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 […]
The Perverse Results of Performance Funding for Universities
Given the rise of policies that try to link state appropriations for public universities to the student outcomes for those institutions, the natural question must be: do these funding policies correlate with higher student achievement? The answers may surprise …
Methods: In Polling, Bigger Is Not Necessarily Better
As various canvasses and opinion polls attempt to predict the outcome of the Scottish independence plebiscite, it’s worth taking a look at how more methodologically sound inputs lead to more accurate forecasts.
Taking the Air out of the Ban on Transgender Troops
UPDATE: In a 2014 article, a former U.S. surgeon general and four co-authors argue that the U.S. military’s medically based ban on transgender troops in place then failed on the facts and on the precedents of other populations in uniform.
Social Science in Action: Ferguson Is a Serious Outlier
One black city council member is not nearly enough. In a study of city councils, only one place in America had a greater representational disparity than Ferguson, Missouri.
Are Good Intentions Enough in Allocating School Places?
Unintended consequences and little practical improvement could result from England’s plan to give poor students priority in school placement, especially if schools can decide to opt in or out, argue Stephen Gorard and Rebecca Morris.
Nudge Isn’t New, But It Is Comfortable
It took decades for behavioral economics to break into the mainstream. Now, after just a few years of “bias,” “anchoring” and “nudge,” […]
Sarah Harper on the Population Challenge for the 21st Century
Around the world, populations are growing older. But is that because people are living longer? Or could it be that there are fewer younger people to dilute the demographic pool? And what about aging itself — when exactly is ‘old’ these days?
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.
