Where Most Needed

US S-l-o-w to Complete 2-1-1 Information Network

Social service charities still struggle with a spotty system of  referral networks for social service needs and inconsistent adoption of the 2-1-1 phone number.  But United Way is pushing for a major increase in funding for the system.    

Universities Cash In on Liar's Science

Technology transfer offices get excited about licensing patents that purport to use brain scans for lie detection. 

Natural History Museums Face Apocalypse

Declines in funding and a public perception of institutions as boring are leading to a crisis that threatens their extensive, behind-the-scenes scientific research. 

Harvard Researchers: Back to Bigness

A historian of charities and a lawyer revive interest in charity organizations that combine national and grassroots perspectives in a federated structure. 

Beware the $100 Laptop

What some propose as the solution to the digital divide just may be the twenty-first century version of "let them eat cake" from the young and wealthy digital elite in the US, described in a new report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project. 

Professors Making Little Progress against Institutional Censorship

Dissatisfaction with the involvement of Institutional Review Boards in social science research has yet to generate movement toward reform. 

Few US Universities Jump on MIT's Free Courseware Bandwagon

Many schools are limiting their open online offerings to a few select course videos. 

Looking at Foundations as if They Mattered

A professor sees potential in the rise of incredibly large philanthropic gestures.  But I wonder whether the Gates Foundation is already spread too thin to expect real impact. 

Funding Failure Hides Anne Frank Documents for Thirty Years

A part-time volunteer runs across a file with correspondence from Anne Frank's father while cataloging documents that sat in a warehouse for decades. 

Fundraisers Make Sure Something is in It for Me

Savvy participants in fundraising events for medical research use their leverage to steer funding to research that benefits their own family members.