1. Four Ways of Rationalizing Infringement: or, How to Defend a Pirate
It may seem as if it would be difficult to defend or justify a blatant piracy operation like Sci-Hub. But it can be done, if you are willing to overlook certain facts and advance certain tenuous moral arguments, notes Rick Anderson, in his post in the Scholarly Kitchen Blog.
The blog post says (quote): Sci-Hub's activities are positively good (even if technically illegal) because they undermine an aspect of the social order that sorely needs to be undermined. By this light, the real criminal here is not Sci-Hub, but publishers and others who restrict access to content - or even copyright law itself. The more radical version of this argument holds that copyright itself should be abolished; the less radical version holds that copyright law is not a bad thing in principle, but over the years it has mutated into something that no longer serves the public good………………(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
2. Authors need help with their digital presence that they still are not getting
A major difference between book publishing today and book publishing 25 years ago is the practical power of the author brand in marketing. Multi-book authors can not only build their own followings in ways that can be usefully exploited, they now have an unprecedented capability to help each other, discusses Mike Shatzkin, in his post in The Shatzkin Files Blog.
The blog post says (quote): The interaction between the author brand and the title positioning will suddenly be much clearer to everybody pretty soon. OptiQly, the company which is building tools based on the vision of publishing's most brilliant digital marketer, Peter McCarthy, will deliver its service to the industry in the next couple of months. OptiQly calculates a "score" for the "brand" (usually the author) and a separate one for the "product" (which is the book itself). As OptiQly gets integrated into most publishers' workflows, which I expect will have transpired before this time next year, all publishers will see how much the digital footprint each author delivers is helping them. Or holding their efforts back………………(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
3. Altmetrics, privacy and obscurity
Altmetric team has been pondering the extent to which the status as a Big Data company (and that of other altmetrics aggregators, by extension) might challenge individuals' privacy when discussing research on social media. Stacy Konkiel, in her post in the Altmetric Blog, notes that the Altmetrics aggregators make the assumed-private conversations a lot easier to find.
The blog post says (quote): If privacy is the right to keep things shared privately a secret, then Altmetric is the altmetrics aggregator that respects individuals' privacy the most. Altmetric do not track private profiles or posts on any social media site. Other altmetrics services that track private interactions on social media (e.g. "likes" from non-public profiles) do so anonymously, meaning they too respect individuals' privacy. This is by design, as the social media APIs such aggregators use do not disclose information on the identities of those who have liked or shared research. Altmetrics services can thus never expose private comments and likes–they are just reported as having happened, en masse………………(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
4. Rather than simply moving from "paying to read" to "paying to publish", it's time for a European Open Access Platform
Open access is here to stay. Massive support from academic institutions and research funders makes it the likeliest future scenario for scholarly publications, leaving only the question of how the transition is made. In their post in The Impact Blog, Benedikt Fecher, Sascha Friesike, Isabella Peters and Gert G. Wagner argue that current policy efforts do not go far enough. Scholarly publishing in a digital age would benefit if European research infrastructure providers pooled their collective efforts into a public publication infrastructure.
The blog post says (quote): The European Open Access Platform would allow academia to free itself from its self-induced dependency on commercial publishers and push new publication formats and scientific products, for example data and software (product layer). Well-designed metrics could help measure the academic and, even more, the societal, economic and political impact of academic content (e.g. who shares what in which outlet). More than a collection of journals, the European Open Access Platform could be the central forum for relevant scientific output and a place for researchers to meet and connect. It could be a hub to share any type of research outcome, organise evaluation processes and to connect beyond disciplinary boundaries (community layer)………………(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
5. Succession Planning
Succession planning is a key part of strategic planning, but it should also be a continuous operational project, one that should be on the front burner at all times. Robert Harington, in his post in the Scholarly Kitchen Blog, attempts to help you think through how to develop a strategy for succession planning, recognising that in the present world, people just do not stay at their jobs as long as they used to.
The blog post says (quote): As the technologies present themselves, and strategic priorities shift, it is also essential to have a more macro, strategic view of how employees do their work, and what contribution they may make most effectively. Key to effective succession planning is to think early on about how an employee may progress within your organisation. Hiring from within, rather than recruiting from outside the organisation, creates an internal sense of growth and opportunity - as well as ensures continuity. But there are risks with this approach, such as the possibility of perpetuating an unproductive and "stale" work culture………………(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
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