The presented paper is dedicated to a new ret-rospective view on the history of natural sci-ences in XX-XXI cc, partially including the sci-ence philosophy (mainly, the problems of the scientific realism, i.e. the cor...The presented paper is dedicated to a new ret-rospective view on the history of natural sci-ences in XX-XXI cc, partially including the sci-ence philosophy (mainly, the problems of the scientific realism, i.e. the correspondence of science to reality) and also a novel scheme for different classes of sciences with different ob-jects and paradigms. There are analyzed the chosen “great” and “grand” problems of phys-ics (including the comprehension of quantum mechanics, with a recently elaborated new chapter, connected with time as a quantum obs- ervable and time analysis of quantum processes) and also of natural sciences as a whole. The particular attention is paid to the interpretation questions and slightly to the aspects, inevitably connected with the world- views of the res- earchers (which do often constitute a part of the interpretation questions).展开更多
One of the major challenges in designing and fabricating Spintronic devices is the choice of both, Materials and the Technology, along with understanding the intricacies of the Designing aspects. In this communication...One of the major challenges in designing and fabricating Spintronic devices is the choice of both, Materials and the Technology, along with understanding the intricacies of the Designing aspects. In this communication, we have attempted to briefly discuss these factors, with an aim to draw the attention of the Materials Scientists and Technologists to this serious challenge, in the direction of which, though a lot of research and development work has been done, still needs more concerted efforts to be made in order to make the Spintronic devices that can offer good efficiency for maximizing their usefulness.展开更多
This article is a case study of an innovative academic health sciences library initiative that describes the planning and events in the inaugural year of a new library research program. In response to emerging trends ...This article is a case study of an innovative academic health sciences library initiative that describes the planning and events in the inaugural year of a new library research program. In response to emerging trends in health sciences libraries to increase research skills of librarians in order to foster expanded research integration within the health sciences disciplines,the University of Michigan Taubman Health Sciences Library established an EXPERT Research Initiative. This new program is part of the strategic planning for the future of the library and is focused on three primary goals: expanding the library's research portfolio,building librarians' research skills and competencies,and increasing the library's research visibility. The article highlights five library projects that illustrate the different kinds of research collaborations librarians are engaged in with health sciences faculty,researchers,clinicians,and students.展开更多
Purpose:The goal of this study is to analyze the relationship between funded and unfunded papers and their citations in both basic and applied sciences.Design/methodology/approach:A power law model analyzes the relati...Purpose:The goal of this study is to analyze the relationship between funded and unfunded papers and their citations in both basic and applied sciences.Design/methodology/approach:A power law model analyzes the relationship between research funding and citations of papers using 831,337 documents recorded in the Web of Science database.Findings:The original results reveal general characteristics of the diffusion of science in research fields:a)Funded articles receive higher citations compared to unfunded papers in journals;b)Funded articles exhibit a super-linear growth in citations,surpassing the increase seen in unfunded articles.This finding reveals a higher diffusion of scientific knowledge in funded articles.Moreover,c)funded articles in both basic and applied sciences demonstrate a similar expected change in citations,equivalent to about 1.23%,when the number of funded papers increases by 1%in journals.This result suggests,for the first time,that funding effect of scientific research is an invariant driver,irrespective of the nature of the basic or applied sciences.Originality/value:This evidence suggests empirical laws of funding for scientific citations that explain the importance of robust funding mechanisms for achieving impactful research outcomes in science and society.These findings here also highlight that funding for scientific research is a critical driving force in supporting citations and the dissemination of scientific knowledge in recorded documents in both basic and applied sciences.Practical implications:This comprehensive result provides a holistic view of the relationship between funding and citation performance in science to guide policymakers and R&D managers with science policies by directing funding to research in promoting the scientific development and higher diffusion of results for the progress of human society.展开更多
This paper discusses the important role of science and technology commissioners in the high-quality development of hundreds of counties,thousands of towns,and myriads of villages in the context of rural revitalization...This paper discusses the important role of science and technology commissioners in the high-quality development of hundreds of counties,thousands of towns,and myriads of villages in the context of rural revitalization,including building bridges,accelerating the transformation of achievements,promoting the value-added of the whole agricultural industry chain,and promoting the rapid development of rural industrial economy.It also discusses the working achievements of science and technology commissioners,in order to promote further development of rural revitalization in Guangdong Province.展开更多
At the present time,new state compulsory standards for school education,standard curricula,and curricula have been developed.The programs of higher and postgraduate education do not take into account changes in educat...At the present time,new state compulsory standards for school education,standard curricula,and curricula have been developed.The programs of higher and postgraduate education do not take into account changes in educational curricula of secondary education.The future specialists of pedagogical universities are teachers of the school.Therefore,graduates of universities on pedagogical specialties,including scientific direction,should be profoundly aware of the content of subjects studied in secondary education.It is very important to understand the need to ensure the continuity of educational curricula of higher pedagogical and general secondary education in conditions of updating the content of education.The relevance of the research topic is due to the lack of continuity in the educational programs of higher pedagogical and general secondary education in conditions of updating the content of education;discrepancy of professional competences of young pedagogical staff,graduates of higher educational institutions,to the conditions of the updated content of school education;the lack of fundamental and applied research to date,considering the theoretical and methodological foundations for ensuring the continuity of natural science education in the“school-university”system in the context of updating the content of education;the need for the research in the context of the implementation of the State Program for the Development of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2016-2019,which indicates an increase in the prestige of the profession of teachers and an increase in their quality.These theoretical and methodological bases for ensuring the continuity of educational programs of higher pedagogical and secondary education in conditions of updating the content of education will make it possible to introduce changes in the educational curricula of higher and postgraduate education for the training of pedagogical personnel.展开更多
The meridian (Jingluo 经络) is a core principle of traditional Chinese medicine. The meridian plays a central role in the regulation of human health and vitality. In the past 50 years, the scientific evidence has been...The meridian (Jingluo 经络) is a core principle of traditional Chinese medicine. The meridian plays a central role in the regulation of human health and vitality. In the past 50 years, the scientific evidence has been gathered via our physiological experiments to confirm the biological basis of the human meridian pathway phenomenon. Meridian Science has been established as a new branch of natural science to advance and promote the study of this important phenomenon for human life.In this paper, the authors describe the theoretical concept of the meridian and mathematics expression, its relationship to an efficient meridian circadian cycle, and its significance to human life.展开更多
This paper analyzes the effect of subgroup size on the x-bar chart characteristics using sample influx (SIF) into forensic science laboratory (FSL). The characteristics studied include changes in out-or-control points...This paper analyzes the effect of subgroup size on the x-bar chart characteristics using sample influx (SIF) into forensic science laboratory (FSL). The characteristics studied include changes in out-or-control points (OCP), upper control limit UCLx, and zonal demarcations. Multi-rules were used to identify the number of out-of-control-points, Nocp as violations using five control chart rules applied separately. A sensitivity analysis on the Nocp was applied for subgroup size, k, and number of sigma above the mean value to determine the upper control limit, UCLx. A computer code was implemented using a FORTRAN code to create x-bar control-charts and capture OCP and other control-chart characteristics with increasing k from 2 to 25. For each value of k, a complete series of average values, Q(p), of specific length, Nsg, was created from which statistical analysis was conducted and compared to the original SIF data, S(t). The variation of number of out-of-control points or violations, Nocp, for different control-charts rules with increasing k was determined to follow a decaying exponential function, Nocp = Ae–α, for which, the goodness of fit was established, and the R2 value approached unity for Rule #4 and #5 only. The goodness of fit was established to be the new criteria for rational subgroup-size range, for Rules #5 and #4 only, which involve a count of 6 consecutive points decreasing and 8 consecutive points above the selected control limit (σ/3 above the grand mean), respectively. Using this criterion, the rational subgroup range was established to be 4 ≤ k ≤ 20 for the two x-bar control chart rules.展开更多
The Belt and Road initiative is in the first instance,the barrier-free communication in ideology and culture.To cooperate with the Belt and Road initiative,excellent exhibitions in cultural technology and history from...The Belt and Road initiative is in the first instance,the barrier-free communication in ideology and culture.To cooperate with the Belt and Road initiative,excellent exhibitions in cultural technology and history from other nations are brought in Wuhan Museum of Science and Technology(hereinafter referred to as WMST).WMST’s own science education achievements are going global in both online and offline ways to support and get involved in the initiative and contribute to international communications.展开更多
This study analyzes the sample influx (samples per case file) into forensic science laboratory (FSL) and the corresponding analysis costs and uses arbitrary re-sampling plans to establish the minimum cost function. Th...This study analyzes the sample influx (samples per case file) into forensic science laboratory (FSL) and the corresponding analysis costs and uses arbitrary re-sampling plans to establish the minimum cost function. The demand for forensic analysis increased for all disciplines, especially biology/DNA between 2014 and 2015. While the average distribution of case files was about 42.5%, 40.6% and 17% for the three disciplines, the distribution of samples was rather different being 12%, 82.5% and 5.5% for samples requiring forensic biology, chemistry and toxicology analysis, respectively. Results show that most of the analysis workload was on forensic chemistry analysis. The cost of analysis for case files and the corresponding sample influx varied in the ratio of 35:6:1 and 28:12:1 for forensic chemistry, biology/DNA and toxicology for year 2014 for 2015, respectively. In the two consecutive years, the cost for forensic chemistry analysis was comparatively very high, necessitating re-sampling. The time series of sample influx in all disciplines are strongly stochastic, with higher magnitude for chemistry, biology/DNA and toxicology, in this order. The PDFs of sample influx data are highly skewed to the right, especially forensic toxicology and biology/DNA with peaks at 1 and 3 samples per case file. The arbitrary re-sampling plans were best suited to forensic chemistry case files (where re-sampling conditions apply). The locus of arbitrary number of samples to take from the submitted forensic samples was used to establish the minimum and scientifically acceptable samples by applying minimization function developed in this paper. The cost minimization function was also developed based on the average cost per sample and choice of re-sampling plans depending on the range of sample influx, from which the savings were determined and maximized. Thus, the study gives a forensic scientist a business model and scientific decision making tool on minimum number of samples to analyze focusing on savings on analysis cost.展开更多
This study was conducted to analyze the competitiveness of a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) based on employees’ professional development and diversification into different professions. The FSL is the sole Governme...This study was conducted to analyze the competitiveness of a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) based on employees’ professional development and diversification into different professions. The FSL is the sole Government Laboratory?in Tanzania which serves the police force, judiciary system and the public?prosecution. A sample of 88 current employees of different professions (53 chemists, 26 technologists and 9 accountants) was used. The data was collected from the?year 2000 to 2015. Mathematical expressions were developed to quantifystagnation and total service time at specific development levels based on which?new?indices (professional development index, PDI;leadership competency index, LCI;and succession index, SI) were developed. The number of employees for support cadres was observed to increase faster in the last 5 years from 34.3% in?2009/2010 to 57.1% in 2014/2015, compared to chemists and technologists.?The?staff-to-line ratio (SLR) has been increasing since 2000, reaching above 0.8?from 2013 to 2015 indicating that the FSL was undergoing diversification and division of labor. The FSL workforce comprised of mainly semi-skilled employees. Promotions have played a big role in employees’ professional development. In some cases employees were promoted to higher level before 3 years stipulated?by public service regulations, regarded as breach of procedures. However,?high?stagnation of employees at specific ranks was observed (up to 9 - 10 years) which causes frustrations, lost morale and engagement. Results indicated that most?of the service years are served in ranks A and B. Indices developed in thisstudy?form a baseline data for strategic analysis of FSL competitiveness in the future?and allow for proper human resource planning. Highest values of LCI and PDI were observed for chemists. Technologists in the FSL show higher succession index compared to chemists and accountants. Employee diversification in the?FSL has been increasing from 2003 to 2015. It was concluded that the FSL?competitive advantage is continuously increasing.展开更多
The objectives of this article are as follows: 1) to propose a university research ethics system framework, 2) to provide a brief anatomy of the Meru University of Science and Technology (MUST) Institutional Research ...The objectives of this article are as follows: 1) to propose a university research ethics system framework, 2) to provide a brief anatomy of the Meru University of Science and Technology (MUST) Institutional Research Ethics Review Committee (MIRERC), 3) to perform a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of MIRERC, and 4) to make recommendations for improving its performance. The 13-member multi-disciplinary MIRERC was established in April 2017 to provide effective ethical oversight of research undertaken by the University’s scholarly community. Strengths of the MUST research ethics review system include a functional MIRERC, a pertinent national law and ethical guidelines, an Innovation and Enterprise Centre that could house a dedicated MIRERC Secretariat, and a supportive University Management Board. The weaknesses include lack of graduate schools to assure scientific rigor of proposals before submission to the MIRERC, lack of research ethics training in most school’s curricula, absence of a dedicated MIRERC Secretariat, undergraduate research proposals being not ethically reviewed, dearth of faculty trained in research ethics, and lack of an operating budget for MIRERC work. The opportunities include existence of about 22 accredited Institutional Research Ethics Review Committees (IRERC) in Kenya, existence of international standards and operational guidance for ethics review, availability of guidelines and codes of best ethical practices in research, existence of a free automated platform called Research for Health Innovation Organizer (RHInnO) Ethics for managing the ethics review process, and availability of external resources for strengthening IRERCs. In order to improve the performance and sustainability of the MUST research ethics system, there is need to include research ethics training in all undergraduate and post-graduate curricula, create a dynamic database of potential research ethics reviewers, allocate a percentage of the annual MUST research budget for MIRERC operations, charge a graduated fee for proposal ethics review, require all students’ and faculties’ internal and external research proposals be cleared by the MIRERC, and use the RHInnO Ethics platform to manage the ethics review process.展开更多
In the mid-19th century, out of their dissatisfaction with the neglect of the economic theories about other countries’ experiences in the British classic economics, the economists in the German Historical School wo...In the mid-19th century, out of their dissatisfaction with the neglect of the economic theories about other countries’ experiences in the British classic economics, the economists in the German Historical School worked hard to construct an economic theory that was congruent to the developmental stage in their own country’s culture and history. Their deeply-cherished concern about the reality in a transitional era when Germany was approaching modernization drove them to propose that the living condition of the working class be improved by the power of the state. In the late 80’s of the same century, the Methodenstreit of German Historical School versus the Austrian School broke out, after which the mainstream economics was well on its way in terms of theoretical refinement and scrutiny, whereas the influence from the Historical School gradually subsided. Even so, the lessons from the Historical School are still enlightening to research in contemporary social sciences. This paper describes the unique basics in the theory building of the Historical School; explains the background and meaning of its academic origin, research methodology, and the Methodenstreit; and from there, discusses implications for contemporary social sciences.展开更多
文摘The presented paper is dedicated to a new ret-rospective view on the history of natural sci-ences in XX-XXI cc, partially including the sci-ence philosophy (mainly, the problems of the scientific realism, i.e. the correspondence of science to reality) and also a novel scheme for different classes of sciences with different ob-jects and paradigms. There are analyzed the chosen “great” and “grand” problems of phys-ics (including the comprehension of quantum mechanics, with a recently elaborated new chapter, connected with time as a quantum obs- ervable and time analysis of quantum processes) and also of natural sciences as a whole. The particular attention is paid to the interpretation questions and slightly to the aspects, inevitably connected with the world- views of the res- earchers (which do often constitute a part of the interpretation questions).
文摘One of the major challenges in designing and fabricating Spintronic devices is the choice of both, Materials and the Technology, along with understanding the intricacies of the Designing aspects. In this communication, we have attempted to briefly discuss these factors, with an aim to draw the attention of the Materials Scientists and Technologists to this serious challenge, in the direction of which, though a lot of research and development work has been done, still needs more concerted efforts to be made in order to make the Spintronic devices that can offer good efficiency for maximizing their usefulness.
文摘This article is a case study of an innovative academic health sciences library initiative that describes the planning and events in the inaugural year of a new library research program. In response to emerging trends in health sciences libraries to increase research skills of librarians in order to foster expanded research integration within the health sciences disciplines,the University of Michigan Taubman Health Sciences Library established an EXPERT Research Initiative. This new program is part of the strategic planning for the future of the library and is focused on three primary goals: expanding the library's research portfolio,building librarians' research skills and competencies,and increasing the library's research visibility. The article highlights five library projects that illustrate the different kinds of research collaborations librarians are engaged in with health sciences faculty,researchers,clinicians,and students.
文摘Purpose:The goal of this study is to analyze the relationship between funded and unfunded papers and their citations in both basic and applied sciences.Design/methodology/approach:A power law model analyzes the relationship between research funding and citations of papers using 831,337 documents recorded in the Web of Science database.Findings:The original results reveal general characteristics of the diffusion of science in research fields:a)Funded articles receive higher citations compared to unfunded papers in journals;b)Funded articles exhibit a super-linear growth in citations,surpassing the increase seen in unfunded articles.This finding reveals a higher diffusion of scientific knowledge in funded articles.Moreover,c)funded articles in both basic and applied sciences demonstrate a similar expected change in citations,equivalent to about 1.23%,when the number of funded papers increases by 1%in journals.This result suggests,for the first time,that funding effect of scientific research is an invariant driver,irrespective of the nature of the basic or applied sciences.Originality/value:This evidence suggests empirical laws of funding for scientific citations that explain the importance of robust funding mechanisms for achieving impactful research outcomes in science and society.These findings here also highlight that funding for scientific research is a critical driving force in supporting citations and the dissemination of scientific knowledge in recorded documents in both basic and applied sciences.Practical implications:This comprehensive result provides a holistic view of the relationship between funding and citation performance in science to guide policymakers and R&D managers with science policies by directing funding to research in promoting the scientific development and higher diffusion of results for the progress of human society.
文摘This paper discusses the important role of science and technology commissioners in the high-quality development of hundreds of counties,thousands of towns,and myriads of villages in the context of rural revitalization,including building bridges,accelerating the transformation of achievements,promoting the value-added of the whole agricultural industry chain,and promoting the rapid development of rural industrial economy.It also discusses the working achievements of science and technology commissioners,in order to promote further development of rural revitalization in Guangdong Province.
文摘At the present time,new state compulsory standards for school education,standard curricula,and curricula have been developed.The programs of higher and postgraduate education do not take into account changes in educational curricula of secondary education.The future specialists of pedagogical universities are teachers of the school.Therefore,graduates of universities on pedagogical specialties,including scientific direction,should be profoundly aware of the content of subjects studied in secondary education.It is very important to understand the need to ensure the continuity of educational curricula of higher pedagogical and general secondary education in conditions of updating the content of education.The relevance of the research topic is due to the lack of continuity in the educational programs of higher pedagogical and general secondary education in conditions of updating the content of education;discrepancy of professional competences of young pedagogical staff,graduates of higher educational institutions,to the conditions of the updated content of school education;the lack of fundamental and applied research to date,considering the theoretical and methodological foundations for ensuring the continuity of natural science education in the“school-university”system in the context of updating the content of education;the need for the research in the context of the implementation of the State Program for the Development of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2016-2019,which indicates an increase in the prestige of the profession of teachers and an increase in their quality.These theoretical and methodological bases for ensuring the continuity of educational programs of higher pedagogical and secondary education in conditions of updating the content of education will make it possible to introduce changes in the educational curricula of higher and postgraduate education for the training of pedagogical personnel.
文摘The meridian (Jingluo 经络) is a core principle of traditional Chinese medicine. The meridian plays a central role in the regulation of human health and vitality. In the past 50 years, the scientific evidence has been gathered via our physiological experiments to confirm the biological basis of the human meridian pathway phenomenon. Meridian Science has been established as a new branch of natural science to advance and promote the study of this important phenomenon for human life.In this paper, the authors describe the theoretical concept of the meridian and mathematics expression, its relationship to an efficient meridian circadian cycle, and its significance to human life.
文摘This paper analyzes the effect of subgroup size on the x-bar chart characteristics using sample influx (SIF) into forensic science laboratory (FSL). The characteristics studied include changes in out-or-control points (OCP), upper control limit UCLx, and zonal demarcations. Multi-rules were used to identify the number of out-of-control-points, Nocp as violations using five control chart rules applied separately. A sensitivity analysis on the Nocp was applied for subgroup size, k, and number of sigma above the mean value to determine the upper control limit, UCLx. A computer code was implemented using a FORTRAN code to create x-bar control-charts and capture OCP and other control-chart characteristics with increasing k from 2 to 25. For each value of k, a complete series of average values, Q(p), of specific length, Nsg, was created from which statistical analysis was conducted and compared to the original SIF data, S(t). The variation of number of out-of-control points or violations, Nocp, for different control-charts rules with increasing k was determined to follow a decaying exponential function, Nocp = Ae–α, for which, the goodness of fit was established, and the R2 value approached unity for Rule #4 and #5 only. The goodness of fit was established to be the new criteria for rational subgroup-size range, for Rules #5 and #4 only, which involve a count of 6 consecutive points decreasing and 8 consecutive points above the selected control limit (σ/3 above the grand mean), respectively. Using this criterion, the rational subgroup range was established to be 4 ≤ k ≤ 20 for the two x-bar control chart rules.
文摘The Belt and Road initiative is in the first instance,the barrier-free communication in ideology and culture.To cooperate with the Belt and Road initiative,excellent exhibitions in cultural technology and history from other nations are brought in Wuhan Museum of Science and Technology(hereinafter referred to as WMST).WMST’s own science education achievements are going global in both online and offline ways to support and get involved in the initiative and contribute to international communications.
文摘This study analyzes the sample influx (samples per case file) into forensic science laboratory (FSL) and the corresponding analysis costs and uses arbitrary re-sampling plans to establish the minimum cost function. The demand for forensic analysis increased for all disciplines, especially biology/DNA between 2014 and 2015. While the average distribution of case files was about 42.5%, 40.6% and 17% for the three disciplines, the distribution of samples was rather different being 12%, 82.5% and 5.5% for samples requiring forensic biology, chemistry and toxicology analysis, respectively. Results show that most of the analysis workload was on forensic chemistry analysis. The cost of analysis for case files and the corresponding sample influx varied in the ratio of 35:6:1 and 28:12:1 for forensic chemistry, biology/DNA and toxicology for year 2014 for 2015, respectively. In the two consecutive years, the cost for forensic chemistry analysis was comparatively very high, necessitating re-sampling. The time series of sample influx in all disciplines are strongly stochastic, with higher magnitude for chemistry, biology/DNA and toxicology, in this order. The PDFs of sample influx data are highly skewed to the right, especially forensic toxicology and biology/DNA with peaks at 1 and 3 samples per case file. The arbitrary re-sampling plans were best suited to forensic chemistry case files (where re-sampling conditions apply). The locus of arbitrary number of samples to take from the submitted forensic samples was used to establish the minimum and scientifically acceptable samples by applying minimization function developed in this paper. The cost minimization function was also developed based on the average cost per sample and choice of re-sampling plans depending on the range of sample influx, from which the savings were determined and maximized. Thus, the study gives a forensic scientist a business model and scientific decision making tool on minimum number of samples to analyze focusing on savings on analysis cost.
文摘This study was conducted to analyze the competitiveness of a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) based on employees’ professional development and diversification into different professions. The FSL is the sole Government Laboratory?in Tanzania which serves the police force, judiciary system and the public?prosecution. A sample of 88 current employees of different professions (53 chemists, 26 technologists and 9 accountants) was used. The data was collected from the?year 2000 to 2015. Mathematical expressions were developed to quantifystagnation and total service time at specific development levels based on which?new?indices (professional development index, PDI;leadership competency index, LCI;and succession index, SI) were developed. The number of employees for support cadres was observed to increase faster in the last 5 years from 34.3% in?2009/2010 to 57.1% in 2014/2015, compared to chemists and technologists.?The?staff-to-line ratio (SLR) has been increasing since 2000, reaching above 0.8?from 2013 to 2015 indicating that the FSL was undergoing diversification and division of labor. The FSL workforce comprised of mainly semi-skilled employees. Promotions have played a big role in employees’ professional development. In some cases employees were promoted to higher level before 3 years stipulated?by public service regulations, regarded as breach of procedures. However,?high?stagnation of employees at specific ranks was observed (up to 9 - 10 years) which causes frustrations, lost morale and engagement. Results indicated that most?of the service years are served in ranks A and B. Indices developed in thisstudy?form a baseline data for strategic analysis of FSL competitiveness in the future?and allow for proper human resource planning. Highest values of LCI and PDI were observed for chemists. Technologists in the FSL show higher succession index compared to chemists and accountants. Employee diversification in the?FSL has been increasing from 2003 to 2015. It was concluded that the FSL?competitive advantage is continuously increasing.
文摘The objectives of this article are as follows: 1) to propose a university research ethics system framework, 2) to provide a brief anatomy of the Meru University of Science and Technology (MUST) Institutional Research Ethics Review Committee (MIRERC), 3) to perform a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of MIRERC, and 4) to make recommendations for improving its performance. The 13-member multi-disciplinary MIRERC was established in April 2017 to provide effective ethical oversight of research undertaken by the University’s scholarly community. Strengths of the MUST research ethics review system include a functional MIRERC, a pertinent national law and ethical guidelines, an Innovation and Enterprise Centre that could house a dedicated MIRERC Secretariat, and a supportive University Management Board. The weaknesses include lack of graduate schools to assure scientific rigor of proposals before submission to the MIRERC, lack of research ethics training in most school’s curricula, absence of a dedicated MIRERC Secretariat, undergraduate research proposals being not ethically reviewed, dearth of faculty trained in research ethics, and lack of an operating budget for MIRERC work. The opportunities include existence of about 22 accredited Institutional Research Ethics Review Committees (IRERC) in Kenya, existence of international standards and operational guidance for ethics review, availability of guidelines and codes of best ethical practices in research, existence of a free automated platform called Research for Health Innovation Organizer (RHInnO) Ethics for managing the ethics review process, and availability of external resources for strengthening IRERCs. In order to improve the performance and sustainability of the MUST research ethics system, there is need to include research ethics training in all undergraduate and post-graduate curricula, create a dynamic database of potential research ethics reviewers, allocate a percentage of the annual MUST research budget for MIRERC operations, charge a graduated fee for proposal ethics review, require all students’ and faculties’ internal and external research proposals be cleared by the MIRERC, and use the RHInnO Ethics platform to manage the ethics review process.
文摘In the mid-19th century, out of their dissatisfaction with the neglect of the economic theories about other countries’ experiences in the British classic economics, the economists in the German Historical School worked hard to construct an economic theory that was congruent to the developmental stage in their own country’s culture and history. Their deeply-cherished concern about the reality in a transitional era when Germany was approaching modernization drove them to propose that the living condition of the working class be improved by the power of the state. In the late 80’s of the same century, the Methodenstreit of German Historical School versus the Austrian School broke out, after which the mainstream economics was well on its way in terms of theoretical refinement and scrutiny, whereas the influence from the Historical School gradually subsided. Even so, the lessons from the Historical School are still enlightening to research in contemporary social sciences. This paper describes the unique basics in the theory building of the Historical School; explains the background and meaning of its academic origin, research methodology, and the Methodenstreit; and from there, discusses implications for contemporary social sciences.