Tag Archives: SHUTTERSTOCK

11Mar/24

‘Bengali Cockney, Black Cockney, East End Cockney, Essex Cockney, Jewish Cockney, Sylheti Cockney’: why community languages matter

Christopher Strelluf, University of Warwick

In response to a community petition, Tower Hamlets council in east London has designated Cockney as a “community language”. This recognition paves the way for the borough to actively challenge the linguistic discrimination that speakers of “non-standard” English dialects face.

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19Feb/24

History’s crisis detectives: how we’re using maths and data to reveal why societies collapse – and clues about the future

Daniel Hoyer, University of Toronto

American humorist and writer Mark Twain is believed to have once said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”

I’ve been working as a historian and complexity scientist for the better part of a decade, and I often think about this phrase as I follow different strands of the historical record and notice the same patterns over and over.

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12Feb/24

How AI could change our relationship with religion

Sreevas Sahasranamam, University of Glasgow

Science and faith are often kept in two distinct boxes that hardly ever intersect. However, I believe that as AI becomes more mainstream, it will fundamentally alter our engagement with faith and spirituality.

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02Feb/24

Playing a musical instrument or singing in a choir may boost your brain – new study

Michael Hornberger, University of East Anglia

Generations of parents have told their children to practice their musical instruments. Parents have good reason to keep on top of their children’s musical education, since learning an instrument is not only associated with better educational attainment but also cognition (thinking) and even intelligence scores in children. But does this musicality translate to better cognition later in life?

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17Jan/24

What happens to your liver when you quit alcohol

Ashwin Dhanda, University of Plymouth

According to Greek mythology, Zeus punished Prometheus for giving fire to humans. He chained Prometheus up and set an eagle to feast on his liver. Each night, the liver grew back and each day, the eagle returned for his feast. In reality, can a liver really grow back? Continue reading

Freedom of thought is being threatened by states, big tech and even ourselves. Here’s what we can do to protect it

Simon McCarthy-Jones, Trinity College Dublin

The idea of free speech sparked into life 2,500 years ago in Ancient Greece – in part because it served a politician’s interests. The ability to speak freely was seen as essential for the new Athenian democracy, which the politician Cleisthenes both introduced and benefited from.

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06Jan/24

Four tips for a healthy news diet in 2024, from an expert in media psychology

Sharon Coen, University of Salford

The start of the new year brings inevitable pressure to start fresh, with new hobbies, exercise regimes and healthy diets. But there is one diet you may not have thought of improving this year: your media and news consumption.

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05Dec/23

How conspiracy theories can affect the communities they attack – new research

Daniel Jolley, University of Nottingham; Andrew McNeill, Northumbria University, Newcastle, and Jenny Paterson, Northumbria University, Newcastle

Scientists have learned a lot about why people believe in conspiracy theories and how they harm society over the past couple of decades. Yet little is known about how the groups targeted by conspiracy theories feel and behave.

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17Oct/23

Watching movies could be good for your mental health

Jenny Hamilton, University of Lincoln

Many of us enjoy sitting down to watch a good film because of the way movies can make us feel. A sad film might help us release our emotions or a comedy might lift our mood. Movies can also offer a chance to connect with and explore our emotions in a safe way.

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11Oct/23

How loneliness changes the way our brains process the world

Robin Kramer, University of Lincoln

If there’s one thing we as humans seem to have in common, it’s that most of us have felt lonely at one time or another. But is the pain that comes with feeling socially isolated simply a part of being human? Why does the world seem so different when we’re feeling lonely?

Recent research has begun to provide some answers. And it turns out that loneliness can affect your perception and cognition.

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