I write this on my train journey north, to my dear friend’s funeral. I sit facing backwards, gliding over green, wet countryside, through small and charming, and larger, grubby towns shrouded in early evening light.

The particular circumstances surrounding the upcoming referendum regarding the legalization of same-sex marriage in Ireland has led me to think more deeply about the abstract issue of morality. Marriage is a unique issue in Ireland, and highlights the contentious tensions particular to both its government and people. 

As a US-raised Ph.D. anthropologist studying families affected by dementia in London, I am working on coming to terms with cultural differences in understanding healthcare between the UK and US.

In this piece, Lillian critiques a recent NHS England policy that has led to doctors getting paid extra for diagnosing dementia in their patients. The author articulates important insights in her assessment, addressing both healthcare and social policy implications, and finishes by proposing a potential way forward. 

In what follows, the best and the brightest of IANS editors, staff writers and contributors discuss why they intend to vote the way they do. We then finish off our discussion with a short consideration of the alternative: devo plus.

The post I write today is personal. And it is about an experience that is becoming increasingly personal for a growing number of people and families, globally.  This post concerns the growing prevalence of Alzheimer's among our elderly.