policy
Professor Heidi Larson: “This is a key moment to build trust in countries and socio-economic groups with relatively low confidence in vaccines.”
For over a decade, Heidi Larson, Professor of Anthropology, Risk and Decision Science at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, has been leading global efforts to monitor public confidence in immunisation programmes. As COVID-19 vaccination programmes are rolled out across the EU, this is a key moment to build trust in countries and ...
An expert’s opinion: An interview with Ludo Waltman on the surge in COVID-19 research papers
We speak with Ludo Waltman, Professor of Quantitative Science Studies and Deputy Director of the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University, on how the COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way we assess the quality of scientific literature. What are you working on at the moment? I am looking at how many ...
An expert’s opinion: An interview with Adam Marcus on scientific publishing in times of COVID-19
Adam Marcus, Co-founder of Retraction Watch and managing editor of Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News, highlights the need to be vigilant about the quality of COVID-19 research papers and encourages publishers to publish fewer but better-quality papers. How many COVID-19 papers have been retracted so far this year? Our latest count is 37 retractions and three ...
Covid-19: What are the consequences of the unprecedented rush for knowledge?
The surge in COVID-19 research papers has put the spotlight on the peer review process and is changing the way we assess the quality of scientific literature.
An expert’s opinion: An interview with Aida Ponce del Castillo on the impacts of remote working on employees
Aida Ponce del Castillo, senior researcher at the Foresight Unit of European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) in Brussels, has been assessing the legal, ethical and regulatory issues of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, focussing on their impact on work and employment. In this interview she voices concerns about the speed of adoption of surveillance ...
An expert’s opinion: An interview with Karen Gregory on the future of work post-covid
We speak with Karen Gregory, a digital sociologist at the University of Edinburgh, on how Covid-19 is affecting the way we work and its knock-on effects. Creative political interventions will be required to address the socio-economic inequalities highlighted by the pandemic. How had Covid-19 changed our working life? For those who can work remotely, work ...
An expert’s opinion: An interview with Ayman El-Mohandes on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and public health messaging
Ayman El-Mohandes, Dean of City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH) and co-coordinator of a global survey on potential hesitancy to accept a proven, safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, speaks to us about the findings and their implications for halting the spread of the virus. What does ...
An expert’s opinion: An interview with Melinda Mills on the behavioural factors underlying COVID-19 vaccine uptake
We speak with Melinda Mills, Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science at the University of Oxford and lead author of the British Academy and Royal Society report on Vaccine Deployment. She calls for open dialogue about vaccine concerns and the need to help people spot misinformation. How did the Vaccine Deployment report come ...
The pandemic has catapulted science to the forefront of policy-making
Interview with Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Special Advisor to the President of the European Commission on the response to the coronavirus and COVID-19: how science has been feeding into policy-making? What does your role as EU special advisor on COVID-19 entail? I am part of the ...
The way of on-life: Introducing the Digital Humanities Series
Voluntarily or not, social distancing in 2020 means relying on digital communication more than ever before. Which challenges and choices arise from the all-digital living lab? A new dedicated ESMH Digital Humanities series explores the developing on-life in the EU.