News

Dizzy heights for lecturer

Sleeping in temperatures of minus 20 degrees is beyond most of us but David Fletcher, lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences, endured this during a successful trip to Nepal.

He joined the Caudwell Xtreme Everest Expedition investigating human performance at extreme altitude, acting as a performance consultant by advising on the mental and physical preparation of trekkers and mountaineers.

David, who worked from base camp at a height of 5,300 metres, some 3,500 metres below the summit, said: ‘I did enjoy it but it is a very hostile environment. I would not like to be there for too long. It was very cold, minus 20, during the night sleeping on the glacier. I could hear the ice cracking and avalanches.’

During his three-night stay David, who lectures in elite performance psychology, found parallels between the work on Everest and elite athletes. He is looking at how the techniques athletes use at high level competition can be transferred to boardrooms, performance artists and public speakers.

ISER to launch world-class longitudinal survey

The Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) has been awarded an initial grant of £15.5 million to establish the world’s largest household panel survey.

The UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) is a major new panel survey, the largest in the UK to be funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). It will collect data at regular intervals over time about the same 90,000 individuals, from a sample of 40,000 households. Initial funding supports collection of the first two rounds of interview with each sample member. The study is planned to continue over several decades.

The large sample enables longitudinal research on a significant number and range of groups, like ethnic minorities, where existing data is inadequate. In this way it will provide the next generation of longitudinal data for the UK.

Panel surveys provide a major resource for understanding key issues which affect societies around the world, for example providing unique information on child poverty or factors which influence key life transitions, like marriage and divorce. They also support research relevant to the formation and evaluation of policy, by allowing improved and reliable analytical techniques that data based on only a single observation of each individual cannot support.

The team conducting this survey is led by the University’s Professor Nick Buck, who said: ‘The UKHLS will be of international significance as a research resource: the largest such study in the world, with major innovation in subject content and methodology providing, for example, data permitting research that brings together social and biomedical sciences. This is arguably the first UK example of “big science” investment in the social sciences, and will contribute substantially to Essex’s worldwide reputation.’ The team also includes researchers from the University of Warwick and the Institute of Education.

Professor Buck heads the team conducting the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), based at Essex since 1991, which generates over 150 publications annually and is heavily used by government departments and researchers. The UKHLS will be four times bigger than the BHPS and will continue to collect data from the BHPS sample.

Safety campaign on Clingoe Hill

More than 1,500 people have signed a Students’ Union petition calling for safety improvements on Clingoe Hill following the tragic death of sociology student Rob Plumber last month.

The Union has launched a high-profile safety campaign, seeking an immediate reduction in the 70mph speed limit and improved lighting on the dual carriageway.

The SU has met and enlisted the support of local MPs Bernard Jenkin and Bob Russell, and put up signs on Clingoe Hill encouraging drivers to slow down and discouraging students from crossing. They Union has also surveyed students’ views on how best to improve safety and met with Essex County Council highways representatives.

Rob Plumber was the second student pedestrian in the past 12 months to be killed on the road, which separates the University's Colchester Campus from Greenstead, where hundreds of students live. Sports Science student Richard Watson died on the same stretch of the A133 last June.

University representatives have also met highways officials. Further improvements to the underpass and Greenstead footpath, and barriers to stop pedestrians crossing are also under discussion.

You can sign the petition at: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ClingoeHill/

Local MPs Bob Russell and Bernard Jenkin supporting the Students' Union road safety campaign

Rubbish recyclers

Five students are amongst a group of five Colchester households challenged to recycle more by the borough council.

Business Management student Andrew Hulbert entered a recycling competition on local radio station, SGR Colchester. He said: 'I got involved because we create a lot of waste that could be recycled. As I study business I am aware that green issues are going to have a massive impact over the next ten years.'

The programme began with a rubbish audit as council rubbish chiefs pored through each household's black bags, highlighting what could be recycled. Over the next six weeks Andrew and his housemates will take part in hands-on workshops, visit landfill sites and get advice while out shopping, encouraging them to recycle more.

Strategic waste manager, Chris Dowsing, said: 'The aim of the Rubbish Recyclers programme is to raise awareness of the three Rs - reduce, reuse, recycle'

The students undergo a final waste audit at the end of the scheme to see if there is any improvement in their recycling habits. The winners will be announced at a reception at the Town Hall and you can follow their progress at www.sgrcolchester.co.uk.

(left to right) Rubbish recyclers Adam Idzhar, Susi Brzezinska, Andrew Hulbert, Heather Lane, William Hodgekinson

Also in the printed May edition of Wyvern:

• Building honour for VC
• Satisfied students
• University take cup honours
• Economics launches student journal