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Policy@Manchester Blogs: Digital Futures
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Risk in a digital age: why solutions lie in people, not just technology

By Filed Under: Digital Futures Posted:

As the digital and real worlds become ever-more entwined, do we really understand how people and technology interact? In this blog, republished from our On Digital Trust publication, Prof Gerard Hodgkinson explains why both person and machine should be considered when introducing and safeguarding digital infrastructure. Historically, new technologies fail to meet expectations because human […]

How modelling can become a debate-support tool, not just a decision-support tool

Iain White By , and Filed Under: Cities and Environment, Digital Futures Posted:

As many politicians around the world inform the public of their responses to the coronavirus outbreak, they frequently refer to the science on which their decisions are based. In this blog, Professor Graham Haughton, Dr Nuno Pinto and Professor Iain White explore the changing nature of how modelling tools are forming political and public debate. […]

Privacy pitfalls in combatting coronavirus digitally: Lessons from South Korea

By Filed Under: Cities and Environment, Digital Futures, Health and Care, Health and Social Care Posted:

As the UK embarks on rolling out new digital and mobile capacities in the fight against COVID-19, other countries may serve as bellwethers for potential issues. In this blog, Dr Michael Prentice, Research Fellow in Digital Trust and Security, discusses privacy issues that arose in South Korea’s technology-driven response to the COVID-19 outbreak and how […]

Profiting from pandemics: COVID-19, changing routines and cyber crimes

Photo of Dr David Buil-GIlBlack and white headshot of Prof Nick Lord By , , , and Filed Under: Digital Futures Posted:

The COVID-19 crisis is driving changes in the routines of institutions and individuals, as businesses, educational institutions and other organisations recommend or require employees to engage in social distancing in a collective attempt to minimise the spread of the virus. As well as having global socioeconomic effects, these changes in routine create opportunities for crimes. […]

Don’t panic! Keep calm and help young people to benefit from social media

By and Filed Under: Digital Futures, Health and Social Care Posted:

In our final blog for Children’s Mental Health Week, Professor Neil Humphrey and Dr Margarita Panayiotou discuss mental health and social media. A causal link between young people’s use of digital technologies and their subsequent experience of mental health difficulties has not been proven. Social media can have both positive and negative effects on mental […]

Online counselling for young people: Increasing access and reducing loneliness

By and Filed Under: All posts, Digital Futures, Health and Care Posted:

For over 15 years, staff based in the Manchester Institute of Education have been engaged in research exploring the development of online counselling services for young people. Here, Dr Terry Hanley and Professor Pamela Qualter discuss their research findings and make recommendations for the UK Government’s strategy for tackling loneliness. Our research findings act as […]

Breaking the silence: The importance of student involvement in school mental health

By and Filed Under: Digital Futures, Education, Health and Care Posted:

Hardly a day passes when adolescent mental health is not in the news. Dr Cathy Atkinson, Senior Lecturer in Education and Child Psychology at the Manchester Institute of Education, and Lucy Wilkinson, sixth-form student at Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, discuss their research into student-led mental health initiatives at AGGS, and suggest that this approach […]

Is it time to address accent as part of the Teachers’ Standards?

By Filed Under: Digital Futures, Education, Growth and Inclusion Posted:

Dr Alex Baratta, Lecturer in Language, Linguistics and Communications at the Manchester Institute of Education, discusses the ambiguity of ‘articulacy’ in the Teachers’ Standards and its effects on teachers and their accents. The Teachers’ Standards state that teachers in England and Wales must use standard English and demonstrate ‘articulacy’. There is no mention of accent […]

Resource efficiency

Local Industrial Strategies can capitalise on gaps in UK climate and resource policies

Dr Kate Scott By Filed Under: Cities and Environment, Digital Futures, Energy and Environment Posted:

As the UK and many local regions embark on developing and implementing industrial strategies Dr Kate Scott from the School of Environment, Education and Development argues it is crucial to identify how their strengths can support innovation and development for low carbon transitions. This is particularly true in light of the government’s recent announcement that […]

Beyond technology: addressing the social and sustainability challenges of next generation industrial systems

By Filed Under: Digital Futures, Industry 4.0, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted:

This week’s annual gathering of the World Economic Forum in Davos will discuss prospects for ‘Globalisation 4.0’, with participants debating how to match a global economy increasingly driven by new technology and the movement of ideas, people, and goods, with citizens around the world looking to ‘take back control’. Professor Philip Shapira from the Manchester […]

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