The Narcissism of Social Media — Shameful, Practical, or Just Practice?
While a study of college students finds that social media is viewed as narcissistic, it’s also viewed as practical. Do these “social media natives” have it right?
Naughty Twins and the Impact of Journals
Unethical republication has created a unique opportunity to study the effect of journals on article citations.
Augmented Reality: Print Leverages Desktop Technology
A very interesting way to use print to leverage the technology many of us have on our desks or native in our computers. Is this the dawn of the Age of Augmented Reality?
Text as Interface — The Usability of Words
More than ever, text is a part of the user experience. Do we appreciate the art involved? Has the medium changed the message?
How Much Is Enough? Disagreements About Scale in the Age of Information Abundance
A debate about scale touches on how two players are also ramping up their presence, and how that might topple the status quo.
Think Social Media is a Fad?
A video compilation of data, set to a familiar tune, showing why social media is changing the world.
Free Digital Textbooks Win in California
An initiative to see if free K-12 textbooks in math and science could exist, California tested the waters. The results have been released. They’re surprising, and may portend changes for educational publishers.
The Trouble with Fribbles
Right and left are fundamental relative directions and biological preferences. Do they shape more than just our preferences for handedness?
Ghostwriters & Ghostresearchers: Supernatural Forces in Scholarship
Ghostwriters and unnamed contract researchers might scare up controversy, and frighten away the truth. And they’re only part of the problem.
Diversion, Invention, and Socialized Medicine
A study of social citation reveals diversion, invention, and distortion, and provides a cautionary tale about how socialization of knowledge in medicine can have downsides.
Downloads, Citations, and Positional Effects in the arXiv
When it comes to downloads and citations, position in the arXiv matters, a new study finds.
What It Takes to Run a Blog
How much work is it to run a blog? After 18 months, I think I finally have enough experience to share some insights.
Research4Life’s Dubious Claims and Missing Report
Free scientific journal access programs claims to boost article output in developing countries. A deeper analysis of the data shows otherwise.
The “Article of the Future” — Just Lipstick Again?
Elsevier’s “Article of the Future” prototypes appear, and only spotlight the underlying conceptual problems for a traditional, article-centric publisher.
Challenging Assumptions on Open Access Cost Savings
European countries could save millions of Euros if they switched to open access publishing and self-archiving, a report suggests. But is this report based on valid assumptions?