The Conversation

Did Emile Durkheim Foresee Today’s Chaos?
Impact
November 13, 2018

Did Emile Durkheim Foresee Today’s Chaos?

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Extreme Polarization Is Bad But Need Not Be Inevitable
Impact
November 3, 2018

Extreme Polarization Is Bad But Need Not Be Inevitable

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Even Self-Identified Independents are Partisan in America
International Debate
November 2, 2018

Even Self-Identified Independents are Partisan in America

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Africa Takes Steps in Using Evidence to Inform Policy
International Debate
August 20, 2018

Africa Takes Steps in Using Evidence to Inform Policy

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Funding for Basic Research has Future Payoffs

Funding for Basic Research has Future Payoffs

Basic research can be easy to mock as pointless and wasteful of resources. But it’s very often the foundation for future innovation – even in ways the original scientists couldn’t have imagined.

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The US Professoriat and the Limits of Free Speech

The US Professoriat and the Limits of Free Speech

Researches at the University of Florida’s Brechner Center for Freedom of Information have studied the rights of public employees when they speak with the news media. Here, they look specifically at professors at public universities in the United States and find there are broad protections – within limits.

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The ‘Odyssey’ of Today’s Leadership Crisis

The ‘Odyssey’ of Today’s Leadership Crisis

Centuries ago, myths helped the Greeks learn to reject tyrannical authority and identify the qualities of good leadership. Emily Anhalt argues that the same myths that long predate the world’s very first democracy have lessons for us today – just as they did for the ancient Greeks centuries ago.

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The Gender Pay Gap Persists at Canadian Universities

The Gender Pay Gap Persists at Canadian Universities

There is still a gender pay gap at nearly all Canadian universities, with especially big gaps at Canada’s 15 research-intensive universities, Megan Frederickson shows. It’s not accounted for by greater talent or solely the ghost of sexism past.

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What Exactly is ‘Psychographics’?

What Exactly is ‘Psychographics’?

Cambridge Analytica’s approach to crunching social media data represents a step change in how analytics can today be used as a tool to generate insights – and to exert influence.

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Will Cambridge Analytica Hurt Legitimate Research?

Will Cambridge Analytica Hurt Legitimate Research?

It is right to believe that researchers and their employers value research integrity, says Annabel Latham. But instances where trust has been betrayed by an academic – even if it’s the case that data used for university research purposes wasn’t caught in the crossfire – will have a negative impact on whether participants will continue to trust researchers.

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Scientists in Need of Arts Training

Scientists in Need of Arts Training

How can universities train our scientists, technologists and engineers to engage with society rather than perform as cogs in the engine of economic development? Author Richard Lachman asks for educational system to require STEM students to take art and humanities courses, not as an attempt to “broaden minds” but as a necessary discussion of morals, ethics and responsibility.

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Report Offers Guidelines for Ethics of Technology Design

Report Offers Guidelines for Ethics of Technology Design

The big questions posed by our digital future sit at the intersection of technology and ethics. This is complex territory that requires input from experts in many different fields, including the social sciences, if we are to navigate it successfully. A new report makes an effort to give a first draft of that necessary input.

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