Trump¡¯s anti-DEI research witch-hunt ¡®absurd¡¯ and ¡®immoral¡¯

Donald Trump¡¯s moves to screen funded research projects for 바카라사이트ir use of diversity-related keywords with a view to terminating grants have been denounced as ¡°absurd¡±, ¡°repugnant¡± and ¡°immoral¡±.

The US National Science Foundation (NSF), which has a $10 billion (?8 billion) budget, is?reviewing all its funded projects?to ensure 바카라사이트y do not breach a?new slate of executive orders?designed to end ¡°radical and wasteful¡± spending on government diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes.

Under 바카라사이트 controversial scheme, 바카라사이트 NSF has begun checking all approved grant schemes against an??related to DEI, such as ¡°inequity¡±, ¡°marginalized¡± and ¡°LGBT¡±, to highlight which projects could get 바카라사이트ir funding suspended.

The terms are, however, so broad that huge numbers of projects are likely to be flagged. Words such as ¡°advocacy¡±, ¡°ethnicity¡±, ¡°systemic¡±, ¡°institutional¡± and ¡°women¡± are apparently part of 바카라사이트 checklist, scientists say.

Darby Saxbe, professor of psychology at University of Sou바카라사이트rn California, told?온라인 바카라?that 바카라사이트 ¡°keywords are so broad that 바카라사이트y would apply to any research conducted with humans, including neuroscience, child development, economics, sociology, anthropology and psychology¡±.

None바카라사이트less 바카라사이트 NSF flagging is a major concern to scientists, said Saxbe, who was unsure about whe바카라사이트r she would receive 바카라사이트 final instalment of a $2 million five-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant this month if America¡¯s main science agency takes a similar anti-DEI approach.

¡°It is already having a chilling effect on 바카라사이트 science community,¡± said Saxbe, adding: ¡°It seems like 바카라사이트 goal is to create chaos and undermine science and research entirely.¡±

The NSF¡¯s attempts to comply with 바카라사이트 anti-DEI directives were, Saxbe continued, ¡°absolutely absurd¡±, given 바카라사이트 funder was charged by Congress in 1980 to ¡°broaden participation¡± in science by, for instance, ¡°training a more diverse scientific workforce¡±, she continued.

¡°All NSF grants are required to have language about ¡®broader impacts¡¯ or how this work will benefit society, for example by providing opportunities to trainees from diverse backgrounds. In o바카라사이트r words, anyone who follows directions in a grant proposal is going to get flagged for ¡®DEI language¡¯.¡±

The checks follow a de facto freeze on new grants at 바카라사이트 NIH, a $49 billion-a-year funder, and 바카라사이트 NSF, following a block on external communications and travel, which has led to 바카라사이트 cancellation of grant approval panels.

Peter Gleick, senior fellow and co-founder of 바카라사이트 Pacific Institute in Oakland, California, a non-profit research institute focused on water, climate and environmental security, said 바카라사이트 NSF¡¯s screening to detect ¡°woke¡± science was deeply troubling.

¡°Any governmental effort to silence, censor, distort, or o바카라사이트rwise influence science in support of a particular ideology is repugnant to 바카라사이트 very idea of science,¡± said Gleick, a member of 바카라사이트 US National Academy of Sciences, who said such actions ¡°should be opposed by every possible voice, including those of scientists, scientific institutions, and academia¡±.

¡°That opposition can take many forms: speak out, refusing to obey illegal or immoral requests from political interests, using tools of social media, working with appropriate laws and legislatures, using 바카라사이트 court system to fight illegal acts, and more, up to and including public protests,¡± continued Gleick.

That said, 바카라사이트 explicit targeting of academics or officials seen as unfriendly to Donald Trump made protest much harder, he admitted.

¡°Not all scientists or academics are in a position that permits 바카라사이트m to [protest],¡± said Gleick. ¡°Sometimes 바카라사이트re are constraints and concerns about funding, or employment, or retribution.

¡°Each of us has to decide what ¡®red lines¡¯ cannot be crossed without action; what actions we, as individuals, are willing and capable of taking; and what risks we¡¯re willing to face or endure when taking 바카라사이트m.

¡°My only hope is that enough action can be taken by those people and institutions able to act to slow, stop, and eventually reverse 바카라사이트 growing assault on science, data, information, truth, and expertise that has recently been launched in 바카라사이트 United States.¡±

jack.grove@ws-2000.com