that payed, a utilitarian would say the pianist should admit the people. But it is up to the pianist, and the pianist has spoken in this case haha.
All the best.

[Dr Spike Hilton]

Originally Posted by Pammy

You see, this argument doesn't really hold. I think the economic term for this is "opportunity cost" - the cost of missing out on the next best alternative (e.g. giving tutorials).

I'm sure there are plenty of people / universities who can and have paid for the video which make it more fruitful than if tutorials were given, so that argument is out...

[Pammy]

Originally Posted by Dr Spike Hilton

I'm sure there are plenty of people / universities who can and have paid for the video which make it more fruitful than if tutorials were given, so that argument is out...

Well that's why you pay the university £3000 in fees every year (or the government is kind enough to pay them for you), so that you can have the privilege of accessing valuable teaching materials such as these!

Unfortunately, I don't think your argument holds. Just because you can't pay for something doesn't mean that you're entitled to it for free! All that means is that the cost will go up, and the people who can pay for it automatically pay for you too (the higher price includes the bit you should have paid - just like in public transport). Perhaps you should find someone who has bought the DVD and take them out for a thank-you dinner!