See-Why.Net

We’re doing a research project right now in the wonderful world of CPSC430, and I came upon an article about Nature Publishing Group giving the University of California a 400% increase. While we are not reading from Nature in CPSC430, I have used it extensively for biology courses, and other scientific journals probably run under the same model. Researchers at universities submit their papers to the journals, and other researchers then peer-review the papers all for free. The paper then turns around and sells these researcher’s own work right back at them at astronomical prices! I’m not even going to analyze this using ethical theories, it is just too ridiculousness. Obviously it’s only the publisher getting anything out of this system. It’s time for a more web 2.0 approach to scientific publishing, reviewers can leave comments right on the paper then. I remember my co-op supervisor talking about something like this before too. I’m surprised that universities don’t already run their own databases like that for their own faculty’s work. I guess when papers are submitted to journals, the authors lose copyright so they can’t post it elsewhere? :/ I’m not sure, but if it is that is also the lamest thing ever.

So in the last post in my class journal here, I talked about Mouse Manufacturing. It reminds me of a poem by Canadian poet Rita Wong, here’s an excerpt:

nothing comes between me &
the labour of the garment workers
their fifty cents a day sweat
hugs me tight every morning

my auntie’s fingers nimble
with the demands of piecework
how she churns dozens of jeans by dim lamplight
one more casualty for casual wear

The rest is posted on her website (It’s near the bottom of the page, called “denim blues”. To change the situation for computer mice:

nothing comes between me &
the labour of the factory workers
their fifty cents a day sweat
under my hand everyday
as I point and click

ok so I’m not a poet.