PRESTIGIOUS FELLOWSHIPS FOR KEELE RESEARCHERS

Two members of the Research Institute for the Humanities have been awarded prestigious Leverhulme Research Fellowships.

Professor Charles Townshend (School of Humanities/History) has been awarded a Leverhulme Research Fellowship, with a value of £41,807 over a period of eighteen months from September 2009, to complete the research and writing of his project on 'the Republican Counter-state in Ireland 1919-23', examining the military and political elements of the Irish struggle for independence. The resulting book is due to be published by Allen Lane/Penguin Press in 2011.

Dr Lucy Munro (School of Humanities/English) has been awarded a Leverhulme Research Fellowship with a value of £35,543 over twelve months.  The fellowship will enable her to pursue research for a project provisionally titled "The English Archaic: Materialising the Past in Early Modern Drama and Culture".  Focusing on the cultural and political functions of writers' deliberate employment of old-fashioned or outmoded linguistic and literary forms, it will argue that archaism, with its capacity to re-embody older conventions, provides an alterative model for conceptualising the ways in which a culture might engage with its past.

YALE APPOINTMENT FOR KEELE LECTURER

Dr Roger Worthington, Lecturer and Healthcare Law and Ethics Lead at Keele's School of Medicine, has been appointed Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine.

Over the last few years he has built up a student exchange programme between Yale and Keele for medical students doing research projects on ethics and health policy. Roger has a long-term affiliation, having been a member of the Yale Interdisciplinary Bioethics Centre since 1999. Yale University School of Medicine has recently recognised the contribution this work plays in the education of their students with an honorary position. Roger is looking forward to exploring opportunities arising from this faculty post in the Department of General Internal Medicine and to fostering closer links with Keele. In June he will be addressing Yale Bioethics Summer Interns and giving his first talk at the new department, focusing on relations between cultural values, ethics and medical professionalism.

COPYRIGHT FOR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

Professor David Amigoni, English, Research Institute for the Humanities, was one of 50 academics, publishers, funders and MPs invited to take part in a debate at the British Library on 'Copyright for Education and Research'.

The event was chaired by the BBC media correspondent, Torin Douglas, and featured contributions from Dame Lynne Brindley (Chief Executive of the British Library) and David Lammy, Minister for Skills and Higher Education at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. The debate considered two possible scenarios posed by current copyright arrangements: aspects of copyright support a vibrant research environment utilising technological developments for education, research and the UK's knowledge economy. Other aspects, however, might be in danger of enforcing a digital lockdown where access is restricted and education, research and the knowledge economy are stifled.

NATIONAL GUIDELINES FOR RESPIRATORY PHYSIOTHERAPY

A Keele lecturer has played a key role in the publication of the first set of national guidelines for the physiotherapy management of the adult, medical spontaneously breathing patient (Thorax 2009; 64: S1-51) by The British Thoracic Society. Dr Lesley Rimington, School of Health and Rehabilitation, was a member of a steering group of five expert physiotherapists from the UK that was formed to develop the guidelines.

The guidelines have arisen as a result of the need to critically appraise the evidence for respiratory physiotherapy techniques and give recommendations for practice. Their publication is to inform health professionals of the scope of physiotherapy practice and the current evidence supporting the use of physiotherapeutic techniques.

Guidelines can be found at http://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/ClinicalInformation/Physiotherapy.

KEELE IN THE CITY

More than 200 Keelites attended the fourth "Keele in the City" event for alumni at "Tiger Tiger" in the Haymarket, London last week.

The guest list spanned all Keele generations and for the first time there were representatives from every single decade since the 1950s. There was a particularly high proportion of 1990s and 2000s graduates.

Another university had also booked a room at the same venue for the same night. When their attendance peaked at 25, many defected upstairs to join the 200+ in the Keele zone, where they experienced the friendly Keele "buzz", aided by the tuneful sounds of Radio One DJ Reggie Yates and nostalgic images of Keele on screen. The team of John Easom, Robin Cross and Nettie Payn enjoyed some great conversations with many people wanting to remember and support Keele.

KEELE GRADUATE BURSARIES

In order to support students graduating this year in a difficult economic climate, a decision has been taken to offer bursaries for postgraduate study.

Bursaries of £1,000 will be available for all 2009 Keele graduates who opt to stay on for postgraduate study and who are not receiving other forms of funding.  Students graduating this year from an undergraduate course will be entitled to a £1,000 discount on postgraduate fees.  For UK graduates this represents around 30% of the cost of postgraduate tuition fees.
 
Keele Graduate Bursaries are available for all UK and international students graduating from a first degree programme during 2009. They are not available for Postgraduate Research nor the Postgraduate Certificate in Education, Social Work or courses funded by the National Health Service or other external bodies.
 
A full list of postgraduate courses can be seen here. The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is holding a postgraduate open event on 2nd June - see here  and there will be information on all postgraduate courses at a University Open Day on Sunday 14 June.

TOP TWENTY FOR SATISFACTION

The Independent's Complete University Guide 2010 table of universities by Student Satisfaction ranked Keele at 20th in the UK.

The Guide, which includes 113 institutions and was  published last week, saw Keele placed at 42nd overall and in the subject tables  the University was positioned 3rd in Sociology, 12th in Mathematics and American Studies, 19th in Social Work and 20th in Geology.

In the regional rankings Keele was fourth in the West Midlands.

CREDIT CRUNCH TALK

Chris Giles, Economics Editor of the Financial Times, this week gave the Annual Distinguished Lecture in Economics at Keele. The talk, titled "Bank of England independence - is it over?", was organised by the Research Institute for Public Policy and Management.

During his presentation, which was well attended by staff members and students, Chris Giles discussed the underlying causes of the credit crunch crisis and its impact on UK and world financial markets.

The talk concluded by predicting that the independence of the Bank of England is over. Chris Giles also predicted that a new form of co-ordination between the Bank of England and the H.M. Treasury will emerge when the crisis is finally over.

EVENTS AT KEELE HALL

This week saw the start of a month of School Leavers' Balls being held at Keele Hall.  Schools which have hosted this burgeoning annual event in the secondary school calendar at Keele include: Biddulph High School, St John Fisher and Blurton High School.

Marcus Wilson, Sales & Marketing Manager with the Keele Conferences team, said: "This has now become a very important part of the Year 11 calendar, and we are really pleased that so many schools choose Keele to host their event.

"We wish all the students well in their chosen career paths, and hope they return to Keele with a view to furthering their education."

This week also saw Keele Hall host the annual balls for the Keele Surgical Society and the School of Humanities.