The Maritime Economist Magazine Spring 2015 | Page 46

THEMARITIME Economist

CHALLENGE

“ When aitmeasuretobecomes a
target, ceases be a good
measure.

–Charles Albert Eric
Goodhart

ME Mag

There are a few major perspectives almost in all
scientific fields which usually define the mainstream.
Once a mainstream perspective is established,
scholars tend to follow it or take it as basis of further
research. Having a fundamental starting point is very
helpful especially for young scholars who usually
lose their ways in the literature. On the other
hand, the popularity of a perspective or philosophy
maintains itself since reviewers are influenced by early
scholars which causes self-perpetuating literature.
When a young scholar criticizes his/her pioneers in
the field, an extraordinary effort will be needed to
overcome orthodoxy of thoughts. Ensuring fairness
among papers published by a popular scientist and
a heterodox or papers written with mathematical
complexity and philosophical interpretation is not an
easy task.

46

Most scholars may think that a review invitation
validates the rationality or correctness of their
academic perspective, and they may tend to review
papers in terms of their own standards and intellectual
standpoint. Intellectual accumulation and experience
are helpful for reviewers’ role while they also need to
respect and yield criticisms and heterodoxy in contrast
to their existing viewpoint. We should bear in mind
that innovative theories and discoveries are usually
born with a heterodox approach.

References

Burnham, J. C. (1990). The evolution of editorial peer
review. Jama, 263(10), 1323-1329.
Horton, R. (2000). Genetically modified food: consternation, confusion, and crack-up. MJA 172 (4):
148–9.
Kennefick, D. (2005). Einstein versus the Physical Review. Physics Today 58(9), 43.
Smith, R. (2006). Peer review: a flawed process at
the heart of science and journals. Journal of the Royal
Society of Medicine, 99(4), 178-182.

Okan Duru
Assistant Professor,
Department of Maritime
Administration
Texas A&M University
at Galveston

Dr Okan Duru is an Assistant Professor of
Maritime Finance and Logistics at Department
of Maritime Administration, Texas A&M
University at Galveston as well as Visiting Scholar
at Kobe University. He received his PhD from Kobe
University, Japan. His research interests are in
shipping asset management, behavioral economics
of shipping business, forecasting, judgment and
decision making. He has published many journal
papers and conference papers as well as editing
journal issues. He reviewed several papers for
Maritime Policy and Management, International
Journal of Forecasting, Transportation Research
Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review,
Technological Forecasting and Social Change,
European Journal of Operational Research, Journal
of the Operational Research Society-JORS,
Applied Soft Computing, Fuzzy Sets and Systems,
International Journal of Fuzzy Systems, among
others.