Consensus, Global Definitions of Whole Grain as a Food Ingredient and of Whole-Grain Foods Presented on Behalf of the Whole Grain Initiative

Proposed global definitions of whole grain as an ingredient and whole grain food are presented by the authors on behalf of the Whole Grain Initiative. Whole grains are an important pillar of healthy and sustainable diets. Internationally accepted credible definitions of whole grains as food ingredients and whole-grain foods are necessary to ensure that all global stakeholders have shared standards, and that consumers find them clear, credible, and useful. Based on widely accepted, existing definitions and new developments, the Definitions Working Group of the global Whole Grain Initiative, with experts from academia, government agencies and industry, developed definitions for global application. The key statements of the definition documents are as follows: “Whole grains shall consist of the intact, ground, cracked, flaked or otherwise processed kernel after the removal of inedible parts such as the hull and husk; all anatomical components, including the endosperm, germ, and bran must be present in the same relative proportions as in the intact kernel” and “A whole-grain food shall contain at least 50% whole-grain ingredients based on dry weight. Foods containing 25–50% whole-grain ingredients based on dry weight, may make a front-of-pack claim on the presence of whole grain but cannot be designated ‘whole grain’ in the product name”. The definition documents have been ratified by the leading international scientific associations in this area. We urge that these consensus Whole Grain Initiative definitions be adopted as the basis for definitions used by national regulatory authorities and for health promotion organisations worldwide to use in nutrition education and food labelling.

Organisational responses to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on healthcare workers: a qualitative case study from Bogotá, Colombia

Background Healthcare organisations have undergone organisational change to respond to COVID-19. This pandemic has presented challenges for employee adjustment, with impacts on the availability and coordination of human resources in healthcare. This study aimed to characterise the organisational actions regarding the coordination of human resources in healthcare within Bogotá, Colombia, to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We followed a case study approach to understand the response to the emergency taking into account the narratives of managerial actors who have been directly involved in the planning of guidelines oriented to face the pandemic or in the implementation of health services for COVID-19. Twenty-two interviews with multiple health system organisations within Bogotá were conducted between May and September 2020 and analysed thematically. Results Three themes emerged from the analysis of the interview data: to retain human resources, to implement actions to improve the mental and physical health of the healthcare workers, and to enhance healthcare workers knowledge, skills and availability to respond to COVID-19. Conclusions Organisational actions led by hospital managers to retain, protect, and train human health resources in the dynamic context of the COVID-19 pandemic were identified. Other system-wide organisations like scientific associations contributed to the coordination of human resources across hospitals to respond to COVID-19 in Bogotá, Colombia. The actions of hospital managers, and roles of system-wide intermediary organisations, in coordinating human resources need to be explored in other health system contexts facing COVID-19.

The EU and the social sciences: A fragile relationship

The position of the social sciences within European Union (EU) research policy is fragile. The social sciences have been entangled with the EU integration process throughout the organization’s trajectory; still, social sciences have only lately been integrated into EU research policy in a marginal position. Drawing on Bourdieu’s generic field analysis, this article analyses the struggles over the position of the social sciences within EU research policies from the early 1990s until today. First, the analysis shows how the social sciences were included in EU research policies with the simultaneous establishment of the European field of social science through the formation of scientific associations, journals and European research infrastructures. Second, it focuses on the struggle over the position of the social sciences in Horizon 2020. This analysis shows how social-science researchers mobilized social and political capital in the efforts to organize and implement the H2020 to ensure the presence of social-science issues and researchers in the programme despite the dominance of other sciences and political issues. Overall, the analysis is a reminder of the generally subordinate position of the social sciences, particularly in EU research policies, but it also shows that well-organized social sciences can participate in organizing research funding and ensure representation of otherwise marginalized research fields.

Osman Akchokrakly: unknown biography pages

This article presents the biography of the prominent ascetic of the study of the oriental monuments of the Crimea Osman Akchokrakly (1879–1938), compiled on the basis of documents from the State Archive of the Russian Federation and the epistolary heritage of the Crimean scholars. The author restored contacts of this scientist with A. Bertier de la Garde and V. Smirnov –they are prominent figures of the historical Crimean studies. The study contains the complete texts of unique documents – «Curriculum vitae» by O. Akchokrakly, which was presented when joining the university, and a letter of recommendation from Professor Bekir Choban-zade. The role of the researcher in the large-scale scientific expedition in Solkhat (Stary Krym) held in 1925-1926 is also noted. Finally, participation of O. Akchokrakly in the work of the Tauride Society of History, Archeology and Ethnography, All-Union Conferences of Archaeologists of the USSR, All-Union and All-Ukrainian Scientific Associations of Orientalists is revealed.

Bending Our Ethics Code

Deception of research participants has long been and remains a hot-button issue in the behavioral sciences. At the same time, the field of psychology is fortunate to have an ethics code to rely on in determining whether and how to use and report on deception of participants. Despite ongoing normative controversies, the smallest common denominator among psychologists is that deception ought to be a last resort – to be used only when there is no other defensible way to study a question or phenomenon. Going beyond previous normative discussions or inquiries into the mere prevalence of deception, we ask the fundamental question whether common practice is compatible with this interpretation of our field’s ethical standards. Findings from an empirical literature review – focusing on the feasibility of nondeceptive alternative procedures and the presence of explicit justifications for the use of deception – demonstrate that there is a notable gap between the last resort interpretation of our ethical standards and common practice in psychological research. The findings are discussed with the aim of identifying viable ways in which researchers, journal editors, and the scientific associations crafting our ethics codes may narrow this gap.

THE EUROPEAN FEDERATION OF ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES (ALLEA)

The history of creation, development, and activity of the European Federation of Acade­mies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA) is given in the review. The initial main goal of this organization was to promote cooperation in research between Eastern and Western Europe after the end of the Cold War, to create a legal basis for cooperation between scientists for cross-border cooperation between European academies, which eventually became a powerful system that changes world science. During its existence since 1992, the European Federation of Academies of Natural Sciences and Humanities has become a powerful scientific, social, and economic force that impacts not only the development of European science but also the processes in society. The shift of the ideo­logy of the organization in the humanitarian field strengthening such impact, and provides for full interaction with society. Recent projects by ALLEA, one of the four European scientific associations, are closely linked to legislative action, the development of public confidence in science, and scientific experience. Recently, the confrontation of misinformation, which is the main factor in the violation of basic democra­tic values, to which the federation pays special attention. ALLEA’s current strategic priorities focus on ethical values, which are the basis for building a common European research policy. And the SAPEA project has established ano­ther mechanism to combat violations of Euro­pean values and democratic principles not only in science but also in politics.

The ‘janitor-geologist’ and the ‘cold materialistic scientific men’: James Croll's navigation of scientific societies

ABSTRACT Scientific societies played a crucial role in the emergence of a professional culture of science in Britain in the mid- to late-19th Century. At first sight, James Croll's membership of a limited number of scientific associations may be assumed to be the result of his lack of social credit and scientific connections. In this article, by examining Croll's correspondence, I demonstrate that Croll's select participation in scientific clubs and associations reflected his strategic pursuit of a vision of science set apart from party or societal affiliation. I focus on the contrasting histories of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Geological Survey, as well as the institutional history of the Philosophical Magazine. Situating the institutions in their respective social and cultural contexts, I argue that the more meritocratic, inclusive social structure of the Survey and Magazine helps explain Croll's choice to avoid affiliation with the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

How Brazilian social scientists responded to the pandemic

In this article, we propose a critical and situational assessment of Brazilian social scientists’ production on the COVID pandemic. We take stock of production within the context of the pandemic, yet also go further to sketch out some of the general characteristics of scientific production within Brazilian social sciences. Our major reference is a publication that, from within the social sciences, initiated an entire movement toward public reflections on the pandemic: the Social Scientists and Coronavirus Bulletin. It was published on a daily basis under the auspices of the National Association of Graduate Studies and Research in Social Sciences (Anpocs), in partnership with other scientific associations. We argue that social sciences’ reaction to the pandemic both engages and contrasts with the tradition of debates on health within our disciplines. We also offer a classification scheme for the wide range of texts written “in the heat of the moment” by social scientists, in their quest to understand the pandemic and its effects. Finally, we offer a brief and descriptive analysis of the Bulletin’s texts characteristics, unfolding into a larger discussion of the institutional transformations that have marked Brazilian social sciences.