Monthly Archives: December 2011

NASA: Climate Change May Bring Big Ecosystem Changes

A very interesting article posted by the NASA JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) on their blog. It talks not only about the already known effects of the human-induced climate change upon ice caps, rising sea levels, and so forth. Their goal … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Environmental policy, Science and technology ramifications, Sustainability, Risk Management, & Long-Term Security, TechnoScience & Technoscientism | Leave a comment

Nature News Blog: NSF takes broad look at broader impacts

Well done, NSB! Legislation passed by Congress in 2010 confirmed the importance of broader impacts, and also tried to be more specific, listing some of the activities that would count as having societal benefit. But when the task force’s May … Continue reading

Posted in Accountability, Broader Impacts, Metrics, NSF, Peer Review, STEM Policy | 1 Comment

We’re All Crazy Around Here

or at least, someone is. Adam and I–with the ample help of our entire community of thinkers, here at CSID and abroad in the world–have spent nearly a year writing the little piece that came out in the Chronicle Review … Continue reading

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For-Profit College Rules Scaled Back After Lobbying

If the last post didn’t convince you of the surge in corporate profiteering from publicly-funded education, here’s yet another instance of this trend: Last year, the Obama administration vowed to stop for-profit colleges from luring students with false promises. In an … Continue reading

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

Online Schools Score Better on Wall Street Than in Classrooms

The financialization of “public” education is gaining steam at ever lower grade levels: By almost every educational measure, the Agora Cyber Charter School is failing. Nearly 60 percent of its students are behind grade level in math. Nearly 50 percent … Continue reading

Posted in Accountability, Occupy Wall Street, TechnoScience & Technoscientism | Leave a comment

“Why so risky?”

If the Joker was an environmental philosopher, this would be his “catch phrase”. But since he is a fictional character it’s up to us to deal with our current crisis, which is not only an environment crisis, it is also … Continue reading

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Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog: CHE: Where are your fact-checkers?

And where are yours, Professor Leiter? Your hit piece on two recent articles on the future of philosophy in the Chronicle of Higher Education, one of which was written by CSID’s own Adam Briggle and Robert Frodeman, needs to get … Continue reading

Posted in Accountability, CSID Publications, Future of the University, Peer Review | 2 Comments

CFP: Deman – Innovation – Policy

The current policy focus is on the intelligent use of public procurement of innovation, but increasingly a more comprehensive mix of tools are being applied. However, current ‘demand-side’ policy practices are not broadly underpinned by academic studies on appropriate designs and … Continue reading

Posted in Conferences Upcoming, Science and technology ramifications, Sustainability, Risk Management, & Long-Term Security | Leave a comment

CFP: Science-Policy Interactions & Social Values. April 13-14, 2012

Occurring at the University of Texas at Dallas: The Center for Values in Medicine, Science, and Technology seeks proposals for papers and symposia for a conference to wrap up our 2011-2012 public lecture series on Funded and Forbidden Knowledge: Science, Politics, … Continue reading

Posted in Accountability, Broader Impacts, Conferences Upcoming, Interdisciplinarity, Public Philosophizing, Science and technology ramifications, Transdisciplinarity | Leave a comment

Questioning ‘International Development’ in DR Congo

This BBC article about DR Congo as a failed state contains a great deal to suggest that a merely technical approach to socioeconomic development can backfire dramatically: In the absence of a functioning state or similar, even the best-intended projects can … Continue reading

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The CHE Review: “A New Philosophy for the 21st Century”

Just out at the Chronicle of Higher Education Reviw by Adam Briggle and me: We have devoted our lives to philosophy. We want the field to survive and, if possible, prosper. But it is increasingly doubtful that academic philosophy can … Continue reading

Posted in CSID Publications, Future of the University, Interdisciplinarity, Public Pedagogy, Public Philosophizing, TechnoScience & Technoscientism, Transdisciplinarity | Leave a comment

UK Science Minister: “Results of publicly funded research will be open access”

Results of publicly funded research will be open access – science minister | Science | guardian.co.uk.

Posted in Accountability, Open Access, Science and technology ramifications, STEM Policy | Leave a comment

Fracking may be causing groundwater pollution, says EPA report

The US Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday for the first time that fracking — a controversial method of improving the productivity of oil and gas wells — may be to blame for causing groundwater pollution… The EPA found that compounds likely … Continue reading

Posted in Environmental policy, Peer Review, Science and technology ramifications, Sustainability, Risk Management, & Long-Term Security | Leave a comment

Outsourcing Pollution

An unregulated global market repeatedly leads national environmental regulations toward the same outcome: pollution shifting to where it’s cheaper to pollute. Whether it’s European limits on carbon dioxide emissions shifting industrial production (and the associated emissions) to China or American … Continue reading

Posted in Accountability, Climate Change, Degrowth Economics, Environmental policy, Science and technology ramifications, Sustainability, Risk Management, & Long-Term Security, TechnoScience & Technoscientism | Leave a comment

How Republicans are being taught to talk about Occupy Wall Street | The Ticket – Yahoo! News

In case you need an emetic …. How Republicans are being taught to talk about Occupy Wall Street | The Ticket – Yahoo! News. This is a great illustration of how to avoid accountability.

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William of Orange: the Modern Republican Prince

I am most happy to see that a scholar of some repute has finally decided to accomplish in an actual history text what Neal Stephenson was able to do in his fictional history trilogy, the Baroque Cycle. Bernard-Henri Lévy: Are … Continue reading

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Business education: Field of dreams | The Economist

Harvard Business School (HBS) experimenting with field philosophy: The new practical addition to HBS’s curriculum is known as “FIELD” Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development. via Business education: Field of dreams | The Economist.

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

Just another friendly neighborhood corporate takeover…

… of education. As a publicly educated Floridian, this hits home: long-time school board member of Orange County, Florida, Rick Roach discusses his experience taking the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), required annually for certain grade levels in public schools. … Continue reading

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At Climate Talks, a Familiar Standoff

China, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, has once again emerged as the biggest puzzle at international climate change talks, sending ambiguous signals about the role it intends to play in future negotiations. This week the nation’s top climate envoy said that … Continue reading

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The University of Wherever

Sebastian Thrun [the Stanford computer science professor famous for leading the team that built Google's self-driving car]… is offering his “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” course online and free of charge. His remote students will get the same lectures as students … Continue reading

Posted in Future of the University, Science and technology ramifications, TechnoScience & Technoscientism | 1 Comment

measuring impact

I’m at a workshop in Brussels, listening to people talk about metrics, bibliometrics, and the measuring of research impact. The conversation turns to metrics so quickly, rather than dwelling on the question, what is impact? Reminds me of the forgetfulness … Continue reading

Posted in Accountability, Broader Impacts, Economics & STEM Research, Metrics, Public Philosophizing, Science and technology ramifications, TechnoScience & Technoscientism | 1 Comment

Geoengineering Might Be Gaining Traction

Notions of manipulating the climate to impede global warming have been on the fringe of scientific discussion for some time, but is moving increasingly toward the mainstream…. At a time of deep concern over global warming, a group of scientists, … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Environmental policy, Science and technology ramifications, Sustainability, Risk Management, & Long-Term Security, TechnoScience & Technoscientism | Leave a comment

Hurricane-force Santa Ana winds: Another sign of global warming?

This article in the Christian Science Monitor constitutes a rare journalistic attempt at discussing risk management related to climate change in the context of an extreme weather event – the recent 150+ mph Santa Ana winds. My hunch is that … Continue reading

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The BRICS, if they could choose, would they team-up with the “rich” or try to save the “poor”?

The Busan International Forum, taking place in South Korea, has been an expression of shifting geopolitical realities. In a contemporary scenario in which some (formerly) major countries regarding international politics are losing their influence upon the world, the BRICS’ rise … Continue reading

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

Regret: Finding a Place Again for Feeling Shame

The notion that we shouldn’t cry over spilled milk — more broadly, that we should not lament what we cannot change — is the claim I set out to challenge in this TED talk. Granted, one purpose of the spilled-milk … Continue reading

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