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Subject to various restrictive requirements on project application and completion, funded projects are often affected by funding policies for the selection of research objects. This study explored the impact of scientific research funding policies on the funding and research by comparing the topic distribution of awards and papers. A total of 1,870 awards and 16,491 papers of the National Social Science Foundation of China (NSSFC) in library and information science (LIS) were collected from a Chinese research project database. According to the results, the growth rate of awards on most topics is higher than that of papers, while the growth rate of papers on the relevant topics to users, technology, and metrology is higher than that of awards. It was found out in the study that the topics funded by NSSFC were imbalanced. NSSFC provides much more funding to traditional topics rather than emerging topics. As indicated by the funding provided to the projects on traditional topics for research on a large number of papers on emerging topics, however, the innovation and diversity of academic research have yet to be restricted. This study demonstrated that the effect of funding policies on the research topics in LIS is significant. Topic suggestions and funding structure of NSSFC have more impacts on award topics than on paper topics. The influence of NSSFC-recommended topics on paper topics is declining year by year. Additionally, awards with high funding intensity are more susceptible to topic suggestions.

It is essential to establish a multi-dimensional postgraduate quality evaluation system for student assessment and training. This study aimed to explore the construction of the multiindex and hierarchical comprehensive evaluation system for postgraduate training in science and engineering based on the Context, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) model using Analytic Hierarchy Process. It involved 756 postgraduates in physics and engineering who were randomly selected via the Internet. Data were collected from the questionnaire about postgraduates' basic information. After collection, Factor Analysis was used to verify the rationality of the design of second-level and third-level indicators, and adjust the corresponding weights. On this basis, Cluster Analysis was used to classify the training quality of the postgraduates based on their scores on academic ability, basic quality, and social ability indicators. The results revealed that the index system includes 4 first-level indicators,12 second-level indicators and 36 third-level indicators, and different weights being assigned to the indicators according to their influence on the training quality of postgraduates in science and engineering. This study also provides some reference for the quality of science and engineering postgraduate training in Chinese universities by proposing relevant measures, which could be interesting also for international audience.

Awards can propel academic careers. They also reflect the culture and values of the scientific community. But do awards incentivize greater transparency, inclusivity, and openness in science? Our cross-disciplinary survey of 222 awards for the "best" journal articles across all 27 SCImago subject areas revealed that journals and learned societies administering such awards generally publish little detail on their procedures and criteria. Award descriptions were brief, rarely including contact details or information on the nominations pool. Nominations of underrepresented groups were not explicitly encouraged, and concepts that align with Open Science were almost absent from the assessment criteria. At the same time, 10% of awards, especially the recently established ones, tended to use article-level impact metrics. USA-affiliated researchers dominated the winner's pool (48%), while researchers from the Global South were uncommon (11%). Sixty-one percent of individual winners were men. Overall, Best Paper awards miss the global calls for greater transparency and equitable access to academic recognition. We provide concrete and implementable recommendations for scientific awards to improve the scientific recognition system and incentives for better scientific practice. Research awards are an integral part of the universal "prestige economy" in science, but do they incentivize greater transparency, inclusivity, and openness? This study uses cross-disciplinary data to explore the level of transparency of publicly available award descriptions and assessment criteria, asking whether such awards contribute to or propagate existing reproducibility crises and inequities in science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Journal of Geographical Systems (JGS) has announced two initiatives to recognize outstanding research published in the journal. The first initiative is the JGS Best Paper Award, which aims to encourage and acknowledge excellent scholarship in the field of GIScience and spatial planning. The second initiative is the Editors' Choice, where the editors select their favorite paper from each issue. The winners of these awards are listed on the journal's website and their papers are made freely accessible for a certain period of time. The 2023 JGS Best Paper Award was given to Luyu Liu, Adam Porr, and Harvey J. Miller for their research on evaluating the reliability of public transit accessibility using real-time data. The paper demonstrates how even small levels of unreliability in transit services can significantly impact accessibility levels, particularly for lower income populations. The paper also promotes open and reproducible research practices. The Editors' Choice for Volume 26(1) is a paper by Chris Jacobs-Crisioni, Ana I. Moreno-Monroy, Mert Kompil, and Lewis Dijkstra, which proposes a sequential approach to estimate school provision, cost, and access using open databases of student counts. The paper provides valuable insights into the balance between cost, access, and residential values in school provision. Both papers are recognized for their significant contributions to the field. [Extracted from the article]

The Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) is an evaluation of teaching quality at UK universities. The aim of the TEF is to raise esteem for teaching in line with research and recognise teaching excellence. In 2017 all universities who took part in the TEF exercise were awarded ratings of gold, silver or bronze for teaching quality. These awards were based on a set of quantitative measures and a 15-page provider submission from each university to describe teaching at their institution. In this paper, we analyse the provider submissions that played a crucial role in universities' TEF rating. We conducted a corpus-assisted discourse analysis of all of the provider statements (232 statements; 1,742,438 words) submitted by participating institutions in order to un-earth the discourse of the TEF. We found that the themes driving success in the TEF are (1) employment, (2) employability (3) student outcomes and (4) research. Recognising what discourse is rewarded in the TEF has important implications for the accepted discourse of teaching excellence in UK higher education. It is anticipated that, in future, university discourse around teaching quality will continue to be dominated by employability discourse (rather than discourse around, for instance, social goods, personal development or equity).

Teaching philosophy statements articulate educators' beliefs about what makes learning happen. They can be powerful tools in identifying assumptions about teaching, articulating our values as educators, and connecting to a community within and across disciplines. Teaching philosophy statements are often an integral part of job applications, promotion and tenure processes, teaching development, and teaching awards. By developing a philosophy and discussing it with colleagues, educators can improve their practice through the process of reflection, dialogue, and engagement with scholarship of learning and teaching. The recipients of the 2020 "JME" Lasting Impact Award are companion articles "Philosophy rediscovered: Exploring the connections between teaching philosophies, educational philosophies, and philosophy" and "Finding our roots: An exercise for creating a personal teaching philosophy statement" by Beatty et al. These articles have had a profound and sustained impact on management education and other disciplines by furthering understandings of teaching philosophies and their connection to effective teaching and learning. Analysis of subsequent teaching philosophy statement research identifies three strands of inquiry: how to develop a teaching philosophy, the role of teaching philosophies in graduate education, and the relationship between teaching philosophies and continuous professional development. The impact of the papers and areas for future research are canvassed.

The International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics has announced the winner of the John J. Sciarra IJGO Prize Paper Award for 2023. The winning paper, titled "Efficacy of combination of transcervical Foley catheter and sublingual misoprostol versus sublingual misoprostol for labor induction in pre‐eclampsia at 28–34 weeks," compares different methods of labor induction for women with pre-eclampsia. The study found that the combination approach achieved higher rates of vaginal birth within 24 hours compared to using misoprostol alone, with similar neonatal outcomes. This research highlights the importance of finding effective labor induction methods to reduce maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The article also mentions other papers that received honorable mentions for their contributions to clinical research in the field of gynecology and obstetrics. The IJGO Prize Paper Award aims to encourage investigators from low- and middle-income countries to submit their best clinical research articles for publication. [Extracted from the article]

The article announces the winners of the Best Paper Award sponsored by Tsinghua University Press for papers published in Computational Visual Media. The winning paper is titled "Visual attention network," and two other papers received honorable mentions: "Full-duplex strategy for video object segmentation" and "Specificity-preserving RGB-D saliency detection." The authors of the winning paper will share a cash prize of US$1000, while the authors of the honorable mention papers will share US$500. The article encourages the submission of excellent papers for next year's Best Paper Award. [Extracted from the article]

The recipients of the 2020 NSREC Outstanding Conference Paper Award are George N. Tzintzarov, Adrian Ildefonso, Jeffrey W. Teng, Milad Frounchi, Albert Djikeng, Prahlad Iyengar, Patrick S. Goley, Ani Khachatrian, Joel M. Hales, Ryan Bahr, Stephen Buchner, Dale McMorrow, and John D. Cressler for their paper entitled “Optical Single-Event Transients Induced in Integrated Silicon-Photonic Waveguides by Two-Photon Absorption.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two middle school educators earned a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching fellowship. A Fulbright Finland Foundation inter-country travel grant provided the grantees with a unique opportunity to connect and collaborate at the University of Helsinki. Within this research, they described their inquiry experiences. The research included examining authentic student-centered learning continuums and phenomenon-based learning in Finland and teachers' adaptability in relation to meeting the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse math classrooms in the Netherlands. This paper summarizes how cross-cultural dialogues, classroom observations, and informal interviews with educators, students, and thought leaders informed each grantee's discovery of how student-centered learning is structured, delivered, and valued in Finland and the Netherlands. This article (1) describes how communication empowers middle school mathematics students, (2) analyzes the learning-to-learn framework, and (3) provides insights into how to utilize language diversity in a mathematics classroom.

The Journal of Materials Science awards the annual Robert W. Cahn Prize to recognize the best paper published in the journal each year. The winner of the 2023 Cahn Prize is a research paper titled "Molecular modelling of graphene nanoribbons on the effect of porosity and oxidation on the mechanical and thermal properties." The paper presents molecular simulation models of graphene nanoribbons and examines the impact of porosity and oxidation on their mechanical and thermal conductivity properties. The paper is well-written and provides valuable insights for researchers in this field. Two other papers were selected as runners-up for the prize. All the monthly finalists for the Cahn Prize can be downloaded for free on the journal's website. [Extracted from the article]

The Society for the Study of Species Biology has announced the recipient of the 17th Plant Species Biology Best Paper Award. The winning paper, titled "Environmental and genetic effects on phenotypic differences between Elaeocarpus photiniifolia ecotypes in dry and mesic habitats on a Japanese oceanic island," explores how different environmental conditions have led to reproductive isolation and genetic differentiation in a specific plant species. Another paper, titled "The epiphytic orchid Vanda falcata is predominantly associated with a single Tulasnellaceae fungus in adulthood, and Ceratobasidiaceae fungi strongly induce its seed germination in vitro," investigates the symbiotic relationships between orchids and mycorrhizal fungi at different stages of growth. Both papers are featured in recent issues of Plant Species Biology. [Extracted from the article]

The eight papers were selected for the best paper award in 2021 to 2022 from Materials Transactions. Here, the awarded papers are briefly summarized as current trends in research of Materials Transactions. Among the eight best papers, four were specially selected for young scientists whose ages are 35 or below. An important trend in the year of 2021 is that three best papers are from a special issue with the title of "Materials Science on Hypermaterials", which is based on an ongoing national research project, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Every year the scientific sessions of Annual National Conference of Indian Psychiatric Society (ANCIPS) are marked by presentation of free papers, posters, and award paper sessions, which are usually meant for presentation of new research which is not yet published. Hence, it is expected that these papers will be published in near future so that the scientific literature is distributed and shared with wider audience. Aim: This paper aims to evaluate the abstract to publication rate of papers presented during ANCIPS in the years 2012–2014. Materials and Methods: For this study, all the free papers, posters, and award papers presented during the ANCIPS of 2012–2014 were listed, and electronic searches were carried out to search for published articles. In addition, one of the authors of papers not found in the electronic searches were contacted through E-mail. Results: A total of 1081 papers were presented during the ANCIPS in the 3 year period under study. Of these, 64 were award papers, 622 were free papers, and 395 were posters. Majority (n = 807; 74.6%) of these could be categorized as research data-based presentations; this was followed by case reports/series (203; 18.8%), review of literature (n = 35; 3.3%), and others (n = 36; 3.3%). Overall, only 27% of the papers were published after at least 5 years of the presentation. Of all the award papers, 69.6% of papers were published, whereas only 26.8% of free oral papers and 22.5% of free posters were published. About half (45.6%) of the papers were published in national journals. In terms of indexing, among those which were published, 62.8% were published in Medline-indexed (PubMed-listed) Journals with a mean impact factor of 1. Conclusion: The present study shows that only 27% of the abstracts presented during the ANCIPS are ultimately published as full text articles in the next 5 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B I Richard L.D. Morse Applied Consumer Economics Award, National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) Paper Award i b I Enhancing trust in the Social Security Administration i Author(s): Cliff Robb, Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Marti Deliema, Assistant Professor and Gerontologist, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; Steve Wendel, Applied Behavioral Scientist One of the insidious effects of government imposter scams is the potential erosion of trust among those who are targeted. This study analyzes how individuals targeted by government imposter scams respond to communications from the SSA and how the SSA can reinforce public trust and willingness to engage. According to a Gallup survey conducted in August 2022, about a quarter of lower-income households (annual income below $48,000) reported severe financial hardship. [Extracted from the article]

The Journal of Thermal Spray Technology has announced the winners of the Volume 32 Best Paper Awards. The awards were presented at the International Thermal Spray Conference and Exposition in Milan, Italy. The winning paper, titled "Manufacturing and Icephobic Performance Evaluation of Cold-Sprayed Adhesive Perfluoroalkoxy Alkane Coatings," was authored by Zachary Leclerc, Leah McMunn, Robert Ben, Aleksandra Nastic, and Bertrand Jodoin. Additionally, a review paper titled "Thermally Sprayed Functional Coatings and Multilayers: A Selection of Historical Applications and Potential Pathways for Future Innovation" by Edward Gildersleeve and Robert Vaßen was recognized as an outstanding review paper. The awards were chosen by an international committee of expert judges. [Extracted from the article]

The Anaesthesia and Intensive Care journal has announced the winners of their 2022 paper awards. Dr. Natalie Smith and colleagues from Wollongong Hospital in Australia received the Jeanette Thirlwell Best Paper Award for their research on predicting recovery and disability after surgery in patients with severe obesity. Dr. Jee-Young Kim from Auckland City Hospital in New Zealand was awarded the Emerging Investigator Award for their analysis of medication errors during anesthesia. Additionally, Dr. Rajesh P Haridas received the History Award for his paper on John Davies Thomas, a pioneer doctor in South Australia. Congratulations to all the winners. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on recognizing the best papers in Ichthyology & Herpetology for 2023, with acknowledgments given to outstanding contributions in the field, including papers on evolutionary patterns in sound production across fishes and ear development in select coral species.

The International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics (IJGO) has announced a prize award for the best clinical research paper from a low- or middle-income country published in the journal during 2024. All clinical research articles from low- and middle-income countries published in 2024 will be considered for the prize, which includes an £800 stipend, a certificate of recognition, and complimentary access to the online version of IJGO for one year. The award aims to encourage investigators, especially young scientists, from low- and middle-income countries to submit their best clinical research articles for publication in IJGO. The journal is the official publication of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), which is dedicated to enhancing women's healthcare worldwide and emphasizes important obstetric and gynecologic problems, issues, and perspectives, such as maternal mortality and family planning. [Extracted from the article]

Presents the recipients of the ITS 2018-2020 George N. Saridis Best Transactions Paper Award and the 2010-2019 Top 10 Research Papers and Top 5 Survey Papers of IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]