February 2016
Prognosticating about the new LoC http://zpr.io/mRp9
Expansion of university places – who benefits http://zpr.io/mHMM
Time for a Stern, hard look at the REF http://zpr.io/mHMx
A warning from @stevenhill to ensure QR not awarded on futurological speculation https://x.com/KalwantBhopal/statuses/703933782873739264
Human rights without humanism (2015) http://zpr.io/m6at
We have to pay to go to university but they spend £100bn on something that leads to destruction of all life on Earth http://gu.com/p/4h5db
MAD > LHR. Using it to continue my statistical self-reeducation.
ESSE 2016 Conference in Galway http://zpr.io/mnfH
Boris Johnson has just launched his latest Euro-myth - http://gu.com/p/4h4nf
Protein that triggers juvenile arthritis identified http://zpr.io/mUpN
"Anything you say may be taken down and used against you as evidence. Err, I mean, be shared with those not at #FutureCommons"
On Having and Earning Critical Authority http://zpr.io/MQj3
Job: Postdoctoral Fellowship in Computational Literary Geography http://zpr.io/MQjw
A world reimagined without the university
I'm at a workshop in Madrid organized by FORCE11. The first exercise was to imagine a world where universities did not exist, their hierarchies and power were abolished, but we still knew what we know. What would we build?
The critique of utopia
Today, at the FORCE11 workshop that I am attending in Madrid our facilitators spoke of utopian thinking and then of attempting to realize that utopia in the realm of scholarly communications. (The other thing that happened is that I had a migraine, which resulted in an awful OpenCon reunion photo…
Madrid
"Fat King Penguins Are Less Steady on Their Feet"! https://x.com/MikeTaylor/statuses/702763399076253696
Researchers Claim Success In Removing HIV From Living Cells http://zpr.io/MVdX
"OLH have been amazing throughout. [... Reviewers and eds brought] insight, ruthlessness, and encouragement" https://x.com/j_w_baker/statuses/702764004977074176
Off to Madrid today for a FORCE11 ScholComms workshop. Looking forward to it!
Big Test Coming Up For Kilogram Redefinition http://zpr.io/M4zp
Announcement: Announcing the Next Phase of PressForward! http://zpr.io/Mc7m
The Winnower | Signal, Not Solution: Notes on Why Sci-Hub Is Not Opening Access by @ernestopriego - https://thewinnower.com/papers/3489-signal-not-solution-notes-on-why-sci-hub-will-not-open-access
Of Literary Standards and Logistic Regression: A Reproduction http://zpr.io/MepN
Widdecombe wrong on death penalty. Lots of studies show no deterrent effect. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/23/death-penalty-saves-lives-pope-francis-wrong-ban-capital-punishment-deterrent-murder See: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-about-deterrence-and-death-penalty
Evolving notes on the political philosophy of David Willetts
David Willetts is the politician responsible, above all others, in the United Kingdom for the £9,000 student fee level and its associated phenomena (including the privatization in all-but-name of UK universities). Yet he also writes extremely well of the essential unfairness and breaking of the…
1000 long-tail publishers! http://zpr.io/MLr9
What is an author, indeed: Michel Foucault in translation (2016) http://zpr.io/MLrb
We spend a lot of time discussing what "review" procedure means in the phrase "peer review" but not much time defining "peer".
Scarcity, technology and open access http://zpr.io/MLjt
. @ersatzben thinking about this more: not sure I agree that tech makes the means of production abundant. Definitely reprod.
. @ersatzben cost-to-first-copy most significant aspect even in much print in the digital age?
If that isn't true, genuine and intellectually rewarding scholarly communication, then I don't know what is. @ersatzben
Also: blogging. How fantastic that I can write some developing thoughts & get considered, nuanced responses a short while later. @ersatzben
Very much enjoyed this response. I wonder to what extent prestige has to be, by definition, a scarce concept though? https://x.com/ersatzben/status/701801432178012160
Budget 2016: High politics may trump real policy http://zpr.io/M2Q5
Timeline Of Events: Linux Mint Website Hack That Distributed Malicious ISOs http://zpr.io/M2zk
I've never heard a medical funder like Wellcome say: we really shouldn't disseminate this work too widely in case it's misunderstood.
But comes with bigger problems for OA in a way: they're badly arguing that public access is a public danger. Not just SH.
From what I understand of it, SH would give access to retractions too though. This looks to me like a badly argued attempt to spread FUD.
Suspect the retraction thing might have some merit - although this is an implicit acknowledgement of wrong info in their own portfolio.
Line claiming this info is dangerous is terrible. If really sensitive then paywall is hardly a good discriminator. https://x.com/McDawg/statuses/701422867557261312
Three nasty problems. http://zpr.io/MSma
"Virtually all hospitals now in deficit" - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35608992. Virtually all hospitals underfunded.
Working Paper on the Migration of Codes of Civil Procedure http://zpr.io/MFnz
What Should We Make of Secret Open Access Deals? - http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2016/02/16/what-should-we-make-of-secret-open-access-deals/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ScholarlyKitchen+%28The+Scholarly+Kitchen%29 < they're better than secret subscription deals we already have.
Copyright Professor&#039;s Lecture Removed From YouTube Over Sony Content-ID Claim http://zpr.io/M96x
Research Fortnight piece shares postponed consultation document on post-2014 REF https://www.researchprofessional.com/0/rr/news/uk/ref-2014/2016/2/-Anyone-for-5--research---HEFCE-asked-in-postponed-consultation-.html [paywall]
The postponed REF consultation document
Research Fortnight is running an interesting piece about the REF consultation document that was pulled late last year. Indeed, while the sector is desperate for information about the requirements for the next REF (we're currently playing somewhat blind), the consultation has been postponed while…
Backing into the public domain http://zpr.io/Muyg
A Newly Discovered Greek Play http://zpr.io/MyNu
On speed and open access
At the time of a global health emergency -- the Zika virus -- there are renewed calls for a faster and more open research publication system in disciplines where lives may be saved. This is important, valuable work. We should not be letting people suffer through the slowness of output. The remarks…
The Map and the Territory: Caxton’s Index Prefaces - https://indexhistory.wordpress.com/2016/02/16/the-map-and-the-territory-caxtons-index-prefaces/
And the University of California just followed MIT in supporting @openlibhums http://osc.universityofcalifornia.edu/2016/02/uc-lingustics-faculty-support-glossa/
My word. https://x.com/CamOpenAccess/status/699639382215671809
Many eminent and publicly known faculty endorsing OLH, including Noam Chomsky here! https://x.com/openlibhums/status/699630707921063936
Nice new look and feel to Journal of American Studies. And a great section on my colleague Anna Hartnell's work.
It also reminded me of Adrian Johns' book on piracy and enlightenment. The two marching together with intertwined & inseparable histories.
SciHub. I can't condone and don't think it's the answer. But it is a symptom of the problem. Pure OA business models would be immune to it.
Trying to understand Ofqual's inter-subject comparability Rasch model tests for easy/hard subjects at GCSE & A-Level https://www.martineve.com/2016/02/16/understanding-ofquals-inter-subject-comparability-rasch-model-tests-for-easyhard-subjects-at-gcse-and-a-level/
Couldn't the state fix the loan rate? To redress intergenerational contract, as per Willetts's The Pinch... https://x.com/HEPI_news/statuses/699501313114185728
Trying to understand Ofqual's inter-subject comparability Rasch model tests for easy/hard subjects at GCSE and A-Level
Last night I spent almost three hours reading the full Ofqual statistical paper on subject comparability at school level in the UK. I am not a statistician (obviously) but I've set out below my working through of what they have presented and the underlying assumptions that they have made in case…
Infinite Jest at 20: still a challenge, still brilliant http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/feb/15/infinite-jest-at-20-still-a-challenge-still-brilliant-emma-lee-moss
I think “Shane Warne casts doubt on evolution” is a bit harsh as headlines go.
Let the antibiotics commence! (Worst dramatic sequence ever)
Full-time, fixed-term literature post at my wonderful university, Birkbeck (Middle Ages to the early Renaissance) http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AUC655/lecturer-a-in-english-literature
Accreditation and research-assessment practices (on DORA and the Tickell review)
Last week, the Tickell review of open access in the United Kingdom was published. There are no unwelcome nasty surprises in the review and, in fact, there are a number of extremely progressive elements, most notably the formation of a monographs sub-committee to address this increasingly important…
Bars and stripes: Review of The Punitive Society (2016) http://zpr.io/MaDa
Thanks for the kind words, all. Current status, though: laid up in bed with some horrible, dizzying virus. Drat.
Undergraduates, digital humanities, and visualization: looking back on my early visualizations of Gravity's Rainbow
Today I don't feel well. In fact, I've got some horrible virus that's confining me mostly to bed, which I hate. So, naturally, I've spent quite a lot of time looking at Twitter while I recover (and then much longer than it would usually take me to write this post on a laptop in bed).
On ten years of chronic illness
I'm not one to mope or to seek any special sympathy but this month marks an ambivalent anniversary for me and I promised myself I'd write publicly about it. I want to do so because I know other people who have had a similar experience and someone else might find this blog and find it of interest.
Consultation from @HEFCE on institutional-specific funding in the UK: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/lt/howfund/institution/
Not normally one to plug commercial software etc. but I've had a really good experience using @xero for @openlibhums accounting.
Gravitational Waves http://zpr.io/MZxz
Opportunity: CUNY Humanities Teaching and Learning Alliance http://zpr.io/MZx7
Job: Digital Scholarship Librarian, University of Minnesota http://zpr.io/MZxq
Announcement: Global Digital Humanities Symposium http://zpr.io/MZPm
Job: Mellon Postdoctoral Research Scholar in Digital Humanities http://zpr.io/MZPM
Foucault’s Flirt? A Commentary on La dernière leçon de Michel Foucault and Critiquer Foucault (2015) - http://foucaultnews.com/2016/02/12/foucaults-flirt-neoliberalism-the-left-and-the-welfare-state-a-commentary-on-la-derniere-lecon-de-michel-foucault-and-critiquer-foucault-2015/
Professor of Literature, Technology and Publishing
I had some utterly fantastic news yesterday that I think/hope it's now OK for me to share. At the start of the next academic year (from 1st October 2016) I will take up a personal chair as Professor of Literature, Technology and Publishing at my wonderful institution, Birkbeck, University of London.
Text and Data Mining Are Growing and Publishers Need to Support Their Use – http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2016/02/11/text-and-data-mining-are-growing-and-publishers-need-to-support-their-use-an-aap-psp-panel-report/
James Jacobs on Looking Forward http://zpr.io/Mzrt
Steal this book? http://zpr.io/Mzrg
Adam Tickell's report on open access in the UK published: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-access-to-research-independent-advice & response from HE minister: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/499291/bis-16-122-open-access-research-response.pdf
Giving a guest lecture at KCL today amid much spluttering and sniffing.
Junior doctors face forced contract http://gu.com/p/4gtmc < by definition a contract must be voluntary.
Mission for today: recover sufficiently from this sore throat to be able to give an hour-long talk tomorrow.
The Malware Museum http://zpr.io/MRy7
The State of Digital Research Methods http://zpr.io/MHy6
Today I am mostly on trains to Cardiff and back for a meeting. Heading into the storm.
An old tradition and a new technology: notes on why open access remains hard
The Budapest Open Access Initiative statement begins: "An old tradition and a new technology have converged to make possible an unprecedented public good". The old tradition is the practice of scientists and scholars to publish their work without remuneration. The new technologies are the internet…
MIT Libraries supporting Open Library of Humanities | MIT Libraries News - http://libraries.mit.edu/news/libraries-supporting/21340/
Fascinating statistical critique by @Ted_Underwood et al. of recent paper looking at periods of change in pop music http://tedunderwood.com/2016/02/07/you-say-you-found-a-revolution/
My life with pop culture summarised! https://x.com/pennyb/statuses/696416905712836608
Repeat after me: with nationally funded healthcare, a "deficit" just means you're underfunding hospitals http://gu.com/p/4gfhh
Apparently Daphne and Celeste are returning with a single that references Infinite Jest. Didn't see that coming. http://gu.com/p/473jt
The murder of my friend Giulio Regeni is an attack on academic freedom - https://theconversation.com/the-murder-of-my-friend-giulio-regeni-is-an-attack-on-academic-freedom-54264
We must be doing something right as institutions are beginning to renew their OLH memberships!
Why handling Book Processing Charges from a purchasing library is hard
I keep trying to write about the economics of open access to academic books via Book Processing Charges (BPCs) in a clear way. So there's nothing really new in this post but I think I did stumble today upon a way of putting things that I've said before in a different and more concise fashion.
Documenting Data http://zpr.io/EvbC
I think the password talk went OK!
A Brave New World of Open Access Publishing - on the Institute of Development Studies's transition to open access - http://www.ids.ac.uk/opinion/a-brave-new-world-of-open-access-publishing
I haven't had a chance to participate in any yellow-papered @sa4qe events this year, but still remembering Russell Hoban on his birthday.
You too can suffer from this terrible terrible earworm affliction https://x.com/richmondbridge/statuses/695200158347366400
Right, off to @QMULsed now to speak about passwords, their philosophy, histories, and literary/filmic incarnations!
Cardiff University issues £300m bond http://zpr.io/E428
Winner of the 2015 Underhanded C Contest Announced http://zpr.io/Ee3i
6th annual International Symposium on Digital Ethics http://zpr.io/Ee9M
Information on applying for the fully-funded MA in Creative Writing Kit de Waal Scholarship at Birkbeck here: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/news/fully-funded-creative-writing-scholarship-launched-at-birkbeck
Kit de Waal: ‘Working-class stories need to be told’ - http://gu.com/p/4g9g9?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Tweet_with_Plume
Aesthetics of Absence - June 10th 2016 - Paris-Sorbonne University http://zpr.io/Ed2S
New providers, new analogy http://zpr.io/EdR7
Always read the fine print http://zpr.io/Ei2p
Can we fix it? Yes we can! #DHAnnotates Feb 8-12 http://zpr.io/Ei2z
Tomorrow evening I'm giving an introductory keynote @britishlibrary for the celebration of the IDS Bulletin's move to pure open access.
Open Access in 2016: Part 1: Another Journal Editorial Board Jumps Ship | Against The Grain - http://www.against-the-grain.com/2016/02/atg-original-open-access-in-2016-part-1-another-journal-editorial-board-jumps-ship/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
We're not there yet, but my goal is to do demographic analysis once stable & release stats and plans to improve where needed. @CharlotteRock
Great piece by @CharlotteRock on
ScholComms diversity. I pledge that we will take diversity seriously @openlibhums http://m.crln.acrl.org/content/77/2/82.full
Is our admissions debate too narrow? http://zpr.io/E26V
Green Paper and students’ unions: nothing to see here? - http://wonkhe.com/blogs/students-unions-and-the-green-paper-nothing-to-see-here/