Supercomputers and Quantum Computing on the Axis of Cyber Security

Cybersecurity has become a very critical area to address for governments, industry and the academic community. Cyber attacks are on the rise so is research to address the challenges presented by these attacks. Research yields several technological advancements. This paper explores the development of quantum computing and supercomputers within the context of cybersecurity. As many governments and organizations are under the threat of cyber-attacks, it is critical and timely to explore the status of technological development. We use advanced scientometric techniques to disclose the development status and identify the centers of excellence. The research uses bibliometric data of published papers and utilizes an integration of scientometric methods including social network analysis, entropy analysis, cluster analysis, overlay maps and knowledge diffusion analysis as well as keyword and source analyses

Gender-Specific Patterns in the Artificial Intelligence Scientific Ecosystem

Gender disparity in science is one of the most focused debating points among authorities and the scientific community. Over the last few decades, numerous initiatives have endeavored to accelerate gender equity in academia and research society. However, despite the ongoing efforts, gaps persist across the world, and more measures need to be taken. Using various methodologies such as social network analysis, statistical analysis, bibliometrics, natural language processing, and machine learning, in this study, we comprehensively analyzed gender-specific patterns in the highly interdisciplinary and evolving field of artificial intelligence for the period of 2000-2019. This work was completed in two main phases: First, we investigated the collaboration patterns of artificial intelligence (AI) scientists to shed light on team composition characteristics in interdisciplinary research teams from a gender perspective. Next, we identified highly central AI scientists and calculated a multi-dimensional feature vector at the author level that covered multiple characteristics of scientific activities to explore the effects of driving factors on acquiring key/central network positions and explain any possible gender differences. Our findings suggest an overall increasing rate of mixed-gender collaborations. From the observed gender-specific collaborative patterns, the existence of disciplinary homophily at both dyadic and team levels is confirmed. However, a higher preference was observed for female researchers to form homophilous collaborative links. Our core-periphery analysis indicated a significant positive association between having diverse collaboration and scientific performance and experience. We found evidence in support of expecting the rise of new female superstar researchers in the artificial intelligence field. Moreover, our findings provided a deep understanding of the profiles of highly central AI scientists and revealed that various individual author-level factors could contribute differently to occupying certain strategic network roles in the AI co-authorship network. However, some of the notable and common characteristics of central researchers, regardless of their gender, are their highly collaborative behavior and high research productivity and impact

Canadian Nanotechnology and Equity Challenges: Implications for Pro-Poor and Gender-Inclusive Policy

Nanotechnology has been hailed as a disruptive technology that would revolutionize existing products and processes, open up new markets and business opportunities, as well as offer socio-economic benefits. Research and development (R&D) in this emerging technology presents great importance to many nations, offering a significant technological advantage that gears towards economic growth. However, despite the immense promise of societal benefits from nanotechnology applications, nanotechnology might expose societies to various forms of inequities. The main objective of this thesis is to examine two priority dimensions of equity concerns related to nanotechnology: the lack of R&D for nanotechnology applications that (predominantly) benefit developing nations (pro-poor R&D) and the scant representation of women in nanotechnology fields. This study adopts a combined use of bibliometrics, social network analysis, and survey results to perform both dimensional and cross-dimensional analysis, providing a better understanding of both issues and of how the two are related. The focus of this study is on Canada, a country who prioritizes nanotechnology research and development in its science and technology strategy, and actively practices gender fairness in the scientific system and is strongly involved in international development through its R&D efforts. The findings reveal that only a narrow spectrum of Canadian nanotechnology articles and patents reflect pro-poor priorities, and acknowledge the importance of promoting and leading research and innovation in pro-poor areas, as it holds the potential to promote the economic development both within and between nations. However, these pro-poor scientific and innovative efforts tend to be highly male-dominated in terms of the scientific community and the workforce involved. Gender differences in citation and journal impact of papers published in the nano-pro-poor applications reveal the presence of the Matilda effect at the level of first-authorship and a strong selection effect at the level of last-authorship for women. While the majority of male authors and male inventors collaborate exclusively with men, those involved in a mixed-gender team outperform male-only teams. Therefore, it is important that policymakers pay attention to both gender and pro-poor initiatives simultaneously, because practices to promote pro-poor innovation might result in a wider gender gap and adversely affect social development. Furthermore, gender analysis of nanotechnology scientific reward system confirms that the gender productivity gap remains a challenge in the field and that these gaps are reinforced by the fact that the most productive researchers are less likely to collaborate with women. The results also show the amount of extra effort that women must devote to their research to retain their top status in academia, and the extent that their recognition when in top positions is fragile compared to men. This study also confirms the cumulative advantage of creating a gender-inclusive culture that enables women to improve their scientific productivity and impact. The results of this study have strong implications for policy development (or reform) targeting both gender equality and poverty alleviation in emerging interdisciplinary areas, promoting a more equitable and inclusive society