President Obama is proposing a financial aid overhaul that would tie colleges’ eligibility for campus-based aid programs to the institutions’ success in improving affordability and value for students.

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Obama to Link Aid for Colleges to Affordability

Daniel Sarewitz looks at the gap in political ID among scientists, only 6 percent of whom ID as Republican, according to a recent survey: The results of climate science, delivered by scientists who are overwhelmingly Democratic, are used over a period of decades to advance a political agenda that happens to align precisely with the ideological preferences of Democrats. Coincidence–or causation? Now this would be a good case for Mythbusters.  During the Bush administration, Democrats discovered that they could score political points by accusing Bush of being anti-science. In the process, they seem to have convinced themselves that they are the keepers of the Enlightenment spirit, and that those who disagree with them on issues like climate change are fundamentally irrational. Meanwhile, many Republicans have come to believe that mainstream science is corrupted by ideology and amounts to no more than politics by another name.  Attracted to fringe scientists like the small and vocal group of climate skeptics, Republicans appear to be alienated from a mainstream scientific community that by and large doesn’t share their political beliefs. The climate debacle is only the most conspicuous example of these debilitating tendencies, which play out in issues as diverse as nuclear waste disposal, protection of endangered species, and regulation of pharmaceuticals. I don’t know. I think this is also a reflection of the fact that American conservatism is increasingly a movement of white Christian populism. And specifically, a kind of white Christian populism with deep roots in the South. Science is very much the preserve of the institutions of higher education where “the elites” plot the subjugation of the common man. Moreover, a trust in science necessitates a trust in “expertise,”  and a skepticism of “common sense.”  That basically runs counter to everything Sarah Palin represents.

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Weird Science

A progressive design conference looks at modern architecture for an aging population If design is about problem solving, the stereotypical nursing home—sterile, isolated, generally depressing—is perhaps one of the institutions most in need of an overhaul. In an effort to change traditional retirement living, Architizer co-founder Matthias Hollwich came up with New Aging —a conference consisting of hands-on workshops and discussions about progressive development for age-related living spaces. Also a partner at NYC-based architecture firm HWKN , Hollowich hopes that together with other architects, designers and visionaries they can create projects that will bring a sense of playfulness and community for the elderly through functional design. Speakers at the conference include Manuel Ocana of the Santa Rita Geriatric Center on the island of Menorca, Spain; Arnoud Gelauff of the De Plussenburgh Apartments in Rotterdam, Netherlands; Erhard Kinzelbach of the Hainburg Nursing Home in Hainburg, Austria; Daniel Cinelli of the Newbridge on the Charles in Dedham, MA; HWKN of Aging in Africa in Cote D’Ivoire; Madeline Gins of design firm Architecture Against Death ; and several other prominent figures like Jeurgen Mayer H , Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Joel Sanders . New Aging will be held at the UPenn School of Design where Hollwich previously taught advanced design studios focused on re-thinking the nursing home . The two-day conference takes place on 1-2 October 2010 and is open for registration to the general public and students for $285 and $35 respectively. For more information, visit the New Aging site.

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New Aging