Social science

In this collection, cosmopolitanism is a leviathan, housing contradiction and dispute

For centrists to regain control will need more than a focus on citizenship, says Michael Marinetto

THE’s rankings editor Phil Baty sets out why the World University Rankings are here to stay – and why that's a good thing

How can more degrees be the solution to urban deprivation when poor areas offer no graduate careers? asks Robert Hesketh

Book of the week: Correct use and interpretation of big data can lead to the creation of new theories, finds Farida Vis

Comparison of national test results data shows pupils admitted to university under racial quotas graduate with the same scores on average as non-quota peers

Scholars claim dean-elect is unfit for office after publishing articles in journals found on Jeffrey Beall’s blacklist

Arshin Adib-Moghaddam looks at restrictions to academic freedom in what he describes as an age of ‘psycho-nationalism’

Minimum compliance with publication requirements is the best recipe for job satisfaction, says Mike Marinetto

A study identifies and defines a new category, says Barry Reay, but how radical is it?

From dwarfs at court to obese children, a study examines why size matters, says Louisa Yates

Sarah Eltantawi admires a well-researched study of the origins and growth of the terrorist organisation

Monographs typically constitute a scholar’s greatest achievement, but REF strategists discourage their production, says Bruce Macfarlane

Eliane Glaser on a study of a gripping drama that has monopolised national discussion

Clive Bloom enjoys a sociological study of why a group of rich layabouts became crooks – and how society dealt with them

Academics and professional staff reveal the things that prey on their minds at 2am

Book of the week: His passion is evident, his work prodigious, but an ex-minister has blind spots that trouble Nigel Thrift

A badly understood notion of risk has created a fake crisis in university pensions that will devastate academia, argues Dennis Leech

James Stevens Curl on a study of symptoms of consumer culture and those who built them

Largest amount of cash handed out by research councils overall since 2014-15 brings an end to negative trend

University of Westminster music academic on fighting with punks, boosting Peter Andre’s career and pioneering ‘classical reggae’

Witty asides permeate a study contemplating money, love, hope and rappers, says Emma Rees

Ahead of his Vincent Briscoe Lecture, Bill Durodié calls on researchers to engage with issues of great social and technological ambition

British Academy report marking 500 days until ‘Brexit day’ throws spotlight on the money and academic talent in the subjects that come from the EU

Several top researchers exit Teesside after professors given individual ratings out of 32, senior academic claims

Broad-brush efforts to support female and ethnic minority academics will not address ‘multidimensional inequality’, says Warwick professor

Nobels and suchlike can motivate good behaviour but beware hidden costs, says Marina Della Giusta

University of Hertfordshire job cuts add to fears staff could be forced out ahead of REF 2021

Book of the week: The reality of the present world has fallen short of science fiction’s predictions, says Jon Turney

Almost 50 years after it was dismantled, the celebrated institution is making a comeback

A sexist industry that misunderstands half of its audience disappoints Esther MacCallum-Stewart

A defence of non-academic university leaders fails to make the grade, says Amanda H. Goodall

Book of the week: Christopher Hill praises an engaging but limited history of the role of law in achieving peace

Turkey’s president was unwise to evoke Animal Farm when his attack on academics has eerie echoes of George Orwell’s novel, says Umut Özkirımli

Junior researchers being ‘held back’ by the ordering of names on joint papers, study finds

Joanna Williams on the rules for classroom confrontations that can build inclusiveness

Aniko Horvath on the disconnect between data and policymaking decisions that allows foreign learners to be framed as the ‘other’

Swedish-based academic Ahmadreza Djalali will be executed following 'grossly unfair trial', says Amnesty International

Strong turnout in ballot over USS changes ‘sends a clear message’ that union members will take action to protect retirement fund, says UCU

The ‘welfare queen’ myth and business’ power is crushing American families, says Lynne Segal

Emma Rees on a study of refugees’ remarkable transnational journeys in our post-Brexit, Trumpian world

Contrary to the cultural meme, Canadian graduates in all subjects earn far more, on average, than coffee shop workers, say Ross Finnie, Richard Mueller and Arthur Sweetman

Book of the week: Communism around the world was shaped by its opportunistic leaders, finds Yvonne Howell

Colin Bailey on a gamble to attend university that nearly backfired, and the institution that is academia’s ‘best-kept secret’

Student accommodation wardens are latest to be imprisoned in Turkey's anti-Gülenist crackdown

While proportion of foreign faculty at Japanese universities has increased, study finds no rise in share of leaders

With latest application for teaching licence rejected in long-running battle with authorities, time is running out to start the new academic year

Office for Students’ Nicola Dandridge says new regulator will not guarantee union seat on board

Watchdog’s new guidelines aim to stop ‘contract cheating’ on campus

The new chair of the Campaign for Social Science on ethnic minorities, the similarity between law and academia and universities swallowing the management textbook

Social scientists must create a culture in which individuals regularly observe, analyse and interpret their own data, says Geoff Mulgan

Quiet acceptance of accent discrimination damages efforts to make classrooms more inclusive, says Katerina Loukopoulou

This study of how ordinary people view human rights is depressingly honest, says Jane O’Grady

Robert A. Segal enjoys a rigorously researched volume on the relationship between religion and the secular state

Some researchers worry that lack of female laureates devalues prestigious awards

Cost of compliance with Home Office rules uncovered by Study Group

Adam Szetela has been speaking to some high profile scholars about how to write well, and this is what he found out

Elite universities must expand their intake to combat rising resentment directed at higher education, says Catharine B. Hill

Despite advances in artificial intelligence, humans will always have the edge over machines when it comes to teaching, says Aldwyn Cooper

Downplaying the vital role that universities play in encouraging creativity could endanger the main engine of economic growth, say Luca Cacciolatti and Soo Hee Lee