news 2024

Northerners, Scots and Irish excel at detecting fake accents to guard against outsiders, study suggests People from Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin and the north-east of England are better at detecting someone imitating their accent than people from London and Essex, new research has found. Cultural, political, or even violent conflict are likely to encourage people to strengthen their accents as they try to maintain social cohesion Jonathan Goodman People from Belfast proved most able to detect someone faking their accent, while people from London, Essex and Bristol were least accurate.

Research shows 'new chauvinism' characterised by softer, more subtle language New research from the University of Bath has identified a 'new chauvinism', fuelled by a resurgence in right-wing populism, and distinguished by the use of softer, more subtle language than traditional chauvinism. The study focused on language and attitudes in software development, a profession known for perpetuating chauvinistic language.

The University of Glasgow has contributed to research that finds only 40% of people in England trust their police force. The study, commissioned by the Economic and Social Research Council (ERSC), spotlights London's Metropolitan Police as the area where women trust the least - and Conservative voters have higher levels of trust in the force.

The public and politicians do not see eye to eye in prioritising plastic pollution, according to new research. As the UK's political parties gear up to do battle for No. 10, a team of researchers from the Birmingham Plastics Network and the Institute for STEMM in Culture and Society (ISTEMMiCS), have published findings of a YouGov survey which show that there is a significant mismatch between the UK public and MPs, when it comes to prioritising the environmental impact of plastics.