Shifting perspectives in polar research: global lessons on the barriers and drivers for securing academic careers in natural sciences
The polar regions provide valuable insights into the functioning of the Earths regulating systems. Conducting field research in such harsh and remote environments requires strong international cooperation, extended planning horizons, sizable budgets and long-term investment. Consequently, polar rese...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.777009 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/147725 |
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:147725 2023-05-15T18:02:44+02:00 Shifting perspectives in polar research: global lessons on the barriers and drivers for securing academic careers in natural sciences Figuerola, B Valiente, N Barbosa, A Brasier, MJ Colominas-Ciuro, R Convey, P Liggett, D Fernandez-Martinez, MA Gonzalez, S Griffiths, HJ Jawak, SD Merican, F Noll, D Prudencio, J Quaglio, F Pertierra, LR 2021 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.777009 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/147725 en eng Frontiers Research Foundation http://ecite.utas.edu.au/147725/1/147725 - Shifting perspectives in polar research.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.777009 Figuerola, B and Valiente, N and Barbosa, A and Brasier, MJ and Colominas-Ciuro, R and Convey, P and Liggett, D and Fernandez-Martinez, MA and Gonzalez, S and Griffiths, HJ and Jawak, SD and Merican, F and Noll, D and Prudencio, J and Quaglio, F and Pertierra, LR, Shifting perspectives in polar research: global lessons on the barriers and drivers for securing academic careers in natural sciences, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9 Article 777009. ISSN 2296-701X (2021) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/147725 Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2021 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.777009 2021-12-27T23:17:58Z The polar regions provide valuable insights into the functioning of the Earths regulating systems. Conducting field research in such harsh and remote environments requires strong international cooperation, extended planning horizons, sizable budgets and long-term investment. Consequently, polar research is particularly vulnerable to societal and economic pressures during periods of austerity. The global financial crisis of 2008, and the ensuing decade of economic slowdown, have already adversely affected polar research, and the current COVID-19 pandemic has added further pressure. In this article we present the outcomes of a community survey that aimed to assess the main barriers and success factors identified by academic researchers at all career stages in response to these global crises. The survey results indicate that the primary barriers faced by polar early and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) act at institutional level, while mitigating factors are developed at individual and group levels. Later career scientists report pressure toward taking early retirement as a means of institutions saving money, reducing both academic leadership and the often unrecognized but vital mentor roles that many play. Gender and social inequalities are also perceived as important barriers. Reorganization of institutional operations and more effective strategies for long-term capacity building and retaining of talent, along with reduction in non-research duties shouldered by EMCRs, would make important contributions toward ensuring continued vitality and innovation in the polar research community. Article in Journal/Newspaper Polar Research eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 9 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) |
spellingShingle |
Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) Figuerola, B Valiente, N Barbosa, A Brasier, MJ Colominas-Ciuro, R Convey, P Liggett, D Fernandez-Martinez, MA Gonzalez, S Griffiths, HJ Jawak, SD Merican, F Noll, D Prudencio, J Quaglio, F Pertierra, LR Shifting perspectives in polar research: global lessons on the barriers and drivers for securing academic careers in natural sciences |
topic_facet |
Biological Sciences Ecology Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) |
description |
The polar regions provide valuable insights into the functioning of the Earths regulating systems. Conducting field research in such harsh and remote environments requires strong international cooperation, extended planning horizons, sizable budgets and long-term investment. Consequently, polar research is particularly vulnerable to societal and economic pressures during periods of austerity. The global financial crisis of 2008, and the ensuing decade of economic slowdown, have already adversely affected polar research, and the current COVID-19 pandemic has added further pressure. In this article we present the outcomes of a community survey that aimed to assess the main barriers and success factors identified by academic researchers at all career stages in response to these global crises. The survey results indicate that the primary barriers faced by polar early and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) act at institutional level, while mitigating factors are developed at individual and group levels. Later career scientists report pressure toward taking early retirement as a means of institutions saving money, reducing both academic leadership and the often unrecognized but vital mentor roles that many play. Gender and social inequalities are also perceived as important barriers. Reorganization of institutional operations and more effective strategies for long-term capacity building and retaining of talent, along with reduction in non-research duties shouldered by EMCRs, would make important contributions toward ensuring continued vitality and innovation in the polar research community. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Figuerola, B Valiente, N Barbosa, A Brasier, MJ Colominas-Ciuro, R Convey, P Liggett, D Fernandez-Martinez, MA Gonzalez, S Griffiths, HJ Jawak, SD Merican, F Noll, D Prudencio, J Quaglio, F Pertierra, LR |
author_facet |
Figuerola, B Valiente, N Barbosa, A Brasier, MJ Colominas-Ciuro, R Convey, P Liggett, D Fernandez-Martinez, MA Gonzalez, S Griffiths, HJ Jawak, SD Merican, F Noll, D Prudencio, J Quaglio, F Pertierra, LR |
author_sort |
Figuerola, B |
title |
Shifting perspectives in polar research: global lessons on the barriers and drivers for securing academic careers in natural sciences |
title_short |
Shifting perspectives in polar research: global lessons on the barriers and drivers for securing academic careers in natural sciences |
title_full |
Shifting perspectives in polar research: global lessons on the barriers and drivers for securing academic careers in natural sciences |
title_fullStr |
Shifting perspectives in polar research: global lessons on the barriers and drivers for securing academic careers in natural sciences |
title_full_unstemmed |
Shifting perspectives in polar research: global lessons on the barriers and drivers for securing academic careers in natural sciences |
title_sort |
shifting perspectives in polar research: global lessons on the barriers and drivers for securing academic careers in natural sciences |
publisher |
Frontiers Research Foundation |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.777009 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/147725 |
genre |
Polar Research |
genre_facet |
Polar Research |
op_relation |
http://ecite.utas.edu.au/147725/1/147725 - Shifting perspectives in polar research.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.777009 Figuerola, B and Valiente, N and Barbosa, A and Brasier, MJ and Colominas-Ciuro, R and Convey, P and Liggett, D and Fernandez-Martinez, MA and Gonzalez, S and Griffiths, HJ and Jawak, SD and Merican, F and Noll, D and Prudencio, J and Quaglio, F and Pertierra, LR, Shifting perspectives in polar research: global lessons on the barriers and drivers for securing academic careers in natural sciences, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9 Article 777009. ISSN 2296-701X (2021) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/147725 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.777009 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
9 |
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1766173347547185152 |