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 […]
Census, NSF See Proposed Funding Increases in 2019
Legislation to fund the National Science Foundation and the Bureau of the Census, among many other U.S. government agencies, in the next fiscal year sailed through its first public hearing today in the House of Representatives.
Washington and Social Science: Could ‘Regular Order’ in Funding Return?
The House approved several financial services measures, the 21st Century IRS Act, the Taxpayer First Act, and the FAA Reauthorization Act. The House also voted on and failed to adopt a balanced budget Constitutional amendment. The Senate voted to confirm several nominations, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
What Census Data Miss about American Diversity
In the current volume of ‘The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,’ the editors ask: is the current census ethno-racial classification system doing a good job? Does it accurately reflect who we are, enabling us to track important social phenomena? Does it provide statistics helpful to understanding demographic dynamics and who we are likely to become in the years ahead?
Facebook, SSRC Bravely Reinvigorate Research Collaboration
We spoke with social-science ethicists about how well Facebook’s initiative appears to protect users’ privacy. They’re skeptical, but still eager to see Facebook data studied.
Data Systems & GovTech Apps Impacts Students Positively
Current debates in higher education policy have drawn attention to the significant impacts of marketization, metrics, and performance management on the sector. Ben Williamson argues that a restructuring of the data infrastructure is shaping these HE trends.
The Gender Pay Gap Persists at Canadian Universities
There is still a gender pay gap at nearly all Canadian universities, with especially big gaps at Canada’s 15 research-intensive universities, Megan Frederickson shows. It’s not accounted for by greater talent or solely the ghost of sexism past.
Washington and Social Science: Science Chair Still Questions Value
Congress cleared the final fiscal year 2018 Omnibus Appropriations Act, and the president signed the measure into law, narrowly averting another government shutdown. The House and Senate approved separate several financial services bills related to the Dodd-Frank Act. The House also approved several regulatory relief bills, and the “Right to Try” Act. The Senate also approved and cleared for the president’s signature the “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act.”
Democracy Threatened When Census Undercounts Populations
The 2020 U.S. Census is still two years away, but experts and civil rights groups are already disputing the results. Professor Emily Merchant’s research on the international history of demography demonstrates that the question of how to equitably count the population is not new, nor is it unique to the United States.
