How to be a 'Twitter academic'

Who am I? Why isn’t anybody listening to me? Is everyone judging me on what I just said?

You may now be thinking that you’ve accidentally opened the blog post of a tormented teenager, but you are sadly mistaken! This is me: a 23 year old PhD student struggling to write a Tweet. Not an essay, not my thesis: a tweet! I mean come on, it’s only Twitter! What’s so hard about being a Twitter academic…

When it first launched in 2006, Twitter was a hub of social interaction, banter and hashtags. These days, Twitter is flooded with academics, harnessing the power of social media to share their opinions and disseminate their research findings to the world. So when I joined the craze, I was understandably excited about the world of new possibilities and connections that lay in front of me.

I sat down to write my first ‘intellectual’ tweet… And nothing happened. Apparently writers block isn’t just reserved for ‘traditional’ academic writing! This struggle has continued to bother me throughout my endeavour to be a fully-fledged ‘twitter academic’. I either feel as though I have nothing of value to say, too much to say (in the case of the dreaded 36 character limit!) or absolutely no idea of how to say what I mean.

So here are my 3 top tips on how to be a ‘Twitter academic’:

1. Create your own Twitter community: Following other Twitter academics can be a great way to get started. Not only can you gain inspiration from their style, but you can also respond, reply and interact with their tweets. This allows you to begin conversing with other academics, making connections and forming an online community where you can flourish and feel confident.

2. Find a balance between ‘you’ and ‘academic you’: Tweeting is almost like shouting at the top of your lungs in a crowded pub. Being in a public space, there are certain things you’d never shout out! At the same time, a pub is a more relaxed atmosphere than an academic setting. Make your tweets intellectual yet conversational. Don’t worry if this seems difficult at first because tip number three is…

3. Be brave! : It’s very easy to get caught up in what others think about your tweets, especially with direct feedback in the form of likes and retweets. However, try not to get too caught up in the Twitter popularity contest. Making a contribution on Twitter is better than remaining silent, and by engaging with other Twitter users, you may interact with people who otherwise you’d never have even met! So be brave, tweet and enjoy it!

What are your experiences of #BeingATwitterAcademic? Why not share your own tips in the comments below?

Happy tweeting!

@SianDoesScience

Changing Lives, Changing Worlds conference

Last month, I attended the morning of the second day of the Changing Lives, Changing Worlds conference. This interdisciplinary conference showcases the research of postgraduate students. The theme of the session I attended was Voices of Youth and included a talk on the representation of Eastern European immigrants in literature (Fanni Suto), a talk about young politics in the UK (Ben Bowman) and a talk about the challenges in researching young people's experiences of child trafficking (Alinka Gearon). All the talks were extremely well presented, and gave me an interesting insight into other areas of academic research.

The talk that struck me most was the final session hosted by Alinka Gearon. She highlighted issues such as access to participants and also the complex ethical issues involved in researching the sensitive topic of child trafficking. From a social work perspective, she talked about her experiences in joining youth support groups, becoming part of these communities and allowing the children the time needed to build a relationship of trust and rapport. Initially, Alinka used a memory both to engage the children, but soon found that even references to memories were painful for some individuals. So, after asking the children what activities they liked, improvised dance sessions were held. These sessions were interactive, energetic and promoted social bonding. Alinka found that, as a result of these sessions, the children were happy to attend focus groups and interviews about their experiences.

Overall, her story so far really highlighted the importance of creativity in research, and also the impact that client involvement can have upon the research process and outcome.

I would like the thank the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Bath for hosting this event.

Why I am fascinated by anomalistic and parapsychology

As someone with an interest in health psychology and scientific research, it may come as a surprise to you that I am fascinated by anomalistic and parapsychology. I'd like to take a moment to tell you why, and how we shouldn't underestimate these areas of psychology that are often frowned upon by academics.

Firstly, I have personal reasons. From a young age I've always been interested in magic, watching countless television shows and stage shows. I even had a magician at my 5th birthday party who made me 'levitate' (which I still have home video footage of somewhere!) This intrigue followed me into my later years, manifesting itself in a love of Derren Brown and his combination of showmanship, magic tricks and psychology. I've been to see several of his live shows, and love how he combines debunking myths with an element of potential magic lingering.

I've also been fascinated by paranormal activity from an early age, being a tad obsessed with aliens in my childhood. Since entering adulthood, I've also read more on the subject, particularly enjoying the book 'Paranormality' by Richard Wiseman. I wanted to believe in paranormal phenomena from an early age, but as I get older I realize I am now firmly on the side of 'non-believer' or 'goat' as the sheep-goat effect would have me believe.

So if I don't believe in it anymore and if the science suggests paranormal activity and magic doesn't exist then why am I still so fascinated? After talk to Dr. Ian Fairholm, a lecturer at the University of Bath, I finally managed to pinpoint my answer. If people continue to believe in the paranormal, despite evidence that suggests otherwise, this tells us something important about human nature, how we think, feel and process the world around us. 

Psychology is the study of the mind, and the mind wants to believe what it wants, not what science may dictate as truth. In my view, this makes the area definitely worth studying. 

A month of TED (2)

As mentioned previously, as part of my MSc Health Psychology placement, I want to expand my knowledge about health, psychology and science, exploring a variety of different topics, ideas and viewpoints. I have now completed my second month of 5 TEDtalks a week. Looking for some inspiration? You've come to right place:

What's wrong with our food system? - Birke Baehr
An 11 year old boy highlights the dark side of the food industry and wants to grow up to be an organic farmer, not a footballer claiming 'we can either pay the farmer or the hospital'.
@BirkeBaehr 

How bacteria talk - Bonnie Bassler
Bacteria have their own, unique chemical language and a more generic language to be aware of other bacteria. Bacteria are multi-lingual!

Asia's rise: How and when - Hans Rosling
Hans view of India as less developed changed when he moved there are went from the top of his class to the bottom. Asia is on the rise to catching Western countries economically by 2048.
@HansRosling 

The mystery of chronic pain - Elliot Krane
Pain is a disease, not merely a symptom. His philosophy is not 'no pain, no gain' but instead 'no pain, no pain'.
@elliot_krane

Growing new organs - Anthony Atala
Salamanders can regenerate limbs: why can't humans? A fascinating talk about the amazing science of growing organs outside of the body to implant into humans in need. 

In praise of slowness - Carl Honore
We are living the fast life but not necessarily the good life, We need to slow down to get back in touch with our 'inner tortoise'.
@carlhonore

The 50 cent microscope that folds like origami - Manu Prakash
Microscopes are bulky, expensive and hard to maintain, making use of them difficult in countries where diseases like malaria are prevalent. New technology shows amazing promise. 
@PrakashLab

Let's talk crap. Seriously - Rose George
A plethora of toilet puns showcased the more serious issue of 40% of the world having no toilet. More funding and conversation needs to happen, as Rose urges us to 'talk shit'.
@rosegeorge3

How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime - Nadine Burke Harris
Our stress response is maladaptive is we are not running from a bear, but instead 'the bear comes home every night'. The implications of childhood trauma and treatment are discussed. 
@DrBurkeHarris

Visualizing the wonder of a living cell - David Bolinksy
There are expressions of truth and beauty in science that can be seen through art.
@emersionist

Texting that saves lives - Nancy Lublin
Could testing save more lives than peniclin? Nancy talks about a crisis text hotline.
@nancylublin

The quantified self - Gary Wolf
Technology and numbers allow us to track our behaviour, reflect, learn and improve.
@agaricus

Physical therapy is boring: play a game instead - Cosmin Mihaiu
Using technology from gaming and motion censors to make physiotherapy fun and easy to access at home. 

The coming neurological epidemic - Gregory Petsko
The average lifespan has increased and so have the number of degenerative diseases. There's no treatment and we need to be prepared.

Programming bacteria to detect cancer - Tal Danino
There are more bacteria in our bodies than there are stars in the galaxy. Let's use these naturally occurring bacteria to detect and potentially treat cancer. 
@tdanino

How an obese town lost a million pounds - Mick Cornett
The mayor of Oklahoma put the whole city on a 'diet', starting conversations about health. Designed the city around people, not cars, promoting environmental changes including better side walks and a central park.
@MickCornett

How healthy living nearly killed me - AJ Jacobs
If we become so focused on health, we may neglect relationships and cause more damage. It's all about finding the healthy habits that work for you. 
@ajjacobs

Obesity + hunger = 1 global food issue - Ella Gustafson
Half the world id obese, half are hungry. Could this be due to the lack of shared effective agricultural systems to the world?

Are we over-medicalized? - Ivan Oransky 
Doctors are incentivised to do more, patients WANT more and drug companies have a desire to sell more pharmaceuticals. Oranksy calls the age of pre-conditions, 'PREposterous'. 
@ivanoransky

How to succeed? Get more sleep - Arianna Huffington 
Let's 'sleep our way to the top' and stop the age of sleep one-upmanship. Sleep is good for you, and may be good for the rest of the world.
@ariannahuff

Public Engagement

The first rule of public engagement is flexibility, as we found out when our lecture room was already taken for our session. So we moved outside to by the lake and shared our ideas about public engagement with the ducks!

We talked about five aspects of public engagement: what it is, why do we do it, when should we do it, how should we do it and who should be involved?

What is public engagement?

"Public engagement describes the myriad of ways in which the activity and benefits of higher education and research can be shared with the public. Engagement is by definition a two-way process, involving interaction and listening, with the goal of generating mutual benefit." (National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement)

Why should we use public engagement?

- Recruitment

- Feedback

- Funding

- To create a network

- To break down barriers between research, practice and the public

- To ensure research does not become a solitary activity

- To think creatively and to challenge your own assumptions

When should we use public engagement?

- It can be used throughout the research process.

- It should never be seen as an add on: it's part of the research process

How should we engage with the public?

- In a method that fit's in with your research

- Face to face

- Social media

- Think outside the box

Who should be involved in public engagement?

- Public engagement should have mutual benefit for researcher and public

- It's a two way relationship: transmitting, receiving or collaborating 

- Remember that one person can be many things (e.g. a mother, a drinker, a Christian etc). This is important to remember when defining and segmenting your targeted 'public'

I now have a new insight into public engagement in research and intend to use this information in my current and future research practice. On a side note, would anyone be interested in watching a psychology YouTube channel? I'm considering setting one up!

Please leave comments. 

Health research showcase - University of Bath

On the 17th June the Department of Health, University of Bath and the Royal United Hospital held an event, bringing together academics and practitioners in a celebration and sharing of their research. This series of short talks kept the audience engaged, with many interesting questions being asked of the speakers. Having attended all the talks, it was hard to choose a favourite area. So I've summarised the main ideas of each speaker below:

Immunity and breast cancer

Dr. Mark Beresford & Dr James Turner

Beresford began by giving the statistics on breast cancer prevalence, effecting 1 in 9 women and being more common in Western society. Survival rates have improved greatly due to earlier diagnosis, screening and better targeted treatments. Turner went on to explain the potential of neo-adjunct chemotherapy (prior to operation on tumour growth), and research regarding the natural anti-cancer immunity that healthy individuals seem to exhibit. 

When the drugs don't work: pain

Professor Chris Eccleston & Dr Jeremy Gauntlett-Gilbert

Eccleston began with some good news: people are living longer. This was followed by the bad news that the longer we live, the longer we live with painful disease. Treatment needs to involve learning to live with pain, and have a multitude of different treatment options for different people. Gauntlett-Gilbert stated that we need to ask the patient what works in treatment to make improvements in care.

Fighting diabetes with high intensity training

Dr Tony Robinson & Dr Niels Vollaard

Robinson began with some statistics on diabetes, with the cost of the disease being 10% of the NHS annual budget. Vollard focused on how no one is doing enough exercise, spending too much time in front of the TV, becoming 'couch potatoes' (Game of Thones anyone?). High intensity training has been advertised as a way to the same health benefits as sustained exercise in a shorter amount of time. However, due to rest and recovery periods in between bursts of energy, it doesn't quite work out that way! Research has found that all it takes is 10 minutes a week, of 2 intense sprints and recovery 3 times a week. This acts as an alternative to current exercise recommendations.

What is modelling and simulation and what can it offer the NHS?

Dr Carol Peden & Dr Chritsos Vasilakis

Peden noted that the worst time to be admitted to hospital is the weekend or late at night, due to the management of emergencies. However, the hospital system is complex and it is important to consider each step and pathway in the healthcare system. Vasilakis said this can be done using analytical models and computer simulation to conduct 'what if' analysis, to prepare the NHS for most scenarios. 

Does early intervention matter for arthritis?

Dr James Bilzon & Professor Neil McHugh

Bilzon states that sharing knowledge is like a fine wine. It's only useful if someone drinks it, not if it is stuck in a cellar. One of my favourite quotes about sharing research. McHugh then went on to talk about his research of exercise as a treatment for arthritis and also the importance of screening for undiagnosed psoriatic arthritis. 

Improving life for people with dementia and their families

Dr Denise Taylor & Professor Roy Jones

Taylor's research involves speaking to the families of those diagnosed with dementia, to find out their perspectives on medication. Families may see it as a 'cure' when it is not. However, medication may improve social relationships and increase awareness with the environment. Medication for dementia is more about stabilising the individual, rather than improvements. Jones then went on to talk about the research institute for the care of older people (RICE). Of the four drugs that are licensed for dementia, all were conducted in clinical trials at RICE. Taylor also talked about a focus on quality of life. 

No conversation shoud mean no legislation: The calorie labelling of alcohol

If you follow me on twitter, you may have already seen my constant posting about the calorie labelling of alcohol. This is part of my current research as part of my masters degree in health psychology. So why do I care, or more to the point, why should you care about calorie labelling of alcoholic drinks?

Drinking is part of most adults lives, whether it be socially or as a relaxant after a hard weeks work. We think nothing of consuming several alcoholic beverages in an evening at times (myself included!), without really thinking what we are putting into our bodies. These 'liquid calories' do not fill us up like food would, but still have impact on our health and our waistlines!

The European Commission are deciding this year whether to make this labelling on alcohol mandatory. However, there is no evidence to support that these labels will work in practice, meaning that the labelling could cost a lot of money, with little results.

My research is looking into what you want to see on your drinks, what you think will help you make better decisions and what you think will still allow you to enjoy a casual drink, yet still keep in shape and in good health. In my view, legislation should be designed with the populations view in mind. 

No conversation should mean no legislation

If you want your views to be heard please follow the link below to my survey:

https://bathreg.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/calories-and-alcohol

Seminar - An introduction to NVivo10

Having never conducted qualitative research before, and only really having brief experience of coding in my lectures, one of my aims is to learn more about qualitative research techniques. Attending this course on a piece of software called NVivo10 turned out to be very helpful to me, even if I was the only MSc student in my group!

Dr Liz Graveling talked us through the software using her own PhD project as an example. For me, this was extremely helpful, as I find programmes much easier to follow when I am given a 'story' or context to follow. What I like best about using NVivo is that you can code text as well as pictures, which may be of advantage in my dissertation project focusing on the calorie labelling of alcoholic drinks and how best to present this information visually.

Dr Graveling gave us lots of helpful hints and tricks for using NVivo and, even though this was a basic introduction, I am going to explore the programme further and make use of it to help my coding and understanding of themes in my dissertation data. Depending on how this goes, I may even transfer these skills onto my future PhD project.

Thanks to Postgraduate Skills Training for hosting this session.

And also thanks to Dr Liz Graveling.

@LizGraveling

Injury prevention conference

Recently, I had the great fortune of attending the morning session for the injury prevention conference. This was hosted by the Department for Health at the University of Bath. This involved three great talks about how we can make a difference, by applying scientific research to help prevent the occurrence of injuries and the health risks associated with them.

The first talk focused on the role of bio mechanics in running. Dr. Sharon Dixon explained that bio mechanics, things such as joint angles and force of impact, may lead to common running injuries (although many other factors also play a role). Research in this area mainly focuses on measuring foot force, pressure and joint angles following an injury, to see if a retrospective cause can be identified. However, it can be difficult to infer direct causality from these results. Dixon had begun some research, which accidentally ended up in an acquired injury, allowing a unique case study on the bio mechanics of injury. These results showed a distinct change in running movement pattern, which happened even before the athlete reported any problems. This could have interesting applications in terms of elite athletes. I posed the question of how this may apply to preventing injury in recreational runners. Dixon mentioned the equipment becoming more readily accessible in running shops, but suggested the idea of some kind of monitoring mobile app may be an interesting way forward.

The second set of talks focused on psychological stress and injury. Dr. Stephen Mellalieu discussed the psychosocial factors involved in responses to injury and coping in rehabilitation. Professional athletes encounter a lot of unavoidable stress regarding their performance, but also may be dealing with personal stress in their home environment (for example, having a baby). Mellalieu highlighted the three levels of intervention for injury prevention: primary, secondary and tertiary. 

Finally, Dr Carly McKay spoke about how we can change behaviour to modify risk. Effective interventions may exist but if people are not using them, then they have limited applications. When introducing interventions it is important to consider, not only the individual level behaviour of the athlete, but also the behaviour of teams, coaches and spectators. Unfortunately, as we know in the area of health, increasing awareness of an intervention doesn't always lead to changes in behaviour. McKay used the HAPA model to highlight the importance of motivation, self-efficacy and barriers to implementing an intervention. 

Overall, all these talks were fascinating and, although I had an awareness of the psychological side of prevention, I learnt a lot about the biomechanical side of injuries too. 

Thanks to the Department of Health for hosting this event. 

Screening scepticism - A seminar with Dr. James Coyne

We are not sceptical enough as researchers, academics and scientists. Dr. James Coyne introduced himself as a sceptic: scrutinising the quality of evidence in research with a critical eye. Coyne's work mainly focuses on the lack of a solid evidence base for clinical screening and, as a result, access to treatment. Firstly. it was noted that clinical guidelines are notoriously biased to their own provision of services. I personally believe that official guidelines should not be taken as gospel, and be viewed critically, in the same way we view our research. Unfortunately, the world of academia is highly politicized. The way to tackle this is through awareness, scepticism and a critical outlook upon not only the evidence provided by others, but also of your own research. 

As an example, Coyne disputed the notion of distress as the 6th vital sign, often measured as a distress thermometer. However, unlike the other vital signs such as blood pressure for example, distress has a strong psychosocial component. Therefore, is it valid to measure distress in the same way we would with biological symptoms? Of course not. Measures like these seem to disrupt clinical conversations and restrict the patients from expressing their true concerns and feelings. The facts seem to be that, even when distress was 'diagnosed' using these methods, a referral to services was unlikely to improve patient outcomes. Individuals who are already highly distressed are either already receiving services or simply do not want them, preferring to self-manage or use their own social networks for support. The weak link in clinical diagnosis is not detection but completion of referral for those individuals who actually want to access services. 

The notion that doctors are 'not paid to solve problems' but are 'paid to do procedures' is misguided to say the least. 

I entered this seminar, already a firm believer in being critical, but I left wanting to be a true sceptic. 

CRISP - Online debates around food allergy

On the 10th of June I attended a CRISP research seminar. CRISP stands for critical research in social psychology. Today Richard Hamshaw, a first year PhD student, presented some exploratory data he'd collected on twitter. These tweets were in response to a Telegraph article about 100 chefs who contested new regulations about the labelling of allergy information on their menus.
The data was collected following the #100chefs hashtag, with a lot of tweeters also using the food standards agency hashtag #14allergens. We then engaged in some group analysis and critical discussion of social media research.


Topics discussed included:

- The language and customs of twitter
- Context: how do we know what is meant in a tweet?
- Twitter not being a self-contained data set (often with links to other posts or media)
- Respondents having different agendas to the article. The telegraph article focused upon the legislation side whereas tweeters focused on more personal issues relating to their own allergies
- How do tweeters engage with the conversation? Are they following the hashtag or having their own mini conversations?
- Politics of hashtag use: corporations may not get involved
- Responses and replies not being hashtagged: would they be included in the data set
- Differences between comments on a website (which may be moderated) or on twitter, where speech is more free but confined to 140 characters

Again, social media appears to be an interesting data collection tool but may be confusing to researchers who do not know the conventions and 'rules' of twitter. Using social media in research is still in it's infancy but holds much promise. I wonder how long it will take for a mainstream textbook to emerge for guidance on social media research. And how large the book would have to be!

#NSMNSS Twitter Chat - Informed Consent and Ethical Issues in Social Media Research

On the 1st of June 2015, I engaged in my very first twitter chat! Following on from an interesting conference I attended about ethics and social media a few weeks back, I was keen to hear the views of others and get involved in a bit of debate. The conversation moved quickly and (on the whole), I managed to keep up! To see the full conversation, click here.

Here are a few highlights of the conversation:

@SianDoesScience: How people define 'public' is rather subjective I think! #NSMNSS

@was3210 Are celebrities public figures? Is it OK to quote public figures? #nsmnss

@CurtisJessop I agree some profiles are more 'public' than others, but how do you tell?

@SianDoesScience I never read the t's and c's, so does that make me to 'blame' if my data get's used? #nsmnss

@huwcdavies #nsmnss With all the high profile prosecutions no one can be any doubt Twitter is a public platform - like shouting in pub?

@JonMendel there are some things it wouldn't be ethical to do with someone's shouts in pub without consent; same with Twitter #NSMNSS

@was3210 Interesting pub analogy. But what if those in the pub were in a segregated part & they were talking normally #NSMNSS

@SianDoesScience Transparency and respect for the participants is crucial when entering someone's online 'space' #nsmnss

@SianDoesScience IMO social sciences in particular, have a moral obligation to protect their participants from psychological harm in ANY research #nsmnss

@SianDoesScience I think ethics in general needs to be viewed as an integral part of research planning, not merely a boundary to overcome #nsmnss

@Sam_MJ_Waldron Q4. Is it ok to make assumptions about ppl based on what they write online? Which is often not a reflection of real life #NSMNSS

@SianDoesScience IMO ethics is brushed over in universities and not explored. Not a way to set up a new generation of researchers #nsmnss

Thank you to @NSMNSS for coordinating this event and to @was3210 for hosting

A month of TED (1)

As part of my MSc Health Psychology placement, I want to expand my knowledge about health, exploring a variety of different topics, ideas and viewpoints. I decided a fun way to do this would be to watch at least 5 TEDtalks a week for the duration of my placement. A first glance this appears daunting, but I can honestly say I look forward to my daily dose of knowledge. So I thought I would summarize my first month of TED, with each talk explained in a sentence or two. Here we go:


The best stats you've ever seen - Hans Rosling
We underestimate the changes in poverty and economic growth in the world due to our pre-conceived ideas. We know less about health than a chimpanzee!
@HansRosling

How to make stress your friend - Kelly McGonigal
"I've turned stress into the enemy, but I've changed my mind about stress." Stress is bad for your health but if viewed more positively it may not be so detrimental and even be a helpful motivator for seeking social support.
@kellymcgonigal

Teach every child about food - Jamie Oliver
The leading cause of death in the USA is not homicide: it is diet-related diseases. We need to teach children in schools about food to empower communities to fight obesity. 
@jamieoliver

Why do we sleep? - Russell Foster
We need to take our sleep seriously, as it may be linked to cell restoration, energy conservation, memory consolidation and even creativity. "Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together".

All it takes is 10 mindful minutes - Andy Puddicombe
When did you last take any time to do absolutely nothing? We need to stop ruminating and being anxious about being anxious, taking time to change the way we experience our world. 
@andypuddicombe

Why dieting doesn't usually work - Sandra Aamodt
A talk focusing on the benefits of eating mindfully, avoiding self blame for dieting failures and eating intuitively. If diets worked, we'd all be thin already, so it is time for a change.
@sandra_aamodt

The voices in my head - Eleanor Longden
A personal story of Eleanor's experience with hearing voices in a 'physic civil war' and the hope of getting better. "Sometimes it snows as late as May, but summer always comes eventually". A movement away from asking 'what is wrong with you?' to 'what has happened to you?' 

New insights on poverty - Hans Rosling
Some countries are more developed than we think, considering where they started from. The seemingly impossible is possible: we can move away from poverty and, apparently, Hans Rosling can also swallow a sword!
@HansRosling

The conversational racetrack - Elizabeth Stokoe
The way we use language is important and can be seen as a racetrack of many different moments. By focusing in on these moments, we can see where conversation flourishes or falters in communication between professionals and their clients. 
@LizStokoe

How to live to be 100+ - Dan Buettner
90% of how long we live is lifestyle. A society that treats it's elderly with respect and cultures where life has a purpose (iki gai) even in old age, appear to have a longer lifespan.
@BlueZones

Mosquitoes, malaria and education - Bill Gates
More money is invested in cures for baldness than malaria. In the USA you have more chance of going to jail then getting a degree if you have a low income. Change is needed. 
@BillGates

A guerrilla gardener in South Central L.A. - Ron Finley
We live in the land of drive-thrus and drive-by shootings, with the drive-thrus now killing more people. We need to use the garden as a tool for education, transformation and provision, making gardening gangster and a bit more sexy!
@RonFinleyHQ

Life's third act - Jane Fonda
In older age, we are still on a journey towards wisdom and wholeness. By reflecting upon our experiences, we can add meaning and change our relationship to our past. 
@Janefonda

Why some people fin it harder to exercise - Emily Balcetis
Perceiving exercise to be easier, actually decreases the difficulty. "If we find a way to make the world look nicer and easier, it may become so."

Is the obesity crisis hiding a bigger problem? - Peter Attia
We judge and blame people who are overweight, when weight gain may be a symptom of an underlying, more serious issue. Scientific 'truth' is not final, and we need to stop treating 'the bruise' and instead, help people to learn to stop 'walking into coffee tables".
@PeterAttiaMD

Homoeopathy, quackery and fraud - James Randi
Debunking myths, beginning with an 'overdose' of sleeping medication. People are highly suggestible and prone to make assumptions when prompted.

How not to be ignorant about the world - Hans & Ola Rosling
People have pre-conceived ideas about the world, from our personal bias and bias in the news covering sensationalist stories which are not the majority. Rules of thumb: most things improve, the gap between rich and poor is not as large as you think and 'sharks kill few'.
@OlaRosling

Are we born to run? - Christopher McDougall
We need to re-find the joy and nakedness in running, as our ancestors used to run mega marathons even in their 70's to outrun prey as a pack. We are designed to sweat, to run and to be compassionate to others in our 'pack'.
@McDougallChris

Why we are need to practice emotional first aid - Gay Winch
We sustain more psychological injuries than physical, but we do not treat them as equal. More emphasis needs to be placed upon good emotional hygiene, and becoming our own best friend. 
@GuyWinch

Got a meeting? Take a walk - Nilofer Merchant
Fresh air drives fresh thinking and creativity, so we should take walking meetings instead of sitting on our behinds. Health and obligation shouldn't be a trade off.
@nilofer

The killer American diet that's sweeping the planet - Dean Ornish
We need to work with food companies to make the healthy lifestyle sexy. (I have my own doubts about this working due to the conflict in interests between health professionals and the food industry)
@DeanOrnishMD

Am I dying? The honest answer - Matthew O'Reilly
When someone is dying, should you lie to comfort them? We underestimate the peace found in the acceptance of death.

How I fell in love with a fish - Dan Barber
A story of Miguel, a biologist in Spain with a sustainable fish farm where success is measured by the thriving bird population . We already produce enough food to feed the world, but it's inequality that causes poverty. 
@DanBarber

The opportunity for adversity - Aimee Mullins
The only disabling thing about disability, is societies viewpoint of it as the opposite of healthy and whole. Adversity is part of your life, not just an obstacle.

Autism: what we know (and what we don't know yet) - Wendy Chung
The autism epidemic may be due to the widening definition and eagerness to label. There is no single cause to autism and there is still so much we have yet to understand. 

The effects of the hangover - Journal Club

In journal club, myself and fellow students review a piece of research. This week we were looking at the alcohol hangover article, adapted from "The alcohol hangover: a puzzling phenomenon" published in Alcohol & Alcoholism by Verster in 2008.

Relating to our own personal experiences, we discussed the hangover in great detail, dispelling myths such as dehydration. This reminded me of a BBC Horizon documentary I had watched recently, with two twins drinking the same amount of actual liquid, but one drinking more alcohol content. The following morning, although the hungover twin felt dehydrated, physically he was just as hydrated as his twin. We also discussed the changes in alcohol metabolising with age and between genders, noting that some people (particular of Asian descent) have a gene which means they tend to metabolise alcohol less efficiently, and have worse hangovers as a result.

There were two main criticisms of the article. Firstly, the style of writing was not consistent. In places, the author was trying to convey a casual tone of voice, but this swerved swiftly into biological jargon (which even I had trouble getting my head around at first!). As an academic, there is nothing wrong in presenting information in a down-to-earth way, but consistency in tone is necessary to avoid confusion. Secondly, although I agree with the authors call for further research, this must be approached with caution, due to the potential role that the alcohol industry itself could play in funding. Having attended a Pint of Science talk about corporate control by Marcus Munafo a few weeks ago, I am definitely more sceptical about research in these areas, as I'm sure a paper about reducing the experience of a hangover would be extremely profitable for the alcohol industry as a whole.

Seminar: An introduction to PsychoPy

A few weeks ago, I had the honour of attending a course on PsychoPy, presented by the creator himself Jon Peirce from the University of Nottingham. Being a novice researcher (and even more novice programmer) I was worried that the session would be beyond me. However, Pierce made the whole session extremely accessible, with the software being designed for budding undergraduate social scientists.

The software essentially allows for the create of computer-based lab experiments, either using programming or using an intuitive builder mode. The programme is called PsychoPy and is free to download. Having had some experience of the software in the session, it was precise but really easy to pick up and explore. 

Download PsychoPy here

I'm extremely glad that, in some universities, they are being taught how to create their own experiments with this software, as this is something I feel I missed out on a bit at undergraduate level. I would urge all budding scientists to download this programme and have a play around. It could be an important tool in your future research. 

#TheOnlyWayIsEthics - Ethics, digital data and research using social media

On Wednesday 20th May, I attended an ethics training event at the University of West England. The day had a varied programme, with talks focused on ethical guidelines and also considering implications in applied research.

The first speaker of the day was Kandy Woodfield, who really inspired me to think about ethics in a new way. Social media blurs the boundaries of ethical approval and causes a multitude of challenges. Although it could be argued that digital data in a public space, such as Twitter, is 'fair game', Kandy believes there is a moral obligation to gain informed consent (which I wholeheartedly agree with). As she stated 'Just because it's possible, it doesn't mean it's ethical'. The current framework for digital data collection is not adequate, drawing upon face-to-face methods with have an entirely different set of unique challenges. A new framework is needed to stop us from using 'an analogue ethics framework for a digital world'. Issues such as difficulties of anonymity, researcher transparency and credibility were also taken into consideration.

Next, Professor Richard McClatchey spoke about ethics in big data medical applications, including projects such as the MammoGRID; a network of mammogram scans from doctors all across the UK to compare and assist with diagnosis. To put this into perspective, you'd need a stack of CD's the size of the Eiffel Tower to store this information. This was applied to several different grids focusing on different health issues such as child paediatrics and neurological decline. Several data issues were raised including who owns the data and how to ensure patient anonymity. However, despite the clear ethical challenges, this research shows how useful digital data can be in our research.

Finally, two PhD students presented their ongoing work, which relies highly on social media and digital data. Josh Jarrett is looking into on-line gaming which involves data collection through forums such as Reddit and in-game observations. Jarrett highlighted the importance of transparency in this research but also immersing himself in the culture of the games he studied. Also, in environments such as these, conversation may easily turn hostile so it's important for the researcher to consider how to protect themselves in the process. The second PhD student, Milena Popova, is exploring fan-fiction and felt that she had 'more questions than answers' with regards to ethics. In my opinion, that's not necessarily a bad thing. It shows, as scientists, we are questioning and being thorough in every aspect of our research. Popova considered the anonymity of her participants as highly important and also stated 'I'm accountable for the community I'm researching', respecting the norms and the values of the online culture.

Overall, a fascinating day with vibrant presentations, sending me away with a new perspective on ethical approval in the digital age. I continue to view ethics, not as a boundary to research aims, but an integral part of the research process.
Please follow New Social Media, New Social Science? to get involved with digital ethics.

#TheOnlyWayIsEthics

Pints, cigarettes and corporation conflict - Pint of Science

For the second night of Pint of Science, I attended the Vice Night at the Greenbank in Bristol. These talks were all focused around vices in our behaviour such as smoking and, ironically given the location, alcohol. First up was David Troy, who I had the pleasure of already seeing speak at the BPS annual conference earlier in the month. Although the content was along the same theme, the presentation had a more relaxed air, bringing science to the public. After a witty opening ('rare to have an Irishman encouraging people to drink less alcohol'), Troy spoke about the David v.s, Goliath style struggle between the government and alcohol industry, with resistance from the later about policies that may reduce drinking behaviour. Glass shape was a method that was discussed, with interesting questions raised by fellow audience members about whether we believe pubs are deliberately using glass shape to make us consume more. A thoroughly interesting talk and well received by the audience also.

Next up was Meryem Grabski, a PHD student studying cigarettes and tobacco withdrawal. Current studies on quitting smoking use animal participants, making results hard to transfer to humans. Also, clinical trials tend to be too expensive and tobacco withdrawal itself is difficult to measure. Grabski's work is seeking a way to measure tobacco withdrawal successfully using human participants, in order to help us test and identity new treatment options. An eloquent and confident presentation. Interesting questions raised about how some people smoke for different reasons than tobacco addition, for example, they may like having something to do with their hands. Grabski agreed with this, saying there is not a one size fits all approach and we need to choose the right therapy for the right person.

During the break, we got to try on some pretty snazzy beer glasses and rate some faces on how attractive we found them! People who'd drank over 1 full drink were given red counters, and people who'd had less were given white counters (me again on the lime and sodas!). This experiment was a nice touch and a great way to encourage the audience to get involved in some science.

Last, but certainly not least on the programme was Professor Marcus Munafo, with an extremely engaging talk about choice and corporations, and how we might not be as in control of our behaviour as we think. Focusing on several vices, I learnt several new things about these products. Burning nicotine, for example, in cigarettes is designed to be as addictive as possible, being inhaled deeply into the lungs, whereas cigar smoke can penetrate through the cheeks. Even cigarettes branded as 'light' and therefore perceived as 'healthier' are smoking in a compensatory way that cancels out the lower tar content. Also, I never realised how much influence the tobacco industry had in research, funding projects that make their product appear more favourable. Munafo also tackled the issue of snacking, which didn't exist until it was introduced by the food industry in the 70's to increase the purchasing of their products. As a result of all this, there is an ongoing tensions between scientists and industry, with a clear conflict of interests. Corporations shape our governments, our research councils and even our science: important facts to remember when working in the behaviour change industry.


I thoroughly enjoyed both evenings I attended for Pint of Science and cannot wait to attend again next year!

Caffeine, erasing memories and an awkward happy birthday - Pint of Science

Last night, I attended the Pint of Science event at the Hole in the Wall pub in Bristol. Pint of Science is a worldwide, week long festival of accessible science presented in the comfort of pubs. So, with a lime and soda in hand (the curse of being a driver), the science began. The theme of this session was 'totally addicted'.

Dr. Chris Alford focused upon caffeine, beginning with the question 'is it a cure or is it a curse of modern living?' A group session on attempting to rate the amount of caffeine in certain food and drinks revealed that we don't seem to know much, which is bizarre when over 6 billion caffeine drinks are consumed worldwide everyday! In fact, caffeine is second only to oil in monetary value. Alford talked about how certain people may be predisposed to like coffee, whereas others may have a genetic polymorphism that causes those caffeine jitters. Both sides of the cure or curse argument were presented with a range of studies looking at sleep deprivation, caffeine withdrawal, sports performance, effect on health and the power of beliefs.
The good news is that the fatal dosage of coffee would be 30g of pure instant coffee (prior to boiling water), which is equal to about 2 and a half jars. A pretty difficult task to achieve! So we are all pretty safe using caffeine in a clever way and in moderation.

I would like to give a special mention to the compère for the evening (who's name I have forgotten sorry!). A young physicist PhD student who gelled the evening together with a vibrant energy and well-timed jest. He served up the audience a 'truth gateau', about how being a physicist is not as glamorous as it sounds. Cue a hilarious tale about being sung happy birthday by a room full of physicists. This was said to have made 30 seconds feel like 30 minutes, breaking the rules of time itself! He also hosted a delightful pub quiz all about the brain (did you know a leech has 32 brains?!).

The second speaker was Dr. Chris Bailey who took a neurological slant on how we may erase unwanted memories. This sounds like a page right out of a sci-fi novel, but Bailey explained the ins and outs of how we create a long-term memory through synaptic plasticity, and how interfering with this process may cause associations to fade away. The science behind this was well explained using a series of vignettes including the Pavlov's dogs experiment, Bailey's own childhood hatred of lavender and an example of application to post-traumatic stress disorder. Bailey's work focusing on looking for pharmaceuticals that target certain memory traces only, searching for a drug that may erase pleasurable associations with addictive stimuli. Propranolol has been identified as working on fear memories alone, and shows promise in erasing unwanted memories to do with phobias and, as mentioned previously, PTSD. However, work in addiction is still ongoing.

(Please note, this blog was fuelled by coffee! In my view, caffeine is a cure.)

The Food Revolution

If you've never heard of Jamie Oliver then where have you been?! Famous for his career as a television chef, this Essex boy also has a series of entrepreneurial ventures. All commendable achievements, but his more recent mission has been his 'Food Revolution', attempting to change worldwide health by changing the way we eat and teaching every child about food.

Jamie says 'We have blessed our children with a shorter lifespan' as a direct result of 'the landscape of food we've built". The leading cause of death in the USA is not homicide, which most Americans fear, but instead the biggest killer is diet-related disease, costing over $150 billion each year.

The way Jamie proposes we should tackle the current obesity climate actually draws on robust psychological theory, using techniques such as empowerment. The way he presented this in the above TED talk is a triangle of influence: home, school and the main street (including restaurants and supermarkets). The main focus is schools, which would have a knock on effect to home life. Teaching every child about food in schools, providing them with life skills such as cooking and bringing these skills out into the community could 'empower people everywhere to fight obesity'.

Note: Although the main street section of the triangle is harder to tackle, Jamie urges for governments to crack down on systems such as labelling, and put a food ambassador in every supermarket, who can guide customers towards healthier choices and suggest recipe ideas. Big brands need to make food education be at the heart of their businesses.

As health psychologists I feel as though it is crucial that we back this message. It is rare to find a credible celebrity endorsement in favour of good health, that has the potential to inspire and influence a generation. Psychologists need to work with Jamie Oliver to ensure that good theory influences these potential interventions.
Jamie launched his Food Revolution Day on the 15th May 2015.

I will be getting on board and signing The Food Revolution petition. Will you?