Search

The purpose of this paper was to gain a better understanding of the perceptions of the Welsh language held by the Polish adult migrants in Aberystwyth, Wales. Using qualitative research methods, we collected data from participants concerning their perceptions of the sound and spelling system of Welsh. Data obtained showed that adult Poles in Aberystwyth perceive the phonetics and phonotactics of Welsh to be markedly different from that of their native Polish. The participants believed Welsh to have small number of vowels and large number of consonantal clusters. By comparing consonantal and vowel inventories we were able to demonstrate that Welsh has a more complex vowel inventory than Polish. The consonantal inventories of both languages show great similarities and should not pose major problems to Polish learners of Welsh, who are also speakers of English. As for the phonotactics, Polish possesses a far more complex inventory of consonantal clusters than Welsh. We show that claims of the study's participants that Welsh pronunciation is markedly different from Polish is not based on the linguistic grounds. Instead, such claims must be rooted in the social and ideological perceptions of the Welsh language on the part of the participants in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noel Lloyd was born in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, on 26 December 1946. He was educated first at Ysgol Gymraeg Dewi Sant (St David's Welsh School) and then at Llanelli Grammar School for Boys, where his father was his mathematics teacher. He subsequently attended Queens' College, Cambridge, where he obtained a First Class in all Parts of the Mathematical Tripos. Noel proceeded to work for his PhD under the supervision of Sir Peter Swinnerton‐Dyer; his thesis, which he defended in 1972, was entitled 'Periodic solutions of differential equations'. After two years at St John's College, Cambridge, Noel was appointed to a Lectureship in Pure Mathematics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He remained at Aberystwyth for the remainder of his working life where he was appointed Head of Department, Dean of the Faculty of Science, Pro‐Vice‐Chancellor and Vice‐Chancellor of the University and also served on numerous academic, scientific and governmental committees well into his retirement; these included the Commission on Devolution in Wales. Noel's research centred on systems of polynomial differential equations and their connection to the famous outstanding Hilbert's Sixteenth Problem, with his research group being early users of Computer Algebra to make progress with complex calculations. In his free time he was a talented organist and active within the Presbyterian Church of Wales where he pursued his deep religious beliefs and acted as a prominent member of the church's administrative leadership. He died at the age of 72 on 7 June 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The colourful urban legend that surrounds the Nanteos cup features escaping monks, secret tunnels, and a crusader, but perhaps more than any other factor, it is a tribute to the power of the Internet. This damaged medieval mazer bowl, unearthed during renovations at a monastic site, found its way into a stately home in Wales. It was exhibited at an archaeological meeting, gained a local reputation for 'healing', and was absorbed into early twentieth-century speculations about the holy grail. At the end of the twentieth century, references to the object could be found in a handful of paper scraps recording cures, occasional accounts in local newspapers and guides, and a series of family letters in the National Library of Wales, plus hints in popular works about the grail. In the twenty-first century, Internet notices have risen exponentially, and the object is now on display at the National Library in Aberystwyth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tourism Geographies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the highlights of the biennial International Association for Media and History's (IAMHIST) Social Fears and Moral Panics Conference held at the University of Aberystwyth from July 8 to 11, 2009. The conference is attended by people from the academics, archivists and media including the press, film and radio. It covers topics on censorship, women and moral panics, and crime and also calls to explore the role of media in perpetuating social fear. Sir Quentin Thomas, Garth Jowett and Martin Barker are some of the featured speakers.

A concern with the role of the 'Other' in geography in higher education has led to work on the incorporation of marginalized social groups into learning contexts. Recently some authors have discussed the role of language in teaching, and in particular the dominant role of the English language in marginalizing non-Anglophonic students and subject matter. In this paper an empirical case study of the experiences of bilingual students at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth is developed. This research provides an account of the role of language in bilingual students' engagements with geography, and addresses the practicalities and the politics of enabling students with a diversity of linguistic skills to become full citizens of their geographical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of languages in the constitution of geographical knowledge. We argue that the fact that people speak different languages is significant to the ways in which they engage with geography as a subject. We unpack some of the processes through which languages make a difference to geography through an empirical project based on students at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, where geography is taught bilingually through Welsh and English. Student geography is a particularly interesting arena to further this theme, because of students' mediating role in translating professional geography into the popular sphere, which in the case of students at Aberystwyth is also a different linguistic sphere. Our empirical work suggests that the use of Welsh creates a particular linguistic culture of geography, because of the shared experience of specific practices and politics in bilingual education. This makes a difference to the kinds of geography consumed and produced by bilingual students. Through a discussion of the linguistic identity of Welsh geography, we address some of the implications and limitations of this social formation. We conclude by arguing that a focus on language has the potential to open up new ways of talking about geography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the courses in library service jointly developed and run by the University and the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, between 1917 and 1928. Design/methodology/approach – An historical approach is adopted and use has been made of relevant extant primary sources held in the National Library, as well as various notices and reports of the courses published in the journals of the time. Findings – Strong similarities between the Summer Schools in Library Service of 100 years ago and the degree programmes currently offered via distance learning by the Department of Information Studies have been indicated. Research limitations/implications – Due to the nature of the research and the reliance on the survival of primary source material, it has not been possible to trace a complete set of Directors’ Reports, which would have offered greater insight into the content of the later Summer Schools as well as the people who attended these courses. Originality/value – The year 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the College of Librarianship Wales, (which has evolved into the Department of Information Studies at Aberystwyth University). However, the roots of this educational establishment can be traced back nearly 50 years earlier to the University’s Summer Schools in library service. This is a largely unexplored subject but represents the first step towards the establishment of the current Department of Information Studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report on the rationale and key learning processes for students of librarianship and information studies (US) at the Department of Information Studies, University of Wales Aberystwyth. Its aim is to raise awareness of the ways in which professional training can incorporate research, and ultimately inform professional practice, and to describe the way in which recent research can be used to shape the curriculum. Design/methodology/approach - A literature review, identification of key principles for curriculum development, and discussion of processes is provided. Key learning outcomes for the course are put forward and the approach taken to them described. Findings - The description and discussion offered outline key questions for the development of courses aimed at future professionals. Research limitations/implications - The paper describes the approach taken to address the needs of professional practice in one course, and from one perspective. Originality/value - This is one of few papers that describe the rationale of US courses for information literacy. Elsewhere the focus of papers is on teaching information literacy to non-LIS audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of research in the Department of Information Studies at the University of Wales Aberystwyth and an introduction to the papers in the special issue. Design/methodology/approach - A narrative review of the previous research activities and contemporary research environment of the Department of Information Studies. Findings - There is more to be learnt about the future of the research assessment exercise, whether it is moving to a metrics-based system, or whether the system will look more favourably on departments that attract a range of research funding. Originality/value - Identifies how changes in the scope of research activities in a department reflect changes in research funding and structures for the information sector, as well as changes in staff interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the status of the library and information studies education in Aberystwyth, Wales. Background on the establishment of the College of Librarianship Wales (CLW); Achievements of the CLW; Details on the 40th year celebration of the CLW.

The Welsh marine zoologist, Edward Emrys Watkin (1900–1978), studied the population dynamics of Cardigan Bay herring stocks in the 1920s and subsequently worked on amphipod crustaceans in the Clyde Sea Area in Scotland. His published works span a transitional period in the history of biology, when natural history was being formalized into ecology. A graduate, and a staff member, of the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, for 45 years he inspired students with his teaching. His experiences as a teacher and examiner were called upon when, in 1965 and 1971, he edited and co-wrote Biology (with Herbert Tisdale Conway and John Brinley Jones), a textbook on biology for pupils seeking the General Certificate of Education (GCE) O-level qualification. However, the impact of Watkins's book was lessened because of competition from Donald Gordon Mackean's Introduction to biology published first in 1962. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents records of metal deposition as preserved by a peatland which has accumulated in the lowland coastal zone at Borth, near Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, mid-Wales, U.K. The research objective was to explore the origins and history of metal mining and (or) metallurgy by reconstructing a geochemical record of copper, lead and zinc pollution for the last four millennia. Two cores were extracted from Borth Bog, one from the raised ombrotrophic part of the bog and another from a minerotrophic part of Borth Bog close to the ancient copper workings at Llancynfelin. Although peat stratigraphy and nutrient status have influenced the geochemical record, the results suggest that an early phase of copper and lead pollution occurred at Llancynfelin whilst lead enrichment occurred in the peat core taken close to the centre of Borth Bog during the Bronze Age and the Roman occupation. Therefore the origins of copper and lead mining and metallurgy possibly extend back to the Bronze Age in central Wales. No record of historical pollution exists at either site. The results of this study also provide further evidence that lead and copper are immobile in ombrotrophic peat and that pollution records can be elucidated from minerotrophic peat. Zinc, however, may have suffered from post-depositional mobility. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The significance of coastal regions to the infrastructure and the need to protect such assets are crucial to the economy of countries. Therefore, there is a real need to enhance the understanding of coastal infrastructure susceptibility as well as to develop methodologies to estimate vulnerability. A review of the literature regarding coastal vulnerability reveals that the focus has been on geomorphological and physical parameters but not infrastructure and the associated fiscal factors. In order to address this knowledge gap, an innovative model is developed, i.e., the Coastal Infrastructure Vulnerability Index (CIVI). Then the model is applied to the case of the Aberystwyth coast demonstrating how the model estimates the vulnerability of the coastal infrastructure (comprising population, commercial and residential properties). Subsequently, the CIVI scores were used to rank coastal sections into five classes, ranging from extremely low to extremely high, based on the relative magnitude of the vulnerability. The rankings for each parameter were combined, and then an index value was calculated. Results revealed that Aberystwyth contains more than £40 billion of coastal infrastructure vulnerability and more than 10,000 inhabitants are at the high coastal risk posed by flooding, erosion, storm surges, and strong winds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented that tackles on the tornado jets in Aberystwyth, Wales. It offers information on how these vehicles sound like when it flew above the hills of Aberystwyth. It also charts its sound topologies and its impact on the ears of those who heard them. Moreover, it presents a poem and how the author correlates it with the sounds emitted by tornado jets.

An essay is presented that explores the experiences of the author in doing the vertical dance, Descent of the Angel, that took place at the Guildford Cathedral in Aberystwyth, Wales. It analyses the spatial confusion and subsequent orientation of the vertical dancer. It offers information on the experiences of the dancer in doing the vertical dance. Moreover, it presents the disorientation and confusion experienced by the author in performing the vertical dance.

Focuses on efforts of researchers at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth in developing a blueprint for future archival training in the city. Comparison of archival training programs of Europe, North America and Australia; Factors affecting higher education teaching in Great Britain;Issues to be addressed in the area of archival training in Great Britain.

Reviews the history of the International Graduate Summer School (IGSS) held in Aberystwyth, Wales at the College of Librarianship Wales (CLW). First five courses of CLW; Range of courses offered on librarianship and the structure of IGSS over the years; Information on the students and faculty of IGSS; Memories of IGSS from various students.

Populations of Dactylis glomerata from Norway and from Portugal were grown in pure stands and in 50:50 mixtures under natural conditions in Aberystwyth. Stands were sown at monthly intervals between September 1969 and September 1970. Monthly harvests from each sowing were taken either from stands which were defoliated regularly or from stands with uninterrupted growth from sowing. In both managements the environmental conditions during establishment of the stands had a major influence on the subsequent relative competitive abilities of the two populations. This was most pronounced for the September sowings in which the Portuguese population was more aggressive initially and this aggressiveness was maintained throughout the following summer even though environmental conditions at that time did not favour this population. Similarly, the Norwegian population was more aggressive in stands sown in May and June. Again this aggressiveness often was maintained throughout the series of harvests even though this population was dormant during the winter. In other monthly sowings the initial competitive relationships were modified by the effect of the subsequent environmental conditions on the seasonal patterns of growth in the two populations. These reversals of aggressiveness were more marked in stands which were defoliated regularly than in those with uninterrupted growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the 1922 visit of Hungarian composer Bela Bartók to Great Britain to perform concerts, focusing particularly on his performance at the University College of Wales in Aberystwyth, Wales. The article details the pieces played during the concert which included Beethoven’s Trio in E flat, Op. 70, and the piano pieces a Hungarian Peasant Dance and Evening in the Country. Journalistic reports of the concert from "The Welsh Gazette" and "The Cambrian News" are considered. Bartók's friendship with Hungarian violinists Jelli d'Aranyi and Adila d'Aranyi is explored.

Miscanthus, a C4 perennial grass native to Eastern Asia, is being bred to provide biomass for bioenergy and biorenewable products. Commercial expansion with the clonal hybrid M. × giganteus is limited by low multiplication rates, high establishment costs and drought sensitivity. These limitations can be overcome by breeding more resilient Miscanthus hybrids propagated by seed. Naturally occurring fast growing indigenous Miscanthus species are found in diverse environments across Eastern Asia. The natural diversity provides for plant breeders, the genetic resources to improve yield, quality, and resilience for a wide range of climates and adverse abiotic stresses. The challenge for Miscanthus breeding is to harness the diversity through selections of outstanding wild types, parents, and progenies over a short time frame to deploy hybrids that make a significant contribution to a world less dependent on fossil resources. Here are described the strategies taken by the Miscanthus breeding programme at Aberystwyth, UK and its partners. The programme built up one of the largest Miscanthus germplasm collections outside Asia. We describe the initial strategies to exploit the available genetic diversity to develop varieties. We illustrate the success of combining diverse Miscanthus germplasm and the selection criteria applied across different environments to identify promising hybrids and to develop these into commercial varieties. We discuss the potential for molecular selections to streamline the breeding process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]