A talk by Seán Donlon, the former Irish ambassador to the United States.

Rising inequality is a key focus in today’s policy discussions and media discourse. Building on research from The Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School (INET Oxford), Professor Brian Nolan, Director of the Employment, Equity and Growth Programme at INET Oxford and Professor John Muellbauer, Deputy Director of Economic Modelling at INET Oxford, will consider the causes and consequences of inequality, and what can be done to address it.

Come listen to a curator with the Smithsonian Institute, Dr. Ellen Feingold, talk about the ongoing fascinating ‘Money in Arica’ project at the British Museum, which aims to piece together African monetary history and its cultural and political impact. Dr. Feingold will also speak on her own focus of counterfeit currencies in colonial East and West Africa. The lecture will be held at the Ioannou (Classics) Centre on St. Giles.

This event should interest you if:

• you wish to know more about various numismatics research projects;
• you wish to know more about a unique and rare field of numismatics (African numismatics);
• you wish to know more about using numismatics as a source for research.

Speaker profile: http://americanhistory.si.edu/profile/1159
Abstract:

During the interwar period, international counterfeiting schemes originating in West Africa presented a new threat to British colonial and national currencies. The institutions responsible for the West African monetary system – the Colonial Office and West African Currency Board – believed these plots had the potential to generate high quality forged currency and thus considered them to present a greater risk than local counterfeiting practices. This paper argues that colonial officials were also alert to this illicit activity because the schemes presented a new challenge to British law enforcement in the colonies, set off disputes between national and imperial institutions in London, and required the British to collaborate with other nations to thwart. The emergence of these international counterfeiting schemes demonstrates that while the creation of a colonial monetary system for West Africa facilitated British imperial economic aims, it also created new and unanticipated challenges to British rule.

Please contact qaleeda.talib@some.ox.ac.uk for more information.

Free for members; a £2 fee applies for non-members. Please contact the Secretary at kim.zhang@wadh.ox.ac.uk if you wish to be a member and sign up to the mailing-list. Membership is free.

“This is a good day for businesses…” says Dan Kelly, President, CEO and Chair, Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Maybe so, but CETA, like other trade-deals, is bad news for equality, democracy and the environment.
In early 2016, CETA, the Canada-EU trade deal is due to be debated and voted on in the European parliament. Like TTIP, CETA allows corporations to sue governments in secret courts over decisions they don’t like.
As part of the growing movement against corporate trade deals and to try to stop final agreement of CETA, we’re planning a speaker tour.
The speakers will be:
• Maude Barlow, chair of citizens’ group the Council of Canadians
• Yash Tandon, Ugandan trade expert and author of Trade is War
• Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now

A one-day interdisciplinary symposium to launch the Fiction and Human Rights Network at TORCH.

The symposium brings together an eclectic range of thinkers to analyze the ways in which the genre of fiction might or might not contribute to debates about the nature and role of dignity in human rights.

Speakers include: Helena Kennedy QC; Stephen Clingman; Philippe Sands QC; Zoe Norridge; Elleke Boehmer; Cathryn Costello, Mark Damazer; Charles Foster, Jonathan Herring; Michelle Kelly; Marina MacKay; Kate McLoughlin; Dana Mills; Ankhi Mukherjee; Natasha Simonsen; Carissa Véliz.

Join us for this term’s ‘Oxford’s Questions’ – an event for postgraduate students, with guest speaker Jonathan Brant. The title of the talk is ‘The Character of Success: What’s the Make-up of the Ones who Make It? Come for dinner at 7.30pm (£3), and the talk will be followed by an opportunity for Q&A.

Speaker bio: The Revd Dr Jonathan Brant has been the Chaplain for the Oxford Pastorate, working with postgraduate students, since 2008. He wrote a DPhil in Theology at Trinity College, Oxford which drew upon systematic theology, film theory and qualitative research in considering the potential religious impact of contemporary Latin American cinema. The monograph has been published by Oxford University Press. Prior to coming to Oxford, Jonathan worked for Anglican churches in London and South America. Jonathan is the award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction books which introduce young people to the joys and the mysteries of the Christian faith. He is married to Tricia and has a fourteen year-old son, Isaac.

Talk, Q&As, and discussion. You’re welcome to come along just to listen, or to take part actively in the discussion. There’s no need to book: just come along on the day.

Mr Richard Guy, Mr Roel Hompes and Mr Bobby Bloemendaal from the Colorectal Department at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will be presenting: “Surgery for advanced rectal cancer – crossing the boundaries”.

In this Inaugural Gaza Lecture, Professor Karma Nabulsi, Assiociate Professor in Politics and International Relations from University of Oxford, will explore the politics, history and current predicaments faced by Palestinians in Gaza – particularly in the field of education.

In doing so, the lecture will illustrate the many extraordinary capacities and qualities of the Palestinian people that have come to the fore despite the extreme situation they are living in and how they have become an exemplar of democratic and universal values.

Gaza is commonly seen as a place of humanitarian catastrophe requiring emergency assistance, but Karma will instead show what the Palestinians of Gaza give to us.

Mass Circulation: Writing about Art in a Daily Newspaper

With Richard Dorment, art critic, and Dr Alexander Sturgis, Director, Ashmolean Museum

A special Ashmolean evening In Conversation event

Wednesday 18 November
6‒7pm
Lecture Theatre

As The Daily Telegraph’s chief art critic from 1986‒2015, Richard Dorment CBE covered exhibition subjects ranging from the Ice Age to the Turner Prize. He talks to Ashmolean Director, Dr Alexander Sturgis, about art history, art criticism, and the popular press.

Tickets £12/£10 concessions. Booking is essential.
https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/ticketsoxford/#event=20239

o mark Inter Faith Week 2015 (15 – 21 November) and the 150th anniversary of Oxford Brookes University, the University Chaplaincy will host a panel discussion on the role of faith, belief, and non-belief in 21st century higher education.
This discussion between some of the university Chaplains will explore the importance of building good relationships and working partnerships between people of different faiths and beliefs and the cultural, social and educational implications.

Mansfield Lecture Series, Convener Baroness Helena Kennedy QC.Laurie Taylor is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of York and
Visiting Professor in Politics and Sociology at Birkbeck. He is the author of 14
books on crime, deviance, personal identity and the nature of contemporary
celebrity. He presents the weekly social science programme Thinking Allowed
on BBC Radio Four.

Sir David Tang will reflect on recent developments in Chinese society and on the UK’s changing relationship with the Asian super-power. As a pre-eminent figure in fashion, hospitality, media and the arts, in both the UK and across Asia, Sir David will share his unique insights on this complex and fascinating topic.
The evening will be hosted by Ken Hom OBE, chef, author and broadcaster and honorary graduate of Oxford Brookes University.

Devaki Jain Inaugural Lecture:
Graça Machel DBE is a Mozambican politician and humanitarian. She is an international advocate for women’s and children’s rights and in 1997 was made a British dame for her humanitarian work. She is the widow of former South African president Nelson Mandela and of Mozambican president Samora Machel. Mrs Machel is currently Chancellor of the
University of Cape Town.
All are welcome to attend. Find out more at http://tinyurl.com/nv9292t.

**OxPolicy and #periodpositive are ready to launch their report on the state of menstruation education in the United Kingdom!**

Join us on the evening of November 30th for a bloody good time (haw haw). We’ll be discussing our findings and making suggestions on how to improve the provision of menstruation education in UK schools, ways of teaching period positivity, and how to lessen menstrual stigma both for young people and generally. Featuring the wonderful Chella Quint – comedian and founder of #periodpositive!

Drinks to follow at the Lamb and Flag (St Giles) after the event.

Blasphemy and Apostasy exist in many countries in the world, commonly within the Middle East and North Africa. Pakistan’s blasphemy laws were first codified by India’s British rulers in 1860 and were inherited by Pakistan in 1947. The law (section 295-C of Pakistan Penal Code) states that blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad is to be awarded a fixed death penalty, with no leeway. Mass support of the law through promotion by legal and socio-political institutions of religious authority has led to its use as a tool for oppression and persecution. In 2014 alone, over 90 people were accused of blasphemy.

Join OUPakSoc and South Asia Research Cluster, Wolfson College, for a discussion on Blasphemy Laws where we explore their history, religious basis and impact in Pakistan and beyond.

Date: 2nd December, 2015
Time: 5.30 pm
Venue: Leonard Wolfson Auditorium, Wolfson College, OX2 6UD
Moderator: Matthew McCartney

Debate from the floor: There will be an opportunity for the audience to contribute in the form of short speeches. Please send us an email at secretary@oupaksoc.net if you would like to participate in the event.

Panellists:
Dr Jan-Peter Hartung – the Department of Religions and Philosophies at SOAS
Tehmina Kazi – Director of Media, Outreach and Lobbying, British Muslims for Secular Democracy
Arafat Mazhar – Engage Pakistan, a non-profit research and advocacy organization working to reform Pakistan’s blasphemy law from within the framework of law.
Bob Churchill – Director of Communications, International Humanist and Ethical Union, Head of End Blasphemy Laws campaign
Khalid Zaheer – Vice -President AlMawrid institute Lahore (Foundation for Islamic Research and Education)
Reema Omer- international legal advisor for Pakistan for the International Commission of Jurists, member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
Ali Usma Qasmi – Assistant Professor (History) at LUMS, author of ‘Questioning the Authority of the Past: The Ahl al-Qur’an Movements in the Punjab’ and ‘The Ahmadis and the Politics of Religious Exclusion in Pakistan’ (Karachi Literary Festival Peace Prize).

For much of the last nearly 200 years, a huge amount of work has been undertaken to record, analyse and characterise gait – the patterns of movement when we walk. The common objectives were to enlighten clinical understanding and to improve the quality of life of many thousands of children, veterans and people challenged by disability.

An unintended consequence of this work has been its us in the entertainment sectors. Tom will take you on a visual journey into the world of blockbuster movies, music videos and advertisements populated by amazing creatures animated characters and imaginary environments.
He will describe the techniques used to capture human motion and how to place animated characters and objects into real backgrounds.

This panel takes the publication of Ruti Teitel’s new book ‘Globalizing Transitional Justice’ as paperback 15 years after the publication of her seminal book ‘Transitional Justice’ (OUP 2000) as the entry point into a critical discussion of the state of the field of Transitional Justice: What is its future? Has it a future? What is the role of Law vis-à-vis other disciplines in the field? Are the concepts and methods of Transitional Justice which emerged against the backdrop of transitions in Latin America and Eastern Europe still relevant to new contexts such as transitions in the Middle East? How are national and international security agendas with their renewed focus on terrorism affecting Transitional Justice Mechanisms? How can we push the research agenda in the field in new directions?

Panel Members:

Prof. Ruti Teitel, Ernst C. Stiefel Professor of Comparative Law and Director of the Institute for Global Law, Justice and Policy at New York Law School

Prof. Leigh Payne, Professor of Sociology, University of Oxford

Prof. Chandra Sriram, Professor of International Law and International Relations, University of East London

Dr. Iavor Rangelov, Global Security Research Fellow, London School of Economics

Ten years after the creation of the world’s first statutory-based national ombudsman service for higher education, Rob Behrens will mark his forthcoming departure from the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) with a frank appraisal of what has been achieved, how universities, student unions and complainants have reacted and what issues remain to be addressed.

He will explore the journey from ‘adjudicator’ to outward-facing ombudsman service and evaluate the OIA’s contribution to the current regulatory scene, assessing the impact of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 which brings private suppliers into the scheme on an equal footing with universities.

Members of AUA are very welcome to attend this event.

Rob Behrens is Independent Adjudicator and Chief Executive of the OIA, the ombudsman service for students in higher education in England and Wales. He is a member of the Regulatory Partnership Group for higher education.

He is also a non-executive member of the Bar Standards Board (BSB) in England and Wales, and Chair of the BSB Qualifications Committee.

The use of data capture and visualisation technologies has grown dramatically, embracing the needs of researchers, stakeholder communities, cultural resource managers, tourists and the general public. This paper previews the types of techniques being used by Australian archaeologists and collaborators in a range of study areas. The digital acquisition and visualisation of archaeological sites using photographic techniques (hardware and software), 3D reconstruction, laser scanning and other methods, along with novel methods for presentation provide us with opportunities not available even 5 years ago. The challenge for researchers is to maintain the theoretical impetus in the face of a plethora of new technologies and opportunities. Methods to enhance recording and to facilitate research methodologies are explored and the potentials for cultural resource managers and stakeholder communities to manage their heritage (e.g. with tourists in interpretive displays, websites and other virtual media) are highlighted.

Professor Alistair Paterson is an archaeologist at the University of Western Australia where he has been Head of the School of Social Sciences (2013-15) and Archaeology Discipline Chair (2010-2012). He is currently a visiting researcher at the Institute of Archaeology, University of Oxford. His research and teaching covers culture contact, historical archaeology in maritime and terrestrial settings, European colonization, historical rock art, digital scholarship, and archaeological and historical methodology. Much of his work is located in Western Australia and the Indian Ocean exploring the uses of coast and offshore islands in colonial and pre-colonial settings, and early colonial settlements across the state (in collaboration with the Western Australian Museum, iVec@UWA).

Leo Beletsky, School of Law, Northeastern University will deliver the lecture

At a time of mounting global interest in reorienting drug laws and their enforcement towards public health principles, rigorous evaluation of such efforts remains sparse. In a 2009 “Narcomenudeo” law, Mexico decriminalized the possession of small amounts of drugs, instituting a drug treatment diversion scheme in lieu of incarceration. To evaluate reform implementation, we undertook a study of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Tijuana, Mexico–a locale where elevated levels of addiction and its related harms raise the stakes for this intervention’s positive impact. The study integrated a structured questionnaire with in-depth interviews assessing legal knowledge, police encounters, drug treatment history, and risk behaviors. Between 2010-2013, we recruited 737 adults; 32 participated in qualitative interviews. Only 81 (11%) respondents reported being aware of the reform’s formal provisions; virtually none experienced its operational components (e.g. having their drugs weighed, being diverted to treatment). Highlighting the deficit in the legitimacy of law enforcement institutions and professionals, 699 (98%) saw police practice as generally inconsistent with formal policy. Instead of treatment diversion, our multivariate analyses showed police encounters to be independently associated with known drug user risk behaviors, including syringe sharing and poly-drug use. Qualitative interviews underscored the limitations of policy reform in settings where citizens’ lived experience is substantially shaped by arbitrary policing practices rather than black letter law. As drug policy reforms gain global momentum, ancillary structural interventions to improve fidelity are needed to assure their public health benefit. Police training and management approaches currently underway in response to this study’s findings will be discussed.

Beletsky, L., Wagner, K. D., Arredondo, J., Palinkas, L., Rodríguez, C. M., Kalic, N., & Strathdee, S. A. (2015). Implementing Mexico’s “Narcomenudeo” Drug Law Reform A Mixed Methods Assessment of Early Experiences Among People Who Inject Drugs. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1558689815575862.

Strathdee, S. A., Arredondo, J., Rocha, T., Abramovitz, D., Rolon, M. L., Mandujano, E. P., … & Beletsky, L. (2015). A police education programme to integrate occupational safety and HIV prevention: protocol for a modified stepped-wedge study design with parallel prospective cohorts to assess behavioural outcomes. BMJ open, 5(8), e008958.

“We all have something of each other’s lives in the palms of our hands” (Martinsen 2006).
The connected nature of caring relationships is well-established in nursing theory and indeed nurses in Oxfordshire have historically been at the forefront of much of this theory generation. More recently, nursing education in the UK has been criticised for losing its base essential values of caring, despite a strong person-centred discourse in healthcare policy and strategy.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) have responded with new standards and a code of practice, whilst school of nursing have felt increasingly ‘regulated’ with a focus on compliance

When the Fat Lady Sings: Leadership and Creativity in Opera

In the world of opera, many experts work together to create an amazing show: everyone from costume and lighting to singers and conductor need to align their creativity to make a final product that audiences love. There are many valuable lessons to be learned from these relationships that illustrate how leadership works.

Leadership involves coordinating different functions and communicating effectively both inside and outside an organisation. This talk will explore just that: how a system of shifting leadership works to pull together the creativity of the skilled experts in order to generate value for diverse stakeholders.

Expect practical demonstrations from a top-class singer!

Please arrive at 12.15pm for a prompt 12.30pm start. Lunch will then be provided and the lecture will commence at 1pm.

This free one-day workshop will bring together participants from academia, the public sector, national infrastructure organizations and social enterprises. We’ll explore how best to build capacity in the social enterprise sector in a way that improves organizations’ ability to participate in commercial and public sector supply chains, on equal terms with other SMEs.

As researchers, we aim to develop knowledge that will improve the human condition. This goal is hampered, however, if research is not consumed, interrogated, and used by those implementing policy. How then does research enter the policy process in practice?

This panel brings together decades of experience working at the intersection of education research and policy and will attempt to answer this key question. Drawing from their considerable experience, the panellists will describe their view of how research informs policy, and share perspectives on how researchers can better communicate and interact with policy makers and what researchers typically miss when thinking about how policy is made.

Featuring:

Tom Mcbride
Head of Strategic Analysis, UK Department for Education

Alex Scharaschkin
Director of Research, AQA; Director, AQA Centre for Education Research and Practice

Ewart Keep
Director, Oxford University Centre on Skills, Knowledge & Organisational Performance (SKOPE)

Nothing is different but everything has changed

While the landscape of marketing is no doubt changing, the importance of cultivating and keeping diverse, creative talent remains as important today as it has been for centuries. This creative talent is at the heart of good marketing and no matter how the world shifts the consumption of media, creativity will remain key to making good ads.

FCB Worldwide CEO Carter Murray will discuss where he thinks the world of advertising is heading and how marketing is breaking new ground by sticking to the basics – awesome creative, great account management and a culture that allows it all to thrive.

The seminar will take place at Saïd Business School on 28 January 2016. Please arrive at the School from 5.15pm for a prompt 5.30pm start.

The talk will be followed by a short networking drinks reception until c19:30 hrs.

Hosted by Oxford School of Geography and the Environment and moderated by Danny Dorling.

Universal basic income (UBI) is an alternative form of social security, which posits that all people should receive an unconditional sum of money to pay for their survival needs. Despite its controversy, UBI has recently attracted considerable attention throughout the political spectrum and has even been enshrined in the programmes of leading European parties. Proponents argue that UBI would simplify welfare, reduce bureaucracy, incentivize creative work, improve the social distribution of wealth, and eliminate the conflict between labor and the need for automation in many areas of the economy.

To date the ReCivitas project remains one of only a handful of instances where UBI has been trialled in a real community. Cofounded by Marcus Brancaglione, this Brazilian NGO has successfully run a donation-funded basic income trial in a rural slum close to Sao Paulo since 2008. From its outset the project was guided by a libertarian ideal: to show that the satisfaction of basic survival needs is a human right that can be guaranteed without making people dependent on state patronage. However, ReCivitas also sees UBI as a developmental alternative to the preferred neoliberal tool of microfinance that so often fails in its mission to increase entrepreneurial investment in poor communities and to deliver people from poverty.

In this talk Brancaglione will present the lessons of the ReCivitas project, the effect UBI has had on its recipients and, in turn, on his own personal development. He will challenge prejudices against UBI and discuss the potential of UBI as a policy alternative in different countries, communities and economic contexts.

Marcus Brancaglione is the co-founder of ReCivitas, a Brazilian NGO that runs a groundbreaking basic income project in a rural slum close to São Paulo. Relying solely on donations, ReCivitas gives every villager an unconditional monthly payment of 30 Brazilian Reais. Brancaglione is also the creator of Governe-se, a platform for the promotion of direct democracy, and the alternative intellectual property licence, Robin Right. His publications include works on basic income, revolution in Brazil, and the possibility of a left-libertarian theology.

Join us for post-talk drinks at the Kings Arms from 7pm onwards.

Driving Business Performance

Peter Tufano and Antony Jenkins will discuss how leadership and culture drives business performance, including the tools that leaders can deploy to improve performance. They will also examine how technology is profoundly affecting business and society, including how to win in a new and very different world.

The seminar will take place at Saïd Business School on 4 Febrauary 2016. Please arrive at the School from 5pm for a prompt 5.30pm start.

The talk will be followed by a short networking drinks reception until c19:30 hrs.

Survival International is the one of the world’s leading tribal rights organisations. From the Yanomami of Brazil to the Bushmen of Botswana, they have defended the land rights of indigenous communities from governmental and corporate influence for over thirty years. The organisation’s director, Stephen Corry, has kindly agreed to come to Oxford to give a talk about the work that both he and Survival have done working with such communities, and the role that the extent to which social sciences can or must engage with these issues.