In fact, the increase in the number of publications and the
acceleration of this growth in recent years itself would seem
to indicate that the discipline has not yet reached maturity.
However, other signs such as the increased co-authorship
index or the various aspects of the incipient internationalisation
do point to a qualitative change in line with the internationally
accepted standards of maturity of scientific disciplines.
This conflicting evidence may indicate a time of change
within the discipline, with a division between authors who
are committed to collaboration and internationalisation and
those who still follow traditional patterns of publication.