Friday 10th May, The Pauling Centre, 58a Banbury Road

Communicating with Data: Alan Smith OBE, Data Visualisation Editor, Financial Times

Time: 1:00pm – 2:15pm

Data visualisation has emerged as an important part of the researcher’s communication toolkit. But how do you optimise graphics to inform and connect with wider audiences? What considerations should you allow for different audiences and publishing platforms? This talk will discuss evolving approaches to the use of data visualisation at the Financial Times. It will conclude by looking at two very different projects by the presenter which explore divergent techniques for taking data to new audiences.

Thursday 16th May, 64 Banbury Road

Constructing Who is Japanese: A Study of Social Markers of Acceptance in Japan and Beyond: Adam Komisarof, Keio University Tokyo

Time: 3:30pm – 5:00pm

Professor Adam Komisarof will share his latest research findings about social markers of acculturation (SMA) in Japan (and beyond). SMA constitute culturally-constructed criteria, in this case among Japanese people, for accepting immigrants in society to the same extent that they do native-born Japanese. SMA include specific types of knowledge and skills (such as “Japanese common sense” or language proficiency), attitudes, attributes, and adherence to behavioral norms. Prof. Komisarof will not only identify the SMA most important to Japanese participants in his study, but also explain the predictors (such as perceived threat or intercultural contact) that most prominently influenced which markers they deemed important. Finally, he will present SMA in a broader context, comparing his findings in Japan to those in 5 other countries: Germany, Singapore, Finland, Canada, and Australia.

Thursday 30th May, 64 Banbury Road

Immigrants Living in Extreme Situations: Immigrant Syndrome with Extreme Migratory Mourning- The Ulysses Syndrome: Dr Joseba Achotegui, University of Barcelona

Time: 5:00pm – 6:30pm

Today, the circumstances in which many immigrants arrive are characterised by their extreme conditions. For millions of individuals, emigration presents stress levels of such intensity that they exceed the human capacity of adaptation. These persons are, therefore, highly vulnerable to Immigrant Syndrome with Extreme Mourning,  known as the Ulysses Syndrome (in reference to the Greek hero who suffered countless adversities and dangers in lands far from his loved ones).

The Ulysses Syndrome forms a gateway between mental health and mental disorder. This syndrome is a subject response when faced with a situation of inhuman stress of living permanently alone, with no way out, with fear etc. The Ulysses Syndrome is found in the area of preventative health care and the psychosocial sector more than in the area of the treatment.

Loneliness, fear, despair… the migrations of this new millennium remind us increasingly of Homers’ verses “… But the days found him sitting on the rocks or sands, torturing himself with tears, groans and heartache, and looking out with streaming eyes across the watery wilderness….” (Odyssey, Song V, 150,) and the part of the text in which Ulysses tells Polyphem: “You ask me my name. I shall tell you. My name is nobody and nobody is what everyone calls me” (Odyssey, Song IX, 360). It is clear that if a man has to become a nobody in order to survive, has to remain  permanently invisible,  he will have no identity, will never become socially integrated, and will not enjoy mental health.

These seminars are free to attend and all are welcome.