Loughborough Institute of Advanced Studies Podcast

Dr Ranit Chatterjee - Building Ecosystem Service Resilience through Customary Regulatory Mechanism

IAS Residential Fellow Dr Ranit Chatterjee delivers a seminar on their research, fully titled "Building Ecosystem Service Resilience through Customary Regulatory Mechanism: Case Study of Indian Sundarbans" -
Sundarbans is the largest river delta in the world, spread over 200 islands, separated by nearly 400 interconnected tidal rivers and creeks, at the confluence of Ganga, Meghna, and Brahmaputra (GBM) in the Bay of Bengal, spanning across India and Bangladesh. A world heritage site where biodiversity and physiology are intertwined with the lives and livelihoods of the people. In recent years, a change in the natural hazard intensity coupled with climate change has been impacting Sundarbans. As a result, alongside the vital ecosystems, the outstanding universal value of Sundarbans stands at risk of being degraded or destroyed. One of the intrinsic conservation practices is the customary regulations that safeguard and stand as an obligatory rule of conduct by the local communities. For centuries, the customary regulatory mechanism has been able to keep a delicate balance between the ecosystem and the linked livelihoods. The local practice has significantly played a vital role in underlining the place-based framing of environmental consciousness and forest conservation. This seminar will highlight the significance of traditional knowledge and its incorporation that helps in building a holistic cultural conservation forest management system in the Indian Sundarbans. Furthermore, the lecture will highlight pathways to conserve, regulate, and restore the ecosystem and its linked resources.
For more information about the IAS, please visit - https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/ias
#Sundarbans #EcosystemResilience #CustomaryRegulations #EnvironmentalConservation #ClimateChangeImpact #TraditionalKnowledge #ForestManagement #Biodiversity #IndianSundarbans #SustainableLivelihoods #CulturalConservation #NaturalHazards #BayOfBengal #WorldHeritageSite

Dr Maria Carinnes Alejandria - Localizing Resilience in Urban Communities in Southeast Asia: Community-based Knowledge and Responses to Flooding during the COVID-19 Pandemic

IAS Residential Fellow Dr Maria Carinnes Alejandria delivers a seminar on their research -
Between 2020-2022 the Southeast Asian subregion of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines experienced unprecedented flooding in urban areas which impacted thousands of residents while stringent lockdowns due to securitized management of the COVID-19 pandemic were in place. For most affected communities, managing the impacts of compounded disasters entailed engaging new modalities of resilience as conventional processes and sources of aid became inaccessible. In this seminar, I am to nuance the concept of resilience by situating flooding narratives during the pandemic from four cities in the subregion. Specifically, I will discuss the contexts that exacerbated their risks to overlapping hazards. I will also present the knowledge systems and actions they engaged in to reduce their risks and recover after disaster events. Drawing from qualitative data, I aim to discuss inductively generated themes which include, 1) role of informal networks, 2) gendered disaster response and preparation, and 3) forms of community-based humanitarian action.
For more information about the IAS, please visit - https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/ias

Dr Luisa Fernanda Chaparro Sierra - MAITEC: A Digital Twin for Sustainable Urban Mobility and Environmental Planning

IAS Visiting Fellow Dr Luisa Fernanda Chaparro Sierra delivers a seminar on their research -
This seminar presents MAITEC, a decision-support platform utilizing digital twin technology to evaluate the effects of urban mobility strategies on energy usage, air quality, and public health in Monterrey. MAITEC is built on a GIS platform that combines various information layers, such as demographics, road infrastructure, vehicle usage, meteorology, and models for traffic, pollutant dispersion, and flooding. A notable innovation is the use of GPS data from mobile devices, which allows tracking urban travel mode distribution by monitoring the routes of a representative sample (over 10%) of the population for extended periods (over 3 months). This big data-driven method offers a cost-effective solution with enhanced spatial and temporal resolution compared to traditional survey-based studies, providing valuable insights for optimizing traffic flow, minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing health risks. Through the simulation of different scenarios, MAITEC aids in formulating more effective urban policies, promoting resilience, environmental sustainability, and a better quality of life in urban regions.
For more information about the IAS, please visit - https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/ias
 

Professor Renato de Oliveira Moraes - Responsible Generative AI in Higher Education: A Brazilian Perspective

IAS Visiting Fellow Professor Renato de Oliveira Moraes delivers a seminar on their research -
This study explores the use of generative AI (GenAI) in Brazilian higher education, focusing on its responsible use and unique challenges in Brazil. Despite global advancements, Latin America lags in establishing GenAI policies, which may deepen educational inequalities. While it is possible to categorise Brazilian HE institutions (HEIs) into two main groups, doing so can obscure the presence of many high-performing private HEIs, such as numerous religious institutions, as well as public HEIs of lower quality, particularly those located in isolated regions of the country. Therefore, it would be more effective to distinguish between HEIs that prioritise quality of teaching—primarily found in most public institutions, where students pay no fee—and those that prioritise the quantity of students served, which is typical of many private institutions, and have around 80% of undergraduate enrolments. This research highlights the need for policy development to responsibly guide AI's role in education.
For more information about the IAS, please visit - https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/ias
#ai #brazil #highereducation

Dr Anshuman Sharma - Role of human factors in microscopic traffic flow models

IAS Visiting Fellow Dr Anshuman Sharma delivers a seminar on their research -
Traffic flow models have long been driven by physics-based principles, yet the key orchestrators of traffic—human drivers—bring a layer of complexity that traditional models often oversimplify. This talk explores the crucial role of human factors in microscopic traffic flow models, emphasizing the cognitive, perceptual, and behavioral intricacies that shape driving decisions. In addition, as transportation evolves into a connected ecosystem, understanding and integrating human factors becomes even more critical to accurately mimic driver behavior. This talk will delve into modeling techniques that bridge the gap between human decision-making and computational simulations, enhancing the realism of both conventional and connected vehicle environments. By embedding human-centric intelligence into microscopic models, we move closer to creating safer, smarter, and more adaptive traffic systems.
For more information about the IAS, please visit - https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/ias

Dr Carla Baptista - Imagining Democracy in Television: Portugal 1974-1976

IAS Residential Fellow Dr Carla Maria dos Santos Filipe Baptista delivers a seminar on their research -
The seminar presents the regime of televisuality following the military coup of April 25/1974 in Portugal. Our focus is on how the informative programs represented the repressive practices of the past, including forms of intimidation and persecution based on political dissent. By analysing selected excerpts from programs, we seek to map the political project which made RTP (the sole public channel existent in 1974) the key media to shatter the lines of interpretation formerly imposed by the dictatorship. The “coming” of revolutionary television offered new cultural repertoires and protocols for political practice and social interaction. This historical context created a grassroots television in which political actors, activists, artists and journalists activated the popular dimensions of the revolution. We emphasise the collective experience of watching television to understand the role of television in reshaping the notions of national identity, cultural memory and global citizenship.
For more information about the IAS, please visit - https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/ias
#portugal #revolution #television

Dr Petr Siegl - Advances in Spectral Theory for Non-Selfadjoint Operators

IAS Visiting Fellow Dr Petr Siegl delivers a seminar on their research -
Many physical systems can be described by partial differential equations which in turn generate operators between Banach spaces. A well-known illustration of such interplay is quantum mechanics together with the spectral theory of self-adjoint operators in a Hilbert space. However, in several branches of physics like hydrodynamics, damped systems, quantum resonances, superconductivity or balanced loss/gain materials, the occurring PDEs contain non-symmetric terms and thus lead to non-self-adjoint operators. Due to the lack of powerful self-adjoint tools like the spectral theorem or variational principles, the encountered phenomena are very different from the self-adjoint case and include spectral instabilities, divergence of expansions in eigenvectors or non-reliability of approximations. In the first part of the talk, we give an introduction in the non-self-adjoint aspects of spectral theory. In the second part, we present new results on the convergence of the expansions in eigenvectors based on the local form subordination.
For more information about the IAS, please visit - https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/ias
#maths #mathematics

Dr Giulia Borriello - Examining relations between patterning, cognition, and achievement in reading and mathematics

IAS Visiting Fellow Dr Giulia Borriello delivers a seminar on their research - 
This talk focuses on a meta-analytic study investigating the magnitude of associations between patterning skills and academic achievement. Patterning (the ability to detect and extend a predictable sequence like ABB-ABB or 4-8-12) is purported to be a critical indicator of academic achievement trajectories, but this claim is based on a somewhat small literature of correlational studies. Results from this meta-analysis, which examined 71 papers and over 16,000 participants, demonstrate substantial associations between patterning and achievement in math and reading, even after accounting for effects of other specific cognitive abilities. In addition to reviewing moderator analyses, I will discuss the practical and theoretical implications of these findings.
For more information about the IAS, please visit - https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/ias
 

Dr Xiaoya Xun - Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Juvenile Delinquency: Comparing Moral Frameworks in China and the UK

IAS Visiting Fellow Dr Xiaoya Xun delivers a seminar on their research - 
This lecture examines the feasibility of cross-cultural comparisons in the study of juvenile delinquency, focusing on China and the United Kingdom. It explores how cultural contexts shape moral understanding and influence responses to ethical dilemmas. Drawing on data from moral questionnaires administered to adolescents in both countries, the study highlights key differences in reactions to identical moral scenarios. Furthermore, it investigates the impact of these cultural variations on the prevalence and nature of youth crime. By analysing the interplay between moral frameworks and delinquent behaviour, the lecture seeks to uncover deeper insights into the role of morality in crime prevention. The findings aim to foster cross-cultural dialogue and provide valuable perspectives for developing culturally sensitive strategies to address juvenile delinquency.
For more information about the IAS, please visit - https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/ias
 

Professor Liberato Ferrara & Dr Estefania Cuenca Asensio - Forging the path to a Sustainable Built Environment: Shifting perspectives and practices in Concrete Structures

IAS Visiting Fellows Professor Liberato Ferrara & Dr Estefania Cuenca Asensio each deliver a seminar on their research, in a session fully titled “Forging the path to a Sustainable Built Environment: Shifting perspectives and practices in Concrete Structures" -
Prof Liberato Ferrara - “A holistic approach to sustainability of concrete: upgrading the perspective from material to structural design and life cycle assessment.”
The talk introduces a novel conceptual design approach for concrete structures within a holistic life cycle framework. Key to adopting material innovations in the construction industry, this conceptual design approach breaks from the traditional structural performance assessment based solely on the misleading metrics of material unit, volume, cost and environmental impact at the time of construction. This overcomes current challenges with Ultra High-Performance Concretes, often seen as extremely high strength, without considering their exceptional durability and the implications in the asset's design, construction, use and maintenance.
Dr Estefania Cuenca-Asensio - “Towards a more sustainable built environment.
Recent experiences on concrete recycling.” This seminar discusses recent experiences implementing circular economy concepts in the concrete construction industry. The research carried out ranges from the recycling of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC), intended as construction and demolition waste using different fractions of recycled aggregate obtained from crushed concrete, in substitution of both natural aggregates and cement, to the recycling of Coal Mine Waste Geomaterials (CMWG). Recent results of the investigations that addressed the feasibility of the proposed technologies will be shown.
For more information about the IAS, please visit - https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/ias
#sustainability #concrete #recycling