|
|
|
|
As a previously content city dweller, I can’t deny that months of lockdowns have led me to reassess some of my life choices. Sure, I have some great local restaurants within walking distance – but they’re all closed. Right now it would be pretty great to be able to walk in the countryside instead. Or at least live somewhere with a garden.
It seems that a lot of people are thinking along the same lines, leading to predictions that the population of London, in particular, is set to fall. But are London’s residents falling out of love with the city for good? Humphrey Southall, professor of historical geography at the University of Portsmouth, takes a look at past population trends to investigate whether any population decline is likely to be long-term – or if the city’s
gravitational pull, which has drawn people towards London’s centre since the early 90s, will reassert itself when the pandemic is under control.
Elsewhere at The Conversation, we’ve been looking into one of the lesser-known symptoms of depression – memory loss. Research shows that depression can impair our short-term memory, leading to difficulties in decision-making and concentration. And creative writing lecturer Christina Thatcher explains why we should be paying more serious attention to poetry that makes us laugh.
|
Grace Allen
Cities, Education and Young People Editor
|
|
|
heliray/Shutterstock
Humphrey Southall, University of Portsmouth
Once the pandemic is over, London's gravitational pull is likely to come back into play.
|
Depression affects our short-term memory.
Lightspring/ Shutterstock
Cynthia Fu, University of East London
Depression can cause widespread changes in our brain – including to the regions responsible for memory.
|
Vectorium/Shutterstock
Christina Thatcher, Cardiff Metropolitan University
Funny poems get a bad rap but their humour can provoke interesting conversations and reach a wide demographic.
|
Politics + Society
|
-
Howard Thom, University of Bristol
Many studies have assumed that lockdowns are the leading driver of economic downturns – but evidence suggests otherwise.
-
Matthew Stallard, UCL
Robert Jenrick says due process is under attack – so he's handing himself the power to grant the final say about statues and street names.
-
Anne Twomey, University of Sydney
New documents expose a chink in the queen's armour of secrecy.
-
Laura Ellyn Smith, University of Oxford
The rules of impeachment in the US Constitution are vague, but here's how the trial of Donald Trump in the US Senate will work.
-
Tonny Raymond Kirabira, University of Portsmouth; Leïla Choukroune, University of Portsmouth
Sex and gender-based offences have become an increasing focus of war crimes trials at the International Criminal Court.
|
|
Environment + Energy
|
-
Myles Allen, University of Oxford; Nathalie Seddon, University of Oxford
Woodhouse Colliery would be the UK's first new deep coal mine in three decades.
-
Tafadzwa Mushonga, University of Pretoria
Forest rangers were subjected to occupational violence by their employers. This in turn can provoke a violent reaction to illegal activities, resulting in violent policing tendencies.
|
|
Science + Technology
|
-
Tom Harrison, University of Birmingham
Cultivating 'cyber-wisdom' could help children make smarter decisions online.
-
Maria McNamara, University College Cork; Tiffany Slater, University College Cork; Valentina Rossi, University College Cork
The study reveals changes in the functions of melanin over 500 million years.
|
|
Health + Medicine
|
-
Robin Cohen, University of Oxford
Countries may or may not choose to give their share doses to Covax, but regardless, redistribution needs to be driven by need.
|
|
Education
|
-
Louis-Etienne Dubois, Ryerson University
What if one of the answers to the challenges of distance learning was to go back to basics and set up less "tech" and more human contexts?
|
|
| |
Featured events
|
|
Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Essex
|
|
Online, Online, Oxfordshire, N/A, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Oxford
|
|
|
Online, Online, Oxfordshire, N/A, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Oxford
|
|
University of Birmingham Facebook (Live), Birmingham, Birmingham, B152TT, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Birmingham
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
