Middlesex University

MDX Minds

Research news and thought-provoking news from the experts at Middlesex University

Editor's Picks

ChatGPT could be your Ally – really!

January 23 2023

Professor Balbir Dean, Academic Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology, explains why academia should embrace rather than fight against the AI platform

Devastating cost of ignoring human factors expo...

November 11 2022

MDX academic Roger Kline, who will appear in an upcoming Channel 5 documentary on the sinking of The Herald of Free Enterprise, explains what caused the disaster.

All systems shutdown: how do governments use th...

October 07 2022

Dr Mahdi Aiash, Senior Lecturer in Computing & Communications, describes what total and partial Internet shutdowns ordered by repressive regimes involve and how they can be bypassed

Zero tolerance for bullying in healthcare?

September 22 2022

Roger Kline, MDX Research Fellow, argues tackling bullying and harassment in healthcare must remain a priority and equal more than well-meaning statements of planned action

Arts

Crafting resilience: The practices of making in...

March 08 2021

MDX Post-doctoral research fellow Dr Zahra Hussain analyses the experiences of craftswomen in South Asia during lockdown, part of the Culture and Conflict project at the LSE-based Gender, Justice and Security hub.

Exploring the impact of dance

November 10 2020

Michela Vecchi, an Associate Professor of Economics at MDX, is leading a team of researchers to explore the potential effects of dance on wellbeing and on our professional life across cultures.

Dance teacher at MDX in a stretched pose

Dance, cognition and ageing

February 28 2020

Dr Michela Vecchi, our Associate Professor of Economics, and dancer, discusses the physical and more importantly mental improvements dancing can bring.

Has street art lost its street cred?

March 19 2018

Dr Susan Hansen discusses the evolving significance of street art ahead of an ICA symposium

Cultural Democracy

January 04 2018

Dr Loraine Leeson explains why cultural democracy is a vital part of a vibrant society in which everyone is able to contribute creatively

Why arts education is vital

December 15 2016

Professor Kurt Barling reflects on the life and work of his late cousin Keith Church, whose work is being showcased at Goldsmiths University

Business & economics

Three male students sitting around a mac computer with business and economics information appears on the screen

MBA students need to be taught ‘information res...

October 05 2020

Following the case of ANZ, Tim Evans, Professor of Business and Political Economy, highlights the importance of ‘information resilience’ for MBA students

screenshot of a zoom call showing multiple academics waving hello and smiliing

Hosting a successful writing boot-camp online

August 24 2020

Professor Anne-Wil Harzing is dedicated to research mentoring in the Business School at MDX. Here, she discusses how her annual writing boot-camp was taken online during COVID-19 and how a community was still maintained.

Overhead shot of two women shaking hands

Women on board: gender diversity in the banking...

March 23 2020

Dr Sylvia Gottschalk and Dr Edward Bace explore how gender diversity in the banking sector can relate to a reduction of risk taking.

Unconscious bias: now you see it, now you don’t?

October 11 2019

Roger Kline examines a recent case of race discrimination in the workplace, in which unconscious bias was overlooked by the employer

Safeguarding Malaysia’s women migrant workers

July 25 2019

Dr Tim Freeman and Dr Lilian Miles report on their research into the rights of women migrant workers in Malaysia

CYGNA: Supporting Women in Academia

March 08 2019

Prof Anne-Wil Harzing explains how CYGNA was formed to support female academics

Coronavirus and COVID-19

Little boy viewed from the back as he looks at a laptop set up in front of him

Online child sexual abuse during COVID-19. What...

March 01 2021

Dr Elena Martellozzo, Associate Professor and Criminologist at MDX, presents some of the key issues that were raised during the UKCIS webinar by high-level experts from research, policy and practice.

A woman wearing a t-shirt looking at a laptop. Photo cropped so the woman's head is no visible

Cash for kink: the online risky sexual behaviou...

February 10 2021

Elena Martellozzo and Paula Bradbury of the Centre for Abuse and Trauma Studies examine the impact OnlyFans has had on young women during the coronavirus pandemic.

Social capital and COVID-19

January 15 2021

Tom Dickins, Professor of Behavioural Science, explores the notion of social capital in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exploring the impact of dance

November 10 2020

Michela Vecchi, an Associate Professor of Economics at MDX, is leading a team of researchers to explore the potential effects of dance on wellbeing and on our professional life across cultures.

Colleagues sat together around an iPad wearing masks

COVID-19 and the new norms

September 23 2020

Tom Dickins, Professor of Behavioural Science discusses the social risks surrounding the new Rule of Six.

Hosting a successful writing boot-camp online

August 24 2020

Education

Overeducation in the UK labour market

May 03 2019

Dr Michela Vecchi, Associate Professor in Economics, shares and analyses data from her recent research on overeducation in the UK workforce

What might a practice-based curriculum look like?

April 10 2019

In response to David Boud’s blog Practice-based learning – starting with practice, Professor Carol Costley outlines her ideas for a truly practice-based curriculum.

Practice-based learning – starting with practice

March 15 2019

Professor David Boud proposes a new model of higher education with practice-based learning at the centre

CYGNA: Supporting Women in Academia

March 08 2019

Prof Anne-Wil Harzing explains how CYGNA was formed to support female academics

Creating a supportive research culture

January 30 2019

Professor Anne-Wil Harzing shares the strategies Middlesex University Business School has been using to reach its research potential

Partnership – Student Engagement or Engaging St...

November 27 2018

Dr Sheila Cunningham highlights some of the benefits of a partnership approach to engaging students in higher education

Health & wellbeing

Unintended consequences: batch recruitment and ...

October 15 2021

Research Fellow Roger Kline reviews a paper looking at the impact of joint-evaluation methods in NHS recruitment on application success rates

Black nurse in green scrubs, face mask and blue gloves holding a clipboard of papers

A tale of two metrics

February 25 2021

Roger Kline, Research Fellow at our Business School, discusses the two main findings from the 2020 NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard report.

Cash for kink: the online risky sexual behaviou...

February 10 2021

Elena Martellozzo and Paula Bradbury of the Centre for Abuse and Trauma Studies examine the impact OnlyFans has had on young women during the coronavirus pandemic.

Image of a small child light up by a blue screen in bed with parents who are in the dark

Life is digital by default – what’s the i...

December 16 2020

An online webinar brought together leading clinical and academic experts to discuss the impact in the rise of technology on the mental health of children and young people.

Exploring the impact of dance

November 10 2020

Michela Vecchi, an Associate Professor of Economics at MDX, is leading a team of researchers to explore the potential effects of dance on wellbeing and on our professional life across cultures.

Little girl riding a horse assisted by specialist equipment

How equine therapy can transform lives of disab...

August 26 2020

Josh Sharman and Fiona Suthers, from the Clinical Skills Team at Middlesex University and Emma Hunter, a physiotherapist and RDA coach, discuss the benefits and risks of horse riding for young people with disabilities

Law & politics

Image of the UK Houses of Parliament with a red double decker bus in front

Has Rule of Law backsliding begun in the UK?

December 16 2020

Professor Laurent Pech, Head of the Law and Politics Department, has been researching a worrying issue he has described as ‘Rule of Law backsliding’ for more than ten years.

A man with moustache and top hat sprinting with bag of money under his arm

Where Did The Floating Charge Come From?

February 17 2020

Los Watkins, an MDX Law Lecturer shares a piece of ongoing research into the concept of the Floating Charge and its impact on modern banking law.

A back shot of two female police officers with high vis jackets on

How to succeed with a policing degree apprentic...

February 04 2020

The Chief Constable of Sussex Police gives a personal view about the role of apprenticeships in transforming the police, encouraging new groups of people to consider a career in policing.

Reparations for Slavery – A Contemporary Debate

October 28 2019

Dr Angus Nurse examines the current debate over reparations for slavery in both the UK and US.

Political integrity instead of deceit

August 15 2018

Bethany Shiner argues instead of focusing on how the population is being misled by dishonest political campaigns we should be demanding integrity and honesty from our politicians

Tackling London’s epidemic of youth violence

July 16 2018

PhD student Nicola Coleman explores the issue of youth violence in the capital, talking to ex-offender and PhD student Junior Smart about his work with the SOS Project.

Science & technology

A close-up on an abstract design of a display, which is warning about a cyber attack. Multiple rows of hexadecimal code are interrupted by red glowing warnings and single character exclamation marks.

Iran’s cyber ‘revenge’: it’s not if...

January 07 2020

Dr Mahdi Aiash writes about the potential cyber backlash the West may face following the US military airstrike of January 2020.

The Chip Exploit: Is it the tip of an iceberg?

January 10 2018

Dr Mahdi Aiash explains how new vulnerabilities in computer processors should change the way we protect our devices

WannaCry: The Story and Lessons

May 17 2017

How did the WannaCry ransomware do such widespread damage? Dr Mahdi Aiash explains.

When’s a toothbrush not just a toothbrush?

January 17 2017

Director of Forensic Psychological Services Professor Joanna Adler discusses parenting in a digital future

Can AI help combat fake news?

November 22 2016

Former BBC reporter and Professor of Journalism Kurt Barling explores whether technology can help us determine the truth

News from the computational lab – now what?

May 20 2016

Dr Giuseppe Primiero discusses the significance of computational experiments

Social commentary

Online child sexual abuse during COVID-19. What...

March 01 2021

Dr Elena Martellozzo, Associate Professor and Criminologist at MDX, presents some of the key issues that were raised during the UKCIS webinar by high-level experts from research, policy and practice.

Cash for kink: the online risky sexual behaviou...

February 10 2021

Elena Martellozzo and Paula Bradbury of the Centre for Abuse and Trauma Studies examine the impact OnlyFans has had on young women during the coronavirus pandemic.

Life is digital by default – what’s the i...

December 16 2020

An online webinar brought together leading clinical and academic experts to discuss the impact in the rise of technology on the mental health of children and young people.

Sit, stand or take a knee: Symbolic acts and an...

June 22 2020

Rima Saini, MDX Sociology lecturer, discusses the political history and wide-reaching symbolism of ‘taking a knee’ and its current relationship with genuine anti-racist progress.

A city building with a white sign saying Refugees Welcome

Refugee Week: What can we do for refugee children?

June 19 2020

Erminia Colucci, Associate Professor in Visual and Cultural Psychology at MDX looks at the growing number of child refugees and the perilous journey they face to escape their own countries.

A black hand holds a Black Lives Matters sign

Policing reform in the age of Black Lives Matter

June 17 2020

Dr Angus Nurse, Associate Professor and Director of Policing Programmes at MDX, discusses whether the suggested police reforms and polices will make a real difference or if more needs to be done.