Rolfes, J. D. (2026) The Paradox of Reform Resistance: How Dominant Scientific Structures Convert Reform Pressure into Institutional Reproduction. [Preprint]
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Abstract
Scientific institutions produce robust evidence of science's partial epistemic dysfunction, yet the structures empowered to act on that evidence often reproduce the same arrangements. This paper names this condition the paradox of reform resistance. It argues that reform pressure is converted into institutional reproduction through four entangled mechanisms: cognitive conservatism, self-reinforcing feedback loops, epistemic dominance, and the selection bias of reform agents. The mechanisms are developed as a diagnostic framework with empirical signatures and corresponding intervention classes. The co-optation of Open Access serves as the anchor case: a reform aimed at democratising access to publicly funded knowledge was partly absorbed into APC-based and transformative-agreement models that preserve incumbent publisher power while shifting exclusion from reading to publishing. Genuine structural change therefore requires conditions under which interventions cannot be easily absorbed: diversified gatekeeping, circuit-breaking procedures, independent accountability, pluralised epistemic standards, and reform governance beyond dominant prestige pathways.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | reform resistance; dominance structures; open access; science governance; structural change; epistemic injustice | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Science and Society General Issues > Science and Policy General Issues > Social Epistemology of Science General Issues > Values In Science |
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| Depositing User: | Dr. J. D. Rolfes | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 11 Jun 2026 12:33 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 11 Jun 2026 12:33 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 30053 | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Science and Society General Issues > Science and Policy General Issues > Social Epistemology of Science General Issues > Values In Science |
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| Date: | 11 June 2026 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/30053 |
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The Paradox of Reform Resistance: How Dominant Scientific Structures Convert Reform Pressure into Institutional Reproduction. (deposited 08 Jun 2026 18:34)
- The Paradox of Reform Resistance: How Dominant Scientific Structures Convert Reform Pressure into Institutional Reproduction. (deposited 11 Jun 2026 12:33) [Currently Displayed]
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