The 2001 Benjamin Franklin medal in physics presented to Alan Guth, Ph.D. of Cambridge, Massachusetts

The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, awarded the 2001 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics to Alan H. Guth for his efforts to advance our knowledge of physical science and its application of the inflationary scenario, in which the universe undergoes a rapid expansion in the first stages of the Big Bang.     

Understanding our link to the Great Apes—the 2003 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences awarded to Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall is the recipient of the 2003 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences for her long-term scientific studies of chimpanzee behavior. Not only were her studies the first of their kind, her meticulous behavioral recordings led to major changes in our understanding of the social links that exist between ourselves and our closest living relative, the chimpanzee. In discussing the importance of Dr. Goodall's work, Stephen Jay Gould (the late Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology at Harvard University) said ... “Science gains enormous power in replications of observations, but Homo sapiens is a single species and we can never know, by studying ourselves alone, whether important aspects of our behaviors and mental capacities reflect an ancestral evolutionary heritage (transmogrified through our uniquely evolved intelligence and its social correlates), or new features evolved or socially acquired only by our lineage. Chimpanzees are the best natural experiment we will ever have for exploring this central question, for chimps are our closest genealogical cousins and therefore hold more of our common evolutionary heritage than any other species can. Chimpanzees are not so much the shadow of man as our mirror, only slightly blurred by the mists of time”.     

Grounded theory for generating theory in the study of behavior

The use of grounded theory procedures for the study of information behavior has contributed to generating theory in this field. Thirty-one works were analyzed with regard to a) their relationship to the context in which the research was carried out, b) the aspect of information behavior researched, c) the use of grounded theory procedures, and d) the generation of theory. Most of the studies were carried out in the context of health information, and grounded theory procedures were for the most part only partially applied. The theoretical propositions produced depended on the subject being studied. Although this methodology is suitable for the study of an individual's interaction with information from that individual's own point of view, documentation of the procedures involved is often deficient.     

Stakeholder analysis is key to client-supplier relationships of global outsourcing project success

Outsourcing as a logical consequence of globalization has caused a shift towards the integration of labour forces where communications play a significant role in the success of outsourcing partnerships. Utilizing the lens of an outsourced telecommunications case study we examine how a problematic client-supplier relationship across global loci was transformed by implementing a stakeholder analysis. We discuss how ineffectual project communications caused confusion, disinterest and apathy of client stakeholders challenging the outsourcing partnership. Our insight evidences not only the necessity to transparently address cultural challenges but emphasizes a crucial need to explicitly validate the different audiences. From the increased clarity and purpose provided it proved possible to instigate solutions such that real benefits to the project were realised. We suggest a number of key learning points as ‘lessons learnt’ to enlighten current and future practice of outsourcing relationships across global projects.     

New methods for an old debate: Utilizing reader response to investigate the relationship between collaboration and quality in academic journal articles

There has been a longstanding debate about the merits of collaborative research, with most studies focusing on the citation advantage of such research. However, citation studies provide only one lens on the issues. New methods of inquiry are necessary to incorporate other audiences of scholarly literature. Reader response surveys were used to evaluate the quality of collaborative versus single-authored research. Graduate students in three sections of the same library and information science course during the 2010 academic year used surveys to rate each week's assigned readings according to overall quality, usefulness for class discussion, and enjoyability. Students voted whether to keep each article in the reading list for the following semester. Data were analyzed to compare results for single-author versus multi-author works. Multi-author works were favored over single-author. These findings provide another layer of empirical support for the benefits of collaborative research and inform both scientometricians and educators.     

Propagation of projective synchronization in a series connection of chaotic systems

Projective synchronization is a type of chaos synchronization where the response system states are scaled replicas of the drive system states. This paper deals with the propagation of projective synchronization in a series connection of N chaotic discrete-time drive systems and N response systems. By exploiting an observer-based approach, the paper demonstrates that dead-beat projective synchronization (i.e., exact synchronization in finite time for any scaling factor) is achieved between the nth drive and nth response systems. In particular, it is shown that projective synchronization starts from the innermost (Nth) drive-response system pair and propagates toward the outermost (first) drive-response system pair. Only a single scalar synchronizing signal connects the cascaded drive and response systems. Finally, an example illustrates the propagation of different types of chaos synchronization in a series connection consisting of a Gingerbreadman map, a third order hyperchaotic Henon map and a Lozi map.     

The 2006 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry presented to Samuel J. Danishefsky, Ph.D.

Organic synthesis of natural products began in 1828 with Wohler's synthesis of urea, the first time a substance derived from a living organism had been produced by combining inorganic materials. Progress in the field was slow at first, due to the limited purification and analytical methods. Advances in those areas gave rise to rapid progress in synthesis, as chemists could now focus their energies on devising new approaches to the preparation of increasingly complex molecules. While it is possible to prepare many molecules by using known chemistry in new combinations, real progress has been the result of keen insight and creativity on the part of only a few individuals.Professor Samuel J. Danishefsky established himself early on as a leader in this field when he recognized that a well-known ring forming reaction could be greatly extended by adding chemical functionality to one of the components. He then found that these new reactive components could react with heretofore unreactive components to produce new rings containing oxygen atoms both in the ring and as attachments to the ring. These products were very similar to naturally occurring sugars. Danishefsky realized that he could develop this chemistry further to produce precisely defined polysaccharides as well. Some of these polysaccharides occur on the surface of cancer cells. Using the chemistry he developed, he was able to prepare these cancer cell markers, and after combining them with certain proteins, showed that the resulting molecules behaved as cancer vaccines. Several have entered clinical trial.Danishefsky has synthesized many other natural products, but he is particularly interested in those that may be useful in treating cancer. His syntheses allow for the modification of the final product in ways that improve both safety and efficacy. Several of these compounds have also entered clinical trials. Thus his work has not only advanced the art and science of organic synthesis, but stands to make dramatic advances in the treatment of cancer as well.     

Universal museums, museum objects and repatriation: The tangled stories of things

This paper discusses the contribution of the 2003 ‘Declaration on the Importance and Value of Universal Museums’ to the debate on repatriation. The ‘Universalist’ approach taken by the Declaration is first considered, noting the implications of its emphasis on art, the heritage of museums and objects, along with its focus on the sculpture of ancient Greece and the enlightenment origin of museums such as the British Museum. It is argued that it reveals an essentialist approach that derives from a particular Western perspective, rather than being truly ‘universal’, and then considers whether a similar problem underlies many of the arguments advocating repatriation. The second part of the paper explores the opportunities offered by an approach which emphasises the ‘biography of objects’. This demonstrates how the tangled histories of objects and their many meanings can be considered. Repatriation is shown to be able to result in an increase in knowledge and understanding, rather than its destruction, and so meets the declared aim of the Declaration to ‘foster knowledge by a continuous process of reinterpretation’.     

Experiential learning or exploitation? Volunteering for work experience in the UK museums sector

Aspiring museums professionals often have to volunteer outside of formal study programmes in order to gain paid work in the UK museums sector. Volunteering for work experience however, has been largely ignored by previous studies of museum volunteers. This paper aims to provide an insight into the extent of volunteering for work experience and the experiences of these would-be museum workers. The paper presents the result of a postal questionnaire and interviews with both volunteers and managers. A key problem for museums is the resources needed to provide meaningful work experience. For volunteers, a worthwhile work experience placement appears to be almost entirely due to luck and finding a mentor. Voluntary experience therefore seems to be more about developing contacts than learning museum-specific skills. Recommendations are made for improving the volunteers’ experience.