We owe a moral obligation to individuals and society for being in the academic profession. We have a lot of freedom to pursue our work. As the price for this freedom, we must be asked to pay back to those from whom we benefit, in the following ways:

1. Be kind to your students who come to you for help; give them time even if their problems are related to their personal life or semi-personal life..

2.Researchers always are uncertain about the strength of their research proposals and their own competencies to investigate them. Guide them appropriately about all ramifications, even if you have less time at your disposal.

3. Be proactive in discharging social obligations even if they do not directly relate to your duty. e.g. empathize with labour when they are repressed by the powerful employer or state institutions in case, for example, you are a labour law or industrial relations academic.

4. Research issues that are of direct concern to society and community, and not necessarily the abstract issues. .

5. Be a party to fighting for the right-thinking forces while dealing with social evils e.g. violence against women, child labour, etc.

Thank you Dr Kamal for this question .In fact I think generosity is present at any time and may be any where which is normal but generosity in academia should be focused toward the best in getting the best information and helpness to colleagues in their solving scientific problems neglecting borders and limitatoins.

We owe a moral obligation to individuals and society for being in the academic profession. We have a lot of freedom to pursue our work. As the price for this freedom, we must be asked to pay back to those from whom we benefit, in the following ways:

1. Be kind to your students who come to you for help; give them time even if their problems are related to their personal life or semi-personal life..

2.Researchers always are uncertain about the strength of their research proposals and their own competencies to investigate them. Guide them appropriately about all ramifications, even if you have less time at your disposal.

3. Be proactive in discharging social obligations even if they do not directly relate to your duty. e.g. empathize with labour when they are repressed by the powerful employer or state institutions in case, for example, you are a labour law or industrial relations academic.

4. Research issues that are of direct concern to society and community, and not necessarily the abstract issues. .

5. Be a party to fighting for the right-thinking forces while dealing with social evils e.g. violence against women, child labour, etc.

Yes, definitely, there is room for generosity in academia.

Of course I do agree the generous attitude in research as well in social life. To decide how much generous should be, is a difficult question. Especially in this internet age we have plenty of knowledge resources and all of us have 24 hours a day. Positions, spaces and opportunities are also increasing but talents are more than that. This makes me to think about generosity in academia.

We need generosity. Who will be able to judge before the results are checked scientifically.

In my opinion, there should be a room for generosity in academia. As an academician and a researcher, my duty is sharing knowledge and information with others; students as a future researchers, our colleagues of researchers, and with different institutions.

For my graduate students we sit together discussing ideas of new research projects, helping them in methodology, literature review,...etc. doing this without any seeking for compensation or nag.

Yes, I think there has to be room for generosity in acadenmia between more experienced and less experienced researchers. A relationship of respect, sharing and generosity is essential!

As coordinator of a Research Line do the selection of new researchers to integrate the projects proposed by invitation or after these. I look for this recruitment potential of each, try to give space to learn from each one, try to build a heterogeneous team with more or less experience, towards mutual growth.

The dissemination of research results is performed through the availability of online articles or through free events as what is available in

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260793340_I_Scientific_Meeting_of_the_Research_Line_Emotions_in_Health_Investigating_the_Emotions_and_Emotional_Labour_in_Nursing__I_Reunio_Cientfica_da_Linha_de_Investigao_Emoes_em_Sade_Investigar_as_Emoes_e_o_Trabalho_Emocional_em_Enfermagem

Conference Paper I Scientific Meeting of the Research Line Emotions in Health...

Without generosity in acadenmia how can science progress? We need it very much.

I totally agree with @Debi Saini. But how many of us are fortunate enough to have this generous academicians to guide us. Hardly few I would say. A knowledge unless shared can't progess or grow. But many are not generous. No offence, could be due to the time constraints.

What superb answers! Generosity is the oil that greases the machinery moving academia forward, as Ufuk suggests. I am the modest product of the generosity of my excellent thesis directors, and I have tried to do as much for my mentees. In research, I appreciate the suggestions for revision offered unselfishly and without monetary compensation by anonymous readers. I am grateful to readers of my books and articles merely for their patience in reading me, not an easy writer. Finally, I could not research without the selfless support of administrators who make it possible for me to dive into archives abroad like a tireless swimmer.

I also agree with earlier commenters, and particularly with Debi's specific points.

As an early career academic, I often feel there is not much I can contribute, but the generosity of others is expressed by allowing me to express my voice. Acceptance is profound and memorable - and so I learn to do the same for others.

I think there is enormous value in listening and conversing, and allowing ideas to merge and diverge and go where there will. Whether this be with students in class, with colleagues in the tea room, at conferences, or right here at Research Gate. I think it is our job, as paid thinkers, to perpetuate thinking - our own and others'. More important than the performance indicators that constrain our time, because the fruit of that thinking might not mature for generations. But it's better that it does eventually mature than to be sacrificed to something so transient as administration.

Dear Kerri,

Though still early in your academic career, you have contributed much. You used the expression "paid thinkers"! I guess that sums up what we are. Between you and me, I have always felt guilty about collecting my salary because deep down I was being generously compensated for doing something as natural and necessary as breathing.

That's ur ultimate generosity I should say @ Nelson. Not many like u in this fast moving world.

Thanks, Meena, there in your beautiful Australian surroundings. Be certain that my notion of feeling guilty for being compensated for what I love is shared by many academicians I´ve met, so it´s not generosity at all. It´s just a privilege to be in this profession.

In a time of limited resources, generosity is the best policy in my opinion.

Be helpful and get help. Beneficial for both the parties.

Darasingh, what an appropriate thought: the scarcity of resources should serve as a stimulus for added generosity on everyone´s part!

@Nelson et al., some of us have experienced great generosity, sharing of ideas, confirming of my feeble ideas. So I should thank MANY of you from the bottom of my heart.

GIVE AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN TO YOU, IN FULL MEASURE...

Dear Miranda,

Your ideas are anything but feeble, and the proof is the last sentence of your contribution.

Nelson & friends, thanks. I must go on as I am, because I believe that I will regret lost opportunities for doing right, more than I regret mistakes I could have made.

The amazing thing is that my needs are somehow taken care of :))

Thanks again, have a good day (my time is 2200 h).

Dear Miranda,

You hit the nail on the head: the worst part about our profession is that it does not give us all time we need to be as generous as we need to be. On the other hand, it makes us beneficiaries all the time of others' generosity! After teaching 30 years and retiring, I realize it all went by so quickly.

There is room for generosity in academia, and you can see it here on this platform every day, Nelson. I've got so many useful and surprising ideas through RG - it's amazing what people can do together and share.

Nelson, just think how many students you have helped to shape their minds, analyze, think critically and come to reasonable conclusions. Think of how it all started out; what didn't you know then that you do know now? You'll realize you went a long way in the last 30 years.

In the past (pre-Internet) we had to rely on our immediate and snail-mail community. Nowadays, we can reach out to a worldwide community with our thoughts - having been retired or setting out for a brilliant career. Shouldn't there be a 'Nobel Prize'-like achievement for Tim Berners-Lee and similarly influential Internet people that made us netizens?

Michael, I´ve learned more from you young RG netizens than you from me. Many thanks.

I think that we are here because we love that we do, so sharing what we know, is the first of our objectives. The problem is that this age of utilitarism is hiding the real reason for being here on earth: to feel complete, happy ("pleno" is in spanish). And the idea of sharing it's not idealistic, it's about progress, because, when we are with limited resources the last thing that we have is US, and our minds. I've answered just a few questions on RESEARCHGATE but I'm impressed of the people that share their knowledge and experience (specially you, Nelson) just because they want, and is such a human labor, even when you think that with that knowledge those persons could be unreachable.

Mario, soy muy poquita cosa, I am "no great shakes," and I share your opinion that knowledge is meant to be shared. Being unreachable is behaving immorally. You and I have known "unreachables" in person, and our profession always avenges itself by forgetting them quickly.

Love and respect are two great values money cannot buy. Those are the reward of being generous in academia. Not only gaining love and respect of your students or colleagues but there is no doubt that whatever you give you will get back. The greater you scarify within your limited funds, resources, time, and space the greater the reward. This could be probably in different time or a different way even if you are not expecting it. Great researchers who are extremely generous in academia don't only gain greater knowledge and information, but also they gain love and respect and everlasting memories that will remain even after they leave this world.

Yes, Bahira, you have expressed the positive extension of what I expressed in a negative way. I can vividly remember one by one the professors who were generous to me, even though most have left this world. I wonder if anyone else in here has similar memories.

@Nelson, I have put part of this on one of my threads:

JUST RECENTLY, IT WAS PROF LJUBOMIR AND PATRICK WHO HELPED ME look for more refs, to strengthen a paper. Patrick provided 1 softcopy paper and he told me to ask Ljubomir, who gave some great links! In fact, I found 1 abstract within RG, but there was an error concerning the Volume and Issue of journal. Ljubomir told me to 'send request' but RG didn't reply. Then in a few days, Ljubomir gave me the right info, together with more great links! Sorry I couldn't respond earlier...so busy.

This is the help that I MUST ACKNOWLEDGE WITH THANKFULNESS :)

Dear Miranda,

Patrick and Ljubomir are good scholars and you are fortunate to have been able to count on them. This morning, however, I found in my RG mailbox a request from a student for information to "complete" her paper, when her formulation of her request was actually an invitation to write her paper for her. Aristotle mentioned that every virtue has its excess, which is a vice. Generosity is no exception. I wrote to the student that she should consult her professor, since I could not presume to take his place.

Yes Nelson, you did right.

Actually I also searched, and I found 1 paper and 4 abstracts on mnemonics. I told Ljubomir about that, but I didn't tell him that I had found all the stuff on 'native language as best vehicle for children to learn science'. I don't trouble them too much, certainly not to write even a sentence for me :)))

Miranda, what you are doing is striking out into new territory. What the student wanted from me was old information, readily available to anyone with a minimum of energy to search. Her request sent up red flags in my mind.

Thanks Nelson. Actually I enjoy writing research papers, and I have helped several friends who needed help with their grammar. I also helped some others with their some SPSS analyses. But they didn't have much confidence to face a viva. I wasn't really sure if I did right; things weren't black or white and I found it hard to discern the many shades of grey.

Miranda, reality unfolds in shades of gray. My last book dealt with composer Falla and poet Lorca. One critic called Falla a monk and Lorca a hedonist. The truth about each was much less extreme, and I am afraid I was too severe in calling that critic to task. If he reviews my book, I am sunk! I should have been more generous with him! :(

I have received incredibly generosity as a novice researcher from more established colleagues who have taken the time to share their skills, knowledge, and most especially their encouragement. Their help has been invaluable. A great deal of my own research work is conducted without obvious compensation as I look at areas of women's health experience which would be unlikely to attract significant funding.

In terms of access to resources, and I mean practical access to things such as full-text articles, databases and so forth there is a big ethical question around privileged access as it is very difficult for individuals to access vital research knowledge resources without institutional membership.

Recently I was faced with a request for payment for publication of an article in a magazine in which I am part of Corpe review. I had to remind the editor about my frequent and free review and was then informed that I was relieved of the publication fee.

In fact, the editor was generous and demonstrates consideration. But the publishing process is often "ungenerous" and even to be abusive with regard to publication fees!

Dear Paula,

I never heard of publication fees for journals until starting in RG. Now I discover that the practice is commonplace. I don´t find your editor generous at all: you perform a continuing service and he relieves you of the fee only once. Think about it!

Dear Mariamni,

You have a very unusual research situation, and I thank you on behalf of all viewers here for sharing with us.

Hi Nelson,

thanks for your question and the possibility to think about.

Firstly the term altruisms came in my mind.

Maybe it is helpful to mention the extreme points of the question if altruism is possible, especially in a world with limited resources.

On one hand it can be said that altruism is a kind of constant factor of human being across culture and history. To give charity can be a kind of duty for a higher good, for improve your karma, to do the will of god, to build a treasure in heaven, to avoid punishment, to compensate own sins or mistakes. Eq: In the world of commercial it is very common to do good things and to talk about it. It gives a company a good image on the market and can fasten their chance to reach more customers.

But even on this point of view it can´t hardly said that giving is without expecting something back.

On the other hand (and while I writing this I am not sure how “other” this hand is) it is said that every giving is always connected with an own benefit. At least we feel better if we give something. So if parents give presents to their children at Christmas they only enjoy the glance in the children eyes.

That can read as a dilemma. Our pleasure depends from the pleasure of the other. It means that we really homo economics only interested in maximize our profit. If we recognize that something is right why should we do that? To feel better when we know that we do the right thing and to avoid punishment from a higher level or because we are assured to doing the right thing is the right thing. That means following the rightness because it is an own value by its self. In particular as scientist the later should play an important role for us.

My personality way out of this dilemma is to look on the nature of the benefit. Do I really want to give by myself or by an outstanding framework? Even if I know well that nobody is complete free from outstanding frameworks. And what do I expecting by giving something? Even If I know that nobody is complete free from expectations.

It is more a kind of guiding principles:

Giving free and without expectations.

But recognizing the reason of giving and the kind of expectations gives the possibility to reflect t, to assess and maybe to modify the own behavior

As a scientist I feel the duty to share my knowledge. To proof and validate it as it is describe as the core principle of science to near objectivity. But more to teach people to think by their own as an act of empowering people to find their own opinions and to give them formation competence in a world of increasing complexity and to avoid simple answers.

To getting more practicable: What do you charge if someone asks you to give a speech? If this someone is a big commercial company I charge as much as I can. If it is a non-profit organization which does reasonable work I charge only travel costs and sometime not even that.

Beside that empathy and commiseration are also important phenomena which have to consider when altruism should be better understand. But that would enlarge this format here.

At the very last: If I give some small change to a beggar because his fate touched my heard I think to myself it brings happiness to me.

Have a nice day

Volker

Dear Volker,

This is a very thoughtful answer on a string which I regret ended so quickly! Thanks! I appreciate your flexibility, your willingness to give when appropriate (and to charge when not). I do the same thing and I trust many of our readers do as well!

Okay Nelson,

I will keep it in mind to enlarge it with some thoughts about empathy and commiseration.

Best wishes

Volker

Dear Kamal,

I´m not sure, but I believe, generosity should be because of the very important consequences for science, if you start to be thrifty and restrictive.

My dear Kamal,

By some generous stroke of fate, your wisdom has been restored to us after some ill wind temporarily removed you, to our detriment.

Fine blog : "The generosity of academics" ! Well described experience!

http://evol-eco.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-generosity-of-academics.html

Welcome back, Prof Kamal. I am glad RG has reinstated your account. I hope Lijo, Patrick and Bassam come back. If RG wants to be the BEST SOCIAL MEDIA, it must take action against negative people who take advantage of anonymity to do harm to sincere, truthful researchers.