St Edmund Hall Research Expo 2015: Teddy Talks

A brief overview of the event

Investigating how schools may help improve diet, particularly in low- and middle-income countries In recent decades, Sri Lanka has experienced a social, economic, demographic and environmental transition. Currently it suffers a double burden of under- and over-nutrition. It is important to align health promotion and development. This DPhil, which is part of a larger “Integrating Nutrition Promotion and Rural Development” project, investigates how schools may help improve diet, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This presentation describes findings from qualitative research with school principals and staff (n=55) on perceived barriers to healthy diet choice amongst students. Participants identified barriers at all layers of a socio-ecological framework, supporting the use of multifactorial programmes to promote nutrition.

This lecture illustrates the ways in which the landscape in Central Asia has been influenced by active faults and earthquakes and will examine the hazard faced at the present-day. Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan are lands of high mountains, faults, and earthquakes in the heart of Asia. The active deformation is due to the collision of India and Asia, which has generated faulting and mountain-building covering a region stretching from the Himalaya to Siberia, and is one of the main testing-grounds for theories of continental tectonics. A feature of many of the regions in which mountains are forming at the present-day - including central Asia - is that they are situated hundreds, or even thousands, of kilometres away from plate boundaries. As well as causing a widespread hazard to local populations, the very wide distribution of faulting within the continents show that they behave rather differently from oceanic plates, in which relative plate motions are accommodated within very narrow plate boundary zones. We still do not understand the rules that govern the distribution, in space and time, of major episodes of mountain building; but an essential first step in understanding these rules, which remains one of the fundamental goals in the study of continental tectonics, is to provide constraints on the distribution, rates, and evolution of deformation.

The importance of looking at the American colonial period not as the ‘Thirteen Colonies’ but as a British America consisting of twenty-six colonies and provinces. This discussion emphasises the importance of looking at the American colonial period not as the ‘Thirteen Colonies’ but as a British America consisting of twenty-six colonies and provinces. The US founding myth has persisted in part because it is such a big part of American culture and identity that no one questions it, and because it has been reinforced by a Canadian national narrative which emphasised loyalty to King and Empire to distinguish it from the US. Drawing parallels to contemporaneous demonstrations in Britain and the existence of Stamp Act riots in Nova Scotia and the West Indies I will argue that the Stamp Act riots should not necessarily be seen as the start of a revolution, and dispute the image of Loyalists as predominately wealthy merchants and government officials.

How non-invasive brain stimulation techniques might work, and how we have started to use them in stroke survivors. Non-invasive brain stimulation has been around for thousands of years - from the use of electric fish in Ancient Greece to cure headaches, to the modern use of very small electric currents passed through the brain via two electrodes placed on the scalp. Today, we use stimulation to modulate on-going brain activity, with the ultimate aim of improving hand use after stroke. Here I will discuss a little about how these techniques might work, and how we have started to use them in stroke survivors.

From predicting the properties of nanotechnological devices to the structural stability of small proteins and dynamics of water. Atomistic computer simulations of matter based on solving quantum mechanical equations is an interdisciplinary area that touches physics, chemistry, and a part of biology. By calculating the electronic structure of an arrangement of atoms, and at the same time predicting the forces acting on the individual nuclei (which are themselves quantum particles), it is possible to calculate a range of properties of known and unknown materials and molecules in a computer. I will illustrate some of the successes of these theories, from predicting the properties of nanotechnological devices to the structural stability of small proteins and dynamics of water.

Reviewing the methodology surrounding missing data in research and statistical analysis, clarifying why it can contribute to misleading results. Missing data is present in almost all research. However, it is also a well-recognised problem in the analysis and reporting of clinical research due to its potential to introduce bias into the results. Patient-reported outcomes measures, which are increasingly used in clinical research, can be particularly susceptible to missing data. This presentation will review the methodology surrounding missing data in research and statistical analysis, clarifying why it can contribute to misleading results. Guidance for the handling and reporting of missing data in clinical research will be presented, and compared to current practice, with a focus on randomised controlled trials.

How mathematicians think about the puzzle that Christopher Monckton launched in 1999. In 1999 Christopher Monckton launched a new type of puzzle, similar to a jigsaw but with 209 plain green plastic pieces with geometric shapes. To attract interest, and increase sales, he offered a £1,000,000 prize for the first solution if found within a time limit of a few years. I'll describe some of the ideas Alex Selby and I developed to work on this puzzle, and try to explain (without details!) how mathematicians think about such things. I'll also outline where the inventor, who expected the puzzle to be much too hard to be solved, went wrong.

How do debt managers decide about the maturity of new public debt? Typical debt management objectives include: cost minimization, economic stabilization and tax smoothing, and adjusting to investor preferences. These objectives cannot be all achieved simultaneously. Theoretical models from the normative literature point to (2) tax smoothing as the optimal strategy. Yet due to scarcity of empirical research, it is not clear whether that is what debt managers actually follow. In this positivist panel data analysis, I operationalize various strategies and apply the system GMM approach. Preliminary findings are that in 1980-2010, OECD debt managers have primarily followed strategies (1) and (3), in contrast to theoretical literature.

Why animals are everywhere in Shakespeare's language. Only two actual animals definitely appear in Shakespeare’s plays: a naughty dog in The Two Gentlemen of Verona and a hungry bear in The Winter’s Tale. But animals are everywhere in Shakespeare’s language. This talk will offer some suggestions as to why that is, and will show that the much-vaunted idea of human specialness in the Renaissance was highly precarious

How we need to characterize materials at atomic level in order to understand their macroscopic behaviour. Some components of nuclear reactors, such as steam generators, can weigh over 300 tonnes (4m diameter and 20m tall) and are expected to be safely in service for over 20 years. However, it is not unusual that they suffer from environmental degradation and develop cracks that can ultimately force their replacement (which is very costly to the nuclear industry). In this talk, I will show how we currently need to characterize materials at atomic level in order to understand their macroscopic behaviour. So, in another words, to explain how a crack propagates in a 300 tonne structure, we need to look at the atoms right ahead of the crack tip.

An introduction to the theory of unreliable narration and outlines two critical approaches: the cognitivist and the rhetorical. Body language experts and polygraph tests can help us to determine when we are being deceived, but how do we know whether the narrator in a literary text is lying to us? This talk provides an introduction to the theory of unreliable narration and outlines two critical approaches: the cognitivist and the rhetorical. Using examples from Günter Grass’s 1959 novel The Tin Drum I demonstrate how we can tell when a narrator is telling tall tales and how that changes the way we read.

Using a scenario from the Hollywood film "Hot Shots", how should a compensation payment have been divided up between all those involved in the circumstances of "Dead Meat" Thompson's death? The circumstances of LT “Dead Meat” Thompson’s (from Hot Shots) death are as unfortunate as they are spectacular: during a training flight he crashes into another jet whose pilot, LT “Wash Out” Pfaffenbach, is not allowed to fly. Dead Meat survives the crash without any major injuries, but down on earth at the crash site he is hit by an ambulance. His fellow, LT “Topper” Harley, carries him into the ambulance, hitting his head against the car several times. When they finally arrive at the hospital, the doctor takes a shot of rum before Dead Meat is brought into the emergency room - which he won’t leave alive. Suppose that in the aftermath Dead Meat’s widow (who will not benefit from a life insurance) sues all those responsible for his death. How should a compensation payment have been divided between all those involved?

Demonstrating the pilot and explaining the significance of this digital database. A prolific letter-writer, Catherine II ruled during the high point of the European Enlightenment, when letters were the essential knowledge-transfer medium in government, commerce and intellectual exchange in an increasingly globalised world. She maintained a vast correspondence with fellow crowned heads of state, great thinkers and writers (Voltaire, d'Alembert), and her generals and court. Despite their huge importance, her letters (over 5,000) have not been collected. The project aims to produce a fully searchable online database. This talk will demonstrate the pilot and explain the significance.

Our research uses brain imaging techniques such as MRI, to assess changes in brain activity or brain structure. We then try to use this information to design new interventions to improve healthy ageing or boost recovery from stroke. The brain changes when we learn, get older, or recover from damage such as stroke. Our research uses brain imaging techniques such as MRI, to assess changes in brain activity or brain structure. We then try to use this information to design new interventions to improve healthy ageing or boost recovery from stroke

How our ability to now see the invisible is central to research in biology – from infectious disease to cancer and Alzheimers. The development of the electron microscope in the middle of the last century revolutionised biology and our understanding of cells and tissues. Developments have continued and in this century computation methods have enabled 3D imaging of complete cells. I will show, using images of diverse cells and life forms, how our ability to now see the invisible is central to research in biology – from infectious disease to cancer and Alzheimers.

Why is cancer metastasis to bone so devastating, what are the challenges, and what are we trying to do about it.

Is Climate Change responsible for the downfall of the Pyramid Age of Egypt Recent palaeoenvironmental evidence suggests that northeast Africa and southwest Asia were struck by an intense 'mega-drought' around the year 2200 BC. The event has already been blamed for the collapse of complex societies in Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. I am trying to radiocarbon date both the drought event, at the headwaters of the Nile, and the collapse of the Pyramid Age of Egypt. Ultimately, I am hoping to determine whether Climate Change may have been responsible for the downfall of the state.

Anomalocaridids: their ecology & their diversity. The Cambrian Explosion was a major biodiversification event that saw the rise of nearly all animal phyla in a rapid burst 500 million years ago. The anomalocaridids are iconic members of these primitive animal ecosystems, owing to their huge size, bizarre morphology and complicated history of desription. In this talk, I will discuss their ecology, and particularly the view that the anomalocardidids were highly specialised apex predators attacking trilobites. My reserach has shown that these animals were actually highly diverse and employed a wider range of feeding strategies than previously assumed, including generalised predation and even suspension feeding.

An analysis of George Eliot's 'Middlemarch' and how the writer's critique of railroads might inform an ethically sensitive approach to HS2 Whilst no-one would question the economic advantages of a high-speed rail network connecting major cities in the UK, there is still little agreement about the feasibility of the government’s £50 billion HS2 project. My talk will apply an analysis of George Eliot’s Middlemarch (1874) to this issue, asking how the writer’s critique of railroads might inform an ethically sensitive approach to HS2. Are the benefits only felt by city dwellers? Can the wealth railways generate be equitably distributed? Are they socially divisive? These questions pertain as much to HS2 as they did to rail travel in England in the nineteenth century.

What role did trade unions play in the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings of 2010/2011? What role did trade unions play in the Egyptian and Tunisian uprisings of 2010/2011? This talk challenges the predominant assumption in research on trade unions and democratization rule, namely that trade unions are necessarily driven by material interests or by the defence of their members' interests in such scenarios. Instead,I argue that in some cases, especially under authoritarian regimes with highly restrictive labor legislation, unions may be, by design, incapable of defending workers’ interests. I refer to these types of unions as ‘unions minus’ (Egypt). In other cases, unions may occasionally champion agendas that transcend workers’ interests. I refer to these types of unions as ‘unions plus’ (Tunisia). In both scenarios, ‘unions’ are transformed into qualitatively different types of actors than is conventionally assumed in the scholarship on unions and transitions.

Fossil records tell us a lot about evolution around the time of dinosaurs

How audiences respond to the body on stage and on screen. This presentation will seek to explore how audiences respond to the body on stage and on screen. We will explore the concept of ‘liveness’ and question how the physical presence of an actor alters our expectation of a cinematic/ theatrical event. We will touch on spectator theory, in both theatre and film, briefly explaining the key theories and concepts in relation to this. Finally, we will apply this to a practical example, using the play The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs and the corresponding film to explore what all this theory means in practice. We will conclude by offering up for discussion the question of to what extent we apply ‘theatrical’ or ‘cinematic’ modes of interpretation when we look at bodies in real life.

How flow cytometry can help investigations into immune-mediated diseases. Flow cytometry is a technique which uses flourescent compounds of different colours to label molecules on cells. Using this approach we can investigate the cell populations responsible for causing immune-mediated diseases such as Ankylosing Spondylitis and explore how new therapies can alter the behaviour of the different cell types.