Open Access and Open Journal Publishing: Winds of change are profound !!

Dear friends,

I came across an interesting article in PLoS Medicine March 2011 issue that discusses open access publishing. Dr. Subbaiah Arunachalam, a co-author of this article is a pioneer in promoting open access in India. He has always advocated and supported open access for academic journals. The article highlights are, quote:

• Unequal access to and distribution of public knowledge is governed by Northern standards and is increasingly inappropriate in the age of the networked “Invisible College”.
• Academic journals remain the primary distribution mechanism for research findings, but commercial journals are largely unaffordable for developing countries; local journals—more relevant to resolving problems in the South—are near-invisible and under-valued.
• Donor solutions are unsustainable, are governed by markets rather than user needs, and instil dependency.
• Open access is sustainable and research driven and builds independence and the capacity to establish a strong research base; it is already converting local journals to international journals.
• However, as open access becomes the norm, standards for the assessment of journal quality and relevance remain based on Northern values that ignore development needs and marginalise local scholarship. 

unquote.

Prior to publication of this article, Dr. Arunachalam, along with his co-authors Leslie Chan and Barabara Kirsop has guest blogged on Speaking of Medicine: PLOS Medicine Community Blog regarding withdrawal of journal access by commercial publishers, its after-effects, and alternatives like open access and open publishing. The blog post was entitled "Withdrawal of journal access is a wake-up call for researchers in the developing world". Indeed!! Researchers need to understand the fact that if they wish to generate more visibility to their research and ideas, they need to turn to open journal publishing models and not resort to commercial publishing.

I observe, open journal publishing trend is also like open source software that was not welcomed and accepted a few years ago. Today, the winds of change are profound. So much so that the community of librarians have embraced the open source software to its core. I, as one of such kind, strongly support and vouch for anything open and free of monopoly. Being an experienced professional, I have always tried to publish my views and observations in peer-reviewed open access journals as a modest initiative. Most of the open access journal initiatives are now supported by giants like PLoS (Public Library of Science), MedInd etc. and are peer-reviewed. They are sure to have good impact factors and so also the authors will enjoy good citation ranking.

So, authors, researchers and passionate writers please switch over to open journal publishing and increase and improve your visibility. The time is NOW and YOU are the Change!!

Happy publishing!!

Hathi Trust Digital Library

Dear friends,

HathiTrust is a partnership of major research institutions and libraries working to ensure that the cultural record is preserved and accessible long into the future. There are more than fifty partners in HathiTrust, and membership is open to institutions worldwide.

The HathiTrust Digital Library provides access to some of the very old and classic texts from several contributing institutions, consortia and universities viz., Triangle Research Libraries Network, University of California, Arizona State University, MIT etc. to name a few.
Not only this, HathiTrust has been certified as a trustworthy digital repository by the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) in 2011, through their rigorous Trustworthy Repositories Audit and Certification (TRAC) assessment program. Only a small number of digital repositories have been granted this certification.

Wish you all a happy browsing and accessing!!

Online engineering education information site

Dear friends,

Edgar Diaz and Samantha Rhodes maintain an online engineering education information site "Online Engineering Degree" They say it is an nonprofit online resource created to explain to students their options and some of the advantages and disadvantages of getting an online engineering degree.

Happy visiting!!

Online courses for Engineering students from NPTEL

Dear readers,

I guess, we have earlier discussed about open courseware of MIT. Similarly we have NPTEL courses for Engineering students as a joint collaboration of IITs and IISc in India started a few years ago.

According to the NPTEL website,

"The main objective of NPTEL program is to enhance the quality of engineering education in the country by developing curriculum based video and web courses"

I hope it will be a useful resource for many students.

What kind of learner are you?

Here's an interesting note.

Learning styles refer to the variations in your ability to accumulate as well as assimilate information. Basically, your learning style is the method that best allows you to gather and use knowledge in a specific manner. (http://www.ldpride.net/)

In general we hear the experts say that there are three kinds of learning styles, viz.:

• Visual learning - learning by seeing, watching, perceiving etc.;
• Auditory learning - learning by listening, hearing, discussing etc. ; and
• Kinesthetic/tactile learning - learning by experiencing, hands-on, role play etc.

Most of us usually possess a single style or could possess a combination of different learning styles, which can usually be observed at a relatively young age. Identifying one's learning style helps him to adapt the learning process and maximize personal, professional and academic / educational opportunities.

If you want to know what kind of learner you are, you can visit http://www.ldpride.net/learning-style-test.html and take a simple test. It is interesting!! The site even has a freely downloadable book on 'Understanding Your Learning Styles'. You may even identify the learning style of your child, so that the next time your child shows low interest in listening to the lessons, you may try an alternative technique!!