Colleagues and Friends:
This issue of Muslim-Science.Com contains two very important issues.
The first is that of Plagiarism and Perverse Incentives in Academia. The latest Islam Analysis Article (below) covers important area. This is a much deeper malaise and is covered by other academics as well (for example here). Note that the two Saudi Universities in question, have since issued statements clarifying the intent of their faculty attracting strategies. This can be accessed here.
The second is that of Science After the Arab Spring. There are a number of voices that have spoken on this issue on or prior to the first anniversary of the Arab Spring. Most notable of these is Princess Sumaya of Jordan - an ardent supporter of Science in that country and the broader Arab World. Islam Analysis also covered the topic last month as did recent editorials on SciDev.Net etc.
Following are the excerpts of some of these articles:
Islam Analysis: Money can't buy quality research
By: Athar Osama
Some Muslim countries' powerful financial incentives to make quick progress in research could backfire, cautions Athar Osama.
Over a decade ago, several governments in the Islamic world woke up from decades of slumber to begin investing heavily in science and innovation. A funding boost helped set up new universities, enhance research grants, and send thousands of students to do PhDs in the developed world.
The regulators and ministries that rolled out these ambitious efforts cautioned against judging their effectiveness and viability too soon, pointing to the limited scientific capacity in these countries. It was popular to say, 'let's build a critical mass (quantity) first and worry about raising the standard (quality) later'.
But there was clearly something amiss: some policies seemed either deficient or simply wrong-minded. And evidence of this is beginning to pile up.
Evidence of misguided priorities
The picture emerging is one of a mindless race to secure international publications and increase university rankings using 'shopping sprees' for highly cited academics, plagiarism and even outright academic fraud.
A recent article published in Science highlights a practice, prevalent in at least a couple of Saudi Universities, of engaging prolific academics on so-called part-time contracts that pay handsomely in exchange for spending a couple of weeks on campus — and, critically, on condition that the university name is added to their ISI (Institute for Scientific Information) index profiles. The index is one of the factors included in world university rankings.
This results in an artificially higher number of papers published by that university, and hence a higher ranking.
To read further, click here.
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Q&A: Princess Sumaya on science after the Arab Spring
By: Mićo Tatalović
Published in SciDev.Net on 25 January 2012
Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan of Jordan talks to SciDev.Net about hopes for science in the Middle East, science diplomacy and the role of women scientists.
Members of royal families around the world often express support for science, but Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan of Jordan stands out for taking a particularly close and active interest.
She is a founder and president of the El Hassan Science City, president of Jordan's Royal Scientific Society and chair of the board of trustees of the Princess Sumaya University for Technology. She has also recently helped set up a science and technology collaboration centre for the Middle East, in Jordan.
This month is the anniversary of two Arab uprisings, in Egypt and Tunisia. We asked Princess Sumaya about the impact the Arab Spring has had on science in the region, her views on science diplomacy, and her hopes and fears for science, education and innovation.
How has the Arab Spring provided opportunities for science and technology?
A large part of it is people starting to think in terms of meritocracy. A huge potential of talent has been unleashed — talent that was previously held back by corruption and by cronyism, and by a disregard for meritocratic progress.
This is when we can start talking about the Arab Spring becoming the Arab Summer — when we see people assessed on, and acknowledged for what they are able to contribute. You cannot have successful scientific cooperation without meritocracy.
The great new freedom has started to entice a lot of the Arab diaspora — we have lost so many of our talented people in the past.
Is there a lesson for other Arab countries that have not experienced protests?
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Arab Spring revolutionaries turning to governance must adopt knowledge and innovation as barometers for progress, says Athar Osama.
As revolutions swept countries and shook governments across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region this year, they created opportunities for greater public voice in governance. Tunisia, for example, recently went through an election, and the Egyptian people are in the process of electing an assembly whose job is to write a new constitution.
And as revolutionaries turn to governance, they will have to address the socioeconomic and cultural challenges facing tens of millions of people: poverty with no prospect of prosperity, a burgeoning young population, poor employment opportunities, a culture of entitlement, and growing radicalism. These will be the real test of their leadership.
Science and innovation must feature high on their agendas. There are promising signs, such as Tunisia's $16.5 million science and technology boost, and the pronouncements of Egypt's caretaker government that it will open Zewail City of Science and Technology, a new science city named after Egyptian Nobel Laureate Ahmed Zewail.
But the capability of the revolutionaries and their countries is questionable in one key area. Can they nurture the science needed to create entrepreneurial opportunities and jobs?
Deploying science and innovation to bring prosperity will require deep and long-lasting changes in the way society views science and conducts everyday business.
To read further, click here.--
Egypt: from revolutionary spirit to scientific progress
David Dickson and Bothina Osama
Published in SciDev.Net on 27 January 2012
One year after Egypt's revolution, enthusiasm and prospects for science are high — but still need translation into a fully functioning system.
It is difficult to believe, given the optimism and vitality of current debates about science in Egypt, that less than two years ago a UNESCO report described science in the Arab world as being in a "vegetative state". [1]
This week Egypt celebrates the first anniversary of the momentous events in Tahrir Square, and elsewhere, that brought down the autocratic regime of President Hosni Mubarak. These events showed both the promises and the challenges in achieving economic prosperity and social development.
The promises lie in the fervour for democratic control that continues to sweep the country, combined with growing public enthusiasm for science. They point to a widely-held desire to modernise Egypt's social and economic institutions in ways that directly address the needs of its people.
But turning fervour into an achievable political programme — one that ensures the achievements of last year's revolution are permanent — remains a major challenge. This is as true for the institutional reforms needed to genuinely transform the country's science infrastructure, as it is of the broader changes demanded of the newly-elected Egyptian Parliament.
Popular and government support
Certainly there is no lack of public support for reform, on either front. Indeed, a marked increase in public enthusiasm for science over the past year has been a significant, if little remarked, element of the country's cultural transformation.
To read further, click here.
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Egypt's scientists savour post-revolution year
Hazem Badr
Published in SciDev.Net on 18 January 2012
[CAIRO] Scientists have been reflecting on the astonishing gains that the Egyptian revolution has delivered them, as the first anniversary of Egypt's Tahrir Square uprising approaches next week (25 January).
Over the past year, the science budget has increased by more than a third, salaries have risen and plans have been made for a science and technology city.
"Change has begun on both financial and administrative levels," Maged El-Sherbiny, president of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (the government body responsible for funding research in Egypt), told SciDev.Net.
All the research centres affiliated to different ministries will be gathered under the Supreme Council of Research Centers, and the scientific research budget, which jumped 35 per cent in 2011−12, is likely to increase in 2012−13, said El-Sherbiny, with a government target of one per cent of gross domestic product to be spent on science.
The sharp increase in funding stems from a widespread perception that investment in science is crucial for the future of Egypt.
Ashraf Shaalan, president of the National Research Centre (NRC) ―the largest research centre in Egypt ― said that this surge of national fervour for science, as well as increased funding, had motivated Egypt's scientists.
For example, it has sparked interest in getting research published in international journals, he said. Output rose by a quarter to about 2,000 in 2011, he claimed.
The NRC won about US$13 million from the National Science and Technology Fund in 2011 to fund 80 research projects, he said. But, despite salary rises, the centre lost 400 researchers in the brain drain last year, especially to Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The private sector has not fared so well post-revolution. The Nile University, the first private non-profit research university in Egypt, came under threat because of links to the former fallen regime. The university had moved into new accommodation just before the revolution and was then told by the new government to move out because they were on government land.
"Such stumbles are expected after revolutions," said Tarek Khalil, president of the Nile University.
"We started the year after the revolution not knowing if we would continue but, by the end of the year, the minister of scientific research had assured us that we will be continuing our efforts in our university."
Nile University will now be part of the new Zewail City of Science and Technology.
Government support for science investment and the launch of Zewail City― depicted as the 'first fruit' of the revolution and as a national project needing the support of all Egyptians ― has led to a surge in public interest in science, said Dr Hassan Abol-Enein, head of the Science Age Society, a non-governmental organisation (NGO).
"We noticed a high attendance at our lectures which we weren't used to before 25 January," he said.
After the revolution, NGOs became free to support scientific research in a way that had not been possible before. This was boosted by a fatwa (Islamic religious ruling) issued by the Grand Mufti of Egypt last October saying that donations to scientific research were acceptable as a component of the obligation to give 2.5 per cent of income to charity.
Abol-Enein said there were plans to harness the new public enthusiasm by establishing a fund to finance research projects, to which the public can donate.
But other leading scientists have expressed caution about how enduring Egypt's scientific changes might be.
Alaa Idris, chairman of the scientific research committee of the science-supporting foundation Misr El-Kheir, said: "Egyptians are still more concerned with issues such as increasing wages [and dealing with] street children and slum areas".
Idris said that, for real change to occur, the new Egyptian constitution should acknowledge the importance of scientific research and a law on science and technology should be passed next year.
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Athar Osama, PhD (Public Policy, RAND)
London, United Kingdom
Email: athar.osama@gmail.com
Internet: http://www.atharosama.com
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