[Population Modeling] Invitation to Contribute to the Special Issue "Individual-Based Ecological Modeling"

Thu Dec 15 03:05:30 PST 2016

Dear Jacob, dear all,

Thank you for your thoughts and all the links you provided. I think we are on the same page and have the same ideas about how scientific self-control should be done. And as I said, my intentions by sending the mail were nowhere near to denounce Robin or question his scientific integrity nor his capabilities as an editor! (@Robin: I hope there is no offence taken from your side and I apologise if I did offend you. I fancy your work and were very happy to meet you at last years SummerSim and found your comments on my work very helpful and constructive.) 

I just know from my faculty collegues that many people are unaware of these issues and I think it will be beneficial to all of us to discuss them with an open mind. That’s why I said that I am undecided what to think about this particular publisher and wanted to hear about your opinions. The fact that the special issue will be free-of-charge for the authors seems to be a strong indicator for the journal being non-predatory (or rather by definition, contradicting being predatory). However, I just saw it as my obligation (in a non-patronizing way) to make people aware that there are discussions surrounding this publisher and that authors and editors can make a fully informed decision.

Thank you again and sorry if my post was off-topic!

Best, 

Stefan

Von: Jacob Barhak [mailto:jacob.barhak at gmail.com] 
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 15. Dezember 2016 11:03
An: Stefan Scholz <stefan.scholz at uni-bielefeld.de>
Cc: popmodwkgrpimag-news at simtk.org
Betreff: Re: [Population Modeling] Invitation to Contribute to the Special Issue "Individual-Based Ecological Modeling"

So Stefan,

Since you brought it up publicly, I would wish to add that many publishers do not behave well and it is ok to complain in public. However, the problem you mentioned of improper review is a plague - it is not one publisher and ranking agencies do not seem to solve the problem. 

It is important you raised this issue here, yet let us separate in this case the publisher from the editor. 

You met Robin personally in Montreal last year. If you have any concerns about his editorial capabilities within the Journal as a guest editor. I suggest you address him personally to resolve any concerns beforehand - after all, you know the editor - you met him, and a short email to him might resolve your issues. Even without talking to him, I am pretty sure that he has some influence on the review process that may resolve your concerns.

I know Robin has been exposed to the non-blind public review concept. Hopefully he will choose this path to allow public scrutiny that will for sure enhance credibility of his issue.

Robin, you are welcome to respond here or in private and it will be nice to know your editorial criteria for your issue - this may even attract more papers once people know. 

However, the real problem with the publication system is editors and the scientific review process. Before this discussion blows up in this list, I would suggest that we be constructive and redirect the discussion forums that are better suited to it. Here are a few links that discuss publication systems where you can add more comments online without digressing from the population modeling topic:

Here is an article by Richard Smith about the peer review system. You will be amazed on what an experienced editor discloses. Here is the link:

 <http://www.jopm.org/opinion/2009/10/21/in-search-of-an-optimal-peer-review-system/> http://www.jopm.org/opinion/2009/10/21/in-search-of-an-optimal-peer-review-system/

You can comment at the bottom of the page after reading that. Richard also has a blog where he openly supports post publication review - you can also comment there in multiple posts. 

Here are two related posts I read there, yet there are many more: 

 <http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2016/04/19/richard-smith-what-are-medical-journals-for-and-how-well-do-they-fulfil-those-functions/> http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2016/04/19/richard-smith-what-are-medical-journals-for-and-how-well-do-they-fulfil-those-functions/

 <http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2011/03/29/might-copies-of-plos-one-change-journals-forever/> http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2011/03/29/might-copies-of-plos-one-change-journals-forever/

If you want another forum on the topic, I would recommend an article from a younger scientist I know with ideas on how to improve things:

 <http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fncom.2012.00072/full> http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fncom.2012.00072/full

All these online publishers welcome comments.

So if anyone has issues with the publication system, I suggest we redirect those there or suggest another forum you like that discusses publication - there is more than one and I myself will like to learn of others.

Hopefully we will be able to maintain the focus on population modeling and cumulatively increase exposure capabilities of our group. 

             Jacob 

On Thu, Dec 15, 2016 at 2:48 AM, Stefan Scholz < <mailto:stefan.scholz at uni-bielefeld.de> stefan.scholz at uni-bielefeld.de> wrote:

Dear all,

I know this is a very sensible topic, but I still want to bring it up and maybe we can have a discussion about this. I am really undecided what to think about the publisher MDPI and it seems that their practices vary from journal to journal. However, they are listed on the (much discussed) Bealls list of predatory publishers. ( <https://scholarlyoa.com/2015/06/11/guest-editing-a-special-issue-with-mdpi-evidences-of-questionable-actions-by-the-publisher/> https://scholarlyoa.com/2015/06/11/guest-editing-a-special-issue-with-mdpi-evidences-of-questionable-actions-by-the-publisher/) I want to add, that I am not saying classical publishers are flawless!

I really do not want to offend anyone, but I would feel more comfortable if those of you who had some sort of contact with MDPI could describe their experiences. I can only reference to a collegue of mine, whose peer review in the journal “International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health” only contained the request to cite the articles of the reviewer… Which I thought of as a strange peer review.

Thank you very much!

Best regards,

Stefan

Von: PopModWkGrpIMAG-news [mailto: <mailto:popmodwkgrpimag-news-bounces at simtk.org> popmodwkgrpimag-news-bounces at simtk.org] Im Auftrag von Robin Gras
Gesendet: Mittwoch, 7. Dezember 2016 21:33
An:  <mailto:popmodwkgrpimag-news at simtk.org> popmodwkgrpimag-news at simtk.org
Betreff: [Population Modeling] Invitation to Contribute to the Special Issue “Individual-Based Ecological Modeling”

We are organizing a special issue that may be of interest to you. As Guest Editor, I cordially invite you to submit a manuscript for consideration and possible publication in a Special Issue on "Individual-Based Ecological Modeling" to be published in Geosciences ( <http://www.mdpi.com/journal/geosciences> http://www.mdpi.com/journal/geosciences), an open access journal of geoscience, future earth and planetary science, published quarterly online by MDPI, indexed by Scopus.

The purpose of this Special Issue of Geoscience is to present different methodologies that have been designed to model complex ecological and evolutionary systems at the individual level. The domain of application of such models is quite broad. It ranges from systems involving a small population of interacting individuals for the purpose of behavioral studies to systems modeling large scale spatio-temporal environments to investigate evolutionary mechanisms. The main objective of this modeling is to highlight the importance of individual interactions in the emergence of high level systemic patterns.

With the focus being on individual-based approaches, papers are not restricted to a specific topic, although they must include one or several models centered on the description and design of individuals and their interactions with their environment. At the same time, submitted papers are expected to present results pertaining to the utilization of individual-based models with respect to a clearly defined application in terms of simulations and their analysis. The domain of application of the model can be any problem related to ecological and/or evolutionary questions that are either practical (e.g., management of a specific population or environment) or theoretical (e.g., evolution and transmission of traits affecting behaviors and the dynamics of a system).

The deadline for manuscript submission is 15 March 2017 (but an extension can be granted, if necessary). For more details please visit the website:  <http://www.mdpi.com/journal/geosciences/special_issues/ecological_modeling> http://www.mdpi.com/journal/geosciences/special_issues/ecological_modeling

Since I am personally inviting you, your paper will be published free of charge if accepted after peer review. We hope you find this topic of interest and choose to publish your work in the Geosciences. If you could let us know within a week or so, it would greatly help the management of the Special Issue.

We would also appreciate if you could forward this to your team members and colleagues who may also be interested in the topic.

Thank you for your consideration and please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions.

Best regards,

Dr. Robin GRAS

Guest Editor of Special Issue "Individual-Based Ecological Modeling"

Professor, Canada Research Chair
School of Computer Science
Cross-appointed by the Biology Department
Cross-appointed by the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research
8111 LAM, University of Windsor
401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON  N9B 3P4
Phone:  519.253.3000 ext. 2994
Fax: 519 973 7093,  <mailto:Email%3Argras at uwindsor.ca> Email:rgras at uwindsor.ca
Web Page:  <http://sites.google.com/site/ecosimgroup/home> http://sites.google.com/site/ecosimgroup/home

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