tag:theconversation.com,2011:/institutions/university-of-leeds-1122/articlesThe University of Leeds2024-03-28T12:21:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2267682024-03-28T12:21:09Z2024-03-28T12:21:09ZRenegade Nell: Sally Wainwright’s highwaywoman series is a swaggering caper of a show<p>“Little word of warning. You don’t want to mess with me”, Nelly Jackson tells highwayman Isambard Tulley in the opening minutes of Renegade Nell. The Disney+ fantasy adventure series is the latest show from Happy Valley writer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/happy-valley-the-art-of-sally-wainwrights-perfect-tv-ending-199616">Sally Wainwright</a>.</p>
<p>Nell has inadvertently stumbled on Tulley and his gang robbing a group of wealthy travellers in the woods. The date is 1705 and Nell is returning to her family tavern in Tottenham, widowed, after her husband, Captain Jack was “blasted in half at the Battle of Blenheim”. </p>
<p>Despite this horrifying set of circumstances, Nell (or Nelly as her family call her, much to her annoyance), is remarkably upbeat, her cockney wit as quick and cutting as her sword skills.</p>
<p>The series sets up a story world inhabited by characters that are smart, resourceful, camp, canny and highly amusing. While tragedy and greed take up space in the dark edges of the plot and the minds of the show’s villains, it is humour that occupies its centre. </p>
<p>This comes courtesy of both Wainwright’s sharp writing and the performances of Nell, played by Louisa Harland of Derry Girls fame, and Billy Blind, her magical, pint-sized spirit, played by comedian and actor Nick Mohammed. </p>
<p>Mohammed purposefully uses his most famous comedic creation, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofVcaQQJlMc">Mr Swallow</a>, in his role as Billy Blind, drawing on both Mr Swallow’s squeaky voice, and his pattern of biting off more than he can chew. </p>
<p>Harland’s performance as Nell is equally magical, driving the narrative at breakneck speed. Her supernaturally powered fight sequences are something to behold, and she showcases a multitude of accents, from contemporary cockney to “posh” Scottish. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The trailer for Renegade Nell.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Sally Wainwright’s safe hands</h2>
<p>Sally Wainright, the creator, executive producer and writer of the first five episodes of the series, is largely considered a safe – and extraordinarily capable – pair of hands. Wainwright is most well-known for Scott & Bailey (2011), Last Tango in Halifax (2012), Happy Valley (2014) and <a href="https://theconversation.com/gentleman-jack-a-gripping-19th-century-tale-of-one-womans-bravery-in-sex-and-politics-116868">Gentleman Jack</a> (2019). </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/happy-valley-the-art-of-sally-wainwrights-perfect-tv-ending-199616">Happy Valley: the art of Sally Wainwright's perfect TV ending</a>
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<p>Renegade Nell sees Wainwright parry with and between genres, themes and styles for which she is less well known. The magic realism and playful spirit that frames Renegade Nell may feel worlds away from Happy Valley, but – as with Wainwright’s indomitable women characters and frequent focus on class inequalities – magic realism does have precedence in her back catalogue. </p>
<p>Wainwright’s reimagination of the three Brontë sisters in the BBC film <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04cf4wv">To Walk Invisible</a> (2016) included scenes of the siblings as children, their heads adorned with <a href="https://images.app.goo.gl/uX6o4CDWUgYzdyaZ6">burning crowns of fire</a>. Renegade Nell has a similar interest in the magical relationship between three extraordinary but very different sisters.</p>
<p>The show is a magical mix of Wainwright’s previous creative expertise. Its adventure is drawn from Jane Hall (2006) and comedy from Bonkers (2007). It has period costume and a musical score reminiscent of Gentleman Jack and magic realism from To Walk Invisible. </p>
<p>Then there’s the determination and resilience from Happy Valley, and the focus on family, care, community and class that was inherent to Wainwright’s soap opera writing for Coronation Street.</p>
<h2>A class act</h2>
<p>Alongside its interest in women and the inequalities they experience and battle to overcome, a theme central to Renegade Nell is <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/978-1-137-55506-9">social class</a>. </p>
<p>With Nell as our guide, the structural inequalities between the wealthy and the poor are aligned directly to power and its abuses. The law, Nell tells us, “is made by the toffs, for the toffs”. Ending up on the wrong side of it, she talks to Billy Blind, joking and lamenting in equal measure: “How come I’ve ended up so far on the wrong side of the law?” </p>
<p>In response, Billy suggests, “Maybe when someone like you ends up on the wrong side of the law … there’s something wrong with the law … and maybe me and you was supposed to do some disruption to redress the balance.”</p>
<p>Their work to redress the balance, alongside an exceptional cast of supporting characters, explores the corruption of government, the control of the news and questions of truthful and objective reporting, poverty and gender-imbalanced opportunities. </p>
<p>Though the setting in 16th century England provides a sense of temporal distance, the contemporary relevance of the issues explored are unlikely to be lost on viewers, who may well be inspired to join Nell in kicking up a rumpus.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Beth Johnson is affiliated with the Royal Television Society, as Vice Chair of the Yorkshire RTS branch. </span></em></p>The Disney series is a magical mega-mix of Sally Wainwright’s greatest hits.Beth Johnson, Professor of Television & Media Studies, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2256402024-03-15T17:34:43Z2024-03-15T17:34:43ZThe millions of people not looking for work in the UK may be prioritising education, health and freedom<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581930/original/file-20240314-28-ovlqfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=107%2C107%2C5883%2C3880&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Taking time out.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-young-business-woman-relaxing-sitting-365682632">pathdoc/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Around <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/employmentintheuk/march2024">one in five</a> British people of working age (16-64) are now outside the labour market. Neither in work nor looking for work, they are officially labelled as “economically inactive”. </p>
<p>Some of those 9.2 million people are in education, with many students not active in the labour market because they are studying full-time. Others are older workers who have chosen to take early retirement. </p>
<p>But that still leaves a large number who are not part of the labour market because they are unable to work. And one key driver of economic inactivity in recent years has been <a href="https://www.health.org.uk/news-and-comment/charts-and-infographics/is-poor-health-driving-a-rise-in-economic-inactivity">illness</a>. </p>
<p>This increase in economic inactivity – which has grown <a href="https://www.health.org.uk/news-and-comment/charts-and-infographics/is-poor-health-driving-a-rise-in-economic-inactivity">since before the pandemic</a> – is not just harming the economy, but also indicative of a deeper health crisis. </p>
<p>For those suffering ill health, there are real constraints on access to work. People with health-limiting conditions cannot just slot into jobs that are available. They need help to address the illnesses they have, and to re-engage with work through organisations offering supportive and healthy work environments.</p>
<p>And for other groups, such as stay-at-home parents, businesses need to offer flexible work arrangements and subsidised childcare to support the transition from economic inactivity into work.</p>
<p>The government has a role to play too. Most obviously, it could increase investment in the NHS. Rising levels of poor health are linked to years of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jun/26/britons-earlier-deaths-linked-to-nhs-underinvestment-study">under-investment in the health sector</a> and economic inactivity will not be tackled without more funding.</p>
<h2>Carrots and sticks</h2>
<p>For the time being though, the UK government appears to prefer an approach which mixes carrots and sticks. In the <a href="https://theconversation.com/budget-2024-experts-explain-what-it-means-for-taxpayers-businesses-borrowers-and-the-nhs-225194">March 2024 budget</a>, for example, the chancellor cut national insurance by 2p as a way of “making work pay”. </p>
<p>But it is unclear whether small tax changes like this will have any effect on attracting the economically inactive back into work. </p>
<p>Jeremy Hunt also extended free childcare. But again, questions remain over whether this is sufficient to remove barriers to work for those with parental responsibilities. The <a href="https://www.local.gov.uk/parliament/briefings-and-responses/debate-affordability-and-availability-childcare-house-commons-21">high cost and lack of availability</a> of childcare remain key weaknesses in the UK economy.</p>
<p>The benefit system meanwhile has been designed to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/drnancydoyle/2022/02/10/coercion-not-required-uk-governments-new-scheme-sets-risky-goal-for-unemployment/">push people into work</a>. Benefits in the UK remain relatively <a href="https://www.tuc.org.uk/research-analysis/reports/benefit-levels-uk">ungenerous and hard to access</a> compared with other rich countries. But labour shortages won’t be solved by simply forcing the economically inactive into work, because not all of them are ready or able to comply. </p>
<p>It is also worth noting that work itself may be a cause of bad health. The notion of “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00236560802615236">bad work</a>” – work that does not pay enough and is unrewarding in other ways – can lead to economic inactivity. </p>
<p>There is also evidence that as work has <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e9835846-d88c-4947-a5ee-33a378ff9f65">become more intensive</a> over recent decades, for some people, work itself has become a health risk. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1748-8583.12395">pandemic showed</a> us how certain groups of workers (including so-called “essential workers”) suffered more ill health due to their greater exposure to COVID. But there are broader trends towards lower quality work that predate the pandemic, and these trends suggest <a href="https://academic.oup.com/cje/article/48/1/1/7588710">improving job quality</a> is an important step towards tackling the underlying causes of economic inactivity.</p>
<h2>Freedom</h2>
<p>Another big section of the economically active population who cannot be ignored are those who have retired early and deliberately left the labour market behind. These are people who want and value – and crucially, can afford – a life without work. </p>
<p>Here, the effects of the pandemic can be seen again. During those years of lockdowns, furlough and remote working, many of us reassessed our relationship with our jobs. Changed <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/publications/rise-economic-inactivity-among-people-their-50s-and-60s">attitudes towards work</a> among some (mostly older) workers can explain why they are no longer in the labour market and why they may be unresponsive to job offers of any kind.</p>
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<img alt="Sign on railings supporting NHS staff during pandemic." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582009/original/file-20240314-16-4rntic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582009/original/file-20240314-16-4rntic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582009/original/file-20240314-16-4rntic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582009/original/file-20240314-16-4rntic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582009/original/file-20240314-16-4rntic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582009/original/file-20240314-16-4rntic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582009/original/file-20240314-16-4rntic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">COVID made many people reassess their priorities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-brick-lane-uk-may-21st-1737902402">Alex Yeung/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>And maybe it is from this viewpoint that we should ultimately be looking at economic inactivity – that it is actually a sign of progress. That it represents a move towards freedom from the drudgery of work and the ability of some people to live as they wish.</p>
<p>There are utopian visions of the future, for example, which suggest that individual and collective freedom could be dramatically increased by paying people a <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2017/07/free-money-everyone-will-universal-basic-income-ever-happen">universal basic income</a>. </p>
<p>In the meantime, for plenty of working age people, economic inactivity is a direct result of ill health and sickness. So it may be that the levels of economic inactivity right now merely show how far we are from being a society which actually <a href="https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=making-light-work-an-end-to-toil-in-the-twenty-first-century--9781509548620">supports its citizens’ wellbeing</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225640/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Spencer has received funding from the ESRC. </span></em></p>Economic inactivity is not always the worst option.David Spencer, Professor of Economics and Political Economy, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2255212024-03-12T13:29:49Z2024-03-12T13:29:49ZPrincess of Wales photo controversy shows we’ve been thinking about edited images the wrong way<p>The spread of deepfake videos, digitally altered photos and images produced by artifical intelligence threaten our ability to discern truth from fiction. Experts have warned of a coming <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/virtual-briefing-deepfakes-nina-schick">“infocalypse”</a>, and of the consequences for this year’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/23/ai-deepfakes-come-of-age-as-billions-prepare-to-vote-in-a-bumper-year-of-elections">bumper crop of elections</a>. </p>
<p>Yet the biggest story about photographic manipulation so far in 2024 is that the Princess of Wales manually <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68534359">edited a family portrait</a>. The image was released by Kensington Palace on Mother’s Day to reassure the public about her health. </p>
<p>After noticing signs that the picture was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/11/the-sleeve-the-hand-the-knee-the-royal-photos-telltale-signs-of-editing">edited</a>, press agencies issued “kill notices” instructing all papers to withdraw the image. This led to more speculation, and an apology from Catherine on X (formerly Twitter) conceding that she does “occasionally experiment with editing”.</p>
<p>The response to this controversy can help us think about the wider challenge of manipulated images and video. In my view, we shouldn’t think of edited photos as a harbinger of disaster spurred by new technology. Rather, they are merely the most recent stage in a long social problem of fakery that we have been navigating for decades.</p>
<h2>A royal history of faked photographs</h2>
<p>Catherine is not the first British royal to experiment with photography. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were early enthusiasts, first sitting for <a href="https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/crown-and-camera-the-british-royal-family-and-photography-1842-1910-1/the-royal-image-and-commercial-photography">photographs in the 1840s</a>. During this time, composite images – which combine multiple exposures into one image – were widespread, owing to the limitations of photographic technology. </p>
<p>Early photographers in the <a href="https://www.theartstory.org/movement/pictorialism/">pictorialist movement</a>, explored the artistic possibilities of photographic manipulation, valuing photography as an art form more than as a medium of documentary.</p>
<p>Some of these composite photographs, such as Henry Peach Robinson’s image Fading Away, were controversial, because of both their subject matter and technique. They were seen as undermining the reliability of the medium. Victoria and Albert took the side of pictorialist photographers, purchasing copies of composite images by Robinson, <a href="https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/person/103KER">Oscar Gustave Rejlander</a> and others. </p>
<p>Portrait photographers employed similar techniques. There are several <a href="https://www.rct.uk/collection/2907350/queen-victoria-is-presented-with-a-book">composite</a> <a href="https://www.rct.uk/collection/2913355/double-portrait-of-princess-victoria-of-wales-1868-1935">portraits</a> of the royal family from around this time. Given the prevalence of these techniques, it’s likely that many group shots of the royals in the 19th century are composites.</p>
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<img alt="A black and white composite photo, showing a young woman lying sickly while another young woman stands behind her, and an older woman sits in a chair facing her. A silhouette of a man looks out the window. All are in Victorian-era clothing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581300/original/file-20240312-28-fz8013.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581300/original/file-20240312-28-fz8013.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581300/original/file-20240312-28-fz8013.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581300/original/file-20240312-28-fz8013.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581300/original/file-20240312-28-fz8013.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581300/original/file-20240312-28-fz8013.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581300/original/file-20240312-28-fz8013.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Henry Peach Robinson’s image Fading Away is an example of the widespread use of composite photography.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=523722">Henry Peach Robinson</a></span>
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<p>Journalism at this time was not exempt from image manipulation. Before it became possible to directly print photographs in newspapers in 1880, there was a widespread practice of copying photographs into drawings, embellishing them by adding colour and improving the composition. </p>
<p>This wouldn’t have been seen as at all unusual in an era in which many photography studios employed painters to touch up portraits. When half-tone printing was introduced, journalists continued to tweak their photographs, with one editor of a photography magazine in 1898 boldly stating that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17514517.2017.1322397">“everybody fakes”</a>. </p>
<p>This practice was eventually stopped not by technological innovation, but by the development of social norms. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17514517.2017.1322397">“Faking”</a> shifted from being an accepted technique to a term of criticism, and photojournalists staked their reputation on not faking their images.</p>
<h2>Solving a social problem</h2>
<p>Deepfakes and manipulated photos are often discussed as a purely technological problem. The popular suggestion is that more tech – a piece of software or watermark – is needed to identify problematic images. As the fallout from the latest royal family portrait reminds us, producing and disseminating accurate and properly contextualised images is fundamentally about ensuring well-placed trust in competent sources.</p>
<p>Outside of journalistic contexts, we don’t have strong social norms against adding colour to photographs. New phones are sold touting their ability to automatically <a href="https://www.theverge.com/23924382/how-to-best-take-google-photos-pixel-8-pro-face-swap">edit together photographs</a>. Catherine appears to have carried out the kind of editing on this picture which would be commonplace on photographs shared on Instagram or the family group chat.</p>
<p>The problem here isn’t that photo editing software fundamentally undermines our trust in photographs. The problem is that the British royal family – in particular its press operation – has failed to live up to the standards we would expect from a public organisation. But the fact that we have those standards, and press organisations were able to respond accordingly, shows we have the tools to manage this problem.</p>
<p>We should not be panicking about manipulated images undermining the institutions that sift truth from falsehood. Nor should we be complacent because this faked image was quickly discovered. </p>
<p>Journalists have always had to contend with manipulated media. But this is a social, not just a technological, problem. Rather than looking to tech or AI solutions to manipulated images, the historical record suggests that what’s needed is to put more funding into human journalists, including experts in photographic manipulation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225521/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Habgood-Coote has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 818633).</span></em></p>Catherine is far from the first royal to experiment with photo editing.Joshua Habgood-Coote, Research Fellow in Philosophy, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2235682024-03-11T12:51:48Z2024-03-11T12:51:48ZFintech is sold as the answer to Africa’s problems, but digital money services have downsides which media often overlook<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577861/original/file-20240226-16-p2toeq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The research assessed newspaper coverage of fintech in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The online financial products and services known as “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/what-is-fintech/">fintech</a>” have become deeply embedded in the economic and social life of many African countries over the past decade.</p>
<p>Headlines across the continent often extol fintech’s virtues. Technology is “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S19bJvbYrE">driving financial inclusion</a>” and “<a href="https://observer.ug/businessnews/63783-fintech-revolutionizing-how-we-spend-our-money">making life better for people</a>”. It’s helping “<a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001452750/how-fintech-tools-can-help-cushion-kenyans-during-inflation">consumers to manage inflation</a>”. Fintech is “<a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/09/27/how-nigeria-is-expanding-financial-inclusion-through-fintech">too sweeping to ignore</a>”. And, if it’s not embraced, “<a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/10/06/on-boarding-financially-excluded-rural-women">the country and the entire economy will be left behind</a>”. </p>
<p>These headlines depict a popular story about fintech: it is the answer to several of Africa’s economic problems. This story is also appearing in policy documents in countries like Uganda. Fintech is now a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3dno0vThbc">key component</a> of the country’s <a href="https://bou.or.ug/bouwebsite/bouwebsitecontent/FinancialInclusion/2023/Signed_2023_2028_National-Financial-Inclusion-Strategy_.pdf">National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2023-2028</a>. </p>
<p>However, a counter-narrative is emerging. Political economists, anthropologists and social theorists warn that fintech is an example of an exploitative, <a href="https://www.theelephant.info/ideas/2021/07/09/neocolonial-components-of-algorithmic-capitalism-in-africa-today/">neocolonial</a> and <a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/histories-of-racial-capitalism/9780231190756#:%7E:text=Racial%20capitalism%20is%20not%20simply,value%20from%20racial%20classification%20">racialised</a> form of platform capitalism, a system by which a fairly small number of commercial networks profit from user activities and interactions. They caution that it is inherently <a href="https://africasacountry.com/2019/10/kenyas-mobile-money-revolution">anti-development</a>. It is, they say, likely to cause a crisis of <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/life-and-style/lifestyle/debt-trap-ensnared-by-loans-women-turn-to-suicide-as-escape-4086004">consumer debt</a>, <a href="https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/perpetual-debt-silicon-savannah/">emotional distress</a>, <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/life-and-style/smart-company/suicide-that-jolted-cbk-inside-plan-to-rein-in-digital-lenders-251530">self-harm</a> and <a href="https://www.theelephant.info/opinion/2019/11/29/data-protection-in-the-age-of-huduma-namba-who-will-benefit/">data piracy</a>. </p>
<p>We wanted to know how the press in Africa reports on fintech. Are its failings and potential pitfalls acknowledged? Is it mostly presented as a “good news” story?</p>
<p>So, in a project we began two years ago with South African political economist <a href="https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/monobook/book/9781529221770/9781529221770.xml">Scott Timcke</a>, we <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2023.2275816">set out to answer these questions</a>. This kind of analysis helps reveal how public attitudes about this new pillar of everyday economic life are formed. It also shows whether the press is serving as the public’s watchdog with regard to economic matters and corporate affairs. </p>
<p>Our analysis, the first to look at how the fintech story is being told in the African press, reveals that the coverage is celebratory and offers limited cautionary and critical reporting to the public and to policymakers. We found that fintech is most often covered with a positive tone and as a business story. </p>
<h2>The fintech context</h2>
<p>International and African <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Africas-Media-Image-in-the-21st-Century-From-the-Heart-of-Darkness-to/Bunce-Franks-Paterson/p/book/9781138962323">media coverage of the continent</a> is often accused of fuelling negative stereotypes, a trend characterised as “afro-pessimism”. But in the past decade, much of the media conversation has focused on business buzz and followed an “afro-optimism” or “Africa rising” script, as the headlines above depict. </p>
<p>The fintech ecology is shaped by dynamics from the late 2000s. These include the rapid uptake in <a href="https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/sub-saharan-africa-embraces-5g-and-smartphone-adoption-soars-gsma-report-reveals/9xnt95l">broadband use</a> and the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash. Proponents claim that fintech will reduce poverty and motivate development (sometimes referred to as “<a href="https://academic.oup.com/wbro/article/33/2/135/5127166?login=false">leapfrogging</a>” or “<a href="https://thefintechtimes.com/here-are-four-cities-in-africa-emerging-as-fintech-hubs/">Silicon Savannah</a>”), uplifting those unserved by formal banking. One 2016 study credited fintech with delivering a remarkable <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aah5309">2% poverty reduction</a> in Kenya. </p>
<p>Others call for a more cautious and sceptical approach. Critics dispute claims that fintech produces significant progressive change. They also argue that fintech can be <a href="https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/fintech-digital-futures-paper-tni-web.pdf">exploitative</a> and <a href="https://botpopuli.net/how-fintech-became-the-gateway-to-predatory-lending-in-sub-saharan-africa/">predatory</a>, and that it fuels inequality by further enriching the already wealthy. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-mobile-money-system-has-a-dark-side-even-though-its-convenient-new-study-explores-the-risks-207777">Nigeria's mobile money system has a dark side even though it's convenient - new study explores the risks</a>
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<h2>Our analysis</h2>
<p>Previous research into the roll-out of fintech in countries across the continent revealed community-level tactics. “<a href="https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/jams_00035_1">Change agents</a>” are deployed to recruit new customers for mobile money services. “<a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IMR-05-2019-0130/full/html">Brand ambassadors</a>” are hired to “sit in public transport and talk about” fintech products. </p>
<p>We wondered whether journalists were similarly talking up fintech or were warning of its risks. We analysed news coverage and looked at journalism published between 2016 and 2021 by leading newspapers in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa, as well as through the <a href="https://allafrica.com/">AllAfrica</a> news aggregator. We began with a set of 1,190 news pieces and analysed a sample of 368. </p>
<p>Based on our initial examination of articles, we identified nine themes or frames that appeared frequently in news coverage of fintech. </p>
<p>The dominant frame was one we labelled “announcement”: the proclamation of a new fintech product through the media; a celebration of innovation. “Gender inclusivity” was the least common frame. This is the kind of reporting that focuses on a commonly shared <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2022/06/03/Fintech-Female-Employment-and-Gender-Inequality-518871">rationale</a> for fintech: that it particularly benefits women and gives them new opportunities for equality and participation. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-makes-fintech-solutions-succeed-we-built-a-model-based-on-ghanas-experience-169286">What makes FinTech solutions succeed? We built a model based on Ghana's experience</a>
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<p>We paid particular attention to the frame we called “trepidation”. We were surprised that 61% of news stories within that frame had a positive overall tone, despite the frame implying potential danger. This trepidation often appeared as the backdrop for a news item rather than as the main story. </p>
<p>These kinds of stories, we reason, allow government officials to advise the public on safe financial conduct and fintech companies to promote the benefits of their “safe” products. The advice includes guidance on how individuals can enhance their awareness of potential risks, such as fraud, and act with caution. This consumer education approach is typical of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-fight-against-economic-fraud-how-african-countries-are-tackling-the-challenge-161432">anti-fraud measures</a> across sectors.</p>
<p>Most stories about the hazards of fintech conclude that it is nonetheless a beneficial force and that any “hiccups” are minor. These can be soothed through state action (such as regulation) or individual responsibility (such as consumer education). Overall, this reinforces a narrative that it is safe and logical to embed fintech in society: it is “sanitised” through this style of news coverage. </p>
<p>Overall we concluded that the journalism in the African press we examined was largely sanitised. The tone, content and sourcing of reporting, even in the context of well-founded fears about fintech, point to an uncritical promotion of fintech products, firms and the entire industry.</p>
<h2>More critical journalism needed</h2>
<p>The breadth of fintech’s expansion across Africa and extent of potential harm it carries – even if its critics are only minimally correct – indicates a pressing need for further analysis of what story is being told. News audiences, politicians and civil society need to demand a more critical journalism.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223568/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Coverage is celebratory and offers limited cautionary and critical reporting to the public and to policymakers.Cathleen LeGrand, Postgraduate researcher, University of LeedsChris Paterson, Professor of Global Communication, University of LeedsJörg Wiegratz, Lecturer in Political Economy of Global Development, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2250352024-03-08T16:20:15Z2024-03-08T16:20:15ZImaginary: I research imaginary friends – here’s what the horror film gets right<p>I was hesitant to watch Imaginary. Not only because horror movies are often too scary for me, but also because, for the better part of my adult life, I’ve researched and studied the way children invent imaginary friends and there is widespread misunderstanding of what is perfectly normal play behaviour. </p>
<p>These misunderstanding sometimes lead people to think imaginary friends have supernatural explanations – especially when the typical play involves seeing and talking to things that are inanimate. But I was pleased to find that overall, the film is unusually well informed.</p>
<p>The movie’s main focus is an imaginary friend. He turns up unexpectedly after a family moves into the step mum’s childhood home – but soon after this, things start to get scary. </p>
<p>The film features a little-known form of imaginary companion – toys or dolls. In my own lectures I often ask for a show of hands for those who had imaginary friends as children. Typically, only a few students will raise their hand. But after explaining that the definition also includes dolls or toys imbued with personality the lecture hall usually gets louder and many more hands shoot up. </p>
<p>Both completely invisible beings and personified objects fall under the umbrella of imaginary companions. This is because creating invisible and personified companions involves creating, and interacting with, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.11.046">another mind</a>.</p>
<p>Another accurate element of the film is the adult experience of imaginary companions. One of the adult characters (who I can’t name without spoiling the plot) had an imaginary companion in the past, but did not remember them until they were reminded later on in the movie. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Trailer for Imaginary.</span></figcaption>
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<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.11.046">Age affects the memory</a> of our childhood imagination. The older we get, the more likely we are to forget. Even the organisers of studies of children sometimes consult parents or guardians to determine if there was an imaginary companion that children <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.349">do not recall</a> immediately. </p>
<p>Women and only or first-born children are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.11.046">more likely</a> to create imaginary beings in childhood – and the film follows this pattern. </p>
<p>The presence of a companion in and of itself has been found to influence later adult life. Those that had imaginary companions in childhood are more likely to <a href="https://doi.org/10.2466/02.04.10.PR0.107.4.163-172">have creative jobs</a> in adulthood. There are also accounts of imaginary companions beyond childhood. One large study of adults found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01665">7% of their respondents</a> reported still having these imaginary beings in their lives.</p>
<h2>When imaginary friends seem sinister</h2>
<p>Something else Imaginary gets right is that invisible friends can easily be interpreted as eerie or supernatural. The reason that we scientists call imaginary friends by another name, imaginary companions, is because they are not always friends. </p>
<p>Some children have companions that are disobedient or even mean. This type of imaginary creature is not an indication of having a mental health issue, or any other problem. But the relationships between children and their imaginary companions fall on a continuum where some are quite agreeable and likeable while others are not.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.11.046">Research indicates</a> that the more that children play and interact with imaginary companions the <a href="https://doi.org/10.2190/FTG3-Q9T0-7U26-5Q5X">more autonomous</a> they may be becoming in their minds. This phenomenon is called the “illusion of independent agency”, and it applies to imaginary beings that are mean and vengeful, as well as ones that are compassionate and caring. </p>
<p>For a child, this might feel as if they are not in control of the companion’s actions or words. It could also feel like the being could surprise them, or even have an ability to learn things that the child doesn’t yet know. For example, in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/icd.2390">one of my studies</a>, a child explained that when her parents are not looking, her imaginary companion teaches her maths. In some situations where a companion might be mean to a child, it could be upsetting. </p>
<p>But in reality, the child is still controlling the companion, they’re just not realising that the companion is not its own person. According to cognitive scientist <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.11.046">Jim Davies</a>, this should only happen when the imagined character is played with over time and understood by their creator, but would not be likely in a new creation. </p>
<h2>Imaginary friends in the film</h2>
<p>There are some scenes in Imaginary where the young girl, Alice (Pyper Braun), is talking to her imaginary companion and making responses as well. She is completely alone and doesn’t know anyone else is watching her. </p>
<p>Although it may look a bit creepy, this is actually a very accurate portrayal of companion play. The type of speech that Alice is engaging in when they are talking to and fro in conversation with their imaginary being is called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1655-8_10">“private speech”</a>. </p>
<p>Private speech is thought to be imperative in the formation of our verbal thoughts and links our inner dialogue to words that we use in our social world. In <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-33227-002">one of my own studies</a>, we found that children with imaginary companions not only showed more private speech than their peers, but their private speech was developmentally more sophisticated. </p>
<p>Of course as the film goes on there are much less realistic and accurate portrayals of imaginary companions – but that makes sense for a horror film. In the real world, children’s imaginary friends are usually nothing to be afraid of. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paige Davis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some children have companions that are disobedient or even mean.Paige Davis, Lecturer in Psychology, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2225592024-02-29T17:37:30Z2024-02-29T17:37:30ZThree ways climate change is pushing butterflies and moths to their limits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573808/original/file-20240206-27-tmjdur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Like half of UK butterflies and moths, the high brown fritillary is a specialist feeder. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/high-brown-fritillary-butterfly-on-pink-460865704">Roman Malanchuk/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In any competition, there are winners and losers. In the race to adjust to a changing climate, some butterflies seem to be doing well. But others, less so. </p>
<p>The brown hairstreak has been reported to be doing well <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/31/brown-hairstreak-rare-butterfly-quietly-retaking-london">around London</a> and the UK population has been stable <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/the-state-of-britains-butterflies">since the 1980s</a>. Meanwhile, the comma butterfly boasts a <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/state-of-uk-butterflies-2022">94% range expansion since the 1970s</a>, and is now a familiar sight across England, Scotland and southern Wales. </p>
<p>This uplifting news is masking the plight of the UK’s other 57 breeding butterfly species. Butterfly Conservation’s <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/the-state-of-britains-butterflies">2022 report</a> painted a grim picture. Since the 1980s, 80% of butterfly species have decreased in abundance, distribution or both. </p>
<p>The situation isn’t looking much better for moths, close cousins of the butterflies, with a 33% decrease in abundance of macromoths (larger moths) over the <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/StateofMothsReport2021.pdf">last 50 years</a>. Eight UK butterfly species are listed as endangered and a further 16 are vulnerable. </p>
<p>Only 29 species are classed as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12582">least concern</a>. So, while there are some winners, there are also many types of butterflies and moths that are clearly struggling to survive in our changing climate. </p>
<p><a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/recording-and-monitoring">Citizen science</a> tells us a lot about how butterfly numbers and distributions have changed since the 1970s, and sheds light on what drives some butterfly species to decline while others thrive. </p>
<h2>1. Butterflies are picky eaters</h2>
<p>Like half of the UK’s butterfly species, the high brown fritillary is a specialist. As a caterpillar, it depends on only one or a few plants to power its growth. The high brown fritillary relies on violets, which are mostly found in coppiced woodland and on sun-drenched slopes. Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management, involving cutting trees down to stumps to maintain the woodland and encourage new growth.</p>
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<p><em>Do the seasons feel increasingly weird to you? You’re not alone. Climate change is distorting nature’s calendar, causing plants to flower early and animals to emerge at the wrong time.</em></p>
<p><em>This article is part of a series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/wild-seasons-152175?utm_source=InArticleTop&utm_medium=TCUK&utm_campaign=WS">Wild Seasons</a>, on how the seasons are changing – and what they may eventually look like.</em></p>
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<p>Changes in land management, like the decline in coppicing, intensified agriculture and urbanisation, have diminished these habitats and their host plants. This endangered butterfly was once found throughout the UK, but is now restricted to only a handful of sites and conservationists are working hard to <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/high-brown-fritillary">conserve this species</a>. </p>
<h2>2. Some don’t like it hot or cold</h2>
<p>The wall brown, like <a href="https://catalogue.ceh.ac.uk/documents/5b5a13b6-2304-47e3-9c9d-35237d1232c6">most of the UK’s butterflies</a>, should spend winter as a caterpillar, or in a cocoon it will emerge from after April. But mild weather in autumn and winter means that wall brown adults are emerging from their cocoons in September and October. </p>
<p>At this time, it’s likely too cold for the adults, there aren’t other wall browns to mate with or there aren’t enough suitable plants for their caterpillars to eat before winter. Because these adults aren’t able to reproduce successfully, fewer caterpillars survive to become butterflies the following spring – a phenomenon researchers have called a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.02066">developmental trap</a>. This is contributing to the decline of wall brown. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Small brown butterflu with orange and black spots on wings, wings open as it rests on grass" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573810/original/file-20240206-22-2k6odo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The rare mountain ringlet butterfly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rare-mountain-ringlet-butterfly-erebia-epiphron-600627353">Sandra Standbridge/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Warmer summers also pose a problem, with temperatures in the UK soaring last <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2023/2023-was-second-warmest-year-on-record-for-uk">September</a>. Unlike us, butterflies and other insects have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13319">limited ways to keep cool</a>. </p>
<p>To cool down they angle their wings to not catch the direct sun and can also choose shady spots where it is often cooler. But butterflies and moths are very <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12594">sensitive to the weather</a> and extreme temperatures can cause <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3588">early death in butterflies</a>. </p>
<p>There are also more subtle effects of these bursts of high temperatures. In <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01047-0">fruit flies</a> and <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/2688-8319.12303">other insects</a>, fertility is often reduced at temperatures lower than the lethal limit. This means that while butterflies may survive heat waves, their fertility could be reduced and this could lead to longterm population declines. </p>
<p>Understanding the effects of temperature on fertility in butterflies and moths is clearly a key priority and is at the forefront of ecological research. </p>
<h2>3. Small ranges make survival tricky</h2>
<p>The mountain ringlet is a <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/">near-threatened</a> species that faces a different challenge. Currently only found in the Scottish Highlands and the Lake District, it lives at altitudes above 350 meters, where the air is cooler and the grass it depends on, <em>Nardus stricta</em>, flourishes. </p>
<p>Over time, these mountainous refuges will become less hospitable. Without cooler climes to retreat to, the mountain ringlet and other range-restricted butterflies may find themselves without a home. </p>
<p>The adonis blue (currently listed as vulnerable) is currently only seen in the south of England. As our climate warms the species may shift northwards, increasing its population. It thrives on horseshoe vetch, a plant that’s common on chalk and limestone grasslands. </p>
<p>But this butterfly is a real home body. It’s very <a href="https://www.eje.cz/pdfs/eje/2014/04/12.pdf">sedentary and has a low tendency to disperse</a> so it might not move north as the climate changes. Only time will tell. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bright blue butterfly on grassy plant, burry green background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573816/original/file-20240206-29-u3frse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The rare adonis blue has a limited range and is only found in the south of England.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/adonis-blue-lysandra-bellargus-known-polyommatus-2418138073">Creative image dealer/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What do these trends tell us?</h2>
<p>Because butterflies and moths are sensitive to environmental fluctuations, they act as excellent bioindicators for assessing the health of ecosystems. Declines in butterfly and moth populations have serious implications.</p>
<p>There are noticeably fewer butterflies and moths for you and I to watch in our gardens, parks and the beautiful countryside. Butterflies and moths play a vital role in pollinating wild and crop plants including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10376">strawberries, cucumbers and apples</a>. </p>
<p>Many animals, including bats, birds and other insects rely on butterflies, moths and their caterpillars as a food source. The abundance and timing of caterpillars determine when some songbirds lay their eggs, so these changing trends may alter <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29152888/">longterm bird populations</a>. </p>
<p>That said, it’s not all doom and gloom. <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/our-work">Butterfly Conservation</a> runs a UK-wide conservation programme, targeting 200 priority landscapes for threatened butterflies and moths. Citizen science surveys, including the <a href="https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/">big butterfly count</a>, help scientists understand longterm trends in butterfly populations. </p>
<p>And you, as gardeners and nature lovers, can get involved with citizen science activities, cultivate shady butterfly-friendly habitats and help preserve urban green spaces that act as havens for these insects.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222559/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Duncan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Climate change puts pressure on British butterflies and moths - sometimes pushing them to the edges of their geographical range or shifting the timing of their life cycle so they can’t feed.Elizabeth Duncan, Associate Professor of Zoology, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2227472024-02-27T02:16:02Z2024-02-27T02:16:02ZTidak hanya menyumbang devisa, pekerja rumah tangga migran juga berikan kontribusi politik<p>Gegap gempita sosialisasi dan kampanye politik Pemilihan Umum (Pemilu) Indonesia 2024 yang telah berlangsung di dalam negeri juga bergema di luar negeri, khususnya di negara-negara penempatan pekerja rumah tangga (PRT) migran.</p>
<p>Pada Pemilu kali ini, misalnya, PRT migran berpartisipasi aktif dalam melakukan mobilisasi politik untuk mendukung pasangan calon presiden dengan melakukan kegiatan deklarasi, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjh64uUsKaEAxUl8AIHHefUBqEQtwJ6BAgVEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D3MDpPQkjiXc&usg=AOvVaw3UQ6TcJC2jnMtO8510dGV6&opi=89978449">seperti yang terjadi di Hong Kong</a>. Mereka pun antusias untuk berbondong-bondong menuju tempat pemungutan suara, seperti yang terjadi di <a href="https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/02/15/voting-a-breeze-for-indonesians-in-kl">Kuala Lumpur</a> dan <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwClZeLc4RY">Singapura.</a></p>
<p>Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa PRT migran turut terlibat dalam pemenangan kandidat dalam Pemilu Indonesia. Keterlibatan ini dapat disebut sebagai remitansi politik. </p>
<p>Remitansi ini sangat krusial dalam kontestasi politik tanah air mengingat jumlah pekerja migran perempuan yang bekerja sebagai PRT cukup signifikan. </p>
<p><a href="https://bp2mi.go.id/uploads/statistik/images/data_09-02-2024_Lapbul_Januari_2024_plus_Infografis_Analisis_plus_TTD.pdf">Data Badan Perlindungan Pekerja Migran Indonesia (BP2MI)</a> menunjukkan bahwa dari lebih dari 27.000 penempatan sepanjang Januari 2024, sekitar 65% merupakan pekerja perempuan yang banyak berprofesi sebagai PRT. Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong dan Singapura adalah empat negara penempatan migran yang menyumbang pemilih luar negeri <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1451442/indonesia-registered-2024-election-overseas-voters-by-city/">terbanyak</a>. </p>
<p>Berikut, saya akan menjelaskan apa itu remitansi politik dan cara kerjanya, serta tantangan yang dihadapi dalam mobilisasi para pekerja migran ini.</p>
<h2>Tak hanya pahlawan devisa</h2>
<p>Tidak seperti remitansi ekonomi, yakni ketika PRT migran secara teratur mengirimkan uang pada keluarga yang ditinggalkan di Indonesia, remitansi politik menekankan pada proses transfer ide, prinsip, dan kegiatan-kegiatan politik oleh migran ke negara asal. </p>
<p>Remitansi politik ini bersifat <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2018.1554282">multidireksional</a>. Ia tidak hanya mengalir dari negara penempatan ke negara asal, tetapi juga sebaliknya. Tak hanya itu, remitansi juga melibatkan aliran ide demokrasi antarnegara penempatan migran.</p>
<p>Remitansi politik PRT migran bukan hal baru. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2018.1554291">Sebuah penelitian tahun 2019</a> menjelaskan bahwa PRT migran banyak belajar tentang kesadaran kolektif dan hak-hak buruh migran ketika terlibat dalam kegiatan advokasi pekerja migran di negara penempatan. </p>
<p>Ketika kembali ke Indonesia, mereka memulai inisiatif untuk mendirikan organisasi serupa untuk perwujudan hak-hak purna migran dalam <a href="https://www.filia.org.uk/latest-news/2021/6/02/we-want-to-be-treated-with-dignity-my-experiences-as-a-migrant-worker-and-an-activist">bentuk aktivisme sipil</a>.</p>
<p>Selain itu, remitansi berupa pemberian suara ke negara asal juga memberikan dampak berarti pada pemenangan calon dalam bentuk partisipasi politik formal. Berdasarkan <a href="https://kawalpemilu.org/about">hasil pantauan Kawal Pemilu 2024</a>, misalnya, pasangan Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka unggul sebesar <a href="https://kawalpemilu.org/h/990701">60,90% suara</a> di Singapura, <a href="https://kawalpemilu.org/h/991401">70,85%</a> di Hong Kong, dan <a href="https://kawalpemilu.org/h/991301">75,15%</a> di Taiwan. </p>
<p>Ketiga negara penempatan tersebut memiliki jumlah pemilih perempuan yang <a href="https://opendata.kpu.go.id/dataset/e3fb68431-1324286c8-4586c0520-440c4">melampaui jumlah pemilih laki-laki</a>. Sebagai contoh jumlah pemilih perempuan di Taiwan sebesar 155.490 dan pemilih laki laki sebesar 1551. Adapun di Hong Kong, jumlah pemilih perempuan sebesar 155.490, jauh dibandingkan laki-laki yang hanya sejumlah 1.551 orang. </p>
<p>Banyaknya jumlah pemilih perempuan tersebut tak lepas dari suara PRT migran. Sepanjang <a href="https://bp2mi.go.id/uploads/statistik/images/data_07-02-2024_Laporan_Publikasi_Tahun_2023.pdf">2021-2023</a>, misalnya, total PRT migran tercatat sebesar 198.538 orang, dengan Hong Kong dan Taiwan sebagai negara penempatan tertinggi tujuan pekerja migran Indonesia.</p>
<h2>Bentuk mobilisasi pekerja migran</h2>
<p>Mobilisasi politik lintas batas negara cukup masif dilakukan baik dari pekerja migran sendiri ataupun dari aktor-aktor politik tanah air. </p>
<p>Berdasarkan hasil pantauan saya, proses-proses remitansi politik ini difasilitasi oleh beberapa hal:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Penggunaan sosial media. Penggunaan sosial media dan alat komunikasi pesan singkat <a href="https://e-journal.unair.ac.id/MKP/article/view/15969">sangat lazim digunakan oleh PRT</a>
untuk tetap terhubung dengan keluarga di Indonesia. Hal ini juga dimungkinkan digunakan oleh mereka untuk mengakses konten politik tanah air yang dapat memengaruhi keputusan-keputusan mereka dalam memilih calon presiden.</p></li>
<li><p>Relasi dengan keluarga. PRT migran akan mengembangkan <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/0966369X.2016.1249349?needAccess=true">pengasuhan jarak jauh</a> sebagai bentuk negosiasi peran ketika meninggalkan anak-anak mereka. Proses komunikasi untuk mendukung hal ini, termasuk memberi kabar dengan interaksi yang intensif dengan keluarga di Indonesia, tidak jarang akan mengarah pada pembicaraan mengenai situasi politik tanah air dan preferensi kandidat ketika Pemilu. PRT migran dapat menyesuaikan preferensi pilihan keluarga menjadi pilihannya atau sebaliknya.</p></li>
<li><p>Keberadaan organisasi dan asosiasi pekerja migran di luar negeri, seperti <a href="http://www.jaringanburuhmigran.org/p/koalisi-tenaga-kerja-indonesia-di.html">Koalisi Tenaga Kerja Indonesia di Hong Kong (KOTKIHO)</a>, dapat memfasilitasi informasi mengenai Pemilu, seperti informasi pendaftaran pemilih atau sosialisasi metode-metode pemungutan suara. <a href="https://comparativemigrationstudies.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40878-019-0112-z#Tab1"><em>Hometown associations</em> (ikatan kampung halaman)</a> dalam bentuk formal eksplisit ini dapat menggerakkan aktivitas politik migran untuk tanah kelahirannya. </p></li>
<li><p>Kehadiran partai politik cabang luar negeri. Seiring banyaknya penduduk Indonesia bermigrasi ke luar negeri, partai politik beradaptasi dengan membentuk cabang di luar negeri untuk menjangkau pemilih diaspora. <a href="https://www.kompas.id/baca/polhuk/2021/12/04/pdi-p-lantik-pengurus-di-11-negara-sasar-pemilih-diaspora">PDI-P</a>, misalnya, melantik dewan pimpinan luar negeri di 11 negara pada 2021.</p></li>
<li><p>Kesadaran politik PRT migran. Kehadiran <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/212688189.pdf">asosiasi pekerja dan organisasi migran</a> sedikit banyak memengaruhi kesadaran PRT migran untuk menyoal pemenuhan hak-haknya. Hal ini turut menstimulasi kesadaran mereka dalam mengidentifikasi relasi kuasa dan kekuasaan, termasuk dalam politik elektoral tanah air. Hasilnya, pekerja migran terdorong untuk mencari pemimpin dan mengambil keputusan untuk ambil ataupun tidak ambil bagian dalam proses ini.</p></li>
</ol>
<h2>Bukan tanpa hambatan</h2>
<p>Remitansi suara PRT migran sangat krusial dalam kontestasi politik tanah air, mengingat jumlah mereka cukup signifikan di negara-negara penempatan. Proses-proses ini tentunya menunjukkan indikasi positif mengenai peningkatan jumlah pemilih dan partisipasi politik di luar negeri.</p>
<p>Namun, proses mobilisasi politik ini tentunya tak selalu mulus, misalnya dalam mengakses informasi mengenai pemilu. PRT migran misalnya, umumnya tinggal <a href="https://antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/678">bersama majikan</a>. Dengan sifat kerja yang terisolasi di dalam rumah, mereka kurang memiliki kebebasan untuk bersosialisasi dengan sesama migran, termasuk dalam mengikuti perkembangan politik di tanah air. Selain itu, sifat kerja yang tergantung pada izin majikan juga membatasi mereka ketika akan keluar rumah, termasuk ketika akan menuju ke tempat pemungutan suara.</p>
<p>Terlepas dari itu semua, setidaknya ada tiga hal yang penting diperhatikan penyelenggara pemilu luar negeri, pekerja dan masyarakat dalam mobilisasi suara yang menyasar PRT migran. </p>
<p><strong>Pertama</strong>, mekanisme <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-6779-3_6">calo suara</a> harus disikapi secara kritis. Para aktor politik yang menggunakan relasi kompensasi uang untuk mengajak keterlibatan migran juga kerap ditemui di luar negeri.</p>
<p><strong>Kedua</strong>, mekanisme pemungutan suara di luar negeri yang perlu <a href="https://www.kompas.id/baca/english/2024/02/10/problem-daftar-pemilih-hingga-kecurangan-bayangi-pemilu-di-luar-negeri?open_from=Translator_Mark">diawasi and dievaluasi</a> untuk menimalisasi kecurangan Pemilu. Laporan Migrant Care menunjukkan mekanisme pemungutan suara di luar negeri yang <a href="https://migrantcare.net/2024/01/catatan-awal-migrant-care-kerawanan-penyelenggaraan-pemilu-2024-di-luar-negeri-ancaman-hak-terhadap-demokrasi-pekerja-migran-indonesia/">sangat mempersulit</a> pekerja migran. </p>
<p>Mekanisme pemungutan suara melalui kotak pos juga menimbulkan masalah teknis. <a href="https://en.tempo.co/read/1823393/indonesian-migrant-workers-say-general-elections-in-hong-kong-have-been-chaotic">Di Hong Kong</a>, contohnya, terjadi pengiriman surat suara hingga dua kali untuk pemilih yang sama dan bahkan ada yang tidak menerima sama sekali. </p>
<p><strong>Terakhir</strong>, implikasi paling substantif dari mobilisasi elektoral dan remitansi politik PRT migran ini adalah keharusan untuk menerapkan moral etis para elit untuk konsisten menjamin perlindungan Pekerja Migran Indonesia (PMI) sejak keberangkatan hingga kepulangan dari segala unsur dan bentuk manipulasi dan eksploitasi, termasuk terkait kepentingan elektoral di tanah air.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222747/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ayu Kusumastuti tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham, atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi selain yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>Pekerja migran, termasuk pekerja rumah tangga, turut meramaikan rangkaian Pemilu 2024. Keterlibatan mereka tak terbatas hak pilih, namun juga mobilisasi politik dan transfer ide.Ayu Kusumastuti, Postgraduate Researcher in Sociology and Social Policy, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2233992024-02-26T13:09:06Z2024-02-26T13:09:06ZRelationship anarchy is about creating bonds that suit people, not social conventions<p>By its very nature, friendship is <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/anarchy">anarchic</a>: it has few rules and is not regulated by the government. Our friendships are usually egalitarian, flexible and non-exclusive. We treat our friends as individuals and care about their interests. We support them and don’t tell them what to do; our friendships fit around, rather than govern, our lives. </p>
<p>But interestingly, friendship is the exception when it comes to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/10/people-who-prioritize-friendship-over-romance/616779/">intimacy</a>. Few of us want anarchic love lives, or to treat our children as equals. We gravitate instead towards more rigid, hierarchical, structured forms of intimacy in these relationships. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/i-have-4-partners-and-several-comet-romances-this-is-what-its-like-to-be-a-relationship-anarchist_uk_64ba8dcfe4b093f07cb48251">Relationship anarchists</a> do not hold with these ideas. They argue we must try harder to relate as equals, reject hierarchy between relationships and accept that intimate life can take many forms. </p>
<p>Critics would suggest relationship anarchy is just a lifestyle – an attempt to evade commitment. But the concept is best understood as political, and a development of the core themes of anarchist thinking. This reflects the values and practices involved, and reminds us that the flourishing of intimacy might require radical change. </p>
<p>These core themes include rejecting the idea that there should be one dominant form of authority – like a president, boss or patriarch; wariness of social class or status which arbitrarily privileges some people other others; and a deep respect for the idea that individuals should be able to govern their own lives and support each other. Applied to intimate relationships, these themes define relationship anarchy. </p>
<p>But political anarchism is not above violence and disorder. As someone whose work explores the philosophy of love, sex and relationships – and different approaches to intimacy – I view it as an attitude towards our social predicament where people try to relate as equals and reject unnecessary constraints. </p>
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</figure>
<h2>Equals without constraints</h2>
<p>Relationship anarchists critique society and imagine alternatives. Their main target is the idea that there are different kinds of relationships and some are more important than others.</p>
<p>They reject how relationships appear in the media; good relationships needn’t last forever, be exclusive, between two people, domestic, involve romantic love or practical entanglement. This critical eye also extends to our attitudes towards children, animals and the environment. </p>
<p>Relationship anarchy’s aversion to hierarchy separates it from <a href="https://www.womenshealthmag.com/relationships/a46109633/what-is-a-swinger/">swinging</a> or forms of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/japp.12240">polyamory</a> which distinguish between sex and romance, <a href="https://www.morethantwo.com/polyconfigurations.html">“primary” and “secondary” partners</a>, or which think the government should privilege some relationships through marriage law. </p>
<p>The practical heart of relationship anarchy is the idea that we design relationships to suit us, not mirror social expectations. Do we want to share a home? Is sexual intimacy important? If so, what kind exactly? This process also involves creating a framework to guide our broader intimate life. How will we choose together? How and when can we revise our framework? What about disagreements?</p>
<p>Relationship anarchists will disagree about the content of these frameworks. Can two relationship anarchists agree to be romantically exclusive, for example, set rules for each other, or decide to never revise their framework? Should they retain, repurpose or reject common labels such as “partner”?</p>
<p>My own view is that agreements are acceptable if they support our <a href="https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=romantic-agency-loving-well-in-modern-life--9781509551521">ability to be intimate</a>, but we should embrace “minimal non-monogamy” and remain open to the possibility our desires will change. </p>
<h2>Community and self-development</h2>
<p>Community is central to relationship anarchy. From queer feminist Andie Nordgren’s “<a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/andie-nordgren-the-short-instructional-manifesto-for-relationship-anarchy">short instructional manifesto</a>” – which jumpstarted relationship anarchy – to <a href="https://ia803109.us.archive.org/14/items/rad2019zine/RAD%202019%20Zine%20for%20online%20reading.pdf">zines</a> like Communities Not Couples, the <a href="https://violetbeau00.medium.com/relationship-anarchy-smorgasbord-practical-applications-78ad8d911b0b">relationship “smorgasbord”</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/decolonizing.love/?hl=en">social media influencers</a>, relationship anarchists educate each other and share resources. </p>
<p>They also embrace <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/2722-mutual-aid">supporting each other</a> when social institutions are inadequate. This might involve providing money, establishing accessible community spaces, sourcing contraception and caregiving.</p>
<p>Relationship anarchy requires self-development. Since we are shaped by our social context, we often lack the skills needed to overhaul our relationships, whether that’s communicating effectively or managing emotions such as jealousy and insecurity.</p>
<p>Relationship anarchists embrace the idea that we cannot behave now in ways that would be <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/Prefigurative+Politics:+Building+Tomorrow+Today-p-9781509535910">unacceptable in our ideal society</a>. We cannot be callous or dishonest in trying to bring about open and equal relationships. Instead, trying to embody our desired changes in our actions helps us develop the skills needed to ensure these changes are sustainable. </p>
<p>Talk of relationship anarchy often prompts objections. Liberals think government involvement in private life prevents harm, and that common social norms and ideals of relationships prevent anxiety. A relationship anarchist would ask us to consider the real source of these worries. </p>
<p>We are well able to harm each other within existing government frameworks: police, immigration, social and health services often harm people in unconventional relationships through policies that <a href="https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/21/orphaned-by-decree-italy-same-sex-parents-react-losing-rights">do not recognise the family life of non-heterosexual people</a>. Or which make it hard for immigrant families to be together, or deny visitation rights to unmarried people, for example.</p>
<p>Community networks of care are active in resisting and repairing these harms, and their efforts are evidence that we can successfully oversee our own needs when it comes to intimacy. </p>
<p>Similarly, a more active approach to our relationships, where we reflect on our needs and desires, set boundaries and communicate, <a href="https://scribepublications.co.uk/books-authors/books/polysecure-9781914484957">builds confidence and decreases anxiety</a>. A realistic and flexible attitude towards intimacy makes it harder to trip on the <a href="https://blog.oup.com/2019/09/why-love-ends/">gap between ideals and reality</a>.</p>
<p>Realism, not revolution, is at the heart of relationship anarchy. Social criticism can be radical – ranging from love and domesticity to childcare, companionship and co-operation – but efforts to remould our relationships should be done with care. We can both expose social contradictions and oppressive laws and accept common ground with other views and initiatives.</p>
<p>Most of all, we should be wary of attempts to cast relationship anarchy as a fad or lifestyle. It is political – a commitment to nurture agency when it comes to intimacy. Like conversation, relationship anarchy is a process; it can be messy, loud, and unpredictable, but it can change us entirely.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223399/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Brunning does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Relationship anarchists argue that we should relate to one another as equals and accept that intimacy can take many forms.Luke Brunning, Lecturer in Applied Ethics, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2184012024-02-13T10:32:16Z2024-02-13T10:32:16ZThe problems with dating apps and how they could be fixed – two relationship experts discuss<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574143/original/file-20240207-18-gbocbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=51%2C28%2C3776%2C2126&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/augmented-reality-dating-concept-beautiful-lgbt-2301464957">Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Hundreds of millions of people worldwide <a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/7443/online-dating/#topicOverview">use dating apps</a>. But only <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/02/02/key-findings-about-online-dating-in-the-u-s/">half of users</a> say that they have had positive experiences. Indeed, a shocking 11% of female users under 50 have received threats of harm. Surely there’s a better way to build these apps.</p>
<p>Dating sites and apps have made it easier to find sexual and romantic partners, expanding the pool of potential mates to include the entire internet. About 10% of heterosexual people and 24% of LGB people have met their long-term partner <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/02/02/key-findings-about-online-dating-in-the-u-s/">online</a>. But apps have also introduced (or modernised) many ethical concerns associated with dating.</p>
<p>Before dating apps, many people met partners through family, friends or work, which meant that potential partners were often “vetted” by people we trusted. When you meet someone on an app, you often know nothing about them except what they choose to tell you. Making the pursuit of intimacy more <a href="https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=the-new-laws-of-love-online-dating-and-the-privatization-of-intimacy--9781509543519">private and individual</a> has increased the potential for negative or harmful experiences. </p>
<p>Apps help you control how you present yourself and refine your dating pool using filters. Many see this as a helpful and liberating tool to clarify their identity and meet like-minded people. There are even <a href="https://leftyapp.com/">dating apps</a> exclusive to people with certain <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-parallel-economy-the-rightwing-movement-creating-a-safe-haven-for-deplatformed-conservative-influencers-201999">political views</a>.</p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/valentines-day-research-backed-tips-for-dating-app-success-199059?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Valentine’s Day: research-backed tips for dating app success</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/online-dating-fatigue-why-some-people-are-turning-to-face-to-face-apps-first-184910?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Online dating fatigue – why some people are turning to face-to-face apps first</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/love-island-what-the-show-can-teach-young-people-about-commitment-185459?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Love Island – what the show can teach young people about commitment</a></em></p>
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<p>But the more discerning you can be, the more you may contribute – often unwittingly – to unjust discrimination. Many people are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15240657.2021.1961498">swiped away</a> or filtered out on grounds of race, ability, class and appearance. For example, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/14/8727">99.8%</a> of young black male sexual minority users have experienced some form of racialised sexual discrimination. And only <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-02726-002">3% of contacts initiated by white people</a> are to black people. Disabled people have reported receiving <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11195-022-09771-x#Sec42">“insulting, pitying, or aggressive comments”</a>, or doubts about their ability to have sex.</p>
<p>Apps are designed carefully to hold your attention using <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAzXz005b7U">elements and rewards</a> that make using them feel like playing a game. This can distance your behaviour from your values. You might want a few, caring and nuanced interactions, or committed romantic love, yet find yourself <a href="https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/your-happiness-was-hacked/">thrilled by notifications</a>, or drawn into numerous sporadic conversations in ways you find alienating. Ghosting – suddenly leaving an interaction without explanation – is arguably disrespectful, but it <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0265407520970287">can seem logical</a> when apps funnel you into conversations that lead nowhere or to harassment. </p>
<p>Using apps even morphs into an activity in its own right, becoming less a way of meeting people and more a source of attention, validation and sexual intrigue in your pocket.</p>
<p>Finally, dating apps encourage users to objectify each other through rapid judgment based on appearance. From rapid swiping with little information beyond a picture on apps like Tinder, to Grindr’s <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/grindr-gay-men-body-image-1234733520/">grid of torsos</a>, dating apps make it easy to dismiss with a glance. </p>
<h2>Can dating apps be better?</h2>
<p>We are researchers of love and relationships who have studied <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003014331-19/online-dating-love-robots-natasha-mckeever">online dating</a>, <a href="https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=romantic-agency-loving-well-in-modern-life--9781509551521">the idea of compatibility</a>, the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/japp.12157">nature of love</a>, <a href="https://thamesandhudson.com/does-monogamy-work-9780500295694">non-monogamy</a> and the needs of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/japp.12472">sexual minority groups</a>. </p>
<p>Our continuing exploration of these topics has convinced us that the people who design dating apps could do more to improve the experience for users. This is why, at the <a href="https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/homepage/420/centre_for_love_sex_and_relationships">Centre for Love, Sex, and Relationships</a> at the University of Leeds, we are also launching a new research project on ethical dating online to explore how apps can become a better experience for everyone.</p>
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<img alt="A young man sitting on the floor against a couch, looking at his phone with a disappointed and confused look on his face" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574146/original/file-20240207-20-79hrrg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574146/original/file-20240207-20-79hrrg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574146/original/file-20240207-20-79hrrg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574146/original/file-20240207-20-79hrrg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574146/original/file-20240207-20-79hrrg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574146/original/file-20240207-20-79hrrg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574146/original/file-20240207-20-79hrrg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Dating apps can be a source of distress.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/single-sad-man-checking-mobile-phone-603284075">Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Some apps have already started to do this. Bumble only allows women to make the first move and has added a feature that <a href="https://bumble.com/the-buzz/privatedetector">automatically blurs</a> nude images, giving users a choice over whether they see the photo or not. Tinder has <a href="https://www.tinderpressroom.com/2023-02-07-Tinder-Gives-Members-More-Control-with-Expanded-Safety-Features-and-Partnership">added new safety features</a>, such as an AI that detects if a message may have offensive or sexually explicit language, and prompting users to <a href="https://www.tinderpressroom.com/2021-05-20-Tinder-Introduces-Are-You-Sure-,-an-Industry-First-Feature-That-is-Stopping-Harassment-Before-It-Starts">think twice</a> before sending. </p>
<p>But they could take it further. Enhanced safety features could help people report harassment. Apps could do more to inform users when someone is <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/tinder-chat-gpt-ai-matches-b2320971.html">using AI</a> in their interactions, or make it easier to get <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/oct/23/meet-the-parents-tinder-introduces-matchmaker-approval-tool-for-friends-and-family">feedback</a> from friends, family or other users. These improvements might make it less likely that users will meet up with dangerous people.</p>
<p>Dating apps could give users more information about their preferences and behaviour. Sporadic statistical overviews, or “end of year round-ups” a la <a href="https://newsroom.spotify.com/2023-wrapped/">Spotify</a> could help users see whether they are as open minded as they want to be, or just choosing people from a similar racial or class background. </p>
<p>Finally, apps can “nudge” users towards more ethical behaviour, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/oct/31/ghosting-busters-why-tech-companies-trying-stop-blanking-each-other">encouraging them</a> not to ghost someone, for example, or enforcing a cooling-off period for serial swipers. </p>
<p>While this might feel intrusive, remember that dating apps are <a href="https://uxplanet.org/how-tinder-design-hooks-you-up-60201d78501f">already</a> doing this – for example, sending notifications encouraging you to check the app regularly.</p>
<h2>Be a better dating app user</h2>
<p>There are also steps you can take to interact more ethically on dating apps. Being more aware of your own <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810014001950">biases</a> is a good start. So is trying to be more open to people who don’t conform to what you think you want in a partner (particularly when these preferences might be influenced by biases and stereotypes). </p>
<p>You can also take more care of what you say and do on apps. For example, avoiding <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7037474/">ghosting</a> others unless it’s a response to abusive behaviour. In short, remember that online dating is not just a game, even if it feels like one, and that the images on your phone are – usually – of real people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218401/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some apps are already introducing safety features.Natasha McKeever, Lecturer in Applied Ethics, University of LeedsLuke Brunning, Lecturer in Applied Ethics, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229482024-02-09T16:50:24Z2024-02-09T16:50:24ZModern slavery: how the UK government’s 2023 reforms made it harder for victims to prove they are being exploited<p>As many as <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/modern-slavery-commissioner-home-office-b2491348.html">130,000 people</a> in the UK are trapped in modern slavery, according to the recently appointed independent anti-slavery commissioner, Eleanor Lyons. These people are forced to work in a variety of <a href="https://www.antislavery.org/slavery-today/slavery-uk/#:%7E:text=Criminal%20exploitation%20is%20often%20driven,forced%20labour%20in%20cannabis%20production.">exploitative situations</a>, ranging from cannabis farms to building sites to sex work. </p>
<p>Lyons has been <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/modern-slavery-commissioner-home-office-b2491348.html">raising concerns</a> that the government has cut her budget by almost a fifth, but there have also been serious issues with the system for assessing modern-slavery complaints. Known as the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-trafficking-victims-referral-and-assessment-forms/guidance-on-the-national-referral-mechanism-for-potential-adult-victims-of-modern-slavery-england-and-wales">national referral mechanism</a>, it was reformed by the government in <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/modern-slavery-how-to-identify-and-support-victims/modern-slavery-statutory-guidance-for-england-and-wales-under-s49-of-the-modern-slavery-act-2015-and-non-statutory-guidance-for-scotland-and-northe">January 2023</a> to try and take some administrative pressure away from the Home Office and speed up decision-making. </p>
<p>From <a href="https://business.leeds.ac.uk/research-innovation/dir-record/research-blog/2213/an-update-on-modern-slavery-trends-in-the-uk-analyses-of-uk-national-referral-mechanism-nrm-statistics">our analysis</a> of the data, however, these reforms made the situation for potential victims considerably worse. </p>
<h2>The reforms</h2>
<p>The referral process begins when a potential victim notifies an authority, such as a police force or a charity, that they are in an exploitative work situation. The authority makes an online referral to the Home Office, which then decides whether there are reasonable grounds to believe modern slavery is taking place. </p>
<p>If so, the victim becomes entitled to things like financial assistance and temporary protection from deportation, while the Home Office also instructs the relevant police force to take appropriate action against those being accused of exploitation. </p>
<p>It used to be that the authority, known in <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/modern-slavery-how-to-identify-and-support-victims/modern-slavery-statutory-guidance-for-england-and-wales-under-s49-of-the-modern-slavery-act-2015-and-non-statutory-guidance-for-scotland-and-northe">the guidance</a> as the “first responder”, made the referral purely based on a victim’s story. But following the reforms, they additionally had to provide “objective evidence” such as other eyewitness testimonies or findings from a police investigation. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://nwgnetwork.org/nrm-newsletter-nationality-and-borders-act-2022/">government’s thinking</a> was that this would mean the Home Office wouldn’t need to keep going back to first responders for more information. However, we see several concerning trends. </p>
<p>Until 2022, the number of “reasonable grounds” decisions by the Home Office was steadily increasing. During 2023, it is on course to have declined, as shown by the the chart below (only the first three quarters are available so far). </p>
<p><strong>‘Reasonable grounds’ decisions per year, 2014-23:</strong></p>
<p>The proportion of positive decisions has fallen after years of holding steady, particularly in relation to adult claims, though children are down too. </p>
<p><strong>Positive ‘reasonable grounds’ decisions by age group (%), 2014-23:</strong></p>
<p>The lead time for positive decisions has greatly increased. Decisions previously took four to six days, roughly in line with a Home Office <a href="https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/council-guide-tackling-modern-slavery">target commitment</a> of five working days. It rose to 21 days in the second quarter of 2023 and then 47 days in the third quarter. </p>
<p>This seriously affects potential victims, because without a positive decision, they can only access limited support like emergency accommodation and emergency medical assistance. Managing these increased emergency requirements has also been an added burden for first responders and councils. </p>
<h2>Final-stage decisions</h2>
<p>Once a positive “reasonable grounds” decision has been made, the Home Office needs to make a final decision on a claim. Over the past decade, these “conclusive grounds” decisions have been far slower than initial decisions. In 2019, for instance, there were 9,290 “reasonable grounds” decisions but only 3,615 final decisions (including pending decisions from previous years). The average decision time increased from 105 days in 2014 to 369 days in 2018, then 539 days in 2022. </p>
<p>To reduce the backlog, the Home Office has hired extra staff. This has led to a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/modern-slavery-national-referral-mechanism-and-duty-to-notify-statistics-uk-january-to-march-2023/modern-slavery-national-referral-mechanism-and-duty-to-notify-statistics-uk-quarter-1-2023-january-to-march">significant increase</a> in the number of final-stage decisions since 2022.</p>
<p><strong>Final-stage decisions 2014-23:</strong></p>
<p>The Home Office <a href="https://nwgnetwork.org/nrm-newsletter-nationality-and-borders-act-2022/">has also blamed</a> decision speed on “timely sharing of information” by first responders and potential victims. The 2023 reforms sought to address this not only by increasing the initial referral threshold but also by setting a deadline of 14 days for responders and potential victims providing additional information. </p>
<p>It’s unclear whether this has helped. The average decision time was 566 days in the first quarter of 2023, 451 days in the second quarter and 530 days in the third quarter. That looks like a stabilisation, though we’re still far from the Home Office’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/modern-slavery-how-to-identify-and-support-victims/modern-slavery-statutory-guidance-for-england-and-wales-under-s49-of-the-modern-slavery-act-2015-and-non-statutory-guidance-for-scotland-and-northe">30-day target</a>. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the proportion of positive final decisions dropped. It’s unclear whether this is due to the higher referral threshold, the 14-day deadline or because first responders don’t have the capacity to help victims. </p>
<p>Whatever the case, it’s particularly bad news for immigrant victims, since they can only be given temporary leave to remain in the UK if they have a positive final decision.</p>
<p><strong>Positive final decisions 2014-23 (%)</strong></p>
<h2>Reforms to the reforms</h2>
<p>Within months of the reforms, the government faced <a href="https://hopeforjustice.org/news/uk-home-office-withdraws-harmful-reasonable-grounds-rules-after-legal-challenge/">several legal challenges</a> by slavery claimants who had received negative decisions. The claimants argued that this was despite having made credible cases.</p>
<p>The government responded by agreeing with the legal challenge and <a href="https://www.helenbamber.org/resources/latest-news/new-test-reasonable-grounds-decisions-modern-slavery-guidance-withdrawn">clarifying its guidance</a> in July 2023, in what amounted to a partial U-turn. It emphasised that the Home Office could consider all forms of evidence including the victim’s account, and that in some cases there would be no need for additional evidence. It also made clear that it is the Home Office and not the first responder’s responsibility to collect all available information.</p>
<p>The clarifications probably mean that the lead times for initial and final decisions has peaked. However, a major reversal seems unlikely, and time will tell whether the rate of positive final decisions will return to previous levels. </p>
<p>The government also climbed down over an additional rule introduced as part of the reforms that potential victims with convictions for murder, manslaughter or terrorism-related activities couldn’t benefit from a slavery decision. Instead they were to receive a Home Office <a href="https://nwgnetwork.org/nrm-newsletter-nationality-and-borders-act-2022/">public-order disqualification</a>, terminating <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/63d7ab6fe90e0773d50c752e/Adults_at_risk_Detention_of_victims_of_modern_slavery.pdf">their needs-assessment process</a>. </p>
<p>Between January and September 2023, 334 disqualifications were issued. Again, the policy became the subject of a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jul/26/home-office-ordered-to-change-rules-that-restrict-help-for-trafficking-victims">judicial review</a>, amid concerns that potential victims <a href="https://www.matrixlaw.co.uk/news/high-courts-orders-no-public-order-disqualifications-of-slavery-victims-may-take-place-without-a-risk-assessment-pending-trial/">might have been</a> forced by their exploiter to commit the crimes in question. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/modern-slavery-national-referral-mechanism-and-duty-to-notify-statistics-uk-july-to-september-2023/modern-slavery-national-referral-mechanism-and-duty-to-notify-statistics-uk-quarter-3-2023-july-to-september">government duly stopped</a> issuing disqualifications, though it didn’t help the 334 people excluded under the reforms. The government has also <a href="https://modernslaverypec.org/assets/downloads/Modern-Slavery-PEC-Explainer-Illegal-Migration-Act-v.2.pdf">since introduced</a> new grounds for disqualifications for illegal immigrants. </p>
<p>To see how these changes affect modern slavery decisions in the UK, we’ll be watching the new data closely as it becomes available. In the meantime, the 2023 data reveals the price that potential victims of modern slavery paid for the government’s reforms. It was clearly a policy that did much more harm than good.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222948/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In early 2023 the evidence threshold for making complaints about modern slavery increased. New findings show how it has affected victims’ chances of success.Ying Zhang, Research Assistant in Human Rights, University of LeedsChee Yew Wong, Professor of Supply Chain Management, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2224552024-02-06T12:29:35Z2024-02-06T12:29:35ZE-bikes are freewheeling through rain and over hills, with huge promise for sustainable transport in rural tourist areas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573443/original/file-20240205-21-g9ec3r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research has found that hills and rainy weather are not posing barriers for people wanting to explore rural tourist areas using e-bikes. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/two-cyclists-on-electric-bikes-narrow-1865997586">Paddy Morton/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I first rode an e-bike after a day out exploring the fells on foot a few years ago. Instead of driving back to my accommodation, I travelled 40km through the Lake District on an e-bike and I was surprised by how easy it was, even after a physically demanding day. Since then, I’ve been researching the potential for people to shift from cars to e-bikes and recently found that rural areas have the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X21003401?via%3Dihub">greatest capability</a> to replace car travel and cut carbon emissions. </p>
<p>Most of the Lake District National Park’s <a href="https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/caringfor/state_of_the_park">18 million annual visitors</a> travel by car.
These cars <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0966692399000010?via%3Dihub">create problems</a> with increased greenhouse gas emissions, congestion, pollution, and accidents. High volumes of traffic also <a href="https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=4434">affect ecosystems</a> and can be ugly. All these factors can affect how many people want to visit national parks. </p>
<p>But e-bikes could transform the way people experience rural areas like this, and reduce the negative environmental effects of tourism on rural areas. </p>
<h2>To the hills</h2>
<p>A lot of the previous research about e-bikes as transport focuses on urban areas. With my colleagues Llinos Brown and Noel Cass, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2024.103813">I surveyed</a> around 500 people in the Lake District in 2020 and 2021 about their use of e-bikes. These survey respondents included residents and visitors, e-bike owners and those who didn’t use e-bikes. We asked them about the barriers that limited their use of e-bikes or prevented them shifting trips to e-bikes from other forms of transport. We quizzed them about their desire for services and their attitudes to car restrictions in certain valleys popular with tourists. </p>
<p>One of the most striking findings is that people using e-bikes in the Lake District are riding them a long way in wet, hilly places. So much transport research regards hills and rain as barriers to active travel. But that’s not so in this case. One person said hiring e-bikes for the first time was a revelation, even in the rain. Another family found it really easy to get up the hills, even with children tagging along behind the bikes. </p>
<p>The average Briton rides <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-travel-survey-2019">54 miles</a> per year on an ordinary bike. Many of our survey respondents were riding e-bikes more than this in a week. We found that Lake District resident e-bike owners were riding an average of 77 miles per week in the 2020 lockdown and more than 63 miles per week in spring 2021. </p>
<p>Our research showed that e-bikes replaced car trips more often than they replaced trips taken on ordinary bicycles or public transport. That’s positive in terms of decarbonisation potential and reducing environmental effects on rural ecosystems.</p>
<p>E-bikes are being used more for errands and leisure than commuting. Because at busy times visitors outnumber residents several times over, replacing car leisure trips with e-bike leisure trips could be <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/border/2021-07-18/tourists-urged-to-park-responsibly-too-allow-for-access-by-emergency-vehicles">important</a> in reducing car <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0966692306001177?via%3Dihub">traffic in tourist areas</a>. Our recommendation is that planners try to think differently about hills and weather as they need not be a barrier to active travel. Doing so will improve the design of facilities that enable people to use e-bikes instead of cars to get to where they want to go. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573761/original/file-20240206-22-3go1ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Close-up of orange and black e-bike with charger plugged in" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573761/original/file-20240206-22-3go1ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573761/original/file-20240206-22-3go1ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573761/original/file-20240206-22-3go1ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573761/original/file-20240206-22-3go1ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573761/original/file-20240206-22-3go1ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573761/original/file-20240206-22-3go1ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573761/original/file-20240206-22-3go1ok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Better design of facilities in national parks could make it easier for people to park, charge and store their e-bikes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-ebike-plugged-charging-2190390549">Nedrofly/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Harnessing e-pedal power</h2>
<p>E-bikes may give more flexibility where <a href="https://policy.friendsoftheearth.uk/insight/how-britains-bus-services-have-drastically-declined">public transport is poor</a> and our respondents commented on poor public transport serving relatively few places. </p>
<p>We found that e-bikes are well used by those who already have them. Many of those who don’t own e-bikes would be interested in using an e-bike share scheme and visitors would be interested in a scheme that links e-bike sharing with busses trains and boats with a combined daily ticket. E-bikes could be made more easily available through sharing schemes or a <a href="https://www.bicycleassociation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/The-Case-for-a-UK-Incentive-for-E-bikes-FINAL.pdf">purchase subsidy</a>. Together with improving public transport in rural areas, this could help to reduce dependence on cars and better support those who are vulnerable when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2019.05.009">costs</a> like fuel go up. </p>
<p>With e-bikes being expensive, there was a strong desire among respondents for more secure e-bike storage in Lakeland towns and villages. Accommodation and hospitality providers could offer more secure storage or parking and other facilities such as battery recharging. </p>
<p>There’s a big opportunity for cycling and e-biking on quieter roads or on cycle infrastructure. Though safety was raised as a concern when traffic returned after lockdown, e-biking levels remained quite high, which indicates that e-bikes should form part of national parks’ sustainable transport strategies. Some people also said e-bikes helped with their physical and mental health, especially during lockdowns. </p>
<h2>Quieter valleys</h2>
<p>Our research showed strong support for restricting tourist cars in popular valleys such as Borrowdale and Langdale. Most felt it would make those areas more beautiful and be good for business. </p>
<p>Some people mentioned <a href="https://lowcarbondestinations.org/">places in Europe</a> with successful public transport provision or effective car restrictions. In the Italian Dolomites, free and regular bus services drastically reduce the number of cars on the roads, making cycling easier and safer. Meanwhile, in the Bohinj valley in Slovenia, cars are banned, the park-and-ride scheme is free and cycling is a pleasure, according to another. </p>
<p>So, hills and rain need not be a barrier to active travel in national parks. Providing e-bikes alongside public transport and also restricting car access to some valleys could help rural areas become more sustainable, in the Lake District and beyond.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
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<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222455/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Philips received funding from UKRI grants.</span></em></p>Research shows that rain and hilly terrain doesn’t put people off e-bikes.Ian Philips, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Transport Studies, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2226732024-02-06T04:52:15Z2024-02-06T04:52:15ZCek Fakta: Anies sebut akar masalah pernikahan anak adalah kemiskinan. Benarkah?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573696/original/file-20240206-23-5u7xq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C6000%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/child-lonely-alone-empty-room-765265015">ker_vii/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>“Akar masalah (pernikahan anak) adalah <em>poverty</em>, salah satu sebabnya, ini harus dibereskan. Ketika kita menemukan kasus seperti ini hampir semua berasal dari keluarga prasejahtera. Tidak semua, tapi <em>large portion</em>. Untuk itu peningkatan kesejahteraan penting sekali, sehingga anak nggak dipandang sebagai komoditas ekonomi.”</p>
<p>— <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHIannHoAuU">Anies Baswedan</a>, calon presiden nomor urut 1, dalam acara Golput Desak Anies yang ditayangkan di kanal YouTube resminya pada 22 Desember 2023.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ketika ditanya sikapnya tentang masalah pernikahan anak, Anies menjawab bahwa salah satu akar masalahnya adalah <em>poverty</em> atau kemiskinan, dan oleh karenanya mayoritas pernikahan anak terjadi di keluarga prasejahtera. <em>The Conversation Indonesia</em> menghubungi Andi Misbahul Pratiwi, peneliti Pusat Riset Gender Universitas Indonesia, untuk menganalisis klaim Anies tersebut.</p>
<h2>Hasil analisis: kemiskinan bukan satu-satunya penyebab</h2>
<p>Benar bahwa kemiskinan jadi faktor pendorong terjadinya perkawinan anak, tetapi bukan satu-satunya penyebab. Ini patut digarisbawahi.</p>
<p>Perkawinan anak juga dapat disebabkan oleh berbagai faktor lainnya, seperti kehamilan tidak diinginkan (KTD), praktik budaya, pemahaman keagamaan yang keliru, bencana, konflik, perampasan sumber daya alam, dan krisis iklim. Ditambah lagi, pendidikan seksual komprehensif hingga saat masih belum tersedia secara memadai di Indonesia. </p>
<p><a href="https://puskapa.org/assets/uploads/2023/04/Policy-Brief-_Pencegahan-Perkawinan-Anak.pdf">Riset Pusat Kajian dan Advokasi Perlindungan dan Kualitas Hidup Anak (PUSKAPA) UI</a> tahun 2023 mencatat 36,36% dari total perkawinan anak yang diputus (disetujui) Pengadilan Agama pada 2022 adalah karena alasan anak telah hamil.</p>
<p>Di Sukabumi, Jawa Barat, perkawinan anak didorong karena pemahaman keagamaan yang keliru tentang “<a href="https://www.indonesianfeministjournal.org/index.php/IFJ/article/view/13">ketakutan akan zina</a>”. Di Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB), <a href="https://www.indonesianfeministjournal.org/index.php/IFJ/article/view/9">terdapat praktik budaya</a> yang menjadi celah perkawinan anak. </p>
<p>Selama Pandemi COVID-19 tahun 2020, <a href="https://komnasperempuan.go.id/catatan-tahunan-detail/catahu-2021-perempuan-dalam-himpitan-pandemilonjakan-kekerasan-seksual-kekerasan-siber-perkawinan-anak-dan-keterbatasan-penanganan-di-tengah-covid-19">data Komnas Perempuan</a> menunjukkan adanya tren peningkatan angka perkawinan anak. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17450128.2018.1546025">Bencana alam, konflik sosial, krisis iklim,</a> juga terbukti <a href="https://komnasperempuan.go.id/siaran-pers-detail/siaran-pers-komnas-perempuan-tentang-perkawinananak-merupakan-praktik-berbahaya-harmful-practice-yang-menghambat-indonesia-emas-2045-3-agustus-2021">meningkatkan kerentanan perempuan</a> untuk menikah di usia anak. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Artikel ini merupakan hasil kolaborasi program Panel Ahli Cek Fakta The Conversation Indonesia bersama Kompas.com dan Tempo.co, didukung oleh Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222673/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Benarkah akar masalah perkawinan anak adalah kemiskinan sehingga banyak terjadi di keluarga prasejahtera?Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Politics + Society Editor, The Conversation IndonesiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2219012024-02-01T12:42:39Z2024-02-01T12:42:39ZSupervised toothbrushing in schools and nurseries is a good idea – it’s proven to reduce tooth decay<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572161/original/file-20240130-23-ilrc2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C5734%2C3828&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/little-beautiful-african-girl-brushing-teeth-379214593">didesign021/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nearly a quarter of five-year-old children in England have tooth decay. In deprived areas of the country the proportion is even higher. And it isn’t just one problematic tooth – children with decay have, on average, three or four <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/oral-health-survey-of-5-year-old-children-2022">affected teeth</a>. It’s the <a href="https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/news/child-hospital-admissions-caused-by-decay-going-unchallenged/">most common reason</a> why young children aged from five to ten years are admitted to hospital. </p>
<p>When Labour leader Keir Starmer announced the party’s intention to expand <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/10/keir-starmer-announces-plan-for-supervised-toothbrushing-in-schools">toothbrushing programmes</a> in nurseries and schools, he <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/keir-starmer-schools-toothbrush-dentists-b2476479.html">faced criticism</a> for planning to take away responsibility from parents and place further burden on schools. </p>
<p>But supervised toothbrushing for young children already takes place. It has been rolled out <a href="https://www.childsmile.nhs.scot/professionals/childsmile-toothbrushing/">in Scotland</a> and for <a href="https://www.gov.wales/designed-smile-improving-childrens-dental-health">deprived areas in Wales</a> and takes place in some areas in England. It is effective in reducing tooth decay, especially for children in deprived areas. It is not meant to replace brushing teeth at home, but strengthens good oral health practices.</p>
<p>As experts in dental health, we know all too well the impact poor oral health has on the lives of children and families. We are <a href="https://www.supervisedtoothbrushing.com/">leading a project</a> to improve toothbrushing programmes in nurseries and schools in England, and have recently developed an <a href="https://www.supervisedtoothbrushing.com/">online toolkit</a> to help schools, nurseries and parents as well as the NHS and local government.</p>
<h2>Painful – and preventable</h2>
<p>Tooth decay causes pain and suffering. It affects children’s daily lives, including what they eat, their speech and their self-esteem. It stops them from doing things they enjoy and can cause disrupted sleep. And tooth decay has an impact on school readiness and attendance. Children have to take time off school due to toothache and to attend <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-matters-child-dental-health/health-matters-child-dental-health">dental appointments</a>. </p>
<p>While going to hospital for dental extractions under general anaesthetic reduces the impact of decay on children’s lives, the event itself can be worrying for <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/sj.bdj.2014.331">children and their parents</a>. And poor oral health in childhood has lifelong consequences. Children with decay in their primary teeth are four times more likely to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28571506">develop decay</a> in their adult teeth. </p>
<p>In England, treatment of decay in children and teenagers <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hospital-tooth-extractions-in-0-to-19-year-olds-2022/hospital-tooth-extractions-in-0-to-19-year-olds-2022">cost the NHS</a> over £50 million in the financial year 2021-22. </p>
<p>Toothbrushing at school and nursery with a <a href="https://www.cochrane.org/CD007868/ORAL_fluoride-toothpastes-different-strengths-preventing-tooth-decay">fluoride toothpaste</a> for young children is a way to tackle this issue. </p>
<h2>On the curriculum</h2>
<p>Supervised toothbrushing involves children brushing their own teeth as a group during the day, overseen by nursery and preschool staff or teaching assistants. It typically takes between five and ten minutes. </p>
<p>In Scotland, the <a href="https://www.childsmile.nhs.scot/professionals/childsmile-toothbrushing/">Childsmile Toothbrushing Programme</a> is offered to all children aged three and four at nursery and to some younger nursery children as well to some older school children. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022034512470690">Research analysing the programme</a> has found it to be effective in reducing tooth decay, especially in children at greatest risk, such as those living in areas of <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/10/11/e038116.full.pdf">social deprivation</a>. In England, though, uptake of toothbrushing programmes is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41415-023-6182-1">currently fragmented</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Girl brushes giant model teeth" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571198/original/file-20240124-17-217af0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571198/original/file-20240124-17-217af0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571198/original/file-20240124-17-217af0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571198/original/file-20240124-17-217af0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571198/original/file-20240124-17-217af0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=748&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571198/original/file-20240124-17-217af0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=748&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571198/original/file-20240124-17-217af0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=748&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Learning about brushing teeth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Zoe Marshman</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What’s more, oral health is already part of children’s learning at nurseries and schools in England. The topic is included in <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62cea352e90e071e789ea9bf/Relationships_Education_RSE_and_Health_Education.pdf">statutory guidance</a> for primary and secondary schools. Similarly, promoting oral health is included in the <a href="https://www.supervisedtoothbrushing.com/_files/ugd/b03681_311d9c3dcf6c43de9dbc05336733f105.pdf">statutory framework</a> for early years settings such as nurseries. </p>
<p>Running a supervised toothbrushing scheme is one way early years settings can demonstrate they have met the requirement about oral health. </p>
<p>Supervised toothbrushing in nurseries and schools does not replace toothbrushing at home. It serves to complement home toothbrushing to help young children learn and practice good oral hygiene.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221901/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zoe Marshman, via the BRUSH project receives funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaborations South West Peninsula and Yorkshire and Humber through the Children’s Health and Maternity National Priority Programme, supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaborations Yorkshire and Humber (NIHR ARC YH) NIHR200166 <a href="https://www.arc-yh.nihr.ac.uk">https://www.arc-yh.nihr.ac.uk</a>
The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, the NHS or the Department of Health and Social Care. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kara Gray-Burrows, via the BRUSH project receives funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaborations South West Peninsula and Yorkshire and Humber through the Children’s Health and Maternity National Priority Programme, supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaborations Yorkshire and Humber (NIHR ARC YH) NIHR200166 <a href="https://www.arc-yh.nihr.ac.uk">https://www.arc-yh.nihr.ac.uk</a> The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, the NHS or the Department of Health and Social Care.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Day, via the BRUSH project receives funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaborations South West Peninsula and Yorkshire and Humber through the Children’s Health and Maternity National Priority Programme, supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaborations Yorkshire and Humber (NIHR ARC YH) NIHR200166 <a href="https://www.arc-yh.nihr.ac.uk">https://www.arc-yh.nihr.ac.uk</a> The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, the NHS or the Department of Health and Social Care.</span></em></p>Tooth decay is the most common reason why young children aged from five to ten are admitted to hospital.Zoe Marshman, Professor/Honorary Consultant of Dental Public Health, University of SheffieldKara Gray-Burrows, Lecturer in Behavioural Sciences & Complex Intervention Methodology, University of LeedsPeter Day, Professor of Children's Oral Health and Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2212432024-01-22T18:12:43Z2024-01-22T18:12:43ZDespite the climate crisis, Scotland is burning as much carbon-rich peatland as it did in the 1980s<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570602/original/file-20240122-16-9614j8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4493%2C2485&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/gamekeeper-burns-heather-on-british-moors-1273656262">Joe H Taylor/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Hillsides splashed with purple heather are a symbol of Scotland and its natural beauty. But these picturesque moorlands are actually maintained by people – a practice that is coming under intense scrutiny as the climate crisis escalates. </p>
<p>Scotland’s moorlands are deliberately burned from October to mid-April in a practice known as <a href="https://www.nature.scot/muirburn-code">“muirburn”</a>, which encourages new grass and heather that feeds grouse and livestock. This arrangement suits landowners who shoot these game birds and farmers who graze sheep, but it poses a problem when it happens on peatland.</p>
<p>A healthy peatland is a soggy and spongy terrain made up of partially decomposed plant matter known as peat. Peat soils lock away vast amounts of carbon. In fact, peatlands globally store <a href="https://www.iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org/about-peatlands">twice as much carbon</a> as the world’s forests. Peat soils damaged by fire <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo2325">release this carbon</a>, warming the climate. Fire damage can also mean the peat retains less water, and so rain washes more quickly into rivers which <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014WR016782">increases flooding</a> downstream.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A small waterfall surrounded by moorland vegetation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570601/original/file-20240122-25-7obsg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570601/original/file-20240122-25-7obsg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570601/original/file-20240122-25-7obsg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570601/original/file-20240122-25-7obsg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570601/original/file-20240122-25-7obsg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570601/original/file-20240122-25-7obsg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570601/original/file-20240122-25-7obsg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Damaged peatlands are less able to retain water, exacerbating flooding.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/small-waterfall-froth-maich-water-mistylaw-2407474299">Ian Woolner/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Scotland contains <a href="https://www.iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org/resources/commission-inquiry">7% of Europe’s peatlands</a> and their sustainable management is of global importance. In order to address climate change in Scotland, we need to know how much muirburn is happening, and how much of it is happening on peatland,</p>
<p>We made the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2688-8319.12296">first assessment</a> of burning on Scottish moorlands over the past 38 years using images from Nasa’s Landsat satellites. These satellites have been snapping pictures of our entire planet every few days since the 1980s. Fires leave behind a burn scar that is visible in these images. Through careful analysis, we can map the areas burned and track changes in burning over time. </p>
<p>We found that the area of moorland being burned increased between 1985 and 2022 – but not by much. Our analysis suggests that there is about as much burning happening now as there was nearly four decades ago.</p>
<h2>Up in smoke</h2>
<p>We used <a href="https://soils.environment.gov.scot/maps/thematic-maps/carbon-and-peatland-2016-map/">a dataset</a> that maps out peatlands with the deepest peat soils – at least 50cm deep. These are the peatlands that store the greatest amount of carbon. We overlaid this peatland map on our new muirburn map. </p>
<p>We discovered that the burning of Scottish peatlands is widespread. Almost one-third of all moorland burning in Scotland occurs on peatlands. On average, 1,900 hectares of peatland are burned each year. </p>
<p>Scottish peatlands store a gigantic <a href="https://www.nature.scot/doc/peatland-action-case-study-whats-connection-between-peat-and-carbon-storage">1.7 billion tonnes of carbon</a>, equivalent to 140 years of Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions. Protecting this carbon store is critical – its widespread and intentional burning is alarming. </p>
<p>Moorland burning in Scotland is subject to <a href="https://www.nature.scot/doc/guidance-muirburn-code">a set of rules</a> known as <a href="https://www.nature.scot/muirburn-code">the Muirburn Code</a>, which offers guidance and sets out the relevant statutory restrictions. In 2017, this code was <a href="https://scotlandsnature.blog/2018/03/07/muirburn-code/#:%7E:text=The%20Code%20was%20revised%20by,reducing%20the%20risk%20of%20wildfire.">revised</a> to suggest burning on peatlands should be avoided. </p>
<p>The amount of burning that has happened on peatlands hasn’t changed since then. Many landowners and land managers continue to burn in defiance of these voluntary guidelines.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A hunter in a stone-laid gun butt shoots a gun surrounded by moorland." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570603/original/file-20240122-21-gye6lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570603/original/file-20240122-21-gye6lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570603/original/file-20240122-21-gye6lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570603/original/file-20240122-21-gye6lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570603/original/file-20240122-21-gye6lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570603/original/file-20240122-21-gye6lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570603/original/file-20240122-21-gye6lj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Moorlands maintained for grouse shooting are frequently burned.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/gun-butts-on-grouse-moor-1346281361">Nigel Housden/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The case for new laws</h2>
<p>In November 2023, the Scottish parliament <a href="https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/votes-and-motions/S6M-11496">agreed</a> to the general principles of the <a href="https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/wildlife-management-and-muirburn-scotland-bill">Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) bill</a>, which would require licenses for people to burn moorland and restrict burning on peatland. MSPs are proposing <a href="https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/wildlife-management-and-muirburn-scotland-bill/stage-2">amendments</a> to the bill which could strengthen or weaken its ability to regulate future burning, so this is a crucial stage of the process. </p>
<p>One argument often made in favour of muirburn on peatland is that burning vegetation in a controlled manner reduces the risk of wildfires. But a major reason that peatlands are susceptible to wildfire in the first place is that they have been drained and in some cases overgrazed by livestock, creating dry and flammable peat.</p>
<p>An alternative way to reduce the risk of wildfires is to restore peatlands by blocking ditches and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-019-0477-5">rewetting the peat</a>. Wet peat is less likely to burn and heather does not grow well on it, so there is less fuel.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/peat-bogs-restoring-them-could-slow-climate-change-and-revive-a-forgotten-world-139182">Peat bogs: restoring them could slow climate change – and revive a forgotten world</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The <a href="https://www.gov.scot/publications/securing-green-recovery-path-net-zero-update-climate-change-plan-20182032/pages/12/">Scottish government’s climate change plan</a> aims to restore at least 250,000 hectares of degraded peatland by 2030. This would make sound financial sense. It has been estimated that restoring one-fifth of Scotland’s peatlands would aid carbon storage, water quality and wildlife habitat to the tune of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21606544.2018.1434562">£80 to £288 million</a>.</p>
<p>Satellite images have shown that landowners continue to burn Scottish peatlands even as the climate consequences become ever more stark. In the future, satellites will monitor whether any restrictions imposed by the new bill have been successful.</p>
<p>For now, our evidence should inform the debate on peatland burning within the Scottish parliament. It highlights the scale of the issue and demonstrates that voluntary guidelines to control burning are not working. We urge Scottish lawmakers to develop robust legislation to prevent further damage.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 30,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221243/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dominick Spracklen receives funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (DECAF project, grant agreement no. 771492).</span></em></p>Nearly a third of all moorland burning in Scotland occurs on peat soil – a vital carbon sink.Dominick Spracklen, Professor of Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2206032024-01-15T17:11:42Z2024-01-15T17:11:42ZFirst polar bear to die of bird flu – what are the implications?<p>Climate change is a threat to polar bear’s survival. Now they have a new deadly challenge facing them: bird flu. It was <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bird-flu-kills-polar-bear-first-time/">recently confirmed</a> that a polar bear from northern Alaska has died from the disease. </p>
<p>The current strain of H5N1 influenza has affected a <a href="https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-scientific-advisory-committee-sub-group-avian-influenza-report-h5n1-outbreak-wild-birds">far wider range of species</a> than any previously recorded strain. This has included <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bird-flu-avian-influenza-findings-in-non-avian-wildlife">several mammal species</a>, such as foxes, otters, mink, sea lions and seals (including, for the first time, <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2024-01-11/bird-flu-found-in-antarctic-seals-could-pose-threat-to-fragile-ecosystem">seals in Antarctica</a>). Cases have been detected in humans, too.</p>
<p>However, while some cases in mammals have been associated with large numbers of animal deaths, the few cases in humans have, so far, shown only mild symptoms or have been <a href="https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2023/06/06/ukhsas-asymptomatic-avian-influenza-surveillance-programme/">asymptomatic</a>. So, why are there such differences between species, and what are the implications of this polar bear’s death for the wider polar bear population, as well as other large mammals and humans?</p>
<p>Influenza viruses are highly adaptable. Their relatively simple genetic code not only changes at random via mutation in the same way as truly living organisms, but also via <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1004902">reassortment</a>. This is where closely related viruses that infect the same host cell exchange genetic material to produce novel genomes. This can lead to greater adaptation for invasion, survival and replication within that host species.</p>
<p>This is probably how the current H5N1 strain has come to affect such a variety of bird species, with devastating effects for some populations. </p>
<p>Normally, large numbers of deaths associated with a disease are considered to be caused by the spread of a disease between individuals within the population. However, very specific <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-023-00943-w">genetic changes</a> are needed for avian influenza viruses to become adapted to mammalian hosts. </p>
<p>These changes have not yet been detected in the current strain of H5N1. Although individual-to-individual transmission cannot be ruled out for some mammalian species that have been affected by H5N1, neither can vertical transmission – the transfer of the virus via consumption.</p>
<p>If we look at the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bird-flu-avian-influenza-findings-in-non-avian-wildlife">list of mammals</a> that have been infected by the current H5N1 strain, we see carnivores – and particularly those that are known to scavenge. </p>
<p>Very large numbers of some seabird species have died rapidly with H5N1. The likelihood of a seal or a polar bear finding and eating at least one infected bird carcass at an arctic colony suffering an outbreak seems quite high. </p>
<p>It is easy to imagine a pod of seals finding a colony of seabirds suffering an outbreak of H5N1 and gorging on carcasses. Under these circumstances, each seal would probably ingest and inhale massive viral loads. Those massive viral loads may have overrun the seals’ immune systems, leading to rapid infection and death without infection being passed between seals. </p>
<p>Whether the polar bear encountered large numbers of dead seabirds, one or more seals that had become infected after eating dead seabirds or some other source of virus remains unknown. The answer may be uncovered via testing of the virus and comparison with viruses found in species that occupy the same landscape. This approach is being used to <a href="https://science.vla.gov.uk/fluglobalnet/publications/flumap-update-oct23.html">track the spread</a> of H5N1 between wild animals and poultry in the UK.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An elephant seal in South George." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569199/original/file-20240114-23-g758ql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569199/original/file-20240114-23-g758ql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569199/original/file-20240114-23-g758ql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569199/original/file-20240114-23-g758ql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569199/original/file-20240114-23-g758ql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569199/original/file-20240114-23-g758ql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569199/original/file-20240114-23-g758ql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bird flu was recently detected in elephant and fur seals in South Georgia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/elephant-seal-on-beach-south-georgia-781207378">Zaruba Ondrej/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>More to find out</h2>
<p>Much of this remains hypothetical – for now. The consequences of the polar bear’s death for the species’ populations and for other large mammals cannot be predicted with a high degree of certainty. But if genetic testing reveals that the polar bear’s H5N1 remains poorly adapted to mammalian hosts, we might expect few other cases in polar bears. </p>
<p>Any further cases might also be closely associated with outbreaks of H5N1 in a nearby seabird colony. It also seems likely that the list of affected mammals and their geographical distribution should continue to grow, but relatively slowly. This list is likely to continue to include only carnivores – and scavengers in particular. </p>
<p>On the other hand, because influenza viruses are highly adaptable, ongoing surveillance of the H5N1 strain remains critically important. This will prepare us in case a new variant emerges that is adapted to mammalian hosts, potentially including humans. </p>
<p>The consequences of H5N1 for populations of some seabirds have been devastating. The consequences of failure to respond appropriately to a mammal-adapted H5N1 could be severe for polar bears – and for us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220603/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alastair Ward receives funding from the BBSRC to investigate the ongoing H5N1 outbreak as part of the Flu:TrailMAP consortium. </span></em></p>Avian influenza has killed a polar bear and may have infected other bears.Alastair Ward, Associate Professor of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2200012024-01-09T17:02:32Z2024-01-09T17:02:32ZThere are more than 300 ways to work flexibly – here are four tips to make it work for you<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566622/original/file-20231219-27-8g7hne.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C12%2C4142%2C2201&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/woman-hybrid-work-place-sharing-her-2050355522">Aleutie/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Did you know that, according to <a href="https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/womens-work-1">a recent study</a>, there are more than 300 ways to work flexibly? The list of possible flexible work practices used by an increasingly diverse and ageing workforce has grown significantly since many people were forced to work from home during COVID lockdowns. </p>
<p>Before the pandemic, you may have associated flexible work with things like working from home, part-time work or reduced hours. Now? You might work a compressed week or reduced hours, job share, or take flexi time or special leave, such as a sabbatical. There are also location-based forms of flexibility, like flex-place and hybrid working.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, a flexible work arrangement refers to any kind of schedule or work space without the typical constraints of a traditional 9-5 work arrangement in an office or other location hosted by your employer. </p>
<p>The recent boost in flexible working practices brings benefits for both employers and employees. When done properly, work flexibility makes lives easier for many employees, improves their job satisfaction and reduces absenteeism and <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429326585-12/impact-commute-mental-health-physical-health-within-context-flexible-non-flexible-working-anna-mary-cooper-ryan-charlotte-stonier-abolanle-gbadamosi">commute-related stress</a>. <a href="https://www.cipd.org/en/views-and-insights/cipd-viewpoint/flexible-working-update/">For employers</a>, it increases their ability to attract, retain, and motivate employees, boosts diversity and inclusion, and is associated with <a href="https://business.leeds.ac.uk/research-wbrc/dir-record/research-projects/1836/adapting-offices-for-the-future-of-work">lower overhead costs</a> and even <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692322001132">carbon emissions</a>.</p>
<p>But not all flexible working arrangements are created equal. The increased autonomy that flexibility brings can blur the boundaries between work and private life. Working flexibly can result in longer working days or create the expectation of employees being available at all times, which can increase feelings of work pressure or even lead to burnout. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJSSP-03-2023-0077/full/html">research</a> shows that flexibility regulations and frameworks at the national level help create the “rules of the game” for flexible work arrangements, in essence ensuring that flexible work does not become <a href="https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/the-flexibility-paradox">(self) exploitative</a>.</p>
<h2>Is flexibility the new norm?</h2>
<p>The COVID pandemic might have virtually expanded the availability of flexible work arrangements, but this does not mean that they are accessible to everyone. Our <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJSSP-03-2023-0077/full/html">research</a> suggests that access to flexibility continues to depend heavily on a country’s employment relations, policies, and regulations – elements that are rapidly changing in many countries.</p>
<p>Some countries are introducing new regulations to keep pace with the sweeping changes to post-pandemic work practices. In 2024, for example, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/millions-to-benefit-from-new-flexible-working-measures">Employment Relations (Flexible Working) bill</a> is likely to come into effect in the UK. It will increase the number of times an employee can request flexible working each year and reduce employers’ decision period about such applications. Collective bargaining between trade unions and employers can <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJSSP-03-2023-0077/full/html">offer an important additional layer</a> of flexibility and protection, above and beyond such national regulations.</p>
<p>Indeed, flexibility is shaped by employers’ commitment to offer and enable access to flexible working arrangements. It’s also based on their willingness to learn from people’s experiences (like during the COVID pandemic) to develop more flexible ways of working that advantage both the organisation and its employees. Of course, line managers shape real capabilities on the ground. </p>
<p>But even if employers are committed, in practice, flexibility is highly dependent on job characteristics. Some jobs, such as cleaning or maintenance, simply cannot be performed remotely. Other work may require set shifts, such as nursing and policing. </p>
<p>Societal expectations – particularly <a href="https://theconversation.com/flexible-working-can-reinforce-gender-stereotypes-109158">assumptions about what women and men</a> “should do” in terms of paid work, caring responsibilities and housework – also matter when trying to make flexibility a reality. Women are often expected to use flexible arrangements to fulfil more traditional roles, like being a homemaker or primary caregiver. But the use of flexibility among men has been often interpreted as a lack of commitment to work, creating a so-called <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-018-2036-7">flexibility stigma</a>.</p>
<p>But, if implemented well, flexible arrangements can help both men and women make work (more) compatible with other responsibilities. So what should you look for when trying to find flexible work?</p>
<h2>1. Be flexible about flexibility</h2>
<p>Flexibility is not a one-size-fits-all work arrangement. How attractive a given flexible work arrangement is to you likely depends on the life stage you’re at, as well as that of your family or partner (if you have one). Think about what fits and why. Yes, flexibility can be advantageous. But also be aware that society expects different things from us as men and women – remember, it’s OK to go against the flow.</p>
<h2>2. Find out what is available to you</h2>
<p>Access to flexible work arrangements might be regulated through your employer, a collective agreement between your union and workplace, or national law. Talk to an HR representative, your line manager or union rep about options available to you. Tell them about your particular circumstances, for example if you have an invisible disability or illness, or if you have caring responsibilities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman at computer, smiling." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566623/original/file-20231219-27-g83e1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566623/original/file-20231219-27-g83e1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566623/original/file-20231219-27-g83e1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566623/original/file-20231219-27-g83e1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566623/original/file-20231219-27-g83e1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566623/original/file-20231219-27-g83e1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566623/original/file-20231219-27-g83e1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Finding flexibility at work can increase workplace wellbeing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mature-woman-achieving-worklife-balance-by-2398228069">JLco Julia Amaral/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>3. Plan ahead and communicate well</h2>
<p>Maybe you want to try a flexible work arrangement for a limited period of time. In that case, check the conditions attached. How many times a year you can request flexible working, for example, or any prerequisites (like tenure requirements) or any potential employer contribution for equipment costs and electricity/heating bills. You can usually negotiate these conditions. </p>
<p>Also, keep an eye out for reversibility, which means you’re allowed to return to your previous working arrangement if needed or desired.</p>
<h2>4. Get equipped for flexible work</h2>
<p>Lastly, get a sense of what you need to work flexibly and/or remotely. You might be cutting out commuting costs, but flexible working could lead to different work-related, out-of-pocket expenses. Many employers will cover some of these costs within reason, or your work may provide the equipment you need to work flexibly, such as a laptop.</p>
<p>With more than 300 types of flexible work arrangements out there, working out how to make your working life more flexible can be daunting. By being informed, planning ahead, communicating, and being flexible about flexibility, you can start to grasp the upsides and downsides of new working practices in the post-pandemic world of work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220001/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jana Javornik receives funding from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND Actions. She advises the EU governmental departments on gender equality, work-life policies and new ways of working, and has until recently served as Director-General of Higher Education in the Slovene government. She is affiliated with the Slovene Institute of Contemporary History and the University of Nova Gorica (SMASH: the machine learning for science and humanities postdoctoral programme).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carla Brega's PhD trajectory at Utrecht University is funded by the European Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mara Yerkes receives funding from the European Research Council and the Dutch Science Foundation. Alongisde her position at Utrecht University, she is affiliated with the Centre for Social Development in Africa (University of Johannesburg). </span></em></p>There are so many more ways to work flexibly now.Jana Javornik, Associate Professor Leeds University Business School, University of LeedsCarla Brega Baytelman, PhD Candidate in Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht UniversityMara Yerkes, Professor of Comparative Social Policy in relation to Social Inequalities, Utrecht UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2167882024-01-03T17:41:21Z2024-01-03T17:41:21ZBeing humble is a good new year’s resolution – but it requires knowing what you value most<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567662/original/file-20240103-21-rvjox4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/photo-of-man-on-top-of-mountain-during-daytime-Rdut9-JPQuQ">Clay Knight|Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the new year gets going, many of us make resolutions to better our lives and our selves. Counsellors and psychologists alike will tell you that the key to self-improvement is being humble. </p>
<p>Author and coach Anna Katharina Schaffner has <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-art-self-improvement/202006/the-art-humility">described</a> humility as an “ancient virtue” that does not equate with low self-esteem but rather, “is a form of spiritual modesty”. It is triggered, as she puts it, by understanding where we stand in the order of things. </p>
<p>Trying to actually define humility though, philosophically, is quite difficult. This difficulty is neatly encapsulated in the paradoxical nature of the statement: “I am humble.” As the playwright and writer Alan Bennett <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2382326?seq=1">neatly put it</a>: “All modesty is false modesty, otherwise it wouldn’t be modesty.”</p>
<p>My research <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-020-02879-7">argues</a> that things aren’t quite that clear cut. Both self-doubt and indifference to what other people think is central to being truly humble. </p>
<h2>A self-doubt account of humility</h2>
<p>The paradox stems from the sense that true humility is incompatible with a belief in one’s own humility. Someone who is humble necessarily believes that they are not humble. The philosopher <a href="https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781351107532-3#!">Julia Driver</a> argues that humility requires an underestimation of one’s own good qualities. We might call this an “ignorance account” of humility. It says that to be humble is to be ignorant of your good qualities. </p>
<p>But, humility, as Schaffner put it, is considered an intellectual virtue. So too is having true beliefs. Driver herself <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24439388">agrees</a> that having true beliefs is central to intellectual virtue. But this is at odds with her idea that humility requires having false beliefs. It should be possible for someone to have – or at least, to strive towards having – both virtues: being humble and being honest about yourself.</p>
<p>The philosopher Aaron Ben-Ze'ev <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20014461?seq=1">argues</a> that that humility is compatible with having accurate beliefs about one’s own qualities. Some people might have a falsely low opinion of their good qualities. We can call those people servile. Others might have a falsely high opinion of their own good qualities. Call those people prideful. </p>
<p>Humble people, by contrast, get the balance right, with an accurate opinion of their good qualities. So humility is good to the extent that it involves having accurate beliefs. Ben-Ze'ev’s is an “accuracy account” of humility.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person sits on a rock looking at a tall waterfall in a green landscape." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567665/original/file-20240103-19-dy1y51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567665/original/file-20240103-19-dy1y51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567665/original/file-20240103-19-dy1y51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567665/original/file-20240103-19-dy1y51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567665/original/file-20240103-19-dy1y51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=942&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567665/original/file-20240103-19-dy1y51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=942&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567665/original/file-20240103-19-dy1y51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=942&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Care about your goals and not the praise they elicit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/aerial-photography-of-person-sitting-on-rocks-near-waterfalls-3AMSIl2YxQc">Muhamad Rizal Firmansyah|Unsplash</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>But humility need not involve having accurate beliefs about everything. The most accurate beliefs would involve being certain of what is true, but humility seems to require that we avoid certainty, as we should always allow the possibility that we are mistaken. </p>
<p>Indeed, I have argued that we should not be certain of even the most obvious truths, such as 1+1=2. We should always allow for the possibility that our cognitive faculties have let us down. </p>
<p>This “self-doubt account” of humility allows you to truthfully say “I am humble”, as long as you are open to the possibility that you might be wrong. </p>
<p>The typical aim of asserting “I am humble” conflicts with the literal meaning of the phrase. Such an assertion is usually intended to impress people, which isn’t something someone who really is humble generally tries to do. </p>
<p>This brings out an important feature of humility that is still missing from the self-doubt account: that humility requires having the right kind of desires as well as the right kind of beliefs. Call this an “indifference account” of humility. It is, as the philosopher George Frederick Schueler <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2382326">puts it</a>, about simply not caring whether others are impressed by you for your accomplishments or skills.</p>
<p>So as you set about achieving your goals for the year to come, dwell on this thought. True humility, Schueler says, is about caring about what you set out to accomplish, not about being praised or getting credit for accomplishing it. To be humble, you need to examine what is really valuable: to know what it is that you value most.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216788/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Darren Bradley receives funding from the John Templeton Foundation.</span></em></p>Self-doubt and being indifferent to praise is central to being truly humble.Darren Bradley, Professor of Metaphysics and Epistemology, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2183732023-12-27T09:11:25Z2023-12-27T09:11:25ZWhat’s the truth behind the ‘shoplifting epidemic’? Six key questions answered<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564897/original/file-20231211-23-ybkbik.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=82%2C52%2C4928%2C3351&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is it really true that shoplifting is out of control? </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Lightspring</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>According to media reports, in 2023 the UK experienced an unprecedented <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-64057660">wave</a> of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce5rkgpyy2ro">shoplifting</a>. The theory goes that the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66049150">cost of living crisis</a> and poor police responses are driving a crime wave.</p>
<p>Is that really true? Here, we assess six of the most popular assertions made about shoplifting in 2023. Are they myth or reality?</p>
<h2>1. Is there really a shoplifting epidemic?</h2>
<p>Shoplifting has increased – but much of this reflects the fact that it declined <a href="https://crimesciencejournal.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s40163-021-00142-z.pdf">60% in the pandemic</a>. So reports of year-on-year changes are misleading. </p>
<p>Many crime types remain below pre-pandemic levels because we now work from home more than we used to. But by 2023 we were out shopping as much as before. That provided camouflage for shoplifting, so it returned to, and now exceeds, <a href="https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/200708/1/COVIDCrimeStatsBulletin_18_Crime_Trends_to_Apr23.pdf">pre-pandemic levels</a>.</p>
<p>In the first six months of 2023, shoplifting reported to police averaged <a href="https://www.crimrxiv.com/pub/bqkby11t/release/1">7% above</a> the pre-pandemic expected level. It then increased to 20% above the expected level in the summer months. While most shoplifting is not reported to police, the available data suggests that the increase is not as dramatic as some accounts suggest. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Half-myth. To some extent it remains to be determined with better data – but there is a problem. </p>
<h2>2. Has the cost-of-living crisis driven people to theft?</h2>
<p>It has become common to blame the <a href="https://theweek.com/news/crime/961034/cost-of-living-is-shoplifting-on-the-rise">cost-of-living</a> crisis for rises in shoplifting. However, several facts do not fit with this theory. Shoplifting by dependent drug users, for example, is not due to the cost-of-living crisis. </p>
<p>Likewise, when department stores like <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66784250">John Lewis</a> decry theft of their high-end products, this is not a cost-of-living issue – it implies organised gangs are operating for profit. That explanation, put forward by the retailers themselves, contradicts the idea that increased shoplifting is due to cost-of-living issues. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Myth and half-truth. </p>
<h2>3. Are organised gangs to blame?</h2>
<p>Another version of events is more plausible – that <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-66112002">organised</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/shop-theft-has-been-building-for-years-heres-how-to-tackle-retail-crime-and-keep-workers-safe-213624">gangs</a> are the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/15/its-organised-looting-uk-in-grip-of-a-shoplifting-epidemic-say-store-owners">problem</a>.</p>
<p>The pandemic boosted <a href="https://hostingdata.co.uk/online-shopping-statistics-uk/">online shopping</a> which made made e-fencing of stolen goods easier, which in turn drives shoplifting. E-fencing via online marketplaces is more efficient and less risky than face-to-face in the street or pub. </p>
<p>The result is that some gangs now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/24/organised-gangs-are-shoplifting-to-order-in-uk-john-lewis-boss-says">steal to order</a>. A recent estimate suggests stolen and counterfeit goods account for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/selling-buying-shoplifted-stolen-products-online-efencing-facebook-ebay-2023-1?r=US&IR=T">10% of online marketplaces</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, as the retail sector expanded, tempting new products are becoming readily available in large and anonymous self-service shops. Increases in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25762466">mini-supermarkets</a> means valuable items are closer to the door with fewer staff between the thief and the exit.</p>
<p>In the long term, then, it is change in the retail sector that inadvertently encourages shoplifting. We need more evidence, but organised crime offers a plausible explanation for increased post-pandemic shoplifting. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Likely reality. </p>
<h2>4. Have the police stopped caring?</h2>
<p>The truth is, police have not been required to attend low-value shoplifting offences for many years. This reflects a long history of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247953176_The_Prevention_of_Shop_Theft_An_Approach_Through_Crime_Analysis">problem shops</a> draining police resources with repeat calls without taking responsibility for preventing thefts. </p>
<p>After all, is it fair to expect taxpayers, who pay for police, to foot the bill? Or should retailers take responsibility for shoplifting just as other businesses are increasingly required to take responsibility for carbon emissions? </p>
<p>Like emitting pollution, creating shoplifting opportunities is <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/Series/Back-to-Basics/Externalities">effectively optional</a>. Pointing the finger at the police deflects some of the blame but it doesn’t address the real problem. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Myth. </p>
<h2>5. Are shops starting to lock up products because of theft increases?</h2>
<p>In 2023 it was claimed that more items such as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65764513">cheese, meat and coffee</a> are being locked away or tagged. The truth is that these have been among the most stolen products for <a href="https://www.retailresearch.org/shoplifters.html">many years</a> and tagging has been <a href="https://crimesciencejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40163-017-0068-y">around for ages</a>. </p>
<p>It is part of a decades-long process of incremental improvements to retail security. By 2010, <a href="https://test.routledgehandbooks.com/pdf/doi/10.4324/9781843929680-5">research</a> identified 30 measures used to help shops prevent theft, including locking cabinets and adding <a href="https://blogs.bu.edu/llisa/everything-you-need-to-know-about-rfid-tags/">radio frequency tagging</a> to goods, tethering items or using dummy goods such as packaging with nothing in it. </p>
<p>It takes time, but security measures can evolve to be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1477370820932107">elegant and unobstrusive</a>. Examples already exist – think of wide aisles with clear sight-lines and clever packaging designs that make items difficult to conceal. </p>
<p>When someone meets you and greets you at the door, it’s not just to make shopping pleasant. It shows somebody cares and is watching. The development cycle of security means it sometimes begins as clunky and awkward before becoming something better.</p>
<p>Improved vehicle and household security reduced car crime and burglary by three-quarters since 1992, largely via non-punitive and unobtrusive measures. A suite of invisible car security is now triggered by a key fob, for example, and the best household security is built in as integrated locks on good quality doors.</p>
<p>These measures explain why there are <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41300-019-00067-5">fewer young people</a> entering the <a href="https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/YEF-Statistics-update-February-2022-FINAL.pdf#:%7E:text=The%20number%20of%20first-time%20entrants%20to%20the%20youth,weapons%20were%20also%20down%20910%2C%20a%2021%25%20fall.">criminal</a> justice system. What’s more, shoppers are generally respectful of measures to reduce crime and promote safety even when they incur a minor inconvenience, such as tag removal at checkout. Overall, the history of security suggests we should be optimistic. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Myth. </p>
<h2>6. Are social media provocateurs to blame?</h2>
<p>Social media videos that glorify shoplifting and show <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkddq8/tiktok-an">how to do it</a> may be part of the picture. Word of mouth took years to spread information that now spreads globally in seconds. </p>
<p>A spate of thefts of Kia’s and Hyundai cars in the US is attributed to a <a href="https://www.economist.com/cities-are-suing-car-manufacturers-over-auto-theft-they-have-a-case">viral TikTok explainer video</a> and was stemmed only when the vehicle manufacturers issued a <a href="https://www.motortrend.com/news/hyundai-fixing-kia-boys-theft-security-vulnerability-free/">software update</a>. Flash mobs have been coordinated on social media, as when hundreds of youths met to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/oxford-circus-jd-robbery-rampage-tiktok-b2391303.html">rob London’s Oxford Street</a> stores. </p>
<p>Social media platforms are best placed and have the technical know-how to develop measures to stop videos from spreading and to make them less attractive to make and watch. It is not easy but the evidence suggests that <a href="https://popcenter.asu.edu/sites/default/files/tools/pdfs/displacement.pdf">“offenders”</a> will not just circumvent bans on illegal videos. </p>
<p><strong>Myth or reality?</strong> Reality but we need information about its impact.</p>
<h2>What is to be done?</h2>
<p>We need better information about the shoplifting problem. But we know that, with concerted effort, it is possible to <a href="https://popcenter.asu.edu/sites/default/files/shoplifting_2nd_ed.pdf">prevent shoplifting</a>. Crime is always concentrated, so prevention efforts should be focused on the small proportion of shops that disproportionately experience shoplifting and the small number of <a href="https://popcenter.asu.edu/sites/default/files/tools/PDFs/Understanding_Theft_Hot_Products.pdf">hot products</a> that are popular among thieves.</p>
<p>Online eCommerce platforms are best placed to prevent e-fencing, and social media platforms best placed to disrupt provocateurs. The appropriate role for government is to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0002716218775045">encourage these private sector agents</a> into action through incentives (such as tax breaks for security) and disincentives (such as threat of regulation and fines).</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218373/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Is the cost of living really driving regular people to crime? And are those security tags on your steak the result of their misdemeanours?Graham Farrell, Professor of Crime Science, University of LeedsRachel Armitage, Professor of Criminology, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2202932023-12-22T12:38:33Z2023-12-22T12:38:33ZFive Christmas fashion trends we should bring back – and may be found in your wardrobe already<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567061/original/file-20231221-17-8f27sw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C2%2C746%2C445&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dazzle camouflage costume ball at the Chelsea Arts Club in 1919. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dazzle_camouflage_costume_ball.PNG">Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Christmas is a season for partying and dressing up. Sequins, Santa hats and ugly Christmas jumpers abound. Each event seems to demand a new and different outfit. </p>
<p>While this clothes buying bonanza may boost fashion retail profits, it also leads to a vast amount of waste as many items end up in landfill by the new year. For a season so steeped in tradition and nostalgia, this emphasis on new clothes seems out of place. </p>
<p>Instead of buying new outfits each December, <a href="https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/news/2023/may/could-slow-fashion-make-us-happier-new-study-aims-to-find-out.aspx">research</a> suggests we can both help save the planet and boost our own wellbeing by re-wearing garments and making them part of our Christmas traditions. </p>
<p>If you are stuck for inspiration about how to dress better and more meaningfully this holiday season, here are some of the best festive trends from the history of fashion that are ripe for revival and can be easily found in your wardrobe.</p>
<h2>1. The silk Christmas scarf</h2>
<p>The 20th century was the golden age of the printed silk <a href="https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O101239/head-scarf-unknown/">scarf</a>. In the 1930s, silk manufacturers, such as British firm <a href="https://jacqmar.com/collections/all">Jacqmar</a>, began to produce beautifully designed scarves as a way of marketing their artistic textiles. </p>
<p>During rationing in the second world war the <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30086601">printed propaganda scarf</a> became a must-have fashion accessory that could be used to update an old outfit. From the 1950s onwards, patriotism gave way to novelty prints, including Christmas-themed scarves. </p>
<p>French and Italian luxury brands were particularly good at these, with Hermès leading the way in charming traditional designs and Moschino producing fun and irreverent prints. Silk scarves are free of <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/perspective/could-our-christmas-sparkle-be-harming-our-health.aspx">microplastics</a> and can be used to make an existing outfit instantly festive. Infinitely more chic and sustainable than your polyester Christmas Jumper. </p>
<h2>2.Dressing all in green</h2>
<p>The mysterious handsome giant from the Arthurian romance <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/22583668/sir-gawain-and-the-green-knight-medieval-poem-explained">Sir Gawain and the Green Knight</a> might seem an unusual source for festive fashion tips, but the Green knight dresses with symbolically loaded style.</p>
<p>When he shows up to King Arthur’s New Year celebrations looking to play a Christmas Game, the Knight is dressed head to toe in emerald green, including matching hood and fur-trimmed mantle. The outfit also includes costly silk in gold and green stripes and decorative embroidery, topped off with a bough of holly. </p>
<p>Academics have published lengthy <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43342275#:%7E:text=symbolically%20untenable%20for%20Gawain%20to,is%20placed%20on%20this%20garment.&text=chastity%20tests%20and%20will%20not,more%20temptations%20of%20this%20kind.">papers</a> debating exactly what this strange outfit means, but it is undeniably eye catching. Who needs a Christmas tree when you can dress as one? Many of us have green clothing already to put to good festive use.</p>
<h2>3.Dazzle fancy dress costumes</h2>
<p>Fancy dress parties have their origins in the masquerades that grew around European carnival season in the <a href="https://allthatsinteresting.com/masquerade-ball-history">15th Century</a> and the historical costume balls of 19th century <a href="https://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/party-time-again-costume-ball-1897/">Britain</a>. </p>
<p>But the most fabulous era of fancy dress occurred in the first decades of the 20th century, culminating with the fabled Chelsea Arts’ Club <a href="https://www.tatler.com/gallery/chelsea-arts-club-ball-greatest-new-years-eve-fancy-dress-party">New Year’s Eve Ball</a> , which ran from 1908 to 1958 in London. </p>
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<img alt="Dazzle-themed costumes from the 1919 Arts Club Ball." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567243/original/file-20231222-27-ldrnn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/567243/original/file-20231222-27-ldrnn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567243/original/file-20231222-27-ldrnn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567243/original/file-20231222-27-ldrnn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567243/original/file-20231222-27-ldrnn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1077&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567243/original/file-20231222-27-ldrnn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1077&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/567243/original/file-20231222-27-ldrnn0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1077&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Dazzle-themed costumes from the 1919 Arts Club Ball.</span>
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<p>Attendees competed to wear the most novel creations, dressing as everything from mythical sea creatures to art movements. During the first world war, there was a trend for costumes in the abstract patterns of “dazzle” camouflage.</p>
<p>These intersecting geometric patterns in contrasting colours were painted onto <a href="https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/john-everett-art-dazzle-camouflage">ship hulls</a> to make it hard for the enemy to estimate the vessel’s course. The eye-catching designs proved so popular with fancy dress fashionistas that they became the subject of a special <a href="https://chelseaartsclub.com/the-club/history/#:%7E:text=Perhaps%20the%20most%20famous%20of,US%20Navy%20during%20the%20War.">“dazzle”-themed Arts Club ball in 1919</a>. </p>
<h2>4.Wooden shoes</h2>
<p>Wooden <a href="https://www.dutch-clogs.com/news/traditions-of-the-sinterklaas-party-placing-wooden-shoes-sweets-and-the-bag/">clogs</a> have traditionally played an important role in Dutch Christmases, with children leaving them out on 5 December for Sinterklaas (based on Saint Nicholas and also an inspiration for Santa Claus) to fill with treats. In modern times, they could provide a practical answer to keeping your party shoes looking their best for another year.</p>
<p>Wooden clog-like overshoes called <a href="https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/pattens/">pattens</a> were widely worn in Europe from the medieval period to the 19th century to protect thin-soled shoes over the winter season. They were used by pedestrians who walked in streets caked in mud and where food waste and excrement were all deposited.</p>
<p>By the 17th century, their soles were specially shaped so your existing shoes slotted right in. Fancier versions even had luxurious <a href="https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O115851/shoe-and-patten-unknown/">silk straps</a> to match the fabric of the delicate shoes they covered. While these sorts of clogs aren’t common anymore, wooden clogs have become popular (dare I say <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/best-clogs">fashionable</a>) again but tend to only be worn in more temperate weather. You now have an excuse to get them out again this Christmas. </p>
<h2>5. Party pyjamas</h2>
<p>Christmas is a season for inviting friends and family over, and the <a href="https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/performers-pyjamas">hostess pyjama</a> is the perfect outfit in which to receive your guests.</p>
<p>Pyjamas began as a menswear trend in Western fashion when 19th-century British colonial forces took a fancy to the lightweight drawstring trousers worn in <a href="https://world.dolcegabbana.com/milestones/a-brief-history-of-the-pyjama-from-loungewear-to-fashion">India</a>. They made their transition to womenswear in the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35427892">1920s</a> as a summer resort fashion in the form of elegant linen beach pyjamas.</p>
<p>Before long, designers such as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35427892">Coco Chanel</a> were producing versions in velvet, silk and sequins for winter evening-wear. The trend was cemented in the 1930s by leading figures in the fashion world, including Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. </p>
<p>These party pyjamas are the perfect combination of dressy yet comfortable and have room enough to accommodate an extra helping of pudding and should be worn and enjoyed all year round.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bethan Bide does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Pyjamas all Christmas day or a jaunty festive silk scarf, these five trends should be brought back this holiday.Bethan Bide, Lecturer in Design and Cultural Theory, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2181962023-12-18T16:17:22Z2023-12-18T16:17:22ZThe seven best TV shows of 2023 reviewed by our experts<p><em>This year has been a memorable one for television. From the scintillating Succession finale to animated AI dramas, these are the seven shows that had our academic experts glued to the small screen in 2023.</em></p>
<h2>1. Happy Valley season three, BBC iPlayer</h2>
<p>First hitting screens nine years ago, the final episode of Happy Valley – the BBC crime drama created and written by Sally Wainwright – aired to an audience of over 7.5 million live viewers back in February. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The trailer for season one of Happy Valley.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Featuring a much-anticipated showdown between Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) and escaped criminal Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) – who Cawood holds responsible for her daughter’s rape and subsequent suicide – the final scenes eschewed guns, instead moving carefully toward catharsis. </p>
<p>What made this such a powerful ending to the show, was the quality of Wainwright’s plotting and dialogue, her choice of performers and her refusal to take the easy road. </p>
<p><em>By Beth Johnson, professor of television and media studies and Kristyn Gorton, professor of film and television.</em></p>
<p><strong>Read our full review</strong>: <a href="https://theconversation.com/happy-valley-the-art-of-sally-wainwrights-perfect-tv-ending-199616">Happy Valley and the art of Sally Wainwright’s perfect TV ending</a>. </p>
<h2>2. Pluto, Netflix</h2>
<p>There have been many TV shows and films inspired by the dual fear and excitement surrounding advances in artificial intelligence. But not many exhibit such masterful craft and profound humanity as Netflix’s anime miniseries, Pluto.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Trailer for Pluto.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Pluto follows German robot detective Gesicht as he traces the mysterious killings of robots and humans. While the show draws on many familiar sci-fi concepts, it distinguishes itself through its meticulous character development and the depth of its micro-stories. Every character is complex, and the audience is able to get to know them and become invested in their fates. </p>
<p>The anime’s unhurried pace also allows viewers ample time to contemplate its philosophical questions about consciousness evolution and the powerful impacts of emotions.</p>
<p><em>By Thi Gammon, researcher in culture, media and creative industries.</em></p>
<p><strong>Read our full review:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/pluto-netflixs-anime-masterpiece-explores-how-robots-feel-when-humans-exploit-them-217593">Netflix’s anime masterpiece Pluto explores how robots ‘feel’ when humans exploit them</a></p>
<h2>3. Succession season four, Now TV</h2>
<p>Succession, HBO’s searing indictment of late capitalism, finally ended for good this year. And what an ending.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Succession season four trailer.</span></figcaption>
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<p>It is testament to the quality of the writing that many reviewers made comparisons between Succession and Shakespearean and Greek tragedies. These are justified because the characters are finely drawn, each distinctive and compelling. </p>
<p>But arguably Succession’s greatest triumph was that, throughout, the audience rooted for the deeply unlikable Roy siblings, despite their flaws. An incredible dramatic sleight of hand.</p>
<p><em>By Gill Jamieson, senior lecturer in film, television and cultural studies</em></p>
<p><strong>Read our full review:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/succession-finale-hbos-epic-family-drama-comes-to-an-end-206714">HBO’s epic family drama Succession comes to an end</a></p>
<h2>4. Life on Our Planet, Netflix</h2>
<p>Netflix’s beautifully realised historical biography of life certainly has ambition. Perhaps <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1696512">4 billion species</a> have existed in as many years of Earth’s history.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Life on Our Planet trailer.</span></figcaption>
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<p>To make sense of this embarrassment of riches, Life on Our Planet focuses on the big evolutionary turning points. The origins of photosynthesis, multi-cellular animals, skeletons, legs and big brains were all innovations that created opportunities for life to diversify and modify its environment in radically new ways.</p>
<p>Life on Our Planet highlights the richness of Earth’s biodiversity, as well as the achingly long geological timescales it needed to evolve. It’s also hugely entertaining, with all the prehistoric stand-offs you could wish for, irresistibly narrated by the Christmas-pudding-rich tones of Morgan Freeman. </p>
<p><em>By Tim Rock, PhD candidate in biology and Matthew Wills, professor of evolutionary palaeobiology.</em></p>
<p><strong>Read our full review:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/life-on-our-planet-evolution-experts-review-this-hugely-entertaining-netflix-docuseries-215834">Evolution experts review Life on Our Planet</a></p>
<h2>5. Swarm, Amazon Prime</h2>
<p>Swarm exposed the very real dangers of obsessive fandoms. A horror-comedy, the show depicts a young black woman, Andrea “Dre” Greene (Dominique Fishback), as a superfan of fictional pop star Ni’Jah (blatantly based on Beyoncé) and obsessive member of her online fandom, the Swarm (Beyoncé’s is called the BeyHive). </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Swarm trailer.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Dre falls deeper into her obsession after the death of her foster sister and roommate, Marissa (Chloe Bailey), which sends Dre on a two-year murderous rampage to “defend” Ni’Jah. Shows about obsessive fans aren’t new, but Swarm is the first to take this concept and centre black womanhood and contemporary black popular fan culture.</p>
<p><em>By Kadian Pow, lecturer in sociology and black studies.</em></p>
<p><strong>Read our full review:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/swarm-donald-glovers-new-show-is-a-dark-meditation-on-fan-culture-from-a-decidedly-black-female-perspective-202389">Donald Glover’s new show Swarm is a dark meditation on fan culture from a decidedly black female perspective</a></p>
<h2>6. The Last of Us, Now TV</h2>
<p>Set in a post-apocalyptic 2023, The Last of Us presented viewers with a world that’s been ravaged by a pandemic caused by a fungus called “cordyceps” (terrifyingly, a real fungus), which turns its hosts into violent zombie-like creatures whose only goal is to spread the infection. </p>
<p>The story follows Joel, a smuggler, and Ellie, a feisty teenager who is immune, as they travel across the country to a militant group of revolutionaries called the Fireflies who hope to synthesise a vaccine.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Last of Us trailer.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Over its nine episodes, the first season of The Last of Us managed to dash a lot of the expectations of both fans of the game and newcomers. The writers achieved this through clever adaptation that deftly mixed fidelity to the original with thoughtful and unexpected additions to the story.</p>
<p><em>By Matthew Higgins, lecturer in digital and creative technologies.</em></p>
<p><strong>Read our full review:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-last-of-us-a-show-that-surprised-and-challenged-audiences-even-those-who-had-played-the-game-201814">The Last of Us surprised and challenged audiences, even those who had played the game</a></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-seven-best-books-of-2023-reviewed-by-our-experts-220065">The seven best books of 2023 reviewed by our experts</a>
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<h2>7. The Woman in the Wall, BBC iPlayer</h2>
<p>Set in the fictional town of Kilkinure in 20th-century Ireland, the show captures the story of Lorna Brady (Ruth Wilson), an unmarried mother who was formerly detained in a Magdalene laundry. Established in the 18th century, the laundries housed so-called “fallen women” who had engaged in sex work or had a child outside of wedlock and who were forced to carry out unpaid labour. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Woman in the Wall trailer.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The Woman in the Wall is not the first cultural representation of a Magdalene laundry. Films such as <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318411/">The Magdalene Sisters</a> (2002) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2431286/">Philomena</a> (2013) have also explored this powerful subject matter. </p>
<p>But the BBC show’s creator and writer Joe Murtagh is the first to use the medium of a <a href="https://www.hotpress.com/film-tv/bbc-to-explore-magdalene-laundries-in-new-series-starring-ruth-wilson-daryl-mccormack-22925149">“gothic thriller”</a> to explore the laundries’ painful nature and legacies – and the effect is unnerving. It does not make for comfortable viewing and nor should it. But it is essential viewing in every sense.</p>
<p><em>By Ciara Molloy, lecturer in criminology.</em></p>
<p><strong>Read our full review:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-woman-in-the-wall-bbc-drama-about-irelands-magdalene-laundries-is-essential-viewing-212061">BBC drama The Woman in the Wall is essential viewing</a></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>These are the shows that had our creative experts glued to the small screen in 2023.Beth Johnson, Professor of Television & Media Studies; Deputy Head of School of Media and Communication, University of LeedsCiara Molloy, Lecturer in Criminology, University of SheffieldGill Jamieson, Senior Lecturer in Film, Television & Cultural Studies, University of the West of ScotlandKadian Pow, Lecturer in Sociology and Black Studies, Birmingham City UniversityKristyn Gorton, Professor of Film and Television, University of LeedsMatthew Higgins, Lecturer, Digital and Creative Technologies, University of PortsmouthMatthew Wills, Professor of Evolutionary Palaeobiology at the Milner Centre for Evolution, University of BathThi Gammon, Research Associate in Culture, Media and Creative Industries Education, King's College LondonTim Rock, PhD Candidate in Biology, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.