Online Era Research Articles

Pricing in Academic Publishing: A wake-up call to the online era

Pricing in Academic Publishing: A wake-up call to the online era

The future of Biomedical Digital Libraries

Our colleague Charles J. Greenberg founded Biomedical Digital Libraries (BDL) in 2004, with the support of an outstanding team of editors and advisors [1]. He envisioned the journal as a alternative to traditional specialty journals in the field, which have subscription fees and assumption of copyright by the publisher [2]. Charlie has now decided to pursue other worthy endeavors, and remains on our editorial board. As the new editors-in-chief of BDL, we share his belief in the power of open access and in the potential of this journal. BDL has covered a broad terrain. We have published resource reviews and commentaries, and documented innovative uses of technology that further scientific discovery and inform collection development. Readers are welcome to peruse all articles published thus far [3]. One strength of BDL is the variety of article types, including hypotheses, which are, short articles presenting an untested original hypothesis backed solely by previously published results rather than new evidence Hypotheses should outline significant progress in thinking that would also be testable [4]. We hope to publish the first hypothesis in BDL soon. Print-only articles are not the only form of scholarly communication in the online era. BDL stands ready to publish multimedia works, including podcasts. Ramsey's Multimedia Bootcamp paper is the first BDL piece to feature movies [5], and we expect that many more will follow. Regardless of the presentation format, our dedicated team of peer reviewers will critique submissions fairly and rigorously. After a healthy internal discussion BDL recently adopted an open peer review process, in which the authors and reviewers are all known to each other. Despite legitimate concerns that non-anonymity will cause reviewers to be less candid, we believe that transparency will lead to more thorough reviews overall. BioMed Central, BDL's publisher, has endorsed the concept of open peer review as well [6]. New presentation formats, new reviewing protocols - All of this causes us to think we are looking at a new type of journal. In an era of rapidly disseminated pre-print articles and frequently cited web log postings, the concept of the formal journal must evolve in order to remain vibrant. We believe that BDL is up to this challenge, and cordially invite the insights of our editors, advisors, authors and readers as we begin the journey.

On and Off the 'Net: Scales for Social Capital in an Online Era

Scholars investigating the relationship between the Internet and social capital have beenstymied by a series of obstacles, some due to theoretical frameworks handed downunchanged from television research, and some due to the lack of an appropriate yard-stick. For example, the social interactions that occur through television are prima faciedifferent from those that occur online. Given this basic functional difference, we cannotapproach social capital research in an online era with the same set of assumptions andmeasures. To address this gap in the literature and in our measurement toolkits, thisarticle reports on the development and validation of the Internet Social Capital Scales,or ISCS. These scales are intended to measure two different types of social capital—known as ‘‘bridging’’ and ‘‘bonding’’—for both online and offline contexts. Questionitems are developed and tested and found to be valid and psychometrically sound.Potential uses of the scales are then discussed.doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00029.x

The 25th Volume: Did You See the Latest?

The Journal of Andrology is now completing its second year online, and the shift to electronic access has been a successful ongoing venture for the American Society of Andrology. The Society wisely chose to facilitate desktop availability of the Journal, selecting HighWire as its electronic publisher. The availability of electronic publication is an important factor for the continued visibility of our Journal. If you have not done so already, directing your Web browser to the URL, http:www.andrologyjournal.com, will bring the Journal's content to your screen in a few mouse clicks. Many readers have become accustomed to reading and printing out each issue's content from their desktop computers. Some of you have even activated “ETOC,” the free electronic table of contents feature that automatically provides an early notice of each Journal issue by e-mail. The URL for ETOC is http:www.andrologyjournal.orgsubscriptionsetoc.shtml. Typically, each online issue of the Journal is posted 2 weeks before the paper version arrives in the mail. Therefore, the online era brings not only increased convenience but also greater speed. Within the Journal's editorial office, we have also increased our use of electronic communication to speed transport of manuscripts to reviewers, allowing an efficient review process and making submission of articles to the Journal of Andrology more attractive. The editors are committed to further enhancement of the Journal's impact within the andrology community and beyond. Rapid publication of accepted manuscripts, complete electronic archiving through the first volume, and key-word tracking by e-mail are just a few of the extra services readers may see in the years ahead. We will keep you posted.

The online divide: a professional user’s perspective on Derwent database development in the online era

The way in which users’ early online experiences with Derwent’s World Patents Index influenced the development of the database from the late 1970s up to the present time is reviewed. Topics covered include: the pre-online situation––paper format, microform and punch card codes, the impact of online delivery, subscriber liaison, chemical coding enhancements, and some current issues. The author concludes that much has changed since the 1970s, but much remains to be done, and that current rapid changes in the patent information industry are also likely to significantly affect these databases.

Trends and issues in establishing interoperability among knowledge organization systems

AbstractThis report analyzes the methodologies used in establishing interoperability among knowledge organization systems (KOS) such as controlled vocabularies and classification schemes that present the organized interpretation of knowledge structures. The development and trends of KOS are discussed with reference to the online era and the Internet era. Selected current projects and activities addressing KOS interoperability issues are reviewed in terms of the languages and structures involved. The methodological analysis encompasses both conventional and new methods that have proven to be widely accepted, including derivation/modeling, translation/adaptation, satellite and leaf node linking, direct mapping, co‐occurrence mapping, switching, linking through a temporary union list, and linking through a thesaurus server protocol. Methods used in link storage and management, as well as common issues regarding mapping and methodological options, are also presented. It is concluded that interoperability of KOS is an unavoidable issue and process in today's networked environment. There have been and will be many multilingual products and services, with many involving various structured systems. Results from recent efforts are encouraging.

Regulating Genetic Privacy in the Online Health Information Era

As the clinical implications of the genetic components of disease come to be better understood, there is likely to be a significant increase in the volume of genetic information held within clinical records. As patient health care records, in turn, come on-line as part of broader health information networks, there is likely to be considerable pressure in favour of special laws protecting genetic privacy. This paper reviews some of the privacy challenges posed by electronic health records, some government initiatives in this area, and notes the impact that developments in genetic testing will have upon the 'genetic content' of e-health records. Despite the sensitivity of genetic information, the paper argues against a policy of 'genetic exceptionalism', and its implications for genetic privacy laws.

Citizens and Their Government in the Online Era: Three Snapshots

Through the lens of online court records, government databases, and identity theft, the article considers the interplay between citizens and their government in the online era.

ECS Journals Take a Quantum Leap

Once upon a time, the ECS journals followed a very traditional path. BOE (Before the Online Era), the Journal of The Electrochemical Society was published in paper, one issue at a time, and carried by truck, boat, or plane to its final destination. Although the content of the Journal was of the highest quality, the timeliness of the receipt of that content was not its equal. The beginning of the new era came about for ECS with the launch of Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters in 1998.

Programming Theory Under Stress: The Active Industry and the Active Audience

Renewed stress on programming theory has inevitably resulted from escalating competition within the television industry, the audience’s increasing ease in choosing programs, and the inescapable threat posed by on-line entertainment services. This historical analysis shows how models of programming theory have been altered over the past 50 years, spurred by changing audience behaviors and industry programming strategies. The persistent theoretical concepts modified by new viewer-control technologies suggest likely directions for future programming research in the on-line era.

Flat-rate online: A new online era begins

Sur les impacts attendus par les changements du mode de tarification de l'interrogation de bases de donnees en ligne base sur le temps (connect- time pricing) a un mode independant du temps de connnection de type forfaitaire, nomme ici flat-rate (dont la terminologie n'est pas encore fixee). Ce nouvel environnement pour l'utilisateur doit relancer le online

オンライン時代における情報活動

オンライン時代における情報活動