World Bank paper: “…examines the data sources and methodologies used in economic research on corruption by analyzing 339 journal articles published in 2022 that include Journal of Economic Literature codes. The paper identifies the most commonly used data types, sources, and geographical foci, as well as whether studies primarily investigate the causes or consequences of corruption. Cross-country composite indicators remain the dominant measure, while single country studies more frequently utilize administrative data. Articles in ranked journals are more likely to employ administrative and experimental data and focus on the causes of corruption. The broader dataset of 882 articles highlights the significant academic interest in corruption across disciplines, particularly in political science and public policy. The findings raise concerns about the limited use of novel data sources and the relative neglect of research on the causes of corruption, underscoring the need for a more integrated approach within the field of economics…(More)”.
Leveraging large language models for academic conference organization
Paper by Yuan Luo et al: “We piloted using Large Language Models (LLMs) for organizing AMIA 2024 Informatics Summit. LLMs were prompt engineered to develop algorithms for reviewer assignments, group presentations into sessions, suggest session titles, and provide one-sentence summaries for presentations. These tools substantially reduced planning time while enhancing the coherence and efficiency of conference organization. Our experience shows the potential of generative AI and LLMs to complement human expertise in academic conference planning…(More)”.
What Autocrats Want From Academics: Servility
Essay by Anna Dumont: “Since Trump’s inauguration, the university community has received a good deal of “messaging” from academic leadership. We’ve received emails from our deans and university presidents; we’ve sat in department meetings regarding the “developing situation”; and we’ve seen the occasional official statement or op-ed or comment in the local newspaper. And the unfortunate takeaway from all this is that our leaders’ strategy rests on a disturbing and arbitrary distinction. The public-facing language of the university — mission statements, programming, administrative structures, and so on — has nothing at all to do with the autonomy of our teaching and research, which, they assure us, they hold sacrosanct. Recent concessions — say, the disappearance of the website of the Women’s Center — are concerning, they admit, but ultimately inconsequential to our overall working lives as students and scholars.
History, however, shows that public-facing statements are deeply consequential, and one episode from the 20-year march of Italian fascism strikes me as especially instructive. On October 8, 1931, a law went into effect requiring, as a condition of their employment, every Italian university professor to sign an oath pledging their loyalty to the government of Benito Mussolini. Out of over 1,200 professors in the country, only 12 refused.
Today, those who refused are known simply as “I Dodici”: the Twelve. They were a scholar of Middle Eastern languages, an organic chemist, a doctor of forensic medicine, three lawyers, a mathematician, a theologian, a surgeon, a historian of ancient Rome, a philosopher of Kantian ethics, and one art historian. Two, Francesco Ruffini and Edoardo Ruffini Avondo, were father and son. Four were Jewish. All of them were immediately fired…(More)”
2025 Ratings for Digital Participation Tools
People-Powered Report: The latest edition of our Digital Participation Tool Ratings evaluates 30 comprehensive tools that have been used to support digital participation all over the world. This year’s ratings offer more information and insights on each tool to help you select a suitable tool for your context and needs. We also researched how AI tools and features fit into the current digital participation landscape.
For the last four years, People Powered has been committed to providing governments and organizations with digital participation guidance, to enable people leading participatory programs and citizen engagement efforts to effectively select and use digital participation tools by providing guidance and ratings for tools. These ratings are the latest edition of the evaluations first launched in 2022. Further guidance about how to use these tools is available from our Guide to Digital Participation Platforms and Online Training on Digital Participation…(More)”.
Designing New Institutions and Renewing Existing Ones – A Playbook
UNDP Report: “The world has long depended on public institutions to solve problems and meet needs — from running schools to building roads, taking care of public health to defense. Today, global challenges like climate change, election security, forced migration, and AI-induced unemployment demand new institutional responses, especially in the Global South.
The bad news? Many institutions now struggle with public distrust, being seen as too wasteful
and inefficient, unresponsive and ineffective, and sometimes corrupt and outdated.
The good news? Fresh methods and models inspired by innovations in government, business, and civil
society are now available that can help us rethink institutions — making them more public results
oriented, agile, transparent, and fit for purpose. And ready for the future…(More)”.
Global population data is in crisis – here’s why that matters
Article by Andrew J Tatem and Jessica Espey: “Every day, decisions that affect our lives depend on knowing how many people live where. For example, how many vaccines are needed in a community, where polling stations should be placed for elections or who might be in danger as a hurricane approaches. The answers rely on population data.
But counting people is getting harder.
For centuries, census and household surveys have been the backbone of population knowledge. But we’ve just returned from the UN’s statistical commission meetings in New York, where experts reported that something alarming is happening to population data systems globally.
Census response rates are declining in many countries, resulting in large margins of error. The 2020 US census undercounted America’s Latino population by more than three times the rate of the 2010 census. In Paraguay, the latest census revealed a population one-fifth smaller than previously thought.
South Africa’s 2022 census post-enumeration survey revealed a likely undercount of more than 30%. According to the UN Economic Commission for Africa, undercounts and census delays due to COVID-19, conflict or financial limitations have resulted in an estimated one in three Africans not being counted in the 2020 census round.
When people vanish from data, they vanish from policy. When certain groups are systematically undercounted – often minorities, rural communities or poorer people – they become invisible to policymakers. This translates directly into political underrepresentation and inadequate resource allocation…(More)”.
How social media and online communities influence climate change beliefs
Article by James Rice: “Psychological, social, and political forces all shape beliefs about climate change. Climate scientists bear a responsibility — not only as researchers and educators, but as public communicators — to guard against climate misinformation. This responsibility should be foundational, supported by economists, sociologists, and industry leaders.
While fake news manifests in various forms, not all forms of misinformation are created with the intent to deceive. Regardless of intent, climate misinformation threatens policy integrity. Strengthening environmental communication is thus crucial to counteract ideological divides that distort scientific discourse and weaken public trust.
Political polarisation, misinformation, and the erosion of scientific authority pose challenges demanding rigorous scholarship and proactive public engagement. Climate scientists, policymakers, and climate justice advocates must ensure scientific integrity while recognising that climate science operates in a politically charged landscape. Agnosticism and resignation, rather than resisting climate misinformation, are as dangerous as outright denial of climate science. Combating this extends beyond scientific accuracy. It requires strategic communication, engagement with advocacy groups, and the reinforcement of public trust in environmental expertise…(More)”.
Political Responsibility and Tech Governance
Book by Jude Browne: “Not a day goes by without a new story on the perils of technology: from increasingly clever machines that surpass human capability and comprehension to genetic technologies capable of altering the human genome in ways we cannot predict. How can we respond? What should we do politically? Focusing on the rise of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), and the impact of new reproductive and genetic technologies (Repro-tech), Jude Browne questions who has political responsibility for the structural impacts of these technologies and how we might go about preparing for the far-reaching societal changes they may bring. This thought-provoking book tackles some of the most pressing issues of our time and offers a compelling vision for how we can respond to these challenges in a way that is both politically feasible and socially responsible…(More)”.
Trump Admin Plans to Cut Team Responsible for Critical Atomic Measurement Data
Article by Louise Matsakis and Will Knight: “The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is discussing plans to eliminate an entire team responsible for publishing and maintaining critical atomic measurement data in the coming weeks, as the Trump administration continues its efforts to reduce the US federal workforce, according to a March 18 email sent to dozens of outside scientists. The data in question underpins advanced scientific research around the world in areas like semiconductor manufacturing and nuclear fusion…(More)”.
Web 3.0 Requires Data Integrity
Article by Bruce Schneier and Davi Ottenheimer: “If you’ve ever taken a computer security class, you’ve probably learned about the three legs of computer security—confidentiality, integrity, and availability—known as the CIA triad.a When we talk about a system being secure, that’s what we’re referring to. All are important, but to different degrees in different contexts. In a world populated by artificial intelligence (AI) systems and artificial intelligent agents, integrity will be paramount.
What is data integrity? It’s ensuring that no one can modify data—that’s the security angle—but it’s much more than that. It encompasses accuracy, completeness, and quality of data—all over both time and space. It’s preventing accidental data loss; the “undo” button is a primitive integrity measure. It’s also making sure that data is accurate when it’s collected—that it comes from a trustworthy source, that nothing important is missing, and that it doesn’t change as it moves from format to format. The ability to restart your computer is another integrity measure.
The CIA triad has evolved with the Internet. The first iteration of the Web—Web 1.0 of the 1990s and early 2000s—prioritized availability. This era saw organizations and individuals rush to digitize their content, creating what has become an unprecedented repository of human knowledge. Organizations worldwide established their digital presence, leading to massive digitization projects where quantity took precedence over quality. The emphasis on making information available overshadowed other concerns.
As Web technologies matured, the focus shifted to protecting the vast amounts of data flowing through online systems. This is Web 2.0: the Internet of today. Interactive features and user-generated content transformed the Web from a read-only medium to a participatory platform. The increase in personal data, and the emergence of interactive platforms for e-commerce, social media, and online everything demanded both data protection and user privacy. Confidentiality became paramount.
We stand at the threshold of a new Web paradigm: Web 3.0. This is a distributed, decentralized, intelligent Web. Peer-to-peer social-networking systems promise to break the tech monopolies’ control on how we interact with each other. Tim Berners-Lee’s open W3C protocol, Solid, represents a fundamental shift in how we think about data ownership and control. A future filled with AI agents requires verifiable, trustworthy personal data and computation. In this world, data integrity takes center stage…(More)”.