scholarly journals The limitations to our understanding of peer review

Author(s):  
Jonathan P. Tennant ◽  
Tony Ross-Hellauer

Abstract Peer review is embedded in the core of our knowledge generation systems, perceived as a method for establishing quality or scholarly legitimacy for research, while also often distributing academic prestige and standing on individuals. Despite its critical importance, it curiously remains poorly understood in a number of dimensions. In order to address this, we have analysed peer review to assess where the major gaps in our theoretical and empirical understanding of it lie. We identify core themes including editorial responsibility, the subjectivity and bias of reviewers, the function and quality of peer review, and the social and epistemic implications of peer review. The high-priority gaps are focused around increased accountability and justification in decision-making processes for editors and developing a deeper, empirical understanding of the social impact of peer review. Addressing this at the bare minimum will require the design of a consensus for a minimal set of standards for what constitutes peer review, and the development of a shared data infrastructure to support this. Such a field requires sustained funding and commitment from publishers and research funders, who both have a commitment to uphold the integrity of the published scholarly record. We use this to present a guide for the future of peer review, and the development of a new research discipline based on the study of peer review.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Tennant ◽  
Tony Ross-Hellauer

Peer review is embedded in the core of our knowledge generation systems, perceived as a method for establishing quality or scholarly legitimacy for research, while also often distributing academic prestige and standing on individuals. Despite its critical importance, it curiously remains poorly understood in a number of dimensions. In order to address this, we have analysed peer review to assess where the major gaps in our theoretical and empirical understanding of it lie. We identify core themes including editorial responsibility, the subjectivity and bias of reviewers, the function and quality of peer review, and the social and epistemic implications of peer review. The high-priority gaps are focused around increased accountability and justification in decision making processes for editors, and developing a deeper, empirical understanding of the social impact of peer review. Addressing this at the bare minimum will require the design of a consensus for a minimal set of standards for what constitutes peer review, and the development of a shared data infrastructure to support this. Such a field requires sustained funding and commitment from publishers and research funders, who both have a commitment to uphold the integrity of the published scholarly record. We use this to present a guide for the future of peer review, and the development of a new research discipline based on the study of peer review.


Disabilities ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-131
Author(s):  
Natasha Layton ◽  
Natasha Brusco ◽  
Tammy Gardner ◽  
Libby Callaway

Background: For people living with or affected by Huntington’s Disease (HD) to experience a good quality of life, tailored support is required to meet physical, cognitive-behavioral, psychological, and social support needs. Substantial service and knowledge gaps regarding HD exist across support providers and service systems. Measuring unmet needs and what quality of life looks like is a fundamental step required to determine the social impact of service investment and provision. The objectives of this study were to validate and map a draft set of HD Social Impact Domains (HD-SID) against existing national and international outcome frameworks; and evaluate and finalize the HD-SID set using a co-design approach with people with lived experience of, and expertise in, HD. Methods: This research used a qualitative co-design process, with 39 participants across four stakeholder groups (people who were HD gene-positive, gene-negative family members, academics, peak organizations, and service providers) to: (i) map and verify the social life areas impacted by HD; (ii) undertake a rigorous three-phased, qualitative process to critically evaluate the draft HD-SID; and (iii) seek feedback on and endorsement of the HD-SID through this co-design process, with a final set of HD-SID identified. Results: Endorsed HD-SID comprised risks and safety (including housing stability, and economic sustainability) and social inclusion (including health and symptom management, physical wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, and building resilient relationships). Conclusions: Effective measurement of the impacts and outcomes for people with HD is informed by both extant measures and an understanding of the specific population needs. This qualitative co-design research demonstrates that HD-SID resonate with the HD community.


Author(s):  
Phillip D. Stevenson ◽  
Christopher A. Mattson ◽  
Kenneth M. Bryden ◽  
Nordica A. MacCarty

More than ever before, engineers are creating products for developing countries. One of the purposes of these products is to improve the consumer’s quality of life. Currently, there is no established method of measuring the social impact of these types of products. As a result, engineers have used their own metrics to assess their product’s impact, if at all. Some of the common metrics used include products sold and revenue, which measure the financial success of a product without recognizing the social successes or failures it might have. In this paper we introduce a potential metric, the Product Impact Metric (PIM), which quantifies the impact a product has on impoverished individuals — especially those living in developing countries. It measures social impact broadly in five dimensions: health, education, standard of living, employment quality, and security. The PIM is inspired by the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) created by the United Nations Development Programme. The MPI measures how the depth of poverty within a nation changes year after year, and the PIM measures how an individual’s quality of life changes after being affected by an engineered product. The Product Impact Metric can be used to predict social impacts (using personas that represent real individuals) or measure social impacts (using specific data from products introduced into the market).


Author(s):  
Mary Beth Riedner ◽  
Tysha Shay ◽  
Kayla Kuni

The stigma attached to a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease or a related dementia is enormous, and those living with dementia often speak of the negative, and almost immediate, social impact of the disease. According to Alzheimer’s Disease International, there were approximately 50 million people worldwide living with dementia in 2017 and this number could reach 131.5 million by 2050 (n.d.). The social isolation that affects many people living with dementia is best combatted by knowledge and understanding. There are many ways that libraries can put their mission statements into action with regard to this devastating disease. People living with dementia are coming into libraries every day. Library staff need training to recognize those who may be affected and to develop effective communication techniques to meet their special needs. In addition to purchasing books and other materials about the disease and how to cope with it, libraries can help those living with dementia and their caregivers find medical information available from underused sources such as Medline Plus from the National Library of Medicine. Libraries are uniquely suited to host educational events and community discussions. Outside organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association can provide informational sessions held in the library. There are also several model projects developed by libraries across the country that demonstrate how libraries can provide direct programming and services to those living with dementia. Libraries can play a significant role in reducing social isolation among those living with dementia and improving the quality of their lives.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 955-961
Author(s):  
Esther Oliver ◽  
Andrea Scharnhorst ◽  
Joan Cabré ◽  
Vladia Ionescu

The Social Impact Open Repository (SIOR) has become a unique data source at the international level in which researchers can display, quote, and store the social impact of their research results. SIOR arises from the social and political needs to know and connect with scientific projects to assess their social impact, promoting transparency of science and open-access systems. This repository has been designed to allow researchers to link their social impacts with research institutions and citizens. In short, SIOR reveals possibilities for transforming scientific research through means such as developing a qualitative tool as an egalitarian scientific agora that enables assessment of social improvements derived from social sciences and humanities (SSH) research. SIOR is a qualitative and open peer-review tool that allows citizens to comment online about an investigation’s impact on society.


Author(s):  
Segundo A. García Muentes ◽  
María Gabriela García Ávila ◽  
Benigno Luis Labrada Vázquez ◽  
Ana Esthela Sánchez del Campo Laffita

The social impact of planting and harvesting the jatropha curca for the production of biodiesel in the province of Manabí is shown, where there are several municipalities involved in this process, mainly the populations that live in rural areas where the conditions are created for their improvement of quality and good living from the income they receive for performing these tasks. A social relationship model was designed that links the social development of rural areas in the province of Manabí with the sowing, harvesting and industrialization of jatropha curca in social development, demonstrating the benefit of using indigenous natural resources for the in the improvement of the quality of life of the populations directed to the economic, energetic, social and environmental sustainable development.


2009 ◽  
pp. 85-98
Author(s):  
Giovanni Boccia Artieri

- This essay is about the 80th-90th Italian sociological context when the second order cybernetic and the theory of the complexity introduced a new perspective. That context produced a convergence between social sciences and Artificial Intelligence (AI) theory. The paper focuses on 3 perspectives: 1. the sociocultural change: AI is a cultural approach that produces an imaginary about the mutation introduced by the informatic evolution. It opens people's concerns and hopes about the relation between "man" and cybernetic "machine". 2. The analogy between the theory that produces intelligence machines and the social system theory that thinks the society in an abstract and artificial way, by producing consequences on epistemological level and governance. 3. the social impact of the AI outputs in relational live and in the production of the reality. On the one hand the interest is about the Expert Systems that can support analytical and decision-making processes - here the risk is an emerging attitude to the abstract process rather then to the practices; on the other hand the interest is about two kinds of interactions: human-machine and human-machine-human.Keywords: Achille Ardigň, Artificial Intelligence, artificial culture, micromacro link, human-computer interaction, web 2.0.Parole chiave: Achille Ardigň, Intelligenza Artificiale, cultura dell'artificiale, micro-macro link, comunicazione uomo-macchina, web 2.0.


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1044-1044
Author(s):  
M. Touhami ◽  
F. Ouriaghli ◽  
F. Manoudi ◽  
F. Asri

IntroductionThe borderline personality disorder is the most frequent personality disorder in psychiatry.It causes significant changes in social, family and professional functioning, wish can sometimes be severe enough to cause an alteration of quality of life for this patients.ObjectiveTo assess the quality of life among people with borderline personality in order to improve patients care.MethodsA retrospective study on 25 patients hospitalized in our hospital during the period between 2006 and 2008.ResultsIn 92% of our sample, there is a social impact, represented by social and family isolation (64% of cases), separations, divorces (28%). 40% of patients are in a good economical level. 56% of the sample had no education beyond high school, only 36% were able to attend college. In 96% of cases, the symptoms have affected the education and occupation with dropout in 56% fragile employability in 28% and job loss in 12%.ConclusionBPD sounds significantly on the social and professional integration of patients, so consequently on the quality of life. Pharmacological treatment alone is not enough. Individual psychotherapy and group rehabilitation activities can contribute on improving the quality of life of borderline subjects.


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