A researcher from the University of Oxford has been awarded £50,000 in prize money for his work on a device that uses the revolutionary technology of augmented reality to help blind people ‘see.’

Dr Stephen Hicks, a research associate at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience, has been working on the ‘smart-glasses’ and other related technologies for the past five years.  

The Royal Society recently bestowed on him the 2013 Brian Mercer Award for Innovation, which is designed to bridge the funding gap between scientific research and venture capital investment.

When completed, the device will use two miniscule cameras, an infrared projector and advanced computer software to recognise nearby objects and project them onto the lenses. The lenses then act like a personalised movie-screen for the wearer, who can see a ‘highlight-reel’ of objects in front of them.

Speaking to Cherwell, Dr Hicks said, “This is the beginning of a golden-age for computerised vision. We are seeing smart recognition technology in everything from cameras to smartphones to self-driving cars. It’s entirely possible that at some point in the future this technology could be improved to the point where severely vision impaired individuals would be able to read signs or even large-print books.”

A spokesperson for the Royal Society said, “Dr Hicks’ work is truly inspirational; his invention has the potential to transform the lives of many and he is a worthy recipient of the Brian Mercer Award.”

One third-year Hertford biologist said, “This truly is an exciting time to be alive.”

Eight bottles of cava were stolen from a St Hugh’s charity event last Friday.
The bottles, which were meant to be used for the champagne reception of their RAG ball, had been stored in the JCR committee room, which was left unlocked.

Charities and Communities rep, Amy Ertan, who organised the event, told Cherwell, “It is very unfortunate that our champagne was stolen, and we hope to recover the lost cava soon. However it should not be forgotten that in spite of this, the Casino Royale Ball was a roaring success and this should not detract from that.”

One St Hugh’s student, Rebecca Davies, told Cherwell, “I think that the whole committee was shocked by what happened, because the bottles were taken from the JCR committee room, where nobody would really expect for them to be stored.”

Another student agreed, stating, “I think this is pretty low, especially considering that the bottles which were stolen were meant to be for a champagne reception for the St Hugh’s RAG ball, so whoever stole them were effectively stealing from a charitable cause.”

In other news, St Hugh’s has enforced a blanket ban on students bringing their own bottle to formal, following an incident last Tuesday where an unnamed individual vomited in hall. The college has offered to supply wine at a price of around £8, and a cheaper option between £6.50 and £7.

A statement from the St Hugh’s JCR committee said, “I would like to point out that this is not an ideal situation, and the response to this problem is not one that I, or the rest of the JCR committee, agree with. We are hoping that this change of policy can be reviewed in the near future, and we can come to a more agreeable solution for all, but for now this is the only option.”

A number of St Hugh’s students have expressed their discontent at the new measures. One third year commented, “I don’t feel its entirely fair. College authorities seem to have taken this action in response to one incident of vomit following formal this term, and one other in Trinity. These are isolated incidents, in my opinion.”

Another St Hugh’s undergraduate said, “I think this goes against a tradition at St Hugh’s of being laid back and informal. We don’t wear gowns to formal, and we can walk on the grass in the gardens, I don’t see why we should scrap BYOB if the vast majority of people play by the rules.”

All JCR motions at Corpus Christi will from now on have to have an identified proposer and seconder, as it was felt that anonymous motions were redundant and potentially harmful.

At last week’s JCR meeting, a motion was proposed to make anonymous motions easier to submit.

This drew clear opposition and an amendment was drawn up proposing the abolition of anonymous motions altogether. This amendment passed unopposed and a full proposal was written.

The new proposal read that “anonymous motions were recently introduced into the JCR Constitution and they have had limited use”. Worries that anonymous motions could be undemocratic were the driving force behind the proposal. It was feared that an anonymous motion could allow someone who was not a member of the Corpus JCR body to submit any kind of motion, leaving members only to trust that it came from someone within the JCR. Amendments proposed to any such anonymous motions would also have to be relied upon to be friendly.

Anonymous motions had been used only once since their introduction. It was felt that the potential harm they could cause outweighed their benefits.
One of the obvious advantages of an anonymous JCR motion would be that, in the case of a sensitive issue, a motion could be submitted without the proposer’s identity being revealed.

However, it was raised at the meeting that there were ways around this problem. As Corpus JCR Vice-President Harry Begg pointed out, “There are still other vehicles with which people are able to put forward motions, for example through our welfare team who could act as proxy proposers and seconders.”

Begg also said that he hoped that anyone who felt passionate enough to propose a motion, would feel secure enough to publicly support it, if only by proxy telling Cherwell, “I would question if there could ever be a motion which would find support in the JCR where the person proposing was not comfortable appearing in public to support the spirit and content of that proposition.”

Gayatri Parthasarathy and Abigail Burman, the proposer and seconder, were unavailable for comment.

Although there were no objections, JCR member Nam Phuong Dinh had some misgivings about an outright ban, “I didn’t object to the motion at the meeting but I feel uneasy somehow. However, it seems like abolishing anonymous motions would get rid of more problems than it would create harm. Basically, I can’t think of why not.”

Plans for the construction of a divisive new £75m building in the heart of Jericho are now well and truly under way after the bid by David Freud, the owner of Freud bar on Walton street, to halt the project was rejected by a judicial review.

Despite Mr Freud’s claims that the project breached planning rules, the decision to approve the Blavatnik School of Government building was passed on the 15th of August by Mr Justice Ouseley.

The controversy was partly caused by the building’s design. The plans of Swiss architects Herzog & De Meuron, who also designed the Tate Modern, show the structure as 22.5m-high, which would rise above a number of the city’s historic buildings. This, however, goes contrary to the council’s guideline that no building within 1,200m of Carfax is able to be taller than 18.2m.

This objection was declared void by Mr Justice Ouseley, who ruled that the authorities were free to disregard aspects of policies in suitable circumstances.
In previous comments Mr Freud has made it clear that he is of the opinion that the Oxford skyline is a “heritage asset” and that he was opposed to it being filled with a “drum full of light.”

The other issue raised by Mr Freud was that there may be members of the councils deciding body for whom private interests have swayed their decision. On this point also Mr Justice Ouseley was strongly opposed. Writing in his reasons for rejection he says, “There is no evidence that any of the councillors had disclosable pecuniary interests and that there is “no evidence of any unfairness in the conduct of committee.”

One of the councillors on the committee, Colin Cook, who is also chief technician at the university’s medical sciences’ teaching centre told Cherwell, “After the initial refusal of permission for judicial review on the basis of the written representations, I was not surprised that the decision at the subsequent hearing remained the same.”

On the building’s controversial design he commented “I believe it will be a positive addition to the eclectic mix of architectural styles in the city.”
The approval of planning has also come as a great relief to the Blavatnik School of Government, which is part of the University of Oxford, and was founded with a £75m donation from American billionaire Leonard Blavatnik.

A spokeswoman from the Blavatnik School of Government commented, “We are very pleased that the judge has upheld the planning committee’s decision to give approval for our building. We are excited about our prospective move to Walton Street in autumn 2015, and look forward to continued engagement with the local community as our building work progresses.

“As the new home for the Blavatnik School, this building will be an exciting space in which students, researchers, policy makers and visitors can exchange knowledge and ideas on how to make public policy better and improve the quality of government around the world. At any given time, the building will accommodate up to 550 people.

“With a dynamic programme of events, conferences and seminars, many of which will convene experts from all sectors of society and be open to students across Oxford and the general public, it will be a space that invites engagement with the wider world, as well as the local community.”

No one from Freud was available to comment.

The new gowns, which are only to be worn by holders of an Undergraduate Master’s degree and at their graduation ceremony – but not by those currently studying – are to be comparable to graduate Master’s gowns. They will consist of a laced gown of the same pattern as the MSt type, and a silk hood lined with sand fabric in the same shape as the MA hood.

Senior Proctor Professor Jonathan Mallinson told Cherwell, “Undergraduate Master’s degree courses include a fourth year of study which is closer to that of Masters’ level work; it is therefore appropriate that the gown should be distinguished from the ordinary BA gown”.

He continued, “The design of the gown echoes that of the MSt which is perhaps the nearest equivalent to the final level of the undergraduate Masters.”

The decision to adopt the new gowns, announced last Thursday, came after the vice-chancellor and proctors agreed upon the new design. The new arrangements will come into effect in January 2014, and will apply to holders of the MBiochem, MChem, MCompSci, MEarthSci, MMaths and MPhys degrees, as well as joint subject equivalents, and future degrees of the same status.

One exasperated MPhys student told Cherwell, “I thought this would be something like a Scholars’ gown. That’s disappointing to say the least”.

However, one Hertford chemist said, “I am glad that the extra year of study on our Masters course will be recognised in this way. It’s nice that the extra work that we will do is going to be acknowledged, even if we won’t be getting new gowns to wear around college”.

The Executive Board of Oxford City Council is considering a set of proposals to substantially revamp the city’s historic Covered Market. The proposals, included in a ninety-page report compiled by consultancy firm The Retail Group, include the installation of rooftop eateries, a major renovation of the Market Street side of the Market, and a thirty-two percent expansion of retail space through the construction of first-floor shop and restaurant facilities, all at a potential cost of £4 million.

The Council, which owns the Covered Market, commissioned the report in the hopes of finding ways to attract more customers to the site, where foot traffic and sales have fallen noticeably over the course of the last decade. Colin Cook, a Labour councillor in charge of City Development on the city’s Executive Board, wrote in the Oxford Mail that the Council “want[s] to make the place sustainable, vibrant and profitable into the long term, both for the traders and for the city council.”

In formulating its plans, The Retail Group took inspiration from successful “destination” markets like Brixton’s Village Market. One area of opportunity they highlight is improving the Market’s prepared food and beverage offering. “If you look at other successful markets, they all have restaurants and cafés playing an anchor role,” Paul Frater, the director of the The Retail Group, told Cherwll. “The food in the Covered Market is lagging 20 years behind.”

“Where you do have high-quality food that targets the student market, for example Alpha Bar, sales are very high,” Frater said, in reference to the Market’s popular salad bar. “That shows me that when it comes to food, the Market is punching under its weight.”

The firm sees another opportunity in the revitalisation of the Market Street entrance of the site, which it says currently “appears to be the service and delivery area” for the Market. The consultants propose that a new façade might be built along the Market Street entrance, and that the street might be pedestrianised between the hours of 10 AM and 4 PM.

Reactions from the Market’s traders to the proposals have been mixed. While most said they were pleased that the Council was looking at ways to increase business, many appeared sceptical that the plans would actually be implemented.

“It’s not gonna happen” said a long-serving sales assistant at Nothing, a shop selling jumpers and jewellery. “How long have they been talking about redoing the Westgate centre? Probably since before you were born! We’d be delighted if it happened, of course, but I just don’t think it will.”

At Cardew’s Coffee and Tea, sales assistant Flynn Faudot-Boston also expressed doubt. “It would be great to get more customers coming through, but I can’t see the Council forking out £4 million. Where are they going to find that kind of money?” he wondered, before adding: “They probably get enough from parking tickets, actually.”

Nigel Ramsay, a local resident and regular customer at the Market who was buying tea at Cardew’s, advised caution. “I fear this may be another example of the City Council’s nasty habit of putting short-term concerns over income ahead of the long-term interests of residents.” he said. “If these plans will mean more fly-by-night, here-one-day-gone-the-next clothing shops in the Market, I’d rather they weren’t implemented.” Sarah Browne, a florist at The Garden, said she feared that a major renovation, paired with rent increases, might threaten the Market’s independent spirit. “If you make the Market newer and glossier, I worry that only a glossier, more high-rent type of shop will be able to move in here. The rents are already too high as it is. I don’t want to see chains moving in.”

Daniel Greenwood, a third-year biochemist at Magdalen who often shops at the Covered Market, also emphasised the importance of maintaining the Market’s atmosphere. “Oxford is very lucky to have such a unique market,” he said. “It is great to hear that the council are putting serious thoughts into its future, though it is essential that any expansion plans favour the kinds of quirky independent businesses that make the place so special.”

The Council are presently seeking public comments on the proposals. A consultation page on the Council’s website will be open for input from the public until 29 November. Councillor Cook invited Oxford students specifically to give their views on the Market’s future, telling Cherwell, “any input from students would be very welcome.”

Two Oxford University researchers, Dr Anna-Lora Wainwright and Dr Hannah Sullivan, have been awarded the Philip Leverhulme award for exceptional work. They were awarded £70,000 as recognition of their contributions to their fields of study.  

Dr Wainwright is of the School of Geography and the Environment and the School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies. She is a fellow of St. Cross College in Oxford and is a University Lecture in the Human Geography of China. She has recently published a book about the effects of cancer on those living in rural China, Fighting for Breath: Living Morally and Dying of Cancer in a Chinese Village.

Dr Sullivan is one of three tutors in modern literature from 1780 to the present at New College and a lecturer of the English faculty. She research specialises in modernism, poetry and poetic form, and various questions in stylistics and textual criticism. Her research areas also include the revision of British and American modernism and literary style and form. Her first book, The Work of Revision, was published this summer.

The Philip Leverhulme awards are awarded to younger academics in a range of disciplines. The Leverhulme Trust says of them that, “These Prizes, with a value of £70,000 each, are awarded to outstanding scholars who have made a substantial and recognised contribution to their particular field of study, recognised at an international level, and where the expectation is that their greatest achievement is yet to come.”

Dr Sullivan said “I feel extremely lucky to be awarded this prize to work on an ambitious and experimental project that otherwise, I fear, would never have taken off. My new book is about free verse and English poetry’s break-up with the iambic pentameter. I’m interested in the evolution and ideological meaning of ‘freedom’ in form. Most English poems until the 20th century are in shared, repeated prosodic or rhyming forms, whereas most English poems today are in a form unique to that poem. I’ll be asking why.”

The prize of £70,000 is given over two or three years and can be used for a variety of projects. Dr Sullivan said “I am going to use some part of the prize to work on a non-semantic version of what my former colleague Franco Moretti calls ‘distant reading’. In other words, I’ll be working with a programmer and a large corpus to see if I can find out, for example, what the most common stanza form was in poems published in 1880, or what percentage of poems in 1910 used iambic pentameters.”

The Leverhulme Trust was established in 1925 by the will of William Hesketh Lever, the founder of Lever Brothers. The aim was to provide grants and scholarships for academics at every stage in their careers and to aid any research and education. The Trust currently distributes over £60 million a year. They award around 30 Philip Leverhulme awards every year. Professor Gordon Marshall Director of The Leverhulme Trust said of this year’s candidates “The standard of the nominated candidates was encouragingly high, and the prize-winners were judged by the panel to be truly outstanding in their fields, with records of proven achievement, as well as telling promise for the future.”

A Balliol 3rd year, Ragulan Vigneswaran, commented “I think it’s great that hard working Oxford scholars are being rewarded for doing research that is far out of the mainstream. The subjects which these winners are working in really show the diversity which Oxford has to offer. Hopefully other aspiring students will be inspired by this and continue Oxford’s great tradition of research that makes it one of the premier universities in the world.”

Oxford academics have co-authored a review of fourteen recent studies which look into the link between internet usage and self-harm and suicide among young people.

The review, which was published in October, has drawn attention to the worrying discovery that young people who contemplate harming or even killing themselves go online more often to find empathy from others in similar situations and pick up tips than to seek help to stop feeling suicidal. In some of the studies investigated, this was found to be true of well over half of the study’s participants.

Professors Paul Montgomery and Keith Hawton, both academics based in Oxford, cited “growing concerns about the influence of the Internet on the risk of self-harm and suicide among young people” as their reason for embarking upon the project.

They assembled as much of the current research literature as possible in order to see what information is already available. Professor Hawton said, “We were surprised that there were not more studies, given the theoretical importance of this issue… I am sure that more research is currently being conducted. One surprise was the contradictory nature of the research findings from different studies, with several indicating that the internet had had a positive, helpful impact (i.e. through social support and good advice).

“However, the predominant theme was one of danger for distressed young people, especially in terms of gaining access to websites which seem to encourage suicidal behaviour.”

The review found that the internet creates unfavourable conditions for young people thinking about suicide. It provides a cloak of anonymity which allows the vulnerable to remain hidden and the sinister troll to flourish. In a forum environment, violent thoughts can be normalised and take on a life of their own. Victimisation through cyber-bullying also loomed large in accounts of the influence of the internet upon desperate young minds.

On what he hoped the impact of his research would be, Professor Hawton commented, “We hope more researchers will think about these issues and conduct further informative studies, and that clinicians will be encouraged to ask all distressed youngsters who come in as patients about their internet usage. Finally, we would like to see the development of internet sites that can provide support and therapy for young people who may be depressed and/ or suicidal.”

Charlotte Hendy, a spokeswoman for OUSU’s Welfare division, had the following to say, “We empathise with anyone [enrolled at Oxford] who is thinking about self-harm, having negative thoughts or contemplating suicide, and would encourage them to seek help and support by contacting the University’s Counselling Service, Nightline or their GP.

“Anyone wishing to get more involved in campaigning around the issues of mental health should join OUSU’s ‘Mind Your Head’ Campaign, which encourages people to think and talk about mental health and wellbeing.”

The university’s IT services has decided to reduce its self-service resources at the OUCS help centre on Banbury Road from the 29th November.

The services that the university has decided to close are the PCs and Macs which people can sit down and use, as well as the scanners and self service printing.

However the poster printing service will continue, as will the Help Desk and the machines used to pay for services, sort out password issues and check email accounts. The changes were announced on the OUCS website, which stated that usage of these service facilities had been declining over recent years.

Katherine Craddock, the IT service’s Help Centre Manager, told Cherwell, “We analysed a year’s worth of data to find that 440 distinct people had logged in the PCs and 110 people into the Macs. This is around one per cent of University’s computer users. Looking at people who logged in at least ten times, the numbers drop to around fifty, so more like 0.1%.

“The usage of the self-service printing has been dropping steadily over the last five years and now does not bring in enough money to cover the yearly maintenance charges. We have now reached a stage where the facility needs a major overhaul to continue and the usage patterns above strongly indicate that this type of service is no longer in demand.”

OUCS have asked for opinions on what centralised IT resources would work better to meet the university’s needs in the future.

Craddock further commented, “At the moment we are pretty open to what the University might like us to provide instead of a self-service centre. If you have any ideas we’d be very interested to hear from you. I could imagine that many students and staff might say they have their daily computing needs covered in terms of internet access, word processing and statistical analysis, but what would be really handy would be some large white-boards for discussing ideas and collaborative working. At the moment we are still gathering ideas and may be running a consultation in due course.”

Richard May, a student at Balliol College commented, “I’d say that perhaps the reason people don’t use them is because most people don’t know about them.

“It’s really useful to have computers that can be used and aren’t in a department (where they’re usually all in use). And for people who have financial / technical difficulties and don’t have a laptop or anything I feel like this is quite important.”

Another student commented, “I think it’s important to have computers available when laptops break or have difficulties. But I do feel that there’s enough computers available in colleges for people who need them.” 

An Oxford student has tied with a professional DJ in a competition to perform on the Varsity Ski Trip 2013. Jeevan Dhillon, a St Peter’s student, has tied with Day One, a local producer signed toMonstercat Records.

The Varsity Ski Trip, an annual ski holiday organised jointly by Oxford and Cambridge students, will take place in Tignes, France in December. Entertainment this year includes Rudimental and Katy B.

The competition, now in its second year following its viral success on Facebook, was decided by an internet vote based on Facebook photo likes over a five-day period from Tuesday 29th October. Hours before the end Dhillon had taken the lead by approximately sixty votes, but votes for Day One spiked in the last ten minutes of competition. At the deadline of 7pm on Sunday, the photos were refreshed on two computers, each revealing a tie of 460 votes per DJ.

The prize package includes a free place on the Ski Trip and the choice of a DJ slot on opening or closing night, playing alongside international acts. The runner-up will be awarded the second-choice slot, due to the unprecedented nature of the tie.

Dhillon, whose previous DJ-ing experience includes Bhangra nights in Oxford and several college balls, said of the competition, “The opportunity to perform on the Varsity Trip in Tignes was just too big to ignore. That I would be performing alongside the likes of Rudimental and DJ Danny Howard in front of thousands of people made it very much a once in a lifetime opportunity”.

Dhillon is also unfazed by the tied result, saying, “To be honest I didn’t even think I would get shortlisted let alone tie for first so I feel pretty proud of my achievements so far. That I’ve tied with someone already established like Day One, makes it all the more special to me!”

Dhillon’s previous DJ-ing experience includes Bhangra nights in Oxford and several college balls.

David Wallis, the Entertainment Director for the 2013 trip said of the approaching decision, “I’m happy either way…the standard was really high”.

The tie will be broken by Danny Howard, a DJ from BBC Radio 1, who secured his first contract after winning a competition. The winner will be announced on Friday.

Tom Heaps, Clubs and Socs Officer at Corpus Christi, said, “I think it would be great if the winner were an Oxford student, because only an Oxford student could bring the vibes of Friday night Camera to the slopes of Tignes.”