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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 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 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 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 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]

We are pleased to announce that the 16th Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics Best Paper Award (JRM Best Paper Award 2023) has been decided by the JRM editorial committee. The following paper won the JRM Best Paper Award 2023, severely selected from among all 113 papers published in Vol.34 (2022). The Best Paper Award ceremony was held on December 26, 2023 in hybrid style (both on-site and online; venue: Gakushi-Kaikan, Tokyo, Japan), attended by the authors and JRM editorial committee members who took part in the selection process. The award winners were given certificates and a JPY100,000 honorarium. Editorial committee members who participated online also congratulated them through Zoom. We congratulate the winners and sincerely wish them success in the future. Teppei Tsujita, Yuto Inoue, Yutaka Takagi, Atsushi Konno, Satoko Abiko, Xin Jiang, Atsuhiro Nakagawa, and Masaru Uchiyama Development of Haptic Interface for Neurosurgical Simulators with Micro Scissors Module for Displaying the Cutting Force Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.34, No.6, pp. 1284-1296, December 2022 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports' Paper of the Year for 2023 went to a study by Camilla Tvede Schytz and colleagues on the effects of muscle glycogen levels on short-term, high-intensity cycling exercise. Despite differences in glycogen levels, performance was unaffected, with lower glycogen levels actually resulting in a lower body mass, likely due to the binding of water with glycogen.

The International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics (IJGO) has announced the John J. Sciarra Prize Paper Award for 2024. This award is given to the best clinical research paper from a low- or middle-income country published in the IJGO during 2024. The winning corresponding author will receive an £800 stipend, a certificate of recognition, and complimentary access to the online version of IJGO for one year. The purpose of this award is to encourage investigators, especially young scientists, from low- and middle-income countries to submit their best clinical research articles for publication in IJGO. The IJGO is the official publication of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), which aims to enhance women's healthcare worldwide by publishing original scientific articles and communications from low-income countries, focusing on important obstetric and gynecologic problems, issues, and perspectives. [Extracted from the article]

The Journal of Geology has established a new best-paper award called the Alfred T. Anderson Journal of Geology Best Paper Award, named after Fred Anderson, a former coeditor and editor of the journal. This annual award will recognize the best paper published in the past three years of the journal and will be announced at the annual Geological Society of America conference. The winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize. The first award will be announced at the 2024 GSA meeting in Anaheim, California for the best paper published in the Journal of Geology between 2021 and 2023. [Extracted from the article]

The Journal of Construction Engineering & Management has announced the recipients of the 2023 Best Paper Award. The winning paper, titled "Deep Learning Image Captioning in Construction Management: A Feasibility Study," explores the automation of deep learning for image captioning in the construction management field. The authors present a systematic approach that includes developing a linguistic schema, creating a dataset of manually captioned images, and evaluating six deep-learning methods using eight metrics. The paper concludes that a method combining two advanced deep learning processes performed the best, and that automatic captioning in construction management is feasible. The article provides valuable insights and suggestions for future development in this area. [Extracted from the article]

The International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics (IJGO) has announced the John J. Sciarra Prize Paper Award for 2024. This award is given to the best clinical research paper from a low- or middle-income country published in the IJGO during 2024. The winning corresponding author will receive an £800 stipend, a certificate of recognition, and complimentary access to the online version of IJGO for one year. The purpose of this award is to encourage investigators, especially young scientists, from low- and middle-income countries to submit their best clinical research articles for publication in IJGO. The IJGO is the official publication of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), which aims to enhance women's healthcare worldwide by publishing original scientific articles and communications from low-income countries, focusing on important obstetric and gynecologic problems, issues, and perspectives. [Extracted from the article]

The article announces the recipients of the Best Paper Awards for 2022 in the journal Circuits, Systems & Signal Processing. The awards were established in 2013 and nominations were invited from Associate Editors and readers of the journal. A Selection Committee was formed to choose the best papers in different categories. The recipients of the Armen H. Zemanian Best Paper Award for Circuits and Systems are Sudip Ghosh, Yuvam Bateja, Joshua Roy Palathinkal, and Hafizur Rahaman. The recipients of the Sydney R. Parker Best Paper Award for Signal Processing are N. Ramesh Babu, K. Sanjay, and P. Balasubraminam. The paper by Babu et al. was also chosen for the M.N.S. Swamy Best Paper Award. Each awardee will receive a certificate and cash prize. The Editor-in-Chief congratulates the winners and thanks the nominators and Selection Committee for their contributions. [Extracted from the article]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various articles on topics including ENT specialist training in the United Kingdom, providing valuable insights for aspiring ENT surgeons regarding portfolio building, competitiveness of the process, and strategies for success.

The article announces the winner of the 2023 Clemen-Kleinmuntz Decision Analysis Best Paper Award, which comes with a $2,000 prize. The winning paper, titled "Information Density in Decision Analysis," introduces the concept of "information density" as a new approach to sensitivity analysis in decision analysis. The paper provides a technical grounding of information density and offers examples for real-world implementation. Another paper, titled "An Empirical Comparison of Rank-Based Surrogate Weights in Additive Multiattribute Decision Analysis," was identified as a finalist for the award and provides valuable insights into converting ordinal rankings into attribute weights. The article encourages authors to continue submitting high-quality manuscripts for future consideration. [Extracted from the article]

The MMOR Best Paper Award is given annually to an outstanding article published in the Mathematical Methods of Operations Research journal. The 2023 award was presented to Zhuoyi Xu, Linbin Li, and Yong Xia for their paper on a partial ellipsoidal approximation scheme for nonconvex homogeneous quadratic optimization with quadratic constraints. The authors propose an efficient method to find an approximation solution for this type of optimization problem. Linbin Li is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in applied mathematics, Yong Xia is a full professor and deputy dean at Beihang University, and Zhuoyi Xu is a lecturer at Capital University of Economics and Business. Congratulations to the authors on behalf of the MMOR editorial board. [Extracted from the article]

The Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management journal and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) have announced the Best Papers Published in 2023. These papers are recognized for their innovative analysis, state-of-the-science considerations, and focus on solutions to environmental challenges. One of the awarded papers, authored by Gobas et al., critically reviews methods for assessing the bioaccumulation of hydrocarbons and related substances in terrestrial organisms. The authors propose a four-tier evaluation scheme to improve the bioaccumulation assessment process. Additionally, two other exceptional papers from 2023 are recognized for their contributions to the field of environmental assessment and management. [Extracted from the article]

The Journal of Oceanography has announced the winners of the Journal of Oceanography Most Cited Paper Award (JOMOCA) for 2024. The award is given to highly cited papers published in the Journal of Oceanography three years prior. This year, the award goes to two papers: "Global trends of ocean CO2 sink and ocean acidification: an observation-based reconstruction of surface ocean inorganic carbon variables" by Iida, Y., Takatani, Y., Kojima, A., Ishii, M., and "Increasing trend in Japan Sea Throughflow transport" by Kida, S., Takayama, K., Sasaki, Y.N. et al. The winners also receive a supplementary prize from Springer-Nature. [Extracted from the article]

The Journal of Failure Analysis & Prevention has announced the winners of the 2023 Editor's Choice Awards. The six selected papers cover a range of materials, techniques, and topics, showcasing the diversity of the field. The papers discuss topics such as failure analysis concerns associated with steel shafts repaired via welding, fracture mechanisms in wooden structures joined with a polymer-based adhesive, non-destructive inspection techniques applied to wire ropes, fan blade fatigue fractures in engines, the synergy between corrosion and fatigue in aerators and cooling towers, and a comparison of fastener performance under dynamic loading conditions. The selected manuscripts will be made available for free access on the journal's website. The editorial team expresses gratitude to the authors and reviewers for their contributions. [Extracted from the article]

This document is an interview with the winner of the Coatings 2023 Early Career Investigator Award. The winner discusses their current research study, which focuses on the development of optimal mix designs for sustainable construction materials. They explain that they are using flash calcined metakaolin and by-products from the ceramic industry to increase the sustainability of the materials. The winner also discusses the qualities that young scientists need, such as passion, curiosity, and problem-solving skills. They mention their previous work with Coatings and the impact of the open-access model on readers. Finally, they provide insights on the process of writing a high-quality research paper and describe the key to a happy laboratory life, emphasizing collaboration and respect. [Extracted from the article]

This paper examines how scientific excellence is performed in Nobel nominations for medical scientists. Performing excellence encompasses both conducting excellent scientific work and being recognized for it. Both dimensions are closely intertwined: doing and recognizing excellent work depend on each other. Tracing nominations from the Nobel Archives in Solna, Sweden, the paper shows that Nobel Prizes are only the tip of the iceberg of networks of scientific recognition, which belong to cultures of excellence. Approaching cultures of excellence through nominations helps to understand how scientific prizes were awarded. The nominations show that science is not just a cognitive activity but also a social endeavour, and that the decision about who is awarded the Nobel Prize is also an outcome of social processes. Analysing the nomination networks thus explains to a certain extent the predominance of researchers from the USA versus Canada (and other countries). It shows, among other things, that a proactive policy of Nobel Prize nominations is part of the culture of excellence in which American scientists often participate. The mechanisms of scientific recognition as reflected in Nobel Prize nomination networks and rhetoric give insight into the patterns and the background of awarding the prize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The profession of recreational therapy first established professional membership organizations in the 1940s and 1950s. The most recent national professional membership organization was developed in 1984, when the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) was formed. The National Academy of Recreational Therapists (NART) was established in 2011 as an honor society to recognize the most accomplished practitioners and educators in recreational therapy and to provide a clearinghouse for the exchange of ideas that would ultimately lead to the advancement of the recreational therapy profession. Efforts to establish NART began in 2009 when David Austin and Ray West drafted a conceptualization of the academy and its operations, as well as proposed a set of by-laws. A steering committee was subsequently established to review and approve by-laws for NART and to establish the Founding Fellows of NART. The central purpose of the Academy was the advancement of recreational therapy by recognition, education, research, scholarly activity, advocacy, and the provision of advice to decision makers. Since its inception NART has established and funded a Future Scholars Fund to support outstanding graduate students considering pursuing a terminal degree, as well as the Marcia Carter Scholarly Manuscript Award for the best annual publication in the Therapeutic Recreation Journal. Over its first 10 years, NART made revisions to its bylaws to refine criteria and categories for Fellows, and by 2021 there were 77 elected Fellows. The invited paper summarizes the first 10 years and considers a number of original goals that remain to be realized to support and advance this honor society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost every polity uses state awards as diplomatic tools. Their global spread, however, cannot be explained by dominant theories of International Relations (which focus on military or economic rationales) or of diplomatic practices (which lack criteria for what constitutes a functionally suitable practice). The success of such seemingly non-instrumental tools may be better explained with a combination of Modern Systems Theory with the evolutionary scheme of variation/selection/re-stabilization: the diplomatic system generates a variation of practices, enacts selection through the structural medium of peace, and stabilises the selected variant through legal formalization and global diffusion. Using this framework, this paper finds that state awards found worldwide ubiquity for two reasons: First, they satisfy the diplomatic system's societal function related to peace and power, that is, the foregrounding of peace-and-amity while invisibilizing power-and-enmity. Second, state awards exhibit a high degree of generalizability, meaning that they are so flexible that any state can use them towards any other states for any reasons at any time. This paper carries implications for understanding seemingly trivial, noninstrumental features of diplomacy, and, more generally, for the value of Modern Systems Theory and evolutionary perspectives in International Relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces nominations for the 2024 British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT).

Karen Sames was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. From an early age, she was surrounded by art. An experience with occupational therapy during the third grade jumpstarted her journey connecting art to occupation. Karen believes that art is a necessary part of life and credits much of her own personal success with art to her friends and family for their inspiration and to the instructors at the Eagan Art House in Minnesota. Her piece "Cherry Blossoms," a pastel on paper, is based on a photograph taken by her son, who is currently living in Japan, and graces the cover of the Spring 2024 edition of The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian Academy of Tropical Parasitology (IATP) is calling for nominations and applications for their awards and fellowships in 2024. These awards recognize the contributions of parasitologists in the field of parasitology. The awards include the Springer-Parija South East Asia Award, the Dr. S. C. Parija Oration Award, and the Fellow of the IATP. Additionally, there is an award for the best oral paper presentation and the best publication in Tropical Parasitology. The application deadline is March 31, 2024, and more information can be found on the IATP website. [Extracted from the article]

In 2019, we received a Top Paper Award for a paper presented at a national communication conference, despite our erasure of Black women from the history of midwifery in Alabama. We recognize and acknowledge the logics of white supremacy that informed our initial thinking and offer this essay as reparative work. We begin by describing our original research project. Then, we outline the reflexive, intellectual, and methodological practices that informed our critique. We conclude by questioning what scholarship is valued in the academy and what can be done to prevent similar scholarship from being written and rewarded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are pleased to announce that the MURAKAMI Suminao Award for Disaster Research and the JDR annual awards (the JDR Award for the Most Cited Paper, the JDR Award for the Most Downloaded Article, and the JDR Award for the Most Contributory Reviewer) of 2023 have been decided by the JDR editorial boards. The award ceremony was held on December 6, 2023 at Gakushikaikan, Tokyo, Japan. We congratulate the winners and sincerely wish for future success. MURAKAMI Suminao Award for Disaster Research 2023 Prof. Fumihiko Imamura (Tohoku University) JDR Award for the Most Cited Paper 2023 Ryohei Kato, Ken-ichi Shimose, and Shingo Shimizu Predictability of Precipitation Caused by Linear Precipitation Systems During the July 2017 Northern Kyushu Heavy Rainfall Event Using a Cloud-Resolving Numerical Weather Prediction Model JDR Vol.13 No.5 pp. 846-859, 2018 JDR Award for the Most Downloaded Article 2023 Chun-Hao Shao, Pei-Chun Shao, and Fang-Ming Kuo Stampede Events and Strategies for Crowd Management JDR Vol.14 No.7 pp. 949-958, 2019 JDR Award for the Most Contributory Reviewer 2023 Prof. Reo Kimura (University of Hyogo) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces Awards Night Ceremonies at the 94th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association, including the presentation of the Space Medicine Association's Jeff Myers Young Investigators Award to Bridget Rinkel for her study on predictive models.