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Collaborative yet independent: Information practices in the physical sciences
In many ways, the physical sciences are at the forefront of using digital tools and methods to work with information and data. However, the fields and disciplines that make up the physical sciences are by no means uniform, and physical scientists find, use, and disseminate information in a variety of ways. This report examines information practices in the physical sciences across seven cases, and demonstrates the richly varied ways in which physical scientists work, collaborate, and share information and data.
This report details seven case studies in the physical sciences. For each case, qualitative interviews and focus groups were used to understand the domain. Quantitative data gathered from a survey of participants highlights different information strategies employed across the cases, and identifies important software used for research.
Finally, conclusions from across the cases are drawn, and recommendations are made. This report is the third in a series commissioned by the Research Information Network (RIN), each looking at information practices in a specific domain (life sciences, humanities, and physical sciences). The aim is to understand how researchers within a range of disciplines find and use information, and in particular how that has changed with the introduction of new technologies
CERN openlab Whitepaper on Future IT Challenges in Scientific Research
This whitepaper describes the major IT challenges in scientific research at CERN and several other European and international research laboratories and projects. Each challenge is exemplified through a set of concrete use cases drawn from the requirements of large-scale scientific programs. The paper is based on contributions from many researchers and IT experts of the participating laboratories and also input from the existing CERN openlab industrial sponsors. The views expressed in this document are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of their organisations and/or affiliates
Quantifying the impact of weak, strong, and super ties in scientific careers
Scientists are frequently faced with the important decision to start or
terminate a creative partnership. This process can be influenced by strategic
motivations, as early career researchers are pursuers, whereas senior
researchers are typically attractors, of new collaborative opportunities.
Focusing on the longitudinal aspects of scientific collaboration, we analyzed
473 collaboration profiles using an ego-centric perspective which accounts for
researcher-specific characteristics and provides insight into a range of
topics, from career achievement and sustainability to team dynamics and
efficiency. From more than 166,000 collaboration records, we quantify the
frequency distributions of collaboration duration and tie-strength, showing
that collaboration networks are dominated by weak ties characterized by high
turnover rates. We use analytic extreme-value thresholds to identify a new
class of indispensable `super ties', the strongest of which commonly exhibit
>50% publication overlap with the central scientist. The prevalence of super
ties suggests that they arise from career strategies based upon cost, risk, and
reward sharing and complementary skill matching. We then use a combination of
descriptive and panel regression methods to compare the subset of publications
coauthored with a super tie to the subset without one, controlling for
pertinent features such as career age, prestige, team size, and prior group
experience. We find that super ties contribute to above-average productivity
and a 17% citation increase per publication, thus identifying these
partnerships - the analog of life partners - as a major factor in science
career development.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 1 Tabl
International collaboration schemes in earth and environmental sciences : IGEC programmes and UNESCO IHP
There is a lack of studies that investigate how internationalization of science can effectively contribute to the globalization of environmental knowledge. Two cases of international collaboration programmes are analyzed from a science and innovation research perspective: (1) The organizational scheme of the International Global Environmental Change (IGEC) programmes in the ICSU tradition, and (2) the International Hydrological Programme (IHP). led by the UNESCO. The paper draws on two analytical distinctions: Firstly, following Turner et al. (1990), systemic global change is distinguished from local or regional environmental change that becomes global by worldwide accumulation. Secondly, collaboration programmes that belong to the social system of science are distinguished from programmes at the intersection of scientific and political spheres. Both cases are compared in terms of their (a) rationales for international collaboration, (b) their organisational structure and fundings, (c) international participation and (d) linkages between problem structure and collaboration. Representative and contrasting examples, their juxtaposition illustrates actual strategies and various constraints faced by scientific and intergouvernmental agencies promoting international collaboration in S & T for sustainability and capacity development. The paper reports research of my ongoing dissertation project under the working title Internationalization in environmental research: The case of freshwater. --
Research and Education in Computational Science and Engineering
Over the past two decades the field of computational science and engineering
(CSE) has penetrated both basic and applied research in academia, industry, and
laboratories to advance discovery, optimize systems, support decision-makers,
and educate the scientific and engineering workforce. Informed by centuries of
theory and experiment, CSE performs computational experiments to answer
questions that neither theory nor experiment alone is equipped to answer. CSE
provides scientists and engineers of all persuasions with algorithmic
inventions and software systems that transcend disciplines and scales. Carried
on a wave of digital technology, CSE brings the power of parallelism to bear on
troves of data. Mathematics-based advanced computing has become a prevalent
means of discovery and innovation in essentially all areas of science,
engineering, technology, and society; and the CSE community is at the core of
this transformation. However, a combination of disruptive
developments---including the architectural complexity of extreme-scale
computing, the data revolution that engulfs the planet, and the specialization
required to follow the applications to new frontiers---is redefining the scope
and reach of the CSE endeavor. This report describes the rapid expansion of CSE
and the challenges to sustaining its bold advances. The report also presents
strategies and directions for CSE research and education for the next decade.Comment: Major revision, to appear in SIAM Revie
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