Comment

Comment by 文創 庫 5 hours ago

（Con't）A new curriculum starts by winning allies. Both students and faculty members must see value in moving off the standard track. We used informal interviews and focus groups to identify areas in which students and faculty members saw gaps in their training. Recurring themes included the inability to apply theoretical knowledge in statistical tests in the laboratory, frequent mistakes in choosing an appropriate set of experimental controls, and significant difficulty in explaining work to non-experts.

Introducing our programme to colleagues in the Johns Hopkins life-sciences departments was even more sensitive. I was startled by the oft-expressed opinion that scientific productivity depended more on rote knowledge than on competence in critical thinking. Several principal investigators were uneasy about students committing more time to less conventional forms of education. The best way to gain their support was coffee: we repeatedly met lab heads to understand their concerns.

With the pilot so new, we could not provide data on students’ performance, but we could address faculty members’ scepticism. Some colleagues were apprehensive that students would take fewer courses in specialized content to make room for interdisciplinary courses on ethics, epistemology and quantitative skills. In particular, they worried that the R3 programme could lengthen the time required for students to complete their degree, leave them insufficiently knowledgeable in their subject areas and make them less productive in the lab.

We made the case that better critical thinking and fewer mandatory discipline-specific classes ductive. We convinced several professors to try the new system and participate in structured evaluations on whether R3 courses contributed to students’ performance.

So far, we have built 5 new courses from scratch and have enrolled 85 students from nearly a dozen departments and divisions. The courses cover the anatomy of errors and misconduct in scientific practice and teach students how to dissect the scientific literature. An interdisciplinary discussion series encourages broad and critical thinking about science. Our students learn to consider societal consequences of research advances, such as the ability to genetically alter sperm and eggs.

 Discussions about the bigger-picture problems of the scientific enterprise get students to reflect on the limits of science, and where science’s ability to do something competes with what scientists should do from a moral point of view. In addition, we have seminars and workshops on professional skills, particularly leadership skills through effective communication, teaching and mentoring.

It is still early days for assessment. So far, however, trainees have repeatedly emphasized that gaining a broader perspective has been helpful. In future, we will collect information about the impact that the R3 approach has on graduates’ career choices and achievements.

We believe that researchers who are educated more broadly will do science more thoughtfully, with the result that other scientists, and society at large, will be able to rely on this work for a better, more rational world. Science should strive to be self-improving, not just self-correcting.

（Title: Train PhD students to be thinkers not just specialists；15 February 2018 Nature 554(7692): 277-277 ；DOI:10.1038/d41586-018-01853-1; by Authors: Gundula Bosch, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health）

中文版：訓練博士生成為思考者，而非僅僅是專家

Comment by 文創 庫 on April 13, 2025 at 6:24pm

FMT Reporters：Academic slams varsities over misplaced priorities

Sharifah Munirah Alatas says public universities should heed ‘real problems’ like academic fraud, useless research, and unemployable graduates instead of focusing on ‘silly’ dress codes.

Former assistant professor Sharifah Munirah Alatas said new guidelines on attire and make-up in Sarawak show that universities treat their students like ‘soulless walking sheets of cardboard’.

PETALING JAYA: A former assistant professor has criticised public universities over their misplaced priorities when it comes to dress codes for students, saying there are other pressing issues that these institutions should address.

Sharifah Munirah Alatas said public universities often come up with rules and regulations “about everything else under the sun” except discussions on what university education is really about, namely critical thinking, producing new knowledge, and learning to apply innovative thoughts.

“How and why do university managements come up with such silly regulations on dressing? Don’t faculties and university managements have better things to do?” she asked in a Facebook post.

The Malaysian Academic Movement (Gerak) chair said public universities have “loads of real problems” that require immediate attention, such as addressing rampant academic fraud, useless research, and unemployable graduates.
ADVERTISING

“Why not clean up the corruption among the university’s board of directors, or reprimand non-performing lecturers rather than promoting them just because they ‘apple polish’ their superiors or have political connections?” she said.

Her remarks were in response to a dress code for students at a university in Sarawak, which advised them against wearing sandals and slippers, as well as prohibiting male students from wearing female attire or accessories.

The students were also advised to wear make-up or use perfume modestly.

Munirah said such guidelines show that universities treat their students as if they are “soulless walking sheets of cardboard”.

“Even our pets are treated more like thinking and feeling human beings, with freedom and a sense of independence and self-respect,” she said.

When contacted, Munirah also said while she adamantly opposes the global ranking system, Malaysian universities hold it in high regard.

Therefore, these institutions should prioritise substance over form to climb up the rankings, she said.

For example, placing greater emphasis on philosophy, the arts, music and poetry could help project a higher global ranking in the long run, besides building reputation.

“When students and university lecturers show more interdisciplinary skills, the likelihood of them producing articles and other publications that are widely cited is higher,” she said, referring to one of the requirements that would influence the rankings.

She also said universities need more citations for a higher standing in the rankings.（10.4.2025 https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com）

Iconada's Remark:

👍“placing greater emphasis on philosophy, the arts, music and poetry could help project a higher global ranking in the long run, besides building reputation.”

👆This stands out as the article’s most compelling assertion — a point with which I am in complete and enthusiastic agreement

Comment by 文創 庫 on April 8, 2025 at 3:12pm

陳明發：「黑色星期一」，顫栗中盤算族運

世界，又病了？

今年，照例以愚人節開始的四月，真的應了諾貝爾文學獎得主艾略特的詩所說的：「四月是最殘酷的月份」。四月三，美國總統宣布征收「平等關稅」，四日，新加坡總理黃循財即警告其國人：

「美國的最新舉措標志著全球秩序發生重大變化，基於規則的全球化和自由貿易時代已經結束，如今進入一個更專斷、更顯保護主義，以及更危險的階段。」

七日，全球鬧股災。

老夫搞文創研究，站在鄉土上，背靠文史哲。有緣者，請來回顧1997年東亞金融風暴時，馬來西亞民心如何？國情如何？想想我們的文創事業，這回要怎樣玩下去。

陳明發：我們是誰？找尋大馬人的主體性

陳明發博士《文創技能系列56》： 我的一九九七

陳明發：中華創意人的歷史機遇

Comment by 文創 庫 on March 22, 2025 at 11:59pm

APP-Iconada:The Size of Global Narrative Market～The global books market, encompassing various narrative formats, was valued at approximately $150.99 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $156.57 billion in 2025, with a forecast to reach $169.57 billion by 2032.

here's a more detailed breakdown:

Global Books Market Size:
2024: Estimated at USD 150.99 billion.

2025: Expected to reach USD 156.57 billion.
2032: Projected to reach USD 169.57 billion.

Growth:

CAGR (2025-2032): 1.8%.

CAGR (2024-2030): 4.2%.

Fiction Book Sales:

2024: Fictional book sales accounted for 59.99% of the global books market.

Digital Storytelling Courses Market:

2023: Valued at approximately $2.5 billion.

Projected Growth: 15% over the next five years.

AI Novel Writing Market:

2023: Valued at USD 250 million.

2033: Expected to reach USD 1515.3 million.
CAGR (2024-2033): 20.3%.

Key Trends:

Digital Storytelling:Increased demand for digital storytelling courses.

AI in Writing: Growing use of AI tools for novel writing.

E-books and Audiobooks:Increased penetration of e-books and audiobooks.

Global Reach: Increased global reach in the publishing industry.

Focus on Diversity and Inclusivity: Growing emphasis on diversity and inclusivity in fiction.