May 6, 2024 |
11 Mins Read
Webinar Recap: Supporting the publishing and discovery journey of young and emerging scholars in the Global South
On the 25th of April, Zendy partnered with Bristol University Press to host an insightful joint webinar titled, supporting the publishing and discovery journey of young and emerging scholars in the Global South. The discussion panel was moderated by the Editorial Director of Bristol University Press, Victoria Pittman and featured the President of African Gong, Elizabeth Rasekoala, the Deputy Editorial Director at Bristol University Press, Stephen Wenham and the Partnerships Relations Manager at Zendy, Sara Crowley Vigneau. In this blog, we summarise the contributions of each speaker to the joint webinar. Elizabeth Rasekoala - President of African Gong Addressed key systematic issues within publishing in the Global South Academic research is predominantly published in English, which is not the first language of many in the Global South, hence publishers should be open to accepting research in different languages. Discussed the concept of “helicopter research syndrome” wherein more established researchers allocate data collection tasks to locals in the Global South and monitor their work but don’t credit them in the final academic papers Highlighted the book published by Bristol University Press titled, Race and cultural inclusion: Innovation, decolonization, and transformation. The book had a total of 30 contributing writers. 10 young scholars, 10 seasoned scholars and 10 senior scholars to facilitate emerging scholars get published. Stephen Wenham - Deputy Editorial Director at Bristol University Press Highlighted BUP’s international reach and efforts to work with young authors Bristol University Press has publications that are available globally. In the global south, BUP tries to match the books to the local market. Local distributors receive a discount and local publishers assist in localising the publications and releasing local editions of books Works with sales agents to ensure publications by local authors are highlighted in relevant regions Sara Crowley Vigneau - Partnerships Relations Manager at Zendy Highlighted the relationship between publishers and libraries in advancing access in developing regions Zendy supports scholars in the Global South through offering an affordable global subscription, while also working with publishers to include research generated by researchers in the Global South. Most of Zendy’s global users are aged between 18-34 and 20% of Zendy’s userbase is situated in African countries and territories. Zendy is actively working on “countries in crisis’ initiative where in Zendy works with publishers to make research content free in developing regions Conduct your research on Zendy As a growing AI-powered research library, Zendy is committed to hosting webinars that address important challenges and highlight key initiatives in the world of academia. Head to Zendy’s YouTube channel now to watch all our webinar recordings. Furthermore, take your research to the next level and head to Zendy now to try out our suite of AI tools including ZAIA! ul { margin-top: 5px !important; margin-bottom: 5px !important; } p, ul, li, h1, h2, h4 { word-break: normal !important; }
What is a DOI? Strengths, Limitations & Components
DOI is short for Digital Object Identifier. It is a unique alphanumeric sequence assigned to digital objects, it is used to identify intellectual property on the internet. DOI’s are usually assigned to scholarly articles, datasets, books, videos and even pieces of software. Understanding DOI's The digital object identifier is a unique number made up of a prefix and suffix, segregated by a forward slash. For example: 10.1000/182 The sequence always begins with a 10. The prefix is a unique 4 or more digit number assigned to establishments and the suffix is assigned by publisher as it is designed to be flexible with publisher identification standards. Where can I find a DOI? In most scholarly articles, the DOI should be on the cover page. If the DOI isn't included in the article, you may search for it on CrossRef.org by using the "Search Metadata" function. How can I use the digital object identifier to find the article it refers to? If the DOI starts with http:// or https://, pasting it on your web browder will help you locate the article. You can turn any DOI starting with 10 into a URL by adding http://doi.org/ before the DOI. For example, 10.3352/jeehp.2013.10.3 becomes https://doi.org/10.3352/jeehp.2013.10.3 If you're off campus when you do this, you'll need to use this URL prefix in front of the DOI to gain access to UIC's full text journal subscriptions: https://proxy.cc.uic.edu/login?url=https://doi.org/ . For example: https://proxy.cc.uic.edu/login?url=http://doi.org/10.3352/jeehp.2013.10.3 Strengths of Digital Object Identifier Permanent identification: Digital object identifier provides a permanent link to digital content, making sure it remains accessible even if URL or metadata is updated. Citations: It uniquely identifies research papers, which facilitates accurate referencing and citing. Interoperability: DOIs are widely recognized as they can be utilised across different platforms, databases and systems. Tracking and metrics: DOIs provide key information like publication date, authors, keywords and more. This can be used to track usage metrics, measuring impact and improving discoverability Integration with services: DOIs are integrated with various tools like reference managers, academic search engines, and digital libraries. These mediums enhance the visibility and accessibility of research material with DOIs. Limitations of Digital Object Identifier Cost: Digital object identifiers are costly for smaller organisations or individual researchers. While some services offer free digital object identifier registration for certain content, there may be fees associated with others, particularly for maintenance and updates. Accessibility: There may still be barriers to access for individual researchers or organisations in regions with limited resources. Ensuring equitable access to digital object identifier services and content remains a challenge. Content Preservation: While the sequence provide persistent links to digital content, they do not guarantee the preservation or long-term accessibility of that content. Ensuring the preservation of digital objects linked to DOIs require additional efforts and infrastructure beyond the system itself. Granularity: Sequences are assigned to individual digital objects, such as articles, datasets, or books. However, there may be cases where more granular identification is required, such as specific sections within a larger work or versions of a dataset. Addressing these granularity issues within the digital object identifier system can be complex. Conduct your research on Zendy today Now that you’ve gained a better understanding of how DOI works and impacts the world of research, you may begin your search and find your next academic discovery on Zendy! Our advanced search allows you to input DOI, ISSN, ISBN, publication, author, date, keyword and title. Give it a go on Zendy now. ul { margin-top: 5px !important; margin-bottom: 5px !important; } p, ul, li, h1, h2, h4 { word-break: normal !important; }
Learn to use ZAIA - Zendy's AI Research Assistant
What is ZAIA? ZAIA - AI Assistant is a domain-specific LLM (Large Language Model) that has been fine tuned with research available on Zendy. ZAIA was designed to make the discoverability and accessibility of academic research simpler on Zendy, while also enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of literature review. In our latest version release, ZAIA has seen significant improvements, these include: Ask ZAIA: Users and readers can now ask ZAIA specific paper-level questions, introducing a new way to conduct literature analysis. PDF Analysis: ZAIA now has the capability to analyse any PDF. Upload or link a research paper with sections and ZAIA will extract, analyse and summarise each section. Reference validation and verification: using techniques such as chain of verification, all references go through a validation and verification process to increase accuracy. Conversation and analysis history: once you log in, you can now see a complete history of all conversations with ZAIA and a history of PDFs analysed. An enhanced fine-tuned model for increased accuracy. ZAIA is also now accessible without registration. In this blog, we run you through the various features on ZAIA to teach you to use it to its full potential! Ask ZAIA Step 1: Access ZAIA - AI Assistant through the Zendy home page Step 2: Once your prompt is solved by ZAIA, you may double check the references ZAIA provides through the “Reference Details” section on the right. PDF Analysis Step 1: To access the PDF analysis feature on ZAIA, switch from “Conversation” to “PDF Analysis” Step 2: Enter a research paper of your choice and then click “Analyse document” Step 3: ZAIA then provides a summary of each section within the research paper, including references so you can quickly grasp the key concepts. Conversation History Step 1: You may access your conversation and analysis history on both pages from the left side bar, simply click on the session you’d like to revisit and ZAIA will load the entire conversation and analysis. In this blog, we’ve covered how to conduct PDF analysis on ZAIA, access your history and how to cross-check references. As we further build and improve ZAIA, we look forward to adding helpful functionalities that further accelerate the efficiency and effectiveness of literature review. Visit zendy.io and utilise ZAIA - AI Research Assistant to help you with your next research project.
Zendy Announces New Version Releases of ZAIA - AI Assistant
United Arab Emirates, 13th March 2024 - AI-powered research library Zendy has announced the launch of a significant version release for its domain-specific Large Language Model (LMM), ZAIA (Zendy AI Assistant). Developed by Zendy’s data science team and initially launched in December 2023, ZAIA is designed to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of research discovery and literature review. In this new version, a host of new features have been introduced to support researchers: Ask ZAIA: You can now ask specific questions to ZAIA on a paper level, giving you a new way to conduct in-depth analysis during literature review. PDF Analysis: ZAIA can now analyse any PDF. Upload or link a research paper with sections, and ZAIA will extract, analyse, and summarise each section, including the abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and references. Reference validation and verification: using techniques such as chain of verification, all references go through a validation and verification process to increase accuracy. Conversation and analysis history: once you log in, you can now see a complete history of all conversations with ZAIA and a history of PDFs analysed. An enhanced fine-tuned model for increased accuracy. ZAIA is also now accessible without registration. ZAIA is not a general-purpose language model. It is fine-tuned with Zendy’s own data sources, allowing it to support higher-level abstractions for research-specific use cases. “ZAIA 0.1 takes us closer to our vision of creating an ecosystem of research-centric AI tools using the latest development methods that increase efficiency and reliability. The future of research is intertwined with the vast capabilities of AI, and we are committed to leveraging the best of AI to provide solutions to the pressing issues researchers face in research discovery,” said Zendy’s Chief Technology Officer, Rodrigo Pinto. “We have a core focus on increasing collaboration with publishers and data providers to navigate the increasing potential of AI. We look forward to extending the vast capabilities of our LLM and all our learnings to institutions, publishers, and organisations looking to streamline information discovery and retrieval using AI,” said Zendy Co-founder Kamran Kardan. Committed to helping foster an ecosystem of collaborative partnerships rooted in responsible AI practices, Zendy believes AI is important in fostering an equitable research and publishing ecosystem, but only with ethical guidelines. In response to the growing discussion around AI, Zendy recently released a list of AI imperatives to guide strategic development and the integration of AI technologies. To find out more about Zendy’s AI solutions, email hello@zendy.io. You can use ZAIA now on Zendy, visit www.zendy.io/zaia. To read the Zendy AI Imperatives statement, click here. About Zendy Zendy is a product of Knowledge E. Since its inception in 2019, Zendy has introduced over 500,000 users to a better way to research. Zendy’s intuitive AI-powered research library features millions of journals, articles, e-books, and more, allowing users to access unlimited content for an affordable monthly subscription. Zendy also offers a free open-access plan. Press contact: Monica Chinsami Head of Marketing
Decolonising and diversifying academia: Interview with Nahil Nasr, the Community Engagement Manager at F.O.R.M.
This January, the Forum of Open Reseach MENA hosted its first community development activity of 2024. The “Decolonising Open Science Symposium: Dismantling Global Heirarchies of Knowledge” addressed the influence of western prominence on knowledge distribution and research, highlighting how these ideologies and standards impact the Arab region. Within the landscape of research, conversations and collaborations not only address inequalities but also break barriers to accessibility. In this blog, we interviewed Nahil Nassar who is the community engagement manager at the Forum of Open Research MENA. At the symposium, Nahil touched on the work that open science has in building stronger foundations for diverse research consumption and the biases that exist in the research landscape. We take a deeper dive into this conversation. How does F.O.R.M. facilitate conversations around decolonising academia? FORM is a community based organisation that centers its attention on the Arab region. That means prioritising Arab voices in academia to develop a regionally and culturally relevant model of Open Science to implement across the board. While we do, of course, work with organisations that are based in the Global North, we try to be transparent when it comes to power dynamics, and recognise that we are only as strong as our community. What role does open science play in escalating research outside western europe? Open Science has the potential to really build an even playing field for researchers in the Global South because of its financially and digitally accessible model. In its best form, Open Science should allow researchers from the Global South to publish their work without limitations in cost or geography. The problem is that Open Science publishing is not always functioning in its most optimum form, and things like APCs, metric frameworks, and language hierarchies (English being a dominant language across the research landscape) can still limit researchers in the same ways that traditional academic publishing models do. What are some biases that exist in the open science landscape? A major bias that comes out of the Open Science landscape, especially when it comes to the Global South, is that Open Science research is bad research. There’s this assumption that if research isn’t published in perfect English, or focuses on a very niche subject that’s really only relevant to specific local contexts, then that means the research is either low quality or irrelevant. This is especially because of how research is prioritised in its value these days, and this is one of the many places where commodification enters the conversation as a major issue. Often times, major funding is only allocated to research that is deemed important by multinational corporations or prestigous research institutions in the Global North who sort of set the agenda of what is necessary to study and what isn’t - and these topics are usually prioritised based on the needs of these entities and their contexts, and completely ignore the localised needs of researchers in the Global South, who then don’t have access to that same funding. Please explain how absolute objectivity is colonial ideology This is a really interesting ideology to ponder on in decolonial discourse, because it seems very out there to say that there’s no such thing as objective truth, especially in a world that is run by scientific innovation. The idea of objectivity may seem to be clear and cut, but it goes back to the idea of intellectual dominance and colonialism. There was an ideological hierarchy set by colonial powers that placed their “truth” as the only “truth”, and took objectivity to mean that their truth is the only one with any substance or value. Many indigenous knowledge systems question this idea of absolute objectivity, because it is often rooted in inherently colonial, patriarchal, and violent understandings of nature, human experience, and society. I was first introduced to this philosophy through postcolonial gender theory, where researchers like Vandana Shiva questioned the very idea of scientific knowledge as we know it today as something that was forced on us as the only virtuous fact, but is sometimes actually the most harmful opinion. What is the direct impact of colonisation on knowledge production today? The impact of colonisation on knowledge production today can be found in a plethora of arenas. While colonisation as we once knew it is not nearly as prominent as it was in the 19th and 20th centuries, neo-imperial and neo-colonial ideologies are still very much strong holding the majority of the world’s systems. You can see legacies of it in how we think about scientific studies, methodologies, or even the metrics that we use to classify ‘good’ and ‘bad’ research. It informs how we think about credibility, and determines who gets to speak the loudest and whose voice gets silenced. It marginalises researchers who use indigenous knowledge methodologies (often rooted in intuition and connection to land and spirit) and prioritises the voices of liberal scientists who believe in objective fact rooted in numbers and rationality. Overall, it prioritises knowledge produced and disseminated by Western organisations and researchers that then have an impact on Western communities, and leave the global majority out of the conversation. Watch the webinar here