O futuro nada brilhante de Portugal segundo estudo recente de investigadores Alemães

Reproduzo abaixo um pequeno excerto que retirei de um recente estudo de investigadores Alemães, da conhecida universidade de Aachen, que foi publicado na revista científica "Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease" onde se pode ler que por conta do aumento de temperatura associado aos cenários RCP 4,5 e RCP 8,5 Portugal (e Espanha) irão enfrentar uma "invasão" de mosquitos vectores de várias doenças infeciosas:

"...Based on the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 climate scenarios, a geospatial analysis was carried out for the future temperature suitability of ZIKV and CHIKV in Europe. The results were presented in maps and the percentage of the affected areas calculated.  Results Due to rising temperatures, the risk areas for transmission of ZIKV and CHIKV spread in both RCP scenarios. For CHIKV transmission, Spain, Portugal...are mainly affected"  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S147789392400053X

PS - Para somar às citadas más noticias, aproveito para divulgar um outro estudo, onde se refere que o custo da inacção sobre a subida da temperatura poderá custar aos contribuintes Portugueses entre 12.000 milhões a 14.000 milhões de euros "Total inaction costs (without adaptation) are projected to surpass 12000 million € (RCP4.5) and 14000 million € (RCP8.5)" 

What are the chances that professors who have ascended to the top of the academic ladder through corrupt practices will uphold high standards of ethics and integrity?

In a recent editorial in the scientific journal Genes, Genomes, Genetics, the editor-in-chief, a professor at the University of Florida with a Scopus h-index of 45, highlights a critical but often overlooked point: citations are the primary way we recognize members of the global scientific community. Consequently, academics with no citations—or only a shockingly low number, including some full professors—are effectively excluded from this community, exposed as impostors. https://academic.oup.com/g3journal/article/14/7/jkae102/7709035

This situation raises a crucial question: can we reasonably expect those who have reached the highest academic ranks through nepotism or corruption to uphold the principles of ethics, merit, and intellectual integrity? More pressing still: shouldn’t the scientific community assume responsibility for identifying and confronting such individuals—through measures such as professional boycotts or by excluding them from editorial boards, funding panels, and other positions of academic influence?

In my country, I've noticed that some academics achieve full professorships through nepotism or political connections, while top young scholars are forced to emigrate to other countries to secure such positions. This issue is not unique to my country; a few years ago, a study revealed rampant nepotism in Italian academia. These problems exist in many countries, not just in Southern Europe.

This prompted me to advocate, several years ago, that Portuguese professors without a minimum number of citations (a Scopus h-index lower than 10) should be dismissed for failing to produce relevant academic work. In 2021 and again in 2022, I compiled lists of full professors who had not produced a single paper with at least 150 citations on Scopus. Unsurprisingly, those named were not pleased.

PS - Not all citations hold the same value. Some citations are highly valuable, others have zero value (self-citations), and some (Google Scholar based) even have a negative impact. https://19-pacheco-torgal-19.blogspot.com/2024/05/paper-how-to-exploit-chatgpt-for-large.html

Catedrática afirma que há catedráticos que não fazem parte da comunidade científica

Num recente editorial da revista científica Genes, Genomes, Gentics, a editora-Chefe da mesma, catedrática da universidade da Florida (Scopus h-index=45) lembra aquilo que é, ou devia ser, mais ou menos óbvio, que as citações são a forma como reconhecemos aqueles que fazem parte da comunidade científica mundial. Resulta daqui que aqueles que não tem citações não fazem parte dessa comunidade, inclusive até mesmo catedráticos, sem citações.  https://academic.oup.com/g3journal/article/14/7/jkae102/7709035

PS - No contexto supra vale a pena recordar (ou revistar) o conteúdo do post do passado mês de Maio: "Nem todas as citações valem o mesmo: Há as que tem muito valor, as que tem valor nulo (auto-citações) e as de valor negativo" https://19-pacheco-torgal-19.blogspot.com/2024/05/nem-todas-as-citacoes-valem-o-mesmo-ha.html