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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

What makes people trust AI? Find out in our new paper. One curious finding: in Japan, people who think AI may replace their job actually trust AI more. doi.org/10.1007/s001... trusttracker.org/publications...

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Ghent University says academic freedom has "great importance" but is "not unlimited" and "goes hand in hand with responsibility". We tested this tension in the UK and Japan: theconversation.com/how-politica... (1/4)

theconversation.com

How political leanings affect views on academic freedom – new research

Right-leaning respondents were consistently more supportive of academic freedom.

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

"If Nigel Farage was watching this interview, what would you say to him?" In a Japanese TV exclusive, TBS News Dig asks the big questions of Count Binface.

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Do elections build trust simply by happening? In Japan’s local elections, trust rose where governor races accompanied council elections, especially among lower-income/less-educated citizens. Efficacy didn’t. doi.org/10.1080/1745... trusttracker.org/pb_main.php?... @martinejnar.bsky.social

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

It hasn’t been a great week for the public image of UK universities. But our surveys suggest uni lecturers were already struggling for public sympathy: only 36% support them striking. doi.org/10.1177/0143... trusttracker.org/pb_main.php?... @tjscotto.bsky.social @jasonreifler.bsky.social

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Gorgeous night for a SUP in Amsterdam.

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Today I take over the reins as Director of the Computational Social Science programme at the University of Amsterdam. Our students use computational methods to understand and solve complex societal problems. Huge thanks to Eelke Heemskerk, and to our brilliant team, students and partners!

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Top work by our Computational Social Science students at @UvA_Amsterdam! The Amsterdam Cool Map, built by our students and supervised by Rens Wilderom, is now live and featured in @at5.nl, @ad.nl, @rtl.nl and @volkskrant.nl. www.koeltekaartamsterdam.nl

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

New in PLOS ONE: ethnic differences in NHS trust and satisfaction in England. Gaps are clearest in care, ethics & discrimination. With Martin Ejnar Hansen, Yosuke Sunahara, @tjscotto.bsky.social , @jasonreifler.bsky.social , Han Dorussen & Dorothy Yen. doi.org/10.1371/jour...

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Would you trust AI in public administration? Martin Ejnar Hansen, Yosuke Sunahara and I find out in our new article in the International Journal of Public Administration @ijpa2022.bsky.social doi.org/10.1080/0190... trusttracker.org

A small white guidance robot standing in a Japanese public-service building beside a sign explaining that a robot customer guidance experiment is underway.

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Why do people buy organic food? Martin Ejnar Hansen, Yosuke Sunahara and I find it’s less about taste and more about trust. New paper in Organic Agriculture, plus explainer in @uk.theconversation.com theconversation.com/embargo-tbc-... doi.org/10.1007/s131...

theconversation.com

Choosing to buy organic food depends more on trust than taste – what our new study in the UK and Japan shows

In both the UK and Japan, people who trusted the government were more willing to pay extra for organic food.

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

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...

theconversation.com

How political leanings affect views on academic freedom – new research

Right-leaning respondents were consistently more supportive of academic freedom.

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

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...

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

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?...

trusttracker.org

TrustTracker.org

An international collaboration looking at trust across society

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

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.

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House of Lords Home-based Working Committee @hlhomeworking.parliament.uk · 12/11/2025

🚨 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

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

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...

theconversation.com

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.

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

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.

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

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...

theconversation.com

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.

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

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

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

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....

doi.org

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.

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

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

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

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

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Tom Scotto @tjscotto.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

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...

trusttracker.org

TrustTracker.org

An international collaboration looking at trust across society

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Reposted by Steve Pickering

Torgil Lyreskog @tlg54.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

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.

japantoday.com

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...

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

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...

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

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...

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

Fascinating piece by m'colleague Stuart Fox on religion in British politics: Reform is winning Christian support. theconversation.com/new-polling-...

theconversation.com

New polling: Reform is winning over Britain’s Christian support

38% of Anglicans rate their likelihood of voting for the party as high.

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Who trusts the police, and who doesn’t? In England, young, non-White, low-income Londoners are among the least trusting. At the other end: older, White, working-class women outside London. Open access: 🔗 doi.org/10.1080/1043... 👥 With @ferhattura19.bsky.social, Martin Ejnar Hansen & James Hunter

doi.org

Intersectional inequalities in trust in the police in England

This study investigates intersectional inequalities in trust in the police in England using multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy (MAIHDA) for the first time. ...

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

Very honoured to present our work comparing Japan and the UK to the House of Lords Select Committee on Home-Based Working. This is a brief clip; the full session is available at t.co/MdkU4njbuB

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

Bike ride home from Scouts in Amsterdam.

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

We know that ChatGPT is good at making Ghibli images, but it can also turn you into a Beano character! #MakeMeAMenace

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

Highlighting some of our trust research #1. Trust, the police and gender: London, you have a problem with women. doi.org/10.1080/1043...

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Excited to launch "A taste for deprivation" in Geoforum by myself and Seiki Tanaka. We find a strong link between fish and chips and the Brexit vote. I'd like to thank the anonymous reviewers and the whole editorial board of Geoforum for their commitment to rigorous research. doi.org/10.1016/j.ge...

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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Fish and chips and the Brexit vote. Brilliant work by @stevepickering.bsky.social and Seiki Tanaka in Geoforum. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

Contour lines at Christmas. Been a while. Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan.

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Sebastian van Baalen @sebastianvanbaalen.se · 19/11/2024

🏆 Cedric Smith Prize 2025: Submit your best peace & conflict research (max 14k words) for a chance to win the Conflict Research Society's prestigious award. Open to PhD students/early grads (after 1 Sep 2024). Deadline: 31 Jan 2025. conflictresearchsociety.org/cedric-smith... Conflictsky

conflictresearchsociety.org

CRS | Cedric Smith Prize

The CRS welcomes submissions for the Cedric Smith Prize 2019 which is a peace research prize awarded for the best piece of peace and conflict research by a student

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

There's a strong link between Brexit and: fish and chip shops; high blood pressure; obesity; epilepsy; arthritis; heart disease; COPD; diabetes; kidney disease; stroke; and asthma. More Japanese restaurants means the opposite. Early results, but I will try to publish!

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Nora Siklodi 🍉 @nsiklodi.bsky.social · 05/09/2024

⭐️Really looking forward to editing PSR w/h @jameswilldennis.bsky.social David Norman & Daffyd Tonwley, following the excellent work of Brunel colleagues. We hope to assist @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social specialist groups for special issues &symposia. More to follow 👀 journals.sagepub.com/home/psw

journals.sagepub.com

Political Studies Review: Sage Journals

This journal provides a unique intellectual space for rigorous high-quality peer reviewed original research across political science and the study of politics i...

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

📖 6 years, 24 issues and over 1300 submissions processed: Presenting the final issue from our editorial team. 👉 Read the summary of our editorial journey: tiny.cc/d0dwzz 👉Browse the issue: journals.sagepub.com/toc/PSW/current @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social

journals.sagepub.com

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

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Tom van der Meer @tomwgvdmeer.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

Great news for scholars working on political trust. The next @ecpr.bsky.social General Conference in Thessaloniki (August 26-29, 2025) will host a section with 8 (!) panels on political trust. ecpr.eu/Events/Event... Please share and sign up with a paper proposal before January 6th 2025.

ecpr.eu

New avenues in political trust research

European Consortium for Political Research

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 29/03/2024

Waiting times for healthcare in the UK are at an all time high. Does this affect people's trust in the NHS? Our survey says: no. Even controlling for waiting times in A&E or referral to cancer specialists, people still trust the NHS. Unless they're rightwing or Conservative: doi.org/10.1016/j.pu...

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 29/03/2024

People in England are hugely supportive of strikes by nurses and junior doctors. But support varies: - non-Conservative - left-leaning - trusting people are more likely to support strikes. See the new piece in Nursing Inquiry by m'colleague Martin Ejnar Hansen and I: doi.org/10.1111/nin....

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 23/11/2023

It would have been me mam's 75th birthday today, so here's one of the last photos I took of her in 2005, with me dad being a daft 'apeth (which he was: like father, like son). Just noticed you can see Black Combe reflected in the back kitchen window. Ooh, it were cold up there.

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Steve Pickering @stevepickering.bsky.social · 09/11/2023

The UK Home Secretary has recently made some inflammatory comments regarding the police. My colleagues and I have spent the last 16 months looking at how much the public trust the police and the government. Bottom line: they trust the police more. Source: YouGov, N= 9013.

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