Past, Present and Future of Language Policy in Kazakhstan

This study is an analysis of the historical preliminaries, current state and directions of further development of the language policy in the forme Soviet and presently independent Republic of Kazakhstan. Such an analysis is of special interest for sociolinguistic theory. The uniqueness of the linguistic situation challenging contemporary Kazakhstani language policy-making consists in the fact that Kazakh, the native tongue of the ethnic majority and the de jure state language of the independent Republic of Kazakhstan, is too lexically underdeveloped to successfully compete in most of the communicative domains with Russian, the state language of Soviet Kazakhstan and the alternate present official language. Regardless of the goals (building of a multiethnic Kazakhstani nation or a multinational Kazakh state) of the nationality policy assumed by the government, the stability of interethnic communication in Kazakhstan and the success of an important (Russian) aspect of its foreign policy depend on the legislative decisions and practices aimed at the development and promotion of the Kazakh language without undermining the status of Russian or disregarding the languages of numerous ethnic minorities/nationalities. This study attempts to conduct a diachronic and synchronic analysis of multilingualism in Kazakhstan, to trace the history of language legislation and political practices throughout the duration of existence of Russian-Kazakh diglossla, to evaluate contemporary language-related governmental efforts from the point of view of officially formulated goals, and to identify possible directions of the policy\u27s further development. The findings of the investigation are presented in the form of a proposal for a strategy for future legislation and policy implementation. The analysis is based on the results of an extensive review of four sources of literature: official documents pertaining to language policy; publications in professional journals specializing in history, linguistics, education, sociology, philosophy and politics, as well as similar publications elsewhere; articles in newspapers and magazines; and classic and contemporary fiction and editorials. The study should serve as a demonstration of professional knowledge and masters level research skills, its end product being a contribution to the of field of language planning. The final proposal is expected to serve as a white paper suitable for reference by Kazakhstani and other language planners, educators, politicians, journalists and academic

Mapping the emerging field of genome editing

Targeted genetic modification (TagMo) technologies are being used for new approaches to genetic engineering often called 'genome editing'. These approaches are in the early stages of development, and basic understandings of what TagMo is, of its likely future, and how it should be governed are still being established. In order to inform these discussions and increase their transparency, we map the scientific landscape of TagMo using advances in tech mining and bibliometrics and in consultation with experts in the field. We assess the sub-topics and disciplines associated with TagMo research, and the actors, institutions, and nations involved, while making observations about the funding of research and the collaborative patterns among actors. The technology assessment approach used in this article has important implications for anticipatory governance of TagMo plant products. It is designed to help scientists, managers, and policy-makers understand trends in TagMo technological development in order to prepare for future governance. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis

Impact Factor Publication Requirement in Kazakhstan

In the effort to raise university faculty research capacity and to stimulate faculty to produce research of greater quality, the government of Kazakhstan has recently introduced a requirement for publication in journals with an impact factor as a part of requirements for faculty promotion. This study will explore to what extent impact factor publication requirement was incorporated into universities’ promotion policies and on the resulting experiences of faculty. The study is based on the results of an online survey of faculty, who vary on a number of characteristics: 1) seniority, 2) type of formal post-graduate education (Soviet, post-Soviet local, Western), 3) discipline, 4) type of institution (national, regional, private). The study explores barriers that faculty experience in publishing in impact-factor publications, the strategies they use, as well as their views on the role and effectiveness of impact-factor publication requirement in research capacity building and research productivity evaluation. In addition to that, the paper analyzes the alignment of incentives for publishing in impact-factor journals and university or national level support structures that faculty view as effective in building research capacity and in achieving an increase in the number of high quality publications

Language Use among Secondary School Students in Kazakhstan

This study analyzes the results of a survey conducted among 76 urban high school students of both genders at a school in Astana, Kazakhstan, to compare patterns of language use among children from classes with Russian and Kazakh language of instruction. The study revealed that Russian continues to dominate most of the spheres of language use and is utilized as the main language of communication by over 50% of students enrolled in Russian classes, as well as the alternate language of communication with peers by around 70% of the Kazakh-speaking youth attending Kazakh classes. The study also revealed that immediate family, including parents and grandparents in particular, play an important role in preserving the use of Kazakh as the main language of communication. Seventy seven percent of students in Kazakh classes use exclusively Kazakh in communication with grandparents. Meanwhile, in bilingual and Russian-speaking families parents no longer push the use of Kazakh by children with only 19% of children using exclusively Kazakh with grandparents. Importantly, the study revealed that children in both groups increasingly rely on the use of Russian and English in communication across various modern media, such as TV and the Internet. The study concludes that the continuing dominance of Russian may create challenges for maintenance of Kazakh during introduction of trilingual education policy and recommends that greater attention should be paid by policy makers to development of Internet content in Kazakh, while ethnic Kazakh parents should maintain a stricter mono-lingula policy at home to preserve Kazakh

Internationalization and local research capacity strengthening:Factors affecting knowledge sharing between international and domestic faculty in Kazakhstan

This study explores factors influencing the extent of engagement of international faculty in developing local research capacity. Drawing on ideas from research on knowledge sharing and on “intellectual commons,” we found that while the faculty share explicit knowledge in publications and tacit knowledge by providing apprenticeship opportunities for their students, they remain disengaged from building capacity of local academics. We argue that the main reasons for this disengagement is ambiguity in interpretation of the social contract, ineffective reward structures, and the lack of tenure contracts

LINKING RESEARCH TO KAZAKHSTAN’S STRATEGIC PRIORITIES: THE CASE OF INTERNATIONAL FACULTY AT NAZARBAYEV UNIVERSITY

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which international faculty in a non-Western country align their research output to the research priorities determined by the government. To address the research purpose, we used content analysis method. The study relied on secondary publication data from abstracts of articles published by NU international faculty in peer-reviewed journals included in the Thompson Reuters’ Web of Science. The results of the content analysis revealed that international faculty from NU largely produce research relevant to the country’s needs. This is particularly typical of researchers in sciences whose research generally aligned to the country’s research priorities; meanwhile, researchers in social sciences and humanities produce a greater number of irrelevant articles in their total number of publications. Several possible explanations for the revealed results were discussed. This study attempts to provide a comprehensive picture on the role of NU and its international faculty in pursuing the country’s needs

Analyzing the Experiences of Female Leaders in Civil Service in Kazakhstan: Trapped between Economic Pressure to Earn and Traditional Family Role Expectations

This paper analyzes the experiences of female leaders in civil service in a rapidly changing political, socio-cultural, and economic context of Kazakhstan. The research presents an analysis of the views of female managers on advantages and disadvantages of having women-leaders in civil service; on challenges and opportunities they are facing; on strategies they use to advance to and succeed in leadership positions. The important finding of this research is that female leaders in Kazakhstan are challenged with a clash of western, neo-liberal values and traditional expectations of women in the society. The analysis is based on primary data with women holding managerial positions in civil service

Reverse flow in academic mobility from core to periphery:Motivations of international faculty working in Kazakhstan

Through expanding flows of labor and knowledge on a global scale, academics are increasingly mobile as higher education institutions compete for talent that transcends borders. However, talent often flows from the periphery to the core as scholars seek out employment in recognized institutions of higher learning in developed economies. This study examines faculty mobility in a reverse direction: from the core to Kazakhstan, the largest country in Central Asia. What factors persuade faculty members to relocate to Kazakhstan for full-time employment? What types of individuals pursue this relocation? Through interviews with international faculty members based in Kazakhstan, the study identifies push factors that trigger departure from one’s previous country of residence: job market, unsatisfactory work conditions, age, and marital status. Alternatively, Kazakhstan attracts scholars via pull factors that include salary, sense of adventure, and the opportunity to build new institutions and programs as well as conduct research. Unlike previous studies that highlight boundaryless mobility and individual agency, this study reveals constraints that mediate international faculty mobility. Furthermore, salary plays a limited role as a pull factor particularly among early career academics who are seeking research opportunities and meaningful contributions in building new academic programs and institutions

A Window into the Field of Biotechnology Risk Analysis: A Bibliometric Approach

Atlanta Conference on Science and Innovation Policy 2011Risk assessment is growing in its importance and application, and it plays a special role in the permeation of emerging technology products into the marketplace. Despite its importance, we know very little about the portfolio of risk analysis research for emerging technologies. In this paper, we use bibliometric methods to better understand the portfolio of risk analysis research for agricultural biotechnology with the goal of identifying gaps that are important for decision making and risk management.University of Minnesot