Academia is the last bastion where it is still believed that recruitment and meritocracy is gender-neutral, despite three of four professors being men. Political bodies have come much further. Drude Dahlerup, Professor of Political Science at Stockholm University, states.
People often see benefits to society when academia and industry cooperate. But can this cooperation become too close? Just how independent are researchers who are funded by industry?
Unequal societies lead to poorer health for rich and poor. More violence, less social mobility and less trust between people are also consequences of large differences in income, according to the British epidemiologists Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.
There is a great pressure to publish as many items as possible in the most highly ranked journals. Sometimes the process is too fast. Forums such as Retraction Watch and Pub Peer make it possible to criticise what has already been published.
She started to do research, with an interest in understanding the question: What is information? Today Miranda Kajtazi works as an assistant professor at Lund and Örebro University and focus her research on information security. In her spare time she likes to travel.
Heléne Lööw is an associate professor in history and is best known for her extensive research on fascist movements in Sweden. She decided to be a researcher already as a child and she has not allowed chaotic spelling to get in the way. Heléne Lööw now wants to know more and write more, especially on riots and political violence.
The current system for scientific publication was created at a time when there were fewer articles and the pressure to publish was less. The ranking of journals now plays an increasingly large role and there are an increasing number of problems in publishing.
The big issues about how researchers can help to create a sustainable society and a better world are uniting young academies around the world. Researchers from 27 countries were engaged by these issues at the second global meeting of the world's young academies in Stockholm. You can also listen to Curie's podcast from this meeting.
Clearer career paths, gender equality, better conditions for research, dialogue with the public, power to influence research policies. These are some of the issues that the Young Academy of Sweden has driven since it was founded four years ago.
In Portugal the society supports women making career choices. The challenge in the academia is more concerned about finding a niche of their own in research to handle the competition and the effects of the financial crisis.
