How men can become role models for gender inclusivity in the workplace

S22

How men can become role models for gender inclusivity in the workplace     From popular culture depictions of the #girlboss to advice and books about how women should “lean in” to further their careers, discussions about gender equality at work tend to focus on how women leaders can be good role models for other women. But books, advice and training about leadership at work often appear gender neutral, failing to discuss leaders’ responsibility to encourage gender inclusivity.Research shows, however, that to create truly gender-inclusive organisations, men can – and should – become role models for gender equality too. Continued here

S35

The Universities Accord draft contains 'spiky' ideas, but puts a question mark over the spikiest one of all     When he released the Universities Accord interim report last week, Education Minister Jason Clare drew attention to the echidna on the front cover. To offer up a few big spiky ideas. They took me at my word, hence the echidna on the front page. Continued here

S36

Oppenheimer's warning lives on: international laws and treaties are failing to stop a new arms race     J. Robert Oppenheimer – the great nuclear physicist, “father of the atomic bomb”, and now subject of a blockbuster biopic – always despaired about the nuclear arms race triggered by his creation.So the approaching 78th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing invites us to ask how far we’ve come – or haven’t come – since his death in 1967. Continued here

S40

'The Kerala Story': How an Indian propaganda film ignited violence against Muslims and challenges to interfaith marriage     PhD Candidate, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice, University of British Columbia A controversial low-budget Indian feature film The Kerala Story, about a discredited anti-Muslim conspiracy theory, has been causing a political storm, going all the way to India’s Supreme Court. Continued here

S13

Just about anybody in America can officiate a wedding, thanks to the internet - and one determined preacher     Over the past 15 years, I have officiated over 20 weddings for friends and family, plus nearly 200 more as a part-time professional wedding officiant. These weddings have ranged from simple elopements to fancy ceremonies before hundreds of guests. They have taken place at farms, beaches, mountaintops, hotels, wineries and warehouses – but never at a church. They have been secular, spiritual, religious and interfaith.I became a nominal minister through the website of the Universal Life Church, a nondenominational church that offers free, lifelong ordination to anyone, regardless of their beliefs. More than 20 million people have been ordained so far. Just type in your name, email and mailing address and you will receive confirmation of your new status as a clergyperson, able to perform any legal marriage. You can adopt any religious title you please or none at all. Continued here

S8

Your genetic code has lots of 'words' for the same thing - information theory may help explain the redundancies     Nearly all life, from bacteria to humans, uses the same genetic code. This code acts as a dictionary, translating genes into the amino acids used to build proteins. The universality of the genetic code indicates a common ancestry among all living organisms and the essential role this code plays in the structure, function and regulation of biological cells.Understanding how the genetic code works is the foundation of genetic engineering and synthetic biology. But there are still many unsolved mysteries, such as why the code is important for various biological processes such as protein folding. Continued here

S33

Friday essay: how philosophy can help us become better friends     Friends, family, lovers – these are three mainstays in our intimate lives. We typically expect familial relationships to be solid, essentially for life. In our romantic lives, we search for the “one” to be with for life. Friendships seem less important, at least in comparison. It is easy to think about friends as people who come and go with the seasons of life. This could be a massive miscalculation. There is a case to be made that friendship is not the third wheel to these other, more significant relationships. Continued here

S18

Measles: it's not just London that's at risk of an outbreak - it's all of the UK     Since the start of 2023, measles has been reported in a third of countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) European region. And in the first five months of the year, there were 5,699 cases reported there – nearly seven times as many as in the whole of 2022. The UK lost its measles-free status in 2019, indicating that the measles virus was circulating and there was inadequate vaccination to prevent its spread. If exposed to the measles virus, 90% of unvaccinated people will get infected. The virus spreads like wildfire among the unvaccinated, as demonstrated recently when seven unvaccinated children at a nursery school in Stoke-on-Trent nursery caught the bug. Continued here

S39

Climb the stairs, lug the shopping, chase the kids. Incidental vigorous activity linked to lower cancer risks     Many people know exercise reduces the risk of cancers, including liver, lung, breast and kidney. But structured exercise is time-consuming, requires significant commitment and often financial outlay or travel to a gym. These practicalities can make it infeasible for most adults. In our study out today, we explored the health potential of brief bursts of vigorous physical activities embedded into daily life. These could be short power walks to get to the bus or tram stop, stair climbing, carrying heavy shopping, active housework or energetic play with children. Continued here

S23

How hidden details in ancient Egyptian tomb paintings are revealed by chemical imaging     The walls of ancient Egyptian tombs can teach us much about the lives of the pharaohs and their entourages. Tomb paintings showed the deceased and their immediate family members involved in religious activities, the burial itself, or feasting at banquets and hunting in the Nile marshes.But many such tombs were looted in antiquity and later on, or roughly excavated by foreign treasure hunters and early archaeologists. As a result, much of the painted decoration has suffered damage, despite being well-preserved by the arid environment. Continued here

S14

Alabama is not the first state to defy a Supreme Court ruling: 3 essential reads on why that matters     In its 5-4 Allen v. Milligan decision on June 8, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the state of Alabama to redraw its congressional voting districts and consider race as it made up the new districts. The court had found that the state’s political districts diluted the strength of Black voters by denying them the possibility of electing a second Black member to the state’s congressional delegation.While the court did not specifically order the state to create a second majority-Black congressional district, Chief Justice John Roberts made it clear how he viewed the long history of racist voter suppression in Alabama – and what factors should weigh prominently in the state’s new political map. Continued here

S21

ChatGPT isn't the death of homework - just an opportunity for schools to do things differently     ChatGPT is a generative AI system: an algorithm that can generate new content from existing bodies of documents, images or audio when prompted with a description or question. It’s unsurprising concerns have emerged that young people are using ChatGPT and similar technology as a shortcut when doing their homework. But banning students from using ChatGPT, or expecting teachers to scour homework for its use, would be shortsighted. Education has adapted to – and embraced – online technology for decades. The approach to generative AI should be no different. Continued here

S19

Traffic jams are overwhelming Africa's biggest city - here's what could help     Traffic in Lagos, Nigeria, one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing cities, can be a nightmare. Citizens often spend 30 hours a week in traffic jams.In 2023, Lagos was ranked the fourth most uncomfortable city to live in in the world partly because of this. Continued here

S11

Progressives' embrace of Disney in battle with DeSantis over LGBTQ rights comes with risks     The battle between The Walt Disney Co. and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over LGBTQ rights and whether those rights should be acknowledged – let alone taught – in schools has spurred an unlikely alliance between progressives and one of the world’s biggest entertainment companies.Progressive groups such as The Human Rights Campaign have welcomed Disney to their cause, while progressive columnists at The Daily Beast and MSNBC have cheered Disney’s recent lawsuit against DeSantis. The suit, filed in April 2023, alleges that DeSantis violated the company’s free speech rights by retaliating against Disney for opposing a Florida education law that would prevent teachers from instructing early grades on LGBTQ issues. Continued here

S16

South Africa is failing to live up to its constitution. Gains made since democracy are being squandered - report     University of Johannesburg provides support as an endorsing partner of The Conversation AFRICA.The end of apartheid in 1994 and advent of constitutional democracy resulted in major societal changes in South Africa. The aim was to forge a “united and democratic” society. The new nation was to be based on justice and human rights. Continued here

S24

How austerity made the UK more vulnerable to COVID     The concept of austerity featured prominently in the first round of hearings of the UK’s COVID inquiry, which has recently come to a close. Notably, former chancellor George Osborne claimed that austerity had a “positive” effect on the UK’s ability to withstand the pandemic.Our reading of the evidence is that the austerity policies initiated after 2010 weakened the UK, allowing COVID to do more damage than it otherwise might have. Continued here

S6

How can you tell if hosting the Olympics or Commonwealth games offers value for money? Here are our expert tips     Victorian Premier Dan Andrews’ decision to back out of a commitment to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games because it might cost A$6 billion to $7 billion that did “not represent value for money” raises the question: is it even possible to work out the costs and benefits of such major events?Except in extreme cases – such as the 1976 Montreal Olympics, which is widely regarded as a financial disaster – comparing the costs and benefits of events such as the Commonwealth and Olympic Games is anything but straightforward. Continued here

S37

Will Ukraine be able to win over the Global South in its fight against Russian aggression?     I was running from my home in Kyiv as the Russian army occupied Bucha, Gostomel and Irpin in the early stages of its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. By accident, I was leaving in a bus that a nearby international school was using to evacuate its students and staff. We drove for a long time, spending nights in bomb shelters with young people and their kids from China, the Middle East and India who had been studying and working in Ukraine. Continued here

S12

Deaf rappers who lay down rhymes in sign languages are changing what it means for music to be heard     In April 2023, DJ Supalee hosted Supafest Reunion 2023 to celebrate entertainers and promoters within the U.S. Deaf community.The event included performances by R&B artist and rapper Sho’Roc, female rapper Beautiful The Artist, the group Sunshine 2.0, DJs Key-Yo and Hear No Evil, as well as ASL performer and former rapper Polar Bear, who now goes by Red Menace. Continued here

S4

The one thing Oppenheimer gets wrong     We are accustomed to hearing historians protest that biopics mangle the truth. And we are used to hearing screenwriters such as Aaron Sorkin and Peter Morgan respond that it is legitimate to scramble chronology, invent composite characters and fabricate incidents in order to tell a deeper truth. But there has been little controversy about the authenticity of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. For the most part, the writer-director has chosen the historian's responsibility over the dramatist's liberty.It is testament to the inherent drama of Oppenheimer's life, and of the Manhattan Project's three-year effort to design and build an atomic bomb, that the vast majority of the film's most memorable scenes and lines are taken straight from Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin's book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer, or from contemporary sources. Still, there are a few fabrications, including two pivotal scenes that elaborate on the same truth: the scientists who built the bomb were genuinely worried that it would accidentally bring about the end of the world. Continued here