Autumn/Winter 2013 by University of Leicester

Autumn/Winter 2013

Elite without being elitist

INSIDE

The Legacy of Leicester Our many discoveries and breakthroughs

www.le.ac.uk

2 LE1 · the magazine of the University of Leicester · autumn / WINTER 2013

Contents vice-chancellor’s introduction Professor Sir Robert Burgess

the legacy of leicester More than 90 years of pioneering great research and providing a world-class education

king richard iii’s grave in 3d Detailed 3D reconstruction of Richard III’s grave

internationalisation at its best International mission extends far beyond recruiting international students

3 4

embrace arts

- breaking barriers

An institution with inspirational vision to enrich lives

uncovering secret scourge of sexism across europe

international approaches to teacher education

Highlighting the prevalence of discrimination across Europe

School of Education is spearheading an international project

success upon successs for teaching fellows

National Teaching Fellowship Awards

the internship promise The old idea that going to university is just about getting a degree is becoming outdated

life, death and medicine through the centuries The University’s new Centre for Medical Humanities

14 26 28

killing with precision Research could see the use of bacteriophages instead of antibiotics

nelson mandela changed my life Stories from the non-stop picket of South Africa House

brief exchanges Short stories from the University of Leicester

© University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH · www.le.ac.uk · Email: rh283@le.ac.uk If you wish to be removed from the database of this publication, please email rh283@le.ac.uk or ring 0116 252 2160 Front cover: “Searching for Black Holes in Space” image provided by Professor Ken Pounds.

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The Legacy of Leicester has also been chosen to highlight the university’s remarkable position as the UK’s only living memorial to the Great War Professor Sir Robert Burgess, Vice-Chancellor

Research that captures the imagination of the world Foreword by Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Robert Burgess. In this issue, we celebrate the Legacy of Leicester. After fifteen years as ViceChancellor at this remarkable University I retire next September and it has therefore been an interesting exercise for me to look back at Leicester’s many achievements and ground-breaking research discoveries made by my colleagues. Whilst there are many to choose from, we have selected just seven which are particularly noteworthy for a variety of reasons.

Leicester also continues to be highly regarded because it offers high quality teaching that is informed by our cutting edge research. We believe that teaching is more inspirational when delivered by passionate scholars engaged in world-changing research. Leicester is therefore delighted to be among a few select universities in securing two national Teaching Fellowship Awards this year, the second year in a row.

The Legacy of Leicester has also been chosen to highlight the University’s position as the UK’s only living memorial to the Great War, the 100th anniversary of which the world will mark at the start of next year. When University College received its Grant of Arms the founders chose to represent the University with the motto ‘Ut Vitam Habeant’ – ‘That they may have life’. Those words serve as a reminder of our purpose and continues to inspire our work.

Dr Martha Clokie’s research into the use of Phages for the treatment of bacterial infections and leading work for the European Commission on the prevalance of discrimination across Europe are just some examples of the outstanding research you can read about in this issue. Significant work from Leicester’s departments including Law, Geography, History and the School of Education are also featured. This strength and breadth of our research base is one of the reasons

why Leicester consistently features in the QS’s top-10 British universities for research impact. At Leicester we also seek to share the benefits of our work with the wider world. You can read how the University is working in partnership with a new university in India to exchange knowledge and experience. We also describe how our work in countries involved in the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings are helping to train teachers in this turbulent part of the world. Clearly the next few years will continue to change and challenge universities but I am confident that by continuing to invest in our first-rate student experience, Leicester will continue to prosper. I hope you enjoy reading about our discoveries and our latest developments.

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The Legacy of Leicester For more than 90 years, the University of Leicester has been pioneering great research and providing a world-class education to students from our region and beyond. Our many discoveries and breakthroughs – along with our many thousands of graduates – are the ‘Legacy of Leicester’. Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland University College was founded in 1921 as a living memorial for those who lost their lives in First World War, a fact reflected in the University’s motto Ut Vitam Habeant – ‘so that they may have life’. We are, we believe, the only UK university that is a living memorial to the Great War (1914-1918) and that connection makes our work even more poignant and worth celebrating. As we draw closer to the 100 year anniversary of the start of the Great War, it is important to reflect on our past and look behind the memorial. One of the University’s core beliefs is in the synergy of teaching and research. At Leicester, the two are not separated, as in some universities, which means that our students are taught by academics at the cutting edge of their subjects. So Physics and Astronomy students may be taught by

space scientists who have designed and constructed instruments currently in orbit; students studying for a degree in Genetics or Archaeology may be taught by the experts who helped to find and identify King Richard III. From the surface of Mars to the car parks of Leicester, University of Leicester research has been at the heart of some amazing discoveries in recent times. Another aspect of the Legacy of Leicester is the retirement of the ViceChancellor, Professor Sir Robert Burgess, in September 2014 after more than 15 years at the helm, during which Leicester has firmly established itself among the top 20 universities in the UK. “We believe that our world-changing research produces high quality teaching– and inspires our students to go further. Our legacy reinforces this belief and shows that at Leicester we are all about pushing boundaries,” he said.

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1955

The Making of the English Landscape published This ground-breaking book by WG Hoskins, Head of Leicester’s innovative Department of English Local History, completely changed the way that people view the English countryside by showing how locations had changed over time to accommodate the agricultural, industrial and social developments of local communities. The renamed Centre for English Local History is still an active research body with a unique ‘Leicester approach’ to considering local history in a national context.

1966

Mass Communication Research enters mainstream academia The University broke new ground by identifying mass communications as a subject worthy of academic study when this centre was founded by Professor James D Halloran. Twelve years later, the centre launched Britain’s first taught degree in communication studies, the MA in Mass Communication which continues to attract a high number of students today.

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1975

1984

Searching for Black Holes in Space

DNA Fingerprinting discovered

At least one Leicester-built instrument has been in Earth’s orbit continuously since the 1960s. Among the most successful was the Leicester Space Survey Instrument (SSI) on board NASA’s Ariel 5 satellite. Designed, manufactured and operated under the aegis of Professor Ken Pounds, co-founder of the University’s world class X-ray Astronomy Group, the SSI identified a binary system containing a super-dense object subsequently identified as one of the first confirmed examples of a black hole, as predicted by Einstein.

In the Department of Genetics, Alec Jeffreys experienced a ‘eureka moment’ when he realised that DNA could be used to identify individuals. The potential for this new technique – subsequently hailed as one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the 20th century – was demonstrated two years later when it was used to solve the murder of two Leicestershire teenagers.

Alec Jeffreys

DNA fingerprinting is now used by police forces, courts and governments around the world for a host of applications including cases of paternity and immigration.

1994

Textbook of Hypertension published Professor John Swales, who helped to found Leicester’s Medical School, is regarded today as one of the great names in the scientific study of hypertension. Among many publications his most notable was the Textbook of Hypertension, named Medical Book of the Year by the Society of Authors. He was also a keen exponent of broadening medical knowledge and understanding beyond clinical science to art, literature and philosophy – an idea which is reflected today in Leicester’s Research Centre for Medical Humanities.

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2000

Norbert Elias

One of the most important sociologists of the twentieth century Norbert Elias has been described as “the greatest social think you’ve never heard of”. One of the most important sociologists of the twentieth century, his greatest contribution was an approach which combined an analysis of social, psychological, and historical processes into a unified scheme, known as ‘figurational’ or ‘process sociology’. Today, the Norbert Elias Foundation exists to promote his life and work, which is also commemorated by continued research and teaching in the College of Social Science. A much revised edition of his seminal work On the Process of Civilisation has recently been reissued as part of the Elias Collected Works.

2012

The discovery of Richard III The most remarkable and exciting archaeological discovery of recent times was the excavation of the remains of the last Plantaganet King, lost for four centuries, under a Leicester car park. Richard Buckley of University of Leicester Archaeological Services led the dig to examine an area first identified as the King’s likely resting place in a 1986 paper by a Leicester lecturer. The discovery of a skeleton with battle wounds and a twisted spine sent shock-waves around the world and was followed by extensive multi-disciplinary research by the Departments of Genetics, Forensic Pathology, Archaeology and Ancient History, English and others which confirmed the identity of the bones in February 2013. © University of Leicester

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King Richard III’s grave is mapped in 3D University of Leicester researchers create a highly-detailed 3D reconstruction of Richard III’s grave. Researchers have combined laser scanning with digital photogrammetric techniques to produce an interactive map of the grave discovered at the Greyfriars church by Leicester archaeologists in September. David Ackerley, a postgraduate researcher in the University’s School of Geography, used a terrestrial laser scanner to map the exact shape of the grave. This instrument is part of the Leicester LiDAR Research Unit, based in the Department of Geography. The instrument was placed at various points around the grave. Using the principles of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), it fired out laser pulses in a 360 degree arc, recording the length of time taken to bounce off a surface and return to the scanner. The information gathered at each of the measuring positions was combined to build up a 20-million point-cloud of the site - revealing everything down to the precise soil textures of the excavated grave walls. David uses this technique as part of his geomorphology research to monitor how the surfaces of gravel-

bed rivers structure over flood events and how this influences particle entrainment and sediment transport. “Laser scanning is a very useful surveying tool – especially as the technique is non-intrusive. Historically, you would have had to physically go into your survey area and measure every point by hand.” said David. “In an archaeological context, the value of this non-invasive approach is that you can document the grave of King Richard III and generate a highly accurate and detailed virtual representation whilst minimising any disturbance caused. This really is the 21st century approach to the sketchpad.” The data from David’s laser-scanning of the grave was then combined with a survey made using digital photographs taken by José Manuel Valderrama Zafra, a visiting academic at the University of Leicester’s School of Archaeology and Ancient History. José took more than 80 pictures of the grave from many different angles and used 3D modelling software to combine the photos into a 3D model of the grave.

“The close range photogrammetry method we have used is able to obtain the 3D position of different points by the measuring the spatial intersection of the rays that define the same point in different photos.” said José, who is also an engineering researcher at the University of Jaén, Spain. “This technique it is very interesting, because of its simplicity and the low cost of the materials needed to do it - it is even possible to do it with a simple compact camera.” Richard Buckley, lead archaeologist on the Search for Richard III was impressed with the interactive map. “What is remarkable about this is that we can create a truly objective 3D record of Richard III’s grave using modern technology. It is a way of applying cutting edge techniques to an archaeological site. We hope to work from this and develop it further,” he said.

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“Laser scanning is a very useful surveying tool – especially as the technique is non-intrusive. Historically, you would have had to physically go into your survey area and measure every point by hand.” David Ackerley, Postgraduate Researcher in Geography

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Internationalisation at its best The University of Leicester’s international mission extends far beyond recruiting international students – it reflects an ethos that seeks to build relations that will last. For 1,800 years, Indian universities dominated the world education system. Takshashila was a global university established in the 6th Century BC. It became the point of assembly for four civilisations – Indian, Persian, Greek and Chinese. Now there is not a single Indian university in the world top 200. This fact is not lost on the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukhrjee, who in an address at the inauguration of the Maharaja Agrasen University (MAU) in Himachal Pradesh, emphasised the need for Indian universities to embrace internationalisation and partnerships with leading universities across the globe.

Listening to him was a delegation from the University of Leicester – the only British university to have partnered with this fledgling university. Drawing on Leicester’s extensive experience of working with universities in Ethiopia, Iraq and the autonomous region of Kurdistan, Leicester is well placed to deliver benefits that have the potential to shape this Indian university. Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) Professor Douglas Tallack said: “This is internationalisation at its best, working with institutions to develop programmes and forge connections that last.” “There is so much potential in terms of research collaboration, student and

staff exchanges, course development and more. This marks the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship between the universities.” What the partnership will mean in practical terms is that Leicester will work with Maharaja Agrasen University in Engineering and Computer Science. Students will have the opportunity to complete part of their course in India and part in Leicester, subject to satisfactory performance as specified by Leicester and also depending on course options followed at MAU. Students could also be eligible for Study Abroad options leading to degrees awarded by MAU and progress onto Master’s courses at Leicester, subject to qualification. “We view our international alliances as a core driving philosophy and our partnership with the University of Leicester is its vital element,” said Dr. N.K. Garg, Chancellor of Maharaja Agrasen University.

University of Leicester representatives (left to right): Mr Ather Mirza, Director of the News Centre; Dr Michael Green, Director of Strategic Partnerships; Professor Rajeev Raman, Department of Computer Science, Mr Ian Jarvis, Department of Engineering Admissions Tutor and Departmental Services Manager University of Leicester.

“We aim at leveraging our partnership with University of Leicester to develop students’ global perspectives and international opportunities. The University of Leicester will help us in capacity building to meet international academic standards and ensuring that

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an international multi-cultural ethos pervades our University,” he added. For Director of Strategic Partnerships, Dr Michael Green, this ‘passage to India’ is a two-way street that will bring mutual benefits. “The Foundation which is the driving force behind the new MAU is comprised of people of high achievement in business, politics or education and is deeply respected in Delhi and North India,” he explained. “It is both an opportunity and also an honour for University of Leicester to be the partner of MAU in helping it to begin its existence with curricula which are benchmarked to international standards in the key areas of Engineering and Computing Science.” According to Patricia Hewitt, Chair of the UK India Business Council, now is the opportune time for partnership models as developed by Leicester. She said: “British universities, which are amongst the best in the world, should be partnering with universities in India to share their knowledge and experience, and also to learn from the extraordinary innovation that is going on in India.” That is why she, and we, are excited about the potential of this new Indian academic odyssey.

“There is so much potential in terms of research collaboration, student and staff exchanges, course development and more. This marks the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship between the universities.” Professor Douglas Tallack, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International)

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Professor Hilary Burgess (left) and Alex Moseley (right), National Teaching Award Fellows 2013

Success upon success for teaching fellows Leicester is among a select few universities to win two national Teaching Fellowship Awards – and has the rare distinction of achieving this two years in a row. Teaching and learning can be fun – no one knows that better than Alex Moseley who has spent much of his career exploring games based learning. Technology has also played a key part in the success of Professor Hilary Burgess who harnessed the power of innovative e-learning teaching methods for Primary PGCE students, and Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), to enhance doctoral-level teaching to people around the world. The talent of both individuals has now been recognised nationally with Higher Education Academy Teaching Fellowship Awards.

Professor Hilary Burgess Director of Studies in the School of Education Professor Hilary Burgess is Director of Studies in the School of Education and plays a key role in the strategic development of the School. At a University level she contributes to policy making as a member of the College of Social Science Academic Committee and as Deputy Director of the College of Social Science Graduate Research Strategy Group. Her approach to learning and teaching has been influenced by her early career as a primary school teacher and her

roles in teacher training that have included leading a large Primary PGCE programme and mentor training for primary and secondary school teachers. Her teaching activities include supervising EdD and PhD students and leading the Professional Enquiry module, a course that is taken by all students following the Masters in Education: Learning and Teaching. One of her guiding principles is a belief that student support is essential to successful outcomes for the diverse body of learners studying in higher education, many of whom are at a distance in the UK or are overseas.

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Achieving your Doctorate in Education by Hilary Burgess, Sandy Sieminski and Lore Arthur.

Using Games to Enhance Learning and Teaching, by Alex Moseley and Nicola Whitton

“The University of Leicester takes great pride in the success of Hilary and Alex in winning these awards against stiff competition. In their different ways both have made outstanding contributions to the student learning experience, helping to further enhance Leicester’s position as a top 20 research-intensive institution that values excellent teaching.” Christine Fyfe, Pro-Vice-Chancellor

Her work with doctoral students and with primary and secondary school teachers are the main areas where she has enhanced and transformed the student learning experience. She has achieved this through designing programmes with support systems and making innovative use of new technologies. .

Alex Moseley Educational Designer, Course Design and Development Unit Alex Moseley has had extensive experience in teaching, learning and research: principally in course design and development, but also in the Humanities and games-based spheres. He has a background in Archaeology, which fuelled his desire for exploration, uncovering mysteries and using whatever tool was needed to get the job done. This helped him to work across disciplines, and develop teaching in applied information technology for students, and training in appropriate use of learning technologies for

staff. He developed interests in the wider curriculum design process, and has since specialised in programme development, online and distance education, and in student engagement with learning. He now takes a strategic role in developing institutional policy and support in these areas, most recently crowd-sourcing the institution’s first virtual learning environment (VLE) policy. Alex’s primary research area, and most innovative practice, stems from an experience he had when picking up an intriguing postcard in a weekend paper. The postcard turned out to be a door into the fascinating world of alternate reality games, and after playing for a few months Alex was amazed at how players would spend hours at a time working together to solve complex puzzles. He began a year of action research, and identified features of the game which could be transferred to education to increase engagement and community development. Integrating these with his own practice, a highly successful games-based course The Great History Conundrum was born,

encouraging students to develop advanced research skills by solving puzzles whilst battling for a grand prize; and this effective approach is now used in other disciplines. Alex combines this interest in playful approaches with his love of the past to teach other innovative courses within Museum Studies and Archaeology. Congratulating them, Pro-ViceChancellor Christine Fyfe said: “The University of Leicester takes great pride in the success of Hilary and Alex in winning these awards against stiff competition. In their different ways both have made outstanding contributions to the student learning experience, helping to further enhance Leicester’s position as a top 20 researchintensive institution that values excellent teaching.” Before achieving the double successes, Leicester had previously achieved seven single awards from the Higher Education Academy bringing the total number of Leicester recipients of the awards to 11.

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The Internship Promise The old idea that going to university is just about getting a degree is becoming outdated. For most of today’s students, it is more about building a career, and a growing number are turning to internships to help them do that. US universities are far in advance of us in this field - they have sophisticated internship programmes, supported by high-quality training. At the University of Leicester we are taking internships to the next level by becoming, from next year, one of the first top-ranking universities in Britain to offer a major internship programme to its new undergraduates. This will involve placements of at least a month for all campus-based home or EU undergraduates. Our aim is that the bulk of these internships will be undertaken in the undergraduates’ first year - because the earlier students acquire experience of the world of work, the better. The need for internships is sharpened by the arrival of the Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) - a summary of each student’s non-academic achievements, including work experience, as well as of their academic record. This

is being introduced by universities at the recommendation of a committee chaired by University of Leicester Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Robert Burgess. All students applying through the University’s scheme will have to go through a compulsory training programme to develop the skills and commitment employers look for. They want interns with a good knowledge of how to achieve goals in the workplace, how to work in a team, and how to use their initiative to meet and exceed their employers’ expectations. “I find that graduate employers very rarely ask for anything other than paid internships. We believe that in most sectors unpaid versions are on the way out - dealt another blow by the Association of Graduate Recruiters’ recent call on employers not to look favourably on experience gained through them. The salary range I envisage for our new programme is far above the minimum wage - but employers are, in return, using the services of very bright people”

says Bob Athwal director of the Careers Development Service at the University of Leicester. Demand and the ability of employers to enable us to fulfil our programme, will also be critical according to Bob Athwal. “I am conscious of huge latent demand, encompassing small and midsized enterprises as well as the largest graduate employers, provided the process is professionally organised. This means, above all, offering an implicit guarantee of quality. Our training programme is designed to provide that. Employers know they will get a very high standard of candidate and service. In due course University of Leicester Intern could become a powerful brand.” “The internship programme will, in the first couple of years, cost the University a substantial amount of money: some employers with tight finances, such as charities and some small companies, may need to have their University of Leicester internships subsidised. Over time, however, we expect this subsidy

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cost to fall as interns prove their worth to employers. “I believe that once Leicester and a few other pioneers have announced major internship programmes, they will spread like wildfire - within a few years’ time they will be standard at UK universities. We, as a sector, need to get serious about internships. In these tough times for the British labour market, undergraduates need all the help they can get.” Finally, no internship programme will work without the support of the students. Fortunately, they are highly enthusiastic about internships. Severe competition in the graduate careers market has sharpened their hunger for work experience. A recent survey by Unite, the student accommodation company, has found that nine in ten students said they wanted their university to provide work placement opportunities - and feedback from prospective University of Leicester students confirms this picture.

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Life, death and medicine through the centuries The University’s new Centre for Medical Humanities focuses on our approaches and attitudes to illness, disability, death and medicine through history Throughout history, our approaches to treating illness and prolonging life have been as much shaped by cultural and social values as they have by scientific and medical advancements.

medicine and the biological sciences.

With this in mind, the University’s new Centre for Medical Humanities is seeking to investigate how individuals, patients and families have understood and responded to medical issues since the seventeenth century.

Centre director Professor Steven King, Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Arts, Humanities and Law, is currently leading a study of miracle cures from 1450 to 2020. The project aims to investigate how the incremental nature of scientific process is glossed over in the reporting of medical discoveries – with any advancements being immediately hailed as “miracle cures”.

Led by academics from the School of History, the interdisciplinary centre also aims to bring together experts from museum studies, literature, sociology, management,

In addition, Professor King is examining the history of disability for a paper titled “Waste people? The disabled and their communities 1750-2000s”. His research led to an appearance on Peter White’s

Radio 4 series A History of Disability earlier this year. “The disabled have on the one hand been subject to the same sort of retreat from the public sphere as the rest of the population during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries,” explains Professor King. “They have gone indoors and the rise of disability benefit has actually extracted the disabled from the workplace. On the other hand, the relentless expansion of the definition of disability and with it benefits for disability has undermined communal support for the definitively disabled.”

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“On the other hand, the relentless expansion of the definition of disability and with it benefits for disability has undermined communal support for the definitively disabled.” Professor Steven King, acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of College of Arts, Humanities and Law Dr Elizabeth Hurren, a Reader in History in the Centre, is carrying out a study on ‘Body parts and body ethics’, which examines the ethical questions around whether family members should be able to prevent doctors removing the organs of loved ones when they die. Another key research focus for the centre is the controversial concept of “Imperfect children”. Researcher Steven Taylor is researching the origin of families’ and societies’ search for the physically perfect child. Annegret Hagenberg, Research Fellow of the Centre, is interested in the history of visual illusions in medicine

- with a particular focus on the range of historical and current therapies for those who have suffered limb amputations. “With the discovery of mirror therapy and the further use of mirrors to regain function in stroke, the new understanding of the brain was accelerated,” says Annegret. “The brain is not hard-wired but very flexible and can be influenced by very simple tricks. “This has opened fascinating new areas for research - such as the ‘rubber hand illusion’ and transferring sensations to another person through the use of visual illusions,” she added.

Professor Steven King

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Embrace Arts – breaking barriers The University of Leicester is securing its place as an institution with inspirational vision to enrich lives. The University of Leicester’s Arts Centre, Embrace Arts is an important focal point for cultural life on campus and in the wider community. The Centre remains one of only two purpose built spaces in the East Midlands dedicated to promoting, encouraging and engaging people with disabilities in the arts.

Britain’s first buildings designed with disability at its heart; conceived by the University before much of the current legislation regarding access for people with disabilities.

The quality of the University’s teaching and research is, of course, integral to its success as a leading UK University. However, of equal importance is prompting inclusivity and accessibility. This ethos is at the heart of Embrace Arts at the Richard Attenborough Centre.

The Embrace Arts programme at the Richard Attenborough Centre fosters inclusive arts practice for artists, audiences and participants both within the Centre and also through its community outreach activities. More than 35,000 people access the incredible resources annually including students wishing to pursue their musical activities through the Universities music scholarship programmes.

Opened in 1997, by Diana Princess of Wales and championed by Lord Attenborough, the Centre was one of

Over the fourteen years since the Richard Attenborough Centre’s opening, the University has witnessed significant and

growing demand for arts programming, especially for those with disabilities. However, it’s estimated that for every three people who are able to access the Centre, there are a further two who are unable to do so due to lack of space. As part of extensive investment into facilities across the campus, the University has announced plans to enlarge the Centre with a New Galleries Wing to continue to fulfill the founding vision of Lord Richard Attenborough of making the arts accessible to all. “The new development will place the University of Leicester at the forefront of fully inclusive arts and cultural experience. As a leading UK University we must continue to improve our offer to broaden

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our appeal and offer the best experiences to our students, but also develop new audiences from disadvantaged communities and schools.” said ViceChancellor Professor Sir Robert Burgess. The New Galleries Wing will provide fifty percent more space including; three new galleries, an outdoor sculpture court and flexible creativity space. The project will add further appeal to Leicester’s growing reputation for investing in the future and new generations of students, staff and community users. “Arts Council England is so impressed by the project to build a New Galleries Wing they have made a conditional pledge towards the New Galleries Wing Appeal which is currently on-going. The new

facility would make a transformational difference for people who could not otherwise have access to high quality arts and creative learning, especially for children and adults with disabilities” explains Co-Director, Michaela Butter. “It will attract the very best art to Leicester, generating partnership with leading international and national institutions such as the Tate and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Most importantly the New Galleries Wing will help break down barriers to access and help widen participation of contemporary art.” For more information visit www.le.ac.uk/breakingbarriers

“The new development will place the University of Leicester at the forefront of fully inclusive arts and cultural experience. As a leading UK University we must continue to improve our offer to broaden our appeal and offer the best experiences to our students, but also develop new audiences from disadvantaged communities and schools.” Professor Sir Robert Burgess, Vice-Chancellor.

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Leicester research uncovers secret scourge of sexism across Europe Leicester research is playing a key role in highlighting the prevalence of discrimination across Europe. One unexpected consequence of a double-dip recession and economic austerity across Europe is how it has affected women. Researchers have found that negative stereotyping of women is rife across Europe. Discrimination based on prejudices still occurs – and in particular women miss out on bonuses and promotions. Eugenia Caracciolo di Torella, from the University of Leicester School of Law, has co-authored a report for the European Commission entitled “Fighting Discrimination on the Grounds of Pregnancy, Maternity and Parenthood: The application of EU and national law in practice in 33 European countries.” The report was written in association with A. Masselot from University of Canterbury, NZ and S. Burri from University of Utrecht. The study found: · In some EU countries, women had to sign a ‘blank resignation’ at the time of appointment which would come into force if they fell pregnant · Health and safety requirements are used as an excuse to remove women from the workplace · Pregnancy and maternity are often the

cause of non-renewal of fixed term contracts and/or project work · Women are subjected to ‘negative stereotyping’ in the workplace – ie they are seen to be carers for children and family first rather than workers with full employment rights · In some EU states, women of childbearing age are simply not selected for a job Dr Caracciolo di Torella said: “One of the most surprising factors has been to realise the negative impact role that gender stereotypes continues to play across Europe in the 21st century. “This is particularly extreme in certain Member States such as Romania, where women in child-bearing years are simply not selected for a job or parents with prams are not welcomed into shops for fear of shoplifting. “However, it seems also to apply to Member States where we generally think that gender equality is an uncontroversial state of play. In Sweden, for example, it is the opinion of the Equality Ombudsman that “young women are systematically discriminated against.” The report looks at the position of working parents across the EU Member

States with a view to highlighting gaps, as well as good practices. It shows that, on the whole, national statutory rights relating to the protection of pregnancy, maternity and parenthood in the workplace across Europe are of a reasonable standard. Thus, the EU has successfully established a common ground and often domestic legal provisions go beyond the obligations set by the EU. “Yet, despite extensive legislation, pregnant employees and working parents continue to experience high levels of discrimination and difficulties. Whilst, on paper, the law exists and is comprehensive, in practice it is too often circumvented,” explains Dr Caracciolo. “For example, in some countries like Italy and Greece, women were asked to sign an undated resignation letter – so called “blank resignation” – at the time of recruitment so as to be used by the employer to make the worker resign when needed, for instance when she became pregnant. “Undoubtedly the key message is that having children is not a “selfish act” but a productive activity of society that should not be devalued. We all (State, public/ private companies and society as a whole) benefit from, and free ride on, the work done by parents and carers who, to date, remain mostly women.”

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“One of the most surprising factors has been to realise the negative impact role that gender stereotypes continues to play across Europe in the 21st century.” Dr Caracciolo di Torella, Lecturer in Law

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International approaches to teacher education Academics at the University of Leicester’s School of Education are spearheading an international project which aims to stabilise society in the North African and Middle-Eastern countries involved in the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings.

Two days after the downfall of President Hosni Mubarak Egyptians in Tahrir Square pose their children on army tanks for photos. © James May / Alamy

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The scheme, which is being funded by the European Union, will see academics and teachers from 14 universities in several countries working together to train teachers in high quality, effective classroom methods. The idea is that if the education systems in those countries can be stabilised and embedded then this will impact positively on civil society as a whole. The project, Capacity development of faculties of education in international approaches to teacher education, will involve an exchange of ideas and information about how different nations approach teacher training and development. The participants have had an initial meeting at the American University of Cairo, with each submitting papers on how teacher education is

managed in their respective countries. This will form the basis of future discussions. In addition, visits are planned by teachers and educationalists from overseas to the UK in the autumn, where they will participate in workshops hosted by Leicester academics as well as working in schools and observing practice in British classrooms. One of the University’s major roles is to monitor and evaluate the project. Professor Hilary Burgess, of the School of Education, said: “One of the important evaluation tools we have developed is an improvement action plan, where visiting institutions on their return to their own countries, will set action plans setting targets on how they are going to improve practice. Striving to raise standards will form a key part of the project.” “Of course, no-one can just pick up ideas from one country and expect them to work everywhere because there are cultural issues and different education systems that come into play. But we are able to share ideas and look at how we can apply good practice into our own contexts and learn from each other.” Leicester University was submitting its proposal for the project to the EU just as the Arab Spring uprising ousted President Hosni Mubarak from power in Egypt. Dr Chris Wilkins, Reader in Education and Director of Teacher Education at the School of Education, said he believed the project was seen by the EU as a “strategic priority” for modernising and stabilising higher education in North African and Middle Eastern countries. Universities are seen as key players in the

transition to knowledge-based economy and society, and will have a crucial role in providing the education and training for a new generation of leaders. “What we all want to see is education as a stabilising force in society in those countries and we believe this can be achieved through good quality teacher education,” he said. “Of course, there is some paradox in the fact that the UK is continually held up internationally as a high quality teacher education model, in particularly for its combining of theory and practice in the training of teachers, while the Coalition government is pursuing policies intended to reduce the extent of university involvement in teacher education. “The reality is that we work in strong productive partnerships and the rest of the world recognises this and people look to our model from different contexts. We are seen as having distinctive experience for building capacity through sharing good practice.” The university is currently working with three schools’ teaching alliances on new collaborative models that are based on the government’s plans to see teacher training moving directly into schools. “Leicester, both the city and the university, has always been in the vanguard of teacher education and was seen as progressive as far back as the 1960s, when everyone worked in close collaboration,” adds Dr Wilkins. “We are in a very strong position to now take this experience and expertise to the wider world with our international partnerships.”

“What we all want to see is education as a stabilising force in society in those countries and we believe this can be achieved through good quality teacher education.” Dr Chris Wilkins, Reader in Education and Director of Teacher Education

24 LE1 · the magazine of the University of Leicester · autumn / WINTER 2013

Killing with precision: ‘phages’, the new weapons against bacteria? A Leicester scientist’s research could see the use of bacteriophages instead of antibiotics, for the treatment of Clostridium difficile and other common bacterial infections in the U.K. Report by: Shriparna Sarbajna The year 1928 marked perhaps the most significant discovery in the history of medicine – the discovery of the first antibiotic, penicillin. Heralded as the ‘silver bullets’ of medicine, antibiotics have saved countless lives and impacted on the well-being of humanity. Yet, less than a century following their discovery, the future impact of antibiotics is dwindling at a pace that no one anticipated, with more and more bacteria out-smarting and ‘out-evolving’ these miracle drugs. As governments, international health organisations and scientists actively seek ways to combat the issues associated with the prolonged (over)use of antibiotics, has the answer been right under our noses the whole time? Dr. Martha Clokie, of the Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation at the University of Leicester, has been investigating an alternative to antibiotics, which utilises naturally occurring viruses called bacteriophages, meaning ‘eaters of bacteria’. Dr. Clokie explains: “Unlike antibiotics, bacteriophages (phages) are specific

and will only infect one particular species of bacteria (referred to as the host). Following attachment to their hosts, they inject their DNA into the bacterium, which then replicates many times over, ultimately causing the bacterial cell to burst open. The phages released from the dead bacterium can then infect other host cells.” “Phages were discovered independently by two scientists in 1915 and 1917 and thus, they predate antibiotics. Despite an initial worldwide interest, the popularity of ‘phage therapy’ in the west declined rapidly in the shadow of antibiotics. Currently, this form of therapy is only used in clinics in the Republic of Georgia and in other countries that were part of the former USSR. However, with growing antibiotic resistance becoming an increasing threat against modern medicine and with fewer new antibiotics in the pipeline than ever before, scientists around the world are showing a renewed interest in phage based therapy.” Dr. Clokie’s current work primarily focuses on investigating the potential for using phages for treating infections caused by the hospital superbug

Clostridium difficile (C. diff). “These bacteria mainly affect the digestive system, causing severe diarrhoea and vomiting, leading to dehydration and, in some cases death. C. diff most commonly affect individuals whose natural digestive bacterial flora has been compromised through extensive/ prolonged use of antibiotics; often taking a strong hold in hospital environments,” she explains. As part of her research, funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), Dr. Clokie has isolated and characterised a large collection of C. diff phages. “We have isolated and sequenced the genomes of several novel phages in order to determine how they are shaping C. diff populations in natural settings, how genetically diverse these phages are relative to one another and how we might be able to understand them better, such that they may be used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes,” said Dr. Clokie. She added: “In order to further explore how effective these phages may be clinically, we isolated C. diff from patients who tested positive for this bacterium in the clinic, determined the strain of C. diff causing the infection

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and then tested phages specific for these strains for their ability to infect and kill the bacteria. Our research showed that the novel phages worked well in vitro, meaning that when added to liquid C. diff cultures in the laboratory, these phages were clearly able to reduce levels of bacteria. We have further established that these phages do not encode undesirable toxins, as toxins would preclude the use of phages in the clinic.” “These findings are extremely significant since very few antibiotics are currently available to treat this superbug. Moreover, phages are therapeutically better than antibiotics since they are extremely specific and do not disrupt the natural balance of bacteria in our digestive tracts, which promotes growth of this pathogen in the first place! C. diff outbreaks in the U.K. are also caused by very few known types of the pathogen, making them particularly amenable to treatment using specially-designed phage mixtures. Unlike antibiotics, it would be relatively easy to modify these phage mixtures, if and when strains of the pathogen change/ evolve.” Following on from the successful demonstration of these phages killing C. diff in liquid cultures, Dr. Clokie has gone on to test them in more complex models with very promising results and is optimistic about the usage of these

fast, precise and effective bacterial killing machines for the treatment of potentially life-threatening C. diff infections in UK hospitals in the future. In addition to C. diff phages, Dr. Clokie is researching phages that target other bacterial pathogens, including Burkholderia pseudomallei and Pseudomonas. The latter involves a collaboration with phage biologists at the Eliava Institute in Georgia and with Prof. Chris O’ Callaghan at the University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital. Pseudomonas bacteria are commonly associated with chest infections. “At Eliava, scientists have been using phages to treat such infections for many years and they are experts in working with these viruses, isolating them and ‘improving’ them for therapeutic use. We have tested their phage mixtures on the most problematic U.K. Pseudomonas strain (the Liverpool epidemic strain, LES) and they work well,” explains Dr. Clokie. Together with Prof. O’ Callaghan, she is currently working on developing better models, which involve growing Pseudomonas, and phages targeting them, on respiratory epithelial cells in the laboratory. This work should allow the determination of how phages infect and kill their bacterial hosts in the delicate respiratory environment.

Dr Martha Clokie

These findings are extremely significant since very few antibiotics are currently available to treat this superbug. Moreover, phages are therapeutically better than antibiotics since they are extremely specific and do not disrupt the natural balance of bacteria in our digestive tracts, Dr Martha Clokie, Reader in Infection, Immunity and Inflammation

26 LE1 · the magazine of the University of Leicester · autumn / WINTER 2013

Nelson Mandela changed my life Stories from the non-stop picket of South Africa House documented by researchers from the University of Leicester.

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As a teenager, Gavin Brown – now a University of Leicester geographer – took part in the anti-apartheid Non-Stop Picket outside the South African Embassy in London between 1986-1990.

When the day of Mandela’s release came on 11 February 1990, a crowd of more than 15,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square. The 20-year-old Dr Brown (pictured below) had the privilege of announcing to the cheering throng the historic moment – “He has walked free”.

It was he who announced to the crowd that Nelson Mandela had been released from prison. It was a defining moment in history – and one that defined the life and work of a passionate academician. At Leicester, Dr Brown has been engaged in an original study of transnational solidarity activism based on a unique and previously unresearched anti-apartheid protest, where activists from many nationalities and social backgrounds converged. Funded by the Leverhulme Trust, Dr Brown aims to provoke debate about the value of this type of activism in a way that will be relevant to understanding and informing the tactics of current and future transnational solidarity movements.

The picket was vital in focusing attention in the UK on the struggle against the South African apartheid regime, according to Dr Gavin Brown. “On the open top tourist buses the guides would point out Nelson’s column on the right and the non-stop picket for Nelson Mandela on the left,” he said. “If the embassy had been on the back streets of Belgravia, it would not have been sustained for that long or had the same impact. It provided a real focus for young people who wanted to show their support in some way.” The Leicester study, which has so far interviewed 60 of those who took part, documents the highs and lows of the activism; the freezing nights, the hurricane of 15/16 October 1987 and the companionship of London’s homeless. The picketers survived the coldest winter in nearly 40 years in 1986/87 and on two occasions the Metropolitan Police arrested the entire group.

As part of the research, Dr Brown and the research team tracked down members of the group who spent their teenage years on the pavement outside South Africa House. Their study provides a social history on one of the most important protests of the time. The experience was life-changing for the young people who took part, several of whom have retained links with South Africa.

One member Jacky Sutton, now in her 40s and working as a consultant for the UN in Baghdad, said: “Dawn was the worse time because the temperature dropped a couple of degrees. I don’t remember the picket in the summer, I just remember the bone chilling cold seeping up from the pavement and the smell of sour milk, vomit and car exhaust that heralded the new day.”

The protest on one of the capital’s major tourist routes meant the siege, with its colourful placards and idealistic young activists, became an attraction in itself. It featured prominently in the video of the Pet Shop Boys hit single West End Girls.

When the day of Mandela’s release came on 11 February 1990, a crowd of more than 15,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square. The 20-year-old Dr Brown had the privilege of announcing to the cheering throng the historic moment – “He has walked free”.

“If the embassy had been on the back streets of Belgravia, it would not have been sustained for that long or had the same impact. It provided a real focus for young people who wanted to show their support in some way.” Dr Gavin Brown, Lecturer in Human Geography Image sourced by Dr Gavin Brown

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Brief Exchanges

Sculpture in the Garden 2013 Each year the University of Leicester’s 16 acre Harold Martin Botanic Garden is transformed into an inspirational outdoor gallery, becoming the setting for a wide range of traditional and contemporary sculpture. The Sculpture in the Garden exhibition attracts around 30,000 people every year, and has hosted over 380 sculptures since its inception in 2002. This year we welcome back renowned artist Almuth Tebbenhoff, FRBS (Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors)

as Curator. The theme chosen this year by Almuth is ‘A Change of Heart’ which relates to a major area of the University’s research. ‘A Change of Heart’ includes a variety of art forms, many of them witty and light hearted but also, as a contrast, some that are dark and thought-provoking. Each work has been carefully sited in the Garden to work with the surroundings and other sculptures. As the seasons change the sculptures will alter in their appearance, in the ever changing palette

of colour and light from dawn to dusk, from summer to early autumn, from sun to rain. This year’s exhibition will feature work by 20 artists, including David Worthington, former Vice-President of the Royal British Society of Sculptors, Marigold Hodgkinson and William Pye. The exhibition is open daily until Sunday, October 27.

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Exhibition book receives prestigious award

A book celebrating the use of bronze in art through the ages has received a prestigious national award. The catalogue for the Royal Academy’s “Bronze” exhibition, which ran from September to December 2012, has won this year’s Best New Publication Award from the Association for Cultural Enterprises, leading a strong field with 28 other contenders. Professor David Ekserdjian, Head of the University’s Department of the History of Art and Film, had the initial idea and helped select the 150 bronze works spanning over 5,000 years of history which made up the exhibition, cocurated by Cecilia Treves, Exhibitions Curator at the Royal Academy.

described by the Wall Street Journal as “the most beautiful book published anywhere in the world this year”. The 248-page book contains 260 illustrations, and charts the use of bronze in art from its beginnings in North Africa, the Middle East and China to the present day. “I am thrilled that both the catalogue and indeed the exhibition have been so well received. The idea was to do something different and inspiring and it seems to have worked,” said Professor Ekserdjian. “It was a privilege to hold the exhibition and have such extraordinary support - not least in the form of spectacular loans from museums all over the world.”

Professor David Ekserdjian also edited the exhibition catalogue, which was

Professor Martin Barstow to become next President of the Royal Astronomical Society

The Royal Astronomical Society has appointed a University of Leicester space scientist as its next President, one of the most prestigious roles in astronomy. Professor Martin Barstow’s election was announced at the Annual General Meeting of the society in May. He will assume the position, the leading representational role of the astronomy and geophysics community in the UK, in May 2014. Martin Barstow is Professor of Astrophysics and Space Science in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Leicester. His research interests are in white dwarfs, the local interstellar medium, and UV instrumentation. He is also involved in outreach and science policy, including serving on the STFC Council

and advisory boards for the UK and European Space Agencies. He has served on the RAS Council from 2005-2013, originally as a councillor and later as Astronomy Secretary. “This is a great honour and I am proud to be taking on this role in the footsteps of many famous astronomers, including Sir William Herschel. I would like to feel that my election acknowledges not only my personal research but confidence in my ability to represent astronomy and geophysics in these difficult economic times.” said Professor Barstow. Professor Barstow is the second academic from the University of Leicester to be elected President of the RAS after Professor Ken Pounds, who held the role from 1990 to 1992.

30 LE1 · the magazine of the University of Leicester · autumn / WINTER 2013

Brief Exchanges

New research into insect movement could help develop limb prosthetics Neurobiologists from the University of Leicester have shown that insect limbs can move without muscles – a finding that may provide engineers with new ways to improve the control of robotic and prosthetic limbs. The work, led by Dr Tom Matheson, a reader in neurobiology in the Department of Biology looked at how insects control their movements using “clever biomechanical tricks”. A study, published in the journal Current Biology, shows that the structure of some insect leg joints causes the legs to move even when there are no muscles. The so-called “passive joint forces” work to return the limb back to its usual resting position. The study was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), The Royal Society, and the Heinrich Hertz-Foundation of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia. “The surprising result was that although some movements are influenced by properties of muscles and tendons, other movements are generated by forces from within the joints themselves,” said Dr Matheson. “Even when we removed all the muscles and associated tissues from a particular joint at the ‘knee’ of a locust, the lower part of the limb, known as the tibia, still moved back towards a midpoint.” Dr Matheson said it was known from previous studies some movements can be generated by spring-like properties but the team was surprised to find passive forces that contribute to almost all movements and not just those needed to propel powerful jumps and kicks. Dr Matheson concluded: “We hope that our work on locusts and grasshoppers will spur a new understanding of how limbs work and can be controlled, by not just insects, but by other animals, people, and even by robots.”

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Education, age and class continue to create a ‘digital divide’

New study shows inequalities in internet use and access continue to mirror societal divides. Education, age and class continue to create a ‘digital divide’ in internet use and access, according to new research led by sociologist Dr Patrick White. An unprecedented analysis has found that - despite a number of government policies aimed at tackling the issue - inequalities in Internet access and use mirror those evident in other areas of society. Research conducted by Dr Patrick White, a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, suggests that adults with lower levels of education, those older than 65, and those working in manual jobs, were less likely to use the internet for banking, purchasing, looking for work or accessing government services. These inequalities continue, despite an increase in internet access and use during the first decade of the 21st century. The study, published in the journal Information, Communication and Society, and co-authored with Professor Neil

Grass-roots support was key to Conservative success

The largest-ever study of the Conservative Party sheds light on the party’s interwar dominance in the House of Commons. In Portrait of a Party: The Conservative Party in Britain 1918-1945, published by Oxford University Press, Professor Stuart Ball from the University’s School of History sheds light on the party’s dominance of the House of Commons for nearly thirty years. History shows that the party leaders who have paid heed to the views of the grassroots membership have overseen the party’s greatest successes. Professor Ball said: “In the inter-war period, as now, the party leaders struggled to contain right-wing revolts on key issues, and in the 1930s sought to follow austerity policies within a coalition in order to recover from a deep recession. “Baldwin came close to being ousted in 1930-31 by attacks from an outside pressure group (the ‘Empire Crusade’)

Selwyn of Monash University, analysed data on more than 47,000 adults from 2002 to 2010. “Although Internet access and use have increased substantially over the past decade, the increases among some groups have been quicker,” said Dr White. “In what is now a familiar trend, those groups who are already relatively advantaged – the young, educated and those with higher status occupations – have taken advantage of the opportunities offered by the internet at a faster pace than the rest of society.” “There is a danger that rather than serving to equalise opportunities, as some had hoped, the internet is merely reinforcing the inequalities that exist elsewhere in society.” “Clearly, addressing the ‘digital divide’ requires more than just providing access to the appropriate technology – patterns of use are rooted in social, rather than just technical, problems. Any effective solutions will have to address this social aspect of the problem.”

which was mobilising unrest amongst the Conservative grass-roots. This has parallels with the appeal of UKIP – Baldwin had to make substantial concessions on policy to survive, and now David Cameron may have to do the same. “Party leaders who ignored this and stubbornly refused to adapt have been rejected by either the grass-roots or the MPs, or both: Balfour in 1911, Austen Chamberlain in 1922, Neville Chamberlain in 1940, and Heath in 1975 - and, nearly, Major in the mid-1990s, but he was more adaptable and more popular with the rank and file, and survived though battered and bruised in the process.” The book also reveals that many of the principles that made the Conservative Party a success in these years are still present in the party today. “The book illustrates how the modern Conservative Party grew thanks to its adaptability to a radically changing environment after 1918, and the party’s resilience in defeat,” said Professor Ball.

University of Leicester chosen as University of The Year runner-up in first ever joint Sunday Times/Times Guide

Leicester is named top University in the East Midlands and climbs to 14th place out of over 120 institutions in The Times/Sunday Times University Guide

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