Scholarly Kitchen Podcast: Making Sense of MOOCs
An interview with the University of Utah librarian and Scholarly Kitchen Chef Rick Anderson about the potential impact of Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
Observations from the SSP Annual Meeting — Dogma, Domination vs. Disruption, and Working to Scale
As Day 1 of the SSP Annual Meeting draws to a close, a few ideas seemed worth sharing.
Internet Trends 2013 — Growth in Iran, Gaps in Mobile Ads, and Dogs Caught Using the Internet
The 2013 Internet trends are worth examining, as they turn an iconic Internet cartoon on its head, among other things.
Joining a CHORUS, Publishers Offer the OSTP a Proactive, Modern, and Cost-Saving Public Access Solution
A proposed partnership between publishers and the US government in response to the OSTP memorandum may show the way forward for public-private networked information solutions.
Austerity Research — When Ideology and Polemicism Overwhelm Facts and Logic
An economics paper’s failings in substance and pre-publication and post-publication processes holds many lessons, not the least of which is about the poisonous environment of discourse we have allowed to form.
The Personality of a Publisher
While we tend to think of publishing as an attempt to make objectively true comments about the quality of research, in fact publishing is driven by personality. Services that try to eliminate such personality are likely to see personality reassert itself in other ways.
A History of Intellectual Property in the United States
Intellectual property in the United States — not an ideal topic for a podcast . . . or is it? This episode of BackStory with the American History Guys is compelling on many levels.
True Innovation Requires Knowledge — The Myth of the Naïve Disruptor and the Marginalization of Staff
The myth of the naive outsider is persistent and powerful, but even expert outsiders aren’t the only possible source of knowledge. What about the expert insider? What if most of your insiders are experts in some surprising way?
The Time Machine Investigates the First-sale Doctrine
The first-sale doctrine was a key component of the print world, but now many people want to extend this doctrine to digital media. Such a move would likely change the nature of content to make it less shareable.
Predators and Prey — The Plot Thickens
Strange comments emerge after a post about Beall’s list of “predatory” publishers appears, many of which attribute sentiments to people falsely.
Merger — The Consolidation Wave Hits Two Publisher Associations
Consolidation among publishers has been a trend for more than 30 years. Mergers may be gargantuan, such as the announcement last fall of Random House and Penguin, or they may be very small. Mergers and acquisitions have taken place across […]
Impact Crater — Does DORA Need to Attack the Impact Factor to Reform How It Is Used in Academia?
A new declaration to improve research assessment practices shoots wide of the mark and reveals some misunderstandings on behalf of many of those involved.
Talking Sense — The Myth of "Job Creators," and Why Taxing the Rich Helps Everyone, Including the Rich
The limits of tax breaks for the rich and the myth of “job creators” are examined in this excellent TED Talk.
Turbulence at PLoS — Two Key Executives Leave in Apparent Haste, Chairman of eLife Named New CEO
More on the shake-up at PLoS — how rare these types of departures are, why a board might make such a move, and how unsatisfactory every scenario but the most obvious becomes once you begin to run scenarios.
Redundant and Expensive – How F1000 Research’s Model Reveals the Root Problems of PubMed Central
More internal PubMed Central emails show quite clearly that PMC is wasting taxpayers’ money solving problems publishers have already solved.