How do scientists perceive the current publication culture? A qualitative focus group interview study among Dutch biomedical researchers.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the biomedical scientist's perception of the prevailing publication culture. DESIGN: Qualitative focus group interview study. SETTING: Four university medical centres in the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: Three randomly selected groups of biomedical scientists (PhD, postdoctoral staff members and full professors). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Main themes for discussion were selected by participants. RESULTS: Frequently perceived detrimental effects of contemporary publication culture were the strong focus on citation measures (like the Journal Impact Factor and the H-index), gift and ghost authorships and the order of authors, the peer review process, competition, the funding system and publication bias. These themes were generally associated with detrimental and undesirable effects on publication practices and on the validity of reported results. Furthermore, senior scientists tended to display a more cynical perception of the publication culture than their junior colleagues. However, even among the PhD students and the postdoctoral fellows, the sentiment was quite negative. Positive perceptions of specific features of contemporary scientific and publication culture were rare. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the current publication culture leads to negative sentiments, counterproductive stress levels and, most importantly, to questionable research practices among junior and senior biomedical scientists

Zorg op de camping: de grenzen van participatie.

For a special issue on “the participatory society”, this article reflects on personal conversations at a campground for families with special needs children. The Dutch government seeks to enhance inclusion by encouraging citizen commitment and initiative. In practice this means: less funding for “special needs care” and more reliance on volunteers. Our campground stories argue that while inclusion and participation are important, chronic intensive care requires professional commitment. First, specialized custom solutions are more effective and efficient. Second, volunteers can or will not perform every job, and coordinating volunteers is a professional job in itself. Third, care is never free: it always requires an effort, yet this effort weighs harder on family. Families in chronic intensive care situations need professional support, so that they have energy for being good citizens too, starting with their role as loving family

Met beleid vormgeven aan sociotechnische innovatie: Essay in opdracht van de directie Kennis en Innovatie Strategie van het Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Milieu

Essay in opdracht van het ministerie van Infrastructuur en Milieu dat een kader biedt voor de kennisvragen die innovatieve trends en ontwikkelingen oproepen voor het beleid

Shaping socio-technical innovation through policy: Essay commissioned by the Department of Knowledge, Innovation and Strategy of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment

The Knowledge, Innovation and Strategy department of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment has commissioned the Rathenau Instituut to draft a memorandum in order to be able to develop the theme of “policy in times of singularity” in the new Strategic Knowledge and Innovation Agenda. The essay creates a framework for the demand for knowledge that innovative trends and developments might provoke when it comes to policymaking. The focus is on determining the extent to which innovation does or does not present a challenge to policy and the type of response required