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Whether you’re the “golden child” or the “problem child”, anyone with siblings will be familiar with the rivalry and competition that comes with growing up together – and doesn’t necessarily end when you form relationships and families of your own.
For many young women in China with brothers, this is made even harder by the cultural preference for sons and the remnants of the country’s one-child policy. As researcher Chihling Liu found in thousands of posts on Chinese social media, daughters are discriminated against in their own families, and yet are expected to financially support their parents and brothers. These expectations, which leave women socially isolated, under financial pressure and even
suicidal, should be of great concern in a country with a declining birth rate and huge gender imbalance.
We’re big supporters of local journalism here at The Conversation, so when editor Paul Keaveny recommended a Manchester-area newsletter called The Mill, we wanted to know more. As print sales decline and local papers are forced to close, The Mill is attracting a surprising amount of funding to expand. Journalist and researcher Kate Heathman explains how ventures like The Mill could help to rebuild trust in local news.
And rising from the ashes this week… ash. Pulverised fuel ash is a dirty byproduct from coal-fired power stations that is typically stored in landfills. But researchers John Kinuthia and Jonathan Oti are looking at new ways to recycle this hazardous material and put it to good use.
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