Tag Archives: United Kingdom

27Jan/23

The spy clause and the end of anonymity

By Samuel Woodhams | Digital rights researcher and journalist

The long, turbulent history of UK’s Online Safety Bill can be traced back to 2017, with the publication of the Internet Safety Strategy green paper. Since then, the proposed legislation has gone through endless revisions, been delayed and, at times, looked like it might be dropped entirely. Continue reading

24Jan/23

Researchers from University of Birmingham, U.K., show novel adaptation for existing furnaces could reduce steelmaking emissions by 90%

Researchers from the University of Birmingham, U.K., have designed a novel adaptation for existing iron and steel furnaces that could reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the steelmaking industry by nearly 90%.

This radical reduction is achieved through a ‘closed loop’ carbon recycling system, which could replace 90% of the coke typically used in current blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace systems and produces oxygen as a biproduct. Continue reading

24Jan/23

Prince Harry is wrong: unconscious bias is not different to racism

Meghan Tinsley, University of Manchester

When Prince Harry sat down with ITV journalist Tom Bradby for a conversation about his marriage, his estrangement from the royal family and his tell-all memoir, Spare, one particular segment stood out. Bradby said that Harry had accused some members of his family of racism, but Harry shook his head firmly.

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21Jan/23

How to talk to someone about conspiracy theories in five simple steps

Daniel Jolley, University of Nottingham; Karen Douglas, University of Kent, and Mathew Marques, La Trobe University

People’s first instinct when engaging with conspiracy believers is often to try and debunk their ideas with factual and authoritative information.

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19Jan/23

Digital welfare dystopia

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

  • 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

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

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

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

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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