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The field of positive psychology – which focuses on how people can be happy and flourish – entered the world stage in 1998. Since then, it has been hugely influential and has produced a slew of research, not to mention self-help books and happiness workshops.
The idea behind the movement is that your circumstances – such as where you live and how much you earn – have very little effect on your happiness. Most of your happiness is in your hands and depends on your “intentional activity”. This sounds like happiness is within everyone’s grasp, but psychologist Jolanta Burke explains why this isn’t necessarily so.
Today is supposedly Cyber Monday, the start of the online holiday shopping season. As you fill your internet baskets, spare a thought for those fulfilling your orders. Researchers at Nottingham Trent have examined hundreds of accounts of working conditions at Amazon warehouses to paint a picture of how employees at the retail giant fare during these peak shopping times. What they found suggests that the cost of consumer convenience is much higher than the price tag on products.
Plus, from our colleagues in South Africa, we hear what can be done in response to the new omicron COVID variant.
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Clint Witchalls
Health + Medicine Editor (UK edition)
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Black Salmon
Jolanta Burke, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
Some people might struggle a little harder to enhance their wellbeing than others.
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Frederic Legrand - COMEO / Shutterstock
Tom Vickers, Nottingham Trent University
We reviewed hundreds of documents and reports on workplace safety in Amazon warehouses.
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What not to do: ban travel. Scenes at South Africa’s OR Tambo International airport after the first flight bans were announced.
Phill Magakoe / AFP via Getty Images
Shabir A. Madhi, University of the Witwatersrand
The world needs to learn to live with the virus. And governments must follow the science and don’t distort it for political expediency.
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Health + Medicine
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Jennifer Juno, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity; Adam Wheatley, The University of Melbourne
With low COVID vaccination coverage in southern Africa, some have suggested global vaccine inequities may be responsible for the emergence of Omicron.
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Anthony Zwi, UNSW
Given the Omicron variant has already spread beyond southern Africa, a ban on travellers from those countries will slow the spread and buy crucial time, but won’t stop this strain in its tracks.
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Politics + Society
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Clodagh Harrington, De Montfort University
An already bitterly divided public has reacted badly to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and Biden’s handling of the COVID crisis.
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Katie Kuschminder, United Nations University
Eight academics from across the world interviewed around 150 women about their stories of migration – revealing the threat many experience at every stage of their journey.
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Mariagiulia Giuffré, Edge Hill University
Talk of sending people back distracts from the UK’s clear responsibilities towards anyone who attempts the crossing.
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Ed Turner, Aston University
A coalition deal has been struck and Olaf Scholz will soon take over as chancellor.
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Laura Thompson, University of Hertfordshire
Indecent exposure happens digitally, too.
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Business + Economy
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Stewart Lansley, University of Bristol
Britain’s economic system is built on inequality. Few governments have attempted to rectify this.
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Christian Stadler, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick; Julia Hautz, University of Innsbruck; Kurt Matzler, University of Innsbruck
Breaking out of the boardroom brings in fresh ideas.
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Gulcin Ozkan, King's College London
Contrary to most economists, President Erdoğan has long believed that raising interest rates increases inflation.
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Environment + Energy
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Joanna Allan, Northumbria University, Newcastle
Morocco treats wind and solar farms in Western Sahara as if they were in Morocco.
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Alan Bradshaw, Royal Holloway University of London
It’s hypocritical for retailers to make carbon pledges with one hand and continue pushing consumerism with the other.
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Arts + Culture
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James Mahon, University of the West of Scotland
The media landscape has shifted since the COVID crisis, with new challenges, different restrictions and innovative storytelling approaches emerging.
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Featured events
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— Thomas Paine Study Centre Lecture Theatre, University of East Anglia, Norwich , Norfolk, NR4 7TJ , United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of East Anglia
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— Sociology, Arthur Lewis Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Manchester
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— Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE), Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Manchester
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— Whiteknights campus, Reading, Reading, RG6 6AH, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Reading
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