Not sure any shaking is actually taking place here. I'm currently studying psychology and we've already come across examples of cultural affects on results in experimentation in the first year (and the experiments we've studied go back to the 60s/70s). Mind you, in ecomonics, doing some actual science would be ground breaking (you know your 'science' must be soft when psychologists think you're a bunch of light weights).

Since when has the technobabble of Star Trek been hard sci-fi?

No it isn't, but we do have issues here... the biggest issues in my area (a new town town miles for the nearest city) is that there is nothing for the teens to do... nothing. The local youth centre is closed by 7pm, there is no sports centre, cinema, bowling alley within 10 miles, public transport sucks in the evenings... and then the local council wonder why there are bored teenagers causing problems? The problem is no one wants to try to sort this out, because it involves spending money, proper policing, better scools, better parenting, and it will take time. Why do all that when you can attach a noise maker to a building, and shift the problem elsewhere.