The EMBO-EMBL anniversary science and policy meeting
The EMBO-EMBL anniversary science and policy meeting
Wednesday 2 July and Thursday 3 July 2014
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Miguel Seabra elected next president
Miguel Seabra elected next president
The General Assembly of Science Europe has unanimously elected Miguel Seabra, president of the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation, as the next president of Science Europe.
Chinese agencies announce open-access policies
Researchers will now be required to make papers free to read within one year of publication.
Break funding impasse now
Break funding impasse now
Disagreements may cause "irreparable harm to the German research system," joint statement says
Alternative modes of research funding: exceptions or growing trend?
Peer-review of projects dominates when it comes to decision on how to allocate funding for science. But is it really the best way?
A Longitude Prize for the twenty-first century
The UK Government’s new prize for substantial innovation to address pressing societal problems should be welcomed, says Martin Rees.
A world digital library is coming true!
A world digital library is coming true!
In the scramble to gain market share in cyberspace, something is getting lost: the public interest. Libraries and laboratories-crucial nodes of the World Wide Web-are buckling under economic pressure, and the information they diffuse is being diverted away from the public sphere, where it can do most good.
EU must spend more on research and development
EU must spend more on research and development
Europe is already a world leader in areas from car and aerospace manufacturing to chemicals, and its focus on high-tech niches – which are less subject to low-cost competition – remains a source of strength.
How to evaluate academic research
Don't evaluate scholarly research on public impact alone.
Competitive research grants and their impact on career performance
The role of competitive funds as a source of funding for academic research has increased in many countries. For the individual researcher, the receipt of a grant can influence both scientific production and career paths.
"Massenmeinungen gefährden die Wissenschaft"
Auf Google hoch platzierte Publikationen hinterfragt kaum jemand, beklagt US-Soziologe James Evans. Gleichzeitig rät er Forschern, mehr Denkarbeit an Computer abzugeben.
Farce, then tragedy?
Farce, then tragedy?
Racist government policies hurt the higher education sector, says Kevin Fong, but the harm doesn't stop there I seem to recall that "education, education, education" was Tony Blair's battle cry in the run-up to the 1996 general election. (With hindsight, the title of the Kaiser Chiefs' latest album, Education, Education, Education and War, might have been closer to the mark.)
Global scientific output doubles every nine years
It's a common complaint among academics: today's researchers are publishing too much, too fast. But just how fast is the mass of scientific output actually growing?
Tracking the dynamics of individual scientific impact
Tracking the dynamics of individual scientific impact
The impact factor (IF) of scientific journals has acquired a major role in the evaluations of the output of scholars. However, at the end of the day one is interested in assessing the impact of individuals. Here we introduce Author Impact Factor (AIF).
The science of citations
Because the odds that a single paper will spread a good idea are simply too small. Three is good. Four is better. Five is much better.
Guide to reproducible research
Collection of literature, presentations, posts and links on reproducible research resulting from a recent Hackathon on open science.
Global-level data sets may be more highly cited than most journal articles
Global-level data sets may be more highly cited than most journal articles
The production, archival, and sharing of data may actually be a more effective way to contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge.
Die Ruhelose
Die Ruhelose
Was die Britin Sarah Springman anpackt, macht sie zu Gold. Nun soll sie Rektorin der ETH werden.
EU launches U-Multirank
A European Union-sponsored university ranking system has gone live after around six years of development.
Engaging With Policymakers
Roughly 90% of researchers in a recent survey said scientists and policymakers don't communicate enough. But, only about 60% said they were sure of the names of their elected federal representatives.
Der Investorenschwarm formiert sich
Erstes Monitoring über alle Aktivitäten auf Schweizer Plattformen zeigt, dass Crowdfunding auch in der Schweiz immer beliebter wird. Gemäss der Studie hat sich das gesammelte Geldvolumen im vergangenen Jahr mehr als verdoppelt.
Why climb the greasy pole?
Getting a job at a top university will not make you a better researcher
Why do we still have journals?
The Web has greatly reduced the barriers to entry for new journals and other platforms for communicating scientific output, and the number of journals continues to multiply. This leaves readers and authors with the daunting cognitive challenge of navigating the literature and discerning contributions that are both relevant and significant.
Demand for ERC Starting Grants stabilises
Demand for ERC Starting Grants stabilizes after Switzerland being not eligible for the first time.
Category 5 or tempest in a teapot?
In "Falling Behind?" Michael Teitelbaum describes how the "hog cycle" phenomenon played out in the U.S. science and engineering workforce from the end of World War II through the 1998–2005 doubling of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget and subsequent leveling off of funding.
Metaphysicians
Launch of METRICS, the Meta-Research Innovation Centre at Stanford, by John Ioannidis.
This is important. You have £5.8 billion to spend on science things
How this money is invested could make a huge difference to our future, in the UK and to some extent beyond
It would aid amateur scientific breakthroughs
Discoveries by laypeople are rare but free access to research results would increase the likelihood
Driving forces of researchers mobility
Study showing that the fate of a career strongly depends from the first two affiliations.
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