OBE FOR PROFESSOR PAULINE ONG

Professor Pauline Ong, Professor of Health Services Research at the ARC National Primary Care Centre at Keele, has been awarded an honorary OBE for services to healthcare.

She has worked at Keele since 1989, first at the Centre for Health Planning and Management, and since 2000 as Professor of Health Services Research at the ARC National Primary Care Centre. Professor Ong leads the qualitative research group, focusing on patients' experiences of living with musculoskeletal conditions.

The group also carries out research on perceptions of health care professionals and diagnosis and treatment of these conditions, and the way in which new developments are adopted and embedded in routine practice. The qualitative research is embedded within the overall research programme of the Centre, which includes population surveys and trials. The Centre's work has received considerable funding from the ARC, MRC, Wellcome, NIHR, ESRC and the Health Foundation.

Since 2006 she has been the Chair for Central and Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust and is a member of the new National Clinical Audit Advisory Group, overseeing the national clinical audit strategy and advising ministers.

Professor Ong, a Dutch citizen, said: "While the OBE is given to an individual, it is a reflection on the achievements of the teams within which that individual works. In my case these teams are the excellent group of people at the PCT and the research centre."

Honorary decorations and awards are granted to people from other countries who have made a significant contribution to relations between the United Kingdom and their own country. These awards are granted by HM The Queen on the advice of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

WARM WELCOME IN KAZAKHSTAN FOR KEELE HISTORIAN

Dr Mark Galeotti, Head of History, School of Humanities, and an expert in international crime and policing, recently made a whistle-stop trip to Kazakhstan to help train police and security officers as well as NGO and parliamentary staff. The innovative STARLINK training programme in transparency and democratic accountability in security reform, funded by NATO and the Dutch government and run by the Centre for European Security Studies in Groningen, has for the first time stretched into Asia.

It proved an exhausting but inspiring trip: Mark arrived in the new capital city, Astana, at 04.30 one morning, gave his seminar on policing organised crime in democratic societies at 09.30 and then, that afternoon, made the two-hour flight to the old capital, Almaty, to present at a second course the next day. That said, the weather was kind: Astana was a "balmy" -5 degrees centigrade, instead of the more usual -25 degrees for that time of year!

THINKING ALLOWED

Keele Criminologist, Dr Mary Corcoran, appeared on Radio Four's 'Thinking Allowed', hosted by Laurie Taylor, last week. 

Dr Corcoran was invited to talk about her book, 'Out of Order: The Political Imprisonment of Women in Northern Ireland, 1972-1998' and to discuss the continuing impact of the conflict on imprisonment on the tenth anniversary of the release of political prisoners under the terms of the Belfast Agreement, 1998.

EEL ON A SLIPPERY SLOPE

Dr Dave Hoole, School of Life Sciences/Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, has been invited to join an Environment Agency and DEFRA Working Group, whose aim is to seek funding and co-ordinate activities which will form part of a report on progress towards an Eel Recovery Plan, which is required to be submitted to the EC in 2012. The first meeting of this working group has taken place at the DEFRA Headquarters in Whitehall, London.

The population of the European eel has, over the last 20 years, undergone a 95% reduction, which led to the European Union "Council Regulation for Establishing Measures for Recovery of the Stock of European Eel" in June 2007. This Regulation places a duty on Member States to submit Eel Management Plans, although the Commission recognises that more scientific research is required.

INTERVIEW SKILLS DAY

The Faculty of Health Widening Participation group recently held an Interview Skills Day at the Medical School on campus, organised by Kate Bromage and Holly Williams. The day was attended by thirteen prospective Year 12 applicants and their teachers from local sixth form colleges.

The day included talks on university life, interview guidance and the applications process by Dr Paula Roberts, Dr Gordon Dent and Kathleen Clews, and a campus tour. During the day each applicant had the opportunity to experience a mock interview and gain detailed feedback from faculty staff. The day was highly successful and very well evaluated by everyone who attended.

RESEARCH GRANTS

Professor Peter Crome, Research Institute for Life Course Studies, has been awarded £66,067 by the European Commission for a project titled "Increasing the PaRticipation of the ElDerly in Clinical Trials – PREDICT".

Dr Nicholas Forsyth, Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, with Professor Nicola Maffulli, has been awarded £4,166 by the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society for a project titled "Can human bone marrow-derived stem cells differentiate into tendon-forming cells".

Professor John Wearden, Research Institute for Life Course Studies, has been awarded £2,000 by the Experimental Psychology Society for a 12 month project titled "Emotional valence and the perception of duration".

Dr KP Lam, Research Institute for the Environment, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics, has been awarded £500 by Advantage West Midlands to support preparation for a recently submitted FP7 proposal which brings together the two disparate fields of computational sciences (High performance/Advanced computing) and applied green chemistry  (Environmental science/technology).

Led by a Keele team, the project involves academic-industry collaborations with partners, including The South China University of Technology (Environmental Science and Engineering), DWI Research Institute in Germany (Advanced Materials) and Yorkshire Farben GMBH.

FORUM FOR PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH

The Keele Forum for Philosophical Research was launched last week. Celebrations coincided with the eve of UNESCO's World Philosophy Day.

The event, in Claus Moser Building, was attended by staff, students and interested members of the public and began with a drinks reception. After a brief introduction by Professor John Horton, School of
Politics, International Relations and Philosophy (SPIRE), outlining the history of philosophy at Keele, the opening lecture on "The Autonomy of the Human Sciences" was given by Dr. Giuseppina D'Oro (Reader in Philosophy, SPIRE).

The Forum for Philosophical Research is part of the Research Institute for Law, Politics and Justice. It seeks to bring together all philosophers, irrespective of their specific subfields of interest, in order to develop a philosophical culture and promote research collaboration across the university.

Keele University was one of the few places in the UK to celebrate World Philosophy Day.