This is Lancaster. Global research tales from the North of England.

This is Lancaster. Global research tales from the North of England.

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This is Lancaster. Global research tales from the North of England. episodes

  • An unfair business
    The UK may be experiencing record levels of employment, but for millions work remains insecure, poorly paid and unsustainable. Ben Harrison, Director of Lancaster University’s Work Foundation discusses why their mission is as important today as it was 100 years ago, and how at Lancaster we’re pushing for positive changes in employment policy and practice

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    17 min
  • Blue Skies science tackles forest fires
    From exploring the raw beauty of the Northern Lights and a passionate belief in the pursuit of scientific knowledge for its own sake, space scientist Professor Michael Kosch takes us on a dazzling journey through his career filled with excitement, discovery, and adventure. Tune in to hear how space weather experts harnessed knowledge of theoretical physics and turned it into an extraordinary social and economic good when they produced a spin-out company capable of detecting a smoke plume as small as a BBQ 10 miles away in a forest, saving billions of pounds worth of trees and Carbon Dioxide.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    16 min
  • Inside the Amazon
    Lancaster University‘s Dr Erika Berenguer gives a deeply personal account of observing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest – a region full of mystery that inspired a scientific career dedicated to understanding and protecting this crucial tropical ecosystem.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    14 min
  • Racing the virus
    The impact of losing livestock to disease in his rural childhood in Punjab, Pakistan gave Professor Mohammed Munir an early insight into the devastating impact of infectious diseases and sparked a lifelong fascination with virology. From studying Coronavirus in bats in Brazil to developing a nasal spray vaccine to combat COVID-19, Professor Munir explains that with hundreds of animal viruses in circulation, and human activities encroaching on wildlife, understanding the spread of viruses has never been so important.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    14 min
  • Transforming the NHS: Improving patient care through compassionate leadership

    As stress levels for NHS staff reach an all-time high “far beyond the need for mindfulness and yoga”, Professor Michael West from Lancaster University says there’s a need to change workplace culture and conditions to retain the staff it has, to help fill the 100,000 vacancies across NHS Trusts and to improve the quality of patient care.


    In this episode, Professor West talks about the workforce crisis plaguing the NHS and how his research, which saw the NHS staff survey introduced back in 2003, is helping to reshape leadership teams across the NHS and improve patient care.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    14 min
  • Caught Red Handed
    Professor Dame Sue Black explains how the astonishing bravery of a child sexual abuse survivor led her on a path to developing pioneering research into forensic hand analysis that would stand up in court. Thanks to Professor Black and her team, Lancaster University is now home to the world’s largest searchable database of the anatomy and variations of the human hand and their work is set to make a difference to those attempting to bring abusers to justice. Here she offers a fascinating glimpse of her research career and talks about her plans for the future.

    • ‘A quick warning: This episode contains discussions about traumatic events, including sexual abuse.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    19 min
  • Discovering Wordsworth
    From the benefits of getting out of the house and into nature, to his thoughts on the place of poetry in response to tyranny, Professors Sally Bushell and Simon Bainbridge of Lancaster University’s Wordsworth Centre share the lessons they have learned from William Wordsworth - a poet they both came to appreciate ...despite some early hesitation.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    20 min
  • A Good Death
    Seeing people die without the best in pain relief and care, drove Professor Nancy Preston to seek ways of improving end-of-life experiences for the dying and their families. Talking to her colleague Professor Sheila Payne, the pair discuss their pioneering work which sets out to improve the way we die - making it as pain-free as possible and taking the best possible care of those that are left behind.
    • ‘A quick warning: This episode contains frank discussions about end of life care, death and grief.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    17 min
  • Sugar highs and the human brain


    Next time you reach for a sugary snack, you might want to think about Professor Sunram-Lea’s work examining the impact of sugar highs on the human brain. Her work exploded the myth that sugar improves human performance and instead exposed a more troubling connection between human cognition and the blood sugar roller-coaster.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    16 min
  • Families at the sharp edge of justice

    Families at the sharp edge - in this episode social scientist and former social worker Professor Karen Broadhurst of Lancaster University describes how she stepped into academia to 'change the world' for women and children in the justice system. 'When we take a child out of a family and a community what kind of a scar does that leave?' Professor Broadhurst and her colleagues are making the case for better help and justice for struggling families, so that fewer children need to come into care.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    16 min

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This is Lancaster. Global research tales from the North of England.

 

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