Comments on: Twitter, Crowdsourcing and Access to Knowledge

By: Cristina Costa

Cristina Costa — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 16:18:39 +0000

of course it is!
It is still the norm… and the more cynical will even go further and justify that their online presence does not bring them any academic value or joy, which is arguable! I have another take on this one. I think word of mouth is still the best way to disseminate your work and online this ‘very traditional’ form of spreading news can be amplified almost to an extreme!. Yet, the truth is that only very well established research journals, traditional forms of research communication and public engagement do count as part of one’s academic achievements. Those are guidelines we should aim to change!! Even now when Universities are starting to issue Open Access Mandates, open access journals don’t seem to me on the ‘must publish’ list! Funny ha…? So much for innovation!

Yet, one thing is certain, I still haven’t met one single academic that doesn’t use the web to gain access to information. Even if it is just google scholar. So if they are taking, why shouldn’t they give?
I just wish people stopped being so uptight about the Internet! … but that’s me just being grumpy.

And Yes again..there is a culture to change… change is slow, but hopefully effective! (fingers crossed!) The problem is that those who advocate change aren’t always ready for the change themselves… but that’s another story all together!

By: Andy Coverdale

Andy Coverdale — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 17:55:33 +0000

I totally share your sentiments Cristina, though we need to recognise some students can be highly respectful of traditional academic practices and norms and cautious of challenging paradigms – and that this can be more of an obstacle to adopting social media than any preconceived concerns about the technologies.

By: Cristina Costa

Cristina Costa — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:22:19 +0000

Andy – this just send the message that knowledge is meant to be open, isn’t it? I do not see myself as a pirate but rather as someone who helps others get access to stuff. I have asked for my network to provide me with papers I don’t have and also provided my network with papers they had no access to. At some stage we will all all be in this situation, especially now with this crisis… universities will cut down on subscriptions,etc…
And then of course wealthier institutions, wealthier students will always stand better chances of doing better. Knowledge should not be an exclusive right of some but all. Is that the role of academia, educators, researchers…?

I do not put them on google docs, as this is another mean of re-publishing, but any time I have a chance to help someone I will. Email is still powerful.

Another issue: found out the hardest way that the inter-library loan service does not apply to online journals or ebooks…so much for the innovative exchange deal…
My real library is my PLN… so much more resourceful
Thanks for sharing

By: tinydot

tinydot — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:26:03 +0000

as a studt, i appreciate that type of collaboration as i’ve gone thru the same frustration of time and effort spent looking for articles we need for research (to elaborate: eye strain from staring at the computer, neckache from hunching in front of the computer, which translate into overall exhaustion). however, from the viewpoint of businesses, we are the ‘pirates’ even though we don’t profit from it. what businesses need to do is to restructure their businesses to profit in other ways, not in frustrating research and educational efforts.

By: Virginia Yonkers

Virginia Yonkers — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:03:49 +0000

I wrote a similar post only from the stand point of how much more difficult it is to get the sources of information (even though you know its out there) without having to pay through the nose for it.