Responsible research and innovation training programmes: implementation and evaluation of the HEIRRI project

Responsible research and innovation, or RRI, is a concept that aims to bring together society and science for a better future. There are six key elements of RRI: public engagement, gender equality, science education, open access, ethics and governance. Higher Education Institutions and Responsible Research and Innovation (HEIRRI) project aimed to bring the concept of RRI into the educational system. Using state-of-the-art review of good practices, HEIRRI team developed 10 training programmes on RRI for different higher education institution educational levels, including a summer school and a massive open online course (MOOC). We conducted pilot of the trainings and evaluated participants' experiences. Satisfaction with HEIRRI training programmes on responsible research and innovation was high, both for participants and for the trainers, and trainings raised awareness of RRI. Participants' feedback was used to identify areas that need improvement and provided for recommendations for final versions of the HEIRRI training programmes. In order to equip researchers with skills to recognize and apply RRI values, RRI should be included in their education. HEIRRI training is suitable for a range of different disciplines, including forensic science, and is free to use and adjust for specific contexts (available from: https://rri-tools.eu/heirri-training-programmes).     

Iran and nuclear ambiguity

A comparison between Iran's current nuclear efforts and those of the pro-Western regime of Shah Reza Pahlavi shows that Iranian ambitions for a full-fledged civilian nuclear programme have remained relatively constant for nearly half a century. Today, fuel cycle technology provides Iran with a latent nuclear weapon's potential. However, US concerns about an Iranian bomb, which began in the early 1970s and aggravated after the Iranian Revolution, long predate Teheran's uranium enrichment programme. Thus, Iran is a specific case of the general problem presented by the inherent potential of nuclear technology to both civilian and military ends. Approaches to dealing with a long-term, ambiguous, latent nuclear weapon threat, whether Iranian or other, are suggested.     

A comparison of Chinese and the U.S. police cadets’ occupational attitudes

While police attitudes and behaviors have been the subject of a large number of studies conducted since the 1960s, very few studies had assessed Chinese police officers’ work-related attitudes and compared them with those of the U.S. police cadets. Using survey data collected from 263 Chinese and American police cadets, the research empirically tested whether Chinese and American police cadet attitudes differed across four attitudinal dimensions: aggressive patrol, order maintenance, legal restrictions, and distrust of citizens. Bivariate and multivariate results showed that Chinese cadets displayed occupational outlooks that distinguished them from their American counterparts. Chinese cadets supported aggressive patrol and were more distrustful of citizens than their American counterparts. American cadets were more favorable of order maintenance activities and more accepting of legal restrictions compared with Chinese cadets. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.     

The Role of the People’s Armed Police in Chinese Policing

This study examines the role of the People’s Armed Police (PAP) in Chinese policing. While the PAP has been in existence for over five decades, very little research has paid attention to the critical position that the PAP occupies in Chinese policing. The history of the PAP between 1949 and 1982 was highlighted by a number of changes in name and a constant change of direct control between the military and the public security. The PAP experienced a great expansion and became more stabilized in organizational structure and missions after 1983. While it is part of China’s military forces, the PAP is currently involved in a wide variety of law enforcement, order maintenance, and service activities. Its law enforcement function is carried out chiefly through preventive patrol in urban areas. The most important order maintenance function shouldered by the PAP is the disposition of mass incidents, which have increased dramatically in number and size and have become better organized over the past two decades. The Chinese government also often mobilizes the PAP to undertake emergency rescue and disaster relief tasks. The PAP will continue to be a critical force in the Chinese police system. Its leaders as well as the government should seek ways to improve the legitimacy of the force.     

Economic Burden of Child Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence in the United States

Because the effects of children’s exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) carry long lasting consequences for the affected children, IPV exposure may impose a significant economic burden to localities, states, and society at large, made explicit over the victim’s lifetime and over a wide range of behaviors and outcomes, including use of social services, health and healthcare utilization, educational outcomes, workforce productivity, and criminal behavior. While much research has been conducted on the effect of IPV exposure on multiple short- and long-term outcomes, no research to date has examined the economic burden associated with IPV exposure. Using an incidence-based approach, we estimated the aggregate discounted costs associated with healthcare spending, criminal behavior, and labor market productivity accrued by a 20-year-old victim in 2016 projected to the age of 65, applying a 3% discount rate. The average lifetime costs derived from childhood IPV exposure are estimated to be over $50,000 per victim (2016 U.S. dollars) due to increased healthcare costs ($11,000), increased crime costs ($14,000), and productivity losses ($26,000). Over an annual birth cohort of young adults, these costs amount to over $55 billion nationwide. IPV exposure imposes a substantial economic burden to society at large in the form of increased healthcare costs, increased crime costs, and reduced productivity. This study offers an explicit quantification of substantial lifetime costs, which should encourage policy makers to redouble efforts to reduce the incidence of IPV and successfully ameliorate its effects on IPV-exposed children.