Getting To Better Together

This podcast explores the concept of "a good life" and its connection to community, virtue, and sustainable development. Hosts Tami Harriott and Em Prof Richard Bawden discuss Aristotle's philosophy of happiness, the importance of collaboration, and the challenges of global inequity. They delve into moral responsibility, the loss of connectedness in modern society, and the paradox of globalisation. The conversation emphasises the h...

In this insightful episode of Getting to Better Together, host Richard Borden explores the concept of development, its historical roots, and the challenges of navigating complexity in a globalised world.

From the Truman Doctrine's vision of progress to the multifaceted issues of poverty, governance, and environmental change, this conversation dives into the intricacies of international development. Joining Richard is Dr. Ratan Kuma...

Language plays a critical element in the quest for getting to better together. Without the ability to share our thoughts and the meanings that we attribute to words, shared communication would be essentially impossible. Even when we are speaking the same language there are considerable difficulties in communicating exactly what meaning we are attempting to convey. When we say the word land for instance are we talking about the padd...

In this episode of Getting to Better Together, Tammy Harriet and Dr. Shannon Brincat explore the concept of Utopia. They dive into Thomas More's original idea of Utopia as both an ideal place and a fictional construct, discussing its relevance in today’s world. Dr. Brincat reflects on the tension between aspirational thinking and practical action, especially in relation to political and societal change. They explore how Utopian ide...

In this compelling episode of "Getting to Better Together," Tami Harriott and Dr. Shannon Brincat delve into the profound concept of the "good life." They unravel how modern individualism, shaped by neoliberal ideals, skews our perception of a meaningful and fulfilling existence.

Dr. Brincat challenges the prevailing narrative that ties the good life to personal consumption and social status, advocating for a transformative, commun...

In this episode of Getting to Better Together, Tami Harriott and Declan Humphreys dive into the concept of "The Good Life." They explore how personal happiness intersects with ethical considerations and community impact. Tammy sees the good life as a balance between happiness and unhappiness, aiming for a state where one can pursue happiness without falling into unhappiness. Declan adds a philosophical perspective, referencing anci...

Leadership, it has been said, is like the Abominable snowman – its footprints are everywhere but is it never to be seen! In other words, we recognise it when we experience it, even if we can’t quite put our finger on what it actually is. There is at least a half a dozen or more theories of leadership with even more descriptions of leadership styles and literally countless definitions of it. All too often the focus is on the charact...

One of our commonly held beliefs as Australians is that we are committed to the principles of FAIR GO. We hold that the values of equality, mutual respect, social equity, human rights, compassion, and egalitarianism, are deeply ingrained in our culture. We like to believe that we hold strongly to a set of what we see as such family values as trust, forgiveness, sharing, openness, and love. What a contradiction it was when a report ...

We humans are living in a period that is new in the entire history of humankind. We have essentially become a force of nature. The planet itself is being affected by our activities to such an extent that, as some scientists see it, we have been placing such unprecedented pressure on the planet, that we are facing the prospect that the Earth system might no longer support the conditions necessary for the survival of our species The ...

In this podcast series, we have drawn on the words of the American anthropologist, the late Margaret Mead, as a recurring inspiration for our theme of getting to better together. “Never doubt” she wrote “that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”.  Indeed, it i...

There is much talk these days about the ethical challenges that generative artificial intelligence technologies pose. While most of us might be hazy about what these are, they themselves are in little doubt. A question to ChatGPT on these lines will result in a list of areas of concern that include job displacement, intellectual property, transparency, bias, and fairness. Upon reflection, there is nothing terribly unexpected here. ...

It has recently been announced that the University of the Sunshine Coast has been assessed by the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, as being within the top 2% of more than 1500 universities across the globe for its performance with respect to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was ranked first in Queensland and sixth among all Australian institutions. Carefully calibrated indicators are used in ...

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence and easily accessible large language models like ChatGPT, have the capability of challenging our self-perceptions and what we mean by intelligence, sentience, and consciousness. These new technologies have triggered major concerns that AI has or will soon have the capacity to genuinely “change everything”. And as many see it, this is extremely concerning - nothing less than an exi...

The concept of universities engaging with communities and organisations beyond their walls, is a recurring theme throughout this podcast series. Indeed, it was the submission by the distinguished American scholar, Ernest Boyer a quarter of a century ago, that universities should become much more vigorous partners in the search for answers to the most pressing social problems of the day, that was one of the central motivations for u...

At some date between August and December of this year, we Australians are going to be asked to vote in a referendum on whether we do or do not approve of altering the nation’s Constitution “to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice”.  The issue is particularly complicated by the long history in this country of fractured relationships between the indigenous and non-ind...

While the international development and leadership aspects of the title of our Centre here at the University of the Sunshine Coast are generally well-understood, the meaning of ‘the phrase in the middle’ – social entrepreneurship – is less familiar to many. The word entrepreneurship itself tends to confuse the issue. Images of market-driven, profit seeking commercial enterprises in pursuit of private gain and economic growth readil...

The merest mention of Nepal evokes immediate images of the majestic grandeur of the Himalayan mountains, of precipitous gorges and mountain passes, and of course, of Mount Everest herself, the highest mountain on the planet, standing some 8.8 thousand metres above sea level. Yet tragically, this country is no paradise on Earth. Literally sandwiched between the two most highly populated and rapidly developing mega-nations, of India ...

All too often it seems, the pressing issues of the day that demand the attention of us all, are just too vast, too remote, too mind-bogglingly complex, that that attention is left wanting.  We leave it to ‘them’ – to governments, corporations, our formal institutions, and so on - to fix the changing climate, the threats to world peace, the instabilities of financial systems, the loss of biodiversity and the quality of the environme...

In this episode, as a solo presentation, the host of our podcasts, Emeritus Professor Richard Bawden, reflects on the Mission of the mini-series and discusses some of the key challenges that have been highlighted over the past two years and 40 plus episodes of the initiative. The basic purpose of the endeavour, he argues, has been to contribute to critical public discussions about how the most pressing and complex issues of our tim...