Category: The Conversation
-
Teenagers aren’t good at spotting misinformation online – research suggests why
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Yvonne Skipper, Senior Lecturer in Psychology (Education), University of Glasgow Body Stock/Shutterstock Misinformation is found in every element of our online lives. It ranges from fake products available to buy, fake lifestyle posts on social media accounts and fake news about health and politics. Misinformation has…
-
Idi Amin made himself out to be the ‘liberator’ of an oppressed majority – a demagogic trick that endures today
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Derek R. Peterson, Ali Mazrui Professor of History & African Studies, University of Michigan Idi Amin addresses the United Nations General Assembly in 1975. Bettmann/Getty Images Fifty years ago, Ugandan President Idi Amin wrote to the governments of the British Commonwealth with a bold suggestion:…
-
A potted history of fermented foods – from pickles to kimchi
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Serin Quinn, PhD Candidate, Department of History, University of Warwick Are you a pro at pickling? How about baking sourdough bread or brewing your own kombucha? If the answer is yes, you’ve probably picked up on one of the recent trends promoting fermented foods, which promise…
-
I watched a simulated oil spill in the Indian Ocean – here’s how island and coastal countries worked together to avoid disaster
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kate Sullivan de Estrada, Associate Professor in the International Relations of South Asia, University of Oxford Preparing to react to a maritime ’emergency’. Romuald Robert, CC BY The coils of black hose, drum skimmers designed to collect oil from the ocean’s surface, and orangey-red containment booms…
-
The hidden history behind every rose blooming this summer
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alexander Bowles, Glasstone Research Fellow, Plant Science, University of Oxford ilovephoto_KA/Shutterstock As roses fill gardens and hedgerows this season, there is a story, millions of years in the making, unfolding beneath their petals. Analysis of rose genomes and floral structure is revealing how the stunning diversity…
-
How a popular sweetener could be damaging your brain’s defences – new study
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Havovi Chichger, Professor, Biomedical Science, Anglia Ruskin University Found in everything from protein bars to energy drinks, erythritol has long been considered a safe alternative to sugar. But new research suggests this widely used sweetener may be quietly undermining one of the body’s most crucial protective…
-
Three types of drought – and why there’s no such thing as a global water crisis
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Filippo Menga, Visiting Research Fellow, Professor of Geography, University of Reading Lithium fields in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Freedom_wanted/Shutterstock Hosepipe bans have been announced in parts of England this summer. Following the driest spring in over a century, the Environment Agency has issued a medium drought…
-
BBC Verify largely factchecks international stories – what about UK politics?
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stephen Cushion, Professor, Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Culture, Cardiff University In a world of fake news and disinformation, factchecking claims and the veracity of images has become an important part of impartial journalism. People invest their trust in information sources they believe are accurate.…
-
In a world first, The Hague wants to arrest Taliban leaders over their treatment of women – what happens next?
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Yvonne Breitwieser-Faria, Lecturer in Criminal Law and International Law, Curtin University Earlier this month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan. The court’s Pre-Trial Chamber II cited reasonable grounds for believing supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice…
-
Is spinal cord stimulation safe? Does it work? Here’s what you need to know if you have back pain
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Caitlin Jones, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney AsiaVision/Getty Spinal cord stimulators are electrical devices that are surgically implanted in the body to treat long-term pain. They have a battery pack and leads that deliver electrical impulses directly to the spinal cord.…