Could we better fight terrorism around the world if we knew how an extremist’s mind works? How many lives could we save if countries knew how to cut the number of cigarette users in half? These kinds of questions could help us address some of the world’s most pressing problems and in the coming days two conferences on campus will bring together people who are using research to find the answers. This is a unique opportunity for students to better understand how empirical studies are designed and how the results can be interpreted to build arguments and develop policy. Can public perceptions counter political and judicial corruption? Interested students will have opportunities to network with our special guests.
The Tobacco Control conference will offer a glimpse into how U.S. policymakers are using research from international tobacco experts to American health researchers will sit down with tobacco experts and officials from China, Norway, the UK, Italy, Argentina and Russia to hear about the lessons they have learned from E-cigarette and alternative nicotine delivery systems (ANDS) policies in their own countries.
The WESSI conference will feature a discussion of the research methods used by social scientists trying to understand complex social structures, political institutions, beliefs, and attitudes. Students can sit in on a seri-es of research presentations on a wide range of topics like political ac-countability in Mexico, judicial corruption in Morocco, and international attitudes towards immigration. The two day conference will be a forum for discussion about the best experimental methods for analyzing com-plex issues and how best to interpret the results. |
