By Sara Nabil, Assistant Professor of Human-Centered Computing, Queen's University, Ontario
Imagine adjusting the temperature of the air conditioning or skipping a song in your car, not by fiddling with a screen or voice command, but simply by swiping your hand across the fabric of your seatbelt.
It sounds futuristic, but this is the direction automotive design could be shifting towards — away from screens and buttons, and towards multi-touch textiles that sense your gestures and respond to them.
Read more: Interior design of the…
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By John Joseph Chin, Assistant Teaching Professor of Strategy and Technology, Carnegie Mellon University
Joe Wright, Professor of Political Science, Penn State
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro could soon be convicted as a failed coup plotter.
Brazil’s Supreme Court is expected to deliver a verdict by Sept. 12 over charges that the former president and key aides plotted to overturn Bolsonaro’s…
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By Sarah A. Walker, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology, Durham University
You’ve probably seen the word “narcissist” thrown around online in headlines, on dating apps or in therapy-themed TikToks. But the label that people often unthinkingly slap on toxic bosses or reality TV villains hides a much more complicated psychological picture.
Psychologists have studied narcissism for many years, but over time, our understanding has evolved. One of the biggest changes is that today, narcissism is no longer seen as just grandiosity, arrogance or egotism.
Early scientific descriptions of narcissism focused…
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By Adrino Mazenda, Senior Researcher, Associate Professor: Economic Management Sciences, University of Pretoria
Hunadi Mapula Nkwana, Associate Professor: Public Administration and Management, University of South Africa
Rural homes headed by women in South Africa have many problems getting water, sanitation and energy. Electricity from the grid, flush toilets and piped water are’t always available.
Without all of these essential services, families are likely to struggle to produce enough food to meet their daily needs for a healthy life. Water, energy and sanitation are…
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By Nick Bernards, Associate Professor of Global Sustainable Development, University of Warwick
There is growing recognition that the breakdown of the global climate, and vulnerability to its effects, are deeply rooted in histories of colonialism.
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By Diane Le Gouvello, Postdoctoral fellow, Nelson Mandela University
Little is known about the early life of sea turtle hatchlings but a modelling study shows the importance of ocean currents in their journeys.
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By John Mukum Mbaku, Professor, Weber State University
In April 2011, Ethiopia began construction of Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), on the Blue Nile river. The dam is expected to generate more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity, effectively transforming Ethiopia into the continent’s largest power…
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By Enrique Baquero, Investigador del Instituto de Biodiversidad y Medioambiente (BIOMA) y profesor de la Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Navarra
Like all living things, trees have a limited life cycle, with phases of youth, maturity, and old age. In their prime, trees provide shade, coolness and environmental quality – as well as an undeniable aesthetic value – to urban spaces. However, as they get older they get weaker, and this affects their stability. Old age brings internal rot, hollow trunks, fungal and bacterial infections, and an increased risk of breakage or falling.
In the natural…
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By Jim Hoare, Honorary Research Associate in the Centre of Korean Studies, SOAS, University of London
China invited world leaders to its capital, Beijing, recently to celebrate the 85th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in the second world war. Western leaders were notably absent. But despite the presence of many other leaders, such as Russian president Vladimir Putin, it was the arrival of North Korea’s Kim Jong-un that seemed to attract most international media attention.
This was Kim’s fifth visit to China since he assumed power…
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By Elna Heimdal Nilsson, Professor of Aeronautical Sciences, Department of Aviation and Aeronautical Sciences, Lund University
Military aircraft – from fighter jets to transport planes – are playing a significant role in today’s unstable world. Cumulatively, the operations carried out by these fleets, from combat missions to training flights, consume large amounts of fossil fuel.
Nevertheless, military aviation is rarely included in national climate inventories. In addition to greenhouse…
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