Society
Informed key research investigating society and culture in the current climate. Read our influential research below or return to our Impact Hub.
Is your home life holding your career back?
            Professor Cathy Cassell, Executive Dean, shares her research into the unconscious biases affecting couples’ decision-making – and women’s lives. 
          
        Gaming the system: how scenario exploration can change how we view the future
            Dr John Hirst and Dr Cat Spellman share how an innovative learning tool can help build crucial skills in Futures Thinking
          
        I want to believe: the psychology of climate change conspiracy theories
            Dr Aarron Atkinson-Toal, Assistant Professor in Marketing and International Business, on how shareable content leads to the real threat of fake news.
          
        The impact of digital communication on employee wellbeing
            Does digital communication in the workplace help us, or hinder us? Barbara Bechter, Associate Professor in Human Resources Management, shares her findings. 
          
        The economic consequences of fatal landslides
            As the chances of extreme weather events increase, Dr Martin Robson, Associate Professor of Economics, looks at the impact of economic factors on fatalities.
          
        Making workplaces equitable and inclusive: one micro-practice at a time
            Professor Martyna Śliwa, Professor of Business Ethics and Organisation Studies, shares her research on inequality in the workplace. 
          
        How terrorism kills innovation and kicks out human talent
            When unthinkable events such as terrorism occur, the impacts can be devastating, long-lasting and far more widespread than anyone might immediately consider.
          
        Follow back?
            Would Elon Musk’s Twitter be the democratic free speech haven he claims? Dr Mariann Hardey reflects on the billionaire’s deal to buy the social media platform.
          
        Exploring the circular economy
            How giving electronics a new lease of life could also help save the planet. Professor Kieran Fernandes explains how academic research can help industry. 
          
        Why ethical use of AI robots must incorporate accountability and moral intensity
             For many businesses, investing in AI improves productivity, boosts revenue, increases accuracy and opens new avenues for industry. But, this isn’t without risk…
          
        Can you control impulses? Can someone else?
            Research led by Professors Sarah Xiao and Mike Nicholson enabled companies to build new marketing toolkits, resulting in significant financial gains.
          
        How long can USS members expect to live?
            How high are Universities Superannuation Scheme members’ mortality rates, and what does that mean for the future? Professor Kevin Dowd and colleagues investigate
          
        An inclusive, diverse and equal place to learn
            The Business School is committed to becoming a more inclusive environment for learning. Dr Gretchen Larsen explains the latest developments.
          
        Coping with Covid: the extra challenges faced by UK migrants
            As Covid-19 secured its grip on the UK our government and social bodies acted to put a number of schemes and measures in place.
          
        Empowering North East communities through research
            Dr Ladan Cockshut discusses how the University is supporting local regeneration projects through knowledge exchange.
          
        Exposing the stigma around social housing
            For those living in social housing, the extreme stigmatisation of estates has had an impact on everything from employment to healthcare.
          
        Pandemic-speak: lessons learned from dealing with COVID
            Professors Russell Craig and Joel Amernic discuss how leaders in business and politics across the globe have used rhetoric to tackle the pandemic.
          
        Researching police wellbeing
            Professor Les Graham’s research delves into the mental and physical welfare of the police workforce across the whole of the UK.
          
        Averting a cultural catastrophe
            How Durham University is supporting the creative community during the pandemic. How Durham University is supporting the creative community.
          
        Is speech really free?
            It is easy to feel a sense of injustice where our conversations, as a form of data, provoke reactions, and enable the monetisation of social media.
          
        Neurodiversity at work benefits everyone
            Change perceptions and highlight the benefits that hiring people with different ways of thinking can bring.
          
        Protecting the 'forgotten' workforce
            Workers in precarious employment, including zero-hours contracts (ZHCs), have had a much more worrying and uncertain time than most. 
          
        The world is changing... or is it?
            How do we know that life expectancy is increasing or that climate change is a looming threat?
          
        
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