Global flow of tertiary-level students
Where do students go to study? Where do they come from?
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How did Lego become a gender battleground?
A palaeontologist, an astronomer, a chemist - into the pantheon of children's toys stride three new Lego characters. Not so surprising. Except the scientists are all female.
US Department of Energy frees up access to research
The US Department of Energy has revealed how papers from research it funds will become free to read.
Public consultation on Science 2.0
The goal of the consultation is to better understand the full societal potential of 'Science 2.0' as well as the desirability of any possible policy action
Researcher's death shocks Japan
One of Japan's top stem cell researchers, died in an apparent suicide. He was famous for his ability to coax embryonic stem cells to differentiate into other cell types.
Another Nature stem cell paper is retracted
Another stem cell paper has been retracted from Nature, this one a highly cited 2008 study. This is the 7th retraction in Nature this year.
Canada National Research Council 'hacked by Chinese spies'
Canada National Research Council 'hacked by Chinese spies'
A top Canadian government research organisation has been struck by Chinese hackers, the government has said.
What does the new European Commission and Parliament mean for science?
It has been a busy couple of weeks across the European Union, but what does that mean for science?
More and more attention and funding
Researchers working at the interface of disciplines can pursue insights without sacrificing career progress.
'Impact': prestige or relevance for developing world research?
The release of the 2014 Impact Factor Report was being awaited, as usual, with some anticipation. Yet this comes at a time when there is an ever-rising tide of contestation about its value in a radically changing research environment, especially in the developing world.
In praise of early independence
Many factors influence success in a science career. Hard work, ambition, flair, and luck played a role in the success of Tim Hunt, who won a share of the 2001 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. Hunt's career demonstrates the importance of two additional success factors: playfulness and early independence.
How America's Great University System Is Being Destroyed
How America's Great University System Is Being Destroyed
When universities become corporatized, as has been happening quite systematically over the last generation as part of the general neoliberal assault on the population, their business model means that what matters is the bottom line.
Assessing Science
Earlier this year, at a symposium organized by Nature in Melbourne, Australia, a group of leading academics, funders and government advisers discussed how research outcomes are measured. This Nature Outlook was influenced by these debates.
Work Programme 2015
This document is the annual work programme for the European Research Council funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.
A surge of p-values between 0.040 and 0.049 in recent decades
A surge of p-values between 0.040 and 0.049 in recent decades
It is known that statistically significant results are more likely to be published than results that are not statistically significant. We conducted a search in the abstracts of papers published between 1990 and 2014. The results indicate that negative results are not disappearing, but have actually become 4.3 times more prevalent since 1990. Positive results, on the other hand, have become 13.9 times more prevalent since 1990.
OA papers ‘gain more traffic and citations’
Open access science articles are read and cited more often than articles available only to subscribers, a study has suggested.
NIH institute considers broad shift to ‘people’ awards
Fund people, not projects. The NIH is now encouraging its 27 institutes and centers to launch their own people awards.
Want a grant? First review someone else's proposal
Applicants are required to assess seven competing proposals in exchange for having their own application reviewed.
Open letter to Mr. Juncker
Letter urging to support for the post of Chief Scientific Adviser to the European Commission President.
DORA's new "JIF-Less" Assessment Web Site
DORA is calling for the scientific community to contribute fresh JIF-less examples to the new DORA web page. Some procedures collected to date will affect scientists applying for positions at Europe's leading EMBO in Germany, at the NSF and at the NIH.
Transparency promised for vilified impact factor
Thomson Reuters vows to be clearer about how science's most misused metric is calculated.
A radical change in peer review
A radical change in peer review
US ideas have a disproportionate influence on business schools
The changing nature of research evaluation in UK higher education is creating perverse and damaging consequences that reinforce an excessively narrow definition of what counts as "high-quality" research.
Retractions are coming thick and fast: it's time for publishers to act
Commenters on post-publication peer review sites such as PubPeer are catching errors that traditional peer reviewers have missed.
Crack down on scientific fraudsters
According to a study published last year, “most investigators who engage in wrongdoing, even serious wrongdoing, continue to conduct research at their institutions.”
Incentivizing peer-review
Under current scientific publishing norms, most research – including, but not limited to, the analysis of thin circular objects – is accessible only to high-paying institutions.
Survey of academic field experiences (SAFE): trainees report harassment and assault
Survey of academic field experiences (SAFE): trainees report harassment and assault
Young researchers, especially women, are more likely to be sexually harassed or assaulted when they are doing fieldwork than in the office.
Opening up research proposals
An open research proposal calling for open research proposals and funding transparency.
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