Social science

The responses to a UK-wide survey show how life chances are diverging, argues Danny Dorling

Adam Afriyie urges policymakers to test their preconceived ideologies against evidence

Author of new book The Cunning of Uncertainty fears pressure for scientific certainty is leading researchers to make promises they cannot deliver

Howard P. Segal on a brilliant study exploring the conflict between free speech and instruction guides that may be used for violence

Caroline Osella on a fieldwork-based study of the attachments that develop among those in shanty towns

Richard Murphy praises a bold effort to halt tax-dodging by the 1 per cent

Policymakers in US and UK told not to jeopardise the nations’ strength in the fields

Danny Dorling sees how bricks and mortar became part of the arsenal with which the US fought the Cold War

Helen Bynum lauds an exploration of the moral and social aspects of science through the evolution of a leading publication

A new paper finds that more than half of economic studies are unreproducible. But there could be even deeper issues with the discipline, says David Matthews

Inequality in income lowers the life expectancy of everyone in society, says Marcus Chown

From living rent-free to Madoff’s fraud, a study of scams forces us to face our sins, says Dick Hobbs

Fears that discipline is particularly susceptible to statistical ‘hacking’ of data to gain a positive result

Director Jeremy Farrar argues that current research culture damages scientists’ ability ‘to dream’

When it comes to meritocracy in free market capitalism, people don’t hate the game, they hate the players, says Angelia Wilson

Jane Appleton on how youths feel about the organisational decisions and interventions that are supposed to help them

Flora Samuel on a revelatory call for researchers to embrace context, culture and the unknown

Jonathan Mirsky on the treaties and extraterritoriality imposed on China in the decades after the Opium Wars

Views of early career social scientists will be collected with a view to improve support for those starting out in academia

Even in the academy, your class background will always be a factor in how you are seen, says LSE’s Lisa Mckenzie

A study of the predatory nature of markets holds up a mirror to the field, says Victoria Bateman

Joanna Williams on a study embracing technology and introducing a provocative concept of learning

It’s communal, kinky, defiant – but whatever it is, don’t call it that, says Kalle Berggren

Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015-2016 subject tables will be revealed over six weeks

Joanna Lewis on a portrait of British blubbering from medieval mystics to the death of Diana

Lisa Mckenzie on a sobering American ethnography written with understanding and respect

Time and temperament are explored in a masterly study of an old game of thrones, says Les Gofton

A work of distinction offers fresh insights into the hedonism and hangovers, says Richard J. Williams

Kenn Nakata Steffensen takes an in-depth look at the challenges facing Japan’s public universities

Stomach-churning detail reminds us of the blood, sweat and tears in clothes, says Shahidha Bari

Philip Altbach warns that ‘you can’t starve a higher education system’ without grave consequences

Major/minor course designed to improve graduates’ employment prospects

Gemma Edney on the arguments for the academic study of a genre too often dismissed for being à l’Américaine

Emma Rees lauds an essay collection that highlights the American scholar’s game-changing writing

Universities to scale back liberal arts and social science courses

A study of anti-masturbation campaigns reveals many unexpected allegiances, says Heike Bauer

Caron E. Gentry praises a work that reveals the contributions of female Muslims

Tara Shears on the career thrills and frustrations of a female scientist who made history at Berkeley

This survey shows how textbook materials often reveal more about the ‘home’ culture than they do about the one being taught. Sylvia Jaworska writes

Discipline may fund women fairly because of a better awareness of the ‘ingrained, institutionalized male culture of universities’

The causes of and solutions to disparity in income are eclectic, says Victoria Bateman

Digital learning may be the future, but the present is more uncertain, says  Sandra Leaton Gray

Howard Segal admires the travelogue of a self-confessed ‘professional disaster tourist’ covering a variety of global wastelands

Early experience of class has a large effect on the working lives of graduates, discovers Huw Morris

Acknowledging aid workers’ motives does not diminish their extraordinary efforts, says Monika Krause

This perceptive ethnography takes Randy Malamud behind the scenes at the penguin pool to ask if the institutions are scientific and educational enterprises or just commercialised animal spectacles

Kate Hardy pauses in her labours to reconsider our attitudes to the paid employment treadmill

Martin Cohen on how the failings of liberal democracies have affected every aspect of our lives

A study of the internet’s bullies and manipulators avoids the hard questions, says Tara Brabazon

Alun Evans highlights need to ‘be careful not to discriminate against the young’ in facing up to the challenges of diversity 

Emma Rees on the social networking origins of a 21st-century political movement

Robotics will affect our societies and economies more than we expect, discovers John Gilbey

Robert Lee Maril on the lives of migrant Latin American day workers in an atypical Californian city

Sarah Waters on a fascinating yet deeply curious book that has triggered a public outcry in France

Linnie Blake extols a study on films using the technology to tell their stories

A biography of the late Chinese leader details his long, complex career yet the statesman defies easy labels, says Kerry Brown

Bankers swap cufflinks for cassocks in an era of reinvention not defined by pay, finds Leslie Gofton

A study of private property reminds us to reflect on the things we don’t control, finds Jane O’Grady

Director of knowledge exchange hub says that the arts and humanities can play a key role in bringing creative companies and academics together

This study of an era of violent abuses of power ignores half of humanity, finds Jacqueline Broad