May 2013
11 posts
5 tags
Forecasting Positive Outcomes
SPOTLIGHT ON ANTONIO BOVA, UNIVERSITÀ DELLA SVIZZERA ITALIANA
by Courtney Quirin
Joining Academia.edu as his PhD neared its end, Antonio Bova of the Università della Svizzera Italiana had a feeling that this kind of online visibility would help kick start his young career. Just one year later, his spreading online presence has blown in new opportunities that forecast his reputation is on the...
3 tags
Trending Papers on Academia.edu
This Week’s Most Viewed Papers
Each day thousands of Academia.edu users scour the site, discovering new research topics and catching wind of trending papers.
Here’s what captured the curiosity of Academia.edu users this week:
Arguing about Justice: Essays for Philippe Van Parijs
Author: Edited by Axel Gosseries, Université Catholique de Louvain and Yannick Vanderborght, Facultés...
3 tags
What Counts and Who’s Counting
SPOTLIGHT ON ALISON CHAPMAN, UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA
by Courtney Quirin
Filling out her annual review application, Alison Chapman of the University of Victoria was stumped. What to do with her review papers, her favorite medium of scholarship— the review essay— which she has poured countless hours into mastering.
“The review essay never really fits because it’s not officially...
8 tags
Some Kind of Miracle
SPOTLIGHT ON RAYMUND SCHÜTZ, VRIJE UNIVERSITY AMSTERDAM
by Courtney Quirin
After publishing an article in a small Dutch history journal, Raymund Schütz of Vrije University Amsterdam wanted his work to be widely read and wasn’t convinced he’d draw much of a crowd due to the scope of the journal. So he joined Academia.edu and that’s when the “miracles” began to happen.
Immediately after posting...
9 tags
Profile Views Bring Opportunity Knocking
SPOTLIGHT ON ABHINAV GAIKWAD, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
by Courtney Quirin
A recent surge of interest in his research posted on Academia.edu has brought opportunity knocking on the small laboratory door of post-doc Abhinav Gaikwad of the University of California, Berkeley. Within the last two months, his burgeoning reputation has been catching the eyes of potential employers.
...
3 tags
Trending Papers on Academia.edu
This Week’s Most Viewed Papers
Each day thousands of Academia.edu users scour the site, discovering new research topics and catching wind of trending papers.
Here’s what sparked the curiosity of Academia.edu users this week:
Stone Tools and the Evolution of Hominin and Human Cognition
Author: Iain Davidson, University of New England
Total Views: 5,239
In this chapter, I summarize...
5 tags
A Paper Heard 'Round the World
SPOTLIGHT ON RACHEL HERRMANN, YALE UNIVERSITY
by Courtney Quirin
Picked up by a journalist to support his story about new findings of cannabilism in Jamestown, Virginia— a topic that dominated major media sources last week— the media’s attention to one of Rachel Herrmann’s papers on Academia.edu brought her nearly 1,000 document views in a day. It also landed her a guest appearance...
5 tags
Connecting with Ancient but Global Conversations
SPOTLIGHT ON ARTHUR URBANO, PROVIDENCE COLLEGE
by Courtney Quirin
Excitement struck Arthur Urbano of Providence College when he opened up his email to find the following Academia.edu alert: “Someone from Holy See (Vatican City State) just searched for you on Google.”
As a professor of Theology, this is just the kind of audience he’s hoping to attract as he gears up for this third sabbatical...
Academia.edu releases embedded data-sets and code
by Richard Price
Today Academia.edu is announcing that users can embed data-sets and code onto their Academia.edu profile pages. Data-sets and code can be attached to papers, or can be uploaded in a stand-alone way.
Historically researchers have only shared their ideas in the form of academic papers. The DNA of academic journals came from the era of print, and it never made sense to share data...
3 tags
Trending Papers on Academia.edu
This Week’s Most Viewed Papers
Each day thousands of Academia.edu users scour the site, discovering new research topics and catching wind of trending papers.
Here’s what captured the attention of Academia.edu users this week:
The “tragicall historie”: Cannibalism and Abundance in Colonial Jamestown
Author: Rachel B. Herrmann, Yale University
Total Views: 2,487
When historians...
3 tags
Rags to Riches, PhD Style
SPOTLIGHT ON PRAMOD KUMAR, INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE EDUCATION & RESEARCH MOHALI
by Courtney Quirin
As October rolls around post-doc Pramod Kumar of the Femtosecond Laser Laboratory in India welcomes some serious decisions. With three positions at his fingertips—one at the Paris Tech Institute, another at the University of Essex, and the third at the Indian Institute of Science Education...
April 2013
16 posts
9 tags
Sharing to Advance Science
SPOTLIGHT ON SHIVENDRA TEWARI, MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN
by Courtney Quirin
No need to reinvent the wheel, thinks post-doc Shivendra Tewari of the Medical College of Wisconsin as he posts not only his publications on Academia.edu, but also his models, code, and experimental datasets.
“I see sharing data as an advancement of science. If I’ve already done something, why should someone...
3 tags
Trending Papers on Academia.edu
This Week’s Most Viewed Papers
Each day thousands of Academia.edu users scour the site, discovering new research topics and catching wind of trending papers.
Here’s what sparked the curiosity of Academia.edu users this week:
Bottom of the Barrel
Author: Max Abrahms, Johns Hopkins University
Total Views: 2,451
As the post-game analysis on the Boston bombings grinds on, a...
9 tags
Vehicle of Visibility and a Road to Funding
SPOTLIGHT ON COREY SCHOLES, SYDNEY ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE
by Courtney Quirin
“Viewed over 100 times on Academia.edu!” tweeted out Corey Scholes of the Sydney Orthopaedic Research Institute (SORI) last week. Excited by the attention one of his papers is receiving, document views on Academia.edu mean much more than an ego boost for Corey and his research team.
As the Director of Research...
7 tags
Networks of Opportunity
SPOTLIGHT ON KIVEN STROHM, UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL
by Courtney Quirin
A source of networks and opportunities for Kiven Strohm of the University of Montreal, an active presence on Academia.edu has landed Kiven in workshops and conferences spanning disciplines and seas, helping this soon-to-be PhD build his name as he enters the job market.
“Academia.edu has given me access to people of multiple...
3 tags
Trending Papers on Academia.edu
This Week’s Most Viewed Papers
Each day thousands of Academia.edu users scour the site, discovering new research topics and catching wind of trending papers.
Here’s what caught the attention of Academia.edu users this week:
A Few Bad Men: Why America Doesn’t Really Have a Terrorism Problem
Author: Max Abrahms, Johns Hopkins University
Total Views: 1,503
As law enforcement and...
6 tags
‘A Thinking Man’s Choice’
SPOTLIGHT ON LARRY REEDY, DEVRY UNIVERSITY
by Courtney Quirin
An academic with an interlude in politics, Larry Reedy has been using his Academia.edu profile to show he’s got a brain, something that’s helped not only his academic endeavors, but his political ones too.
Winning a nomination to run for the Colorado House of Representatives at the end of his Master’s, Larry, who was looking into PhD...
5 tags
Linking Visibility to Reputation
SPOTLIGHT ON MICHAEL HAUSKELLER, UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
by Courtney Quirin
Michael Hauskeller’s hits on Academia.edu are growing fast, so much so that at one point he was a bit puzzled as to why. So he did a quick Google search of the topic of his most-viewed paper— John Stuart Mill and the Quality of Pleasures— and there was his answer. Of the 14 million hits that the search drew,...
6 tags
The Value of ‘Other’ Academic Endeavors
SPOTLIGHT ON HANS von STORCH, UNIVERSITY OF HAMBURG
by Courtney Quirin
When you Google leading German climate scientist Hans von Storch of the University of Hamburg you can easily find his 100-plus papers and books across the web. But on Academia.edu you can find something more— his other academic endeavors which lately account for much of his time: interviews, talks, and manuscripts in...
2 tags
Trending Papers on Academia.edu
This Week’s Most Viewed Papers
Each day thousands of Academia.edu users scour the site, discovering new research topics and catching wind of trending papers.
Here’s what captured the curiosity of Academia.edu users this week:
Prehistory and Coastal Karstic Area: Cosquer Cave and the ‘Calanques’ of Marseilles
Author: Jacques Collina-Girard, Université de Provence
Total Views:...
5 tags
A Personal Repository of Impact
SPOTLIGHT ON SASCHA-DOMINIK BACHMANN, UNIVERSITY OF LINCOLN
by Courtney Quirin
Devising his own “personal repository” on Academia.edu, Sascha-Dominik Bachmann of the University of Lincoln keeps tabs on more than his publications; he’s been tracking their readership and impact too.
“If you believe that your role as an academic is about dissemination of knowledge, impact, and...
9 tags
Timeless Works
SPOTLIGHT ON JULÁN GONZÁLEZ-BARRERA, UNIVERSITY OF SEVILLE
by Courtney Quirin
Instead of picking up the phone and spending hours on end asking colleagues who’s working on what, Julián González-Barrera of the University of Seville saves a whole lot of time with Academia.edu. Finding old and unique papers and book chapters that are long out of print, Julián uses Academia.edu to mine for texts in...
9 tags
PhD Proof
SPOTLIGHT ON NIHAT CELIK, KADIR HAS UNIVERSITY
by Courtney Quirin
Though he hasn’t quite earned those coveted three letters P-h-D at the end of his name, graduate student Nihat Celik of Kadir Has University is still gaining readership from across the world on Academia.edu, something he believes will help him leap over the hurdles of a PhD and one day land him a tenured gig.
“If you are...
3 tags
Trending Papers on Academia.edu
This Week’s Most Viewed Papers
Each day thousands of Academia.edu users scour the site, discovering new research topics and catching wind of trending papers.
Here’s what captured the attention of Academia.edu users this week:
A new species of Tiger Spider, Genus Poecilotheria, from Northern Sri Lanka
Author: Ranil P. Nanayakkar, Peter J. Kirk, Salindra K. Dayananda, G.A.S.M....
8 tags
A Tool for Review
SPOTLIGHT ON ANDREAS DEMETRIOU, UNIVERSITY OF NICOSIA
by Courtney Quirin
Though he’s already climbed to the top of the academic ladder, no longer needing to maintain his stronghold with citations and high-impact journal publications, Andreas Demetriou of the University of Nicosia doesn’t let that slow him down. Turning out research papers every second or fourth month, Andreas is on top of the...
5 tags
Jazzing Up The Job Hunt
SPOTLIGHT ON GLORIA-YVONNE WILLIAMS
by Courtney Quirin
After being dormant for nearly two years, Gloria-Yvonne Williams recently revamped her Academia.edu profile to embark on her latest adventure: the job hunt.
Checking her Academia.edu analytics daily to see how many hits she’s gotten and where they’re coming from confirms Gloria’s pitch to employers: despite doing some focused work in African...
7 tags
Quid Pro Quo 2.0
SPOTLIGHT ON MAX ABRAHMS, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
by Courtney Quirin
It’s no secret that academia is ruled by the unspoken agreement of quid pro quo, an ‘I’ll scratch your back, if you scratch mine’ exchange that underlies the citation habits of many academics. But a Johns Hopkins University postdoc, Max Abrahms, is on the trail of a new form of quid pro quo, one he sees emerging out of...
March 2013
12 posts
3 tags
Trending Papers on Academia.edu
This Week’s Most Viewed Papers
Each day thousands of Academia.edu users scour the site, discovering new research topics and catching wind of trending papers.
Here’s what sparked the curiosity of Academia.edu users this week:
Why Did Californians Pass Proposition 8? Stability and Change in Public Support for Same-Sex Marriage
Author: Charles Gossett, California State University,...
6 tags
Impact Beyond Citations
INTERVIEW WITH MURRAY RUDD, UNIVERSITY OF YORK
Posting papers and datasets on Academia.edu can liberate research from political agendas or biases and also give researchers a chance to build science collectively, a topic of prime concern for the University of York and its impact initiative. Sharing datasets on Academia.edu, Murray Rudd of York’s Environment Department is showing that sharing...
10 tags
Tapping Networks to Stem Biodiversity Loss
SPOTLIGHT ON CHRIS MARTINE, BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY
by Courtney Quirin
As wild and charismatic as lions on the African plains, the long-lived underdog of the biology world—botany— is breaking free of its ‘gardening’ stereotype and capturing the fascination of the world. Airing on open access platforms like Academia.edu, Chris Martine’s YouTube series, Plants Are Cool, Too, is recruiting...
3 tags
Trending Papers on Academia.edu
This Week’s Most Viewed Papers
Each day thousands of Academia.edu users scour the site, discovering new research topics and catching wind of trending papers.
Here’s what hooked Academia.edu users this week:
Simply the Best: Parody and Political Sincerity in Iceland
Author: Dominic Boyer, Rice University
Total Views: 1,562
Pursuing a self-described anarcho-surrealist politics in...
9 tags
Avoiding the Grave
SPOTLIGHT ON MARK MCGLASHAN, LANCASTER UNIVERSITY
by Courtney Quirin
“In the age of the internet, there are three things that determine if a paper gets noticed: it needs to be tagged so that it will be found on a computer search, it needs to be accessible and not locked behind a paywall, and it needs to be well-written and interesting,” says Dorothy Bishop of the University of Oxford in her blog...
2 tags
Trending Papers on Academia.edu
This Week’s Most Viewed Papers
Each day thousands of Academia.edu users scour the site, discovering new research topics and catching wind of trending papers.
Here’s what caught the attention of Academia.edu users this week:
Climate Change and the Risk of Violent Conflicts in Southern Africa
Author: Florian Krampe, Uppsala University
Total Views: 1,080
This study aims to identify...
6 tags
Creating a 'Commons' to Empower the World
SPOTLIGHT ON REY TY, NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
by Courtney Quirin
“Who really owns the intellectual property? Is it me or the journal publisher?” wonders Rey Ty of Northern Illinois University (NIU). Authors want to spread their knowledge, but publishers want to retain it to make a profit, a disconnect that Rey believes stifles the dissemination of knowledge and consequently keeps the poor in...
15 tags
Catching In The Wind
SPOTLIGHT ON BRIAN EARP, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
by Courtney Quirin
After wrapping up an interview with The Atlantic on using “love drugs” like oxytocin and MDMA to salvage or enhance one’s marriage, Brian Earp of the University of Oxford thought to himself, “Does it make sense to post this on Academia.edu?” Full of original material, and steeped in years of research with reference...
2 tags
Trending Papers on Academia.edu
This Week’s Most Viewed Papers
Each day thousands of Academia.edu users scour the site, discovering new research topics and catching wind of trending papers.
Here’s what captured the attention of Academia.edu users this week:
The Difference Between Being Smart, Educated, and Intelligent
Author: Gian Fiero, San Francisco State University
Total Views: 4,857
Some of us are smart, but...
8 tags
Pre-Review of Peer Review?
SPOTLIGHT ON MELONIE FULLICK, YORK UNIVERSITY (CANADA)
by Courtney Quirin
New additions to Academia.edu— in terms of both users and features— are building a critical mass and giving the site an edge, which is why Melonie Fullick of York University includes Academia.edu as a key tool in her social media workshops for faculty and graduate students. “There are plenty of sites...
11 tags
Entry Point to Research
SPOTLIGHT ON JESSICA VITAK, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
by Courtney Quirin
Struggling to make it through yet another sensational news story belaboring the woes of social media, Jessica Vitak of the University of Maryland can’t help but think, “Why didn’t the media talk to an academic who studies this?” Wishing that journalists and the media would turn to the rigorous research of academics when...
Trending Papers on Academia.edu
This Week’s Most Viewed Papers
Each day thousands of Academia.edu users scour the site, discovering new research topics and catching wind of trending papers.
Here’s what captured the attention of Academia.edu users this week:
Aggression and Violence in Sport: An ISSP Position Stand
Author: Gershon Tenenbaum, Evan Stewart, University of Southern Queensland, Robert N. Singer,...
February 2013
13 posts
14 tags
A Measure of 'Readability'
SPOTLIGHT ON TIM RITCHIE, UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK
by Courtney Quirin
In the autumn of 2011, Tim Ritchie of the University of Limerick began a long process of chronicling his “impact”, a muddled concept at the center of an on-going debate— what exactly is a standard measure of one’s impact? Pulling together a suite of metrics, including citation counts from multiple sources and evidence of...
11 tags
Open Access to Research: A Remedy for Disease?
SPOTLIGHT ON DR. MIKE HSIEH, STANFORD UNIVERSITY
by Courtney Quirin
What do scientific social media, open access to research, and treating neglected tropical diseases have in common? They’re all reasons why Stanford urologist and Assistant Professor Dr. Mike Hsieh joined Academia.edu this January. Working on neglected infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East— diseases...
2 tags
Trending Papers on Academia.edu
This Week’s Most Viewed Papers
Each day thousands of Academia.edu users scour the site, discovering new research topics and catching wind of trending papers.
Here’s what sparked the curiosity of Academia.edu users this week:
It’s OK to Criticize Religious Practices
Author: Brian D. Earp, University of Oxford
Total Views: 450
In 2012, a German court ruled that religious...
9 tags
Educating the Physiotherapists of Tomorrow
SPOTLIGHT ON ANNE BRUTON, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON
by Courtney Quirin
Anne Bruton of the University of Southampton is making history. Recently awarded the UK’s National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Senior Research Fellowship Award, which includes five years of full-time funding, Bruton is the first physiotherapist to ever do so.
“It’s a big deal,” Bruton says modestly. “The award...
12 tags
A Roadmap to Research
SPOTLIGHT ON MERRYN DINELEY
by Courtney Quirin
As off the beaten track as her place of residence, Orkney Island, Merryn Dineley’s unorthodox archaeological ideas were barely explored; buried under years of rejection and lost in obscure conference proceedings, her papers and ideas slowly disappeared. But one upload and a few tags on Academia.edu created a roadmap to Dineley’s work, leading German...
2 tags
Trending Papers on Academia.edu
This Week’s Most Viewed Papers
Each day thousands of Academia.edu users scour the site, discovering new research topics and catching wind of trending papers.
The following papers attracted the most document views this week:
Born to Learn or Born to Win? Birth Order Effects on Achievement Goals
Author: Bernd Carette, Ghent University (Belgium), Frederik Anseel, Ghent University, Nico W....
10 tags
Sparking Discourse, Hooking Funding
SPOTLIGHT ON COLIN HENDRIE, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
by Courtney Quirin
53,192 document views and counting, Academia.edu may just help Colin Hendrie of the University of Leeds rekindle a public health concern in dire need of discussion: depression. Long gone are the days when pharmaceutical companies and governments pour resources into helping the world’s 350 million people suffering from...
17 tags
Everyday Exposure for Everyday Change
SPOTLIGHT ON CHRISTOPHER CHARLES, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES
by Courtney Quirin
On December 14th 2012, Chris Charles of The University of the West Indies received three times more document views on Academia.edu than any other paper that day. The following day, his same paper, which he co-authored with Deniese Kennedy-Kollar of Molloy College, maintained its stronghold as the top trending...
Trending Papers on Academia.edu
This Week’s Most Viewed Papers
Each day thousands of Academia.edu users scour the site, discovering new research topics and catching wind of trending papers.
The following papers received the most document views this week:
Is Poverty in Our Genes? A Critique of Ashraf and Galor, “The ‘Out of Africa’ Hypothesis, Human Genetic Diversity, and Comparative Economic Development”
Author: Jade...
11 tags
A Bigger Reach: New Readers, New Disciplines, New...
SPOTLIGHT ON HEIN LODEWIJKX, OPEN UNIVERSITY (NETHERLANDS)
by Courtney Quirin
Lance Armstrong has unknowingly been feeding Hein Lodewijkx of Open University a lot of attention. Days after Armstrong was stripped of his of his medals, people worldwide flooded Lodewijkx’s Academia.edu profile. One month later, Armstrong’s confession on Oprah triggered another wave of attention. What exactly were...
7 tags
The Path to Promotion
SPOTLIGHT ON KAETRENA DAVIS KENDRICK, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA-LANCASTER
by Courtney Quirin
The path to promotion for Assistant Librarian, Kaetrena Davis Kendrick of University of South Carolina-Lancaster, hinges on breaking down the long-lived perception of the librarian as a disciplinarian more concerned with silence than with scholarship. With her Academia.edu analytics as her palette,...
