It’s tempting to focus on the minority of Americans who hold negative views about scientists. But blaming others for their lack of trust won’t build the relationships that can boost trust.
Most agree that it’s worth knowing more about the world and everything in it. Research, in that sense, is intrinsically valuable. But for pragmatic governments, intrinsic scientific or scholarly worth…
It was a big day in political circles yesterday, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard announcing an election date and launching her priorities for the nation. Among the hubbub that followed, an important…
An ambitious new project is attempting to replicate every single study published in 2008 in three leading academic psychology journals. It’s called the Reproducibility Project. As the name suggests, the…
Megan Clement, The Conversation and Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation
The large majority of Australian university research projects have considerable impact on society, according to new findings from the sector. The Australian Technology Network of Universities (ATN) and…
Doug Hilton: Welcome Andrew to the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. This conversation between me, Doug Hilton, and Andrew Robb is part of The Conversation. So Andrew, it’s been really exciting in the last…
It’s hard to argue with the importance of research, particularly medical research. It leads to breakthroughs and can change people’s lives for the better. But there are some crucial questions about how…
The likelihood of research funding freezes or cuts by the Federal Government is worrying, says incoming Australian Research Council executive director Brian Yates, but is more likely to be a cyclical problem…
Peak body Universities Australia has criticised the Prime Minister’s Manufacturing Taskforce for understating the value of basic research as a contributor to innovation. The Taskforce has recommended that…
This week’s release of the NSW Health and Medical Research Strategic Review identifies many opportunities to strengthen research and ensure the community extracts the maximum possible benefit from its…
Vicki Thomson, Australian Technology Network of Universities
When it comes to engaging with industry, government and the broader community, there is one secret weapon that is often overlooked in the university sector – the humble story. The art of storytelling is…
Academics from a dozen universities will be required to explain to industry experts the economic and social value of hundreds of research projects from the past 20 years, under guidelines for a trial designed…
Twelve academics today received awards as the most prolific and most-cited researchers in fields deemed to be strong areas for Australian research, at a ceremony in Canberra. However, the prestigious Thomson…
The University of Melbourne and Australian National University will perform a “stocktake” of all scientific research projects at the two institutions from the electronic era in an effort to map their social…
Will J Grant, Australian National University and Paul Harris, Australian National University
What has been the impact of the invention of the telescope? What has been the impact of Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, or the splitting of the atom? Yes, that’s right: the idea of measuring the…
The Australian government has dropped the contentious system of ranking academic journals and assessing academics based on their ability to publish in the top-ranked publications. Previously, journals…
Director, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute & Professor of Medical Biology, and an honorary principal fellow in the Department of Zoology at the University of Melbourne, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute