47,317 research outputs found
Open and networked initiatives and the digital transformation of academic publishing in China
No full textMany aspects of China's academic publishing system differ from the systems found in liberal market based economies of the United States, Western Europe and Australia. A high level of government intervention in both the publishing industry and academia and the challenges associated with attempting to make a transition from a centrally controlled towards a more market based publishing industry are two notable differences; however, as in other countries, academic communities and publishers are being transformed by digital technologies. This research explores the complex yet dynamic digital transformation of academic publishing in China, with a specific focus of the open and networked initiatives inspired by Web 2.0 and social media. The thesis draws on two case studies: Science Paper Online, a government-operated online preprint platform and open access mandate; and New Science, a social reference management website operated by a group of young PhD students. Its analysis of the innovations, business models, operating strategies, influences, and difficulties faced by these two initiatives highlights important characteristics and trends in digital publishing experiments in China.\ud
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The central argument of this thesis is that the open and collaborative possibilities of Web 2.0 inspired initiatives are emerging outside the established journal and monograph publishing system in China, introducing innovative and somewhat disruptive approaches to the certification, communication and commercial exploitation of knowledge. Moreover, emerging publishing models are enabling and encouraging a new system of practising and communicating science in China, putting into practice some elements of the Open Science ethos. There is evidence of both disruptive change to old publishing structures and the adaptive modification of emergent replacements in the Chinese practice. As such, the transformation from traditional to digital and interactive modes of publishing, involves both competition and convergence between new and old publishers, as well as dynamics of co-evolution involving new technologies, business models, social norms, and government reform agendas.\ud
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One key concern driving this work is whether there are new opportunities and new models for academic publishing in the Web 2.0 age and social media environment, which might allow the basic functions of communication and certification to be achieved more effectively. This thesis enriches existing knowledge of open and networked transformations of scholarly publishing by adding a Chinese story. Although the development of open and networked publishing platforms in China remains in its infancy, the lessons provided by this research are relevant to practitioners and stakeholders interested in understanding the transformative dynamics of networked technologies for publishing and advocating open access in practice, not only in China, but also internationally
Understanding the Connotation, Impact and Measurement Concerning Informatization of Science Popularization in China
Full text linkInformatization is the new direction of the effort in the field of science popularization in China. It refers to the change not only in the technological approach and the channels of science popularization, but also to the idea and the model of science popularization. This paper shed light on the connotation concerning informatization of science popularization (ISP) in three dimensions. It illustrates that ISP produces profound impact on the science popularization practice, the individuals, and society. Regarding practice, ISP in China includes the digitalization period, networking period and intelligentializing period. ISP makes the practice more powerful and efficient. It is of importance for ISP to promote the construction of the knowledge society and create the atmosphere of scientific culture in society. Finally, the measurement framework of ISP is proposed, which aims at promoting the working process and achieving the ultimate goal through a monitoring method
The ‘credibility paradox’ in China’s science communication: Views from scientific practitioners
Full text linkIn contrast to increasing debates on China’s rising status as a global scientific power, issues of China’s science communication remain under-explored. Based on 21 in-depth interviews in three cities, this article examines Chinese scientists’ accounts of the entangled web of influence which conditions the process of how scientific knowledge achieves (or fails to achieve) its civic authority. A main finding of this study is a ‘credibility paradox’ as a result of the over-politicisation of science and science communication in China. Respondents report that an absence of visible institutional endorsements renders them more public credibility and better communication outcomes. Thus, instead of exploiting formal channels of science communication, scientists interviewed were more keen to act as ‘informal risk communicators’ in grassroots and private events. Chinese scientists’ perspectives on how to earn public support of their research sheds light on the nature and impact of a ‘civic epistemology’ in an authoritarian state
Authors publication strategies in scholarly publishing
Full text linkIn this exploratory study, we analyze publishing patterns of authors from different disciplines, as part of a broader analysis of the transformation of the scholarly publishing industry. Although a growing body of literature analyses the author’s role within the process of research production,
validation, certification and dissemination, there is little systematic empirical research on publishing patterns; little therefore can be said on relevant issues within the current debate on the future of scholarly publishing such as
authors’ responses to (or even awareness of) the growing array of publication possibilities or the speed of adaptation to the increasing series of incentives by
funding agencies or academic institutions. On the basis of the analysis of three years of publications gathered in the institutional repository of Università degli Studi di Milano, we highlight trends of publication strategies and
different responses to incentive systems. Preliminary results indicate that publication outcomes and intensity differ across disciplines, while similarities occur mainly in terms of choice of preferred outcomes by seniority. Open
access is still uncommon among the authors in our sample and it is more utilized by relatively senior authors and active authors
Huddersfield Open Access Publishing
Full text linkThis paper presents the findings of the Huddersfield Open Access Publishing Project, a JISC funded project to develop a low cost, sustainable Open Access (OA) journal publishing platform using EPrints Institutional Repository software
Review of the 22nd National Conference on the Theoretical Study of Science Popularization in China and the International Forum on Science Communication towards 2020
Full text linkThe 22nd National Conference on the Theoretical Study of Science Popularization in China and the International Forum on Science Communication towards 2020 was organised by the China Research Institute for Science Popularization (CRISP) in Beijing from October 17 to October 18, 2015. Nearly 200 international and national delegates from scientific research institutions, colleges and universities, local associations for science and technology from eight countries including America, Canada, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan and Korea participated in the Conference
Views on Popular-Science Publishing
No full text Popular-science publishing plays an irreplaceable role in the development of a society. In China, the central government pays considerable attention to popular-science publishing and has issued a series of laws and regulations to govern this field. This legislation offers favourable opportunities to strengthen popular science propaganda and to promote popular-science publishing. The study is to discuss the importance of developing quality in popular-science publishing. </jats:p
Open access self-archiving: An author study
No full textThis, our second author international, cross-disciplinary study on open access had 1296 respondents. Its focus was on self-archiving. Almost half (49%) of the respondent population have self-archived at least one article during the last three years. Use of institutional repositories for this purpose has doubled and usage has increased by almost 60% for subject-based repositories. Self-archiving activity is greatest amongst those who publish the largest number of papers. There is still a substantial proportion of authors unaware of the possibility of providing open access to their work by self-archiving. Of the authors who have not yet self-archived any articles, 71% remain unaware of the option. With 49% of the author population having self-archived in some way, this means that 36% of the total author population (71% of the remaining 51%), has not yet been appraised of this way of providing open access. Authors have frequently expressed reluctance to self-archive because of the perceived time required and possible technical difficulties in carrying out this activity, yet findings here show that only 20% of authors found some degree of difficulty with the first act of depositing an article in a repository, and that this dropped to 9% for subsequent deposits. Another author worry is about infringing agreed copyright agreements with publishers, yet only 10% of authors currently know of the SHERPA/RoMEO list of publisher permissions policies with respect to self-archiving, where clear guidance as to what a publisher permits is provided. Where it is not known if permission is required, however, authors are not seeking it and are self-archiving without it. Communicating their results to peers remains the primary reason for scholars publishing their work; in other words,
researchers publish to have an impact on their field. The vast majority of authors (81%) would willingly comply with a mandate from their employer or research funder to deposit copies of their articles in an institutional or subject-based repository. A further 13% would comply reluctantly; 5% would not comply with such a mandate
South African responses to Open Access publishing: a survey of the research community
Full text linkOpen access publishing offers wide benefits to the scholarly community and may also afford relief to financially embattled academic libraries. The progress of the open access model rests upon the acceptance and validation of open access journals and open archives or institutional repositories by the academic mainstream, particularly by publishing researchers. To what extent are the key actors in the South African research system aware of the advantages of open access? This article reports on the findings of a recent survey undertaken to assess the current awareness, concerns and depth of support for open access amongst local researchers, research managers and policy makers in South Africa. The study focuses on issues of quality, article or author charges and the established academic reward system. It concludes that within the prevailing framework, there is little prospect that academics would choose to publish within open access
journals. Recommendations for advocacy by the library community are proposed
Impact of E-Publishing in Digital Era
Full text linkThe paper discusses the scenario of libraries and information services in digital era. In this fast changing world users seem to have less time for reading the whole books, articles etc. Therefore, it is essential for library professionals to provide information to the users within the shortest possible time through e-resources using appropriate information and communication technologies. Electronic publishing has become common in science and technology fields and is replacing printed versions. In addition to web based resources there are also many non-network electronic publications such as Encyclopaedias in CDROM and DVD, as well as technical and reference publications accessible through mobile mobile phones and others mechanisms
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