University of Essex in the press...

November 2008

Thursday 27

UK voters under the microscope
A £1.5 million grant to conduct the latest British Election Survey has been awarded to the University of Essex
Times Higher Education

From apartheid South Africa to scholarship-boy segregation
For Terry Eagleton, one of the most prominent working-class British academics of the past few decades, the 'scholarship boy' ranks with the 'mad scientist' and the 'dumb blonde' as among the 'most archetypal of postwar characters.' An interesting example is the career of Vic Gatrell, professor of British history at the University of Essex and a life fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.
Times Higher Education

Tuesday 25

Pre-Budget report: Long term outlook still looks bleak for Gordon Brown
Anyone looking at the detailed findings of YouGov's poll is bound to conclude that, while Gordon Brown and the Government have gained a modest boost from their handling of the current crisis, their long-term outlook remains bleak. By Professor Anthony King, Department of Government.
Telegraph

Slapping a tax on playtime
Gamers more used to battling demons, giants and dragons may soon be tacking another mortal enemy - the tax man. Slowly but surely authorities around the world are turning their attention to online games and virtual worlds and the tax-exempt status of the economic activity taking place within them. Richard Bartle, a multi-player game pioneer and researcher at the University of Essex, says in-game taxes would spoil the fun. "If you were taxed every time you bought a property in Monopoly, you'd be annoyed. The same goes for people in World of Warcraft."
BBC Online http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7746094.stm

Brown not to blame for crisis, survey finds
The public do not hold Gordon Brown responsible for the financial crisis, according to a survey released today.
The results will give succour to Labour as it faces continued controversy over the contents of yesterday's Pre-Budget Report.
"These results are good news for the government and Gordon Brown," said professor Paul Whiteley from the University of Essex, which led the study.
Yahoo http://uk.news.yahoo.com/14/20081125/tpl-brown-not-to-blame-for-crisis-survey-81c5b50.html

Disillusion feeds fascist votes
The leaked BNP list contains some 12,800 names. Not all of these are members of the party – some of the names have not paid subscriptions for three years. It is also clear that only a minority are active members of the party. Just under 3,000 of the names have the word “activist” next to them – around one in four. Some commentators have suggested that these figures are smaller than expected – and that the BNP therefore poses less of a threat than had previously been thought. But this misses the fact that the fascists have been grabbing unprecedented electoral success of late. A report compiled by academics at the University of Essex “investigated the relationship between the social class mix of the ward and the level of support attained by the BNP” and found that “the roots of their appeal are among the lower middle classes”.
Socialist Worker Online http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=16521

Voters say: it's not Gordon's fault
FEW voters believe Gordon Brown is personally responsible for the current economic crisis. That's according to the first set of survey results from the University of Essex's British Election Study (BES), which indicates the electorate blame firmly at the banks.
East Anglian Daily Times

Latin American celebrations
A celebration of Latin America is being held this week at Essex University. The first Latin American Day Symposium is being held at the Ivor Crewe Lecture Hall on Friday and will look at the cultural and economic impact of Lain America.
East Anglian Daily Times

High-profile finance 'hawk' to lead cull of public spending
Leading academic and financial commentator Colm McCarthy is to head up a new body aimed at curbing government spending. The group is set to be formally established today at a Cabinet meeting. A graduate of UCD and the University of Essex, Mr McCarthy was involved in the Expenditure Review Group established in 1967.
Irish Independent

Monday 24

Prem Sikka commentisfree
The government's planned reduction in VAT will be welcomed by many, but on its own is unlikely to provide the desired long term stimulus to the economy. With personal debt already exceeding £1.4 trillion, bigger than the UK gross domestic product, some might be tempted to spend more, but will find it difficult to balance their household budgets later.
The Guardian

Students enjoy maths challenge
A team of pupils from an Essex secondary school have taken part in a maths challenge, taking on representatives from around the country at Essex University.
East Anglian Daily Times

Report on an international conference on gender, class, employment and family
This paper reports upon a two-day conference held at City University, London. Man Yee Kan and Jay Gershuny used the British Household Panel Survey to demonstrate that women reduce their hours of paid work, and increase their domestic work, after having a child. Although men increase both their paid work and childcare hours on fatherhood, they do not substantially increase the time they spend on routine domestic work.
Equal Opportunities International

Friday 21

Movers and shakers
Emma Town has been appointed trainee solicitor at Thompson Smith and Puxon in Colchester. Emma is an Essex University graduate who specialised in Spanish law as part of the European law module and has completed a one-year Legal Practice course at the Inns of Court School of Law in London.
Essex County Standard

Computers to get real
Scientists have been plotting ways to make video games more realistic by using computers that think for themselves. Experts in Artificial Intelligence were brought together at an Essex University conference aimed at using cutting-edge technology to reproduce the unpredictability of real life in games.
Essex County Standard

Assault at Uni 'racist'
An altercation at Essex University led to a man being described as a "disgraceful delinquent". The man was at Essex University watching his son DJing at an R'n'B night when he became involved in a fight and admitted common assault and disorderly behaviour - both racially aggravated.
Evening Gazette

Heads react to super sixth form plan
The headteachers of four secondary schools in Harlow have agreed to explore the possibility of creating joint sixth-form education with Harlow College.
The venture was announced at a public meeting on Friday evening to explore ways of furthering educational success in Harlow following successful GCSE results. Several new initiatives were also discussed, including a multi-agency group called the Behaviour and Attendance Partnership to work on these issues. The schools are also looking at creating a trust to formalise the joint working between the schools and are in discussions with the University of Essex about potential involvement.
The Harlow Herald
 

Thursday 20

Student wins £250k research cash
A research student has been awarded £250,000 to continue her work. Dr Marina Popescu, a former Essex University postgraduate, beat competition from 700 applicants to be awarded a post-doctoral fellowship by the British Academy. She achieved her PhD in political science at Colchester earlier this year and will use the money to study media influence across the world. She will also examine political bias, government influence on public broadcasting and economic influences on media content at the Wivenhoe campus.
Evening Gazette

Racers raise £264k
The two Race for Life event in Colchester raised more than £260,000 for Cancer Research UK. Gill Burgess from Race for Life, says that they have gone past their target for the University of Essex, which was £128,000.
Evening Gazette
Essex County Standard

Built for prizes
The award-winning architecture surrounding students at the University has been recognised in the Colchester 2020 and 2008 RIBA Architectural awards. The Ivor Crewe Lecture Hall was named joint winner in the new contemporary buildings category. The award for sustainable development went to the new Centre for Brain Sciences, which has solar panels, a rainwater recovery system and a ground-source heat pump.
THE

Official from University of Essex to meet prospective students
A representative from Britain's University of Essex will be in the country to meet prospective students keen on joining the already strong cohort of Bruneian students currently enrolled in the institution. Dr Tim Gutsell, the Director of International Office at the University of Essex, will be at James Hon's Office on November 21and 22 to meet the prospective students.
Among the 3,000 international students, there is a strong cohort of Bruneian students currently enrolled at the university, according to student consultants James Hon Marketing and Management. According to a student consultant Delon Hon, there are many reasons why so many international students chose University of Essex to further their education. One of the main reasons, he said, is the quality of its research and teachings.
Borneo Bulletin

Call to arms for BT troubleshooter
A mammoth task lies ahead for Essex graduate Hanif Lalani. He has the job of turning around BT's Global Services division. Analysts call Global Services the telecoms giant's "engine of growth". But the division, which networks huge organisations from Visa to the National Health Service, is misfiring badly. It was behind a recent a profits warning which sent BT's share price crashing to a 20-year low. Global Services chief executive Francois Barrault fell on his sword and up stepped finance director Lalani. Read the whole article here.
Yorkshire Post

David V. Jones appointed as President & CEO of Amadeus IT Group from 1 January 2009
Amadeus, a leading provider of technology to the travel and tourism industry, today announced that David V. Jones has been appointed to take over as President & CEO of Amadeus IT Group from 1 January, 2009. David Jones has headed up Amadeus global commercial operations since 1992 and has a deep knowledge and experience of the travel industry and Amadeus’ business. David V. Jones is a University of Essex graduate (MA in Economics). Read the whole article here.
eTN

 

Wednesday 19

Welcome for sports funds
Sports Centres, schools and clubs in Essex will get a share of £2 million to celebrate the forthcoming Olympics from Essex County Council's 2012 legacy cashpot.  Essex University will benefit and will receive £200,000 to help pay for the extension to the fitness suite and human performance unit which houses state-of-the-art fitness testing equipment for athletes. It is hoped international athletes will use the unit if the university is chosen to be a training camp for London 2012.
Evening Gazette
Harwich and Manningtree Standard
Halstead Gazette

Games experts meet at uni
Scientists have been plotting ways to make video games even more realistic by using computers that think for themselves. Experts in artificial intelligence were brought together at an Essex University conference, aimed at using cutting-edge technology to reproduce the unpredictability of real life in games.
Cazette
Halstead Gazette

Boys and girls come out to play
A porn-star themed event which saw about 1,000 students descend on Colchester town centre went off largely without a hitch. Essex University and the students' union voiced their disapproval of Carnage UK's pub crawl on Monday night, which saw them visit pubs including the Marquis and Yates's.
Gazette
Halstead Gazette
Harwich and Manningtree Standard

Research from University of Essex in the area of critical care published
In this recently published study, investigators in Colchester, the United Kingdom conducted a study "To evaluate the impact of critical care outreach services on the delivery and organization of hospital care from the perspective of staff working in acute hospitals (see also ). One hundred semi-structured interviews were undertaken with hospital staff who were either members of, or who came into contact with, the outreach service in eight hospitals in U.K."
Biotech Week

The Dali sculpture mess
A flood of posthumous sculpture by Salvador Dal generates millions of dollars in annual revenuebut the artists connection with much of the work is unclear. The market is rife with unreliable information, disputed ownership claims, unauthorized editions, and legal conflict. At least two European police investigations are under way...Dawn Ades, a well-known Dal scholar and a professor at the University of Essex, says she is outraged by the way Dals name has been exploited, taking advantage of an all-too-gullible public.
ARTnews

Tuesday 18

Hold them to account
The traditional mechanisms for disciplining company directors have failed. We need a new approach. Read Professor Prem Sikka's article here.
The Guardian

Uni given polls study
About £1.5 million has been awarded to Essex University to conduct the latest British Election Study. This political research project which looks at how and why voters choose to vote and for which party. Professor Paul Whiteley from the Department of Government who will direct the survey said: this is an extremely important and influential survey, and we are delighted that yet again Essex is leading its development and implementation'.
Evening Gazette

Research from University of Essex in the area of critical care published
In this recently published study, researchers from the University of Essex conducted a study 'to evaluate the impact of critical care outreach services on the delivery and organization of hospital care from the perspective of staff working in acute hospitals. One hundred semi-structured interviews were undertaken with hospital staff who were either members of, or who came into contact with, the outreach service in eight hospitals in the UK'.
Life Science Weekly
Science Letter

Awards to showcase business innovation
A prestigious awards event set up to showcase the best of innovation in businesses in Hertfordshire has been officially launched. For more than a decade, the Lord Stafford Awards has promoted the efforts of businesses and universities working together to embrace innovation to develop new processes, products and services in the West Midlands. Following the start of the East Midlands version of the awards earlier this year, the Lord Stafford Awards for the East of England will be held on March 31 2009. Hundreds of companies in Hertfordshire work with the 12 higher education institutions that make up the Association of Universities in the East of England, which includes the University of Essex, to develop new ways of doing business that have an impact on the profitability and competitiveness of the company. Read the whole article here.
Harlow Herald
24dash.com

Skills of Chinese craftsmen revealed
Visitors to a Colchester Theatre were given a masterclass in how to make intricate Chinese crafts. Five of Jiangsu province's skilled craftsmen and women, usually found at their own base in Nanjing's Confucian Temple are spending 12 days travelling around Essex showing off their wares and how they are created. Other forthcoming events include a series of talks on Zen Buddhism in the modern world by Dechan Jueren, including one at the Lakeside Theatre at Essex University.
Evening Gazette

Monday 17

Troops were pining for the taste of home
This month's 90th anniversary of the Armistice put the spotlight on the horrors of the First World War and Rachel Duffett, a PhD student at the University of Essex has been researching food provisions for troops on the Western Front.
Evening Gazette
Halstead Gazette

Town Carnage: no cause for alarm
Colchester Police are not anticipating trouble at a porn-star themed student pub crawl after a similar event in Chelmsford passed without a hitch. About 1000 students from Essex University are expected to take part in the fancy dress event tonight.
Evening Gazette

Sunday 16

Lake Worth voters back at polls Tuesday
On Tuesday, voters throughout the city will choose a commissioner in the District 4 runoff pitting bank manager Dave Vespo against former University of Essex Professor and business consultant Suzanne Mulvehill. Read the whole article here.
PalmBeachPost.com

Saturday 15

Organic farming can feed Africa, says UN
New evidence that organic farming offers Africa the best chance of breaking the continent's cycle of poverty and malnutrition has come from a major UN study.
The report by Rachel Hine and Jules Pretty from the University of Essex and Sophia Twarog (UNCTAD), was published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and provides evidence that organic farming "could feed Africa". Read the whole article and view the report here.
Peopleandplanet.net
 

Friday 14

How Barclays’ directors protect their bonuses
Prem Sikka details the politics of banking bailouts and says that one deal in particular is bad for everyone except the bank’s fat cat bosses. Read his article here.
Tribune

Action needed now over 2012, town chiefs urged
Colchester's political leaders have been accused of not doing enough to lure Olympic teams to the town. The allegations made by Councillor Kevin Bentley have been denied by Theresa Higgins and Dr Tony Rich who are on Colchester's Olympic Partnership who said they have made approaches to the New Zealand and Fiji Olympic bodies through University and Garrison contacts.
Essex County Standard
Evening Gazette

Builder now uni scientist
A former builder who left school with no qualifications is part of a research team aiming to develop a life-saving blood substitute. He spent ten years working on building sites before returning to his studies and is now a research scientist.
Essex County Standard

China's in your hands
The sights and sounds of China will be dominating the local arts scene this weekend as the county's Jiangsu Festival continues.  One of the events is a Chinese Cinema Weekend , co-ordinated by Signals Media, taking place at Lakeside Theatre at Essex University.
Essex County Standard
Evening Gazette

Will maths mastery add up to extra cash for students?
Brainy new students at Essex University can earn some extra cash - if they can answer some maths questions. The maths department of the university has launched the Winsten Maths Challenge and students can win £250 for each question answered correctly. They can qualify for up to £1,000 each by by getting four of the questions correct.
Essex County Standard
Evening Gazette

Cut-price microscope saves £160k
A DIY scientist has built his own hi-tech microscope to help with experiments. The powerful device will allow Dr Neil Kad and his Essex University colleagues to examine cells millions of times more closely that with a standard microscope.  It would have cost £200,000 to buy but he managed to make it from scratch for just £40,000.
Essex County Standard

Town's Triumph of architecture celebrated at awards night
Colchester's architectural triumphs have been celebrated at an awards ceremony. Among the lucky few was the Ivor Crewe lecture hall at Essex University. Famously likened to a dustbin by Prince Charles, it took home the prize for the best new contemporary building, an accolade it shared with St Anne's Community Centre in Harwich Road.
Essex County Standard

A University challenge
A new initiative has been launched in Colchester to encourage talented firls to get top university places. More than 600 girls from seven schools were are due to take part in the three-year programme, which is being founded to the tune of £200,000 by the Department for Children, Families and Schools. The scheme was launched to an audience of more than 300 parents at the Ivor Crewe Lecture Hall at Essex University.
Essex County Standard

Experts pin copycat crimes on media
The debate rages over whether excessive media coverage encourages crime, with one woman admitting she was emulating the endeavors of a heavily documented serial killer when she killed and mutilated her husband recently.
Experts of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and the Indonesian Institute on Governance discussed Thursday the consequences of unrestrained media coverage during a seminar titled "Perspectives on Freedom of Expression in Asia and Europe" as a follow up to the 9th Asia-Europe Seminar on Human Rights last year in Cambodia. One speaker, Kevin Boyle, a law professor at the University of Essex, said extended coverage of crimes was not recommended. He called on the media industry to preserve professionalism and take into account social and moral values and to respect individuals' rights. Read the whole article here.
The Jakarta Post

Thursday 13

IT Superheroes: Meet the finalists
Read about University of Essex graduate, Adam Spittles, one of the finalists.
Computer Weekly
 

In the best of taste
Delegates will have to use their senses when comparing foods at a conference on taste at the University of Essex. Held at the Southend campus and hosted by the university's management centre, the two-day event forms part of a series of conference on senses; events on hearing and sight have taken place in Utrecht and Copenhagen.
THE

Monday 10

Uni's Zen Buddhist seminar
One of the world's most eminent Zen Buddhists is set to visit Colchester as part of the Essex Jiangsu Festival. Dechran Jueren, a best-selling author in China and doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, will be speaking at Essex University on November 19.
Evening Gazette

Saturday 8

Is cognitive therapy the answer?
CBT has been hailed as quick and effective. There was huge excitement last autumn when the health secretary, Alan Johnson, announced that £170m would be spent on talking therapies in England. The programme focuses on one specific branch of treatment - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). But a tide of doubt has begun to be expressed about whether CBT is getting too much prominence - and money. Andrew Samuels. Psychotherapist and Professor at Essex University offers his comments - read them here.
BBC
 

Cinderella
Actor and musician Daniel Lloyd was thrilled on discovering the nickname given to his character in the script for Clwyd Theatr Cymru's panto, Cinderella.
"Dandini Rock God. I love it. Now all I've got to do is live up to it!" laughed the 26-year-old, who joins the Mold theatre's pantomime cast for the second year running. Last year he played Jack in the sell out Jack and the Beanstalk.
A former pupil of Ysgol Morgan Llwyd, Wrexham, he did A-level drama then theatre studies at Bangor University before East 15 Acting School in London.
Read the whole article here.
NorthWales.co.uk
Daily Post
 

Friday 7

Hemp for Car Parts – New Eco Businesses Grow from Plants with EU and EEDA Funding
Carbon and climate-friendly hemp for car parts are one of the types of innovative methods that will be supported by a new scheme funded by the European Union and the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) to boost eco-businesses and create jobs. Innovation in Crops, or InCrops, has received a total of £2 million from EEDA and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Competitiveness programme to develop an enterprise hub linking the region’s top researchers with businesses looking to develop new products. InCrops is based at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich, with partners across the region including Essex University. Read the whole article here.
BioBasedNews.com
BBC
Cambridge News Online

Uni researcher helps partially-sighted man see colour
An Essex University researcher has helped a partially-sighted man see colour in his blind eye for the first time in over 40 years. Using a magnetic coil to stimulate the patient's brain, Dr Juha Silvanto showed that where part-blindness occurs due to injury, it is still possible to experience visual sensations of colour.
Essex County Standard

Full marks for teacher training
Teacher training at a Colchester college has been given a glowing report following an Ofsted inspection. Inspectors officially gave the college's Initial Teacher Training (ITT) provision a 'good' rating following a visit to Colchester Institute, South East Essex College and Essex University, as well as a number of other teaching settings involved in the partnership.
Essex County Standard

Students to tell health bosses what they need
Health bosses are to hear what services secondary school pupils need at a major event. More than 100 14 to 16-year-olds are being invited to an event at Essex University organised by NHS North East Essex on December 17.
Essex County Standard

Bonding that was automatic
What's that coming to Essex University - is it The Automatic? Yes it is, but a very different one to the band that soared to the charts with their 'Monster' hit.
Essex County Standard and Colchester Gazette

Jazz quintet talk of scene
Hailed by Courtney Pine as 'the most exciting jazz band to come out of the UK,' Empirical will play in Colchester tomorrow. The quintet is dedicated to sticking to trhe roots of traditional modern jazz, but keeps a finger on the contemporary pulse that wins them a loyal fan base and generate new ones.
Essex County Standard

Helping blind eye see colour
An Essex University researcher has helped a partially-sighted man see colour in his blind eye for the first time in over 40 years.
Colchester Gazette

Homicide reforms would be ‘nightmare’ for juries, says top law lord
Britain’s senior judge launched a scathing attack last night on some of the Government’s proposed reforms to the law of homicide in England and Wales.In a lecture to students from the University of Essex, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers summarised the directions to a jury that would be required in a case where someone had been killed during a fight between two gangs.
Daily Telegraph
The Independent
 

Thursday 6

We are not stereotypical 'Essex Girls'
It is reported that more than twice as many women from South East Essex took an emergency morning after pill than the England average. Sarah Lee and Peter Martin from the University of Essex says that the reasons behind this are unlikely to be straightforward and that a likely explanation is that women in this part of the country are better informed and have access to responsive and well-regarded sexual health services.
The Enquirer

Students find unusual way to study politics
Hundreds of students partied the night away as the Us elections reach their climax. The Top Bar of Essex University's students union was full to capacity as the results came in.  The party began at 11pm and was still going strong at 3am. Lecturer Tom Scotto from the Department of Government said he had been amazed by the strength of interest adding it had been an extremely well-publicised campaign.
Evening Gazette

Changes 'will take time to arrive'
An Essex history professor has given an insight into the challenges Barack Obama faces when he takes up office in the White House. Wivenhoe resident Hugh Brogan said he had not been surprised by Obama's victory and he thought that, in many ways, people should expect to see very little immediate change.
East Anglian Daily Times

Scientist's DIY labour of love
A DIY scientist has built his own hi-tech microscope to help with experiments. The powerful device will allow Dr Neil Kad and his Essex University colleagues to examine cells millions of times more closely than with a standard microscope.  It would have cost £200,000 to build but he managed to make it for just £40,000 using grants from the university and the Royal Society.
Evening Gazette

Buildings to win awards
The finest architecture built in Colchester in recent years will be celebrated tomorrow. The winners of the Colchester 2020 and RIBA Architecture Awards will be announced at the Forum for the Built Environment's Anglian Lecture at the Moot Hall. One of the nominees includes the Ivor Crewe Lecture Hall at Essex University.
Evening Gazette

Porn star theme no offence
After the Gazette revealed that about 900 people from Essex University are expected to attend a pub crawl which has a "dirty porn star" theme, more than 100 readers took part in a readers' poll. 73 people said that the theme wouldn't offend him, 31 people said it would and 4 people were unsure.
Evening Gazette

Wednesday 5

The stomach for fighting: Food on the Western Front
It's said that an army marches on its stomach, Rachel Duffett from the University of Essex History Department has been researching the rations of those serving on the Western Front during World War I. Read the article here.
BBC Essex

Read Dr Tom Scotto's thoughts about the American Election on the www.politics.co.uk blog.

Let the grow veg!
Children at every school in Essex should grow their own food to eat at lunchtimes, according to a top science professor. Professor Jules Pretty, who is tasked with proposing new county council policies in his role as chairman of the Essex Rural Commission, said the move would tackle child obesity by fostering a love of healthy fruit and veg. Read the whole article here.
Colchester Gazette
Harwich and Manningtree Standard
Halstead Gazette
East Anglian Daily Times

Tuesday 4

Latest Laboratory News from Laboratorytalk
Russ Swan talks about his admiration for Dr Neil Kad's 'DIY' microscope. Read the whole article here.
Laboratorytalk

Monday 3

DIY microscope transforms university research
A resourceful lecturer at the University of Essex has turned his hand to a spot of DIY and built a high-tech microscope that will transform the university’s ability to undertake specialist medical and biological research. Read the whole article here.
Innovations Report

£200,000 DIY microscope
A DIY enthusiast has saved his university £160,000 by knocking up a microscope out of parts he bought on eBay. Lecturer Neil Kad spent eight months painstakingly assembling the powerful microscope, which can magnify cells and strands of DNA millions of times. One piece of the microscope, which is held together with Blu Tac, was bought on auction site eBay for just £5. The microscope is worth £200,000 but cost only £40,000 to make. Dr Kad, from Essex University, in Colchester, said: "It has been a real labour of love."
Daily Mirror

Colchester: Gang targeting pubs and clubs
A gang of burglars is targeting pubs and clubs in and around Colchester.
There have been six separate break-ins at venues in the borough over the past few weeks, with thousands of pounds stolen from fruit, games and change machines. Pubs targeted include the Pool Bar, at Essex University.
Evening Gazette

Magnet restores colour perception in partially-sighted patient
A researcher from the University of Essex has succeeded in inducing the experience of colour in the blind part of a partially sighted patient’s visual field.
Using a magnetic coil to stimulate the patient’s brain, Juha Silvanto demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to experience visual sensations of colour in an area of blindness caused by a cortical brain lesion. Read the whole article here.
Innovations Report

New coral reef discovered in Seychelles
Scientists from the University of Essex have discovered a new, previously undiscovered coral reef in the Seychelles. David Smith and David Suggett, researchers at the University's Coral Reef Research Unit in the Department of Biological Sciences, discovered the new reef along with PhD student Sebastian Hennige. The three were visiting Curieuse Island as part of an ongoing study funded by Mitsubishi Corporation in conjunction with the Earthwatch Institute when they discovered the reef. The discovery of the reef has resulted in a plan by authorities to establish a centre of marine field-based research on Curieuse Island. Read the whole article here.
Practical Fishkeeping

Americans decide
Iris Clapp from the Evening Gazette meets American students studying at Essex.  Alec McDaniel, Emma Hamlin and Mitch Hansen give their opinions on who might win the big race. Read the whole article here.
Evening Gazette

Health bosses to quiz pupils
Pupils from secondary schools will be letting health bosses know what services they need at a major event. More than 100 youngsters aged 14 to 16 are being invited to an event held at Essex University and will look at lifestyle, emotional health, sexual health and how young people can access services.
Evening Gazette

Car-share group in bid to ease jams
A campaign has been launched to tackle Colchester's traffic jams, by persuading workers to share their cars with colleagues. It is run by the Colchester 2020 Travel Plan Club, an alliance of employers which have made a joint pledge to tackle congestion by encouraging staff to give each other lifts or get to work by public transport, on their bike or on foot. The organisations include Essex University, Colchester Hospital University Trust and Colchester Institute.
Evening Gazette
East Anglian Daily Times

Testing the case of tyrant's trial
Legal eagles can learn from the people who prosecuted an infamous dictator. Essex University is holding a seminar on the extradition and trial of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. Speakers include James Lewis QC, who represented the Spanish Government and Clive Nicholls QC from Pinochet's defence team as well as representatives from Amnesty International and the International Federation of Human Rights.
Evening Gazette

Recent studies from University of Essex add new data to language and communication
The article employs conversation analysis to explore the interpenetration of grammar and preference organization in English conversation in comparison with a previous study for Japanese. Whereas varying the word order of major syntactic elements is a vital grammatical resource in Japanese for accomplishing the potentially universal task of delaying dispreferred responses to a range of first actions, it is found to have limited utility in English.
NewsRX.net

Saturday 1

Drinking and child behaviour
"Blessing of a weekly tipple in pregnancy," reports the Times today, claiming that expectant mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy do not harm their unborn babies, but they 'may even benefit'. The Daily Express featured the headline "wine during pregnancy 'helps control your child'." The papers' claims are based on a study of over 12,000 children carried out by Dr Yvonne Kelly and colleagues from University College London, the University of Essex and Warwick Medical School carried out this study. It was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal, International Journal of Epidemiology. Read the whole article here.
Leinster Leader
The Shields Gazette
Eastwood and Kimberley Advertiser
Fleetwood Weekly News
Sunday Journal Online
 

Shares shock for BT after profits warning
BT Group lost almost one fifth of its value yesterday after a shock profits warning sent its shares into freefall. The telecoms and IT services group warned a "particularly disappointing" performance by its global services division would drive second quarter underlying earnings slightly below expectations. The division's head, Francois Barrault, was shown the door and replaced by former finance director Hanif Lalani.  Hanif Lalani's appointment as chief executive of BT's global services division continues his ascent within the telecoms and IT giant. Read more about Essex graduate, Hanif Lalani here.
Yorkshire Post
Times Online

The Obama phenomenon: a dream can compel people to hold their breath in wonder
Award-winning novelist and Honorary Graduate, Ben Okri flew to America to examine the Obama phenomenon at first hand. He discovered ‘one of the most audacious and inspiring stories of our age’. Read his article here.
The Times

Bangladesh Jatiya Party Leader Mahmud Supports Polls Under Emergency
Anisul Islam Mahmud, a former minister and lawmaker, now actingchairman of Jatiya Party was born in 1947 at Hathazari, Chittagong. Anisulbears a colourful academic life. He was a lecturer in Economics department ofDhaka University. As a Commonwealth scholar in 1972 he did his MA in Economicsfrom Essex University, UK. In 1975 he was called to the Bar from Lincolns Inn,London. He was Lecturer in Economics at Hertfordshire University, UK from1973-77. He was President of Bangladesh Cricket Control Board, BangladeshFlying Club Ltd and Asian Cricket Control Board.
World News Connection
 

Friday 31 October

Finnish scientist gets partially blind patient to see colours
Study awakens international interest
A Finnish scientist and his colleagues at Britain’s Essex University have succeeded in restoring the ability to perceive colours to a partially blind patient.
The study, by Juha Silvanto and his colleagues, was published on Tuesday, and has sparked interest around the world. Read the whole article here.
HELSINGIN SANOMAT

A Fairer Rate For The Food On Your Plate
Dr Lisa Jack, from the Essex Business School, is looking at whether participants in the food supply chain, from farmers to retailers, could adopt target cost management (TCM). Read the whole article here.
Science Daily

Could Obama happen here?
Dr Tom Scotto from the Department of Government at Essex University provides some expert analysis and he shares his views on Barack Obama's meteoric rise and the system in America that allowed it to happen. Read the whole article here.
BBC

Russell's Dalek pumpkin designed at Uni
Bright sparks at Essex University served up a Halloween surprise to the main credited with reviving Dr Who during a television interview. Members of the department of computing and electronic systems made a robotic Dalek pumpkin to impress Russell T Davies on the Richard and Judy show which screens tonight.
Evening Gazette

'Good' report for institute
Teacher training at a Colchester college has been given a glowing report following an Ofsted inspection. Inspectors officially gave the College's Initial Teachers Training (ITT) provision a 'good' rating following a visit to Colchester Institute, South East Essex College and Essex University as well as a number of other teaching settings involved in the partnership.
Evening Gazette

Wish-list drawn up by residents
A vision for the future of a town has been unveiled by residents. The town plan for Wivenhoe has been launched after 10,000 residents expressed their views. One of the items on the wish-list include a guarantee of the green buffer between Wivenhoe, Essex University and Colchester being protected for at least 15 years.
Essex County Standard

Powerful story of foiled ambition that stays real
Fans of Caryl Churchill have one more night to catch her thought-provoking tale, Fen at Essex University tonight. The latest production is being performed by students from the Centre for Theatre Studies.
Essex County Standard

Pupils get taste for filming
Eight Year 9 pupils from Notley High School, Braintree took part in an exciting film-making project as part of the Chinese film festival in Essex. Together with the media arts charity Signals, the children were given the unique chance to understand how a film is made. The film will be screened at the Lakeside Theatre at The University of Essex, Colchester, on Sunday November 16 at 11am.
Essex Chronicle

Financial crisis has had little impact on Gordon Brown's popularity
The central political fact about the financial chaos of recent weeks is that it has changed the balance between the major parties less than might have been expected. Read Professor Anthony King's article here.
The Telegraph

University Campus Suffolk joins forces with I10
University Campus Suffolk (UCS) has joined forces with the business to university support service, i10, to increase the wealth of academic expertise available to businesses in Suffolk and across the East of England. i10 operates as a single point of contact for businesses who want to find out how they can benefit from the thousands of talented people, wealth of knowledge, cutting-edge technologies and world-class research services available at the region’s universities and colleges. University Campus Suffolk was launched in August 2007 following a 12-year community campaign to deliver the benefits of a university presence to the county. The campus, a subsidiary company of the University of East Anglia and the University of Essex, has a central hub at a stunning new building on Ipswich Waterfront as well as key learning centres across Suffolk including colleges in Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich, Lowestoft and Otley and also in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Read the whole article here.
Cambridge Network

Plates stolen from car
Thieves stole the front and rear plates from a car at Essex University. The plates were stolen on Wednesday and when checked by the Police, they discovered that the number plates has been used since the theft on a vehicle wanted for driving off without payment at a petrol station elsewhere.
Evening Gazette