EDITORIAL
Ethics and good sense vs. productivism
The RAE Editorial Staff was recently asked if we would accept the second version of a previously published paper, whether in another language or with modified text. The argument is that this practice could be spreading in our community, the result of productivist pressure that often places higher value on quantity than on the quality of an author's publications.
Although the answer could be an obvious no, it is worth going into a little more detail in this discussion. First of all, journals need to steer clear of this productivist logic, without disregarding the importance of the evaluation processes for scientific production, particularly relevant when defining the distribution of scarce research funding. Although they have clear commitments with those authors they publish, it is important to remember that scientific journals should also sustain a fundamental commitment with their readers and with the principles of knowledge dissemination in an ethical manner.
In other words, scientific journals are not only instruments for gauging researcher production. We have a commitment with our readers who, at some time, may become interested in reproduction, in their own language, of a paper originally published abroad. In that case, the ethical commitment with knowledge dissemination is preserved if the paper is explicitly identified as a reproduction and is not computed twice to the author, as if it were a new production. Thus, the journal's commitment is with its readers, and not with the logic of productivism.
A second case involves the slightly modified paper. Why not extract more than one paper from different research made on a same theoretical base, for example? Once again, we must leave aside the logic of productivism. Journals always want each of their papers to present some significant contribution. If the authors divide their research into parts so that each part makes a clear contribution, great. After all, relevant research demands time, and results could indeed come in phases. However, if the two parts can comprise a more complete analysis and produce an even more significant contribution than the one from different phases of the study, even better. Any editor will prefer a single, complete contribution over two partial ones. Once again, what matters are reader interest and the value of disseminated knowledge.
Some also argue that journals should be more explicit in their publication standards about the conditions in which such modified versions would be accepted (or not). Of course, we should always augment the part of information to authors, explaining the journal's editorial line with utmost clarity, and RAE is aware and continuously improving its guidelines for collaborators; however it is best to remember that teach case is different. More than any rule, ethics and good sense are the best medication against productivism.
In its continuous improvement, RAE inaugurates a new graphic project in this issue, based on benchmarking with international scientific journals and seeking a more attractive visual communication for its readers.
In this fourth issue, we published six original articles. "Como entender a vaidade feminina utilizando a autoestima e a personalidade" investigates the influence of self-esteem and the variables of female personality in the propensity to seek out plastic surgery. "Negociação com informação privilegiada e retorno das ações na BM&FBOVESPA" identifies the likelihood that shares are traded in the BM&FBOVESPA with privileged information and the relation of these transactions with stock return. "Nostalgia, anticonsumo simbólico e bem-estar: a agricultura urbana" studies, by means of a theoretical survey, the meaning of urban agriculture as a consumer phenomenon. "Influência da conexão política na diversificação dos grupos empresariais brasileiros" discusses the political economy approach as an alternative to explain the diversification of business groups. "El efecto de la triple hélice en los resultados de innovación" researches the relationship between the innovation capacity of companies and obtaining information through cooperation with various players. "Governamentabilidade empresarial e saberes ADM" discusses the notion of business governmentality as a kind of mentality that governs all.
This issue is completed with the essay "Universidade corporativa: gênese e questões críticas rumo à maturidade", signed by Claudio de Moura Castro and Marisa Eboli; a review of the book "A mais pura verdade sobre a desonestidade"; and book recommendations on well-being and happiness, and on corporate crimes.
Good reading!
EDUARDO DINIZ
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
05 Aug 2013 -
Date of issue
Aug 2013
