The most salient material factor discussed in this post would be the difference between “resource-rich and resource-constrained institutions and researchers.” But this should not be understood as the presence or absence of “natural resources.” It is more so about how certain resources (“natural” or social) are differentially valued at different times and different places, as well as the sociotechnical systems that have been developed to extract/capture/harness, transport, distribute, and use these resources.
