News & Events

26th February -Royal Institute of Philosophy Invited Lecture: Prof. Geoffrey Scarre, 'Sapient Trouble-tombs'?...

Professor Geoffrey Scarre, University of Durham

'Sapient Trouble-tombs'? Archaeologists' Moral Responsibilities
Towards the Dead

Moral philosophy.

THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF PHILOSOPHY INVITED LECTURE SERIES 2012/13

FORUM FOR PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH, KEELE UNIVERSITY

CONTRIBUTIONS TO PHILOSOPHY X

Tuesdays 6pm until 7.30pm in the Chancellor’s Building, CBA0.060

The Invited Lecture Series is organised with the support of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, the 
School of Politics, IR & Philosophy @ Keele (SPIRE), the Research Centre for SPIRE, and the Keele 
Forum for Philosophical Research.

All enquiries to Dr Sorin Baiasu s.baiasu@keele.ac.uk
Tel: 01782 73 3364

28th February -Staffordshire Physics Centre: Dr David James and Colleagues, "The Physics of the Games"

"The Physics of the Games" Dr David James and Colleagues, Sheffield Hallam University
7.30pm Room LJ1.75, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, ST5 5BG

The summer of 2012 saw an unforgettable festival of sport and the greatest ever performance by Team GB. Behind each medal was an incredible athlete, but also a wealth of science and technology that is being increasingly used in the quest for faster, higher, stronger. What were the key technologies of London 2012 and role did they play? Are performances ‘engineered’, or is sport still a human endeavour?

This event is supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering and will be delivered by Dr David James with help from a number of his PhD students.

Tea and coffee will be available in the LJ foyer from 6.30 p.m and the talk will be followed by Q & A.

This lectures is open to the public and is sponsored by the West Midlands Branch of the IoP.

Admission is free but it is necessary to register for catering purposes. To register, please email your name, address, the number in your party, and the speaker's name to spc.boxoffice@gmail.com

There is ample car parking space on campus, which is free during the evening. We recommend that you use car park C12 (which is opposite the Lennard Jones Laboratories) or the Students’ Union car park if C12 is full. [N.B. Car Park C12 is Car Park J on older maps]

12th March - Royal Institute of Philosophy Invited Lecture: Dr Michelle Montague, 'The Intentionality and...'

Dr Michelle Montague, University of Bristol

The Intentionality and Phenomenology of Perception (TBC)

Contemporary philosophy of mind.

THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF PHILOSOPHY INVITED LECTURE SERIES 2012/13

FORUM FOR PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH, KEELE UNIVERSITY

CONTRIBUTIONS TO PHILOSOPHY X

Tuesdays 6pm until 7.30pm in the Chancellor’s Building, CBA0.060

The Invited Lecture Series is organised with the support of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, the 
School of Politics, IR & Philosophy @ Keele (SPIRE), the Research Centre for SPIRE, and the Keele 
Forum for Philosophical Research.

All enquiries to Dr Sorin Baiasu s.baiasu@keele.ac.uk
Tel: 01782 73 3364

19th March - Inaugural lecture: Professor Chris Exley, 'You can call me Al'

Professor Chris Exley Inaugural lecture, "You can call me Al"

Tuesday 16th April, 6pm Westminster Theatre, Chancellor's Building

“Even my old boss at The Royal Society, Professor I Forget His Name FRS, enquired quizzically of me as to why I was bothering to research aluminium. I explained that this was actually the subject for which I was awarded my Royal Society University Research Fellowship! Oh, he replied, his dark and slightly foreboding eyes beginning to glaze over as our ‘interview’ came to an abrupt end. I am sure that he mumbled something about it (aluminium) having no biological purpose and being essentially benign as he walked away, probably convinced that I was wasting both his and my time!

One of his mumbles had some substance, aluminium having no known essential biological role, but his other final utterance, purposefully beneath his breath, that aluminium had no biological reactivity was at best uninformed and more likely contrived. The biological reactivity of aluminium appears to be its best kept secret, though tell that to fish dying in acid waters or renal patients suffering dialysis encephalopathy, and indeed it is one secret which the aluminium industry is determined to keep at all costs! In this lecture I will take you on a whistle-stop tour of the natural history of aluminium and the unnatural future of living in the aluminium age”

Professor Exley is a biologist with a PhD in the ecotoxicology of aluminium (both University of Stirling). During his PhD research he discovered a unique biochemical relationship between the elements aluminium and silicon and it is the story of the co-evolution of these two elements in biological systems which has been his life’s work to-date.

Professor Exley came to Keele in 1992 with Professor JD Birchall OBE FRS to form what is now The Birchall Centre. He was awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship in 1994 and became Reader at Keele in 2002. Professor Exley has been cycling to work for more than 20 years now and says his legs are starting to hurt! 

This lecture is an open event and free to attend. Please kindly confirm your attendance by contacting the events team on 01782 734906 or email events@keele.ac.uk

21st March -Staffordshire Physics Centre: Professor Peter Styles, "Do we really need Unconventional Oil and Gas?"

“Do we really need Unconventional Oil and Gas?” Professor Peter Styles, Keele University
7.30pm Room LJ1.75, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, ST5 5BG

Lets assume, for argument’s sake, that we need gas for the foreseeable future: to cook with (70%), to generate electricity (47%) and perhaps fuel our cars until we can economically provide 90 Gigawatts of reliable, carbon-free energy. The North Sea no longer provides enough by 400TWh.
Where can we sustainably and ethically source our gas with probably the following options?

1. Bring it by pipeline from a country (ies) where gas businesses have vast wealth but must support governments where political demonstration is effectively illegal and environmental control almost non-existent.

2. Bring natural gas, liquefied under pressure, by Supertanker from Qatar (through the Gulf of Aden past Somali pirates currently holding 17 ships
hostage) and use it immediately as we only have 12 days of underground storage as no-one wishes new facilities to be built.

3. Generate it by drilling carefully to about 3 kilometres into coal seams or shales underlying 50%+ of the UK, using horizontal drilling and hydraulic stimulation (fraccing) and pump out natural gas, carefully monitored, geochemically, hydrogeologically and seismically, to protect our water supply and environment.

You may, as this is a free country, pick 1 or 2 but if you do pick number 3 that’s Shale Gas.

This lectures is open to the public and is sponsored by the West Midlands Branch of the IoP. Tea and coffee will be available in the LJ foyer from 6.30pm and the talk will be followed by Q & A.

Admission is free but it is necessary to register for catering purposes. To register, please email your name, address, the number in your party, and the speaker's name to spc.boxoffice@gmail.com

There is ample car parking space on campus, which is free during the evening. We recommend that you use car park C12 (which is opposite the Lennard Jones Laboratories) or the Students’ Union car park if C12 is full. [N.B. Car Park C12 is Car Park J on older maps]

16th April -Inaugural lecture: Professor Harry Scarbrough, "Transfer or Translation?"

Professor Harry Scarbrough Inaugural lecture, "Transfer or Translation? How Knowledge Is Shared Through Social Networks"

Tuesday 16th April, 18.00pm Westminster Theatre, Chancellor's Building

"A common assumption amongst senior executives and policy-makers is the idea that knowledge can be readily ‘transferred’ from one setting to another.  This assumption underpins many current policies in both government and industry,  including the pursuit of ‘impact’ from research, and attempts to transfer ‘best practice’ in manufacturing and service organizations. 

In this lecture, I question this linear model of knowledge transfer, and outline an alternative view of  the way in which knowledge and ideas flow between different settings. Through examples drawn from my own research in the health sector, I will argue that knowledge is actually ‘translated’ through social networks, with different  groups adapting and tailoring such knowledge to their own circumstances. The critical role played by such networks, ranging from professional groups to the ‘old school tie’ network,  has important implications for our ability to make the best use of the knowledge that we produce."

Harry Scarbrough is the newly appointed (since Oct 2012) Director of Keele Management School. Previously, Harry was a Professor at Warwick Business School, and Director of a major ESRC research programme on ‘The evolution of business knowledge’. His research interests focus on the role played by social networks in the way knowledge is spread, shared and transformed in processes of innovation and change. This includes two recent funded research projects; an ESRC study of the impact of ‘communities of practice’ on organizational performance, and, more recently a National Institute of Health Research study of NHS and international initiatives aimed at improving the translation of knowledge and research into practice.

This lecture is free and open to all. If you'd like to attend please confirm your attendance by contacting the events team on 01782  734906 or email events@keele.ac.uk

14th May -Inaugural lecture: Professor Patricia Black, 'From Pupil to Professor...'

Professor Patricia Black Inaugural lecture: 'From Pupil to Professor - Reflections on a journey in Pharmacy Education and Professional Development’ -Tuesday 14th May.

More information coming soon.

28th May -Inaugural lecture: Professor Christina Goulding, 'The Tribal Consumer'

Professor Christina Goulding Inaugural lecture - 'The Tribal Consumer' 

Tuesday 28th May, 18.00pm Westminster Theatre, Chancellor's Building

Over the last twenty years Consumer Culture Theory has emerged as a sub-discipline within the broader field of Consumer behaviour. This position requires a more critical view of the consumer and a move from an individual psychological analysis of  behaviour  to one grounded in the social lived experience of consumers. This lecture will discuss the emergence of the 'tribal consumer' and will draw on research conducted into such consumer tribes as 'clubbers' and 'Goths'. It will also raise questions about the ethics of adopting the tribal framework in the wider commercial sense.

Christina Goulding's research interests lie in two areas. The first is consumer behaviour from a critical perspective. Much of her work has been concerned with developing an understanding of the consumption/identity link in relation to cultural and tribal consumption. Her current research is focused on the  body, strategies for resisting the market place and non-conformist consumption. The second area of interest is the application and development of qualitative research methodologies and in particular grounded theory. She has published her work in numerous leading journals and is the author of a book on grounded theory and co-author of 'Critical Marketing: Defining the Field'. She is on the editorial review board for European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Consumption Markets and Culture, Marketing Theory and Journal of Place Management.

This lecture is free and open to all. If you'd like to attend please confirm your attendance by contacting the events team via email to events@keele.ac.uk or by calling 01782 734206.