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News Archive Prior to 2007
Personal Chair and Readership congratulations
Congratulations to Paul Farley, English & Creative Writing and Carol Thomas, Institute for Health Research, who have both been awarded personal chairs; Christine Milligan, Institute for Health Research, has been awarded a Readership.
Art student's portrait of a former president of the Students' Union at Lancaster has been bought jointly by the Estates unit and the Faculty
The oil painting of Dwayne Branch, who was both Grizedale and LUSU President in 2005/06, now graces a wall in the newly refurbished Bowland North building.
The painting is the work of Shelley Hughes, who completed an MA in Fine Art in 2006 at the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA).
Published by the Press Office 29 June 2007
University Staff Prizes
The outstanding work carried out by university staff has been recognised with the award of the 2007 staff prizes.
Prizes for research, teaching, community work, commercialisation and media and communication were presented by the Chancellor Sir Christian Bonington CBE to 13 members of staff at the award ceremony at Barker House Farm. For the first time, there was also an award for Excellence in Doctoral Supervision.
Four members of FASS staff received awards:
Community Prize
Mrs Lesley Waite
FASS Faculty Office
The Prize is in recognition of Mrs. Waite’s contributions to the work of the Morecambe Lifeboat Station since 1982. As Honorary Treasurer, she has provided financial stability to Station finances and has played a key role in the Lifeboat Management Group and in the Operational Team. In particular, she has made a significant contribution to the success of the public appeal, made in the wake of the Morecambe Bay cockling disaster, for £350,000 for a new boathouse for the rescue hovercraft “The Hurley Flyer”. All these activities have been unpaid and carried out in Mrs. Waite’s own time.
Research Prize
Dr Thomas Dixon
Department of History
Since Dr Dixon’s arrival in 2004, his research work has taken the study of the history of ideas in a new direction through work on language change. Dr Dixon’s notable monograph “From Passion to Emotions” has received exceptional international reviews. Dr Dixon has a growing international reputation and is taking the lead in organising a major international conference on Science and Religion here at Lancaster in July 2007.
Excellence in Doctoral Supervision Prize
Dr Stephen Constantine
Dr Constantine was nominated for his sustained record of successful and effective supervision of research students over many years. He has followed the career developmnet of many of his past research students and the apparent benefit to those careers of their doctoral experiences, in which Dr Constantine played a significant part.
Teaching Prize
Professor David Sugarman
Professor Sugarman was nominated for his work on the design and presentation of 'Law311: Responses to Massive Violations of Human Rights', the award has been made to recognise innovative curriculum design and the way in which students have been excited to learn.
19 June 2007
Dr Anne Grinyer's book 'Young Adults living with cancer: Implications for Policy and Practice' launched at Guy's Hospital
Dr Anne Grinyer's book 'Young Adults living with Cancer: Implications for Policy and Practice' was launched at Guy's Hospital, London on Thursday 14 June. Afterwards Dr Grinyer (Institute for Health Research) was invited to 11 Downing Street for a reception as a guest of Gordon Brown who is hosting an event for The Teenage Cancer Trust and for those who have contributed to research in this area.
Published via the Press Office 15 June 2007
First ever fine art show at Peter Scott Gallery
The first ever fine art show at the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA) is being held this month at the Peter Scott Gallery.
The exhibition shows the work of final year Fine Art degree students from the Art Section of LICA.
Published via the Press Office 15 June 2007
FASS Staff Prizes
In the second year of the Faculty staff prizes, established to reward non academic and research staff, warm congratulations went to the following colleagues who have been named joint winners in their respective categories, for their outstanding work and achievements:
Research staff
Dr Richard Twine (CESAGen); the Rev Dr Michael Wright (IHR)
Non-academic staff
Mrs Clare Coxhill (Politics); Mrs Eileen Jones (Law)
In each category the prize has been shared equally to reflect the extremely high quality of nominations received and the difficulty the Panel had in making their selection this year. Dr Twine and Dr Wright have been awarded their prize for making a significant contribution to, and development of, projects within CESAGen and IHR respectively and Mrs Coxhill and Mrs Jones for their focus on service to others and willingness to "go the extra mile".
All have demonstrated their collegiality and outstanding contribution to the life of their departments/centre/institute.
Congratulations to our worthy winners and many thanks indeed to all those who took part in making this initiative such a success, and came to the well attended buffet for the prize giving.
19 June 2007
Imagination@Lancaster
A dinner to showcase the University's plans for Imagination@Lancaster and campus developments was held last week at the Croft. The 18 guests were specially chosen to represent a broad range of creative and government sectors. Guests included Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, Felicity Goodey CBE, Chair of North West Tourism Forum, Professor Brian Collins, Chief Scientific Adviser, Dept of Transport and two alumni; Richard Murray, Designer, William Murray Hamm and David Shackleton, Vice President, Sony BMG Records.
Over dinner guests were given a short presentation by Professor Rachel Cooper, Director of LICA, under which Imagination will be founded.
It is expected that Imagination will be housed in a new building at the northern end of campus and will synthesise the best ideas and research from across a range of the University’s departments, collaborating specialist knowledge to develop design strategies for everything from mobile phones to town plans. Imagination will also provide a pivotal interface with key businesses, leading designers from around the world and a public outreach programme.
Published via the Press Office 1 June 2007
"The Social Determination of Risk: Critical Infrastructure and Mass Transportation Protection in the Norwegian Civil Aviation Sector"
Professor Michael Dillon and Luis Lobo-Guerrero (Politics and International Relations, Biopolitics of Security Network) are part of an international research team which has just been awarded €792K/£592K pounds by the Norwegian Research Council for a 3 year research project studying “The Social Determination of Risk: Critical Infrastructure and Mass Transportation Protection in the Norwegian Civil Aviation Sector”. The project is based in and led by The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO).
Published via the Press Office 1 June 2007
Professor Bob Jessop, IAS, and Dr Ngai-Ling Sum, Politics & International Relations have won European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy's 2007 Gunnar Myrdal Prize for their jointly authored book Beyond the Regulation Approach: Putting Capitalist Economies in their Place (2006), Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Published via the Press Office 18 May 2007
The MP for Lancaster & Wyre has praised two students who set up their
own soup business on campus and now employ staff.
Politics undergraduate Miguel Binetti founded “Souped Up” with fellow student Alistair Reeves, who has since graduated from Lancaster University Management School.
Ben Wallace MP was visiting campus to find out more about the Students’ Union outreach activities, in particular the Create Start Up project which provides help and support to fledgling businesses. More»
Published via the Press Office 18 May 2007
Dr Michal Krzyzanowski, LAEL, was quoted in Financial
Times, May 8th, in an article discussing communication in the institutions
of the European Union and specifically of the Frankfurt-based European
Central Bank (ECB).
Published via the Press Office 11 May 2007
Professor Michael Hulme, IAS, was featured on the BBC News website regarding 'social lending' and the idea is to introduce people who need money to people who want to lend some - cutting out the middlemen like banks and mortgage companies. "They are what we call a niche mass," Professor Michael Hulme. "In other words, it is likely that there will be a growing market but not a market that replaces financial services and high street banking and stuff like that." More»
The Guardian University Guide 2008, published at the beginning of May, shows that Lancaster University continues to improve its ranking and is placed 2nd in the North West.
Overall Lancaster is ranked joint 22nd with an average score of 66.5. Last year Lancaster was 33rd, and in 2005 was 58th.
10 subjects with the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences are now ranked in the top 20 across all UK universities.
American Studies 6th
Art & Design 7th
Culture, Media and communication studies, 20th
English 16th
Law 17th
Philosophy 13th
Religious Studies 18th
Social work 6th
Sociology 15th
Theatre Studies 10th
Published via the Press Office 4 May 2007
Paul Farley, English & Creative Writing, has been invited to help launch a major Arts Council initiative designed to commemorate the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. He is one of three critically acclaimed poets - the others are Bernardine Evaristo and Fred D'Aguiar - who have been commissioned to write new work on a theme of enslavement. The poems will be published individually each month on the Arts Council website, starting in April 2007 with Legal Tender by Fred D'Aguiar. Other poets' work will follow, and additional commissioned poets will be announced, over the course of this year. More»
Published via the Press Office 4 May 2007
Media and Cultural studies student and documentary film-maker, Danny
Dewsbury, has been headhunted to film a documentary in Australia for the
BBC. He was contacted by independent production company Endemol
- which produces Channel Four's Big Brother - after he swept the board
at the National Student Film Festival this year.
He won two awards - the Grand Jury Prize for the Best Student Film and
another prize for Student Documentary of the Year at the festival in Bristol.
Published via the Press Office 4 May 2007
Professor David Denver, Politics & International Relations, was quoted in articles reported by Reuters, April 30, discussing what may happen to the Labour Party in the next elections once Prime Minister Tony Blair announces his resignation after 10 years in office.
Published via the Press Office 4 May 2007
Professor David Denver, Politics & International Relations, with colleagues from Strathclyde and Sheffield, has been awarded a grant of £78,000 by the ESRC for a study of voting in the Scottish Parliament elections.
Published via the Press Office 27 April 2007
This Summer, the History Department will be hosting a major international conference to mark the retirement of John Hedley Brooke, who taught the history of science at Lancaster for thirty years before moving to Oxford in 1999 to become the first Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion. The conference 'Science and Religion- Historical and Contemporary Perspectives' will run from 23-26 July and will feature an international cast of historians, philosophers, theologians, and scientists.
Published via the Press Office 27 April 2007
Bronislaw Szerszynski, Sociology, gave a public lecture in Beijing, organised
by the Chinese Green Movement. In the lecture on 23 April, organised by
the China Environment and Sustainable Development Reference and Research
Centre (CESDRRC), Friends of Nature and the Northeast Asia Youth Environment
Network-China (NEAYEN-C), Dr Szerszynski used the case of the controversy
over the introduction of genetically modified crops and food to explore
the role that public participation can play in the effective regulation
of new technologies.
Published via the Press Office 27 April 2007
Professor Sue Wise, Applied Social Science, is joint-winner of the 2007 SAGE prize for Innovation and Excellence, for a paper in Sociological Research Online which she co-authored with Professor Liz Stanley (University of Edinburgh). This is a new prize, which is run jointly by the British Sociological Association and SAGE publications, and is awarded to one paper from each of its four journals. The winning paper was chosen from all papers published in Sociological Research Online during 2006. More»
Published via the Press Office 27 April 2007
Professor Gerd Nonneman, Politics and International Relations, flew to Qatar to attend the Doha Conference on Democracy and Free Trade, also attended by the Amir of Qatar, the new UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, and Britain's Leader of the House of Commons, Jack Straw. He was moderator of the panel discussion on 'Political reform: National Programmes and External Projects'. More»
Published via the Press Office 27 April 2007
Professor Robert Appelbaum, English & Creative Writing, has been awarded a prestigious Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship for 15 months to work on a book entitled Terrorism Before the Letter: Literatures of Political Violence in Britain and France, 1559-1660. The book will focus on imaginative responses to events like the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre, the Gunpowder Plot, and the assassination of Henry IV of France.
Professor Jeffrey Richards, History, has also been awarded a Leverhulme
Trust Research Fellowship and will use his to research into Cinema and
Radio in Britain and America 1920-1960, which will result in a book.
Published via the Press Office 27 April 2007
Honorary Fellowship for Professor Eric Evans
For the second year, Lancaster University has awarded honorary fellowships to recipients who have given distinguised service to the Institution.
Professor Eric Evans, who was one of the recipients, was presented with his Fellowship by the Chancellor Sir Christian Bonington CBE, DL, at a special dinner held in the Lancaster Leadership Centre on Monday 16 April 2007.
Lancaster's Founding Chancellor, HRH Princess Alexandra was also in attendance, with the Pro-Chancellor Sir Bryan Gray BA, MBE, DL, friends and family of the recipients, friends of the University, and previous Fellows. More»
Published via the Press Office 20 April 2007
Imagination@Lancaster celebrates art, music and ideas in Manchester
Leading figures from around the world are converging on Manchester for 'Use Your Imagination', a unique one-day event on Friday 11 May, 10:00-18:00. presented by Imagination@Lancaster, Lancaster University's new interdisciplinary research institute based in LICA, as a part of the Social Technologies Summit and Futuresonic 2007 Urban Festival of Art, Music and Ideas.
Leading international figures will present, including the key creative at Saatchi & Saatchi behind the celebrated T Mobile TV adverts, which feature flexible cityscapes and collapsing walls, who will explain how they capture compelling new ideas. More»
A fixed number of conference passes for this event are available free to Lancaster University staff and students. Email imagination@futuresonic.com by Wednesday 2 May 2007 to request a free day pass to this event.
Published via the Press Office 20 April 2007
Dr Anne Grinyer researches teenage cancer patients
Dr Anne Grinyer (Health Research) was interviewed in the Lancaster and Morecambe Citizen, April 4, and the North West Evening Mail, April 12, about her book on teenage cancer patients.
Published via the Press Office 20 April 2007
Poems shortlisted for the International Griffin Poetry Prize 2007
Paul Farley's (English & Creative Writing) most recent book of poems has been shortlisted for the International Griffin Poetry Prize, 2007, one of the world's richest and most prestigious literary awards. The prize - which offers a total of $100,000 - has previously gone to Paul Muldoon, Kamau Brathwaite and Charles Simic. Paul's book, Tramp in Flames, is shortlisted alongside 3 other international titles (from an unprecedented 483 eligible books), and he is the sole English writer represented. The results are announced at an awards ceremony that takes place in Toronto in June. More»
Paul is also introducing a screening of the landmark British movie 'Distant Voices, Still Lives', which is at the National Film Theatre in London on the evening of 21st April. Paul will also be reading from his book on Terence Davies' film, as well as from his poetry, at an earlier event at the NFT Bookstore.
Published via the Press Office 20 April 2007
Bronislaw Szerszynski delivers lecture on 'Nature, Technology and the Sacred'
Bronislaw Szerszynski, Sociology, delivered the 2007 Elias Andrews Lecture in Religion and Science at the Queen's Theological College, Kingston, Ontario. Dr Szerszynski's lecture, titled 'Nature, Technology and the Sacred', developed themes from his recent Blackwell book of the same name. More»
Published via the Press Office 20 April 2007
Home guard in Britain in World War II
Dr Corinna Peniston-Bird, History, was mentioned in the Yorkshire Post, April 17, within an article discussing research findings looking into the home guard in Britain in the second World War.
Dr Peniston-Bird was also mentioned on the University of Manchester's website in connection with the book which was co-researched with Professor Penny Summerfield from Manchester University and also on the A2 media group website, April 16.
Published via the Press Office 20 April 2007
The polls: swings and roundabouts
Professor David Denver, Politics, wrote an article in Scotland's
Sunday Herald, April 12, about the usefulness of opinion polls in
predicting election results.
Prof Denver was also quoted in the Lancaster Guardian, April 6, talking
about his research showing that married people are more likely to vote
than those who are not. More»
Published via the Press Office 20 April 2007
'Spotlight on St Ives' exhibition in the Peter Scott Gallery
Some of the most innovative and influential art in twentieth century Britain will be on display at the Peter Scott Gallery on campus, part of the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA). More»
Published via the Press Office 20 April 2007
Tribute to Dr David Foster, DELC
Dr David Foster who died suddenly aged 62 on March 20th, first joined
the Department of European Languages and Cultures in 1995 as a mature
postgraduate student. He had previously had a long and extremely successful
teaching career in a number of schools, including the Lancaster Royal
Grammar School and St. Bede's, Manchester. His MA thesis on an aspect
of the love poetry of Pierre de Ronsard was awarded a distinction (1996).
His subsequent doctoral thesis, written in impeccable French on 'the fantastic'
in Ronsard's work, was submitted four years later and judged worthy of
publication. The reworking of his thesis for future publication by Champion
was one of a number of research projects on which David was engaged in
recent years: others included the co-writing of a French Grammar book
(to be published early in April) and the co-editing of a volume of essays
on French Renaissance culture. He had been a part-time tutor within the
Department for a number of years, and by universal consent was judged
an inspiring and effective teacher, much loved by his students for his
total commitment, his infectious good humour, the breadth and depth of
his knowledge and his ability to simplify it, the generous giving of his
time and energy, as well as his passion and enthusiasm for all things
French. It is a tribute to the excellence of his teaching that his workshops
on the intricacies of French Grammar continued to fill lecture theatres
throughout the year. He will be sadly missed by colleagues and friends,
amongst whom he would surely count his students.
(by Professor Malcolm Quainton)
Published by the Press Office 30 March 2007
Personal Chair for Dr Chakravarti Ram-Prasad
Congratualations to Dr Chakravarti Ram-Prasad, Department of Religious Studies, who has been awarded a Personal Chair.
Published by the Press Office 30 March 2007
Teenage Cancer patients in the Morecambe Bay area have been sharing their experiences
Each day six teenagers in the UK are diagnosed with cancer. Dr Anne
Grinyer (Institute for Health Research and Innovation and Enterprise Unit)
has had her book "Young People Living With Cancer" published,
which looks at how they can be treated in a setting geared to their age
group. Her research was supported by the George Easton Memorial Trust
set up in memory of the Lancaster University student who died from cancer
in 1999 at the age of 23.
The artwork for the book cover is by Lancaster University graduate Dan
Savage, who himself survived adolescent cancer and now runs a successful
design business. More»
Published by the Press Office 30 March 2007
Honorary Graduate Lord Robert Winston opened the 4th International CESAGen (Centre for Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics) conference
The 4th International CESAGen conference, organised by Lancaster and Cardiff Universities, outlined initiatives for the Centre's next phase of research supported by nearly £8Million of funding from The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) More»
Published by the Press Office 30 March 2007
Role of gender and sexual identity on suicide and self-harm in young people
Dr Katrina Ron, Institute for Health Research, was interviewed about the role of gender and sexual identity on suicide and self-harm in young people, on 28 March on BBCR4's 'Thinking allowed' programme which was highlighted in Saturday's Times under 'pick of the week'. More»
Published by the Press Office 30 March 2007
Difficulties into researching pornography
Dr Bela Chatterjee, Law, was quoted in The Times Higher Education Supplement, March 30, in an article about the difficulties of carrying out research into pornography because it is a taboo subject in academia.
Published by the Press Office 30 March 2007
HEA successes
Congratulations to the following colleagues for passing the Certificate in Academic Practice (CAP) and the Certificate of Achievement in Learning and Teaching in HE (Associate Teacher Programme). Both of these programmes are accredited with the Higher Education Academy.
CAP: Claire Fitzpatrick (Applied Social Science); Ian Nicoll (Educational Research) and Antti Saario (Music)
CAP Module 1: Georgina Firth (Law) has successfully completed Module 1 of the CAP programme.
CALTHE (Associate Teacher Programme): Jo Baker (English and Creative Writing); Sergio Dias Mendonca Fava, Evren Hosgor, Sandra Kytir and James Tomasson (Sociology); Michael Handrinos (Applied Social Science); Mike Hannis and Sarah Hitchen (Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy); Nina Held, Lia Kinane and Ranjini Canchi Raghavendra (Institute for Women's Studies); Andy Higgins and Luis Lobo-Guerrero (Politics and International Relations); Veronika Koller, Spiros Papageorgiou and Nick Smith (Linguistics and English Language); Alex Simcock (Institute for Cultural Research); and Emma Vickers (History)
Published by the Press Office 30 March 2007
Retirement of Revd Canon Dr Alan Billings
Rev Dr Alan Billings, Religious Studies, the vicar who is well known for his contributions to BBCR4's Thought for the day slot is retiring as vicar of St George's Church in Kendal and St John's at Grayrigg in Cumbria after 13 years. He will be moving to Sheffield. For about ten years he has been involved with the Centre for Ethics and Religion at Lancaster University.
Published by the Press Office 30 March 2007
Governance and ethics of Chinese science and innovation
Dr James Wilsdon (IAS) has been awarded an ESRC grant of £290,000 to start a project on the governance and ethics of Chinese science and innovation, and the prospects for increased scientific collaboration between China and the UK. The project will be based in the Institute for Advanced Studies and will have close links to the think-tank Demos and its 'Atlas of Ideas' initiative on science, innovation and globalisation.
Published via the Press Office 23 March 2007
Married people are more likely to vote
Married people are more likely to vote, according to research arried out by Professor David Denver, Department of Politics and International Relations.
Professor Denver is set to present a paper on British voting behaviour at the Political Studies Association annual conference at the University of Bath between April 11th and 13th.
The research, which takes into account more than 30 years of evidence, shows that in Britain people who are married turn out to vote in greater proportions than those who are single, separated, divorced or live with a partner. The difference generally persists even when age differences are taken into account. More»
Published via the Press Office 23 March 2007
FASS Red Nose Day Cake Bake raises over £275
The FASS Office would like to say a big "Thank You" to everyone
who gave so generously at their cake stall last week. The event was extremely
successful and, despite baking in excess of 200 slices of cakes and biscuits,
they managed to sell most of it within the first hour.
They raised over £275 for Comic Relief and hope to repeat the event
for "Children in Need".
Published via the Press Office 23 March 2007
Favourable book review for Dr Robert Appelbaum
A book, 'Aguecheek's Beef', by Dr Robert Appelbaum, Department of English & Creative Writing, was favourably reviewed by Andrew Dalby in the Times Higher Education Supplement.
Published via the Press Office 2 March 2007
Householders called to take up water challenge
Residents in Essex are being invited to take part in a novel water-saving comptition.
The competition, 'How long can you go?' is run by Essex and Suffolk Water (ESW) in collaboration with researchers Dr Will Medd and Dr Heather Chappells in the Sociology department.
It will put teams of residenets from the ESW Essex supply area against one another in a competition to reduce water wastage. More»
Published via LU News March 2007
'Auden: Six Unexpected Days'
Paul Farley, Department of English & Creative Writing, was mentioned in the New Statesman in a review of the programme 'Auden: Six Unexpected Days' which he recently presented on BBC Radio 3. This programme also picked up a favourable review in the Daily Telegraph (27 February). Paul was also mentioned in the Guardian Review (17 February), in a review of the Northern Irish journal 'The Yellow Nib' where he has new work published alongside poems by Derek Mahon, Don Paterson and others.
Published via the Press Office 2 March 2007
The Department of English & Creative Writing has a strong presence in the BBC's celebrations of W H Auden's Centenary.
To mark the birth of the poet, Paul Farley set out on a journey across the Pennines on his trail, following an itinerary, suggested by Auden in 1954, for readers of American Vogue magazine, entitled 'England - Six Unexpected Days'. The article was Auden's personal tribute to his "great, good place", a place that crowded his childhood imagination and continued to resonate in his poetry throughout a career that lasted more than half a century. Armed with maps, Paul followed the route on a topographical tour of Auden's poetic work. Along the way, he met and interviewed Dr Tony Sharpe, who has a longstanding research interest in Auden. Featuring archive recordings and new readings by Tim Pigott-Smith, the programme (broadcast on the 18th February as a Sunday Feature, BBC Radio 3) delves into an often-overlooked area of the poet's literary imagination.
Published via the Press Office 16 February 2007
The social impact of the Gambling Act
Research by Applied Social Science was mentioned in Coinslot International, February 9, in an article discussing the Gambling Act. The University is involved in advising the Government on the social impact of the legislation.
Published via the Press Office 16 February 2007
Beautiful landscapes heighten romance when proposing marriage
Professor Simon Bainbridge, Department of English & Creative Writing, was featured in the Whitehaven News, February 8, in an article discussing beautiful landscapes which are more likely to heighten romance when thinking of proposing marriage.
Published via the Press Office 16 February 2007
Professor Michael Hulme and the spread of wireless broadband across the
UK
Professor Michael Hulme, IAS, was quoted in Computer Weekly, February 13, talking about the spread of wireless broadband across the UK. More»
Published via the Press Office 16 February 2007
Sara Maitland: her work as a writer and co-ordinator of Crossing Borders
Sara Maitland, Department of English & Creative Writing is interviewed in the online website Write Words about her work as a writer and co-ordinator of Crossing Borders, a joint project between the University and the British Council. More»
Published via the Press Office 16 February 2007
Professor David Nott elected as Independent Director of Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society
Professor David Nott, DELC, has been elected for three years to serve as an Independent Director of the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS acts to protect and promote the secondary rights of authors in all media). Professor Nott has also been appointed to fill a temporary vacancy as one of the ALCS-nominated directors on the Board of the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) which represents writers and publishers, licenses organisations in business, education and government for photocopying and scanning from books, journals and magazines.
Published via the Press Office 9 February 2007
'Contemporary Gothic'
A book by Dr Catherine Spooner, Dept of English & Creative Writing, called 'Contemporary Gothic' has been reviewed in the Glasgow Herald and the current issue of SFX magazine.
Published via the Press Office 9 February 2007
Rhetoric of the Austrian Populist Right Wing Party
Professor Ruth Wodak, Dept of Linguistics & Modern English Language, was interviewed by the quality newspaper DER STandard, Austria, February 1st, 2007, on the rhetoric of the Austrian populist right wing party and its leader HC Strache.
Published via the Press Office 9 February 2007
Professor Sheila Payne and "Death Plans"
Professor Sheila Payne, Institute for Health Research, was interviewed by the Times about her new post as the UK's first Professor of Hospice Studies. Professor Payne was also featured on the Times Online website, February 3, commenting on "death plans" which should become more routine to help patients nearing the end of their lives. More»
Published via the Press Office 9 February 2007
Writing Workshop and Poetry Reading Event, Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal
Dr Graham Mort, Dept of English & Creative Writing was mentioned in the Westmorland Gazette, February 2, with an article about the World Market Writers' and Readers' Festival. Graham was involved in a writing workshop and poetry reading event at the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal. More»
Dr Mort was also featured on the WriteWords website in an interview which mentions the Crossing Borders Poject. More»
Published via the Press Office 9 February 2007
'Skills for the Boss'
Sue Batt, Dept of Educational Research, had a letter published in the Guardian, February 6, about the appointment of a business chief as the government's skills envoy. More»
Published via the Press Office 9 February 2007
Mental health of Children and Adolescents with Learning Disabilities in Britain
Professor Eric Emerson, Institute for Health Research, was quoted on the Communitycare website, February 8, in relation to his research into the mental health of children and adolescents with learning disabilities in Britain. More»
Published via the Press Office 9 February 2007
'Hindu Senses of the Self: Responses to Buddhist Critiques'
Dr Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, Religious Studies, has been awarded a total of £275,998 + two studentships for his project 'Hindu Senses of the Self: Responses to Buddhist Critiques'. Dr Ram-Prasad is the PI with Dr Jonardon Ganeri, Department of Philosophy, University of Liverpool, as joint investigator. The project runs for three years from October 2007 and this is the first istance of major AHRC funding for Indian philosophy.
The project seeks to work from highly technical texts in Sanskrit, from
the 7th-16th centuries, and present debates about the nature and very
possibility of selfhood. This topic is well-recognised in the Western
tradition, from ancient times to the present, and is important in contemporary
debates ranging from philosophy of religion to cognitive science. We think
that the Indian materials, while covering some of these same issues in
a very different cultural context, will also add a significant range of
considerations to the contemporary debates that are currently dominated
by Western thought.
Published 5 February 2007
Professor Linda Woodhead to direct £8.3M Religion & Society Programme
Professor Linda Woodhead has been appointed to direct an £8.3m research programme exploring religion and society.
The Religion and Society Research Programme, which will run for five-and-a-half years, is a new collaborative venture between the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) and the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council).
It aims to explore current developments in the arts and humanities and social sciences communities, concerning questions of belief, human culture, society and religion. It will be the first UK research programme to foster collaboration across the arts, humanities and social sciences in order to understand the interrelationships between religion and society. More»
Published via the Press Office 2 Feb 2007
LICA Composer, Lisa Whistlecroft, in San Francisco Festival
The 2007 San Francisco Tape Music Festival ran 26-28 January and presented three distinct programmes of audio art over a 16-speaker surround sound system. "Almost Nothing But (Butterflies and Clouds)" by Lisa Whistlecroft (PALATINE/LICA) was presented in the Saturday concert which included the world premiere of "Golden" from rock innovator Brian Eno. The festival also featured a rare performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen's epic multichannel work, "HYMNEN".
Published via the Press Office 2 Feb 2007
Play given world premiere at the Dukes Theatre for LICA graduate Lesley Anne Rose
Theatre Studies Graduate, Lesley Anne Rose, was featured in the Lancashire
Evening Post, January 27, the Morecambe Visitor, January 31, and the Lancaster
and Morecambe Reporter, February 1. Lesley Anne is to have her first full-length
play given a world premiere at the Dukes Theatre in Lancaster.
More»
Published via the Press Office 2 Feb 2007
Dr Feargal Cochrane discusses Northern Ireland's Catholic repoblicans decision to endorse the province's police force
Dr Feargal Cochrane was featured on the Christian Science Monitor website, January 30, within an article discussing Northern Ireland's Catholic republicans decision to endorse the province's police force. »More and More»
Published via the Press Office 2 Feb 2007
Charlotte Stuart, IEU, talks about Creative Industries grant of £1.4M for Lancashire & Cumbria
Charlotte Stuart, Innovation & Enterprise Unit, was interviewed in
the Blackpool Gazette, January 26, the Westmorland Gazette, January 29,
the Whitehaven News, February 1, and Lakeland Radio, February 2, about
a £1.4m project to support the creative sector in Lancashire and
Cumbria.
More»
Published via the Press Office 2 Feb 2007
Professor Hazel Biggs on Palliative care and terminally ill patients
Professor Hazel Bigs, Law, had a letter published in the Guardian, January 26, which discusses palliative care and terminally ill patients. More»
Published via Press Office 26 January 2007
1960's Brutalist architecture
Professor Nigel Whiteley, LICA - Art, was radio interviewed as an international expert by the architectural critic of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio's daily newspaper, about 1960s Brutalist architecture. There are controversial plans in Cleveland to demolish an unloved 1960s office block by the celebrated architect Marcel Breuer.
Published via Press Office 22 January 2007
'Creativity or Conformity'
Paul Kleiman, (PALATINE, the HEA Subject Centre for Dance, Drama and Music), was quoted in the front page lead article in the THES on 12 January. Commenting on the recent 'Creativity or Conformity' conference in Cardiff at which he presented a paper, Paul said that academics often felt constrained in their creativity - particularly in relation to learning and teaching - and that it was time to move from writing and talking about creativity in higher education "to actually doing something about it". Academics had to be prepared to move beyond their comfort zones.
Published via Press Office 22 January 2007
"Consequences of US Policy for the Gulf Region"
Abdulaziz Sager, A Saudi PhD student in Politics & International
Relations organised a group of experts and officials at a high-profile
meeting hosted by the Gulf Research Center in Dubai, on "Consequences
of US Policy for the Gulf Region" held in January.
Participants included Gen. Anthony Zinni (former US CENTCOM commander
and frequent presidential envoy), Ambassador Hossein Mousavian (a key
former nuclear negotiator for Iran, and now with the Expediency Council),
former Iraqi Defence Minister Saadoun Al-Dulaimi, and select Gulf academics
in the field of politics & IR, along with European and Asian Middle
East experts and officials from the GCC states and Iran. More»
Published via Press Office 22 January 2007
Changes in the test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) on classroom practices
Dr Dianne Wall and Tania Horak, LAEL, have been awarded $100,000 by Educational Testing Service, to carry out the fourth and final stage of a longitudinal study of the impact of changes in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) on classroom practices. The TOEFL is one of the two best known tests of language proficiency for students intending to study in an English-language environment, and is taken by approximately 750,000 students each year. The research project began in January 2003 and will carry on until April 2008
Published via Press Office 22 January 2007
Dr Jo Baker's adaptation of the Charlotte Bronte novel "Shirley"
Dr Jo Baker, English & Creative Writing, won the top level of development funding for her adaptation of the Charlotte Bronte novel "Shirley". More»
Published via Press Office 22 January 2007
Dr Veronika Koller - the colour pink
Research regarding the colour pink by Dr Veronika Koller is quoted by menswear retailer Moss Bros plc in their Rela Men WearPin in-store campaign, to be launched mid-February.
Published via Press Office 22 January 2007
Professor Galin Tihanov
Professor Galin Tihanov, DELC, has accepted a Visiting Professorship in Comparative Literature at Yeale University for the Spring Semester, 2007.
Published via Press Office 22 January 2007
The National Forest is boosting local pride
Professor John Urry, Sociology, was featured on the Forestry Commission web site, January 10, about research into positive perceptions of England's National Forest and associations with improving environmental and economic conditions. The research examined the ways in which the creation of the 200-square-mile National Forest in the Midlands is changing the lives of people who live, work and spend their leisure time in the area. More»
Published via Press Office 12 January 2007
Radio Programmes featuring new Ugandan short stories
Dr Graham Mort, department of English and Creative Writing, devised and co-produced a series of eight thirty-minute radio programmes featuring new Ugandan short stories. Sanyu Fm, Kampala, are currently broadcasting 'Under The Sun', funded through the British Council 'Radiophonics' project, which Dr Mort directs. The programmes combine stories focused on issues of topical debate with studio discussion and live audience participation; they will be podcasted on British Council and University websites.
Published via Press Office 12 January 2007
Worldwide lack of hospice or palliative care
The Rev Dr Michael Wright (The International Observatory on end of Life Care, IHR) was interviewed by the BBC world service about his report which estimates that half the countries in the world have no hospice or palliative care provision.
New research published by The International Observatory on End of Life Care (IOELC) at Lancaster University (U.K.) has found that an estimated half of the world's 234 countries have no palliative care services available to their populations.
The report, Mapping levels of palliative care development: a global view, indicates that 33 percent have yet to take the first steps to build service capacity. In countries where hospice-palliative care services exist, provision is mostly localized, with only 15 percent of countries having achieved a measure of integration with mainstream healthcare providers.
The report also reveals a strong correlation between palliative care provision and levels of human development, as measured by the United Nations Human Development Index which assesses life expectancy, knowledge, and standard of living. The report includes a map, one of the first of its kind, which provides a graphic illustration of the variability of palliative care worldwide.
Published via Press Office 12 January 2007
SIMPLE: Statistics Instruction Modules with Purposeful Learning Emphasis – Hierarchical modular curricula using problem- and practice-based learning
A project team comprising: Dr Catherine Fritz, Professor Brian Francis, Dr Moira Peelo, Professor Peter Morris, Professor David Denver and Dr Julie Ann Sime have been awarded an ESRC curriculum development grant, over 20 months beginning in February 2007.
Abstract
Many people are discouraged by the idea (and reality) of dealing
with information that involves numbers. But people who shy away from numbers
lose out: Job prospects and pay are limited for people with poor numeracy
skills. Many budding social scientists seem unconvinced that they can
develop quantitative skills, or even that they need to. But lacking these
skills can limit their career prospects.
This project will develop a small set of modules and associated delivery system for teaching introductory statistics to social science students early in their undergraduate studies. The modules will be interactive and will include screening for prerequisite mathematical skills and ongoing assessment of the new material; students’ performance will guide an automatic intelligent scheduler to select materials for study based on previous performance. Familiar and interesting scenarios will be used to enhance students’ engagement with quantitative skills and illustrate their usefulness.
The development of the system will be guided and supported by a team of advisors: staff committed to the development of effective teaching with substantial experience teaching statistics. We will develop materials during 2007, implement the system with social science students in 2007-8 and offer the materials to interested tutors in 2008.
9 Jan 2007
LAEL Researchers discover a new dialect
A new type of teenage language in London has been identified by researchers
at Lancaster University in the first ever major study of language change
in London.
They found that young people in the inner city have developed their own multi-ethnic accent which is spreading outwards from the capital.
The £280,000 project, which is run jointly with a team from Queen
Mary, University of London, involved over 100 hours of recordings with
16 to 19 year olds which were analysed by Professor Paul Kerswill and
Dr Eivind Torgersen of the Department of Linguistics and English Language.
More»
3 Jan 2007
Teenagers are at risk of being held back by their poor verbal communication skills
Research by Professor Tony McEnery of the Department of Linguistics and
English Language found that the vocabulary of the average teenager is
just over half as many words as an average 25-34 year old. Only 12,682
words are used by teenagers as part of everyday conversation, compared
with 21,391 by the over 25s.
More»
15 Dec 2006
Congratulations
To Gerry Harris (LICA); Greg Myers (Linguistics) and Sigrun Skogly (Law); who have been awarded personal chairs.
Published 15 Dec 2006
Childhood Obesity Research
Dr Garrath Williams, from the Institute for Philosphy and Public Policy,
has been awarded £1/4m to investigate the life-threatening condition
of childhood obesity. He is to carry out research about the implications
of childhood obesity as part of a five year project funded by the European
Commission. The project is led by the University of Bremen and involves
universities and small and medium-sized enterprises from all over Europe.
More»
Published 15 Dec 2006
Lecturer's invite to observe constitutional referendum of Nagorno Karabakh
Dr Nina Caspersen, Politics & IR, was invited by
the authorities of Nagorno Karabakh to observe their constitutional referendum
on 10 December.
Dr Caspersen, a peace studies lecturer based in the Richardson Institute,
spent three days in Nagorno Karabakh at the invitation of the de facto
government and was one of several worldwide experts who observed the conduct
of the referendum. The invitation was based on Dr Caspersen's research
on statebuilding and democratisation in unrecognised states.
Published 15 Dec 2006
Nuffield Theatre's Production: 'The World in Pictures'
One of the Nuffield Theatre's productions 'The World in Pictures' from
Forced Entertainment, co-produced by The Nuffield Theatre at Lancaster
University received a positive review in the Guardian. The review is from
a performance at the Riverside Studios, London.
Dr. Andrew Quick (theatre studies, LICA) directed and wrote the theatre
piece Hotel Methuselah, which was Pick of the Week in the Guardian (Sat
11th Nov), and described as a 'haunting movie for the stage'. The production,
which has already toured the UK, played to sell out audiences at the West
Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, last week. The show, commissioned by the Nuffield
Theatre, will be touring internationally over the next year. More»
Published 17 Nov 2006
Forum at the Theatre Museum in Covent Garden
Professor Elaine Aston and Dr Geraldine Harris (Theatre Studies, LICA) hosted a very successful forum for artists and academics at the Theatre Museum in Covent Garden on Saturday 11 November. The event was a final celebration of a three year, AHRC funded, research project exploring the process and practice of women's writing for performance. Over seventy artists, students and scholars attended the forum, hearing contributions from internationally renowned performance artists Bobby Baker, Marisa Carnesky, Leslie Hill and Helen Paris (of the theatre company, Curious) and storyteller Vayu Naidu, all of whom have held workshops at Lancaster as part of the project.
Published 17 Nov 2006
Forum on the creative campus
Paul Kleiman from PALATINE was the only non-US researcher invited to contribute to a national forum of university presidents, HE policy makers and agencies, major arts funding organisations, and researchers, discussing the Creative Campus. Held at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and following a meeting of the American Assembly that focused on the arts and creativity in American universities, the purpose of the forum was twofold: 1) to identify the ways in which the arts and arts activities on campus contribute to the intellectual health and achievement of universities; 2) to identify the areas of research that need to be undertaken to persuade the policy-makers and funders that investment in the arts on campus reaps valuable dividends. Paul was invited to provide a UK and European perspective on policy and practice in relation to creativity and creative enterprise in higher education, and to advise the forum on ways in which creativity can be mapped and assessed.
Published 20 November 2006
History successful in bid for AHRC Landscape & Environment
Dr Angus Winchester, HoD History Department and Chris Rodgers of Newcastle Law School have been successful with their bid for a Larger Research Grant under the AHRC Landscape & Environment Programme. They have been awarded £263,007 for their project entitled 'Contested Common Land: environmental governance, law and sustainable land management, c 1600-2006'.
Published 20 November 2006
University poet shortlisted for top literary award
Award-winning poet and academic Paul Farley from the Department of English
& Creative Writing has been shortlisted for poetry’s most prestigious
prize.
The TS Eliot Prize 2006 has been described by the Poet Laureate, Andrew
Motion, as “the prize most poets want to win”.
The £10,000 prize is to be presented by TS Eliot’s widow,
Valerie, for the best new collection of poetry published this year. Paul
Farley, Reader in Poetry at the Department of English and Creative Writing,
is on the shortlist for his book “Tramp In Flames” (Picador).
The Poetry Book Society announced the shortlist of ten books which includes
works by the Nobel prize-winner Seamus Heaney and the Pulitzer prize-winner
Paul Muldoon.
Paul Farley said: “It’s an absolute honour to be in the company of Seamus Heaney and Paul Muldoon. The TS Eliot Prize is Britain’s most prestigious literary award and I’m pleased about being on the shortlist.” More»
Published 10 Nov 2006
Online resource for family and local historians in Cumbria
People in Cumbria wishing to trace the history of their family or village
will be able to access an important new guide to historical records online
from this month thanks to the History Department.
The Cumbrian Manorial Records Project, a £46,000 project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Friends of Cumbria Archives and the Kirby Trust, is a partnership between the University, The National Archives and Cumbria Archive Service.
Manorial records are the documents created by landed estates and include
court rolls, surveys, maps, rentals, accounts and documents on everything
from common land to tenancies. Historians from the University have gathered
information on all known manorial records for the historic counties of
Cumberland, Westmorland and the Furness area, which was part of Lancashire
until 1974.
More»
Published 10 Nov 2006
ElectroAcoustinc Music Month 2006
Steve Benner (Environmental Science), Antti Saario and Lisa Whistlecroft (LICA) were invited to join a total of eight composers from across northern England to present works in a concert of acousmatic and environmentally based fixed media compositions, organised as part of ElectroAcoustic Music Month 2006, a world-wide event sponsored by SEAMUS, the Society for ElectroAcoustic Music in the United States.
Published 10 Nov 2006
Lancaster in the top 100 for social sciences research world-wide
Lancaster’s status as a world-class centre for social sciences research has been confirmed in the latest Times Higher World Rankings, in which Lancaster is placed at 92 internationally and 13 within the UK (Times Higher, 27 October 2006). The rankings are based on international peer review and incorporate business and management studies, as well as many of the subject areas housed within Lancaster’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
The Dean, Tony Gatrell, commented, 'This is a wonderful recognition of the accomplishments of those working in the social sciences at Lancaster, and I pay tribute to all those who have worked hard to put us in this significant position and among some illustrious company'. The Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies, Bob Jessop, also welcomed the report, noting that the IAS was an important bridge between LUMS and FASS and expressing his wish that the result would give further impetus to the interdisciplinary cooperation for which Lancaster was rightly celebrated.
Published 6 November 2006
First online catalogue of writers from Manchester's Migrant Communities
The first ever electronic catalogue of writers from Manchester’s migrant communities is being launched next month as part of a £356,000 project led by the departments of European Languages & Cultures and English & Creative Writing. More»
Published Nov 2006
Robert Fisk Lecture
The award-winning journalist Robert Fisk gave the inaugural Peace Studies lecture at the Richardson Institute for Peace and Conflict Research. More»
Published Nov 2006
Genomics Research Centre Awarded £8M
Researchers at Lancaster University’s Centre for Economic and Social
Aspects of Genomics (CESAGen) are celebrating after winning further funding
of around £8m over five years.
The Deputy Director of CESAGen at Lancaster, Dr Mairi Levitt, said: “We
are delighted here at Lancaster to have been awarded a further five years
funding. This award is an astounding endorsement of the impact of our
research in this field. More»
Published Nov 2006
Lancaster University celebrates the Hesketh Collection
The Rt.Hon. Lord Hesketh KBE, PC and Lady Hesketh were on campus to celebrate the new home of a magnificent collection of rare and valuable books and manuscripts, the earliest of which dates back to the 11th Century.
Lord and Lady Hesketh attended a Private Viewing of the collection on the 28th September, held at the Ruskin Library, along with other invited guests.
Lancaster University was chosen as the deposit for the collection by the Trustees of the Second Baron Hesketh’s Will Trust. The collection was largely created during the mid 20th century by the second Baron Hesketh and formed part of the celebrated library at Easton Neston in Northamptonshire. The other ancestral home of the present Lord Hesketh, Rufford Old Hall in Lancashire, was given to the National Trust in 1936. More»
Published Nov 2006
Founder of the hospice movement in Russia remembered
A biography about one of the pioneers of the hospice movement has been launched at the hospice in Oxford where his own daughter died.
The book’s author is the Revd Dr Michael Wright from the International Observatory on End of Life Care at the Institute for Health Research. More»
Published Oct 2006
Binge drinking now "the norm"
Criminologist Dr Fiona Measham and her team carried out a survey of 351 people with an average age of 25 in Manchester city centre’s pubs and clubs. She said that people were going out with the express aim of getting drunk. More»
Published Sep 2006
First ever survey of Palliative care in Africa
The first ever survey of palliative care in Africa has been published with the backing of The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. The book, “Hospice and Palliative Care in Africa”, has been compiled by researchers at Lancaster University’s International Observatory on End of Life Care. More»
Published Sep 2006
Research reveals Muslim pupils more tolerant than non-Muslims
Muslim pupils in East Lancashire are much more liberal and tolerant than their white counterparts according to a study by Lancaster University.
The findings contradict the view in some parts of the media that Asian pupils are in danger of falling into the hands of extremists.
The research was carried out by Dr Andrew Holden from
the Religious Studies Department as part of the Burnley Project, a two
year Home Office funded investigation in the wake of the riots of 2001.
Published Sep 2006
No 1 for Social Work
The Department of Applied Social Science is No 1 for Social Work in the Times Good University Guide 2007 More»
Published Aug 2006
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