[Pharm-policy] Re: [Ip-health] tiered pricing for Access to biomedical
journals
Julian Savulescu
savulesj@cryptic.rch.unimelb.edu.au
Mon Jul 16 13:02:02 2001
Dear Udo,
From my perspective, I believe an applied ethics journal should be free to
everyone. It is like education - it should be free. That is my goal. I am
doing what I can to try to find funding to facilitate this. If you have
any constructive suggestions on how I might make it free to everyone,
please let me know.
Best wishes
Julian
At 02:47 PM 13/07/01 +0200, Prof. Udo Schuklenk wrote:
>I rest my case. Of the few medical schools we have in South Africa, not all
>could, for instance afford the Journal of medical ethics, despite a great
>deal of interest in this issue (and the urgent need for medical ethics
>education here).
>
>Considering the small number of medical schools in this country, there's no
>appreciable market in any case, and giving free online access would make
>next to no difference to their financial bottom-line.
>
>Ah well.
>Udo
>----- Original Message -----
>From: <donnelly@globe.com>
>To: "Alan Story" <a.c.story@ukc.ac.uk>
>Cc: "Prof. Udo Schuklenk" <bioethic@chiron.wits.ac.za>; "IP-Health list"
><ip-health@lists.essential.org>; <ip-health-admin@lists.essential.org>;
>"Julian Savulescu" <j.savulescu@cshs.unimelb.edu.au>; "James Love"
><love@cptech.org>; "pharm-policy" <pharm-policy@lists.essential.org>;
>"Richard Smith" <rsmith@bmjgroup.com>
>Sent: Friday, July 13, 2001 2:53 PM
>Subject: Re: [Ip-health] tiered pricing for Access to biomedical journals
>
>
> >
> > South Africa and Botswana are both NOT on the list because their GNP
> > exceeds $3,000. The list includes 62 countries with GNP below $1000 and 34
> > countries with GNP between $1,000 and $3,000 per capita.
> >
> > ***********************************************
> > John Donnelly
> > Foreign Affairs Correspondent
> > The Boston Globe
> > 1130 Connecticut Ave., NW
> > Suite 520
> > Washington, D.C. 20036
> > p: 1-202-857-5123
> > f: 1-202-857-3933
> > ************************************************
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Alan Story
> > <a.c.story@ukc.ac.uk> To: "Prof. Udo
>Schuklenk" <bioethic@chiron.wits.ac.za>, James Love
> > Sent by: <love@cptech.org>,
>IP-Health list <ip-health@lists.essential.org>,
> > ip-health-admin@lists.ess pharm-policy
><pharm-policy@lists.essential.org>
> > ential.org cc: Richard Smith
><rsmith@bmjgroup.com>, Julian Savulescu
> >
><j.savulescu@cshs.unimelb.edu.au>
> > Subject: Re:
>[Ip-health] tiered pricing for Access to biomedical
> > 07/13/2001 08:12 AM journals
> > Please respond to Alan
> > Story
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Udo:
> >
> > A couple of points:
> >
> > From experiences here in the UK, Blackwell has emerged as
> > one of the more enlightened publishers. And the BMJ online is also a
> > welcome
> > initiative.
> >
> > On one issue you raise:
> >
> > Will South Africa (and similiar counties that have elements of first,
> > second and third world economies within a single political unit) be
> > included
> > in this new "free journals" initiative?
> >
> > Here is a quote from a Washington Post story on Monday....
> >
> > "Under the proposed rules, institutions in countries where the per capita
> > gross national product (GNP) is less than $1,000 a year would get the
> > journals free. In countries where the per capita GNP is $1,000 to $3,000,
> > there would be a minimal charge."
> >
> > David Brown, Free Access to Medical Journals To Be Given to Poor Countries
> > > http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33714-2001Jul8.html
> > > From _The Washington Post_
> >
> > Although I have not checked the per capita income in South Africa, I would
> > take it from this quote that S.A. is not covered. Perhaps we can find an
> > "official" version of the rules to verify which countries will and will
>not
> > be included.
> >
> >
> > Best
> > Alan Story
> >
> >
> > Original Message -----
> > From: "Prof. Udo Schuklenk" <bioethic@chiron.wits.ac.za>
> > To: "Alan Story" <a.c.story@ukc.ac.uk>; "James Love" <love@cptech.org>;
> > "IP-Health list" <ip-health@lists.essential.org>; "pharm-policy"
> > <pharm-policy@lists.essential.org>
> > Cc: "Richard Smith" <rsmith@bmjgroup.com>; "Julian Savulescu"
> > <j.savulescu@cshs.unimelb.edu.au>
> > Sent: Friday, July 13, 2001 12:09 PM
> > Subject: Re: [Ip-health] tiered pricing for Access to biomedical journals
> >
> >
> > > Alan,
> > >
> > > I agree with the sentiments of your point, but I do see quite a few
> > > advantages. Quite a few libraries here should be able to reduce
> > subscription
> > > costs,and get more journals to subscribe to by virtue of this
>initiative.
> > > Quite rightly they'll wonder years down the track about possible cost
> > > increases, while for now at least they will effectively be able to
> > increase
> > > the number of journals accessible to their researchers, teachers, and
> > > students. That is a good thing.
> > >
> > > The BMJ comes actually free of charge, and there's lots of folks in
> > > developing countries (and presumably elsewhere) who hope it'll stay that
> > > way. I wonder whether this new initiative is actually changing that.
> > >
> > > When I read an Editorial recently in the Journal of medical ethics (BMJ
> > Publ
> > > Group) announcing that online access to it would be available free of
> > charge
> > > to developing country based libraries I got really excited... only to
> > > discover that their definition of developing country excludes for
> > instance
> > > South Africa, but includes India. The trouble here is, that some
> > libraries
> > > could afford to pay something, but many simply won't subscribe, because
> > it's
> > > too expensive at the full rate.
> > >
> > > I do hope that the WHO initiative won't hover along similarly ridiculous
> > and
> > > obviously arbitrary lines of distinction between who is and who isn't
> > > developing country.
> > >
> > > Being a journal (co-)editor myself, who has to rely on commercial
> > > infrastructure to produce journals (Blackwell this time), I sympathise
> > both
> > > with your views but also with their commercial motive. I would not be
> > able
> > > realistically to produce the journal as reliably and professionally
> > without
> > > em (and the various ongoing on-line non-profit 'alternatives' at this
> > stage
> > > only reinforce my views on this ... I would not submit a piece there).
> > What
> > > we did, for better or worse, as Editors was to negotiate drastically
> > reduced
> > > prices. The individual subscription rate for residents of developing
> > > countries (and South Africa is considered a developing country here)
>just
> > > about cover the production and postage expenses. Each year we haggle
> > about
> > > this issue, but my experience with Blackwell so far as been that they
> > heeded
> > > our advice and kept the price at the same level (considering inflation
> > you'd
> > > argue that they actually reduced the price by keeping it the same).
> > >
> > > No ideal solution, I know, but we can live with it.
> > >
> > > Udo
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Ip-health mailing list
> > > Ip-health@lists.essential.org
> > > http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/ip-health
> > >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Ip-health mailing list
> > Ip-health@lists.essential.org
> > http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/ip-health
> >
> >
> >
Associate Professor Julian Savulescu
Director
Ethics Program
The Murdoch Children's Research Institute,
Royal Children's Hospital
And the Centre for the Study of Health and Society
The University of Melbourne
Mail address:
The Murdoch Children's Research Institute,
Royal Children's Hospital
Flemington Rd
Parkville
Melbourne
Victoria 3052
AUSTRALIA
Ph. -61 3 83416311
Fax -61 3 93481391