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 […]
Quantophrenia is Back in Town
Many social scientists find themselves members of a cult of quantification, argues Robert Dingwall, in love with numbers for their own sake even when those numbers produce no useful knowledge.
Judgement Day for Australian Science and Research Funding
When Tony Abbott took office as Australia’s prime minister and didn’t name a science minister, he asked that his government be judged by action, not titles.
A Primer on Improving Proactive Policing
When he was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences on May 8, Carnegie Mellon criminologist Daniel Nagin delivered a concise and pointed precis of modern research into proactive policing as part of his remarks.
EIS: Matching UK Politicians with UK Researchers
Last month a team of UK academics launched an initiative called the Evidence Information Service, which seeks to enable rapid dialogue between researchers and policy makers. Here, the system’s founders describe the response so far and the challenges that lie ahead.
The Promise and Perils of the Public ‘Nudge’
While there are ample perspective benefits to behavioral nudges in the creation of public policy, make sure the nudges are designed for real people and not some rational superbeing.
Largest-Ever NSF Budget Passes First Test
With no controversy and the only discussion about how best to honor the retiring chairman of the panel, the subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee that oversees the unlikely bedfellows of justice, commerce and scientific agencies has approved a $7.4 billion budget for the National Science Foundation.
Who Really Holds the Cards in Gambling Research?
Australian research into gambling ultimately is highly dependent on the success of gambling itself (even when it’s funded by the state). Is there any surprise that much of the research is rarely critical of the industry?
The Doctor Who Gave $1 Million of His Own to Keep His Gun Research Going
The eternal hunt for funding is the bane of modern research, especially when your research subject is politically sensitive. Garen Wintemute found a way–sadly not one that the average academic can copy–around that: He paid for his gun research himself.
