A multi-scale perspective for assessing publishing circuits in non-hegemonic countries

Abstract

University Rankings and impact factor indicators were critical in the extension of the global belief in the intrinsic academic value of "World Class Institutions," along with the international recognition of successful individuals forged through mainstream journals. However, these supposedly global standards were not adopted passively, nor massively, in the so-called periphery. Drawing from quantitative and qualitative studies of evaluative cultures in Latin America, particularly in Argentina, this paper observes various circuits of recognition and different paths for prestige-building. First, it discusses a multi-scale approach to national scientific fields highlighting heterogeneity in terms of the orientation of research agendas and styles of academic publishing. Evaluative cultures are examined as a complex set of instances of legitimation that provide room for maneuvering between global standards and local orders. Second, the paper delves into the role played by Latin America in forging an open access, non-commercial, regional publishing circuit with a dominant, but not exclusive, composition of journals from the social sciences and humanities. Finally, it argue that facing this dynamical publishing ecosystem developed in the public domain, national research assessment systems are alienated by incentives directed only to performance in mainstream publishing. Uma perspectiva multi-escalar para avaliar circuitos de publicação em países não hegemônicos RESUMO Os rankings universitários e os indicadores de fator de impacto de periódicos foram fundamentais para espalhar a crença global no valor acadêmico indiscutível de "instituições de classe mundial," bem como no reconhecimento internacional de indivíduos de sucesso por meio de sua participação em revistas mainstream. No entanto, esses padrões supostamente globais não foram adotados passivamente, ou em massa, na chamada periferia. Com base em estudos quantitativos e qualitativos sobre culturas avaliativas na América Latina, em particular na Argentina, este trabalho aponta vários circuitos de reconhecimento e diferentes

Academic dependency: the influence of the prevailing international biomedical research agenda on Argentina’s CONICET

“…Nevertheless, in line with Beigel's qualitative analysis [ 14 , 15 , 26 ], our results also show that the CONICET's HBMS research agenda is internally heterogeneous introducing some specific differences in relation to the prevailing HBMS research agenda, as depicted by Testoni et al. [ 13 ].…”

“…In the case of public research organizations from non-core countries, the international research agenda may compete (and eventually replace), complement, or co-evolve with an agenda focused on contributing to local priorities. In low- and middle-income countries, the latter could include a focus on promoting a different paradigm in science and technology that addresses urgent social and environmental issues [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ].…”

Academic dependency: the influence of the prevailing international biomedical research agenda on Argentina’s CONICET

“…Nevertheless, in line with Beigel´s qualitative analysis [15,16,28], our results also show that the CONICET´s HBMS research agenda is internally heterogeneous introducing some specific differences in relation to the prevailing HBMS research agenda as depicted by Testoni et al [14]. Multi-terms associated with categories that include pathogens and endemic diseases are five to ten times more represented than in the international agenda, implying that endemic diseases do receive more attention than in the international HBMS research agenda.…”

“…In the case of public research organizations from non-core countries, the international research agenda may compete (and eventually replace), complement, or co-evolve with an agenda focused on contributing to local priorities. In low-and middleincome countries, the latter could include a focus on promoting a different paradigm in science and technology that addresses urgent social and environmental issues [15][16][17].…”

Emergency remote teaching in higher education: mapping the first global online semester

“…Altbach, 2016 ; Marín & Zawacki-Richter, 2019 ; Mosbah-Natanson & Gingras, 2014 ). Using the example of the Latin American publishing context, Beigel ( 2021 ) finds that within the so-called periphery, regional centres emerge, which calls for closer inspection of publication patterns within regions. Furthermore, the increased number of open access journals is “a fruitful path to co-construction of knowledge” (Beigel, 2014 , p. 619), nurturing the hope that a more even spread of publications across world regions is possible.…”