Professor Stephen Sinclair, co-director of the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit at Glasgow Caledonian University, delivered his inaugural Professorial Lecture on Tuesday, May 14. The lecture outlined the harmful and divisive social and economic effects of widening inequality and argued that the Common Good can only truly be advanced by rejecting the current amoral economic model, based on spurious ‘individualism’ and a misrepresentation of so-called ‘free’ markets. Professor Sinclair called on policymakers and economic systems to reconnect with the same moral philosophy seen in the work of Adam Smith. He said: “Widening economic inequality and political divisions pose very real threats to social cohesion and in fact to democracy. It is essential to understand the ideologies which have generated these threats, and what is required to re-moralise our political and economic systems so that they truly benefit the common and not merely aggregate good." “The lecture is not technical nor aimed at a specialist audience. It will be of interest to anyone concerned about the economic factors underlying today’s febrile and toxic political climate, and the economic and moral principles required to address these."

Sustainable Manufacturing promotes the creation of products using processes that are non-polluting, conserve energy and natural resources, and are economically sound and safe for employees, communities, and consumers. In this lecture, Professor Anjali De Silva explores how sustainable manufacturing allows industry to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. She draws on her own, and global, research and developments in advanced machining which enhance environmental sustainability by curbing the consumption of vital resources and reducing CO2 and other emissions.

Hadi Larijani, Professor of Computer Networks and Intelligent Systems in Glasgow Caledonian University’s Department of Computing, delivered his inaugural Professorial Lecture on March 26. In his lecture, Professor Larijani helped the audience make sense of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by explaining how we use it in everyday life and what the future looks like. He also revealed how his AI research at GCU is helping to change people’s lives for the better – not just here in Scotland – but in developing countries like Rwanda, as part of the University’s Common Good goals. Professor Larijani said: “In my lecture I want to demystify Artificial Intelligence (AI) because a lot of people don’t know what it is and might be anxious or worried about it. “I will look at the positive side of it and how it’s impacting our lives. I think the future is bright as long as we are able to have safety incorporated in how we use AI. “AI has been around for years, it’s nothing new, but the difference is that in the last 10 years we’ve had a very good speed increase in central processing units (CPUs) and specifically graphical processing units (GPU) – the brains of the computers - and computers and the costs have reduced considerably. The second main development is availability of vast amounts of data. “One of the most important areas in AI is artificial neural network (ANN), an interconnected group of nodes, similar to the vast network of neurons in a brain. “Most people use AI but don’t even know it. It has been used very successfully in the last couple of years for example in voice recognition, Google maps, Siri and Google Assistant. “Most people are not aware of the huge benefits to AI such as in internet fraud detection. If your bank sees that out of the blue you’ve spent £1,000 on something you would never usually do, AIs will flag that up and then your bank can try to stop the transaction. “AIs can improve your quality of life and your health. Just one example is that AIs can help the speedy recognition of cancerous cells in your brain. The AI will flag it up quicker with the less probability of error.”

Paralympic gold medallist and two times grand slam singles winner Gordon Reid will be giving a talk about how he overcame adversity at a young age to achieving his dream of being a world class athlete. Born in Alexandria, Scotland in 1991, Gordon was a fit, keen and talented tennis player until the week before his 13th birthday, when he was tragically struck down by a rare condition called Transverse Myelitis. Despite being paralysed from the waist down, Gordon bounced back and started playing the game he loved, only this time, in a wheelchair. As a junior on the world wheelchair tennis circuit, Gordon was ranked number 1 and won multiple titles. He has represented GB at the Invacare World Team Cup for the past seven years and led the first British Team to win the World title, beating the French in the final. At the London 2012 Paralympic Games, he reached the quarterfinals of both the singles and doubles events. In 2013, Gordon was the Doubles Masters champion and during the same year, a doubles finalist at Roland Garros. He also became the first British men’s player to win a Super Series singles title at Sydney International and then went on the reach the doubles final at the Australian Open in 2014. In 2016, Gordon won his first ever Grand Slam singles wheelchair title at the Australian Open, followed by the doubles title at Roland Garros. In July, he followed this with his second Grand Slam victory in the inaugural men’s singles wheelchair event at the Championship Wimbledon as well as winning the men’s doubles. And at the Rio Paralympics 2016, representing GB, Gordon won the Gold medal in the men’s wheelchair tennis singles and the Silver medal in the doubles

Professor Smith explains how fluorescence emission from a molecule can be used to interrogate the surrounding environment and hence how sensors based on fluorescence can be developed for a wide range of applications. For more than 30 years, she has been involved in the research of optical-based sensing technologies and has published widely in this area with a particular interest in fluorescence-based sensors applicable to industrial applications. She said: “Fluorescence-based sensing technologies have widespread application, therefore an understanding of how these sensors work and the potential benefits for industry is important.”

In his lecture, Professor Ahmed Al Bulushi examines Transnational Education (TNE) Partnerships, looking at the academic collaboration between Glasgow Caledonian University and Caledonian College of Engineering in Oman. TNE can be a successful story if challenges are faced with a wise leadership approach. At the same time, potentially successful International Higher Education collaborations can fail if details are ignored. Professor Ahmed Al Bulushi asserts that management of TNE is strategic in its nature; however, every minute operational detail plays a vital role in the success or failure of such collaboration and hence should be given appropriate attention. Human dynamics, financial interest and the global objectives of the collaboration have to be given equal attention and this requires multidisciplinary skills and knowledge. Under Professor Ahmed Al Bulushi’s leadership, CCE has positioned itself as one of the largest private providers of higher education engineering programmes in Oman with a reputation for producing high quality graduates contributing significantly to the economic development and social capital of Oman.

Poverty and disadvantage have become synonymous with the city of Glasgow. In tackling these problems, Professor McKendrick will assert that we must not lose sight of the human resource that is suggested by the city’s favourite marketing mantra: People Make Glasgow. A more prosperous Glasgow need not to be one that dismisses the importance of the resources that enriched the Glasgow of yesteryear. The lecture will draw on autobiographical accounts of professional footballers who grew up in Glasgow, passing conversations overheard on the street and in the pub, the cartography of the city’s changing urban fabric, evidence of poverty and multiple deprivation and a lifetime of being in and around the city. Professor McKendrick will consider the ways in which the city has been portrayed and understood through the seminal accounts of Sidney Checkland, Michael Pacione, Carol Craig and the Glasgow Centre for Population Health, among others. Taking account of the challenges that the city faces today and tomorrow, he will then reflect on the ‘common wealth’ of Glasgow’s past, present and future.

In her inaugural Professorial Lecture, Professor Cassidy explores the potential of Personal Music Technology as a powerful tool for wellbeing in everyday life and health-care contexts including dementia. The talk draws upon a growing body of evidence, including Professor Cassidy’s own research and insights through projects such as the Playlist for Life app for wellbeing in dementia, RockBand and musical identity, and the SingFit app for singing in healthy aging. Professor Cassidy argues that to maximise potential wellbeing benefits of Personal Music Technologies, we need to increase multidisciplinary dialogues and develop co-designed and evidence-based technologies. Such technologies, she argues, should also be evaluated for their impact in contemporary health-care contexts, and related to both existing and novel frameworks of care.

In her lecture, Professor Booth explores developments in continence care and the effective management of urinary bladder symptoms in older adults and stroke survivors. Bladder problems are common in older adults, affecting more than half of older women and a third of older men. The symptoms can have a devastating effect on the person’s quality of life, severely affecting their family and social life. However, up to three-quarters of these people can be helped – or even cured – using simple approaches that support them to understand and self-manage their symptoms. New techniques are also being developed which can help sufferers to actively treat their symptoms. Using evidence from past and current research, Professor Booth explores older adults and stroke survivors’ experiences of bladder problems, and presents new approaches to treatments that could change how they are perceived in the future.

In her lecture, Professor Andrew examines aspects of academic identity, exploring a contemporary conception of nursing as an academic and professional discipline. Nurses need professional and academic capability to adapt to changing circumstances and to survive and thrive in unfamiliar and challenging contexts and environments. The way we achieve capability is through education. Professor Andrew asserts that society needs nurses who are both academically and clinically able. She will explore the argument that nurses should not only be immersed in the concept of compassionate caring, but also socially aware and politically savvy; able to influence government policy and impact on the health and wellbeing of the communities they serve.

In her lecture, she explores the challenges faced by the construction industry and its focus on producing sustainable, more eco-friendly and cost-effective cementitious materials. The construction industry is faced with an ever-rising demand for safer and more cost-effective infrastructure, as well as more environmentally-friendly products and processes. To meet these expectations, numerous new composite materials with reduced carbon footprint have been developed over the past couple of decades. However, these materials are often very sensitive to environmental conditions and proper curing is essential to enhance their performance. Thanks to their high capacity to absorb and release water, SAPs can help to control cement’s hydration processes and to avoid cracking during the hardening process. Therefore, it can significantly improve the material’s durability and sustainability.