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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Hi Everybody,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> As we all digest the ERA (Excellence in Research for Australia) results for our own universities I am wondering how our various universities are coping with a decision that the people who administer HERDC (Higher Education Research Data Collection) made a couple of years ago. This involves edited collections. As you may, or may not, know HERDC does not consider the editing of collections as research and a contribution to knowledge. However, it does count chapters published in edited collections. Thus, for HERDC the editing of collections goes unacknowledged. Moreover, as HERDC does not count edited collections so, I understand, the ERA data collection likewise does not count edited collections. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Now, at Curtin, where there has been a big push for some years to increase research, the R&D people have tied the criteria for research very closely to HERDC/ERA. Thus, for example, staff that publish in A and A* ranked journals are more rewarded than staff that publish in B and C ranked journals. And, staff that edit collections are not given any credit for this. The only acknowledgement in research terms for editing a collection comes if one has a chapter in that collection. Thus, there is no encouragement for editing collections--even though having a chapter in a edited collection brings rewards. I am sure that I don't need to spell out the logic of this!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> So, I am wondering how other unis are dealing with this situation. I am also wondering if any institution has lobbied HERDC about this.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>cheers,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Jon</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dr Jon Stratton, Professor of Cultural Studies,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Curtin University.</FONT></DIV>
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