The Referee Who Wasn’t There: The Ghostly Tale of Reviewer 3
The power and identity of Reviewer 3 springs from the shadows to ensnare the unwanted paper. But is it really a powerful spirit? Or just Dad in a mask?
Driving Innovation: Finding the Balance Between Fair Reward and Profiteering
Vitriol may have obscured important points in a post last week. The growing business strategy of our era is to drive the cost of everyone else’s product to zero in order to make more money from your own product. This imbalance stifles innovation and creation.
What Cricket Looks Like to Americans
Yes, American baseball is a subtle game full of grass, dirt, leather, and wood. But if you’re a cricket fan, it can be downright bewildering. This video will show you how we feel about cricket.
Review: "Free Ride: How Digital Parasites are Destroying the Culture Business, and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back"
A recent book tells the story of how technology companies — in the guise of advocates of “open” — have gutted content and culture businesses and the creative ranks that depend on them.
Interview with Fred Dylla, Executive Director and CEO, the American Institute of Physics
An interview with Fred Dylla of the American Institute of Physics, and why funding is at the heart of many issues we currently face.
Altmetrics – Trying to Fill the Gap
With the speed of communication today, researchers, authors, and grant funders are impatient to get an indicator of its value. Waiting 1-3 years for publication and citation seems interminable. Conflating an article’s impact with its journals’ impact creates uncertainty, as […]
Data-mining the Library
Libraries generate a great deal of information about their own processes, including circulation records. Making that information available to others could be the basis for a consortium to share and market such library data.
Complying with the RCUK Mandate . . . Or Not
Every scholarly publisher in the world suddenly has less that a year to decide what to do with article submissions from the UK. The new Research Council UK (RCUK) mandate applies to all articles submitted beginning April 1, 2013. Do […]
Policy, Shmolicy: Many Authors Disregard Self-Archiving Embargoes
When it comes to self-archiving final manuscripts, NIH-funded authors either do not understand–or blatantly disregard–government and publisher policy. What can be done?
Lessons from University Presses — Economics, Spin, Misfits, and Mission
The University of Missouri saga has many lessons for publishers of all types. But perhaps the harshest lesson is that we’re in a tough business.
A Proposed List — 60 Things Journal Publishers Do
An attempt to list a bunch of things journal publishers do. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing.
Echoes of England — European Commission Backs Open Access by 2014 in Statement
The EU follows in lockstep with the UK, with a statement instead of a mandate. Are the gloves about to come off?
How Does Science Progress? By Branching and Leaping, Perhaps
For some time I have been working on a basic model of scientific progress (or, since “progress” is a value-loaded term, a model of how science progresses). It has implications for certain issues related to scientific publication, so I thought […]
The FDA Spies On Its Own Scientists — Cloaks and Daggers Emerge When Scientists and Authorities Clash
A lurid story of intramural hijinks at the FDA shows how far from mission an organization can drift when it gets its priorities wrong.
Predictable Problems — The UK's Move to Open Access
The RCUK announces its OA plans, including a six-month embargo. Now, speculation snaps into reality, and we will see if a number of lurking unintended consequences come to pass.