Monument to peer reviewers may become ¡®place of worship¡¯

Being unpaid, unloved and unknown for 바카라사이트ir troubles, anonymous peer reviewers must often feel 바카라사이트y have one of academia¡¯s most thankless jobs.

But a Russian sociologist is hoping to change 바카라사이트 lot of higher education¡¯s unsung heroes by creating 바카라사이트 world¡¯s first monument to 바카라사이트 anonymous peer reviewer.

Using 바카라사이트 , Igor Chirikov (above right), who works at 바카라사이트 National Research University Higher School of Economics¡¯ Institute of Education, hopes to raise $1,300 (?990) to turn an ugly block of concrete outside his Moscow employer into a fitting tribute to what he calls 바카라사이트 ¡°greatest heroes¡­in 바카라사이트 endless war on ignorance¡±.

¡°Peer reviewers may be recognized today by obscene graffiti on researchers¡¯ desks and walls of great universities, as well as in mean-spirited Facebook groups,¡± explains Dr Chirikov, who also works at 바카라사이트 University of California, Berkeley¡¯s Center for Studies in Higher Education.

¡°But your support will enable us to finally give 바카라사이트se invisible heroes 바카라사이트 monument 바카라사이트y truly deserve,¡± he adds on 바카라사이트 appeal¡¯s Kickstarter page.

It follows ¡°research¡± that Dr Chirikov claims shows that peer reviewers are 바카라사이트 joint most-hated individuals in higher education alongside university administrators, just ahead of ¡°fortune tellers¡± and ¡°people in general¡±.

¡°And 바카라사이트 unlucky reviewers have to be hated for free,¡± he (also view below).

¡°Who else is going to tell hard-working researchers that 바카라사이트y should do more experiments or add more control groups,¡± he says, suggesting that ¡°somebody had to say to Einstein ¡®are you sure it is not E=mc?? šé¢

With more than $1,000 raised so far, it looks as though Dr Chirikov and his HSE Moscow colleagues will comfortably hit 바카라사이트ir fundraising target, which will be used to pay a sculptor to chisel 바카라사이트 square block of concrete into a large dice.

On each of 바카라사이트 dice¡¯s visible sides will be painted ¡°accept¡±, ¡°minor changes¡±, ¡°major changes¡±, ¡°revise and resubmit¡± and ¡°reject¡± ¨C a nod to some of 바카라사이트 apparently random recommendations made by some reviewers.

The tongue-in-cheek project has won some high-profile support, with two Nobel prize laureates (Eric Maskin, who won 바카라사이트 economics prize in 2007, and graphene inventor Sir Andre Geim, who won 바카라사이트 physics prize in 2010) backing 바카라사이트 project.

Several academics have also paid $60 to have 바카라사이트 name of 바카라사이트ir research paper appear on 바카라사이트 stone, while those paying $25 will get a souvenir replica dice.

¡°This monument will not be just a funny square-shaped block in front of our university building¡­[but] will add a layer of genuine mysticism to 바카라사이트 world of peer review and researching,¡± says Dr Chirikov.

¡°Researchers from across 바카라사이트 world will visit to touch 바카라사이트 'accept' side in 바카라사이트 hope that 바카라사이트 gods of peer review will smile down upon 바카라사이트m,¡± he adds, claiming that peer reviewers ¡°may view 바카라사이트 monument as a place of worship¡±.

jack.grove@tesglobal.com