Disinformation and conspiracy theories spread quickly by social media. In the case of politics, the aim may be to influence our shared idea of reality. There is a risk, though, that it may fragment society in the long term, according to Martin Kragh.
Fact resistance and denial of knowledge is something that many researchers often encounter. Basic facts are often worth as much as someone's feeling, claims Heléne Lööw, researcher. "We live in the age of emotions," she says.
He blogs about the joys and soul-crushing experiences of life as a scientist. Pedro Velica work in the field of cancer immunology at Karolinska Institutet. On his spare time he enjoys cooking, drawing and wasting time on cat videos.
Interest in global university rankings has grown rapidly. With the results these days being used by funders, students and prospective colleagues, it is important for institutions to rank highly in the listings – whatever one’s view of their quality. Curie asked a number of Swedish institutions to explain their position on the university ranking phenomenon.
In only a short period of time, the lists that rank the world’s higher education institutions have grown in number and become more influential. Rises and falls are newsworthy, and today the rankings influence both universities’ local activity and national research policy. But these attempts to measure the quality of the institutions also come in for harsh criticism.
Threats, attacks and an uncomfortable feeling that you’re being watched. All things that media and communications researcher Michael Krona has had to get used to in the past six months as a result of his increased visibility on social media. He is undertaking research into the media propaganda of the Islamic State terrorist organisation.
The demands on university teachers have increased, with additional administration and more students. The trade union, among other actors, is now calling attention to the fact that deficiencies in the system are resulting in deterioration in quality. “It is time for the institutions to speak out,” says Mats Benner, professor of research policy.
There is neither a consistent definition nor a uniform handling of misconduct in research at Swedish higher education institutions today. In many situations it is more a case of carelessness than of deliberate fraud, but the distinction is unclear. There is currently an ongoing inquiry aimed at untangling the terms and proposing concrete changes to the system.
The global scientific community shall also become a communication society without paywalls and technical barriers. This is the vision of Brian Hole, researcher and founder of the open access publishing company Ubiquity Press.
Academia is the last bastion where it is still believed that recruitment and meritocracy is gender-neutral, despite three of four professors being men. Political bodies have come much further. Drude Dahlerup, Professor of Political Science at Stockholm University, states.