Apomediation: Word of the Day
Disintermediation presupposes the intermediation is the only choice. Maybe apomediation is the destination.
Google Launches Knols
Google Knols launched with a lot of splash, but is it a small fish?
Citations & the Missing Link
A paper examines faulty citations, but the authors are on shaky ground.
Reputation Matters
A new (and flawed) study reveals that reputation matters. In fact, it’s core to scientific expression.
Bulk Publishing Keeps PLoS Afloat
PLoS sees bulk, low-cost publishing as way to financial independence
The “h-index”: An Objective Mismeasure?
A “mystical belief” in simple math and hard numbers like the h-index can mislead smart people.
Britannica’s Tepid Move
Image via Wikipedia Forgive me, but I think the recent news that the Encyclopedia Britannica is adopting a modified Wiki approach reveals not a brave embrace of new online realities, but rather a tepid response to the threat they are […]
The Efficiency of Peer-Review
Recently, Cambridge Economic Policy Associates completed an analysis trying to assess the “hidden” value of peer-review, according to a story in the Times Higher Education. They estimate the value to be £1.9 billion (or about US$3.8 billion), with the UK […]
Wikidemia — Scholarship and the Internet
“Wikidemia” is a term I hadn’t heard before I read this very interesting roundtable discussion from the UPenn Department of Romance Languages. At the heart of the discussion is the notion that scholarship without the Internet and its collaborative tools […]
Is the Age of Anti-Plagiarism Software Upon Us?
Last Friday, the Chronicle of Higher Education ran a story about the emerging anti-plagiarism software marketplace, with CrossRef’s CrossCheck spotlighted. It’s a good story that broadens nicely upon the CrossCheck angle. Defining plagiarism is potentially fraught with difficulty, but it […]
Blog-based Peer Review Experiment: Mixed Results
An experiment in having a book peer-reviewed online has concluded, and the results are detailed in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The book entitled “Expressive Processing: Digital Fictions, Computer Games, and Software Studies,” examines the importance of using software design […]