Page:The battle for open.pdf/146

 CHAPTER 7

The guerrilla band should not be considered inferior against the army which it fights simply because it has inferior firepower. —

In the previous three chapters the focus has largely been on ­projects and institutional practices. These ­large-​­scale movements are shaping the open education landscape and are where the key features of the battle for open are most evidently manifest. However, just as significant are the individual practices that shape the paths and features within that landscape. This chapter will look at how individual academics are adapting their own scholarly practices by adopting open approaches.

My previous book was entitled 'The Digital Scholar' (Weller 2011), but it could have just as aptly been called 'The Open Scholar'. 'Digital' and 'open' are not necessarily synonymous of ­course – ­someone could create all their outputs in digital format but store them on a local hard disk, publish in journals that are not open access and not establish an online identity. This could