National and world leaders continually appeal to ‘individual responsibility’ to halt the spread of the coronavirus. Could it be that politicians have been sharing the wrong message? New global research has found that people follow their friends more than their own principles when it comes to compliance with pandemic restrictions.

The School of Advanced Study (SAS) at the University of London is to establish a new Centre for Interdisciplinary Digital Humanities. This follows a staff consultation on proposals for the future of the School, which currently comprises nine separate research institutes and a central administration. The proposals centred on the School’s ambition to become a national centre for the humanities by drawing on the research, special collections, and networks of its institutes. The proposals would also ensure the financial sustainability of the School.

Professor Jo Fox, director of the Institute of Historical Research ( IHR ) and acting dean of the School of Advanced Study ( SAS ), has been appointed the new dean and chief executive of SAS and pro-vice chancellor for research and public engagement with the University of London. She will take up her new role on 1 December and succeeds Professor Rick Rylance, who retired in September after leading the School for five years.  

Look around. Urban decay appears to have accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic doesn’t it? It’s certainly more visible with all the empty shops, shuttered businesses and general upkeep that has fallen by the wayside. So the ‘Urban decay and regeneration’ sub-theme of this year’s Being Human festival, the annual celebration of humanities research led by the School of Advanced Study (SAS) at the University of London, has heightened relevance and dynamism. Particularly as problems need solutions – and the humanities can provide the research and tools for regeneration.