University Updates
30 October 2009
Academic news
Children learn drinking habits from their parents and adverts
Richard Velleman (Psychology) has published two reports into what influences children’s behaviour and attitude towards alcohol. The research reveals that parents and alcohol’s representation in the media have the strongest influence on drinking habits, whereas peers have the least.
Christine Tipper, part-time lecturer and previous European Course Director of ESML’s MA in Interpreting & Translation and MA in Translation & Professional Language Skills programmes was invited to a poetry reading and book signing event in Montreal to celebrate the release of her book, Changing Shores, a translation of Canadian poet Nadine Ltaif’s Entre les fleuves.
Researcher takes part in high-profile exhibition on climate change
Alistair Hunt (Economics) was invited to participate in the “Prove It!” exhibition at the Science Museum in London. The exhibition, opened by Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Climate & Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and the UK’s chief scientist Professor John Beddington, focuses on the objectives of the forthcoming United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen in December. Alistair discussed how his research on the costs of climate change relates to the summit objectives.
Paris exhibition features ‘virtual balloon flight’ over Bath
Alan Day and Vaughan Hart from the Centre for Advanced Studies in Architecture (Architecture & Civil Engineering) have just returned from a major exhibition in Paris showcasing CASA's pioneering work that uses computers to visualise how buildings would have looked in the past.
Academic gives evidence to committee scrutinising Child Poverty Bill
Tess Ridge (Centre for the Analysis of Social Policy, Social & Policy Sciences) has given oral evidence to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee, who are scrutinising The Child Poverty Bill. The Bill, which had its first reading in July, will provide a statutory basis to the commitment made by the Labour Government in 1999 to eradicate child poverty by 2020.
News
4 West reaches ‘high point’ in its development
A special ceremony, dating back thousands of years, took place last week to celebrate a crucial stage in the 4 West building project at the University.
Cake & book sale raises amazing £410 for cancer charity
Monday’s cake and book sale on the Parade raised £410 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Sarah Moore (School for Health) who organised the event as part of her fundraising for a charity cycle ride says a big thank you to all who supplied and/or bought items.
BBC4 quiz show looking for contestants
Only Connect, a quiz show on BBC4 for lateral thinkers, would like to hear from staff and students who want to take part in their next series.
InPictures turns autumnal
Staff and students have been uploading photographs they have taken on and around campus showing off the beautiful autumn colours.
New prayer & meditation corner/quiet space opens on campus
This new 'quiet space' is available for all staff and students for quiet prayer, meditation, reading and contemplation - at times when the room is not booked for a major event.
Please feel free to drop into the Chaplaincy and use this special space which was designed and the fabrics created by local artist Paula Widdicombe.
No food or drink in the actual prayer corner please, but do feel free to eat your sandwiches in the Common Room corner of the Chaplaincy.
Updated Human Resources website
The HR website has been redesigned to help simplify the challenge of keeping everyone up to date with HR policies & procedures by making the site structure more accessible. Departmental web maintainers are requested to check any links to the previous HR website, to check they still work as the file locations may have changed.
Information
Clarification about civil penalty notices (parking tickets)
It has become clear that some people think the issuing of the newly introduced parking tickets will be conducted by a contracted company - this is not the case. The notices will be issued by either the University's Security Officers or Parking Wardens and not by outside contractors. The confusion may have arisen from the fact that a company trading as the ‘Car Parking Partnership’ will be dealing with the back of house operation i.e. collection of monies from any tickets issued and appeals.
Report of University Senate Meeting
A number of items were considered at the meeting of University Senate that took place on 21 October 2009.
Swap Shop wiki
Does your department need to get rid of something that might be useful to another department? Why not use Purchasing’s Swap Shop wiki to swap it (or possibly just give it to them!)
Pilot Sabbatical Leave Scheme - call for applications
Individuals wishing to apply for sabbatical leave should submit an application for sabbatical leave via their Head of Department/School by 27 November.
Printing and photocopying in your department
The University is currently reviewing departmental printing and photocopying. Please could you complete a short five-minute survey sharing your views about current provision. This provides an opportunity for your input into future requirements.
Private flu vaccinations for staff
The University Medical Centre (UMC) is able to offer private flu vaccinations at a cost of £15 to University staff who do not automatically qualify for a vaccination for free from their registered GP. Flu Clinics are being held on various dates throughout November. Please note the jabs are only available to staff who are not registered patients of the UMC.
Research volunteers wanted
- Judge how well six scenarios describe privacy (5-minute survey)
- School for Health researcher David Moore is offering £5 to all staff and students who volunteer to participate in an experiment which takes no more than one hour and involves computerised reaction time tasks, questionnaires, and a mildly painful heat or pressure sensation.
- Want to vent about a privacy violation that kept you up at night? Fill out our 10-minute survey and tell us how you feel!
Jobs
Vacant posts: www.bath.ac.uk/jobs
Alumni
Alumni Fund Telethon Team gear up for action
Recruitment of current students for the Alumni Fund Telethon Team is now complete. The Alumni Fund is supported by thousands of former students for the benefit of current and future students and the Telethon (where current students call graduates from the same discipline) plays a vital part in raising both awareness and money. The autumn telethon starts on Monday 2 November.
Matt Stevens hosts entrepreneurial talk for Bath students
Former England rugby player and Bath alumnus Matt Stevens hosted a talk for our student entrepreneurs, at his new café, this week. The event, organised by BANTER, the Students’ Union entrepreneurial society, gave students the chance to find out how businesses start, as well as the real life challenges entrepreneurs face.
MBA alumni help steer students over the finishing line
Bath MBA students and alumni were flying the flag for us in the Solent over the summer, when they took part in the annual Business Schools' Regatta. The two Bath crews, a mix of students and alumni, fought it out over five races and accomplished a great result, finishing in an impressive fourth and seventh place in the overall ranking. The majority of the Bath crew members had minimal or no experience and came up against some very experienced sailors.
In the media
- Emmanuel Fragniere (School of Management) has been in great demand to discuss his research findings that marriages are more successful where the husband has a younger, better-educated wife. He has spoken on Johannesburg Radio, International French Radio, National Columbia Radio, Today FM (Ireland), BBC Radio Somerset, BBC Radio Newcastle, BBC Radio Sheffield; and the story appeared on many news sites including The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & BBC.
Training & development
- Intellectual property 4 November
- Workshop on running tutorials & seminars 10 November
- Project management (Two spaces) 13 November
- Chairing recruitment panels 9, 11 or 17 November
(It will be mandatory for Chairs to have attended this course from 1 January 2010)
- Extra date for GTA/PGR intensive teaching course 24 November
- ILM Level 2 team leading award January-February 2010
- CMS training courses
- Staff Development programme | PDF to print
- e-Learning staff development programme
- Monthly learning & teaching paper lunches
Forthcoming lectures & conferences
Public lectures programme
The programme of free lectures open for staff, students and the general public is available online.
Podcasts
A number of new recordings have been added to the Podcast page so that you can download any lectures you may have missed.
Sex, conflicts and cooperation: the family life of birds
Professor Tamás Székely(Biology & Biochemistry) will give his inaugural lecture on Wednesday 11 November, revealing that the family dynamics of birds are not all they may seem.
Assisted dying - First lecture in series proves popular
Over 100 people crowded into the lecture theatre on Tuesday evening to hear Lord Joffe speak on ‘Assisted dying; rights, choices and palliative care’. The lecture is now available to download as a podcast.
Dates for your diary
- Fireworks display 7 November
- University Carol Service 9 December
- Winter graduations 15/16 December
What's on
More details - www.bath.ac.uk/whats-on/
Monday 2
09:30 AM Practice interviews
13:15 PM Complexity/BICS seminar - Riemann zeros and random matrices
13:15 PM Application forms for business placements
18:30 PM Airbus presentation
18:30 PM L'Oreal presentation
Tuesday 3
12:15 PM Mid week Eucharist/HC service
12:15 PM Numerical reasoning test only
12:45 PM Oxfam lunch
13:15 PM OC Robotics presentation
13:15 PM Migration/Ethnicity Cluster seminar ESML
16:30 PM Is small beautiful? Making sense of the economics of local renewable energy
19:00 PM BP presentation
19:30 PM Consciousness & being - 21st century mysticism
Wednesday 4
13:15 AM Interview skills for international students
13:45 PM CPD launch event
17:15 PM Airfields - a phenomenon of the 20th century
18:30 PM Alex Pearl - Goodbye to most of the daydreams
19:00 PM Artist Alex Pearl & critic JJ Charlesworth in conversation
Thursday 5
12:15 PM Verbal reasoning test only
13:00 PM What matters? How do we not notice the things that really affect our lives?
13:15 PM Postgraduate study - Is it for you?
13:15 PM Goldman Sachs presentation by Operations & Networking
13:15 PM Do you want to be a Patent Attorney?
18:30 PM ARUP presentation
19:00 PM Homosexuality in the Classical World
19:15 PM Observations on Ordovician oceans
Friday 6
12:15 PM Wines from the New World
13:15 PM Employability, applications and interviews
14:15 PM Collaborative Provision Approval Panel
14:15 PM Aptitude tests
19:30 PM Cosmic alchemical furnaces
Arts
Full details: www.bath.ac.uk/icia
Concerts and Performances:
BUSU Arts Societies - Show in a Week! | ICIA Arts Theatre | Saturday 31 October
Put together over the course of one week, this is a spectacular themed showcase of the various talents of the Students' Union's arts societies.Choral and Orchestral Society - Remembrance Concert | St Michael’s Church, Broad Street, Bath | Sunday 8 November, 7.30pm
With proceeds to the Royal British Legion and St Michael’s Church, this concert features the University of Bath’s Philharmonic Orchestra, Concert Band and Choir.
Talks:
Alex Pearl & JJ Charlesworth in conversation | ICIA Art Space 1 | Wednesday 4 November, 7pm-8pm
To mark the opening of his exhibition, artist Alex Pearl talks to JJ Charlesworth, Art Critic & Reviews Editor for Art Review.
Exhibitions:
Alex Pearl - Goodbye to most of the daydreams | ICIA Art Space 1 | Wednesday 4 November-Friday 19 February
Alex Pearl applied to the British Antarctic Survey proposing not to go to the South Pole. He then documented his non-journey. Both haunting and humorous, his mini epic films, texts, drawings and sculptures carry an acceptance of failure and disappointment as important parts of the human condition.Lucy Harrison - Remains ICIA Art Space 2 | Until Friday 18 December
Remains is a new body of work which explores demolition sites and brings together material from East London, East Germany and the University of Bath campus. Harrison’s work combines photographs, observations and chance encounters with published documents.
Workshops:
Samba Drumming | Studio 1, ICIA Arts Complex | 4 November, 6pm-8pm
A fun activity for everyone. Learn the infectious rhythms of Samba using drums and other percussion.Singing Workshop | Studio 1, ICIA Arts Complex | Saturday 7 November,10am-5pm
A workshop for singers from all genres. Various repertoire and techniques will be used to improve your sound.
Sport
Team Bath name Netball Talent League squad
Team Bath have named an 18-strong squad to contest the forthcoming Netball Talent League.
Vicky and Erica excel at GB Rowing trials
University of Bath-based rowers Vicky Thornley and Erica Bodman both produced impressive performances at the first GB Rowing team trials for the 2010 season.
European medals for Johnson and Hill
University of Bath-based swimmers came home with two medals and a clutch of personal bests from the European Paralympic Swimming Championships.
Six-strong GB team prepare for Bob Skeleton World Cup challenge
British Skeleton has named a six-strong team to compete on the World Cup circuit for the first part of the 2009/10 season – a season that culminates in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. All the sliders train at the University's bobsleigh push-start track.