Survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking are taking to the stage to tell their harrowing stories as part of an innovative performance project aimed at tackling the worldwide issue. The project – led by University of the West of Scotland (UWS) – focuses on the experiences of survivors in Ghana; a country in which...
Author: sp (sp )
Post
Smartphones Make Consumers Prefer Unique, Tailored Products
Personalized wine lists. Tailored clothing options. Unique experiences just for you. The world is awash in products and services that promise to provide custom experiences to every consumer. And it turns out our smartphones are pushing us to unconsciously prefer just these kinds of customized options. A new study from the University of Florida has...
Post
Part of the Japanese Revolution in Fashion, Issey Miyake Changed the Way We Saw, Wore and Made Fashion
Throughout his career, Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake, who has died of cancer at 84, rejected terms like “fashion”. But his work allowed much of the world to reimagine itself through clothing. Born in Hiroshima in 1938, Miyake studied graphic design in Tokyo where he was influenced by the Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi and the...
Post
Sexual Exploitation by UN Peacekeepers in DRC: Fatherless Children Speak for First Time About the Pain of Being Abandoned
My father left my mother while she was pregnant – she gave birth when he had already left. People call me “daughter of a bitch”. They disturb and hurt me so much. They say they will chase me because I am a foreigner. I am suffering. These are the words of Emma* – a 13-year-old...
Post
Whether It’s Medical Records, Blood or Tissue, Patients Want to Know If Researchers May Use Something from Them
When a patient goes to a hospital or clinic, they might not realize that their digital medical records and samples of their blood or tissue may get used in ways far beyond guiding their care. But a new study suggests that many members of the public want to know if their health information or samples from...
Post
Why It’s Important to Think About Social Media Use as a Form of Dissociation, Rather Than Addiction
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had an unfortunate Saturday routine. I would wake up in my studio apartment and immediately turn to my phone, telling myself that I would get breakfast after quickly checking Twitter. An hour or so later, I would look up and realize what time it was –...
Post
Social Media Provides Flood of Images of Death and Carnage from Ukraine War – and Contributes to Weaker Journalism Standards
Photos of civilians killed or injured in the Russia-Ukraine war are widespread, particularly online, both on social media and in professional news media. Editors have always published images of dead or suffering people during times of crisis, like wars and natural disasters. But the current crisis has delivered many more of these images, more widely...
Post
The U.N. Just Declared a Universal Human Right to a Healthy, Sustainable Environment – Here’s Where Resolutions Like This Can Lead
Climate change is already affecting much of the world’s population, with startlingly high temperatures from the Arctic to Australia. Air pollution from wildfires, vehicles and industries threatens human health. Bees and pollinators are dying in unprecedented numbers that may force changes in crop production and food availability. What do these have in common? They represent...
Post
The U.S. Government’s Call for Deep Nicotine Reduction in Cigarettes Could Save Millions of Lives – an Expert Who Studies Tobacco Addiction Explains
The cigarette is the only legal consumer product that – when used as intended – causes the premature death of half of long-term users. To address this long-standing health threat, in late June 2022, the Biden-Harris administration announced a plan to move forward with a new standard for cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products that...
Post
Monkeypox Is Now a National Public Health Emergency in the U.S. – an Epidemiologist Explains What This Means
Kathryn H. Jacobsen, University of Richmond After news broke that the U.S. declared monkeypox to be a public health emergency, friends and family started asking me, an infectious disease epidemiologist, if monkeypox is about to begin causing widespread death and chaos. I assured them that the Aug. 4, 2022, public health emergency declaration is about...
