Could Distributed Peer Review Better Decide Grant Funding?
The landscape of academic grant funding is notoriously competitive and plagued by lengthy, bureaucratic processes, exacerbated by difficulties in finding willing reviewers. Distributed […]
Avner de-Shalit on the Spirit of Cities
Some people have strong and visceral reactions to cities. They might love or loathe New York, or Jerusalem, or Berlin. This may have something to do with the architecture and the infrastructure of a place; it may also be a response, at some level, to the people, the culture, the politics, the way of life. Avner de-Shalit claims that some cities – not all cities but some – have a spirit.
Rejoinder to Gary Guttings Doubts about the Behavioral Sciences
We have reached a stage in the scientific understanding human behavior where very significant improvements in human wellbeing can be achieved.
“Treated like imbeciles”
While parts of Aditya Chakrabortty’s recent piece in the Guardian were sensible and informed, its central claim was unfair – that social science disciplines have been unable or unwilling to explore, explain, and confront the ‘Great Financial Crash’ of 2007-9
A Response to Recent Attacks on Social Science
Across the world in the media, in policy, government discussions, and in our daily lives, there is evidence of social science at work. Whether it’s analysis of a cultural phenomenon like crime, or a major international concern such how climate change leads to changing lifestyles or inequality, social scientists help us understand cultures and behaviours.
Have the Social Sciences Failed Us?
On 16 April, Aditya Chakrabortty wrote an article for the Guardian’s Comment is Free, arguing that social scientists have failed to step up and offer alternatives in the wake of the economic crisis. Here, Andrew Gamble FBA responds.
Are Junk Food Sales in U.S. schools Responsible for Childhood Obesity?
Between the early 1970s and late 2000s, the percentage of obese children in the United States tripled. This trend is often attributed to the types and amounts of foods and drinks available to children, including those offered for sale in schools.
What Do Higher Education Consumers Want?
The Guardian yesterday published a set of worrying facts. Even though consumers of higher education pay almost three times as much in tuition fees than they did six years ago, face-to-face with lecturers in class has barely increased
The Hidden Costs of the Prison Boom for the Mental Health of Women
In a recent article in the American Sociological Review, sociologists have uncovered a sprawling mental health cost to the massive and rapid increase in incarceration in the United States.
