International Open Access Week 2024

Community over Commercialization

Open Access Week 2024 will continue the call to put “Community over Commercialization” and prioritize approaches to open scholarship that serve the best interests of the public and the academic community. Learn more here.

University of Westminster Press

One of the ways the University puts community over commercialization is through the University of Westminster Press (UWP). UWP provides its authors a high-quality open access publication route for journals, edited books, policy briefs and single-author monographs and, where possible with accompanying data.

For Open Access Week 2024 we are looking back at some of what what has happened at UWP in the last 12 months.

Staffing News

We wish our former manager Philippa Grand good luck and thank her for all her work. She handed over to Richard Baggaley who has been managing all things UWP for the past six months. Continuity and much welcome support has been provided by Victoria Burgher, UWP Publishing Assistant.

New Books

We Need To Talk About Climate: How Citizens’ Assemblies Can Help Us Solve the Climate Crisis, Graham Smith

This book explains why climate assemblies have captured the imagination of governments and activists alike, exploring how they can have a meaningful impact on climate politics.

Graham Smith is Professor of Politics at the University of Westminster and Founding Chair of the Knowledge Network on Climate Assemblies (KNOCA)

The book was launched at the University of Westminster’s Fyvie Hall at Regent Street on Monday 7 October and has already received much positive publicity:
The European
LocalGov
Deliberative Democracy Digest

The Times Higher Education reported on the audiobook, which is available soon, helping to spread the word on academic publishing in audioformat.

The Long Walk to Equality: Perspectives on Racial Inequality, Injustice and the Law, edited by Avis Whyte, Patricia Tuitt and Judith Bourne

The Long Walk to Equality draws attention to the need to reflect on the persistence of racial inequalities and injustices despite law’s intervention and arguably because of its ‘unconscious’ role in their promotion. It does so from a multiplicity of perspectives, ranging from the doctrinal, socio-legal, critical and theoretical, thereby generating different kinds of knowledge about race and law. By exploring contemporary issues in racial justice and equality, contributors examine the role of law-whether domestic or international, hard or soft-in advancing racial equality and justice and consider whether it can effect substantive change. 

Smell, edited by Andreas Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos, Danilo Mandic, Caterina Nirta and Andrea Pavoni

SMELL is the fifth volume of the ‘Law and the Senses’ series and gathers multidisciplinary contributions engaging with human and posthuman olfactory as a means of exploring and challenging the structural and sensorial qualities of law.

Some Journal Highlights taken from UWP News

Active Travel Studies: ‘Adding a Cultural Lens to Active Transport Initiatives: Māori and Pacific Adolescents’ Perceptions of Transport to School‘

The findings of this research are specific to Māori and to Pacific adolescents, which will enable policy makers to consider additional cultural nuances in the active transport space

Anthropocenes – Human, Inhuman, Posthuman: Anthropocene Desire Lines: A Coal Story

In this experimental visual essay, an imaginary lump of coal is followed across space and time from its Gondwanan beginnings, through its extraction from the Talcher Coalfields in Odisha in India, combustion in a thermal power plant in Ennore in Tamil Nadu, and into the future through its multitude of postcombustion afterlives. The full visual essay is available here: https://arcg.is/1eKb9e.

Entertainment and Sports Law Journal: When Systems Clash: The Case for a Single Regulatory Body for Licensing 

This article examines what happens when the same subject matter is or could be controlled by different licensing regimes. It suggests that the system of control of licensed premises would be improved by appointing a single regulatory body for licensing. 

Journal of Deliberative Democracy: Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Citizens’ Assemblies: Benefits, Concerns and Future Pathways

This article from JDD provides a foundational guide for future research concerning AI integration into citizens’ assemblies and other forms of democratic innovation. Read the article here.

Active Travel Studies: Adolescents’ Active Transport to School and Parental Perspectives in a School Choice Policy Environment 

Examines the perspectives of parents of adolescents on school choice, travel to school decisions and modes of travel to school.

Anthropocenes – Human, Inhuman, Posthuman: Refashioning Origins in the Anthropocene II: Facing Hyperobjects as Pedagogical Practice.

In this follow-up contribution to an earlier Anthropocenes Intervention, the work of four student authors is discussed to learn more about their uncanny experiences through dark pedagogy reflection and writing.

Active Travel Studies: Lay Summaries

The Active Travel Studies journal is now starting to make available lay summaries alongside the traditional article, for example, see the lay summary of Egan, R. & Hackett, J., (2022) “The Social Practice and Regulation of Cycling as “A Boy’s Thing” in Irish Secondary Schools”, Active Travel Studies 2(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.16997/ats.1121

Deep Maps: Blue Humanities: UWP leads on experimental book project

UWP is delighted to be the lead project partner in an innovative publishing collaboration with author James Louis Smith, Open Book Futures and JSTOR Labs. The Deep Maps: Blue Humanities experimental book project will develop a digital-first monograph that explores deep mapping in content and form… go on a journey deep into the ocean as the argument unfolds. James Louis Smith is a scholar working at the intersection of the blue, environmental, spatial and digital humanities.

Celebrating the University of Westminster Press

On Monday 4^th December 2023, in the beautiful surroundings of Fyvie Hall, members of the University of Westminster came together to celebrate the achievements of University of Westminster Press – you can find out more by reading the booklet we produced to accompany the event and this UWP blog post.

To keep up with forthcoming UWP news sign-up to the mailing list and follow forthcoming books.

Look out for the new UWP website coming soon!

Blog post put together by Nina Watts with help from Victoria Burgher and Richard Baggaley and the UWP newsletters, website and blog.