Research
Wivenhoe remembered
The history of Wivenhoe from the 1930s to the 1980s has
been charted in a new book edited by Professor Paul Thompson of the
Department of Sociology.
Sea-change: Wivenhoe Remembered is a compilation of memories
from the town’s inhabitants. It tells the story of how the small riverside
industrial village of little more than 2,000 people has grown to a town of
10,000, lost its industry and many of its shops but gained a community of
artists and a university.
The book is one of the outcomes of the Wivenhoe Oral History Project
which aimed to record the experiences of its inhabitants by recording life
story interviews. The project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, has
seen researchers interview people from all walks of life from fisherman
and ship builders to artist and doctors. The book itself covers every
aspect of life in the small town.
One of the many pictures of Wivenhoe's past that feature in the book
Comments relating to the opening of the University on Wivenhoe’s
doorstep offer an intriguing insight into how the local community felt.
One interviewee comments ‘we didn’t like the University coming. I’m sorry,
but we didn’t like it at all’ while another says ‘it was a very good
thing, it opened Wivenhoe up.’
Sea-change: Wivenhoe Remembered is available from Wivenhoe
Bookshop at a reduced price of £6 until the end of December. A DvD
featuring filmed interviews, old photographs and newly-shot scenes is also
available at £5.
Launch of policing and human rights casebook
A reception was held at the University last month to mark
the publication of a new book on human rights and policing.
Essential Cases on Human Rights for the Police was co-authored
by Fellow of the Human Rights Centre and former senior police officer
Ralph Crawshaw.
Mr Crawshaw obtained an LLM in International Human Rights Law at Essex
in 1991, and has become one of the world’s leading specialists in human
rights training for police.
The 670-page book is a companion to his 2001 publication Essential
Texts on Human Rights for the Police, also written with Leif Holmström,
Deputy Director of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights in
Sweden.
Director of the Human Rights Centre
Kevin Boyle (centre) with the authors of the book
It reviews and summarises some 200 international cases identified as
being essential to the police because they have a direct bearing on the
exercise of police powers and the performance of police functions.
In the preface to the book, the authors state: ‘The cases cited in the
book can be seen as a catalogue of errors, negligence and, in some cases,
serious criminality by police officials.’ They add: ‘It is also important
to acknowledge the contribution that police make to the conditions
necessary for the enjoyment of all human rights by maintaining peace and
order.’
The book is intended to be used in human rights education programmes
for police and other officials.
The reception at the Human Rights Centre was followed by a seminar
given by Ralph Crawshaw and Leif Holmström.
Sociologist discusses global inequality
Professor Diane Elson joined the Chief Economist at the
World Bank for a panel discussion of the World Bank’s 2006 development
report.
The World Development Report 2006: Equity and Development concludes
that inequality of opportunity, both within and among nations, sustains
extreme deprivation, results in wasted human potential and often weakens
prospects for overall prosperity and economic growth.
François Bourguignon, who is Senior Vice-President of the World Bank,
and Professor Elson, from the Department of Sociology, discussed the
report’s findings in Ottawa, Canada.
Professor Elson’s research examines gender inequality in relation to
global social change and the realisation of human rights. She welcomed the
World Bank’s acknowledgment of the importance of equality, but argued that
it is essential to reduce inequalities in outcomes, not just in
opportunities.
She said: ‘The Bank needs to recognize that inequalities are not just
produced by patriarchal societies and ‘crony capitalism’; they are
produced by market societies and corporate capitalism.
‘A reduction of gender inequality requires not just better economic
opportunities for women; it requires measures to reduce and redistribute
the unpaid work of caring for families and communities.’
The discussion, attended by some 200 delegates, was hosted by the
North-South Institute, an independent research institute focused on
international development, and the International Development Research
Centre.
Also in the printed December edition of Wyvern:
- Essex experts at UN conference
- Conference investigates road pricing
- How native-like is non-native language processing?
