The New Plugins — What Goals Are the Access Solutions Pursuing?
The apparently different approaches Kopernio, Unpaywall, and Anywhere Access are taking might have a common assumption at their hearts — the status quo.
Revisiting: Six Years of Predatory Publishing
A collection of Scholarly Kitchen posts about Predatory Publishing.
Denialism on the Rocks: It Just Got a Lot Harder to Pretend that Predatory Publishing Doesn’t Matter
Thanks to a major new international research study, it’s no longer possible to pretend that predatory journals are not a serious problem that needs serious attention. The question is: do we have the will to confront it?
A Surveillance System Disguised as a High School Reunion
John Oliver takes Facebook to task for their seemingly insincere apology advertisements.
Little White Lies in Healthcare Publishing
This Guest Post from Phaedra Cress explores the increased acceptance of unethical behavior in scholarly publishing.
Dropping the Hammer — Predatory Publishers Get Pounded by Regulators and the Press
Recent coordinated investigatory journalism articles, along with separate regulatory actions, are squeezing predatory publishers. But are the root causes being addressed?
Guest Post: Safiya Umoja Noble and the Ethics of Social Justice in Information (Part 2)
Jocelyn Dawson and Rebecca McLeod interview Safiya Noble, author of “Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism”.
Hipster Antitrust and Structural Dominance — What Is a Monopoly Now?
Calling something a “monopoly” has been misleading in many cases, but the new economy may require a complete rethinking of the anti-competitiveness created by intermediaries at scale.
The Core vs. the Crowd — Why Barriers to Entry May Help Restore Trust
A history of the rise of coercive media suggests that raising barriers to entry may be a remedy. Could a business model shift do most of the work for us?
How Much Editorial Misconduct Goes Unreported?
Editors are in a position of power to coerce authors to cite their journal and personal papers. Can algorithms help detect misconduct when authors and journal staff are unwilling to speak out?
Interview: The BMJ’s Patient Review Initiative — A Novel Expansion of Peer Review
Kent Anderson looks at an innovative approach to peer review that has expanded, changed review approaches, and impressed authors.
Has Google Become a Journal Publisher?
Google’s journal about artificial intelligence (AI) coming from editors and authors associated with Google and Google Brain raises questions about conflicts, vanity publishing, and Google as a media company.
Sometimes the Reveal is Better than the Magic Trick
You can still be manipulated, even when you know you’re being manipulated.
Is Copyright Piracy Morally Wrong or Merely Illegal? The Malum Prohibitum/Malum in Se Conundrum
Is copyright infringement malum prohibitum (wrong only because it’s prohibited) or malum in se (morally wrong in and of itself)? Interestingly, scholcomm commentators and legal reference materials often characterize it as the former–while both statute and case law treat it like the latter, classifying it as “property theft” and regularly awarding its victims both statutory and punitive damages.
The Race to the Bottom — Short-term Bargains versus Long-term Vitality
Haggling for cheaper content today will certainly have hidden and unpleasant costs — large and small — down the road.