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The innovation race on geological carbon removal: who is best placed to lead?
No full textThis report analyses innovation activity represented by patenting data for two carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies — bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS), referred to collectively as geological CDR — to shed light on the countries that might be best positioned to lead the market for relevant technologies to capture growth opportunities while supporting global climate goals
Co-designing transdisciplinary research for water security and adaptation: lessons from the BASIN project
No full textThe BASIN project – Behavioural Adaptation for Water Security and Inclusion – is breaking new ground by bringing behavioural research into the challenging area of climate change adaptation and water insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa. BASIN is a large transdisciplinary research project made up of four universities, three NGOs across seven country offices, and an intermediary knowledge broker organisation, with up to 50 team members at any one time. The process of designing the project is therefore new and exploratory, both in terms of the subject matter and the priorities of the partners. From its conception, BASIN has followed an integrated, synthesised approach to co-designing research to reconcile the different priorities and cultures of research and practice. This co-design process is outlined within this brief
Behavioural research for water security: integrating design, systems thinking and social sciences
No full textThis brief explores how behavioural research can better address complex, ‘wicked’ problems such as inclusive water security and climate adaptation by integrating systems thinking, human-centred design and critical social sciences. The BASIN project argues that behavioural research can be advanced by integrating systems thinking, human-centred design and critical social sciences. This expanded approach to applying behavioural research to wicked problems aims to foster more holistic, equitable and sustainable solutions to water insecurity in a changing climate
Science communication in non-ideal contexts
No full textIn daily life, most of us lack the cognitive resources to make judgements on scientific matters by ourselves. Often, we reach our judgements by relying on testimony of others. This is captured by the concept of epistemic deference: one defers one’s belief on a matter to others’ testimony. When it comes to scientific matters, most of us don’t just defer to anyone’s testimony: one first identifies trustworthy informants on the matter and defers to their testimony only. Conventional literature on this topic is dominantly concerned with highly idealised contexts and falls silent on non-ideal ones. I show this with a case study of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in China. In this paper, I make a preliminary attempt to provide alternative guidance for problematic environments with politicized scientific institutions and heavy information censorship such as China. I argue that the ‘dissent scouting’ requirement is a helpful addition in epistemically problematic environments
Why are there financial crises? Recent developments in theory
No full textIn financial crises, a period of overheated credit markets turns into a credit crunch accompanied by a systemic breakdown in the financial intermediary sector. Without a deep understanding of their roots, designing policies to decrease the probability of suffering from them or to avoid the worst consequences is like flying blind. In this review, I survey the recent development of the theory of financial crises. I focus on the answers these theories provide to four fundamental questions. What makes the booming phase fragile, and what are the incentives and frictions leading to that fragility? What triggers the crisis? Why is the downturn persistent? Should policy intervene, and if so, how
Reporting guidelines for chatbot health advice studies: explanation and elaboration for the Chatbot Assessment Reporting Tool (CHART)
No full textThe Chatbot Assessment Reporting Tool (CHART) reporting guideline promotes transparent and comprehensive reporting of studies evaluating the performance of generative artificial intelligence (AI)driven chatbots for the purposes of summarising clinical evidence and providing health advice, referred to here as chatbot health advice (CHA) studies. CHART is the product of an international, multi-phase, consensus based initiative involving various stakeholders and comprises a 12-item checklist with 39 subitems. The checklist includes items on open science, title and abstract, introduction, model identification, model details, prompt engineering, query strategy, performance definition and evaluation, statistical analysis, results, discussion, with an accompanying flow diagram. Each item includes distinct subitems. This explanation and elaboration article discusses each subitem and provides a detailed rationale for its inclusion in the CHART checklist
Article 3 in the platform work directive on intermediaries: joint liability or joint employment?
No full textThis contribution explores a lesser discussed provision in the new Platform Work Directive (‘PWD’): Article 3 on ‘intermediaries’ (originally titled ‘subcontracting liability’ by the EP). Article 3 is possibly the most ambiguous provision in the Directive, for three reasons: the unusual drafting history of Article 3, the wording of Article 3 itself and, the amount of flexibility left to Member States to interpret Article 3 as they choose. Ultimately this means that Article 3 will likely have very divergent impact in practice. Article 3 provides that individuals providing work for an intermediary should enjoy the same level of protection ‘pursuant to the Directive’ as those contracting directly with digital labour platforms. There is also reference to joint and several liability, ‘where appropriate’. At the very least under Article 3, the employment presumption in Article 5 should also apply to intermediaries and the provisions on algorithmic management should apply directly to those in a subcontracting chain. The contribution details the unusual drafting history of Article 3, then contrasts Article 3's fit with other EU provisions on ‘subcontracting’, before discussing whether it was intended as, or might be interpreted as, alternatively a provision on joint liability or on joint employment. The final section provides a brief reflection on the concept of the employer, in light of the PWD
The European miracle and beyond: essays in honour of Professor E. L. Jones
No full textThis edited volume presents a set of essays honouring the agricultural, environmental and world economic historian, Eric L. Jones. Drawing insights from contributors spanning the social sciences, it highlights how Jones' approach was ahead of its time, illuminating the benefits of studying economic history from a long-run, comparative perspective. In the spirit of Jones’ path-breaking book The European Miracle, this volume is divided into two parts. The first part takes the intellectual contributions of Eric Jones as its focus, closely considering Jones’ contributions to the development of a non-Eurocentric perspective of world history, our understanding of long-term social processes and Eliasian sociology, and the study of the urban built environment. The second part of the book changes tack, offering a series of detailed studies on historical and contemporary themes. Each essays in this part explicitly draws its influence and inspiration from Jones’ work. These ‘applied’ chapters, written by leading experts, make important and novel contributions to an array of important questions: the Great Divergence, economic performance in Song China, the rise of Nazi Germany, the evolution of modern China’s economic links with Australia, and the likely effect on international politics of China and Russia’s current growing alliance. This book provides a wide-ranging introduction to the works of Eric Jones, one of the most influential economic historians of the twentieth century, and illustrates not only the ongoing relevance of Jones’ work, but, crucially, how contemporary researchers can learn from his approach to studying long-run change
Europe’s quest for critical raw materials in Latin America: the clash with China and diversification opportunities
No full textThis paper analyzes the evolving geopolitical dynamics surrounding critical raw materials (CRMs), with a focus on Latin America and the European Union's (EU) attempt to secure access to these resources amid intensifying competition with China. Drawing from trade statistics, foreign investment trends, and institutional strategies, the study assesses the EU’s renewed interest in Latin America through the Global Gateway and the Win-Win Partnership frameworks. While China's economic footprint in the region is deeply entrenched through its South-South cooperation model, the EU seeks to reposition itself as a viable partner by leveraging environmental and governance standards. The analysis identifies key minerals—particularly lithium, copper, and lead—where dependency and vulnerability are highest, and where strategic diversification is urgently needed. Ultimately, the paper argues that the EU’s success will depend on its ability to implement a more flexible and pragmatic strategy, balancing its normative approach with tangible development outcomes for Latin American partners