The Chinese Knowledge Diaspora and Diaspora Knowledge Network: Australia and Canada compared

In the context of globalization and the knowledge economy, brains, increasingly mobile, have assumed unprecedented importance, and even more so in the coming decades when the academic profession is ageing. Developed nations like Australia and Canada compete to attract and retain the best and brightest. A related development, advancement in information and communications technology, enables the establishment of powerful cross-boundary research networks. The study builds on previous research in order to understand the Chinese knowledge diaspora in Australian and Canadian universities, and trace their transnational intellectual networks to colleagues in mainland, and other parts of the Chinese intellectual diaspora. A qualitative, grounded theory approach was used for the study. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted for data collection. The data gathering techniques yielded a rich volume of detailed descriptions that were categorized and thematically analyzed. The study investigates the role of the Chinese knowledge diaspora, and the dynamics of the diaspora network with special reference to the factors that both sustain and limit such transnational knowledge networks. The strong sense of cultural/ethnic identity and motivation for closer academic ties were reiterated, as were commonly-expressed sentiments that doing science in the West was a primary source of satisfaction. Substantial accounts of scientific communication and transnational collaboration were highly illustrative. While some had one or two kinds of interaction, most had multiple types of collaboration with China. The influencing factors at personal, institutional, and system level were well documented and categorized. Among the most prominent were the differences of research culture across the two systems. Limitations of this study include small sample size and distribution. Recommendations for future study include increasing the sample size, recruiting indigenous scholars and administrative staff, examining the Chinese knowledge diaspora from both research-intensive and less research-intensive universities in the United States, and investigating further how gender affects both academic being and knowledge networks with the mainland academia of China

Standardization as situation-specific achievement: regulatory diversity and the production of value in intercontinental collaborations in stem cell medicine

The article examines the role and challenges of scientific self-governance and standardization in inter-continental clinical research partnerships in stem cell medicine. The paper shows that – due to a high level of regulatory diversity – the enactment of internationally recognized standards in multi-country stem cell trials is a complex and highly situation-specific achievement. Standardization is imposed on a background of regulatory, institutional and epistemic-cultural heterogeneity, and implemented exclusively in the context of select clinical projects. Based on ethnographic data from the first trans-continental clinical trial infrastructure in stem cell medicine between China and the USA, the article demonstrates that locally evolved and international forms of experimental clinical research practices often co-exist in the same medical institutions. Researchers switch back and forth between these schemas, depending on the purposes of their research, the partners they work with, the geographic scale of research projects, and the contrasting demands for regulatory review, that result from these differences. Drawing on Birch’s analysis of the role of standardization in international forms of capital production in the biosciences, the article argues that the integration of local knowledge institutions into the global bioeconomy does not necessarily result in the shutting down of localized forms of value production. In emerging fields of medical research, that are regulated in highly divergent ways across geographical regions, the coexistence of distinct modes of clinical translation allows also for the production of multiple forms of economic value, at varying spatial scales. This is especially so in countries with lenient regulations. As this paper shows, the long-standing absence of a regulatory framework for clinical stem cell applications in China, permits the situation-specific adoption of internationally recognized standards in some contexts, while enabling the continuation of localized forms of value production in others

Bibliometric Maps of BIM and BIM in Universities: A Comparative Analysis

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is increasingly important in the architecture and engineering fields, and especially in the field of sustainability through the study of energy. This study performs a bibliometric study analysis of BIM publications based on the Scopus database during the whole period from 2003 to 2018. The aim was to establish a comparison of bibliometric maps of the building information model and BIM in universities. The analyzed data included 4307 records produced by a total of 10,636 distinct authors from 314 institutions. Engineering and computer science were found to be the main scientific fields involved in BIM research. Architectural design are the central theme keywords, followed by information theory and construction industry. The final stage of the study focuses on the detection of clusters in which global research in this field is grouped. The main clusters found were those related to the BIM cycle, including construction management, documentation and analysis, architecture and design, construction/fabrication, and operation and maintenance (related to energy or sustainability). However, the clusters of the last phases such as demolition and renovation are not present, which indicates that this field suntil needs to be further developed and researched. With regard to the evolution of research, it has been observed how information technologies have been integrated over the entire spectrum of internet of things (IoT). A final key factor in the implementation of the BIM is its inclusion in the curriculum of technical careers related to areas of construction such as civil engineering or architecture

In Search of a New Model: Library Resource Sharing in China - A Comparative Study

This paper reviews the framework of library resource sharing (LRS) in China and examines, from a comparative perspective, cases of recent development, particularly in the 1990s and early 2000s. Highlights include: (1) historical review of LRS in the U.S. and China, particularly in the areas of print union catalogs and union lists, online bibliographic utilities, and interlibrary loan; (2) literature review of Chinese publications, and LRS issues and challenges in China; (3) Analysis of three LRS models to provide a contextual grasp of a paradigm shift taking place in China; and (4) comparative analysis of LRS objectives, structure, and governance, etc., in the U.S. and China. The study also underscores the imperative for building a national digital library system in China to gain a competitive edge in resource sharing and to support the country’s rapid social and economic growth. At this stage of development, the success of China Academic Library & Information System provides a convincing argument for a national digital library system with its methods of governing, financing, and development