Emerging Web 2.0 applications in open access scholarly journals in the field of agriculture and food sciences

Purpose – The study aims to focus on the application of Web 2.0 tools in Agriculture and Food Sciences open access journals. The changing trends in scholarly publishing processes have revolutionised the academic world. The shifting of academic journals to open access mode has been on the rise because of the numerous benefits associated with it. The high level of profitability reaped from open access titles has forced them to experiment with new and innovative technologies, including Web 2.0. The new shift in the form of Web 2.0 has sifted in to the open access journal world. Open access journals in the field of Agriculture and Food Sciences are growing and so are the features and functionalities within them. Because of these new innovative tools there is an urgent need to focus on their adoption. Design/methodology/approach – Directory of Open Access Journals, being one of the growing open access journal directories, was selected for the purpose of data gathering. The journals selected for the study included those titles which were currently active. Findings – The open access journal landscape in the field of Agriculture and Food Sciences is influenced by the Web 2.0 revolution. The degree of experimenting with Web 2.0 in open access journals in Agriculture and Food Sciences is evident and can prove an excellent platform for the dissemination of agricultural information in a more advanced mode. Researchlimitations/implications – The study will be helpful for journal administrators who belong to the field of Agriculture and Food Sciences to know the actual status of Web 2.0 adoption by the journals in their field. The study can also be helpful for journal administrators for the adoption of Web 2.0 tools to achieve a better, more innovative and interactive scholarly platform. It will also enable us to know how the new pioneering technology – Web 2.0 – can help to explore new innovative ways of managing information in the scholarly world in general and the Agriculture and Food Sciences discipline in particular. Originality/value – The study can be extended to harness the effects of Web 2.0 on the research activities of the scholars associated with various disciplines of Agriculture and Food Sciences. How Agricultural scientists make use of Web 2.0 for sharing and exchange of information for their academic development can also be researched. The impact of Web 2.0 tools on the citation counts of open access journals can also be studied

A Systematic Review of Open Access Institutional Repositories (OAIRs)

The article tries to explore the existing literature on Open Access Institutional Repositories (OAIRs) so that the existing developments can be identified and research gaps can be investigated. This structured review was carried out with the aid of three indexing databases, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Different search terms showcasing multiple dimensions of OAIRs were executed across the three databases. After eliminating the duplicate records, the papers were scanned for final review. The paper tries to highlight the status, content management policies, and Web 2.0 use/ Interactive features of the OAIRs. How the OAIRs are used by academia is also a highlight of the paper. The paper also focuses on the studies that showcase the awareness of the users using the OAIRs. Furthermore, the studies featuring the problems, and challenges have also been incorporated. Studies that focus on the factors and motivators in the use of OA IRs also form a part of the paper

Influence of personality traits on open access mode of publishing

Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the influence of personality traits on perception and acceptance of open access (OA) mode of publishing by the author community of University of Kashmir, India. The study is an attempt to highlight the relationship between personality traits of authors and OA mode of publishing. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on the responses of 48 faculty members affiliated with different Departments of Science Discipline of University of Kashmir. Big Five personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and openness to experience) were tapped through ten-item personality inventory, and information regarding OA was gauged through six self-devised statements. Findings – Pearson correlation test confirms statistically significant relation between personality traits and different dimensions of OA mode of publishing. Personality traits are found to have an influence on author’s perception of OA mode of publishing. However, the study could not ascertain any relation between the notions of an author about the quality of OA content with any of the personality traits. Emotionally stable authors are found to explicitly submit their work in OA journals without any anxiety or negativity. Agreeable and conscientious authors also prefer to keep their work open to make it helpful to the broader audience and get maximum recognition from peers and citations to their work respectively. However, some authors (agreeable) hesitate in submitting their work in open platforms due to the fear of getting their works easily copie

Going Green on the Digital Canvas: The Swingle Plant Anatomy Reference Collection, Safeguarding Green Gold via Digital Information Systems

Purpose: The paper tries to explore the features and functionalities of The Swingle Plant Anatomy Reference Collection. It also tries to showcase the challenges in working with the historical collection.Methodology: The Swingle Plant Anatomy Reference Collection website has been made use of to explore the features and functionalities of the archive.Results: The paper examines the role of The Swingle Plant Anatomy Collection as an important information system in the field of Plant Anatomy.Practical Implications: The paper calls for an immediate action on behalf of the online content providers so that an updated retrieval system in the field of Plant Anatomy can be developed.Originality/Value: The implications of this paper for both practice and academia are discussed, with a brief outlook towards future research.Keywords: Information systems; Information retrieval systems; The Swingle Plant Anatomy CollectionPaper Type: Conceptua