Peer choice – does reviewer self‐selection work?

The British Journal of Educational Technology (BJET) uses a novel system for obtaining referees by e‐mailing the abstracts of submissions to a panel of over 250 referees and allowing these individuals to choose which papers they would like to review. An analysis of 13 experienced referees showed that, of 473 reviews assessed, these referees were slightly more lenient than the editor and that electronic records provide useful data that can be mined in interesting ways.     

Write when hot — submit when not: seasonal bias in peer review or acceptance?

At a top psychology journal, Psychological Science (PS), submissions peak during the summer months. We tested whether this seasonal submission bias decreases the likelihood of a paper being accepted in that period. Month of submission data was obtained for all 575 publications in PS for the period 2003–2006. Whereas submissions to PS were higher in the summer, there was no evidence that most accepted publications were originally submitted in the summer. Thus, contributors submit to PS when the likelihood of acceptance is the lowest – creating their own entrance barrier. A similar seasonal pattern was not identified for Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, another top psychology journal. Using the Web of Knowledge database, we further assessed whether overcoming the seasonal entrance barrier influences the number of citations a paper receives in subsequent years. We discuss the possibility that the different rejections policies in the two journals, employing desk rejections or not, may explain this discrepancy, and explore a range of alternative hypotheses.     

Plant Collection “Half‐life:” Can Botanic Gardens Weather the Climate?

Botanic gardens are organized around plant collections, and climate change will affect those collections. Land loss is expected for gardens near sea level, prompting a loss of plants from the collection. Future collection development requires planning for these losses, which in turn requires assessment of the extent and rate of collection loss. We examined collection inventory change over time using records at Montgomery Botanical Center (MBC), to formulate a plant collection half‐life concept. This half‐life was used to project changes in MBC's plant collection over the next 100 years within the context of sea level changes. Comparing predicted rates of collection change with projected rates of loss due to sea level rise, we expect plant collection development to keep pace with climate change. As actively curated resources, botanic garden plant collections can adapt to environmental change faster and more deliberately than natural systems.     

Science Centers at 40: Middle‐aged Maturity or Mid‐life Crisis?

Abstract Science centers are maturing in an era in which learning has become acutely individualized, self‐empowered, and selective. The science center movement is now faced with a new educational environment that it can either embrace or ignore. What does it mean to be an institution in this deinstitutionalized world?     

Rewarding reviewers – sense or sensibility? A Wiley study explained

In July 2015, Wiley surveyed over 170,000 researchers in order to explore peer reviewing experience; attitudes towards recognition and reward for reviewers; and training requirements. The survey received 2,982 usable responses (a response rate of 1.7%). Respondents from all markets indicated similar levels of review activity. However, analysis of reviewer and corresponding author data suggests that US researchers in fact bear a disproportionate burden of review, while Chinese authors publish twice as much as they review. Results show that while reviewers choose to review in order to give back to the community, there is more perceived benefit in interacting with the community of a top‐ranking journal than a low‐ranking one. The majority of peer review training received by respondents has come either in the form of journal guidelines or informally as advice from supervisors or colleagues. Seventy‐seven per cent show an interest in receiving further reviewer training. Reviewers strongly believe that reviewing is inadequately acknowledged at present and should carry more weight in their institutions' evaluation process. Respondents value recognition initiatives related to receiving feedback from the journal over monetary rewards and payment in kind. Questions raised include how to evenly expand the reviewer pool, provide training throughout the researcher career arc, and deliver consistent evaluation and recognition for reviewers.     

Journal publishing systems: outsource or in‐house?

This article describes a framework to help publishers decide whether they should develop and host their own proprietary online journal system, or whether they should outsource this activity. We also suggest a practical high‐level checklist for comparing journal systems.     

“What is Less or More than a Touch?” Multimedia Classics and Hypermedia Hermeneutics

Hypermedia is so diverse that it is in need of documentation, analysis, and methodology. For more than 20 years, online and offline applications of hypermedia technology have combined text, image, video, animation, and sound into a total work of art (Gesamtkunstwerk). This essay provides an insight into my research project, Multimedia Classics and Hypermedia Hermeneutics, focusing on why it is so difficult to describe and analyze hypermedia applications on cultural topics. It suggests how the functions, contents, and forms of hypermedia could be analyzed; to do so, it looks at Notzimmer, an interactive website story about a knockdown furniture construction kit designed by Jewish refugee Mauritius Ehrlich during World War II.     

Bridging the ‘Know‐Do Gap’: a role for health information professionals?

This feature briefly examines the development of knowledge translation, knowledge transfer and the knowledge broker role as constituting the next manifestation of the movement that brought us evidence based medicine and its derivatives. It examines the extent to which health information professionals currently meet the specification for a knowledge broker role. In doing so it assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the profession when ranged alongside the five components of the knowledge transfer process that is, problem identification; knowledge development and selection; analysis of context; knowledge transfer interventions; and knowledge utilization. Current deficiencies also lie in a need for political astuteness and awareness and in a lack of knowledge of the most significant models of behavioural change. The feature concludes by examining the potential for knowledge team approaches arguing that gains from a wider perspective that encompasses the entire knowledge process may be even more significant than the pooling of collective knowledge, skills and expertise.     

Mentoring as a career development tool: A universal resource or only for the ‘anointed’?

Key points

• Most employers offer skill‐based training, but formal mentoring programmes are rare.
• Training tends to be responsibility‐specific and organization‐centric, with fast‐tracking of stand‐out individuals.
• Cross‐organizational mentoring can be more objective and multidisciplinary and support publishers’ needs for innovation.
• Mentoring programmes usually focus on early careers, and there is little support for senior publishing professionals.
• All professional development requires engagement from all parties – no pull without push!