Sydney Ideas

Assoc Professor Abbas El-Zein, School of Civil Engineering, University of Sydney and Tayanah O’Donnell, University of Canberra discuss the complexities associated with rising sea levels and the decision-making being made at a municipal level.

The idea of “East” and “West” as immutable and irreconcilable cultures, geographies and civilisations has been around for a long while. It has been used in various guises to imagine a “Middle East” that is the antithesis of – and inferior to – the “West” in values, practices and ideas. Arab migration to the “West” profoundly undermines this persistent argument, and the peregrinations of millions of Arab migrants lays bare its inherent contradictions.

This talk by Professor Akram Khater (Director of the Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies, North Carolina State University) explores how Arab migration to the US shaped both the Middle East and the US, and tied them together inexorably through the movement of people, ideas and commodities over the past 150 years.

Recent protest movements in Europe and the Middle East have called for a greater political voice, a more equitable economy, and greater social justice. Yet five years after the mass mobilisation of the 'Arab Uprisings' and of Europe's anti-austerity movements, the message of these protests seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

The Middle East has seen a powerful wave of counter-revolution sweep the region. In Europe political elites have attempted to prevent new leftist movements from achieving power while the political landscape has drifted slowly but surely to the xenophobic right.

This panel considers the response of Europe and the Middle East to the opportunities for democratic transformation afforded by the 2010-15 wave of protests, why those opportunities were missed, and what can be done to address the underlying tensions in these societies.

For more info and speaker's biography see this page: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/europe_and_arab_uprisings.shtml

Guided by experimental tests of theory and practice, science and engineering have advanced rapidly in the past 500 years. Guided primarily by tradition and dogma, science education meanwhile has remained largely medieval. Research on how people learn is now revealing much more effective ways to teach, learn, and evaluate learning than what is in use in the traditional science class.

SPEAKER:

Professor Carl Wieman holds a joint appointment as Professor of Physics and of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. He has done extensive experimental research in both atomic physics and science education at the university level. Wieman has received numerous awards recognizing his work in atomic physics, including the Nobel Prize in physics in 2001 for the first creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate. He served as Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House in 2010-12.

More info:

http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/professor_carl_weiman.shtml

Do dolphins say ‘Huh?’ when they mishear other dolphins’ squeaks? Do gorillas point it out when other gorillas drop things on the ground? Can a currawong quote the call of another currawong? Do ants gossip? Sadly, the answer to these questions is no. But why not?

This lecture explores the idea that humans are equipped with a unique combination of social and cognitive capacities that together constitute a ‘conversation machine’, without which language as we know it would not exist.

Professor Nick Enfield presents new research on core features of the human conversation machine, including our cooperative tendencies, our heightened sense of accountability, and the fact that ours is the only communication system that can be used for making statements about itself.

For more about Insights lecture series see this page: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/Insights2016.shtml

As the age of cheap oil and fossil fuels is coming to an end, humanity will face an energy crisis. Many alternative energy sources have already been identified. However, there is no optimal solution to replace fossil fuels on a short time scale with new sources that are economically viable and environmentally sustainable in the long term. History reports disastrous consequences for human societies that exploited their resources in a non-sustainable way, and arguably this is exactly what is happening today on a global scale. Evidence for climate change is overwhelming.

Federico Rosei is one of the world’s leaders in nanomaterials and its applications in photonics. Concerned about the looming energy crisis, he proposes some solutions involving the use of advanced materials and nanotechnology for energy saving, energy storage and energy conversion.

For more info and speaker's biography see this page: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/professor_federico_rosei.shtml

China sees itself as a victim of imperialism and colonialism. The modern Chinese nationalism, including the one adopted and promoted by the Chinese Communist Party, is defined through this. International scholarship on China often takes this narrative of China as anti-imperialist for granted.

Professor Dibyesh Anand (University of Westminster, London) interrogates this narrative and argues that there is a fundamental disjuncture at the heart of the modern nation-state project in China.

For more info and speaker's biography see this page: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/assoc_professor_dibyesh_anand.shtml

A panel discussion with seven contestants from a popular Chinese TV dating show.

The Chinese TV dating show If You Are The One has become a global cultural phenomenon. With a viewing audience of up to 50 million people per episode, it has received a cult following in Australia thanks to regular screenings on SBS2.

What’s behind the show’s popularity? Is this what dating is like in today’s China? And are the contestants looking for love, fame or both?

Seven contestants from the recently aired Australian specials discuss their experiences.

Annie Shu, David Zhang, Feng Guo and Linda Li joined SBS’s Dr Jing Han, who in the course of translating over 150 episodes has become one of Australia’s foremost experts on If You Are The One.

Hosted by Claudia Chan Shaw, designer, director and festival curator.

More info: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/if_you_are_the_one_forum.shtml

The past decade has solidified and advanced two important tracks in helping researchers understand learning: neuroscience and big data. Sophisticated imaging techniques allow insight into the functioning of the human brain that was until recently unimaginable. Small controlled studies are laying a foundation for a new science of learning.

In contrast, big data, often generated in technological environments, presents researchers with fuzzier and messier data than what is common in neuroscience. The large N, however, offers tantalising insights into the social, affective, and meta-cognitive aspects of learning as it happens in authentic work and school settings.

In this presentation Professor George Siemens (Director of the LINK Research Lab at the University of Texas, Arlington) explores the methodological differences that underpin the neuroscience and big data (learning analytics) frameworks of learning research and suggest ways in which they might contribute to future educational models.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND SPEAKER'S BIOGRAPHY SEE THIS PAGE: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/professor_george_siemens.shtml

Professor Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University

In public health terms soft-drinks, called soda in the US, are low-hanging fruit. Containing little more than sugars and water, and increasing linked to obesity and other health problems, they are an easy target for health advocacy. In the US sodas have enabled their makers, primarily Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, to become multibillion dollar, international industries.

Health advocates, however, have found many ways to counter the relentless marketing and political pressures. As a result, soda sales are falling, at least in the United States and Mexico. Lessons learned from soda advocacy are applicable to advocacy for additional aspects of the movement toward healthier and more sustainable food systems.

For further information and speaker's biography see this page

http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/professor_marion_nestle.shtml