A Critical Examination of the Democratic Argument for Academic Paper Publication: The Issue of High Journal Publishing Fees

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Published: Apr 25, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59652/jcpas.v3i2.450
Keywords:
Democratic Access, Publishing Fees, Open Access Models, Socioeconomic Disparities

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Konstantinos T. Kotsis
Lab of Physics Education and Teaching, Department of Primary Education, University of Ioannina, Greece
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1548-0134

Abstract

With an eye toward the effects of journal publishing fees for fair access to scholarly communication, this paper critically investigates the democratic case for publishing academic papers in journals. The central focus of this study is the worry that high publication costs might prevent researchers from underfunded universities or economically deprived areas, thus sustaining disparities in knowledge distribution. The study shows a strong link between publication fees and authors’ socioeconomic level, suggesting that those from lower-income backgrounds encounter major obstacles to pub-lishing their studies. These circumstances highlight the need for fair access to scholarly literature in education since differences in publication chances can compromise research scope and restrict educational policy changes. This study’s wider ramifications point to the need for systematic changes in academic publishing policies and support more fair fee structures or other approaches that ad-vance diversity. This study adds significant new perspectives on how academic publishing might better meet the various needs of the worldwide research community, especially in fields directly affecting public health and welfare, by addressing the democratic ideals of access to knowledge.

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How to Cite
Kotsis, K. T. (2025). A Critical Examination of the Democratic Argument for Academic Paper Publication: The Issue of High Journal Publishing Fees. Journal of Contemporary Philosophical and Anthropological Studies, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.59652/jcpas.v3i2.450
Issue
Vol. 3 No. 2 (2025): Journal of Contemporary Philosophical and Anthropological Studies
Section
Literature review
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author Biography

Konstantinos T. Kotsis, Lab of Physics Education and Teaching, Department of Primary Education, University of Ioannina, Greece

Konstantinos T. Kotsis was born in Athens in 1959. He studied Physics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. In 1985, he was an assistant researcher at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, Brooklyn Campus. In 1987, he got a PhD in X-ray Physics in the Physics Department at the University of Ioannina, Greece. From September 1981 to September 2000, he served as a Lecturer and Assistant Professor specializing in Solid State Physics and X-ray Diffraction at the Physics department of the University of Ioannina. Since 2000, he has served as a Faculty Member (Assistant Professor and Associate Professor) at the Department of Primary Education at the University of Ioannina. Since 2012, he has been a full Professor specializing in the Didactics of Physics and Teachers Education. He has much experience teaching in many University Departments, such as Physics, Chemistry, Informatics, Biological Applications and Technology, and Primary Education at the University of Ioannina and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He has published six books and three monographs. He participated in many conferences in Greece and abroad. His articles have been published in scientific International and Greek journals.       

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