Monthly Archives: February 2012

Federal Research Public Access Act

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Britt Holbrook

The Alliance for Taxpayer Access has status updates on a new bill before Congress that would create an Open Access Policy for all federally funded research publications. Federal Research Public Access Act Alliance for Taxpayer Access. Here’s a link to … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Open Access, US Science Agencies | Leave a comment

Leak exposes how Heartland Institute works to undermine climate science

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Alexander Mosiak

The inner workings of a libertarian thinktank working to discredit the established science on climate change have been exposed by a leak of confidential documents detailing its strategy and fundraising networks… The papers indicate that discrediting established climate science remains a core … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Environmental policy | Leave a comment

A Dangerous Shift in Obama’s ‘Climate Change’ Rhetoric

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Alexander Mosiak

Maxwell Boykoff, assistant professor at the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Colorado at Boulder, gives a trenchant critique of the Obama administration’s strategy to address climate change solely in terms of clean energy: A … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Degrowth Economics, Environmental policy, Sustainability, Risk Management, & Long-Term Security | Leave a comment

Delange Conference – Rice University

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Britt Holbrook

The Future of the Research University in a Global Age via Delange Conference – Rice University.

Posted in Conferences Upcoming, Future of the University | Leave a comment

Memory enhancement technology and a future without forgetting. – Slate Magazine

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Britt Holbrook

Philosophical musings on … I forget …. Memory enhancement technology and a future without forgetting. – Slate Magazine.

Posted in Public Philosophizing, Science and technology ramifications | Leave a comment

Interdisciplinarity and the Digital Humanities: Profiling Julie Thompson Kline | HASTAC

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Britt Holbrook

CSID Senior Fellow Julie Thompson Klein is featured in this interview on interdisciplinarity and digital humanities: Interdisciplinarity and the Digital Humanities: Profiling Julie Thompson Kline | HASTAC.

Posted in CSID Publications, Future of the University, Interdisciplinarity | Leave a comment

2012 Forum on Philosophy, Engineering & Technology Call for Papers

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Britt Holbrook

November 2-4, 2012 in Beijing at the Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences GUCAS. The Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences is very proud and privileged to host the 2012 Forum on Philosophy, Engineering & Technology. The mission … Continue reading →

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Who Wins if We All Lose?

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Alexander Mosiak

As he belligerently wades into the debate around the Keystone XL pipeline, NY Times op-ed columnist Joe Nocera seems unaware that the tragedy of the commons is, in fact, a tragedy: Over the past two decades, energy companies have invested tens of … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Degrowth Economics, Environmental policy, Sustainability, Risk Management, & Long-Term Security | Leave a comment

Chinese Students Paying U.S. Tuitions — How? And Why?

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Alexander Mosiak

More on the growing trend of Chinese students enrolling in American universities: At the highly ranked University of Michigan, for example, an incoming freshman from Shanghai is charged nearly $38,000 in annual tuition and fees, while a kid from Kalamazoo will pay … Continue reading →

Posted in Future of the University | Leave a comment

Climate: “Expect the Unprecedented”

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Alexander Mosiak

A postdoc scholar in STS (science, technology, and society studies) at UCSB interviews meteorologist Jeff Masters on topics such as the relationship between climate and weather, why this winter has been so mild, and why most meteorologists shy away from … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change | Leave a comment

Finding the true value of US climate science : Nature News & Comment

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Britt Holbrook

Ryan Meyer, a friend of CSID, has a nice column in Nature: Finding the true value of US climate science : Nature News & Comment.

Posted in Accountability, STEM Policy, Sustainability, Risk Management, & Long-Term Security | Leave a comment

MIT’s New Free Courses May Threaten and Improve the Traditional Model of the University

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Britt Holbrook

A fascinating Q&A from the Chronicle with two leaders of MITx: MIT’s New Free Courses May Threaten and Improve the Traditional Model, Program’s Leader Says – Wired Campus – The Chronicle of Higher Education. I have a few of questions … Continue reading →

Posted in Future of the University, Metrics, Open Access | Leave a comment

Committing to Quality?

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Alexander Mosiak

Perhaps it’s just me, but the guidelines for dialogue on reforming American higher education contained in “Committing to Quality: Guidelines for Assessment and Accountability in Higher Education” seem incredibly vacuous. They include “set ambitious goals” and “gather, use, and report … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Future of the University | Leave a comment

International Students Pay Top Dollar at U.S. Colleges

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Robert Frodeman

Amazing stuff: this year 11% of the incoming freshmen at the University of Washington are Chinese nationals, paying 3 times in-state tuition. International Students Pay Top Dollar at U.S. Colleges – NY Times

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An ‘Arab Spring’ of Free Online Higher Education?

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Alexander Mosiak

In this article on the future of higher education, the ‘Arab Spring’ seems to be referenced purely for its cachet – the authors never make the case for the connection with transformations in higher education. It also strikes me as … Continue reading →

Posted in Future of the University, Graduate Studies, Open Access, Science and technology ramifications | Leave a comment

Vermont Legislature considers banning hydrofracking

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Alexander Mosiak

Nobody has applied to Vermont for permission to drill for oil or gas using hydraulic fracturing. No one is sure it would even be worthwhile to do so. Still, the Legislature and Gov. Peter Shumlin are considering banning the practice, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gas Fracking | Leave a comment

What are the alternatives to Google?

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Britt Holbrook

This is the provocative question asked, and at least partially answered, by Joshua Topolsky in this article from the Washington Post: Google’s new search services and privacy policy have some calling for a boycott – The Washington Post. What’s interesting … Continue reading →

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Gaming the College Rankings

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Alexander Mosiak

Several colleges in recent years have been caught gaming the [college ranking] system — in particular, the avidly watched U.S. News & World Report rankings — by twisting the meanings of rules, cherry-picking data or just lying. …repeated revelations of … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Future of the University, Metrics | Leave a comment

More Weather/Climate Confusion

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Alexander Mosiak

How can a major newspaper article about abnormally dry and warm winter weather fail to mention global warming even once? The meteorological phenomena of La Niña and the Arctic Oscillation are discussed, but not the climatological trends amplifying their effects. Talk … Continue reading →

Posted in Basic News, Climate Change | Leave a comment