Not just blind, but blinkered

Last week, my husband and I had the opportunity to go see Alan Alda give a talk at the National Academies of Sciences called “Beyond a Blind Date With Science.” The talk was amazing (see a clip here). In short, Dr. Alda was making the point that the American public is on a “blind date” with …

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The value of collaborative retreats

In academia, everyone acknowledges the value of applying for and receiving grants. But while it is the large grants that fund expensive designs, labs, and data analysis that get the most attention for bringing money into the university and enabling research, the smaller grants to encourage collaboration can be just as powerful for research. Last …

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Issue-Specific Activism on Climate Issues on Facebook

Even as scholars discuss changes in the ways in which young adults approach politics – and particularly their focus on specific issues and social concerns rather than dutiful political participation – a lot of what we know about political engagement via social media focuses on politics proper: political candidates and campaigns. While this research is largely promising …

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Building social networks and activating weak ties: Twitter for academics

Twitter has taken a lot of heat for its flaws. Despite the millions of tweets (or some claim billions) sent each day, others point out that its penetration to the American market is small (with 15% of adults using Twitter and only 8% checking it daily). Even more troubling is research that suggests the Twitterverse …

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