A question of time – or academic subjectivity?

URN:NBN: i: s -oa67834 DOI: 10.11143/ ennia.67834 A ques ion o ime – o academic subjec i i y? I 's jus a ques ion o ime / I 's unning ou o you (Go e 1986) A bi o e 30 yea s ago an elec onic band Depeche Mode eleased a single A Ques ion o Time, w i en by one o he band membe s Ma in Go e (1986). The ly ics speak e i ically well o he p esen academic li e. Time, indeed, seems o be in ques ion as we lead ou li es, simul aneously ca ying ou esea ch and applying unding o i , p o iding eaching and supe ision, aking ca e o adminis a i e du ies, pa icipa ing in scien i ic mee ings and e en s, ac ing in posi ions o us , aking up edi o ships and pee e iewing, o ganizing con e ences, semina s, wo kshops, sessions and panels, gi ing back o indi iduals and communi ies engaged in ou esea ch p ojec s, aking s ands in academic and popula deba es, ci cula ing esea ch esul s o di e en audiences – and li ing ou pe sonal li es somewhe e in be ween. ‘Finding he ime’ is wha academics o en s uggle wi h, when conside ing in e es ing new p ojec s and ac i i ies as well as apologizing o no being able o ul il commi men s in due cou se. Ye he men ioned piece o music is no conce ned o ime as some hing we may un ou o o ha e ha d ime inding. Ra he , he song is abou subjec o ma ion. I alks abou he haun ing, co up o ces ha seek o mould us o mee hei own ends and u n p omising young subjec s in o bulk. I 's jus a ques ion o ime / Be o e hey lay hei hands on you / And make you jus like he es / They' e pe suasi e ways / And you'll belie e wha hey say / I won' be long un il you'll do / Exac ly wha hey wan you o These wo ace s o ime, in e wined, ha e eme ged in ou publishing de elopmen p ojec Julkea! [Da e!], coming o an end o i s i s yea . I is a wo-yea “bold ini ia i e”, unded by he KoneFounda ion ha p omo es academic esea ch, cul u e, a and he popula isa ion o esea ch wi h he speci ic pu pose o “p o iding al e na i es o he mains eam”. In he p ojec , h ee scien i ic socie ies – Socie y o Regional and En i onmen al S udies, Geog aphical Socie y o Finland, and Finnish Socie y o En i onmen al Social Science – and he e e ee jou nals hey publish (including Fennia), a e wo king oge he wi h and o he Finnish academic socie y, wi h he aims o ad ance publishing p ac ices, in as uc u es, communi ies, and con en ions in he ields o geog aphy and egional and en i onmen al s udies. The p ojec is ca ied ou in alliance wi h ela ed na ional e o s seeking o os e open science by means o suppo ing socie y-based publica ions in Finland (Ko ila a) in esponse o he Open Science and Resea ch Ini ia i e 2014–2017 launched by he Minis y o Educa ion and Cul u e: The objec i e is o Finland o become one o he leading coun ies in openness o science and esea ch by he yea 2017 and o ensu e ha he possibili ies o open science will be widely u ilised in ou socie y. The Finnish academic publica ion scene is qui e di e en om ha in many o he coun ies. Nea ly all academic jou nals a e s ill published by scien i ic socie ies, as non-p o i o ganiza ions elying on he suppo o hei membe s, s a e subsidies and ex e nal unding, mainly independen ly o comme cial publishing houses. Uni e si ies and esea ch ins i u es assume some esponsibili y o his publishing adi ion, as hei employees and s uden s ac in posi ions o us in he socie ies, publishing he jou nals as pa o hei academic wo k. This implici suppo has, howe e , s a ed o wane ou , inc easingly du ing he 2000s as he uni e si ies ha e been ans e ed om S a e accoun ing o ices in o independen legal en i ies sepa a e om he S a e, ac ing ei he as co po a ions unde public law o ounda ions unde p i a e law. The gene al aim o he e o m was o s eng hen he au onomy o he uni e si ies, ye c i ical in e p e a ions poin owa ds neolibe aliza ion (e.g. Moisio 2009; Kouhia & Tammi 2014; Ylös alo 2014). Among o he hings, he ecen de elopmen s include es ablishing mo e and mo e indi idualis ic and p oduc i e academic subjec i i ies, which ge s us back o ques ions o ime and i s disempowe ing ea u es. © 2017 by he au ho . This open access a icle is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License. 122 FENNIA 195: 2 (2017)Edi o ial I can see hem now / Hanging a ound / To mess you up / To s ip you down / And ha e hei un / Wi h my li le one The i s hal o he Julkea! p ojec has augh us ha many people in he Finnish academy wa mly welcome he e o s o de elop he cu en publishing sys em, o mee he demands o he p esen academic wo k, ins ead o le ing i collapse and be eplaced by comme cial o ma s. Ins i u ions, simila ly, exp ess hei suppo o non-comme cial open publishing, a leas i i does no expec hei commi men o p ac ical suppo . The cu en p ocess whe e socie y-based jou nals a e seeking o build a na ional conso ium as a cos s uc u e o non-p o i open access publishing, en o ced by he Fede a ion o Finnish Lea ned Socie ies and he Na ional Lib a y, has p o en enligh ening in his ega d. The key ac o s – uni e si y lib a ies – a e delibe a ing he eques o olun a y paymen s in a si ua ion whe e in e na ional comme cial publishing houses demand high paymen s om hem, which does no make i easy o he lib a ies o ag ee on sha ed esponsibili y. In he p esen si ua ion, esea che s a e pa icula ly awa e o and annoyed by he measu ing sys ems used o di ec hei agencies – o publish a he in jou nals han books, in e na ionally be o e na ionally, in publica ions wi h high impac igu es, and so on (c . Jones 2017; Ruez 2017). A he same ime, Finnish schola s ind less and less ime o engage wi h he socie y-based publishing sys em ha equi es e en mo e olun a y wo k han academic publishing in gene al. Running he socie ies, edi ing he jou nals and e iewing o hem come on he op o e e y hing else – he e e y hing ha needs o be done in ime, albei o en unning la e. We sugges ha his expe ienced sho age o ime, o en e y conc e ely p esen in he o m o schedules and deadlines and o e lapping wo kloads, is ied o he academic subjec i i ies p esen ly os e ed in uni e si ies and in he academy as a whole. G an ed ha schola ly wo k has always in ol ed de o ion and in ensi ies, p essu es om s a es and esea ch unde s, and mu ual compe i ion, he e is some hing pa adoxical in how we cu en ly see and eel ou sel es as schola s – hooked be ween c i ical minds and compe ing agencies. Ins ead o using ime o ma e s ha equi e i , ime seems o be using us, o pu poses ha canno be explained in academic e ms. We will gi e one example ha esona es s ongly wi h wha Michael Jones (2017) b ings up in his e lec ion on publishing, in he discussion se ies o his issue o Fennia. The e ise and esubmi p ocesses, commonly used in jou nals wi h a high ejec ion a e, ake plen y o ime om he many schola s in ol ed in hem. I is no excep ional ha he edi o s and au ho s wo k oge he o yea s, wi h an al e na ing g oup o e iewe s, be o e hey can ag ee – o disag ee – on he e sion ha can be published. The ime spen is no necessa ily p opo iona e wi h he gains in quali y, while he pape s su ely ans o m in he p ocess, as he in oduc ion o he discussion se ies ‘On Publishing’, in his issue, highligh s (Riding & Kallio 2017). This esul s on one hand om ha , pee e iewe s do no always ha e he bes expe ise ega ding he pape s, and he ime o eading he manusc ip s and w i ing he epo s is es ic ed. The e a e jus oo many manusc ip s con inually unde e iew o mee he ideal c i e ia and, hus a guably, all academic jou nals s uggle wi h inding e iewe s and ecei ing e iew epo s in easonable ime. This is poin ed a by Simon Sp inge and he ACME collec i e (2017) who, as pa o hei edi o ial wo k, a e encou aging esea che s o ac i ely ‘make ime’ o pee e iewing in OA jou nals, while acknowledging he o e bu dening and ha sh p io i iza ion o esponsibili ies in he neolibe al academia. Mo eo e , he jou nal edi o s dealing yea ly wi h ens o pape s a e nei he expe s o e e y hing, as hey appa en ly should be o se e he ampli ying numbe o submission. Edi o s may hence ind i challenging o ake an ac i e ole be ween he e iewe s and he au ho s, o decide on he e isions needed o quali y imp o emen . Due o hese p ac ical ac s, he R&R p ac ice o iginally in ended o assessing and imp o ing he quali y o publica ions may end up se ing he publica ion p ocess i sel ; he p ocess ea s ime whils he ime o de eloping be e pape s lessens. This is no bene icial o anyone, ye he eali y many o us know o and li e wi h. The ques ion is e e mo e essen ial o schola s coming om beyond he Anglophone wo ld. In he e lec ion on academic publishing Sa a F egonese (2017) – a luen English speake wo king in a B i ish uni e si y and doing esea ch on se e al languages – no es ha non- na i e speake s o English may ace addi ional obs acles in e iew p ocesses, anging om picky FENNIA 195: 2 (2017) 123Ki si Pauliina Kallio & Pie a Hy ä inen commen s on w i ing s yle o calling in o ques ion ield wo k on languages o eign o he e iewe , which leng hen publica ion p ocesses u he . App oaching he same dilemma, De ek Ruez (2017) sugges s ha new publishing p ac ices a e needed o le eling he playing ield o non-Anglophone schola s and o dispu e he Anglo-hegemony o he academy. These ideas and endea o s a e no comple ely no el and hey ha e been p esen ed by o he s in p e ious discussions on socially jus academic publishing, ye conc e e measu es emain ew and li le has changed in he big pic u e. A lesse amoun o pape s and jou nals would allow ha au ho s, edi o s and e iewe s could use hei ime o de eloping good quali y and socially jus publica ions, ins ead o being exhaus ed by hei la ge quan i y (c . Ba e bu y 2017; Finn e al. 2017). This would ideally in ol e language edi ing as pa o he s anda d p ocess, whe e necessa y. Ye esea ch unde s and ins i u ions do no easily sha e he ideas ‘less is mo e’ o ‘plu ali y as a alue in i sel ’ bu a e, ins ead, cons an ly asking o mo e quan i iable esea ch esul s as hei pe o mance depends on ha as well, s emming om he compe i ion s a e ideology (Moisio 2009; Paasi 2013). So being, ha e we no choice bu o be used by ime in he hec ic and o e c owded publishing indus y, p oducing mo e and mo e pee e iewed pape s ha , in hei quan i y, may no ake hings o wa d any be e han a smalle numbe o publica ions could do? A e we comple ely caugh by he sys em as i is, in Simon Ba e bu y’s (2017, 175) wo ds, “s ongly linked o he indi idual epu a ion o au ho s, hei p es ige and job and p omo ion p ospec s”? Publish ‘ il you d op? A g im pic u e a ises om his hinking. The e seems o be no one he e o be blamed, nowhe e o appeal. In con as wi h Depeche Mode’s song, and ai h ully o Foucaul , ‘ hey’ canno be seen hanging a ound us, messing up ou new en husias ic s uden s and s ipping schola s down om solida i ies and al e na i e a i udes. The o ces ha make us so busy ha we don’ ha e ime o he ma e s ha pe haps ma e he mos a e, i s , oo global o be seen up close, ye a he same ime oo close, in e nalised in ou academic sel es. We don’ ha e a solu ion, and we a e no going o p e end ha we ha e one. In ou di e en s ages o academic li e, we a e bo h expe iencing ime as a hinde a he han a esou ce, and we ha e no ound o e powe ing weapons o he weak o comba he domina ing s a e o a ai s. Ye we belie e ha by paying a en ion o he pa adoxical elemen s o ou sha ed academic li es i is possible o make isible some sou ces o he expe ienced (socially cons i u ed) lack o ime and, pe haps also, d aw a en ion o al e na i e esou ces ha p o ide o using ime in ways we choose o, and concu en ly, o con es he aceless o ces shaping us owa ds docile p o i able academic subjec hood. Hanging on o his agile hough , we con inue ou commi men o de eloping be e publishing policies and p ac ices, as well as science poli ics based on plu al alues, e en i we o en ha e o admi : Apologies bu I jus don’ ha e he ime o his igh now. This issue o Fennia includes wo pee e iewed esea ch a icles, one e lec i e book e iew, and a discussion se ies ‘On Publishing’, in oduced in mo e de ail in a sepa a e edi o ial ex (Riding & Kallio 2017). The i s a icle is by Ma hew Sawa zky and Mo i z Alb ech , based a he Uni e si y o Eas e n Finland in Joensuu, d awing om hei o iginal esea ch on Reunion Island. They ha e aken he F ench O e seas Depa men and Region as a case s udy o explo e he applica ion po en ial o local ene gy go e nance p ocesses, including aspec s shaping egional ansla ion o na ional and EU policy, and he po en ial e ec s o ene gy ansi ion. The second esea ch a icle is by Ch is oph D. D. Rupp ech om he Resea ch Ins i u e o Humani y and Na u e in Kyo o, Japan. I engages wi h mo e- han-human ci ies as spaces o coexis ence, a guing o a be e ecogni ion o in o mal g een space as e i o ies o encoun e allowing o concilia o y engagemen s and in e species in e ac ions. The pape p esen s a a e app oach in he p esen li e a u e by, ins ead o jux aposing humani y wi h he non-human and ma e iali y, se s ou o ask and explo e wha ui ul coexis ence may mean in u ban space, and how he indi iduals, collec i es and ins i u ions conce ned abou hei ci ies could be e sus ain hem by acknowledging he di e en capaci ies o non-human ac o s and elemen s. The book e iew included in ou Re lec ions sec ion, by Elisa Pascucci a he Uni e si y o Tampe e in Finland, engages wi h ongoing e ugee si ua ions, policies and p ac ices in he Medi e anean egion, b oadly unde s ood, and o e ing a c i ical app oach o how Alexande Be s and Paul Collie couple humani a ian p inciples and capi alis economic de elopmen in hei ecen co-au ho ed book 124 FENNIA 195: 2 (2017)Edi o ial Re uge. The c i ical discussion se ies on academic publishing includes con ibu ions om Michael Jones, Simon Ba e bu y, De ek Ruez, Sa a F egonese, and he edi o s o Human Geog aphy (Finn e al. 2017) and ACME (Sp inge e al. 2017), p eceded by an edi o ial in oduc ion (Riding & Kallio 2017). We hope ha his issue o Fennia will be widely ead and b oadly ci cula ed among geog aphe s and beyond. The jou nal wishes o acknowledge he engaged wo k o all au ho s and pee e iewe s in ol ed in he publica ion p ocesses – hank you o wo king wi h us wi h he ‘quali y a he han quan i y’ agenda in mind! KIRSI PAULIINA KALLIO FENNIA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PIETA HYVÄRINEN JULKEA! PROJECT COORDINATORT REFERENCES Ba e bu y, S. (2017) Socially jus publishing: implica ions o geog aphe s and hei jou nals. Fennia 195(2) 175–181. h ps://doi.o g/10.11143/ ennia.66910 Finn, J.C., Pee , R., Molle , S. & Laue mann, J. (2017) Reclaiming alue om academic labo : commen a y by he Edi o s o Human Geog aphy. Fennia 195(2) 182–184. h ps://doi.o g/10.11143/ ennia.66683 F egonese, S. (2017) English: lingua anca o disen anchising? Fennia 195(2) 194–196. h ps://doi.o g/10.11143/ ennia.67662 Go e, M. (1986) A ques ion o ime. P oduced by Depeche Mode, Ga e h Jones Daniel Mille , wi h Mu e Reco ds. Jones, M. (2017) Can esea ch quali y be measu ed quan i a i ely? On quali y o schola ship, nume ical esea ch indica o s and academic publishing – expe iences om No way. Fennia 195(2) 164–174. h ps://doi.o g/10.11143/ ennia.66602 Kouhia, A. & Tammi, T. (2014) Aka eemisen kapi alismin uuslibe aali u kijasubjek i kas a us ie eellisessä oh o ikoulu uksessa. Kas a us & Aika 8(2) 22–39. Moisio, S. (2009) Suomen al ion alue aken een muun au uminen: eo ee isia me kin öjä ja empii isiä ha ain oja. Poli iikka 51(3) 155–173. Open Science and Resea ch Ini ia i e 2014–2017. h ps://openscience. i/ Paasi, A. (2013) Fennia: posi ioning a 'pe iphe al' bu in e na ional jou nal unde he condi ion o academic capi alism. Fennia 191(1) 1–13. h ps://doi.o g/10.11143/7787 Riding, J. & Kallio, K. P. (2017) Six sideways e lec ions on academic publishing. Fennia 195(2) 161–163. h ps://doi.o g/10.11143/ ennia.67833 Ruez, D. (2017) E alua ing o he wise: hie a chies and oppo uni ies in publishing p ac ices. 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