NEGATIVE MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS OF AFRICA COST AFRICANS BILLIONS
CAN WE PLEASE STOP HATING EACH OTHER WHAT ARE RARE EARTH ELEMENTS?
DYNAMIC PRICING OR A NEW COST BURDEN TO CONSUMERS? BLACKPOOL BUILDS AN EXCITING NEW MULTIVERSITY
BOWEL CANCER AWARENESS
Delivering “reach and range” so that our community can be empowered and enthused.
ELEMENTS?
It gives me immense pleasure to edit this Spring edition of our Lamwyk Journal. This would not have been possible without the support of our brilliant Lamwyk team. This edition explores everything from the rare earth elements on which our future economy depends to the dynamic pricing models which make booking tickets to our favourite shows more controversial than ever before. There's plenty to chew over.
Lamwyk began as a series of illuminating roundtable think-tank sessions convening leaders in business, scientific and civic spaces. Our members enjoyed intriguing discussions where these experts offered solutions to some of the most daunting challenges facing us all The reinvigorated Lamwyk Journal continues in that vein
If you enjoy discovering new things, hopefully you'll find an article within these pages which piques your interest I sincerely wish to thank the 90,000 of you who subscribe quarterly to our Journal Your enthusiasm encourages us to research an ever greater range of topics for each edition This Spring edition also seeks to raise awareness of bowel cancer Getting checked and diagnosed quickly can save countless lives every year. Health is often the last thing busy professionals consider, but is our most important asset.
I hope that Q2 of 2025 brings you only good things.
TomO’Brien
EDITOR
Curious minds will always find a happy home here.
Africa is a wonderful continent. Unfortunately, it is often reported as anything but that in the press In partnership with a global geopolitical consultancy, Africa Practice, leading media monitoring organisation Africa No Filter found in a recent study (reported by The Guardian) that negative media reporting about elections across Africa costs the continent’s countries a total of up to £3.2 billion annually in increased interest payments on their sovereign debts
Why? Well, the more investors read about chaos, violence, war, poverty and corruption across
Africa, the more their sense of risk will heighten when considering investment opportunities across the continent The study compared reporting of elections in Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa with election reporting covering Malaysia,
Denmark and Thailand. Those three countries all have similar risk profiles to their African counterparts, which is why they were chosen for this study
The study’s conclusion was shocking
Only 12% of articles about the Kenyan election published across multiple countries were positive By contrast, 52% of articles written internationally about the Malaysian election carried positive narratives.
Researchers found that a 10% increase in positive media coverage about a country’s election campaign can result in a 1% decrease in interest rates on its sovereign debt They estimated that this decrease in debt servicing costs would boost the GDPs of the African countries included in the study by up to 0.14%. Instead, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa miss out on this potentially huge GDP bonus entirely When extrapolating this missing 0 14% in GDP across the whole continent of Africa, researchers concluded that persistently negative international media coverage costs Africans up to £3.2 billion annually.
So how can reporting improve? It’s hugely important to see an election in an African country as you would see an election in your own country For example, whenever there is a general election in the UK, the media is filled with reports and detailed analyses of the main candidates’ manifesto pledges. 10page supplements discussing health
and education policy make their way into the broadsheets
By contrast, reports of elections in Africa often focus exclusively on negative issues like violence, war, crime and political uncertainty. Precious few column inches or TV minutes are given to explorations of policies on promoting innovative tech, transitioning to clean energy or improving public services
It’s time for the international media to move away from stereotypical narratives about Africa, and instead to report on the commercial opportunities, economic growth and tech innovation occurring across the continent everyday. For example, Nigeria is becoming globally renowned for its neobanking industry (operating entirely online, without physical branches)
No continent is perfect and many countries around the world are facing challenges to the strength of their democracies. All countries, however, deserve balanced and analytical media reporting.
Science has never claimed to be perfect For generations, it has been impossible to create living replicas of human organs in a lab While treatments for numerous illnesses and conditions have developed over generations, getting medication to market is often prohibitively expensive and has no guarantee of creating a viable treatment. You could spend millions of pounds and get nowhere simply because your medication doesn’t work in a living human body, no matter how much you test it.
Worse still, animals are often subjected to gruesome testing, as they are the nearest living organisms that researchers can find to humans After this ordeal, the medications produced have no guarantee of functioning perfectly in the human body The vast majority of them will be deemed unfit for public commercial sale
Researchers at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute are pioneering a fascinating new technology for developing medications and treatments which bypasses these traditionally expensive and often hit-and-miss testing processes. Organs-on-Chips are microchips which mimic human organs in vitro (outside of a living organism). These microchips are lined with living human cells taken from organs such as the lungs or the kidney. A complex series of valves placed strategically throughout each chip then mimics the flows of blood, oxygen and other substances that exist in these organs during a typical day in the human body This is a marriage of advanced microelectronics and the very latest in stem cell research
Groundbreaking technology is opening a new era of improvements to the genes in our bodies.
The result is a model organ which can be subjected to a series of experiments in search of more effective treatments A further advantage of these systems is that they can be designed to simulate specific functions of particular organs, helping researchers to hone in on cell processes which cause disease. The vast quantity of data gleaned from this research can then be processed by AI to model organs and discover treatments with increasing accuracy moving forwards
According to the International Society of Nephrology, 850 million people around the world suffer from some form of kidney disease
The Wyss Institute’s groundbreaking research can save, improve and renew countless lives globally Organs-on-Chips are yet another example of the
awe-inspiring power of emerging scientific fields to achieve generational advances in human health in a matter of years
Neodymium
Gadolinium Europium
Erbium These are not the subjects of the latest superhero
blockbuster They are four of seventeen rare earth elements (rare earths) upon which an increasing number of technological innovations depend. Without these elements, everything from the mobile phones in our pockets through to electric cars, nuclear reactors, advanced medical equipment and key defence systems would malfunction These elements are so fundamental to modern technology because of their phenomenal magnetism and luminescence...
They comprise the lanthanide group of elements stretching from number 57-71 of the periodic table, and also include both Scandium (Sc - number 21) and Yttrium (Y - number 39)
What sets rare earths apart from other minerals is their f-electrons. These special electrons emit light at extraordinarily precise wavelengths when jolted into action by scientists Light travelling over extensive wavelengths is vital, if say, you are trying to send signals across the fibre-optic cables underpinning the internet Equally, if you need a laser to perform advanced medical scans or procedures,
chancing it with dimming wavelengths just isn’t an option
It’s also immensely difficult to display the ultraviolet security details that validate modern-day banknotes without a healthy number of europium atoms relaxing and emitting light after quite enough excitement for one day.
These f-electrons are also responsible for rare earths’ outstanding magnetism All atoms have four shells which store electrons in orbitals within subshells: s, p, d and f, depending on how many electrons each
atom requires in order to function effectively
The fourth shell is the most powerful as it is furthest from the nucleus Hence, this is where f-electrons are found in the most powerful elements. Usually, two similar electrons pair in each subshell’s orbitals. What sets rare earths apart is that their atoms’ 4f-subshell has seven orbitals but fewer than fourteen of these particularly unique felectrons This prevents the usual pairing and creates ‘loner electrons’ These ‘loner’ electrons then spin in the same direction, creating phenomenally powerful magnetic fields.
Rare earths can therefore deliver exceptional performance when alloyed with traditional metals in tiny magnets. If you need a smart watch to monitor your health, or a mobile phone that can deliver market-making data to you in a flash, you depend on this perfect combination of strength and power. At a larger scale, these magnets also power electric vehicles and wind turbines, making them crucial for a new era of clean energy Rare earths’ magnetism also brings out the best in other metals to create industrial equipment capable of lifting objects weighing hundreds of kilograms.
If governments around the world wish to grow their economies over the coming decades, they will depend on a reliable supply of rare earths. With more than 30% of these mineral deposits found in China, there is therefore intense global demand for the remainder of our planet’s rare earth reserves as well as an increasing risk of conflict over access to them
The race for oil that powered the last century left many populations feeling as though they had given up hugely precious resources and received precious little in return. Thanks to rare earths, the future could follow a very different path. Governments around the world could support rare earth-rich countries in developing these remaining reserves into sustainable, diverse industries which will benefit people globally for years
Which path will our world choose?
Political differences have always been a welcome part of UK society The current era feels different though It feels as though the art of enjoying an informed conversation about politics and agreeing to disagree has been lost. Views are becoming ever-more polarised and those on particular sides of debates ever-more divided. Here’s how we can put that right.
So many people will speak to someone about a topic purely to express their own views. They have no interest in learning from the conversation or changing their views. The whole point of chatting to anyone about anything is to explore different ideas and perspectives. Make the most of any conversations you have and don’t just use them to tell someone what you think.
Focus on facts rather than sensationalist content (which may be completely false) whenever you’re discussing politics online. The algorithms at the heart of many social platforms serve us the content that’s most likely to provoke our strongest reactions.
Always step back from the brink and verify if the information you’re seeing is true by consulting a diverse range of media sites. Sometimes a simple ‘Google’ is enough to check whether an event actually happened or whether an image is real. Then you can enjoy much less stress and much more interesting discussions with other users across social platforms.
People don’t transform into alien life-forms on exiting polling stations. They are still the same friends that you enjoyed spending time with long before a particular candidate decided to run for office. If you disagree significantly with a friend on political issues, remember the reasons why you befriended them in the first place and focus on your shared interests and values when you’re spending time together. Life is too short to lose friends over politics.
If you only read newspapers you agree with, you’ll flick through several dozen pages of your own views every day Actively seeking views you disagree with by reading newspapers supporting other parts of the political spectrum can give you real insight into the reasoning behind different views That makes meeting in the middle to resolve political disagreements considerably easier The dial of progress only moves forward if compromise turns opposing views into workable solutions. This is a vital skill for business too, as we’d all be rather stuck without clients and partners.
Blaming others for challenges you’re facing or assuming that leaders have nefarious ulterior motives are unfortunate but natural human reactions to adversity. Unfortunately, certain candidates can profit from these reactions to rally their campaigns against incumbents. Serving in political office is no easy task and many elected officials make enormous personal sacrifices in order to carry out their duties. Appreciating that they are all trying to improve their communities in their own ways allows us all to add some crucial perspective to our differences. Remembering that everybody is coming from a good place is a great way to find common ground with them. From there, good things can and often do happen
While our world becomes ever more turbulent, respecting and valuing each other’s opinions, even if they differ astonishingly, is key to building a positive and productive society
A mixture of different skills can create wonderful growth, particularly in business contexts. If a colleague likes to work on their own for much of the day, but is happy and does incredible work, leave them to it. Don't try to force professional colleagues (or your friends) to conform to your way of doing things Accepting them for who they are means accepting that their idiosyncrasies make your life better Looking for problems in differences only creates more challenges Seeing the true power of differences only creates growth
While our world becomes ever more turbulent, respecting and valuing each other’s opinions, even if they differ astonishingly, is key to building a positive and productive society
It behoves us all to protect these ecosystem services, otherwise life on earth will plummet in quality.
Ecosystem services sound like luxury benefits provided in plush offices with spacious city views In reality, the services couldn’t be more down to earth Ecosystem services are activities which the Earth’s natural organisms perform in order to clean the air we breathe and stabilise the climate we live in
Trees are vital for mitigating the damaging impacts of human activities on the climate that we all must share Carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is captured by trees as they grow. Therefore, the more trees our forests have, the less damage carbon dioxide wreaks on our ozone layer. As trees grow, they capture consistently more carbon dioxide. However, this production declines as they age and die. This is why it is crucial to not only protect our forests from excessive deforestation, but also to regularly plant new trees, capable of compensating for the carbon which dead trees have released into the atmosphere.
Soil is crucial to human life too. Many of the plants, fruits and vegetables that we eat every day wouldn’t grow without soil’s ability to absorb contaminants. As soil erodes, not only do fewer of these vital organisms and foodstuffs grow, but harmful chemicals can leak from soil into local water supplies This drastically reduces the ability of impacted ecosystems to protect local communities from harm Rehabilitating soil in areas impacted by industrial activity is crucial to extracting resources responsibly and preserving excellent ecosystem services in those areas This can be done by adding nutrients to and growing plants and trees in soil throughout areas heavily impacted by industrial activity
Just as sacking your entire IT team would wreck your company’s performance, permanently removing natural infrastructure diminishes the quality of service that our planet can offer us. It behoves us all to protect these ecosystem services, otherwise life on earth will plummet in quality. Initially this will impact those living thousands of miles away from you in places to which you may never travel, forcing people you may never meet into impossible choices. Eventually, though, this decline will impact you too.
Dynamic pricing occurs when the price of a product (usually a ticket for an event) rises according to demand. As a result, consumers can find themselves accepting paying an advertised price before eventually being asked to pay many times more than that when they reach the checkout.
Fans looking to purchase tickets to watch the popular UK band Oasis live were left shocked when individual ticket prices increased from the advertised £165 to £350 once they had finally made their way to the front of a seemingly never-ending online queue The band themselves were hugely disappointed by the poor experience that their longtime supporters had endured and publicly criticised the move by their chosen online ticket merchant to implement dynamic pricing to such an extent
Music is not the only theatre where dynamic pricing has caused controversy. Top-flight Spanish football club Valencia CF adopted this strategy for selling tickets to their upcoming men’s home games, much to the ire of fans internationally. While the club insisted that the move was designed to reward fans who purchased tickets early with more attractive prices, supporters’ groups listed the move as the latest example of clubs passing on increasingly large costs to loyal supporters.
So is dynamic pricing rewarding forward planning or penalising the average punter? Perhaps the answer sits in limiting potential price increases It’s perfectly reasonable to offer cheaper tickets or other discounts for earlier bookings Many sectors have been doing that for years The problem with dynamic pricing seems to sit in the opacity of final prices It hardly seems fair to entice consumers with one price, oblige them to often waste hours waiting in an online queue, and to then charge them hugely increased prices for exactly the same experience that they had initially intended to purchase.
UK law stresses the importance of transparency in dynamic pricing and all businesses would do well to take the lead on this by protecting their customers from any nasty surprises when they reach check-outs The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is currently conducting a project to learn more about the cross-sector uses of dynamic pricing and its impact on consumers. The CMA’s research will also explore whether dynamic pricing creates challenges for competing businesses who stick to more traditional pricing strategies. Further legislation in this area may follow.
VAT is now payable on the fees charged by independent schools. Many of these institutions now have no choice but to pass this 20% increase on to parents Many parents send their children to private schools because in the state sector, those children would really struggle not just to achieve academically, but also to make friends and grow into confident young adults. A wide range of private schools are able to help children who might leave school without five passes at GCSE to far exceed that because of their tailored approach to teaching These schools also have an enormous range of extracurricular activities which help children to realise and pursue potential in music, sports, drama, art and many other areas.
Thousands of parents must make sacrifices in order to pay private school fees, but do so because those schools offer their children the best possible opportunities to build fulfilling careers and happy lives after they leave school Adding 20% to these fees will make already straining costs completely unaffordable for many of these parents. As a result, children across the UK will have to move from a school that allowed them to shine to a school which, despite the tireless work of its teachers, lacks the resources to provide them with the tailored education they need
Worse still, moving school is by no means an easy task for any child to complete. Imagine studying with the same people for several years,
making friends and then having to leave those friends behind. You must then completely rebuild in a new environment and meet new people, while keeping up with your studies, adjusting to a new educational setting and trying your best to keep in touch with the friends you’ve moved away from.
Young people already suffered hugely in the pandemic as the world transformed around them and they were confined to their homes for weeks and months at a time. Is it really fair of us adults to turn their worlds upside down again, only a few years after things started getting back to normal?
All parents should have the freedom to send their children to the school that they feel will most
benefit them, and keep them there if the educational setting provided is helping them to grow Sometimes that means paying fees Placing VAT on private school fees deprives swathes of parents of this choice by placing an already expensive option completely out of reach That then only damages the futures of the children whose lives are rocked by this new tax.
With capacity for 3,000 learners at a time, Blackpool’s new Multiversity will inspire generations of people locally
Blackpool Council is partnering with Lancaster University and Blackpool and Fylde College to create something rather special This partnership is developing a new £65 million Multiversity which will work closely with employers to provide both students and lifelong learners with crucial skills for building thriving careers The aim is to avoid situations where learners finish their studies unsure of what they wish to do in life or lacking sufficient skills to secure well-paid jobs
Blackpool’s new Multiversity will also significantly benefit the local economy by boosting footfall to local retail and leisure businesses. It is being built on the College’s Palatine Road Campus, adjacent to the town centre, giving learners a wide range of local choices for quick coffees, lunch breaks or longer catch-ups.
Many other developments, funded in part by the UK Government’s Towns Fund, will surround the Multiversity and vigorously promote entrepreneurship. The fund allocated £39.5 million for regeneration projects across Blackpool including £9 million for the Multiversity and £4.5 million to renovate the Stanley Buildings, which will provide state of the art co-working and networking and meeting spaces for businesses old and new Together with the Multiversity, this renovation will ensure that those plucky learners who choose to become entrepreneurs will have the support they need to build great ideas into established businesses, providing fulfilling employment opportunities to residents across Blackpool
The Council also hopes that the Multiversity will demonstrate the immense quality of local architecture and showcase Blackpool nationally and internationally as a centre of excellence in design.
With capacity for 3,000 learners at a time, Blackpool’s new Multiversity will inspire generations of people locally and give them the tools to achieve their full potential and succeed professionally without leaving their local area.
You wouldn’t normally find articles about poo in this Journal - but today is an exception As 16,000 people across the UK die from bowel cancer every year, there’s never been a more important time to write (or talk) about faecal matter. Whilst bowel cancer is the 2nd most lethal cancer in the UK, a significant majority of people diagnosed with bowel cancer go on to live long, happy and productive lives after treatment This is because early diagnosis and treatment improves survival rates of 5 years or more after diagnosis by 90% In shocking contrast, a diagnosis of bowel cancer at its most advanced stage tragically reduces 5 year + survival rates to 10%.
The NHS offers free bowel cancer screening to everyone aged 54-74 every two years
This programme will soon be extended to all those aged over 50. When you get one of these kits through the post, don’t ignore it, send it back as a priority This test doesn’t just detect bowel cancer but can also pick up issues in your bowel early and save you from the ordeal of cancer. If you are aged 75 or over, call the NHS on 0800 707 6060 to request a test kit in complete confidence.
If you prefer to receive medical treatment privately, then make sure you get yourself tested at least bi-annually if you are aged over 50, or if you are younger but you have a family history of bowel cancer Just remember to get tested. Putting off regular health checks often gives minor issues the time they need to become major health problems.
Nobody needs those problems in their life Very often, bowel cancer develops
from polyps: growths on the colon or the rectum which can be identified and removed through screening
Look out for the most common symptoms of bowel cancer too They can impact people of any age and include: blood in your poo, bleeding from your bottom or changes to your bowel habits (such as going more often, producing looser stools or experiencing constipation or diarrhoea) that last for three weeks or more
Other symptoms include feeling persistent pain or a lump in your abdomen If you experience any of these symptoms, please don’t hesitate to seek medical advice.
Whether you get on the phone or book an online appointment,
just get an appointment booked. It could save your life.
Also, be aware of other symptoms such as persistent tiredness or breathlessness, and unexplained weight loss While these symptoms may not be related to bowel cancer, they may also be caused by other serious health conditions. They therefore warrant urgent investigation. Together, we can beat bowel cancer. Look up Bowel Research UK too, as they have a wide library of resources on bowel health in general and are pioneering research into new cancer treatments
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