Cutting NSF Is Like Liquidating Your Finest Investment
Look closely at your mobile phone or tablet. Touch-screen technology, speech recognition, digital sound recording and the internet were all developed using […]
COVID-19 UK: How Do Pandemics Come to an End?
In the midst of the present chaos, it is easy to forget that the world has had pandemics before and that they have come to an end. Can we learn anything from these experiences that might help us in dealing with COVID-19?
Article Collection Examines How to Prevent Police Killings
The recent police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd have given new urgency to the seemingly intractable issue of fatal policy violence, and we offer the articles in the volume to inform the actions of those who work for a less-deadly future.
Police Officers Accused of Brutal Violence Often Have Extensive History of Citizen Complaints
As protests against police violence and racism continue in cities throughout the U.S., the public is learning that several of the officers […]
How Behavioral Sciences Could Help More With COVID-19
Countries across the world have been turning to behavioral science in the fight against coronavirus. In May, The New Scientist proclaimed that ‘behavioral science is […]
Emergencies: Why Do We Leave It So Late?
David Canter considers the social psychological processes that turn emergencies into disasters.
Hetan Shah on Social Science and the Pandemic
“You don’t have to go back many months,” says Hetan Shah, the chief executive of the British Academy, in this Social Science Bites podcast, “for a period when politicians were relatively dismissive of experts – and then suddenly we’ve seen a shift now to where they’ve moved very close to scientists. And generally that’s a very good thing.”
The Pandemic Highlights How We Miss Security Threat of Climate Change
With climate change disasters, as with infectious diseases, rapid response time and global coordination are of the essence. At this stage in the COVID-19 situation, there are three primary lessons for a climate-changing future: the immense challenge of global coordination during a crisis, the potential for authoritarian emergency responses, and the spiraling danger of compounding shocks.
Do Governments Ever Listen to ‘The Science,’ Or Do They Seek post hoc Fig Leaves?
“Being led by the science” evokes a linear model of policy making which is more a myth than reality. In reality, politicians use claims about scientific knowledge in order to justify a course of action.
