There’s been a flurry of commentary surrounding the revelation that Elsevier was instrumental in publishing fake journals. It’s not only a serious offense insofar as scientific inquiry is concerned, but it also casts a hard, glaring light on much of what is wrong with the journal publishing model. The Association of College & Research Libraries provides some additional insights.
Other observers have used this news to trumpet how we need to learn collaboratively, instead of counting on top-down publishing bodies to do that work for us. I’m interested to know, in the age of the Internet, where does authority come from? Because at times it seems like a free-for-all.
Here’s another example, hiding behind all manner of officialdom. A paper on culture published in Asian Social Science, an online, “peer-reviewed journal,” that’s published by Canadian Center of Science and Education. The paper under scrutiny lifts entire passages from Beyond Culture by E.T. Hall, without any attribution.
The paper, p. 1, transcription errors retained:
“A high-context (HC) communication or message is one in which most of the information is either in the physical context or internalized in the person, while very little is either in the physical context or internalized in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message. A low-context (LC) communication is just the opposite; i.e., the, mass of information is vested in the explicit code.”
E.T. Hall, p. 91:
“A high-context (HC) communication or message is one in which most of the information is either in the physical context or internalized in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message. A low-context (LC) communication is just the opposite; i.e., the mass of the information is vested in the explicit code.”
The paper, p. 1:
“Although no culture exists exclusively at one end of the scale, some are high while others are low. American culture, while not on the bottom, is toward the lower end of the scale.”
E.T. Hall, p. 91:
“Although no culture exists exclusively at one end of the scale, some are high while others are low. American culture, while not on the bottom, is toward the lower end of the scale.”
Gauging by how sloppy this paper was, it became clear to me quite quickly that I should go no further. But nonetheless it took some of my time to make an evaluation of this work when such an evaluation should have been done by the “peer-reviewers.” No?
References
Hall, E. T. (1977). Beyond culture. New York: Anchor Books.
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