By Ernest Harsch, Researcher, Institute of African Studies, Columbia University
Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea and Gabon have all suffered regime change in the last five years, led by men in military uniform.
Madagascar…
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By Andrea Carter, Adjunct Faculty in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Adler University
Every time we choose people over convenience, we invest in community. The real question in our homes, workplaces and democracies is whether we are willing to pay that price.
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By Claire Hart, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Southampton
Carmen Surariu, PhD candidate in Psychology, University of Southampton
Social media is often blamed for loneliness, but a large new review suggests that when people share authentically online, it can actually strengthen relationships.
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By Katherine Easton, Lecturer, Psychology, University of Sheffield
Online short-form video has shifted from a light distraction to a constant backdrop in many children’s lives. What used to fill a spare moment now shapes how young people relax, communicate and form opinions, with TikTok, Instagram Reels, Douyin and YouTube Shorts drawing in hundreds of millions of under-18s through endlessly personalised feeds.
These apps feel lively and intimate, offering quick routes to humour, trends and connection, yet their design encourages long sessions of rapid scrolling that can be difficult for young users to manage. They were never built with children in…
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By Beng Huat See, Professor of Education Research, School of Education, University of Birmingham
Daniel Wheatley, Reader in Business and Labour Economics, University of Birmingham
The Scottish government recently announced plans to pilot a four-day school week. The proposal comes amid growing concerns about teacher supply and wellbeing.
Teaching remains one of the most stressful occupations in the UK, with stress, exhaustion and burnout consistently cited as major…
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By John McAlaney, Professor in Psychology, Bournemouth University
“Rage bait” has been named the word of the year by the Oxford University Press. It means social media content that is designed to create a strong and negative reaction.
Posting content intended to antagonise people may not seem like a wise strategy for a social media influencer. But people who post content on social media can make more money if their channel has a high level of engagements – regardless of how positively people…
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By Alan Collins, Professor of Economics and Public Policy, Nottingham Trent University
A family builds an off-grid home in rural Wales. TV celebrates it as a blueprint for net-zero living. But what if this vision of sustainability simply doesn’t scale up?
Television shows such as Channel 4’s Grand Designs have long celebrated ambitious one-off homebuilding projects. These programmes often frame bespoke rural housing as a model of sustainable living.
With large audiences, they wield real influence over what viewers imagine an environmentally sustainable lifestyle looks like. But the reality behind many of these supposedly “eco” homes is far more complicated.…
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By Clodagh Philippa Guerin, PhD Candidate in Refugee World Literature, University of Limerick
Poetry offers something that news and visual imagery cannot in times of crisis: depth over immediacy and meaning over spectacle.
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By Inès Otosaka, Assistant Professor in Physical Geography and Environmental Science, Northumbria University, Newcastle
There could be an irreversible retreat of parts of the ice sheets, raising sea levels much faster than currently planned.
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By Janet Hoek, Professor in Public Health, University of Otago
Andrew Waa, Associate Professor in Public Health, University of Otago
Jude Ball, Senior Research Fellow in Public Health, University of Otago
It is now clear the government has failed to meet New Zealand’s smokefree goal of fewer than 5% of people from all population groups smoking by the end of this year.
According to the latest New Zealand Health survey, 6.8% of adults smoked daily this year, which is similar to the previous year (6.9%) and 2022-23 (6.8%).
Tobacco remains widely available and large inequities in smoking prevalence continue, with smoking among Māori at 15%.
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