Topic 5: A reflective summary on FreeAccess+RestrictedAccess=OpenAccess
One of the key points I have learned from this topic is the structure that governs the production and distribution of academic journal articles. From Bartosz’s blog [1], the diagram he used delineates the situation and I finally realized how the structure loosely resembles other industries. The companies take the biggest profit while the author who is the main verve behind the work gets the least profit. Indeed this is the same in other industries like the music industry, which I believe it is quite wrong, immoral and unethical.
Another point was from Nicole Odofin [2] who had some interesting online survey facts conducted by YouGov (shown below). It said 50% of British thinks online contents should be free. It seems like this generation is just used to getting what they want at free of charge. Recently a paid-for music streaming platform called Tidal was launched but I personally think because of free platforms like Spotify that might hinders its growth.
Also the survey revealed that younger generations are less concerned about piracy law and digital rights. As a student studying an IT degree and also with the recent revelations about mass governmental surveillance I find this quite shocking. Recently an article was published in which it argues academics are pressing for open access not just for undergraduates and postgraduates but also for college students.
The problem now is that if governments in developed countries decide to fund Open Access then less developed countries would be left behind. It doesn’t mean that developed countries should not move forward but I believe more can be done to help those lacking behind.
References:
[1] https://paszcza.wordpress.com/2015/04/28/open-access/comment-page-1/#comment-34
