The challenge of infusing the social sciences into what are generally viewed as biomedical issues has been a long and difficult one, as the recent WHO report on Ebola demonstrates. Oddly, this lesson has been learned many times before, but keeps getting forgotten.
Interdisciplinarityfor interdisciplinarity’s sake is fraught, argues Merlin Crossley. We should build bridges linking the tops of silos rather than try to break down silos themselves.
The arrival of a report calling for the British government to better support social science has raised questions about the role, responses and responsibilities of a ‘public sociology.’
Pleased with its debut team of social and behavioral scientists working to make federal policy better, the White House is seeking more members for its version of a ‘nudge’ unit. The deadline to apply is April 12.
Grappling with climate change going forward won’t be so much grappling with climate as it will be grappling with human reactions to the forces already in motion. Universities have a role to play in marshaling all their disciplines in this endeavor, says Matthew Nisbet.
‘I am whoever I want to be,’ insistsCameron Neylon. ‘You don’t get to define my value. The real question is whether the filters you apply are good enough to tell when I have something to say that is useful for you to hear.’
A transdisciplinary investigation into ‘The City’ sponsored offered hard truths and rays of hope for the urban future most of us will face.
Although universities and funding bodies pay lip-service to the importance of multi-discipline research, a physicist and an anthropologist argue there is a long way to go before the reality matches the rhetoric.
In recent years there has been an increased focus on how research papers and supplemental data can be preserved openly. Andy Tattersall, Liz Such, Joe Langley and Fiona Marshall argue equal attention should also be paid to curating communication outputs aimed at engaging non-academic audiences.
Michael Burawoy, whose embrace of public sociology and the public at work lead him to describe his influential academic niche as “industrial […]
To address research credibility issues, we must reform the role of metrics, rankings, and incentives in universities.
In recent years there has been an increased focus on how research papers and supplemental data can be preserved openly. Andy Tattersall, Liz Such, Joe Langley and Fiona Marshall argue equal attention should also be paid to curating communication outputs aimed at engaging non-academic audiences.
A new people has emerged in the digital age, that of ‘internet famous’ celebrities. And that new people has a class of […]
Xenotransplantation is a fascinating subject – for obvious reasons, as it involves transplanting organs or other body parts across species boundaries (in […]
