The Social Universe

Austerity and COVID

In this episode we talk about COVID-19 and how austerity has put the UK in a difficult position to face the pandemic. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Southampton Science and Engineering Festival intro

We are taking part in the virtual Southampton Science and Engineering Festival and want you to join us! We are going to create a podcast where you, our audience, reflect on your experiences of coronavirus and have a go at thinking about what that means for our society. Listen to this trailer to find out more about what it is and how you can take part. You can email us your recordings at: social.universe@outlook.com And ask us any questions you have via email or on twitter @universe_social For more information about the festival visit: https://www.sotsef.co.uk/ [https://www.sotsef.co.uk/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Coping with COVID

After a short break, we are picking up the podcast again with an episode discussing how we have found the coronavirus lockdown so far. It is mostly a personal chat about our experiences, including the challenges of childcare and a postponed wedding, but we also share our reflections on the political situation and what we have learnt through the lockdown. Resources A twitter thread on coping with the crisis [https://twitter.com/ProfAishaAhmad/status/1240284544667996163] from Dr Aisha Ahmad Thanks to ProleteR for the music, licensed under creative commons - check them out on social networks. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

PGR Striker 2020

This breakout episode brings you the latest updates from the dispute negotiations before replaying the orignal PGR Striker covering all you need to know about the UCU strikes and why, as PGRs you can get involved. Solidarity! This is what we're fighting for [https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/10715/Our-four-fights/pdf/ucu_four-fights-explainer.pdf]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Toxic Research Cultures

In this episode of The Social Universe we explore the Higher Education research culture and the extent to which the environment we work and study in is making us sick. Join Katy and Bea as they discuss the proliferation of poor mental health in the sector and what’s fuelling it. We also discuss what needs to change and the challenges PGRs face when standing up to so-called ‘toxic research cultures’.   To lean more check out the reports and articles we referenced in the episode:        * Welcome Trust Report on Research Cultures [https://wellcome.ac.uk/reports/what-researchers-think-about-research-culture] * Mark Erickson, Paul Hanna & Carl Walker article [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2020.1712693] including a staff satisfaction league table * Are you in a Bullshit job? [https://www.chronicle.com/article/Are-You-in-a-BS-Job-In/243318?fbclid=IwAR0oTeYvqd-zcHctdPXDlF-AMjC9A8k1KYQKR-Qnwe2XU__O8vE9MRGsegQ] Article by David Grarber (see also his book Bullshit Jobs, A Theory) * UCU report [https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/10194/71-of-university-staff-say-insecure-contracts-have-damaged-their-mental-health] into casualization affecting mental health If you are affected by the issues we discuss, or want to seek help, support or guidance about an issue we raised, here are some places to start: * Join UCU [https://www.ucu.org.uk/join].  Check out the PGR Charter [https://www.ucu.org.uk/postgradcharter] and tools on bullying, harassment [https://www.ucu.org.uk/harassment] and Stress [https://www.ucu.org.uk/stress] * The Mind guide to managing your studies [https://www.mind.org.uk/media-a/2927/student-life-2018.pdf] As always, thanks to ProleteR for the music, licensed under creative commons- check them out on the social networks. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.