Category: Articles

Banishment during menstruation a senseless practice that must end: WaterAid

Stuart Mitchell

News of the death of a woman and her two sons in rural Nepal after she was banished to a small shed during menstruation must serve to strengthen efforts to banish the practice, WaterAid said today. Media have reported that a 35-year-old mother and her nine- and seven-year-old sons were most likely suffocated by smoke after a blanket they were using for warmth in the frigid cold caught fire in Nepal’s remote western Bajura district.  The practice of chhaupadi, or banishment during menstruation, was outlawed by Nepal’s Supreme Court in…

Read More

With Code Jumper, experts look to jumpstart computer science interest for kids who are blind

Stuart Mitchell

It’s a warm day in early June and a group of students have gathered in the IT classroom at New College Worcester to show off their coding skills. But instead of poking at tablet screens or typing into laptops, these students are taking out brightly colored plastic pods, connecting them together with thick white wires and then adjusting the pod’s buttons and knobs. These physical components will be used to create computer programs that can tell stories, make music and even crack jokes. The students at New College Worcester are…

Read More

Companies should focus on AI ethics even if it hits profits, says Microsoft UK director

Stuart Mitchell

Companies must refuse to create artificial intelligence that is unethical and could harm humanity, even if it affects their profits, a senior director at Microsoft UK has said. Hugh Milward, Senior Director of Corporate, External and Legal Affairs, said businesses need to “draw a line” on what is acceptable when developing cutting-edge technology and understand their responsibilities. “Just because something can be done, doesn’t mean it should be done,” he told December’s Tech UK Digital Ethics Summit in London. The event heard from leading figures in business and government on…

Read More

New Awards Recognise Brands With Impact

Stuart Mitchell

The Be The Change Awards are a new initiative launched in 2019 to recognise ethical and sustainable brands with a powerful impact story to tell. Around the world independent, ethical & sustainable brands are having a positive impact on communities, people and the planet. Sian Conway and Jo Salter, founders of the awards, wanted to provide a platform that would recognise, celebrate and raise the profile of those brands who are working towards the Sustainable Development Goals and creating positive impact in inspiring and world-changing ways. As ethical brand owners…

Read More

‘Blue Planet’ effect: Nearly half of British consumers are cutting plastic usage

Stuart Mitchell

A staggering 75% of the British public are cutting down their consumption of products they see as having a harmful impact on the environment or their health, from single-use plastic to meat, according to a new survey. The impact of plastic on the planet has hit home the hardest with the British public, thanks in part to the BBC wildlife series Blue Planet, with 46% stating they actively cut down on their plastic usage. Those surveyed said they are also consciously consuming less sugar, salt, gluten, palm oil, travel, non-recyclable materials, clothing and products that have been tested on animals.…

Read More