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Academia's Emerging Crisis of Relevance and the Consequent Role of the Engaged Scholar

Academia's Emerging Crisis of Relevance and the Consequent Role of the Engaged Scholar

Universities are facing a crisis of relevance. While there are multiple reasons for this to be happening, one that deserves particular attention is the extent to which academic scholars do not see it as their role to engage in public and political discourse. However, increased engagement is unavoidable in an emerging educational context where the calibre of public discourse has become so degraded and social media is changing the nature of science and scientific discourse within society.

Where Science and Nonsense Collide

Where Science and Nonsense Collide

After a decade of progress, Argentina’s scientists are battling a government bent on twisting public conceptions of their role.

Making Federal Research Results Available to All

Making Federal Research Results Available to All

Completion of department and agency public access plans means the public will have greater access to publications and data resulting from Federally-funded research.

Scientific Papers Need Better Feedback Systems. Here's Why

Scientific Papers Need Better Feedback Systems. Here's Why

The current peer-review system is limited to asking two people for their opinions - this is not enough.

Does Peer Review Help Weed Out Bad Science?

Does Peer Review Help Weed Out Bad Science?

Peer-review had a role to play when journals were all in print and competing for subscription real estate, but today it may be little more than a vestige of the print era.

To Spark Medical Innovation, Canada Should Embrace Open Science

To Spark Medical Innovation, Canada Should Embrace Open Science

The Canadian government is again in the midst of its annual consultations on innovation. It seems our efforts to find the magic key to an “innovative economy” just never go away. By Aled Edwards, CEO of the Structural Genomics Consortium and professor at the University of Toronto.

German Researchers Start 2017 Without Elsevier Journals

German Researchers Start 2017 Without Elsevier Journals

In Germany, negotiations between scientific publishing company Elsevier and a consortium of hundreds of universities, technical schools, research institutes, and public libraries stalled in December 2016. As a result, more than 60 institutions have lost their online access to Elsevier's journals effective 1 January, although some can still access archived articles published before that date. The price of the journals is only part of the problem.

A Plan for UK Science After the EU Referendum

A Plan for UK Science After the EU Referendum

The 2016 vote to leave the European Union (EU) shocked British scientists. We propose an eight-point plan to limit the immediate damage and to put U.K. science on the front foot in the wake of the Brexit vote.

Academia in 3 Nations Boycotts Elsevier for High Journal Prices

Academia in 3 Nations Boycotts Elsevier for High Journal Prices

Scientists in Taiwan, Germany, and Peru will lose access to more than 12,000 scientific journals after institutions boycott the publishing giant for high prices and minimal open-access options.