EURO HONOUR FOR KEELE ACADEMIC

Dr Nigel Cassidy, Research Institute for Environment, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics and the School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, has been selected by the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE) to represent the "The Best of Near-Surface Geophysics 2011" at the forthcoming 25th Anniversary Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Environmental and Engineering Problems (SAGEEP) in Tuscon, Arizona.

The peer-evaluated accolade was awarded for his presentation entitled "A Comparison Between GPR and Ultrasonic Techniques for Void Detection Beneath Reinforced Concrete Sections"  at the recent EAGE international Near-Surface Geophysics Conference in Leicester.  

Dr Cassidy, whose research is a Royal Society funded collaboration with Fugro-Aperio Ltd, said: "It is an honour to be selected to represent the European Near-Surface Geophysics community in the States.  Such opportunities are rare these days and it will be a pleasure to showcase the practical application of our recent research work."

KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Professor Peter Styles, School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, was the keynote speaker at the First International Conference on Engineering Geophysics held at Al Ain in Abu Dhabi. Professor Styles gave the opening speech, entitled  "Environmental Geophysics and the 21st Century City" - the only one attended by His Highness Sheik Nahayan Mabarak al Nahayan.  

This was a comparison between the engineering problems of regeneration, contamination and physical hazard experienced by western cities and the rapidly growing new cities of the Middle, Far East, China and South America, where unforeseen geological problems, often associated with sinkholes, are common.

He also gave the keynote talk on the second day on "Geosciences Contribution to Nuclear Energy from Cradle to Grave", which was relevant as Abu Dhabi has just contracted to purchase four new nuclear power plants designed and installed by South Korea.

THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE

Ets HaDa'at (The Tree of Knowledge), a music composition by Professor Rajmil Fischman, Research Institute for Humanities, was a winner in the highest category of the International Music Prize for Excellence in Composition 2011 (www.musicprizes.com).

Compositions entered in the expert category are expected to be 'of the very highest standard which one might expect to hear at a major concert venue'.

Ets HaDa'at provides a contemporary interpretation of the biblical tale relating the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, in the context of the Middle East conflict. 'Knowledge' is not only acquisition of information (acknowledgement of 'nakedness'), but also comprehension (understanding the implications of nakedness). Comprehension can trigger ethical mechanisms that demand action (covering nakedness). When knowledge has affected human beings in this way, it changes their conception of life and the world, which will never be the same (expulsion from paradise).

This process has repeated itself throughout history in all areas of human activity, including prolonged struggles in which the original agents may not be alive and a legacy of suffering is left to generations that were born into the conflict but did not cause it: often, current reality bears little resemblance to the conditions in which the conflict began. In such cases knowledge may actually become a source for fresh and viable solutions.

VICE-CHANCELLOR PRESENTS TEACHING AWARDS

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett, presented certificates at a ceremony in Keele Hall to 36 staff from Keele and Harper Adams University College, who have completed the postgraduate award in Supporting Student Learning, the postgraduate certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, the postgraduate certificate in Teaching and Learning with Technology, and the MA in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. Mentors and teaching team staff were also present for a celebration lunch.

Graduates of the postgraduate certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education are automatically granted Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.

For more information about award-bearing professional development courses in learning and teaching, please contact Cath Crutchley at c.crutchley@educ.keele.ac.uk or at lpdc@per.keele.ac.uk.

LIFE AFTER PhD FOR RESEARCHERS ON AGEING AND LATER LIFE

The Centre for Social Gerontology (CSG) in collaboration with the Emerging Researchers in Ageing (ERA) group of the British Society of Gerontology, hosted a one-day conference in the Moser Research Centre for 30 students, post-doctoral researchers and staff.

The event was organised by the CSG's current postgraduate students to honour their immediate predecessors, give a boost to the work of ERA and celebrate recent doctoral successes.

Returning to present their doctoral research were former postgraduates Dr Jackie Reynolds (now in the Creative Communities Unit at Staffordshire University), Dr Karan Jutlla (now a Lecturer in the Association for Dementia Studies at Worcester University) and Dr Chaz Simpson (now a Research Fellow in the Centre for Research in Primary and Community Care, Hertfordshire University).

Jackie spoke about her research on 'ageing, creativity and social capital'; Karan about her study of 'Sikh carers of older people with dementia', and Chaz about his work on 'older people's involvement in regeneration'.

The Centre's visiting postdoctoral fellow, Dr Anu Leinonen from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, presented her research on 'working carers of older people'.

The day was opened by Professor Sheila Peace, Open University, who drew on her extensive research experience and her current TiKL (Transitions in Kitchen Living) project to discuss the challenges of inter-disciplinary working.

A CSG lunchtime seminar, given by Dr Debbie Price, King's College, critiqued the government's financial capability agenda and exposed the way it both serves, and fails, neo-liberal economic policies.

The day was rounded off by a panel discussion on career development. In addition to Keele students and staff, delegates came from Nottingham, Bristol, Chester and Liverpool. A similar day is planned for Spring 2012 (at Brunel University) and there will be further ERA events linked to the Annual Conference of the British Society of Gerontology being hosted at Keele from 11-13, July 2012  (see: http://www.britishgerontology.org/.

The event was funded through the new Researcher Development and Transferable Skills Training funds in the Research Institute for Social Sciences. For further details on the funds and how to apply, please contact the HUMSS Faculty Research Office.

OBE IN NEW YEAR'S HONOURS

Maureen Morgan, Lecturer in Clinical Leadership in the School of Public Policy and Professional Practice, was awarded an OBE in the New Year's Honours for her work in primary and community nursing.

NEW BOOK ON HEALTH AND WELL-BEING IN THE WORKPLACE

Professor Chris Phillipson, Centre for Social Gerontology, pictured below, and Dr Ross Wilkie, Research Institute for Primary Care Sciences, together with Sarah Vickerstaff (University of Kent) have published an edited collected of papers entitled Work, health and well-being: The challenges of managing health at work (Policy Press, 2012).

The volume draws together a range of disciplines to develop different approaches designed to improve work participation in middle and later life. The book is unique in combining perspectives on mental and physical health, examining the challenges for organisations in supporting people with long-term disabilities.

The papers arose from a research network at Keele and Kent universities, supported through the Medical Research Council Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Programme.

INNOVATIVE MARKING AND FEEDBACK METHODS IN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Adrian Molyneux, Lecturer in Learning Technology, and Dr Chris Harrison, Senior Lecturer in Medical Education, School of Medicine, have launched a new application they have developed for assessing practical examinations and providing timely and personalised feedback to medical students. 

Using iPads running a bespoke app, examiners collect the data and an interactive website, accessible via Blackboard, allows students to view the information, hear audio feedback, gauge their performance in multiple ways and formulate meaningful strategies for improvement.

The site received many thousands of separate page hits within a day of the exam data being made available.  Students rate very highly the rapid, deep feedback they receive.

A GOOD EGG

Peter Walters, Executive Chef at Keele, and Dave Cooper, a chef from Comus Restaurant, pictured below, attended the Good Animal Welfare Awards in London, organised by Compassion in World Farming, to receive a Good Egg Award for helping to improve the welfare of farm animals.

The catering team at Keele buy all their free range eggs from Hungerford Farm, a local egg producer from Madeley. Keele was among 40 hospitals, educational centres and local councils to receive awards.

Peter said: "We are pleased to receive this award as it proves that we are concerned about where our food comes from and how the animals have been treated. I am convinced that our eggs taste better."

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Fifty-three years ago –

Professor F.A. Vick is one of four new members of the University Grants Committee who have been appointed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Professor Vick is a founding Professor of Physics at Keele, a member of the Senate, and between 1950 and 1954, was Acting Principal and Vice-Principal of the University College. 2 January 1959.