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2016, Page 4

Knowledge is Power but Money Makes the World Go Round

It’s safe to say we all love a freebie!  The internet was initially created to allow universities to easily share academic articles and documents (newsmedia, 2016).  Ultimately it has developed, providing a diverse range of content to the masses. With a larger and more diverse demand  for content comes the question of whether this content should be free and open to all, or only available for a fee. When considering scholarly articles there are two ways of publishing online. Continue reading →

Topic 5: Open Access to Online Content

Throughout the different posts on the blog over the past few weeks, I think I have made clear the benefit that the Web can bring to its users. One such incredibly-important way is through open access to online content. Open access is defined as “availability to all” and refers to the ability for anyone, anywhere to be able to access materials online for free at the point of access. Continue reading →

Open Access: Beauty or the Beast?

‘Open Access is the free, immediate, online availability of research articles coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment’ (SPARC, 2016). When it comes to the subject of Open Access content us millennials don’t really know any different – with all too many of us taking it for granted. Continue reading →

Open or Closed?

Imagine writing an essay and having to pay every time to access a journal article or information? Imagine having to pay for it prior to finding out whether it’s relevant or will be used in your essay? Without Open Access this would be the case. Open Access may seem as a hard term to get around but it simply means content that is “digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions” (Suber, 2015). Continue reading →

“Why should I give everything away for free?”

When I started my dissertation a year ago I couldn’t believe how many articles were not easily accessible to me. Either I would have had to pay to read some articles, or my university had to pay for me and I had to use the VPN. I don’t think that’s right. Education, learning and research is meant to be about sharing ideas and new knowledge to benefit society and the world as a whole. Continue reading →

Releasing free music: Good or Bad?

As someone who wishes to focus on a music career after I finish my degree, I have always planned on releasing my own songs online, for free. Now if you click on the youtube or soundcloud links above, you’ll notice that I only have covers and I have a perfect reason for it. I am just not ready. Continue reading →

Topic 5: Open Access Content

Nature, The Lancet, The New England Journal of Medicine. These journals are big names in the field of medical research; in 2014 Nature had an impact factor of 42.3, the highest of any medical journal. However, the price of access to journals such as these is growing; prices have increased greater than inflation by 250% over the past 30 years. Access to medical research by different individuals is vital to prompt different hypotheses and further research. Continue reading →

Open Access in Science and Medicine

Photo credits. Late night essays were made worse by the chance that my institution wouldn’t have access to an important reference. “Check Access”. For 4 years, this blue button has irritated me beyond belief. Writing a patient case report or research essay at 4am was never fun, and to make it worse, I was constantly at war with all the journals that would not give me or the University access to their cutting-edge research articles. Continue reading →

Topic 5: Open Access to Online Content

Open access literature is “digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions” (Suber, 2015). But what exactly does this mean? For a student, this means immediate and free online access to a plethora of research articles (Hatzipanagos and Gregson, 2015). I have summarised four key pieces of information about open access literature in the Haiku Deck below. Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that’s simple, beautiful and fun. Continue reading →

Open Access

Source: Stephen Morris/iStockphoto As a final year student, evaluating whether the information available online should be made free really concerns me. I believe every student can relate to the frustrating situation in which you believe you have found the perfect source for your research but when clicking on it you realize that you cannot access it. Continue reading →

ERROR: Access Denied

The first rule of using the web as a tool in education and business is that you can’t use everything that you find due to copyright infringement and licensing issues. Open access is one model that solves some of these issues, so what is it…   This article has referenced a study suggesting that paid content is becoming more common, and three years ago they projected that right now, May 2016, 90% of all content online would be paid for. Is this the case? I would say no. Continue reading →

Drowning in a TIDALwave

The open access of music has becoming an increasingly popular topic in the media. Artists now have the option to stream their music on multiple platforms some which are completely free and others that charge the consumer per song or per month. “It’s my opinion that music should not be free, and my prediction is that individual artists and their labels will someday decide what an album’s price point is. I hope they don’t underestimate themselves or undervalue their art. Continue reading →

Topic 5: Advantages and Disadvantages of Creative Commons

This video explains what Creative Commons is and the main points for how it works:   Fundamentally, it allows content producers of images, videos, music, text, source code etc. to make their work freely available in a way that is clear to other users and whether they themselves can use the content they find online. The main points explained in the video are what Creative Commons is in comparison to traditional copyright systems. What the different components are and what the symbols mean. Continue reading →

Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants

Encircled around the edge of the ÂŁ2 coin is the phrase “standing on the shoulders of giants” or in simpler terms: “building upon what others have already done”. Photo Credit This is a phrase most applicable to research where for century’s scientists, researchers and innovators have used each other’s work to enhance their own, come up with new ideas and challenge traditional views. Continue reading →