Thanks Tseen,<br><br>that's actually a very encouraging and intelligent response from our Science colleagues, I must say.<br><br>all the best, andrew<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 31 May 2011 13:37, Tseen-Ling Khoo <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:tseen-ling.khoo@rmit.edu.au">tseen-ling.khoo@rmit.edu.au</a>></span> wrote:<br>
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<div>Further to what Andrew Murphie just said about the Science Academy: I just received this (below) via another list.</div>
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<div>Tseen</div>
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<div><b>Science Academy welcomes decision to drop ERA journal rankings<br></b> </div>
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<div>The Australian Academy of Science welcomed today's decision by the<br>Government and the Australian Research Council to end the system of<br>ranking academic journals as A*, A, B and C.<br>The ranking system was a highly controversial component of the<br>
Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) assessment of university<br>disciplines.<br>Science Minister Kim Carr today announced that the rankings system will<br>end, giving more authority to the panels that examine and assess<br>
research activities undertaken around Australian universities on a<br>discipline-by-discipline basis.<br>Australian Academy of Science Secretary for Science Policy Professor Bob<br>Williamson said the new approach is much more appropriate than<br>
bibliometric assessments of disciplines. <br>"In our recent submission to the Australian Research Council, the<br>Australian Academy of Science argued strongly that key areas such as<br>interdisciplinary research and new research were seriously disadvantaged<br>
by journal ranking," Professor Williamson said. <br>"This affected not only areas of science and technology, but also<br>interactions between the sciences and the humanities."<br>"It has been very distressing to see some universities using<br>
publications in highly ranked journals as the basis for funding,<br>promotions, and even staff appointments. <br>"The ranking of a journal as A* does not mean every paper in it is first<br>rate, and some very good papers may appear in smaller journals. <br>
"People whose work is very relevant to Australian issues rather than<br>internationally, and those in new fields or collaborating between<br>several universities, have been particularly disadvantaged."<br>The Academy's submission to the Australian Research Council (ARC) ERA<br>
consultation process earlier this year urged a move towards the type of<br>peer-review system announced today. <br>"We welcomed most features of the ERA, and today's announcement has<br>removed the single biggest problem," Professor Williamson said.<br>
"The integrity of science relies upon this type of peer review. The<br>Academy commends Minister Carr for recognising that this process also<br>should be integral to assessing the quality of Australian research."<br>
The Academy's submission is available at <br><a href="http://www.science.org.au/reports/documents/era-submission%20.pdf" target="_blank">www.science.org.au/reports/documents/era-submission%20.pdf</a> <br>Professor Williamson is available for comment until 7:15pm today on 0409<br>
706 255. <br></div>
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<br>"A traveller, who has lost his way, should not ask, Where am I? What he really wants to know is, Where are the other places" - Alfred North Whitehead<br><br>Andrew Murphie - Associate Professor<br>School of English, Media and Performing Arts, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, 2052<br>
Editor - The Fibreculture Journal <a href="http://fibreculturejournal.org/" target="_blank">http://fibreculturejournal.org/</a>><br>web: <a href="http://www.andrewmurphie.org/" target="_blank">http://www.andrewmurphie.org/</a> <a href="http://dynamicmedianetwork.org/" target="_blank">http://dynamicmedianetwork.org/</a><br>
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