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Is Science Hitting a Wall?

Economists show increased research efforts are yielding decreasing returns. Too much innovation veneration! One driver of the replication crisis is our culture’s growing obsession with “innovation.” As technology historians Lee Vinsel and Andrew Russell state in their influential Aeon essay Hail the Maintainers: “Entire societies have come to talk about innovation as if it were an inherently desirable value."

Knowledge Sharing in Global Health Research - the Impact, Uptake and Cost of Open Access to Scholarly Literature

Knowledge Sharing in Global Health Research - the Impact, Uptake and Cost of Open Access to Scholarly Literature

This study aims to assess the use, cost and impact of open access diffusion in the context of global health research.  Although OA does not ensure full knowledge transfer from research to practice, limiting public access can negatively impact implementation and outcomes of health policy and reduce public understanding of health issues.

Jupyter, Mathematica, and the Future of the Research Paper

Jupyter, Mathematica, and the Future of the Research Paper

Why Jupyter succeed where Mathematica failed? The obvious contrast is between the proprietary world of Wolfram and the open-source model of the software ecosystem that Jupyter mobilizes.

Battle over College Course Material Is a Textbook Example of Technological Change

Battle over College Course Material Is a Textbook Example of Technological Change

A revolution in college course materials is raising questions about cost, access, and fairness. Publishers say their high-tech courseware - electronic books glowing with videos and interactive study guides - can improve the quality of learning at a small fraction of the cost of traditional textbooks. But student advocates call for adoption of open-source textbooks that can be downloaded for free and worry that the same companies that drove up the price of print textbooks are dominating the digital space and will ultimately introduce higher costs there.

The Mark of a Woman’s Record: Gender and Academic Performance in Hiring

The Mark of a Woman’s Record: Gender and Academic Performance in Hiring

A survey suggests that achievement invokes gendered stereotypes that penalize women for having good grades, creating unequal returns to academic performance at labor market entry.

The More Revisions a Paper Undergoes, the Greater Its Subsequent Recognition in Terms of Citations

The More Revisions a Paper Undergoes, the Greater Its Subsequent Recognition in Terms of Citations

Some evidence showing that the more revisions a paper undergoes, the greater its subsequent recognition in terms of citation impact.

The Pay Gap, Visualized and Analyzed

The Pay Gap, Visualized and Analyzed

Even when the field of academic study is removed from the equation, women’s earnings still trail those of men by 11 percent. The reason? Family. Married women with children are paid less than those who don’t have similarly structured families. Meanwhile, men earn the same amount, regardless of their marital or parental status. 

Seven Functionalities the Scholarly Literature Should Have

Seven Functionalities the Scholarly Literature Should Have

A short list of seven functionalities that academic publishers looking to modernize their operations might invest in; from unencumbered access and improved social components, to dynamic data visualisations and more precise hyperlinking.

Tweet Success? Scientific Communication Correlates with Increased Citations in Ecology and Conservation

Tweet Success? Scientific Communication Correlates with Increased Citations in Ecology and Conservation

In recent years, increasing media exposure (measured by Altmetrics) did not relate to the equivalent citations as in earlier years; signaling a diminishing return on investment.

Science Podcasts: Analysis of Global Production and Output from 2004 to 2018

Science Podcasts: Analysis of Global Production and Output from 2004 to 2018

The total number of science podcasts was found to have grown linearly between 2004 and 2010, but between 2010 and 2018 the number of science podcast has grown exponentially.

EUA Publishes Big Deals Survey Report, the First European-Level Mapping of Major Scientific Contracts in Europe

EUA Publishes Big Deals Survey Report, the First European-Level Mapping of Major Scientific Contracts in Europe

A survey focusing on the functions and working process of consortia, as well as on the conditions of contracts for big deals concerning scientific periodicals, databases, and e-books. The results of the survey show that consortia broadly represent the interests of relevant stakeholders from the university and library sectors and are largely driven by researchers’ needs.

Unlocking the Open - Europe PMC Integrates with Unpaywall

Unlocking the Open - Europe PMC Integrates with Unpaywall

Europe PMC, one of the largest free online open access repositories in the life sciences, has teamed up with Unpaywall to unlock even more content for their users (the SNSF is a Europe PMC funding group member).

To What Extent Is Inclusion in the Web of Science an Indicator of Journal 'Quality'?

To What Extent Is Inclusion in the Web of Science an Indicator of Journal 'Quality'?

Using WoS as a universalistic tool for research assessment can disadvantage science published in journals with adequate editorial standards and scientific merit.

Melinda Gates on Diversity in Tech, Ending Malaria, and the Problems Money Can't Solve

Melinda Gates on Diversity in Tech, Ending Malaria, and the Problems Money Can't Solve

"If you [only] have products created by white guys in their 20s, you’re gonna miss the mark."

China Issues Regulations for Improving Security and Management of Scientific Data

China Issues Regulations for Improving Security and Management of Scientific Data

The regulations issued by the State Council aim to improve the management, security, accuracy, and openness of scientific data.

Sex Differences in Academic Rank and Publication Rate in US Neurology Programs

Sex Differences in Academic Rank and Publication Rate in US Neurology Programs

Cross-sectional study investigating the potential sex differences at each faculty rank in top-ranked US academic neurology programs by comparing the number of male vs female neurologists and their level of academic productivity quantitated by publication rates and scholarly activities.