Harvard Research Articles

Consider implications of Supreme Court decision regarding affirmative action in admissions

In a decision that reverberated throughout the halls of higher education, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down race‐conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (See Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, Slip Op. No. 20‐1199 (2023)). The decision overturns decades of precedent and effectively invalidates affirmative action policies in college admissions.

Consider implications of Supreme Court decision regarding affirmative action in admissions

In a decision that reverberated throughout the halls of higher education, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down race‐conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (see Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, Slip Op. No. 20‐1199 (2023)). The decision overturns decades of precedent and effectively invalidates affirmative action policies in college admissions.

Following the Principles of the Universe: Lessons from Plants on Individual and Communal Thriving.

The means by which plants and other organisms exist in and respond to dynamic environments to support their thriving as individuals and in communities provide lessons for humans on sustainable and resilient thriving. First examined in my book, Lessons from Plants (Harvard University Press, 2021), I explore herein the following question: "How can plants teach us to be better humans?" I consider how insights gathered from plant physiology, phenotypic plasticity, and other plant growth phenomena can help us improve our lives and our society, with a focus on highlighting academic and scientific environments. Genetically identical plants can have very different appearances, metabolisms, and behaviors if the external environments in which they are growing differ in light or nutrient availability, among other environmental differences. Plants are even capable of transformative behaviors that enable them to maximize their chances of survival in dynamic and sometimes unfriendly environments, while also transforming the environment in which they exist in the process. Highlighting examples from research on, for instance, plants' responses to light and nutrient cues, I focus on insights for humans derived from lessons from plants. These lessons focus on how plants achieve their own purposes by following common principles of the universe on thriving and resilience as individuals and in communities.

Consider implications of decision on affirmative action in admissions

In a decision that reverberated throughout the halls of higher education, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down race‐conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (see Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, Slip Op. No. 20‐1199 (2023)). The decision overturns decades of precedent and effectively invalidates affirmative action policies in college admissions.

Consider implications of Supreme Court decision on affirmative action in admissions

In a decision that reverberated through the halls of higher education, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down race‐conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (See Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, Slip Op. No. 20‐1199 (2023)). The decision overturns decades of precedent and effectively invalidates affirmative action policies in college admissions.

Knowledge fields and emerging trends about extracellular matrix in carotid artery disease from 1990 to 2021: analysis of the scientific literature

BackgroundStroke is a heavy burden in modern society, and carotid artery disease is a major cause. The role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the development and progression of carotid artery disease has become a popular research focus. However, there is no published bibliometric analysis to derive the main publication features and trends in this scientific area. We aim to conduct a bibliometric analysis to reveal current status of ECM in carotid artery disease and to predict future hot spots.MethodsWe searched and downloaded articles from the Web of Science Core Collection with “Carotid” and “Extracellular Matrix” as subject words from 1990 to 2021. The complete bibliographic data were analyzed by Bibliometrics, BICOMB, gCLUTO and CiteSpace softwares.ResultsSince 1990, the United States has been the leader in the number of publications in the field of ECM in carotid artery disease, followed by China, Japan and Germany. Among institutions, Institut National De La Sante Et De La Recherche Medicale Inserm, University of Washington Seattle and Harvard University are in the top 3. “Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology” is the most popular journal and “Circulation” is the most cited journal. “Clowes AW”, “Hedin Ulf” and “Nilsson Jan” are the top three authors of published articles. Finally, we investigated the frontiers through the strongest citation bursts, conducted keyword biclustering analysis, and discovered five clusters of research hotspots. Our research provided a comprehensive analysis of the fundamental data, knowledge organization, and dynamic evolution of research about ECM in carotid artery disease.ConclusionsThe field of ECM in carotid artery disease has received increasing attention. We summarized the history of the field and predicted five future hotspots through bibliometric analysis. This study provided a reference for researchers in this fields, and the methodology can be extended to other fields.

Benchmark of plant-based VOCs control effect for indoor air quality: Green wall case in smith campus at Harvard University

The emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from interior materials can significantly impact people's health and daily activities, necessitating effective management. In the construction of the interior built environment, plants serve as a suitable means to enhance air quality. They not only function as ecological living materials for air purification and VOCs removal but are also valued for their aesthetic appeal. However, often the emphasis in designing green infrastructure is placed more on the aesthetics of planting design rather than considering plants' ecological properties. This research examines the ability of 12 plant species used in the interior green wall design at Harvard University's Smith Center as a case study to decompose and absorb VOCs through experimental studies. By integrating ecological properties and key factors such as spatial and budget constraints into the design process, this research explores the potential of using an algorithmic model to select plant species capable of reducing interior VOC pollution in green wall design. The significance of this study lies in its contribution to indoor environmental health and environmental management practices through providing a potential plant selection model and suggesting a relevant workflow for interior planting design with the goal of controlling VOC emissions. By leveraging the knowledge gained from experiments on the VOC removal abilities of selected plant species, this study offers a valuable resource for practitioners seeking to create innovative indoor air cleaning and decontamination technologies.

Bardhan, Pranab: A world of insecurity. Democratic disenchantment in rich and poor countries, Harvard university press, 2022, 240 pp., $ 27.95 (hardcover)

Bardhan, Pranab: A world of insecurity. Democratic disenchantment in rich and poor countries, Harvard university press, 2022, 240 pp., $ 27.95 (hardcover)

Scientific Production of Exoskeleton: A Scientometric Analysis

The history of exoskeleton-like contraptions traces back to 1890 when Russian inventor Nicholas Yagin created the first passive gadget that required human intervention. Over the years, academic and industrial organizations have shown great interest, resulting in numerous studies, prototypes, and commercialized products. In this publication, we present a scientometrics investigation focusing on exoskeleton research. The analysis encompasses exoskeleton publications published from 1989 to 2022 year. Various scientometrics metrics were employed to explore different aspects of the field, including authors, nations, affiliations, keywords, citations, and collaboration networks. Among the Nation’s leading in this sector, the United States stands at the forefront with an extensive collaboration network involving other countries. Harvard University emerges as a critical contributor to exoskeleton research, leading in the number of publications, total citations per article (Vitiello N), h-index, g-index, and m-index. Over the past years, the Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation has experienced a significant surge in manuscripts related to exoskeletons, signifying the growing interest in the field since 2006. According to the author's keyword analysis, most studies focus on exoskeletons and their uses in rehabilitation. This comprehensive report provides an in-depth assessment of the current state of exoskeleton research and collaboration networks. It is a valuable resource for researchers to guide their projects or discover potential collaborators.

CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC POLICY IN GEORGIA

Tinatin Lomsadze E-mail: Tinatin.lomsadze184@eab.tsu.edu.ge Master of Economics, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University Tbilisi, Georgia https://orcid.org/0002-0009-1190-6353 Abstract: Since the second half of the 20th century, many works have been devoted to the process of agglomeration of industries and the economic benefits obtained from it. The concept of an industrial district appears for the first time since 1890, when Alfred Marshall calls this term a geographical concentration of specialized industries in the territory of a region. In industrial districts, industries apply vertical integration, create subsidiary industries and specialize according to individual branches of the economy. Geographical concentration of specialized industries can be accompanied by additional economic benefits, through the reduction of production and transportation costs. Convergence effect makes possible the formation of various educational and cultural institutions around the industries, as well as the development of entertaining, recreational, residential spaces and etc. Finally, the process of localization becomes the reason for the formation of such a structural-dynamical entity as an urban agglomeration. As a rule, one or more scientific-research centers are located in urban agglomerations and knowledge and innovations are spread in horizontally integrated industries. In such conditions, the development of "creative industries" takes place. The area where "creative industries" are developed is referred to as "creative region". In "creative regions" the convergence effect combines knowledge and innovation, which creates a completely new dimension for industrial development. Michael Porter, professor of Harvard University, focuses on the importance of the effect of convergence in the spread of knowledge and innovation in industries. Professor Porter proposes a diamond rule for industrial competitiveness, which is based on the dissemination of knowledge and experience accumulated in educational institutions and scientific-research centers and in this process state institutions, central government and local self-government play a key role. In this way, a Triple Helix model of cooperation is created, which Professor Porter calls a diamond of competitiveness, or a Cluster in another way.

Bibliometric analysis on the progress of immunotherapy in renal cell carcinoma from 2003-2022

ABSTRACT The incidence and mortality rates of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) have been increasing annually due to obesity and environmental pollution. Although immunotherapy of RCC has been studied for decades, few comprehensive bibliometric analyses exist on the treatment. Therefore, the purpose of this bibliometric analysis was to identify scientific achievements of the global research on RCC immunotherapy from 2003 to 2022 and discuss research trends. Data were retrieved from the Clarivate Web of Science Core Collection using a set retrieval strategy. The Bibliometrics tool Cite Space 6.2 R2 (Chaomei Chen, Drexel University) was used to analyze 4,841 articles. The USA had the most publications (n = 1,864); Harvard University was identified as the leading institution (n = 264); and Dr. Toni K. Choueiri, was the most productive researcher in the field (n = 55). Keyword analysis showed that nivolumab, immune checkpoint inhibitors, tumor microenvironment, everolimus, cabozantinib, resistance, pembrolizumab and ipilimumab were the main hotspots and frontier directions of RCC. By analyzing the results of bibliometrics, national and international researchers can better understand the current research status of RCC immunotherapy and identify new directions for future research. However, the analysis also identified pockets of insularity, highlighting a need for greater collaboration and cooperation among researchers to advance the field of RCC immunotherapy.

Articles on hemorrhagic shock published between 2000 and 2021: A CiteSpace-Based bibliometric analysis

ObjectiveTo conduct a bibliometric analysis of literature on hemorrhagic shock published between 2000 and 2021 with the help of Citespace to explore the current status, hotspots and research trends in this regard, with the results presented in a visualized manner. MethodsThe data over the past 22 years were retrieved from the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection database and downloaded as the “Full Record and Cited References”. Cooperative analysis, cluster analysis, co-citation analysis, and burst analysis were performed based on the data on countries/regions, institutions, journals, authors, and keywords through Citespace. ResultsA total of 2027 articles were retrieved. The number of annual publications fluctuated but was generally on an upward trend. The United States stands out as the most productive country (989 articles), the University of Pittsburgh the most productive publishing institution (109 articles), SHOCK the most cited journal (1486 articles), TAO LI the most productive author (40 articles), DEITCH EA the most cited author (261 times of citation), hemorrhagic shock the most frequent keyword (725 times of occurrence), and “traumatic brain injury” the most covered article in keyword clustering (29 articles). The burst analysis revealed Harvard University as the institution with the highest strength value and the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery the most important journal. It was also concluded that HASAN B ALAM, AARON M WILLIAMS, and LIMIN ZHANG may continue to publish high-quality articles in the future. In the meanwhile, both “protect” and “transfusion” were considered the hotspots and trends in current research. ConclusionsThe United States has been a major contributor to the publication of the articles over the past 22 years, with the most productive publishing institution, the most cited journal, and the most cited author all coming from the US. Hemorrhagic shock, injury, resuscitation, trauma, models, activation, expression, fluid resuscitation, rats, and nitric oxide are hot topics in relevant research. According to the keyword burst analysis, the areas related to “protect” and “transfusion” may rise as the research directions in the future. However, since the hotspots in the research of hemorrhagic shock are short-lived and fast-changing, the researchers should pay more attention to the development trend in this field.

감수성의 통합과 통각의 초월적 통합

Immanuel Kant argued that the object does not represent the state of the thing-in-itself, but becomes a phenomenon constructed by human subjectivity in general, and this is called the Copernican revolution. Kant is a philosopher representing German Idealism, followed by Bradley and Bergson. In the meantime, it has been assumed that Eliot’s core poetics developed from the cognitive framework of Bergson or Bradley: the concept of flux that grasps the time of the past, present, and future as an indivisible continuum in mutually organic relationships, immediate experience, historical consciousness, Impersonality, and unification of sensitivity, etc. in “Tradition and Individual Talent,” “Hamlet,” and “Metaphysical Poets.” However, in the “Report on Kant’s Categories” submitted by Eliot to a philosophy class at Harvard University in Mar. 2013, it can be confirmed that Eliot was already aware of Kant’s transcendental philosophy. Eliot’s unification of sensibility, which represents an experience in which, intellect and sensibility are unified, is nothing other than Kant’s transcendental unity of apperception.

In Memoriam: Professor Jozef Zwislocki (1922–2018)

Biography of Jozef John Zwislocki (March 22, 1922 – May 14, 2018) – Polish-born American neuroscientist. Granted fellowship into the Acoustical Society of America, as well as membership to the United States National Academy of Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Association for Research in Otolaryngology (among others). He worked at Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, taught at the University of Basel, was on a research fellowship at Harvard University, and was member of the Syracuse University faculty. Owner of twelve patents.

Characterization of global research trends and prospects on sudden coronary death: A literature visualization analysis

BackgroundSudden coronary death is a major global public health issue that has a significant impact on both individuals and society. Nowadays, scholars are active in sudden coronary death all over the world. However, no relevant bibliometric studies have been published. Here, we aim to gain a better understanding the current state of research and to explore potential new research directions through bibliometric analysis. MethodsArticles and reviews on sudden coronary death from 2012 to 2023 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). The topic search was conducted using the following keywords: (((“sudden cardiac death” OR “sudden death”) AND (coronary OR “myocardial infarction”)) OR “sudden coronary death”). Knowledge maps of authors, countries, institutions, journals, keywords, and citations were conducted by CiteSpace. Publication dynamics, hotspots, and frontiers were analyzed independently by authors. ResultsA total of 2914 articles were identified from January 1, 2012 to June 20, 2023. The USA (n = 972) contributed the greatest absolute productivity and UK (centrality = 0.13) built a robust global collaboration. Harvard University was the institution with the highest number of publications (n = 143). Huikuri HV and Junttila MJ were the most published authors who devoted to searching for biomarkers of sudden coronary death. American Journal of Cardiology was the journal with the most publications, and Circulation was the most cited journal. Left ventricular ejection fraction, society, inflammation, and fractional flow reserve became novel burst words that lasted until 2023. Research on etiology and pathology, role of early risk factors in risk stratification, potential predictive biomarkers and novel measurement methods for the prevention and management of sudden coronary death were identified as the research hotspots and frontiers. ConclusionOur knowledge and understanding of sudden coronary death have significantly improved. Ongoing efforts should focus on the various etiologies and pathologies of sudden coronary death. Furthermore, a novel sudden coronary death risk model, large-scale population studies, and the rational use of multiple indicators to individualize the assessment of sudden coronary death and other risk factors are other emerging research trends.

The Diversity Heuristic: How Team Demographic Composition Influences Judgments of Team Creativity

Despite mixed evidence for the relationship between demographic diversity and creativity, we propose that observers hold a lay belief that demographic diversity increases creativity and apply this lay belief in judgments about teams and their creative work. Across eight preregistered studies (n = 5,530), we find that observers judge teams diverse in terms of race and gender to be more creative than teams homogeneous in terms of race and gender, including in incentive-compatible predictions made about real teams competing in a creativity challenge. We also find that products attributed to demographically diverse teams are evaluated as more creative compared with identical products attributed to demographically homogenous teams. Mediation analyses provide evidence consistent with the notion that people perceive demographic diversity (i.e., social category differences) to be correlated with cognitive diversity (i.e., difference of perspectives), and this belief contributes to attributions of greater creativity to diverse teams and the ideas they generate. We can also turn off the perceived association between demographic diversity and creativity by directly manipulating people’s perceptions of team cognitive diversity. Furthermore, we find evidence of a curvilinear relationship between the proportion of racial minorities or women in a group and judgments of the group’s creativity. Together, our results suggest that the popular uptake of the belief that diversity boosts creativity may impact how creativity is identified in organizational contexts. This paper was accepted by Yuval Rottenstreich, behavioral economics and decision analysis. Funding: This research was supported by funds from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, and Harvard Business School, Harvard University, including a grant from the Cornell Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies. Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4862 .

Knowledge mapping of early-onset colorectal cancer from 2000 to 2022: A bibliometric analysis

The incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EO-CRC), diagnosed in patients younger than 50 years, has increased in incidence alarmingly over the past few decades, while overall incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer are stabilizing or declining in many high-income countries. These unfavorable changes have raised significant concerns and led to extensive research, resulting in a surge in studies on EO-CRC. Our aim was to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the current state of this field and to identify prospective research directions by performing a bibliometric analysis of EO-CRC. A total of 1952 papers on EO-CRC published from 2000 to 2022 were identified after a thorough search of the Web of Science Core Collection. The United States dominated this field, with Harvard University contributing the greatest number of papers, while the journal Familial Cancer (n = 52) published the most articles. Cooperation network analysis revealed close internal cooperation among countries, institutions and authors. Based on reference and keyword analysis, high-frequency keywords showed several popular research directions, including epidemiology (incidence, young patients, age of onset, etc.), risk factors (obesity, family history, lynch syndrome, etc.) and molecular characterization (germline mutation, genome wide association, MLH1, etc.). Overall, our research provides an overview of the current status in this field, which we hope will give researchers a comprehensive perspective on the present trends within this domain.

Book review: J. Megan Greene, Building a Nation at War: Transnational Knowledge Networks and the Development of China during and after World War II

J. Megan Greene, Building a Nation at War: Transnational Knowledge Networks and the Development of China during and after World War II (Cambridge, MA/London: Harvard University Asia Centre, Harvard University Press, 2022), 336 pp., US$ 60. ISBN: 978-0674278318.

A new insight into the evolution of the Qatar Arch to recognize faults and a new gas field

Despite the previous interpretations of the evolutionary scenarios of the Qatar Arch, the present study aimed to present a new complementary scenario to lay out the probable effects of another basement fault, corresponding to the physical shape of the Arch. A remote sensing study was carried out based on geological and geophysical data interpretations, obtained from some national and international databases, including GIS-based global geology data of Harvard University, the free-air gravity anomaly data from the World Gravity Map (WGM), and the airborne geophysical project of the National Geosciences Database of Iran (NGDIR). Results revealed that offshore extrapolation of the Trans Arabian-Bostaneh Fault (TABF) lineament through the morphological boundary of Hauterivian–Barremian (HB) formations and the offshore extrapolation of the Kazerun fault could produce a new complementary model for the Qatar Arch evolution. Based on the particular shape of the Arch (i.e., narrowing and uplifting to the south influenced by the Kazerun basement fault and the rotation of TABF), we can propose that these faults crossed each other after the Barremian age, created a particular shape of the Qatar Arch, and influenced beneath the Fars hinterland. The obtained geophysical gravity data also showed a good match between structural units and faults with maximum values corresponding to the Qatar Arch and minimum values relating to the thick sediment field in the Fars region. In conclusion, the present study contributes to a new proposition about exploring the possible faults and a new gas field situated in the interior territory of Iran. All of these interpretations will provide a new insight to improve the extant knowledge in the geology and petroleum evolution of the study area, such as the Plate tectonic events and the creation of possible reservoirs in future.

The Idea of The Muslim World, A Global Intellectual History

The Idea of The Muslim World, A Global Intellectual History | Cemil Aydin | London: Harvard University Press, 2017.
 The notion of "The Muslim World" as a binary point of opposition to "The West" has become a global narrative, accepted by many Muslims and non-Muslims alike. In fact, Muslims reside in different parts of the world, speak different languages, live in different traditions and cultures, and have different nationalities and political interests. Besides, the those who believe in notions of the Muslim world have rarely discussed or imagined the Christian world, the Buddhist world, and so on in similar terms. Thus, how did this narrative about the 'Muslim World' come into being and become a mainstream belief in the modern world? This issue constitutes the main point of discussion in Cemil Aydin's book, as the title suggests, "The Idea of The Muslim World." Questions such as who, when, how, and why this notion arose and persists in the modern era are discussed.