Monthly Archives: July 2012

Megajournals

Posted on 9 July 2012 by Frank Norman

The trend towards Open Access has catalysed the creation of many new journals and new publishers. BioMedCentral, established in 2000, was a pioneer of open access publishing, launching a large number of journals. Public Library of Science (PLoS) initially established … Continue reading →

Posted in Journal publishing, Megajournals, Open Access | Comments Off on Megajournals

Geekfest

Posted on 8 July 2012 by Henry Gee

Crox Minor and I are just back from geeking out at the the London Film and Comic Convention. As you can see it was very busy. Pic by Crox Minor entitled ‘Where’s Wally? Special Geek Edition’ There were lots of … Continue reading →

Posted in animé, black milk, crox minor, geekery, geekfather, geekfest, geekwear, genki gear, knights who say ni, london film and comic convention, manga, Science-fiction, Silliness, vocaloid | Comments Off on Geekfest

In Defence of Academics

Posted on 8 July 2012 by Athene Donald

I’ve been away on holiday for the past week, cowering beneath the clouds, storms and floods this Great British summer has been throwing at us and catching up with some reading. Consequently, I have had more time than usual to … Continue reading →

Posted in academia, education, long hours culture, Science Culture, Simon Jenkins | Comments Off on In Defence of Academics

Chair

Posted on 7 July 2012 by Steve Caplan

Over the past week I have assumed position as “chair” of my departmental graduate and admissions committee a task that I am excited to carry out, but simultaneouly dreading. Given that our department has the largest number of graduate students … Continue reading →

Posted in chair, education, graduate committee, life imitates fiction, professors, Research, responsibility, science, students | Comments Off on Chair

No passion please, we’re scientists

Posted on 6 July 2012 by Austin

In which I put a damper on all this over-invoked passion. Regular readers of this blog (you know who you are, you two – stop giggling at the back), or of others in the OT stable where I can be … Continue reading →

Posted in Annoyances, Grumbling, The Interwebz, The Life Scientific | Comments Off on No passion please, we’re scientists

Open Access by Peter Suber

Posted on 5 July 2012 by Stephen

There has been a fairly torrid debate over open access over the last six months (even longer for aficionados). For people who look in only occasionally it must seem like a storm that swirls around the same arguments time and … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, kindle, Open Access | Comments Off on Open Access by Peter Suber

M and S

Posted on 5 July 2012 by Frank Norman

I am back at work after a three-week break. I had a good holiday, visiting Manila and Singapore.  I really managed to switch off, totally ignoring the temptation to look at my email or Twitter. The part of my brain … Continue reading →

Posted in Froth, Philippines | Comments Off on M and S

Where in the world was Cath today?

Posted on 5 July 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

View from my hotel room last night / this morning: Answers on a postcard in the comments, please! By the way, if a colleague tells you that a PI is cursed when it comes to travel, do NOT book yourself … Continue reading →

Posted in career, travel, whining | Comments Off on Where in the world was Cath today?

Enough with the criticism already

Posted on 4 July 2012 by Sylvia McLain

Ever wonder why scientists are odd? For the record, I don’t think scientists are really odd, any more than any group of people can be called ‘odd’, as Micheal Crichton said ‘in my experience scientists are very human people.’ Leaving … Continue reading →

Posted in criticism, science communication, Science publications, science writing | Comments Off on Enough with the criticism already

Fossils, Fun, and Frailities. And Statistics #isec2012

Posted on 4 July 2012 by Bob O'H

If I’ve done everything correctly, then at almost the moment this post appears, I will start talking about some fossils. Not, it’s not a eulogy about defenders of the 4-4-2 formation, but it’s about a bit of work I’ve been … Continue reading →

Posted in Research Blogging, statistics | Comments Off on Fossils, Fun, and Frailities. And Statistics #isec2012