Interdisciplinarity at the Journal and Specialty Level: The changing knowledge bases of the journal Cognitive Science

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Using the referencing patterns in articles in Cognitive Science over three decades, we analyze the knowledge base of this literature in terms of its changing disciplinary composition. Three periods are distinguished: (1) construction of the interdisciplinary space in the 1980s; (2) development of an interdisciplinary orientation in the 1990s; (3) reintegration into “cognitive psychology” in the 2000s. The fluidity and fuzziness of the interdisciplinary delineations in the different visualizations can be reduced and clarified using factor analysis. We also explore newly available routines (“CorText”) to analyze this development in terms of “tubes” using an alluvial map, and compare the results with an animation (using “visone”).

The historical specificity of this development can be compared with the development of “artificial intelligence” into an integrated specialty during this same period. “Interdisciplinarity” should be defined differently at the level of journals and of specialties.

URL : http://arxiv.org/abs/1212.0823

The Choice Is Yours Researchers Assign Subject Metadata…

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The Choice Is Yours! Researchers Assign Subject Metadata to Their Own Materials in Institutional Repositories :

“The Digital Commons platform for institutional repositories provides a three-tiered taxonomy of academic disciplines for each item submitted to the repository. Since faculty and departmental administrators across campuses are encouraged to submit materials to the institutional repository themselves, they must also assign disciplines or subject categories for their own work. The expandable drop-down menu of about 1,000 categories is easy to use, and facilitates the growth of the institutional repository and access to the materials through the Internet.”

URL : http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/library_pubs/31/

Opening Science : The Evolving Guide on How the Internet is Changing Research, Collaboration and Scholarly Publishing

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“Modern information and communication technologies, together with a cultural upheaval within the research community, have profoundly changed research in nearly every aspect. Ranging from sharing and discussing ideas in social networks for scientists to new collaborative environments and novel publication formats, knowledge creation and dissemination as we know it is experiencing a vigorous shift towards increased transparency, collaboration and accessibility. Many assume that research workflows will change more in the next 20 years than they have in the last 200. This book provides researchers, decision makers, and other scientific stakeholders with a snapshot of the basics, the tools, and the underlying visions that drive the current scientific (r)evolution, often called ‘Open Science.’”

URL : https://microblogging.infodocs.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/opening_science.pdf

Related URL : http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-00026-8

Open Access Publishing as a Para Academic Proposition…

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Open Access Publishing as a Para-Academic Proposition: OA as Labour Relation :

“In this commentary, I ask what is meant by the phrase Open Access (OA)? If OA publishing has emancipatory potential for the publics that are thought to benefit from the practice, why is there so much business as usual? Para-academic practices are about affirming scholarship as a symptom and creating a common good, creating a public knowledge that is a knowledgable public. It is because OA shares this concern for publics that para-academic practices include OA publishing. By debating the merits of, experimenting with, and invigorating our understanding of OA I believe para-academic practices become more apparently necessary because ultimately OA, like Academia, is haunted by the figure of the public as an already-formed thing.”

URL : http://triplec.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/529

De l’intérêt des bibliothèques nationales pour l’Open Access…

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De l’intérêt des bibliothèques nationales pour l’Open Access :

“Il y a de cela dix ans, la Déclaration de Berlin sur le libre accès à la connaissance en sciences exactes, sciences de la vie, sciences humaines et sociales, désormais reconnue comme l’un des textes fondateurs du mouvement de l’Open Access (OA), précisait les deux conditions requises pour qu’une publication soit dite de libre accès :
• l’attribution d’un droit d’accès « gratuit, irrévocable et mondial » et d’une licence de réutilisation, d’une part ;
• l’archivage électronique de sa version complète, d’autre part.

À ce jour, quatre bibliothèques nationales figurent parmi les 451 signataires de ce texte : la Bibliothèque royale du Danemark, la Bibliothèque royale de Suède, la Biblioteca de Catalunya et la Bibliothèque nationale islandaise. Cela paraît bien peu et interroge sur les raisons qui pourraient pousser ces établissements à s’intéresser à la pratique de la diffusion en ligne, sans intermédiation et sans barrière financière, de la littérature scientifique.

Tout d’abord, la Déclaration de Berlin embrasse dans sa définition du libre accès non seulement les données et travaux de la recherche mais aussi les biens culturels : « Nous définissons le libre accès comme une source universelle de la connaissance humaine et du patrimoine culturel ayant recueilli l’approbation de la communauté scientifique. » Permettre à tous d’accéder à « la connaissance, la pensée, la culture et l’information » est un des engagements des bibliothèques publiques. Certes, « [l]e fonds commun de la pensée et de l’information scientifiques est [déjà] de libre parcours. » Toutefois la tendance aujourd’hui est à une privatisation du savoir. Peuvent être évoqués ici le phénomène d’extension du domaine du brevetable (au vivant, aux mathématiques, aux découvertes elles-mêmes), l’allongement de la durée des droits d’auteur et l’octroi d’une protection juridique aux « digital barbed wire 6 » (« fils de fer barbelés numériques »). Les bibliothèques nationales peuvent dès lors soutenir l’émergence de nouveaux modèles de diffusion de l’information.

Les bibliothèques nationales se sont saisies de la question de l’Open Access à des degrés divers. Certaines ont usé de leur position stratégique pour défendre la cause du libre et engager le politique à s’y intéresser à son tour. D’autres ont choisi de mettre à profit leurs compétences et leurs moyens pour faire avancer un dossier particulier, qu’il s’agisse de signalement, d’archivage ou d’édition électronique. D’autres encore ont voulu s’associer au mouvement de l’OA par la libre publication de leurs ressources sur internet.”

URL : http://bbf.enssib.fr/consulter/bbf-2013-06-0020-003

Transformation of Science Communication in the Age of Social Media

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The aim of the present article is to discuss several consequences of the Open Science from a perspective of science communication and philosophy of communication. Apart from the purely communicative and philosophical issues, the paper deals with the questions that concern the science populariza- tion process through social media (especially Twitter and blogs).

The article consists of three sections: the first one suggests a definition of science communication and social media, the second examines the transformation of science in the Age of the Internet and considers the influence of social media on science communication, the third and final one presents some case studies and philosophical observations.

The most important conclusion to be reached here is that the social media have changed science and science communication. Twitter and blogs as novelty tools of science communication can be useful and meaningful for both science and society. Furthermore, social media can be used to facilitate broader involvement of citizens in the discussion about science.

URL : http://teorievedy.flu.cas.cz/index.php/tv/article/view/172

Commercialising Public Research New Trends and Strategies …

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Commercialising Public Research: New Trends and Strategies :

“Policy-makers have high hopes for public research as a new source of growth. This research has been the source of significant scientific and technological breakthroughs that have become major innovations. Well-known examples include the Global Positioning System (GPS), MP3 technology, and Apple’s Siri voice recognition technology.
The substantial economic benefits from public research, and demands by governments to reap them, have led to increased efforts toward more direct engagement in downstream commercialisation activities. In light of this, institutions and infrastructures that support the networks and markets for transferring and commercialising public research results are being reviewed across many OECD countries, as traditional approaches and models are facing considerable limitations and may be restraining further scientific advance and broader innovation.
The OECD report Commercialising Public Research: New Trends and Strategies looks closely at this evolution and provides a comprehensive review of government and institutional level policies aimed at enhancing the transfer and exploitation of public research results. The publication also compares performance in OECD countries, universities and public research institutions using both traditional and new indicators.”

URL : http://www.oecd.org/sti/sci-tech/commercialising-public-research.htm