Category: The Conversation – UK

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Laura O’Flanagan, PhD Candidate, School of English, Dublin City University

Twenty years after the first instalment catapulted Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt onto Hollywood’s A-List, The Devil Wears Prada is back with a second incarnation. The sequel reunites the pair with Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci for a fun, frothy – but not very devilish – time.

Set at Runway, a thinly veiled fictional version of Vogue magazine, much has changed in the world of journalism since the first film was released in 2006.

Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs has spent the intervening years becoming a “Serious Journalist”, with awards galore under her belt. In 2026’s precarious media landscape, though, her job is wiped out. She, somewhat miraculously, finds herself back at Runway as features editor, no longer a harried underling.

Delightfully, the gang is back together for part 2. The Devil Wears Prada’s mastery was always its actors, and the returning main cast are in fine form here. Andy (Hathaway) now has an assured confidence that was just budding in the first film.

The growth in her character is believable and realistic, and as an actor, Hathaway is edging towards greatness, one teary-eyed smile at a time. Andy’s elevated position at Runway allows the dynamic between her and her icy boss, Miranda Priestley (Meryl Streep), to shift.

Miranda de-fanged

Fun is poked at Miranda’s behaviour, which is now subject to HR rules and regulations. Where once she struck fear into the hearts of all she encountered, delivering caustic lines in a low sardonic murmur, Streep’s performance, while fuller and more rounded, de-fangs Miranda.

With disappointingly fewer barbs, she is less “devil”, delivering a more complex portrait of a successful woman struggling to keep a dying industry afloat. Much of the villainy is handed instead to Emily (Emily Blunt). All eye rolls and sharp edges, Blunt has a ball reprising the role that made her a star.

She is given more screen time in this instalment, with a love interest and a life outside of work. She is magnetic in every frame she inhabits, bringing comedy and deliciously over-the-top cattiness.

Stanley Tucci’s Nigel, a relic of the bygone days of print fashion journalism, radiates a warmth that grounds the film. His endless patience with the nonsensical behaviour of those around him, delivered with Tucci’s characteristic panache, steadies the ship when all threatens to spiral into parody.

In 2026, the romantic comedy is a lesser spotted animal in Hollywood compared to when the first film was released. This sequel recalls familiar tropes of the early noughties rom-com: pop music blaring over street scenes of characters speaking on phones, quick cuts between fashion shows and urban life, big cities rendered in gloriously lit night scenes.

The “rom” part of rom-com, though, could have been left in the past for this sequel. Patrick Brammall is criminally underused as Peter, a love interest for Andy. Their dalliance adds little to her character or the story, and never meaningfully develops or resolves.

Journalism SOS

Story-wise, it feels as though the film-makers wanted to comment on the state of journalism. In today’s world awash with algorithms, misinformation and the relentless churn of online content, there was certainly potential to mine, but these themes are mentioned and then glossed over.

This would be forgivable, given the sugary tone of the film, but consequently the drama becomes a little convoluted and at times gets in the way of the relationship dynamics, which is really why we are all in the cinema in the first place. Minor characters played by B.J. Novak, Kenneth Branagh, Lucy Liu and Justin Theroux often lean too far into caricature and disrupt the tone of the film. Their inclusion is another unnecessary dilution of the core four’s chemistry.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a little long and Meryl Streep’s performance lacks the bite that made the first film so memorable. But getting to see Hathaway, Streep, Blunt and Tucci work together again is joyful and escapist.

This film won’t change your life. But it is not trying to. It tells you exactly what it is in the marketing: a celebratory reunion of the actors and a fun retreading of familiar ground. Go for the characters, stay for the nostalgia.

Laura O’Flanagan 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. The Devil Wears Prada 2: lots of frothy fun, not so much devilry – https://theconversation.com/the-devil-wears-prada-2-lots-of-frothy-fun-not-so-much-devilry-281891

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian, Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology, University of Cambridge

For children with autism spectrum disorder and with an intellectual disability, the options for improving communication and social skills are limited.

Talking therapies and behavioural programmes can help some children develop these skills, but they depend on specialists who are in short supply – even in wealthy countries.

Around 30-35% of autistic children have an intellectual disability, according to research from the US. They are less likely to get treatment than those without one (in part because doctors lack confidence managing their needs and insurance coverage for intellectual disability is patchy) despite having greater needs and placing heavier demands on their families. It is a group that researchers often overlook.

That gap motivated us to test a different kind of intervention: using brief, targeted magnetic pulses to stimulate specific parts of the brain. The technique, known as non-invasive brain stimulation or neuromodulation, involves no surgery, no anaesthetic and no drugs.

A device held close to the scalp generates a rapidly changing magnetic field that passes harmlessly through the skull and stimulates the activity of neurons underneath. It has been used for years to treat depression, and researchers have increasingly been exploring whether it might also help with the social and communication difficulties that are a key symptom of autism.

The version we tested uses a technique called theta-burst stimulation, which delivers pulses in rapid clusters rather than one at a time. This makes each session much shorter than conventional approaches, which is a significant practical advantage when you are asking young children to sit still and cooperate.

In our study, published in the BMJ, each session lasted only a few minutes, and the full course ran over just five days. One group of children received real stimulation, another received a sham version. In the sham treatment, the equipment was applied in the same way and delivered vibrations, but no active pulses were delivered. That way, we could compare results without either group knowing what they’d received, which helps keep the findings reliable.

One hundred and ninety-four children took part, with an average age of around six and a half years. Roughly half had IQ scores below 70, which is typically described as the low-functioning range, though all scored above 50 – the minimum needed to ensure a reliable diagnosis and meaningful participation in the study.

Parents filled in a questionnaire about their child’s social communication, before the treatment, right after, and again a month later.

The improvements seen after five days were still there after a month, and the size of the effect was large by the standards of clinical research. Children also showed gains in language ability.

No serious side-effects were reported and all minor side-effects resolved without treatment.

Early days

Children were recruited from multiple sites by advertisements posted in outpatients clinics and through local clinical registries. All legal guardians gave written consent.

Children with intellectual disability are so often left out of trials of this kind that the evidence for treating them has remained seriously lacking. That this trial included them at all – and in significant numbers – is itself noteworthy. But it is only a first step.

It is still unclear how long the benefits last beyond a month, how many sessions would be needed to maintain them, or how the approach would work when moved from a research setting into an ordinary clinic.

Brain stimulation is not a replacement for behavioural support, and the equipment needed is not cheap or universally available. But conventional approaches – where they exist at all – often require daily sessions over several weeks with a professional, which carries its own costs in time, money and specialist input.

A five-day course is a different proposition. For families who are already stretched, even modest and durable gains in a child’s ability to communicate could matter enormously to them and their families and greatly improve their wellbeing and quality of life.

Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian receives funding from the Wellcome Trust. Her research work is conducted within the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Mental Health and Neurodegeneration Themes. She receives Royalties from Cambridge University Press for Brain Boost: Healthy Habits for a Happier Life.

Christelle Langley is funded by the Wellcome Trust. Her research work is conducted within the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Mental Health and Neurodegeneration Themes. She receives Royalties from Cambridge University Press for Brain Boost: Healthy Habits for a Happier Life.

Fei Li receives funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China. She is affiliated with Department of Developmental and behavioral pediatrics, Society of Pediatrics, Chinese Medical Association.

Qiang Luo 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. A five-day course of magnetic brain stimulation could help autistic children communicate better – https://theconversation.com/a-five-day-course-of-magnetic-brain-stimulation-could-help-autistic-children-communicate-better-280623

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Heidi McIlvenny, PhD Candidate, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast

The UK now protects 38% of its seas by law. Yet the government’s own assessment shows that our oceans are not thriving.

In April, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) published its latest assessment of the health of our seas: the UK marine strategy report.

Of the 15 components of ocean health assessed, only two clearly meet the standard of good environmental status (GES) – the benchmark for healthy seas that the UK committed to achieving by 2020. The other 13 are failing, uncertain or getting worse.

This is despite the UK now having 377 marine protected areas (MPAs), sections of sea designated by law to protect wildlife and habitats. Protected areas are important, but the detail behind that impressive-looking map is sobering.

Marine mammals, such as Whales, dolphins, and porpoises are not judged to have achieved good status. A key reason for this is bycatch: they are being accidentally caught and killed in fishing nets meant for other species.

Seabird populations are declining, with fewer chicks surviving each breeding season as the fish they depend on become harder to find.

The types of fish living in our seas are changing for the worse, with the biggest cod disappearing while smaller species take their place.

The entire food web is under strain. The microscopic organisms that underpin ocean life, called plankton, are becoming less productive as seas warm, and that loss ripples upward through every species that depends on them.

On the seabed, fragile habitats such as seagrass meadows continue to be damaged by pollution and disturbance from shipping and boat activity.

Our seas are getting noisier, more polluted with heavy metals, and littered with waste on the seafloor.

There are some bright spots. The numbers of grey seals are stable or increasing. Beach litter is declining. Commercial fisheries have shown modest improvement, with the share of fish stocks being fished at sustainable levels rising, though it is still fewer than half.

But these gains are outweighed by the broader trajectory.

Why MPAs are not enough

Protected areas play an important role, but they cannot address the full range of pressures our seas face. Drawing a boundary on a nautical chart does not stop warm water crossing it. It does not filter out the nutrient runoff flowing in from agricultural land and overwhelmed sewage systems. It does not silence the increasing underwater noise from shipping and industrial activity. It does not prevent whales, dolphins and porpoises from being caught in fishing gear that operates both inside and outside these boundaries.

Climate change is perhaps the telling example. Sea temperatures around the UK have risen by roughly 0.3°C per decade over the past 40 years, with extreme underwater heatwaves becoming more common. The report acknowledges that this is already altering marine ecosystems, affecting everything from plankton at the base of the food chain to the distribution of fish species. No MPA can insulate its inhabitants from a warming ocean.

Land-based pollution is another pressure that flows straight through protected area boundaries. The report identifies food production and sewage treatment as major causes of nutrient enrichment, with increasing nitrogen inputs entering coastal waters. Heavy metals from legacy mine contamination, particularly in Wales, continue to pollute the marine environment. Contaminants have not met good status because lead, mercury, copper and zinc remain above environmental thresholds.

What ocean recovery actually requires

None of this is an argument against marine protected areas. Well-managed MPAs are an essential tool, and recent proposals to ban bottom trawling in some protected sites are welcome.

But if we are serious about ocean recovery, we need to tackle root causes. That includes reducing agricultural and urban runoff and sewage discharges into rivers and coastal waters. The climate crisis is reshaping our marine ecosystems from the bottom of the food chain upwards so tackling greenhouse emissions is a key step. Managing underwater noise from an increasingly industrialised seascape is essential. And enforcing meaningful fisheries management will reduce bycatch and protect whole ecosystems, not just commercial stocks.

The government’s own environmental watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection, has reached a similar conclusion. In September 2025, it identified possible serious failures by Defra to comply with environmental law in relation to the missed GES target, and launched a formal investigation. It is now asking the government to produce an evidenced, resourced and time-bound delivery plan.

When even the body set up to hold government to account on the environment is questioning whether the law has been broken, it is hard to argue that the current approach is working.

The UK was supposed to have achieved good environmental status in our seas by 2020. Six years past that deadline, this report shows we are still far from it. We cannot afford to let the percentage of protected areas on a map be a substitute for the hard and messy work of actually making our oceans healthy.

Heidi McIlvenny receives funding from the National Environment Research Council, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, and Ulster Wildlife. She is affiliated with the IOLN, RSPB, National Trust, and Ulster Wildlife.

– ref. The UK’s ocean health report card is damning, and protected areas aren’t enough – https://theconversation.com/the-uks-ocean-health-report-card-is-damning-and-protected-areas-arent-enough-280861

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Simon Cooper, Professor in Physical Activity and Health, Nottingham Trent University

It’s revision season. If you’re a student preparing for upcoming exams, you might be tempted to put aside sport or other physical activity for a while in order to dedicate more time to learning.

But exercise is extremely important for academic success. Make time to be active. It may well help you revise better.

Doing some physical activity improves our ability to think and process information. My research with colleagues has shown this to be true for both primary school and secondary school pupils.

In fact, when we consider the different types of cognition, such as perception, memory and attention, the domain where physical activity has the greatest benefit is executive function. This is our ability to carry out complex, higher-level thinking. It’s the domain that is linked to academic performance.

Research has found that the beneficial effects of physical activity on cognition last for around 45 minutes. This means it is important to have regular activity breaks to maximise the boost exercise gives to revision.

You could try scheduling your revision in hour-long blocks: 45 minutes of work followed by 10-15 minutes of physical activity. This could be walking, running, body weight exercises such as squats, or even some stretching.

Perhaps most importantly, though, find an activity that you like. You’ll then be more likely to incorporate it into your revision routine. So this could be a ten-minute walk after an hour of revision, a quick five-minute break for some squats or press-ups every half hour – or a morning swim or lunchtime run.

If you can, try to go outside for these breaks. My colleagues and I have recently carried out research showing that outdoor physical activity is more beneficial than indoor physical activity for cognition.

This was true for attention, memory and executive function, which we assessed using a battery of computerised tests. So, get up, take a break, get outside, get active and boost your revision.

You can also use the boost that exercise gives you on exam days. Perhaps take a pre-exam walk – it might help calm any nerves, too.

There are many possible reasons why physical activity can boost your revision. For example, it can increase blood flow to the brain and cause the release of chemicals called neurotransmitters – the tiny signalling molecules which help our brains work more effectively.

It’s vital that schools keep in mind how important physical activity is during exam season, too. One challenge here is that, in many schools, the sports hall also becomes the exam hall. This is understandable given space requirements.

Rather than limiting opportunities for PE, though, it could seen as an opportunity to take school physical activity outside, and for teachers to find innovative ways to help their students get the extra cognition boost that comes from being outdoors.

It’s key that schools, parents and students themselves don’t stop prioritising keeping active, even when there’s so much revision to cram in. Of course, there is always a balance to be found, but physical activity boosts our cognition, revision and learning. Why would we not want to make the most of this?

I often use the term “unleashing the power of physical activity”. I encourage you to do just this during revision and exam season. Whether you (or your child, your class, or any young people you know) are revising for GCSEs, A levels, university exams or any other tests, the same applies – stay smart, and stay active.

Simon Cooper has received funding from the Waterloo Foundation, Rosetrees Trust, Stoneygate Trust, Education Endowment Foundation and Sport England.

– ref. Exams: how to use exercise to boost your revision – https://theconversation.com/exams-how-to-use-exercise-to-boost-your-revision-279283

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Luke Harrison, Senior Lecturer in Sound Technology, School of Arts, Media and Creative Technologies, University of Salford

Every few years, media comes alive with discussion and debate around the use of technology in pop music, often focused on that most personal of instruments – the human voice.

Vocal manipulation is nothing new. It is ubiquitous and fundamental to pop music production – from self-harmonising on records in the 1950s, to autotune technology in the 90s and now millisecond precise editing, combining hundreds of individual vocal performances at the syllable level.

Generative AI is now prevalent in music as well. The use of platforms such as Suno are hugely popular. Suno can clone a voice within minutes. This can then be used to automatically generate a song with your voice, no matter how in tune or technically capable it originally was.

It can also take existing voices and remap them to other tunes. For example, take this mashup (below) of Cotton Eye Joe, “sung” by a digital Amy Winehouse.

But with the advent of this technology, is there a threshold of achievement before the individual voice is manipulated so much it is effectively removed altogether?

Here are six songs that exemplify how evolving technologies have changed the human voice since the 1950s.

1. Buddy Holly – Words of Love (1957)

The technique of double tracking takes two separate recordings of the voice and plays them together.

This simple technique, only achievable with the creative application of advances in recording technology in the 50s, gives the impression of a “thicker” vocal.

In Words of Love, Buddy Holly went one step further and harmonised with himself. It is a technique that is still used in modern production, by pioneering musicians like Imogen Heap.

2. The Beatles – When I’m 64 (1967)

When I’m 64 features an example of pitch manipulation. It’s done by changing the playback speed of the tape the vocal was recorded onto.

The tape is sped up slightly to give a higher pitched and “frail” sound – signifying the 64-year-old man.

Prince often used this technique. You can hear it in songs like Housequake (1987) on the Sign o’ the Times album.

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3. Kraftwerk – Autobahn (1974)

The vocal statement as this track kicks in sounds robotic. That is due to the use of a Vocoder machine.

The Vocoder combines the human voice with a synthesiser, creating a strange, futuristic effect.

Daft Punk’s Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (2001) is another example of this technology.

4. Milli Vanilli – Girl You Know It’s True (1988)

Milli Vanilli is perhaps one of the more controversial examples. That’s because in Girl You know It’s True, the vocals were not performed by the artists themselves. Instead, other anonymous singers were used to lay down the vocals for the albums and the two stars mimed. It caused an uproar when the truth came out.

While not strictly a technique, this is a key pivot point where music is commodified beyond the song into a wider package. The MTV era moved backing track performances to the foreground, as artists – especially pop artists – began to mime to the “perfect” recorded music.

This in turn led to protest performances on shows like the UK’s Top of the Pops, from artists like Oasis who played up to the fact they weren’t singing live.

It also caused embarrassment for singer Ashlee Simpson on Saturday Night Live in 2004 when her lip-synching was revealed as the wrong track played out.

5. Cher – Believe (1998)

Believe was one of the first mainstream examples of using autotune technology as an effect, rather than its intended use of bringing an otherwise out of tune vocal into tune.

The verses and pre-choruses of this track are where this takes place.

This was the catalyst that has led on to autotune being a valid production technique. Its use is exemplified by artists like Charli XCX.

6. Ariana Grande – 7 Rings (2019)

Extreme editing of vocals is achievable in modern music software. We are a long way away from literally taking a razor blade to tape to combine one or two vocal performances, as would have been the norm in the late 50s and 60s.

Nowadays we can edit beyond the individual syllable, and it is common practice to do so, to create the “perfect” performance.

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Read more:
The science behind Ariana Grande’s vocal metamorphosis

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In this example, a stylistic choice has been made to remove the biological necessity of breathing – a technical achievement in vocal layering and processing. There are many other vocal processing effects going on as well, but the minimal breathing is notable.

Grande is also know for using Imogen Heap’s MiMu Gloves to play with her vocals by controlling the sound through hand gestures.

Too much tech?

Artists like Grande use technology creatively. But the use of autotune in particular is becoming standard across recorded, and sometimes even live performance.

It has been argued by artists like Justin Hawkins that many singers sound the way they do precisely because they are not perfect and can’t sing exactly in tune. The character and the nuance of who they are lies in between the tones and microtones.

More sophisticated techniques in production, either live or recorded, will continue to develop, now aided by AI. These developments will challenge ideas of authenticity, creative ethics, artistry and ownership.

But it is my hope that artists and musicians rise to this challenge and discover new creative possibilities, sparking new and unheard sonic textures and musical genres. All the while retaining that most fundamental component of creativity – humanity.

Luke Harrison 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. From Buddy Holly to Ariana Grande: six songs that show how technology changes the human voice – https://theconversation.com/from-buddy-holly-to-ariana-grande-six-songs-that-show-how-technology-changes-the-human-voice-281170

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Clodagh Harrington, Lecturer in American Politics, University College Cork

In an interview with NBC News in January 2026, Donald Trump said: “Maga is me. Maga loves everything I do.” Until recently, this statement was true. But over the past several months, cracks have begun to appear in the loyalty of the US president’s “Make America Great Again” base.

Two of the movement’s most prominent figures – former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson – have voiced their discontent with the leader they previously lavished with unconditional support.

Greene’s falling out with Trump was rooted in her advocacy for releasing the investigative files related to late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But it also centred on her discomfort with US support for Israel and a sense that Trump had abandoned his “America first” campaign promises.

In December 2025, Greene told CNN that “the dam is breaking” on Trump’s grip over the Republican party. As an example, she pointed to the 13 Republicans who voted with Democrats that month to overturn an executive order that allowed Trump to fire federal employees. Greene resigned from the House of Representatives in January.

Carlson’s more recent break with Trump was equally dramatic. “I don’t hate Trump,” he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview released on April 25. “I hate this war [in Iran] and the direction this US government is taking.” Carlson went so far as to apologise to the public for “misleading” them into voting for Trump in 2024.

In a week when an attempt to assassinate Trump is once again headline news, we are reminded of Carlson’s take on a previous attempt on the US president’s life in 2024. Carlson had invoked “divine intervention” to explain Trump’s survival of that attempt, declaring “something bigger is going on here”.

At that point, the president had religious-right elites firmly on his side. This fervour has dissipated in recent times. But are Greene and Carlson representative of a broader problem for the Maga movement, or are they just a pair of high-profile defections and nothing more?

Putting ‘America first’

The grievances and concerns outlined by Greene and Carlson are real. When Trump ran for president in 2016, he broke with Republican orthodoxy by denouncing the Iraq war as a catastrophic mistake. He promised to extract the US from costly foreign wars and put America ahead of global policing commitments.

His first-term record was somewhat mixed, but the key takeaway was that no new major wars were initiated. On the 2024 campaign trail, Trump repeated these earlier pledges. He said he would end the Ukraine war within 24 hours and keep the US out of new conflicts. Trump has clearly reneged on these commitments.

The Iran war is broadly unpopular with the US electorate. Polls show that more people are against the war than support it. On average, 15% more people oppose than back it, and in some recent surveys that gap is even bigger, with up to 27% more people against than in favour. About 75% of US adults also now describe the economy, which is being affected by higher prices, as “very” or “somewhat” poor.

This dissatisfaction is visible among Republicans voters, though probably not to an extent that suggests support for Trump is in danger of imminent collapse. Recent polling by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicates that, while dropping by 13 percentage points compared to a year ago, 38% of Republican voters still “strongly” approve of Trump’s presidency.

At the same time, there are some signs that Trump’s core Maga base remains largely steadfast in its support, despite the very vocal dissent from some. The same poll found that roughly 90% of Americans who self-identify as “Maga Republicans” approve of Trump’s overall job performance. Another survey by NBC suggests that 87% of these people currently approve of his handling of the war in Iran.

While these surveys are unlikely to capture the full range of sentiment within the Maga movement, they still indicate that Trump retains a solid core of support from members of this group. However, if the conflict drags on and economic pain deepens, the room for elite dissatisfaction to percolate down to the base is likely to widen.

Presidential ambitions

There may be other reasons explaining why Carlson, in particular, has broken with Trump. As Jason Zengerle, a journalist at the New Yorker magazine and the author of a biography of Carlson, put it recently when discussing Carlson’s reversal on Trump: “He’s also sort of making a political move.” Various media outlets have suggested that Carlson may be eyeing a 2028 presidential run.

Some commentators, including White House counterterrorism adviser Sebastian Gorka, have drawn parallels between Carlson and Pat Buchanan. In the 1990s, Buchanan challenged President George H.W. Bush over the Gulf war and reshaped the Republican party’s ideological trajectory even without winning its presidential nomination.

Greene has floated Carlson for president. In a social media post in March, she wrote: “I SUPPORT TUCKER. Trump doesn’t even know what Maga is anymore.” Carlson, for his part, has publicly dismissed a presidential bid.

But this rebranding exercise, of attempting to seize the Maga label from Trump and attach it to a new vessel, is a significant development. It suggests that “America first” is no longer exclusively synonymous with one figure.

The looming question is whether this seed of elite discontent can grow into something organisationally meaningful before 2028, when Americans elect their next president.

Clodagh Harrington 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. Is Trump losing the support of his Maga base? – https://theconversation.com/is-trump-losing-the-support-of-his-maga-base-281482

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Vikram Niranjan, Assistant Professor in Public Health, School of Medicine, Health Research Institute, University of Limerick

What people see on screen can shape what they do off it. When actors such as James Dean and Marlon Brando lit cigarettes in 1950s rebel films, smoking came to signify cool, defiance and desire for an entire generation.

Among 12- to 17-year-olds in the US, smoking initiation rose from about 20% in the early 1950s to roughly 35% to 40% by the mid-1960s, according to retrospective data from national surveys. Screen media do not simply reflect society. They can also influence how people think about health, risk and behaviour.

Film and television reach vast audiences, embedding health-related behaviours in dramatic storylines. Medical dramas such as Grey’s Anatomy and ER have brought hospital life into living rooms around the world, shaping public ideas about medicine and, for some viewers, even inspiring careers in healthcare.

Sometimes films become accidental public health educators. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2011 film Contagion surged in popularity as viewers returned to it for insight into viral spread, quarantine and contact tracing. Its depiction of outbreak control closely mirrored real public health responses, reinforcing messages about handwashing and physical distancing, as described in this report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading US national public health agency. When storytelling aligns with science, entertainment can improve public understanding of health risks.

But screen influence can also be harmful. Bollywood has long shaped popular culture across south Asia, and iconic films in the 1990s and early 2000s often presented smoking and drinking as stylish, casual and glamorous. These portrayals are not trivial. Research suggests that adolescents heavily exposed to tobacco imagery in Indian films are roughly twice as likely to experiment with tobacco as those with lower exposure.

Global evidence shows similar patterns. A systematic review found that adolescents who frequently see smoking in movies are significantly more likely to start smoking themselves. Despite growing awareness of the issue, tobacco imagery remains common: more than half of major box-office films released in 2024 included some form of tobacco depiction. Anti-smoking warnings shown before films can reduce pro-smoking attitudes slightly, but repeated on-screen smoking scenes often have a stronger effect.

Alcohol follows a similar pattern. Teen films often frame drinking as harmless fun while downplaying addiction, injury and long-term health consequences. Studies link heavy exposure to these portrayals with earlier and riskier alcohol use among adolescents. More recently, streaming series have helped make casual vaping seem socially routine, reinforcing the idea that e-cigarettes are acceptable and relatively harmless.

Screen storytelling shapes more than substance use. Hollywood’s beauty ideals, centred on thin bodies, flawless skin and effortless glamour, can distort body image, especially among teenage girls. A striking example occurred in Fiji after western television arrived in the mid-1990s. Within three years, self-induced vomiting to control weight had risen from 0% to 11.3% among adolescent girls, while the proportion showing high levels of disordered eating attitudes rose from 12.7% to 29.2%. In interviews, some girls explicitly linked their interest in weight loss to television characters.

Some portrayals carry even greater risks. Research shows that graphic depictions of suicide in films and television dramas can trigger short-term increases in similar behaviour among vulnerable viewers. These concerns have prompted growing collaboration between mental health experts and entertainment producers to encourage safer storytelling.

Yet screen media can also improve health understanding. The World Health Organization has long supported entertainment-education, in which health messages are woven into dramas and soap operas. In parts of Africa and Asia, television narratives addressing HIV prevention, maternal health and malaria have increased clinic visits, testing uptake and awareness. In Ghana, culturally relevant health films have encouraged women to attend cervical cancer screening and antenatal care.

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Read more:
Soap operas can deliver effective health education to young people – new research

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Some films have also helped shift public attitudes. In 1993, Philadelphia humanised the AIDS epidemic, helping reduce stigma and foster empathy towards people living with HIV. In India, the 2007 film Taare Zameen Par helped destigmatise dyslexia and encouraged schools to take learning difficulties more seriously. Hollywood blockbusters such as Outbreak have heightened awareness about infectious disease threats and preparedness.

Young audiences may be especially responsive to these messages. Children and teenagers spend hours consuming films and streaming content, often absorbing fictional lifestyles as cues about what is normal, attractive or desirable.

Creative media can also support wellbeing in less obvious ways. In my own research exploring online dance sessions for people with pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease, participants exercised to familiar Hollywood songs and simple choreography. The programme improved mood and engagement while offering modest health benefits, showing that film, music and movement can be harnessed positively.

Film-makers may not think of themselves as health educators, yet their work can shape real-world people’s beliefs and behaviours. A single scene can glamorise smoking or reckless drinking. It can also reduce stigma, encourage people to seek help, or make complex health information easier to understand.

Films are shaped by the societies that produce them, but they shape society in return. The next blockbuster may aim only to entertain. Even so, the story it tells may subtly influence how audiences think about their bodies, their habits and their health.

Vikram Niranjan receives funding from New Foundations, Research Ireland for a research about dance as an exercise.

– ref. From smoking to stigma: how screen stories influence health – https://theconversation.com/from-smoking-to-stigma-how-screen-stories-influence-health-278054

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Mehreen Ashraf, Lecturer in the Future of Work and Responsible AI, Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University

For many people, the rollout of smart technology across the UK’s road network has been clouded by fears about the removal of traffic-free safety lanes. Traditionally, motorway hard shoulders offered motorists a safe haven into which they could steer stricken vehicles.

But amid growing traffic numbers, the rationale for smart motorways (part of the UK government’s wider digital roads plan) was to free up these extra lanes to traffic. During a breakdown, the remote monitoring system could then quickly reinstate a temporary hard shoulder while the broken down or crashed vehicle was removed.

However, since the first official smart motorway system was introduced on the M42 near Birmingham 20 years ago, the public has repeatedly raised concerns that being stranded in a live lane rather than on a hard shoulder can be more dangerous.

In 2020, BBC Panorama reported that 38 people had been killed on smart motorways in the preceding five years. Since then, campaign groups have continued to highlight fatal collisions on smart motorway stretches where broken-down vehicles have been struck in live traffic.

In April 2023, the government’s rollout of more smart motorways in England was halted by then-prime minister Rishi Sunak on the grounds of both safety and cost. However, existing smart motorways remain in operation and continue to receive safety upgrades.

The National Highways’ most recent stocktake on smart motorways in England, published in December 2024, stated: “Overall, in terms of deaths or serious injuries, smart motorways remain our safest roads.”

But the same year, another Panorama investigation found nearly 400 instances where safety technology had lost power on smart motorway stretches between June 2022 and February 2024.

As part of a National Highways-funded research programme, I and other researchers at Cardiff University have worked with drivers and transport-sector experts to explore how people feel about the future of the UK’s road network. We investigated their concerns not only around safety but also surveillance and data collection.

Sense of uncertainty

The UK’s digital roads strategy entails much more than smart motorways. Even after the hiatus on building new smart motorways in England, there is still a growing ecosystem of digital and data-driven technologies embedded across the UK road network. These include roadside sensors to monitor traffic flow, cameras to detect incidents and infrastructure that communicates with control centres.

The aim is not automation for its own sake, but earlier detection of problems, faster response, smoother traffic flow and fewer serious incidents. Artificial intelligence and predictive analytics form part of this system.

Our study shows that most people are not resistant to these innovations on the roads. Many people we spoke to welcomed technologies that promise to improve safety or reduce congestion.

However, what unsettled many of them was the sense of uncertainty they felt about the rollout of these systems.

Some participants worried that data generated through digitally connected vehicles and road infrastructure could eventually “be used by insurance companies to penalise drivers”.

Others raised concerns that “systems designed for traffic management might gradually expand into broader forms of surveillance”.

One participant described the possibility of geolocation data revealing patterns of “my daily or weekly movement in the case of a data breach, which is dangerous”.

Another wondered whether automated sensing technologies might distract drivers who feel compelled to “avoid the sensor that records what I am doing”.

In general, people did not reject technological change out of hand. Rather, they want clearer safeguards around how these systems are governed, who can access the data they generate, and how accountability will be maintained as transport infrastructure becomes increasingly “intelligent”. Their concerns centre on questions of fairness, trust and accountability.

Technology trade-offs

Over the past 20 years, smart motorway schemes are estimated to have cost UK taxpayers billions of pounds.

The M4 smart motorway upgrade alone, between junctions 3 and 12, cost around £848 million. Recent safety reviews have committed a further £900 million to retrofit additional emergency refuge areas and improve detection systems on existing stretches.

But the costs are not only financial. There are also social and institutional costs: public confidence, legitimacy and the burden placed on road users to trust systems they did not choose and may not fully understand.

Understanding these trade-offs is important for the public. Smart road infrastructure represents a major public investment to address genuinely risky situations: broken-down vehicles, sudden congestion, poor visibility or secondary accidents caused by delayed response.

Much of this happens invisibly, which is precisely why transparency matters. When people do not understand what systems are doing, silence is easily interpreted as secrecy. Multiple parliamentary and audit reports have raised questions about whether the smart motorway rollout was too rapid, or communication to the public was inadequate – or both.

Some countries have taken a more explicit approach to public engagement around transport innovation. In Sweden, for example, the national road safety strategy, Vision Zero, was introduced as part of a broad public policy framework that placed societal consent and safety at the centre of infrastructure design.

In the UK’s third road investment strategy (2025-2030), smart roads will probably become more interconnected, more predictive and more automated.

Digital twins – virtual models that replicate real roads and infrastructure so planners can test scenarios before implementing them – will play a larger role in planning. Increased data sharing may allow more integrated services across multiple modes of transport. AI and analytics could increasingly support operational decisions.

But the controversy around smart motorways wasn’t just about design choice. It reflects a deeper public concern: what happens when safety depends on systems people can’t see or easily understand?

To answer this, the systems that run smart roads need to be open and trustworthy, safe and reliable in the eyes of those who rely on them every day.

This research was funded by National Highways. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or position of National Highways.

– ref. Smart motorways were halted over safety concerns – what’s the future for digital roads? – https://theconversation.com/smart-motorways-were-halted-over-safety-concerns-whats-the-future-for-digital-roads-281607

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Adi Imsirovic, Lecturer in Energy Systems, University of Oxford

The decision by the United Arab Emirates to leave the oil producers’ cartel Opec after 59 years is more than a symbolic break. It highlights a growing divide among major oil producers over how to respond to a changing energy landscape, and will weaken the group’s ability to manage global supply.

In the short term, the impact of the UAE’s exit will be limited. The world still needs every available barrel of oil, and the UAE accounts for some 3-4% of global production. But the forces behind the decision are more significant than the move itself. They are both economic and political – and the war in Iran helped the two align.

For years, the UAE has been investing heavily to expand its oil production capacity, spending around US$150 billion (£111 billion) to push its potential daily output close to 5 million barrels. But Opec quotas have prevented it from fully exploiting that capacity. Actual production has remained well below its potential at about 3.5 million barrels a day (mbd), with some 5 mbd capacity, constrained by the Opec quota system designed to restrict supply and support prices, generally shaped by the de facto leader, Saudi Arabia.

This has created a tension. Why invest to produce more oil if you are not allowed to sell it?

Abu Dhabi’s answer reflects a different economic model. The UAE can balance its budget at much lower oil prices than Saudi Arabia (just below $50 v Saudi $90 a barrel or more), giving it less incentive to restrict output. Instead, it has prioritised maximising its oil exports.

That strategy is also shaped by expectations about the future. As countries such as China accelerate the electrification of transport, the hitherto steady and reliable demand for oil is slowing and becoming less reliable. Over time, it is likely to plateau. UAE is also well ahead of the Saudis in energy transition – and maintain their net zero target as 2050, compared to the Saudi 2060.

From the UAE’s perspective, the bigger risk is not falling prices, but leaving oil in the ground that may never be sold.

Shifting geopolitics

The timing of the exit is not just about economics. It also reflects shifting political and security calculations, particularly after the UAE came under heavy, sustained attack during the war in Iran.

In Abu Dhabi, there is a growing sense that regional institutions and partnerships, such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) offered limited support during that period. Anwar Gargash, a senior presidential adviser, told reporters that: “The GCC’s stance was the weakest historically, considering the nature of the attack and the threat it posed to everyone,” adding that he “expected such a weak stance from the Arab League … But I don’t expect it from the GCC, and I am surprised by it.”

That experience has reinforced a more independent foreign policy. The UAE has strengthened ties with the US and Israel, building on the agreement it signed as part of the 2020 Abraham accords. The relationship with Israel is seen not just an economic and security partnership, but as a channel for influence inside the White House.

At the same time, relations with Saudi Arabia have become more strained, with differences over regional conflicts in Somalia and Yemen and economic strategy increasingly visible. Leaving Opec is both an economic decision and a geopolitical signal.

The UAE’s departure also raises questions about the future of Opec itself. The group once controlled more than half of global oil production. Today, its share is much smaller (no more than 35%), and internal divisions over production quotas are more pronounced. Quotas, long the core of its strategy, are increasingly seen as uneven constraints rather than shared commitments.

Saudi Arabia remains the only member with significant spare capacity, giving it outsized influence. The result is an organisation that still matters, but is less cohesive than it once was.

Not necessarily a win for the US

Some have hailed the UAE’s exit as a victory for Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticised Opec for keeping oil prices high. A weaker OPEC would indeed lead to higher output and lower prices at the pump.

But sustained lower prices would also put pressure on higher-cost producers, including the US oil patch, which has been one of Opec’s main competitors in recent years. It benefited from the cartel’s restraint when it came to capping oil production. So what now looks like a geopolitical win could, over time, become an economic challenge.

For now, I believe that the UAE’s exit will not dramatically reshape oil markets. Demand remains strong enough to absorb additional supply, particularly as countries rebuild their inventories when Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz. But the deeper significance lies in what the decision reveals.

Oil producers are no longer aligned around a single strategy. Some are trying to manage scarcity and keep prices high. Others are racing to monetise their resources before demand peaks and they end up with stranded assets. That divergence is likely to grow – and may ultimately prove more consequential than any single country leaving the cartel.

We may be entering a new age where oil is going to play a much lesser role in our lives.

Adi Imsirovic 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. UAE’s departure from Opec tells a story about the limited future of oil production – https://theconversation.com/uaes-departure-from-opec-tells-a-story-about-the-limited-future-of-oil-production-281755

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Michael Woods, Professor of Human Geography, Aberystwyth University

In the last of our series on environmental issues and the Wales election campaign, we look particularly at countryside policies of two parties that are new contenders for seats in the Senedd.

The elections to Wales’s parliament, the Senedd, on May 7 are set to be the most unpredictable since the creation of the devolved government in 1999. With current polling indicating close contests in many constituencies, rural voters could make a critical difference to the final result.

Issues such as farming support, windfarms, pylons and changes to rural healthcare services are contentious, but they form part of a larger question about the future of rural Wales. Interestingly, the two parties projected to win seats in the Senedd through election for the first time – Reform UK and the Green party (Reform UK has two seats in the outgoing Senedd through defections) – represent contrasting visions of the Welsh countryside.

Reform’s rural vision

Reform UK has directly targeted discontented rural voters. With a cover image showing daffodil-covered green hills, Reform’s manifesto says it will “back Welsh farmers”. It promises “agriculture will be treated as a strategic national asset”.

Specific policies include: reforming the new post-Brexit Sustainable Farming Scheme to emphasise food production, funding for young farmers’ clubs, scrapping net zero targets and banning new onshore wind farms and solar arrays, reducing environmental regulations and protecting lawful game bird release. It also plans to “streamline planning regulations” and cut back on “red tape”.

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Read more:
Why windfarms and electricity pylons have become a major issue in the Welsh election

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Reform is competing with the Conservatives for the voters that this version of rural Wales appeals to. Although the Conservative manifesto is less dramatic in tone, especially on net zero, it also plans to scrap the Sustainable Farming Scheme and introduce a moratorium on industrial scale wind and solar power stations.

A Green vision

The strongest prospects for the Green party are in urban constituencies. However, their platform contains policies that would have significant implications for rural Wales. They include a Land Reform Act, making it easier for communities to buy land, a “Welsh Right to Roam” offering “responsible access to the countryside”, a national rewilding strategy and commitments to a Sustainable Farming Scheme that rewards “nature-friendly farming” and renewable energy targets.

These represent a very different vision for the Welsh countryside to Reform. But they also reflect an alternative, almost counter culture, strand of Welsh rural society that has welcomed people who moved to rural areas in search of a new way of life since the 1960s and pioneered organic farming and low impact development.

There are currently Green councillors in rural Monmouthshire and Powys. Some projections suggest the party could win two or three Senedd seats in significantly rural constituencies.

If the Greens achieve more than 10% of the vote nationally, they are likely to do so by taking votes from Plaid Cymru, including in rural areas.

Plaid Cymru needs both rural and urban seats to become the biggest party. Its manifesto contains a significant section on rural policies, but with less prominence than Reform UK’s. Plaid’s rural policies broadly share the pro-environmental approach of the Greens, but the influence of conservative rural voters in its heartlands is evident in careful positioning on farming, windfarms and pylons, as well as the absence of mentions of rewilding.

On rural and environmental issues the Greens are more aligned with Labour, while Plaid Cymru are closer to the Liberal Democrats.

Politics in rural Wales

Wales is sometimes described as predominantly rural, but while 80% of the land is countryside, most people live in the towns and cities. Nevertheless, around a third of Wales’s population lives close to the countryside, in largely rural local authorities.

Over the last 25 years rural Wales has experienced substantial social and economic restructuring, including declining work in farming and manufacturing, along with many young people leaving to find jobs. These areas face challenges from low wages, sparse infrastructure, precarious public services and competing visions for land use.

Three issues in particular have attracted attention. First, plans for the Sustainable Farming Scheme (the Welsh government plans for agriculture subsidies to replace EU funding) provoked protests by Welsh farmers in 2024, especially over proposed requirements for 10% of farmland to be planted with trees. The later was subsequently withdrawn.

Second, there’s been opposition to new windfarm developments and pylon lines. Rewilding projects have also been controversial. Third, downgrading of services at hospitals serving rural areas and closure of village schools, have sparked local campaigns.

Public anger over these and other issues has often been directed at Welsh Labour, the governing party in Wales since 1999, with other parties trying to cast it as urban focused.

Labour did win rural constituencies in the 2024 UK general election, and current First Minister Eluned Morgan has a long-standing interest in rural affairs, outlining a plan for rural Wales in 2017. The Labour manifesto promises to “increase rural Wales’ skills and productivity” and to promote “food, farming and forestry”.

The traditional stronghold of nationalist Plaid Cymru is in the rural north and west Wales. While the Conservatives’ strongest support is in rural districts close to the English border and in parts of south Wales. The most enduring areas of support for the Welsh Liberal Democrats are in rural mid Wales.

Results to watch for

A few key results will provide an indication of the political temperature in rural Wales:

• Whether Plaid Cymru or Reform UK get most votes in Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, Gwynedd Maldwyn and Sir Gaerfyrddin

• Whether the Greens win a seat in Ceredigion Penfro, Gwynedd Maldwyn, or Sir Fynwy Torfaen

• Whether the Conservatives get seats in Bangor Conwy Môn, Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd and Ceredigion Penfro, and the Liberal Democrats retain their seat in Brychceiniog Tawe

• Whether Labour’s Eluned Morgan can hold on to her seat in Ceredigion Penfro.

If, as seems likely, no party has a majority, rural issues will play an important role in coalition discussions. A shared rural vision could assist agreement between Reform UK and the Conservatives; while negotiations between Plaid Cymru, Labour or the Greens will need to resolve differences in rural and environmental policies. This may have profound consequences for the future of rural Wales.

Michael Woods receives funding from UKRI. He is a member of the Liberal Democrats.

– ref. Welsh countryside: what Greens and Reform are promising they would change after election – https://theconversation.com/welsh-countryside-what-greens-and-reform-are-promising-they-would-change-after-election-281451