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Too Much Emphasis on Implicit Bias Impedes Gender Equality Efforts in Academia
Implicit bias - the presence of prejudices and stereotypes in the workplace - has been a topic of discussion both within and outside academia. Does this lead to a focus on the individual that masks embedded structures inhibiting gender equality?
Institutional Report Cards for Gender Equality: Lessons Learned from Benchmarking Efforts for Women in STEM
Institutional Report Cards for Gender Equality: Lessons Learned from Benchmarking Efforts for Women in STEM
The outcomes of a 4-year pilot phase which gathered information from over 500 institutions are discussed, outlining future directions for efforts to promote gender equity in STEM.
Journals' Instructions to Authors: A Cross-sectional Study Across Scientific Disciplines
Journals' Instructions to Authors: A Cross-sectional Study Across Scientific Disciplines
Study investigated 19 topics related to transparency in reporting and research integrity. Only three topics were addressed in more than one third of scientific journals' Instructions to Authors.
Engaging Policy in Science Writing: Patterns and Strategies
Translating scientific research and findings into policy discussion often requires an understanding of the institutional complexities of policy processes. This study developed a set of metrics to examine how researchers have undertaken that challenge.
Legal Compendium on Open Science: Guideline Answers Legal Questions
With this compendium, the Hamburg Open Science Programme aims to provide practical support for practitioners of open science and to help remove existing obstacles on the way to greater transparency in science.
Democrats More Supportive Than Republicans of Federal Spending for Scientific Research
Democrats More Supportive Than Republicans of Federal Spending for Scientific Research
Around six-in-ten Democrats support increased spending for scientific research, compared with 40% of Republicans, a gap that has grown over time.
How to Get Better at Embracing Unknowns
Data-visualization techniques can clarify the uncertainty in information or make it more confusing if not implemented well.
New Dimensions Partnership with ISSI Makes It Easy (and Free!) for Researchers to Study the Science of Science
New Dimensions Partnership with ISSI Makes It Easy (and Free!) for Researchers to Study the Science of Science
International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics (ISSI) and Digital Science have joined forces to make Dimensions and Altmetric data available to ISSI members at scale, and at no cost for scientometric research purposes.
Cars Are Still Designed for Men
With its research on safety for all, Volvo has a clear gender perspective on industrial innovation. So far they are quite alone in this respect.
The Future of European Research Must Be Inclusive
With Europe facing significant challenges over the next decade, it is vital that the EU's research activities are designed not just by bureaucrats but by a wide range of voices to ensure that they're fit for purpose, according to Jean-Eric Paquet, the European Commission's Director General for Research and Innovation.
The Global Landscape of AI Ethics Guidelines
As AI technology develops rapidly, it is widely recognized that ethical guidelines are required for safe and fair implementation in society. But is it possible to agree on what is 'ethical AI'? A detailed analysis of 84 AI ethics reports around the world, from national and international organizations, companies and institutes, explores this question, finding a convergence around core principles but substantial divergence on practical implementation.
UC Davis Experiments with a New Textbook Model
An interview with Jason Lorgan, executive director of campus stores at @UCDavis, about the university's innovative new textbook-affordability program.
Researchers Awarded Prize for Promotion of Alternatives to Animal Experiments
Researchers at Eawag have been awarded the 3R Swiss Competence Centre award for their outstanding research work representing a milestone in the promotion of alternatives to animal experiments.
Stalled in Hawaii, Giant Telescope Faces Roadblocks at Its Backup Site in the Canary Islands
Stalled in Hawaii, Giant Telescope Faces Roadblocks at Its Backup Site in the Canary Islands
The Native Hawaiian protesters blocking the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea appear to have settled in for the long haul.
Teaching Research Data Management for Students
Article: Teaching Research Data Management for Students
New Science Blooms After Star Researchers Die, Study Finds
Deaths of prominent life scientists tend to be followed by a surge in highly cited research by newcomers.
European Commission's Open Access Envoy Joins the COAlition S Executive Steering Group
European Commission's Open Access Envoy Joins the COAlition S Executive Steering Group
10 Simple Rules to Run an Open and Inclusive Project Online
Abstract: There are many reasons why open source projects have difficulty attracting contributors. Current academic incentive structures are some of the strongest. Wanting to maintain a competitive advantage, too great a focus on novelty when publishing papers, and too little credit given to writing documentation and tutorials, all encourage researchers to reinvent the wheel in a closed team. Although I will discuss these barriers, my talk will focus on some challenges that are much easier to overcome. Not knowing where to start. "Imposter syndrome" and the various intersecting biases that accompany (and often underpin) it. Being unsure as to whether a project even wants any contributions. These can all be addressed with 10 simple rules. From laying out your welcome mat, through setting explicit expectations, to the graceful death of your project, these steps will will help you build and run an open and inclusive community-driven project online. (Breaking down capitalism may have to wait for another day.) Bio: Kirstie Whitaker is a research fellow at the Alan Turing Institute (London, UK) and senior research associate in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. Her work covers a broad range of interests and methods, but the driving principle is to improve the lives of neurodivergent people and people with mental health conditions. Dr Whitaker uses magnetic resonance imaging to study child and adolescent brain development and participatory citizen science to educate non-autistic people about how they can better support autistic friends and colleagues. She is the lead developer of "The Turing Way", an openly developed educational resource to enable more reproducible data science. Kirstie is a passionate advocate for making science "open for all" by promoting equity and inclusion for people from diverse backgrounds, and by changing the academic incentive structure to reward collaborative working. She is the chair of the Turing Institute's Ethics Advisory Group, a Fulbright scholarship alumna and was a 2016/17 Mozilla Fellow for Science. Kirstie was named, with her collaborator Petra Vertes, as a 2016 Global Thinker by Foreign Policy magazine. You can find more information at her lab website: whitakerlab.github.io.
Make Science PhDs More Than Just a Training Path for Academia
Science PhD programmes cater almost exclusively to students bound for academia, but they don't have to.
Committees with Implicit Biases Promote Fewer Women when They Do Not Believe Gender Bias Exists
Committees with Implicit Biases Promote Fewer Women when They Do Not Believe Gender Bias Exists
In a nationwide competition for elite research positions, committees that hold strong implicit gender biases and doubt that women face external barriers to their success are observed to promote fewer women.
7 Easy Steps to Open Science
This paper provides an introduction to open science and related reforms in the form of an annotated reading list of seven peer-reviewed articles.
How the Trump Administration Limited the Scope of the USDA's 2020 Dietary Guidelines
How the Trump Administration Limited the Scope of the USDA's 2020 Dietary Guidelines
The Trump administration is limiting scientific input to the 2020 dietary guidelines, raising concerns among nutrition advocates and independent experts about industry influence over healthy eating recommendations for all Americans.
Journal of Quantitative Science Studies
Quantitative Science Studies, from the MIT Press, is the official open access journal of the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics (ISSI).
WHO and TDR Join COAlition S to Support Free and Immediate Access to Health Research
WHO and TDR Join COAlition S to Support Free and Immediate Access to Health Research
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) announce they are the first of the United Nations agencies to join COAlition S. This commitment will ensure that all WHO and TDS supported health research will be free to read online on the day it is published.
The Allure of the Journal Impact Factor Holds Firm, Despite Its Flaws
The Allure of the Journal Impact Factor Holds Firm, Despite Its Flaws
Many researchers still see the journal impact factor (JIF) as a key metric for promotions and tenure, despite concerns that it’s a flawed measure of a researcher’s value.
The True Costs of Research and Publishing
Kathryn M. Rudy considers the huge expenses of doing scholarly work in her field of art history.
Memo to Italy's President: Your Researchers Need You
The collapse of Italy's coalition government has left researchers vulnerable. The president should use his moral authority with party leaders to make sure that promises of increased funding are kept.