The University of Manchester

The Post Office: an emblem of the UK’s relationship with the state, sliding into dystopia

The Horizon scandal, which led to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of subpostmasters, has severely dented the public’s perception of the Post Office as an institution. Against this backdrop, branch closures are planned across the Post Office network. These further cuts to a system already struggling can only do further harm to the sense that well-resourced public services could and should play a central role in everyday life. In my…

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Russia’s covert propaganda network is largely ineffective, new study finds

A study led by The University of Manchester which examined the extent and effectiveness of Russian state-sponsored online propaganda efforts has found that - despite significant investment - the Kremlin's attempts to influence Western media and public opinion are largely failing. Focusing the recent EU elections, researchers analysed the output of five outlets with confirmed Kremlin sponsorship, and uncovered a network of websites and social media accounts designed to mimic…

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I’ve studied organisational failure for decades – the Church of England needs more than a new leader

Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health In a book I wrote with a colleague on organisational failures (The Apology Impulse) the inability of many of them to confront their failures, except to say a meaningless “we’re sorry”, is legend. We highlighted the many cases of organisations in the private and public sector apologising profusely for a high-profile failure, but not taking any personal or organisational responsibility for it.…

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Study shows links between social media use, unhealthy lifestyles and teenage wellbeing

A new study from The University of Manchester has highlighted a link between social media use, unhealthy lifestyles and wellbeing in young people, with those with the healthiest lifestyles experiencing the highest wellbeing. The research, led by Dr Chris Knowles and a team of experts from the Manchester Institute of Education, as part of the #BeeWell programme, analysed the habits of nearly 18,500 Year 8 students from Greater Manchester. Findings…

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104,000 panel solar farm set to power The University of Manchester

The University of Manchester has signed a landmark new deal that will see up to 65% of its electricity demand supplied through a brand-new renewables project. In a major move towards achieving its 2038 zero carbon ambitions, the University has partnered with leading UK clean energy company Enviromena to buy electricity generated from its brand-new solar farm based in Medebridge, Essex. Once complete, Medebridge Solar Farm will comprise 104,000 solar…

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World’s purest silicon brings scientists one step closer to scaling up quantum computers

Ravi Acharya, a PhD researcher who performed experimental work in the project, explained: "The great advantage of silicon quantum computing is that the same techniques that are used to manufacture the electronic chips — currently within an everyday computer that consist of billions of transistors — can be used to create qubits for silicon-based quantum devices. The ability to create high quality Silicon qubits has in part been limited to…

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Hope and optimism on the rise among young people

Overall, this year’s #BeeWell survey results, which analysed data on young people from across all 14 Local Authorities in Greater Manchester, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton, found that young people are generally satisfied with their lives. However, there are noteworthy inequalities in life satisfaction, mental wellbeing and emotional difficulties across gender and sexuality. 41.2% of young people who identify as lesbian or gay reported a high level of…

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‘Leaveism’ and ‘presenteeism’: Here’s how to be happier at work

Way back in February 2020, before most of us really knew anything about COVID, we wrote an article for The Conversation about “leaveism” and its impact on flexible working. Barely a month later, the world was bracing for a pandemic that would inadvertently create the largest (forced) working experiment of all time. by Cary Cooper and Ian Hesketh This was a great opportunity for researchers like us to watch how…

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Exercise at consistent times could help re-align your body clocks for better skeletal health and performance, scientists suggest

Consistent daily patterns of exercise and rest can synchronise the local body clocks associated with joints and spine with the brain clock, potentially helping individuals to maintain skeletal health, improve athletic performance and avoid injury, research by University of Manchester scientists has argued. Though the study, published in Nature Communications today (14/11/23) was in mice, the scientists suggest there is a high probability human cartilage and intervertebral discs - which…

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We drink more when we are happy than when we are sad

There’s a long-held belief that people drink alcohol in excess to drown their sorrows. But recent research into mood and drinking has found the opposite is also true. Using data from 69 studies (12,394 people in total) in the US, Canada, France and Australia, all of which employed surveys to assess mood and drinking levels, the researchers found no evidence that people drank more on days when they felt down.…

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