The open science movement is just the latest development in the long history of scholarly communication. The essence of science has always been communication. Nothing gets entered into the scientific record until it has been published in a peer-reviewed journal so that it can be explained to the scientific community at large, allowing them to […]
science
Brace for impact
With public finances tight, governments around the world are demanding a return on their investment in science. Researchers should get used to it. When the financial crisis hit in 2008 it became clear that the good times of the previous decade were not going to last. Researchers, who had gotten used to 10 years of […]
Open Sesame
A synchrotron under construction in the Middle East brings hope for both science and peace. “It’s like a parallel universe,” says Eliezer Rabinovici, director of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, of the complex of buildings in the Jordanian desert near Amman. Rabinovici is a string theorist, so he knows […]
Industry and academics square off over future of Framework
The negotiations on Framework 8, the EU’s research funding programme scheduled to begin in 2014, are now well and truly underway. With the mid-term review of Framework 7 now out of the way, attention will quickly turn to its successor. The European Commission will present its first communication on Framework 8 in early 2011, and […]
LibDem grassroots wait and see on science
Liberal Democrat activists at the party’s conference in Liverpool have adopted a ‘wait and see’ attitude to the coalition’s science policy. “I think the jury’s still out,” Ken Cosslett, chairman of the Association of Liberal Democrat Engineers and Scientists told Research Fortnight. “But we will definitely be discussing it at our AGM on Wednesday.” After […]
What to expect from the coalition
In May, UK voters decided not to give any one political party an absolute majority in the House of Commons. The result was the country’s first coalition government in 70 years, an unlikely pairing of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Read more in Materials Today.
The Big Cull: Where did all the scientists go?
The House of Commons is preparing for the biggest turnover of MPs since the second world war. Half of the 646 MPs will step down or lose their seats, including a majority of those with an interest, or expertise in, research. Scientists and campaign groups, not to mention science journalists, are worried. But how bad […]
Don’t panic
The speedy insertion of impact assessment into the plans for the Research Excellence Framework last month has alarmed academics. To grade work not just on its scholarly merits but on how useful it is, economically and socially, is anathema to many researchers. But the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s plans are not as bad […]
Spinning out of control?
Considering cashing in on your research? Here’s what not to do… It’s natural when you have discovered something to want to see it developed into new and useful products – either by licensing your intellectual property (IP) to industry or creating a spinout company to develop the product yourself. But despite the push by governments […]