News: Academic Publishing Weekly

Women's representation in research, THE Impact Rankings, and new AI detection tools

Posted on June 14, 2024 in News

Furthering Gender Diverse Research and Publishing

A new report from Elsevier analyzing 20 years of research publishing reveals that women’s representation has increased but still lags behind. Publishing Perspectives highlighted the report’s finding that “women [are] gaining in their share of active researchers internationally from 28 percent in 2001 to 41 percent in 2022” but noted that representation differs based on region and discipline. The report also covered gender diversity in grant funding and citations, along with women’s contributions to research on the SDGs. Elsevier offered several recommendations to better support women researchers, but also mentioned that it’s “important to note that achieving parity in participation doesn’t necessarily equate to achieving equality opportunities, such as funding and representation in senior positions.” In other news, Springer Nature has entered the UN Women Media Compact. Jessica Gedamu, Vice President of Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Springer Nature, commented, “As members we will continue to highlight the issues facing women around the world, and celebrate their many contributions to science, research and publishing.”

---

---

THE Impact Rankings and Supporting the SDGs

Times Higher Education (THE) has published its annual Impact Rankings. Western Sydney University led the list comprised of over 2,000 universities across the globe. Four U.S. universities made the top 100, with Arizona State University (ASU) leading the pack with a ninth place ranking for the fifth consecutive year. ASU was also the “highest ranked U.S. institution in 11 of the 17 SDGs.” Sticking on the topic of the Sustainable Development Goals, Oxford University Press (OUP) released its Responsible Publishing Report. OUP spotlighted several of its initiatives supporting the SDGs including Raise a Reader and the PISA 2025 Science Framework for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OUP also shared that it’s on track to reduce waste and its overall carbon footprint. Last, Charlie Rapple of The Scholarly Kitchen considered how publishers can ensure their SDG-related content is read within and outside of academia. In particular, Rapple warned against overcategorizing publications, stressed the importance of local studies, and made a case for the value of basic research.

---

AI Updates: New Tools, Taylor & Francis Policy, and Coursera Plagiarism Detector

Taylor & Francis published several AI guidelines for its authors, editors, and reviewers. The guidance includes policy on “authorship attribution, acknowledgement of AI use, and the activities for which AI use is not permitted” and will be updated as generative AI progresses. Next, Springer Nature released Geppetto and SnappShot, two AI tools that “support the identification of papers that contain AI-generated fake content and / or problematic images.” Geppetto works to find AI-generated text while SnappShot assesses images, and the results from both tools are analyzed by human staff. Lastly, Coursera will also be rolling out AI tools centered on plagiarism detection. Inside Higher Ed’s Lauren Coffey explained that the detection tool “tracks the thought process behind an assessment” by questioning students about their work. So far, it doesn’t have complete buy-in from academics, as Coffey covered concerns from a market analyst and professor and highlighted additional AI tools that will be offered by Coursera.

---

---

University Library Partnerships and the Leiden Institute for FAIR and Equitable Science

Penn Libraries and the University of Arkansas Libraries both entered open access agreements with Wiley. Wiley’s three-year partnership with Penn Libraries will enable those affiliated with the university to publish open access in Wiley’s hybrid portfolio. The agreement also gives researchers free reading access to Wiley’s journals and aligns with the University of Pennsylvania’s strategic framework. The University of Arkansas agreement similarly provides open access publishing in Wiley’s journals for faculty and researchers, and according to scholarly communication librarian Melody Herr, is the library’s “first [transformative agreement] with a major commercial publisher.” In other news, the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) and several academic institutions and organizations have formed the Leiden Institute for FAIR and Equitable Science (LIFES). The CCC explained that LIFES aims to “facilitate access to FAIR-compliant applications and services that support efficient data sharing, improve research reproducibility, and enhance collaboration across different domains and disciplines.”

---

Stand UP Award Winner and Academic Journal Strikes

Over 90 percent of the members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) have voted in favor of a strike following staff salary discussions between Springer Nature and NUJ that began last September. As stated by NUJ, “Staff at Nature and dozens of other leading science journals will walk out on 20 June” over disputes concerning Springer Nature’s offer. NUJ underscored that if the publisher fails to negotiate an agreement, “it will not only be the first time that Nature staff have downed tools, but it is potentially the first time that an issue of the weekly journal will be missed in its 155-year history.” In other news, Martin Paul Eve was announced as the recipient of this year’s Stand UP Award from AUPresses. As explained by AUPresses, the award “honors those who through their words and actions have done extraordinary work to support, defend, and celebrate the university press community.” Eve, an author, professor, and Principal R&D Developer at Crossref, was awarded due to his efforts to promote open access for works in the humanities.

---

Related Posts