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Technical Reports Provide Scientific Evidence to Underpin Africa's Case at COP27

Technical Reports Provide Scientific Evidence to Underpin Africa's Case at COP27

In this article, the Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation team's Dr Duncan MacFadyen and Rendani Nenguda write about the technical reports developed through the African Group of Negotiators Expert Support, which provides an armful of scientific evidence to underpin Africa's case at COP27.

Viewpoint: Making the Case for the European Innovation Council's Top Down Research Programmes

Viewpoint: Making the Case for the European Innovation Council's Top Down Research Programmes

The European Innovation Council's (EIC) future will involve more horizon scanning, intelligence and strategy, according to a programme manager responsible for scoping the potential for technological and innovation breakthroughs and for directing EIC health-related projects, to ensure there is a coherent plan that will support development of a competitive sector.

The Guardian View on Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover: the Unfulfilled Promises Pile Up

The Guardian View on Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover: the Unfulfilled Promises Pile Up

The world's richest man promises more than he has delivered. His social network purchase is likely to go the same way

Reflections on Guest Editing a Frontiers Journal

Reflections on Guest Editing a Frontiers Journal

The authors critically discuss their experience as guest editors for a Frontiers journal. They aim to foster open scholarly debate about Frontiers publishing practices, triggered by Frontiers hindering such debate on their own pages.

Making Better Use of Natural Experimental Evaluation in Population Health

Making Better Use of Natural Experimental Evaluation in Population Health

Rather than arguing about the suitability of natural experimental methods to inform decisions we need to focus on refining their scope and design, say Peter Craig and colleagues Natural experiments have long been used as opportunities to evaluate the health impacts of policies, programmes, and other interventions. Defined in the UK Medical Research Council's guidance as events outside the control of researchers that divide populations into exposed and unexposed groups, natural experiments have greatly contributed to the evidence base for tobacco and air pollution control, suicide prevention, and other important areas of public health policy.1 Although randomised controlled trials are often viewed as the best source of evidence because they have less risk of bias, reliance on them as the only source of credible evidence has begun to shift for several reasons. Firstly, policy makers are increasingly looking for evidence about "what works" to tackle pervasive and complex problems, including the social determinants of health,23 and these are hard to examine in randomised trials. In Scotland, for example, legislation to introduce a minimum retail price per unit of alcohol included a sunset clause, which means that the measure will lapse after six years unless evidence is produced that it works. This has resulted in multiple evaluations, including natural experimental studies using geographical or historical comparator groups.4 Similarly, the US National Institutes of Health has called for greater use of natural experimental methods to understand how to prevent obesity,5 and a consortium of European academies for their greater use to understand policies and interventions to reduce health inequalities.3 Secondly, a wider range of analytical methods developed within other disciplines, mostly by economists or other social or political scientists, are being increasingly applied to good effect. A good example is the use of synthetic control methods …

Focus on PhD Quality, Not Publications: We Need to Encourage Scholars to Become Inquisitive Explorers, Papers Will Naturally Follow

Focus on PhD Quality, Not Publications: We Need to Encourage Scholars to Become Inquisitive Explorers, Papers Will Naturally Follow

Does forcing students to mandatorily publish a research paper before thesis submission lead to a high-quality PhD thesis, or does high-quality PhD work lead to publications in good journals? This question is unlike the chicken...

Why is the American Right Suddenly So Interested in Psychedelic Drugs?

Why is the American Right Suddenly So Interested in Psychedelic Drugs?

Magic mushrooms are no magic cure for society's ills, and a substance as powerful as psychedelics can be dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands

The Outer Space Treaty is 55 and out of Date

The Outer Space Treaty is 55 and out of Date

Back in the 60s, the Outer Space Treaty provided us with an assurance of peace and security in the Cold War space race. So much has changed since then - so why hasn't the treaty, asks DW's Zulfikar Abbany.

How Social Sciences and Humanities Programs Can Prepare Students for Employment

How Social Sciences and Humanities Programs Can Prepare Students for Employment

Internships and work-integrated learning for social sciences and humanities students can be part of how post-secondary institutions increase their capacities to contribute to social innovation.

I Was a Presidential Science Adviser - Here Are the Many Challenges Arati Prabhakar Faces As She Takes over President Biden's Science Policy Office

I Was a Presidential Science Adviser - Here Are the Many Challenges Arati Prabhakar Faces As She Takes over President Biden's Science Policy Office

The director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy plays a critical role in achieving the president's science goals. Facilitating cooperation among the dozens of research agencies is key.

Empowering Technicians: Our Journey

Empowering Technicians: Our Journey

Professor Sam Kingman, Pro-Vice Chancellor Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham contributes to the blog series on championing the role of technicians in higher education and research.

What Kind of Science Is This?: On the Documenta Fifteen "Expert Panel" - Notes - E-flux

What Kind of Science Is This?: On the Documenta Fifteen "Expert Panel" - Notes - E-flux

Marion Detjen critiques the conclusions of the documenta fifteen "Expert Panel" on anti-Semitism.

Open Letter: Open Science Should Provide Support, Not Impose Sanctions

Open Letter: Open Science Should Provide Support, Not Impose Sanctions

Beyond ideological boundaries, the Open Science movement should address the question of whether and, if so, under which framework conditions “closeness” can be appropriate in global, political crises. Openness must not be abused to place sanctions in global, political crises by closing open offers.