You have probably read about the mass resignation of all the editorial board and the reviewers of Lingua, a prestigious journal published by Elsevier [in November 2015]. For those of you who may have missed it, here are some highlights. What happened? Last July, the editors of Lingua asked Elsevier to renegotiate the way the journal worked.… Continue reading The Lingua controversy
Tag: open access
On Grexit and Solidarity
There are two reasons for writing this post: One is to express my sincere gratitude to colleagues and friends who have come forward with generous offers of help, at what has been a challenging time for people in Greece; and the other is to pass along a very kind offer that may be of interest… Continue reading On Grexit and Solidarity
Paying for peer review; Nobel laureates on Raif Badawi; & dealing with retractions
This post is a collection of articles about ELT, language learning and Higher Education, which appeared in the second week of January 2015. In this week’s collection of articles, I would like to invite you to reflect on the following questions: New open-access journal promises to pay peer reviewers According to an article in the… Continue reading Paying for peer review; Nobel laureates on Raif Badawi; & dealing with retractions
Making college free, a new OA journal, and student visas
About this post: This is a summary of blog posts, articles and other content about Higher Education, language teaching and learning and academic writing that appeared online in the first week of January 2015. I am not sure whether it was a mere coincidence or if it is somehow connected to the New Year, but… Continue reading Making college free, a new OA journal, and student visas
Open access and other stories
About this post: This is a summary of posts, news stories and other content about Open Access publishing, as well as other aspects of Higher Education), which appeared online in the first week of December 2014. There were several interesting stories this week on Open Access publishing. Open Access (OA) is a publication model that… Continue reading Open access and other stories
Open Access Week 2014
To mark Open Access Week 2014, here are some links to relevant content: In this blog An overview of open access publishing; A list of myths about Open Access, according to Peter Suber, the director of the Harvard Office for Scholarly Communication; Elsewhere on the web: A video explaining the Open Access publishing model, by… Continue reading Open Access Week 2014
Academic publishing: the REF, Open Access, plagiarism and pseudoscience
This is a post summarising articles, blog posts and news items about Higher Education, academic publishing and language learning, which were published between 31 March and 6 April 2014. This week’s selection of news and comments brings together an initiative by England’s top research funding body to promote open access, some concerns about the way the… Continue reading Academic publishing: the REF, Open Access, plagiarism and pseudoscience
Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes: New Issue and CfP
In a previous blog post, I wrote about the Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes, an open access journal published by the University of Niš. I am happy to say that the second issue of volume 1 is now online. The issue contains a diverse range of papers, which are listed below: Journal… Continue reading Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes: New Issue and CfP
“Open access: six myths to put to rest”
Since writing my post on Open Access, this article by Peter Suber, the director of the Harvard Office for Scholarly Communication, was brought to my attention. In response to what are described as six “common and harmful misunderstandings about open access”, the author notes that:
1. (Gold) Open Access journals are not the only venue for providing open access to peer-reviewed articles;
2. More than two thirds of open access journals do not charge publication fees;
3. Most publication fees are paid by research funders or universities, rather than the authors themselves;
4. Traditionally published articles can be made available available under (Green) Open Access;
5. Many, though not all, Open Access journals are excellent in quality;
6. The demand by funding agencies to make research available under Open Access is compatible with academic freedom.
It is a compelling article, and anyone interested in the Open Access debate is strongly encouraged to read it:
Open access: six myths to put to rest
Featured Image: Stockholm Public Library (Wikipedia)