Category: The Conversation

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alastair Culham, Associate Professor of Botany, University of Reading Studio 37/Shutterstock With hosepipe bans in force across several English regions and more restrictions likely to follow, gardeners face some tough choices. When every drop counts, which plants deserve your precious water from the water butt, and…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sarah Richmond, Honorary Associate Professor of Philosophy, UCL With a few exceptions, philosophers have had little to say about clothes. Maybe this is because the topic seems frivolous, or feminine, unworthy of the attention of a predominantly male collection of thinkers. Perhaps, too, the transience of…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Arun Vivian Holden, Emeritus Professor of Computational Biology, University of Leeds Lidiia/Shutterstock As plans for missions to Mars accelerate, so do questions about how the human body might cope. A return trip to the red planet would give more than enough time for someone to become…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Katherine Twamley, Professor of Sociology, UCL Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock The last year has highlighted a political divide between young men and women. Data from elections in several countries shows that women aged 18-29 are becoming significantly more liberal, while young men are leaning more conservative. And a…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Adam Taylor, Professor of Anatomy, Lancaster University Grossinger/Shutterstock If something online promises to cure everything, it’s probably too good to be true. One of the most dangerous examples? Chlorine dioxide is often marketed under names like “Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS)” or “aerobic oxygen”, buzzwords that hint…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Winnie Courtene-Jones, Lecturer in Marine Pollution, Bangor University Bandung, Indonesia. Sony Herdiana/Shutterstock Representatives from 175 countries will gather in Geneva, Switzerland, in August for the final round of negotiations on a legally binding UN treaty to end plastic pollution. Non-governmental organisations, academics and industry lobbyists will…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Hemamali Tennakoon, Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Management, Brunel University of London Dmytro Buianskyi/Shutterstock With its natural beauty, wildlife and culture, Sri Lanka is known as the “pearl of the Indian Ocean”, and attracts millions of tourists every year. But my research suggests that the country…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Felicia Liu, Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Sustainability, University of York Throughout history, people have viewed seasons as relatively stable, recurrent blocks of time that neatly align farming, cultural celebrations and routines with nature’s cycles. But the seasons as we know them are changing. Human activity is…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Majdi Faleh, Academic Fellow & Lecturer in Architecture and Cultural Heritage, Nottingham Trent University The Sidi Yati mosque in Djerba, which dates back to the 10th century, has been damaged by coastal erosion. Mehdi Elouati, CC BY-NC-ND Nestled in the southern Mediterranean, off the south-east coast…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alice Martin, Head of Research, Work Foundation, Lancaster University Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock Plans to cut health-related benefits in the UK continue to give the government political grief – as well as being a huge worry for claimants. Underpinning the controversy are government plans to move more people into…