Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has confirmed it has launched an investigation into a student who published a study dubbed a “PhD in masturbation”.
For an article recently-published in the Journal of Qualitative Research, PhD student Karl Andersson – who was attending the University of Manchester (UoM), but has since been suspended by the insitution – was conducting research into the ‘shota’ genre of Japanese comic books – which are known for centring around prepubescent or pubescent male characters depicted in a “suggestive or erotic” manner.
In his 4,000-word article – which was titled ‘I am not alone – we are all alone: Using masturbation as an ethnographic method in research on shota subculture in Japan’ – Mr Andersson said he wanted to “understand how [individuals] experience sexual pleasure when reading shota”.
To do this, he decided to undertake his own research.
He claims that he embarked on a three-month stint of masturbating to the comic books himself, and making notes on each session, the Telegraph reported.
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Andersson added that he had recently come out of a long-term relationship when he began his research – which he said contributed to his “willingness and eagerness”.
The University of Manchester (UoM) has been criticised for allowed a student to publish a “PhD in masturbation” / Credit: University of Manchester
Shortly after the article was published, Mr Andersson and the University of Manchester came under fire and were berated by both members of the public on social media and politicians – who branded the piece “a PhD on masturbation”.
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Following the huge uproar online, the article was removed and then retracted by the Journal of Qualitative Research, and the University of Manchester has since launched its own investigation into the matter, as well as suspending Andersson as a precautionary measure pending the outcome of the full investigation.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police confirmed that it has also opened an investigation.
“We are working closely with the University of Manchester, who are assisting us with our enquiries to establish what, if any, offences have been committed,” GMP told Research Professional News.
In a statement published on 22 August, UoM said it had now completed the initial phase of the investigation, explaining: “We are examining all aspects of the student’s work and academic supervision, the origin of the article, his prior background, the associated university processes for admission to our PGR programme and research conduct, and other questions that have been raised.”
/ Credit: University of Manchester
The university said it was also helping GMP to establish if offences had been committed “in the UK or elsewhere”.
UoM confirmed from its initial phase of investigations that although Andersson was registered for a PhD at the university, the research design which he proposed for his PhD was rejected by the University Research Ethics Committee on 17 June 2022.
The university said it was not aware of the background information on the student.
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It said that the case has “highlighted that we must ensure our PhD student recruitment processes are sufficiently robust to appropriately scrutinise the legal, ethical and safeguarding issues of the proposed research and applicants’ prior related activities where relevant.”
Featured Image – GMP
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Eurovision costumes, props and instruments are being auctioned off – and it’s a mad collection
Daisy Jackson
Items from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest are being sold at auction this week, from iconic costumes to enormous props.
It means that fans of the massive event – this year held in Liverpool – will be able to snap up a permanent piece of Eurovision history.
Have you ever looked around your living room and thought ‘You know what this place really needs? Those giant purple hands that Kalush Orchestra danced on this year’?
Or ‘I hate this jumper. I wish a had a green one with a face on like those Daði Freyr Eurovision dancers’?
Or even ‘A set of fluffy pink and yellow heart-shaped cushions would really brighten the place up’?
Well now there’s an auction you might be interested in, with bids opening from just £5.
The original props, costumes, and even instruments are on sale now, until 11 June.
Kalush Orchestra’s hands are in the Eurovision auctionThe Daði Freyr jumpersCredit: BBC
You could be turning the actual lectern thing that Graham Norton and Hannah Waddingham stood behind for the results show into a cool bar, or decorating your pad with the drums used in Sam Ryder’s powerful performance.
The top bids currently, just a few days after the auction started, stand at £500 – that’s for the presenter’s lectern and for the Daði Freyr jumpers.
Someone else has bid a whopping £250 for a set of fluffy cushions.
There are more than 60 items available to buy, including parts of the set, which were designed by Julio Himede and unveiled by the King and Queen.
The BBC has reported that 20% of the money raised will go to two different charities, split between ACC Liverpool Foundation and BBC Media Action, with the remaining 80% going back to BBC Studios to fund programmes and services.
Sally Mills, head of sustainability at BBC Studios said: “Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, both on and off screen.
“We have a responsibility to operate with as minimal an impact on the environment as possible, and are always looking for innovative ways in which to further engage audiences with our content, and extend the life of our sets and costumes.
“What better way to do this than to give fans the opportunity to own a piece of Eurovision history?”
Derbyshire woman sent floods of cards for 108th birthday after care home appeal
Emily Sergeant
A woman from Derbyshire has received floods of cards after her care home put out an appeal to celebrate her landmark birthday.
Ada Daniel is hitting a milestone that not many get to reach today – her 108th birthday.
Born in the picturesque Derbyshire village of Ambergate all the way back in 1915, and living in the nearby town of Ripley with her beloved pet Greyhounds for most of her life, Mrs Daniel had a successful career working at Belper Mill for 27 years before her retirement.
And also before going on to become, what Oldest in Britain has confirmed, is currently the 65th oldest person in the UK.
Mrs Daniel has lived at Codnor Park Care Home since 2015 now, and it was the staff at this Derbyshire care home who decided to put out an appeal on social media asking that kind members of the public send birthday cards.
They hoped to get 108 cards to celebrate her 108th birthday.
This isn’t the first time staff at the care home have put out a public appeal for cards, as they did the same for Mrs Daniel’s 105th birthday during lockdown back in 2020, and received that number and more.
And according to the home, this time has proved just as successful as the last, the BBC reports.
“Ada hasn’t got a lot of family left,” explained Kelly Goucher, who is the activity coordinator at Ashmere Derbyshire – the company that runs the care home.
Ada Daniel is celebrating her 108th birthday today / Credit: Supplied | Ashmere Derbyshire
“She never had any children, so she doesn’t have any grandchildren, so we just wanted to get her as many cards as possible… [and] I woke up to 135 messages the following morning of people wanting to send cards.”
Ms Goucher described Mrs Daniel as “a character” at the care home, and when asked what her secret to a long life was one time, she said it was “to have dogs, not kids.”
Emily Sergeant -
24th August 2022 
