Sunday 27 April 2014

GLOBAL: Why scientists should stop publishing?

Japan: Riken affair boosts orders for anti-plagiarism software

Kyodo 
Apr 17, 2014


A growing number of universities in Japan are introducing software systems to detect plagiarism in academic papers amid the evolving controversy over the “STAP cell” papers produced by Riken, the state-backed research institute.

Under an ordinance that took effect in April 2013, the education ministry has made it mandatory for all doctoral theses to be published on the Internet, replacing its decades-old rule requiring publication in print.

An official at a company selling plagiarism-checking systems said, “I believe more and more universities are introducing the system because if plagiarism comes to light after the theses are published, the credibility of the university’s oversight will be called into question.”

One popular product is iThenticate, which was developed by a U.S. company. It uses a database containing 130 million theses published on about 45 billion websites or in academic journals including the U.S. magazine Science and the British journal Nature, which published the papers at the center of the Riken incident.

The program reveals, for instance, the percentage of descriptions in papers tested that match those found in papers in the database.

Tokyo-based iGroup Japan, which markets the software, said nine universities including Waseda University, Nagoya University and Kanazawa University are already using the software, while Kobe University and the University of Fukui are considering it.

The company said it has seen a surge in inquiries since the Riken controversy erupted after Nature published findings by one of its researchers, Haruko Obokata, in January.

Obokata was hit by a number of allegations, including that she quoted a passage from another paper about a laboratory experiment method without identifying the source.

Riken, in its final investigation earlier this month, said Obokata had not engaged in willful misconduct concerning the passage, noting the quote was the only one of 41 where Obokata did not give attribution, and that the method in question is a common procedure used in many laboratories.

Obokata’s doctoral thesis for the degree she received in 2011, however, has been investigated by Waseda University after allegations she copied passages from at least one other paper.

The top private university also announced it has started checking all doctoral papers — around 280 of them — at its science and engineering school set up in 2007, citing possible retractions. Plagiarism has been alleged in at least one other paper so far.

A Nagoya University professor affiliated with a scientific research department said he checked papers to be submitted to academic journals by two of his students, using the plagiarism checker. He said he found minor similarities with other papers but determined there was no plagiarism.

“It’s convenient because academic instructors aren’t aware of all the writing in the world,” he said, adding that one defect with the software is that it cannot check plagiarism in images.

Seiichi Fujita, an executive director in charge of education at Kobe University, said, “Once the students know that we have introduced the system, we can also expect a deterrence effect.”

At least 30 universities across Japan have introduced a similar program called Turnitin, which uses almost the same database as iThenticate and allows registered students as well as instructors to check theses.

Another product named Copypelna launched in 2009 has been introduced at over 300 universities across Japan. It combs the Internet to see if there are any passages similar to those found in the paper in question.

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has been reviewing guidelines on research misconduct and is planning to encourage universities and research institutions to hammer out their own programs to raise awareness of ethics among researchers.

Shigeaki Yamazaki, professor of scientific communication at Aichi Shukutoku University, said, “If universities introduce (a plagiarism checker) abruptly, it may create distrust between instructors and students.”

He suggested that schools try various approaches slowly to increase ethical awareness such as by asking students to consider how they would feel if others stole their theses.

Sunday 20 April 2014

MALAYSIA (USM): CROSSING BORDERS, BRIDGING MINDS

Sources:Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) at http://www.usm.my/index.php/en/admin/news-article-english/2151-crossing-borders-bridging-minds


PENANG, 14 April 2014 – Career success depends on graduates with an ability to understand and work effectively with others of different cultures and backgrounds, Professor Dr. David W. Chapman said in his talk Crossing Borders and Bridging Minds in Higher Education.

The public talk, the first in a series on higher education organised by the National Higher Education Research Institute (IPPTN), was delivered at the University Conference Hall by Chapman who is a Distinguished International Professor and Birkmaier Professor of Educational Leadership, Policy and Development at the University of Minnesota. He is also a Fullbright visiting professor to IPPTN.  

He said that universities have to create opportunities within their curriculum that connect their students and faculty members to their peers in other countries and other cultures.
Such opportunities are in the form of partnerships and collaborations that Malaysian universities have created with universities in other parts of the world.

“Many countries want to strengthen their higher education system as a means to national economic development,” he said.

On the other hand, international organisations such as the Asian Development Bank, United States Agency for International Development, World Bank, and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Culture Organisation need to disburse and seek strategies that can be used to strengthen the quality of instruction and research in universities.

Chapman pointed out that international university partnerships have grown in popularity with more than 1,000 cross-border university partnerships among universities with Asia alone.         

He added that it is often assumed that if weaker universities work with stronger universities, they will be able to raise the quality of their universities.

This subsequently led to surveys and modified focus group discussions with universities and government administrators across Asia to garner their views.

“It was found that they feared that the greatest benefits of university-to-university collaboration can also be the greatest risks because, while there are opportunities for quality improvement, there is also a risk of low quality instruction.

On the question of whether cross border partnerships can actually help universities, Chapman said that the prevalent view of those questioned is that the benefits outweigh the cost of collaboration but none of those questioned can agree on what models of collaboration work best.

It was found that research collaboration is mostly limited to top tier universities and that there is some scepticism about the motives of collaboration, mostly concerning about the profit orientation of partners and universities often sought partners of equal standing.

Earlier, the Organising Chairman Professor Dr. Wan Fauzy Wan Ismail highlighted that IPPTN aimed to promote knowledge dissemination, share issues, solutions involving higher education in local and international institutions of higher learning, and collaboration and specialisation in higher education policy.

Professor Dato’ Dr Susie See Ching Mey, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Industry & Community Network) said on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Professor Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman that globalisation has opened up opportunities for countries to share their experiences and learn from one another.

She added that in keeping touch with globalisation and the borderless world, USM is committed to enhance and produce graduates who are not just intellectuals, knowledgeable in technical and professional skills but also meet the needs of the global society.
Also present at the talk were Professor Dr. Ahmad Nurulazam Md Zain, USM IPPTN director; and Professor Dato’ Dr Norzaini Azman, an associate research Fellow from the Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. 

- Text: Yong Check Yoon/Photo: Mohd Fairus Md Isa

GLOBAL: Rethinking private higher education

UNITED KINGDOM: Women in academia – Different views of success

GLOBAL: Diversification of tertiary education growing – Study

NIGERIA: French lecturers' conference supports Francophony

AUSTRALIA: Young researchers YouTube their work

Issue No:316

Each year at its annual conference, the Australian Cooperative Research Centres, or CRC, Association holds a “Showcasing Early Career Researchers” session.

This year for the CRC Association's Innovating with Asia 2014 conference in Perth in May*, 48 researchers – two years out from submitting their PhD to five years after submitting – braved the cameras and shot a 30-second video explaining the topic of their research, what they have done and what it means.

“It's a really hard thing to do,” says CRC Association Chief Executive Tony Peacock. “The so-called elevator pitch requires a lot of thinking and then great execution to do it well. All the judges were once again blown away that so many researchers had a go. We all wished we could have a much longer short-list.”

The short-listed candidates have already won A$1,000 (US$940) each along with participating in the CRC Association's conference in Perth. Each of the five finalists will present to the conference audience on their research for five minutes.

The audience will then vote for the winner who will receive a further A$5,000 presented at the AusIndustry-sponsored Excellence in Innovation Awards dinner.

The short-listed finalists

Jake Lacey – Poultry CRC

How gut microbiota contributes to health and productivity
Gut bacteria work like a community to modulate the immune system and defend the host. However, too often the ecosystem of healthy microbiota is thrown out of balance by pathogenic bacteria.

In poultry farms, necrotic enteritis caused by C perfingens is on the rise and results in poor welfare and a loss of productivity due to damage to the intestinal wall. Some birds show a natural resistance to the disease and by investigating the bacteria in these birds we may be able to find a probiotic cure.

Luigi Vandi – CRC for Advanced Composite Structures

Understanding interphase formation in thermoset composite welding
Composite materials have become the material of choice for manufacturing aircraft structures. However, unlike metals, carbon-epoxy materials cannot normally be welded together, making their assembly very challenging.

My project is centred on a new technology patented by the CRC-ACS, allowing these materials to be welded together. My PhD focuses on unravelling the molecular mechanisms at the interphase formed between these materials to ensure this process can be implemented on future aircrafts.

Dr Honor Calnan – CRC for Sheep Industry Innovation

Retaining the red in Australian lamb
The colour of lamb meat is crucial to customer appeal and strongly contributes to product value. Lamb meat currently has a shelf life of only two days before it is discounted due to browning, representing a major economic limitation to the Australian lamb industry.

My PhD investigates factors influencing the oxidative process of lamb browning, identifying practical methods such as feeding vitamin E and selective breeding that can improve the colour stability and thus value of Australian lamb meat.

Binbin Zhang – The HEARing CRC

Fabrication of drug delivery system
3D printing is changing our life in many aspects, from 3D printed food to airplane parts. How could it benefit the current research in life sciences? Printing human organs is of course exciting and ambitious. However, using this new technology to perfect readily available medical devices seems more achievable in the near future.

My research is to develop an integrating drug delivery system into the cochlear implant using 3D printing to prevent the detrimental post-surgery inflammatory response.

Michael Scott – CRC for Optimising Resource Extraction

Evaluation of energy efficiency, mission pricing and pre-concentration
This project evaluates the economic and production impacts from improvements in the energy-efficiency of mining and mineral processing activities, and the introduction of emission pricing on the optimal development of a low-grade, copper-gold deposit in Australia.

The research also examines the incorporation of pre-concentration strategies at the operation, which remove uneconomic material prior to expensive, and energy and emission-intensive, production processes.

* The Innovating with Asia 2014 conference will be held on 20-21 May at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.

UNITED STATES: Why universities are under attack by hackers

INDONESIA: New scholarships for study at world's top universities

Monday 14 April 2014

ASIA: Student-led migration is part of global talent contest

EUROPE: Best practice for preparing PhD students

Saturday 22 March 2014

Quality of Vietnamese doctorates cause for deep concern

VietnamNet, dtinews | March 10, 2014 08:42 PM

Vietnam now tops Southeast Asia in the number of doctors, but the country is ranked among regional countries in being one the lowest in the scientific research effectiveness of the training system.


 
Quality of Vietnamese doctorates cause for deep concern 

Vietnam now has 24,300 doctors and 101,000 masters, up 11.6% compared to 1996. The number of doctors in the country has seen an annual increase of 7%, and the rate for master is 14%, according to the statistics from the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The number of doctors in Vietnam from the position of deputy minister is five times higher than that in Japan, said Dr. Nguyen Khac Hung, from the National Academy of Public Administration.

Recently, Hanoi announced that by 2020 all cadres managed by the municipal committee must have postgraduate degrees, half of them are doctorates. Meanwhile, all key cadres of communes and wards must have a university education.

Most of leaders of groups and corporations in Vietnam are currently doctors.

Despite boasting the high number of those holding doctorate degrees in Southeast Asia, Vietnam’s scientific research is listed in the lowest group in the region. Vietnam still lacks inventions of regional stature.

Dr. Pham Bich San, Deputy Head of Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations, said Vietnam tops Southeast Asia in terms of the number of doctors, but no Vietnamese university is named in the top 500 universities worldwide.

Fake degrees

Over the past few years, many cases of fake doctors and masters have been exposed in Vietnam.

Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Director of Phu Tho Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, was found to have a fake doctorate degree from the University of South Pacific in the US. In fact, he only had an economic master degree after attending an in-service training course held in Viet Tri City.

Nguyen Van Ngoc, Deputy Secretary of Yen Bai Province Party Committee, was also found to lack a doctorate degree.
 

The 2024 Workshops for Foreign Confucius Institute Directors on June 13-21, 2024 at Sichuan Province, China

My sincere thanks and gratitude go to my respectful Rector, H.E. Sok Khorn , and the Chinese Confucius Institute Director, Prof. Yi Yongzhon...