Science Education & Policy

Wind farms pose less of a threat to farmland birds than previously feared, new research has found. The study, published this week in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology, helps resolve a potentially major environmental conflict: how to meet renewable energy targets at the same time as reversing dramatic declines in biodiversity on European farmland. Dr Mark Whittingham and colleagues from Newcastle University conducted bird surveys on arable farmland around two wind farms in the East Anglian fens. They recorded almost 3,000 birds from 23 different species, including…

In case you haven’t noticed, election season is upon us! Ok, it has been upon us for almost two years, but never mind that. Pollsters are busy trying to determine why people might be voting for one candidate or another, with special attention being paid to the so-called undecided voters, on whose last-minute whim the fate of the nation -- and the world -- seems to hinge. Two recent studies, however, provide much food for thought about why people vote one way or the other, and about the reasons they give to themselves and others. A paper by Douglas Oxley and collaborators in Science (19…

LONDON, September 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Business is responsible for more than 40% of the UK's carbon emissions. Visit Working Buildings Week 2008, to find out how companies are tackling this issue and making their places of work more efficient and environmentally friendly. Bringing together 1000s of professionals, 400 built environment solution providers and over 300 hours of educational content, Working Buildings 2008 aims to empower those responsible for the UK's workplaces. Highlights of this year's show include: The Roadmap to Sustainability - The key theme of this year's educational…

People come to this web site for well written, interesting columns on science. To some degree it must be questioned as to whether economics is a science. That being said, the current financial crisis is worthy of some commentary here as it will affect all of us to some degree. As a futurist, I see this crisis as part of a bigger transition from one Age to another. The Information Age began in the 1970s and is now giving way to the Shift Age. All year, in speeches given around the country, I have stated that the economic downturn we are going through must be looked at from a new…

OSLO, September 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Norway's capital was the clear winner in a new survey of knowledge-based economies in Europe performed by Eurostat, the EU statistics agency. The survey measures the percentage of human resources in science and technology (HRST) among the total workforce, and is seen as an indicator of the development of the knowledge-based economy in the EU. According to Eurostat, "the core group of this population - known as HRSTC - can be considered as active stakeholders in the development of knowledge and technological innovation." By definition, HRSTC are persons who…

NEW YORK, September 30 /PRNewswire/ -- - Most Innovative Financial Services Technology Finalist Selected for its Unique Business Transaction Management Software OpTier(R), the leader in Business Transaction Management(TM) (BTM) for the enterprise, today announced that it has been named a finalist for the 2008 Financial Innovation Awards Most Innovative Financial Services Technology Solution. The Financial Innovation Awards recognize financial services organizations and technology providers that demonstrate excellence in one of 22 categories. OpTier's CoreFirst(R) software is one of only five…

CHICAGO (WiMAX World 2008), September 30 /PRNewswire/ -- - Solution Based on Leading Technologies and Open Standards Will Enable Service Providers to Roll out True Mobile WiMAX Networks CHICAGO (WiMAX World 2008), September 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Redline Communications Group Inc. ("Redline") (TSX and AIM: RDL), a leading provider of WiMAX and broadband wireless infrastructure products and Starent Networks, Corp. (Nasdaq: STAR), a leading provider of infrastructure solutions that enable mobile operators to deliver multimedia services, today announced the two companies have formed a strategic…

WIMAX WORLD 2008, CHICAGO, September 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Companies' Industry Leading Products Will Provide an End-to-End Open Mobile WiMAX Offering >> Aptilo Networks, the global leader in pre-integrated solutions for Service Management and Access Control for wireless networks including WiMAX(TM), wireless mesh and Wi-Fi hotspots, and Redline Communications Group Inc. ("Redline") (TSX and AIM: RDL), the leading provider of WiMAX and broadband wireless infrastructure products, announced today that the two companies have entered into a global technology agreement to utilize Aptilo's…

An analysis of news media coverage of medical studies indicates that news articles often fail to report pharmaceutical company funding and frequently refer to medications by their brand names, both potential sources of bias, according to a study in the October 1 issue of JAMA. New articles represent an important source of medical information for many patients, and even some physicians. "An increasingly recognized source of commercial bias in medical research is the funding of studies by companies with a financial interest in the results," the authors write. Little is known about how…

Sunnybrook researcher Dr. Donald Redelmeier and Stanford University statistician Robert Tibshirani have found an increased risk of fatal motor vehicle crashes on United States (US) presidential election days. US presidential elections have large effects on public health by influencing policy, the economy, and military action. "Whether the US presidential electoral process has a direct effect on public health had never been tested despite the endless media commentary and the 1 billion dollars spent on this year's election alone," says Dr. Donald Redelmeier. "We thought efforts that…