The transition toward open access: the University of Hong Kong experience

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (8/9) ◽  
pp. 488-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gayle Rosemary Chan ◽  
Allan Shi-Chung Cheung

Purpose While open access (OA) offers an alternative to the unsustainable pricing of serials and supports a core value of ensuring openness to knowledge, the perceived value of the impact of OA journals is still lacking consensus among stakeholders. This study is based on the analysis of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) research publication data within four broad disciplines – health science, life science, physical science and social science – and the purpose of this paper is to understand the perspectives and preferences of academic researchers around OA. The findings are useful to libraries in shaping their strategies for meeting the rising challenges of scholarly publishing. Design/methodology/approach Article publication data from HKU have been collected and analyzed with the purpose of exploring general OA trends and understanding authors’ incentives for publishing in OA journals. Findings The explosion in the number of OA journals in recent years has not only impacted on how libraries manage contents and budgets, but also on academic researchers’ choice of journals for submitting their articles for publication. This study conducted at the HKU indicated that academic researchers have a gradual tendency to shift toward publishing their work in OA journals, and interestingly, the shifts are to some extent discipline specific. Research limitations/implications The OA marketplace is currently undergoing a state of flux. The OA model of funding through article publication charges, process of peer review and reputation in the marketplace are under rapid development. Practical implications As OA journals take up a sizeable market share of the scholarly journal publishing market, libraries need to stay abreast of developments in the OA sector in order to respond to researcher needs. Understanding the thinking behind researcher’s decisions in choosing venue for submission of publications helps to advance research support services which the library offers. Social implications The change in researcher behavior prompted by the gravitation toward sharing of research contents in scholarly communication networks and broader choice of OA journals have resulted in a positive growth of OA articles publishing at the HKU. Originality/value This study is based on actual HKU publication data in the past ten years, and it is useful for understanding HKU researchers’ attitudes toward OA publications and in particular the longitudinal trends in shifting toward OA publishing within the context of the university’s open policy and within the global OA landscape.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sainan Lyu ◽  
Carol K.H. Hon ◽  
Albert P.C. Chan ◽  
Arshad Ali Javed ◽  
Rita Peihua Zhang ◽  
...  

PurposePrevious studies have highlighted that communication barrier was one of the major safety problems faced by ethnic minority (EM) workers. This study aims to model the predominant safety communication networks of EM crews and explore the relationships among safety communication networks, individual attributes, safety climate, near misses and injuries of EM crews.Design/methodology/approachCase studies were conducted with EM crews in the Hong Kong construction industry. Demographic attribute, network, safety climate and accidents data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed by a combination of social network analysis (SNA), cross-case comparison and nonparametric tests.FindingsThe results revealed that language proficiency, network density and level of reciprocity were contributing factors of distinguishing high and low safety performing EM crews. EM management received more safety information from EM workers than local management. The centrality of EM workers was significantly related to their age, the perceived priority of safety and language ability.Practical implicationsThe research findings regarding the impact of safety communication network characteristics on the safety performance of EM crews provides insights to employers on how to cultivate effective safety communication patterns within EM crews that can lead to better safety performance. The connections between personal attributes and their positions in safety communication networks could help the employers identify the EM workers who are positioned on edges of networks and need more attention.Originality/valueThis study contributes to knowledge by enriching the limited research on analyzing safety communication of small construction crews using SNA and expanding the research object to EM construction crews in the literature, who are more vulnerable to construction accidents. This research also extends the existing body of knowledge from studies mainly carried out in Western culture to Eastern culture. Although safety communication has been regarded as important for EM workers, there is a lack of quantitative analysis on this at a crew level. The present study provides empirical research to reveal authentic safety communication networks and their connections with safety performance and personal attributes.


2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 94-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aragudige Nagaraja ◽  
A.B Prashanth

Purpose – This study aims to analyze the resources used in the citations of 156 postgraduate dissertations submitted to the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) through the Acharya & BM Reddy College of Pharmacy (ABMRCP), and prepares the core journal list according to the Bradford’s law of scattering. For any research and academic institutional libraries, books and journals are considered as key resources. As the resources are more and diverse, collection building is a tough task for librarians. Citation analysis is one of the best methods to list the most used resources by the users. The paper highlights the extent use of in-house resources and open access journals in the citations. Design/methodology/approach – Citations of PG dissertations during 2010-2013 (four years) were compiled, the data about the resources cited in each were taken and the list of resources used in PG dissertations was prepared. The list of core journals obtained by citation analysis was matched with the list of online journals provided by Health Science Library & Information Network (HELINET) of RGUHS as well as print list of journals subscribed by ABMRCP Library, and evaluated the print and online consortia journals used by ABMRCP community. The list of core journals’ ranking in the SCImago Journal & Country Rank (SJR) list-pharmaceutical sciences was identified to know the impact of the journals. Findings – The study gives the list of different information resources cited in the pharmacy dissertations. The core list obtained by applying the Bradford’s law of scattering in this study has 19 journals pertaining to pharmacy. After matching the core list with the Keogh’s list, it is found that 31 journals can be considered very useful in the field of pharmacy. Twelve journals listed in the core list have different positions in the SJR ranking 2013. The results indicate that open-access journals with online journals subscribed through HELINET and print holdings have been cited more in the PG dissertations. Originality/value – The topic of journal use in this case may be of greatest interest to those who purchase journals in the sciences and, very specifically, the pharmaceutical sciences.


2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Somaly Kim Wu ◽  
Heather McCullough

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to presents the very recent development of e-journal publishing services at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Charlotte. In 2011, the J. Murrey Atkins Library at UNC Charlotte created a new unit in the library, the Digital Scholarship Lab (DSL), which partners with faculty and graduate students in the use of digital and networked research tools to create, disseminate and store new knowledge. E-journal publishing and hosting are among the suite of services offered by the DSL, and we currently publish three journals (https://journals.uncc.edu/). Design/methodology/approach – This report provides an overview of the context of our library’s decision to begin publishing journals, including a discussion of our university’s becoming more research-intensive, our university system mandating increased efficiencies and sharing research with the state citizens, and the library’s own goals of raising awareness of and supporting open access. Also outlined are the technical and procedural choices made, important activities undertaken to develop, define and publicize the new services, campus response to the service and next steps. Findings – This report provides detailed accounting of how a large academic library implemented an electronic publishing service to support open access scholarship. Important activities such as marketing communication, policies development and technical/procedural activities are defined and results described. The report provides observation and lessons learned for academic libraries in development and support of electronic journals. Originality/value – Library as the publisher is a new concept. This report will be of interest to many libraries who are considering offering publishing services and to libraries that currently offer publishing services.


Publications ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Carmen López-Vergara ◽  
Pilar Flores Asenjo ◽  
Alfonso Rosa-García

Technological development has transformed academic publication over the past two decades and new publication models, especially Open Access, have captured an important part of the publishing market, traditionally dominated by the Subscription publication model. Although Health Sciences have been one of the leading fields promoting Open Access, the perspectives of Health Science researchers on the benefits and possibilities of Open Access remain an open question. The present study sought to unveil the perspective of researchers on scientific publication decisions, in terms of the Subscription and Open Access publication model, Gold Road. With this aim, we surveyed Spanish researchers in Health Sciences. Our findings show that the value of publishing in Open Access journals increases as the experience of the researcher increases and the less she/he values the impact factor. Moreover, visibility and dissemination of the results are the main determinants of publication when choosing an Open Access journal as the first option. According to the response of the researchers, the reduction of fees and the increase in financing are important economic incentive measures to promote the Open Access publication model. It is widely accepted that the volume of Open Access publications will increase in the future.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 532-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommy Lau ◽  
Man Lai Cheung ◽  
Guilherme D. Pires ◽  
Carol Chan

Purpose The abolishment of the wine tax in Hong Kong has led to increased wine consumption and increased demand for wine-related professionals, such as sommeliers. Yet the importance of sommeliers’ value-adding performance in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants has not been examined. To address this gap, the SERVQUAL framework is adopted to examine the influence of sommeliers’ service quality (SQ) on customer satisfaction (CS) and loyalty in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach The survey method is used to collect data from 302 units of the population of interest, partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used to test the links between constructs. Findings Four of the seven dimensions of sommeliers’ service quality, namely, empathy, tangibles, credibility and assurance, have a significant positive impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, whereas the impact of perceived value and responsiveness on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is positive but only marginally significant. Reliability has a weak and non-significant impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Research limitations/implications Examining a small number of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong limits generalisation of the findings to other contexts. Replication of the research in different contexts will enhance generalizability. In terms of implications, the discussion highlights the importance of sommeliers’ service performance on customers’ SQ perceptions SQ, CS and loyalty, all of which are important variables for restaurateurs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of the influence of the quality of sommelier’s SQ on CS and loyalty in upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. Given the lack of attention to this service role in the literature, the study contributes theory from which further understanding can develop.


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 481-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei-yung Leung ◽  
Chen Dongyu ◽  
Anita M.M. Liu

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of personal values on students’ learning behaviours. Hong Kong construction students are often criticized, by both practitioners and educators, as rote learners. To improve students’ learning processes, extensive research on a variety of aspects of construction education has been conducted. However, limited attention has been paid to the influence of personal values on students’ learning behaviours. The impact of personal value factors on the learning approaches of Chinese construction students in Hong Kong is investigated. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was conducted to ethically Chinese construction students in four universities in Hong Kong. A total of 820 questionnaires were distributed and 431 valid returns were collected. Findings – The survey identified six influential values (namely, personal integrity, conservatism, determination, discipline, interpersonal relationships, and achievement), and shows that students who emphasize the virtues of personal integrity, determination, and a positive attitude toward achievement are better able to handle their interpersonal relationships, which will eventually lead them to engage in deep learning. Originality/value – Work to develop appropriate value systems is thus recommended in freshmen courses, as is the use of cooperative learning approaches. Such value systems will have a long-term influence on the learning approaches of construction students.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 631-643
Author(s):  
Tayyaba Yousaf ◽  
Sadia Farooq ◽  
Ahmed Muneeb Mehta

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the STOXX Europe Christian price index (SECI) follows the premise of efficient market hypothesis (EMH). Design/methodology/approach The study used daily data of SECI for the period of 15 years as its launch date i.e. 31 December 2004 to 31 December 2019. Data are analyzed by taking a full-length sample and fixed-length subsample. For subsample, the data are divided into five subsamples of three years each. Subsample analysis is important for analyzing time varying efficiency of the series, as the market is said to follow EMH if it is being efficient throughout the sample. Both type of samples is examined through linear tests including autocorrelations test and variance ratio (VR) test. Findings Tests applied conclude that SECI is weak-form efficient, which means that the prices of the index include all the relevant past information and immediately react to new information. Hence, the investors cannot earn abnormal returns. Originality/value Religion-based indices grasped the attention of investors, policymakers and academic researchers because of increased concern over ethics in business. Though the impact of religion on the economy have been studied in many ways but the efficiency of religion-based indices have been less explored. The current study is primary in its nature as it analysis the efficiency of SECI. This index is important to explore because Christianity is the world’s top religion with 2.3 billion followers around the globe.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Clara Carvalho Tourinho ◽  
Sabrina Andrade Barbosa ◽  
Özgür Göçer ◽  
Klaus Chaves Alberto

PurposeUsing the campus of a Brazilian university as case study, this research aims to identify which aspects of the outdoor spaces are the most significant in attracting people.Design/methodology/approachThis research relies on the application of different post-occupancy evaluation (POE) methods, including user tracking, behavioural mapping and questionnaires, on one plateau of the campus.FindingsThree group of aspects (socialization, proximity and infrastructure) were identified as key elements in explaining the impact of the campus physical characteristics on users’ behaviour. The results indicate that having characteristics of at least one group of aspects in those spaces can guarantee their vitality and, if there is presence of attributes of more than one group, liveliness can be increased.Research limitations/implicationsFurther studies should be conducted on an entire campus to identify other spatial elements in the three groups.Practical implicationsThis research contributes to the planning of future campuses and to solutions to the existed ones, indicating the most relevant spatial characteristics to be considered. Additionally, the combination of different methods may be useful to future research.Originality/valueMost of the investigations on the university campuses focus on the buildings, and little research has investigated the outdoor spaces, although they play a critical role in learning and academic life, where people establish social, cultural and personal relationships. In addition, studies using several POE allowed a consistent and complete diagnostic about the aspects of the campus, giving recommendations for future projects.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Larssen

Watch the VIDEO of the presentation.Open access to research results is a stated aim for the University of Tromsø – The artic university of Norway. The university’s research archive, Munin, has a well-developed system to make available the university’s own research, as well as master theses written by its students. Both master and PhD theses from UiT are delivered directly through Munin and can be made openly available on-line. Despite of this, many candidates choose not to have their theses made openly available through Munin. In my master thesis in document management, I examined why some candidates opt against, or postpone, making their theses openly available through Munin. What factors influence this decision, and are the given reasons based on actual issues or on misconceptions?From Munin I was given access to metadata from previously delivered, and passed, master and PhD theses where the candidate wanted to withhold their theses from being made openly available in Munin. The metadata contained the reasons provided by the candidates for their decision. I also conducted an electronic survey among, then, current master students where the goal was to examine current students’ attitudes towards making their thesis openly available in Munin, and compare the results from this survey with reasons stated by former master and PhD candidates.The main reason provided for postponing or refusing open access to their theses, given by both former master and PhD candidates, and current master students, where the fear that it would impair their chances for future publication. My study also showed that both master and PhD candidates from the faculty of health science are less likely to make their theses openly available in Munin, than candidates from other faculties. This faculty also had more candidates than other expressing concern over the possibilities for future publication.Why do candidates from different faculties within the same university show different attitudes towards having their work openly available? Are candidates right in their concerns regarding open availability and future publication, or are these concerns based on unfounded fears? Does it matter if master and PhD candidates choses not to make their work openly available, and can candidates be encouraged to make their work available?


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Donald ◽  
Melanie J. Ashleigh ◽  
Yehuda Baruch

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand how universities and organizations have responded to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of preparing university students and recent graduates to enter the global labor market, using the accounting, banking and finance sector as a case study. The two research questions are (1) How can university career services and organizations work individually and collaboratively to best develop early career talent following the COVID-19 pandemic? (2) What are the challenges that university career services and organizations face when working individually or collaboratively to develop early career talent following the COVID-19 pandemic?Design/methodology/approachThe data for thematic analysis comes from 36 semi-structured interviews with career advisors (CAs) (n = 19) and graduate recruiters (GRs) (n = 17).FindingsThis study offers some of the first findings on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to ensure that organizational behavior and career theory literature reflect the dramatically changing landscape in the university-to-work transition.Originality/valueTheoretically, our contribution comes from applying a framework of the career construction theory (CTT) within the context of a career ecosystem to understand the views of the intermediary, meso-level actors, which, to date, have lacked representation within career literature. Practically, we provide an insightful bridge between universities and organizations, offering opportunities for greater collaboration, and enhanced outcomes for all stakeholders.


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