Monday 26 September 2011

Connotea: Bookmarks matching tag oa.new (50 items)

Connotea: Bookmarks matching tag oa.new (50 items)


Nod for controversial indigenous knowledge law

Posted: 26 Sep 2011 07:33 AM PDT

 
Nod for controversial indigenous knowledge law
www.businessday.co.za
"The much disputed Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill — which will give protection to indigenous knowledge under SA’s existing intellectual property laws — has finally been approved by a parliamentary committee after nearly two years of deliberations and despite strong opposition. The Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party and the Freedom Front Plus all voted against the bill on Friday, arguing the bid to incorporate indigenous knowledge into the existing legislative framework for intellectual property would have negative consequences. They said it would not provide indigenous communities with the benefits expected from royalty payments, would hamper economic activity and would act as a disincentive to investment. The opposition MPs and experts in the field have argued for a separate and unique law dedicated in its entirety to indigenous knowledge, on the grounds that such knowledge does not have the characteristics — such as a single originator who could claim ownership of it — required to be treated on the same basis as other forms of intellectual property...."

A sneaky, last-minute amendment restricts public's right to know

Posted: 26 Sep 2011 07:08 AM PDT

 
A sneaky, last-minute amendment restricts public's right to know
www.newstimes.com
"[A] new state law [in Connecticut], slipped in surreptitiously as an amendment in the waning hours of the legislative session of the General Assembly, makes research of [historical] medical records...all but impossible. This new law, which keeps secret many records of long ago, is unnecessary, injurious and perpetuates a stigma associated with mental illness -- even with cases of hundreds of years ago. The new exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act apply to records created in marital relationships, clergy-penitent relationships, doctor-patient relationships, therapist-patient relationships "or any other privilege established by the common law or the general statutes." These privileges are retroactive into the past and extend to the future without limitation, even if the documents were "created or made prior to the establishment of the applicable privilege under the common law or the general statutes." This ill-advised new law will stymie scholarly research...."

Breakthrough Gives EU Principles For Digitising Out-Of-Print Books | Intellectual Property Watch

Posted: 26 Sep 2011 07:04 AM PDT

 
Breakthrough Gives EU Principles For Digitising Out-Of-Print Books | Intellectual Property Watch
www.ip-watch.org
"Key European stakeholders have approved a “ground-breaking” set of principles for digitising and making publicly available out-of-print books and journals. The accord could serve as a template for dealing with the vexing problem of orphan works, those for whom the copyright owner cannot be found, according to International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations CEO Olav Stokkmo....The memorandum of understanding (MoU) [pdf] is considered first-of-its-kind because it deals with out-of-commerce works, and enjoys the participation of all relevant stakeholders, Stokkmo said in an interview. It defines an out-of-commerce work as one which, in all its versions and manifestations, is no longer commercially available from customary channels, regardless of whether there are copies in libraries or second-hand bookshops. European library Europeana and its national counterparts want to digitise such content but cannot do so until common ground is found with rights holders, he said. Last November, the European Commission asked authors, publishers, the IFRRO and other interested parties to come up with agreed criteria for digitising and making available on Europeana out-of-commerce works, he said....The initiative envisions the use of the EU-funded Accessible Registries of Rights Information and Orphan Works (ARROW) system to search for included and excluded works...."

Europeana trials new software in Remix launch

Posted: 26 Sep 2011 06:37 AM PDT

 
Europeana trials new software in Remix launch
app.e2ma.net
"Europeana, the digital library, museum and archive, has opened a new interactive video space, Europeana Remix....Europeana Remix plays the video in HTML5, and uses the Popcorn.js framework to let users call up resources that are related to the story, from Europeana, Flickr, Wikipedia, Oxford University, Google maps and other web services. Users can leave comments at any point and share their stories or URLs....In order to allow others to make free use of this ground-breaking development as the basis for new applications, the Remix source code has been made available on GitHub, the collaborative code repository for programmers. The film itself and all user contributions are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license...."

Early journals from JSTOR and others

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 07:29 PM PDT

 
Early journals from JSTOR and others
John Mark Ockerbloom
Everybody's Libraries, (23 Sep 2011)
"Earlier this month, JSTOR announced that it would provide free open access to their earliest scholarly journal content, published before 1923. All of this material should be old enough to be in the public domain. (Or at least it is in the US. Since copyrights can last longer elsewhere, JSTOR is only showing pre-1870 volumes openly outside the US.) I was very pleased to hear they would be opening up this content; it’s something I’d asked them to consider ever since they ended a small trial of open, public domain volumes in their early years....Comparing the sites that provide this content is enlightening. In general, the JSTOR copies are better presented, with article-level tables of contents, cross-volume searching, article downloads, and consistently high scan quality. But the copies at other sites are generally usable as well, and sometimes include interesting non-editorial material, such as advertisements, that might not be present in JSTOR’s archive. By opening up access to its early content now, though, JSTOR will remain the preferred access point to this early content for most researchers — and that, hopefully, will help attract and sustain paid support for the larger body of scholarly content that JSTOR provides and preserves for its subscribers....Currently JSTOR has no plans to open up access to post-1922 journal volumes. But many of those volumes have been digitized, and are in Google’s or Hathi Trust’s collections; or they could be digitized by contributors to the Internet Archive or similar text archives. If someone does want to open up these volumes, they should re-check their copyright status. In particular, I have not yet checked the copyright status of individual articles in these journals, which can in theory be renewed separately. In practice, I’ve found this rarely done for scholarly articles, but not completely unknown. It might be feasible for me to do a “first article renewal” inventory for journals, like I’ve done for first issue renewal, which could speed up clearances...."

The Inevitability of Open Access

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 07:25 PM PDT

 
The Inevitability of Open Access
David Lewis
College & Research Libraries, (22 Sep 2011)
Abstract: Open access (OA) is an alternative business model for the publication of scholarly journals. It makes articles freely available to readers on the Internet and covers the costs associated with publication through means other than subscriptions. This article argues that Gold OA, where all of the articles of a journal are available at the time of publication, is a disruptive innovation as defined by business theorist Clayton Christensen. Using methods described by Christensen we can predict the growth of Gold OA. This analysis suggests that Gold OA could account for 50% of the scholarly journal articles sometime between 2017 and 2021, and 90% of articles as soon as 2020 and more conservatively by 2025.

Open Access @univie

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 07:22 PM PDT

 
Open Access @univie
Karin Lach
infoliteracyforenglishetc, (23 Sep 2011)
"Yesterday I attended a most interesting presentation on the OA movement and what the OA team at Vienna University is all about by Guido Blechl, one of the librarians involved. Since I know that many people only have the vaguest idea what OA is all about, here a few key points...."

London Calling — Open Access PR Wends Its Way From London Into a Major US Newspaper

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 06:50 PM PDT

Taxpayer OA is Already Here, In Principle — In Reports

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 06:42 PM PDT

 
Taxpayer OA is Already Here, In Principle — In Reports
David Wojick
The Scholarly Kitchen, (21 Sep 2011)
"Taxpayer access to US federally funded research results need not involve publishers giving away their product. An alternative mechanism is available, one that is already partially implemented. It is called the research report...."

Open Data needs open standards and open research: an academic and standardization point of view at the Open World Forum.

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 06:38 PM PDT

The Comics Grid: Journal of Comics Scholarship

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 06:34 PM PDT

 
The Comics Grid: Journal of Comics Scholarship
www.comicsgrid.com
The Comics Grid is a new "peer-edited" OA journal "dedicated to comics scholarship".
Posted by petersuber to ru.ps oa.new oa.journals on Mon Sep 26 2011 at 01:34 UTC | info | related

Cite or Site? The current view of what constitutes ‘academic publishing’ is too limited. Our published work must become truly public. | Impact of Social Sciences

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 06:29 PM PDT

Academic journals remain unnecessary and unhealthy whilst open access archives such as arXiv continue to grow.

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 06:17 PM PDT

 
Academic journals remain unnecessary and unhealthy whilst open access archives such as arXiv continue to grow.
Blog Admin
Impact of Social Sciences, (21 Sep 2011)
"With little money in science research, some believe that it is inappropriate for research councils to pay for costly journal subscriptions. Peter Coles dissects what he believes to be the “parasitic” nature of journal subscriptions, arguing that open access e-print archives, such as physicist favourite arXiv, could be the future of academic publishing...."

Open Access & Knowledge Mobilization

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 06:15 PM PDT

 
Open Access & Knowledge Mobilization
Jo VanEvery
Jo VanEvery, (22 Sep 2011)
"The problem with research use is not lack of access to research....I am personally acquainted with medical doctors who have a pile of journal articles they plan to read that remain unread on their desks. A situation shockingly similar to that of many academics...."

The experiences of academic and research bloggers: a phenomenological enquiry

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 06:11 PM PDT

 
The experiences of academic and research bloggers: a phenomenological enquiry
Tania Heap and Shailey Minocha
Abstract: Our research project investigates the experience of academics (i.e. educators working in higher education) and researchers using blogs in their work. The three objectives are: 1) to identify reasons why academics and researchers begin writing and maintain a blog as part of their practice, 2) the contribution of blogging to the academics' and researchers' personal and professional development and 3) the challenges they experience. One component of the research involves conducting individual open-ended interviews by email with academic/research bloggers. The interviews are analysed using descriptive phenomenology, to gain an understanding of both the idiosyncratic aspects and the general essence of the bloggers' experiences. Findings reveal that bloggers think of others through their blog: beginners feel encouraged to blog by following advice from others or examples of experienced bloggers; the more experienced consider blogging an opportunity to disseminate and exchange information with others. Therefore, blogging does not mediate relationships only between bloggers and readers, but also with people outside the readership but still connected to the blog. For some academics and researchers, blogging is an 'experiment' to think through ideas and find a voice in the public arena. This form of experimentation and exploration fosters both personal reflection and social interaction. However, public experimentation triggers feelings of anxiety and uncertainty amongst some academics/researchers. This seems due to the unfamiliar way in which blogs occupy an intermediate space among established writing forms (i.e. academic papers, journalistic articles, diaries), thereby blurring the private-public and formal-informal divide.

Results from first Wikipedia Ambassador survey

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 05:58 PM PDT

 
Results from first Wikipedia Ambassador survey
LiAnna Davis
Wikimedia blog, (14 Sep 2011)
"The first generation of Wikipedia Ambassadors participated in a survey when the Public Policy Initiative wrapped up this summer. More than 80 respondents (over half of the 2010-2011 Ambassadors!) provided input about their experiences and how to improve the program. Many Wikimedia Foundation blog followers are probably familiar with the Initiative’s development of the Ambassador Program to open Wikipedia to the academic community. Ambassadors come in two flavors: Campus Ambassadors, who provide a face for Wikipedia on university campuses, and Online Ambassadors, who support the new student editors on wiki as they make their first contributions...."

Open science is a research accelerator

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 11:42 AM PDT

 
Open science is a research accelerator
Michael Woelfle, Piero Olliaro, and Matthew Todd
Nat Chem 3 (10), 745-8 (Oct 2011)
An open-source approach to the problem of producing an off-patent drug in enantiopure form serves as an example of how academic and industrial researchers can join forces to make new scientific discoveries that could have a huge impact on human health....The crucial message of the open project is this: the research was accelerated by being open. Experts identified themselves, and spontaneously contributed based on what was being posted online. The research therefore inevitably proceeded faster than if we had attempted to contact people in our limited professional circle individually, in series. Perhaps this is not surprising, but if it is the case that 'none of us is as smart as all of us' and if we wish to reach scientific goals quickly, why is so much science not practised this way? Besides speed, there are several other advantages of conducting science in the open. The process is transparent, meaning the public can be assured that funding for science, arising from their taxes, is being used responsibly and there is no suggestion of political interference in the scientific process. Secondly, in open projects everything is available on the web; the project need not cease with the graduation of students, the termination of a grant or the demise of a principle investigator. Funding for the kernel effort of such a project, crucial in generating activity to which others may respond, can leverage extra input that is unfunded, and this should be attractive for funding agencies keen to maximize the impact of the relevant science. Open science is subject to the most rigorous peer review because the review process never ends...."

Election Results 2011 | STM

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 11:37 AM PDT

 
Election Results 2011 | STM
www.stm-assoc.org
Paul Peters was elected to the Board of the International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers (STM). Paul is the Head of Business Development at Hindawi Publishing and a Founding Board Member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA).

The Authors Guild Should Trust Universities and HathiTrust | Public Knowledge

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 11:28 AM PDT

People's Choice Nominees: Best Open Education Resource

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 11:25 AM PDT

 
People's Choice Nominees: Best Open Education Resource
education-portal.com
"Because at Education-Portal.com we work every day to help increase people's access to education, we are proud to introduce the nominees for the first category of our Education Resources People's Choice Awards. The nominees are: ...Academic Earth...Open Culture...[and] Khan Academy...." [The winner will be chosen by user votes.]

Funding bodies stump up cash in open access agreement

Posted: 25 Sep 2011 08:14 AM PDT

 
Funding bodies stump up cash in open access agreement
www.timeshighereducation.co.uk
"Three European funding agencies have signed an open access funding agreement with journal publisher Wiley-Blackwell. Germany’s Max Planck Society, the Austrian Science Fund – the country’s central funder of basic research - and Italian charity Telethon, which funds research into genetic diseases, will pay the open access fees of researchers they fund when they publish a paper in one of Wiley-Blackwell’s 1,500 journals. Like the UK’s Wellcome Trust, the Austrian and Italian bodies require articles reporting research they have funded to be made freely available online, and their agreement with Wiley-Blackwell relates to all of its 500 or so journals that have an open access option. The agreement with the Max Planck Society applies only to the publisher’s fully open access journals...."

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