Tag: science policy

Researcher: Universities have become assembly lines that make us dumber than we need to be

COMMENT: Scientific ideals have been replaced by market mechanisms. Knowledge has become a commodity, and the university is like any other profit-driven company, a researcher writes.

Science is more than applied statistics – can we be freed from p-value tyranny, please!

COMMENT: It is nice when complex things can be reduced to something simpler. But sometimes you lose more than you gain – such as, for example, when scientific studies are violently shoehorned into two simple boxes: ‘significant’ and ‘nonsignificant’.

The H-index turns 15: but is it a good idea to put a number on researchers' performance?

The H-index is an attempt at measuring the productivity and impact of researchers. This is an illustration of the universities’ shift from trusting researchers towards micromanagement, efficiency and competition.

Nobel laureate: science is moving in a dangerous direction

Science has taken a wrong turn and forgets to prioritise basic research, says Nobel laureate and quantum physicist Serge Haroche.

Nobel laureates at ESOF2014

Five Nobel Prize winners will be among the speakers at ESOF2014, Europe’s largest forum for interdisciplinary science, which kicks off in Copenhagen in June.