Open Access Publishing

LiquidPublications and its technical and legal challenges

by Judith Simon

Co-authored with: N. Osman, C. Sierra, J. Sabater-Mir, J.R. Wakeling, G. Origgi, R. Casati, published in: Bourcier, D. , Casanovas, P., Dulong de Rosnay, M., Maracke, C.: Intelligent Multimedia: Managing Creative Works in a Digital World, Florence: European Publishing Academic Press. Here is the link to the complete book: http://creativecommons.fr/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/CCiBook_printedversion_IntelligentMultimedia1.pdf

This paper proposes a new paradigm for dealing with scienti c knowledge in general, and publications in particular.... more This paper proposes a new paradigm for dealing with scientic knowledge in general, and publications in particular. The paradigm aims at changing the way in which knowledge is produced, disseminated, evaluated, and consumed.
A formal model is proposed and the issues of credit attribution, copyrights and licensing, which are crucial for the success of any new model, are addressed.

Toward Open Source Scholarship: Academic Whores and Publishing Pimps

by Mark John Isola, Ph.D.

published at Bad Subjects: Political Education for Everyday Life

Swedish National Data Service's Strategy for Sharing and Mediating Data. Practices of Open Access to and Reuse of Research

by Carina Carlhed

Carlhed, C. & Alfredsson, I. (2009). Swedish National Data Service's Strategy for Sharing and Mediating Data. Practices of Open Access to and Reuse of Research. IASSIST QUARTERLY, vol. 32, Spring/Winter 2008, No 1-4, Pp 30-39

This paper begins with a description of the current key actors in Sweden, which are promoting research infrastructure... more This paper begins with a description of the current key actors in Sweden, which are promoting research infrastructure and accessibility to research data, put into context. The Swedish National Data Service’s (SND) organization, mission, and strategy to promote data sharing is also described. SND’s strategy is a combination of top-down and bottomup activities. An example of a top-down activity is to influence research funders to put higher demands on future open access data when studies are completed or to support researchers through the whole research process by providing guidelines on ethical and legal issues. Examples of bottom-up activities are to be present in different research contexts and to inform about the benefits of sharing data. One example of this is a joint project with SND and four university libraries. SND has conducted a national inventory survey, initiated in the fall of 2008, of existing databases and database research, as well as attitudes towards data sharing among researchers and university managements within social sciences and humanities departments at Swedish universities and university colleges. In addition to the inventory process, two survey studies have been carried out in spring 2009, one targeting professors and the other doctoral students in the same domains of disciplines at Swedish universities and university colleges. The questionnaire contained 80 items covering the researchers’ affiliations; domain of discipline; gender; age; familiarities with research policies and ventures; and use, reuse, and archiving practices of digital research data. Furthermore, there were questions about possible reasons for not using digital data, interventions and barriers to enhanced reuse and accessibility to data, possible agents in overcoming barriers, and willingness to share their digital research data. The surveys were carried out through email questionnaires sent to professors (N=549) and doctoral students (N=1147). The results from the surveys show that doctoral students in general expressed great uncertainty about questions of amounts of reusable digital data and effective interventions to enhance accessibility to digital research data. They identified research ethical aspects as important barriers to sharing digital research data, while professors emphasize lack of resources for researchers to document and make their data accessible for others as the most important obstacle. Concerning interventions to enhancing reuse of digital data, the majority of the doctoral students and the professors thought it should be effective to get more information about accessible research data in data archives or databases. Nearly 100% in both groups reported that more training in research methods, digital research databases, and information about accessible e-tools would be effective interventions. The most effective interventions for enhancing accessibility to digital data were that research grants should include funds for preparing the data for sharing and archiving and that archiving data for use by the scientific community is acknowledged to be of scientific merit. Surprisingly, when it comes to the degree of urgency in sharing their own data, the professors seem to be a bit more eager to share data than the doctoral students. The results are compared with the results from the parallel study of the professors and from a recent survey targeted at professors in various social sciences and humanities disciplines at Finnish universities (Kuula and Borg, 2008)

The Challenges of Digital Publishing: A Report on the MLA Preconference on Evaluating Digital Work for Promotion and Tenure

by Adeline Koh

This article discusses some of the major issues involved with presenting digital work for promotion and tenure and... more This article discusses some of the major issues involved with presenting digital work for promotion and tenure and some useful strategies that scholars should keep in mind.

Open Access Peer Review and Economic Sustainability: Some Thoughts

by Jason Kelly

blog post at HistoryWorkingPapers.org (17 January 2012)

Given the fact that a number of open access, open peer review projects are getting off the ground in the humanities... more Given the fact that a number of open access, open peer review projects are getting off the ground in the humanities (History Working Papers, Writing History in the Digital Age, and various pieces through Media Commons Press), it seems increasingly important that the supporters of open access engage in a serious discussion of economics.  While there has been a general recognition that open access, open peer review (OAOPR) journals will need sustainable revenue streams, it is still unclear how best to accomplish this in the context of the humanities.

review of Planned Obsolescence: Publishing, Technology, and the Future of the Academy

by Malcolm MacLean

This is a review in Goodreads

The Botnet: Webs of Hegemony/Zombies Who Publish

by Martin Paul Eve

forthcoming in Zombies in the Academy, ed. by Andrew Whelan, Chris Moore and Ruth Walker (London: Intellect Press, 2012)

In the contemporary publish-or-perish culture, very few academics query the mechanisms through which their work is... more In the contemporary publish-or-perish culture, very few academics query the mechanisms through which their work is distributed. At the same time, academic libraries and publishers are playing a dangerous power game in which each threatens the existence of the other in their own bid to stay afloat. What is not commonly recognized is the self-destructive elements brought to the table by these parties. This article examines the autosubversive behaviour of each of these actors through a metaphorical parallel with the zombie in computer science: the term for an infected machine inside a network of such devices all working against their original purpose. Having examined the constraints, motivations and power-relations brought to bear from library budgets, open access and an audit culture, the conclusion presents several viable alternatives to cleanse the academic publishing network of its zombie constituents and suggests ways that researchers can make informed decisions so as not to be complicit in their own downfall.

Wikipédia: un nouveau modèle éditorial?

by Laure Endrizzi

Wikipédia s'inscrit dans un paysage numérique aux contours improbables et interroge parce qu'elle reste rétive à... more Wikipédia s'inscrit dans un paysage numérique aux contours improbables et interroge parce qu'elle reste rétive à l'analyse sur les plans éditorial, social et économique. Entre produit encyclopédique et projet collaboratif, elle dessine un modèle éditorial différent, qui va bien au-delà d'un ensemble stable et validé de connaissances liées.

Tout d'abord, Wikipédia offre à observer un espace où la connaissance se construit en temps réel, où elle peut « concrètement » être appréhendée dans sa dynamique éminemment sociale. Ensuite, elle offre à penser sur les notions d'auteur, d'autorité et de crédibilité en écho à une culture libre en plein essor et sollicite l'exercice d'une action critique en résonance aux formes de participation citoyenne émergentes. Enfin, elle mise sur l'intelligence collective et s'inscrit dans un continuum numérique qui abolit les frontières entre lecteur et auteur, entre amateur et expert, et entre culture minoritaire et culture dominante du fait de son multilinguisme.

Comprendre Wikipédia, c'est parvenir à cerner les points de rupture et de continuité avec l'édition traditionnelle, à identifier les dynamiques hybrides qu'elle met en oeuvre. C'est aussi appréhender son influence sur la production éditoriale d'aujourd'hui dans ses formes concurrentielles ou alternatives. C'est enfin s'interroger plus largement, avec Camille Roth [ROT 07], sur sa viabilité et sur les synergies complexes qui se créent entre les participants et les contenus au sein de l'espace wiki.

L'édition de référence libre et collaborative: le cas de Wikipédia

by Laure Endrizzi

L’année 2005 a été particulièrement riche en débats et controverses sur l’encyclopédie libre Wikipedia. Alors que... more L’année 2005 a été particulièrement riche en débats et controverses sur l’encyclopédie libre Wikipedia. Alors que l’attention des médias grands publics et des traditionnels médiateurs du savoir reste le plus souvent mobilisée par des affaires de vandalisme et des problèmes de fiabilité et de qualité, les usages ne cessent de se développer. Le nombre total d’articles sur l’ensemble des versions est passé de 1 million 400.000 à 3 millions 400.000 en l’espace d’un an. Cette croissance exponentielle des contenus s’accompagne d’une augmentation forte de la fréquentation, plaçant l’encyclopédie parmi les 25 sites les plus visités au monde selon le baromètre Alexa.

Parallèlement, si les recherches sur les blogs et logiciels sociaux bénéficient d’une certaine audience, la communauté scientifique ne s’intéresse encore guère aux wikis et très marginalement à Wikipedia, en France notamment. Les premières éditions des conférences Wikimania (août 2005) et Wikisym (octobre 2005) laissent à penser que les jalons sont posés pour analyser les enjeux et le fonctionnement de ce phénomène éditorial sans précédent. La mutualisation opère aussi au niveau du Wikimedia Research Network, association qui regroupe les chercheurs travaillant sur Wikipedia ou sur d’autres projets de la fondation Wikimedia.

Malgré ces initiatives, les recherches restent peu nombreuses, mais surtout peu visibles. Wikipedia renouvelle-t-elle le genre encyclopédique en bouleversant nos représentations ? Autrement dit est-elle un produit de référence fiable donc légitime ou bien faut-il la considérer davantage comme un projet collaboratif autour d’un prétexte encyclopédique ? Les participants sont-ils mus par un militantisme à tendance anarchique ou bien trouvent-ils dans Wikipedia un terrain d’expression inédit pour des formes d’engagements diversifiées ? Voici quelques-unes des questions auxquelles nous tentons de répondre.

Après une première partie introductive sur la genèse de Wikipedia et les critiques habituellement formulées à son encontre, nous examinons la nature de ces nouveaux contenus et la manière dont ils se construisent, avant de nous intéresser aux rôles et motivations des contributeurs. Nous nous interrogeons pour finir sur les usages pédagogiques et processus d’acculturation en oeuvre.

What is Pub­lish­ing? A Report on THAT­Camp Publishing

by Adeline Koh

Published in the Profhacker Column of the Chronicle of Higher Education, Novem­ber 28 2011.

The arti­cle dis­cusses the cen­tral ten­sions in new modes of dig­i­tal pub­lish­ing and the three major... more The arti­cle dis­cusses the cen­tral ten­sions in new modes of dig­i­tal pub­lish­ing and the three major stake­hold­ers: tra­di­tional schol­arly pub­lish­ers, library pub­lish­ers, and academics.

Open Educational Resources and Open Access in Higher Education in Macedonia

by Dimitar Poposki

Written as a research for the Metamorphosis NGO from Macedonia. Non peer-reviewed, any comments or suggestions are more than welcomed! This paper might be used as a starting point for my PhD thesis, if anyone is interested in cooperating in the area of Open Access or Open Educational Resources contact me in person via e-mail or FB, Twitter.

Open Access (OA) and Open Educational Resources (OER) represent the core values of the free sharing of knowledge. By... more Open Access (OA) and Open Educational Resources (OER) represent the core values of the free sharing of knowledge. By following their beginnings, understanding their concepts, the ways in which they are used by the society can assist the build of knowledge-based economies of South Eastern European countries like Republic of Macedonia.
The need for shifting toward the openness of scholarly communication and the construct of information
infrastructure in the higher education requests the use of more flexible copyright licenses used for the academic publishing of textbooks and e-journals in order to provide the society with valuable knowledge. By using EU recommendations from the OA and OER best practices
projects, the higher education institutions in RM can improve their role as leading figures in production of knowledge and develop the economy of the country. In order to do so, new
models of OA and OER should be explored and implemented at the national level supported by the information literacy initiatives as a part of lifelong learning scheme.

Journal Self-Citation XVIII: A Tale of Kings, Serfs, and Liberation

by Bob Travica

Open Their Eyes: How the Open Access Movement has Changed the Scholarly Publishing World for Academics, 2009

by Margaret Driscoll

Everything We Think Can in Principle Be Thought By Someone Else: A Plea for Scholarship in the Open

by Eileen Joy

Part 4 of a collective essay, "Why We Blog: An Essay in Four Movements," by Jeffrey Cohen, Mary Kate Hurley, Eileen Joy, and Karl Steel. In "E-Medieval: Teaching, Research, and the Net," ed. Orietta da Rold and Elaine Treharne, special issue of Literature Compass (2012)

This essay argues there may be more value in thinking and ‘working through’ our scholarship online, in an 'open'... more This essay argues there may be more value in thinking and ‘working through’ our scholarship online, in an 'open' environment that promotes and invites democratic, catholic, and convivial support, as well as the accidental tourist and silent voyuer, than there is in the traditional ‘finished product’ of a journal article or book. It pleads, further, for a better awareness of the fact that intellectual property is always co-extensive and communal.

Webometrics for an Open Access start-up journal.

by Ulf-Dietrich Reips

Co-authored by Uwe Matzat: published 2009 in International Journal of Internet Science: Reips, U.-D., & Matzat, U. (2009). Webometrics for an Open Access start-up journal. International Journal of Internet Science, 4, 1-3.

Beyond Copyright Industries: Publishing and Digital Futures

by Lucy Montgomery

Downloadable podcasts of Frances Pinter, Tom Cochrane, Lucy Montgomery, Xiang Ren, Vijay Anand, Sampsung Xiaoxiang Shi and Christoph Antons speaking at the event Beyond Copyright Industries: Publishing and Digital Futures on 21 September 2011.

The ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI) and Asian Creative Transformations (ACT)... more The ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI) and Asian Creative Transformations (ACT) hosted the symposium at the Gardens Theatre (QUT Brisbane). The symposium explored the transformation of creative industry business models in response to digital technology in two related sessions. The podcasts are linked under each speaker.

Transformations in Digital Communication and Collaboration: Recent Perspectives From Zooarchaeology

by Iain McKechnie

Introduction to a special issue of the SAA Archaeological Record edited by Sarah Kansa and Iain McKechnie. This resulted from a paper/poster session held at the International Council of Archaeozoology conference in Paris in August 2010. To see the full issue online visit: http://digitaleditions.sheridan.com/publication/?i=58423&pre=1

Here are the paper titles and authors in the special issue:

Zooarchaeology On The Internet: A View From... more Here are the paper titles and authors in the special issue:

Zooarchaeology On The Internet: A View From Britain
Matt Law (Cardiff University)

Exporting Virtual Material Culture: Cheap And Easy Methods To Preserve And Share Data
Jill A. Weber and Evan Malone (University of Pennsylvania)

Relational Databases And Zooarchaeology Education
Emily Lena Jones and David A. Hurley (Utah State University)

The Digital Archaeological Record: The Potentials Of Archaeozoological Data Integration Through TDAR
Spielmann, Katherine A. and Keith W. Kintigh (Arizona State University)

Beyond Bonecommons: Recent Developments In Zooarchaeological Data Sharing
Sarah Whitcher Kansa (Alexandria Archive) and Eric C. Kansa (UC Berkeley)

Zoobook: Archaeologists Connecting Through Social Media
James Morris (Museum of London)

FAUNAZ: Arizona’s Archaeofaunal Index
Barnet Pavao-Zuckerman, Rick Karl, and John F. Chamblee
(University of Arizona)

National Inventory of Natural Heritage Website: Recent, Historical, and Archaeological Data
Cécile Callou, Isabelle Baly, Olivier Gargominy, and Elodie Rieb
(National Museum of Natural History, Paris)

Virtual Zooarchaeology Of The Arctic Project (VZAP)
Herbert D. G. Maschner, Matthew W. Betts, and Corey D. Schou
(Idaho State University)

For open access see http://digitaleditions.sheridan.com/publication/?i=58423&pre=1

Libraries as Journal Publishers

by Rebecca Kennison

Co-authored with Anali Maughan Perry, Carol Ann Borchert, Timothy S. Deliyannides, Andrea Kosavic, and Sharon Dyas-Correia.
NB: I am posting the final-version PDF since I remain one of the copyright holders, having never been asked to sign a copyright transfer form by Elsevier.

Increasing library involvement in journal hosting and publishing is an important topic for serialists. This... more Increasing library involvement in journal hosting and publishing is an important topic for serialists. This installment of “The Balance Point” column presents articles that offer descriptions and analyses of the current state of ideas and activities related to libraries as publishers. Featured authors discuss the publishing and journal hosting tasks libraries can perform, programs and activities related to journal hosting, titles hosted, challenges, next steps and the benefits or drawbacks foreseen in the current paths of the libraries they represent.

Current issues in research communications: Adding value and sharing research-3rd report to JISC, December 2010

by Willow Fuchs

Hubbard, Bill and Hodgson, Amanda and Fuchs, Willow (2010) Current issues in research communications: adding value and sharing research - 3rd report to JISC, December 2010. Project Report. Centre for Research Communications.

This report looks at the scope of current OA practice and the opportunities it offers for innovation in scholarly... more This report looks at the scope of current OA practice and the opportunities it offers for innovation in scholarly communication methods. Among the questions it discusses are:
• Why are some researchers still reluctant to embrace open access?
• What kinds of "added value" in scholarly communication can be attached to open access?
• What is the significance for scholarly communications practice of the growth of social networking/reference management systems such as Mendeley?

Vanity Fair: Why Publishers Need to Take Self-Publishing Seriously

by Emmett Stinson