Podcasts about oxford's department

It's a new year (and a new decade!) and many of us will be looking to turn over a new leaf when it comes to diet and lifestyle. But - as anyone who's tried one will know - diets are VERY difficult to stick to. In this episode of the Big Questions podcast, we ask Professor Heidi de Wet from the University of Oxford's Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics "Why do diets fail?". Don't worry - she also provides some great tips for a healthier lifestyle along the way!

We know it as the home of Father Christmas, but why is Lapland of interest to geologists? In this festive episode of the Big Questions podcast we ask Anna Bidgood from the University of Oxford's Department of Earth Sciences "What's under Lapland?". Join us as we find out why the minerals found in the region are important, and what it's like to be a field scientist in the frozen north...

This evening lecture is given in conjunction with the Introduction to Study Design and Research Methods accredited short course, part of the Evidence-Based Healthcare programme at the University of Oxford's Department for Continuing Education. Carmen is a Public Health Nutrition scientist at the Department of Primary Care Health Sciences (University of Oxford). Her principal research interests lie in the prevention and management of non-communicable chronic disease through dietary improvements, in particular, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Diet is an important determinant of health, and food purchasing is a key antecedent to consumption hence improving the nutritional quality of food purchases presents a clear opportunity to intervene. She has been involved in a recent systematic review of interventions implemented in grocery stores which suggested that price manipulations, healthier swap suggestions, and perhaps manipulations to item availability change food purchasing and could play a role in public health strategies to improve health. However, the evidence base for interventions in grocery stores or at the individual level is still very limited. She is currently working on a range of studies aiming to examine the effectiveness of interventions based around healthier swaps on the quality of the food purchased and eaten as well as the short term effects on relevant health outcomes. She has recently conducted a complex behavioural intervention based in primary care to improve diet quality among patients with high cholesterol (PC-SHOP study). The intervention consisted of health professional (HP) advice alone, or in combination with personalised feedback based on the nutritional analysis of grocery store loyalty card data from one of the largest UK supermarkets. Overall her research aims to develop and test simpler and inexpensive ways to help people improve diet and prevent cardiovascular disease and obesity. This evening lecture is given in conjunction with the Introduction to Study Design and Research Methods accredited short course, part of the Evidence-Based Healthcare programme at the University of Oxford's Department for Continuing Education. Find out more.

Episode thirteen features an interview with Lucas Kello, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Oxford's Department of Politics and International Relations, Director of the Cyber Studies Programme and Co-Director of the Centre for Doctoral Training in Cyber Security. We think of this as an excellent companion to our episode six interview with Greg Walton.

Jonathan Hassid, University of Technology, Sydney, and Maria Repnikova, University of Oxford Jonathan Hassid is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Technology, Sydney's China Research Centre. He received a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley and wrote his dissertation on journalists' political resistance to China's censorship apparatus. In addition to recent work in the China Quarterly and the Journal of Communication, and a forthcoming article in Comparative Political Studies, he has also published on the Chinese media in Asian Survey and elsewhere. Maria Repnikova is Research Officer for the ESRC Project "UK-China-Africa Media Research Network". Maria is currently a doctoral student (Rhodes scholar) at Oxford's Department of Politics and International Relations, focusing on the issues of the press in China and Russia. She has received her Masters in Comparative Government from Oxford and holds a Bachelor's degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. Her current research interests are: China-Russia comparative media politics; comparative media regulation and protections of the press; China's media assistance to Africa; theoretical research on non-democratic regimes.

Jonathan Hassid, University of Technology, Sydney, and Maria Repnikova, University of Oxford Jonathan Hassid is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Technology, Sydney's China Research Centre. He received a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley and wrote his dissertation on journalists' political resistance to China's censorship apparatus. In addition to recent work in the China Quarterly and the Journal of Communication, and a forthcoming article in Comparative Political Studies, he has also published on the Chinese media in Asian Survey and elsewhere. Maria Repnikova is Research Officer for the ESRC Project "UK-China-Africa Media Research Network". Maria is currently a doctoral student (Rhodes scholar) at Oxford's Department of Politics and International Relations, focusing on the issues of the press in China and Russia. She has received her Masters in Comparative Government from Oxford and holds a Bachelor's degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. Her current research interests are: China-Russia comparative media politics; comparative media regulation and protections of the press; China's media assistance to Africa; theoretical research on non-democratic regimes.

This week Libby Purves is joined by Joshua Foer, Marianne Talbot, Tom Renouf and Lydia Carmichael. Joshua Foer's book 'Moonwalking with Einstein' tells of his year spent investigating memory, in which he talks to experts around the world including neuroscientists, chess masters and 'memory historians'. He also undertakes training under a Memory Grand Master, and finds himself in the finals of the US Memory Championship, among competitors who can recite pi to ten thousand decimal places. 'Moonwalking with Einstein is published by Allen Lane. Marianne Talbot is Director of Studies in Philosophy at the University of Oxford's Department of Continuing Education. Her book 'Keeping Mum' tells of her personal journey, looking and caring for her own mother who suffered from dementia. 'Keeping Mum: Caring with someone with dementia' is published by Hay House. Dr Tom Renouf served in the legendary Black Watch during the Second World War. In his book, 'Black Watch', he tells the story of the 51st Highland Division and how, as a raw recruit he and his teenage comrades fought in the Battle for Normandy against the fanatical 12th Hitler Youth SS Division, going on to liberate Holland. They were the first to cross the Rhine, with his division capturing the world's most wanted man, Heinrich Himmler. 'Black Watch' is published by Little Brown. Lydia Carmichael is a former pupil of the Foundling Hospital in Berkhamsted, whose experiences of being brought up in care there are featured in a major new exhibition at London's Foundling Museum. The exhibition 'Foundling Voices' features the experiences of seventy-four former foundlings whose memories of their childhoods in the first half of the 20th century are graphically preserved in audio interviews, photographs and film.

Dr Alan Barr, University Lecturer in the Particle Physics group in the University of Oxford's Department of Physics, discusses the particle physics experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, CERN, Switzerland.