Podcasts about personal chair

In this SPICe seminar Professor Luke March, Personal Chair of Post-Soviet and Comparative Politics at the University of Edinburgh and Professor Peter Jackson, Chair in Global Security at the University of Glasgow explore the current geopolitical situation in relation to Ukraine. We look to explain:  Russia's approach to Ukraine and what that might also mean for countries in Eastern Europe; The international response to the crisis including the change of approach by the United States under President Trump; and Given the change of position in Washington, what Europe and NATO's response should be and how the UK fits into the approach. We hope you enjoy this discussion!

Fitness trackers at the ready! Join James Gallagher at Cardiff Science Festival as he runs through the ways wearable tech is making an impact on health and how it might shape the future of medicines and care. With him are Dr Sanne Lugthart, Haematology consultant at the University Hospital of Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. She's pioneering using wearables and an app to track pain in people who suffer from sickle cell disease. Also on the panel is Professor Kathryn Peall who is Personal Chair, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences at Cardiff University. Kathryn tells James all about working with data from the UK Biobank to test if wearables could predict Parkinson's disease. She's also developing 80s-style headbands that could help take hospital grade sleep monitoring to the comfort of the bedroom. And, running experiments with the audience and on his skydiving assistant Danni, James is also joined by Damian Bailey, Professor of Physiology and Biochemistry from the University of South Wales.Presenter: James Gallagher Producers: Tom Bonnett and Hannah Robins Production Co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano Editor: Colin Paterson

“Our plants have been able to cope with some of the world's poorest soils [and] adapt to some of the strangest pollinators.” In a career spanning fifty years, Emeritus Professor Byron Lamont is recognised as one of Australia's foremost experts on the unique flora of southwestern Australia. Recently, this included pioneering work that shows the ancestors of one of Australia's most iconic floral species, the banksias, actually migrated here from North Africa. Byron joined us to discuss this work, and his remarkable career. Byron joined Curtin University as Lecturer in Biology in 1974. Before retiring, he was the Personal Chair in plant ecology and Director of Curtin's Centre for Ecosystem Diversity and Dynamics. With over 400 papers and reviews on plant ecology, biogeography, population dynamics and genetics, and ecophysiology, focussing on the unique flora of southwestern Australia, Byron is recognised as the most highly cited researcher at Curtin University. He received a Wright Lifetime Achievement Award from the international Association of Fire Ecology in 2022. The Ecological Society of Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. Help the ESA support ecology in Australia by donating (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/donate/donation-form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) or by becoming a member (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/become-a-member⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). The music in this podcast is 'Glow' by Scott Buckley - www.scottbuckley.com.au. Episode image credit - Wikimedia Commons. Season image credit - Russell Charters.

You might have seen a flurry of alarming headlines and articles about bird flu in recent weeks. Some reports are comparing it to COVID-19, and positioning it as the next potential worldwide pandemic. How concerned should we be? Alex Andreou asks Devi Sridhar, Professor and Personal Chair in Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh.  • “Previously, you'd have to be in very close proximity with an infected bird. That is changing. For the first time, we have now confirmed cow to human transmission – that is a signal that something is different here.” – Devi Sridhar  • “It's like a lottery. There are millions of viruses circulating among animals.” – Devi Sridhar We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. www.patreon.com/bunkercast    Written and presented by Alex Andreou. Producer: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio editor: Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson and artwork by James Parrett. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.  Instagram | Twitter      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The pursuit of antiquity was important for scholarly artists in constructing their knowledge of history and cultural identity in late imperial China. By examining versatile trends within paintings in modern China, this book questions the extent to which historical relics have been used to represent the ethnic identity of modern Chinese art. In doing so, this book asks: did the antiquarian movements ultimately serve as a deliberate tool for re-writing Chinese art history in modern China?  In searching for the public meaning of inventive private collecting activity, Appropriating Antiquity in Modern Chinese Painting (Bloomsbury, 2023) draws on various modes of artistic creation to address how the use of antiquities in early 20th-century Chinese art both produced and reinforced the imaginative links between ancient civilization and modern lives in the late Qing dynasty. Further exploring how these social and cultural transformations were related to the artistic exchanges happening at the time between China, Japan and the West, the book successfully analyses how modernity was translated and appropriated at the turn of the 20th century, throughout Asia and further afield. Prof. Chia-Ling Yang is the Personal Chair of Chinese Art and Programme Director of PhD and MScR in History of Art at The University of Edinburgh.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The pursuit of antiquity was important for scholarly artists in constructing their knowledge of history and cultural identity in late imperial China. By examining versatile trends within paintings in modern China, this book questions the extent to which historical relics have been used to represent the ethnic identity of modern Chinese art. In doing so, this book asks: did the antiquarian movements ultimately serve as a deliberate tool for re-writing Chinese art history in modern China?  In searching for the public meaning of inventive private collecting activity, Appropriating Antiquity in Modern Chinese Painting (Bloomsbury, 2023) draws on various modes of artistic creation to address how the use of antiquities in early 20th-century Chinese art both produced and reinforced the imaginative links between ancient civilization and modern lives in the late Qing dynasty. Further exploring how these social and cultural transformations were related to the artistic exchanges happening at the time between China, Japan and the West, the book successfully analyses how modernity was translated and appropriated at the turn of the 20th century, throughout Asia and further afield. Prof. Chia-Ling Yang is the Personal Chair of Chinese Art and Programme Director of PhD and MScR in History of Art at The University of Edinburgh.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

The pursuit of antiquity was important for scholarly artists in constructing their knowledge of history and cultural identity in late imperial China. By examining versatile trends within paintings in modern China, this book questions the extent to which historical relics have been used to represent the ethnic identity of modern Chinese art. In doing so, this book asks: did the antiquarian movements ultimately serve as a deliberate tool for re-writing Chinese art history in modern China?  In searching for the public meaning of inventive private collecting activity, Appropriating Antiquity in Modern Chinese Painting (Bloomsbury, 2023) draws on various modes of artistic creation to address how the use of antiquities in early 20th-century Chinese art both produced and reinforced the imaginative links between ancient civilization and modern lives in the late Qing dynasty. Further exploring how these social and cultural transformations were related to the artistic exchanges happening at the time between China, Japan and the West, the book successfully analyses how modernity was translated and appropriated at the turn of the 20th century, throughout Asia and further afield. Prof. Chia-Ling Yang is the Personal Chair of Chinese Art and Programme Director of PhD and MScR in History of Art at The University of Edinburgh.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Physiological Reviews Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sadis Matalon speaks with Prof. Rebecca M. Reynolds, Prof. Sarah J. Stock, and Prof. Hilary O. D. Critchley about their editorial “Pregnancy and the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic,” published in the July 2022 issue of Physiological Reviews. The authors also have contributed a review article on this topic, “Pregnancy and COVID-19,” which was one of the most highly cited articles published in the journal in 2021. Prof. Reynolds is Professor of Metabolic Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. Her research looks at the ways in which early development in utero can affect health and disease. Prof. Stock is Professor of Maternal and Fetal Health at the University of Edinburgh. Her research examines efforts at reducing preterm birth, stillbirth, and other complications in pregnancy. Prof. Critchley has held a Personal Chair in Reproductive Medicine at the University of Edinburgh since 1999. She is Head of the Deanery of Clinical Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, she is Co-Director of the Medical Research Council Centre for Reproductive Health, and she is Consultant Gynaecologist at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh. Her research is aimed at improving our understanding of the basic science of the uterine endometrium. She is an Associate Editor of Physiological Reviews. Author introductions [0:41] Efficacy of vaccination in diminishing the severity and long-term consequences of COVID-19 [6:44] Does COVID-19 vaccination cause any significant side effects for the pregnant woman or the fetus? [8:08] Are women who are pregnant at higher risk for COVID infection, and can the virus cross the placenta? [15:53] Does SARS-CoV-2 affect the development of preeclampsia? [21:19] What kinds of treatments are available -- and safe -- for pregnant women with COVID? Are there any animal models in which interventions may be tested? [24:05] What other work is being conducted on this topic? [28:38] Discussion of the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID vaccination on menstruation [31:27] Closing remarks [35:59] Subscribe to the podcast here. Browse recent articles on our website. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music to receive immediate notification when new episodes are available. Be sure to let your colleagues know about the podcast, and please rate and review it wherever you listen to it. Follow the journal on Twitter and on Facebook. Listen to other podcasts produced by the American Physiological Society.

Decolonising Russia and Russian history is controversial, but the brutal war in Ukraine is driving a reassessment of the study of Russian history and is changing attitudes that have held sway for decades. The influence of a Russian imperial mindset on the lens through which Russian history is interpreted may finally be shattering, to lead to a new interpretation of Russia as a classical European colonial power. Professor Luke March describes how governments and academics are changing their attitudes to Russia, driven by Putin's aggression in Ukraine. The study of Russian history is set to be transformed, as the 'soft touch' of the 90s is replaced with a 'decolonisation' of Russian studies. This will not improve either Russia's PR, nor history's judgement of it's actions and motives. Luke March is the Personal Chair of Post-Soviet and Comparative Politics and Deputy Director of the Princess Dashkova Russian Centre at Edinburgh University. He is an expert in the politics of the former Soviet Union (especially Russian and Moldovan politics, political parties in the FSU, democratisation, and institution-building); Russian nationalism, Russian foreign policy discourse; the radical left in Europe; populism; contemporary communism. And one of the most authoritative commentators on the current situation in Ukraine.

This lecture is part of the 12th Annual Kościuszko Chair Spring Symposium in honor of Lady Blanka Rosenstiel sponsored by the Kościuszko Chair in Polish Studies and the Center for Intermarium studies. About the lecture: The current crisis in Ukraine has understandably evoked not only worldwide sympathy for the appalling plight of the Ukrainian people but also admiration for the magnanimous Polish response to the consequent mass exodus of refugees. These developments, however, serve to obscure the complex historical reality of Polish-Ukrainian relations in the modern era. This presentation offers an objective and impartial assessment of a generally tense and often violent symbiosis. About the speaker: Peter Stachura held a Personal Chair in Modern European History at the University of Stirling (UK), where he was also Director of The Centre for Research in Polish History. He is now Director of the independent Research Centre for Modern Polish History and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, London. Professor Stachura has published extensively in his primary research specialisms of Weimar Germany and the Second Polish Republic.

Modern China is seen variously as an economic powerhouse, an icon of urbanisation, a propaganda state or an aggressive superpower seeking world domination. From kung-fu to tofu, tea to trade routes, sages to silk, China has influenced cuisine, commerce, military strategy, aesthetics and philosophy across the world for thousands of years. China's history is full of heroes who are also villains, prosperous ages and violent rebellions, cultural vibrancy and censorious impulses, rebels, loyalists, dissidents and wits. The story of women in China, from the earliest warriors to twentieth-century suffragettes, is rarely told. And historical spectres of corruption and disunity, which have brought down many a mighty ruling house, continue to haunt the People's Republic today. Panel: - Linda Jaivin (Author and co-editor of the China Story Yearbook) - Dr Ruth Gamble (Lecturer, History, La Trobe University) - Professor Baogang He (Alfred Deakin Professor and Personal Chair in International Relations, Deakin University) - Dr Bec Strating (Executive Director, La Trobe Asia)(Chair) A virtual launch of Linda Jaivin's book ‘The Shortest History of China', available from Black Inc books. Recorded 28 September, 2021.

This podcast accompanies Teaching Matter's July-August Learning and Teaching Enhancement theme: Showcasing the Doctoral College. In this podcast, Fiona, head of Doctoral College, speaks to Professor Patrick Hadoke, who is the Personal Chair of Arterial Remodelling and the Director of Postgraduate Student and Early Career Researcher Experience in the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. He speaks generally about his experiences as a research supervisor and more specifically about his reflections on completing the UKCGE programme. He also shares some excellent insights and tips for those who are starting out as new supervisors and indeed for anyone else who has an interest in research supervision. A key takeaway is an emphasis he places on the human side of supervision, something which he stresses should not be overlooked even in a busy, high-pressure research environment. A transcript is provided and, for ease, the main themes are discussed at these times in the recording: 0.44 Overview of experience as a research supervisor, the most enjoyable and most challenging aspects 4.59 Experience of completing the UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) research supervision recognition programme 9.59 Advice and tips for new PhD supervisors

Erica Smith is one of the most well-known and respected voices in the VET sector. Erica is Professor and Personal Chair in Vocational Education and Training at Federation University Australia, having held similar roles at other universities since 2003. She is a heavily involved in academic research on VET, and widely published, having managed over 25 national research projects.  Her work has been cited in government inquiries many times, and she is frequently invited to speak to practitioner audiences around the world.Our thought-provoking discussion covers a lot of ground, including what makes a good VET teacher, the role of pedagogy and industry currency, teacher qualifications, and what Erica would do if she had the power to change VET in Australia. 

Driverless cars are never far from the news. In our second foray into the subject we talk to Professor Subramanian Ramamoorthy, Professor and Personal Chair of Robot Learning and Autonomy in the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh. Joining the panel this week are Richard Hyde, Paurav Shukla and Elveera Perez. We kick off with a lengthy discussion on NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens)Driverless Car interview starts at 20mins 8secondsElvira PerezPaurav Shukla Richard Hyde Sean RileyPodcast Host: Sean Riley The UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems (TAS) Hub Website

Dr. Tommy J. Curry is an American scholar, author and professor of Philosophy. He currently holds a Personal Chair in Africana Philosophy and Black Male Studies at the University of Edinburgh. In 2018, he won an American Book Award for The Man-Not: Race, Class, Genre, and the Dilemmas of Black Manhood. Curry has received several academic awards and honors for his research. In 2017, Curry was awarded the Alain Locke Award by the Society of American Philosophy for his public intellectual research and commentaries on anti-Black racism, the death and dying of Black males, and the rape of Black men and boys in the United States --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/shatterthestereotypes/support

Dr. Tommy J. Curry is an American scholar, author and professor of Philosophy. He currently holds a Personal Chair in Africana Philosophy and Black Male Studies at the University of Edinburgh. In 2018, he won an American Book Award for The Man-Not: Race, Class, Genre, and the Dilemmas of Black Manhood. Curry has received several academic awards and honors for his research. In 2017, Curry was awarded the Alain Locke Award by the Society of American Philosophy for his public intellectual research and commentaries on anti-Black racism, the death and dying of Black males, and the rape of Black men and boys in the United States --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/shatterthestereotypes/support

In this episode, Professor Ioannis Athanasiadis, Personal Chair of Artificial Intelligence & Data Science at Wageningen University (Netherlands). talks about: . how automation and machine learning help big data, · why Artificial Intelligence and Big Data alone can not bring more food and avert climate change but can help us make more informed decisions, · how farmers can benefit from Artificial Intelligence and how these products will look like, · Artificial Intelligence and Greek agriculture; the example of CYBELE project, · how Artificial Intelligence for digital twins can close the nitrogen cycle in agriculture, machine learning and environmental informatics and the fourth paradigm of Jim Gray, · if the fourth paradigm in research could be used in the renewables and more engineering sectors other than the environmental informatics, and · Social behaviours are informing ethics in innovation—Big Data; Socio-Environmental Systems (SES) modelling. You can find out out more about Ioannis and his work at http://www.athanasiadis.info/. Music: "Fortitude" by Lance Conrad Source: Storyblocks

Tommy J. Curry is a Professor of Philosophy and holds the Personal Chair of Africana Philosophy and Black Male Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His research interests are 19th century ethnology, Critical Race Theory & Black Male Studies. He is the author of The Man-Not: Race, Class, Genre, and the Dilemmas of Black Manhood (Temple University Press 2017), which won the 2018 American Book Award, and Another white Man’s Burden: Josiah Royce’s Quest for a Philosophy of Racial Empire (SUNY Press 2018), which recently won the Josiah Royce Prize for American Idealist Thought. He has also re-published the forgotten philosophical works of William Ferris as The Philosophical Treatise of William H. Ferris: Selected Readings from The African Abroad or, His Evolution in Western Civilization (Rowman & Littlefield 2016). In 2019 he became the editor of the first book series dedicated to the study of Black males entitled Black Male Studies: A Series Exploring the Paradoxes of Racially Subjugated Males on Temple University Press. Dr. Curry’s research has been recognized by Diverse as placing him among the Top 15 Emerging Scholars in the United States in 2018, and his public intellectual work earned him the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy’s Alain Locke Award in 2017. He is the past president of Philosophy Born of Struggle, one of the oldest Black philosophy organizations in the United States. This podcast is an audio recording of Professor Curry's talk - 'Must there be an Empirical Basis for the Theorization of Racialized Subjects in Race-Gender Theory?' - at the Aristotelian Society on 19 October 2020. The recording was produced by the Backdoor Broadcasting Company.

This week, we hear from professor Tommy J. Curry, author of the book The Man-Not: Race, Class, Genre, and the Dilemmas of Black Manhood, and Personal Chair of Africana Philosophy & Black Male Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Dr. Curry presented his work at UNM this fall as part of the Cortez Williams Lecture Series from UNM Africana Studies. Don't miss this amazing conversation! As always, catch GJ live every Sunday at 7 pm (Mst) or stream us on KUNM.org!

On this episode we’re discussing Mario Praz, the Italian critic and academic who wrote on English literature and, the main topic of this episode, interior design and decoration. Born in Rome in 1896, Praz studied in Bolognia, Rome and Florence, and taught at, among other places, the University of Liverpool. Praz’s writings on interior design changed the way many people thought about the subject, raising the idea of furnishings and decorations being a reflection of the individual. Whether fitting or ironic, given his scholarly work, Mario Praz’s residence in Rome has been preserved as a museum. Our guest who’ll be arguing for Praz’s status as a revolutionary is Professor Ed Hollis, Personal Chair of Interior Design at Edinburgh College of Art. Having work with follies and ruins in Sri Lanka, modern interventions to historic buildings in Scotland, and in the discipline of Interiors, Hollis' research and theoretical thinking has moved towards building stories and narrative structures that connect time, folk tale, and the built environment. Revolutionaries is produced and recorded at Edinburgh College of Art, and is hosted by Ardie Collins from the Engagement and Communications Team. Music is Noahs Stark by krackatoa.

On this episode, we’re discussing the art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel. Born in Paris in 1831, Durand-Ruel took over his father’s business as an art dealer a few years before the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, during which time he escaped to London. It was around this time that he became familiar with a new group of artists called the Impressionists. He became an advocate of their artistic work, seeing their potential for commercial success long before many others in the art world. He is credited with helping to establish some of the best-known artists of this period, including Degas, Manet, Monet, Pissarro and Renoir. Stating the case for Paul Durand-Ruel as a revolutionary is Professor Frances Fowle, Personal Chair of Nineteenth-Century Art at Edinburgh College of Art and Senior Curator of French Art at National Galleries Scotland. Her specialist area is European and American nineteenth-century art, with an emphasis on collecting, the art market, national identity, cultural revival and artistic networks. She is Senior Trustee of the Burrell Collection in Glasgow and sits on the Burrell Renaissance Board. She is also a founding Board member of the International Art Market Studies Association and is on the steering committee for the European Revivals Research Network, initiated by the Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki. Revolutionaries is produced and recorded at Edinburgh College of Art, and is hosted by Ardie Collins from the Engagement and Communications team. Music is Noahs Stark by krackatoa.

Professor Peter Sandercock, Personal Chair in Medical Neurology, presents the fourth lecture in the 2014 Medical Detectives series entitled, Unravelling the Mystery of Stroke Disease - The Clue's in the Numbers... Ideas about the causes of stroke have evolved over the centuries from the mystical to the realisation that most strokes are due to a plumbing problem - a blocked or burst artery in the brain. In this lecture Professor Peter Sandercock will begin by describing early attempts to map stroke in the population and then explain how the numerical science of epidemics of infectious diseases in populations was successfully applied to stroke to identify its main causes. Recorded on 6 November 2014 at the University of Edinburgh's Anatomy Lecture Theatre.

Jeordie and Fred sit in other peoples personal chairs.

Professor Sethu Vijayakumar, Personal Chair in Robotics, delivers the 2015 Tam Dalyell Prize lecture entitled, Sharing Autonomy (and responsibility): The Robots Are Ready, Are You?. In this lecture, Professor Vijayakumar will look at how humans and robots will work together in the future. The next generation of robots will work much more closely with humans, other robots and interact significantly with the environment around them. With significant autonomy devolved to the robotic platforms, will we be able to share control in a way we are comfortable with? Recorded on 10 April 2016, at the University of Edinburgh's Playfair Library.

Professor Sharon Abrahams, Personal Chair in Neuropsychology, delivers her inaugural lecture entitled Mind Matters in Motor Neurone Disease. In this lecture, Prof. Abrahams discusses her work with people living with a degenerative disease and in particular motor neurone disease. This disease was commonly thought to affect the system controlling movement exclusively, but Prof. Abrahams' work has contributed to demonstrating that the mind matters in motor neurone disease and that a large number of people will experience changes in cognition and behaviour in addition to progressive physical disability. Recorded on 28 October 2015 at the University of Edinburgh's 50 George Square.

Professor Nicola McEwen, Personal Chair of Territorial Politics, delivers her inaugural lecture entitled, "Independence and Interdependence: The Dynamics of Scottish Self-Government". The Scottish independence referendum may have resulted in a No vote, but it has reignited debates over Scottish self-government. Professor McEwen explores the meaning of independence and interdependence, examining the interdependencies that would remain irrespective of the constitutional settlement, and considering the implications of the on going process of constitutional reform for Scotland and the UK. Recorded on 11 February 2015, at the University of Edinburgh's Business School.

Professor Richard Freeman, Personal Chair of Social Science and Public Policy, delivers his inaugural lecture entitled, Doing Politics. How does politics happen? When we do politics, what are we doing? In this lecture, Professor Freeman will show how we might understand politics as action, as a mode of doing. Recorded on 4 February 2015 at the University of Edinburgh.

Professor Peter Sandercock, Personal Chair in Medical Neurology, presents the fourth lecture in the 2014 Medical Detectives series entitled, Unravelling the Mystery of Stroke Disease - The Clue's in the Numbers... Ideas about the causes of stroke have evolved over the centuries from the mystical to the realisation that most strokes are due to a plumbing problem - a blocked or burst artery in the brain. In this lecture Professor Peter Sandercock will begin by describing early attempts to map stroke in the population and then explain how the numerical science of epidemics of infectious diseases in populations was successfully applied to stroke to identify its main causes. Recorded on 6 November 2014 at the University of Edinburgh's Anatomy Lecture Theatre.

Professor Peter Sandercock, Personal Chair in Medical Neurology, presents the fourth lecture in the 2014 Medical Detectives series entitled, Unravelling the Mystery of Stroke Disease - The Clue's in the Numbers... Ideas about the causes of stroke have evolved over the centuries from the mystical to the realisation that most strokes are due to a plumbing problem - a blocked or burst artery in the brain. In this lecture Professor Peter Sandercock will begin by describing early attempts to map stroke in the population and then explain how the numerical science of epidemics of infectious diseases in populations was successfully applied to stroke to identify its main causes. Recorded on 6 November 2014 at the University of Edinburgh's Anatomy Lecture Theatre.

Professor Fiona Mackay, Personal Chair in Politics, delivers he inaugural lecture entitled, "Nested Newness" and the Gendered Limits of Institutional Change. This lecture suggests that we need to pay more attention to examining and theorizing newness and processes of change. It uses the concept of "nested newness" to examine the promise and limit of institutional innovation. Drawing upon examples ranging from the Scottish parliament to the United Nations, it asks why gender reforms appear so vulnerable to regress and what can we do to make change "stick"? Recorded on 20 May 2014 at the University of Edinburgh's Business School.

Professor Fiona McLachlan, Personal Chair in Architectural Practice, presents her inaugural lecture entitled "Practice, Practice, Practise: Illustrated in Colour". This lecture will focus on two recent research projects on colour in architectural design, both of which were stimulated and informed by Professor McLachlan's own architectural practice and began with an intuitive process of observation, experimentation and an experiential methodology. Whether inherent in material or applied, colour has the capability to be used as an instrument to tune and transform architectural space. Yet it is rarely discussed in architectural education and in architectural practice, colour often involves arbitrary decisions late in the design process. Through these examples, concepts of architectural design as a synthetic and material practice will be considered. Recorded on 17 December 2013 at the University of Edinburgh's Business School.

Professor J Douglas Armstrong, Deputy Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Bioinformatics and Personal Chair of Systems Neurobiology, delivered his inaugural lecture entitled "Systems Neuroscience".Recorded on Tuesday 5 February 2013 at the University of Edinburgh's Informatics Forum.

Professor Ronnie Cann, Personal Chair in Linguistic Semantics, delivered his inaugural lecture entitled "Doing Language". Abstract:One of the features of human language that distinguishes it from the call systems of other species is that the former can be used to refer to situations, objects and other things that are not in the immediate context of an utterance. It is, on the other hand, also well recognised that certain aspects of an utterance, written or spoken, depend for their interpretation on the context in which the utterance occurs. Expressions like "here", "now", "she", "that person" depend on the context to identify what is meant while the import of clauses like "it’s hot in here" or "I’ve got a headache" depend on the social situation of the speakers and the situations they are engaged in for their precise interpretation.Less often considered, at least within linguistic theories, is the extent to which contextual dependence pervades natural human languages that are notoriously vague, with expressions used often only being partially expressive of a concept that we can nevertheless readily use and understand. Indeed, it is abundantly clear from any cursory look at "real" natural language data, spoken or written, that languages display an endemic sensitivity to context so that meanings, intentions, and other information that they can convey may never be fully fixed. Indeed, it appears that languages are inherently dynamic in use and structure and that is this notion of language as a practice or process that allows us to exploit inherent context sensitivity for effective and generally efficient use of linguistic resources in acts of communication, even with ourselves. Notoriously, however, neither of these properties, context dependence and dynamicity, are typically addressed by current theories of grammar.In this talk, I argue, to the contrary, that they are central to understanding natural language in general and the grammatical properties of particular languages and that the current view that languages are analysable as context independent objects is untenable and that a radical rethink of current approaches to grammatical theory is necessary if we are ever to understand the nature of human language.Recorded on Tuesday 27 November 2012 at the University of Edinburgh's Appleton Tower lecture theatre.

Professor Robert Cummins, Personal Chair, School of Psychology discusses sleep, one of those essentials in life. In particular he discuss his research into sleep as well as tips for a good night's sleep.

Professor Robert Cummins, Personal Chair, School of Psychology discusses sleep, one of those essentials in life. In particular he discuss his research into sleep as well as tips for a good night's sleep.

Professor Damien Kingsbury, a Personal Chair in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin, discusses the recent political elections in Timor-Leste, including the results and the work to control violence in the country.

Professor Tony Lynch, Personal Chair of Student Learning (English for Academic Purposes) , presented his inaugural lecture entitled "The Importance of Listening to International Students".The title is intentionally ambiguous. It refers firstly to the importance for international students of having adequate comprehension of spoken English; and it also alludes to the importance for the University of taking account of international students’ perceptions of studying at Edinburgh.In the lecture, Prof Lynch addresses both these issues. In the first part he draws on his research into the experience of second language listeners, in order to outline the processes underlying comprehension, the problems likely to arise, and possible solutions to those difficulties.In the second part he discuss postgraduates’ responses to an ELTC (English Language Teaching Centre) survey on linguistic and cultural aspects of studying at Edinburgh. He argues that relatively minor adjustments by and for international students would help smooth their path to academic success.Recorded on Wednesday 16 May 2012 at the Auditorium lecture theatre, Business School, The University of Edinburgh.

Professor Alex Simpson, Personal Chair in Foundations of Computer Science, delivered his inaugural lecture entitled "The Intertwined Foundations of Mathematics and Computer Science".Mathematics is commonly perceived as a subject in which there are absolute standards of truth and proof. This perception, however, is not entirely accurate. There are ways in which it is possible to shape mathematics to suit the applications to which it will be put. In this talk, which is aimed at a general audience, Prof Simpson discusses various ways in which mathematics can be reshaped to take account of concepts arising in computer science. He also briefly touches upon how such reshapings might even be of use within certain areas of mathematics itself.Recorded on Thursday 17 May at the Informatics Forum, The University of Edinburgh.

Professor John Lee, Personal Chair of Digital Media, delivers his Inaugural Lecture "Learning Vicariously with Rich Media".Recorded on Monday 26 March 2012 at the Auditorium lecture theatre, Business School, The University of Edinburgh.Audio version.Listen to podcast

Professor Jo Salmon is heading a three-year study into the sedentary habits of more than 600 eight-year-old Victorian children, to find ways to reduce their inactivity at school and at home. Professor Jo Salmon holds a Personal Chair in the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences. She is Associate Head of School – Research and a member of the Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research (C-PAN).