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The Politics of Science: Studies of Bias, Polarization, Trust, and Belief

The political spin that so often is attached to discussions surrounding public policy and science is the focus of the March 2015 issue of the ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Politics and science often intermix on matters including climate change, vaccinations, fracking, nuclear power, evolution, genetically modified organisms, and stem cell research, among others.

Kathleen Hall Jamieson at AAAS: Bias, Credibility, and Communicating Science

Climate scientists inadvertently support the idea that they are partisans when they do not account for "inconvenient evidence," Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, told scientists and journalists at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Jose, Calif. Jamieson also said flawed studies must be retracted much more quickly.

Cigarette Warning Label

‘Emotional’ Cigarette Warning Labels Affect Smokers’ Brains and Behavior

A new study suggests that using emotionally evocative images on cigarette warning labels such as rotting teeth and a diseased lung is important in making the labels more memorable and effective in conveying the risks of smoking. The study addresses a key point raised in 2012 by the U.S. courts, which ruled that the pictorial labels were unconstitutional in part because they "did not convey any information at all."

When social media leads to social action

Supermodel Petra Nemcova was vacationing in Thailand a decade ago, on Dec. 26, when it was hit by a devastating tsunami that destroyed communities in 14 countries and took the lives 230,000 people. Amy Jordan, APPC's associate director, writes in The Hill about Nemcova's work to turn tragedy and social media into social action.

New multiplayer game teaches students about the Bill of Rights

PHILADELPHIA — Just in time for Bill of Rights Day (Dec. 15), Annenberg Classroom has released the multiplayer version of a game for middle and high-school students that challenges them to apply their knowledge of the Constitution to everyday legal scenarios. Annenberg Classroom’s “That’s Your Right” game lets students compete against each other online in