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Why has West Africa's plan for a common currency yet to become a reality?
No full textFor over two decades, West African countries have had a project for a common currency, the Eco, to strengthen trade and regional integration. It has been promoted repeatedly, but so far, not launched. Aminata Niang asks why
Why schools shouldn’t ban smartphones from the classroom
No full textCalls to bans smartphones in schools have been increasing in recent years—driven by the view that they are sources of distraction. Dr Aaron Cheng challenges this position by drawing on his recent research, and argues that when used correctly, smartphones can be useful tools that enhance learning rather than detract from it
The reverse victimisation of Charlie Kirk – from propagandist to martyr
No full textIn the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Donald Trump, J D Vance and other prominent figures of the American right were quick to proclaim him a conservative martyr, the victim of cancel culture and woke prosecution. In the UK, Tommy Robinson used Kirk’s legacy to mobilise his “Unite the Kingdom march”. Lilie Chouliaraki argues that the creation of Charlie Kirk as a totemic figure of the far right is a classic example of the recasting of those with power and influence as victims
The US-led world order is breaking-here's what history tells us may come next
No full textThe US is undermining the very order it built, and the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit shows how China is seizing the moment to offer an alternative. Terrence Mullan writes that historical patterns indicate that the result may not be a new global system, but a more independent world of shifting power and contested rules
Experiences of local victims of Yahoo Boys’ socio-economic cybercrimes in Nigeria
No full textDespite much cybercrime originating in Nigeria, little is known about national victims compared to international victims of these crimes. In this study, we utilise the results from a survey of 1034 university staff and students to assess their experiences of victimisation using the Tripartite Cybercrime Framework (TCF). This framework distinguishes between socio-economic, geopolitical, and psychosocial forms of cybercrime. The analysis revealed a gender distribution skewed toward males (64.9%) and a notable predominance of Master’s students. Among participants who reported cybercrime victimisation (65.4%), all incidents were classified under the socio-economic category. This pattern highlights the dominance of financially motivated cybercrime in the Nigerian context. These offences, listed in descending order of prevalence, include e-banking and payment-card fraud (58.6%), identity theft (11.1%), job scams (10.9%), cryptocurrency scams (10.6%), non-delivery scams (4.8%), and phishing attacks (4.0%). Alongside these TCF-related findings, our data indicate that among affected individuals, 354 men (52.4%) and 322 women (47.6%) reported negative consequences. In the full sample, 64.9% were male and 35.1% were female. However, only 38.7% of victims reported their incidents to authorities, and 14.9% received any form of restitution. This study builds on preliminary findings by pioneering the use of the Tripartite Cybercrime Framework with a larger, more diverse quantitative dataset to provide valuable insights into global research gaps and response disparities
The impact of green investors on stock prices
No full textWe study how green investors impact firms’ stock prices and cost of capital in a model where they track an index that progressively excludes the brownest firms and they trade with passive investors tracking a broad index and with active investors. Because stock demand elasticity is low with passive investors, the impact of green investors is significantly larger than in previous calibrations. That impact is further amplified when the brownest firms load heavily on climate transition risk. Although an announcement of future exclusion is reflected into brown firms’ current prices, the future price decline until exclusion is significant
From cinema to the lab: psychological experiments as liminal affective technologies
No full textThis commentary provides an assessment of the article “Analysing movies to rethink the psychology of time” written by Paul Stenner and Tania Zittoun. Their article makes a relevant contribution to expanding our understanding—and potential use—of time in psychology through a re-working of Bakhtin’s concept of chronotopes. The authors move beyond the conventional distinction between minor and major chronotopes by recovering Bakhtin’s classification of chronotopes into created, creating, and creative ones. In doing so, they employ this classification to describe the time-space experience of engaging with art, with a particular focus on appreciating films. This commentary aims to (1) situate the authors’ contribution within the broader psychological literature, (2) extend their chronotopic analysis to the appreciation of classic experiments in psychology, and (3) discuss its potential for research practice. Overall, I conclude that experiments in psychology—like aesthetic objects—can function as liminal affective technologies that construct distinct configurations of time-space whilst claiming to reveal timeless truths
Digital securities, analog problems: how tokenisation undermines the rights of investors
No full textThe intermediated holding of investment securities through tiered custody chains undermines the rights of investors. Distributed ledger technology offers potential solutions through direct investor-issuer connections, but emerging regulatory frameworks paradoxically recreate intermediation while providing weaker safeguards than for traditional securities. This article examines how current legal approaches to tokenised securities risk creating worse outcomes for investors, particularly retail participants
Build better health: evidence from Ireland on housing quality and mortality
No full textPoor housing conditions, and the negative effects of Household Air Pollution (HAP) in particular, remain one of the most pressing global public health challenges. While the association between poor housing and health has a long history, evidence of a direct link is lacking. In this paper, we examine a rare example of a public housing intervention in rural areas, namely the large-scale provision of high-quality housing in Ireland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We exploit a novel dataset of deaths-by-disease and deaths-by-age-and-sex over the period 1871–1919, to test the impact of the intervention on mortality. Our difference-in difference estimates indicate that improved housing conditions reduced mortality by as much as 1 death per 1000. This effect is driven by reductions in deaths from respiratory diseases. We propose a likely mechanism that is consistent with the pattern of results we observe: a reduction in Household Air Pollution through improved housing quality and better ventilation. A cost-benefit analysis reveals that the scheme was a highly cost-effective intervention