Google puts $1m into academic research projects for digitised books
(guardian.co.uk): A Google-backed research project is to map out the relationship between location and literature, visualising works related to a specific era or place using Google Earth. A joint project between the Open University, the University of Southampton and the University of California at Berkeley, Google Ancient Places will let… Read More
Impact Factor Inflation: When an Increase is a Actually a Decrease
(scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org): Every June, publishers and editors anxiously await the Parade of the Journal Citation Reports, and hope — some even pray — that their own numbers will increase. After all, an increase is an increase, right? In spite of a plea from one liblicense-l reader, it didn’t take long for… Read More
A Primer on Challenging Peer-Reviewed Scientific Literature in Mass Tort and Product Liability Actions
(ca.linexlegal.com): As scientific evidence is central to most mass tort and product liability actions, it is important for counsel to consider the strengths and weaknesses of peer-review, and how peerreviewed scientific literature may be challenged, say attorneys Bert L. Slonim and Lori B. Leskin in this BNA Insight. This article… Read More
Disclosing Industry Relationships — Toward an Improved Federal Research Policy
(content.nejm.org): While the National Institutes of Health works to refine its new financial conflict-of-interest regulations, one of the nation’s leading medical journals is pushing the NIH to be even tougher. The NIH in May proposed cutting to $5,000 from $10,000 the level at which an NIH-backed researcher must report to… Read More
Public input on government strategy for a digital economy
(cbc.ca): Free access to government data and equitable access to the internet itself are key to a prosperous digital economy, say many of those who took part in recent federal consultations. For two months, the government has been seeking public input on its strategy for a digital economy. Read More
Shorter census harms health care, journal says
(cbc.ca): The federal government's decision to eliminate the long census form in 2011 will negatively affect how health information is gathered and acted on, says an editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The editorial, published Thursday, says the reduction in the amount and type of information collected about Canadians… Read More
EPA Updates Environmental Reference Bibliography
(epa.gov): An updated 2010 edition of EPA's Core List for an Environmental Reference Collection is available through the Agency's digital publications archive. The purpose of the Core List is to identify key information resources in the areas of environmental protection, management and science. The Core List was developed by EPA’s… Read More
The Benefits of Integrating an Information Literacy Skills Game into Academic Coursework: A Preliminary Evaluation
(dlib.org): This article describes a new tool for teaching information literacy skills to college undergraduates. BiblioBouts is a game built on premises of educational gaming that came out of research published in the October 2008 issue of D-Lib Magazine. BiblioBouts seeks to satisfy student requests for a gaming experience directly… Read More
The future holds no paper, no books; but expect lots of reading
(digitimes.com): The rise of e-books will restructure the publishing industry, with paper mills, print shops, conventional publishers, book distributors and bookstores having the potential to gradually disappear, while makers of e-paper and display panels will help publishers integrate and market content online, and non-professionals will take a DIY approach to… Read More
The Intellectually Dishonest Claims Of Those Fighting Against Open Access To Federally Funded Research
(wikibon.org): Scientific journals, as you probably know, are basically a huge scam. Unlike most publications, the journals don't pay the people who provide all the material in those journals. Instead, the researchers pay the journals to publish their research. Not only that, but in exchange for paying the journal, the… Read More
