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"Some college administrators seem so distracted with fund raising, academic infighting, and community initiatives that they set up their emergency communications departments very poorly. Training is poor to nonexistent, secretaries are pressed into service with tremendous responsibilities for running 'notification systems' 24/7 and on weekends because no one else knows how to do it and the administration won’t pay for additional staff. Procedures are seat-of-the-pants and dependent on HIPPO (highest paid person’s opinion), except when something like Virginia Tech happens and there is some sort of scramble to do something different." --Donna
Most Colleges Avoid Risk Management, Report Says
Jill Biden Shines a Global Spotlight on American Community Colleges
Speaking at a Unesco conference in Paris, the vice president’s wife stressed the importance of two-year institutions to the nation’s educational goals.
Connecticut Public Colleges Lose 200 Professors to Early Retirement
Administrators are scrambling to plug holes in their course schedules for fall, with most expecting to do so by hiring more adjuncts or increasing class sizes.
U. of Georgia Paid 2 Fraternities $2.4-Million to Relocate, Contracts Show
The two were among five with houses on property where the university plans to build new academic facilities.
New Allegations in Admissions Controversy at U. of Illinois Suggest Ex-Provost Played a Role
Linda P.B. Katehi, the incoming chancellor of the University of California at Davis, has insisted she knew nothing of the admission of politically connected applicants at Illinois.
Sonoma State U. Foundation May Lose $350,000 on Loan to Former Board Member
The foundation will be forced to issue fewer scholarships in the 2010-11 academic year because of a diminished endowment, a university official said.
College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography | 58
President Obama's Visit to Notre Dame Carries Barely a Hint of Controversy That Preceded It | 58
Drug Sting Nabs 21 Students at U. of Illinois | 57
Faculty Members and Union Protest Staff Layoffs at Temple U. as 'Cruel' | 57
North Dakota Board's Vote Puts 'Fighting Sioux' Mascot on Thinner Ice | 57
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September 27, 2007
Drug Industry Said to Exert Vast Power Over Research by Ghost-Managing Articles
Drug companies play a far bigger role than previously suspected in managing how academics publish articles in medical journals, charges Sergio Sismondo, an associate professor of philosophy and sociology at Queen’s University in Canada. In an essay this week in PLoS Medicine, published by the Public Library of Science, Mr. Sismondo says that “a substantial percentage of medical-journal articles (in addition to meeting presentations and other forms of publication …) are ghost-managed, allowing the pharmaceutical industry considerable influence on medical research.”
Mr. Sismondo bases his case on an examination of internal company documents revealed in a lawsuit and also on his research into so-called medical education and communication companies. Those businesses help pharmaceutical companies promote their products by preparing academic articles and then recruiting university scientists to put their names on the manuscripts, says Mr. Sismondo. “Ghost management of medical-journal publications is clearly a substantial business, employing thousands of marketers, writers, and managers,” he says.
It will take teamwork from journal editors, academic administrators, and scientists to solve the problem, he says. Editors could refuse to deal with third-party publication planners and insist that the listed authors specify the exact roles they played in preparing articles. Universities should not sign contracts that give the sponsors of research projects the authority to write or edit articles. And administrators should punish scientists who sign their names to articles written by others. Investigators, he says, should refuse to participate in projects where a company secretly writes the academic paper.
Scientists, he says, must be “more modest about how many articles they can publish, and more realistic about the amount of effort, legwork, and/or creativity it takes to publish an article.” —Richard Monastersky
Posted on Thursday September 27, 2007 | Permalink |Comments
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Imagine living in a world where ALL information is falsified.
— marci Sep 27, 12:32 PM #
“more modest about how many articles they can publish…” !!!
Granted, it is a great deal of work to publish a manuscript, and it takes time to ensure that the results are accurately represented. But fewer published papers is interpreted as being less productive, regardless of quality. There is a lot of pressure to continue to publish. When preparing for P&T or a grant renewal, it often seems quantity is valued just as much as quality.
— CE Sep 27, 03:47 PM #