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July 7, 2025

Alcohol and colonialism: the curious story of the Bulawayo beer gardens

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Maurice Hutton, Research Associate, School of Environment, Education and Development, University of Manchester

Kontuthu Ziyathunqa – Smoke Rising – was what they used to call Bulawayo when the city was the industrial powerhouse of Zimbabwe. Now, many of its factories lie dormant or derelict. The daily torrent of workers flowing eastward at dawn, and back out to the high-density western suburbs at dusk, has diminished to a trickle.

But there is an intriguing industrial-era institution that lives on in most of the older western suburbs (formerly called townships). It is the municipal beer hall or beer garden, built in the colonial days for the racially segregated African worker communities. There are dozens of these halls and garden complexes, still serving customers and emitting muffled sounds of merriment to this day.

Like other urban areas in Rhodesia (colonial Zimbabwe), Bulawayo was informally segregated from its inception, and more formally segregated after the second world war. Under British rule (1893-1965) and then independent white minority rule (1965-1980), municipal drinking amenities were built in the townships to maintain control of African drinking and sociality. At the same time, they raised much-needed revenue for township welfare and recreational services.

I researched the history of these beer halls and gardens as part of my PhD project on the development of the segregated African townships in late colonial Bulawayo. As my historical account shows, they played a key role in the contested township development process.

From beer halls to beer gardens

Bulawayo’s oldest and most famous beer hall, MaKhumalo, also known as Big Bhawa, was built more than a century ago. It still stands at the heart of the historic Makokoba neighbourhood. It’s enormous, but austere, and in the early days it was oppressively managed. Drinkers would describe feeling like prisoners there.

The more picturesque beer gardens began to emerge in the 1950s, reflecting the developmental idealism of Hugh Ashton. The Lesotho-born anthropologist was educated at the Universities of Oxford, London and Cape Town, and took up the new directorship of African administration in Bulawayo in 1949.

He was tuned into new anthropological ideas about social change, as well as developmental ideas spreading through postwar colonial administrations – about “stabilising” and “detribalising” African workers to create a more passive and productive urban working class. He saw a reformed municipal beer system as a key tool for achieving these goals.

Ashton wanted to make the beer system more legitimate and the venues more community-building. He proposed constructing beer garden complexes with trees, rocks, games facilities, food stalls and events like “traditional dancing”. So the atmosphere would be convivial and respectable, but also controllable, enticing all classes and boosting profits to fund better social services. As we shall see, this strategy was full of contradictions…

Industrial beer brewing

MaKhumalo, MaMkhwananzi, MaNdlovu, MaSilela. These beer garden names, emblazoned on the beer dispensaries that stick up above the ramparts of each garden complex, referenced the role that women traditionally played in beer brewing in southern Africa. This helped authenticate the council’s “home brew”.

But the reality was that the beer was now produced in a massive industrial brewery managed by a Polish man. It was piped down from steel tanks at the tops of the dispensary buildings into the plastic mugs of thirsty punters at small bar windows below. (It was also sold in plastic calabashes and cardboard cartons.)

And the beer garden bureaucracy, which offered a rare opportunity for African men to attain higher-grade public sector jobs, became increasingly complex and strictly audited.

As the townships rapidly expanded, with beer gardens dotted about them, sales of the council’s “traditional” beer – the quality of which Ashton and his staff obsessed over – went up and up.

Extensive beer advertising in the council’s free magazine mixed symbols of tradition (beer as food) with symbols of modern middle-classness.

Beer monopoly system

The system’s success relied on the Bulawayo council having a monopoly on the sale of so-called “native beer”. This traditional brew is typically made by malting, mashing, boiling and then fermenting sorghum, millet or maize grains. Racialised Rhodesian liquor laws restricted African access to “European” beers, wines and spirits.

So, the beer hall or garden was the only public venue where Africans could legally drink (apart from a tiny elite, for whom a few exclusive “cocktail lounges” were built). The council cracked down harshly on “liquor offences” like home brewing.

This beer monopoly system was quite prevalent in southern and eastern Africa, though rarely at the scale to which it grew in Bulawayo. Nearly everywhere, the system caused resentment among African townspeople, and so it became politically charged.

In several colonies, beer halls became sites of protest, or were boycotted (most famously in South Africa). And they usually faced stiff competition from illicit drinking dens known as shebeens.

In Bulawayo, the more the city council “improved” its beer system after the Second World War, the more contradictory the system became. It actively encouraged mass consumption of “traditional” beer, so that funds could be raised for “modern” health, housing and welfare services in the townships. Ashton himself was painfully aware of the contradictions.

In his guest introduction to a 1974 ethnographic monograph on Bulawayo’s beer gardens, he wrote:

The ambivalence of my position is obvious. How can one maintain a healthy community and a healthy profit at one and the same time? I can almost hear the critical reader questioning my morality and even my sanity. And why not? I have often done so myself.

Many citizen groups – both African and European – questioned the system too. They called it illogical, if not immoral; even some government ministers said it had gone too far. And when some beer gardens were constructed close to European residential areas, to cater for African domestic workers, many Europeans reacted with fear and fury.

As Zimbabweans’ struggle for independence took off in the 1960s, African residents increasingly associated the beer halls and gardens with state neglect, repression, or pacification. They periodically boycotted or vandalised them. Nevertheless, with few alternative options, attendance rates remained high: MaKhumalo recorded 50,000 visitors on one Sunday in 1970.

After independence

After Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980, the township beer gardens remained in municipal hands. They continued to be popular, even though racial desegregation had finally given township residents access to other social spaces across the city.

The colonial-era municipal beers continued to be produced, with Ngwebu (“The Royal Brew”) becoming a patriotic beverage for the Ndebele – the city’s majority ethnic group.

But with the deindustrialisation of Bulawayo since the late 1990s, tens of thousands of blue collar workers have moved to greener pastures, mostly South Africa. The old drinking rhythm of the city’s workforce has changed, and for the young, the beer gardens hold little allure. Increasingly, they have been leased out to private individuals to run.

Nevertheless, there is always a daily trickle of regulars to the beer gardens, where mugs and calabashes are passed around among friends or burial society members. Some punters play darts or pool. And there are always some who sit alone, ruminating – perhaps in the company of ghosts from the past.

The beer gardens of Bulawayo embody the moral and practical contradictions of late colonial development – and the ways in which such systems and infrastructures may live on, but change meaning, in the post-colony.

Maurice Hutton received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the University of Edinburgh’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences to conduct the research on which this article is based.

– ref. Alcohol and colonialism: the curious story of the Bulawayo beer gardens – https://theconversation.com/alcohol-and-colonialism-the-curious-story-of-the-bulawayo-beer-gardens-256511

July 7, 2025

Samora Machel’s vision for Mozambique didn’t survive: what has taken its place?

Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Luca Bussotti, Professor at the PhD Course in Peace, Democracy, Social Movements and Human Development, Universidade Técnica de Moçambique (UDM)

Samora Moisés Machel, the first president of independent Mozambique, was born in 1933 in Gaza province, in the south of the country. He died in an unexplained plane crash on 19 October 1986, in Mbuzini, South Africa.

Authoritarian and popular, humble and arrogant, visionary and tactical. All these words have been used to describe Machel. Despite these contradictions, there was one quality that everyone recognised in him: his charisma. At the time this gift wasn’t lacking in many political leaders of emerging countries, especially those of Marxist-Leninist inspiration. Cuba’s revolutionary leader Fidel Castro above all.

Their common faith went beyond any personal or family interest. It was a faith for the progress of humanity, for the liberation of oppressed peoples from the colonial yoke, from the chains of capitalism and from traditional values and practices considered regressive.

Machel’s enlightenment programme was as fascinating as it was difficult to achieve in Mozambique in the mid-1970s. Small farmers, with all their “traditional” beliefs, made up the majority of the population. It was a political battle for social justice as well as a cultural crusade.

Machel’s speech on 25 June 1975, at the Machava Stadium in Maputo, proclaiming Mozambique’s independence from Portugal, highlighted the contradictions. The new head of state addressed the “workers”, who represented a small minority of the Mozambican people. At the same time, he called for freedom from colonial-capitalist oppression and the effective, total independence of the new country, already identifying its possible enemies: the unproductive and exploitative bourgeoisie.

The task of nation-building

Machel’s charisma recalled that of the proto-nationalist hero Gungunhana, who had tried to resist the Portuguese occupation at the end of the 19th century. Machel’s grandfather, Maguivelani, was related to the “terrible” Gungunhana, the last emperor of Gaza, who was defeated in 1895 by Mouzinho de Albuquerque after years of struggle. He was deported to Portugal, where he died in 1906.

Paradoxically, the anti-traditionalist Machel was the descendant of a great traditional chief. This heritage played a role in shaping his personality and political action.

Machel’s main task was to build a nation that only existed because of political unification under the Portuguese. The initial choices, embedded in the Cold War atmosphere, forced the nationalist Machel to opt for a rapprochement with the Soviet Union. Mozambique formally adopted a Marxist-Leninist doctrine at its Third Congress in 1977.

That approach meant political intolerance and the repression of “dissidents”, as well as the marginalisation of certain ethnic groups, above all the Amakhuwa people, who did not sympathise with Machel’s party, Frelimo.

The forces opposed to the Marxist-Leninist solution expected democratic elections to be held after the proclamation of independence from Portugal. But this opportunity never came. Portugal handed over power to Frelimo (Lusaka Accords, 1974), ignoring the existence of other political groups.

The treatment of leaders who opposed Frelimo’s vision was harsh. On their return from abroad, many were imprisoned in concentration camps in the north of the country.

They included the resistance leader Joana Simeão, along with others such as Uria Simango, former vice-president of Frelimo, his wife, Celina Simango, and Lázaro Kavandame, the former Makonde leader who left Frelimo because he didn’t agree with its political line.

They were put on arbitrary trial and executed. The dates and the method of execution are still officially unknown, despite the former president Joaquim Chissano’s public apology, in 2014, for these deaths.

About a year after independence, an armed opposition, Renamo, was formed. It was financed first by Ian Smith’s Southern Rhodesian government, and then by the South African apartheid regime.

Renamo, contrary to Machel’s expectations, had a solid popular base in central and northern Mozambique, especially among peasant populations who had expressed opposition to the policies of collectivisation and cooperation imposed by the Marxist-Leninist government.

And it was war which led Machel to a controversial agreement with the South African apartheid enemy. The Nkomati Accords, signed in 1984, provided for the end of Mozambique’s logistical support to the exiled African National Congress in Mozambique and South Africa’s military and financial support to Renamo.

This agreement did not bring peace. On the contrary, the war intensified, as the South African regime continued to finance Renamo.

Machel died in 1986, with the war still raging, unable to see the end of a conflict that had devastated Mozambique and which defeated the socialist principles.

The General Peace Accords between the Mozambican government, represented by the president, Chissano, and Renamo, represented by its leader, Afonso Dhlakama, were only signed in Rome in 1992.

End of an era

Machel took the first, important steps towards a rapprochement with the west, as demonstrated by his visit to Ronald Reagan in Washington in September 1985.

It can be said that with his death the First Mozambican Republic ended, with all its positive and negative elements. The dream of building a fair Mozambique with an equitable distribution of national wealth came to an end.

Machel had worked hard to ensure that health, education, transport, water and energy were distributed equally among Mozambicans. A poor but fair welfare state was born. But it was quickly dismantled in the years following his death. The Mozambican state had very few resources to devote to the welfare state. The rest was done by the rapid abandonment of an ideology, the socialist ideology, which by then the Frelimo elite no longer believed in.

In addition, international financial institutions entered the country, with the notorious structural adjustment policies, as early as 1987.

Corruption, which Machel sought to combat with various measures, and which he addressed at many of his rallies, spread across the country and all its institutions. The Frelimo political elite soon became the richest slice of the nation.

Several observers began to speak of a kleptocracy. The country suffered from continuous corruption scandals. One of the biggest became known as “hidden debt,” in which the political elite, including one of ex-president Armando Guebuza’s sons and former intelligence chief, Gregório Leão, were convicted of a scheme that cost the public treasury more than US$2 billion.

However, the main defeat was the fall of an inapplicable socialism.

The adoption of a capitalist, liberal and democratic model, at least formally, put an end to the arbitrary violations of human rights as in the age of the socialist state, such as “Operation Production” of 1983. The programme aimed to move “unproductive” people living in cities to the countryside to promote agricultural production.

In reality, it turned into arbitrary detentions and displacement of entire families, increasing the systematic violation of human rights by the state.

At the same time, the end of socialism meant democratic openness. Since the 1990 constitution, Mozambique has had as its fundamental principles respect for civil and political freedoms based on the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights. Still, socio-economic rights have been denied as a result of the dismantling of the welfare state.

How he’s remembered

Today, many people miss Machel’s rule. Those who were close to him, such as José Óscar Monteiro, the former interior minister, recall him as an ethical statesman, intolerant of corruption and abuses against “his” people. So do some of the international media.

Others, since the 1980s, such as Amnesty International, have denounced the serious violations of the most basic human rights by the Mozambican government and its leader.

What remains of Machel today is above all his ethical teaching. He died poor, committed to the cause of his nation, leaving his heirs moral prestige.

It is curious that his figure is associated, even in musical compositions by contemporary rappers from Mozambique, with his historical enemy, Dhlakama, who died in 2018.

This popular tribute is proof of the distance between the country’s current ruling class and a “people” who are looking to the charismatic figure of Venâncio Mondlane, the so-called “people’s president”. But that’s another story that won’t fit here.

Luca Bussotti 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. Samora Machel’s vision for Mozambique didn’t survive: what has taken its place? – https://theconversation.com/samora-machels-vision-for-mozambique-didnt-survive-what-has-taken-its-place-260110

July 7, 2025

West Africa terror: why attacks on military bases are rising – and four ways to respond

Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Olayinka Ajala, Associate professor in Politics and International Relations, Leeds Beckett University

More than 40 Malian soldiers were killed and one of the country’s military bases was taken over in early June 2025 in a major attack by an al-Qaeda linked group, Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), on the town of Boulikessi.

The same group launched an attack on the historic city of Timbuktu. The Malian army claimed it repelled the Timbuktu attack and killed 14 terrorists.

Terrorist groups have attacked Boulikessi in large numbers before. In October 2019, 25 Malian soldiers were killed. The target was a G5 Sahel force military camp.

Timbuktu has been in the sights of terrorist groups since 2012. JNIM laid siege to the city for several months in 2023. Timbuktu has a major airport and a key military base.

In neighbouring Burkina Faso, there have been running battles in recent months between the military and terrorist groups. About 40% of the country is under the control of groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State. Military bases in the country have also been targeted.

Mali and Burkina Faso are under military rule. Insecurity, especially increasing terrorist attacks, were key reasons the military juntas gave for seizing power in both countries.

I have been researching terrorism and the formation of insurgent groups in west Africa and the Sahel for over a decade. What I am observing is that the terrorist groups are becoming more daring and constantly changing tactics, with increased attacks on military camps across the region.

Military camps are attacked to lower the morale of the soldiers and steal ammunition. It also sends a message to locals that military forces are incapable of protecting civilians.

I believe there are four main reasons for an increase in large scale attacks on military bases in the region:

the loss of the US drone base in Niger, which has made surveillance difficult
an increase in human rights abuses carried out in the name of counter terrorism
a lack of a coordinated approach to counter terrorism
constant changes of tactics by the terrorists.

Identifying and addressing these issues are important to counter the trend.

Why are the attacks increasing?

First is the loss of the US drone base in Agadez, Republic of Niger, in 2024 after the military seized power in the country.

I was initially sceptical when the drone base was commissioned in 2019. But it has in fact acted as a deterrent to terrorist groups.

Terrorist organisations operating in the Sahel knew they were being watched by drones operating from the base. They were aware surveillance information was shared with member states. The loss of the base has reduced reconnaissance and surveillance activities in the region.

Second, an increase in human rights abuse in the fight against terrorism in the region is dividing communities and increasing recruitment into terrorist groups. A report by Human Rights Watch in May 2025 accused the Burkina Faso military and allied militias of killing more than 130 civilians during counter-terrorism operations.

The report argued that members of the Fulani ethnic group were targeted in the operations because they were perceived to have relationships with terrorist groups. Terrorist groups are known to use such incidents to win the hearts and minds of local populations.

Third, the lack of a coordinated approach to counter terrorism in the region is reversing the gains made in the last decade. Major developments have included the dissolving of the G5 Sahel. This grouping was created in 2014 to enhance security coordination between members. The members were Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad and Niger. The organisation launched joint counter-terrorism missions across member states but was dissolved in December 2023 after Niger and Burkina Faso withdrew.

The weakening of the Multinational Joint Task Force due to the military coup in Niger and the countries’ strategic repositioning is undermining counter-terrorism initiatives. Task force members were Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Benin.

The mandate of the task force is to combat Boko Haram and other terrorist groups operating around the Lake Chad basin. After its establishment in 2015 the task force achieved significant progress. In January 2025, Niger suspended its membership, putting the fight against terrorism in the region in jeopardy.

Fourth, terrorist groups in the region are becoming more sophisticated in their approach. In April 2025, JNIM terrorists were suspected of launching a suicide drone attack on Togolese military positions.

For its part, the military in the Sahelian countries are struggling to adapt to the terrorists’ new tactics. In the last few years, there has been a proliferation of drones in Africa by states and non-state actors.

Halting the trend

To combat the increasing attacks by terrorist groups, especially large-scale attacks on military positions, four immediate steps are necessary.

First, nation states need to invest in surveillance capabilities. The loss of the drone base in Niger means Sahelian states must urgently find new ways of gathering and sharing intelligence. The topography of the region, which is mainly flat, with scattered vegetation, is an advantage as reconnaissance drones can easily detect suspicious movements, terrorist camps and travel routes.

There is also a need to regulate the use of drones in the region to prevent use by non-state actors.

In addition, countries fighting terrorism must find a way to improve the relationship between the military (and allied militias) and people affected by terrorism. My latest publication on the issue shows that vigilante groups engaged by the military forces are sometimes complicit in human rights abuse.

Training on human rights is essential for military forces and allied militias.

Terrorism funding avenues must be identified and blocked. Large scale terrorist attacks involve planning, training and resources. Funding from illegal mining, trafficking and kidnapping must be identified and eradicated. This will also include intelligence sharing between nation states.

Finally, the Sahelian countries must find a mechanism to work with the Economic Community of West African States.

As the numbers and intensity of terrorist activities are increasing across the Sahel, immediate action is necessary to combat this trend.

Olayinka Ajala 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. West Africa terror: why attacks on military bases are rising – and four ways to respond – https://theconversation.com/west-africa-terror-why-attacks-on-military-bases-are-rising-and-four-ways-to-respond-258622

July 7, 2025

Conservateur ou progressiste : quel type de donateur êtes-vous ?

Source: The Conversation – France (in French) – By Thomas Leclercq, Professeur ordinaire en marketing, IESEG School of Management (LEM-CNRS 9221), Head of Marketing and Sales Department, IÉSEG School of Management

Lorsqu’un conservateur reçoit une communication d’une association présentant un bénéficiaire qu’il considère comme étant proche, la probabilité de faire est don est de 73 %. Lightspring/Shutterstock

En 2025, la politique influence nos dons. Après la distinction entre la gauche et la droite, une étude démontre que la générosité des Français oppose conservateur et progressistes. Les premiers sont enclins à donner à des associations près de chez eux, résolvant des problèmes. Les seconds, pour des projets de justice sociale, apportant un changement ou un progrès. Résultat en chiffres et en graphiques.

Dans un contexte de polarisation politique croissante, nos choix en tant que consommateurs s’entremêlent de plus en plus avec nos convictions. L’expert en marketing Benjamin Bœuf souligne que les consommateurs préfèrent des marques qui démontrent un positionnement politique similaire au leur. Elle pousse les entreprises à intégrer ce critère dans leur stratégie marketing, ou à se positionner sur des questions de sociétés.

Mais cet impact dépasse largement nos décisions d’achat. Nos préférences politiques façonnent également nos élans de générosité et les causes que nous choisissons de soutenir. Cette influence s’explique en partie par le fait que notre orientation politique reflète des valeurs morales qui nous sont propres, qui guident nos actions et nos choix.

À travers notre recherche, nous avons mis en lumière trois tendances majeures qui révèlent comment ces orientations politiques influencent le comportement des donateurs : le cadrage du message, la proximité du bénéficiaire et le sentiment de justice sociale sous-jacent, la démarche de l’organisation caritative. Pour ce faire, nous avons mené une série d’études manipulant des communications provenant d’organisations caritatives, mesurant l’effet sur la propension à faire un don.

Vision conservatrice vs progressiste

Au-delà des préférences de chacun pour certains partis, les études sur l’orientation politique du psychologue social américain John Tost mettent en évidence la polarité entre les conservateurs et les progressistes (ou libéraux sur les graphiques), également décrite par la distinction gauche-droite. Les personnes de sensibilité progressiste estiment que chacun doit être libre de poursuivre son propre développement, et que la société doit être organisée dans un souci de justice sociale. À l’inverse, les conservateurs considèrent que l’être humain est fondamentalement individualiste, que la vie en société requiert dès lors des structures et des règles régissant la liberté de chacun.

Ce positionnement politique détermine la manière dont chacun perçoit la société et le rôle des individus au sein du collectif. Selon le professeur en psychologie Graham, une vision conservatrice met davantage l’accent sur la responsabilité individuelle et la préservation des structures sociales existantes. Une vision progressiste valorise la responsabilité collective et les initiatives visant à corriger les inégalités systémiques. L’orientation politique progressiste peut dès lors être mesurée en demandant aux répondants d’indiquer leur degré d’accord vis-à-vis d’affirmations telles que « J’ai une tendance à m’opposer à l’autorité ». On demandera aux répondants d’indiquer leur accord vis-à-vis d’affirmations telles que « Je pense que l’application des lois devrait être renforcée ». Ces différences fondamentales influencent directement le type d’organisations caritatives auxquelles les individus choisissent de donner.

Évitement d’un danger vs changement

Les personnes ayant une orientation politique conservatrice sont davantage attirées par des organisations qui communiquent sur l’évitement d’un danger ou la résolution d’un problème. « Votre don nous aidera à protéger des populations des risques d’épidémies » ou « votre geste permettra de mettre en œuvre des actions pour protéger notre planète ». Ces messages, centrés sur la protection ou la sécurité, trouvent un écho particulier auprès de ce public.

À l’inverse, les individus ayant une orientation politique progressiste privilégient des causes qui mettent en avant des opportunités positives de changement ou de progrès, avec un accent sur l’optimisme et l’amélioration. « Aidez-nous à créer un monde plus vert » ou « relevons ensemble le défi de l’égalité sociale ».

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Changement vs évitement

Afin de démonter cette préférence, nous avons présenté une expérimentation auprès de 150 répondants à travers laquelle les participants complétaient un questionnaire concernant leur orientation politique. À la suite de ce dernier, ils étaient invités à soutenir une association dont nous avons fait varier le message via trois groupes :

Un message neutre décrivant l’activité de l’organisation
Un message centré sur l’évitement
Un message centré sur le progrès

La probabilité qu’une personne d’orientation progressiste donne à une cause présentée sous la forme d’un progrès est de 85 %, contre 30 % pour les conservateurs recevant cette même communication. En revanche, la communication mettant en exergue la protection ou l’évitement d’un risque fait monter la probabilité de don à plus de 60 % pour les conservateurs, contre 36 % pour les progressistes.

Cause proche de son quotidien

Les conservateurs montrent une préférence pour des causes où le bénéficiaire est perçu comme étant proche d’eux, que ce soit culturellement, géographiquement ou socialement. Pour confirmer cette hypothèse, nous avons proposé un questionnaire sur l’orientation politique à 243 répondants. À la suite de celui-ci, nous leur avons proposé de soutenir une organisation caritative via un don.

Dans un groupe, cette dernière était décrite comme aidant les personnes dans la ville du répondant, dans l’autre nous présentions la même association pour un autre pays. Lorsqu’un conservateur reçoit une communication présentant un bénéficiaire qu’il considère comme étant proche, la probabilité de faire est don est de 73 %, contre 68 % quand le bénéficiaire est éloigné.

Justice sociale

En revanche, les progressistes sont davantage motivés par des causes centrées sur la justice sociale. L’enjeu est de corriger des inégalités ou de soutenir des groupes marginalisés comme les aides aux sans-abris ou le combat contre les drogues. Ces sujets sont centraux, car ils représentent les principales missions des organisations caritatives à but social. Pour démontrer cette tendance, nous avons administré un questionnaire sur l’orientation politique à 270 participants. À l’issue de celui-ci, ils ont été invités à soutenir une organisation caritative en réalisant une promesse de don.

Pour un premier groupe, l’organisation était présentée comme luttant pour un traitement égalitaire entre les hommes et les femmes, tandis que pour un second groupe, elle agissait contre l’abus et la cruauté envers les animaux domestiques. Les résultats indiquent que, chez les répondants progressistes, la probabilité de don atteint 76 % lorsque la cause est liée à la justice sociale, contre 58 % quand elle ne l’est pas de manière explicite.

Cibler les donateurs

Ces résultats offrent aux organisations caritatives un véritable levier pour optimiser leur communication. En comprenant mieux les différences d’orientation entre les publics conservateurs et progressistes, elles peuvent adapter leurs messages pour maximiser leur impact. Une campagne destinée à un public conservateur pourrait, par exemple, insister sur des enjeux de sécurité ou de préservation des valeurs locales. En revanche, une communication visant un public progressiste gagnerait à mettre en avant des projets innovants ou des initiatives pour réduire les inégalités sociales.

En ciblant mieux leurs donateurs, les organisations peuvent non seulement accroître leur efficacité, mais aussi s’assurer que leur message résonne profondément avec les convictions de leurs publics. Dans un monde de plus en plus polarisé, cette capacité à adapter la communication devient un atout clé pour mobiliser un soutien durable.

Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.

– ref. Conservateur ou progressiste : quel type de donateur êtes-vous ? – https://theconversation.com/conservateur-ou-progressiste-quel-type-de-donateur-etes-vous-255442

July 7, 2025

Dix ans après leur entrée en vigueur, les directives de fin de vie sont peu utilisées. Voici pourquoi

Source: The Conversation – in French – By Ariane Plaisance, Research scientist, Université Laval

Les directives médicales anticipées (DMA), qui permettent à une personne de faire connaître ses volontés pour le jour où elle ne serait plus capable de s’exprimer ou de décider pour elle-même, restent encore peu utilisées, tant par les citoyens que par les professionnels de la santé. Pourtant, leur valeur juridique est bien établie.

Cette faible utilisation peut s’expliquer par plusieurs lacunes déjà soulevées par des juristes, que notre équipe a voulu explorer de plus près.

Instaurées le 10 décembre 2015 lors de la mise en vigueur de la Loi concernant les soins de fin de vie (LCSFV), les directives médicales anticipées permettent à une personne majeure et apte à consentir aux soins d’accepter ou de refuser en avance cinq soins médicaux, soit la réanimation cardiorespiratoire, la ventilation assistée par un respirateur, la dialyse, l’alimentation artificielle et l’hydratation artificielle.

Ces directives s’appliquent dans trois circonstances bien précises :

En cas de maladie grave et incurable, en fin de vie
En situation de coma irréversible ou d’état végétatif permanent
En cas de démence avancée sans possibilité d’amélioration.

Les DMA sont complétées par acte notarié ou devant témoins au moyen du formulaire prescrit par le ministre, puis déposées dans un registre administré par la Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec.

Dans son rapport quinquennal 2018-2023 déposé le 18 février dernier, la Commission sur les soins de fin de vie soulève des questionnements quant au nombre limité de personnes ayant complété des DMA et sur l’effet presque inexistant du régime.

Et si une partie de la réponse se trouvaient dans les écrits juridiques ?

Nous sommes une équipe de recherche interdisciplinaire comprenant des étudiantes à la maîtrise en droit notarial et moi-même, chercheuse spécialisée sur les pratiques de fin de vie. Grâce à un financement de la Chambre des notaires du Québec, nous avons fait une analyse des écrits de spécialistes du droit ayant émis des réserves face au régime des DMA.

L’aptitude à consentir : un fondement légal fragile

Selon Robert P. Kouri, docteur en droit et professeur titulaire à la Faculté de droit de l’Université de Sherbrooke, les dispositions de la loi par rapport à l’aptitude à consentir aux soins présentent une incohérence. Bien que cette aptitude soit présumée, certaines personnes peuvent ne pas être en mesure de l’exercer pleinement.

Le notaire a une obligation de diligence pour vérifier la capacité du signataire, mais ne possède généralement pas l’expertise pour évaluer l’aptitude à consentir aux soins. Quant aux DMA signées devant témoins, aucun mécanisme ne permet de vérifier l’aptitude, malgré la mention préimprimée affirmant que la personne est « majeure et apte ».

Comme le soulignait déjà Me Danielle Chalifoux en 2015, le rôle des témoins se limite à valider la signature, sans exigence d’indépendance ou de vérification de l’aptitude. Si la DMA a été reçue devant notaire et surtout lorsqu’elle a été reçue devant témoins, comment des professionnels de la santé pouvaient s’assurer, des années plus tard, qu’il s’agit bel et bien de l’expression émanant d’une personne légalement apte au moment de la complétion et que ces volontés sont toujours les mêmes, questionne Me Kouri ?

Le consentement éclairé : un idéal souvent irréaliste

La Loi sur les soins de fin de vie part du principe que la personne qui remplit des DMA a reçu toute l’information nécessaire pour prendre une décision éclairée. Or, selon Me Kouri et Me Chalifoux, cette présomption repose sur l’hypothèse d’une consultation avec un professionnel de la santé compétent. Dans les faits, il est peu réaliste de croire que des personnes en bonne santé prennent cette initiative dans un contexte hypothétique de fin de vie.

Il est même irréaliste de croire que des personnes malades aient eu accès à un médecin en mesure de leur expliquer les risques et bénéfices d’accepter ou de refuser les cinq soins contenus dans les DMA. Une telle conversation prend du temps, plus longtemps que la durée d’un seul rendez-vous médical ! Il devient donc difficile d’affirmer honnêtement que la décision est réellement éclairée, d’autant que la volonté exprimée peut évoluer, parfois considérablement, avec le temps.

Quand les proches sont exclus des décisions

Dans un texte publié en 2019, Louise Bernier, professeure de droit de la santé à l’Université de Sherbrooke, et Catherine Régis, professeure à la Faculté de droit de l’Université de Montréal, critiquent l’exclusion des proches dans le processus d’application des DMA. Une fois le formulaire entre les mains des professionnels de la santé, la loi n’accorde aucun rôle officiel à la famille pour compléter l’information ou interpréter les volontés exprimées.

Pourtant, les proches sont souvent les mieux placés pour comprendre l’évolution des valeurs ou des préférences de la personne. Les professeures Bernier et Régis dénoncent une conception réductrice et individualiste de l’autonomie, qui fait fi de la dimension relationnelle essentielle dans les soins palliatifs et en fin de vie.

Déjà des milliers d’abonnés à l’infolettre de La Conversation. Et vous ? Abonnez-vous gratuitement à notre infolettre pour mieux comprendre les grands enjeux contemporains.

Un régime à repenser

L’analyse des critiques juridiques permet de mieux comprendre la faible adhésion aux DMA. Les enjeux entourant la présomption d’aptitude, la présomption de consentement éclairé et l’absence de rôle reconnu pour les proches minent la crédibilité et l’efficacité de ce mécanisme légal.

Dans ce contexte, il n’est pas surprenant que les professionnels de la santé puissent hésiter à se fier pleinement aux DMA. De même, la population semble peu encline à recourir à cet instrument, soit par méconnaissance, soit par doute quant à sa capacité réelle de refléter leurs volontés profondes dans des circonstances imprévisibles.

Ces constats invitent à revoir en profondeur ce régime. Peut-être serait-il temps de miser davantage sur les objectifs de soins – un processus évolutif déjà en place depuis 1994, qui consiste à discuter avec la personne et ses proches pour établir les grandes orientations de traitement selon son état de santé, ses volontés et ses valeurs. Ce mécanisme, plus souple, évolutif, et mieux adapté à l’accompagnement clinique, permet aussi l’implication des proches.

– ref. Dix ans après leur entrée en vigueur, les directives de fin de vie sont peu utilisées. Voici pourquoi – https://theconversation.com/dix-ans-apres-leur-entree-en-vigueur-les-directives-de-fin-de-vie-sont-peu-utilisees-voici-pourquoi-257179

July 7, 2025

Célibataire ? Voici 5 conseils pour vous épanouir

Source: The Conversation – in French – By Yuthika Girme, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University

De nombreuses personnes passent la vingtaine et la trentaine à se découvrir et à construire une vie indépendante. Parallèlement, la société leur dit qu’elles devraient chercher l’amour, se ranger et fonder une famille. Ces étapes sont encore largement considérées comme des symboles de l’âge adulte et de la réussite.

Comment cela se traduit-il pour le nombre croissant de célibataires dans la vingtaine et la trentaine ?

Au Canada, le célibat est en constante augmentation chez les jeunes adultes. Malgré cette tendance, le discours dominant continue de présenter les relations romantiques comme l’idéal à atteindre. Le célibat est souvent perçu comme une étape temporaire, plutôt que comme un mode de vie légitime et épanouissant.

Je suis professeure agrégée à l’Université Simon Fraser, où je dirige le laboratoire «Singlehood Experiences and Complexities Underlying Relationships» (Expériences du célibat et complexités sous-jacentes aux relations). Mes recherches visent à comprendre les conditions qui permettent aux célibataires et aux couples de s’épanouir et d’être heureux.

Voici ce que j’ai appris au fil des ans sur ce que vivent les adultes célibataires dans la vingtaine et la trentaine.

25-35 ans : vos enjeux, est une série produite par La Conversation/The Conversation.

Chacun vit sa vingtaine et sa trentaine à sa façon. Certains économisent pour contracter un prêt hypothécaire quand d’autres se démènent pour payer leur loyer. Certains passent tout leur temps sur les applications de rencontres quand d’autres essaient de comprendre comment élever un enfant. Notre série sur les 25-35 ans aborde vos défis et enjeux de tous les jours.

Le célibat est de plus en plus répandu

Au Canada, 59,8 % des 25-29 ans et 37,6 % des 30-34 ans déclarent ne pas être mariés ni vivre en union libre.

La proportion de jeunes de 20 à 34 ans qui ne vivent pas en couple est passée de 50,5 % en 1996 à 60,3 % en 2021.

En outre, parmi les personnes qui souhaitent un jour s’engager dans une relation, nombreuses sont celles qui repoussent leur décision. L’âge moyen du mariage au Canada a augmenté de près de huit ans depuis les années 1970, passant de 23,3 ans en 1971 à 31,2 ans en 2020.

Ces tendances peuvent être le reflet de divers facteurs : priorisation de la carrière, volonté de voyager, difficulté à rencontrer quelqu’un ou préférence pour le célibat au début de l’âge adulte.

Elles peuvent également refléter le fait qu’un nombre croissant de personnes se considèrent comme des «célibataires dans l’âme» et choisissent délibérément le célibat, car elles apprécient leur liberté et leur solitude.

La pression de former un couple

Malgré le nombre croissant de personnes dans la vingtaine et la trentaine qui sont célibataires, que ce soit par choix ou en raison des circonstances, la pression sociétale incite les gens à vivre une relation amoureuse et à se ranger. Cela s’explique en grande partie par le fait que notre société met fortement l’accent sur le couple, le mariage et la vie de famille.

Il est certain que vouloir fonder une famille et entretenir une relation amoureuse est un choix de vie commun et légitime. Toutefois, placer les relations amoureuses sur un piédestal peut se faire au détriment des célibataires.

Déjà des milliers d’abonnés à l’infolettre de La Conversation. Et vous ? Abonnez-vous aujourd’hui à notre infolettre pour mieux comprendre les grands enjeux contemporains.

Les célibataires sont souvent considérés comme incomplets, simplement parce qu’ils ne sont pas en couple. Une étude que j’ai menée avec des collègues montre que les célibataires se sentent souvent exclus, mis à l’écart ou pris en pitié, ce qui peut nuire à leur bien-être. Ils peuvent également être victimes de stéréotypes négatifs et avoir le sentiment d’être perçus comme égoïstes, sans cœur, solitaires ou antisociaux.

Ces discours ne viennent pas uniquement de la société : les célibataires peuvent aussi les intérioriser, ce qui peut avoir des conséquences néfastes.

Dans une autre étude, nous avons examiné ce que nous appelons «les croyances liées à l’idéalisation de la vie amoureuse», c’est-à-dire la mesure dans laquelle les gens pensent qu’ils doivent être en couple pour être vraiment heureux. Nous avons constaté que les célibataires qui y adhèrent sont plus susceptibles de craindre le célibat et, par conséquent, de se déclarer insatisfaits de leur vie.

Comment être célibataire et heureux ?

Comment les célibataires peuvent-ils mener une vie heureuse, établie et satisfaisante, malgré les messages de la société sur l’importance des relations amoureuses ?

Pour répondre à cette question, mes collègues et moi-même avons passé en revue les études sur le célibat afin de mieux comprendre la différence entre les célibataires qui s’accommodent de leur situation et ceux qui s’y épanouissent. Nous avons constaté que, si certains célibataires trouvent la vie en solo difficile et aspirent à être en couple, de nombreux autres sont heureux et épanouis.

Voici quelques facteurs associés à un célibat heureux :

1) Avoir confiance en soi. Les personnes sûres d’elles qui sont capables de faire confiance à leurs proches et de compter sur eux font partie des célibataires heureux. Elles se disent plus satisfaites de leur vie et ont de bonnes habiletés en matière de régulation émotionnelle. Les célibataires sûrs d’eux peuvent être ouverts à l’idée de vivre une relation amoureuse tout en étant heureux et épanouis dans leur célibat.

2) Avoir des amis qui nous soutiennent. Les célibataires ont tendance à accorder davantage d’importance à leurs relations amicales que les personnes en couple. Les célibataires qui s’investissent dans leurs amitiés ont un sentiment d’appartenance, affichent une bonne estime de soi et sont satisfaits leur célibat.

Trois personnes assises autour d'une table de café en train de discuter — Les célibataires ont tendance à accorder davantage d’importance à leurs relations amicales que les personnes en couple.
(Shutterstock)

3) Répondre à ses besoins d’intimité. Les célibataires ont également des besoins sexuels et d’intimité. Selon les recherches, les célibataires qui savent y répondre apprécient davantage leur célibat et cherchent moins à être en couple. Par ailleurs, les célibataires satisfaits sur le plan sexuel finissent souvent par former un couple avec le temps.

4) Être plus âgé. Plus on approche de la quarantaine, plus le célibat est bien vécu. Cela découle sans doute du fait que les personnes d’âge mûr s’investissent pleinement dans leur vie de célibataire et ont moins tendance à subir la pression sociale qui les incite à correspondre à certaines attentes.

5) Accorder de l’importance à la liberté, au plaisir et à la créativité. Les recherches nous apprennent que les personnes célibataires qui apprécient la liberté, le plaisir et la créativité se sentent généralement plus heureuses.

Si on est célibataire dans la vingtaine et la trentaine, ce peut être un bon moment pour se concentrer sur son développement personnel, sa carrière, ses aspirations et ses relations avec la famille, les amis et la communauté. Ce sont des éléments importants pour vivre une vie heureuse, et ce, peu importe si on choisit de vivre seul ou en couple.

Yuthika Girme bénéficie d’un financement du Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada.

– ref. Célibataire ? Voici 5 conseils pour vous épanouir – https://theconversation.com/celibataire-voici-5-conseils-pour-vous-epanouir-256933

July 7, 2025

Here’s a way to save lives, curb traffic jams and make commutes faster and easier − ban left turns at intersections

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Vikash V. Gayah, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Penn State

Research shows left turns at intersections are dangerous and slow traffic. Benjamin Rondel/The Image Bank via Getty Images

More than 60% of traffic collisions at intersections involve left turns. Some U.S. cities – including San Francisco, Salt Lake City and Birmingham, Alabama – are restricting left turns.

Dr. Vikash Gayah, a professor of civil engineering at Penn State University and the interim director of the Larson Transportation Institute, discusses how left turns at intersections cause accidents, make traffic worse and use more gas.

Dr. Vikash Gayah discusses why left turns should be banned at some intersections.

The Conversation has collaborated with SciLine to bring you highlights from the discussion, edited for brevity and clarity.

How dangerous are left turns at intersections?

Vikash Gayah: When you make a left turn, you have to cross oncoming traffic. When you have a green light, you need to wait for a gap in the oncoming traffic before turning left. If you misjudge when you decide to turn, you could hit the oncoming traffic, or be hit by it. That’s an angle crash, one of the most dangerous types of crashes.

Also, the driver of the left-turning vehicle is typically looking at oncoming traffic. But pedestrians may be crossing the street they’re turning on to. Often the driver doesn’t see the pedestrians, and that too can cause a serious accident.

On the other hand, right turns require merging into traffic, but they’re not conflicting directly with traffic. So right turns are much, much safer than left turns.

What are the statistics on the unique dangers of left turns?

Gayah: Approximately 40% of all crashes occur at intersections − 50% of those crashes involve a serious injury, and 20% involve a fatality.

About 61% of the crashes at intersections involve a left turn. Left-hand turns are generally the least frequent movement at an intersection, so that 61% is a lot.

Why are left turns inefficient for traffic flow?

Gayah: When left-turning vehicles are waiting for the gap, they can block other lanes from moving, particularly when several vehicles are waiting to turn left.

Instead of the solid green light, many intersections use the green arrow to let left-turning vehicles move. But to do that, all other movements at the intersection have to stop. Stopping all other traffic just to serve a few left turns makes the intersection less efficient.

Also, every time you move to another “phase” of traffic – like the green arrow – the intersection has a brief period of time when all the lights are red. Traffic engineers call that an all-red time, and that’s when the intersection is not serving any vehicles. All-red time is two to three seconds per phase change, and that wasted time adds up quickly to further make the intersection less efficient.

An aerial view of a cars traveling around a roundabout. — Roundabouts reduce the need for left turns, but they don’t work everywhere.
Pete Ark/Moment via Getty Images

What restrictions have been tried in different cities?

Gayah: When a downtown is not very busy – in the off-peak periods – allowing left turns is fine because you don’t need that additional ability to move vehicles at each intersection.

Some cities are implementing signs that say no left turns at intersections from 7 to 9, which is the morning peak period, or 4 to 6, which is the afternoon peak period. In San Francisco, for example, Van Ness Avenue restricts left turns during peak periods.

But cities aren’t implementing these restrictions on a larger scale. Restrictions are more along individual corridors or isolated intersections instead of essentially the entire downtown, where possible. That would make the downtown street network more efficient.

Roundabouts are one approach to avoiding left turns.

Gayah: Roundabouts are safe because there’s no longer a need to cross opposing traffic. Everyone circulates in the same direction. You find where you need to go and then exit.

But restricting left turns, in general, is more efficient. Roundabouts aren’t as efficient when it’s busier. The roundabout gets full, which can cause a gridlock, and no vehicle can move. Traditional intersections are less prone to gridlock.

Roundabouts also take up more space. Installing a roundabout might mean expanding the intersection. In some downtowns, that means tearing down buildings or removing sidewalks. Restricting left turns only requires a sign that says “no left turns” or “no left turns during peak periods.” That’s it.

What are the benefits to banning left turns in urban areas?

Gayah: Any way you cut it, eliminating left turns will result in longer travel distances. I’ll have to travel a longer distance to get to where I need to go. The worst case is having to circle the block. I’m actually traveling four extra block lengths to get to where I need to go.

But not all trips require circling the block. In a typical downtown, each trip will be about one block length longer on average. That’s not a lot of extra distance. And that extra driving is more than offset by the fact that each intersection with banned left turns is now moving more vehicles. Which means every time you’re at an intersection, you wait less time, on average. So you travel a slightly longer distance but get to where you’re going more quickly.

Does avoiding left turns improve fuel efficiency?

Gayah: Our research found that even though vehicles travel longer distances on average with the restricted left turns, they spend less fuel – about 10% to 15% less per trip – because they don’t stop as much at intersections.

This is why UPS and other fleets route their vehicles to avoid left turns. There’s less idling and fewer stops.

Do you think banning left turns could become widely accepted?

Gayah: It’s a new strategy, so it’s uncomfortable for some people. But when they get to their destination faster, I think people will latch onto it.

Watch the full interview to hear more.

SciLine is a free service based at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a nonprofit that helps journalists include scientific evidence and experts in their news stories.

Vikash V. Gayah’s research has been funded by various State Departments of Transportation (including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Washington State, Montana, South Dakota and North Carolina), US Department of Transportation (via the Mineta National Transit Research Consortium, the Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center, and the Center for Integrated Asset Management for Multimodal Transportation Infrastructure Systems), Federal Highway Administration, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, and National Science Foundation..

– ref. Here’s a way to save lives, curb traffic jams and make commutes faster and easier − ban left turns at intersections – https://theconversation.com/heres-a-way-to-save-lives-curb-traffic-jams-and-make-commutes-faster-and-easier-ban-left-turns-at-intersections-257877

July 7, 2025

How can the James Webb Space Telescope see so far?

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Adi Foord, Assistant Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

This is a James Webb Space Telescope image of NGC 604, a star-forming region about 2.7 million light-years from Earth. NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

How does the camera on the James Webb Space Telescope work and see so far out? – Kieran G., age 12, Minnesota

Imagine a camera so powerful it can see light from galaxies that formed more than 13 billion years ago. That’s exactly what NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is built to do.

Since it launched in December 2021, Webb has been orbiting more than a million miles from Earth, capturing breathtaking images of deep space. But how does it actually work? And how can it see so far? The secret lies in its powerful cameras – especially ones that don’t see light the way our eyes do.

I’m an astrophysicist who studies galaxies and supermassive black holes, and the Webb telescope is an incredible tool for observing some of the earliest galaxies and black holes in the universe.

When Webb takes a picture of a distant galaxy, astronomers like me are actually seeing what that galaxy looked like billions of years ago. The light from that galaxy has been traveling across space for the billions of years it takes to reach the telescope’s mirror. It’s like having a time machine that takes snapshots of the early universe.

By using a giant mirror to collect ancient light, Webb has been discovering new secrets about the universe.

A telescope that sees heat

Unlike regular cameras or even the Hubble Space Telescope, which take images of visible light, Webb is designed to see a kind of light that’s invisible to your eyes: infrared light. Infrared light has longer wavelengths than visible light, which is why our eyes can’t detect it. But with the right instruments, Webb can capture infrared light to study some of the earliest and most distant objects in the universe.

A dog, shown normally, then through thermal imaging, with the eyes, mouth and ears brighter than the rest of the dog. — Infrared cameras, like night-vision goggles, allow you to ‘see’ the infrared waves emitting from warm objects such as humans and animals. The temperatures for the images are in degrees Fahrenheit.
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Although the human eye cannot see it, people can detect infrared light as a form of heat using specialized technology, such as infrared cameras or thermal sensors. For example, night-vision goggles use infrared light to detect warm objects in the dark. Webb uses the same idea to study stars, galaxies and planets.

Why infrared? When visible light from faraway galaxies travels across the universe, it stretches out. This is because the universe is expanding. That stretching turns visible light into infrared light. So, the most distant galaxies in space don’t shine in visible light anymore – they glow in faint infrared. That’s the light Webb is built to detect.

A diagram of the electromagnetic spectrum, with radio, micro and infrared waves having a longer wavelength than visible light, while UV, X-ray and gamma rays have shorter wavelengths than visible light. — The rainbow of visible light that you can see is only a small slice of all the kinds of light. Some telescopes can detect light with a longer wavelength, such as infrared light, or light with a shorter wavelength, such as ultraviolet light. Others can detect X-rays or radio waves.
Inductiveload, NASA/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

A golden mirror to gather the faintest glow

Before the light reaches the cameras, it first has to be collected by the Webb telescope’s enormous golden mirror. This mirror is over 21 feet (6.5 meters) wide and made of 18 smaller mirror pieces that fit together like a honeycomb. It’s coated in a thin layer of real gold – not just to look fancy, but because gold reflects infrared light extremely well.

The mirror gathers light from deep space and reflects it into the telescope’s instruments. The bigger the mirror, the more light it can collect – and the farther it can see. Webb’s mirror is the largest ever launched into space.

Webb’s 21-foot primary mirror, made of 18 hexagonal mirrors, is coated with a plating of gold.
NASA

Inside the cameras: NIRCam and MIRI

The most important “eyes” of the telescope are two science instruments that act like cameras: NIRCam and MIRI.

NIRCam stands for near-infrared camera. It’s the primary camera on Webb and takes stunning images of galaxies and stars. It also has a coronagraph – a device that blocks out starlight so it can photograph very faint objects near bright sources, such as planets orbiting bright stars.

NIRCam works by imaging near-infrared light, the type closest to what human eyes can almost see, and splitting it into different wavelengths. This helps scientists learn not just what something looks like but what it’s made of. Different materials in space absorb and emit infrared light at specific wavelengths, creating a kind of unique chemical fingerprint. By studying these fingerprints, scientists can uncover the properties of distant stars and galaxies.

MIRI, or the mid-infrared instrument, detects longer infrared wavelengths, which are especially useful for spotting cooler and dustier objects, such as stars that are still forming inside clouds of gas. MIRI can even help find clues about the types of molecules in the atmospheres of planets that might support life.

Both cameras are far more sensitive than the standard cameras used on Earth. NIRCam and MIRI can detect the tiniest amounts of heat from billions of light-years away. If you had Webb’s NIRCam as your eyes, you could see the heat from a bumblebee on the Moon. That’s how sensitive it is.

Two photos of space, with lots of stars and galaxies shown as little dots. The right image shows more, brighter dots than the left. — Webb’s first deep-field image: The MIRI image is on the left and the NIRCam image is on the right.
NASA

Because Webb is trying to detect faint heat from faraway objects, it needs to keep itself as cold as possible. That’s why it carries a giant sun shield about the size of a tennis court. This five-layer sun shield blocks heat from the Sun, Earth and even the Moon, helping Webb stay incredibly cold: around -370 degrees F (-223 degrees C).

MIRI needs to be even colder. It has its own special refrigerator, called a cryocooler, to keep it chilled to nearly -447 degrees F (-266 degrees C). If Webb were even a little warm, its own heat would drown out the distant signals it’s trying to detect.

Turning space light into pictures

Once light reaches the Webb telescope’s cameras, it hits sensors called detectors. These detectors don’t capture regular photos like a phone camera. Instead, they convert the incoming infrared light into digital data. That data is then sent back to Earth, where scientists process it into full-color images.

The colors we see in Webb’s pictures aren’t what the camera “sees” directly. Because infrared light is invisible, scientists assign colors to different wavelengths to help us understand what’s in the image. These processed images help show the structure, age and composition of galaxies, stars and more.

By using a giant mirror to collect invisible infrared light and sending it to super-cold cameras, Webb lets us see galaxies that formed just after the universe began.

Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.

And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.

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

– ref. How can the James Webb Space Telescope see so far? – https://theconversation.com/how-can-the-james-webb-space-telescope-see-so-far-257421

July 7, 2025

Turbulent research landscape imperils US brain gain − and ultimately American prosperity

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Marc Zimmer, Professor of Chemistry, Connecticut College

International students have been a big part of American STEM. Rick Friedman/AFP via Getty Images

Despite representing only 4% of the world’s population, the United States accounts for over half of science Nobel Prizes awarded since 2000, hosts seven of The Times Higher Education Top 10 science universities, and incubates firms such as Alphabet (Google), Meta and Pfizer that turn federally funded discoveries into billion-dollar markets.

The domestic STEM talent pool alone cannot sustain this research output. The U.S. is reliant on a steady and strong influx of foreign scientists – a brain gain. In 2021, foreign-born people constituted 43% of doctorate-level scientists and engineers in the U.S. They make up a significant share of America’s elite researchers: Since 2000, 37 of the 104 U.S. Nobel laureates in the hard sciences, more than a third, were born outside the country.

China, the U.S.’s largest competitor in science, technology, engineering and math endeavors, has a population that is 4.1 times larger than that of the U.S. and so has a larger pool of homegrown talent. Each year, three times as many Chinese citizens (77,000) are awarded STEM Ph.D.s as American citizens (23,000).

To remain preeminent, the U.S. will need to keep attracting exceptional foreign graduate students, budding entrepreneurs and established scientific leaders.

Funding and visa policies could flip gain to drain

This scientific brain gain is being threatened by the Trump administration, which is using federal research funding, scholarships and fellowships as leverage against universities, freezing billions of dollars in grants and contracts to force compliance with its ideological agenda. Its ad hoc approach has been described by higher education leaders as “unprecedented and deeply disturbing,” and a Reagan-appointed judge ruled that 400 National Institutes of Health grants be reinstated because their terminations were “bereft of reasoning, virtually in their entirety.”

Experts caution that these moves not only risk immediate harm to scientific progress and academic freedom but also erode the public’s trust in science and education, with long-term implications for the nation’s prosperity and security.

Citing national security concerns, the White House has also targeted visas for Harvard University’s international students and instructed embassies worldwide to halt visa interviews for all international students, citing national security and alleged institutional misconduct. Against a backdrop of court injunctions and legal appeals, the government continues its heightened “national-security” vetting, so thousands of international scholars remain in limbo.

These measures, combined with travel bans, intensified scrutiny and revocations of existing visas, have disrupted research collaborations and threaten the nation’s continued status as a global leader in science and innovation.

What US misses with fewer foreign scientists

The U.S. research brain gain starts with the 281,000 foreign STEM graduate students and 38,000 foreign STEM postdoctoral scholars who annually come to the U.S. I am one of them. After earning my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in South Africa, I left in 1986 to avoid the apartheid‑era military service, completed my chemistry doctorate and postdoc in the U.S., and joined the United States’ brain gain. It’s an opportunity today’s visa climate might have denied me.

poster announcing 'Safe Place For Science' — Some other countries are eager to scoop up STEM talent that is unwelcome or unfunded in the U.S.
Clement Mahoudeau/AFP via Getty Images

Incentives for the best and brightest foreign science students to come to the U.S. are diminishing at the same time its competitors are increasing their efforts to attract the strongest STEM researchers. For instance, the University of Hong Kong is courting stranded Harvard students with dedicated scholarships, housing and credit-transfer help. A French university program, Safe Place for Science, drew so many American job applicants that it had to shut the portal early. And a Portuguese institute reports a tenfold surge in inquiries from U.S.-based junior faculty.

Immigrants import new ways of thinking to their research labs. They come from other cultures and have learned their science in different educational systems, which place different emphases on rote learning, historical understanding and interdisciplinary research. They often bring an alternative perspective that a homogeneous scientific community cannot match.

Immigrants also help move discoveries from the lab to the marketplace. Foreign-born inventors file patents at a higher per‑capita rate than their domestic peers and are 80% more likely to launch a company. Such firms create roughly 50% more jobs than enterprises founded by native-born entrepreneurs and pay wages that are, on average, one percentage point higher.

The economic stakes are high. Growth models suggest that scientific advances now account for a majority of productivity gains in high‑income countries.

L. Rafael Reif, the former president of MIT, called international talent the “oxygen” of U.S. innovation; restricting visas chokes that supply. Ongoing cuts and uncertainties in federal funding and visa policy now jeopardize America’s scientific leadership and with it the nation’s long‑term economic growth.

Marc Zimmer received funding from NIH and NSF.

– ref. Turbulent research landscape imperils US brain gain − and ultimately American prosperity – https://theconversation.com/turbulent-research-landscape-imperils-us-brain-gain-and-ultimately-american-prosperity-258537

July 7, 2025

Social media can support or undermine democracy – it comes down to how it’s designed

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Lisa Schirch, Professor of the Practice of Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

A protester calls out Facebook for facilitating the spread of disinformation. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

Every design choice that social media platforms make nudges users toward certain actions, values and emotional states.

It is a design choice to offer a news feed that combines verified news sources with conspiracy blogs – interspersed with photos of a family picnic – with no distinction between these very different types of information. It is a design choice to use algorithms that find the most emotional or outrageous content to show users, hoping it keeps them online. And it is a design choice to send bright red notifications, keeping people in a state of expectation for the next photo or juicy piece of gossip.

Platform design is a silent pilot steering human behavior.

Social media platforms are bringing massive changes to how people get their news and how they communicate and behave. For example, the “endless scroll” is a design feature that aims to keep users scrolling and never reaching the bottom of a page where they might decide to pause.

I’m a political scientist who researches aspects of technology that support democracy and social cohesion, and I’ve observed how the design of social media platforms affects them.

Democracy is in crisis globally, and technology is playing a role. Most large platforms optimize their designs for profit, not community or democracy. Increasingly, Big Tech is siding with autocrats, and the platforms’ designs help keep society under control.

There are alternatives, however. Some companies design online platforms to defend democratic values.

Optimized for profit

A handful of tech billionaires dominate the global information ecosystem. Without public accountability or oversight, they determine what news shows up on your feed and what data they collect and share.

Social media companies say they are in the business of connecting people, but they make most of their money as data brokers and advertising firms. Time spent on platforms translates to profit. The more time you spend online, the more ads you see and the more data they can collect from you.

This ad-based business model demands designs that encourage endless scrolling, social comparison and emotional engagement. Platforms routinely claim they merely reflect user behavior, yet internal documents and whistleblower accounts have shown that toxic content often gets a boost because it captures people’s attention.

Tech companies design platforms based on extensive psychological research. Examples include flashing notifications that make your phone jump and squeak, colorful rewards when others like your posts, and algorithms that push out the most emotional content to stimulate your most base emotions of anger, shame or glee.

How social media algorithms work, explained.

Optimizing designs for user engagement undermines mental health and society. Social media sites favor hype and scandal over factual accuracy, and public manipulation over designing for safety, privacy and user agency. The resulting prevalence of polarizing false and deceptive information is corrosive to democracy.

Many analysts identified these problems nearly a decade ago. But now there is a new threat: Some tech executives are looking to capture political power to advance a new era of techno-autocracy.

Optimized for political power

A techno-autocracy is a political system where an authoritarian government uses technology to control its population. Techno-autocrats spread disinformation and propaganda, using fear tactics to demonize others and distract from corruption. They leverage massive amounts of data, artificial intelligence and surveillance to censor opponents.

For example, China uses technology to monitor and surveil its population with public cameras. Chinese platforms like WeChat and Weibo automatically scan, block or delete messages and posts for sensitive words like “freedom of speech.” Russia promotes domestic platforms like VK that are closely monitored and partly owned by state-linked entities that use it to promote political propaganda.

Over a decade ago, tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, and now Vice President JD Vance, began aligning with far-right political philosophers like Curtis Yarvin. They argue that democracy impedes innovation, favoring concentrated decision-making in corporate-controlled mini-states governed through surveillance. Embracing this philosophy of techno-autocracy, they moved from funding and designing the internet to reshaping government.

Techno-autocrats weaponize social media platforms as part of their plan to dismantle democratic institutions.

The political capture of both X and Meta also have consequences for global security. At Meta, Mark Zuckerberg removed barriers to right-wing propaganda and openly endorsed President Donald Trump’s agenda. Musk changed X’s algorithm to highlight right-wing content, including Russian propaganda.

Designing tech for democracy

Recognizing the power that platform design has on society, some companies are designing new civic participation platforms that support rather than undermine society’s access to verified information and places for public deliberation. These platforms offer design features that big tech companies could adopt for improving democratic engagement that can help counter techno-autocracy.

In 2014, a group of technologists founded Pol.is, an open-source technology for hosting public deliberation that leverages data science. Pol.is enables participants to propose and vote on policy ideas using what they call “computational democracy.” The Pol.is design avoids personal attacks by having no “reply” button. It offers no flashy newsfeed, and it uses algorithms that identify areas of agreement and disagreement to help people make sense of a diversity of opinions. A prompt question asks for people to offer ideas and vote up or down on other ideas. People participate anonymously, helping to keep the focus on the issues and not the people.

The civic participation platform Pol.is helps large numbers of people share their views without distractions or personal attacks.

Taiwan used the Pol.is platform to enable mass civic engagement in the 2014 democracy movement. The U.K. government’s Collective Intelligence Lab used the platform to generate public discussion and generate new policy proposals on climate and health care policies. In Finland, a public foundation called Sitra uses Pol.is in its “What do you think, Finland?” public dialogues.

Barcelona, Spain, designed a new participatory democracy platform called Decidim in 2017. Now used throughout Spain and Europe, Decidim enables citizens to collaboratively propose, debate and decide on public policies and budgets through transparent digital processes.

Nobel Peace Laureate Maria Ressa founded Rappler Communities in 2023, a social network in the Philippines that combines journalism, community and technology. It aims to restore trust in institutions by providing safe spaces for exchanging ideas and connecting with neighbors, journalists and civil society groups. Rappler Communities offers the public data privacy and portability, meaning you can take your information – like photos, contacts or messages – from one app or platform and transfer it to another. These design features are not available on the major social media platforms.

screenshot of a website with two rows of four icons — Rappler Communities is a social network in the Philippines that combines journalism, community and technology.
Screenshot of Rappler Communities

Tech designed for improving public dialogue is possible – and can even work in the middle of a war zone. In 2024, the Alliance for Middle East Peace began using Remesh.ai, an AI-based platform, to find areas of common ground between Israelis and Palestinians in order to advance the idea of a public peace process and identify elements of a ceasefire agreement.

Platform designs are a form of social engineering to achieve some sort of goal – because they shape how people behave, think and interact – often invisibly. Designing more and better platforms to support democracy can be an antidote to the wave of global autocracy that is increasingly bolstered by tech platforms that tighten public control.

Lisa Schirch receives funding from the Ford Foundation. I know the founder of Pol.is and Remesh platforms, mentioned in this article, as well as Maria Ressa of Rappler Communities.

I will not benefit in any way from describing their work.

– ref. Social media can support or undermine democracy – it comes down to how it’s designed – https://theconversation.com/social-media-can-support-or-undermine-democracy-it-comes-down-to-how-its-designed-257103