Throwing things on stage is bad concert etiquette - but it's also not a new trend

S31

Throwing things on stage is bad concert etiquette - but it's also not a new trend     The recent spate of incidents where objects have been thrown at musicians by people who paid to see them perform has generated comment, consternation and condemnation on media both mainstream and social.One recent case involved liquid being thrown on stage during a performance by American rapper Cardi B. The singer retaliated by throwing her microphone into the crowd. Media accounts suggest the incident has resulted in a police complaint filed by someone in the audience. Continued here

S42

How language can turn down the temperature of heated climate change discourse     Death Valley, Calif., shattered the record in July 2023 for the hottest temperature on earth. Meanwhile, July 2023 is now the hottest month in recorded history and scientists have noted heat waves are 1,000 times more likely with climate change.The effects of this heating are myriad and inter-connected. However, one underappreciated impact of global heating is its influence on language itself. Language evolves and adapts to environmental pressures in a delicate balance with its surroundings, just like any other ecological system. Continued here

S28

Is there new physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics? Our finding will help settle the question     Despite its tremendous success in predicting the existence of new particles and forces, the Standard Model of particle physics, designed over 50 years ago to explain the smallest building blocks of nature, isn’t the complete “theory of everything” physicists have been longing for.The theory has several problems. It neither describes gravity nor the unknown components that make up most of the energy density in the universe: dark matter and dark energy. Particle physicists are therefore on a treasure hunt looking for any possible deviation from “expected” behaviour that could hint at new physics. Continued here

S45

Why do I fall asleep on the sofa but am wide awake when I get to bed?     After a long day, you flop onto the sofa and find yourself dozing off while watching TV. The room is nice and warm, the sofa is comfortable, and the background noise of the TV lulls you to sleep. Then a loved one nudges you awake and reminds you to go sleep – in bed. But when you get there, you find to your frustration that you’re wide awake. Continued here

S23

Air pollution linked with global rise in antibiotic resistance     Antibiotic resistance is a growing threat to global health. In 2019, it caused over 1.27 million deaths worldwide – and it’s projected that antimicrobial resistance (which includes bacterial resistance to antibiotics) may contribute to ten million deaths per year by 2050.Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections such as urinary tract infections and pneumonia. But their misuse and overuse has contributed to the emergence of bacteria which harbour genes that enable them to withstand the killing power of antibiotics. This results in infections that are much harder to treat. Continued here

S21

Lion farming in South Africa: fresh evidence adds weight to fears of link with illegal bone trade     In South Africa an estimated 8,000 lions are bred and kept in captivity for commercial purposes in more than 350 facilities. This is far more than the country’s wild population, estimated at 3,500 individuals.These big cats are exploited in a variety of different ways including interactive cub “petting” tourism, “canned” trophy hunting (where the lions are hunted in small enclosures with no chance of escape), live exports, and the supply of body parts for use in traditional medicine. Continued here

S29

Fans are finding out just how disappointing merchandise for women's football is     Head Of Department in Department of Sport & Event Management, Bournemouth University Dr. Beth Clarkson consults on leadership and workforce development for the Premier League and supervises sports management projects for the University of Liverpool. Continued here

S26

Western firms still doing business in Russia finance the war - here's how to recoup the huge cost to taxpayers     In Russia this summer, you can still enjoy a Cornetto, but you can forget about eating a Tunnock’s tea cake or a Big Mac. This is because Cornetto’s UK-headquarted parent company, Unilever, is still operating in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, alongside many other western firms such as PepsiCo.While lots of firms, including McDonald’s and the Scottish confectionery maker Tunnock’s, have cut business ties with the country since the war started, the Kyiv School of Economics estimates western companies still operating in Russia made over US$213.9 billion (£168.2 billion) in revenues in 2022. Continued here

S32

The 'number 8 wire' days for NZ's defence force are over - new priorities will demand bigger budgets     New Zealanders have been put on notice that defence and security are among the bigger challenges the country faces this century.The assessment earlier this year by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Navigating a Shifting World-Te whakatere i tētahi ao hurihuri, warned “the future looks grim” geopolitically. The release last week of a new national security strategy and defence policy strategy statement underscored the urgency of the required response. Continued here

S17

San Jose and the reemergence of the donut city     After many decades of reinvestment and repopulation, some American downtowns are now showing signs of hollowing out again. The widespread adoption of remote and hybrid work schedules has drained commercial offices and caused tenants to terminate leases. In many downtowns, office occupancy is at 50% pre-pandemic levels. Ripple effects include shrinking lunchtime crowds, slumping retail sales and a drop-off of public transit ridership. For example, New York City’s subway is at 65% of pre-pandemic ridership as of early 2023. Continued here

S22

India was a tree planting laboratory for 200 years - here are the results     Allowing forests to regenerate on their own has been championed as a strategy for reducing planet-heating carbon in the atmosphere while also boosting biodiversity, the benefits ecosystems offer and even the fruitfulness of livelihoods. But efforts to increase global tree cover to limit climate change have skewed towards erecting plantations of fast-growing trees. The reasons are obvious: planting trees can demonstrate results a lot quicker than natural forest restoration. This is helpful if the objective is generating a lot of timber quickly or certifying carbon credits which people and firms buy to supposedly offset their emissions. Continued here

S37

What's in vapes? Toxins, heavy metals, maybe radioactive polonium     If you asked me what’s in e-cigarettes, disposable vapes or e-liquids, my short answer would be “we don’t fully know”.The huge and increasing range of products and flavours on the market, changes to ingredients when they are heated or interact with each other, and inadequate labelling make this a complicated question to answer. Continued here

S46

Royal romances have always been fantasies of transformation. How does new-generation teen fiction reflect queer and diverse desires?     Casey McQuiston’s beloved, bestselling 2019 young adult novel, Red, White and Royal Blue, has just launched as a movie, on Amazon Prime. And fans are excited. The story follows Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of the first female American president, and his developing relationship with Henry, the Prince of Wales.As a genre, “royal romance” follows many of the regular romance conventions, but must include a member of a royal family or peerage as one of the love interests. Book blogs and Goodreads are full of suggestions for getting your Prince (or Princess) Charming fix. Continued here

S16

US losing Fitch's top AAA credit rating may portend future economic weakness     The formerly pristine reputation of the U.S. government’s debt lost a little more luster after another prominent rating agency demoted Uncle Sam from its AAA perch.While the downgrade is unlikely to have much of an impact in the short term, its implications about the state and size of U.S. indebtedness will likely reverberate on Capitol Hill, where stalled negotiations over the budget could mark a step toward the Biden administration’s first government shutdown. Continued here

S19

Zimbabwe heads to the polls amid high inflation, a slumping currency and a cost of living crisis     Jonathan Munemo is affiliated with the Council on Foreign Relations. He was appointed as an International AffairsFellow for Tenured International Relations Scholars for the 2023-24 academic year.Zimbabwe is facing a host of pressing challenges that voters dearly want the next president to address. Persistently high inflation, elevated interest rates, and a slumping and volatile Zimbabwe dollar have combined to fuel a cost of living crisis for households and battered business activity. Continued here

S43

The Kimba nuclear waste plan bites the dust. Here's what went wrong and how to do better next time     Ian Lowe was for 12 years a member of the Radiation Health and Safety Advisory Council, which advises the regulator of nuclear issues. He was also a member of the Expert Advisory Committee for the South Australia Nuclear Royal Commission. The federal government has scrapped plans to build the nation’s first radioactive waste storage facility on farmland near Kimba in South Australia. Frankly, it was never going to work. The plan was doomed from the start. Continued here

S24

Protecting boreal plant species is a critical part of reconciliation efforts     Labrador Tea, fireweed, chokecherry and raspberry are some of the boreal plants that are classified as weeds by the Canadian Weed Science Society. These plants are targeted with herbicide by logging companies across the Canadian boreal forest.However, these boreal plant species are important traditional plants for many Indigenous peoples in Canada and around the world. In addition to their use as food, these traditional native plants hold tremendous medicinal, ceremonial and material value. Continued here

S30

Accelerated evolution and automated aquaculture could help coral weather the heat     Coral on the Great Barrier Reef has regrown strongly after the big losses of 2016 and 2017, when water temperatures were significantly above the long-term average. While this is good news, it’s largely luck. The reef experienced mass bleaching in 2020 and 2022, but temperatures cooled just in time to prevent extensive coral deaths. But the reef’s luck may be about to run out. Hotter El Niño conditions are returning to the Pacific, driving warmer ocean temperatures. The past few months have seen global temperature records smashed. Already, reefs in Florida, the Caribbean and parts of the Pacific are bleaching. The looming southern summer is a significant concern. Continued here

S27

The personal details of Northern Ireland's main police force have been leaked - three reasons why that's incredibly dangerous     Data breaches are not a good look for any institution or organisation. But depending on the nature of the data leaked and the organisation, some breaches can be more serious and have greater consequences than others.This is certainly true of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), which has accidentally published information about all its police officers and civilian personnel in response to a freedom of information (FoI) request. This included a spreadsheet containing their names, their roles and where they were based. Continued here

S18

Heritage algorithms combine the rigors of science with the infinite possibilities of art and design     The model of democracy in the 1920s is sometimes called “the melting pot” – the dissolution of different cultures into an American soup. An update for the 2020s might be “open source,” where cultural mixing, sharing and collaborating can build bridges between people rather than create divides.By combining computational thinking and cultural creative practices, our work provides an entry point for students who are disproportionately left out of STEM careers, whether by race, class or gender. Even those who feel at home with equations and abstraction can benefit from narrowing the gap between the arts and sciences. Continued here

S40

Show me the money: Canada Bread penalty raises questions about criminal fines     Canada Bread Company agreed to pay a $50 million fine on June 21 after pleading guilty to fixing the price of bread sold in grocery stores. This fine is the highest ever imposed for a cartel offence in Canada — more than seven times higher than the previous record. Continued here

S41

Why old, shared dorms are better than new, private student residences     As students globally prepare for university, many contemplate where to live or prepare to move into new accommodations. Students are faced with a variety of new options, different from their parents’ dorm rooms.As universities have become more commercialized, they are entering into partnerships with developers, banks and marketing professionals that favour apartment construction, emulating units of the condo boom. Continued here

S52

Zuma prison case casts doubt on South Africa's medical parole law     University of Western Cape provides support as a hosting partner of The Conversation AFRICA.The Constitutional Court order relating to a case involving former President Jacob Zuma has illuminated some of the flaws in the law governing medical parole in South Africa. This is despite amendments in 2012 to ensure equality before the law, uphold offenders’ rights to dignity and healthcare when they suffer from serious physical health problems. Continued here

S44

Maui wildfires: Extra logistical challenges hinder government's initial response when disasters strike islands     Wildfires destroyed the Hawaiian tourist town of Lahaina on Aug. 8 and 9, 2023, leaving many of its roughly 13,000 residents homeless. Fires also burned in other areas on Maui, Hawaii’s second-largest island, and its Big Island. President Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration on Aug. 10, which authorizes federal aid for communities in harm’s way.The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which delivers emergency assistance after disasters, has to deal with big transportation challenges in cases like this. Initially, FEMA will be focused on bringing food, generators, cots, meals and anything else people need, and that aid will be arriving on planes and boats rather than by road. Continued here

S20

Grayson Perry: exploring what it is to be human with humour, irreverence and excess     Smash Hits, the new Grayson Perry retrospective at Edinburgh’s National Galleries, spans the 40-year career of the recently knighted artist. It’s an exhibition packed with scrutiny of the entanglements of self and society, as Perry casts up snippets of the institutional landscapes that formed him: family, England, the art world.Perry’s artistic journey began with evening classes in pottery. His Kinky Sex plate (1983) shares the chunkiness of his recent ceramic English Wanker (2023). This makes a satisfying contrast with the highly polished style of his vases and the intricacy of his prints and tapestries. Continued here

S33

Can Australian employers stop you working from home? Here's what the law says     Zoom, the videoconferencing company whose fortunes soared with the pandemic-driven shift to working from home, has reportedly told its staff to get back to the office – for at least two days a week, if the commute is no more than 80 kilometres. It’s part of a trend of employers winding back the work-from-home flexibility that enabled most to keep operating through the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Continued here

S34

Friday essay: 60 years old, the Yirrkala Bark Petitions are one of our founding documents - so why don't we know more about them?     Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names of deceased people.On August 16 1963, Cecil Lambert, the Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Territories, scribbled these words next to a news clipping of a day-old article in the Canberra Times. “Aboriginal Petition on Bark” read the headline. “Novel Plea by Tribal Group”. Continued here

S35

How 'witch-hunts' and 'Stockholm syndrome' became part of political language (and what it has to do with wrestling)     It’s hard to sympathise with powerful people hounding out innocents — which is why the Coalition wanted us to know the Robodebt Royal Commission was a political witch-hunt. Poor Donald Trump wants us to know he’s the victim of a witch-hunt, too.To be fair, maybe the Coalition and Trump are trading on the good reputation of witches. After all, a 2013 poll found most Americans preferred witches (also cockroaches and haemorrhoids) to politicians. Continued here

S39

The trauma caused by resettlement in Newfoundland and Labrador must be acknowledged     Between 1954 and 1975, 30,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians resettled from hundreds of remote communities to larger towns. The relocations were part of a plan by the provincial and federal governments to move people to areas with better economic opportunities, social amenities and improved educational facilities.Today, there are only a handful of isolated communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. The provincial government continues to provide relocation assistance if at least 75 per cent of residents vote to resettle elsewhere. Residents of Gaultois, N.L., the most recent community to vote on resettlement, did not reach the 75 per cent threshold needed to relocate. Continued here

S47

Wallacea is a living laboratory of Earth's evolution - and its wildlife, forests and reefs will be devastated unless we all act     Jatna is a member Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI) and also Steering Committee of the Wallacea Science Symposium 2023.This article is part of a series of analyses presented by The Conversation Indonesia to celebrate the 2023 Wallacea Science Symposium at Hasanuddin University in Makassar, South Sulawesi Province, from 13th to 15th August. Continued here