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Prison protests were taken to the extreme in the 1970s and 1980s Blog: Dirty protests - why Irish republican prisoners smeared their cells with faeces to make a political statement during the Troubles
6 May 2021

Professor Seán McConville from Queen Mary's School of Law has written an opinion piece for The Conversation on the history of the so-called dirty protests which took place in some prisons in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

Illustration of patient data Blog: Preprints: how draft academic papers have become essential in the fight against COVID
29 April 2021

This piece by Dr Jonathon Coates, Postdoctoral Researcher at Queen Mary's William Harvey Research Institute, was originally published in The Conversation and discusses the advantages that draft scientific papers ('preprints') have brought to COVID-19 research during the pandemic.

Parliament Blog: Is Keir Starmer any good? Don’t ask Londoners
23 April 2021

Dr Patrick Diamond, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at Queen Mary University of London has written for The Conversation about how Keir Starmer recently celebrated his first year as leader of the Labour party. 

People entering a polling station Blog: Sadiq Khan is on course for a big win – so what do Londoners want from their mayor in a second term?
13 April 2021

Dr Patrick Diamond, Director of Queen Mary's Mile End Institute (MEI) has written an opinion piece for The Conversation on Sadiq Khan's chances in the upcoming Mayor of London elections. His analysis is based on recent polling commissioned by the MEI.

Cinema was a new art form for Virginia Woolf Blog: Virginia Woolf on the magic of going to the cinema
26 March 2021

Dr Lucy Bolton, Reader in Film Studies at Queen Mary University of London has written for The Conversation about the work of Virginia Woolf and the impact that cinema had on her.

Fungal cultures on petri dishes. Credit: Rowena Hill Blog: How we discovered a hidden world of fungi inside the world’s biggest seed bank
22 March 2021

Rowena Hill, a PhD student at Queen Mary University of London and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has written a piece for the Conversation about  a newly-discovered hidden world of fungi inside the world's biggest seed bank.

Joe Biden is President of the United States Blog: St Patrick’s day - why so many US presidents like to say ‘I’m Irish’
16 March 2021

Dr Richard Johnson, Lecturer in US Politics in Queen Mary's School of Politics and International Relations has written an opinion piece for The Conversation about Irish Americans and US foreign policy. He argues that US security interests will always come above personal identities.

Illustration of patient data Blog: Why promising results from a large clinical trial into vitamin D and COVID-19 may not be all that they seem
8 March 2021

Sandra Eldridge is Professor of Biostatistics and Director of the Pragmatic Clinical Trials Unit at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London. In this blog post, Professor Eldridge discusses the recent excitement around some promising clinical trial results that suggest that vitamin D improved the recovery of hospitalised COVID-19 patients, and she explains why the trial may be flawed.

Houses of Parliament 150 Blog: Fake letters to politicians - the timing may be bad but it’s OK to test whether MPs reply to constituents
1 March 2021

Professor Philip Cowley from Queen Mary's School of Politics and International Relations has written an opinion piece for The Conversation in which he argues that the work that MPs do in their constituencies is important and deserves proper study.

Reading aloud can be deeply seductive Blog: How reading aloud can be an act of seduction
1 March 2021

Professor Kiera Vaclavik from Queen Mary's School of Languages, Linguistics and Film has written an opinion piece for The Conversation in which she argues that reading aloud can be a seductive act. Kiera Vaclavik is Professor of Children's Literature & Childhood Culture in the Department of Comparative Culture and Literature.

Myanmar’s popular leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been in custody since the country’s military seized power in a coup Blog: Covid coup: how Myanmar’s military used the pandemic to justify and enable its power grab
17 February 2021

Dr Ronan Lee, Visiting Scholar at Queen Mary's International State Crime Initiative has written an opinion piece for The Conversation in which he explains how the Myanmar military have been able to take advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Woman wearing a wristband. Credit: grinvalds/iStock.com Blog: Could a wristband or certificate allow you out of lockdown after a negative coronavirus test?
6 January 2021

Dr Magda Osman, Reader in Experimental Psychology at Queen Mary University of London has written an opinion piece for The Conversation exploring whether freedom passes based on negative test results could offer a way to avoid placing restrictions on everyone.

Keir Starmer is the leader of the Labour Party Blog: Keir Starmer’s dilemma: should Labour vote in favour of a Brexit deal in parliament?
10 December 2020

Dr Karl Pike from Queen Mary's School of Politics and International Relations has written an opinion piece for The Conversation where he explores the options facing the UK Labour Party when it comes to a future deal on Brexit.

Image representing string theory. Credit: dianaarturovna/iStock.com Blog: Sir Roger Penrose: The groundbreaking discoveries more than worthy of a Nobel Prize
16 November 2020

Last month Sir Roger Penrose was announced as the joint winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics. Sir Roger Penrose previously held a visiting Professorship at the Centre for Research in String Theory (CRST) at Queen Mary University of London. In this blog, Professor David Berman and Professor Malcolm Perry from CRST discuss some of Penrose’s revolutionary ideas and how they have and continue to shape the field of particle physics.

People protesting against stricter abortion laws in front of the Polish parliament. Blog: Poland’s abortion ruling amounts to a ban – but it will not end access
3 November 2020

Dr Sydney Calkin, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow and Lecturer in Human Geography, has written an opinion piece for The Conversation in response to a new law relating to access to abortion in Poland.

US Elections Blog: US election: how voting works for Americans overseas
30 October 2020
Dr Richard Johnson, Lecturer in US Politics and Policy from Queen Mary's School of Politics and International Relations, has written an opinion piece for The Conversation about the rules governing how Americans abroad can vote in the upcoming US election – and how many actually do.
This 1952 painting by Robert Thom is the only known representation of Lucy, Anarcha and Betsey. Pearson Museum, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Blog: Honouring the slaves experimented on by the ‘father of gynaecology’
21 October 2020

As part of our series of articles and profiles for Black History Month, Heidi Downes, Antenatal Screening Counsellor Midwife at Queen Mary, writes an opinion piece about the role of young, black, enslaved women in a series of experimental surgeries in the 19th century, and why she is calling for their contributions to be formally recognised. This was originally published on The Conversation.

A new study shows that the East had an influence over the working culture of the West after German reunification. Blog: Women in work: how East Germany’s socialist past has influenced West German mothers
12 October 2020

Dr Anna Raute from Queen Mary's School of Economics and Finance has co-authored an opinion piece for The Conversation. Based on brand new research, it sheds light on the impact of the reunification of Germany.

Asylum seekers crossing the English Channel have attracted media attention in recent weeks Blog: Shipping asylum seekers offshore may boost Priti Patel’s hardline image, but Australian example shows it’s not a policy that works
6 October 2020

Andonea Jon Dickson, a PhD candidate from Queen Mary's School of Politics and International Relations has written an opinion piece for The Conversation about the latest plans to offshore asylum seekers. She argues that tougher options for asylum seekers means that the UK government risks breaching multiple conventions on human rights.

Pandemics have a disproportionate effect on women (stock image) Blog: When women bear the brunt of lockdowns, is it feminist to support another?
30 September 2020

The UK lockdown in March saw rises in domestic violence, increased childcare and domestic burdens on women, limits on paid employment and potentially career reversals. Professor Sophie Harman from Queen Mary's School of Politics and International Relations questions whether it is feminist to support another lockdown.

A stock image of someone receiving a vaccination. Public concern about vaccines is increasing. Blog: Why AstraZeneca and others racing to make a Covid-19 vaccine should be more open about the process
16 September 2020

Professor Duncan Matthews has written an opinion piece for The Conversation in which he argues that the Covid-19 pandemic has been a game changer and biopharma companies need to face up to a new reality.

Photograph of a boat sailing through the Artic Ocean Blog: Mammoth task: the Russian family on a resurrection quest to tackle the climate crisis
7 September 2020

Charlotte Wrigley, a PhD student in Queen Mary's School of Geography has written a feature for The Conversation about recreating the mammoth’s former ecosystem in order to tackle climate change.

Stock image of a woman sitting on a pile of books whilst typing Blog: The rise and fall of Black British writing
14 August 2020

Dr Malachi McIntosh, Editor of Wasafiri Magazine has written an opinion piece for The Conversation. He discusses the boom in interest in the histories of colonialism, empire and the British civil rights movement in response to Black Lives Matter protests.

The Great Bible in the Old Library of St John’s College, Cambridge. Credit: Ian McKee, by permission of the Master and Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge. Blog: How Thomas Cromwell used cut and paste to insert himself into Henry VIII’s Great Bible
13 August 2020

Dr Eyal Poleg from Queen Mary's School of History has written a piece for The Conversation, along with his colleague Dr Paola Ricciardi from the University of Cambridge. The long-form article, part of The Conversation Insights series, is based on their recent analysis of Henry VIII's Great Bible.

Stock image of a doctor filling an injection syringe with a vaccine Blog: Coronavirus: how countries aim to get the vaccine first by cutting opaque supply deals
28 July 2020

Professor Duncan Matthews has written an opinion piece for The Conversation in which he addresses some of the wider issues related to Covid-19 including vaccine nationalism and the lack of transparency in supply chain deals.

Blog: Coronavirus recovery – lessons from the eurozone crisis
9 July 2020

Dr Stella Ladi, Senior Lecturer in Public Management in Queen Mary's School of Business and Management has written an opinion piece for The Conversation in which she discusses coronavirus recovery and the lessons that can be learnt from the eurozone crisis.

Yarinacocha, Ucayali. Credit: Doreen Montag Blog: Call for access to oxygen and medicines to help combat COVID-19 in the Amazon
7 July 2020

Dr Doreen Montag is Lecturer in Global Public Health at Queen Mary University of London, and has almost 20 years of experience among indigenous and non-indigenous people in rural and urban areas of the Peruvian Andes and Amazon. In this article, originally published in Spanish on Lamula, she discusses the immense challenges faced by indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nurse holds swab for coronavirus test. Credit: sonreir es gratis/iStock.com Blog: Coronavirus: Queen Mary study suggests more people have had it than previously estimated
25 June 2020

Queen Mary researchers Professor Norman Fenton, Professor Martin Neil and Dr Scott Mclachlan from the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, and Dr Magda Osman, from the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, co-wrote an opinion piece for The Conversation on over-confidence in the reporting of Covid-19 statistics. 

Indian migrant workers during the Covid-19 pandemic Blog: India’s internal migrants are citizens too – the government must protect them
16 June 2020

Professor Parvati Nair, Professor of Hispanic, Cultural and Migration Studies at Queen Mary University of London has published an opinion piece in The Conversation about internal migration in India. She argues that more needs to be done to protect all of India's citizens in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A vintage image of Charles Dickens in his study Blog: Charles Dickens and the push for literacy in Victorian Britain
10 June 2020

Dr Matthew Ingleby has written an opinion piece for The Conversation to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Charles Dickens's death. He reflects on the impact of Dickens and the rise of literacy in the late nineteenth century.

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