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Dakota profs want input on payola ban| BISMARCK, North Dakota, October 31, 2003 -- North Dakota college faculty asked for a delay in banning professors from taking publisher payments for reviewing books that they assign their students. The state Higher Education Board gave preliminary approval to the ban in September in reaction to a report that a publisher was offering $4,000 to professors elsewhere to "test run" a book. In effect, the paymeny was in retun for requiring students to buy the book. Interim state Chancellor Michel Hillman said a postponement would be in order because most faculty were not on duty when the issue came up and hadn't had a chance to respond to the policy proposal. |
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Boycott to pressure Reed to cut charges| SAN FRANCISCO, California, October 31, 2003 -- Two scientists at the University of California at San Francisco called for a worldwide boycott of six molecular-biology journals that they say publisher, Reed Elsevier is gouging users for electronic access. Keith Yamamoto and Peter Walter want scholars to refuse to submit articles or review manuscrupts for Cancer Cell, Cell, Developmental Cell, Molecular Cell, Immunity and Neuron. Yamamoto and Walteby also wany members of the journals to resign. In a letter to fellow scientists, they sau that Reed Elsevier is asking the Caliofnria university system to pay more than $90,000 a year for the journals' online editions. The letter accuses Reed Elsevier of "breaking an unwritten contract with the scientific community: being a publisher of our research carries the responsibility to make our contributions publicly available at reasonable rates." An excerpt: "We can all think of better ways to spend our time than providing free services to support a publisher that values profit above its academic mission." |
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R.I.P.: Richard Neustadt| LONDON, October 31, 2003-- Richard E. Neustadt, whose books on the U.S. presidency were required texts in countless college political science courses, died after suffering a fall. He was 84. Neustadt was a Harvard faculty member who had been an adviser to Presidents Truman, Kennedy and Johnson. His most influential work, published in 1960, was Presidential Power, which continued in revisions to 1990. Neustadt lived on Cape Cod, near Boston, but spent much of the year in England. His wife, Shirley Williams, is the leader of the Social Democrats in the British House of Lords. |
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NEUSTADT
1919-2003 |
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GETTING AND USING
HELPFUL REVIEWS
Mary Ellen Blanchard, a veteran development editor, says authors need to separate the wheat from the chaff from poublisher-solicited manuscript reviewers: Don't feel obliged to accommodate every stray comment. For introductory or survey texts, with some chapters at the edge of your range of expertise, you will want a specialist among reviewers. Rule of thumb: Three reviewers per chapter minimum.
LEPIONKA'S COMPLETE COLUMN |
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Study: Group tests aid learningGREENVILLE, North Carolina, October 30, 2003 -- Students who study in groups retain more of what they have learned, according to Ronald N. Cortright and a group of human performance rsearchers at East Carolina University. Writing in the journal Advances in Physiology Education, Cortland said early studies have found student retenton is short-term. The new study found, however, that students who are paired off to answer a subset of the test questions do better when re-tested individually on the same mateial later. "Collaborative testing is an effective strategy to enhance learning and increase student retention of course content." One lesson, Cortland said, is that testing is a tool that not only can establish grades but also can improve student mastery of the course material, the team says.
What this means for authors: In ancillary material, textbook authors should consider questions that lend themselves to small group expoloration. These should be questions that lead to understandings that can be tested later in test-bank questions. |
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Regulators on Vivendi deal: Not so fast| BRUSSELS, October 29, 2003 -- --The European Commission said changes will be needed in the proposed takeover of the French publishing assets of Vivendi Universal by French publisher Lagadere. The Commission said it will approve the deal only if the Lagardere finds ways to temper the market dominance it wouild gain in the transaction. |
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Indiana copy shop settles suit| BLOOMINGTON, Indiana, October 28, 2003 -- Publishers have reached settlements in a copyright infringement suit againsty Collegiate Copies of Bloomington, Indiana, and its owners, John Seeber and Thomas Seeber. In an action coordinated by the Copyright Clearance Center, publishers Elsevier, Wiley, MIT, Sage and the University of Chicago Press had claimed unauthorized use of their mateials in custom books for xpecific courses at Indiana University. Collegiate Copies has also agreed to pay an undisclosed amount in damages, but the amount was not disclosed. Also, the shop agreed to seek CCC licenses in the future for course packs. |
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Scholastic Red offered to teachers| NEW YORK, October 8, 2003 -- The Scholastic professional development program, Scholastic Red, which had been abailable to school districts, now is being offered to individual teachers, the company said. Scholastic Red offers self-paced instruction with 24-hour online access to resources and training. Academic credits are available from the Fischer Graduate School. | | | |
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| Educational Development Corporation: Sales rose 30 percent to a record $2.4 million in September, compared to a year earlier.
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| McGraw-Hill: Education Division sales grew 1 percent to just more than $1 billion in the quarter ended September 30. Operating profits declined 2 percent to $297.9 million. Higher Education, Professional & International sales grew 1.8 pecent. School sales were solid in reading, math, social studies and science. College sales outpaced the U.S. market and showed solid growth overseas.
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| WRC Media: Revenue fell 0.7 percent in the latest quarter to $43.5 million. Operating income was off 9 percent.
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National Book Fair growing| WASHINGTON, October 4, 2003 -- An estimated 60,000 people roamed the National Mall at the third annual National Book Festival and listened to more than 80 authors discuss their work. Last year about 45,000 people attended. First Lady Laura Bushg, host for the fair, opened activities at the White House. "Our history is a great story, patched together piece by piece," she said. "By reading together and sharing stories we become part of the fabric of the American community." |
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| LITERACY
AND THE LOVE OF LEARNING |
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WRITING
YOUR FIRST BOOK
Peggy Blanchard, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, tells freshly credentialized scholars that they need look no further than their dissertation for start in writing a good book. "Book proposals are not exactly identical to dissertation proposals, but you still must know what you are doing." For starters, Blanchard says ou need a viable and exciting idea, solid research questions, and a plentiful resources. You also need a literature review aimed at showing where your manuscript would fit in the literature and how it differs from the competition.
BLANCHARD'S COMPLETE COLUMN |
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Text, scholarly book sales slog fowardWASHINGTON, October 3, 2003 -- Sales of text and scholarly books improved modestly in August, compared to a year earlier, according to the latest data compiled by the Association of American Publishers. The biggest percentage gains in August were for the relatively small univesity press hard-bound category. Here are 2003 domestic net sales through August for genres in which academic authors do most of their work:
University press (hard)
University press (soft)
El-hi
College
Professional, scholarly | 13.9%
4.7%
2.4%
0.3%
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