Author Archives: Stephen

Harvard: we have a problem

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Stephen

This is astonishing. Harvard is one of the best and one of the wealthiest universities in the world but last week its Faculty Advisory Council* announced that it can no longer afford to maintain its subscriptions to academic journals. The announcement … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , , | 50 Comments

Eyes on the prize are blind to reality

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Stephen

Scientists’ quest for publication in journals with high impact factors is widely perceived as one of the more refractory barriers to the fuller adoption of open access, which I believe to be in the best interests of science. But the … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , , | 56 Comments

What’s your favourite colour?

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Stephen

What’s your favourite colour? Anyone who has socialised with small children will have been confronted with this serious-faced interrogation at some point. It’s the sort of question that erupts as soon as young kids learn to verbalise the jumble of … Continue reading →

Posted in Protein Crystallography, Science | Tagged , , | 54 Comments

Hawking with Dinosaurs

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Stephen

Here is a ‘paper‘ that I think would not be accepted by PLoS ONE and yet it was the subject of a report on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 this morning, arguably the nation’s premier morning news show. … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Media | Tagged , , | 24 Comments

PLoS ONE: from the Public Library of Sloppiness?

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Stephen

I had an argument with my colleague in the tea-room the other day. Gratifyingly, I learned he had been reading my blogposts on the subject of open access, but it soon became clear he did not entirely share my enthusiasm … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , | 72 Comments

Fabulous night

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Stephen

Tonight, at the end of an exhausting day, I have few words, but it was beautifully clear so I have taken some pictures of the night sky. And made a short film. The photographs are by no means exemplary. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Elsevier, the Research Works Act and Open Access: where to now?

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Stephen

If Elsevier calculated that its withdrawal of support for the Research Works Act (RWA) would neutralise the arguments stirred up around academic publishing, I think the company is mistaken. I certainly hope so. Things may have gone a little quiet … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , | 37 Comments

Libel Reform: the endgame?

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Stephen

It has been a long and winding road but tonight the journey towards libel reform in England and Wales paused in the historic Great Hall of the Inner Temple to take stock. The wheels are turning and the machine of government … Continue reading →

Posted in Libel Reform | Tagged | 5 Comments

The road well trodden

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Stephen

Scientists should do this. Journalists should do that. And eventually we will live in a world where the media reporting of science achieves perfection. At least that is the hypothesis. The hypothesis was put to the test at the Royal … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Media | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

Science: the bargain for funding

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Stephen

On the Guardian web-site today you will find a piece by myself and Imran Khan of CaSE which is a response to an attack on scientists for striking a faustian bargain with business.   The attack was written by Ananyo … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Science & Politics | Tagged , , , | 43 Comments

Some progress on Open Access

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Stephen

This morning there have been two very interesting developments on open access. First, Doug Kell, Chief Executive of the BBSRC, responded on his blog to my open letter. His reply is detailed and goes some way to clarifying progress in … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Science | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

An Open Letter on Open Access to UK Research Councils

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Stephen

Short Version Please read the Wellcome Trust’s policy on open access. And then adopt it. Thank you.   Long Version Please read the Wellcome Trust’s policy on open access. It’s short so I’ve pasted it below. The policy states (with … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , , , | 60 Comments