16 December 2005

NEWS

24-hour drinking will not bring European drinking culture to Britain, says expert
Britain will struggle to adopt a more European approach to alcohol despite 24-hour licensing, according to Dr Marion Demossier (ESML) who is studying French drinking habits.

Teenage pain costs the UK almost £4 billion per year
Teenagers living with chronic pain could be costing the UK more than £3.8 billion each year, says a new study by researchers from the Pain Management Unit led by Professor Chris Eccleston.

Aid projects need better understanding of local issues, say researchers
Some of the aid projects designed to improve the lives of the world's poorest people may not be having the desired impact because of a poor understanding of local realities, researchers from the Wellbeing in Developing Countries (WeD) Group have found. This WeD research, led by Dr Allister McGregor, was highlighted at a Policy Forum 'Africa after 2005' which took place at Church House, Westminster on Friday 9 December.

Preserving academic freedom
Dr Steve Wharton (on sabbatical from ESML serving as national AUT President 2005/2006) spoke on the UK Terrorism Bill and academic freedom in Melbourne on 6 December, before attending the Fifth Annual HE and Research Conference of Education International in Melbourne. As the debate in the UK has proceeded, he has worked with AUT colleagues and other groups including UUK, SCONUL and the British Library to ensure academic freedom is not curtailed as an unintended consequence of the legislation.

Audit Commission's specialist in comprehensive performance assessment
Bath alumnus Abdool Kara has devised many of the criteria in the Audit Commission's annual performance ratings for councils which were put into practice around the country this week.

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INFORMATION

University web server downtime
Tuesday 20 December 2005 6-10 am
As part of the expansion to web services, essential work is to be carried out on the University's web server. Those with a connection to drive W: will not be able to access it during this time. Web-based applications such as SAMIS on the web, FIS and other domains hosted on this server will also not be available during the upgrade.

University Hall and Foyer
Work will commence on 17 December 2005, in the foyer to the University Hall, the Hall itself and the lower level entrance lobby. This works involves taking down ceilings and providing enhanced and replacement fire protection to the supporting steel frame. Works are scheduled for completion by 7 January 2006. During this period it will not be possible to access the Hall, or the foyer. The staircase from the Parade Bar down to level 1 will be blocked off and toilets on level 2 should be used, off the Claverton Rooms.

Choices kitchen closes
Due to essential works, Choices kitchen will be closed between 16 December and 5 February 2006.

Virtual actor research
Emmanuel Tanguy (Department of Computer Science) is running an experiment about the influence of facial expressions on people's perception of virtual actors. If you have a spare 15 minutes, please complete his questionnaire.

University closed for Christmas
The last day of operations before the Christmas break will be Friday 23 December, and normal operations will resume on Tuesday 3 January 2006. Wednesday 28-Friday 30 December are discretionary holidays.

Christmas pay date
December salaries will be transferred into bank accounts on Tuesday 20 December.

Send a University e-Christmas card
A selection of free University of Bath Christmas cards to send electronically.

Last posting dates

Jobs:
Vacant posts: www.bath.ac.uk/jobs

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TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

• Integrating Key Skills in your Learning & Teaching
  10 January 2006
• Exam Boards - Training for Chairs and Secretaries
  11 January 2006
• Cross Cultural competence in overseas recruitment
  17 January 2006
• Effective Appraisal: academic, research and teaching staff
  18 January 2006
• Effective Meetings for Chairs
  19 January 2006

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IN THE MEDIA

• Richard Velleman was quoted in an article in the Times about alcohol-related deaths.
• Stefan Wolff has taken part in a number of radio programmes about the current Iraq situation on: BBC World Service, BBC Radio 5 Live and GWR.
• Chris Eccleston's research into pain in adolescents was covered on the BBC website, News-Medical.net, Australia and DeHavilland.

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WHAT'S ON www.bath.ac.uk/whats-on

Monday 19 December
Symposium: Benchmarking the knowledge economy
London School of Economics, Houghton Street: Room D202

All next week:
Festive meals on campus

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SPORT www.teambath.com/news

Marilyn steps into Dame Kelly's shoes
French and Politics student Marilyn Okoro has been asked to step into Dame Kelly Holmes' shoes for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. The 21-year-old was called into the Team England team to run the 800m following Dame Kelly's decision to retire from the sport.

Gold for Schaeffer
Psychology student Janne Schaefer won her first senior international title competing at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in Italy. Janne won gold in the 50m breaststroke and then helped the German 4x50m medley relay team win silver. Fellow University student Ross Davenport won bronze in the 200m freestyle while Team Bath swimmer Mark Foster won 50m freestyle gold, silver in the 50m butterfly and helped GB to two relay bronzes.

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