Social distancing is making public transport worse for the environment than cars – here’s how to fix it

Posted on 16 September 2020 by doctoral-academy-blog

Thomas Woolley, Lecturer at School of Mathematics, and Joshua Moore, Lucy Henley, and Timothy Ostler, PhD students at School of Mathematics. During lockdown, travel restrictions caused car and public transport use to plummet across the UK. On April 12 2020, the number of daily trips by car fell to 22%, compared to a typical day
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The power of following your heart: A PhD journey

Posted on 1 September 2020 by doctoral-academy-blog

Every PhD journey is different, and here at the Doctoral Academy Blog we aim to bring you a wide range of stories that reflect the diversity of the PhD experience. Some researchers hit the ground running and never look back; some have struggles along the way; and others take a while to get to the
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Four ways people stuck at home became armchair naturalists during lockdown

Posted on 19 August 2020 by doctoral-academy-blog

Rebecca Young and Jordan Patrick Cuff, School of Biosciences Who could have imagined that being confined to our homes would bring so many people closer to nature? With one-third of the world under lockdown at one point, a record number of people pitched in to help citizen science projects gather information about the natural world.
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PhD in lockdown: my today-tomorrow thinking; my ever-changing research; and the Greenland Shark

Posted on 4 August 2020 by doctoral-academy-blog

By Elin Arfon, School of Modern Languages Find Elin on Twitter @ElinArfon and LinkedIn I am a first year PhD student looking at plurilingualism and language learning. There are three things that I would like to share with you, which have helped me navigate my PhD through lockdown: my today-tomorrow thinking; seeing my research as
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Making a research ‘Plan B’ during a pandemic

Posted on 21 July 2020 by doctoral-academy-blog

By Katherine Parsons, Cardiff Business School The current and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has raised a multitude of challenges in all aspects of our lives and the way we function as a society, as well as how we conduct our research projects. I am one of many doctoral and postdoctoral researchers who have had to completely
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Can UK fossil fuel companies now be held accountable for contributing to climate change overseas?

Posted on 2 July 2020 by doctoral-academy-blog

Sam Varvastian, School of Law and Politics A ruling by the UK Supreme Court could have huge implications for British companies accused of environmental damage overseas. The April 2019 decision, in a case brought by a group of Zambian farmers against a London-based mining firm, establishes that UK parent companies can be held liable under
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Charles Dickens: how the author’s life was fictionalised after his death

Posted on 16 June 2020 by doctoral-academy-blog

Lucy Whitehead, School of English, Communication and Philosophy When Charles Dickens died on June 9 1870, newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic framed his loss as an event of national and international mourning. They pointed to the fictional characters Dickens had created as a key part of his artistic legacy, writing how “we have
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Staying productive during lockdown

Posted on 30 April 2020 by doctoral-academy-blog

By Nadine Leder, Postgraduate Researcher at Cardiff Business School. Do you find it difficult to get things done during lockdown? Here are some tips to help you to stay productive, happy and healthy. Humans are creatures of habit – make use of it! Find YOUR daily routine and start the day with something positive! You
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It’s English Language Day, but where exactly did the English language come from?

Posted on 23 April 2020 by doctoral-academy-blog

By Ellen Bristow, School of English, Communication and PhilosophyFind Ellen on Twitter @E_Bristow1 Language, viewed from any perspective, is the human ‘miracle tool’. It liberated us from our earliest ape ancestors, gave rise to our history, and enables us to learn, innovate, develop and interpret the world we see around us. In particular, the English
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Working from home? Here are our top tips.

Posted on 24 March 2020 by doctoral-academy-blog

Has the current situation left you with no other option but to work from home – perhaps for the first time ever? It can be a really challenging adjustment but rest assured that you are far from alone. Here, Doctoral Academy Officer Dr James Farror shares his top tips for making the transition from office
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