"Stick to Your Ribs" Posts — Introducing a Feature for Posts With Enduring Quality and Great Taste
A new feature for May — the weekly “Stick to Your Ribs” post will serve delicious favorites from our deep archives.
Positively Predictable — The Multiple Costs of Mindless Studies
The media’s flip coverage of science is certainly a problem — but atheoretical studies are a waste of everyone’s time.
Amazon Continues to Push Book Innovation With Library Lending and Ad-Supported Kindles
Amazon continues to leverage its platform advantages into the e-reading space — this time, with a smart library-oriented move and an equally smart move toward advertising and sponsorship.
Reconsidering the Abstract — Are the Unintended Consequences Mounting?
The abstract is an element of scientific papers we take for granted. Is that a good idea in a networked information environment gravitating to usage-based measures?
Retract This Paper! Trends in Retractions Don't Reveal Clear Causes for Retractions
Does an increase in article retractions signal a corrupt publishing system or just better policing?
Disintermediation and Its Discontents: Publishers, Libraries, and the Value Chain
The disintermediation of publishers and libraries is more difficult than many suppose, as each link in the value chain does in fact add value to the process of scholarly communications.
Unicode, the Video — All 49,000+ Characters in 33 Minutes
The human capacity to make written symbols is truly astounding.
When Bad Science Persists on the Internet
Even when a paper is retracted, free copies of articles still persist in institutional repositories and public websites. Authority for the accuracy of scientific record must keep pace with open access. Fortunately there is a solution.
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love — At Least Not at the American College of Surgeons
An entire issue of a society’s newsmagazine is taken down, and an editor resigns, after a slightly uncomfortable attempt at humor. We’re talkin’ ’bout overreaction.
The iPad 2 — This Time, It's a Keeper
Thinner, lighter, faster, better — this time, I think we’ll keep it.
Google +1 — Google Enters the Social Media Fracas With an Air Assault
Google and Facebook are battling, but looking more and more alike.
Blogging Dangerfield — When Will This Medium Get Some Respect?
Blogging still gets no respect. Is that because we’re more hidebound about our communication advances than the 16th century was?
How the Internet Changed Medical Journals
Publishing supplemental files online now common, but commenting remains rare, a new study reports.
Inkling: Another Digital Textbook Approacheth, But This Time, It Has Friends
A new app for textbooks on the iPad has a lot of backers, and there’s a lot at stake.
The Google Books Settlement: Where Things Stand, and Some Suggestions for What's Next
The Google Books Settlement actually hit its second roadblock this week. Here’s why, and where matter might go from here.