Research News
University of Cumbria research goes global
17/2/10 - Research at the University of Cumbria went global – literally – last week as Robert Poole’s research on the history of views of Earth was for a time the most popular story on the US National Public Radio website. See: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123613649&ps=cprs|
(Click on the ‘Pale Blue Dot’ link below to hear the full interview, which was recorded from a converted Georgian church near Lancaster – appropriately enough as Robert is also a Georgian historian). Robert’s research received further coverage last month when he gave a guest keynote paper on ‘Seeing the Earth’ to the 8 Swiss Biennial on Science, Technology and Aesthetics at Lucerne, Switzerland, alongside international public intellectuals such as Bruno Latour, and Fritjof Capra. Other papers are due to be delivered at Washington, DC in April and the Anglo-American conference of historians in London in June.
North American scholars explore Charlotte Mason archive at the Armitt Library
12/6/09 - Two North American scholars, Dr. Deanni Van Pelt, of Redeemer University College, Ontario and Dr. Jack Beckman of Covenant College, North Carolina, have recently visited Ambleside. They have been granted funding by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to digitise the important collection of letters, papers and other documents of Charlotte Mason held in the Armitt Library. Read more...|
21st century student experience is subject of new book
6/11/08 - A new book investigating the 21st century student learning experience, edited by Margaret Weaver (Head of Learning and Information Services at the University of Cumbria), has been published this month. Read more...|
What happens to those who have not lost their jobs?
27/10/08 - The on-going misery caused by the global financial crisis, and current widespread fears over job security, is likely to affect those still in employment as much as those who ultimately lose their jobs, according to a leading academic. Read more...|
You! Tube! Red squirrels to be enticed into undergrowth
19/9/08 - New research into wildlife corridors in Cumbria could help save the endangered red squirrel A new tube - hundreds of miles from London - could throw endangered red squirrels a lifeline. Read more...|
Leave Nemo alone or we might just lose him forever...
24/6/08 - One of the world’s best-loved tropical fish faces extinction in parts of the world due to over-fishing and rising sea temperatures, a university researcher has warned. Ironically, the smash hit film ‘Finding Nemo’ that did so much to educate children about marine life, may have hastened the decline of the clownfish. Demand for the brightly-coloured creature soared after the film was released in 2003. Whilst captive breeding programmes supplies about 50 per cent of stocks the rest come from the wild. Read more...|
We are all working class now, says academic
The middle classes are no longer earning a living wage while a new global super class has over $11trillion in off shore tax havens, according to research by a leading academic from the University of Cumbria. Read more...|
New research casts doubt on Government's Every Child Matters Agenda
12/6/08 - New research into the delivery of the Government’s Every Child Matters (ECM) agenda has cast doubt on its ability to effectively target the most hard to reach families, due to the national criteria being too prescriptive to meet the local needs of a lot of families. Read more...|
Academic aims to save the Kyrgyzstan way of life
3/6/08 - An academic from the University of Cumbria is helping to draw the world’s attention to the plight of around two million people living in poverty in Krygyzstan. Many rural communities in Kyrgyzstan are in danger of having their nomadic way of life brought to an end - bringing with it, increased risk of alcoholism, mental health problems, malnutrition and family breakdown. Read more...|
National screening programme for bowel cancer comes a step closer
19/5/08 - Researchers at University of Cumbria have secured a £200k share of a £1.2m research grant from the National Institute for Health Research to further investigate how bowel cancer can be detected at an earlier stage. The research will begin in October 2008 and run over a three year period in collaboration with University College London, Imperial, Oxford University and Birmingham University. Read more...|
New research suggests student teachers welcome moves to a Masters profession
15/5/08 - New research suggests that Government plans to make teaching a Masters profession are being welcomed by those in the sector. ESCalate, in collaboration with the University of Cumbria, launched a research project in September 2007 to investigate the perceived added value Masters level credits bring to the teaching profession in the eyes of student teachers, teacher educators, teacher mentors in schools and head teachers. Read more...|
Research could spell the closing credits for kissing in the back row of the cinema
3/4/08 - Kissing in the back row of cinemas could soon become a thing of the past. Academics at University of Cumbria and University College Dublin have discovered that cinema and TV screens should be viewed in rooms which are much more brightly lit than they traditionally have been. The findings will strike a blow to the thousands of dating teenagers across the country who for years have used the cover of darkness offered by dimly lit cinemas to further love’s young dreams. Read more...|
Climate change debate needs refocusing, warns academic
13/3/08 - There is a fundamental conflict between those who think that climate change can be resolved through technology alone and those who believe that more profound changes to our lifestyles and values are urgently needed, argues Dr Kate Rawles, a lecturer in Outdoor Studies at the University of Cumbria. Read more...|
Nursing assessments prohibit mobility of labour
8/1/08 - Studies by the University of Cumbria and other colleagues in Europe indicate that the mobility of student nurses across Europe is being impeded by the lack of an integrated clinical assessment for Europe, leading to possible wage inflation and increased unemployment across the nursing sector.
Read more...|
Playing music at work is good for you
7/1/07 - Playing music at work could increase productivity and lead to a happier and more motivated workforce, according to an academic from University of Cumbria. Richard McGregor, Professor of Music, believes the right level of background music can make the day seem shorter, keep spirits high and reduce the number of stressful situations that can occur. However, choosing the wrong type of music can cause office arguments and lead to more problems than it was intended to solve. Read more...|
Research findings lead to developments for children with learning difficulties
7/1/08 - The way in which teachers and parents assist the development of children with severe learning difficulties is evolving following research from University of Cumbria. Lindsey Winterton, Senior Specialist Advisory Teacher for Early Years, spent three years monitoring a child with severe learning difficulties and discovered that a family focused approach, where a professional teacher works in close partnership with the child’s parents, is the most effective way to improve their early development. Read more...|
Newton Rigg expert to tell Canada about Cumbria's 2001 foot & mouth trauma
31/10/07 - The foot and mouth (FMD) epidemic that devastated large swatches of rural Cumbria in 2001 is to be spotlighted during an international conference in Canada in November. Researcher Ian Convery, from the University of Cumbria’s Newton Rigg Campus, Penrith, will reveal the social and emotional impact of the outbreak on communities in the county. He is to address a gathering of international veterinary scientists who are examining the health threat to Canada’s agri-industry from foreign diseases. Read more...|
Healing by gentle touch shown to relieve pain for patients
25/10/07 - New research conducted by University of Cumbria academics has concluded that healing by gentle touch helps to reduce pain and stress in patients. The research project, which is ongoing, showed that patients’ symptoms improved when treated by using this technique. Read more...|
National research prize for postgraduate student
10/9/07 - A PhD graduate from St Martin’s College (now part of the University of Cumbria) was awarded a prestigious national prize for research undertaken as part of her doctorate. Dr Lindsey Winterton, who lives in Carlisle, was presented with the British Educational Research Association (BERA)/Sage Publications Research into Practice Award at a ceremony in London on Saturday September 8th at the Institute of Education, London University. Read more...|
Getting to the bottom of why bears rub trees
4/9/07 - Ecologists have at last got to the bottom of why bears rub trees – and it's not because they have itchy backs. Speaking at the British Ecological Society's Annual Meeting in Glasgow next week, Dr Owen Nevin of the University of Cumbria will reveal that adult male grizzly bears use so-called “rub trees” as a way to communicate with each other while looking for breeding females, and that this behaviour could help reduce battles between the bears. Read more...|
Soap opera gives an insight into the future of nurse education
28/8/07 - Advanced Nurse Practitioners and Paramedics, currently studying at the University of Cumbria are learning their new and advanced roles thanks to a unique soap opera! But this isn’t an ordinary soap opera set in a Yorkshire farming community or by an Australian beach. This is Stillwell, a virtual district in a fictitious city. Stilwell is their practice and here students make real decisions about patient’s health but have to do so taking into account everything else going on around that person in their family, work, street, and the country at large. Read more...|
Research project could save lives through increased accuracy of x-ray diagnosis
10/6/07 - Researchers at St Martins College, which is soon to become University of Cumbria, are planning a project that could help to save lives through a reduction in the number of inaccurate x-ray diagnoses and through speedier warnings of the early signs of bowel cancer. Current research shows that as many as 20 per cent of x-rays are subject to a degree of error, a figure that Professor David Manning from the university estimates could be reduced by as much as a quarter in some examinations. Read more...|