It is always shocking when an individual maliciously intends to, and succeeds in, ending the life of another: if nothing else it reminds us of our own frightening fragility. But there is something particularly disturbing about the kind of wanton spree killings witnessed in California on Friday 23rd May 2014.
Read MoreThe Uncertainty of Science
Science is a tricky thing to describe. Definitions can be reductionist; for example, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that science is “knowledge about, or study of, the natural world based on facts learned through experiments and observation”.
Read MoreThe Yes Movement & Political Engagement
Something is happening in Scotland which few predicted. The possibility of a yes vote in the independence referendum has proved the catalyst for serious and wide-ranging political engagement. It shouldn’t be disregarded as mere nationalism – this is far bigger than the official Yes Scotland campaign.
Read MoreConfronting Cancer: A Critique of the "No Make Up Selfie" Craze
The #nomakeupselfie ‘trend’ that occupied our Facebook news feed for a few weeks in March created a social network phenomenon which in true social ‘trending’ style faded as quickly as it had began. The temporality of the craze itself was insulting, as was the general concept of the nomakeupselfie.
Read MoreReflections on a Russian Election
I wrote this post on 7th March 2012, just after going to the Russian embassy in London to vote in the Russian presidential elections. At the time I was studying for my Master’s at the University of Bristol. As a reminder: these were the elections in which Putin was elected, after being Prime Minister under Dmitriy Medvedev’s presidency.
Read MoreWho Pays the Cost of Smoking?
Just over 50 year ago the Royal College of Physicians published the ‘Smoking and Health’ report which stated the fatal health implications associated with tobacco consumption. However in 2011, it was estimated that 10 million adults still smoke cigarettes in the UK alone.
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