All posts tagged: diverse

Reopened Malay Heritage Centre captures community’s evolution from diverse roots to ‘shared sense of home’: PM Wong

Reopened Malay Heritage Centre captures community’s evolution from diverse roots to ‘shared sense of home’: PM Wong

Published by Sam Flores

And it is not just about new artefacts and exhibits, even though there are plenty of these, as it goes beyond static displays to offer a wider range of experiences.  Through the centre, visitors can better understand how Singapore’s past shaped who it is today, and how it can guide the country forward. The Malay Heritage Centre is also part of the wider Kampong Glam precinct, one of Singapore’s most historic districts, Mr Wong pointed out, as he encouraged it to continue to work closely with the partners there to keep the area alive and vibrant. The government will support these efforts by working with stakeholders and supporting heritage businesses and cultural activities, he added. He also called on the centre to deepen collaborations across communities, including through cross-cultural programmes and performances that foster greater dialogue and exchange. “Make this a space where culture is not preserved but lived and shared; where more Singaporeans can experience our Malay culture for ourselves, and gain a deeper understanding of our roots and shared identity,” said Mr Wong. …

Most Fashion Mannequins Are About a Size 2. the Met Gala Exhibit Is Making Room for Diverse Bodies

Most Fashion Mannequins Are About a Size 2. the Met Gala Exhibit Is Making Room for Diverse Bodies

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — On a sultry summer day in Brooklyn last year, artist and couture designer Michaela Stark found herself in a studio surrounded by 175 cameras, for a photo shoot unlike any she’d done before. Clad only in her signature corsetry that binds the flesh, Stark stood in the midst of a circle as the cameras captured all angles of her body, simultaneously — part of an intricate process known as photogrammetry. The goal: to scan her body and build a mannequin — three, actually — for display in one of the world’s top museums, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And at the Met Gala, no less. “It was definitely a bit nerve-wracking,” recalls Stark of the “intimate and vulnerable” experience. But, she quips, “something about being naked on a 40-degree (Celsius) day in a corset that isn’t hiding anything kind of takes the awkwardness away from the situation, actually.” The mannequins, and others based on real-life models like Stark, will be featured in “Costume Art,” the upcoming spring exhibit at the museum’s …

Charlie Hedges and Holly Hagan-Blyth on the diverse challenges of parenthood

Charlie Hedges and Holly Hagan-Blyth on the diverse challenges of parenthood

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Like many first-time mums, Geordie Shore star Holly Hagan-Blyth had no idea about the strength of the whirlwind that was about to upend her life when she had her first baby. The TV personality, who is now a pregnant mother-of-one, as well as a parenting podcaster and fitness coach, admits: “I was quite naive coming into parenting, because I work a lot from home, so I thought it was fine, I’m going to be able to just work around my child. “I didn’t realise my child was going to need me to be directly staring into his eyeballs for the entire first 16 months of his life, so I couldn’t get anything done.” It’s the kind of harsh reality that many parents face when they have children for the first time, and a typical issue that Hagan-Blyth and her co-host, Radio …

Is it true that … having a diverse microbiome stops you from getting sick? | Health & wellbeing

Is it true that … having a diverse microbiome stops you from getting sick? | Health & wellbeing

Published by Sam Flores

The trillions of microorganisms that live in and on our bodies – known as the microbiome – have been hailed as the key to better immunity. “Lots of studies correlate the types of bacteria in your microbiome with health and disease across almost every mental and physical condition,” says Prof Daniel M Davis, head of life sciences at Imperial College London and the author of Self Defence: A Myth-busting Guide to Immune Health. “But most of that evidence is correlative, and we still need to understand exactly how the microbiome affects health.” Scientists often look at one measure: diversity. In other words, how many different species of microbes live in the gut. “The more diverse your microbiome is, the more it seems to correlate with not being ill.” double quotation mark Be very sceptical of products that promise, ‘This is going to change your microbiome and make it healthier’ However, studies indicate that the story is more complicated. “New research suggests that what really matters is competition,” says Davis. “If groups of bacteria are feeding off each other and synergising in ways that …

The ancient Goths were an ethnically diverse group

The ancient Goths were an ethnically diverse group

Published by skeptic

An artist’s impression of how Visigoth warriors may have looked in the 5th century The Creative Assembly (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) The Goths were a multi-ethnic society, according to a study of DNA from Gothic graves. The people buried there had ancestry from places as far afield as Scandinavia, modern-day Turkey and North Africa. The findings run counter to one long-standing idea about the Goths: that they were Scandinavian peoples who moved south to the eastern Mediterranean. “If Gothic identity were primarily a biological lineage descending from Scandinavia, we would not see this,” says Svetoslav Stamov at the National Museum of History in Bulgaria. The Goths were living in eastern Europe at least as early as the 3rd century AD and remained there for centuries. Goths often lived near the frontiers of the Roman Empire, sometimes fighting for the empire and sometimes against it. One Goth group, the Visigoths, sacked the city of Rome in AD 410, helping to bring down the Western Roman Empire. However, Goths are one of history’s least understood groups. Much of …

Hollywood’s top films were less diverse in 2025, study finds

Hollywood’s top films were less diverse in 2025, study finds

Published by Sam Flores

Gender and racial representation on the big screen dipped once again in 2025, with the sharpest decline among women in lead roles, a new study found. The industry has failed “to better incorporate diversity,” according to the 2026 UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report, released Thursday. The study, which analyzed 109 of the top English-language theatrical film releases of 2025, found that racially diverse and gender diverse representation regressed despite reaching highs in previous years. Still, audiences of color and women contributed meaningfully to the box office, buying the majority of opening weekend tickets for at least four of the top 10 films last year. Not embracing diversity means “studios are leaving money on the table and losing their chance to draw people back to theaters,” study co-author Michael Tran said in a statement. The number of women in lead roles nosedived to 37% among last year’s highest-grossing films, down about 10% from 2024 — a year in which the industry nearly reached gender parity. The share of lead roles held by people of color also declined …

Broad claims about gender and behavior fall apart when studies include ethnically diverse samples

Broad claims about gender and behavior fall apart when studies include ethnically diverse samples

Published by José Betancourt

A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides evidence that racial and ethnic differences in certain behaviors are just as large as the widely known differences between men and women. The research suggests that generalizations about human behavior are often flawed because they rely on samples composed largely of White individuals. As a result, broad assumptions about how gender influences competitiveness and risk tolerance do not hold true across all demographic groups. Scientists in the behavioral sciences frequently face criticism for relying on study participants who represent a very narrow slice of human experience. Historically, researchers have heavily recruited individuals who are Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and from democratic societies (known as WEIRD samples). Because these samples largely consist of university students in North America and Western Europe, they do not reflect the global population, leading to a major gap in the scientific understanding of how behavior varies within a single country. A significant body of behavioral economics literature examines how men and women differ in their willingness to …

Women report diverse symptoms ranging from laughter to foot pain

Women report diverse symptoms ranging from laughter to foot pain

Published by José Betancourt

A recent survey investigation indicates that many women experience unexpected physical and emotional reactions during sexual climax, ranging from uncontrollable laughter to foot pain. These occurrences, known as peri-orgasmic phenomena, appear to be diverse and often happen inconsistently rather than with every orgasmic experience. The findings were published in the Journal of Women’s Health. Medical understanding of the female orgasm typically focuses on standard physiological release and emotional satisfaction. Physiologically, an orgasm is generally defined as a brief episode of physical release that responds to sexual stimulation. Emotionally, it is usually perceived as a subjective peak of reaction to that stimulation. However, anecdotal reports and isolated case studies have historically hinted at a broader range of experiences that fall outside this expected norm. Existing medical literature on these unusual symptoms is limited and relies heavily on individual patient reports rather than broader data collection. The authors of this new paper sought to categorize these unique physical and emotional symptoms more systematically. They aimed to determine which specific symptoms women experience and how frequently these sensations …

Researchers validate intelligence assessment across diverse demographic groups

Researchers validate intelligence assessment across diverse demographic groups

Published by José Betancourt

A new analysis confirms that a widely used non-verbal cognitive assessment measures intelligence consistently across different demographic groups, including Syrian refugees and Turkish students. The researchers found that the test provides fair and comparable scores regardless of a child’s gender, age, grade level, or ethnicity. These findings were published in the journal Intelligence. Psychological assessments are often assumed to function the same way for everyone. However, this assumption requires statistical proof to ensure fairness. Validity refers to the degree to which evidence supports the interpretation of test scores for their intended use. A test intended to measure cognitive ability should ideally reflect that ability alone. It should not be influenced by a student’s cultural background, native language, or gender. When a test measures a construct in the same way across different groups, it demonstrates what psychologists call measurement invariance. Without this invariance, comparing scores between groups becomes problematic. A specific score for one group might indicate a different level of ability than the same score for another group. This potential bias can lead to incorrect …

the perils of negotiating collective policy recommendations across a diverse third sector – Evidence & Policy Blog

the perils of negotiating collective policy recommendations across a diverse third sector – Evidence & Policy Blog

Published by skeptic

Jane Cullingworth This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Strengthening the role of third sector intermediary bodies in democratic governance: developing strategies with state and non-state actors’. We can all agree that evidence needs to shape policy but how do we gather evidence, particularly from the frontlines? With the rise of participatory governance and an interest in the perspectives of communities, the third sector is uniquely placed to play a key role in facilitating and generating this evidence. But given the diversity of third sector stakeholders and multitude of perspectives, how is such evidence understood, interpreted and represented? Animating knowledge requires intermediaries (known as knowledge brokers) to translate lived experience into action, addressing the know-do gap – that is, a gap between knowledge and policy. Across the third sector there are many intermediary bodies – organisations that support the sector and represent its interests. While these organisations are not typically thought of as knowledge brokers in the policy arena, they play an important role in ensuring that the voices of citizens …