Patterns of preservation, restructuring and survival: science and technology policy in Russia in the post Soviet era

This paper analyses the role of S&T policy in the adjustment and restructuring of the Russian S&T system in the post-Soviet period. The principal argument is that the adjustment of the S&T system in Russia has been evolving between the 'preservation of S&T potential', its restructuring, and survival strategies developed by researchers and R&D organisations. The interaction of these factors explains much of the pace and patterns of restructuring of Russian S&T system observed in the post-Soviet period. The model that emerged is the post-Soviet R&D model, which is relevant for Russia as well as for other CIS. The paper analyses strategic options available to Russian policy makers

An acoustic view of ocean mixing

Knowledge of the parameter K (turbulent diffusivity/"mixing intensity") is a key to understand transport processes of matter and energy in the ocean. Especially the almost vertical component of K across the ocean stratification (diapycnal diffusivity) is vital for research on biogeochemical cycles or greenhouse gas budgets. Recent boost in precision of water velocity data that can be obtained from vessel-mounted acoustic instruments (vmADCP) allows identifying ocean regions of elevated diapycnal diffusivity during research cruises - in high horizontal resolution and without extra ship time needed. This contribution relates acoustic data from two cruises in the Tropical North East Atlantic Oxygen Minimum Zone to simultaneous field observations of diapycnal diffusivity: pointwise measurements by a microstructure profiler as well as one integrative value from a large scale Tracer Release Experiment

Co-constructing a new framework for evaluating social innovation in marginalized rural areas

The EU funded H2020 project \u2018Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas\u2019 (SIMRA; www.simra-h2020.eu) has the overall objective of advancing the state-of-the-art in social innovation. This paper outlines the process for co- developing an evaluation framework with stakeholders, drawn from across Europe and the Mediterranean area, in the fields of agriculture, forestry and rural development. Preliminary results show the importance of integrating process and outcome-oriented evaluations, and implementing participatory approaches in evaluation practice. They also raise critical issues related to the comparability of primary data in diverse regional contexts and highlight the need for mixed methods approaches in evaluation

Diversity and Discrimination in Research Organizations

The ebook edition of this title is Open Access and freely available to read online. The era of team science has long since dawned. However, in order for the individual members of a team to work well, research organizations need to provide a productive and naturally non-discriminatory working environment. Bringing together and integrating researchers and their diverse backgrounds in effective teams does not happen on its own. To harness the positive effects of diversity, it must be understood and managed proactively. The edited collection Diversity and Discrimination in Research Organizations provides researchers with empirical studies on the question of whether and to what extent the social identity of the academic workforce affects their individual integration in research organizations. Practitioners receive guidance and suggestions on possible starting points and requirements for programmes to improve equal opportunities and work climate in their research organizations. The articles can be roughly divided into two categories according to the guiding questions of this edited collection: macro studies surveying the extent of discrimination and harassment in research organizations and micro studies exploring the influence of the specific cultural contextual conditions of the academic workplace on experiences of discrimination and harassment related to the diversity of the workforce

Inequality: A "Piketty et al." Moment in the Social Sciences

Note from the editor Inequality: A "Piketty et al." Moment in the Social Sciences How Did the Great Recession Affect Income Inequality in Spain? by Pierre Blavier The Comparative Organizational Inequality Network: Toward an Economic Sociology of Inequality by Donald Tomaskovic-Devey et al. The Sociology and Economics of Wealth Inequality: Two Worlds Apart by Philipp Korom Avoiding and Protesting Taxes: Wealthy People and Tax Consent by Camille Herlin-Giret Why No One Cares about Inequality (Except Us) by Martin Schröder Book Review

Simulating REAL LIVES: Promoting global empathy and interest in learning through simulation games

In response to an increasingly interdependent world, educators are demonstrating a growing interest in educating for global citizenship. Many definitions of the “good global citizen” value empathy as an especially important disposition for understanding others across national borders and cultural divides. Yet it may be difficult for people to achieve empathy with others who are perceived as psychologically and geographically distant. Can computerized simulation games help foster global empathy and interest in global civic learning? This quasiexperimental classroom study of 301 Northern California high school students in three schools examined the effects of playing REAL LIVES, a simulation game that allows players to inhabit the lives of individuals around the world. Compared with a control group, students who played the simulation game as part of their curriculum expressed more global empathy and greater interest in learning about other countries. Identification with REAL LIVES characters was also positively related to global empathy. These findings support claims that computerized simulations can cultivate important dispositions for global learning and citizenship

Multivariate scaling methods and the reconstruction of social spaces: Papers in honor of Jörg Blasius

This edited volume assembles contributions of leading scholars in the fields of statistical methods and applications in the social sciences. Multivariate scaling methods for categorical data, in particular correspondence analysis, are used to extract the most important dimensions from complex data tables and to visualize relationships in the data. The volume treats recent statistical developments, methodological considerations, and empirical applications. A special emphasis is placed on multiple aspects of space and their sociological significance: the reconstruction of "social spaces" with statistical methods, illustrations of spatial relations involving proximity, distance and inequality, and concrete interactions in urban neighbourhoods

Democratic Algorithms: Ethnography of a Public Recommender System

Can an algorithm be democratic? And how can we understand algorithms not only as technical, but also as social and political phenomena? Democratic Algorithms offers theoretically and empirically informed perspectives on how we can imagine and design algorithms for a democratic society, and what we even mean by that. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, the book illustrates how a recommender system was built in a public broadcaster, raising questions not only about organizational and technical implementation, but also about the possible compatibility of such an algorithmic system with democratic constitutions