Michael Jones

A long-term consumer of news, Mike (aka Darren McGuinness) has just embarked on the mission to step up and produce it for you. As a Geography graduate, and concerned individual, he has a penchant for environment-based stories, but is eager to ensure he doesn't get all preachy.

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Follow Mike on Twitter @DazzMcGuinness
Find Mike's blog here www.darrenmcguinness.wordpress.com

Where people gain their opinions about GPs

by Ann-Kathrin Lindemann and Michael Jones

Apr 072011

If I were to ask you if you trust your GP, would you say yes? Probably. According to the GP Patient Survey 2009, more than 90 per cent of the respondents trust their GPs in medical matters.
Michael Jones and Ann-Kathrin Lindemann took to streets to find out what the public think about the latest reforms.

Dr David Welbourn, from the Centre for Better Managed Health and Social Care

But where does this opinion come from? As Dr David Welbourn, from the Centre for Better Managed Health and Social Care, points out, experiences with the GPs themselves are often just a minor source in judging the National Health Care System:

“I think the consultation with the public is an interesting question about how that impacts on trust versus where people generate their trust in the system from. If you look at surveys that have been conducted, people’s perception of the NHS is more often driven by what they read about the NHS rather than what they encounter with it.”

So where does that trust come from? The trust comes from what they read in the media. One aspect that can lower the trust in GPs is the spreading use of self-testing kits. If you feel like you can diagnose almost everything by yourself, why should there be a need for a GP?”

Audio: Is the sun setting on solar power in the UK?

by Michael Jones and Ann-Kathrin Lindemann

Apr 072011

Jason Clarke and Mike Jones on top of City's Tait Building

The EU pledges to get 20% of its energy from low carbon technologies by 2020. Solar power is able to be harnessed from most parts of the continent, but is expensive to install and inefficient in some areas. The UK is currently rethinking some of its policies regarding feed-in-tariffs for larger solar farms and installations, which could undermine the growth of the industry. So despite its apparent appeal as a low-carbon energy source, it’s questionable as to whether it’s major viable alternative to fossil fuels or nuclear power.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:30 — 5.0MB)

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Video: New technology allows drummer to set the speed for synths

by Ann-Kathrin Lindemann and Michael Jones

Mar 312011

When bands want to use pre-recorded samples in their live performances, they lose their freedom to change the tempo of their songs since the samples would than be out of synch. Dr Andrew Robertson from Queen Mary University developed a software that provides a solution for this problem.

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Fairtrade Fortnight

by Djuke Veldhuis, Fareha Lasker, Michael Jones and Jennifer Appleton

Mar 242011

Fairtrade: what does it mean?

Everday in the UK over nine million cups of fairtrade tea, six million cups of fairtrade coffee and 2 million fairtrade chocolate bars are sold.

Ethical snack breaks are clearly a popular treat.

The fairtrade foundation launched fairtrade fortnight 2011 by announcing that sales of fairtrade products had soared by 40 per cent in 2010 – to an estimated retail value of 1.17 billion pounds.

Fairtrade fortnight runs from the 28th feb to the 13th march. City University Environment Officer Dawn White told us a little more about what the College is doing during the two-week period.

Fifa’s stubborn stance on technology needs extra time to be decided

by Michael Jones

Mar 212011

Goal mouth scramble - calls for goal-line technology fall on deaf FIFA ears

Seemingly every year another sport adopts some kind of technology to assists match officials make their decisions. An extensive media campaign in the UK seeking use of goal-line technology followed England’s defeat to Germany in the 2010 World Cup.

Frank Lampard’s strike appeared to cross the line which would have made the score 2-2 at half time, but the officials missed it. Technology, it is supposed, would not have. Despite the pressure, FIFA President Sepp Blatter remained firm and only in early March was the issue finally discussed by the upper echelons of the hierarchy of world football.

After years of speculation –debate arose from incidents like Pedro Mendes’ 2005 goal for Tottenham Hotspur against Manchester United – they decided they needed more time to experiment with systems. Continue reading »