More than 1,100 Students Set to Graduate
Former Mirror Editor to Give Hetherington Lecture
Healthcare Project – First of its Kind in Scotland
Psychologists Continue to Look at Gaze
Population Ageing and Immigration Policy
Virtual Landscaping Unlocks the Past
Do Workers in Scotland Warrant their 'Militant' Reputation?
Poetry and Sexuality Conference
Trout Welfare Given £600,000 Boost
More than 1,100 Students Set to Graduate
Date released: Tuesday 1 June
More than 1,100 students will graduate from the University of Stirling
this July.
Ceremonies will be held in the Gannochy National Tennis Centre on
campus at 10.30am and 2.30pm on Thursday 1 July and 10.30am on Friday
2 July.
All three ceremonies will be presided over by Chancellor
Dame Diana Rigg who will confer both first degrees and
a large number of higher degrees. The Chancellor will also confer
honorary degrees of Doctor of the University on:
Thursday 10.30am
The Right Honourable Lady Cosgrove, a Senator of
the College of Justice in Scotland, for her outstanding contribution
to public affairs and the legal profession in Scotland.
Thursday 2.30pm
Sir Ian Kershaw, Professor of Modern History at
the University of Sheffield, for his achievements in the field of
Modern German History.
Friday 10.30am
Professor Alice Brown, Professor of Politics at
the University of Edinburgh and Scotland’s first ever Public
Services Ombudsman, for her outstanding contribution to public affairs.
Lesley Pollock
Media Relations Manager
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Khlayre Mullin University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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Tel: + 44 (0) 1786 466675 |
Former Mirror Editor to Give Hetherington Lecture
Date released:
Wednesday 2 June 2004
The University of Stirling is pleased to announce that this year’s
Hetherington Memorial Lecture will be given by former Daily
Mirror editor Roy Greenslade.
Roy Greenslade combines freelance journalism and writing with his
roles as media commentator for the Guardian, Professor
of Journalism at City University, London, and presenter on BBC Radio
4’s Medium Wave.
The subject of his lecture, to be given on Wednesday 6 October at
5.30pm in the Logie Lecture Theatre, will be war, patriotism and
the media.
The annual event, organised by the Stirling Media Research Institute,
is named after the late Alastair Hetherington. The former editor
of the Guardian and Controller of BBC Scotland was the
first Research Professor of Media Studies at the University of Stirling.
Previous lectures have been given by Peter Preston, Jon Snow, Alan
Rusbridger, Sheena McDonald and Jonathan Freedland.
Lesley Pollock
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Mr Peter Meech University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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Tel: + 44 (0) 1786 467526 |
Healthcare Project – First of its Kind in Scotland
Date released: Monday 7 June
Joining forces to develop new ways of working between health and
social care, the University of Stirling and NHS Forth Valley have
appointed a graduate in the first collaborative healthcare project
of its kind in Scotland.
Community Health Partnerships(CHPs), introduced as part of the Health
White Paper, Partnership for Care, are expected to improve the health
of the local population by providing higher quality, accessible
and joined up community health services in partnership with Local
Authorities, local communities, the voluntary sector and others.
CHPs will build on the successes achieved through existing ways
of working and will have more influence in the planning and use
of NHS funding as well as promoting greater involvement of staff,
the public, patients and carers. It is anticipated that CHPs will
become operational from April 2005.
The joint project is called a Knowledge Transfer Partnership and
involves a graduate being employed to support the development of
Community Health Partnerships and thereafter to evaluate their success.
Anne Hawkins, Chief Executive of the Primary Care Operating Division
of NHS Forth Valley said: “The Knowledge Transfer Partnership
enables us to tap into the latest research to drive this project
forward. A graduate jointly supervised by us and the University
of Stirling will introduce cutting-edge academic input from the
University, particularly in the areas of partnership working, managing
change and how we evaluate success.”
Stirling University has very strong links with the NHS and other
public sector organisations developed through many years of class-leading
research and teaching in the field of Public Sector Management.
Professor Rob Ball, Chair in Public Service Management and lead
academic for this project, pointed out: “Our links with public
sector organisations can only be strengthened further with projects
like this one, particularly in a key area of Scottish Executive
Health and Social Policy. Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, allow
academics to make an important contribution to issues of real significance
in public service management.”
This is the first health sector Knowledge Transfer Partnership in
Scotland as healthcare providers, as well as local education authorities,
have only recently become eligible partners to the scheme. Knowledge
Transfer Partnerships have been around for decades to help companies
tap into the skills and expertise available at universities. Opening
up the scheme to the public sector offers great potential for more
knowledge transfer programmes of this kind.
Lesley Pollock
Media Relations Manager
(01786) 467058
For further information contact :
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Daniela Bolle SURE University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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Tel: + 44 (0) 1786 458139 |
| contact us
> > > |
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Dr Tom Forbes Management & Organization University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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Tel: + 44 (0) 1786 466941 |
Alternatively, contact NHS Forth Valley Press Office, Tel: (01786) 463031
Psychologists Continue to Look at Gaze
Date released:
Tuesday 8 June
A team of psychologists at the University of Stirling have been
awarded £160, 249 by the Economic and Social Research Council
for a three-year project on children’s eye gaze.
Previous research by lecturer Dr Gwyneth Doherty-Sneddon and her
colleagues has shown that during the first year of primary school
children develop “looking away” strategies in order
to concentrate.
The new project will take this research forward by following a group
of youngsters from the end of their pre-school year until the end
of primary 1, taking measures of their gaze behaviour throughout.
Earlier studies have shown that when adults look into each other’s
eyes they experience an increase in heart rate and electrical skin
conductance. The Stirling team will investigate whether the same
is true for children. “This will help us explain some of the
links between patterns of gaze and concentration”, said Dr
Doherty-Sneddon.
The project will also look at whether there are patterns of gaze
that are indicative of children being on the brink of understanding
a concept or procedure they are learning. Dr Doherty-Sneddon added:
“If our predictions turn out to be true we will uncover some
useful cues for both parents and teachers”.
Lesley Pollock
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Dr Gwyneth Doherty-Sneddon University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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Tel: + 44 (0) 1786 467653 |
International Year of Rice
Date released:
Thursday 10 June 2004
The University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture has
teamed up with the Eden Project in Cornwall to create a display
celebrating to the role of rice in alleviating poverty and malnutrition.
The Institute’s DFID-funded Aquaculture and Fish Genetics
Research Programme (AFGRP) has developed a rice-fish exhibit which
will go on show this week in the Humid Tropics Biome.
The display will demonstrate the role that fish play in rice fields
in Asia where most rice is grown in paddy fields in which a few
inches of water is retained for all or much of the growing period.
This water can be used to harvest fish as AFGRP Project Officer,
Anton Immink explains:
“Traditionally wild fish have been harvested from rice paddies,
but the introduction of higher yielding rice and accompanying pesticides
have reduced yields of fish and other aquatic animals such as snails
and crabs. Using rice fields to produce juvenile fish that can then
be grown further in ponds is one approach we have introduced with
poor farmers in Bangladesh to redress the balance. Stocking and
harvesting fish can double incomes compared to rice alone.”
The display will consist of a living rice paddy complete with fish
as well as an information board.
To find out more about the Institute’s work in Bangladesh
and involvement with the Eden Project please log onto: http://www.dfid.stir.ac.uk/afgrp/eden.htm
Lesley Pollock
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Anton Immink University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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School's
in for Summer
Date released: Monday 14 June
Over one hundred 5th year pupils from twelve schools in the Forth
Valley area will get a taste of university and college life thanks
to a new summer school.
The University of Stirling and Falkirk and Clackmannan colleges
are running the project, which takes place 16 – 22 June, in
conjunction with three local councils and Careers Scotland.
Pupils will take workshops in computer animation, multi media, psychology,
film and media, business studies, philosophy, criminology, environmental
studies, care, engineering, graphic design, textiles and beauty
and complementary therapies.
Entitled CAMPUS (Central Area Motivational Programme for Study at
University), the project offers a motivational programme designed
for pupils who may be the first in their family to consider studying
in higher education, and who are not sure about going to college
or university.
Pupils will enjoy taster sessions and seminars at all three campuses
and will even get to spend one night in the student residences at
the University.
It will not be all hard work though for the youngsters, as the MacRobert
has some fun in store including lessons in street dance and a screening
of the film Troy. Pupils will also be able to take advantage of
the University's state-of-the-art sports facilities.
Lesley Pollock
Media Relations Manager
(01786) 467058
For further information:
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Ms Mireille Pouget Development Officer University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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Tel: + 44 (0) 1786 467945 |
Stirling University Olympians
Date
released: Monday 14 June
The University of Stirling will be well represented at this year’s
Olympics. Five students will compete in Athens this August:
- Film and Media Studies student Todd Cooper (22) smashed the GB 100m butterfly record to make it into the GB swimming squad.
- Economics student David O’Brien (21) has booked his spot in the GB Olympic 4 x 200m relay swimming team.
- Economics student Nick Neckles (24) will swim for Barbados.
- Psychology student Mhairi Love (23) has been selected for the GB Paralympic team and will compete in a number of freestyle events.
- History student Graham Moodie (23) has been selected for the GB Olympic Hockey Squad.
The University’s Sports Performance Manager, Raleigh Gowrie
said:
“The University is delighted with the achievements of its
student-athletes in reaching the 2004 Olympics. They have committed
a great deal of time and effort to their sports and deserve this
success. To reach an elite competitive level and undertake academic
study at the same time is a measure of their discipline and considered
approach to lifestyle management.”
The University of Stirling is renowned for assisting talented student
athletes in combining high performance sport with higher education.
Lesley Pollock
Media Relations Manager
(01786) 467058
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Raleigh Gowrie University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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Tel: + 44 (0) 1786 466906 Mob: 07740500140 |
Population Ageing and Immigration Policy
Date released:
Tuesday 15 June
Issues surrounding the ageing of Scotland’s population and
how migration policy might offset some of the negative impact of
population ageing are investigated in a new report by Professor
Robert Wright of the University of Stirling.
The report, entitled Population Ageing and Immigration Policy, was
published by The Scottish Economic Policy Network (scotecon) on
Monday 14 June.
The objectives of the research were to:
- Investigate the causes of why Scotland’s population is ageing.
- Explore those policies which could be taken to slow down population ageing.
- Assess the impact of a targeted immigration policy.
Key Findings include:
- Scotland’s population is projected to fall from 5.06 million in 2002 to 4.51 million in 2042.
- Over this period the average age of the population will rise from 39.2 to 46.5 and the number of those aged over 80 will increase from 200 thousand to 480 thousand.
- This will put hugely increased pressure will be put on Scotland’s public services (including healthcare, residential services, housing and pensions).
- The main cause of the decline is that Scotland’s fertility rate is well below the replacement level.
- Migration has tended to cause the population to age because more young people leave Scotland than come to Scotland. But overall migration is almost in balance and is not exerting the downward pressure on population size that it did in the past.
- In order to stabilize the population around 5 million, net migration into Scotland would have to increase to about 10,000 per annum.
- However, even net migration rose to 50,000 per annum, it would not arrest the process of population ageing although it would slow it down.
Policy Implications and Research:
- Scotland needs a targeted immigration policy that would attract young individuals to reverse or at least slow its population decline. As immigration policy is currently determined by the UK government, some control over this policy would need to be devolved to Edinburgh.
- An ageing declining population may pose a threat to living standards because there are fewer individuals of working age and more resources have to be devoted to caring for older people.
Lesley Pollock
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Professor Robert Wright Department of Economics University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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Tel: + 44 (0) 1786 467481 |
McLeary on a Winning Streak
Date released:
Wednesday 16 June
Jamie McLeary’s impressive victory in the St Andrews Links
Trophy last weekend (11 - 13 June) has seen him extend his lead
at the top of the Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit.
The 23 year old University of Stirling student, who took the prestigious
stroke play title with a three under par total of 284, tops the
Order of Merit table with 505 points from six events – nearly
200 points ahead of his nearest rival, Carnoustie’s Eric Ramsay.
McLeary from Leven has had a dream start to the season, having also
won the Craigmillar Park Open and narrowly missed out on lifting
the Scottish Stroke Play title at Lundin last month, picking up
the bronze medal. He now has his sights on the Scottish Amateur
Championship at Gullane (No.1) next month.
Lesley Pollock
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Raleigh Gowrie Sports Performance Manager University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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Virtual Landscaping Unlocks the Past
Date released:
Tuesday 22 June
Ever wanted to go back in time and see history with your own eyes?
Well now you can, virtually that is.
The University of Stirling’s newly established Virtual Landscape
Centre is using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in combination
with the latest virtual reality and computer gaming technology to
recreate landscapes as they were thousands or even millions of years
ago.
This breakthrough has allowed the Centre’s team of scientists
and historians to bring their research to life in a way that is
accessible, educational and exciting to the public.
Virtual landscaping can be used to see what sites of historical
significance originally looked like. Speaking at the Centre’s
launch at Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh today, Centre Director
Dr Sandy Winterbottom said:
“The environment in which we see archaeological sites today
is not the same as the environment was when these sites where built.
For instance, we know from pollen analysis, that Britain was very
different in the past and that most of the landscape was covered
by woodland.
“The inclusion of trees and contemporary vegetation within
a landscape, along with the omission of present day structures,
can lead to a very different interpretation of the environmental
context of sites or monuments.”
Animations through time can also be used to show how a landscape
has evolved over geological or historical time-scales.
Dr Winterbottom said:
“In virtual reality, sea levels can be raised or lowered,
rivers can carve out valleys or migrate across floodplains, glaciers
can sweep down mountainsides, woodlands can grow or be destroyed
and landscapes can be cultivated and peopled with ancient settlements.”
The Centre will provide a commercial service to museums and visitors
centres across the country, who will be able to use the technology
to bring the past to life and educate the public. Funding has been
provided by the University’s School of Biological and Environmental
Sciences and Stirling University Research and Enterprise (SURE)
– the University’s knowledge transfer company.
Dr Winterbottom said:
“To ensure the future security of our environment we need
to learn lessons for the past and understand how our ancestors lived
and worked within their surrounding landscape, and how human actions
have ultimately led to wide-scale environmental change.”
As well as looking into the past, the technology can be used for
visualising planned developments such as new woodland or windfarm
developments.
Students will be able to take advantage of the system when the universities
of Stirling and Dundee launch the UK’s first Masters degree
in Environmental History this September.
Lesley Pollock
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Dr Sandy Winterbottom University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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Do Workers in Scotland Warrant their 'Militant' Reputation?
Date released: Thursday 24 June
The University of Stirling’s Professor of Industrial Relations
will speak at the fourth Scottish Trade Union Research Network conference
on Friday 25 June.
Professor Gregor Gall of the Department of Management and Organization,
will give a paper entitled Trade unionism and industrial relations
in Scotland since UCS.
Speaking ahead of the conference, Professor Gall said: “An
analysis of annual strike activity and union membership density
in Scotland between 1973 and 2003 shows that despite the overall
decline in strike activity and union density, Scotland is still
at the top end of the league of regions in Britain for both.”
This supports the reputation that workers in Scotland are the most
strike-prone and union-supportive in Britain.
Professor Gall added: “What makes this reputation all the
more stark today is the conflation of the dominant form of Scottish
national identity with left-of-centre politics and radicalism. This
has not match elsewhere in Britain.”
Lesley Pollock
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Professor Gregor Gall University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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Poetry and Sexuality Conference
Date released:
Monday 28 June
Scottish poet and playwright Liz Lochhead and feminist writer Germaine
Greer and are just some of the big names taking part in the University
of Stirling’s Poetry and Sexuality Conference, June 30 –
July 4.
The University’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor Christine Hallett
will officially open the event, organised by the Department of English
Studies, on Thursday 1 July.
Papers will be given on a variety of topics from erotic icons and
queer desire to romantic bodies and Victorian sexuality. Highlights
include a talk on The Sex of Poetry by Germaine Greer on Friday
2 July and a session on Aids and Poetry by Pamela Ateka, who has
used performance poetry to raise Aids Awareness in Kenya.
Guest poets Sharon Olds, Don Paterson, Patience Agbabi and Gregory
Woods will also give readings from their work and poets Jackie Kay
and Liz Lochhead will take part in an evening of jazz and poetry
at Stirling’s Albert Halls.
Conference organiser, Dr Glennis Byron said:
“We are delighted to be hosting this international conference
and welcoming speakers and poets from twenty different countries
with a shared interest in how issues of sexuality have been explored
in poetry, from classical times to the twenty first century.”
Lesley Pollock
Media Relations Manager
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Dr Glennis Byron University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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Tel:
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Trout Welfare Given £600,000 Boost
Date released:
Tuesday 29 June
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has
committed £600,000 for two new trout welfare projects.
The grants will fund collaborative research, by scientists at Stirling
and Bristol universities and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries
and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), aimed at safeguarding and improving
trout welfare.
The research has also been given the backing of the British Trout
Association and will involve sampling from commercial farms.
Dr James Turnbull of the University of Stirling’s Institute
of Aquaculture said: “These grants recognise the importance
of fish welfare issues to the continued sustainability of fish farming.
Fish are sophisticated animals, not the unfeeling creatures with
a short memory that many people perceive them to be.”
The first of the two projects will define acceptable water quality
limits for safeguarding trout welfare, while the second will identify
the husbandry and environmental factors that minimise fin damage.
A fundamental part of the research will be to identify key welfare
measures that the industry can use to monitor and audit trout welfare.
Lesley Pollock
Media Relations Manager
(01786) 467058
For further information:
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Dr James Turnbull Institute of Aquaculture University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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| Tel: + 44 (0) 1786 467913 | |
| Email: jft1@stir.ac.uk | |
| or |
Dr Tim Ellis CEFAS University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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| Tel: + 44 (0) 1305 206600 | |
| Email: t.ellis@cefas.co.uk |
Unionisation of Sex Workers
Date released:
Tuesday 29 June
The University of Stirling’s Professor of Industrial Relations
will give a paper on the unionisation of sex workers at a conference
at Nottingham University this Friday.
Professor Gregor Gall will examine recent developments in Britain,
the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia where
prostitutes, erotic dancers, sex telephone chatline workers and
pornographic models/actors have either established their own unions
or joined sympathetic existing unions.
Union representation of sex workers ranges from discipline and grievances
to collective bargaining over pay and working conditions.
Professor Gregor Gall said: “Sex workers have started to unionise
because they have begun to see themselves as workers with economic
and labour rights, not just civil and human rights. Unions have
begun to help organise sex workers as they seek to offset declining
membership and to move into new areas in the service sector. Both
sex workers and trade unions have coalesced around issues of respect,
dignity and justice.
“While there are many obstacles to be overcome, the determination
and activism of the sex workers are the bedrock of their attempt
to take control of their working lives.
“Although at an embryonic stage, sex worker unionisation may
herald a significant development for future years. Historically,
unionisation of new groups of workers has always begun with small
and tentative steps.”
The British Universities’ Industrial Relations Association
annual conference will take place at Nottingham University from
Thursday 1 July to Saturday 3 July.
Lesley Pollock
Media Relations Manager
(01786) 467058
For further information:
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Professor Gregor Gall University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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| Tel: + 44 (0) 131 556 5064 |
Course Receives IPR Approval
Date released:
Wednesday 30 June 2004
The University of Stirling’s MSc in Public Relations by online
learning has become the first UK course of its kind to gain approval
from the Institute of Public Relations (IPR).
While the IPR operates a distance learning pathway for its own Diploma
aimed at students based overseas, this is the first time a part-time
web based MSc course has been recognised by the organisation.
Since 1991, the University of Stirling has run a Distance Learning
postgraduate programme in Public Relations. The course was specially
created to provide access for those whose work or domestic commitments
prevent them from attending a full-time course. This was converted
into an Online Learning degree, in 2001, utilising the interactive
advantages of new information and communication technologies.
The online programme was developed in close co-operation with senior
public relations practitioners and covers analytical problem-solving
skills for the development of communication strategies; designing
and implementing public relations programmes; understanding international
communications; core communication skills and the development of
individual skills such as leadership.
Alan Rawel, IPR Head of Education said: “We are delighted
to be approving the University of Stirling’s MSc in Public
Relations, which will widen access to PR education. The IPR works
continuously to raise standards in the PR industry through education,
training and promoting best practice. We set exacting standards
on curriculum, tuition and assessment for our approved courses and
University of Stirling has met all our criteria and IPR approval
is thoroughly deserved.”
The course currently attracts some 40 students from five continents
including the UK home nations, Europe, Africa, Asia and North and
South America.
Lesley Pollock
Media Relations Manager
(01786) 467058
For further information:
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Dr Matthew Hibberd Director of MSc in Public Relations Online University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA UK |
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| Tel: + 44 (0) 1786 466224 |