From Fish To Philosopher

Follow From Fish To Philosopher
Share on
Copy link to clipboard

“From Fish To Philosopher” is the title of a book published in 1953 by Homer Smith that relates the story of vertebrate kidney evolution viewed through the function of that organ at different phylogenetic levels. Dr. Thomas Elwood, the current Editor of the Journal of Allied Health, read the book in 1962. Borrowing the same title, he uses it to apply a similar embryological perspective as a conceptual framework to present 40 selected editorials published by him between the Winter 2008 and the Fall 2020 issues of the Journal. These items reveal how this publication continues to evolve from one quarterly issue to the next in various ways during that period. The intended audience is of a two-fold nature: Prospective Authors who want to learn about the inner workings of this Journal and Readers with a broad interest in the rapidly evolving world of professional periodicals.

Thomas Elwood


    • Sep 4, 2020 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 9m AVG DURATION
    • 40 EPISODES


    Search for episodes from From Fish To Philosopher with a specific topic:

    Latest episodes from From Fish To Philosopher

    40: Worth Its Weight in Gold | Fall 2020

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 10:17


    This episode indicates that journal articles may vary from a high level of acknowledged quality to another class of manuscripts of lesser quality because they contain questionable data to a third class of papers lacking any standard whatsoever of acceptable quality.

    39: Periodic Upheavals in the Universe of Periodicals | Summer 2020

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 10:09


    This episode pertains to the removal of NIH peer reviewers who fail to disclose foreign ties or who breach confidentiality, gender inequality in scientific careers, open-access Plan S, and predatory biomedical journals.

    38: Developments in Journal Publishing Research | Spring 2020

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 9:42


    This episode is about gender differences in positive framing of research findings in articles, addressing a reproducibility crisis due to the inability to replicate research findings, and measuring the commitment of journals to research transparency.

    37: The Changing Nature of Language | Winter 2019

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 9:31


    This episode discusses the possibility that the name of the Journal of Allied Health could have a new name since the Association that the journal belongs to modified its name, how metaphors enrich communication, and terminological inexactitudes in health vocabulary.

    36: Some Journal Sidelights | Summer 2019

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 9:31


    This episode sheds light on the process of selecting reviewers for a given manuscript from the standpoint of the time involved before assessments arrive and reviewer ethics stemming from when an individual reviewer fails to report that the review was conducted by someone else.

    35: The Road To Publication | Spring 2019

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 9:54


    This episode involves the cascade of messages flowing among the editor of the Journal of Allied Health, reviewers, authors, and the publisher as a submitted article begins a journey from time of being submitted to a final decision regarding whether to accept for publication.

    34: The Protean World of Journal Publications | Winter 2018

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 10:08


    This episode provides a description of Plan S, a radical open-access initiative that could have a dramatic impact on science publishing, and reasons why it is necessary for some published articles to be retracted.

    33: Some Perspectives Regarding Journal Publishing | Summer 2018

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 10:05


    This episode is about reviewers who are late in submitting their assessments of articles, the dilemma associated with conflicting reviews regarding whether an article should be accepted for publication, and gender bias issues that affect women authors negatively.

    32: Trends in Research and Publication | Spring 2018

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 9:23


    This episode describes publication experiments that involve accepting papers for publication prior to authors knowing what their results will be in an approach known as “registered reports” and decisions involved in determining who lead authors should be.

    31: Congressional Politics and Peer Review | Winter 2017

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 8:55


    This episode provides an example of proposed legislation to influence peer review of research grant applications for federal money, non-Congressional politics and peer review, and how some articles can be published earlier in the Journal of Allied Health's electronic version.

    30: Publication Integrity, Accessibility, and Women Authors | Summer 2017

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 9:41


    This episode discusses the retraction of papers, readability of published articles, reporting of negative findings, participation of female authors in the production of manuscripts and the degree to which they collaborate internationally on research papers.

    29: Altmetrics, Biased Metrics, and Contentious Metrics | Spring 2017

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 10:11


    This episode distinguishes among altmetrics, which measures an article's real-time reach and influence; biased metrics, which relate to favoring authors from elite institutions; and contentious metrics, which aim to measure impact differently from Impact Factors.

    28: Some Thoughts on the Future of Libraries, Journals, Impact Factors, and Replicability | Winter 2016

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 10:05


    This episode acknowledges that some academic libraries are finding it increasingly difficult to meet the costs of current journal subscriptions while also recognizing that many papers that are published defy efforts to replicate their findings because of implausible, unreliable data.

    27: Is Too Much Enough? | Summer 2016

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 8:59


    This episode relates how a growth in the number of scientists and publications has resulted in millions of articles being published every year while large bodies of published research are unreliable and reporting biases exist across multiple fields of research and a variety of forms.

    26: Looking Toward Improving the Journal | Spring 2016

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 8:52


    This episode refers to a survey conducted as a way of identifying topics of interest to Journal of Allied Health readers and factors that affect the length of time articles are in the journal's system before a final decision is made regarding publication acceptance or rejection.

    25: Some Reflections on the Wide World of Publications | Winter 2015

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 8:41


    This episode lists some defects associated with the use of Impact Factors, the number of journals that solicit the submission of articles, and the predatory nature of some open access periodicals that employ questionable marketing and peer review practices.

    24: The Usefulness of Discerning Patterns |Spring 2015

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 8:08


    This episode examines the role that paradigms play in possibly constricting the range of problems to be investigated, along with recognizing the importance of having articles submitted to the Journal of Allied Health that examine future allied health workforce needs.

    23: Published Research in All Its Glory or Lack Thereof | Winter 2014

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 9:42


    This episode indicates how observational studies preclude the possibility of drawing conclusions between cause and effect, the ever-growing volume of articles published each year in journals, and the relevance of publication bias.

    22: Snapshots of the Journal of Allied Health | Summer 2014

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 7:31


    This episode provides data about acceptance rates and the number of days articles submitted to the journal are in the system, along with information about the professions represented in manuscripts and major topics addressed.

    21: Some Reflections on Peer Review | Spring 2014

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 9:36


    This episode discusses the adequacy of the peer review process and refers to examples identified during the Seventh International Congress on Peer Review and Biomedical Publication and also how peer review has been called into question regarding papers funded by the NIH.

    20: Ceci Tuera Cela and Disruptive Technologies | Winter 2013

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 9:20


    This episode furnishes examples of how developments in technology have affected higher education and whether authenticity is compromised as a byproduct of the vast outpouring of published material that has emerged in recent years.

    19: The Changing Landscape of Higher Education | Summer 2013

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 8:25


    This episode notes how educational practices that went unchanged for centuries more recently have experienced alterations in the form of the introduction of massive open online courses (MOOCs) and the increased presence of adjunct faculty involved in teaching courses.

    18: From Ape To Author | Spring 2013

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 9:52


    This episode discusses the role of great apes in health research and how in some ways human well-being is similar to what these animals experience and how the findings have implications across scientific and social-scientific disciplines.

    17: Foibles and Peccadillos in the Research Environment | Winter 2012

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 9:39


    This episode indicates that retractions of articles can occur as a result of error, misconduct, duplicate publication, and plagiarism, along with a description of how some authors guilty of any of these practices have been able to escape detection for lengthy periods of time.

    16: The Challenge of Producing Quality Research | Fall 2012

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 9:10


    This episode comments on the importance of reliability and validity in the production of published articles in journals and how uncommon it is for many periodicals to publish null findings or exact replications.

    15: An Odyssean View of the Ever-Changing World of Health Journals | Summer 2012

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 9:08


    This episode discusses the topic of “open access” and the financial challenges that affect publishers, researchers, academic institution libraries, funding agencies, and governments, along with how blogs also serve as a way of disseminating scientific knowledge.

    14: The Changing Face of Scholarship | Winter 2011

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 7:37


    This episode provides an additional look at the many advantages that exist in making journals available in electronic format in ways benefiting faculty members, students, and everyone involved in the academic community.

    13: Peer Review in Relation to Allowing Passengers to Fly the Airplane | Fall 2011

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 8:08


    This episode indicates how some advocates favor bypassing the formal peer-review process by taking pre-publication papers and exposing them to a community of users to vote their appraisal as a means of enabling readers to decide which manuscripts deserve to be published.

    12: Peer Review: Does It Matter? | Summer 2011

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 8:04


    This episode points out that because the Journal of Allied Health encompasses manuscripts about a wide range of health professions, it adds to the importance of using peer reviewers as a means of ensuring that the content of articles is both accurate and relevant.

    11: Words: Their Meanings and Implications | Spring 2011

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 8:32


    This editorial discusses the importance of choosing the correct words in titles of articles submitted to the Journal of Allied Health, along with the importance of defining in exact language the terms used in manuscripts.

    10: Random Thoughts About the World of Periodicals | Winter 2010

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 8:09


    This editorial discusses the many conveniences resulting from the creation of journals in electronic format compared to a time when all copies resided on library shelves and how potential conflicts of interest are not always disclosed by authors.

    09: Tolle Lege in the Context of an Inch Wide and a Mile Deep | Fall 2010

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 7:23


    This editorial comments on the fact that unlike single specialty professional periodicals, the Journal of Allied Health is characterized by a wide spectrum of disciplines and mention is made of the role played by the reductionist scientific method in health care delivery.

    08: Knowledge Dissemination and Adoption | Summer 2010

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 7:39


    This editorial refers to the gap between research and practice, which may be so large that discrepancies between evidence-based, efficacious interventions and what actually occurs in practice can be so big as to constitute a chasm.

    07: Journal of Allied Health Update | Spring 2010

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 8:35


    This editorial has a focus on quality and contains information for prospective authors who contemplate submitting manuscripts to the Journal of Allied Health regarding how to enhance methodological rigor of papers being prepared.

    06: Recent Developments and Future Prospects | Winter 2009

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 13:59


    This editorial describes the role played by having an issue of the Journal of Allied Health devoted to a specific topic and the growing importance of inter-professional education and practice.

    05: Time and the River | Fall 2009

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 14:36


    This editorial compares the ebb and flow of a river to the cascade of words appearing in the Journal of Allied Health from issue to issue that reflect changes in terminology, topics serving as a basis for articles, and the gradual inclusion of manuscripts from other nations.

    04: A View From the Editor | Summer 2009

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 9:54


    This editorial offers information about the editorial process for the Journal of Allied Health and has advice for prospective authors on how to prepare more informative manuscripts that can avoid the pitfall of ultimately being rejected for publication.

    03: Intellectual Glow Worms | Spring 2009

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2020 12:34


    This editorial discusses how economic development after World War II in Italy leading to the disappearance of insects circling around children shepherds at night may be compared to the impact of technology on the decline of newspapers and the effect it might have on journals.

    02: Musings by a New Editor | Winter 2008

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2020 13:20


    This editorial refers to the use of impact factors, when the Journal of Allied Health added an electronic version, and why Socrates believed that oral words or “living speech” were vastly superior to the “dead discourse” of written speech.

    01: From Fish To Philosopher | Spring 2012

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2020 9:47


    This editorial describes a chapter in Ulysses by James Joyce in which changes in prose style of the book are related metaphorically to the nine-month gestation of a human fetus. Other examples reflect how the Journal of Allied Health evolved over the decades.

    Claim From Fish To Philosopher

    In order to claim this podcast we'll send an email to with a verification link. Simply click the link and you will be able to edit tags, request a refresh, and other features to take control of your podcast page!

    Claim Cancel