No one could have known when Therapeutic Advances in Rare Disease was launched on Rare Disease Day (February 28th) 2020 that we would soon be plunged into a global pandemic the likes of which had not been seen for a century. There were many times when, perhaps more sensible individuals, would have put this project on hold but we decided to push on. We felt that our new Journal had the potential to make a real difference to the rare disease community and who knew how long the pandemic was going to last!?!

There is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) so common that the average American will contract it at some point and likely never know they were infected. If they are unaware of the infection, they will also be unaware of its transmission to others. This STI is the human papillomavirus (HPV), and while many people’s natural immune systems can fight off and clear the infection, this is not always the case. When the body’s immune systems fail to clear the infection, the consequences can be devastating.

Most people have heard the phrase, “breast is best,” and are aware of at least some of the superior health benefits that breastfeeding provides. While most mothers attempt and intend to breastfeed, it is often just not that easy. An additional problem is that many mothers then experience shame and personal or societal blame for not breastfeeding according to recommendations.

Pregnancy is a unique “teachable moment” during a woman’s life where improvements to lifestyle behaviors, including diet and physical activity, not only serve to enhance their health, but also the health of their child. Traditionally, physical activity declines during pregnancy due to psychological reasons, such as desire to engage in physical activity, and physiological reasons, including fatigue due to childbearing. Yet, there are several health benefits to maintaining or increasing physical activity during pregnancy. These include reducing the risk for excess gestational weight gain (GWG), development of gestational diabetes mellitus, birth complications and incidence of cesarean section, and birthing a baby large for gestational age.

Many of us who do LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and nonbinary, and queer) research are LGBTQ ourselves. What makes this particularly challenging for LGBTQ researchers is that there are unique stressors related to being an LGBTQ researcher. There are also unique stressors related to doing LGBTQ research. In my article Doubly Marginalized: Addressing the Minority Stressors Experienced by LGBTQ+ Researchers Who Do LGBTQ+ Research, I outline how being LGBTQ in higher education is related to higher rates of marginalization of us as people.

Last spring, my colleagues and I had the honor of speaking to school nurses about their experiences working through the COVID-19 pandemic. We knew from our own work experiences and from hearing the stories of others that school nurses faced many challenges personally and professionally during the pandemic. School nurses were recipients of aggressive behaviors (see news article, after news article, after news article!), managed confusion over disease mitigation policies (again, news piece after news piece!), and risked their own health and safety so that schoolchildren could receive care. These unexpected and harmful situations bothered us, and we were worried that great school nurses would leave their jobs or the nursing discipline all together. Interviewing school nurses to ensure their perspectives and experiences during this monumental time in history were recorded was important to us, as well as finding some ways to ensure they could be supported to do the work they love to do.

Are female scholars underrepresented in science? Does the gender of an author influence the impact and usage of a scientific paper? Is it more challenging for female scholars than for their male peers to join the club of the most productive elite scholars? The phenomenon of a potential gender bias in favor of male scholars was named the Matilda effect by Margaret W. Rossiter in 1993. Empirical evidence proves that female scholars experience negative discrimination against them worldwide and in virtually all disciplines. They are underrepresented in the higher ranks of academia, less likely to win scientific awards, and receive smaller grants less often than their male colleagues.

In our article, “The Ethics in Long-Term Care Model: Everyday Ethics and the Unseen Moral Landscape of Assisted Living,” my colleagues and I pull back the metaphorical covers on value conflicts and uncertainties in assisted living, a popular place for older people who no longer can live independently. We argue that because assisted living communities are simultaneously places where people live, work, and visit, and where daily life, relationships, and care are negotiated in private and public spaces, ethical challenges commonly arise.

In the world of academia and research, journals are often viewed as the "Bad Guys" - they make authors jump through hoops, charge them for publishing their work, and often seem more concerned with profits than advancing the field. So why would anyone voluntarily sign up to work with them as an Associate Editor? In this blog post, Ian Davis, associate editor with Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology explores the idea that not all journals are created equal, and some genuinely care about advancing the field, giving opportunities to early career researchers, and ensuring high-quality publications.

We need to talk about how to be original. I’II get onto why originality matters in the age of A.I. essays in a moment but let’s start with something a little more old school.

In our research study, “Visualizing Mental Health through the Lens of Pittsburgh Youth” we used a new research method called Collaborative Filmmaking to work with youth to share their experiences of mental health through the creation of short films.

There is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) so common that the average American will contract it at some point and likely never know they were infected. If they are unaware of the infection, they will also be unaware of its transmission to others. This STI is the human papillomavirus (HPV), and while many people’s natural immune systems can fight off and clear the infection, this is not always the case. When the body’s immune systems fail to clear the infection, the consequences can be devastating.

Clearly culture does not influence everything in international business. There are plenty of practices that are at least somewhat universal, but when culture matters it really matters.

Most people have heard the phrase, “breast is best,” and are aware of at least some of the superior health benefits that breastfeeding provides. While most mothers attempt and intend to breastfeed, it is often just not that easy. An additional problem is that many mothers then experience shame and personal or societal blame for not breastfeeding according to recommendations.

Cancer remains a significant cause of death globally, despite a decrease in mortality rates over the past two decades. Understanding the biological mechanisms driving cancer progression and treatment resistance is essential for developing effective therapies and improving survival rates.

Pregnancy is a unique “teachable moment” during a woman’s life where improvements to lifestyle behaviors, including diet and physical activity, not only serve to enhance their health, but also the health of their child. Traditionally, physical activity declines during pregnancy due to psychological reasons, such as desire to engage in physical activity, and physiological reasons, including fatigue due to childbearing. Yet, there are several health benefits to maintaining or increasing physical activity during pregnancy. These include reducing the risk for excess gestational weight gain (GWG), development of gestational diabetes mellitus, birth complications and incidence of cesarean section, and birthing a baby large for gestational age.

For most people, the early days of the pandemic will be remembered as a period of significant disruption to our daily lives. But for some of the most marginalized Americans, the pandemic afforded conditions of relative stability, safety, and privacy, as cities across the country turned to hotel rooms as a temporary solution for people experiencing homelessness.

The accommodation sector is one of the largest employers of minority and immigrant workers in the United States, with housekeeping being one of the largest forces. A housekeeping job is labor intensive and represents many physical and mental challenges.

Lots has been written in the short time since on the development of generative AI tools and the use of ChatGPT in teaching, research and academic publishing. It has also sparked lots of philosophical conversations within the Research Integrity Group at SAGE about the ethics of using generative AI to ‘write’ (in quote marks) articles, about the potential risks of publishing articles not written (not in quote marks) by a human, and whether bots qualify as authors.

Minority and marginalised groups have historically been underrepresented in conventional modes of academic research where the balance of power sits with researchers rather than those participating in the research.

The theme of this year’s International Open Access Week is “Open for Climate Justice”. Climate change affects different people and places unevenly, leading to inequalities within and across nations, and between current and future generations.

An increasing body of research about the menopause and the workplace shows that professional management training, reasonable adjustments and support can have a hugely beneficial effect on anyone going through the perimenopause and the menopause, as well as the people around them.

In 2023, SAGE and the Institute of Neurodiversity are launching an exciting new journal, Neurodiversity, focusing on research to improve the lives of neurodivergent people around the world. We are seeking inspiration on creating a cover design and would like you to submit your ideas - find out more.

In August 2022, the SAGE Books Editorial team released a Statement of intent setting out our ambitions to embed diversity, inclusivity and accessibility in all our books, as well as support movements to decolonise teaching and learning through our publishing.

In July 2021, the SAGE Journals team released a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) pledge shaped in complement to SAGE’s signing on to the Royal Society of Chemistry’s joint commitment for action on inclusion and diversity in publishing. With almost a year of work behind them, they reflect on 2021 highlights and offer 2022-2023 ambitions.

The idea of the Journal of Black Studies (JBS) was born in 1968 when a young academic named Molefi Kete Asante approached SAGE founder Sara Miller McCune with an idea for a journal that would respond to the Black studies movement as well as a public call for equality, justice, and nonviolence. At the time there was no comparable journal, and Sara saw this journal as a vital addition to social science scholarship. The first full volume was completed in 1971.

The theme of Peer Review Week 2021 is Identity in Peer Review, a timely topic that raises some interesting questions. Does anonymity provide a fairer peer review process? How does the identity of peer reviewers shape publications? And how can we make sure that the peer review process is welcoming and inclusive to all?

Earlier this year SAGE announced a partnership with Clarivate to offer transparent peer review on four of our journals. This year’s Peer Review Week, dedicated to the theme “Identity in Peer Review”, is the perfect time to reflect on the results we’ve seen so far.

Considering becoming a reviewer or getting more involved with peer review? SAGE is pleased to announce our webinar program focused on the academic reviewing landscape for our global audience.

It often feels like quantitative researchers are able to analyse complex data sets using neat tests whereas hundreds of hours of qualitative data can feel overwhelming and messy. Using multiple coders to analyse data and present the findings in succinct but thorough ways may help.

Getting research in front of a policy maker is a goal for many authors. This can be the difference between writing an article that is read only by a few academics in your field and one that could reach a wider audience and generate change. These 10 tips will help you build your brand and the reach of your scholarship, with the goal of finding your position within the wider context of your research area and leveraging change.

Even though qualitative research is more respected nowadays, it is still seen in some academic circles just as a starting point in research. We still live in a world where quantitative approaches are dominant and considered more robust for relying on numerical or measurable data.

As the year comes to an end, we’re sharing the most-read articles this year, featuring contributions from authors from a wide range of disciplines, from publishing advice and research integrity to ethnographic reflections.  

In our free monthly webinar series, we receive hundreds of questions from attendees and we try to answer as many as possible during the webinar. We selected a few of the most common questions regarding Open Access, and here is what our experts had to say.

In our free monthly webinar series, we receive hundreds of questions from attendees and we try to answer as many as possible during the webinar. We selected a few of the most common questions regarding how to write an article, and here is what our experts had to say.

SAGE Publishing Asia Pacific organized an intimate Q&A with Professor Yu Xie - find out what he had to say about the importance of research methods in sociology and much more.

In our free monthly webinar series, we receive hundreds of questions from attendees and we try to answer as many as possible during the webinar. We selected a few of the most common questions regarding peer review, and here is what our experts had to say.

In our free monthly webinar series, we receive hundreds of questions from attendees, and we try to answer as many as possible during the webinar. We selected a few of the most common questions regarding how to select a journal, and here is what our experts had to say.