Celebrated artist Fred Graham has unveiled a gift to the town he loves in the form of a sculpture carrying its name.
Waiuku becomes the latest addition to Auckland’s public art collection after its unveiling on the Glenbrook-Waiuku Road / Cornwall Road intersection.
It expresses his aroha (love) and whakawhetai (gratitude) for the town where he has lived, worked and raised his family with wife Norma for more than 30 years.
Franklin Local Board member Sharlene Druyven says Graham (Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Tainui) is internationally and nationally celebrated and is a taonga of the area.
Now 96, he is still being commissioned – especially in Waikato – where his ancestry anchors him, with Waiuku acknowledging Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua history in the rohe (area) and the immigrants who have made it their home.
Based on the letter W, three of the four inner panels feature the koru, honouring those involved in the story of how Waiuku got its name.
Brothers Tamakae and Tamakou vied for the hand of Waikato chieftainess Te Atairehia – after whom Ngati Te Ata are named – and who is represented by a fourth koru.
Tamakae was the provider, Tamakou the orator. Tamakou was first to meet Te Atairehia but she requested Tamakae be presented. He was working in the kumara gardens and had to be washed in the wai (water) and uku (a type of white clay) at the stream that flows into the Manukau Harbour before he could meet her.
He won her heart and they married, and from then on, the area was known as Waiuku.
Fred Graham’s work is held in international collections.
Graham was born in 1928 in Arapuni, going on to Taita College where his talent was recognised, a gift nurtured at Ardmore Teachers Training College.
From there he developed an interest in sculpture, teaching himself to carve in wood and stone, and later using steel – a cornerstone of Waiuku with its iron sand and mill.
He was part of a collective that ran a Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) initiative in rural Māori communities with artists such as Cliff Whiting and Paratene Matchitt known as the ‘Class of ’66’ after a Hamilton show called ‘Contemporary Māori Painting and Sculpture’.
Friendships with art greats Ralph Hotere and Muru Walters were also established during his early days, while his own works fused Māori and European cultures, often combining wood, stone and modern materials in commissions displayed across Aotearoa.
“Fred is known for drawing on Māori traditions, but that is in the art world. In Waiuku he is better known for his gentleness, kindness and wisdom,” Druyven says.
“This is a man who has walked alongside greats of the art world but who is humble, who celebrates what matters to him, whanau and whenua.
“Very few of us can say we are friends with an art great, and the fact he’s just Fred to so many here in Waiuku tells you everything you need to know.”
Ngaati Te Ata kaumatua Riki Minhinnick leads the blessing of the site.
His son Brett followed his own path, also becoming an acclaimed artist and exhibiting currently with his father and other prominent Māori artists at this year’s Venice Biennale.
Fred Graham received the Te Waka Toi Te Tohu Aroha mō Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu Award in 2017 and a year later the Arts Foundation Icon Award and was also made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
The 5.2 metre tall 1.4 tonne stainless steel work was made in Waiuku by retired engineer Rex Erikson, a long-term friend and collaborator.
Waiuku is the second major Graham installation in the town. In 2020 his work recognising NZ Steel’s 50th anniversary in 2015, was unveiled at Centennial Park – Lions Lake to locals.
That eight-metre steel statue features triangular panels depicting the three Franklin sites that converge to see steel forged at the mill, Taharoa, Waikato North Head and Glenbrook.
Fifty birds adorn the panels, the cut-outs recognising the lives of those connected to the mill who have passed, and the shaped birds the lives of those now associated with the mill, and the whanau supported by that relationship.
Inside the triangle, pipes can be seen, honouring the pipeline that sees iron sand shaped into steel.
Atop the structure three birds rise into the sky, the past, present and the future.
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MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –
Four students Faculty of Economics, NSU — Leonid Chistopolov, Anastasia Karunina, Alena Kozich and Makar Fedorov — entered the top 115 best students in Russia following the results of the XII conference “Management of the Future”, organized by the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg State University.
The conference “Management of the Future” has been held since 2012 and attracts the most promising students interested in modern trends in management and business. The selection of participants consists of several stages: filling out a questionnaire with a resume and portfolio, a test of logic and mathematics, as well as a final video interview, which has become one of the most difficult tests for participants.
— I learned about the conference from the previous head of Case Club NSU, who went to the conference last year and shared positive emotions. Therefore, I decided that I definitely needed to participate in the selection in order to meet ambitious students from all over Russia at the conference, hear expert opinions from top executives of large Russian companies on the topic of “Growth at the intersection of competencies” (the topic of this year’s conference), get a job opportunity and, of course, visit St. Petersburg! When I received the coveted letter of passage, of course, I was happy and felt confident in my abilities. And when I learned that three from NSU passed the selection, I realized that it was not in vain that I chose this university three years ago, — shared Anastasia Karunina.
This year, the event brought together more than 100 students from all over the country, providing participants with unique opportunities to communicate with top managers of leading companies and participate in practical cases.
— I decided to participate because I wanted to develop connections, expand my knowledge in the industries where I work, and see the city (I have never been to St. Petersburg). The conference gives me the opportunity to do all of this. When I found out that I had passed the selection, I was happy, — said Leonid Chistopolov.
For university students, this is not only an opportunity to exchange experiences and establish new connections, but also a chance to demonstrate the high level of training at NSU.
We congratulate the guys on such an important achievement and wish them success!
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
New speed limits will soon come into effect on short sections of the following state highways:
SH1 Whangārei to Te Hana – changes in place from w/c 21 October 2024
SH14 Dargaville to Whangārei – changes in place from w/c 29 October 2024
SH15 Maungatapere School – changes in place from w/c 29 October 2024
Note: All other approved changes on SH15 were implemented on 13 May 2024
The changes we are making on SH1, SH14 and SH15 focus on short sections of state highway, including schools, and involved extensive community engagement and input prior to approval.
School speed changes include new electronic variable speed limit signs outside five schools to reduce speeds during pick up and drop off times.
The Albanese Government has today appointed Mr Michael Bray, Ms Julie Williams and Mr Matthew Green as part‑time accounting members of the Companies Auditors Disciplinary Board (CADB) for a three‑year period.
The CADB is an independent disciplinary body established by Part 11 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (ASIC Act).
CADB receives and reviews applications made to it by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority in respect of registered company auditors under the Corporations Act 2001.
Mr Bray specialises in financial statement audits in specialist industries with complex accounting and auditing issues. He has extensive experience in a number current and previous roles including as a Professor of Practice at Deakin University, a Director at the Australian Business Reporting Leaders Forum and a Special Adviser to the Chief Connectivity and Integrated Reporting Officer of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation.
Ms Williams has many years experience as a registered liquidator and is well‑versed in the financial regulatory framework, including the Corporations legislation. Her experience includes membership of the board of the Institute of Public Accountants where she chaired the IPA’s disciplinary committee and served as President between 2020 and 2023.
Mr Green is a partner at Forvis Mazars and a registered company auditor. He has a breadth of experience that includes providing audit and assurance services specialising in corporate reporting, accounting and auditing requirements, corporate law and governance, risk assessment and corporate transactions and valuations.
The Government has also reappointed Ms Adeline Hiew as a part‑time business member and Mr Tony Brain and Ms Ann‑Maree Robertson as part‑time accounting members of the CADB.
These appointments will continue the high level of skills and experience available to the CADB, to help ensure that the key sectors of our economy are effectively regulated.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Students’ Study Room and Computer and Information Centre at Yuen Chau Kok Public Library reopened Students’ Study Room and Computer and Information Centre at Yuen Chau Kok Public Library reopened ******************************************************************************************
A Leisure and Cultural Services Department spokesman announced today (October 21) that the Students’ Study Room and the Computer and Information Centre of Yuen Chau Kok Public Library, closed earlier on for urgent repair works, have been reopened. For enquiries, please call 2324 2700.
Australia’s fertility rate has fallen to a new record low of 1.5 babies per woman. That’s well below the “replacement rate” of 2.1 needed to sustain a country’s population.
On face value, it might not seem like a big deal. But we can’t afford to ignore this issue. The health of an economy is deeply intertwined with the size and structure of its population.
Australians simply aren’t having as many babies as they used to, raising some serious questions about how we can maintain our country’s workforce, sustain economic growth and fund important services.
So what’s going on with fertility rates here and around the world, and what might it mean for the future of our economy? What can we do about it?
Are lower birth rates always a problem?
Falling fertility rates can actually have some short-term benefits. Having fewer dependent young people in an economy can increase workforce participation, as well as boost savings and wealth.
Smaller populations can also benefit from increased investment per person in education and health.
But the picture gets more complex in the long term, and less rosy. An ageing population can strain pensions, health care and social services. This can hinder economic growth, unless it’s offset by increased productivity.
Other scholars have warned that a falling population could stifle innovation, with fewer young people meaning fewer breakthrough ideas.
In the short term, lower birth rates can mean more is able to be spent per-person on services like education. Jandrie Lombard/Shutterstock
A global phenomenon
The trend towards women having fewer children is not unique to Australia. The global fertility rate has dropped over the past couple of decades, from 2.7 babies per woman in 2000 to 2.4 in 2023.
However, the distribution is not evenly spread. In 2021, 29% of the world’s babies were born in sub-Saharan Africa. This is projected to rise to 54% by 2100.
There’s also a regional-urban divide. Childbearing is often delayed in urban areas and late fertility is more common in cities.
In Australia, we see higher fertility rates in inner and outer regional areas than in metro areas. This could be because of more affordable housing and a better work-life balance.
But it raises questions about whether people are moving out of cities to start families, or if something intrinsic about living in the regions promotes higher birth rates.
Fewer workers, more pressure on services
Changes to the makeup of a population can be just as important as changes to its size. With fewer babies being born and increased life expectancy, the proportion of older Australians who have left the workforce will keep rising.
One way of tracking this is with a metric called the old-age dependency ratio – the number of people aged 65 and over per 100 working-age individuals.
In Australia, this ratio is currently about 27%. But according to the latest Intergenerational Report, it’s expected to rise to 38% by 2063.
An ageing population means greater demand for medical services and aged care. As the working-age population shrinks, the tax base that funds these services will also decline.
An ageing population can mean more pressure on tax-payer funded services like healthcare. Chinnapong/Shutterstock
Unless this is offset by technological advances or policy innovations, it can mean higher taxes, longer working lives, or the government providing fewer public services in general.
What about housing?
It’s tempting to think a falling birth rate might be good news for Australia’s stubborn housing crisis.
The issues are linked – rising real estate prices have made it difficult for many young people to afford homes, with a significant number of people in their 20s still living with their parents.
This can mean delaying starting a family and reducing the number of children they have.
At the same time, if fertility rates stay low, demand for large family homes may decrease, impacting one of Australia’s most significant economic sectors and sources of household wealth.
Governments worldwide, including Australia, have long experimented with policies that encourage families to have more children. Examples include paid parental leave, childcare subsidies and financial incentives, such as Australia’s “baby bonus”.
Many of these efforts have had only limited success. One reason is the rising average age at which women have their first child. In many developed countries, including Australia, the average age for first-time mothers has surpassed 30.
As women delay childbirth, they become less likely to have multiple children, further contributing to declining birth rates. Encouraging women to start a family earlier could be one policy lever, but it must be balanced with women’s growing workforce participation and career goals.
Research has previously highlighted the factors influencing fertility decisions, including levels of paternal involvement and workplace flexibility. Countries that offer part-time work or maternity leave without career penalties have seen a stabilisation or slight increases in fertility rates.
Any solutions to falling fertility rates must balance other important factors such as women’s increased workforce participation. Halfpoint/Shutterstock
The way forward
Historically, one of the ways Australia has countered its low birth rate is through immigration. Bringing in a lot of people – especially skilled people of working age – can help offset the effects of a low fertility rate.
However, relying on immigration alone is not a long-term solution. The global fertility slump means that the pool of young, educated workers from other countries is shrinking, too. This makes it harder for Australia to attract the talent it needs to sustain economic growth.
Australia’s record-low fertility rate presents both challenges and opportunities. On one hand, the shrinking number of young people will place a strain on public services, innovation and the labour market.
On the other hand, advances in technology, particularly in artificial intelligence and robotics, may help ease the challenges of an ageing population.
That’s the optimistic scenario. AI and other tech-driven productivity gains could reduce the need for large workforces. And robotics could assist in aged care, lessening the impact of this demographic shift.
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.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Higgins, Professor & Director, Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University
An ABC report on Monday revealed a concerning rise in peer-on-peer sexual abuse within Australian primary schools.
Data on Victorian schools shows hundreds of such incidents were reported in 2022 and 2023, with many involving children under the age of ten.
The Australian Child Maltreatment Study also showed rates of sexual abuse inflicted by peers has been increasing. Overall, 18.2% of participants aged 16 to 24 reported being sexually abused by a peer during their childhood, compared to 12.1% of those aged 45 years and over.
Parents may be wondering how they can protect their children at school.
One of the most effective tools parents have is open, regular and age-appropriate conversations with their kids.
It is crucial for parents to talk with their children about boundaries and consent from an early age. For younger children, this can be as simple as teaching them their body belongs to them and no one else has the right to touch them without permission. Asking if its OK for a hug, and respecting when children say “no” is a great start.
When discussing consent, it is important to highlight consent is not just about saying “no”, but also recognising and respecting others’ boundaries.
Peer relationships and trusted adults play a crucial role in a child’s life. Helping children identify adults they can trust if they need to talk about something is also very important. Peers are often the first to hear of concerns or are often the recipients of disclosures, so fostering healthy friendships and teaching children to report to trusted adults is crucial.
Addressing peer pressure and secrecy
Children may feel pressured by peers or may be told to keep certain behaviours secret.
It is essential for parents to emphasise no matter who asks them to keep a secret, they should always share concerns or things they are unsure about with a trusted adult.
Parents can reinforce the message that if someone tells them not to tell, it is a “red flag”.
Children can often feel unsure or scared of whether what has happened is wrong. This is why encouraging openness and creating a nonjudgmental space for children to share is important.
Discussing online safety
Research shows exposure to harmful material, like pornography, is a contributing factor to inappropriate sexual behaviour among peers.
Being aware of your child’s internet use and educating them on how to keep themselves safe online is crucial.
What else can parents do?
While conversations with your children are vital, parents can also take practical steps to ensure their child’s safety at school. These include:
familiarising yourself with school policies: understand the school’s procedures for reporting bullying, harassment and sexual abuse. Parents should ask about how teachers manage supervision during breaks or other occasions where children may be less well unsupervised
getting involved in your child’s social world: knowing who your child’s friends are and staying connected with teachers can offer insight into troubling dynamics. Create opportunities for your child to talk about their friendships and school experiences regularly. And as they start navigating the digital world, it’s even more important to know who they are engaging with
teach assertiveness and confidence: find ways to empower your child to speak up for themselves when they are unsure, or something feels wrong. Don’t leave this up to a class teacher to deal with in respectful relationship education. At home, you can encourage assertiveness in expressing their preferences and boundaries. You can also model how to stand up to peer pressure. Children can learn and be encouraged to say simple phrases such as, “stop, I don’t like it” or “no, I don’t want to”.
If there is a problem
If you do come across an issue or problem, try and work with your school. Despite your distress, try not to be adversarial – rather pitch your conversation to the teacher or principal as “How can I help us work through this together?”
Prevention requires vigilance, communication and support from both parents and schools. Parents play a crucial role in shaping their child’s understanding of what’s OK, what’s harmful, as well as boundaries, safety and consent.
By having ongoing conversations, staying informed, and working with schools, parents are the first step to creating safety for children – and supporting them if something goes wrong.
Daryl Higgins receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council and a range of government departments, agencies, and service providers, including Bravehearts. He was a Chief Investigator on the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.
Gabrielle works with the Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS) team as part of her PhD Candidature. She has also previously worked for Bravehearts in various roles, including for the Turning Corners program, which provides support to young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviours.
The Australian National Health and Medical research Council (NHMRC) has today released draft guidelines for acceptable levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in drinking water.
PFAS chemicals are also known as “forever chemicals”, because they don’t break down easily and can persist in the environment, including drinking water supplies.
The new guidelines – which are not mandatory but will inform state and territory policy – are expected to be finalised in April 2025. They propose a reduction in the maximum levels previously considered safe for four key PFAS chemicals: PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS and PFBS.
Continually scrutinising and updating our PFAS regulations is important to ensure Australians’ safety. However, these updated guidelines are unlikely to have a significant impact on Australia’s drinking water. The majority of potable water supplies in Australia either have no detectable PFAS, or have levels already below the new limits.
What are PFAS chemicals?
PFAS are highly fat-soluble compounds that are very slow to break down. They are basically long chains of carbon atoms studded with fluorine molecules.
PFAS chemicals are inert, water-repellent and heat-resistant. These properties make them ideal for industrial usage and they have been used in firefighting foams and fire-retardant material. They have also been used in common household items such as nonstick pans and stain-resistant fabrics.
Unfortunately, their useful industrial stability means they persist in the environment and can accumulate in the human body. It can take five years for half an ingested dose of PFAS to be removed.
Given PFAS chemicals have the potential to mimic the body’s own fats, there has been concern they could harm our health if sufficient amounts accumulated in the body.
What sorts of health effects are they linked to?
The buildup of a chemical that’s hard to remove from our bodies is always of concern. Despite this, the potential health risks appear to be low. In 2018 the Australian Expert Health Panel for PFAS looked in detail at the evidence.
One of the largest concerns was PFAS chemicals’ ability to increase levels of cholesterol in the blood, potentially increasing heart disease risk. However, studies of people who have been chronically exposed to significant levels of PFOA have not shown statistically significant increases in heart disease.
In 2018, the report from Australia’s expert health panel stated:
Evidence to date does not establish whether PFAS at exposure levels seen in Australia might increase risks of cardiovascular disease… Established risk factors … are likely to be of a much greater magnitude than those potentially caused by PFAS.
Cancer has also been a concern. However the expert panel found no consistent evidence that PFAS chemicals are associated with cancer. One study even found exposure to PFOA decreased the incidence of bowel cancer.
However, the impact of PFAS on human health is continuously reviewed as new evidence comes to light.
Why has Australia revised its drinking water guidelines?
Australia began to phase out PFAS chemicals in the early 2000s. Since then, the levels of PFAS detected in the Australian population have steadily dropped.
Now that industrial use is being phased out, the main way we are exposed to PFAS is through things like persistent environmental contamination. While drinking water is not a major source of PFAS, water can be contaminated from environmental sources, for example, if contaminated dust or ground water makes its way into reservoirs.
Most drinking water levels in Australia either have no detectable PFAS or are already below the new levels. Juergen_Wallstabe/Shutterstock
The NHMRC periodically reviews the health evidence around PFAS used to develop these guidelines, which were last updated in 2018. The latest review looks at additional evidence available since then.
A few developments were of particular interest in this review: studies about the influence of PFAS on thyroid function. Altering thyroid function can be problematic because thyroid hormones regulate our metabolism, growth and development.
The International Agency for Cancer Research’s (IARC) recent ruling on PFAS and cancer also needed to be investigated. The IARC has classified PFOS – one of the four key chemicals Australia is regulating – as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”. However the IARC noted there was “inadequate” evidence PFOS directly causes any type of cancer in people.
This agency can rule on the probability that a chemical can cause cancer under any possible exposure, no matter how extreme. But it doesn’t evaluate the risk of cancer from ordinary exposure.
This means the NHMRC needed to reevaluate the evidence that the levels present in drinking water would constitute a risk.
What are the new PFAS limits?
The NHRMC considered evidence about PFAS exposure in animal studies, and by looking at human epidemiology.
In studies involving animals, the NHMRC review paid particular attention to what concentration of PFAS exposure had no effect on their health. This threshold is used to determine limits for humans, by adding a safety buffer usually a hundred times lower than the level that was safe for animals.
The limits are set are carefully considering the evidence about impact on human health, as well as evaluating how much PFAS exposure is likely from sources beyond drinking water, such as food and inhaled dust.
The proposed limits are:
Note: PFOS and PFHxS are now regulated separately. NHMRC
These guidelines are unlikely to have a significant impact on health. As the NHMRC report shows, majority of potable water supplies in Australia have no detectable PFAS, or levels are already below these new limits.
For example, drinking water sampling for WaterNSW found PFOS levels were between 1.2ng/L and undectable. Similar results were found for PFHxS (between 1.4 and 0.1ng/L) and PFOA (basically undetectable).
While the concentration of PFAS in bores near contamination sites are higher, these are typically not used as sources of drinking water.
The Australian guidelines differ from some international guidelines. The draft guidelines note that different jurisdictions place different weighting on animal and human evidence, and this will affect these regulatory levels.
The draft guidelines are now open to public consultation, with submissions closing on November 22 2024. Final guidelines are expected to be released in April 2025.
Ian Musgrave has received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council to study adverse reactions to herbal medicines and has previously been funded by the Australian Research Council to study potential natural product treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. He has collaborated with SA Water on studies of cyanobacterial toxins and their implication for drinking water quality.
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
On November 7-10, 2024, a large business game will be held at the PSB Patriot Hotel on the territory of the Patriot Park – Vladimir Tarasov’s business camp “Skills of Unpredictability”, where the heads of the Higher School of Business and Technology of the State University of Management Sergey Vagin and Dmitry Ovodenko will act as experts.
Vladimir Tarasov’s Business Camp is a large business game that has no analogues in the world, which simulates the life of several game states, immerses more than a hundred people in it and in a few days significantly expands the business picture of the world and the strength of the personality of each participant.
The author of the program Vladimir Tarasov is an outstanding social technologist of our time, the creator of the foundations of management of the Soviet and Russian mentality, the developer of the system of selection and training of managers, which is used in Russia as an alternative to the Western school. The author of the popular trainings “Managerial Duel”, “Communication Spinner”, the business game “Organizer” and many others.
Experts from the Higher School of Business and Technology of the State University of Management: Advisor to the Rector’s Office, expert in knowledge management and organizational development, entrepreneur, Doctor of Economics, Professor Sergey Vagin and Director of the Higher School of Business and Technology, consultant in the field of effective communications, negotiations in marketing and sales, vice-champion of the Russian Championship in management fights Dmitry Ovodenko.
As a result of training under the program “Skills of Unpredictability” you will learn: – to negotiate, multiplying your interests; – to foresee the consequences of decisions in advance; – to build a structure and technology of production; – to delegate authority in conditions of acute time shortage.
From the first minute, a business camp participant lives in accelerated game time under a new name. Someone will be a minister, someone will be an owner of an enterprise. Everyone will have to manage something, make decisions quickly, conflict with and cooperate with other participants in the game. Production will be real, done by hand, management errors will lead to poverty, and the right decisions will create wealth. After the business camp, all its participants will see their activities in real life as if they had returned from a trip to the future.
Daily time for gaming and educational activities from 9:00 to 00:00 with partial possibility of individual time schedule.
The author of the program, Vladimir Tarasov, will be an honorary guest of the business camp.
You can find out more detailed information and register on the official website of the business camp or in Vladimir Tarasov’s Telegram channel.
Subscribe to the tg channel “Our State University” Announcement date: 10/21/2024
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
The annual student conference “Management of the Future” was held at the Higher School of Management of St. Petersburg State University. For 12 years, this event has brought together talented students and leading Russian companies. The conference has become a unique platform for exchanging ideas and experience in the field of management.
The participation of Polytechnic students in the conference “Management of the Future” is an opportunity not only to exchange knowledge, but also to establish contacts with potential employers. Masters of their field, representing leading companies, were able to assess the level of training of young specialists and, possibly, offer them internships or jobs. Such experience is invaluable for students seeking to put their skills into practice.
The topic “Growth at the intersection of competencies” opens up broad horizons for discussion. Participants were able to explore how multidisciplinary approaches can contribute to innovative development and business success. Given the current challenges associated with digitalization and changing market needs, the discussion of new management models remains particularly relevant.
The event was attended by representatives of large companies such as VTB Bank, Alfa-Bank, Baltika and Severstal. These organizations provide students with the opportunity to learn more about modern trends in management and business. The conference speakers are experts with extensive experience in their fields, who shared their knowledge and practical skills. The campus of GSOM SPbU “Mikhailovskaya Dacha” became the venue for the conference. This historical place combines classical architecture and modern technologies, creating an inspiring atmosphere for learning and communication. Participants were able not only to delve into the educational process, but also to enjoy the cultural program, which included excursions and parties.
The Conference “Management of the Future” is not just an event, but an important step towards the formation of a new generation of managers capable of coping with the challenges of the modern world. Participation in such an event opens doors to new opportunities and helps students develop their management competencies. We are confident that this experience will become an important milestone on the path to a successful career for all participants.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –
Artificial intelligence will not replace a doctor, but it can be a great assistant. At the same time, healthcare needs high-tech products that can quickly analyze and monitor the condition of patients. HSE scientists have used AI for preoperative planning and postoperative evaluation of results in spinal surgery and developed an automatic intelligent system for assessing the biomechanics of the arms and legs.
At the joint scientific seminar of the strategic project “AI technologies for humans” (as part of the Priority 2030 program), HSE scientists presented two developments related to the use of artificial intelligence in medical practice. This area is not new for the Higher School of Economics, noted HSE Vice-Rector Elena Odoevskaya in her opening remarks. Despite the fact that the university does not have educational programs in medicine, it still deals with medical products and plans to enter this market.
“In terms of goals and objectives, we must understand that this is a product, not just research. This means that we must have partners, including external ones, including industrial ones, and we must understand how this product will continue to live with us or without us. This is a question of how we implement it,” she emphasized.
Spine Marking App
The first report was devoted to the use of AI for preoperative planning and postoperative outcome assessment in spinal surgery. Chief Scientific Officer International Laboratory of Dynamic Systems and Applications (NRU HSE – Nizhny Novgorod) Vladimir Klinshov spoke about how computer vision technologies can improve the speed and quality of spinal X-ray analysis, helping to optimize the routine work of neurosurgeons. The working title of the product is VerteScan (from the word vertebra – vertebra). This is a service for viewing and analyzing X-ray images of the human spine, including an automatic marking system based on artificial intelligence. “We are making a specific and very utilitarian tool for automatic marking and analysis of spinal X-ray images. We want to relieve the doctor of a fairly routine part of his work, leaving him with the most important decisions. This product is made by surgeons for surgeons. This means that it will be intuitively understandable to doctors, it will be comfortable for them to use, and doctors will need it,” he said.
Spinal pathology accounts for 76% of patient visits to the neurological service, and 72% of visits result in temporary disability. Every year, more than a thousand surgical interventions on the spine are performed at the University Clinic of the Privolzhsky Research Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (PIMU — project partner).
VerteScan will help to determine the patient’s anatomy, the course of his disease, select the minimum permissible volume of surgical intervention, carry out a personalized selection of implants and surgical techniques to achieve the optimal result, and also predict the behavior of intact sections of the spine taking into account the change in biomechanics as a result of the intervention.
“There are many options for performing surgical interventions for spinal diseases. And each of the possible approaches must be carefully planned. Adequate preparation will lead to an adequate result, when we can not only perform the tasks that we set before the operation, but also evaluate and prevent negative changes in adjacent segments of the spine. Using the basic tools of the service that are already working, we can evaluate the parameters unique to each person – for example, the sagittal balance of the spine. It will be possible to plan the installation of implants so as not to disturb these parameters if they are normal, or we will be able to predict how much we will correct these parameters, how much we will change the local anatomy in order to bring these values u200bu200bto normal and ensure a good quality of life for the patient,” explained the team’s neurosurgeon Anatoly Bulkin.
Key partners for the project may include medical institutions, manufacturers of medical implants, and professional associations of orthopedic and spinal surgeons. A free trial version of the software is planned to attract initial users and collect feedback, while premium features will be available by subscription or one-time payment.
If the surgical intervention on the spine is performed suboptimally, it will lead to rapid wear of the intact spinal motor segments, and the treatment result will be worse than the disease itself, said Andrey Bokov, head of the neurosurgery department at PMU.
“If you do not take into account all possible parameters, the patient feels well after the operation for the first few years at most, and then decompensation sets in. This person is on sick leave for a long time, he is excluded from social life. This burden is sometimes even heavier than a life-threatening disease. Relatives who care for a patient with limited mobility are also involved. If we manage to reduce the percentage of such cases, the social effect will be very high,” he emphasized.
Physiotherapy under AI control
The second report was devoted to an automatic intelligent system designed to assess the biomechanics of the arms and legs. This system uses machine learning algorithms to analyze biomechanical data, which can significantly improve the diagnosis and rehabilitation of patients. It was presented by the project leader, research fellow Laboratory of Theory and Practice of Decision Support Systems of the Faculty of Informatics, Mathematics and Computer Science of the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Nizhny Novgorod Andrey Kovalchuk. He emphasized that diseases of the musculoskeletal system are called the non-infectious epidemic of the 21st century. A promising direction for the rehabilitation of patients with such pathologies is remote rehabilitation using digital technologies. This requires the presence of hardware and software systems (HSS) for video motion capture.
The PACs developed to date for remote motor rehabilitation have common drawbacks: high cost, complexity of operation, and the need for a doctor to be present at all times. This makes them inaccessible for mass use.
Remote rehabilitation will increase the number of patients per doctor by reducing the time of face-to-face interaction, but at the same time will improve the quality of service by transferring some of the doctor’s functionality to AI.
The patient will no longer need to visit a hospital, while maintaining a personalized approach and a flexible rehabilitation plan based on objectively measurable parameters.
“Within the framework of this project, it is planned to create a prototype of an automated system (mobile application) based on computer vision technology and designed for remote controlled rehabilitation of patients with musculoskeletal pathology, including after endoprosthetic surgery. With the help of this application, the doctor will be able to create an individual training program for the patient, and will also be able to control the following indicators: the ratio of correctly/incorrectly performed repetitions per session, the maximum, minimum and median joint flexion angles,” said Andrey Kovalchuk.
He emphasized that currently there are no domestic analogues of the mobile solution, and Western ones cannot be used in rehabilitation on the territory of the Russian Federation. The competitiveness of the system will be determined by its autonomy, efficiency and accessibility for a wide range of users, regardless of their location and financial status.
The application will not only collect and analyze video data of movement scenarios and transmit them to the doctor for monitoring and correction, but also interact with the user in real time through voice commands, voicing the mistakes and events made by the user.
Most neurological and orthopedic diseases are accompanied by movement disorders, said Anna Belova, head of the department of medical rehabilitation at PIMU, chief neurologist of the Ministry of Health of the Nizhny Novgorod Region. A patient discharged from the hospital should be regularly monitored by a doctor at home, do gymnastics for many months. But in reality, this does not happen due to a shortage of personnel. Therefore, the emphasis is placed on remote rehabilitation all over the world.
“The basis of recovery is not medication, it is not even surgery, it is therapeutic exercise. Movement is the basis of recovery, and not only for patients, but also for healthy people as they age. But these movements must be performed regularly and correctly – this is very important. For example, those who have undergone endoprosthetics should not perform a number of movements – for example, they cannot cross their legs, bend their knee more than 90 degrees, otherwise this will lead to dislocation of the joint. Therefore, this feedback for independent exercises is extremely important,” she explained.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
As Chinese President Xi Jinping and a host of other leaders gather in Kazan, Russia, for the 16th BRICS summit, the world is once again turning its limelight on the burgeoning international mechanism for how it will push forward self-development and respond to global woes.
A steadfast champion of BRICS cooperation, Xi once compared its five members back then to the five fingers of one hand: They are short and long if extended, but form a powerful fist if clenched together. Now that hand has grown bigger and stronger, as its membership expanded last year, yet the essence of Xi’s metaphor is just becoming more relevant.
With the world trudging on in a new period of turbulence and transformation, the leader of the largest developing country is poised to help guide BRICS, the leading echelon of the Global South, to play a bigger role in building a better shared future for humanity.
Chinese President Xi Jinping poses for a group photo with other leaders attending the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 24, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]
Golden value
BRICS, an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is literally called “gold bricks” in Chinese, indicating optimism for its great potential and shining future.
The sanguine view features prominently in Xi’s engagement with the group. He has consistently placed BRICS high on China’s foreign policy agenda. His first appearance on the multilateral stage as China’s head of state was at the 2013 BRICS summit in Durban, South Africa, and he visited all other four BRICS countries during the first two years of his presidency.
“China led by President Xi Jinping has contributed significantly to the success of BRICS,” noted Bunn Nagara, a senior China researcher in Malaysia.
Thanks to the joint efforts of its members, the golden value of BRICS has kept rising. World Bank data show that the share of BRICS in global GDP grew from 18 percent in 2010 to about 26 percent in 2021, with increases in all years during the period.
Among the drivers of its remarkable growth is a strong orientation toward real results. “BRICS is not a talking shop, but a task force that gets things done,” Xi once stressed.
Following this spirit, practical cooperation has always been the foundation of the BRICS mechanism, a good example of which is the launch of the New Development Bank (NDB). Headquartered in Shanghai, the multilateral institution had approved 105 projects in all member countries for approximately 35 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2023.
In view of BRICS’ evolving development needs, Xi, at the 2017 summit in China’s coastal city of Xiamen, joined other member leaders in formally incorporating cultural and people-to-people exchanges into the engines of BRICS cooperation, in order to further enhance the bond between these nations and reinforce the foundation of BRICS interaction.
Powered by the three engines, namely political and security, economic and financial, as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges, the BRICS cooperation has witnessed even more substantial progress and growing popular support.
The unique value of the BRICS cooperation goes beyond economic terms, and the mechanism is an innovation of international cooperation, which is in marked contrast to some protectionist, exclusive political, military or economic alliances in the West, said Wang Lei, director of the BRICS Cooperation Research Center at Beijing Normal University.
In Xi’s words, the BRICS cooperation transcends the old formula of political and military alliances, the old mindset of drawing lines on the basis of ideology as well as the obsolete notion of “you-win-I-lose” and “winner-takes-all.”
The golden track record, as many observers have pointed out, has not only amply busted various gloom-and-doom claims such as that BRICS is nothing but “a motley crew,” but also significantly increased its appeal to the rest of the world.
This aerial photo taken on Sept. 28, 2021 shows the headquarters building of New Development Bank (NDB) in east China’s Shanghai. [Photo/Xinhua]
Greater BRICS
On Aug. 24 morning last year, the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg erupted with applause upon the announcement of BRICS’ historic expansion. That, Xi said at the press conference, demonstrates “the determination of BRICS countries and developing nations to unite.”
Since the inception of the BRICS mechanism, openness and inclusiveness have remained its members’ abiding commitment. Xi has repeatedly emphasized that BRICS countries gather not in a closed club or an exclusive circle. “A tree cannot make a forest,” he said as early as at his BRICS summit debut in Durban in 2013. A year later at the Fortaleza summit in Brazil, he proposed the “BRICS spirit” of openness, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation.
With such an open mind, the group developed a tradition of inviting leaders of other countries to its summits. Then at the 2017 gathering in Xiamen, an ancient port city that has evolved into a dynamic hub in China’s opening-up and reform, Xi built on that outreach practice and put forward the “BRICS Plus” program, encouraging more participation of other emerging markets and developing nations.
In fact, this southern Chinese city of Xiamen happened to be where Xi came to work as deputy mayor in 1985 at 32. Now, under Xi’s initiative, an innovation base for the BRICS partnership on the new industrial revolution has taken root there.
Over the years, with profound changes reshaping the world at a degree rarely seen in history, the Chinese president has unwaveringly championed openness and cooperation. “Under the new circumstances, it is all the more important for BRICS countries to pursue development with open doors and boost cooperation with open arms,” Xi said at the 14th BRICS summit in 2022.
A year later, more than 60 countries gathered in Johannesburg for the BRICS summit. The gathering “is not an exercise of asking countries to take sides, nor an exercise of creating bloc confrontation,” Xi said. “Rather, it is an endeavor to expand the architecture of peace and development.”
Other than the countries that became new full members on Jan. 1, 2024, more than 30 nations have also formally applied to join BRICS, while many other developing countries are seeking deeper cooperation with the group.
“There is a reason why these countries choose to join BRICS,” said Mekhri Aliev, a board director of the BRICS innovation base in Xiamen. “Because they see future, they see potentials and opportunities within the BRICS.”
A visitor views a model of Xiamen Metro train at the exhibition of BRICS New Industrial Revolution 2024 in Xiamen, southeast China’s Fujian Province, Sept. 10, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
Bigger voice
Three months after its expansion decision, BRICS convened an extraordinary joint summit on the Gaza situation with leaders of invited members, as well as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. That was a first-of-its-kind meeting for the group. The meeting, as Xi said, marks “a good start” for greater BRICS cooperation following its enlargement.
Commenting on this summit, Al Jazeera said that leading countries of the Global South are looking for “a greater say in a global order dominated by the West.” Steven Gruzd, an analyst at the South African Institute of International Affairs, said: “It does reflect on the growing assertiveness and confidence of the BRICS grouping, not waiting for the West.”
BRICS is an important force in shaping the international landscape. Advancing a more just and equitable international order has been a consistent theme in Xi’s remarks on BRICS cooperation.
Effective coordination between BRICS members and other Global South countries is “adding more bricks to the global governance architecture,” said Wang Lei, the Chinese expert with Beijing Normal University.
The New Development Bank (NDB) exemplifies this effort. “The establishment of the bank serves as a beneficial supplement and improvement to the existing financial system,” Xi said, “which can encourage deeper reflection and more active reforms in the global financial system.”
During a meeting with Dilma Rousseff, former Brazilian President and incumbent NDB chief, in Beijing in 2023, Xi called on the NDB to help with the modernization of more developing countries. Rousseff shares Xi’s vision. “It is a vision that we don’t want BRICS to speak just for a few countries. What we want is for most countries to be part of BRICS,” she told Xinhua.
As Xi has observed, strengthening global governance is the right choice if the international community intends to share development opportunities and tackle global challenges.
“Economically, non-Western nations — with BRICS at the vanguard — are pushing the globe into a new reality: An emerging economic, social, and monetary status quo that is upending what the world has accepted as normal for nearly eight decades,” Jeff D. Opdyke, a global investment expert, has observed.
To Guan Zhaoyu, a research fellow with the Eurasian Studies Institute at Renmin University of China, BRICS cooperation “is neither anti-Western nor aimed at overthrowing the existing global order, but rather constructively reforming its unfair aspects to give more opportunities to the developing world.”
Xi maintains that development is an inalienable right of all countries, not a privilege of a few countries. Under his grand vision to build a community with a shared future for mankind, China has been joining hands with other developing countries in advancing their respective modernization.
China will always be a member of the Global South and the developing world, Xi has said on various occasions.
“President Xi has sent out a very clear message: China will unite with other emerging markets and developing countries in the process of global modernization and make sure no one is left behind,” said Guan.
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
In October, the traditional recruitment for the additional professional education program “Procurement Management at Oil and Gas Complex Enterprises” started, which is implemented by the Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade with the support of PJSC Gazprom Neft. In the 2024-2025 academic year, this is already the eleventh launch of the advanced training program.
This program trains specialists in procurement and logistics for the oil and gas industry. The training is targeted and lasts two semesters, intended for master’s students, fifth-year specialists and fourth-year bachelor’s students of SPbPU. To enroll in the program, you must have an average diploma grade of at least 4.0 and be ready to undergo an internship in any region where Gazprom Neft subsidiaries are present.
Each year, no more than 13 students are admitted to the program, each of whom undergoes a multi-stage selection process. After submitting an application, including a questionnaire, resume, and motivation letter, the applicant must undergo verbal and digital testing, as well as an interview with Gazprom Neft representatives.
During their studies, students master about 20 educational modules. Among them: organization of procurement activities, project supply management, management of relationships with counterparties, transport and warehouse logistics, inventory management, basics of accounting and taxation in procurement. Classes are taught by teachers of the Polytechnic University and invited experts from Gazprom Neft.
After the theoretical course, students undergo a mandatory four-week internship at the Gazprom Neft group of companies. The program ends with the defense of their diploma theses. Students who have proven themselves during their studies and internship are offered jobs at Gazprom Neft or its subsidiaries located in many cities in Russia.
Training in the program and summer practice of students are financed by PJSC Gazprom Neft.
The additional education program has been implemented by the Higher School of Industrial Management of the Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade on the basis of the Master’s program “Management in the Oil and Gas Complex”, within the framework of cooperation with Gazprom Neft since 2015.
You can follow the news about the program on the website and in the university’s social networks, as well as in the group “Management in the oil and gas complex”.
Contacts for admission questions:
From SPbPU: program administrator Vyacheslav Dmitrievich Melehin, e-mail: v4mr@yandex.ru
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
The University is marking 50 years of delivering Real Estate degree programmes. Photo credit: ThirdmanThe MSc and MA Real Estate programmes at the University of Aberdeen’s Business School have been reaccredited by the sector’s leading professional development body.
Now in its 50th year of delivering Real Estate degree programmes, the University has seen all eight courses reconfirmed as meeting a globally-recognised standard of surveying education by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
They are the MSc Real Estate, MSc Finance and Real Estate, MA (Hons) Real Estate, MA (Hons) Finance and Real Estate, MA (Hons) Business Management and Real Estate, MA (Hons) Economics and Real Estate, MA (Hons) Accountancy and Real Estate; and MA (Hons) International Business with Real Estate specialism.
The panel consider a number of areas during the review process, including student experience, the quality of the programme content and teaching staff, access to resources and the relevance of the curriculum to industry.
Fiona Stoddard, lecturer in real estate and director of student experience at the Business School, said: “We are delighted to have received our reaccreditation from RICS, adding further confidence that our real estate programmes continue to meet the highest international standards and support students who wish to pursue a rewarding career in the sector.
“Our graduates are able to seek employment in a range of surveying specialisms through our degree accreditations.”
New Gate Arts to bring Back to the Future story to The Fountain for Derry Halloween
21 October 2024
Fans of the iconic Back to the Future movie trilogy are in for a treat this Halloween as New Gate Arts and Culture Centre and North West Cultural Partnership are set to bring the films’ story to life with a dynamic street performance. The time travelling adventures of Marty McFly and Doc Brown will be celebrated in and around the group’s premises in The Fountain with a performance of acting, dance and special effects. The dynamic street performance will also feature a replica of the film’s famous DeLorean sports car which, famously combined with the Flux Capacitor, made time travel possible. The show is part of Derry Halloween’s Awakening the Walled City Trail in and around Derry-Londonderry’s historic city centre each evening from Monday October 28th to Wednesday October 30th. Darren Milligan, Creative Programming Executive at New Gate Arts and Culture Centre, gave the public an idea of what’s in store. “You can expect a thrilling, immersive experience,” he said. “It’s a blend of dance, music, light effects, and video projections, all working together to create a memorable street production. “It will feature live performances from eerie Halloween-themed dancers, energetic jiving and futuristic choreography. “There’ll also be rooftop musicians, a dramatic build-up of smoke and lights, and, of course, the star of the show—the DeLorean, which will make a grand entrance through the large doors of New Gate Arts & Culture Centre.” The New Gate Arts Centre is a thriving arts and cultural venue in the centre of the city and has hosted a wide range performances, classes, workshops, festivals and events since it opened last year. Their Conquer the Dragon performance as part of last year’s trail featured the Sollus Highland Dancers taming a huge dragon at the side of their premises that had invaded the city. “The idea for this year’s show came following the success of Conquer The Dragon,” Darren explained. “We needed something spectacular that could come out of the side of our building again, and we have a few staff members who have a love for the Back to the Future movies, so we said why not try to get our hands on a replica DeLoreon car, and the idea grew from there. “We wanted to create something that merges local heritage with the futuristic, adventurous spirit of Back to the Future. “The DeLorean itself is such a recognisable symbol and we saw an opportunity to incorporate it into a performance that could entertain and engage the local community. “The idea developed into a full-on spectacle with dance, music, and theatrics. “For our young people, this opportunity is something that they want to keep doing and asking about year on year. “Being able to perform at one of the world’s largest Halloween festivals in a show of this scale is an incredible experience for them. “It’s a chance to showcase their talents on a big stage, gain confidence, and be part of something that celebrates both local culture and their own creativity. “It’s not just a performance—it’s a celebration of their hard work and passion for the arts and it means the world to them to contribute to such a renowned event.” The team at New Gate are currently putting the finishing touches to preparations for the show that will feature both characters and music from the original film. “Preparations are going fantastically,” Darren added. “The team has been working tirelessly to ensure that every element comes together seamlessly, from the video projections and music to the choreography and technical effects. “The young people have been rehearsing for weeks, and their energy and excitement is infectious. “With each rehearsal, the performance is becoming more polished, and we can’t wait to bring it all to life for the audience. “We’re also delighted to get a number of community groups involved, we have Clooney Mens Shed making props for the trial, Cathedral Youth Club who are letting us turn their allotment garden into a science lab, and Sollus Highland Dancers who yet again are providing their high quality choreography. “The experience will feature appearances by Doc Brown and Marty McFly and the DeLorean will be the central prop, making a dramatic live appearance. “The rooftop musicians will bring Marty’s famous “Johnny B. Goode” performance to life, encouraging the crowd to get involved and the dancers will wear costumes that reflect the different themes—spooky Halloween, futuristic sci-fi, and 1950s jive—to complement the storyline. “We’re incredibly proud of how this performance has come together, thanks to the hard work and creativity of everyone involved. “It’s a celebration of Halloween, local culture, and the joy of performance. “We hope everyone who comes to see the show will enjoy this unique blend of Back to the Future and local creativity. “It’s going to be a night full of surprises, excitement, and unforgettable moments.” You can get the full Back to the Future experience by starting at the Bishop Street Entrance to the Fountain at 6pm,7pm,8pm, and the street production will take place outside New Gate Arts and Culture Centre at 6.15, 7.15, 8.15pm. Derry Halloween is delivered by Derry City and Strabane District Council and funded by Tourism Northern Ireland and The Executive Office, with support from Ulster University and Air Coach. Follow all the latest news at derryhalloween.com or keep up to date with the Derry Halloween Facebook page.
High-tech 3D scans have revealed the intricate inner workings of the world’s oldest model locomotive for the first time in more than 200 years.
Leeds Industrial Museum’s incredible miniature recreation of a pioneering early steam locomotive recently underwent a detailed CT X-Ray survey using sophisticated equipment at the University of Leeds.
The resulting images show how the precious model, made for the famed engineer Matthew Murray in 1811, replicated the revolutionary mechanics of its full-sized counterparts and in turn helped power a worldwide boom in the railway industry.
It is hoped the images can now illustrate to museum visitors how the model worked and exactly why it was so important to the evolution of early railways across the globe.
John McGoldrick, Leeds Museums and Galleries’ curator of industrial history, said: “This tiny model played a huge part in the development of the early rail industry, allowing Murray to showcase his brilliance to investors and giving him the opportunity to bring his trailblazing designs to life.
“Thanks to these remarkable scans, we can now explore for the first time since 1811 how the model worked, and the extraordinary ingenuity and intricacy which went into its creation.
“Short of cutting open the model, which we wouldn’t ever do, we’d never have got to see its inner workings in quite this way. Now, not only are we examining a piece of engineering history, we’re also getting a unique and unprecedented insight into the mind of one of the world’s great inventors.”
Full-sized Murray designs, such as the famous Salamanca, became the very first commercially viable steam locomotives, and were built around the same time as the model.
At least two other models of the same type were made, with one being gifted by Murray to Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia when he visited Leeds in 1816.
Murray would have used the fully working miniature replicas to woo potential investors and colliery owners, as well as impressing his fellow designers and contemporaries.
His efforts proved successful, with each engine selling for £350, galvanising Murray to create further locomotives which later inspired the great George Stephenson’s designs.
Those locomotives also revolutionised the transportation of coal in Leeds, enabling a small and relatively lightweight engine to haul more than 20 times its own weight, powered by steam from a cast iron boiler with a single flue.
Leeds Museums and Galleries teamed up with Dr Michael Bailey, an early railway historian and archaeologist of early locomotive technology, Dr Alice Macente from the University of Leeds School of Civil Engineering and Dr Sam Allshorn from the School of Earth and Environment.
The scans were carried out at Wolfson Multiphase Flow Laboratory in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds.
Dr Bailey will now be producing a detailed historical account of the model together with an assessment of its design and components.
Funding for the project came through the Leeds Cultural Institute’s Collections Research Fund, a collaboration between academics at the University of Leeds and Leeds Museums and Galleries.
The full findings of the scanning and research will be featured in a future exhibit about the model.
Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, said: “The status Leeds has as a centre for engineering excellence over the centuries is incredible, and this extraordinary model really encapsulates that spirit invention and ingenuity.
“It’s also inspiring to see partners and organisations in modern-day Leeds working together to uncover more about the city’s story and using the latest technology to add new dimensions to what we know about the past.”
Once the world’s largest woollen mill, Leeds Industrial Museum is home to models and machinery paying tribute to the city’s industrial heritage as well as its many inventors and engineers.
MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –
On October 17, the final of the interethnic student festival “Golden Autumn – 2024” took place. The culture of 22 countries and republics was represented by 24 higher and secondary specialized educational institutions of St. Petersburg. The festival of creativity and diversity of cultures, organized by the Committee on Science and Higher Education of the city government, was hosted by Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.
27 years ago, “Golden Autumn” was born in the Polytechnic University, the largest university in the city in terms of the number of foreign students. This year, the festival opened its doors to talented children from Russia, China, Angola, Indonesia, Belarus, Latvia, Gabon, Tanzania, Serbia, Slovakia, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Abkhazia, Mongolia, Moldova.
“Every year new and varied competitions appear, they are born and disappear, and the festival “Golden Autumn” with its 27-year history already has a quality mark! Our task, as a university of the wonderful city of St. Petersburg, is to preserve traditions and continuity through such competitions,” said Maxim Pasholikov, Vice-Rector for Youth Policy and Communication Technologies at SPbPU, at the opening. “”Golden Autumn” is a vivid confirmation of the fact that culture and creativity will always unite people, helping them find a common language and build harmonious relationships.”
Children from all over the world presented their talents on the stage of the White Hall of SPbPU, gave the audience the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of traditions and customs of different nations, introduced them to the amazing beauty and diversity of the cultural heritage of their countries. The jury members were representatives of national public organizations of St. Petersburg and higher educational institutions. They assessed the performances from the point of view of bright national color, originality of performance and artistry.
A song in the language of the African Shona people was performed by ITMO student from Zimbabwe Sauramba Yvonne Pamela, the national anthem of Angola was performed by Jose Santo Antonio Manuel, a student of the N. G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy. The fiery lezginka of the North Caucasus region was presented by the Drive ensemble from the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a male group of students from the Russian Customs Academy performed a Kyrgyz folk dance. Performers on the piano, clarinet, and accordion presented the musical culture of their countries in the Instrumental Music nomination. The jury highly appreciated the performance of the participant from Moldova, a student of the N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory Lev Solomonovich.
“Thank you to the jury for the high rating! I received a sea of pleasure and emotions on the stage of the White Hall of the Polytechnic, performing the native music of my beloved Moldova,” Lev shared.
The best in the “Dance nomination” was recognized as the “Backshotcrew” team from the St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering. The guys presented modern choreography with folk and ethnic motifs. First place in the vocal nomination, which has the largest number of participants, was taken by Artem Stoyanov, a student of the P. F. Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sports and Health. His baritone and the song “How Young We Were” captivated the jury.
“I have the most sincere words of gratitude to the organizers of “Golden Autumn” for the wonderful creative atmosphere. I am amazed by the level and scale of the festival, I am grateful for the opportunity to take part in the event, and thank you to the jury for the high rating,” said Artem.
The Polytechnic was represented by vocalist Ilham Maulana from Indonesia, as well as a group of students from Vietnam, who received the audience award for their dance. The multinational rock group “Secret Scarlet” opened the non-competitive program of the festival.
The winners and prize-winners of the “Golden Autumn” were presented with memorable gifts from the Committee on Science and Higher Education of the Government of St. Petersburg. These were statuettes in the form of gold, silver and bronze maple leaves and certificates for visiting cultural events. The festival finale ended with a joint performance of the song “Closing the Circle”. All participants once again proved that music is a universal language that transcends borders and national barriers, making the world brighter and kinder.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
XI’AN, Oct. 21 — China has unveiled its first-ever wing type spectrum of aircraft in Xi’an, northwestern Shaanxi Province.
The design of the aircraft wings is the foundation of the aviation industry and also the key technology to support the independent innovation of China’s aviation technology, said Tang Changhong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Wings determine the aerodynamic efficiency and flight stability of the aircraft. The spectrum is China’s first profile of high-performance aircraft wings, consisting of more than 1,000 wing types and a database for industrial utilization.
The spectrum is a 30-year research achievement of the Northwestern Polytechnical University, the main builder of the spectrum.
It is of significance in improving the independent innovation capability of aerodynamic design in China’s aviation, and supporting the sustainable development of high-end aerospace equipment in China.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Austin Kay, Researcher in Sustainable Advanced Materials, Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials, Swansea University
As the world races to meet net-zero targets, emissions from all industrial sectors must be reduced more urgently than ever. Agriculture is an important area of focus as it contributes up to 22% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
One approach to decarbonising agriculture involves integrating solar panels – or photovoltaics (PVs) – into fields of crops, greenhouses and livestock areas. Often known as agrivoltaics, this can help farmers reduce their carbon footprint while continuing to produce food.
Agrivoltaics can also mitigate one of the main criticisms often made of solar power – that solar farms “waste” vast tracts of agricultural land that could otherwise be used for food production. In reality, solar farms currently occupy only 0.15% of the UK’s total land – not much compared to the 70% of land devoted to agriculture.
The simplest example of an agrivoltaic system would be conventional, crystalline silicon PVs (the market-leading type of solar panels), installed in fields alongside livestock. This method of farm diversification has become increasingly popular in recent years for three main reasons.
First, it enhances biodiversity as it means the fields are not being used for just one crop (monoculture), undergoing regular crop rotation, or being harvested for silage. Second, it increases production as livestock benefit from the shade and the healthier pasture growth.
Finally, the solar farm has reduced maintenance costs because livestock can keep the grass short. All this is achieved while the solar panels provide locally generated, clean energy.
However, if they’re not set up properly, agrivoltaics may still cause problems. One of the most important challenges, when used in fields where crops are grown, is balancing the need for sunlight between crops and solar panels. Crops need light to grow, and if solar panels block too much sunlight, they can negatively impact crop yields.
This issue varies from place to place. In countries with fewer sunny days like the UK, the panels need to let more sunlight through. But in places like Spain or Italy, some shade can actually help crops by reducing the stress of intense heat during summer months. Finding the right balance is tricky, as it depends on local conditions, the type of crop, and even the needs of pollinators like bees.
The complexity deepens when we consider the type of PV material used. Traditional solar panels aren’t always suitable because they often block the wavelengths (colours) of light needed by plants.
This is where newer materials, like organic semiconductors and perovskites, are ideal as they can be customised to let crops get the light they need while still generating energy. Unlike traditional inorganic semiconductors, which are essentially crystals of metal and metalloid atoms, organic semiconductors are molecules mainly made of carbon and hydrogen. Perovskites, meanwhile, are like a hybrid of organic and inorganic semiconductors.
In fact there are thousands of combinations of these materials to choose from, with scientific literature containing a plethora of options. Figuring out which one works best can be a daunting task.
This is where computational tools can make a big difference. Instead of testing each material in real-world conditions – which would take years and be incredibly expensive – researchers can use simulations to predict their performance. These models can help identify the best materials for specific crops and climates, saving both time and resources.
The tool
We have developed an open-source tool that helps compare various PV materials, making it easier to identify the best options for agrivoltaics. Our tool uses geographical data and realistic simulations of how different PV materials perform.
It considers how light travels through these materials and reflects off them, as well as other important performance measures like voltage and power output. The tool can also take lab-based measurements of PV materials and apply them to real-world scenarios.
Using this tool, we simulated how much power different PV materials could generate per square metre over the course of a year, across various regions. And we calculated how much light passed through these materials to ensure it was enough for crops to thrive.
By running these simulations for multiple materials, we could identify the most suitable options for specific crops and climates.
Tools like ours could play a critical role in decarbonising the agricultural sector by guiding the design of agrivoltaic systems. Future research could combine these simulations with economic and environmental impact analyses. This would help us understand how much energy we can expect from a solar panel over its lifetime compared to the resources and costs involved in producing it.
Ultimately, our tool could help researchers and policymakers in selecting the most efficient, cost-effective and eco-friendly ways to decarbonise agriculture and move us closer to achieving global net-zero emissions.
Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
Austin Kay is a Postgraduate Student at Swansea University and receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through program grant EP/T028513/1 Application Targeted and Integrated Photovoltaics.
In a significant diplomatic manoeuvre that may have far-reaching implications for the international system of alliances, Turkey has submitted a formal request to join Brics, the group of emerging-market economies, signalling its intent to diversify its partnerships beyond the west.
The Brics grouping, named after Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, comprises some of the world’s largest economies. Earlier this year, it welcomed four new members: Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Egypt. Although Saudi Arabia has been invited to join, the official process is yet to take place. Often viewed as an alternative to western-led organisations such as the EU, G7 and Nato, Brics signifies a significant shift in global power dynamics.
Ankara’s decision could be a strategy to strengthen relations with non-western powers as the global economy’s centre continues to shift away from the west, but is also about chasing more trade with Brics members.
Announced ahead of the Brics summit starting on October 22, Turkey’s application has raised questions about the broader implications for its role within Nato. If accepted, Turkey would be the first Nato member of Brics. However, this is not to say that Turkey is entirely turning away from the west. Turkey’s institutional ties with the western world run deep. At most, this move signals Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s intention to increase the government’s flexibility in its foreign relations.
Erdoğan said on September 1 that this move shows Ankara’s aims to cultivate ties with all sides simultaneously to “become a strong, prosperous, prestigious and effective country if it improves its relations with the east and the west simultaneously”.
Turkey’s acceptance into the group could be discussed during the upcoming 16th Brics summit, in Kazan, Russia. Malaysia, Thailand and Azerbaijan are among other countries expecting to join.
Between east and west
Turkey’s balancing act between east and west is not a recent phenomenon but a continuation of its policies since the end of the cold war, and is in line with its geographical position at the edge of Europe and Asia.
This strategy has been central to Turkey’s intricate, at times conflicting, approach to international relations and remains pertinent in an increasingly complex world. The shift from a unipolar world – the idea that the world is dominated by one super power – to one with more global powers has led all governments to reassess their foreign policies, and Ankara is no different.
Turkey’s longstanding commitment to Nato makes it highly unlikely that its willingness to join the Brics group signifies a move away from its western allies. Since 2016, Turkey has strengthened its economic, political, and military ties with Russia and China, and its recent application to the Brics group reflects this trend. According to some experts in Turkish foreign policy, while this development may raise concerns in western capitals, there is no pressing reason for the west to be alarmed about Turkey making concessions to Russia or acting independently of Nato.
There are two incentives driving Turkey’s application. According to Sinan Ülgen, director of the Istanbul-based Centre for Economic and Foreign Policy Studies: “The first is Turkey’s aspiration to enhance its strategic autonomy in foreign policy which essentially involves improving ties with non-western powers like Russia and China in a way to balance the relationship with the west. The second is the accumulated frustrations over the relationship with the west. For example, the EU has not even been able to decide on the start of negotiations on the updating of the customs union, its trade deal with Turkey that dates back to 1996.”
Turkey has been keen on joining the Brics group since 2018. Putin, during a meeting with Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan in Moscow in June this year, welcomed Ankara’s interest and promised that Moscow “will support this desire to be together with the countries of this alliance [Brics], to be together, closer, to solve common problems”.
Since the war in Ukraine, Russia has been making extra efforts to gain the support of more countries. Turkey holds a particular significance in this effort due to its strategic location, and its control of the Black Sea straits, an essential trade route for both Ukraine and Russia. The Black Sea has played an important part in the Ukraine war, and Turkey has been part of an alliance that has stymied Russia’s attempts to fully control the waters, and allowed Ukraine to continue to use the waters.
The Montreux Convention regulates maritime traffic through the Turkish Straits. The convention distinguishes between Black Sea and non-Black Sea powers, acknowledging specific advantages for the former, which includes Ukraine and Russia.
In March 2022, Erdoğan indicated that the convention allows Turkey to restrict the passage of naval vessels belonging to warring parties. Putin may be hoping that with Turkey on board as a Brics ally he may be able to persuade Ankara to give him more leeway. Currently Russia’s inability to control the Black Sea and cargo ships within it are seriously weakening its ability to constrain Ukraine’s economy.
Turkey anticipates that Brics membership will enhance its geopolitical standing and expand its economic influence, especially in non-western markets. Most importantly, leveraging its geopolitical position to influence global affairs and pursuing a more balanced and diversified foreign policy.
It is evident that Turkey aims to maintain its connections with the west while also desiring the flexibility to engage with other regions. It is highly improbable that this would lead to a significant overhaul of Turkey’s ties with western countries. It may, however, cause concern among fellow Nato members about how much they can rely on Turkey in the future.
Bulent Gökay 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.
There is a city nearby that we hide from view. Its people are of all ages, ethnicities and classes. What unites them is a disease: all are diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME.
We hide them there because we don’t know where else to put them. Like a plague village, we have no plans to treat them, to study their disease or to trial possible drugs for them. We could choose to draw up such plans, to give the residents hope for their future health. But our country’s choice is to turn away and forget about these 250,000-plus inhabitants altogether. A city the size of Brighton that we deliberately ignore.
Worse, when we don’t ignore them, we blame them, telling them that they are all free to rise from their beds and wheelchairs, to walk away from the city. Doctors tell them they can free themselves of the disease by changing their belief systems. Make the effort, they say, and you will regain your health and previous lives.
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Outwardly, the city is quiet: its clocks have stopped, the streets are empty and house blinds are drawn. Inwardly, some lie still in their darkened rooms, masks on to protect them from their light sensitivity, keeping within their limited energy level, unable to tolerate sound, food and touch – lives spent in the shadows, barely lived. Inside, they feel like they have life-sapping toxins coursing through their veins. They say it feels like being on the verge of death; some even call it a “pseudo dying syndrome”.
A brief conversation with a friend, or washing their hair, or a sudden movement causes their symptoms to flare. This intensifies a fatigue that sleep cannot alleviate, and heightens their muscle or joint pain, headaches, or sensitivities to food, light or sound.
Simon McGrath, a close friend of mine who has lived with ME and written about it for 20 years, tells me:
I never know how much it is safe for me to do. It’s like I’m surrounded by an electric fence that will trigger a bad day if I touch it. But the fence is invisible, and moves every day.
A ‘scandal’ so much more than chronic fatigue
Fatigue does not begin to describe this disease, despite its other name being chronic fatigue syndrome, or CFS. “A bad day is like a very bad hangover lasting 24 hours or more: the morning after, without the night before,” Simon explains. “But with much more pain, much more fatigue and very bad brain fog. I feel as if all the neurons in my skull have collapsed and disconnected from each other.” By spotlighting fatigue, ME’s other name fails to convey its many debilitating symptoms.
Simon – or, rather, his illness – is why I am a ME researcher. At university, where we met, he graduated with a biochemistry degree, fizzing with energy and talent. His ME soon dimmed his bright future but would not stop him making a difference to the ME community through his writing, and in helping me understand this horrible disease.
The Times journalist, Sean O’Neill, says that ME is “routinely stigmatised and ignored by the NHS” and calls it “a scandal waiting for its Post Office moment”. O’Neill and his family had to endure the inquest into the death of his daughter, Maeve Boothby O’Neill, who died from natural causes because of severe ME.
Maeve’s ME left her unable to move, communicate or tolerate light, sound or touch. She did not want to go to hospital because, according to her GP, she “always gets worse when [she] goes in”.
Why is it that we give the least or worst treatments to those who are most in need?
Exile and misogyny
ME exiles people from their family, friends, and hoped-for futures. For most, this banishment is for life because nine in ten will never recover, and also because we expend too little effort to end this wicked disease.
That’s the irony – it’s society’s lack of effort to understand this illness and its treatment; our societal inertia; our failure to accept patients’ symptoms that perpetuate their exile.
So let’s attempt to diagnose what causes our apathy towards this cruel disease. The chief cause is misogyny, an ingrained prejudice born of the disease’s strong female bias: for every five women living with ME, there is only one man. It also has a strong age bias – young men are ten times less likely to be diagnosed with it than older women.
Another female-dominant disease is endometriosis. Like ME, the medical establishment is only just starting to appreciate the full nature of this debilitating condition.
In her memoir, Giving up the Ghost, the prize-winning novelist Hilary Mantel said of her endometriosis: “The more I said that I had a physical illness, the more they said I had a mental illness. The more I questioned the nature, the reality of the mental illness, the more I was found to be in denial, deluded.”
ME patients also report feeling that their concerns and symptoms are all too often dismissed.
Women with ME have spoken about their experiences of medical misogyny. For example, I talked to the Vikings actress Jennie Jacques who has spoken openly about her experiences of ME. She said that “Medical misogyny [is] at the heart of it. ME was psychologised when it most definitely shouldn’t have been”.
When later asked by ME specialistByron Hyde MD “why had he written up the Free Hospital epidemics as hysteria without any careful exploration of the basis of his thesis?”, McEvedy responded devastatingly, saying: “It was an easy PhD, why not?”
In the US, female-biased conditions attract less funding than male-biased ones. Funding for ME is 400-times less than for HIV/Aids, a male-biased disease, once their different disease burdens are accounted for.
In 2021, the previous UK government acknowledged the problem stating: “Studies suggest gender biases in clinical trials and research are contributing to worse health outcomes for women.”
COVID empathy?
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic should have woken us up from our collective lethargy, and should have turned apathy into empathy. For then there were times when we all became housebound, often sick with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and moreover so many of us – a million people, more than Liverpool and Manchester combined – came down with Long COVID.
Long COVID and ME share so many symptoms: post-exertional malaise, fatigue, widespread pain, disordered sleep, and brain fog. This overlap should never have surprised us – after all, two-thirds of people with ME report having had a triggering infection, such as glandular fever, just prior to their initial symptoms. Around 10% of people with glandular fever go on to develop ME symptoms.
It is as if we have our own brain fog, obscuring everyone with ME, forgetting how we – if fortune had been different – might have been them.
If we do not act to reduce the spread of infection, through immunisation and better ventilation, then numbers of people with long COVID – and other ME-like illnesses – will continue to rise, as infections so often trigger these conditions.
Going back to Simon, ME made him housebound, then bedbound. The NHS treated him with therapies based on increasing activity levels (Graded Exercise Therapy, or GET). This involves “gradually increasing physical activity to improve fitness and get the body used to activity again”.
The other NHS treatment approach, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), is about changing “illness beliefs”. Here, patients are asked to examine “how thoughts, behaviour and CFS/ME symptoms interact with each other”.
But these treatments are ineffective as cures. And worse still, for the majority of 11,000 people with ME on one survey, GET did more harm then good.
In a different online survey, of 542 ME patients, 81% responded that their symptoms worsened because of GET treatment. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, revised in 2021, say that CBT is not curative and that GET should not be offered to people with ME. Yet this new guidance has been implemented by only 28% of English NHS Trusts and Integrated Care Boards.
So, despite GET being described by patients as causing harm, and CBT as being ineffective as a cure, they are still being offered as a treatment. Over decades, very little has changed for Simon and hundreds of thousands of others with ME.
As we grew older together, Simon watched as I changed scientific career from physics into biology. I watched as his health might begin to rebuild, before suddenly collapsing, setting him back months or years. His ME has cost so much, he told me:
It’s so isolating and there’s so much loss. I got ill in the prime of life. It cost me relationships, my social life, my career, the chance of a family, the chance to contribute. Everything. Plenty of people seem to think it’s a lifestyle choice. Nobody would choose this.
As if his ME burden was not heavy enough, he started to carry other long-term health conditions, which each alone would bring me to my knees. Even though he does not feel it, I see his strength and resolution in adversity. At a time when biomedical evidence was rarely championed, he began his ME blog, and together with co-authors re-analysed clinical trial data. They concluded that the “recovery rates in the CBT and GET groups were not significantly higher than those in the control, no-therapy group”.
His own experience of ME, and his scientific eye-for-detail, make him a go-to person for people in the ME community.
In contrast, by 2013, and despite my decades of scientific training and academic privileges, I had done nothing for ME research. Why did I hesitate? “It’s not my scientific area,” I told myself. I trusted other researchers to identify effective and potentially curative treatments soon.
I was unprepared for the shock of my first ME research meetings. When studying other diseases, I had become used to vast conference halls brimming with celebrated scientists, enthusiastic PhD students, science prize winners, funders, and journal editors, all on the hunt for the next big breakthrough, grant or career opportunity.
For ME, however, the rooms were small and half-empty, funders and journal editors were nowhere to be seen, and researchers were talking at cross-purposes, showing sparse data from small-scale studies. These meetings were also empty of robust evidence for what physiologically had gone wrong for so many. At each meeting, a single word came to my mind: “forsaken” – those who others shun, neglect and abandon, whose existence is denied. I could not then, in all conscience, turn my back and walk away.
Not once have I regretted this decision. Its professional cost – measured in traditional markers of esteem, such as “glamour” publications, international conference and seminar invitations – has been more than offset by the fulfilment from working in this long-neglected field.
The extent of scientific disinterest in ME is clear: so far this year, there have been 17-times more publications mentioning “multiple sclerosis” than those mentioning ME or CFS, despite MS being rarer.
New study
My privilege now is to walk ME’s city of stolen futures alongside many people – like Simon – whose lost decades have been spent searching for their disease’s root causes. Together, for two-and-a-half years our team went back-and-forth with the Medical Research Council MRC and the National Institute for Health and Care Research NIHR. Eventually, we managed to secure a £3.2m award for DecodeME, a hunt for ME’s genetic causes.
DecodeME is not just the world’s largest study of the genetic causes of ME, but it was the first to place people with experience of ME at its heart. A total of 27,000 people with ME in the UK took part. We will report the study’s results as soon as we can. When we do, we will give them back first to the ME community whose data and samples we hold in trust.
The UK government has pledged to publish its delivery plan on ME in 2025. Andrew Gwynne MP, parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department of Health and Social Care, has said that it “will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease”.
This delivery plan will need to be radical.
Today, we urgently need more people to move through this city of lost hope to hear and to listen.
We need scientists to develop new vaccines against infections that trigger ME.
We need researchers, clinical specialists, hospital managers, and politicians to give deserved priority to this long-forsaken community and help lead these long-lost inhabitants back into the land of the well.
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Chris Ponting’s research has been funded by MRC, NIHR, Action for M.E. and ME Research UK.
The Guardian and anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate have revealed the existence of a new network of far-right intellectuals and activists in an undercover investigation. Called the Human Diversity Foundation (HDF), this group advocates scientific racism and eugenics. Although it presents itself as having a scientific purpose, some of its figureheads have political ambitions in Germany and elsewhere.
Research shows these kinds of groups are nothing new and are linked to eugenics groups that have been active since the second world war. Defending the scientific legitimacy of eugenics, these organisations worked to keep a discredited intellectual tradition alive.
First coined by Francis Galton, a prominent Victorian statistician and evolutionary theorist, the term eugenics refers to the study of what Galton considered favourable and unfavourable genetic patterns within the population. Galton believed that the principles of evolutionary theory could be applied to the human species and used to intervene in its genetic fitness.
Galton and other early eugenicists advocated policies that would ensure that groups they believed held “desirable” traits, such as high intelligence, creative ability, or productivity, could reproduce in greater numbers than groups with less favourable genetics. Some even believed that “undesirable” groups should be prevented from reproducing, through forced sterilisation or abortion.
In the 1930s these ideas came to form the bedrock of Nazi race doctrine. Eugenics was a key component of Nazism and shaped both formal fascist ideology and how the Nazi regime treated its victims.
Before the second world war, many researchers regarded eugenics as a legitimate science. But in the aftermath of the war came a shift in attitudes, and scientists and society came to view eugenics as scientifically false and morally objectionable.
Instead of disappearing from academia, however, eugenics merely retreated into the
margins. Racial research became the focus of a handful of groups intent on keeping
the eugenics tradition alive.
Though they operated on the fringes of academia, these groups received financial support from private donors. The most prominent of these donors was the Pioneer Fund, a charity established in 1937 to support race science and white supremacy in the US and elsewhere.
These groups were close-knit. United by a shared sense of exclusion from the
academic mainstream, the people involved were prolific writers and together
generated a large body of work. They inflated their own citation counts by frequently referencing each other’s work and, in this way, established the impression of scientific rigour.
Pseudoscientific journals
Seeking to salvage the reputation of eugenics as a legitimate science, these groups
tended to cluster around journals and periodicals.
Chief among these was Mankind Quarterly, established in 1961 by a group called the International Association for the Advancement of Ethnology and Eugenics (IAAEE). Some decades later ownership of the journal was transferred to the Ulster Institute for Social Research, a eugenicist think tank founded and directed by Richard Lynn. Lynn is widely considered the intellectual figurehead of 21st-century eugenics.
The Mankind Quarterly quickly became known as a bastion of scientific racism. It published work by notorious pseudoscientists, neo-fascists, and such controversial political figures as former British MP Enoch Powell, remembered for appealing to racial hatred in his speeches.
Other similar journals emerged in the following decades. In France, Nouvelle École (“New School”) was established in 1967 by a white nationalist group. In Germany, Neue Anthropologie (“New Anthropology”) was first published in 1973.
Reported to have developed out of the Pioneer Fund and to have taken ownership of Mankind Quarterly, the HDF is the successor to earlier groups like the IAAEE and the Ulster Institute.
Today, the eugenics movement is experiencing a period of uncertainty following the
death of Richard Lynn in July 2023. When he died, Lynn was the director of the Pioneer Fund and the editor-in-chief of Mankind Quarterly. Organisations like HDF, led by people who have worked closely with Lynn, are trying to fill that void.
Whether the HDF will survive public scrutiny remains to be seen. But the broader networks from which it emerged are arguably stronger than at any previous moment in post-war history, facilitated by the rise of the far right and online extremism. All of which means it has never been more important to remember the tradition’s history.
Lars Cornelissen 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.
The first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the beginning of conflict in Gaza left UK schools with a dilemma: how to mark the event. It has affected many around the world, including school children and their families in the UK.
Earlier in 2024, government adviser on social cohesion, Sara Khan, suggested that schools were not supporting reasonable debate about the Israel-Gaza conflict because teachers are nervous about handling such a sensitive topic in the classroom.
But if schools shut down the topic they risk encouraging mistrust, anger, hate and polarisation. Not least because students will instead seek out information online – and are quite likely to stumble upon fake news and conspiracy theories.
The leader of the UK’s biggest education union, Daniel Kebede, recently noted that there simply isn’t enough space in the curriculum for students to discuss such difficult issues. He claims the solution is to embed philosophy as a subject across England’s school curriculum.
The subject of philosophy is specifically set up to promote critical thinking skills and teach people how to have difficult conversations about controversial issues.
Teaching controversial topics
Controversial and sensitive topics are unavoidable. We encounter them discussed in the media, on the news, in the street and in our homes. Yet we are not always sure what to think, especially when the issue is complex, or how to talk to people we disagree with. And the skills of reasonable dialogue can be even harder when emotions are running high.
Young people need to learn how to discuss controversial issues like the Israel-Gaza war. The best way to do this is by including philosophy on the curriculum. Philosophy has an excellent toolkit designed to explore various points of view in a critically engaged way and, when taught dialogically – through discussion between students and teachers – students become seekers of shared knowledge and wisdom.
A key aspect of a democracy involves welcoming different ideas. Such diversity is a strength because it allows for many claims to be scrutinised, with only the best arguments gaining traction. Yet this process of sharing ideas requires our citizens to be able to hold reasoned discussions and to think critically.
The ability to hold reasoned, critical discussion is a valuable skill. fizkes/Shutterstock
To avoid aggression or chaos, people need to engage charitably with one another, being respectful of various experiences and perspectives while also being critical of the ideas presented.
The dialogical skills of philosophy
Philosophy, more than any other subject, encourages students to think about the reasons why they think something, and entertain the possibility that there are other points of view.
Philosophy is inherently dialogical. The most common teaching approach is to think about the steps in an argument, and then to consider the weaknesses in each of these.
Philosophy does this by teaching students to check: What assumptions am I making? Are the premises of my position sound? Does the conclusion logically follow from my starting point? What is a counterargument or counterexample to which I need to reply? Could I be wrong about this? What additional information do I need to draw a conclusion?
These kinds of questions encourage intellectual humility: the idea that I, like anyone else, could be wrong. Intellectual humility goes hand in hand with open-mindedness, ensuring we remain open to relevant new information.
Such skills of critical thinking and respectful disagreement are vital in a time of disinformation and fake news. Not only do we need young people to learn how to fact check and be critical of what they see and hear, but we also need them to learn that it is OK to disagree.
Being open-minded
The influential American philosopher Daniel Dennett, who died earlier this year, wrote about the importance of criticising with kindness and seeking the most charitable version of your opponent’s position. This is so important when discussing controversial topics, because reasonable people will disagree.
Criticising with kindness means staying humble and open to different points of view when having difficult conversations. And it means creating space for the airing of diverse arguments and examples. In this way, teachers who are trained in philosophy are able to remain politically neutral while helping students converse with one another about important issues that affect them and those they care about.
Philosophy is about learning to be respectful of others whose views differ from one’s own and to accept reasonable disagreement. It also teaches us to be comfortable with unsettled questions and complex answers. Teaching philosophy in the classroom leads to students engaging with ideas charitably and critically, encouraging open-mindedness and intellectual humility.
It is the skills of dialogue that we need as our society faces increasing polarisation and violent disagreement. These skills are some of the defining characteristics of a democracy. Happily, teachers are uniquely positioned to embrace the subject of philosophy and the skills it has to offer.
Laura D’Olimpio is co-founding editor of the open access Journal of Philosophy in Schools.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Lisa Magdalena Engström, Senior lecturer in Library and information science, Lund University
Shutterstock/Bezbod
Drag story hour is “nothing other than indoctrination and sexualisation of children”, claimed Sweden Democrats politician Jonathan Sager during a session of the local parliament in Kalmar, southern Sweden, in 2022. He was reacting to plans to organise a drag story hour event at the local library, where drag queens would read to children, challenging norms of gender and sexuality. He called (unsuccessfully) for the event to be cancelled.
For someone not familiar with recent political trends in Sweden, Sager’s view may seem out of character for a country known for its tolerance and progressive approach towards sexual minorities. But just like other countries, Sweden is experiencing a backlash against drag story hour events. Public libraries have repeatedly been the target of hatred and threats from radical right actors, including politicians. Culture wars, often associated with the polarised political climate of the US, have now firmly taken root in Scandinavia.
In the US, objections against drag queen story hour form part of a larger wave of protests against LGBTQ+ content in libraries, also manifested in attempts to have certain books banned. Although book bans are not as common in Sweden, tensions have arisen over what children read and who reads to them.
As a result, public libraries, and especially their reading promotion activities for children, are now at the centre of polarising conflicts between the radical right and its opponents.
Sweden is far from immune to the global growth of far-right influence. Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna or SD), became the second largest party in the national parliament following the most recent election in 2022. The current government depends on their support to function. The party has neo-nazi roots and, despite cleaning up appearances, its representatives still push overtly anti-immigration, white supremacist viewpoints.
Like many parties of the radical right, SD promotes a conservative view on culture, gender and family, so its opposition to drag story hour is not surprising. However, there is a deeper conflict over the future of Swedish society at play here, too.
We looked at five instances of political conflict around drag events at libraries in Sweden, finding common themes of dispute over culture and what constitutes a good society.
‘Defending’ our children
In Kalmar, as well as in Trelleborg, another municipality in southern Sweden, local Sweden Democrats have (unsuccessfully) tried to block drag story hours at libraries by arguing that they were “defending” children. In Kalmar, the organiser was accused of “sexualising children”, as though there is something inherently sexual about a drag queen wearing a dress. Sager argued that material that is “gender creative, gender critical or norm critical” should not be used for events involving children.
Historically, reading promotion activities are part of this fear of harmful influence. For instance, certain types of fiction have been portrayed as having a demoralising effect, leading to initiatives that encourage children to read “quality literature” instead. In Sweden, there is less of a debate around the content of children’s literature, so there aren’t US-style arguments about banning books. But there are heated conversations around the act of reading, especially with children.
Reading together teaches children to support democratic values, such as by fostering empathy and understanding. Drag story hour fits well with this perspective because it promotes values of acceptance, diversity and positive self-identification. These are values that are expressions of the characteristic emphasis on equity and pluralism in Swedish cultural policy.
But by ticking these boxes, drag story hour clashes with the politics of the radical right, making the conflict emblematic of a larger tussle over the direction of Nordic cultural policy.
The dilemma of the safe space
The dispute around drag story hour has also inflamed arguments about the meaning of safety in a modern society. Is the safest option to bring security into a library or does that very security compromise the library as a safe space?
In the municipalities of Älmhult and Olofström, in southern Sweden, libraries decided against holding drag story hours because of safety concerns. They felt that bringing in guards was not an option because that would be “completely at odds” with the openness of the library. Visible security measures were seen as incompatible with being a safe space.
In Malmö, drag story times went ahead with security guards in place. Here, a decision had been made that security measures enabled the library to be a safe space via drag story hour.
The controversies over drag queen story telling events at public libraries in Sweden continues. Recently, a drag queen story group filed a charge against 106 people – including five SD politicians – for hate crimes. At the same time, public libraries in many parts of Sweden continue to report successful story telling arrangements in the face of opposition from the radical right.
Fredrik Hanell has received research funding from the Crafoord Foundation (ref. no. 20210680). He is affiliated with the Swedish Green Party.
Hanna Carlsson and Lisa Magdalena Engström 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.
Participation in extreme sports has surged since COVID-19, with 490 million people estimated to be taking part globally. This may have been fuelled by a desire to break free from lockdown-induced monotony and an explosion of media coverage showcasing the allure of high-adrenaline activities.
Extreme sports, like Base jumping, free solo climbing, big wave surfing and downhill mountain biking, once reserved for a small percentage of people, are now becoming more mainstream.
But why are people willing to take such risks? As a climber myself, I was keen to find out. While the popular image of extreme sports participants often revolves around thrill seeking and adrenaline addiction, research from my colleagues and I shows there are far more complex reasons for why people participate.
An extreme sport is defined as one in which a mismanaged mistake or accident would result in serious injury or death.
Research has started to explore the reasons behind extreme sports participation, but there’s still a lot to uncover. Several studies have identified factors like personality, motivation, and even neurobiology as playing a role. But it remains unclear which of these consistently drives people to take part in high-risk sports.
We started our work by conducting a systematic review to consolidate existing research on what drives people to participate in extreme sports. The studies we looked at provided important insights into the various psychological and emotional factors that motivate people to engage in high-risk activities. This helped us build a more complete understanding of the extreme sports mindset. We uncovered five motivational factors.
Red Bull’s international marketing campaign largely revolves around extreme sports.
1. Connection
Participants often describe feeling at one with nature and free from the constraints of everyday life. Many also find a deep sense of belonging in the extreme sports community and are driven by the desire to push their personal boundaries.
2. Personality
While some people are indeed drawn to thrill seeking, many use extreme sports as a tool to regulate difficult emotions. This is particularly true for those with alexithymia, which is when people struggle to identify and express their feelings.
3. Goals
The drive to succeed plays a big role in why people take part in extreme sports. Of course, many athletes are motivated by setting clear goals, whether it’s winning competitions or improving their performance. In this sense, participation in extreme sport is no different from that of more traditional sport.
For many of the respondents in the studies we analysed, goal setting boosts confidence and helps them persist through challenges. Participants also often feel a strong sense of control over their activities and find a sense of community with like-minded people.
4. Managing risk
Far from being reckless, participants are often highly calculated about the risks they take. They thrive on managing risk, finding excitement in navigating dangerous situations rather than avoiding them.
5. Addiction-like urges
Some participants exhibit behaviour resembling addiction, experiencing mood disturbances when not engaging in their chosen extreme sport. This can create a powerful urge to return, a bit like withdrawal symptoms.
People who take part in extreme sport often thrive on managing risk. PhotoFires/Shutterstock
Our findings have broader implications. They challenge the traditional view of extreme sports enthusiasts as mere “adrenaline junkies”. The research suggests that extreme sports could potentially offer therapeutic benefits, particularly for people struggling with emotional regulation.
Far from just being about thrill seeking, these types of activities could provide an outlet for experiencing emotions that might otherwise be hard for some people to access. It opens new avenues for exploring how high-risk activities may be used to support mental health and wellbeing.
My own work in this field is ongoing. Recently, I’ve conducted interviews with elite extreme sport participants to explore their motivations in greater depth. This new research will examine how these motivations shift over time – before, during and after participation. I’m also expanding my studies to compare the motivations driving extreme sport enthusiasts with those of non-extreme sport participants, aiming to uncover what, if anything, truly sets them apart.
Odette Hornby 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.
While many people in the creative industries are worrying that AI is about to steal their jobs, Oscar-winning film director James Cameron is embracing the technology. Cameron is famous for making the Avatar and Terminator movies, as well as Titanic. Now he has joined the board of Stability.AI, a leading player in the world of Generative AI.
In Cameron’s Terminator films, Skynet is an artificial general intelligence that has become self-aware and is determined to destroy the humans who are trying to deactivate it. Forty years after the first of those movies, its director appears to be changing sides and allying himself with AI. So what’s behind this?
Valued at around a billion dollars, Stability.AI was, until recently at least, headquartered above a chicken shop in Notting Hill. It is famous for Stable Diffusion, a text-to-image tool that creates hyperreal pictures from text requests (or prompts) by its users. Now it is moving into AI-created video.
Cameron appears to see their work as a potential game changer in film visual effects: “I was at the forefront of CGI over three decades ago, and I’ve stayed on the cutting edge since. Now, the intersection of generative AI and CGI image creation is the next wave,” he commented in a media release from Stability.AI.
Filmmakers supplement the live action reality that they shoot with two kinds of effects: special effects (SFX) and visual effects (VFX). They come at two different stages of film production. During the shoot, SFX are all the physical effects used to create spectacle – explosions, blood squibs, vehicle crashes, prosthetics, mechanical movement of sets.
During postproduction, VFX are the digital systems that add new elements to live-action filmed images – computer-generated imagery (CGI), compositing, motion capture rendering. They also combine separately shot images together.
A recent development of film technology, Virtual Production, has brought some VFX techniques into the film shoot. This process uses what are known as “games engines” – a technology developed for the creation of video games. Actors are filmed in front of sophisticated LED walls, which screen dynamic, pre-produced virtual worlds around the performer.
The real-world physicality of SFX means that artificial intelligence will have very limited impact here. It is in VFX where AI may have a transformative effect. I’ll be talking about the subject of deepfakes and AI in film at a public lecture on October 30, 2024: ‘Deepfakes and AI in film and media: seeing is not believing’.
We are also investigating the subject through the Synthetic Media Research Network, a group that I co-lead which brings together film creatives, academic researchers and AI developers. I spoke to a member of this collective, Christian Darkin, a VFX artist who now works as Head of Creative AI for Deep Fusion Films.
He sees the impact of generative AI on VFX as creating infinite choice in post-production. In future, filming the actors will be just the beginning. “You’ll put in the background later, you’ll change the camera angles, you’ll change the expressions, you’ll ramp up the emotion in the acting, you’ll change the voices, the costumes, the people’s faces, everything,” Christian told me.
One key motive for the film industry’s incorporation of AI into VFX is simple: the expense of traditional VFX. If you have watched the end credits of a blockbuster movie, you’ll have seen the number of VFX technicians that they employ. Generative AI offers a cheaper way to achieve spectacular screen images, potentially with no loss of quality.
The implication is that a lot of VFX technicians will lose their jobs as a result. However, in conversations that I have had with people working in these roles there’s a sense that, being highly skilled and technologically savvy, they will probably move into new roles in emerging areas of tech.
The ethics of AI technology
Media creatives are now presented with a huge selection of generative AI Tools that offer new ways of creating images, text, voices and music. However, a key problem related to the technology still needs to be addressed: have these AI tools been created ethically?
Each generative AI tool, from ChatGPT to Midjourney to Runway, rests on a foundation model that has been exposed to vast amounts of data, often from the internet, in order to help it improve at what it does. This process is called “training”.
AI developers build huge reservoirs of training data by using “crawlers”, bots that scour the internet for useful material and download trillions of files for their own use. This can include books, music, images, the spoken word and videos, created by artists who retain copyright over their material.
Stability.ai has been involved in a legal action over copyright in the UK courts. Getty Images, holder of a huge collection of pictures and photographs, is currently suing the company.
A former executive at Stability.ai, Ed Newton-Rex, resigned in November 2023 over the company scraping for creative content to train the model, without payment and claiming it is “fair use”.
Perhaps Cameron thinks that the AI developers will win the court cases against them and continue their technological trajectory. I asked Stability.ai if, before Cameron joined the company, they had scraped any of his creative material from the internet to use as training data for their foundation models – and did they ask his permission?
Their response was: “We’re not able to comment on the source of Stability
AI’s training data.”
Cameron’s Terminator films warned about the potential catastrophic effects of rogue AI. Yet the director now clearly thinks that he is now sitting on a winning horse.
Dominic Lees receives funding from the AHRC Impact Acceleration Account (University of Reading).
Coal workers suing their government over job losses. Indigenous people using the courts to block wind farms or anti-deforestation policies that violate their cultural rights. What these cases have in common is they challenge the fairness of climate policies and projects themselves.
Our new study, carried out with researchers from 16 universities and published in Nature Sustainability, finds that cases like these are increasingly being filed all over the world.
We coined the term “just transition litigation” to describe these cases. This term captures a focus on ensuring that climate action balances the transition to a low-carbon economy with social justice and the protection of vulnerable communities.
This phenomenon must be kept distinct from that of climate litigation, which tends to focus on holding governments and companies accountable for failing to reduce emissions or adapt to climate change.
Our research began in 2020, when we started noticing a growing number of cases that didn’t fit the conventional model of climate litigation. For example, in Chile, union workers sued the government, arguing that they had been excluded from discussions regarding the phase-out of coal plants. The Chilean Supreme Court ruled in favour of the workers, emphasising that a just transition strategy — one that includes consultation with affected communities — is essential for achieving carbon neutrality.
Similarly, in Norway, the Sami Indigenous people successfully challenged wind farm licenses, which the country’s Supreme Court found to have violated their cultural rights to herd reindeer. In Colombia, Indigenous people argued that projects aimed at reducing deforestation on their land violated their rights to self-determination and cultural integrity.
Just transition litigation seeks to ensure that the shift toward a greener economy is fair and inclusive, particularly for those who may be disadvantaged by the rapid changes it brings. The applicants in these cases often include regular workers, Indigenous people, women, children, minorities and other groups who are typically underrepresented in legislative and decision-making processes. (Our concept of just transition litigation excludes lawsuits brought by corporations seeking to protect their own interests at the expense of broader societal fairness.)
At the core of this litigation is the pursuit of justice. As countries shift to low-carbon economies, these policies inevitably produce both winners and losers. Oil and gas workers lose their jobs. Indigenous people are displaced or see the world around them changed by new wind or solar farms. All these people lament being treated unjustly.
To ensure widespread support for climate policies, their grievances should not be dismissed as mere nimbyism. Rather, they should be recognised as carrying precious insights into the fairness, equity, and social impacts of climate policies and projects.
The litigation we looked at calls upon courts to assess climate action against various different legal frameworks, ranging from constitutional and human rights law to corporate accountability standards. Some lawsuits use arguments of distributive justice, which focus on the allocation of resources and burdens. Some look at procedural justice, such as inclusive decision-making. Others want what is termed recognition justice, which focuses on respect for marginalised groups.
Why this matters
All this reflects a growing recognition that climate action may come at a cost to certain groups, especially those already on the margins of society. It also underscores the need to address the social justice of climate action and ensure it does not make the world even less equal.
The core issue is that, while much attention is given to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, less emphasis has been placed on ensuring we do so equitably. This is especially the case at a time when governments in the EU , the UK and the US are announcing plans to cut the red tape and expedite the transition.
As more communities turn to courts to seek justice, our study highlights an urgent need for policymakers to embrace inclusive, transparent and equitable processes. Decisions over who owns land, or what jobs people can do, should involve those most affected. Ensuring that climate policies are fair and just will not only protect vulnerable groups but also foster broader public support.
Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
Joana Setzer receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Foundation for International Law for the Environment, and the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment
Annalisa Savaresi 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.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Mari Ellis Dunning, Associate Lecturer at the School of Languages and Literature and PhD Candidate, Aberystwyth University
For centuries, midway between the autumn equinox and winter solstice, the Welsh people have celebrated Calan Gaeaf on November 1. Nos Galan Gaeaf or “the evening before the first day of winter”, falls a day before, which the western world now recognises as Halloween.
A time of year filled with monsters and ghouls, here are five spooky winter customs and beliefs unique to Wales and its people.
1. Hwch Ddu Gwta
On Nos Galan Gaeaf, the horrifying hwch ddu gwta, or “tailess black sow”, would make its annual appearance. Usually a man draped in cloth or animal hide rising from dwindling fire embers, the hwch ddu would chase the village children home.
As the fire died and the children anticipated the materialisation of the black sow, they would often chant a spooky verse, like: “Adref, adref am y cynta’, Hwch Ddu Gwta a gipio’r ola,” (“Home, home, at once, the tailess black sow shall snatch the last one.”)
Juliette Wood, scholar of Celtic folklore, says the macabre ritual has its roots in beliefs about the souls of the dead, people and animals. But on a practical level, it was probably just an effective way of getting children to bed and teaching them about the dangers of straying from the group.
2. Fortune telling
Fortune telling would have been rife at this time of year. Questions over who was next to be married, and who may meet an untimely death, were particularly popular. Women looking for love may have wandered around the bounds of a church, chanting “here is the sheath, where is the knife”, hoping to hear the name of the person they would marry as a response.
In some parts of the country, stwmp naw rhyw, a mash made of nine different root vegetables with milk, butter, salt and pepper, would have a wedding ring placed at the centre. Whoever found the ring in their serving would be the next to be married.
Though these particular practices were performed at Calan Gaeaf, the widespread belief in fortune telling certainly wasn’t unique to this time of year, nor Wales, of course.
But Wales does have a long history of reliance on wise-women and soothsayers. Many Welsh people even regularly turned to the church for charms and curses.
3. Y Ladi Wen and other apparitions
Regarded as a seasonal boundary, Nos Galan Gaeaf was considered the most ominous of the three spirit nights. The others were Nos Galan Mai, which heralds the beginning of summer, and Noswyl Ifan, known also as the summer solstice.
As Nos Galan Gaeaf was a time to say goodbye to the recently deceased, the spirits were said to roam freely. Ghosts of the dead were believed to be seen at midnight on every stile, for example. And it makes sense that ghosts were to be found atop stiles. The fact that unbaptised children used to be buried at boundary fences suggests that these lines were liminal places and therefore the favourite perches of ghosts and apparitions.
Perhaps the most well known of these ghosts was Y Ladi Wen (the White Lady). Y Ladi Wen was an apparition who could be found haunting locations where violent deaths had occurred. She was also said to warn children about their bad behaviour.
4. Mari Lwyd
The Mari Lwyd is traditionally a Christmas and New Year wassailing folk custom popular in south Wales. It dates back to the 18th century and involves a horse’s skull placed on a pole, draped in ribbons.
A person hiding beneath a white sheet would carry the pole and snap the horse’s jaw open and shut. A procession led by Mari would go from house to house, where the group would sing verses asking to be let inside, prompting the hosts to improvise a rebuttal in verse.
The Mari Lwyd’s weird and somewhat terrifying appearance has led to her appearing earlier in the season, and adopted in different parts of Wales and as far afield as the US and Australia.
5. Gwrachod Powys
Perhaps the most sinister and spooky custom is one that could be found in Powys, mid-Wales.
Men would wander around in gangs wearing sheep skin, old ragged clothes and masks, drinking heavily and demanding gifts. They were called “gwrachod” (meaning hags or witches), probably in allusion to the Celtic belief that fiends, witches and faeries carried out their harmful and destructive tasks at night.
In the north, the name “gwrachod” was also used to describe men and women who went about their neighbours’ houses dressed in each other’s clothes and wearing masks.
During this Christmas tradition, which could be seen as a combination of the Mari Lwyd and the gwrachod, members of the party would dance, cheer and perform “antic diversions” in exchange for good cheer, ale, apples and nuts.
As October draws to a close and we creep towards the darkest days of midwinter, keep your wits about you. You might just end up face to face with a horrifying sow covered in fire ash, or confronted by a ghostly lady draped in white.
Mari Ellis Dunning 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.
Donald Trump loves tariffs. Making things more expensive if they come from foreign countries is at the heart of his bid for a second term in the White House.
“Tariffs are the greatest thing ever invented,” he said in September 2024 at a town hall event in Michigan. And he has promised that if he becomes US president again, he will impose an across-the-board tariff of up to 20% on imports – and even 200% on cars from Mexico – in a bid to encourage American manufacturing.
This is familiar ground for Trump, who showed he was fond of tariffs during his 2017-2021 presidency. Back then, he claimed his policy would address the trade imbalance with China, bring manufacturing jobs back to the US and raise revenues.
Tariffs were then imposed on a wide range of goods, from imported steel and aluminium, to solar panels and washing machines.
In fact, we found that imposing tariffs actually made the US even more reliant on foreign suppliers – and failed to stimulate the domestic job market. They also raised costs for US consumers and provoked retaliatory tariffs from trading partners including China, the EU, Canada, Mexico, India and Turkey.
China for example, responded by trebling tariffs on American cars. The EU filed a dispute with the World Trade Organisation and substantially raised tariffs on US exports including Harley Davidson motorcycles, jeans and bourbon whiskey.
And Trump’s tariffs did not lead to a boost for US manufacturing either. After tariffs were imposed, our research shows US manufacturing supply chains evolved to have fewer suppliers – but it was often US firms that got forced out of those supply chains, not their competitors from overseas.
We found that US manufacturers appeared to reduce their global reach, while actually increasing their dependence on a select few foreign companies – further evidence that Trump’s tariffs failed to produce the intended outcome.
Our research also suggests that “reshoring” – bringing production and manufacturing back to a company’s home country – is not feasible without an established ecosystem of suppliers, intermediaries and customers. So introducing trade barriers without adequate support for the development of regional supply chains is unlikely to result in stronger local economies or more jobs.
Essentially, for reshoring to work, the domestic economy needs to have the capacity to match demand. But the US (like the UK) has lost manufacturing capability in many areas, and rebuilding it is not going to happen overnight.
Establishing a new industry requires buildings, skilled staff and supply chains – and a very specific approach is required for each industry. Getting the right skills and labour is often the trickiest part and may require immigration.
However, even this may not work in the most complex industries. In the case of computer chips, for example, there are generous incentives in the US under the Biden administration to encourage chip manufacturing. Yet Taiwan still massively dominates the market, raising questions over whether the US could ever really compete.
Other industries that can use automation and robotics in manufacturing (such as chemicals and transportation equipment) might be easier to reboot, but they may not generate the expected number and range of jobs. And often reshoring strategies involve higher investment in automation, machinery and robotics, rather than jobs. Trump’s focus may have been bringing back manufacturing jobs back to the US, but the truth is that many of these jobs may be gone forever.
Trading places
Overall then, imposing tariffs without adequate domestic support mechanisms in place has led to US manufacturers increasing their dependence on foreign suppliers and reducing their dependence on local ones.
Yet tariffs are not exclusively favoured by Trump – or even right-wing politics. And there seems to be a fairly common view among politicians in the west that some tariffs can be an effective economic tool.
Trade barriers against China for instance, have continued under Joe Biden’s administration (although he has somewhat relaxed tariffs for imports from the EU, Canada and Mexico). And recently, Canada imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese cars and 25% on Chinese steel and aluminium, while the EU has also imposed tariffs on Chinese goods.
One of the few voices speaking out against tariffs belongs to former US vice-president Mike Pence. He recently proposed scrapping tariffs, saying they just made products more expensive for consumers – and failed to improve prosperity.
His old boss clearly disagrees. And if Trump does win a second term in office, it seems certain that imposing international tariffs will be high up on his “to do” list. But if their impact is anything like the last time, they will be of little benefit to the US economy or the voters who depend upon it.
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.
Policy and luck have bought Europe a reprieve from the heights gas prices reached between the winters of 2022 and 2023, but prices are climbing again and the global gas market remains precariously balanced.
Rising tensions in the Middle East could upend it. If conflict spills into the Persian Gulf, it could disrupt shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar that equal 20% of global exports.
We believe this winter will be the final act of the gas crisis. Here’s what we should expect.
Dangerously underprepared
The case for Britain to rapidly phase out natural gas in heating and power generation is overwhelming. It would unburden household bills of expensive gas imports and leave the country less vulnerable to energy supply crunches, while also cutting carbon emissions. Doing so will take time: as of today, the UK relies on gas for 37% of all energy consumption.
Since the beginning of the recent crisis, the UK government has done little to change these facts. The end of the winter fuel payment to pensioners adds fresh concern. The Energy Crisis Commission recently found that the UK remains “dangerously underprepared” for a repeat of the gas price explosion of 2022-23.
All told, the UK cannot be oblivious to developments in the global gas market.
A crisis in the making
Resurgent gas demand after the lifting of COVID restrictions led to a quadrupling of UK gas prices in 2021. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Vladimir Putin throttled pipeline gas exports to Europe.
Europe turned to its greatest source of flexible gas supply: seaborne LNG. A price war for cargoes followed. The spending power of European economies pulled shipments away from low-income countries in Asia, such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, which caused crippling blackouts and a pivot to coal-fired generation.
Energy bills for an average household in the UK hit £4,279 in January 2023. The government protected consumers from the very worst at a cost of £51 billion in 2022-23, but the average household lost 8% of its budget to energy costs in 2022, rising to 18% for the poorest tenth of households. Roughly 2 million households on pre-payment meters were being cut off from their energy supply at least once a month at the height of the crisis.
Clement winters, moderate gas demand in Asia and successful measures to curb European gas demand saw UK gas prices fall from mid-2023. But they are still relatively high – at 48% above the average in the three years before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
One more winter
Could things get worse? Back in 2022, experts spoke of a “three-winter crisis” because significant new LNG export capacity (primarily in the US and Qatar) wasn’t expected until 2025. That has held true, and supply and demand in the global LNG market remains taut.
Several disturbances could destabilise this balance. The International Energy Agency expects that over 2024, global growth in gas demand will exceed the rate of growth in new LNG supply. Attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea by the Houthi militia in Yemen, in response to Israel’s invasion of Gaza, have rerouted LNG shipping routes. Cargoes that would have passed through the Suez Canal must now take the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope.
At the end of 2024, a major five-year agreement governing the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine will expire, and there is no prospect of renewal. Russian gas supplies to Europe will fall by around 5% of the EU’s total gas imports, or 65% of all gas imports into Austria, Hungary and Slovakia.
While Europe has been saved by mild winters over the last two years, this luck could break in 2024-25 according to some forecasts. Temperature – and the demand it creates for heating – will probably decide winter gas prices in Europe.
Geopolitical blowback
How might the worst-case scenario of conflict in the Persian Gulf happen?
Israel’s escalating military assaults on Hezbollah since September 17 have coincided with a 17% rise in UK gas prices. After Iran’s missile and drone strikes against Israel on October 1, European gas prices hit a new high for the year. This saw three LNG tankers destined for Asia change course mid-journey and head for Europe.
Israel has vowed retribution for the Iranian strike. Having obliterated Gaza and decapitated Hezbollah’s leadership, and with resolute material support from the US, Israel may now see Iran as vulnerable.
A severe response by Israel, targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities or oil infrastructure, would further up the ante. Wishing to avoid direct conflict, Iran could decide to target not Israel, but the flow of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz on which its western backers depend. Qatari LNG shipments through the strait account for 20% of global supply on their own.
Any interruption would also block Iran’s oil exports, afflict Iran’s friends as much as its foes, and kill Iran’s current reconciliation with the Gulf states. It is unlikely, but one would hope that the warning signs in the global gas market would remind western decision-makers that the conflict in the Middle East can continue to blow back on them.
Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
Michael Bradshaw receives funding from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) that is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). He also advises the government, thinktanks and companies on energy matters.
Louis Fletcher receives funding from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC), which is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
