Latest news with #Scotland-based
Scotsman
5 days ago
- Business
- Scotsman
Ayrshire-based civil engineering company cuts project time in half with technology investment
Ayrshire-based civil engineering firm Dalcon Ltd has boosted onsite productivity and halved project timescales by investing in four Trimble® Earthworks excavator systems from SITECH UK & Ireland. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... With the help of SITECH, authorised dealer of Trimble® Civil Construction Field Systems, Scotland-based Dalcon Ltd. has invested in four Trimble Earthworks for Excavator systems. This machine control platform is designed to significantly improve productivity, cost efficiencies and sustainability onsite by integrating several advanced technology features. Neil Wilson, Director at Dalcon Ltd, said: 'This is our largest investment in advanced construction technology to date and the effect on productivity has been eye opening, with one project already being eight weeks ahead of schedule, and on track to be completed in half the estimated time. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Since SITECH delivered and installed the systems, we have seen a significant increase in accuracy, efficiency and productivity across multiple projects. By automating processes that were previously achieved manually we have reduced the time taken on excavation jobs. The system enables operators to grade to specification whilst maximising each truck load, helping contractors to achieve more with the same machine. With the help of SITECH, authorised dealer of Trimble® Civil Construction Field Systems, Scotland-based Dalcon Ltd. has invested in four Trimble Earthworks for Excavator systems. 'Reducing downtime is key to enhancing productivity for contractors. By leveraging precision technology, we can minimise the risks of over-digging or striking hazardous areas and minimise the need to wait for updated site-data from surveyors. In addition, the system allows for site connectivity and remote diagnostics which further reduces the risk of downtime. Our team can monitor the integrated machines from anywhere, increasing the ability to run multiple sites as efficiently as possible.' Neil explains how the systems have also made an impact on safety for contractors: 'Crucially, the technology is accessible for operators of all skill levels, and by automating processes we have reduced the need for personnel to be working directly alongside heavy machinery by approximately 25%. The system uses angle sensors and GNSS receivers to provide highly accurate information on the excavator's position and bucket location, which reduces the risk of accidents on site, freeing up personnel for more vital tasks.'
Euronews
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Why is everyone so angry about Sabrina Carpenter's new album cover?
Pop princess Sabrina Carpenter has divided fans and sparked moral outrage after revealing the new cover art for her upcoming album 'Man's Best Friend'. Depicting the 26-year-old on her hands and knees in a black minidress while a faceless suited figure grips her hair, fans have argued the image perpetuates patriarchal values and degrades women by relating them to pets. 'This entire thing is so disturbing. Why are we proudly comparing ourselves to dogs,' wrote one commenter on Carpenter's Instagram post. A post shared by Sabrina Carpenter (@sabrinacarpenter) 'Love Sabrina - but this picture - why is the man in there like that? Its [sic] not a very empowering image for women. I think its [sic] a mistake since most [of] her fans are women and as a dv [domestic violence] survivor i find it uncomfortable and id [sic] rather see her empowered than like that,' said another. Responding on Facebook, Glasgow Women's Aid, a Scotland-based domestic abuse charity, called the album's artwork "regressive", adding: 'Picturing herself on all fours, with a man pulling her hair and calling it 'Man's Best Friend' isn't subversion. It's a throwback to tired tropes that reduce women to pets, props, and possessions and promote an element of violence and control." The heated responses also reflect a heightened anger and sensitivity at a time when women's rights are being eroded by governments - and threatened by the manosphere's (a collection of online spaces that promote misogyny) toxic cultural influence. 'This screams trad wife at a time when many of us are fighting for bodily autonomy. It's so poorly aligned with this political moment that it's either intentional trolling or just blatantly out of touch. Either is not ok right now,' one fan said. Meanwhile, others have countered the discourse with reminders that Carpenter has always owned her sexuality by playing with male fantasies - and that outside of the album's wider context, we still don't know its true meaning. 'I'm seeing a lot of discourse about Sabrina Carpenter's new album cover… for those of you who may lack critical thinking skills, the cover is clearly satirical with a deeper meaning, portraying how the public views her, believing she is just for the male gaze,' a response reads on X. Following her mainstream breakthrough last year, with frothy earworm Espresso the most-streamed track on Spotify in 2024, Carpenter has become one of pop's biggest superstars. Known for her tongue-in-cheek playfulness and provocative performances, she sparked some controversy last year after filming a saucy music video inside a church, for which the priest that authorised it was stripped of his duties. While sex has always been an intrinsic part of Carpenter's image and appeal, it's most often utilised for satire and innuendo. In a new Rolling Stone interview, the singer further defended this, saying: 'It's always so funny to me when people complain. They're like, 'All she does is sing about this.' But those are the songs that you've made popular. Clearly you love sex. You're obsessed with it.' Still, despite those that bemoan Carpenter's ongoing backlash as overblown, lacking nuance and missing the point of her hypersexualised and kink-coded brand, contentious discussions continue on the blurred lines between reclamation and regression. 'Satire only works when it clearly exposes, exaggerates, or critiques the thing it's referencing. Rn, Sabrina's cover recreates sexist imagery without disrupting it, so it reads as compliance, not commentary,' one fan said. Earlier this month, the singer performed at Barcelona's Primavera festival for the first time, and released 'Manchild' - the lead single from her upcoming seventh studio album, set for release on 29 August 2025. Named Camarat 4, the wreck was located by chance during a French Navy seabed control mission in March 2025 and has since been studied by France's Department of Underwater Archaeological Research (Drassm). Remarkably well-preserved, the site is being described by archaeologists as a 'time capsule.' Over 200 ceramic jugs, neatly stacked plates, cannons, and cooking utensils were found intact. No signs of trauma or wreckage from battle were discovered, and the cause of the sinking remains unknown.
Korea Herald
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Interview: ‘Concerned Others' sheds light on addiction's silent fallout
South Korea is no longer the drug-free society many believe it to be. In 2023, the number of drug-related offenses surpassed 27,000, the highest on record, with a staggering rise among teens and young adults. Korean National Police Agency data for 2018-2023 showed that over 1,400 teens were investigated for drug offenses — more than triple the number from the previous year. Additionally, a recent report from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Thursday showed that methamphetamine has been detected in wastewater from major sewage treatment plants in the country for four consecutive years. Addiction never affects just one person. The fallout ripples outward to friends, family and caregivers — to the concerned others. "Concerned Others" by Scotland-based Tortoise in a Nutshell blends delicate visuals and first-person testimony to explore the emotional toll of addiction, not just on those who use drugs, but their loved ones, too. The production, currently on show at The Quad in Seoul's Daehangno district until Sunday, premiered at the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe as part of the Made in Scotland showcase. The creative team said the work was first developed in 2022 in response to Scotland's own drug crisis. The country holds one of the highest drug-related death rates in the developed world, with 1,330 drug misuse deaths recorded in 2021. 'There is also regularly a feeling that the statistics have now become part of a yearly 'shocking news' cycle, a kind of way of the public engaging with the problem only once a year for 'as little time as possible,'' said Alex Bird, co-artistic director of the play, in an interview with The Korea Herald, on Wednesday. Wanting to do more than simply respond to headlines, the company spent six months gathering stories. They met with hundreds of people, conducting extended interviews with around 50 of them — from individuals in recovery to family members, medical professionals and outreach workers. Of the 20 hours of recorded conversations, only about 30 minutes make it into the final show, but each word carries weight. "A real priority for us in this story was simply to pass on the live testimony we captured from everyone who wanted to speak with us,' said Bird. In this intimate production, audiences peer into a delicate world built on a rotating table — a miniature landscape brought to life through a handheld camera, micro-projections, and an immersive soundscape. While the central focus is drug addiction, the play expands to consider alcoholism, a socially accepted but equally destructive form of dependency in many cultures. 'Highlighting other forms of addiction was therefore just to allow people the chance to think again about the moral structure that exists around how we understand addiction,' Bird noted. 'Similar to how Korea has been described to us whilst we're here, people still use alcohol as a way to socially treat stress. The potential for this to become a big problem is obviously high, but for some reason it's viewed as more acceptable.' Bird emphasized that 'Concerned Others' is not designed to offer solutions, but rather to create space for reflection, an emotional foothold from which to begin a conversation. 'Our one hope really is just that people have the time to consider the stories of the people whose voices you hear in the piece. We know addiction is a complicated and, for many people, deeply personal subject. But we really believe that by safely considering and imagining the topic together that we can support ourselves to find better outcomes for the millions of people who are affected.'
Forbes
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Sabrina Carpenter Album Cover Controversy, Explained
Sabrina Carpenter, one of pop music's biggest new stars, unveiled the cover art for her upcoming album 'Man's Best Friend' on Wednesday, quickly setting social media ablaze with both fierce criticism of what some feel is a 'degrading' cover, while others defend it as a clear work of satire. Sabrina Carpenter's album cover for "Man's Best Friend" has sparked some controversy. (Photo by ... More Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty Images) Carpenter announced 'Man's Best Friend' in a social media post Wednesday, attaching the album artwork, which depicts her on her knees with her hand on a man's thigh, who is holding Carpenter's hair in his hand. Another image Carpenter posted, which appears to be an alternate cover or the album's back cover, depicts a dog wearing a collar with a tag that says 'Man's Best Friend.' The album cover immediately took social media by storm, drawing fierce criticism from social media users, columnists and a women's charity who have said the cover is degrading to Carpenter, or to women. Fans defended Carpenter, whose pop music often has a wry or ironic undercurrent, as making satirical commentary on misogyny. The album drops Aug. 29, and Carpenter has already released the album's lead single, 'Manchild.' Glasgow Women's Aid, a Scotland-based advocacy organization for women experiencing domestic abuse, slammed Carpenter in a post on Instagram on Thursday calling the album cover 'regressive,' and stating it evokes 'tired tropes that reduce women to pets, props, and possessions and promote an element of violence and control.' A column in The Telegraph Thursday complained in a headline that Carpenter's 'over-sexed, degrading new album cover has gone too far,' and the writer Poppie Platt noted Carpenter has many young fans and said her marketing is 'troubling,' comparing it to TikTok trends like the 'trad-wife' aesthetic that promote subservience to men. Some of the most-liked comments on Carpenter's Instagram post of the album cover were critical. 'Is this a humiliation ritual? WTH is this cover,' one comment, which garnered 8,000 likes says, while another commenter stated: 'Explain to me again how this isn't centering men? How this isn't catering to the male gaze?' Carpenter's fans praised her cover as satirical. 'I am a little concerned about people's inability to immediately clock that the cover is obviously a commentary on the way women are treated,' one post on X, which garnered more than 44,000 likes, states. The fan cited her single 'Manchild,' in which she pokes fun at men, as a hint the upcoming album may also be satirical. Entertainment editor at the U.K. publication Metro, Brooke Ivey Johnson, wrote Thursday that Carpenter 'knew you'd hate her kinky album cover – that's the point,' defending her as an 'expert in shaping a narrative' and stating Carpenter's brand is 'built around men being little more than background noise.' Johnson called Carpenter's aesthetic 'a kind of satire: A knowing wink at how femininity is constructed, consumed, and commodified,' citing her new single 'Manchild' as a 'satirical exaggeration' of submissiveness to men. No, Carpenter has not directly addressed the controversy over her album cover. But in a cover story in Rolling Stone published Thursday, Carpenter addressed critics of her sex-positive stage presence, stating she feels she has 'never lived in a time where women have been picked apart more, and scrutinized in every capacity.' While performing her song 'Juno' on tour, which contains the lyric: 'Wanna try out some freaky positions? Have you ever tried this one?' Carpenter mimics a different sex position during each performance, which has inspired a TikTok trend and also sparked detractors. 'It's always so funny to me when people complain,' Carpenter told Rolling Stone, stating there are 'so many more moments than the 'Juno' positions, but those are the ones you post every night and comment on. I can't control that.' Carpenter's new album 'Man's Best Friend' follows her breakout year, when her album 'Short n' Sweet,' earned multiple hit singles and won her two Grammy Awards. The album's lead single 'Espresso' was named by some publications as the 2024 song of the summer and topped the charts in many countries. Her string of hits continued with 'Please Please Please' and 'Taste,' and she released a deluxe edition of the album in February with new songs. How Sabrina Carpenter Dream-Come-True'd Her Whole Life (Rolling Stone)
Scotsman
05-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Gregor Poynton MP welcomes news that Scottish Military homes are to be upgraded
Military personnel across Scotland are set to benefit from record additional funding to improve family accommodation for the Armed Forces. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The investment will mean that personnel in Scotland will see more urgent repairs and maintenance, from fixing unreliable boilers and leaky roofs to tackling damp and mould in service family accommodation, alongside development of new housing. The extra investment means over £7 billion will be spent UK-wide on military accommodation in this Parliament, including £400m investment in Scotland to improve conditions for personnel living in Single Living Accommodation. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The upcoming Strategic Defence Review will confirm an additional £1.5 billion in funding for military family accommodation nationwide, helping to renew the nation's contract with those who serve, and supporting the UK Labour government's Plan for Change. There are over 3,000 military homes in Scotland, helping to house some of the 11,000 Scotland-based personnel, which will now be considered for this funding. Labour has announced a £400 million boost to improve military housing in Scotland. The £7 billion will be spent across this Parliament on service family accommodation and single living accommodation, to deliver a generational renewal of Armed Forces accommodation. This will be guided by the forthcoming Defence Housing Strategy – which is proceeding at pace and has already seen the announcement of a new Consumer Charter to strengthen housing standards for forces families. The Strategic Defence Review will set a path for the next decade to transform defence and make the UK secure at home and strong abroad. It will end the hollowing out of our Armed Forces and make defence an engine for growth across the UK. Commenting, Gregor Poynton MP for the Livingston constituency said: "This constituency has a proud connection to our armed forces, from being home to hundreds of serving personnel, veterans and their families through to the award-winning Military Museum of Scotland in Wilkieston. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'But supporting our armed forces means more than just thanking our troops and remembering the past, it's about investing in their future. Scotland's 3,000 military homes will benefit from a £400 million upgrade, part of a £7 billion UK-wide plan to make homes fit for heroes. Gregor Poynton MP with Defence Secretary, John Healy MP in the Livingston constituency. 'Defence can be a true engine for growth and Livingston is ready to play its part. I'll keep pushing for investment here and I'm urging the SNP Scottish Government to drop their opposition to defence investment and get behind this vital spend.' Defence Secretary, John Healey MP said: 'Our Armed Forces personnel make extraordinary sacrifices to serve our country. 'For too long, many military families have lived in sub-standard homes, but this government is taking decisive action to fix the dire state of military accommodation and ensure that our heroes and their loved ones live in the homes they deserve. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Our government is determined to end the hollowing out of our Armed Forces. We are investing and acting fast, to fix forces housing and renew the nation's contract with those who serve. "The delivery of the Government's new Consumer Charter will see immediate investment in urgent renovation of 1,000 homes in most need of repair. The Charter will also see basic consumer rights rapidly introduced for forces families, including essential property information and higher move-in standards, more reliable repairs, a named housing officer for every family, and access to a robust complaints system – helping to deliver homes fit for our heroes. Minister for Defence People and Veterans Al Carns said: "After years of unacceptable living conditions our service personnel had to endure, we are delivering the much-needed investment into military homes in Scotland that puts our service families first. 'This new funding will ensure that those who protect our nation, and their families, can live in homes they can be proud of. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We promised better housing for our military families across the United Kingdom and we are delivering on that promise." The SDR says that the MOD should improve the overall standard of military accommodation, including prioritising sites that are in most urgent need of repair.
