Today’s physics news: The inexorable rise of open access scientific publishing; Research is the antidote to the sloppy thinking of government

Here is the physics news for Tuesday 23 October 2012.

University postgraduate system ‘failing UK economy’

The postgraduate system in the UK’s universities is failing to produce the number of highly skilled staff needed by a modern economy, a report warns. The Higher Education Commission says the system is geared towards attracting overseas students, rather than training more UK students. The report warns that the UK is falling behind in investing in research.

BBC

Gove under fire

Ministers’ exam reform programme was under siege this week, as universities rebuffed plans for higher education to “own” new A levels and further influential figures joined the chorus of criticism facing proposed English Baccalaureate Certificates (EBCs). The opposition came as proposals for an “Advanced Baccalaureate” (ABac) league table measure, requiring A-level students to write a 5,000-word essay and undertake voluntary work, were leaked. However, a source very close to education secretary Michael Gove played down the idea, describing it as being simply “on the drawing board”.

TES

The inexorable rise of open access scientific publishing

A new study reported today in BMC Medicine has shown that open access publishing is growing two to three times faster than first expected. The study, undertaken by Finnish researchers, shows that nearly 17 per cent of research papers worldwide are now published in open access journals but also that the exponential rise shows no sign of slowing down.

The Guardian

Research evidence is the antidote to sloppy thinking of sofa government

We need to put more research in the hands of decision makers if public policy is to improve, says Universities and Science Minister David Willetts. Willetts says that too often it can feel as if there is a chasm between the academic community and the world outside.

The Guardian