JurnalDigital.com

Another digital initiative on digital journal in Indonesia.

After Airlangga University with its own electronic journal platform (http://journal.unair.ac.id/), now Graha Ilmu a privately-owned publisher has started another platform (http://www.jurnaldigital.com/main/). Graha Ilmu was first would like to join the Airlangga University bandwagon but eventually decided to have its own way.

While Airlangga University may have more contents (it has plan to include researches not only from the university but also other Indonesian universities’ journals), this private initiative may have more information about journal publishing itself. The owner of the platform has contacted me and it seems that my article will be one of the first be included at this new electronic platform.

Welcome JurnalDigital.com in this brave new world of digital publishing!

e-Journal Platform for Indonesian Researchs

I met Information System Director of Airlangga University, dr. Dripa Sjabana, M.Kes, in Surabaya today. The purpose of the meeting is to understand their strategy on electronic platform known currently as Airlangga University e-Journal. I learned that the university is actually working to catalize the digitization of national-wide research results, whether from universities or societies and encompassing all subject fields.

Too ambitious? Not really. With the start of 22 journals within the university itself and preliminary commitment from 22 more Indonesian pretigious universities, the goal will be achieved in forseeable future. “We don’t talk commercial with these journals,” Dripa said. “We even encourage them to provide full text download for all the articles, even though the print versions are for sale; they must very clear what they want: commercial or exposure and commerial is certainly won’t be achievable with the current situation.”

“It will be like Stanford’s Highwire,” he explained further. “People know Highwire but not neccessary the Stanford University itself. It seems that Airlangga University would like to assume the role like Stanford University here in Indonesia.

The tangible result of this meeting is that Graha Ilmu, would like to introduce the electronic journal hosting to all universities in contact with the company. It would help Airlangga University obtain more content while at the same time improve Graha Ilmu service to the higher education world.

Accounting Principles Tutorial (Indonesian) - 2

Today we have uploaded Chapter 3 of the tutorial. It seems that my colleague can only submit one chapter every week, which means I foresee that the whole tutorial will be ready by early August 2007. Not too bad since by that time I will arrange DacEasy report writer training for him in Singapore.

Print and Electronic (Almost) Parallel Fairs

I went to PC Show at Suntec City today. The bazaar started on May 31st, 2007 up to June 3rd, 2007. This bazaar represented the ‘brave new electronic world.’ At the same time (May 25th to June 3rd) there was also World Book Fair 2007, representing the ‘old print world.’

While people were struggling only to pass the alleys at the PC Show (150,000 guests on the first day and should be more on the day of my visit), it’s not the case at the World Book Fair. Opened by a Singapore minister, 250 companies mostly from Singapore and China exhibited their proudly published books among themselves! There were not many people visiting the book fair.

Sign of time?

Locally Groomed Global Scientific Publisher

I met my former McGraw-Hill colleague today for catch-up lunch meeting. He is now the Marketing Director of World Scientific, a Singapore-based company specializing in scientific publishing of both books and journals. The company has now offices in US, UK, Taiwan, HK, and China besides of course Singapore and a production arm in Chennai, India.

“All the referees, editors, and main writers are from the US,” he said. “We just add (to our journals) articles from Asian authors, not the other way around. People still consider scientists from the West have higher status and we leverage on that.”

Well, it is a public secret at best, but it’s amazing that a local Singapore company can do that and become one of the most influencial scientific publisher in the global scientific world. Well, actually several other Asian companies have done the same: publish for the developed countries’ scientists and then sell the product back to the West. On doing that they are doing some ‘good will’ including publishing our own Asian scientists’ papers. Hindawi Publishing from Egypt is one of them (journal) and Jaypee Brothers from India has done the same for health science books.

“How about scientific level in Indonesia?” he asked when I mentioned that I might pursue e-journal initiative starting with servicing university journals in the country.

That’s it!
We certainly still can not sell Asian researchs to the West. What we can do is merely providing paid hosting to them with additional services such as preparing proper English titles and English abstracts for their articles.

“You might end up like a production person then,” he said.
Sadly yes. Try to find a way to avoid the fate, though…

Anyway, we followed up our lunch meeting with something more tangible, that is on the possibility of selling World Scientific electronic journal contents in Indonesia. He mentioned Djakarta Raya as one of the candidate and I promised him to introduce him to my other friend who represents ProQuest in Indonesia.

“Maybe we can do something together,” that’s what my ProQuest friend told me when I contacted him on various opportunities. Maybe and hopefully…

Accounting Principles Tutorial (Indonesian) - 1

We (by we it’s I and my colleague Aswan Bakri)  have just started providing tutorial in our accounting software company website (http://www.esolusi.co.id/prinsip-prinsip.html). It’s only in Indonesian and will in total consist of 12 chapters. By the time I write this posting it’s already two chapters published.

Enjoy this free online learning!
(and hopefully someday you’ll be our customer)