Nicola Phillips from the University of Manches-ter. This was followed by 24 presentations on wide-ranging aspects of international devel-opment, all accompa-nied by lively questions and discussions. Final year Geography PhD students Liberty Mupakati and Faith Ikioda talked about their research on, re-spectively, the Zimbab-wean diaspora and the

DEPARTMENTAL NEWS

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NO. 5

Thanks to all our con-tributors: Margi Bryant, Emma Crump, Jennifer Hall, Benjamin Hennig, Tom Heyes, Jun Hua Lin, Claire McKay, Jojo Nem Singh, Laura Price, Shohrab Sarker, Matt Watson, and Sarah Wells.

Congratulations to Dr Heng-Chang Chi, Dr Eu-ripides Kantzas, and Dr David Littlewood, all of whom have been awarded their PhD in the past few months.

If you have any sugges-tions, comments, or if you would like contrib-ute to the next edition, please contact: Laura Pitts(l.pitts@shef.ac.uk)

GEOGRAPHY STUDENTS SHINE AT SIDNET POSTGRADUATE CONFERENCE

By Margi Bryant

Research students from the Geography Depart-ment played key roles as co-organisers and speakers at this year‟s Sheffield International Development Network (SIDNet) Postgraduate Conference. The con-ference, held on 7th March in the ICOSS building, attracted around 50 research students from universi-ties all over the UK. The day began with a thought-provoking keynote lec-ture on the conference theme, ‘the future of de-velopment studies’, by Professor

wine. The SIDNet Postgraduate Conference looks set to establish itself as an un-missable annual event for research students, with the Geography Depart-ment continuing to play a key role. Plans for the 2012 conference are al-ready being discussed, and details will be an-nounced before the end of the year.

Lagos mega-city project, while first year PhD stu-dent Liz Carabine out-lined her use of model-ling to explore climate change and livelihood security in semi-arid grasslands. MA Interna-tional Development graduate Nick Clare spoke on anarchism and development in Costa Rica. The conference ended with a chance to continue discussions over a glass or two of

Geographers are in for a tweet! @geographylives is the latest place to keep up to date with life in and around the Department. We tweet departmental news, useful informa-tion and upcoming events. Whether you are a current postgraduate, prospective postgradu-ate, or alumni, follow @geographylives!

A research student from the Department has been called „one to watch‟ in a new report outlining the most tal-ented people in North-ern England. PhD student Benjamin Hennig has been se-lected by the Institute of Public Policy Research North to feature in their list of the 50 brightest and most talented peo-ple in Northern England.

Participants of the SIDNet Postgraduate Conference

WEST POKOT WEEK By Emma Crump

Both undergraduates and postgraduate stu-dents from the Depart-ment have now raised £5,355 towards the building and furnishing of a health centre in Tikeet, West Pokot in Rural Kenya. The fund-raising initiative has been running for two years, with a yearly 'West Pokot Week' con-sisting of homemade sandwich and cake sales, raffles, and gigs . The region of West Pokot is visited by un-dergraduate and post-graduate students as part of field class re-search modules. Stu-dents have undertaken projects in gender

equality, sustainable livelihoods and educa-tion alongside an array of topics from the fields of health and environ-ment, including mater-nal care, water provi-sion, and FGM. The fieldtrip runs for 10 days, where students are accompanied by Dr Deborah Sporton and other lecturers from the department. The decision to raise funds for the Tikeet health centre began last year as the students felt it was important to „give something back‟ to the communities that make the research trip possi-ble. The field centre staff

highlighted the need for a health centre in order to provide services that at present are only available after a tiring day's walk by often un-well adults and children. The health centre, which will be staffed by a local Mission hospital, will provide a much needed service to the communities of Tikeet and surrounding area. As of March 2011 the centre building is al-most complete, with the final painting due to be finished off, whilst the centre still needs to be furnished. The money raised this year will make a great contri-bution to this.

It is hoped that future years will continue the fund, with possible pro-jects including toilets within Marich village. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the brilliant staff, stu-dents and cake eaters involved in helping us to come very close to our £6,000 target. If anyone would still like to donate, please visit the JustGiving webpage at: www.justgiving.com/westpokotweek. Thank you!

SUMMER 2011 Edited by Laura Pitts

FIELDTRIPS AND PLACEMENTS

HELP IS AT HAND FROM THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURE

ASSOCIATION By Sarah Wells

MA Social and Cultural Geography students spent a day conducting fieldwork at the prestig-ious Yorkshire Sculp-ture Park. Set in the expansive grounds of an historic estate, the park displays work by sculp-tors and artists of inter-nationally renown. The fieldtrip is an op-portunity for Masters students to engage

Masters Development students in Kenya

GEOGRAPHY STUDENTS GO TO KENYA AND YORKSHIRE SCULPTURE PARK

ments from my disser-tation supervisor and the Head of Depart-ment, I finally sent my application off, and two months of thumb twid-dling ensued. Needless to say I was extremely happy to receive an email informing me that I had been offered a £1000 award from the TAA and I quickly ac-cepted, feeling ex-tremely grateful and frankly very surprised that I had been success-ful! Winning the award has not only helped me financially but has given me great encourage-ment and a positive boost in anticipation of my placement in Java. And it seems that the grant money was just the start; I have also been assigned a mentor, given membership of the TAA, access to the TAA online journal and an invitation to the TAA general meeting! Look-ing forward to Java is just the beginning of things to come and I am hoping for an exciting year. I would like to ex-tend my thanks to all members of staff who helped with my suc-cessful application.

In September 2010 I be-gan the Environmental Change and International Development MSc course at Sheffield. I had re-searched various other postgraduate courses but the compulsory field trip to Kenya and the six week summer placements to destinations such as Ne-pal, Tanzania and Rome were pivotal in determin-ing my final decision to study at Sheffield. I strongly believe that the experiences gained from this field work will be vital to the furtherance of my career, but worthwhile though they will undoubt-edly prove to be, the con-siderable costs involved soon began to dawn on me. I would need to pay for flights, food and ac-commodation, medical costs and more. There-fore, when I became aware of a £1000 award that is made available every year by the Tropical Agriculture Association (TAA) to a small number of masters students, I im-mediately began to re-search the award and the TAA itself. A little investi-gation told me that I would be eligible for the award due to my choice of dissertation topic. Whilst in East Java I will be studying the relationship between biodiversity con-servation and poverty al-leviation: a subject that encompasses the TAA objectives which involve the management of natu-ral resources and the im-provement of rural liveli-hoods in the tropics. So, after a considerable amount of time spent re-viewing my application, with positive endorse-

experience, the trip provided the opportunity for a classic tourist photo at the Equator.

days in Kenya conducting short research projects relating to health, education, livelihoods and environmental change. Alongside the valuable research

Geography students recently visited West Pokot, Kenya in order to gain firsthand experience of development fieldwork practices. Staff and students spent nine

The Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Phoebe 2

„in the field‟ with ques-tions of aesthetic and sensory experience, of space and place, and of landscape, art, and na-ture. The departmental mas-cot, Phoebe, accompa-nied the field class to answer any in-depth questions!

FIELDTRIPS

Public Health. The exception was the children and young peo-ple section where two young people were the experts. We heard from Lusi about how asylum seeker children had their bus passes ripped up by bus drivers and the panic of not know-ing how to use the bus or where to get off. We also heard from Aaron about the cost of school trips, including a £1000 ski trip, and the alterna-tive visit to a cheese factory for those who couldn't afford it. They were followed by the Executive Director of Children's Services who spoke about the chal-lenge of reducing child poverty in the city. The day ended with Professor Andy Pike talking about Newcas-tle's economy and it's role in a 'peripheral' re-gion. He was joined by the Director of Policy at Newcastle Council who explained how they are looking to make sure the economy of the area can recover from the recession. It was a high profile event with over 60 peo-ple from the public, vol-untary, community and business sectors in the city attending. The

Being part of the Geog-raphy Department we hear about people jet-ting off on field trips and decided to organise one of our own for the Social and Spatial Ine-qualities (SASI) Mas-ters. Although Newcas-tle wouldn't always be on the top of a travel wish-list, it's the perfect place to look at how inequality practically affects people's lives. The main idea was to organise an event in partnership with the University of Newcastle and Newcastle City Council which was called 'Newcastle, Oldinequalities'. It was held on a Friday after-noon at Newcastle Civic Centre. The event covered health, children and young people, and the economy and employ-ability. It looked at the historical patterns of inequality, how things are now, and how things might develop given the current government situation. Each section had a professor from Newcastle University, followed by the relevant Director at the Council. For health Professor Martin White spoke alongside Dr Meng Khaw, the Director of

Some interesting findings from the day:

Although life expec-

tancy has increased for everyone the gap be-tween the richest and poorest has widened. Inequality is about life and death.

People in the most

deprived areas become ill or disabled often ten years before the retire-ment age.

People in the least deprived areas are more likely to consume alcohol four or more times a week, but those in the least deprived

SASI MASTERS FIELDTRIP TO NEWCASTLE INEQUALITIES CONFERENCE By Matt Watson

areas drink more alco-hol overall.

One in three chil-dren in Newcastle are living in poverty, with an increasing number of them in working house-holds.

The economy of

Newcastle outperforms the North East, but peo-ple from outside the City are often the bene-ficiaries.

Liverpool has the highest imbalance of deprivation of any Eng-lish city.

event was fascinating not only to hear from up to the minute academic and policy analysis of the current situation, but also to see the prac-tical application for the issues we're studying on the SASI Masters. Feed-back from the event has been positive with peo-ple finding the blend of academic research and policy development very useful. On the Saturday Profes-sor Richard Wilkinson, co-author of The Spirit Level, gave a talk about inequality and his work on the issue. We had a tour of Newcastle and a trip on the Shields Ferry across the Tyne (not as famous as the one across the Mersey of course!). Many thanks go to New-castle City Council for provid-ing the room, the food, and the free wine af-terwards, to New-castle Uni-versity, and to the SASI peo-ple that came along!

SASI Masters students at the Newcastle Civic Centre

Graph reflecting the life expectancy and DFLE at birth, 1999-2003.

Graph reflecting the Incidence of most and least deprived neighbourhoods.

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POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS ATTEND SOCIETY FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES CONFERENCE

By JoJo Nem Singh

ward by inviting senior and junior academics to present papers on the political economy of neoliberal globalisation. The workshop, funded by the Development Politics Subgroup at the Political Studies Asso-ciation (PSA), will be attended by some of the participants of the SLAS Conference and new speakers from the UK and Europe. The out-come of these two events is to produce a special issue journal on Latin American political economy to be pub-lished in 2012. The University of Shef-field will host the SLAS conference in 2012.

which overall made the scholarly engagement quite rich and highly controversial. The panel concluded with insight-ful questions from the audience from different backgrounds, for exam-ple politics, sociology, and economics and with different country spe-cialisms. With the ses-sions receiving much enthusiasm from SLAS participants, a second thematic workshop fo-cussing on the political economy of post-neoliberalism will be held in the last week of September 2011 at the University of Sheffield. The co-convenors of this event, Professor Jean Grugel and Jojo Nem Singh, are aiming to move the debate for-

America”. The two ses-sions consisting of six papers attracted as many as 40 people. Us-ing an array of case studies ranging from Argentina and Brazil to Bolivia and Chile, the panel explored the ex-tent scholars can genu-inely claim Latin Ameri-can political economies are moving towards a post-neoliberal phase of development. The speakers were mostly early career aca-demics – post doctoral fellows and PhD stu-dents at advanced stages – with Professor Jean Grugel opening the session with a paper setting up the regional context of debates on the political economy of post-neoliberalism,

Several PGR students participated in the Soci-ety for Latin American Studies (SLAS) Annual Conference at the Uni-versity of St. Andrews 8th-10th April 2011. With over 30 panels on a wide range of topics on Latin American Studies, PGR students were able to present their on-going research in an international environ-ment consisting of sen-ior and junior academ-ics. One of the panels was convened by Jojo Nem Singh (University of Sheffield) and Eliza Massi (SOAS) and was entitled “Situating State Governance in the Global Political Econ-omy: Perspectives on Neoliberalism and Neo-structuralism in Latin

THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE

Benda Bilili is a French

film about the Congo-

lese band Staff Benda

Bilili. It has the feel of a

fictional drama but it‟s a

documentary. The stars

are Papa Ricky and his

ragtag band of musi-

cians from the streets

of Kinshasa, most of

whom are disabled by

poliomyelitis and use

wheelchairs. The wheel-

chairs are spectacular

but appear just inciden-

tal to the even more

extraordinary charac-

ters. Their struggle to

survive, rehearsals in

the Zoo, and above all

their hope of making a

decent living for their

families are thoroughly

engaging. Their songs

are beautiful, truthful,

and witty (even in subti-

tles) as they sing about

their challenges and

dreams. My favourite

character is Roger, a

troubled-looking street

urchin who believes he

can make money by

playing his one-string

lute which he has made

from a fish tin. To say

more would be to spoil

the story. This film gives

an insight into the lives

of disabled people in

Africa. Sadly not all are

as optimistic, talented,

dedicated, or successful

as these, but the film is

upbeat and carries

hope. More details at:

www.bendabilili.co.uk.

FILM REVIEW: BENDA BILILI

By Tom Heyes

Will Poole studied the MSc in Polar and Alpine Change, graduating in 2010. Now? Will is studying for his PhD in planetary science at University College London.

Sari Nevala studied the MSc in Polar and Alpine Change, graduating in 2010. Now? Sari is undertak-ing a six month trainee programme for the Min-istry of the Environment Climate Change Unit, Helsinki, Finland. Sari says “my job is related to the political side of the climate change is-sues and I have great use of the degree I did in Sheffield.”

Hannah Frizzell stud-ied the MA in Interna-tional Development, graduating in 2010. Now? Hannah is a Vol-unteer Support and Communications Offi-cer for the ICS Pro-gramme, Restless De-velopment. Annie Coyle studied

the MA in International Development, graduat-ing in 2010. Now? Annie is working as a financial head-hunter and researcher in the Executive Search Division of Mason Blake, Ltd.

Ceri Averill studied the MPH in International Development, graduat-ing in 2010. Now? Ceri is undertak-ing a six month intern-ship with Oxfam Head Office, Oxford, as a Health Policy Research Assistant. She is also working part-time teaching at Sheffield Hallam University.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Joe Hall studied the MA in Human Geography Research, graduating in 2010. Now? Joe secured an ESRC open competition scholarship to study for a PhD based in Geogra-phy at the University of Hull.

Maz Robertson stud-ied the MA in Interna-tional Development, graduating in 2010. Now? Maz is working as a Project Manager with a small NGO called Soft Power Educated in Uganda. Maz says “The project I manage aims to increase conserva-tion awareness and knowledge through community-drive initia-tives in the district sur-rounding the Murchison Falls National Park in the northwest of the country.”

Anna Laing studied the MA in Human Geogra-phy Research, graduat-ing in 2009. Now? Anna is now a first year PhD student in Human Geography at the University of Glas-gow.

Adamu Sule studied the MPH in International Development, graduat-ing in 2010. Now? Adamu is work-ing for the EPI (Expanded Programme on Immunization) unit at the World Health Or-ganisation in Nigeria as a National Facilitator. He has also participated in the US Center for Dis-ease Control (CDC) STOP Team 37 in At-lanta, USA, and is being deployed this summer to Pakistan as a short term consultant for WHO supporting Polio eradication activities.

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STUDENT RESEARCH

ALPINE FOREFIELD DEVELOPMENT IN THE SWISS ALPES By Claire McKay

For my dissertation, I undertook fieldwork in the Swiss Alps as part of an investigation into alpine forefield develop-ment. Initial planning involved selecting two differential sites in or-der to compare the in-fluence of localised fac-tors, including microcli-mate, geology and sun exposure. This research is important as previ-ously such spatial fac-tors have only been briefly discussed or not assessed as part of a large scale study. In June 2010, fieldwork was conducted along the forefields of Tschingelfirn and Lang glacier (in the Bernese and Valais Alps respec-tively). These proglacial areas present pristine terrain as glaciers re-treat- an idyllic oppor-tunity to study the rate of landscape evolution. Vegetation abundance and richness was exam-ined in the field in con-junction with observing fieldsite characteristics. Soil samples were taken back to the Sheffield

laboratory for analysis of mineral and nutrient content and chlorophyll; an indirect measure of productivity. Ice front data enabled the former ice margin locations to be reconstructed, alongside dating tech-

peared to play an inte-gral role at the opposing site; apparent from the ion chromatography results. Overall, this dis-sertation provides a synopsis of the effect of a range of site attrib-utes which may be im-portant to consider in future investigations in these alpine environ-ments. In addition, the proposed implications of the results could serve as a foundation to assist in projecting fu-ture changes, as this topic is of increasing significance due to ob-served and predicted glacial recession. This research was funded by the Geogra-phy Postgraduate Field-work and Hardship Bur-sary: sincere thanks to the University of Shef-field.

sure appeared to be the dominant factor upon forefield development at the site experiencing most solar irradiance, evident namely from the floristic surveys under-taken. In contrast, rock parent material ap-

niques of dendrochro-nology and lichenome-try. The substrate could then be dated to com-pare rates of succes-sion. Prominent distinc-tions were apparent between forefield char-acteristics. Sun expo-

These photographs are from fieldwork I am conducting in Bangla-desh. I am a PhD stu-dent working on “Climate change in-duced migration and its consequences: A case study of Bangladesh” under the supervision of Professor Grant Bigg.

FIELDWORK PHOTOS FROM BANGLADESH By Shohrab Sarker

Claire McKay

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PHOTO DIARY: FIELDWORK IN THE FRAM STRAIT By Jennifer Hall

STUDENT RESEARCH

Last September I took part in a research cruise in the Fram Strait on the Norsk Polar Insti-tute (NPI) Research vessel „Lance‟. Lance was originally built as a fishing and sealing ship to be used in icy waters. The ship was subse-quently acquired by the Norwegian Hydro-

I enjoyed working in this beautiful remote envi-ronment and I am ex-tremely grateful to NPI for allowing me this op-portunity.

graphic Sevice and overhauled to make it into a proper research vessel. In 1994, the ship was acquired by NPI. Accommodating 12 crew and 25 scientists the ship has been used for a broad range of research expeditions in both Po-lar regions.

DAYLIGHT September is in the short transition period from Arctic summer to Arctic winter, so at the beginning of the cruise we had 24 hour daylight, towards the end we were blessed with beautiful sunsets and several hours darkness at night.

ICE STATIONS At each ice station we measured ice depth in different places, and took a pair of ice cores; from one we measured temperature at differ-ent depths, the other was melted in sections to look at the salinity profile.

ICE OBSERVATIONS The sea ice team made ice observations every three hours, including noting ice type and per-centage cover, along with meteorological data (temperature, wind speed and direc-tion air pressure).

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STUDENT RESEARCH

SPECTRO-GEOGRAPHY: GHOSTS IN THE MODERN SKYSCRAPER TAIPEI 101 By Jun Hua Lin

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My thesis focuses on the characteristics and trajectories of moder-nity and modernisation in Taiwan. The most general idea of moder-nity and modernisation is associated with con-trollability, standardisa-tion, industrialisation or commodification; and for some developing countries, Westernisa-tion is even the main concept of modernisa-tion. However, my em-pirically-led story in Tai-wan may demonstrate different concepts of it. For example, ghosts and haunted experiences in Taipei 101, the world‟s tallest skyscrapers since 2004 to 2010, tell us the alternative progress of becoming/being mod-ern. The ghost is usually deemed to be a tradi-tional and historical fig-ure; ghost stories or

experiences are usually associated with loss, trauma and injustice. They also demonstrate the relationships among terrible events, mo-ments and specific places. Sometimes, these ghost stories as-sociated with specific regions are also a bat-tlefield for power strug-gles which are related to knowledge, concep-tion, and the power re-lationships of each place. Taipei 101, as Tai-wan‟s highest high-rise is a typical representa-tion of urban modernity which should be neither a haunted site nor in-volved by any ancient ghost. Some people, however, believe this modern structure is not “clean” enough, but haunted by some spir-its. Focusing on the ghost stories which are

reported in newspapers or told by focus groups and interviewees, I elaborate that the ghost is not only a horrible figure, but rather it la-bels the changing spatial relationships between humans and this mod-ern building. Further-more, these ghost sto-ries also establish the ghostly image of this urban space, and influ-ence people‟s behav-iours in their everyday lives. Besides, ghost experiences and ghost stories also have social and cultural functions in Taiwanese society. I found from fieldwork that ghost experiences state the trajectories of people‟s adaptation and negotiation with mod-ern space as well as new technologies. These told stories are about “seeing” and

“controlling” ghostly Others in space. More-over, ghost stories are the method to con-struct and continue the alternative versions of history as well as local knowledge which may be excluded from so-called official history. In my research, I argue that ghosts and ghost experiences still play a significant role as a spa-tial, cultural and social figure in the contempo-rary urban environ-ment. Because of the characteristic of being beyond time-space boundaries, ghost ex-periences bridge the historical trajectories from the past, the pre-sent to the future. As has been suggested by Derrida, “they are al-ways there, spectres, even if they do not exist, even if they are no

longer, even if they are not yet”. Ghosts shall be deemed as part of mod-ernity rather than ex-cluded by modern soci-ety. So, do you also have any specific ghost sto-ries to share? Any ex-perience which is diffi-cult to explain? Please come, talk to me about your modern haunted experiences, and ex-plore the faces of ghosts in modern soci-ety! Email Jun Hua at: ggp06jl@sheffield.ac.uk

Taipei 101. Source: www.uimages.org

STUDENT RESEARCH

THE HUMAN SHAPE OF THE PLANET By Benjamin Hennig

This image is a collage of all the gridded population cartograms of the different countries.

More maps from my research (and beyond) can be found on my website at:: www.viewsoftheworld.net

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