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Category: Society and politics

Where’s the harm in educating distracted drivers?

Where’s the harm in educating distracted drivers?

Dr Gemma Briggs, an expert in distracted driving, writes about education campaigns which aim to make drivers aware of road safety issues: This week is Road Safety Week, organised by the charity, Brake. The week is aimed at raising awareness and educating all road users about aspects of road safety.  Across the UK, people will […]

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Catalonia: a year on, political prisoners go unnoticed by the rest of the world

Catalonia: a year on, political prisoners go unnoticed by the rest of the world

After an unofficial referendum in October 2017, the pro-independence political parties in the Catalan parliament unilaterally declared independence from Spain. In response, the Spanish government invoked Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution which effectively suspended the region’s autonomy. More than a year on from these events, ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont remains in exile in […]

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Grenfell Tower film wins national award

Grenfell Tower film wins national award

A film about the Grenfell Tower tragedy, created by Dr David Scott, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, has won an award at the British Documentary Film Festival.  Winning in the ‘Life Changing Award’ category, the film – called ‘Grenfell Tower and Social Murder‘ includes powerful testimonies from survivors and families of the bereaved. Dr Scott said: […]

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Money and financial graph. Image credit: Thinkstock

Budget Commentary: Jam tomorrow for the poor

Jonquil Lowe, Senior Lecturer in Economics and Personal Finance, shares her views on the autumn budget. “The big ticket item from yesterday’s Budget – apart from extra spending on the NHS – is bringing forward by a year increases to the personal allowance (the first slice of income that most people can have tax-free) to £12,500 and […]

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New research explores how migration fosters growth in Africa

New research explores how migration fosters growth in Africa

In recent years there’s been significant growth in African economies driven by trade in commodities, which has prompted more migrants to move to, and within, African countries.  Now, new research from The Open University will investigate what impact this migration has had both on growth in Africa and in the migrants’ countries of origin, and […]

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Grenfell Tower research film shortlisted for National award

Grenfell Tower research film shortlisted for National award

A film created by Dr David Scott, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, about the Grenfell Tower tragedy, has been shortlisted for the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s prestigious 2018 Research in Film Awards. The film, called ‘Grenfell Tower and Social Murder’ is shortlisted for Best Research Film of the Year. Dr David Scott said: ‘The tragic […]

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pensions quiz

Are you a spender or a saver? Take our quiz to find out

The 15th of September is Pensions Awareness Day (PAD). This annual event was launched in 2014 by PensionGeeks, an innovative communications company that aims to put fun into pensions – yes, really! As PAD’s double decker bus hits the road to spread the word, Jonquil Lowe, Senior Lecturer in Economics and Personal Finance at the […]

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Brexit

No-deal Brexit: experts on what the UK government’s advice means

The UK government is releasing a series of “technical notices” outlining what might happen if the country leaves the European Union without striking a deal for its future relationship with the bloc. While Dominic Raab,Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, stressed that this scenario was far from the preferred option, he added that […]

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Photo of people demonstrating

We live in a populist age – but who are ‘the people’?

Populism is seemingly sweeping the globe, threatening the established status quo. Optimistically, it promises to bring about much needed change to what appears to be a corrupt political and economic order. More ominously, it is dangerously promoting racism, sexism, xenophobia, jingoism, and attacking basic human rights around the world. It is therefore important not to […]

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Immigration centre

Three days is still too long to hold pregnant women in immigration detention

It’s been two years since a coalition of lobbying groups in the UK successfully challenged Home Office policy on the immigration detention of pregnant women. Under the new policy, enforced in mid-July 2016, pregnant women can now only be detained for a maximum of 72 hours (three days), or up to one week with the […]

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