Fri 26th Feb 2010 - The future of academic publication

This week, Patrick will start the discussion on the future of academic publication.

Publication is an integral part of the growth of academic knowledge. But there has been raising concerns that the usual process is flawed and is becoming slowly irrelevant: too expensive, too slow, too opaque.
We will discuss the merits and relevance of the current system, examine alternatives put forward to improve it (electronic diffusion, open access, open peer-review system, etc.) and whether they can really make a difference.

A few very interesting background readings:

• The slowdown of the Economics publishing process (maybe is this optimal?)
• The very complete The economics of scholarly journal publishing
• An apology for the Open-process academic publishing process
  
• And the (tragically) funny How to publish a scientific comment in 1 2 3 easy steps

As usual, we will meet in STICERD common area this Friday at 6pm over drinks and nibbles.

Fri 19th Feb - Greece and the Euro-integration

In this week's Happy Hour, Ameet will ask whether the Greek situation is really threatening the Eurozone integration.

Some background readings:

• The Economist : "Domino Theory"
• The Wall Street Journal : "As Greece Burns, Hazards Remain in the U.S."
• Voxeu.org: "Eurozone deficits: facts and myths"

As usual, we meet this Friday in STICERD common area at 6pm.

Friday 12th of February: If all models were fat would you still care about dieting?

This week Luca will introduce the question "If all the models were fat, would you still care about dieting? A discussion on the regulation of the models’ size on the catwalks"

Some interesting background readings to get you in the mood:

-A campaign for curvier models: http://www.millionlooks.com/outfits/%E2%80%98curves-ahead%E2%80%99-campaign-pros-and-cons/
-The Oliviero Toscani Ad: http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,507842,00.html
-An LSE master thesis on the topic http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/media@lse/mediaWorkingPapers/MScDissertationSeries/Abravanel_final.pdf
-A paper on alternative normative approaches in health economics:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6V8K-4R7NPWM-S-1&_cdi=5873&_user=1177143&_pii=S0167629607000902&_orig=search&_coverDate=03%2F31%2F2008&_sk=999729997&view=c&wchp=dGLzVtb-zSkzk&md5=4c1a28eabd1c137100834dea0df81115&ie=/sdarticle.pdf

As usual, we meet in STICERD common area at 6pm sharp; please be on time.

We look forward to seeing you all there,

Patrick, Nathan and Miriam

Fri 5th Feb - Should religious leaders have their say in politics?

After the recent condemnation by Pope Benedict XVI of the UK Equality Bill, Stefanie will start the discussion on a much debated question: the involvement of religious leaders in political affairs.

A few readings on the topic:

• The Pope is correct: the Equality Bill is Un-British
• The Equality Bill is no attack on religion
• Bishops against politics for religious leaders

As usual, we will meet in STICERD common area on Friday 6pm.

Friday 29th of January: "We don't need no education system: the merits and limits of home schooling"

This week Timothee will introduce the topic

"We don't need no education system: the merits and limits of home schooling"

Some suggested readings can be found here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article6834367.ece

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/27/german-home-schooling-family-asylum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeschooling#Controversies_and_criticism

We look forward to seeing you all at 6pm in the STICERD social space.

Fri 22nd Jan - Accountability for charities: donors-shareholders?

This week, Sarah will introduce the exciting question of accountability for charities, and ask whether corporate governance can bring useful lessons to charity governance, or if the two are intrinsically different.

Background readings:

• Internet brings accountability to Aid
• Public benefit = maximising value for beneficaries
• Besley & Ghatak (AER, 2005): Competition and Incentives with Motivated Agents

As usual we will meet in STICERD common area at 6pm sharp. Please be on time.

Fri 15th Jan 2010 - Should we worry about parliamentary coalitions?

This week, Justin will start the discussion on parliamentary coalitions, asking whether we should really worry about them.

“This too, I know, that England does not love coalitions.”
So quipped Benjamin Disraeli in December 1852. But as the spectre of a hung Parliament looms, is it really a bad thing to have a coalition government? After all, in countries such as Germany, France, Italy, Israel and India, coalition cabinets are considered normal. Let’s leave the media to interrogate Nick Clegg and brand him as kingmaker; we will debate whether a coalition government is really something to worry about.

Suggested readings for the discussion:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_government
• http://theviewspaper.net/coalition-government-in-india/ (India)
• http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,651688,00.html (Germany)
• http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123790396087825363.html (Israel)
• http://www.arbitraryconstant.co.uk/archives/001430.php (UK)

As usual, we meet this Friday at 6pm in STICERD common area.