One way to try to get a handle on what's happening in a scientific field is to study citations in research papers. n a visualization of a complex network with many links, however, it can be very difficult to recognize significant patterns amid the clutter
In a new book, ''Pathologies of Power'' (University of California), Dr. Farmer, who has worked and lived in Haiti for the past 20 years, criticizes human rights advocates and bioethicists for giving short shrift to the health problems of the poor.
Subscription models make publishers insist on controlling access to research they didn't perform, write up, or fund. They act like a midwives who insist on keeping (or hiding, or performing surgery on) other folks' babies.
"Academic literature should be freely available: developing countries need access; part time ... thinkers ... journalists and the public can benefit; ... you’ve already paid for much of this stuff with your taxes ... important new ideas from humanity"