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Welcome to in Focus Update… |
Past Issues << | Issue 37: Monday 29 January 2007 |
Welcome to First Week Semester B starts 29 January. Freshers' Fayre takes place this Semester at Stratford Students’ Union bar on Monday 29 January and in The Atrium, Docklands 30 January, from 10.30am – 4pm.
We expect about 1000 students to join us and our international office will be meeting over hundred international students as part of their airport collection service.
To check out inductions, welcomes, itineraries and schedules for Semester B visit www.uel.ac.uk/febstarters
Beam me up SCoTty - Advances in Research!
The School of Computing and Technology held their 2nd Annual Research Conference, 'Advances in Computing & Technology' on Tuesday 22 January at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Docklands. The event is a celebration of the research achievements in the School during the past year, and was a great success with over 60 delegates attending and around 30 research papers presented in both oral and poster sessions. Keynote speakers were Professor Hongnian Yu from Staffordshire University and Professor Peter Cochrane who was previously CTO with British Telecoms, and an invited paper presented by Professor Stan Oliver from the University of Bolton.
Topics of research included, security in mobile communication networks, Snap-Drift neural networks, computers that think, observer based robust control systems, an artificial wrist implant,and fibre reinforced polymer composites in the confinement of concrete.
Prizes were awarded to Adnan Zainorabidin for the best poster presentation, Liaqat Ali for the best oral presentation and Paul Stadler for the best technical paper. The prizes were sponsored by Everett Consultants and were presented by the UK Managing Director, Dr Lex Nijhof.
Copies of the published proceedings can be obtained by contacting Karen Eileen Jupp, email K.E.Jupp@uel.ac.uk
Friday’s (19 January) public lecture Bourdieu: a ‘judgement of history’, hosted by the School of Social Sciences, Media and Cultural Studies had an international panel of speakers, each of whom had contributed to a special issue of Theory, Culture and Society on sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. Described by the editor of the special issue, Derek Robbins, Professor of International Social Theory in SSMCS, as ‘almost a full house’ of contributors, his fellow speakers were Tim Jenkins, Director of Research at Cambridge University, Staf Callewaert, University of Copenhagen, who has worked and published extensively in texts relating to the philosophy of education, Professor Bridget Fowler from Glasgow University and Professor Beate Krais from Darmstadt University. The panel was chaired by SSMCS lecturer John Myles.
Pierre Bourdieu, (1930 – 2002) drew on a range of disciplines in his work including philosophy, literary theory, anthropology and of course sociology. He is best known for his book Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Bourdieu is also recognised to have pioneered several methodological frameworks, terminologies and concepts.
Each speaker described their own relationship with Bourdieu, their distinct analyses of him within the body of dominant theoretical thinking, and his influences either from or on other great theorists such as Marx, Weber, Durkheim and Foucault. Bridget Fowler described her work on the content analysis of obituaries and how, for her, reading A Social Critique…. was a life-changing experience. Beate Krais discussed Bourdieu in relation to gender, Tim Jenkins compared his own work to that of Bourdieu in the ethnographical studies in the Bearnais region of France and how, to his surprise, they had both come to similar conclusions. Surprising to Tim since as an Englishman from Oxford he would have expected to produce a different set of conclusions to that of Bourdieu, a Frenchman, who grew up in Nazi occupied France. Staf Callewaert described Bourdieu’s ability to think and philosophise but also his enthusiasm and willingness ‘to get his hands dirty’ with empirical research, the lack of which Staf found lamentable in sociological thought currently.
The session concluded as the panellists attempted to locate Bourdieu alongside currently popular French thinkers, such as Derrida, Badiou and Deleuze. Asked why these did not refer to one another’s work Beate felt that “Parisian intellectual society has a very closed structure” and in Staf’s view: “The big elephants in Paris do not speak about each other” which not only got a warm laugh but permitted a cursory ethnographical study of some great French philosophers within the public lecture itself.
Theory, Culture and Society Special Issue: Pierre Bourdieu (23, 6, November, 2006) edited by Derek Robbins is a Sage publication.
Charter Mark presentation
Paul Harrington, our Charter Mark assessor joins us this Tuesday (30 January) at 12noon to formally present us with our Charter Mark award. The presentation takes place in the Atrium, by the podium, as part of Freshers’ Fayre.
Student ambassadors will also be giving out flyers to raise awareness about the Student Charter.
All staff and students welcome.
Show Case of UEL Plus
UEL Plus is the upgraded version of WebCT. By September 2008 WebCT is being phased out and our staff and students will be using UEL Plus instead. The School of Distance & E-Learning is hosting two lunch-time presentations and Q&A sessions to:
explain what UEL Plus is and demonstrate its features
give colleagues an opportunity to ask questions
see presentations from colleagues who are currently using UEL Plus
meet the E-Learning Manager and other staff from School of Distance and E-Learning
encourage dialogue for promoting e-learning and enhancing the student learning experience
inform you about staff development opportunities
Given the importance of UEL Plus these sessions should be very useful and relevant to many of you, so please try to attend. Lunch will be provided.
To reserve your place please email: elearning@uel.ac.uk by Thursday 8 February 2007 stating which presentation you would like to attend.
Tuesday 13 February 2007, 12.30 - 2.00pm, Stratford UH136 and Wednesday 14 February 2007, 12.30 - 2.00pm, Docklands EBG08.
To find out more about UEL Plus please visit: www.uel.ac.uk/uelplus
Please note: Our Employability Works 2007 careers and skills fair takes place in The Atrium on Weds 31 January (not 31 July as reported last week) from 11am - 4pm.
For more information visit http://www.uel.ac.uk/employabilityworks/index.htm
You've got one week to go to help with some invaluable research! Please complete our anonymous online E-learning benchmarking survey regarding our E-Learning culture, infrastructure and expertise before 4 February, 2007.
Service staff survey (13 questions): http://www.uel.ac.uk/sdel/el_benchmarking_staff.htm
Academic staff survey (23 questions): http://www.uel.ac.uk/sdel/el_benchmarking_academics.htm
Student survey (19 questions): http://www.uel.ac.uk/sdel/el_benchmarking_student.htm
As student feedback is critical for E-Learning development, we request you forward a link to your students. For further information contact Dina Vyortkina on Tel 020 8223 2553 or Email: dina2@uel.ac.uk
For the latest on our activities visit the news releases section of our website www.uel.ac.uk/news
Research Funding Opportunities
To conduct your own search of current funding opportunities, or to set up email alerts specific to your interests, visit www.researchresearch.com. If you intend to submit an application for funding please contact Becky Whitham in the Graduate School.
EPSRC: Collaborating for Success Through People
Deadline: 4pm, March 6
This call is to empower UK academic researchers and research groups with current EPSRC funding to develop novel ways of building connections across academic and user communities, both nationally and internationally. Up to £5 million is available to support packages of people-based activities tailored to the needs of the research group or individual researcher. Proposals should include a range of activities, for example, moving between disciplines, two-way international exchanges and industrial secondments.
BBSRC - Tools & Resources Development Fund
Open competition
The BBSRC Tools & Resources Development Fund is intended to support technology/methods driven, pump-priming research projects and/or to bring communities together for collaborative purposes. Approximately £3-4M is available for this initiative. It is an 'open' call with a 'light touch fast track' peer review process and applications are welcome at any time. Funds are still available.
BBSRC - Research Networks: Mathematical Tools for Systems Biology (MATSYB)
Deadline: March 7 2007
BBSRC is seeking to fund a series of networks each of which is focused on a different area of the mathematics/systems biology interface, and which have differing biological and mathematical expertise. The inclusion of branches of mathematics that have not been traditionally associated with biology are particularly encouraged, as are systems biological applications at all levels of biological organisation. It is expected that proposals will request funding in the region of £50-100k (fEC value), and that BBSRC expects to support up to six networks depending on the quality of proposals received.
See Events Calendar for a full listing: www.uel.ac.uk/marketing/support/eventscalendar.htm
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Brush up your IT skills and get an internationally recognised qualification online. Contact Greg Price, Organisational Development Manager on ext 4361 or email g.price@uel.ac.uk
For Learning and Development Course dates see: www.uel.ac.uk/staff-development/handbook
Duncan House Stratford Thursday 8 February, 6.30pm
Room: 001, Duncan House, Stratford
Hear speakers:
Martin Scheinen, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights While Countering Terrorism; John Kissane, Head of Human Rights Compliance and Delivery at the UK Department for Constitutional Affairs; Tom Porteous, London Director, Human Rights Watch.
For more information visit www.uel.ac.uk/lectureseries
Chandra Lekha Director of recently had an opinion piece published entitled ·The ‘Pinochet Precedent’: A Mixed Legacy for Human Rights,” (11 December 2006) at http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forumy/2006/12/pinochet-precedent-mixed-legacy-for.php
Gyms for All – our outdoor gym
Come to our FREE outdoor gym this Thursday, 1 February, from 12pm – 1pm for a FREE workout with personal trainer, Jon Halfide. He’ll help you devise a programme that’s best for you – and how you can progress towards more difficult workouts as your overall levels of fitness improve. You’ll find our outdoor gym dockside, behind the Knowledge Dock building as you face Canary Wharf.
AVA Show
Mon 29 Jan – Fri 2 Feb 3rd year Graphic Arts & illustration student showcase of various drawings, prints and graphic work.
HANNIBAL RISING (Website - http://www.weinsteinco.com/hannibal/)
Released: Friday 9 February
Starring: Gaspard Ulliel, Li Gong (MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA).
The story of a teenage Hannibal Lecter, surviving the aftermath and bloodshed of World War Two. The film Chronicles the events that changed him into the man we see in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and HANNIBAL.
Stratford Picturehouse can offer three pairs of tickets to see the film - and ONE winner will get an EXCLUSIVE HANNIBAL GIFT PACK.
Which actor played Hannibal Lecter in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS?
Winners notified on 9 Feb
Answers can be sent to stratfordeast.competition@picturehouses.co.uk
Please send comments or contributions for in Focus Update to: infocus@uel.ac.uk
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