Years active 1973–present Role Professor | Name Brian Martin | |
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Born 1947 Gary, Indiana,USA Occupation Social scientist at University of Wollongong (social study of science, peace studies); formerly mathematician at Australian National University People also search for Lyn Carson, Edward Groth, Norman Jeffares Books Information Liberation, Justice Ignited, Uprooting War, Scientific Knowledge in Contro, The Whistleblower\'s Handboo | ||
Brian Martin (born 1947) is a social scientist at the Faculty of Arts School of Humanities and Social Inquiry at the University of Wollongong in NSW, Australia. He became a professor there in 2007. His interest is in the research of the suppression of dissent. According to the BBC, he has studied whistleblowing in science; he was president of Whistleblowers Australia from 1996 to 1999 and remains their International Director. He is also a former member of the anti-vaccine Australian Vaccination Network as well as the pro-vaccine Skeptics Society.
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Martin has spoken at a British Science Association Festival of Science, and testified at the Australian Federal Senate's Inquiry into Academic Freedom. The crustacean Polycheles martini was named after him.
Research
Martin's original academic field was stratospheric modelling and numerical methods. He has published extensively about the social dynamics and politicisation of controversial scientific topics. His topics of inquiry have included the globalization of polarised science such as the origin of HIV/AIDS, fluoridation and nuclear power. He argues that there are situations in which scientific research that threatens vested interests can be suppressed. He identifies a number of direct and indirect mechanisms through which this can occur, ranging from the denial of funds and the denial of promotion and tenure, through to the creation of a "general climate of fear".
Martin has been criticised for being a supporter of the now debunked theory of OPV-AIDS. The hypothesis was first popularised in Rolling Stone magazine by way of journalist Curtis and AIDS activist Elswood in 1992, and was later further promoted by the journalist/writer Hooper and Martin, with Hooper crediting Martin for giving the OPV-AIDS link hypothesis "further publicity and credibility". Martin disputes the claim that he has been a supporter of the hypothesis, instead saying that he has "never argued in favour of the OPV theory", but has instead stated "that it was and remains worthy of consideration yet in many ways has been unfairly dismissed". In 2010, Martin published a paper in which he argued that "medical researchers had colluded to silence" the discredited OPV-AIDS hypothesis, and has said that although the peer-review process for the theory was almost "entirely negative", there can be situations where justice appears to be provided by the official processes, but "in many cases there is little corresponding substance".
Martin has been active in the criticism of university systems. He has been critical of conflicts of interest within Universities where they are managing internal investigations which may lead to bad publicity, and recommends having independent groups investigating allegations of misconduct; he has written about the unauthorised use of research produced by students and junior researchers by senior academics; and he has been outspoken against sexual relationships between staff and students. He also reports that any bias within universities could simply be due to students strategically working in-line with the biases of their teachers.
Martin believes that if complainants go through the official channels the outcome is very predictable, in that organisation's internal grievance procedures or making a complaint to the relevant ombudsman doesn't work. But he also believes whistleblower laws also don't work, saying; "Not only are whistleblower laws flawed through exemptions and in-built weaknesses but in their implementation they are rarely helpful".
Criticism
Martin has been criticised for his role in the Judith Wilyman PhD controversy where medical academics and the AMA raised concerns of whether Professor Martin had the necessary knowledge to assess the topic of vaccine science. David Gorski has criticised Martin, claiming that he is not distinguishing between dissent based on facts, science and logic as opposed to dissent based on pseudoscience and misinformation, and The Australian has criticised him for not recognising academic rigour over academic freedom.
In 2016 the Australian Skeptics criticised Martin's supervision of Wilyman by presenting Martin, Wilyman and the Social Sciences Department of the University of Wollongong the satirical Bent Spoon Award for awarding "a PhD thesis riddled with errors, misstatements, poor and unsupported 'evidence' and conspiratorial thinking".
Others including David Gorski have criticised Martin as a defender of former surgeon and researcher Andrew Wakefield, and Agence Science Presse reports Martin 'also defends the idea of a vaccine-autism link'.
Publications
In 2014 and 2015, Brian Martin published several books through Irene Publishing in Sweden, an activist publisher. These included Non-violence Unbound, Backfire Manual, Whistleblowing: A Practical Guide, and The Controversy Manual. Information from the National Library of Australia show Martin has also published with Praeger, State University of New York Press, Rowman & Littlefield, War Resisters' International, Angus and Robertson, SUNY Press, and the Freedom Press.