ResearchPod

“Global Quality of Democracy as an Innovation Enabler" by Dr David Campbell, University of Vienna, asks how can we conceptualise and measure democracy? Can we determine the quality of democracy in global comparison, and how does quality of democracy act and play in favour of enabling innovation?

Read the book through Palgrave Macmillan here: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72529-1

Professor Maria Pilar de Lara-Castells from the Institute of Fundamental Physics at the Spanish National Research Council is leading research in order to uncover the special properties of a new generation of materials: subnanometer-sized metal clusters, which could push the next generation of photocatalysts to a new level.

Read about the research in these three papers: 

1. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9TA00994A
2. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0TA00062K
3. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b06620

Prof Alexander David of the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary, has developed a new framework that demonstrates the strong link between the slope of the futures curve and long-run exploration and production decisions of energy companies.

Prof David’s model analyses the trends seen in the oil market by examining the impact of resource extraction through drilling, the effects of the amount of the commodity that the firms store, and the firms’ investment in exploration and development on current and future prices. In his paper, Prof David asks how oil futures prices affect exploration decisions.

Read his paper in the Review of Financial Studies here: https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhy067

Religions across the world incorporate group prayer, dancing and devotions.  Dr James Jones, clinical psychologist and Emeritus Professor of Religion at Rutgers University, explores how bodily behaviours, such as religious ritual, can affect a person’s perception of the world and their religious experience.

Read a summary of his work in Research Outreach: https://researchoutreach.org/articles/neuropsychology-how-ritual-creates-religion/

Read his original paper in the Archive for the Psychology of Religion: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0084672420903112

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most widespread forms of the disease. As with many other cancers, the best chance of survival comes with early diagnosis, but that isn't always possible for all patients. Dr Claudio Scafoglio and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles have identified a new diagnostic technique that could efficiently identify the earliest stages of lung cancer.

Read a summary of their work in Research Outreach : https://researchoutreach.org/articles/novel-imaging-technique-could-lead-early-diagnosis-lung-cancer/
Read the original paper in Science Translational Medicine : https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/10/467/eaat5933

Cooperation with others, including strangers, has helped humanity prosper throughout history. However, much of the psychology of cooperation is still unexplained, especially in the realm of indirect reciprocity, or cooperation without repeated encounters.  Dr Isamu Okada, Associate Professor at Soka University, is exploring the responses of people participating in reputation-based cooperation games to distinguish between the good who deserve to be cooperated with, and the bad.

Read more about Dr Okada's work in two papers from Scientific Reports, here and here.

Dr Vishruta Dumane, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, is working on improving breast cancer treatments with the goal of delivering the most effective radiotherapy dose to the tumour, while limiting the risk treatment poses to other parts of the body.

Her recent research looks at the use of deep inspiration breath holds (DIBH) during volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) to reduce exposure of critical organs, such as the heart and lungs.

For more on Dr Dumanes research, read her article in Research Outreach: https://researchoutreach.org/articles/breath-hold-techniques-during-volumetric-modulated-arc-therapy-breast-cancer-patients/

Read the original paper this episode is based on in Radiation Oncology: https://ro-journal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13014-018-1132-9

Dr Richard C. Mitchell, Professor of Child and Youth Studies at Brock University in Canada, celebrates the work of youth climate activists and advocates for a transdisciplinary approach to education.

Read more about his research here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02604027.2018.1485435

Decades of conflict in the middle east and north Africa have left scores dead, an entire generation displaced, and lingering damages to health, infrastructure and culture. Meanwhile in America and Europe, surveillance states and civil restrictions have come to be the accepted cost of constant, distant war. As the world rounds on a new War against coronavirus, Drake Logan speaks with us about lingering toxicity, life in war time, and legos.

Read Drakes latest paper here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0921374018821209

Follow Drake on Twitter : @dr3keness
 

We are all increasingly aware of the extent of humanity’s impact on Earth. The increasing concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases and Earth’s changing climate are constant in our news, but there are other ways that humans are directly impacting the environment. Production of food is vital for society, but finding sustainable and environmentally friendly methods of feeding everyone must be a priority.

Dr. Agnieszka Latawiec from Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and co-founder of the International Institute for Sustainability in Brazil is particularly interested in improving the management of pasturelands. Read more about her research here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-47647-x