MARIE CURIE AWARD
FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION
 The Paediatric Medical Trust (PMT)
research project at Keele is being funded by the Marie Curie Individual
Fellowships Scheme, which is part of the Research Executive Agency of
the European Union.
The project is a £157,000 multidisciplinary
collaboration among Professor Ken Rotenberg (Psychology/ RI Life Course
Studies), pictured, Dr Serena Petrocchi (a Post-Doctorate Fellow, School
of Psychology), Professor Warren Lenney (University Hospital of North
Staffordshire/ RI Science and Technology in Medicine), Dr Sally
Sargeant, (Psychology/ RI Life Course Studies), Dr Lesley Rimington
(Health and Rehabilitation/ RI Life Course Studies) and Ms Jenny Versnel
(Executive Director, Research and Policy, at the Asthma UK Health
Organisation).
The aim is to obtain qualitative and quantitative
research findings regarding the effects of interpersonal trust (as well
as other psychosocial factors) on the treatment of children with serious
illnesses. The research will help to establish guidelines for
establishing and maintaining trust in the treatment of children with
serious illnesses for use by physicians and other health professionals.
The research represents the first comprehensive and
quantitative examination of the role that interpersonal trust plays in
the treatment of children with serious illnesses. The PMT project will
also help redress the scarcity of professionals in Paediatric Medical
Psychology.
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MUSIC POSTGRADUATES
HAVE WORKS SELECTED FOR INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
 Composers
Robert Ratcliffe and Jon Weinel, Postgraduates in the Research Institute
for Humanities/ Music, have each had two musical works selected for
performance at the International Computer Music Conference 2010 in New
York, one of the largest and most prestigious conferences in the field
of electroacoustic and computer music. Their work was selected
from more than 1700 entrants.
Robert's piece 'Wake Up
Call' (bass clarinet and fixed medium) is to be performed as part of the
Red Light evening programme of events. His 'Phoenix 5' (fixed medium)
was chosen for inclusion in 60x60, a project which creates unique audio
mixes from one minute compositions by 60 different composers.
Jon
will perform his composition 'Entoptic Phenomena' as part of the
Analogous Interactions programme. 'Entoptic Phenomena' is a
real-time live performance for laptop and controllers, which utilises
special software designed by Jon. His piece 'Atomizer', a 60
second excerpt demonstrating the software, has also been selected for
inclusion in the 60x60 project.
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KYOTO STUDENTS POSTER PRESENTATION
Twenty-three students from the Kyoto University of
Foreign Studies in Japan, accompanied by Professor Yoshimi Sugimoto
completed a three-week Keele Study Programme with a poster presentation
display in the Chancellor's Building.
There were nearly a dozen posters reflecting the
students' investigations into various aspects of British life and
culture. The day culminated in an evening Departure and
Certification Ceremony at Keele Hall, honouring the students and their
host families, presided over by Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor Marilyn
Andrews.
Each year the Centre for International Exchange and
Development (CIED) and the English Language Unit (ELU) organise a study
programme for students from this partner university. Students live
in homestay with Keele and community families, attend English classes
and talks, visit local places of interest and are teamed up with Keele
undergraduate 'buddies' for an insight into the student experience at
Keele.
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RESEARCH GRANTS
School of Psychology lecturers, Dr Chris Stiff and Dr Emee Estacio,
Research Institute for Life Course Studies, have been successful in
their applications to the Richard Benjamin Memorial Research
Trust. Chris received £9,800 for a project entitled 'Facebook as a
means of managing stress associated with life transitions: can social
networking help new university students?' and Emee received £9,890 for
her project on 'Understanding the subjective experiences of overseas
nurses: a participatory action research project'.
Dr Anand Pandyan, Research
Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, has been awarded
£1,935 by the NHS National Institute for Health Research for the
development of an integrated service model incorporating innovative
technology for the rehabilitation of the upper limb following stroke. |
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CHOOSING TOMORROW'S CHILDREN
Professor Stephen Wilkinson, Centre for Professional Ethics has had a
new book, Choosing Tomorrow's Children: The Ethics of Selective
Reproduction, published by Oxford University Press.
In the book he argues that unless there is a serious sex imbalance in
the population, or the decision is motivated by sexist attitudes or
beliefs, parents should be allowed to decide the sex of a future child.
The book also asks what differences there are between what has
historically been termed 'eugenics' and contemporary uses of
biotechnology to select healthy embryos, and examines the ethical
distinction between improving health and other forms of 'enhancement'.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Members of the Physics and Chemistry departments presented
demonstrations and interactive experiments in the Roebuck Centre,
Newcastle, and in the Potteries Centre, Hanley, as part of the
University's contribution to Natural Science Week, which ran from 17 to 26 March 1995. |
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