Peer review of journal submissions has become one of the most important pillars of quality management in academic publishing. Because of growing concerns with the quality and effectiveness of the system, a host of enthusiastic innovators has proposed and experimented with new procedures and technologies. However, little is known about whether…

This dissertation provides an historical analysis of libraries and discusses the broader system of scholarly communication and publishing using mixed methods from critical media studies, library studies, organizational communication, systems sociology, and rhetorical studies. It argues that practices of scholarly publishing in the US university…

The question of script was paramount in the nineteenth-century debate over Hindi and Urdu, two closely related languages that are characterised by "extreme digraphia". Rather than rehearsing the well-known story of the culturally and politically charged process of differentiation in which the two sister languages became prime markers of…

This article provides an overview of issues likely to drive educational research globally over the next decade, and it examines the "Asia Pacific Education Review" ("APER")'s role in responding to these issues, shaping research agendas, and delivering high-quality research. We also look at the implications of these…

The number of books published by authors using fee-based publication services, such as Lulu and AuthorHouse, is overtaking the number of books published by mainstream publishers, according to Bowker's 2009 annual data. Little empirical research exists on self-published books. This article presents the results of an investigation of a random sample…

Over the past few years, e-books have shifted from being an extravagant means of leisure reading to becoming a serious contender for the consumer's dollar. Marketing and innovations in e-book devices have helped their rise in popularity, but they have been slow to make a similar impact in the academic market. A few dealings are taking place,…

In this article, we present the case for regarding the principles by which scholarly publications are disseminated and shared as a matter of academic ethics. The ethics of access have to do with recognizing people's right to know what is known, as well as the value to humanity of having one of its best forms of arriving at knowledge as widely…

This article reports on a digital ethnography that examines writing, authorship, and self-publication in an online niche market. Drawing on interview and web data collected over 3 years, it focuses on the writing practices that have supported the production, distribution, and sanction of 13 ebooks self-published by online poker players. The…

This paper offers seven things one should know about open textbook publishing. These seven facts are: (1) The open educational resources model, including textbooks, has emerged as a response to rising text prices, a need for greater access to high-quality learning materials, the proliferation of e-reader devices, and a trend in publishing toward…

For the very first time this in-depth paper studies the archives of the historic Paolo Pigna Paper Mill in Alzano Lombardo (Bergamo, Italy), which played a leading role in Italian history and culture: so much so that it ended up with fusing its own image to the very market where it operated, that is, the Italian schools. After being taken over by…

The purpose of this article was to review published research literature about the publishing process and the roles of participants in this process on the textbook publishing industry in the USA. The contents of books, collected works, reports and journal articles were analysed, and summaries of the contents were then organised chronologically to…

Hoping to do for electronic books what the iPod has done for digital music, a new generation of e-book devices recently hit the market. This article argues that even with improved screens, the new e-book devices are not ready for college. The screen is the big innovation in the new e-book devices, the most prominent example of which is the Sony…

Argues that decision to publish a given intellectual product "electronically" is a business decision based on customer needs, available format alternatives, current business climate, and variety of already existing factors. Publishers are most influenced by customers' acceptance of new products and their own role as intermediaries in…

Briefly reviews the history of H. W. Wilson Company and describes the development of its automation program, BEACON, which has already been used to produce Cumulative Book Index. The automation of the remaining indexes and possibility of using the system for online information retrieval in the future are noted. (EJS)

Explores some of the applications of the electronic book (e-book) in the modern library. Discusses computing advances that have made electronic book technology viable for publishers and libraries; making products usable in a library environment; and library networks and consortia that share e-book subscriptions. (Author/LRW)