Scientific misconduct at an elite medical institute: The role of competing institutional logics and fragmented control

Abstract

Species-rich semi-natural grasslands in Europe are a main target for conservation efforts, and alternative methods to the traditional management of mowing or grazing would be welcome due to the difficulties in maintaining these management practices. One such method proposed is burning of grassland vegetation during late winter or spring. To evaluate the effects of annual spring burning vs. annual mowing on semi-natural grassland vegetation, we compared the frequency of species in eleven field experiments in southern Sweden after ca 14 years. Out of the 88 species analysed, five were more frequent in burnt plots compared with mowed plots (Vicia cracca, Cirsium arvense, Urtica dioica, Galium verum, Convallaria majalis). In contrast, 37 species were significantly less frequent in burnt plots compared with mowed ones, those with the largest differences being Ranunculus acris, Briza media, Veronica chamaedrys, Festuca ovina, Plantago lanceolata and Anthoxanthum odoratum. Tall-grown species and those with preferences for N-rich soils increased in frequency under an annual spring-burn regime, compared with annual mowing, as did species producing larger amounts of nectar. Hence, although vegetation composition becomes trivial with annual spring burns, there might be long-term benefits for nectar-feeding insects.

The grey zones of technological innovation: negative unintended consequences as a counterbalance to novelty

“…At the time of writing, there are two existing publications in our field which provide detailed, but different, information about other aspects of the Macchiarini crisis. Berggren and Karabag (2019) focus upon scientific misconduct -also known as fraud and dishonesty -using theories from organisational theory about institutional complexity. They develop a perspective of three types of competing logics (market-oriented, medical, and academic) of institutional fields, and do not address innovation governance, other than mentioning fragmented control.…”

Research misconduct complaints and institutional logics: The case of Hans Eysenck and the British Psychological Society

“…Drawing from Berggren and Karabag (2019) , we frame our analysis by applying the following three institutional logics to the institutional field of medical science.…”

“…This ‘focuses on patient care and is embodied in the Hippocratic Oath (“First do no harm”) which requires physicians to uphold a basic ethical standard and to act accordingly’ ( Berggren and Karabag, 2019 : 429). Whilst a medical logic is most relevant to physicians, it also encompasses the activities of researchers who address issues of physical and mental health.…”

Ethical ambiguity in the academic periphery: Global versus local science in explaining plagiarism

“…Research on less severe forms of gaming has produced a shift from descriptive studies conducted by social scientists concerned with such misbehavior in their communities (Biagioli et al, 2019) to the development of explanatory frameworks. As such, studies reveal the fruitfulness of employing different theoretical perspectives from organizational science (Berggren and Karabag, 2019;Hall and Martin, 2019;Walsh et al, 2019), game theory (Gall and Maniadis, 2019), and sociology (Hussinger and Pellens, 2019) to understand academic misconduct. These new theoretical accomplishments provide us with tools to refocus on studying severe forms of academic misconduct, including, particularly, plagiarism.…”