Medwin's Vaccine Journal Is Interested in My Runny Nose

The following exchange helps explain how Medwin Publishers (discussed here) "aspires to bring eminent original findings of research information across the globe into light."

Received 2/21/17:

Dear Dr. David H Kaye,
Greetings from MedWin Publishers!We have contacted you earlier through email. Since we have not received any response from you regarding your valuable manuscript submission, we are taking the liberty of resending the invitation as we are aware that you may be engaged in other activities or our message may not have successfully reached you. We are very pleased to announce that submissions for upcoming issue are now being accepted for Vaccines & Vaccination Open Access (VVOA). We have chosen eminent scientists, who have significant involvement in the advancement of research in their field and have the potential to give best quality articles for upcoming issue of our journal. We gently request you to submit any kind of article for publication and to help us in releasing the issue at the designated time. ... We hope that your articles will help us in the growth of our Journal and kindly follow the below link for online submission ... .
Also, we request you to submit your manuscript by March 15th, 2017 to enable swift process of peer review and publication. Kindly acknowledge this email receipt within 24 hours. Await your prompt response.
Kind Regards,
Monica Kathryn, Assistant Managing Editor, Vaccines & Vaccination Open Access (VVOA, MedWin Publishers

Sent 2/24/17:

Dear Monica,
Would VVOA be interested in a paper reporting that I still got some colds after being vaccinated against the flu?

From: vaccines@medwinpublishers.com, Sunday, February 26, 2017 11:26 PM

Dear Dr. David H Kaye,
Thank you for your prompt reply. We are glad with your positive response towards our journal. As time being an important factor towards the issue release. We request you to submit your valuable manuscript as soon as possible. Could you let us know your feasibility to submit your manuscript. Hope to hear from you soon.
Kind Regards,
Monica Kathryn, Assistant Managing Editor, Vaccines & Vaccination Open Access (VVOA, MedWin Publishers

Followed on April 15, 2017, 12:24 a.m., by this "Reminder for Manuscript Submission: VVOA" sent with "high importance" from vaccines@medwinpublishers.com:

Dear Dr. David H Kaye,
Greetings for the day!
This is a friendly reminder regarding the submission valuable manuscript as soon as possible As time being an important factor towards the issue release. We request you to submit your valuable manuscript as soon as possible. So that we can publish it in upcoming issue. Kindly let us know your feasibility to submit your manuscript.
Kind Regards
Monica Kathryn, Assistant Managing Editor, Vaccines and Vaccination Open Access (VVOA) MedWin Publishers

From ScholarTown to Sciedu Press to the Canadian Center of Science and Technology

ScholarTown's email of 1/19/17 (below) promised to let me "Review Articles and Get PAID." Why me? Because "Having read your article, 'Book Review, The Right and the Power: The Prosecution of Watergate', we believe that you have considerable experience as an author or peer reviewer of scholarly articles." That this 40-year-old book review was published in a journal that does not use peer review suggests that ScholarTown is none too perceptive. Interestingly, its address in Toronto is identical to that for the Canada office of Sciedu Press, which describes itself as "a private scientific publishing house" with the "objective of excellence in science, education, and culture."

I checked out ScholarTown's short list of journal articles begging for reviewers. Apparently, would-be reviewers bid to review these manuscripts. The one I clicked on was for the International Journal of Psychological Studies (IJES), an offering of the Canadian Center of Science and Technology. CCSE has been accused of predatory publishing. IJES is offering $20 for a reviewer. The bids to do the work are coming in at $25.

CCSE referred to the same 40-year-old book review when it contacted me to contribute to one its journals. One of CCSE's addresses is, you guessed it, the same as ScholarTown's and Sciedu Press.

Email

1/19/17: Dear David H. Kaye, Having read your article, "Book Review, The Right and the Power: The Prosecution of Watergate", we believe that you have considerable experience as an author or peer reviewer of scholarly articles. The purpose of this email is to invite you to participate in a new model for conducting scholarly peer reviews that enables you to earn from reviewing articles. ... Using ScholarTown’s online platform, publishers/editors can post article review projects that registered scholars can bid for. Employers (publishers/editors) can then select appropriate scholars for conducting article reviews, and pay them for work that is completed to their satisfaction. In contrast to the traditional voluntary approach to peer reviewing, this model enables scholars to receive reasonable compensation and stimulating work to review. To review articles and get PAID, please register ... Sign up now!
... Yours sincerely, ScholarTown Team, 2235 Sheppard Avenue East, Suite 901,Toronto, Ontario, M2J 5B5, Canada

Center for Academic Research (CAR)

The spam from the Center for Academic Research (CAR) resembles that from RIPK. Indeed, CAR promises even more impressive review and publication times, asking for manuscripts five days before publication. Its categorization of subject areas is interesting. "Business" is part of "business," Law is part of "accounting and marketing." And so on.

The owners of the domain ijssb.com are hidden, since the domain is registered to Domain AdminOrganization: Privacy Protect, LLC (PrivacyProtect.org). The webpages at ijssb.com list an editorial office at 45 Laburnum Grove, Portsmouth, PO2 0HQ, UK, and a branch office at Abohawa office road, Tangail, Bangladesh. Judging from the images on Google Maps, the building at the Portsmouth address is a residential townhouse.

Email

• 12/17/16: Call for paper... International Journal of Social Science and Business (IJSSB) is an international peer-reviewed journal ... all fields of Social Science and Business. ... IJSSB publishes original papers, review papers, conceptual framework, analytical and simulation models, case studies, empirical research, technical notes, and book reviews. ...
  The journal is published both in print and online versions. The journal publishes research papers in the fields of: Business and Humanities: business, Humanities, Religious Studies, Public Administration, Psychology, Philosophy, hotel and tourism, development studies, population studies, international relations, Political Science, History, entrepreneurship development and so on. Accounting and marketing: economics, banking, accounting, commerce, human resources management, international business, finance, marketing, law, journalism and mass communication, corporate governance, cross-cultural studies, linguistics and so on. Management and Social science: management, human resource management, strategic management, e-business, services, information technology production & operations management, financial management and managerial economics, Social Science, Sociology, Social Welfare, Anthropology, Education, Women Studies and so on.
  Date of Publishing: IJSSB is inviting papers for Vol. 1 No. 4 which is scheduled to be published on December 30, 2016. Acceptance Notification: Within 7-10 days from the date of manuscript submission. Submission deadline: December 25, 2016. ...
  With Warm Regards,
  Chief Editor
  Dr. Gerald Fontaine
• From: Dr. Gerald Fontaine [editor@ijssb.com]
  Sent: Friday, June 16, 2017 1:32 PM
  To: Earwine
  Subject: Call for paper
  International Journal of Social Science and Business (IJSSB) is an international peer-reviewed journal ... in all fields of Social Science and Business. The core objective of IJSSB is to publish new knowledge and theories for the benefit of society from academics, researchers, professionals to industry practitioners. It also provides a venue for PhD scholars to submit on-going research and developments in these areas ... The journal publishes research papers in the fields of: ... hotel and tourism ... and so on ... cross-cultural studies, linguistics and so on ... human resource management, strategic management, ... Women Studies and so on.
  IJSSB is inviting papers for Vol. 2 No. 3 which is scheduled to be published on June 30, 2017. Acceptance Notification: Within 7-10 days from the date of manuscript submission Submission deadline: June 23, 2017.
  Warm Regards,
  Chief Editor
  Dr. Gerald Fontaine
  International Journal of Social Science and Business
• From: Dr. Gerald Fontaine [editor@ijssb.com]
  Sent: Monday, December 25, 2017 1:39 AM
  To: Earwine
  Subject: Call for paper
  ... IJSSB is inviting papers for Vol. 3 No. 1 which is scheduled to be published on January 30, 2018. Acceptance Notification: Within 7-10 days from the date of manuscript submission Submission deadline: January 10, 2018. ...
  With Warm Regards,
  Chief Editor,
  Dr. Gerald Fontaine
  International Journal of Social Science and Business
• From: Dr. Gerald Fontaine [editor@ijssb.com]
  Date: Feb 20, 2019, 12:52 PM
  Subject: Call for paper
  ... Date of Publishing: IJSSB is inviting papers for Vol. 4 No. 1 which is scheduled to be published on March 10, 2019. Acceptance Notification: Within 7-10 days from the date of manuscript submission Submission deadline: February 28, 2019.
  With Warm Regards,
  Chief Editor,
  Dr. Gerald Fontaine
  International Journal of Social Science and Business

Centre of Excellence for Scientific & Research Journalism (COES&RJ)

A conference organizer (Turkey, Malaysia, UAE, and China, many cancelled) and publisher of oddly organized journals, CIES&RJ pretends to have a US address (that belongs to a warehouse and is used by international scammers). The email I received (2/1/17) was for the "Journal of Social Sciences." The website refers to a "Journal of Law," but that link goes to the other journal. The only editorial board listed (2/1/17) is for the "Journal of Business and Management," whose editor-in-chief is Dr. Ra'ed (Mo'hd Taisir) Masa'deh, Dean: Faculty of Management, University of Jordan, Aqaba, Jordan.

The domain coesnrj.com was registered by GoDaddy.com for Nasir Shamsi, 10685-B Hazelhurst Dr. # 16258, Houston, Texas 77043 (the warehouse address), +1-281-407-7509, shamsipnp@hotmail.com. According to the About Us page of the center's website, the center is a Texas corporation with legal name COES&RJ, LLC (same telephone number) for which "the governing persons are: Mrs. Farhat Tabbasum [and] Mr. Nasir Ali Shamsi."

An email of 4/29/17 entitled "Call for Paper" for the COES Journal of Social Sciences came from editor.jss@centreofexcellence.net (no name). This journal now has an editorial board. The editor-in-chief is Nasir Ali Shamsi. Dr. Neda Khan (with no stated affiliation) is the editor. US members are Dr. Michael F. Shaughnessy, Eastern New Mexico University, and Dr. Neuvic Kalmar Malembanie, PhD., Howard University. Dr. Shaughnessy is a Professor of Special Education in the ENMU Educational Studies department. Dr. Malembanie's biography, written while he was working toward a Ph.D. in literature, is at https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract_id=2152666.