Published Research
Published Research
Relatively little work has focused on why we are motivated to learn words. In adults, recent experiments have shown that intrinsic reward signals accompany successful word learning from context. In addition, the experience of reward facilitated long-term memory for words. In adolescence, developmental changes are seen in reward and motivation systems as well as in reading and language systems. Here, in the face of this developmental change, we ask whether adolescents experience reward from...
Arts and Culture
Flicking through the polished pages of Vogue, one always feels like an outsider desperately looking in. The models, posing in unearthly dreamscapes, are too flawless to be of our world, let alone of our species. They romp in impossible gowns and toss their elaborate locks, rarely deigning to meet our inferior eyes.
'At first I could see nothing, the hot air escaping from the chamber causing the candle to flicker. Presently, details of the room emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues and gold - everywhere the glint of gold'.
'Van Goe', 'Van Goff', 'Van Gock '; just like his name, the Dutch artist, who said he'd prefer to be known simply as 'Vincent', is the subject of constant debate and scrutiny. Sometimes a frustrated genius, sometimes a deeply ill man, sometimes a lost soul, 'Meet Vincent Van Gogh' shows us that he was all of these and more.
The word 'Baroque' stems from the Portuguese 'Barroco', meaning a misshapen pearl, a fitting name for this movement to say the least. While art of the Renaissance is serene and noble, conforming to extensive rules to achieve visual perfection, a flawless pearl, Baroque art is not so.
There is something inherently unnerving about finding a stranger on your doorstep. It's the idea of something totally unfamiliar appearing in a space you know so well, destabilising the perception of your own authority. The thought that your safety depends on something utterly unknown and unpredictable behaving predictably.
Organising a voyage through history is not easy, especially if you intend to keep all of your passengers on board throughout the ride. It is even more challenging when many of the journey's vistas are unsightly, its course is bumpy, and there are 300 years' worth of stops to make.
We are living in strange and utterly unprecedented times. Just weeks ago, the title of this article would have been jarring and hilarious, but now, with the government urging us all to stay home, it seems entirely appropriate.
Text and photographs by Tau Nell Ever since The Garden at 120 opened its doors in early 2019, it has been a huge success with locals, city workers, and tourists alike. Zip to the 15th floor of the Fen Court building to enjoy its peaceful landscaped gardens and jaw-dropping vistas of London.
Album Reviews
Student Writer | Tau Nell Lana Del Rey is best known for the starry-eyed scenes she paints using her sultry contralto voice of an America that was, and one that could have been. Her misadventures have led her to sing of Bel Air lovers, of speeding along the California coast, and of being the enchanting...
Tau Nell | Student Writer Anyone partial to YouTube binges will have come across her. The arrow-straight platinum hair, the naïve doe eyes, the disarming baby voice. I refer, of course, to Poppy, whose eccentric videos have been sparking frenzied discussion since her 2015 debut: a ten-minute clip in which she repeats 'I'm Poppy' from...
Tau Nell | Content Writer Since announcing Chemtrails, her seventh studio album, Lana Del Rey has undergone numerous public metamorphoses. She was America's sweetheart, riding on the success of 2019's Norman F*cking Rockwell; a controversial commentator, following her bold but untimely tirade against double standards in the music industry; and a sensitive poet, telling all...
Tau Nell | Student Writer Not everyone was familiar with Billie Eilish when her no-nonsense track 'Bad Guy' marched to the top of the charts early last year, but she is no overnight sensation. The silver-tongued songstress released her EP 'Don't Smile at Me' in 2017, and has been on an ever-rising rollercoaster of stardom...
Dua Lipa didn't expect to release Future Nostalgia the way she did; the journey was far bumpier than anticipated. First there were the leaks. One day after Lipa announced the album's drop date, hackers snatched three unreleased songs from her grasp.
Tau Nell | Student Writer Kesha's philosophy is pretty simple these days: 'I'm going to be as happy as possible because I could get hit by a bus in ten minutes'. Here's a quick run-down as to why she might feel this way. In 2014, Kesha publicly accused her producer, Dr. Luke, of chronic physical...
A round-up of the decade in music - a song to sum up each year of the 2010's.
Music News
The artist announced via Instagram that he will be hosting a 'very intimate' live streamed show on September 19, the proceeds from which will be donated to the Lebanese Red Cross and Save the Children UK. The show, called I Love Beirut, will be streamed on YouTube in four different time zones, with tickets now on sale for each.
The Prime Minister has said that people with negative coronavirus tests results could be issued provisional passes which would allow them to attend events without having to be socially distanced. This would permit venues such as cinemas, concert halls, theatres, and stadiums to run at full capacity, thus boosting their financial recovery and giving audience members a more 'normal' experience.
Reading and Leeds festival organisers have received massive online backlash after revealing their 2021 line up, the headliners of which are all male. Fans have expressed particularly deep disappointment as this is not the first time the dual-running festivals have failed to book top female artists.
Leigh-Anne Pinnock, a member of girl group Little Mix, is speaking out against the racism she has experienced in the music industry and throughout her life. Pinnock, 28, who is of Barbadian and Jamaican descent, revealed in the recent Channel 4 documentary The Talk that she has experienced racism since she was in primary school, aged just nine when...
The iconic band's frontman has addressed whether the group will be able to record new music amid current coronavirus concerns. The singer-songwriter spent most of the year in quarantine, but has suggested that new music could be on the way if the band are able to get together under 'safe circumstances'.
Ezra, 27, opened up on the BBC's How Do You Cope? podcast about the difficulties he faces living with an uncommon form of OCD called 'Pure O'. He told listeners that he has had the condition all his life but did not identify it until recently.
The five-piece band have revealed via their social media handles that a new album will be released on November 27, and that a month-long UK tour will take place next year. The album, called What The Future Holds, will be their sixth in total, and their second since returning from their 2013-17 hiatus.
The legendary rock group's frontman told NME that he has been spending the majority of 2020 finishing work on an upcoming record from the band as well as finalising his debut solo project. This will be The Cure's first new output in over a decade.
The British music brand NME has launched in Asia, basing its third overseas branch in Singapore. The new team of journalists, a network spanning South East Asia, will at first focus on artists and events in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, but plan to expand their coverage over time.
Indie rock sensation Beabadoobee has announced a UK and Ireland tour, which is set to take place next autumn. The tour, revealed by the British singer-songwriter this morning via social media, is in support of her debut studio album Fake It Flowers.
Following the results of a new study, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden, has announced that performers no longer need to practice extra social distancing when on stage. He confirmed that ' The performing arts guidance has now changed and is effective immediately', describing this as an ' important step in getting performances back on '.
The iconic London venue has shared the news of its socially-distanced reopening across its social media handles. From September 18, The Jazz Cafe will be hosting a 'jam-packed' season of live music, with a limited number of two, three, four, and six-seater tables available per night.
Just over a year after the release of his debut album Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent, Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi has announced that work on his second record is well underway. The artist recently gave a series of US radio interviews, telling Y100 Miami that the coronavirus lockdown, which he spent with his family in...
The iconic heavy metal band has announced that it will be releasing limited edition vinyl copies of the self-titled album to mark 40 years since its release. Although the record's 40th birthday was actually on April 14, the new copies will be made available on October 9 to coincide with National Album Day.
Adele, 32, has been making headlines since the beginning of the year due to her significant weight loss; the singer is estimated to have dropped seven stone (44.5 kg) since starting her fitness journey some time around 2018. But beyond her outer appearance and physical wellbeing, Adele has reported a massive improvement in her mental health in recent months.
University Work
Terror Management Theory (TMT) posits that human beings, due to their unique awareness of their own mortality, make choices throughout their lives that largely serve to distract them from thoughts of death, and make them feel as if they will transcend it, literally or symbolically (Greenberg & Arndt, 2011).
An essay critically discussing the claim that sex differences exist in intelligence, and examining the implications of such a claim. (original essay submitted in November 2019, this version uploaded in April 2020)
A discussion evaluating the claim that Zimbardo's 'Stanford Prison Experiment' is proof that anyone can be coerced to do evil.
A guide detailing what to expect from a young child's Theory of Mind and moral development and how best to nurture these skills.
Original scientific research into the factors which influence how people perceive vegetarians and vegetarianism.