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Project Quest

"What is Project Quest?", I hear you ask.

Well, here is where we explore a number of different topics that effect us as a whole, and how interdisciplinary concepts and methods can help explain, better our understanding, and sometimes find solutions to some of the world's most complex, and interconnected problems.

Take a look to discover exactly how.

Why GEN Z are the Loneliest Generation

Gen Z and young adults consistently self-report as the most lonely age group, even more so than the elderly.

Why is this the case?

We explore the root causes behind this loneliness epidemic amongst today's youth, delving into the impact of social media addiction, urban density, modern work culture, and the dark side of globalisation and neoliberalism.

From the false promise of endless digital connection, to the isolating effects of urban living, we investigate why young people today, despite being the most connected generation ever, also feel the most isolated.

References:

1) The BBC Loneliness Experiment in collaboration with The Wellcome Collection,The University of Manchester, Brunel University London, and Exeter University (2018)

2) 'Loneliness in America - How the Pandemic Has Deepened an Epidemic of Loneliness and What We Can Do About It' by Richard Weissbourd, Milena Batanova, Virginia Lovison, and Eric Torres (2021)

3) 'The rural happiness paradox in developed countries' by Jens F L Sørensen   (2021)

4) 'Calculating a national Anomie Density Ratio: Measuring the patterns of loneliness and social isolation across the UK’s residential density gradient using results from the UK Biobank study' by Ka Yan Lai, Chinmoy Sarkar, Sarika Kumari, Michael Y. Ni, John Gallacher, and Chris Webster (2021)

5) 'Suicide: A Study in Sociology' by Émile Durkheim (1897)

6) '1.5 million people in Japan living as social recluses, many as a result of the pandemic' article by The Japan Times (2023)

Further Reading:

'Loneliness – Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection' by John T. Cacioppo and William Patrick (2009)

'The Lonely Century: A Call to Reconnect' by Noreena Hertz (2020)

'The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone' by Olivia Laing (2017)

'Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships' by Robin Dunbar (2021)

'Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions' by Johann Hari (2018)

'Selfie: How the West Became Self-Obsessed' by Will Storr (2017)

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Are Just Stop Oil protests effective?

Are Just Stop Oil a catalyst for positive change, or do they risk driving a wedge in the public?

In light of recent events, such as the vandalised paintings at the National Gallery, let’s take a look at the impact of Just Stop Oil’s protests. In our video, we explore the effects of these protests by delving into various perspectives, considering historical comparisons with the Suffragettes, socioeconomic class, psychology, public perception, climate urgency, the rationale of provocative content, and insights from political science. Do these actions drive positive change or create unnecessary friction?

References:

1) 'Semmelweis and the Oath of Hipprocrates' by S.D Elek, 1969

2) 'The Psychology of Self-Affirmation: Sustaining the Integrity of the Self' by Claude Steele, 1988

3) 'Disruptive climate protests in the UK didn’t lead to a loss of public support for climate policies' by James Özden, Sam Glover, 2022

4) Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Non Violent Resistance, Erica Chenoweth, Maria J. Stephan, 2012

5) Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change by IPCC, 2021: [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S. L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M. I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J. B. R. Matthews, T. K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu and B. Zhou]

6) Climate Central Coastal Risk Screening Tool (c) 2021

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Why GEN Z are the Loneliest Generation

Gen Z and young adults consistently self-report as the most lonely age group, even more so than the elderly.

Why is this the case?

We explore the root causes behind this loneliness epidemic amongst today's youth, delving into the impact of social media addiction, urban density, modern work culture, and the dark side of globalisation and neoliberalism.

From the false promise of endless digital connection, to the isolating effects of urban living, we investigate why young people today, despite being the most connected generation ever, also feel the most isolated.

References:

1) The BBC Loneliness Experiment in collaboration with The Wellcome Collection,The University of Manchester, Brunel University London, and Exeter University (2018)

2) 'Loneliness in America - How the Pandemic Has Deepened an Epidemic of Loneliness and What We Can Do About It' by Richard Weissbourd, Milena Batanova, Virginia Lovison, and Eric Torres (2021)

3) 'The rural happiness paradox in developed countries' by Jens F L Sørensen   (2021)

4) 'Calculating a national Anomie Density Ratio: Measuring the patterns of loneliness and social isolation across the UK’s residential density gradient using results from the UK Biobank study' by Ka Yan Lai, Chinmoy Sarkar, Sarika Kumari, Michael Y. Ni, John Gallacher, and Chris Webster (2021)

5) 'Suicide: A Study in Sociology' by Émile Durkheim (1897)

6) '1.5 million people in Japan living as social recluses, many as a result of the pandemic' article by The Japan Times (2023)

Further Reading:

'Loneliness – Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection' by John T. Cacioppo and William Patrick (2009)

'The Lonely Century: A Call to Reconnect' by Noreena Hertz (2020)

'The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone' by Olivia Laing (2017)

'Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships' by Robin Dunbar (2021)

'Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions' by Johann Hari (2018)

'Selfie: How the West Became Self-Obsessed' by Will Storr (2017)

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How AI Image Generators Make Bias Worse

Buzzfeed recently published a now deleted article on what AI thinks Barbies would look like from different countries around the world.The results contained extreme forms of representational bias - including colourist and racist depictions, which is something that AI image generators are often prone to doing.With AI image generators like MidJourney, Stable Diffusion, and Dall-E gaining huge popularity, it’s important that we are vigilant about the forms of bias that these technologies can fuel.* * * *This video was inspired by an LIS undergraduate student’s end of first year project, ‘Beyond the Hype: Understanding Bias in AI and its Far-Reaching Consequences’ by Ana Howard.

In the third term of each year, students select a complex problem they personally feel passionate about. They then apply the skills they’ve learnt in interdisplinary thinking, including qualitative and quantitative research methods, in order to tackle their topic and unearth original insights.At LIS - The London Interdisciplinary School, we believe that solutions to the world's most complex problems won't come from a single specialism. We need to bring together knowledge and expertise from across the arts, sciences and humanities.

If you're interested in our unique interdisciplinary approach to higher education, explore our degree offerings today:

Bachelor of Arts and Science (BASc) Degree - https://www.lis.ac.uk/undergraduate-d...

Master's of Arts and Science (MASc) Degree - https://www.lis.ac.uk/graduate

References:

1) Europol paper on Deepfakes and Generative AI - https://www.europol.europa.eu/publica...

2) ‘Humans Are Biased. Generative AI. Is Even Worse’ - Bloomberg Technology Article by Leonardo Nicoletti and Dina Bass -  https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/20...

3) UTK Face Dataset by Zhang, Song & Qi - https://susanqq.github.io/UTKFace/

4) ‘Turing Lecture: Data science or data humanities?’ by Melissa Terras - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yYytLUViI4&t=0s

5) ‘Corporate Accountability’ BY Lucy Suchman - https://robotfutures.wordpress.com/20...

6) ‘Principles alone cannot guarantee ethical AI’ by Brent Mittelstadt - https://www.nature.com/articles/s4225...

7) ‘Ethics from Within - Google Glass, the Collingridge Dilemma, and the Mediated Value of Privacy’ by Olya Kudina and Peter-Paul Verbeek - https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1...

8) ‘Joy Buolamwini: Examining Racial and Gender Bias in Facial Analysis Software’ by Barbican Centre - https://artsandculture.google.com/sto...

Further Reading & Watching:’Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence’ by Kate Crawford‘Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Threatens Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy’ by Cathy O’Neil’Coded Bias’ by Dr. Joy Buolamwini

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