KEELE ACADEMICS APPOINTED TO RESEARCH EXCELLENCE FRAMEWORK SUB PANELS

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) team, on behalf of the four UK funding bodies, have announced the membership of the expert panels for the REF 2014, which includes five Keele academics appointed to the sub panels.

Members were appointed to the panels following an open nominations process, whereby subject associations and other organisations with an interest in research conducted by UK higher education institutions were invited to nominate candidates.

The membership comprises a balance of academic subject experts and those with expertise in the use or contribution of research more widely, as well as members with an international perspective on the main panels. The REF team will now work with the chairs and members of the panels during 2011 to develop the criteria for the assessment in 2014.

Professor Alicia El Haj was appointed to the General Engineering sub panel; Professor Elaine Hay, Primary Care; Professor Julius Sim, Allied Health, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy; Professor David Shepherd, Modern Languages, and Professor Ann Hughes, History.

£1 MILLION AWARD TO FIGHT MALARIA

A major new award of £1million from the Medical Research Council African Research Leader Scheme will support links with Africa, bringing together the medical entomology teams of Dr Frederic Tripet, of Keele's Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology, and Dr Abdoulaye Diabate, of the Centre Muraz in Burkina Faso.
 
The objective of the project is to better understand male mosquito mating behaviour, enabling new strategies to eliminate malaria. The project will support eight staff for five years with significant fieldwork in villages in Burkina Faso and lengthy visits of staff to Keele's laboratories in the Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine.
 
Malaria remains a major cause of mortality in many parts of Africa. The control of mosquito populations remains one of the most efficient ways of decreasing the incidence of the disease. Understanding mosquito swarming and mating behaviour may lead to new tools for controlling mosquito populations by targeting swarms with traps or insecticides. Male mating behaviour is also crucial for vector control programmes aiming to release sterile male mosquitoes that mate with wild females and induce their sterility, and for future programmes aiming to introduce genes of refractoriness to malaria into mosquito populations, via genetically-modified mosquitoes. So far laboratory-reared male mosquitoes have been unable to mate with wild females effectively, thereby casting doubt on the efficiency of mosquito releases.
 
An important first part of the research programme will thus focus on understanding what determines swarm size and location in view of vector control. The second part will focus on the ecology and molecular basis of mate choice and mating success in swarms, with the goal of improving the mating performance of laboratory-reared mosquitoes. The proposed research studies will include ecological experiments in specially designed large outdoor cages and selected villages in Burkina Faso and will also benefit from the latest molecular advances in the laboratories at Keele.

CONFLICT, CONSUMPTION AND RECONSTRUCTION

Dr Anthony Carrigan, Lecturer in English, School of Humanities, gave an invited talk at University College Dublin this week as part of the School of English, Drama and Film's research seminar series. The talk was entitled 'Representing Postcolonial Disaster: Conflict, Consumption, Reconstruction', and examined the relationships between post colonialism,  ecocriticism and disaster studies. This was illustrated with examples of how Pacific nuclearisation is portrayed as producing disabling environments in literature from the region.

STUDY ABROAD LINKS TO FRANCE

Julie Pidell, from EPITECH, a group of 12 Computer Science Schools in France, and Gavin Browne, from SupBiotech, a specialist Biotechnology Grande Ecole in France, visited Keele to discuss sending their students on undergraduate programmes as study abroad students. Three EPITECH students are currently taking IT and Management courses and this will increase to 30 next year. Julie met with Dr Thomas Neligwa, Course, Tutor for ITMB, and Professor Graham Rogerson, Head of Computing and Mathematics, and Gavin met with Dr Richard Darton, Study Abroad Tutor in Chemistry, and Professor Gwyn Williams, in Life Sciences.

Gildas Vinson, from EPITECH, Toulouse, will be visiting Computer Science later this month to teach under the ERASMUS scheme.

BRIGHT FUTURE FOR KEELE BRASS BAND

Keele Brass Band, newly formed by conductor John Watson, with students taking the Music programmes and other brass players from across the University, enjoyed a fine result at the UniBrass 2011 contest. The band came 5th out of a section of 14 bands, placing it ahead of significant competition from Oxford, Cambridge and York. The band was drawn to play second but, due to a withdrawn band, ended up performing first, and thereby opening the championship - the first of its kind - at Lancaster University. Adjudicators praised the band's "well contrasted programme, played with spirit and directed without fuss," and noted that this was "a band with a bright sound" and a bright future.

KEELE BASIC BITES WORKSHOP FOR SHIFTING LANDSCAPES

Keele Basic Bites (KBB) was invited to contribute a workshop for the Shifting Landscapes initiative, a five-day event last week for refugees and asylum seekers in the Stoke area, run by Dr Emma Dawson, LDU. Delegates were turned into proto-doctors when they analysed two patient urine samples and helped to diagnose suspected Type 2 diabetes, with the aid of a KBB video tutorial demonstrating how to perform the test.
 
KBB, a learning project created by Dr Russell Crawford (teaching fellow) and co-developed by Dr Andrew Morris (teaching fellow), is a series of guided study video clip resources currently being used to aid student learning in the School of Medicine. 

Everyone engaged with the workshop, and feedback on the day, was extremely positive. Pictures from the workshop can be found on the KBB facebook page -  (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Keele-Basic-Bites/139648052716145) and Keele Basic Bites are available from:  http://www.keelebasicbites.com

FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT

Fairtrade Fortnight was launched at Keele last week with events and promotions being held on campus.

These included a talk by Juliana Sampana (Shea Butter Producer from Ghana and President of the Acoma Co-operative Multi Purpose Society).

The co-operative was set up in January 2009 with money raised being re-invested in the community. During the first two years, the co-operative has funded the schooling of over 70 children. Also, all workers now receive free health care.

Juliana Sampana is pictured with Susan Warrender, Head of Catering and Retail.

USER'S GUIDE TO UNIVERSITY

Widening Participation welcomed 20 KS5 learners onto campus this week for the 'University: A User's Guide' two day course. The course, part of the wider 'Access to Keele' scheme, awarding the young people 40 UCAS points on completion, for use at Keele, was a non-residential event aiming to give the learners a real taste of university life.

During the first day they learned how to 'survive' a seminar and a lecture with Jess Hall, how to research and reference with Dr Paula Roberts, as well as experiencing a lecture and seminar with Dr Zoe Robinson and Professor Andy Dobson.  On the second day, they had time to research and present on issues surrounding climate change and sustainability, which was assessed as part of the scheme.

Other recent on-campus events have seen 300 young people attend four University taster days for age groups 11 – 16, when they explored the inflatable stardome, whilst enjoying lectures from Dr Richard Waller and Dr Jonathan Parker. Aimhigher ambassadors have also been on hand to 'Build a Uni from Lego' and deliver an interactive HE quiz. All events were supported by a team of Keele undergraduate Keelelink Event Mentors.

BEST VALUE FOR MONEY AWARD

Keele Conferences and Events were, for the 13th year running, among the winners at the Meetings and Incentive Travel Awards, announced on Monday at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London. Keele was presented with the bronze award in the 'Best Value for Money Conference Venue' category.

Votes are cast by customers from the venues and the winners were announced this week at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London. Sam Rooney, head of Keele Conferences and Events, said: "It's great to be recognised by our customers in a national award and this shows that our commitment to provide fantastic facilities, with great customer service, is appreciated by all our customers." 

HIGH SHERIFF'S AWARD FOR KEELE STUDENT

Keele student, Tim Platt, was awarded £250 by the High Sheriff for his actions which led to police catching thieves stealing lead from Stoke Minster.

Tim, a 22-year-old third year IT management student, was awoken by loud bangs and noises. He saw men fetching and carrying what he thought was lead out the churchyard and placing it in a van. Tim called the police and gave them a running commentary over the phone until officers arrived to arrest the offenders.

DEPUTY VICE-CHANCELLOR TO CHAIR STEERING GROUP

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, Rama Thirunamachandran, is to chair a UCAS steering group which is to review its admissions processes.

The opportunity for a comprehensive review of the admissions process emerged last year when the UCAS board approved a new five-year strategy.

Rama was appointed to the UCAS board last October to represent English institutions.  UCAS is the world's leading shared admissions service for higher education.

NATIONAL ENDORSEMENT FOR RHEUMATOLOGY PROGRAMMES

The British Health Professionals in Rheumatology (BHPR) has endorsed the PG diploma/MSc in Rheumatology Nursing and the ASPiRE rheumatology modules for nurses and AHPs. BHPR is a national organisation that supports members of the multi-disciplinary team in delivering best quality care to meet the needs of individuals with a musculoskeletal condition.

This is a major achievement by the team and is testimony to the high standard and quality of education that students can expect to receive whilst studying in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. The link with BHPR will serve to further enhance the national and international reputation of these educational programmes for health professionals working in rheumatology.

POLITICS SHOW DEBATE ON WIND TURBINES

SPIRE's Professor Andrew Dobson appeared on BBC 1's Politics Show last weekend in a debate with Bill Cash, MP, and David Kidney, ex-MP, about wind turbines. 

He suggested that renewable energy of all types now makes economic as well as environmental sense, due largely to the promotion of feed-in tariffs, which guarantee premium prices for renewable energy fed back into the grid. 

As with all new technologies, competitive advantage
goes to 'first movers', he argued, so opposition to wind turbines undermines the potential for the creation of a green manufacturing base in the Midlands and further afield.

NEXT WEEK - RADIO FOUR DISCUSSION ON THE MAGISTRACY

Professor Barry Godfrey, Research Institute for Social Sciences, discusses local justice and the future of the magistracy with BBC Radio 4 presenter Jenny Cuffe, in a programme to be broadcast on Monday.

This year marks the 650th anniversary of the appointment of Britain's first Justices of the Peace. But, across the country, magistrates' courts are facing closure as part of the cost saving measures announced by the Ministry of Justice.

So how valuable is the role played by local magistrates and what impact will the court closures have?

The programme, which goes out at 8pm on March 7, assesses the claims of those who say justice needs to be delivered locally.

ROYAL SOCIETY GRANT

Dr Falko Drijfhout, Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, has been awarded a research grant from the Royal Society of £11,739 for a project entitled: "Hydrocarbons as tools in age determination and species identification of forensic important blowflies".

Dr Drijfhout recently started a research project to combine chemistry with forensic entomology. Insects at crime scenes can be used to determine the time of the crime, but information on their species and age is required.

This project looks to see if hydrocarbons, found on the cuticle of all insects, can be used to determine the species and the age of these insects found at the crime scene.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Thirty-seven years ago -

Professor "Sammy" Finer, former Head of the Department of Politics, has been named to the Gladstone Chair of Government and Public Administration at Oxford, in succession of Professor Max Beloff. 5 March 1974.