New Horizons and An Old Order

Prototype of Leaning Mug. designed and decorated by Weston Neil Andersen Photo and editing by Mackenzie Andersen

A Proposal Gets A Positive Response

In Starting a Remote Work Career from Scratch, I made a proposal to Humanities and Social Science Communications, and asked if they would waive the very large fee for publishing a paper in consideration of the fact that I reviewed a paper at their request, without charging them. 

As it happened that was a good move. At first I was given the brush off and a link to the page listing the very large fees. I responded that it is beyond my means and forgot about it until yesterday when I received a different response from an assistant editor in London which includes the contact information to apply for a waiver and the next day I was asked, by a different office to review another paper, which I accepted. 

The new paper to review is quite different from the last which was an economic development paper from South America. This one is a philosophical paper about Marx with an abstract that sounds quite novel.

Weston, Neil Andersen's last sculpture, today only two exist

When I read the economic development paper, I found that it was describing economic development policy very similar to the Maine system, which I have been researching for over ten years. The choice of a paper about Marx is not so surprising since Marx is a very prolific research topic today, I have seen many works on Marx in my email notices and saved a few intending to read them but time did not allow it.

Around 2004, the Maine Legislature assigned itself jurisdiction over the curriculum taught in public education from sub-primary class to higher education, 

Also since around 2004, there has been a minor at the University of Maine in Marxist and Socialist Studies with a course description that reads more like indoctrination than education. There are no courses taught in the public educational system on the Maine Constitution, which I have also been studying in conjunction with the statutes enacted since Maine became a centralized economy in 1976, Connecting all of the treads of all projects landing on my table simultaneously should be interesting because, everything is everything, as they said back in the days of wine and roses.

It is a lot of work to read and review a paper but if I can list a second review and also a paper of my own on Orcid, it will be a strong asset for my remote working profile on Data Driven Investor. Research and reviewing can pay well and I can invest the money earned in getting the ceramics into production again. 

Prototype of Leaning Mug handcrafted and decorated by Weston Neil Andersen, Photo and editing by Mackenzie Andersen

A New Project to Develop a Proposal for A Twenty First Century Cottage Industry Network

While occupied with all of this I opened an email from the USDA, about a Rural Economic Development grant and immediately spotted a paragraph so disturbing as to ruin my state of mind for the rest of the day. The reason why is the subject of another post.

I wrote back and asked what qualifies a “qualified private (for-profit) organization”,

After my conversation with the correspondent from the local office in Bangor, a seemingly nice and decent person who was trying to convince me to read the statute and apply, I decided to put that on my list of projects to do after I review the new paper and submit a paper of my own (providing I am approved for the waiver) to Humanities and Social Sciences Communications and finish setting up my profile for Data Driven Investor using the Iphone app, once I get an Iphone.

QR code for Mackenzie Andersen's Orchi ID

I used my Orcid ID when I signed my email to the Bangor Rural Economic Development office and I will use it again when I write my grant application for Andersen Design as the "private", "for-profit", “intermediary”, organization for a network of home slip-casting studios that I have been expounding upon in this blog. The deadline is toward the end of March and should allow enough time to complete the other projects in between.

My profile for Data Driven Investor is now online but I do not have the chat app yet due to needing to update my devices.

HSSC Welcome Video and More!

The new welcome video for HSSP portrays a global organization for academics of multiple disciplines. The two videos following are also interesting with two different editors speaking about how they decide what to publish. One consideration is "Do we need it" for which the criteria is"Is this about ideas that are very frequently expressed or does it bring something new to the conversation?". 

Local Services

The profile for DDI was limited to three services but for locally I can offer additional services related to photography and graphic design, even video editing. The photos of the mugs are displayed in this blog both because mugs are probably going to be the first product we develop working with other studios, and because they represent photos I took and enhanced through the editing project. This is a skill that I am offering, 

This is a prototype decorative pattern executed by Weston Neil Andersen. This may look simple but no two people will do this pattern alike and each artisan has to rely on confidence in his own natural hand to make this pattern his or her own. The pattern will also vary according to variations in the way the slip and glaze is applied. There is not one right way, it just has to be right for the manner in which each artisan works with this pattern.

This is the type of work I hope to pick up locally because I already have research, review and writing projects to work on. Working on visual content provides a necessary balance. I enjoy working with photographs and developing them through editing. You can contact me by email to discuss your project. Please use “Project Inquiry” as the subject line.

AFTERWARD:

It didn't take long for all of those plans to change, The Waiver Department of HSSC sent a rather cold response: 

Given that you are an independent researcher at present we understand that it would be difficult for you to provide documentation of your lack of funds.

As such, I am writing to confirm that we will be able to offer a 50% APC waiver for your prospective Humanities and Social Services Communications manuscript.

That brings the fee down to $580.00 for publishing an article if it is accepted. Meanwhile I was told flat out that they "don't pay reviewers" What a business model for a peer-to peer research reviewing network. Reviewers get paid nothing and authors, if their work is accepted pay a very large fee.

The reason for this way of thinking is that research is funded by many well endowed institutions. HSSC has a Funding Resources Page for such resources but the response did not mention it, probably because they know that independents need not apply. I found it later but its not worth my time.

When I first interacted with HSSC, the correspondence gave the impression of a non-profit organization in its style of appeal. It is a subsidiary of Nature.com . The About page says that Nature Research is part of Springer Nature. The main shareholders of Springer Nature are Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, "uniting world-leading publishing houses across the globe." and BC Partners,"Founded in 1986, BC Partners is a leading alternative investment manager focused on private equity, credit, and real estate, with deep networks across Europe and North America."

I am better off focusing on Data Driven Investor because they have encouraged me from the start, and their contract is very fair. 

I am feeling a bit played but I have committed to do the second review and I will do so. It will still make my Orcid profile better, 

So I decided to rearrange my priorities and put reading the material from Rural Economic Development first, and soon learned that too is a futile cause since it is a matching grant. Matching grants sound fair on the surface but in fact they clearly benefit the haves over the have nots and so encourage the top and discourage the bottom of the economy, furthering the expanding wealth divide - a great and growing social issue of our times.

So my focus will be Data Driven Investor, which has been developing functions to help writers to develop an income, without being asked. Now that I signed the contract, I can develop an income from articles published on DDI, though that has not been explained but I was not expecting that to be part of it so whatever it is a plus. They are representing an impressive group of thinkers and in addition I like the blogging style of presentation that uses imagery versus the academic style that does not. Like being bilingual.