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Vicarious denial: war crimes and online deliberation in Serbia for and against Ukraine
No full textViolence in distant conflicts can foster solidarity across borders, mediated by partisanship, identities, and ideology. But, attitudes towards a society’s own war legacies may also shape reactions to war crimes endured by others. We analyse Serbian news outlet readers’ comments responding to reports of Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine. We observe vicarious denial, as some readers denied Russian atrocities, evoking a sense of exclusive Serbian victimhood related to the Yugoslav wars and blame of the West. Yet, other readers challenged them, expressing solidarity with Ukrainian victims. Our research highlights transnational dynamics of war crimes denial and its contention, complementing domestically oriented explanations
Public policy in the Global South
No full textThe post-pandemic government systems are grappling with efforts to recover from the spiralling economic downturns to emerging policy crises at all levels. These co-occur with and exacerbate the pre-pandemic complex governance scenarios and challenges. With an array of political systems—ranging from full democracies, hybrid political systems, and one-party communist regimes to straight-out military governments—the Global South presents a highly heterogeneous region to map how various government systems deal with these issues. Often banded together in a simplified manner while studying comparative politics and public policy with the primary purpose of fitting and privileging Western political experiences over others, the Global South presents interesting case studies. With its incisive comparative analyses and country policy-specific case studies, this volume aims to address this trajectory to stimulate more conscious and balanced discussions concerning the Global South. It is the first attempt of its kind to employ a public policy perspective in understanding the Global South political reforms and governance experiences in a more comprehensive fashion. It discusses emerging approaches that can be considered or have characterised governance and public policy in countries located in the Global South. By bringing together a group of wholly Global South authors with extensive knowledge and expertise on the various subjects of discussion, the volume aims to provide valuable insights to inform policy, practice, and future research in governance sectors. The authors aim to contextualise different governance issues and provide a comprehensive perspective on these emerging trajectories and convergences in literature. This chapter introduces the agenda of this volume and outlines its structure, underscoring its potential to significantly inform and shape the future of governance in the Global South
The looping effects of psychological theories: from anomaly to opportunity
No full textLooping effects were introduced by philosopher Ian Hacking to refer to the two-way interactive relationship between scientific classifications and the people classified. This article extends the concept beyond classification to consider how psychological theories shape and transform their phenomena through looping effects, rather than merely mirroring them. These effects have been conceptualized as destabilizing, problematic, and anomalous. In contrast, we argue that looping effects should be brought within our theorizing and harnessed. To this end, we introduce a two-by-two typology of looping effects, differentiating between weakening versus strengthening effects and intended versus unintended effects. Looping can lead some theories to be resisted and thus weakened (e.g., persuasion, nudging) and other theories to be adopted and thus strengthened (e.g., mnemonic or metacognitive strategies). While most theories begin with unintended looping effects, they often develop towards intentional looping effects (e.g., aimed at weakening cognitive biases or strengthening heuristics). We argue that looping effects are a significant yet under-studied source of variance in human behavior. Psychological theories do not merely refer to causal mechanisms; theories can also be causes of human behavior. We make practical suggestions for incorporating looping effects into psychological theory, thereby enhancing its robustness and societal relevance
Shifting the reproductive window: the contribution of ART and egg donation to fertility rates in the UK
No full textDelayed childbearing in advanced economies has increased reliance on assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Yet, how ART and especially donor egg treatments contribute to population-level fertility rates remains under-studied. Analysing all ART treatments in the UK (1991–2018), we document rising ART usage: ART-conceived births contributed 3.0 per cent to the total fertility rate in 2018 and 14.9 per cent to fertility rates among women aged 45–50. ART success rates show a clear age-related decline when using women’s own eggs but remain consistent across age groups when using donor eggs. Consequently, from age 43 onwards, ART-conceived births result predominantly from donor egg treatments. Our findings indicate that fertility recuperation at advanced ages is unlikely to succeed with ART using a patient’s own eggs; egg donation and egg freezing appear indispensable for supporting fertility at advanced ages with ART. This has significant implications for public health communication, as this fact is not widely known
‘We are here not because we are metadata-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become metadata-makers’
No full textThis article outlines a Wikidata project undertaken by LSE Library’s Metadata team to enhance the discoverability of a unique set of oral history interviews about the British Suffrage Movement. The paper outlines each stage of creating linked open data to represent interviews, interviewees and associated entities, and reflects on challenges less familiar to traditional cataloguing practices in RDA and MARC21, including data protection impact assessments, data modelling, URL stability, and creation and enrichment of contextual linked data, including non-LCSH identifiers. The project explores new ways to interrogate and visualise metadata through SPARQL queries, and highlights opportunities to contribute to Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons. Reflections on conflict of interest, community engagement, and the evolving role of metadata professionals are shared, alongside early insights into project impact. The article demonstrates how Wikidata can extend traditional metadata practice, offering new opportunities for collaboration, discovery, and representation
Peace settlements and political transformation in divided societies rethinking Northern Ireland and South Africa by Adrian Guelke, London and New York, Routledge, 2023, 205pp., £31.99, ISBN: 978-1-032-11988-5 (pbk), Index.
No full textChina as context: anthropology, post-globalisation and the neglect of China
No full textDecades-old calls to recognise China's significance for anthropological theory and the social sciences are more urgent than ever. Yet, Chinese-grounded ideas remain marginal, with China often seen as an 'Other' rather than a source of widely applicable theory. Drawing on East Asian postcolonial scholarship, this volume argues that without taking China seriously as a knowledge producer and a key agent in a post-global world, social scientists risk misinterpreting the global present. As Western globalisation wanes and anthropology reassesses the relationship between ethnography and theory, we show how 'China' must be understood as an ordinary, integral context for research worldwide
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of social norms messaging approaches for improving health behaviours in developed countries
No full textSocial norms approaches have been widely applied in health promotion as a cost-effective behaviour-change strategy, but have been little evaluated as a whole. We conducted a pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials using social norms messaging in developed countries targeted at changing health behaviours among 16+-year-olds to evaluate their effectiveness. Relevant studies were identified through searches in PsycINFO, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, TRIP, Cochrane and grey literature sources. Risk of bias was assessed independently by two reviewers using the Cochrane RoB 2 tool. A random-effects meta-analysis standardized effect sizes to Cohen’s d, assessed heterogeneity with I² and applied robust Bayesian meta-analysis to adjust for publication bias. Searches resulted in 89 studies (n = 85,759), which exhibited a small effect of social norms messaging on health behaviours (Cohen’s d = 0.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.09, 0.19], P < 0.001). However, this effect disappeared after controlling for publication bias. We conducted moderator analyses, finding no significant differences from the overall effect for different types of social norms message, delivery modalities, health domains or target populations. The review is limited by the lack of studies assessing whether normative information changed participant perceptions, inconsistent use of manipulation checks, and high heterogeneity across studies in terms of target behaviour, population and intervention delivery, affecting the robustness of conclusions. Our analysis suggests that when appropriately controlling for publication bias, social norms messages are not effective at improving health behaviours. Thus, future attempts at improving public health should focus on alternative approaches
Pathways to second chances: a multidisciplinary integrative review of 25 years of research on the employment of formerly incarcerated individuals
No full textIn this paper, we present an integrative review of the research literature on the challenges and opportunities surrounding the employment of formerly incarcerated individuals (FIIs). Our primary aim is to integrate 25 years of multidisciplinary evidence into vocational behavior scholarship, offering an employment life-cycle framework that identifies research gaps and practical implications for employers. Grounded in a multidisciplinary approach, we synthesize research across various domains, including criminal justice, psychology, sociology, law, economics, and management, to provide a holistic understanding of the systemic barriers that hinder FIIs' reintegration into the workforce. We introduce an integrative framework that examines the employment life cycle of FIIs, encompassing recruitment, selection, onboarding, development, and retention. We also highlight the critical role of social stigmatization, lack of access to vocational training, and the systemic disconnection between correctional institutions and labor market demands. Furthermore, our review emphasizes the importance of employer engagement and policy interventions in fostering inclusive hiring practices that support the successful reintegration of FIIs. We conclude with a call for future research and practical recommendations focusing on individual, organizational, and systemic factors that influence successful FII employment, highlighting the necessity of tailored vocational programs, social network support, and supportive workplace practices
Advancing sustainable consumption: SDG 12, behavioural science, and the work of the United Nations
No full textThe United Nations (UN) is in a unique position to enact change on a global scale, with its efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) spanning policy areas as diverse as peacebuilding, ending poverty and hunger, climate action, and more sustainable patterns of consumption. This chapter explores the UN’s role in propagating the goals set by SDG 12, which focuses on responsible consumption and production. It further examines how insights from the field of behavioural science have and can be further leveraged to promote sustainable choices and overcome barriers to change. This chapter summarises a number of the achievements made by the UN in promoting sustainable consumption to date through the use of behavioural science principles, examines challenges faced, and outlines future directions