A utilidade do conhecimento: Da relevância social á mobilização do conhecimento

En los últimos años ha emergido un vocabulario más sofisticado en el campo de la educación superior. Categorías como investigación socialmente relevante; movilización del conocimiento; impacto de la investigación; innovación; han aparecido en las prioridades fijadas para la universidad. A primera vista, estos términos pueden parecer neutrales, simples y libres de conflictos de intereses. Sin embargo, se argumenta aquí que cada uno de ellos requiere un análisis más profundo, especialmente en relación con las políticas públicas científicas y universitarias actuales, ya que su uso tiene consecuencias e/o impactos tanto a nivel institucional (instituciones de educación superior) como en los agentes (académicos, directores de proyectos, etc.). Por lo tanto, al arrojar luz sobre el hecho de que la “relevancia social” de la universidad es una categoría comúnmente abordada en los documentos que regulan la actividad universitaria, se afirma que tales categorías indican un concepto reduccionista de “relevancia” que es utilizado como un sustituto del sentido, la misión y los objetivos de la universidad. Con el fin de identificar y analizar estos nuevos términos y categorías utilizados como medidas de conocimiento académico, este trabajo se centra en los sistemas universitarios públicos en Argentina y Canadá. Desde una perspectiva comparativa, se pretende obtener una mejor comprensión de los cambios en la movilización del conocimiento.In recent years, a more sophisticated vocabulary has emerged in the field of higher education. Categories such as socially relevant research; knowledge mobilization; research impact; innovation; and university priorities have appeared. At first glance, these words may appear neutral, simple and free from conflicts of interest. However, I argue that each of them requires deeper analysis, especially in relation to current scientific and university public policies, as their use has consequences and/or impacts both at the institutional level (higher education institutions) and actor-level (scholars, project managers, etc.). Therefore, by shedding light on the fact that “social relevance” of university is a commonly addressed category in documents regulating university activities, I postulate that such categories indicate a reductionist notion of “relevance” that is used haphazardly as a substitute for the ideas of meaning, mission, and the aims of a university. In order to pinpoint and discuss these new terms and categories that are used as measures of academic knowledge, the paper focuses on public university systems in Argentina and Canada. From a comparative perspective, I aim at grasping a better understanding of the changes in knowledge mobilization.Nos últimos anos, surgiu um vocabulário mais sofisticado em matéria de ensino superior. Categorias e investigação socialmente relevantes; mobilização do conhecimento; impacto da investigação; inovação; têm aparecido sobre as prioridades para a universidade. À primeira vista, esses termos podem parecer neutro, simples e livre de conflitos de interesse. No entanto, argumenta-se aqui que cada um deles exige uma mais profunda, especialmente no que diz respeito à análise de políticas públicas científica e universitária atual, porque seu uso tem conseqüências e/ou impactos a nível institucional (instituições de ensino superior), como os agentes (acadêmicos, gestores de projecto, etc.) Portanto, para lançar luz sobre o fato de que a "relevância social" da universidade é uma categoria comumente abordados nos documentos que regem a actividade da universidade, afirma que tais categorias indicam um conceito reducionista de "relevância" é usado como um substituto para o sentido, a missão e os objetivos da universidade. A fim de identificar e analisar esses novos termos e categorias utilizadas como medidas de conhecimento acadêmico, este trabalho concentra-se em sistemas universitários públicos na Argentina e no Canadá. A partir de uma perspectiva comparativa , é obter uma melhor compreensão das mudanças na mobilização do conhecimento.Fil: Naidorf, Clara Judith. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Health Inequities Researchers Need to Engage Municipal Governments

The body of research on health inequities doesn’t offer enough guidance to municipal governments. Too much emphasis is placed on individual behaviour and biomedical solutions (like access to health care services and drugs). Researchers need to offer governments more policy advice on health inequities.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

How Do We Come to Know? Exploring Maple Syrup Production and Climate Change in Near North Ontario

This paper reports on a pilot project exploring the impacts of climate change on maple syrup production in understudied near north, Ontario spaces. Maple syrup is produced by settler, Métis and First Nations communities for commercial distribution and as part of a mixed subsistence economy. The focus on maple syrup is opportune, since syrup production and sugar maple trees (Acer saccharum) are extremely susceptible to climate change and the biophysical and social impacts of climate change on maple syrup production in the near north of Ontario have yet to be understood. Given that the process of developing research is under-reported and that this project has had the opportunity to undertake a funded development process, this paper describes and assesses our process of ‘coming to know’, which has been guided by the following objectives: 1) to undertake an exploratory investigation of the nature of available data about long-term syrup production and climate change in both settler and Indigenous communities, 2) to include and valorize marginalized Indigenous voices and ecologies, 3) to focus on collecting climate change data from understudied near north spaces, 4) to assess the availability and quality of ecological and quantitative data in order to enhance locally-relevant understandings of climate change, and 5) to work towards the development of a cross-cultural and transdisciplinary methodological framework within which to accomplish the first four objectives. We approach these objectives across disciplinary boundaries and cultural perspectives, and with growing relationships with community partners. We describe the rich sources of information found through the pilot study and discuss highlights of our on-going process of developing our research project

Research Data Management and the Canadian Academic Library: An Organizational Consideration of Data Management and Data Stewardship

Research data management (RDM) has become a professional imperative for Canada’s academic librarians. Recent policy considerations by our national research funding agencies that address the ability of Canadian universities to effectively manage the massive amounts of research data they now create has helped library and university administrators recognize this gap in the research enterprise and identify RDM as a solution. RDM is not new to libraries, though. Rather, it draws on existing and evolving organizational functions in order to improve data collection, access, use, and preservation. A successful research data management service requires the skills and knowledge found in a library’s research liaisons, collections experts, policy analysts, IT experts, archivists and preservationists. Like the library, research data management is not singular but multi-faceted. It requires collaboration, technology and policy analysis skills, and project management acumen. This paper examines research data management as a vital information, technical, and policy service in academic libraries today. It situates RDM not only as actions and services but also as a suite of responsibilities that require a high level of planning, collaboration, and judgment, thereby binding people to practice. It shows how RDM aligns with the skill sets and competencies of librarianship and illustrates how RDM spans the library’s organizational structure and intersects with campus stakeholders allied in the research enterprise

When Women are Equal: The Canada Research Chair Experience

This paper focuses on the gendered nature of elite academic careers. Of interest is how similar or diff erent the experiences are of women and men who have been appointed to Canada Research Chairs (CRCs). In particular, we examine the impacts of holding a CRC position and consider the factors that shape that experience for women and men. Based on interviews with 60 CRCs, we find that when women and men are given similar opportunities, their experiences are more alike than diff erent. Where diff erences arise, these are often related to the experience of status/prestige associated with the CRC, and to family care responsibilities. Using expectation states theory, we demonstrate that when women are equal to men, the significance of gender as a determinant of the academic experience is diminished

Universities, Community Engagement, and Democratic Social Science

The purpose of this dissertation is to identify and compare differences between institutional conceptualizations of community engagement with the understanding and practices of faculty engaged in community-based research (CBR), and analyze the implications of these differences. The study contrasts the model of community engagement that is being promoted by universities and the granting agencies (specifically the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada) with what community-engaged researchers experience it to be, with a view to developing an analysis of the relationship between individuals and the political economy of research in which they work. In Canada, universities are being encouraged by the federal government to assume greater responsibility for economic development and to translate knowledge into products and services for the market—while at the same time being tasked to work with communities in alleviating the social and economic excesses of the market. Drawing upon a qualitative, interview-based research design, my main line of argument is that there is a contradiction regarding the democratization of knowledge production between universities and communities that the institutionalization of community engagement promises—and the aligning of this process of knowledge production with market-driven forces and outcomes. The concern addressed in the dissertation is that the emancipatory intentions of community-based research are being co-opted by the entrepreneurial and managerial ethos influencing and structuring the "doing" of research. Such developments necessitate an interrogation of the institutional contexts in which participatory and community-engaged research are becoming positioned within the market-driven and performance-based governance of university research

Social media in scholarly communication : a review of the literature and empirical analysis of Twitter use by SSHRC doctoral award recipients

This report has been commissioned by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to analyze the role that social media currently plays in scholarly communication as well as to what extent metrics derived from social media activity related to scholarly content can be applied in an evaluation context. Scholarly communication has become more diverse and open with research being discussed, shared and evaluated online. Social media tools are increasingly being used in the research and scholarly communication context, as scholars connect on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter or specialized platforms such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu or Mendeley. Research is discussed on blogs or Twitter, while datasets, software code and presentations are shared on Dryad, Github, FigShare and similar websites for reproducibility and reuse. Literature is managed, annotated and shared with online tools such as Mendeley and Zotero, and peer review is starting to be more open and transparent. The changing landscape of scholarly communication has also brought about new possibilities regarding its evaluation. So-called altmetrics are based on scholarly social media activity and have been introduced to reflect scholarly output and impact beyond considering only peer-reviewed journal articles and citations within them to measure scientific success. This includes the measurement of more diverse types of scholarly work and various forms of impact including that on society. This report provides an overview of how various social media tools are used in the research context based on 1) an extensive review of the current literature as well as 2) an empirical analysis of the use of Twitter by the 2010 cohort of SSHRC Doctoral Award recipients was analyzed in depth. Twitter has been chosen as one of the most promising tools regarding interaction with the general public and scholarly communication beyond the scientific community. The report focuses on the opportunities and challenges of social media and derived metrics and attempts to provide SSHRC with information to develop guidelines regarding the use of social media by funded researchers as well support the informed used of social media metrics

Communicating Qualitative Research Study Designs to Research Ethics Review Boards

Researchers using qualitative methodologies appear to be particularly prone to having their study designs called into question by research ethics or funding agency review committees. In this paper, the author considers the issue of communicating qualitative research study designs in the context of institutional research ethics review and offers suggestions for researchers to consider in their communication of study designs to research ethics review boards. General information about the mandate of research ethics review boards is provided. In light of wide international variability with respect to research ethics regulatory environments and review board processes, specific considerations and suggestions about communicating qualitative study designs effectively are presented within a Canadian case study example

Town Hall: Building the Future of Research Data Management at Western

This Town Hall was held to seek feedback from the campus community on Western\u27s Institutional Strategy to support Research Data Management. Western’s draft Strategy was developed by the University’s Research Data Infrastructures Working Group in response to the Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy, which lays out a number of new requirements on data management for researchers applying for federal funding. Although developed in response to this policy, the Strategy is intended to shape the future of Research Data Management at Western for all researchers, grant funded or not, student or faculty, regardless of discipline.Matthew Lucas from SSHRC gave an introduction to the Tri-Agency policy on Research Data Management, and Research Data Management Librarian Kristi Thompson provided an overview of the draft strategy in its current draft form. Representatives from the Tri-Agency and a panel of members from the Research Data Infrastructures Working Group offered their perspectives and answered questions. Western panelists: Jacqueline Burkell (Associate Vice-President, Research), Colin Couchman (Chief Data Officer), Brent Fowles (Director, Cyber Security and Business Services), Nicola Geoghegan-Morphet (Health Sciences Ethics Officer), Bobby Glushko (Associate Chief Librarian), Elizabeth Hill (Data Librarian), Kristi Thompson (RDM Librarian) Tri-Agency Panelists: Matthew Lucas and Alexander Thistlewood, both from SSHRC