Tag Archives: United Kingdom

19Jan/23

Digital welfare dystopia

January 19, 2023SecurityAtos, Australia, Brisbane, China, Crime prevention, Data mining, Internet privacy, Law enforcement, Lina Dencik, Machine learning, Manchester, Mass surveillance, Melanie Klieve, Melbourne, National security, Netherlands, Philip Alston, Prevention, Profiling, Qian Ji Data Co, Samuel Woodhams Digital, Security, Skills, Surveillance, Thomson Reuters Foundation, United Kingdomadmin

By Samuel Woodhams | Digital rights researcher and journalist

Algorithms to determine welfare payments and detect fraud are becoming standard practice around the world. From Manchester to Melbourne, peoples’ lives are being shaped by secretive tools that determine who is eligible for what, and how much debt is owed.

Although the technology has been around for some time, the outbreak of COVID-19 renewed enthusiasm for the digital welfare state and, for thousands of cash-strapped public bodies, the promise of increased efficiency and lower costs has proven irresistible.
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19Jan/23

The British government will block a bill passed by the Scottish parliament that makes it easier for people to change their legal gender

January 19, 2023Human InterestAlister Jack, Argentina, Constitution of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Edinburgh, Government of the United Kingdom, Ireland, James Mitchell, London, Members of the Scottish Parliament, Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003, Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007, Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011, Nicola Sturgeon, Politics of Scotland, Scotland, Scottish independence, Scottish National Party, Scottish nationalists, Scottish Parliament, United Kingdomadmin

UK uses power to block Scottish bill for the first time
Sturgeon: decision is an attack on devolved powers
Unclear how issue may impact support for independence

LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) – The British government will block a bill passed by the Scottish parliament that makes it easier for people to change their legal gender, its Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said on Monday, the first time it has invoked the power to veto a Scottish law.

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19Jan/23

Church of England bishops refuse to allow same-sex marriages

January 19, 2023Human InterestAnglican Communion, Anglicanism, Anglo-Catholicism, Blessing of same-sex unions in Christian churches, Canterbury, Christian denominational families, Christian denominations, Church of England, Homosexuality and the Anglican Communion, Justin Welby, London, Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, Protestantism, Same-sex marriage, United Kingdomadmin

LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) – The Church of England will refuse to allow same-sex couples to get married in its churches under proposals set out on Wednesday in which the centuries-old institution said it would stick to its teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman.

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19Jan/23

CBI and Finastra survey shows UK SMEs face significant barriers to international trade

January 19, 2023EconomyCanvassing, Small and medium-sized enterprises, United Kingdomadmin

Research from the CBI and Finastra, canvassing the opinions of UK small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), suggests that there’s a gap between the ambition of firms to trade internationally and the reality of doing so. While just 44% of businesses surveyed currently engage in international trade, only 23% said they were not interested in doing so. One third of respondents believe there’s potential value, but do not trade internationally due to perceived barriers and a lack of support. Continue reading

19Jan/23

How the Fifa20 video game reproduces the racial stereotypes embedded within football

January 19, 2023GamesCreative Commons, Culture, Cultures, Esports, FIFA, Gamer, germain s, Marcus Maloney, Paul Ian Campbell, Raheem Sterling, Samantha Kerr, SHUTTERSTOCK, Soraya Murray, Stereotype, United Kingdom, Video game, Video game culture, Video gaming, Vinnie Jonesadmin

Lutsenko_Oleksandr | Shutterstock

Paul Ian Campbell, University of Leicester and Marcus Maloney, Coventry University

EA Sports’ Fifa football videogame series is arguably the most successful sports gaming franchise of all time. Since its debut in 1993, it has sold over 260 million copies across 29 iterations. This position was reaffirmed in 2022, with its latest instalment, Fifa23, reported as the UK’s highest selling videogame at Christmas.

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09Jan/23

Global economy 2023: why there will still be plenty of pressure on food prices in the year ahead

January 9, 2023EconomyAgriculture, Argentina, Articles, China, Creative Commons, Egypt, Energy crops, Europe, Famine, Food and drink, Food industry, Food politics, Food prices, Food security, India, Inflation, John Hammond, Moscow, Pakistan, Pricing, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Wheat, Yemen, Yiorgos Gadanakisadmin

John Hammond, University of Reading and Yiorgos Gadanakis, University of Reading

Welcome to this special report on the food industry, the fourth instalment in our series on where the global economy is heading in 2023. It follows recent articles on inflation, energy and the cost of living.

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24Dec/22

UK Nurses can now apply for USD $ 250,000 award till 10th January, 2023

December 24, 2022HealthcareArticles, Aster DM Healthcare, Health, International Nurses Day, London, Nursing, Nursing in the United Kingdom, United Kingdomadmin

Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award, an initiative by leading integrated healthcare provider Aster DM Healthcare, to recognize the contribution of nurses to the community, has announced an extension of the deadline for nurses based and working in the UK till 10th January 2023, given that London will be hosting the awards ceremony on International Nurses Day – 12th May, 2023. Applications from all countries, except UK, closed on 12th December. Continue reading

22Dec/22

The 3rd APEC Women Connect Her Power Entrepreneurship Competition Announces 2022 Winners, Raising Profiles of Budding Women Entrepreneurs

December 22, 2022InnovationAsia-Pacific, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Australia, China, Continents, France, Italy, Malawi, Nigeria, Organizations, Philippines, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam, Worldadmin

The 3rd APEC Women Connect “Her Power” Entrepreneurship Competition came to an end on December 16 with a livestreamed ceremony. Over four months, the competition engaged over 1,000 participants interested in social commerce from countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, Vietnam, The Philippines, Italy, Nigeria, Malawi, Venezuela, and China. Continue reading

21Dec/22

Why do people feel lonely at Christmas? Here’s what the research says

December 21, 2022ReasearchAndrea Wigfield, Articles, Caregiving, Chronic condition, Creative Commons, Emotions, Friendship, Human behavior, Interpersonal relationships, John Ratcliffe, London, Loneliness, Philosophy of love, SHUTTERSTOCK, Social connection, Social isolation, United Kingdom, Young careradmin

Andrea Wigfield, Sheffield Hallam University and John Ratcliffe, Sheffield Hallam University

Christmas is said to be a time for connecting with friends, family and having fun. But it can also be time of loneliness. Indeed, the results of a 2018 survey looking at loneliness during Christmas time in the UK revealed that 17% of people felt more lonely over the festive period.

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19Dec/22

Why Wellcome closed its Medicine Man exhibition – and others should follow suit

December 19, 2022MedicineAnaïs Walsdorf, British Museum, Charles Thompson, Collection, Congo, Conservation and restoration of human remains, Creative Commons, Culture, Exempt charities, Henry van der Weyde, Henry Wellcome, Humanities, India, London, Medicine Man, Museology, Museums, Nigeria, Oliver Dowden, Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, Oxford, Paira Mall, United Kingdom, Wellcome Collection, Wellcome Trustadmin

Anaïs Walsdorf, University of Warwick

In November the Wellcome Collection closed their Medicine Man gallery. In a Twitter thread, they acknowledged that “the display still perpetuates a version of medical history that is based on racist, sexist and ableist theories and language.”

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Tag: United Kingdom