Believe in your research, challenge the boundaries of established knowledge, and above all, take your time. Good research takes time. 8/

The release of this article marks the longest and most difficult research experiences of my career. But, it is the most rewarding. I’d like to share my experience with anyone navigating the ups and downs of academia, encourage you not to give up. Failure and success can often go hand in hand. 7/

Sincere thanks to the editors of the CRIA for supporting even unorthodox and cross-disciplinary approaches, even when they do not align with the “sexy” topics of the moment. 6/

From there began a long 'academic battle', involving tough reviews and critical feedback that particularly challenged the validity of autoethnography in IR. But I was fortunate to have supportive colleagues, who also offered me key feedback. 5/

Then, about a year ago, I reopened the file and finally found the way to express what I had been trying to say all along. In this process, the concept of “visual trope” became central to this work. For this, I owe a debt of gratitude to @giuliasciorati.bsky.social , who introduced me to it. 4/

By the end of my postdoc, I left this article sitting on my laptop. I couldn’t see where it could go or how to make it work. Looking back, I realize how also important null results are in academic research, a topic I hope to write about soon. 3/

The story behind this publication is a long one. Everything started almost four years ago, when I began my first postdoc at University of Bologna on #COVID19 governance. At that time, the pandemic was still so close, emotionally and temporally, that working on it was deeply distressing.2/

I look forward to joining @simonetholens.bsky.social and @diegobadell.bsky.social, who are both authors of a chapter in the volume, as well as Lorraine Klimowich from @springernature.com.
Looking forward to the conversations ahead and to meeting many of you there!

I’m also especially excited to take part in the roundtable where we will present our recently published volume "Contestation in Prism". Huge thanks to @andreaknapp.bsky.social, also a chapter’s author, for putting the event together

Our project for #ENGAGE.EU will explore the impact of #digital technologies on the propagation of #gendered stereotypes in the EU — an important step toward fostering inclusion and equality in the digital age.

I think the scope of academia is to stimulate increasingly interesting and groundbreaking thoughts. Bear this in mind when offering your feedback as reviewers. /end

/n the meantime, I would say:
1) Accept invitations to review when you can
2) Do not use your role as a reviewer to promote your own work
3) Do not use your role as a reviewer to force others' research and ideas to converge on yours
4/

and this should be valued in CVs as part of an academic's effort.Just like quotations. I am sure there are many other ways to make the role of reviewer more intellectually rewarding, and this is a discussion that should be pursued further.3/

However, I do believe that the role of the reviewer should be better recognised. For example, we need a functioning recording process (#Publons only works for certain journals, and not all journals use it) to show the extent to which a scholar has acted as a reviewer 2/