Steve Pickering

How political leanings affect views on academic freedom – new research Right-leaning respondents were consistently more supportive of academic freedom.

Most people support academic freedom (in principle).

But once we move beyond principles, politics kicks in.

Our new research is featured in this piece in The Conversation.

theconversation.com/how-politica...

IMPULSE Spotlight: Steven Pickering on Rebuilding Trust in Uncertain Times - AISSR Discover how Steven Pickering’s IMPULSE-funded research explores rebuilding public trust through cross-national experiments and guides policymakers in today’s uncertain political climate.

💠 Rebuilding Trust in Uncertain Times 💠
Launching our IMPULSE Spotlight series!

First up:
@stevepickering.bsky.social on how trust in institutions can be rebuilt through cross-national experiments.

Read the full interview: aissr.uva.nl/content/news...

Nightlife logo

Trust in the BBC is taking a hammering. In my ABC interview with Suzanne Hill, I explain that while there are things the BBC can fix, there are other things out of their control.
You can hear the full interview here: trusttracker.org/media_main.p...

Trust in scientists and doctors: The roles of faith, politics, education and gender - Steven David Pickering, Martin Ejnar Hansen, Han Dorussen, Jason Reifler, Thomas J. Scotto, Yosuke Sunahara, Dorot... This article examines trust in science in England, focusing on variation across demographic and ideological groups. Using survey data from 11,173 respondents, w...

Our article on public trust in scientists and doctors in England, led by the most trustworthy @stevepickering.bsky.social is now out in Public Understanding of Science: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

500+ days for a desk reject is my record...

TrustTracker.org An international collaboration looking at trust across society

Resident doctors are striking again. My research with
Martin Ejnar Hansen shows strikes by medical workers have high levels of public support, shaped strongly by trust in the NHS and political identity. Right-leaning and Conservative voters are less supportive.
trusttracker.org/pb_main.php?...

Honoured that our TrustTracker.org research forms part of this important report!

Honoured to see our UK-Japan TrustTracker.org research cited in the House of Lords report "Is working from home working?"
committees.parliament.uk/committee/77...

The inequalities in who can work from home matter just as much as productivity debates.

Woman using laptop for video conference

🚨 5 years on from when the COVID-19 pandemic confined many to their homes, how has remote working changed the UK workplace, and what is its future?

We are publishing our report tomorrow at 00.05 #WFH

Trust in the BBC is heavily tied to political identity Tim Davie and Deborah Turness have resigned over complaints of institutional bias but external perspectives on the broadcaster are far from uniform.

Tim Davie and Deborah Turness have resigned from the BBC. But our data suggest this moment has deeper roots: trust in the BBC has become sharply divided along political lines. The broadcaster’s real challenge isn’t managerial; it’s cultural and political. theconversation.com/trust-in-the...

No. If we break it down that way, 4 is the midpoint; the "neither trust nor distrust". 22 per cent chose that. 46 per cent chose 1-3 (so do not trust), while 32 per cent chose 5-7 (trust).

This is an interesting thought, but the two fill different purposes. Our YouGov research based on over 11,000 people finds that trust levels in the BBC are driven by voting patterns in a way that trust in newspapers is not. There's no Con/Lab difference in trust in papers, but there is in the BBC.

The BBC is a partisan battleground – why does Japan’s public broadcaster escape the same fate? The BBC commands middling levels of trust overall, but those levels are deeply polarised.

As my colleagues and I find, while the BBC keeps running into these issues, NHK has a certain immunity:
theconversation.com/the-bbc-is-a...

You may have a point on that one, Leon. We didn't run trust on individual titles, so cannot test on that, sadly.

No idea. Only ran surveys in the UK and Japan.

We ran some models on that, to control for trust in scientists. People on the right who trust scientists still tend to have lower trust in the BBC.

Similar, but not as pronounced. Here's trust in traditional news, such as newspapers. No Lab/Con divide at all. We ran the same surveys in Japan, swapping out BBC with NHK. No partisan differences at all. Both within the UK, and compared to other public service broadcasters, the BBC has a problem.

They also need to overcome the partisan gulf of trust facing them, revealed in our surveys of over 11,000 people.
www.trusttracker.org/pb_main.php?...

The BBC really is facing some trust issues, as our surveys of over 11,000 people reveal.
www.trusttracker.org/pb_main.php?...

The BBC once again finds itself making news, rather than breaking news. As my colleagues and I find, based on surveying over 11,000 people, one part of British society trusts the BBC a lot more than another. There's a clear partisan and left-right divide in trust for the BBC.

Is it ok for politicians to use AI? Survey shows where the public draws the line The public feel ok about some uses of AI in parliament, but they’re very opposed to it making decisions.

Is it ok for politicians to use AI? That's what my colleagues Martin Ejnar Hansen, Yosuke Sunahara and I aimed to find out in our latest research!
theconversation.com/is-it-ok-for...

Robots in a parliament

Would you trust politicians to use AI to help them with their work? What about a robot making decisions for them?
My colleagues Martin Ejnar Hansen, Yosuke Sunahara and I find out in Parliamentary Affairs!
doi.org/10.1093/pa/g...
@hansardsociety.bsky.social @ukparliament.parliament.uk

The BBC is a partisan battleground – why does Japan’s public broadcaster escape the same fate? The BBC commands middling levels of trust overall, but those levels are deeply polarised.

The BBC is a partisan battleground, but Japan's NHK isn't. My colleagues Marting Ejnar Hansen, Yosuke Sunahara and I find out why in this piece for The Conversation.
doi.org/10.64628/AB....

To find our more, visit our project website, TrustTracker.org

BBC and NHK logos

Our new paper on who trusts the BBC vs NHK finds that while UK Conservatives really don't trust the BBC, there is no partisan divide in trust for NHK in Japan.
doi.org/10.1515/comm...
#MediaTrust #BBC #NHK #UK #Japan

TrustTracker.org An international collaboration looking at trust across society

New in JEMS! 🚨 Led by Riku Kawakami & part of the TrustTracker.org project:
Who gets in? Immigration preferences in England & Japan 🇬🇧🇯🇵

Finding: Labour demand matters as much as skills — even low-skill jobs in shortage areas get strong support.

👉 doi.org/10.1080/1369...

Why are Westerners so reluctant to eat seaweed? Seaweed is one of the few foods that can credibly claim to be good for both people and the planet. So why don’t Westerners eat more of it? It’s rich in vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids and fibe...

japantoday.com/category/fea...?

Seaweed is one of the few foods that can credibly claim to be good for both people and the planet. So why don’t Westerners eat more of it?

From an environmental and nutritional standpoint, seaweed seems like an obvious choice for a sustainable diet.

Seaweed is good for you, and good for the environment, as my students and Samuel L. Jackson explain in this piece for The Conversation.
theconversation.com/why-are-west...

Seaweed

Seaweed is good for your health, and great for the environment. But westerners hardly eat it. My fantastic students find out why in their new publication in Food Quality and Preference!
doi.org/10.1016/j.fo...

New polling: Reform is winning over Britain’s Christian support 38% of Anglicans rate their likelihood of voting for the party as high.

Fascinating piece by m'colleague Stuart Fox on religion in British politics: Reform is winning Christian support.

theconversation.com/new-polling-...