scholarly journals Transformations in Breakthrough Research: The Emergence of Mirnas as a Research Routine in Molecular Biology

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paweł Kawalec

Abstract Of the three main areas of science studies that emerged after WWII (Kawalec, 2018), namely social studies of science, economics of knowledge and scientometrics, it was the latter that gained particular prominence in science policy around the 1990’s with the advent of New Public Management (Pollitt, Thiel, & Homburg, 2007). One of its focal areas has been identification of emerging topics in science. They are incessantly assumed to be an outcome of a simple cumulative progress of scientific knowledge (Price, 1976; Merton, 1988; Bird, 2007; Fochler, 2016). In my paper I challenge this assumption of simple cumulativity and argue that the emergence of breakthrough topics in science is preceded by a sequence of transformation phases. Using the example of “microRNA&cancer” as an emergent topic identified by a quantitative analysis of a large dataset of publications (Small et al. 2014) I demonstrate that the proposed analysis of transformation phases complements big data quantitative analyses with theoretical understanding of the dynamics mechanism and, in effect, leads to a more adequate characterization of the topic itself as well as a more precise identification of the source publications. While the proposed method uses a more complex (meso-level) unit of analysis (i.e. “research routines”) instead of citations and co-occurrence of single publications (micro-level), it integrates quantitative with qualitative analyses.

Author(s):  
Aant Elzinga

In many countries - during the past three decades - there has been increasing alignment of public administration with neoliberal modes of governance driven by processes of globalization and privatization. Key is New Public Management (NPM) as an instrument for applying private sector or market-based techniques to public services. The paper concerns the implications and impact of these developments as they relate to the university sector where we are seeing an influx of bibliometrics to assess performativity with measures that are frequently far from adequate. These changes are related to the broader context of a globalized privatization doctrine of science policy that has gained currency in many countries. The analysis presented here probes and discusses a nexus between NPM, bibliometric performance audits, and a new paradigm in science policy. As such the paper seeks to fill an important gap in science policy studies and the literature on New Public Management more generally. It summarizes various characteristics associated with NPM, and expl icates the connection with methods of research evaluation now being introduced in academic ins titutions . It also takes up varying responses evoked within academe by the use of bibliometrics and current methods of ranking of tertiary educational institutions. Apart from gaining a better understanding of significant changes in the higher educational and research landscapes or disciplines and the interplay of these with broader economic and political trends in society at large, the aim of the paper is also to stimulate discussion and debate on current priorities, perceptions and policies governing knowledge production.Keywords: New Public management; research policy; transdisciplinarity; postnormal science; Audit Society Agencification; Accountingization; peer review evaluationDisciplines:Public Management and Governance; Management Studies and Research Management. Science Policy; Science Studies; Political Science


2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (148) ◽  
pp. 369-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Ludwig-Mayerhofer ◽  
Ariadne Sondermann ◽  
Olaf Behrend

The recent reform of the Bundesagentur fijr Arbeit, Germany's Public Employment Service (PES), has introduced elements of New Public Management, including internal controlling and attempts at standardizing assessments ('profiling' of unemployed people) and procedures. Based on qualitative interviews with PES staff, we show that standardization and controlling are perceived as contradicting the 'case-oriented approach' used by PES staff in dealing with unemployed people. It is therefore not surprising that staff members use considerable discretion when (re-)assigning unemployed people to one of the categories pre-defined by PES headquarters. All in all, the new procedures lead to numerous contradictions, which often result in bewilderment and puzzlement on the part of the unemployed.


2001 ◽  
Vol 152 (11) ◽  
pp. 453-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Iselin ◽  
Albin Schmidhauser

During the past ten years most cantonal forest services have undergone re-organisations. Lucerne's cantonal forest administration initiated a fundamentally new way of providing forestry services by differentiating between sovereign tasks and management tasks. By examining the individual steps of the process we demonstrate how starting with the mandate,goals were developed and implemented over several years. Product managers assumed responsibility for products, as defined in the New Public Management Project, on a cantonal-wide basis. Work within a matrix organisation has led to significant changes. Territorial responsibilities are increasingly assumed by district foresters, who have modern infrastructures at their disposal in the new forestry centres. The re-organisation has led to forest districts being re-drawn and to a reduction in the number of forest regions. To provide greater efficiency,state forest management has been consolidated into a single management unit. The new forest reserve plan removes almost half of the state forest from regular forest management,resulting in a reduction in the volume of work and in the work force. We show how effective the differentiation of sovereignty tasks and management tasks has been in coping with the effects of hurricane Lothar.


Author(s):  
Michael Vollstädt

Die Entwicklung der öffentlichen Verwaltung in Richtung eines effizienten und effektiv geführten Unternehmens ist seit dem Aufkommen des New Public Management (NPM) ein zentrales Thema von Verwaltungsreformen. Nicht selten tritt die damit eihergehende Ökonomisierung der Verwaltung dabei in Konflikt mit den bürokratischen Strukturen und dem Amtsethos der Angestellten. Bei aller Kritik und Diskussion um diese Tendenz zur Unternehmerisierung bleibt jedoch die Frage, was unter dieser Unternehmerisierung zu verstehen sei, meist latent. Das Ziel dieses Beitrages besteht darin, genauer zu eruieren, welche Vorstellung von Unternehmerisierung in den Diskursen des NPM im Zentrum steht, und ein alternatives Verständnis für die öffentliche Verwaltung zu entwickeln. Dafür bedient sich der hiesige Beitrag Ansätzen der Entrepreneurship-Forschung, um eine inhaltliche Anreicherung der Diskussion zu befördern. Damit soll ein Wandel von einer manageriellen hin zu einer unternehmerischen Sicht der Verwaltung skizziert werden, der anschlussfähig ist für die aktuellen Diskussionen um eine innovative und agile Verwaltung.


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