Exploring Global Problems: Recent Episodes
Swansea University
A podcast about the ground breaking research by Swansea University into global challenges. We explore topics from health innovation and climate change, to clean energy and human-centred digital technologies.
In this episode of Exploring Global Problems, our host Dr Sam Blaxland is joined by 2021 Hillary Rodham Clinton Global Challenges scholars, Felicity Mulford and August Dichter, along with Politics lecturer Dr Bettina Petersohn. Felicity discusses her research, which focuses on mass starvation as a weapon of war, while August shares his research on state sponsored disinformation campaigns and weaponising the internet. Dr Bettina, the programme lead of the new BSc Leadership for Global Challenges, talks about Swansea University’s new undergraduate programme, which is launching this year. She also discusses her own research on cooperation and global challenges, addressed from local, national and international levels.
To find out more about research at Swansea University, visit https://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/
Children’s physical activity levels are associated with both physiological and psychosocial health. Current physical activity guidelines recommend children to engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity every day. However, despite this, it is estimated that over a third of children fail to meet these recommended guidelines, with a common barrier suggested to be technology.
In this episode of Exploring Global Problems, Professor Kelly Mackintosh along with our host, Dr Sam Blaxland discuss the impact COVID-19 has had, specifically on children’s physical activity. They later explore the importance and health benefits associated with exercise and discover how we can all make some positive changes to our lifestyles by embedding physical activity into our daily routines.
Professor Mackintosh is primarily interested in children’s physical activity and health, and in particular, school-based interventions. Within this area her work focuses on physical activity measurement and the role of behaviour change in developing physically active young people. Professor Mackintosh is currently the Director of Research Staff for the Faculty of Science and Engineering, and leads the Exercise, Medicine and Health Research Group. Her research focusses on physical activity measurement and promotion, with a particular interest and focus in children.
To find out more about Swansea University's research, visit https://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/
Professor Stuart Macdonald discusses his research into counterterrorism with our host Dr Sam Blaxland in this episode of Exploring Global Problems. The episode explores Stuart’s work on terrorist’ use of the internet, particularly cyberterrorism and online propaganda and radicalisation.
Stuart’s most recent work on terrorist propaganda has examined violent jihadist narratives, their dissemination via social media, and legal and policy responses. Prior to this, his work focused on cyberterrorism, examining definitional issues, threat assessment and questions of response.
To find out more about Swansea University's research, visit https://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/
In this episode of Exploring Global Problems, Professor of Law Yvonne McDermott Rees and 2020 Hillary Rodham Clinton Global Challenges Programme scholars Charlotte Morgan and Andrea Stanišić discuss child poverty, environmental human rights, and how social media evidence can be used for accountability for mass human rights violations. Yvonne’s research focuses on international criminal law, human rights law, and the law of evidence. She recently led a large Economic and Social Research Council-funded project on the use of open-source evidence for human rights fact-finding. Yvonne has published in leading journals including the American Journal of International Law, Leiden Journal of International Law, Journal of International Criminal Justice, International Criminal Law Review, and Law, Probability, and Risk. Charlotte’s research examined whether children in Wales are unable to access their rights due to the socioeconomic disadvantage that they experience, and how this disadvantage has been worsened by Covid-19. She works as a Policy and Public Affairs Intern at British Heart Foundation Cymru, addressing health inequalities in Wales. Andrea conducted research in environmental human rights, exploring developments and trends in the human rights approach to environmental protection. She worked at think tank Centre for Democracy and Human Rights in Montenegro and cooperated with ClientEarth and American Bar Association on research projects.
To find out more about Swansea University's research, visit https://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/
In this episode of Exploring Global Problems, Professor Serena Margadonna and our host, Dr Sam Blaxland discuss the role of batteries in the fight against climate change and the need for better batteries for a decarbonised society.
Her work has been inspired by the simple realisation that major advances in modern technology are always driven by the availability of materials which possess a number of functionalities and are able to operate at different length scales, in harsh conditions such as extremes of pressures/temperature and highly corrosive environments.
Professor Margadonna over the years has acquired knowledge and know-how in a number of fields in science starting from her chemical background, indispensable for the design and production of new materials, through condensed matter physics and process engineering.
To find out more about Swansea University's research, visit https://www.swansea.ac.uk/research/
More and more young people are choosing to study STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects at University but there still exists a gender imbalance when looking at the number of girls choosing to study Physics post-16.
In this episode of Exploring Global Problems, Dr Sarah Roberts and our host, Dr Sam Blaxland discuss the importance of role models and Physics teachers in making the subject more exciting for their pupils, and how astronomy can be used as a hook to inspire and enthuse all school children to study Physics and STEM subjects.
They also discuss Dr Robert's own work with the Faulkes Telescope Project, an educational outreach project aimed at engaging young people in science. They talk about the ability of school pupils to carry out real research with real scientists, and what discoveries schools have made using the Faulkes Telescopes. If you would like to learn more about this project, please visit the Faulkes Telescope Project website.
More recently, Dr Roberts has had funding from STFC (Science Technology Facilities Council) to run an astronomy outreach project in Wales called 'Stardust Hunters' where primary school children are encouraged to plan scientific investigations, hunting for dust from space in their gardens and school yards. For more information on this project, please visit the Stardust Hunters website.
Could nanotechnology, the technology as small as viruses, found in your mobile phone, see an end to animal testing? It sounds a bit sci-fi, but Professor Shareen Doak and her team thinks the answer is quite literally in the little things. When we say little we mean tiny, smaller than the width of a human hair.
In this episode, Professor Doak delves into her team’s world of nano-genotoxicology. Their work looks at how these tiny particles used in day-to-day items, and medicines may cause DNA damage potentially causing cancer.
Professor Doak’s work looks at how we can create regulatory tests and tools for nanotechnology as they proliferate in our societies. The tests she is developing are creating better and more reliable ways of testing products with the potential to leave the need to leave animal testing redundant.
The tourism industry has faced many challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also forced the industry to address some difficult questions; from the impact tourism has on sustainability, access to travel to the impact of over-tourism.
In this episode of Exploring Global Problems, Dr Maggie Miller and our host, Dr Sam Blaxland discuss the human dimensions of tourism sustainability and the role we play as tourists within the global community.
They also consider the potential future of the tourism industry, as well as Maggie’s work and research in Nepal, particularly the role of Sherpas and their absence from much of the external discourse. If you would like to learn more about this topic, watch Maggie’s documentary https://vimeo.com/210223199. They also reference the Netflix documentary Sherpa https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80076001.
Most recently, Maggie’s research has focussed on access to and representation within adventure tourism, particularly the role gender plays in determining how people engage with adventure tourism activities and associated entrepreneurial adventures.
In the UK, one person every 90 seconds is admitted to hospital with a suspected brain injury. More than 350,000 people are diagnosed with a brain injury every year in the UK. This has left a legacy of epidemic proportions where 1.3million people now live in the UK with a brain injury, costing the UK economy more than £15billion a year.
In the UK and around the world we are living with a “Silent Epidemic”, and we rarely talk about it. Along with our host Dr Sam Blaxland, Dr Claire Williams will be talking about this “Silent Epidemic”, Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), from her perspective as a clinically focussed Psychologist.
Dr Williams’ interest is in the development of tools to recognise, diagnose and treat people with brain injuries. Any brain injury can have a significant impact on a person’s emotional functioning and can leave neurobehavioral legacies. Dr Williams and her team have developed the SASNOS tool (St Andrews-Swansea Neurobehavioral Outcomes Scale). We will explore what ABI is, the impact of ABI on a patient and how Dr Williams and her team’s SASNOS tool can help us tackle this global problem.
Discussing how literature represents environmental issues, including climate change, and the part writers play in engaging the public imagination around alternative ways of being. In this episode of Exploring Global Problems, we’re joined by Lecturer in Contemporary Writing and Digital Cultures Dr Chris Pak, Associate Professor in Modern Languages Dr Lloyd Davies, and Professor in Creativity Owen Sheers.
They examine how science fiction explores the relationships between science, societies and their environments; consider how climate change is represented in the literatures of Spain and Latin America; and look at the role of good art in shaping the reflections of audiences.*
Despite how natural it is to breastfeed, Professor Amy Brown’s research found that in the UK many parents are struggling with how we feed our babies. Many people think it is as simple as making a decision to breastfeed or formula feed their baby. From her own experiences and her research Professor Brown has found that too many parents encounter barriers to their choice to breastfeed.
In this episode of Exploring Global Problems Professor Amy Brown, with Dr Sam Blaxland unpacks research into how parents can be better supported in their decision to breastfeed and how challenges and barriers can be overcome for those who decide to.
The work of Professor Amy Brown and her team in the Lactation, Infant Feeding and Translational Research (LIFT) aims to provide parents with the support and resources they need. Coming to this topic from a Psychology background her research explores the Psychological impacts of the barriers that parents face when choosing to breastfeed.
In this episode of Exploring Global Problems, Professor Tom Crick (Professor of Digital Education & Policy), and Dr Yan Wu (Associate Professor in Media and Communication), examine digital inclusivity. They discuss digital education, including how to become digitally confident and capable citizens in a data-driven and computational world; how digital education supports wider work across the digital economy, infrastructure, society and culture; and the issues of inclusion and accessibility, and especially sensory impaired people’s access to and usage of digital media in Wales.
Professor Crick has been heavily involved with curriculum reform in Wales over the past 10 years, with a specific focus on STEM education and digital skills. In 2017, he was appointed MBE for “services to computer science and the promotion of computer science education” and was awarded the 2020 BERA Public Engagement and Impact Award for “Leading the Future of Science & Technology Education in Wales”. Professor Crick is also a Commissioner of the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales (2018-present), as well as previously an expert panel member for the Welsh Government’s Review of Digital Innovation in the Economy and the Future of Work (2019).
Dr Wu’s research in the past 10 years focuses on the impact of digitalisation of services and information on the welfare of sensory impaired users in Wales. It highlights how increasing digitalisation brings not only many benefits, but also risks of exclusion, and possible widening of the existing digital gaps. Dr Wu and her research team conducted empirical research combined with related engagement with end-users and beneficiaries, which has had a substantive influence on digital inclusion policies and practices in Wales. Specifically, the research work has helped shape and promote new media practices within broadcasting organisations in 2014. The recent research with the Royal National Institute of Blind People in 2018 has also influenced digital inclusion policy initiatives of government bodies, non-profit and non-governmental organisations. Dr Wu represents Swansea University as a member for Wales Vision Strategy 2018-2021.
In this episode of Exploring Global Problems, Professor Ronan Lyons discusses with Dr Sam Blaxland how anonymised big data is used to help tackle all manner of health and well-being challenges and how this expertise informed Government Response to COVID-19.
In a hard-hitting interview, Dr Blaxland explores what next? When can we expect to be back to normal? And were the sacrifices of peoples liberties and freedoms the right call?
The work of Professor Ronan Lyons and his teams at Swansea University focus on using anonymised health data in order to help inform policy makers and practitioners across Wales, the UK and globally.
Led by Professor Ronan Lyons, Professor in Public Health, Patient and Population Health Informatics researchers at Swansea University used their insight and expertise to help inform Welsh Government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their expertise actively helping respond and bring the pandemic under control in Wales.
Welcome to season two of Exploring Global Problems. In this episode, Associate Professor in Politics Dr Matt Wall, Associate Professor in Media and Communication Dr Richard Thomas, and Professor of Politics Jonathan Bradbury discuss their work on political engagement, the internet and public opinion, devolution, and whether reporting of political issues is helping citizens to make informed decisions at the ballot box.
Dr Wall’s expertise is the intersection of the internet and electoral politics, including online campaigning, the emergence of ‘vote advice’ websites, and political gambling. He also researches sub-national political parties, with a particular focus on how they are responding to the challenges posed by Brexit to the UK’s devolution settlement.
Dr Thomas’s research concerns political communication, alt-media and the coverage of elections. He is the co-author of “Reporting Elections: Rethinking the Logic of Campaign Coverage”. His interests include the degree to which citizens are served by both mainstream and alternative media.
Professor Bradbury’s research focuses on the territorial politics of how the UK is governed, relating both to devolved and local government. His interests include the quality of regional democracy, principally in relation to the UK and Wales.
Zoology professor Rory Wilson talks about how his research helps to prevent endangered animals being poached. Rory explains how he tracks the movement of endangered species using electronic tags and how this data is used to protect them. He helps humans and animals to successfully cohabit and analyses the impact of the human environment on animal behaviour. Rory talks about his fascinating work with penguins, albatross, elephants and tortoises.
Professor Lorenzo-Dus’s research focusses on the ‘dark side’ of social media, working to help combat individuals and groups looking to deceive, manipulate, exploit and incite violence.
The research programme that Professor Lorenzo-Dus leads is called Developing Resilience against Online Grooming (DRaOG). She works with a team of linguists, criminologists, computer scientists and in partnership with law enforcement agencies and charities internationally.
As part of the DRaOG programme they are identifying the manipulative tactics that adults use when seeking to sexually groom minors online, and – most importantly - using the results of this research to develop individual and social resilience against it.
How could bacteria be used to prevent the spread of malaria or Zika virus? Could this research also be used to treat or even cure cancers? Professor Paul Dyson explains how his research could be the next major advance in cancer treatment to Dr Sam Blaxland in this next instalment of our Exploring Global Problems Podcast.
Currently, there is a massive drive to solve global warming and to minimise the effects waste gases have on the environment. Dr Emily Preedy’s research focuses on using waste Carbon Dioxide to help grow algae to clean up waste fumes from local industry. Emily talks about her work, the many useful properties of algae and the little things we can do to reduce our carbon footprint.
Dr Ian Mabbett talks about SUNRISE, a project which aims to develop new materials for energy generation, storage and use that are integrated into buildings. The project takes ideas from labs into production, ideally locally where needed, then produces buildings that act as energy hubs across India, where 300 million people lack reliable 24/7 power. The work impacts on many of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, including affordable and clean energy, clean water and sanitation; and responsible consumption and production.
Is exploitative work becoming the new normal? Does the world of work have to be this way? Professor Geraint Harvey of Swansea University's School of Management deliberates new forms of work, which have become known as the gig economy, what they look like and how they impact the worker. Think you know the benefits to the gig economy? Think again.
The World Health Organisation has called it a public health crisis and burn injuries have been described as a “disease of poverty”. In this episode, Consultant Plastic Surgeon and Professor of Human and Health Sciences Tom Potokar discusses his research into burn injuries and his work to improve their care and prevention in conflict environments and poorer parts of the world. Tom talks about working in countries such as Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Nepal to improve the care of victims of burn injuries by building the capacity of those treating them.
Dr Nigel Pollard discusses his work on the protection of heritage in conflict zones around the world and why it is important from both a moral and philosophical perspective. In this episode of Exploring Global Problems, drawing on his work in places such as Syria, Egypt and Italy, Nigel explains how protecting heritage can help to rebuild communities broken apart by conflict. He talks about the importance of heritage sites to local and national economies and how armed forces on peace-keeping missions can win the support of local communities by respecting local heritage.
The UK produces 200 million tonnes of waste each year and one quarter of that goes to landfill. The resources that we need are becoming more and more scarce. Where are we going to get those critical raw materials for things like power generation and medical devices in the future? How do we start designing products so we recycle those resources and not just put them in landfill? Associate Professor’s Gavin Bunting and Matthew Davies talk about the Circular Economy and Swansea University's work in next generation solar energy technology and how we are making sustainable renewable energy.
From supermarkets to high speed trains, politics to lottery tickets; economics is embedded in all that we do. Dr Simon Rudkin explains how economics isn’t just about maths and money; our happiness in our choices is paramount.
They were known as “legal highs”, and they pose a significant threat to public health. Programme Director for Pharmacy at Swansea Dr Amira Guirguis and Dr Sam Blaxland explore the relationship of vaping to recent deaths in America, and how Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) can be better understood, classified and treated.
How a human-centred approach to digital technology helps to address global problems. Computer Scientist, Professor Matt Jones, discusses his research into street-speaker systems in India and how working with emergent users to design technology makes a real difference to their lives. Matt also talks about a ‘digital darkness’ in terms of privacy, artificial intelligence, the breakdown in face-to-face communication and how we can use a human-centred approach to overcome this.
The world is losing the battle against bacteria and is running out of effective antibiotics…but can maggots save the human race? In this episode, Biomedical Scientist, Professor Yamni Nigam, discusses her research into wounds and antimicrobial resistance. Yamni talks about using maggots to combat the antimicrobial crisis and heal infected wounds while working to overcome the “yuck factor” associated with these creepy crawly medical powerhouses.
Global temperature changes we have experienced in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries are unprecedented in terms of speed, suggesting a real climate emergency. Professor Mary Gagen, of Swansea University’s Geography Department, measures tree ring data – ‘weather stations across the world’. Her research focuses on climate change over the last few thousand years, to determine how our current global changes compare to recent history.