February 2008

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ern

page 3New partnership withSantander Universities

page 5A haven for dragonflies

page 10 and 11Focus on: Support forsporting students

2 News

The new website has been developed inconjunction with a wider project to refreshthe Essex branding, and takes into accountnot only the website’s visual appearance,but ease of use and maintaining high levelsof accessibility for all users.

The main body of the new corporate sitewill go live on 10 March, with sites on otherUniversity servers going live during thecourse of that week.

Debbie Nicholson, from the Web SupportUnit, explained: ‘This has been a co-ordinated effort right across the University,with staff from many areas making a hugeeffort to make this rebuild possible. It hasinvolved gathering ideas on how to developdynamic content, building new and excitingcomponents, rewriting content, proofchecking and gathering information.

‘Users will see not only a fresh and modern

feel to the site, but also rich and variedcontent, with a more intuitive navigationstructure.’

Features of the new site include a detailedinteractive course finder, providing morecomprehensive course details with amarketing focus, dynamic news and eventsinformation, targeted information for a widerange of users, visitor information specificto campus and type of user, consistent andrelevant multi-campus information, and a‘keylinks’ feature which will provide accessto departments and services from anycorporate page.

Extensive research underlies both the lookand feel of the website, and the groupingand positioning of links on the homepageand in navigating throughout the site.

A second phase of website developmentwill continue after March.

This is a preview of how the University’s new website willlook when it is launched next month.

Preview of new website

Screenshot of the newUniversity website

Student surveys underwayThis month saw the launch of both the National Student Survey (NSS) and Essex Student Satisfaction Survey (SSS), giving

all taught students at the University the opportunity to rate the quality of their course.

The NSS, for final-year undergraduates,takes place across the country, carried outby research company Ipsos MORI. Theresults allow the University and futurestudents to compare different subjects atdifferent universities to ensure studentsget the best quality education and

experience at Essex.

The SSS gives all other undergraduatestudents, and taught postgraduates, atEssex the same opportunity to rate theirdegree.

Research students will be contacted in

March, when the University takes part inthe nationwide Postgraduate ResearchExperience Survey for the first time.

For more information, see:www2.essex.ac.uk/academic/offices/smo/survey.htm.

Move to facultyorganisationA new organisational structureis to be introduced within theUniversity to integratemanagement and budgetaryplanning more closely withacademic decision-making.The new structure, based around theexisting four academic faculties, will alsooffer an opportunity to organise theUniversity by academic activity rather thanby geographical location.

Each of the University’s four faculties will beheaded by a Pro-Vice-Chancellor (PVC),working with a faculty support team, thedean, the relevant heads of department andtheir departmental administrators.

A project manager, Sally Conner, has beenappointed to oversee the transition to thenew structure, which takes effect in August.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Riordanexplained: ‘The aim is to improvecommunication and ensure key resourcingdecisions are taken on the basis of a closeunderstanding of academic priorities. It willbring administration, decision-making andbudgetary planning closer to our front-lineactivities of teaching, research andoutreach.’

The University is currently recruiting fourfaculty managers who will support thePVCs in introducing and operating the new structures.

The four faculties are: Social Sciences,headed by Professor Rob Massara;Humanities and Comparative Studies,headed by Professor Andy Downton;Science and Engineering, headed byProfessor Christine Temple; and Law and Management, headed by ProfessorNigel South.

The University has signed a newpartnership with Abbey Nationalplc, Banco Santander’s UKsubsidiary, through which it willreceive support for students,researchers and entrepreneurs.The agreement, which represents asignificant donation to the University,provides annual scholarships forpostgraduates from Iberoamericancountries in the scheme, as well asbursaries for students or staff wishing toundertake study or research overseas.

It also includes awards for non-academicachievement, support for entrepreneurshipactivities and Excellence in Enterprise andEntrepreneurship awards. Funding fortechnology research projects will also beavailable.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Colin Riordan,said: ‘The University is delighted to havelaunched this new partnership with Abbey.Not only will our students and staff benefitfrom the considerable financial contributionthe bank is making, we will also be able todraw on its significant expertise, existing

relationships with members of the GrupoSantander, and its potential to providework placements for our students.’

Luis Juste, UK Director of SantanderUniversities, said: ‘We are happy towelcome the University of Essex toSantander Universities. Our agreementcovers support for a significant number ofambitious projects. These will includeresearch programmes, internationalscholarships and awards for students,entrepreneurial initiatives which we aresure will be successfully advanced by theUniversity. This signing marks thebeginning of what will be a long-term andfruitful partnership.’

News 3

New partnership withSantander Universities

The Vice-Chancellor presenting Luis Juste, UK Directorof Santander Universities with a UECLAA print

The Computational Intelligence Centreincludes experts from a variety of fieldsincluding biological sciences, businessand entrepreneurship, mathematicalsciences as well as computing andelectronic systems. It aims to capitalise onthe wealth of expertise at the Universityand use an interdisciplinary approach topioneer ground-breaking research.

Computational intelligence is a newperspective on what was known asartificial intelligence. It draws on advancesin a range of techniques such as neuralnetworks, fuzzy logic and evolutionarycomputing and combines these with

insights from nature to create programmesthat are in some way intelligent.

Professor Hani Hagras, Director of theCentre, said: ‘It is believed that by takingan interdisciplinary approach to research,the Centre will break down barriersbetween the different disciplines andsciences contributing to computationalintelligence. In doing so our findings willhave the potential to address numerousreal world problems that traditionalcomputing methods cannot resolve.’

For further information, see:http://cci.essex.ac.uk/.

‘Pride in People’s Homes’Residential Services has launched acustomer excellence and cultural changeprogramme to further enhance the studentexperience within student accommodation.

Following its success in the InternationalStudent Barometer awards, ResidentialServices has been working with LiamO’Connell, service excellence and culturalchange consultant and author of Don’tFeed the Ducks – Inspire your People.Together they have developed a series ofinteractive events with staff culminating inthe launch of ‘Pride in People’s Homes’.

Darren Baker, Customer Services andMarketing Manager for ResidentialServices, said: ‘We have developed fivecore values that underpin what we areabout as a service supplier and createdthe ‘Pride in People’s Homes’ initiative. It isabout recognising what we do and thecontribution we make to the lives of ourstudents whilst working in their homes.’

During the launch, Liam O’Connell alongwith the Senior Management team,thanked staff for their hard work andbetween sessions with flying ducks, flyingfish and speed dating, introduced the corevalues that staff have helped to develop.

New research centre opensThe University has opened a new, interdisciplinaryresearch centre focused on advancing the development ofintelligent computer systems.

Ducks taking a well earned rest

4 News

Fit 4 LifeIt doesn’t take a lot to stay fit and healthy - but a littleexercise could go a long way.

200mph ona motorcycleSports psychologist DrMurray Griffin will be gaininga unique insight into theworld of extreme sports whenhe attempts to break the landspeed record on a motorcycle.Dr Griffin and his support team will betravelling to the Bonneville salt flats in theUS to compete in the annual BonnevilleSpeed Week in August.

To beat the current record, Dr Griffin willneed to reach average speeds of 215mphover two attempts. In the 60 years of theSpeed Week, just 80 motorcyclists havereached over 200mph at this event.

Using a Modified 2003 Nitrous injectedSuzuki Hayabusa motorcycle, Dr Griffinbelieves he has a good chance: ‘Althoughthis is the first time I have competed atBonneville, our practice times in traininghave been very encouraging.’

Dr Griffin is no stranger to speed, havingcompeted on motorcycles for over tenyears, he has reached 200mph no lessthan five times previously.

There are a number of conditions that theteam will need to overcome in order to bein with a chance of achieving their optimumspeed. The salt flats provide a loosesurface which the bike has to movesmoothly over, and high winds, humidityand temperatures of more than 35˚C haveto be overcome.

Dr Griffin and his team are among just ahandful of bikers flying out to the US toattempt the record. As well as needingsponsorship to compete, they will also beraising money for the Riding for theDisabled Association.

To sponsor the team, or to add to thecharity collection, visit:http://www.fourfourzero.co.uk.

The University, together with thePhysiological Society, is offering a uniqueopportunity for members of the public toexplore what a healthy lifestyle is, and howit can be achieved.

The free one-day event is spearheaded byDr Valerie Gladwell from the Department ofBiological Sciences: ‘We want to welcomepeople of all ages and levels of health andfitness to the Colchester Campus and tellthem the full story about achieving andmaintaining a healthy lifestyle. Exercisedoesn’t have to be strenuous and involvegyms - and a healthy diet doesn’t meanjust eating lettuce.’

Find out what happens to the body duringexercise; how to go from couch potato toathlete; what the 2012 Olympics can dofor you; and how the University iscontributing to knowledge about healthand exercise, in a series of informationsessions running throughout the day. Orget a chance to question some of the UK’s

leading health and fitness experts, alongwith sporting stars of today and tomorrow.

Participants have the opportunity to getinvolved and test their fitness levels andhealth status in a variety of physicalchallenges and health checks - rangingfrom how fast you can run, or how flexibleyou are, to measuring heart rate and bloodpressure. There will also be the option tohave a go at sports taster sessions, fromyoga to climbing, so come suitablydressed.

Fit 4 Life takes place on the ColchesterCampus on Friday 4 April. Suitable for theover 12s, the day also links in with thenational science curriculum. Individuals,families, schools, sports clubs and youthgroups are all welcome to attend. Toregister your interest, e-mail:fit4lifeday@essex.ac.uk. The first ten familygroups to register will receive a free familyhealth check.

The Classical Music Society willbe showcasing its talents nextmonth at a concert in theLakeside Theatre.

With a variety of talented musicians drawnfrom the staff and student body at Essex,this annual concert will includeperformances of works by Schubert,Poulenc and Mozart.

The concert is at the Lakeside Theatre on1 March at 7.30pm.

Musical showcase

Participants will use a variety of facilitiesincluding the climbing wall

A haven for dragonflies

News 5

Sociologist and naturalist Professor Ted Benton has published a new book chartingthe species and locations of dragonflies found in Essex.

The Dragonflies of Essex, co-written withJohn Dobson, updates Professor Benton’soriginal survey of the county’s dragonfliespublished 19 years ago.

Professor Benton, of the Department ofSociology, explained: ‘My long-standinginterest in watching and photographingwildlife has taken me to many remote andbeautiful parts of Europe, but for manyyears I’ve also worked with othernaturalists to study and raise awareness ofthe value - and vulnerability – of our ownlocal wildlife and their habitats.

‘This time, John Dobson and I weredelighted to find that all the speciespresent 20 years ago are still with us.Some, indeed, have become morecommon, and we have two new arrivals.One of these, the small red-eyeddamselfly, even chose Essex as its firstfoothold in the UK. Some speciesappreciate our county, even though somehumans seem not to! The new arrivals, andthe much earlier spring emergence ofsome other species may be evidence ofclimate change.’

The book includes accounts anddistribution maps of all resident andmigrant species with colour photographsthroughout, and a review of the bestplaces in the county to watch dragonflies.

Professor Benton has also authored anumber of books on bumblebees andbutterflies. His latest work, published bythe Essex Field Club in association withLopinga Books, is available frombookshops and wildlife outlets or email:tbenton@essex.ac.uk.

One of the dragonflies pictured in the book

Holocaust rememberedThe University marked national HolocaustMemorial Day with a series of events toreflect and remember.

Commemorations began with a seminarexploring how the Holocaust isrepresented in public museums, organisedby Dr Rainer Schulze, Head of History.Speakers included Wilfried Wiedemann,of the new permanent exhibition atBergen-Belsen, and Suzanne Bardgett, ofthe Imperial War Museum, as well asProfessor Peter Vergo, Head of Art Historyand Theory.

The Students’ Union organised a series ofreadings and reflections on Square 3which culminated with the lighting ofcandles.

The commemorations ended in theColchester and District JewishCommunity’s annual Holocaust MemorialService, held at the Colchester Campusfor the second year.

Paralympic athlete Dame Tanni GreyThompson will be the keynote speaker atthe 28th Colchester Lecture in May.

The University and Colchester Institute areamong the sponsors of the prestigiousevent, which will take place at the MercuryTheatre at 6.30pm on Thursday 8 May.

Dame Tanni holds 16 Paralympic medalsincluding 11 gold, and has won theLondon Marathon six times. Hercomprehensive set of British and Worldrecords place her second to none in thedisability sport arena. Born with SpinaBifida, Dame Tanni will talk about herextraordinary career and athleticachievements.

Tickets are now on sale for £10, £9concessions, from the Mercury Theatre boxoffice telephone: 01206 573948, or visit:www.mercurytheatre.co.uk.

The Lecture is run by Colchester-basedPR agency Mosaic Publicity. Eventorganiser, Anne Sherer-Broom, said:‘Dame Tanni’s international career reachesout as an inspiration to everyone, able-bodied or disabled alike.’ Previous keynotespeakers at the event include the architectRafael Viñoly, Lord Robert Winston, TonyRobinson, and the University’s ProfessorJules Pretty.

Gold medal event

Dame Tanni Grey Thompson

The occasion will also see the unveiling ofthe building’s new name, the GatewayBuilding, at a special event for fundersand supporters of the development andrepresentatives of the University and thelocal community on Tuesday 4 March.

It is now 12 months since the Universitywelcomed the first students into the newbuilding and, in October, Southend’sstatus as a university town took anotherstep forward as undergraduates andpostgraduates from many countries cameto register with the University.

The £25 million multi-use building, whichwas largely publicly funded, is now fully-functional and home to three areas ofstudy: East 15 Acting School, theDepartment of Health and HumanSciences and the School ofEntrepreneurship and Business.

Innovative dental and medical skills labshave been developed, and the GatewayBuilding also houses a working GP and

dental surgery. Used by local residentsand students, this provides a valuableservice to the local community.

The Business Incubation Centre issupporting the economic regeneration ofthe area, providing affordable businessspaces and professional support tofledgling businesses, while the new iLabprovides a venue for business trainingdays.

The building’s new name, the GatewayBuilding, was suggested by a member ofthe local community, Julian Abel. It waschosen by the University for itssignificance in terms of its ThamesGateway location, but also for its meaningas a gateway to learning, business andultimate success.

6 News

Dentaltreatment tosmile aboutA new dental service offering freeNHS dental care delivered in state-of-the-art facilities has opened atthe Southend Campus.

Barts and The London Academic DentalClinic has been developed in partnershipbetween Barts and The London NHS Trustwhich runs one of the country’s top ratedteaching hospitals, Barts and The LondonSchool of Medicine and Dentistry, andSouth East Essex Primary Care Trust.

Dental treatment on offer will includecheck-ups, routine fillings, simple rootcanals, extractions, crowns and bridges,and dentures. It will be carried out bysenior dental students studying at Bartsand The London under the supervision ofqualified local dentists. All treatmentprovided at the clinic is free and there is noneed for referral.

The clinic is part of a broader NHS healthand dental facility, Southend Health andDental Care, which also comprises a GPservice, an NHS Dental Practice run by aqualified dental practitioner, and a ClinicalSkills Training laboratory run by theUniversity of Essex.

The Clinical Skills labs, made possiblethrough funding from the Strategic HealthAuthority, mean Essex students on theFoundation Degrees in Health Sciencesand Oral Health Sciences benefit from arange of high-tech equipment, including a‘simulated man’ known as SimMan and 15work stations, each with a ‘phantom head’,and a networked computer and camera.

The Department of Computing andElectronic Systems has launched a newknowledge transfer partnership with anIpswich-based company to develop anintelligent mail server.

Researchers will work with colleagues atActive Web Solutions (AWS) whichdevelops cutting-edge enterprise

information systems. Together they aim todevelop a server to support collaborativemanagement and cross-enterpriseprojects.

The two-year project will be led by DrsUdo Kruschwitz and Simon Lucas fromEssex and Rob Blackwell and RichardAnscombe from AWS.

Partnership to develop intelligent mail server

(left to right) Dr Simon Lucas, Rob Blackwell, RichardAnscombe, James Callaghan (REO), Jan Stringer (KTP

Advisor, Momenta) and Dr Udo Kruschwitz

It is now 12 months since theUniversity welcomed the first

students into the new building

SouthendCampusnew nameunveiledThe University’s newSouthend Campus buildingis to be officially opened next month.

News 7

Members of staff who haveeach clocked up 25 years ofservice to the University wererewarded at a lunch hosted bythe Vice-Chancellor. Thefollowing members of staffreceived awards: Essex graduate Marisa Bostock joined theDepartment of Computer Science as aGraduate Secretary. Following the mergerof the Department with Electronics SystemsEngineering, Marisa took on the role ofPostgraduate Research Administrator.

Gordon Lund initially worked in theCatering Section as a Chef before beingappointed Assistant Head Chef. Afterseveral years Gordon decided on a careerchange and took up the role of PatrolOfficer.

Colin Paris joined the University as aPatrol Officer at a time when the studentpopulation numbered just 3,000. Today, asCampus Security Supervisor, Colin enjoysdealing with a wide range of issues on adaily basis.

Mark Savory started his career at theUniversity on a work experienceprogramme in the Printing Centre. This ledto a permanent position and Mark currentlyworks as a Production Assistant. A keensquash player, Mark regularly uses theSports Centre facilities.

Two members of staff were also rewardedfor 40 years of service:

Richard Ransom joined the University in1967 as Technician in the Polymer Sectionof the Department of Chemistry. He latermoved to the Organic Chemistry labswhere he stayed until its closure in 2005and currently works in Biological Sciences.

Tony Jordan first joined the University as aSenior Technician in Physics beforemoving to the Department of ElectronicSystems Engineering. Following hisretirement in 2007, Tony returned to workon a part-time basis in Biological Sciences.A keen golfer, Tony has participated in theUniversity’s longest-running sportscompetition, the Clacton Cup, every yearsince 1981.

Long service awards

(left to right) Mark Savory, RichardRansom, Tony Jordan, Gordon Lund,

Marisa Bostock, Vice-ChancellorProfessor Colin Riordan, and Colin Paris

Professor Malcolm Hawksford, ofthe Department of Computing andElectronic Systems, has beenawarded a Doctor of Science inrecognition of his considerableacademic achievements.

The award, presented to ProfessorHawksford by the University of Aston, is

only presented to those academics with along and proven record of internationallyrecognised work. Candidates are judgedby peer-examination through publicationsand research.

The honour will be conferred uponProfessor Hawksford, who specialises inaudio engineering and related electronics,in July.

Aesthesis//CREATEDr Ian King and Dr Ceri Watkins, both ofthe School of Accounting, Finance andManagement, along with the Universityof Warwick, are calling for proposals fora unique international project.

The Aesthesis//CREATE project invitescontributions from individuals, groups,societies or organisations from anybackground to submit an idea, proposal orscheme that employs art/aesthetics toinform or benefit organisational life.

Over the last few weeks more than 10,000arts-based groups and organisationsacross the world have been invited to getinvolved in the project.

The project, in association with partners,Arts and Business, aims to provideresources to develop these proposals forinclusion in a global touring gallery – anexhibition of developed proposals whichwill reach a broad range of audiences inover 12 countries and four continents.

Dr King, explained: ‘This is an excitingopportunity to provide support for newideas, but it also offers the fantasticprospect of conducting both a longitudinaland comparative ethnographic study witheach of the 12-15 projects we select forsupport. Furthermore, this project willprovide the opportunity to examine each ofthese projects in the contexts of differentcultures and audiences.’

The project hopes to reach as manypeople, groups and societies as possible.For further information and submissiondetails, see: www.essex.ac.uk/aesthesis.

Prestigious accolade for audio engineer

Professor Malcolm Hawksford

8 Research

BOOKSHELF

Codifying Cyberspace:Communications self-regulation in the age ofInternet convergence

Damian Tambini, DaniloLeonardi and Chris Marsden

Glasshouse Press, Taylorand Francis

Can the internet regulate itself?Faced with a range of ‘harms’ andconflicts associated with the newmedia - from gambling topornography - governments haveresisted the temptation to regulate,

opting instead to encourage mediaproviders to develop codes of conduct andtechnical measures to regulate themselves.

Codifying Cyberspace, co-authored byChris Marsden of the Department of Law,looks at media self-regulation in practice, ina variety of countries.

It also examines the problems of balancingprivate censorship against fundamentalrights to freedom of expression and privacyfor media users.

This is the first full-scale study of self-regulation and codes of conduct in thesefast-moving new media sectors.

Logics of Critical Explanation inSocial and Political TheoryJason Glynos and David HowarthRoutledge

In Logics of Critical Explanation in Socialand Political Theory, Jason Glynos and DrDavid Howarth, both of the Department ofGovernment, propose a novel approach topractising social and political analysisbased on the role of logics.

The authors articulate a distinctiveperspective to social science explanationthat avoids the problem of scientism andwhich steers a course between law-likeexplanations and thick descriptions.

Drawing upon hermeneutics,poststructuralism, psychoanalysis, and post-analytical philosophy, this new approachfurnishes a particular set of logics - social,political and fantasmatic logics - with whichto construct critical explanations of

practices and regimes. While the first partof the book critically engages with law-like,interpretivist and causal approaches tocritical explanation, the second partelaborates an alternative grammar ofconcepts informed by a poststructuralistontology. In developing their approach, anumber of empirical cases are included toillustrate its basic concepts and logics,ranging from the apartheid regime in SouthAfrica to recent changes in highereducation.

Developmental Psycholinguistics

Edited by Irina A Sekerina, Eva MFernández and Harold Clahsen

John Benjamins PublishingCompany

How do infants and young childrencoordinate information in real time to arriveat sentence meaning from the words andstructure of the sentence and from thenonlinguistic context?

This volume, co-edited by Professor HaroldClahsen of the Department of Languageand Linguistics, introduces readers to anemerging field of research, experimentaldevelopmental psycholinguistics, and tothe four predominant methodologies usedto study online language processing inchildren. The chapters cover event-relatedbrain potentials, free-viewing eyetracking,looking-while-listening, and reaction-timetechniques, also providing a historicalbackdrop for this line of research.

Multiple aspects of experimental design,data collection and data analysis areaddressed in detail, alongside surveys ofrecent findingsabout howinfants andchildren processsounds, words,and sentences.

US-Grenada Relations: FromRevolution to Intervention in theBackyard

Gary Williams

Palgrave Macmillan

Why did the world’s strongest powerintervene militarily in the tiny

Commonwealth Caribbean island ofGrenada in October 1983?

This book, by Dr Gary Williams of theResearch and Enterprise Office, focuseson US-Grenada relations between 1979and 1983 set against the wider historicalcontext of US-Caribbean Basin relations. Itpresents an in-depth study of US policy

during the Carter and Reaganpresidencies and the deterioration ofrelations with the Marxist-Leninist People’sRevolution Government (PRG) ofGrenada. It considers in detail themurderous internal power struggle thatdestroyed the PRG and the decision-making process that resulted in a joint US-Caribbean military intervention.

Research 9

RadicalmovementexploredA major research project inBiological Sciences hassecured more than £470,000from the Biotechnology andBiological Sciences ResearchCouncil (BBSRC) to investigatefree radicals.

Many enzymes use highly reactive freeradicals to perform their catalytic functions.Free radicals are compounds containingunpaired electrons and play an importantrole in a number of biological processes,many of which are necessary to sustain life.

However, because of their high reactivityfree radicals can also participate inunwanted side reactions, causing celldamage that may lead to diseases such as

Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.

Professors Mike Wilson and Chris Cooperwith Drs Dima Svistunenko and BrandonReeder are leading the research. ProfessorWilson explained: ‘The way in whichenzymes control free radical movement isof important scientific interest and is thefocus of our research.’

Using proteins that contain the amino acidtyrosine, the team will be able to track theradicals to discover if their movement ismainly within one protein or is transmittedto other proteins. The test bed for theirresearch is a protein that does not

possess tyrosine using the DNA of thesea-hare (Aplysia).

Professor Wilson continued: ‘Ultimately weaim to identify the rules that govern freeradical movement. This information will bevaluable in understanding the mechanismsby which proteins control radicals and willalso be of importance in understandingwhy these processes go wrong in someproteins.’

‘If we can identify how the free radicalsmove, it may be possible to identify how tostop or remove them in those areas wherewe know they have a damaging effect.’

Two major conferences next month will hear presentations from Fernne Brennan of theDepartment of Law and Human Rights Centre in relation to her work on makingreparations for the transatlantic slave trade.

Fernne’s ongoing research addresseshuman rights principles that victims ofrights’ violations should be affordedaccess to justice in line with the guidelineson the right to a remedy and reparations.

She explained: ‘There are problemssurrounding any claim for reparations forthe African Holocaust because the eventshappened in the past, and it is difficult toassess the consequential damage causedto the descendants of slaves. However,there are issues regarding thedevelopment of ex-colonial economies,which are heavily reliant on internationalmarkets for a few export commodities. Thistrade legacy provides the link between thepast and current discrimination. I amlooking at how a reparative framework

could be built into trading rules.’

Fernne and Sonya Fernandez ofCanterbury Christchurch University willchair and provide lead papers to theSocio-Legal Studies Association’s Law,Race, Religion and Human Rights Panel atthe University of Manchester.

The panel will include papers relating toslavery, reparations, international trade andrace discrimination from a number ofexperts from UK and French universities.

Fernne has also had a paper accepted forHamline University’s Spring Symposium‘The Declaration of Human Rights: AReality Check’, being held in Saint Paul,Minnesota. Entitled ‘Exploring aReparations Framework for Addressing

Trade Inequality’, her paper argues forreparations to provide a trump card inchanging trading rules.

As part of her reparations projects Fernnehosted contributions from Esther Stanford,Chair of the pan Afrikan ReparationsCoalition in Europe, and Deborah Gabriel,Director of human rights organisation ImaniDevelopment at a Human Rights Centreseminar last month.

The project continues with an internationalconference entitled, ‘Colonialism, Slavery,Reparations and Trade: Remedying the‘Past?’ in November, at the Brunei Galleryin London. This is an inter-institutionalventure between the University, the Schoolof Oriental and African Studies and theCentre for Commercial Law Studies.

Making reparations for slavery

Professor Mike Wilson

10 Focus on

This month Wyvern takes a look at how the University is encouraging sportingtalent and working with local and national bodies to enhance and develop eliteathletes’ potential.

Support for sporting studentsFocus on

The 2008 Sports Bursary Scheme offerssupport to student athletes competing on anational or international stage. Eight awardshave been made this year, two scholarshipsworth £2,500 each and six sports bursarieseach worth £1,250.

The bursary award includes supportservices such as strength conditioning,sports science and sports nutrition, financialassistance with equipment, travel andexpenses, educational workshops, personalmentoring and free use of sports facilities.

In addition, students receive physiotherapyservices from The ColchesterPhysiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic.

The 2008 students are:

Sport and Exercise Science studentMichael Aley achieved 19th place in theEnglish Junior Squash Open this year, wonthe Essex Men’s Plate, and achieved 21stat the English Junior Grand Prix.

Fourth-year Law and Politics student,Alexander Dinopoulos is currently ranked19th in the men’s national tennis rankings inGreece.

Emma Dunmore is in her first year of Sportand Exercise Science and currently playsfor Colchester United Ladies First Team.She is also Colchester United Under-19sAcademy ‘Players’ Player’ of the Year andColchester United Ladies First Team ‘MostImproved Player’.

Table tennis champion and ClinicalPhysiology student Abi Embling iscurrently ranked fourth in the senior

women’s category. Abi achieved silverwhilst representing England in Septemberand won bronze in the Under 21sNationals.

Motorsport driver and Computer Sciencestudent, Martin Galpin is the 2007 FormulaVee Champion. He was named 2007 ClubDriver of the Year by Autosport magazine.

Sport and Exercise Science studentKathryn Hall won the national marathonkayaking championships in August, andcame third in singles.

French and Modern Languages student,Paul Lillis is the English Junior PistolShooting Champion and achieved 13thplace at the English Senior Championships.Paul is a member of the Team EnglandJunior National Squad and the GB JuniorDevelopment Squad.

Third year Sport and Exercise Sciencestudent, Abbie Thorrington was selectedfor the European Senior TriathlonChampionships in 2007 and achieved 2nd

place at Blenheim Elite Triathlon. Abbie wonthe BUSA 2007 Triathlon Championshipsand was Junior National Triathlon Championin 2006. She was also selected for theEuropean and World Junior TriathlonChampionships.

Students benefit from new bursary schemeThe sports talent that exists amongst the student body has been recognised by the University for a number of years.This month, however, saw the launch of a comprehensive new programme of support to help talented studentscombine their academic and sporting achievements.

Paul Lillis

Abbie Thorrington

Kathryn Hall

With this in mind the Academy SportsBursary has been launched with the aim ofsupporting the development of talentedyoung athletes and sportspeople aged 15-17, in conjunction with their coaches, clubsand schools, and to provide a progressionfrom the school based Talented and Giftedprogramme.

Worth up to £1,000 per year, theAcademy Bursary provides lifestylementoring, free access to sports facilities,strength and conditioning coaching,performance lifestyle workshops, andaccess to expert coaching.

Squash and triathlon are the first twodisciplines that the Academy Bursary isfocusing on, but the scheme will grow toencompass other sports.

The first triathlon training day for Academyathletes was held recently. UniversityTriathlon Coach, Dave Parry led theactivities. He said: ‘This is an exciting

development. We offer an excellentprogramme of training and real personalattention and support. The more youngathletes that experience this and be madeaware of it, the better.’

Fifteen year old William Meadows fromWoodbridge, is an Academy Bursaryathlete and took part in the triathlontraining day. He said: ‘Having had somesuccess at local triathlons, I havebeen hoping to compete at the nextlevel. The Bursary Scheme has given methe opportunity to access the level oftraining I need. It helps improve my skillsand technique in swimming, bike andrunning as well as supporting my trainingschedules and manage my study, trainingand racing.

For more information about the scheme,and applications, contact Ruth Owen-Evans, e-mail: rowen@essex.ac.uk.

Focus on 11

Martin Galpin

National partnershipThe University is also working with thenational governing body, UK Athletics, tosupport three young athletes, OlufunmiSobodu, Louis Persent and MattiMortimore. The University is working withUK Athletics to support the training anddevelopment of the young stars. When oncampus they have access to facilitiesincluding the gym and coaching andsupport from specialist Essex staff.

EssexcricketboostThe University’s cricketteams have received aboost with two new starsand several members of theladies team joining thecounty side.The women’s cricket team has welcomedIsha Patel to its training sessions after shewas accepted onto the University’sAcademy Bursary Scheme. Through thescheme Isha will be able to draw on themany support services, and expertiseoffered by the Sports Centre and HumanPerformance Unit.

A cricketer has also become the mostrecent young athlete supported by theTalented Athlete Scholarship Scheme(TASS) through the University. Matt Everitt,who is deaf, is a member of the EnglandDeaf Cricket Team that placed second atthe most recent World Championships.

As well as welcoming elite athletes,Essex’s cricket teams have also receivedvaluable recognition from the county club.Three members of the women’s squad -Emma Webdale, Hannah Jeffreys andJamie Newstead - have all won places onthe Essex County Cricket Club squad.Their success is a reflection of the hardwork put in by their coach Mike Boyers.

Whilst the Sports Bursary offers anopportunity for talented athletes tocontinue their sport whilst combiningit with studying for a degree, athletescan only enter if they have undergoneyears of preparation prior to arrivingat university.

Will Meadows

Eye on the future

12 Research

Financial boost tobrainwave researchCommunication direct from the brain to the computer is the goal ofthe latest research by Professor Riccardo Poli and Dr FranciscoSepulveda of the Department of Computing and Electronic Systems.

The pair has recently been awarded agrant of more than £350,000 to coverthree years of research on AnalogueEvolutionary Brain Computer Interfaces(BCI) where limited movement means thatsome people are unable to use computerkeyboards in their current form. The resultaims to be flexible and cheap enough tomake a real difference to people’s lives.

Through electrodes attached to the headvia a simple cap, brainwaves can directlytransmit instructions to a computer,moving the cursor across the screen tochoose different functions. So far theyhave developed a prototype BrainComputer Interface mouse capable of full2-D motion control.

An additional plus is that the user onlyrequires a few minutes training beforeusing the mouse. Dr Sepulveda said:‘Everything we do in the lab is meant to beeasy-to-use. Most of the work being donearound the world assumes people will beavailable for months of training.

‘We hope to get a lot more disabledpeople involved in the project to find outthe problems associated with eachindividual.’

BCI could also revolutionise computergaming with gamers also being able tocontrol their devices without the need forjoysticks.

GenebreakdownMore than 20,000GeneChips of differenttypes have been accessedby the BioinformaticsGroup, a partnershipbetween the Departmentsof Mathematical andBiological Sciences.As these chips are thought to record theactivity of almost all human genes,investigations into the behaviour not just ofindividual genes but also of genecomponents can begin.

As an example of a GeneChip, the imagehere show the cross correlation between11 measurements of a human gene whichregulates the activity of other genes. The11 measurement points are placed inorder along the gene. Yellow indicateshighly correlated pairs of measurementswhile red is low (or even negative)correlation. The picture makes it clear thatthis gene is not acting as a single wholebut instead subregions in the gene can beclearly seen.

The Bioinformatics Group has producedmany of these heatmaps, showing a widerange of different behaviours, someexpected and some new. Many moreexamples can be found at:http://bslin11ha/users/wlangdon/HG-U133A/.

Art research revealedAdverse health reactions to artworks can be predicted,analysis by Professor Arnold Wilkins of the Departmentof Psychology has shown.

Professor Wilkins, whose work focuses onvision and health, investigated concernsthat some examples of contemporary artlead to seizures or migraines. Incollaboration with local artist Debbie Aylesand colleagues from the Department ofBiological Sciences, he set out to discoverhow these reactions could be anticipated,using works from the University of EssexCollection of Latin American Art andphotographs of urban and rural scenes.

More than 100 volunteers of all ages,including University staff and students fromSt Helena School in Colchester, wereasked to judge images both in terms of artappreciation and if they felt any level ofdiscomfort when viewing them.

It has been known for some time that

scenes in nature have a particularrelationship between contrast and scale,the smaller the scale the smaller thecontrast. Professor Wilkins and PhDstudent Dominic Fernandez analysed allthe images mathematically and showedthat uncomfortable images do not havethis ratio. Instead they have too muchenergy where the viewer’s visual system ismost sensitive. This has led to thesuggestion that overloading the visualsystem can cause headaches andseizures. A simple mathematical formulapredicts how uncomfortable an image islikely to be.

It is hoped this formula can be used whenimages are being chosen for publicspaces, particularly in hospitals.

Image illustrating how gene components work together

News 13

News from partner colleges

UCS plans furtherdevelopmentBuilding work at University Campus Suffolk(UCS) continues to gather pace as theconsultation process for the second phaseof development gets underway.

With the phase I building on the waterfrontnow taking shape, and on schedule toopen in September, Neil Jackson, Directorof Estates and Facilities, has turned hisattention to the next stage of development.Following a successful communityconsultation process in advance of thephase I development, Neil and his team areonce again seeking to inform, engage andinvolve the local community in the run-up tothe planning application for the next phaseof building work.

UCS is again working with RMJMArchitects who are leading the team ofprofessionals, master planning anddeveloping the conceptual designs for thephase II site. The campus will developfurther along the waterfront into OrwellQuay. This second, larger site will house amixture of student accommodation,teaching buildings and private residentialbuildings.

Ipswich Borough Council will consider thephase II planning application this spring.

Mark Bellis, course leader for the BAMusic programme at Colchester Institute,has composed a spectacular new musicpiece for The Chelmsford CathedralConsort, which received its première at theCathedral last month.

The work was specially written for theCathedral’s small girls’ choir, whichconsists of nine sopranos, aged 13-17 andis directed by Robert Poyser, theCathedral’s Assistant Organist. The choirwas joined by the men of the Cathedral

choir to perform the piece.

Mark Bellis said: ‘It has been a privilege towork with the Cathedral to create thispiece. The men and women of the choirperformed it beautifully at the premièreperformance.’

The composition was supported byColchester Institute’s Research andScholarly Activity Committee and it ishoped that this will be the first of severalcollaborations between the Cathedral andColchester Institute.

Colchester Institutelecturer and music

composer, Mark Bellis.

The commercial premièred in cinemas last month

Coming to acinema near you… What have Indiana Jones, JamesBond, Batman and a group ofsouth Essex students’ work gotin common? They’re all comingto an Essex cinema this year.Ten Media and Performing Arts studentsfrom South East Essex College werecommissioned to make a 30-secondcinema commercial to promote Essexbased training scheme, Train for YourFuture.

The students were involved in every aspectof the production from acting, directing,sound, music, location scouting andediting, and the advertisement received itspremière at cinemas across the county lastmonth.

The initial creative concepts and scriptswere conceived by trainees on the Train forYour Future initiative before being workedinto production and shot by the students,many of them on degree courses, at SouthEast Essex College.

Lecturer Steve Sadler said: ‘It‘s fantasticto see further and higher educationstudents come together to work asprofessionals on such a high profile andunique project.’

Splash makes Olympic bid

A horse owned by Writtle College lecturershas won a place on the 2012 World ClassEquine pathway which could culminate inan appearance at the 2012 Olympics.

Splash, owned by Pennie Wallace andMarcus Roberts, will benefit from five yearsof world class equestrian training that couldwin him a place in the Olympic team.

Ridden by Marcus, the eight-year-old bayhorse was up against 12,000 other Britishentrants.

Marcus said: ‘It was clear to see thatSplash from an early age showed greattalent. For a horse to be selected at thisage is fantastic.’

Première of A Chelmsford Service

Splash, ridden by MarcusRoberts, in competition

14 Footnotes

Internationalspeakers atconferenceSpeakers at the Islamic Societyconference this month have beenannounced.

Amongst those contributing are: Dr JaafarSheikh Idris, considered to be one of fewMuslim Scholars who comprehend bothIslamic and western ideologies; KholaHassan, author and an outspoken figureon the position of women in Islam;Professor of Economics at the Universityof Durham, Rodney Wilson, whoseresearch interests include the MiddleEastern political economy, and Ahmad ibnSaifuddin, Associate Professor at Al-ImamMuhammad ibn Saud Islamic University inSaudi Arabia.

The conference, ‘A Journey into IslamicValues’ will be held at the ColchesterCampus on Saturday 23 February. Formore information, visit:http://ueic.essexisoc.com.

Kazakh cultureKazakh students on a mission to dispelmyths about their homeland recentlyhosted an evening of Kazakh music at theColchester Campus.

The infamous Borat, created by comedianSacha Baron Cohen, has certainly putKazakhstan on the map in recent years butstudents from the country now want theUniversity, and local, community to learnabout the true culture of the country.

Well-known Kazakh musicians, Bulat andBotagoz Tynybekov and Sophia Rahman,performed a selection of works by Kazakhcomposers to a packed audience of morethan 130. Bulat and Botagoz are formerpupils of the Baiseitova Music School inAlmaty and are now studying at the RoyalCollege of Music in London.

Organised by the Kazakh Society, theevent was the first in a programme ofevents which also includes a comedy nightand screenings of Kazakh films.

For further information about the KazakhSociety please contact President of theSociety, Vladislav Afimin, e-mail:vafimi@essex.ac.uk.

Eggstatic aboutpoultryAn Essex student is doing his bit tosupport Jamie Oliver’s campaign for bettertreatment of battery hens through a newbooklet entitled Very Important Poultry.

The book, by PhD student John Ashdown-Hill, has been published by the BatteryHen Welfare Trust (BHWT) which workswith farmers to improve conditions and re-homes ex-battery hens.

The 35-page book is a light-hearted surveyof chickens who have made history, andevery penny of its £3 price goes directly tothe BHWT. To obtain a copy e-mail:ljfash@essex.ac.uk or see:www.bhwt.org.uk.

MUNex debatesinternationalissuesHuman trafficking was the topic for thefirst international conference organised bythe Model United Nations Society(MUNex) last month.

Organised in partnership with the HumanRights Centre, around 50 delegatesattended the conference from across theUK, Europe and beyond.

Workshops were held by some leadingfigures in the human rights world, includingJean Lambert MEP; Zarin Hainsworth,President of UNIFEM UK; ClaudiaAgresta, from International Organisationfor Migration; Christine Beddoe, Presidentof ECPAT UK; Nadine Finch, a leadinghuman rights barrister; Archana Sinha from

Stop! Trafficking; and Professor Sir NigelRodley, Chair of the Human Rights Centre.

The event, sponsored by Universitydepartments, the Vice-Chancellor, EssexCounty Council, and Café Direct, includeda two-day simulation of the newly formedUnited Nations Human Rights Council.

Plans are already underway for the secondannual conference in 2009. For moreinformation about the Society, visit:www.munex.org.uk, e-mail:mshiet@essex.ac.uk.

UN speaker for25th anniversary The first President of the recently-formedUnited Nations Human Rights Council,and Mexican Ambassador to the UN, LuisAlfonso de Alba Góngora, is to give theHuman Rights Centre’s 25th AnniversaryLecture next month.

Entitled ‘From United Nations Commissionon Human Rights to Human RightsCouncil: Reflections on the Transition’, thelecture takes place on Friday 7 March at5pm in LTB 8.

Ambassador de Alba has been PermanentRepresentative of Mexico to the UnitedNations and other internationalorganisations in Geneva since 2004. Hewas Chairman of the Committee onDisarmament and International Security ofthe United Nations General Assembly(First Committee) in 2004; President ofthe Council of the InternationalOrganisation for Migration from 2005 to2006; and President of the United NationsHuman Rights Council from June 2006 to2007.

Commissioner togive lectureChildren’s Commissioner for England,Professor Sir Albert Aynsley-Green, will bethe speaker at this year’s Essex LawLecture.

Sir Albert was appointed as the firstChildren’s Commissioner for England inApril 2005. Prior to this, his roles includedNational Clinical Director for Children andChair of the Children’s Task Force at the

The conference included a simulation of theUnited Nations Human Rights Council

Footnotes 15

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Department of Health, as well as NuffieldProfessor of Child Health at GreatOrmond Street Hospital and the Instituteof Child Health, University CollegeLondon.

He will be speaking on ‘11 millionconcerns over children and young peoplein conflict with the law’ on Wednesday 12March at 7pm in the Ivor Crewe LectureHall. Admission is free. For moreinformation contact Gail Chapman,telephone: 01206 873484.

CCFEAappointmentThe Centre for Computational Finance andEconomic Agents (CCFEA) has welcomedDr Nick Constantinou as HSBC SeniorResearch Fellow in Risk and Insurance.

HSBC, one of the world’s largest bankingand financial services organisations,sponsored this position at CCFEA andattached will be up to three studentinternships at HSBC for the 2007-2008academic year.

An Essex graduate, Dr Constantinou willspearhead the development of applied riskmanagement at CCFEA. His researchinterests cover applied risk managementencompassing asset and liabilitymanagement in insurance, market andcredit risk of structured products as wellas the capital implications that arise inmanufacturing these complex products.

New cateringinitiativesNew catering initiatives launched recentlyaim to improve services and encouragenew customers.

Customers can now buy University-branded thermal mugs from all outlets atthe Colchester Campus. The mugs, whichcost £2 (including the first drink), allowcustomers to save 10p every time theypurchase a drink with the mug. Thepopularity of the scheme is such that thefirst 500 mugs sold out in the first week.

Customers wanting a taste of the Orientare now in for a treat thanks to the newFusion Noodle Bar in Food on 3.

Customers in the outlet can chose theirraw ingredients and watch as the chefscook their stir-fry in minutes.

New focus groups and a questionnairealso mean that students, and staff will beable to contribute to Catering’s ongoingimprovements. The focus groups, run incollaboration with the Students’ Union, willgive students the chance to give valuablefeedback on the catering servicesprovided. An online questionnaire willprecede the groups and will later be madeavailable in all outlets.

CulturenomicsArt and culture in the economic life ofcities was the focus of an internationalconference attended by Dr Thomas Scottoof the Department of Government.

Academics from countries including Japan,Italy and the US explored the economicvalue of culture during the two-dayconference. Dr Scotto was one of nineacademics to present case studies onsustainable development and the quality oflife in their cities.

Held in Seoul, culturenomics is at the coreof the city’s strategy, developed by theMayor, to enhance its competitiveness andcreate value by promoting the cultureindustry.

Sociology tasterA-Level sociology students will be enjoyinga day at the University on Wednesday 26March on the annual A-Level Conferenceorganised by the Department of Sociologywith Colchester Sixth Form College.

The Conference offers students an

opportunity to sample university life, toimprove their A-Level performance and togain an insight into what Sociologyinvolves at degree level.

The day also includes talks from Universitystaff, examiners and representatives fromthe Students’ Union and alumni.

Alan retiresAlan Thomas, of the Estate ManagementSection, retired last month after more than15 years at the University.

Alan, a Maintenance Craftsperson(Mechanical), joined the University in 1992with responsibility for gas applianceservicing and safety. As Duty Engineer hewas often called upon to respond to out-of-hours emergencies, and as a mentor forless experienced colleagues.

At a presentation to mark his retirement,attended by friends and colleagues, MarkVinter, Deputy Director of EstateManagement (Maintenance) presentedAlan with a cheque, thanking him for hiswork and wishing him and his wife Brendaa long and healthy retirement.

A letter from Alan will appear in nextmonth’s Wyvern.

Promotingequality andcultural diversityThe next meeting of the University of EssexInternational and Ethnic Minority StaffForum takes place on Wednesday 27February from 1pm to 2pm in Room4SA.6.17.

The aim of the Forum is to promoteequality, multicultural diversity, awarenessand good practice in dealing with issuesrelating to race, ethnicity, nationality andxenophobia.

If you would like to attend, please contactKaren Stephenson, e-mail:kasteph@essex.ac.uk or telephone: 01206873507.

See next month’s Wyvern for more aboutthe Forum.

(from left to right) Danny Farrow, Tony Wall and James Ford

16 What’s On

Monday 18Institute for Social and Economic ResearchSeminar

Josef Zweimueller (University of Zurich): ‘CulturalDeterminants of Unemployment Duration’. Room2N2.4.16, Social Science Research Centre.4pm.

Department of Health and Human SciencesSeminar

Professor Jonathan Smith (University of London):‘Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis’. Room6.300. 5pm. To attend, contact Lucy Brown, e-mail: brownl@essex.ac.uk, telephone: 01206874856.

Tuesday 19Department of Art History and Theory - Workin Progress: The Essex Research Seminars

Professor Catherine Hall (University CollegeLondon): ‘Remembering 1807: An Historian inthe Museum’. Room 5A.108. 4pm.

Department of Psychology Seminar

Professor Tom Ormerod (University ofLancaster): ‘The Importance of Failure forInsightful Thinking’. Room 4.722. 4pm.

Arts on 5

Paths to Playwriting Workshop. Over fiveTuesday evenings. £25 (£20, UoE students£15). For further details, e-mail:arts@essex.ac.uk.

Wednesday 20School of Accounting, Finance andManagement - Finance Seminar

Dr Stephan Kessler (Morgan Stanley): Title tba.LTB 4. 2pm.

Human Rights Centre Speaker SeriesSeminar

Jan Hessbruegge (UNMIS): ‘Human RightsWork in a Complex and Integrated Mission: APerspective from Sudan.’ 1pm.

School of Accounting, Finance andManagement - Centre for GlobalAccountability Seminar

Melina Manochin (Aston Business School):‘Group Identity and Trust Discourse in aNegotiation Setting’. Room 5N.4.7. 2.30pm.

School of Accounting, Finance andManagement - Management Seminar

Dr Diane Skinner (Warwick Business School):‘Organising Organic: Self-regulation in aHeadless Organisation’. Room 5N.4.6. 4pm.

Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies Seminar

Marie Bridge (University of Essex):‘Psychoanalysis and Literature’. Room 4N.6.1.5pm.

Arts on 5 (until Friday 22)

Centre for Theatre Studies presents Vinegar Tomby Caryl Churchill. Tickets £6 (£4, £3). LakesideTheatre. 7.30pm.

East 15 Acting School (until Saturday 23)

BA Acting students present Afore Night Come

What’s On February 2008

Once More with Feeling explores thework of six artists who investigatewhat it is to be Colombian. Theyexplore issues of identity, memory andliving with violence.

One of the works shows artist JuanPablo Echeverri’s ever-changingidentity through a series of photobooth photographs taken over aperiod of seven years.

There will be a diverse programme ofevents to accompany the show,including gallery tours, talks, filmscreenings and educational events forschools. For further information e-mail:arts@essex.ac.uk or telephone: 01206873162.

The University Gallery is open Mondayto Friday 11am to 5pm and Saturday1pm to 4.30pm. Admission is free.

A major internationalexhibition of contemporary

photography and video workfrom Colombia opens in the

Gallery on 21 February.

What’s On 17

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NFebruary 2008

by David Rudkin. Studio Five, Roding House,Loughton. 7.30pm. Matinee on Friday 22 at2.30pm.

Third-year BA Specialist Performance Skills(Stage Combat) students present Julius Caesar.The Corbett Theatre, Rectory Lane, LoughtonIG10 3RY. 7.30pm. Matinee on Friday 22 at2.30pm.

For more information, and to book tickets for allshows at The Corbett Theatre or at Studio 5 atRoding House, contact the Box Office,telephone: 0208 508 5983.

Thursday 21Visual Arts on Campus (until 22 March)

Once More With Feeling - ContemporaryColombian Photography. University Gallery. Tofind out more visit: www.essex.ac.uk/arts.

Centre for Computational Finance andEconomic Agents Expert Lecture Series

Kyriako Chourdakis (Fitch): ‘Introduction to CreditModelling and Structured Finance’. Room 4.304.2pm. Contact CCFEA for details ofregistration/fees, e-mail: juliep@essex.ac.uk.

Department of Mathematical SciencesSeminar - PhD Student Seminar Day

Juhasz and Yousaf (University of Essex):‘Algorithm for Constructing a Partially OrderedSet with a Given Convex Subset’. Room 6.314.2pm.

Department of Art History and Theory - Workin Progress: The Essex Research Seminars

Professor Dawn Ades (University of Essex) andKatie Kroll-Knight (AHRC Collaborative PhD,Tate and Essex): ‘On Duchamp, Man Ray andPicabia - Current Exhibition at Tate Modern’.Room 5A.108. 4pm.

Department of Language and Linguistics -Linguistics Seminar

Professor Paul Kerswill (University of Lancaster):‘Phonological Innovation in London TeenageSpeech: Ethnicity as the Driver of Change in aMetropolis’. Room 4S.6.28. 4pm.

Department of Literature, Film and TheatreStudies Seminar

Dr Hal Gladfelder (University of Manchester):‘Sentimental Machines: Sexed and Unsexedbodies in Cleland and La Mettrie’. Room 5A.118.4.30pm.

Department of Philosophy Seminar Series

Dimitris Platchias (University of Essex): ‘DoesPerceptual Experience have a Non-conceptualContent?’ Room 5B.202. 5pm.

Friday 22Department of Computing and ElectronicSystems Seminar

Dr Nadia Bianchi-Berthouze (University CollegeLondon): Title tba. Room 1N.4.1. 3pm.

Arts on 5

Spotlight on Latin American Art with Dr JoanneHarwood, Assistant Director of UECLAA. Foyer,Albert Sloman Library. 1pm.

Saturday 23Islamic Society Conference

‘A Journey into Islamic Values.’ 9am-6pm. Toregister and for more information visit:http://ueic.essexisoc.com.

Monday 25Institute for Social and Economic ResearchSpecial Policy Seminar

Gillian Parker (University of York): ‘Care ‘Closerto Home’ Policy and Research Evidence: Is Therea Link?’ Room 2N2.4.16, Social ScienceResearch Centre. 4pm.

Arts on 5

Film Screening: Maria, Ilena Eres De Gracia(Maria Full of Grace). Admission free. LakesideTheatre. 7.30pm.

Tuesday 26Department of Psychology Seminar

Dr Emily Holmes (University of Oxford): ‘MentalImagery - its Impact on Emotion, Cognitive Biasand Psychological Disorders’. Room 4.722. 4pm.

Spirit of Enterprise event run by the Researchand Enterprise Office

Babs Moore (BoldOak): Supersize your Sales.Open to all University of Essex students and staffwith free drinks and pizza. Networks Centre foyerand seminar room. 6pm. Booking required, visit:www.essex.ac.uk/reo/SpiritCal08.htm.

Arts on 5

Segue Productions presents JAZZ at theLakeside Basquiat Strings (featuring SebRochford). Tickets £10 (£6). Lakeside Theatre.8.30pm.

Wednesday 27Arts on 5

UECLAA presents Baño en el cañito (Bathing inthe Stream), a short video by Colombian artistWilson Diaz. University Gallery. 2pm. No bookingnecessary. Admission free.

School of Accounting, Finance andManagement - Centre for GlobalAccountability Seminar

John McKernan (University of Glasgow): Title tba.LTB B. 2.30pm.

Department of Health and Human SciencesSeminar

Professor David Armstrong (King’s CollegeLondon): ‘The Origins of Health Behaviours’.Room 6.348. 4pm. To attend, contact LucyBrown, e-mail: brownl@essex.ac.uk, telephone:01206 874856.

Centre for Theoretical Studies in theHumanities and Social Sciences Seminar

Dvora Yanow (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam):‘Fitting Space in: Against Placeless PolicyAnalysis’. 5S.4.11. 5pm.

Arts on 5

The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter. Tickets: £6(£4, Students: £3). The Studio. 7.30pm.

Thursday 28Centre for Computational Finance andEconomic Agents Expert Lecture Series

Ian Lyall (IDEA Group Ltd): ‘Straight ThroughProcessing via Nova Case Study’. Room 4.304.2pm. Contact CCFEA for details ofregistration/fees, e-mail: juliep@essex.ac.uk.

Department of Mathematical SciencesSeminar

Dr Dimitrii Vinogradov (University of Essex):‘Least Unmatched Price Auctions’. Room 6.314.2pm.

Department of Art History and Theory - Workin Progress: The Essex Research Seminars

Dr Wölfgang Brückle (University of Essex):‘Feature Films and the Shock of the Real:Aspects of Wartime Documents in Art HouseCinema and Beyond’. Room 5A.108. 4pm.

Department of Language and Linguistics -Linguistics Seminar

Ray Wilkinson (University College London):‘Formulating Actions and Events with LimitedLinguistic Resources: Direct reported speechand enactment in agrammatic aphasic talk’.Room 4S.6.28. 4pm.

Department of Literature, Film and TheatreStudies Seminar

Vincent McInerney (Royal Literary Fund Fellow,University of Essex): ‘A Bank-note Not to beImitated or How I ‘Saved the Lives of Thousandsof Men.’ George Cruikshank’s Anti-Hanging OnePound Note; and the Literature of the Streets.’Room 5A.118. 4.30pm.

Department of Philosophy Seminar

Dr Ken Gemes (Birkbeck College, University ofLondon). ‘Nietzsche, Nihilism and the Paradox ofAffirmation’. Room 5B.202. 5pm.

Department of Sociology Seminar

Professor Chulanee Thianthai (ChulalongkomUniversity): ‘Changes in Body Image Perceptionsof Bangkok Youths: What Does it Tell us AboutGender Differences and the Future Effects onHealth’. Room 6.345. 5pm.

Arts on 5

Limbik Theatre Company presents The Harbour.Tickets £8 (£5, £3). Lakeside Theatre. 7.30pm.

18 What’s On

February/March 2008

Friday 29Department of Computing and ElectronicSystems Seminar

Dr Damien Coyle (Ulster University): ‘AdvancingBrain-computer Interface Technology with aPrediction-based Preprocessing Framework’.Room 1N.4.1. 3pm.

Saturday 1 MarchArts on 5

The University of Essex Classical Music Societypresents Our Music. Tickets £8 (£5, £3).Lakeside Theatre. 7.30pm.

Monday 3Institute for Social and Economic ResearchSeminar

Ana Rute Cardoso (IZA, Germany). ‘Big Fish inSmall Pond or Small Fish in Big Pond? Moneyand Status in the Labour Market’. Room2N2.4.16, Social Science Research Centre.4pm.

Arts on 5

Film Screening: La Estrategia Del Caracól (TheStrategy of the Snail). Admission free. LakesideTheatre. 7.30pm.

Tuesday 4Department of Psychology Seminar

Dr Guy Brown (University of Sheffield):‘Perceptually-inspired Strategies for RobustSpeech Recognition in ReverberantEnvironments’. Room 4.722. 4pm.

Wednesday 5 Department of History Research Seminar

Dr Clodagh Tait (University of Essex): ‘JumpingChurches, Wandering Graveyards and LoneProtestants: Devotion, Sectarianism, andProblematic Corpses in Irish Folklore’. HistoryCommon Room. 1pm.

Human Rights Centre Speaker SeriesSeminar

Mervat Rishmawi (Legal advisor for the MiddleEast and North Africa, Amnesty International):‘The Protection of Human Rights in the ArabWorld’. Room 4SA.6.19. 1pm.

School of Accounting, Finance andManagement - Finance Seminar

Professor Bart Lambrecht (Lancaster University):Title tba. LTB 4. 2pm.

School of Accounting, Finance andManagement - Centre for GlobalAccountability Seminar

Warwick Funnell (Kent and Wollongong):‘Accounting for Liberty’. Room 5N.4.7. 2.30pm.

School of Accounting, Finance andManagement - Management Seminar

Professor David Sims (Cass Business School):‘Looking for the Key to Leadership under theLamp Post’. Room 5N.4.6. 4pm.

Department of Health and Human SciencesSeminar

Professor Patrick West (Medical ResearchCouncil): ‘Is the Mental Health of Young PeopleReally Getting Worse and Why Might that be?’Room 5A.101. 5pm. To attend, contact LucyBrown, e-mail: brownl@essex.ac.uk, telephone:01206 874856.

Centre for Theoretical Studies in theHumanities and Social Sciences Mini Course(until 6 March)

Alan Finlayson (University of Wales, Swansea).Title tbc.

East 15 Acting School (until Saturday 8)

Third-year students on BA Acting present TheMachine Wreckers by Ernst Toller. CorbettTheatre, Rectory Lane, Loughton IG10 3RY.7.30pm. Matinee on Friday 7 at 2.30pm. Formore information, and to book tickets for allshows at The Corbett Theatre or at Studio 5 atRoding House, contact the Box Office,telephone: 0208 508 5983.

East 15 Acting School (until 8 March)

Third-year students on BA Contemporary Theatrepresent Attraction to Atrocity. The Space, 269Westferry Road, London E14 3RS. 7.30pm.Tickets for this production are available from TheSpace Box Office, telephone: 0208 858 7755.

Thursday 6Centre for Computational Finance andEconomic Agents Expert Lecture Series (also13 and 20 March)

Richard Olsen (Olsen Associated and VisitingProfessor, CCFEA, University of Essex): ‘ForexElectronic Markets and Experiments with OlsenRoutes Programme’. Room 4.304. 2pm. Pleasecontact CCFEA for details of registration/fees, e-mail: juliep@essex.ac.uk.

Department of Art History and Theory - Workin Progress: The Essex Research Seminars

Professor Peter Vergo (University of Essex):‘Something like a Fugue in Colours: VisualArtists’ Love Affair with Music, 1885-1925’.Room 5A.108. 4pm.

Department of Literature, Film and TheatreStudies Seminar

Martyn Waites (Royal Literary Fund Fellow,University of Essex): ‘Less Cake, More Blood –The CSI-ification of the Modern British CrimeNovel.’ Room 5A.118. 4.30pm.

Department of Philosophy Seminar

Professor Howard Caygill (Goldsmith’s College,University of London). Title tbc. Room 5B.202.5pm.

Department of Sociology Seminar -International Women’s Day Lecture

Professor Bev Skeggs (Goldsmiths): ‘TheIncitement and Response to ‘Governing the Soul’Produced by ‘Reality’ TV’. Room 6.345. 5pm.

Arts on 5

Shams Theatre Company presents The BlackStuff. Tickets: £8 (£5, £3). Lakeside Theatre.7.30pm.

Friday 7Arts on 5

Spotlight on Latin American Art with Dr JoanneHarwood, Assistant Director of UECLAA. Foyer,Albert Sloman Library. 1pm.

School of Accounting, Finance andManagement - Finance Seminar

Professor Giorgio Consigli (Bergamo University):Title tba. LTB 4. 2pm.

Department of Computing and ElectronicSystems Seminar

Dr Ben Azvine (BT): ‘Novel IT Applications: CaseStudies from BT’. Room 1N.4.1. 3pm.

Human Rights Centre 25th AnniversaryLecture

Luis Alfonso de Alba (First President of the UNHuman Rights Council and PermanentRepresentative of Mexico to the UN): ‘FromUnited Nations Commission on Human Rights toHuman Rights Council: Reflections on theTransition’. LTB 8. 5pm followed by a Receptionin the LTB Foyer.

Arts on 5

Segue Productions presents Zoe Rahman Trio.Tickets £12 (£7). Lakeside Theatre. 8.30pm.

Monday 10Institute for Social and Economic ResearchSeminar

Matthijs Kalmijn (Tilburg University, Netherlands).‘Explaining Group Differences in EthnicIntermarriage: A Comparative Analysis ofImmigrant Children in the United States’. Room2N2.4.16, Social Science Research Centre.4pm.

All events listed are open to the public.

A web version of the What’s On diary,updated daily, is available at:www.essex.ac.uk/comms/events/whatson.htm.

Staff and students can receive a dailyelectronic version of the diary by e-mailing majordomo@essex.ac.uk with thetext ‘subscribe daily.’

For further information about arts eventsand tickets see:www.essex.ac.uk/arts/office/.

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What’s on?For more information on any of the events or resources below, visit theLTU website, which is updated daily – www.essex.ac.uk/ltu.

TALIFTwo rounds of TALIF funding are available each academic year asfinancial support for the design and delivery of innovations in teachingand learning. The following projects have received funding from thefirst round of TALIF this year (a number of other projects are stillpending):

■ ‘Cities in context: out-of-classroom learning’ – Literature, Film andTheatre Studies

■ ‘Student self-submission to TurnitinUK’ – various departmentscovering all faculties

■ ‘Student-run speech and language therapy groups’ – Health andHuman Sciences

■ ‘SCRUPAC: Scientific Concepts Revealed Using People AsComponents’ – Computing and Electronic Systems

mySkills Logo – Competition WinnerThe LTU is pleased to announce that the winner of the competition toredesign the logo for the academic skills website, mySkills, is Damian

Moore from Computing and Electronic Systems, who will be workingwith experienced staff to develop his design concept. Look out forfurther improvements to the website as Damian’s work develops.

FirstStepsThe two-day workshop event for PhD students in the early stages ofstudy was a success again this year. Participants were given theopportunity to develop a range of practical skills and consider theimportance of research skills training, while networking withcolleagues from other departments. Feedback on the event wasextremely positive: ‘What was good? Topics, lateral thinking, how toplan and manage time, experiences, knowing challenges faced byothers. Taking steps to overcome weaknesses. Information on theregulations IT and supervision…’

GTA SurveyIn order to keep training for Graduate Teaching Assistants andGraduate Demonstrators fresh and relevant, those who haveattended the induction programme since 2005 have taken part in anonline survey. Results will be published on the LTU website.

‘Smart Guide’ on Student EngagementStudent engagement is the topic of the next quick-read Guide forbusy academics that is being produced by the LTU to promote thelaunch of the Good Practice Database –www.essex.ac.uk/goodpractice. The booklet follows ‘Feedback’ and‘PDP’ and is in the process of being circulated. Additional copies areavailable from Richard Yates (ryates / 4141).

LTU News

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This issue of Wyvern was produced by Kate Clayton, Jenny Grinter, Heather Leathley,Sarah Mills and Holly Ward of the Communications Office

Photographic assistance by Michael Sansom and Van Cols Ltd

Telephone: 01206 873529 E-mail: wyvern@essex.ac.uk

Design / Production: University of Essex Printing Services © University of Essex 2008

Issue no. 5

Front cover: Image from The Dragonflies of Essex. Photographed by Professor Ted Benton

Third-year BA Acting students areperforming the first translation, by AlanRaphael Pearlman, of The MachineBreakers from Wednesday 5 March toSaturday 8 March (2.30pm matinee,Friday) in the Corbett Theatre. The play,directed by John Gillett, charts the fightof the Luddites against the new steammachines introduced to the Nottinghamweaving industry in the early 1800s.

BA Acting students are also performingAfore Night Come from Wednesday 20February to Saturday 23 February (2.30pmmatinee, Friday). It will be the firstproduction in a new studio at RodingHouse, just five minutes from the HatfieldsCampus.

Third-year BA Specialist PerformanceSkills (Stage Combat) students will puttheir skills into practice by staging amodern day version of Julius Caesar fromWednesday 20 February to Saturday 23February. Later in March, BA

Contemporary Theatre students take twoproductions to The Space on the Isle ofDogs. Attraction to Atrocity, which looks atwar crimes, and Round Round, a modernre-telling of Arthur Schnitzler’s cautionarydrama La Ronde, will run from Wednesday5 March to Saturday 8 March andWednesday 12 March to Saturday 15March respectively. Each will have a 2pmmatinee on the Saturday.

For more information, and to book tickets,please contact the East 15 Box Office,telephone: 020 8508 5983 or e-mail:east15@essex.ac.uk.

As part of its exciting springseason, East 15 Acting Schooloffers drama enthusiasts aworld première in March.

Read Wyvern online at:

www.essex.ac.uk/wyvernAdvertising rates are available by telephoning: 01206 873270

The next issue of Wyvern will be published onMonday 10 March 2008. The deadline for receipt of all material is Wednesday 20 February 2008.

Lakeside highlightsThe spring arts programmeincludes three interestingprofessional productions inMarch which it is hoped willdraw in audiences from farand wide.The month’s events get underway on 6March with the Shams Theatre Companyproduction The Black Stuff. This funny,touching and provocative play takescomedy to physical and emotionalextremes to ask: just how far would you goto defend your lifestyle?

On 12 March f.a.b. – The Detonatorspresent Extraordinary, putting the ‘extra’into an ordinary life with their intense,energetic dance-theatre. It is a comic, darkand unorthodox take on reality, fantasy, dulljobs and Hollywood glamour.

Shortly before the end of term MemMorrison, a second generation BritishTurkish Cypriot, presents Leftovers, aheart-warming and poignant work thatexplores cultural differences as expressedthrough food.

For more information, or to pick up a fullprogramme of Arts on 5 events, drop intothe new-look Arts Office, now located onSquare 4.

Leftovers will be at the Lakeside Theatre on 18 March

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World premièreat East 15

A recent East 15 production

Language and Linguistics student MichaelAidan is running classes on theColchester Campus, supported by theLatin American Centre. Tango is anArgentine dance originally dancedbetween men in the brothels of La Bocadistrict of Buenos Aires.

Proceeds from the classes go to thecharity Casa Manu, which provides a homefor up to 12 children with the HIV viruswho do not have immediate family to takecare of them.

The classes, costing £1, run on Tuesdayevenings in the Sports Centre. In the firstterm they raised £443 for Casa Manu. Thisterm a show is being choreographed andwill be performed on campus, withproceeds going to the charity.

Michael explained: ‘The children often havecomplicating factors in their lives beyondthe virus, and therefore require a speciallevel of care and attention which theyreceive in Casa Manu, until leaving inpermanent adoption.‘

Tango classes help Argentinean childrenTango dancing has been brought to Essex to help children with HIV in Buenos Aires.