Sci‐Hub: The new and ultimate disruptor? View from the front

The Harbinger project was a 3‐year‐long international study of the changing attitudes and behaviours of early career researchers (ECRs). One of the aims of the project was to discover if ECRs were adopting disrupting platforms that, legitimately or illegitimately, promote openness and sharing. It has been alleged that such an adoption appeals to them as Millennials. More than 100 ECRs from seven countries were questioned annually, and questions about Sc‐Hub were raised as part of discussions about discovery and access. Interview data were supplemented by desk research and Google Trends statistics. It was found that Sci‐Hub use was increasing and that a quarter of the ECRs now use it, with French ECRs being the biggest users. However, Sci‐Hub is making little headway with ECRs from the UK, USA, Malaysia, and China, although in China's case, this can be explained by it being banned and the country having its own equivalent, www.91lib.com . Sci‐Hub is used as much for convenience as necessity; use is not connected to the strength of library provision and and it has been suggested that it represents a bigger threat to publishers than ResearchGate, whose star might be waning.     

Tapping User-Driven Innovation: A New Rationale for Universal Service

The current transformation of communication policies, as governments turn to the marketplace as the driver of network evolution, requires a redefinition of universal service. The debate so far has focused primarily on the elaboration of new funding mechanisms and the definition of which services should be covered. We argue that a more fundamental, third area demands attention: the articulation of a new rationale for universal service itself. Without articulating a clear justification for universal service, designing its scope and funding mechanisms is problematic at best. Past justifications rested on welfare (make telephony affordable to all) and network externalities (increase the network?s value by widening its reach). Increasingly, these need to be complemented by a new rationale based on the innovative potential of universal service. This article explores how universal service can fuel innovation-driven economic growth.     

Peer review: The experience and views of early career researchers

This paper presents selected findings from the first year of a 3‐year longitudinal study of early career researchers (ECRs), which sought to ascertain current and changing habits in scholarly communication. Specifically, the aims of the paper are to show: (1) how much experience and knowledge ECRs had of peer review – both as authors and as reviewers; (2) what they felt the benefits were and what suggestions they had for improvement; (3) what they thought of open peer review (OPR); and (4) who they felt should organize peer review. Data were obtained from 116 science and social science ECRs, most of whom had published and were subject to in‐depth interviews conducted face‐to‐face, via Skype, or over the telephone. An extensive literature review was also conducted to provide a context and supplementary data for the findings. The main findings were that: (1) most ECRS are well informed about peer review and generally like the experience, largely because of the learning experiences obtained; (2) they like blind double‐peer review, but would like some improvements, especially with regards to reviewer quality; (3) most are uncomfortable with the idea of OPR; and (4) most would like publishers to continue organizing peer review because of their perceived independence.     

一类具有双线性发生率的SEIR流行病传播数学模型

利用Lasalle不变集原理探讨系统的渐近性态，研究了一类具有双线性发生率且染病期传染的SEIR流行病传播数学模型的动力学性质．得到了疾病绝灭与持续的阈值一基本再生数，证明了无病平衡点的全局渐近稳定性和地方病平衡点的全局渐近稳定性，揭示了潜伏期传染的影响．     

ResearchGate: Reputation uncovered

ResearchGate (RG) is a scholarly social network that possesses an impressive array of reputational metrics and has the potential to supplant publishers as the prime deliverer of scholarly reputation. It possesses 10 reputational mechanisms, and these are the subject of an evaluation employing desk research, expert evaluation, and an analysis of 400 RG members. The main conclusions are: RG (1) provides a rich, albeit confusing, amount of reputational data; (2) struggles with the deployment of alternative, engagement metrics, such as Q&A and follower data, which can lead to reputational anomalies; (3) employs usage data in an especially effective manner; and (4) leads the field in the way it engages with the scholar.     

Children's views concerning phase changes

This article reports on answers by children (Grades 1–9) to oral and written questions concerning the phase change from liquid to gas. The development of concepts was followed, proceeding from concrete to abstract ideas. Difficulties in the application of abstractions were found, and participants were frequently misled where a choice of possible correct answers was given. Many students were found to experience difficulties in problem solving even though they may have had the necessary level of knowledge. These findings lead us to emphasize the importance of explaining specific situations and experiences using clear and relevant models to suit the discussion. To this end, a number of suggestions are made for minimizing misunderstandings and enhancing understanding.     

Teaching Weight-Gravity and Gravitation in Middle School

This study deals with the school instruction of the concept of weight. The historical review reveals the major steps in changing weight definition reflecting the epistemological changes in physics. The latest change drawing on the operation of weighing has been not widely copied into physics education. We compared the older instruction based on the gravitational definition of weight with the newer one based on the operational definition. The experimental teaching was applied in two versions, simpler and extended. The study examined the impact of this instruction on the middle school students in regular teaching environment. The experiment involved three groups (N = 486) of 14-year-old students (ninth grade). The assessment drew on a written questionnaire and personal interviews. The elicited schemes of conceptual knowledge allowed to evaluate the impact on students’ pertinent knowledge. The advantage of the new teaching manifested itself in the significant decrease of the well-known misconceptions such as “space causes weightlessness,” “weight is an unchanged property of the body considered,” and “heavier objects fall faster”. The twofold advantage—epistemological and conceptual—of the operational definition of weight supports the correspondent curricular changes of its adoption.     

Yes,Memorize

The endless wealth of information on the internet sharpens the question: how much and what is really important for us to remember? This issue is related to questions regarding the core processes involved in reasoning and thinking. We present mental manipulation (MM) as the core of reasoning and examine the above‐mentioned issue in light of MM's vital role in reasoning and problem‐solving.     

Pupils’ Image of ‘the Scientist’ among Two Communities in Israel: A comparative study

The image of ‘the scientist’ and its effect on the willingness to be a scientist and to follow a career in science were investigated in two different cultural populations of elementary and junior high school pupils in Israel: Hebrew‐speaking (secular) pupils (N = 390) and Arabic‐speaking Bedouin pupils (N = 185). Five different tools were employed in our investigation (naming scientists, pictorial representation of the scientist (‘Draw‐a‐Scientist‐Test’), statements regarding the characteristics of the scientist, reasons for wanting/not wanting or being able/being unable to be scientists, and sources of knowledge regarding the scientist’s image). The image held by Hebrew pupils was similar to those held by western pupils found in previous research, but some details were more elaborate (due to the fact that many different tools were employed here). However, the image held by the Arabic pupils differed from that found in previous research. This image had a strong ethnical trend, with Golden Age Muslim scientists’ names dominating name lists, and drawings of traditional Muslim figures. Another image found in their drawings was of a scientist admired as a teacher, emphasising the Bedouin school’s formal culture. The theory of modernity will be a useful analytical tool to judge the results of the investigation, whether the population is supposed to be (or is close to) a modern population and whether it does not, definitely, fall under this definition (see Methods and Discussion).     

MATAL: the Israel Elementary Science Project‐‐a Retrospective

Summaries

English

In this article, the authors reflect on the development and implementation of the Israel Elementary Science Project (MATAL). The MATAL project, initially established in 1968, used British and American programmes as its foundation, but so modified them that they became applicable to the needs of less developed countries. The authors describe the structure and content of their project, as well as their work in teacher training and the development of ancillary and enrichment programmes. It is hoped that the Israeli experience in developing an elementary school science curriculum will be of interest and potential benefit to curriculum workers in other countries also.