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 […]
The Power of Image in Politics
Images tap into attitudes, but not always in the same way for every viewer. An image’s perceived level of influence is based on “believability.” This is the idea that it is true if we agree, fake if we disagree. And it is here that the power of images intersects with the great challenge of the digital age. How do we understand politics, fake news, campaigning, and citizenship in an area dominated by images?
Opinion: Economic Theory Needs a Major Overhaul
Current mainstream economic theory needs an overhaul. Modern advanced economies are complex, evolving systems, which cannot continue to be understood only through aggregate quantity. Sergio Focardi discusses the explanatory power of qualitative (in addition to quantitative) understandings of the market.
Which Public Universities Get Buckets of Private Money?
Even as government spending per-student for higher education institutions has been faltering in the United States, private money has been flowing in. But not all public institutions are getting the same amount of seed money from outsiders.
Fudged Research Results Erode People’s Trust in Experts
A database of retractions shows hundreds of academic articles with Australian authors have been withdrawn. Research misconduct threatens to corrode trust in academic qualifications and publications.
Can Africa’s Science Academies Drive Sustainable Development
Most countries in Africa are lagging behind development goal suggested by the United Nations. Science academies have a crucial role to play in developing ways for scientists to help these nations achieve development goals more effectively.
Why Heavy Metal is a Valid – and Vital – PhD Subject
For most people, the idea of academia and heavy metal coming together under a single roof represents a paradox. It’s a misplaced assumption built on ingrained ideas about these two cultural forms.
South Africa’s Universal Man: Johnny Clegg, 1953-2019
The late South African musician Johnny Clegg was also an anthropologist both formally, as a lecturer on ethnography, and informally as he continued a teaching career from the stage.
UC Librarian Foresees Seismic Shift from Elsevier Showdown
In the wake of Elsevier shuttering access to its current journal articles at the University of California, the university librarian at UC-Davis reviews the context of the dispute and argues open access offers the best path for academia’s future.
