There are new comments added to the following blog postings since the last comments alert:
Wanted: opinions on crushing in the mining industry
Peer Review. Is it outdated?
Falmouth- a paradise for walkers and gourmets
Whatever happened to Axsia-Mozley
Hydrometallurgy- is it 'bucket chemistry'?
The Lizard peninsula- a geological wonder
Did the Ancients mine tin underground in Cornwall?
Keynote lecture in place for Process Mineralogy '12
Should plagiarists be named and shamed?
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Tuesday, 12 April 2011
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Should plagiarists be named and shamed?
Once again plagiarism, that scourge of journal editors, has reared its ugly head, with an accusation that a paper published in Minerals Engineering contains material directly copied from another author's work.
It is evident from the comments on my recent posting on peer-review that journal referees are becoming increasingly under pressure as the flow of papers to reputable journals increases.
The number of papers is increasing because researchers are also under increasing pressure to publish, as this is often the most important route to career advancement.
Unfortunately this has led a minority to seek the easy route, and this is where plagiarism steps in. Fortunately, with increasingly efficient software it is becoming easier to spot incidents of plagiarism, and indeed it is often apparent just by reading papers, when for no apparent reason, the style or standard of English suddenly changes for a few paragraphs and then reverts to its original format.
Duplication (sometimes called self-plagiarism) is even more prevalent. This is when an author submits essentially the same paper, sometimes thinly disguised by a change in title, or order of authors, to two or more journals at the same time. If accepted then the author's list of publications is boosted, and it is often difficult to prevent this unless there is strong liaison between journal editors.
However, the author rarely gets away with this, as an eagle eye will invariably spot the duplication, maybe weeks, or even months after publication.
Authors found guilty of plagiarism are often blacklisted from publication again in the journal, but the question I ask is: is this enough, or should offenders be publicly named and shamed? I seek your views on this.
It is evident from the comments on my recent posting on peer-review that journal referees are becoming increasingly under pressure as the flow of papers to reputable journals increases.
The number of papers is increasing because researchers are also under increasing pressure to publish, as this is often the most important route to career advancement.
Unfortunately this has led a minority to seek the easy route, and this is where plagiarism steps in. Fortunately, with increasingly efficient software it is becoming easier to spot incidents of plagiarism, and indeed it is often apparent just by reading papers, when for no apparent reason, the style or standard of English suddenly changes for a few paragraphs and then reverts to its original format.
Duplication (sometimes called self-plagiarism) is even more prevalent. This is when an author submits essentially the same paper, sometimes thinly disguised by a change in title, or order of authors, to two or more journals at the same time. If accepted then the author's list of publications is boosted, and it is often difficult to prevent this unless there is strong liaison between journal editors.
However, the author rarely gets away with this, as an eagle eye will invariably spot the duplication, maybe weeks, or even months after publication.
Authors found guilty of plagiarism are often blacklisted from publication again in the journal, but the question I ask is: is this enough, or should offenders be publicly named and shamed? I seek your views on this.
Monday, 4 April 2011
Keynote lecture in place for Process Mineralogy '12
Dr. Baum has 34 years of experience as a process mineralogist in the mining industry. He has worked for Hazen Research, Texasgulf, St.Joe Minerals Corporation, and Pittsburgh Mineral & Environmental Technology. From 1999 to 2011 he established and managed state-of-the-art Material Characterization Labs at the Technology Center of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold and its predecessor Phelps Dodge Mining Company including robotics lab modules for mineralogy and chemical analyses. In 2011, he joined FLSmidth as Director – Ore Characterization in Salt Lake City/Utah focusing on Process Mineralogy for minerals engineering metallurgical services and the expanded use of lab automation in mining.
Saturday, 2 April 2011
Register now for next month's Sustainability through Mineral Resource Conservation & Recycling '11
Three keynote lectures will be given, by Dr. Terry Norgate, of CSIRO Australia, Prof. Richard Williams, of University of Leeds, UK, and Prof. Jan Cilliers, of Imperial College, UK. The conference is sponsored by Outotec.
On the second evening MEI will host a conference barbecue at the iconic Eden Project, near St. Austell.
We invite you to register for the conference and meet up with minerals industry professionals from around the world with interests in sustainability.
Friday, 1 April 2011
Did the Ancients mine tin underground in Cornwall?
It has always been thought that serious underground mining in Cornwall commenced in the 18th Century, after the invention of the steam engine, which was used to pump water from the mines.
Now recent discoveries in a shallow working at the old Wheal Emmet mine near Camborne suggest that underground mining for tin may have been performed centuries before.
Archaeologist Prof. Olivier Gy commented "this shallow old stope is unusually dry and has preserved ancient organic matter. Traces of dessicated pasty crust discarded by the miners have been carbon-dated to 230 A.D."
It is known that the Romans, who occupied Britain between 43 and 410 AD ventured into Cornwall for tin, which was found in streams and outcrops, but were they, or the indigenous Celts the first underground Cornish miners?
Now recent discoveries in a shallow working at the old Wheal Emmet mine near Camborne suggest that underground mining for tin may have been performed centuries before.
Archaeologist Prof. Olivier Gy commented "this shallow old stope is unusually dry and has preserved ancient organic matter. Traces of dessicated pasty crust discarded by the miners have been carbon-dated to 230 A.D."
It is known that the Romans, who occupied Britain between 43 and 410 AD ventured into Cornwall for tin, which was found in streams and outcrops, but were they, or the indigenous Celts the first underground Cornish miners?
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