By David Kent. Earlier this month, I was gobsmacked when a colleague told me of their paper’s afternoon journey from submission to acceptance in a peer-reviewed journal. Not only was this a lightning fast acceptance, but it was the paper’s first submission, i.e., it had never been through peer review. It was received by the editor, read by the editor and accepted by the editor all within a four-hour time frame – and now it’s online as a Letter to the Editor. More...
Copyright reforms and the rights of authors: ‘Fair use’ versus ‘fair dealing’
By Jen T. Kwok. Amidst the astounding technological developments that have transformed how content is created and shared at the start of the 21st century, it is almost universally acknowledged that Australia’s copyright laws need improvement. Multinationals like Google, Yahoo and EBay have indeed argued in Australia for the introduction of a “fair use” exception, as a way to harmonise Australian copyright law with the US, and as a basis to encourage innovation in Australia’s technological industries.
However, as the opponents of the fair use exception are numerous and diverse, so are its supporters. In December 2013, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), delivered a report called Copyright and the Digital Economy, recommending modernisation of Australian copyright laws for an increasingly digital world. More...
S'étonner pour apprendre
Ce numéro spécial de la revue Education permanente réunit les contributions de personnalités du champ de l'éducation tout au long de la vie sur la question de "l'étonnement en formation" : Pourquoi nous étonnons-nous ? Dans quelles circonstances ? Quels sont les effets de cet étonnement sur l'activité ? En quoi l'étonnement provoque, initie ou génère t- il l'apprentissage ? Peut-on encourager et accompagner l'étonnement ? Peut-on apprendre à s'étonner ? Peut-on former à l'étonnement ?...
Education permanente, n° 200, 2014-3.
En savoir plus : http://www.education-permanente.fr/public/articles/articles.php?id_revue=1730. More...
A Win for Publishers
By Carl Straumsheim. Academic publishers on Friday notched a win in the ongoing legal debate about digital access to copyrighted works, as an appeals court rejected a broad ruling on how to determine fair use.
In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which covers Alabama, Georgia and Florida, guarantees Cambridge v. Patton has a long and litigious road ahead of it by reversing the lower court’s opinion and sending the case back for further deliberations. Read more...
Publishers Win Reversal of Court Ruling That Favored ‘E-Reserves’ at Georgia State U.
By Jennifer Howard. How much copyrighted material can professors make available to students in online course reserves before they exceed the boundaries of educational fair use? That’s the essential question at the heart of a long-running copyright-infringement lawsuit that has pitted three academic publishers against Georgia State University.
The answer matters not just to the parties to the case, Cambridge University Press et al. v. Carl V. Patton et al., but publishers, librarians, and professors at many other institutions. It’s already been more than six years since Cambridge, Oxford University Press, and SAGE Publications sued Georgia State for copyright infringement. Read more...
Journal 'fails the test'
By Shaun Smillie. An academic journal accredited by the Department of Higher Education and Training has come under scrutiny after failing a peer review test.
The Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, published in Italy, has been called a scam but it appears on the CVs of several professors at Unisa as the publisher of papers authored by them.
This journal, owned by the Mediterranean Centre of Social and Educational Research, will publish an article only on payment by the author of a fee of $200 (about R2200). More...
Can the Monograph Survive?
By Colleen Flaherty. The first four chapters prove the scholar’s done the work, and the next two chapters – the ones “people might actually read” – present the argument. Elsewhere and in between are the reworking of the author’s dissertation and implicit tenure pitch. Read more...
COPIA adds major publishers to growing list of higher ed content
By Stefanie Botelho. COPIA Interactive, creator of one of the most robust, independent, full-featured digital content platforms and college digital bookstore sites, today announced relationships with seven additional publishers of higher-education textbooks and content. More...
JSTOR, Daily
By Colleen Flaherty. Much of the world’s knowledge is contained in JSTOR, a vast digital academic library. But most of that content is behind a subscription wall. And if you’re not looking for something specific -- or even if you are -- attempting to take in all that knowledge can be an overwhelming experience. Read more...