ebook is taking change but how feasible would that be?
There is a saying from people saying that the technologies that we have today will replace the great old white sheet of papers that used last time. Ever since the improvement on technologies like internet couple up with high bandwidth data transfer, searching any information can be done in just few clicks of buttons via google.com . This certainly can be seen that, the younger generations are mostly tech savvy as compared to baby boomers where majority would find them hard to digest some of the information posted online. However this is not the case for the generation X, Y, Alpha which will rule the world in next coming years. According to Miller (2012), claimed that “we are fortunate to be living through the greatest change in human communication in human history.” This certainly true especially Internet changes the education industry, where universities are coming out with new way of teaching the students and minimizing the conventional methods like bringing physical books, searching book at the whole library and even run across to other places to get information from people if you need it urgently.
Now every material are integrated to form a richer learning experience where we started to see lecturers combine all sorts of reading material like journals and websites for students to understand better instead of only in a book. As I can recall before enrolling university, I rely on the famous Wikipedia and other sources to form a platform of obtaining information but since then, with the openness on editing the information, the credibility can sometimes be questionable. Then with the introduction of youtube and online platform, learning can be fun at time and the term call media convergence where all are combine to one and this enables audiences to have a bigger choice of media along when viewing at the same time (eg: video and news in a webpage). This certainly relevant as Miller (2012), mention that World Wide Web provides is the opportunity to work with the most powerful media of our time on the project of making thought visible. This enables students at university to do their task with all kinds of ways when obtaining information. Things like e-journals and e-books are rather popular online database that every student in university does in searching by getting more information on a written assignment they are doing. However, take Elsevier for instance, they are charging a hefty price on journals without the consideration of public but rather seeking for profits for the company. Three issues on Elsevier’s business being brought up Neylon ( 2013) which journal prices are too high, their bundle sales system is a profit devices that sells unwanted journals, and supporting Research Works Act that would hinder researchers and universities ability to support open access
Let’s take a quick currency class where the averages of Elsevier’s journals would costs from at least a close to $35= RM100 where it is impossible for students to buy it given the fact that the price of text books required in every semester are making them a headache too. Campbell (2011) agrees that journal should be free because in the modern world of Science 2.0 there is no reason at all Science should force people to buy a subscription or PLoS should force researchers to pay to publish a study. So in my opinion, i would say providing a free source journal database would certainly be useful for every people out there as information and knowledge are meant to be shared in order to keep each of every individual improve but not by getting profit purely only. Editors and researchers can work together to switch their journals to open access sources that would benefit the public and as well as the researcher’s credibility due to the widely availability of the journal being view by public. In the long run, people would able to know the researcher especially the research paper is good. Some might argue that editors and researcher’s hard work deserves a good pay off simply by selling their journals to public who wants it. But the boycotting of Elsevier online journal puts a whole new level to public eyes that journals should remain free or even lower price for users.
Should Journals be free? or?
References
Campbell, H 2011, Do Any Science Publishers Care About Scientists? Accessed 25 April 2013,
http://www.science20.com/science_20/blog/do_any_science_publishers_care_about_scientists-80164
Miller, RE 2010, The coming apocalypse , Pedagogy, vol 10, no. 1, pp. 143-151, viewed 25 April 2013, UOW database
Neylon, T 2013, ‘Life after Elsevier: making open access to scientific knowledge a reality’, The Guardian, accessed 25 April 2013, UOW E-learning.
Carnegiecouncill, 2013, Should Scholarly Research Be Free for All? accessed 25 April 2013, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UxaDtAJ_PQ
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