Café Connect brings you the latest research from the University of Aberdeen. In this podcast series, we meet different researchers who will talk about their work and its relevance to our everyday lives.
The Physiological Effects of Exercise and Activity
Activity and exercise are known to positively impact our physical and mental health. However, there’s much more that we need to know about the effect of activity and exercise.
This talk with Dr Derek Ball discusses how the levels of physical activity changed over time, what was the impact of the pandemic and how exactly activity and exercise impact our health.
16 Mar 2022
The pros and cons of antibiotics
Indiscriminate use of antimicrobials affects not just the bugs that cause disease but also our friendly resident microbes and contributes to antimicrobial resistance. How can we develop new therapies for effective treatment of infections without causing resistance? What is stopping new antimicrobial development?
23 Feb 2022
School uniforms: Taken for granted but are they fit for purpose?
This discussion with Dr Rachel Shanks from the university’s School of Education will examine the history of school uniforms in Scotland, discuss her research on school uniform policies and her work influencing policy makers and education officials about how this significant cost on parents can be addressed.
25 Nov 2021
Alcohol Pricing in Scotland – Does it Affect Your Food Shopping?
Alcohol Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) was introduced in Scotland in May 2018 as part of the Scottish Government’s strategy to reduce the health and social harms associated with alcohol misuse. In this conversation we will look at the research trying to understand whether household food spending was reduced following the introduction of MUP and the effect that this has on diet quality. We will also discuss whether these changes to diet quality have consequences for people’s health.
25 Jun 2021
Sir Thomas Jaffrey and Political Economy
A conversation with Dr Chris Croly, Public Engagement Manager with Professor Keith Bender, SIRE Professor of Economics. In this episode we discuss the role of Sir Thomas Jaffrey in the history of Aberdeen in the early twentieth century. He was a banker and major philanthropist who helped shape Aberdeen Art Gallery building and collections as we know then today as well as establishing the chair of Political Economy at the University of Aberdeen.
28 May 2021
Aberdeen and the Kindertransport
A conversation with Chris Croly, Public Engagement Manager with Lord Provost of Aberdeen, Barney Crocket. This conversation looks at the lives of two children who came to Aberdeen, from Nazi Germany, through the Kindertransport of the 1930s.
20 Apr 2021
The End of Strategy
In business management, strategy is the way companies compete with one another. The growth of the internet giants is restricting how companies can compete, so is this the end of strategy? Find out how the British fox and the Andean condor can teach us how to face the internet giants.
8 Mar 2021
Walking towards Health and Happiness in Later Life
We discuss the benefits of walking and how walking groups such as Grampian 50+ Network can have a positive impact on the physical and mental health of older people. We will also look at how the social aspect of walking has been affected by Covid-19 lock down rules.
18 Feb 2021
Us Presidential Elections
A conversation with Dr Chris Croly, Public Engagement Manager and Dr Malcolm Harvey, Lecturer in Politics and International Relations. In this episode the discussion is around events after the recent US Presidential election and the inauguration of Joe Biden as 46th President of the United States of America. The discussion touches on the election process, the events of 6 January, the future of the Republican Party and the second impeachment of Donald Trump.
4 Feb 2021
The Right to Food
A conversation with Dr Chris Croly, Public Engagement Manager with Dr John McKenzie, Research Fellow, Rowett Institute. In this John discusses his latest research into food insecurity in Scotland and proposed policies for a right to food.
16 Dec 2020
King’s College Chapel – history, architecture and significance
An exploration of the history and significance of King’s College Chapel – one of the best loved buildings in Aberdeen.
Transcript available online: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/engage/podcasts/cafe-connect-8.php
29 Oct 2020
Following the Science: how is data modelling used to inform the COVID-19 response at a local level
Leading figures from the University of Aberdeen and NHS Grampian discuss and reflect on how they combined their expertise and worked together to analyse emerging Covid-19 data and define NHS Grampian response to the pandemic.
Download the transcript to this episode: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/engage/documents/Cafe%20Connect%20Episode%20Seven%20Transcript.pdf
16 Sept 2020
Future of Work
Chris Croly, Public Engagement Manager and Professor Donald Hislop, chair in the Sociology of Work and Technology discuss the future of work. Work has been constantly changing with new technology and home or teleworking has been revolutionised recently. This podcast will look at how this has happened and examine the impact of Covid-19 on homeworking.
Download the transcript for this episode at: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/engage/podcasts/cafe-connect-transcripts.php
24 Aug 2020
Life in Aberdeenshire 4000 years ago
A conversation with Chris Croly, Public Engagement Manager with Neil Curtis, Head of Museums and Special Collections. This episode looks at research which has been done on aspects of the rich museum collections held by the University of Aberdeen. Recent research projects have engaged with pre-historic beakers, skeletal evidence and more to offer tantalising glimpses into life in the north east of Scotland 4000 years ago.
2 Jul 2020
Aberdeen Burgh Records Project
This conversation will unpack some of the details of daily life in Aberdeen over 500 years ago.
23 Jun 2020
Asymptomatic Carriers: The Hidden Epidemic
We’ve all heard about asymptomatic or healthy carriers in the current Covid-19 pandemic but this is not new. We will talk about the historic “Typhoid Mary” case and discuss the implications of isolation for public health and social conditions.
13 Jun 2020
525 Alumni of Achievement
A conversation with Chris Croly, Public Engagement Manager with Rob Donelson, Executive Director of Advancement and Professor Bill Naphy, on the University of Aberdeen's 525 Alumni of Achievement Project.
8 May 2020
Genotype hype: what can your DNA tell you about disease risk?
The NHS in Scotland is deciding whether and how to adopt whole-genome sequencing as a routine test to diagnose genetic conditions. In this podcast, our guests examine the science underlying whole-genome testing, discuss the challenges and limitations of this approach and address some of the questions that still remain.
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