11th March 2020

The Science of Dyslexia

The last 50 years has seen the publication of thousands of research papers investigating the nature of dyslexia. As a consequence, we now have a much deeper scientific understanding of what this condition entails. In this talk, Professor Rick Hanley from the Department of Psychology at the University of Essex will attempt to summarise some of the most important findings to have emerged and will explain why some issues still remain controversial. The issues that he will discuss will include the role that families play, the role of genetics, the role of gender, the role of the English writing system and whether different children experience different types of reading problem.

12th February 2020

Why sperm shape matters in fertility

If you have ever seen a diagram of sperm, it probably looked like many little tadpoles. That’s mostly true – for human sperm. However, there are a wide range of weird and wonderful sperm shapes across the animal kingdom, and we are discovering the ways different sperm shapes can affect male fertility. This is also important in healthcare – about 1 in 7 couples have difficulty conceiving, and half of that is due to issues with male fertility.

In this talk by Dr Benjamin Skinner from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Essex, we will review some of the variety of sperm morphologies, the methods we are using to measure shapes, and how this can impact on how well a sperm can fertilize an egg.

8th January 2020

Artificial Intelligence and Labour

In the grim darkness of the near future there is only work

Despite heavy technological progress and contrary to most predictions, the trend in working hour reduction that has been observed since the second industrial revolution has been stalled or reversed. We spend most of our waking hours working or thinking about work. In this talk Dr Spyros Samothrakis from the Institute for Analytics and Data Science at the University of Essex will explore why this took place and how new technological trends (if they go unchecked and unchallenged) have the potential to increase our working hours even more. We will also explore alternative ideas in computing and artificial intelligence that had (and still have) the potential to revolutionise the way we produce, live and cooperate.

11th December 2019

Text for your Eyes:

Text Analytics & Eyetracking

Text Analytics is the automated process that allows machines to extract and classify information from text, such as social media postings, news articles, company web pages, scientific articles and beyond. In this talk, Professor Ansgar Scherp from School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at the University of Essex will present selected examples of Text Analytics some of which are of high relevance for industry. Furthermore, we will see the interdisciplinary aspect of Text Analytics by investigating how the use of Eyetracking data and image processing can help in better understanding the vast amount of multimedia content that is surrounding us in our modern world.

13th November 2019

The Search for Meaning, in the Light of Death

Having spent nearly 20 years exploring the consequences of facing mortality head-on, rather than trying to escape it, Dr. Philip Cozzolino from the Department of Psychology at the University of Essex has found that rejecting the reality of death is akin to denying a true part of who we are.  This can lead to inauthentic conceptions of the self and to efforts to find meaning that are based on filling an existential hole that we ourselves dug.  Individuals who deny death are seemingly caught in an endless loop of seeking meaning and feeling meaningless.  They are simultaneously moving forward in pursuit of meaning, all while looking back over their shoulder to see what they’re missing.

9th October 2019

Like a Fine Wine: The Science of Successful Ageing

Whether it’s physical frailty and disease, dementia and cognitive problems, or irritability and loneliness, we are inundated with images of doom and gloom in the golden years. Is there anything to look forward to as we grow older? In this talk, Dr Vanessa Loaiza from the Department of Psychology at the University of Essex will highlight the scientific research that shows the outlook of older age is not as glum as we are often led to believe. Find out more about how some aspects of life can get better with age, and learn evidence-based tips for managing those that don’t.