KENT magazine - April 2012

KENT The Magazine for the University of Kent | April 2012

Extinct parrots research University plan

Welcome Dear colleagues, I continue to be amazed how quickly the University year progresses. I cannot believe that, once again, we have had the wonderful Colyer-Fergusson Concert in Canterbury Cathedral, and that we are now making plans for the annual garden parties and the July congregations at Canterbury and Rochester cathedrals. These events perform many roles. They are often unforgettable moments for our students and, when I talk to alumni, many can recall singing or playing in the Cathedral – however many years ago. They also bring students and their families together. If you go to some of the concerts – whether it’s the Chamber Choir or Big Band – you see families rightly proud of their sons and daughters, just as you do at the degree ceremonies.

These events also offer an opportunity for those outside the University, especially those who live locally, to see us at our best – celebrating the academic or other success of our students and staff. I think it is important that we consider the impact we have on our local region. In economic terms alone, we contribute £0.6 billion to the economy each year and we are a very large employer in a region beset with increasing unemployment. However, we see our responsibility to the region as being more than purely economic; we also make a considerable social and cultural impact and you can find out more at www.kent.ac.uk/impact This issue contains an update on the current Institutional Plan and, as many of you know, we are currently working on the Plan for 2012-15 which takes us to our 50th anniversary. Given the changes currently underway in higher education in England, I think it is timely for us to reflect on the type of university we want to be. I believe we should focus on academic excellence and social responsibility and continue to look outward – regionally, nationally and internationally.

We cannot do this on our own so we will need to work in partnership with others. We are very keen to ensure all staff feel able to have input to the new Plan, and Keith Mander, Posie Bogan and I have been holding meetings around the University to this effect. However, I would urge you to make the most of opportunities to feed into the Plan’s development as your involvement is crucial to its success.

Professor Dame Julia M Goodfellow DBE, CBE Vice-Chancellor

3 News 6 Feature: Extinct parrots research 8 Human Resources 10 Research 12 Enterprise 13 Feature: Working to plan 14 Kent in the news/Green update/Obituary 15 Sport/Small ads 16 What’s on Special thanks to: Lesley Farr, University Design & Print Centre. Photographs by Chris Barron, Melissa Bradley, Liz Culmer, Pat Coogan, Jim Groombridge, Gregory Guida, Jeonghee Han, Jim Higham, Julian Hume, Joris Wiersinga, Oxford University Press.

News

KENT We have set up a readers’ panel for staff. Please get in touch if you would like to become a member.

We are keen to have your feedback and letters are welcome from all our readers. Simply email the editorial team at kentmagazine@kent.ac.uk Kent is also available online at www.kent.ac.uk/campusonline/kentmagazine Editorial team: Posie Bogan, Director of Corporate Communications; Wendy Raeside, Press & Corporate Publications Officer (Corporate Communications); Karen Baxter, Press Assistant, (Corporate Communications), University of Kent.

Next issue: the deadline for the next issue is 2 May, with a publication date of 13 June 2012.

Scan me for the latest KENT magazine on your mobile

Follow us on… twitter.com/UniKentStaff facebook.com/UniversityofKent tinyurl.com/kentlinked youtube.com/user/UniversityofKent flickr.com/photos/universityofkent/

Law Teacher of the Year award for University lecturer Dr Karen Devine from Kent Law School (KLS) has been named Law Teacher of the Year 2012.

The £3,000 award – sponsored by Oxford University Press – is a national award recognising the vital role that teachers play in the education of tomorrow’s lawyers and rewarding achievement in teaching. Since its launch in 2004, the success of the award has relied on those who know the candidates best – teachers and students – to send in their nominations. Shortlisted candidates were selected on the basis of criteria which included the need to display an active interest in the development of teaching that influences, motivates and inspires students to learn, and to demonstrate commitment to and support for the development of students as individuals.

Dr Devine joined Kent as a lecturer in September 2010, having previously been an Access student, an undergraduate student and a PhD student in KLS (she is the only person known to have completed her entire legal education at Kent).

Her research interests lie primarily in the area of medical law and ethics, particularly in the removal, use and storage of bodily materials and the legal obligations that this may generate. She is also Undergraduate Study Skills Co-ordinator for Law at the Medway campus and personal tutor to stage two and three Medway students.

50th anniversary doctoral scholarships

KENT The Magazine for the University of Kent | April 2012

Extinct parrots research University plan

Cover story The endangered Mauritius parakeet (Psittacula echo) has been rescued from the brink of extinction (see p6).

The University, in preparation for its 50th anniversary in 2015, has established 100 doctoral scholarships for UK, EU and international students. The recipients of the new scholarships will be known as Kent’s 50th Anniversary Scholars.

The scholarships, which will be awarded annually from 2012, will complement the already significant investment the University makes in its postgraduate community. Kent’s scholarship fund now exceeds £5.5m and is supplemented by funding from the leading UK research councils and external bodies, bringing the total funds it has to support postgraduate research to over £8m.

Dr Devine said: ‘I am extremely honoured to be chosen as Law Teacher of the Year among such wonderful shortlisted candidates and to have had the opportunity to showcase Kent Law School. This was very much a team effort – from the fantastic staff who have taught and inspired me over the years, to my students past and present, particularly those at the Medway campus who fed into the judging process. They really did me proud. This is the third consecutive year that a teacher from Kent has reached the final and it is an unbelievable privilege to ‘bring the trophy home’ at last.’

Kent has an excellent reputation for its dynamic and challenging academic environment, as well as its collaborative research with universities around the world. Many of its programmes have a strong international focus and it is the only UK university to lead two prestigious Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctoral programmes. It also operates thriving specialist postgraduate centres in Paris (humanities), Brussels (international studies) and Athens (heritage management).

The University’s specialist Graduate School works to enhance the quality of the postgraduate student experience and ensures a supportive and vibrant postgraduate community across all its campuses.

Further information on the 50th Anniversary Scholarships is available at www.kent.ac.uk/50th KENT Magazine

3

News

University launches Gurkha scholarship Former or serving Kent-based Gurkhas wounded in action and the dependents of Kentbased Gurkhas wounded or killed in conflict will be among those eligible for a new scholarship.

The University of Kent Gurkha Scholarship for Study will be made annually for a period of five years and is open to those wishing to study at undergraduate or postgraduate level. The award will cover the cost of tuition fees for all categories of students (UK, EU, overseas fee paying).

Gurkhas originate from Nepal and have been recruited to serve in the British Army for almost 200 years. The Royal Gurkha Rifles battalion, stationed near Folkestone, and two field squadrons of the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers, stationed in Maidstone under the 36 Engineer Regiment of the Royal Engineers, are a vital part of the British Army and continue to play a crucial role in modern-day conflicts, peace-keeping missions and humanitarian causes.

Designed and delivered by the Computing Education Research Group in the School of Computing, the CPD courses will take place from summer 2012 at the Canterbury campus, with online support. Content will include programming with Scratch, Greenfoot and other educational tools, the pedagogy of computer science teaching and practical techniques for applying new material in the classroom.

Honour for psychology contribution Diane Houston, Professor of Psychology at Kent, has been elected a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) for her outstanding contribution to the advancement and dissemination of psychological knowledge.

An applied social psychologist, Professor Houston has research interests spanning women’s work participation, equality and gender stereotyping, as well as personality and academic performance. She has been an advisor to a number of UK Ministers for Women and was academic advisor to the UK’s Women and Work Commission which reported to the Prime Minister in February 2006. She has also worked in an advisory capacity for the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and the Equal Opportunities Commission in the UK.

Professor Alex Hughes, Pro-Vice-Chancellor External at the University, said: ‘Gurkhas have long formed a welcome, integral part of the local community and, on the national stage, have played a significant role in recent and more historic conflicts. As Kent’s regional University, we recognise our responsibility both to the large Nepalese community that has settled in Kent and to the Gurkha units based in the county. The University is committed to achieving recognition for these soldiers and their families. It therefore gives me great pleasure to launch the University of Kent Gurkha Scholarship for Study.’

Professor Houston joined the University in 1994.

Following three years of secondment to the Department of Trade and Industry as Research and Strategy Advisor, she became Head of the School of Psychology in 2006, a position she held until taking up her current role as Dean of the Graduate School in 2008.

Improving computer science teaching in schools

Paris named as best city to study in

Kent has announced an extensive programme of teacher CPD (Continuing Professional Development) courses that will strongly support the goal to improve computer science teaching in UK schools.

The announcement that Paris has been named the world’s best city in which to study (QS World University Rankings 2012) has been welcomed by representatives of the University of Kent at Paris (UKP).

This goal has been recognised as one of the important challenges for UK education by the Royal Society in its report Shut Down or Restart?

The Way Forward for Computing in UK Schools, and recent policy statements by the Education Secretary.

Based on a set of measures taken from public information, population sizes, number of educational establishments and their quality, the rankings are the first ever independent measure of the best cities to study across the world.

UKP was launched in 2008. Located at Reid Hall in Montparnasse, it offers students a unique

4

KENT Magazine

opportunity to obtain a valuable postgraduate (MA) qualification in one of a range of innovative cross-disciplinary programmes while studying in two of Europe’s most historic cities: Canterbury and Paris. The Paris modules, which are taught during the University’s spring term, are designed to be specifically relevant to the experience of living and working there, and students are encouraged to integrate the city’s cultural resources into their studies.

Dickens experts celebrate bicentennial in Medway Dickens experts from the University were among those gathering in Medway to mark the bicentenary of the great author’s birth. They were taking part in a ‘travelling’ conference visiting four major Dickens sites.

The conference, titled Dickens and the Idea of ‘Dickensian’: A Tale of Four Cities, involved academics from all over the world, and arrived in Medway after sessions in Paris and Boulogne/Condette. It concluded in London on 8 February, the day after the bicentenary.

Conference participants spent the first part of the day at Medway visiting various Dickens locations, including the Guildhall Museum, Rochester. The afternoon was devoted to discussions of childhood and the idea of the Dickensian and concluded with a birthday-eve dinner in the St George’s Centre, Chatham Maritime.

One of the organisers of the Medway event, Dr Catherine Waters, Reader in Victorian Studies at the University, said: ‘Chatham and Rochester are the places where Dickens spent most of the first part of his childhood, during what seem to have been largely happy years when his convivial father was employed by the navy as a pay clerk.

The focus here, not unnaturally therefore, is the Dickensian ideal of the child.’

Print collection boosted by major donations The University’s art print collection has received two major new donations from artists with international reputations.

Both Ana Maria Pacheco and Art & Language held successful exhibitions during 2011 at the University’s Studio 3 Gallery and have marked this with donations to the institution’s Kent Print Collection.

News

1 Shadows of the Wanderer exhibition 2 Memorial lecture and Sky News scholarship

He said: ‘After all these years, the Great War is a conflict that still resonates for many different reasons and I’m delighted to have been asked to assist the BBC in this way.’

Sky News correspondent addresses Medway lecture Sky News special correspondent Alex Crawford made an impassioned plea for female journalists to continue to be treated equally as war reporters when she delivered the annual Bob Friend Memorial lecture on 21 February.

1

2

Pratt Contemporary has donated an etching and drypoint by Ana Maria Pacheco from her series Domestic Scenes (2000). The print, the fifth of a group of ten, draws on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and depicts the Wife of Bath. The artist’s sculptural group Shadows of the Wanderer was displayed in Studio 3 Gallery during the first five months of last year and remains the bestattended exhibition since the gallery opened in 2010, with over 2,000 visitors.

Gillingham with the University to form a series of exercise opportunities. Each site would make use of existing features and relevant architectural salvage to form an installation or sculpture that could be used by the local community for exercise.

Michael Baldwin and Mel Ramsden, the artists who make up Art & Language, have donated a set of five silkscreen prints entitled Maps to Indicate… (2002). The series develops Art & Language’s long-standing interest in the conventions of mapping, playing with thematic, proportional maps so that they represent philosophical concepts rather than purely social geographical. The Art & Language installation Portraits and a Dream was exhibited in Studio 3 Gallery from October to December 2011.

Both works are on public display in the School of Arts’ Jarman Building at the University’s Canterbury campus (open Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm).

Students from the Centre for Sports Studies as well as the Schools of Architecture and Arts are involved in the project, which is being led by Dr Ian Bride, of the School of Anthropology and Conservation.

Prestigious SPIE Fellowship Adrian Podoleanu, Professor of Biomedical Optics at Kent, has received a prestigious international award.

Professor Podoleanu was made a Fellow of the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) for his pioneering work in ophthalmic imaging and optical coherence tomography.

SPIE was founded in 1955 to advance lightbased technologies and now has over 180,000 members in more than 170 countries.

Iron Gym project to link Medway Kent expert advises BBC on heritage sites Great War programmes An exciting project to create an exercise trail linking the Medway campus with some of the area’s most popular heritage sites has been launched.

Mark Connelly, Professor of Modern British Military History at Kent, is advising the BBC on programmes to mark the centenary of the beginning of the Great War in 1914.

Organisers of the Iron Gym project have received a £17,000 grant from Arts Council England to develop the innovative initiative that will involve linking local heritage attractions such as the Historic Dockyard Chatham, Fort Amherst and the Royal Engineers Museum and Library in

The BBC is working with the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to bring together leading academics to plan a series of programmes. Professor Connelly has been selected to be part of the joint advisory body.

In her lecture, titled Alex Crawford: A Reporter’s Story, the three-times winner of the coveted Royal Television Society Television Journalist of the Year award said there were now more female journalists than ever working as foreign correspondents. Referring to incidents in Egypt and other Arab Spring locations when female journalists had been targeted and assaulted, Alex Crawford said any suggestion that women should not be sent to war zones was wrong.

The event, at the Medway campus, also saw Rob Kirk, Editorial Development Manager for Sky News, present first-year student Jemma Collins of the Centre for Journalism with the 2012 Sky Bob Friend Memorial Scholarship.

Both the lecture and scholarship were established in 2009 in memory of Bob Friend, the original face of Sky News and a long-serving BBC journalist. The scholarship is awarded to a student who has demonstrated outstanding academic and professional merit and shows great potential for a future career in journalism.

Jemma Collins will have her first-year tuition fees paid and is guaranteed a four-week placement at Sky News.

The University’s regional impact The University of Kent is worth nearly £0.6 billion each year to the south east – a figure that has doubled over the past five years. We also have a major cultural and social impact through, for example, our investment in music, theatre and art.

A new publication, The University of Kent/ Regional Impact, details the full extent of our regional impact, including case studies on graduates’ continuing links, students’ volunteering and work with partner schools. For an online version, see www.kent.ac.uk/impact Or, for a hard copy, contact the Corporate Communications Office, email communications@kent.ac.uk KENT Magazine

5

Feature

Unlocking the secrets of extinct parrots

The Mauritius parakeet is the last island form of its kind. Two other island species of Psittacula parakeets have recently become extinct, including the Seychelles parakeet and the Rodrigues parakeet.

An insight to some of the world’s most intriguing, but least well-known, bird species has been revealed by Kent researchers. Dr Jim Groombridge and his team in the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) have analysed tissues from 200-year-old bird skins to reveal exciting new information about extinct parrot species.

6

KENT Magazine

Dr Groombridge told KENT more about the research: The islands of the Indian Ocean, including those of Mauritius, Seychelles and Reunion once held some of the richest biodiversity in the world, such as the iconic Dodo from Mauritius and the extraordinary Solitaire from Rodrigues. Sadly, both of these species are now extinct.

However, these islands were also once home to a large number of other bird species, including a remarkable diversity of parrot species, most of which are now extinct and known only from subfossil bones and just a handful of preserved skins in museums. Almost nothing is known about the biology or ecology of most of these vanished parrots because no one has ever seen them alive. Records about them written by historical naturalists are rare or non-existent and often the only sources are faded paintings that are centuries-old.

Seychelles parakeet Two species of parrot in particular, the Seychelles parakeet (Psittacula wardi) and the Mascarene parrot (Mascarinus mascarinus) from Reunion, have confounded evolutionary biologists and ecologists. The Seychelles parakeet became extinct sometime during the 1800s, possibly as a consequence of human impacts of habitat loss on these isolated islands.

The question of how this species evolved on Seychelles has intrigued biologists for centuries.

Millions of years ago, were the Seychelles islands (some of the oldest granitic islands in the world) colonised by parakeets that flew southwards from India or did they use the islands of Mauritius and Madagascar as stepping stones to radiate eastwards from Africa?

Discovering the pathways and routes used by birds to travel across oceans and colonise the globe has become crucial to understanding how, over millions of years, the extraordinary diversity of bird species that we see today has evolved.

Feature

Mascarene parrot Unlocking the evolutionary secrets of the mysterious Mascarene parrot from Reunion Island has presented an even greater puzzle.

The existence of this extinct species is known from only two preserved museum skins in the world, both now over 200 years old and extremely fragile. These extremely rare skins, alongside artists’ impressions, suggest that the Mascarene parrot had a plumage unlike any other parrot and a powerful beak which, along with the other parrot species that evolved on these islands, would have had an ecological role in breaking open and dispersing seeds across the island’s endemic forests. Studying the evolutionary relationships of these extinct parrots can help conservation biologists to understand how the remaining parrot species that survive on the islands have evolved into their own unique forms. For example, the endangered Mauritius parakeet (Psittacula echo) and Seychelles black parrot (Coracopsis nigra barklyi) are close to the brink of extinction, with population sizes of only 350-600 birds.

because they are known to be one of the best places on earth from which to measure geological changes in sea level. By combining the DNA analysis with this information on sealevel change, my team has revealed how the brief creation of ancient land-bridges and previously existing islands in the Indian Ocean would have enabled the extinct parrots to colonise the region by using them as ‘steppingstones’ through evolutionary time.

Next steps We are now hoping to build upon this work by extracting DNA from tissue and subfossil remains of the other extinct parrots that once inhabited the Indian Ocean islands. Bones discovered during palaeontological excavations and known to belong to extinct parrots show that some of these vanished species had powerful jaws that were larger than any known living parrot.

Kent’s Museum DNA Laboratory is able to refine techniques to extract DNA from specimens over 200 years old.

To find out more about the work of Dr Groombridge and his DICE team, see: www.kent.ac.uk/sac/research/projects/ survival/completed/jg_parrots.html

DNA sequencing In collaboration with a network of museum collections – including those of the Natural History Museum, London and the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge – Dr Samit Kundu, postdoctoral researcher in DICE, took tissue samples from the fleshy pads at the base of the feet of these rare preserved parrot skins and extracted and sequenced DNA from them.

He then acquired similar samples from the many other parrot species that are known within the ‘old world’ and sequenced the same region of DNA, enabling a detailed phylogenetic comparison of the differences in DNA sequence between the species.

The results, published in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, have revealed remarkable evolutionary patterns among the parrots of the Indian Ocean. DNA evidence suggests that the extinct Seychelles parakeet evolved via an evolutionary pathway from India, while the extinct Mascarene parrot appears to be most closely related to the Coracopsis parrots, an unusual and ancient group of parrots found only within the Indian Ocean.

The evolutionary histories of these extinct parrots revealed by their DNA also appear to agree with ancient patterns of change in sea level that can be reconstructed from geological records over the past millenia. The Seychelles islands are a granitic ‘chip’ that split off from continental India some 120 million years ago, and are unusual

All that remains of the extinct Mascarene parrot, a species known only from Reunion Island, are two preserved museum skins dated 1806 and artists’ impressions of what the bird may have looked like.

KENT Magazine

7

Human Resources

Continuous learning for a

In Learning and Development, our v the University of Kent to grow as a ‘Continuo Individual ability to learn

Personal and collective respons

Formal Learning

Informal Learning

Our menu of over 50 training courses, some delivered by external experts, range from Appraisal to Media Training, and from Enterprise and Impact Training to Understanding Dyslexia. Formal learning can take place on a large or small scale, and can be tailored to individual needs or involve collaborative work with groups attending the same programme. For example, on the Leadership Programme for Professional Service Managers (LPPSM), 30 participants learn together and meet regularly between workshops to embed learning into day-to-day roles, supplemented

by Personal Development Plans (PDPs). Many collect their certificates from the Vice-Chancellor at the annual Learning and Development Awards Ceremony. Learning and Development is funding 115 staff this year from all campuses to obtain qualifications and participate in CPD programmes. Over 220 staff attended the Academic Division Service Excellence Conference in January 2012.

Learning can be unstructured or informal, and can take place through a variety of social settings. There is a range of development options available, from networking to buddying, from project work to innovation and creativity on the job. Learning and Development has guidelines available on its website to support mentoring at work, including tools, models and frameworks to support a coaching culture. Over the last year, 125 people have taken part in Action Learning Sets (also a form of collaborative learning); so far, these have supported internal leadership programmes and women in academia. During a recent Information Fair, 70 new members of staff from professional services and academic schools browsed 22 stalls showcasing University services. New staff were able to network over lunch and find out more about working at the University, and the wide array of support services and benefits available.

Tom Ritchie, President of Kent Union, speaking at the Academic Division Service Excellence Conference

Qualifications

Leadership

Informal learning at the Induction Information Fair for new staff, October 2011

Path Finders Creativity Meet the Learning and Development team: We are here to support you in creating an environment where you can think about your learning and development and that of your team.

8

KENT Magazine

Human Resources

a changing environment

vision is to create the conditions for ous Learning Organisation’ with a focus on:

sibility for personal development

Empowered teams

Collaborative Learning

The Value of Learning

Collaborative learning is a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together. Collaboration is not always the right answer, but it works well for diverse groups, cross-University work and when innovation and creativity are critical.

Learning and Development is supporting the University in meeting the challenges towards 2015 by:

University initiatives, such as Creative Campus and Social Sciences Change Academy, bring together academic and professional services staff with students and are founded on the firm belief that we are stronger together when we inspire collaboration. You can get updates and join in the dialogue through the Social Sciences Change Academy blogs and Twitter feeds by following @UniKentCreative and @cdvallance.

Collaborative learning also takes place when staff members participate in University-wide initiatives such as Green Impact, and get involved with internal partners or other learning organisation partners such as the Association of University Administrators (AUA).

• encouraging creativity, curiosity and innovation • enabling staff to reach their full potential • recognising that learning comes in many different shapes and forms, not just courses • acknowledging the need for reflective time and space • recognising and celebrating achievement • engaging line managers in the development of their teams and in maximising the impact of learning and development • developing a range of tools to evaluate learning and development activities effectively • demonstrating the impact of learning and the transfer of learning across the University

University of Kent delegation to the AUA Conference, April 2011

Green Impact

Goals

We are producing a range of Pathfinders to help you explore a learning and development route that suits you best.

‘Researcher Development’ and the ‘Open Learning Programme are already available at www.kent.ac.uk/hr-learninganddevelopment/pathfinder/

Further information is available at www.kent.ac.uk/hr-learninganddevelopment/

KENT Magazine

9

Research

New research sheds light on whale by-catch in the Korean peninsula New published research from Professor Douglas MacMillan of the School of Anthropology and Conservation has shed light on one of the most contentious issues in global conservation – the sale of skin, blubber and meat from whales caught accidentally.

In South Korea, commercial and subsistence whaling have been illegal since 1986, although domestic sales of protected Common Minke J products are allowed if the whales are caught accidently. However, due to the high price of whale meat these regulations are believed by conservation groups to have encouraged ‘deliberate by-catch’, whereby whales are intentionally killed through drowning and other

means or left to die by fishermen when they become trapped in their nets, for financial gain.

Consequently, during the past ten years alone, cetacean by-catch in South Korean waters has accounted for 33% of global whale mortality from by-catch – a level that has allowed a thriving business and culture based on the consumption of whale meat to develop in South Korea.

Based on price data from whale meat auctions, official by-catch harvest statistics and information taken from interviews with local fishermen, maritime police and restaurant owners, Professor MacMillan believes that deliberate by-catch may take place but not on a significant scale. However, this legal ‘loophole’ may have also encouraged the illegal hunting of whales by criminal gangs using speciallyadapted fishing boats.

As evidence, Professor MacMillan points to the marked fall in whale meat prices in South Korea between 2006 and 2010, a time when by-catch rates were relatively stable. ‘This fall in price,’ he said, ‘at a time when demand for whale meat was increasing and the supply from by-caught whales was steady, can only be explained by a rapid and substantial increase in whale meat illegally sourced. Illegal whaling rather than bycatch may actually be the more serious threat to the survival of the J-stock Minke whale in Korean waters.’

Professor MacMillan also concluded that, despite most local people being sympathetic to the notion of cetacean conservation, the intensity of local feeling about the cultural role of whale meat and the potential for by-catch to provide fishermen with significant additional income at a time when catches are diminishing are such that it is probably not politically feasible for the South Korean government to prohibit the trade in bycaught whale meat.

‘Instead,’ he said, ‘the best immediate strategy would be to significantly improve the monitoring and management of the by-catch trade to reduce opportunities for illegal meat to be traded. Another option would be to reduce the financial incentive for deliberate by-catch and illegal hunting by introducing a tax on the sale of whale products at auction, with revenues raised being reinvested in a local community fund and used to provide fishermen with equipment such as ‘pingers’ which will help avoid accidental and costly whale entanglements with fishing nets.’

The implications of this research go beyond the issue of cetacean by-catch as it highlights the difficulties of attempting to protect endangered species using poorly designed laws and enforcement measures arising from international agreements that are in direct conflict with local economic forces.

10

KENT Magazine

Research

More cutbacks mean more riots New research by Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby in the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research has shown that across 26 developed welfare states between 1980 and 2005, greater poverty, privatisation of public services and job insecurity has led to increased social disorder.

His research provides the strongest possible social science evidence across a range of countries, and for a considerable time-period, that the kinds of changes the UK government is pursuing generate social disorder.

For the study, Professor Taylor-Gooby, who has previously advised the UK government on public policy reform, analysed the relationship between social disorder and increased poverty, greater job insecurity and privatisation in developed western countries such as France, Germany and the USA. When societies are compared, those with rapid increases in the numbers in poverty are on average in the top third by the number of major incidents of civil unrest. Similar relations are found for job insecurity and reliance on private rather than welfare state services.

Data on poverty, privatisation and job insecurity from established international sources prepared by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), were used for the study. Social disorder was measured on a scale which summarises data prepared by Harvard University.

Professor Taylor-Gooby said: ‘The UK government’s social programme involves the most profound policy changes for at least two generations. It is now beginning to bite.

Projections by the Institute for Fiscal Studies indicate that about 500,000 more children will be in poverty by 2015. The reforms to the NHS and social care, the harsh cutbacks in funding for Sure Start and for local government and the policy of contracting services like the Work Programme to the commercial sector will privatise a substantial part of state services.

More stringent eligibility tests for benefits and changes to employment protection in a context of rising unemployment mean greater job insecurity.

‘As 2012 progresses, we will see further increases in poverty, rising unemployment, greater insecurity for those in work and more privatisation as the welfare state is cut back.

We will also see more riots, demonstrations and strikes disrupting our cities.’

Bringing 3D to older people Opening up 3D virtual worlds to older people is the aim of a new research project within the School of Engineering and Digital Arts (EDA).

The School has obtained £97,397 funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to explore Kinetic User Interfaces, which allow users to interact with computers through movement.

Dr Jim Ang, who is leading the research within EDA, commented: ‘Older people may experience a decline in physical and cognitive capabilities, which could result in deterioration of their social relationships and quality of life. It is therefore crucial to find novel ways that motivate them to have a more active lifestyle. One possibility is 3D virtual worlds, providing a creative and social space for users to engage in various activities.’

scheme designed to support frontier research by leading young international scholars. The project aims to revisit the role of national constitutions at a time when decision-making has increasingly shifted to the transnational level.

According to Dr Albi, ‘national constitutions have often come to be seen as somewhat oldfashioned bulwarks of sovereignty. However, the project will explore other constitutional values that seem to have a continued importance in the contemporary globalising world, for example the protection of constitutional rights, the rule of law, legitimacy and democratic checks and balances. Concerns have increasingly been voiced with regard to a certain degree of erosion of classic constitutional safeguards in European and global governance.’

Research awards list The research, which starts in April 2012, will see the EDA team working closely with AgeUK, Silverfit (a Dutch company that develops rehabilitation games) and older people themselves. The researchers will design and develop a prototype, and assess the effectiveness of Kinetic User Interface-based 3D design in a virtual world.

1.2 million euro research award Dr Anneli Albi, Senior Lecturer at Kent Law School (KLS), has been awarded 1.2 million euros by the European Research Council for a five-year research project titled The Role and Future of National Constitutions in European and Global Governance.

The funding is from the Council’s Independent Starting Grant programme, a highly competitive

Some recent research awards Dr Jim Griffin (School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science): £104,922 from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for ‘Advanced Bayesian computation for cross-disciplinary research’.

Dr Dan Mulvihill (School of Biosciences): £119,321 from the Royal Society for ‘Development of simultaneous multi-plane acquisition imaging systems’.

Dr Duska Radosavljevic (School of Arts): £20,513 from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for ‘The role of ensemble theatre in redefining ‘playwriting’ and ‘writing for performance’ in the 21st century’.

KENT Magazine

11

Enterprise

A helping hand for new businesses The Kent Enterprise Hub is the University’s dedicated incubation facility for student and graduate startups and academic spin-outs.

Since January 2010, we have helped in the creation of 45 new companies, which together employ a total 97 staff. This represents a direct impact on the local economy of approximately £3m. Apart from fully furnished subsidised office and lab spaces, we offer meeting room and hot-desk facilities as well as free-of-charge business advice sessions.

Among new businesses helped by the Enterprise Hub is Venomtech Ltd, founded in March 2010 to supply venom for biological research. Venomtech is the only commercial venom lab in the UK and moved into The Enterprise Hub in January 2012 to strengthen its links with the University and expand its business.

The company’s principal function is to collect venom from snakes, spiders, scorpions, centipedes and other bugs and insects. It currently has 490 animals covering over 150 species. Collected venom is put into phylogenetically and geographically diverse screening arrays for the discovery of new therapeutics for diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disorders, and for pain relief.

Venomtech director Steven Trim worked as a research associate in comparative genomics with Professor Darren Griffin in 2010. He still has links with staff in the School of Biosciences as they conduct much of their research with the venom he supplies.

Steven Trim commented: ‘The Enterprise Hub allows us to have more space for our research which helps us to improve our productivity. We also have many good links with Biosciences.’

To discuss your business idea, or for further information on the Kent Enterprise Hub, please get in touch with Stephanie Barwick, Business Engagement Manager, s.r.barwick@kent.ac.uk or 01227 827094.

12

KENT Magazine

Enterprise and Impact Training Responding to the challenge In May, staff will have the opportunity to attend the University’s Enterprise and Impact Training.

UK universities are moving into an environment where far more will be demanded of them in terms of the economic impact of their activities and the extent of their interactions with external, particularly commercial, organisations. At the same time, universities will be subject to stringent financial and resource constraints.

To respond to this challenge, the University’s Enterprise and Impact training programme was developed and piloted very successfully last year and is now included in the University’s overall staff training offering.

What will the training offer?

The training offers all University of Kent staff the opportunity to equip themselves with the knowledge and tools to successfully engage in added-value enterprise activities. Specifically, the programme will help participants to: • understand the range of knowledge exchange activities and how to engage with these • define and demonstrate economic impact • increase their profile through knowledge exchange and enterprise projects • increase the potential to generate unrestrained income

Who should attend?

The training has been developed for staff who want to gain new insights and tools to generate impact from research activities and engage in added-value enterprise activities. Deans from all three faculties support the programme and believe it will be of benefit for academics to attend.

Feedback from participants so far has been very good: ‘Overall the course has been motivating and inspiring and has encouraged me to move my innovation projects ahead.’

‘Practical and focused.’

‘Learned to think in a different way. Highlighted the important points in collaborating with industry and their emphasis.’

‘Such a wonderful and concise course. Simple and straightforward, hitting on the right topics for creating impact for research as well as making business sense of it.’

More details The programme will run over two half-days on 3 and 31 May 2012 at the Innovation Centre, Canterbury Campus. Places are limited so please book as soon as possible by emailing Learning & Development ldev@kent.ac.uk or phone 4348. Further information is available under ‘Latest News’ at www.kent.ac.uk/hrlearninganddevelopment/ For advice on the course suitability, contact Christina Schönleber, c.m.schoenleber@kent.ac.uk, ext 4804.

New Enterprise Awards for autumn term 2011 Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels

SSPSSR

Survey data consultation

£3,148

Julie Beadle-Brown

SSPSSR

CFU Leadership

£14,000

Andrew Fearne

Kent Business School

Sunrise Unilever Oxfam partnership

£22,000

Darren Griffin

School of Biosciences

Sustainable protein production

£439,808

Andrew Fearne

Kent Business School

Town centre review

£40,000

Robbie Sutton

School of Psychology

Coastal communities study

£17,380

Feature

Working to Plan During 2010-11, we made good progress against the University’s Plan for 2009-12 which is based around six key messages: • A leading UK university Kent has continued to perform strongly in the National Student Survey and underlined its academic and research excellence with, for example, high-quality publications and significant grant funding. Admissions for postgraduate programmes have been particularly strong, with a 13% increase in home and EU full-time taught applications and 22% increase in overseas applications. We have partnerships with over 100 universities across Europe, and our China and Hong Kong Portal project is a badge of our international ambitions. We continue to work closely with the Brompton Academy in north Kent, as well as overseeing wide-ranging curriculum activities with our 19 Partner Schools and FE colleges. At Medway, we have strengthened our academic provision by appointing seven new professors and locating two major research groups there, Value Chain Management and Future Computing. Within the School of Arts, Music and Fine Art are being relocated to the Chatham Historic Dockyard.

• A strong international impact The University’s Internationalisation Strategy has been embedded through our strategy board, Internationalisation task force, annual Faculty roadshows and the Student Experience committee. We are continuing to work with international strategic partner universities via our Global Partnerships network and membership of the exclusive Santander European Universities group.

Overseas student numbers continue to grow – 2011 was a record year for overseas registrations – and we are enhancing our international student experience.

• An inspiring student experience Building on our Student Ambassador scheme, we are making good progress in combining voluntary, paid and credit-bearing opportunities for undergraduates and postgraduates. We have also significantly enhanced employability activity by, for example, piloting a career preparation module on Moodle and an Employability Points scheme. We have increased employer links, placement opportunities and student enterprise activities.

• Innovative, world-leading research Around 75% of our academic staff are eligible for the forthcoming Research Excellence Framework and new research leaders have been appointed at Medway. Postgraduate research acceptances are increasing steadily – in 2011, overseas applications were up 64% and home applications rose by 29%. The Centre for Molecular Processing continues to win major awards and we successfully bid to run the ESRC Doctoral Training Centre collaboratively with the universities of Surrey, Royal Holloway and Reading.

• Valuing innovation, enterprise and creativity Key achievements have included the Love your Campus campaign with Kent Union, launch of internships and placements and extension of Social Hubs Research to Medway. There is increasing external recognition for our Creative Campus campaign and the Innovation, Creative and Enterprise (ICE) initiative continues to produce new leads.

• Operating in an effective, efficient, sustainable and professional way The University’s financial performance remains strong. We have introduced new development programmes to support staff in leading and managing others. A stakeholder group has been created to provide feedback on over 40 new and revised HR policies. We have supported equality and diversity by, for example, joining the Athena Swan Charter (promoting women in science) and Stonewall (supporting LGBT staff and students). On the Canterbury campus, there has been substantial redevelopment of Keynes College – including 500 new bedrooms – and the Colyer-Fergusson Music Building opens later this year.

Institutional Plan 2012-15 Work on the Institutional Plan for 2012-15 is also underway. The new Plan will take forward many of the themes of the 2009-12 Plan, but with additional emphasis on the University’s distinctive values and vision, its academic direction and its many partnerships (internal and external). The Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Professor Keith Mander) have visited all academic schools and professional service departments over the last few months, resulting in many helpful discussions about the new Plan. Keith Mander is now working with the Director of Corporate Communications (Posie Bogan) to draw the threads of those discussions together in a draft Plan. This will receive further discussion across the University over the coming months, prior to approval by the University Council at the end of the summer term.

KENT Magazine

13

Kent in the news

Kent experts continue to feature strongly in international and national news coverage. There have been contributions from, among others, the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR), School of Biosciences, Kent Law School and the Centre for Journalism.

International broadcast coverage of University expert research and comment included Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby, of SSPSSR, being featured for his research on how austerity may mean more riots, on EuradioNantes (France); Professor Sally Sheldon, of Kent Law School, on sex selection in abortion for the BBC World Service; Professor Chris Rootes, of SSPSSR, discussing the development of Greenpeace during its first 40 years for Austrian Radio FM4 and the significance of Occupy London for Voice of Russia; and Professor Tim Luckhurst, of the Centre for Journalism, interviewed on James Murdoch’s resignation for American National Public Radio.

National broadcast coverage included Professor Darren Griffin, of the School of Biosciences, being interviewed on the Male Y chromosome for BBC Radio 2’s Simon Mayo Show; Professor Sally Sheldon, of Kent Law School, featuring on BBC Radio 4’s PM programme on sex selection in abortion; Professor Frank Furedi, of SSPSSR, on BBC Radio 2 discussing the Criminal Records Bureau and protecting children; and Professor Tim Luckhurst, of the Centre for Journalism, interviewed on arrests at News International and the future of The Sun for BBC1’s Breakfast News and the BBC Politics Show, respectively.

Green update

Obituary

Professor Frank Cioffi, 1928-2012 Professor Frank Cioffi was born in New York City on 11 January 1928 and died at his home in Canterbury on 1 January 2012. After a spell with the US army in Japan just after World War II and a brief period in Paris, he entered Ruskin College Oxford. He then became an undergraduate at the newly founded St Catherine’s College, where a friendly Alan Bullock helped him to negotiate his way through the various university formalities. He was tutored in the philosophy part of PPP by Friedrich Waismann and Anthony Quinton. After his degree, he spent some time researching in social psychology at Oxford with Michael Argyle. From 1956 to 1965, he was lecturer in philosophy at the University of Singapore.

Frank came to England as one of the founders of the University of Kent in 1965 and it was here that I met him in 1966. As was the case with other new universities at the time, Kent was inventing new combinations of studies in an attempt to overcome too early specialisation. Part One, which initially lasted four terms, consisted of a course entitled Britain and the Contemporary World, in which students had to study a combination of literature, history and philosophy. Frank, with his immense range of reading in all three areas, was eminently fitted for teaching such combined studies and was inspiring for both staff and students. His wonderful introductory lectures to philosophy induced many students who did not know the subject to take it in Part Two. He had a wonderful way of delivering his lectures spontaneously, with powers of anecdote and humour which, however, never detracted from their deep seriousness. Often, they were applauded at the end and, when the timetable permitted, students would ask him to continue. In his published work, he made important world-recognised contributions to the study of Wittgenstein and the criticism of Freud.

It’s been a busy few months for environmental activities at Kent.

This year’s Green Impact scheme has been a great success with 23 teams competing from the Canterbury and Medway campuses. For Fairtrade Fortnight, from 27 February to 12 March, the University’s Fairtrade steering group organised a host of events including a talk by the Director of Communications and Policy for the Fairtrade Foundation and an exhibition on Fairtrade history.

The University’s Environmental Co-ordinator Catherine Morris returned from maternity leave in February to a new role working full-time for the University (previously a split role between the University and Kent Union). Over the next year, she will be focusing on two main areas – firstly, improving the communication and raising awareness of the University’s environmental performance by upgrading webpages and utilising newer technologies such as blogs, Twitter and Facebook and, secondly, helping Kent obtain ISO14001 certification. This standard will enable the University to control and improve its environmental performance, and will be a real boost to our environmental credentials.

For further information, or to get involved in anything mentioned here, please contact Catherine Morris (c.morris@kent.ac.uk).

14

KENT Magazine

When Frank was offered a professorship at the University of Essex and the chance, in effect, to found the new department of philosophy there, a group of teachers and students at Kent went to the Dean of Humanities and the Vice-Chancellor asking that he be given a professorship here. The request did not succeed and Kent’s loss was Essex’s gain, for he went on to found an extremely successful department there. After his retirement in 1994, he and his wife Nalini came back to live in Canterbury and he became an Honorary Research Professor here. No one who knew Frank will ever forget him. Sadly, his wife Nalini (whom he had devotedly cared for in her illness) died on 18 February.

Edward Greenwood, retired Senior Lecturer in English Literature

Sport

Kent Sport Shaw Award – rewarding ‘commitment through adversity’ design, symbolises the steps taken to achieve a goal. The Shaw Award collaborates with Kent Sport’s GP Referral Scheme, where local medical practitioners refer clients for a 12-week fitness programme. The Shaw Award was commissioned with this in mind and potential recipients are nominated by their dedicated fitness instructor to the Kent Sport Senior Management Team.

The Shaw Award, designed to honour Kent Sport members who demonstrate ‘commitment through adversity’, has been presented for the first time.

Its recipient, Martin Lawrie is a frequent visitor to the fitness suite, despite his diagnosis with multiple sclerosis.

The Shaw Award was launched by Kent Sport in 2011 in memory of the late Maria Shaw who, during her treatment for cancer, demonstrated tremendous commitment through adversity and continued to attend the Sports Centre. Maria studied Physics & Astrophysics at the University before completing her Masters in Electronics and graduating in 2000. Maria was always a keen Kent Sport user as well as an active member of the Kendo and Astronomy societies.

Maria’s legacy is a partnership between Kent Sport and Howard Shaw (Maria’s husband).

The Shaw Award trophy, which Howard helped

The inaugural recipient, Martin Lawrie was referred to and joined Kent Sport in 2008 and is one of the first members through the door on his early morning workouts. His routine was adapted to suit the equipment available and his own limitations; his commitment to exercise has improved his range of movement, strength, coordination and balance as he now completes exercises both in and out of his wheelchair.

Martin’s confidence has grown immensely since using the fitness suite, and as he returns week after week training on his own he has become an inspiration to others.

Martin was presented with the Shaw Award on 30 January by Director of Sport Graham Holmes at a small presentation with Martin’s wife and the Kent Sport team. Martin is the first name in the book commissioned to accompany the trophy, which is on display at the Sports Centre.

Kent Sport would like to congratulate Martin on his achievement and hope that his commitment will be an example to all.

Kent Sport continues to work with local medical practitioners supporting the GP Referral Scheme. For more information on the award or referral scheme, please contact sportsenquiries@kent.ac.uk or your local GP.

Exercise referral available from Occupational Health The University’s Occupational Health nurses have been accepted onto the NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent Exercise Referral Scheme.

This means that we can refer staff with health issues who would benefit from exercise directly to the Sports Centre for a threemonth programme. Only a small charge is made and you do not have to be a member of the Sports Centre.

Research has demonstrated that regular exercise improves health and wellbeing.

If you have a condition that fits the criteria below and you are not used to any structured physical activity, you may be eligible.

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Alcohol or drug rehabilitation cancer cardiovascular disease diabetes family history of heart disease heart failure high cholesterol high blood pressure joint/mobility/musculoskeletal problems mental health and wellbeing obesity overweight smoker

If you think that you could fall within this scheme, please contact Occupational Health, ext 4691, to make an appointment with one of the nurses to assess your suitability. For more information on Occupational Health at Kent, see: www.kent.ac.uk/safety/oh/

Small ads R & G Cleaning Services Domestic and commercial cleaning – one-off cleans, spring cleans, regular cleans, carpets and ovens, all at competitive rates.

A family run business with over ten years’ experience.

Call Georgina on 07809 898420.

Castle Street Flooring We supply and fit carpets, vinyl, flooring, PVC tiles including Amtico, laminates, solid and engineered wood. 5% off all orders over

£250 for staff and students (excludes fitting and uplift).

Contact us on 01227 455519, email: info@castlestreetflooring.co.uk, www.castlestreetflooring.co.uk/ Canterbury Top flat to let at Oaten Hill £800pcm.

Spacious (65m2), peaceful and light yet minutes from high street shops, libraries, bus and train stations.

Contact jll@kent.ac.uk / 0786 668 9038.

Allport Cars Our business is picking up. City of Canterbury Licensed cars, specialising in airport & long-distance travel with competitive prices. All major credit cards accepted. Contact us on: 01227 370 370 or 07722 597 700. Visit the website at: www.allportcarsltd.co.uk or email: allportcars@btinternet.com

KENT Magazine

15

What’s on

Music Friday 30 March, 12.30pm, Lunchtime Concert at St Peter’s Methodist Church, St Peter’s Street, Canterbury. Conducted by Daniel Harding, the University Sirocco Ensemble and Chamber Choir present a programme including Gounod’s Petite Symphonie, and choral works by Whitacre, Vaughan Williams, Brahms and others, bringing the spring term’s music-making to a lively conclusion. Admission free, with a retiring collection.

Gulbenkian Theatre highlights Saturday 14 April, 2pm, Big Wooden Horse and Theatre Royal Winchester present The Way Back Home. Oliver Jeffers, awardwinning author of How to Catch a Star and Lost and Found, returns with an inter-galactic tale about a little boy seeking adventure.

Saturday 14 April, 7.30pm, Mitch Benn and the Distractions, Ode to the Warrior. From BBC Radio 4’s Sony-nominated Now Show, BBC1’s One Show and BBC1’s Watchdog, multi-award winner Mitch Benn and his band take to the road in a two-hour show packed with new songs and old favourites.

Thursday 19 April, 7.30pm, Ballet Central.

This exciting programme of ballet, contemporary, jazz and narrative dance will

also feature live accompaniment by Musical Director Philip Feeney.

Gulbenkian Cinema highlights

Thursday 26 April, 7.30pm, Lee Hurst, Man V Woman. Back on the road after 10 years, Lee is best known as one of the stars of BBC1’s comedy sports quiz They Think It’s All Over.

Friday 13 – Monday 16 April, The Descendants (15)

Friday 27 April, 7.45pm, Wasted by Kate Tempest. A debut play, by the UK’s most exciting performance poet, about love, life and losing your mind.

Thursday 3 May, 7.30pm, Ballet Theatre UK, Sleeping Beauty. This spectacular production uses Tchaikovsky’s glorious music and stunning classical choreography to reawaken the magic of the world’s favourite fairy tale.

Thursday 10 May, 7.30pm, Icarus Theatre Collective present Macbeth. ‘Something wicked this way comes…’ The vicious, barbaric undercurrent in Shakespeare’s epic tragedy surfaces in this kinetic, bloodthirsty production.

Friday 11 May, 7.30pm, EDge 2012 featuring the postgraduate performance company of London Contemporary Dance School.

Tuesday 15 May, 7.30pm, Spiers and Boden, Founders of Bellowhead… Described by The Guardian as ‘the finest instrumental duo on the traditional scene’ and twice winners of the BBC Radio 2 folk award for Best Duo.

Friday 13 – Sunday 15 April, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (12A) Saturday 14 April, Cars 2 3D (U) Sunday 15 April, The Iron Lady (12A) Tuesday 17 April, Rigoletto – live broadcast from The Royal Opera House.

Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 April, J Edgar (15) Friday 20 – Sunday 22 April, The Woman in the Fifth (15) Friday 20 – Thursday 26 April, Bel Ami (15) Saturday 21 April, Big Miracle (PG) Sunday 22 April, The Help (12A) Monday 23 April, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance 3D (12A) Friday 27 April – Thursday 3 May, Trishna (15) Friday 27 – Sunday 29 April, In Darkness (15), Polish with English subtitles Saturday 28 April, The Muppets (U) Sunday 29 April, The Artist (PG) Monday 30 April, Contraband (15) Friday 4 – Sunday 6 May, The Kid with a Bike (12A), French with English subtitles Friday 4 – Thursday 10 May, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (12ATBC) Saturday 5 May, We Bought A Zoo (PG) Friday 11 – Monday 14 May, This Must Be The Place (15TBC) Saturday 12 May, The Lion King 3D (U) For full details of times and ticket availability, please go to www.thegulbenkian.co.uk