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Calls, SMS, and radio: How pre-internet tech helps low-income children’s schooling in India’s lockdown · Global Voices
‘It’s like Zoom, minus the video and the interaction’ Parents performing educational activities with children using ThinkZone’s resources received via mobile phone. Screenshot of YouTube video by ThinkZone. As classes shifted to virtual environments in India following the COVID-19 lockdown, students from remote areas and low-income families who lacked internetContinue Reading
Ability, not age, should be the only factor determining what exercise you do
Strength training can improve bone density, muscle mass, and physical ability in older people. NDAB Creativity/ Shutterstock It’s a common assumption that exercise in older people is difficult and dangerous, so it’s perhaps best avoided. But this is often not the case – even if these ideas are ingrained inContinue Reading
COVID-19 and China’s information control policy · Global Voices
China’s strategy to control information and its consequences has become a global concern COVID-19 outbreak world map. Image from Wikimedia (CC: AT-SA) The following post is written by Dr. Fu Kingwah, associate professor at the Journalism and Media Studies Centre of the Hong Kong University and convener of censorship monitoringContinue Reading
Parks and green spaces are important for our mental health – but we need to make sure that everyone can benefit
Shutterstock How does walking through a forest make you feel? Peaceful? Blissful? Reflective? For many people, lockdown brought a new appreciation of nature and what it means for our well-being. The health benefits of immersing ourselves in “greenspace” are now widely accepted. Living in areas with grass and trees hasContinue Reading
Three major scientific controversies about coronavirus
It is unclear how well masks work. People Image Studio/Shutterstock Although political leaders have closed borders in response to COVID-19, scientists are collaborating like never before. But the coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) is novel – and we don’t yet have all the facts about it. As a result, we may have toContinue Reading
Another Australian university criticized for censoring voices supporting Hong Kong’s human rights · Global Voices
Concerns have been raised over Chinese influence on Australian campuses. The University of New South Wales received criticism for removing an article calling out the decline of human rights in Hong Kong. Photo from Flickr page of Sompop S (CC BY 2.0) In the latest of a string of incidentsContinue Reading
Let me tell you how frustrating this pandemic has been for deaf people
It would be a brave person who tried to argue that the UK government, over the past several years, hadn’t shown a kind of systemic ableism in its attitudes towards and policies dealing with disabled people. This ableism is reflected in wider societal and media-based discourses in the UK. OverContinue Reading
Heatwaves don’t just give you sunburn – they can harm your mental health too
Monika Wisniewska/Shutterstock Heatwaves undoubtedly bring a certain joy at the opportunity to be out in the sunshine. But as the planet heats and weather records tumble, increasingly normal bouts of baking heat aren’t all sun and games. Aside from the grief and guilt we may feel about the human causesContinue Reading
Children reveal what they really think of adults – in their own research paper
Children have reached their verdict on adults. Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock Every parent knows that sometimes your child says something that stops you in your tracks. Such a moment came for one of us, Emma Maynard, when her son Oscar was approaching his year 6 SATS tests at the end ofContinue Reading
Angolan police kills 23-year-old for breaking confinement rules, local media reports · Global Voices
The case adds to other related episodes of police violence A young man ikilled by Angolan police. Screengrab of a video shared by Televisão Pública de Angola. The Angolan National Police officers shot dead 23-year-old José Teokamba Manuel on 12 July while enforcing confinement measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according toContinue Reading