Campus News

Addiction therapy: Stand up for yourself

November 2nd, 2014

From touching a nerve to finding their funny bone — people affected by addiction problems are being asked to draw on their life experiences for a stand-up comedy routine, as part of a new social enterprise devised by two Nottingham entrepreneurs.

By coaching people affected by alcohol, drugs and gambling through the skills used by professional comedians, Laughing Matters aims to improve their communication, confidence and self-esteem.

The aim is to aid their recovery, help them to reintegrate into society and improve their employability.

The venture is the brainchild of a graduate and student from Nottingham University Business School — Mark Christian who previously ran a charity offering counselling to recovering addicts, and Kirstie MacDonald, a former investment banker who worked for multinationals including Goldman Sachs in New York.

The idea was born when the pair collaborated on a social entrepreneurship module while studying at Nottingham, Mark on a full-time MBA course and Kirstie a specialist MBA in Corporate Social Responsibility.

Kirstie said: “We’d hit on the idea of stand-up comedy workshops and as a result of his past life as a counsellor Mark suggested that we use them to benefit recovering addicts.

“It’s a well-known adage that laughter is the best therapy but we thought we would turn the tables on that idea and use the skills that comedians employ to increase confidence, create a stage presence and rebuild the self-esteem that people may have lost as a result of their experiences.”

Mark added: “It’s less about teaching them how to be funny, more to do with helping them to recover by turning what may have been negative experiences in their life into something altogether more positive. We are now considering extending the course to other vulnerable groups such as young people coming out of care and older people who are socially excluded.”

The project has attracted the support of Just the Tonic at the Cornerhouse in Nottingham. It asked comedians Harry Hill, Tony Law and Paul Foot to perform at the Royal Concert Hall on Friday 13 September to raise funds for the venture.

Kirstie — pictured with Mark at the Royal Concert Hall — added: “We were really keen to explore how companies can use their skills and expertise to impact positively on social outcomes. That is how Just the Tonic came on board — they wanted to give something back in a way that would have more impact than simple cash donations.”

Laughing Matters workshops are also being delivered by professional stand-up comedy coach Sam Avery, who over four weeks will help participants identify their experiences for use as material, hone their writing skills and polish their performance. The would-be stand-ups go on to host a performance for the friends, family and professionals who are supporting them.

Among those who took part was Graham St Quintin, of Mapperley, a service user of Double Action, a charity providing counselling and support for people recovering from alcohol and drug dependency. Graham said: “Laughing Matters helped me to take the next step. I reached a point where I was in a really comfortable recovery ‘bubble’ and I needed an impetus to start moving forward again.

“The workshops were great fun and while the performance was a little nerve-wracking it’s something that I am incredibly proud to have achieved. It has expanded my comfort zone. The performance element has helped me in other situations where I might otherwise feel nervous, for example a job interview.”

Professor Martin Binks, Dean of Nottingham University Business School, said: “Our MBA programme is designed to encourage a creative and entrepreneurial approach with an emphasis on generating innovative ideas in a team context.

“The Laughing Matters project is a wonderful example of successful collaborative ingenuity that will also have long-lasting benefits for some of the local community’s most vulnerable groups. I am delighted for Mark and Kirstie and look forward to their venture continuing to grow from strength to strength.”

Laughing Matters:
w: www.laughingmatters.org.uk
e: hello@laughingmatters.org.uk

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Life Cycle 3: We’re back!

November 2nd, 2014

After riding more than 1,000 miles along a route which took in the capital cities of the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Life Cycle 3 team were welcomed back to University Park.

Hundreds of well-wishers turned out to cheer on the 12-strong team as part of a community day to mark the end of the challenge.

Cyclists joined the final stage by taking part in a 55-mile ride from Leicestershire, whereas less experienced riders tackled a shorter route from Lakeside Arts Centre.

These sponsored community rides further boosted Life Cycle 3’s pledge to raise £300,000 in support of Stroke Rehabilitation Research.

The crowds also enjoyed live music, a barbecue, cycle challenges and a chance to find out more about the University’s research, which helps stroke survivors after they leave hospital.

The Life Cycle team were again led by Vice Chancellor Professor David Greenaway, who wrote a daily blog during the ride.

His closing post reads: “What a wonderful day. We knew finishing in Nottingham would be something special, but none of us anticipated just how special.”

More on Life Cycle 3: http://tiny.cc/LC3

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Law graduate’s jazz journey

October 31st, 2014

Chart-topping jazz musician Ed Barker can trace several key influences in his career — and one of them is studying Law at Nottingham.

Ed, 29, who graduated in 2006, worked for eight years in Westminster, first as a legal researcher for Attorney General Dominic Grieve and then for Notts MP Patrick Mercer.

All that time he was playing saxophone and wondering how to juggle his passion for creating music with a day job he loved.

Now, the success of his debut single and album in the US has persuaded Ed to give up his working life in politics.

But Ed says all this might never have happened without the three “fantastic” years he spent at Nottingham, where he was encouraged to blossom as a musician while securing a degree that led to a led to a job in Parliament.

“Nottingham was one of the most exciting and productive three years of my life,” he says.  “I made friends for life – I was in Kiev recently and played saxophone at a University friend’s wedding.

“It was a high-quality academic experience at Nottingham and I truly believe my career in music wouldn’t have been the same without my degree – it isn’t enough nowadays just to be a musician. Studying Law has helped me understand business, read contracts, find solutions.

“Nottingham gave me my first exposure as a musician to jazz — I played my first improvisational solo in the Djanogly Recital Hall. The Music Department was so embracing — I was worried that as a lawyer I would be excluded but it wasn’t like that at all.  There I was playing with the jazz ensemble the Moonlighters, and running Blue Shift, who were more improvisational. I also toured Paris in 2005 with a jazz trio — Ed Farmer, on piano, was studying Music and Mark Brighouse, our double bassist, was an Architecture student.”

“Getting a law degree was my chance to get a great job and move to London, so I could join the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, where I became lead alto saxophonist. It was a crucial combination for me.”

Meeting Patrick Mercer, then MP for Newark, was another huge break. “Patrick’s an author and he understood the pressures — trying to earn a living but be creative, too.  I ended up running his office three days a week, which gave me the freedom I needed.”

It allowed Ed the space to study his craft and perform — including joining the UK leg of George Michael’s Symphonica tour in 2012. Playing alongside some of the world’s top session musicians — and being introduced to tens of thousands of people each night as he played the tenor sax solo on George’s 1993 hit Cowboys and Angels was a huge thrill.

Being able call on musicians of the calibre of the superstar’s guitarist Ben Butler was also a great hook as Ed sought to launch his own recording career.

Now Ed’s calling card is a No1 single on a US Independent pop chart after 25,000 plays of When You Smile, which also hit the US Billboard chart’s top 40.  His album, Simple Truth, also topped the US Independent Mainstream Network – an accolade, says Ed, as it’s voted for by fans.

Ed’s album is having its official UK launch on 22 September. He’s hoping the mellow grooves of Simple Truth will have the impact here it had in the States, where he been offered shows in Las Vegas and festival dates in California.

“The jazz and live instrumental scene over there is huge — but I can’t wait to see how things develop for me here, too.”

Listen to and download Ed’s music at www.edbarker.co.uk

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Young researchers fly high at air show

October 31st, 2014

Research at Nottingham’s Institute for Aerospace Technology (IAT) has been showcased at the Farnborough International Airshow, one of the most important events in the industry’s calendar.

As well as highlighting its expertise and commercial collaborations, the IAT’s early stage PhD researchers from the multidisciplinary INNOVATE programme made their Farnborough debut. They unveiled unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that they had created.

Coming from different engineering and scientific backgrounds, the researchers pool expertise and share learning by developing their own experience in other areas of aerospace technology.

Professor Hervé Morvan, Director of the Institute for Aerospace Technology, said: “The project teaches the team systems design and integration and review processes. The UAVs are also part of an outreach project, demonstrating not only their skills to the public but that aerospace engineering is an exciting field.”

Sara Roggia, a Marie Curie Fellow and one of the PhD researchers, said: “We attracted a great deal of attention at Farnborough, particularly from young people.”

Sara, pictured with fellow INNOVATE researchers Nicolas Schneider, Luca Bertola and Valerio Polenta with the UAVs at Farnboroug, added:  “The UAVs — an airplane and a quadcopter — can be flown remotely via laptop and are programmed to follow GPS coordinates and recognise a target before releasing a payload.

Nottingham is the only university in its own right to be an associate member in the Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative, which is developing technologies to reduce costs and environmental impact, for example, by replacing pneumatic, hydraulic and mechanical power with electrically-driven components as part of the Systems for Green Operation programme.

Professor Morvan said: “The aerospace industry is growing at a phenomenal rate. By 2030, it’s estimated there will be 27,000 new aircraft in the skies, worth around $3.7 trillion.

“Our world-class, multidisciplinary research is key to driving the technology forward. What we are able to offer commercial partners is truly unique. Farnborough is the perfect platform to showcase our expertise, as our work bridges the gap between academic research and the level of technology readiness at which industry can start to adopt novel results and technologies for internal development and exploitation.”

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Fat chance of survival for captive elephants

October 31st, 2014

The first molecular characterisation of the African elephant’s adipose tissue — body fat — could help secure the health and survival of captive elephants.

The population of captive elephants, both Asian and African, in Europe and North America is at risk due to poor fertility, resulting in a fewer baby elephants being born. Unless a solution is found, captive elephants will face demographic extinction in North American zoos within 50 years.

The new study, carried out by scientists at Nottingham’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, will help identify important dietary components for health and reproduction in African elephants to enable better management of this species in captivity and in the wild.

The research, Molecular Characterization of Adipose Tissue in the African Elephant, led by Dr Lisa Yon, with colleagues Dr Nigel Mongan, Dr Richard Emes and Dr Alison Mostyn, has been published in the open access journal PLOS ONE.

Access to unique samples from the African elephant and expertise in molecular biology and bioinformatics allowed the researchers to explore important basic biological questions about the species.

They found leptin — a hormone made by fat cells to regulate the amount of fat stored in the body — is also important in African elephant and is a crucial molecular link between nutritional status, amount of adipose tissue and fertility.

Dr Yon said: “This research provides important information on the structure and function of adipose tissue in the African elephant, highlighting the crucial genes and nutrients present during different times of life — particularly reproduction and lactation.”

Since the discovery of leptin, adipose tissue has been shown to play a key role in reproduction, energy sensing and regulation, and inflammatory responses. It has been linked with reproductive activity so it may play an important role in building up and maintaining the elephant’s reserves to ensure health and fertility.

This work forms an important first step to help maintain a healthy, reproductively viable captive population, ending the need to capture elephants from the wild.

Dr Yon said: “The information we gained can help us to know how to better provide for elephants’ dietary needs, and what possible impact this may have on their reproductive success. These same methods can be applied to further our understanding on a range of domestic or non-domestic species.”

Elephant samples were obtained from management-organized culling operations in Save Valley Conservancy (SVC) in Zimbabwe during 2009–2011. The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority gave permits to SVC to cull the animals and SVC gave the authors permission to use the samples. No animals were killed specifically for this study, and all permission was obtained from the relevant authorities.

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Sporting chance to control tics

October 31st, 2014

Sport and exercise can help children with Tourette’s syndrome control their tics, say Nottingham researchers who asked sufferers aged between 10 and 20 and their families about living with the condition.

Little research on TS has been carried out from the perspective of the parents and young people and the Nottingham team, led by Georgina Jackson, Professor of Cognitive Neuropsychology from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, found the first reliable evidence that physical activity and sport can help children with Tourette’s syndrome. This could offer new paths for treatment and therapies.

The researchers used a combination of interviews, surveys and observations to explore what young people with TS think hinders their education and influences their tics and social interactions.

The research was  funded by The Big Lottery and commissioned by Tourettes Action and could be used to help to improve the experiences of children and teenagers with TS.

Professor Jackson said: “Young people with TS report that anxiety provoking situations increase tics whereas tic reduction is associated with engaging in physical activities and enjoyed extra-curricular pursuits. Our observational findings support the notion that engagement in physical activity leads to tic attenuation and alleviation of tic related distress. The sustained effect of physical activity on TS symptomatology also suggests a potential therapeutic use in tic management for clinicians and schools.”

Chief Executive of Tourettes Action Suzanne Dobson said: “We were delighted to be able to commission this research to the University. Tourettes Action want people with TS to receive the practical support and social acceptance they need to help them live their lives to the full.”

TS is a neuropsychiatric condition involving involuntary muscular movements and vocal sounds (tics). Tics can sometimes be delayed or suppressed but this can be extremely tiring for children. TS affects up to one per cent of school children and tic severity peaks at around 10 to 12 years, when children start secondary school.

The Nottingham researchers’ conclusions tally with the experiences of USA goalkeeper Tim Howard, pictured, who believes that living with TS has made him a better athlete. Howard — acclaimed for his performances at the World Cup, where he pulled off 15 saves in a single match  — says he realised as a teenager that he was faster than others at some movements. He believes these reflexes are linked to his disorder.

He also believes sport helps him control his tics. He said: “As soon as things get serious in front of the goal, I don’t have any twitches; my muscles obey me then.”

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New insight into impact of alcohol abuse

October 31st, 2014

New research has identified, for the first time, the structural damage at a molecular level that excessive alcohol abuse causes to the brain.

The study, led by the University, detected the loss and modification of several key cellular proteins in the brains of alcoholics.

The research will help scientists make informed choices on appropriate drugs and diet to reduce brain damage and limit addictive behaviour in alcoholics.

Dr Wayne Carter, based in the Division of Medical Sciences and Graduate Entry Medicine in the School of Medicine, said: “Excessive alcohol consumption is a global social and financial healthcare problem of epidemic proportions. We have provided an insight into some of the tissue and cellular brain damage that arises in alcoholic patients. The hope is that we can improve the lives of alcoholics and reduce the number of deaths associated with alcoholism.”

Chronic excessive alcohol intoxications have a cumulative effect on damage to brain tissue and other organs. However, the long-term effects of alcohol consumption on the structure and function of the brain are not well understood.

The study, Alcohol-Related Brain Damage in Humans,  was published in the academic journal PloS ONE. It was carried out in collaboration with the School of Life Sciences at Nottingham, the Basque Institute of Legal Medicine and the University of the Basque Country.

Post-mortem brain tissue was examined from control donors and 20 matched alcoholics, and tissue and protein damage assessed.

Studying the prefrontal cortex, researchers detected alterations in the neuronal cytoskeleton in the brains of alcoholic patients. These changes in the neuronal structure, induced by ethanol ingestion, can affect the organisation, the capacity for making connections and the functioning of the neuronal network, and could largely explain alterations in cognitive behaviour and in learning, attributed to persons suffering from alcoholism.

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Sir David: ‘An honour for our University’

October 31st, 2014

Professor Sir David Greenaway says being knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours “is just as much an honour for the University as it is for me”.

Sir David received the honour in recognition of his achievements in higher education and public service.

He said: “This is an extraordinary thing to have happened. When I received the offer, I was speechless, but sufficiently in control to accept by return of post!

“I am proud to have spent most of my working life at Nottingham, learning from many thousands of students and staff, and it has been a privilege to lead the University. This is just as much an honour for the University as it is for me.

“I and my family are immensely proud of this award.”

The knighthood will be conferred at an official ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

A renowned economist, researcher, teacher and academic leader with an international reputation, Sir David has led the University as Vice-Chancellor since 2008. He was appointed to the University as a Professor of Economics in 1987 and was subsequently a Dean, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, and founding Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy. He is a Member of the Government’s Asia Task Force and Higher Education Task Force, Chair elect of the CASE Europe Board of Trustees and a Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire.

As an academic, he continues to lecture on Current Economic Issues to first-year undergraduates in the School of Economics. He is the editor of an academic journal and continues to publish research widely in the fields of exporting and productivity, cross-border investment, international trade and economic development.

As the Vice-Chancellor, he leads an institution with more than 44,000 students worldwide, 7,000 staff and a turnover of £570m. Sir David’s international profile – particularly in China – was confirmed when he was awarded honorary citizenship of Ningbo, the home of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year.

His public service has encompassed a wide range of roles, advising the Government on  pay for the Armed Forces and for senior public servants. He recently completed a major independent review of the training of doctors in the UK.

He has also served as a consultant to the World Bank, the European Commission, the United Nations, the Department for Transport and the UK Treasury.

Sir David, 62, has played a personal role in the University’s biggest-ever fundraising campaign – so far cycling 3,000 miles over the last three years to raise more than £750,000.

This summer is the Life Cycle team’s biggest challenge yet – a 1,400-mile ride to the four corners of Great Britain, to raise money for the Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre. So far the team have raised almost £400,000, taking the Life Cycle total well past the £1m mark.

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Novel insight into Dickens

October 31st, 2014

A new online linguistics tool will help researchers and students study the language used in novels from the 19th century.

The CLiC online interface, developed by Professor Michaela Mahlberg and a team from the University’s Centre for Research in Applied Linguistics, can be used to employ computer-assisted methods to study literary texts, which will in turn lead to new insights into how readers perceive fictional characters.

The CLiC interface uses corpus linguistic methods, which use computer software to study and analyse large collections of texts (corpora). This allows the user to search for words in different  contexts, for example, in fictional speech, or
in narrative stretches likely to contain body language; the tool provides frequency information, different display options for words in context, and enables comparisons of frequency data across texts.

The project, which is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, focuses on Dickens’s novels, and now CLiC 1.0 is available for other novels from the 19th century.

Professor Mahlberg said: “CLiC 1.0 enables us to take a fresh look at Dickens’s language and linguistic techniques of characterisation more widely. Corpus linguistic methods view textual patterns in a systematic way and bring phenomena to the attention of the analyst that may not be easily discovered by reading alone.”

The innovative CLiC project aims to combine research in corpus linguistics with cognitive poetics where textual patterns contribute to ‘mind-modelling’ in characterisation.

Professor Peter Stockwell, co-investigator on the project, said: “These techniques are beginning to allow us to understand very precisely how characters can become almost real in readers’ minds.”

The research will inform teaching at the University. CLiC 1.0 will be used in modules next year and Distance Programmes run by the School of English. The team presented CLiC 1.0 at the Nottingham Potential Summer School for local pupils. CA

Visit: www.nottingham.ac.uk/CRAL/Projects/CLiC.aspx

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Relax and see your space grow

October 31st, 2014

A unique new architectural environment for people who practise yoga and meditation could take this ancient discipline into the digital era.

‘ExoBuilding’ is a piece of adaptive architecture which has been designed and built by a team of scientists and architects working with the University’s Mixed Reality Lab, which creates interactive technologies to enhance everyday life and is partially supported by the EPSRC Orchid project and the Horizon Digital Economy Hub.

‘ExoBuilding’ is a tent-like structure that changes its height, volume and shape according to its inhabitant’s physiological data. Occupants are wired up to heart and breathing monitors and the structure is driven by servomotors that translate signals from the Equator Component Toolkit, also designed at Nottingham.

Researchers found users showed slower breathing rates and improved heart rate patterns, resulting in a general feeling of relaxation.

Adaptive architecture is designed to adapt to the people using them and ExoBuilding’s designer, architect Dr Holger Schnädelbach, said: “Modern buildings are becoming infused with sensors measuring data streams about the environment, people and objects. ExoBuilding uses biofeedback to give the user a certain level of control of the structure around them. We are quite excited about the potential scalability and varied uses of this project in the context of the ‘Internet of Things’.”

Research psychologist Dr Elvira Perez-Vallejos, who  is also leader of the yoga club at the University’s Institute of Mental Health, said: “For yoga practise, I think the ExoBuilding is an incredible tool. A key aspect of yoga is breathing and the interactive structure is like an outward visual and aural manifestation of that physiological process. There is a lot of evidence that yoga can help people with mental health problems and I think this prototype has huge potential in this area of healthcare and wellbeing.”

Research fellow in Computer Science and yoga practitioner Dr Stuart Moran added: “One of the interesting things about this project is that it brings a level of real-time objectivity, of ‘science’, to yoga which is quite in contrast to the usual perceptions of yoga as a purely spiritual practice. It is ‘science meets spirituality’ and quite a unique research avenue.”

PhD student in the Mixed Reality Lab, Nils Jäger, added: “Our yoga experiments are still a work in progress but initial results suggest this interactive environment can greatly enhance its practice and teaching. We would like to eventually scale up ExoBuilding to examine its potential for creating and sustaining group cohesion for multiple users. Additionally, this research gives us detailed insights into the relationship between the human body and digitally-driven architecture.”

Dr Elvira Perez-Vallejos, left, and fellow yoga enthusiast Liz Lesquereux, Knowledge Exchange Manager for Social Sciences, are pictured trying out the ExoBuilding.

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