In a world that plagued by incidents of violent extremism and terror, we are often presented with messages or news stories that focus on the leaders of extremist organizations or the perpetrators of such attacks. This type of messaging can be a distraction from more fully addressing the root cause of violent extremism through the use of human sciences such as psychology, sociology and anthropology.
In the second installment of our series on violent extremism, Valka-Mir Human Security Managing Partner Dr. Aleksandra Nesic explains why she believes social science concepts and approaches are needed when attempting to understand and address the root causes of extremist and violent extremist ideologies. Dr. Nesic will use her experience growing up in the former Yugoslavia during the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo as a lens through which to examine these concepts.
Participants
Host: Carlos Faraco, Ph.D., Neuroscience, 2016-2018 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Institutes of Justice
Aleksandra Nesic, Ph.D., Conflict Analysis and Resolution; Managing Partner of Valka-Mir Human Security R&D; Senior Social Scientist, US Army J.F.K. Special Warfare Education Group, Ft Bragg, NC; Visiting Research Professor, Joint Special Operations University
Executive Producer
Carlos Faraco, Ph.D., Neuroscience, 2016-2018 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Institutes of Justice
Image: Patrick Christian
This blog does not necessarily reflect the views of AAAS, its Council, Board of Directors, officers, or members. AAAS is not responsible for the accuracy of this material. AAAS has made this material available as a public service, but this does not constitute endorsement by the association.
In a world that is currently plagued by incidents of violent extremism and terror, we are often presented with messages or news stories that focus on the leaders of violent extremist organizations or the perpetrators of such attacks. That type of messaging has affected the way that government and the public view violent extremism. It may be a distraction from more fully addressing the root cause of violent extremism through the use of human sciences, such as psychology, sociology and anthropology.
In this episode, Dr. Patrick Christian will explain how he and his partners at ValkMir Human Security are changing the way the US military thinks and goes about intervening in communities targeted by violent extremist groups. By training the military on evidence-based findings from social science research, they aim to build communities resistant to violent extremism and violent extremist ideologies.
This blog does not necessarily reflect the views of AAAS, its Council, Board of Directors, officers, or members. AAAS is not responsible for the accuracy of this material. AAAS has made this material available as a public service, but this does not constitute endorsement by the association.
“Quantum physics” is often viewed in popular culture as being entirely incomprehensible. STPF fellows Eric Breckenfeld and Jonathan Trinastic speak with three physicists from government, academia and industry to discuss the phenomena studied in quantum physics and its relevance to our daily lives. One budding technology is quantum computing, an area of significant interest at IBM where users are permitted to submit code to their 5-qubit quantum computer at: https://quantumexperience.ng.bluemix.net/qstage/#/user-guide (link is external).
Host: Eric Breckenfeld, Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering, 2016-2018 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office
Interviewer: Jonathan Trinastic, Ph.D. Physics, 2016-2018 Executive Branch Fellow at the Department of Energy
Gabe Perez-Giz, Ph.D. Physics, 2015-2017 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Science Foundation
Dmitri Kilin, Ph.D. Physics, Assistant Professor at North Dakota State University
Nick Bronn, Ph.D. Physics, Research Staff Member at IBM TJ Watson Research Center
Eric Breckenfeld, Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering, 2016-2018 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office
Alejandro de la Puente, Ph.D. Physics, 2016-2018 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Science Foundation
Carlos Faraco, Ph.D. Neuroscience, 2016-18 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Institute of Justice
Image: taken from Flickr, by the University of Exeter.
This blog does not necessarily reflect the views of AAAS, its Council, Board of Directors, officers, or members. AAAS is not responsible for the accuracy of this material. AAAS has made this material available as a public service, but this does not constitute endorsement by the association.
Americans waste 40% of their food. How did we become so wasteful and what can we do about it? Dr. Ariela Zycherman is joined by Dr. Irina Feygina of Climate Central, Jason Turgeon of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Maria Rose Belding and Grant Nelson from the MEANS database for a discussion about what parts of food we waste, why we waste, and what we can do to reduce waste across a variety of social, natural and built systems.
Participants:
Host: Ariela Zycherman, Ph.D. Anthropologist
2015-17 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Science Foundation
Irina Feygina, Ph.D. Social Psychology
Director of Behavioral Science at Climate Central
2013-2014 Congressional Branch Fellow
Twitter Handel @ClimateCentral
Jason Turgeon
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1
Maria Rose Belding
Co-Founder/Executive Director, MEANS Database
Grant Nelson, JD
Co-Founder, CTO, MEANS Database
Twitter Handel @MEANSDatabase
Producers:
Carlos Faraco, Ph.D. Nueroscience
2016-2017 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Institute of Justice
Joseph Kliegman, Ph.D. Biophysics
2016-2017 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Science Foundation
Beth Linas, Ph.D. Epidemiologist
2015-17 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Science Foundation
Image courtesy of Flickr user Katie Campbell EarthFix/KCTS9.
The opinions and views expressed at or through this website are the opinions of the designated authors and do not reflect the opinions or views of AAAS or any USG agency, its employees or partners.
This is the first episode of a new series called “Scientists are People Too.” Each episode we will ask scientist questions related to their work and their daily lives. In this episode we ask scientists “What is the biggest mistake you have made in science or the most expensive piece of equipment you have broken?”
Participants:
Host: Danielle Friend, Ph.D. Neuroscience
2016-2017 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Institutes of Health
Emily Aurand, Neuroscience
2016-2017 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Science Foundation
Kelly Fleming, Chemical Engineer
2016-2017 Executive Branch Fellow U.S. Department of Energy
Laura Skipper Kalal, Ph.D. Psychology
2016-2017 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Science Foundation
Caitlin Mcguire, Ph.D. Chemistry
2016-2017 Legislative Branch Fellow
Jonathan Rayner, M.S. Aerospace Engineering
2016-2017 Executive Branch Fellow at the Department of State
Carrie Seltzer, Ph.D. Environmental Life Sciences
2016-2017 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Science Foundation
Jonathan Trinastic. Physics
2016-2017 Executive Branch Fellow at the Department of Energy
Mario Urdaneta, Ph.D. Mechanical Engineer
2015-2017 Executive Branch Fellow at the Department of Energy
Dina Weber, Ph.D. Genetics
2015-2017 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Science Foundation
Christopher Williams, Ph.D. Biology
2016-2017 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Science Foundation
Chuck Wright, Ph.D. Genetics
2016-2017 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Institutes of Health
Ariela Zyncherman, Ph.D. Anthropology
2015-2016 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Science Foundation
Producers:
Carlos Faraco, Ph.D. Neuroscience
2015-16 Executive Branch Fellow National Institute of Justice
Beth Linas, Ph.D. Epidemiology
2015-2016 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Science Foundation
Claire Schulkey, Ph.D. Genetics
2015-2016 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Institutes of Health
The opinions and views expressed at or through this website are the opinions of the designated authors and do not reflect the opinions or views of AAAS or any USG agency, its employees or partners.
Data Scientist is listed as the “Sexiest Job of the 21st Century” by the Harvard Business Review, but what is data science and what do Data Scientists do? Dr. Claire Schulkey investigated the question at International Data Week speaking with Amy Nurnberger and Dr. Sarah Callaghan, two data professionals, and she heard from the Chief Data Scientist at the New York Times to figure out what makes a data professional, how people get into the field, and what they do all day.
Image courtesy of Geralt of pixabay.