Behavioural Science, Randomized Evaluations and the Transformation Of Public Policy: The Case of the UK Government

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter John
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Behavioural Science ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Uk

scholarly journals Dynamics of Behavioural Expertise Under COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joram Feitsma ◽  
Mark Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Institutional Context ◽  
Knowledge Source ◽  
Behavioural Science ◽  
Science Community ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Shed Light

<p>Many government responses to the coronavirus-pandemic have been marked by attempts at expertization and scientization. Particularly, politico-epistemological authority is being given to the behavioural science community consulting government. This article critically scrutinizes this most recent wave of behavioural expertization. Taking developments in the UK and the Netherlands as our case-studies, we shed light on the disparate ways in which behavioural expertise is being (re)shaped during COVID-19. Some of these ways point at processes of behavioural expertise ‘drift’, in which the applicability and robustness of this knowledge source gets overstated. Other ways instead point at processes of behavioural expertise ‘thrift’ or ‘shift’, where the knowledge is used only minimally or taken in wholly new and norm-breaking directions. Doing so, we seek to demonstrate the importance of institutional context in understanding how behavioural expertise is currently shaping public policy: underpinning institutional configurations determine whether the expertise is gauged and applied effectively.<i></i></p>

scholarly journals Dynamics of Behavioural Expertise under COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joram Feitsma ◽  
Mark Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Institutional Context ◽  
Knowledge Source ◽  
Behavioural Science ◽  
Science Community ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Shed Light

<p>Many government responses to the coronavirus-pandemic have been marked by attempts at expertization and scientization. Particularly, politico-epistemological authority is being given to the behavioural science community consulting government. This article critically scrutinizes this most recent wave of behavioural expertization. Taking developments in the UK and the Netherlands as our case-studies, we shed light on the disparate ways in which behavioural expertise is being (re)shaped during COVID-19. Some of these ways point at processes of behavioural expertise ‘drift’, in which the applicability and robustness of this knowledge source gets overstated. Other ways instead point at processes of behavioural expertise ‘thrift’ or ‘shift’, where the knowledge is used only minimally or taken in wholly new and norm-breaking directions. Doing so, we seek to demonstrate the importance of institutional context in understanding how behavioural expertise is currently shaping public policy: underpinning institutional configurations determine whether the expertise is gauged and applied effectively.<i></i></p>

scholarly journals Dynamics of Behavioural Expertise under COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joram Feitsma ◽  
Mark Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Institutional Context ◽  
Knowledge Source ◽  
Behavioural Science ◽  
Science Community ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Shed Light

<p>Many government responses to the coronavirus-pandemic have been marked by attempts at expertization and scientization. Particularly, politico-epistemological authority is being given to the behavioural science community consulting government. This article critically scrutinizes this most recent wave of behavioural expertization. Taking developments in the UK and the Netherlands as our case-studies, we shed light on the disparate ways in which behavioural expertise is being (re)shaped during COVID-19. Some of these ways point at processes of behavioural expertise ‘drift’, in which the applicability and robustness of this knowledge source gets overstated. Other ways instead point at processes of behavioural expertise ‘thrift’ or ‘shift’, where the knowledge is used only minimally or taken in wholly new and norm-breaking directions. Doing so, we seek to demonstrate the importance of institutional context in understanding how behavioural expertise is currently shaping public policy: underpinning institutional configurations determine whether the expertise is gauged and applied effectively.<i></i></p>

Specialist infantry and defence engagement

2020 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Blair Thomas Herron ◽  
K M Heil ◽  
D Reid
Keyword(s):  
Armed Forces ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Future ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into

In 2015, the UK government published the National Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) 2015, which laid out their vision for the future roles and structure of the UK Armed Forces. SDSR 2015 envisaged making broader use of the Armed Forces to support missions other than warfighting. One element of this would be to increase the scale and scope of defence engagement (DE) activities that the UK conducts overseas. DE activities traditionally involve the use of personnel and assets to help prevent conflict, build stability and gain influence with partner nations as part of a short-term training teams. This paper aimed to give an overview of the Specialist Infantry Group and its role in UK DE. It will explore the reasons why the SDSR 2015 recommended their formation as well as an insight into future tasks.

scholarly journals Rhetorical uses of precise numbers and semi-magical round numbers in political discourse about COVID-19: Examples from the government of the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
pp. 095792652110131
Author(s):  
Michael Billig
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
British Government ◽  
Political Incentives ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Round Numbers ◽  
Magical Power ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The 19Th Century

This paper examines how the British government has used statistics about COVID-19 for political ends. A distinction is made between precise and round numbers. Historically, using round numbers to estimate the spread of disease gave way in the 19th century to the sort precise, but not necessarily accurate, statistics that are now being used to record COVID-19. However, round numbers have continued to exert rhetorical, ‘semi-magical’ power by simultaneously conveying both quantity and quality. This is demonstrated in examples from the British government’s claims about COVID-19. The paper illustrates how senior members of the UK government use ‘good’ round numbers to frame their COVID-19 goals and to announce apparent achievements. These round numbers can provide political incentives to manipulate the production of precise number; again examples from the UK government are given.

Life Expectancy in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes: Implications for Annuities

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermione C. Price ◽  
Philip M. Clarke ◽  
Alastair M. Gray ◽  
Rury R. Holman
Keyword(s):  
Type 2 Diabetes ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Cholesterol Level ◽  
Total Cholesterol Level ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Age At Death ◽  
Life Annuity ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Uk

Background. Insurance companies often offer people with diabetes ‘‘enhanced impaired life annuity’’ at preferential rates, in view of their reduced life expectancy. Objective. To assess the appropriateness of ‘‘enhanced impaired life annuity’’ rates for individuals with type 2 diabetes. Patients. There were 4026 subjects with established type 2 diabetes (but not known cardiovascular or other life-threatening diseases) enrolled into the UK Lipids in Diabetes Study. Measurements. Estimated individual life expectancy using the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) Outcomes Model. Results. Subjects were a mean (SD) age of 60.7 (8.6) years, had a blood pressure of 141/83 (17/10) mm Hg, total cholesterol level of 4.5 (0.75) mmol/L, HDL cholesterol level of 1.2 (0.29) mmol/L, with median (interquartile range [IQR]) known diabetes duration of 6 (3—11) years, and HbA1c of 8.0% (7.2—9.0). Sixty-five percent were male, 91% white, 4% Afro-Caribbean, 5% Indian-Asian, and 15% current smokers. The UKPDS Outcomes Model median (IQR) estimated age at death was 76.6 (73.8—79.5) years compared with 81.6 (79.4—83.2) years, estimated using the UK Government Actuary’s Department data for a general population of the same age and gender structure. The median (IQR) difference was 4.3 (2.8—6.1) years, a remaining life expectancy reduction of almost one quarter. The highest value annuity identified, which commences payments immediately for a 60-year-old man with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes investing 100,000, did not reflect this difference, offering 7.4K per year compared with 7.0K per year if not diabetic. Conclusions. The UK Government Actuary’s Department data overestimate likely age at death in individuals with type 2 diabetes, and at present, ‘‘enhanced impaired life annuity’’ rates do not provide equity for people with type 2 diabetes. Using a diabetes-specific model to estimate life expectancy could provide valuable information to the annuity industry and permit more equitable annuity rates for those with type 2 diabetes.

Civil Renewal and Community Safety: Virtuous Policy Spiral or Dynamic of Exclusion?

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Prior
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Community Safety ◽  
Trust Relationships ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
Policy Priority ◽  
The Uk

Civil renewal is an emerging policy priority for the UK government, aiming to build stronger, more cohesive communities and to encourage individual citizens to be active members of such communities. The promotion of social capital and trust relationships is central to this approach. Strategies to improve community safety and reduce crime and disorder are closely related to the drive for civil renewal, with the two sets of policies seen as mutually supportive. This article shows, however, that many community safety initiatives are founded on relationships of suspicion between citizens. This generates a dynamic of exclusion that is likely to undermine attempts at civil renewal.

UK government plans to ‘unleash’ nation’s space sector

Physics World ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (11) ◽  
pp. 11ii-11ii
Author(s):  
Michael Banks
Keyword(s):  
National Space ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Uk

The UK government has released a National Space Strategy to provide a long-term vision for the country’s space sector.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document