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A Question of Control
Why tech companies limit consumers鈥 ability to fix their devices
The objects we buy—from cars to computers to cellphones—have become harder to repair. That鈥檚 by design, said Aaron Perzanowski, JD, author of the new book, The Right to Repair (Cambridge University Press).
Manufacturers are consciously making do-it-yourself fixes or repairs by independent shops challenging, if not impossible, said Perzanowski, the John Homer Kapp Professor of Law at the 星空传媒 School of Law.
Perzanowski writes for a general audience, examining how and why objects that previously could be fixed or modified have slowly become black boxes that can be serviced only by approved technicians.
鈥淐ompanies can make more by selling you a new product every few years,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut the other piece of it is that new technologies have really enabled this to happen.鈥 With the software that鈥檚 in almost every device, he added, manufacturers can limit the repairs made, the parts used and even who can open a device.
Perzanowski wants to see more legislation requiring repair rights and consumer-friendly education. He believes manufacturers should provide easily accessible repair information before people buy, that 鈥渞epairability scores鈥 developed by consumer or government agencies should factor into purchasing decisions, and that high schools should offer classes to help cultivate a repair-it-yourself mindset.
While change won鈥檛 happen overnight, nearly half of all states have introduced 鈥渞ight to repair鈥 legislation, Perzanowski said. And last July, President Joe Biden issued an executive order aimed at limiting manufacturer repair restrictions.
Perzanowski is cautiously optimistic. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not going to be a day when the fight is over,鈥 he said, 鈥渂ut... we鈥檙e slowly moving in the right direction.鈥
Honor (Algonquin Books) by Thrity Umrigar, PhD, a Distinguished University Professor and novelist. Academy-award winning actress, producer and entrepreneur Reese Witherspoon chose Honor as the January selection for her book club, writing on Instagram that the novel tells a 鈥減owerful story鈥 with characters who 鈥渟tick with you long after you turn the pages.鈥
In the book, Indian American journalist Smita returns to her native India to write about Meena, a Hindu woman brutally attacked by family members for marrying a Muslim man.
Honor follows the two women as Meena faces an uncertain courtroom fate and Smita contends with cultural values at odds with her own beliefs and a traditional male-dominated society that had hijacked the word 鈥渉onor鈥 to justify the abuse and murder of women.
Umrigar was born in urban India and raised to prize women鈥檚 education and independence.
In an essay published on Reese鈥檚 Book Club website, Umrigar wrote that her respect for women who persisted against insurmountable odds gave birth to Meena.
And, she explained, she wanted to reclaim the word 鈥渉onor鈥 in the novel for the people to whom it belongs—those who allow their love to blind them to surrounding bigotry and 鈥渨ho transcend their own upbringing to imagine a new and better world.鈥
Aging with a Plan: How a Little Thought Today Can Vastly Improve Your Tomorrow (First Hill Books) by Sharona Hoffman, JD, SJD, a university alumna, the Edgar A. Hahn Professor of Law and co-director of the Law-Medicine Center at 星空传媒.
The book examines the issues that people face at the prospect of aging and caring for elderly relatives. Hoffman provides recommendations for building sustainable social, legal, medical and financial support systems. She wrote the book after seeking strategies to adopt in her own life. This second edition is fully revised and updated with new studies, statistics and content that includes COVID-19鈥檚 impact.
What Works to Promote Inclusive, Equitable Mixed-Income Communities (San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank), edited by Mark Joseph, PhD, the Leona Bevis and Marguerite Haynam Professor in Community Development and founding director of the National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities (NIMC) and Amy Khare, PhD, a research assistant professor and NIMC鈥檚 research director. With more than three dozen essays, the book explores how mixed-income communities can address poverty, racial disparities, segregation and other challenges. It also proposes best practices for developing inclusive, equitable neighborhoods where residents can experience belonging and opportunity.