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The 2024 Clarivate Journal Citation Reports (JCR) and impact factors (IF) have been released recently. These reports are a resource that ranks journals by field, giving researchers, institutions, and publishers one way to assess their significance in the global research landscape.
Read MoreThe earth’s climate is changing. Centuries of historical climate patterns are shifting in predictable and unpredictable ways. For thousands of years, human civilizations have altered the landscape to harness water resources for human needs—drinking water, agricultural irrigation, flood control, and a myriad of other uses. This existing infrastructure has been constructed with specific climate patterns and uses in mind. Climate patterns, largely stable for generations, have been changing at a much more rapid pace than historical precedent might suggest. These changes have, in turn, created new pressures on the built environment, water infrastructure and governance systems.
Read More‘I’m not mature enough for this,’ how often do we feel this way when thinking about research? Such irrational feelings of incompetence can lead to lost opportunities in engaging with research, or even taking those first tentative steps on the research journey. So, what can be done about this? In over twenty years of research supervision, these are some statements that are frequently cited, along with suggested strategies to negate these.
Read MoreAt the end of June, we hosted a webinar in our How to Do Research and Get Published series. This webinar taught attendees how to effectively craft the front matter of their articles to attract readers and succinctly establish its content. Our attendees posed many questions that we didn’t have time to answer, so our editorial team provided answers to these questions, and covered all the vital tips for writing your front matter.
Read MoreAt the end of the 2000s, a new form of human smuggling which I call ‘ransom smuggling’ appeared in Northern Africa. In it hostage taking and extortion play a critical role. Both smugglers and hostage takers—actors of mobility and actors of immobility, respectively—are part of the system. The appearance of ransom smuggling was linked directly to European policies aimed at restricting and criminalizing irregular migration.
Read MoreOn July 10th, we are hosting the next How to Do Research and Get Published webinar, titled ‘How to get more involved with a journal and develop your career’.
Read MoreOur book, Politics in the UK; Place, Pluralism and Identities seeks to update how we analyse politics. Politics is full of narratives and analytical tools that we’ve used for decades. Sometimes when we find that old models no longer work as we imagine that they used to, we spend years talking about it, keeping alive analytical structures that we should have buried long ago. Traditional political cleavages in voting patterns are a good example of this. We have been talking about how they no longer work since at least as far back as when Joanie was an undergrad, more than 20 years ago.
Read MoreMany organizations and organizational science perspectives adopt a gender-blind perspective – intentionally overlooking gender at work. Similar to calls within social justice movements on the harm that colorblind perspectives can cause for racial equity, we argue that gender blindness is a critical barrier for achieving gender equity and that only by acknowledging gender disparity and gendered experiences can we begin to build a more equitable workplace for all genders.
Read MoreIn recent years, the global approach to irregular migration has shifted significantly towards a strategy of containment and deterrence, embodied in the reinforcement of borders and the implementation of stringent, externalized, and criminalizing migration policies. This paradigm, ostensibly crafted to manage and reduce the influx of migrants, paradoxically, has not led to a decrease in migration. Instead, it has rerouted the journeys of those seeking refuge and better life opportunities, pushing them towards more perilous paths, where surveillance is not only in the hands of the state, but of criminal actors.
Read MoreOn May 7th we hosted a webinar in our How to Do Research and Get Published series. This webinar was centered around the topic ‘Research in a digital world’ with members and researchers from the Center for Advanced Internet Studies College (CAIS) in Bochum, Germany. As we didn’t have time to answer all the excellent questions posed by our live attendees, this blog post, contributed by our panel and our editorial team, hopes to further shed light on some essential topics related to researching in a digital world.
Read MoreThe mythical nature of research
“I’m only a teacher. What impact can I have on education?” is perhaps one of the greatest barriers facing the teacher researcher. Placing research on such an elevated pedestal can unnecessarily create a mythological boundary to engagement. However, consider your time as a student, the reading you negotiated, the complex nuances and debates you negotiated, the use of data within your current role, your careful questioning of students and staff to obtain necessary information. To this extent, have you not already engaged with a high degree of research?
Read MoreIntimate partner violence (IPV) support workers play an essential role in helping survivors of IPV progress in their healing journeys from trauma and abuse. They work to prevent harm and promote survivors’ health, healing, and resilience while witnessing some of the most traumatic acts of violence in their everyday work life. These experiences may cause distress that has implications for their health and therefore, there is a need to explore what is known about he health, wellness, and coping strategies of IPV support workers.
Read MoreInternational migration management can be about predicting and shaping migration futures. Several organizations focus their activities on forecasting the future, assessing and managing ‘risks’, and preempting and/or responding to potential behaviors (such as migratory decisions) before they surface.
Read MoreJuneteenth is now recognized as an important day in US history and is a powerful reminder that the quest for freedom and equality in the US has been (and remains to be) a long, hard struggle. As we commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on how researchers can contribute to the continued fight for inclusivity, equality and justice for all.
Read MoreConsider a tree being perfectly reflected in a pool of still water. If the water is rippled, even slightly, the image is disrupted. However, if the water remains still, while the image remains unchanged, the pool of water can become stagnant. By analogy, what ripples have we experienced within education from a micro to a macro level in recent years? The Covid-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, global conflict, technological advancement, and so forth. Consider how such changes have affected the students we work with? Yet without such ripples, the world of education could stagnate. Consequently, change is inherent within education.
Read MoreMenopause affects 51% of global population yet is still shrouded in mystery and unfounded concerns and confusion. Menopause has so much media attention, yet few people can accurately describe what it is.
Read MoreIn the prevailing discourse surrounding migration, a narrative frequently emerges, painting a grim picture of exploitation and victimization at the hands of vast criminal networks. This perspective, heavily echoed in media and policy circles, suggests a world where migrants, particularly the most vulnerable among them, are ensnared in a web spun by omnipotent traffickers and smugglers. Yet, this narrative, while rooted in elements of truth, overshadows a crucial aspect of the migrant experience: the agency of these minors—namely, their ability to make independent choices and exert control over their own lives, even in adverse conditions.
Read MoreNurse prescribing has undergone a remarkable transformation in the landscape of healthcare delivery over the past two decades, reshaping the roles and responsibilities of nurses in the UK. This evolution, driven by the recognition of nurses' expertise and the increasing demands of the healthcare workforce, has paved the way for thousands of nurses to gain authorization to prescribe medicines. This surge in prescribing nurses is not only meeting the needs of the National Health Service (NHS) but also revolutionizing patient care and service accessibility.
Read MoreYou probably know that a gender pay gap averaging around $0.18 exists in the US; women earn an average $0.82 for every $1.00 earned by men due to multiple, complex, interrelated factors. You might not know that the US federal government boasts a noticeably lower gender pay gap ($0.07) because the government follows several best practices that reduce pay inequity based on gender, including standardized pay schedules.
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