Vol. 8 No. 1 (2021): O is for open (as well as optimal, operable, optimistic, organic)

Much as we might like to think of the academy as an enlightened domain of pure knowledge creation, it is inextricably linked to financial and corporate influences. The business of academic publishing is a complex ecosystem of actors, processes, expectations, and perversions. Many of us have encountered—indeed, reinforced—such entanglements. But when we start to unpack this system, it can present some pretty nefarious effects. Within the morass of issues, advocates for Open are trying to imagine another way of doing things. Open education and open educational resources (OER), open publishing, and open distribution are all part of the eco-system of open knowledge. (photo: Alexia Moyer)