Mason Author Series with University Professor Giorgio A. Ascoli on March 29th

University Professor Giorgio A. AscoliMason Publishing, the George Mason University Libraries, and the University Bookstore present Mason University Professor Giorgio A. Ascoli, discussing his book Trees of the Brain, Roots of the Mind, in the kickoff of the Mason Author Series. This inaugural event of the series, which is sponsored by the George Mason University Bookstore, will be held in the Fenwick Library Main Reading Room, on Tuesday, March 29th, at 2:30 p.m.

Trees of the Brain, Roots of the MindIn Trees of the Brain, Roots of the Mind, Dr. Ascoli offers a new perspective on the roots of individuality and humanity, discusses how the brain learns from experience, and unveils a radically new hypothesis of the mechanism for determining what is learned, what isn’t, and why. Doing so, he makes a provocative claim about the mind-brain relationship. The book, published by MIT Press, reveals another aspect of the human brain: the stunning beauty of its cellular form, which includes tens of billions of nerve cells—tiny tree-like structures—comprising a massive network with enormous computational power.

Dr. Ascoli is University Professor in the Molecular Neuroscience Department and founding Director of the Center for Neural Informatics, Structure, and Plasticity at the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study at George Mason University.

The Mason Author Series will highlight significant publications of George Mason University faculty and alumni. The Mason Author series event is part of the grand opening festivities for the new Fenwick Library building, which opened in January 2016.

The second event in the series will celebrate the launch of the new edition of The Five George Masons, recently published by the George Mason University Press. Dr. Rosemarie Zagarri, University Professor and Professor of History at Mason, will be speaking about “George Mason in History and Memory.” This event will also take place in in Fenwick Library’s Reading Room, on April 6, 2016, at 3 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.

For more information, contact: John Warren, Head, Mason Publishing/George Mason University Press, University Libraries, George Mason University

Office: 703-993-3636 • Email: jwarre13@gmu.edu

George Mason University Press Releases Book on George Mason

The George Mason University Press, a department of the University Libraries, has released a new edition of The Five George Masons: Patriots and Planters of Virginia and Maryland by Pamela C. Copeland and Richard K. MacMaster. First published in 1975, the second edition was published in collaboration with the Board of Regents of Gunston Hall, George Mason’s ancestral home. The new edition features an introductory note by George Mason University President Ángel Cabrera; a foreword by Scott Stroh, Executive Director of Gunston Hall; and new images and maps.

“It is under theCover of The Five George Masons, featuring a portrait of George Mason IV. enduring spirit of George Mason’s legacy of freedom and learning that we instill an innovative and entrepreneurial attitude and a culture of diversity and accessibility—which we call the Mason IDEA—here at George Mason University,” writes Cabrera in his introductory note. “And it is in this spirit that we are honored to publish this new edition of The Five George Masons.”

Though often less celebrated than fellow Virginians George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, George Mason’s work as the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights left an indelible mark on democracy, as we know it today. The Five George Masons highlights his history and legacy as one of America’s outstanding thinkers, legislators and writers. This book, available through and the George Mason University bookstore, Amazon, and all major booksellers,  will serve as a valuable resource for researchers, historians, and those interested in the early history of America.

“This effort represents an important renewal of Gunston Hall’s partnership with George Mason University, “ writes Stroh in the foreword. “As educational organizations of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Gunston Hall and the University share many common goals. Specifically, we are both dedicated to a belief in the value of a high quality educational experience, to the importance of facilitated discourse as a fundamental aspect of learning, and to the premise that an education should be both physically and intellectually accessible and available to everyone. We also share a belief in an educational philosophy based on scholarship and authenticity, and a philosophy that includes personal exploration, discovery, and reflection. Finally, by virtue of our collective namesake, we proudly share a common dedication to the ideals and legacy represented by George Mason.”

The launch of the new edition of The Five George Masons will be celebrated in an event in Fenwick Library’s Reading Room, on April 6, 2016, at 3 p.m. Dr. Rosemarie Zagarri, University Professor and Professor of History at Mason, will be speaking about “George Mason in History and Memory.” This event is open to the public; no RSVP is required.

The George Mason University Press supports the academic mission of George Mason University by publishing peer-reviewed, scholarly works of distinction, written by authors from a wide range of intellectual perspectives, for a diverse, worldwide readership. The Press publishes in a variety of disciplines with special focus on the history, politics, and culture of Northern Virginia and the wider District of Columbia metropolitan area, as well as other topics such as public policy, international affairs, and higher education.

Faculty Support to Explore Open Ed Resources

How can you, as an educator, have increased control over your teaching materials, be more creative in the classroom, AND lower student costs? Use existing open educational resources (OER) or create your own materials!

Mason 4-VA, in collaboration with the University Libraries and Mason Online, invites you to submit a proposal for innovative redesign of a course that integrates digital (and accessible) materials. That is, you supplant expensive textbooks either with digital works that you create, or with existing digital content that is in the public domain, licensed Creative Commons, or available in databases to which the University Libraries subscribes. To that end, you are reducing the cost of instruction to students and improving learning outcomes.

Courses of particular interest are those that:

  • have high enrollment,
  • are required for majors,
  • count in the Mason Core, or
  • carry high textbook costs.

This initiative is a Mason 4-VA pilot project. Any Mason full-time instructional faculty who teach high demand, heavily populated courses are eligible to apply, as are adjunct faculty who are part of a team proposal.

Depending on the nature of the proposed project and the level of team collaboration, you may receive a competitive grant ranging from $1,500 to $5,000. Funds will be distributed in Summer 2016.

The library is ready to support your use of OER content or answer your questions related to copyright and the Creative Commons licensing of your own materials. Mason Publishing Group, a department of the University Libraries, is available to aid faculty in developing OER textbooks or workbooks as a part of this pilot project. Let us know how we may help you! Contact your subject librarian or John Warren (jwarre13@gmu.edu), Head, Mason Publishing.

For more information and cover sheet, see: Course Redesign: Using Open Educational Resources

Proposals due: March 18, 2016 EXTENDED to March 21, 2016!

Award notification: April 4, 2016

Submit your proposal electronically to:

Linda Sheridan,

Deputy Coordinator, Mason 4-VA

lsherid1@gmu.edu

 

A New Year, New Offices

Temporary Mason Publishing Sign for Office 4318

The much anticipated move has occurred! After a busy January and early February, Mason Publishing has settled into our spaces on the 4th floor of the new Fenwick Library.

View into Mason Publishing Office, showing chairs and reception desk.On January 19, the new Fenwick library opened to faculty, staff, and students, expanding the space available for study and collaboration within the library. The new space has made it possible for the various offices of Mason Publishing to reorganize in order to better serve the needs of the Mason community.

From these new office spaces, Mason Publishing is coordinating our efforts to support the innovative scholarly work produced by the Mason community. Come visit Mason Publishing and discover the many ways we can help you produce, distribute, and preserve your scholarly work.

Participate in the 101 Innovations in Scholarly Communication Survey

What research tools do you use to accomplish your work? How do your research habits compare with those of scholars in other parts of the world? To identify trends at Mason, we urge you to participate in the 101 Innovations in Scholarly Communication Survey.

Why participate? You will learn how your use of digital research tools compares to that of your peers, and you may discover some new tools. You will inform Mason Libraries about which tools you use so that we can optimize library services and resources to better suit your needs. And you will be contributing to a global effort to chart the evolving landscape of scholarly communication.

This survey, created by researchers at Utrecht University, is part of an international effort to study adoption and use of innovative digital tools for scholarly research and publication.

Results of this international survey, as well as the final anonymized dataset, will be posted on the 101 Innovations in Scholarly Communication site. Mason Libraries will share our community’s anonymized dataset and produce a publicly available report. In addition, survey results will help Mason Publishing, part of the Mason Libraries, evaluate alternative metric (altmetric) services we might offer to help you track the attention your scholarship receives.

The Innovations in Scholarly Communication Survey ends February 10, 2016. Visit http://bit.ly/ScholCommSurvey today to participate!

Share data

Open data is research data that can be freely used, reused, and redistributed by anyone. Making research data fully available and broadly accessible encourages researchers to collaborate and share resources, produce new findings, and gain deeper analytical insights into existing research.

Data Services offers support for many data-related activities including: software help, data analysis, management, archiving and sharing, as well as finding, using and acquiring data. Data Services has full-time professional faculty members who offer consultations by appointment to the Mason community as well as workshops and classroom presentations in their area(s) of expertise. For more information, contact Wendy Mann, Head of Data Services, at wmann@gmu.edu.

See below to learn more about the benefits of data sharing and the different resources you can use to support your research and manage your data.


Data Management

  • Data Management Basics (Infoguide) from George Mason University Libraries.  Provides information and tutorials on data management principles, data sharing and archiving of research data.

Data Management Plans

 

Intellectual Property Crash Course

This six episode miniseries by Crash Course producer Stan Muller explores the complex and persistent issue of intellectual property. This series of educational videos discusses the three major elements of intellectual property: copyright, patents, and trademarks. You can access the entire playlist here or watch the individual videos below:

Crash Course Intellectual Property  #1: Introduction to Intellectual Property

Crash Course Intellectual Property #2: Copyright Basics

Crash Course Intellectual Property #3: Copyright, Exceptions, and Fair Use 

Crash Course Intellectual Property #4: Patents, Novelty, and Trolls

Crash Course Intellectual Property #5: Trademarks and Avoiding Consumer Confusion

Crash Course Intellectual Property #6: International IP Law

Global survey of scholarly communication tool usage

101Innovations_website image

The availability and use of digital tools supporting the research workflow—tools for discovery, analysis, writing, publication, outreach and assessment—has exploded in recent years. Several major companies involved in publishing, distribution, and discovery have entered the “research services” space, along with numerous start-ups, large and small.

Here at George Mason University, for example, tools such as Zotero, Omeka, and PressForward have been developed by the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media to help researchers organize, cite, curate, and publish research and collections.

Bianca Kramer and Jeroen Bosman, researchers at Utrecht University Library, are conducting a global survey on the use of digital tools in the research workflow. Kramer and Bosman have developed the “101 Innovations in Scholarly Communications” website, blog, database, examples of workflows, presentations, and posters supporting this project. Kramer and Bosman provide an excellent launching pad to explore the changes underway in research and scholarly communication; their database now includes more than 575 tools.

There are some advantages to participating in the survey:

  • You’ll be able to benchmark yourself against your peers—after completing the survey you can opt in to be provided with a visualization of your use of digital tools compared to your peers.
  • Institutions/universities can receive a customized URL that will allow them to see digital research tool usage within their institution/university.
  • You’ll contribute to the international effort to chart the evolving landscape of scholarly communication.

Anyone carrying out research (from Master’s students to professors), or supporting research (such as librarians, publishers and funders) can participate.

Faculty and students from George Mason University should take the survey from our custom survey ULR, which will allow Mason Publishing and the University Libraries to compare (anonymous) data from Mason peers.

The survey will run until February 2016.

It takes about 10 minutes to complete and you can opt to receive a visual characterization of your workflow compared to that of your peer group via email.

Kramer and Bosman’s report on the survey’s preliminary results indicate that through October 31, 2015, the survey has generated more than 5,373 responses, primarily from faculty and PhD students. Disciplines are fairly well distributed although Life Sciences has taken the lead with 1,903 responses. Kramer and Bosman also reported on the differences, to date, between librarians and researchers (Faculty/PhD students/Postdocs) regarding the use of tools to measure impact, such as Altmetric, Impactstory, Scopus, JCR, and others. Researchers are using traditional impact factor tools while librarians are using or recommending altmetric tools at a higher rate than their researcher counterparts.

For more information on this survey and its results so far: https://101innovations.wordpress.com

From free, open source tools like Zotero, to Thomson Reuters’ EndNote, from Hypothes.is to Google’s Ngram Viewer, the availability of new digital tools is changing the way students, faculty, and other researchers are creating, sharing, and processing information. This revolution is not being televised.

 

University Press Week:

This post is part of the #UPWeek blog tour.

Visit the other University Press blog posts on today’s topic, The Future of Scholarly Publishing:

Indiana University Press

Oxford University Press

University Press of Colorado

University Press of Kansas

University of North Carolina Press

University Press Week and the #UPWeek Blog Tour

University Press Week kicks off today with several University Presses participating in the #UPWeek blog tour. (Mason Publishing/George Mason University Press will participate in the blog tour tomorrow.)

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First, essential reading is University Press of California’s Alison Mudditt’s guest post on the Scholarly Kitchen blog, discussing the important contributions made by University Presses. Alison interviews luminaries such as Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Associate Executive Director and Director of Scholarly Communication, Modern Language Association; Niko Pfund, President and Academic Publisher, Oxford University Press; Jon Cawthorne, Dean of Libraries, West Virginia University; and Leila Salisbury, Director, University Press of Mississippi, to gather insights on the contributions that university presses make to scholarship and scholarly communication. As Alison mentions, its not hard to find articles about the decline or perceived obsolescence of University Presses, but regarding UPs, there is more than meets the eye: more University Presses have opened than closed in recent years, for examples, but it’s the closures (or near closures), that get the attention).

(If you missed Alison’s first post on Scholarly Kitchen, discussing open access and monographs, you can find it here.)

The University Press of Florida takes readers on a brief food tour of Florida and some of the marvelous cookbooks they have published over the years. University Presses are known, and should be known, for their fine publications of academic monographs, but often overlooked are other fine publications by UPs, such as novels, poetry, childrens books, and cookbooks. Here we’ve got such delectable treats as Mango and the Versailles Restaurant Cookbook. This certainly whets our appetite for more University Press books!

The University Press of New England talks about the amazing success of author Marc Solomon and his book, Winning Marriage: The Inside Story of How Same-Sex Couples Took on the Politicians and Pundits—and Won. Here’s an author with a great book, great timing, and the willingness and ability to tirelessly publicize the book. Yes, we love authors like this!

Speaking of meeting the press, the University of Mississippi Press writes about the surprising results of their collaboration with an independent bookstore and a daily newspaper.

Take a POP QUIZ about University Presses and their books, courtesy of the University Press of Kentucky‘s blog. Their quiz reveals surprising facts about members of the Association of American University Presses . I’m not sure if I did good or bad, I guess it all depends, but I answered 7 out of 10 correctly.

University of Nebraska Press, one of those UPs with a great track record of publishing literature, publishes some facts about their staff. Yes, indeed, real people work at University Presses!

University of California Press mentions some of the surprising facts about University Presses, such as their open access books and journals. What, Open Access?! That is surprising!

University of Wisconsin Press talks about some of their mystery fiction. talks about some of their mystery fiction. If you think it’s a mystery why University Presses are publishing murder fiction, you haven’t been paying attention.

The Open Media (R)Evolution

The theme for this year’s International Open Access Week was “Open for Collaboration,” highlighting the ways in which Open Access enables new avenues for collaboration and creativity among and between scholars, researchers, and innovators in all disciplines. Broadening the Open Access movement’s traditional focus on scientific disciplines, Mason’s nationally ranked Forensics Team explored how these themes of collaboration and “openness” have revolutionized the entertainment industry and fundamentally altered the ways in which we create, share, and experience media.

This roundtable discussion, entitled “The Open Media (R)Evolution,” was hosted by the University Libraries on October 22, 2015, as part of George Mason’s seventh annual observance of International Open Access Week.  The students covered topics such as entertainment revenue models in a collaborative world, Open Access and contemporary theater, the curation of online media, and issues of ownership in musical mashups. Forensics Team members leading this discussion were Nathan Leys, government and international politics major; Samuel Abney, communications major; Natalia Castro, integrative studies major; and AK Komanduri, government and international politics major.