Scholarly publishing in social sciences and humanities, associated probabilities of belonging and its spectrum: a quantitative approach for the Spanish case

In this study, differences between Spanish social sciences and humanities journals are examined using a quantitative approach. Firstly, using a set of 144 psychology journals and 69 philosophy journals, statistically significant differences have been identified in 11 characteristics/indicators. Secondly, a logistic regression was carried out on the dichotomous response variable “belonging to the social sciences” or “belonging to the humanities”, on 777 Spanish social sciences journals, 563 humanities journals that have been previously classified and 17 existing predictor variables. The regression model reached an overall correct classification of 78.8 %. The explanatory variables considered in the model are analyzed and interpreted taking into account the change in the odds ratio and the indication of their contribution to the correct classification rate in the two response values. Finally the average associated probability of belonging to the social sciences group is calculated for each discipline and reflected in a spectrum of the probability of belonging to the social sciences or the humanities.     

A two-dimensional approach to evaluate the scientific production of countries (case study: the basic sciences)

The quantity and quality of scientific output of the topmost 50 countries in the four basic sciences (agricultural & biological sciences, chemistry, mathematics, and physics & astronomy) are studied in the period of the recent 12 years (1996–2007). In order to rank the countries, a novel two-dimensional method is proposed, which is inspired by the H-index and other methods based on quality and quantity measures. The countries data are represented in a “quantity–quality diagram”, and partitioned by a conventional statistical algorithm into three clusters, members of which are rather the same in all of the basic sciences. The results offer a new perspective on the global positions of countries with regards to their scientific output.     

Discrete-element modelling: methods and applications in the environmental sciences

This paper introduces a Theme Issue on discrete-element modelling, based on research presented at an interdisciplinary workshop on this topic organized by the National Institute of Environmental e-Science. The purpose of the workshop, and this collection of papers, is to highlight the opportunities for environmental scientists provided by (primarily) off-lattice methods in the discrete-element family, and to draw on the experiences of research communities in which the use of these methods is more advanced. Applications of these methods may be conceived in a wide range of situations where dynamic processes involve a series of fundamental entities (particles or elements) whose interaction results in emergent macroscale structures. Indeed, the capacity of these methods to reveal emergent properties at the meso- and macroscale, that reflect microscale interactions, is a significant part of their attraction. They assist with the definition of constitutive material properties at scales beyond those at which measurement and theory have been developed, and help us to understand self-organizing behaviours. The paper discusses technical issues including the contact models required to represent collision behaviour, computational aspects of particle tracking and collision detection, and scales at which experimental data are required and choices about modelling style must be made. It then illustrates the applicability of DEM and other forms of individual-based modelling in environmental and related fields as diverse as mineralogy, geomaterials, mass movement and fluvial sediment transport processes, as well as developments in ecology, zoology and the human sciences where the relationship between individual behaviour and group dynamics can be explored using a partially similar methodological framework.     

Canadian collaboration networks: A comparative analysis of the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities

Summary A basic dichotomy is generally made between publication practices in the natural sciences and engineering (NSE) on the one hand and social sciences and humanities (SSH) on the other. However, while researchers in the NSE share some common practices with researchers in SSH, the spectrum of practices is broader in the latter. Drawing on data from the CD-ROM versions of the Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index and the Arts & Humanities Citation Index from 1980 to 2002, this paper compares collaboration patterns in the SSH to those in the NSE. We show that, contrary to a widely held belief, researchers in the social sciences and the humanities do not form a homogeneous category. In fact, collaborative activities of researchers in the social sciences are more comparable to those of researchers in the NSE than in the humanities. Also, we see that language and geographical proximity influences the choice of collaborators in the SSH, but also in the NSE. This empirical analysis, which sheds a new light on the collaborative activities of researchers in the NSE compared to those in the SSH, may have policy implications as granting councils in these fields have a tendency to imitate programs developed for the NSE, without always taking into account the specificity of the humanities.     

Considerations for appointing an external examiner of a PhD in the biomedical sciences in Sweden: a questionnaire-based survey

A survey of 170 Swedish mentors of PhD-students found that expertise in the research field and avoidance of conflict of interest were big motivators for finding an examiner from abroad for PhD theses. The survey also identified that concern by supervisors for facilitating the career paths of younger scientists in terms of introductions to potential labs for post-doctoral work and obtaining high quality neutral review of one’s research was also important, as was the desire to set up collaborations. An expectation from the management of one’s university of the PR-value of a foreign senior person as examiner also played a part. Although few were willing to admit that PR for one’s own group was a motivating factor. A small fraction of responders expressed concern that, as some of the costs of the PhD-examination were being shifted on to the research groups themselves, this might impact the current situation. Language also played a subordinate role. To get the best out of the visiting examiner, it was important to educate and instruct them in their role in a Swedish PhD-examination protocol. Male supervisors had had more PhD-candidates than female, but they also had used more Sweden-based examiners than their female colleagues. We conclude that using a foreign examiner was motivated by factors that are likely to prevail for the foreseeable future. This Swedish practice may also provide a template for a common standard.     

Significant Mexican research in the health sciences: A bibliometric analysis

In the 1970s Mexico started to consolidate its S&T system by training human resources and actively preventing brain drain, mainly by motivating researchers through economic incentives. Considering Bradford"s Law, an analysis of significant Mexican research in the health sciences, i.e., papers published in journals with a high-impact factor which grant a degree of credibility and importance was carried out. Significant papers produced in Mexico show a measure of the country"s productivity, and these papers" citations measure the country"s international impact.     

A mathematical approach to assess research diversity: operationalization and applicability in communication sciences,political science,and beyond

Scientometrics - With today’s research production and global dissemination, there is growing pressure to assess how academic fields foster diversity. Based on a mathematical problem/solve...     

Evolutionary events in a mathematical sciences research collaboration network

This study examines long-term trends and shifting behavior in the collaboration network of mathematics literature, using a subset of data from Mathematical Reviews spanning 1985–2009. Rather than modeling the network cumulatively, this study traces the evolution of the “here and now” using fixed-duration sliding windows. The analysis uses a suite of common network diagnostics, including the distributions of degrees, distances, and clustering, to track network structure. Several random models that call these diagnostics as parameters help tease them apart as factors from the values of others. Some behaviors are consistent over the entire interval, but most diagnostics indicate that the network’s structural evolution is dominated by occasional dramatic shifts in otherwise steady trends. These behaviors are not distributed evenly across the network; stark differences in evolution can be observed between two major subnetworks, loosely thought of as “pure” and “applied”, which approximately partition the aggregate. The paper characterizes two major events along the mathematics network trajectory and discusses possible explanatory factors.     

First-principles quantum chemistry in the life sciences

The area of computational quantum chemistry, which applies the principles of quantum mechanics to molecular and condensed systems, has developed drastically over the last decades, due to both increased computer power and the efficient implementation of quantum chemical methods in readily available computer programs. Because of this, accurate computational techniques can now be applied to much larger systems than before, bringing the area of biochemistry within the scope of electronic-structure quantum chemical methods. The rapid pace of progress of quantum chemistry makes it a very exciting research field; calculations that are too computationally expensive today may be feasible in a few months' time! This article reviews the current application of 'first-principles' quantum chemistry in biochemical and life sciences research, and discusses its future potential. The current capability of first-principles quantum chemistry is illustrated in a brief examination of computational studies on neurotransmitters, helical peptides, and DNA complexes.     

Gender gaps in scientific performance: a longitudinal matching study of health sciences researchers

Scientometrics - The existence of gender disparities in academia is well documented. Many explanations have been proposed and productivity is one of the most used variables to explain a possible...     

Mapping the research landscape of Covid-19 from social sciences perspective: a bibliometric analysis

Scientometrics - COVID-19 has emerged as a widely researched topic and the academia has taken interest in the effects of COVID-19 in various sectors of human life and society. Most of the...     

Looking back,stepping forward: Reflections on the sciences in Europe

Following the 15^th anniversary of the European Society for the History of Science (ESHS), one can definitely say that this relatively young society has come of age. Through regular meetings, a journal, a prize, fellowships and various other activities, the ESHS has been striving to create a space fostering diversity, plurality and internationalization among historians of science, located in Europe and elsewhere. This paper revisits my own research on the past of the sciences in Portugal, examining in particular the role of the 18^th century naturalist and diplomat Abbé Correia da Serra. As a member of an extended network of estrangeirados (Europeanized intellectuals), Correia da Serra played a decisive role in the circulation of knowledge in Europe and also in the world, a role forgotten by his peers within the time interval of a generation. This case study acts as a springboard to discuss the importance of geographical and methodological diversity in the past of the sciences in Europe. In the present historiographical predicament in which the international community finds itself, I advocate that one of the main challenges faced by the ESHS is to turn its historical gaze to Europe again, while fiercely repudiating Eurocentrism. This enables to show how much the building of the European spaces of scientific practice were never a prerogative of a few regions or a small set of countries, but, on the very contrary, took shape as the result of complex interactions between diverse spaces and cultures, not only intra‐European but also non‐European.     

Discrete-element modelling and smoothed particle hydrodynamics: potential in the environmental sciences

Particle-based simulation methods, such as the discrete-element method and smoothed particle hydrodynamics, have specific advantages in modelling complex three-dimensional (3D) environmental fluid and particulate flows. The theory of both these methods and their relative advantages compared with traditional methods will be discussed. Examples of 3D flows on realistic topography illustrate the environmental application of these methods. These include the flooding of a river valley as a result of a dam collapse, coastal inundation by a tsunami, volcanic lava flow and landslides. Issues related to validation and quality data availability are also discussed.     

Artificial intelligence adoption in the physical sciences,natural sciences,life sciences,social sciences and the arts and humanities: A bibliometric analysis of research publications from 1960-2021

Analysing historical patterns of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption can inform decisions about AI capability uplift, but research to date has provided a limited view of AI adoption across different fields of research. In this study we examine worldwide adoption of AI technology within 333 fields of research during 1960–2021. We do this by using bibliometric analysis with 137 million peer-reviewed publications captured in The Lens database. We define AI using a list of 214 phrases developed by expert working groups at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). We found that 3.1 million of the 137 million peer-reviewed research publications during the entire period were AI-related, with a surge in AI adoption across practically all research fields (physical science, natural science, life science, social science and the arts and humanities) in recent years. The diffusion of AI beyond computer science was early, rapid and widespread. In 1960 14% of 333 research fields were related to AI (many in computer science), but this increased to cover over half of all research fields by 1972, over 80% by 1986 and over 98% in current times. We note AI has experienced boom-bust cycles historically; the AI “springs” and “winters”. We conclude that the context of the current surge appears different, and that interdisciplinary AI application is likely to be sustained.     

Citation inflation: the effect of not correcting the scientific literature sufficiently,a case study in the plant sciences

Scientometrics - In forestry, the Pterocarpus genus is important for the wood industry as this is a tree that is highly valued for its timber. Biotechnological research on this tree genus therefore...