Bio-techno-practice. Personal and social responsibility in the academic work

The new challenges posed by biomedicine and biotechnologies ask for a deeper consideration on the relationship among science, knowledge and social responsibility. On one hand, in fact, technologies seem to shape our idea of human progress and scientific understanding of the natural world and of life in particular. On the other hand, a thoughtful consideration on the philosophical foundations of science as human enterprise is required. This also opens important questions about the new emerging paradigms of ‘excellence’ in the academic, social and market fields and on the role that universities play in training the future leaders and professionals of our society. After a short review of the contemporary philosophical reflections on the unity of knowledge, which is the origin and the goal of academic work, we argue that adherence to our current challenges through the bio-techno-practice prism is a fecund driving force of the academic activities. Moving from the experience of an international project, we also discuss the impact that such interdisciplinary activities have on what we call hidden curriculum, i.e. the embodied style of (skills that allow) people in taking care of each other in their physical, social, professional and scientific needs

Does Size Matter? The Multipolar International Landscape of Nanoscience

How do different countries tackle nanoscience research? Are all countries similar except for a trivial size effect, as science is often assumed to be universal? Or does size dictate large differences, as large countries are able to develop activities in all directions of research, while small countries have to specialize in some specific niches? Alternatively, is size irrelevant, as all countries have followed different historical paths, leading to different patterns of specialisation? Here, we develop an original method that uses a bottom-up definition of scientific subfields to map the international structure of any scientific field. Our analysis shows that nanoscience research does not show a universal pattern of specialisation, homothetic of that of a single global leader (e.g., the United States). Instead, we find a multipolar world, with four main ways of doing nanosciences.Fil: Levin, Luciano Guillermo. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Humanas. Instituto de Estudios Sociohistóricos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Jensen, Pablo. École normale supérieure de Lyon; FranciaFil: Kreimer, Pablo Rafael. Universidad Maimónides; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Characterizing HCI Research in China: Streams, Methodologies and Future Directions

This position paper takes the first step to attempt to present the initial characterization of HCI research in China. We discuss the current streams and methodologies of Chinese HCI research based on two well-known HCI theories: Micro/Marco-HCI and the Three Paradigms of HCI. We evaluate the discussion with a survey of Chinese publications at CHI 2019, which shows HCI research in China has less attention to Macro-HCI topics and the third paradigms of HCI (Phenomenologically situated Interaction). We then propose future HCI research directions such as paying more attention to Macro-HCI topics and third paradigm of HCI, combining research methodologies from multiple HCI paradigms, including emergent users who have less access to technology, and addressing the cultural dimensions in order to provide better technical solutions and support

Towards Research Excellence for Development: The Research Quality plus (RQ+) Assessment Instrument

This document presents a framework and practical guidelines for assessing the quality of research for development. Referred to as the "RQ+"1 assessment instrument, it serves as a tool to guide the work of external evaluators hired by IDRC as part of the External Review process for prospectusbased programs."RQ+" is based on the premise that a credible, balanced and comprehensive assessment of the quality of research for development requires the consideration of elements beyond the research outputs only, or the use of conventional metrics. These additional elements include important aspects of the research process related to design, execution and the sharing of findings. For this reason, RQ+ indicates an approach that straddles output and research project assessment

Managing exploratory innovation

Although the concept of exploration has been widely used in management research since James March's seminal article, the literature on exploration remains rather fuzzy. The question of exploration is dominated by the literature on ambidexterity but this research actually says little about concretely managing exploratory innovation itself, although this appears to be a central concern of most industrial firms today. Based on a material (twenty presentations made in a research seminar the authors have organized in the last two years) and a critical review of the literature, this paper provides new theoretical and managerial insights on the management of exploratory innovation. We first identify three complementary perspectives: 1. Managing knowledge for exploration, 2. Organizing for exploration, and 3. Creating new value spaces. Secondly, we recommend focusing the management of exploratory innovation on the following two processes: identifying an exploratory field, creating new opportunities via experimentation.Exploration, management of innovation, knowledge, value spaces

New Media & Youth Identity. Issues and Research Pathways

Media have held a considerable and growing place in the social environment of industrial society in recent decades, transforming the perception that a people have of their place in the world and of their memberships and belonging, creating new paths for social relations, affecting lifestyles, socialization, and communication processes, and the construction of identity itself. The relationship between young people (especially teenagers and adolescents) and new media shows some peculiarities which are worth further reflection to understand the extent and outcomes of these social changes. This article aims to investigate the discourse on youth identity and new media in the social science literature, determining which are the key trends and exploring the more relevant research questions about this theme and the way these topics relate to one another. Titles and abstracts of articles published during the period 2004 \u2013 2013 were selected from the Scopus social sciences database and they were analysed using different content analysis techniques supported by the T-Lab software. The international literature on these topics presents a certain liveliness and heterogeneity in themes and its perspectives on theoretical and empirical research. Nevertheless, it has been possible to identify some key trends, focusing mainly on the idea of active identity construction by new media