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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce and develop the methodology of journal benchmarking. Design/methodology/approach – The journal benchmarking method is understood to be an analytic procedure of continuous monitoring and comparing of the advance of specific journal(s) against that of competing journals in the same subject area, together with the application of best practices defined in order to improve a journal's own advance and gain a position among leading scientific journals. Findings – As a realization of this method, it is suggested to build up a journal scoreboard, which is a matrix of journal indicators, distributed for different journals. For the journal scoreboard on the subject of lasers and optics (36 journals, five indicators) a series of regression equations was built up that allow forecasts to be made for journals’ impact factor levels, depending on the International Collaboration and Reference per Document indicators included in the SCIMAGO database. Practical implications – The detailed journal scoreboard and prediction calculations allow elaborating strategies and policies for the promotion of journals in the Web of Science and Scopus databases. Originality/value – The research presents the building up of a journal scoreboard in combination with prediction calculations that can be helpful for improving journal positioning in international Scientometric databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show, in a practical manner, that discursive procedures (mediated by online platforms or publication systems) enhance cultural understanding of distinct social entities such as Europe and Russia. Design/methodology/approach – Joint special issues convening authors from east and west in an equilibrated manner give an opportunity for in-depth review processes, in the course of which different paradigms of global evolution are perceived and reflected. Findings – If handled with care, information technologies are able to strongly support such stepwise consensus finding. The areas of futurology, forward looking, global megatrends, global evolution, globalistics and global studies are prime cases for the patient alignment of world views and multi-paradigmatic approach towards (ultimately) holistic and second-order science. Originality/value – Even in the face of diverse political realities a series of conferences, lectures and web-supported exercises for the authoring of articles are able to consistently merge actors in academia and policy consulting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of sophisticated information technology to higher education is now forcing faculty and administrators to reexamine the traditional allocations of ownership interests in course materials. This article has been prepared to alert educators and administrators in higher educational institutions to the issues surrounding ownership of electronic course materials. In particular, the article focuses on the allocation of copyright ownership in electronic course materials as between faculty and their sponsoring institutions. While copyright laws vary somewhat from country to country, basic ownership issues will be common to nearly all copyright regimes. Drawing on US copyright law as an example, the article briefly reviews relevant copyright basics, the work made for hire doctrine, and options for contractual allocations of copyright. The article concludes by laying out a series of criteria that should be considered in formulating an institution's intellectual property policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If you think the Internet contains only library catalogs, weather reports and games...read on! It may surprise you to know that serious researchers can access a vast store of resources simply by exploring the Internet. This article describes two categories of scholarly Internet resources: peer-reviewed electronic journals and academic discussion lists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]