Participations and Communications of Myanmar Academicians on Research Gate among Differences Disciplines

The purpose of this paper is to know the participating and communication of different disciplines among Myanmar academicians in ResearchGate (RG). The data were manually collected by visiting the profile pages of all members who had an account with the Institution of Myanmar in RG. In total, 1035 RG members and 59 participants' communications were analyzed by using the statistic method—Kruskal-Wallis H test under the five disciplines. The results show that Engineering and Technology disciplines massively participated than other disciplines on ResearchGate, while Natural science disciplines are more in research items. Life Science and Medicine disciplines have the most scholarly communication, respectively. There is no RG metric significant in social science disciplines. But, different disciplines of Myanmar academicians show varying levels of interest in being involved in RG with different significance Keywords: Researchgate, Myanmar academicians, Interaction, academic, social networks, question and answer site. DOI: 10.7176/IKM/11-2-03 Publication date:March 31st 202

From Social Networks to Publishing Platforms: A Review of the History and Scholarship of Academic Social Network Sites

Social network sites enable people to easily connect to and communicate with others. Following the success of generic platforms such as Facebook, a variety of online services launched during the mid 2000s in order to bring the benefits of online social networking to an academic audience. However, it is not clear whether these academic social network sites (ASNS) are primarily aligned with social networking or alternative publishing, and functionalities continue to change. Now ten years since the launch of the three main platforms which currently lead the market (Academia.edu, ResearchGate, and Mendeley), it is timely to review how and why ASNS are used. This paper discusses the history and definition of ASNS, before providing a comprehensive review of the empirical research related to ASNS to-date. Five main themes within the research literature are identified, including: the relationship of the platforms to Open Access publishing; metrics; interactions with others through the platforms; platform demographics and social structure; and user perspectives. Discussing the themes in the research both provides academics with a greater understanding of what ASNS can do and their limitations, and identifies gaps in the literature which would be valuable to explore in future research

Urban Planning Academics and Twitter: Who and what?

Twitter has increasingly become a resource used by academics to share scholarship and opinions within professional networks. This paper presents a descriptive analysis of Twitter use by urban planning faculty, reporting characteristics of users, the topics posted, and indicators of Twitter influence among urban planning faculty as well as those interested in planning from outside academic circles. Approximately one-third of urban planning academics are active Twitter users, and as of yet, there have been no empirical analyses of how and why they use the social media platform. This analysis uses Twitter data from active accounts for urban planning faculty in the U.S. and Canada identified as being used for professional purposes for the period from March 2007 to April 2019. Considering how planning academics use Twitter lends insights on its usefulness for academic discussion and scholarly communications. The conclusion discusses the prospects for planning academics to better utilize Twitter to broaden and deepen their professional activities while noting particular concerns

Investigating Science Researchers’ Presence on Academic Profile Websites: A case study of a Canadian research university

Peer ReviewedResearchers are increasingly using academic profile websites to organize and showcase their research outputs. Using the faculty at the science departments of the University of Saskatchewan, Canada as the study object, this research explores how science researchers used four academic profile websites: ResearchGate, Google Scholar Citations, Academia.edu, and ORCID. It was found that 78% of the researchers had established at least one academic profile, with ResearchGate being the most popular platform, Google Scholar Citations the second, followed at some distance by ORCID and Academia.edu. A high percentage of ORCID users did not list any of their publications, meaning their presence on ORCID was merely symbolic. We also found that the social interaction functions provided by ResearchGate were not well adopted. Findings from this study call for the improvement of the workflow of adding publications to ORCID profile

Which US and European Higher Education Institutions are visible in ResearchGate and what affects their RG Score?

While ResearchGate has become the most popular academic social networking site in terms of regular users, not all institutions have joined and the scores it assigns to academics and institutions are controversial. This paper assesses the presence in ResearchGate of higher education institutions in Europe and the US in 2017, and the extent to which institutional ResearchGate Scores reflect institutional academic impact. Most of the 2258 European and 4355 US higher educational institutions included in the sample had an institutional ResearchGate profile, with near universal coverage for PhD-awarding institutions found in the Web of Science (WoS). For non-PhD awarding institutions that did not publish, size (number of staff members) was most associated with presence in ResearchGate. For PhD-awarding institutions in WoS, presence in RG was strongly related to the number of WoS publications. In conclusion, a) institutional RG scores reflect research volume more than visibility and b) this indicator is highly correlated to the number of WoS publications. Hence, the value of RG Scores for institutional comparisons is limited

Study on open science: The general state of the play in Open Science principles and practices at European life sciences institutes

Nowadays, open science is a hot topic on all levels and also is one of the priorities of the European Research Area. Components that are commonly associated with open science are open access, open data, open methodology, open source, open peer review, open science policies and citizen science. Open science may a great potential to connect and influence the practices of researchers, funding institutions and the public. In this paper, we evaluate the level of openness based on public surveys at four European life sciences institute

Unveiling the path towards sustainability: scientific interest at HEIs from a scientometric approach in the period 2008-2017

Mención Internacional en el título de doctorLa humanidad ha experimentado el impacto de un modelo económico insostenible a todos los niveles. Este tema se ha cristalizado en diferentes cumbres y conferencias durante el siglo XX. Como resultado de esta preocupación, surgió el concepto de Desarrollo Sostenible (DS). Sin embargo, este concepto ha recibido muchas críticas por ser altamente antropocéntrico y compartimentado, carente de coherencia conceptual o interconexión entre todos los aspectos involucrados. Más tarde, la aparición de los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio (ODM) en 2000 y los recientes Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) en 2015 constituyen una nueva era. Este es el plan para lograr un futuro mejor y más sostenible para todos, en el que todos los agentes involucrados deben participar. En este punto, las instituciones de educación superior (IES) tienen un papel central y la sostenibilidad se ha convertido en una prioridad política para la ciencia. El objetivo de este estudio es conocer los patrones de la investigación llevada a cabo en investigación de sostenibilidad, incluido el flujo de actividad científica, así como la colaboración o el impacto que genera dicha investigación. Este estudio de doctorado explora cómo se puede delinear este concepto desde un enfoque bibliométrico, lo cual conduce a la ‘ciencia de la sostenibilidad’. La producción científica de artículos fue identificada y analizada en el período 2008-2017 en la Web of Science (WoS). Además, este estudio explora las instituciones de educación superior (IES) y su papel en el fomento de la sostenibilidad, mediante la evaluación de su investigación y la implementación de prácticas de sostenibilidad en las IES españolas. Además, presenta una delineación de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) y propone una metodología para clasificar la producción científica en cada uno e los objetivos. El análisis de esta producción se realiza a través de indicadores bibliométricos unidimensionales y multidimensionales. Estos indicadores se han dividido y analizado en diferentes niveles de agregación, desde el más general hasta el más específico, comenzando con las características generales de investigación y descendiendo al nivel de país, instituciones o temática, entre otros. Los resultados muestran un interés creciente en la investigación de sostenibilidad y se observa una fuerte influencia del pilar medioambiental. Además, hay países con una alta producción científica pero no tan especializados en el tema como otros con una menor producción. En cuanto a las instituciones, los resultados obtenidos muestran que las IES realizaron un importante esfuerzo de investigación para el desarrollo sostenible y son las que producen un mayor número de documentos. Además, se observa que las instituciones tienden a colaborar con centros geográficamente próximos. Al analizar las Prácticas de sostenibilidad en las IES españolas, se encuentran asociaciones altas entre variables como la presencia de un Plan de Sostenibilidad y de una Oficina Verde. Sin embargo, este estudio demuestra claramente que, aunque se reconoce que el desarrollo sostenible es muy importante para las IES y la sociedad, todavía no está integrado en las estrategias, actividades y políticas de todo el sistema. Como conclusión, se afirma que es esencial identificar estrategias de sostenibilidad e introducir desarrollo sostenible en todas las actividades en el entorno de las IES. Finalmente, esta tesis contribuye a la literatura sobre instituciones de educación superior sostenibles, así como al análisis y la mejora de educación superior para el desarrollo sostenible, especialmente en el sistema de educación superior español. Además, este estudio contribuye al análisis bibliométrico al ofrecer dos propuestas de delineación científica para la ciencia de la sostenibilidad y los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible, así como metodologías para clasificar la producción científica. Este análisis denota la importancia de los estudios bibliométricos para el estudio y la caracterización de la producción científica en un campo transdisciplinario que, además, se puede extrapolar a otros campos de estudio.Humanity has experienced the impact of an unsustainable economic model at all levels. This topic has crystallized in different summits and conferences during the 20th century. As a result of this concern, the concept of sustainable development (SD) emerged. However, it has received much criticism for being highly anthropocentric and compartmentalized, and lacking conceptual coherence or interconnectedness among all the aspects involved. The introduction of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000 and the recent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 heralded a new era. They represent a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all, in which all stakeholders need to be involved. At this point, higher education institutions (HEIs) have a central role to play and sustainability has emerged as a policy priority for science. The objective of this study is to investigate the patterns of sustainability research, including the flow of scientific activity, as well as the collaboration or impact that such research generates. This doctoral study explores how can sustainability can be delineated from a bibliometric approach, leading to a new approach of “sustainability science”. The scientific production of articles was identified and analysed for the period 2008–2017 using the Web of Science (WoS). Moreover, this research study explores HEIs and their role in fostering sustainability, by assessing their research and the implementation of sustainability practices in Spanish HEIs. As well, it presents a delineation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and proposes a methodology for classifying the output on each SDG. This analysis is done through unidimensional and multidimensional bibliometric indicators. These indicators have been divided and analysed in different levels of aggregation, from the most general to the most specific, starting with general research features and progressing to country, institutional, and thematic levels, among others. The results indicate a growing interest in sustainability research and a strong influence on the environmental pillar. Moreover, some countries with the highest scientific output are not as specialized in terms of topics as others with a lower output. Regarding institutions, the results obtained indicate that HEIs made an important research contribution to SD and are the ones that produce a higher number of documents. It was found that institutions tend to collaborate with other institutions that are close. By analysing sustainability practices in Spanish HEIs, it was found that there are more associations between variables such as having a sustainability plan and having a green office. However, this study clearly demonstrates that although SD is recognized as being very important to HEIs and society, it is not yet embedded in the whole system’s strategies, activities, and policies. In conclusion, this research study reveals that it is essential to identify sustainability strategies and introduce SD in all activities in the HEI environment. Finally, this thesis contributes to the literature on sustainable HEIs, as well as to how higher education for SD is understood and can be improved, especially in the Spanish higher education system. Moreover, this contributes to bibliometric study by offering two delineation approach to sustainability science and sustainable development goals as well as methodologies for classifying scientific output. This denotes the importante of bibliometric studies for the study and characterization of scientific output in a transdisciplinary field that can be extrapolated to other fields of study.Programa de Doctorado en Documentación: Archivos y Bibliotecas en el Entorno Digital por la Universidad Carlos III de MadridPresidente: Carlos Balaguer Bernaldo de Quirós.- Secretario: Birger Larsen.- Vocal: Sandra Sofía Ferreira Da Silva C

"Factors Influencing Academics’ Use of Microblogging in Higher Education"

Twitter is one of the most widely used social media tools, increasingly the object of academic research but also in use by academics themselves in their daily professional practice (Focus, 2010; Gerber, 2012; Lupton, 2014; Rowlands, Nicholas, Russell, Canty, & Watkinson, 2011). A number of empirical studies have been conducted to identify the uses and benefits of Twitter by scholars, at a general level. Among its core benefits appear to be that it offers a professional and scientific conversation channel, a means for sharing research ideas and increased research visibility, bridging geographical distances among academics community and practitioners; the facilitation of global partnerships in research; augmentation of teaching and learning; and the strengthening of academics’ engagement with public audiences, enhancing academic esteem and self-promotion (Lupton, 2014; Pearce, Weller, Scanlon, & Kinsley, 2010; Veletsianos & Kimmons, 2012a; Veletsianos, 2013). However, there has been little qualitative research on how academics practice Twitter (Kieslinger, Ebner, & Wiesenhofer, 2011; Lupton, 2014; Veletsianos, 2011, 2013). In this context, the aim of the study was to explore academics’ adoption and use of Twitter in UK Higher Education and the factors that influence their use of it. The study employed a qualitative method within an interpretive methodology (Mason, 2002; Miles & Huberman, 1994). A semi-structured interview was the main method of data collection; complemented by digital observation and interview observation. A total of 28 academics from five faculties at The University of Sheffield (UoS) were interviewed. A thematic approach was taken to data analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Findings captured detailed trajectories of academics’ Twitter use and six main themes emerged in the findings, namely: (1) the characteristics of Twitter users, (2) immediate drivers to adopt Twitter, (3) the pattern of adoption, (4) the range of Twitter uses, (5) temporal and behavioural patterns of Twitter use and (6) academic concerns over using Twitter. In addition, the study explores how attributes of the platform and technology affordances have key roles in shaping the practice. The study found that academics’ participation on Twitter is complex and multifaceted. Academics engage with Twitter for different purposes mainly in pursuit of academic interests and not for personal use. Findings identified nine types of Twitter use namely: (1) communication; (2) dissemination; (3) pedagogical activities; (4) building relationships and maintaining networks; (5) performing digital identity; (6) taking micro-breaks; (7) information seeking and gathering; (8) learning and (9) coordinating or amplifying other social media and website use. They perform these activities in strategic ways through a certain routines and develop approaches in managing its use. However, there is no simple formula to carrying out these activities. From a broader perspective, this study recognised two different views of the academic experience in relation to technology that could be relevant also to microblogging: a pessimistic and an optimistic view. Twitter use reflects issues identified by pessimistic commentators relating to the challenges faced by modern academics, such as: increasing competition to produce more quality and ‘impactful’ research; an agenda of excellence in teaching; pressure for public engagement; the rise of the academic ‘portfolio CV’; the research excellence framework (REF); and the wider effects of globalisation and the neoliberalism agenda (Henkel 2005; Clegg et al. 2003; Selwyn 2007; Fanghanel & Trowler 2008; Fanghanel 2011; Clegg 2012; Lorenz 2015). All these could be thought to affect how microblogging is taken up. On balance however, the experience of academics reflected more optimistic views of the impact of technology in Higher Education (Kirkup, 2010; Pearce et al., 2010; Scanlon, 2014; Veletsianos & Kimmons, 2012c; Veletsianos, 2013; M. Weller, 2011). Interviewees saw themselves as innovators and use Twitter as a vehicle to respond to the heavy workload that burdens them and they found the tools support their work in convenient and effective ways. The research makes a number of practical recommendations, providing suggestions to stakeholders in higher education such as institutions, academics and software developers. These include recommendations to provide staff with social media awareness training, promoting policies and guidelines for effective use for academics work including teaching activity, fostering take up through ‘key evangelist’ and promotional activities, offering helpdesk support, and teaching staff to anticipate risks such as managing social etiquette on Twitter. From a technical perspective, the study could inform the future design of technologies to support academic work