June 1999 - University of Leicester
Transcription
June 1999 - University of Leicester
http://www.le.ac.uk/ BUL l e TIN JUNE/JULY 1999 MEDICAL SCHOOL COMPLETES HAT-TRICK OF SUCCESSES THE Medical School achieved a total score of 23 in the QAA subject review held between 10 and 13 May. This completes a hattrick of 23s for Leicester in the QAA subject reviews held so far this year. The following scores were awarded on the 1-4 scale: Curriculum Design Content and Organisation Teaching Learning and Assessment Student Progression and Achievement Student Support and Guidance Learning Resources Quality Management and Enhancement 4 3 4 4 4 4 The review visit was the largest and most complex yet organised at Leicester, involving a team of eight QAA subject reviewers and a parallel visit from a team of four assessors from the General Medical Council (GMC). The reviewers sampled a wide range of teaching in the Medical School, in hospitals in Leicester, Coventry, Kettering, Nuneaton and in general practices. Both the QAA and the GMC complimented the Medical School on the success of the new student-centred curriculum, the high standard of HIGH STANDARDS: Medical stude nts participate in a multi-agency teach ing initiative at Prince Philip House. The TQA review of Medicine was the largest and most comp lex yet organised at Leicester. the teaching, the excellent relationships with the NHS, and the quality and commitment of the students. The review also took in the MSc courses in Molecular Pathology & Toxicity and in Medical Statistics & Information Technology. Physics and Astronomy and American Studies both achieved total scores of 23 in QAA visits held during March, as reported in the last issue of the Bulletin. This follows a score of 22 for History of Art, earlier this year. All four of the above subject areas would have been categorised as ‘Excellent’ GARDEN HAS A FLOURISHING FUTURE according to the former descriptions applied by the QAA. They add to the Excellents already achieved by History (including English Local History and Economic and Social History), English, Law and Chemistry. • The Bulletin will include full coverage of the QAA’s assessment of the subjects as and when the official QAA reports are published. I N S I D E TOP TIPS: Careers Service staff prepare for Careers week in June. Page 8. SUMMER INTERLUDE: Students and staff take part in music and drama events Pages 18-19. MAKING GOOD SENSE: Culture Minister Chris Smith with Lord Attenborough, members of the University and the Richard Attenborough Centre, at the opening of the Sensory Garden outside the RAC. Story on Page 2. SUCCESS IN SIGHT: Details of the University’s July Degree Congregations. Page 32. BULLETIN: Your triple award-winning newsletter – Heist Marketing Awards ’92, ’96, ’97 NEWS VOLUME 31 NUMBER 9 JUNE/JULY 1999 N E W S................................1-14 ALUMNI....................................15 BUSINESS ....................16-17 ARTSTOP......................18-19 INTERNATIONAL .....20-22 OUT & ABOUT............23-24 FEATURE............................25 CUTTINGS ...................26-27 B O O K S...........................27-29 P EO P L E..........................30-31 NOTICES.......................32-33 S P O R T.................................34 CROSSWORD ..................35 PHOTOSTOP ........Back Page GARDEN FOR ALL SENSES A NEW garden designed to appeal to all the senses was opened by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Mr Chris Smith opened the University’s Richard Attenborough Centre’s Sensory Garden on 26 May, when he visited the Centre to give the first of its annual lectures. Patron of the Centre Lord Attenborough was also there to preside over the event, and the occasion included the presentation of the two Category Awards that the Centre won in the 1998 RIBA Stirling Prize. A patch of gravel at the front of the Centre has been transformed into a flourishing garden of herbs, shrubs and flowers, that has been planned since the Centre first opened. The Sensory Garden has been funded by donations from the public with sponsorship from Ibstock Building Products Limited RESEARCH GRANTS SUPPLEMENT INSIDE BULLETIN SOMETHING TO SHOUT ABOUT? Press and Publications Office will be pleased to receive news from individuals and departments via the following email address: [email protected] The closing date for the next issue is Wednesday 7 July for publication in the first week of June. The Editor reserves the right to amend or abbreviate copy without notice. The Bulletin is edited in The Press and Publications Office. Small advertisements (up to 30 words in length) should be accompanied by cheques, payable to University of Leicester, at the following rates: House sales and lettings: £5.00 Other sales and services: £2.00 Prices for display advertisements are available on request. Please contact Chris Walters, Marketing Officer LUSU, extn 1150. Private, non-commercial announcements are carried free of charge, subject to space. Editor: Ather Mirza (Ext 3335) email: [email protected] Deputy Editor: Barbara Whiteman (Ext 2676) email: [email protected] People, Books, Research, Cuttings, Notices, Artstop. Reporters: Judith Shaw/Jane Pearson Design and layout: Paula Curtis, Graphics Studio Pictures: Central Photographic Unit, Leicester Mercury, and members of staff. Cartoons: Barbara Whiteman Printed by Central Reprographic Unit. • Special colour cover courtesy of Central Reprographic Unit. Leicester University • University Road Leicester LE1 7RH E-mail: [email protected] Newsline: 0116 252 3335 Advertising: 0116 223 1168 2 and planting will be carried out in GROWING ACHIEVEMENT: In the Sensory Garden, Dr Eleanor Hartley, consultation with the Director of the Richard Attenborough Centre with (abov e left) Culture Minis ter, Chris Smith, and (above right) Barrie Centre’s architect, Frankland, Superintendent of Gardens. Ian Taylor, of Bennetts Associates and the University gardeners. Mr Barrie Frankland, Superintendent of Gardens in the University’s Estates and Buildings Office, said: “We have chosen plants with scented foliage, including a number of herbs like lavender, sage and thyme. There are also plants and shrubs with contrasting foliage, such as conifers, grasses and New Zealand flax. The emphasis is on touch and scent.” The bed, which is raised by 700 mm to make it easily accessible for wheelchair users, is 8 sq metres in size and has been planted with perennials initially, keen gardeners at the Richard Attenborough Centre may add to it from their own gardens as time goes on, and Barrie Frankland may plant appropriate annuals and half-hardy plants, such as scented geraniums, later. Last year, the Centre won the RIBA Architecture in Education Award and the RIBA/Department of Health Architecture in Healthcare Award – and was among the nominees for the coveted Stirling Prize 98. The presentation of the prizes was made during the evening by Mr David Allsop, Chairman of the East Midlands region of RIBA. The University of Leicester Bulletin includes advertising to offset production costs. It should be noted that the University of Leicester does not necessarily adopt or endorse the products and services advertised in the Bulletin. The Bulletin cannot accept responsibility for any errors in advertisements and inserts. The Editor reserves the right to refuse or amend any advertisement. ON-LINE BULLETIN Issues of the Bulletin are accessible on CWIS via the following web address: http://www.le.ac.uk/bulletin/ NEWS UNIVERSITY LECTURERS STAGE PROTEST It is then that the universities and unions will know the extent of the problems involved and will seek government help to address them. PICKETS gathered at entrances The pay offer of 3.5% is fair because to the University on 25 May as it is: members of the Association of • Substantially higher than the University Teachers took part in decreasing inflation rate (2.1%) a one-day strike. • Higher than pay settlements The action was part of a elsewhere (eg 3% for 1 million nationwide protest by members workers in local authorities) of the AUT over their claim for • Higher than the 2.4% increase in a 10% increase in HE salaries government funding to universities ‘as a first step in closing a 36% • Maximum universities can afford pay-gap’. without significant job losses”. And the Union pledged ‘a The AUT spokesman said: “Nobody sustained campaign of welcomes industrial action or takes it industrial action’ which could lightly. The importance of the strike is CALL include ‘one-day strikes, TO ACTION: Members of AUT – and a dog – at the Mayor’s Walk that it launches the period of activity. entrance to the University. boycotts of examinations, and “Our goals are clear. First, we want boycotts of admissions.’ employers to make a far better offer than A spokesperson for the AUT said: “Staff in universities have 3.5%. Second, we want agreement to a programme of action to been cheated of fair pay increases for over 15 years. Teachers, reduce dramatically the levels of casualisation of staff and the professors, researchers and related staff have seen student systematic institutional pay discrimination against women. We numbers quadruple. Productivity has soared but pay increases want improvements in London Weighting, static for seven years have dragged behind all other professional groups, defrauding despite soaring costs in the capital. And we want vital the hard-working staff in higher education.” improvements in staff development. But the employers’ association for UK universities and colleges “We believe employers can offer more and can start to put said the AUT strike action was unfair to students and damaging other things right. They need to think again. Unfortunately, it is to HE. A spokesperson said: “Employers in higher education are necessary for us to take action to refresh their thinking.” disappointed at the decision of AUT members to take strike Declan Leyden, for UCEA, said: “It is not fair to punish our action. Those voting in favour represent only 11% of all academic students and those applying now to go to university. They have and related staff. worked very hard for their future. Industrial action will damage “Strike action is inappropriate and untimely when the higher education unnecessarily.” independent inquiry into pay in HE will publish its findings in May. Employers hit out at ‘unfair and damaging’ action SIKH TRADITION IS HIGHLIGHTED AN historical review of the Khalsa in Sikh tradition was the subject of a public lecture at the University. Professor Jagtar Singh Grewal, one of the world’s most respected scholars and authorities on the history of India, the Punjab and the Sikhs gave the third Geza Vermes lectures in the History of Religions. Professor Grewal is pictured standing, third from right, with the Vice-Chancellor and Professor Richard Bonney, Director of the Centre for the History of Religions, Inter-Faith Dialogue and Pluralism. DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER TO GIVE HALDANE LECTURE THE fifth Haldane Society Public Lecture on Tuesday 15 June will be given by The Rt Hon Chris Patten. Since 1998 Chris Patten has been Chairman of the Independent Commission on Police for Northern Ireland, and immediately prior to that he was the last person to hold the position of Governor and Commander-in-Chief Hong Kong before the transfer of the territory to China. He was Chairman of the Conservative Party 1990-92, and during his 13 years as a member of parliament held several ministerial posts. He has recently been appointed a European Commissioner. The Haldane Society was established over 40 years ago as a meeting place for ‘town and gown’. Its purpose is to hear distinguished speakers address topics drawn from a wide range of subjects, but always involving the boundary between academic study and practical everyday concerns. • The Lecture, Asia and Mr Gladstone – Lessons from the Tigers’ Boom and Bust, takes place in the Rattray Lecture Theatre at 5.30 pm, and admission is free. 3 FOCUS ON GEOGRAPHY VOYAGE OF VIRTUAL ADVENTURE graphic Services. NEWS BIRMINGHAM PROVIDES INSPIRATION PART-time Geography PhD student from Hong Kong, Ho Law, is also known throughout the University for his talents as an artist, and his lively pictures of University concert artists have been on display to concert-goers in the past. In May, on the day he submitted his PhD, he also donated a painting to the Geography Department. The Journey 1994, is an image of Birmingham, inspired by a visit there. The picture incorporates the use of maps as well as painting, giving the impression of “zooming into the place”. Ho is pictured with Professor Tony Parsons of the Geography Department in front of his picture. * More news from Geography, page 20. 4 Pic: Loui Seselja, National Library Photo have been created from the ‘Endeavour’ replica, although the sound of the cat-of-ninetails recorded is no longer a feature of modern voyages.” The National Library of Australia in Canberra and the Australian National Maritime Museum were the co-sponsors. At the heart of the groundbreaking CD-ROM is a digital facsimile of the full text of Cook’s journal manuscript and it is accompanied by JC Replica of HM Bark Endeavour, Natio nal Maritime Beaglehole’s classic 1955 Museum, Sydney,1995. annotated transcript for page-bypage comparison. The journal, in Cook’s own handwriting, includes his corrections, additions and amendments. The fragile 231-year-old manuscript is held at the National Library but is rarely displayed. It was purchased by the Australian government at a London auction in 1923 for £5,000 and is now available in this form for wider use. “The CD brings together images of botanical and zoological specimens from tes Cook’s voyage on recrea which the voyage, Cook’s own OM CD-R The LDS: BRAVE NEW WOR University by Professor Terry Birtles, charts, maps and drawings board the Endeavour is presented to the the Vice-Chancellor. and watercolours of the left, with the Earl of Limerick (right) and people and places encountered on the way.” Professor Terry Birtles of the University of Canberra in “Viewers will be able to Australia is one of the contributors to this unique CD-ROM experience what it was like entitled ‘Captain Cook’s Journal 1768-71: Endeavour’. He is travelling with the great currently on sabbatical leave in the Geography Department British navigator on this where he donated a copy of the CD-ROM. remarkable voyage of The Earl of Limerick, president of the Britain-Australia Joseph Lycett (c.1775-1828) Aborigines Spearing Fish, Others Diving discovery to Brazil, Argentina, Society, made the official presentation of ‘Captain Cook’s Journal’ for Crayfish, a Party Seated Beside a Fire Cooking Fish, c.1817 watercolour National Library of Australia, Pictorial Collection. Tahiti, New Zealand, on 11 May and spoke on the work of the Society in supporting Australia, Indonesia and South graduate student exchanges between Britain and Australia. Africa,” said Professor Birtles. ‘The CD-ROM was compiled using material from 60 different sources – In addition, they will be able to take advantage of the full potential of museums, archives and libraries and is the result of four years’ work. It multimedia technology to understand what life was like on a 32-foot will be of interest to students, researchers, geographers, biologists, sailing barque. Sights and sound segments, with a 100,000 word text (74 anthropologists,and maritime and history enthusiasts,” explained hours of viewing) give a virtual reality to this famous voyage. Professor Birtles. “Sound effects and the virtual reality of life on board THE University has received a copy of the first ever international CDROM publication of the original manuscript of Captain Cook’s journal of the ‘Endeavour’ voyage – one of the world’s most precious documents. The CD Rom makes it possible for a viewer to sail with Cook, walk around the ship and inside the cabins with him, see coastlines which were painted by the ship’s artists, plot the course on the chart and read parallel journal entries for each day recorded by the biologist/naturalist Joseph Banks. NEWS SOARAWAY SUCCESS OF CHILDREN’S AUTHOR CHILDREN’S author Chris d’Lacey has had his debut novel, Fly Cherokee Fly, shortlisted for the Libraries Carnegie Medal – the children’s equivalent of the Booker prize. Chris, who works as manager of the Advanced Light Microscope Facility in the Department of Pre-Clinical Sciences at the University, has had eight children’s books published so far, with another eight due over the next two years. A delighted Chris said: “It came as a complete shock. I was surprised to be TALES FROM THE CESS PITS! FINDINGS from the cess pits of Roman Leicester are among the fascinating facts presented in a new book by University archaeologists. The book, Roman and Medieval Occupation in Causeway Lane, Leicester, follows the largest excavation ever to take place in the city. The book, by Aileen Connor and Richard Buckley, represents t, Leicester hirr Archaeology, Councillor Ned Newit HISTORIC BOOK: l-r, Dr Alan McW and Mr David Smith, Project or ancell ice-Ch Pro-V n, Fearo Peter City Council, Professor Sponsor from the Inland Revenue. the culmination of several years’ research by over 40 specialists. The work was spearheaded by the University of Leicester Archaeological Services and the University’s School of Archaeological Studies. Mr Buckley said: “The Causeway Lane site is located within the historic core of the Roman and medieval town and the dig has provided a rare opportunity to look at how life has changed over the past 2000 years. “In the Roman period, the site was located at the cross roads of two streets, and evidence was found for modest timber and stone buildings – perhaps shops with living accommodation – together with yards, wells and cess pits. “In one area, Roman gravel quarries had been backfilled with debris – including painted wall plaster – from a grand building nearby. For the medieval period, evidence for the survival of Roman fabric into the 12th nominated and stunned to be shortlisted.” The story of Fly, Cherokee, Fly, was inspired many years ago when Chris rescued a pigeon with a broken wing on Victoria Park, next to the University campus, nursed it back to health, and ended up keeping it for fourteen years. The Libraries Carnegie Medal Awards will be held in London in midJuly. Peter Holland century has emerged whilst the large numbers of pits, together with evidence for a timber building, has shown intensive 12th – 13th century occupation in narrow plots for the first time in this part of the town. “Large quantities of finds were recovered from the site – including over 30,000 sherds of Roman pottery, 6,962 fragments of Roman painted wall plaster, 13,000 sherds of medieval pottery and nearly a tonne of animal bone. Some 15 tonnes of soil samples were also taken for wet sieving to recover environmental remains, such as small animal bones, fish bones and scales, shell and insect remains together with charred cereal grains and seeds. “The most productive samples were from some of the more unsavoury deposits – particularly cess pits – and have provided a fascinating insight into the diet, living conditions and health of Roman and medieval citizens in this part of the town.” The site was excavated in advance of the construction of a new Inland Revenue office building, and to celebrate the completion of the project, the book was officially launched on 19 May. Copies of the volume were presented by the Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor Peter Fearon, to the Inland Revenue and to the Chair of the Arts, Libraries and Museums Committee, Leicester City Council. CVCP ELECTS NEW CHAIRMAN PROFESSOR Howard Newby, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton, has been elected CVCP’s new chairman. Professor Newby (51), the current Vice-Chairman, takes over from Professor Martin Harris, Vice-Chancellor of Manchester University, for the twoyear post. Professor Newby was formerly Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex and held visiting appointments in Australia and the United States. His main areas of research were in rural sociology, social stratification and research methods. 5 NEWS FOCUS ON SP PERMANENT CREATIVE DIRECTOR APPOINTED LEICESTER graduate Mrs Alex Barnett has become the permanent Creative Director at the National Space Science Centre, the £46.5m Millennium Landmark Project which will open in spring 2001. Mrs Barnett has been working with the project since 1995, two years before the Millennium Commission announced its £23.25m award to the NSSC, and was the project’s longest standing consultant. She is now working full time for the NSSC for the first time, although she has held the post of Creative Director on a part-time basis for just over a year. She was previously also the project’s part-time interpretation manager. As Creative Director Alex has responsibility for developing the National Space Science Centre’s visitor experience, including its 200 seat planetarium. She will oversee the design of the exhibition area and the procurement of artefacts. Post -opening, Alex will be responsible for the continuing development of these areas and the overall programmes strategy. Alex graduated with a degree in Astrophysics. After spending time working for the BBC in radio and television, she continued her formal studies in the USA in science centre and planetarium operation and management, which allowed her to set up her own business, “Science to Go”, providing advice to many such facilities. She is now a well known figure in the science centre, planetarium and media world, particularly for public and educational programmes involving space and astronomy. She pioneered a series of award-winning planetarium shows for the deaf in the UK and writes regularly for relevant magazines. Mrs Barnett commented: “I’m immensely proud to be developing the visitor experience at the National Space Science Centre including the first major planetarium to be built in the UK in over 20 years. Alex is 27 and lives in Northamptonshire with her husband George. Alex Barnett, Creative Director, NSSC . NATIONS UNITE TO BUILD STATION THE new Millennium is set to be, quite literally, an out-of-this-world experience for some people. For the International Space Station (ISS) will host three crew members from as early as January 2000 as they begin the task of living aboard this unique international experiment, assisting with the assembly of the station and establishing a permanent human presence. The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest scientific cooperative programme in history, involving 16 nations including the UK. The first two pieces of the station, ZARYA and UNITY, were placed into orbit last year. In total there will be 44 missions conducted by the US space shuttle and two types of Russian rocket, to launch and assemble the 100 or so parts which will form the station. The ISS will be 220 miles above the planet’s surface, taking 90 minutes to complete one orbit and will be visible from the ground at certain times. Once in orbit, the pieces of the station will be manoeuvred into place by astronauts operating robotic arms – a large arm for moving heavy objects and a small one for more delicate tasks. THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE • The station should be completed by the year 2004. • It will weigh 460 tons and measure the length of a football field. • The living and working areas for the astronauts will be about the same size as a jumbo jet. • The electric power system will be connected using 8 miles of wire, and if all the batteries in the station were lined up end to end, they would stretch half a mile. • There will be a total of seven laboratories which will be used for several areas of research: Life science, earth science, space science, microgravity, engineering and space product development. 6 LEICESTER’S MISSION The University’s Space Research Centre is involved in plans for the XEUS (pronounced Zeus) mission – a permanent X-ray telescope also to be launched into orbit around the Earth. The telescope would be used to study the distant universe and the formation and evolution of galaxies and star clusters, by detecting the X-rays given out by them. The telescope will be too large to be sent up in one piece, and must be launched on several spacecraft, to be assembled in space. Positioning XEUS close to the ISS will enable it to be regularly serviced and improved. ADVERTISE IN THE BULLETIN Small advertisements, maximum thirty words, are welcome for inclusion in the Bulletin. A charge of either £2 or £5, depending on the item advertised, is made for each advertisement submitted by a member of staff or a student of the University. The cost to other Bulletin readers is either £5 or £10. Departments wishing to take a page or more in the Bulletin can do so at a cost of £50 per page exclusive of Graphics charges. Pat Bone, Press & Publications Office (0116 252 2415, [email protected]) will be pleased to receive advertisements. PACE SCIENCE NEWS PROBE INTO ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE OUR understanding of the universe is about to be enlightened by a “In particular we plan to use VISTA to help us solve the mystery of British University research group project funded by the DTI, the stars and galaxies that shine brightly in X-rays, and which will be looked Wellcome Trust, and the Higher Education Funding Council for at using a major new X-ray telescope (XMM) which has substantial England’s “Joint Infrastructure Fund” (JIF) initiative. Leicester involvement. XMM is scheduled for launch mid-December this A world-leading “survey” telescope capable of mapping huge areas of year.” the sky to great depth will be built as a national facility by an 18 strong The project comes under the Government’s Particle Physics and university consortium, including Leicester, and led by Dr Jim Emerson of Astronomy Research Council’s (PPARC) remit. The Joint Infrastructure Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. Fund (JIF), a partnership initiative between the DTI, the Wellcome Trust The 4 metre telescope, known as VISTA (Visible and Infrared Survey and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, is designed to Telescope for Astronomy) will produce “atlases” of the sky in the optical enable UK universities to invest in new facilities and equipment which and infrared wavelength using instruments a hundred times more underpin basic research projects to ensure British Universities remain at sensitive than anything available in the world. Sited high in the Chilean the forefront of international scientific research. Andes, the VISTA telescope’s sky atlases will provide the most advanced • Astronomy provides industrial benefits, see page 16. source of reference from which in-depth studies of specific astronomical objects can be made. Dr Emerson commented, “VISTA will be an outstandingly powerful tool for British astronomy. The whole astronomical community is delighted with this decision”. Dr Emerson added, “Many of the questions that astronomers world-wide are trying to answer, like how did stars and galaxies form, cannot be tackled by optical surveys since stars are born in clouds of gas and dust which are largely opaque to optical light, but not to infrared. This is where VISTA will conduct ground-breaking surveys and literally shed new light on those key ‘origin questions’”. He added: “VISTA will provide the equivalent of both Ordnance Survey maps and a Census for the southern skies. Its large diameter and wide angle of view will allow it to quickly survey large areas of sky for very faint and very red objects”. Leicester University is a member of the VISTA consortium and is represented by Professor Martin Ward of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Professor Ward said: “VISTA will be one of the UK’s most important astronomy BIG LEAGUE: Professor Ward, right, with astronaut Dr Jeff Hoffman, said VISTA projects over the next few years, and will confirm the position of UK’s will be one of the most important astronomy projects. the UK in the international big league in our effort to understand the Universe. SPACE BEAGLE IS PRIZE ATTRACTION AT FLOWER SHOW BEAGLE 2 has helped land a first prize, and walked away with a gold medal, not at Crufts but at the Chelsea Flower Show. Part of the Hadlow College Hydroponics Display, Mars – the Planted Planet, Beagle 2 is in reality a lander to be incorporated in the future Mars Express Mission. The European Space Agency’s mission to Mars involves experts from Leicester University and the Open University who plan to put a probe on the spacecraft to hunt for life on the planet. The Leicester University scientists, led by Dr Mark Sims, are part of a consortium, headed by Professor Colin Pillinger of the Open University, that includes industrialists and research institutions. The winning horticultural exhibit relates to future techniques for feeding manned expeditions to Mars, as Dr Sims explained: “Manned expeditions to Mars will eventually want to produce food on the surface to save having to carry it to the planet. Understanding the surface properties and chemistry is therefore essential before trying to grow plants. Beagle 2 will provide valuable data for such future applications. We will admit however it’s a pretty unusual prize for a space project to “win”. Congratulations should however really go to Hadlow College whose exhibit won, Beagle 2 was only a minor part in a larger display” Professor Colin Pillinger, of the Open University, said: “The Hadlow College stand won the Gold Medal and Certificate from the Royal Horticultural Society. We were a small part of their stand and therefore enjoy the reflected glory. “The stand displayed the hydroponics growing system. This is where planting occurs not in soil but in a sterile silicate wool, called rock wool. The plant is then fed nutrients and, as a byproduct, also releases oxygen. “Hydroponic plants have already been grown on the Mir space station so this is not the stuff of science fiction. When manned missions to Mars come to fruition in, say, 25 years time, hydroponics plant systems will be needed to grow items like tomatoes, peppers and lettuces.” Professor Pillinger said the stand attracted tremendous interest from visitors as well as journalists from around the world. 7 NEWS FOCUS ON STUDENTS VOLUNTEER TO HELP COMMUNITY is brilliant – it’s doing so well. Hopefully, with extra cash, it will carry on STUDENTS at the University have shown that there is more to life than getting even better.” books and beer by spending their free time volunteering to work on a All volunteers from Contact are required to obtain references before wide range of community projects. they are permitted to take part in the programmes. This year’s activities During the academic year, 140 students have worked on schemes have been extended to include Leicestershire Enablement Project, including helping youngsters with which is funded by the National disabilities, the elderly and the Lottery, and aims to place homeless, through their organisation volunteers in projects that are Contact -Student Community related to their careers and to give Action, which is based on the work experience. Help has also been campus. given to three hospitals. Financial support has been given The students also have the regularly by the Everard Foundation opportunity to work at South Lodge and on 14 May trustee Mr Richard Day Centre for adults with learning Everard presented this year’s disabilities, and with Son Rise which Foundation Award to the group. helps autistic children by working “Thanks to this funding Contact with them on a one-to-one basis. has been able to successfully set up “We have an application pending to and run SCAMP (the Student the Government Millennium Community Action Mobility Volunteers’ Scheme to try and obtain Playgroup),” explained this year’s funding for a full time worker for president Diana Berry, a final year GENEROUS SUPPORT: Richard Evera rd with representatives of the University, Contact,” said Diana. Chemistry student. Students’ Union and Contact presents the chequ e. “If we are successful, Contact “This project took a lot of S.C.A. will be able to greatly increase organisation and is the first weekly the number of students contributing to the community, through better University-based venture to be run entirely by members of Contact. It is publicity, longer office opening hours, more projects and increased levels held each Sunday afternoon providing sports activities children with of student support. disabilities.” “Currently we have far more positions available.” Mr Everard pledged to double the Everard Foundation Community Award from £500 this year to £1,000 next year. He said: “Contact S.C.A. LEICESTER UNIVERSITY CAREERS WEEK THE Careers Service is once again running its annual Careers Week – a series of activities designed to provide practical help for students thinking about their futures after university. Careers Week this year will take place from Thursday 17 June until Friday 25 June. The centrepiece as usual is the Leicester Careers Fair in the Sports Hall, Charles Wilson Building on Tuesday 22 June. Employers already booked to attend include Arthur Andersen, the Arcadia Group, Deloitte and Touche, Marconi Electronic Systems, the Inland Revenue, Sun Life and the NHS. Many of these are still recruiting so final year students should be encouraged to attend with their CVs. The Chartered Institutes of Management, Marketing and Purchasing and Supply are amongst the professional organisations represented. There are also a number of voluntary bodies, including the Community Service Volunteers and the Leicester Volunteer Centre, and several representatives from the University ready to deal with enquiries about postgraduate courses and opportunities in teaching, library and social work. A new feature this year is a package of workshops dealing with Work Experience, run in collaboration with the Students’ Union and the Student Employment Centre. This is aimed at first year students and includes sessions on how to obtain voluntary work experience, earning money and enhancing your CV at the same time, and how to get the most out of work experience. There will be contributions to this programme from a number of outside organisations, including Marks and Spencer. Finally, the other events in Careers Week include Writing Effective CVs, Postgraduate Study, Mature students, Assertiveness Skills, A Degree – What Next? and Powerful Presentations. There will also be two insight days – into Accountancy and IT – run by local employers. All these sessions are open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students, from any year or discipline. Martin Pennington HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICATIONS STAY ON COURSE EDUCATION and Employment Minister Baroness Blackstone has welcomed the latest UCAS figures showing an increase in the number of young people applying to enter higher education in 1999. The latest UCAS figures, up from 283,876 last year to 284,121 this, for those applicants aged under 21, show a similar picture to those released in January. 8 Baroness Blackstone said: “These figures clearly demonstrate the continuing strong demand that exists for higher education and that the reforms we introduced to provide proper funding and allow for the expansion of higher education were right. These have allowed us to provide an additional 36,000 places in higher education for this October compared to those available last year.” STUDENTS NEWS STUDENTS SHAPE YOUNG PEOPLE’S ROLES IN NEW MILLENNIUM British Red Cross Youth Forum, a charity called Changemakers and a volunteer bureau currently piloting the Millennium Volunteers structure. “The aim was to discuss the idea of a Youth Forum, consisting of representatives of the 16-24 age group which the project is aimed at, to advise and to be consulted by the Millennium Volunteers section of the Department of Education and Employment. “We had to decide STUDENTS from Leicester are involved in a whether such a forum Government initiative to ensure young people should exist, what its play an active part in their communities in the structure and new Millennium. membership, role, Millennium Volunteers is a £40 million responsibilities and place project to get 16-24 year olds to not only in the existing Millennium participate in, but run, projects in their Volunteers administration communities. should be.” Now two University students have joined Rachel added: “We the ‘think-tank’ to discuss the Youth Forum were privileged to be and its role in the Millennium Volunteers invited to take part in scheme. what was a very equal Second-year Law and French VISION: Clare, left, and Rachel have joined a ‘think tank’ to discuss the role exchange of opinions and undergraduate Clare Costello, from of Youth in the new Millennium. ideas. The outcome of the Macclesfield, Cheshire, and final-year Geography meeting was very positive and undergraduate Rachel Pack, from Welwyn, Hertfordshire, are active indicated an enthusiasm for such a forum. Our ideas will be presented to members of the University’s Student Community Action Group, Contact Margaret Hodge and the Millennium Volunteers advisory group on the which is involved in a range of projects which link students with 13th July.” communities. Clare said: “Due to our work with Contact, we were recommended • Leicester University’s Contact S.C.A. has submitted a bid to the by the director of Student Community Action and subsequently asked by Millennium Volunteers project for funding to employ a sabbatical the DfEE to a meeting attended by 12 people, held at The Davenant worker to develop the Association, the projects that they run and Centre, Tower Hamlets. “Among those who attended were two civil therefore the links which students have with the local community. servants from the Millennium They will know whether or not they have been successful following Volunteers Unit, representatives of the British Youth Council, the announcements by the minister, Margaret Hodge, at the end of June. BLUNKETT CALLS FOR MORE WORK EXPERIENCE FOR UNDERGRADUATES SECRETARY of State for Education and Employment, David Blunkett, has called upon universities to provide a minimum period of work experience for each and every student. Speaking at Exeter University he said: “The UK can pride itself on having the lowest levels of unemployment in newly qualified graduates in Europe. More can and must be done however to equip students to meet the needs of employers and to reach the full potential of every student.” Mr Blunkett outlined a list of measures to help achieve this: • a minimum period of work experience for every student; • a requirement that every student should undertake a study module giving them insight into the world of work; • extension of the new enterprise centres being established by the Office of Science and Technology; • piloting a sector specific graduate apprenticeship approach integrating higher level study with work based learning; • improved information for students in making their choice of subject and university. • More Student News, page 24. INDUCTION COURSE FOR STUDENTS AS part of its commitment to widening participation, the University will be running an induction course in July for Leicestershire students who have firmly accepted offers from the University. The target group will be students who have no family history of participating in higher education. The purpose of the course is to prepare students for learning in higher education by introducing them to practical strategies for learning and sources of help available. It aims to increase the confidence of students and ease the transition into University. Students attending the course will be encouraged to focus on the skills they can bring to University whilst developing their awareness of the challenges of learning in a higher education environment. The course is expected to attract over 60 pre-entry undergraduates and is due to take place on the 21 July. The day is being co-ordinated by the Educational Development and Support Centre and will involve students in formal lectures, seminars and active research. In addition to developing study and time management skills, students will have the opportunity to tour the campus, explore financial issues, talk to representatives from the Students’ Union, and use library and computer facilities. This course is part of a wider package of measures aimed to help students engaged in University life and reach their full potential. Other measures include developing ‘buddying’ systems, expanding taster courses and providing students with material aimed to prepare them for their lives at University. Julie Flett 9 NEWS STUDY UNCOVERS RACIST ATTITUDES A STUDY carried out in the Midlands by a University researcher has uncovered racist attitudes among a number of social workers and school psychologists. The survey of over 100 social workers showed that disturbed black and mixed race young people are viewed as ‘troublesome’ and ‘naturally backward’. Lecturer Dr Kwame OwusuBempah,(pictured) of the University’s School of Social Work, also uncovered racism between ethnic minority groups. Dr Bempah’s research involved presenting three fictional cases of a black, mixed-race and white child with behavioural problems to a group of psychologists. In his paper, presented to the 1999 Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society held in Belfast, Dr Bempah said: “The three cases were identical but received different responses. “The mixed race child was considered to be experiencing a ‘confused identity’, which is not only wrong but extremely damaging, and the black child was considered to have low self-worth. “The received wisdom is that black children suffer identity problems and are of inferior intellect to white people.” He added: “Blaming a child for its problems on the basis of skin colour is deeply offensive and harmful.” Dr Bempah also cited literature produced by psychologists from within the ethnic minorities that contained allegedly racist attitudes. Dr Bempah said: “I wrote to the authors expressing my disgust at the racist and damaging nature of their views. “If these are the kind of views expressed by those in education, than clearly more work needs to be done in this field.” Peter Holland GRADUATE SUPPORT GROUP PROVIDES CAREER BOOST AN innovative support group aiming to help graduates aspire to their ‘dream jobs’ is proving successful at the University. The Graduate Action Group (GAG) was set up in May 1997 by Careers Advisor Mandy Weston and Careers Information Officer Annabel Blackburn to help graduates improve their employment situation by providing workshops geared at improving job search INITIATIVE: Mandy Weston, left, and skills. Annabel Blackburn are providing valuab le support for graduates. Although only 7% of last year’s graduates found themselves panel of their peers while being filmed on camcorder. The unemployed six months after graduation, some students find themselves interviewee then watches the video to get a different perspective of their under-employed in stop gap jobs for purely financial reasons. interview style. The group offers to help graduates find work in their desired The workshops are open to all graduates, not just those who have occupations by advising them on structuring CVs, career planning, studied in Leicester. Jake Fox studied architecture at Cambridge and jobsearch strategies and interview practice and techniques. UCL, and after graduating joined the dole queue. GAG members play a key role in the running of the group, with backup Moving back to Leicester, Jake visited several jobseeker clubs with no provided by Mandy and Annabel, which means that group members can luck, before visiting a GAG workshop after seeing one of the groups’ set the agenda for the meetings. posters in the University’s Career Office. Mandy explains: “Graduates can sometimes get despondent if they see “I found the workshops very useful,” said Jake. “The group took a their friends finding work whilst they are still searching. practical approach to the problems of finding work, and it was a positive “When they come to one of our workshops they realise they are not and worthwhile experience. alone and can provide mutual aid and support.” “It was good to meet other graduates in the same position as myself While the group cannot actually find jobs for the graduates, it provides and talk about the problems we were all facing. all the possible help and advice on offer to steer the graduates in the right “It can be difficult for graduates to get into the job market, because direction. employers view you as being skilled but having no experience.” The group’s aim is summed up by Annabel: “The workshops are Using the help and advice gained at the GAG meetings, Jake is now on a informal but purposeful. The group brings together graduates with a training course which, if he passes, will lead to a job with London based common aim so that they can find their ideal jobs and help each other at computer giants Logica. the same time. Peter Holland “This is not a place for people to moan about not having work. The • For anyone interested in finding out more about the group, call mood at the workshops is upbeat, proactive and positive.” 252 2005, or pop along to their wine evening at the Careers Fair As well as gaining experience and advice from the sessions, members on 22 June. also get the chance to see their interview techniques on television. The interview practice involves the participants being interviewed by a • More Graduate News, page 15. 10 NEWS AND SERVICES FROM THE CONFERENCE OFFICE • The Gilbert Murray Conference Suite at Oadby is now available for non-residential meetings and conferences during term time (see April edition of the Bulletin for details). Our rates are very competitive. For further information or to arrange a convenient time to view this first-rate facility, please call Sarah King on 0116 271 9933. • From Summer 1999 and subsequent Summers, Freemens Common or Ratcliffe Residences can be booked for groups of 50– 1000 (subject to availability). Providing an ideal base for holiday and leisure use within the city centre or for meetings centred at the main site – with full or partial catering, if required. • The Conference Office is now offering a ‘one-stop service’ for conference or event organisers using a combination of accommodation at the halls and meeting facilities on the main site. This means you only need to liaise with the Conference Office and we will, on your behalf, communicate all your requirements to other service providers in the University. This service helped to ensure the smooth and successful running of two major conferences in the University in January – the Royal Geographical Society Conference and the British Ecological Society Winter Meeting. • To avoid disappointment book your Christmas celebrations early. The Charles Wilson Building makes an excellent venue, with superb catering, professional service and unrivalled views over the city. To reserve a copy of the Christmas brochure telephone Gail Andrews on 0116 252 2212. • Watch this space for details and dates of our Summer Open Day at the Halls of Residence in Oadby. For further information on our services or for conference advice call the Conference team – Rebecca, Margaret or Sarah on 0116 271 9933. 11 NEWS UNIQUE FACILITY TO BE SHOWCASED FOR INDUSTRY A UNIQUE facility operated by Leicester geologists is aiding the search for lucrative new oil fields. Based at East Leake in Leicestershire CALLISTO (Calibration at Leicester and Insitu Tool Optimisation) offers open industry access to a test pit facility which is the most modern of its type in the world. CALLISTO helps decide the extent of an oilfield and consequently whether the cost of drilling is worthwhile. The facility will be showcased at an industry day on 10 June. Dr Mike Lovell, a Reader in Petrophysics in the Department of Geology, said the facility will allow industry to improve understanding and calibrating instruments to enable better measurements of oil/gas reserves in boreholes. It also has important applications in mineral resources and environmental waste monitoring. He added: “The only similar operation is based in Houston, Texas but it is not as advanced. The need for a European test pit formation was recognised in the 1980s, partly to satisfy the requirements of the North Sea petroleum industry but also to address the limitations of the Houston operation.” FOCUS ON HOLOCAUST THE University hosted a major public lecture by a top American history professor on “The Distinctive Nature and Meaning of the Holocaust.” Professor Steven Katz of Boston University delivered the Seventh Elchanan and Miriam Elkes Memorial Lecture on 4 May. The event has been held under the joint auspices of the Elchanan Elkes Association for Inter-community Understanding and the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust Studies within the University. Previous speakers in the series have included Professor Joel Elkes, Professor Michael Marrus and Professor Yehuda Bauer. Professor Katz has had a distinguished record at Cornell University, The National Holocaust Museum at Washington, and Boston University. He has written widely on a number of matters associated with the Holocaust – most recently ‘The Holocaust in 12 PERSPECTIVES: L-r, Professor Katz, CALLISTO utilises test calibration formations rescued from the EUROPA facility in Aberdeen which was commissioned in 1993 at a cost of more than £3m. These rock formations are probably the best characterised in the world. It follows consultation with all Oil and Service companies who were original sponsors of the EUROPA project, as well as the DTI (UK government Offshore Supplies Office). An agreement was reached between Leicester University, AEA Technology, and Reeves Technologies (East Leake) transferring ownership of the formations to Leicester University. The formations are now at the Reeves Technologies site at East Leake. The development of CALLISTO from EUROPA has been possible thanks to financial support from the DTI, Shell UK and Shell International Exploration and Production. In March 1998 twenty articulated lorries brought more than 160 tonnes of rock made up of 108 carefully machined slabs to the Leicestershire site from Scotland, taking several weeks. The installation was tricky because the formations had to be kept fully saturated through the transfer. Additionally, the order of stacking each of the blocks to ensure as near as possible uniform physical and chemical characteristics was crucial to the success of the facility. The facilities include four tanks, each containing two formations in freshwater. The formations include three sandstones, three limestones and two dolomites. All formations have 8.5 inch holes. “Reasonable access is guaranteed to third parties through the University, nominal charges for access will mean that the facility runs on a non-profit basis. The London Petrophysical Society, Aberdeen Formation Evaluation Society and the Dutch Petrophysical Society have all expressed support for the development. Historical Context’ as well as a study of Mysticism and Religious Tradition. Professor Aubrey Newman, Acting Director of the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust Studies, said: “One of the issues concerning a large number of historians is the question of the ‘uniqueness’ of the Holocaust. Has there ever been anything like it before or since. In an age when hundreds of thousands, even millions, of individuals are slaughtered it might seem irrelevant as to whether one ‘holocaust’ is bigger or smaller than the others. “Without denying the absolute revulsion with which these other massacres are rightly regarded it is a matter of some concern whether the events of 1939 to 1945 should be seen within the context of Jewish history as a whole (and therefore in a way linked to anti-Semitism - the socalled ‘Longest Hatred’) or whether they should be linked with that apparent collapse of respect for individual life which seems to have marked the twentieth century.” Mrs Sara Elkes and Professor Aubrey Newm an. NEWS NEW MOVE REFLECTS CONCERNS OVER YOUNG PEOPLE’S ‘ALIENATION’ THE Government has recently announced plans to teach citizenship in schools. This will make it compulsory for secondary pupils to take citizenship lessons. Citizenship is also to be encouraged in primary schools Leicester University’s School of Education has a Centre for Citizenship Studies which has been working with schools over the past 10 years. Professor Ken Fogelman has welcomed the new move by the Education Secretary and says that Citizenship Studies will help the development of better informed students who feel more able to understand and participate in political processes. He said there is also an attitude element to Citizenship Studies, CELEBRITY CONCERT ONE of the brightest stars in the classical music world appeared at the University in May. World renowned percussionist, Evelyn Glennie, gave a concert at the Richard Attenborough Centre for Disability and the Arts. Evelyn Glennie, who received an Honorary Degree from the University in 1997 and is an Honorary Patron of the Richard Attenborough Centre, was born in Aberdeen, where she studied timpani and percussion from the age of twelve, touring the UK and Scandinavia with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. In 1982 she entered the Royal Academy of Music in London, winning many prizes, including the Queen’s Commendation Prize for allround excellence. She went on to win the 1984 Gold Medal in the Shell/LSO Music Scholarship and in 1986 the prestigious EXCELLENCE: Evelyn Glennie return Munster Trust Scholarship, ed to the University to give a concert at the which enabled her to visit Richard Attenborough Centre. Japan to study with the marimba virtuoso Keiko Abe. She made her debut at the Wigmore Hall in 1986 and has since appeared as a soloist all over the world, including the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan. Her appearance in the 1989 Proms was the first ever solo percussion recital in the history of the Proms. encouraging students to become more involved in political life and in their communities, not simply as an activity but as part of a process where learning opportunities are identified. This reflects concerns about young people’s feelings of disenchantment and alienation from mainstream politics and their low levels of participation in elections. Professor Fogelman warned that teachers might see this as an additional burden and that the introduction of Citizenship Studies should be seen in the context of revision of the National Curriculum as a whole. WELCOME: Professor Fogelman says moves to teach citizenship in schools will lead to students becoming better informed. REPORT PROMPTS NEW ASBESTOS POLICY The Health and Safety Commission is to recommend a UK ban on the importation, supply and use of white asbestos. This decision comes after a review was undertaken by staff at the MRC’s Institute for Environment and Health and the MRC Toxicology Unit at the University. Blue and brown asbestos are already banned from use in the UK and elsewhere, but white asbestos (chrysotile) is still used, for example in manufacturing asbestos cement and friction linings. There has been pressure for some time to replace this material with substitute fibres, or to exclude fibres altogether from these products. The Health and Safety Executive asked the Institute to undertake an independent review of the alternative fibre types and report on their safety. In assessing the literature, Dr Len Levy, head of the Toxicology and Risk Assessment Group at the Institute and Dr Graham Patrick, head of the Pulmonary Toxicolgy Programme at the Toxicology Unit, took account of both toxicological and health factors. While far less potent than other types of asbestos, chrysotile can cause asbestosis and lung cancer at high exposure levels. The report compared this material with its potential substitutes, concentrating especially on the key physical and chemical properties that are likely to account for toxic properties. The dimensions of fibres is particularly relevant, as those above a certain size are not respirable and so are unlikely to penetrate deep into the lung. It is also important that substitute fibres should not readily split longitudinally, as chrysotile does, as this can lead to many more respirable fibres being produced. The Institute’s report concluded that, on available evidence, the use of chrysotile should cease in favour of the available substitutes. A European committee received the report and came to very similar conclusions, which should also result in a ban on its use for these purposes within the EU. Dr Paul Harrison, Acting Director, who led the work, said “This was a tough assignment but our bottom line was clear and we are very pleased to have had such an impact on asbestos policy in the UK and Europe.” 13 NEWS CANCER EXPERTS IN TOP-LEVEL MEETING OVER FUTURE OF RESEARCH AND TREATMENT TONY Blair held talks last month with top cancer experts to discuss ways of combating the killer disease. Professor Will Steward, (pictured) Head of the University’s Department of Oncology at Leicester Royal Infirmary, welcomed the UK prime minister’s package of support for the fight against cancer. This includes, among other initiatives, spreading good practice through the work of a Cancer Action Team; talking to cancer patients about their treatment; analysis of the effectiveness of anti-cancer drugs, urging cancer research bodies to look at how better to plan and share research and expertise. In addition, extra funding was pledged to plan for an extra 400 cancer specialists and up to 15,000 extra nurses, as well as increased spending on cancer drugs. Professor Steward said: “In the UK, cancer patients may not receive the same state-of-the art treatment as the rest of Europe and North America because we are often not funded to provide the optimal anticancer drugs. “In Leicester, despite the enormous efforts of the University and the Leicestershire Health Authority, we remain stretched in terms of providing state-of-the art drugs or conducting further research. “Unlike many other cancer research departments across the country, we are not resourced by the key cancer research charities and rely instead on Leicester University and the Health Authority for our funds. “I agree with my colleagues from across the country who met with the Prime Minister that cancer studies in the UK are seriously underfunded, and that more needs to be done to improve matters.” A total of 69,000 cancer sufferers die each year in the UK. Last year, cancer overtook heart disease as the biggest killer in this country. The government has already pledged to give £60m to reducing deaths from breast, bowel and lung cancer. RISK MANAGEMENT THE latest issue of Risk Management: an International Journal edited by Dr Martina McGuinness and Dr Martin Gill from the Scarman Centre includes a paper that argues that England needs to improve aspects of policing if it is to hold the 2006 World Cup. Stephen O’Reilly, a consultant, argues that there are dangers if the World Cup is awarded to England in 2006 because the British have not sufficiently built up intelligence about hooligans. O’Reilly sees this as a serious limitation. As Martina McGuinness notes: ‘We have to take research SALAD DAYS 14 findings like this seriously. The World Cup in England will only be a boost if we take care to manage all aspects of the event. O’Reilly offers a stern warning that we may not yet be on the right lines as far as managing disorder is concerned’. Dr Mike Rowe, lecturer in public order studies at the Scarman Centre agrees: ‘The police are good at managing disorder in the grounds but poor at building up intelligence about problems elsewhere, for example, at service stations. The problem is that other countries fare worse.’ ALUMNI GRADUATES’ REUNION 1999 WE’RE HAVING A BALL! The 1999 Reunion promises to be bigger and better then ever. It will be the perfect opportunity to meet up with friends and maybe make some new ones. This year we are offering a whole new range of things to do throughout the day and evening on Saturday 18 September. Morning Activities Annual Meeting of Convocation, with the opportunity to see and hear the new Vice-Chancellor (Professor Robert Burgess). The chance to relax afterwards with a buffet lunch and a string quartet. (AGM lunch £12.95 per person). Afternoon Activities Get your brain in gear for the ‘Universally Challenged’ pub-quiz with big prize money (£100) in the Redfearn Bar at 2.30 pm. Alternatively you could bring your kit along for a 5-aside football tournament at the Manor Road sports ground. We are looking for teams of graduates and academics to battle it out! KEEP BULLETIN ON TARGET University sections are requested to inform the Press and Publications Office (0116 252 2415) of any change in the number of Bulletin copies required. Please remember to include in any revised total the appropriate number of copies for clerical/technical staff. You can also take a trip to the stars in the University’s Planetarium.There are two visits in the afternoon – 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm. Book now – as it’s free and there are only 22 places available on each session. On the other hand you could join up with friends and spend hours chatting over a cappuccino in Leicester’s coffee bars. Or you could visit Leicester’s museums and art galleries (details of what’s on will be available on the day) Evening Activities The Dinner-Dance at Beaumont Hall is a chance to unwind, with good conversation, good food and fine wine. Jack Birkenshaw will be the afterdinner speaker. Then you can swing the night away to the sounds of a live ‘60s’ band and a disco. (Dinner-Dance £30 per person). Alternatively, if you prefer something more energetic, the Reunion Ball held in the Students’ Union could be for you. We’ll have a Beatles tribute band, casino, fortune-tellers, balloon modellers, a caricaturist and much more. (Reunion Ball £10 per person). Accommodation A room in Beaumont Halls with full English breakfast will cost just £21.74 per person (£27.61 for en-suite). If you prefer self-catering a room in Putney Road will cost just £13.50 per person. We are hoping to make this a reunion to remember. So don’t miss out! For further details and a booking form please contact: Carl Iszatt, Alumni Office, Leicester University, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH (0116 252 2931, Email: [email protected]). DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE TO VISIT LEICESTER The Rt Hon Michael Jack, MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, will be at the University on 16 June, to visit (with ProVice-Chancellor Professor John Beeby) the Department of Economics, the Space Centre, and the Medical School. ACCOLADE: The Vice-Chancellor, Dr Kenneth Edwards, is pictured above after a ceremony in May in Romania at the Universitatea ‘Babes-Bolyai’ Cluj-Napoca, when he received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa, the University’s highest distinction. 15 BUSINESS Business Bulletin examines some of the main business stories from the University, and is compiled each month by LUCENT and Press & Publications Office. Any stories or ideas should be sent to LUCENT. (ext 2696, email: [email protected]). ASTRONOMY PROVIDES INDUSTRIAL BENEFITS SPACE scientists at Leicester are using sophisticated techniques for studying distant galaxies to help advance work in areas as diverse as forensic science and the food industry. They have achieved a new breakthrough in X-ray technology with the use of a novel laboratory instrument which they plan to develop. Now researchers at the University’s Space Research Centre say the latest innovation could bring benefits to a wide range of disciplines including archaeology, forensic science, geology, the food and car industries and silicon chip production. Dr George Fraser, Reader in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is leading the project which is backed by a £500,000 grant from the Engineering and Physcial Sciences Research Council. He said the University would develop the new instrument – an Imaging X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer – in partnership with Gresham Scientific Instruments of Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Said Dr Fraser: “X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry is a nondestructive chemical analysis technique widely used in science and industry. An intense primary beam of X-rays shines on the test sample (a piece of rock, say, or a silicon wafer) and excites secondary fluorescent X-rays from the sample’s surface. “These secondary X-rays have energies which are specific to the chemical elements present in the sample. Thus, measuring the emitted Xray spectrum tells you what chemical elements are present in the sample – in other words, what the sample’s made of.” Dr Fraser said the latest innovation took established practice further because it provided a clearer picture of the sample being analysed: “Conventional XRF spectrometers are non-imaging – that is, they indicate what elements are present and in what proportions, but give no information on how those elements are distributed across the sample surface. “The new Leicester instrument, however, will use a microchannel plate (MCP) X-ray lens to produce an image of the X-ray emitting ranging : Dr George Fraser (right) is finding wideSCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS Science Mr for ter Minis then with ed pictur is ch. He earthbound applications for space resear Space Research Centre. the of ng openi l forma the of ion John Battle on the occas 16 sample on a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) detector. Thus, in the case of the silicon wafer, one can not only detect small impurity particles but also say where on the wafer the particles are located.” The new laboratory instrument should take about two years to build and a further year to test with a large variety of samples. At the end of that time, the Leicester researchers are hopeful that a commercial version can be built and marketed. TECHNOLOGICAL EXPERTISE Both the technologies at the heart of the new instrument have been developed over many years as part of the Space Research Centre’s laboratory programme. The MCP lenses have been developed in collaboration with companies in the United States and France, while the CCD detectors were originally fabricated by EEV Ltd. (Chelmsford) for the Leicester-led EPIC experiment on the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) XMM observatory, which is due for launch in January, 2000. The combination of MCP optic and CCD detector together made its debut last year in an Imaging X-ray Spectrometer studied at Leicester for the ESA SMART-1 satellite mission. Here, the “primary X-ray source” was the Sun and the “sample” was a near-Earth asteroid! The Space Research Centre at Leicester University is part of the £46m National Space Science Centre, the Landmark Millennium Project for the East Midlands. Leicester University is a principal participant in the project. FACTFILE This latest innovation at Leicester University is not the first time highflying research has had earthbound applications. Space science has contributed more than the oft-quoted non-stick frying pan: • Pot noodles were invented for astronauts! • Intelligent Robotics with sensors, used by surgeons and on production lines have been improved with the technology from space shuttles. • The robotical Mars rover that was used in the Pathfinder mission to mars is now being marketed as a toy! • A material called Nitinol designed for aerospace needs is now used in special Dental braces. • Fire-fighters now wear protective garments and smaller, less cumbersome breathing apparatus designed by the Johnson space centre. • Scratch resistant plastic glasses are protected with the abrasionresistant coating used on aerospace equipment. • Doctors can now measure body temperature in one second by looking in your ear, by using an infrared ear thermometer. This utilises technology used in Infrared astronomical satellites! • Communications satellites circling the Earth at distances of 40,000 km have revolutionised international telephone and TV broadcasting systems. • Orbiting cameras image the clouds, land and sea, allowing hugely improved weather forecasting and environmental monitoring. • Transmissions from navigation satellites allow positions on Earth to be pin-pointed with uncanny accuracy. • Space instrumentation technology is also used in other scientific disciplines in laboratories here on Earth. For example, Leicester’s Xray detector technology, developed for studying distant galaxies, is being used in cancer research. CHECK IT OUT! All issues of Bulletin from January 1997 to date are accessible via the following web address: http://www.le.ac.uk/press/bulletin/ BUSINESS EUROPEAN DECISION FUELS PROSPECT OF MISSION TO MARS ONE of the great unsolved mysteries of space – whether or not there is, or has ever been, life on Mars – took a major step towards being unravelled following a decision by European governments. Ministers last month agreed a five-year space budget which should pave the way to send a probe to the red planet in 2003. The European Space Agency’s Mars Express Mission includes a project led by the Open University and Leicester University along with a range of industrial collaborators. Their aim is to put a probe, called Beagle 2, on the spacecraft to hunt for life on Mars. Director of the Leicester Space Research Centre, Professor Alan Wells, welcomed the latest move: “This is a great opportunity for UK science and the British public to be involved in a most exciting adventure at the start of the new Millennium. “The public support is huge. Our task now is to involve all interested parties, government, research councils, our universities and the wider public in the Mars Beagle mission, both as contributors and participants.” Although the UK Government has not announced whether it plans to put funds into the Beagle 2 Lander, Professor Colin Pillinger from the Open University, who heads the UK team, is hopeful that the £25 million TRADE FAIR SUCCESS AN innovative trade fair that brought together scientists and suppliers has been held by the University The first Leicester University Trade Exhibition (LUTE), held in the Medical Sciences Building, featured 22 suppliers of scientific equipment, including household names Nikon and Sanyo. LUTE’s aim, Building a Bridge between Scientists and Suppliers, caught the imagination of the guests who took advantage of the chance to catch up on all the latest technology and chat to company representatives. One delighted guest said: “I felt that the Trade Fair provided a platform for everyone in the lab to converse with the suppliers and discuss products and protocols directly relating to their work. “This isn’t always possible in the laboratory due to the limited time that the representatives have per visit. “Overall I found the exhibition a useful way of making contacts with the various companies that we regularly deal with and an enjoyable experience.” The scientists’ mood was matched by the suppliers who also heaped praise upon the event. Mr Russell Herbert, Area Sales Manager of Advanced Biotechnologies Ltd, said: “I thought it was a great success and very well organised for both exhibitors and delegates alike. ra Birch (Chemistry), Ila Patel (Genetics), Barba TEAM EFFORT: From left, John Bates l Carter (Surgery). Not pictured, Rache es); Servic edical (Biom Travis (Biochemistry); Colin Anne Abbott (CMHT). needed can be found. Professor Wells said: “The situation with Beagle is very delicately balanced. The prospects are good for funding and UK support for Beagle is very much enhanced by the approval by ministers of Mars Express. “The design of Mars Express includes all necessary provisions for the Beagle lander. Also the Mars Express prime contractor, Matra Marconi Space, (Toulouse) has recently reviewed the Beagle design with the Leicester-Open University-industry team and have declared themselves well satisfied on all the technical issues. “So we have got over two main hurdles, political and technical. The third, and last, hurdle to clear for go-ahead is to gather together the various sources of funding needed to complete the lander project. Some sources are already committed; others are in advanced stages of discussion and negotiation. Procedures are in place for these negotiations to be drawn to a conclusion over the next 4-6 weeks. We have every reason to be optimistic, especially given the wonderful and imaginative outcome from the ESA Ministers meeting in Brussels.” Professor Wells said work would progress to complete the design of the lander in time for the ESA review of the project later this year. A model of the lander was recently shown to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh when he visited the Space Research Centre. Among those backing Beagle 2 are pop stars Blur. “It was the attention to detail such as the mini booklet given out and extensive advertising that made it possibly the best trade show for companies that I have attended in this country.” LUTE was organised by a small working party after a suggestion by the Laboratory Managers’ Group in January 1998, and aims to promote the benefits of using a smaller number of suppliers. The organising team consisted of Anne Abblott (CMHT), John Bates (Chemistry), Barbara Birch (Biochemistry), Rachel Carter (Surgery), Ila Patel (Genetics) and Colin Travis (Biomedical Services). At present the University buys a wide range of scientific equipment from a large number of different suppliers. It is hoped that a reduction of suppliers will prove more cost effective, and will cut down on the amount of paperwork and administration needed. Such was the success of the event, held on 24 March, that plans are being laid for future trade exhibitions. Peter Holland Security Journal THE Security Journal, which is published and co-edited by staff at the Scarman Centre, includes new insights into controlling crime. Professor Maurice Punch notes that the business world creates opportunities and pressures for staff, often senior managers, to break the law. One of the main facilitators of this problem is managerial weakness. Punch contends ‘I hold management as primarily responsible for levels and forms of crime within the firm’. Read Hayes has undertaken research into shop theft and finds that there are a range of strategies that can be employed to tackles thieves, and they are based on understanding offenders’ motives. In other papers Gregory Coram outlines the difficulties for businesses disrupted by demonstrations by activists and suggests ways that the damage can be limited by liaison with the police. Matthew Robinson and Alex del Carmen look at how the strategy of downsizing is having a negative impact on tackling crime, while Alice Maree looks at how bank robbery can be prevented by understanding how robbers carry out their offences. 17 ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENTS IN THE REGION ARTSTOP TAKE TIME OUT Guest Editor, Peter Holland, a Charles Keene College student on work experience with the Press Office, highlights Open Air Festivals, Events and Exhibitions in tune with nature. THE GREEN GREEN GRASS OF HOME: Scenes from Childhood by Sara Robertson. FLOWERING OF ART: Touch Me Here by Claire Proctor, and Flower Jar by Sara Peterson. PASSIONATE ETCHINGS: Love Nest by Richard Creed – one of the drawings in Lines of Desire, an exhibition at Leicester’s City Gallery until 26 June, celebrating the tradition of drawing as the main creative tool for all modes of visual thought. STAR WARS FINALE, LI SPECTACULAR The grounds of De Montfort Hall pr exciting evening on Thursday 22 July Orchestra, with A guest conductor, p programme. And at Leicester U DIG THAT ART The underlying significance of gardens is explored in Green Fingers, the latest of the City Gallery’s themed summer shows. Featuring paintings, sculpture, textiles and photography by national and regional artists, this interactive exhibition (admission free) runs from 2 July to 21 August, Tuesdays to Fridays (11-6) and Saturdays (10-5). HEAVENLY VOICES A choral pot-pourri is promised on 26 June when Cantamici, led by founder and conductor, Phillip Gilbert, perform a programme of sacred and secular works by Brahms, Bruckner, Randall Thompson and Copland, together with William Mathias’s Shakespeare Songs and Vaughan Williams’s English Folksongs – just one of the concerts in the current programme organised by the University’s Music Department. The performance is in the Fraser Noble Building, London Road, and tickets cost £6, £4 concessions, £2 students/under-18s. Deep in rural Leicestershire on the evening of Wednesday 23 June, with a programme celebrating summer, are the University’s Proteus Chamber Orchestra and Choral Society and singers. The proceeds of the concert go to charity. For full details, phone the Music Department on 0116 252 2781. BARD IN THE GARDEN In the De Montfort Hall gardens, the first Leicester Shakespeare Festival features Hamlet and As You Like It performed by the critically-acclaimed R J Williamson Shakespeare Company – Britain’s largest touring open air Shakespeare Company. So why not bring along a picnic, and enjoy the work of the playwright of the Millennium? The Festival runs from 6-18 July and performances start at 7.30pm. Contact De Montfort Hall Box Office on 0116 2333111 for ticket details. SCENIC BACKDROP: Leicester University students performing As You Like It, set in De Montfort Hall’s gardens. 18 OUT TO RAISE FUNDS The Malcolm Sargent Concert H formed in 1997 as a result of an idea Constantine, is holding fund raising a garden setting on Sunday 20 June a pm at 96 Coventry Road, Narborough, Leicestershire, when Adam Summerhayes and a Bardi Orchestra ensemble will play Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Tickets are £10. Andrew had long been seeking a home for the Bardi Orchestra, but recognised the need for a community venue which could supply the need Leicester and the County. The Tr community at large to promote, i education in an appreciation of m by the provision and use of a conc Present efforts are aimed toward study in advance of a lottery fund Peter, has agreed to support the • For further details of the fun ring Jim Roberts, Museum Studie TIME FOR A CHANGE ARTSTOP Leicester University students will be performing Mark Rayner’s criticallyacclaimed Savage Banquet in the Attenborough Building at 7.30 pm on 14, 15 and 16 June. This LUT production is a powerful drama, set in the period just after the Allies have liberated France in World War II. Tickets (£3) on the door. CHURCH MUSIC An idyllic setting of a church, gardens and orangery complements the music of Mozart and Pergolesi at two concerts by Fiori Musicali, the Northampton-based purveyors of fine baroque music, on 24 and 25 July at St Mary Magdalene Church, Castle Ashby, Northampton, commencing at 7.30 pm on Saturday and 5 pm on Sunday. To book, ring 01327 361380 (tickets cost £12, concessions £9). • Visit Fiori Musicali’s web site – www. fiori-musicali.com to find out more about this group whose summer venues include many splendid historic houses and churches in and around Northamptonshire. SIREN’S SONGS GHT AND LASER rovide an outdoor setting for a y, when the Philharmonia Andrew Constantine as perform an exciting drew Constantine, a former student niversity, is well-known locally as the conductor of the Bardi Orchestra. Box Office: 0116 233 3111. For a night of superlative fun and close harmony with a skilfully crafted blend of wit, don’t miss Fascinating Aida at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre on Sunday 27 June. The girls are embarking on a national UK tour following on from their West End success earlier this year. Call 0121 236 4455 for ticket details. MUSIC ON CAMPUS An Open Air Concert by the University’s Proteus Chamber Orchestra at lunchtime on 23 June will be held in front of the University Library (weather permitting!). Anthony Pither conducts. CLASSICAL KIDS Join local youngsters for two colourful, lively evenings of music, songs, dancing and narration at the Leicestershire and Leicester Arts in Education Summer Festival, held at De Montfort Hall on 21-22 June. The Festival features, amongst others, the Leicestershire Schools Boys’ Choir, the Soar Valley Music Centre Senior Orchestra and the Birstall Brass Ensemble (Box Office: 0116 233 3111). Hall Trust, a by Andrew g concert in at 7.30 ds of music and other arts groups in rust exists for the benefit of the mprove, develop and maintain usic and other arts in all its aspects cert hall and rehearsal rooms. ds raising money for a feasibility d bid. Sir Malcolm Sargent’s son, e venture. nd raising concert and the Trust, es Department, on 0116 252 3961. ALREADY OUT! Leicester Festivals 1999 is a guide to a variety of culturally diverse events taking place across the city this year. Listed is Belgrave Mela (26 to 27 June) – an extravaganza of music and dance together with ethnic crafts, eastern clothes and exotic foods, and the multicultural Dharmic Mela (24 July) on Victoria Park. For more information, call the Festivals Unit on 0116 254 9922. BOTTOM’S OUT Celebrate midsummer at an open air performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the sumptuous grounds of Tolethorpe Hall, Stamford. The performance on 21 June, which promises “the most remarkable Bottom yet to grace the boards”, is a charity gala night in aid of the Sargent Cancer Fund. For further details of this and other Tolethorpe summer performances, call 01780 754381. • Sir Malcom Sargent taught music at Leicester’s University College early in his career. 19 INTERNATIONAL FOCUS BEDOUIN TRADITIONAL LIFE PRESERVED International Focus provides stories with an international dimension. Any stories or ideas should be sent to Jane Pearson, Press and Publications Office, ext 2440, fax 2485, e-mail: [email protected] Marianne Edwards, one of the PhD researchers, explained the role she and fellow PhD student Kevin Tansey have been playing: “I have been looking at the spatial THE Leicester University Department of and temporal dynamics of Geography has for some years been participating vegetation in the Badia using in a research project which will play an satellite data. We monitored this important part in a Jordanian Government data for two years and then, using mission to preserve the life-style of the nomadic a field visit to Jordan, we looked at FRUITFUL DISCUSSIONS: Memb Bedouin tribes. ers of the Jordanian delegation with the way in which data on the Unive rsity representatives. Eighty per cent of Jordan is Badia, a classical ground corresponds with the satellite Arabic word meaning “arid land”. This is where the Bedouin data. That way we can monitor how it has changed over two years. We traditionally roam, using the less inhospitable desert areas as grazing for screened the vegetation after the winter rainfall, so that the Bedouin can their herds. see which areas were green at which periods, and therefore they can The Jordanian Badia Research Development Programme started in travel round to them in turn.” 1992 as a joint Jordanian-British initiative, prompted by HRH Crown The results have now been sent off to be added to other Prince Hassan of Jordan and the Duke of Kent, also involving the data, and the next step is for researchers to analyse all the Royal Geographical Society and the Jordanian Higher Council of different findings to get a general picture on how to protect Science & Technology. grazing land. The Programme, which covers 12,000 sq kms and Marianne enjoyed her field trips. “We went off in the Land Rover includes 34 villages with a total population of and pitched our tents in the desert. We were there in spring and approxcimately 16,000, has moved into a research autumn, so it was cold at night when we had to go out to collect centre built by the British in the 1930s and 40s in the night-time data. North-east of Jordan. Currently employing 25 people, “The people we met were wonderful and very hospitable. mainly Bedouin from throughout Jordan, it is about They live in a very barren landscape. It’s amazing, the to become a national centre for the development of emptiness in the north-east part of Jordan. There are very few the Badia and is affiliated to the Higher Council for villages. It’s like a moonscape, rocky, with wide black basalt Education & Science. plains in the north-east and mud flats where Bedouin shepherds The project is now at the Research and Development move across with their goats and camels. phase, and is actively involving assessment, evaluation and potential of “While we were doing our field work we were welcomed by Bedouin resources in the Badia. It aims to work towards the sustainable tribesmen and were invited into their tents for sweet tea. Usually we had development of the Badia regions, with the Bedouin making the choices a driver with us, who could interpret, and the Bedouin themselves spoke and the Higher Council for Education and Science supporting them a bit of English.” Speaking at the RGIS-IBG Annual Conference held at the University in “For me, the application of science to combat over-grazing and January, HH Sharif Zein bint Nasser, who led a delegation to the desertification was one of the attractions of this project.” Conference, explained: “We are concerned about the changes that development of the Badia might bring to the Bedouin. Jordanian Bedouin are the last to remain in Arabia, so it is important that they should share in any development that takes place.” “The Badia has suffered from its people’s migration to the cities. Now they are beginning to come back. The Programme is mapping population movement to show the dynamic status of the population. The aim is to preserve the essence of their traditional lifestyle in a 20th-century context.” The passion the Bedouin tribes have for the Badia is very strong, and those who move to cities tend to retain cultural and traditional links with the Badia. Leicester University’s involvement in the Programme is in the use of remote sensing to look at the potential for growing crops in the desert, investigating soil moisture, land use, vegetation trends and how to map that information. The Badia is one part of a wider research project in the Geography Department on remote sensing. Leicester is one of several UK universities to be involved in the programme, including the University of Durham, whose Geographic Information System the Leicester researchers use. Leicester’s role began in 1992-3 when Professor Andrew Millington – acclaimed by his Jordanian partners as “very much the inspiration and co-ordination” saw the potential to the Badia Programme of radar imagery from the European Space Agency. As a result he was able to fund two PhD students and one Post Doctoral student to carry out research. It is their results which, back in Jordan, form the basis for decision-making on the Badia. 20 VALUED LEICESTER EXPERTISE AT CONFERENCE TWO members of the School of Education were keynote speakers at an international conference held in Hong Kong. Dr Martin Cortazzi and Dr Peter Martin addressed the conference on Language in Education in Post-Colonial Societies. Dr Angel Lin, conference co-ordinator from City University of Hong Kong, said: “In response to the great community need to further understand and explore issues related to the medium of instruction in Hong Kong schools, the Centre for English Language Education and Communication Research organised the conference. “Featured international speakers included language educational experts from Malaysia, Brunei, Belgium and the UK. Our local guests and discussants included deputy education directors and principal education officers of the education department as well as local language educational researchers/scholars from a broad range of educational institutes and universities in Hong Kong.” INTERNATIONAL FOCUS SOUTH AFRICAN SUCCESS SENIOR South African politicians from the Department of Safety and Security within the Free State Provisional Government recently visited the University to gain an overview of current UK thinking about policing and criminal justice. The Scarman Centre for the Study of Public Order hosted the visit, which was funded by the British Council and the Department for International Development. The party included the Provisional Minister for Safety and Security, Ms Annah Buthelezi-Phori. Programme organiser, Kate Broadhurst of the Scarman Centre, explained: “With the recent images we have seen of police brutality in South Africa, the country clearly still faces enormous challenges, but having met such senior policy makers who are strongly committed to change. I believe that there is every reason to feel hope for the future in South Africa”. During the two-week programme the delegates received training on subjects such as community policing, youth crime and domestic violence and lectures were backed up by visits to various projects in Leicester and other cities designed to prevent and reduce crime. Another highlight of the programme was a three-day visit to London which included discussions with officers in the Racial and Violent Crime Task Force at New Scotland Yard; talks with the Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority; a meeting with Home Office Minister, Paul Boateng in the House of Commons and a visit to the Cabinet Office to meet John Bright of the Social Exclusion Unit. Commenting on the visit, Ms Buthelezi-Phori, Minister for Safety and THE EUROPEAN UNION AND TURKEY: DRIFTING APART? SINCE the end of the Cold War, Turkey’s relationship with Europe has changed. On the one side, Turkey’s strategic importance to the west has declined, whilst on the other, the European Union has forged ahead in economic and political integration. Turkey has also been experiencing domestic turbulence surrounding r, His to right: Dr Wyn Rees, Professor Jorg Mona COMING TOGETHER: Pictured left Young. John sor Profes rds, Edwa th hancellor Dr Kenne Excellency Mr Ozdem Sandberk, Vice-C TASK FORCE: Andrew Willis (front row, left) of the Scarman Centre with officers from the Charles St Police Station, Leicester, and South African politicians from the Depar tment of Safety and Security within the Free State Provis ional Government. Security, said: “This programme provided by the Scarman Centre has done a great deal to enrich our understanding of the way policing is practised in the UK and we have learnt a good deal about what constitutes good practice, which we hope may in time be implemented in South Africa”. Another member of the delegation, Mr Neo Masithela, Chairperson of the Safety and Security Committee in the Free State Legislature, added: “the programme has provided a good basis for further exchanges of good practice in policing and crime control. The challenge now is to understand how thinking in the UK can inform practice in South Africa”. the role of Islam in its society and the rights of its Kurdish minority population. The result has been a process of growing friction and recrimination between the EU and Turkey, as the latter has watched countries from Central and Eastern Europe leapfrog its own application for EU membership. These were some of the issues that provided the focus of a one-day conference at the University hosted by the Centre for European Politics and Institutions in March, attended by fifty participants from UK universities and pressure groups. The Development of EU-Turkish relations was explored during the opening session, which also introduced the main themes for the rest of the day. These included the issue of Union enlargement to include Cyprus, the development of the European Conference, the EU Turkish economic relationship and security issues pertinent to European and Turkish relations. Following words of welcome from the Vice-Chancellor Dr Kenneth Edwards, the conference was opened by His Excellency Mr Ozdem Sandberk, Turkish Ambassador to the UK. Other speakers included Professor Jorg Monar, Director of the University’s Centre for European Politics and Institutions; Professor Haluk Kabaalioglu from Mamara University; Dr Robert Hine from Nottingham University; Dr Mehmet Ugur from Greenwich University; Dr William Park from the Joint Services Command College at Bracknell; Dr James Ker-Lindsay from the Royal United Services Institute in London and independent speaker Mr David Barchard. Dr Wyn Rees of the Politics Department said: “It was widely felt that the conference has been extremely valuable and appreciation was expressed to the University Association for Contemporary European Studies for its financial assistance. It is hoped that a book may result from the conference in due course.” 21 INTERNATIONAL FOCUS SUB-ZERO DISASTER QUITE what the guests of a nearby hotel thought was happening was not absolutely clear. Roads were sealed off by the Police as dozens of fire pumps, ambulances, City Guard and utility vehicles raced to the scene. The time was 1.00 am and temperatures were sub-zero, but the operation went smoothly, and all those affected by the attack were attended to in good time. The exercise was part of a conference on underground railway safety organised by the Main School of the Fire Service in Warszawa, Poland, attended by Dr Simon Bennett of the Scarman Centre. The major disaster exercise took place in a city centre station, and simulated a poison gas attack on a crowded Metro train (actually full of student Fire Officers from the Main School). Representatives from the Tokyo Fire Department, who have direct experience of real poison gas attacks, also monitored the simulated disaster. The conference itself d. e, Warszawa, Polan View of the Main School of the Fire Servic lasted three days. On the second day Dr Bennett spoke on the King’s Cross Underground fire of 1987. His lecture, entitled ‘King’s Cross – three histories’, described the event using a simple chronological, a social and a cultural narrative. His objective was to demonstrate that disasters may be ‘constructed’ or understood in quite different ways, and that a full understanding requires that all the histories be told. FORGING FORMAL LINKS A RECENT visit by a university delegation from Taiwan, Republic of China, has paved the way for more formal collaboration between police training courses in Taiwan and at Leicester University. The Scarman Centre for the Study of Public Order recently welcomed visitors from the Central Police University, Taiwan, headed by Professor Mark Chen, Commander General of the Police Cadet Corps. The delegation came to Leicester to meet Scarman Centre staff and to see the University and its facilities, before the Centre’s Director designate, Dr Martin Gill, and Senior Lecturer Mr Andrew Willis concluded an arrangement to promote formal collaboration between the Scarman Centre and the Central Police University of Taiwan. Dr Gill commented: “We are seeking to create a unique partnership which is based on bringing together best practice in international police training with the highest level of academic expertise. This is a modest beginning but we are looking to create a formal institutional link between the Scarman Centre and the Central Police University.” Professor Yung-Ching Lee, Director of Foreign Affairs at the Central Police University, said on leaving: “We came to the UK to visit just one University – Leicester University because it is the home of the Scarman Centre. We knew it by reputation and everything we have seen and heard has confirmed our view about its status and standing. We are delighted to be moving towards a formal link between out two institutions.” The delegation had previously attended the valedictory ceremony for the International Commanders’ Programme at the Police Staff College, Bramshill, where they were met by Professor John Benyon, Director of the Scarman Centre, with Mr Andrew Willis. 22 As well as delegates from Japan, representatives from Russia, Sweden, Belgium, France and the United States of America were also present. During his tour, Dr Bennett visited the Fire Brigades of Gdynia and Gdansk on the Baltic Coast, both of which expressed an Dr Simon Bennett, Scarman Centre, talkin g to a secondinterest in the two-year year student at The Main School of the Fire Service, distance learning MSc in Risk, Warszawa, Poland. Crisis and Disaster Management offered by the Scarman Centre. The MSc currently has more than 130 students. During his stay in Warszawa, Dr Bennett lectured at the Main School of the Fire Service on defensive architecture. Following discussions with the Commandant, it was agreed that both the Main School and Scarman Centre would consider the possibility of holding a joint conference on physical hazards later in 1999 in Warszawa. Such a collaboration would promote the interests of both institutions. As always, Dr Bennett liaised with the British Council during his visit. One of the main problems with recruiting students in Poland lies in the fact that the average salary is just over £3,000 per annum. This puts the two-year MSc distance learning courses beyond the reach of most Poles. However, following an initiative by the Security Management team at the Centre, a cheaper option is now available – a twelve-month Diploma/Certificate course in Security Management. Being cheaper, this option should prove more attractive than the MSc. Dr Bennett left Poland with a heavy heart; “It’s a great place to work. The enthusiasm and determination of the staff and students of the Main School is infectious” he said. The ICP offers strategiclevel training for police officers from around the world. It leads to a University of Leicester Postgraduate Certificate, with the possibility of converting this award to a MSc in Criminal Justice and Police Management. Peter Hermitage, Director of National Police Training, presented certificates at CLOSER COLLABORATION: Dr Martin Gill, the graduation ceremony. In Director designate of the Scarman Centre, with Professor Mark his address he paid special Chen, Commander General of the Police Cadet Corps in Taiwan. tribute to Professor Benyon, who is shortly to step down as Director of the Scarman Centre. He went on to acknowledge the importance of introducing “academic standards” into police training and he commended Leicester University’s commitment to a partnership with NPT and Bramshill in the provision and accreditation of the international training course. Professor Benyon responded by saying: “The ICP offers senior police officers a unique experience, including the opportunity to explore British policing in theory and practice, to develop their approach to policing from an international perspective and to plan strategically for the future of policing in their own country.” OUT & ABOUT Bulletin is pleased to receive contributions from across the University for Out and About. Send information about what’s happening in your department/unit to Out and About, Bulletin, Press and Publications Office. email: [email protected] SERVING AS REMINDERS February’s visit to the University by Michael Smith, to give a lecture, Foley: The Spy who Saved 10,000 Jews, has been followed by the news that Foley has been recognised by Yad Vashem, the premier world institution for the study of the Holocaust, as one of ‘The Righteous of the Nations’ (Gentiles who went out of their way to rescue Jews who would otherwise have been slaughtered between 1939 and 1945). Michael Smith, a senior journalist with the Daily Telegraph, is the author of a book about Foley. He is also the author of Station X, the recent definitive history of Bletchley Park, renowned after the war as the centre where British Intelligence deciphered tens of thousands of intercepted German coded messages. This book was the basis for a very successful programme on Channel 4. It is interesting to note that three of those who worked at Bletchley Park on Ultra later came to Leicester University. Mrs Margaret Findlay, for many years before her official retirement a secretary in the History Department, served there, as did Professor Tony Fitton-Brown and [Major] Edward Rushworth, both of the Classics Department, and both still remembered in the University. Professor Aubrey Newman • See story on page 12. CONFERENCE ASSISTS CULTURAL AWARENESS HI! Following a lecture to members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences research laboratories in Kun-ming, South-West China, Dr Colin Ockleford (Pre-Clinical Sciences), was able to take an interesting ride – in return for a banana – on an Indian elephant during a visit to a Qi Gong display. The collaborative research project with which Dr Ockleford is involved necessitates a further three visits to China. He is looking forward to renewing his acquaintance with the elephant! TAKING A SUPPORTIVE ROLE Jenny McNair, secretary to Professor Seward of the University’s Department of Oncology, has been busier than usual recently. Her husband Jim, together with fellow fundraiser Tony Taylor, completed a run up and down a wet and windy Snowdon in just over two hours to raise money for the Oncology Department. Jenny was on hand to drive, assist in case of emergency, and record the event by taking photos at the finish. She was also present to encourage them at the start of their run – at 7 am one morning in May, timed so that the runners could return in time for breakfast and a shower at their Llanberis ‘B and B’! • For further details concerning donations to the Department, contact Jenny on 73-7597. CONFERENCE SUCCESS On 11 May the Scarman Centre for the Study of Public Order held its second ‘major risk’ conference, Planning and Learning from High Risk Situations. Sixty-five delegates attended the one-day event that featured speakers from all sides of the ‘risk industry’, together with lively debate. Due to its success, it is planned to hold another conference next year. Over 120 delegates contributed to lively debate following a number of impressive lectures at the Conference, Intercultural Communication, on 24 April, run by Human Communication International in conjunction with Leicester University. The Conference was opened by two Northamptonshire school students, who presented the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech by Martin Luther King. This was followed by short addresses given by the Course Director and Dr Rosemary Sage from the University’s School of Education, who is the HCI President. The first speakers, Dr Martin Cortazzi, also from the School of Education, and Dr Lixian Jin of De Montfort University conveyed the range of expectations and interpretations occuring in multi-cultural contexts, and the importance of being sensitive to other people’s conventions. After the morning talks, WORKING TOGETHER : Dr Rosemary Sage there was a presentation to those (left) and Min a Jesa, the Race Equality Officer for winning Diana, Princess of Wales North Warwickshire Hea lth Trust. Awards for Communication. Details of next year’s Conference, Communication in the Technological Age, can be obtained from Dr R Sage, School of Education. Dr Rosemary Sage 23 OUT & ABOUT CHANGE HIGHLIGHTS KOSOVO APPEAL Chris Meades and Richard Draycott, research students in the Chemistry Department, bleached their hair recently and, in the process, raised £250 for the Kosovo Emergency Appeal. The challenge developed out of an original offer of £10 if they dared to bleach their hair. Colleagues then generously offered further sponsorship money. Afterwards, Richard’s parents did not recognise him! Richard’s hair is naturally jet black so, for him, the change was more drastic than for Chris, who has naturally brown hair. INTERACTION At the Centre for Labour Market Studies, net-conferencing now enables course members from across the globe to meet together and discuss course-related issues without the need to find a video conferencing studio. Members from the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Pakistan, USA, Canada and the Caribbean recently took part in a Conference that crossed 16 time zones! On screen, the software’s ‘main chat’ window is where everything happens. It’s very easy to contribute – it is simply a case of inputting text and pressing return. The skill is in the chairing and steering of debates. One advantage over the normal face-to-face conversation is that everyone gets a chance to have their say and the lecturers have a transcript of the group’s exchanges. The latter can be a useful teaching resource. The Centre’s net conferencing software and hardware is very ‘low tech’. A small financial outlay resulted in a shareware licence, and no additional equipment has been required. Because the software is textbased, it is relatively undemanding of hardware. This means that course members with quite old computers connected to the Internet can nonetheless participate as effectively as anyone else. The software in use works on both Windows-based and Apple Macintosh computers, and an enhancing programme, NetScrawl, allows online users to view and edit a graphics window. The software also allows for the exchange of files, enabling course members to ‘upload’ their assignments, and allowing the distribution of, for example, working papers. YEAR AWAY RESULTS IN REWARDING EXPERIENCES Second-year BA English student Helen Woodland’s gap year was, in her words, “an amazing experience”. Working as a volunteer through Project Trust in an SOS Children’s Village in Zimbabwe, she was a kindergarten teacher, responsible for a youth programme which held fund raising events to finance children’s outings. She also taught swimming in the Village, which housed over 140 orphaned or abandoned children. As if this was not enough, she also managed to find time to bungi jump off the Victoria Falls bridge, experience white water rafting down the Zambezi, and hitchhiked to South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and throughout Zimbabwe. Her time there was not without incident. She broke her wrist, was mugged twice, and was involved in a car crash. “Even though it was a little difficult at times, I miss the children and the sunshine”, she says. For her achievements during this year – which also included raising £2,950 for Project Trust – she was awarded a Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. By coincidence, Gemma Cansell, in her second year of the MChem course at Leicester University, sat next to Helen in St 24 DAZZLING LOOKS: Richard Drayc ott (left) and Chris Meades brandish mone y raised for the Kosovo Emergency Appeal. Feelings of isolation among course members are reduced, and, as one course member put it: “This was my first experience of chatting with anybody from the Centre via Hotline – and it was a good experience. It gave me the feeling that I am not very far from Leicester.” It is hoped that the net-conferencing facility can be used to conduct a series of online interviews as part of a research project currently being undertaken by staff at the Centre. Dr Jason Hughes LEICESTER LINKS A recent picture in the Leicester Mercury’s Mr Leicester’s Diary brought back memories for Terry Garfield. Taken on the steps of Wyggeston Boys’ Great Hall, it showed a group of volunteer stewards at the National Union of Students’ Annual Congress, held in Leicester in the spring of 1948 – one of whom was Terry. Members of Students’ Unions from Leicester’s University College, the College of Art and Technology and the Domestic Science College helped with the Congress administration. • Terry Garfield, for many years Chief Technician in the Geography Department, was awarded the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Leicester University in 1992. He continues his involvement with the University as Programmes Secretary of the Departmental Staff Common Room Association. James’s Palace at the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Ceremony. Gemma qualified for her Gold Award shortly before arriving at University. Both now work in Leicester University’s Students’ Union Reception. FILLING THE GAP: Helen Woodland with children from Green Group. FEATURE WANTED. BAGS OF HELP FOR REFUGEES One afternoon in April, whilst helping to collect donations for the East Midlands Kosovo Appeal, Sarah Munson, a Research Assistant in the Biochemistry Department, met the Appeal Coordinator, Pawel Obszynski and his wife, Jolanta, who is a PhD student in the Centre for the Mechanisms of Human Toxicity, and from then on Sarah’s involvement snowballed. At that time, she would never have believed that two weeks later she would be travelling with one of the lorries bound for Macedonia. For Bulletin, she recounts her recent experiences... THE response from the public to the East Midlands Kosovo Appeal was overwhelming, exceeding all expectations and making the task of sorting and packing the clothes, bedding, toys and toiletries a logistical nightmare. However, with the help of an army of volunteers who turned up daily at the ‘sorting depot’ at Granby Halls, the impossible was achieved, and mountains of bursting black bin bags were converted into over 100 tonnes of packed boxes ready for shipment. Steve Walker, owner/driver of Pigeons Transport UK, had agreed to donate his time and a lorry to take one of the first loads to Skopje in Macedonia, LIGHTER MOMENT: A child gets a queueing patiently. balloon, after and I was grateful to be given the opportunity to go too, along with the coordinator, Paul. We set off from Leicester on Sunday 25 April – at that point glad of the rest after our exertions down at Granby Halls. The journey took us through Belgium, France, Switzerland and Italy, where we boarded a ferry at Ancona to Patras in Greece. It took 24 hours to cross the Adriatic. Here we saw the first signs of military operations in the form of NATO planes returning from their missions. A day’s drive through Greece brought us to the Macedonian border, situated on a motor-way, now devoid of traffic and flanked by eerily tranquil and picturesque hillsides. We had to travel in escorted convoy with 30-40 other aid lorries to Skopje, situated only 7 km from the Kosovan border. The aid was off-loaded and gratefully received at the CRS (Catholic Relief Service) depot. They are responsible for the overall management of the seven refugee camps in Macedonia, run collaboratively with 23 other aid agencies. The following day we were given a tour of the largest of these camps, designed originally to accommodate 16,000 people, but currently holding over 32,000. We anticipated scenes of squalor and misery following the TV footage we were all so familiar with, but instead were met with extremely positive images. The Kosovans themselves volunteer to work within the camp, helping to maintain a high level of organisation and, despite their dire circumstances, the people are trying to lead as normal a life as possible. Of the refugees in the camp, 75% are women and children, which was all too apparent as we wandered along the rows of tents. People are actively keeping their tents and clothes clean, with full washing lines running between the tents – a common feature. Oxfam has set up a water purification system which pumps clean water to stand points around the camp, and people queue patiently with their ration cards, entitling each of them to two oranges, two bananas, one can of fish, a litre of juice and threequarters of a loaf of bread, at one of four food PRACTICALLY FULL: Clothes, beddi ng, toiletries distribution points. even a teddy – were bound for Skopje. The field hospital is run by the German Red Cross and although at the time of our visit there were no major outbreaks of disease, the onset of summer, with temperatures set to rise above 30oC, combined with the chronic overcrowding makes this a major cause for concern. The most moving scenes were undoubtedly to be found in the children’s play area (run by the Israeli youth movement). Here, children formed snaking queues for the simplest of pleasures such as receiving a balloon, or taking their turn to draw or to skip, queuing quite happily and patiently for maybe 45 minutes. Given the HANDS-ON: Sarah Munson (left) and Jolanta trauma that all these Obszynski, Appeal volunteers. children must have suffered it is remarkable that they are coping so cheerfully with their situation. It was satisfying to see the aid through to its end point, but it will be the images encountered in the refugee camp that will stay with me for a long time to come. Sarah Munson • The East Midlands Kosovo Appeal is still in need of funds to enable it to continue to send collected aid. Donations can be forwarded to either Sarah Munson at the Department of Biochemistry (3483), or to Jolanta Obszynska, CMHT (5538). Donations should be by cheque, made payable to the East Midlands Kosovo Appeal. 25 We are looking for contributors to this section. If you wish to review the cuttings, please contact Barbara Whiteman on ext 2676. CUTTINGS WHAT THE PAPERS SAY Hundreds of cuttings pour into the Press Office at Leicester University from around the world chronicling the activities of staff and students. Marie Ellis, an English graduate from Leicester University, on work experience with the Press Office, reviews a selection of newspaper cuttings from recent weeks. A NUMBER of women from Leicester University get a mention in recent cuttings. Audrey Osler has been ‘given a chair in education at Leicester University, making her one of three black women in Britain with professorships (The Voice and The Times Educational Supplement, 2 April). Professor Osler’s expertise focuses on rights, identities, ethnicity and citizenship. Kate Bosley, who graduated with an MA in Museum Studies, has at 25 years old recently become the ‘youngest ever custodian’ of a National Trust property, which is in fact the home of the playwright George Bernard FOOTBALL FOCUS: John Williams Footall Task Force. Shaw, as reported in the St Albans Observer, 9 April. Declaring her excitement with regards to her new position, Kate states that she 26 still need help raising money (please note!). As ‘every penny raised goes to the summer school and to help care for the six children who live at the house’ – Washington Times (12 April) which contested the primacy and validity of popular culture. The 29th Annual Meeting of Popular Culture met to question whether movies are a legitimate way of learning history. Nicholas Cull, Leicester University’s Professor of American Studies, is quoted as saying, ‘If you want the story of the people, you look at what the masses are interested in’. Will we yet see the ascension of popular culture into the realms of academia; the phoenix rising from the ashes? Will the battle ever be won between academics and pop culturalists? Viva la revolution! The last Football Task Force caused strife of a different kind. It prompted the resignation of Gordon Taylor, though it is not clear whether this was due more to the contentiousness of the reports or the personable nature of the chairman David Mellor. The Guardian (17 April), in A Consumer Guide to Sport, took an in-depth look at the present Football Task Force, whose report has yet to be released. This Task Force has commissioned research from Leicester University’s Sir Norman Chester Centre. The Centre’s Director, John Williams, admits that the research shows support for a statutory policy. With Mike Lee, premiership spokesman, asserting that premiership heads will not support statutory regulation, it appears that the heads are acting in a way reminiscent of Arsenal managed under George Graham. Will commercialism remain entirely in defence or concede a winning goal? Perhaps an expert can comment? ATTENBOROUGH RETURNS TO CITY D-DAY LOOMS FOR TASK FORCE feels she ‘can bring a fresh enthusiasm and fresh eyes to the job’. And last, but not least, two medical students – namely Mary Cusack and Rachel Cottel, are spending their two-week holiday caring for disabled children in they themselves are self-financing – I feel they deserve a special mention. Students’ alternative activities also get a mention in the press, as Leicester secures fourth position in the ‘Top Uni Totty’ (FHM Magazine). However, a quick ORY RECORDING THE PEOPLE’S HIST t’s is carrying out research for the Governmen Romania (Leicester Mercury, 19 April). They glance at the Red Mole website (www.redmole.co.uk), the originators of Alternative University Ratings, shows that we have now risen to second place, close on the heels of Lancaster. Hail to our ‘mega’-babes! Leicester University experts are frequently asked to comment on subjects in the news. Dr Claire Lawrence, a public order expert from the Scarman Centre, was recently asked by the Leicester Mercury (24 April) for her comments on security following the massacre in Columbine High School. Dr Lawrence propounds the view that although many schools have security schemes such as closed-circuit TV, security doors and ID badges, it is important to have a procedure for dealing with potential threats. Schools should follow the lead given by President Clinton, who ‘has called for teaching kids within schools the ways to deal with conflict’. An article close to my own heart was that featured in the E NEW POST FOR LEGAL TRAINE CUTTINGS In April 1999 Leicester University appeared in: British Printer Nursing Times Business East Midlands Off License News Construction News PC Mart Daily Telegraph People Management Electronics Weekly Public Finance Farmers Weekly Safety Management FHM The Express History Today The Financial Times Horticulture Week The Guardian Irish Times The Independent Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics (overseas) The Independent on Sunday Local Government Chronicle The People Local Papers: Leicester Mercury/Leicester Mail The Scotsman Local Papers: others The Observer The Times M Magazine The Times Higher Education Supplement Managing Information Washington Times (overseas) Men’s Health What’s New In Building Navy News Woman Departments/Sections that hit the headlines in April 1999 (total: 115) BOOKS THE ENLARGEMENT OF EUROPE Professor Stuart Croft (Birmingham University), Professor John Redmond (Birmingham University), Dr G Wyn Rees (Department of Politics, Leicester University) and Mark Webber (Loughborough University) Manchester University Press, April 1999, £40.00 (hardback), £14.99 (paperback) Available from the Bookshop ISBN 0 07190 4770 9 (hardback), ISBN 0 7190 4971 7 (paperback) The Enlargement of Europe examines the debates surrounding the postCold War enlargement of the principal European organisations: the European Union, NATO, the Western European Union, the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. All were founded during the Cold War but since then have had to adjust to the dramatic changes that have taken place. They now face demands both to enlarge their functions and their membership to admit states from central, eastern and southern Europe. The extent and speed with which the process of enlargement will take place will be the most important factor in determining the future development of Europe. This book employs a political science approach, and is the first to analyse all the main European organisations. It focuses on three main questions: (i) is there one or several visions guiding the enlargement process? (ii) have there been separate motives for enlargement between the different organisations? and (iii) has there been a deliberate policy by Western governments to pursue a ‘cost-free expansion process? Part of the series, Political Analyses (series editors, Bill Jones and Michael Moran), and with a Foreword by Hans van den Broek, the book, which seeks to make a contribution towards the debate on international organisations at what is a critical moment in the continent’s development, will appeal to students and researchers in the fields of international relations and European studies. • Dr Wyn Rees lectures in International Relations at Leicester University. LET THE BULLETIN COVER YOUR BOOKS! • Press & Publications Office is particularly keen to maintain a record of radio/television coverage. Please email details to: [email protected] The Bulletin welcomes news of recently-published books written or edited by University staff. The book cover, together with any other relevant details, should be sent to Barbara Whiteman, Press & Publications Office (2676, ara@le). 27 BOOKS THE EARLY MODERN EUROPEAN ECONOMY Dr Peter Musgrave (Department of Economic and Social History) Macmillan Press Ltd, June 1999, £40 (hardback), £12.99 (paperback) Available from the Bookshop ISBN 0 333 66541 4 (hardback), ISBN 0 333 66542 2 (paperback) Until recently, study of the early modern economy in Europe has tended to have heroes and villains: the former being the progressive and ‘modern’ economies of the Netherlands and England, and the latter being doomed, backward and Catholic Italy and Spain. This picture has now changed quite drastically, and there is far more emphasis on the general growth of the European economy during this period. The progressive removal of the neighbouring threats to European prosperity (particularly the gradual crippling of Ottoman power) created an environment which benefited all societies and not simply the traditionally emphasised ‘Atlantic’ economies. This book, one of the series, European History in Perspective (general editor, Jeremy Black), is an invaluable aid to all students of the period, offering the most upto-date research and a thorough discussion of the different controversies that bedevil study of early modern Europe. It is appropriate both for economic historians and for social and political historians wishing to understand the essential underpinnings of the continent’s growing success. • The illustration on the book’s dust jacket is A Poulterer’s Shop by Gerrit Dou, courtesy of the National Gallery, London. THE ENGLISH TOWN 1680-1840: Government, Society and Culture Dr Rosemary Sweet (Department of Economic and Social History) Longman, June 1999, £45 (hardback), £14.99 (paperback) Available from the Bookshop ISBN 0 582 31713 4 (hardback), ISBN 0 582 31712 6 (paperback) Part of the series, Themes in British Society History (general editor, John Stevenson), the book examines the development of urban government and society and the changing nature of urban culture during the ‘long eighteenth century’. This is an up-to-date account of current understanding of the subject, whilst also making its own substantial contribution. At its heart is an authoritative account of urban politics – the structures and institutions of authority; their purpose and function; the realities of civic administration; and the general movement for reform that climaxed in the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835, set within the context of a survey of social structure and social experience in urban life of the time. Arguing that political activity in the towns was deeply rooted in local concerns, Dr Sweet also shows how far the development of extraparliamentary activity in England in 28 the period tended itself to have a specifically urban context. She also offers a valuable corrective to easy simplifications about ‘rotten boroughs’. Two welcome features are the inclusion of smaller and rural towns alongside the larger, industrialising cities; and its continuation to the aftermath of the 1835 Act, thus doing justice to the transition from the Georgian to the Victorian town, too often left under-explored. The second half of the book examines such issues as demography, social stratification, manners, religion, dissent, amenities and entertainment. Particular attention is given to the position of women in the urban context. Dr Sweet’s findings challenge the conventional idea of London’s dominant influence over the cultural life of provincial towns, and conclude that provincial urban culture, in all its variety, was a much stronger and more resilient force than has usually been supposed. Lively, crisp and cogent, The English Town 1680-1840 should become a standard introduction – for student, scholar and general reader alike – to its multifaceted subject. • Dr Sweet is also the author of The Writing of Urban Histories in Eighteenth-Century England, published in 1997 by Oxford University Press. BOOKS HOMELESS CHILDREN: Problems and Needs Edited by Professor Panos Vostanis (Division of Child Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Leicester University) and Dr Stuart Cumella (Birmingham University) Jessica Kingsley, March 1999, £15.95 (paperback) Available from the Bookshop ISBN 1 85302 595 X An increasing number of families are becoming homeless, often as a result of domestic violence, which leaves women and their school age children without homes. This multidisciplinary volume is the first to look at the variety of problems encountered by this group and to propose strategies for managing those problems. The contributors to this book provide evidence that homeless children often have more acute problems and needs than other children; as a result of the insecurity of their situation, they may experience physical health problems and developmental delay. They are also at high risk of emotional and behavioural difficulties, such as sleep disturbance; eating problems, aggression, over-activity, anxiety, depression and self-harm. At the same time, due to their unstable situation, they are less able to access support from the health, education and social services. TEMPLATE SYNTHESIS OF MACROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS Professor N V Gerbeleu and Dr Vladimir B Arion (Institute of Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova), and Dr John Burgess (Department of Chemistry, Leicester University) Wiley-VCH, April 1999, DM 278 (hardback) Available from the Bookshop ISBN 3 527 29559 3 The synthesis of macrocycles is an art, with template-controlled synthesis providing elegant access to a wide variety of macrocyclic structures. These include polyazamacrocycles, crown ethers, cryptands, rotaxanes, catenanes, molecular knots, and other fascinating species. The range of macrocyclic compounds is as broad as their actual and potential applications in such areas as synthesis, catalysis, electron transfer, and molecular switches. This book provides detailed and authoritative information on all aspects of template-controlled macrocyclisations. The current state of research on template processes, both in relation to synthetic techniques and to mechanisms, is comprehensively covered. The critical discussion of the diverse synthetic routes includes details of the characterisation of a generous selection from the immense number of macrocyclic products mentioned. The main body of the book detailing the template syntheses is framed by an introductory chapter on the template approach and a closing chapter on applications and uses. The logical product-oriented arrangement of the main body of the book, and its inclusion of more than 1500 references, make it an indispensable handbook for workers in this field. The authors hope that it will both provide assistance to those who need to synthesise known macrocycles and inspiration for the design, production, and application of further compounds of this type. Homeless Children defines the specific problems and needs of homeless children, and draws up practical guidelines for staff and agencies on recognising and dealing with those problems. It then looks at policy and service development for homeless families in education, health and social care, and concludes that conventional methods of provision have to be adapted to meet the specific needs of this vulnerable group. • Panos Vostanis is Professor of Child and Adult Psychiatry at Leicester. He has developed mental health services for homeless children and young people in care, and has published on the psycho-social aspects of several child psychiatric disorders. Together with Stuart Cumella, a Senior Research Fellow at Birmingham, he has completed epidemiological research on the needs of homeless children and their families. INORGANIC REACTION MECHANISMS Dr John Burgess (Department of Chemistry, Leicester University) and Professor Martin L Tobe (University College, London) Addison-Wesley-Longman, April 1999, £40 (flexicover) Available from the Bookshop ISBN 0 582 23677 0 Inorganic Reaction Mechanisms provides a comprehensive account of all the central inorganic mechanisms operating in solution – substitution, dissociation, addition, electron transfer, and intramolecular processes, and many of their combinations, variants, and deviants. It documents the value of kinetic techniques in diagnosing mechanism, dealing with elements from all regions of the Periodic Table. It gives numerous examples of the role of kinetics and mechanisms not only in classical inorganic reactions but also in organometallic chemistry, homogeneous catalysis, bioinorganic systems, inorganic pharmacology, and geological and environmental chemistry. The late Professor Tobe and Dr Burgess have each spent some forty years in this area of chemistry. This book draws on their complementary areas of experience and funds of knowledge accumulated over decades of reviewing the field, and on the fruits of their extensive international collaborations. It will be a unique and invaluable guide for postgraduates and researchers in academia and in industry – not only in inorganic chemistry but also in such fields as biochemistry and geochemistry, and will also form a suitable reference text for final-year undergraduates and postgraduate taught courses. • Dr Burgess is University Fellow in Inorganic Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry. 29 PEOPLE APPOINTMENTS Professor Audrey Osler B.A., M.A., P.G.C.E. (Leeds), Ph.D. (Birmingham) Professor of Education, School of Education, from 1 May 1999. Audrey Osler joins Leicester from the University of Birmingham where she was responsible for developing postgraduate courses and research in human rights education. She is Director of Research in the School of Education and, from the autumn, will be Director of the Centre for Citizenship Studies in Education. She has previously taught in both primary and secondary schools and was head of a teachers’ centre in Hertfordshire. Professor Osler’s research focuses on rights, identities, ethnicity and citizenship. She has a particular interest in biographical research, and on how an understanding of teachers’ and OBITUARIES The University has learnt, with regret, of the deaths of the following: PROFESSOR D P DE BONO Professor David de Bono, British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiology, died on 29 April 1999, aged 52. Although many medical men are successful bedside clinicians, relatively few have any pretensions to perform serious scientific research and fewer still are able to combine the two at the highest level. That David de Bono was able to do so was only one feature of a multi-faceted personality which extended far beyond the confines of academe. Many can ask complex questions; it takes real ability to ask simple questions. He had that ability; the questions so simple that one was astonished that nobody had asked them before. His main research interest was the study of events in the lining of the coronary arteries, the blood vessels which supply the heart, events which determine the fate of so many of us in the western world. There are perhaps three ways in which such events can be understood; by observing the natural history of disease in populations, by rigorous clinical trials of groups of patients allocated to different treatments and in laboratory based research. Only the last would be recognised in the popular mind as research, but the trick which makes it all work is the ability to relate the insights of each to the others. De Bono had that ability in spades. His early work was in the development and use of ‘clot-busting’ drugs to open up blocked arteries. This naturally enough led on to efforts to keep them open subsequently and later to understand why the obstruction should have occurred in the first place. Among much else, his studies in Leicester have investigated the high prevalence of heart disease in Asian immigrants in that city; a situation quite different from those who remain in India. He was instrumental in developing guidelines to assist doctors in their treatment of heart disease well before such guidelines became fashionable. David de Bono was born in Malta, where his father was Professor of Medicine and his grandfather Professor of Medical Botany, a fact which shows that medical science is not yet so very far away from herbalism. His schooling was at St Edward’s College Malta and at Downside, whence he proceeded as a Scholar to Trinity Hall, Cambridge where he took a first class degree in Natural Sciences. Clinical training at St George’s Hospital followed and he qualified in 1971 with distinction. Normally the extra-curricular activities of medical students are 30 Honorary Graduate flies over North Pole The Independent reports that, on Sunday 16 May, David Hempleman-Adams and fellow adventurer Phil Dunnington became the first British balloonists to fly over the magnetic North Pole. They faced the brunt of the elements as they crossed the pole in a traditional open basket. • Leicester University conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Science on David Hempleman-Adams in 1998. headteachers’ life histories can inform educational management and management training. She also has a long-standing interest in children’s rights and in children’s involvement in decision-making in both schools and communities. She has worked in a number of countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, including Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Jordan, conducting research and Continued on next page predictable by their tutors, but even as an undergraduate he astonished by his ability in original work, work which became the basis for his later research. Not that study was all; he met his future wife Anne over the bodies in the dissecting room and with her had a part share in a punt on the Cam. After house officer posts he was appointed Medical Research Council junior research fellow in the Department of Surgery at Cambridge and fellow of Trinity Hall. In 1976 he moved to Oxford as clinical lecturer in cardiovascular medicine and in 1979 was appointed consultant physician at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh and Senior Lecturer in the University. After 10 years he moved to Leicester as British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiology. Leicester, at that time, had no academic tradition in cardiology although considerable strengths in diseases of the circulation. De Bono was able to build on these to create one of the foremost departments of cardiology in the country. For three years he was also the Head of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics in the University and in this role was instrumental in setting up the Cardiovascular Research Institute in the University. For the last few years of his life he suffered from a progressive neurological disease. He dealt with this by effectively ignoring it. Physical limitations were perforce imposed upon him, but this never reduced, and perhaps even enhanced, his intellectual output. A voice synthesiser linked to a computer enabled him to address international meetings almost until the end. David de Bono was considered to have a powerful intellect by all who met him or were familiar with his work, and he was a role model as scholar-clinician for others to follow. His legacy will be long-lasting because he created an ethos in research and clinical service which will endure. He is survived by his wife and two sons, one a barrister and the other a medical student. Dr J B Cookson DR M J STRATTON Dr Michael Stratton, industrial archaeologist, died on 29 April 1999, aged 45. He made a significant contribution to the study of building types associated with manufacturing processes and transport in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His book, The Terracotta Revival, is a well-established classic on both sides of the Atlantic. Amongst his professional qualifications was an MA in Victorian Studies from Leicester University in 1976. At the time of his death, he was a Senior Lecturer in Conservation Studies at York University. PEOPLE Continued from previous page Mrs Margaret Bruce, Chief Clerk in the Finance Office, retired on 14 May 1999, after eighteen years of service to the University. Margaret joined the Finance Office as a Senior Clerk in 1981, dealing with research grant applications and claims. In 1983, she joined the Finance Office Secretariat and held responsibilities for the administration of the School of Medicine’s miscellaneous income and private patients’ accounts. She administered the deed of covenants for the Richard Attenborough Centre, the Library appeal, the Holocaust Centre and the telephone fundraising appeal, and administered the car and microcomputer loans schemes. Friends and colleagues joined together to contribute to a farewell gift, a token of their best wishes for her retirement. DEATH NOTICES Information about the death of a member of the University’s staff or a student (past or present) should be given to Vivienne Paul, the Registrar’s Secretary, who will ensure that the details are disseminated throughout the University via CWIS. Her telephone number is 0116 252 2411. ACADEMIC SERVICES AL S E RV I C E ERSITY U S Computers in Major Lecture Rooms IV FOLLOWING the huge increase in demand for computer output in teaching, it is becoming logistically impossible for AVS to continue t LE U ICESTER providing portable laptops as and when required for presentations. Consequently, we have decided to install PC’s permanently in the following lecture theatres: Rattray, Bennett LT1 & 2, Adrian Link, Attenborough LT1 & 3, New Building LT1 & 3. Astley Clarke and MSB 1. Installation will involve modifications to lecterns and cupboards, and the use of insurance-company-approved security devices. It is hoped that this work will be completed by the start of the 1999/2000 session. PCFS and CFS access is being agreed with the Computer Centre so that lecturers using these machines should be able to log onto their accounts in the usual way. Anybody without a password for the central file servers should notify Chris Gooch in AVS well in advance of their particular teaching session to ensure that other arrangments are in place. Please note that the use of these computers for teaching will have to be booked, as with all AV facilities, with AVS separately to Central Timetabling system. Details of this service are still being worked out with the Computer Centre and other parties. We hope that it will eventually prove to be useful and effective for lecturers. a Professor Irene Gottlob, M.D. (Vienna), Univ.Doz., Professor of Ophthalmology, Department of Ophthalmology, from 1 April 1999. Professor Gottlob gained her MD at the University of Vienna, Austria in 1982. Following this she spent eighteen months studying physiology, particularly the action of neurotransmission on the isolated retina. After this study period, Irene undertook her Ophthalmology training, at the University of Vienna. This was followed by one year at the Max Plack Institute for Experimental Ophthalmology in Frankfurt, Germany. During her career Irene has practised in several countries, including a period in America as a Research and Clinical Fellow in Paediatric Ophthalmology in Foerderer Eye Movement for Children at Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia. Also at Wills Eye Hospital, she completed another Fellowship in Oculoplastic Surgery and Orbital Diagnostics. Then followed a one-year Consultant’s post at ChristianAlbrechts-Universität, Kiel, Germany. From 1993-99, Irene was Head of Department of Strabismus and Neurophthalmology in St Gallen, Switzerland. Previous research interests have been in neurotransmitters and visual function, especially RETIREMENT N Professor Charles Pollock, B.Sc. (Eng.), Ph.D., D.I.C., C.Eng., M.I.E.E., M.I.E.E.E., Professor of Electrical Energy Conversion, Department of Engineering, from 1 April 1999. Previously a Reader in the Department of Engineering at the University of Warwick, Professor Pollock leads an active research group in the area of Power Electronics and Drives and has particular interests in the design and control of electronically controlled brushless motors. He is Director of the Centre for Advanced Electronically Controlled Drives, which was established as a permanent mechanism for collaborative research across the electrical engineering sector of industry. The Centre has presently 20 industrial members and the research staff involved in the Centre will be moving to Leicester University from 1 July 1999. amblyopia and visual electrophysiology, eye movement disorders, and the development of visual function in children. Dr Gottlob plans to develop an Eye Movement Laboratory within the Ophthalmology Department, and to study central vision function as well as the epidemiology of children’s eye disease. I AU D O V I S consultancy on behalf of various international organisations, such as the Council of Europe, UNESCO and the UN Commission for Human Rights. She recently directed research on exclusions from school for the Commission for Racial Equality and on learning for citizenship for the European Commission. Audrey looks forward to co-ordinating research initiatives in the School of Education and to developing working partnerships with schools and communities in Leicester and beyond. She brings with her to the University an ESRC interdisciplinary research seminar series on Human Rights and Democracy in Schools and a research project commissioned by the Department for Education and Employment on reasons for exclusion from school, which she is conducting with colleagues in the School of Education. 31 NOTICES DEGREE CONGREGATIONS, JULY 1999 Wednesday 21 July 1999 at 3 pm: Faculties of Science and Medicine and Biological Sciences Honorary Degrees: Professor Sir Keith Peters, Dr Philip Campbell Faculty of Science: Combined Studies, Human and Environmental Science. Faculty of Medicine and Biological Sciences: Research degrees, MSc in Forensic and Legal Psychology. MBChB, BSc Intercalated, Medical Biochemistry, Biological Science, Psychology, Psychology and Sociology. Thursday 22 July 1999 at 11 am: Faculties of the Social Sciences and Law Honorary Degree: Mr Tim Appleton Faculty of the Social Sciences: Research and Master’s degrees in Economics, Law and Employment Relations, Training, and Training and Human Resource Management. Undergraduate degrees in Economics, Business Economics, Economics and Law, and European Studies. Faculty of Law: All degrees. Thursday 22 July 1999 at 3 pm: Faculties of Arts and Education and Continuing Studies Honorary Degrees: Professor Gillian Beer Faculty of Arts: All research degrees except Archaeology. Master’s degrees in Museum Studies, English, English Local History, Historical Studies Undergraduate degrees in American Studies, English, French, French/German, French/Italian, French/Politics, German, German/Italian, History, History/Archaeology, History/Politics, History of Art, Humanities, Combined Studies, Modern Language Studies. Faculty of Education and Continuing Studies: All degrees. 32 Friday 23 July 1999 at 11 am: Faculty of the Social Sciences SPONSORED ABSEIL FOR THE IMPERIAL CANCER RESEARCH FUND Honorary Degrees:Mr C Moon, Mr R Seitz, Professor Sir Tony Wrigley An Abseil at the Royal Infirmary is planned for Sunday 18 July. Any individual raising over £100 receives a limited edition t-shirt; over £175 – a sweatshirt; and over £350 – a top quality fleece jacket. Entry forms and information can be obtained by calling 01827 50280, faxing 01827 50614, or e-mailing [email protected]. All proceeds go to aid the Fund’s vital research. • Visit the Imperial Cancer Research Fund’s website at http://www.icnet.uk/public.html. Faculty of the Social Sciences: Research degrees. Master’s degrees in Child Protection Studies, Mass Communications, Politics, Public Order (Hong Kong), Social Work, Criminal Justice Studies, Finance, Marketing, Risk, Disaster and Crisis Management, Sociology of Sport and Sports Management, the Study of Security Management, MBA and Master’s degrees (University College Northampton). Undergraduate degrees in Communications and Society, Economic and Social History, Economics and Economic History, European Studies, Geography, Geography and Economic and Social History, Politics, Politics and Economic and Social History, and Sociology. Friday 23 July 1999 at 3 pm: Faculties of Arts and Science Honorary Degrees: Dr K Edwards, Professor F Leckie, Sir Richard Sykes Faculty of Arts: Research and Master’s degrees in Archaeology. Undergraduate degrees in Archaeology, Archaeology and Ancient History, Archaeology and Sociology and Geography. Faculty of Science: Research degrees. Master’s degrees in Biomolecular Technology, Geology, Museum Studies and Natural Resource Management. Undergraduate degrees in Archaeology, Biological Chemistry, Chemistry, Engineering, Geography, Geography and Archaeology, Geology, Geophysics, Applied Geology, Mathematics, Mathematics and Astronomy, Computer Science, Physics and Astronomy and Physics and Space Science. YOU SAW IT HERE FIRST! Issues of Bulletin appear on the University’s web pages shortly before they appear in print. Back issues (January 1997 onwards) can also be viewed via the following address: http://www.le.ac.uk/press/bulletin/ NATURE IN TRANSITION Major Conference at Lancaster University, 13-14 July 1999 This ground-breaking Conference will explore how nature conservation satisfies two apparently contradictory aims: • A cultural desire for ‘the Nature which stirs and strives, which assails us and enthrals us...’; • And the emerging scientific paradigm of ecosystem change and community dynamics. Through challenging speakers and lively, open debates, this Conference, of particular interest to conservationists, policy makers, academics, land managers, economists, consultants and policy analysts, will seek out new thinking to prepare the conservation sector for the many changes ahead. • Further details can be obtained from Sara Coy, National Trust, 33 Sheep Street, Cirencester, GL7 1RQ (01285 884710, email [email protected]. Department of Adult Education SHAKESPEARE SUMMER SCHOOL, 14-16 July 1999 One of Vaughan College’s July Holiday Courses, this Summer School includes a visit to the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford on 15 July for an evening performance of Othello. To book a place on this course, ring 0116 251 7368. SET WEEK 2000 – DEADLINE FOR GRANT APPLICATIONS Closing dates for COPUS grant applications in connection with projects for Set Week 2000 are 30 June and 12 November. Application forms can be requested by email from [email protected]. Set Week – promoting nationally Science, Engineering and Technology – is co-ordinated by the British Association. SELECTED NOTICES NOW ON THE WEB! A new web page, Notice Board, now appears within the Press & Publications Office’s pages. Currently details of events and opportunities are displayed here. Access this page, which gives up-to-the-minute notices, via http://www.le.ac.uk/press/notices. NOTICES DATES FOR YOUR DIARY A MORE COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF EVENTS IS AVAILABLE ON CWIS INAUGURAL LECTURES 5.30 pm. Lecture Theatre 1, The New Building. Open to the public and free. Tuesday June 1 The Economics of Corporate Governance. Professor Steve Thompson, Professor of Economics. Tuesday June 8 Living in the Desert: The Archaeology of the Libyan Sahara. Professor David Mattingly, Professor of Roman Archaeology. (Rescheduled from Tuesday May 25) The following lecture, previously listed for Tuesday June 8, has been postponed until the Autumn: Network Nirvana: The Management of Knowledge in the Post-Modern Organisation. Professor Harry Scarbrough, Professor of Management. Tuesday June 22 Renal Transplantation in the Next Millennium: Making More out of Less. Professor Mike Nicholson, Professor of Transplant Surgery. Friday June 4 Rush-Hour Concert: Ron Abramski (piano). Schubert, Robert Saxton, Liszt. 5.15 pm lasting one hour. Admission on the door £3 including wine or fruit juice. Richard Attenborough Centre. Free parking is available from 5.00 pm in the Medical Sciences car park in Lancaster Road. Saturday June 5 W G Hoskins Lecture (sponsored by the Friends of the Department of English Local History): Commons and Communities: Some Themes of Commonland History. Emeritus Professor Alan Everitt, FBA. For further details, ring 0116 252 2762. Saturday June 5 Leicester University Sinfonia Evening Concert with Stephen Jones (piano): Haydn, Beethoven. 7.30 pm. Richard Attenborough Centre for Disability and the Arts, Lancaster Road, Leicester. Tickets at the door. Tuesday June 15 The Fifth Haldane Society Public Lecture: Asia and Mr Gladstone – Lessons from the Tigers’ Boom and Bust. The Rt Hon Chris Patten. 5.30 pm. Rattray Lecture Theatre. Wednesday June 16 to Wednesday July 14 Exhibition at the Richard Attenborough Centre for Disability and the Arts: Work by students on RAC courses. Monday June 21 Centre for Mechanisms of Human Toxicity MRC Toxicology Unit Lecture: Participation of the Fas-signaling system in toxicant-induced testicular germ cell apoptosis. Dr John H Richburg, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin. 11.00 am. Seminar Room, Level 5, Hodgkin Building. All welcome. Wednesday June 23 Leicester University Open Day: All Departments. For more information, telephone 0116 252 2674. Wednesday June 23 Free Lunchtime Concert: Proteus Chamber Orchestra conducted by Anthony Pither. Open Air Concert in front of the University Library (alternative indoor venue, 10th floor, Charles Wilson Building). 12.45 pm. Wednesday June 23 Summer Concert: Proteus Chamber Orchestra with members of the University Choral Society and Singers conducted by Anthony Pither. A programme celebrating summer, with Vivaldi’s Piccolo Concerto in C major played by Susan Mather, Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending (solo violin Sarah Scott) extracts from Haydn’s The Seasons, together with works by Morley, Weelkes and Warlock. Tickets £3.50 (£2.50). Proceeds to Charity. 7.30 pm. Sutton-in-the Elms Baptist Church. Thursday June 24 Open Day and End-of-Year Party: The Richard Attenborough Centre for Disability and the Arts will be open from 2.00 to 6.00 pm. Refreshments will be available. Exhibition/Music/Dance/Performance. At 7.00 pm there will be an end-of-year party. All RAC students and their friends are welcome. Bring food and/or wine for a cold buffet. Saturday June 26 Evening Concert: Cantamici present a choral pot-pourri; a varied programme of scared and secular works. Tickets £6 (£4, £2). 7.30 pm. Fraser Noble Building, London Road. Sunday June 27 Leicester University Sinfonia Chamber Music Workshop: Coaching by the renowned Coull String Quartet. Leicester Adult Education College, Wellington Street. For further details ring 0116 270 3310 or 0116 210 9027. SMALL ADS HOST FAMILIES REQUIRED FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS ATTENDING ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSES IN SUMMER 1999. ANYONE INTERESTED IN HAVING PAYING GUESTS FOR SHORT PERIODS, PLEASE RING (0116) 281 0786. HOUSE FOR SALE Whetstone: 4 bed detached, hall with cloakroom & wc, superb lounge overlooking private garden with large patio, dining room, fitted breakfast kitchen, master bedroom ensuite, family bathroom, built-in robes all bedrooms, integral garage. £98,950 Telephone: 0116 252 5386 (Work) 0116 284 9502 (Home) LEICESTER INTERVARSITY CLUB Leicester IVC is an informal club whose members organise a wide range of activities including speakers, meals, walks, badminton, cinema, and theatre trips. For more information contact Jan on 0116 273 5306. HOUSE FOR SALE 21 Briar Meads, Oadby (price £72,950) Viewing strictly by appointment with the Agents on 0116 285 4554. For further information, contact Dr FS Schlindwein, 0116 252 5053, email: [email protected]. A spacious 3-bedroom semi detached family home, 5-minutes’ walking distance from excellent local schools and 2-minutes’ walking distance to local amenities for most day-to-day needs. Briefly, the gas centrally heated accommodation comprises entrance porch, entrance hall, through lounge/dining room, kitchen, stairs to first floor landing, three bedrooms, bathroom and w.c. To the front of the property is a paved car standing leading to a single garage, to the rear are lawned gardens, rose bushes and a greenhouse. VIVALDI IN THE GARDEN The Four Seasons Soloist Adam Summerhayes, with an ensemble from the Bardi Orchestra and Conductor Andrew Constantine. In aid of the Malcolm Sargent Concert Hall Trust. 20 June 1999, 7.30 pm for 8. 96 Coventry Road, Narborough, Leicestershire. Tickets £10 (including glass of wine). For further details, ring Jim Roberts on 0116 252 3961 (office), 0116 286 4423 (home). QUALITY CHILDCARE 6 weeks to 5 years • Experienced staff • Small and friendly Approved by Ofsted 8 Registered with Social Services THE JOLLY NURSERY 205 Knighton Road, Leicester LE2 3TT Tel: 0116 270 6916. 33 SPORT THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY – A MARATHON DIARY Colin Hide, Sports & Recreation Manager, ran his first marathon recently, completing the 26.2 mile distance in 4 hours 27 minutes. -60 Miles Race Day. To horse. And Sheffield for the Sheffield Marathon. 0 Miles We line up at the start at 9.30 am. The announcer informs us that the start will be delayed as the contractor putting out the cones overnight has not finished and the police won’t let the race begin.Ho hum.The stadium big screen flashes up “Sheffield – U.K.’s Official No.1 City of Sport”. Sometimes you could just cry your eyes out for this country. We start at 9.55 am. 3 Miles This course was described as “mainly flat” in the brochure. In your dreams. The course is mainly hilly with flat bits between the hills. It can’t all be like this surely. 4 Miles There are 2,000 runners doing this and most of them are in front of me, judging by the debris on the ground at the feeding station. You have a choice of a wet sponge or a cup of water at the feeding stations. If you are really organised you can have your own drinks ferried to each station. I should have brought a tray of lager. 6 Miles Tracy and Amanda come into view. They are dressed as schoolgirls running to raise money for a children’s hospital in Leeds. The pulse quickens. Not sure if it’s the course or Tracy. Perhaps they could act as pacemakers? 8 Miles Posh Sheffield. I can tell because I got a slice of lemon in my water at the feeding station. Ha, ha. Feel good, easy pace and there’s lots of people cheering the runners on. 13 Miles Half way. I feel dreadful. Like I’ve swallowed a squirrel and he’s gnawing his way out from the inside. Still the race marshal is cheery. I hate him. “Left for the half marathon, right for the full marathon”. Everybody goes left. It seems there is only me and a tramp with a dog on a bit of string running the full distance. I think about dodging under the tape. Stupidity prevails. I go on. 13.5 Miles I feel even worse. It’s the pain of knowing what I’ve got to run up next. The course is really grim – a tour of the less desirable real estate in Sheffield. Still the people are great and cheer you on. I studied in Sheffield once. I remember it well. It was a Monday. 14 Miles I feel good. A nice easy pace and the sun has come out. The trees are in blossom and the grass is brilliant green. Sheffield has its attractions after all. Nothing to this marathon running. 16 Miles I’m getting slower. The head goes down and it’s a case of grinding the miles out. I’m sure this route is all uphill. Still never mind, it’s only pain. 18 Miles The fronts of my legs are beginning to hurt. It feels like maggots are eating the muscle. How did they get in? My brain has increasingly wild and irrational thoughts. I vow never to do this again. Ever. 19 Miles Every 100 yards is scrutinised to see if it’s uphill or downhill. Downhill good, uphill bad. 21 Miles I’m starving. I had breakfast at 7 am and it’s now 1.30 pm. Pizza. There must be pizza at the next feeding station. Next Feeding Station No pizza. 22 Miles The biggest hill ever. I cannot run up this. I walk. Surprisingly I can walk faster than I can run. It’s a mixture for walking and running here on in to the end. 23 Miles Pass a group moving slower than I am. “Only 10 minutes to go lad” one cries. Lad I like. Three miles in 10 minutes? Not in this lifetime. 24 Miles The bus picking up the people who wish to drop out passes and stops. A piece of paper is thrust into my hand. I walk and read it. “The course is now closed. The marshals have gone home. Please make sure you know your way back to the stadium. The stadium closes at 3.30 pm.” Well thank you. Give me the keys and I’ll lock up when I go. Months of winter training, flogging through Great Glen, Little Stretton, Stoughton, Thurnby in the wind and rain have culminated in being passed by the sag wagon. I wouldn’t mind, but I’m on for 4 hours 30 minutes. Quite respectable really. 26 Miles 267 Yards The end. It’s a bit of an anti-climax. The marshal looks at her watch, yawns and presents me with my medal. Someone runs up and thrusts my bag of kit in my hand. “You’re nearly the last but not quite.” Thanks again. First the physical and now the mental torture. Still I’ve done it. And it was quite fun. When’s the next one? al achievement at the end of the 34 a sense of physic GOAL IN SIGHT: Runners hoping for London Marathon. 50 Miles Driving home I stop for a burger. “Do you want to Supersize that mate?” barks one of the crew. Has Judith Chalmers been on holiday? Colin Hide BULLETIN COMPETITIONS ARE OPEN TO ALL READERS EXCEPT THOSE INVOLVED IN ITS PRODUCTION. ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON OR GROUP IS PERMITTED. ENTRIES SUBMITTED ON PHOTOCOPIED PAGES ARE ACCEPTED. CROSSWORD PRIZE CROSSWORD 35 by Seivador FOUR PRIZES: First correct entry from draw – a three-course lunch for two in the Carvery, donated by Leicester University Catering Services, second correct entry – a £15 book token, donated by the University Bookshop, third correct entry – a bottle of wine, courtesy of the Bulletin, fourth correct entry – £5 book token, courtesy the Bulletin. 1 2 3 4 5 8 6 9 7 Entries (in a sealed envelope) clearly marked to PRIZE CROSSWORD COMPETITION, PRESS & PUBLICATIONS OFFICE, FIELDING JOHNSON BUILDING. BY NO LATER THAN NOON ON WEDNESDAY 7 JULY 10 11 NAME: __________________________________________ DEPT: ___________________________________________ 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 EXT. NO: ________________________________________ 19 20 Winners of Prize Crossword No. 34: 21 22 23 Clues Across 1. Keep in mind teacher who’s in charge of the port (13) 8. To throw dice with Tom is popular (7) 9. Capek’s work taken to a Latin country (5) 10. Lightweight cat (5) 11. Go in front, and quietly go back (7) 12. Scouse bird having yen for uniform (6) 14. Still the radio crackles (6) 17. A little dish for a tart! (7) 19. Cheese: it’s right for making you fatter! (5) 21. Capacious jumper of mine (5) 22. Each, in the open, is to gorge (7) 23. Upsetting pop-chart: Gerry the code-breaker (13) Clues Down 1. Hotel to choose mostly rich type of power (13) 2. Dilapidated manor belonging to city (5) 3. Last longer than a wet brew in our environment (7) 4. Instructions: pierce wound (6) 5. Excited: eager to correspond (5) 6. Hill intended, it is said, to cause suffering (7) 7. Switchback ride in luxury car with mat (13) 13. It is five to one two Conservatives winning (7) 15. Two fates (one endless) prepared for Silk (7) 16. Happen to yearn to have a proper place (6) 18. Go one way to make a date (5) 20. Committee that covers things to chew over (5) PRIZE CROSSWORD 34 SOLUTION: Across: 1 Tranced. 5 Civic. 8 Ego. 9 Sarcasm. 10 Movie. 11 Absolute ruler. 13 Transgression. 16 Mismanagement. 19 Renew. 20 Italian. 21 Ins. 22 Lucan. 23 Earnest. Down: 1 Tosca. 2 Arras. 3 Charles Darwin. 4 Dematerialise. 5 Compressed air. 6 Vivaldi. 7 Chevron. 12 Bar. 13 Timbrel. 14 Arsenic. 15 Own. 17 Elite. 18 Tenet. Lunch for two in the Carvery, donated by Catering Services – Robert Lang,. Mathematics and Computer Science; £15 book token, donated by the University Bookshop – Steve Lakin, Mathematics and Computer Science; bottle of wine – John Jasper, Chemistry ; £5 book token – Susan Spurling, Obstetrics and Gynaecology. KPMG TAX AND PERSONAL FINANCIAL ADVISORY SESSIONS FREE INITIAL ADVICE is available on personal tax, investment planning and any area of personal finance. For an appointment at KPMG telephone David Norman on 0116 256 6000 KPMG - Accounts and Business Advisers Peat House, 1 Waterloo Way, Leicester LE1 6LP KPMG KPMG is a trading name of KPMG Peat Marwick which is authorised by the Institute of Charted Accountants in England and Wales to carry on investment business. 35 PHOTOSTOP CAPTAIN Cook’s Journal, 1768-71, records his first Pacific voyage in Endeavour – a journey that included the circumnavigation of New Zealand and the charting of the east coast of Australia. Now the sights and sounds of this famous adventure, together with the original manuscript of the Journal, are brought to life in a CD-Rom publication which has travelled from Australia to Britain with one of its contributors, the final destination being Leicester’s Geography Department. • Full details of this story are on Page 4. ONE FOR THE RECORD Win a Fuji camera! Question 1 How many copies of this Bulletin were printed? Question 2 Where on the campus can you get a 24 exposure film processed & printed for only £1.99? Answers to Barbara Whiteman, Press & Publications Office ([email protected]) by Wednesday 7 July. First entry drawn from correct entries wins a disposable camera. AY UP, M’DUCK! A carn elp it – a alluz manage to find a nice spot. A think this is what thuh call Leicester University. Uvver there is the building where that man Cliff Dunkley wuks. It were im as wrote Let’s Talk Leicester! A heard yuh can still get it in the University Bookshop. ...I think we’ve ‘ad us photos took, an’ all. 36