Dr Alex Ireland is a Research Associate within the School of Healthcare Science at Manchester Metropolitan University. His main research interest is in how the muscle and impact forces which squash, bend and twist our bones during movement end up determining their size and shape. This work has involved examination of a number of different populations from spinal cord injury patients to elite tennis players, and from toddlers to nonagenerian pole vaulters. Alex is currently employed on an MRC-funded project investigating how changes in our motor nerves affect our muscles and movements as we age.
I teach about international business and organizational change. My core research interests centre on the evolution of business and financial institutions, the development of international business, corporate governance, and political economy. Another strand of my research looks at the impact of socially-constructed identities on firms. An additional research area is the relationship between business and the natural environment. Empirically, my research is on firms that have operated in the North Atlantic region and in East Asia. My research is informed by diverse theories, including concepts taken from strategic management, behavioural economics, post-colonial theory, International Political Economy, and Austrian economics. My preferred research methods are qualitative and include the use of corporate archives. My first book, which was published in 2008, was on the role of British financiers in the genesis of the Canadian constitution. This book was an outgrowth of my PhD work, which was conducted at a Canadian university. My second book was a co-edited collection on the history of entrepreneurship in Canada. My third book, which was published in 2014, is an edited collection on globalization and Canadian business that aimed to use to historical evidence to test various claims about optimum policy mix for nations seeking to manage their relationship to the global economy. My more recent research has included articles on the history of Unilever and HSBC, race relations within multinational firms, the evolution of cashless payment technologies in Hong Kong, and the relationship between corporate governance and contemporary debates about economic inequality. I have also published articles and book chapters on topics such as the taxation, fisheries regulation, ethnicity and international capital flows, race and business, entrepreneurship, and banking regulation history. I am currently editing a book on the impact of the First World War on the strategies of international firms. It will be published by Routledge in early 2016.
Dr. Blick's main areas of interest are the constitutional future of the UK, the contemporary significance of Magna Carta, the Civil Service, special advisers, and the office of Prime Minister. He uses an historical perspective to asses contemporary issues. Before his academic appointment Dr Blick had extensive experience working for think tanks, in the UK Parliament and as an administrative assistant at No.10 Downing Street. Dr. Blick has acted as an adviser to democratic reform groups in countries including Ukraine and Turkey; and to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance in Stockholm. He has carried out consultancy work for the United Nations Development Programme, European Commission, European Parliament, and UK National Audit Office. Since 2010 he has been research fellow to the first ever parliamentary inquiry into the possibility of introducing a written constitution for the UK, being carried out by the House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee.
Allison M. Macfarlane is Professor of Science and Technology Policy at George Washington University and Director of the Center for International Science and Technology Policy at the University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. She recently served as Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission from July, 2012 until December, 2014. As Chairman, Dr. Macfarlane had ultimate responsibility for the safety of all U.S. commercial nuclear reactors, for the regulation of medical radiation and nuclear waste in the U.S., and for representing the U.S. in negotiations with international nuclear regulators. She was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate. She was the agency’s 15th Chairman, its 3rd woman chair, and the only person with a background in geology to serve on the Commission. Dr. Macfarlane holds a doctorate in geology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor's of science degree in geology from the University of Rochester. During her academic career, she held fellowships at Radcliffe College, MIT, Stanford, and Harvard Universities. She has been on the faculty at Georgia Tech in Earth Science and International Affairs and at George Mason University in Environmental Science and Policy. From 2010 to 2012 she served on the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future, created by the Obama Administration to make recommendations about a national strategy for dealing with the nation's high-level nuclear waste. She has served on National Academy of Sciences panels on nuclear energy and nuclear weapons issues. Dr. Macfarlane has also chaired the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, the folks who set the “doomsday clock.” Her research has focused on environmental policy and international security issues associated with nuclear energy. Her expertise is in nuclear waste disposal, nuclear energy, regulatory issues, and science and technology policy. As Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, she pushed for a more open dialogue with the public, for greater engagement with international nuclear regulators and, following the Fukushima accident, for stricter safety protocols at U.S. nuclear reactors. She also advocated for a more family-friendly workplace. She has spoken on a wide range of topics, from women and science to nuclear policy and regulatory politics. In 2006, MIT Press published a book she co-edited, Uncertainty Underground: Yucca Mountain and the Nation's High-Level Nuclear Waste, which explored technical issues at the proposed waste disposal facility at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Dr. Macfarlane has published extensively in academia and her work has appeared in Science, Nature, American Scientist, The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, and Environment Magazine.
Angelina Russo is the inaugural Professor of Cultural Practice in the Faculty of Arts and Design at the University of Canberra. Her research focuses on explorations in the changing media landscape and their applications to cultural communication. She is a co-founder and Director of Museum3 (www.museum3.net) and in her spare time, runs a tiny micro-business where she designs and hand-manufactures high visibility knit cyclewear (www.culturecycle.org)
