Inherent Tensions in Adopting New Scholarly Practices

Presentation given as part of a Roundtable on Collaboration at the 61st Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials, in Charlottesville, VA, USA.

http://salalm.org/Conf/

Transcript

1. Inherent Tensions in Adopting
   New Scholarly Practices
   Juan Pablo Alperin
   juancommander
   SALALM, May 9, 2016
   @
   

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2. Scholarly Communication
   Latin America
   Collaboration
   Fields
   

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3. Kramer, Bianca; Bosman, Jeroen (2015): 101 Innovations in Scholarly Communication - the Changing Research Workflow. figshare.
   https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1286826.v1
   some innovations
   

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4. across workflow phases
   Kramer, Bianca; Bosman, Jeroen (2015): 101 Innovations in Scholarly Communication - the Changing Research Workflow. figshare.
   https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1286826.v1
   

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5. • social discovery tools
   • data driven & crowdsourced science
   • collaborative online writing
   • Open Access & data publication
   • scholarly social media
   • article level (alt)metrics
   Trends
   Kramer, Bianca; Bosman, Jeroen (2015): 101 Innovations in Scholarly Communication - the Changing Research Workflow. figshare.
   https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1286826.v1
   

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6. it’s always the same:
   developed in the North,
   adopted in the South
   then
   

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7. but it is problematic
   always trying to catch up, with:
   different material conditions
   for other incentive structures
   in other languages
   for a different culture
   

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8. there’s a certain sexiness to working on the latest.
   no matter how close you get,
   you’ll always be a little behind...
   but like Zeno’s paradox...
   

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9. adopt and be
   subjugated to
   Northern
   approaches
   ignore and fall
   further “behind”
   

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10. Field Theory
    “Field theory is a more or less coherent approach in
    the social sciences whose essence is the explanation
    of regularities in individual action by recourse to
    position vis-a-vis others. Position in the field indicates
    the potential for a force exerted on the person, but a
    force that impinges ‘from the inside’ as opposed to
    external compulsion.”
    Levi-Martin, J. (2003). What is field theory. American Journal of Sociology, 109(1), 1–49.
    

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11. Field Theory
    Our context and those around us impose constraints
    on us, but we each have our individual motivations
    and use our social skills to succeed within those
    constraints.
    

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12. adopt resist
    early-mover (risk/reward)
    shape developments (be at the table)
    become a bridge
    innovations not yet rewarded
    developments not context sensitive
    strengthen regional approaches
    

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13. let’s do our own
    approaches to
    strengthen the
    region. After all,
    Latin America is
    unique.
    let’s do what
    the North
    does. After
    all, it is a
    global world.
    

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14. both are problematic
    so, how do we resolve the tension?
    

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15. so how do we
    innovate across
    North/South?
    collaborate
    

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16. remove the tension
    

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17. Create spaces where the innovations can be
    considered, discussed, and transformed to be
    appropriate for the local context.
    1. Southern Epistemological Approach
    

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18. “Instead of copying foreign ideas there is a tendency to
    create new ones and re-elaborate them with an
    anticipatory view and an accent on Global South
    localism. A critical mass and part of the political class
    adopts the neo-liberal policies initially, and then
    immediately afterwards it commits anthropophagi—it
    digests what it finds useful, regurgitates what does not
    concern it, and absorbs what will do it some good.”
    Leite, D., 2010, ‘Brazilian higher education from a post-colonial perspective’, Globalisation, Societies and Education, 8(2),
    219–233.
    Southern Epistemology
    

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19. Create spaces where Latin American innovations are
    recognized so that they might be adopted as the
    dominant narrative in the North.
    2. Field Reorientation Approach
    

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20. large-scale
    open access
    cooperative models
    publicly oriented
    scholarship
    it can already happen:
    }Latin America
    has expertise here
    

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21. As strategic actors working in our
    fields, we can benefit by finding spaces
    for Latin American ideas in the North.
    From the field theory perspective:
    

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22. We can strategically use the resources,
    tools, and models from the North to
    create those spaces.
    That is:
    

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23. we accept a global view,
    without giving up regionalism.
    By doing so:
    

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24. juan@alperin.ca
    @juancommander
    Thank you.
    

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