Still life in British art: York's pivotal role in Tate ... - University of York

6the university of york magazineNewsPhoto by Sean BloodworthyorkconcertsAutumn includes the Fitzwilliam Quartet ina special programme marking the 40thanniversary of Shostakovich’s visit to themusic department, and two leading soloistsin the early music field: violinist RachelPodger and recorder player Pamela Thorby.One of the UK’s most distinguished folkmusicians, Kathryn Tickell presentsNorthumbrian Voices, inspired by thetraditional musicians whose skills she hasinherited. The annual Practical Project payshomage to American composer John Cageas part of the UK’s largest celebration of hiscentenary. Seasonal programmes from theUniversity Chamber Choir and UniversityChoir plus the University SymphonyOrchestra concert complete the term.Kathryn TickellVocal highlights in the new yearare I Fagiolini in a typically exuberantprogramme of Renaissance music,James Gilchrist presenting his movinginterpretation of Schubert’s greatWinterreise and a special day celebratingthe centenary of Benjamin Britten. Thespring also includes two outstanding jazzevents: trombonist Dennis Rollins’ VelocityTrio, playing a mix of contemporary jazzand shimmering funk, and the UniversityJazz Orchestra with pianist Nikki Iles.Summer term features the annualBaroque Day and the Spring Festivalculminating in the University Choir’sperformance of the Verdi Requiem in YorkMinster on 20 June – a prelude to 2013’s50th anniversary Alumni event.Full details will be online in earlySeptember. If you would like a copy ofthe brochure, and are not already on themailing list, please contact the Box Office.As always, generous discounts availablewhen booking for three or more events.Box Office 01904 322439boxoffice@york.ac.ukwww.yorkconcerts.co.ukSeeking a globalperspectiveA team from the University hasjoined the Higher Education AcademyInternationalisation Change Programmewhich has been designed to help universitiesdevelop a culture of internationalisationat all levels of practice. The focus is onenhancing the quality of teaching andlearning experiences for all students, bothhome and international. The proposalincludes changing the design of programmesand modules and creating new, inclusiveteaching-room practice.Are you receiving me?Poetry performed in British Sign Languagewas the subject of a linguistic analysis byDr Richard Ogden at ‘Are you receiving me?’,an interdisciplinary colloquium on the themesof disability and communication, hosted bythe Department of Language and LinguisticScience on 13 June.Dr Richard Ogden, Senior Lecturer in the Department ofLanguage and Linguistic ScienceThe University of York received topmarks in the recent Institutional Reviewby the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA)of all undergraduate and postgraduateteaching and learning.The review, which takes place everysix years, commended the University’senhancement of student learningopportunities. It confirmed that theUniversity’s awards and quality of studentlearning opportunities ‘meet UK expectations’for threshold standards. This is the bestoutcome that can be awarded.On the University of York team are: Kate Dodd, SteveKing, Caprice Lantz (front), Paul Roberts and DuncanLean (back)Other highlights included NewcastleUniversity’s Dr Christos Salis giving anoverview of different methodologicalapproaches to the study of the languagedisorder aphasia, PhD student Sarah Pettdiscussing how aphasia is represented inpopular literature, PhD student CatherineRobson discussing a fascinating new methodof diagnosing various types of seizure throughconversation analysis and Dr Tamar Keren-Portnoy explaining how the linguistic abilitiesof young children may be used to predict thecourse of later language development.Professor Peter Sells said, “What wasexciting to me was to see how theoryand practice in various contexts ofcommunication might mutually inform eachother, in both oral and sign languages.”Dr Salis and University College London’sDr Janet Wood also made presentationsto students at an earlier event on how toprepare for a career in speech therapy, withadvice coming from Language and LinguisticScience staff, the University’s Careers Serviceand representatives of local communityorganisations.QAA Institutional Review successProfessor John Robinson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Teaching, Learning andInformation, said, “This excellent result is aclear endorsement of the hard work that hasbeen done across the University to maintainand improve learning and teaching.”The full report, includingrecommendations and specific endorsementof areas of work where improvementsare already in hand, can be viewed onthe QAA website at www.qaa.ac.uk/InstitutionReports/Pages/University-of-York.aspx.

the university of york magazineNews7Cutting enigmas down to sizeAcademic, author and broadcaster ProfessorJim Al-Khalili discussed some of the greatestenigmas of science in a major public lectureon 2 May.During the fully-booked lecture, ProfessorAl-Khalili OBE, Professor of Physics at theUniversity of Surrey and presenter of BBCRadio 4’s The Life Scientific, considered someof the most famous paradoxes in science. IsSchrödinger’s cat dead or alive? Why doesit get dark at night, and where are all thealiens? He explained how these enigmascan be resolved with a little thought, anddemonstrated how each can tell a profoundtruth about how our Universe works.The lecture, ‘Paradox: The nine greatestenigmas in science’, was part of a scienceengagement celebration organised by theUniversity’s Science and Society Group,featuring interactive stands showcasingscience-related outreach from departmentsacross the University.Staff NewsDr Martin Suckling’s (Music)septet To See the DarkBetween was released on anew CD by the AronowitzEnsemble.Katherine Crocker(Economics) has won firstprize in the Indigo DreamsCollection Competition in2010 for her book of poemsLong Exposure at Cordoba,described by a reviewer as a ‘wide-ranging,distinctive, and extremely good firstcollection’.Elizabeth Harbord, AssistantDirector in the InformationDirectorate, is retiring fromthe University in July, afteralmost 13 years in theUniversity Library.Professor Peter Raynes hasbeen made a Doctor ofScience, honoris causa, bythe University of Hull. ALeverhulme EmeritusResearch Fellow and anHonorary Visiting Professor in theDepartment of Chemistry, Professor Rayneshas worked on liquid-crystal materials anddisplays throughout his research career.Professor Alan Baddeley(Psychology), one of theworld’s most highly citedpsychologists, who is bestknown for his ‘workingmemory’ model, developedwith Emeritus Professor Graham Hitch, hasreceived this year’s Lifetime AchievementAward from the British PsychologicalSociety’s Research Board.Photo by Ian MartindaleDr Peter Thompson of the Department of Psychology and Professor Jim Al-Khalili demonstrate a Beuchet chairillusion at the science engagement celebration eventTwo Yorkacademics,Professor PeteBiller (History)and ProfessorKathleenKiernan (Social Policy and Social Work), havebeen elected Fellows of the British Academy,the highest honour for scholars working inthe humanities and social sciences.Professor Biller uses texts from medievaluniversities to investigate thought on topicssuch as population, and also works onmedieval religion, heresy and inquisition.Professor Kiernan’s research interestsinclude family environments and childwell-being in the early years, family changein developed countries, and parentalseparation and children’s well-being.

8the university of york magazineNewsAwards recognise excellenceThe Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for OutstandingAchievement aim to recognise and rewardstaff and students who are making aparticularly significant contribution towardskey elements in the University Plan.The awards, now in their second year,are divided into categories correspondingto the Plan’s four themes: Excellence,Internationalisation, Inclusivity andSustainability. The gold and silver awardwinners were chosen by a panel chairedby Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Cantorand members of the University’s SeniorManagement Group, and the Gold Awardswere presented at a meeting of UniversityCourt in May.Winners in the gold category are: theChemistry Postgraduate Administration Team;Professor Kiran Fernandes (Management); DrMargaret Ferguson (Language and LinguisticScience); York Law Clinic; the Open DoorTeam; Andrew Wood (Catering); ProfessorJulian Richards and the Department ofArchaeology; Joan Concannon (ExternalRelations) and the late Jane Moody(Humanities Research Centre) for the YorkFestival of Ideas; Sue Johnston (CampusServices); Liz Waller and Stephen Town(Information Directorate); vocal chamberensemble Les Canards Chantants; and NigelDandy (Academic Support Office).Teaching Awards 2012Thirteen Vice-Chancellor’s Teaching Awardswere presented at this summer’s graduationceremonies. The awards recognise staff andpostgraduates or postdocs who demonstrateexcellence in teaching and/or learningsupport at York.Award winners are: Dr Oliver Craig(Archaeology), Dr Calvin Dytham (Biology),Dr Richard Waites (Biology), Dr Ann Kaloski-Naylor (Women’s Studies), Dr Nigel Lowe(Chemistry), Dr Nicholas Guyatt (History),Catriona Kemp (HYMS Librarian), ProfessorPaul Foulkes (Language and LinguisticScience), Dr Linda Perriton (Management), DrMartin Smalley (Physics), Kyriaki Mikellidou(Psychology), Hannah Davies (Theatre, Filmand Television), and Dr Vanita Sundaram,Dr Gillian Hampden-Thompson and DrKate Harper (Volunteering and Enrichmentprogramme, Education and Careers).What makes a good supervisor?Undergraduate students were invited tonominate staff for the accolade of ‘Supervisorof the Year’ in a competition run by theStudents’ Union. Winners were selected fromover 250 nominations and announced at acelebration event on 27 June by Pro-Vice-Dr Jane Grenville is pictured with ProfessorMalcolm Cresser of the Environment Departmentwho retires this yearChancellor for Students Dr Jane Grenville.They were: Professor Malcolm Cresser(Environment), Dr Simon Ditchfield(History), Anne Philips (Health Sciences),Dr Adrian Mountford (Biology) andProfessor Jonathan Wainwright (Music).The following staff received certificatesto recognise ‘consistently excellentsupervision’: Pauline Ashworth (SPSW),Dr Kate Giles (Archaeology), Dr ZoeNorridge,(English and Related Literature),Dr Martin Smalley (Physics), Dr KarenSpilsbury (Health Sciences) and Dr RichardWaites (Biology).Blunkett asks where now for Labour?The Rt Hon DavidBlunkett MP forSheffield Brightside andHillsborough gave alecture for the Schoolof Social and PoliticalSciences on ‘Where nowfor Labour?’Dr Stuart Lowe,Senior Lecturer in SocialPolicy and Social Work,who invited the MP,said, “I met David as auniversity student inSheffield’s Departmentof Political Theory andInstitutions where Iwas from 1969 to 1972. Iused to read for him, andI was amazed at his ability to refer back topoints many pages previously with completeaccuracy, a sixth sense that enabled him to bein the Blair Cabinet for eight years includingas Home Secretary in the turbulent periodbetween 2001/04.“David’s guide dog, Ruby, would sit upin Bernard Crick’s lectures and growl at themention of Karl Marx.”Megan O’Kane (Social Policy student), Stuart Lowe, David Blunkett, Peter Winder(Economics student and Blunkett’s nephew) and Brian LoaderIn his lecture at York, David Blunkettrecalled Crick’s iconic book, In Defence ofPolitics, in which he argued for the core natureof ‘politics’ as ‘the art of the possible’ withgood governance based on ideas of tolerance,free thinking and the promotion of citizenshipas central tenets of ‘political’ societies. The MPargued that we urgently need to relearn theselessons in the 21st century.Photo by Ian MartindalePeter lights upOlympic relayDr Peter Thompson of the Department ofPsychology was among members of theUniversity community chosen to take partin the Olympic Torch relay through Yorkin June.Dr Thompson has been Chair of theUniversity Sports Committee for over20 years and ran in every Great North Runfrom 1995 until 2007 with the KnavesmireHarriers, raising money for Action MedicalResearch.

the university of york magazineNews9Music on theMoors© Victoria and Albert Museum, LondonTrompe l’Oeil with Writing Materials (c1702) by Edward Collier (c1642-1708).Oil on canvas. Lent by the Victoria and Albert Museum, LondonYork’s pivotal role in Tate exhibitionThe display at Tate Britain of 17th and 18thcentury still life paintings is one of the majoroutcomes of a three-year research projectCourt, Country, City: British Art 1660-1735led by the University’s Department of Historyof Art and the Centre for Eighteenth CenturyStudies.The project, jointly funded by the Arts andHumanities Research Council and Tate Britain,focuses on a period in British history that sawprofound changes in the nation’s politics andsociety which in turn were reflected in thevisual arts.The intriguing title, ‘Dead StandingThings’, comes from a phrase coined in the1650s by the author William Sanderson todescribe pictures more familiarly knownas still life paintings. Characterised as thedetailed depiction of inanimate objects, thisgenre of painting had been established in theNetherlands early in the 17th century andwas introduced into Britain by Dutch paintersattracted to London’s thriving art world.Professor Mark Hallett of the Departmentof History of Art and principal investigator ofthe project said, “The display at Tate Britainand the forthcoming conference showcasethe wide-ranging and highly original newart-historical scholarship that is emerging onBritish art of this period. They also provide uswith the chance to look closely at, and learnmore about, some especially interesting andalluring works of art.”The conference ‘Histories of BritishArt 1660-1735: Reconstruction andTransformation’ in York in Septemberwill mark the end of the ‘Court, Country,City’ project.The exhibition ends on 16 September. Formore information visit www.york.ac.uk/history-of-art/court-country-city.Sound recordings captured from the NorthYork Moors form part of Terrarium, a newperformance event in celebration of thisyear’s North York Moors National Park’s 60thanniversary, by PhD composition studentJon Hughes of the Department of Music andfreelance choreographer Simon Birch.The piece will initially be performed inAugust in different locations across theMoors, and at festivals in Leeds and Hull.Terrarium is for two dancers, and willbe performed in the landscape inside aspecially made four-metre high transparentdome. The sound will be provided by apowerful 30 metre diameter ambisonicspeaker array – eight independentweather-protected speakers arranged in aring around the dome – creating an excitingsonic experience for the audience, who willbe free to roam around, immersed in a 3Dsound field.Jon has been working with past andpresent York students to create thesoundscape for the piece, and is mixingthe material in the ambisonic set-up in theMusic Research Centre, using panners anddecoders written by the Department ofMusic’s Ollie Larkin and Dave Malham.For more information and tour dates seewww.yorkshiredance.com/terrarium.Autumn term careers fairsOver 100 key graduate employers andtraining providers will be invited tothe campus to meet our students andstaff in three Careers Fairs, organisedby the Careers Service in October.“We want staff from all departments tohelp us to encourage second- and final-yearstudents to make the most of this chanceto engage with the graduate market,” saysLouise Thurston, Careers Service Marketingand Communications Manager. “Manystudents, particularly those from the arts andhumanities, don’t realise that these eventsare aimed at them and that careers in, forexample, management, finance and laware open to graduates from a wide range ofdisciplines.”Careers in Technology is the first event on18 October, followed by one on 23 Octoberfor Careers in Management and Finance, andCareers in Law on 30 October. At the threefairs, students will be able to learn about thedifferent job sectors and the range of workavailable, meet specific employers and findout about vacancies for internships, graduatepositions and the recruitment process.“There is no need to book and studentscan pop in at any time during the day.However, to get the most out of theexperience please encourage them to do abit of preparation before they come, such asresearching around the organisations theywish to speak to and preparing appropriatequestions to seek out opportunities, tips andsupport networks,” says Louise.For more details about specific employersattending, times and venues visit www.york.ac.uk/careers/events.

10the university of york magazineNewsNews in briefSun, sea and ecologyThe Students’ Union (YUSU) RAGCommittee is awarding small grantsof between £200 to £1,000 to localcharities and community groups toimprove student–community relations.Applications for Community Fundgrants open in Spring 2013. For moreinformation contact Mike Britland,Community Development Co-ordinator,on m.britland@yusu.org or 01904 324114.The Department of ChemistryAdministration Team was shortlistedfor the Outstanding DepartmentalAdministration Team in the Times HigherEducation Leadership and ManagementAwards. The team has brought ininnovative procedures as examples ofbest practice across the University andHE sector.In the Environment Department’s largest-everfield trip, a total of 120 second year students,five staff and three PhD students travelledto Tenerife to learn about some of theenvironmental pressures faced by the island’spopulation, including tourism, agriculture,water scarcity, a reliance on fossil fuels andthe continuing threat of a volcanic eruption.The students had to work in groups to deliversmall research projects which addressed awide range of research questions includinghow the islanders and visitors manage theirwaste and how the ecology of the forestareas in Tenerife have developed over time.In a victory of experience over youth, theUniversity’s staff six-a-side football teamwon the final against Derwent College.The game was played on the JLD Astroturfpitch in driving rain, with only the coresupporters of both teams braving theweather to see the staff team take a 1–0lead at half-time. Derwent equalised inthe second half but two late goals for thestaff sealed the victory at 3–1.All night gathering for gamelan’s 30thAn all-night shadow puppet play marked30 years of the University of York teachinggamelan, one of the most strikinginstrumental ensembles in the world ofmusic, at a major international symposium:The Gathering of the Gamelans.The premiere of Wayang Lokananta – theGamelan of the Gods featured story andpuppetry by dhalang (puppeteer) ProfessorMatthew Isaac Cohen and music by gamelancomposers from around the UK.Weaving together myth, legend andfolktales about music from the island of Javawith the modern story of gamelan in Britain,the play brought together over 100 Britishgamelan musicians from 15 ensembles acrossEngland, Scotland and Wales for a marathonperformance.The SPSW Online Masters programmeshave been awarded ten Distance LearningScholarships by the CommonwealthScholarship Commission, for Autumn 2012entry. The places are for those workingin developing Commonwealth countrieson projects that are directly relevant tothe Millennium Development Goals, andare for entry to the MPA in InternationalDevelopment.The Stockholm Environment Institute isnow an official member of the Climate andClean Air Coalition which was launched byUS Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to fasttrack action to mitigate SLCPs around theworld. See www.unep.org/ccac.York was the first university in the UK to have a Javanese gamelanPhoto by by David Lord

the university of york magazineNews11New role for Academic Co-ordinatorsApril 2012 saw a significant development for the role of Academic Co-ordinators when theyassumed line management responsibility for Heads of Department.For the three areas of Science, Social Sciences and Arts and Humanities, Professors BrianFulton, Andrew Webster and Mark Ormrod will liaise between academic departments, supportdepartments and the University’s structure of governance. Their new Support Groups, formally inplace from August 1, will also help to improve communication and build capacity.From October the three Academic Co-ordinators will also be members of University ResearchCommittee to complement their existing membership of the Senior Management Group, BetterManagement Sub-Group and Planning Committee. This will mean their role covers the fullspectrum of university policy and its implementation, acting as champions for the academicperspective as the University responds to the rapidly evolving external environment.Brian Fulton: “York science departmentsprovide internationally-recognised researchexcellence, coupled with a strong teachingethos. These strengths have resulted inrapid growth in recent years and a markedincrease in entry grades in undergraduaterecruitment. A major challenge will be tobuild on our interdisciplinary activities tomatch the direction of research funding andto develop new and innovative approaches totackling the main societal issues identified bygovernment as priorities for funding. In thisregard the re-organisation of the role of theAcademic Co-ordinator is timely, providinga strengthening of structures in which interdepartmentcollaboration can be developed.”Andrew Webster: “The social sciences atYork encompass 11 departments and almost600 staff. As Academic Co-ordinator, such anacademic resource makes my role in helpingto build research and teaching links bothpleasurable and always interesting, as newavenues of shared inquiry and training openup. Expertise in the fields of health, nationaland international policy and politics, societalchallenges and change, legal, educationand business programmes produces a richportfolio of work. There is of course, thebread and butter stuff of HR, finance, spaceand all the joys of Better Management tocontend with, and running my own researchvia SATSU. Being ‘on my bike’ – literally andfiguratively – is what, I hope, keeps me fit.”Mark Ormrod: “My aim is to promotethe world-class academic excellence of theArts and Humanities Departments in a waythat preserves our distinctive traditions andpromotes enterprise and innovation. York’scommitment to the Arts and Humanities is asource of pride (and of envy in many otherinstitutions!), and it is my role to ensure thatwe fully embrace the opportunities offered.As someone whose own career has beeninfluenced profoundly by York’s exceptionallystrong tradition of interdisciplinarity, I amfully committed to developing the researchexcellence of existing and new centres andinstitutes. Working with talented and creativepeople across the University makes my jobtremendously rewarding – and even, onoccasion, quite fun!”Traffic reducesas UniversityexpandsMore people are leaving their cars athome and walking and cycling to andfrom campus, according to the latestannual transport survey.In the last year, vehicle movementshave fallen from 10,380 to 9,824 thisyear, a 5.3 per cent drop. Meanwhilethere was a 32.5 per cent increase incycle journeys, rising from 4,347 in2011 to 5,764 this year. The number ofpedestrians has gone up from 13,342to 14,638. This reduction is in spite of a15.1 per cent increase in the University’spopulation from 16,706 to 19,234.The survey was carried out by anindependent firm of traffic consultants.“The University has worked hard toencourage staff, students and visitorsto use sustainable forms of transport,”said Elizabeth Heaps, the University’sPro-Vice-Chancellor for Estates andStrategic Projects.“We are encouraged that car use iswell short of the anticipated growth atthe time of the Heslington East publicinquiry – staff, students and visitorscan truthfully be said to be voting withtheir feet!”New cycle sheds at Heslington East – Universityinvestment in cycle paths and facilities hasencouraged more people to ride their bikesto work

the university of york magazineSpotlight13York Festival of Ideasprovides entertainmentand inspiration for allThere was a dramatic opening for the second York Festival ofIdeas on June 14 with a lecture by cosmologist Professor CarlosFrenk, world-renowned as the scientific leader of the team whosimulated the Big Bang.This year’s Festival featured over 50 events with world-classspeakers, exhibitions and performances under the banner‘Metamorphoses’, and Professor Frenk’s talk was on the biggestmetamorphosis of all. As the Director of the Institute for ComputationalCosmology at Durham University, he builds model universes in stateof-the-artsupercomputers to try to understand how our Universeevolved from simple beginnings to the complex structures composedof stars and galaxies that we see today.Following its explosive start, the Festival continued for over afortnight with a host of inspiring and interactive experiences for peopleof all ages with entry to many of the events free of charge. Themesincluded the turbulence of the financial markets, architecture inheritage, the perceptions and perils of ageing, how conflict transformslives and new writers.Speakers included best-selling authors Anthony Horowitz, creatorof the children’s spy thrillers featuring Alex Rider, and Chinese writerJung Chang, author of Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China. TheAmerican sociologist Professor Immanuel Wallerstein gave a lectureon capitalism and thinking beyond the current crisis, while thedistinguished biologist and octogenarian, Lewis Wolpert, explored thescientific background and implications of our ageing population.There was also a lecture to commemorate the organiser of lastyear’s inaugural Festival of Ideas, Professor Jane Moody, of theUniversity’s Department of English and Related Literature, who died inOctober after a four-year battle with cancer.The York Festival of Ideas is a partnership between organisationsacross the city including the University of York, City of York Council,York Museums Trust, York 800, York Theatre Royal, the National Centrefor Early Music and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Young fans of Anthony Horowitz, the prize-winning author and York alumnus, queuedup to get their book signed following his talk in Central HallChildren learned traditional dance moves and drum beats at the Brazilian Day held inthe National Centre for Early MusicPhotos by David Grant and Ian MartindaleAt Science out of the Lab, an exhibition in York city centre, University scientists usedprops such as a giant nose, a plastic leg with maggots, and oversized microbes toexplain to visitors the treatment and prevention of chronic diseases and disordersThe exhibition of work by Jane McAdam Freud, daughter of artist Lucien Freud, andgreat granddaughter of Sigmund Freud, runs at the New School House Gallery onPeasholme Green in York until 25 August

14the university of york magazinefocus onFOCUS ON…Alcuin CollegeNamed after Alcuin of York, the leading eigthcentury English scholar, poet and teacher, Alcuinis one of the University’s very first colleges,accepting its first students back in 1967.The College is located at the north end ofHeslington West, and is closely integrated withthe Departments of Economics, Health Sciencesand Chemistry, and the Hull York MedicalSchool, providing a home, support networkand social scene for 542 resident students andmany hundreds of staff.Alcuin College has a distinctive identity,defined by its spirit of adventure andinnovation, and excellent welfare supportnetwork. It runs a recycling scheme forstudents to exchange unwanted items, hasan annual summer fete, and, like all the otheruniversity colleges, there is a strong sportingtradition at all levels of ability.“Our culture is being enterprising,” saysProvost Tony Ward. “My focus is to supportinnovation and the personal and academicdevelopment of members of the College andto foster the positive atmosphere that will helpstudents make a success of their time at York.”Provost Tony Ward is pictured far right at the annual Alcuin College summer fete when a new sculpture by formercollege member and award-winning sculptor Keith Mellard was unveiled. The fete was attended by the Lord Mayorof York, Councillor Keith HymanAlcuin College has recently had a comprehensive refurbishment. All study-bedroomsare equipped with en suite showers as well as internet and phone connections. Theundergraduate common room has both 3D and projection TV with surround sound audio

the university of york magazineinterview15Interview with...Liam Evans-FordTheatre producer Liam Evans-Ford has the challenge of staging theMystery Plays in the shadow of the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey in York’sMuseum Gardens for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century.Liam Evans-Ford smiles a lot for a manwith the weight of eight centuries ofhistory on his shoulders. As communityproducer of the 2012 York MysteryPlays, he has the task of restoring one of thecity’s greatest dramatic spectacles to thelocation which many believe has seen themost effective of its modern incarnations.To describe his burden of responsibility assubstantial is putting it mildly.He is marshalling an army of 1500enthusiastic volunteers ranging from amateuractors and stagehands to costumiers andphotographers, from front-of-house staffto musicians and choristers, as preparationsgather pace for the open-air shows nextmonth. Since their renaissance to coincidewith the Festival of Britain in 1951, theMystery Plays have always been a celebrationof York’s social cohesiveness.Two interchangeable casts eachnumbering 250 will help to ease the strainon the amateur actors of four weeks ofnightly performances. They will be joined byprofessionals Ferdinand Kingsley, who playsGod and Jesus Christ, and Graeme Hawleyas Satan.“There are a number of reasons why wehave two casts,” Evans-Ford says. “First, itgives more people more opportunities to beinvolved, and it’s always been a project that’sbeen professionally delivered with peoplefrom the city.”University staff and students are takingpart and Evans-Ford says that one of hismain objectives has been to involve the city’semployers, large and small, in the project.By any measure it is a mammoth project –the stage area alone is bigger than any otherin the UK. The entire floor area of York TheatreRoyal’s stage and wings would fit into theMystery Plays stage area four times over.The sophistication of outdoor events in 2012means the erection of the auditorium in theMuseum Gardens will consume a fractionof the time it once took. Evans-Ford saysthe outdoor location is less daunting to thenon-theatregoer and will help to fulfil themission to make the production as inclusiveas possible.Writer Mike Kenny has reduced the 48plays in the York Cycle to a narrative lastingaround three hours. Evans-Ford says theresult provides a new dimension to thetraditional story for a more secular age.“People have been telling this story forover 800 years, so our challenge is to tell thestory anew and find something that appealsto people who have faith and to those whodon’t. It will be an epic event to come andsee,” he promises. Bringing the drama to lifehas been the job of Damian Cruden, who isartistic director at York Theatre Royal and PaulBurbridge, who is director of Riding LightsTheatre Company.Evans-Ford has no concerns about thecapacity of his cast to rise to the challenge,even though he acknowledges some of themwill never have been on stage before.If all the tickets are sold for the 28performances, the Mystery Plays will be seenby a total of 38,000 people. But it is no longersimply the performances that will be availablefor the public to see. In this digital age, everyaspect of the entire production has beendocumented assiduously.Evans-Ford says: “What the photographygroup is doing is covering every singlerehearsal , every single costume-makingsession, script meetings and so on. Digitally,photographically and cinematically wecan record a lot more so it means we havesomething quite substantial to add to thearchive. With a project like this, you are sittingwithin a massive slice of history that’s beengoing for 800 years and that, hopefully, willbe with us for another 800 years.”Photo by Allan HarrisThe Mystery Plays run from 2–27 AugustDame Judi Dench (right) appeared in the 1954 Mystery PlaysYork Press Photography Archive

16the university of york magazineSpotlightScientists unlockpoppy genesBreakthrough could upscale production ofpromising cancer drugResearchers in the University’s Centre for Novel AgriculturalProducts (CNAP) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Australia have made abreakthrough which will help to accelerate production of noscapine,widely-used as a cough suppressant which also shows promisingsigns as an anti-cancer drug.

the university of york magazineSpotlight17The discovery, published in the latestissue of Science, shows that themedical compound is controlledby a complex cluster of ten genesencoding five different enzyme classes. Thisis the most complex gene cluster ever foundin plants.The breakthrough came when thescientists found that poppy varietiesproducing noscapine express a numberof genes that are absent in varieties thatare noscapine-free. They then analysedthe inheritance pattern of these genes inhundreds of offspring from crosses betweennoscapine and no-noscapine varieties.When they saw that all of these genes areinherited together, the researchers realisedthey could be looking at an incrediblycomplex gene cluster. The identity andarrangement of genes in the cluster wasdetermined by cloning and DNA sequencing.“We were amazed to find that thisgene cluster encodes for almost the entirebiosynthetic pathway for noscapine,” saidCNAP Director Professor Ian Graham. “Withthis one discovery we have been able toproduce an outline of the pathway anddefine a number of the steps involved –something that normally takes years.”Since the 1960s, commercial industrialtechniques have focused on other medicinalpoppy alkaloids like morphine and thebaine,used to manufacture pain-relief medicines.Meanwhile noscapine was still beingextracted using traditional techniques whichhampered supplies and limited its use as afull-scale anti-cancer drug.Researchers from GlaxoSmithKline saythat the fact that the noscapine genesare grouped in a cluster means that plantbreeding will be faster and easier, allowingthem to use more up-to-date commercialtechniques to produce the drug and thusincrease its availability.Gourmet butterfliesspeed northWarmer summers have led the Brown Argus butterfly to changeits diet, allowing it to expand its range and spread northwards bynearly 80km, according to a paper by York researchers published inthe latest issue of Science.“Many species are shifting their distributionsnorthwards as the climate warms, but thispreviously scarce butterfly has surprisedeveryone by moving its range at over twicethe average rate,” said lead author, PhDstudent Rachel Pateman, of the Departmentof Biology and the NERC Centre for Ecologyand Hydrology.In the past, the Brown Argus caterpillarsfed mainly on rockroses, probably becausethe plant tends to grow on the hot southfacingchalk hills in the south of England,providing an attractive microclimate inwhich the caterpillars thrive. As summershave become warmer, the butterfly hasbeen able to switch its diet to species ofwild geranium.Co-author Chris Thomas, Professor ofConservation Biology at York, said: “Becausewild geraniums are widespread in thelandscape, the butterflies can now movefrom one patch of host plants to the next andhence move rapidly through the landscape –expanding their range, generation aftergeneration.”Once considered scarce in Britain, withpopulations in steep decline, the researcherscredit the Brown Argus’s dramatic reversal offortune to the effect of climate on its ability tochange its eating habits.Warmer temperatures have helped the Brown Argusextend its rangeNoscapine was one of the first naturalproducts to be chemically characterised.It was discovered in 1819 by the Frenchchemist Pierre Robiquet, who laterisolated Codeine. The compound has beenused as a suppressant in cough mixturesfor decades. More recently, it has beenreported to have anti-cancer activity andis currently in early stage clinical trials.Photo by Carol WalkerPhoto by Peter Eeles, Butterfly Conservation

18the university of york magazineSpotlightThe complexnature ofcoalitionsWhy do some coalitions create political oppressionand economic decline while others enable communitiesto reform and flourish?In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, protest groups rally againstthe country’s oppressive regimePhoto by Sokwanele

the university of york magazineSpotlight19The study of coalitions can help us toinfluence international developmentas well as give insights into politicalscience, says Adrian Leftwich,Honorary Fellow in the University’sDepartment of Politics and Research Directorof the Developmental Leadership Program.Most people associate the term ‘coalition’with governmental coalitions, such asthe present government in the UK, or themore common Italian, Israeli or Belgiangovernments where individual parties arerarely able to form a single party government.But, understood simply as a group ofindividuals or organisations that cometogether to achieve a goal they could notachieve on their own, coalitions are notconfined to governments but are a pervasivefeature of all politics in all organisations andgroups, even in university departments,churches and NGOs.Depending on yourpoint of view, coalitionscan be ‘progressive’ or‘predatory’Coalitions may be formal or informal, longlastingor transient. They may bring togetherNGOs to unite round a campaign; they maytemporarily bring together key governmentCase studiesColombiaThe DLP has embarked on aresearch project focusing on thecity of Medellín in Colombia thatwas once the centre of some ofthe worst drug-related violenceand community division in theworld. Yet over the last twodecades, thanks to the workof local reform coalitions, localdrug-related and other violencehas reduced significantly. Howwas it done?Photo by the Advocacy ProjectZimbabweWhy and how do predatory coalitions gaincontrol of some states? One of the DLPresearch projects (‘The anatomy of politicalpredation’) explored why and how theenormous developmental potential of anindependent Zimbabwe was transformedinto a story of economic decline, politicaloppression and social conflict over the lasttwenty years. In putting its own politicalsurvival and benefits above the broader goalsleaders with those in business to achievesome economic or social policy reform. Theymay be at the heart of a peace settlement ina conflict situation. They may seek to achieveor overturn a specific decision, policy or pieceof legislation and then (if successful) maydisband; they may seek to promote a causeor campaign (like Make Poverty History, orthe Pro-life coalition in the USA); they mayseek (as an ‘event coalition’) to achieve themaximum possible level of protest (as in theprotests at the World Trade Organisationmeetings in Seattle some years ago).And, depending on your point of view,coalitions can be ‘progressive’ or ‘predatory’in their aims or activities. For example,regimes such as that of President Mugabe inZimbabwe, are not simply the creation of oneman, but are usually a complex coalition ofdifferent interests – such as the war veterans,the security services, favoured businessenterprises, some customary leaders andothers, as in the case of Zimbabwe – all ofwhom gain from their hold on power.Coalitions are therefore at the heart of allpolitics and this is nowhere more true than inthe field of development where they can playa significant part in overcoming the pervasivecollective action problems that define mostchallenges of development. But what bringscoalitions into being? What factors shapemore – rather than less – successful onesand, particularly from a developmental pointof view, what facilitates the emergence andsuccess of ‘developmental coalitions’ thatA women’s group in Medellin, Colombia on a workshop to discussgender and gun crimeof development, the civil-military regimethat came to rule the country became apredatory rather than a developmentalcoalition. This tragic story reveals howimportant it is for the internationalcommunity to understand better the innerpolitics of developing societies so as to knowwhen and how to support and promoteprogressive developmental forces in civilsociety over the long term.promote sustainable growth, political stabilityand inclusive social development, rather thanpredatory or collusive coalitions?With a £5m grant from the AustralianAid Agency (AusAID) the DevelopmentalLeadership Program (DLP) has been workingover the last three years to answer someof these questions and to generate policymessages that can assist the internationalcommunity to help developmental leadershipsand coalitions to emerge and succeed.We have researched a wide range ofcoalitions in different countries, sectors andissue areas, including women’s coalitionsin Jordan, Egypt, South Africa and thePhilippines; at HIV-AIDs prevention coalitionsin Uganda and South Africa; as well as at theinner politics of regimes such as those inYemen, Mauritius, Botswana and Zimbabwe.Work is about to start on the urban coalitionthat was instrumental in significantly reducingthe violence that tore apart the Colombian cityof Medellin for many years. And the DLP willshortly publish a comparative study of howinformal coalitions at sub-national levels haveshaped the different patterns of emissionsreduction politics in China and India.The work this far suggests someinteresting hypotheses that we will continueto explore. For instance, ‘trigger’ events(sometimes called ‘critical junctures’ in theliterature) often appear to play a catalysingrole in the formation of coalitions for reformor change (and these may be a ‘threat’,a ‘crisis’ or an opportunity). The size andcomposition of the coalition, relative to itsgoals, can influence its effectiveness, ascan the manner in which it both frames andstrategises its activities in often very differentinstitutional and political contexts.The ability to draw on prior networksor to establish links with key players in thestate organisations (in the case of advocacycoalitions) is often important, as is the abilityto agree on goals, generate trust and sustaincredible commitments to the purposes andfunctioning of the coalition. And the extentto which leaders of the constituent parts ofcoalitions can bring their followers with them,and the processes of internal management,matter too.The study of coalitions serves as a lensthrough which to explore some of thekey theoretical issues in political science,such as collective action problems and therelationship between structure and agency.With the prospect of a doubling of funding forthe next three years, the DLP is beginning tomake an impact on the thinking of key playersin international development with particularregard to shifting their thinking and practicesfrom predominantly technical approachesto one that understands better and engagesmore with the inner politics of development.For more information about theDevelopmental Leadership Program visitwww.dlprog.org

20the university of york magazineIn memoriamIN MEMORIAM...Alan Hacker OBEAlan Hacker, who taught in theDepartment of Music from 1976 to 1986,died on 16 April 2012, aged 73. Afterstudying at the Royal Academy of Music(RAM) he was appointed, aged 19, asclarinettist in the London PhilharmonicOrchestra and a professor at RAM. In1966 Alan suffered a spinal thrombosisthat resulted in permanent paralysis; intypically defiant manner, he embarkedon a solo career in both contemporaryrepertoire – working in ensemblessuch as the Pierrot Players and Fires ofLondon with Harrison Birtwistle and PeterMaxwell-Davies and founding his owncontemporary ensemble Matrix – andearly music, setting up and directing theMusic Party.In 1976 he was appointed to alectureship at York and, along withother staff performers, which includedthe Fitzwilliam String Quartet, GrahamTreacher and me, he helped to establishYork’s reputation for historicallyinformed performance alongside thatfor composition and performanceof contemporary repertoire. He alsodeveloped and expected standards ofperformance in other areas of classicalrepertoire as a chamber music coachand conductor/director of UniversityOrchestra and Chamber Orchestra. Hisability to realise and help students expressthe intentions of the composer and to addtheir own insights had a profound impacton students and staff alike. His supportand encouragement was unwaveringand he never restricted his time foranyone, whether students, colleagues oraudiences. If a more suitable space wasn’tavailable he would improvise; I rememberhim rehearsing ensembles – bothprofessional and student – in city squares,and giving tutorials in his car outside theDepartment because there was no-one tohelp lift him into his wheelchair.Throughout his life, Alan was involvedin the local community, whether withThe Wheldrake Singers and Orchestraor York Early Music Festival with whichhe was closely involved shortly afterits foundation in 1977. Whilst at Yorkhe founded the Classical Orchestra andconducted performances of what werethe first in modern timeson original instruments ofsuch as Beethoven’s 9thSymphony; no challengewas too great for him.In the mid-1980s Alandecided to try to develophis conducting career,especially in opera,and left the Universitythough remaining a closefriend and making guestappearances as bothplayer and conductor.He played the 2ndmovement of Mozart’sclarinet concerto withthe University ChamberOrchestra at WilfridMellers’ memorial concertin 2008 and continued toteach several of our bestclarinettists.He was appointed OBEin 1988 and gained anhonorary doctorate fromYork in 2004.Professor Peter SeymourDepartment of MusicAt the Chalk faceBiologyProfessor John Sparrow visited the BiologicalResearch Centre, Szeged, Hungary and gave aseminar on ‘Drosophila flight muscle: a model fornormal sarcomere development and disease’ atEötvös University, Budapest. He also visited theIndian Institute of Science, Bangalore, taught PhDstudents at the University of Manipur and at theNorth East Hill University in Shillong on ‘Transferableskills – the successful scientist’s other toolbox’, andgave a lecture on ‘Developing enterprise skills foryoung scientists’ at the Institute of Biotechnologyand Sustainable Development in Imphal.Professor Jenny Southgate gave a talk on‘Regeneration and differentiation: the yin and yangof tissue homeostasis’ at Johannes GutenbergUniversity, Germany, and was guest lecturer on theMasters programme in Bioengineering at the ÉcolePolytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland.PhD student Matthew Lakins and formercolleagues from the Centre for Immunology andInfection organised the inaugural meeting of theStromal Immunology Group, with talks given byresearchers from across Europe.ChemistryDr Paul Clarke’s recent paper on the prebioticformation of carbohydrates was reported in theDaily Mail and many other media outlets worldwide.The Department hosted the Royal Society ofChemistry Organic Division North East Meeting.Peter Rayner won a poster prize for his work on‘Chiral carbanions in a bottle’. Professor PeterO’Brien’s lecture, ‘Seeing is believing’, was onhis group’s recent work using in situ React IRspectroscopy to monitor lithiation reactions.Professor O’Brien also gave a research seminar atthe University of Nottingham.Professor Sir John Holman has been invited tojoin the Royal Society’s Vision group which willdevelop the Society’s long-term strategy for scienceand mathematics education.Computer ScienceProfessor Richard Paige gave a keynote at theModelling in Software Engineering workshop at theInternational Conference on Software Engineering inZurich, Switzerland.Dr Dimitrios Kolovos organised a workshop on‘Model comparison in practice’ at the TOOLS 2012conference in Prague.EducationThe Department hosted the Centre for Research onEducation and Social Justice Summer Term seminar,sponsored by the Higher Education Academy, withDr Vikki Boliver (Durham) as principal speaker andDr Paul Wakeling as discussant. Dr Wakeling hasalso advised HEFCE on fair access to postgraduatestudy and attended an invited seminar on the futureof postgraduate provision.Dr Gillian Hampden-Thompson presented apaper, co-authored with Professor Judith Bennett,on ‘Institutional features of schools, teaching andlearning activities, and students’ engagement inscience: a cross-national study of G8 countries’at the annual meeting of the Comparative andInternational Education Society, San Juan,Puerto Rico.Dr Sarah Olive gave papers on ‘Shakespeareas icon and icon-maker in 21st-century British

the university of york magazineDepartmental News21television’ at the Renaissance Reincarnationsconference, University of York and ‘Fabricatingevidence: fictionalising an Early Modern play inmurder mystery drama’ at the Popular Fictionsconference, University of Newcastle. She alsoreviewed three productions in the Globe toGlobe season at Shakespeare’s Globe as part ofthe AHRC Global Communities project: www.bloggingshakespeare.com/category/year-ofshakespeare.Professor Chris Kyriacou presented a paperon ‘Competencies in social pedagogy and thementoring of troubled school-aged children’ at theFESET conference held by the European Federationfor Social Pedagogy in Marseille, France.The Department hosted a joint conference,Creating Communities: Local, National andGlobal, bringing together the Creating CitizenshipCommunities project (Department of Education),the Children’s Identity and Citizenship in EuropeAcademic Network, and CitizED, the global highereducation network for citizenship education. TheWelcome address was given by Baroness EstelleMorris, who is a member of the Creating CitizenshipCommunities advisory board.Effective Education, Institute forDr Tracey Bywater was appointed Chair of the Boardof Trustees for the Children’s Early InterventionTrust. She also attended the Nurture Group Networkconference, delivering a paper on ‘Perspectiveson the psychological management of conductproblems’. Dr Bywater and Professor Robert Slavincontributed to panel presentations at the Blueprintsconference in San Antonio, Texas.Professor Robert Slavin gave a presentationon ‘Recipe for reform’ at a Social Research Unitlaunch event. He and Professor Nancy Madden alsopresented ‘Scaling up for success for all: The first25 years’ at the American Educational ResearchAssociation meeting in Vancouver, Canada.Professor Frank Hardman presented the finalreport on UNICEF’s Eastern and Southern Africanprogramme for responding to emergencies ineducation at the United Nations compound inNairobi, Kenya. This is part of a collaborativeresearch programme, ‘Education in Conflict andEmergencies’, with the Post-war Reconstructionand Development Unit.The IEE published an essential guide for schoolgovernors, A Book for Governors.The latest edition of Better: Evidence-basedEducation focuses on health and well-being and isat www.betterevidence.org.uk.ElectronicsAt the Design, Automation and Test in Europe (DATE)Exhibition in Dresden, Dr James Walker, SimonBale, Dr Martin Trefzer, Professor Andy Tyrrell andEmma Brassington promoted the departmentalspin-out company ngenics’ expertise in providingvariation-aware cell library design, refinementand customisation services, and solutions tofoundries, IDMs and fabless designers. At theconference, Dr Walker and Dr Trefzer presented on‘A reconfigurable architecture for current and futurechallenges in electronic design and technology’.They have also presented initial designs for the newPAnDA chip, which is being designed and fabricatedas part of the EPSRC-funded project ‘ProgrammableAnalogue and Digital Array’ with Professor Tyrrell,which focuses on novel mechanisms to reconfiguredevices and to produce variability tolerantarchitectures.English Language Teaching, Centre forThe Centre hosted a British Association of Lecturersin English for Academic Purposes ProfessionalInterest Meeting. Representatives from 30 UKuniversities discussed new Border Authority rulesand how they impact on preliminary language andstudy skills programmes.English and Related LiteratureDr Helen Smith’s monograph ‘Grossly MaterialThings’: Women and Book Production in EarlyModern England was published by OxfordUniversity Press.Professor Derek Attridge addressed the question‘Is there an ethics of reading?’ at a conference on‘The ethics of reading: the humanities in the publicsphere’ organised by Princeton University’s Centrefor Human Values.Dr Ziad Elmarsafy gave a talk on ‘Thicktranslation and the world of the text: betweenMarracci and Sale’ at the ‘Translating the Qur’ān’conference held at the Centre for the History ofArabic Studies in Europe, Warburg Institute, London.Dr Elmarsafy also co-edited, with Dr Anna Bernard,a special issue of Interventions: InternationalJournal of Postcolonial Studies, entitled ‘Intimacies:in memoriam Mahmoud Darwish’.Professor John Bowen was interviewed onBBC Radio 4’s The World at One on the occasion ofDickens’s bicentenary. He also gave the ‘Beginningthe world’ keynote address at the Dickens’s Worldonline conference. Sponsored by the British Council,he gave the keynote address at the InternationalDickens conference, British School at Rome, and akeynote address at the ‘Dickens: lives in fiction...and afterlives’ conference, University of Milan.Health Economics, Centre forMarta Soares has been appointed to the TechnologyAppraisal Committee of the National Institute forHealth and Clinical Excellence for three years.Dr Andrea Manca gave seminars at Erasmus(Rotterdam), Amsterdam, and Maastricht Universityin The Netherlands on his NIHR Career DevelopmentFellowship research ‘Developing economicevaluation methods for decision making: the valueof access to individual patient data’.At the Population Health – Methods andChallenges conference, Birmingham, Dr RichardCookson presented a paper on ‘Cost-effectivenessand cost-utility analysis of diagnosis and treatmentstrategies for uncomplicated malaria in Africa’and Dr Susan Griffin presented a poster entitled‘Incorporating health inequality concerns into costeffectiveness analysis to support decision-making’.Professor Mike Drummond gave apresentation at the Economic Research Councilmeeting in London on ‘Value based pricing forpharmaceuticals’, and was a panel speaker forthe discussion ‘Rewarding for risk’ at theAssociation of the British Pharmaceutical Industryannual conference on ‘Can we afford innovationin medicine?’Dr Rowena Jacobs gave an invited presentationto Leeds and York Partnerships NHS FoundationTrust on ‘Payment by results for mental healthservices’. She also gave a presentation on joint workwith Valerie Moran, Organisation for Economic Cooperationand Development (OECD) on ‘Efficiencyof mental healthcare systems’ at an Expert GroupMeeting on Mental Health Systems in Paris.Dr Bernard Van den Berg gave a seminaron ‘Valuing informal care – an overview’ atthe Health Economics Research Unit, BrunelUniversity, London.Professor Andrew Street taught a course onHealth Policy and Politics in Lugano, Switzerlandand gave an invited presentation at the SpanishHealth Economics Conference, Bilboa on rewardinghospitals on the basis of patient reported outcomes.Four members of the Swedish National Board ofHealth and Welfare came to discuss measuring theproductivity of the healthcare system, productivityand efficiency analysis, and work with qualitymeasurements such as PROMs. The meeting washeaded by Dr Adriana Castelli. She and ProfessorAndrew Street also met Dr Mieko Fujisawa fromthe Japanese Government and the Tokyo Instituteof Technology to discuss the CHE methodology inmeasuring outputs, inputs and productivity of theEnglish healthcare system.Health SciencesDr Cath Jackson, Dr Catherine Hewitt, ProfessorKate Pickett and Dr Gerry Richardson (Centre forHealth Economics) have won funding from NIHRPHR for ‘Pre-schoolers in the Playground’, a pilotrandomised controlled trial of physical activityintervention for children 18 months to four yearsold. Total funding for York is £90,000.Professor Alan Maynard was appointed Chairof the Vale of York and Ryedale ClinicalCommissioning Group.Dr Karen Spilsbury won paper of the dayat the RCN Research Society InternationalNursing Research Conference, London for ‘Livesremembered: evaluating the use of a creativewriting approach to promote student nurseunderstanding of older people’. Dr Spilsbury alsogave a paper on ‘Exploring Assistant Practitioners’perceptions of their role in acute hospital wards’.As part of a public engagement initiative, DrFriederike Ziegler and Dr Paul Dempster are workingwith a Mental Health Research Advisory Groupestablished by service users, carers, and interestedmembers of the public.The Wounds Research for Patient Benefitprogramme held a dissemination event to updatestaff and patients on the findings of a prevalencesurvey of complex wounds.Ajith Jinjil spoke at the Global ScholarsSymposium in Oxford where he proposed a morehumane approach to economic development byboth industrialists and financial regulators.The Department launched Equipoise, a newjournal which highlights questions about healthand healthcare and the ways in which York isresponding through its leading-edge research andeducation. Download the pdf from www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences.HistoryDr Liz Buettner has been awarded a Fellowshipat the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies inGermany from October 2012 to July 2013. She hasalso received a 12-month British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship for 2013.Housing Policy, Centre forThe Centre hosted the Housing Studies Associationannual conference on ‘How is the Housing System

22the university of york magazineDepartmental NewsCoping?’ with Dr Alison Wallace speaking on ‘Makingthe transition from unsustainable homeownershipto renting’, and Professor Rebecca Tunstall asking‘Do people from neighbourhoods with poorreputations face “postcode discrimination” whenlooking for work?’. Professor Tunstall gave herinaugural lecture ‘What should we worry aboutwhen we worry about housing problems?’Nicholas Pleace hosted the second annualmeeting of the European Observatory onHomelessness, under the auspices of Feantsa, forwhich he is the UK representative. He also chaireda Making Research Count event, hosted by York,focusing on multiple exclusion homelessness.Dr Alison Wallace spoke on ‘The Government’srole in tackling mortgage repossessions’ at thePreventing Repossessions in Challenging Timesevent at the Inn of Court, High Court, Belfast,organised by Housing Rights, NI.Language and Linguistic ScienceDr Sam Hellmuth and Dr Becky Taylor eachpresented a paper and Ghazi Algethami presenteda poster at the L2 Prosody workshop at the ESRCCentre for Research on Bilingualism at BangorUniversity.ManagementProfessor Annie Wei organised the Special Panelon ‘Human mobility, institutions and internationalknowledge diffusion’ at the Academy ofInternational Business (UK and Ireland Chapter)annual conference in Liverpool. She also gave apaper on ‘Cultural proximity and local firms’ catchupwith multinational enterprises’ at the ChineseEconomic Association annual conference held at theSchool of Oriental and African Studies.Dr Keith Anderson’s new book The Essential PE:Understanding the Stock Market Through the PriceEarnings Ratio was published by Harriman House.Professor David Higgins and Professor Abede Jong (RSM, Erasmus University) organised aconference at York on ‘New’ Business History tostimulate debate and encourage the adoption ofnew approaches within business history.MathematicsDr Stefan Weigert gave a talk on ‘Mutuallyunbiased product bases’ at the Centre for QuantumTechnologies, Singapore.‘Integrable models, conformal field theoryand related topics’ was held at the King’s Manor,supported by the London Mathematical Societyand Institute of Physics and organised by Dr NiallMacKay and Vidas Regelskis.Medieval Studies, Centre forDr Mary Garrison gave the Lieftinck Lecturein the University of Leiden Library on ‘Theintellectual world of the Leiden Pliny: a bookfrom York?’, accompanied by an exhibition ofearly medieval manuscripts from the LeidenUniversiteitsbibliotheek.MusicElizabeth Haddon presented a paper at theReflective Conservatoire conference, London,along with Dr Beatrice Szczepek Reed (Education)and Dr Darren Reed (Sociology), forming part oftheir interdisciplinary work on masterclass teachingand learning funded by the University of YorkCentral Fund.The second performance of Dr Martin Suckling’sviolin concerto de sol y grana was given by AgataSzymczewska and the Southbank Sinfonia at StJohn’s Waterloo.PhilosophyProfessor Peter Lamarque delivered the keynoteaddress on ‘Thought, make-believe, and theopacity of narrative’ at How to Make Believe: TheFictional Truths of the Representational Arts, LundUniversity. He also gave a paper on ‘Wanting toknow the author’ at the Actions in Art conference,New University of Lisbon, and contributed to aninternational workshop on his prize-winning bookWork and Object (OUP) at the University of Parma.PoliticsDr David Connolly, Kathryn Rzeszut (PRDU ResearchFellow) and Andrea Varisco (PhD researcher)presented papers at the panel on ‘Recoveryfrom conflict: state building in fragile contexts’for the Political Studies Association annualconference, Belfast. Dr Connolly also gave a paperon ‘Transitional governance in Afghanistan’ atthe Marjan Centre for the Study of Conflict andConservation, King’s College, London.Dr Nick Ritchiev held a workshop at theUniversity for current and former policy-makers,academics and independent experts on ‘Devaluingnuclear weapons: prospects and challenges’. He alsovisited Beijing and Shanghai as part of a delegationfrom the Royal United Services Institute, fundedby the Foreign Office, to launch a new report on‘Forging UK–China consensus on a strengthenedNPT regime’.Professor Werner Bonefeld joined ProfessorNicos Christodoulakis (former Greek Minister ofFinance, 2000/04) and Mr Luigi Sperantza (Directorof Fiscal Policy, BNP Paribas) to discuss the EuroCrisis at the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence,University of Manchester.As Research Director of the DevelopmentalLeadership Program, Dr Adrian Leftwich participatedin a meeting hosted by the Danish Institute forInternational Studies in Copenhagen, at which fivemajor European development research groupsoutlined a Joint Statement on new developmentapproaches in relation to Africa.Dr Chris Rogers’s article, ‘Crisis, ideas, andeconomic policy-making in Britain during the 1970sstagflation’ was published in New Political Economy(available on iFirst).Dr Sofia Vasilopoulou presented ‘Two levelgames? Fringe Eurosceptic parties and the media’(with Katjana Gattermann) at the annual generalconference of the European Political ScienceAssociation, Berlin. Her paper, ‘The paradox ofnationalism: The common denominator of radicalright and radical left euroscepticism’ (with DaphneHalikiopoulou and Kyriaki Nanou) was publishedin the European Journal of Political Research. DrVasilopoulou attended the ‘Greece in crisis: the riseof populism in an age of austerity’ workshop at theHellenic Observatory, London School of Economics,the Midwest Political Science Associationconference in Chicago and the Political ScienceAssociation annual conference in Belfast.Dr Martin O’Neill published Property-OwningDemocracy: Rawls and Beyond (Wiley-Blackwell),co-edited with Professor Thad Williamson of theUniversity of Richmond, Virginia. He participatedin a workshop on property-owning democracy atthe New York Institute for Philosophy at New YorkUniversity and gave a talk at a conference on thesame topic at the University of Zürich.Dr Audra Mitchell’s article (with Sara Templer)on ‘Paramilitaries, peace processes and the dilemmaof protection: the Ulster Defence Association’srole in “Keeping a lid on Loyalism”’ was acceptedby The British Journal of Politics and InternationalRelations.Professor Neil Carter was keynote speaker ata conference on ‘Environmental issues in politicaldiscourse in Britain and Ireland’ at the University ofToulon, where he gave a paper entitled ‘Red versusblue equals green? The party politics of climatepolicy in the UK’.Professor Sultan Barakat led the panel ‘Thefuture prospects for the Middle East following theArab Spring uprisings’ at The Arab Spring: One YearLater conference, hosted by the Georgetown Schoolof Foreign Service in Doha, Qatar.Brigitte Rohwerder, PRDU Research Assistant,presented a paper at the round table ‘Olderpeople and people with disabilities: vulnerabilitiesand capacities in situations of emergency andhumanitarian crisis’ in Madrid.Dr Luisa Gandolfo delivered a paper at theBritish Society for Middle Eastern Studies annualconference at LSE, addressing the emergence ofneo-feminist discourses in North Africa. She alsogave a paper on ‘Art, representation and resistancein the Arab-Israeli conflict’ in the ‘Cultures ofresistance: the case of Palestine and beyond’workshop at the University of Exeter.PsychologyDr Peter Bull gave a plenary lecture on ‘Nonverbalcommunication skills and clinical practice’ to GISummit2: Sharing Innovations in Gastroenterologyat the Marriott Hotel, Frankfurt.Dr Bull and Dr Pam Wells gave an invited paperon ‘Follow-ups in Prime Minister’s questions’ tothe Conference of the International Association forDialogue Analysis, Åbo Akademi University, Finland.Reviews and Dissemination, Centre forThe Centre hosted a workshop at the King’sManor on behalf of the National Institute forHealth Research (NIHR). The aim was to bring NHSdecisionmakers and researchers together to discusshow to increase the use of research evidence in NHSdecision-making. Participants on the day includedsenior managers from Provider Trusts, ClusterCommissioning Boards and Public Health fromacross the North of England.Social Policy Research UnitProfessor Nina Biehal gave keynote presentationson ‘Outcomes of adoption: findings from researchin England’ at ‘What are the outcomes for adoptedchildren?’ in Zurich, Switzerland; on ‘Living inchildren’s residential homes’ at ‘Children’s homes:getting it right, making a difference’ in Manchester;and on ‘Multi-dimensional treatment foster carein England’ at a Northern Ireland Health and SocialCare Commissioning Board Practitioner Event inAntrim, Northern Ireland. She also gave a plenarypresentation on ‘Outcomes for fostered children’at ‘How is it working for children? Developmentsin fostering’ in London, organised by the BritishAssociation for Adoption and Fostering.Dr Jenni Brooks and Dr Wendy Mitchell ran aworkshop on ‘Personalisation and carers: the role

the university of york magazineDepartmental News23of carers in assessment, support planning andmanaging personal budgets’ at ‘Personalisation:Where are we at? Where are we going?’ organisedby the University of Lincoln.Professor Mike Stein presented on ‘Corporateparenting from care to adulthood, a researchperspective’ to a Government ministerial crossdepartmentalseminar with Tim Loughton MP,Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State forChildren and Families. The seminar was chaired byBaroness Massey of Darwen and organised by theDepartment for Education and the National CareAdvisory Service. He gave keynote presentations on‘The neglect of adolescent neglect, messages fromresearch’ at ‘Effective practice with young peopleaffected by abuse and neglect’ at the Universityof Edinburgh, organised by the Scottish Child Careand Protection Network, and ‘Resilience in careand after’ at the Northern Ireland Leaving CareBenchmarking Forum Meeting held at Queen’sUniversity Belfast.Jim Wade gave a keynote presentation on ‘Homeor away? Comparing outcomes for reunified andlooked-after children who have experienced abuseor neglect’ at ‘Home or away: making difficultdecisions in the child protection system’ at theUniversity of Warwick, organised by Research inPractice. He also gave a seminar on ‘Maltreatedchildren: weighing the risks of reunification andlong-term care’ at Kingston University.Social Policy and Social WorkDr Chris Holden, Dr John Hudson, Dr Stefan Kühnerand Dr Neil Lunt visited the Hong Kong Institute ofEducation, and a seminar at the Chinese Universityof Hong Kong, which has just joined the WorldwideUniversities Network. Chris Holden and John Hudsonvisited Sun Yat-Sen University in mainland Chinato explore possible collaborations. In Korea, thegroup hosted a York-Korea Social and Public PolicyResearch Seminar, which included five of York’sformer PhD students as well as a number of inviteesfrom universities across Seoul. During the visit toSeoul, Neil Lunt presented work on medical tourismat the Catholic University.Dr Carol-Ann Hooper presented a paper, coauthoredwith Dr Robert Gunn, on ‘Recognition asa framework for ethical participatory research:developing a methodology with looked-after youngpeople’ at the BASPCAN Congress in Belfast.Dr Elizabeth McDermott presented ‘Shame andyoung queers’ cyber-talk: Using online methodsto understand self harm’ at the British SociologicalAssociation Conference in Leeds.Juliet Koprowska presented a workshopat the annual Systems-Centred conference inSan Francisco, California, on the implications ofneurobiological knowledge about the mirror neuronsystem in humans for professional learning. She alsoled a workshop on the Systems-Centred Therapy(SCT) method for dealing with anxiety.At the UNICEF Regional Social and EconomicPolicy Network Meeting in Tblisi, Georgia, ProfessorJonathan Bradshaw gave papers on ‘Child wellbeingand the impact of the crisis in advancedeconomies’ and ‘Social protection for children inadvanced economies and other middle incomecountries: lessons for CEECIS’.SociologyProfessor Celia Kitzinger is the Principle Investigatorfor an ESRC Seminar Series Grant for a project called‘Advance Decisions: informing implementationstrategies through interdisciplinary and crossnationaldialogue’.Dr Nicholas Gane has been awarded a BritishAcademy Mid-Career Fellowship to pursue researchon ‘Neoliberalism: a missing history’, the influenceof classical sociology on the early neoliberal politicaleconomy of the 20th century.Dr Merran Toerien and Professor Paul Drewhave been awarded University pump priming fundsto study interactions in ophthalmology clinics. Theproposed study, focusing on consultations withdiabetes patients, will be developed in collaborationwith health professionals at Central MiddlesexHospital.Stockholm Environment InstituteDr Johan Kuylenstierna and Dr Kevin Hicksattended a meeting at the US State Departmentin Washington to discuss the US-funded projectco-ordinated by SEI on Facilitating Action on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) in DevelopingCountries.Theatre, Film and TelevisionDr Varsha Panjwani co-organised ‘Renaissancereincarnations’, an interdisciplinary conferencewith the Centre for Renaissance and Early ModernStudies on the 20th- and 21st-century afterlivesof early modern men and women, with Dr ChloePreedy (Cambridge).Professor Mary Luckhurst won a £10,000 BritishAcademy small research grant to support herscholarship at the City University of New York.PhD student Christos Manolas presented thepaper ‘Exploring sound design in stereoscopic3D cinema: an investigation of potential uses ofauditory cues as a means to enhance the senseof depth in S3D cinematic scenes’ at the 3DStorytelling conference on ‘Moving your story intothe third dimension’, London.York Centre for Complex SystemsAnalysis (YCCSA)At the International Conference on InformationProcessing in Cells and Tissues at Trinity College,Cambridge, Dr Simon O’Keefe gave a posterpresentation on ‘Simulating neurons in reactiondiffusionchemistry’ with James Stovold. Graduatestudent Richard Greaves also presented a paper on‘Extending an established simulation: explorationof the possible effects using a case study inexperimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis’.Professor Kiran Fernandes and researcherMike Perkins published a survey on York residents’attitudes towards the police, with the support ofNorth Yorkshire Police, Safer York Partnership andCity of York Council.Professor Susan Stepney visited StirlingUniversity to give a seminar on ‘Complex systemssimulation as a scientific Instrument’.Dr Giuliana Indelicato gave a talk on ‘Nonicosahedralpathways for the expansion oficosahedral viral capsids: a coarse grained model’at the Discrete and Topological Models in MolecularBiology conference in Tampa, Florida and apresentation on ‘Mathematical problems in thedescription of structural transitions of viral capsids’to the Mathematics and Mechanics of BiologicalAssemblies and Soft Tissues Workshop in Milan.Graduate student Celina Wong gave apresentation on ‘A coarsely discretized sizestructuredmodel for marine ecosystems’ at aworkshop on body size, food webs and ecosystemdynamicsm at the University of Canterbury inChristchurch, New Zealand.At the European Conference on GeneticProgramming in Malaga, graduate student TomSeaton was nominated for best paper for ‘Ecologicalapproach to measuring locality in linear genotypephenotypemaps’, with co-authors Julian Miller andTim Clarke, in collaboration with Dr Dan Franks.‘Limited interactions in flocks: relating modelsimulations to empirical data’, by Dr Nikolai Bode, DrDan Franks and Dr Jamie Wood, was one of the topten most cited papers of 2011 in the Journal of theRoyal Society Interface.York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC)At the NICE annual conference in Birmingham,Professor John Hutton presented on ‘Managingbetter value’ in a special workshop on Value inHealthcare. Professor Hutton also presented‘The Impact of the UK Quality and OutcomesFramework’ at a meeting of the EU InterQualityproject in Catania, Italy, and spoke at a Symposiumon Enhanced Recovery after Surgery during theEuropean Anaesthesiology Congress in Paris.Julie Glanville presented a paper on search filtersto identify research evidence at the ‘Systematicliterature search’ workshop, organised by theGerman Cochrane Centre in Freiburg.Improve your birdspottingskills withthe help of an A2poster showing all24 species identifiedon the campus lakeVisit https://store.york.ac.uk

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