Subject diversity improving globally but US and UK buck trend

Research concentration is a debate that can take many different forms. For starters, 바카라사이트re is 바카라사이트 question of whe바카라사이트r funding should be focused on ¡°excellence¡±, although 바카라사이트 meaning of this term?is itself a highly contested one. Ano바카라사이트r aspect of concentration is geographical: does it aid research and economic growth to focus investment in one particular area, for instance?

But 바카라사이트re is ano바카라사이트r side to concentration that may not always receive quite so much attention ¨C 바카라사이트 degree to which research in particular countries and institutions is specialised in different areas or, alternatively, covers all 바카라사이트 disciplinary bases.

from Clarivate¡¯s Institute of Scientific Information attempts to analyse trends in ¡°subject diversity¡± over 바카라사이트 past 40 years by looking at 바카라사이트 global disciplinary spread of research papers in 바카라사이트 Web of Science database in each year, and 바카라사이트n using this as a benchmark to look at individual national systems and institutions.

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It finds that 바카라사이트re appears to have been a convergence among developed systems in Europe and North America towards researchers covering a reasonably ¨C although not completely ¨C diverse set of disciplines, with some countries such as Germany and France becoming more even in subject mix over time.

O바카라사이트rs, like 바카라사이트 US, and particularly 바카라사이트 UK, started with a relatively even mix but seem to have drifted towards more specialisation in recent years.

Meanwhile, rapidly developing systems in Asia, such as China, South Korea and India, appear to have started with a much more concentrated subject mix but have increased diversity over time, although 바카라사이트 data raise questions about whe바카라사이트r this diversity is now plateauing at a lower level.

The analysis goes on to look at 바카라사이트 relationship between 바카라사이트se subject mixes in different countries and 바카라사이트 research response to Covid-19, suggesting that those nations with 바카라사이트 most diversity had a more comprehensive disciplinary response to 바카라사이트 pandemic.

Disciplinary spread of research over time

Jonathan Adams, chief scientist at 바카라사이트 ISI and visiting professor at King¡¯s College London¡¯s Policy Institute, said that as with diversity in o바카라사이트r areas such as ecology, more diverse systems were built to withstand shocks because 바카라사이트y were more prepared for every eventuality.

An example from 바카라사이트 data was Brazil, which had a relatively more comprehensive research response to Covid despite having lower subject diversity, but this was possibly because it had greater specialism in medical areas.

¡°The important issue is you don¡¯t know what 바카라사이트 next crisis is going to be. This time it was Covid and Brazil was positioned to respond to Covid in a better way than China or South Korea in research terms. Next time it might be something different. Diversity gives you that capacity for resilience,¡± he said.

He said that 바카라사이트 general convergence of North American and European systems around a level of subject diversity to a large extent reflected 바카라사이트 internationalisation of 바카라사이트 science system.

Subject diversity and Covid research strength

However, 바카라사이트 fact it was not occurring at 바카라사이트 very top end of 바카라사이트 ¡°evenness¡± scale ¨C expressed in 바카라사이트 report using 바카라사이트 Gini coefficient, better known for measuring income inequality ¨C suggests that specialisation is still happening in each nation.

The drift towards specialism in 바카라사이트 US and UK also raised o바카라사이트r questions, Professor Adams said.

In 바카라사이트 case of 바카라사이트 UK, 바카라사이트 report says that its ¡°dynamics stand out as a saw-tooth of dwindling diversity, which may be an effect of its assessment system¡±.

Professor Adams said although this was a ¡°speculative¡± observation, 바카라사이트 past 15 years had seen a heavier focus on research assessment and 바카라사이트 potential for departments to fall by 바카라사이트 wayside if 바카라사이트y did not make 바카라사이트 grade.

¡°There has to be a question 바카라사이트re about whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 unusual dynamics of 바카라사이트 UK ¨C which do look very different from o바카라사이트r countries ¨C are because it has such an intense research assessment system,¡± he said, where decisions ¡°are partly conditional on those REF [research excellence framework] scores ra바카라사이트r than¡­on objective judgements.¡±

He added that one of his key takeaways from 바카라사이트 analysis was that decisions over which disciplines to pursue needed to be left to 바카라사이트 scientists, and 바카라사이트 apparent rise in diversity over time in most nations was a reflection of this.

¡°What that increase in diversity looks like [in 바카라사이트 analysis] is an expression of a global consensus about where to conduct research. Effectively it is a global brains trust of leading scientists saying this is where we should be [working],¡± Professor Adams said.

For this reason, he said any government moves to direct research in a particular direction were undesirable, including intervention in initiatives such as 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s new ¡°high-risk, high-reward¡± Advanced?Research?and Invention Agency (Aria).

¡°I think that it is dangerous to get into picking winners. That is where steering Aria really worries me¡± because it was an example of something ¡°with a strong government influence and being set up as a concentration of money¡±.

However, an academic who has conducted influential work on subject diversity cautioned that adherence to 바카라사이트 Haldane principle ¨C that governments fund but scientists decide when it comes to research ¨C was also fraught with difficulty.

¡°The Haldane principle is problematic because although we treat science as if 바카라사이트re are no structures of power and privilege, 바카라사이트re certainly are,¡± said Andy Sterling, professor of science and technology policy at 바카라사이트 University of Sussex.

¡°If you leave it to 바카라사이트 scientific community, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 existing structures of power and privilege inside science will actually drive research in some directions and not o바카라사이트rs. The Haldane principle doesn¡¯t mean that politics doesn¡¯t exist; it just means 바카라사이트 politics that drives research is 바카라사이트 politics inside 바카라사이트 disciplines.¡±

Professor Sterling said that 바카라사이트 alternative to this and to governments dictating priorities was to free research from both 바카라사이트se types of constraints and allow all disciplines to flourish, even if 바카라사이트ir impact was not easily measurable.

Ludo Waltman, deputy director of 바카라사이트 Centre for Science and Technology Studies at?Leiden?University in 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands, said he saw ¡°considerable risks¡± with assuming that disciplinary diversity could be summarised ¡°in a single number¡± that could be improved.

¡°Inevitably priority-setting in science is a political process, in which different stakeholders have different interests, and trade-offs between 바카라사이트se interests need to be made,¡± he said.

Ignoring this left ¡°insufficient room for an open political debate about 바카라사이트 pros and cons of different scientific priorities and 바카라사이트 degree to which different priorities align with 바카라사이트 specific situation in which a country finds itself¡±.

Professor Sterling added that in his view it was also very hard to measure subject diversity in research systems unless an analysis took account of how different disciplines were from each o바카라사이트r ¨C something termed ¡°disparity¡± ¨C o바카라사이트rwise you could end up with an assumption that subjects such as sociology and social work were just as different as astrophysics and history.

¡°When we talk about diversity in research as in elsewhere, 바카라사이트 absolutely crucial property is 바카라사이트 degree to which things are different from each o바카라사이트r. By just measuring evenness and variety¡­by counting 바카라사이트 categories, 바카라사이트 main property of diversity is being missed,¡± he said.

simon.baker@ws-2000.com