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The Lack of Women at the Top of the Academic Ladder is Driven by Unequal Childcare Responsibilities

The Lack of Women at the Top of the Academic Ladder is Driven by Unequal Childcare Responsibilities

Motherhood, and the unequal childcare responsibilities that follow, explain a large share of the observed gender gap in academic employment. 

How Countries Write Their AI Strategies - Mapping the Many Models of Governance

How Countries Write Their AI Strategies - Mapping the Many Models of Governance

In penning their national AI strategies governments are not only deciding how to regulate AI. They are also defining what AI should deliver, from economic growth to public-sector transformation. 

Is It Really Bad That Only 50% of Social Science Papers Are Reproducible?

Is It Really Bad That Only 50% of Social Science Papers Are Reproducible?

Three new papers in Nature from the SCORE project find that around half of social science studies hold up under replication, reproducibility, and robustness tests. Many commentators have read this as failure. Might there be a more optimistic reading, and one that points to where social science needs to go next?

Nothing is "100% Human Authored" - LSE Impact

Nothing is "100% Human Authored" - LSE Impact

Generative AI is unsettling longstanding conventions of authorship, ownership and credit in academia and across cultural production. This has prompted responses that seek to reassert the role of the intelligent, creative human individual.

The Real Threat to Trust in Science Isn't Outright Fraud, but the Pervasive Tweaking of Research Designs and Models

The Real Threat to Trust in Science Isn't Outright Fraud, but the Pervasive Tweaking of Research Designs and Models

Science's credibility issues stem from the deliberate manipulation of research designs and model specifications.

Social Scientists Bring Their Faith into Research - And It Shows Up in Their Results

Social Scientists Bring Their Faith into Research - And It Shows Up in Their Results

Why do studies on whether religion is disappearing totally contradict each other? Valeria Rainero, Jörg Stolz and Ruud Luijkx discuss their recent research on how faith (or lack of it) shaped interventions in the secularisation debate and suggest how the social sciences could benefit from less adversarial claims to objectivity in research.

We Need to Move Beyond the Accept/Reject Binary in Peer Review

We Need to Move Beyond the Accept/Reject Binary in Peer Review

Binary reject/accept peer review has become conflated with validation. The authors outline three myths sustaining this confusion and how we might escape it.

Who Deserves the Next Nobel? AI, Genius and Serendipity in Science

Who Deserves the Next Nobel? AI, Genius and Serendipity in Science

AI is increasingly becoming a part of Nobel winning science, how is this reshaping serendipity and what it means to make a scientific breakthrough?

The Unethical Burden of Public Engagement and the "Alt-output" Problem

The Unethical Burden of Public Engagement and the "Alt-output" Problem

Photo essays, podcasts, and other 'impactful' outputs are on the rise. While funders cheer innovation and community engagement, communities in crisis settings feel over-researched and under-served.

Even Honest Research Results Can Flip - a New Approach to Assessing Robustness in the Social Sciences

Even Honest Research Results Can Flip - a New Approach to Assessing Robustness in the Social Sciences

When academic studies get things wrong, it is often blamed on misconduct. Yet even good-faith research can produce contradictory conclusions.

Why Restrictive Academic Authorship Practices Perpetuate Inequality

Why Restrictive Academic Authorship Practices Perpetuate Inequality

Authorship plays a central role in the credibility and career progression of academics. Yet as Joseph Mellors and Stroma Cole argue, restrictive authorship practices risk perpetuating inequalities and sidelining important contributions to knowledge.

Why We Should Foster Connection and Belonging in Neo-liberal Academia

Why We Should Foster Connection and Belonging in Neo-liberal Academia

In a system where academic success is defined by outputs and individual achievement, Rachael Hains-Wesson and Nira Rahman call for a shift towards connection and belonging. 

 

 

 

European Big Science Has the Potential to Drive Social and Economic Transformation

European Big Science Has the Potential to Drive Social and Economic Transformation

Investment in Big Science projects, such as the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, are often seen as purely scientific ventures. A more co-ordinated approach to Big Science across the UK and European Union could produce significant benefits.

Case Studies Are Vital to Monitoring the Development of Open Science

Case Studies Are Vital to Monitoring the Development of Open Science

As a recent consultation on how to monitor open science practices draws to a close, it is argued that if monitoring frameworks aim to capture the widest dimensions of open science as a practice they should include case studies.