Category: Academic Analysis

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alexandra Palombi, Professor in Occupational Therapy, Department of Health Studies, Royal Holloway, University of London

When actor Christina Applegate recently told her followers on Instagram that her legs were “busted” because stress makes her multiple sclerosis (MS) worse, many people with the condition immediately recognised the feeling.

Her comment summed up something researchers have been studying for decades and people with MS have been describing for even longer: stress, even from everyday situations, can trigger symptoms or make existing ones flare.

An estimated 2.8 million people live with MS around the world. The condition affects more women than men and is usually diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40.

MS affects the brain and spinal cord, disrupting how signals travel through the nervous system. This can lead to extreme tiredness, mobility problems and difficulties with memory or concentration. People with MS often experience relapses, which are periods when symptoms suddenly worsen. These relapses can increase disability over time and make everyday activities more challenging.

A relapse occurs when new symptoms appear or existing symptoms become worse for more than 24 hours, after at least 30 days of stability, and without being caused by fever or infection.

Relapses can present in many different ways. Some people develop vision problems such as blurred or double vision, or pain when moving the eyes, which is known as optic neuritis. Others experience muscle weakness or stiffness in their arms or legs, which can make walking and balance more difficult. Many people notice numbness or tingling in the face, limbs or trunk. Severe fatigue that feels very different from normal tiredness is also common.

Coordination problems may also appear, leading to unsteadiness, tremors or dizziness. Speech may become slurred, swallowing may become more difficult and bladder or bowel habits can change. Some people also experience cognitive changes such as trouble concentrating, slower thinking or lapses in memory. These symptoms can occur alone or in combination and can have a significant impact on day-to-day life.

Research has shown that stress can make MS worse. In 2003, Dutch researchers found that stressful events can double the risk of a relapse within four weeks. Infections can triple the risk. When both stress and infection occur together, the risk may increase up to six times. In practical terms, this means that a major stressful event can significantly raise the chance of a relapse in the following month.

A year later, American researchers reviewed 14 studies and found a strong connection between stress and MS flare-ups. These flare-ups are important because they often lead to long-term increases in disability, meaning that avoiding relapses is crucial for maintaining independence and quality of life.

More recent research continues to show a clear link between stress and relapses. However, it remains unclear whether stress increases the likelihood of developing MS in the first place. A 2022 study found that stress in childhood or adulthood does not appear to change the risk of developing MS.

Fear and worry can lower quality of life

Many people with MS worry about when the next relapse will happen. This fear is known as Fear of Relapse. It goes beyond ordinary concern. It can disrupt daily routines, relationships and a person’s overall sense of well-being. Persistent fear often leads to health anxiety, which increases stress levels.

Stress has physical consequences too. People who believe their memory or thinking skills are declining often feel more anxious and stressed. Over time, this can contribute to depression, and poor sleep can make depression worse.

Depression and stress can reinforce each other. They lower quality of life and may even increase the risk of a relapse. Emotional health and physical health are deeply connected in MS. Managing stress, improving sleep and addressing anxiety are not simply about feeling better. These steps can help protect against flare-ups and support long-term independence.

Practical approaches that can help

Gratitude involves taking time to notice and appreciate the good things in life. Research shows that people who practice gratitude feel happier, less stressed and more satisfied with their lives. A simple habit such as writing down a few things you are thankful for each day can lift mood and build resilience.

Mindfulness involves paying attention to the present moment without judgement. Mindfulness practices have been shown to reduce stress and depression. They can also improve fatigue levels, which is particularly important for people with MS. For many, mindfulness helps ease daily pressures and may reduce the cycle of anxiety that contributes to relapses.

Read more:
How mindfulness therapy could help those left behind by depression treatment

Although practices such as mindfulness and gratitude are not cures, they can make daily life easier, enhance emotional wellbeing and help people with MS feel more in control of their health.

Applegate’s comment about her legs being “busted” after a stressful moment reflects this reality in a powerful, relatable way. Stress is not a minor inconvenience for people with MS. It can alter how their body functions from one day to the next. Recognising this truth and giving people the tools and support they need to manage stress is an important step in helping everyone with MS protect their health and maintain independence.

Alexandra Palombi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Why everyday stress can make MS symptoms worse – https://theconversation.com/why-everyday-stress-can-make-ms-symptoms-worse-270219

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Louis Bayman, Associate Professor in Department of Film Studies, University of Southampton

Murder has never been as comforting as in the Knives Out series, whose third instalment, Wake Up Dead Man, is out now in cinemas and will be available to stream from December 12 as one of Netflix’s Christmas offerings. It clocks in at nearly two and a half hours of suspense, comedy and enough asides about religion and politics to get any traditional festive arguments going.

Daniel Craig’s quick-witted but laconic southern private investigator Benoit Blanc doesn’t show up until about an hour into proceedings. Narration is handed over instead to Father Jud (Josh O’Connor), a former boxer who became a Catholic priest after killing a man in the ring.

O’Connor carries the film, not to say this winter season more generally in cinemas, occupying the starring role in Kelly Reichardt’s arthouse heist film The Mastermind last month, and The History of Sound which will be out next month.

Father Jud recounts the events leading up to murder in a far-flung parish in upstate New York, where a small group of parishioners have fallen under the unorthodox preachings of the cultish Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin).

To say much more would risk giving away some of the mystery that Wake Up Dead Man advertises in its title, so let’s just say that the set-up of a priest battling perdition and the weird parishioners he is stuck with make up a cast of characters who each have their reasons for murder.

This potential is amplified by the fiery sermons of the Monsignor, who is less a guiding shepherd to the credulous flock and more a vengeful wolf. He details his vivid fantasies in confession to the cringeing Jud, as the very definition of a loose canon.

Wake Up Dead Man is an engaging comic mystery with an all-star cast, with Craig, O’Connor and Brolin joined by Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott and Glenn Close, who hams up the gothic elements of the script with relish. This is a “locked-room mystery”, a genre begun by Edgar Allan Poe’s 1841 short story The Murders in the Rue Morgue, where murder is committed in the apparently impossible conditions of a completely closed room. The film is then not only a whodunnit but a howdunnit.

Wake Up Dead Man is aware of its own literary inspirations, which if they weren’t already clear are listed as the subjects of the parish reading group. The film is set over Easter weekend, but the idea of a good murder has become staple Christmas fare, making it no surprise that Netflix has scheduled this film for the holiday market. But what is it in the genre that makes murder so Christmassy?

Death as a puzzle

Detective fiction is unique in the way it treats death. Unlike horror, it does not dwell on the terrifying vulnerability that is our mortal condition. And unlike the war film, death is not the price for adherence to a civilisational ideal. Nor is there much sense of the sacredness of life, for death in detective fiction is treated less as a tragedy to mourn than a puzzle to solve.

Detective fiction depicts a world where mystery is no longer proof of the ultimately unknowable workings of the divine. Mystery is instead a problem to be met by the calculations of logical deduction. But as the various lustful, greedy characters of detective fiction demonstrate, if rationality provides the only source of meaning, what is there to stop us from pursuing total amoral self-interest? What is there to stop us, indeed, from murder?

The shared narration between detective Blanc and Father Jud means that Wake Up Dead Man becomes an enquiry not only into a murder but the antagonism between reason and God. Blanc states his atheism as soon as he arrives at the church that is now a crime scene. But a heavenly light shines through its windows to brighten its gloom as Father Jud provides his justification for faith.

Wake Up Dead Man nicely satirises how charismatic leaders can elicit the irrational passions of their followers for self-interested ends, but the film is not itself a rejection of belief. Of course, the intensity of a closed setting, where a lifetime of stored resentments, jealousies and greed spill over into brutal hatred, may also be why murder mysteries seem so appropriate at Christmas.

My main disappointment with Wake Up Dead Man is how underused its supporting players are; the ensemble nature of the whodunnit works best when attention is divided among a cast of characters, each of whom could be a potential murderer. But its closing revelations layer twist upon twist with enough force to make for a satisfying ending to an entertaining story.

Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

Louis Bayman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Wake Up Dead Man: an enjoyable slice of murderous Christmassy fun – https://theconversation.com/wake-up-dead-man-an-enjoyable-slice-of-murderous-christmassy-fun-271001

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Carolyn Jackson, Professor of Gender and Education, Lancaster University

The UK government has committed to reducing the amount of time pupils spend in GCSE exams in England by up to three hours on average. This comes after recommendations to cut exam time were made in an independent review of the national curriculum and school assessment.

Professor Becky Francis, who led the review, has said: “Exams are currently this very stressful, elongated period that young people have to endure, and it’s an unusually long period in England.”

But the government has announced the introduction of a new test. Children in year eight will take a reading assessment, intended to improve standards before they take their GCSEs. This seems to be different from the diagnostic tests in English and maths (also in year eight) recommended in the independent review’s final report.

Children in England are among the most tested in the world and are set to remain so. However, frequent testing isn’t a requirement of school education – and it could be having a serious effect on children’s wellbeing.

In our recent research, we wanted to explore how frequent, high-stakes exams – those with significant consequences, such as for your future career or education – affect children’s fear of failure. We also investigated whether children see school as competitive, how competitive they are, if they see other students as cooperative and whether they feel like they belong in school.

We analysed data from England and the Belgian region of Flanders, as these regions have very different systems when it comes to testing.

England is renowned for setting lots of tests that are high-stakes for pupils, teachers and schools. GCSE and A-level results affect pupils’ learning and career paths; schools are ranked by performance in tests that children sit in primary and secondary school.

Flanders, on the other hand, has no national high-stakes tests. Indeed, it had no nation-wide centrally-administered tests at all until 2024.

Our analysis used data from Pisa, a programme that measures 15-year-olds’ skills and knowledge in reading, mathematics and science in countries across the globe. Questions are also asked about wellbeing and school life. We analysed the data of the 5,242 English students (in 175 schools) in the assessment, as well as the 4,882 Flemish students (in 171 schools).

Competition and failure

It showed that in England, where high-stakes testing is common, students’ fear of failure is higher and they perceive more competition in school than in Flanders. By contrast, in Flanders, students perceive less competition and more cooperation from other students, and they have a higher sense of belonging and less fear of failure than their English counterparts.

The difference in fear of failure is explained partly by students experiencing more competition in England. For example, English students are more likely to report that their peers value competition and that they feel they are being compared with other students. Research by one of us (Carolyn Jackson) has shown that competition and comparisons are fuelled by testing.

A positive sense of belonging has been linked to better academic performance, positive mental health and wellbeing, greater happiness, less stress, higher attendance and greater engagement in school.

Its value is accepted in England: Bridget Phillipson, secretary for education, recently announced her vision to foster student belonging in schools. But she discussed this at the same time as announcing more testing and related targets. According to our analyses, increased competition, which is associated with high-stakes testing, is likely to reduce rather than increase students’ sense of belonging.

Fear of failure – which is also higher in England – can lead to reduced academic performance. It’s also linked with missed opportunities for learning, lower emotional wellbeing and higher levels of stress, burnout and depression. Fear of failure is typically higher in competitive, rather than cooperative, learning contexts.

Overall, our analyses show the importance of creating education systems (and schools and classrooms) that downplay competition and instead foster cooperation and a sense of belonging. Systems like this are associated with lower fear of failure. Reducing fear of failure is crucial given that it is associated with the broad range of negative factors listed above.

This is especially important at the moment, as school-related stress is a major concern in many European countries. It has been linked to growing mental health problems among young people, especially girls.

Returning to the curriculum review, the panel’s push to reduce time spent in exams at GCSE may help slightly to reduce stress. Also, the recommendation to keep any new tests in year eight low stakes and diagnostic, and not to return to high-stakes Sats tests at this level, is encouraging in light of our findings.

Policymakers in Flanders are increasingly looking to learn lessons from the English system. But they would do well to avoid implementing changes that might increase competition and students’ fear of failure, and also reduce cooperation and feelings of belonging.

Currently, many more students in England than in Flanders report school-related pressure. That could soon change if Flanders introduces high-stakes testing and drives up competition.

Carolyn Jackson has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and The Nuffield Foundation.

Mieke Van Houtte does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. High-stakes tests are common in England’s schools – and they’re linked to a fear of failure – https://theconversation.com/high-stakes-tests-are-common-in-englands-schools-and-theyre-linked-to-a-fear-of-failure-269459

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Andrea Piovesan, Lecturer in Psychology, Edge Hill University

Have you ever thought a font looked “friendly” or “elegant”? Or felt that Comic
Sans was somehow unserious? You’re not imagining it.

Typefaces carry personalities, and we react to them more than we realise. My work explores how the shapes of letters can subtly influence our feelings.

When we read, we are not just processing the words. We are also taking in the typeface, which can shape how we interpret a message and even what we think of the person who wrote it.

Researchers demonstrated this in a 2018 study using simulated text conversations. They presented participants with an ambiguous message (for example, “That’s what I do”) and altered the typeface. A cheerful-looking font seemed to encourage readers to interpret the message positively, while a harsher one pushed them toward a more negative reading.

A similar pattern appears in email communication. In a 2014 study, the same email sent in Times New Roman made the sender seem formal and professional, whereas the more playful Kristen ITC made them appear more polite and even more attractive. Just as a voice sets the mood of a conversation, a typeface sets the mood of the page.

Research also shows that we process words more quickly when the typeface matches the meaning we expect. In one experiment, published in 1989, people recognised the word “slow” more quickly when it appeared in Cooper Black, a typeface associated with heaviness and slowness, but took longer when the same word was shown in Palatino Italic, which conveys lightness and speed.

A 2021 study found a similar priming effect in brand logos. After seeing a logo set in a particular typeface, participants were quicker to identify words that matched the qualities suggested by that design. When the style of the lettering aligns with the message, our brains seem to work more efficiently.

But how is that possible?

The answer is a mix of factors. Some qualities are built into the physical features of the typeface. Thick, straight lines signal sturdiness, while curves tend to feel softer or more approachable. Some associations may even have evolutionary roots.

Across a range of studies, people reliably link curved shapes with positivity and angular ones with threat or negativity. A 2016 review of this research traces the pattern back to survival mechanisms.

Sharp, angular forms in the environment can indicate danger, so our visual system has evolved to detect and prioritise them quickly. This bias appears to spill over into our perception of typefaces too, making angular fonts feel harsher or more alarming, while curved ones seem warmer and more pleasant.

Other typeface personalities have been shaped by history and use. Take Times New Roman, originally designed in the 1930s for the British newspaper the Times. Over time, its connection with journalism has become ingrained, making Times New Roman synonymous with professionalism and formality today.

The influence of typefaces becomes even clearer when the wrong choice is made. An example comes from the European organisation for nuclear research, Cern, in 2012 when researchers used Comic Sans to announce the discovery of the Higgs boson (also called the “God particle”).

The decision sparked widespread criticism because Comic Sans is widely seen as playful and informal, hardly befitting one of the most important scientific discoveries of our time.

People who work in design, communication and marketing know this phenomenon well and use it deliberately. Think about the last time you bought a product you couldn’t see inside the box. What persuaded you if the product itself wasn’t visible? Most likely the packaging.

Designers choose typefaces as well as images that communicate the qualities they think you’re looking for.

If you’re searching for screws for a DIY project, you’re more likely to trust packaging set in bold, heavy lettering that signals strength and sturdiness. If you’re choosing a perfume as a gift, a delicate, flourished typeface might suggest elegance and femininity before you’ve even smelled it.

In one 2006 study, people were shown a range of fonts and asked where they would feel appropriate.

Serif typefaces such as Times New Roman and Cambria, which are recognisable by the small finishing strokes at the ends of their letters, were judged most suitable for business documents. Monospaced fonts like Courier New, in which every character takes up the same amount of space, were seen as better suited to technical materials and computer code.

This very article is set in Baskerville, and that’s no accident. Baskerville, like Goudy Old Style and other classic typefaces, tends to be seen as professional, trustworthy and high-quality. Those are the qualities The Conversation aims to convey to its readers. The same principle applies to any professionally designed website. Every typeface has been chosen to create the right impression.

Typefaces can also shape our experience of music. An album cover with rounded letters, for example, can make the music feel more pleasant. Designers also match typefaces to the genre: curvy, playful fonts appear on hippy music covers, conveying joy and peace, while sharp, angular lettering is common on punk albums, signalling anger and aggression.

Sometimes we don’t know exactly why a font feels a certain way. In a 2023 article, I reviewed studies from the past century that asked people to rate how they perceived different typefaces.

This large collection of data revealed some surprising patterns. For example, condensed typefaces, which have letters packed closely together, tend to convey a sense of sadness more than other fonts.

Thick lines reliably signalled strength, but the opposite was not true: thin lines were not consistently judged as weak. Instead, perceptions of weakness were more strongly associated with irregular strokes and high contrast, features common in typefaces that resemble handwriting. Why do they do that? I am afraid I don’t have an answer.

Next time you pick up a book, scroll through a website or glance at a label, take a moment to notice the font. Those subtle lines and curves are doing more than you might think, shaping your experience in subtle ways.

Andrea Piovesan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. It’s not you – some typefaces feel different – https://theconversation.com/its-not-you-some-typefaces-feel-different-270192

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Allen Gallagher, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Health, University of Bath

The British Museum has ended its controversial 15-year sponsorship with Japan Tobacco International (JTI).

The sponsorship has attracted a lot of criticism in that time. In 2016, 1,000 public health experts wrote an open letter calling for London’s cultural institutions, including the British Museum, to end “morally unacceptable” sponsorship from tobacco sponsors.

Despite this, as reported in both 2023 and 2025 by our Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath, the British Museum had continued to have a close relationship with JTI.

It is therefore welcome news that the UK government has finally intervened to end the partnership. It comes following a freedom of information request from the research and campaign organisation Culture Unstained. This revealed that the Department for Health had raised concerns about the partnership earlier this year to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, the government department that funds the British Museum. As a result, the museum’s trustees decided not to continue the partnership upon its expiration in September.

This is long overdue. Many other cultural institutions in the UK have already ceased entering into agreements with such companies, given the immense damage tobacco products do to public health.

Tate, for example, stopped accepting all sponsorship from tobacco companies in 1991. The National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and Victoria and Albert Museum each gradually did the same, leaving The British Museum as the only major UK national art museum still accepting money from a tobacco company.

The British Museum’s director, Nicholas Cullinan, previously argued there needed to be “very good, clear reasons for turning down money that would help keep the British Museum free to the public”.

Ties to a harmful industry

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) became a popular concept in the 1950s. It was originally interpreted as a positive development whereby companies committed resources to further societal gain instead of company profit. By the 1960s, however, more critical interpretations had emerged.

CSR began to be seen as “fundamentally subversive” by business researchers, and now it is commonly interpreted as a mechanism for large corporations to legitimise and consolidate power. For health-harming industries such as tobacco, CSR campaigns can help them “clean” their image by claiming to be investing in society, while simultaneously causing extensive public health harms.

Indeed, sponsoring cultural institutions is a well-documented tobacco industry tactic. Among public health practitioners and researchers, it’s widely seen as part of the industry’s efforts to improve its public image and achieve policy influence.

Viewed in this light, the British Museum’s sponsorship from JTI could be viewed as a deliberate effort by a harmful company to improve its own reputation by exploiting the reputation of a UK cultural institution.

Government funding of the British Museum during its tobacco sponsorship contradicts the world’s first public health treaty. The World Health Organization framework convention on tobacco control was adopted in 2003 and has been signed by over 182 countries and the EU as of 2025.

It aims to protect populations from the harms of tobacco through various measures to reduce tobacco consumption, such as preventing people from starting the habit and protecting them from the harm of secondhand smoke.

Article 5.3 of the treaty aims to protect policymaking from the vested interests of the tobacco industry, given the “fundamental and irreconcilable” conflict between the industry’s commercial interests and public health.

This article and its implementation guidelines stipulate that parties should aim to limit interactions with the tobacco industry. This includes rejecting all partnerships with tobacco companies and curbing their CSR activities.

The government’s financial support of the British Museum, while the museum received JTI sponsorship, was therefore problematic.

The future of sponsorship

Unfortunately, despite the welcome British Museum developments, the tobacco industry continues its connections to other UK cultural institutions. Both the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Academy of Arts continue to accept JTI sponsorship. Hopefully, the British Museum case will draw the attention of other institutions, encouraging them to follow suit.

Tobacco industry sponsorship of the British Museum has hopefully now become a thing of the past. However, it should be noted that the museum continues to accept sponsorship from other health-harming industries. Its ten-year partnership with oil producer BP, for example, has also come under scrutiny. As with the JTI sponsorship, the British Museum appears behind the curve. Other institutions like the Royal Opera House, National Portrait Gallery and Tate galleries have already cut ties with BP.

Time will tell whether the end of the JTI sponsorship will encourage other cultural institutions to reject tobacco industry sponsorship. We need to remain alert and vigilant regarding current and future partnerships entered into by the British Museum and other UK cultural institutions.

This article is part of our State of the Arts series. These articles tackle the challenges of the arts and heritage industry – and celebrate the wins, too.

Allen Gallagher receives funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use (www.bloomberg.org).

Duncan Thomas receives funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use (www.bloomberg.org).

Sophie Braznell receives funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use (www.bloomberg.org).

– ref. Why British Museum has ended 15-year Japan Tobacco deal – and what it means for future partnerships – https://theconversation.com/why-british-museum-has-ended-15-year-japan-tobacco-deal-and-what-it-means-for-future-partnerships-270598