scholarly journals Open Standards in Scientific Communication and Publishing

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-122
Author(s):  
Robert W. Vaagan

Abstract The paper takes as a starting point a recent EU Commission report on scientific publishing in Europe (Dewatripont et al 2006). In Norway, where a new system of documentation of scientific publishing was introduced in 2005, several of the recommendations in this report have already been anticipated. The Norwegian documentation system which has already proven controversial in parts of the research community and lacks parallells in other Nordic countries like Denmark and Sweden, is expected to have considerable consequences on Norwegian publishing patterns, such as increased use of electronic journals and of open standards such as Open Access and Open Source (Vaagan 2005). As e-publishing grows as part of the process of globalization, there is increasing awareness in many countries of ethical concerns in science and in scientific publishing, including the need for public access to publicly-funded research results. In this perspective, the paper links open standards in scientific communication and publishing to the principle of universality of science and to information ethics priorities identified by Capurro (2004). Qualitative methodology is used with critical & typical case sampling (Patton 2002) of key policy documents as well as international articles on e-publishing 2000-2005, especially from DLib magazine. In conclusion, it is suggested that open standards such as Open Access and Open Source are likely to increase in scientific publishing in the future, both in Norway and in the EU.

Author(s):  
Dimple Patel ◽  
Deepti Thakur

Open Access (OA) to scholarly information has now become a reality. Due to the efforts of OA supporters worldwide now even commercial publishers have started supporting open access to their content through various open access models. Many public institutions like universities and R&D Labs have realized the importance of OA in developing the society in general. As a result, these institutions have come up with OA repositories, archives and libraries. As with any such proliferation of information, OA resources have increased manifold and can easily overwhelm even an experienced user. Also different repositories may use various digital library software, which presents the problem of multifarious search interfaces and features. The solution can be found in the open community of open source software and open standards. The open source metadata harvesting software PKP-OHS and the open protocol for metadata harvesting i.e. OAI-PMH come to the rescue. This chapter discusses how PKP-OHS was implemented as a pilot study at the Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP).


Author(s):  
John Willinsky

A number of open initiatives are actively resisting the extension of intellectual property rights. Among these developments, three prominent instances — open source software, open access to research and scholarship, and open science — share not only a commitment to the unrestricted exchange of information and ideas, but economic principles based on (1) the efficacy of free software and research; (2) the reputation–building afforded by public access and patronage; and, (3) the emergence of a free–or–subscribe access model. Still, with this much in common, the strong sense of convergence among these open initiatives has yet to be fully realized, to the detriment of the larger, common issue. By drawing on David’s (2004; 2003; 2000; 1998) economic work on open science and Weber’s (2004) analysis of open source, this paper seeks to make that convergence all the more apparent, as well as worth pursuing, by those interested in furthering this alternative approach, which would treat intellectual properties as public goods.


Author(s):  
David Böhm ◽  
Diana Tillmann ◽  
Alexander Grossmann ◽  
Michael Reiche

Die Publikationsinfrastruktur für Open-Access-Veröffentlichungen stellt sich durch die Vernetzung verschiedener OA-Publikationsworkflows mit verschiedensten beteiligten Systemen aktuell als sehr heterogen dar. Dabei werden in der wissenschaftlichen Publikationslandschaft in deren unterschiedlichsten Bereichen des Publikationsprozesses eine Vielzahl existierender Standards, Normen sowie Spezifikationen verwendet. Das vorliegende Dokument stellt in einer ersten Version eine Übersicht zu den offenen Standards im wissenschaftlichen Publizieren dar. In einer umfangreichen Recherche wurde eine große Anzahl an Standards, Normen und Spezifikationen identifiziert. Um aus der großen Masse an Standards die wesentlichen herauszufiltern, entwickelte das Forscherteam eine spezifische Arbeitsdefinition des Begriffes Standard im Kontext von Open-Access-Publikationsprozessen: „ Ein offener Standard für wissenschaftliches Publizieren beschreibt eine einheitlich dokumentierte, weithin anerkannte, vielfach angewandte, offen zugängliche und erweiterbare Spezifikation, die bei der Erstellung, Beschreibung, Herstellung und Verbreitung wissenschaftlicher Publikationen angewandt wird“. Der Überblick über offene Standards im wissenschaftlichen Publizieren umfasst in dieser ersten Version 102 Standards, Normen und Spezifikationen, gegliedert in zehn Kategorien. Darüber hinaus enthalten alle aufgeführten Standards eine direkte Verlinkung zur jeweiligen technischen Dokumentation oder zu weiterführenden Informationen. Damit stellt die Übersicht eine Grundlage für die zukünftige Diskussion und Zusammenarbeit mit Stakeholdern und der Forschungscommunity dar. Im Rahmen des vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) geförderten Forschungsprojektes OPEN-ACCESS-Strukturierte-Kommunikation (OA-STRUKTKOMM) wird der Überblick über offene Standards im wissenschaftlichen Publizieren entwickelt. Ziel des Projektes ist es, notwendige Werkzeuge und Strategien für die flächendeckende Einführung eines bereits entwickelten State-of-the-Art-Workflows zur Herstellung und Verbreitung von OA-Monografien (DOI 10.33968/9783966270175-00) zu entwickeln. Dabei soll neben dem Wissenstransfer eine XML-basierte Kommunikationsstruktur entwickelt werden, welche den Datenaustausch zwischen den workflowbeteiligten Systemen robuster und kompatibel gestaltet, um damit eine leistungsfähigere Publikationsinfrastruktur zu etablieren, diese weitestgehend zu standardisieren und so Open Access durch eine vereinfachte Nutzung attraktiver zu machen. Weitere Informationen finden sich auf der Forschungswebsite: oa-struktkomm.htwk-leipzig.de Translated Abstract The publication infrastructure for Open Access publications is currently very heterogeneous due to the networking of various OA publication workflows with a wide range of systems involved. In the scientific publication landscape, a large number of existing standards and specifications are used in the various areas of the publication process. The first version of this document provides an overview of open standards in scientific publishing. In an extensive research a large number of standards and specifications were identified. In order to filter out the essential ones from the large mass of standards, the research team developed a specific working definition of the term standard in the context of open access publishing processes: "An open standard for scholarly publishing describes a uniformly documented, widely accepted, widely used, openly accessible, and extensible specification that is applied to the creation, description, production, and dissemination of scholarly publications." In this first version, the overview of open standards in scientific publishing includes 102 standards and specifications, organized into ten categories. In addition, all listed standards contain a direct link to the respective technical documentation or to further information. Thus, the overview provides a basis for future discussion and collaboration with stakeholders and the research community. Within the research project OPEN-ACCESS-Structured-Communication (OA-STRUKTKOMM), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the overview of open standards in scientific publishing is being developed. The aim of the project is to develop the necessary tools and strategies for the widespread introduction of an already developed state-of-the-art workflow for the production and dissemination of OA monographs (DOI 10.33968/9783966270175-00). In addition to knowledge transfer, a XML-based communication structure is to be developed that will make data exchange between the systems involved in the workflow more robust and compatible. The aim is to make the publication infrastructure more efficient, standardize it as far as possible and make Open Access more attractive by simplifying its use. Further information can be found on the research website: oa-struktkomm.htwk-leipzig.de


Author(s):  
Dimple Patel ◽  
Deepti Thakur

Open Access (OA) to scholarly information has now become a reality. Due to the efforts of OA supporters worldwide now even commercial publishers have started supporting open access to their content through various open access models. Many public institutions like universities and R&D Labs have realized the importance of OA in developing the society in general. As a result, these institutions have come up with OA repositories, archives and libraries. As with any such proliferation of information, OA resources have increased manifold and can easily overwhelm even an experienced user. Also different repositories may use various digital library software, which presents the problem of multifarious search interfaces and features. The solution can be found in the open community of open source software and open standards. The open source metadata harvesting software PKP-OHS and the open protocol for metadata harvesting i.e. OAI-PMH come to the rescue. This chapter discusses how PKP-OHS was implemented as a pilot study at the Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP).


2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Fox

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the roles that libraries play in the development of open source software.Design/methodology/approachAnalyses how the use of open source software implies freedom and flexibility for libraries.FindingsThis column is simply exploratory, and proposes the motivation for libraries to be more actively involved in the open source movement.Practical implicationsAs libraries are also involved in discussions regarding open access publishing and open standards for metadata and protocols, so should they take a more active role in the testing and development of open source software. Taking this role will not only assist libraries in the furtherance of important digital projects but extend the primary activities of librarianship in general.Originality/valueOne of the values of this column is to present, via the convergence of the open initiatives, a motivation for libraries to be more actively involved in the open source movement as an extension of traditional librarianship and as an enhancement to the digital projects and services they are already engaged in.


Author(s):  
Ulrich Herb

Claims for Open Access are mostly underpinned with a) science-related arguments (Open Access accelerates scientific communication) b) financial arguments (Open Access relieves the serials crisis), c) social arguments (Open Access reduces the Digital Divide), d) democracy-related arguments (Open Access facilitates participation) e) and socio-political arguments (Open Access levels disparities). Using sociological concepts and notions, this article analyses some of the assumptions mentioned above. It focuses strongly on Pierre Bourdieu's theory of (scientific) capital and its implications for the acceptance of Open Access, on Michel Foucault's discourse analysis and on the implications of Open Access for the concept of the Digital Divide. Bourdieu's theory of capital implies that the acceptance of Open Access depends on the logic of power and the accumulation of scientific capital. It does not depend on slogans derived from hagiographic self-perceptions of science (e.g. the acceleration of scientific communication) and scientists (e.g. their will to share their information freely). According to Bourdieu's theory, it is crucial for Open Access (and associated concepts like alternative impact metrics) how scientists perceive its potential influence on existing processes of capital accumulation and how Open Access will affect their demand for distinction. Concerning the Digital Divide concept, Foucault's discourse analysis suggests that Open Access may intensify disparities, scientocentrisms and ethnocentrisms. Additionally, several concepts from the philosophy of sciences (Karl Raimund Popper, Samuel Kuhn, Paul Feyerabend) and their implicit connection to the concept of Open Access are described in this paper.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Wui Yeoh ◽  
Neil Swainston ◽  
Peter Vegh ◽  
Valentin Zulkower ◽  
Pablo Carbonell ◽  
...  

Abstract Advances in hardware automation in synthetic biology laboratories are not yet fully matched by those of their software counterparts. Such automated laboratories, now commonly called biofoundries, require software solutions that would help with many specialized tasks such as batch DNA design, sample and data tracking, and data analysis, among others. Typically, many of the challenges facing biofoundries are shared, yet there is frequent wheel-reinvention where many labs develop similar software solutions in parallel. In this article, we present the first attempt at creating a standardized, open-source Python package. A number of tools will be integrated and developed that we envisage will become the obvious starting point for software development projects within biofoundries globally. Specifically, we describe the current state of available software, present usage scenarios and case studies for common problems, and finally describe plans for future development. SynBiopython is publicly available at the following address: http://synbiopython.org.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Ioana Craciun

Since the launch of its very first journal, MDPI has had a vested interest in open access scientific communication in all of its forms [...]


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