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30th Jul 2006
Crowd Control, Football Hooligans and Singing Mosquitoes
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I predict a riot... or not, as this week we're joined in the studio by crowd control experts Dr Clifford Stott from the University of Liverpool and Dr John Drury from the University of Sussex, who'll be discussing why violence kicks off at football matches, how to spot a spat and the science of mass evacuation. And taking us on a flight of fancy from crowds of people to swarms of mosquitoes, Dr Gay Gibson, from the University of Greenwich, describes her research into the harmonious music of mosquitoes. In Kitchen Science, Derek Thorne bangs out a tune from an oven shelf...
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News
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Questions

It's been suggested that the police can trigger a public reaction by being heavy handed. We know that the police tend to be more heavy handed with some of the more aggressive supporters such as the English. Is this a chicken and egg problem?
That's very much the kind of process that we focus in on. We call it a self-fulfilling prophecy; it's the expectation that a large crowd of supporters is going to cause a problem and then what you do is throw resources at it because you feel you need to control it. The idea is very traditional that the crowd is very irrational and it needs to be controlled. Resources are thrown at it and the expectation of trouble means that the officers are stressed and wearing protective equipment. They're much more likely to lash out and then if a small incident occurs in that crowd, then what we see is what people call a heavy handed reaction, which is basically a large number of officers driving forcefully into the crowd. That crowd contains people that haven't done anything wrong and didn't intend to be involved in violence. They find themselves being physically assaulted and it makes them wonder why they are being treated in that way. This draws people in the crowd into violence when they had no intention prior to police intervention of engaging in violence.
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Interviews
If you are a Mosquito, how do you find a mate? Dr Gibson is looking at the mosquito version of a nightclub
How do people behave in a crisis? John Drury is studying how to evacuate people quickly.
Clifford Scott is researching hooliganism, and how to deal with them
How to use bacteria to mine for gold!
Kitchen Science

The kitchen has always seemed an unlikely place to find a musical instrument - until now. This week Derek and Dave are with Matt and Nick at Hinchingbrooke School in search of the hidden harmonies of the oven shelf. Prepare to be amazed!
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