Expert opinion
Blog: Simple hospitality could be the answer to the European migrant ‘crisis’18 August 2015
The crisis facing migrants on the shores of Europe shows no sign of abating. As EU member states prevaricate on how to manage a human and political crisis, Dr Jessica Jacobs from QMUL's School of Geography says: "The system is paralysed. To make it move again, hospitality is the key".
Blog: Inside Out and the democracy of the modern mind29 July 2015
Dr Thomas Dixon, Director of QMUL's Centre for the History of the Emotions, reviews Disney Pixar's Inside Out.
Blog: The ‘quality’ paradox: Quality in healthcare is crucial but it’s time to rethink it19 June 2015
We all want a quality health service – but what does this really mean? What does quality in healthcare really look like? Dr Deborah Swinglehurst has been exploring this idea for several years, curious to find out what academics, opinion leaders, healthcare professionals and members of the public really understand by the term ‘quality’ in the healthcare context.
Blog: Think you're just a face in the crowd? Not necessarily19 June 2015
In this article, Professor Julia Hörnle, of QMUL's School of Law, considers the impact and rapid development of face recognition techniques on privacy.
Blog: Can the European Parliament save us from TTIP?15 June 2015
In this article, Sam Fowles, researcher in international law and politics at Queen Mary University of London, asks whether the European Parliament will 'save us' from the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
Blog: Mini-megalomaniac AI is already all around us, but it won’t get further without our help2 June 2015
Professor Peter McOwan, from the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, discusses whether artificial intelligences would actually be able to take over the world, whether they’d want to, and how we'd know if they did.
Blog: How we discovered the three revolutions of American pop20 May 2015
Dr Matthias Mauch discusses his recent scientific analysis of the “fossil record” of the Billboard charts prompted widespread attention, particularly the findings about the three musical “revolutions” that shaped the musical landscape of the second half of the 20th century.
Blog: More than just a game: Interactive entertainment and intellectual property law27 April 2015
On 24 April 2015, QMUL's Centre for Commercial Law Studies convened a group of legal experts to consider and examine issues around gaming an intellectual property law. In this article, Dr Gaetano Dimita, Lecturer in International Intellectual Property Law, sets out the many legal challenges that emerge from this growing and dynamic sector.
Blog: Deaths at sea: scant hope for the future from Europe’s history of failure on migrants23 April 2015
Sarah Wolff, Lecturer at QMUL's School of Politics and International Relations, examines the tragic events in the Mediterranean and outlines what she describes as failed EU policy in the area of migration.
Blog: Why Not Nudge?23 April 2015
Dr Magda Osman, Senior Lecturer in Experimental Cognitive Psychology explores the research behind behavioural economics and looks at its relationship with advertising
Blog: On the margins of terror: Daesh and the new geography of hate in Sinai25 March 2015
Jessica Jacobs, Research Fellow at QMUL's School of Geography, argues that the systematic neglect of border regions by military-backed governments in the Middle East has enabled the success of extreme terrorist groups in these marginalised areas, resulting in "geographies of hate".
Blog: Number-crunching Higgs boson: meet the world's largest distributed computer grid24 March 2015
In an article which originally appeared on The Conversation, Dr Tom Whyntie explains how the world's largest distributed computer grid helped find the Higgs boson and what it'll be doing as the Large Hadron Collider is started up again.
Blog: Gender-blind global health institutions ignore misery for women in Ebola-affected regions23 March 2015
On the one year anniversary of the Ebola outbreak, Dr Sophie Harman - Reader in International Relations at QMUL - explores the devastating impact on women in affected regions.
Blog: Tunisia terror attack threatens fledgling democracy19 March 2015
At least 19 people died in a terrorist attack in Tunisia on 18 March 2015. In this article, Dr Sarah Wolff - Lecturer, School of Politics and International Relations - considers the implications for Tunisia "beyond the immediate horror" of the attack, and describes it as "a litmus test for the country’s democratic transition".
Blog: The Statistics of Climate Change26 February 2015
Professor Norman Fenton writes about his role co-presenting a forthcoming BBC Four documentary on climate change and the importance of three key statistics.
Blog: How music listening programs can be easily fooled25 February 2015
In this blog post, QMUL Lecturer in Digital Media Bob L. Sturm discusses how, like 'Clever Hans' the German horse who appeared to be able to do complex mathematics, music listening programs can appear to work until we start to really test them.
Blog: Tobacco Industry's spurious claims on plain packaging must be challenged23 February 2015
In this letter, published in the Law Society Gazette, QMUL's Jonathan Griffiths challenges "undue pessimism" about the UK’s imminent legislation on plain packaging.
Blog: Online courts must not compromise fairness18 February 2015
In this article, Professor Julia Hörnle - one of the UK's leading experts in online dispute resolution - comments on the recent recommendations from Civil Justice Council's report on ODR. The group, of which Julia is a member, calls for a radical shake-up in how the UK handles low value claims.
Blog: Childhood injuries linked to deprivation but better data collection is needed for prevention6 February 2015
In a recent study Dianna Smith and Graham Kirkwood, of QMUL’s Blizard Institute, found there were more childhood injuries in areas of deprivation but, they write, with a thorough recording process better prevention can take place.
Blog: William Hague's plans could be highly contentious, but it's time to address the English question16 December 2014
Professor Michael Kenny, Director of the Mile End Institute, says there is an increasingly compelling, precautionary case for constitutional reform - but William Hague's "hard" plans aren't positive or carefully calibrated enough.
Blog: Syphilis sailed the ocean blue: why a bent femur won’t overturn Columbus theory11 December 2014
Following recent dispute over its origins in Europe, Dr Rob Knell from the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences explains why he is yet to be convinced by any alternative to the theory that Columbus brought syphilis across the Atlantic.
Blog: On immigration, the The Tories should stop following and start leading10 December 2014
Tim Bale, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London, delivers a warning to the Conservative Party about the likely effects of an increasingly reactive policy on immigration.
Blog: Syria: The view from Moscow10 December 2014
QMUL's Dr Christopher Phillips argues that despite a weaker economy and the domestic threat of ISIS, Moscow is unlikely to change course on Syria.
Blog: Ukip's sexual harassment row rumbles on, but it's not the only party failing women10 December 2014
It's been a bad week for Ukip, but according to QMUL's Dr Rainbow Murrary, it's not the only party failing women.
Blog: Professor Iwan Williams on his role in the Rosetta comet mission4 December 2014
The world was enraptured last month as the Rosetta mission’s Philae lander made its historic landing on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. QMUL’s Professor Iwan Williams had more reason than most to be interested, as he was one of a team of investigators working the CONSERT instrument that is part of the mission. Here he explains what CONSERT is trying to find out and how it took on a vital new function after the landing.
Blog: Our groaning global energy system leaves us all vulnerable4 December 2014
In this article, Rafael Leal-Arcas, of QMUL’s Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS), argues that our system of global energy governance is ad hoc and in need of reform.
Blog: François Hollande’s Tartuffe Syndrome3 December 2014
In a joint article with Hans-Olaf Henkel, QMUL’s Professor Brigitte Granville analyses the mounting woes of François Hollande’s beleaguered presidency.
Blog: Romanian presidential elections may signal a break from the past20 November 2014QMUL's Marius Ionut Calu analyses the impact of last week's Romanian elections, and suggests that the surprise result may be indicative of a changing society and maturing democracy.
Blog: Why Labour should think culturally as well as economically about immigration19 November 2014
According to Professor Tim Bale, Ed Miliband can avoid a damaging split between his party's 'beer drinkers' and 'wine drinkers' on immigration - but he shouldn't rely solely on economic arguments.
Blog: Politicisation of the European Arrest Warrant is dangerous and unnecessary12 November 2014
Professor Valsamis Mitsilegas argues that we need clarity on the European Arrest Warrant so that this logical and useful legal instrument does not fall victim to an emotive political bun fight.