Crowd Science: The Organization of Scientific Research in Open Collaborative Projects

A growing amount of scientific research is done in an open collaborative fashion, in projects sometimes referred to as "crowd science", "citizen science", or "networked science". This paper seeks to gain a more systematic understanding of crowd science and to provide scholars with a conceptual framework and an agenda for future research. First, we briefly present three case examples that span different fields of science and illustrate the heterogeneity concerning what crowd science projects do and how they are organized. Second, we identify two fundamental elements that characterize crowd science projects - open participation and open sharing of intermediate inputs - and distinguish crowd science from other knowledge production regimes such as innovation contests or traditional "Mertonian" science. Third, we explore potential knowledge-related and motivational benefits that crowd science offers over alternative organizational modes, and potential challenges it is likely to face. Drawing on prior research on the organization of problem solving, we also consider for what kinds of tasks particular benefits or challenges are likely to be most pronounced. We conclude by outlining an agenda for future research and by discussing implications for funding agencies and policy makers

International Competition for PhDs and Postdoctoral Scholars: What Does (and Does Not) Matter

We explore factors that lead students and postdoctoral scholars who train outside their native country to come to the United States rather than go to a third country for study. We use data collected by the authors in 2011 as part of the GlobSci project of research-active scientists working in 16 countries. Our research suggests that public policy plays an important role in attracting the foreign born to study in a country and that the United States is a magnet for foreign students and postdocs precisely because the United States has excelled in creating a strong educational and research environment. Students who come to the United States appreciate these strengths and score factors that are proxies for the research environment higher than students who go to most other countries for trainin

FOREIGN BORN SCIENTISTS: MOBILITY PATTERNS FOR SIXTEEN COUNTRIES

We report results from the first systematic study of the mobility of scientists engaged in research in a large number of countries. Data were collected from 17,182 respondents using a web-based survey of corresponding authors in 16 countries in four fields during 2011. We find considerable variation across countries, both in terms of immigration and emigration patterns. Switzerland has the largest percent of immigrant scientists working in country (56.7); Canada, and Australia trail by nine or more percent; the U.S. and Sweden by approximately eighteen percent. India has the lowest (0.8), followed closely by Italy and Japan. The most likely reason to come to a country for postdoctoral study or work is professional. Our survey methodology also allows us to study emigration patterns of individuals who were living in one of the 16 countries at age 18. Again, considerable variation exists by country. India heads the list with three in eight of those living in country when they were 18 out of country in 2011. The country with the lowest diaspora is Japan. Return rates also vary by country, with emigrants from Spain being most likely to return and those from India being least like to return. Regardless of country, the most likely reason respondents report for returning to one’s home country is family or personal

Migrant Scientists and International Networks

We examine collaboration patterns of foreign scientists working in one of 16 countries in 2011 and compare them to the collaboration patterns of nonmigrant scientists and scientists with some international experience who have returned. Data come from the GlobSci survey. Major findings are that both foreign-born scientists and returnees have larger international research networks than do native researchers who lack an international background. The higher incidence of international collaboration among migrants is driven primarily by those who did not get their PhD training in the destination country but rather came for a postdoctoral position or directly for employment. We also find that a sizeable share of foreign born collaborate with researchers located in their country of origin and that migrants are also likely to collaborate with individuals from their home country who are working or studying in a third country (diaspora effect). Finally, the relative strength of the origin country's science base matters in the sense that those who come from a relatively stronger base have superior networks compared to those coming from a relatively weaker science base

How Pro-social Framing Affects the Success of Crowdfunding Projects: The Role of Emphasis and Information Crowdedness

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Diseño y desarrollo de una plataforma de entrenamiento cognitivo mediante un sistema Brain Computer Interface para dispositivos Android

Desde que Hans Berger descubrió el electroencefalograma (EEG) en 1929, las ondas cerebrales comenzaron a estudiarse con la finalidad de ayudar al diagnóstico de ciertas enfermedades. En la segunda mitad del siglo XX se describió por primera vez un sistema Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) como una forma de comunicación entre el cerebro y el medio sin la intervención de nervios ni músculos. Estos sistemas permiten el control de dispositivos mediante la clasificación de ciertas características de la actividad cerebral, que reflejen la intención del usuario. La investigación de sistemas BCI se ha centrado principalmente en desarrollar poderosas técnicas de procesamiento de señales y aprendizaje de máquina, para clasificar con precisión la intención del usuario. No obstante, incluso con los mejores algoritmos, el buen manejo de ciertos sistemas BCI depende significativamente de cómo los usuarios puedan modular voluntariamente su actividad neuronal. Aprender a manejar estos sistemas requiere de un repetido entrenamiento cognitivo con retroalimentación (NFT). El objetivo de este trabajo se centra en diseñar y desarrollar una plataforma BCI de NFT para Android. Tras realizar una revisión del estado del arte, se concluye que la mejor manera de llevar a cabo el entrenamiento es mediante la imaginación motora (MI), que se basa en los ritmos sensoriomotores (SMR) como señal de control. La finalidad del NFT es mejorar ciertas capacidades cognitivas de los usuarios. En la arquitectura de la aplicación se distinguen dos partes fundamentales: procesado y feedback. El procesado de señal se realiza en un ordenador mediante BCI2000, que traduce el EEG del usuario en señales de control de la aplicación. Posteriormente, se envían por Bluetooth al dispositivo móvil donde se presenta el feedback al usuario. La aplicación fue evaluada por cuatro sujetos sanos en tres sesiones de entrenamiento. Los resultados obtenidos fueron bastante prometedores ya que los cuatro sujetos presentaron diferencias significativas en las potencias relativas de las bandas de frecuencia de los SMR. Tras el entrenamiento, los sujetos de estudio completaron un cuestionario de satisfacción que permitió conocer su opinión del sistema implementado y realimentar el proyecto con sus sugerencias.Grado en Ingeniería de Tecnologías Específicas de Telecomunicació

New frontiers of peer review

This news article introduces a new COST Action entitled PEERE (TD1306), which stands for New Frontiers of Peer Review (PEERE). PEERE is a trans-domain proposal which brings together researchers from various different disciplines and science stake-holders for the purpose of reviewing the process of peer review. PEERE officially began in May 2014 and will end in May 2018. Thirty-one countries, including Malta, are currently participating in the Action. In order to set the context in which this COST Action was initiated, we first look very briefly at the history of the process of peer review and various models of peer review currently in use. We then share what this COST Action hopes to achieve.peer-reviewe