In the Light of Epistemological Debates about Knowledge, is ‘Evidence-Based’ Policy Making (in the Britain) Anything More than Political Rhetoric?

Recently, the policy discourse in Britain has shifted towards evidence-based policy (EBP) where ‘evidence’ is founded on rationality of natural science. In one hand, the proponents of EPB advocate for scientific approaches (e.g. experimentation, systematic review) in generating evidence in social science in order to modernising the policy making process. On the other hand, question arises whether such technical/instrumental approach in social science can really construct appropriate knowledge in order to improve government’s policy making endeavour. Critical analysis of the scientific research approaches in generating evidence (knowledge) in social science reveals that the present government’s ‘what works’ philosophy is a major fallacy of their effort to bridge the gap between policy process and social research because there are some inherent methodological and epistemological issues that the evidence-based research faces in the way of understanding the social world. Basically, the critics of EBP warn that the concept of ‘what works’ evidence is myopic, because it defines ‘evidence’ scientifically and mechanically that is too narrow from social science’s perspective. Keywords: evidence based policy, scientific research, policy researc

The long reign of the United States is over; the 21st century belongs to China

United States has been the global leader since overtaking Britain in 1871. Recently economists are anticipating China could be the global leader by 2019 as US is on the edge of losing its status of largest economy in the world.  This paper focuses on the current situation of these two emperors to identify whether China could overtake US economy—an outstanding controversial issue. Keywords: global economic power, US economy, China econom

Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance among Dental Professionals: A Multi-Country Survey

Purpose: This study sought to investigate the acceptance rate and associated factors of COVID-19 vaccines among dentists and dental students in seven countries. Material and Methods: A structured questionnaire prepared and guided by the report of the SAGE Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy was distributed among groups of dentists and dental students in seven countries across four continents. Results: A total of 1527 subjects (850 dentists and 677 dental students) participated in this survey. Although 72.5% of the respondents reported their intention to accept COVID-19 vaccines (dentists: 74.4%, dental students: 70.2%), there was a significant difference in agreement between dentists/dental students across countries; generally, respondents in upper-middle-, and high-income countries (UM-HICs) showed significantly higher acceptance rates compared to those in low- and lower-middle income countries (L-LMICs). Potential predictors of higher vaccine acceptance included being a dentist, being free of comorbidity, being well-informed about COVID-19 vaccines, having better knowledge about COVID-19 complications, having anxiety about COVID-19 infection, having no concerns about the side effects of the produced vaccines and being a resident of an UM-HIC. Conclusion: The results of our survey indicate a relatively good acceptance rate of COVID-19 among the surveyed dentists and dental students. However, dentists and dental students in L-LMICs showed significantly lower vaccine acceptance rates and trust in COVID-19 vaccines compared to their counterparts in UM-HICs. Our results provide important information to policymakers, highlighting the need for implementation of country-specific vaccine promotion strategies, with special focus on L-LMICs