A few years back it would have been impossible to believe that The X Factor might one day lose its shine. I was completely hooked on the show and spent every Saturday night gripped by Simon Cowell’s acid comments to the wannabe stars. By the rival judges at each other’s throats, the contestants’ dazzling white teeth (apparently Cowell’s team always insists the young hopefuls get their gnashers whitened) and the ...keep reading
It wouldn’t have been my top priority as an academic study but two US professors have put “coffee shop conquerors” under the spotlight. You know, the customers who sit in Costa and Starbucks for hours on end, tapping away at their laptops, hogging tables designed for four and glaring at people who politely ask “is this chair taken?” Or in US academic-speak, “communicate to other customers that intrusion is not welcome.” ...keep reading