scholarly journals Perverse incentives: How the reward structures of academia impede scholarly communication and good science

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Gowers
Keyword(s):  
Current System ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Scholarly Communication ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Good Science ◽  
Widespread Agreement ◽  
Perverse Incentives ◽  
Communication Practices

Watch the VIDEO here.There is widespread agreement that our practices of scholarly communication are a long way from being optimal, and that this has become particularly true in the last twenty years. In principle, the internet should make dissemination almost free and allow for new forms of communication such as "grey literature" and the sharing of data. And yet, while the internet has undoubtedly changed all our lives for the better, articles in conventional and extremely expensive journals continue to be the dominant means of communication, and it has proved to be very difficult to change the system to take advantage of the new opportunities. I shall discuss the various incentives that give the current system its robustness, and make a few suggestions for how they can be weakened. To do this I shall draw on my own experiences of campaigning for change, and also report on some important changes that have already taken place in the communication practices of mathematicians. 

Communicative Transformation of Professional Values of Modern Scientific Communities

Communicology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-24
Author(s):  
A.S. Proskurina
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Professional Ethics ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Professional Values ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Scientific Communities ◽  
Neoliberal Reforms ◽  
Communication Practices ◽  
The Relationship

Today ethics is embodied not only in day-to-day life, but also in the communication that surrounds it. The study of communication in professional communities makes it possible to determine the relationship between declared and practically embodied values in work. Ethical attitudes are not only postulates embedded in ethical codes, but also principles of interaction embodied in the construction of the information space and decision-making. Features of modern communications influence the way professional ethics is structured, which, in turn, affects its content and practical implementation. The communication through the Internet makes scientific work performative, filling it with symbols and labels. Increasingly, communication practices have to be carried out around indicators, and thus communication becomes a conductor of neoliberal reforms in scientific work. Therefore, the consequence of modern forms of communication is the forced utilitarianism of ethics associated with the need to compete in the “scientific market”. The article suggests possible ways to overcome the contradictions of communicative transformations of professional values.

scholarly journals Electronic Documents in a Print World: Grey Literature and the Internet

2012 ◽  
Vol 143 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Online Publishing ◽  
Electronic Documents ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Post War

Reports and documents from government and other organisations have existed for centuries, but in the post-war period their production increased significantly. Computers, databases, desktop publishing software and the internet have revolutionised the ways documents can be produced and disseminated, allowing individuals, groups and organisations access to a whole new world of information. The result has been an explosion in online publishing that has transformed scholarly communication. Research reports – or grey literature as they are also known – are now an essential part of many disciplines, including science and technology, health, environmental science and many areas of public policy. While access to these reports has become easier in many respects, online publishing presents many challenges as well, particularly for collecting organisations faced with the task of adapting their systems. The management of grey literature raises many issues that are still not resolved today. This article provides some background to these ongoing challenges in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe.

scholarly journals Open Science in the Humanities, or: Open Humanities?

Publications ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Knöchelmann
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Scholarly Communication ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Research Practices ◽  
Open Research ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
Communication Practices ◽  
Do So

Open science refers to both the practices and norms of more open and transparent communication and research in scientific disciplines and the discourse on these practices and norms. There is no such discourse dedicated to the humanities. Though the humanities appear to be less coherent as a cluster of scholarship than the sciences are, they do share unique characteristics which lead to distinct scholarly communication and research practices. A discourse on making these practices more open and transparent needs to take account of these characteristics. The prevalent scientific perspective in the discourse on more open practices does not do so, which confirms that the discourse’s name, open science, indeed excludes the humanities so that talking about open science in the humanities is incoherent. In this paper, I argue that there needs to be a dedicated discourse for more open research and communication practices in the humanities, one that integrates several elements currently fragmented into smaller, unconnected discourses (such as on open access, preprints, or peer review). I discuss three essential elements of open science—preprints, open peer review practices, and liberal open licences—in the realm of the humanities to demonstrate why a dedicated open humanities discourse is required.

scholarly journals Mixed Method Study Examines Undergraduate Student Researchers’ Knowledge and Perceptions About Scholarly Communication Practices

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Melissa Goertzen
Keyword(s):  
Data Management ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Student ◽  
Review Process ◽  
Peer Review Process ◽  
Scholarly Communication ◽  
Student Researchers ◽  
Communication Practices ◽  
The Impact

A Review of: Riehle, C. F., & Hensley, M. K. (2017). What do undergraduate students know about scholarly communication?: A mixed methods study. Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 17(1), 145–178. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/pla.2017.0009 Abstract Objective – To examine undergraduate student researchers’ perception and understanding of scholarly communication practices and issues. Design – Mixed method study involving a survey and semi-structured interviews. Setting – Two major undergraduate universities in the Midwest region of the United States. Subjects – Undergraduate students who participated in or had completed undergraduate research experiences with faculty mentors. Method – The method was first approved by Institutional Review Board offices at both campuses involved in the study. Then, students received invitations to participate in a survey via email (Campus 1 = 221 students; Campus 2 = 345 students). Identical online surveys ran separately on each campus; both remained open for a period of three weeks. All respondents received a reminder email one week before the survey closed. Participants answered twelve questions related to demographics and scholarly communication practices. The survey examined knowledge and experience across five areas: the peer review process, author and publisher rights, publication and access models, impact of research, and data management. All students who completed the survey were entered in a drawing for a $50 Amazon card. The response rates were 34.8% (Campus 1) and 18.6% (Campus 2). Surveys on both campuses were administered using different software: campus 1 utilized Qualtrics survey software while campus 2 used an institution-specific survey software. Data sets were normed and merged later in the study to enable comparison and identify broad themes. Survey respondents were also invited to participate in a 15 to 20 minute follow-up interview and were compensated with a $20 Amazon gift card. The interviews consisted of four open-ended questions that further examined students’ knowledge of scholarly communication practices. The researchers coded interview transcripts and identified themes. Qualitative software was used to analyze the surveys and assess coder agreement. Finally, connections and anomalies between survey and interview results were explored. Main Results – Quantitative and qualitative data collected during the study indicate that students were most confident in their understanding of the peer-review process and data management but felt less confident in their knowledge of author and publisher rights, publication and access models, and determining the impact of scholarly research publication. In addition, they value instruction related to scholarly communication topics like the peer-review process, publication models, and data management. However, few students feel confident in their current level of knowledge or ability surrounding the previously mentioned topics. Study findings suggest that this knowledge gap is based on a lack of training or discussion of scholarly communication topics in relation to students’ research activities. Results also suggest that undergraduate students have difficulty articulating their rights as authors and their scholarly communication practices. In many cases, skill sets like data management are learned through trial and error while students progress through the research process. In some cases, faculty mentors have misperceptions and assumptions about undergraduate students’ knowledge and abilities regarding scholarly communication practices. This can create challenges for undergraduate students as they attempt to make informed decisions about research activities based on a limited foundation of experience or information. Finally, results indicate that undergraduate student researchers do not currently view the library as a place to learn about scholarly communication practices. The authors suggest that by forming strategic relationships with undergraduate research program directors, faculty, and graduate student mentors, librarians are in a prime position to incorporate scholarly communication practices into information literacy sessions or provide point-of-need coaching. Conclusion – The researchers conclude that academic libraries are in a unique position to support overarching research, teaching, and learning goals within the academic community. By developing programs that support information literacy and scholarly communication, libraries demonstrate value and align goals with teaching and learning priorities within the higher education community as a whole. Through this work, librarians support students as knowledge creators and advocate for training that emphasizes data literacy, copyright and authors’ rights, and the impact of research within specific disciplines.

scholarly journals Assessing the Role of Big Data and the Internet of Things on the Transition to Circular Economy: Part I : An extension of the ReSOLVE framework proposal through a literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Cattelan Nobre ◽  
Elaine Tavares
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Internet Of Things ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Statistical Tool ◽  
The Internet Of Things

The debate about circular economy (CE) is increasingly present in the strategic agenda of organisations around the world, being driven by government agencies and general population pressures, or by organisations’ own vision for a sustainable future. This is due in part to the increasing possibility of turning original theoretical CE proposals into real economically viable initiatives, now possible with modern technology applications such as big data and the internet of things (IoT). Information technology (IT) professionals have been called upon to incorporate technology projects into their strategic plans to support their organisations’ transition to CE, but a structured framework with the necessary IT capabilities still lacks. This study focuses on taking the first step towards this path, by extending the technology attributes present on the existing Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) Regenerate, Share, Optimise, Loop, Virtualise and Exchange (ReSOLVE) framework. The research was conducted based on an extensive literature review through 226 articles retrieved from Scopus® and Web of ScienceTM databases, which were triangulated, validated and complemented with content analysis using the ‘R’ statistical tool, grey literature research and inputs from specialists. Part I describes the introduction and methods used in this study.

Between Individuality and Collectiveness

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia Kavada
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Global Justice ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Global Justice Movement ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Unity In Diversity ◽  
Communication Practices ◽  
Use Of The Internet

Decentralized and internally diverse, the Global Justice Movement (GJM) is thought to be influenced by its use of the internet. Operating in an environment characterized by the conditions of globalization and late modernity, the movement strives to be a collective that accommodates individual difference. Focusing on the organizing process of the European Social Forum, this article examines the role of email lists and physical meetings in realizing this ‘unity in diversity’. Based on interviews with movement activists and a content analysis of three email lists, this article examines how online and face-to-face communication practices engender different dynamics in terms of individuality and collectiveness. While communication on email lists tends to afford divergence, diversity, and individual autonomy, face-to-face contact enables convergence, unity and the affirmation of the collective. Thus, it is the combination of those two modes of communication that helps the movement to fuse seemingly opposing dynamics.

scholarly journals Basic astronomy as part of a general higher education in the developing world

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (SPS5) ◽  
pp. 257-262
Author(s):  
John Baruch ◽  
Dan Hedges ◽  
James Machell ◽  
K. Norris ◽  
Chris Tallon
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Current System ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Astronomy Education ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Robotic Telescopes ◽  
Robotic Telescope

AbstractThis paper describes a new initiative in support of the aim of Commission 46 of the IAU to develop and improve astronomy education at all levels throughout the world. This paper discusses the ideal specification of a facility to support basic astronomy within education programmes which are delivered to students who have access to the Internet. The available robotic telescopes are discussed against this specification and it is argued that the Bradford Robotic Telescope, uniquely, can support many thousands of users in the area of basic astronomy education, and the resource is free.Access to the Internet is growing in the developing world and this is true in education programmes. This paper discusses the serious problems of delivering to large numbers of students a web based astronomy education programme supported by a robotic telescope as part of a general education. It examines the problems of this form of teaching for teachers who have little experience of working with IT and little knowledge of basic astronomy and proposes how such teachers can be supported.The current system (http://www.telescope.org/) delivers astronomy education in the language, culture and traditions of England. The paper discusses the need to extend this to other languages, cultures and traditions, although for trainee teachers and undergraduates, it is argued that the current system provides a unique and valuable resource.

scholarly journals The Benefits and Savings from Publicly Funded Clinical Trials of Prescription Drugs

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 731-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean Baker
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Prescription Drugs ◽  
Current System ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
Publicly Funded ◽  
The Public ◽  
Drug Companies ◽  
Perverse Incentives ◽  
Lower Drug ◽  
Clinical Drug

The current system of financing for clinical drug trials creates numerous perverse incentives. Since the trials are typically performed or controlled by the company who owns the patent, it has enormous incentives to report positive findings and conceal results that indicate the drug might be ineffective or even harmful. In addition, the large patent rents earned by drug companies are justified by the need to recoup research costs, approximately half of which are attributable to clinical trials. This article outlines a system of publicly financed clinical trials under which all results are fully available to the public. The system would be financed by paying lower drug prices under the Medicare drug program and other public health care programs.

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