All posts – Page 60

Were the Paris climate talks a success or a COP-out?

By Jonas Amtoft Bruun Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: January 11, 2016

COP 21 is good news – but only to a point, argues Jonas Amtoft Bruun. “We have an agreement.” Those redeeming words from French foreign minister Laurent Fabius in the evening of Saturday 12 December unleashed a wave of standing ovations from high level UN staff, delegates and observers from business and civil society. Preceding […]

What can be gained from focusing on positives which emerge from the current GP gloom?

By Sharon Spooner Filed Under: All posts Posted: January 7, 2016

Morale in UK general practice has dropped to a low ebb and a shortage of doctors is blamed for an increasing proportion of practices seeking to avoid accepting new patients. Yet week after week around 40,000 NHS GPs continue to work. Researcher and part-time GP Sharon Spooner explores the nature and significance of what motivates […]

Does religion have any impact on morality in modern Europe?

By Ingrid Storm Filed Under: All posts Posted: January 7, 2016

New research drawing on European survey data finds that religious decline does not equal moral decline. Dr Ingrid Storm explains why involvement in religion makes most difference to morality in the most religious countries, and matters less for moral values now than it did in the 1980s. A recent report by the Commission on Religion […]

Early life experience affects adult cognitive and sensory health

By Piers Dawes Filed Under: All posts Posted: December 16, 2015

The key to reducing dementia and sensory loss in later years may lie in improving experiences in the earliest years, explains Piers Dawes. Dementia, hearing impairment and vision loss are amongst the most feared, most costly and difficult to treat problems in elderly people. One way of avoiding cognitive and sensory impairment in old age […]

Devolution and healthcare

By Anna Coleman Filed Under: All posts, Devo Posted: December 14, 2015

There is a wealth of important knowledge to be gained from the devolution of health and social care services across Manchester, says Dr Anna Coleman. Whether national policymakers, other regions interested in pursuing similar devolution arrangements, or those actively involved in Devo Manc itself, there are a lot of people taking a very close interest […]

Is the world economy about to topple again?

By Ilias Alami Filed Under: All posts Posted: December 10, 2015

Is the world on the verge of a new financial crisis? Ilias Alami looks at the data and finds a precarious situation. While a variety of economic and financial indicators increasingly paint a bleak picture, the upcoming policy choices in developed countries will have far-reaching consequences for global financial stability. In the so-called developed countries, […]

The ethics of British intervention in Syria

By James Pattison Filed Under: All posts Posted: December 4, 2015

On Wednesday, the House of Commons debated for ten hours about whether the UK should intervene in Syria against ISIS. Here James Pattison explores the ethics of their decision. Numerous MPs stood up and offered their impassioned views. But most of these were oddly unstructured and badly reasoned, and failed to take into account glaringly […]

COP21: Changing the way we think about change

By Simon Chin-Yee Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: December 3, 2015

Change is inevitable, but climate change is damaging. Simon Chin-Yee argues that as the COP21 discussions continue in Paris, we must adapt to limit the damage being caused by climate change. Mark Twain once said: “I’m all for progress, its change I object to.” What is it about human nature that makes us averse to […]

The Paris climate change negotiations and 2°C: a view from the coal-face

By Kevin Anderson Filed Under: All posts Posted: December 2, 2015

As the Paris COP21 negotiations continue, Kevin Anderson, who is in France for the conference, gives his views. Paris will witness frenetic discussion centred ostensibly on the long-established 2°C temperature threshold between ‘acceptable’ and ‘dangerous’ climate change. However, as a citizen concerned with the moral framing of climate change, I consider the 2°C increase above the […]

Chancellor lands another blow to the UK’s green credentials

By Sarah Mander Filed Under: All posts Posted: November 27, 2015

As the Paris COP21 climate negotiations begin next week, Clair Gough and Sarah Mander examine George Osborne’s autumn statement and assess its green credentials. Only days before the start of the COP21 climate negotiations in Paris, the UK Government clearly signals just how unwilling it is to make the investments required to support the 2°C objective of […]