Controversial Questions

[Betsy V. Martens]

Hi,

I have to agree with Quentin Burrell that there IS a surprising lack of
discussion on this listserv, especially as compared with the conversations
that take place on SOCNET, for example. (This is not at all to denigrate
the helpful contributions of Gretchen, Gene Garfield and Charles Davis
both on and off the list!). I find the abstracts most helpful, track down
and read the articles, but then have little opportunity to discuss them
with anyone.

Just as additional conversation fodder: I'd be curious myself to know
what people on the list think of the theory of "engineered reach" as
applied to citations by David Kaufer and Kathleen Carley in their 1993
book, "Communication at a Distance"? Is anyone attempting to replicate
their simulated findings with actual citation data? Why or why not?

Betsy Van der Veer Martens
Ph.D. candidate
School of Information Studies
Syracuse University
bvmarten at mailbox.syr.edu