• The Irish abortion referendum: dividing a nation

    The results of the Irish abortion referendum on May 25th revealed that the Yes campaign, in favour of legalising abortion, had won by an unprecedented majority, securing 66.4% of the vote, with a turnout of 64.1% of the electorate. Under current law, abortion in Ireland is illegal in almost...
  • Group work: why we need a new grading system

    “Group work”: the words that make every student cringe as they rifle through their new module handbook. Collectively, we know that the weeks leading up to this assignment will be filled with dread, stress and general lack of motivation. It upsets us all that group members receive the same...
  • Nationalism and national pride: should we celebrate St. George’s Day?

    National pride is something that many people find deeply divisive in the UK, especially when it comes to England. You’d think it divides quite neatly down the middle of the political spectrum. You expect it from UKIP and the right, all the painting faces red-and-white and draping a St...
  • What happens when a self-driving car kills someone?

    While the idea of a self-driving car crashing and killing someone may sound like the storyline of the next Black Mirror episode, a driverless Uber being the cause of the death of a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona last month has made this scenario a reality. While Uber has now...
  • What’s the alternative to Facebook?

    Following the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal, the hashtag #DeleteFacebook was trending, and many considered jumping ship (though, according to Mark Zuckerberg, no “meaningful number” did). But the social media giant is something that a lot of people – particularly university students – use regularly as part of their everyday...
  • An interview with Dr Rory Cormac, UoN’s Russia expert

    In the last month, the balance of global power has shifted again – minutely but perceptibly, making it the job of the curious observer to reassess the lie of the land. The political reverberations caused by the poisoning of one Russian ex-double agent, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter on...
  • Pink IPA and the commodification of activism

    On International Women’s Day, Scottish brewer BrewDog launched Pink IPA, a beer targeted towards raising debates on sexist marketing and the gender pay gap. The beer, which bears a pink label, is the same as the popular blue-labelled Punk IPA, but it will retail at a 20% lower price...