Ambivalent Belonging: Born-Again Christians between Africa and Europe [Scholarly Article - Journal of Religion in Africa, June 2022]

Title:

Ambivalent Belonging: Born-Again Christians between Africa and Europe

 

Author:

Leslie Fesenmyer 

Assistant Professor, Social Anthropology and African Studies, Department of African Studies and Anthropology, School of History and Cultures, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

Published:

Journal of Religion in Africa, 3 June 2022

https://brill.com/view/journals/jra/52/1-2/article-p119_6.xml

Abstract:

Historically entangled with nation, race, and religion, questions of belonging are pressing and affective ones in Africa and Europe. Against the backdrop of anti-migrant hostility, globalization, and autochthonous claims, I consider how born-again Christians in London negotiate belonging between Kenya, their country of origin, and the United Kingdom, their country of residence. As ‘migrants’ and ‘diasporans’, they are seen as not belonging in either national context. Adopting a scalar approach, I argue that their identification as born-again Christians and claim to membership in a global Christian community allows them to ‘scale-jump’ and offers a morally and emotionally meaningful sense of belonging. At the same time, their encounters with various racial and religious Others locally, nationally, and transnationally mediate where they feel at ‘home’. In the face of contradictions and ambivalence, Pentecostalism helps them to navigate competing symbolic, material, and affective concerns as they seek belonging across multiple sociospatial scales.

 

Subsea internet cables could help detect earthquakes [BBC News, May 2022]

Title:

Subsea internet cables could help detect earthquackes

 

Author:

Chris Vallance

Published:

BBC News, 19 May 2022

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-61506705

From the article: 

"These telecoms cables could be used as a giant array of deep-sea scientific sensors, the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and its partners say.  

 

Scientists tested the technique on an optical-fibre link between the UK and Canada.  

 

The research is published in Science Magazine."

 

Risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfections in children: a prospective national surveillance study between January, 2020, and July, 2021, in England [Scholarly Article - The Lancet, March 2022]

Title:

Risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfections in children: a prospective national surveillance study between January, 2020, and July, 2021, in England

 

Authors:

Anna A Mensah, MSc; Helen Campbell, PhD;  Julia Stowe, PhD; Giulia Seghezzo, MSc; Ruth Simmons, PhD; Joanne Lacy, MSc; Antoaneta Bukasa, MSc; Shennae O'Boyle, MSc; Mary E Ramsay, FFPH; Kevin Brown, FRCPath & Shamez N Ladhani, PhD

 

Published:

The Lancet, 28 March 2022 (Open Access)

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(22)00059-1/fulltext

 

Summary

Background

Background Reinfection after primary SARS-CoV-2 infection is uncommon in adults, but little is known about the risks, characteristics, severity, or outcomes of reinfection in children. We aimed to assess the risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in children and compare this with the risk in adults, by analysis of national testing data for England.

Britain’s ownership of the Chagos islands has no basis, Mauritius is right to claim them [The Conversation, February 2022]

Title:

Britain's ownership of the Chagos islands has no basis, Mauritius is right to them

Author:

Peter Harris

Associate Professor of Political Science, Colorado State University

 

Published:

The Conversation, 20 February 2022

https://theconversation.com/britains-ownership-of-the-chagos-islands-has-no-basis-mauritius-is-right-to-claim-them-177461

 

From the article:

The decolonisation of Mauritius was never fully completed. This is because, in 1965, the British government put islands belonging to Mauritius into a new colonial jurisdiction, the British Indian Ocean Territory, which still exists today. It is long past time for this colonial-era wrongdoing to be made right, and for Mauritius to be made whole.

 

How should HE respond to the new geopolitical dynamics? [University World News, February 2022]

Title:   

How should HE respond to the new geopolitical dynamics?  

 

Author: 

Catherine Saracco   

 

Published:    

University World News, 8 February 2022 

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20220208142502416  

 

From the article: 

Over the past decade, the global geopolitical balance has undergone considerable upheaval. Will global competition between the United States, China and Europe continue to be the benchmark for student mobility flows? Will the Anglo-Saxon model of higher education be able to resist these challenges? Looking at four major trends.

 

Dozens of Extinct Ice Age Animal Remains Found During Construction of a New Town in England [Smithsonian Magazine, February 2022]

Title: 

Dozens of Extinct Ice Age Animal Remains Found During Construction of a New Town in England  

 

Author: 

Margaret Osborne  

 

Published: 

Smithsonian Magazine, 9 February 2022 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/remains-of-extinct-ice-age-animals-found-on-a-construction-site-in-england-180979539/   

 

From the article: 

Archeologists found bones from a woolly mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, wolf, hyena, horse, reindeer, mountain hare, red fox and various small mammals.  

 

ALSO SEE  

 

Title:

Woolly mammoth and rhino among Ice Age animals discovered in Devon cave 

 

By: 

James Ashworth 

 

Published: 

Natural History Museum, 3 February 2022 

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2022/february/woolly-mammoth-rhino-among-ice-age-animals-discovered-devon-cave.html 

 

Official mortality data for England suggest systematic miscategorisation of vaccine status and uncertain effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccination [Scholarly Article - ResearchGate, January 2022]

Title: 

Official mortality data for England suggest systematic miscategorisation of vaccine status and uncertain effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccination  

 

Authors: 

Martin Neil, Queen Mary, University of London 

& 

Norman Elliott Fenton, Queen Mary, University of London  

 

Published: 

ResearchGate, January 2022 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357778435_Official_mortality_data_for_England_suggest_systematic_miscategorisation_of_vaccine_status_and_uncertain_effectiveness_of_Covid-19_vaccination  

 

Abstract: 

The risk/benefit of Covid vaccines is arguably most accurately measured by comparing the all-cause mortality rate of vaccinated against unvaccinated, since it not only avoids most confounders relating to case definition but also fulfils the WHO/CDC definition of "vaccine effectiveness" for mortality. We examine two of the most recent UK ONS vaccine mortality surveillance reports, which provide the necessary information to monitor this crucial comparison over time. At first glance the ONS data suggest that, in each of the older age groups, all-cause mortality is lower in the vaccinated than the unvaccinated. This conclusion is cast into doubt upon closer inspection of the data due to a range of fundamental inconsistencies and anomalies in the data. Whatever the explanations for these are, it is clear that the data is both unreliable and misleading. It has been suggested that the anomalies are the result of healthy vaccinee selection bias and population differences. However, we show why the most likely explanations for the observed anomalies are a combination of systemic miscategorisation of deaths between the different categories of unvaccinated and vaccinated; delayed or non-reporting of vaccinations; systemic underestimation of the proportion of unvaccinated; and/or incorrect population selection for Covid deaths. We also find no evidence that socio-demographic or behavioural differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated can explain these anomalies.

 

Flowers in The UK Are Blooming a Whole Month Earlier Than They Did in The 1980s [ScienceAlert, February 2022]

Title:

Flowers in The UK Are Blooming a Whole Month Earlier Than They Did in The 1980s

 

Author:

Carly Cassella 

Published:

ScienceAlert, 2 February 2022

https://www.sciencealert.com/flowers-are-blooming-a-whole-month-earlier-in-britain-than-they-did-in-the-early-80s

 

From the article:

For centuries, British flowers have been blooming like clockwork. A few months into spring, sometime around May or June, the nation bursts into color.  

 

Since the early 1980s, however, hundreds of plants have grown out of sync with the seasons, which means they're also unraveling from the complicated tapestry of interactions that keep ecosystems sustainably functioning.  

 

When analyzing the first blooms of 406 plant species from 1753 to 2019, researchers found a clear and worrisome shift.

University of Bath, UK - Wealth inequalities in Britain: it’s about homeownership, housing wealth and who your parents are

Title:

Wealth inequalities in Britain: it’s about homeownership, housing wealth and who your parents are 

 

Published:

University of Bath, Press Release, 11 January 2022

https://www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/wealth-inequalities-in-britain-its-about-homeownership-housing-wealth-and-who-your-parents-are/

 

From the press release:

Parental wealth is playing an increasingly important role in explaining whether offspring own their home and their level of housing wealth says new analysis.

UNITED KINGDOM - Enormous sea dragon fossil from 180 million years ago discovered in England [LiveScience, January 2022]

Title:

Enormous sea dragon fossil from 180 million years ago discovered in England

 

Author:

Patrick Pester

 

Published:

LiveScience, 11 January 2022

https://www.livescience.com/biggest-sea-dragon-in-britain

 

From the article:

"It is a truly unprecedented discovery and one of the greatest finds in British palaeontological history," excavation leader Dean Lomax, a paleontologist and visiting scientist at the University of Manchester, said in a statement. 

 

UNITED KINGDOM - Decolonising is about adding, not cancelling, knowledge [University World News, September 2021]

Title:

Decolonising is about adding, not cancelling, knowledge 

 

Author:

Ali Meghji  

 

Published:

University World News, 11 September 2021 

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=2021090713235631

 

From the article:

The past few months in Britain have seen a growing ridiculing of calls to decolonise the curriculum. However, these criticisms have failed to understand what decolonising the curriculum is about.

 

UNITED KINGDOM - The Coronavirus Act 2020 is Null and Void! [crowdjustice, April 2021]

Title:

The Coronavirus Act 2020 is Null and Void!

 

By:

The People's Brexit

 

Published:

crowdjustice, 4 April 2021

https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/the-coronavirus-act-2020/

 

From the article:

We are The People's Brexit, a group of Solicitors, legal researchers and campaigners. We have been extensively researching the current legal situation since the illegal 'lockdown' deprived us all of our Democracy, Human Rights and Freedoms.  

 

We have now established that The Coronavirus Act 2020 is null and void. There are many reasons for this, the main one being that S1(1) of the Act defines 'coronavirus' as being 'covid-19' or it's other name 'SARS Cov-2'. However, by virtue of the fact that it is not legally, medically or scientifically recognised as a disease or virus it cannot be legislated against, and this makes the whole Act null and void. 

UNITED KINGDOM - Universities demand clarity on ‘£1 billion research cut’ - by Brendan O’Malley

Title:

Universities demand clarity on ‘£1 billion research cut'

 

Author:

Brendan O’Malley  

 

Published:

University World News, 19 March 2021

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210319134242643

 

From the article:

Universities UK fears universities face an effective £1 billion (US$1.4 billion) cut in research funding because the Treasury has failed to clarify if it will allow funding of the United Kingdom’s association to Horizon Europe, the European Union’s science and innovation programme, to go ahead.  

 

Universities UK has written to the government seeking urgent clarity on the future of funding for UK science and research. 

UNITED KINGDOM / EUROPE - UK to stay in Horizon Europe but drop out of Erasmus+ [University World News, 31 December 2020]

Title:

UK to stay in Horizon Europe but drop out of Erasmus+ 

 

Author:

Brendan O'Malley

 

Published:

University World News, 31 December 2020

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20201231151122758

 

From the article:

United Kingdom and European universities welcomed the UK’s decision to participate in the European Union’s €95.5 billion (US$117.3 billion) research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe, which was clarified by the terms of the recently announced future trade and cooperation agreement between the UK and the European Union.  

 

But they voiced deep disappointment at the decision to drop out of Erasmus+, the student and academic staff study abroad and mobility programme.

What's Next for Higher Education in the UK - Preparing for 2021 and Beyond [Video (1:00:03) - ApplyBoard, 11 November 2020]

Title:

What's Next for Higher Education in the UK - Preparing for 2021 and Beyond 

Published:

ApplyBoard, 11 November 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlFd7KckUyE

Video description:

After an unprecedented year of change globally, we put together an all-star panel of influential figures to discuss higher education in the United Kingdom. What have we learned from the last 8 months, and what changes will it bring about in the future?   

 

Speakers include:  

Moderator: John Gill from Times Higher Education. 

The Right Honourable Jo Johnson, Chairman, International at ApplyBoard 

Janet B. Ilieva, Director and Founder of Education Insight 

Sir Steve Smith, former Vice Chancellor at University of Exeter  

 

Recorded: 

November 11, 2020

UNITED KINGDOM - Britain to restrict promotion of unhealthy food from April 2022 [Reuters, 28 December 2020]

Title:

Britain to restrict promotion of unhealthy food from April 2022

Published:

Reuters, 28 December 2020

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-food-idUSKBN29200K

 

From the article:

Britain will ban “buy one get one free” promotions for food high in fat, sugar or salt and free refills of sugary soft drinks in restaurants from April 2022, the government said on Monday, its latest step in its plan to tackle obesity and improve public health.

Higher education in 2020 and 2021 [Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), UK, 15 December 2020]

Title:

Higher education in 2020 and 2021

 

Speech by Nick Hillman to Amazon Web Services's (AWS) Higher Education Transformation Week.

 

Published:

Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), 15 December 2020

https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2020/12/15/higher-education-in-2020-and-2021/

 

From the speech:

We meet at the end of the most tumultuous year in living memory, perhaps the most tumultuous year for British universities at any point in the last 85 years. The end of the year is always a good moment to take stock, but that is especially true in 2020, even though the pandemic is far from over. So I will give it a go.  

 

I will also try to peer ahead by outlining the possible lessons from 2020 for the future. I know this is a fool’s game: if the unpredictable events of the last 12 months teach us anything, it is that forecasts have a habit of not coming true.

United Kingdom - Analysis of the health, economic and social effects of COVID-19 and the approach to tiering [GOV.UK Report, 30 November 2020]

Title:

Analysis of the health, economic and social effects of COVID-19 and the approach to tiering

 

Published:

GOV.UK, 30 November 2020

[In PDF format]

Click here to read this report

From the Executive Summary:

Ovre the course of this year much has been learned about COVID-19 and the measures it is necessary to take to combat it. This paper sets out some of that learning as well as the evidence and rationale behind the tiered approach.

Contents of report:

1. Current situation

2. The impacts of COVID-19 to date

3. The need for continued action

4. The COVID-19 Winter Plan and tiers

5. Health impacts of tiers

6. Social impacts of tiers

7. Economic impacts of tiers

8. Summary

United Kingdom asks regulator to study AstraZeneca vaccine [Medical Xpress, 27 November 2020]

Title:

UK asks regulator to study AstraZeneca vaccine

 

Published:

Medical Xpress, 27 November 2020

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-11-uk-astrazeneca-vaccine.html

From the article:

The British government said on Friday it has asked its independent medicines regulator to assess AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine as part of the formal approval process for the drug to be rolled out by the end of the year.

More than 1.4 million people have died since the novel coronavirus emerged in China late last year, and three drug developers—Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca/Oxford University—are currently applying for approval for their vaccines to be used as early as December.

Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) - Demand for Higher Education to 2035 Report by Rachel Hewitt now available

Title:

New HEPI report reveals over 350,000 more higher education places will be needed in England by 2035 to keep up with demand, while Scotland will see a decline in demand for places over the same period, despite increased participation in higher education

 

Published:

Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), 22 October 2020

https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2020/10/22/new-hepi-report-reveals-over-350000-more-higher-education-places-will-be-needed-in-england-by-2035-to-keep-up-with-demand-while-scotland-will-see-a-decline-in-demand-for-places-over-the-same-period/

From the article:

The Higher Education Policy Institute has published a new report looking at future demand for higher education places in the UK over the next fifteen years. The report, Demand for Higher Education to 2035 by Rachel Hewitt, builds and expands on HEPI’s long history of exploring demand for higher education.