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RE: Huber Killidata 99 will not be on-line
Bill Vannerson wrote:
>
> >>Ad hoc web publishing has yet to be recognized as valid
> scholarly work, and should not be until a mechanism to ensure
> accuracy and quality is instituted, that is peer review.<<
>
> FWIW, the ICZN has implemented or is considering implementing
> standards for electrinic publishing that it will recognize. So
> the world is moving that way, which is no great revelation by
> now. I couldn't find the web page with the exact criteria, but
> it included storing copies of the document of media a more than
> one location (library, University, etc.).
That may be a very small first step; however, it is not just a matter of
what the ICZN suggests, implements or recognizes. What really counts in
academia is recognition among one's peer group in a particular discipline.
Without that recognition your career will go nowhere. As Barry has pointed
out, for the purpose of peer review, most academics and academic
institutions simply do no acknowledge web "publishing" as real publishing
because the material has generally not been subject to a rigorous review
process.
Bill Gallagher wrote:
>
>But isn't the cost mostly for the production of the hard
>copies of the work? Does the author actually see any
>net income from his 1000's of hours of pain-staking work?
>Was the author doing this kind of reference book as
>a way of making a living, or for a different kind of reason?
>
I can't speak for Jean Huber but I would imagine that the compilation of
KilliData constitutes part of his professional activities (so it is not
strictly a "labour of love"). In view the value that academia places on web
"published" material with regard to peer evaluation processes, it would
certainly be advantageous to publish the data in book form in the first
instance. So, yes, in a way the author is compiling this kind of reference
book as a way of making a living.
>
>Hypothetically speaking, if there were NO paper copies
>produced (yeah, I know, a very bad idea), and the info
>was presented on the web (at little or no cost), would
>the author see much less income than they already do
>after production and storage costs are finally recouped
>many years later?
>
If career advancement depended on publishing in refereed journals or in book
form then yes, also speaking hypothetically, an individual in academia would
see much less income after a few years because he would probably be passed
up for promotion, not receive research grants, etc.
>
>If making the work completely available on the web
>substantially decreases the demand for hard copies,
>and significantly reduces the number of copies
>that would otherwise be sold, doesn't that also prove
>that the web gets the information out to more people
>much cheaper?
Perhaps, but at whose expense ?
As Barry has pointed out, publishing costs money however it is done. At the
very least, it involves a lot of time which costs somebody something.
__________________________________________
Brian R. Watters
University of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan S4S 0A2, Canada
Ph: (306) 584-9161 (home); (306) 585-4663 (work)
Fax: (306) 585-5433
E-mail: bwatters at sk_sympatico.ca
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