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Inexpensive Research in the Golden Open-Access Era

Inexpensive Research in the Golden Open-Access Era

The financial pressure that publishers impose on libraries is a worldwide concern. Gold open-access publishing with an expensive article-processing charge paid by the authors is often presented as an ideal solution to this problem. However, such a system threatens less-funded departments and even article quality.

Practicing What You Preach: Evaluating Access of Open Access Research

Practicing What You Preach: Evaluating Access of Open Access Research

This study finds that 73.7 percent of articles about OA are openly available.

The Text and Data Mining Exception in the Proposal for a Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market: Why It Is Not What Eu Copyright Law Needs?

The Text and Data Mining Exception in the Proposal for a Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market: Why It Is Not What Eu Copyright Law Needs?

Text and Data Mining. Or the creation of new knowledge from existing information (but not in the EU).

Making a home for the Physical Sciences and Engineering in PLOS ONE

Making a home for the Physical Sciences and Engineering in PLOS ONE

PLOS ONE has created a Physical Sciences and Engineering team as part of a wider effort to better serve our communities through subject-specific in-house editorial groups.

Time Management: Stressed Science Needs to Slow Down

Time Management: Stressed Science Needs to Slow Down

Current evidence suggests that beyond a certain number of hours per week-around 40-productivity actually decreases. We need to appreciate our brain is a physically limited resource.

Against Metrics: How Measuring Performance by Numbers Backfires

Against Metrics: How Measuring Performance by Numbers Backfires

Contrary to commonsense belief, attempts to measure productivity through performance metrics discourage initiative, innovation and risk-taking. The entrepreneurial element of human nature is stifled by metric fixation.

With €1.5 Billion for Artificial Intelligence Research, Europe Pins Hopes on Ethics

With €1.5 Billion for Artificial Intelligence Research, Europe Pins Hopes on Ethics

Europe aims to catch up to China and United States in global artificial intelligence “arms race”

US Government Considers Charging for Popular Earth-Observing Data

US Government Considers Charging for Popular Earth-Observing Data

Images from Landsat satellites and agricultural-survey programme are freely available to scientists - but for how long?

Chemistry Students With Advisers of Same Gender More Likely to Succeed

Chemistry Students With Advisers of Same Gender More Likely to Succeed

Women with female PhD supervisors publish more papers and are 50% more likely to become academics than those with male advisers.

E.P.A. Announces a New Rule. One Likely Effect: Less Science in Policymaking

E.P.A. Announces a New Rule. One Likely Effect: Less Science in Policymaking

The agency plans to publish a new regulation Tuesday that would restrict the kinds of scientific studies the agency can use when it develops policies.

Elite Colleges Pledge More Access for Low-Income Students

Elite Colleges Pledge More Access for Low-Income Students

One hundred institutions have signed on to create more opportunities for these students, but will the initiative limit growth opportunities for smaller colleges?

Facebook Shuts the Gate After the Horse Has Bolted, and Hurts Real Research in the Process

Facebook Shuts the Gate After the Horse Has Bolted, and Hurts Real Research in the Process

Facebook has recently announced a substantial tightening of access restrictions to the APIs of Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms it owns. While these changes may generate some positive publicity for the company, they are likely to compound the real problem, further diminishing transparency and opportunities for independent oversight.

EU Urged to Strengthen Gender Objectives

EU Urged to Strengthen Gender Objectives

The Research Council of Norway and the Committee for Gender Balance and Diversity in Research have written a letter to the Ministry of Education and Research. Their message is clear: Don’t forget gender equality.

The Coevolution of Physics and Math

The Coevolution of Physics and Math

Breakthroughs in physics sometimes require an assist from the field of mathematics-and vice versa. When you go far enough back, you really can’t tell who’s a physicist and who’s a mathematician.

Petition: Gender Equality in EU's Next Research Funding Programme

Petition: Gender Equality in EU's Next Research Funding Programme

A petition to make gender equality an integral part of the European strategy for research and innovation during the negotiation of the research Framework Programme 9.

The Matthew Effect in Science Funding

The Matthew Effect in Science Funding

Article suggesting that positive feedback in funding may be a key mechanism through which money is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few extremely successful scholars, but also that the origins of emergent distinction in scientists' careers may be of an arbitrary nature.  (The article is closed access and requires a subscription to view the full text legally.)