Universities to draw up RAE equality codes
Measures to prevent women academics suffering discrimination during the forthcoming research assessment exercise were announced today. Universities will be obliged to draw up their own equality codes following the comparatively disappointing showing of women in the 2001 exercise and fears that women who take career breaks are at a disadvantage. For the 2008 RAE, researchers who have taken a career break will be able to submit two or three pieces of work instead of the standard four to be assessed by panels of fellow academics in each of the 67 different fields.
The Guardian
Call to treat smuggled migrants as exploitation victims
People trafficked into the UK should be seen as victims of exploitation and not illegal immigrants who should be deported, leading academics will say today. The call comes as more than 200 international human rights activists, policy makers and academics begin a two-day conference at the University of Birmingham discussing women’s rights issues. Dr Christien van den Anker, of the university’s Centre for the Study of Global Ethics, said policy makers, police officers and migration officials needed to change their approach when dealing with trafficking victims. Because victims are treated as illegal immigrants, they were being denied access to support services and usually deported within 48 hours, often back into danger and the hands of traffickers, she added.
The Scotsman
Golfers honoured by Scottish university
Four famous golfers are to be awarded honorary degrees from St Andrews University during the Open next month.Joining the ranks of distinguished scientists, theologians and authors honoured by Scotland's oldest university are the commentator Peter Alliss, Nick Faldo, the three-times winner of the Open Championship, Laura Davies, Britain's leading female player and the Australian great, Peter Thomson. The university has made it a tradition to honour golfers when the Open returns to the home of golf: past recipients have included Seve Ballesteros, Colin Montgomery, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
The Guardian
Spielberg film under fire by academics
Steven Spielberg's blockbuster War of the Worlds faced a backlash yesterday amid fears that youngsters could be damaged by its scenes of extreme violence. The film opens in cinemas today with a 12A rating from the British Board of Film Classification, even though it contains 'sustained menace, threat and moderate horror'. Professor Kevin Browne, director of the forensic and family psychology department at Birmingham University, said: 'The long-term effects on children are a matter of controversy and debate, but the short-term effects are now well established.'
The Evening Standard
Desert dunes set to roam
Sand dunes in the Kalahari Desert in Africa, which have been immobile for thousands of years, will soon start to move again, researchers warn. The wandering dunes may affect hundred of thousands of people in southern Africa. Researchers have long warned that some of the driest and poorest parts of the world are getting drier, causing deserts to grow. But David Thomas, a geographer at the University of Oxford, UK, and his colleagues wondered whether the anticipated climate change might also affect the movement of dunes within deserts.
Nature, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian
Clearing smoke may trigger global warming rise
Global warming looks set to be much worse than previously forecast, according to new research. Ironically, the crucial evidence is how little warming there has been so far. Three top climate researchers claim that the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere should have warmed the world more than they have. The reason they have not, they say, is that the warming is being masked by sun-blocking smoke, dust and other polluting particles put into the air by human activity. But they warn that in future this protection will lessen due to controls on pollution. Their best guess is that, as the mask is removed, temperatures will warm by at least 6°C by 2100.
New Scientist
Where have the hedgehogs gone?
Hedgehogs appear to be in decline across the country, according to a survey. The main reasons for the decline are unknown but potential causes are intensification of agriculture, with much larger fields, less semi-natural habitat and more pesticides on the land, plus drier summers. Work is now being carried out by Dr Paul Bright, of Royal Holloway College, University of London, to understand the reasons for the decline.
The Times