Talk:Shirin M. Rai

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 * The notability standards for academicians are stringent. Membership in a professional society with 450+ members isn't enough to demonstrate notability here.  Generally, impact of published works is measured not by editorial review but by citations by others, which I'm not finding any for this author.--RadioFan (talk) 15:40, 4 July 2011 (UTC)


 * The fact that it has 450+ members isn't because the Academy is limited, it's because it's exclusive and only 450+ other people have merited inclusion. As for the Academy's merit, I refer to the Wikipedia entry on it: Academicians are elected through peer review in an annual competition on the nomination either of constituent societies or of existing academicians; they may use the letters "AcSS" (Academician of the Social Sciences) after their name. The Academy's ambition is that the status of AcSS should confer the same kind of prestige as fellowship of the Royal Society or the British Academy; while it is some distance from reaching this goal, many of the most prominent academic social scientists in the UK are now academicians..


 * Moreover, as stated in the article, Shirin Rai is a member of larger associations such as Political Studies Association and has served on the Governing Council of the International Studies Association. Athena86 (talk) 16:33, 4 July 2011 (UTC) Athena86


 * I should also add that Shirin Rai was one of the first feminist academics to address the links between globalization, gender and development strategies. The fact she's delivered keynote speeches and written publications for institutions such as the United Nations and the World Bank surely point to her significance in this regard! Moreover, receiving a roughly one-million pound grant to fund a social science project in this economic climate shows that (extra-academic) institutions such as the Leverhulme Trust also value her work.::Athena86 (talk) 15:27, 4 July 2011 (UTC) athena86


 * References to reliable sources for these items might help demonstrate notability. However the only references in the article are to primary sources, those likely written or edited by Rai herself.  Perhaps you can improve that.  Also please avoid using blogs as references as they do not meet Wikipedia's standards for references.--RadioFan (talk) 15:40, 4 July 2011 (UTC)


 * from the World Bank Website; from the UN Website;  Book published for UN on gender mainstreaming.  List of funds distributed for projects by the Leverhulme Trust with Shirin Rai's GCRP Project on the top of te list. Would these do re external links? Athena86 (talk) 16:33, 4 July 2011 (UTC)Athena86


 * External links to books aren't very helpful. It's best to use these as references and improve the article. Remember that the goal here is to write a well referenced informative article, not a game of "find her name mentioned somewhere".--RadioFan (talk) 16:53, 4 July 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't think anyone is trying to play a game of tagging names here. If I was, there'd be a much longer list because this author has 75 (mostly peer-reviewed and/or editorial) publications ... The website cited is an external website which affirms Rai's affiliation with the United Nations in the publication of that specific book. This further substantiates her impact beyond academic circles. Athena86 (talk) 18:53, 4 July 2011 (UTC) Athena86


 * The number of publications or number of search engine hits isn't a good indication of notability. Improving the article with those references is.--RadioFan (talk) 19:42, 4 July 2011 (UTC)


 * I'll update the page in a day or so with the links above, and hope it will meet Wikipedia's publishing standards through that. Thanks for the look-over ! Athena86 (talk) 19:50, 4 July 2011 (UTC)Athena86