Up Close Research Talk Show - Society

REBROADCAST #343: Cannabis research: The state of the science in an age of weed liberalization

chris.hatzis — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 06:33:16 +0000

Psychiatrist and clinical researcher Prof David Castle discusses how cannabis represents both a public health risk and a wide-ranging therapeutic opportunity, as the once “evil weed” gains greater legal acceptance for recreational and medical use. Presented by Eric van Bemmel.

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REBROADCAST #342: Dynamics of scandal: On facilitating, denying and covering up institutional child sex abuse

chris.hatzis — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 04:58:21 +0000

In this rebroadcast episode, sociologist Prof Chris Greer explores the often murky agendas of organisations, mainstream and social media, and individuals in the facilitation, denial and cover-up of institutional child sex abuse. Presented by Lynne Haultain.

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#406: Treaty fatigue: International law meets the new globalized nationalism

Mon, 23 Oct 2017 22:23:10 +0000

International Court of Justice jurist James Crawford on the diminishing appetite of nation states to join new international agreements or remain in established ones, with troubling implications for formulating and upholding international laws. Presented by Lynne Haultain.

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#405: What are the keys to a successful urban innovation district?

Thu, 19 Oct 2017 13:00:00 +0000

Urban thinker Julie Wagner describes how so-called innovation districts in cities around the world evolve or are planned, and how their reliance on the physical and the local — in even the most high tech of industries — serves to foster creativity and collaboration. Presented by Eric van Bemmel.

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#404: Getting cancer care to better reflect patients' lived experience

Thu, 05 Oct 2017 13:00:00 +0000

How does a cancer patient's experience of illness help to inform their treatment? Clinical and research oncologist Associate Professor Lidia Schapira explains how health outcomes for cancer patients rely not only on timely diagnosis and medical intervention but on factors such as patients' cognitive and emotional experiences, as well as communications in the clinic. Presented by Dr Andi Horvath.

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#403: Copping it globally: The rise and reach of transnational policing

Thu, 21 Sep 2017 14:00:00 +0000

Criminologist Ben Bowling on how policing is increasingly crossing national borders, chasing globalized crime and cyber offenses, and raising serious questions about governance and public accountability. Ben also examines issues around stop-and-search police powers in the global context. Presented by Peter Clarke.

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#402: Silent killer: Coming to grips with an emerging epidemic of viral hepatitis

Thu, 07 Sep 2017 14:00:00 +0000

Infectious diseases expert and epidemiologist Dr Ben Cowie explains why viral hepatitis is fast becoming a hidden epidemic with significant public health consequences. Most people with chronic hepatitis types B and C aren't even aware they have the diseases as they show no obvious symptoms or signs, yet they risk severe illness or liver damage. So how is the global health community targeting hepatitis, and how to to grow awareness in a largely unsuspecting public? Presented by Dr Andi Horvath.

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#401: Why feeling pain is key to our happiness

Thu, 24 Aug 2017 14:00:00 +0000

Research psychologist Brock Bastian argues that a willingness to experience pain is crucial to our pursuit of genuine happiness, and that our efforts to escape unpleasantness or seek out only the positive in fact weaken us in managing life's inevitable difficulties. Presented by Eric van Bemmel.

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#400: Phantom democracies: John Keane on the New Global Despotism

Thu, 10 Aug 2017 14:00:00 +0000

Political scientist and author John Keane on the recent proliferation of corrupt political regimes that employ democratic rhetoric, staged elections, social media and economic growth to cultivate public loyalty and give the appearance of legitimacy. Presented by Peter Mares.

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#399: How attitudes disable: Rethinking our assumptions about people with impairments

Thu, 27 Jul 2017 14:00:00 +0000

Social epidemiologist Prof. Eric Emerson argues that "disability" and "being disabled" really refer to the effects of social and economic marginalisation of people with certain types of physical or mental impairments, and not the personal impact of the impairments themselves. While some societies have made strides in improving the lives of the people with impairments, we have yet to tackle our fundamental assumptions about disability and how it arises from the interaction between health conditions and the society in which we live. Presented by Lynne Haultain.

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#397: Embracing the finite: Making our way in an era of dwindling natural resources

Thu, 29 Jun 2017 14:00:00 +0000

Ecologist Prof. Peter Vitousek explores how living in the Anthropocene, a time in which human activity has become the key driver of planetary health, will force us to make our way with diminished natural resources. Peter also asks what we can learn from the historical experience of Pacific Islanders, whose cultural and agricultural practices were shaped by a profound understanding that their immediate horizons were in fact the very limits of their worlds. Presented by Dr Andi Horvath.

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#396: Rivers as persons: What it means to give legal rights to nature

Thu, 15 Jun 2017 14:00:00 +0000

Environmental law researcher Erin O'Donnell and economist Julia Talbot-Jones explain what's behind recent moves to give legal personhood to rivers in India, New Zealand and elsewhere. With philosophical roots going back decades, new legal and legislative developments granting personhood to nature seek both to recognise indigenous or religious claims as well as provide new avenues for environmental protection. But what does this mean, and how will giving rights to nature be enforced? Can rivers now bring lawsuits, and can we, in turn, sue them? Presented by Lynne Haultain.

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#395: China in Africa: Who benefits?

Thu, 01 Jun 2017 14:00:00 +0000

Economist Dr Lauren Johnston examines the evolving political and economic relationships between China and Africa, and how the East Asia giant is adapting its own model of aid, trade and investment to grow regional African markets and economies while securing a rising supply of energy and mineral resources for itself. Presented by Peter Clarke.

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#391: Not the highest bidder: China’s crony capitalism and the large scale looting of public assets

Thu, 06 Apr 2017 00:46:21 +0000

Governance expert Prof Minxin Pei describes how collusion between China’s political and business elites have resulted in the privatization of public assets for enormous personal gain. He also explains why the current crackdown on corruption is but a band-aid and that a free media and liberal democracy may be the key elements to a lasting solution. Presented by Peter Clarke.

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#390: The human cost of hate: The lasting damage caused by homophobia and transphobia

Wed, 22 Mar 2017 01:04:05 +0000

Psychiatric epidemiologist Professor Michael King discusses the devastating psychological harm suffered by victims of homophobia and transphobia. He also examines the role of families, governments and religion in curbing the problem. Presented by Lynne Haultain.

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#388: The power of a warm welcome: Forging a humanitarian response to refugees amid negative media imagery

Thu, 23 Feb 2017 13:00:00 +0000

Are refugees fleeing persecution today generally seen as people who need help, or problems to be pushed away? Migration and refugee researcher Prof. Uma Kothari discusses how media representations of asylum seekers influence us in how we attend and respond to the plight of individuals and groups fleeing their countries in search of safety. Presented by Peter Mares.

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#387: Team positive: Taking the science of wellbeing to a systems level

Thu, 09 Feb 2017 13:00:00 +0000

Research psychologist Associate Professor Lindsay Oades explains how positive psychology and wellbeing literacy, once largely focused on the individual, are being taken to a group level to promote healthier, more skillful interactions in organisations and human networks. Presented by Dr Andi Horvath.

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#383: Crimes of state: When a nation goes from protector to perpetrator

Thu, 15 Dec 2016 13:00:00 +0000

Criminologist Penny Green explains how states, entrusted to define crimes and enforce the laws that deter them, can themselves be complicit in the worst social harms. Professor Green is director of the International State Crime Initiative, which seeks to understand how states can become perpetrators rather than protectors, and how civil society groups can be enlisted to fight back. Presented by Lynne Haultain.

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#381: Let's get physical: Designing cities with our health in mind

Thu, 17 Nov 2016 13:00:00 +0000

Urban public health researcher Prof Mark Stevenson describes the better human health outcomes to be had in cities that emphasize active transport modes like cycling and walking, while discouraging dependence on cars. Presented by Lynne Haultain.

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#379: Old and in the way? Aging workers and generational battle lines in the workplace

Thu, 20 Oct 2016 13:00:00 +0000

As populations in the developed economies continue to age due to longer life expectancies and lower birth rates, what will be the impact on the workplace? Is there a place for positive age discrimination at a time of high youth unemployment, or should the rights of all workers -- regardless of their years -- be respected? And to what extent do economics, culture and individual aspiration play into how societies decide how long one can or should work?

Industrial relations and elder law expert Professor Mia Rönnmar, from Lund University, joins host Lynne Haultain for an international perspective on the place and plight of older workers in the workforce.

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#378: Show me the data: Sifting pseudoscience from the real thing

Thu, 06 Oct 2016 13:00:00 +0000

In a world with a bewildering mix of fact and fiction, and in which social and mainstream media only add to the confusion, how do we separate out false or dubious claims from the well-founded and evidence-based? Research and clinical psychologist Prof Scott Lilienfeld joins science host Dr Andi Horvath to help us distinguish pseudoscience from the real thing by exploring popular myths that too often make fools of us.

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#377: Ways of engaging: Challenging harmful ideologies in belief and practice

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Philosopher and social theorist Prof Sally Haslanger outlines the persistence of ideologies like racism or sexism that entrench injustice or privilege, and how we might best combat deeply embedded misconceptions that endure in our societies in defiance of evidence or reasoned argument. Presented by Peter Mares.

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#376: Jihad and 'just war': Twisting the law on the way to the battlefield

Thu, 08 Sep 2016 14:00:00 +0000

International law expert Prof Naz Modirzadeh and political scientist Assoc Prof Andrew March explore how the United States and other governments contort and stretch international and domestic laws to accommodate the waging of war on non-state Islamist forces, and how those forces themselves invoke Islamic law to justify their actions. Presented by Lynne Haultain.

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#374: Not merely emotion: Reclaiming "passion" as a driver of human behavior

Thu, 11 Aug 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Philosopher of the emotions Prof Louis Charland argues that we need to reinstate the notion of "passion" in our understanding of human behaviour. Now little mentioned outside of the arts and self-help domains, passion has deep historical roots and may have important contemporary use as a lens through which to view certain psychiatric conditions. Presented by Dr Andi Horvath.

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#373: Ongoing symptoms: Why isn't treatment for depression and anxiety leading to lower prevalence?

Thu, 28 Jul 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Public health researcher Prof Tony Jorm asks why prevalence of anxiety and depression in North America, Australia and elsewhere has not decreased despite a quarter century of more and better treatment for two of the world's most common mental health problems. Presented by Eric van Bemmel.

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#372: The road to dignity: Philip Alston on freedom from poverty as a human right

Thu, 14 Jul 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Is extreme poverty merely evidence of failed economic policy or should it also be seen as a breach of human rights? Legal scholar and UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston argues that the conversation around human rights has yet to take seriously how the world's very poor are excluded from a life of dignity -- underpinned by access to education, basic health care and housing -- while extreme inequality is itself in part sustained by the blocking of civil and political rights by elites. Presented by Peter Mares.

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#370: Twin engines of truth? How science and law interact to construct our world

Thu, 16 Jun 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Social science and legal scholar Prof Sheila Jasanoff discusses how science and the law interact or compete with one another in the formulation of public reason -- in the economy, the courts and the political landscape. Presented by Lynne Haultain.

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#368: Decision neuroscience: Emerging insights into the way we choose

Thu, 19 May 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Decision science researcher Prof Peter Bossaerts argues that investigating brain activity as we make decisions is generating new insights into how we deal with uncertainty and risk. Once the domain of economists and psychologists, the study of human decision-making is increasingly taking a neuron-level view, with implications well beyond economics and finance. Presented by Eric van Bemmel.

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#367: Publish AND perish: Science and medical researchers under pressure

Thu, 05 May 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Psychiatrist Joeri Tijdink discusses his research into how increasing pressures on science and medical researchers to win funding, achieve positive research results, and publish in highly esteemed journals may be linked to professional burnout and even research misconduct. Presented by Dr Andi Horvath.

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#366: Beyond the caring boss: The powerful management style of Servant Leadership

Thu, 21 Apr 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Management researcher Prof Robert C. Liden explains the organizational leadership approach of Servant Leadership, in which managers commit to exemplary treatment of employees, who in turn respond with excellent treatment of customers -- thus boosting customer loyalty, and raising corporate culture and performance. Liden argues that the empirical studies he and others are doing into this long-term, people-first management style clearly demonstrate its power to benefit and inspire stakeholders across the spectrum. Presented by Elisabeth Lopez.

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#365: Managing transition: How do we prepare for complex social and environmental change?

Thu, 07 Apr 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Transition management thinker Prof Jan Rotmans argues that there must be a radical shakeup of existing institutions and governing structures if we are to deal with the shared, complex challenges emerging in social, economic, energy and environmental realms. Presented by Elisabeth Lopez.

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#364: The end of sustainability: Realism and resilience in managing our natural resources

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 13:00:00 +0000

Environmental legal scholar Prof. Robin Craig argues that the doctrine of sustainability in managing our natural resources fails to take into account an emerging age of ecological uncertainty. Instead, notions of sustainability and sustainable development need to make way for approaches based on resilience thinking, which attempts to factor in and adapt to coming large-scale social and ecological shifts brought about by climate change. Presented by Eric van Bemmel.

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#363: The social life of algorithms: Shaping, and being shaped by, our world

Thu, 10 Mar 2016 13:00:00 +0000

Informatics researcher Professor Paul Dourish explains how algorithms, as more than mere technical objects, guide our social lives and organization, and are themselves evolving products of human social actions. Presented by Dr Andi Horvath.

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#362: Costing us dearly: The toll of austerity policy on public health

Thu, 25 Feb 2016 13:00:00 +0000

Oxford sociologist and political economist Prof. David Stuckler argues that austerity policies imposed by national governments in response to economic crises bring about increases in disturbing public health outcomes -- particularly among those societies' most vulnerable people -- while countries that opt for stimulus-based policies have demonstrably healthier outcomes. Presented by Eric van Bemmel.

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#361: Passions betrayed: The end of "doing what you love" in the workforce

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:00:00 +0000

Dr Miya Tokumitsu argues that young people "following their passion" into jobs and internships, in the creative industries and elsewhere, are more likely to be disappointed or exploited than on a path to fulfillment. Presented by Elisabeth Lopez.

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#360: Can't give it up: The science behind addiction and the brain

Thu, 28 Jan 2016 13:00:00 +0000

Behavioral neuroscientist Prof Andrew Lawrence joins host Dr Andi Horvath to discuss addictive and compulsive behaviors around drug and alcohol use, the power of psychological dependence, and how the brains of addicts differ from those of the rest of us.

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#359: Melody and mayhem: Music, law and the incitement to violence

Thu, 14 Jan 2016 13:00:00 +0000

Legal scholar Dr James Parker discusses the complex intersection of sound and the law -- from musical incitement to violence, to sonic crowd control, to the very deliberate design of courtroom acoustics. Presented by Peter Clarke.

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#358: Eavesdropping on the classroom: How new insights into student interactions can lead to better teaching

Thu, 31 Dec 2015 13:00:00 +0000

Educator and schools researcher Prof David Clarke discusses new understanding of student learning and success in maths and science, gathered from extensive observation of classroom interaction and negotiation styles. Presented by Elisabeth Lopez.

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#356: Digital "dischord": How technology and markets are bleeding our musical artists

Thu, 03 Dec 2015 13:00:00 +0000

Economic geographer Prof Andrew Leyshon charts the rapid changes in the music industry since the 1990s, how new technologies are changing how music is made and consumed, and how artists are affected. Presented by Peter Clarke.

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#355: Hello, Pet!: Our love can hurt our animal friends

uc-editor — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 01:28:56 +0000

Bioethicist Peter Sandøe discusses our complicated relationship with animals and associated moral dilemmas, including how our love for companion animals can actually cause harm and the difference between society’s treatment of pets and production animals. Presented by Peter Clarke.

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#353: From Proletariat to Precariat: Navigating Uncertainty in a Globalised Economy

uc-editor — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 23:09:40 +0000

American labor historian Leon Fink discusses the rise of the Precariat -- people in developed economies in a permanent state of underemployment or intermittent work due to changes in working conditions since the 19th century. Presented by Elisabeth Lopez.

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#350: Superdiversity: Policy challenges in an age of unprecedented migration

uc-editor — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Migration researcher Prof Jenny Phillimore explains how the recent global phenomenon of superdiversity is challenging policy makers and service providers to rethink housing and health care in our cities and beyond. Presented by Lynne Haultain.

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#349: Wild and domestic: A cultural history of human-animal relations

Thu, 27 Aug 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Environmental historian Prof Harriet Ritvo recounts the often ambiguous relationships between the human and animal worlds through history, and explores our need to both tame and take inspiration from the wild. Presented by Dr Andi Horvath.

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#348: Innovation with purpose: Organizations creating and delivering social value

Thu, 13 Aug 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Innovation and entrepreneurship researcher Prof Gerry George looks at how organizations are able to leverage constraints to bring creative approaches to lifting and developing social wellbeing. Presented by Elisabeth Lopez.

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#347: Disciples of the interdisciplinary: Researchers crossing boundaries to unleash creativity

Thu, 30 Jul 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Neuroscientist and science communicator Dr Daniel Glaser discusses the synergistic dividends that arise from research efforts that cross traditional research domains. Presented by Dr Andi Horvath.

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#346: Superstar firms in the global economy: Towards a new understanding of international markets

Thu, 16 Jul 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Oxford economist Prof Peter Neary talks about new research into international trading firms that reveals some uncomfortable truths for policy makers and governments hoping to pick export winners and encourage startups. Presented by Elisabeth Lopez.

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#345: Postmodernism: What is it good for?

Thu, 02 Jul 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Literary theorist Prof Brian McHale explains the origins and trajectory of postmodernism, muses on its role in our cultural expression, and speculates on its demise. Presented by Lynne Haultain.

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#343: Cannabis research: The state of the science in an age of weed liberalization

Thu, 04 Jun 2015 14:00:00 +0000

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#340: Giftedness: Identifying and handling gifted children in schools and at home

Thu, 23 Apr 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Exceptional learning expert Prof John Munro discusses how “giftedness” is assessed in children, how notions of giftedness vary across cultures, adult outcomes for gifted children, and the question of how to handle gifted children at home and in the classroom. Presented by Lynne Haultain.

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#339: Machine politics: Electronic voting and the persistent doubts about its integrity

Thu, 09 Apr 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Alex Halderman and Vanessa Teague, security experts in electronic and internet voting, argue that despite the speed and efficiency promises of e-balloting, it has yet to convincingly deliver the privacy, reliability and vote integrity that the democratic process requires and that voters expect. Presented by Elisabeth Lopez.

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