The Evaluation of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities
The Evaluation of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities

Author: Andrea Bonaccorsi

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-01-04

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 3319685546

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This book examines very important issues in research evaluation in the Social Sciences and Humanities. It is based on recent experiences carried out in Italy (2011-2015) in the fields of research assessment, peer review, journal classification, and construction of indicators, and presents a systematic review of theoretical issues influencing the evaluation of Social Sciences and Humanities. Several chapters analyse original data made available through research assessment exercises. Other chapters are the result of dedicated and independent research carried out in 2014-2015 aimed at addressing some of the debated and open issues, for example in the evaluation of books, the use of Library Catalog Analysis or Google Scholar, the definition of research quality criteria on internationalization, as well as opening the way to innovative indicators. The book is therefore a timely and important contribution to the international debate.

Shaping Human Science Disciplines
Shaping Human Science Disciplines

Author: Christian Fleck

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-09-01

Total Pages: 411

ISBN-13: 3319927809

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This book presents an analysis of the institutional development of selected social science and humanities (SSH) disciplines in Argentina, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Where most narratives of a scholarly past are presented as a succession of ‘ideas,’ research results and theories, this collection highlights the structural shifts in the systems of higher education, as well as institutions of research and innovation (beyond the universities) within which these disciplines have developed. This institutional perspective will facilitate systematic comparisons between developments in various disciplines and countries. Across eight country studies the book reveals remarkably different dynamics of disciplinary growth between countries, as well as important interdisciplinary differences within countries. In addition, instances of institutional contractions and downturns and veritable breaks of continuity under authoritarian political regimes can be observed, which are almost totally absent from narratives of individual disciplinary histories. This important work will provide a valuable resource to scholars of disciplinary history, the history of ideas, the sociology of education and of scientific knowledge.

Advancing Energy Policy
Advancing Energy Policy

Author: Chris Foulds

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-08-23

Total Pages: 205

ISBN-13: 3319990977

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This open access book advocates for the Social Sciences and Humanities to be more involved in energy policymaking. It forms part of the European platform for energy-related Social Sciences and Humanities’ activities, and works on the premise that crossing disciplines is essential. All of its contributions are highly interdisciplinary, with each chapter grounded in at least three different Social Sciences and Humanities disciplines. These varying perspectives come together to cover an array of issues relevant to the energy transition, including: energy poverty, justice, political ecology, governance, behaviours, imaginaries, systems approaches, modelling, as well as the particular challenges faced by interdisciplinary work. As a whole, the book presents new ideas for future energy policy, particularly at the European level. It is a valuable resource for energy researchers interested in interdisciplinary and society-relevant perspectives. Those working outside the Social Sciences and Humanities will find this book an accessible way of learning more about how these subjects can constructively contribute to energy policy.

Research Assessment in the Humanities
Research Assessment in the Humanities

Author: Michael Ochsner

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-04-19

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 3319290169

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This book analyses and discusses the recent developments for assessing research quality in the humanities and related fields in the social sciences. Research assessments in the humanities are highly controversial and the evaluation of humanities research is delicate. While citation-based research performance indicators are widely used in the natural and life sciences, quantitative measures for research performance meet strong opposition in the humanities. This volume combines the presentation of state-of-the-art projects on research assessments in the humanities by humanities scholars themselves with a description of the evaluation of humanities research in practice presented by research funders. Bibliometric issues concerning humanities research complete the exhaustive analysis of humanities research assessment. The selection of authors is well-balanced between humanities scholars, research funders, and researchers on higher education. Hence, the edited volume succeeds in painting a comprehensive picture of research evaluation in the humanities. This book is valuable to university and science policy makers, university administrators, research evaluators, bibliometricians as well as humanities scholars who seek expert knowledge in research evaluation in the humanities.

Internationalisation of Social Sciences in Central and Eastern Europe
Internationalisation of Social Sciences in Central and Eastern Europe

Author: Ilona Pálné Kovács

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-08-06

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1135998019

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Internationalisation of Social Sciences in Central and Eastern Europe explores the way in which social sciences, in comparison with other sciences in Europe, have been divided by the political orders of West and East. As part of the field of science policies in Europe, this book contributes to the creation of a new understanding of the European academic landscape of social sciences with particular focus on CEE countries. In its investigation of the emergence of social sciences in Central and Eastern Europe following the collapse of the totalitarian systems, this book discusses how the internationalisation of the social sciences and the convergence between Western and Eastern social scientific life is hindered by factors including funding, academic contacts, and curriculum development. The issues addressed within the text serve to prompt the realisation that coherence in European social sciences can be reached only if new academic traditions and cultures are developed, and science policies harmonised. This book is essential reading for undergraduate and graduate students of European Integration, CEE or Transitional Studies, and any courses related to science policies. It is also relevant to science administrators and policy makers at national and European level.

EU Federalism and Constitutionalism
EU Federalism and Constitutionalism

Author: Andrew Glencross

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2010-10-21

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13: 0739133365

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EU Federalism and Constitutionalism: The Legacy of Altiero Spinelli, edited by Andrew Glencross and Alexander H. Trechsel, represents the first book-length study of the travails of the implementation of federalism at the European level from the perspective of Altiero Spinelli's ideas and his political life, which were both devoted to a federally united Europe. It is also a timely publication given the protracted struggle to implement a new EU institutional architecture—the 2009 Lisbon Treaty—that is already being tested by the fallout from the global financial crisis. This fallout has brought into stark relief the tensions within the EU over the question of enhancing solidarity and federal unity or remaining a looser association of sovereign states. Hence by examining the successes and failures of federalism within the EU system, the book seeks to explain not only how the EU has reached its current impasse but also how it may fare in the future. To achieve this objective, the book takes an interdisciplinary approach that covers all three dimensions of the European project: historical, legal, and political. In this fashion, Andrew Glencross and Alexander H. Trechsel's EU Federalism and Constitutionalism: The Legacy of Altiero Spinelli offers a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the history, evolution, and future of federal principles and institutions in the European integration process.

Transitions to Sustainable Development
Transitions to Sustainable Development

Author: John Grin

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-05-26

Total Pages: 578

ISBN-13: 1135151172

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Over the past few decades, there has been a growing concern about the social and environmental risks which have come along with the progress achieved through a variety of mutually intertwined modernization processes. In recent years these concerns are transformed into a widely-shared sense of urgency, partly due to events such as the various pandemics threatening livestock, and increasing awareness of the risks and realities of climate change, and the energy and food crises. This sense of urgency includes an awareness that our entire social system is in need of fundamental transformation. But like the earlier transition between the 1750's and 1890's from a pre-modern to a modern industrial society, this second transition is also a contested one. Sustainable development is only one of many options. This book addresses the issue on how to understand the dynamics and governance of the second transition dynamics in order to ensure sustainable development. It will be necessary reading for students and scholars with an interest in sustainable development and long-term transformative change.

The Impact and Future of Arts and Humanities Research
The Impact and Future of Arts and Humanities Research

Author: Paul Benneworth

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-11-17

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 1137408995

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Drawing on original international research by a cross-European social science team, this book makes an important contribution to the discussion about the future of arts and humanities research. It explores the responses of these fields to the growing range of questions being asked about the value, impact and benefit of publicly-funded research. The objective is to better understand what really matters rather than what is easily measured. The book increases our understanding of the contribution which university-based arts and humanities research makes to society and the economy by exploring how it is defined, appreciated and accounted for by researchers, policymakers and civil society. It identifies appropriate practices and methodologies to assess and demonstrate quality and value beyond the academy. The book will be essential reading for researchers and policymakers, as well as research organisations and anyone interested in the arts and humanities.

Rethinking Interdisciplinarity across the Social Sciences and Neurosciences
Rethinking Interdisciplinarity across the Social Sciences and Neurosciences

Author: F. Callard

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-12-30

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1137407964

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This book offers a provocative account of interdisciplinary research across the neurosciences, social sciences and humanities. Rooting itself in the authors' own experiences, the book establishes a radical agenda for collaboration across these disciplines. This book is open access under a CC-BY license.

The Social and Human Sciences in Global Power Relations
The Social and Human Sciences in Global Power Relations

Author: Johan Heilbron

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-04-05

Total Pages: 381

ISBN-13: 3319732994

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This volume employs new empirical data to examine the internationalization of the social sciences and humanities (SSH). While the globalization dynamics that have transformed the shape of the world over the last decades has been the subject of a growing number of scientific studies, very few such studies have set out to analyze the globalization of social and human sciences themselves. Arguing against the complacent assumption that Science is ‘international by nature’, this work demonstrates that the growing circulation of scholars and scientific ideas is a complex, contradictory and contested process. Arranged thematically, the chapters in this volume present a coherent exploration of patterns of transnationalization, South-North and East-West exchanges, and transnational regionalization. Further, they offer fresh insight into specific topics including the influence of the Anglo-American research infrastructure and the development of social and human sciences in postcolonial contexts. Featuring contributions from leading international scholars in the field, this work will advance the research agenda and will have interdisciplinary appeal for scholars from across the social sciences.