Category Archives: Uncategorized

The name Research4Life sounds to me like a funding agency programme, with a twist of textspeak thrown in to make it cool. In fact it is simply a rebranding exercise for HINARI, AGORA and OARE. On balance I think I … Continue reading →

I took part in a concert yesterday, singing (with 140 other choir members) Faure’s Requiem and Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony in the Barbican Hall in London. I have mixed feelings about the Sea Symphony – it has some great moments … Continue reading →

I’ve been intertwittently tweeting for a little while. I haven’t yet got into a regular habit but it has increased since I got a phone with a good internet connection two months ago. I know there is some hatred of … Continue reading →

Following on from my Parks theme yesterday, I had a lovely stroll in the park today. I think it just about qualifies as a park, but it’s a long thin one, based around a small stream. Jesmond Dene is just … Continue reading →

There is a lovely essay on Parks in the Guardian today. I say Parks rather than parks as the author takes a very strict line on what is or isn’t a Park, proposing five criteria that must e met in … Continue reading →

Dating seems a bit old-fashioned these days, but mandating is becoming more and more popular, though it has to be admitted that there plenty of people who do not love it. I went to an interesting event on Friday called … Continue reading →

My first love in science was chemistry. It was the usual story of an inspiring and eccentric teacher who stoked my interest and got me hooked on transformations, equations and the periodic table. OK, so the bangs, colours and smells … Continue reading →

Earlier this year Heather drew attention to Vivian Siegel’s editorials on supporting outreach efforts and on authorship and acknowledgement. I’m ashamed to say I did not see Heather’s post at the time but am pleased to find it now as … Continue reading →

Paying for open access has been on my mind recently. All those “open choice”, “author choice”, “open option”, “open article”, “online open”, “open science” and other similar schemes (why does each publisher have to have a different name for the … Continue reading →

Bora wrote recently about various aspects of power and how “online” has changed the balance of power in different ways. I want to talk about how the advent of e-journals has changed the power of publishers and other players in … Continue reading →