THE YEAR IN REVIEW 2015 - 2016
THE YEAR IN REVIEW 2015 – 2016 “We will continue to focus on getting the simple things right: ensuring a good quality student experience, maintaining a campus that is high quality and fit for purpose and building our long-term reputation for excellent teaching and research.” Dr John Cater CBE, Vice-Chancellor
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
CONTINUING TO BUILD VICE-CHANCELLOR, DR JOHN CATER, REFLECTS ON A YEAR IN THE SPOTLIGHT AND SETS OUT OUR FUTURE AMBITIONS Being named Times Higher Education ‘University of the Year’ in 2014/15 was extremely successful in raising the public perception of the University – our task for this year has been to fulfil that perception as well as continuing to build on the benefits of a year in the academic spotlight.
One of my personal aspirations has always been for Edge Hill to be acknowledged as one of the region’s finest institutions and, in the Sunday Times University League Table 2015, we were the most improved university, finishing in the top four in the North West alongside Lancaster, Liverpool and Manchester. Applications to study here increased following University of the Year, particularly in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which saw a 20% rise, and our conversion rate, the people who ultimately choose to come here, went up to one in three. Edge Hill also continued to rank highly for student satisfaction, coming top in the region and joint fourth in the UK in the latest National Student Survey, and maintaining our place in the top two among major universities in the North West that we’ve held for ten of the last 11 surveys. We were also named the UK’s top employer in the European Business Awards 2015/16, recognising our commitment to staff as well as students. I’m very proud of these achievements but, for me, the most important measure of how good we are as a university is the personal progress our students make. Last year, the Department for Business, Innovation
and Skills (now the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) placed Edge Hill in the top two UK universities for ‘added value’ – where people are at the beginning compared with the end of their academic journey – which means we’re making a real impact on people’s lives. Add to this strong graduate employment figures and higher than average graduate salaries, and we certainly seem to have delivered against the title of ‘University of the Year’. So, where do we go from here? In terms of ambitions for the future, I’d like to see further improvement in the next Research Excellence Framework in 2021, following our sector-beating progress in the last one. I’d also hope to see our strong reputation for learning and teaching and student experience – which I believe is outstanding – reflected in the Teaching Excellence Framework in 2017. I also want to see Edge Hill feature in the World University Rankings by the end of the decade. If we are to capitalise on our tenure as University of the Year, we will continue to focus on getting the simple things right: ensuring a good quality student experience, maintaining a campus that is high quality and fit for purpose and building our long-term reputation for excellent teaching and research. We will be judged as an outstanding university every year, not just by the Times Higher, but by our students, staff and stakeholders.
2015 AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
UNIVERSITY OF THE YEAR
£30M SPORTS COMPLEX OPENS
DEVELOPING THE CURRICULUM
As the year commenced, Edge Hill held the University of the Year title, awarded in the 10th annual Times Higher Education (THE) Awards.
A brand new Sports Centre was opened at the University by Olympic heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
A number of new undergraduate and postgraduate courses were launched, including Music Production, Popular Music, Cyber Security and Sports Coaching & Development.
PALATINE COURT HIGHEST QUALIFIED INTAKE GET THEIR EXAM RESULTS Over 4,000 new students achieved the required entry grades to start programmes in 2015, a 5% increase on the previous year.
The new Halls of Residence provide 168 new single-study en-suite bedrooms, bringing the total number of students that can live on campus to 2,259.
SAFEST UNIVERSITY IN THE REGION Edge Hill has been ranked the safest university in the North West for the fourth year running, according to new survey results published by the independent Complete University Guide.
CAMPUS CELEBRATES FOUR YEARS OF FLYING THE GREEN FLAG
ATHENA SWAN AWARD Edge Hill University has received a bronze award from Athena SWAN, the charter that recognises commitment to tackling gender inequality in STEM subjects in higher education. In gaining the award, the University has established an action plan to advance and promote the careers of women across a range of disciplines.
CHELTENHAM LITERATURE FESTIVAL
Edge Hill’s beautiful campus retained a prestigious Green Flag award for the fourth year running.
NEW FRONT ENTRANCE The impressive front entrance to the main building was updated, restoring the elegance of the 1933 original.
Edge Hill visited the renowned Cheltenham Literature Festival and sponsored the festival’s Fiction at 7 series, which provided an opportunity to hear a mix of well-known authors talking about their new books. It was also an opportunity to showcase 7 Fictions, an anthology of work by Edge Hill Associates, containing seven short stories by staff, students and associates of the University.
2016 NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
JANUARY
CHANCELLOR’S LECTURE
BETTER AT HOME SUITE LAUNCH
FESTIVAL OF IDEAS
Broadcaster, writer and presenter Clare Balding visited Edge Hill to deliver a major event in the University calendar, the annual Chancellor’s Lecture.
The first of its kind in the UK, the Better at Home Suite is an innovative training resource for families of children and young people with long-term and complex medical needs developed in partnership with the charity WellChild.
Edge Hill held its first Festival of Ideas, featuring a diverse range of events exploring culture, health and society. The theme for the 2016 series was Imagining Better, which explored ways for communities, arts and healthcare to develop and flourish, even in times of austerity and inequality.
SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS Edge Hill’s Excellence Scholarship Awards were presented to students displaying determination, commitment and achievement in their chosen field, at a presentation evening held on campus.
EXTREME ATHLETE RICHARD PARKS DELIVERS PUBLIC LECTURE Richard Parks, former Welsh rugby international turned extreme adventurer, broadcaster and writer, visited Edge Hill to deliver a public lecture titled Living Life to the Extreme: Sport, Achievement, Endurance as part of the University’s Celebrating Sport events.
RECORD LABEL INNOVATION Edge Hill’s industry-led, not-for-profit record label won Highly Commended in the 2015 Times Higher Awards ‘Excellence and Innovation in the Arts’ category. The Label Recordings released singles by bands Oranj Son and Feral Love, supported with film, marketing and events created with student participation.
PRESIDENT OF THE BPS DELIVERS GUEST LECTURE The President of the British Psychological Society, Professor Jamie Hacker Hughes, visited Edge Hill to deliver a public lecture titled The Role and Relevance of Psychology in Today’s World, as part of the Festival of Ideas.
SUFFRAGETTE SCREENING TO MARK 131ST BIRTHDAY EDGE HILL MONOPOLY A special edition of the board game, based on the best-loved places on campus such as Hale Hall, the Rock Garden and the Hub, was launched and delivered to each Hall of Residence in time for Christmas.
A free screening of the criticallyacclaimed film Suffragette took place on campus, coinciding with the anniversary week of the University’s opening as the first nondenominational teacher training college for women 131 years ago.
FEBRUARY
TOP EMPLOYER IN THE UK Edge Hill was named as the UK’s top employer in the European Business Awards. The University was the only UK Ruban D’Honneur recipient in the Employer of the Year category in this year’s coveted awards.
MARCH
BEST STUDENT EXPERIENCE IN THE NORTH WEST Edge Hill was identified as offering the best student experience in the North West in the Times Higher Education UK Student Experience Survey. The University also climbed four places in the national table to reach the top fifth of all universities surveyed.
APRIL
SHAKESPEARE’S COMPLETE WALK Edge Hill played an essential role in an international tribute to one of the world’s most famous playwrights, by supporting Liverpool’s participation in The Complete Walk organised by Shakespeare’s Globe. 37 short films played on screens at city centre venues marking the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
PGMI AWARDED £500,000 CONTRACT Edge Hill University’s Postgraduate Medical Institute was awarded a coveted £500,000 contract by Health Education England to supply medical leadership training for the whole of the North West region.
CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS The Confucius Institute celebrated Chinese New Year by transforming the Hub into a Chinese Street Market showcasing many different aspects of Chinese culture, food and entertainment.
SIR CHRIS HOY VISIT STUDENTS RAISE THOUSANDS THROUGH NSS Students helped raise thousands for the Edge Hill SU RAG (Raising and Giving) and three other charities, by completing the National Student Survey to provide feedback about their university experiences. The University pledged to make a charity donation of £5 for every survey completed and, as a result of this initiative, over 50% of final year students filled in the survey raising £7,200.
Britain’s most successful Olympian, Sir Chris Hoy, delighted local primary school students when he visited Edge Hill to introduce and sign copies of his new illustrated fiction series, Flying Fergus.
HALLY MCHALLFACE UNVEILED AS NAME OF NEW HALLS OF RESIDENCE Edge Hill’s April Fool story was included in the Times Higher rankings for the best Higher Education spoofs. It also fooled a local newspaper into believing the prank was real.
MAY
EMPLOYABILITY AWARDS The University celebrated the excellent contributions of students, employers and alumni towards supporting graduate careers at the Employability Awards Evening 2016. The awards event recognises the progress and achievements students have made in developing their ability to stand out from the crowd in the competitive graduate jobs market.
SOUND CITY MUSIC FESTIVAL Edge Hill has signed on as the exclusive industry-connection partner for Liverpool’s Sound City music festival for the next three years in an ongoing effort to develop a platform for aspiring North West musicians.
DRAGON BOAT RACE Edge Hill hosted the fourth annual North West Confucius Institute Dragon Boat Race at Liverpool Watersports Centre. The event saw five dragon boat teams from universities across the North West battle it out on the water to scoop the coveted title.
JUNE
BEST STUDENT ACCOMMODATION IN THE UK Edge Hill has the best university halls in the United Kingdom as it demonstrates the highest levels of student satisfaction among residents, according to the National Student Housing Survey Awards 2016.
JULY
SUMMER GRADUATIONS July 2016 saw more than 3,500 students graduate from all three of Edge Hill’s faculties, in 15 ceremonies and applauded by 10,000 guests in just one week. The University also awarded ten honorary doctorates to outstanding individuals.
LANCASHIRE UCAS FAIR
SHORT STORY PRIZE
For the third year running, Edge Hill hosted the Lancashire UCAS Higher Education Exhibition, where over 125 universities from across the UK spoke to people about taking their first step into higher education, and the options available to them.
The annual Edge Hill Short Story Prize celebrated its tenth anniversary this year, and the winner of the £10,000 prize was Jessie Greengrass with her debut collection, An Account of the Decline of the Great Auk According to One Who Saw It. The Edge Hill Prize remains the only UK based award that recognises excellence in a published short story collection.
LEARNING AND TEACHING CONFERENCE Edge Hill hosted the 2016 SOLSTICE and Centre for Learning and Teaching Conference, with many previous keynote speakers returning to help celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the SOLSTICE CETL Conference. The event welcomed international attendees from China, Australia and South Africa.
YOUNG ENTERPRISE TEAM WINS NATIONAL AWARD Wet Fish, a team of second year Marketing and Computer Science students, won a prestigious award at the Young Enterprise Start Up Final for a unique card game they produced. They competed against the top ten Start Up busineses in the UK and came second, securing a £4,000 investment award.
ALUMNI CATCH-UP DAY Edge Hill welcomed more than 300 former students back to campus for the annual Alumni Catch-Up Day, so they could reconnect with the University and reminisce about their time on campus.
CONTENTS
FEATURES Building the Future
1
Inside the new ÂŁ13m Tech Hub
Living Room
5
Designing student residences to meet rising expectations
Growing our Portfolio
9
Launching new programmes to address emerging skills needs and meet student demand
Medical Leadership
13
New leadership programmes for healthcare
Success Story
15
Professor Ailsa Cox on the appeal of the short story
Imagining Better Looking back at the first Festival of Ideas
Tackling Stigma
21
How sport opens doors to improving mental health
19
Hidden Thoughts
25
Professor Geoff Beattie’s innovative work on body language
Combatting Disease
27
International collaboration tackling mosquito-borne diseases
Hillsborough Reflections
29
Dr Howard Davies reflects on the long aftermath of the disaster
Consuming Passion Professor Helen Woodruffe-Burton on consumer behaviour
33
THE YEAR IN The Faculty of Arts and Sciences
37
The Faculty of Education
41
The Faculty of Health and Social Care and Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI)
43
The Institute for Creative Enterprise (ICE)
45
The Institute for Public Policy and Professional Practice (I4P)
47
FACTS & FIGURES Finances and Key Metrics
Culture 49 Developing our People
51
Sport 53 Working with Schools and Colleges
55
AWARDS & APPOINTMENTS Professors 59 Donors to the University
62
Honorary Graduates
63
Senior Appointments
67
Giving Back
69
Student-led Staff Award Winners
71
74-80
FEATURES This selection of in-depth articles explores key developments and areas of activity from across the University.
5
6
FEATURES
BUILDING THE FUTURE HOW DO A CAVE, A CAFE AND A STEAM ROOM CONTRIBUTE TO THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF THE NORTH WEST?
Imagine paramedic students being able to attend a traffic accident on the M6 without leaving campus. Or surgeons having the opportunity to practice complex surgery without making an incision. With the opening of Edge Hill’s new £13 million Technology Hub, Edge Hill staff, students, local companies and schools can experience any number of virtual situations in the CAVE, a super immersive 3D environment that is creating new and exciting possibilities for teaching, learning and doing business. The first of its kind in any British university, the CAVE (computer augmented virtual environment) is one of the most advanced virtual simulators. It allows users to view virtual content in an interactive setting, effectively transforming the room into an immersive 3D environment that can realistically replicate real life scenarios in 4k resolution from emergency situations to lab reactions. As well as allowing students to use virtual reality in their computing, bioscience and geology projects, the CAVE has the potential to support local industries across a wide range of sectors, and contribute to the teaching of STEM subjects in local schools. The CAVE is just one part of the new low carbon building, which is supported by a £3 million investment from Lancashire Enterprise Partnership.
The new ÂŁ13 million Technology Hub, which features the first CAVE 4k virtual simulator in UK higher education.
More than 600 students can be accommodated in state-ofthe-art classrooms and laboratories, a Harvard-style lecture theatre and informal study areas at any time, including up to 50 on a specialist Biotechnology floor. The building also includes facilities to support the introduction of new degree programmes in Biotechnology and Food Science over the next two years. Research at Edge Hill will also be enhanced by the Technology Hub, which was officially opened by Sir Robin Saxby in October. Researchers can use specialist bioscience labs with facilities for histology, microbiology and imaging, an anaerobic chamber, a laser-microscope, MIDI and FAME analysis systems for exploring the characteristics of microbes, and tissue culture and analysis facilities to better understand disease and develop new treatments. The new facilities at Edge Hill will make a major contribution to the development of advanced industry in the North West and have a positive impact on the regional economy. An Enterprise Centre will be a focus for business development, with a Start-Up CafĂŠ where companies can meet students to discuss technology challenges and develop ideas, and a STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts and Manufacturing) room to support graduate companies and local technology start-ups.
“These cutting-edge facilities and systems are an asset for the whole community and will help strengthen our partnerships within business and increase our research capabilities. Mark Allanson, Pro Vice-Chancellor
The four-screen CAVE will offer students and businesses the chance to fully immerse themselves in a virtual room. Using real data to replicate reality, users will be able to experience real life scenarios in 4k resolution.
The Tech Hub was officially opened by entrepreneur and former Chairman, President and CEO of world-leading technology company ARM Holdings, Sir Robin Saxby.
Hub facts: The Technology Hub also supports Edge Hill’s commitment to widening participation by opening its doors to local schools in areas with traditionally low participation in higher education, and showing children the exciting possibilities offered by studying STEM subjects in the future. Child-friendly features, like giant 3D interactive teaching screens and a programmable child-size robot, will help to bring technology to life for the next generation of scientists and computing experts. Mark Allanson, Pro Vice-Chancellor, said: “The world of technological science and innovation through virtual reality is advancing at an incredible pace. We’re committed to investing in research, technological innovation, computing and biosciences. This facility is a key part of that and reflects our success in producing employable, highly skilled graduates who contribute to the regional economy and beyond. “These cutting-edge facilities and systems are an asset for the whole community and will help strengthen our partnerships within business and increase our research capabilities. Our collaboration with Lancashire Enterprise Partnership will help us to focus on regional skills needs.”
£13m project £3m investment from Lancashire Enterprise Partnership 3,800m2, three-storey building 600 students accommodated 13 IT-rich teaching spaces
The Lancashire Growth Deal: The Technology Hub is part of the Lancashire Growth Deal, a government initiative to support economic growth in the area, led by Lancashire Enterprise Partnership. The Growth Deal aims to realise the potential of the whole of Lancashire, building on key assets including universities. Over its lifetime, the Growth Deal is expected to create up to 8,000 jobs, 3,000 new homes and attract £280 million of additional public and private investment to the county.
FEATURES
LIVING ROOM FROM BONDING OVER DAYTIME TV TO ARGUING OVER WHOSE MILK IS WHOSE – WHY IS STUDENT ACCOMMODATION SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE?
Large communal spaces encourage students to leave their rooms to eat, study and socialise, helping them to form lifelong friendships.
Edge Hill’s campus has nearly doubled in size in the past 15 years, allowing the University to devote more space to student living. Today’s high-spec communal Halls, with their flatscreen TVs and free wifi, might be a world away from the blocks of (strictly monitored) single-sex rooms with shared bathroom along the corridor that housed the original Edge Hill students in the 1930s, but the ethos remains the same – to provide the best environment in which to live and learn. Student accommodation has always been about more than simply bricks and mortar. For many students starting university, it’s the first time they’ve lived away from home, the first time they’ve had to share with people they don’t know, the first time they’ve had to cook, do laundry and clean up for themselves. Living in student accommodation has, for decades, possibly centuries, been a rite of passage marking the beginning of independent adulthood and creating lifelong friendships – so, getting it right is key to a good student experience. “Personal development is an important part of being a student and something that we take very seriously at Edge Hill,” says Lynda Brady, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Experience). “We want students to grow and develop as people during their time with us. Learning how to live in and contribute to a community is part of that personal growth, which is why the development of facilities for living, studying and socialising on campus continues to be a key strategic priority for Edge Hill.” However, as the cost of a university education rises, so do student expectations, and people – students and their families – are no longer satisfied with the tatty student digs of the past, no matter how ‘character building’ they are. Today’s student accommodation is more boutique hotel than grubby flat and Edge Hill’s is among the best in the North West with high-spec Halls of Residence surrounded by lakes, trees and even a beach – all built into an award-winning environment that is designed specifically to meet students’ needs.
Award-winning campus: The University has been granted Green Flag status, the national benchmark for parks and green spaces in the UK, for four years running Student accommodation was voted best in the UK in the National Student Housing Survey Awards 2016 The Complete University Guide named Edge Hill as the safest campus in the North West for the last four years Edge Hill was ranked in the top two nationally for ‘good environment on campus’ and in the top three nationally for ‘high quality facilities’ in the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2016 The University was ranked in the top ten for student facilities in 2016 by What Uni.
FEATURES
Edge Hill’s student village is part of an award-winning green landscape with a lake, a fountain and even a beach, yet it’s just minutes from bedroom to classroom.
In 2015 the University added more accommodation to its expanding estate, innovating to meet changing student requirements, hit sustainability targets and provide affordable living solutions for its diverse student body. “With accommodation the biggest outlay for today’s students, keeping costs down is a major concern, particularly when building the kind of high quality, high-spec rooms that students have come to expect,” says Dave Oldham, Director of Capital Developments. “One of the ways our accommodation remains affordable compared with its competitors is through sustainable construction.” Edge Hill’s innovative approach to sustainability means that student accommodation is designed and constructed to use less energy and generate lower running and maintenance costs in the long term – savings which can be passed on to students. The use of CHP (Combined Heating and Power) technology, triple glazed windows and high performance insulation throughout all residential developments has helped make Edge Hill once of the most environmentally-friendly campuses in the UK. “Through benchmarking, we’ve been able to demonstrate that our accommodation developments are 20% more energy efficient than other residential facilities in the higher education sector,” adds Dave. This year, all first year students wanting to live on campus could be accommodated for the first time. Plans are now underway for a new development of townhouses exclusively for second and third years, allowing more students than ever to enjoy the benefits of campus living – and ensuring they leave university with much more than their degree.
FEATURES
GROWING OUR PORTFOLIO HOW DO NEW PROGRAMMES MEET CHANGING INDUSTRY NEEDS AND KEEP STUDENTS ONE STEP AHEAD IN THE GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT GAME?
Students aspiring to work in the music and sports industries now have even more opportunities to develop their talents and boost their skills with a range of new degree programmes introduced this year. Building on its innovative sound creation and performance degree, Media, Music and Sound, Edge Hill has launched a suite of complementary programmes aimed at students with a passion for composing, performing, producing and recording music and sound. The new musical portfolio features new BA (Hons) programmes in Music, Music Production and Popular Music which make full use of Edge Hill’s sector-leading facilities, including industry-standard technology, recording studios and rehearsal rooms, and established music industry links. The University’s recently completed £30 million sports complex has enabled two new undergraduate programmes in Sports Coaching and Development and Sports Management and Coaching, as well as a ground-breaking MSc in Sport, Physical Activity and Mental Health, the first of its kind in the country. The degrees are industry-focused and draw on Edge Hill’s successful partnerships with sporting organisations from Everton FC to Sport England. This year also sees further expansion of the University’s postgraduate portfolio with a new MSc in Cyber Security and a specialist PGCE in Primary Physical Education.
From student to studio: Edge Hill offers a wealth of opportunities for Music students and graduates to get first-hand experience of the music industry and learn vital skills that will put them ahead in the job market. Composers at Edge Hill promotes early-career Music graduates as providers of music for commercial and other projects, using the University’s studios, resources, applications and instruments. Music Production students have the opportunity to produce tracks in Liverpool’s famous Parr Street Studios, used by Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Drake, Coldplay, Paolo Nutini and Stereophonics. The Label Recordings provides insights into the music industry, involving student volunteers in everything from scouting for new bands to filming their music videos, doing their publicity and organising promotional events. The University’s record label works on a not-for-profit basis to give students real-time casestudies of launching new talent, and to date has kick-started the careers of local bands like Hooton Tennis Club, Youth Hostel and Oranj Son.
Music students are based in the Creative Edge building which houses industry-standard facilities including TV studios, recording studios, sound-editing studios and a radio studio. Students are provided with the very best realistic working environments in which to enhance and develop their skills.
Students use cutting edge software to record their own compositions and gain knowledge of the technology and techniques necessary for the creation and distribution of music as part of the new Music Production degree.
FEATURES
Formed in 2014, Shrinking Minds performed at The Label Recordings Liverpool Sound City Showcase and have already developed a strong reputation in the Merseyside music scene.
FEATURES
MEDICAL LEADERSHIP WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO LEAD IN A CHANGING AND CHALLENGING HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENT?
Edge Hill has partnered with the Royal College of Physicians to develop an exciting medical leadership and management programme for trainees working in the region. Photography from RCP, copyright Jonathan Perugia
“The Medical Leadership programme has really enhanced our reputation in specialist postgraduate clinical training” Professor Clare Austin, Head of the PGMI
With a growing reputation for medical education and research, strong partnerships with external organisations and a desire to improve service delivery, treatment, care and health, Edge Hill’s Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI) is starting to have a real influence on policy and practice across the North West and beyond. A provider of leadership training for several years, the PGMI focuses on preparing health professionals for the challenges of leading in a fast-moving NHS, where people are constantly having to take on new roles and develop and adapt their skillsets. In February this year, the PGMI won a contract worth half a million pounds to provide medical leadership training across the North West. The contract, awarded by Health Education England (HEE), will be delivered as part of a long-standing collaboration with the Royal College of Physicians. Professor Clare Austin, Head of the PGMI Management Committee, says: “This was awarded after a competitive tender and we feel the award is testimony to our growing reputation in the area of medical education and leadership. We were able to bring together our expertise to offer a programme that links education and research. It’s not education for education’s sake; the programme reflects the reality of working in today’s NHS and has a real focus on making a tangible difference to practice, both during and, more importantly, after the course.” The new leadership module, which welcomed its first students in September, was praised by HEE for its curriculum vision, themes and learning outcomes. With a flexible, personalised approach and emphasis on selfreflection and patient-centred outcomes, the programme encourages doctors and dentists to understand their personal leadership styles and the impact they can have on practice – and, ultimately, on people’s lives. Tom Baker, Senior Educationalist at the Royal College of Physicians, said: “The Royal College of Physicians was pleased to be able to partner with Health Education England and Edge Hill University to design and deliver a medical leadership course for trainees in the North West. We have seen the programme go from strength to strength over
the years and our students are showing great progress and demonstrating real transference of theory into practice. The ever increasing demands of clinicians within the health services requires strong and resilient leaders; it has been a real pleasure to see these leadership traits grow, develop and be demonstrated through our students’ leadership assignments. The strong partnership between our colleagues at Edge Hill and the Royal College of Physicians has proven to be a winning team and we hope it continues for many years to come.” Clare adds: “HEE has a mandate from the government for ‘Delivering high quality, effective, compassionate care: Developing the right people with the right skills and the right values’. The new leadership programme helps to build emotional intelligence in students, which will ensure they are equipped to lead in the right way. Our vision is to develop effective, values-based, resilient and reflective medical leaders who can play a role in helping HEE fulfil its mandate. It’s leadership in practice, not just in theory.” Up to 300 health professionals are expected to undertake the training each year, and there are opportunities to progress on to the PGMI’s MSc in Medical Leadership or other Masters programmes. Charlotte Moen, Programme Leader, says: “The medical leadership programme acts as a catalyst for ongoing personal and professional leadership development. As well as providing evidence of continued development, learning outcomes are mapped to professional development competencies. We work closely with HEE to ensure that the programme provides the right kind of education that integrates with people’s ongoing professional development and reflects the changing needs of practice.” The new leadership programme builds on the PGMI’s success in providing innovative medical and surgical programmes and producing graduates who are able to enhance the safety and quality of patient care and use their influence to deliver practice-based change. As well as a range of Masters programmes in leadership, surgery, dental education, assisted conception, and medical and clinical education, the PGMI runs a range of CPD (Continuing Professional Development) modules for health and social care practitioners. “The Medical Leadership programme has really put us on the map in terms of postgraduate clinical training,” adds Clare. “Edge Hill is becoming renowned for providing highly specialised programmes and undertaking collaborative research that builds on our strengths and those of our partners.”
FEATURES
SUCCESS STORY WHAT MAKES THE SHORT STORY SO PERFECT FOR 21ST CENTURY READERS?
At Edge Hill the short story has been around for a long time. A focus for research and teaching since the early days of the University’s Creative Writing programme, its importance as a genre is now recognised by the Edge Hill Prize for the Short Story, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. “There has definitely been a growth in confidence in the short story in the past ten years,” explains Ailsa Cox, the world’s first Professor of Short Fiction and founder of the Edge Hill Prize. “Writers used to be published by small publishers or specialist imprints but now we’re seeing new short story authors like Lucy Wood being published by Bloomsbury. Short stories were viewed by big publishers as the precursor to a novel – and that does still happen – but times are definitely changing.” The Edge Hill Prize has also been transformed over the years. Still the only award to recognise a published short story collection by a British or Irish author, the Prize attracted fewer than 20 entries back in 2007. In 2016, there were 38 entries with newcomers battling it out with very well-established writers. “We initially wanted the Prize to be a way of promoting the genre and to give a platform to writers who wanted to specialise in the short story,” says Ailsa. “There were already
literary prizes for single short stories but that didn’t address the problem of getting a collection published. Now there are more collections published than I can keep up with and writers who enter the competition increasingly have literary agents and may even have their debut collections published by big publishers. ”In the Prize’s tenth year, it was gratifying to announce Jessie Greengrass, a new writer who has only published short fiction, as the winner. She is proof that publishers are more and more willing to stake everything on a short story collection from an untried author. It’s a mistake for publishers to assume people don’t like short stories as Jessie’s success clearly shows they do.” But what is it about this compellingly concise literary form that makes it so appealing to contemporary readers? Ailsa believes it’s partly down to the immediacy of the genre – a short, sharp shock of words that is perfect for today’s technology driven, hectic lives. “We live in the age of the soundbite so short fiction fits perfectly with the way we see the world,” says Ailsa. “Thanks to mobile technology you can download and read a whole story on your commute to work; it’s self-contained and, although it’s no less demanding than a novel, you can
Head Land, published in 2016 by Edge Hill University Press, brings together the very best of the Short Story Prize in one collection for the very first time.
immerse yourself in it for a short, intense period of time then move on. The pace of change means we experience the world in fragments so the short story, which is like a fragment or a snapshot, is ideal for 21st century readers.”
With this year’s Edge Hill Prize for the Short Story attracting more entries than ever, the future looks good for the genre that has been variously described as a ‘bullet’, a ‘daisy cutter bomb’ and ‘the high-wire act of literature’.
But it’s not just the convenience of fewer words that makes short fiction so popular. According to Ailsa, it’s also its playfulness and refusal to conform to literary conventions.
“I see the Edge Hill Prize as part of a bigger movement,” says Ailsa. “As well as prizes there are now festivals that support the short story, as well as numerous websites and online communities of readers, writers and publishers dedicated to the genre. It will always be a niche but as long as people continue to love storytelling, there will be a place for the short story.”
“Short story writers see the form as a playground,” she says. “It doesn’t need to have a linear narrative or follow strict plots. It can be more experimental because nothing is expected of it. A short story is more about imagery and creating dramatic tension, it’s about playing with language and making loose connections like a montage. Writers can take more risks with a short story and that makes them exciting to read.” The success of the Short Story Prize has recently been celebrated in print, with the publication of Head Land, the very first collection of prize-winning and shortlisted stories. Published by Edge Hill University Press, the University’s new literary imprint, the anthology includes contributions from some of the best short story writers working in Britain and Ireland today and showcases the wide range of styles, subjects and genres that can be encompassed by the term ‘short fiction’.
“We live in the age of the soundbite so short fiction fits perfectly with the way we see the world” Ailsa Cox, Professor of Short Fiction and founder of the Edge Hill Prize
FEATURES
The world’s first Professor of Short Fiction, Ailsa Cox, celebrates ten years of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize.
And the winner is… Over the past ten years, recipients of the Edge Hill Prize for the Short Story have included a scriptwriter, a poet and a journalist, as well as renowned, international novelists and writers who specialise in short fiction. 2007 – Colm Toibin 2008 – Claire Keegan 2009 – Chris Beckett 2010 – Jeremy Dyson 2011 – Graham Mort 2012 – Sarah Hall 2013 – Kevin Barry 2014 – John Burnside 2015 – Kirsty Gunn 2016 – Jessie Greengrass 2017 – to be announced in August…
Emy Onuora discussed his new book The Story of Black British Footballers with honorary graduate, writer and musician Peter Hooton.
FEATURES
IMAGINING BETTER HOW CAN WE EXPLORE CULTURE, POLICY AND HEALTH TO IMPROVE SOCIETY AND STIMULATE MINDS?
Imagining Better, Edge Hill’s first Festival of Ideas, featured a diverse range of events exploring ways for communities, arts and healthcare to develop and flourish, even in times of austerity and inequality. The initiative featured an eclectic range of talks, exhibitions, films and performances examining issues such as children’s rights and citizenship, arts and social justice, innovative strategies for current healthcare issues, racism in sport and cultural identities. And it reflected an important objective which is to create a space in which ideas, discussion and conversation can flow and in turn stimulate reflection and thought. Edge Hill’s Festival of Ideas was inspired, in part, by the work of the internationally respected cultural theorist Stuart Hall and built on the University’s tribute to him on the occasion of his death in 2014. A key part of Hall’s work and his contribution to ideas and the academy was his invitation to think in a multi- or inter-disciplinary way, and to encourage critical thinking and questioning. Imagining Better was programmed by Edge Hill’s three research institutes – The Institute for Public Policy and Professional Practice (I4P), the Institute for Creative Enterprise (ICE) and the Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI). The 2017 Festival of Ideas will run during June.
Professor Kate Oakley from the University of Leeds held an event to discuss regional development and inequalities, drawing on her research about New Labour and the more recent developments about the Northern Powerhouse Professor Des O’Neill looked at misconceptions around medicine and older people, using an example featuring Matisse’s The Snail. Professor O’Neill’s event was held at Tate Liverpool as part of the University’s partnership with the arts organisation which also allowed the audience to have private access to the Matisse in Focus exhibition Professor Kate Pickett delivered the Third Annual Lecture for I4P looking at inequality, entitled The Enemy Between Us Inaugural lectures by Professors Tom Cockburn and Paresh Wankhade highlighted aspects of research undertaken within the University and introduced Edge Hill’s academics to the wider community.
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TACKLING STIGMA CAN SPORT REALLY IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH AND HELP END THE STIGMA OF MENTAL ILLNESS?
Against a backdrop of rising mental illness, particularly among children and young people, and a reduction in mental health services, an innovative partnership between Edge Hill University and Everton Football Club is finding new ways to improve the physical and mental health of people in some of the country’s most deprived areas. Edge Hill has been working with Everton in the Community (EitC), the official charity of Everton Football Club, since 2014. The partnership aims to benefit the local community through collaborative research-led projects around physical activity and public health, and student placements to help develop community sport. The collaboration’s flagship project, Tackling the Blues, has been running since March 2015. The sports-based programme, which targets young people aged 8-14 who are experiencing or are at risk of developing mental illness, touches the lives of around 300 children every week. Now the project is expanding to address not only the mental health of children but also the people working with them. “There are growing national concerns about the effect of stress and high workloads on the mental health of the school workforce in the UK,” explains Andy Smith, Professor of Sport and Physical Activity, who heads up the partnership with EitC. “Mental health problems are the single biggest reason for sick leave among teachers and for people leaving the profession. There is a blurring of the roles between teachers and social workers; teachers are under increasing pressure deal with students’ mental health issues – often with little or no training – and this is leaving them vulnerable to problems themselves.” This year, Tackling the Blues includes workshops for school staff for the first time, delivered in partnership with the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).
Mental Health Facts 1 in 4 people will experience mental illness in any given year In 2014, 6,122 people aged 10 and above died by suicide; 76% were men Around 25% of adults experience depression by age 21; 75% of all adult mental disorders (excluding dementia) are experienced by age 18, and over one-half are first experienced by age 14 850,000 children and young people have a clinically significant mental health problem 1 in 12 young people self-harm Approximately 78% of 5-15-year-olds and 35% of those aged 16 and above with anxiety or diagnosable depression are not in contact with mental health services.
Left to right: Michael Salla (Director of Health and Sport, Everton Football Club), Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale (Executive Chair, Everton in the Community), Jon Jones (Partnership, Development & Engagement Manager, Department of Sport and Physical Activity, Edge Hill University), Andy Smith (Professor of Sport and Physical Activity, Edge Hill University) at Goodison Park.
“Teachers really valued the work we were doing with children through Tackling the Blues, and the ATL approached us to see how we could help its members,” says Andy. “The programme had highlighted a lack of support for teachers around mental health so we developed a programme to help them look after their own mental wellbeing as well as that of their students.”
“Delivering sports sessions and educational workshops for Tackling the Blues really increased my knowledge and understanding of mental health issues,” he says. “My overall experience with Everton in the Community helped me develop important skills which I use every day in my job as a Community Inclusion Officer for a charitable football organisation.”
The Mental Health for Education events gather information on the real-life challenges facing teachers with a view to informing future policy and practice. The ATL is planning to roll the project out across the UK to improve support, start discussions and reduce the stigma around mental health in schools.
Edge Hill’s work with EitC is attracting interest from the media and also from public sector, private and charitable organisations across health, education, social work and sport. Andy Smith and Project Lead, Jon Jones, appeared on BBC Radio 5Live recently to discuss sport and mental health and the subject is to be the focus of a special report on a forthcoming edition of Match of the Day. As a result of the partnership, Edge Hill was asked to advise on Sport England’s new mental health and wellbeing strategy, and is working with Student Mind and BUCS (British Universities and College Sport) on mental health training for students. The partnership also won the Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community prize at the 2016 Times Higher Education Awards for its work on Tackling the Blues.
Edge Hill’s other key project with EitC, Active Blues, is also having a major impact on the local community. The Sport England and Lottery-funded project, which encourages inactive men in the most disadvantaged areas to become physically active through sport, has recently launched a ‘walking football’ tournament, as well as a series of ‘Lads’ Night In’ events at the football club, featuring ex-players. More than 300 men have been involved with the project to date, and it is now the subject of a three-year research project to evaluate the impact of the programme on participants’ lives and how it could be used in the future to help GPs and other health professionals. The partnership is not only beneficial to local people, it is also offering unique opportunities for Edge Hill students to engage in research and sport development activities. Recent graduate Jack Mullineux was involved with EitC throughout his time at Edge Hill and was one of the first cohort to study for the University’s MSc in Sport, Physical Activity and Mental Health.
“Sport is a great way to engage people with mental health and wellbeing issues,” says Andy. “The fact that top athletes are now speaking out about their own problems is making mental health an acceptable topic of conversation and helping to reduce stigma. Projects like ours are leveraging that and using sport to bring about a change in the way we approach mental health from an early age.”
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Children from Linacre Primary School visited Edge Hill to celebrate their involvement in the Tackling the Blues programme. The event was run by second year Sports Development and Management students as part of their Event Management module.
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HIDDEN THOUGHTS DO YOUR HAND GESTURES REVEAL MORE ABOUT YOU THAN YOU THINK?
From a raised eyebrow to a tapping foot, body language is a major part of the way we communicate. Traditionally, body language is thought to be concerned with expressing emotions and negotiating social relationships but, according to Psychology Professor Geoff Beattie it is much more complex than that. In his latest book, Rethinking Body Language: How Hand Movements Reveal Hidden Thoughts, Professor Beattie examines different types of hand gestures and offers a completely new theory of non-verbal communication. “Some body language does express emotions,” he says, “but some, particularly hand gestures, can reveal unconscious aspects of thinking. They can even contradict what the speaker is saying entirely. The traditional assumption is that non-verbal communication is quite separate from speech, but my research suggests that body language and speech are intimately connected and that critical information can be embedded within the bodily movement.” Geoff claims that facial expressions are often quite difficult to decode accurately as they are very fast, often less than a quarter of a second, and known as ‘micro-expressions’. They can also be inhibited, making them inadequate indicators of emotional state. These are called ‘squelched expressions’, where a kind of false and intentional smile is used to cover the true expression. This all means that to read people correctly we have to be able to distinguish between real and false smiles.
“There is a lot more going on with facial expressions than we think,” says Geoff, “and it’s easy to miss vital cues. When you start looking at the accompanying hand gestures you get a much fuller picture of what people are really thinking.” Geoff’s research took a close look at hand gestures and their role in communication, revisiting and challenging accepted theories and suggesting new ways of interpreting gesture. Unlike many theorists Geoff doesn’t believe that hand gestures are simply an evolutionary relic left over from a time before language; instead they are an integral part of modern speech. “Hand gestures are universal,” says Geoff, “even blind people use them, so they are obviously more than simple visual cues. Many gestures are unconsciously used to describe a word – holding your hands wide apart to express the size of something, or twirling your finger to denote a spiral. My research showed that the hands start preparing for the gesture before the word is formed, to allow the word and the gesture to happen at the same time, suggesting that gesture is closely temporally aligned with the thinking behind speech itself.” Geoff’s research shows that gestures convey significant information that isn’t always obvious in speech and that to ignore gesture, as many traditional theories of body language do, is to ignore half of the message. This is especially important when speech and gesture contradict one another. During his time as the resident psychologist on 11 series of the reality show Big Brother, Geoff witnessed and analysed many instances of speech-gesture mismatch. He gives an example of someone saying the housemates were close while simultaneously moving their hands away from each other – the opposite gesture to the one you would associate with closeness. The ability to detect this kind of hidden message in hand gestures has a wide range of real world implications from forensic psychology to advertising and business. “In the broadest terms, it could be used for ‘mind-reading’,” says Geoff, “because we can inhibit our speech but not our unconsciously generated gestures, and these gestures are a more accurate indicator of our underlying thoughts. You only have to watch politicians to see this in action. The ability to detect deception like this could be very beneficial in a whole range of settings.” Rethinking Body Language builds on Geoff’s previous research on implicit behaviours, which focused on unconscious racist attitudes that sometimes can be detected in body language. Like that work, the implications of this new research are potentially very far-reaching indeed.
Geoff Beattie is a Professor in the Department of Psychology. Rethinking Body Language is published by Routledge.
“It’s important that more people know how to identify deception and possible dissociation in attitudes by analysing speech and gesture together,” says Geoff. “We need to be able to decode our politicians, for example. What they do is very subtle but has a major impact on society. “This is a new theory of communication that goes beyond body language and could open up a whole new line of activity. It shows that our evolutionary past has enormous implications for our current communications – and possibly for our future survival.”
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COMBATTING DISEASE CAN AN INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION PREVENT THE TRANSMISSION OF MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASES?
After the recent Zika epidemic, a disease transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito, Edge Hill’s Dr Clare Strode decided she wanted to carry out further research to discover how we can stop mosquitoes from spreading diseases. Edge Hill will undertake a £149,000 two-year research partnership with Colombia’s University of Antioquia, focused on addressing the growing world-wide issue of insecticide resistance in mosquitoes. The grant for the project was awarded by the British Council on behalf of the Newton Fund, part of the UK’s Official Development Assistance programme, which sees the UK use its strength in research and innovation to promote the economic development and social welfare of partner countries. The study will span eight regions of Colombia and will focus on Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito. The same species implicated in the spread of Zika virus in South America. Dr Clare Strode from Edge Hill’s Biology Department is a recognised expert in the field of insecticide resistance and said that mosquitos are becoming increasingly resistant to insecticides due to genetic mutations. “Traditionally, mosquito populations have been controlled through the use of four approved classes of insecticides. However, mosquito populations are becoming increasingly genetically resistant to insecticides and once they become ineffective, there are no other treatments to replace them with.
“Mosquito populations are becoming increasingly genetically resistant to insecticides and once they become ineffective, there are no other treatments to replace them with” Dr Clare Strode, Senior Lecturer in Biology
Health workers fumigate against the Aedes aegypti mosquito to prevent the spread of the Zika virus, dengue and chikungunya across South America. Colombia is the second worst affected nation as thousands of people live in slum towns right next to polluted stagnant water.
“The aim of this study is to collect mosquitoes to test their reaction to insecticides and where resistance is present, understand the genetic profile of these mutated mosquitos. We can then use this information to make recommendations for controlling the mosquito population in the eight at-risk focus regions of the study,” she said. Dr Strode’s Colombian research partner, Dr Omar TrianaChavez from the University of Antioquia, is a recognised specialist in epidemiology and vector biology across South America and said that dengue, a mosquito-borne tropical disease, is having a crippling effect on poor communities. “There are approximately 100,000 cases of dengue reported across Colombia each year. With such a high morbidity and mortality rate, the disease imposes severe economic hardships on families in poor communities. “With no vaccine available, we have to reduce the mosquito population by protecting people from being bitten and detect dengue cases early. Unfortunately the growing issue of insecticide resistant mosquitoes is making it more difficult to control the disease. “The agreement between Universidad de Antioquia and Edge Hill University will be an opportunity and
a challenge to hopefully decrease the effects of dengue in Colombia,” he said. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is traditionally a city dwelling insect that can breed in a mere capful of water. It is responsible for the spread of Zika virus, dengue fever and chikungunya – none of which can be prevented or treated with a vaccine. Since joining Edge Hill, Dr Strode has instigated an international collaboration between the Centre for Disease Control US and the University. Based on her extensive knowledge of insecticide resistance in mosquito vectors, she is currently applying Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) techniques to resistant populations of triatomine bugs which are the vectors of South American Trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease). Recently, she has also started working with Merseyside Health Port Authority (MHPA), carrying out surveillance at the Port of Liverpool (PoL) for the presence of invasive mosquito species (IMS) that pose a potential health risk to the UK. In connection with this work she is also developing a low cost and effective screening method for used tyres for the presence of IMS eggs.
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HILLSBOROUGH REFLECTIONS WHAT CAN CRIMINOLOGISTS LEARN FROM THE AFTERMATH OF THE HILLSBOROUGH DISASTER?
In 1990, before the first set of Hillsborough Inquests, the Liverpool Social Services Hillsborough Team had a team meeting in its Anfield Road base. I was a young social worker, inexperienced and yet to face bereavements. At the meeting were Phil Scraton and colleagues from Edge Hill. I knew them already as I was completing an MA in Crime, Deviance and Social Policy there. They were working on a City Council funded research project into the aftermath of the disaster. They couldn’t have guessed that it would lead to the establishment of the truth, 27 years later. The idea that there would need to be a campaign was difficult for many to imagine. Lord Justice Taylor had published his first ‘interim’ report, in which he placed the blame where it belonged. The truth seemed clear and justice, we naively thought, would follow. One colleague stated it explicitly: ‘I just can’t believe that we won’t get justice’ she said. ‘What the families will get’, Phil replied, ‘is the law’. The families got the law, but even the law they got was law with a twist. Phil and others have since written extensively about the flaws in those original mini inquests and the ‘full’ inquests that followed but what struck me was the unfairness of legal representation. On one side, families represented by one barrister and on the other, an array of QCs, six of whom represented police interests. Survivors were without legal voice. During cross examinations the victims’ voices were drowned out by parties with the same agenda: to blame the fans. Traumatised survivors who had travelled to Sheffield were publicly pilloried. Police officers could rely on sympathetic questioning in which they were invited to recount episodes of drunkenness, disorder and threat. The evidence gathered on behalf of both Lord Justice Taylor and Coroner Stefan Popper comprised of police statements and recollections that had been ‘summarised’ and edited.
Many years later I was working at Edge Hill as a part-time researcher. Phil was my boss. One morning he told me that a police officer present at the disaster had disclosed that his statement had been altered. Evidence had been taken out or amended. Other ‘evidence’ had been encouraged or exaggerated. This had been systematic. It was to be the turning point. Phil was able to uncover clear evidence that the whole edifice of untruth constructed was rotten. It has taken all these years for the version of events that emerged over those months to be overturned and the verdicts of accidental death to be replaced with unlawful killing. Hillsborough ended lives and shattered others. It took smaller tolls on those like myself who had only passing involvements. But the disaster was at the centre of my life as a social worker and continues to inform my work today as an academic criminologist. Hillsborough raises four broad issues: organisationally rooted harm; organisational deceit; the role of academia in terms of struggle; and the question of justice and organisationally based harm.
Criminology often fails to recognise harms that are organisationally based and commercially or politically grounded. Seldom are they brought to account under criminal law. Hillsborough has been an acute example of this. There was no safety certificate. Stadia were routinely unsafe. How could anybody have thought that it was a good idea to fence people in? Many of the worst organisationally based harms are not acute like Hillsborough but chronic. Asbestos still kills thousands even though we have known for over a century that it is lethal. We are one hundred times more likely to die from air pollution in the UK than by being murdered. These are relatively invisible and silent not because people don’t speak out, but because they are not listened to or their concerns are dismissed. This is related to the capacities of organisations to conceal truth and produce untruth. The history of the tobacco industry is the classic case of dangerous industrialised systems of information management. Why are we so surprised when organisations distract and lie? Whether because of political,
shareholder, management or employee interest, of course the whole truths are often the last thing organisations would want revealed. That has implications for all of us. We are the people who create deliberately misleading emissions software, who implement legal strategies to neutralise asbestos claimants, who invent collateralised debt obligations, who turn back migrants into hazard. We need to understand the roles of authority and compliance in the origins of organisational harm and understand how many of us are ‘silently silenced’. It is to the credit of colleagues at Edge Hill that their efforts have contributed so much to the success we have witnessed. The success of Eileen Berrington, Sheila Coleman, Ann Jemphey, Margaret McAdam, Phil Scraton and Paula Skidmore is a reminder of the importance of committed and sustained research in a democratic society. Finally, it is worth observing that getting to the truth should have been easy. The fact is that 96 people were killed by an unsafe stadium in an unsafe industry, complacent planning prioritising ‘order’ over safety and wretched decisionmaking. Lives could have been saved even after the crush had contingency planning and the rescue operation been adequate. What always struck me about Hillsborough was that the truth was there right in front of people. It was in the daily accounts I listened to from survivors. It was on TV and CCTV. The truth should have been the easy bit. The difficult bit should be ‘justice’. We face very real difficulties as to what ‘justice’ means when we are dealing with organisationally based harms. Who is criminally responsible and to what extent? You can prosecute an organisation but you can’t put it in prison. There is differential justice between individuals who can be imprisoned and the organisations they work for. After all these years I actually can’t say much about Hillsborough itself. I wasn’t there. I didn’t lose anyone, although I came to know people who did. They are people who really know about Hillsborough. But we all have a duty to think about the issues around Hillsborough, organisational harm, the deceit that follows and about how truth and justice are defined and achieved. What is clear is that neither should ever have to take 27 years to attain.
Written by Dr Howard Davis Senior Lecturer in Criminology Howard Davis worked as a social worker for Liverpool City Council’s Hillsborough Team between 1989 and 1993.
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CONSUMING PASSION ARE WE WHAT WE BUY?
The compulsion to consume is nothing new. The need to buy things, even if we don’t need them, has been part of human society for as long as people have had disposable income. Whether it’s the Victorians’ obsession with sugar or today’s preoccupation with the latest phones or designer shoes, what we buy shapes our sense of who we are – or, more importantly, who we want to be. Professor of Marketing and recently-appointed Director of the Edge Hill Business School, Helen Woodruffe-Burton, has been studying consumer behaviour for more than 20 years. Author of a pioneering study that looked at consumerism from a feminist perspective, she believes that there are fundamental differences in the way men and women consume material objects. According to Helen, the language we use to describe consumer behaviour is very important. “Women who struggle to control their buying behaviour are ‘spendaholics’ or ‘shopping addicts’,” she explains, “while men are seen as ‘collectors’ or ‘connoisseurs’. If you have a house full of things you don’t really need, the problem is the same, it’s just the perception that is different.” A former marketing professional in the service industry, Helen did a PhD that focused on retail therapy, which was an emerging concept at the time. Hailed as the first academic literature on the subject, her work received significant media attention, and led to a desire to understand how people, and women in particular, use consumption to shape their identities. “I started to realise there was much more of a stigma attached to female overconsumption,” says Helen. “Men can be affected by these issues but it generally isn’t talked about, or it’s talked about differently. So, I started to think about the broad question ‘what is the role of consumption in women’s lives?’ As a marketer, and also as a feminist and mother, I’m concerned about the way women are treated in the marketplace.” With a passion for methodology and finding new approaches to looking at subjects, Helen wanted to see how marketing would look through the lens of feminist scholarship. Building on 90s feminist methodologies she developed new methods to examine consumer behaviours in a deeper way. “I liked the idea of using approaches that are not traditionally used in business, such as narrative data – the stories people tell – to inform my research. Today my work can include methodologies drawn from anywhere – health, psychology, creative writing – if they help me understand people’s experiences and analyse their behaviour. I really believe Business Schools can learn from other disciplines.”
Helen’s research into the role of consumption in people’s lives encompasses areas as diverse as the role of Christmas in consumer debt and the impact of mobile phone ownership among farmers on the Bangladeshi local economy. “What links all of my research is that it is posited on the interests of the consumer,” says Helen. “My work isn’t there to help big companies make more money. Hopefully, it can help people understand their own buying behaviour and influence consumer policy makers while, at the same time, informing organisations; helping them to become more socially responsible and better at meeting consumer needs.” Helen’s recent inaugural lecture, ‘You Are What You Consume: Consumption, Materialism and Self in the 21st Century’, looked at the way consumer behaviours have changed over time, taking the audience on a journey from a time before the internet and social media to the age of instant consumption and FOMO (fear of missing out). “There has always been pressure to consume, it’s just more public now. If you look at advertising from 100 years ago, the promises are still the same. Buy this and you will be happier, more successful, more popular. We know that material possessions alone don’t bring happiness, yet the evidence shows that consumers persist in resorting to spending their way to imagined satisfaction. “The interesting thing is that research shows that people who lose everything in floods or fires often don’t replace all their stuff. Perhaps it takes that to realise that possessions are not the key to happiness, that true happiness lies in being, not having. Create more memories, don’t buy more things.”
“There has always been pressure to consume, it’s just more public now. If you look at advertising from 100 years ago, the promises are still the same” Helen Woodruffe-Burton, Professor of Marketing and Director of the Edge Hill Business School
THE YEAR IN This section looks at the events of the year from the perspective of our Faculties and Institutes, to give an overview of the rich and diverse mixture of research, learning and teaching across the University. We have also selected some key strands of activity to explore: this year these are Culture, Sport, Working with Schools and Colleges and Developing Our People.
THE YEAR IN
THE FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
BIOLOGY
BUSINESS SCHOOL
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Research in Biology focused on trees and seas this year. New appointee André Antunes obtained the first insights into the viral communities of the deep-sea anoxic brines of the Red Sea, while Anne Oxbrough looked at the impact of mixed stands of native and non-native tree species on epigaeic arthropods in plantation forests.
New Director of the Business School, Professor Helen Woodruffe-Burton, who was appointed in March this year, gave her inaugural lecture on ‘Consumption, Materialism and the Self in the 21st Century’, providing an overview of her internationally-recognised research into consumer behaviour.
The Computer Science Department signed a memorandum of agreement for joint research with ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). As part of this collaboration, the Department is involved in nervousnet, a project on social sensing that aims to create an Internet of Things platform, a connected network of people, vehicles and buildings that can capture and share data between them.
Lime trees were the subject of Professor Paul Ashton’s study, which looked at the segregation of two species of limes in British woodlands and how this can be related to changes in the environment over time.
Other research included Dr Hien Tran’s study into the effects of a country’s constitution on entrepreneurship and the formation of new companies, and Dr Mehmet Pinar’s work on developing new methodologies for assessing multi-dimensional wellbeing. Professor Paresh Wankhade (pictured) carried out research into emergency services management which led to his recent appointment as the lead to the Senior Advisory Board of The Larrey Society, the UK’s first crosssector ‘think tank’ established to influence the shape of 21st century emergency medical services.
The Department has also been extremely active in knowledge exchange and enterprise. Following the completion of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Business Insight 3 in July 2016, the partnership’s final report was assessed and graded ‘outstanding’ by Innovate UK. The project will be added to the national shortlist from which KTP Case Studies are developed.
ENGLISH, HISTORY AND CREATIVE WRITING English, History and Creative Writing is celebrating a year of successes. The recentlyestablished Edge Hill University Press marked ten years of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize with its début publication, Head Land, a collection of stories by previous prize-winners, which was launched at the Edinburgh Book Festival. Billy Cowan’s play Caretakers (pictured) won a Stage Edinburgh Award 2016 among excellent reviews, while fantasy writer Peter Wright contributed to a companion guide to tabletop role playing game Cthulhu Britannica: London Box Set, which has received numerous award nominations. Historian James Renton was awarded a Jean Monnet Research Fellowship this year, and the Department also hosted a number of literary events including Professor Alisa Cox’s Being Human Festival in Liverpool, and Andrew McInnes and Michael Bradshaw’s ‘Edgy Romanticism’ symposium, which will be followed by a journal special edition.
GEOGRAPHY In Geography, the NEON consortium (Northwest Earth Observation Network), a regional research network led by Edge Hill staff, won a highly competitive grant from the British Ecological Society to run a workshop on ‘Europe’s Earth Observation Sentinels’ at its annual conference. The session looked at the use of satellites in habitat monitoring, bringing together the disciplines of remote sensing and ecology. Dr Joanne Egan’s field-based research in Washington state, USA was published in Quaternary Science Reviews, shedding light on the potential impacts of volcanic eruptions on the terrestrial environment, while Professor Paul Aplin (pictured) delivered a Public Lecture, ‘Where’s the swamp gone, for peat’s sake?’ at the Royal Geographical Society in London.
LAW AND CRIMINOLOGY Sports law expert Professor Richard Parrish (pictured) from Law and Criminology was appointed by European Commissioner Tibor Navracsics to the EU’s High Level Group on Sports Diplomacy and co-authored the resulting report, Sports Diplomacy. Richard was also awarded a highly prestigious Jean Monnet chair. The Department has also contributed to a number of influential reports and books including Professor Andrew Millie’s, Volunteering within the Police: Experiences of Special Constables and Police Support, written following research funded by Lancashire Constabulary; Dr John McGarry’s book, Intention, Supremacy and the Theories of Judicial Review; and a chapter authored by Alana Barton and Howard Davis in C Wright Mills and the Criminological Imagination.
THE YEAR IN
MEDIA
PERFORMING ARTS
PSYCHOLOGY
Research in the Media Department covered a diverse range of subjects from animals in film to arts and wellbeing to video-on-demand (VOD). Professor Clare Molloy co-curated an exhibition on animals and the media at the Animal History Museum in Los Angeles, and presented her research at the British Library. Professor Philip Drake’s AHRC, Nesta and ACEfunded project exploring the use of VOD to release independent films continued, with presentations in Europe and America.
Two award-winning collaborations in Performing Arts have resulted in innovative theatre productions. Dramaturg Bill Hopkinson, in partnership with Equal Voices Arts, Deaf Aotearoa and the University of Waikato, created At the End of My Hands, a bilingual theatre work for deaf and hearing audiences in New Zealand. Professor Helen Newall collaborated with TiQ Theatre Company and Blacon Primary Schools on a practice-as-research community reminiscence project, Best Days of Our Lives (pictured), which was performed at Chester Cathedral. The project continues the ‘Cultural Capital in Telling Tales’ initiative which aims to raise awareness of local issues and provide communities with improved access to the theatre.
The psychology behind social media was the focus for two research projects in the Department of Psychology this year. Dr Linda Kaye and Dr Helen Wall explored how emojis can aid online interaction, and Joanne Powell used MRI scanning to help DJ and presenter Sara Cox discover whether Facebook ‘friends’ are real friends for a new TV programme, ON.
Professor Owen Evans co-organised a symposium on community wellbeing initiatives at Tate Liverpool, and also took part in Common Ground, a national arts and humanities research festival. Clare Heney and Carl Hunter’s collaborative work included two practice as research projects exploring the interface between music, memory and place, while Jenny Barrett’s work on the centenary of the controversial US film, Birth of a Nation, was presented at the Bluecoat Gallery and the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool.
Other collaborative work in the Department includes Dr Lena Simic’s international research project on Performance and the Maternal, bringing together artists working in the fields of live art and performance who make performances about their maternal experiences.
Rebecca Monk’s work on alcohol and behaviour found that the smell of alcohol may make it harder for people to control their actions. The research, published in Psychopharmacology, aims to increase understanding about the way context affects substance abuse behaviours.
SOCIAL SCIENCES In Social Sciences, Dr Zana Vathi (pictured), in her role as International Expert on Migration, has undertaken several consultancy projects looking at migration in and across the Western Balkans region. This year these have included a project on unaccompanied minors in this area and a situation analysis of migration and social protection in Albania and its impact on children, funded by Terre des Hommes, an organisation that works with children around the world. These groundbreaking research projects have the potential to influence regional and global policy making as they highlight the impact of internal migration on families and children, and the failure of social protection systems to respond to the needs of internal migrants despite the complex legislation in place in the affected countries.
SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY Sport and Physical Activity’s partnership with Everton in the Community, the official charity of Everton Football Club, continues to change lives through its key projects, Tackling the Blues and Active Blues. Research into the impact of Tackling the Blues (pictured), a sport-based mental health awareness project for young people, won the Times Higher Education Awards 2016 ‘Most Outstanding Contribution to the Community’ prize. Active Blues, a three-year National Lotteryfunded project to address physical inactivity and poor health among men in North Liverpool, has introduced a Walking 5-a-Side tournament this year, and secured the support of former Everton players to encourage more men to get involved. Researchers have also worked in partnership with Les Mills International to evaluate its school-based ‘Born to Move’ physical activity and fitness programme. The project involved four West Lancashire primary schools and aimed to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the programme in Year 6 children.
‘Most Outstanding Contribution to the Community’ Tackling the Blues Times Higher Education Awards 2016
THE YEAR IN
THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION
Under the guidance of new Dean, Dr Lynnette Turner, the Faculty of Education continues to grow and diversify to meet the needs of children, trainee teachers and the school workforce locally, regionally and nationally. The launch of new programmes in 2017 to extend the Faculty’s portfolio – the BA (Hons) Education Studies and BA (Hons) Working with Children (5-11) – puts Edge Hill at the forefront of changes to education training. Drawing on the University’s strengths in education research, the programmes aim to provide graduates who are equipped to respond to today’s changing and challenging educational landscape. In the year that saw a heart-warming letter from former Edge Hill trainee Ruth Clarkson to an autistic student go viral, the Faculty demonstrated its ongoing commitment to training and supporting excellent practitioners who are dedicated to ensuring the best education for all children. The University welcomed the Music Educators & Researching of Young Children (MERYC) UK Conference, to campus. Hosted in partnership with Early Years Education, the one-day practice event focused on nurturing musicality as part of lifelong learning in and through music.
Faculty staff and students had the opportunity to engage with the controversial and topical subject of Fundamental British Values – a key part of the government’s education agenda – at a one-day conference on campus. The event also took a critical look at Prevent, the government’s counter-terrorism strategy, and discussed its impact on schools. The Primary Science team went on a voyage of scientific discovery with Science under the Stars, a free festival of talks, interactive activities and exhibitions from local and UK science organisations. Designed to tie in with Tim Peake’s journey in space and co-funded by The Tim Peake Foundation, the free event attracted more than 500 children, teachers and local families. The Primary Education Team continued its cultural engagement activity throughout the year. As well as working closely with National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside on the National Gallery’s Take One Picture project, which aims to inspire cross-curricular work in primary schools through art, the team has also organised activities and enhancement opportunities at museums, galleries and outdoor learning settings across the North West.
THE YEAR IN
THE FACULTY OF HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE AND POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL INSTITUTE (PGMI)
The Faculty launched an innovative undergraduate programme combining Nursing and Social Work. The unique four-year programme provides students with the opportunity to gain two professional awards: graduates will be able to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council in one of the fields of Adult, Children’s, Learning Disabilities or Mental Health Nursing and be eligible to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as a Social Worker. The PGMI has attracted significant internal and external funding this year, including four successful applications for Research Institute Thematic Awards (RITAs) involving multi-disciplinary collaborations with NHS partners. The PGMI continues to invest in future researchers. It hosts a Health Education England/National Institute for Health Research Integrated Clinical Academic Programme Internship, and continues to develop its Masters by Research, with students being sponsored by local NHS employer trusts. Both programmes are designed to support health professionals aiming to develop a clinical academic career. The PGMI also hosts an increasing number of PhD students including three Graduate Teaching Assistants under supervisory teams from the Faculty of Health and Social Care, the Departments of Psychology and Computer Science and the Business School, in collaboration with external partners.
The PGMI has attracted significant internal and external funding this year, including four successful applications for Research Institute Thematic Awards (RITA)
The Institute further strengthened its reputation for delivering innovative education courses to enhance medical practice this year. Its MCh (Masters of Surgery) programme, delivered in partnership with Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust, and with accreditation from the Royal College of Surgeons, recruited its first cohort of International Training Fellows, while a sister programme, a unique MMed (Masters in Medicine), has also been introduced. The PGMI is developing its provision in Medical Leadership and Medical Education for trainee doctors across the
North West. These programmes are supported by Health Education England North with leadership training delivered in collaboration with the Royal College of Physicians. The PGMI’s increasing influence on healthcare at a strategic level was demonstrated this year by representation on the regional Innovation Agency board and the newly formed Liverpool City Region Health and Life Sciences board, and its collaboration with NHS R&D North West on a Collaborating for Care research catalyst event designed to stimulate cross-disciplinary research and knowledge sharing.
The Faculty of Health and Social Care’s purpose-built building houses some of the best facilities in the country. The teaching and learning resources provide leading clinical skills facilities and ward simulations with industry standard equipment to give students as realistic a learning experience as possible.
THE YEAR IN
THE INSTITUTE FOR CREATIVE ENTERPRISE (ICE)
A strong year of collaborative research and events further strengthened Edge Hill’s connections with the digital, creative and cultural sectors. The University’s ‘Creative Campus’ welcomed academics, researchers and creative practitioners from across the world to share their expertise and ideas with Edge Hill staff, students and the public. Among ICE’s many notable guests on campus were award-winning novelist Jonathan Coe, who discussed his latest novel as part of the Edge Hill Festival of Ideas, and film maker Terence Davies, who gave a sneak preview of his latest film, A Quiet Passion, a biopic of poet Emily Dickinson. Oscar-winning producer Mia Bays also spoke to local schoolchildren about education for young women at a screening of the films He Called Me Malala and Suffragette. Guest speakers, including film producers Roy Boulter and Sol Papadopoulos, hit the North to take part in a series of events, Round Tables and discussions exploring the concept of the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ in the context of film and cultural policy. Building on the successful partnership with Tate Liverpool, a second series of ‘In Conversation’ events included a discussion on the Tate’s Jackson Pollock exhibition with international curators and art experts. Following last year’s collaboration on the Leonora Carrington exhibition at the Tate, Edge Hill commemorated the renowned Lancastrian painter by naming a new building in her honour. ICE Director, Professor Roger Shannon, shared his experience of film producing, film funding and film policy creation at an event in Birmingham. His talk, ‘35 Years of Film: In and From Birmingham and Liverpool,’ drew on his varied film career from 1980-2015. The Institute also supported a number of conferences on campus, showcasing the range and international reach of the creative industries research undertaken at Edge Hill. Among these was the European Network for Short Fiction Research Conference organised by colleagues in Creative Writing on the theme of ‘Reading and Writing Short Fiction Across Media’.
ICE is based in the Creative Edge building which is used for many public events. It houses industry-standard facilities including TV studios, recording studios, animation studios, sound-editing studios, a radio studio, photographic studio and Multimedia laboratory.
THE YEAR IN
THE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE (I4P)
Edge Hill continues to strengthen its reputation for promoting the co-production of ideas between practitioners and researchers though the Institute for Public Policy and Professional Practice (I4P). The Institute was recently endorsed in an external review by Professor Anne Edwards from Oxford University, who highlighted its “significant potential” to inform and influence policy and practice. A year of successful collaborations included work with the Webb Memorial Trust to explore what a ‘Good Society’ would look like. As part of the research, the Institute hosted a series of UK-wide events to discuss the response of civil society to poverty and inequality in the UK, culminating in two events in the Houses of Parliament for politicians, academics and practitioners. The three-year partnership with Rochdale Community Champions continued with members of the group recording a drama documentary in Creative Edge, based on the themes of poverty and exclusion, giving them access to Edge Hill’s film production expertise and equipment. As well as an expanded public lecture programme this year, I4P also hosted the second national conference on arts, culture and wellbeing, attracting delegates and speakers from across the UK. The event at the Tate Liverpool highlighted the importance of creating sustainable research and knowledge exchange networks and presented Edge Hill as a positive partner in its approach to collaboration.
Responding to change and innovation in public policy, I4P has become the point of contact between the University and a number of key agencies across the region. These connections offer the capacity for the University to listen and to facilitate conversations and reflect the skills and expertise located across the whole University. The I4P External Advisory Group has grown during the year to include members with both academic and professional insights. As well as providing an important opportunity for the University to ensure the work of I4P is held accountable, its meetings also provide a deliberate opportunity for discussion and sharing of ideas from city regions and elected mayors on important subjects such as the impact of the spending cuts and the consequences of Brexit.
As part of the research, the Institute hosted a series of UK-wide events to discuss the response of civil society to poverty and inequality in the UK.
THE YEAR IN
CULTURE
A vibrant 12 months in the cultural life of the campus included a record-breaking year at the Arts Centre, with both student and external audience numbers increasing. Some of the most distinctive touring work in the programme featured Edge Hill alumni as performers: JV2’s 2016 Dance Triple Bill featured Daniel Brown, and Company Chameleon’s critically acclaimed The Beauty of the Beast featured Theo Fapohunda – both recent graduates. Naughty Corner Productions, formed by Drama graduates Mike Dickinson and Jemma Lynch, performed their 4-star-reviewed show Not the Horse to a sellout audience in August and Phina Oruche returned to the campus with her show, Identity Crisis, which had its origins in her postgraduate work. The University had a presence at a number of festivals around the country, including a partnership with Cheltenham Literature Festival presenting a week of Fiction at 7 evenings with authors including Clare Mackintosh (I Let You Go), Ruth Ware (In A Dark, Dark Wood) and Sarah Moss (Signs for Lost Children). Our ongoing partnership with Tate Liverpool continued with students gaining free access to a world-class exhibition programme including The Imagined Museum, a collaboration with Centre Pompidou and MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt. Visitors entered a fictional scenario in which the exhibited artworks were about to cease to exist, to be preserved only in memory. This concept was explored at an In Conversation event with curator Darren Pih, one of a series organised on the campus by the Institute for Creative Enterprise (ICE). The University’s work with Liverpool Sound City Festival as Industry Connection Partner once again gave students roles in a major music event, including documenting performances, creating dance-based interventions and getting behind-the-scenes insight to the running of stages curated by Edge Hill’s The Label Recordings.
Professor Des O’Neill at Tate Liverpool to deliver his lecture ‘The Art of the Demographic Dividend’ for Edge Hill Postgraduate Medical Institute .
THE YEAR IN
DEVELOPING OUR PEOPLE
Creating a working environment where everyone is supported to deliver outstanding performance and share in the success of the University remains at the heart of Edge Hill’s strategy. Staff are encouraged to support each other’s development through a Teaching Fellow Network which works across and within Faculties to support the development of learning and teaching and to share effective approaches. Fellows deliver CPD sessions on a range of topics including learning and teaching, technology, personal tutoring and international issues. There are currently 53 Institutional Learning and Teaching Fellows, three of whom are also National Teaching Fellows. Edge Hill’s fifth Research Capacity Building programme, a peer-supported scheme which helps staff and research students to develop their capacity to engage in research, has been complemented by specialist sessions, designed and hosted by Faculties, to target the specific research needs of each Faculty. These initiatives are informed by the national Researcher Development Framework. For the third year running, in recognition that women are under-represented in senior leadership positions in Higher Education, Edge Hill University has funded places on the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education’s Aurora Programme, a women-only leadership development programme.
The University continues to improve its learning and development (L&D) provision to ensure all staff can achieve their potential. As well as organising a programme of more than 400 L&D events and piloting a new Leadership programme, the University retained its Customer Service Excellence Award for L&D for the 12th year running, highlighting its commitment to staff development. Recognised since 2010-2011 as a Gold-standard employer by Investors in People, the national framework for best practice in people management, Edge Hill has, this year, been awarded two more high-profile accolades for its dedication to staff development. The University received the Athena SWAN Bronze Award, which recognises commitment to advancing the careers of female academic staff and promoting gender equality, and was Highly Commended by Campaign for Learning for its Learning at Work Week activities. Edge Hill staff recognised this commitment in the latest Staff Survey, in which more than 80% reported being satisfied with their learning and development, being encouraged by their manager to engage in development activities, and feeling trained to do their jobs well.
THE YEAR IN
SPORT Another great year for sport at Edge Hill culminated in the opening of a new £15 million indoor sports centre, providing top of the range facilities for students, staff and the community. The sports centre, which is the final phase of Edge Hill’s £30 million sports development, was opened by Olympic heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson and sports philanthropist Barrie Wells, while former World Champion runner Steve Cram CBE cut the ribbon on the new athletics track. Another sporting hero to grace the campus was British Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy who gave a reading from his new children’s book, while MP and former Shadow Secretary of State for Mental Health, Luciana Berger, joined staff and students to see mental health project Tackling the Blues in action. The project is part of Edge Hill’s innovative partnership with Everton in the Community (EiTC), the charity of Everton Football Club. Tackling the Blues aims to build mental health resilience and awareness in young people through sport and more than 300 children aged 8-14 have taken part in the programme since its launch in January. Edge Hill is also working with EiTC on a National Lottery-funded project, Active Blues, encouraging inactive men in deprived areas to become more physically active, and a partnership with the Association of Teachers and Lecturers Union to help address mental illness in young people and education professionals. Edge Hill’s sports facilities provided an impressive backdrop for some high profile events during the year, including the West Lancashire Triathlon (600+ participants), Sport Relief Mile (500+ participants) and the West Lancashire Schools ‘Olympic Games’, which involved more than 800 local school children. The University also hosted the netball and running events at the 2016 European Corporate Games, showcasing its sports facilities to more than 500 competitors from the UK and beyond.
The sports complex consists of a sports hall, 25-metre swimming pool, fitness suite, aerobics studio, and sauna and steam rooms, as well as one of the largest running tracks in Europe, 3G pitches, netball and tennis courts, an athletics field and a 2.5km Fitness Trail.
A wide range of departments take part in the Summer Residential events so Year 12 students can select the subject area they are most interested in pursuing at university, in order to get a real insight into what it would be like to study that subject.
The Lancashire UCAS Higher Education Exhibition allowed prospective students to enjoy the campus, talk face-to-face with exhibitors, and ask questions about choosing a course, applying through UCAS and getting started with student finance.
THE YEAR IN
WORKING WITH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES Engaging with the students of tomorrow was, once again, a key part of Edge Hill’s outreach programme, and this year activity with schools and colleges increased by nearly a third. More than 350 Year 12 students came to campus for Summer Residential events in 2016. The three-night, four-day academic tasters are proving to be a great success, with the majority of students that attended last year going on to apply for a place at Edge Hill. The University also held a series of one-day sessions for Year 12 students preparing for university, focussing on both the academic and pastoral aspects of student life. The University hosted the Lancashire UCAS Higher Education Exhibition for the third year running, welcoming representatives from more than 110 UK universities to advise people thinking about taking their first steps into higher education. Staff in Edge Hill’s Student Recruitment team also held two ‘Meet your Market’ events, giving Year 12 and 13 students the opportunity to share their views of the recruitment process and influence future strategy. Edge Hill continued its support for the school workforce through a Teacher and Careers Advisor Conference and Teacher Networking events in Manchester, Liverpool and Preston, where delegates got to share information and build contacts with fellow teachers as well as senior Edge Hill staff. Newly qualified teachers also benefited from Edge Hill’s ongoing support with a series of conferences aimed at helping them through their first year in practice. Former Edge Hill trainees took part in workshops on subjects as diverse as mental wellbeing and resilience, communicating with parents, leadership and employability, as well as hearing from keynote speakers and other newly or recently qualified teachers. Finally, Edge Hill’s hardworking Student Guides were voted ‘Student Team of the Year’ at the Edge Hill Employability Awards in recognition of their contribution to the University’s work with schools and colleges. They were praised for their impartial, positive advice regarding the University and its courses, and their honest guidance for students who are just beginning their University journey.
AWARDS AND APPOINTMENTS This year the University has marked the inauguration of Professors in disciplines ranging from History to Computer Science, celebrated the achievements of exceptional staff in Student-Led Staff Awards, and awarded Honorary Doctorates to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to their fields. Further senior appointments demonstrate the University’s attractiveness to the very best leaders and innovators. Alumni, friends and former staff support Edge Hill in many ways, one of which is financial contribution – here we acknowledge with gratitude this year’s donors.
AWARDS AND APPOINTMENTS
PROFESSORS Profiles of some of our most prestigious Professors, experts in their field and true assets offering their expert knowledge and experience to the University.
ALYSON BROWN
Associate Head of Department and Professor of History Order and disorder in English prison history Professor Brown is a crime historian with a particular interest in the history of prisons and prison disorder, and she has published widely in this field. Her inaugural lecture examined the causality and impact of prison riots and the considerable public and media attention they have attracted.
STUART FAIRCLOUGH
Professor of Physical Activity Education A revolving door between physical education and exercise science: Reflections on 15 years of children’s school-based physical activity and health With research interests in physical activity promotion in schools, sedentary behaviour and health, Professor Fairclough has published a large number of peer-reviewed papers on these topics. His inaugural lecture reflected on school-based physical activity research from the dual perspectives of a physical educator and an exercise scientist.
PAUL POTRAC
Professor of Sports Coaching “They never told us it could be like this on the course!” Professor Potrac is the co-author of several books and the Associate Editor for the Sports Coaching Journal Review, and his current research focuses on how coaches, performance analysts and athletes understand their respective working environments. His inaugural lecture focussed on the development of his research in understanding coaches’ working relationships.
MARK ANDERSON
Professor of Computer Science Dispelling the Myth: The Art of Computing Professor Anderson has been involved with computing projects all over the world, and his work contributed to the Department being identified as having internationally recognised research in the 2014 REF. His inaugural lecture discussed the misconception that Computing is a boring subject, and explored the merging boundaries between the adaptations of Computing and the growing opportunities for enhanced expression in the field.
DAVID PEIMER
Professor of Drama Violence and Grief in Contemporary South African Theatre As well as publishing widely, Professor Peimer has won a number of prestigious awards for playwriting and directing, and has directed over 30 plays in countries across the world. His inaugural lecture highlighted some of his recent research in postcolonial thinking, cultural identity and memory to help further our understanding of post-apartheid theatre.
TOM COCKBURN
Professor in Social Sciences and Head of Department Childhood Studies, Childhood Sociology and Social Justice As well as publishing his book Rethinking Children’s Citizenship, Professor Cockburn has spent over 20 years researching children, youth and childhood, and is well published in both national and international journals. His inaugural lecture reflected on the contribution that childhood studies has made to social justice, and he discussed the social inequalities and injustices experienced by children in the world today.
PARESH WANKHADE
Professor of Leadership and Management (Business School) and Professor in Computing Strategic leadership for the management of emergency services: Case for a new research agenda Professor Wankhade is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Emergency Services, and his research focuses on analyses of leadership, and organisational change and culture within the emergency services. His inaugural lecture analysed the current state of management research on emergency services and addressed the fragmentary nature of the emergency community.
AWARDS AND APPOINTMENTS
DONORS TO THE UNIVERSITY Donations to the University help current students to realise their ambitions by contributing to the Alumni Fund, which supports two initiatives designed to make a real impact and lasting difference to students’ lives: the Alumni Scholarship programme and the University’s Hardship Fund. We would like to thank the people who have made donations this year.
Ann Bowden A W Meredith Anne Moule Anne Pagendam Christine Bennett Dorothy Bearne Dorothy Collings Eileen Brown Esther Owen Eunice Trill Glenys Harrop Dr John Cater Margaret Ducker Olive McComb Ruth Caine Sylvia Rhodes Sylvia Rothwell
AWARDS AND APPOINTMENTS
HONORARY GRADUATES 2015 - 2016
Honorary awards conferred at ceremonies in December 2015 and July 2016.
DAVID MORRISSEY
CATHY ASHTON
MARK FLINN
BAFTA-nominated actor David Morrissey was recognised for his ongoing contribution to UK drama, television and film by being awarded an Honorary Doctor of Arts by Edge Hill University.
The Right Honourable Baroness Cathy Ashton of Upholland was made an Honorary Doctor of Edge Hill University in recognition of the powerful influence her political roles have had in encouraging peace and stability around the world.
Former Edge Hill Pro Vice-Chancellor Mark Flinn was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University in recognition of his service to higher education.
Honorary Doctor of Arts
Acknowledged by peers and institutions as one of the finest actors of his generation, David has achieved excellence in the world of film, television and the performing arts. His standout performances include Being Human, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, The Deal, and most recently in his iconic role as The Governor in The Walking Dead. David’s acting career started at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, where he was born and raised, and his continued commitment to his North West roots is evident in his consistent support of Liverpool’s film culture, and his close creative relationship to both the Everyman and the Unity Theatre.
Honorary Doctor of the University
She was created a Life Peer in 1999 as Baroness Ashton of Upholland and became the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for both the Department for Education and Skills and the Ministry of Justice under Tony Blair’s premiership. In 2007 she was appointed Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council in Gordon Brown’s first Cabinet. In 2009 Baroness Ashton was appointed First Vice-President of the European Commission and the inaugural High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, winning global praise for her work as a negotiator in difficult international situations.
Honorary Doctor of the University
After joining the University in 1992, Mark served as a Pro Vice-Chancellor for 17 years, retiring in July 2009. He was instrumental in the transformation of Edge Hill into the successful University it is today, playing a key role in historic milestones such as gaining taught degree powers, research degree powers and University title. Since retiring, Mark has jointly authored the history of the University, A Vision of Learning, and published Wide Horizons, celebrating the University’s 80 years in Ormskirk, and Temporary Darkness: Edge Hill in World War One. As well as being heavily involved in creating the University’s archive, Mark also founded the Mark Flinn Scholarship.
RHIANNON EVANS
JOHN RIGBY
JUDGE CUNO TARFUSSER
Former Edge Hill Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Rhiannon Evans MBE was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University in recognition of her service to higher education.
St Helens-born conductor John Rigby was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Arts by Edge Hill University at a ceremony held on the campus.
International Criminal Court judge His Excellency Judge Cuno Tarfusser was recognised for his ongoing contribution to Edge Hill University’s Department of Law and Criminology by being awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws.
Honorary Doctor of the University
Professor Evans was a Pro ViceChancellor at Edge Hill University from 1994 to 2008, significantly developing the institution’s higher education provision by establishing the first Access to University and Women Returner courses in the area. Moving to the North West from Brighton in 1979, Professor Evans was a Senior Lecturer and Head of Faculty at Wirral Metropolitan College. She has served on numerous national and regional committees and founded the Rhiannon Evans Poetry Award on her retirement to reward and celebrate students who display promise as creative writers. In the 2009 New Year’s Honour List, Professor Evans was awarded an MBE for services to higher education and widening participation.
Honorary Doctor of Arts
The acclaimed conductor began his career in musical theatre and has been musical director for a long list of prestigious productions. He is currently the Musical Supervisor for The Phantom of the Opera US tour and for Les Misérables in London and Korea. John’s formidable list of projects include Die Fledermaus for Opera Holland Park, Viennese Whirl with the Orchestra of Opera North, and Summer Classics with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. When asked about his personal contribution as a conductor to classical anthems, he said “to try and demystify them in some way and present them in a way that is accessible for people to appreciate, and realise that classical music needn’t be elitist, nor does it need to be dumbed down”.
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Judge Tarfusser has contributed significantly to the Department, collaborating on research projects, and delivering keynote speeches at international conferences held by the University. Judge Tarfusser was appointed to the International Criminal Court in 2009 as a presiding judge of the Pre Trial Chamber II, and has overseen many high-profile cases. In addition to his court work, he lectures and presents widely at conferences in Italy and elsewhere to share his expertise on issues of court management and international criminal law. His decisions are regularly cited by academic scholars and practitioners in international criminal justice, criminal law, public international law and human rights.
CLIVE EMSLEY
COLIN AND WENDY PARRY
PAUL LEWIS
Emeritus Professor Clive Emsley was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy by Edge Hill University in recognition of his enormous contribution to criminal justice historical research.
Colin and Wendy Parry OBE were awarded with Honorary Doctors of Education by Edge Hill University for their efforts in promoting peace and community education in the wake of a family tragedy.
Internationally regarded as one of the leading musicians of his generation, classical pianist Paul Lewis was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Edge Hill University.
Professor Emsley has published widely and has been instrumental in the emergence of the history of crime and policing as a significant field of academic study since the 1970s. Professor Emsley was a co-founder and co-director of the International Centre for Comparative Criminological Research at the Open University from 2003 until 2009. He was also President of the International Association for the History of Crime and Criminal Justice for 12 years. He has made numerous appearances in the media, including authoring the BBC History online pages on crime and policing and appearing on Who Do You Think You Are advising Twiggy about an ancestor with a criminal record.
On 20 March 1993, Colin and Wendy’s 12 year old son, Tim, was involved in an IRA bombing attack in Warrington, and died four days later. Keen to ensure that their son did not die in vain, Colin and Wendy established the Foundation for Peace charity in 1995. The charity works with people from all backgrounds by helping them to develop the skills and understanding to be able to resolve conflict through non-violent means, and also provides training and guidance to leaders and managers, on how to deal with past, present and future conflicts. In March 2000 Colin and Wendy opened the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Centre in Warrington; a safe place where people can learn about non-violent resolution of conflict.
Honorary Doctor of Philosophy
Honorary Doctors of Education
Honorary Doctor of Arts
Recently appointed CBE in the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Paul has consolidated his reputation as one of the world’s foremost interpreters of the central European classical repertoire. The son of a Liverpool docks worker and a local council officer, Paul has not forgotten his roots, regularly performing in the North West. It was here that Paul supplemented his self-taught hours at the keyboard by eagerly borrowing vinyl recordings of famous pianists from his local library. Paul studied with Joan Havill at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London before going on to study privately with Alfred Brendel. His numerous awards have included the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year, two Edison awards, and three Gramophone awards.
AWARDS AND APPOINTMENTS
SENIOR APPOINTMENTS
HELEN O’KEEFFE
Head of Primary and Early Years Education Helen has been a member of Edge Hill’s Primary and Early Years team for eight years. In this time she has held a number of different roles. Her current research focuses on developing the resilience of Initial Teacher Education trainees prior to placement, and she examines the support available to primary school children who have a father in prison. Helen has worked in both mainstream and SEND primary school settings, and she has been involved with several high-profile charities working with children with a range of social, emotional and physical needs.
HELEN WOODRUFFE-BURTON
Director of the Business School
Helen is a Chartered Marketer and an elected Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, who joined Edge Hill in September 2015 as a Professor of Marketing after working in higher education for 20 years. An internationally recognised researcher and author, Helen has published widely on consumption and consumer behaviour and also on methodology, gender and intersectionality. She is also a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Marketing Management and a reviewer for a wide range of national and international journals and conferences.
NIK BESSIS
Head of Computer Science Nik is a Professor of Computer Science. He has published hundreds of works, and has won four best paper awards as well as chairing international events and delivering keynote speeches. His current research focuses on social graphs for network and big data analytics, as well as on developing data push and resource provisioning services. He works with universities across the globe running research initiatives, and he has led several projects worth over £3 million. Nik is also the founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Distributed Systems and Technologies.
SALLY SPENCER
Director of Clinical Research, PGMI Sally joined Edge Hill in autumn 2015 as a Professor of Clinical Research PGMI, with the aim of driving the growth of research activity within the Faculty of Health and Social Care through collaboration with external public and private sector organisations. Her research focuses on patientreported outcome measures and evidence-based practice in clinical research, and she has worked with a number of other universities to achieve this. Sally is also an Editor for two Cochrane Collaboration groups, has co-authored a number of systematic reviews, and has received grants for two clinical trials funded by the National Institute for Health Research.
LANA ORR
Head of the Directorate Office Liverpool City Councillor Lana joined Edge Hill in December 2015 after working for several years to promote literacy and independent reading in primary schools. Lana previously worked as a researcher for Stephen Twigg, MP for Liverpool West Derby, and now leads for Mayor Joe Anderson on Primary Education, focusing on levels of numeracy and literacy across Liverpool. She has worked on a campaign called ‘City of Readers’ for a number of years, which seeks to promote reading for pleasure and ensure every primary school child in Liverpool leaves school with the ability to read, and she is also the trustee of a charity called the Big Help Project.
AWARDS AND APPOINTMENTS
GIVING BACK IN AN AGE OF INCREASING SELF-ABSORPTION AND WITH SO MANY OTHER DEMANDS ON THEIR TIME, WHAT MOTIVATES SOME YOUNG PEOPLE TO DEVOTE THEIR SPARE HOURS TO HELPING OTHERS – AND HOW IS EDGE HILL CELEBRATING THESE EXCEPTIONAL STUDENTS?
In 2009, the University established a Scholarship to mark the installation of its first Chancellor, Professor Tanya Byron. The aim was to recognise students who showed the kind of attitude and attributes that reflected the Chancellor’s own personal values and her role as a champion of diversity and equality. The result was the Chancellor’s Scholarship, Edge Hill’s most prestigious and highly competitive Scholarship. Each year it rewards students who make an outstanding contribution to the life of the University, particularly in the areas of race, disability, gender, sexuality, religion, anti-poverty, antiageism or any form of anti-discrimination. Students are nominated for the Scholarship by their peers or members of Edge Hill staff, and winners are selected by a Panel which includes Professor Byron herself. This year, 11 students impressed the Chancellor with their passion and commitment to raising the profile of the University through their actions. Some have overcome personal barriers to access higher education and have gone on to inspire others to achieve their potential. Some juggle vital volunteer work with caring and studying commitments, while others seek to improve the student experience at Edge Hill, not just for themselves and their peers, but for generations of students to come.
Chancellor’s Scholars this year include students who have: Overcome personal challenges to excel on their courses and provide support to other students Raised Edge Hill’s sporting profile by competing nationally or internationally or by introducing new sports to the University Driven change through the Students’ Union or Student Societies Acted as an ambassador for the University in their creative pursuits Contributed to the development of their course and the success of their peers Volunteered hundreds of hours for Edge Hill or for charitable organisations including RASA (Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre) in Liverpool, The Alzheimer’s Society, Listening Ear and Counselling Matters.
Chancellor’s Scholarship winner, Michael Cartmell, overcame a serious brain injury and had to relearn how to walk and talk, but this didn’t stop him playing a variety of sports, gaining numerous qualifications and volunteering hundreds of hours.
AWARDS AND APPOINTMENTS
STUDENT-LED STAFF AWARD WINNERS
Sixteen outstanding Edge Hill University lecturers, personal tutors and support staff have been named winners in the Student-Led Staff Awards 2016. Now in their sixth year, the University and Students’ Union developed the awards to recognise those who go above and beyond to make the teaching and learning experience even better. They give students the opportunity to thank the members of staff who they feel deserve recognition for their hard work and commitment to student satisfaction.
PERSONAL TUTOR:
SUPPORT STAFF:
Claire Farquharson
Emily Joseph
Faculty of Arts and Sciences – Sport and Physical Activity Lecturer in Sports Therapy
Faculty of Arts and Sciences – Biology Departmental Administrator
Eleanor Davidson
Ian Macadam
Faculty of Education – Primary Education Assistant Head of Primary Education
Student Services – Accommodation Team Night Support Officer
Shelia Ollerhead
Debbie Hirons
Faculty of Health and Social Care – Nurse Education (Adult Field) Associate Head
Faculty of Health and Social Care – Placement Support Team, Professional Support Services Placement Programme Hours Co-ordinator
SPECIAL RECOGNITION – LECTURER:
Marianne Erskine-Shaw Faculty of Arts and Sciences - Psychology PhD Student & Associate Tutor
LECTURER:
Dr Charles Knight
Claire Norcott
Faculty of Arts and Sciences – Business School Senior Lecturer in Management
Faculty of Education – Primary Education Senior Lecturer in Primary English
James Hewison
Juliet Thomas
Faculty of Arts and Sciences – Performing Arts Student Experience Director
Faculty of Health and Social Care – Nurse Education Programme Co-ordinator, MSc Nursing
Dr Jennifer Woodward
Dr Peter Leadbetter
Faculty of Arts and Sciences – Media Lecturer in Film Studies and English Literature
Faculty of Health and Social Care – Applied Health and Social Care Acting Associate Head and Programme Leader, BSc (Hons) Health and Social Wellbeing
Ruth Rayner Faculty of Education – Professional Education Associate Tutor
Martin Pickett Faculty of Education – Secondary Education Secondary PGCE Mathematics Course Leader
Dr Tony Keating Faculty of Health and Social Care – Applied Health and Social Care Programme Leader, BSc (Hons) Psychosocial Analysis of Offending Behaviour
FACTS AND FIGURES Figures taken from the Report and Financial Statements quantify the successes achieved by Edge Hill over the past year. Financially Edge Hill is one of the best managed universities in the sector, achieving a level of surplus that enables the University to continue to invest in facilities. Full-time applications have continued to rise despite the decline in the number of 18-year-olds in the population, making this the best year for recruitment since 2011. And satisfaction levels, always high for Edge Hill, exceed the national average.
FACTS AND FIGURES
FINANCIAL WORTH OF THE UNIVERSITY
£147.316 MILLION 2013 / 2014
£162.796 MILLION 2014 / 2015
£171.240 MILLION 2015 / 2016
Total number of students
2016
15,543
Applications for full-time undergraduate programmes
2016
2015
2014
19,767 19,133 18,931
FACTS AND FIGURES
93
OF STAFF RATE THE UNIVERSITY AS A GOOD OR EXCELLENT EMPLOYER
What students think:
NATIONAL STUDENT SURVEY 2016 Scores in the 2016 Survey continued at a high level, including:
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
4.37 5
TEACHING QUALITY
4.25
ACADEMIC SUPPORT
4.28
LEARNING RESOURCES
5
5 4.37 5
Teaching quality
TOP 10 IN THE UK FOR TEACHING QUALITY IN THE TIMES/SUNDAY TIMES GOOD UNIVERSITY GUIDE 2017.
Student employment:
95.3 2013 / 2014
of Edge Hill University’s full-time first degree graduates find work or further study within six months of graduating (above the national average)
FACTS AND FIGURES
TOTAL INCOME & SURPLUS FOR RE-INVESTMENT
Surplus for re-investment
£17.899 MILLION
2013 / 2014
Total income
£115.376 MILLION
Surplus for re-investment
£21.247 MILLION
2014 / 2015
Total income
£123.935 MILLION
Surplus for re-investment
£21.637
MILLION
2015 / 2016
Total income
£128.127 MILLION
PUBLICATION CREDITS
Produced by: Edge Hill University Corporate Communications team and contributors from across the University Designed by: Black&Ginger www.blackandginger.com Photo credits: Stuart Rayner, 7/8: Ironbird 11/12: John Johnson 13: RCP/Jonathan Perugia 21/22: Everton in the Community 28: Getty Images 26 (Hands), 30, 32, 33, 38: iStockphoto 26: Geoff Beattie: Phil Tragen 37: Professor Paul Ashton 38: Caretakers: Truant Theatre 39: Tate sign: Tate; Phone: Shutterstock Timeline: Cheltenham: Kevin Fern; Hally McHallface: Olivia Walker; Best Student Accommodation: Ironbird
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