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 […]
Mission Possible: Be an Ethical Social Scientist
The author of a book on research ethics for social scientists suggests that issues such as antagonism with university review boards and new complexities introduced by Big Data can make integrity a sometime elusive quality.
OMG, Zambia’s New Interim President Is … an Economist
A lot has been made about Guy Scott being a white man. But Stephen Chan argues that’s one of the less remarkable aspects of Zambia’s fill-in leader.
Is Big Data Galloping to a ‘Horsemeat Moment’?
Big data is ultimately a big boon for both researchers and the public. But without some reasonable and quick regulation, argues Duncan Shaw, scandals arising from its misuse could turn the public’s stomach.
The Maddox Winners: Promoting Good Science Can Be a Contact Sport
Having run the gantlet of online abuse and legal threats for their troubles, two top-notch science communicators have won this year’s John Maddox Prize for the their evidence-based good work and dedication in the face of adversity.
How Economics Lost Its Identity (Australian Edition)
Business and finance are important, but they’re not the same thing as economics. One academic’s suggestions for making that distinction clear as early as secondary school.
How Germany Managed to Abolish University Tuition Fees
If Germany has done it, why can’t we? That’s the question being asked by many students around the world in countries that charge tuition fees to university. Barbara Kehm explains how Germany reached this point, and whether it’s likely to stay there.
A Primer for the Public: 10 Tips for Interpreting Research
We want decisions to be based on data and evidence and not ideology or gut feelings. But being presented with research results only starts the process of understanding what to draw from it.
World University Rankings: The Haves Have It
There’s a rankings mania affecting institutions of higher education. But just because it’s a mania, does that make bad?
