“‘Common wisdom,’ according to the authors of a new piece in Nature, “assumes that the hazard of predatory publishing is restricted mainly to the developing world.” But the authors of the new paper, led by David Moher of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, found that more than half — 57% — of the 2,000 articles published in journals they determined were predatory were from high-income countries. In fact, the U.S. was second only to India in number of articles published in such journals. We asked Moher, who founded Ottawa Hospital’s Centre for Journalology in 2015, a few questions about the new work.”
Category Archives: oa.development
The Open Source Ethos | A Growing Culture
“The internet now provides a free platform for sharing knowledge. How is it possible—or even socially just—that so many of us can’t get access to scholarly research? Isn’t society propelled forward by access to the science, literature, and art of the world’s scholars? What if that research is publicly funded? These are the primary concerns that drive the open access movement.
What would these concerns look like if we removed them from the scholarly communications circle and applied them to realms beyond the ivory tower like nature, society, technology, and ultimately the intersection of those things—agriculture. How does resource sharing affect biodiversity? How does knowledge exchange drive community resilience? How is information access—delivered via technologies—an equalizer among the underrepresented, marginalized, and oppressed? How does our ability to feed a growing planet depend on a culture of openness? Let me work my way back.”
Development and Access to Information (DA2I)
“Development and Access to Information (DA2I) is the first of a series of annual reports that will monitor the progress countries are making towards fulfilling their commitment to promote meaningful access to information as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
DA2I will be launched annually, at the time of the United Nations High Level Political Forum (UN HLPF) and it is designed for UN member states, intergovernmental organizations, funders, civil society, other stakeholders working in development, and the library community itself. It underlines the invaluable contribution that information access, particularly through libraries, makes to promoting more socially and economically inclusive societies.
As well as updating on progress on a range of indicators of access to information, each DA2I report will have a focus on the SDGs selected for review at the HLPF in the year of publication. This includes thematic chapters on how access to information promotes the achievement of each of the selected SDGs.
The DA2I 2017 thematic chapters focus on the following goals: Zero Hunger (SDG2), Good Health and Well-being (SDG3), Gender Equality (SDG5), and Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG9).”
The Research Councils UK (RCUK): Inviting applications for ‘Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF): RCUK Collective Fund’ to Address Intractable Challenges Faced by Developing Countries. | Fund for Bangladesh
“Research Councils UK invites proposals from eligible UK research organizations to establish and lead a number of challenge-led and impact-focused GCRF Interdisciplinary Research Hubs which meet the aims of Official Development Assistance….Organizations that wish to be research partners (for example higher education organizations, public laboratories, or other non-profit research intensive organizations) must demonstrate compliance with the following criteria: …Public good and open publications – Organizations will need to demonstrate a track record of maximizing the wider impact and value of its research to the benefit of society and local economy and should have a commitment to the principle of open access publication….”
Open Access and Education: the cases of SABER and the Open Educational Resources (OER) – Inventa International
“Multiple studies carried out by international institutions, such as the UN, identified Intellectual Property Rights as partially responsible for the existence of a difference between ‘information-rich’ and ‘information-poor’ due to the exclusion they create. Thus, an approach to the management of Intellectual Property, taking into account human development and fundamental rights, has proved to be essential.
In this context, the Open Access approach to copyright management emerged as the most appropriate model to promote education through access to information and creative content.
Under this model, intellectual works, such as educational and research materials, are made available online free of charge.”
A Moral Reflection on the Information Flow From South to North: an African Perspective : Libri
“In most discussions of the digital divide, the emphasis is on assisting developing nations by facilitating the flow of information resources from the developed countries to the developing – a North-South flow. The South-North flow of information receives less attention. A number of moral questions arise from the current state of South-North information flow, six forms of which are analysed in this paper with particular reference to Africa. The discussion is approached from an ethical perspective based on a specific moral framework based on three moral claims: (1) there exist universal information-related human rights – the right of freedom of access to information, the right of freedom of expression, and the right of individuals and groups to control the information they have generated; (2) the notion of a common good, predicated on a moral community which shares certain values, imposes an obligation to share information; and (3) justice is the main normative tool that can be used to regulate the flow of information….”
Kenya leads the way for African countries to shift to more open, accessible and data-driven national agricultural policies | Diana Szpotowicz | Pulse | LinkedIn
“The event had a simple mission: to spur greater investment in agriculture and food nutrition data, especially in the G77 countries – a mission shared by the United Nations and the African Union this year.
The conference was co-convened by the Government of Kenya, the G77 Secretariat, African Union (NEPAD) and the Platform of African Farmers’ Organizations (PAFO).”
Africa tackles biohacking for healthcare | Timbuktu Chronicles
“On May 23-24, 2017, the Association for the promotion of open science in Haiti and in Africa (Apsoha) and the Yaoundé Higher institute of medical technology (ISTM) with support from the international network Open Science Hardware (Gosh), organized in the Cameroonian capital the first seminar dedicated to biohacking and open hardware equipment in healthcare: ‘Biohacking in the medical field: perspectives for developing countries’. On the first day were presented the different advances, uses and applications of DIYbio in the medical field. The second day was dedicated to workshops where participants had to apply and contextualize acquired knowledge.”
Joseph Stiglitz, Knowledge as a Global Public Good (1999)
Abstract: This chapter examines the worldwide trend toward increased privatization of both information and information and communications technologies, as well as the shrinking role of states and the effects on peoples’ access to adequate information goods and services. Publicness cannot be guaranteed unless users have low?cost access to the opportunities afforded by the new information technologies. Privatization of telecommunications carriers will not guarantee low?cost access and may actually impede it. In absolute terms, the prices of knowledge goods and services are higher in Africa than in high?income countries. In addition, even though information and communications technologies have public good attributes, they are embedded in power relationships. In particular, they are crucial for access to developing country markets, for intelligence purposes and for the transmission of ideas and ideologies. Most of all, they have the potential to widen the gap between haves and have?nots. Accordingly, the chapter calls for a renewed commitment to a public service agenda and, to that end, for increased cooperation between states on a regional basis.
African countries to combat food crisis with open data
“The Global Open Data for Agriculture & Nutrition (GODAN) initiative together with the Government of Kenya and 15 African Ministers including from South Africa, Congo, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Ghana, have agreed to a declaration for comprehensive open data collaboration in the nutrition and agriculture sectors, to combat the global food security crisis. The declaration is historic in that it presents the first time a ministerial level network, focusing on open data for agriculture and nutrition, has been formed. Coincidentally the Conference takes place in Africa, the continent with the largest untapped agriculture potential, proving a major milestone towards achieving global food security worldwide. …”