1. Charles Sturt University
$60,000 for the development of a general model for online scholarly publishing, addressing a range of issues (including quality control, editorial practice, standards, and organization of publishing in the different environment of electronic communication).
The project aims to produce a best practice model for online scholarly publishing, developing appropriate technology to automate the editorial and publishing process. It will also explore the prospects for several new kinds of publication, in the belief that the development of network publishing must go beyond the conversion of standard publications - books and serials - into electronic form, adapting to the realities of network communications.
2. University of Melbourne
$12,840 for the electronic publication of Australian Prescriber, an independent journal supported by the Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health for the publication of review articles on drug therapy.
The objectives of this project include the development of a simple and secure system for the searching and retrieval of journal articles online; the production of a standardized system for the formatting and publication of electronic media, using a document exchange format to deliver journal articles online in a format identical to the traditional print media; the provision of a mechanism for the online submission of articles to the journal, including an automated procedure for the electronic distribution of articles to reviewers - thereby significantly reducing the time to publication; and the development of a framework for providing online journals through an online subscription procedure.
3. University of Sydney eMJA Online Peer Review Trial
$59,182 for the investigation and testing of a model of electronic pre-publication and open peer review of research articles (University of Sydney Library/Medical Journal of Australia).
This project aims to develop a new model of peer review through the electronic pre-publication of research articles submitted to the Medical Journal of Australia. It will pursue this objective by combining the technical expertise of library staff with the editorial skills of a leading Australian publisher of medical research.
The development and testing of the proposed model is expected to provide an important understanding of the impact of electronic publication on authors, reviewers and established publishers, as well as demonstrate how electronic peer review might benefit researchers in the field.
The project will compare the effectiveness of the new model with conventional peer review. It is also expected to develop electronic publishing skills and expertise within a particular library, which will be of wider benefit in positioning the academic library as a key resource centre on campus for future academically oriented electronic publishing ventures.
4. Australian Archives
$20,000 for the development of guidelines to preserve and provide long-term access to information in an electronic format.
The aim of this project is to develop guidelines that will provide practical assistance to all institutions seeking to ensure long term access to electronic information, including published material. The funds provided will be used to identify and assess the policies, procedures and practices currently in use for preserving and providing access to digital information, and to help develop guidelines to preserve and provide long term access to such information.
The participants represent a range of Australian cultural organizations, including Australian Archives, the Australian Council of Libraries and Information Services, the National Preservation Office, the National Film and Sound Archives, and the National Museum of Australia. The developed guidelines will allow Australian cultural institutions to provide the same commitment to the preservation of electronic information that they currently make to other forms of culturally significant information.
5. La Trobe University
$105,700 for the development of an electronic journal in the humanities, spanning a range of disciplines and genres.
This project aims to pilot a journal of Australian scholarship in the humanities called Australian Humanities Review, which will incorporate elements of established scholarly humanities e-journals (such as the Stanford Humanities Review), but will also have distinctive features - including commissioned target articles (it is proposed that two such articles commissioned from leading scholars, and only available in electronic format, will provide the centrepiece for each issue of the proposed journal); excerpted work previously published in Australia's academic journals, with hypertext links to the original sources of the publication; an interactive discussion forum; an interactive bulletin board; and an online archive.
The journal will be supported by strong Editorial and Advisory Boards. Of special interest for future relations between copyright owners and users is the involvement as electronic editor for the project of Ms Gail Cork, who has served as Executive Officer of the Australian Society of Authors and a director of the Copyright Agency Limited.
6. Curtin University of Technology
$10,539 for the creation of an electronic journal for computer graphics and computer vision.
The main aim of this project is to showcase Australasian research in the proposed areas as well as foster extensive collaboration with international researchers. The project will focus on problem areas arising from the use of the Web as a publication vehicle - such as which conventions and standards are appropriate for the proper evolution of an electronic scholarly journal. It will also seek to establish guidelines for the setting up of similar journals in different disciplines, addressing issues such as layout, archiving, and the maintenance of quality in an interactive communications environment.
7. University of New South Wales
$76,140 for the technical trial and study of consumer adoption patterns among the Australian management community - by testing an electronic delivery system for the Australian Journal of Management and other materials.
This project will investigate the dynamics of adoption and usage of published research available in electronic form, including the development of a model of adoption behaviour. The Australian Graduate School of Management (University of New South Wales), which will carry out the project, is a leading disseminator of management research in Australia and internationally, and apart from developing a peer-reviewed electronic journal in management, will conduct a series of surveys to analyse user acceptance and adoption of the new format.
Karl G. Schmude
AVCC Electronic Publishing Working Group 18 August 1995