The Conversation

March for Science: Should Scientists Engage in Activism?
Public Engagement
February 7, 2017

March for Science: Should Scientists Engage in Activism?

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Economic Forecast: This Year’s Model May Disappoint
News
February 3, 2017

Economic Forecast: This Year’s Model May Disappoint

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How Immigration Ban Affects Universities — and US Soft Power
Higher Education Reform
January 31, 2017

How Immigration Ban Affects Universities — and US Soft Power

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Who Will Challenge the Predators Now That Beall’s List is Gone?
Communication
January 24, 2017

Who Will Challenge the Predators Now That Beall’s List is Gone?

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Social Science Needs its Own Doctor-Patient Confidentiality

Social Science Needs its Own Doctor-Patient Confidentiality

Several recent high-profile incidents suggest that the confidentiality promises routinely made by social scientists have little in the way of legal support.

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Is the Concept of Race Science’s Biggest Mistake?

Is the Concept of Race Science’s Biggest Mistake?

There is a clear consensus among anthropologists that races aren’t real, that they don’t reflect biological reality, and that most anthropologists don’t believe there is a place for race categories in science.

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The Research on Communicating Science in a Post-Truth Era

The Research on Communicating Science in a Post-Truth Era

A new report from the National Academies on current science communication finds it’s going to need strategic and serious investment in the ‘science’ of science communication and demand much greater engagement and collaboration between those who study science communication and those who actually do it.

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When Government is Not Enough for Research Funding

When Government is Not Enough for Research Funding

Two research executives from the University of Minnesota see there isn’t enough government funding to pay for all the innovative research that needs to be taking place. Might business take up the slack?

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Fixing Peer Review, a Biologist’s View

Fixing Peer Review, a Biologist’s View

Peer review clearly isn’t perfect, but rather than simply bypassing it and releasing even more information into an overloaded system, we should focus on making it better, says this life sciences editor. The first step is to reset and clearly state our standards for quality in both publishing and peer reviewing.

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Why Did Contract Theory Deserve a Nobel Prize?

Why Did Contract Theory Deserve a Nobel Prize?

As technology improves and organizations become more complex, the theory and practice of contract design will only increase in importance. As such, we owe, we owe a great debt to this year’s Nobel laureates in economics for giving us powerful tools to structure effective contracts.

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Inane Criticism of ‘Absurd’ Research Leaves No One the Wiser

Inane Criticism of ‘Absurd’ Research Leaves No One the Wiser

Perhaps the solution to conflicting spending priorities, write Rod Lamberts and Will J. Grant, is simply to acknowledge that people will always have conflicting priorities, and think about how best to live alongside each other: mythical, homogeneous pub-goer and irrelevant, out-of-touch academic alike.

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Free Advice: Do Some Homework Before Ridiculing Research

Free Advice: Do Some Homework Before Ridiculing Research

Shonkily researched assertions are okay if you enjoy the safe patronage of a major news organisation, argues Rob Brooks. But know, he adds, you would never get away with such abject laziness, or such contempt for professional disinterest in a grant proposal to a federal funding body.

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