Author Archives: Stephen

Follower

Posted on 31 August 2013 by Stephen

This post has nothing to do with science. Seamus Heany is dead. I am only begining to process what that means to me. I claim no deep knowledge of his poetry but it has been with me for a long … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Art | Comments Off on Follower

Remembering Innisfree

Posted on 26 August 2013 by Stephen

I observed recently how the rise of the internet has eliminated letter writing and so caused some of the wells of correspondence that historians and biographers have relied on down through the ages to fall into disuse. But the internet is … Continue reading →

Posted in poetry, science, WB Yeats | Comments Off on Remembering Innisfree

Scholarly publishing: time for a regulator?

Posted on 12 August 2013 by Stephen

“…price rises coupled with high profits, mis-selling scandals […] and a lack of transparency over bills have destroyed consumers’ trust […], a committee of MPs has said in a report that also criticises the sector’s watchdog for failing to take … Continue reading →

Posted in ofgem, Open Access, regulation, value-for-money | Comments Off on Scholarly publishing: time for a regulator?

Richard Poynder asks: where are we with open access?

Posted on 17 July 2013 by Stephen

This post has been written simply to point you to an interesting series of interviews that Richard Poynder has published on his blog with a range of stakeholders in the open access arena. So far he has mostly interviewed advocates, … Continue reading →

Posted in interview, Open Access, Richard Poynder | Comments Off on Richard Poynder asks: where are we with open access?

Open access on the conference circuit

Posted on 6 July 2013 by Stephen

Having devoted a fair number of the words on this blog to open access over the past year and a half, I have found myself invited to an increasing number of meetings on the topic. Whether run by RLUK, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, RCUK, scientific conferences, translation UK, Wellcome Trust | Comments Off on Open access on the conference circuit

Debating Open Access

Posted on 1 July 2013 by Stephen

Twelve months after the publication of the Finch Report, during which the new RCUK policy on open access has been published, dissected, debated (including by committees in both Houses of Parliament), revised and implemented, it seems an apposite moment to … Continue reading →

Posted in British Academy, Open Access, Science & Politics | Comments Off on Debating Open Access

Tripped up by the light fantastic

Posted on 30 June 2013 by Stephen

Yesterday I went to Mars. I stood on the surface and gazed at the dusty red ground, illuminated as far as the pink horizon by sunlight weakened from a journey that is a 100 million kilometres longer than the distance to … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Hubble Space Telescope, I, Royal Maritime Museum, visions of the universe | Comments Off on Tripped up by the light fantastic

The Hunters

Posted on 25 May 2013 by Stephen

I had never heard of James Salter till I read a profile of him in the Observer a couple of weeks ago, on the occasion of the publication of his latest book, his first in a long time. Salter is … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Scientific Life | Comments Off on The Hunters

Impact factors declared unfit for duty

Posted on 16 May 2013 by Stephen

Regulars at this blog will be familiar with the dim view that I have of impact factors, in particular their mis-appropriation for the evaluation of individual researchers and their work. I have argued for their elimination, in part because they … Continue reading →

Posted in Impact Factors, Open Access, reform, science | Comments Off on Impact factors declared unfit for duty

Reinventing Excel

Posted on 14 May 2013 by Stephen

In Reinventing Discovery Michael Nielsen says that one of the great things about the Internet is the way it can connect problems with problem-solvers. Well, let’s see if that’s true. I have a problem with Excel, or rather, with a particular spreadsheet … Continue reading →

Posted in administration, Excel, macro, Michael Nielsen, technology | Comments Off on Reinventing Excel