Archive for September, 2009

Communicating knowledge report

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

Research Information Network (RIN) and JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) have published a new report Communicating knowledge: how and why UK researchers publish and disseminate their findings. The goal of the report was to study how research is communicated and what is the motivation behind using different channels of communication and publication. The report also examines how research assessment mechanisms impacts on which channels of communications are used. The main theme that researchers have many goals to balance including timely dissemination, esteems with in one’s research community, career rewards, impact beyond academic community. These aims pull the researcher in different directions.

Researchers’ perceptions and understanding of the messages they receive from funders and from universities may often be mistaken, but they influence what researchers publish and how, and they give rise to real concerns. Many researchers see a damaging tension between their desire to communicate via channels which enable them to reach and influence their intended audiences – often beyond academia – as rapidly as possible, and the pressures to publish in high-status journals.

So what is the conclusion? The report has various key findings. Firstly, researchers need more consistent and effective guidance on the value of different channels of communication. If policy makers want to incentivize innovative digital methods of dissemination such as podcasts, then they will need to clarify how this dissemination is valued. Secondly, the attribution and listing of multiple authors varies between disciplines and this act must be taken into account in assessment. Thirdly, citations patterns and motivations depend on the research discipline and researcher’s experience. These patterns are changing with new technologies. And most importantly, the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) is the most dominant factor in influencing which channels of communication are chosen and this is invariably geared towards established and traditional journals.

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Communicating science

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Communicating scientific research to lay people is a difficult task. There are scientists like Ian Stewart, Simon Singh, Roger Penrose, Richard Dawkins and others who do a great job at it. One needs to shake off all the formalism and terminology and explain to lay people in lay terms. However, most scientific researchers may kill a conversation or get really funny answers when they tell what they do. Even if one makes an effort and does not use fancy acronyms, it can be difficult to communicate the importance or excitement of research.

Recently I was recounting some interesting exchanges I have had with friends and family where I may perhaps have made a lousy start at explaining my research but nonetheless was amused by the confident interjections:

——

“So what exactly are you doing?”

“Research in a branch of computer science” (Interruption)

“Computer science? Hey my mother board is playing up. Can you fix it please???”

———-

“So what exactly are you doing?”

“Algorithms. They apply..” (Interruption)

“Algorithms? I used to do logarithms in school. This has to be same thing or slightly different.”

———-

“So what exactly are you doing?”

“Use mathematics to prove..” (Interruption)

“Mathematics? Yeah, I hated arithmetic in school. You must be doing the same thing”

———-

“So what exactly are you doing?”

“Research in finding new ways..” (Interruption)

“New ways? Are there new things left to be discovered in mathematics?”

———-

“So what exactly are you doing?”

“Game theory: it is an interesting and widely applicable..” (Interruption)

“Games? You make computer games? That’s nice.”

——-

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Posted in Research, Science | 1 Comment »

Statistics in demand

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

The NYT has an interesting article on the importance and demand of statistics in the internet age. The main theme is that although huge amount of complex data is available, there is a pressing need for useful analysis, identifying patterns, spotting anomalies, and understanding and making use of the information. This can be for marketing purposes, and business decision making. Other applications mentioned are improving Internet search and online advertising, cancer research and optimizing food shipments.

The application in recommendation systems is also outlined with the example of the recent Netflix contest where $1 million were offered to anyone who could significantly improve the company’s recommendation system. The article also highlights some well know companies where statisticians are well sought. Among them are Google:

“I keep saying that the sexy job in the next 10 years will be statisticians,” said Hal Varian, chief economist at Google. “And I’m not kidding.”

Opportunities at IBM are also mentioned:

I.B.M., seeing an opportunity in data-hunting services, created a Business Analytics and Optimization Services group in April. The unit will tap the expertise of the more than 200 mathematicians, statisticians and other data analysts in its research labs — but that number is not enough. I.B.M. plans to retrain or hire 4,000 more analysts across the company.

In the article, related fields such as mathematics, economics and computer science are also highlighted. The main take home message is that numerical skills are not required in traditional fields such as the insurance industry but in other businesses too.

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Moving or migrating

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Moving can be chaotic and stressful. Migrating to another country is even harder. However moving is not only a part and parcel in certain consultancy jobs but can also be required in academic research jobs. The last few weeks have been a good experience in the pitfalls of moving and migrating. Some lessons learnt were the following:

  1. Get thinking about your required travelling documents such as visas etc. well before time
  2. Cardboard cartons may be acquired by requesting one’s local superstore. Cartons are essential for organizing, storing and moving.
  3. Cancel your various services in time. These could be your gym membership, car insurance etc.
  4. Utility companies like gas, electricity, water etc. have decent online forms to arrange for moving or cancelling accounts. This helps avoid writing emails or letters or making phone calls.
  5. Royal mail has an economical service for forwarding mail not only with in the UK but also with in Europe. This can be done by submitting a form which is available from any post office.
  6. Papers, photocopies are cumbersome and heavy. It is better to scan documents and papers and store them in electronic format.
  7. Buy your travel tickets in advance to get better deals. It is worth checking flexible dates which may give much better deals.
  8. If one has been renting a place, keeping the landlord informed of one’s plans is a good idea. This not only helps the landlord plan better but he/she might value your cooperation and facilitate the final handover in an amicable manner.
  9. Moving can be stressful and emotionally draining. Try to do in gradually and in a planned manner.

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