Cultural Knowledge Accelerates Plant Breeding
At the University of Minnesota and in Queens, immigrant gardeners are collaborating with plant breeders and neighbors to adapt ethnic vegetables to US growing conditions.
Science and Funding: Better Pay for Laboratory Workers
Despite the value their research contributes to the university and to society, pay for many Harvard laboratory workers still comes in below the cost of living in Boston, one of America’s most expensive housing and childcare markets.
Values and Science in “A White Heron”
Ethics and experiences are linked to worldview, and worldview is linked to what you can imagine and discover. What happens to our ability to explore nature when people with certain values cannot build a career in science?
Pursue Research Usability, Not Just Reproducibility
It is important to remember that researchers could have made other decisions in the lab, and that small differences between experiments can impact results. But the differences between any lab and the real world are even greater.
Status Quo Engines: Keeping Research in Touch With Reality
Our data-driven society often bases new programs and solutions on existing situations, even if those situations are pathological. Algorithms and AI tools didn’t originate this bias, but they can accelerate and entrench it.
Think Imaginatively About Local Innovation
Rural communities and small ethnic communities rely heavily on local enterprises. But many policymakers seem to operate under an assumption that small businesses outside the tech start-up world are interchangeable.