i have been trying very hard to think of a situation where i might be at the
'receving end' within academia where money that 'rightfully' belongs to me would
be leached away due to people like me....i can only think of one - book
contracts?! i have heard from numerous faculty who are considered at the top of
their fields and have published numerous popular (text)books (with various
publishers)....and if there was one thing that was consistent, the amount of
money they get as royalty every year is not even worth cashing the check....and
some of these books take quite a few months (sometimes years) of unpaid (or
university-paid) labour....
elsevier (i am sure) is certainly aware of the exorbitant costs of its journals
and books....many smaller universities (in the West) and pretty much all
universities in the developing world can't afford to get any of them....thats
what drives people like us to do the things we do....BTW, just to send shivers
up your spine Chris, the most popular place in a university or college in india
(after the cafetaria) are the photocopying shops....and faculty in the
universities in US routinely 'design' readers to spare their students the
exorbitant costs of buying books....not to mention the millions of dollars that
are being made on the internet buying/selling used books (none of which is going
to the original publishers)....
deb.
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