Category Archives: Broader Impacts

An (Im)Modest Proposal – The UK Evidence Information Service | Pasco Phronesis

Three U.K. universities are doing something I doubt their U.S. counterparts have the resources (or the willingness to risk) to duplicate.  They have started a process for establishing an Evidence Information Service (EIS) to, as they put it, help put … Continue reading

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How Academia and Publishing are Destroying Scientific Innovation: A Conversation with Sydney Brenner | King’s Review – Magazine

An interview with molecular biologist Sydney Brenner… In most places in the world, you live your social life and your ordinary life in the lab. You don’t know anybody else. Sometimes you don’t even know other people in the same … Continue reading

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Scientist proposes revolutionary naming system for all life on Earth

A Virginia Tech researcher has developed a new way to classify and name organisms based on their genome sequence and in doing so created a universal language that scientists can use to communicate with unprecedented specificity about all life on … Continue reading

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Scientists reading fewer papers for first time in 35 years : Nature News & Comment

A survey of the reading habits of US university researchers saw a drop in the traditional, paper-based consumption of information. A 35-year trend of researchers reading ever more scholarly papers seems to have halted. In 2012, US scientists and social … Continue reading

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Would teaching economics backwards help students be ready for the world?

Who really knows… but it might be worth the experiment! …here’s one temporary fix for introductory economics: teach it backwards. Reversing the order in which introductory economic classes are taught today might be the easiest way to respond to the … Continue reading

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▶ Are Memes & Internet Culture Creating a Singularity? | Idea Channel | PBS Digital Studios – YouTube

 

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Assessing impact » Testing hypotheses…

Steven Hill (@stevenhill), Head of Research Policy at the Higher Education Funding Council for England, responds to a recent publication by Steven Hrotic and me here: Assessing impact » Testing hypotheses…. Here is the original publication, which is available open … Continue reading

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Developing indicators of the impact of scholarly communication is a massive technical challenge – but it’s also much simpler than that | Impact of Social Sciences

Developing indicators of the impact of scholarly communication is a massive technical challenge – but it’s also much simpler than that | Impact of Social Sciences.

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Nigel Warburton’s negative vision of what philosophy isn’t | jbrittholbrook

Does not resisting impact requirements mean you’re not a real philosopher? Nigel Warburton’s negative vision of what philosophy isn’t | jbrittholbrook.  

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Pure hype of pure research helps no one : Nature News & Comment

Dan Sarewitz on continued belief in myths of science policy. Pure hype of pure research helps no one : Nature News & Comment. I blogged my immediate thoughts about Dan’s article here.

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56 Indicators of Impact

In 2011, several core members of the Center for the Study of Interdisciplinarity (CSID) at the University of North Texas held a meeting during which we imagined different ways to indicate the impact of our activities. We scribbled them on … Continue reading

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Impact, impact, impact | Pioneers Post

Discussing the term ‘impact’ — something we did at this workshop, and elsewhere. Impact, impact, impact | Pioneers Post.

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The impact imperative can be better understood through the opportunities and contraints of feminist scholarship | Impact of Social Sciences

Feminist researchers are motivated to undertake impact activities because of their feminism. We want to change, as well as observe, the world. via The impact imperative can be better understood through the opportunities and contraints of feminist scholarship | Impact … Continue reading

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Holdren Attacks House Bill, Defends NSF’s Grant Selection Process – ScienceInsider

Holdren Attacks House Bill, Defends NSF’s Grant Selection Process – ScienceInsider.

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The ‘Broader Impacts’ of Sequestration on Science

CSID Director Bob Frodeman has some suggestions about the interconnection of research & society in post-austerity world. Now that we’ve been driven off the “fiscal cliff,” perhaps we should look around and assess the results. It turns out that sequestration … Continue reading

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Subcommittee Reviews NSF’s FY 2014 Budget Request | Democrats -Committee on Science, Space and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives

Links on NSF Merit Review hearing: Subcommittee Reviews NSF’s FY 2014 Budget Request | Democrats -Committee on Science, Space and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives. http://science.house.gov/press-release/subcommittee-reviews-nsf-budget-explores-ways-improve-grant-approval-process http://science.house.gov/hearing/research-subcommittee-hearing-overview-national-science-foundation-budget-fiscal-year-2014 http://science.edgeboss.net/wmedia/science/sst2013/RS041713.wvx        

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NSF Peer Review Under Scrutiny by House Science Panel – ScienceInsider

John Holdren to Science House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology: “I think it’s a dangerous thing for Congress, or anybody else, to be trying to specify in detail what types of fundamental research NSF should be funding.” NSF Peer … Continue reading

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Re-engineering Ethics, Kelli Barr and Wenlong Lu « Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective

CSID fellows Kelli Barr and Wenlong Lu just published a thoughtful piece at the Social Epistemology Review & Reply Collective. They consider a recent professional meeting that they attended and the implications of having a diverse crowd of trained experts … Continue reading

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Broader Impacts of the Fact that NASA Suspends All Education and Public Outreach Update – NASA Watch

Effective immediately, all education and public outreach activities should be suspended, pending further review. In terms of scope, this includes all public engagement and outreach events, programs, activities, and products developed and implemented by Headquarters, Mission Directorates, and Centers across … Continue reading

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Open Access, the Impact Agenda and resistance to the neoliberal paradigm | Impact of Social Sciences

Yesterday’s post introduced the context of neoliberalism as the backdrop of change in higher education. Here Martin Eve provides further clarification of the neoliberal context, linking the impact agenda under the Research Excellence Framework as a key trait of a privatised … Continue reading

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Institutions starting to walk the Broader Impacts walk

CSID’s own Robert Frodeman is slated to keynote an upcoming Broader Impacts Infrastructure Summit. This summit marks the first of its kind for its focus on institutional infrastructure, primarily at universities and colleges, to support faculty and staff in coordinating, … Continue reading

Posted in Accountability, Broader Impacts, Conferences Upcoming, NSF, STEM Policy | 1 Comment

An unusual take on the Research Excellence Framework – HERAVALUE

An unusual take on the Research Excellence Framework – HERAVALUE.

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“The Individual and Scholarly Networks” — Research Trends Webinar

Just finished listening to this webinar, in which CSID’s own Kelli Barr participated as a presenter. One of the most interesting aspects of the webinar was the discussion of the use of new ways for the individual researcher to extend … Continue reading

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Is NSF’s ‘Product’ Category a Finished Product? – Science Careers

Science Careers weighs in on NSF’s recent changes to the Grant Proposal Guide: Is NSF’s ‘Product’ Category a Finished Product? – Science Careers – Biotech, Pharmaceutical, Faculty, Postdoc jobs on Science Careers. Interesting take on what counts as a ‘product’ … Continue reading

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Don’t Underestimate NSF’s New Grant-Submission Rules – Manage Your Career – The Chronicle of Higher Education

I left a comment* about one point I take issue with; but this is a good article, with lots of good advice. Don’t Underestimate NSF’s New Grant-Submission Rules – Manage Your Career – The Chronicle of Higher Education. * Just … Continue reading

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