In my final year of doctoral study, I realised I wanted to write a book about research methods. There are already so many books on the topic that I knew I would need to think of a good angle, which wasn’t easy; plus I was busy earning my living as an independent researcher. Then in […] … learn more→

S is for SPECULATE The word speculate has bad press. It is usually equated with guessing, making things up. Not good. However, to speculate can also mean to theorise, hypothesise, surmise, make a supposition. Speculation needs a bit of a helping hand IMHO. This is my attempt at recuperating it. Speculation in research doesn’t mean guessing […] … learn more→

If you think back to your childhood, what sticks with you? For many people, it’s those cosy times when they were cuddled up with a parent or grandparent, being read a story. But bedtime stories aren’t just lovely endings to the day or a way to induce sleep, they are also a safe way to […] … learn more→

At the beginning of 2017, France announced the launch of its green bonds scheme. A green bond is like a conventional bond, but one issued specifically to fund an environmental project. The amount, not yet officially revealed, could be counted in billions of euros, thus constituting the first green sovereign borrowing scheme on this scale […] … learn more→

For the past 28 years, I have been involved in crowd safety and risk analysis, and I have been fortunate enough to have been consulted on some of the world’s biggest events, from the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to the royal wedding in 2011. In many of these instances, the media are […] … learn more→

The recent riots at Berkeley are no accident; we’re training our college students to get upset at the silliest little things…it’s no surprise they violently nuts when significant things are being discussed. But today I want to talk about tiny little things, aka microaggressions. A few years ago, the entire concept of microaggression was just […] … learn more→

Scientific research can change our lives for the better, but it also presents risks – either through deliberate misuse or accident. Think about studying deadly pathogens; that’s how we can learn how to successfully ward them off, but it can be a safety issue too, as when CDC workers were exposed to anthrax in 2014 […] … learn more→

Antibiotics are medicines for treating infectious diseases caused by bacteria. They are one of the greatest medical discoveries of all time. They have saved my life, and probably saved yours as well. But we have used them unwisely. We used them to treat viral infections, such as the flu, that don’t respond to antibiotics. We […] … learn more→

Forty-eight prominent US university presidents have written to Donald Trump urging him to rescind his controversial executive order, introduced on 27 January, which bars immigrants and non-immigrant visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. Since the order was signed, US universities and universities around the world have condemned Mr Trump, describing the travel ban as […] … learn more→

The use of body cameras by front line police and other uniformed enforcement agencies is increasing at an unstoppable rate both in the US and UK. In the UK, video cameras have been seen primarily as a way of supporting police officers to better enforce order or collect evidence. Whereas in the US, their use […] … learn more→