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A person blowing their nose in a city centre park

Determining the impact of poor air quality in cities on daily life: the value of using ‘citizen sensors’ and agile platforms

By Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Environment, Health and Care, Urban Posted:

The air in cities can be bad for our health. People who live in cities are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases such as COPD and be admitted to hospital with asthma attacks and other serious respiratory conditions. Whilst it is important to monitor these, focusing only on life-threatening events can mask a lower-level […]

A critical question: what should we do with the UK’s plutonium stockpile?

By Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Science and Engineering Posted:

The UK is currently storing around 140 tonnes of plutonium, mostly arising from its civil nuclear programme over the past 60 years. What should we, as a nation, do with it? Should we use it as fuel for future reactors, or dispose of it as waste? The latest position paper from the Dalton Nuclear Institute […]

Built on sand: the need for new environmental standards in the construction industry

By and Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Energy and Environment, Environment, Science and Engineering Posted:

The building sector is responsible for 40% of global CO2 emissions, and many policies have been introduced about the energy efficiency of buildings during their working life. However, little consideration has been given to the whole life of a building, from the production of materials to the disposal of old buildings. Here, Ms Judy Too […]

Harmful online content image

The challenges of regulating online speech

Author headshot By Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Digital Futures Posted:

Hate speech or harmful speech is any expression (speech, text, images) that demeans, threatens, or harms members of groups with protected characteristics. It includes slurs, name-calling, discriminatory and exclusionary speech, incitement to hatred and violence, harassment. Online communities are a particularly fast way to spread hate. In this article, Dr Mihaela Popa-Wyatt explores the main questions […]

Maths education article image

Calculating the benefits – maths to 18

Laura Black author headshotJulian Williams By , and Filed Under: All posts, Education Posted:

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently announced a proposal to ensure that all students continue to study maths to 18, a plan aiming to ‘boost low numeracy rates’, and to leave future school-leavers better equipped for ‘data-intensive jobs’ and managing their finances as adults. In this article, Professor Maria Pampaka, Professor Laura Black and Professor Julian […]

A corn crop on dry land

Delivering on climate commitments: restricting global warming to 1.5C

Angela Mae Minas Headshot By Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Energy and Environment, Environment, Science and Technology Posted:

In 2015, world leaders committed to holding global warming to well below 2C whilst pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5C as part of The Paris Agreement at COP21. It is now expected that the world is likely to hit this level of warming within the next five years. In this article, Dr Angela Minas […]

Older people playing bingo

Inequalities, COVID-19 and the older population: developing a community-based response

Camilla Lewisluciana Lang By , , and Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Health and Care, Health and Social Care, Levelling up Posted:

Older people were disproportionately affected by the emergence and spread of COVID-19, whether in hospital, the community or in care homes. Just taking the period from January to December 2020, 72,178 people died 60 days after testing positive for COVID-19 or with it mentioned on their death certificate – 67, 451 of whom were 60 […]

children in school library

Starting a new chapter – childhood literacy education

author headshot By Filed Under: All posts, Education Posted:

In 2022, the government announced a commitment to improve literacy education as part of its levelling up agenda. The ambition to eradicate issues by 2030 has seen a tight focus on literacy skills and mandated curriculums – which neglect to acknowledge the local and individualised contexts in which teachers teach. A lack of resources, funding […]

Pregnant lady with phone

ConnecteDNA – the implications of technology on donor conception anonymity

Caroline Redhead headshotLucy Frith headshot By and Filed Under: All posts, Health and Care Posted:

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has recently sought views about reforming the law on fertility treatment regulation and embryo research.  They identified a number of issues with the current legal framework, around which the public consultation was structured. In this article, Dr Caroline Redhead and Dr Lucy Frith examine one such issue, the […]

Business people in boardroom

Targeting the ‘(professional) enablers’ of economic crime

Katie Benson author headshot By Filed Under: All posts, Digital Futures, UK economy Posted:

The UK government has published its second Economic Crime Plan (ECP2), which aims to reinforce the government’s priorities in relation to economic crime in (or affecting) the UK.  ECP2 arrives at a time of considerable political attention on economic crime, with the global focus on kleptocracy and increased use of financial sanctions following Russia’s invasion […]

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Articles give the views of the author, and are not necessarily those of The University of Manchester.

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