Academic World (academic + world)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Humanities and Social Sciences42%

Selected Abstracts

Fellowship Training: A Necessity in Today's Academic World

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 7 2002
Susan Stern MD
First page of article [source]

The Inclusion of Female PhD Students in Academia: A Case Study of a Swedish University Department

GENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 2 2003
Ulf Elg
The article introduces a framework for understanding women's entry into the academic world and how it interacts with internal departmental structures and practices. It presents three specific strategies applied by a group of women to gain a doctorate and acceptance in their department. Few previous studies have stressed women's strategies to cope with the organizational setting in academia. The article draws on previous research on women in academia and how organizational characteristics influence women's careers. It is based on a case study of a Swedish university department. Sweden is often recognized for creating favourable working conditions for women. Yet the Swedish academic world is very male-dominated at the top and even the medium level. It is also more common than in many other Western countries that academics stay on at the department where they graduated. Therefore, a PhD is often a first step in a career within that department. [source]

Polymers as functional components in batteries and fuel cells,

POLYMERS FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, Issue 9-10 2006
Gerhard Wegner
Abstract The recent 10 years have seen an unprecedented development in the area of portable electronic devices: mobile phones, laptops, PDAS, and digital cameras have all become commodities on a large scale. All of these devices need a power supply in terms of a battery acceptable capacity, possibly rechargeable. This demand has triggered research and development in polymer materials science for lithium ion conducting polymers that could replace or avoid organic liquids as a supporting electrolyte. Moreover, polymers need to be optimized that act in the form of "gels" as framework and/or membrane materials to achieve mechanical integrity of the electrode compartments. Ionic conductivity for protons in polymeric systems is also the key issue in the development of so-called polyelectrolyte-membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) that are supposed to work as power sources for mobile applications, e.g. in hybrid cars. A liquid fuel such as methanol would be converted to CO2 and H2O with concomitant production of electricity. Novel proton conducting polymer systems are required that work at temperatures between 150,200°C, that is under more or less water-free conditions. These requirements find an echo in the academic world in terms of renewed interest in the mechanisms of ionic transport phenomena in polymeric systems and in studies that aim for optimization of materials. In this article there will be a report on both lithium-ion and proton conducting polymers that have been recently developed in the authors' laboratory. The results will be discussed in the context of the demands that need to be met for advanced technologies. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Narcissism: fragile bodies in a fragile world.

PSYCHOTHERAPY AND POLITICS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2008
Part
Abstract In this two-part paper, we explore how, in Western society, intensified consumer culture, playing on feelings of shame and inadequacy, can be seen as reactivating the ,narcissistic wound' while the recent growth of information technology increasingly provides access to a global spectacle and a virtual world that offer an escape from reality, fuelling the illusion of immortality and invulnerability to physical/emotional needs. We ask who benefits from this culture of unrelatedness and disembodiment and what are the repercussions in terms of participation in social life and organized response to global issues. Using material from our practices and from social life, we seek to identify the collective cost of maintaining a disassociation that can permeate not only the therapeutic process but also work, personal relationships and events on the political stage. We consider a view of Bush as a narcissistic president in a narcissistic culture with the Iraq war as a narcissistic misadventure, and we present vignettes from the consulting room, Dance Movement Therapy work in Holloway Prison, and the academic world of prehistoric archaeology to show how narcissistic behaviours are embedded in many diverse situations in Western society. We ask how the concept of narcissism in our media age can help us understand phenomena such as the rise of fundamentalism; celebrity cult; insatiable aspirations to ,self-improvement'; obsession with ,success' and consumer goodies; the denial of ageing; the upsurge in cosmetic surgery, body modification and self-harm; as well as growing addiction to alcohol and hard drugs. Finally we ask, how do the narcissistic fantasy of self-sufficiency, the disavowal of loss and the denial of the ultimate non-discursive reality of death affect our ability to respond appropriately to human injustice and the fragility of our planet? Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Bridging the Gap: How Can Information Access and Exchange Between Conservation Biologists and Field Practitioners be Improved for Better Conservation Outcomes?

BIOTROPICA, Issue 5 2009
Terry Sunderland
ABSTRACT It is widely accepted that there is a considerable gap between the science of conservation biology and the design and execution of biodiversity conservation projects in the field and science is failing to inform the practice of conservation. There are many reasons why this implementation gap exists. A high proportion of papers published in scientific journals by conservation biologists are seldom read outside of the academic world and there are few incentives for academics to convert their science into practice. In turn, field practitioners rarely document their field experiences and experiments in a manner that can meaningfully inform conservation scientists. Issues related to access to scientific literature, scientific relevance in multidisciplinary environments, donor expectations and a lack of critical analysis at all levels of conservation theory and practice are factors that exacerbate the divide. The contexts in which conservation biologists and field practitioners operate are also often highly dissimilar, and each has differing professional responsibilities and expectations that compromise the ability to learn from each other's expertise. Building on recent debate in the literature, and using case studies to illustrate the issues that characterize the divide, this paper draws on the authors' experiences of project management as well as academic research. We identify five key issues related to information exchange: access to scientific literature, levels of scientific literacy, lack of interdisciplinarity, questions of relevance and lack of sharing of conservation-related experiences and suggest new ways of working that could assist in bridging the gap between conservation scientists and field practitioners. [source]

Is Europe Becoming the Most Dynamic Knowledge Economy in the World?

JCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 3 2005
DANIELE ARCHIBUGI
The article discusses the condition and perspective of the European Union in the knowledge economy and the feasibility of the goal given by the European Council at the summits held in Lisbon (March 2000) and Barcelona (March 2002), that is, to increase European R&D expenditure to 3 per cent of GDP by 2010. The article focuses on two aspects: comparative performance with its direct counterparts, in particular the USA; and intra-European distribution of resources and capabilities. A set of technological indicators is presented to show that Europe is still consistently behind when compared to Japan and the US, especially in R&D investment and the generation of innovations. A small convergence occurs in the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs), the sector most directly linked to the concept of the,new economy'. In the field of knowledge collaboration, Europe takes opposing paths in the business and academic worlds. Within Europe, the level of investment in scientific and technological activities is so diverse across countries that it does not merge into a single continental innovation system. [source]