news &views THE UNIVERSITY OF WORCESTER MAGAZINE
July 2012
The Hive Opens to the Public Worcestershire’s New Library Celebrates Public Opening p.4 Survey into Children’s Reading Habits p.5
In this issue:
£200,000 Donation To Disability Sports Programme p.2
Aung San Suu Kyi Lord Faulkner Welcomes Burmese Opposition Leader to the UK p.6
Reading Relay 250 Children Take Part in The Hive’s ‘Readathon’ p.14
FEATURE Colin Kinnear (back row centre) with members from the Institute of Sport and Exercise Science
WORCESTER TRUST DONATES £200,000 TO UNIVERSITY’S DISABILITY PROGRAMME The Worcester-based Bransford Trust has donated £200,000 towards the University of Worcester’s disability sports programme. The generous gift will provide specialist equipment and facilities for disability sport as part of the preparations for the opening of the Worcester Arena early next year. It will help ensure that the Worcester Arena is the Country’s premier, inclusive indoor sports centre for wheelchair sport as well an outstanding facility for the wider community in the region. Colin Kinnear, a Trustee of The Bransford Trust, which is a friend of the arts and young people’s causes in the Worcester area, said: “The Bransford Trust is delighted to support the University of Worcester’s initiative in assisting young people who have mobility problems to take a really active part in a fully competitive sport. In watching their involvement today on court one can see how fulfilling and beneficial it is in developing their young lives.”
Professor David Green, said: “We are very grateful to The Bransford Trust for this most generous gift. “This gift will help ensure that the Worcester Arena will make an outstanding contribution to sport generally and disability sport in particular. It will increase participation in sport and improve performance from grass roots to elite level. The Arena’s facilities will cater for disability by design and enable true inclusion and Colin’s generous support, when joined with generous gifts and grants from other supporters will help the University turn dreams into reality.” Mick Donovan, Head of the Institute of Sport and Exercise Science said “We are very grateful to The Bransford Trust for their generous donation. This takes us to the £3m mark towards the construction and fitting out of the Arena. We hope that this gift will inspire many others to come forward to support the Arena through our buy a brick campaign which welcomes donations from £50 upwards. This really is a most worthwhile cause which will provide a top class facility for generations to come.”
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COVER STORY wELCOME Clockwise: a solitary bee pg. 9, award-winning artwork: The Uncanny House pg. 7, Keir Starmer QC pg. 9, rower Luke Almond pg. 11 and The Bransford Trust donation pg.2
contents FEATURE Worcester Trust Donates £200,000 to Disability Programme
COVER STORY
July 2012
W
elcome to the July issue of News & Views, featuring a round-up of news, updates and milestones from the past month at the University of Worcester. July 2012. The month Worcester celebrates the opening of The Hive and the month the world descends on London for the Olympic Games. Both prestigious events feature in this issue of News and Views.
The Hive
We also feature some of our students who will be assisting at the summer games, be they based in London or reporting on the action. We are sure both events will be a huge success and will create a lasting legacy. Please keep sending us your news and features. Send them to us at newsandviews@worc.ac.uk
FLOOD ALERT. BE PREPARED
The exhibition will celebrate the opening of The Hive, Europe’s first university and public library. The exhibition showcases work by recent graduates and alumni and celebrates what they have achieved while studying in the city.
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news
Our cover story this month celebrates the public opening of The Hive and also examines a survey that was carried out prior to The Hive’s opening. It looks at the reading habits of 500 7 to 14 year olds and reveals some very thought-provoking results.
Recent graduates in art and design subjects are busy putting the final touches to the exhibition Flood Alert. Be Prepared.
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Flood Alert. Be Prepared includes painting, illustrations, sculpture, film and video, photography, installations, drawings and prints by 26 artists and aims to support to graduate artists in their continuing professional development after university.
Flood Alert. Be Prepared 3 Aung San Suu Kyi 6 Open Day Record 6 Pollen Tweets 6 Earn as You Learn 7 Art Student Receives Top Prize 7 Worcester Named Second Safest Place to Study in West Midlands 8 Sports Student Lands Roles at the Olympics 8 Medical Exhibition Preview 9 The Worcester Lecture 2012 9 5* Bee and Bee 9 GJSEPER Online 10 Journalism Students in Olympic Project 10 Care Home Training Programme Aims to Reduce Antipsychotic Prescriptions 11 Rower Scoops Top Scholarship Fund 11 Social Work Ties With Russia 12 Halesowen College Becomes First Associate College 12 Athlete Support Programme Open to Applications 12 Scholarship to County Cricketer 13 Striking A Balance 13 Drama at The Hive 14 Reading Relay 14
sTAFF FEATURE Mud Runner: Jan Quallington
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THE FIRST VISITORS WELCOMED TO THE HIVE THE SUSPENSE WAS FINALLY OVER AS PUBLIC AND STUDENTS WERE WELCOMED UNDER THE HIVE’S GOLD CLADDED ROOF ON MONDAY 2 JULY. The celebration began with a fanfare entitled ‘The Open Book’ performed by students from the Elgar School of Music and composed especially for the occasion by John Swindells, a teacher from the school. Many visitors turned up to enjoy the iconic moment, signalled by a celebratory countdown before the doors opened and visitors headed into the building. Professor David Green said of the public opening: This opening is
only possible thanks to a huge amount of dedicated, professional work from colleagues throughout the University, in particular colleagues in Information and Learning Services, as well, of course, as our partners. On behalf of the University as a whole, a very big thank you to everyone who has been involved.
The first 50 visitors through the doors were welcomed with a complimentary cup of tea or coffee in The Hive’s cafe where they could sit back, relax and take in their surroundings. The Hive is the product of a new and innovative partnership between Worcestershire County Council and the University of Worcester and will become a hub for Worcestershire residents and new library for University of Worcester students. The Hive brings together a range of exciting services under one roof creating ease of access and accessibility for all. Open from 8:30am to 10pm seven days a week (excluding bank holidays), The Hive will provide a fully integrated library; visitors have access to university and public library books side by side on the shelves. Children today enjoyed the variety of bright and magical spaces including comfy reading pit, window seats and outdoor ‘Story Island’, perfect to get lost in a good read. There are a variety spaces for all within the five levels to learn, enjoy and discover.
whether it is family history, the history of a particular house or academic research. Worcestershire residents benefit from an accessible customer service centre; the Worcestershire Hub, where they can access a range of District and County council services such as revenues and benefits, housing and homelessness, social care, planning and building control, to name a few. Upgraded technology at The Hive offers customers a wider variety of self service options online. That’s not all; a cafe and shop, business centre and bookable multi-functional conference rooms ensure that whether you’re looking for fun, study, research or a place to meet, The Hive has it all. Laura Worsfold, Business Development Manager for The Hive, said: “It is wonderful to see The Hive open and being used as it was built for. The expressions on people’s faces as they walked around and seeing people enjoying the services available makes all the hard work worth it. The staff have worked extremely hard over the past few months and today has made it all worthwhile.”
With more than 12 miles of original historic documents in the venue’s Archive and Archaeology service, inquisitive visitors are able to delve deep into Worcestershire’s past. Staff are on hand daily to provide information and guidance to visitors using the service to develop their particular area of interest
Anne Hannaford celebrating the public opening of The Hive
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COVER STORY
TO MARK THE OPENING OF THE HIVE THE UNIVERSITY OF WORCESTER COMMISSIONED A SURVEY EXAMINING THE READING HABITS OF 500 7 TO 14 YEAR OLDS. IS THIS THE END OF THE STORY FOR MANY CLASSIC READS?
lost for good, as the majority of children have not read the book or seen the film. Even Disney classics did not feature high on the list, with only one third having seen Alice in Wonderland or Peter Pan (38%). What’s more, whilst more than half of those asked have seen the Harry Potter films (52%), only a quarter (27%) say they have read the books, suggesting that the majority would rather sit in front of the big screen than read Potter’s Classic children’s literary heroes are adventures for themselves. dying out and being replaced with a new Professor Jean Webb, Director of the breed of well-loved characters, according International Forum for Research to a new survey. The study, conducted in Children’s Literature, Institute by the University of Worcester to mark of Humanities & Creative Arts at the the opening of The Hive – Europe’s University commented: “Thankfully first joint university and public library, to counteract this possible downturn examined the reading habits of 500 in children experiencing the classics, 7 to 14 year olds across the UK. there is still a very strong interest in our rich literary heritage. This is clearly Jemima Puddle Duck, Robinson demonstrated by the popularity of Crusoe and Pippi Longstocking are the courses in children’s literature among the characters being confined currently run across the UK and also to history, with awareness of Alice internationally. There are many from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland students studying children’s literature only alive and well for just under at undergraduate, Masters and doctoral half (45%) of young readers. levels at the University of Worcester. The findings suggest that popular TV Those students are parents, teachers and films may be to blame for causing and would-be teachers who will bring confusion among children when it comes their knowledge and enjoyment to to famous literary characters. More than generations of children, engaging a third (38%) of the children questioned them in journeys into worlds of the thought that Sarah Jane from CBBC’s imagination where they will bring to Sarah Jane Mysteries discovered the life past characters and present heroes key to The Secret Garden rather than such as those in Michelle Paver’s series Mary Lennox and one in ten (10%) Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, Philip said it was CITV’s Ben 10. Meanwhile, Pullman’s His Dark Materials and more than a quarter (26%) of children Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse.” thought Babe was the pig in Charlotte’s Webb, while 17% believe that Charlotte’s The survey also highlighted the new literary heroes for today’s generation, favourite friend was Miss Piggy. with nearly a quarter (24%) favouring One in six (18%) believe Roald Harry Potter. Dahl’s Matilda lives in the Alps Classic heroes such as Winnierather than classic heroine the-Pooh’s friend, Christopher Heidi and one in five (21%) were Robin and Mark Twain’s convinced that Long John Silver creation, Tom Sawyer, lagged was a star in Pirates of the well behind, with less than 3% Caribbean. Although a fifth (21%) of drawn to these characters. children have read The Lion, the Witch The fading popularity of some of these and the Wardrobe, the same number classic characters from children’s said Aslan was a giraffe (18%) and the same percentage thought he was a bear. literature is perhaps not surprising, given the insight into children’s reading habits. Although film adaptations have Less than one in ten of those questioned sometimes been blamed for causing had read Huckleberry Finn (4%), Anne the decline of literary classics, it seems of Green Gables (6%) or Swallows and that some stories such as The Railway Amazons (9%). That said, Roald Dahl Children and Gulliver’s Travels are being
was children’s most popular author, pipping J K Rowling to the post with 33% of the vote. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was the most read book, closely followed by The Wind in the Willows. Anne Hannaford, Director of Information and Learning Services, added: “It’s interesting to see the changing trends in children’s reading and understand some of the ‘new classics’ of this generation. It is so important to help children develop a passion for reading and stories which will stay with them through life. “To help bring stories to life, one of the exciting things we will do at The Hive in Worcester is to invite writers and illustrators of children’s books to come and work with children in the library, alongside students training to be teachers. It’s an inspiring space and a place where we believe children will discover the pleasure of books and reading.” The Hive boasts one of the largest children’s libraries in Britain with areas for storytelling, playtime and quiet reading.
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NEWS
Aung San Suu Kyi and a University Fellow A Fellow of the University of Worcester said he was “starstruck” when he welcomed Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to the UK recently. Lord Faulkner of Worcester played a key role in organising the visit, at which Ms Suu Kyi accepted an honorary degree from Oxford University before addressing members of both houses of Parliament. She is only the second woman after the Queen to address a joint session of both houses in Westminster Hall. Lord Faulkner, who knew Ms Suu Kyi when they both studied politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford from 1964 to 1967, said: “I was absolutely starstruck by her. She is the most magnetic personality I’ve ever met.” Ms Suu Kyi, who spent nearly 20 years under house arrest in Burma, was awarded the honorary degree in 1991 but was unable to collect it until now for fear she would not be allowed to return home.
Lord Faulkner, a member of the British Burmese all party parliamentary group, first mentioned the outstanding degree during a chance conversation with the University’s Vice Chancellor. He said: “I then got a message to her in Rangoon through the British Embassy just asking her if she would be interested and pleased to receive the degree and the word came back, yes.” Remembering his Oxford days, Lord Faulkner said: “She was the only Burmese student in Oxford at the time and the only student whose father had been assassinated as Prime Minister so she was pretty special and we knew that.” Lord Faulkner attended the ceremony at Oxford University. “She gave an extraordinary speech,” he said. “It was astonishing. There was virtually not a dry eye in the place.”
Open Day Record The annual June open day welcomed over 4,500 visitors to the University of whom 1101 registered as potential applicants to study at the University. This is an all-time record and 12.5% up on registrations at the equivalent event last year. It was noteworthy that many people had travelled a considerable distance to participate – with more registrations from Sussex, Kent, the North East of England and Cornwall as well as up and down the M5 and M6, the West Midlands generally and Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Here are some of the tweets we received on the day: • Very impressed with worcester uni! • Such a great day, love Worcester uni! • loving Worcester uni!! • Worcester University was very impressive Our next open events take place on Saturday 22 September and Sunday 23 September. If you have any comments or suggestions on how to enhance the open day experience, please drop us a line at events@worc.ac.uk
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Aung San Suu Kyi and Lord Faulkner
In Aung San Suu Kyi’s house in Rangoon, under the portrait of her late father, Aung San
Pollen Tweets Allergy Sufferers Get Advice and Forecasts from New Twitter Feed Allergy sufferers can now keep up-to-date with the latest information and forecasts on the go using a new Twitter feed
@Worcs_Allergy Run jointly by the University of Worcester’s National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit (NPARU) and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, the Worcestershire Allergy Forum account will keep followers in touch with all the latest developments. Twitter users can follow the account at
www.twitter.com/Worcs_Allergy From health advice to pollen forecasts, the account will provide useful information to sufferers of a range of allergies. Louise Robertson, scientist with NPARU, which provides all of the UK’s pollen forecasts in association with the Met Office, said: “We will be updating the pollen forecast on the account so that users can get current information and can plan their day. “We thought this would be a really helpful service to the public and are really pleased to be involved.” Sarah Austin, specialist respiratory nurse at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Allergies affect many people and can impact on their quality of life. Social networking is a great opportunity to reach out to allergy sufferers wherever they are, offering information about day to day allergy management. We hope that people will find this new service useful.”
NEWS
Earn as You Learn: Earn as You Learn (EAYL) is one prominent scheme within the broader employability agenda. At its heart is the desire to help students find part-time work during their studies so that they have a better chance of finding the full-time work they desire on graduation. This work is ideally relevant to their course or ultimate occupation, but where this is not possible, we need to help students to identify the transferable skills they have gained doing more generic work. Although Student Ambassadors not strictly EAYL, voluntary placements will often be key to achieving long term employment. Each institute has approached EAYL in its own way, with some very positive results. We would like to share different approaches to its inclusion within the curriculum, and to the finding of relevant opportunities. We are planning to use the ADPU interesting practice site http://adpu.wordpress.com/ and are looking for contributions from as many staff as possible. Anyone with anything to share should contact Pammie Murray-Hopkin who is happy to turn thoughts into a posting. Here is a selection of curriculum innovations and opportunities made available to our students this year:
Institute of Education: Top-up course for students who have achieved the FD in Learning Support now offers modules on Saturdays and evenings to allow students to continue their day jobs.
Art Student Receives Top Prize Final Year Fine Art Degree Student, Joanne Henderson, has been awarded the Winsor & Newton Prize for best painter. Joanne’s entry of a large group of enigmatic paintings, ‘The Uncanny House’, made of mysterious and poetic interior spaces represent an extraordinary achievement. The University of Worcester has developed a strong relationship with Winsor & Newton through an Outreach Programme which supports and promotes the art education. Part of that programme includes lectures and hands on training sessions provided by Winsor & Newton to Fine Art students across the world including the University of Worcester. As part of the relationship with the University’s Fine Art department, Winsor & Newton also offered the prize for best painter from the Fine Art degree course. The recipient was judged by artist James Fisher who presented the prize at the Private View of the end of year degree show. Dr James Fisher is Course Leader for BA Fine Art Practice. Joanne is part of a very successful group this year and will continue her studies with an MA in Birmingham.
Institute of Health & Society: students employed as research assistants in Psychology; work with the Fire Service to find live projects for independent studies; partnering with WAVOCC, ACT and Community First to provide high quality placements for Applied Social Science students in the voluntary sector.
Institute of Humanities & Creative Arts: Film Studies identified 10 key transferable skills required by their industry and demonstrate to students where they will be able to develop them through seminars and assignments; the institute has identified 178 opportunities for relevant work experience and paid roles.
Institute of Science & the Environment: paid students to train as demonstrators to assist students with disabilities, and to assist in externally funded research. They promoted paid work with Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, the Forestry Commission and Wyre Forest for summer jobs, and will pay students as researchers for an external project.
Institute of Sport & Exercise Science: 350 paid external opportunities for part-time work; inclusion of coaching qualification within degree to equip students to apply for jobs.
Worcester Business School: 27 students have arranged paid year long placements, 175 paid graduate vacancies have been advertised, as have 74 paid opportunities for current students.
Top photo: Joanne receiving her prize from Dr James Fisher. Artwork: ‘The Uncanny House’ by Joanne Henderson
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NEWS
Worcester Named
Second Safest
Place to Study in West Midlands The University of Worcester has been named the second safest place to study in the West Midlands according to a new league table published last month. The Complete University Guide has published crime figures for all universities in England and Wales. Official data for crimes affecting students are not available, so The Complete University Guide has selected three crimes as most relevant to students, namely burglary, robbery and violent crime. The ranking is based on the cumulative rate of all three crimes. Worcester is highlighted in the table as the second safest place to study in the West Midlands, with one of the lowest incidences of student-relevant crime within three miles of its campus. In first place is Keele, whose campus is in a rural part of north Staffordshire.
Professor David Green, said: “Worcester is shown in this table to be a safe destination with very low levels of crime. But we are not complacent and are always working to make improvements together with the police. “As a campus university, our sites provide a welcoming and secure environment for all students. Academic and leisure facilities are all within easy walking distance and most of our halls of residence are right on campus. There are a number of CCTV cameras on site and security staff are on duty 24 hours a day.” Superintendent Steve Cullen, policing commander for South Worcestershire, said:
“We are privileged to police such a safe, diverse and cohesive city of Worcester. It is thanks to
our local policing team and the on-site staff working closely together that the University has been recognised as a safe place to study. “The introduction of accredited wardens alongside a number of ‘staysafe’ initiatives have contributed to keeping crime and disorder low. Recognising the University’s importance to the city, West Mercia Police remains committed to engaging with young people and supporting a vibrant, growing university.”
Sports Student Lands Three Important Volunteering Roles at 2012 London Olympics A sports student will have not just one, but three important roles to perform at the 2012 London Olympics. Sara Essa will perform during the Opening Ceremony after securing a place with the official dance team; will be one of the Rowing Start Team Members, holding the boats for the competitors as they board; plus will be on duty as a Special Constable with the Metropolitan Police Service. Sara, who hails from Marlow in Buckinghamshire, said: “I’m really excited about all three volunteering roles that I have managed to secure. It’s going to be such an historic occasion and I’m really looking forward to it.” Sara, who is in the first year of a Sports Business Management degree, has volunteered at rowing events since 2006 when she helped out at the World Championships.
A close friend of five times Olympic Gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave’s daughter, Sara said: “Both my mum and sister do a lot of rowing, and Steve Redgrave is a close family friend, so it’s always been something that I have been involved in. It’s fantastic to now be able to help out at the Olympics, although it’s quite a big responsibility getting the boats lined up and holding them steady for the competitors.” Sara is also a keen dancer and applied to be part of the official Opening Ceremony, securing a place after two gruelling auditions. “To be at the Opening Ceremony will be a huge honour,” she said. “I am really excited to be performing in front of millions of people. We are rehearsing a lot, in London, which is quite tough but I’m really enjoying it.” As if that wasn’t enough commitment,
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Sara, who volunteered as a Special Constable with the Met Police about 18 months ago, will be on duty in Westminster during the Olympics.
Sara Essa - preparing for a hectic summer
NEWS
Preview of New Medical Exhibition in Return for Memoirs get schoolchildren and members Staff and patients of the former of the public involved. Worcester Royal Infirmary will have the chance to preview a Ms Smellie added: “This is a new public exhibition of medical tremendously exciting project that equipment, documents and will allow us to display many of our uniforms later this month. collections for the first time. Most interesting, in my opinion, are The exhibition, currently being some of the artefacts found during created at the University’s City Campus, is due to open to the public the renovations of the site by the University, such as old postcards later this summer. In exchange and letters belonging to the nurses for sharing their memories, that lived and worked here. former staff and patients will be able to get a first look on “The exhibition will celebrate July 19th – the 180th anniversary the history of the Infirmary in of the founding of the British the Worcester community, and Medical Association in the former the stories of people who hospital by Sir Charles Hastings. worked and were treated there during the past 300 years.” Museum Curator, Catriona Smellie, said: “We want people to share their Free tickets to the preview event, memories of the building, whether which runs from 4-6pm, will be they worked there or were treated allocated on a first come first there. These memories will become served basis, in return for sharing part of the exhibition in the future.” a memory of the building. The exhibition, which will be Short, written recollections of known as The Infirmary, is being no more than around 250 words created in a ward of the former should be submitted to rsvp@worc. Worcester Royal Infirmary. ac.uk. Photographs are welcome but we may not be able to return them. It will include collections of Please note that all submitted artefacts from the Infirmary and memories or photographs may be across Worcestershire, as well used in the exhibition in the future. as exhibitions celebrating the history of the site. There will be an emphasis on education and participation, with activities to
The Worcester Lecture 2012 The Head of the Crown Prosecution Service delivered the third annual Worcester Lecture last month.
It comes in the light of the Leveson Inquiry into press standards, to which Mr Starmer has given evidence.
Ethical Leadership some two years ago to further public discussion and debate about precisely such questions. The need for effective and ethical leadership is increasingly clear to all. This timely lecture proved to be of both great public and media interest and helped us grapple with the vitally important ethical questions which are at the heart of so many national decisions and institutional actions.”
David Green commented: “Media, the Law and Ethics have been at the very centre of public discussion in recent months. The University founded Britain’s first Centre for
The Worcester Lectures, hosted by the University and Worcester Cathedral, foster a spirit of enquiry in the important area of morality in public life.
Keir Starmer QC, who is also Director of the Public Prosecution Service, spoke about ‘Law and the Media’ at the event.
Bee & Bee UNIVERSITY EXPANDS ITS RANGE OF ACCOMMODATION WITH HOTELS FOR BRITAIN’S BEES The University of Worcester is doing its bit to help Britain’s threatened wild bees with the introduction of two five-star ‘bee hotels’. The large wooden structures provide the perfect home Dr Duncan Westbury for a number of and the bee hotel important bee species, allowing the insects to check in and make their nests. Of the 250 species of bee found in the British countryside there is a specialist group which nest in small cavities, such as cracks in walls, hollow plant stems and beetle holes in dead wood. However, changes in land management and agriculture mean these cavity nesting bees often struggle to find enough places to nest. Bee hotels can provide them with a suitable alternative -providing them with nesting sites to start the next generation of bees. Dr Duncan Westbury, Senior Lecturer in Plant Environmental Biology, said: “Solitary bees are very important for crop pollination as a single mason bee can visit 15 apple flowers a minute, setting around 2,500 apples a day, compared to 50 flowers set by a honeybee. These bees are also important for wild flower pollination, such as hawthorne, which in turn benefits other species, including many of our declining song birds . “However, this is not to say that the honeybee isn’t also extremely important and here at the University of Worcester we also have a hive for honeybees.” The ‘bee hotels’ consist of bamboo and cardboard tubes of different diameters, arranged in a wooden box, and can accommodate hundreds of bees at any one time. They were donated to the University by Robin Dean of the Red Beehive company and have been located on St John’s Campus.
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NEWS
Graduate Journal of Sport, Exercise & Physical Education Research The first volume of the Graduate Journal of Sport, Exercise & Physical Education Research is now live as the first online free-access research journal in sport, exercise and PE to solely publish student-led research. The GJSEPER is an expert-reviewed journal that celebrates excellence in student-led research and intends to become the journal of choice for student research in sport, exercise and PE. Submissions are welcome under the broadest auspices of sport, exercise and PE. Please visit the website, www.worc.ac.uk/gjseper/ and read the excellent student-led research articles that we have chosen for the first set of papers to be published. The papers represent research from students in England, Ireland, Greece and New Zealand and we have further articles in the review process from students in Italy, Canada, Greece, England & USA and have received further submissions from Australia, Hungary, Turkey & Russia. To this end we are already reaching and attracting student-led research articles from across the world. We would of course like to attract more high quality submissions, so please do spread the word with your own colleagues and students and suggest GJSEPER as a great outlet for their research work. We have adopted a continual FREE ACCESS model so that we can get the best articles published as soon as we can and to as broad an audience as possible. Every time we add an article to Volume 1 we will let everyone know as we will: • send out an email to those who register interest in the GJSEPER • update the GJSEPER, Facebook page update • tweet the title through a @gjseper twitter feed… so please do get yourself registered with these sites so that you can receive the news as soon as papers go live! Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far and please do let your students know about this opportunity for disseminating their work, use it in your teaching and get your students to look at the site and register with the email, Facebook and twitter sites. We look forward to adding many more high quality student-led research papers as the GJSEPER evolves over the coming year! Best wishes
Professor Derek Peters Editor in Chief: Graduate Journal of Sport, Exercise & Physical Education Research
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Worcester Journalism Students in
Olympic Project
Five journalism students from Worcester will be involved in Olympics coverage as part of a project involving American students and the Chicago Tribune. They will be working with a team from Ball State University, Indiana, which has a partnership with the University of Worcester and which will be using Worcester as a base for their Olympic coverage.
Sharpening their journalism skills for Olympic fortnight
Forty journalism students from Ball State, together with five Worcester students, will rotate between the city and a London base to provide material for the Olympics. They are joined by Alex Borden, a graphics designer at the flagship US daily, the Chicago Tribune. He will be supporting content with graphics to enable material to meet the high standards required for publication both on and off line. The Worcester team will help with the gathering of content for the Tribune, the daily Star Press in Muncie, Indiana and Indiana Public Radio (IPR). The Worcester students will also be seeking publication for regional stories in the West Midlands and hope to pick up a few exclusive pieces to offer to the nationals. Claire Wolfe, Subject Leader in Journalism at Worcester, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to be involved in one of the biggest sporting events ever to be held in Britain.
“The project demonstrates all the exciting strands to journalism and communications today with social media being at the forefront of the news agenda. The marketing of the event has been very impressive and our students will learn a lot from this.” Luke Pollard, one of the Worcester students, said: “I hope to build some great connections in the world of journalism. I also think that this project will provide a great experience and something to which I can look back on in the future and think, ‘That really kicked off my career in Journalism’.” Social media will also play a large role in the process with Twitter and Facebook being updated constantly and interaction taking place, where possible, with athletes. The team are already following 400 athletes and producing stories in advance. They are also using RSS feeds to ensure the account is constantly updated. Their main sports website is at http://www.ballstatesports. com/ and the student newspaper at http://www.bsudailynews. com/
NEWS
Talented Rower Scoops Top Scholarship Fund
A talented young rower from Bromyard, who narrowly missed out on a place in this year’s GB Paralympics squad, has received a £1,000 scholarship.
Luke Almond, a third year Sports Therapy student, made his GB rowing debut just 12 months ago – two years after sailing across the Atlantic. He narrowly missed out on a place in the Paralympics team for London 2012, although he is on stand-by in case of any injuries.
Care Home Training Programme Aims to Reduce Antipsychotic Prescriptions Thousands of people with dementia could be protected from being inappropriately prescribed dangerous antipsychotic drugs thanks to a new care home training programme delivered by the University of Worcester. The University has been commissioned by the Alzheimer’s Society to deliver the Focussed Intervention Training and Support (FITS) programme. An initial trial found the programme reduced the use of antipsychotics in care homes by 50 per cent. These drugs which are inappropriately prescribed to 144,000 people with dementia double the risk of death, treble the risk of stroke and can leave people unable to walk or talk.
The 22-year-old said: “I was disappointed not to make the team but I’m really proud with how I’ve been doing and I’m looking forward to going to watch my team mates. I think they will certainly come back with the Gold medal, which is really exciting.” Luke has been awarded the maximum scholarship of £1,000 by the University’s Scholarship Panel towards the cost of his rowing training. “This scholarship will be a huge help to me,” said the former Weobley High School pupil, who is visually impaired. “Without it I would really struggle with my training costs.”
Staff in care homes across the country will receive training from the University’s Association for Dementia Studies to become ‘dementia champions’. Professor Dawn Brooker, Head of the Association for Dementia Studies, said: “We are delighted to be taking this important work forwards. Providing alternatives to sedating drugs so that people living with dementia can have a decent quality of life is a top priority for us. We have the research evidence to prove that person centred care really works. Now we have to find practical ways of putting this into mainstream care for all. This research will enable us to see whether this model works in practice.”
Luke, who has previously trekked across Nepal and climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, only took up rowing five years ago while he was a student at New College Worcester. “I am currently training for the Henley Regatta with the University team and we are hoping to do well this year,” Luke said.
This innovative new Alzheimer’s Society programme, supported by £100,000 investment each from the Department of Health and HC-One care home group, is set to benefit more than 5,000 people with dementia as it is rolled out to 150 care homes across the UK. With two thirds of people in care homes having dementia, it is estimated that this programme could also benefit many future residents. Professor Clive Ballard, Director of Research at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “The intensive 10-day training programme will increase understanding and awareness of dementia and provide tools, ideas and resources to enable staff to provide good quality person-centred care. This will include simple things like using residents’ life stories to enable staff to provide care that incorporates past hobbies into life in the care homes. The dementia champions will then be responsible for passing this training on to other staff working within the homes.” It is expected that the first homes will start implementing the training in October. Luke Almond
newsandviews@worc.ac.uk / JULY 2012 / 11
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Social Work Ties With Russia The partnership between the University of Worcester and Perm State Research University in Russia has allowed for some rich experiences through joint working in the Social Work Faculties. It has became an annual path of staff and student visits – with Perm State lecturers and students visiting Worcester for the sixth time this year, and a third visit of Worcester staff and students visiting Perm State last November to support their celebrations for 20 years of social work practice in Russia. On this last visit to Russia, Catherine Hyde spoke at the Perm State Research Conference on the importance and intricacies of international student support provided by the International Office at Worcester, and Joy Gauci, combined with two of her Masters in Social Work students, presented Papers on aspects of UK and international social work practice. As the partnership has developed it has invited students to identify and exchange practice and research interests with the potential for collaborative approaches to research. In addition, Stuart Barber and Lorraine Morris, the two students awarded scholarships to travel to Perm and present in the Perm State Research Conference have now had their Conference Papers published in the Perm State Research University Journal. On their return, they were invited to co-lead a workshop with their lecturer, Joy Gauci at the British Association of Social Work Annual Conference in Stoke in March 2012. At this event, the BASW Russia Social Work Networking group was launched and will be jointly chaired by Joy Gauci, University of Worcester Social Work Faculty and Sue Kent, BASW Professional Officer.
The Worcester team who presented at the British Association Social Workers Annual Conference
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Halesowen College Becomes First
Associate College
Halesowen College has become the first Associate College of the University of Worcester under a new scheme to help young people achieve more at school and college. The University and Halesowen College have been working together for more than a decade. Halesowen’s move to become an Associate College marks the success of this work, particularly in widening participation in higher education and in creating high quality educational opportunities at both institutions. The formal partnership was launched at the College’s Higher Education advice evening. Keith Bate, Halesowen College Principal, said: “Over recent years we have record levels of students
Professor David Green and Principal Keith Bate
progressing to university. In these times it is critical to put in place pathways to enable local people to follow higher education options especially for those who would not think that these routes are available to them. Through this partnership students can embark on programmes in Halesowen leading direct to university.” Under the first phase of the new partnership, the two institutions will extend their work with several local secondary schools in Halesowen and neighbouring areas to provide a planned, co-ordinated and targeted programme of outreach and widening participation to lift achievement and aspiration.
Athlete Support Programme Open to Applications Jess Stone, from Church Stretton in Shropshire, was one of those who received support from the programme. Jess, who has just completed a BSc Hons in Sport and Exercise Science at the University, is an elite level Downhill Mountain Bike champion. Jess Stone
Applications are now open for the University’s Athlete Support Programme, which has been supporting promising young athletes across a range of disciplines since 2010. The programme provides sports science support for two to three promising young local athletes per year who are based within the West Midlands or attending a course at the University of Worcester. In order to apply, athletes must be aged 16-24 and be competing at national level or be close to national selection.
“I began to compete internationally in the World Cup Series in 2009, having the opportunity to travel the world. I began my time at the University of Worcester at the end of this season and the support that I received throughout my time at University enabled me to achieve my first major title and become the UK’s National Champion in 2010 and improve on my World Cup results. Applications for support for 2012-13 are now being accepted. Completed application forms should be sent to mpc@worc.ac.uk by Friday 24 August 2012.
NEWS
University Awards Scholarship to County Cricketer Lauren Rowles, a first year Sports Coaching Science and Development student has been awarded a £200 scholarship to help her to continue playing for both Worcestershire County Cricket Club and Bristol Phoenix cricket teams. The County Cricketer said: “The money will help me to be able to afford to travel back and forth from Bristol to Worcester during the summer.” Lauren has been playing cricket for four years and was the first female to be accepted into the Bristol Academy of Sport for cricket. She also captained Bristol Phoenix Under-17s to victory in the 2009 Europa Cup in Munich and reached the play-offs for the Victorian Premier League with Plenty Valley CC in
Lauren with England Captain Andrew Strauss
Melbourne Australia in 2011. Lauren has also played for Gloucestershire Senior Women’s team, achieving County T20 promotions in 2010 and 2011 and County Division play-offs in 2011 with them. “After three matches for my club I was called up to my county which at the time was Gloucestershire,” she said. Her cricketing ambitions go beyond county level; Lauren has already had England indoor trials in 2009. “I have many ambitions as both player
and coach,” she said. “I want to gain more coaching qualifications and as a player I want to play at the highest level of cricket I possibly can.” Lauren believes scholarships are effective in assisting students in sport and encourages them to apply. “If you’re lucky, you can get a substantial amount that can enable you to fulfil your ambitions,” she said. “Even if you don’t get the full amount it’s still a very helpful contribution.”
STRIKING A BALANCE Dr Alan Dixon, Senior Lecturer in Geography, has recently returned from a three week visit to Malawi where he has been investigating how community-based institutions can help build sustainable livelihoods in an area of the country affected by severe food shortages. The work sought to evaluate the impacts of a development project called ‘Striking a Balance: Maintaining Seasonal Wetlands and their Livelihood Contributions in central Southern Africa’, which was implemented in Simlemba district between 2005 and 2008 by the Malawi Enterprise Zone Association (Maleza) and Wetland Action. Alan explained, “The idea behind the original Striking a Balance project was to increase food security and well-being among local communities in Malawi, through developing their use of wetland resources in a sustainable manner. Over a period of three years our implementing partner, Maleza, worked with communities to develop soil and water conservation
measures, intercropping techniques, improved marketing arrangements, and perhaps most importantly, Village Natural Resource Management Committees which ensure water, wetlands, forest and agricultural resources are used sustainably.” Although this project officially ended in 2008, Alan used his Project Leave to return to the area to find out whether the activities had been successful and whether they had led to an improvement in people’s livelihoods and the natural resource base. “Most of the local people I spoke to said that they are now beginning to see the benefits of our project. The village natural resource management committees are making sure that people don’t use too much water or cut down trees, and it appears that the conservation measures are having a positive impact on crop yields. This is great, but it was clear that what communities also need are improved crop marketing arrangements, so that people can generate more cash and reinvest in their farms.”
Photos: Top: A farmer illustrating the changes in rainfall in the area over the last 7 years Middle: A farmer showing us cucumbers that he’s now able to grow by the side of a wetland Bottom: Alan Dixon and one of the communities he has been working with
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Drama AT THE HIVE! (no, not that Hive)
Head of the Institute of Science and the Environment, Professor John Newbury has sent us this report concerning a heroic beekeeper and a swarm of rather unruly bees... This is the hive that was set up on campus to house honey bees during our NPARU’s activities in the ‘Bee part of it!’ campaign with the National Trust and BBC Regional Radio stations. This spring, our colony of bees made off to pastures new and we have been looking for a new swarm to introduce to the newly cleaned hive. This week we received a call from Estates to say that there was a swarm on the wall of the Bredon Building. Our highly trained bee specialist immediately sprang into action. Pausing only to complete a risk assessment form, obtain ethical approval and check that his actions were within the guidelines for both the Curriculum 2013 and procurement processes, he ambled deliberately across campus. Donning his bee suit, he collected the swarm and carefully decanted it into our hive. Job done; but not quite. The bees in question crawled out and sat determinedly on the outside of the hive. Not to be deterred the bee master (whose name cannot be divulged for security reasons) put his suit back on and replaced them in their new home. Unfortunately, the bees crawled out again and this process has been repeated several times over the last couple of days. Going into the weekend, there is a palpable air of tension within the ISE. Will the bees be there next week? Will there be honey still for tea? And just who is this mystery beemaster? Watch this space for an update over the next few days …
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“Ready, Set, Go...” Reading Relay Gets Underway
County-wide reading relay launches The Hive Well known faces from across the county are lining up to take part in a reading relay event to mark the opening of The Hive in Worcester. The Mayor of Worcester, Councillor Roger Berry, ITV Central’s Sameena AliKhan and a player from Worcestershire County Cricket Club are among a line-up of readers who will be bringing a mix of traditional and modern classic children’s tales to life. They will join staff from The Hive’s two partners, the University of Worcester and Worcestershire County
Council, to take part in a five hour ‘readathon’. More than 250 children will be taking part in the event at The Hive on Wednesday 4th July. The new £60 million facility is Europe’s first joint university and public library and has been developed through a joint venture between the University of Worcester and Worcestershire County Council to dramatically increase the learning resources, technology, study and social spaces available to the entire Worcestershire community. The dedicated children’s library within The Hive has a strong emphasis on story-telling with a specially designed ‘story pit’ and built-in hideaways for children to curl up with their favourite books. Designed to welcome school pupils from across the county to The Hive, the reading relay will be the first opportunity that children have to try out the facilities for themselves.
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Anne Hannaford, Director of Information and Learning Services, comments: “We’re really excited to launch The Hive to young people in such a fun and engaging way. The reading relay will be a great event to celebrate our impressive new facilities and we hope the children will be inspired to keep using the facilities to bring their favourite stories to life and experience some new authors, as well as some classic tales. The University recently conducted a survey among school children into their reading habits and will be reflecting some of their favourites in the line up of books at the reading relay. “The reading relay is a shining example of what we want to do at The Hive. It is so important to us that we support children in developing a passion for reading and telling stories and we plan to keep this going with plenty of fun and exciting activities. We want The Hive to be an inspiring place that everyone in the local community can enjoy.”
Kathy Kirk, Worcestershire County Council’s Strategic Libraries and Learning Manager, said: “The Hive offers exceptional facilities and we hope will be a base for students, school children and the general public alike. Whether you’re passionate about books or looking for a quiet place to work or study, The Hive has a mix of dedicated spaces to serve everyone’s needs right in the heart of Worcester.”
STAFF COVERFEATURE STORY
This month we talk dirty (ahem!) with mud runner Dr Jan Quallington from the Institute of Health and Society.
Mud Runner: When do you ever have the chance to get so covered in mud that you need two showers to get clean? Mud running of course!
This new craze has been sweeping the country in recent years. If you’ve never seen it, it involves wading your way through about 8 miles of muddy tracks, often needing to be hauled out of waist deep mud pits by random strangers. It’s a craze that has caught the imagination of Dr Jan Quallington from the Institute of Health and Society. “It’s just brilliant fun,” Jan said. “When else would you ever get the chance to get so covered in mud and so dirty but have the most amazing fun.” Now if you know Jan, you will know how immaculately turned out for work she always is. So the vision of her caked in thick mud, barely recognisable, is somewhat hard to imagine.
part in Eastnor Castle’s annual mud run last October. She is now planning to enter this year’s Eastnor Castle event, along with another in Scotland, all in aid of the University’s Charity of the Year which this year is Acorns Children’s Hospice. “It’s a great release from the stresses of work,” Jan said. “You can be completely free, go wild and have fantastic fun. I would definitely encourage people to give it a go; it’s surprisingly addictive. There’s nothing else quite like it!”
Jan, who has been a keen runner most of her life and runs 4 times a week, got her first taste of this alternative fitness craze in 2010 when she took part in the appropriately named ‘Beastly Feast’ at Top Barn, near Worcester, in sub zero temperatures. Undeterred by this experience she then took
Jan post race
What do you get up to when you leave the Campus? Email Sally Jones with your interesting stories at s.jones@worc.ac.uk
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