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Alzheimer's disease (AD), breast cancer (BC) and prostate cancer (PC) continue to be high in the research and innovation agenda of the European Commission (EC). This is due to their exceptionally large burden to the national health systems, the profound economic effects of opportunity costs attributable to decreased working ability, premature mortality and the ever-increasing demand for both hospital and home-based medical care. Over the last two decades, the EC has been steadily increasing both the number of proposals being funded and the amounts of financial resources being allocated to these fields of research. This trend has continued throughout four consecutive science funding cycles, namely framework programme (FP)5, FP6, FP7 and Horizon 2020 (H2020). We performed a retrospective assessment of the outputs and outcomes of EC funding in AD, BC and PC research over the 1999–2019 period by means of selected indicators. These indicators were assessed for their ability to screen the past, present and future for an array of causal relationships and long-term trends in clinical, epidemiological and public health sphere, while considering also the broader socioeconomic impact of funded research on the society at large. This analysis shows that public–private partnerships with large industry and university-based consortia have led to some of the most impactful proposals being funded over the analysed time period. New pharmaceuticals, small molecules and monoclonal antibodies alike, along with screening and prevention, have been the most prominent sources of innovation in BC and PC, extending patients' survival and enhancing their quality of life. Unlike oncology, dementia drug development has been way less successful, with only minor improvements related to the quality of supportive medical care for symptoms and more sensitive diagnostics, without any ground-breaking disease-modifying treatment(s). Significant progresses in imaging diagnostics and nanotechnology have been largely driven by the participation of medical device industry multinational companies. Clinical trials funded by the EC were conducted, leading to the development of brand-new drug molecules featuring novel mechanisms of action. Some prominent cases of breakthrough discoveries serve as evidence for the European capability to generate cutting-edge technological innovation in biomedicine. Less productive areas of research may be reconsidered as priorities when shaping the new agenda for forthcoming science funding programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature associates the pandemic with populist far right parties' growth, creating the conditions for democracy weakening. The pandemic must be seen, thus, as more than a natural or medical-scientific issue given its political impact. In that sense, the pandemic politics, that is, the way governments managed the COVID-19 crisis, can be seen as a kind of "bare-life-politics," characterised by preserving life for life's sake. This means that governments, given the urgency of the threat, were less concerned with proposing fairer forms of economy or better modes of living. In this vein, an important political and media hegemonic topic took over discourse: "life vs. economy." This false dichotomy suggested that the economic means were unimportant for life, given that a bare life does not need much to survive. Meanwhile, far-right politics claimed that mere survival is not enough as a political promise because an economy must promise to life. Far-right politics, given the exceptional pandemic context, appeared opportunistically and paradoxically as infusing more transformative promises for political life than the political parties responsible for managing the pandemic. These far right-wing movements show that politics cannot survive if reduced to a biological business of keeping people simply alive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Italian Journal of Health Education, Sport & Inclusive Didactics is the property of Edizioni Universitarie Romane and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Metaphors of physical health and illness occurred frequently in medieval exegesis, with diseased bodies providing figurative language that could be applied to sin and its effects upon the soul. The increasing availability of newly translated medical learning in Europe in the thirteenth century augmented and enriched this discourse in innovative ways. The present paper offers a close analysis of the systematic use of sophisticated medical knowledge in an unpublished collection of model sermons, written c.1240 by the Franciscan preacher Luca da Bitonto. Produced at least 50 years earlier than comparable sermons previously shown to contain advanced medical metaphor, Luca's sermons offer new evidence for the intellectual and theological contexts in which thirteenth-century preachers sought out detailed and accurate knowledge of the natural world, and for the ways in which new medical knowledge was disseminated and incorporated into medieval religious discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial is intended to frame the special issue of the Journal of Early Modern Studies devoted to The Circulation of Cosmographical Knowledge in Early Modern Europe. Providing early modern definitions of cosmography and differentiating between cosmography and geography, it takes stock of the latest scholarly publications on the subject and sheds light on the various contributions in this issue. In the presentation of the various sections, it emphasizes fresh perspectives and methodologies likely to open up new interpretive paths in the field of cosmography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major theme of the European Enlightenment was the rationalization of value, the use of reason to determine the value of things, from diamonds to civilizations. This view of the Enlightenment is well-established in the human sciences. It is ripe for extension to the natural sciences, given the rich recent literature on affect, evaluation, and subjectivity in early modern science. Meanwhile, in art history, the new history of connoisseurship provides a model for the historical study of the evaluation of material things. Historians of natural history have already noted the connections between science, Enlightenment, and connoisseurship. The time has come to extend their insights to other areas of Enlightenment science. This means recognizing the breadth of connoisseurship – the social, linguistic, and disciplinary diversity of the practice – as understood in Europe in the eighteenth century and the latter part of the seventeenth century. An outline of the three papers in this special section gives an indication of how this historiographical project might be carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term "civilization," articulated in eighteenth century Europe, has been widely used in many languages from the nineteenth century to the present. It refers both to widespread societies governed by powerful states in modern times and to prestigious urban and monumental civilizations of ancient times. This essay explores the history of the concept of civilization through science, ideology, and schooling. Scientific exploration of civilization was an implementation of emerging studies in social science. Ideological statement of social priorities appropriated civilization, especially in the era of expanding capitalism, empire, and white supremacy. In the school systems set up around the world, the term "civilization" was included in the curriculum both to explain ancient heritage and the comparison of modern great powers, religious faiths, and cultural practices. Weaknesses in the concept of civilization are becoming apparent as knowledge expands. New factors to consider include the significance of the end of empire; increased attention to network dynamics as well as hierarchies; comparisons of biological equality and social inequality; the roles of commoners and local scales; the rise of global social and institutional structures; shifting balances of societies and regions; and more attention to the historical role of schooling and science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The May 2022 proposal from the European commission for a 'European health data space' envisages advantages for health from exploiting the growing mass of health data in Europe. However, key stakeholders have identified aspects that demand clarification to ensure success. Data will need to be freed from traditional silos to flow more easily and to cross artificial borders. Wide engagement will be necessary among healthcare professionals, researchers, and the patients and citizens that stand to gain the most but whose trust must be won if they are to allow use or transfer of their data. This paper aims to alert the wider scientific community to the impact the ongoing discussions among lawmakers will have. Based on the literature and the consensus findings of an expert multistakeholder panel organised by the European Alliance for Personalised Medicine (EAPM) in June 2022, it highlights the key issues at the intersection of science and policy, and the potential implications for health research for years, perhaps decades, to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a wide and rich literature about how neoliberalism is promoting the budgetary cuts to science and universities, especially to the critical sectors, such as the social sciences. There is scarce literature on the analysis of the role of sociology in the internal processes and debates on the elaboration of the scientific programs of research. Focusing on the European programs of research, this article analyzes how sociology is leading the new requirements of social impact and co-creation. The result of this analysis shows the great opportunity for sociology to get an unprecedented acknowledgment and valorization from society and all sciences, including those which had not been previously interested in sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While oral health often takes a backseat to other health domains, it silently affects nearly half of the Worldwide population. The DELIVER project, funded by the EU's Horizon Europe program, seeks to develop a blueprint model for improving the quality of oral health care for everyone., Methods: Applying the Nominal Group Technique (NGT), 17 stakeholders from various backgrounds participated in identifying pressing issues for oral care quality improvement across practice, community, and policy levels., Results: The results revealed significant differences at the different levels, with accessibility emerging as a prominent issue, encompassing affordability, availability, and acceptability of oral healthcare services., Conclusions: These findings emphasizes the need for policy reforms, increased investments, and a shift towards preventive and patient-centered dental care practices. It highlights the importance of collaborative efforts with multi-stakeholders and prioritizing pressing issues on a multi-level to drive positive change in improving oral care quality., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The topics of insufficient practical knowledge of students and insufficient cooperation of the university with society (industry, business, NGOs, government services, etc.) have been discussed for at least 30 years. Legal conditions for effective cooperation between the university and society exist, but satisfactory results still do not exist.Cooperation in scientific research can and should be a basis that can result in deeper cooperation in the educational process and better practical skills of students. As a matter of fact, ten centuries ago, the development of scientific research enabled the emergence of the first universities in Europe. The paper will analyze the current state of UKLO in terms of cooperation between the university and the public, especially by analyzing the functioning of the Boards for Cooperation and Trust with the Public and the implementation of joint research, development, and application projects between the university and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science journalists, traditionally, play a key role in delivering science information to a wider audience. However, changes in the media ecosystem and the science-media relationship are posing challenges to reliable news production. Additionally, recent developments such as ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) more generally, may have further consequences for the work of (science) journalists. Through a mixed-methodology, the quality of news reporting was studied within the context of AI. A content analysis of media output about AI (news articles published within the time frame 1 September 2022-28 February 2023) explored the adherence to quality indicators, while interviews shed light on journalism practices regarding quality reporting on and with AI. Perspectives from understudied areas in four European countries (Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain) were included and compared. The findings show that AI received continuous media attention in the four countries. Furthermore, despite four different media landscapes, the reporting in the news articles adhered to the same quality criteria such as applying rigour, including sources of information, accessibility, and relevance. Thematic analysis of the interview findings revealed that impact of AI and ChatGPT on the journalism profession is still in its infancy. Expected benefits of AI related to helping with repetitive tasks (e.g. translations), and positively influencing journalistic principles of accessibility, engagement, and impact, while concerns showed fear for lower adherence to principles of rigour, integrity and transparency of sources of information. More generally, the interviewees expressed concerns about the state of science journalism, including a lack of funding influencing the quality of reporting. Journalists who were employed as staff as well as those who worked as freelancers put efforts in ensuring quality output, for example, via editorial oversight, discussions, or memberships of associations. Further research into the science-media relationship is recommended., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Dijkstra et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The Scottish doctor Robert Erskine (1677-1718) became Chief Doctor of Russia and personal physician to Tsar Peter the Great. Extensive archival material documents his remarkable career. From schooling in the village of Alva and apprenticeship to an Edinburgh apothecary, he went on to study medicine in Paris and Utrecht and was admitted to the Royal Society in London. Recruited into the service of the Tsar, to whom he became a trusted friend and counsellor, Erskine played a central role in the modernisation of Russian medicine, pharmacy and natural science in the early 18th century. His untimely death at age 41 was marked with a state funeral in St Petersburg. Some historians in Russia assert that in their country, the development of medicine and the natural sciences took place without the transitional stages of iatrochemistry and iatrophysics which characterised the shift in scientific thinking throughout Europe in the early modern period. This study of archival records shows that Erskine held iatrophysical and iatrochemical views in common with his European contemporaries. His influence ensured that Russia was thoroughly involved in European developments in science and medicine in the 18th century., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

In searching for the origin of Europe and the cultural region/continent that we call "Europe", at first glance we have to consider at least a double view: on the one hand the geographical understanding which indicates a region or a continent; on the other a certain form of identity and culture described and defined as European. Rodolphe Gasché taking hint from Husserl's passage 'Europe is not to be construed simply as a geographical and political entity' states that a rigorous engagement with what we understand by "Europe" requires that we acknowledge it as involving 'something else as well'. With regard to the many bequests of Europe, founded in ancient Greece, in this essay I will attempt to elucidate some essential features of its cultural identity such as science and philosophy, and reflect upon several specific aspects: on the origin of Europe, on its roots and heritage, on the concept of culture, and especially on the foundation of sciences (Geometry), which contains a large part of European spirit and civilization. In particular I will address some European historical moments referring to Husserl, Heidegger, the concept of Thaumazein… In the second part of the essay, I shift to Ancient Greece to access the value of the Esprit de géométrie as defined in Proclus on the Commentary on the First Book of Euclid's. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the 15th anniversary of the European Society for the History of Science (ESHS), one can definitely say that this relatively young society has come of age. Through regular meetings, a journal, a prize, fellowships and various other activities, the ESHS has been striving to create a space fostering diversity, plurality and internationalization among historians of science, located in Europe and elsewhere. This paper revisits my own research on the past of the sciences in Portugal, examining in particular the role of the 18th century naturalist and diplomat Abbé Correia da Serra. As a member of an extended network of estrangeirados (Europeanized intellectuals), Correia da Serra played a decisive role in the circulation of knowledge in Europe and also in the world, a role forgotten by his peers within the time interval of a generation. This case study acts as a springboard to discuss the importance of geographical and methodological diversity in the past of the sciences in Europe. In the present historiographical predicament in which the international community finds itself, I advocate that one of the main challenges faced by the ESHS is to turn its historical gaze to Europe again, while fiercely repudiating Eurocentrism. This enables to show how much the building of the European spaces of scientific practice were never a prerogative of a few regions or a small set of countries, but, on the very contrary, took shape as the result of complex interactions between diverse spaces and cultures, not only intra‐European but also non‐European. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Occupational Therapy / Cadernos Brasileiros de Terapia Ocupacional is the property of Cadernos de Terapia Ocupacional da UFSCar and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Alexis Patterson's paper researches equity in groupwork in the science classroom by looking at micro-interactions. She points to the key features of student voice, student visibility and student authority while addressing the teachers' role in creating a more equitable and productive talk in science classrooms. This forum paper aims at continuing the conversation started by Patterson by examining the role that linguistic and cultural diversity plays in classroom interaction. Previous research points to the need for more equitable interactions in groupwork for improved science learning, especially for students who have been historically in the margins of science. In Europe, more concretely in Luxembourg, culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students find themselves often in this marginal position. By the time CLD students are 15 years old, they lag, on average, 2 years behind their peers in science. Many of them come from lower socioeconomic and/or immigrant backgrounds and speak other language(s) at home than the school languages. To address this issue, participatory approaches in the science classroom have been proven especially beneficial for CLD students, especially when working in small groups. Also, the recognition of home languages and cultures improves the sense of belonging of the CLD students, with a positive influence in their school performance. In the Luxembourgish context, which is culturally and linguistically very diverse, there is also a need to pay attention to groupwork interactions, as presented by Patterson. Groupwork in this context is characterized also by the diverse use of the linguistic and identity repertoires of the students, notably by translanguaging or the use of lexical and syntactical items from more than one language. Recent OECD reports recommend that teachers should be better prepared and supported to deal with diversity in their classrooms, with beneficial effects for not only CLD students, but also for all the students thanks to a teaching approach that caters for individual needs. The preparation to deal with translanguaging in groupwork in the science classroom under a wider framework on identity affirmation adds a needed feature to the current teacher training and continues the conversation started by Patterson's work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study examined the state of the art relevant for clinical practice on symptom manifestation of depression or depression-related idioms of distress, the treatment effectiveness and obstacles and facilitators for therapeutic success in Turkish and Moroccan immigrant populations with depression in Europe.Methods: We conducted a systematic search in PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Science Direct, Web of Knowledge, and Cochrane databases (1970- 31 July 2017). Peer-reviewed studies, with adult populations, and an instrument assessing depressive symptoms met inclusion criteria and were evaluated following quality guidelines.Results: We included 13 studies on symptom manifestation, 6 on treatment effectiveness, and 17 on obstacles and facilitators, published between 2000 and 2017, from Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden (n Turkish individuals = 11,533; n Moroccan individuals = 5278; n native individuals = 303,212). Both ethnic groups more often reported combined mood and somatic symptoms (and anxiety in the case of Turkish groups) than natives, and had higher levels of symptoms. There was no report on effectiveness of pharmacotherapy and there was weak evidence of the effectiveness of examined psychological treatments for depression in Turkish groups. No treatment has been examined in Moroccan groups. Salient obstacles to therapeutic success were socioeconomic problems, higher level of psychological symptoms at baseline, and negative attitudes towards psychotherapy. Possible facilitators were interventions attuned to social, cultural and individual needs. Results were most representative of first generation, low SES Turkish immigrant patients, and Moroccan-Dutch members of the general populations.Conclusion: Turkish and Moroccan immigrants with depression presented a comorbid symptom profile with more intertwined depressive and somatic complaints. There were indications that the available therapies are insufficient for Turkish groups, but the current evidence is scarce and heterogeneous, and RCTs suffer from methodological limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stereotypes reduce women's identification with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), which can decrease their motivation to enter STEM domains. Stereotypes may be gender-based (e.g., STEM is for men) or trait-based (e.g., STEM is for geniuses). In this study, I explored two primary research questions: First, would stereotyping STEM as a domain for nerdy geniuses negatively relate to women's STEM identity? Second, would STEM identity mediate the relation between stereotypes and STEM motivation? Nerd-genius stereotypes and gender stereotypes negatively contributed to women's STEM identity. STEM identity positively contributed to women's STEM motivation (including expectancy-value beliefs). Participants were a diverse sample of undergraduate women (N = 195, mean age was 19.8; 30% of participants were Latina, 30% European, 24% Asian). Stereotype measures were (1) implicit gender-STEM associations, (2) explicit gender associations about STEM, and (3) a new scale that measured nerd-genius stereotypes. The results highlight the unique contribution different stereotypes make toward women's identification with STEM and, in turn, their motivation to pursue STEM pathways. Practice implications include addressing nerd-genius stereotypes in STEM interventions and reducing classroom artifacts that might be reminiscent of these stereotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on scientific revolution. The author is perplexed by the fact that the scientific revelation took place in Europe and not in China which he considered more ready for such changes. He also noted that all countries adopt technologies which came from Europe or North America. These include steel frame buildings, airplanes, automobiles, scientific agriculture, and factories. The rise of superculture has eventually caused the progress of the human race, and its rise followed the emergence of science. However, the rise of superculture created great increase in the inequality of world incomes.

The article presents a discussion about scientific reserve in the U.S. Scientific reserve refers to the people who are imaginatively creative in science, someone who understands what is research all about and who can contribute to new developments. The scientific reserve includes scientists in uniform in the armed forces, civilian scientists working for the government inside and outside of the armed forces, and the total scientific manpower in the country. In addition to this, the scientific reserve also includes the facilities and institution, the financial support, and buildings and equipments. The scientific reserves of other countries like Europe and the British Empire are described.

Abstract: Mobile‐based micro‐learning has gained a lot of attention lately, especially for work‐based and corporate training. It combines features of mobile learning and micro‐learning to deliver small learning units and short‐term learning activities. The current study uses the lens of the Self‐Determination Theory of motivation and proposes a series of Mobile‐Based micro‐Learning and Assessment (MBmLA) homework activities to improve high school students' motivation and learning performance in science. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. One hundred and eight students of a senior‐level high school in Europe were randomly assigned into either a control condition (conventional paper‐based homework approach) or an experimental (MBmLA approach) condition. The study carried out for a period of 5 weeks. From the experimental results, it was found that, in comparison to the conventional paper‐based approach, the proposed MBmLA approach enhanced students' basic psychological needs of self‐perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness and improved students' exam performance in terms of factual knowledge. Moreover, students self‐reported greater learning satisfaction with the mobile‐based microassessment and micro‐learning homework tasks. Implications on educational practices as well as future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research finds that student teachers often fail to make observable instructional goals, without which a secure bridge between instruction and assessment is precluded. This is one reason that recent reports state that teacher education needs to become better at helping student teachers to develop their thinking about and skills in assessing pupils’ learning. Currently in Europe, the Lesson Study method and the Content Representation tool, which both have a specific focus on assessment, have started to address this problem. This article describes and discusses an intervention in which Lesson Study was used in combination with Content Representation in student teachers’ field practice. Empirical materials from one group of student teachers were analyzed to illustrate how the student teachers worked with assessment during the planning of a lesson, how they implemented it in a research lesson, and how they used the gathered observations to make claims about assessment aims. The findings suggest that the student teachers placed greater emphasis on assessment through the intervention. However, it is also found that more attention should have been dedicated to the planning phase and that the group did not manage to keep a research focus throughout the Lesson Study process. This suggests that it properly would be beneficial with several planning sessions prior to the research lesson, as well as having an expert teacher leading the Lesson Study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human history is shaped by landmark discoveries in science and technology. However, across both time and space the rate of innovation is erratic: Periods of relative inertia alternate with bursts of creative science and rapid cascades of technological innovations. While the origins of the rise and fall in rates of discovery and innovation remain poorly understood, they may reflect adaptive responses to exogenously emerging threats and pressures. Here we examined this possibility by fitting annual rates of scientific discovery and technological innovation to climatic variability and its associated economic pressures and resource scarcity. In time-series data from Europe (1500–1900CE), we indeed found that rates of innovation are higher during prolonged periods of cold (versus warm) surface temperature and during the presence (versus absence) of volcanic dust veils. This negative temperature–innovation link was confirmed in annual time-series for France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (1901–1965CE). Combined, across almost 500 years and over 5,000 documented innovations and discoveries, a 0.5°C increase in temperature associates with a sizable 0.30–0.60 standard deviation decrease in innovation. Results were robust to controlling for fluctuations in population size. Furthermore, and consistent with economic theory and micro-level data on group innovation, path analyses revealed that the relation between harsher climatic conditions between 1500–1900CE and more innovation is mediated by climate-induced economic pressures and resource scarcity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goals of this study included the assessment of the level of key competences and training needs of the prevention workforce in European countries, and the examination of participants' characteristic differences in assessing the key competences necessary for prevention work. METHOD: Altogether, 154 respondents from 26 countries completed the online questionnaire. Survey participants were identified via the PubMed database and via the snowball technique. Invitations to complete the survey were transmitted to the participants electronically or by phone. Descriptive analyses and non-parametric tests (Wilcoxon signedrank test and Kruskal-Wallis test) were used to analyze the survey data. RESULTS: The results indicated that basic knowledge of theoretical background and research findings showed the highest levels among the competences the prevention workforce currently possessed, while advocacy of quality prevention was the skill with the lowest perceived level among ten key competences. Comparison between the current levels of key competences and their desired levels suggested a significant gap between the knowledge/skills gained and those needed in all areas of prevention work, especially in advocacy and funding. The results also indicated that job characteristics, especially job seniority, have some effects on the survey results. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the SPAN survey support the need to invest in prevention education/training. Priority in investment should be given to training prevention workers in advocacy of quality prevention and funding. The results imply that there is a need for the modernization of education in the field of prevention science in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a theoretical, methodological, and practical contribution to the debate about strategies for the divulgation of the Italian technical literature of the eighteenth century in English-speaking countries with attention to the Italian universities and cultural institutions of the time. The paper contains a survey of the historical bibliography of contemporary translations of non-technical treatises of architecture in the English language and it proceeds to draw up a set of guidelines (decalogue) of different recently proposed methodologies and strategies. It describes the selection of the treatise to translate, relevant to the context and authoritative knowledge in the European scientific background of the eighteenth century; it continues by proposing a synopsis of the original text in the Italian modern language, a strategy used in order to make historical technical treatises accessible to the contemporary scientific Italian language. Approaches and strategies are experimented with in the case study ofHistoric Memories about the Great Dome of the Vatican Church(Le Memorie Istoriche della Gran Cupola Vaticana) by Giovanni Poleni, one of the most authoritative scholars of eighteenth-century Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information about the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, signed by 35 nations on August 1, 1975 in Helsinki, Finland. Notwithstanding the consequences of the Act, it is a document that focused probably the most on science than any other such document. However, the Act reflects a very ambivalent attitude toward science. In many ways, science is an ideal medium for international cooperation. The fundamental principle of the Act is that the nations participating in the conference must live in peace.

Global investment in biomedical research has grown significantly over the last decades, reaching approximately a quarter of a trillion US dollars in 2010. However, not all of this investment is distributed evenly by gender. It follows, arguably, that scarce research resources may not be optimally invested (by either not supporting the best science or by failing to investigate topics that benefit women and men equitably). Women across the world tend to be significantly underrepresented in research both as researchers and research participants, receive less research funding, and appear less frequently than men as authors on research publications. There is also some evidence that women are relatively disadvantaged as the beneficiaries of research, in terms of its health, societal and economic impacts. Historical gender biases may have created a path dependency that means that the research system and the impacts of research are biased towards male researchers and male beneficiaries, making it inherently difficult (though not impossible) to eliminate gender bias. In this commentary, we - a group of scholars and practitioners from Africa, America, Asia and Europe - argue that gender-sensitive research impact assessment could become a force for good in moving science policy and practice towards gender equity. Research impact assessment is the multidisciplinary field of scientific inquiry that examines the research process to maximise scientific, societal and economic returns on investment in research. It encompasses many theoretical and methodological approaches that can be used to investigate gender bias and recommend actions for change to maximise research impact. We offer a set of recommendations to research funders, research institutions and research evaluators who conduct impact assessment on how to include and strengthen analysis of gender equity in research impact assessment and issue a global call for action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Policies to improve health status, tackle disease and ensure equitable access to healthcare should be informed by evidence derived from high-quality research. However, health research capacity is unevenly distributed across countries, as revealed by mapping exercises that have been undertaken to provide a basis for concerted action to strengthen capacity. This study systematically describes capacity to undertake health research in the countries of the former Soviet Union and south-eastern Europe and identifies the elements required to create a national health research system. Methods: The mapping exercise comprised two elements: a survey of key informants in the respective countries and a bibliometric analysis of scientific publications in the field of public health. Results: Our results confirm that health research remains a low priority in some countries of the WHO European Region. In these countries, most of the literature was produced by researchers outside the country, often to inform international donors. Conclusions: This study provides important information for countries seeking to initiate action to strengthen their research capacity. There is a need for a comprehensive strategy with sustained investment in training and career development of researchers. There is also a need to create new funding systems to provide financial support to those undertaking policy-relevant research. International collaboration and investment in mechanisms to bridge the gap between research and policy are urgently required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no doubt that Esping-Andersen’s three worlds’ typology has been extremely valuable. However, the literature inspired by it shows signs of Kuhnian normal science, which is impairing empirical and theoretical progress. We explain normal science, demonstrate that it characterizes recent empirical regime studies and ask why this has come about. We show that the welfare regime literature has a tendency to confuse the terms ‘typology’ and ‘ideal-types’. This has prevented the emergence of anomalies that are needed for progress. We argue that normal science is fostered by the combination of researchers’ tendency to prefer certainty (e.g. to address solvable research problems) and the environmental pressures they face (especially the ‘publish or perish’ culture and the need to frame research problems in terms of variation rather than similarity). In the discussion section, we suggest several routes by which the welfare state literature can move beyond normal science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of this article is conceptions of the history of Europe in the US World History textbooks from 1921 to 2001. It finds the main theme of this history to be the development of modern democracy and science in Western Europe. The USA features as a forerunner and model of democratisation. Compared to the USA, Europe is held up as both same and different, depending on point in time. More recently, much more space is devoted to non-European history; still where Europe is concerned, the basic historical narrative has remained stable over time. This indicates that the image of Europe has long been fixed in this part of American historical culture. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article takes as its inspiration Ian Grosvenor’s conjectural essay presented for the symposium “Historiography of the Future: Looking Back to the Future” held at the International Standing Conference for History of Education (ISCHE) 33 in July 2011 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. It contributes to a sensory history of schooling by examining how the problematisation of schoolchildren’s eyesight in school hygiene manuals noted by Grosvenor was, to a large extent, made possible by the deeper transformations that occurred in science in the mid-nineteenth century. These included changes in scientific practices and techniques, the invention of new instruments and the emergence of new “scientific selves” that were, in large part, linked to the emergence of objectivity as a scientific ideal. The “objective view” and practices associated with the ideal of objectivity combined with the predominant style of statistical reasoning reinforced the truth claims of senses research by preeminent European scientists. In turn, it made credible and legitimated the findings that resulted when new scientific techniques, methods and instruments associated with the ideal of objectivity were applied to investigations of schoolchildren’s eyesight in the mid-nineteenth century. Medico-scientific investigations that began by first identifying aspects of schooling that caused harm to the sense of sight were later expanded into multiple hygiene(s) and made possible a broader discourse of school hygiene elaborated in the school hygiene manuals that proliferated in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The extent to which precepts of school hygiene underscored the reform of pedagogy and the materialities of schooling suggests that the results of these investigations were profound and far-reaching. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper analyses the effects of R&D expenditure in the higher education sector on the scientific production across regions in Europe 15. Our research questions relate to the regional production of science and the role of academic R&D expenditures on regional scientific output. The results show that money affects the production of scientific results in regions. On average, we found different impacts and lags of R&D expenditure according to the level of regional development. Our findings also suggest that scientific specialization is a significant factor affecting scientific outputs, although its effects differ across disciplines and regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Norwegian government created the Abel Prize in Mathematics in 2002 in memory of mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829). The aim was to establish the annual Abel Prize as the world's leading prize in mathematics. The creation of the prize was the result of a short and successful campaign in the spring and summer of 2001, which presented the prize as 'the missing Nobel Prize in mathematics.' The prize was very well received, both by the international mathematical community and Norwegian politicians. Sweden's Nobel Foundation, however, found repeated references to the new prize as 'a Nobel in mathematics' to be quite inappropriate. This article focuses on how the prize was successfully established in Norway, a country considered by some to be at the mathematical periphery, and to what extent the Abel Prize has been able to live up to the high expectations during its first 10 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]