Institute for Social Sciences Research (ISSR) newsletter - November 13 2020

Newly announced

Professors of Disability - what does our 'disability' naming mean for Disability Research at the University of Dundee

The University of Dundee are proud to celebrate UK Disability History month from the 18 November until Friday 18 December 2020 with a programme of events aimed to raise awareness, to understand and to improve the position of disabled people in society.

This programme will be developed around this year’s national theme of Access where we will advocate for disability equality, develop an understanding of the historical roots of this inequality and highlight the significance of disabled people’s struggles for equality and inclusion.

The first event is scheduled 18 Nov at 11-12 noon 'What does our 'disability' naming mean for Disability Research'

Research and Impact

Lightning Talks Forum: PhD students

We would like to remind you to attend our ISSR PhD Lightning Talks Forum event on Wednesday 18 November at 2pm.

There are 10 talented researchers across member schools (Business, Social Sciences, Health Sciences and Education and Social Work) showcasing their research.

Below is a snippet of some of our speakers. You can view the full list in the ISSR channel on teams ahead of talks on Wednesday.

Climate Technology Transfer and Diffusion In Nigeria’s Energy Sector: Towards an Enabling Legal and Regulatory Environment

Mark Amakoromo, CEPMLP - Social Sciences

This brief presentation is an introduction to my PhD thesis which aims at creating an enabling legal and regulatory environment for climate technology transfer and diffusion in Nigeria’s energy sector. The challenge observed is that despite the availability of technologies to address climate change, these are not being deployed at the pace and to the locations where they are needed most. The onus for this rests on both suppliers and recipients of technology, specifically through the removal of barriers and creation of enabling environments. This presentation discusses the background to the research, research questions raised, findings from the literature, and the potential contribution of the research.

Model, modelling and modelling competence in science education

Song Xue, Education and Social Work

Scientists usually create models to investigate and explain the natural world. Because of the limitations of models, modelling could be used as a means for acquiring a scientific understanding of science through model development processes. According to synthesize the literature of model and modelling in science education, a character can be found that modelling embodies to a certain degree corresponding models. Regarding this, the demand for their integration into school science curricula has led researchers to develop competences and effective assessment instruments to evaluate students’ modelling competencies. To better inform science education, I embarked upon a research synthesis of relevant articles within modelling competence in science education. Three main points in the area of science education will be introduced in this talk: (1) what is the model; (2) what is the modelling; (3) what is the framework of modelling competence?

Encounter and action: how restorative justice can address climate injustice, especially in deglaciating environments

Tanya Jones, Law - Social Sciences

Climate injustice is a present reality, the heart-breaking human cost of the dual global crises of climate change and inequality. Despite its urgency, there has been little practical progress in achieving climate justice, with major limitations to both political and litigation strategies. Previous studies have suggested that restorative justice may offer a useful perspective, but as yet there has been relatively little exploration of how this might work in practice. This study aims to use key restorative justice principles to develop a framework for global restorative climate justice. Focusing on adaptation needs, the framework could potentially be utilised at several levels, from the nation-state to individual communities. A case study is proposed to research the applicability of the model to an Andean community for which glacier shrinkage presents cultural, social, water resource and geohazard challenges. Using participatory methods, it will seek both to understand the community’s own perception of its adaptation needs and the ways in which restorative processes could acknowledge, respect and address these.

Perception of Sustainability in Hospitality Sector in Thailand

Pattraporn Manchan, Dundee Business School

This research will explore the perception of sustainability in the hospitality sector in Thailand. Since business companies began to have increased awareness of environmental, social, and economic aspects of their impacts, sustainability has also become a very important concept. Several companies are implementing the sustainability concept in order to improve their reputation, reduce the risk and keep a better relationship with their customers. This study adopt a qualitative approach to study business hoteliers’ perception of sustainability within the hospitality sector in Thailand. It evaluated the meaning, drivers, challenges and opportunities, and how companies approach sustainability.

Negative emotional experiences of breastfeeding and the milk ejection reflex: a scoping review.

Charlie Middleton, Health Sciences

This research will provide an overview of the nature, extent and range of publishing literature relating to negative emotional experiences of breastfeeding and the milk ejection reflex.

Recent years have seen an increase in reports of unpleasant emotional experiences associated with breastfeeding, suggested as having physiological rather than psychological origins (Ureno et al., 2018; Yate, 2017; Watkinson et al., 2016; Whyatt, 2018; Cox, 2010). Breastfeeding (or nursing) aversion and agitation (BAA) (Yate, 2017) and dysphoric milk ejection reflex (DMER or D-MER) (Heise, 2010) are 2 examples of phenomena which appear in the literature but are not currently classified as medical conditions. As BAA and DMER remain largely unresearched as phenomena, their prevalence, and the causes for and mechanisms of both are not well understood. A lack of awareness of BAA and DMER by health professionals has led to a growing number of women self-diagnosing with DMER and/or BAA after learning about the phenomena through word of mouth and via social media, parenting/ breastfeeding websites and articles in the popular press (Revelant, 2017).

ISSR Seminar Series

Monday 30 November at 3pm

We welcome our final speaker of the series, Morris Altman, Professor, Chair of Behavioural & Institutional Economics, & Co-operatives and Dean, Dundee Business School.

The importance of ethics to economics and the economy has been a long-standing concern and debate amongst scholars and public policy pundits. A key contribution of this book is to model ethical behaviour, demonstrating why ethical behaviour can have serious positive economic and wellbeing outcomes and be consistent with competitive market economies. Contrary to conventional economic theory, which has a profound effect on policy, being ethical can be an engine of economic growth and development.

This aligns with our Innovation in Methods and Data Analytics and Health and Wellbeing themes. The seminar is chaired by ISSR Co-Director and seminar lead Professor Judith Sixsmith.

ISSR Engagement

Get involved

If you would to be featured in the ISSR newsletter please send any items to me. This could be any staff/RPG articles of funding successes with a social science interest, COVID-19 research, awards & recognition, progress on existing work.

All news welcome!

(100-250 words will be fine – excluding links, one line intro about yourself, title and image by no later than 11am Friday). *Do not include hyperlinks. Heading/text in full and separate full link in your content please.

Access support and facilitation from ISSR.

I am available on Teams on Tuesday afternoons from 2-4pm so please get in touch if you have an idea or project that you would like support in promoting and/or help to facilitate with.