How Researchers Changed the World

Colonel Divakaran Padma Kumar (DPK) Pillay began his career as an Indian Army Officer. In 1994 he was grievously injured during a military incident in Manipur. Following this incident, he shifted his focus to become a researcher, aiming to better understand national security and sustainable development to improve the lives of Indian people just like those he had encountered in combat. Col. DPK Pillay is now a research fellow at the Institute of Defence Studies, a think tank for research in international relations based in New Delhi.This podcast focuses on Col. DPK Pillay's 2018 research paper: 'Food Security in India: Evolution, Efforts and Problems'. DPK identified a lack of food security, and rising food prices, as a key factor in the unrest and conflict that he found himself in the centre of in 1994. So, in this paper he explores India's history with food security, tracing the problem to its root causes and discussing its impacts on the people of India.Find out more about the How Researchers Changed the World podcast at www.howresearchers.com, and let us know your thoughts on social media @howresearchers using #howresearchers.

Ella Kahu is a psychologist, and currently Senior Lecturer at the University of New Zealand. She is primarily interested in social psychology and education, and she's best known for her work on student experience and engagement in higher education settings.This podcast focuses on Ella Kahu's 2013 research paper: 'Framing student engagement in higher education.' The paper explores existing research on the role of student engagement on achievement in higher education, before proposing a framework which gives a better understanding of this role of student engagement.Find out more about the How Researchers Changed the World podcast at www.howresearchers.com, and let us know your thoughts on social media @howresearchers using #howresearchers.

Joseph Kahne is an education psychologist, and currently a Professor in the School of Education at the University of California Riverside. His research has focused on political engagement and participation amongst young people, and he’s now particularly interested in how social media is influencing youth political activity.This podcast focuses on Joseph Kahne's 2018 research paper, written alongside political scientist Benjamin Bowyer: 'The Political Significance of Social Media Activity and Social Networks'. The paper explores the findings from a large survey conducted amongst young people in the United States, looking at their social media use and their political engagement.Find out more about the How Researchers Changed the World podcast at www.howresearchers.com, and let us know your thoughts on social media @howresearchers using #howresearchers.

Anja Kollmuss is a policy analyst and communications expert on climate mitigation policies, currently working for swisscleantech, a green industry association that lobbies for policies that enable a climate friendly economy. She has coordinated research projects at the intersection of energy, climate change, and sustainable development for over 20 years, and is an associate at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).This podcast focuses on Anja Kollmuss' 2002 literature review: 'Mind the Gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior?' The paper explores why having awareness and knowledge about climate change is not always enough for people to behave in a pro-environmental way.Find out more about the How Researchers Changed the World podcast at www.howresearchers.com, and let us know your thoughts on social media @howresearchers using #howresearchers.

"We tend to focus on cycling as being cheap, healthy or easy. While if you talk about … the potential exposure to diversity, you can talk about how cycling can lead to a more egalitarian society."Marco te Brömmelstroet is Associate Professor in Urban Planning at University of Amsterdam and founding academic director of the Urban Cycling Institute. His research focuses on transportation, urban cycling, and social mobility, with a particular focus on policy change and improving city planning.This podcast focuses on Marco te Brömmelstroet's 2017 research paper: 'Travelling together alone and alone together: mobility and potential exposure to diversity'. The paper explores how different transportation methods impact our social relationships and feeling of 'connectedness' with our community and the environment. 

"The conscious choice of choosing a partner that’s black, and also marrying, symbolises political commitment to blackness, in black spaces."Siobhan Brooks is a sociologist and currently Tenure Professor in African American Studies at California State University Fullerton. Her research focuses on the intersection of racial identity, gender, and sexuality, and she is particularly well known for her work on African-American sex workers.This podcast focuses on Siobhan Brooks’ 2017 research paper: ‘Black on Black Love: Black Lesbian and Bisexual Women, Marriage, and Symbolic Meaning’. The paper explores same-sex relationships among African-Americans, and what access to the social institution of marriage means for black lesbians and bisexual women in particular.

"I had very good evidence that if a student divided attention in class, they were going to do less well on their exams."Arnold Glass is currently Professor of Cognitive Psychology at Rutgers University. His research has focused on the psychology and neuroscience of learning, and particularly on how a teacher's instructions affect learning and memory in students. Within this, he has also explored how students using phones and other technology in the classroom can negatively affect learning and memory.This podcast focuses on Arnold Glass' 2018 research paper: 'Dividing attention in the classroom reduces exam performance'. The research investigates the relationship between declines in final exam performance among Arnold's own students and their increased use of mobile phones and electronic devices in classrooms and lectures.

Girija Kaimal is an art therapist, and currently Assistant Professor at Drexel University. In this episode she discusses her ground-breaking research, which shows that as little as 45 minutes of artistic self-expression can significantly reduce levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.Specifically, the episode focuses on Girija Kaimal's 2016 research paper: 'Reduction of Cortisol Levels and Participants' Responses Following Art Making'. The paper investigates how collaging, drawing, or clay modelling can reduce the cortisol levels (a stress hormone) of healthy adults.

Steve Omohundro is an AI researcher, and currently Chief Scientist for AIBrain, a company creating new technologies for learning, conversation, robotics, simulation, and music. Previous to this, he was an award-winning computer science professor at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbanaand cofounded the Center for Complex Systems Research there. He has degrees in Physics and Mathematics from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Physics from University of California, Berkeley.This podcast focuses on Steve's research paper: 'Autonomous technology and the greater human good'. In the paper he discusses the ethical implications of artificial intelligence, and how we can ensure that we design machines that are safe and positively benefit humankind.Find out more about this episode, and our 12-week learning program for researchers at: www.howresearchers.comShare your thoughts on the episode on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn @howresearchers or use #howresearchers

Seline Meijer is a Programme Officer at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), working on gender and the environment. Previous to this, Seline completed a Ph.D. in Forestry at University College Dublin, carried out in partnership with the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), for which she spent 3 years living and conducting research in Malawi.The podcast episode focuses on a paper Seline published as part of her PhD project, entitled: ‘The role of knowledge, attitudes and perceptions in the uptake of agricultural and agroforestry innovations among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa’. The paper centres around the perceptions of the farmers she met in Malawi towards tree planting and forest degradation, and how household decision-making and gender feeds into this.Find out more about this episode, and our 12-week learning program for researchers at: www.howresearchers.comShare your thoughts on the episode on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn @howresearchers or use #howresearchers

Ron Wasserstein has been the executive director of the American Statistical Association (ASA) since 2007, promoting the practice and profession of statistics. Previously, he was a faculty member of the department of mathematics and statistics at Washburn University in Kansas.The podcast episode focuses on Ron's research article: 'The ASA's Statement on p-Values: Context, Process, and Purpose'. Ron was tasked with leading the creation of a framework outlining how p-values should be used in research an this article was the result. It's had over 300,000 views and over 1,000 citations, and is changing the way researchers approach understanding their results.Find out more about this episode, and our 12-week learning program for researchers at: www.howresearchers.comShare your thoughts on the episode on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn @howresearchers or use #howresearchers

Every year nearly 10 million people develop dementia worldwide. That’s one diagnosis every three seconds. In 2012 the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared dementia a global public health priority.  Could music therapy play a role in enhancing the lives of people living with dementia? Dr Orii McDermott certainly thinks so.“Music is very much about connecting with people, connecting with the external world.”In this episode we unpack Dr Orri McDermott's 2013 paper: The importance of music for people with dementia: the perspectives of people with dementia, family carers, staff and music therapists. Find out more about this episode, and our 12-week learning program for researchers at: www.howresearchers.com

Short introduction trailer to How Researchers Changed the World.How Researchers is a podcast series, which will demonstrate the real-world relevance, value and impact of academic research; and highlight the people and stories behind the research.