How renting could affect your health
Amy Clair, University of Essex and Amanda Hughes, University of Bristol
Our homes play a number of vital roles in our lives. They are where we rest, spend time with friends and family, and can be most ourselves. Given this central role it is not surprising that researchers have found a number of important relationships between the homes we live in and our health. Continue reading
Winter months, loneliness and isolation amongst older people
Dr Paul Willis and Alex Vickery from the Centre for Research in Health and Social Care introduce findings from their recent project looking at older men at the margins.
Watching the early February snow fall outside my office window is a beautiful sight but it can also be a stark reminder that snowfall in the UK means many things to different people – for some a frustrating barrier to their daily routine or journey, for others a (hopefully) opportune moment to enjoy time off from work or school. Continue reading
The 1960s GOP show how tactical extremism can salvage a party’s electoral fortunes
Credit: Reagan Presidential Library [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The rise of Trump and Brexit has reminded that we are never too far away from the politics of extremes. But these sorts of trends are nothing new, argue Jon X. Eguia (left) and Francesco Giovannoni (right). Looking back to the Republican Party of the 1960s, they write that a political party that faces poor public opinion can improve its fortunes by dramatically reinventing itself and proposing a radical alternative to voters.
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What the NHS needs is more managers
George RudyIan Kirkpatrick, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick
NHS managers could do with a facelift. Cure the NHS with far fewer managers and It is nurses working at the coalface of the NHS that we need, not more bosses are commonplace headlines. And cynicism about NHS managers is not limited to the media. Two years ago, the then minister for health, Jeremy Hunt, wondered whether the NHS had made a mistake in the 1980s “by deliberately creating a manager class who were not clinicians”. Both Labour and Conservative governments have tried (unsuccessfully) to reduce their number. Continue reading
Why we’re looking for chemicals in the seabed to help predict climate change
Katharine Hendry, University of Bristol and Allyson Tessin, University of Leeds
Hidden in even the clearest waters of the ocean are clues to what’s happening to the seas and the climate on a global scale. Trace amounts of various chemical elements are found throughout the seas and can reveal what’s going on with the biological reactions and physical processes that take place in them. Continue reading
Davos: leaders talk about globalisation as though it’s inevitable – when it isn’t
Jennifer Johns, University of Bristol
Global leaders have descended on the Swiss ski resort of Davos for the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting. This year’s theme is “Globalisation 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution”. Continue reading
Brexit: how article 50 could be extended to delay UK’s departure from the EU
Image Credit: The Bangkok Post
Phil Syrpis, University of Bristol
In the aftermath of the crushing defeat of the government’s Brexit plan in the House of Commons, the question on everyone’s lips is “what next?” Opinion is divided: some say the UK is now heading for “no deal”, others for “no Brexit”. Continue reading
Bees and butterflies are under threat from urbanisation – here’s how city-dwellers can help
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Katherine Baldock, University of Bristol
Pollinators such as bees, hoverflies and butterflies, are responsible for the reproduction of many flowering plants and help to produce more than three quarters of the world’s crop species. Globally, the value of the services provided by pollinators is estimated at between US$235 billion and US$577 billion. Continue reading
How clever people help societies work together better
Andis Sofianos, University of Heidelberg; Aldo Rustichini, University of Minnesota, and Eugenio Proto, University of Bristol
What drives people to cooperate with each other? And what characteristics lead a person to do something that will both benefit them, and those around them? Our new research suggests that the answer is intelligence: it is the primary condition for a socially cohesive and cooperative society. Continue reading
Brexit Groundhog Day as EU leaders stand firm in face of British political stalemate
Julien Warnand/EPA
Nieves Perez-Solorzano, University of Bristol
As the December European Council drew to an end, EU leaders must have felt that they were living their own Brexit Groundhog Day. As has become the norm since the Brexit negotiations began in March 2017, the European Union is faced with a British government in crisis. Continue reading