More eLife Articles on PubMed Central — The Government Subsidy Continues
More articles are published by PubMed Central at the behest of eLife. It seems taxpayer-funded publishing is just fine for this new group.
CC-Huh? Fundamental Confusions About the Role of Copyright and the Reuse of Data
A fundamental confusion between articles and data leads to a call for more CC licenses and less copyright. But why are data being closed down while articles are being opened up? Is there a fundamental misunderstanding of copyright, licensing, and rights?
Competition, Value, and Sustainability — Why This Can't Go On
Value-based pricing of unique journal products may make sense from a revenue perspective, but not from a sustainability perspective. What are the options?
Authors Aren't Scientists, Scientists Are Authors — Why Catering to a Role Can Inhibit Robust Publishing
“Author-service” journals sound like a straightforward proposition, but when you contemplate how authorship is a minority activity by a minority of practicing scientists and science practitioners, it becomes much less clear that author service is enough to support robust publishing practices.
Mapping the Flow of Rejected Manuscripts
A study of the flow of manuscript submissions reveals a highly structured and efficient network of scientific journals where peer-review plays a critical role in the improvement and slotting of papers.
The New Wave of Gold OA Journals
The flood of OA journals and publishers continues worldwide, but the number of articles is still small in any field.
Are Open Access Initiatives "Catastrophic" for Commercial Publishers?
An analyst frets that Elsevier might suffer from the trends in OA publishing and its mandates. But there’s no logical or practical reason to believe this.
Are University Block Grants the Right Way to Fund Open Access Mandates?
While block grants may be a preferred way to disperse money to fund public access mandates, their actual use may cause problems for researchers and universities.
(Re)Defining the Library, Part 1: Why?
With changes in the scholarly communications world, many old questions for the library are unsettled once again, and many news ones arise. In this first part of a two-part post, we’ll ask the questions.
Bury Your Writing — Why Do Academic Book Chapters Fail to Generate Citations?
Books and book chapters have a competitive disadvantage in citations, but it’s not accessibility that makes the difference — there are more reasons, and more changes needed.
Publicity at eLife — Are Media Embargoes Part of the Plan?
eLife is beginning to accept papers, but is it proper for them to promote papers they’ve accepted without having published the final versions? What will their approach be to media embargoes?
Disruption — Are We Seeing a New Type Emerging in Academic Publishing?
When we hear “disruption” invoked, we think it’s about technology and innovation. What if there are other types of disruption? What if there isn’t a market demanding change, but others demanding disruption?
The Referee Who Wasn’t There: The Ghostly Tale of Reviewer 3
The power and identity of Reviewer 3 springs from the shadows to ensnare the unwanted paper. But is it really a powerful spirit? Or just Dad in a mask?
Driving Innovation: Finding the Balance Between Fair Reward and Profiteering
Vitriol may have obscured important points in a post last week. The growing business strategy of our era is to drive the cost of everyone else’s product to zero in order to make more money from your own product. This imbalance stifles innovation and creation.
Review: "Free Ride: How Digital Parasites are Destroying the Culture Business, and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back"
A recent book tells the story of how technology companies — in the guise of advocates of “open” — have gutted content and culture businesses and the creative ranks that depend on them.