Past seminars 2009

View past seminars from 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007

Winter 2009

The theme for the winter 2009 seminar series was:

Making the most of scientific interdisciplinarity

Joining up scientific expertise and benefiting from synergistic collaborations between experts in different fields has been a hallmark of the work at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute. It is also a key theme as we develop plans for our future scientific work to address key issues on a Scottish, European and world stage. In developing new opportunities we embrace the policy dimension and the need to communicate new ideas in a clear and meaningful way to a wide range of stakeholders.

Wednesday 9 December

Dr Rachel Pain, Department of Geography and Centre for Social Justice and Community Action, Durham University

"Practising participatory research: purpose, planning, practice and publication"

This seminar will present a critical appraisal of participatory research in academic and policy research. Participatory research covers a diverse range of approaches that claim to co-produce knowledge with people more usually positioned as research subjects. The discussion will be situated in the current zeitgeist for University public/community engagement, and draw on lessons from the recent establishment of the Centre for Social Justice and Community Action at Durham University. First I explore issues of definition, examining the historical roots of participatory research in the Global South and the ways in which it has been taken up in the Global North, including its institutionalisation in state, NGO and academic practice. I discuss the various critiques that have been levelled at the theory and practice of participation (including the ‘tyranny’ critique, poststructuralist approaches and empirical concerns). I then outline some ways in which geographers have responded to these critiques, drawing on examples from research on crime, migration, flooding and rural land use. I explore issues relating to research funding, working approaches, methods and publication; and come to the knotty question of whether it is possible to see beyond adding on participation to ‘business as usual’, to put the co-production of knowledge at the heart of our practice as academics.

 

Spring 2009

Wednesday 1st April

“The North Sea Trail – from Vision to Reality”

Allan Garvie - Macaulay Land Use Research Institute Trustee

Wednesday 25th March

“Co-Researching the National Park - Working with, not just in, the Cairngorms”

Hamish Trench - Cairngorms National Park

Wednesday 18th March

“Climate Change: Evidence, impacts and what to do”

Mr Clive Mitchell - Scottish Natural Heritage

Wednesday 11th March

“Earth's energy "Golden Zone": A triumph of mineralogical research”

Mr Paul Nadeau - StatoilHydro

Wednesday 25th February

“The Ecological Legacy of Mining: costs, benefits and solutions”

Dr Lesley Batty - School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham

Wednesday 18th February

“Ecology & Conservation of Bumblebees”

Professor David Goulson - Stirling University

Wednesday 11th February

"Landscape, democracy and human rights"

Councillor Keith Whitmore - Chairman of the Institutional Affairs Committee

Wednesday 4th February

"Connecting riverscapes to landscapes in the Scottish Highlands",

Professor Chris Soulsby - Geography and Environment, University of Aberdeen

Wednesday 28th January

“Towards governmentalities for sustainable development”,

Professor Jan Bebbington - St Andrews University

Wednesday 21st January

“Evolution of stream ecosystems in recently deglaciated terrain in coastal Alaska”

Alexander Milner - School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham

Monday 19th January

“Rethinking Nimbyism: place attachment, social representations and place protective action."

Dr Patrick Devine-Wright - School of Architecture, University of Manchester

Wednesday 14th January

“How mouldy is Scotland? Historical bottlenecks and recent maltreatment”

Dr Andy Taylor - Macaulay Land Use Research Institute