An editor from a Springer Nature journal, a company that posted $2.1 billion in revenue in 2022 [1], from an industry with double-digit percent profits (~30% [2]), kindly asked me, an academic in the UK where salaries continue to plummet [3], whether I would be pleased to review a paper for them, for free ... so I kindly asked whether they would consider paying me. It is only logical.

[1] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springer…
[2] theguardian.com/science/2017/j…
[3] In UK academia, "Pay has fallen significantly in real terms since 2009, as have pension contributions, and redundancies are rife. Short-term contracts and precarious work arrangements are common, especially for younger staff, as universities struggle to balance their books." telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/2…

#ScientificPublishing #academia

Is the staggeringly profitable business of scientific publishing bad for science?

The long read: It is an industry like no other, with profit margins to rival Google – and it was created by one of Britain’s most notorious tycoons: Robert Maxwell

^{Stephen Buranyi (The Guardian)}

🥾 some #FootPathFriday highlights from city nature trails explored this week

#UrbanExploration #CityParks

📍 Island Trail, Tillie K. Fowler Regional Park, Yukon neighborhood, Jacksonville, Florida