Fsf-friends November 2004

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[OFFTOPIC] India's march towards open access
by Frederick Noronha (FN) 27 Nov '04

27 Nov '04

Fascinating article, of relevance to those in the Free Software world. FN INDIA's MARCH TOWARDS OPEN ACCESS Subbiah Arunachalam Source: SciDev.Net +---------------------------------------------- Subbiah Arunachalam argues that the best way to make scientific research more available worldwide is to encourage scientists to self-archive their research. +----------------------------------------------+ In December 2003, the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) held a one-day conference on access to scientific data and information as part of its annual meeting in Pune. The conference was held to address two key problems faced by Indian scientists -- poor access to international journals and the low visibility of papers published by Indian scientists -- and the possible solutions offered by electronic publishing and open archives. Inaugurating the conference, Raghunath A. Mashelkar, director-general of India's Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, spoke of how international organisations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) were helping developing countries improve electronic access to expensive journals through the HINARI and AGORA programmes, respectively. Unfortunately, however, India has not benefited from either of these programmes. Although journal publishers are willing to provide toll-free electronic access to researchers in countries where relatively few scientists read their journals, they are not prepared to do so in larger developing countries such as India, where they already have a considerable number of subscribers. Yet India's average gross domestic product (GDP) is, per capita, less than half the threshold agreed upon by the WHO and FAO when they set up the HINARI and AGORA programmes. A RADICAL RESPONSE So scientists in such countries need to find a more radical response by harnessing the new opportunities provided by information and communication technologies (ICTs). We need to break away from the existing model of publishing and communicating scientific knowledge. One way of doing this is to embrace the 'open-access' approach being promoted by the Budapest Open Access Initiative with its two complementary strategies of setting up interoperable open archives and promoting open-access journals. Several Indian publishers have already adopted the open-access philosophy for the electronic versions of their journals. Unlike some open-access journals in other countries, in which authors pay to publish their papers, Indian open-access journals use government grants and subscriptions to their print version to cover publishing costs. All 10 journals of the Indian Academy of Sciences, for example, as well as the four journals of INSA, are open-access journals. In fact, INSA has already produced free-access electronic versions of back volumes for all its journals, and the Indian Academy of Sciences is also attempting a similar 'retro-digitisation'. The Journal of the Indian Institute of Science is also available in this form back to its very first issue, published in 1914. The Indian Medlars Centre of the National Informatics Centre, New Delhi, is bringing out electronic versions of 22 biomedical journals, all of them accessible without subscription. The Medlars Centre also has an online bibliographic database, www.indmed.nic.in, providing titles and abstracts of articles from 77 Indian biomedical journals. Medknow Publications, a small company based in Mumbai, has helped 10 medical journals -- including the Journal of Post Graduate Medicine and Neurology India -- make the transition from print to electronic open access and all of them are doing much better now than before. In addition, some Indian open-access journals are using international agencies such as Bioline, a not-for-profit electronic publishing service for developing countries, and JournalServer.org, an online library of academic journals, to gain greater visibility. However, open-access publishing needs to be complemented by setting up interoperable institutional archives, which allow researchers to make versions of their articles publicly available online both before and after publication. An additional attraction of such archives is that they would raise the profile of Indian research. At present, research originating in an Indian laboratory and published in expensive journals all too often goes unnoticed, even by other researchers in India. Creating institutional archives of such work would help to integrate it into the global knowledge base, to reduce the isolation of our scientists and to improve opportunities for funding and international collaboration. The clear advantages offered by institutional archiving over the present publishing system, in which many research papers are held in the back issues of journals controlled by commercial (and some society) publishers in other countries, suggests that the government should have an interest in ensuring its success. India's University Grants Commission, for example, should insist that major universities with a large output of science and technology papers set up institutional archives. Other funding agencies -- such as the Department of Science & Technology, Department of Scientific & Industrial Research, Department of Biotechnology, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Indian Council of Medical Research -- should also insist that research papers resulting from work supported by their funds be made available through open-access archives and toll-free journals. India is not the only country being drawn towards open access. In China - for example, among officials of the National Natural Science Foundation and the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information in China, as well as researchers with the Chinese Academy of Sciences -- there is already significant interest in its benefits to the country's scientists. Reflecting this interest, in mid-June 2004 China will hold a major national conference on open access in cooperation with the US National Academy of Sciences. And in the last week of June, the Eighth International Conference on Electronic Publishing will take place in Brasilia. The first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, held last December, has given a considerable boost to these efforts: the WSIS Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action include strong statements in favour of open access to scientific literature. UN secretary-general Kofi Annan has also offered his support. NURTURING THE NETWORK International action is one thing, but genuine free access is another. It will need a champion (or champions) in every institution to promote the creation of institutional archives, and persuade scientists to place their papers in them. Free access also requires adequate hardware and connectivity. Many universities and research institutions in the developing world lack both computers and high bandwidth Internet connectivity, so part of the strategy of open-access proponents must include campaigning for improved ICT facilities. Luckily, costs of both hardware and Internet bandwidth are coming down all over the world. Another important hurdle to overcome is the fact that many scientists labour under the impression that journal editors may not accept archived papers, claiming that this represents an unacceptable form of 'pre-publication'. These scientists worry that it will be difficult to assess the impact of their research if it isn't published in conventional journals. After all, they argue, promotions and awards are often determined by the impact factor of the journals in which one's work is published. Many are also unaware of the advantages of gaining greater visibility and are reluctant to make the effort to post their articles on archives. Just over a year ago, for example, the National Centre for Science Information (NCSI) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the country's best-known higher education institution in science and technology, set up an institutional archive. The institute publishes about 1,800 papers a year, of which about 900 are indexed in the Web of Science, which gives access to the world's most prestigious, high impact research journals. Yet so far, the archive has attracted less than 70 papers. This experience emphasises an important point: it is not enough just to create an open-access archive. Filling it is far more important (and difficult). After all, an empty archive is worse than having no archive at all. But attitudes of the journals are changing, making institutional archiving a more attractive proposition. It is important for champions of open access to let scientists know that many journals, including high-impact titles such as Nature and the British Medical Journal, already permit authors to archive both preprints and postprints. The emphasis should therefore be on setting up open archives rather than on persuading journal publishers to make their journals open access. If scientists and scientific establishments in China, India and Brazil can be persuaded to adopt open access quickly, then it is likely that the rest of the developing world will follow. Related links: Indian National Science Academy Indian Academy of Sciences Indian Medlars Centre HINARI AGORA Budapest Open Access Initiative Bioline International JournalServer.org M S Swaminathan Research Foundation Quick guides: Science Publishing ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This article is courtesy Scidev.net. Check out the new South Asia section of this website, focussing on science and development issues. -FN FORWARDED VIA: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) Nr Convent Saligao 403511 GoaIndia Freelance Journalist P: 832-2409490 M: 9822122436 http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks http://fn.swiki.net http://www.ryze.com/go/fredericknoronha http://fn-floss.notlong.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Difficulties to send email across? Write to fredericknoronha at vsnl.net ============================================================================ Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments See http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html

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FSFE becomes WIPO observer
by Mahesh T. Pai 27 Nov '04

27 Nov '04

http://lwn.net/Articles/112837/ -- Mahesh T. Pai <<>> http://paivakil.port5.com ``Those willing to give up a little liberty for a little security deserve neither security nor liberty''

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any lisp programmers?
by ISAAC PRAVEEN 27 Nov '04

27 Nov '04

Hi friends, Would like to know if there are any Lisp programmers, not essentially AI programming. I work on common Lisp and Scheme (the future exn language for GNU)! Currently, writing an extension language called ACE-lisp for algebraic(symbolic) computing. Not a replica of maxima though! Just for fun. So I would lve to meet any Lisper, so far I havent met a single one. Regards, icy 9886120247 Bangalore -- ______________________________________________ Check out the latest SMS services @ http://www.linuxmail.org This allows you to send and receive SMS through your mailbox. Powered by Outblaze

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[COMMERCIAL] [JOB] System Administrator
by Avinash S 27 Nov '04

27 Nov '04

Hello, System Administrator required for a Bangalore based company which provides desktop and server solutions based on GNU/Linux. The following are the requirements - In depth knowledge of GNU/Linux (Debian preferred). - Apache, Bind, DHCP, Any MTA. - Perl, HTML, BASH. - Good knowledge of computer hardware. - Good communication skills Qualification: BE/BTech Experience: 0-6 months Please send your resumes to avinashss(a)tatanova.com Regards Avinash.

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Monkey business
by Ramanraj K 26 Nov '04

26 Nov '04

I am afraid this whole thread is getting way off topic ;) ,----[Rakesh Ambati wrote: ] | And to add to my misery, the community is quiet about it.Is the who | list filled with the sound box's,isn't there a soul with enough guts | to box someones ears and live with it. | | What a Shame !!! If am overly rude,I' MEANT TO BE. | | [Damn, the drugs are wearing off.Got to get my fix.] Cya `---- There is no Superman, Shakthiman or other super beings in there ;) Also, getting emotional or throwing tantrums won't help :) What legal right do you have to demand that others, the state in particular, use and teach only free software? It is a policy matter and representations are the best way to supply useful information to bring about changes in policy decisions. If they agree fine, if they don't, it is only a question of time, and they should come around sooner or latter, for many good well known reasons. ,----[Sandip Bhattacharya wrote: ] | Unfortunately, while there is considerable merit in reason why we need | to use Free software, mere representations might not suffice. ... My | point is - We need to encourage industry participation in the | evangelising process... `---- A few institutions, academic centers in particular, need to be fiercely independent. Ideally, they should be able to study, evaluate, use and teach independantly. "Industry participation" has to be minimal, say procuring and installing very difficult hardware or software, where it is absolutely required. Industry is driven solely by profit, whereas academics is about getting to the truth of matters. Both don't gel well, and mixing up the two is needless and pointless. Whether we like it or not, we need to understand and appreciate the concept of Academic Freedom. Our ancient Gurukulam system is the ultimate in Academic Freedom, but it has been largely replaced with centralised controls during the British period, and finding ways to foster Academic Freedom is the ideal normative. The concept of Academic Freedom is well defined in the US, and we may take a closer look there. In 1859, Charles Darwin wrote about the Origin of Species and the Descent of Man. By 1920, the question whether the theories propounded by Darwin, which went contrary to the prevailing biblical theories on the origin of man, should be taught in schools vexed many people of those times in the US, and the State v. John Scopes case, popularly called the Monkey Trial was staged in the US, to get a declaration that a Tennesse anti-evolution law was unconstitutional. History tells us that in as many as 15 states, anti-evolution legislation was pending in 1925, and two states Arkansas and Mississippi actually passed laws restricting teaching of Darwin's theory. The Monkey Trial failed in its mission and subsequently decades later in Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97 (1968), anti-evolution laws were declared unconstitutional by the US SC and a report is available at: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/epperson-v-arkansas.html The Monkey Trial was sensational throughout the US, and probably led to the statement on Academic Freedom now also available at http://www.aaup.org/statements/Redbook/1940stat.htm which is endorsed by the general academic community in the US. <quote> The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. </quote> It is trite to observe that any institution teaching CS won't get very far in its search for truth with non-free software, and free software is the only option that enables free search for truth and its free exposition at every level. If teachers have not yet understood enough about free software, training the teachers and other academics is the first thing to do. Surely, CS graduates are qualified to do this work. Attempts to include Microsoft software in schools in the US have been rejected as unethical and monopolistic. http://news.com.com/2100-1001-276058.html?legacy=cnet http://news.com.com/2100-1001-808241.html http://www.defenselink.mil/dodgc/defense_ethics/2004_Advisories/ADV_0402.htm Things are no different here, and no gov. would be interested in taking steps that would be struck down as arbitrary, unethical, and as promoting monopolies. The Supreme Court of India recently in Jan 2004, directed inclusion of environmental studies into curricula at every level, enforcing a 1991 ruling obtained by M.C. Mehta. It ought to be possible to litigate on similar lines, to have free software included into curricula, if the gov. does not voluntarily take necessary steps. http://www.elaw.org/news/partners/text.asp?id=2283 IMO, effective representations directly addressed to those concerned, citing suitable examples should help in this matter.

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any lisp programmers?
by ISAAC PRAVEEN 26 Nov '04

26 Nov '04

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Another storm
by Sriharsha Vedurmudi 25 Nov '04

25 Nov '04

Is this "Project Shiksha" (Shiksha -> Teachin) or 'Project Siksha' (Siksha -> Punishment)? http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2004/nov/25ms.htm So, M$ is now kicking off with a colourful Trojan Horse. -- ***************************** * Sriharsha Vedurmudi * Software Engineer * * Redpine Signals Inc. * Gate #395, Plot 87,88 * Sagar Society, Road #2, * Banjara Hills, * Hyderabad - 500 034 * www.redpinesignals.com * * +91-40-23559911 (Office) * +91-9849133133 (Mobile) *****************************

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Hyderabad's Linux_schools case study
by Rakesh 'arky' Ambati 25 Nov '04

25 Nov '04

FYI --arky > > Added a small case study of the K12LTSP > implementation at > http://k12ltsp.org/casestudy.html . The case study > is at the bottom of > the page. You can search for Hyderabad keyword to go > directly to the > case study. > > > Cheers > Herald. ===== ____________________________________ /\ \ \_| Rakesh 'arky' Ambati | | Bangalore (INDIA) | | Homepage: http://arky.port5.com/ | | _______________________________|_ \_/_________________________________/ __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The all-new My Yahoo! - What will yours do? http://my.yahoo.com

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Test
by Joe Steeve 24 Nov '04

24 Nov '04

-- A proud GNU user http://www.joesteeve.tk/ | http://gnukid.shyper.com/

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education project using free software
by Tathagata Banerjee 23 Nov '04

23 Nov '04

hello. a friend of mine has recently launched a project that aims to spread basic computer literacy using free software in the semi-urban and rural areas of the South 24 Parganas district of WB. he has primarily identified two or three localities where the programme can be initiated as test cases. if these prove successful, he wishes to spread to other areas. he has formed an NGO to handle the affair, and the basic logistics have been planned. in this regard, he wishes to raise certain issues and place certain questions in front of fsf-india and fsf-westbengal, and has asked me to mediate. so here they are. 1. the programme is aimed at beginner-level students of the largely poor and lower-middle-class populations (who are a majority in the designated area), and will try to train them to the point where they should be able to impart training to the next generation of students. the orientation of the course will be towards providing basic computing skills which will (at least) enable them to compete in the informal sector of the market (eg. net cafe-s, dtp setups, medical transcription setups, small-scale computer training centres and so forth). the questions are, A. what kind of syllabus needs to be framed? what software should be included? B. what is an ideal duration for a course that accepts computer-illiterate people and leaves them at the intended skill level as indicated above? 2. whom should they approach for funds? government aid can be ruled out because first, it is very difficult to solicit successfully and secondly, it wil carry a baggage of political and bureaucratic complications that had best be avoided. there is the option of talking to 'linux' businesses which seem interested in increasing spending in india. will it be acceptable to or compaible with the free software philosophy to receive financial support from redhat or novell in exchange of a certain 'branding' of the training programme (supposing they demand that)? if no, then what other options do they have? 3. in order to set a credible and fixed standard for the programme and award a meaningful certificate to the graduates, they need an authoritative body to affiliate the project. will fsf-india frame/endorse the syllabus and act (on its own or through its west bengal chapter) as certifying authority for the course? 4. should they restrict their scope to setting up independent training centres or should they also start an awareness and advocacy programme at the colleges of the designated region and try to get them to invite the course? how can fsf-india help them in approaching these institutions? if anyone has any comments outside the scope of these issues, please make them. i will forward a summary of the discussions to my friend. thanks. tathagata banerjee co-ordinator fsf-westbengal -- cogito, ergo es.

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Fsf-friends November 2004