NEWS IN BRIEF Professor Finkelstein memorial
The Chancellor’s Dinner
David Collins, Senior Lecturer at The City Law School, has been invited to educate academics and legal professionals in Moscow on the law of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). David will be based at the Pericles American Business and Legal Education project in Moscow throughout July.
A memorial concert at Hendon Reform Synagogue for Emeritus Professor Ludwik Finkelstein was attended by senior City staff who helped to raise over £3,000 for the North London Hospice. Professor Finkelstein passed away in August last year, having previously retired after more than 50 years’ service at City.
“Complying with the WTO’s many regulations is an enormous task for Russian lawyers and this will require some quite foundational instruction in basic principles of WTO law,” he said. “Moscow law firms will need to establish fairly quickly an expertise in this area in order to represent the interests of Russian business and the country’s citizens.”
City magazine The University’s annual alumni publication City features the latest University news, information about our Strategic Plan 2012-2016 and former students’ business successes. Read the magazine at: http://tinyurl.com/City-mag-2012 or contact Celia Enyioko-Hanniford for a hard copy.
100 under 50 ranking Times Higher Education (THE) ranked City 90th among the world’s top universities under 50 years of age. THE used the same analysis as for the World University Rankings, but featured only universities founded since 1962.
About City News City News is produced each month by Marketing & Communications. If you have any comments or feedback about the magazine or its distribution, or suggestions for content, please email: Christopher.leonard.1@city.ac.uk
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Preparing Russia for WTO
Three hundred staff, alumni, friends and benefactors of City attended this year's Chancellor's Dinner hosted by The Lord Mayor of London, Alderman David Wootton, in the magnificent Egyptian Hall at the Mansion House. The speakers were The Lord Mayor, ViceChancellor Professor Paul Curran and guest speakers Lord Puttnam of Queensgate (right) and City student Jenny Keys. Professor Curran said: “The Chancellor's Dinner was a triumph and I wish to extend my gratitude to everyone involved.”
Spotlight on Research The Research Office and the Digital Team in Marketing & Communications have made some improvements to the Spotlight on Research section of City’s website: www.city.ac.uk/research/spotlight If you would like to see your research findings or the research of your group featured on the website, please contact Jo Bradford, Director of the Research Office.
David will also address the American Chamber of Commerce in Moscow during his trip and will take the opportunity to research a monograph, The BRIC States and Outward Foreign Direct Investment, to be published by Oxford University Press. It explores international regulation of foreign investment from Russia and other emerging markets.
NEWS IN BRIEF Patent for SuRe Pile City has been granted patents in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain for the SuRe Pile invention (City News, January 2012). The technology was developed by Dr Andrew McNamara and Professors Sarah Stallebrass and Neil Taylor from the School of Engineering & Mathematical Sciences.
Times ranking City moved up one place to 46th in The Times Good University Guide 2013, despite disappointing 2011 NSS results. Our position in this table, which considers a range of academically relevant measures, will be an indicator of our progress with the Strategic Plan.
Guardian University Guide City rose two places to position 21 in this year’s Guardian University Guide 2013 for UK universities. Cass took second place behind the University of Oxford in the Business and Management league table.
Food Policy Unit The Food Policy Unit will move from the School of Health Sciences to the School of Arts and Social Sciences, with effect from Wednesday 1st August. There will be no changes to programmes or activity as a result of the move.
Government charity panel Professor Cathy Pharoah, Co-Director of the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy at Cass, has been appointed to a panel to establish ATM Giving, a Government initiative to enable UK consumers to make charitable donations via cash machines.
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City of London Academy achieves anniversary The City of London Academy, Islington - jointly sponsored by the University and the Corporation of London – will celebrate its fourth anniversary in August. The University’s support for the Academy focuses on transforming the education and lifechances of local students and our commitment is highly valued by Academy staff and students alike. The Academy’s growing reputation is reflected by the increased applications for Year Seven entry and our co-sponsorship has seen encouraging improvements in student behaviour and attendance. Although GCSE performance in 2011 was disappointing compared to previous years, the Academy’s leadership anticipates improved academic performance in 2012. “City’s work with the Academy has been recognised and praised across the secondary school sector and it is an important element of our work with the local community,” said Eamon Martin, Director of Educational Relationships. City is regularly involved in supporting Academy students through outreach activities such as parent and sixth form evenings, University tours and mentoring and reading schemes with student ambassadors. City’s Schools are also involved in academic initiatives and host subject-specific workshops while our Step up to the City programme encourages and supports Academy students’ progression to higher education. If you want to get involved or want to know more, contact Partnerships Administrator Zohra Moledina.
CitySpark Summer School CitySpark is City’s innovation and enterprise programme and is open to students of all Schools. June’s CitySpark Summer School was an intensive programme designed to evaluate business ideas, build teams and develop presentation skills. At the conclusion of the programme, 33 students were invited to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges. Winners of the £5,000 first prize and free market research from Marketest, were Huda Mahdi (MSc Computer Games Technology) and Adam Paciorek (MSc e-Business Systems) for Localizing You, a service translating games for Arabic speaking markets (above). Second prize was awarded to E.E. Skate Shop from Ashley Langham (Graduate Entry LLB); and third prize to Make Them Happen Music from Bogdan Maksak (BSc Accounting and Finance) and Alexander Zheltov (BSc Management). The CitySpark Big Ideas Challenge 2012/13 will launch in October. You can find out more about CitySpark on our website: www.city.ac.uk/forbusiness/enterprise-education/cityspark
City Staff Wellbeing Day Over 220 people attended last month’s Staff Wellbeing Day in the Great Hall. Colleagues from all Schools and Professional Services booked health MOTs and attended oneto-one advice sessions with health professionals. The free massages were particularly popular.
Summer moves continue The next few weeks see the final relocations of School of Health Sciences (SHS) staff as part of the Northampton Square Education Projects (City News, May). These are: • West Smithfield SHS staff (bar 5th floor) to 1 Myddelton Street (Wednesday 18th July) • West Smithfield SHS staff (5th floor) to 1 Myddelton Street (Wednesday 25th July) • Whitechapel SHS staff to 1 Myddelton Street (Thursday 26th July)
New at this year’s event was the chance to have a resilience coaching session and many volunteers participated in the energetic Zumba, Capoeira and Salsa demonstrations.
• Academic Services from CiC Ground Floor to Drysdale Building (3rd-6th August)
This year’s prize draw was for a Kindle Touch 3G: the lucky winner is Caroline Shilcock, Administrative Assistant in the Enterprise Office.
• Marketing and Communications from Drysdale Building to Goswell Road (end of August)
The University’s Campus Physical Activity programme will re-launch in the autumn with the opportunity for staff to sign up to the very popular Pilates and Yoga classes as well as the more energetic Zumba.
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• Whitechapel SHS staff to West Smithfield (Wednesday 22 August) In addition, other scheduled moves this summer are:
• Development & Alumni Relations from College Building to Goswell Road (dates tbc)
City to be sole education sponsor of Hackney House City is sponsoring this summer’s Hackney House initiative (www.hackneyhouse.org) being led by the London Borough of Hackney and UK Trade & Industry (UKTI). It will be the venue for Hackney Council’s Inward Investment and Media Centre for the Olympic Games and UKTI’s Tech City Investment Suite. The Enterprise Team is leading City’s involvement with the wider University’s support: Cass will run the first City event with subsequent seminars and events involving academic staff from across the University. As sole education partner, City will also undertake a post-Games evaluation of the Olympics’ economic impact and assess the Games’ impact on inward investment for Hackney. To find out more and to arrange free tickets to daytime and evening events, contact Fleur Adolphe in the Enterprise Office.
NEWS IN BRIEF Farewell to Whitechapel City’s Nursing and Midwifery education will vacate the Princess Alexandra Building in Whitechapel this month drawing to a close an era lasting more than 20 years. A farewell event is being held on Friday 27th July. Please contact Kim Yorke, Facilities Co-ordinator Whitechapel Campus, by Friday 20th July, if you would like to attend.
The future of the Bar Last month The City Law School hosted a well-attended discussion on the future of the Bar, chaired by His Hon Judge Donald Cryan, Chair of the City Law School’s Advisory Board.
City student takes lunch with the Queen David Mead, a student on the MSc Energy and Environmental Technology and Economics programme, has won City’s annual student project competition sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Fuellers. Following his win, Luke was invited to a lunch event with the Queen as part of the recent Jubilee celebrations.
Law student success Taskhub, a buyer-initiated online jobs market established with two colleagues by City Law School student Aurore Hochard, has been selected as one of the winning entries of Wayra UK 2012. Wayra UK is an organisation which provides funding, business advice, working space and help with technical development for selected start-ups.
www.city.ac.uk/staff 5
Transforming City The University’s implementation of the Strategic Plan 2012-2016 Implementing City University London’s Strategic Plan 2012-2016 will position us clearly as a leading global University committed to academic excellence, focused on business and the professions and located in the heart of London. The Plan identifies how City will continue to develop and strengthen through its focus on the quality of education, research and enterprise and the physical environment in which they are delivered; the academic performance and satisfaction of students and staff; institutional as well as student-centred internationalisation; and City's academically-led organisational processes and information systems. Following Council’s approval of the Strategic Plan in March, the Executive Committee (ExCo) has been developing the implementation plan. The plan is organised into eight workstreams, each led by two or three ExCo members (see diagram far right).
Preparations Following Council’s approval of the Strategic Plan in March, workshops have been conducted with representatives of three major stakeholder groups; our students, academic staff and Professional Services staff. They have been invaluable to ExCo in identifying priorities and supporting the early work of each of the eight workstreams. At its Away Day last month, ExCo considered the priorities and issues emerging from the stakeholder workshops and the initial proposals for each workstream in relation to their priorities and organisation. Each workstream received feedback from ExCo and the co-leads are now refining the scope, terms of reference and composition of their workstreams. Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Curran (above) said: “The Strategic Plan published in March outlined our objectives and the roadmap for achieving City’s Vision for 2016. The implementation plan will ensure that we achieve our milestones along the way.”
Implementation – key dates July 2012: ExCo to agree on overall implementation plan September 2012: Implementation of the Strategic Plan begins
by Chris Leonard
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October 2012: Implementation plan presented to Council
The workstreams There are three over-arching thematic workstreams, two of which focus on the needs of those we serve: • Enhancing our culture to deliver academic excellence – Focused on academic staff recruitment, performance management and development of the staff experience. • Succeeding with students – Focused on improving educational success, the student experience, student recruitment and the student journey. • Succeeding with research and enterprise – Focused on research and enterprise volume, quality and impact and on increasing the financial contribution of our research and enterprise activities. Five cross-cutting workstreams will ensure close collaboration between key functional areas and underpin the three thematic workstreams. Each workstream will be supported by a steering
group, which will initially identify and prioritise the projects required to achieve our strategic objectives and then oversee their implementation. • International – Supporting the delivery of our international recruitment ambitions, promoting international staff and student mobility and developing our international partnerships. • IS enablers – The development and implementation of a University-wide IT plan which meets the needs of all of our stakeholders. • Facilities enablers – Developing our estate in order to provide the very best facilities for our students and staff. • Operational excellence – Enhancing our culture, promoting pride in City and supporting the delivery of excellent service to our stakeholders. • Marketing, communications and engagement – Improving our internal and external communications and developing the University’s external profile and reputation.
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Professor John Fothergill In conversation with our new Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise), who joins us at City on 1st August
by Katherine Trimble
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What made you decide to come to City? When I got the call I wasn’t actually thinking about a move but I said I’d like to come and meet the senior people at City, so I made the trip down to London and spent time talking to Professors Dinos Arcoumanis and David Bolton and Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Curran. One thing that struck me about them was their passion for City, their very clear vision of where they wanted to take the University and, of course, their collective intelligence and reputation. Before the visit I had done some research and found myself thinking, ‘this is a place that knows where it wants to go – and it has the resources and the people who really want to take it there’. I could see myself being part of that. Meeting Paul and his colleagues was really the deciding factor. Since then everyone I have met has been incredibly nice to me. I am not entirely sure if that is what happens when you become Pro ViceChancellor – that you get that special ‘BUPA’ treatment – but it’s been wonderful and I have no regrets about making this decision.
When you look back on your career how would you describe it? Unexpected or focused? Serendipitous! Wasn’t it Michael Heseltine who, while he was at Oxford, wrote a list of all the things he wanted to do in his life, ending up with No 10? That’s not me at all. I have always had what is best described as a serendipitous approach to my career. I was the first in my family to go to university and at that stage I didn’t even know what a PhD was. When I was doing well with my MSc and the PhD was offered I thought, ‘that would be interesting’. Towards the end of my PhD my supervisor said to me, ‘John, I don’t know if you’ve got a job yet but I’ve had a call from a research lab in Harlow.’ It turned out to be a very famous laboratory (the former Standard Telecommunications Laboratories) where they invented fibre optics and had over 1,000 researchers. I was invited to look around and was offered a place there. It was fascinating. A few years later, I picked up the newspaper of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and saw an advertisement for a Lecturer in Electrical Materials at the University of Leicester. Electrical Materials was my subject and you don’t see it advertised very often. I had missed the deadline but called anyway and they said ‘yes, come and
see us’. I did and I got the job. I thought it might be nice to lecture for a couple of years but it took me several years to decide to move on; 28 to be precise. Even my move to Pro Vice-Chancellor of Learning and Teaching at Leicester arose from a chance meeting in the senior common room with the man who was stepping down from the role. I had never been known to have lunch there but that day I did and he asked if I would be interested in taking over from him. So I cannot, in all honesty, say I planned my career. I have, however, always had one very clear rule for myself – and I tell my students this too – that it is important to do what you enjoy and not go through life earning money and being miserable. I have been fortunate in that I have enjoyed what I do and I have been lucky enough to earn money while doing it.
What has been a particularly memorable moment in your academic career? I was quite surprised to find myself appointed a Professor and being asked to give an inaugural lecture, as is the custom at Leicester. Luckily I had some weeks to plan it and over 200 people turned up, including members of my family, which was amazing. I put a lot into the lecture and it included every possible thing you could use to demonstrate ideas, from high voltage arcs and sparks, a choir bursting into song, lots of videos and a great deal of audience participation. Looking back I was very pleased at that point: not just because I was a Professor but because I had a chance to communicate my enthusiasm for my subject. I have always loved finding ways to engage people with what I am talking about.
Is engineering hard to describe to the younger generation in a way that changes their view of it as a career? Not as much as it was. Perhaps because of new technologies, such as smartphones and gadgets, I believe it has a much better reputation now. Engineering is fascinating to me because there are no right answers but instead a series of questions: what is the right car, how can I make this work, how do we solve this puzzle? Engineering is a people subject. You have to understand what people want and then create it, but it has to be affordable, maintainable and reliable.
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them it doesn’t matter what else you do, you have to do worldleading research. For example, we need first rate education as well. I think you need a balanced approach. The challenge is to bring people with you.
What is your vision for Research & Enterprise? I suspect some academics consider enterprise a dirty word and they’d rather do pure academic research, but I think it’s important that people naturally think about their research having applications outside the University. City has this interesting strapline: ‘academic excellence for business and the professions’. We need our students and staff to have a more entrepreneurial approach. There may be reticence but we should remember it is on both sides. An academic might be shy but people from business, commerce and industry can also be reticent about coming to the ivory tower. Dialogue breaks down those barriers and it is to our mutual benefit. I enjoy that interface. With a lot of my research I have found great enjoyment in working with businesses and industries and seeing my ideas being used and put into practice – and of course, there is the funding it brings with it. The word ‘engineering’ has the same roots as the word ‘ingenious’ (from the Latin ingenium) and it is the ingenuity I have always loved. It is a creative subject. Look at Shoreditch down the road and you will see creativity in the digital industries there. We need ‘nerds’ to come up with ingenious solutions to problems. Here is a silly but real example. A biologist who, like many others, used fruit flies for genetics research wanted to be able to hear them walking. No one had come up with a method of doing this. I thought about this myself and, working it out in my mind when driving home one evening, the solution came to me. I stopped the car and thought, ‘I know how to do this: I’ve got it!’ And it worked.
What’s your first priority when you start? For me it has to be managing City’s submission for the Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2014, which is very important. It will make a lot of difference to City until of course, the REF after that, which might not be for another seven years. However, I think it’s important that we balance that against everything else we must do. There is no point in me coming in as PVC for Research & Enterprise and hitting academics over the head, telling
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City has a vision to improve the quality of its research and enterprise and I have been brought in to make that happen. I am passionate about research and I also think that research is natural for academics. It is what we do naturally and it defines us. I could not imagine coming to City to lecture on my subject and not want to do research as well.
Biggest challenge? It is exciting to move to another University and I am not fazed at all. The challenge is to convince academics to make the best use of the opportunities that City offers them. You don’t tell academics what to do with their work because they understand their subject. But if you want to change hearts, minds and cultures, especially in the long term, you need to show them what the University can do for them as well as what they can do for the University. I think the biggest challenge, not just for me but for City as well, is showing people your vision and taking them with you. But it is also exciting because the plan for how we do that is so clearly thought out. Providing we can bring people with us, the City of the next few years will have an even greater energy and vitality.
Professor John Fothergill: his academic career to date • BSc (Hons) in Electronic Engineering (1975); MSc (Distinction) in Electrical Materials and Devices (1976); and PhD on the Electronic Properties of Biopolymers (1980) from the University College of North Wales, Bangor • 1979: Senior Research Engineer with Standard Telecommunications Laboratories
What might people not know about you? Two things: my academic background and my personal life are quite multi-disciplinary, which I like. Engineers perhaps tend to be labelled as being narrow in terms of their interests but mine are broad. Last year, I became President of Leicester’s Literary and Philosophical Society which has been going for 176 years. In my opening address and I talked about ‘Chaos and Fractals: Science meets Art’. It was interesting trying to link science and art in one lecture. In my academic world I suppose I spend time on physics, chemistry and mathematics but I love music and books. On the train coming down my reading was an article on the brilliant writer Herman Hesse. I read all his books as a student and even tried to re-read The Glass Bead Game recently. I think I have a very wide and eclectic view of life and I don’t believe that engineering and science are everything: we really need the humanities too. I feel I can easily relate to the other schools. I know I won’t have time to lecture but I do intend to spend time with students. One thing I have always said about being with students is that they stay the same age and therefore it’s very easy to sail through university thinking that you, as a Lecturer, have never grown old at all. I think that I will still try to write a lecture a year for a general audience and will find that a fascinating project – even if my wife thinks I am mad as I lie on the beach with a whole heap of books to read as I prepare it.
• 1984: Lecturer in Engineering, University of Leicester • 2000: Awarded Professorship (Personal Chair) of Engineering • 2001: Appointed Dean of Science • 2003: Appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor • 2008: Appointed Head of Department of Engineering. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the Institute of Physics. His research has focused on dielectric properties of materials (how they respond to an electric field). He has published over 120 refereed papers on electrical and bio-medical engineering and co-authored a book, Electrical Degradation and Breakdown in Polymers, which has received more than 200 citations (Google Scholar). He led a major EU project on high-voltage DC systems in the European super-grid, has supervised 20 PhDs and has attracted approximately £3M in research grants, mainly on peer-reviewed Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and EC projects (most of them supported by industry).
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Highlights of recent research at City University London
Research at City Cass study solves financial market mystery New research by Cass Business School has helped solve an investment puzzle that has baffled City traders and academics for years. ‘Carry trade’, where investors borrow in currencies with low interest rates to invest in currencies with higher interest rates and thus profit from the difference, has produced mysteriously high returns for decades. In theory the investment tactic should not work; exchange rates would be expected to shift fast enough to neutralise any gains made from investing in currencies linked to higher interest rates. In addition, higher inflation in high-rate countries would also be expected to reduce profits. But research co-authored by Professor Lucio Sarno with colleagues from Leibniz Universität Hannover and the Bank for International Settlements, explains why ‘carry trade’ continues to generate such high returns. In the study, published in the world’s leading finance journal, the Journal of Finance, the authors analysed 48 currencies against the US dollar between 1983 and 2009. They found that carry trade profits, which amounted to an average of more than five per cent a year even after accounting for transaction costs, can be explained as a reward for the significant risk investors undertake. “Our study shows that high returns to currency carry trades can be understood as a compensation for risk,” says Professor Sarno. “If investments in currencies with higher interest rates deliver lower returns during the ‘bad times’ for investors, then carry trade profits are merely a compensation for higher risk-exposure by investors.”
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Shared understanding for people with HIV City academics have proposed additions to a pluralistic framework of therapy involving goals, tasks and methods for HIV-positive clients. This follows a study into clients receiving pluralistic counselling rather than cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). A pluralistic framework of therapy uses a mixture of different therapeutic approaches and collaborative dialogue with clients to identify what is most helpful to them. In comparison, CBT focuses on changing how clients think ('cognitive') and what they do ('behaviour'), to look for ways to improve a client’s state of mind. Professor Carla Willig and Dr Erin Miller, a Chartered Counselling Psychologist, analysed 36 pluralistic counselling sessions with three HIV positive clients. Transcribed audio recordings of the therapy were analysed before feedback sessions held with the clients. During the study, published in the European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling, HIV positive clients were found to have specific goals for their therapy including ‘self care’ and ‘increasing quality of life’. Based on the clients’ feedback, collaboration between therapist and client within a pluralistic framework helped the clients to become a ‘creative scientist’ or ‘a second therapist’ during the therapy. Carla and Erin’s research suggests the inclusion of ‘creating shared understanding’ into a pluralistic framework and highlights goals, tasks and methods that could be important to HIV positive clients.
Profits to be made by following gurus Stock market traders are more likely to make profits if they imitate or are imitated themselves by other traders, according to City research into financial market frenzies, crashes and panics.
The research by Professor Giulia Iori, Director of the Financial Economics MSc, with colleagues from the Universitá Politecnica delle Marche (Italy), used a market model with heterogeneous traders imitating the expectations of the most successful traders, called ‘gurus’.
Professor Mark Broom, from the Centre for Mathematical Science, with Associate Professor Jan Rychtář from The University of North Carolina and Heather Barker from Piedmont Community College Roxboro (US) published their research in the Journal of Theoretical Biology.
In the research, published in the Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization, Professor Iori and her colleagues studied network links between traders acting irrationally (i.e. not following economists’ advice) to show how imitation between traders, including those following gurus, affects wealth distribution.
They modelled a population of dung beetles that steal brood balls made by others, where the times of arrival and departure from pats depended on strategic choices; the cost of brood ball construction and the ease of finding balls to parasitise.
The study concludes that profit is a strong mechanism for forming links between traders and generates the Matthew effect (‘the rich get richer’) i.e. growth in profits is a consequence of profits made by following gurus, rather than because of links between rational traders. “The prevailing assumption that noise traders – those who act irrationally without access to true information and who can fluctuate prices – will quickly go bankrupt and are eliminated from the market is unrealistic,” explains Professor Iori.
Research at City
The researchers predicted that beetles follow one of three distinct behaviours: stay in patches for short periods; arrive late and be parasitic; or remain in pats for longer periods to guard their brood balls. The results show that beetle populations consist of the first type only when brood balls are difficult to find; a combination of the first and second types when balls are easy to find; or a combination of all three types when brood balls are very easy to find.
“We have shown that unsophisticated investors who follow noise traders can earn high profits as well as the noise traders, suggesting that the idea of full rationality in the market is implausible.”
Parasitic behaviour in dung beetles Dung beetles have been found to display distinct behaviours in how and where they lay eggs in dung pats and what affects this behaviour. Dung beetles (Onthophagus taurus) are commonly known for laying their eggs in brood balls within dung pats. The dung must be sufficiently fresh so beetles move between pats to find fresh dung. If another beetle finds a brood ball it usually eats the egg inside and lay its own egg in the brood ball, instead of constructing another ball. Thus beetles will often stay near their eggs to guard them.
City Research Online Have you uploaded your research outputs to City’s research repository? City Research Online (City News, November 2011) will help you raise the visibility of your research and help the University to collate and monitor its research. Find out more at: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk
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A first year journalism undergraduate investigates how online profiles might mean we lose sight of our personalities
We live in a world where having a mobile phone or an email address has become so ubiquitous that not having them could be seen as a conscious choice to be different. This phenomenon is now affecting social media as people substitute emails for Facebook messages or Twitter feeds. A growing number of people are now easier to contact through social media than by email or phone. Facebook is for friends, LinkedIn for business and Twitter merges the two to create a place where you can be informal but still professional. But by using multiple social networks, each requiring constant updates in different personas, are people losing sight of who they really are? Holly Clarke, Head of Social Video Science at Unruly Media (pictured), mentioned a ‘pressure to be more interesting’ in her talk at the recent Digital Shoreditch Festival. “We are looking for content to share on a regular basis,” she says. “[But] there’s no chance to reinvent yourself, no chance to play with your identity.” She is supported by Jamie Beckland, Digital and Social Media Strategist at Janrain, who wrote for Mashable: “People grow, reinvent themselves, move to new cities and find new interests. Hanging on to your baggage from five years ago is actually a huge hindrance and the psychic energy to maintain those old selves is more than we can cognitively manage.”
Sharing takes time And it is not just the amount of information we share that is problematic, but the time dedicated to sharing. Updating just two social media accounts daily, each with different purposes and distinctive styles, can get exhausting. If social networkers use multiple services regularly, little offline time is left for walks in the park or theatre outings – and if they did go out, they’d probably feel compelled to tweet about it.
by Catalina Albeanu
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and be witty or insightful on Twitter. Tumblr is completely ad-hoc and on LinkedIn I only post about work and recruitment.”
When social networks take over our lives
Holly uses Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Reddit, Pinterest and Hacker News. “I tailor my updates based on audience,” she explains. “Twitter, I keep to short snappy remarks, retweets and conversation and I try to keep it professional. I am more likely to post personal images and silly things to Facebook but try to make a point
Despite juggling multiple online personas, Holly says that people need to take a break: “Take a step back and think 'why did I tweet that, why did I share that, what was I trying to achieve?’ Make sure you find the right balance.” For already-addicted internet users, taking steps to cultivate an offline life are crucial: calling someone instead of tweeting, or discussing issues over a cappuccino rather than email. “We need to go outside, but not just to have something to post on Facebook,” says Holly. At a time when many sleep with their mobile within arm’s reach, perhaps powering off occasionally to enjoy a coffee with a friend could help rediscover our offline personality.
Social media facts • Two: The average number of social media accounts per person in the UK (Global Web Index) • Facebook, Twitter and Friends Reunited are the top three social networks in the UK (Global Web Index) • Facebook sessions last on average 20 minutes (Forbes.com) • One third of US adults are more comfortable sharing information online than in person (Intel's 2012 Mobile Etiquette Survey) • Eighty four per cent of Twitter users retweet posts because of personal connections to original posters (21 per cent retweet because messages were written by a celebrity) (socialmediatoday.com)
Meet your colleagues
Name and job title? Dr Laudan Nooshin, Senior Lecturer in Ethnomusicology in the Centre for Music Studies and Director of the Music research degrees.
What do you do at City day to day? My work covers the usual spectrum of education, research and administration. I lead modules at undergraduate and MA levels in the broad area of ethnomusicology, including topics such as Middle Eastern music studies, music and globalisation and music and film. I also run the second year music placement module and supervise several research students. My main administrative role in the Centre for Music Studies is as Senior Tutor for Research Students. Other than that, I seem to spend a lot of time in meetings of various kinds, answering zillions of emails, seeing students, fielding enquiries and more. It is never boring, that is for sure. My main area of research is Iranian music and culture, with a particular focus on youth culture and creative practice. This involves researching and producing publications; speaking at and organising conferences; sitting on external committees and journal editorial boards; and liaising with external organisations. In 2008, I took a group of City students on an educational visit to Iran, an incredible experience for the students involved. I am regularly contacted for advice and information on Iranian music and have just finished a term as a Journal Editor which has been very interesting but also very hard work.
What do you do in your spare time and to relax? I enjoy going to concerts and the theatre; listening to music; reading; cycling; photography; and travelling.
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party? Well, it would either have to be some high-profile public figure that I really respect like Nelson Mandela or Daniel Barenboim; or someone gorgeous like Ralph Fiennes.
Favourite place in London? I have so many favourite places in London, it is hard to choose. I do love Stanfords in Covent Garden. I have a bit of a travel bug and being in Stanfords with all its maps and travel books makes me feel as though I am thousands of miles away. I also love standing on Waterloo Bridge and taking in the panorama in both directions.
Trying to fit 48 hours of work into 24.
Finally, a well-hidden London secret which I love is the Lea Valley navigation canal tow path which joins the Thames at Limehouse and which I often cycle along. It will be busy this summer as it passes by the main Olympic stadium in Stratford.
How do you overcome it?
Favourite film?
By taking a deep breath at the start of each day and reminding myself how privileged I am to be doing a job that I love and working with such a great team of colleagues.
The English Patient (Anthony Minghella)
What is your biggest challenge in your job?
If you didn’t do your job what would you be doing? Lying on a beach or … when I was a child I really wanted to be an astronaut but that’s probably not very realistic at my age so either a photographer or a film-maker. There are several film-makers in my family so I’d have plenty of support (or competition!).
Favourite book? The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje) and also Beloved by Toni Morrison; I’m a big fan of her work.
Favourite song/music? If it has to be just one piece then I think I would have to go for the slow movement of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No 2 in F major. But Paul McCartney’s Let it Be is a very close second.
www.city.ac.uk/staff 15
Dates for your diary www.city.ac.uk/events Cass Healthcare Forum: Can loyalty cards lead to a healthier NHS? 6.15pm-8pm Tuesday 24th July, Rm LG002 Cass Business School Grant Harrison, co-founder of ‘thefuturewell’ and the man behind the Tesco Clubcard, speaks to the Cass Healthcare Forum about in health and changing customer behaviour. The event is sponsored by Carter Lemon Camerons LLP Solicitors and supported by the Centre for Health Enterprise.
A series of events and activities being held in Hackney House, venue for Hackney Council’s inward investment and media centre, with UK Trade & Industry involvement (see page 5). City also has 10 transferrable tickets to all events and activities, including evening entertainment. Contact Fleur Adolphe in the Enterprise Office for tickets and more information.
Goodbye and hello to Students’ Union officers 4pm Tuesday 31st July, Drysdale Garden
CPD Knowledge Café: Sharing good practices about short courses
A garden party to say farewell to our outgoing sabbatical officers – Rob Scully, Amish Patel and Ellis Cresswell – and to welcome the new team of Giulio Folino, James Perkins and Helen Jeyakumar. Please RSVP to Jessica Bishop if you wish to attend.
2pm-5pm Wednesday 25th July, Northampton Suite
British Aphasiology Society Therapy Symposium 2012
City hosts a London HEIs CPD Forum on the development, delivery and marketing of CPD, executive education and short courses. The forum involves interactive discussions on CPD and short course delivery in Universities with networking opportunities. Please RSVP to: cpd@kcl.ac.uk
8.30am-6pm Thursday 6th September, City University London
Hackney House 27th July to 31st August, Hackney House Shoreditch
The Therapy Symposium concentrates on what therapists actually do in treatment. It is a unique opportunity to hear about therapy approaches in detail and to take part in a lively debate. The Symposium features clinical case presentations, symposia and posters. In a new development, five-minute presentations of novel therapy ideas are invited.
European Alumni Gathering in Monaco Saturday 8th September, Monaco Cass Business School’s European Alumni Gathering is open to all Cass alumni and academics, along with guests from the Monaco business community. Among the speakers will be Richard Gillingwater, Dean Cass Business School; Lee Robinson, Founder, Director and Portfolio Manager of Altana Distressed Assets Fund; and Dr Nick Motson, Lecturer in Finance at Cass.
AECEF Symposium: Global Issues in Enhancing Civil Engineering Learning, Teaching, Research and Practice Thursday 13th and Friday 14th September, Oliver Thompson Lecture Theatre The seventh Association of European Civil Engineering Faculties (AECEF) symposium, on Global Issues in Enhancing Civil Engineering, is the first to be held at City and occurs on the 20th anniversary of the foundation of AECEF. The symposium will provide a platform to discuss a wide range of issues related to learning, teaching, research and practice and is supported by the Association of Civil Engineering Departments (ACED) from the UK.
Short Courses Open Evening
Staff training and development
5.30pm-8pm Thursday 20th September, Oliver Thompson Lecture Theatre Foyer
For information about staff training, email: evan.bates.1@city.ac.uk or visit: http://www.city.ac.uk/sd/index
Appraisal workshop for those who appraise others (academic and research staff)
Appraisal workshop for those who do not appraise others (academic and research staff)
Appraisal workshop for those who do not appraise others (professional staff)
An open evening to promote City’s comprehensive range of practical evening and weekend short courses. These cover a range of disciplines and are offered at levels ranging from beginner to advanced level. Staff can receive a discount on all courses.
Monday 16th July
Monday 20th August
Appraisal workshop for those who appraise others (professional staff)
Appraisal workshop for those who do not appraise others (Academic and Research staff)
Wednesday 18th July
Tuesday 21st August
Assertive Communication
Heartstart Programme
Friday 20th July
Tuesday 21st August
Appraisal workshop for those who appraise others (professional staff) Wednesday 15th August
Friday 17th August
I did that course! “The Heartstart Programme was a really useful and hands-on course. I feel a lot more confident about what to do in a crisis now.” Emily Allbon, Law Librarian