Interview with Professor Simon J. Bronner

Interview with Professor Simon J. Bronner (Penn State University)

Data sharing practices and data availability upon request differ across scientific disciplines

Data sharing is one of the cornerstones of modern science that enables large-scale analyses and reproducibility. We evaluated data availability in research articles across nine disciplines in Nature and Science magazines and recorded corresponding authors' concerns, requests and reasons for declining data sharing. Although data sharing has improved in the last decade and particularly in recent years, data availability and willingness to share data still differ greatly among disciplines. We observed that statements of data availability upon (reasonable) request are inefficient and should not be allowed by journals. To improve data sharing at the time of manuscript acceptance, researchers should be better motivated to release their data with real benefits such as recognition, or bonus points in grant and job applications. We recommend that data management costs should be covered by funding agencies; publicly available research data ought to be included in the evaluation of applications; and surveillance of data sharing should be enforced by both academic publishers and funders. These cross-discipline survey data are available from the plutoF repository.Peer reviewe

Contemporary Jokes about Students: The Body of Texts and Their Genetic Relations

In spite of the fact that so many papers in folklore scholarship have been dedicated to the question of the genesis of the joke as a genre (mainly speculating on its origin from the fairy tale) almost none of them attempts to reach beyond theoretical discussion on the problem. The aim of this article is to broaden the scope of existing research by analysing the genetic relations of contemporary jokes in a sample of Russian-language jokes about students collected from different sources (written, oral, Internet). Jokes about students are compared to jokes from other cycles and other genres with the help of statistical investigation. The types of genetic (and typological) relations between them are elucidated as well as the possible aspects of the origin of jokes

Ei see ega teine: Valgevene määratlemine poliitilises folklooris

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsioone.Väitekiri keskendub Valgevene poliitilisele folkloorile. Valgevene on riik, mille rahvuslikud pürgimused jäid ebatüüpiliselt lühiajaliseks ja mida on viimased 21 aastat juhtinud üks ja seesama uussovietlikult meelestatud president. Riigis on jätkuvalt olulised eneserepresentatsiooni, rahvusliku identiteedi ja demokratiseerumise otsingud – mitte küll nii märgatavalt, nagu see toimus üheksakümnendatel aastatel teistes postsovietlikes riikides, kuid need on olnud alati olemas ja see protsess on olnud järjepidev. Vastusena neile otsingutele tekivad erinevad poliitilise folkloori žanrid. Tuginedes välitöödele, mis on tehtud nii Valgevenes kui ka Valgevenest väljarändajate seas, keskendub väitekiri viiele kesksemale teemale, mis näisid minu intervjueeritavatele kõige problemaatilisemad ja olulisemad. Esiteks uurin väitekirjas Valgevene suuliselt vahendatud poliitilisi ja etnilisi anekdoote, mis, vaatamata nende sarnasusele nõukogudeaegse huumoriga, keskenduvad neist erinevalt presidendi isikule ja mitte ideoloogiale. Teiseks analüüsin Lukašenko ametlike ja rahvalike biograafiate läbipõimumist ja vaatlen, kuidas mingi teatav element muutub oluliseks kas presidendi isiku reklaamimisel või hukkamõistmisel. Kolmandaks analüüsin Valgevenes laialt levinud lugusid Potjomkini küladest. Kuigi potjomkinlust ei pooldata, on iga selleteemaline arvamus mitmehäälne, tuues välja nii selle süsteemi järgimise voorused kui ka kitsaskohad. Neljandaks uurin kuulujutte järelevalve kohta. Tegemist on rahvusvahelise teemaga, mis omandab Valgevenes kohalikke erijooni. Kuna riik ei pea järelevalve üle aru andma, kujundavad need tõendamatud kuulujutud ettevaatlikku ja valvast käitumist. Viiendaks analüüsin lugusid Valgevene kadunud meistriteostest, mille funktsioon on õhutada rahvast etnilise identiteedi ja liberaliseerumisotsingule. Tekkides sageli vastusena valitseva poliitilise süsteemi rangusele, kujutab kaasaegne Valgevene poliitiline folkloor endast unikaalset ainest, mis annab tunnistust käimasolevast identiteediloomest ning hõlmab erinevaid žanre ja hoiakuid konformismist protestini. See toimib ühtaegu nii sotsiaalse sidususe ja identiteedi kinnitamise kui ka konflikti ja vägivalla mehhanismina, mis jääb erinevate lähenemiste vahele. Muuhulgas võimaldab poliitiline folkloor tegeleda küsimustega, mis seostuvad varasemate repressiivsete riikide või üleminekuaegadega.This dissertation concentrates on political folklore in Belarus, the country of atypically short story of nationalist aspirations, ruled by the same president of neo-Soviet moods for 21 years. The search for the self-representation, national identity, and democratization is still taking place there, not as intensively as in other post-Soviet countries in 1990s, but continuously and invariably. As a response to constant negotiation of these issues, various genres of political folklore emerge. Based on fieldwork held in Belarus and in the Belarusian diasporas, this dissertation focuses on five particular issues, which seemed most problematic and relevant to my interviewees. First, I study Belarusian oral political and ethnic jokes, which, in spite of their similarity to the Soviet ones, unlike them, mostly target the authoritarian figure of the president, not ideology. Second, I analyze inextricably intertwining official and folk biographies of Lukashenko, looking at how certain biographical elements become significant for the promotion or condemnation of the president’s figure. Third, I research the narratives about Potemkin villages (window-dressing) widespread in Belarus. Despite the general disfavor of Potemkinism, every single opinion on it appears to be polyvocal, mostly accommodating both pros and cons of following this system. Fourth, I examine the rumors about surveillance – the global issue, acquiring local peculiarities in Belarus. Due to the lack of accountability on surveillance there, the unverifiable rumors serve to shape cautious and alert behavior. Finally, I look at the legends of the Belarusian lost national masterpieces with the modality of pushing towards the search of ethnic identity and liberalization. Contemporary Belarusian political folklore presents the unique material testifying the in-progress identity building, bearing a variety of genres and attitudes placed on the different scales from conformism to protest, and frequently emerging due to the strictness of the current political system. It becomes as much a mechanism of social cohesion and identity affirmation as of conflict and violence, remaining betwixt and between different approaches. After all, it allows looking back at many questions remaining with regards to the former repressive states or the times of their transition

Injecting fun? : humour, conspiracy theory and (anti)vaccination discourse in popular media

Conspiracy theories have accompanied vaccination since its mass introduction, circulating, among other forms, in humour – such as cartoons, and now, memes. Importantly, humour has targeted both vaccination and anti-vaccination stances. In this study, we discuss the peculiarities of humorous content within the vaccination debate and uncover the most popular thematic categories, forms and logical mechanisms of humour. We show that humorous and serious discussions on vaccination go hand-in-hand, but playfulness and ambiguity of humour complicate public understanding of the vaccination debate. Our analysis shows that vaccination humour often simplifies the complex issue of vaccination and makes it more understandable and more tangible for a broad audience

Teadussündmus: Meil töö ja lõbu tasakaalus – viiendast rahvusvahelisest noorte folkloristide konverentsist „Folklore of Connections, Folklore of Conflicts“ / Balancing Work and Fun – the 5th International Young Folklorists’ Conference “Folklore or Connections, Folklore of Conflicts”

The 5th international conference of young folklorists “Folklore of Connections, Folklore of Conflicts” took place from 7-9 October 2015. The conference series started out as a one-day event in Tartu as a cooperation venture between the Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore and the Department of Ethnology at the University of Tartu in 2011. On the initiative of Lithuanian colleagues and the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore and in cooperation with the Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore at the University of Tartu, the next conference was held in Vilnius as a two-day event with a wider audience of international participants. Since 2013, Tartu Nefa Rühm – an organisation that unites students of ethnology and folkloristics – has also taken part in the organisation of the conference. In 2015, the Estonian Crafts Department of the University of Tartu’s Viljandi Culture Academy joined the circle of organisers, and Viljandi became the meeting place for the young researchers.The young folklorists’ conference aims to improve academic communication, cooperation and research in the field of folkloristics, offering advanced students and recently graduated young researchers from different countries the possibility to present their research to an international audience. This time the youngsters had the chance to discuss their research themes, concentrating on how folklore helps forge contact or favours conflict. Folklore unites people and groups; it is used to create identities and cultural models. However, there are many examples from the past that show how folklore has been used as a tool to draw (and redraw) boundaries.In addition to the experiences that the young scientists gained as presenters, organisers of panels or moderators, everyone had the chance to learn from renowned guest speakers William Westerman (USA) and Alexander Panchenko (Russia)

“Post-truth” challenges and associated science education responses

The goal of this study is to identify the challenges of “post-truth” that science education needs to address and to suggest how these can be met. Based on the literature, four types of challenges are identified: (1) people’s lack of knowledge and skills to assess the reliability of information and recognize misinformation, or common tactics used by conspiracy theorists, (2) lack of commitment to objective facts, (3) lack of a shared understanding of ways of helping people to decide which ways of knowing are more reliable than others, and (4) a lack of understanding that all science knowledge is socially constructed. As a response, respective knowledge and skills need to be taught to students in order to “vaccinate” them against wrong, or biased information before they begin to believe in it. More attention must be paid to the development of well-established science identities and virtues by students. Epistemic disagreements on which ways of knowing are reliable must be seen as educational opportunities for learning to undertake critical analysis. And finally, updated meaning and more importance need to be given to educational approaches demonstrating the interplay between science, technology and society in science classrooms. Based on these four highlights, six teaching-learning modules on controversial issues such as viruses, climate change, evolution, etc. are developed and tested in the Erasmus+ project EVIDENCE for students (age group 15-18

“Post-truth” challenges and associated science education responses

The goal of this study is to identify the challenges of “post-truth” that science education needs to address and to suggest how these can be met. Based on the literature, four types of challenges are identified: (1) people’s lack of knowledge and skills to assess the reliability of information and recognize misinformation, or common tactics used by conspiracy theorists, (2) lack of commitment to objective facts, (3) lack of a shared understanding of ways of helping people to decide which ways of knowing are more reliable than others, and (4) a lack of understanding that all science knowledge is socially constructed. As a response, respective knowledge and skills need to be taught to students in order to “vaccinate” them against wrong, or biased information before they begin to believe in it. More attention must be paid to the development of well-established science identities and virtues by students. Epistemic disagreements on which ways of knowing are reliable must be seen as educational opportunities for learning to undertake critical analysis. And finally, updated meaning and more importance need to be given to educational approaches demonstrating the interplay between science, technology and society in science classrooms. Based on these four highlights, six teaching-learning modules on controversial issues such as viruses, climate change, evolution, etc. are developed and tested in the Erasmus+ project EVIDENCE for students (age group 15-18