When the University of Arkansas' president determined that the university's press should be shut down due to financial losses, journalists, letter writers, faculty, and editors at other university presses undertook a successful campaign to save it. The debate highlights the economic difficulties of academic publishing and the role of the…

The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) graded research output of academic departments in the United Kingdom. A citation study of anatomy, genetics, and archaeology articles (1988-1992) found a relationship between the total number of citations received, or average number of citations per faculty member, and the RAE score, suggesting that citation…

A study examined productivity in seven international business journals from 1991 to 1995. Results suggest publication is highly competitive; although a high percentage of publications are by American authors, international research productivity is global, with foreign authors contributing increasing amounts of international business research.…

Analyzes the preparation factors common in outstanding community college presidents. Suggests that a positive correlation may exist between superior presidents and factors such as (a) completion of a terminal degree, (b) study of college leadership, (c) scholarly publishing, (d) participating as a protege in a mentor-protege relationship, (e) peer…

The difficulty of balancing teaching and scholarship for faculty in newly established higher education institutions is discussed. Using quantitative and qualitative data, reasons for the incompatibility between the two faculty functions are outlined. It is suggested that new approaches to providing support and resources for teaching and research…

Considers why the academic library community must move to reappropriate (take back from external publishers) at least some responsibility for specialized scholarly publishing, why the academy has been slow to accept this responsibility, how an academy-controlled system for specialized scholarly publishing might be designed, and what function the…

After reviewing the history and parameters of the scholarly communications crisis, particularly in regard to skyrocketing prices for journals in the natural sciences, the author reviews and rejects previously attempted solutions. He then employs the principles of game theory in proposing a new solution to the crisis.

In an earlier edition of this journal, Paul Swan (1997) published an article called "Writing for journals: An avenue for professional development". His article encourages teachers to share their experiences and ideas by becoming writers of APMC journal articles, and in doing so, engage in professional development. The set of guidelines…

In this paper, a panel of four new faculty discuss the challenges they have faced and the lessons they have learned in attempting to create a research agenda for themselves. To provide a point of reference, brief biographical sketches are provided of the panel members and the responder. The panelists' comments are provided on several principal…

This paper discusses the reasons for and means of publishing research or making research available. The first section discusses why it is important to publish. The second section discusses what should be published, and the third section provides information on where to publish (books, journals, Educational Resources Information Center database,…

One of the most difficult problems facing department chairs is inspiring a shared vision of the department, especially among part-time faculty. A departmental forum, or central means of communication that is regularly updated and widely accessible, can be useful in fostering teamwork and this shared vision, while two popular formats for forums are…

A study examined the reading practices of reviews and editors of scholarly journals and their attitudes about their roles in the editorial process. Two-hundred thirty-seven reviewers (for a return rate of 50%) and 8 editors (for a return rate of 57%) of 14 journals (representative of those currently publishing articles in composition and…

This report outlines the impact of the University of Vermont's writing-across-the-curriculum program on the development of the English major. Included in the report are: (1) a summary of the faculty writing project, with a list of premises and practices; (2) descriptions of four books published collaboratively by members of the English department…

A study was done of faculty perceptions of the accuracy and validity of various time-related personnel activity and productivity reporting measures, and of faculty's willingness to participate in these measures. In the first stage of the study 1,000 randomly-selected faculty from 200 institutions of higher education that have the highest levels of…

Framed by the rising costs of traditional scholarly publishing and the increasing restrictions on library budgets, the turn to electronic publishing seems to be the way of the future, according to the publisher of an electronic journal, "Surfaces." Costs and delays of production and distribution are massively reduced. The electronic…