Category Archives: Economics & STEM Research

The effect of economic/business considerations on science, technology, engineering, & mathematics policy and outcomes.

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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Book Review: Humanity 2.0: What it Means to be Human Past, Present and Future | LSE Review of Books

Francis Remedios offers his review of Steve Fuller’s Humanity 2.0. Book Review: Humanity 2.0: What it Means to be Human Past, Present and Future | LSE Review of Books.

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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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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

Posted in Accountability, Broader Impacts, Economics & STEM Research, Metrics, NASA, NSF, Public Pedagogy, STEM Policy, US Science Agencies | Tagged | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Accountability, Broader Impacts, Economics & STEM Research, Future of the University, Libraries, Metrics, Open Access, Science and technology ramifications, STEM Policy, TechnoScience & Technoscientism | Tagged | Leave a comment

SRA International :: Sequestration Resource

SRA International :: About SRA International.

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Conservatives declare war on college – Salon.com

Good insight from Andrew Leonard: For many conservatives, the humanities departments of public universities are bastions of the “tenured left” busily brainwashing the young people of America into godless socialist postmodernism. They’d much rather for-profit corporations were in charge of … Continue reading

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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

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The looming spectre of differential tuition

Someone can do the relatively simple accounting and see that the humanities–”majors without an immediate job payoff”–are already subsidizing those which have a “job payoff.” In fact, this was already done at few institutions, including UCLA. But this is a … Continue reading

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America’s secret fracking war – Salon.com

There’s a war going on that you know nothing about between a coalition of great powers and a small insurgent movement.  It’s a secret war being waged in the shadows while you go about your everyday life. In the end, … Continue reading

Posted in Broader Impacts, Climate Change, Economics & STEM Research, Environmental policy, Gas Fracking, Globalization, Public Philosophizing, Science and technology ramifications, Sustainability, Risk Management, & Long-Term Security, TechnoScience & Technoscientism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Climate Change & the Research Scientist

Does this make an argument for moving elite research centers–for which the Federal government & corporations pay out an enormous amount of money over many years–to areas that will be less physically hit by global warming… in like, I don’t know, North … Continue reading

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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

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RCUK: Benefits of Engagement for Researchers

RCUKBenefitsofPE.pdf application/pdf Object. * Skills development * Career enhancement * Enhancing your research quality and its impact * New research perspectives * Higher personal and institutional profile * Influence and networking opportunities * Forming new collaborations and partnerships * Enjoyment … Continue reading

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Coming Next – Doctors Prescribing Apps to Patients – NYTimes.com

Simple apps that track users’ personal fitness goals have already gained wide traction. Now medical professionals and entrepreneurs want to use similar approaches to dealing with chronic ailments like diabetes or heart disease. via Coming Next – Doctors Prescribing Apps … Continue reading

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How generous is the UK science budget, really? guardian.co.uk

Whatever you think about spending on sport, in times of austerity or otherwise, there is no denying that the strategy paid off – at least, if your yardstick for success is Olympic medals. The message couldn’t be more clear: if … Continue reading

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Bernanke to Economists: More Philosophy, Please – Businessweek

Less economics and more philosophy… On Monday, Ben Bernanke wasn’t talking like a scientist. He was talking like a philosopher. “The ultimate purpose of economics, of course, is to understand and promote the enhancement of well-being,” he said. To a … Continue reading

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“Fracked Ideologies” published at Science Progress

The use of high-volume hydraulic fracturing for natural gas drilling has ignited a fiery political debate. Advocates tout natural gas as a clean-burning, cheap, and abundant fuel that can boost economic growth and energy security. Detractors question these benefits and … Continue reading

Posted in Accountability, Basic News, Broader Impacts, Degrowth Economics, Economics & STEM Research, Environmental policy, Gas Fracking, Philosophy & Politics, Public Philosophizing, Science and technology ramifications, Sustainability, Risk Management, & Long-Term Security, TechnoScience & Technoscientism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Occupy Impact – the 1st Annual CASRAI International Conference | CASRAI

These guys are on the right track, if you ask me! We feel the ‘occupy’ meme fits the subject well. In our case occupy is not about protest or revolution. It is about getting inside a difficult issue and tackling … Continue reading

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From academic solos to industrial symphonies

Leaping from academia to industry can be vexing, confusing and, to be frank, sometimes irritating. It is not easy to be trained all your life by trusted professors only to be told that some of this training needs to be … Continue reading

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New Editorial at Springer by Luciano Floridi

Sometimes, we may forget how much we owe to flakes and wheels, to sparks and ploughs and to engines and satellites. We are reminded of such deep technological debt when we divide human life into prehistory and history. That significant threshold is there … Continue reading

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The Case for Breaking Up With Your Parents

While Lambert, author of “Nonstop,” admires the multitasking undergraduates Harvard attracts, he also worries about the intellectual and emotional costs of such all-consuming busyness. In a turn toward gravitas, he quotes the French film director Jean Renoir’s observation that “the … Continue reading

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Happiness: No longer the dismal science? | The Economist

They argue that happiness can be measured objectively; that it differs systematically across societies and over time; that happiness has predictable causes and is correlated to specific things (such as wealth, income distribution, health and political institutions); and that therefore it should be possible for … Continue reading

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Amazon vs. Apple: Competing Ecosystem Strategies

This shift from products to solutions matters to everyone. In industries ranging from consumer electronics to construction and from media to mining, the firms seizing the lead are those that can best align ecosystems of offers and partners. An interesting … Continue reading

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Legislator Berates NSF for Rising Gas Prices – ScienceInsider

Thanks to @Ananyo on Twitter for pointing out Jeffrey Mervis’s report on last week’s hearing on NSF’s 2013 budget request: Legislator Berates NSF for Rising Gas Prices – ScienceInsider. Mervis draws our attention to a question from Representative Andy Harris … Continue reading

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