Peer-reviewed, publishable hypertexts

Peter J. Nürnberg & David L. HicksAalborg University Esbjerg

Aug 2001 OHS 7 - Aarhus, DK 2

overview

• this apple is pretty good, but it's nothing like an orange

• if your friend jumped off a cliff, would you do it, too?

• think globally, act locally

• I'm not just the owner of the company – I'm a client

• ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country

Aug 2001 OHS 7 - Aarhus, DK 3

by hypertexts, we mean...

• structure as the product• we don't mean:

– links from within a document– supplementing content with links and/or

other structures– automating footnotes and/or references

• comparing these two forms of structures is comparing apples to oranges– both nice, but they're different!

Aug 2001 OHS 7 - Aarhus, DK 4

what's the real problem?

• technological?– well, not really…– existing tech may not completely solve all

problems, but remaining problems don't appear very difficult

• social/political?– clearly, this is where the real resistance

must lie

Aug 2001 OHS 7 - Aarhus, DK 5

why publish for no credit?

• what does an electronic publication "count" for on a CV?

• even if my colleagues publish electronically, why should I?

• even if my institution does accept electronic publications, will they know what to do with a hypertext?

Aug 2001 OHS 7 - Aarhus, DK 6

how do we change things?

• start slowly and at home– don't stop publishing content-only pubs– do start by publishing 1 structure/content

pub per year– get onto P&T committees at home and ask

questions about electronic or "alternative" publication forms

– make sure there is some written, printable form of your work in any event

Aug 2001 OHS 7 - Aarhus, DK 7

where to publish hypertexts?

• why not right here?– Metainformatics Symposium– tech reports at your home institution

Aug 2001 OHS 7 - Aarhus, DK 8

where are the tools?

• why don't we jointly commit to building them?

• we always wanted more domains, domain experts, and users!– let's use ourselves!