Who profits from the Canadian nanotechnology reward system? Implications for gender-responsible innovation

Scientometrics - Gender equality is one of the primary dimensions of responsible research and innovation. Based on bibliometric and survey data of nanotechnology researchers in Canada, this paper...     

Effect of collaboration network structure on knowledge creation and technological performance: the case of biotechnology in Canada

Many of the novel ideas that lead to scientific publications or yield technological advances are the result of collaborations among scientists or inventors. Although various aspects of collaboration networks have been examined, the impact of many network characteristics on knowledge creation and innovation production remains unclear due to the inconsistency of the conclusions from various research studies. One such network structure, called small world, has recently attracted much theoretical attention as it has been suggested that it can enhance the information transmission efficiency among the network actors. However, the existing empirical studies have failed to provide consistent results regarding the effect of small-world network properties on network performance in terms of its scientific and technological productivity. In this paper, using the data on 29 years of journal publications and patents in the field of biotechnology in Canada, the network of scientists’ collaboration activities has been constructed based on their co-authorships in scientific articles. Various structural properties of this network have been measured and the relationships between the network structure and knowledge creation, and quantity and quality of technological performance have been examined. We found that the structure of the co-authorship network of Canadian biotechnology scientists has a significant effect on the knowledge and innovation production, but it produced no impact on the quality of patents generated by these scientists.     

Inequality and collaboration patterns in Canadian nanotechnology: implications for pro-poor and gender-inclusive policy

Policymakers and scholars are increasingly concerned with how nanotechnology can reduce inequalities and provide benefits for disadvantaged and poor communities. This paper simultaneously addresses two concerns related to nanotechnology and equity: the lack of research and development focused on nanotechnology applications that benefit developing nations (pro-poor R&D) and the lack of women in nanotechnology fields. The paper focuses on Canada, an affluent country committed to both pro-poor and gender responsive policies. Social network analysis is used to examine the relationship between gender and collaboration patterns of authors and inventors whose work is related to pro-poor applications of nanotechnology. Findings reveal that female first-authored papers have a lower citation rate and are published in higher ranked journals compared to those papers first-authored by men. Nevertheless, when women are last or corresponding authors, their papers receive equal or higher citation rates and are published in lower or similar ranked journals. Women are as, or more, collaborative as their male peers in their co-authorship and co-inventorship networks. While the majority of male authors and male inventors collaborate exclusively with men, those involved in a mixed-gender team outperform male-only teams. Women, as both authors and inventors, are involved in more gender-balanced collaboration teams. The study calls for development and implementation of gender-related policies in Canada to increase the prevalence of female scientists in collaboration networks, and to support the participation of women in pro-poor areas.