Literary responses to the Global Financial Crisis, 2007-09

Literary responses to the Global Financial Crisis, 2007-09

Raj Khan

Capitalism came to a grinding halt as the financial firm Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy during September 2008. Stock market prices imploded, banks stopped lending to each other, and banks tried to sell off their assets, which depressed prices. But other financial institutions were bailed out by several governments, including Hypo Real Estate in Germany, Dexia in Belgium and France, and UBS in Switzerland.  The Irish and Spanish governments had to ask for support from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union to avoid further economic disarray.

Since the 1980s, capitalist revolutions occurred under leaders such as Britain’s Margaret Thatcher, America’s Ronald Reagan, China’s Deng Xiaoping, India’s Manmohan Singh, Russia’s Mikhail Gorbachev, Canada’s Brian Mulroney, Ireland’s Bertie Ahern, Mexico’s Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Brazil’s Fernando Henriques Cardoso and Argentina’s Carlos Menem. The ideology of privatising public services, deregulating the financial markets and prioritising profit over regulating markets became a transnational phenomenon. Light-touch regulation became the predominant economic approach across the globe and is one factor that led to the 2008 financial crisis.

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Inside the Conservative Mind of America

Inside the Conservative Mind of America

Caitlin Pilkington

In 2016 the traditional political ‘rulebook’ was eviscerated as Donald Trump, a man whose actions, were they to belong to anyone else, would never have seen him receive a nomination let alone become the President of the United States. My 6-week UROP project was to look at why he was such a successful candidate in three very different counties in America. Part of uncovering this was by finding residents of the county who voted for Trump in 2016, and then conducting interviews with them to find out their opinions, views and whether they will be voting for him again in 2020. As the project is still ongoing, a conclusion from my research was not reached, therefore, I would like to share some of my findings to demonstrate the progression of the project thus far.

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Investigating Psychology Students’ Professional Development Needs

Investigating Psychology Students’ Professional Development Needs

Samantha Kent

For the past four weeks, I have been working on a research project as part of my Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (UROP) placement. Alongside Dr Alana James, I am conducting research into the professional development needs of Psychology students. This project initially appealed to me as I have a strong interest in developmental psychology. I have also worked in recruitment, which taught me how important it is for university students to develop skills that will help them in the competitive job market. As a career-driven Psychology undergraduate myself, I am keen to explore Psychology students’ understanding of their professional development needs.

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International students, independent study and introversion: My UROP experience

International students, independent study and introversion: My UROP experience

Sabita Burke

Ever since I applied to the University of Reading and attended open days, I’ve always wanted to be a part of the undergraduate research community. The idea of getting to do real-world research in a topic I was truly interested in seemed very exciting. So, in the summer between my second and third years at university, I embarked on a UROP project.

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Development of sustainable and bioactive food packaging materials

Development of sustainable and bioactive food packaging materials

Ellie Carter

When I began the application process for UROP, I had applied for a placement within my own department. I was nervous to look into other departments as I felt I wouldn’t have a strong enough background in anything other than chemistry. I was unsuccessful with that application and I thought nothing more about UROP. A fortnight later, an email came through to say that some placements were still vacant, and one based in the Food Science department came up. I read the title and I was sold immediately.

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