Category Archives: Analysis

在云南大树脚村，村民对亚洲象的认知和态度是怎样的?

近年来，亚洲象的活动影响了云南大树脚村的村民。

首先，野象的到访为村民带来了经济损失。今年，大树脚村村民祁大哥家里种了20亩玉米，由于他的庄稼是第一批成熟的，所以也最先受到象群的“关照”。祁大哥指了指地上散落的玉米，无奈地说道：“那就是（大象取食后）剩下的玉米了，都在那了。”

Foot-and-mouth disease: the gaps in South Africa’s efforts to keep it under control

Melvyn Quan, University of Pretoria and Rebone Moerane, University of Pretoria In mid August, South Africa’s minister of agriculture, land reform and rural development Thoko Didiza responded to outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease with a nationwide ban on the movement of cattle for 21 days. By late August, 127 cases of the disease had been recordedContinue reading “Foot-and-mouth disease: the gaps in South Africa’s efforts to keep it under control”

Climate change will cause more African children to die from hot weather

Cathryn Birch, University of Leeds; John Marsham, University of Leeds, and Sarah Chapman, University of Leeds Climate change has already increased global temperatures, greatly increasing extremes. This will continue unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to “net-zero”. The 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement requires emissions reductions of around 50% in the next 10 years.Continue reading “Climate change will cause more African children to die from hot weather”

Mobile phones can enable learning during school disruptions. Here’s how

Noam Angrist, University of Oxford The COVID-19 pandemic placed enormous pressure on education systems worldwide. At the peak of the crisis, school closures forced over 1.6 billion learners out of classrooms. This exacerbated a learning crisis that existed before the pandemic, with many children in school but learning very little. Widespread school closures are notContinue reading “Mobile phones can enable learning during school disruptions. Here’s how”

Drug misuse and suicidal behaviour more common on the anniversary of a parent’s death – new research

Scott Montgomery, UCL Losing a parent during adolescence and young adulthood can be particularly damaging to mental health and wellbeing. Our latest research has now shown that young people who lost a parent were more likely to be admitted to hospital for treatment for substance misuse use problems or suicidal behaviour around the anniversary ofContinue reading “Drug misuse and suicidal behaviour more common on the anniversary of a parent’s death – new research”

Face masks affect how children understand speech differently from adults – new research

Julia Schwarz, University of Cambridge While mask-wearing is no longer required in many locations, it remains in use as a way to limit the spread of COVID-19. One of the criticisms of masks has been that they make communication more difficult. A recent report by the UK Department for Education, for example, suggests that maskContinue reading “Face masks affect how children understand speech differently from adults – new research”

All Creatures Great and Small at 50: why these stories about a country vet still charm today

Helen Young, Deakin University When Mum was pregnant with me, Dad bought her a paperback copy of James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small because it was an easy, pleasant read. I read my mother’s Pan paperback copy, with its cover image of sheep, farmers, and the vet’s vintage car, when I was growing up.Continue reading “All Creatures Great and Small at 50: why these stories about a country vet still charm today”