Welcome to Ethos Journal

Welcome to the latest issue of Ethos, which tackles how public service delivery can persuade people to change their behaviour. Writing exclusively for Ethos, Guest editor Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), considers the challenges of encouraging ‘pro-social behaviour’, which includes a shift in the way we think about service delivery and a reassessment of the relationship between provider and recipient. For this article and others on the same theme, chose from the options below. Picture by David Devins

Behaviour battles

Whether persuading us to give up smoking or stop carrying knives, politicians are making behaviour change a goal of policy. But will it make us mend our ways? By Matthew Taylor

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Leading by example

Rather than advertising bad behaviour and exhorting us not to copy it, research has shown that highlighting the good our neighbours are doing is the most effective form of altering our habits. By Robert Cialdini

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Brain twister

The brain is changing rapidly in response to a life lived increasingly in a virtual world. So who are we becoming? The government needs to act to find out, says Susan Greenfield

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Find out what Oliver Letwin has to say about Hazel Blears’ attempt to empower people.

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With an ever-ageing UK population, care of the elderly is in turmoil. Find out how Germany and the US tackle this issue.

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Edition 6, Autumn 2008