| Title |
Exploring the nature of science through courage and purpose: a case study of Nikolai Vavilov and plant biodiversity
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
SpringerPlus, July 2016
|
| DOI | 10.1186/s40064-016-2795-z |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Joel I. Cohen, Igor G. Loskutov |
| Abstract |
Historical biographies facilitate teaching the 'nature of science'. This case study focuses on how Nikolai Vavilov's unrelenting sense of purpose, courage, and charismatic personality was maintained during violent revolutionary change in Russia. The rediscovery of Gregor Mendel's laws of inheritance provided Vavilov with a scientific foundation for crop improvement, this foundation was later bolstered by Vavilov's personal drive to conserve plant biodiversity. As he advanced theories and pragmatic approaches for genetic improvement and conservation of plants, political leaders in Russian came to reject Mendel's principles and eventually Vavilov's work. This rejection occurred because Joseph Stalin was desperate for a quick remedy to the famine and suffering from forced collective agriculture. Vavilov's work continued, modernizing Russian crop research while inspiring other scientists to save seeds stored in the world's first gene bank. Three themes illustrating the nature of science help examine Vavilov's life: explaining natural phenomena, uncompromising human endeavor, and revising scientific knowledge. The case study concludes with four questions to stimulate student inquiry and self-guided research. They also deepen student understanding of Vavilov's personal sacrifices to ensure use and conservation of plant biodiversity. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 10 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 1 | 10% |
| United States | 1 | 10% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 10% |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 | 10% |
| Germany | 1 | 10% |
| Unknown | 5 | 50% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 9 | 90% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 10% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 27 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 27 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 5 | 19% |
| Professor | 3 | 11% |
| Lecturer | 3 | 11% |
| Researcher | 3 | 11% |
| Student > Bachelor | 1 | 4% |
| Other | 4 | 15% |
| Unknown | 8 | 30% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 11 | 41% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 3 | 11% |
| Immunology and Microbiology | 1 | 4% |
| Social Sciences | 1 | 4% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1 | 4% |
| Other | 2 | 7% |
| Unknown | 8 | 30% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 7. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 14 November 2021.
All research outputs
#4,589,257
of 23,277,141 outputs
Outputs from SpringerPlus
#294
of 1,854 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#83,002
of 365,727 outputs
Outputs of similar age from SpringerPlus
#47
of 242 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,277,141 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 80th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,854 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.8. This one has done well, scoring higher than 84% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 365,727 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 77% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 242 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 80% of its contemporaries.