Our cities are unequal – in wealth, quality of life and our carbon footprints, amongst other factors. In the race to use technology to build so-called ‘smart cities’, Joe Blakey says we run the risk of locking-in, rather than tackling, those inequalities. Definitions and data When it comes to smart cities , Manchester is setting […]
Huge changes in education on way, says Willetts
The next generation will see greater changes in education than we have seen over the previous 500 years, says Lord David Willetts, the former Minister for Universities and Science. Jim Pendrill reports. Delivering the keynote address at the start of Policy Week on how emerging technology will impact education, Willetts began by questioning whether the […]
Don’t overlook old techology amid push for defence innovation
Technology policy and defence acquisition can present striking contrasts, writes Dr Michael Pryce. Government policy is supportive of innovation – and often the more disruptive the better. But the highest spender in government on ‘high technology’ – defence – often has an old-fashioned look to it. Looking closely at examples of current military projects, we […]
Does the UK have a future in manufacturing?
Thanks to its world-class science base the UK is very good at developing ideas. But we still don’t invest enough public money into developing early stage technologies, says Dr Kieron Flanagan. Does the UK have a future in manufacturing? Does the North West or the Greater Manchester city region have a future in manufacturing for that matter? These were the questions debated at a panel discussion I took part […]
What should responsible innovation look like in our society?
The emerging concept of responsible innovation is already taking hold in science policy and governance, writes Jonny Hankins. He argues for a multi-faced approach that emphasises reflexivity, involves public engagement from the outset and brings on board social scientists. The phrase ‘responsible innovation’ is cropping-up ever more frequently in policy documents in the UK, Europe […]
Placing citizens at the heart of citizen science
Citizen science isn’t new, but new mobile technologies open up huge potential benefits for science, society and the environment, write Michelle Kilfoyle and Hayley Birch. It seems our modern addiction to smartphones, tablets and gaming is not just providing us with new means of communicating and killing time. It is also providing scientists with innovative ways in […]
Tough on crime? Lie-detector tests don’t hold all the answers for sex offender management
The Coalition has decided to drop the privatisation of polygraph, or ‘lie-detector’ tests for sex offenders. But Dr Andrew Balmer believes that the continued use of this flawed technology within the probation service is misguided and the whole programme should be scrapped. Since the Offender Management Act was changed in 2007 to allow for the […]
White heat at 50: Harold Wilson and scientific collaboration with Europe
The beginning of the month marked the 50th anniversary of Harold Wilson’s iconic ‘white heat’ speech. Stuart Butler asks what we can learn about participation in European scientific and technological collaboration from decisions made by Wilson’s government. This post originally appeared on the Guardian’s Political Science Blog At the beginning of this year George Osborne […]
Why it’s time for us to spend big on science
In his recent party conference speech, Science Minister David Willetts said he was ‘up for’ making Britain the best place in the world to do science. But in order to do that – and reap the economic rewards – politicians need to be prepared to spend big, argues Professor Brian Cox. This blog post is […]
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