Social Sciences

This session will introduce you to the English prison system and discuss a number of key issues and challenges our prisons currently face. You'll learn about who we send to prison, why, how effective prisons are at punishment and rehabilitation and problems prisons face.

Live Subject Taster Talk - Banged up: English Prisons Today from Northumbria University on Vimeo.

This session explores recent sociological research into happiness exploring whether wellbeing has become just another marketing tool for corporations or whether we can learn to live better by reflecting on the nature of happiness? I draw on accounts from ordinary people to help us understand the riddles of happiness.

Live Subject Taster Talk - Making Sense of Happiness: Reflections on Sociological Research from Northumbria University on Vimeo.

Drones and autonomous weapons systems are rapidly entering the arena of modern warfare. President Putin famously told Russian students that “whoever becomes the leader in artificial intelligence will become the ruler of the world.” This interactive mini-lecture will first outline what these new weapons are and why they are being increasingly used. It will then focus on the legal, ethical and security issues they raise. Should artificial intelligence be involved in deciding life and death? Is it ethical to kill without direct human intervention? Who is accountable if something goes wrong? Do they make war too easy? Will they lead to a global arms race, setting off a new security dilemma? We will explore these issues through "stop the killer robots" campaign and through the use of drones in the US "war on terror".

Live Subject Taster Talk - The Drones are coming, are you ready? from Northumbria University on Vimeo.