QM Student december issue newsletter

Principal Meets with Students

Professor Simon Gaskell, Principal ofQueen Mary, met with approximately 35 students for a question and answersession on 24 October to cover issuesincluding the upcoming hike in tuitionfees, IT upgrades, library improvements,attendance at guest lectures, classtimetabling and UCL Partners.

Professor Gaskell kicked off the eventby providing general comments about‘where we are’, highlighting that QM,like all other higher educationinstitutions, is experiencing funding cutsand is therefore on the verge of a tuitionfees increase from September 2012. Heacknowledged that students from poorerbackgrounds will struggle to affordattending university, but that QueenMary is combating this issue by offeringbursaries and scholarship packageswhich are ‘more generous’ than thoseavailable at other universities.

In regards to how the College isinvesting in improvements, the Principalexplained that £20 million is going intoupdating IT infrastructure. He alsoreferred to the recent libraryrefurbishment, which provoked onestudent into asking how actual library

services have been improved, arguingthere was a lack of books available forhis course. Professor Gaskell answeredthat there is currently a discussionabout increasing the expenditure oflibrary books, that the amount was yetto be agreed, but that it will be at leastthe average library book expenditure ofother 1994 Group universities. He alsoreminded students that they haveaccess to Senate House and otherlibraries in London, and to takeadvantage of this privilege.

Student participation in campusservices and events was another topicraised by the Principal. This pastsummer, Professor Gaskell met withalumni in China who fed back that theywould have liked to have received morecareers advice whilst students, so heencourages all students to use theCollege’s Career Services. Furthermore,the Principal wants more students andstaff to attend on-campus presentationsby guest lecturers, even if they are notspeaking directly about their subject,saying that he benefited from studying ahumanities module along with hischemistry degree. A student reportedthat the College does not adequatelyadvertise such events to students, andProfessor Gaskell said that ‘we need tobe a bit more proactive in getting theword out’.

Late deliveries of timetables by someschools’ administrators is of greatconcern to many of this year’s students,and one from English & Dramacomplained of his timetable being madeavailable so late in the first week of term

that he missed some crucial firstclasses, as he was unable to determinewhen or where they were being held.Students in other schools in the Collegeare having the same problem, andProfessor Gaskell replied that thesystem used to allocate teaching roomsand make student timetables was inneed of improvement, that the issue isbeing addressed, but that studentsshould continue to register theircomplaints on the matter with theirrespective course representatives.

Professor Gaskell closed the event bydiscussing the newly-established UCLPartners and how it will benefit studentsand QM He discussed the origins of thecoalition in 2006, stated that we are anequal partner with equal influence andthat the partnership will greatly increaseaccess to resources and provides morehospitals in other areas of London inwhich to Barts & The London medicalstudents can practise.

• Who are my Course Reps?• What do they do?• How can I contact them?

www.qmsu.org/coursereps

Key contacts:Careers Services – [email protected]

Libraries –www.library.qmul.ac.uk/ask_a_librarian

UCL Partners – www.uclpartners.com

Podcast –http://ess.q-review.qmul.ac.uk:8080/ess/echo/presentation/d843fb00-fc5c-4131-81c7-0e6d350dbdfe/media.mp3

Winter 2011

Queen

Mary

Student

Staying on Campus

over Christmas?

Although the College will be closedfrom 23 December to 2 January,events and activities will take placefor students staying on campusduring the holidays. Any studentmay purchase a £5 campus eventspackage, which includes amidnight mass at St Benet’s Chapelfollowed by a mince pie andmulled wine party on ChristmasEve, and carols, buffets, gifts andfilms on Christmas Day and BoxingDay.

For more information on theChristmas on Campus eventspackage and general informationabout campus services during theholidays, please see the Advice &Counselling website:

www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/contact/60270.html

The Queen Mary Statement of GraduateAttributes identifies 32 attributesgrouped into seven themes that aredesigned to help you build your uniqueGraduate Attributes Profile by:

• giving you a framework to think aboutyour student journey at Queen Mary

• encouraging you to reflect on youracademic and personal development

• enhancing your capability to fulfilyour social responsibilities as a globalcitizen in a complex and changingworld

• enhancing your understanding ofwhat employers expect of you

You will have to take an active role indeveloping your individual GraduateAttributes Profile – you can do this by:

• Fully engaging in your degreeprogramme – make sure you identifywhere opportunities for developingyour Graduate Attributes occur inyour programme and fully participatein these learning activities

• Taking advantage of the vast range oflearning opportunities available to youduring your time at Queen Mary, such

as volunteering, peer mentoring,sports teams and societies, workexperience, enterprise education andentrepreneurship activities.

• Signing up for an award or certificatedesigned to ensure that you reflect onyour learning, monitor your progressand gain the most from the richeducational, cultural andsocial experience QueenMary provides.

• Be active in your careerdecision-making and makesure you participate in theCareers Programmes andactivities offered by yourSchool and by theUniversity.

• You can further enhanceyour development byrecording and reflectingupon your engagement inthese activities throughyour PersonalDevelopment Planning and academic advisingsessions.

You’ll find more information, strategies,hints and tips on developing yourGraduate Attributes Profile on yourSchool website and on Mind the GAP– the Graduate Attributes andEmployability site for all students at Queen Maryhttp://mindthegap.qmul.ac.uk

Queen Mary, University of London wants you to make the most of your student experience. To help youachieve this, we want to help you to identify the opportunities to develop your Graduate Attributes.

The Queen Mary Graduate Attributes are the knowledge, skills, values and behaviours that you have theopportunity to develop during your degree, reflecting Queen Mary’s distinctive features - our location in theheart of East London, the friendly and welcoming atmosphere of our campus learning environment, thediverse and cosmopolitan profile of our student body and our well-established reputation for the highquality of our research, teaching and community involvement.

Developing your

Graduate Attributes

at Queen Mary

Queen Mary Student: a newsletter for you

Concerns For Somebody –recognising the signs of early

mental distress

• Sleeping and eating patterns may getdisrupted

• Behaviour becomes erratic

• Moods appear volatile

• There may be a noticeable withdrawalfrom social contact

• Self harm is often another aspect andmanifestation of mental distress, ascan be the heavy use of alcohol orstreet drugs.

There are many life events that cancontribute to the onset of mentaldistress. Changes in familiar and safesurroundings, such as coming toUniversity can be a trigger, as can themore common causes of suffering thedeath of a loved one or the breakdownof a significant relationship.

Sometimes mental distress can belinked back to earlier traumas in one’slife that have been evoked by theanxiety of the current trigger.

Whatever the cause, it is themanagement of the current situationthat assists the outcome, positively ornegatively.

Recognising the early signs of mentaldistress can help minimise the severityof a person’s suffering and itsdetrimental effect if it occurs. Peopleoften try to hide or disguise difficultfeelings fearing the worst, so ifbecoming a student has evokedoverwhelming personal and emotional

challenges, these feelings may beapparent in some of the behavioursmentioned above.

The behaviour of someone experiencingsuch difficulties may be unnerving towitness and challenging to respond to,particularly if the person is fearful ofbeing judged or loosing friends or theirindependence.

When someone behaves in such amanner it is vital to be sensitive andsupportive, holding in mind that there is a wealth of expert help within theuniversity that is easily accessible.

Counselling can be helpful for all kindsof difficulties whether you are dealingwith something quite serious as outlinedabove or something that is interferingwith your usual ability to study.

Even if you do not know what theproblem is, but you are finding lifedifficult to cope with or know someonethat is, talking to a qualified counsellorcan be helpful.

The Advice and Counselling Serviceoffer a range of specialist, confidentialand free support for all students atQueen Mary. Our aim is to supportstudents to achieve their academicpotential and have a rounded studentexperience, by helping manage anypersonal, emotional, financial, legal orwelfare issues that may arise whilststudying here. For further informationaccess our websitewww.welfare.qmul.ac.uk


QM Careers

No matter what year you are in, you should start thinking about your plans afteryou finish your course.

One of the many things we do at QM Careers is run a range of events to helpyou achieve success at every stage of recruitment from application to interview.

Visit www.careers.qmul.ac.uk or follow us on Facebook at QMCareers forregistration details and to find out about the full range of things we do.

International

Student Barometer

The International Student Barometer(ISB) is a twice yearly survey whichgauges the satisfaction of internationalstudents with four different aspects oftheir student experience: learning,living, support and arrival. Of the4,500 international students at QueenMary 784 took part in the survey overthe Summer; Queen Mary was one of96 universities that participated in thestudy which looked at internationalstudent satisfaction in universitiesfrom the UK, Ireland, theNetherlands, Italy and acrossScandinavia.

Higher Education in a

New Era: 11 January 2012

Principal Simon Gaskell and VicePrincipal Susan Dilly invite you to theannual Teaching and LearningConference.

This afternoon event has beenspecially designed for staff andstudents to directly engage with thepressing issues of the day, participatein discussions that will contribute tostrategy development and help keepQM on our upward trajectory. Filledwith opportunities for discussion withpeople from across the College, this isan invaluable opportunity for anyonewith a passion for their subject and forlearning and an interest in highereducation and shaping the future ofQM.

With concise, informative summariesof the key changes, opportunities andexamples of best practice, this is aninteractive and stimulating way toexplore what this means for you, yoursubject, QM, higher education andbeyond. The Principal, ProfessorSimon Gaskell will give a key notespeech on this new era forpostgraduate education, so don’t missthis important event. Register nowonline.

Wednesday, 11 January 2012 from1pm to 6pm. Register or find outmore online now: http://qm-tl-conference2012.eventbrite.co.uk/

It is more common than one may think to sufferor know someone who suffers from some form ofemotional or mental distress during one’s lifetime.

Mental distress describes a range of experienceswhich impact on an individuals day to day life.

News

Recycle your batteriesEven though most of our portable power is now rechargeable, it’s still importantto take care when throwing out used batteries.

Here’s where you’ll find battery recycling stations:

And here’s why you should use them: batteries collected here are sent to acertified recycling facility, where recyclable materials like plastic and metals canbe used again, keeping heavy metals out of landfills and the air.

Make a choice for sustainabilityThink twice before pressing print. With WiFi provided everywhere from The Curveto the library, why not read that article on your laptop? Avoid unnecessaryphotocopying by passing on old copies to your classmates. After all, this way yourprint credit fund won’t need such regular topping up…

Window shopping could benefit the environment. If you constantly find yourselfreaching for the same brand, spend a little extra time perusing the aisles for analternative product that uses less packaging.

Make a trip to the pound shop to stock up on lunchboxes and you could end upsaving yourself money, on top of helping the environment. If you don’t have timeto pack a lunch every morning, you can still use your own container when youbuy it on campus.

Litter and recyclingDid you know that any general waste amongst the recycling means everythinghas to be sent to the landfill? At Mile End and Whitechapel, put your recycling inthe pink bins. At Charterhouse Square, the black bins are for recycling.


News

Go Away!

The College's International ExchangeProgramme gives undergraduatestudents the opportunity to spend ayear or semester at one of our partnerinstitutions in Australia, Korea,Singapore and the USA. Theopportunity is open to current firstyear students to spend all or part oftheir second year overseas, studentson four year degrees can go in eitherthe second or third years of theirdegree. Students in all academicdisciplines except Law, Medicine andDentistry can apply. The academicwork you complete abroad will becredited towards your Queen Marydegree. You will continue to paytuition fees to Queen Mary while youare away (half the annual fee if youare away for a year but the full annualfee if you are away for a semester)but you will not have to pay the hostinstitution's tuition fees.

If you are interested in thisopportunity please go to our websitewhere you will find more info on ourpartners and the application andselection process.

www.qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/exchange/index.html

Apply by 14 January for all hostinstitutions besides the University ofCalifornia. For full details of theprogramme please see:www.qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/exchange/index.html

Queen Mary is gettingserious about sustainabilityand wants you to getinvolved by emailing yourenvironmentally friendlyideas [email protected]

In the meantime, here’s ataster of some incrediblyeasy ways to make adifference:

If you spot litter or waste around campus, make sure tocontact the Estates helpdesk before it pollutes theenvironment or harms local wildlife: email: [email protected]: 020 7882 2580

• France House, residences reception

• Stock’s Court

• Estates Projects Office

• Estates Maintenance Office

• IT Helpdesk

• Floyer House, Whitechapel

• Dawson Hall, Charterhouse Square

Student Mentoring

and Tutoring

Opportunities in

Local Schools

Are you interested in earning somemoney by helping pupils in localschools reach their full potential?

Would you like to gain some valuablework experience to enhance your CV?

If so, then the Education LiaisonOffice has a number of paidopportunities for students to work asmentors and tutors over the comingacademic year. The work is flexibleand designed to fit around youracademic studies. For moreinformation on these opportunities,please contact Roisin Hurst,Education Liaison Office (RoomE107), Queens’ Building or email her at [email protected]

HOST

HOST is a voluntary organisation, anation-wide group of UK residentswho welcome adult internationalstudents to their homes for aweekend visit. By taking part in aHOST visit you are not only given theopportunity of visiting other parts ofthe UK, your host family will makeyou a part of their own way of life fora weekend. There is no better way tofind out more about the real life ofthis country- sharing meals together,eating home-cooked food, chatting,asking questions and culturalexchange. You will see life in a privatehome and in a local community; youwill make new friends; and be anambassador for your own country.HOST visits are free, and QMUL coverthe administration fee. The only costswould be return travel to the home ofyour HOST family.

If you are interested in applyingplease click on the following link:www.hostuk.org/student_app.html

ISH

International Students House (ISH) isa social and cultural centre inLondon. QM pays the membership forour students, saving you £20. ISH isnear Regents Park, a beautiful royalpark in central London. The nearesttube station is Great Portland Streeton the Metropolitan line, Circle, orHammersmith and City line.

ISH offers free karaoke (Thursdays),jazz sessions (one Monday a month),a Pub Quiz every Tuesday and a discoevery Friday. They also offereducational events such as languageclasses and lectures.

For information about events andactivities at ISH, including informationabout the ISH Travel Club, please visitthe following websitewww.ishevents.org


News

Improving Student life over the

next three years – The Queen

Mary IT Strategic plan

Over the next three years, IT Services willbe implementing new tools and improvedways of working. As valued ‘customers’,you will be given full support from asingle point. Improved learning tools,modern communications and networkingproducts will be made available andbecome our new learning culture.

How will your day to day life change andimprove?IT Services plan to give you:

• Active Directory

• Improved timetabling

• Virtual Learning Environment

• Access to the Queen Mary network viaany device, anytime, anywhere.

Some tools will be available sooner thanothers. Please refer to the IT Strategyplan to see what is in the plan for thenext three years.

Want to know more? – To view theQueen Mary IT Strategy plan for 2011-2015 and other useful information, visit www.itstrategy.its.qmul.ac.uk

WiFi (Wireless Internet Access) isavailable across all three sites andthroughout the majority of Studentresidences. Using the service is simple.When you launch your web browser,you will automatically be taken to themain Queen Mary pages and canbrowse these freely. However, when youattempt to browse outside the main siteyou'll be asked to authenticate. Thismeans you'll be asked for your StudentServices / IMAP username andpassword. Once you have correctlyentered these, you must agree to theterms and conditions displayed. Thensimply select 'Full Internet Access' andclick connect. Please note that there isno access to the wireless network forNHS staff.

Getting Started: Information on how toaccess and use the College WirelessNetwork can be found at:www.its.qmul.ac.uk/halls

For further IT Services and Supportplease go to:http://qm-web.its.qmul.ac.uk/services.shtml

If you have any problems, visit theLibrary Help Zone or Welcome Desk,where a member of staff will help you.

News


Need help with resources for yoursubject?The Library's team of AcademicLiaison Librarians have specialisedknowledge of subject-related libraryresources and offer training in avariety of skills to support yourlearning. You should have met yourAcademic Liaison Librarian at aninduction or training session in yourfirst few weeks at Queen Mary, butyou can contact them direct withenquiries at any time throughoutyour studies. More information about who they are and the support they provide is available on the subject web pages athttp://www.library.qmul.ac.uk/subject

Reading Lists Online now live!Reading Lists Online lets you lookup your course reading lists byname or module code, and from thelists connect to the Library Catalogueto find book locations, or clickdirectly into full text journal articles,web pages or other electronicresources.

So far there are only about 200 listson the system, so you may not findyours yet. We are working on avigorous roll-out project and lists are being added constantly.

Are you looking for…• Books from your reading lists?

• Books about study skills?

• Books you have reserved?

• DVDs and CDs

All these can be found in the TeachingCollection on the ground floor of theMile End Library.

The Library now has a facebook page – come and join us atwww.facebook.com/QMULLibraryfor regular news, updates and info.

Looking for a Student Services PC oncampus?As well as the PCs on the ground andfirst floors of the Library, there are lotsof other PC labs around campus. The PC availability tool on the big screenoutside the Library entrance, or onlineat http://availability.stu.qmul.ac.uk/ ,tells you in real time how many PCs are free in each location.

Literature Search Skills for medical and dental studentsThe medical libraries run drop-inLiterature Search Skills sessions atWhitechapel Library on Wednesdayafternoons between 2pm and 4pm,open to anyone wishing to improve their information skills includingstudents in the healthcare professions.

Sessions are also held once a month atWest Smithfield Library. The next twoare 15 December and 19 January

The sessions can cover anything to dowith search skills to suit your needs, butmight include guidance on searchingMedline using PubMed, tackling critical

appraisal, negotiating NHS Evidence orsimplifying referencing usingEndNote Web.

New Archives catalogueThe Archives Catalogue is nowavailable! The Archives Cataloguecontains over 3000 descriptions oforiginal records held in the Archives.The Archives collections document therich history of the College, and providevital evidence for research in the arts,humanities and social sciences. Thecollections are available for consultationin the Archives Reading Room on the2nd Floor of Mile End Library. To findout more about the Archives and toaccess the Catalogue see ourwebpages:http://www.library.qmul.ac.uk/archivesContact us by email [email protected] or by telephone on 020 7882 3873.

Apps for databases and journalsFind apps in the apps store for fastaccess to your favourite journalsincluding BMJ, Science Direct,Business Source and PsychArticles onyour phone or tablet.

Other library resources have mobilefriendly interfaces. Check out IEEEExplore, JSTOR, PubMed and AnnualReviews

And watch out for QR codes you canscan on your mobile to link to contentthat would have previously required adesktop or laptop computer.

Queen Mary Library Resources

Work during theChristmas vacationWorking over the three weekChristmas vacation can be a usefulsource of extra income as well asproviding you with valuable workexperience. If you already have a job,perhaps your employer could offeryou some extra hours during thevacation. If you don’t yet have a joband are looking for one, see below.

How can I find work?Read the Finding Jobs section of the Advice and Counselling Service Part-Time and Vacation Work leaflet:http://www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/money/ptwork See QM Careers Service informationon part-time and vacation work:http://jobonline.thecareersgroup.co.uk/qmul/student/ The QM Careers Service can also helpwith CV writing and interview skills.

How much could I potentially earnbefore tax and national insurance?If you are 18-20 the nationalminimum wage (the minimumamount that an employer can legallypay you) is £4.98 per hour. So if youworked 35 hours a week for threeweeks you could earn £522.90.

If you are 21 or over the nationalminimum wage is £6.08 per hour so ifyou worked 35 hours a week for threeweeks you could earn £638.40.

However many employers pay morethan the national minimum wage. Do I need to pay tax and nationalinsurance on my earnings?This depends on how much you earn,and on whether you only work duringvacations. For more information seethe Advice and Counselling Serviceleaflet, Part-Time and Vacation Work:http://www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/money/ptwork


News

Money MattersRunning out of money?

Some tips from the Advice and Counselling Service (ACS)

Apply for a non-repayablegrant from the Access toLearning Fund (ALF) UndergraduatesYou can apply to the ALF if you havetaken your maximum MaintenanceLoan entitlement for this academic yearand you are in financial hardship.

PostgraduatesYou can apply to ALF if you can showyou have most of your funding in placebut need a little extra financial help.

How do I apply?Collect an ALF application form fromthe Advice and Counselling ServiceReception, ground floor, GeographyBuilding, the Bursaries, Grants andScholarships Office (CB2, Queen’sBuilding, Mile End), the Student Office(ground floor, Garrod Building,Whitechapel) or download one from

How long will the application take toprocess?Applications are assessed weekly soyou will usually have a decision withintwo weeks of applying, and payment isusually the week after that if you areeligible for an award. (This process willtake longer during the CollegeChristmas vacation period).

Increase your studentoverdraft limitIf you think you are going to needmoney over the vacation, and if youhave a student bank account, youcould ask your bank if you can increaseyour interest free overdraft for a limitedperiod even if they will not agree toincrease it long term. However, if yourbank do only offer this for a limitedperiod, you need to be aware that youwill have to find money to put into theaccount to bring the overdraft balanceback down on the date set by the bank.

Do you need further advice?You can find out more about theAdvice and Counselling Service and how we can help you atwww.welfare.qmul.ac.uk

To contact us, you can:

• email us via our websitewww.welfare.qmul.ac.uk

• call us on 020 7882 8717

• visit our Reception on the ground floor of the Geography building,Mile End

You can follow the Advice andCounselling Service on:Twitter: @QMUL_ACS Facebook: http://on.fb.me/pj5TP3

Plan a budget and stick to itThe Advice and Counselling Serviceleaflet Managing your budget andcutting costs helps you to plan yourown personal budget, and also givesyou valuable tips on how to stick it. Seewww.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/documents/leaflets/budgeting/5065.pdf

Council Tax exemptionMost full-time students are not liable topay Council Tax. Read the Advice &Counselling Service leaflet for more infowww.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/leaflets

To claim an exemption, you must proveyour full-time student status to yourLocal Authority in each academic year.Send them a Council Tax exemptioncertificate which you can get fromRegistry (Queens’ CB5), or theResearch Degrees Office (Queens’ E15)(unless you are a writing up student –please read the leaflet above) or theStudent Office at Whitechapel forMedical and Dental students.


The current ultrasound test todiagnose miscarriage in earlypregnancy is based on limited evidence,raising questions about its reliability,according to a new paper published byresearchers at Queen Mary, University of London.

The researchers say that there is an urgent need to conduct alarge-scale study for us to be confident that diagnosis ofmiscarriage is correct in every case using the ultrasoundmeasurements.

When a miscarriage is suspected, the standard test is anultrasound scan to look for the presence of an embryo inthe pregnancy sac, to measure the length of the embryoand look for signs of heartbeat. Doctors may also look atsymptoms such as bleeding and may test women’sblood for levels of pregnancy hormones.

If a miscarriage is confirmed the woman and herdoctor can choose to wait and let the miscarriageprogress naturally, or choose a medical or surgicalintervention to speed up the process, and for thatreason, accuracy is vital.

The paper examined all relevant evidence on thediagnosis of miscarriage using an ultrasoundscan. For the first time, the researchersassessed the quality of each study and collatedthe results. They found that the studies werevery few, conducted more than a decade agoand involved a small number of women. Theresults highlighted gaps in the current evidenceand raised questions about the reliability of thetest in diagnosing miscarriage.

Dr Shakila Thangaratinam, Senior Clinical Lecturerat Queen Mary, University of London, led the study.She said: “When we’re testing to see if someone

has a healthy pregnancy or not, we want to beabsolutely confident that the test is reliable to avoidmaking a misdiagnosis. Our paper raises concerns

about the gaps in evidence.

“We need to prioritise this area of research and do a large,good quality study so that we can be confident that ultrasoundscans are highly accurate in diagnosing miscarriage. Until then,there is a need to review the existing guidelines and for women

and their doctors to take a cautious approach until miscarriage isconfirmed beyond doubt.”

Urgent need for research in

the diagnosis of miscarriage

Comment

Two History PhD candidates, AlycenMitchell and Marie Wittman, wereamong the winners. Mitchell will usethe funding to develop an ‘auction toolbox’ which will enable art investors tocompare auction services while Wittmanwill create health education services inLondon.

Two students will use the funding tohelp set up magazines. Eric Orlowski, a Geography undergraduate, will pursuepublishing Executive Magazine, whichwill include articles on current affairs,business & economics, electronics, and other popular topics. Mathsundergrads Shahed Ahmed and Malita Munyenyembe will create SMag(Student Magazine), covering issuessurrounding employment, fashion andsport.

Psychology undergraduate JonathonMacCarthy will use the award to start up Inspire Studios. In addition to beinga recording venue, it will serve as amusic school for those wishing to pickup instruments including guitar, drums,piano, violin and saxophone.

Undergraduate Nikita Viki Patel of theSchool of Business & Managementwishes to create an Indian ice candybusiness, ‘Gola’, serving the traditionaldessert of that name in areas of Londonwith large Asian populations.

Qi Xiang Leong, an Economicsundergraduate, will attempt to create an affordable tutorial service for familieson low budgets. Tutors working for thisservice will be undergraduates with high marks and, preferably, academicscholarships, guaranteeing a qualityservice.

Postgraduate Law student Sam Amrani,who also earned a BA in History at QMin 2010, will use the funds to furtherdevelop KACE London, an executivecorporation which makes mobile phoneand laptop cases.

Engineering undergraduate SandeepAhluwalia will use the grant to furtherenhance Queen Mary Entrepreneurs,which hosts presentations byentrepreneurs on campus, raiseawareness of entrepreneurshipsamongst students and encouragesundergraduates to create ‘mini-businesses’.

A trio of students representing theSchools of Economics & Finance,Geography and Business &Management are putting the fundstowards creating ‘Teenage Tourist’, an internet travel site especially fortraveling teenagers. Gauthier vanMalderen, Matthew Gill & Oliver Hartlanticipate this project developing into afree-information service to provide ideasand travel tips for young travellers tryingto research holidays and bookitineraries.

The awards ceremony also included a pizza and wine buffet bar, andattendees were able to view showcasesdisplayed in the café by previous years’winners of the Entrepreneurship Prizeand the Knowledge East EnterpriseNetwork (KEEN) Test-Trading Fund.Karen Baratram, a 2010 KEEN awardeewho graduated from QM in 2006 with adegree in Biology, was giving out free,vegan cupcakes to all attending theceremony. She has since started her own cupcake business,‘RonLikesCakes’, and is currently incontractual talks with a supermarket.

Got an idea for starting your ownbusiness? Need financial support? Up to ten prizes of £1,500 each will be awarded to applicants who submitbusiness plans describing new businessideas that look the most feasible andnovel and are most likely to bedeveloped successfully. Provided you are a currently registered QMundergraduate or postgraduate student,you are eligible to enter the QM SEPFcompetition to help establish thefeasibility of an enterprising idea that could become a new business.

To learn more, please contact: Kevin Byron, 020 7882 2798.

Ten students were awarded QM Student Entrepreneurship Prizes on 16 November at Café Marcheon the Mile End campus to mark Global Entrepreneurship Week. Each winner was awarded £1,500to develop his or her business, some of which are rooted in their academic research.


News

Students Receive

Entrepreneurship Awards

Queen Mary Student: a newsletter for you Queen Mary Student: a newsletter for you

Research BriefGroundbreaking findings from your top research-led university…

A problem plaguing physicists acrossthe globe for centuries has finallymade a leap towards resolution.

The nature of glass has stumpedscientists for years but now aresearcher from Queen Mary,University of London has a noveltheory to re-ignite the glass debate.

Glass has historically sat in anunknown classification territory,somewhere between being a liquidand a solid. Its molecules are jumbledrandomly, similarly to a liquid butmoving a lot slower, to the point wherethey almost aren’t moving at all, in asimilar state to a solid.

Many theorists have argued that glassmust enter a phase transition at somepoint like water does in changing itsstate from liquid water into solidcrystalline ice.

Dr Kostya Trachenko from QueenMary’s School of Physics, togetherwith his collaborator Professor VadimBrazhkin from the Russian Academyof Science, took a fresh look at thephysics debate and argued that glassis a liquid with no phase transitionat all.

“It is difficult to think of glass as aliquid when it displays all the qualitiesof a solid – it is hard and it shatterswhen it breaks,” Dr Trachenko said.

“However, contrary to what has beenpreviously thought, we propose thatglass is not different from a liquidfrom a physical perspective, in thatthe differences between the glass andthe liquid are only quantitative but notqualitative.”

Dr Trachenko and Professor Brazhkindecided to go back to the drawingboard in order to explain theaccumulated data in a new and non-controversial way.

Through the looking glass:

physicists solve age-old problem

“When matter, being it gas, liquid orsolid, changes between its differentphases, its properties changeprofoundly. A similar important change,the jump of heat capacity, also happensduring liquid-glass transition, which iswhy physicists thought there is somesort of a phase transition, between theliquid phase and the glass phase.

“However, there has been no evidenceto support the existence of a distinctglass phase: we know that the glassand the liquid are nearly identical interms of structure. It was this simple yetpersisting controversy that was at theheart of the problem of glass transition.

“What we have shown is that you donot need to assume a new phase or aphase transition of sort to explain thejump of heat capacity. Instead, themere fact that the liquid stops flowing atthe experimental time scale necessarilyresults in the jump of heat capacity aswell as the change of other importantproperties such as elasticity andthermal expansion. This, in essence, isour new and simple proposal to solvethis old-standing problem in physics.

“It has been noted that glass in old,medieval churches is thicker at thebottom, and it has been proposed thatthis is because glass flows over time.This explanation might not be correctfrom the quantitative point of viewbecause a few centuries is not enoughtime for the glass to flow. Indeed, weshow in our paper that it may takelonger than the age of the Universe forsome glasses to flow. However, thequalitative idea is correct: any glass isjust a slow-flowing liquid from thephysical point of view.”

Dr Trachenko likens the theory of glassbeing a liquid to that of pitch, a namegiven to hard tar-like substances. Hecites an experiment in Australia wherepitch (in this case bitumen), was put ina funnel in 1927 to see whether itwould in fact drip.

“Pitch, at room temperature, is similarto glass in that it shatters when brokenwith a hammer,” Dr Trachenko said.

“The pitch experiment, which is stillrunning, shows that it actually dripsevery 10 years or so. Our theory saysthat pitch heat capacity and otherproperties would show a change if youcompare high- and room-temperaturedata during a short period of time only(say hours), during which room-temperature pitch does not flow.

“On the other hand, if you take thesame measurements over timeexceeding 10 years, system heatcapacity and other properties will notchange because the apparently “solid-like” pitch at room temperaturebecomes a flowing liquid.”

"Nature is often quite economical withits laws. Uncovering this economy andunderlying simplicity is the ultimate taskof a physicist. This can be hard, but wewere excited about getting to thebottom of this problem. When werealised how glasses work, we werequite astounded how simple it was”.

Dr Trachenko is excited that the recenttheory can be used to explain otherdynamic systems which undergo noapparent phase transitions yet showprofound property changes once theystop flowing at the experimental timescale.

Dr Trachenko and his collaboratorProfessor Brazhkin published theirfindings in the flagship physics journalPhysical Review, earlier this year.

The sister of a Gunpowder plotter and aroyal heir were among 4,000 women whorisked life and liberty to join EnglishCatholic convents exiled in Europebetween 1600 and 1800, new researchhas revealed.

The findings were made by a team ofacademics working on the ‘Who Were theNuns?’ project, based in the School ofHistory, Queen Mary, University of London.

The researchers received almost £600,000from the Arts and Humanities ResearchCouncil three years ago - anunprecedented level of funding for a study focused on Catholic history.

The project’s aim is not only to profileindividual nuns, but also to understandhow the convents managed to recruit andsurvive against a backdrop of war, plague,and political unrest in mainland Europeand England.

“We have undertaken a comprehensivestudy of the thousands of Catholic womenwho broke the laws of the land to continuepractising their faith in English-led conventsoverseas," explains Dr Caroline Bowden,project manager and research fellow atQueen Mary.

"They would have been very brave andcommitted to make the treacherousjourney overseas; it was extremely rare forwomen to travel in those days, and acriminal offence for English women tobecome nuns after the dissolution of themonasteries in the 1530s.”

Researchers gained unprecedented accessto thousands of rare manuscripts, revealingtestimonies and other written records inEngland, Belgium and France that hadremained largely hidden in archives andconvents over the centuries.

These sources were originally produced bythe nuns to record details of theirmembers, daily devotional and domesticpursuits, and offer uniquely femaleperspectives on wider issues of the daysuch as literature, finance, national identityand the nature of exile.

Alleged daughter of King Charles II

among exiled English nuns

The painstaking efforts of the research teamhave resulted in an extensive survey of all 22English convents abroad together with theirsurviving sources. The project has sinceidentified and profiled a wealth of fascinatingwomen from disparate backgrounds, whojoined the English convents in exile.

Born into a landed family in Leicestershire,Elizabeth Digby crossed the English Channelto become a Benedictine nun in Brussels in1611. She was the sister of Gunpowderplotter, Sir Everard Digby, who wasembroiled, along with Guy Fawkes, in the1605 failed attempt to blow up the House ofLords. She was also the aunt of Sir KenelmDigby, a controversial English Catholiccourtier and diplomat.

Barbara Fitzroy, another Benedictine nun,along with her sister, was described inconvent records as the illegitimate daughterof King Charles II, although recent researchchallenges the these claims of the king’spaternity.

“One of the most noteworthy cases involvesRichard Weston, the Lord Treasurer ofEngland under Charles I,” says Dr JamesKelly, post-doctoral research assistant on theproject.

“Despite working at the heart of a regimethat forbade the practice of Catholicism,Weston’s family had deep connections withthe convents abroad: four of hisgranddaughters even became nuns.

“Nevertheless, it should not be assumed thatthe convents were just the preserves of theelite. Recruits came from all backgrounds,from the daughters of tenant farmers tothose of aristocracy,” adds Dr Kelly.

Americans were also among the recruits.The first, from Maryland, joined a convent inLiège, Belgium, in 1721 and was followed bymore than 60 others. Most were the offspringof tobacco planters who wanted a Catholiceducation for their daughters; unavailable atthe time in America. Four of the nuns


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returned to Maryland and opened the firstEnglish-speaking convent in the NewWorld.

“Another interesting case was that ofFrancis Bedingfield Esq of Redlingfield,Suffolk who had 11 daughters in conventsin Europe," says Dr Bowden. "While 10 ofthe Bedingfield sisters became nuns earlyon in their lives, one broke the mould bymarrying. She only joined a convent afterbecoming a widow in later life.”

Far from being shut off from the world intheir cloisters, convent inhabitants werepolitically active, particularly with theJacobite cause after James II was drivenfrom England in 1688. In addition, theyhad connections with some of Europe’smajor figures, from royal families to artists.

Dr Bowden says: “The project evenunearthed clear evidence that threegranddaughters of the famous courtpainter Van Dyck became nuns in Englishconvents in Belgium, as did close relativesof several of his most prominent sitters.”

“Convents were definitely hubs for EnglishCatholic culture and learning,commissioning splendid buildings andpatronising the arts. Surprisingly,Protestants would flock to visit the conventson the Grand Tour, and although they werenot allowed to see the nuns, they couldhear them singing.”

To survive, the convents had to be self-sufficient financially, generating income byoffering prayers and masses in return fordonations, but their main sources ofincome were the mandatory dowry eachnun paid on entry, and benefactors whosupported the Catholic cause.

English convents overseas were also placeswhere young girls went to be educated, asthe nuns ran schools. Widows, womenseparated from their husbands, and evengentlemen could also pay to lodge in theconvents as ‘pensioners’.

“Although one convent was closedbecause of financial problems, all 21others survived until the French Revolution,when English society became moretolerant and many of the nuns returnedhome. The key documents they havepreserved for hundreds of years haveproved massively beneficial to ourresearch,” Dr Bowden adds.

Alleged daughter of King Charles II

among exiled English nuns (continued)

Where possible these sources have beenedited and made accessible on the projectwebsite, and linked to their author’s profileson a new online register of conventmembers. Manuscripts are being transcribedfor a six-volume collection to be published byPickering and Chatto in 2012-2013.

“Our database provides a detailed picture ofa nun’s life and work and is an invaluabletool for religious and social historians or thosestudying women’s intellectual history of thisperiod,” Dr Bowden says.

Biographical information on each nun,including their immediate family, theiradmission dates, size and currency of theirdowry, promotions, and obituaries are storedon the database.

Records of why a trainee nun succeeded orfailed to pass probation and why nuns leftthe convent are also logged whereverpossible. If some candidates were rejected,there was a selection process at work: thesewere not women who were being pushed outof their families into the enclosed life even ifthey had no religious vocation.

Social network analysis undertaken for theproject has also revealed much about theweb of supporters, agents and families thatkept the convents alive for 200 years.

Dr Katharine Keats-Rohan, a historyresearcher from the University of Oxford, whois on the project team, has constructed acollection of family trees of the mostprominent families involved. These are beingmade accessible online.

“As the religious life is not attracting manyentrants these days, the project is doing animportant job in locating and recordingarchives as convent communities findsurvival an increasing challenge,” DrBowden explains. “Since we began ourresearch several convents have closed ordownsized: we are able to help preserve theirhistory for the future as well as record theirpast.”


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