The Economic Impact of Enhanced Access to Research Findings

The environment in which research is being conducted and disseminated is undergoing profound change, with new technologies offering new opportunities, changing research practices demanding new capabilities, and increased focus on research performance. A key question facing us today is, are there new opportunities and new models for scholarly communication that could enhance the dissemination of research findings and, thereby, increase the returns to investment in R&D? Identifying access and efficiency limitations under the subscription-based publishing model that has dominated scientific publishing, this paper explores the potential impacts of enhanced access to research outputs. We develop a modified growth model, introducing access and efficiency into calculating the returns to R&D. Indicative impact ranges are presented for gross expenditure on R&D (GERD) and government expenditure on R&D (GovERD) for all OECD countries. We conclude that there may be substantial benefits to be gained from increased access to research findings, and our preliminary estimates suggest that this may be fertile ground for further policy relevant inquiry

Bullion rings in Viking Age Britain and Ireland

This paper examines a simple type of silver ring, here termed the ‘bullion-ring’, that occurs in several Viking Age contexts in Britain and Ireland. It is proposed that the type may be dated to the later ninth and early to mid-tenth century, and that it developed in Ireland as a convenient way of storing silver as a result of inspiration from southern Scandinavia. Its distribution patterns suggest that it may have developed in one of Munster’s Scandinavian settlements rather than in Dublin, the core of the Hiberno-Scandinavian silver-working tradition

Coiled armrings: an Hiberno-Viking silver arm-ring type

The purpose of this paper is to isolate and discuss a distinctive type of Hiberno-Viking silver armring. Here termed the 'coiled armring', it is dated to the late ninth/early tenth centuries. The methods of manufacture, ornamentation, date and origins of the type are discussed and the objects are assessed against the background of hoard-associated material and related types of silver armrings. A descriptive catalogue of the material is provided