Monthly Archives: October 2012

‘Preparing for Life in Humanity 2.0′ hits shelves just in time for Halloween

Steve Fuller’s latest book, Preparing for Life in Humanity 2.0, hits shelves just in time for Halloween. I find the timing of the book’s release interesting, since it introduces the most frightening philosophic character since Nietzsche’s Übermensch — the ‘moral … Continue reading

Posted in Interdisciplinarity, New Books, Public Philosophizing, Science and technology ramifications, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

DigitalKoans » Blog Archive Measuring the Impact of Digital Resources: The Balanced Value Impact Model » DigitalKoans

Yet another method for assessing impact, this one geared specifically toward the impact of digital resources: DigitalKoans » Blog Archive Measuring the Impact of Digital Resources: The Balanced Value Impact Model » DigitalKoans. The ‘Balanced Value Impact Model’ defines impact … Continue reading

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ESRC success rates by discipline: what on earth is going on? | Impact of Social Sciences

Adam Golberg analyzes success rates for various disciplines applying for grants from the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC): ESRC success rates by discipline: what on earth is going on? | Impact of Social Sciences. Not surprisingly, some disciplines … Continue reading

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What Doors Does a Ph.D. in History Open?

The same question can be asked of all PhDs in the humanities, of course. So good suggestions here: What Doors Does a Ph.D. in History Open? – Manage Your Career – The Chronicle of Higher Education.

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The politics of prudence; or, how I learned to stop worrying about climate change and love therapeutic nihilism

Frankenstorm Sandy, currently ravaging the northeastern US, is testament enough to the predictable unpredictability inherent in global warming. What I mean by “predictable unpredictability” is something like the following: though we cannot know exactly how individual weather systems in particular … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Environmental policy, Science and technology ramifications, Sustainability, Risk Management, & Long-Term Security | 3 Comments

*Fracking survey* — Make sure your beliefs about hydraulic fracturing for natural gas are counted!

Technology and Society: Fracking Ideology A survey of beliefs about hydraulic fracturing for natural gas Dear energy consumers, Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” for natural gas plays an important role in the debate about our energy future. As an energy consumer, … Continue reading

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Why You Should Reject the “Rejection Improves Impact” Meme

Interesting analysis — and indictment of uncritical reading — of the idea that rejection improves citation rates by @caseybergman: Why You Should Reject the “Rejection Improves Impact” Meme « I wish you’d made me angry earlier.

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European Research Council President Helga Nowotny urges support for ‘Horizon 2020′

Here is what Nowotny had to say: “This strong message to the leaders of Europe confirms the importance of the ERC Scientific Council’s strategy to find, fund and empower the best researchers. It is therefore vital that the future EU … Continue reading

Posted in Accountability, Economics & STEM Research, Future of the University, institutionalizing interdisciplinarity, STEM Policy | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Venue Poll: Where should philosophers publish?

I think following this blog might give us some real insight into the state of philosophy today: The Venue Poll.

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Philosophy and Interdisciplinarity – The Philosophers’ Cocoon

Andreas Wolkenstein asks whether philosophers have anything special to contribute to interdisciplinarity: Philosophy and Interdisciplinarity – The Philosophers’ Cocoon.

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More Than Just Access: Delivering on a Network-Enabled Literature

Cameron Neylon (@CameronNeylon on Twitter) delivers a clear argument for allowing commercial reuse of your research: PLOS Biology: More Than Just Access: Delivering on a Network-Enabled Literature.

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What’s in a name? ORCID Registry aims to prevent authorship confusion

Holly Falk-Krzesinski shares her experiences regarding choosing which name to publish under — as well as a romantic story about her marriage: ORCID Registry aims to prevent authorship confusion | Elsevier Connect. I signed up for my own account in part … Continue reading

Posted in Future of the University, Science and technology ramifications, STEM Policy | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Smartest People Prefer Twitter To LinkedIn And Facebook, Research Shows [STUDY] – AllTwitter

I think this speaks for itself: The Smartest People Prefer Twitter To LinkedIn And Facebook, Research Shows [STUDY] – AllTwitter. By the way, you can follow me on twitter: @jbrittholbrook.

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Tweeting out loud: ethics, knowledge and social media in academe | Impact of Social Sciences

Melonie Fullick offers a nice run-down of the recent discussion of the issue of live tweeting at academic conferences: Tweeting out loud: ethics, knowledge and social media in academe | Impact of Social Sciences. One of the more interesting points … Continue reading

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Papers initially rejected but eventually published cited more — but why?

James Evans, a participant in our NSF workshop on transformative research, has some interesting comments in this article. The Benefits of Rejection – The Scientist Magazine®. The article itself discusses a study of papers that are published after having been … Continue reading

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Psychological self-defence for the age of email « Mind Hacks

Very interesting psychology of technology going on in this article. I’m tempted to call it a phenomenology of email. BBC Column: Psychological self-defence for the age of email « Mind Hacks.

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A ProfHacker TweetChat with Anvil Academic: Presenting Digital Work for Promotion and Tenure – ProfHacker – The Chronicle of Higher Education

A discussion of bringing traditional academic rigor to digital media via peer review: A ProfHacker TweetChat with Anvil Academic: Presenting Digital Work for Promotion and Tenure – ProfHacker – The Chronicle of Higher Education. I understand the idea, and it’s … Continue reading

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Denton Drilling: Draft ordinance needs overhaul

Last night, about forty dedicated citizens gathered to review the draft gas drilling ordinance and generate ideas for how to improve it. There was one clear take home message: The draft ordinance is inadequate. It gets an F. We need … Continue reading

Posted in Environmental policy, Gas Fracking, Philosophy & Politics, Public Philosophizing, Science and technology ramifications, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

MesoFacts & Other Deteriorating Knowledges

[Samuel] Arbesman’s book expands on a piece he wrote in 2010 for the Ideas section of the Boston Globe. That short essay, called “Warning: Your reality is out of date,” laid out a theory of what Arbesman named the mesofact. “When people … Continue reading

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Galaxy formation: The new Milky Way : Nature News & Comment

Astronomers are still arguing about the precise sequence of events during the Milky Way’s birth, but every-one agrees that the story began with dark matter. The stuff is everywhere, even though it is invisible and no one yet knows what … Continue reading

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Is fracking behind contamination in Wyoming groundwater? : Nature News & Comment

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sparked a firestorm in December last year when it released a draft report1 suggesting that the use of hydraulic fracturing — or ‘fracking’ — to extract natural gas had contaminated groundwater near Pavillion, Wyoming. Industry … Continue reading

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Will the REF disadvantage interdisciplinary research? The inadvertent effects of journal rankings | Impact of Social Sciences

Ismael Rafols uncovers bias against interdisciplinary research and programs. Will the REF disadvantage interdisciplinary research? The inadvertent effects of journal rankings | Impact of Social Sciences.

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