Comment 032 December 1988

King's College London newsletter

VIS T

OF SPO

The Hon Mr Colin Moynihan. Minister for Sport Vl ited the Callege on I De em ber.

He toured the Drug Control and Teaching Centre laboratorie at the Chel ea ampu eeing at fir t h nd the equipment and method used to ombat drug abu in port.

'S

MI ISTER

During the hour-long tour the :-'linister av. hO\\ samples were received. pro e sed and analy ed in tests for stimulants, narotic. beta-blo ker and anabolicteroid

in Se ul earlier in the year when evera! lf he cum petiror 10 t their medal at ter failing re r . including the Canadian sprinter. Ben J nhn, on.

Public awarene-s ot drug abu e in port reached a peak. during the Olympi Games

The \1ini er's vi-it marked the tenth anniver ary of the Centre. The Cen tre aims primarily to provide a servi e to port orga nisation to help prevent the a use of drug. Ir i. an interna ion ally re ogni cd cen tre of ex p rti e in the s ienulk dete 'tion and control ut drug abuse in port. equipped with the mo,t modern apparatu for drug IdentifiLation and detection.

La t DeLember Her Royal Highnes. The Pnnl:e' Royal. Chancellor of the Cniver'ity of London vi ited the (entre and unveiled a plaque otflcially inaugurating the newly expanded premises, The ex panion ensured that the demand for the Centre' en'ice could be met. Tt handle approximately 4.000 sample per year.

le The Principal i to su eed Lora rIO' t:l ~ as Vi e- han ellor of the University of London. The appointment wa announced on 7 December nd Pro e or Sutherland ha \\ rilten to olleague a follow .

'Ye terday, the Senate of the LJniver it\路 appointed me Vice-Chancellor of the .

L niver ity as rom I t Septem ber 19YO. I feel both honour and awe in the ace of uch a daunting role. and mixed with both i a real sadnes which Sheena and J already anticipate at the pro pect of mm'ing from the very heart of a great ollege which has hown us 0 mULh k imIne .

The Hall Mr Colin Moynihan, Minister for Sport, being shown the results of testing for the presellce of the hormone HCe in urine, by Jeremy Holden, Senior A nalyst at the Drug Control and Teaching Centre, during his visit on Thursday 1 December.

lIowever, the moment for valediction is nor yet upon u and I want also to assure you that as Principal of King' the good health and tanding of King' must continue to be my highest priority'.

I IT OF Y GO L C DE IC TO PHY IOLOGY

FF NEWS PRI CIP L 10l\G THO E LECTED TO C CP' . 'E\\ CO 路CIL The formation of the new Council is pan of the reorgani ation of the C CP following the Flower Report earlier thi year.

Reorgani ation was considered necessary because of the changes in the funding and supervi ion of higher education being introduced in April 19 9 when the Universities Funding Council replaces the niversity Grants Committee. Since the UFC will not be predominantly an academic body it was considered important that the univer ities strengthen their own organisa tion.

The Council elected by the full CVCP, replaces the Committee's General Purposes Committee and will appoint specialist working groups to deal with major policy area for the CVCP. Membership for /89 is as follows: Chairman: Professor Sir Mark Richmond.

Professor Brian Clarkson (Wales) Professor Brian Fender (University of Keele) Professor Michael Hamlin (Dundee) Dr David Ingram (Kent) Professor John Ashworth (Salford) Dr Clark Brundin (Warwick) Professor Sir Frederick Crawford (Aston) Professor Graeme Davies (Liverpool) Lord Flowers (London) Dr David Harrison (Exeter) Dr Gordon Higginson (Southampton) Sir John Kingman (Bristol) Sir Patrick eill (Oxford) Dr Ewan Page (Reading) Sir Edward Parkes (Leeds) Professor Stewart Sutherland (King' College London)

Profe or Brian Boycott of the Medi al Re ear h Council' Cell Biophy ic unit, ha been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Open University.

I ITI -G PROFE E GI EERI G,

OR FOR

Or John Thomp on, Chief Engineering Advisor to British Telecom Research Laboratories has been appointed as visiting Professor in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, King's College London.

cademician RK Andjus, a seruor re earch cientist from Belgrade, recently pent two weeks at King's on a Royal Society Exchange isit.

His period in London was divided between a seminar programme 'Some problems facing the Life Sciences in the 21st Century and what might be done about them at the Kensington Campus, his base for the duration of his stay, and visits to other London Colleges.

It is hoped that his visit will strengthen the existing links between King's Physiology and various Yugoslav institutes.

'BE T BOOK 0 Dr Thompson graduated from Imperial College in 1964 with first class Honours in Electrical Engineering and was awarded a PhD degree from the same institution in 1968. After joining the Post Office Research Department he undertook anum ber of senior positions within British Telecom in video systems, cellular mobile systems and networks leading to his present appointment in 1987.

He is a Fellow of the lEE and is married with two sons and a daughter..

ED CATIO '

Dr Stephen Ball from the Centre for Educational Studies has been awarded the Standing Committee for Education Studies book prize for 'best book on education' in 1987. The prize for his book' The Micropolitics of the Sclro01' will be presented at the SCSE annual conference on December 16th which is being held at King's.

He has also been awarded 拢 1,200 to help his research from the University Central Research Fund.

EW CHAIR. The College is pleased to announce that Professor Averil Cameron has recently been appointed to a newly e tabli hed Chair in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies.

AWARD Profes or D Brunsden of the Department of Geography has been awarded The Erskine Fellow hip. This involved the delivery of the Prestige Lectures in Science to the universities of Auckland, Wellington, Massey, Canterbury and Dunedin.

He ha also received the 8 / 9 Republi of China Lecturer in Science award involving three Ma ter CIa ses in the ational Taiwan L'niversity.

l

_

For those of you who -didn't know, here's a quick "Who's Who" of the Staffin Student services and Accommodation offices.

From left to right: Alex Coran (Student Counsellor), Ann Conlon (Snr Student Counsellor/co-ordinator of Student services), Lisa Payne ( Information & Welfare oflicn), Stevie Griffths (Student Advisor/Counsellor), Felicity Hopkin (Accommodation officer), Angela Cole (Ass Accommodation officer:Head, Leasing), Maria Scicluna (snr Accommodation Asst).

Joanne Russell (Accommodation Secretary). Jill Sharp (Accommodation Secretary), Paula Foley (Asst Accommodation ofjicer:Short Life), Kevin Fallon (Accommodation assistant), Maria Lothian (Head Leasing Asst). not pictured.

'010

IS

L 'EWS

Wi h regard 0 eq ipmen repair it here are problems with he equipment and la ilitie in an> centrally time- bled re om plea e onta t the Audio Vi ual Seni"e nit in the Strand on exten Ion _3 6 or ex en ion 43 a Ken ington, and they will tf}' to sort out an> problems. hel ea u er hould ontact .\ir Ro alind Pope on ex ten ion 23 6 at the Strand,or end off one of the postcard that \\ ill be di played in the lecture room

TELEPHO, E PRI TE CIRC ITS - KE 'SI 'GTO ~t 'RES RO 0

From Kemington to Manre a Road dial '6' followed by the four dlglt 01 the exten -ion you \\ iSh to all. 11 the line are bu y an engaged tone will be h ar aller he initial a es - digit '6'.

From Manresa Road to Ken ington dIal .:. follo\\ ed by the three digits of th extension} Oll wish to 'all. If the 11l1e are bu y an engaged tone will be heard after the initial a e s digit '5'.

It would be appreciated if u er would

not mo\e equipment around without intorming Audio visual a aImo t ertainly a third party will be in onvenienced.

KCL RESE RCH E TERPRISES The late t editIOn of the KCL Re earl.h Enterpri e Bulletin is now available (dated. ovember 19 ). It ontain new on opportunitie for research ponorship in the following areas·

EEC Spon orship for research in predictive medicine.

Opportumtie for research in on-nuclear Energy (19 9·92).

Relallnch of Programme for Industrial Technologies (BRITE/EURAM).

Statistical Expert Systems R & 0 Prog· ramme.

Air and S pace Flight Related Technolo· gie - Propo ed Programmes.

H. _'GE AT OCTH \lPTO.

outhampton' lax number i I 0 hanging Irom 3 J:muar} 00·0:: _ 3Q.

I

E

~BERS

FOR SERC

Should diffi ul y be encountered in est· abli hing the onnection. or hould the di tant e ten ion numher not be ~nown, the distant operator may be alled by dialling the relevant acces code ie .-' or '6' followed by the ingle digit '0'.

As a result of the in'tallation of a ne\\ telephone y~tem at Polari HOll e. SWIn' don, the main witchboard num ber ha changed and all SERC taJl' can now be reached through the dlrect·dialling in (001) facility.

Each circuit will any only one all at a time and u ers are reque ted to keep onver ations brief as po sible 0 that other do not experience long delay before obtaining acce s to the 'ir uit ,

The ne v general num her is wmdon (0793) 411000. Staff can be reahed through the 001 by dialling Swindon (0793) 41 + ext number.

Bob Redmond General Service Manager

The SERC central fax number ha alo changed to Swindon (0793) 411400.

ATO Details of Fellow hips, Collaborative Re earch Grant, wards for Teaching Activities.

GO ER ME T S R - Help in Applying for Grants lrutiatives under the LI 'K Programme.

PUBLIC TIO S AVAILABLE FROM KCL RESEARCH E TERPRISES B LLETIN EXTRA The urrent State of the European Commi sion's 1987-1991 Framework Programme for Science and Technolog} Research.

If you would like a copy of the Bulletin please contact The Research Enterpri es Department at Kensington on extension 394.

L

The Principal pulling the first pint in the new Social Club which he ojficially opened on Thursday 1 December. A few finishing touches still have to be made to the new prem· ises but on completion there will be a Grand Opening ight to which all club members will receive an inVitation. Newcomers too will be very welcome,

LIBRARY NEWS

Archaeology, Philo ophy and Theology.

One of the exciting development po 1ble tor the tuture i the addition of TOOLBO. oftware. whi h an provide tran Iteration ot text and also allow the text to be edited and manipulated.

Further detail ot thi proJel.t are available from Evelyn Cornell on Strand _132.

G

! LIBERTAS I The Library's first all-site catalogue, covering both books and periodicals, is now available. The new catalogue has been created by merging eight seperate databases, a not inconsiderable achievement.

All items at Kensington and everything previously recorded in the microfiche catalogues of the Strand and Chelsea campu es can now be checked u ing the OP C terminal available in each Library or even from any terminal connected to the College network.

To access the catalogue through the network, type the PAD command CALL 000005141700 (you may need to prefix thi num bel' with the letter A) and then enter LIBRARY a both username and pas word. To leave the system follow the logging-ou t instructions on the screen. The network link to the Library system is experimental at the moment, and we should very much like to hear your reactions. Comments, please, and any question about the online catalogue and network access to Ann Lees on Strand 2186 or via email on DYL024 OAK. As the re t of the Library's au tomated system comes into use, the proportion of the Library's stock accessible via the OPAC will grow and extra facilities, including reservations and information on your current loans will gradually be added. For ome time readers will often have to use both the OP C and the older catalogues to be sure of what the Library has. Similarly, ome of the messages on the OPAC screen may seem confusing at first - please let a mem bel' of library staff explain any difficulties in using the system or in terpreting the messages seen.

THESAURUS LI GUAE GRAECAE CD-ROM

o

The Library i purchasing the late t version of Thesaurus Linguae Graecae on CD Rom. which contains the text, in full, of all Greek writings from the beginning until ew Testament times. As well a author. title and ource indexe, earches can be made for individual word or linked words. and text can be printed out or copied to disc. It is hoped that thi will prove an invaluable re earch tool not only for Clas ici ts but al () for tho e working in Ancien t Ifi tor~.

One of the most outstanding recent addition to the holdings of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archive is the archive of the Poore family deposited by Mr R D Poore. Of particular interest are the papers of Brig Gen Robert Montagu Poore (I 66193 ) and his younger brother, Lt Col Roger Ivin Poore (I 70-1917).

Both men were out in South Africa at the end of 1899 with Lord Robert's Field Army which wa intended to bring the Boers swiftly to heel, and both played their part in the initial victorious progre s and then the demoralising war of attrition which dragged on until the middle of 1902.

Robert Poore, a Provo t Mar hal to Lord Robert's force, could view events from the relative comfort and security of Army Head Quarters. His position placed him in charge of the enforcement of discipline and of arrangements for prisoners, but despite a huge workload he managed to write regularly to his father and his wife Flora. Later his letters were beau tifully bound and cased and typed transcripts produced.

They show a remarkable candour and lack of inhibition over discus ing troop manoeuvres, the foibles of his fellow officer (Baden-Powell receives short shrift) and his opinion of Lady Roberts, and his descriptions of battles are frequently illustrated by sketch map. As the months drag by and the last great victory over the Boers proves elusive, his di illusionment becomes ever more evident and the letters finally cea e in January 1902 when, as all his hopes for leave have come to nothing, Flora comes out to join him.

Roger Poore's view of the conflict i more restricted but at the same time more immediate. For the first half of 1900 he erved with the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in the third Mounted Infantry Corps. His long letter to his parents and sister-in-law, chiefly existing as transcripts, are filled with pa trol, rappy unsought engagements, rain, illness and exasperation at the pretensions or incompetence of hi commanding officers. By June 1900 he felt he had seen enough of the front line and was transferred to the post of Magistrate at Heidelburg in the Transvaal, thence

Lt Col Roger Alvin Paore. to Yolkru t and finally to Krugersdorp, from where the letters cease in February 1902. Life was clearly somewhat monotonous if more comfortable, and Boer societ~ less than glittering. Unfortunately he has little to say about his work, much more on the desperately slow progress of the war.

In 1917 RogerPoore, now a Major, was back on active service. For the first years of the war he and his regiment, the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry were in re erve in England but, chafing at this lack of involvement he obtained an attachment to the Second' Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers as second-in-command and joined the unit in France in February 1917.

Throughout the war he wrote home almost every day to his wife Margery, whom he had married just before the outbreak. Unfortunately, as is so often the case in the First World War, the letters from the Front are disappointing - a far cry from the detailed and circumstantial document from South Africa. Censorship was now vigorously enforced and, in any case. Poore seems less inclined to spell out to his wife conditions on the Western Front and happier discussing events back in England and the health of their infant son. However their very completeness gives them value a a chronicle of the Battalion for seven months in 1917. Sadly there was no happy ending.

On 26 September Poore was killed by a shell while discussing tactics with two other officer.

The Poore papers may be con ulted by prior appointment in the Liddell Hart reading room. Conditions of access are outlined in' otes for Reader' al 0 obtainable from the reading room.

Michael Page rchive

Kl C' R [ARCH \\1 \1. JOR C. PPORT

Over the la t nine year. thi unique re earch and training project ha contrihuted greatly to the under tanding ot pnmar) production and photo} nthe i in the gras land of tropical region . L: ntH reeer.tly. the role of uch gras lands in the bioproductivity 0 tropi al region had been largely ignored and undere ima ed.

In total, however. these gra land. are 'ome ot the mo t productive environments un arth, approa hing or ex ceding tropical forest' in heir annual net primary production. In wetland . the productivity of tropical gra' e' even ex eed he he t sugar cane YIeld.!

The new project emphasises the re ponse of tropKal grassland to climate hange, and retain' the net work of re earch ite in developing countries which were establi hed in earlier project pha e . Re earch worker are encouraged to develop the cope of their inve igation of the natural gras land in their own countrie helping to redres the. orth,South Imbalance implicit 111 environmental research work. the va t majority of which ha lutherto been arried out in Europe and 'orth America.

In addition to the re 'ear h element. the proje indude training cour e on re earch te hniques in bioproductivit} and photo') nthesis. aiming to huild upon exi ting experti e in the de eloping countrie . Eigh intensive three week cour e have been held a developing country in titutions since 1':17 , with a ninth traming course at the Univer ity 01 Zimbabwe taking place in the 'ew Year. A Training Cour e \1anual. written by the team of volunteer resear\..h scienti t. who \..ontribute to the training courses, has been publi hed in Britain and translated into Chinese. Spanish and Ru ian.

Project Coordinator. Professor David Hall

ProJessor DaviJ Hall oJ Kin's if sho\1 n here denwnstrating the measurement 0; phowsynthesis in bamboo leal'es. at the Chinese Sub-tropical [orestr.\' Research Institute in Fu Yan~. Zhejiang Province. lie is standing at the top of a tower speciall; constructed for the L 'l:.P Project, in collaboration with the Shanghai Institute oj Plant Physiology.

With thif toll er, anu the portable carbon dioxide analJ ser shown here, Chinese sClentis{J can measure photusynthesis at the top oJ the tallest bamboo plants, which mav he up to 1-1 1/ co'es high.

(Divi i n of B 10 phcl ~ S"ienc..e . King' ) and Te hnic 1 Coord1l1ator Or Stc,'e Long I Department of BIOlogy. b ex) hould be congratulateJ for heir irelc' enthu-

LETTERS As one of the anCIent. of the Medical School. who read Cumment with great intere t. I \ a naturally attracted to your remarks ahout the creation of a BSc for physiotherap). and about :>.ormanby ollege, I feel hat I should remind you of another of the ancients - Frank S Cook ey. who wa very on iderabl} re pon ihle for the great dc,clopment of the Ph} io herapl' department at King' College Hospital. a he had lull control of it from the Second \Var until hi retirement in .Jbout 19"0 He worked cIa el. dtll Lt rd 'ormanby during the ctting up Jt ~ 'ormanby College. and in tact the \\ hole idea of u h a College probably came from him in the fir t place, although obviou Iy he worked very cia ell" with Lord 'ormanhy throughout the proj eel.

Frank C.ooksey i one of the prink ling of the 'ancien . from King's ollege Ho pital till remail1lng wi h u and I think hi long hard work de erve a mention, Dr V F Hall

ia m in upporting and en ouraginr all parti 'ipating proJe t per onnel ,lI1d olla bora ting orgal1lsatiun .

Miss Angela For ter, Principal of

by College replie .

orman-

I appreciate Dr Hall' comment on Frank S C ooksey and in no way have we forgotten the tremendous work and u pport that he gave to the Physiotherapy profe ion a well a the School at King's. For information. there i to be a booklet prin ted 1I1 the near fu ture on the hi tory of King' College Ho pital School of Phyiotherapy and thi will of cour e pay tribute to all the pa t founder and developer of our School.

TELEPHONE SYSTEM fOR VT:-J\o.f("1I.'GT()j',j

?

In re pon e to a letter in i sue

031 of

Cornmellt from Dr Paul Markham concerning the telecommunication at the Ken ington Campu , under the above heading. I would like to make the following comments: When plannll1g for the new telecommunications began it was by no mean certain that the College would acquire Cornwall House yet it had to satisfy the most desperate telecommunication need namely that of the modernisation of the Strand system and the provision

of adequate facilitie at 552 King's Road.

At the ame time it wa apparent that the acqui ition of Cornwall Hou e could only be achieved from income generated by the di po al of properties vdu h would become urplu to requirement. The College' a ademic plan enviaged the "Thameside Campus" om prising the Strand and Cornwall Hou e and anticipated that among t the first major propertie for di po al would be 552, King Road. It was important therefore when planning for the new telecommunications ystem to adopt a flexible approach which took account of the uccess or failure of the College's bid to acquire ornwall Hou e. That carefully considered forward planning is now coming to fruition.

The new telecommunication system wa purcha ed, with Court approval a a package pecifically intended to erve, in the fir tin tance, the Strand and 552, King Road and sub equently the hoped for Thame ide Campus, well into the 1990 .

Had the Thameside ampu not become a reality then nothing would have been lost - a "head we win tails we don't 10 e" ituation.

Influenced by the immediate mo t urgent need and the uncertain tie prevailing at the time the only ensibly planned option wa to ite the 'slave' unit at 552, King's Road. This unit will be transferred to ornwallllouse at the appropriate tinlC. To summarise the planning and the rea ons for it, the mo t salient points are a follows: i) 552 King Road i the most poorly served ite as far as telecommunications are concerned. It has no manned PABX of it' own and is served from the Manresa Road switchboard, to which it is connected by internal tie lines. Thi mean that once the Manre a Road switchboard closes uown at 5.30 pm on weekday. all day at weekend and College closure days incoming calls cannot be extended from Manresa Road.

nience, will en ure continuity of telecommunication for the member 0 staff concerned.

There is no intention therefore to provide the Ken ington campus, or for that matter Manresa Roau, with the new' lave' PAB unit imilar to the one in talled at 5 - 2 Kmg' Road. Hovvever, there will b~ coniderable improvement in telecommunications for the Ken ington and ~1anre a Road ites, with the provision of nine private circUlt between the Strand Kenington and Chelsea campuses. The fir t of these, Kensington/Manresa Road are now operational and Heads of Departments and Sections have been circulated and requested to draw the fact to the attention of members of taU. These new circuits will eventually provide direct telecommunication links between the three main campu es and will be equipped so that 'a hunt for free line' ituation will apply. The number of lines wa determined by our telecommunication con ultants following a urvey of traffic profiles between campu es using the call logging equipment which ha canners situated on the three campuse .

CO -RT LD I TITL'TE OF RT PRE E~T DUKE ELU! 'CTOi' T

A P rt of the fund-rai ing programme for the move to omer et Hou e, the Courtauld \\oill pre ent 'The Ro~ all:.llington Concert': being held at the Royal Fe tival Hall on 23 January 19 9 in aid of the Courtauld Institute of Art Fund.

The concert is being attended by Her Royal Highnes the Prince Royal, and feature the Bob Wilber Big Band, who WIll be premiering Ellington's 'T he Queen' Suite'. Other musicians appearing are Alan Cohen, Paul Hart, Antti Sarpala, Tony Coe and Mark Shane.

Tic~et~ are available from ÂŁ7.50-ÂŁ50.00 (pnce lI1clude donation to Courtauld Fund) from the Royal Festival Hall Booking Office. Telephone number for all bookings including credit cards is 01 929 00, For general information phone 01 928 3002,

Bob Redmond GE ERAL SERVICES MA AGER

GILBERT A 0 SULLIVA The Gilbert and Sullivan Society celebrates its first anniver ary this month.

After the succe s of 'The Gondoliers' the Society, with an en thusiastic eigh'ty strong mem bership, is now preparing its production of 'Iolanthe', which will be given in the New Theatre from 10-13 May 1989. Tickets will be available from the Secretary in the new year.

Mem bers of the Society will also be carol singing in central London this month to raise money for the Save the Children Fund.

Any enquirie should be addressed to: R Williams, Hon Secretary and Business Manager King's College Lontlon Gilbert and Sullivan Society via the Classic department.

ii) A 552 Kings Road had no manned

PABX to remove the engineering co t anu problems associated with the in taJlation of the" lave" P. BX unit were considerably reduceu: Further, the existing telephone cable there i relatively new, conforms to the late t lEE standards and can be u ed as it stand with the new "slave" P BX unit. ill) 552 Kings Road is expected to be the

nex t major site to be closed which will entail ome transfers to the Cornwall Hou e Annexe in the ew Year. Phased to keep pace with the tran fer out of 552 King Road and the occupancy of the ornwall House Annexe, the "slave" P BX unit will be re-located there in a manner which, with minimum inconve-

The cast of 'The Gondoliers' in action, May 1988.

LECTURES, MEETINGS AND SEMINARS G RAL LECTURE

ic History, London S hoolo Economic.

4.15 pm - .30 pm. Room 2-109, Clark Building. 552 King' Road. Chel ea campu .

BRITISH I STIT TE OF H MA RIGHTS 5.30 pm,

ew Theatre. Strand campu

THE MAXWELL SOCIETY Monday 16 January LAS-RS Professor D Phillips. Royal Institution of Great Britain.

Monday 23 January • TRO l HOLOGR PHY Dr T D Beynon. niversity of Birmingham.

Monday 30 January THE MAG ET1C A lATOMY OF A DOMESTIC TAPE RECORDER Profe sor E W Lee, niversity of Southampton.

Tue day 31 January pARLIAME TA D H MA RIGHTS The Right Hon Sir Bernard Braine, DL, MP, Vice-Cnairman, Parliamentary Human Rights Group.

1.00 pm, New Theatre, Strand campu

HIGHER EDUCATIO : THE EXT 25 YEARS.

Kenneth Baker to addre s conference on future of Higher Education.

10

Friday 13 January DOMINA T CO TROL REGIO S OF H MA BETA-GLOB1N LOC S Dr D Greaves, NIMR, Mill Hill.

Friday 20 January D V LOPME TT, REGE ERATIO A D OpLASIA I THE MAMMALIA C S Dr M oble. Ludwig Institute, London.

Friday 27 January A TOIMM E THYROID DISEASE: DE LOpMENTS lOUR U DERSTA Dl G Profes or A McGregor, King's College Ho pital, London.

1.00 pm, ba ement lecture theatre, Department of Biophy ic , 26/29 Drury Lane.

AGE CO CER INSTITUTE OF GERO TOLOGYSEMI AR Monday 23 January OLD AGE A D THE ECO lOMY Dr Paul 10hnson. Department of Econom-

The conference entitled 'Higher Education the e t _5 Years'. is being held a the first event to commemorate Lanca ter niver ity' Silver Jubilee and to give all participant a chance to a se the Government's long term policie for higher education. The conference it i hoped will also give an opportunity to di cu s alternative approache and model for provi ion and funding.

The subjects for discus ion are varied and include such topi as the role of the new funding council, the effects of the tudent loans White Paper, and the long term implications of the Education Reform Aat.

If you are interested in attending, the conference fee is £ 75.00 for non-re idency and £ 8.00 for residency, (this includes accommodation for one night). For further information and enquiries please contact Miss J eanette Davies, Development Bureau, University House, University of Lancaster, Bailrigg, Lancaster. LA 14YW. TeL (0524) 65201 Ext.4200.

Education Secretary Mr Kenneth Baker will be the keynote speaker at a confer-

2.00 pm - 3.00 pm, Room 2C Strand campus.

DEPARTME T OF BIOPHYSICS, CELL A D MOLECULAR BIOLOGY SEMINARS

ence organi ed by the niver ity 01 Lancaster on the 4th-5th January 19 9.

VIEW

By the time this article is read AUT mem bers will have voted on whether to withdraw from all aspects of the examination process this year. This would undoubtedly be the most drastic action ever undertaken by university academic and related taff, and it indicates the severity of the crisis now facing the university system. There are many interlinked aspects of this crisis, including proposals for voucher systems and student loans, which would drastically decrease access to university education, and the erosion of academic freedom and the universities traditional independence from political control brought about by the recent Education- Reform Act. The dismissal of Edgar Page, a tenured lecturer at Hull niversity without good cause is a clear insight into the shape of things to come.

All mem bers of the College are urged to maintain the academic boycott of Hull niver ity a a protest against this unnecessarily vindictive action.

The universities' own managers, as represented by the CVCP, are assisting the Government in it declared intention to 'progressively degrade the university system' by refusing to give the issue of academic and related taff's salaries a high enough priority. They do not have a lot of money to spend but they are not willing to spend

what little they have on salaries to recruit, retain and motivate staff of high academic ability. University academic and rei ated staff were due for a salary increase in April this year, bu t the CVCp refused to open negotiations until their hand was forced by the AUT's withdrawal from appraisal schemes. The 84% majority in favour of that action demonstrated the extent of members' anger over the salaries issue.

It should be noted that AUT is not opposed to staff appraisal. Certainly the scheme which has been negotiated for the appraisal of academic staff in King's should be beneficial, particularly if appropriate resources are made available for staff training and development.

A pilot appraisal scheme was run during the summer. As soon as the withdrawal from appraisal is called off AUT representatives will be discussing the outcome of the pilot scheme, together with the College's proposals for appraisal of academic related staff (the details of which we have been waiting for since April), prior to formally agreeing both schemes.

The College has promised to try not to implement any aspect of the schemes, including training of appraisers, before that agreement.

The CVCP has now begun to negotiate over salaries, though they have not yet made an offer. They have leaked to the

pre a figure of 31~% over two year bu with inOa ion already over 6 per ann m that an hardly be t 'en -eriou I}. 0 A eT ha epped up it路 pre ure b, ballo ing on withdra .... al rom ex ina ion. We are lUlIy ay, are 01 the on equen e the a tion 'ill h ve on our tudents. but we hope that the} will unders nd the rea on lor the ac ion and will ee that i is in nobody" long term intere t for he univer itie to be unable 0 a ra t good quality sta f. . 'ationally the. 'CS upport our a e and y,e hope that 10 al tudent will understand our position and will al 0 give their upport. It i anticipated that no tudent will u fer more or le' than any other, ince every unh'ersity tudent in the country will be in exa tIy the same po ition.

The recent student demon tration against loans has reminded u that political action is traditionally as ociated with tudent rather than their lecturers. Surely omething must be eriou Iy wrong when academICS are driven to contemplate uch dra tic action. The time ha ome for us all - tudents, lecturer and the variou groups of taff who also have their grievances - to unite in fighting for the tradaional values of excellence in univer ay education in this country.

Or P W Emery Hon Sec KCL A T

VIEW FROM THE DE K Recently I have been troubled by Bufo Calamita. It is neither a contagious disea e nor a feeling of impending doom, but the atterjack toad.

The trouble started when I read an article about the Bufo Calamita in 'The ew Scientist' and began to speculate about the origin of the 'Calamita'. A several biologists and zoologist pass my reception de k every day, I did not doubt that I would soon have the answer.

Or A was obviously non-plussed. 'Bufo Calamita?' he repeated. ' ot quite sure not really in my field - try Profes or B'.

Profe sor B's breezy 'Good morning', froze on hi lips when I mentioned Bufo Ca lamita. 'Ah yes, he said, 'the attefJack toad - interesting name that - orth American, I think'. He stood deep in thought for a moment and then wandered off smiling to himself.

The first King's College Postgraduate Carurs Fair was held in the Great Hall Oil 24 ovember 19 . lan.~ people attended and the whole event was declared a great success

of toad in the hole (w hich in those days probably ontained a real toad) decided that it wa a calamity for both the toad and the eater.

I'll tell you tomorrow', He didn't.

Will the origin of it name be for ever clouded in mystery or will someone, one day enlighten me?

Until someone enlightens me J am left with these pos ibilities. I am inclined to adopt the final ver ion unless someone can uggest a better one.

In the meantime everal highly improbable possibilities occured to me. Perhaps the old tale was untrue. Perhaps the princess kissed a toad and wa her elf turned into a toad. Could the biblical plague of locusts have been, becau e of a mistranslation. of the original Hebrew, a plague of toads? Was there ome 10 t Greek myth of the Leda and the Swan type. with a toad instead of a swan?

The name may possibly date ba k to the Roman occupation of Britain. The Romans when faced with the British delicacy

Don Mindel Atkin. Receptioni t, Ken ington

I

~

~~ ~-= \\~ !)

Or C was more decisive. ' ever thought about it before, but I have a book in my room. I'll look it up. Be back in a minute'. He wasn't.

Two days later I reminded him. 'The book wasn't in my room, It's probably at home,

Cartoon: Stuart Burley

- conducting re earch on various i ues relating to Commonwealth countries. and to act as a medium through which certain research work of Commonwealth scholars may be published:

1\BIG.t1I~ at the beach

-encouraging and promoting new initiatIve and inventiveness within the Commonw~ alth; - assisting in the promotion of intraCommonwealth direct investments and trade in goods and services; providing a forum for constructive debates and policy formation on the significant issues of interest to the Commonwealth.

(

.

Research therefore is given a very high priority in the organisation so that fruitful, intellectual exchange can be provided and areas of expertise capable of attracting outside support from research councils, charitable sources, Governmental and nonGovernmental establishments can be developed.

.

.,

.

.

Benefits of Membership ~

',-

. .'-.. .

"

trated by Christine ROche ".:.

STOCKI G FILLERS? Stuck for Christmas presents for the children? We have our own talent here at King's which could solve your problems.

Felix Pirani from the Department of Mathematics has written two books for children. 'Rosalie, Sidonie et Melanie" which was published last year by Centurion Jeunesse,is in French and is well illustrated with striking pictures and bright colours.

WERE YO

AT YORK?

The University of York is celebrating its 25 th Anniversary with a Reunion Weekend for former students and staff from Friday 30 June to Sunday 2 July 19 9.

Why not come along for either a weekend break or a day out on campus and meet up with old friends and former staff? College accommodation will be available and a full programme of special events and entertainments is being planned.

To receive further details of this weekend and of any future graduate events, please write to the 25 th Anniversary Office, University of York, Heslington, York YO I 5DD giving your name (and previous name, if appropriate), address, department, college and year of graduation.

'Abigail at the beach" is in English and was published this spring in hardback by Collins and is the story of A bigail's visit to the seaside and her imaginary adventures there. Again the book is beautifully illustrated and costs £4.95 and will be enjoyed by parents and children alike.

Other books are in the pipeline.

COMMO WEALTH A SOCIATIO FOR DEVELOPME T - MEMBERHIP I VITATIO The Association is currently looking for affiliate mem bers whose interests are mainly in original research. Applicants must have a record of achievement in, or the potential to carry out, high quality and original research.

Candidates for membership must be either: Holders of research degrees (from an accredited educational institution) or Researchers with publications in major academic and professional journals.

The AD was founded in 1987 by a group of profe sionals from the Commonwealth with the aim of:

Members can become involved in CAD's activities and keep abreast of developt. ments, through: attendance at occasional lectures and conferences; a free CAD journal published quarterlY, focusing on major Commonwealth and world affairs, containing authoritative articles or major scientific and social developments, book reviews and notes. Mem bers will be invited to submit their research for publication and mem bers are offered the opportunity to bid for paid research contracts obtained by CAD. Interested candidates should complete an application form obtainable from: The Membership Secretary, Commonwealth Association for Development, Institute of Commonwealth Studies (University of London), 27-28 Russell Square, London WCIB 5DS.and send this together with the membership registration fee of £20 plus an annual subscription of £ I 0 (cheque/ money order or Postal Order only).

C WMAPLETHORPE PO TDOCTORAL FELLOW HIP FOR PH RM CE TICAL ED CATIO A D RE EARCH Applications are invited for the C W Maplethorpe Postdoctoral Fellowships tenable from October 1989 for a maximum period of up to three years.

The Fellowships have been established under the Will of the late Mr Cyril W Maplethorpe, for the promotion of pharmaceutical education and research at the School of Pharmacy, and Chel ea

n n.lrtment

0

Phdrma }' at Kmg'

K G S COLLEGE L

\ppliedtion~ mu~t be ubmiueu at latc t h, 31 January 19 Y on the pre enbed j"orm whi h may be obtained together v, ith further parth.:ular, of the Fello\\. hip trom the Scholar hip Olfte, Senate Hou e, Malet Street, Lonuon WC!E "Ht.:. Telephone 01636 000 extensIOn 304~.

I

KI G' CHRISTM S C RDS o LOW! Kmg's o liege hnstma card de. igned hy \lastair Pet igrev" Deputy A"aJemic Rcgistrar. arc no \ available at a 0 t of 30p each. The fine calligraphy, as illu trated, I~ printed In reu or blue on a cream surround,

I

Copie can he ohtained from: (rand - the Information Office, rchives and the main porter de k.

Kel1\ington ' the Administration Offke (ncxt door to thc main reception de k ext ~09.

Chelsea - the A si tant Princip,il's office at 552 King's Road eXl 36S6.

The rchive abo have card on sale, available from the Information Office, Main trand de k or from the Ar 'hive direct.

Elspe(h explaining (he success of (he BUAC show to ,lssis(an( Principal, Professor Peter Gahan.

B

CHOW 1988

The annual British Lnlver iue A commodation Con ortlum . how wa held at Kensington Town Hall on Tuc day ~5 o toner. The how proved to be the mo t 路ucce ful ever. with record attendance.

Both pre s and buyer from all over Europe were able to vi. it the tand of the 54 univer Hie or 'allege pre ent at the ho\\.

Joan Fennell and Ispeth Young from the Vacation Bureau represented King' College London. With an unprecedented level of intere t, a number of definite booking have already been re erved.

Both April Toner and Dawn Newbrook ably taffed the main regi tration de k.

Richard Longhur t. in hi capacity as a member of the BU C Council of Management co-organi ed the event: incere thank to him.

Prior to the show, King' College ho ted a dinner for all B AC member at the Ken ington campus. Willie John on, Chairman of B AC expre sed hi appreciation to John Bossino and hi . taff on the excellence of the meal and the service, El peth M Yound Conference Admini trator

Comment is produced by the Information Office on the Strand ampu. Copy date for the next edition is Friday 6 January for publication in the week of 16 January.

1ay we wish all our readers a very Merry Christma and a Happy. ew Year.