During a speech in 1957, Prime Minister Harold MacMillan declared “our people have never had it so good”. Now, more than half a century later, are we fundamentally any better off? Through discussion of technological advances, social changes, political reforms, and economic shocks and recessions, this panel will seek to question whether the world we currently live in is indeed a better place than it was in the 1950s.

Chaired by Professor Brian Nolan, Professor of Social Policy, the panel will consist of:

*Dr Max Roser, James Martin Fellow at The Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School
*Dr Anders Sandberg, James Martin Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute
*Professor Robert Walker, Professor of Social Policy

A drinks reception will follow, all welcome.

Do you want to learn something new?

The Knowledge Project offers affordable evening courses in exciting subjects. Our classes are taught by specialists in small, friendly groups and open to all. The coming term is set to be our busiest schedule yet, packed with new courses and some old favourites. All courses will be held in the comfortable setting of Oxford International College, taught by passionate and talented postgraduate students. As always, our proceeds will be donated to local children’s charity Jacari. You can find out more about our relationship with Jacari here.

Creativity. Tuesdays 7-8.30, 12th May – 30th June. £80

This new and innovative course explores how creativity makes us happy, even replacing the job of therapy, and what the right creative medium is for each individual person.

We are also offering courses in:

Introduction to Contemporary Art. Thursdays 6-7.30, 14th May – 2nd July. £80

This course is for anyone who loves art (or would simply like to understand what the new Tate Modern exhibition is all about. You’ll cover: performance, feminism, land art, conceptual art, appropriation and globalisation. The course is discussion led so come with questions and opinions!

Introduction to Novel Writing. Mondays 6-7.30, 11th May – 29th June. £80

Our flagship course covering all the key aspects of novel writing: voice, world-making, perspective and of course endings and beginnings. No experience necessary!

What is Feminism? Tuesdays 6.30-8pm, 12th May – 30th June. £80

This fantastic new course – developed by the talented Monique Ma-Velous of Sydney University (Gender Studies) and University of Oxford (Creative Writing) – explores what it means to be a feminist in today’s world.

Positive Psychology. Saturdays 10-11.30, 16th May – 4th July. £80

This new course looks into the popular topics of positivity and resilience. Why are some people more resilient than others and how can we increase our resilience? Why are some people more optimistic and is it possible to make ourselves happier?

Premium: Introduction to Shakespeare. Fridays 7-8.30, 14th May – 2nd July. £150
This premium course will help you to discover the world of the Bard in six discussion based classes and two outings to local plays. With the aid of a passionate postgraduate student, discover the double meanings within Shakespeare’s plays and why this playwright is still so loved today.

To enrol simply visit our website, select the course you would like to follow and fill in an enrolment form. Your space will be confirmed upon payment. Be sure to stay up to date with all of our goings on by visiting our Facebook page and feel free to contact us with any further questions.

Robin Dunbar is Prof. of Evolutionary Psychology at Oxford University. ” We are members of the ape family yet something happened in the course of our evolution to radically change how we behave. The result was cities, states, literature, religion, science, music.. Archaeologists gave traditionally focussed on the stones and bones of human evolution but the real story of human evolution lay in our social and cognitive evolution.”
Tea/coffee available prior to the talk from 18.00 in the staff room. Entrance through Robinson Close, off South Parks Road Oxford OX13PP

Twenty minute introductory talk, Q&As, one hour of discussion. Free entry, no need to book, all welcome.

Do you want to learn something new?

The Knowledge Project offers affordable evening courses in exciting subjects. Our classes are taught by specialists in small, friendly groups and open to all. The coming term is set to be our busiest schedule yet, packed with new courses and some old favourites. All courses will be held in the comfortable setting of Oxford International College, taught by passionate and talented postgraduate students. As always, our proceeds will be donated to local children’s charity Jacari.

Positive Psychology. Saturdays 10-11.30, 16th May – 4th July. £80

This new course looks into the popular topics of positivity and resilience. Why are some people more resilient than others and how can we increase our resilience? Why are some people more optimistic and is it possible to make ourselves happier?

We are also offering courses in:

What is Feminism? Tuesdays 6.30-8pm, 12th May – 30th June. £80

This fantastic new course – developed by the talented Monique Ma-Velous of Sydney University (Gender Studies) and University of Oxford (Creative Writing) – explores what it means to be a feminist in today’s world.

Creativity. Tuesdays 7-8.30, 12th May – 30th June. £80

This new and innovative course explores how creativity makes us happy, even replacing the job of therapy, and what the right creative medium is for each individual person.

Introduction to Contemporary Art. Thursdays 6-7.30, 14th May – 2nd July. £80

This course is for anyone who loves art (or would simply like to understand what the new Tate Modern exhibition is all about. You’ll cover: performance, feminism, land art, conceptual art, appropriation and globalisation. The course is discussion led so come with questions and opinions!

Introduction to Novel Writing. Mondays 6-7.30, 11th May – 29th June. £80

Our flagship course covering all the key aspects of novel writing: voice, world-making, perspective and of course endings and beginnings. No experience necessary!

Premium: Introduction to Shakespeare. Fridays 7-8.30, 14th May – 2nd July. £150
This premium course will help you to discover the world of the Bard in six discussion based classes and two outings to local plays. With the aid of a passionate postgraduate student, discover the double meanings within Shakespeare’s plays and why this playwright is still so loved today.

To enrol simply visit our website, select the course you would like to follow and fill in an enrolment form. Your space will be confirmed upon payment. Be sure to stay up to date with all of our goings on by visiting our Facebook page and feel free to contact us with any further questions.

Having seen the election results unfold, the topic of political strategy and communication is as relevant as ever in highlighting the ways in which politicians and organisations seek to influence public opinion and shape political debate. The Oxford Forum welcomes you to the Political Strategy Panel Debate to discuss the challenges faced, and the solutions provided, in devising an effective communication strategy.
This event will be co-hosted with the PPE society and the Journal of Political and Constitutional Studies.
Following the debate, we will be having dinner with the speakers in the private dining room of Christ Church. Tickets are available to purchase at
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/oxford-forums-political-strategy-speaker-dinner-tickets-16819258856
It is an unmissable opportunity to engage more directly with the speakers!

Adam Divák and Tamás Nagy from Synetiq Ltd.

Ádám Divák (CTO) and Tamás Nagy (lead researcher) will talk about Synetiq, a Hungarian start-up providing neuromarketing research and emotional insights for media companies. They will show how biometric sensory information is turned into recommendations for films and TV adverts, how infostructure allows real-time monitoring of affective reactions, and how they integrate data recording with processing and analysis.

Entry is via the BabyLab entrance: http://www.psy.ox.ac.uk/research/oxford-babylab/your-visit-to-the-babylab/how-to-find-us

Cyclox and the Oxford Pedestrians Association (OxPA) will be welcoming representatives of the bus companies that serve Oxford to a meeting to discuss the relationship between bikes, buses and pedestrians on the city’s busy streets.

Richard Mann, an Oxford-based transport and liveable cities consultant, will open the meeting with a presentation on how to make an excellent bus network and lead a discussion with contributions from Phil Southall of the Oxford Bus Company and Martin Sutton of Stagecoach.

There will be plenty of opportunities for questions and discussion from the floor, which will make for a very interesting event for anyone interested in how we move around our city. This is a public meeting so please come and add your voice to the debate.

The Psychology and Neuroscience Applications Society (PsyNAppS) is excited to bring you the biggest event on the neuroscience calendar!

Register here to attend our inaugural symposium for FREE: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/psynapps-inaugural-symposium-tickets-16983645541

The event boasts an exciting line up of speakers – guaranteeing something for everyone – held at the award-winning TS Eliot Theatre.

The speakers and talk topics list is as follows:

Dr. David Lewis: Founder of Mindlab on Neuromarketing
Dr. Adam Corner: Psychology of climate change communication
Dr. Rebecca Park (Oxford): Neuroscience and treatment of eating disorders
Mr. Stelios Kiosses: Challenges of treating compulsive hoarding

This free event will take place on the 11th of June at the TS Eliot Theatre of Merton College, located in Rose Lane gardens (accessible from either Merton College or directly from Rose Lane). Doors open at 3.45pm and there will be a drinks and canapes reception at 7pm.

The charity Oxford Student Minds and the Mind Your Head Campaign are excited to bring you the biggest event on the mental health awareness calendar – a night of celebration as the culmination of Testimonials week. The SpeakEasy is an event unlike any other in Oxford, combining support for mental health with food, drink and music.

We will begin the night with the opportunity to learn more about mental health conditions including depression, anxiety and eating disorders from our invited specialist guests. Interspersed throughout this portion of the night will be student testimonials of prose and poetry regarding their experiences tackling both Oxford and a mental illness. We encourage open discussion following these testimonials to establish how as a community we can come together to improve wellbeing in Oxford. By doing this, soon we will all be able to ‘SpeakEasy’ about matters of mental health.

Following this, to celebrate both the end of the year and the work of Student Minds and Mind Your Head, Oxford volunteers we will be providing food, drink and music. Along with other special guests, we are thrilled to announce that DJs Tom Stafford, Nick Byrne and OUSU’s own Louis Trup will be on the decks to bring you the best night possible. Food will be provided in the form of alcoholic ‘ice cream’ by Annie Zimmerman’s ‘Scooperfood’ and the Student Minds’ Pick N Mix table. Please bring spare cash to enjoy the delights of our Food Courtyard.

Tickets cost £5 on the door and all proceeds will be going directly to the charity Student Minds to help train Eating Disorder support group facilitators, costing £150 per person. It’s our ambition to provide enough money to train a team of 10 new facilitators to better improve support for student sufferers in Oxford. However, to encourage people to provide Testimonials, we will be providing free entry to those who enter to Meredith Leston at meredith.leston@st-annes.ox.ac.uk and a friend.

So come along to ‘SpeakEasy’. Dance, drink and eat for a good cause and help us tackle stigma surround mental health at the same time! The Testimonial part of our event will run from 8 until 9pm with the celebrations kicking off straight after until late.

This is a panel discussion organised in collaboration with ‘Oxford Refugee Week’ by the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford. Chairing will be Dr Jeff Crisp, with speakers Prof. Alexander Betts, Prof. Cathryn Costello, Dr Mariagiulia Guiffre and Dr Nando Sigona. Open to all. Registration recommended but not compulsory. To be followed by a drinks reception.

Human-caused global warming has been making headlines for over two decades, but people’s opinions on it often depend on what headlines they’re reading. How is it that a scientific theory has become so politicised? Join us to hear Adam Levy (Nature, University of Oxford; @ClimateAdam), a climate change scientist and YouTuber, discuss the key scientific evidence behind climate change, and explain why perspectives on climate change shouldn’t be a matter of belief.
twitter @oxfordscibar
facebook ‘British Science Association Oxfordshire Branch

The Mask You Live In follows boys and young men as they struggle to stay true to themselves while negotiating America’s narrow definition of masculinity.
The documentary presents the personal narratives of young boys and men and features experts in neuroscience, psychology, sociology, sports, education, and media, further exploring how gender stereotypes are interconnected with race, class, and circumstance. The Mask You Live In ultimately illustrates how we, as a society, can raise a healthier generation of boys and young men. Written, produced and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the film premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2015.
After the screening there will be a panel discussion with the film producer.
Jennifer Siebel Newsom is making a stop in Oxford on her way back to California from Cannes after being awarded the Glass Lion Award at the Cannes Lion Film Festival 2015. https://www.canneslions.com/cannes_lions/press/press_releases/1058/cannes_li
She will be talking about her experience in film making and campaigning. With more than 4 million views on YouTube for The Mask You Live In trailer it is promising to be an event not to miss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc45-ptHMxo

A discussion about the ethics of Arts Sponsorship with Jeremy Spafford, Director of Arts at the Old Fire Station, and representatives from arts activists Art Not Oil – a network is dedicated to taking creative disobedience against institutions such as Tate, National Portrait Gallery and the British Museum until they drop their oil company funding. Together the panel will explore the ethics of sponsorship at a time where funding for the arts continues to be drastically cut. Who is it acceptable to take money from and what is the price that we pay? [IMAGE: Liberate Tate]

“Understanding Trauma & PTSD within the context of the Treatment Room”

This is a CPD event for practitioners run by Morit Heitzler.

This talk will explore:

– The psycho-physiology of trauma (autonomic nervous system)

– Different types of trauma

– Disturbances to self-regulation in trauma

– Understanding dissociation as a body-mind process

– Brain function during and after trauma

– How re-traumatisation occurs and what we can do about it

– Trauma in the therapy room: basic principles of a body based approach

– The ‘safe place’ – establishing a container and working alliance

Recognising and dealing with secondary (vicarious) trauma

The talk will run from 6-8pm at Eau de Vie on Tuesday 30th June.

Places are £35.

B o o k i n g s

t: 01865 200678
e: info@eau-de-vie.co.uk

Join our expert panel for an evening of debate exploring the subject of the United Kingdom’s place within the European Union.

How can we use chocolate to understand the neurobiology of depression? Join us to hear Dr Ciara McCabe discuss how we investigate reward function in the human brain and how this is related to depression. Find out how this information can help explain why current medications might not be working and how, with neuroscience, we aim to develop better, targeted personalised treatments for depression.

Are there gender differences in attraction? What are we looking for in a potential mate? Can you find someone attractive online? What other features make us more or less attractive? Join us to hear Dr Martin Graff (Reader and Head of Research
in Psychology, University of South Wales) examine some of the research on romantic attraction and why attraction is important to us.

twitter @oxfordscibar
facebook ‘British Science Association Oxfordshire Branch’

In parodying the paranormal chartered psychologist and performer Rob Bailey discovered he was replacing audiences’ beliefs in psychic powers with unwarranted beliefs in psychological ones. So his new show sees Rob perform mindreading and psychological manipulation as well as revealing the techniques and principles behind them. Now, look in to my eyes…

This show also features magician Matt Pritchard. Matt is an award-winning magician, comedian and science and maths presenter. He performs to a range of audiences on a regular basis.

Cash bar available.

This event is a partnership between Oxford SciBar and Science Oxford.

Contemplative Neuroscience: Application to Emerging Healthcare Technologies

Dr Christopher Brown
University of Cambridge

Wednesday 30 September 2015 at 1:30pm
Wellcome Building seminar rooms, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford

About Dr Christopher Brown
Dr Brown is a research associate in the CamPAIN research group at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He has conducted research in the neuroimaging of acute and chronic pain as part of his PhD (University of Manchester) and postdoctoral work in clinical neuroscience. He continues to work in multidisciplinary teams of clinicians in pain medicine and rheumatology, and academics in neuroimaging, computational neuroscience and genetics. Dr Brown’s current research focusses on patient phenotyping and real-time monitoring pain and pain-predictive mechanisms in order to translate neuroscience into improved clinical care for patients with chronic pain.

To avoid dangerous climate change will require not only very steep cuts in emissions, but also the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Most of the models that avoid dangerous climate change do so by assuming that it will be possible to deploy a technique called biomass energy with carbon capture and storage (or BECCS for short) at a very large scale. But is this realistic?

Please join us for a public discussion to explore this issue. To what extent may it be possible to use biomass as a way of both generating electricity and removing carbon dioxide from the air? What are the likely impacts of such an approach – on climate change, on food supply, on biodiversity and on the will to reduce emissions.

The Oxford Martin School has brought together four excellent speakers with expertise in this field. Dr Craig Jamieson has explored the potential of using waste material from rice production for BECCS, Professor Tim Lenton has modelled how much biomass could be used for BECCS given projected population growth and dietary habits, Professor Nick Pidgeon is an expert on the social acceptability of new technologies and Dr Doug Parr is the Chief Scientist and Policy Director at Greenpeace.

My European citizenship rights…and why I don’t want to lose them.

We warmly invite you to a public meeting, followed by a reception to launch New Europeans in Oxford.

For details and speakers, please visit the event page on the New Europeans website.

This talk is FREE! Wine reception, snacks, and £5 year membership to PsyNAppS available after the talk.

Venue: Lecture Theatre B, Department of Experimental Psychology

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Andrew Przybylski is an experimental psychologist based at the Oxford Internet Institute. Since 2005 his research has focused on applying motivational theory to understand the universal aspects of video games and social media that draw people in, the role of game structure and content on human aggression, and the factors that lead to successful versus unsuccessful self-regulation of gaming contexts and social media use.

Tweets @ShuhBillSkee

Przybylski, A.K. (2014) Who believes electronic games cause real-world aggression? Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 17 (4) 228-234.

Dr Przybylski features in the BBC Horizon programme ‘Are Video Games Really That Bad?’ – http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06cjypk

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Psychology and Neuroscience Applications Society

The junction where psychology and neuroscience research meets action and innovation.

PsyNAppS aims to disseminate information about what you can do with your psychology or neuroscience degree and research. We are here to tell you everything Freud hasn’t. We want to show you how psychology and neuroscience can be applied practically to a variety of industries.

Psychologist in the Pub events are completely free and open to everyone (British Psychological Society members and non-menbers), so pleae join us on:

Thursday 15th October, 6:30 for 7pm start, with:

Professor Patrick Rabbitt, University of Oxford:
“Be well, be fast, live long: Finding the factors that contribute to a long and able life”

No-one approaches aging with enthusiasm. Activities we accomplish easily in our 20s and 30s become more difficult as we grow old but, though change is inevitable, recognising and understanding precisely what is happening to our bodies and minds allows us to continue to manage and enjoy our lives.

Patrick Rabbitt is a cognitive gerontologist who has researched physical and mental aging for over 50 years and so can interpret his personal daily experiences of the aging process through a comprehensive understanding of what gerontological research has revealed about how our bodies and brains age, and how these changes affect our everyday experiences and lives.

Professor Rabbitt remains an active researcher affiliated to both the University of Oxford, UK, and the University of Western Australia, Australia. He is also Honorary Fellow of the British Psychological Society and the British Society of Gerontology and a Member of the Academy of Europe.

The talk will be held in the function room in Wig & Pen pub. The function room is wheelchair accessible.