Journal ranking should depend on the level of aggregation

Journal ranking is becoming more important in assessing the quality of academic research. Several indices have been suggested for this purpose, typically on the basis of a citation graph between the journals. We follow an axiomatic approach and find an impossibility theorem: any self-consistent ranking method, which satisfies a natural monotonicity property, should depend on the level of aggregation. Our result presents a trade-off between two axiomatic properties and reveals a dilemma of aggregation.     

The Power of “Open”

ABSTRACT

In a vision session at the 31st NASIG Annual Conference, Heather Joseph provided an assessment of the Open Access movement addressing how far it has come since its inception, how well it has met its original goals, what has and has not worked well, and what is not happening at all. She talked about the importance of open (in all senses—open access, open education, and open data) as a public good, and shared feedback from a recent strategic review of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition and the Open Access movement. Joseph also explored the implications of using open as an enabling strategy for researchers, scholarly publishers, policymakers, and the larger academic community, and emphasized the importance of deliberately considering what outcomes open can help each community achieve—rather than thinking about open as an end to itself.     

Parent perspectives on inclusive education in Budapest

The purpose of this study was to better understand parents’ perspectives of education in Budapest, particularly parents of children with disabilities or children who struggle with learning. Nine parents were interviewed. Parents found schools for their child with a disability to be lacking in terms of updated materials, methods and service provision for students; relationships with families and the burden placed on families to advocate for their child or find alternatives were also problematic. Changes are required at all levels of the educational system, including parent involvement and teacher preparation programmes.