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Past Events

Thursday, 25 Aug 2011

Haiti after the Earthquake - Paul Farmer
7:00 PM – Stephens Auditorium - Global humanitarian, medical anthropologist and physician Paul Farmer has dedicated his life to improving health care for the world's poorest people. He is a founding director of Partners In Health, an international nonprofit organization whose medical services, research and advocacy activities have shown that high-quality health care can be delivered in resource-poor settings. Dr. Farmer has written extensively on health, human rights, and the consequences of social inequality. His most recent book is Haiti after the Earthquake. He is chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School; Chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women's Hospital; and the United Nations Deputy Special Envoy for Haiti. Dr. Farmer is also the subject of the book Mountains beyond Mountains by Pulitzer Prize winning author Tracy Kidder. Part of the World Affairs Series. Donations may be made to Partners In Health online at Support Partners In Health

Saturday, 14 May 2011

Civic Education About Climate Change: Opinion-Leaders, Communication Infrastructure, and Participatory Culture - Matthew Nisbet
2:15 PM – Cardinal Room, Memorial Union - Matthew Nisbet is a social scientist who studies strategic communication in policymaking and public affairs, focusing on debates over science, the environment and public health. His keynote address is titled "Climate Shift: Clear Vision for the Next Decade of Public Debate." Nisbet will present the findings of a study of the financial resources, strategies, and communication activities of environmental groups and scientists working to mobilize societal action on climate change and compare them to a comparable study of conservative groups and industry associations that oppose action. A discussion of the implications for universities, as institutions engaged in research, education, and public engagement, will follow. Matthew Nisbet is an associate professor in the School of Communication at the American University in Washington, DC. Part of the Summer Symposium on the Ethical Challenges of Communicating Science within Political Controversies.

Frames versus Narratives: A Framework for Ethical Articulation in Science Communication - Michael Dahlstrom
1:00 PM – Cardinal Room, Memorial Union - Michael Dahlstrom is assistant professor in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State. Part of theSummer Symposium on the Ethical Challenges of Communicating Science within Political Controversies.

Ethics and Risk Communication - Paul Thompson
11:00 AM – Cardinal Room, Memorial Union - Professor Thompson is the author of 13 books and editions, such as The Spirit of the Soil: Agriculture and Environmental Ethics; The Ethics of Aid and Trade; Food Biotechnology in Ethical Perspective, and co-editor of The Agrarian Roots of Pragmatism. He has served on many national and international committees on agricultural biotechnology and contributed to the National Research Council report The Environmental Effects of Transgenic Plants. He is a Past President of the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society and the Society for Philosophy and Technology, and is Secretary of the International Society for Environmental Ethics. He has continuing interests in environmental and agricultural ethics. Part of the Summer Symposium on the Ethical Challenges of Communicating Science within Political Controversies.

Debating Science: Ethics Education and Deliberation - Dane Scott
9:45 AM – Cardinal Room, Memorial Union - Dr. Dane Scott is the Director of The Center for Ethics at The University of Montana. He holds a doctorate in philosophy from Vanderbilt University, an M.A. in philosophical theology from the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley, and a B.S. from the University of California, Riverside. Prior to moving to Montana, Dr. Scott was Associate Dean of the Honors College at Western Carolina University, as well as director of the Humanities program. He has taught at Western Carolina University, Wake Forest University, and Vanderbilt University. Part of the Summer Symposium on the Ethical Challenges of Communicating Science within Political Controversies.

Friday, 13 May 2011

Symposium on the Ethical Challenges of Communicating Science - Matthew C. Nisbet
7:30 PM – Cardinal Room, Memorial Union - Matthew Nisbet is a social scientist who studies strategic communication in policymaking and public affairs, focusing on debates over science, the environment and public health. His keynote address is titled "Climate Shift: Clear Vision for the Next Decade of Public Debate." Nisbet will present the findings of a study of the financial resources, strategies, and communication activities of environmental groups and scientists working to mobilize societal action on climate change and compare them to a comparable study of conservative groups and industry associations that oppose action. A discussion of the implications for universities, as institutions engaged in research, education, and public engagement, will follow. Matthew Nisbet is an associate professor in the School of Communication at the American University in Washington, DC. Keynote Address - Summer Symposium on the Ethical Challenges of Communicating Science within Political Controversies. A dessert reception will follow the talk. For more information, click here.

Monday, 9 May 2011

Role of Physical Activity in the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity - Steven Blair
7:00 PM – North Central Prairie Room, Gateway Hotel & Conference Center - Steven Blair is a recognized authority on exercise and its health benefits. He is coauthor of Fitness after 50, Active Living Every Day, and Physical Activity and Health and was the senior scientific editor for the first U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health. He has done extensive research using the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study, which examines the impact of diet, physical activity and other lifestyle factors on mortality. Blair is currently on the faculty at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, where he holds joint appointments in the Department of Exercise Science and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Prior to that, he was a researcher and then president and CEO of the Cooper Institute, a nonprofit research and education center recognized as a leader in exercise science. The 2010-11 Helen LeBaron Hilton Chair in Human Sciences

Monday, 25 Apr 2011

Web Accessibility: Recent Research and Policy Activity - Jonathan Lazar
4:00 PM – Alliant-Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall - Jonathan Lazar is the founder and director of the Universal Usability Laboratory at Towson University, where he is a professor of computer and information sciences and director of the undergraduate program in information systems. His research interests are web usability, web accessibility for people with disabilities, and public policy in Human Computer Interaction. Lazar will discuss the federal requirement that all websites be accessible to persons with disabilities as well as research findings on such topics as web-based e-mail applications for blind users and web browsing for expert users with Down's Syndrome. He is the author of Web Usability: A User-Centered Design Approach, coauthor of Research Methods in Human-Computer Interaction and editor of Universal Usability.

Friday, 22 Apr 2011

Cultural Night continues CANCELLED! Andrew Garcia
8:30 PM – Benton Auditorium, Scheman Building, Iowa State Center - Part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. Even though Andrew Garcia's appearance has been cancelled, the Cultural Night program will continue. The Cultural Night program begins at 7:00 p.m. and features a varieties show. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, 20 Apr 2011

Spelling It Out: The Communication Roles of a Game Designer - Nathan Sumsion
7:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Nathan Sumsion is a senior game designer at Avalanche-Disney Interactive Studios. Most recently, he was senior designer on Toy Story 3 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii, released in summer 2010, and on Meet the Robinsons for PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii and Xbox 360, released in spring 2007. He also taught Game Design Process and Visual Interface Design in the game design program at ITT Tech in Salt Lake City. Sumsion will be the primary judge for the ISU Game Development Competition, funded by a Motorola Foundation grant. The teams will display their work in the Great Hall throughout the day, with the awards announced following Mr. Sumsion's lecture.