What's the price of consulting? Effects of public and private sector consulting on academic research

Academic consulting is recognised as an important and effective means of knowledge transfer with the public and private sectors. These interactions with external sectors offer opportunities for research application but also raise concerns over their potentially negative consequences for academic research and its dissemination. For a sample of social, natural and engineering science academics in Germany, we find consulting to be widespread, undertaken by academics at all seniority levels and in all disciplines, with academics in the social sciences more likely to provide advice to the public sector and those in engineering to the private sector. Controlling for the selection into consulting, we then investigate its effect on research performance. While previous research suggested that consulting activities might come at the cost of reduced research output, our analysis does not confirm this concern. The results, however, suggest that stronger engagement in consulting increases the probability to cease publishing research altogether. Moreover, public sector consulting comes with lower average citations which may suggest a move towards context-specific publications that attract fewer citations. We draw lessons for research institutions and policy about the promotion of academic consulting

Functionalisation of bolaamphiphiles with mononuclear bis(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) complexes for application in self assembled monolayers

A novel ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complex connected competently to a bolaamphiphile, containing amide linkages to provide rigidity via hydrogen bonding in the monolayer, has been prepared. The ruthenium(II) complexes of this ligand and of the intermediates in the synthesis were prepared by modification of the coordinated ligands, demonstrating the synthetic versatility and robustness of this family of complexes. All ruthenium complexes were characterised by electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques and were found to have similar properties to the parent complex [Ru(bipy)[3]][2][+], and remain versatile photosensitisers, with well-defined properties, despite extensive substitution of the bipy ligand

Mass Surveilance of C. elegans—Smartphone-Based DIY Microscope and Machine-Learning-Based Approach for Worm Detection

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is often used as an alternative animal model due to several advantages such as morphological changes that can be seen directly under a microscope. Limitations of the model include the usage of expensive and cumbersome microscopes, and restrictions of the comprehensive use of C. elegans for toxicological trials. With the general applicability of the detection of C. elegans from microscope images via machine learning, as well as of smartphone-based microscopes, this article investigates the suitability of smartphone-based microscopy to detect C. elegans in a complete Petri dish. Thereby, the article introduces a smartphone-based microscope (including optics, lighting, and housing) for monitoring C. elegans and the corresponding classification via a trained Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) feature-based Support Vector Machine for the automatic detection of C. elegans. Evaluation showed classification sensitivity of 0.90 and specificity of 0.85, and thereby confirms the general practicability of the chosen approach

What’s the Price of Academic Consulting? Effects of Public and Private Sector Consulting on Academic Research

Academic consulting is an important and effective means of knowledge transfer between the public and private sectors. It offers opportunities for research application but also raises concerns over potentially negative consequences for academic research and its dissemination. For a sample of social, natural, and engineering science academics in Germany, and controlling for the selection into consulting, we investigate the effect of consulting with public and private sector organizations on research performance. While previous research suggested that consulting activities might come at the cost of reduced research output, our analysis provides a more nuanced picture. Public sector consulting comes with lower average citations, particularly for junior researchers. Moreover, engagement in consulting increases the probability to cease publishing research altogether, particularly for private sector consulting. The probability of exit from academic research increases with the intensity of consulting engagement for those at the start or towards the end of their academic career and in fields for which the public–private wage gap and opportunities for engagement in duties outside academia are higher. We draw lessons for research institutions and policy about the promotion of academic consulting

What’s the Price of Academic Consulting? Effects of Public and Private Sector Consulting on Academic Research

Academic consulting is an important and effective means of knowledge transfer between the public and private sectors. It offers opportunities for research application but also raises concerns over potentially negative consequences for academic research and its dissemination. For a sample of social, natural, and engineering science academics in Germany, and controlling for the selection into consulting, we investigate the effect of consulting with public and private sector organizations on research performance. While previous research suggested that consulting activities might come at the cost of reduced research output, our analysis provides a more nuanced picture. Public sector consulting comes with lower average citations, particularly for junior researchers. Moreover, engagement in consulting increases the probability to cease publishing research altogether, particularly for private sector consulting. The probability of exit from academic research increases with the intensity of consulting engagement for those at the start or towards the end of their academic career and in fields for which the public–private wage gap and opportunities for engagement in duties outside academia are higher. We draw lessons for research institutions and policy about the promotion of academic consulting

An unprecedented photochemical reaction for anthracene-containing derivatives

A series of anthracene-containing derivatives have been synthesised and characterised. The photochemical behaviour of these derivatives have been investigated by 1 H NMR spectroscopy. An unprecedented photolysis reaction for anthracene-containing derivatives was observed in the case of anthracenes directly armed with a -CH 2 O-R group upon UV irradiation. The photolysis reaction process has been demonstrated to occur in three steps. Firstly, the anthracene-containing derivatives are converted into the corresponding endoperoxide intermediate upon UV irradiation in the presence of air; then, the endoperoxide intermediate is decomposed to the corresponding starting compound and 9-anthraldehyde; finally, 9-anthraldehyde is further oxidised to anthraquinone. Additionally, the photolysis reaction of anthracene-containing derivatives is significantly promoted in the presence of a thiacalix[4]arene platform

Elementary Students Use Voice-to-Text to Write

Using qualitative methods and a multiple-case study design, this study explored how four students in elementary school, with poor writing skills, poor handwriting skills, or a reluctant writer, responded to using voice-to-text (e.g., Google Voice Typing) to compose. Data were derived from semi-structured interviews, observations, documents, and audiovisuals. The study concluded that participants liked using Google Voice Typing to compose because it allowed them to think and say words quicker than handwriting words; helped with not forgetting what to say; made writing easier; and produced better compositions. Reasons participants gave for not liking Google Voice Typing to compose included: difficulty with editing, having to dictate the punctuation while composing, and when Google Voice Typing misrecognized their dictations. Compared to handwritten compositions, Google Voice Typing produced compositions with more words and more words per minute on rough drafts, more words and paragraphs in final drafts, a variety of sentences, fewer errors in conventions, and neater publications. Google Voice Typing eliminated the need to rewrite a final draft. Using a narrative guide impacted the time spent planning. Prewriting and editing were easier when handwriting; and drafting, revising, and publishing were easier with Google Voice Typing. Recommendations are made for giving children the optimal mix of writing conditions based on each phase of the writing process, how to use Google Voice Typing with the 6+1 Traits of Writing, and how to train children to use Google Voice Typing