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Lack of clarity over open access is “unacceptable” – RCUK must clarify and monitor its implementation closely

The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has today criticised Research Councils UK’s (RCUK) for failures in its communication of its open access policy. The report says the previous lack of clarity about RCUK’s policy and guidance was ‘unacceptable’.

The report welcomes RCUK’s recent clarification that it will gradually phase in its open access policy over a five year implementation phase, and recommends that RCUK update its policy guidance and all its communications to reflect the anticipated “journey to compliance” and its flexibility over embargo periods.

The Committee calls for monitoring of the impact of open access, both at fixed review points and throughout the implementation period.

The Committee recommends that, given the widespread confusion over the policy, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills must review the effectiveness of RCUK’s communication about open access to ensure that lessons are learnt.

The report calls on RCUK to monitor the effects of open access in its autumn 2014 review and beyond. This review should consider:

  • Whether different disciplines require different embargo periods, licenses and primary models of publication ;
  • whether the UK, in stating a preference for “gold” open access, is moving in the same direction as other countries which are mandating open access (but not necessarily gold open access);
  • whether article processing charges have adversely affected the number of international articles published in UK journals;
  • effects on the quality of peer review;
  • impact on the number of collaborations by UK researchers; and
  • effects on learned societies.

Commenting, Lord Krebs, Chairman of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, said:

“RCUK did not consult or communicate effectively with key stakeholders in the publishing and academic communities when implementing its open access policy. While we are delighted that our inquiry has shown that RCUK are proposing to phase in their open access policy during the initial five-year implementation phase, this should have been made clear much earlier. That is why we call upon the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to review how RCUK communicated this important change.

There are still many unknowns concerning the impact of the open access policy, which is why RCUK must commit to a wide ranging review of its policy in 2014, 2016 and before it expects full compliance in 2018. We heard significant concern about the policy’s ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, and are pleased that RCUK are both aware of these concerns and prepared to act on them.

Open access is an inexorable trend. The Government must ensure that in further developing our capabilities to share research they do not inadvertently damage the ‘complex ecosystem’ of research communication in the UK.”

Source – http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/science-and-technology-committee/news/open-access-report-published/

BMJ Group announces further investment in India

BMJ Group, one of the world’s leading healthcare knowledge providers, this week announced further investment in its India operations.

The company will recruit a Managing Director to head up its growing workforce in the country.  And in the first quarter of 2014 it will be launching the BMJ Awards India, to recognise the best individuals and teams practising in Indian healthcare.

BMJ Awards has been long-established in BMJ Group’s home market, the UK, and has even attracted winning entries directly from India in recent years. That’s why the company believes it’s time for India to have its own awards programme to showcase excellence in healthcare. “We hope to make it the ‘Oscars’ of Indian medicine”, says Tim Brooks, BMJ Group CEO.

He adds: ‘We are excited to take our investment in India to the next level. The BMJ already enjoys high readership and recognition among healthcare professionals in India. Our growing presence in the subcontinent will be strengthened by the appointment of an MD, based at our head office in Delhi.”

The BMJ is one of the most respected general medical journals in the world with a weekly print circulation of 122,000 and 1.2 million monthly visitors to bmj.com.

The Group also has a strong reputation for providing medical education through digital media. The BMJ was the first general medical journal to launch an iPad app, and is now also available as a tablet app. The Group’s portfolio of specialist journals is also available through mobile optimised websites.

The Group’s Best Practice app enables healthcare professionals to make better decisions for their patients, while BMJ Learning and BMJ Quality offer a range of online tools to help doctors improve their knowledge and skills.

The Group also works with public sector and governments around the world, including the UK NHS and the Ministry of Health in Brazil, helping to support quality improvement and better outcomes for patients.

“We look forward to working closely with Indian states and institutions to bring training and knowledge that aligns with their needs,” says Tim Brooks. “Our ambition is to deliver evidence-based content into the daily workflow of health professionals in formats that recognise the demands of clinical life and help India become a world leader in medical training and research.”

These steps follow the launch earlier this month of bmj.com/India, a bespoke version of its global general medical journal, The BMJ. The site features medical news, comment, research and educational content produced by and relevant for Indian practitioners, and is edited by Mumbai-based Dr Anita Jain. The launch of BMJ.com/India comes with a strategy to triple visitor numbers from India in the next 3 years.

Taylor & Francis joins the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA)

Taylor & Francis is delighted to be joining the community of open access (OA) publishers that are part of OASPA. OASPA represents the interest of OA publishers globally within scientific and technical disciplines; advancing OA models, advocacy, education, and innovation within the field. “We fully support the objectives of OASPA in developing tools and standards to support OA publishing, and facilitating information exchange within the community”, remarked Vicky Gardner, Open Access Publisher.

Taylor & Francis offers a range of exciting Open Access options to provide authors flexibility and variety when they choose to publish research with us:Taylor & Francis and Routledge Open is a suite of high-quality and rigorously reviewed pure open access journals, helmed by internationally-acclaimed editors to ensure their calibre.

Taylor & Francis and Routledge Open Select offer authors or funders the option to make an article fully and permanently open access online in one of our subscription-based journals upon payment of an article publishing charge (APC).

Authors publishing in either programme will benefit from rapid online publication, rigorous peer review and the high levels of customer care Taylor & Francis provides to all authors.

”We are enormously pleased to be part of OASPA and see it as a way to forge sustainable OA publishing routes that will be of benefit to the global research communities across the whole gamut of subject areas”, said David Green, Global Publishing Director of Taylor & Francis Journals.

SPARC welcomes directive mooting open access to publicly funded research

The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) today applauded President Obama for issuing a landmark Directive to ensure that the results of taxpayer-funded research – both articles and data – are made available to the general public to freely access and fully use.

The action today comes about after a ten-year campaign by the “Open Access” movement – scientists, universities, libraries, technology leaders, patient advocates, entrepreneurs, students, and every-day Americans – aimed at making taxpayer-funded scientific research freely accessible and fully reusable in a digital environment.

“This is a watershed moment.  The Administration’s action marks a major step forward towards open access to scientific research,” said Heather Joseph, Executive Director of SPARC, which works to broaden public access to scholarly research.  “The Directive will accelerate scientific discovery, improve education, and empower entrepreneurs to translate research into commercial ventures and jobs.  It’s good for our nation, our economy, and our future.”

“Knowledge is power.  It’s the power to innovate, to advance scientific discovery, to promote economic growth, and to create jobs.  In 2013, we should be taking full advantage of the digital environment to disseminate the results of publicly funded research, not keep this knowledge locked away.”

Every year, the federal government uses taxpayer dollars to fund tens of billions of dollars of scientific research that results in thousands upon thousands of articles published in scientific journals.  The government funds this research with the understanding that it will advance science, spur the economy, accelerate innovation, and improve the lives of our citizens.  Yet most taxpayers – including academics, students, and patients – are shut out of accessing and using the results of the research that their tax dollars fund, because it is only available through expensive and often hard-to-access scientific journals.

The potential economic benefits of opening up access to this research are estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.  In instances where this kind of open access has already been enabled, remarkable examples demonstrate how powerful open access can be.  Placing the Human Genome Project in the public domain, for example, enabled scientists everywhere to access the data.  The $3.8 billion investment in the project has had an estimated economic impact of almost $800 billion.

Details of the White House Directive

The White House Directive, affirms the principle that the public has a right to access the results of taxpayer-funded research and calls on all federal agencies with annual research and development budgets of $100 million or more to provide free and timely online access to the results of that research.  Articles reporting on the results of publicly funded scientific research must be made available after a 12 month embargo period.

The Directive builds on the progress made by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the first federal agency to require public access to taxpayer-funded research.  Since its implementation, the NIH policy enabled more than 90,000 new biomedical manuscripts to be made publicly available each year, resulting in millions of Americans having access to vital health care information.  Demand for this information is extremely high, with more than 700,000 unique users accessing material from this repository each weekday.

The Directive comes as the bipartisan Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR), is making is way through the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

“The Directive is a major achievement for both open access and open government.  We should now take the next step and make open access the law of the land. We commend Senators Cornyn and Wyden and Representatives Doyle, Lofgren, and Yoder for introducing FASTR and call on Congress to pass it without delay,” said Joseph.

To follow the conversation on Twitter use the hashtags #openaccess or #OA.  Media questions can be directed to @SPARC_NA or sparcmedia@arl.org.

Ingram Content Group Launches On-Demand Journals Program

Ingram Content Group Inc. today announced the launch of a comprehensive, on-demand print and fulfillment journals program that will reshape the traditional supply chain in journal publishing.

“Using an on-demand business model for journals will help publishers become more efficient in the distribution and production of journal content,” said Phil Ollila, Chief Content Officer, Ingram Content Group.

Ingram Content Group’s solution provides publishers with the tools to effectively manage their print journals, from file set-up to print on demand to delivery. From an easy-to-use website, publishers can upload and manage content and subscription lists, designate fulfillment requirements, place print orders for direct delivery to their subscribers, as well as order one-off issues for claims fulfillment.

Using the Ingram journal program, publishers move fixed costs to variable costs, eliminating overprinting and warehousing, reducing overhead and realizing improved inventory control.

Ingram will begin printing on-demand journals in March for publishers worldwide from its Tennessee location and has plans to expand journal manufacturing to its other locations soon.

Click here to learn more about the Ingram journal program.

Thomson Reuters Report Finds That Investment In Scientific Research, Innovation & Education Close Gap Between “Brick” & G7 Nations

China and South Korea outpace the rest of the BRICK nations in key innovation metrics, according to new research published today by the Intellectual Property & Science business of Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading provider of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. The report, “Building Bricks: Exploring the Global Research Impact of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Korea,” tracks global research publications, R&D spend and patent filings over a 10-year period to gauge benchmarks of economic innovation in the BRICK countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Korea.

The Thomson Reuters study finds that China and South Korea have made larger investments, produced more published research and filed a greater number of patent applications over the past decade than the rest of the group. The strong culture of intellectual property protection and broad-based economic growth in these nations has resulted in more literature citations, on par with some European Union countries. The research also unveiled that each BRICK nation has its own, unique profile. For example, while South Korea is prominent in materials and computer science, Brazil’s focus is on agriculture, plant and animal sciences.

Following are some key observations in the report:

• China’s and South Korea’s R&D Investments Soar: Industrial confidence, as measured by the total percentage of business spending on R&D, in China and South Korea has reached new highs. Between 2000 and 2010, China saw its total business expenditure on R&D grow from 59.96% of gross national expenditure on R&D to 74.45%. South Korea had an even higher level of business investment in R&D, reaching 74.8% of gross national R&D expenditure by 2010.

• China, South Korea Contribute to Global Patent Surge: In 2010, China and South Korea accounted for 84 percent of all BRICK patent filings, helping to drive overall growth of 14.9 percent in patent filings worldwide over the five years between 2006 and 2010. Not only did China file the most patents globally (526,412), but it has shown double digit year-on-year growth since 2009, ultimately reflecting six times as many patents as it filed a decade ago.

• BRICKs Increase Scientific Research: In 2000, China produced roughly 25,000 research papers per year. In 2011, its output exceeded 150,000: a 600 percent increase. With this increase comes high academic value as well. In 2010, China filed over 1,000 papers that were cited in the top one percent for their subject.

• Russia Excels in Physical Sciences: Scientific literature output in Russia is most active in the fields of physics, space science and geosciences, with physics leading in the area of the most citations to scientific literature as well. In terms of patent innovation, Russia is most active in the field of nucleonics, a reflection of its dependence on nuclear energy.

• India Leads in Pharmaceutical Innovation; Brazil in Petroleum and Agriculture Chemicals: Of all the BRICK nations, India is by far the leader in terms of pharmaceutical patent activity, with approximately twice as much activity as the next closest BRICK country, Russia. Brazil is most active in petroleum-related and agricultural chemical patents, outpacing all other BRICK nations in these areas.

“With this report, we showcase quantitative benchmarks for measuring research output with a focus on BRICK nations,” said Jonathan Adams, director, Research Evaluation for the Scientific & Scholarly Research business of Thomson Reuters and one of the authors of the report. “By examining R&D expenditures, human capital and the resulting research output and impact, we are able to evaluate and share critical science statistics and trend data, to better understand emerging regions and how they compare globally.”

Data for this report were compiled using Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge and Derwent World Patents Index.

Access the full report, “Building Bricks: Exploring the Global Research Impact of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Korea”

Semantico appoints new Head of Design

Semantico, suppliers of digital publishing solutions to the scholarly and professional market, is pleased to announce the appointment of Owen Priestley as Head of Design. Owen will lead all design and user experience activities within Semantico and head up a growing team of front end developers and user experience consultants. He has a broad remit to develop and grow design excellence within the business.

Owen is an award winning designer and art director with over 10 years’ experience of working within the digital design and communication industry. Owen brings to Semantico his wealth of experience from high profile brands such as Faber & Faber, Dorling Kindersley, BBC and Sony Playstation and has exceptional communication, conceptual and strategic skills.

Owen said: “I’m extremely pleased to have been given this opportunity to join Semantico as their new Head of Design. My remit is to grow and develop a team focused solely around offering the highest levels of quality in creative and user experience design.”

SAGE to publish Measurement and Control from April 2013

SAGE and The Institute of Measurement and Control (InstMC) today announced a new agreement to publish Measurement and Control (M+C) from April 2013.

Measurement and Control, edited by Ron Summers, publishes both practical and technical research and news pieces from both the science and engineering industry and academia. Whilst focusing more broadly on topics of relevance for practitioners in instrumentation and control, the journal also includes updates on both product and business announcements and information on technical advances. Ten issues are published annually on a monthly basis.

“As publishers of the Institute of Measurement and Control’s (InstMC) learned journal, Transactions of the Institute of Measurement and Control, we are delighted to have been selected to publish the Institute’s technical journal Measurement and Control”, said Karen Phillips, Editorial Director, SAGE. “We see clear synergies between us and our society partners in providing the scholarly community with access to high quality research that enables the exchange of views, encouraging debate and the advancement of knowledge within the sector. We look forward to developing this journal as part of our world-class engineering portfolio.”

“SAGE has a strong international market presence and a growing portfolio within the engineering sector, two accolades which we look forward to benefiting the Journal through this extended partnership,” commented Ron Summers, editor. “At the heart of our organisation is to provide thinkers and practitioners with opportunities to access the research that advances the profession it serves. We believe that SAGE’s commitment to publishing high quality research is closely aligned to our goals and we look forward to developing a prosperous future together.”

The first SAGE issue will publish in April 2013. The new website will be http://mac.sagepub.com.

Maney Publishing signs agreement with Atypon

Atypon®, the leading provider of Software as a Service content delivery for publishers, today announced that Maney Publishing has signed an agreement with Atypon for Literatum™ to power the future of its digital publications.

Maney Publishing is an independent publishing company specialising in academic journals in materials science and engineering, the humanities, and health science. Committed to publishing high quality, international, peer-reviewed journals, Maney publishes extensively for learned societies, universities, and professional bodies around the world. Maney currently publishes 111 journals and 180 books online and is planning for significant growth over the coming years.

“We conducted an extensive review of our online publishing options, including conducting a wide-ranging survey to ascertain fully our customers’ and clients’ requirements, and concluded that Literatum provided the best basis for the next stage in Maney’s growth,” notes Michael Gallico, Maney’s Managing Director. “We sought a proven system with the functionality to deliver our content in the best way to the widest possible audience yet flexible to accommodate both growth of our existing business and new business models. We look forward to working with the Atypon team towards a smooth transition and launch later this year.”

“We are delighted to be working with such a rapidly growing and customer focused publisher as Maney Publishing,” said Chris Beckett, Vice President of Business Development for Atypon. “Literatum is uniquely positioned to assist publishers who have diversified publishing programs and a commitment to meeting the needs of scholarly societies, universities, and professional organisations.”

Informa to launch American edition of journal PRIME

Informa, the leading publishers of medical, scientific and business journals, is launching an American edition of PRIME, its leading international peer-reviewed publication which provides quality scientific research and information on the rapidly growing and continually evolving Anti-Ageing and Aesthetic medicine market.

Launched to pan-European acclaim in 2011, PRIME has been successfully established as the leading source of information in the rapidly growing aesthetic and anti-ageing markets.

Aimed at Cosmetic and Plastic Surgeons, dermatologists, anti-ageing practitioners and physicians in the aesthetics and anti-ageing industry, the journal has galvanised opinion, lead debate and supported development in these markets during the two years since its European launch.  Now, the US edition will provide territory specific research, analysis, information and debate for the world’s biggest market.

“PRIME provides anti-ageing professionals and suppliers with a highly effective communications forum to learn, discuss, understand and implement the latest applications and technologies shaping the industry,” says Simon Percival, Publisher of the new journal.

“Each month’s issue of PRIME provides readers and users with access to cutting-edge peer-reviewed research, up-to-date news and information, exclusive data, examples and case studies, and a thorough examination of the global issues which surround the market,” continues Percival. “The new US edition will fulfil this role for professionals who work in – or have an interest in – the American market.”

PRIME is published in a monthly print version as well as a continually updated online version which provides subscribers with breaking news and up-to-the-minute research.

“Take up of aesthetic procedures in the US increased more than five-fold in the 10 years to 2007,” says Rosalind Hill, Managing Editor of PRIME.  “At the same time, anti-ageing medicine has emerged as a specialty area which focuses on understanding and controlling the biological process of ageing.  Research house, Global Industry Analysts predicts that this sector could be worth almost US$300 billion within the next three years. That’s close to half the size of the current global pharmaceuticals market.”

Research in this area is not all about beauty and finding the fountain of youth.  Major aims are to prevent disease, control factors that promote the occurrence of disease and promote a long and healthy lifespan.

“PRIME covers all aspects of the aesthetic and anti-ageing market from non-surgical treatments like Botox to ground-breaking research in fields such as neurology and endocrinology,” continues Hill. “Our writers and editors have already established the journal as Europe’s must-read publication in aesthetic and anti-ageing medicine.  The US launch will build on Informa’s core strengths in serving the clinical medicine market and ensure that PRIME is the must-read publication in the world’s leading aesthetic and anti-ageing market.”

To arrange for a free subscription to PRIME, please click here.

EBSCO Publishing Introduces New eBook Subject Sets

Librarians have a convenient way to begin or expand their e-book collection with 23 new eBook Subjects Sets from EBSCO Publishing. The eBook Subject Sets are prepackaged sets of titles from leading publishers in specific, high-interest topic areas chosen to meet libraries’ needs while simplifying collection development.

This latest release of eBook Subject Sets addresses the demand from libraries for more offerings in religion and theology; ethnic and cultural studies; literary criticism and writing; and engineering. The new eBook Subject Sets are:

  • Nursing
  • Healthcare Knowledge & Management
  • Allied Health
  • Engineering
  • College Success
  • Leadership & Management
  • Accounting & Finance
  • Environmental
  • Networking & Security
  • Defense & Security
  • Personal & Home Computing
  • Contemporary Social Issues
  • Career
  • Criminal Justice
  • Literary Criticism & Writing
  • Education
  • Biology & Life Sciences
  • American Contemporary Issues
  • Ethnic & Cultural Studies
  • Psychology
  • Religion & Theology
  • Energy & Green Technologies
  • Computer Science

The eBook Subject Sets are created by EBSCO’s Collection Development Team of librarians and include titles published within the past two years. For more information, visit www.ebscohost.com/ebooks.

Thomson Reuters Resurrects the Publication of Its Most Highly Cited Researchers with Updated Methodology

The IP & Science business of Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading provider of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, today announced revisions to its Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) methodology to refine its processes for identifying the world’s most highly-cited authors and institutions.  Thomson Reuters gathered industry input and updated its methodology while the release of any new designations were frozen, to ensure the greatest level of accuracy in its list. The next announcement of the most esteemed researchers will be published in April 2013, and will be included as one of the indicators used for Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s 2013 Academic Ranking of World Universities.

“Being identified by Thomson Reuters as one of the world’s most highly cited researchers has long been a coveted designation for those who receive it,” said Gordon Macomber, managing director, Thomson Reuters Scientific & Scholarly Research. “We take the development of this list very seriously, which is why we had a temporary hiatus of its publication in order to engage with the community to define a methodology that is robust and transparent. I’m pleased to announce that we will once again be issuing the list of the world’s most highly cited researchers this year, and that it will be used in the 2013 Academic Ranking of World Universities by our valued partner Shanghai Jiao Tong University.”

An HCR designation opens new opportunities for those who hold it. Authors/Researchers are immediately identified as being among the world’s best in their field, as are the institutions which employ them. This, in turn, impacts the recruitment and enrollment of faculty and students, respectively.

The updated Thomson Reuters methodology begins first with an analysis of the most highly cited papers, and is followed by a review of those individuals who have authored or co-authored the greatest number of these documents.  The analysis now covers a 10-year moving window, with citations counted over an additional year, so every paper is available for citation for at least 12 months. Articles and reviews from the Web of ScienceSM are the primary documents analyzed. Once someone is recognized as being highly cited by Thomson Reuters, he/she will retain that designation through the future, regardless of changes to citation influence in future years.

“It is an honor to work with Thomson Reuters and make use of its carefully processed list of the world’s most highly cited researchers,” said Dr. Ying Cheng, executive director, Center for World-Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. “We take great pride in our Academic Ranking of World Universities and the value it provides the market. Partnering with Thomson Reuters to ensure the highest quality data is a key feature of our ranking.”

Authors/Researchers may review and update their information for consideration in the 2013 most highly cited list by March 31, 2013.

For more information on Thomson Reuters enhanced Highly Cited Researchers methodology: http://www.highlycited.com/methodology/.

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