Category: Analysis
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Thousands of oysters are being re-introduced to Dublin Bay as nature’s super water cleaners
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Fiona Regan, Full Professor of Chemistry and Director, DCU Water Institute, Dublin City University The project team heading for the oyster beds. Fiona Regan For over 200 years, native oysters (Ostrea edulis) have been absent in Dublin Bay. Once abundant along the Irish coast, they thrived…
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Most people are happy to do their own hearing tests at home – could it relieve pressure on the NHS?
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kevin Munro, Ewing Professor of Audiology, University of Manchester Microgen/Shutterstock If the NHS recommended it, would people test their own hearing at home and use self-fitting hearing aids? A survey of over 2,000 adults found that nine in every ten said yes, they’d be willing to…
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Psychology can change the way food tastes – here’s how to use it to make the most of your meals
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Harmehak Singh, PhD Candidate in Psychology, Liverpool Hope University Cast Of Thousands/Shutterstock Ever eaten while doom-scrolling and realised you barely tasted anything? Or found your favourite pasta strangely bland after a stressful meeting, yet somehow delicious on a relaxed Saturday evening? We often think taste comes…
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The UK has praised India’s digital ID system – but it’s locked millions out of their legitimate benefits
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Charlotte Goodburn, Reader in Chinese Politics and Development, King’s College London Keir Starmer met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October. Simon Dawson/Number 10/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND The UK government is promoting its plan for a new digital identity scheme as a way to streamline services,…
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Violence against women and children is deeply connected. Three ways to break the patterns
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Phiwe Babalo Nota, Researcher, Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town In South Africa, intimate partner violence is the most common form of violence against women, and it is pervasive. According to the National Gender-Based Violence Prevalence Study, 24% of women aged 18 and older have…
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Why some places get better storm warnings than others – and what that means for Puerto Rico
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ellen Ruth Kujawa, Coastal Change Research Fellow, University of Hull; University of Cambridge Hurricane Melissa devastated Jamaica in late October, killed dozens in Haiti and forced nearly three-quarters of a million Cubans to evacuate. The death toll across the region is still unknown – but Melissa…
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The world’s new US$125 billion rainforest trust fund revives a 1990s idea – and shows its limits
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nick Bernards, Associate Professor of Global Sustainable Development, University of Warwick A US$125 billion rainforest fund is being hailed as a flagship announcement from the 2025 UN climate summit in Belém, Brazil. The goal is noble: this is essentially a trust fund that will pay countries…
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Are peanut allergies actually declining?
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sheena Cruickshank, Professor in Immunology, University of Manchester Changing allergy guidelines may be behind the decline. Roman Rybaleov/ Shutterstock Peanut allergy is one of the most common food allergies, affecting between 1% and 2% of people living in the west. And, for many years, their prevalence…
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Asylum is not illegal migration – why the UK government shouldn’t conflate the two
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nando Sigona, Professor of International Migration and Forced Displacement and Director of the Institute for Research into International Migration and Superdiversity, University of Birmingham Ajdin Kamber/Shutterstock The UK government’s latest proposals on asylum rest on an incorrect premise. In announcing them, home secretary Shabana Mahmood argued…
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Medieval peasants enjoyed a surprising range of sick, annual and bereavement leave benefits
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alex Brown, Associate Professor of Medieval History, Durham University Peasants working, begging and enjoying leisure time in The Golf Book (1520-1530). From the British Library archive In medieval England, peasants on some estates were entitled to a range of sick, annual and bereavement leave that could…