Monthly Archives: January 2013

What are the goalposts for science, and why should we care?

I recently ran across this analysis by Dan Hind in Al Jazeera. It’s a delighfully cogent summary of the main drivers of the scientific enterprise: unaccountable power in the form of national and corporate investment, which determines to a large … Continue reading

Posted in Accountability, Economics & STEM Research, STEM Policy | Leave a comment

Open Access: What is it?

A video from PhD Comics. What is PhD Comics? Piled Higher and Deeper – Life (or the lack thereof) in Academia (also known as PhD Comics), is a newspaper and web comic strip written and drawn by Jorge Cham that follows the lives of several grad … Continue reading

Posted in Open Access | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mothers of Jews who like bacon: Where Facebook meets identity politics

Tom Scott did something extraordinary last week: he typed in searches on Facebook’s new Graph Search feature and posted images of the results on his tumblr, called ActualFacebookGraphSearches. … which sounds quite un-extraordinary. Except that Scott – something of an … Continue reading

Posted in Metrics, Philosophy & Politics, Public Philosophizing, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Times Higher Education – Slow ethics will tackle moral winter

Slow ethics provides for a more sustainable and tempered approach to professional ethics. It would go beyond simple monomaniacal explanations, quick fixes and single values and algorithms. It would involve learning from the past, appreciating complexity and taking time to … Continue reading

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“The Individual and Scholarly Networks” webinar: Notes from the not-so-underground philosopher

My initial reaction is that the single-day webinar in which I presented on Tuesday (and in which I was the only humanist – !) was a success. Excepting some minor and very intermittent technical difficulties with sound and visual, the presenters … Continue reading

Posted in Accountability, Future of the University, Metrics, Open Access, Peer Review, Public Philosophizing, STEM Policy, Transdisciplinarity | Leave a comment

Online education at NAU

This is a bit dated now–July, 2012–but I just ran across a striking step in the development of online education at NAU

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Philosophers In The Enterprise: As Bacon Says, Knowledge Is Power – semanticweb.com

Interesting piece forwarded to me by Holly Falk-Krzesinski: Philosophers In The Enterprise: As Bacon Says, Knowledge Is Power – semanticweb.com. Holly recently made the move from Academe to industry. It’s something all of us PhDs (not only philosophers, and not … Continue reading

Posted in Future of the University, Graduate Studies | Leave a comment

“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

Posted in Accountability, Broader Impacts, Future of the University, Metrics, Open Access, Peer Review, Science and technology ramifications, STEM Policy | 1 Comment

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

Posted in Broader Impacts, NSF, Peer Review, STEM Policy, Transformative Research, US Science Agencies | Leave a comment

Top Ed-Tech Trends of 2012: MOOCs

Maybe the most informative article I’ve read on MOOCs, passed along to me by CSID’s own Keith Brown. It also includes a sort of ‘secret history’ of MOOCs. Top Ed-Tech Trends of 2012: MOOCs.

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Can vegans stomach the unpalatable truth about quinoa? | Joanna Blythman | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Now, this is something for us really to think about. Can vegans stomach the unpalatable truth about quinoa? | Joanna Blythman | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk. It’s silly to suggest that vegans are to blame, of course. It’s all … Continue reading

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

John Kay – London’s rise from sewer to spectacle

John Kay – London’s rise from sewer to spectacle. On the limits of cost-benefit analysis.

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Denton Drilling: Oh, Yes We Can!

The City of Denton is about to release a document explaining all the reasons why we can’t have a stronger ordinance to protect our health, safety, and welfare. The technicalities are complex, but the message is simple: No we can’t. … Continue reading

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Europe Looks for Better Ways to Measure the Value of the Arts and Humanities – WorldWise – The Chronicle of Higher Education

Europe Looks for Better Ways to Measure the Value of the Arts and Humanities – WorldWise – The Chronicle of Higher Education.

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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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Value all Research Products « Research Remix

Heather Piwowar (aka @ResearchRemix) has just published a pre-print version of her recently published Nature article on NSF’s new bio-sketch requirements. First draft of just-published Value all Research Products « Research Remix. This version is as interesting from the meta-standpoint … Continue reading

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The Mind of the Innovator: Radio Specials | KQED Public Media for Northern CA

NSF’s public radio doc “Mind of the Innovator” airs on KQED in San Francisco… Innovators begin with real-world problems and find solutions through technology, imagination, hard work and a drive to make our lives better. This special program from Richard … Continue reading

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Denton Drilling: The End of Closed-Door Paternalism

“Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated.” -Martin Luther … Continue reading

Posted in Accountability, Environmental policy, Gas Fracking, Public Philosophizing, Sustainability, Risk Management, & Long-Term Security | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Faculty appointments and the record of scholarship | eLife

The paper is well worth reading for those interested in scholarly communications. The journal, eLife, is also worth checking out. Faculty appointments and the record of scholarship | eLife.

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My library is already an open access publisher! Is yours? – bjoern.brembs.blog

News / Comments / My library is already an open access publisher! Is yours? – bjoern.brembs.blog.

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

50 Best Blogs for Following Science Policy – Online College.org

50 Best Blogs for Following Science Policy – Online College.org.

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Innovation Is About Arguing, Not Brainstorming. Here’s How To Argue Productively | Co.Design: business + innovation + design

Turns out that brainstorming–that go-to approach to generating new ideas since the 1940s–isn’t the golden ticket to innovation after all. Both Jonah Lehrer, in a recent article in The New Yorker, and Susan Cain, in her new book Quiet, have asserted as much. … Continue reading

Posted in Creative & Visual Science, Innovation, Public Philosophizing, Transformative Research | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

UNT Comic Studies Conference: March 22 & 23, 2013

CSID is proud once again to co-sponsor the biennial UNT Comic Studies Conference. You can download the FULL PROGRAM here. This meeting seeks to overcome the antiquated understandings of comic books as “children’s trash” with no redeeming or literary value. … Continue reading

Posted in Basic News, Calls for papers | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments