Evidence That We Have Not Completely Lost Our Sense of Irony

In the “Undernews” newsletter distributed daily by the Progressive Review, David Sims of the Cass Business School in London distributed the following abstract from an unidentified academic paper: “Our patience with forming interpretations and reinterpretations of others’ behaviour is not unlimited. The time comes when we lose interest in trying to understand, and conclude that…

The PubPeer Foundation

PubPeer, which “seeks to create an online community that uses the publication of scientific results as an opening for fruitful discussion among scientists,” has established The PubPeer Foundation “to help improve the quality of scientific research by enabling innovative approaches for community interaction.” According to Retraction Watch, “the commenting site has allowed for robust discussions…

On the Run: Sociology, Journalism or What?

When I first heard of Alice Goffman’s On the Run a year or so ago, it didn’t pass my personal ‘smell test’ so I ignored it. After all, my early training was as a journalist and my idea of what constitutes publishable research and information is based in that professional ethos. I was a nightside…

Peer Review: Make It Transparent

In 2012, I presented a paper at the Modern Language Association annual meeting that caused a small splash, especially for one line, “Blind peer review is dead. It just doesn’t know it yet.” There was a great deal of support for my position, but also quite a few who took umbrage. Most of these, I…

Hiroshima at 70 and Salaita at One

The most recent issue of Academe displays on its cover a Bob Dylan lyric: “I’ll Tell It and Think It and Speak It and Breathe It.” An image appears at the upper left-hand corner of this webpage. Its provenance is the epic protest song, “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.” Editor Aaron Barlow deftly situates the song on the cusp of the…

The American Way of Punishment

This week the Chronicle of Higher Education has published a series of articles from the Chronicle Review under the above heading that explore the issue of mass incarceration in America from academic perspectives.  No one, including myself, will agree with everything in the five articles that have appeared, but all are thoughtful, informative, eye-opening and…

Will This Actually Help Make the Case for Study Abroad—Never Mind for Scientific Inquiry or for Higher Education?

Researchers at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA, are reportedly studying student brain scans in order to determine how study abroad impacts brain function. According to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education [http://chronicle.com/article/One-College-s-Method-to/230661/], the researchers have scanned the brains of 30 freshmen and will re-scan their brains when they are juniors and just after…

A Student Review of the Florida State University Gift Acceptance Policy: Undue Influence and Charles Koch Foundation

  Executive Summary   This report has been prepared to serve as public comment regarding the 2015 revision of Florida State University’s Gift Acceptance and Counting Policy, otherwise known as FSU Policy 8­1. This gift policy determines the conditions by which the FSU Foundation accepts private donations, and as such, it is the only policy…

How the Koch Foundation Is Spinning Their “Gifts,” Which Promote Ideological Conformity over Open Inquiry

The Campaign to Stop Fresh College Thinking The Koch Foundation gives money to encourage debate on campus. Activists want to silence that debate. by John Hardin May 26, 2015 College should be a place where students encounter a diversity of ideas—just ask many of the more than 1.8 million students who are graduating this year.…

Federal Research Funding 2011-2015

The following charts are from the National Science Foundation website: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2015/nsf15322/?WT.mc_id=USNSF_179   Funding by Type:   Funding by Performer:   Funding by Agency and Performer:   Funding by Agency and Type:   Funding by Discipline: