This kind of response is characteristic of those whose thinking is
insufficiently radical. The way things have always been is no guide to what
happens in a paradigm shift.
The proposed "author's-institution -pays" model is not simply a continuation
of old-fashioned page charges. It is a totally new way of financing
scholarly communication, in which university libraries do not have to pay
for journals. A great many academics (not only in psychology) have not yet
understood this. Will they have to wait until their library cannot afford
*any* journals in their discipline before they grasp the point?
Fytton Rowland, Loughborough University, UK..
----- Original Message -----
From: "Christopher D. Green" <christo_at_YORKU.CA>
To: <AMERICAN-SCIENTIST-OPEN-ACCESS-FORUM_at_LISTSERVER.SIGMAXI.ORG>
Sent: Friday, January 10, 2003 10:27 PM
Subject: Re: Journal expenses and publication costs
> Manfredi La Manna wrote:
>
> > The one-size-fits-all syndrome strikes again. Scientific disciplines
> > are vastly different in terms of all the relevant variables here,
> > such as rejection rates, turnaround times, editorial structures, etc. I
> > understand that BMC's figure of $500 article-processing-charge (APC) per
> > published article is based on an average rejection rate of 50%. The same
> > ratio applied to a top economics journal (with a rejection rate of 95%)
> > would yield a prohibitive $5,000 APC.
>
> I've been thinking it all through this discussion, but perhaps I should
make
> it explicit here. Charges such as this weil *never* fly in experimental
> psychology, where the only journals that have page charges are generally
> considered to be just a hair's beadth above vanity presses. Another
business
> model will haveto be developed if this is to work in psychology.
>
> Regards,
> --
> Christopher D. Green
> Department of Psychology
> York University
> Toronto, Ontario, Canada
> M3J 1P3
>
> e-mail: christo_at_yorku.ca
> phone: 416-736-5115 ext. 66164
> fax: 416-736-5814
> http://www.yorku.ca/christo/
Received on Mon Jan 13 2003 - 12:09:55 GMT