Evidence-based policymaking
Here’s a literature review on the factors contributing to evidence-based policy-making, along with some useful definitions and thought bites. For example: “Why is evidence important for policymaking?...
View ArticleCity finances and the tragedy of the commons
I really enjoyed this article about California finances, what happens when cities go bankrupt, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Michael Lewis is always worth reading. “What happens when a society loses its...
View ArticleUsing Twitter to manipulate politics
A creepy Wall Street Journal video describes ‘The Truthy Project’, a research program at Indiana University that studies how Twitter and social media is being used to manipulate and deceive voters. The...
View ArticleTaxis are part of a public transit system
I haven’t driven a car in over a decade. Most of the time it’s not a problem – I live in downtown Toronto where private cars really are unnecessary – but it’s a different story in the suburbs. I’ve...
View ArticlePeer Review is a Deeply Flawed System
A highly critical article about scientific peer review, with some suggested alternatives: “…most scientific editors know little about the now large body of evidence on peer review. So paradoxically,...
View ArticleMinority Rules: Scientists Discover Tipping Point for the Spread of Ideas
Another great article recommendation by Marc-Antoine Parent through Google Plus: “Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that when just 10 percent of the population holds an...
View ArticleThe case for piracy
Well worth reading if you’re interested in ‘piracy’ and copyright issues, and how to handle them. Productively. “One of the main reasons we all have anti-piracy slogans embedded in our brains is...
View ArticleOpen access–taking the pledge
The Research Without Walls pledge tries to promote open access to research by engaging peer reviewers: “Today, members of the research community must pay for access to read the very papers we peer...
View ArticleWarren Buffet’s approach to management
From Warren Buffet’s 2012 letter to shareholders, describing one of Berkshire’s main advantages: “we possess a cadre of truly skilled managers who have an unusual commitment to their own operations and...
View ArticleIn Search Of an Optimal Peer Review System
Worth reading the whole article: “The evidence on peer review has been gathered together in a book specifically on peer review,[1] and I have summarized the evidence on its many problems in a book and...
View ArticleDeception, data quality and policy recommendations
I’m a big fan of Dan Ariely. In his latest book, The honest truth about dishonesty: How we lie to everyone – especially ourselves (the link is to the Toronto Public Library record), he points out that:...
View ArticleTips for making decisions much faster
From Harvard Business Review: “Make Good Decisions Faster” http://feedly.com/k/12L1wUcRead more →
View ArticleMake Good Decisions Faster
“In her recent HBR article “Transient Advantage,” Rita Gunther McGrath describes how “fast and roughly right decision making will replace deliberations that are precise and slow.” While most leaders...
View ArticleConference Calls can help you lose weight
Group conference calls “have a better chance of getting people to lose weight, and keep it off, than individual interventions.” It’s worth trying for other complex long term behaviour changes too,...
View ArticleArticle 0
A growing movement of Torontonians barter for dinner, a haircut, a night at a hotel, you name it. They aren’t necessarily poor—they’re rebelling against the uncertainties of a cash economy.
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