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The ability to construe and to interpret cause–effect relations is critical to the task of knowledge building in science. It is essential to understanding investigative processes and to interpreting claims. However, in the discourses of science the linguistic construal of cause and effect can be far removed from that of its everyday, commonsense expression. Studies in systemic functional linguistics have found that scientific causality is often realized inside a clause rather than between clauses (Halliday, M. A. K. 1998. Things and relations. In J. R. Martin and R. Veel [eds.], Reading science: Critical and functional perspectives on discourses of science, 185–235. London & New York: Routledge). This paper aims to further understand the challenge of making meanings of scientific causality from a linguistic perspective. I analyze the language of biology in five research articles, which are students’ key reading texts in a core undergraduate biology course at a leading Australian university. I argue that a discourse semantic understanding of “cause inside the clause” is critical for revealing the diverse language resources for constructing scientific causality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on extended life story oral history interviews with scientists who, beginning in the 1980s, turned to writing popular books, making radio and television programmes and taking to the stage for public lectures and debates, with relations between science and religion often a key topic: Peter Atkins, Nicholas Humphrey, Steve Jones, John Polkinghorne, Russell Stannard and Lewis Wolpert. I show that these interviews capture aspects of motivation and experience missed in much existing work on popular science. Stressing historical and individual particularity, I argue that what these scientists say about their decisions, aims and rewards should make us question a strong tendency in recent scholarship both to regard popular science as part of scientific work in general, and also to read the outcomes of popular science - such as advocacy for science or the promotion of certain theories - as the motivations for its production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While scholars in the field of writing studies have examined scientific writing from multiple perspectives, interest in its thematic structure has been modest. Recent studies suggest that the themes in scientific writing tend to be anchored on one or a few points of departure. There has also been an attempt at quantification using the thematic-density index (TDI), although this has only been tested on abstracts. In this study, we investigated the thematic structure and TDIs of 30 research articles in biology. The results revealed a progressive thematic pattern in the introduction section, followed by an anchored development in the subsequent sections. The anchoring was realized by the pervasive use of the first-person pronoun “we.” The mean TDI was lowest in the introduction section (2.593) and highest in the results section (7.095). The results were consistent across the articles in the corpus, underscoring the uniform way in which the articles were thematically structured, and in turn suggesting a core thematic pattern for scientific research writing in general. Based on these findings, the authors suggest that future studies compare the thematic structure of the introduction section vis-à-vis the other sections, and investigate the possible factors resulting in such a structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Francesco Travagini, chemist, physician and naturalist, well known in Europe in his time, wrote the Physica Disquisitio after directly observing the effects of the 1667 Dubrovnik earthquake on the waters and buildings of Venice, distant by about 800 km. He posed the problem of the origin of the oscillatory motion of earthquakes, an aspect that had never been investigated before. Travagini reported his own observations, aware of being able to formulate only hypotheses, as he could not demonstrate, in a "mathematical and geometrical fashion", how the vertical motion, which was observed in the area of major effects, could be transformed into an oscillatory motion. He made the assumption that the oscillations derived from the daily motion of the Earth, and used an example similar to the one that had been proposed by Galileo to explain the tides, (although without quoting him). Travagini was the first to observe the effect of surface waves at various distances from the epicenter of an earthquake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While English is the language of science, for many scientists it is a foreign language. Such is the case in South America, where Portuguese and Spanish are spoken. In this commentary, the author shares the experience of presenting a workshop on “English-Language Publication for Nonnative English Speakers,” at a scientific conference in Brazil. Issues of translation and “lost science” are addressed. For the author, this experience raised awareness of the challenges nonnative English scholars have in disseminating their science to an English-language market. Recommendations are offered, with the hopes of building bridges to connect the lingua franca and the non–English-speaking worlds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have seen tremendous changes in the modes of publication and dissemination of biomedical information, with the introduction of countless new publishers and publishing models, as well as alternative modes of research evaluation. In parallel, we are witnessing an unsustainable explosion in the amount of information generated by each individual scientist, at the same time as many countries' shrinking research budgets are greatly increasing the competition for research funding. In such a hypercompetitive environment, how does one measure excellence? This contribution will provide an overview of some of the ongoing changes in authorship practices in the biomedical sciences, and also the consequences of hypercompetition to the careers of young scientists, from the perspective of a tenured young faculty member in the biomedical sciences. It will also provide some suggestions as to alternate dissemination and evaluation practices that could reverse current trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific journal publications, and their contributions to knowledge, can be described by their depth (specialized, domain-specific knowledge extensions) and breadth (topical scope, including spanning multiple knowledge domains). Toward generating hypotheses about how scientists' personal dispositions would uniquely predict deeper vs. broader contributions to the literature, we assumed that conducting broader studies is generally viewed as less attractive (e.g., riskier) than conducting deeper studies. Study 1 then supported our assumptions: the scientists surveyed considered a hypothetical broader study, compared with an otherwise-comparable deeper study, to be riskier, a less-significant opportunity, and of lower potential importance; they further reported being less likely to pursue it and, in a forced choice, most chose to work on the deeper study. In Study 2, questionnaire measures of medical researchers' personal dispositions and 10 y of PubMed data indicating their publications' topical coverage revealed how dispositions differentially predict depth vs. breadth. Competitiveness predicted depth positively, whereas conscientiousness predicted breadth negatively. Performance goal orientation predicted depth but not breadth, and learning goal orientation contrastingly predicted breadth but not depth. Openness to experience positively predicted both depth and breadth. Exploratory work behavior (the converse of applying and exploiting one's current knowledge) predicted breadth positively and depth negatively. Thus, this research distinguishes depth and breadth of published knowledge contributions, and provides new insights into how scientists' personal dispositions influence research processes and products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most accounts of Yuri Lotman’s legacy describe the evolution of his oeuvre from structuralism to a systemic version of post-structuralism. This article, however, suggests that Lotman valued highly the heuristic possibilities of the structural method throughout his career – he saw that, as a methodological approach, it enables the whole sphere of cultural studies to be taken into the realm of ‘science’. Lotman connected structuralism with semiotics and, as a result, produced a hybrid in the form of structural semiotics. Over time he enriched the structural method by making it more flexible, so that it could encompass as many cultural phenomena as possible. The principal difficulties in a structural description of a text arose from a fundamental conflict that exists between the integral and the dynamic nature of the text, and the static and analytical nature of the description. For Lotman, the way to make description more dynamic was to multiply the number of descriptions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Acta Pediátrica Española is the property of Ediciones Mayo 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.)

Press releases are an important part of communicating new discoveries with the general public. However, if they are confusing or difficult to read then they are unlikely to be picked up by media outlets. This article details how to create a successful press release by addressing a series of points: learning how to identify the audience; writing text that is both eye catching and clear; including multimedia and contact details; getting your press release to the media; and timing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The peer-review system, despite its flaws, is a central component of the publication process. However, relatively little guidance is provided for early-career scientists on 2 important aspects of peer review: 1) writing effective peer reviews and 2) responding effectively to reviews of a manuscript. In this editorial, I discuss the peer review process briefly and provide the rationale and context for the 2 editorials that follow it. This series of editorials is a first step toward encouraging and mentoring students and early career scientists as they become engaged professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Threatened Taxa is the property of Wildlife Information Liaison Development 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.)

An understanding of how genomics information, including information about risk for common, multifactorial disease, can be used to promote personal health (personalized medicine) is becoming increasingly important for the American public. We undertook a quantitative content analysis of commonly used high school textbooks to assess how frequently the genetic basis of common multifactorial diseases was discussed compared with the "classic" chromosomal-single gene disorders historically used to teach the concepts of genetics and heredity. We also analyzed the types of conditions or traits that were discussed. We identified 3957 sentences across 11 textbooks that addressed multifactorial and "classic" genetic disorders. "Classic" gene disorders were discussed relatively more frequently than multifactorial diseases, as was their genetic basis, even after we enriched the sample to include five adult-onset conditions common in the general population. Discussions of the genetic or hereditary components of multifactorial diseases were limited, as were discussions of the environmental components of these conditions. Adult-onset multifactorial diseases are far more common in the population than chromosomal or single-gene disorders; many are potentially preventable or modifiable. As such, they are targets for personalized medical approaches. The limited discussion in biology textbooks of the genetic basis of multifactorial conditions and the role of environment in modifying genetic risk may limit the public's understanding and use of personalized medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Pediátrica Española is the property of Ediciones Mayo 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.)

How do highly cited scientists account for their success? A number of approaches have been used to explain scientific success, but none incorporates scientists’ own understandings, which are critical to a complete, process-oriented explanation. We remedy this oversight by incorporating scientists’ own descriptions of the value of their work, as reflected in essays written by authors of highly cited articles (‘Citation Classics’). As cultural objects, these essays reveal not only factors perceived to be associated with success but also reflect narrative conventions, and thereby elucidate the culture surrounding success. We enlist Charles Ragin’s Qualitative Comparative Analysis to analyze how factors mentioned in these accounts work in conjunction. Our results show that three ingredients – relationships, usefulness to others, and overcoming challenges – are found in a large majority of scientific success stories. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Hedge is defined as the expression of provisionalness and possibility that makes scientific messages tentative, vague, and imprecise, thereby reducing the force of claims scientists make. Linguistic study of hedges began in the early 1970s in generative semantics. Since then, the focus has shifted from seeking linguistic proper ties in spoken discourse to analyzing its pragmatic functions in written contextual communication. The purpose of this paper was to analyze hedges in Chinese and English scientific articles from the perspective of contrastive pragmatics. Based on a contextual analysis of 5 Chinese and 5 English scientific articles, selected randomly, from two journals in molecular biology--Science in China and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, there were significant differences between Chinese and English scientific articles in use of hedges.

The article presents information on the thoughts of archaeologists on the nature and function of the documents that they produce and handle on a daily basis in their research activities. The issue of the disappearing of the study object is explored. The relation of the interviewed scientists with their archives is analyzed. The question of the materiality of archives between the techniques of production and the practices of publication is addressed.

The article presents information on the writing practices of computer scientists and their sharing of ordinary writings. The purpose of the article is to analyze how the question of the aim of the writings produced by scientists in a context of a particular research group is addressed. A sociological and archival approach to the circulation of documents between scientific laboratories and networks of scientific cooperation is provided.

The article presents information on researchers' documentary practices in a fluid mechanics laboratory. The way that the documents written by researchers have an impact on scientific conception is analyzed. The fact that these documents reveal how the historicity of practice provides an idea of activities in a laboratory is examined.

The article presents a reflection on the practice of writing of researchers in a communication environment that is perpetually evolving. Topics include the relation between the writing process and the materiality of the medium, via the place of the body, the impact of computerized media on the meaning of the writing process, and the mediation represented by digital writing tools for researchers, notably in the example of research notebooks on the website Hypotheses.org..

The article presents an analysis of the relational dynamics involved in scientific writings in order to understand how they contribute to the structuring of social relations and the reinforcement of collective knowledge. Scientific writings are examined in a way that mixes social studies of science, writing studies, and bibliometric studies. The deployment of social relations through the sociocognitive aspect of scientific writings is explored.

An introduction to the issue is presented in which the editor reflects on the fact that the anthropology of writing has been focusing on the ordinary writings of daily life in the last 40 years, and discusses the question of the conservation of the ordinary writings of researchers.

Writing and publishing scientific works are crucial parts of any scientist's career. Therefore, it is important, especially for those new to the process, to understand how to navigate the publication process. This study was designed to investigate the publication process in ethnobotany and to stimulate discussion among authors, reviewers, and journal editors. A survey was created and sent to ethnobotanists who had published between the years 2000 and 2009. Of the 166 invitations sent, 44 resulted in valid answers from researchers. Although the majority of the ethnobotanists who participated in this study were researchers in the early stages of their careers, the data showed that the most experienced scientists published more articles and received fewer rejections. It is likely that these more experienced researchers had a greater number of rejections early in their careers but that they had since adjusted to the requirements imposed by the journals. This study serves as a starting point for reflection on the scientific publication process in ethnobotany and about authors' perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ciência da Informação is the property of Instituto Brasileiro de Informacao em Ciencia e Tecnologia (IBICT) 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 question posed by the title is usually answered by saying that the "synthesis" between the theory of evolution by natural selection and classical genetics, which took place in 1930s-40s, would have taken place much earlier if Darwin had been aware of Mendel and his work. What is more, it nearly happened: it would have been enough if Darwin had cut the pages of the offprint of Mendel's work that was in his library and read them! Or, if Mendel had come across Darwin in London or paid him a visit at his house in the outskirts! (on occasion of Mendel's trip in 1862 to that city). The aim of the present pa- per is to provide elements for quite a different answer, based on further historical evidence, especially on Mendel's works, some of which mention Darwins's studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Leviathan: Zeitschrift für Sozialwissenschaft (Springer Science & Business Media B.V.) is the property of Springer Nature 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 focuses on the visit of Mexican scientist Joaquín Luciano Manuel Velázquez de León to the peninsula of Baja California (New Spain) from 1768-1770. It considers the written account of his travels and discusses his participation in the initiatives of colonial envoy José de Gálvez to develop the region and its mining industry. The author explores Velázquez de León's account of social conditions and lifestyles and comments on various scandals he was involved in during his stay in Baja California.

Background: In the past 50 years there has been a substantial increase in the volume of published research and in the number of authors per scientific publication. There is also significant pressure exerted on researchers to produce publications. Thus, the purpose of this study was to survey corresponding authors in published medical journals to determine their opinion on publication impact in relation to performance review and promotion. Methods: Cross-sectional survey of corresponding authors of original research articles published in June 2007 among 72 medical journals. Measurement outcomes included the number of publications, number of authors, authorship order and journal impact factor in relation to performance review and promotion. Results: Of 687 surveys, 478 were analyzed (response rate 69.6%). Corresponding authors self-reported that number of publications (78.7%), journal impact factor (67.8%) and being the first author (75.9%) were most influential for their annual performance review and assessment. Only 17.6% of authors reported that the number of authors on a manuscript was important criteria for performance review and assessment. A higher percentage of Asian authors reported that the number of authors was key to performance review and promotion (41.4% versus 7.8 to 22.2%). compared to authors from other countries. Conclusions: The number of publications, authorship order and journal impact factor were important factors for performance reviews and promotion at academic and non-academic institutes. The number of authors was not identified as important criteria. These factors may be contributing to the increase in the number of authors per publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of scientists, scientific travelers and doctors in the construction of western conceptions of non-Western cultures and peoples from the mid 18th century to the mid 20th century. The author considers the scientific-cultural assumptions and expectations of western travelers and cites the writings of European scientists and travelers Charles Darwin and Alexander von Humboldt. He also considers the incidence of scientific rhetoric concerning slavery and racial differences throughout the period.

Copyright of Revista Eletrônica de Enfermagem is the property of Revista Eletronica de Enfermagem 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.)

Copyright of Revista Eletrônica de Enfermagem is the property of Revista Eletronica de Enfermagem 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.)

Microorganisms were first observed by Robert Hooke and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek between 1665 and 1678. In 1665, Hooke published Micrographia, which depicted the details of 60 objects as seen in the microscope. One chapter was devoted to the microfungus Mucor, the first microbe observed by the human eye. Leeu-wenhoek, despite having no scientific training, became the first to observe protozoa, red blood cells, the sperm cells of animals, and bacteria, which he described in numerous letters to the Royal Society of London. In 1677, Hooke became Secretary of the Royal Society and, in the same year, confirmed some of Leeuwenhoek's discoveries. The discovery in 2006 of more than 650 pages of Hooke's missing records (the "Hooke Folio") allows us to verify the proceedings of Royal Society meetings and promises to be an important new source of Hooke's views on the renaissance of science in the 17th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Here we suggest to encourage more “Science-In-Fiction” [SIF], a genre which has been explored by Carl Djerassi since the late 1980s with the intent to convey science in writing beyond traditional publication categories and “to smuggle scientific facts into the consciousness of a scientifically illiterate public”. In our view, SIF can serve 3 purposes: (a) inform the public at large about scientific findings, ethics and procedures; (b) infuse lay readers with interest in scientific endeavours; (c) enable the general population to better evaluate and judge scientific conduct, results and implications. While it would be desirable to have more scientists write about their own (like Watson and Maguejo) and others’ discoveries (like Voltaire and Perutz), this expectation is not realistic. Indeed, some scientists may not want to share and write about their experiences and others simply should not. As one recipe for informing the lay public and instigating interest in research insights and insides, science-in-fiction such as Dr. Djerassi’s novels could be written and read. This may contribute to the The Third Culture Concepts envisaged by Snow in the 1960s and elaborated by Brockman in 1995. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The quantification of publication activity and impact has become a key element in the evaluation of scientific excellence. However, it is unclear to what extent this grasps the diversity of research communication that accompanies the transition of scientific fields. This contribution investigates number, categorization, and impact of publications (i.e., publication patterns) of six scientists active at the cognitive turn, which promoted the information processing perspective on neuronal processes in different communities: Horace Barlow, Theodore Bullock, Ralph Gerard, Donald MacKay, Warren McCulloch, and Werner Reichardt. The large variety of publication patterns revealed indicates the limits of standardized evaluation procedures based on publication activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging of publications, percentage of self-citations, and impact vary from journal to journal within fields of science. The assumption that citation and publication practices are homogenous within specialties and fields of science is invalid. Furthermore, the delineation of fields and among specialties is fuzzy. Institutional units of analysis and persons may move between fields or span different specialties. The match between the citation index and institutional profiles varies among institutional units and nations. The respective matches may heavily affect the representation of the units. Non-Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) journals are increasingly cornered into “transdisciplinary” Mode-2 functions with the exception of specialist journals publishing in languages other than English. An “externally cited impact factor” can be calculated for these journals. The citation impact of non-ISI journals will be demonstrated using Science and Public Policy as the example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although scientists typically insist that their research is very exciting and adventurous when they talk to laymen and prospective students, the allure of this enthusiasm is too often lost in the predictable, stilted structure and language of their scientific publications. I present here, a top-10 list of recommendations for how to write consistently boring scientific publications. I then discuss why we should and how we could make these contributions more accessible and exciting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Books, articles, government documents, and other written accounts of tropical biology and conservation reach a tiny fraction of their potential audience. Some texts are inaccessible because of the language in which they are written. Others are only available to subscribers of developed-world journals, or distributed narrowly within tropical countries. To examine this dysfunction in the tropical literature—and what it means for conservation—we tried to compile everything ever written on the biology and conservation of the department of Madre de Dios, Peru, in southwestern Amazonia. Our search of libraries, databases, and existing bibliographies uncovered 2,202 texts totaling roughly 80,000 pages. Texts date from 1553 to 2004, but 93% were written after 1970. Since that year the publication rate has increased steadily from fewer than 10 texts/year to nearly 3 texts/week in 2004. Roughly half of the Madre de Dios bibliography is in Spanish-language texts written by Peruvian authors and mostly inaccessible outside Peru. Most of the remaining material is English-language texts written by foreign authors and largely inaccessible in Peru. Foreign authors tended to write about ecological studies with limited relevance to on-the-ground conservation challenges, whereas Peruvian authors were more likely to make specific management recommendations. The establishment of a Web-based digital library for Neotropical nature would help make the tropical literature a more efficient resource for science and conservation. Additional recommendations include investing in syntheses, translations, popular summaries, and peer-reviewed journals in tropical countries, providing incentives for management-relevant research in tropical protected areas, and reinforcing training of scientific reading and writing in tropical universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights the study of the writing practices of citizen scientists investigating the migration of the monarch butterfly. Topics include the importance of skills development and reflexivity along with the associated practices of composing, recording, and inscribing in environmental education research.

Scientists' manuscripts must fulfil the expectations of journal reviewers and editors in order to be published, whether the author's first language is English or not. However, manuscripts submitted by nonnative-English-speaking scientists are sometimes criticized for their language usage and they require revision. In some cases, these authors do revise their manuscripts, resubmit them, and have them accepted for publication. To date, little had been known about the linguistic changes scientists make to their manuscripts, nor had there been a close descriptive study of the textual revisions that served to satisfy the demands of journal editors. This study uses the systemic functional linguistics approach of discourse analysis to examine the changes made in a small corpus of manuscripts from nonnative-English-speaking scientists that were initially criticized, in part for their language usage, but were later accepted. The results demonstrate that the changes that were made at the lexicogrammatical level were not mere syntactic corrections, but altered the position of the scientist and his text in relation to the scientific community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many indicators of a person’s well-being that could be used for policy purposes. Few would argue that any single indicator of well-being is appropriate in all contexts and, increasingly, social scientists are attempting to integrate the various indicators. Further successful integration depends on understanding how the various indicators of well-being relate to one another in a dynamic way. This paper attempts to connect indicators of what people anticipate to indicators of what is actually experienced and, in so doing, inform the normative debate about the appropriateness of different indicators in policy contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Looks at the processes involved in completion and publication of the scholarly books written by the author. Reason for encouraging geographers to write scholarly books; Persons who helped in the completion of the book "Russian Refuge: Religion, Migration, and Settlement"; Tips in writing a book; Factors that made the author's second book "Mythic Galveston" a success.

Presents the story behind the writing of the four books of the author. Factors that made "Cities and Buildings" a success; Efforts made by the author to make ordinary landscaping interesting in "The Spaces Between Buildings"; Motivation for writing "America's New Downtowns"; Influence of the author for writing "Metropolitan San Diego."