An overview of the main Tunisian scientists in Chemistry and Materials Science

Abstract In this research paper, a ranking of the 61 main Tunisian scientists in chemistry and materials science working in Tunisia and abroad is provided. It is clearly seen that 37 out of 61 scientists are working in Tunisia and this is explained by the tendency of Tunisian universities having to work on interdisciplinary research that is known for providing more citations than theoretical and applied research. However, the performance of the Tunisian main scientists working abroad appears superior to the one of the local Tunisian main scientists. This is explained by the better conditions of research offered outside Tunisia and maybe by a deficiency in their choice of international collaboration. A new policy should then be elaborated to improve the organization of such research collaborations and let them more fructuous

Women and science in development: a longitudinal analysis of gender, networks, and information technology in Ghana, Kenya, and India

This dissertation examines the gendered nature of the scientific career for researchers in universities and national research institutes in Ghana, Kenya, and Kerala India. Employing panel data, I analyze three issues related to the diffusion of ICTs in the scientific communities of less developed areas: 1) access; 2) interaction; 3) and involvement. More specifically, I examine the way in which human capital, family structure, travel experiences, contextual factors, and technological antecedents interact with gender to influence access to and use of personal computers, email, and the Web. From there, I incorporate technological behavioral changes to predict interaction within professional networks. In the last step, I incorporate professional network measures to examine the gendered nature of research outcomes in the form of scientific productivity. The results suggest that over time ICTs have rapidly diffused within the three locations. At the same time, women continue to report less long-term access to email and the web. Furthermore, men and women are distinctly different in terms of intensity and extent of email and web use with women emerging as less technologically oriented. In spite of the differences on these measures, men are not earlier adopters of the technologies than women. It does not appear, however, that there is a consistent relationship between greater email use and integration within professional networks. Gender, on the other hand, emerges as one of the most consistent predictors of network outcomes, particularly in terms of absolute network size, geographic and gender diversity, and the proportion of male contacts reported. Finally, men and women are equally productive in domestic venues, but women are less productive in foreign venues. Furthermore, network structure is not as strongly related to productivity as are changes in technological use behavior. Respondents using email for a wider variety of reasons over time produce more in foreign and domestic venues, but intensity of email use is actually negatively related to productivity, suggesting that it is not technology use in general that matters when predicting outcomes, but the type of technology use. Network structure on the other hand, is only a significant predictor of domestic productivity

A construção da excelencia nos processos de avaliação da pesquisa : a Comision Sectorial de Investigacion Cientifica da Universidad de la Republica, Uruguai

Orientador: Lea Maria L. S. VelhoDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de GeocienciasResumo: O objetivo central deste trabalho é fazer uma análise do significado da excelência no âmbito dos processos de avaliação da ciência levados a efeito nas agências de fomento à investigação. A discussão é realizada a partir da experiência de uma situação institucional específica: a Comisión Sectorial de Investigación Científica -CSIC- da Universidad de Ia República de Uruguai, com base em documentos, dados quantitativos e entrevistas com integrantes da Comissão e de suas subcomissões, participantes dos seus mecanismos de avaliação, dos processos decisórios e das políticas implementadas. O trabalho explora as diferentes facetas do conceito através de uma abordagem sociológica, que permite veicular uma análise crítica da avaliação por pares da atividade científica. Sendo uma formulação possível da pergunta principal: como se constroem os critérios de excelência científica?, apresentam-se resultados de pesquisa que são tratados como evidências de que a excelência é socialmente construida em processos de negociação, específicos de cada contexto histórico particular. Ela não é um conceito abstrato nem tem existência independente do contexto de sua construção. Tenta-se identificar as formas pelas quais a excelência incorpora na sua constituição as contingências do momento e do lugar onde é construída pelos participantes do processo: o locus da avaliação da pesquisa. Discutem-se algumas características da operacionalização da avaliação, distinguindo vários momentos do processo: a escolha dos pares, a atuação dos mesmos e a tomada de decisão da Comissão. Neles identificam-se as vinculações da excelência com o lugar da pesquisa e o lugar da avaliação; com o conhecimento do parecerista do contexto que envolve a proposta e os seus valores e formação intelectual; e com as contingências do processo de negociação até à resolução final. A geração de um acordo a respeito da qualidade de um projeto é geralmente rápida entre os integrantes dos organismos. São eles que determinam a excelência de cada proposta; obtêm os consensos a respeito das linhas de pesquisa. dos objetivos e das metodologias adequadas; decidem os caminhos que deve seguir a ciência local no seu conjunto. Os mecanismos de julgamento parecem ser chaves na construção de consensos, e de grande importância no desenvolvimento da ciência e na sua relação com a sociedade. Na arena de negociação que vincula a atividade científica e os recursos financeiros também se dá forma à direção e ao conteúdo da ciência. Os projetos e pesquisadores financiados têm possibilidades de atingir consensos em relação a algumas 'realidades' ou 'verdades' determinadas; as outras possíveis não chegam a existir, pelo fato de não serem financiadas. As grandes linhas das disciplinas são em parte definidas nesse processo de financiamentoAbstract: This study aims to analyze the concept of exceIlence within the process of evaluation of scientific activities. We locate this discussion on the research funding agency of the Universidad de Ia República, Uruguay: the Sectoral Commission for Scientific Investigation -CSIC-. Based on quantitative data and on face-to-face interviews with university officials, the study attemps to explore how research evaluation criteria are locally constructed by participants. ExceIlence is not an abstract concept; it does not exist independently or without reference to local contexts and circumstances. We try to identify the ways by wich exceIlence incorporates the contingencies of the evaluation process, in their various moments: peer selection, peer evaluation and final decision making. The program officials determine the proposals' exceIlence; they reach consensus about research trends, adequate objectives and methodologies; they decide the direction ofthe local scientific activity. Peer review mecanisms are key pieces in the construction of consensus as weIl as in the ways science relates with society. The negotiation arena that forms a bridge between the scientific activity and the world of resources allocation simultaneously shape the directions and the content of science. The funded projects are the ones with possibilities to reach agreements about what is 'real' or 'true'. The rejected ones represent 'realities' wich wiIl never exist only becaause they did not get funds. Main trends of science are defined, in part, within the resource allocation process, the [oeus of scientific evaluationMestradoMestre em Política Científica e Tecnológic

Collaboration and research performance in Science: A study of scientists at the National University of Mexico (UNAM)

The present study looks at the relationship between collaboration and performance in science in a sample of 15 Mexican researchers from the National University of Mexico (UNAM) with high visibility in the international scientific literature. Three scientists were chosen from each of the following fields where the UNAM is known to make important contributions to world science: Biomedical Research, Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Geosciences. The links that the scientists had established with the international scientific community were analysed using a combination of methodologies. Curricular, bibliometric and scientometric data were used to determine aspects such as: a)the research trajectory and environment of the 15 scientists; b)their publications in mainstream and non-mainstream literature and c)the relationship of these parameters with other variables, such as age and disciplines; d)co-authorships with institutional, national and foreign colleagues; e)the effect of sabbaticals and other prolonged visits to institutions abroad on the production of papers and co-authorship patterns; and f)the relationship between co-authorship and citations patterns. Taking into consideration that behind the bibliometric data is a multi-layered social world constructed of and driven along by the communication behaviour of individuals, which can be determined only by consulting the scientists concerned, the 15 scientists were asked to answer a questionnaire and were subsequently interviewed. Questions were designed to test the validity of assumptions derived from the analysis of the data in the first part of the study, as well as to determine the importance of links established with colleagues abroad, especially during sabbaticals. Results indicate the importance of contact and collaboration with foreign colleagues in the development of the research careers of Mexican scientists, as well as for facilitating their integration into the wider scientific community. The repercussions of this individual activity for the development of Mexican research is discussed, particularly in relation to possible gains for other colleagues and in the training of new researchers

Foreign interventions and domestic initiatives in the development of education for librarianship and information management, with Iraq as a case study.

This study aimed to identify the influences on the development and sustainability of education for librarianship and information management. It analysed the factors that contribute to the development of education for librarianship and information management, drawing on theories of change management and the transfer of innovation, and the contextual factors suggested by theories of comparative librarianship. The investigation of these factors focused on a case study of developments in Iraq up to 2003. It examined education for librarianship and information management against the background of the creation of the countrys library and information services, and the broader context of its national, economic, and social development. It also considered trends in international perspectives on library development, and the advice and assistance offered to Iraq. To provide a benchmark for developments in Iraq, it contrasted developments there with brief summaries of parallel developments in other Arab countries and in the cognate field of education for archives and records management in Iraq. It drew evidence from the published literature, previously unexplored archival material, and discussions with some of the participants. From an evaluation of the evidence, the study developed models of the value chain in developing education in the field, illustrating the complex interactions that need to be considered. These represent the generic factors that appear critical to the sustainable development of education for librarianship and information management not only in developing countries but also in countries that are seeking to strengthen the foundations of education in this field. The conclusions also pointed to a number of specific issues that fostered or hindered development in Iraq, including trends in international assistance. The study calls for further work including investigating the impact of traditional and cultural attitudes on the development of education in the field, and understanding of how future generations of LIS professionals in Iraq could develop as change agents