Skip to main content

Home/ OKMOOC/ Group items tagged research

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Jannicke Røgler

http://www.research4life.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Unsung-heroes-v11.1-webversion.pdf - 3 views

  •  
    It's unquestionable that Research4Life has had a significant impact in improving access to research information for communities in developing countries. I do have a number of criticisms about how the program is organized and delivered, however. 1. Publisher participation in the program is 'entirely voluntary', without 'a single contract (being) signed between any of the partners' (Aaronson, 2004), meaning that publishers can opt out at any point. This issue was highlighted in 2011 when Elsevier, Lipincott Williams & Wilkins, Springer and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, publisher of Science Magazine) withdrew access to over 2500 journals through the HINARI system. Following international attention, and widespread condemnation, publishers restored access, with Elsevier announcing that they were in discussions with the government in Bangladesh to transition towards a paid licensing scheme (Wise, 2011). 2. Countries that meet the eligibility criteria of the program (which are based on the World Bank's listing of Lower and Lower Middle Income Countries) are sometimes excluded. Take for example India or Pakistan- although these countries are in the lists of eligible countries, the publishers deliberately exclude participation to protect whatever business they may have in these countries. So although hundreds of institutions could benefit, they exclude access to protect the business they receive from a handful of institutions. 3. Access to content is delivered through a single username and password for each institution. This is problematic for librarians, as they are unable to ensure the security of the password (a well-meaning researcher may share the password with a colleague in another institution, violating the license agreement). Abuse of institutional accounts has severe consequences, and librarians are sent messages from Research4Life threatening to not only cut off the institution, but all institutions in their country if they
  •  
    Research4life is a great program by committed government and non-government organizations dedicated to produce valuable researches that will improve the life of people. Librarians play an important role in assisting researchers find valid, current, relevant information in order to produce a reliable output or results that will help humankind's betterment of living.
ilanab

Research4Life - A short overview - 1 views

  •  
    This is a brief synopsis covering the main aspects of Research4Life, including information about the creators and stakeholders, criteria for access, its composition and training given. In 2001 Research4Life was initially started by WHO with HINARI (Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative) to enable developing countries to access free or greatly subsidized biomedical and health literature. From 2003-09 this type of access to the AGORA, OARE and ARDI databases of scientific journals and books became available to over 77 poorer developing countries by Cornell and Yale Universities, FAO, UNEP and WIPO with other publishers. Institutions are required to meet specific criteria and categories to be entitled to the right to use of Research4Life resources. A few case studies are described which clearly show the impact Research4Life has had so far. We are informed of the future plans for the project too. This article gives a clear insight into how first world organisations are giving researchers and the populace of less developed countries the opportunity to advance their own research and development by providing access to current information and data.
  •  
    As a librarian, research4life boosts my morale. Truly, librarians can be the unsung heroes in scientific researches. Librarians happily serve researchers without expecting anything but ensuring that they get the information they need. Research4life values the role of the librarians in the field of research and I appreciate that. I wish to express my gratitude to resesarch4life organization for giving value to the contribution of librarians in research
kristin_k

The Open Educational Resources Research Hub - 2 views

shared by kristin_k on 13 Sep 14 - No Cached
haileyhjw liked it
  •  
    I chose the Open Educational Resources Research Hub (OER Research Hub) for a focus for research, designed to give answers to the overall question 'What is the impact of OER on learning and teaching practices?' and identify the particular influence of openness. As open education now reaches a stage of maturity we need evidence about what works, what doesn't and why in order that lessons learned can be shared. Filling the gap in the evidence base and sharing data and methods widely is the intention of OER Research Hub. The project combines: A targeted collaboration program with existing OER projects An international fellowship program Networking to make connections A hub for research data and OER excellence in practice
  •  
    The Open Educational Resources Research Hub (OER Research Hub) provides a focus for research, designed to give answers to the overall question 'What is the impact of OER on learning and teaching practices?' and identify the particular influence of openness.
mbishon

Social Science Research Network (SSRN) - 1 views

shared by mbishon on 21 Sep 14 - No Cached
moonlove liked it
  •  
    I have found some interesting research publications on this site, in particular to MOOCs. Leading Social Science Research Delivered Daily Social Science Research Network (SSRN) is devoted to the rapid worldwide dissemination of social science research and is composed of a number of specialized research networks in each of the social sciences. Each of SSRN's networks encourages the early distribution of research results by distributing Submitted abstracts and by soliciting abstracts of top quality research papers around the world. We now have hundreds of journals, publishers, and institutions in Partners in Publishing that provide working papers for distribution through SSRN's eLibrary and abstracts for publication in SSRN's electronic journals. The SSRN eLibrary consists of two parts: an Abstract Database containing abstracts on over 563,000 scholarly working papers and forthcoming papers and an Electronic Paper Collection currently containing over 465,300 downloadable full text documents in Adobe Acrobat pdf format. The eLibrary also includes the research papers of a number of Fee Based Partner Publications. The Networks encourage readers to communicate directly with authors and other subscribers concerning their own and others' research. To facilitate this we publish detailed author contact information including email addresses for authors of each paper.
kristin_k

Research4LifeTips for writing a research paper | Research4Life - 0 views

  •  
    Effective technical writing skills are essential for writing a research paper and disseminate your results to the larger community of scientists.
  •  
    Effective technical writing skills are essential for writing a research paper and disseminate your results to the larger community of scientists.
Kevin Stranack

Universities 'get poor value' from academic journal-publishing firms | Science | thegua... - 4 views

  •  
    Compares the cost of articles from society and non-profit publishers to those of the major commercial publishers.
  • ...1 more comment...
  •  
    An extremely powerful piece of research. I find it fascinating that the researchers were able to use US Freedom of Information Act requests to uncover the licensing costs. As a librarian, it is extremely frustrating to be bound by non-disclosure agreements when it comes to our subscriptions.
  •  
    Its crazy. The numbers (of profit and control) for the publishing companies is astronomical!
  •  
    Universities have received a poor deal from the system of private, subscription-based access to knowledge production since the port WW2 commercialization of the scientific publishing industry. It is absurd that the university or research funder supplies the content (the research), pays for the authoring (the time of the researcher writing the article), and provides and pays for the time of peer reviewers and academic editors. In addition, it often pays page charges or formatting charges to publishers. It then cedes copyright and finally buys back its own research at prices that have escalated at four times the rate of inflation in the past decade and a half! Considering most of this research is conducted using public funds, it becomes a moral argument when public resources are used once again to purchase access to the outputs of this research. The commercial model of disseminating research does not obey the rules of supply and demand. A relatively small number of 'core' journals occupy monopoly positions, in that university libraries have to subscribe to access their content, whatever the cost, because these journals have been established as 'must-have' resources. While the practice of 'bundling' offers the advantage of bulk pricing, it reduces room for choice, as bundles consume large chunks of library budgets, making it difficult to subscribe to smaller, individual titles. In addition, the inflexibility of indexing systems makes it difficult for new journals to establish themselves; thus compromising the potential for smaller niche subjects and newer interdisciplinary areas. Thankfully the global inequalities engendered by the commercialization of scholarly publishing are being challenged by open access.
Kevin Stranack

ACRL Scholarly Communication Toolkit - 1 views

  •  
    "New technology and innovative business models offer proven opportunities for enhancing the sharing of scholarly information - research papers, primary data and other evidence, creative activity and other products of research and scholarship - across institutions and audiences. This scholarly communication - understood as the system through which research and other scholarly writings are created, evaluated for quality, disseminated to the scholarly community, and preserved for future use - promotes a shared system of research and scholarship. ACRL sees a need to vigorously re-orient all facets of library services and operations to the evolving technologies and models that are affecting the scholarly communication process. There is wide variance in the background understanding of and engagement in scholarly communication as a critical perspective and worldview for academic librarians. This Scholarly Communication toolkit was designed by ACRL's Scholarly Communication Committee as a resource for education and advocacy efforts in transforming the scholarly communication landscape."
Kevin Stranack

Open Access Scientific Publishing and the Developing World by Jorge L. Contreras :: SSRN - 1 views

  •  
    "Responding to rapid and steep increases in the cost of scientific journals, a growing number of scholars and librarians have advocated "open access" (OA) to the scientific literature. OA publishing models are having a significant impact on the dissemination of scientific information. Despite the success of these initiatives, their impact on researchers in the developing world is uncertain. This article analyses major OA approaches adopted in the industrialized world (so-called Green OA, Gold OA, and OA mandates, as well as non-OA information philanthropy) as they relate to the consumption and production of research in the developing world. The article concludes that while the consumption of scientific literature by developing world researchers is likely to be significantly enhanced through such programs, promoting the production of research in the developing world requires additional measures. These could include the introduction of better South-focused journal indexing systems that identify high-quality journals published in the developing world, coupled with the adjustment of academic norms to reward publication in such journals. Financial models must also be developed to decrease the reliance by institutions in the developing world on information philanthropy and to level the playing field between OA journals in industrialized and developing countries."
Kevin Stranack

Seeking Impact and Visibility: Scholarly Communication in Southern Africa - 3 views

  •  
    "The Scholarly Communication in Africa Programme (SCAP) was a three-year research and implementation initiative that took place between March 2010 and August 2013. Hosted by the University of Cape Town, the programme engaged the Universities of Botswana, Namibia and Mauritius in a process aimed at better understanding the dynamics around scholarly communication in the Southern African higher education environment and advancing the open access agenda for the purpose of increasing the visibility of African research. This work was made possible by a grant from the Canadian International Development Research Center (IDRC). This report synthesizes research and findings from the four institutional case studies conducted at the Universities of Botswana, Cape Town, Mauritius and Namibia. It provides an overview the scholarly communication activity systems at work in these four Southern African universities."
  •  
    Thanks for this article. I think it gives a great overview of the current landscape of scholarly publishing in Africa, and concisely states the problems of visibilities (or the lack thereof).
graneraj

Press Release - 0 views

  •  
    This year, the fifth annual Publishers for Development (PfD) conference explored current developments in scholarly communication including their impact on publishers, researchers and information professionals in the global South. The rapid growth in open access, the potential for social media to increase communication of research and also new measures for the way research is used were all topics viewed from a Southern perspective. The one-day conference was held in London on 15 October and titled 'Forward Thinking: Developing a global research cycle which fully engages South and North'. It brought together publishers from 16 publishing houses, librarians and researchers from universities in Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Also present were representatives of organisations involved in research access, production and use such as the World Bank, African Journals Online, Research4Life, Development Research Uptake in Sub-Saharan Africa (DRUSSA), Talloires Network and Partnerships in Health Information.
liyanl

Confronting global knowledge production inequities - 2 views

  •  
    This is about the inequitable global power and how it dynamics the confronting global knowledge production in nowadays.
  •  
    Underlying this notion of global knowledge production inequities is how developed countries "The Global North" dominate modern knowledge systems. This hegemonic control of global knowledge, driven by increased globalization, places pressure on virtually all societies to adopt global values and services. While this development does have positive implications (e.g. better understanding of modern health practices, nutrition, environmental protection, governance systems, etc), on the negative side, the imposition of cultural forms from the developing world could be considered a form of political and economic domination. This leads to the increasing homogenization of cultures and a threat to local knowledge, and the exacerbation of local differences and inequalities through uneven access to such knowledge and the means for it's application. The production of knowledge implicates and is implicated in power relations, as those with superior technology cannot only generate but also store, monopolize and disseminate information to safeguard their interests. Foucault (1972) suggests that the relationship between power and knowledge has its origin in the ownership of the means of material production and technical expertise. According to Said (1978), Western powers in a colonial and post-colonial context, using agents in developing countries, have been able to develop elaborate cultural and political institutions where knowledge production exists with supporting mechanisms that dominate and suppress African communities. In a critical examination of development policies and programs in Africa, Okolie (2003) considers these to be shaped by knowledge and assumptions about knowledge production that are primarily Euro-American centered, and are consequently "exclusionary and often contemptuous of other ways of knowing" (Okolie, 2003). The establishment of the continent's universities and research centers was primarily driven by Western powers, and the African elites who h
Pris Laurente

Digital Preservation and Open Access Archives - 2 views

  •  
    Open Access repositories promote the widespread dissemination of scientific and scholarly production. Researchers and teachers publish free on line digital assets for claiming their activity and for sharing research results with other researchers. In particular universities, research centres, libraries and, for limited subsets of their collections, museums, administrative archives and other cultural institutions are promoting open access. In the future, a considerable section of scholarly, academic and cultural institutions memory will be formed by born-digital assets, stored in open access archives. Their digital collections will have an ever growing relevance in making up the scientific and information heritage of the next generations. In order to ensure that these objects will survive and continue to be cited, scholarly and academic communities should be committed to the long term preservation of their repositories.
Kim Baker

Neither digital or open - 7 views

Antonella Esposito (http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3881) reflexiona sobre el papel de las prácticas y las limitantes institucionales, en este caso académicas, sobre la selecci...

open access scholarly communication publishing network research digital research

Maria Romanova-Hynes

Let's stand together to promote open access worldwide. | EFF Action Center - 3 views

  •  
    Get involved: "Sign the petition to express your support for Open Access as the default for scientific and scholarly publishing, so researchers like Diego [Gomez] don't risk severe penalties for helping colleagues access the research they need. Sign-on statement: Scientific and scholarly progress relies upon the exchange of ideas and research. We all benefit when research is shared widely, freely, and openly. I support an Open Access system for academic publishing that makes research free for anyone to read and re-use; one that is inclusive of all and doesn't force researchers like Diego Gomez to risk severe penalties for helping colleagues access the research they need." (Creative Commons)
  •  
    The first time I heard of Diego's case, I couldn't believe it and yet it was shared by the EFF, an authoritative source. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that someone would want to sue over the sharing of his thesis. I didn't even thought you could have copyright on a thesis and how do you even make money on a thesis? Especially when it is said that a large majority of all thesis are never looked up more than twice (by the author and the director). This person should be ashamed.
Ad Huikeshoven

Emotions under Discussion: Gender, Status and Communication in Online Collaboration - 6 views

  •  
    Emotional expression and linguistic style in online collaboration differ substantially depending on the contributors' gender and status, and on the communication network. This should be taken into account when analyzing collaborative success, and may prove insightful to communities facing gender gap and stagnation in contributor acquisition and participation levels.
  • ...2 more comments...
  •  
    Hi Ad, thank you for sharing this. My postdoc research was focused on communication challenges participants face online. It was only in the 90s that people believed that online communication supports a "democratic" style of communication, where people are not being distracted by physical appearance, social class, cultural background or gender. S.C. Herring and others conclusively refuted claims of gender anonymity and equality in online communication and published a lot about this topic (if you are interested). What I found particularly interesting to me in your resource is that we all about collaboration (schools, universities, companies, etc.), but we never take into account that participant's gender and/or status impact his/her willingness and ability to contribute.
  •  
    Thank you for sharing this interesting resource. I think that it is fascinating that this research focuses not only on discrepancies between the proportion of male and female contributors on Wikipedia, but also on differences in the actual communication and relationship styles based on the gender of contributors. I also thought that it was really interesting that the researchers found that while site administrators tended to be neutral, the editors were more emotional and relationship-oriented. I think that this comes from Wikipedia's mandate to remain neutral and objective. However, would argue that with this type of collaboration tool, there cannot be true "neutrality." Even if administrators attempt to maintain objective, impersonal tones, site content will inevitably be influenced by various socio-cultural biases.
  •  
    lubajong and taylor_cole thank you for your comments. From my part I will add a critical evaluation of this resource as well. The talk pages of Wikipedia provide a rich source for researchers to study communication patterns. On Wikipedia talk pages they have found signals for status differences between groups of participants, notably between admins and ordinary contributors. Those findings support in general the theories of the researchers about status differences and communication style differences between managers and employees in firms. They have also found differences in communication style bases on gender, which also support their general theories about gender (which is a social construct). What I - as a Wikipedian insider - finds missing in the article is the selection bias. Wikipedia admins aren't appointed by Jimmy Wales or some other body. Admins are community selected. The exact process differs per language version. On the English Wikipedia admin selection is by a community consensus process. Future admins are selected who show the preferred communication style of admins by other contributors including existing admins. For me, the patterns in communication style do not explain the gender gap on Wikipedia. There is a gender gap in many language versions of Wikipedia, but not in all. The Armenian language version of Wikipedia is a notable exception, showing a gender balance in the conbtributor base. An explanation of that exemption requires further research. What taylor_cole notes about neutrality and bias is a valid point. People volunteer to write for Wikipedia, and volunteer in topic choice. My guess is that in general people will opt to write about something they like, care about, know about. A lack of diversity in contributors will naturally reflect in lack of diversity of topics. For example nerdy males will write about things male nerds like. In general females tend to be interested in other topics than nerdy males. A lack of topics covered in Wikipe
  •  
    Levels of participation influences emotional expression and phrasing? has the function of sex and status of the taxpayer. 4 strands to study and find a result! Interesting!
Kevin Stranack

Open access in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania - making research more relevant to the world... - 0 views

  •  
    "Open access is a powerful solution to the barriers that researchers in developing and transition countries face. In 2013, a project was launched that let 100 institutions in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda join forces in educating their researchers on the changing practices of scholarly communication. The result: 25 fully operational open access repositories already, and the number is set to double."
Kevin Stranack

5 Things Researchers Have Discovered About MOOCs - Wired Campus - Blogs - The Chronicle... - 4 views

  •  
    Some preliminary findings from the MOOC Research Initiative.
  •  
    Interesting that most people who do well in MOOCs are generally people who have a "growth mindset" and are not necessarily the people in most need of learning. I think any research on MOOCs is interesting since it is such a new phenomenon and it's going to be interesting to see how they evolve.
  •  
    Very interesting indeed that it is not necessarily those people who are most in need of learning who do well in MOOCs. The question is how MOOC's can, indeed, become more beneficial and attractive to those who need them the most. Access to internet in rural areas around the globe, and availability of cheap computers are both key.
z01284827

Animal Demography Unit - Citizen Science - 1 views

  •  
    Helping researchers do research and making a difference with your time.
  •  
    Helping researchers do research and making a difference with your time.
Jannicke Røgler

Sowing the seed: Incentives and Motivations for Sharing Research Data - 4 views

  •  
    In sharing knowledge and learning, research data must be included. I agree that there must be incentives to motivate researchers share the data and its result. we are not what we are now if we have not learned what, who, why and how we were.
  •  
    thank you very much for sharing this document that effectively connect the dots on an economic ground and made me know the LARM audio research project that might be helpful for this one field of research of mine
Kevin Stranack

You Don't Need a Ph.D. to Contribute to Scientific Research - 7 views

  •  
    "Thanks to the proliferation of mobile apps and advances in online crowdsourcing platforms, non-professionals are helping researchers identify new species, track comets, name proteins, project climate patterns and much more. Science-minded individuals have myriad opportunities to get their hands dirty and partner with professional scientists, conducting ground-breaking research together."
  •  
    Do you know any citizen science project dedicated to investigate rare diseases?
  •  
    It's great to see that people can contribute to scientific exploration in so many ways! It's a good way to learn basic scientific skills and develop critical thinking.
1 - 20 of 336 Next › Last »
Showing 20 items per page