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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]

Copyright of China Pulp & Paper is the property of China Pulp & Paper Magazines Publisher and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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]

Copyright of China Pulp & Paper is the property of China Pulp & Paper Magazines Publisher and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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]

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]

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]

The I Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie i (TESG) is starting the new year with a new initiative: the I TESG Paper Award i for the best paper published in a specific year. TESG paper submissions are managed by a group of about a dozen editors and each editor was asked to nominate one or two papers that are excellent in terms of research and analysis as well as conceptual development. On behalf of all TESG editors, I would like to congratulate Jason on winning the first TESG Paper Award. [Extracted from the article]

B Mar Satorras b is Urban Sustainability Researcher at the Institut Metròpoli, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra, Spain, and affiliated researcher at the Urban Transformation and Global Change Laboratory (TURBA, IN3, UOC), Barcelona, Spain. We take the nomination of Best Paper and Honourable Mention very seriously, so the selection process is a bit elaborate. Both selections are on important institutional issues that have gained salience in the twenty-first century - how to reoperate reservoirs in a highly stressed basin to meet the challenges of climate change and competing demands, and how to finance the remunicipalization of urban water. [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 journal Oecologia has announced the winners of the Ehleringer and Hanski Prizes for outstanding papers published by student authors in 2022. The Ehleringer Prize, awarded in the field of plant ecology and plant-microbe-animal interactions, went to Peter Karssemeijer of Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands. His paper explores the impact of leaf-chewing herbivores on the oviposition choices and larval performance of root herbivores, revealing a connection between above- and belowground insect herbivores. The Hanski Prize, awarded in the field of animal ecology, was given to Rebecca A. McCabe from McGill University in Canada. Her research on snowy owls demonstrates that survival during irruption years is influenced by density-dependent factors. Congratulations to the winners and all authors of the Highlighted Student Papers in Oecologia for 2022. [Extracted from the article]

The article announces the winners of the BPPB paper awards for 2023. The Biophysical Society of Japan (BSJ) gives two types of awards: the Award for Outstanding BPPB Paper and the BPPB Editors' Choice Award. This year, the committee selected two articles for the Outstanding BPPB Paper award, one by Dr. Hideki Kandori et al. and the other by Dr. Shoji Takada. The BPPB Editors' Choice Award was given to six authors who made unique contributions to the field of biophysics. The winners were announced at the 61st Annual Meeting of the BSJ. [Extracted from the article]

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.

His current research focuses on emerging neural network methods for performing implicit 3D modeling of geological structures. He has significant experience with algorithm development and the application of mathematical techniques for solving difficult earth science problems. His expertise in 3D geological analysis is coupled with a strong background in the integration of geoscience data using geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing technologies. [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 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]

Education, either formal or informal, plays an important role to help the masses. As such, educators, especially trainees, are entrusted to teach young generations all important elements, principles, or concepts in a wide range of disciplines. Surely, such an undertaking, especially for early childhood care and education, requires quality teachers. In this regard, existing early childhood care and education modules or curricula should be periodically reviewed and revamped (if necessary) to help produce competent teachers who are excellent in all aspects encompassing content, pedagogical, and technological knowledge. This paper discusses the professional growth and development of trainees in early childhood care and education (ECCE) in terms of short- and long-term goals, missions, and career path-planning. The paper also elaborates on the relevant training workshops, courses, modules, and curricula that can be implemented to help improve their practical skills. The discussion also highlights the importance of incentives, such as attractive salaries, bonuses, acknowledgments, and awards, from employers that can not only motivate trainees but also advance their professional growth and development. Certainty, strong development knowledge, practical skills, and experiences can help such trainees to be become highly competent, which can significantly contribute to nation-building efforts in Malaysia.

The article reports on the awarding of the SOFW Journal Best Paper Award 2023 at the SEPAWA® Congress in Berlin. The winners are authors who have written articles on sustainable detergents, enzymes for skin protection, and sustainable yeast oil. The first prize goes to authors A. J. Hoekstra, E. Carey, and T. P. Graycar from IFF Health & Biosciences for their article on advances in enzyme engineering for more sustainable detergents. The second prize goes to authors S. Christian and V. Krug from GloryActives GmbH for their article on comprehensive skin protection through enzymes. The third prize goes to authors J. Heuer and P. Arbter from COLIPI GmbH for their article on sustainable yeast oil as an alternative to vegetable fats. [Extracted from the article]

The Journal of Plant Ecology (JPE) established the JPE Best Paper awards in 2022 to recognize papers with high impacts in the field of plant ecology. The awards are given annually to two to five papers selected by the editors based on novelty and contributions to the field. Emphasis is placed on authors who have completed their graduate studies within five years prior to submission. The winners receive a certificate and a prize of Chinese RMB 5000. This year, three papers were selected as the winners, covering topics such as sexual differences in plant responses to stress, changes in soil microbial communities following degradation in grasslands, and the effects of nitrogen addition on plant biomass allocation. The authors of these papers are Miao Liu, Yang Yu, and Kai Yue, who are all researchers in the field of plant ecology. [Extracted from the article]

Not only leaf cutting (imitation of damage by leaf-cutting ants, I Crematogaster i ) but also experimental fire induced more extrafloral nectaries and nectar production in new leaves, implying an adaptive response following rapid regrowth that produces tender leaves prone to be attacked by herbivores. B Marina Neves Delgado, Helena Castanheira de Morais, and Davi Rodrigo Rossatto, 37(4): 268-277 b Title: The role of leaf cutting and fire on extrafloral nectaries and nectar production in I Stryphnodendron adstringens i (Fabaceae, Mimosoideae) plants https://doi.org/10.1111/1442-1984.12373 The authors aimed to clarify the effect of leaf damage on extrafloral nectaries and nectar production (Figures 1 and 2). (b) and (c) Crematogaster ants visiting the extrafloral nectary (EFN) at the base of the petiole. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the use of Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) in electronic systems for secret key generation and device authentication. Specifically, it focuses on the use of SRAM PUFs, which are popular due to the randomness they possess during power-on. The authors propose two methods that utilize both stable and unstable SRAM bits as PUF bits to increase the usage rate of SRAM bits and resist PUF clone attacks. Extensive experiments have been conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of these methods. The article also provides brief biographies of the authors. [Extracted from the article]

The Journal of Bone and Mineral Metabolism Best Paper Award was established in 2008 and is given to members of the Japanese Society of Bone and Mineral Research. The winning article for 2023 is titled "Drug holiday clinical relevance verification for antiresorptive agents in medication-related osteonecrosis cases of the jaw" by Saki Hayashida et al. The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of drug holidays and treatment strategies in medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) cases. The results showed that discontinuing antiresorptive agents during MRONJ treatment may not be necessary overall, but it may be helpful in some cases. Further prospective trials are needed to investigate this question. [Extracted from the article]

Since we wrote "Crowdsourcing as a solution to distant search" a decade ago, enthusiasm for crowdsourcing's capacity to produce remarkable solutions to some problems has continued to grow, and profiting from crowdsourced solutions has become a strategic goal for more and more firms. Crowdsourcing research has progressed impressively, with more progress made in researching the phenomenon than in theorizing about it. We are deeply honored by the 2022 Decade Award. In this manuscript, we reflect on the factors that led to this progress in crowdsourcing research, and how the theoretical insights from our paper––e.g., markets in the hierarchies-markets dichotomy are made up of markets with ex ante contracts and crowdsourcing (markets with no ex ante contracts)––may have influenced that progress. Also, because profits have become the ultimate goal of a large number of the seekers of solutions through crowdsourcing, we present an outline of a framework for exploring the impact of crowdsourcing on a seeker's profitability. The framework builds on insights from the paper and new constructs in crowdsourcing such as artificial intelligence (AI), the crowdsourcing process, revenue models, complementary assets, and organizing to minimize crowdsourcing disadvantages that we have added. We conclude with suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]