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The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) identify heritage practice as a means to develop culturally sustainable communities. Cultural sustainability enables the continuity of cultural identities and facilitates social inclusion. It is, therefore, of great importance for communities. Museums, as institutions that carry material and immaterial traces of history, serve as important conduits in the communication and preservation of culture. This paper examines the role of community museums in the development of culturally sustainable communities and explores how the process can be enhanced by the implementation of Transmedia Storytelling techniques to engage community audiences. It takes as a case study the collaboration between a Sino-foreign university, the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), and a local community museum, the Ningbo Bang Museum. Students studying at UNNC had the opportunity to create transmedia narratives about the individuals featured in the museum, with a focus on community engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the complexity of generic graduate attributes, including soft skills, qualities, competencies, and capabilities in order to pinpoint how graduate attributes are cultivated in practice during the university experience. Few studies have examined the active and formative role of universities in cultivating generic graduate attributes. Even less have examined which skills and related subskills are developed according to graduates themselves, much less the extent to which those acquired specific skills mindsets and subskills are attributable to micro-level pedagogical practices, meso-level university experiences or macro-level, institution-level frameworks, vision, or mission statements. Additionally, there is a paucity of research on the attributes of graduates from transnational higher education institutions and specifically from Sino-foreign cooperative universities. This study thus aims to address these gaps and is also timely as it coincides with the twentieth anniversary of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, established in 2004, which is the first Sino-foreign higher education institution. This study adopts an overarching exploratory research methodology mobilizing both quantitative survey data collection and qualitative in-depth, semi-structured interviews. This research is innovative because it is a bottom-up retrospective mapping to localize exactly where, within the entire university experience, graduates attribute the acquisition of their skills/graduateness, including across both curricular and extracurricular experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing audience-centric digital displays can be beneficial for facilitating cultural heritage learning. Using digital technologies, we investigated what would work for twenty-first-century audiences by looking at audience-centricity in terms of personal narratives. The research explored the narrative engagement of audiences after their virtual journey to a Virtual Reality environment titled 'Sanjiangkou', an ∼800 year old cultural heritage site in Ningbo, China. We adopted Lambert's (2013) framework of digital storytelling and used VR technologies for developing the virtual cultural heritage site. A total of 61 participants experienced the virtual journey at the NVIDIA Joint-Lab on Mixed Reality at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. Four types of details were extracted from the narratives: Attractive Details, Reflective Details, Connective Details, and Elaborative Details. The article proposes a roadmap for designing audience-centric experiences for qualitative cultural heritage learning, and engaging audiences in the participatory process of the adoption of digital technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presentations assessing public speaking skills are common features of undergraduate curricula. Performance feedback has often been traditionally limited to staff, yet students acting as peer assessors can also be a useful feedback source. Additionally, video recording offers a feedback method that can overcome a presentation's transience and empower a student's self-analysis. During 2016–17 a new 1st year module, 'Core Skills in Biochemistry', was implemented at the University of Nottingham. Peer assessment and video feedback were trialled as augmentations to lecturer-sourced presentation feedback. Student opinions were surveyed to gauge efficacy. Results indicate video feedback was appreciated to a greater extent than peer feedback, and both focussed on body language. As the year progressed students felt less confident in their colleagues' judgement, and their willingness to receive peer feedback decreased. These results confirmed the validity of including these techniques within 'Core Skills', and laid the foundation for further innovations currently being trialled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue of the Journal of Risk Research presents papers developed by some of the scholars who participated in an AHRC-funded network, 'Fate, Luck, and Fortune: Narratives of Environmental Risk'. The topic was conceived by Esther Eidinow (University of Bristol), PI on the project, and the network was developed with Georgina Endfield (University of Liverpool) as CI, while both were at the University of Nottingham. This introduction provides information about the rationale, method and activities of the network, and a discussion of its key findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of ideology at the vernacular level requires access to peer-to-peer political discussions amongst non-specialists. It is in these discursive exchanges that political views are articulated, refined, and revised. Such exchanges are, however, difficult for the researcher to capture. Here we take c.25,000 learner comments (along with several hundred image uploads) from a Massive Open Online Course, co-produced by the University of Nottingham and the British Library, as a source of such peer-to-peer political discussions. From five topics we have selected 'Freedom', 'Justice', and 'Community' for close analysis. The idea of 'freedom' generated by far the most learner discourse, being both positively appraised and highly personalized. 'Justice' was generally seen as something to be delivered by political institutions, although accounts of injustice were frequently personalised. Accounts of 'community' often focused on the trappings of nationhood, but some comments, and many images in particular, highlighted moments of ephemeral and more personal, self-chosen communities. Overall, both comments and images show that, in their interpretation of the conceptual vocabulary of politics, people frequently frame their understanding through personal experience in a very direct manner. It is not only true that the 'personal is political', but also, for many, that the 'political is personal'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on archives of the Standing Conference of Young People's Theatre (SCYPT) at Leeds University, and Nottingham Roundabout TIE archives at Nottingham University. Topics include the SCYPT, which was established to give Young People's Theatre (YPT) and Theatre in Education (TIE) companies a national identity; Papers of Young Peoples' Theatre and Theatre in Education Companies; and the Roundabout theatre-in-education archives.

Outcome-based Education (OBE) emphasises on two main components in terms of student achievement in an academic programme. One is the Programme Outcomes (POs) which is measured at the point of graduation, and the other, the Programme Educational Objectives (PEOs) is assessed over a longer period of time (around 4–5 years) after graduation. This study focuses on the establishment of a systematic procedure adopted by the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) to formulate PEOs assessment criteria with integration of stakeholders' input, methodology for an unbiased measurement of graduates' long-term attainment rate, as well as analysis and identification of a set of strategies for continuous quality improvement (CQI). These PEOs are mapped using the guidelines set by the Engineering Council to those required by the Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC), Malaysia. The outcome of the mapping exercise was used to formulate an anonymous online questionnaire survey as a measure of the PEOs' attainment. Key outcomes from this study revealed that graduates are broadly satisfied with their achievement in all eight PEOs. Strategies were also proposed to improve the attainment level in four PEOs with relatively lower attainment rate, as part of the CQI process adopted in the department. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the performance of stress-absorbing membrane interlayer (SAMI) under traffic loading. Accelerated pavement test facility at the University of Nottingham was used for the study. It involves construction and trafficking of a pavement with sections having SAMI and without SAMI. The study indicates that the SAMI is able to delay reflective cracking. It shows that the performance of the SAMI depends on the thickness of the SAMI and the interface bonding between the overlay and the SAMI. Also, it reveals that when SAMI is used between an existing cracked pavement and an overlay, the interface shear stiffness of the overlay and SAMI plays a role in isolating the overlay from the relative deflection of the cracked underlying layer due to traffic loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the use of weblogs by pre-service language teachers, an intervention study set at the University of Nottingham in Malaysia, and the relationship between teachers' beliefs and practice.

This article considers the relationship between counterterrorist security agencies and universities in the United Kingdom. Normally, the two would rarely come into contact. However, with recent government demand that more be done to deal with the threat of radicalisation on campuses, an increased link has developed between security agencies and universities. But when such agencies engage with universities, their activities must be challenged and limited by the latter. Universities have an important role in acting as a check and a balance to the often draconian mindsets of those charged with ‘national security’. But today's neo-liberal universities, conscious of their corporate images, may not adopt such a role. They may even end up becoming an actual partner in counterterrorist activity that can then, unchecked, generate the very radicalisation that they are supposed to help prevent. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the UK, carbon dioxide emissions from existing domestic building stock account for a significant percentage. The UK Government has set ambitious targets for reducing UK carbon dioxide emissions by 80% by 2050. These targets will require significant changes to the existing buildings. To understand and quantify the benefits of refurbishment solutions, it is vital to monitor exemplar buildings and bring them to an energy efficiency standard with lower associated carbon emissions, by finding the most efficient way to refurbish them. The case study considered is a 1930s replica three-bed semi-detached house located in the University of Nottingham campus. The house is fully monitored, including monitoring of the occupants' patterns, environmental monitoring, electricity use and energy associated with space and hot-water heating. The results presented in this article show that energy consumption profiles are related to the occupants. The study shows that it is not enough just to improve building performance in order to improve energy efficiency; it is also important to understand and influence occupant behaviour because in domestic buildings occupants exert complete control of the appliances, lights, heating and ventilation. General behavioural trends and patterns can be extracted from long-term collected data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical students attending a careers talk in obstetrics and gynaecology at Nottingham University were approached in this survey, to identify factors which influenced an early career choice in O&G. We received 60 responses, giving a response rate of 83.3%. The positive factors that encouraged an early career choice of O&G were: a positive undergraduate O&G attachment; consultant and junior doctor role-models; a good mix of medicine and surgery; availability of hands-on opportunities and early career advice. The perception of long working hours was not a negative influence. Male medical students were put-off by the lack of opportunity to undertake pelvic examinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on a Keynote lecture delivered at the AUA Annual Conference, Promoting excellence in HE Management, at the University of Nottingham, 2-4 April 2007.[image omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the second part of a paper based on one delivered at the AUA Annual Conference, Promoting Excellence in HE Management, at the University of Nottingham, 2-4 April 2007. It continues discussion of the application of employment legislation to university restructuring exercises, and in particular, the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) Regulations 2006, which appeared in the previous issue of perspectives. The application of these rules to transfers of departments and courses between universities is considered here.[image omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on a Keynote presentation delivered at the AUA Annual Conference at the University of Nottingham in April 2007.[image omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current methodologies in corpus linguistics have revolutionised the way in which we study language, allowing us to make accurate and retrievable observations and analyses using a range of written and spoken data from naturally occurring contexts. Yet, while current corpora allow us to explore multimillion word databases, they fail to represent language and communication beyond the word. This is problematic as social interactions are in fact multimodal, combining both verbal and non-verbal elements. This article reports on preliminary developments in this area carried out as part of an interdisciplinary project based at the University of Nottingham, funded by the UK-based Economic and Social Sciences Research Council, which is exploring how we can utilise new textualities in order to develop the scope of what a corpus can reveal and provide the tools for exploring discourse in specific contexts of communication. The specific linguistic focus of this project is the exploration of the roles and nature of gesture-in-talk, with a specific focus on codifying and analysing backchannels. To manage the scale of the research challenge we explore a particular sub-set of gesture: head nods. The article discusses the development of multimodal corpora, using video data recorded from conversational exchanges that are to be streamed with the verbal data. We provide an exploration of the requirements that such a 'multimodal' corpus should look to fulfil, in order to lead to better descriptions of language and better applications of such descriptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A good assessment method should be able to distinguish between deep learners and surface learners in a way so the former are rewarded while the later are punished. Using data of a survey conducted at the Institute of Contemporary Chinese Studies, University of Nottingham, the study finds strong evidence that assignment essays serve to reward deep learners and punish surface learners, while formal examinations fail to do so. The policy implication of the study is clear and straightforward: assignment essays should be preferable over formal examination in higher education, at least in so far as the humanities and social sciences are concerned. The study is, however, limited in the scope of empirical coverage, and further effort should be made to find out whether the findings in this study are applicable to other settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This project aimed to ascertain from those involved in the research process the kinds of electronic tools that would most support them in their work. This information was used to inform and steer development of new tools and resources delivered via secure technology. The approach was predominantly bottom-up with a huge emphasis placed on effective consultation with practitioners. Honest two-way communication between developers and practitioners was an essential part of the process of embedding new ideas and technologies. In seeking to deliver the requirements suggested, the team identified a much wider need for collaboration across many other University departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the risk factors for developing uveitis in a regional cohort of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) as classified under ILAR criteria. Patients and Methods: The clinical factors for developing uveitis and its visual outcome were studied retrospectively for all children diagnosed with JIA at Nottingham University Hospital, England from 1974 to 2001. Results: A total of 202 patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis were identified. Twenty-three patients (11.4%) were found to have uveitis. The mean age of arthritis onset in those with uveitis was 4.9 (95% CI 3.4–6.4) and in those without uveitis was 7.6 (95% CI 7.0–8.3), p = 0.002. Both the persistent and extended oligoarthritis groups are at significant risk of developing uveitis on Kaplan-Meier analysis with p = 0.001 and 0.013, respectively, compared to other ILAR subtypes. Extended oligoarthritis (1 to 4 joints affected in first 6 months of disease but 5 or more cumulative joints after first 6 months) had the highest prevalence of uveitis (25%) among the ILAR subtypes. Patients with extended oligoarthritis also developed uveitis earlier than persistent group, p = 0.017. Gender, race, and antinuclear antibody (ANA) status were not significant risk factors. The visual outcome was favorable, with 90% achieving acuity of 6/12 or better. Conclusion: Patients with extended oligoarthritis are at higher risk and have a shorter interval from diagnosis of arthritis to development of uveitis and need to be monitored more closely. Screening guideline for JIA-associated uveitis based on ILAR classification is called for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses service‐user involvement in social work education. Drawing on practical examples, it engages with both the processes of developing service‐user defined assessment tools and the outcomes of applying such tools in practice. The paper uses practical experiences of the involvement of Advocacy In Action with the social work course at the University of Nottingham to illustrate the approach that has been developed, and draws on the testimonies of both academic and student partners in the learning process to support the validity of the assessment processes that have been devised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a five-year AHRC-funded research project from 2001-2006 called Gendering Latin American Independence hosted by the Department of Hispanic and Latin American Studies, University of Nottingham, England, in collaboration with the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, University of Manchester, England. Publication of a jointly authored book"South American Independence: Gender, Politics, Text"; Database being constructed that provides details of women's and men's political and social participation in Latin America; Identity of the majority of the women included in the database.

This paper considers teachers' perspectives on effective school leadership. It draws upon the findings from a study of effective leadership conducted by a research team from the University of Nottingham [1]. This research study considered effective leadership from the perspectives of different stakeholders within the English schooling system. This provided an opportunity to analyse leadership in a holistic way and to consider leadership from a variety of different perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a case study on the development of electronic cataloging at the University of Nottingham in Nottingham, England using the Encoded Archival Description system. Conversion of finding aids; Free-text searching; Implications of collaborative programs.

Narrates some of the day-to-day experiences of an undergraduate at the University of Nottingham. Student societies; University rules and regulations; General atmosphere at the Florence Boot Hall, the on-campus hall of residence for women.

Since 1993 the Medical School at the University of Nottingham has developed the Teaching Improvement Project (TIPS) which provides training in basic teaching techniques for medical educators. It uses a significant proportion of 'microteaching' during which participants make 10-minute presentations which are videotaped and analysed. Forty-five courses have now been run for nearly 400 participants. Participant evaluation of this course clearly establishes that one of the most useful training activities for medical educators is for them to teach, to evaluate their own teaching performance and to receive feedback from a teaching evaluator on their teaching effectiveness. In addition, participants also value acquiring the skills of using learning objectives, structuring learning, questioning and active-learning techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the development of a remedial Keller-plan course in the Physics department of Nottingham University, Nottingham, England, in 1974. This course has successfully evolved over a four-year period through repeated evaluations and modifications. A viable Self-Instructional Centre is being developed for Physics students at Nottingham University. The second year course in Physics at Nottingham University is not easy. In order to generate the maximum flexibility for various specialist courses, certain fundamental lecture courses are concentrated toward the beginning of the second year. For example, the Wave Mechanics, Statistical and Thermal Physics and Mathematical Physics courses are regarded as foundations from which the development of the Solid State Physics, the Nuclear Physics and the Electromagnetism core courses can proceed. A Keller-plan programme was offered to students in October 1974 as an optional, remedial or reinforcement course in parallel to the parent Wave Mechanics course. Three-quarters of the subject matter of the 10 week course was divided into 10 Keller-style units. Each of these units comprised an Objective list, a Preknowledge list, a Preamble and a Study Guide section complete with self-assessment questions and their solutions.

The article provides information regarding the March 19, 2014 joint meeting of the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) and the East Midlands Branch of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications held at the University of Nottingham. It focuses on the speech entitled "Brass for Brain: Lord Kelvin and tide prediction" delivered by Raymond Flood. The speech focused on the efforts of 19th-century British scientists and brothers James Thomson and William Thomson, later Baron Kelvin of Largs, on tidal prediction.

Profiles several authors who have contributed to the December 2005 issue of the "Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy." Current research project of Andreas Bieler, senior lecturer in the School of Politics at the University of Nottingham in England; Publications of professor A. Claire Cutler; Books written by professor Maurice Finocchiaro.

An obituary for Joseph William Cuthbertson, professor of metallurgy at Nottingham University in England, is presented.

The article offers information on the 9th International Conference on the Microscopy of Oxidation held at the University of Nottingham in England from April 14-16, 2014.

The article focuses on the educational research and investigation programmes of the Nottingham University Institute of Education in Nottingham, England. The Institute recognizes three obligations in the field of research: to initiate research, to co-operate with other bodies in undertaking research, and to guide teachers in making their own investigations. Within limits prescribed by its resources in staffing and equipment, the Institute has accepted invitations from other bodies to cooperate in research. The Institute Library includes a collection of nearly one hundred current periodicals, and a descriptive list of selected articles is published in the Institute Bulletin, which is received once a term by each of 2,500 schools in the area. The topics of investigation naturally cover a wide range like, the consistency and validity of ratings made by teachers of the personality, aptitudes and attainment of children in infant and junior schools; the standardization of the assessment of attainment in various subjects in secondary schools; the preparation of material for teaching backward children; the causes of children's absence from schools; the nature and problems of discipline in schools; and many more.

The article provides information on NOTT-202a, a metal organic framework developed by a team from the University of Nottingham in Great Britain, which has a honeycomb structure.

The article reports that the University of Nottingham in England is offering new Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) scholarships to support research on new energy technologies and the digital economy.

This article focuses on a study from the University of Nottingham and Ulm University in which a method for forming graphene nanoribbons (GNR) was developed. This method relies on producing a GNR inside a pre-formed nanotube. Comments from lead researcher Andrei Khlobystov about the method are presented.

The article reports on the undergraduate scholarships being offered by the University of Nottingham in England.

The article reports on a study by scientists at the University of Nottingham, England which found that a small defect is created by an atom of rhenium metal in the nanotube wall.

The article reports that the University of Nottingham in England and e2v Technologies have introduced the ProWave industrial microwave system, which selectively heats only the water contained within a layered vermiculite mineral structure.

The article announces the Geographies of Children, Youth and Families Research Group dissertation prize for the year 2009, under which the first prize was given to Bethan Siu Yin Thomas of the University of Nottingham, and the second prize to Deborah Puttick of the University of Plymouth.