Future Commons project designed to foster new research network | UNews

"While the Internet was originally designed as a way for research scientists to share their work, people soon began using it for all types of communication from email to online shopping. The resulting revolution in global communication changed the playing field for many businesses and industries except for, ironically, research publishing. “The Internet was designed as a system for scholarly communication and it’s really the only industry that hasn’t been radically disrupted,” says Dr. Dan O’Donnell, a University of Lethbridge professor in the Department of English. “The same journals are still in charge, the same five publishers still run the market and the profit margins are the same."