<P> The open access movement assumes that all information generally deemed useful should be free and belongs to a "public domain", that of "humanity". This idea gained prevalence as a result of Western colonial history and ignores alternative conceptions of knowledge circulation . For instance, most indigenous communities consider that access to certain information proper to the group should be determined by relationships . </P> <P> There is alleged to be a double standard in the Western knowledge system . On the one hand, "digital right management" used to restrict access to personal information on social networking platforms is celebrated as a protection of privacy, while simultaneously when similar functions are utilised by cultural groups (i.e. indigenous communities) this is denounced as "access control" and reprehended as censorship . </P> <P> Even though Western dominance seems to be prominent in research, some scholars, such as Simon Marginson, argue for "the need (for) a plural university world". Marginson argues that the East Asian Confucian model could take over the Western model . </P> <P> This could be due to changes in funding for research both in the East and the West . Focussed on emphasizing educational achievement, East Asian cultures, mainly in China and South Korea, have encouraged the increase of funding for research expansion . In contrast, in the Western academic world, notably in the United Kingdom as well as in some state governments in the United States, funding cuts for university research have occurred, which some say may lead to the future decline of Western dominance in research . </P>

Sources of support while conducting a research project