Sustainability Matters

Do Solutions to Current Ecological Challenges Lie in Decolonizing the Environment?

What are the limits of the utilitarian approach to studying the environment? How do we go beyond Western philosophies in our thinking around the environment? Can Western and Non-Western approaches work together? And why is it imperative that we expand our political imagination?  In this episode of Sustainability Matters, Dr. Aleksandra Ross and Dr. Krzysztof Skonieczny talk about the importance of looking at ecological challenges from pluralistic, culturally diverse perspectives and discuss ways in which non-Western styles of thought help us not only understand the problem better, but also find solutions. This episode is based on their book Non-Western Approaches in Environmental Humanities [https://www.vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com/themen-entdecken/literatur-sprach-und-kulturwissenschaften/interdisziplinaere-geisteswissenschaft/59860/non-western-approaches-in-environmental-humanities], published by De Gruyter Brill, of which they’re co-editors alongside Dr. Gabriela Jarzębowska.  Host: Ramzi Nasir [https://x.com/RamziNasir] Guests: Dr. Aleksandra Ross [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleksandra-ross-37b961242/] and Dr. Krzysztof Skonieczny  [https://uw.academia.edu/KrzysztofSkonieczny]

The Heritage of Psychiatry: Whose Voices Are Heard?

On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we ask: What does it mean to narrate the heritage of psychiatry? Why is the history of mental health research so relevant today? How can we celebrate diverse experiences of "madness" without romanticising potentially harmful behaviours? And what role do contemporary systems play in the future of mental health heritage? All this and more with Dr. Christoph Singer, co-editor of Narrating the Heritage of Psychiatry [https://brill.com/display/title/63041], which is Volume 1 in the series “Narratives and Mental Health [https://brill.com/display/serial/NMH]”, published by De Gruyter Brill. Host: Ramzi Nasir [https://x.com/RamziNasir] Guest: Dr. Christoph Singer  [https://www.uibk.ac.at/en/anglistik/department/staff/singer/]

Does Promoting Research Actually Pay Off?

This month on Sustainability Matters, we discuss whether external research promotion has any tangible effects. Can external media attention translate into academic citations? Does choosing the “right” journal matter? And do we risk perverse outcomes from over-incentivising citations?   All this and more with Dr. Steffen Lemke and Dr. Isabella Peters, authors of “Path model of the interplay between the promotion and the received attention of research articles” [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110776546-005/html] along with Dr. Athanasios Mazarakis. This is a chapter in the book The Science-Media Interface [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110776546/html], published by De Gruyter Brill. Guests: Dr. Steffen Lemke [https://blog.stlemke.de/] and Dr. Isabella Peters [https://www.zbw.eu/en/about-us/staff-profiles/profile-professor-isabella-peters] Host: Ramzi Nasir [https://x.com/ramzinasir]

Open Access: Who Pays, Who Publishes, Who Benefits?

On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we celebrate the progress of Open Access in expanding the reach of research, while also asking how it can become more inclusive. From evolving publishing models and transformative agreements to bridging Global North–South inequities, we look at how publishers and researchers can work toward a more equitable and sustainable system of knowledge sharing. All this and more with Stephanie Veldman, Director of Open Research at De Gruyter Brill, and Dr. Soumitra Datta, research-active clinician and consultant psychiatrist at the Tata Medical Centre, India.  Host: Ramzi Nasir [https://x.com/ramzinasir] Guests: Stephanie Veldman [https://theorg.com/org/de-gruyter-brill/org-chart/stephanie-veldman] and Dr. Soumitra Datta [http://www.artofmedicine.in/]

Originality in the age of machine-generated text, part 2: Brainrot, peer-review, and the importance of voluntary reading

In this second half of our special double episode of Sustainability Matters, we take a look at the impact of generative AI on academic culture. Should AI tools be used for peer review, grant writing, performance assessments, and the like? What makes “imperfect” human writing still worth defending? And finally, what happens to the value of voluntary reading in a world saturated with autogenerated content? All this and more with Dr. Naomi S. Baron, author of the chapter, “AI and Human Writing: Collaboration or Appropriation? [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110792270-008/html]” which is part of The De Gruyter Handbook of Robots in Society and Culture [https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110792270/html], published by De Gruyter Brill. Guest: Dr. Naomi S. Baron [https://www.american.edu/cas/faculty/nbaron.cfm]  Host: Ramzi Nasir [https://twitter.com/ramzinasir]