Towards more enlightened environmental policymaking

by Daryl Ilbury

When considering the environment’s future, it’s tempting to see it in terms of evolving technology solving all our problems. However, while technology may change, human nature does not. As long as humans impact the environment, considerations of regulating environmental risk need to factor in the complexity and character of human nature. To protect the future, we need to draw from the past, specifically the thinking of those committed to understanding humankind’s fractious relationship with the world.

You can read the rest of this article, complete with additional feature content, on the Research Features website here. (Opens in new tab)

Read More

YIP–Your Ideas to Practice: Shaping the next generation of humanitarian engineers

by Daryl Ilbury

While technologies have evolved throughout human history and arguably helped propel us forward, one constant has held us back: our compulsion to compete for resources instead of cooperating in their sustainable management. There are very few resources as necessary as water; it’s no coincidence that we look for signs of water first when searching for extraterrestrial life.

Here on Earth, technological advances have ironically helped fuel a climate crisis that risks escalating inter- and intra-state water conflicts. Such conflicts have historically impacted the socioeconomic development of societies and nations. Beyond cross-state wars over water sources, disputes over water resources can arise within a society, such as between industries and agriculture, urban and rural populations, or different ethnic groups.

You can read the rest of this article, complete with additional feature content, on the Research Features website

Read More

Brightening the Covenant Chain: Shining a light on the power of Indigenous diplomacy

by Daryl Ilbury

There is a concerted effort in various Western countries, notably the United States, Canada, Finland, Australia, and New Zealand, for governments to better recognise the voices and rights of Indigenous peoples. While these geographically separate peoples have diverse and contrasting histories, their historical experiences have common themes, including colonisation, dispossession, and systemic disadvantage. A group of researchers based at the University of Hull in the UK is fostering new perspectives that hold promise to strengthen future intercultural relations that recognise deep histories of Indigenous diplomacy.

You can read the rest of this article, complete with additional feature content, on the Research Features website here. (Opens in new tab)

(The main image is taken from the interactive map 'Movement and Common World in

Read More

AI as a dual-use technology – a cautionary tale

by Daryl Ilbury

Few countries were scarred more by a quantum leap in military technology during the Second World War than Japan; the atomic explosions that decimated Hiroshima and Nagasaki nearly 80 years ago are still seared into the nation’s psyche. So, it is unsurprising that the country is wary of academia giving research impetus and energy to military technological development, even if it encourages dual-use technology with broader benefits to society. Artificial intelligence (AI) is too attractive a game-changing technology for powerful countries not to consider its use in military conflict, especially if it has spinoffs during times of peace. One of Japan’s most respected computer science and engineering researchers is urging caution.

You can read the rest of this article, complete with additional feature content, on the Research Features website Read More

A special bond: How equine-assisted services help families impacted by domestic abuse

by Daryl Ilbury

For millennia, humans and horses have enjoyed a special relationship. Recent research shows that working with horses can improve human mental health and well-being. Professor Ann Hemingway is part of a multidisciplinary team that has demonstrated that equine-assisted services can improve outcomes for families impacted by domestic abuse and mitigate the conditions that fuel it, and believes that the benefits of such an intervention could be delivered through virtual reality technology.

You can read the rest of this article, complete with additional feature content, on the Research Outreach website here. (Opens in new tab)

Read More

Post-pandemic suicide trends in Japan

by Daryl Ilbury

As COVID-19 tore a path across the world, health authorities measured its impact mainly in terms of infection rates and deaths linked to infection. But little thought has been given to those who may die years from now, from a pandemic-triggered illness that is harder to observe and measure and which festers in a person’s body to the point where death comes most tragically – by their own hand.

You can read the rest of this article, complete with additional feature content, on the Research Outreach website here. (Opens in new tab)

Read More

Memento Mori: A comparative analysis of gendered language in the face of death

by Daryl Ilbury

‘If you want evidence of women’s inferiority to men, just listen to how they speak – they always sound so indecisive and weak-willed.’ Such a comment may seem laughable, but its distorted logic has been a cornerstone of gender-based discrimination for centuries and, unfortunately, in some cultures, prevails. While it’s arguable that within human communication, women adopt styles that differ from men, difference is not a defence for stratification and discrimination.

If you dig deeper into those differences, as Dr Senka Majetić has done, you will find a remarkable depth of nuance that not only takes a heavy hammer to such outdated notions but offers a light to those examining others feeling the brunt of discrimination.

You can read the rest of this article, complete with additional feature content, on the Research Features website

Read More

Leaving a legacy of ill health: The trans-generational effects of smoking

by Daryl Ilbury

The dangers of smoking to those who light up are incontrovertible. We also know, through research, that second-hand smoke poses threats to the health of others near smokers and has encouraged restrictions on public smoking. Policing private spaces, such as homes and cars, is nigh impossible, meaning children of smokers can still be directly exposed to the same dangerous chemicals and toxins that smokers inhale. However, there is emerging evidence that children and even grandchildren may be affected by cigarette smoke they never inhaled but was instead inhaled by their parents or grandparents, decades before their birth.

You can read the rest of this article, complete with additional feature content, on the Research Outreach website here. (Opens in new tab)

Read More

Shaking our understanding of uncertainty

by Daryl Ilbury

Uncertainty certainly makes life interesting. Without it, we’d be locked in a repetitive experiential loop. Because the future, by its very nature, is yet to unfold, what it holds for us is largely unknown. For example, we know we will die, but when and how are largely a mystery. However, the future is unavoidable and must be confronted; how we do that, and the frame of mind we employ to do so are the research reserve of those examining the psychology of uncertain situations – when prediction is impossible. It is a field of study with its fair share of dark corners, including how to operate more efficiently in the face of uncertainty. A new research is helping point a light in that direction.

You can read the rest of this article, complete with additional feature content, on the Research Features website Read More

Respecting unity and diversity: Towards effective multidisciplinary research

by Daryl Ilbury

To those in the corporate sector, academia may not seem a particularly competitive environment. The truth is that in academia, highly prized resources such as funding are coveted, and hierarchies exist, determined mainly by academic output with the eye on cementing scholarly authority and academia’s version of job security: tenure.

However, at the same time, academia’s strength lies in collaboration. This is especially true when we look to academics for guidance in addressing the world’s most complex societal, environmental, and public health challenges, such as poverty, climate change, and obesity. Such insight is impossible without multidisciplinary collaboration that requires significant knowledge sharing by researchers. Collaborations can last years, demanding significant time and input.

You can read the rest of this article, complete with additional feature content, on the Research Features website Read More