Category: Academic Analysis
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Horror, beauty and reframing colonial histories – what to watch, see and read this week
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jane Wright, Commissioning Editor, Arts & Culture, The Conversation I do love a good, proper horror film that puts a bony, creepy hand of unease on your shoulder. With a strange mystery and growing sense of distrust at its heart, Weapons appears to be just that…
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Can air conditioning really make you sick? A microbiologist explains
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Primrose Freestone, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology, University of Leicester Symptoms of ‘sick building syndrome’ can develop in anyone who spends extended periods of time in air-conditioned environments. LightField Studios/ Shutterstock Air conditioning can feel heaven-sent on hot summer days. It keeps temperatures comfortable and controls…
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Allotments are vanishing when the UK urgently needs more of them
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Elizabeth Nicholls, Senior Research Fellow in Ecology, University of Sussex Few things are as satisfying as pulling a potato from the soil with your bare hands. But in Britain’s cities this small joy – and the many health and environmental benefits that come with it –…
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The key to a centenarian’s long life may be their superhuman ability to avoid disease – new research
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Karin Modig, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet Cenntenarians had lower rates of disease throughout their life overall. Lysenko Andrii/ Shutterstock Humans may be living longer on average these days, but, even so, only a fraction of us will live to see our 100th birthday. Yet the…
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The UK needs a new electoral system – should it copy Scandinavia?
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Torbjörn Tännsjö, Professor of Practical Philosophy, Stockholm University Calls for electoral reform are rising in the UK, where a majority of people are now in favour of a different system. It’s easy to see why. A voting system based on having one MP for one constituency,…
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Authoritarian rulers aren’t new – here’s what Herodotus, an early Greek historian, wrote about them
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Debbie Felton, Professor of Classics, UMass Amherst Darius I of Persia, center, and his court, from a vase painted between 340 and 320 B.C.E., on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. Carlo Raso/ Flickr, CC BY-SA “No Kings” rallies. “Good Trouble” protests. “Rage…
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Industrial pollution once ravaged the Adirondacks − decades of history captured in lake mud track their slow recovery
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Sky Hooler, Ph.D. Student in Environmental Science, University at Albany, State University of New York Scientist Aubrey Hillman, one of the authors of this article, extracts a core of mud from the bottom of Black Pond in June 2025. Patrick Dodson/University at Albany Lush forests…
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Bureau of Labor Statistics tells the US what’s up with the economy – Trump firing its top official may undercut trust in its data
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Thomas A. Stapleford, Associate Professor of History and Liberal Studies, University of Notre Dame Isador Lubin, chief of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, presents data to a Senate committee in 1937. Library of Congress Many financial and political analysts are trying to assess the impact…
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AI is taking hold in K-12 schools – here are some ways it can improve teaching
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Michael G. Kozak, Associate Clinical Professor of Educational Administration and Leadership, Drexel University Artificial intelligence can bring a host of benefits, such as individualized learning, but can also encourage kids to shortcut learning. Jonathan Kirn via Getty Images Generative AI platforms have sent shock waves…
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Two charts that lay bare the threat posed by radical right parties to western democracies
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Whiteley, Professor, Department of Government, University of Essex Shutterstock/Donkeyworx In the 2024 UK general election, Reform came third with a 14% share of the vote, capturing five seats in the House of Commons. This was a breakthrough election for the party. In the previous general…