At the inaugural talk for the new Green College Population Health Lecture Series, Dr. Michael Hayes, Director of Health Education and Research from the University of Victoria, will present "Language, Ambivalence and Relevance: Reflections on Population Health Research, Practice and Policy."

In this talk Dr. Hayes will focus on three themes in population health (language, ambivalence and relevance) as they relate to the intersection of research, practice and policy. The language of population health is sloppy and inconsistent, which has implications for both theorizing what’s going on and communicating with others (in the sphere of population health and outside of it). Ambivalence concerns both indifference and indeterminism and will be touched on. Relevance will be discussed in relation to the differing positions, constraints and aspirations operating in the realms of research, practice and policy.

There will be four additional meetings of this series during the 2010-11 Academic Year. The Population Health Series, which is co-sponsored by several units throughout campus, has a special thematic focus on “Furthering the Intersections of Theory and Method for Improving Research, Practice, and Policy.”  In light of this focus, the series' aim is to invite internationally-recognized social scientists who are conducting cutting-edge work integrating innovative theoretical perspectives and/or developing novel methods for use in advancing population health science and improving practice and policy.  Rather than simply being a forum for scholars to present on a particular study they have conducted, the series is intentionally designed to have a focus on new theoretical and methodological ideas for the conduct of research. Each event is open to all, especially students.