This working paper dwells on the relationship between a dialogue-oriented mode of knowledge production in line with transdisciplinarity and the flourishing of a culture of socioeconomic democratisation. These scientific and cultural-political undertakings have in common an effort of bridge-building between fragmented entities, be it scientific disciplines and their mono-logical explanations or single-issue policies which foster micro-efficiency to the detriment of social cohesion and socio-economic effectiveness. The paper starts by presenting emblematically some typical problematics of social innovations which need experience-based knowledge of practitioners as well the structure-aware knowledge of scientific research. In the second section transdisciplinary research is proposed as a research programme focussing on socially relevant problems and a structured dialogue with practitioners. Transdisciplinarity is based on a two-fold-dialogue: First, it is an interdisciplinary dialogue between different disciplines which overcome their respective research programmes and paradigms and contribute their knowledge to joint-problem solving. Second, it is a dialogue of two forms of knowledge: experience-based and analyticalstructural knowledge. In the final section, the potential of this type of research is shown to address the problematics of social innovation as a research programme as well as a socially-transformative practice. / Series: SRE - Discussion Papers

Over the past two decades, universities have experienced far reaching changes in their tasks and roles. Their main mission is no longer confined to education and research, but increasingly also covers technology transfer and commercialisation activities. The aim of this paper is to examine as to which extent this phenomenon could also be observed in Austria. We differentiate between four key tasks of universities, including their roles as "antenna" for receiving external knowledge, source of highly skilled labour, cooperation partner for industry and seedbed for new firm formation. Focusing on the biotechnology sector we will demonstrate that an opening of the ivory tower and a move of Austrian universities towards the market place has occurred. Furthermore, we will show that these changes have been to some extent policy-driven in nature. (author's abstract) / Series: SRE - Discussion Papers

Als Forschungsförderprogramm zur Stärkung des Wissenschaftsstandorts Deutschland hat die Exzellenzinitiative von Bund und Ländern eine hohe symbolische Tragweite. Eine durch das Ziel der Förderung von Spitzenforschung motivierte Exzellenz-Rhetorik ("Leuchttürme der Wissenschaft", "Elite-" und "Exzellenzuniversitäten") konkurriert mit den tatsächlich gemessenen Effekten dieses Forschungsförderprogramms. In dieser Dissertationsschrift wird am Beispiel der Exzellenzinitiative ein Modell entwickelt, um solche Formen symbolischer Konstruktionsarbeit zu beschreiben. Grundlage ist eine theoretische Reflektion des Sichtbarkeitsbegriffs der Exzellenzinitiative durch Bezug auf den Disziplin-Begriff Michel Foucaults, das Kapitalmodell Pierre Bourdieus, Niklas Luhmanns systemtheoretische Perspektive auf die Medien sowie Thomas Gieryns Konzept der boundary work. Diese theoretische Reflektion leitet die daran anschließende empirische Analyse an. Es kommt eine Methoden-Triangulation zum Einsatz: Ergebnisse einer quantitativen Analyse des medialen Framings der Exzellenz-Debatte (ca. 1850 Artikel; Vollerhebung der Berichterstattung zwischen dem 01.01.2004 und dem 31.07.2013 in acht relevanten Leitmedien; Entwicklung des Codebuchs auf Grundlage einer qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse) werden in Bezug gesetzt zu den Resultaten von 19 qualitativen Leitfaden-Interviews mit den berichtenden Journalisten und Mitgliedern des Bewilligungsausschusses der Exzellenzinitiative sowie der Auswertung einer Online-Befragung von Antragstellern bei der Exzellenzinitiative. Die Ergebnisse dokumentieren die stimulierende Wirkung von Symbolen im Allgemeinen sowie die Bedeutung des Entscheidungsverfahrens speziell für die Exzellenzinitiative. Daraus resultieren Handlungsempfehlungen für die "Exzellenz-Strategie", welche die Förderung von Spitzenforschung über die Förderdauer der Exzellenzinitiative hinaus fortführen wird. / The Initiative for Excellence is a joint research funding program of the German Federal State and the 16 Länder. It aims at (1) increasing the international competitiveness of German universites and (2) making peaks within the German university system more visible. These goals motivate a rhetoric of scientific excellence which is - at least partly - not in line with the measurable impacts of the Initiative for Excellence on the German university system. This thesis contains a proposal for a model to analyze such symbolic constructions. For that reason, the goal "visibility" is discussed with reference to the theories of Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, Niklas Luhmann and Thomas Gieryn. The resulting synthesis guides the empirical work: Results of a quantitative framing analysis of media reporting on the Initiative for Excellence are combined with results from a survey of applicants and 19 qualitative interviews with journalists as well as members of the Grants Committee. The results document the stimulating effects of symbols in general and the importance of the decision-making-process for the Initiative for Excellence, in particular. Finally, the results motivate recommendations for a new research funding program.

Diese Dissertation aus der Sparte der Reflexiven Bibliometrie erforscht die Rückwirkungen der Verwendung von quantitativen Indikatoren in der Wissenschaftsevaluation auf die Wissensproduktion und Forschungsqualität in der Astronomie. Eine qualitative Analyse der strukturellen Bedingungen der akamdeischen Astronomie anhand des Rational Choice Frameworks führen zur Beobachtung eines "Evaluation Gap" zwischen dem, was Indikatoren messen und dem, was Forscher unter Forschungsqualität verstehen. Die Analyse offenbart weiters einen Balanceakt, in dem Astronomen zwischen Publikationsdruck und Forschungsintegrität Kompromisse finden. Weiterführende quantitative Untersuchungen unter Einbezug von Organisational Culture Theories und Self-Determination Theory zeigen, dass kontrollierte Formen von Motivation zu einem erhöhten Publikationsdruck und wissenschaftlichem Fehlverhalten führen, während autonome Formen von Motivation das Gegenteil bewirken. Schließlich skizziert die Arbeit Wege zur Transformation der Forschungskultur hin zu mehr Vielfalt und Partizipation, einschließlich der Einführung offener Wissensmanagement-Infrastrukturen und kontinuierlicher, reflexiver Evaluationsprozesse. / This dissertation from the field of Reflexive Bibliometrics, investigates the constitutive effects of utilizing quantitative metrics in research evaluation on knowledge production and research quality in astronomy. Embedded in the Rational Choice Framework to analyze the structural conditions within academic astronomy, a qualitative analysis reveals an "Evaluation Gap" between what metrics measure and researchers' perceptions of research quality. Furthermore, the analysis unveils a balancing act where astronomers navigate compromises between publication pressures and research integrity. Subsequent quantitative analyses, incorporating Organizational Culture Theories and Self-Determination Theory, demonstrate that controlled forms of motivation exacerbate publication pressure and scientific misconduct, while autonomous motivations yield contrasting effects. Lastly, the study outlines pathways towards transforming research culture towards greater diversity and participation, including the adoption of open knowledge management infrastructures and continuous, reflexive evaluation processes.