Elsevier's 2023 profit margins ~38% (> than Apple & Big Oil) WE provide the raw material (research & data) WE process it (analysis & writing) WE provide quality control (peer review) WE manage/oversee the process (editorial work) ALL FOR FREE Then the #AcademicPublishing industry SELL IT BACK TO US🧵 - ThreadSky

akilnawan.bsky.social • 64 days ago

Elsevier's 2023 profit margins ~38% (> than Apple & Big Oil)
WE provide the raw material (research & data)
WE process it (analysis & writing)
WE provide quality control (peer review)
WE manage/oversee the process (editorial work)
ALL FOR FREE
Then the #AcademicPublishing industry SELL IT BACK TO US🧵

Reposted from Mark Grabowski

Resignation of the Journal of Human Evolution Editorial Board: We are saddened to announce the resignations of The Joint Editors-in-Chief, all Emeritus Editors retired or active in the field, and all but one Associate Editor. Press release below.

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hiegleah.bsky.social•64 days ago

I have experienced people outside of academia believing that because academics have been to university, have letters after their name & write & publish that academia is a well paid job when in fact the truth is the opposite as journals do not pay authors but like you say make £ from academics work.

jennyskene.bsky.social•61 days ago

The product is not articles but credentials. This is a tricky trap to escape but I hope enough people are now sufficiently motivated to do it

akilnawan.bsky.social•64 days ago

This perverse business model is a public scandal & needs to end.
"a bizarre triple-pay system in which the state funds most research, pays the salaries of most of those checking the quality of research, & then buys most of the published product" 2/ https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jun/27/profitable-business-scientific-publishing-bad-for-science2/

akilnawan.bsky.social•64 days ago

Take Elsevier for example. It's 2023 profit margins were ~38% (larger than Apple, Google & Big Oil)
Normal successful magazines typically make profits of ~12-15% because they have to pay writers & editors, & distribution to subscribers & retailers https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-europe-infrastructure-2024-2-elsevier-parent-reports-10-hike-in-profits-for-2023/ 3/

akilnawan.bsky.social•64 days ago

This is not just about the exploitation of publicly funded research for private profit, but also denying access to knowledge to researchers in the Global South for who these costs are prohibitive. 4/

akilnawan.bsky.social•64 days ago

And if this wan't bad enough on its own, a number of academic publishers have recently started licensing academic works to AI companies for training LLMs without consulting the authors, making even more money. 5/
https://www.thebookseller.com/news/academic-authors-shocked-after-taylor--francis-sells-access-to-their-research-to-microsoft-ai

akilnawan.bsky.social•64 days ago

At this stage, those of us continuing to publish in journals run by these companies are complicit in the system.

They really cannot function without our labour.

justinpearce.bsky.social•64 days ago

Cambridge University Press has begun contacting book authors requesting an opt-in for sale of data for AI training purposes. At least they're asking. My answer is NO WAY. Not sure what this means for journals published by CUP. Would be interested to know what other academic presses are doing.

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