Contributed, Author at Future Media News

Frustrated by tedious and unproductive meetings? These 2 proven strategies can help teams work smarter

By Katharina Naswall, University of Canterbury and Sanna Malinen, University of Canterbury Most workers will be familiar with this scene: a meeting that goes round and round on a topic – one that may not be important to the priorities of the company. People leave the meeting frustrated and unheard. And the whole experience is repeated the next time everyone meets. But does this have to be […]

8 February, 2024

Africa

Livelihoods at stake as Lake Victoria’s papyrus swamps come under pressure: Photos

By Patrick Newcombe, via MongaBay The papyrus swamps at the edges of Lake Victoria in East Africa have for generations provided a livelihood to communities living here. While some harvest reeds to make into mats, baskets, and handicrafts, others catch the plentiful fish that nurse in the shelter of the reedbeds. The swamps are also home to birds that have become specialized to live amidst the papyrus reeds in a […]

7 February, 2024

Opinion Pieces

Using AI to monitor the internet for terror content is inescapable – but also fraught with pitfalls

shutterstock. metamorworks/Shutterstock Stuart Macdonald, Swansea University; Ashley A. Mattheis, Dublin City University, and David Wells, Swansea University Every minute, millions of social media posts, photos and videos flood the internet. On average, Facebook users share 694,000 stories, X (formerly Twitter) users post 360,000 posts, Snapchat users send 2.7 million snaps and YouTube users upload more than 500 hours of video. This vast ocean of online material needs to be constantly […]

7 February, 2024

Africa

Sall throws Senegal’s democratic credentials into doubt

By Douglas Yates, American Graduate School in Paris (AGS) Senegal’s President Macky Sall announced in early February that presidential elections, originally scheduled for 25 February, would be postponed indefinitely. The announcement has raised fears of popular protests, violent repression, a once democratic president transforming into an authoritarian ruler – and possibly even another coup d’état in west Africa. There has been a flurry of coups in the region […]

7 February, 2024

Opinion Pieces

Irish referendum: how the Catholic church shaped Ireland’s constitution to define the status of women

By Caitriona Beaumont, London South Bank University It has been 87 years since feminist and activist Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington declared that the new 1937 Irish constitution was based on a “fascist model, in which women would be relegated to permanent inferiority”. Several clauses were labelled “sinister and retrogressive” by women’s groups who feared gender bias embedded within the constitution would restrict Irish women to their domestic roles as wives […]

7 February, 2024

World

Trump was not king and can be prosecuted for crimes committed while president: Appeals court places limits on immunity

Donald Trump speaks after the appeals court hearing on his claim of immunity from prosecution on Jan. 9, 2024, in Washington. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images Claire Wofford, College of Charleston In a 57-page opinion issued on Feb. 6, 2024, a federal appeals court ruled against former President Donald Trump, deciding that presidents are not immune from criminal prosecution for actions they took while in office. The decision […]

7 February, 2024

Lifestyle

What inner speech is, and why philosophy is waking up to it

Hunia Studio/Shutterstock Daniel Gregory, Universitat de Barcelona It is quite rare for philosophers to start investigating a new area, and a lot of the questions they explore have been around since ancient times. However, there is something they have only begun to look at closely in the last 15 years or so, which sits at the intersection of psychology and philosophy: inner speech. Also known as the internal monologue, inner […]

7 February, 2024

Health / Medical

Screen time can seriously harm your eyes: here’s how to avoid it

Ground Picture/Shutterstock Jacobo García Queiruga, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela and Belen Sabucedo Villamarín, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela Every day, more and more patients are seeking medical attention after spending long days in front of computer screens. The most common symptoms include irritated or itchy eyes, and a sensation of dryness or sand on the surface of the eye. These are the tell tale signs of dry eye disease, […]

7 February, 2024

World

According to Ireland’s constitution, a woman’s duties are in the home – but a referendum could be about to change its sexist wording

Shutterstock/Everett Collection Laura Cahillane, University of Limerick On March 8 – International Women’s Day – Irish citizens will vote in a referendum on whether or not to replace the so-called “woman in the home” clause in the Irish constitution. This clause, which dates from 1937, specifies that: “The State recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot […]

7 February, 2024