Children as museum researchers

This critical reflection examines how a team of academics began to tackle the challenge of developing research culture among their professions-facing colleagues through two interconnected initiatives. It presents the theoretical underpinning of Facilitated Practice-based Research (FPR ©University of Sunderland) and its practical implementation through Research Culture Roundtable (RCR) events and subsequent formation of Agile Research Teams (ARTs). Drawing on contemporary debates around research excellence and practitioner-researcher identity, it explores how structured collaboration can support academics in integrating their practical and scholarly expertise. The ARTs model enables manageable, time-bound participation in research projects while building sustainable research capacity. Initial outcomes demonstrate the potential of this approach for developing research confidence and creating a more inclusive research community. The authors conclude that supporting practitioner-researchers through facilitated, practice-led initiatives can enhance both individual development and institutional research culture, particularly in teaching-intensive settings. Funding Acknowledgement This research was supported by internal research grants provided by the University of Sunderland UKRI Enhancing Research Culture Fund 2024.

Publish and Flourish, or Perish: RAE, ERA, RQF, and Other Acronyms for Infinite Human Resourcefulness

Protecting health research in the UK: culture and collaboration

Wellcome's Institutional Fund for Research Culture (IFRC) closed call is an invite-only grant call in 2023. It is a departure from Wellcome's previous methods of institutional funding, providing institutions with up to £1m of grant funding to take on ambitious projects that advance research cultures and research environments that are equitable, diverse and supportive. Recognising the broad range of topics and ideas for advancing positive research cultures, IFRC is the first ever Wellcome-funding scheme to use partial randomisation to allocate funding. Applications were grouped by a funding committee into three categories (Gold, Silver and Bronze), with the applications selected for Gold being directly recommended for funding and all applications in the Silver group being set for funding by the randomiser. Applications grouped into Bronze were not funded. To ensure that this activity Wellcome's principles for openness and transparency, we have included the Python script for the call here. IFRC comes when efforts to fund positive and inclusive research cultures are mainstream. Similar efforts to support research culture activities at scale have come from the Research England Development (RED) Fund, and the next iteration of the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2028) will also mark 25% of the assessment criteria for people, culture and environment. IFRC was not designed with the national picture in mind but is a testament to Wellcome's values as an inclusive funder. The range of projects and geographies that IFRC will fund is exciting.Still, it also threw up several interesting social and philanthropic research questions we want to explore in future community-facing activities following the call. We hope that findings from IFRC projects become a valuable resource for institutions wishing to improve their research cultures and a catalyst for future change and discussion within the sector that makes academic careers more inclusive.

自然史系博物館を考える 地域に根ざして世界をみつめる研究をめざして

While the scientific significance of museum collections has gained increasing attention in recent years, their historical contextualisation has often been neglected. Even historical collections of major significance have remained largely unexplored. Even for the material collected by eminent scientific voyageurs such as e.g. Charles Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace or Alexander von Humboldt a complete overview is missing, let alone an inventory of the still existing material. Here, we present an account on Friedrich Dahl's research expedition to Ralum (German New Guinea) in the years 1896 to 1897 from which originate many important specimens in the natural history museum in Berlin. Dahl collected several hundreds of specimens of molluscs, birds, and reptiles and thus greatly extended the representation of the tropical fauna within the museum collection. However, in contrast to other departments, Dahl's contribution to the malacological collection has only been inventorized fragmentarily. We here identify those molluscs from Ralum that have been neglected so far and thus determine the complete amount of Dahl's malacological alcohol collection. Moreover, we outline the circumstances of this expedition and the further utilization of his specimens in subsequent museum's research. We thus integrate the Ralum project into its historical context that reveals not only its relevance for scientists and science in the past but also its significance for the present-day museum in Berlin. (© 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Natural history museums are shaking off their dusty image in a bid to show relevance to contemporary concerns. Central to a revival in their research fortunes is a unique contribution to our understanding of life's complexity.

What is new? Institutional barriers and lack of engagement in research-performing organisations (RPOs) may limit the development and impact of Citizen Science (CS) initiatives. In the present case study, we detail the transformative and multidisciplinary approach of Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (UniSR) through the European project TIME4CS, showcasing how tailored roadmaps and mutual learning with other RPOs with established support structures and expertise for CS were able to overcome these challenges. What was the approach? The approach involved several key steps: 1) creation of a de novo research organization area dedicated to Research Development; 2) formation of a multidisciplinary core team to implement TIME4CS activities; 3) mapping the initial and final levels of awareness of CS among UniSR researchers through surveys; 4) developing and implementing a detailed communication plan, including seminars, newsletters, articles, and a repository of CS resources; 5) involvement of UniSR students, professors, researchers but also research support officers in the initiatives; 6) establishment of a contact point for stakeholders interested in CS and in active participation in European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) groups; 7) support to the development of pilot initiatives and projects of CS. What is the academic impact? The academic impact includes increased awareness and engagement in CS initiatives among UniSR researchers. The actions triggered by the TIME4CS project have led to the emergence of several new CS research projects, enhancing UniSR's research excellence and contributing to its strategic goals of internationalization and competitiveness. This case study provides a model for overcoming institutional barriers in the promotion of CS and enhancing research excellence. What is the wider impact? The wider impact of the initiatives includes fostering a more collaborative and inclusive research environment at UniSR. By involving researchers, students, professors, research support officers, and external stakeholders, the project promoted a culture of Open Science and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). The activities also contribute to the broader scientific community by participating in ECSA groups and sharing resources and best practices, potentially influencing other institutions to adopt similar approaches.

In 2006 I visited the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. The museum was fascinating, shocking histories sat next to beautiful objects. But as a museum researcher, what stayed wit...

Via the Smithsonian Institution, an exploration of the growing friction between the research and outreach functions of museums in the 21st century. Describing participant observation and historical research at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History as it prepared for its largest-ever exhibit renovation, Deep Time, the author provides a grounded perspective on the inner-workings of the world’s largest natural history museum and the social processes of communicating science to the public.

With the continuous improvement of people’s living standards, people’s pursuit of material life and satisfaction of spirituality are also increasing, and the demand for culture and value orientation are also diversifying. As an important position of many cultural consumption places, museums have seen an unprecedented increase in their cultural radiation and public attention. In such a large social environment, the nature museum industry increasingly recognizes that to make full use of the role of museums and better reflects the characteristics of the industry, it is necessary to introduce visual image design into museums. However, visual imagery design in domestic museums is still in its infancy; only a few large national museums have adopted visual imagery design, while relevant research in small folk art museums is still rare. This paper takes Guangzhou Folk Museum as the research object, based on which a new model of interactive design of Guangzhou Folk Museum display map using intelligent wireless sensor technology is proposed, combining the industrial characteristics of folk art and the visual imagery characteristics of Guangzhou Folk Museum. By analyzing the performance of the core algorithm of this system, it is concluded that the performance of the system is very good. However, the application of this model can enable the Guangzhou Folk Museum to establish the brand image of Guangzhou Folk Museum and create more folk culture value in the face of new opportunities and challenges.

Welcome to this second edition of Northumbria Psychology Bulletin which showcases the outstanding research conducted by our Psychology students at all levels, both on campus and remote. Having returned to Northumbria following a seventeen year absence, I am struck by the transformation of the research infrastructure and culture during the intervening period. This bulletin is a perfect example of that upward trajectory in Psychology research excellence. The quality of papers in this volume is a testament to the staff and students in the School of Psychology, as is the range of subject matter and methodologies. The papers in this issue include: a cross-sectional, quantitative investigation into the impact of gratitude writing; an examination of the influence of atypical sensory processing on autistic and ADHD traits; a qualitative exploration of the efficacy of online mental health interventions; and assessment of the effectiveness of a brief checklist for mitigating attentional blindness in radiology. Taken together, these papers reflect both the methodological breadth and the applied aspects of our Psychology degrees. Each study also has clear benefits with respect to impact on, and engagement with, relevant communities. To echo the editorial from Volume 1 of this series, it is particularly impressive that this bulletin exists because of continued student engagement beyond the degree. While there are institutional benefits from distinguishing our students with respect to research track record, clearly this bulletin stems from the intrinsic personal motivation to take self-initiated research ideas through to publication. I am sure that this volume will stimulate and engage readers and form part of a highly successful series.

Successful aging in biomedical research requires scientific collaboration across generations. Economic support has been provided through National Institutes of Health training grants (T32 awards) and early career development awards (K-awards). The three major themes that emerge are mentoring, collaboration, and the development and sharing of research resources. The electronic files at Group Health were well suited to the conduct of population-based case-control studies. David reviewed the abstracts from K-awardees in research areas relevant to CHS, cardiovascular and aging research. In the traditional academic model, physician-investigators are expected to be triple threats – outstanding clinicians, teachers, and researchers. The leaders of research institutions, including both academic centers and NIH, will also need to change the research culture and provide appropriate academic rewards, such as appointments, promotions, tenure, and election to distinguished academic research societies, for those who demonstrate excellence in interdependent collaborative research that promotes generativity across the generations and the health of the public.

Nurturing a Research-active Clinical Oncology Workforce: A Trainee Perspective

Chiropractic is a popular health care choice in Australia and yet major gaps in our empirical understanding of this area of practice remain. Furthermore, while some research excellence exists, a largely uncoordinated approach to research activity and development has in effect led to silos of interest and a lack of strategic ‘big-picture’ planning essential to producing a sustainable research culture and capacity for the profession. This commentary identifies the significance of a number of key features - including a national, coordinated focus, and a rich engagement with the practitioner and patient base amongst others – arguably important to the future development of research and research capacity within Australian chiropractic. The design features and phases of the Australian Chiropractic Research Network (ACORN) project are also outlined. ACORN is one contemporary initiative specifically developed to address chiropractic’s research and research capacity building needs and help grow a broad evidence-base to inform safe, effective patient care.