Creativity in science and the link to cited references: Is the creative potential of papers reflected in their cited references?

Several authors have proposed that a large number of unusual combinations of cited references in a paper point to its high creative potential (or novelty). However, it is still not clear whether the number of unusual combinations can really measure the creative potential of papers. The current study addresses this question on the basis of several case studies from the field of scientometrics. We identified some landmark papers in this field. Study subjects were the corresponding authors of these papers. We asked them where the ideas for the papers came from and which role the cited publications played. The results revealed that the creative ideas might not necessarily have been inspired by past publications. The literature seems to be important for the contextualization of the idea in the field of scientometrics. Instead, we found that creative ideas are the result of finding solutions to practical problems, result from discussions with colleagues, and profit from interdisciplinary exchange. The roots of the studied landmark papers are discussed in detail.     

Impact of a Brief Literacy Intervention on Urban Preschoolers

A pre-post study was conducted at an urban child-care center to study the hypothesis that a brief literacy intervention would result in improved receptive vocabulary for preschoolers. Parents attended a series of 4 workshops about reading to children. The children had a significant 7-point increase in their Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test scores at 7-month follow-up. Children of college-educated parents had a higher increase in scores than did children whose parents were not college educated.     

How do legal surprises drive organizational attention and case resolution? An analysis of false patent marking lawsuits

Legal surprises are unexpected suits or actions in which plaintiffs rely on claims or precedents that may be obscure, unfamiliar, or unknown to the defendants. Our study explores false patent marking suits, a unique type of patent-related legal surprise involving allegations of defendants marking products with ineligible patent numbers to deceive customers and/or deter competitors. An abrupt shift in U.S. Federal Courts’ interpretation of intellectual property rights (IPRs) policy amplified plaintiff incentives for filing these suits while escalating defendant penalties for proven violations. Handling costly legal surprises such as false patent marking suits requires focused attention from managers. Our core premise is that temporal and evidential cues in the timelines and storylines of plaintiffs’ legal narratives in surprise suits attract defendants’ organizational attention. We hypothesize about temporal focus (past, present, and future) and evidentiary reasoning (relevance, credibility, and inferential power) as attention cues and possible predictors of the mode (litigation or negotiation) and timing of case resolution. We apply automated content analysis to official court records for 992 false patent marking cases (2009–2011) and quantify competing risks using hazard models. We find that differences in temporal focus and evidentiary reasoning in the legal narratives of surprise suits are significant predictors of case resolution mode and timing. We also find that defendants countersuing to redirect plaintiffs’ attention is an effective negotiating tactic. We discuss the economic significance and strategic implications of our empirical findings on legal surprises, attention, case resolution mode and timing, and the unintended consequences of IPR policy changes.     

The PCC ISNI Pilot: Exploring Identity Management on a Global,Collaborative Scale

Abstract

The Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) conducted a multi-institution Pilot project to contribute metadata to the International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI) database. In addition to describing the goals, structure, and activities undertaken in the Pilot, this article examines some of the experiences of PCC metadata practitioners as they sought to incorporate ISNIs into their metadata workflows and pursue a wide range of ISNI use cases. Lastly, the article outlines next steps that flowed from the Pilot as the PCC has parlayed its newly developing identity management expertise into additional PCC program explorations.     

The interfaculty graduate environmental sciences program of the American University of Beirut: an ESD initiative in the Arab World

The American University of Beirut’s Interfaculty Graduate Environmental Sciences Program was launched in 1997 as a means of addressing salient issues on the environment and development in Lebanon and the Arab World using an interdisciplinary approach. The programme adopts a student-centred learning approach and aims to develop critical and systems thinking skills to produce socially and environmentally conscious leaders and agents of change in the Arab World. In this paper, we provide an evaluation of the programme’s ESD dimensions using the criteria of interdisciplinarity, local relevance and competence-based learning. This is followed by a critical analysis of the programme’s potential for use as a model in the Arab World. We find that, while the model may be useful in providing inspiration and a good practice case, its transfer “as is” to institutions of higher education in the Arab World or even in Lebanon is unlikely, and perhaps undesirable, in view of the inherently diverse nature of Arab universities.     

Innovation strategy, firm survival and relocation: The case of Hong Kong-owned manufacturing in Guangdong Province, China

Based on a survey adapted from the Fourth European Community Innovation Survey (CIS-4), this study finds that, in the changing manufacturing environment of Guangdong Province in China, Hong Kong-owned businesses that generate a higher share in new product sales as a percentage of total sales or engage in R&D or collaborative innovation activities in China are more likely to survive and remain in Guangdong. The study fills a gap in the literature by investigating the effects of innovation on the survival and relocation of Hong Kong-owned manufacturing firms in Guangdong. The results support policy initiatives that strengthen collaborative ties among key innovation system actors.     

非政府组织在天文学科普方面的作用

古代伊朗科学家曾对科学,特别是天文学做出过重大贡献。当代的伊朗科学家继承了这一传统,并致力于向公众传播科学。21世纪初,由一批科学家、热心科学传播的社会人士和私营企业组成的非政府组织积极筹建马什哈德天文馆、科学中心等科普场馆。本文通过这一案例,讨论了非政府组织在科普场馆建设和科学传播中的作用、问题和可行性,并介绍了马什哈德天文学会为此采取的相应对策。     

Developing and piloting a framework for studying the alignment of mathematics examinations with the curriculum: The case of Lebanon

This research aimed at developing a methodological framework to investigate the alignment of the Lebanese national math exam tests with the curriculum at the middle school level, during the transitory period of a major curricular reform. The focus is on exploring the characteristics of an “assessment culture” set by the national exams during the long life of the old curriculum.

A framework for analyzing non-objective type tests is developed and piloted. The study considered a sample of 3 model tests reflecting the analyzed curriculum, and 11 official exam tests administered over the last 6 years of its life. The 2 sets of exams were analyzed and compared.

It was found that the official tests have a stable structure in format and in content, and involve a limited set of topics that determine a “mini-curriculum”. The results showed discrepancies between the official and the model tests, indicating lack of alignment.     

Why use information and communications technology? Some theoretical and practical issues

Abstract

This article is concerned with theoretical issues of pedagogy and how they relate to the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in teaching. The article reviews the context of recent developments in ICT pedagogy. It also draws upon thinking about pedagogy which derives from learning theories. These provide a theoretical framework for research by the authors into the Smart Schoolinitiative in Malaysian schools. This initiative is attempting to change the pedagogy of Malaysian schools in a radical way. This involves the use of ICT alongside other innovations and a refocusing of the learning agenda for school-aged pupils. Some early impressions of the initiative are presented