Alearned society(/ˈlɜːrnɪd/;alsoscholarly,intellectual,oracademic society) is anorganizationthat exists to promote anacademic discipline,profession,or a group of related disciplines such asthe artsandsciences.[1]Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honour conferred by election.[2]
Most learned societies arenon-profit organizations,and many areprofessional associations.Their activities typically include holding regularconferencesfor the presentation and discussion of newresearchresults, and publishing or sponsoringacademic journalsin their discipline. Some also act as professional bodies, regulating the activities of their members in the public interest or the collective interest of the membership.[3]
History
editSome of the oldest learned societies are theAcadémie des Jeux floraux(founded 1323),[4]Sodalitas Litterarum Vistulana(founded 1488),Accademia della Crusca(founded 1583),[5]Accademia dei Lincei(founded 1603),[6]Académie Française(founded 1635),[7]German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina(founded 1652),[8]Royal Society(founded 1660) andFrench Academy of Sciences(founded 1666).
Significance
editScholars in thesociology of science[who?]argue that learned societies are of key importance and their formation assists in the emergence and development of new disciplines or professions.[9]In the form of professional associations, they can assist in the creation of pathways to leadership.[10]
TheWorld Association in Economicsprovides help to the members of the WAE on the following issues:
- Search for scientific journals in Economics, the publication in which is free of cost.
- Search for scientific conferences in Economics that are free of cost.
- Professional preparation of diagrams and figures for scientific publications.
- Preparation of PowerPoint presentations.
- Design of the text of doctoral or habilitation theses in Economics.
- Sending e-mails with information from the members of the WAE.[11]
Structure
editSocieties can be very general in nature, such as theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science,specific to a given discipline, such as theModern Language Association,or specific to a given area of study, such as theRoyal Entomological Society.
Most are either specific to a particular country (e.g. theEntomological Society of Israel), though they generally include some members from other countries as well, often with local branches, or are international, such as theInternational Federation of Library Associations and Institutionsor theRegional Studies Association,in which case they often have national branches. But many are local, such as theMassachusetts Medical Society,the publishers of the internationally knownThe New England Journal of Medicine.
Some learned societies (such as theRoyal Society Te Apārangi) have been rechartered by legislation to formquasi-autonomous non-governmental organizations.
Membership and fellowship
editMembership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election.[2]
Some societies offer membership to those who have an interest in a particular subject or discipline, provided they pay their membership fees. Older and more academic/professional societies may offer associateships and/or fellowships tofellowswho are appropriately qualified byhonoris causa,or by submission of a portfolio of work or an original thesis. A benefit of membership may be discounts on the subscription rates for the publications of the society. Many of these societies awardpost-nominal lettersto their memberships.
The membership at theWorld Association in Economicsis free of cost.[12]
Online academic communities
editFollowing theglobalizationand the development of information technology, certain scholarly societies—such as the Modern Language Association—have created virtual communities for their members. In addition to established academic associations, academicvirtual communitieshave been so organized that, in some cases, they have become more important platforms for interaction and scientific collaborations among researchers and faculty than have traditional scholarly societies.[citation needed] Members of these online academic communities, grouped by areas of interests, use for their communication shared and dedicatedlistservs(for exampleJISCMail), social networking services (likeFacebookorLinkedIn) and academic oriented social networks (like Humanities Commons,ResearchGate,MendeleyorAcademia.edu).[13][14]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^"What is a Learned Society?".Environmental Studies Association of Canada.Archived fromthe originalon 29 May 2013.Retrieved10 May2013.
- ^ab"Learned societies & academies".British Council.Archived fromthe originalon 3 June 2014.Retrieved10 May2013.
- ^"Learned Societies, the key to realising an open access future?".Impact of Social Sciences.2019-06-24.Retrieved2023-01-22.
- ^"Accueil/Actualité".Académie des Jeux floraux.Archived fromthe originalon 6 March 2018.Retrieved8 May2018.
- ^"The reopening of the Accademia (1811) and the fifth edition of theVocabolario(1863–1923) ".Accademia della Crusca.2015-03-01. Archived fromthe originalon 2015-03-01.Retrieved2021-06-08.
- ^"Galileo | Federico Cesi and the Accademia dei Lincei".The Galileo Project.2018-07-14. Archived fromthe originalon 2018-07-14.Retrieved2021-06-08.
- ^"L'histoire".Académie française.Retrieved2021-06-08.
- ^Jedlitschka, Karsten (2008-06-20)."The Archive of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in Halle (Saale): more than 350 years of the history of science".Notes and Records of the Royal Society.62(2): 237–244.doi:10.1098/rsnr.2007.0009.S2CID73386192.
- ^Wise, Alicia; Estelle, Lorraine (2019-07-12)."How Learned Societies and Open Access Will Learn to Co-Exist".Social Science Space.Retrieved2021-06-08.
- ^Sha, Mandy (2019-05-14)."Professional Association and Pathways to Leadership in Our Profession".Survey Practice.12(1).doi:10.29115/SP-2018-0039.
- ^"World Association in Economics. Activities".Retrieved2024-10-15.
- ^"World Association in Economics. Activities".Retrieved2024-10-15.
- ^Taylor, Mike (14 February 2013)."How virtual science communities are transforming academic research".Elsevier.Archivedfrom the original on 10 August 2014.Retrieved10 May2013.
- ^Nistor, Nicolae; Baltes, Beate; Dascălu, Mihai; et al. (May 2014)."Participation in virtual academic communities of practice under the influence of technology acceptance and community factors. A learning analytics application".Computers in Human Behavior.34:339–344.doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013.10.051.Archived fromthe originalon 2020-08-06.Retrieved2019-08-16.
External links
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