University of Essex in the press...

Information, Communication and Society
Read a an extract from a paper written by Ben Anderson of Chimera on the social impact of broadband household internet access.
GLOCOM

Philip admits a degree of surprise
Philip Crummy is among six honorary graduands who will pick up degrees from Essex university at this summer's  graduation ceremonies. He will rub shoulders with more that 2,000 Essex students, who will be picking up undergraduate degrees at nine ceremonies taking place in July.
Dee Evans, chief executive of Colchester's Mercury Theatre for ten years, and Kelvedon-born actress Juliet Stevenson are also among the six nominees.
Essex County Standard

Thursday 24

Dentistry scheme gets Royal seal of approval Apr 24 2008
A health dental care centre was officially opened by HRH princess Anne on Tuesday. The Princess Royal met up with students at staff at the centre on the site of the Essex University Campus, in Southend. It has been in operation since January, with more than 1,000 residents receiving free dental treatment. The centre caters for fourth and fifth year dental students who refine their skills on the public while under supervision.  Dental nurse manager, Jodie Summers, chatted with Princess about the service. She said: “The centre has been a great success.  “In the last three months we have treated 1,500 patients absolutely free and given valuable hands-on training to the students.”
IC Essex

Andy Briscoe
Read more about Essex graduate Any Briscoe,  Life Trust Chief Executive.
Money Marketing

Money fears over letting agents
Hot Lets ltd is advertised on the company's website as a letting agents for the North-East Essex area, owned by two sisters. According to the company's own accounts with Companies' House the firm owed £34,197 in August 2004. Accounts signed in February this year show the total owed stood at £122,450 in August 2006.
Liz Richfield, private sector housing manager at the University of Essex, said she has been contacted by a dozen students who rented properties through Hot Lets and are concerned.  "There could be many more affected. Our advice is to cease paying money into Hot Let's accounts and contact the deposit protection providers.  "A student from Brazil got a knock on the door from a landlord who had not received rent from the agency.  "She didn't know who he was, so contacted us - she had paid her deposit and rent to Hot Lets."
Stephen Carr, a law student at the university, and former Hot Lets tenant, set up a web forum for students who had used the letting agency.  "I've spoken to one student just yesterday and her landlords have been chasing her and her co-tenants for up to five months rent which hadn't been paid to him, they had paid it to Hot Lets. "I set up a website so people could contact me. Eight students had the same worries - their money could be lost."
Read the whole article here.
BBC

Town dentist meets crown
A dentist from Colchester had a brush with royalty. Stephen Pitt who runs the Dental Studio in Bergholt Road, met Princess Anne at the official opening of the dental clinic at the Southend campus of Essex University. He is a part-time teacher at the pioneering facility where thousands of patients have signed up to be treated - under the supervision of tutors - by unqualified final year dentistry students.
Evening Gazette

Colchester: 4,000 sign up for races
Both Colchester's annual Cancer Research Races for Life are full for the summer. More than 4,000 women have pledged to take part in the two 5km (three mile) events in Castle Park and at Essex University. There are just two weeks to go before the first event, on May 11, and women who could not get places are being invited to look at other Essex events.
Cancer Research UK's event manager Gill Burgess, said: "I am overwhelmed that both Colchester events have filled so quickly. "Race for Life is such an inspiring and emotional day where women of all ages and abilities come together to make a real difference." Read the whole article here.
Halstead Gazette
Clacton, Frinton and Walton Gazette
Harwich and Manningtree Standard
Maldon and Burnham Standard
Braintree and Witham Times

The Independent Good University Guide
Essex moves up to 25th place (from 34th last year) out of 113 UK Universities and is ranked second in the East of England table. Essex features in the top 20  for Dance, Drama and Cinematics; Politics; Sociology; Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Hospitality, Leisure, Recreation, Sport and Tourism; Economics; Psychology and finally, Linguistics. For more information and to see the full set of tables follow this link.
The Independent

Honorary degree for Juliet
Stalwarts of Colchester and a world-renowned Rada-trained actress are among this year's crop of honorary graduates at Essex University.  Archaeologist Philip Crummy, Chief Executive of Colchester's Mercury Theatre Dee Evans and actress Juliet Stevenson are among those who will pick up honorary degrees this summer.  Also honoured are Tim Melville-Ross CBE, chairmen of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, businessman Jack Petchey and Professor Derrick Swartz.
East Anglian Daily Times

'Magic bean' transforms life for poor Jacks of Central America
In the nursery tale, a handful of magic beans rescued Jack's family from poverty. In Central America, there are tens of thousands of poor Jacks whose fortunes have been transformed by planting beans; and that is no fairy story. This magic bean is called mucuna, or the velvet bean, and extraordinary claims are being made for it: maize crops have been tripled, erosion has been halted, destruction of the rainforest curtailed, and migration to the cities reversed. Professor Pretty points out that, while the majority of the world's population benefited from the high productivity of industrial agriculture, two billion poor people were left out. "Poor producers [of food] cannot afford expensive technology ... they will have to find solutions based on existing resources."  Read the whole article here.
The Independent

Going long
When it comes to dating, some women give top-notch new meaning. It's the lure of the tall man, an attribute many women find irresistible. With endless research suggesting women prefer tall men over their shorter counterparts, it's really no wonder that the 'tall, dark and handsome' cliche has stuck like Velcro.
Meanwhile, scientists at the University of Essex found that the taller a speed-dating male, the greater number of dates he'll land. For every 2.5 cm he has over his competition, the number of women wanting to meet him increases by five per cent. Yep, like it or loathe it, seems size matters, folks. Read the whole article here.
Ottawa Sun

Wednesday 23

The secret life of things
A prize-winning author and academic will be in Cambridge this week to give a talk on the influence of photography, film and animation on modern notions of everyday objects being brought to life.  Marina Warner, novelist and Professor in the Department of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies at the University of Essex, will deliver Newnham College’s annual Jane Harrison Lecture.
Her talk will consider the how new forms of communication and entertainment have encouraged new developments in animist thought in the contemporary world. Read the whole article here.
University of Cambridge

The Stuffed Giraffe and other rail tales
Read an article about the new book written by David Cleveland, who worked at the University of Essex.  The railway brought him to Manningtree and now he's honouring the station and the people who have given it life and colour. Read the whole article here.
East Anglian Daily Times

Volunteers praised
Two volunteers have been hailed for their contribution to university life. Allan Blundell and Sir Robin Mountfield were awarded honorary fellowships at an annual meeting recently for their work on the University of Essex council.
Evening Gazette
Halstead Gazette
Maldon and Burnham Standard
Clacton, Frinton and Walton Gazette
Essex County Standard
Harwich and Manningtree Standard

Gas miss out on title chance
University of Essex remain in pole position after a 6-0 win at Lawford Lads and Gas Recreation slipped up at home 3-1 to Earls Colne, but Little Oakley's 2-1 win over Mistley United moved them into contention.
Evening Gazette

Tuesday 22

Princess Anne opens dental centre
Princess Anne visited Southend today to open a new dentist and health centre.
Her Royal Highness toured the facility at the University of Essex building on Luker Road.
Southend Health and Dental Care centre is used to help fourth and final year student dentists finish their training.
Echo-online

Research conducted at the University of Essex has updated our knowledge about botany
Life Science Weekly

Cutting edge theatre line-up
This week marks the launch of Essex University's Wivenhoe campus' summer term, and with it another raft of shows and concerts at its Lakeside Theatre.  The line-up includes the winners of the Total Theatre wildcard award at last year's Edinburgh Fringe, the Precarious Theatre Company, and a local dancer with a national profile, Darren Johnston and his company, as well as Justin Adams, and acclaimed musician in his own right, who is also the guitarist for Robert Plant.  For more information about these events and more, or to book tickets, call the arts office on 01206 873261 or email arts@essex.ac.uk
Gazette

Youngsters go back to land
Children in Essex are getting involved in a campaign to learn more about food and the countryside.  Essex Schools Food and Farming Day will be held at Writtle Agricultural College on May 1.  About 3,000 pupils will take part with their teachers to learn more about how food is produced and to dispel myths about farming.  There will be demonstrations of milling wheat, producing butter, cookery, livestock handling and farm machinery.  Steering committee chairman Guy Smith says 'I hope these activities will add up to a learning experience which pupils will never forget, transforming the way food and farming is seen in and out of the classroom'.
Gazette

Poster claim denied
A group of students from Essex University has denied illegally fly-posting a Colchester estate with anti-fascist posters. The Colchester Unite Against Fascism group was formed earlier this month after it emerged that, for the first time, a representative of the British National Party would be standing at the borough council elections next month. On Sunday, members of the group, including university students, were out leafleting homes in the Highwoods Ward, where BNP candidate Patrick Sullivan is standing.  Gerard Oxford, an independent ward councillor who is not seeking election on 1 May, said he received a barrage of messages at his home on Sunday from residents angry at the large number of signs posted in the area - an allegation that group has denied.
East Anglian Daily Times

Monday 21

University honours the arts and archaeology
Champions of the local arts and history, as well as one of the country's leading actresses are among those receiving honorary degrees from Essex University this year. Philip Crummy, director of the Colchester Archaeological Trust, Dee Evans, chief executive of Colchester's Mercury Theatre and actress Juliet Stevenson are three of the six honorary graduands who will pick up degrees from the university at this summer's graduation ceremonies. The other honorary graduands are Jack Petchey, a prominent businessman who devotes much of his time and energy to supporting young people in east London and Essex; Tim Melville-Ross who has been instrumental in the recent successes of the University and Professor Derrick Swartz, a graduate of the University who is a leading figure in South African higher education and a former anti-apartheid activist.
Evening Gazette

Nigeria: Participants Advocate Better Funding of SMEs
'And that is the reason why entrepreneurship education has become so important to economic regeneration.' This was how Professor Jay Mitra of University of Essex, United Kingdom couched the essence of entrepreneurship in any economy, but most particularly, the African economies. Mitra, Professor of business enterprise and innovation, made the submission at a seminar which centered on the nature and ethos of entrepreneurship development in Africa.
The seminar which was an initiation of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), in collaboration with the University of Essex, aimed at a conscious promotion of the entrepreneurship sector. The reason is that the sector has the potentials of changing the economic fortunes of a country. Read the whole article here.
Allafrica.com
Also featured in Vanguard - read their article here

Sculptor of vision
Sculptor Nigel Hall's work has been borrowed back from many public and private collections, and the resulting exhibition gives a fine account of his sculptural and graphic preoccupations since student days. One of the works is the large black square-ish structure which is usually seen at Essex University entitled 'Views of the Interior' (1992), dealing with the literal bracketing note the shape of parentheses here of interior and exterior space.
The Spectator

Saturday 19

On your bike
Research by Richard Berthoud of ISER finds that even as society has tried to end discrimination against disabled people, those with health problems have found it more difficult to get jobs. "30 years ago, men reporting long-term health conditions were not much disadvantaged compared with healthy men. Now, the disadvantage has become huge"..... "One of the interesting things is, the total number of people in work is roughly the same - but there's been a big inflow of reasonably well-educated women into the workforce and a big outflow of rather poorly educated, disabled men. That's the sort of swap that's happened." Read the entire article here.
FT Magazine
Read the full report 'Work rich and work poor: three decades of change' here

Friday 18

Lecture on credit crunch
Talks on the credit crunch and research into dealing with the risk of financial investments will be presented at an event next week. Essex University's Colchester campus will host the lectures, Opetions and Stock Market reaction to Extreme Events: Special Insights for Financial Crisis of 2007/08.
Essex County Standard

Moving ahead for a super summer
The summer comes early - especially at Essex University. Next week marks the launch of the Wivenhoe campus' summer term and with it another raft of shows and concerts at its Lakeside Theatre. While the lectures may be put to one side in preparation for exams, the theatre continues full steam ahead with as good a programme as they have had all year.
Essex County Standard

They're all great sports
Sporty youngsters were kept busy thanks to Essex University. During school breaks, the sports centre on Wivenhoe Park, Colchester played host to up to 50 children for a host of sporting activities. Every day, between 9.30am and 5pm, they tried their hand at basketball, golf and organised games.
Essex County Standard

Thursday 17

Colchester: Battle to preserve land strip
A row is brewing over plans it is claimed could see the erosion of the last strip of green land between Colchester and Wivenhoe. Essex University has joined forces with the owner of the fields that lie between its campus and Wivenhoe's boundary, to submit a proposal for houses and sports pitches to be built there.
Under the name of the Wivenhoe Consortium, they have put in a formal request to Colchester Council for a rule change that would make it possible to win planning permission for the scheme in the future. Under current policies, the fields can only be used for agriculture. The consortium says the move would preserve the open character of the land, with the vast majority of it turned into sports pitches.  A homes development, needed to fund the purchase of the site by the university, would be positioned close to existing properties near Wivenhoe fire station. Despite this, Tom Roberts, chairman of the Wivenhoe Society, said "almost no-one" in the town would be sympathetic to the idea.
"Keeping the green wedge has been town council policy and Wivenhoe Society policy for a long time," he said. "If they were to press ahead with this, there would be very strong opposition."
A spokesman for the university today stressed that by pushing for the scheme to be included in the local development framework, it was not signalling its desire to take it forward. "We are looking to preserve both the long-term future of the university and the character of the land between the campus and Wivenhoe," she said. "Our submission would allow for future expansion of the university, should it be needed."
Evening Gazette
Braintree Times

New art out of old
Yes, but is it art? A new exhibition curated by MA Gallery Studies and Critical Curating students at the University of Essex explores the use of appropriated imagery by established and emerging artists. Using photographs, film stills, newspaper cuttings and historical artworks, found images are reworked and manipulated, severely obscuring or destroying the original focus and meanings; creating new visual narratives on the foundations of the old.  University Gallery, April 19-May 31.
Go!

Anxiety study calls for test volunteers
A major study on anxiety disorders has been launched by the University of Essex and researchers are asking for volunteers to take part. Funded by the Wellcome Trust, the research, by the university's Department of Psychology, is aiming to improve understanding of the processes that cause anxiety. Volunteers will initially be asked to take part in a screening interview by telephone with one of the researchers. There will then be an interview with clinical psychologist Dr Mike Luckie before a computer-based task to be completed at the university's Colchester campus. People will be selected at random for different tests. One group will fulfil the computer task aimed at helping people with anxiety disorder while another will perform a non-treatment task. The results of the preliminary trial are expected in early autumn. Call either Kelly Garner or Anna Ridgewell on 01206 873784 or email clinstudy@essex.ac.uk
Essex Chronicle

Indian Charity Director visits Blackpool
The director of a major charity in India paid a visit to Blackpool to learn how the resort deals with vulnerable young people, after a chance meeting on a beach in Goa.
Dr Nishtha Desai, who is the director of Children's Rights in Goa, India, made a flying visit to the town after talking to Chief Inspector Neil Chessell on the beach, while he was on holiday. Dr Desai was in the country as part of an exchange visit organised by Essex University, but managed to fit the trip north into her schedule.
She said: "The reason I came to Blackpool is because we have a serious problem with crimes against children in Goa, and I feel that in Blackpool you have gone a long way towards tackling this type of crime with some very active programmes identifying early on children that are at risk. Read the whole article here.
The Citizen

FA Chairman Lord Triesman champions respect
A chilling memory from his time in Darfur, of a starving African woman placing her dying child in his arms, fills Lord Triesman with a sense of perspective whenever he deals with the petty squabbles and posturing so rife in football. A passionate fan, the Football Association's new chairman knows that the sport he governs will never be a matter of life and death.
He clearly has a conscience. At Essex University in the late Sixties, Triesman was politically active. "If you get up and make one speech, you get stereotyped as a 'student firebrand'! But I was on the march to Grosvenor Square [and the US Embassy]. There were large numbers of us who felt the Vietnam War was not a just war. I did demonstrate against the Porton Down chemical place, which we believed was playing a role in the American war effort. The Colchester police force rolled up and one or two of their Alsatians got loose. There was pandemonium." Read the entire article here.
Daily Telegraph

Tuesday 15

Poverty linked to break-ups
Duncan Smith has suggested that London families are breaking up because the tax and benefit system encourages them to do so. But, as his own report shows, lone parents and their children are far more likely to be poor than couples, and recent research from the University of Essex confirmed that women with children see large falls in their income following a separation or divorce little incentive to split up. When we spoke to lone parents in London last year, none said they had broken up to be better off. What they did tell us was how they needed more support with flexible work to fit in with their childcare responsibilities, with services and support for older children as well as for babies and toddlers, and help with the high costs of transport, childcare and housing.
Evening Standard

Information, Communication & Society Vol. 11, No. 1, Feb. 2008
Read an article by Ben Anderson, Chimera, University of Essex.
GLOCOM

Colchester Liquidator in at letting agency
Liquidators have been appointed to wind up a Colchester letting agency.
Corporate recovery firm DTE has written to creditors of Church Street-based Hot Lets, inviting them to a meeting next month.  The firm closed suddenly last week, owing hundreds of pounds to landlords and tenants in rent and deposits.  About a dozen students who were renting through the firm have contacted Essex University's accommodation office, seeking advice.  Landlords told the Gazette the company owes them sums of 1,400 or more. Click here to read article in full.
Braintree and Witham Times Series, Maldon and Burnham Standard and Essex County Standard

Oh, baby...that takes the biscuit!
Dr Claudia Uller, from the department of psychology at the University of Essex, is looking for about 100 ten-month-old volunteers to help with a simple test.  The babies will be shown two trays of cookies - one with a number of cookies evenly spaced and another where they are clumped together.  She is trying to find out whether babies can distinguish between number and density.   This follows on from the fact that if you show babies two jars of cookies, one with three in and one with two in, most babies will go for the jar with most cookies.  For more information go to www.essex.ac.uk/psychology/ICL or email iclab@essex.ac.uk.
Gazette
Essex County Standard

Essex Uni honours president Michelle
The President of Chile has been awarded an honorary degree from Essex University.  Michelle Bachelet was honoured in recognition of her achievements in strengthening justice and democracy in the South American country.  She was presented with the degree by the university's Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Riordon at a ceremony in London last Thursday. 
Evening Gazette

Openers both find their form
Essex drew their match with Cambridge University of Cricketing Excellence at Fenners after rain again disrupted play on the third and final day.  A lunchtime declaration by the students allowed their county opposition further batting practice ahead of their opening County Championship fixture with Northants that commences tomorrow at Chelmsford.
Gazette

University bid to use green belt to expand
A university's vision to build housing on farmland which is the last remaining green belt between two farms has come under fire. Many residents in Wivenhoe regard the agricultural space between the town and nearby Colchester as vital for protecting the community from becoming a suburb of its larger neighbour.  Jenny Grinter, head of Communications at the university said there were no detailed plans at this stage. She said: "We are looking to preserve both the long-term future of the university and the character of the land between the campus and Wivenhoe. Our submission to Colchester Borough Council's Core Strategy would allow for future expansion of the university, should it be needed. It would preserve the open nature of the land by using it predominantly for sports and leisure with only a modest amount of development".
East Anglian Daily Times

Monday 14

18 story high tower planned for seafront
A planned new tower on the Esplanade House site will be one of the highest buildings on the seafront it has been revealed.
At 18 floors high, the new building, in Eastern Esplanade, Southend will only be dominated by the Marine Plaza development. The block, at the front of the site, would be for luxury apartments, and there would also be bed-sit accommodation with seperate bathrooms for students going to the University of Essex Southend.
Echo

Insolvent abuse
Insolvency practitioners often charge huge fees, leaving less money for the creditors. It's time this industry was properly regulated. Read Professor Prem Sikka's article here.
The Guardian

Prem Sikka contends that financial crisis is systemic & institutional reforms are essential
Read the whole article here.
Compass
Tribune - read the article here

Colchester: Knockout success for uni’s sport holiday club
Sporty youngsters were kept busy, thanks to Essex University.  During school breaks, the sports centre on Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, played host to up to 50 children for a host of sporting activities. Every day between 9.30am and 5pm, they tried their hand at basketball, golf and organised games. This week culminated in a big It's a Knockout style event for the youngsters, aged between eight and 14-years-old.
Evening Gazette

Hugo Gaggioni
As a young student in Venezuela in the early 1970s, Hugo Gaggioni, 54, applied for a government scholarship that he figured would help him pay for college. As it turns out, there were a couple of catches. Gaggioni got the scholarship, but the stipulation was that he'd have to study abroad. He didn't want to leave his family, but he began daydreaming about going to the University of Michigan to study electronic engineering. As it turns out, Michigan wasn't the place Venezuela wanted him to go. He didn't know they got to choose. So Gaggioni, chief technology officer for the broadcast and production systems division at Sony Electronics and a recipient of this year's Technology Leadership Award, was sent to the University of Essex in England. It was a fateful event that shaped his life and career. He couldn't have known it then, but the University of Essex would set him on track to become a pioneer in digital television and high-definition TV, both concepts that seemed beyond futuristic 35 years ago.  “Most students went to the United States, but I was selected to go to Essex and I had no idea what Essex was good in,” he says. He found out “It was very good in digital television,” a technology so foreign in the 1970s that he had no idea what he was in for. But, as he says, suggesting the power of a higher authority, “Someone else was pulling the strings.” It was at Essex where Gaggioni met the first of two business mentors Donald Pearson, a professor who Gaggioni calls “one of the initial legends in the creation of digital television.” Pearson worked closely with Gaggioni and inspired him to tackle tough projects.
Today, it's hard to fathom that anyone was even thinking about HD two decades ago. Not only was Gaggioni thinking about it, he was part of a team actively trying to establish a worldwide standard for the 1080-line HD production format, along with Thorpe and as part of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). Gaggioni has now been at Sony for some 20 years. He's been focused a lot of that time on HD, but he's also been at the forefront of other technologies.
Broadcasting and Cable

Colchester: oh baby, that takes the biscuit
Baby volunteers can become junior scientists by taking part in a fun research experiment. Dr Claudia Uller, from the department of psychology at Essex University, is looking for 100 ten-month-old volunteers to help with a simple test. The babies will be shown two trays of cookies - one with a number of cookies evenly spaced and another where they are clumped together.
She said: "What we are trying to find out is whether babies can distinguish between number and density. "We will be working with the child's parents or carers. The cookies will be placed in front of the baby and when the parent releases them we will see which tray the baby chooses to crawl towards. Read the entire article here.
Evening Gazette

From horse's mind
According to a new study, horses can count. It suggests that they are more intelligent than previously thought. Researchers found that, when offered a choice, they consistently choose buckets containing higher numbers of apples.
Dr Claudia Uller, of the University of Essex, was inspired to investigate whether horses could count by the story of Clever Hans, a horse that caused a sensation 100 years ago with his apparent abilities to simple arithmetic and keep track of the calendar. Read the entire article here.
The Pioneer

Sunday 13

Confab canvasses open distance learning tech for entrepreneurs
The African Entrepreneur Seminar which held in Abuja last week, has canvassed the adoption of Open Distance Learning (ODL) technology for the training of entrepreneurs in Africa.Adejare Amoo of Corporatemind Associates Nigeria Limited, a key participant, who presented a paper on this subject at the seminar sponsored by the University of Essex, Small and Medium enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), and Bayero University, Kano, argued that there were online organisations and institutions providing courses, tutorials and even certificate programmes (at times free of charge) for entrepreneurial development.  Read the entire article here.
Business Day

Nigeria's entrepreneurship is a picture of many developing economies
He is a professor of Business Enterprise and Innovation and head of school of entrepreneurship and business, University of Essex in United Kingdom. Jay Mitra was in Nigeria penultimate week for a seminar on African entrepreneurship facilitated by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SME DAN), held in Abuja, in which he was the leading resource person.
Vanguard

Saturday 12

University dentists hit trust’s income
A free dental service offered by trainee university students is affecting income received by South East Essex Primary Care Trust for dental contracts. The trust says it is losing out on the fixed charge patients are required to pay for NHS dental services because many are using the Southend Health and Dental Care Centre, at the University of Essex Southend. The centre provides free dental treatment carried out by supervised senior dental students studying at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Angela Wong Keet, spokeswoman for the trust, said: "The PCT is delighted there is increased dental services for patients. However there is a potential financial risk to the PCT, which at this time is not quantifiable." However, she said capacity freed up by people going to the dental school would allow more people to access NHS services with their local dentists. Read the whole article and comments here.
Southend Echo

Volunteers needed for anxiety disorders
The University of Essex is carrying out a study into the causes of anxiety disorders and has asked for volunteers to take part. Anyone affected by worry and stress on a daily basis is invited to get in touch with the research team from the department of psychology at the university's Colchester campus. Funded by the Wellcome Trust, the research is aiming to improve the understanding of the processes that cause anxiety.
East Anglian Daily Times

Friday 11

Millions of pounds worth of funding has been secured to help provide the infrastructure to support Colchester's bid to become a prestigious regional centre.
The Haven Gateway Partnership Board has agreed its funding priorities for the borough which will see nearly £5million spent on projects over the next three years aimed at improving the quality of life for local residents.
Councillor Robert Davidson, Leader of Colchester Borough Council, said: "This funding will mean that whilst Colchester continues to grow significantly over the coming years, working with partners such as Essex County Council this growth happens in a way that ensures we provide new high-quality parks and open spaces, enhance the settings of our unique heritage such as the Town Wall and St Botolph's Priory, deliver better-paid jobs and ensure that Colchester's transport infrastructure is fit for purpose.
"With over £400k allocated to ensure that the new Park and Ride is a success too, this news simply could not be better for Colchester!"
£4.5million has been earmarked for capital projects including improvements to Colchester town centre, developing the landscape in St Botolph's including plans for the new Berryfield Park and St Botolph's Priory, the University of Essex Business Incubation Centre and work to take forward the regeneration of East Colchester with improvements to the Hythe Station and remediation of the Hythe scrapyards. Read the whole article here.
Evening Gazette
24dash.com
Clacton and Frinton Gazette - read the article here
Harwich and Manningtree Standard
Maldon and Burnham Standard
Halstead Gazette
Essex County Standard

Climate ripe for seminar on eco issues
Firms in the region are invited to attend a landmark conference on climate change next month. The first East Yorkshire and Humber Climate Conference 2008 will address the effects of environmental legislation on companies and give guidance on how to run a sustainablebusiness. Delegates will have the opportunity to attend keynote speeches on topics including the climate and environment, health and safety, waste management and the benefits of going green. Speakers include Professor Sheri Markose, of Essex University, who will address the conference on how climate change will affect the global and local economies. Read the whole article here.
First Source

Love by numbers
My girlfriend and I have lived together for eight years and have one child. We have decided to get married, but my girlfriend has read that people who live together first are more likely to divorce. We know couples this has happened to. Should we stay as we are? Read the comments made by John Ermisch, a statistician at the University of Essex, who has studied cohabitation.
The Guardian

May '68: the Legacy of 1968
The turbulent summer of '68 heralded changes in movies - and culture - that still echo today, says Sukhdev Sandu.
Students have always been seen as the period's key agents and cultural galvanisers, not least because their stone-hurling, tight-sweatered antics appealed to picture editors. The 1960s saw a huge rise in the number of people entering higher education and universities being treated by politicians as a crucial cog in the industrial system. The art students featured in Patricia Holland's recently-exhumed documentary The Hornsey Film (1970) rail against the bureaucratisation of their degrees and what they see as the artificial gulf between themselves and their lecturers. Similarly, in Godard's little-known British Sounds (1969), Essex University students are shown debating revolutionary tactics as well as putting the Beatles under intellectual scrutiny. The film, commissioned and then banned by London Weekend Television, also features militant car-plant workers, a fist punching through the Union Flag, and a naked woman wandering around while an essay by the feminist historian Sheila Rowbotham is recited. Both it and The Hornsey Film were cine-essays as much as conventional documentaries. Read the whole article here.
Daily Telegraph

The future is another country
It's grey and chilly. Throngs of thirty and forty somethings lumber through the drizzle to an agricultural hall outside Coventry. I pay the £11 entrance fee and once through the door everything changes. Sunny optimism illumines the interior. Maple-leaf flags hang like bunting while red, white and blue balloons jostle for attention with inflatable kangaroos and surfboards. This is Emigrate, the largest migration exhibition in Britain, at which financial advisers, estate agents and lawyers from more than 60 organisations offer advice to 7,000 visitors on how to gain entry to new lands of opportunity.
Professor Tim Hatton, a labour market economist from Essex University, estimates the annual emigration rate in the years before the first world war at around 5.3 UK citizens out of every 1,000, though this included a disproportionately high share of Irish emigrants when Ireland was part of the UK. Read the whole article here.

Learn more about credit crisis
Hard-up residents can learn more about the credit crunch from two top economists. Professor Stephen Figlewski, a leading finance theorist of New York University, and Professor Willem Buiter, of the London School of Economics, a founding member of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee will take stage at the University of Essex on April 23 for a public lecture about the recent credit crisis.
Essex County Standard

Doreen punches her weight
Take that! Young-at-hear Doreen Hubbard lands one for the older generation during Essex University's Fit for Life day. She was one of about 200 people who welcomed the chance to work out and have their fitness rated at the free event. It was prompted by the results of a major research study led by Dr Valerie Gladwell and Dr Gavin Sandercock of the university's centre for sports and exercise science. But as the Wivenhoe Park campus - not only youngsters, but people of all ages turned up to have their fitness rated.
Essex County Standard

Thursday 10

Tributes to Essex historian of art
Tributes have been paid to eminent art historian, lecturer and author, Michael Podro, who has died aged 77. Professor Podro was appointed reader of Essex University's new department of art history and theory in 1969, gaining his four years later.
Evening Gazette
Essex County Standard

Groundbreaking work of historian
Read an obituary for Professor Michael Podro CBE here.
Ham and High

The big benefit cheat
Billions of pounds flow into the Exchequer by stealth but it is not the middle classes who are losing out, it is those with the lowest incomes.
Read more about the report which analyses the long-term effects of the current system of uprating benefits, tax credits and taxation thresholds which was produced for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation by a high-powered team of academics led by Professor Holly Sutherland from the University of Essex.
NewStatesman

James heads east as he chases his acting dream
It is no longer a question of to be or not to be for one Braunton teenager's acting career. James Ackroyd-Smith has won a place at a prestigious London acting school and will start in September. The 17-year-old, who has been acting since he was 10, said he was completely overwhelmed when he found out. I just wasn't expecting to get in, he said. I hadn't been accepted elsewhere and my audition with this drama school - East 15 - was the last one. I was thinking of applying to the RAF when I got the letter. I literally hit the roof. I was gob-smacked.
Along the way he has also taken part in numerous theatre productions and has a film credit to his name when he played a peasant boy in King Arthur, alongside Keira Knightley and Clive Owen.
North Devon Journal

New swimming pool for university campus?
Talks are taking place to see if a new swimming pool could be set up at Essex University's campus in Colchester.  A pool, to be used by students and borough residents, has long been mooted for the Wivenhoe Park campus, but few firm proposals have been set down in stone before. Although plans are in the early stages, two potential sites at the Colchester campus near the Sports Centre have been identified.
Evening Gazette
Essex County Standard

Essex student wins title
A Cypriot student has been hailed for his contribution to university life. Panayiotis Stylianou beat off competition from 1,500 entrants from 127 countries to be named the East of England's international student of the year in a British Council contest. The 23-year old studying computing and management at Essex University, was awarded the prize for founding the Essex Entrepreneurship Society (EES), a consultancy service for international students looking to start their own businesses. He has also set up an internship programme linking university students with local businesses. He will now compete for the national title and a £2,000 prize in London this month.
Evening Gazette
Essex County Standard

Wednesday 9

Eghan regains his singles title
Read about the successes for Colchester players at this year's Colchester and East Essex Badminton Federation tournament at the University of Essex.
Evening Gazette
Clacton, Frinton and Walton Gazette
Braintree and Witham Times

Dedham News
Ardleigh Surgery have appointed have appointed Practice Nurse Joy Harrison. Joy is an experience practice nurse and holds an MSc in clinical nursing from Sheffield University. She also works part-time as a nurse educator for the Open University and is also doing a nurse prescriber course at the University of Essex involving one day study a week for six months.
Evening Gazette

Fort Lewis Professor to work in Croatia
Fort Lewis College Professor Tino Sonora will spend this summer in Croatia conducting research and teaching at the University of Zagreb. Sonora, an assistant professor of economics, will study economic integration between the former Soviet bloc and Western Europe. Sonora will also teach a class in applied econometrics, which uses statistical methods to test economic models. At Fort Lewis, Sonora teaches macroeconomics and natural resource and environmental economics. He also writes a business column for The Durango Herald.  Sonora began teaching at Fort Lewis in fall of 2005. Before moving to Durango, he taught at the University of Texas at Arlington for seven years. Sonora earned a doctorate from Ohio State University, a master's degree from the University of Essex in England and a bachelor's degree from Connecticut College. Read the whole article here.
The Durango Herald

A daily miscellany of information by Michael Kesterton
Read an article by Michael Kesterton which includes research findings from University of Essex including the suggestion that horses can count!
Report on Business
Report on Business

Tuesday 8

Are you fit for life?
People of all ages turned up to have their fitness rated at the Fit 4 Life Day held at the University of Essex last Friday.  IT was prompted by a major research study led by Dr Valerie Gladwell and Dr Gavin Sandercock, of the university's centre for sports and exercise science, who found evidence of extremely low activity rates among all those surveyed, particularly teenage girls.  The day welcomed about 200 people and was a great success.  'We were delighted with the response we received from those who got involved in the day' says Dr Gladwell.  'Everyone took the opportunity to have a go at the range of activities we'd set up - from physical challenges and tai chi to finding out how much cholesterol was in their body.
Evening Gazette

Economists to talk about credit crunch
Professor Stephen Figlewski of New York University and Professor Willem Buiter of the London School of Economics will take the stage at Essex University on April 23, for a public lecture about the recent credit crisis.  The talk starts at 2pm.  To reserve a place call 01206 874520 or email julie@essex.ac.uk.
Evening Gazette

Eghan rises to the summit once again
Daniel Eghan regained his singles title from two years ago by defeating Colchester's Simon Gilhooly at this year's Colchester and East Essex Badminton Federation tournament at the University of Essex. 
Gazette

Ethical trading and human rights
Representatives from more than 40 businesses in Essex attended a recent seminar looking at corporate responsibility and ethical trading organised by Colchester law firm Fisher Jones Greenwood, the University of Essex's Human Rights Centre and Essex Chambers of Commerce. Chaired by John Packer, Professor and Director of the Human Rights Centre, the seminar was held in Chelmsford and focused on how companies can trade ethically and help secure respect for fundamental human rights.
East Anglian Daily Times

Monday 7

Volunteers sought for Tetra tests
Researchers need more help with their investigation into whether radar masts are bad for people's health. Essex University is carrying out a major study into the effects of Tetra - the system used for emergency services' radios. However, the team leading the probe is desperately short of volunteers to undergo tests. Senior Research Officer, Denise Wallace, said they hoped to test 132 people sensitive to Tetra signals. But so far, they only have 25 who fit that category. Thos who consider themselves sensitive to the signals include people experiencing dizziness, headaches or problems sleeping.
Evening Gazette

Councillors visit USA
THE county’s leading figures have hailed a landmark trip to the US a huge success, improving the Essex trade and tourism. Essex County Council bosses claim connections with the States are stronger following a six-day visit to Jamestown in Virginia. Leader Lord Hanningfield, nine council cabinet members and six officers were invited to the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown.
A number of Essex organisations sponsored the trip, including Southend Airport, the University of Essex and National Express East Anglia.
TRADE links between the two counties have boomed following the trip to the US, according to Essex businesses. One of those is Jay Mitra, from the School of Entrepreneurship and Business in the University of Essex, Southend. He said: “I went on the trip and I was inspired. We are now working on a number of projects with America Read the whole article here.
icEssex.co.uk

Friday 4

Too much, too young
In many ways, the image of Ruth Lawrence riding around Oxford on a tandem with her father was symbolic of their relationship. Up front sat Harry, the domineering father, while Ruth, just 12 years old and already an Oxford University student, perched behind, pedalling to his rhythm, her academic gown flapping beyond her control in the wind. Rumour had it that he never left her side, and was eventually banned from the common room by the student union.
Abi Lufadeju, a 16-year-old student at St Francis Xavier sixth-form college in Clapham, London, is hoping to start a law degree at Essex University in September. 'I've been younger than the people I've studied alongside for a long time and I've found that I've matured at the same rate as them, so I'm not concerned about that side of things. Also, I'm eager to study, so university is the obvious decision,' she says. Read the entire article here.
The Guardian

Horses able to differentiate between numbers: study
Horses have the same ability to count as human infants, a study has shown. In tests the animals watched plastic apples being placed out of sight in buckets and then chose the one containing the larger number.  Using fake apples ensured they were not relying on their sense of smell to make the selection.
Scientists said the horses showed they could keep a tally of how many apples were going into the containers and hold the thought in their heads before deciding which bucket to investigate. Their behaviour mirrored that seen in similar experiments involving human babies and wild rhesus macaque monkeys. The research was conducted by Claudia Uller and Jennifer Lewis from the University of Essex.  Read the entire article here.
The Times
Also covered in/on newKerala.com
Indian News
United News of India
Manchester Evening News
Daily Mirror
Irish Times
Evening Standard
Daily Mail
Irish Examiner

Uni gets £82k to study migration
Academics at Essex University are researching Irish lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people living in London. The project, funded with an £82,000 ESRC grant will investigate why Irish LGBT migrants have chosen to move to London and their experiences.
Essex County Standard

Prince's 'dustbin' up for award
A £4.5 million lecture theatre, described as looking like a dustbin by Prince Charles, has been shortlisted for another award. The Ivor Crewe lecture hall at Essex University has been shortlisted for this year's Royal Institute of British Architects awards for the east.
Evening Gazette

Thursday 3

Curate is a man of numerous talents
The new curate for the one parish and six churches that make up Hardington Vale is a man of several parts. Philip Hawthorn, 49, is a graduate in computer science, an actor, an author of joke books, children's television present- er, director, producer and poet.  Born in Watford, after leaving school Mr Hawthorn gained a degree from Essex University before joining Huddersfield-based travelling theatre company Footprint. He later formed his own company, Primary Colours.
Mr Hawthorn spent a year in Italy writing jokes for Usborne Publishing as well as poetry and children's fiction, and then began presenting a Radio Four schools' assembly programme. From there he began appearing on children's TV programmes such as Playdays, Telling Tales and Superbods, before moving into directing and producing.  It was during that time he met his wife Lizzie and the couple moved from London to Westbury-sub-Mendip, near Wells, where Mr Hawthorn continued his writing, notably for the children's BBC channel, CBeebies, and for programmes such as The Tweenies.
Somerset Standard

The Daily Mail reported a "row" on 27 March over an award to the University of Essex to research the experiences of Irish homosexuals in London. The £82,000 Economic and Social Research Council grant will be used to study the lives of Irish lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. The newspaper quoted the Taxpayers' Alliance describing the project as being "out of a political correctness joke book". Róisín Ryan-Flood, who is leading the project, says she wants to "uncover the ways in which contemporary sexual citizenship, migration and LGBT imaginaries of the metropolis are mutually implicated in complex ways".
THE

Hefce shuffles library cards
Five of the UK's seven research libraries that receive special funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for English are to be designated "national research libraries" and to have their support merged into a single stream. Hefce's decision was informed by an external review of research library funding carried out by Sir Ivor Crewe, former vice-chancellor of the University of Essex.
THE

Looking for the WOW factor
The University of Essex is putting up a "landmark" building on the waterfront in Ipswich as part of its University Campus Suffolk development. "I got a briefing that included a list of words such as 'bold', 'landmark', 'sustainable', 'implementable' and 'student facing', says Peter Williams, director of RMJM, the international architectural firm that designed the development. The building - due to open in September 2008 - has a surreal quality, perched as it is on the edge of the water: a chequerboard exterior that curves and supports small windows and a grass roof.
THE

Wednesday 2

Professor Michael Podro
Read his obituary in The Times.

80% of smes die before 5th anniversary - SMEDAN
The agency lamented that only one out five small scale industries survived due to non-conducive environment resulting from ineffective regulations.
“Only one out five of the small industries established celebrates its fifth anniversary, before they clocked five they would have died that means 80 percent of the business established die yearly,” SMEDAN said. SMEDAN Group head, enterprises promotion, S. Adebiyi, made the observation during an African Entrepreneurship seminar, organised by in collaboration with the Scientific Committee on Entrepreneurship of the University of Essex, United Kingdom. Adebiyi, who attributed the high mortality rate of SMEs to lack or feeble legal structure in the country, observed that the small industries were not always able to survive some of the unfriendly policies that either directly or indirectly targeted at them. Read the whole article here.
Business Day

Chilean President to visit Britain
President Michelle Bachelet is expected to meet with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London and attend a Conference on Progressive Governments, joining another 200 notables from around the world. The agenda was confirmed by La Moneda Palace, adding that an advance mission, including Treasury Minister Andres Velasco, travelled to Britain today. This will be Bachelet's first state visit to Britain. She is expected to leave Chile tonight to be able to attend a meeting on global economic integration, poverty and development, climate change and international institutional reform. She is also expected to meet separately with several heads of State attending the meeting and be received on Friday by Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle. The Chilean president is scheduled to receive a Doctor Honoris Causa degree at the University of Essex and give a lecture on her country's economic situation in the London School of Economics.
She will be accompanied by ministers Alejandro Foxley (Foreign Affairs) and Ana Lya Uriarte (Environment), as well as former Government Minister Ricardo Lagos Weber.
Prensa Latina

Big Thinker: Daniel Liebskind
Read an article about Essex Graduate and one of the greatest architects of the modern era.
CNN

Research on physiology detailed by scientists at University of Essex
Investigators publish new data in the report 'Trait anxiety modulates the electrophysiological indices of rapid spatial orienting towards angry faces.' The research investigated the electrophysiological markers of attentional bias for threat in anxiety. Low-anxiety and high-anxiety individuals performed a spatial-cueing task, in which an emotional facial expression (angry or happy) was presented alongside a neutral expression, investigators at the University of Essex reported.
The findings indicate that individual differences in temperament are an important determinant of the early neural response to threat.
Biotech Week

British Universities Tour 2008 arrives at Gibraltar
A local first, the British Universities Tour 2008 in association with the European Council of International Schools (ECIS) saw representatives from 12 universities visiting Bayside School yesterday to address students from The Gibraltar College, from Westside School and Bayside School ready to sign for September 2008. The universities have various modes to make new students feel at home, said Caroline Dimbleby from the University of Essex. Students from abroad are met by a welcoming party, they receive support from other students and administration and most universities guarantee accommodation on university property for the first year. After this year, continued Mrs Dimbleby, students have established new friendships and often decide to share flats. The students learn to  live, cook, work and organise their time and this independence demands a lot of
self-motivation but is also a great opportunity to make new bonds and friendships, she clarified. Most universities have international students from over 100 countries and more than 100 multifaceted clubs and associations as well as cultural events like drama, exhibitions and live music, so that every student might find something in his or her interest, said Mrs Dimbleby.  Read the whole article here.
Gibraltar Chronicle

Tuesday 1

New findings from University of Essex in the area of heart disease described
In this recent report, researchers in Colchester, the United Kingdom conducted a study To examine differences in the effect of coronary heart disease (CHD) on health functioning according to socioeconomic position. Research on social inequality in health has tended to concentrate on differences in disease prevalence and mortality rather than on the impact of disease on functioning. The researchers concluded CHD has a more detrimental effect on physical and mental health functioning among those in more disadvantaged socioeconomic positions.
Science Letter

Laughs galore in pub comedy showdown
Former Essex University student Paul Byrne has won the title of North Essex Comedian of the Year.  The competition, which was held at The Bull pub in Crouch Street, saw twenty seven acts compete for the title.  Joint runners-up were Jane Hill, from Essex, and Andrew Doyle, a primary school teacher.  The competition was part of funny farm, a regular comedy night at The Bull which features up-and-coming acts.  Colchester Funny Farm continues on April 9 with Steve Day, Mike Belgrave, 1TBC and MC Tony Cowards.  Tickets £6.50 on the door.
Gazette

Obituary: Professor Michael Podro
Obituary for Professor Michael Podro who was an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Art History and Theory, who died last week. Read the entire article here.

[top of page]

Further Information:

• About the University
• For information about the prospectus, advertising and other University publications, see the Marketing Office website
• Colchester Campus guide (shows the physical location of most departments, centres and services)
• Guide to room numbering
• Directions for travel