social science

The tragedy of the commons says that self interest and competition can cause people to ruin a shared resource. If people ruin what they share, sometimes the best avenue is to have them not share. Research supported by the National Science Foundation has shown that privatization, cooperation, and regulation can all work to protect commons, but only if proper enforcement exists.

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is leading the way in new research initiatives addressing issues faced by cancer survivors. Guadalupe Palos, M.S.W., Dr.P.H., Manager of the Office of Cancer Survivorship at MD Anderson, explains the importance of funding cancer survivor research and discusses current studies investigating ways to reduce treatment side effects. Jason Cox is a childhood cancer survivor of rhabdomyosarcoma and is now a successful attorney. Cox discusses his...

Summary: Energy impacts every aspect of our lives – yet energy remains a vast and complex subject. For the past two years I have been filming a major documentary on global energy. Based on personal visits to many of the world’s leading energy sites and conversations with top industry, academic and government leaders, I will look inside the complex world of energy and provide a realistic and balanced view of energy supply, demand, efficiency, infrastructure, and scale. All major forms of...

CYCORE (Cyberinfrastructure for Comparative Effectiveness Research) was a clinical trial conducted by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of California-San Diego and University of Alabama at Birmingham, that studied the use of sensing devices to wirelessly send health-related data from the patient’s home to the cancer research facility. The purpose of this study is for other researchers to use CYCORE’s technology to gather more detailed information in their own...

Background: Research consistently demonstrates that physical activity declines with age. However, such declines do not occur linearly. The transition into early adulthood is one period where disproportionate declines in physical activity have been evident, but much of our understanding of such declines among young adults has been based on cross-sectional data or with prospective studies exclusively focused on college/university students. Purpose & Methods: The purpose of the current...

The tragedy of the commons is a dilemma that developes when a group holds a limited resource in common. If each person acts rationally in his or her own self interest often the resource will be depleted or destroyed by the group even if the individuals know that their behavior will ultimately be harmful.