Analysis of predatory emails in early career academia and attempts at prevention

Predatory publishers—those who do not adhere to rigorous standards of academic practice such as peer review—are increasingly infiltrating biomedical databases, to the detriment of the wider scientific community. These publishers frequently send unsolicited ‘spam’ emails to generate submission to their journals, with early career researchers (ECR) particularly susceptible to these practices because of pressures such as securing employment and promotion. This analysis sought to record and characterize the emails received over the course of a PhD and post-doctoral position (~8 years), as well as attempts to unsubscribe from such emails, using a progressive and step-wise manner. A total of 1,280 emails identified as academic spam were received (990 journal invitations, 220 conference invitations, 70 ‘other’). The first email was received 3 months after registration for an international conference. Attempts at unsubscribing were somewhat effective, whereby implications of reporting to respective authorities resulted in a 43% decrease in emails, although did not eliminate them completely, and therefore alternative approaches to eliminating academic spam may be needed. Ongoing education about predatory publishers, as well as action by key academic stakeholders, should look to reduce the impact these predatory publishers have upon the wider literature base.     

惊现比人还要大的巨型海蝎

英、德两国科研人员近日在一份化石研究报告中指出,他们发现一个远古海蝎子的巨爪化石。据推断,其肢体长度达到2.5米,比人类还大,是有史以来所发现的体型最大的节肢动物标本。     

Recall agreement between actual and retrospective reports of competitive anxiety: a comparison of intensity and frequency dimensions

Using a mixed-method design, we compared athletes' abilities to recall intensity and frequency of competitive anxiety. In Phase 1, performers (n = 35) completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, & Smith, 1990) at four pre-competition and four post-competition intervals to compare actual and recalled responses. In Phase 2, follow up interviews (n = 6) explored the perceived mechanisms underpinning the quantitative results. Limits of agreement (Bland & Altman, 1999) analysis on the quantitative data indicated that, compared with intensity, memory for frequency was generally more reliable, and recall ability of this dimension was less biased for symptoms that occurred earlier in the week. Inductive analysis of the qualitative interviews suggested athletes were more attuned to the frequency rather than the intensity of their competitive anxiety symptoms. These findings provide support for the notion that the frequency of symptoms may act as a precursor for increasing anxiety levels and this dimension may be a more accurate reflection of experienced symptoms when recalling emotional accounts. The implications are that researchers and practitioners need to consider frequency in addition to intensity when seeking to manage anxiety responses during the time preceding competition.     

Official information: scholarly publishers can help the Government get it right

CoPI: the Coalition for Public Information, has been formed to ensure that the developing information revolution benefits all sections of society. Its early dialogue with Government is of great potential value to learned and professional publishers, addressing such issues as efficient access to official documents and the current restrictions imposed by crown copyright. CoPI's Manifesto also calls for citizens of the future to be equipped to deal with information overload – an essential skill needed to recognise, the high quality refereed work of academic publishers'.     

Media Nostalgia

Frank Buxton and Bill Owen's The Big Broadcast: 1920-1950 (New York: Viking Press, 1972---$12.95)

Summers' A Thirty-Year History of Programs Carried on National Radio Networks in the United States (1958: reprinted by Arno Press, 1971---$10.00)

Hello Again (Mr. Jay Hickerson, 6 Koczak Court, North Haven, Conn. 06473)

Mary E. Bickel's George W. Trendle: An Authorized Biography (Jericho, N.Y.: Exposition Press, 1972---$5.00)

Joe Morella, Edward Z. Epstein, and Eleanor Clark's Those Great Movie Ads (New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House, 1972--- $14.95)

Ron Goulart's Cheap Thrills: an Informal History of the Pulp Magazines (New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House, 1972---$7.95)     

General Communication

Eugene Garfield, Essays of an Information Scientist, Volume 3, 1977-78 (Philadelphia: ISI Press, 1980—$15.00)

The Information Society: An International Journal (Crane, Russak, 3 East 44th St., New York, N.Y. 10017– $48.00/quarterly)

M. Thomas Inge, ed. Handbook of American Popular Culture, Volume 2 (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1980 —$29.95)

Information Resources: Knowledge and Power in the 21st Century by Anthony G. Oettinger (Incidental Paper 1-80-4, 10 pp. —$15.00)

Changes in the Information Industries– Their Strategic Implications for Newspapers by John C.Gates (Incidental Paper 1-80-5, 20 pp.—$15.00)

Economics and Postal Pricing Policy by Bruce Owen and Robert Willig (Publication P-81-2, 36 pp.—$30.00)

Factors Influencing Media Consumption: A Survey of the Literature by Christine Urban (Research Draft not yet for sale, March 1981, 107 pp.)

The Continuing Revolution in Communications Technology: Implications for the Broadcasting Business by Richard Rosenbloom (Incidental Paper 1-81-4, June 1981, 30 pp.—$15.00)

Information Resources Policy Viewed by an OutskIrten by Per Ongstad (Incidental Paper 1-81-5, July 1981, 53 pp.—$15.00)

Philip Hills, ed. The Future of the Printed Word: The Impact and Implications of the New Communications Technology (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1981—$25.00)

Ronald J. Matlon, comp. Index to Journals in Communication Studies Through 1979 (Speech Communication Association, 5105 Backlick Rd., Annandale, Va. 22003—price not given, paper)     

Teaching physics: Students’ attitudes towards different learning activities

The decline in the popularity of physics over the period of secondary schooling and its consequent low uptake at A‐level and beyond continues to cause concern on educational and economic grounds. The aim of this study is to explore whether physics might be made more attractive to students by employing an extended range of classroom and laboratory activities to teach it. Specifically, the study scores the popularity of a range of activities, students’ perceptions about how often these activities are used to teach physics, and whether students consider them educationally useful. Students appear to think in terms of written activities, passive activities, social activities and constructive activities. Written activities are relatively unpopular and seen as educationally less effective, but students perceived them as used frequently. Social activities such as group work are more popular. The most popular activities are constructive activities, such as doing experiments; these are seen as educationally useful, but are perceived as being used less often than other activities. While there are legitimate limitations on the types of activities that can be used, these findings add to our appreciation of which teaching activities students like and value.     

Relationship-Focused Child Care Practices: Quality of Care and Child Outcomes for Children in Poverty

Research Findings: Child care delivery practices promoting continuous, primary caregiver–child relationships (relationship-focused child care) were evaluated for 223 preschool-age children (45% African American, 55% Latino) attending child care centers serving low-income children. Both relationship-focused and non-relationship-focused centers were accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Children in relationship-focused programs received more sensitive, involved, and affectionate caregiving and were more engaged with their caregivers than children in comparison centers, but some differences were greater for African American children. Outcomes associated with relationship-focused care included greater parent-reported child compliance and closer parent–caregiver relations, but no consistent benefits for cognitive school readiness, receptive language, or child behavior problems were found. Follow-up assessments were completed 1 year later for 119 children who remained in their programs. Social and cognitive outcomes improved over time, but some changes were moderated by child race/ethnicity and center type. Over time, parents reported greater child compliance and caregivers reported better parent–caregiver relationships in relationship-focused programs. Practice or Policy: Some social benefits of continuous, primary caregivers were found, but children's cognitive competencies improved with sustained attendance at these accredited programs regardless of the relationship-focused practices.