Cutting NSF Is Like Liquidating Your Finest Investment
Look closely at your mobile phone or tablet. Touch-screen technology, speech recognition, digital sound recording and the internet were all developed using […]
A Social Science Audit for Facebook’s News Feed?
How can the public learn the role of algorithms in their daily lives, evaluating the law and ethicality of systems like the Facebook News Feed, search engines, or airline booking systems? Earlier this month Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society hosted a conversation about the idea of social science audits of algorithms, and J. Nathan Matias reports on the discourse.
The Importance of NSF’s SBE Directorate and a Fond Farewell to its First Leader
A seminal figure in solidifying the importance and position of the social and behavioral sciences in the federal research infrastructure, sociologist Cora Marrett leaves the National Science Foundation next month.
Do We Have (Data) Trust Issues With the Academy?
A new survey of the British public finds it has serious concerns about sharing data with just about everyone, even with institutions is otherwise respects deeply.
Sorry Scarlett, We Use All Our Brain, Not Just 10 Percent
Another cherished myth bites the dust. The makers of the new movie “Lucy” aside, we already use all of of brain, and not just a tenth of it.
On the Ethics of Facebook – and Drawing the Right Conclusions
What does the Facebook emotional contagion study really tells us about research ethics? Perhaps, argues Robert Dingwall, that its time to deregulate public social science.
Call for Submissions: International Convention of Psychological Science
The inaugural International Convention of Psychological Science seeks submissions for its gathering on March 12-15, 2015 in Amsterdam. ICPS offers opportunities to […]
Sharing Data Across Disciplines and Cultures
The value of sharing research data is widely recognised by the research community and funders are setting in place stronger policy requirements for researchers to share data. But the costs to researchers in sharing their data can be considerable and the incentives are sometimes few and far between. A recent report from the cross-disciplinary Expert Advisory Group on Data Access highlights the need for a shift in cultures to provide greater support for researchers in sharing data and greater recognition for those who do it well.
Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Metric?
This Monday marks the end of the open consultation for HEFCE’s Independent Review of the Role of Metrics in Research Assessment. Steve Fuller argues that academics, especially interdisciplinary scholars, should welcome the opportunity to approach the task of citation differently.
