ResearchPod

Technology has become increasingly responsive to human behaviour, with AI tools and machine learning in high demand in modern society. The unpredictability and vagueness of human perception, however, is incredibly hard to capture, and there remains a certain gap in communication between biological and technological systems. Moreno Colombo and colleagues at the Human-IST Institute in Fribourg, Swit...

Finding out why some collaborations are more successful than others is complex, and includes factors of culture, gender, and attitudes to conflict and creativity. Associate Professor Roy Chua of Singapore Management University and Assistant Professor Mengzi Jin of Peking University have been investigating the way that men and women interact with people from other cultures when they face creative c...

Sudden unexpected death in infancy, or SUDI, is the leading category of death after the first month of life, and it usually happens when babies are sleeping. Modification of unsafe sleep environments therefore provides a focus for possible intervention. One such intervention in Australia and New Zealand, the Pēpi-Pod® Program, is literally saving lives. Professor Jeanine Young of the School at the...

Treatment for an enlarged prostate depends on the severity of  symptoms, with various treatments available. In rare cases, however, surgery is needed to reduce the size of an enlarged prostate by cutting away sections of the gland, known as a ‘Transurethral Resection of the Prostate’.   A team of researchers at the Cedar Healthcare Technology Research Centre in Wales, UK, present updates on a trea...

 Chronic pain is difficult to treat and affects the individual’s quality of life, often leading to severe disability.  Ketamine was initially used in anaesthesia, but since the 1990s it has also been used in a much lower dose as a treatment for acute and chronic pain. and also works as an antidepressant  Professor Albert Dahan and  colleagues at the Leiden University Medical Center  managed to unl...

The trend of companies using technologies to improve their products, processes, and teams effectively is collectively described as a digital transformation. As digitization proliferates, companies are beginning to put more emphasis on their governance, risk, and compliance - but do investors understand their values and impacts?  Researchers  from Singapore Management University surveyed non-profes...

Culturally responsive teaching is the recognition that culture is a strength that can be used as a resource in the classroom to improve academic and social achievement. But what does this teaching approach look like, what historical methods is it influenced by, and what specific outcomes are achieved for students? Magnus O. Bassey, Professor in Secondary Education and Youth Services at Queens Coll...

Racism is manifested and institutionalised in many areas of life, from education and housing to employment, health care, and the criminal justice system.  Dr Ebonyse Mead and and Dr Tameka Ardrey of Georgia Southern University have published a new book, Building equitable early learning programs , which sets out to address racial inequities in early childhood education.  With 38 years’ professiona...

Well-being is a well-established and growing field within psychology, and an increasingly popular area of study for psychology students. However,  it's also challenging to define: What does good well-being look like for any person, and what do we need to know to study it?  A team of researchers, led by Dr William Tov of Singapore Management University, attempt to define well-being, not only t...

The  black hole information paradox laid out by Stephen Hawking says information cannot be destroyed or disappear, but black holes breach the time symmetry of physics.  Dr Szymon Łukaszyk, an independent researcher in Poland, offers a solution to the black hole information paradox. Instead of suggesting novel physical theories, he pursues innovative connotations of existing physics, specifically t...

Mobile Health, or mHealth, is branch of digital health focussed on monitoring health-related information which can be sent directly to doctors and other healthcare professionals. A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge and Singapore Management University investigate how head-worn technologies have only come about in the last couple of years or so, but look set to revolutionize the e...

The UK is the world's leading financial hub and the financial sector contributes a substantial part of its wealth. However, cybersecurity risk is an ever-growing topic of significance to the sector. With higher numbers of IT and operational risks coming to light, understanding the landscape is increasingly valuable.  Dr Paul Klumpes of Aalborg University has studied markets, risk, and investm...

General equality rights can seem quite straightforward. But treating someone equally can become complicated when we apply the concept of equality to a specific government decision.  How do we decide if a person has been treated equally in relation to a particular government decision? To what or to whom do we compare them? Kenny Chng from Singapore Management University compares different approache...

Professional workplaces are still a typically male dominated arena, especially in relation to leadership roles. How then should female managers behave; conform to feminine stereotypes or try to fit the mould set by male role models?   Prof Daniela Rastetter and Dr Christiane Juengling look at the different expectations and rules for how men and women may display their emotions within the workplace...

Earths changing climate is causing more frequent, more severe extreme weather events, which are having a devastating impact on ecosystems across the planet.  Some areas show much greater vulnerability to climate change, with countries such as the Philippines, Myanmar and Thailand among the worst affected. Professor David Ding and Sarah Beh at Singapore Management University have produced a study e...

Measurement of intravascular volume has only recently studied, covering the use of diuretics and filtration during dialysis. Dr Matthew Kaptein of Loma Linda University reviews available evidence that may validate the IVC collapsibility index for measuring relative intravascular volume.  He has developed a calculator tool which will help doctors navigate this important step for optimizing the intr...

Ecological concerns and climate change have risen on governmental policies around the globe, but regulatory differences between nations may leave gaps - or even work against each other - if not planned deliberately. Research led by Associate Professor Ishani Mukherjee at Singapore Management University focuses on the case of biodiesel policy in Indonesia, using policy network analysis to investiga...

For almost 30 years, the protein KRAS has been the "undruggable target" of cancer research.  Gene mutations in KRAS are responsible for 33% of all human cancers, including pancreatic, lung, and colon cancer. A new molecule identified by Dr. Bhairavi Tolani, an assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco  upends conventional concepts of directly targeting the protei...

An estimated one in three women has experienced some form of intimate partner violence (IPV), but it can affect people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds.  Unfortunately, during the course of the pandemic and its ensuing lockdowns, rates of intimate partner violence have increased, with victims facing fewer options to leave or spend time elsewhere. Dr Caroline Piotrowski from the University of...

Although women make up most of the health and social sector workforce, bias, discrimination, stereotypes, and systemic barriers often prevent women from entering global health leadership roles. Dr Sonya Smith from the American Dental Education Association and Dr Jeanne Sinkford, Dean Emerita and Professor Emerita at Howard University College of Dentistry, USA, have evaluated the disparity faced by...

Safe, reliable access to nutritious food is a challenge for many nations, and Earth’s changing climate adds an further challenges for ensuring crop productivity. To ensure food security, production needs to be environmentally sustainable, and soil microbial inoculants may be part of the solution. Dr Maureen O’Callaghan from AgResearch Ltd and her team have assessed published research literature to...

Accumulation of fat in the liver (hepatosteatosis) and muscle (myosteatosis) affects normal physiological functioning, leading to poorer health outcomes. But what is the concurrence of these two conditions in the general population, and are there common underlying mechanisms? Professor Julie Pasco and colleagues at Deakin University and Barwon Health in Australia investigate these metabolic altera...

Treatment of prostate cancer has changed dramatically over the years, with  multiple treatment options including chemotherapy, refined hormonal therapies, radiotherapies, surgery and others currently available, depending on the patient and their disease. Dr Sakir Mutevelic, Chief Medical Officer at Curium, has witnessed the tremendous progress in cancer treatment options and the increased survival...

We all get bored at work from time-to-time, but some jobs are more monotonous than others. Over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, mindfulness has been found to be an effective way to improve the boredom associated with remote working. So could boredom during jobs such as working on an assembly line or providing delivery services be improved with mindfulness practices too? Prof Jochen Reb at Sin...

The latest generations of cars now carry technology borrowed from industries ranging from machine learning to medical imaging, contributing to enhanced hazard detection, camera operation and autonomous functions. In this episode, Florian Friedl from Hamamatsu Photonics joins us to talk about the role of their light sensing technologies play in modern motor vehicles,and what the future may hold for...