RUI: The Influence of Network Structure on Sex Disparities in Scientific Collaboration: Commercial Innovation in the Life Sciences

RUI：网络结构对科学合作中性别差异的影响：生命科学中的商业创新

• 批准号: 0915725
• 负责人: Kjersten Bunker Whittington
• 金额: $ 11.57万
• 依托单位: Reed College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-01-01 至 2013-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0915725&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Influence; Network; Structure; Sex

This research examines the influence of network structure on sex disparities in scientific collaboration. It incorporates data on the collaboration networks of the national population of biotechnology inventors and those from a variety of organizational settings (including public research organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and government laboratories) across a thirty-year period (1976-2002). The results should provide direct causal linkages between network mechanisms and gendered outcomes in science.Intellectual MeritPrevious research on sex differences in social connectivity suggests that women and men assume qualitatively different patterns of interaction in their work settings. These network theories of influence on women's performance suggest that a key mechanism in the production of sex disparities manifests itself through the ties and connections that women make, or are able to make, in workplace settings. Little is known about the ways in which network mechanisms might be operating to produce differences in outcomes across scientific settings, however. It is not clear what types of networks support women's collaboration and whether those factors differ from those that support men's collaboration. And while it has been shown that sex disparities in scientific productivity appear to differ across organizational settings -- specifically, in more horizontally-organized work settings as compared with more hierarchical ones. The mechanism for these differences has not been clearly identified. Greater insight into the stratification processes of women and men in science can be gained by studying how organizational forms affect the way collaborative work is structured across sectors. The premise of the proposed study is that the differing structures of collaboration in particular organizations or industries not only influences men and women scientists? opportunities for finding collaborators, but the subsequent influence of these connections on productive work more generally. The transformative nature of this research lies in the integration of network theories of social structure and current insight in work on gender and occupational dynamics within a national innovation context. In addition, this research employs novel research methods that extend our current approaches to network analysis.Broader ImpactThis project has significant implications for current discussions on the causal factors bringing about sex disparities in science and innovation, and also for the larger theoretical literature on networks and social structure. This research establishes whether network mechanisms across organizational forms result in decreased innovation by women. As such, it provides insights into how policy can be targeted to fully engage women in science and contribute fully to national scientific innovation.

本研究考察了网络结构对科学合作中性别差异的影响。它纳入了全国生物技术发明家群体和来自各种组织机构(包括公共研究组织、制药公司和政府实验室)的合作网络的数据，时间跨度为30年(1976-2002年)。这些结果应该提供网络机制和科学中的性别结果之间的直接因果联系。智力价值之前关于社会联系中的性别差异的研究表明，女性和男性在他们的工作环境中采取了本质上不同的互动模式。这些影响女性表现的网络理论表明，性别差异产生的一个关键机制是通过女性在工作场所建立或能够建立的联系和联系来表现出来的。然而，关于网络机制如何运作，从而在不同的科学环境中产生不同的结果，人们知之甚少。目前尚不清楚哪些类型的网络支持妇女的合作，以及这些因素是否与支持男子合作的因素不同。虽然已经表明，科学生产率方面的性别差异似乎在不同的组织环境中有所不同--具体地说，在更横向的工作环境中，与更有等级的工作环境相比。造成这些差异的机制尚未明确。通过研究组织形式如何影响跨部门协作工作的结构方式，可以更深入地了解科学领域中男女之间的分层过程。拟议研究的前提是，特定组织或行业中不同的合作结构不仅影响男性和女性科学家？寻找合作者的机会，但这些联系对更广泛的生产性工作的后续影响。这项研究的变革性在于将社会结构的网络理论与当前在国家创新背景下关于性别和职业动态的工作中的洞察力相结合。此外，这项研究使用了新的研究方法，扩展了我们目前的网络分析方法。布罗德影响这个项目对当前关于科学和创新中导致性别差异的原因的讨论具有重要意义，也对更大的关于网络和社会结构的理论文献具有重要影响。这项研究确定了跨组织形式的网络机制是否会导致女性创新能力的下降。因此，它提供了关于如何有针对性地制定政策，使妇女充分参与科学并充分促进国家科学创新的见解。