The Latest News from ]u[ Ubiquity
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Welcome to the final quarterly ]u[ Ubiquity newsletter of 2023. We may be approaching the end of year, but things at ]u[ Ubiquity are showing no sign of winding down for the holidays just yet!
In the past three months, we’ve welcomed a migrated journal to ]u[ Ubiquity Hosted Journals, made some crucial improvements to elevate our journal platforms, and celebrated both International Open Access Week and University Press Week. We’ve also got plenty of new publications to announce from our ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network and some exciting opportunities and calls for papers from our own publishing imprint ]u[ Ubiquity Press, not to mention some key updates from the wider open access world. Read on to find out more…
In this newsletter…
- ]u[ Ubiquity Takes Action with Fully OA Publishers Group
- ]u[ Ubiquity Hosted Journals Welcomes Two New Journals
- ]u[ Ubiquity Celebrates University Press Week
- ]u[ Ubiquity Team Releases Integral Journal Platform Upgrades
- Open Access News: Key Updates from the Wider OA World
- LSE Press Publishes First Issue of Philosophy of Physics
- Helsinki University Press Publishes Special Issue of Estetika: The European Journal of Aesthetics
- New Partner Press Books
- Silk Roads Archaeology and Heritage Publishes First Issue
- Journal of Open Psychology Data Launches Mentorship Programme
- Call for Papers
]u[ Ubiquity Takes Action with Fully OA Publishers Group
For the first time ever, members of the Fully OA Publishers Group came together in person to represent the group on a shared booth at the 2023 Charleston Conference Vendor Showcase. ]u[ Ubiquity was pleased to attend alongside fellow members Frontiers, MDPI, and JMIR Publications, and to be able to represent the group’s mission to conference attendees.
The Fully OA Publishers Group is a collective of publishers who are all dedicated solely to open access publications. The group meets regularly to exchange ideas, and to identify opportunities, like Charleston, to collaborate and work together. Recently, members of the group published an open letter in support of the Lofgren CJS Amendment; this amendment would strike Sec 552 of the Subcommittee’s FY24 spending bill, a bill which the group has previously spoken out against on the grounds that it would ‘be a block on the advancement of US research and its influence within the international scientific community’.
We are proud to be members of the Fully OA Publishers Group and look forward to many more opportunities to collaborate in the future.
]u[ Ubiquity Hosted Journals Welcomes Two New Journals
We are pleased to announce the migration of two journals to ]u[ Ubiquity Hosted Journals; the Interprofessional Journal of Healthcare and Research, and the Journal of Historical Network Research.
The Interprofessional Journal of Healthcare and Research has migrated to ]u[ Ubiquity Hosted Journals from Digital Commons. The journal is published by the College of Health Studies and Professions at the University of North Georgia, and exists to promote collaboration between healthcare professionals across multiple fields of practice.
The Journal of Historical Network Research is maintained by members of the Historical Network Research Community and sponsored by the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH) — University of Luxembourg. The journal publishes research applying the theories and methodologies of network analysis to historical research.
We are excited to be a part of the next chapter for both of these journals, and to support them in publishing in open access.
]u[ Ubiquity Celebrates University Press Week
In November, celebrated University Press Week (UP Week). Organised annually by the Association of University Presses (AUP), UP Week is a chance to celebrate the invaluable role that university presses play in scholarly communications all over the world.
Over half of the presses in our ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network (UPN) are university presses; we are proud to support such a diverse group of university presses, and to watch them all grow and flourish. This year’s theme #SpeakUP encouraged the celebration of the creative, diverse and groundbreaking research that university press publishing facilitates. We spoke to two of our partner presses, White Rose University Press and Helsinki University Press, about some of their recent book publications, and how they exemplify the kind of high-quality, innovative research each press seeks to publish.
We also spoke to ]u[ Ubiquity founder and CEO Brian Hole about the benefits of an institution starting their own university press, and addressed some of the common misconceptions surrounding university press publishing. For all of this, and more, you can visit the ]u[ Ubiquity blog.
]u[ Ubiquity Team Releases Integral Journal Platform Upgrades
The ]u[ Ubiquity Journal platform team has been hard at work over the past few months, releasing a number of new platform updates. This has included enhanced multilingual support, improved security measures, and journal website updates to ensure better accessibility. Details about all new improvements can always be found on our community portal. Not a member, but believe you should be? You can always get in touch to request membership.
The team is also in the process of upgrading all ]u[ Ubiquity journals to OJS 3.4, which was released by PKP over the summer. Work is being undertaken to document the required upgrade process, as well as updating individual plugins, to ensure compatibility with the new version of the system. All involved parties and journal teams will be kept informed as the process develops.
Open Access News: Key Updates from the Wider OA World
Applications Open for UKRI Open Access Book Funding
From 1 January 2024, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s new open access policy will apply to monographs, book chapters and edited collections as well as journals. This requires any research funded by UKRI or one of its research councils to be compliant with a number of requirements. Read the full policy.
UKRI is providing a £3.5 million dedicated fund to support open access costs for long-form publications within the scope of the policy. Stage one of applications for the new fund opened on 28th November, 2023. Research organisations will be able to register publications for funding and receive confirmation from UKRI that the publications are eligible. Find out more.
]u[ Ubiquity’s publishing imprint, ]u[ Ubiquity Press, offers fully open access book publishing services, ensuring compliance with UKRI’s open access book policy. Research articles published in ]u[ Ubiquity Press journals, or in ]u[ Ubiquity hosted journals, will also remain compliant with the policy; we guarantee to remain dedicated to fully open access.
Find out more about publishing with ]u[ Ubiquity.
cOAlition S Release New Draft Proposal ‘Towards Responsible Publishing’
cOAlition S, the group of funders who launched Plan S five years ago, has released a draft proposal that lays out a move towards a scholar-led, more ‘responsible’ publishing landscape.
Open Access Week 2023 — Community Over Commercialisation
The last week of October saw open access advocates from all over the world come together to celebrate International Open Access Week. This year’s theme, ‘Community over Commercialisation’ prompted many interesting conversations surrounding different approaches to open scholarship, and how best to prioritise the needs of the research community and the wider public.
Over on the ]u[ Ubiquity blog, we published a series of posts centred around this year’s theme:
- Community-Centric Publishing: The ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network
- What Does ‘Community’ Mean to the ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network? Conversations with Three ]u[ Ubiquity Partner Presses
- Local Impact, Global Reach: How the Journals Online Project Fosters Community-Centric Research
- Code, Collaboration, and Commitment: An Insight into ]u[ Ubiquity’s Role in the Open Source Community
- Finding Community in the Commercial: The Fully OA Group to Collaborate at the Charleston Conference 2023
LSE Press Publishes First Issue of Philosophy of Physics
]u[ Ubiquity Partner Network member LSE Press has published the first issue of a new journal, Philosophy of Physics. The journal aims to be a flagship journal for the field and to span the various axes of the philosophy of physics, such as metaphysical, historical, and mathematical. We are delighted to see the first issue published and look forward to many more to come.
Helsinki University Press Publishes Special Issue of Estetika: The European Journal of Aesthetics
Helsinki University Press (HUP) published a new special issue of Estetika: The European Journal of Aesthetics earlier this Autumn.
The issue explores the theme ‘Failures in Aesthetic Judgement’, and is guest-edited by María José Alcaraz León. Estetika is a generalist journal in the field of philosophical aesthetics, publishing research articles that engage with the diverse traditions of aesthetics in Europe and beyond. It is published twice a year by HUP in cooperation with the Faculty of Arts, Charles University.
New Partner Press Books
Check out this selection of recently published, open access books from some of our partner presses, including the Finnish Literary Society, LSE Press, and Cardiff University Press. To find out more about any title, simply click on the link in the caption below.
Hot Off the Press…
The latest news from our publishing imprint, ]u[ Ubiquity Press.
Silk Roads Archaeology and Heritage Publishes First Issue
]u[ Ubiquity Press journal Silk Roads Archaeology and Heritage has published its first articles. The journal aims to be a forum for the dissemination of current research on the archaeology and heritage of the Silk Roads, and publishes high-quality research work from across a range of disciplines including History, Anthropology, Architecture, and Ethnography.Silk Roads Archaeology and Heritage is a Diamond Open Access Journal, and welcomes submissions on a rolling basis. Find out more about submitting an article.
The Journal of Open Psychology Data Launches Mentorship Programme
The Journal of Open Psychology Data (JOPD) is now offering researchers wishing to gain editorial experience the opportunity to take part in a trial of a brand-new mentorship programme. The programme will support up to 2 individuals pursuing a career in academia, and the JOPD team are particularly keen to offer this to individuals who identify with marginalised or historically excluded communities.
Call for Papers:
The journal Swiss Psychology Open (SPO) is seeking papers for a new special collection entitled ‘Artificial Intelligence and Research in Psychology’. The collection will focus on the applications and impact of AI on psychological research, and the deadline for submission is 29th February, 2024. The journal recommends that interested authors first send an abstract to Fernand Gobet to check the suitability of their paper. Download the full call for papers.
Buildings and Cities is seeking papers for a special collection entitled ‘Energy Sufficiency in Buildings and Cities’. Authors interested in contributing should send a 500 word (maximum) abstract to editor Richard Lorch by 15 January 2024. Download the full call for papers.
That’s all from us this time. We will be back in the new year; until then, take care and have a wonderful festive season.
The ]u[ Ubiquity Team
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