Application of public blockchain to control the immutability of data in online scientific periodicals

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 829-844 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Tarkhanov ◽  
Denis Fomin-Nilov ◽  
Michael Fomin
Keyword(s):  
Data Storage ◽  
Scientific Publication ◽  
Digital Object Identifier ◽  
Online Journal ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Suggested Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Security Technologies ◽  
Scientific Periodicals

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address the problem of content immutability and integrity of online scientific periodicals on the sites of small publishers that can be violated not only by the external hack of the publisher’s site but also by publisher’s and author’s misconduct or by submitting different versions of a periodical to different sites. Design/methodology/approach The authors defined a list of requirements that verify online scientific publications immutability and integrity. Then, the authors analyzed existing projects and recently emerged information on security technologies and identified challenges met during the development and testing. The use of the public blockchain network Ethereum as a secure storage location for data was explained. Findings The authors developed the method of checking online scientific periodicals for immutability and presented ecosystem architecture to control immutability and integrity of data. On the example of the online periodical “Istoriya”, it was demonstrated how the immutability of online scientific publication has been verified with the use of the public blockchain over a six-month period. First, operating results were evaluated; challenges hampering the implementation of the suggested ecosystem on Ethereum now were identified; and potential advantages of the suggested approach as compared to similar projects were discovered. Research limitations/implications The considered prototype is not a ready-to-use system, but in future providing higher transparency and the development of general distributed ecosystem small publishers will have new opportunities for development given that the issues of scalability, reliability and operating speed on a public blockchain will be addressed. Introduction of the described ecosystem may even provoke some changes on such conservative market as that of publishing of academic papers. Originality/value This research is one of the first attempts to expand digital object identifier technology with the use of additional verifications based on the data storage and search in the public blockchain. The suggested idea is the example of “blockchainified science” that was brought to implementation in a real online journal. This method has some advantages compared to Crossmark service.

scholarly journals Accelerating Scientific Publication in Biology

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald D Vale
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Community ◽  
Scientific Publication ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Postdoctoral Training ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Information ◽  
Funding Agencies ◽  
New Findings ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Catalytic Effects

Scientific publications enable results and ideas to be transmitted throughout the scientific community. The number and type of journal publications also have become the primary criteria used in evaluating career advancement. Our analysis suggests that publication practices have changed considerably in the life sciences over the past thirty years. More experimental data is now required for publication, and the average time required for graduate students to publish their first paper has increased and is approaching the desirable duration of Ph.D. training. Since publication is generally a requirement for career progression, schemes to reduce the time of graduate student and postdoctoral training may be difficult to implement without also considering new mechanisms for accelerating communication of their work. The increasing time to publication also delays potential catalytic effects that ensue when many scientists have access to new information. The time has come for life scientists, funding agencies, and publishers to discuss how to communicate new findings in a way that best serves the interests of the public and the scientific community.

The opacity of the PubPeer Foundation: what PubPeer’s “About” page tells us

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 282-287
Author(s):  
Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Journal Club ◽  
Online Journal ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Limited Perspective ◽  
Replication Crisis ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Usa ◽  
High Standards ◽  
To Receive

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the relative opacity of the “About” page at PubPeer, which is a whistleblower website, primarily of the academic literature. The site refers to itself as an online journal club. It is important to assess whether the PubPeer site, organization or leadership display opacity because PubPeer attempts to hold the authors who have published errors in their literature to the high standards of transparency. Design/methodology/approach The paper examined the statements of the “About” page at PubPeer to assess the aspects of opacity. The “About” page is the face and image of an organization to the public. Findings In 2015, The PubPeer Foundation was created as a charitable organization to receive funding in the USA, and at the end of 2016, the PubPeer Foundation received funding (US$ 412,000) from a philanthropic organization, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. Several of these details were not indicated in the older version of the “About” page at PubPeer. Other aspects of that page are opaque. Research limitations/implications To fully assess the opacity of PubPeer, continual monitoring is needed. The examination of the “About” page gives a limited perspective. Practical implications Academics are under intense scrutiny by a vigilant anonymous and pseudonymous community at PubPeer. Any opacity by PubPeer, as was documented here, reduces trust in its objectives and operations. Reduced trust is at the heart of the replication crisis. Originality/value This paper represents the first published critical assessment of PubPeer. Science watchdogs, which watch various science-related organizations, also need to be watched.

scholarly journals Accelerating scientific publication in biology

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (44) ◽  
pp. 13439-13446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald D. Vale
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Community ◽  
Scientific Publication ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Postdoctoral Training ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Information ◽  
Funding Agencies ◽  
New Findings ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Catalytic Effects

Scientific publications enable results and ideas to be transmitted throughout the scientific community. The number and type of journal publications also have become the primary criteria used in evaluating career advancement. Our analysis suggests that publication practices have changed considerably in the life sciences over the past 30 years. More experimental data are now required for publication, and the average time required for graduate students to publish their first paper has increased and is approaching the desirable duration of PhD training. Because publication is generally a requirement for career progression, schemes to reduce the time of graduate student and postdoctoral training may be difficult to implement without also considering new mechanisms for accelerating communication of their work. The increasing time to publication also delays potential catalytic effects that ensue when many scientists have access to new information. The time has come for life scientists, funding agencies, and publishers to discuss how to communicate new findings in a way that best serves the interests of the public and the scientific community.

scholarly journals Russian Scientific Publication — 2019

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 382-389
Author(s):  
Mikhail Mikhailovich Gorbunov-Posadov
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Citation Index ◽  
Scientific Publication ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Russian Science ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
The Public ◽  
Russian Scientific ◽  
Russian Science Citation Index

The article presents the events that took place last year in the world of Russian scientific publications. There is a slow slide towards paid access of some academic journals turned in open access in 2018. The European Union has announced plan "S" for the mass transition of scientific journals to open access. New models of the scientific publication are introducing. Reporting on publications requested by the Ministry of education and science in 2019 does not take into account the size of the readership of the article. Neither the Ministry of education and science, nor the Higher Attestation Commission (HAC) does not encourage publication in the public domain. In Russian Science Citation Index began the fight against widespread fraudulent trade in references to the article, but the HAC is not interested in this activity. A proliferation of contradictory the term "self-plagiarism" has spread. This label is widely stigmatized authors and journals for repeated publications.

Buyer beware: health choices information broadcast to the public

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Birnbaum
Keyword(s):  
Public Information ◽  
Scientific Publication ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Doctor Patient Communication ◽  
The Public ◽  
Report Quality ◽  
Health Choices ◽  
Hospital Compare

Purpose – This paper is based on the author’s 2015 Northwest Patient Safety Conference presentation, consistent with a conference theme of improving doctor-patient communication. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Ongoing systematic accumulation and critical review of research literature regarding design of effective public information websites, conducted from 2008-2015 while the author was supervising the prototyping, refinement and evaluation of healthcare-associated infections public information websites. Findings – In 2005, the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched its Hospital Compare website, announced as an enormous step forward by providing objective information to inform consumer choices. Subsequently, many other websites and programs emerged to report quality-of-care ratings of hospitals and doctors, and provide other advice intended to help the public inform their choices. When objectively evaluated to a scientific publication-level standard, websites like Hospital Compare show relatively low usage and disappointing impact; individual providers rank so differently across ratings websites that it is difficult to see how trustworthy conclusions could be drawn; and much of the advice offered through popular media is not supported by believable evidence. Further, research shows healthcare professionals and members of the lay public view concepts of evidence and evidence-based decisions quite differently. Badly informed misguided decisions can have negative consequences for providers, patients and public trust. Originality/value – Populism and celebrity seem to have trumped science during recent growth of public information resources for health choices. This paper summarizes serious flaws underlying resulting information products, indicating necessary changes to better serve a legitimate need.

Transforming armed forces through military transparency

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.C.O. Klaus
Keyword(s):  
Open Data ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Open Government ◽  
Suggested Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Governance Systems ◽  
The Status ◽  
Governance Process

Purpose After discussing recent academic attempts to assess the status of worldwide military transparency and accountability in nations which adopted open governance paradigms, this paper tries to show that such countries allegedly committed to democracy and open data should coherently fight for military transparency and citizen inclusion in the governance process, avoiding the prevalence of military secrecy over military transparency. The most important contribution of the paper is discussing the lack of military transparency, until now taken for granted as a traditional armed forces ’informal right, and proposing concrete definitions of military transparency and secrecy within the context of the open government partnership. In addition to the definitions, an exploratory model of how military accountability can affect military transparency has been suggested. Design/methodology/approach For the proposed endeavour, first a description on the context of open governance where the involved public defence sector is inserted is given. Second, notions of military transparency and secrecy are proposed. Finally, the paper discusses when military secrecy could be granted and what it means for military information to be unjustifiably kept secret. At the end, the urge of the citizen involvement to open the still insulated military governance systems is highlighted. Findings This paper proposes notions of military secrecy and military transparency and suggests the second term as a broader notion which includes the first. This paper also indirectly identifies the conditions for the inadmissibility of military secrecy and calls attention to the bad externalities of unjustifiably holding public information back. Research limitations/implications The consideration of the proposed notions of military secrecy and military transparency could minimize the traditional excuse of military confidentiality that armed forces worldwide tend to not to convey public information to the public while making military accountability perfectly possible without overexposing its strategies regarding national defence. Practical implications Providing armed forces and citizens with concrete definitions of military secrecy and military transparency could not only help military institutions to develop a sincere transparency policy based on open government terms, but it could also guide interested media and citizens with their control and oversight tasks by establishing clear limits for alleged secrecy while releasing the borders for military transparency. Social implications The suggested approach for military transparency and secrecy is not only adequate to the globalized strategy of open governance but also mainly a way to finally reward citizens’ often misused and manipulated trust. Originality/value It is the first attempt of an academic definition for military secrecy and military transparency taking into consideration the open government terms and aiming at improving military accountability.

scholarly journals Creative Content Marketing In Scientific Publication Management In Industrial Era 4.0

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-178
Author(s):  
Untung Rahardja ◽  
Ninda Lutfiani ◽  
Sindy Amelia
Keyword(s):  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Development Trend ◽  
Scientific Publication ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
The Public ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
The Face

Industry 4.0 is a development trend of intelligent industries where all use of sophisticated equipment and are influenced by technological factors that are developing at this time. The emergence of industry 4.0 affects all aspects of the field including the field of marketing. Marketing is a marketing technique or introducing a product to the public to attract a lot of people. The role of Creative Content is needed in the publication of scientific papers in Industry 4.0. Creative Content can facilitate writers to publish scientific work. Social media is a medium for media creative content in scientific publications. However, the management of online scientific publications or e-journals is still of little use. To achieve Creative Content in scientific publications the need to conduct research or research to find out and obtain information about the role of creative content in scientific publications. The method used in the research is literature study, design, and mind map. Doing research / research is not just going to a place but looking for data in a journal is also needed. This study aims to determine the importance of digital content to improve the dissemination of information on publication management or e-journal in its application within the scope of APTISI Transactions on Management (ATM) journals that have been published online. It can be concluded that the role of creative content in scientific publications is very important, especially in the face of the industrial era 4.0.   Keywords: Industry 4.0, ATM, Marketing.

scholarly journals Recommendations from the Reducing the Inadvertent Spread of Retracted Science: Shaping a Research and Implementation Agenda Project

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jodi Schneider ◽  
Nathan D. Woods ◽  
Randi Proescholdt ◽  
Yuanxi Fu ◽  
The RISRS Team
Keyword(s):  
Task Force ◽  
Scientific Publication ◽  
Collaborative Problem Solving ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Collaborative Partnerships ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Stakeholder Consultation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
National Information

Retracted research is published work that is withdrawn, removed, or otherwise invalidated from the scientific and scholarly record. This may occur for many different reasons, which can include error, misconduct, or fraud. Retracting research is intended to stop its continued citation and use, but many retracted papers continue to be used.Retracted research that is integrated into the scientific publication network via citations—either before or after retraction—enables the inadvertent propagation of potentially unsupported or fabricated data, fundamental errors, and unreproducible results, or can lead to misattribution of results or ideas (e.g., in cases of retraction due to dual publication, plagiarism, or ownership). Research over the past decade has identified a number of factors contributing to the unintentional spread of retracted research. Many retracted papers are not marked as retracted on publisher and aggregator sites, and retracted articles may still be found in readers’ PDF libraries, including in reference management systems such as Zotero, EndNote, and Mendeley. Most publishers do not systematically surveil bibliographies of submitted manuscripts, and most editors do not query whether a citation to a retracted paper is justified. When citing retracted papers, authors frequently do not indicate retraction status in bibliographies or in-text citations.The goal of the Reducing the Inadvertent Spread of Retracted Science: Shaping a Research and Implementation Agenda (RISRS) project is to develop an actionable agenda for reducing the inadvertent spread of retracted science. This includes identifying how the gatekeepers of scientific publications can monitor and disseminate retraction status and determining what other actions are feasible and relevant.The RISRS process included an exploratory environment scan, a scoping review of empirical literature, and successive rounds of stakeholder consultation, culminating in a three-part online workshop (October 26, November 9, and November 16, 2020) that brought together a diverse body of 70 stakeholders to engage in collaborative problem solving and dialogue. Workshop discussions were seeded by materials derived from stakeholder interviews and short original discussion pieces contributed by stakeholders. The online workshop resulted in a set of recommendations to address the complexities of retracted research throughout the scholarly communications ecosystem. Recommendations were iteratively updated and developed through a series of surveys and drafts as well as at a followup meeting online February 16, 2021.The RISRS team solicited feedback from presentations to NISOPlus, the Society for Scholarly Publishing, and the European Association of Science Editors. Implementation actions have started through a COPE task force on taxonomy and discussions about a proposed National Information Standards Organization (NISO) Work Item. We welcome your feedback via the project website https://infoqualitylab.org/projects/risrs2020/ or by email to [email protected]. We encourage you to disseminate these recommendations and to envision how you, in your role, and in collaborative partnerships, can make a difference. For instance, you might help form a professional working group to further develop or refine these recommendations; present about retraction and related issues at professional and academic meetings; take on an implementation or policy project; or outline further research to be conducted. Recommendations1. Develop a systematic cross-industry approach to ensure the public availability of consistent, standardized, interoperable, and timely information about retractions.2. Recommend a taxonomy of retraction categories/classifications and corresponding retraction metadata that can be adopted by all stakeholders.3. Develop best practices for coordinating the retraction process to enable timely, fair, unbiased outcomes.4. Educate stakeholders about publication correction processes including retraction and about pre- and post-publication stewardship of the scholarly record.

Economics of ageing: research area and perspectives

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norbert Meiners
Keyword(s):  
Relevant Literature ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Scientific Publication ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Demographic Development ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Economics Of Ageing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the latest findings on the economic potential of ageing and compare them primarily from a consumables perspective. The relevant question relating to this research was: What are the economic consequences of the demographic development in relation to consumer demand for products and services in old age? Design/methodology/approach – Narrative systematic publications were thoroughly reviewed and collated. A systematic search was carried out in journals, books, databases, the internet as well as within the scientific community from November 2012 to May 2013. Findings – A total of 115 relevant scientific publications were identified in this review (from 1964 to 2013). In order to gain an actual overview of the relevant literature, the results show the most recent publications from 2000 to 2013. Research limitations/implications – There are three limitations within this paper: First, the search process used only four databases. Second, this review only took into account publications in English and German. Therefore, the review may fail to encompass all published literature. Finally, this study did not endeavour to evaluate the methodological quality of each scientific publication. Study findings were taken as reported. Originality/value – This paper aims at analysing the economic potentials of ageing primarily from the perspective of consumption. The focus of this economics of ageing investigation is on the “demography-related” consequences in terms of the demand behaviour of the older consumers (the elderly as potential buyers). The paper deals with all the “silver economy” as a cross-sector campaign and research area for economics of ageing – a still fairly young discipline, both in science and in practical applications.

Data rescue archive weather (DRAW)

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 763-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eun G. Park ◽  
Gordon Burr ◽  
Victoria Slonosky ◽  
Renee Sieber ◽  
Lori Podolsky
Keyword(s):  
Data Storage ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Data Repository ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Digital Repository ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Set Up

PurposeTo rescue at-risk historical scientific data stored at the McGill Observatory, the objectives of the Data Rescue Archive Weather (DRAW) project are: to build a repository; to develop a protocol to preserve the data in weather registers; and to make the data available to research communities and the public. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachThe DRAW project adopts an open archive information system compliant model as a conceptual framework for building a digital repository. The model consists of data collection, conversion, data capture, transcription, arrangement, description, data extraction, database design and repository setup.FindingsA climate data repository, as the final product, is set up for digital images of registers and a database is designed for data storage. The repository provides dissemination of and access to the data for researchers, information professionals and the public.Research limitations/implicationsDoing a quality check is the most important aspect of rescuing historical scientific data to ensure the accuracy, reliability and consistency of data.Practical implicationsThe DRAW project shows how the use of historical scientific data has become a key element in research analysis on scientific fields, such as climatology and environmental protection.Originality/valueThe historical climate data set of the McGill Observatory is by nature unique and complex for preservation and research purposes. The management of historical scientific data is a challenge to rescue and describe as a result of its heterogeneous and non-standardized form.

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