Category: Academic Analysis
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Ethiopian quarter: how migrants have shaped a thriving shopping district in South Africa’s city of gold
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Tanya Zack, Visiting senior lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand Since its founding in 1886, Johannesburg, has been a city of migrants, internal and international. But the economic capital of South Africa has undergone big changes since 1994 when South Africa became a democracy. One such change…
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Catherine Connolly and the paradoxes of the Irish presidency
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Eoin Daly, Lecturer Above The Bar, School of Law, University of Galway Ireland is set to have a new president in the form of Catherine Connolly, an independent leftwing TD for Galway, and former deputy speaker of the Dáil. The presidential election campaign was a colourful…
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Blue Jays fever sets in as Canada takes in the World Series for the first time in 32 years
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Russell Field, Associate Professor, Sport and Physical Activity, University of Manitoba Late on an October Monday night, George Springer smashed a three-run homer to send nearly 45,000 fans in Toronto’s Rogers Centre — and a record national television audience — into a frenzy. Six outs…
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Autism charities portray autistic people as helpless and a burden – our research shows why it matters
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Helen Abnett, Research Fellow, University of Hertfordshire Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock Autism charities are important organisations. They provide essential services for autistic people, influence policy decisions, and often speak on behalf of autistic people. This means that how these charities write about autistic people may influence how society…
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Just 1% of coastal waters could power a third of the world’s electricity – but can we do it in time?
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Aleh Cherp, Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Central European University Just 1% of the world’s coastal waters could, in theory, generate enough offshore wind and solar power to provide a third of the world’s electricity by 2050. That’s the promise highlighted in a new…
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Scientists have puzzled over what happens to plastic as it breaks down in the ocean – our new study helps explain the mystery
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kate Spencer, Professor of Environmental Geochemistry, Queen Mary University of London Dotted Yeti/Shutterstock Think of ocean plastic and you may picture bottles and bags bobbing on the waves, slowly drifting out to sea. Yet the reality is more complex and far more persistent. Even if we…
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Pumpkins’ journey from ancient food staple to spicy fall obsession spans thousands of years
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA – By Shelley Mitchell, Senior Extension Specialist, Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Oklahoma State University Pumpkin patch excursions have become a fall staple in many U.S. households. Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images October in much of the U.S. brings cooler weather, vibrant fall colors and, of course,…
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The hardest part of creating conscious AI might be convincing ourselves it’s real
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By David Cornell, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Lancashire Leaf your prejudices at the door. Black Salmon As far back as 1980, the American philosopher John Searle distinguished between strong and weak AI. Weak AIs are merely useful machines or programs that help us solve problems,…
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Dinosaur ‘mummies’ help scientists visualize the fleshy details of these ancient animals
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA – By Paul C. Sereno, Professor of Paleontology, University of Chicago A mummy of a juvenile duck-billed dinosaur, _Edmontosaurus annectens_, preserved as a dried carcass. Tyler Keillor/Fossil Lab Dinosaur “mummies” couldn’t have been further from my mind as I trudged up a grassy knoll on the Zerbst Ranch…
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Why Tokyo’s youth culture district will ban ‘nuisance Halloween’ again this year
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Andrew Stevens, Visiting Fellow, Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS), Newcastle University Tokyo’s Shibuya district, which has long been known as the centre of youth culture in Japan, has once again moved to restrict its Halloween street celebrations. A mayoral edict against so-called “Nuisance…