Age and scientific productivity. Differences between fields of learning

This article analyzes the relationship between age and scientific productivity at Norwegian universities. Cross-sectional data indicate that publishing activity reaches a peak in the 45–49 year old age group and declines by 30 per cent among researchers over 60 years old. Large differences exist, however, between fields of learning. In the social sciences productivity remains more or less at the same level in all age groups. In the humanities publishing activity declines in the 55–59 year old age group, but it reaches a new peak in the group 60 years old and over. Productivity declines in the medical sciences among faculty members who are older than 55, while in the natural sciences, productivity continually decreases with increasing age.This article suggests that the differences between the various fields of learning arise from corresponding differences in the development of scientific disciplines. In fields where the production of new knowledge is fast and where new scientific methods and equipment are continuously introduced, researchers may have problems coping and thus become obsolescent. In fields where knowledge production occurs at a slower pace, e.g. the social sciences and the humanities, faculty may be productive throughout their careers. This explanation gains further support when looking at various natural and medical science disciplines. Older faculty members in physics are less productive than older researchers in mathematics, and older scientists in biomedicine are less productive than their colleagues of the same age in social medicine.     

科学发现优先权争夺引发的负面影响

科学界频繁出现的科学发现优先权争夺现象给科学的正常发展带来了一定的负面影响：科研工作者常常为了优先权将远未成熟的科研成果发表出来,造成遗憾;有时为了保护优先权被侵犯影响了正常的学术交流,影响科学发展进程;甚至有人不惜违背道德规范,在科研中作伪。这些为争夺科学发现优先权而引发的影响严重阻碍了科学技术的发展。因此,为了消除...     

Foreign-born academic scientists and engineers: producing more and getting less than their U.S.-born peers?

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported that the number of doctoral degrees awarded in the U.S. rose 3.4 percent in 2004, largely because of an increase in foreign students [Smallwood (2005). Doctoral degrees rose 3.4% in 2004, survey finds. The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 9, 2005]. Currently, 20.9 percent [National Science Board (2003). The science and engineering workforce realizing America’s potential. NSB, vol. 3, National Science Foundation] of all science and engineering faculty positions at U.S. universities are held by foreign-born scientists (with even larger percentages in computer science and engineering)—and we can expect higher numbers of foreign-born faculty at U.S. universities in the future. In this paper, we use 2001 Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) data from the National Science Foundation to compare productivity levels, work satisfaction levels and career trajectories of foreign-born scientists and U.S.-born scientists. The results indicate that foreign-born academic scientists and engineers are more productive than their U.S.-born peers in all areas. Yet, average salaries and work satisfaction levels for foreign-born scientists are lower than for U.S.-born scientists. The use of NSF data does not imply NSF endorsement of the research methods or conclusions contained in this report.     

To What Degree Does the Desire for Promotion Motivate Faculty to Perform Research? Testing the Expectancy Theory

Based on the rationale of expectancy theory, this article examines to what degree the desire for promotion motivates faculty to do research. Using Taiwanese faculty survey data, it is found that faculty members who show higher motivation for promotion display better research performance than their colleagues who show lower motivation for promotion. This article also indicates that different kinds of rewards have different motivating effects on various types of faculty research performance. After controlling for the effects of demographic, educational, and institutional variables, the results of logistic regressions show that faculty who think promotion and the satisfaction of curiosity are important tend to publish articles; faculty who want to demonstrate their mastery of their disciplines tend to publish books; and faculty who care about personal income are more likely to seek and receive the National Science Council Research Outcome Grant.     

Women Scientists in Academia: Geographically Constrained to Big Cities, College Clusters, or the Coasts?

Women scientists in academia have been shown to be less geographically mobile than their male counterparts, a factor that may exacerbate gender inequities in faculty representation, tenure, and salary. This study examines the extent to which the jobs of academic women scientists are disproportionately concentrated in large cities, areas with many colleges and universities, and regions where most doctorates are granted. We also investigate whether jobs in these locations affect salary, tenure, full-time faculty status, and employment outside one's field of training in ways that differ for women and men. Our analysis is guided by arguments that geographic constraints on women's mobility are rooted in social factors, such as gender roles and mate selection patterns. Data are drawn from over 13,000 faculty respondents in the national Survey of Doctoral Recipients, representing 22 science and engineering disciplines and over 1,000 4-year colleges or universities. Regression analysis reveals that, irrespective of their family status, women faculty are more likely than their male counterparts to reside in doctoral production centers, areas with large clusters of colleges, and large cities. Responsibility for children intensifies women's geographic concentration more than marriage does and in ways that differ from men. Geographic concentration also appears generally more harmful to women's careers than to men's. Women in doctoral production centers are less likely to have tenure and more likely to work part time; those in larger cities are more likely to be in jobs off the tenure track. Locales with many colleges appear to present somewhat better career prospects for women.     

Using Commercial Advertising to Build an Understanding of Ethical Behavior

In this article, the author summarizes the rationale for using science articles in K-16 education and addresses some of its limitations. The author also encourages scientists and college science faculty to contribute contextually relevant articles that might include selected literary techniques to their local or state newspapers.     

Dramatizing the Authentic Research of a Local Scientist to Urban Elementary Students Through Professional Theater

This article focuses on the impact of a professional play that we developed in order to introduce elementary learners of an urban school to the research of a scientist working at a local university. The play was written in a way that might increase student understandings of the nature of science, scientific inquiry, the identity of scientists, and the work that scientists do. We collected pre-and post-play questionnaire responses and drawings of scientists from third and fourth grade students who attended the play. We also interviewed five of the ten teachers whose students attended the play. Findings indicated that most of these teachers felt strongly that their students had learned about scientific inquiry, the identity of scientists, and the work that scientists do as a result of attending the play. However, less than half of the student questionnaires and drawings of scientists indicated such growth as a result of the play. That being said, numerous students were able to tell us what they learned from the play and many questionnaire responses and drawings indicated such learning. Implications for partnerships between schools and university faculty from various disciplines in order to develop potentially impactful plays that portray authentic scientific research are discussed.     

Gender divergence in academics’ representation and research productivity: a Nigerian case study

Gender equity is increasingly seen as an indicator of development and global acceptance in networks of higher education. Despite this, gender divergence in research productivity of academics coupled with under-representation of women in science has been reported to beset female’s scholarly activities. Previous studies provide differing results, hence a need for each academic institution to know its status for the purpose of formulating appropriate policy towards achieving gender equity without trading off productivity. Using a scientometric method, the present study investigates the representation and research productivity of male and female lecturers in the Faculty of Science, University of Ibadan. The study shows that while female lecturers are significantly less represented in the faculty and publish in journals having lower impact factors, their research productivity in terms of number of publications and citation impact are significantly not different from those of their male counterparts.     

Gender,ethnicity, science achievement,and attitudes

Science achievement and attitudes were assessed for a series of students in Grades 3–12 representing the four major ethnic groups in Hawai'i (USA). It was found that more differences were accounted for by ethnicity and even grade than by gender; in addition, there was little interaction between ethnicity and gender. With respect to ethnicity, Caucasian and Japanese-American students outscored Hawaiians and Filipino Americans at all grade levels. Caucasians also expressed the most positive attitudes toward science and Japanese expressed the most positive perceptions of scientists; Hawaiians generally expressed the least positive perceptions. Younger students generally expressed more positive attitudes toward science but less positive perceptions of scientists compared to older students. Caucasians expressed the most positive perceptions of their own science ability and achievement. With respect to gender, there were no consistent differences in science achievement and very few in science attitudes and perceptions. The major differences were that males reported more experiences with physical science activities and also expressed a more male-stereotyped view of science than females, with some variation by ethnicity and grade. There were differences in enrollment in advanced science and mathematics classes in that females were more likely than males to enroll in many, but for both genders the major reason was college admission: Japanese students were most likely and Hawaiians least likely to indicate science interest as a reason. Findings are discussed within the context of cultural ecology and feminist social theory. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Cases of Science Professors’ Use of Nature of Science

Study provides qualitative analysis of data that answers the following research question: how college science faculty teach science and NOS and incorporate aspects of NOS and the history of science into their undergraduate courses? Study concentrates on four cases and more specifically on three introductory science classes and on four instructors who taught those courses. These instructors were chosen as case studies to explore in greater detail what occurs inside introductory science courses in one particular higher institution in the Northeastern United States. Participants’ teaching styles are presented through a combined and detailed presentation of interview data and classroom observations supported with examples from their classroom activities. Constant comparative approach was used in the process of organizing and analyzing data. Findings revealed that participants preferred to use the traditional teacher-centered lecturing as their teaching style and whose main concern was to cover more content, develop the problem solving skills of their students, and who wanted to teach the fundamental principles of their subjects without paying special importance to the NOS aspects. The study also revealed that other variables of teaching science, such as large class size, lack of management and organizational skills, teaching experience, and instructors’ concerns for students’ abilities and motivation are more important for these scientists then teaching for understanding of NOS.     

PUBLICATION OUTLETS FOR SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY FACULTY: 2010 to 2015

Many school psychology faculty are required to publish for purposes of retention and promotion. It is useful to have an understanding of the different outlets for scholarly publications. In the present study, we investigated the peer‐reviewed journals in which school psychology faculty were published between 2010 and 2015, the number of articles in each journal, and the acceptance rates and impact estimates for each journal. We identified school psychology faculty using the National Association of School Psychologists website and conducted a search of the publications using EBSCO databases. Results indicated that there were a total of 3,675 articles and a total of 832 peer‐reviewed journals in which school psychology faculty were published during the 6‐year span. Among the peer‐reviewed journals, Psychology in the Schools, School Psychology Quarterly, School Psychology Review, and Journal of School Psychology were the journals in which school psychology faculty members most frequently published. Acceptance rates ranged from less than 5% to 98%, with an average of 29.7%. H‐indexes ranged from 1 to 890, with an average of 52. These results illustrate the variety of journals that publish works from school psychology faculty and the need for school psychology faculty and other authors to consider a variety of options when seeking publication.     

ON THE HOME FRONT: HOW DO AGHE‐MEMBER INSTITUTIONS UTILIZE THEIR GERONTOLOGY PROGRAMS FOR AGE‐RELEVANT PLANNING AND DECISION‐MAKING?

Presidents of AGHE‐affiliated colleges and universities expressed a predominantly negative assessment of their elderly faculty members in response to a national survey (Kastenbaum & Schulte, 1988). They anticipated that the abolishment of mandatory retirement (scheduled for 1994) would lead to deterioration of instructional quality and scholarly productivity as well as a negative economic impact at their own academic institutions. However, very few of the responding institutions reported having completed studies relevant to this assumption. The present study is a follow‐up survey addressed not to the presidents but to the directors of all gerontology centers in the same academic institutions. The respondents were asked if their own administration had asked their assistance in matters concerned with the status and potential of elderly faculty. This study of gerontology on the “home front” finds that gerontological expertise is rarely sought by administrators on such topics as developing a plan for continued growth of older faculty members, new ways to utilize older faculty members, or personnel policies affecting older faculty members. The range of utilization across five items was between 3.26% and 7.09% of the 172 responding programs. Gerontology programs were somewhat more likely to initiate their own activities in these areas, ranging from 8.66% to 14.17%. Within the limits of this study, it appears that an academic institution's membership in AGHE does not necessarily signify a readiness to call upon its resident gerontologists with regard to age‐related issues on campus. The pattern of data from both surveys also suggests that (a) there i^r a nationwide emphasis on encouraging older faculty to take early r irement, (b) accompanied by a prevailing assumption that older faculty perform less adequately, although (c) little effort has been made to obtain and review data on the actual performance and potential of older faculty.     

Gender Disparity in STEM Disciplines: A Study of Faculty Attrition and Turnover Intentions

This study examines the underrepresentation of women faculty in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by comparing the intentions of attrition and turnover between genders in Research and Doctoral universities. It is found that the two genders did not differ in their intentions to depart from academia, but women faculty had a significantly higher likelihood to change positions within academia. The indications are that women and men are equally committed to their academic careers in STEM; nonetheless, women’s stronger turnover intentions are highly correlated with dissatisfaction with research support, advancement opportunities, and free expression of ideas. The findings suggest that the underrepresentation of women is more convincingly explained by an academic culture that provides women fewer opportunities, limited support, and inequity in leadership, rather than by gender-based differences such as roles in family responsibilities. Changes in academic STEM culture are needed in order to attract more women scientists and narrow the current gender gap.     

Exploring Natural and Social Scientists’ Views of Nature of Science

Science education researchers recently turned their attention to exploring views about nature of science (NOS). A large body of research indicates that both students and teachers have many naïve views about the NOS. Unfortunately, less attention has been directed at the issue of exploring the views of the scientists. Also, the little research in the literature generally took into consideration NOS views of only natural scientists. This study primarily proposes to explore the views of scientists in both the natural and social sciences regarding the seven target aspects of NOS. The second aim of the study is to find out the similarities and dissimilarities between the views of scientists who majored in social sciences and those who majored in natural sciences in terms of the target aspects of NOS. The sample was 69 scientists representing 5 scientific disciplines from natural and social sciences. Interviews were employed for obtaining data. The data were analyzed by means of cognitive maps. This study revealed that the scientists in the sample have neither completely informed views nor completely naïve views according to contemporary scientific understanding. Their views were a blend of the two in terms of almost all the target aspects of NOS. The views of the scientists in natural science and in social science were not substantially different. The scientists from both groups generally had similar viewpoints. This situation suggested that the scientists' views about NOS are not related to their scientific disciplines.     

‘She's not good with crying’: the effect of gender expectations on graduate students' assessments of their principal investigators

This paper explores how gender influences the way that faculty members are held accountable to gendered societal expectations related to scientists, faculty members, and leaders. In particular, women faculty members in the sciences, particularly those who lead large research groups, may be at a triple disadvantage: they must act in ways that contradict ideals of femininity in these multiple aspects of their professional lives. The data for this inductive, largely exploratory analysis come from a mixed-methods qualitative study of five chemistry research groups at a research-intensive US university. I find that gendered expectations do impact the way that men and women faculty are evaluated by their students, particularly the way that women faculty are judged.     

What kind of faculty are motivated to perform research by the desire for promotion?

A policy of adding a new rank to the faculty career ladder was implemented in Taiwan in 1994. It was believed that structural changes of the incentive system would change faculty research behavior. This paper explores the question: Who are motivated to perform research by the desire for promotion? A mail survey investigating Taiwanese faculty members was conducted. The results show that the answer varies by different performance measures. Those who publish for the promotion reward tend also to be motivated by other external and internal rewards. Among all rewards, the most important to many faculty is an increase in personal income. Holding one's valence score on promotion constant, faculty with better research performance tends to be those who possess doctoral degrees. The results show that faculty in public institutions perform better than their private-institution counterparts, regardless of promotion valence. Finally, alternative policies to improve faculty research performance are recommended.     

Publication Rates of Molecular Versus Non-Molecular Biologists: A Case Study of Seven Primarily Undergraduate Institutions

At many primarily undergraduate institutions, biology faculty members mentor student research collaborators. If publication is required for tenure and promotion, this research is expected to result in periodic publications; and publication rates are a common metric used to assess faculty productivity. However, we have uncovered a highly significant difference in the time required to publish articles based on biological sub-discipline. It takes, on average, twice as long for molecular biologists to publish articles than scholars from other sub-disciplines in biology. We believe that this analysis can be used to assess whether this phenomenon generalizes to other disciplines and/or other categories of institutions.