Xinhua News Agency, Changchun, April 27th. Recently, a paper on "returning boiled eggs and hatching chickens" triggered a heated discussion on the Internet.
The paper stated that the teachers and students of the school used the energy method of super-psychological consciousness to turn the cooked eggs into raw eggs, and the reborn eggs were hatched into chicks. More than 40 eggs have been successfully reborn.
The article titled "Boiled Eggs Turned into Raw Eggs (Eggs Regeneration)-Experimental Report on Hatching Chicks" was published by the magazine "Photo Geography" by Guo Ping and Bai Weiyun, and the unit is Zhengzhou Chunlin Vocational Training School.
What magazine is "Photo Geography"?
Is the magazine still in operation?
What is the background of the publication of such an article?
Who is profiting on the profit chain?
Xinhua News Agency reporters launched an investigation.
Question 1: Is "Photo Geography" a regular publication?
Public information shows that "Photo Geography" is a national comprehensive professional academic journal of emerging geography sponsored by Jilin Province Yulin Newspaper Development Co., Ltd.
The publication cycle is a weekly magazine, with a unified domestic issue number and a postal code.
The reporter checked some of the findings of "Photo Geography" in 2019 and 2020. As a "geographic comprehensive professional academic theoretical journal", the magazine has not only columns for urban planning, geological prospecting, and construction engineering, but also education, teaching, and comprehensive The forum, etc., has a complicated list of articles.
The controversial paper on "Boiled Eggs Returning to Incubate Chickens" was published in the education and teaching column of the journal.
The reporter combed and found that 52 issues of "Photo Geography" will be published in 2020, with about 300 articles per journal, and papers on the subject throughout the year are also included.
In the call for papers on the back cover of "Photo Geography", the reporter saw the following text: "The papers published in this journal can play a role in the evaluation of professional titles, performance evaluation for promotion, and job competition. All sectors of society and all types of large and medium-sized enterprises are welcome Teachers, logistic managers and various educators, administration and party groups from off-campus units such as libraries, youth palaces, activity centers, etc. from the educational fronts of colleges, adult colleges, vocational colleges, technical schools, national primary and secondary schools, and kindergarten education The staff and others actively contributed articles."
At present, the magazine's submission advertisements can still be found on some websites, Taobao e-commerce, and WeChat public accounts.
Question 2: Is "Photo Geography" operating normally?
At 2 pm on April 27, the reporter came to the Press and Publication Building at No. 4646, Renmin Street, Changchun.
According to the staff of the building, Jilin Province Yulin Newspaper Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Yulin Company"), the organizer of the journal "Photo Geography", is on the 4th floor of the building.
The reporter came to the 4th floor and found that several offices belonging to Yulin Company had no staff working at the moment, and the doors were closed tightly.
According to the staff of other companies on the same floor, Yulin Company has been working normally recently.
The reporter saw at the scene that some photos of the company's daily activities and sample books of publications were displayed on the corridor walls outside Yulin Company.
The reporter learned from the Jilin Provincial Press and Publication Bureau that on the 27th, in accordance with relevant publication management regulations, the bureau suspended the publication of the "Photo Geography" magazine that published the "Boiled Eggs Rebirth and Hatching Chickens" paper, and ordered it to conduct self-inspection. Self-correction, in-depth investigation of their own problems.
The Jilin Provincial Press and Publication Bureau has established a special working group, stationed in the publishing unit of "Photo Geography" magazine, and conducted interviews and verifications with its main responsible persons and relevant responsible persons, and checked sample journals and related materials to verify the relevant situation.
The Jilin Provincial Press and Publication Bureau plans to combine with the ongoing 2020 annual periodical verification work, organize periodical publishing units across the province to carry out a comprehensive clean-up and rectification, strictly supervise the implementation of the "three review and three schools" system, and standardize the publishing process.
Question 3: The paper can be sent with money?
The reporter contacted a teacher Yi in an organization called "Thesis Publishing Network", and teacher Yi said that she can provide services for writing and distributing papers.
"We used to do the agency work of "Photo Geography" magazine. This is the kind of magazine that is easy to pass and easy to review. Sometimes it is issued in a day or so, and it only costs a few hundred yuan, but now it is temporarily suspended. "Teacher Yi said that they can connect with editors of many academic journals to publish papers, and the page fee ranges from a few hundred yuan to tens of thousands of yuan.
Can you publish a manuscript in an academic journal for a page fee?
Insiders say that it is not uncommon for magazines to "make a living" by charging page fees.
At present, many magazines are responsible for their own profits and losses, while academic journals are relatively professional, have a small audience, and have narrow sales channels. It is difficult to maintain operation by subscription.
"It's relatively common to collect page fees to subsidize daily expenses, including editors' salaries, printing costs, etc.," an industry insider who asked not to be named told reporters.
As for whether the "Boiled Eggs Return to Incubate Chickens" thesis is "issued for a fee", it remains to be investigated.
Question 4: Who benefits from the "disbursement of fees"?
The reporter combed and found that the papers published by "Photo Geography" came from all walks of life, and the authors included public institutions, vocational schools, and many companies.
Why do so many corporate employees have a demand for publication of papers?
"Evaluation of senior professional titles." The reporter contacted the staff of one of the thesis units. He told reporters that their company has the requirement to publish papers for the evaluation of professional titles above associate senior level. "Generally, it is based on the points system. How many provincial journals publish? Articles, several national-level journals, as long as they are nationally recognized academic journals."
The reporter obtained a “documentation requirement” from a state-owned enterprise for the evaluation of senior professional titles. It requested that 5 papers with more than 3,000 words should be published independently in periodicals with public numbers or newspapers sponsored by institutions at or above the provincial and ministerial level. Two articles will be published in core journals.
The employees of the company said that people usually go to agencies for distributing papers when evaluating professional titles. Colleagues introduce each other, and publications are "clearly priced."
The reporter will continue to follow the progress of this matter.