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Author Archives: Stephen
Academic freedom and responsibility: why Plan S is not unethical
Since its announcement on 4th September the European Commission’s plan to make a radical shift towards open access (OA) has caused quite a stir. Backed by eleven* national funding agencies, the plan aims to make the research that they support free … Continue reading
Ten Years a Blogger
Today is the tenth anniversary of my very first blog post. When I look back at that day in 2008 when I set out my stall on Reciprocal Space it seems a long time ago and a long distance away. … Continue reading
Posted in Blogging, Communication, Scientific Life
4 Comments
DORA, the Leiden Manifesto & a university’s right to choose: a comment
The post below was written as a comment on Lizzie Gadd’s recent post explaining in some detail Loughborough University decision to base their approach to research assessment more on the Leiden Manifesto than DORA, the Declaration on Research Assessment. So you should … Continue reading
Posted in Academic publishing
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Ready-made citation distributions are a boost for responsible research assessment
Though a long-time critic of journal impact factors (JIFs), I was delighted when the latest batch was released by Clarivate last week. It’s not the JIFs themselves that I was glad to see (still alas quoted to a ridiculous level … Continue reading
Posted in Academic publishing
1 Comment
Opening peer review for inspection and improvement
For me the most memorable event at last week’s ASAPbio-HHMI-Wellcome meeting on Peer Review, which took place at HHMI’s beautifully appointed headquarters on the outskirts of Washington DC, was losing a $100 bet to Mike Eisen. Who would have guessed he’d know … Continue reading
Why I don’t share Elsevier’s vision of the transition to open access
Last week Elsevier’s VP for Policy and Communications, Gemma Hersh, published a think-piece on the company’s vision of the transition to open access (OA). She makes some valid points but glosses over others that I would like to pick up on. Some of … Continue reading
Does science need to be saved? A response to Sarewitz.
I wrote this piece a few months ago at the invitation of The New Atlantis. It was supposed to be one of a collection of responses to a polemical essay that they published last year on the parlous state of … Continue reading
Posted in Science
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BAMEed: the voices of the people
At the beginning of June I attended the first BAMEed conference. It was an unexpectedly memorable and inspiring occasion. Final panel discussion at #BAMEed2017 Though billed as an “unconference” – a sort of self-organising gathering that fills old fogies like me … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching
2 Comments
University rankings are fake news. How do we fix them?
This post is based on a short presentation I gave as part of a panel at a meeting today on Understanding Global University Rankings: Their Data and Influence, organised by HESPA (Higher Education Strategic Planners Association). Yes, it’s a ‘manel’ … Continue reading
Posted in Science, Scientific Life
Tagged metrics, University League Tables, University Rankings
2 Comments
The Cathedral on the Marsh
I’ve already shared this video on Twitter and Facebook but wanted to post it here as a more permanent record. Two weeks ago I fulfilled the ambition, held since I had seen Nic Stacey’s and Jim Al-Khalili’s quite wonderful BBC documentary … Continue reading
Posted in History of Science, Science
Tagged Civilisation, Crossness, thermodynamics
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The March for Science: advocacy masterstroke or PR misfire?
Last night made my way to an upstairs room at The Castle pub near Farringdon to participate in a debate organised by Stempra on the forthcoming March for Science. The panel (Photo by Anastasia Stefanidou) The question before the panel and … Continue reading
Posted in Science & Politics
2 Comments
Grim resolve at the House of Commons on the scientific priorities for Brexit
On Tuesday morning last week MPs, MEPs, and representatives of various organisations with a stake in post-Brexit UK science gathered in the Churchill Committee room at the House of Commons for the launch of the “Scientific priorities for Brexit” report, … Continue reading
Posted in Brexit, Science & Politics
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