CASS Newsletter Issue 5 - April 2011

Programme launched for Word 2011

Word — the University’s writers festival — will once again welcome some of the biggest names in the literary world to the Granite City with newscaster John Suchet and novelists Ian Banks and Margaret Atwood topping the bill. 

The festival, which will run from 13^th to 15^th May, will also welcome Neil Forsyth, best known for creating the character of Bob Servant in Delete This at Your Peril, Helen Warner, Head of Daytime TV for Channel 4 and author of RSVP, and Britain’s most famous skipper and star of BBC TV series Trawlermen, Jimmy Buchan.  Stephen Robertson - one third of the Doric comedy act Scotland The What?  - will share the story of its extraordinary success while Sir John Lister-Kaye, one of Britain’s best-known naturalists and environmentalists, will talk about his work at the world-famous Aigas Field Centre in the Highlands.  Dennis Canavan will also be there to discuss his 33 year career at Westminster and Holyrood.

The 11^th festival will see Word enter its second decade and in that time it has gone from strength to strength, attracting more than 11,000 visits last year.  Since its inception it has grown in scale and diversity and now incorporates a successful science strand which will see Dr Chris Smith, author of The Naked Scientist, lay bare the science behind some of the puzzles of everyday life.

For 2011, Word is branching out further with events to appeal to anyone with an interest in history and Tom Weber - the author behind Hitler’s First War, which seeks to ‘set the record straight’ on the Dictator’s First World War service record - will be on hand to discuss his research and Isobel Murray, will unveil her latest book Scottish Writers of the Second World War.

Alan Spence, Word creative director, added:  “The Word Festival moves into its second decade with another sensational programme. There’s the usual heady mix of poetry, fiction and non-fiction, readings, performances, discussions, exhibitions, music, a club night and events that just defy categorisation and the science strand gets stronger each year.

“Thanks to our many public and private funding partners - especially our joint title sponsors Talisman Energy and the Wood Group - we’ve been able to keep our ticket prices low, with increases kept to a minimum and many events still, amazingly, free.  It promises to be an absolutely fantastic weekend.”

The full word programme can be found at www.abdn.ac.uk/word and tickets for all events are now available from Aberdeen Box Office on 01224 641122.

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King's Museum opens on campus

After much anticipation the King’s Museum has opened opposite the historic King’s College Chapel.

Although this is Scotland’s newest museum, it may also be the oldest as its origins lie in a museum collection in existence in King’s College in 1727.  By the end of the 18^th century King’s College and Marischal College both had established museums, with their purpose-built galleries forming an important part of the 19th century buildings of the colleges.

Today, the University’s museums are among the largest and most important in Scotland, having been awarded the status of a ‘Recognised Collection on National Significance’. King’s Museum will have a programme of exhibitions that will change every few months to show some of these collections.  The collections reflect the activities of generations of students, staff and friends of King’s College, Marischal College and the University throughout its history. This includes hundreds of thousands of scientific specimens collected as a result of scientific research, such as those in the geology, anatomy, pathology, herbarium and zoology collections, many of which are on show in the University’s Zoology Museum.

The museum’s exhibitions will also enable students and staff to collaborate with museum staff to curate exhibitions that will bring the results of recent research to a public audience. With an educational programme for schools, the museum’s evening lecture programme and other events, such as the annual ‘Night at the Museum’, the museum will become a place where objects and ideas can be explored in many ways that would have been inconceivable to those who have collected and curated the collection over the past centuries.

Neil Curtis, Head of Museums at the University of Aberdeen, said: “As well as showing some of the highlights of the University’s collections, the museum will be a place where a wide variety of people can engage in some of the latest thinking in the University. We hope that the museum will become a friendly place, where passers-by, students, staff, tourists, can drop in for a break and look at something interesting; a place of stimulation and reflection in the middle of the busy campus.”

The opening exhibition will be entitled “100 Curiosities”. It is inspired by the ‘History of the World in 100 objects’ project of the British Museum and BBC, but also the title of an early 19^th century catalogue of ‘the principal curiosities natural and artificial preserved in the museum’. Rather than being selected by a single curator, however, this exhibition has relied on a hundred of its friends to select the objects to be displayed. Each person has chosen an object that has a personal resonance and has written a caption of 100 words to explain its significance. These include scholars who have selected an object that relates to their own research, such as a historian who chose a Renaissance coin minted in Aberdeen, a zoologist who selected a set of shark jaws, and a geologist who chose a trilobite fossil.

‘100 Curiosities’ will be open until the end of May.

The museum will be open free throughout the week (9:30am - 4:30pm), staying open late on Tuesdays to coincide with the well-established evening lecture programme, and on Saturdays from 11:00am to 4:00pm.

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Book wins prize for Sociology colleague

Dr Rhoda Wilkie, Lecturer in Sociology, was awarded the Philip Abrams Memorial Prize by the British Sociological Association (BSA) at its annual conference in London in April for her first sociology book.

Her book, Livestock/Deadstock: Working with Farm Animals from Birth to Slaughter, was published by Temple University Press last June.  It explores the experiences and attitudes of those involved in the daily tasks of breeding, fattening, marketing, medically treating and slaughtering food animals.

One of the judges, Dr Garry Crawford of the University of Salford said: “Rhoda Wilkie’s book is an excellent contribution to British sociology and sets a great example of what contemporary academic writing should be like.

“Dr Wilkie deals with a very pertinent and important issue, our treatment and relationship with farm animals, and in doing so manages to produce a book that is balanced, engaging, insightful and accessible - which all-round is a real triumph.”

The BSA prize is for the best first and sole-authored book within sociology and was established in honour of the memory of Professor Philip Abrams, whose work contributed substantially to sociology and social policy research in Britain. He is remembered for the encouragement and assistance he provided to many sociologists at the start of their careers.

Dr Wilkie said “I am delighted that my book has won this year’s BSA Philip Abrams Memorial Prize. This is the second such honour for Aberdeen Sociology in the last four years, and speaks to the department’s excellent research environment”.

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Trio of world-leading scholars set to join Divinity and Religious Studies

Three world-leading professors have been appointed to Divinity and Religious Studies to strengthen its position as a premier centre for world class research in Christian Theology and Ethics, Biblical Studies, Church History and World Religions.  Each is a scholar of international profile whose distinctive contributions will greatly enrich what is arguably one the most vibrant centres in Europe for research and teaching in these fields.  Steve Mason will take up the Kirby Laing Chair in New Testament Exegesis, Bernd Wannenwetsch will join as Professor of Theological Ethics and Tom Greggs will join as Professor of Historical and Doctrinal Theology.

Professor Mason is a graduate of McMaster University and the University of Saint Michael’s College, and currently holds a prestigious Canada Research Chair in Greco-Roman Cultural Interaction at York University in Toronto, where he has taught New Testament and Christian Origins since 1989. Widely recognised for his world-leading expertise in the work of Flavius Josephus, his research involves careful investigation of the history, cultures and texts of late Judaean and Graeco-Roman antiquity as the context for understanding Christian origins and early Christian writings.

Professor Wannenwetsch is a graduate of the Universities of Oxford and Erlangen and is an ordained minister of the Lutheran Church. He has previously taught Systematic Theology and Ethics at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, the University of Mainz and, most recently, at the University of Oxford, where has been University Lecturer in Ethics, Fellow of Harris Manchester College since 2000, and chair of the Theology Faculty since 2008.

Professor Greggs is the author of Barth, Origen, and Universal Salvation (OUP) and Theology against Religion (T&T Clark, forthcoming in 2011), and editor of New Perspectives for Evangelical Theology (Routledge). A graduate of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, he is at present Professor of Theology at Chester University. He has published widely on central doctrinal themes and the theologies of Barth, Bonhoeffer and Origen. He currently serves as Secretary of the Society for the Study of Theology and as co-chair of the Scriptural Reasoning panel at the American Academy of Religion.

Of the recent appointments, the Principal said: “That we have been able to appoint such internationally recognised scholars as Greggs, Mason and Wannenwetsch is a testimony to the extraordinarily high calibre of Divinity and Religious Studies here in Aberdeen. Their contributions will be essential to realising the University’s ambition to enhance still further its standing as a premiere centre for research and higher education in theology and religious studies in Europe, and indeed globally.”

All three Professors are due to start during the summer and are sure to receive a warm welcome from their new colleagues here in the College.

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Agreement with Wuhan University extended

Closer links have been forged between the University of Aberdeen and Wuhan University in China following the signing of an inter-institutional agreement here in Aberdeen.  The University welcomed a delegation from Wuhan University to Aberdeen in March to conclude the signing of the latest agreement between the two universities. Both parties have been working closely together since 2006, when the original agreement was signed.

The Principal and Professor Zhou Chuangbing, Vice President (International) Wuhan University, signed the agreement to continue the success of the 2+2 programme in Finance, Economics and Management Studies.  Following two years of study at Wuhan University, students come to Aberdeen to complete their bachelor degree, leading to the award of a degree from both universities.

The agreement is also designed to promote cultural and educational exchange of staff and students.

The Principal said, “We are delighted to have signed this agreement with Wuhan University, as it provides an excellent opportunity for the University of Aberdeen to work closely with one of China’s leading universities”.

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Director's Cut returns for fourth series

Bend it Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha took to the chair in conversation with Dr Alan Marcus, Head of Film and Visual Culture at the University of Aberdeen, when the University’s successful Director’s Cut returned for its fourth series on Friday 18^th March. 

The award-winning film-maker, who brought her unique blend of comedy and drama to King’s College Conference Centre for the event, is one of the country’s most successful film directors.  Her hit film Bend It Like Beckham (2002), starring Keira Knightley and Parminder Nagra, is one of the highest grossing British films in cinema history.  Awarded an OBE for her work in 2006, Chadha’s hit films also include Bhaji on the Beach (1993), What's Cooking? (2000), Bride and Prejudice (2004), Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008) and It's a Wonderful Afterlife (2010).  Ahead of the public event, she shared her experiences of life behind the camera with around 20 film students from the University.

The Director’s Cut cast already includes world-famous naturalist, broadcaster and author Sir David Attenborough, James Bond director Guy Hamilton and actor Simon Callow, famous for his roles in Four Weddings and a Funeral and A Room With a View.

Booking is now open for the next Director's Cut event with Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald (One Day in September, Touching the Void, Last King of Scotland, State of Play, The Eagle) on Wednesday 4^th May. A retrospective of his work will also be screened by Cineworld Union Square. For further information and to reserve a seat please visit www.abdn.ac.uk/directorscut.

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Lecture series commemorates 400th anniversary of the King James Bible

The University’s public lecture series to commemorate the 400^th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible is more than halfway through, with only two fascinating lectures remaining.

The King James Bible was a way of hearing from and relating to God; it was also a fiercely political text, enmeshed in power relations that spoke to the relations between monarchs and subjects.  It emerged within a particular context of previous translations but also in a social and historical universe and had particular resonances with Scotland.  The series of six lectures is designed to explore the influence of this landmark text not only in theology but on politics, law, literature, history and sociology.

Professor John Brewer, the academic coordinator of the event, said: “The King James Bible may be 400 years old but is very much alive today.  It wrote about the heart of God but also very practically spoke into local disputes in England, Scotland and Ireland, as well as national and international affairs.

“It always was - and remains - more than a Bible. It is what the sociologist Peter Berger would call a 'sacred canopy' hanging over politics, society, law, literature, language and culture.

“The contribution of the King James Bible in all these fields needs celebration as well as retrospective assessment. This is the purpose of the public lecture series, honouring the 400^th anniversary of the King James Bible but placing it in a wider context.”

The series will continue with Professor Adrian Thatcher on Wednesday 4^th May and will conclude with Professor Gordon Campbell on Thursday 12^th May.  All lectures will take place at 6.30pm in King's College Conference Centre at the University of Aberdeen. Lectures are free but pre-registration is required by visiting www.abdn.ac.uk/king-james-bible.

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New Henley-Aberdeen partnership boosts executive education in the north-east

The Business School is teaming up with the Henley Business School at the University of Reading to create a strong business network for senior managers in the north-east of Scotland.  This unique network between academia and business in the north-east will give all participants the opportunity continually to update and enhance their current business strategies and be challenged by new research and innovative ways of viewing issues.  A memorandum of understanding between our Business School and Henley Business School was signed at the beginning of March.

The Henley-Aberdeen partnership combines the delivery of high quality executive education from a recognised global leader with the world-leading credentials of academics at the University of Aberdeen, with expertise in areas such as North Sea oil and gas. Henley Business School is the oldest business school in the UK with 65 years of experience in growing business leaders.

Together with business partners, the aim is to create a network with a strong north-east focus which demonstrates that by working in partnership, academia and business can maximise the impact of leadership skills to the development of the Aberdeenshire economy.

The Principal said: “The north-east of Scotland is a thriving economic area with unique benefits and opportunities. This partnership between the University of Aberdeen and Henley Business School will create a strong network of business organisations which will benefit not only industry already here but promote inward investment into the north-east. There is an established relationship between academia and business in the region and the Henley-Aberdeen partnership will further this and create new opportunities for senior managers to engage with universities”.

This initiative is based on the existing and renowned Henley Partnership which was established in 1995 to cater for managers and directors from nearly 40 partner companies.

Professor John Board, Dean of Henley Business School,said: “The Henley-Aberdeen Partnership will provide a unique annual programme of master classes, driven by and focusing on the current business issues of its members in the north-east of Scotland. The partnership will create an extended vibrant learning community of senior managers in the region and will provide opportunities for members to access new research and the current thinking of expert faculty and visiting business leaders.”

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Thousand year old 'Irish Hamlet' mystery: solved?

The question Who is Hamlet? is centuries old, but now a colleague in the Centre for Scandinavian Studies  thinks she may have found a fresh answer.

In an article published in the Review of English Studies, Dr Lisa Collinson argues that Hamlet’s name originally came from a Gaelic word connected with grinding, and was linked at a much earlier date than previously believed to both a character in a play and dangerous waters.  Her theory builds on scholarly agreement that Shakespeare took the core of his Hamlet character from ‘Amlethus’, a legendary figure found in ‘The History of the Danes’, written around 1200. Historians have long accepted that the name ‘Amlethus’ must be related to ‘Amlothi’, mentioned by Snow Bear, a tenth or eleventh-century Icelandic poet.

Dr Collinson, however, has uncovered evidence suggesting that Hamlet’s name came first from medieval Gaelic, before being incorporated into the Old Norse tradition. There have been Gaelic claims for the name in the past, but Dr Collinson makes a new link to a player in an overlooked tale about a doomed king.  She said: “Earlier scholars based theories about the Gaelic origins of Hamlet on an odd name — ‘Amlaide’ - embedded in a short verse found in Irish annals. They constructed interesting arguments which allowed for Celtic influence on ‘Amlothi’, but they struggled to explain the form of the annal name, which remains obscure.”

Dr Collinson proposes that a better Hamlet name can be found in a mysterious tale called ‘The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel’, which is thought to have been compiled in the eleventh century, based on eighth- or ninth-century materials.  There, a flawed king is killed in a strange hall, filled with uncanny figures.  Amongst these are three players — Mael, Mlithi and Admlithi. It is the last of these whom Dr Collinson believes provides the key to the mystery of the Hamlet name.

“As soon as I saw ‘Admlithi’, I thought of Hamlet,” she explained. “But I persuaded myself that the possible link couldn’t be demonstrated in a scholarly way. It’s taken me several years and a lot of encouragement from colleagues to follow this up properly.”

The crux of Dr Collinson’s argument is that Snow Bear’s ‘Amlothi’ was probably a corruption of this Gaelic name, used to describe part of the grinding sea.  If her hypothesis is correct, then Hamlet’s association with players goes back several hundred years longer than has previously been believed.

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New study published by oil and gas experts

A new study entitled The Effects of Budget 2011 on Activity in the UK Continental Shelf by Professor Alex Kemp and Linda Stephen highlights the substantial long term reductions in field investment and oil/gas production which will result from the increased tax rates announced in Budget 2011.

The rates were increased from 75% to 81% on the older, mature fields subject to Petroleum Revenue Tax (PRT) and from 50% to 62% on fields not subject to PRT.  The study examined the economic effects of these increases on fields and projects which could be developed over the next 30 years as well as on existing sanctioned fields.

There are currently well over 350 undeveloped discoveries in the UKCS and very many potential incremental projects. These fields/projects cover a very wide range in terms of expected profitability. A range of oil/gas prices likely to reflect those used for long term investment by petroleum companies and financing institutions was employed, namely (1) $50 per barrel and 30 pence per therm, (2) $70 and 50 pence, and (3) $90 and 70 pence.

These are all in real terms and so increase yearly with general inflation. A threshold investment return reflecting the likely cost of capital was employed. The study highlights the effects on oil/gas production, field investment and other (field) expenditures, and tax revenues.

The root of the problem comes from the structure of the tax system. It is essentially flat-rate or proportional (except when field allowances apply). When the flat-rate tax is raised substantially marginal projects can readily become uneconomic. The solution is to have a progressive tax structure with a return allowance whereby the percentage liability to the Supplementary Charge for new fields and PRT-paying fields is automatically reduced on fields of low profitability and increased when profitability increases.

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New insights into the 1641 Irish Rebellion revealed

The stories behind the eye witness accounts of one of the bloodiest episodes in Ireland’s history have been brought to life through a major research project employing new technology and advanced techniques in forensic linguistics.

Researchers have spent the last 12 months investigating the 1641 Depositions – witness testimonies, mainly by Protestants but also by some Catholics, describing their experience of the 1641 Rebellion, one of the most violent chapters of Irish history.  They revealed their findings at a major conference in Aberdeen in February, which brought together experts in language and linguistics, history, computer science, computational linguistics, geographic information systems, politics and religion.

The team had unprecedented access to IBM’s LanguageWare© technology research team in its Dublin Software Lab and developed a unique suite of software solutions including a program called Wordsmith to analyse the Depositions and to cross-correlate an array of features of the text – a process which would be too complicated and potentially take a lifetime for a scholar to undertake manually.

Their painstaking work, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, has provided new insights into the accounts and has led to the creation of a new research environment for linguists and other scholars and lay people wishing to work on the Depositions.

Dr Barbara Fennell, Senior Lecturer in Language and Linguistics, said: “The impact of this new technology is that we are able to engage both with scholars with a wide variety of expertise and with members of the community to interrogate the 1641 Depositions and advance our understanding of these events and the role of language in the history of Ireland in this period. It has been a privilege to work with such a talented team, to develop a broad network of scholarship and expertise, and to deliver a product that contributes a novel and exciting way of conducting humanities research in the digital age.”

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Update on Web Phase II project

As a result of the various workshops and other research undertaken by Precedent, the company employed by the University to develop a structure for the University’s website, an information architecture (IA) has now been created.  Ultimately, the IA will be transformed into a working, clickable website but an institution-wide intranet needs to be developed before further work on the website can take place.  This exercise will be the next step in the University’s Web Phase II project and will precede other Web Phase II developments.

Over recent months, DIT has evaluated various intranet technologies before selecting SharePoint as the most appropriate platform for the University.  SharePoint, which many of you will know is already used to a certain extent across the College, provides the means to consolidate and centralise data and will enable staff to easily share and manage information and to communicate and collaborate effectively with colleagues.  Once the intranet is in place, internal content can be removed from the University’s external-facing website and published on the intranet, thereby improving access for content owners and security of confidential information. In addition, the intranet will aid document management and provide improved versioning and search facilities.

In order for the intranet to be developed in a way that ensures that it is fit-for-purpose and suits the needs of the University the Web Team will work with Precedent once again, this time to design and produce an effective IA for the intranet.  Precedent will carry out a series of workshops with staff from across the institution to support the development of the intranet IA, much as it did with the development of the external web IA.  These workshops are currently scheduled to take place in May.

For further information on the College’s involvement in the Web Phase II project please contact Katrina Allan, Deputy College Registrar (katrina.allan@abdn.ac.uk).

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Update on CASS Staff Working Group

Since the last update provided in December, a final report on the findings of the CASS Staff Working Group was put before the College Executive.  Various recommendations were considered and endorsed and the Working Group has since been working to implement these recommendations where appropriate.  Some of these recommendations are as follows:

Implementing a 'minimum standard' of induction practice at School level.

Reviewing and reminding colleagues of email etiquette.

Creating a College e-notice board and staff-only intranet.

Producing digests of key outcomes for College committees for circulation to Heads of School.

Providing training sessions and/or workshops on assertiveness and resilience and coping techniques for stress.

Sending emails to students prior to the examination period regarding the appeals procedure, especially regarding the submission of medical evidence.

Setting up focus groups with central services to obtain clarification about service level agreements.

Holding further focus groups in Autumn 2011 to gauge perceptions of progress.

Whilst these developments are underway the Working Group will continue to meet as and when required in order to ensure that a focus on staff satisfaction is maintained.

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HR Excellence in Research

The University of Aberdeen has been recognised by the European Commission for the positive actions it has taken to support the career development of researchers and its plans to implement the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.  The University is one of only 23 institutions in the UK to have received the ‘HR Excellence in Research’ badge.  The European Commission initiative aims to encourage a step-change in the way which universities across Europe recruit, manage and develop researchers. In the UK, institutions can demonstrate their alignment with the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for their Recruitment through their implementation of the Concordat which was launched in 2008.

"We are delighted that the European Commission has recognised the support which we offer our researchers in developing their careers and skills to deliver the path-breaking research that is key to our international ambitions.  Our researchers are critical to the success of our University,” said Professor Ian Diamond, Principal of the University.

The University strongly endorses the principles of the Concordat and this is evidenced by the many activities we have underway which clearly demonstrate our commitment to our researchers and their professional development.  The University has been working towards implementing the Concordat and EC recognition for some time, improving and enhancing existing policies and initiatives including: a comprehensive programme of professional and career development support for researchers (www.abdn.ac.uk/rsd), new researcher inductions, new development programmes for PIs and research leaders and positive changes in the use of contracts.

This award underlines the excellent research environment within the University and can further improve our standing externally, in particular for researchers and funders.  To find out more about the award and how it can be used, please contact Dr Lucy Leiper, Researcher Development Adviser (l.leiper@abdn.ac.uk).

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