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Monthly Archives: February 2018

Do Academic Journals Favor Researchers from Their Own Institutions?

Harvard Business Review: “Are academic journals impartial? While many would suggest that academic journals work for the advancement of knowledge and science, we show this is not always the case. In a recent study, we find that two international relations (IR) journals favor articles written by authors who share the journal’s institutional affiliation. We term this phenomenon “academic in-group bias.” In-group bias is a well-known phenomenon that is widely documented in the psychological literature. People tend to favor their group, whether it is their close family, their hometown, their ethnic group, or any other group affiliation. Before our study, the evidence regarding academic in-group bias was scarce, with only one study finding academic in-group bias in law journals. Studies from economics found mixed results. Our paper provides evidence of academic in-group bias in IR journals, showing that this phenomenon is not specific to law. We also provide tentative evidence which could potentially resolve the conflict in economics, suggesting that these journals might also exhibit in-group bias. In short, we show that academic in-group bias is general in nature, even if not necessarily large in scope. To test the possibility of academic in-group bias, we examined four of the leading academic journals in international relations: World Politics, International Security, International Organization, and International Studies Quarterly. World Politics is published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Affairs at Princeton University. International Security is published by MIT Press and edited by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. The other two journals are not affiliated with a specific university and are considered our control group…”

2016 Manufacturing and International Trade Report

“This report from the U.S. Census Bureau provides a comprehensive comparison between detailed manufacturing product class data and associated import and export data. The statistics are published on a North American Industry Classification System basis from the 2016 Annual Survey of Manufactures, presented with official U.S. export and import merchandise trade statistics.” Continue Reading

Inside the OED: can the world’s biggest dictionary survive the internet?

The Guardian – For centuries, lexicographers have attempted to capture the entire English language. Technology might soon turn this dream into reality – but will it spell the end for dictionaries? “Ninety years after the first edition appeared, the OED – a distant, far bulkier descendant of Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary – is currently embarked on… Continue Reading

Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and Mitigation

“This report surveys the landscape of potential security threats from malicious uses of AI, and proposes ways to better forecast, prevent, and mitigate these threats. After analyzing the ways in which AI may influence the threat landscape in the digital, physical, and political domains, we make four high-level recommendations for AI researchers and other stakeholders.… Continue Reading

Understanding and Overcoming Cognitive Biases for Lawyers and Law Students

Fruehwald, Edwin S., Understanding and Overcoming Cognitive Biases for Lawyers and Law Students: Becoming a Better Lawyer Through Cognitive Science: Chapter One – An Introduction to Cognitive Biases (February 8, 2018). Understanding and Overcoming Cognitive Biases for Lawyers and Law Students: Becoming a Better Lawyer Through Cognitive Science (2018); ISBN-13: 978-1985130135. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3120662… Continue Reading

New on LLRX – From Judging Lawyers to Predicting Outcomes

Via LLRX – From Judging Lawyers to Predicting Outcomes – Itai Gurari discusses Judicata’s latest technology solution – Clerk – that evaluates briefs filed in court, grading them on three dimensions: Arguments, Drafting, and Context. The grading reflects factors like how strong the brief’s arguments are, how persuasive the relied upon cases are, and the… Continue Reading