The Saïd Business School is hosting the Oxford Climate Forum (OCF) on 25th-26th January 2013 which will focus on the future of climate change. The high-profile conference will include talks from Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, and John Sauven, Executive Director of Greenpeace UK. The forum’s slogan is “Global Warming. What next?” Other speakers include Professor Myles Allen, leader of the climateprediction.net project, Kate Raworth, senior researcher for Oxfam Great Britain, and John Vidal, the Guardian newspaper’s Environment Editor.
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Abramovich invests in Oxford company
Chelsea club owner and Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich recently injected more than £4.3 million into Oxford Catalysts, an innovative green energy firm spawned out of the Wolfson Catalysis Centre of Oxford University. It mainly engages in small-scale clean synthetic fuel production via Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis.
The AIM-listed company (LSE: OCG) issued an approximate £30.6 million placing at 125 pence per share in mid December. Its stock has risen about 10 per cent since its announcement of placing, with Abramovich’s 3.5 per cent holding being now valued at about £6 million in London Stock Exchange.
Roy Lipski, CEO of Oxford Catalysts Group, acclaimed the success of the placing in a press release: “This oversubscribed fund raising, achieved under difficult market conditions, is a huge vote of confidence in Oxford Catalysts’ technology and potential. We are delighted by the very significant support received from existing shareholders, several new major institutional investors and a new strategic investor.”
Study shows hot chocolate is tastier in orange mugs
A team of Oxford
 scientists has found
 that hot chocolate
tastes better from 
orange cups. Accord
ing to a study of 57 volunteers by Oxford-based researchers Charles Spence and Betina Piqueras-Fiszman, drinking hot chocolate from orange mugs increases the intensity of flavour, whilst white and red mugs seemed to have a nonexistent or even negative impact. Professor Charles Spence, from the Oxford Psychology Department, commented, “Normally one sees that red is associated with sweetness so we were surprised not to see that.”
Even the cutlery used can alter the taste of food. Whereas gold plated spoons were reported to have little effect on the taste of whipped cream, zinc and copper spoons made it taste more bitter.
Bodleian receives £1.2 million donation
The Bodleian has been awarded £1.2 million towards the cost of buying the personal archives of William Henry Fox Talbot.
The donation, given by the National Heritage Memorial Fund, accounts for about half of the cost of the £2.2 million archives. This means the Bodleian Libraries will need to raise a further £1 million independently to secure the collection. They have until the end of February to do so.
Talbot was a Victorian polymath most famous for his invention of photography. His intellectual curiosity and influence spanned many fields including Classics, Botany, Mathematics and Chemistry and he also sat briefly as a Liberal MP in the House of Commons.
His invention of negatives, which made possible multiple prints, was an essential component of photography right up until the digital age. Throughout his life, he published eight books and more than 100 journal articles and was granted 12 patents.
Carole Souter, Chief Executive of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, said, “This collection offers fascinating new insights into Fox Talbot’s family life, particularly the wonderful contribution made by the women of his family; this is why the Trustees of the National Heritage Memorial Fund felt it was so important that the archive should be secured for future generations to explore.”
Richard Ovenden, Deputy Librarian of the Bodleian Libraries, agreed, commenting, “The Bodleian is anxious to ensure that the collection is made available to scholars and to the general public.”
The archive is the only significant Talbot collection remaining in private hands and contains objects and writings both personal and academic. Included are family diaries, correspondence, botanical specimens and photographic images made and received by Talbot. Many objects in the collection are significant for being the earliest examples of their kind, including some of the first ever photographs of Oxford; while an image made by his wife, which may be the earliest photographic image made by a woman.
Also included is art which Talbot photographed for The Pencil of Nature: again, the first book to be illustrated with photographs.
The collection is expected to give a fuller understanding of Talbot’s scholarly activities, especially the influences from the women in his family. His relatives shared many of his interests and also practised and collected the burgeoning art of photography. Artefacts relating to the Lacock Estate that Talbot managed will shed light on a different aspect of his life.
Many well known figures in various fields have lent their support to the Bodleian’s fundraising efforts to acquire the archive. Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, said, “The heritage of brilliant scientists and innovators like Talbot (who was a Fellow of the Royal Soci- ety) is of great importance.”
Professor Martin Kemp, former Professor of Art History at Oxford, commented, “It is astonishing that [the archive] has not passed into public hands already…What is apparent from the list of materials in the archive is that it goes far beyond standard kinds of documentation, embracing, as is does through its objects and instruments, the whole material and intellectual history of Talbot’s invention.”
He also added “I should be thrilled if the Bodleian becomes its home, knowing that it will be properly conserved, curated, made available and exhibited (as appropriate).”
A series of public events is planned to support access to the archive, including a major exhibition in 2017. Highlights from the archive will also feature in the opening exhibition for the Weston Library, and in a number of smaller displays.
Ashmolean promises night with the Gods
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On 25th January the Ashmolean Museum will be transformed into Mount Olympus for all to enjoy for the event, An Evening With The Gods.
The night will offer visitors the opportunity to explore the classical world of myth and legend, incorporating live theatre and operetta, and cocktails in the ‘Elysium’ of the rooftop Dining Room or at the ‘Underworld’ vaulted café. Admission will be free, although there will be certain ticketed performances inside.
The event has been organised in association with the Oxford University Classics Society, as part of the museum’s LiveFriday programme, one of a number of new initiatives taking place in the Ashmolean as part of its 330th anniversary celebrations.
On the last Friday of each month the Ashmolean will open its doors between 7pm and 10.30pm for a specially curated event, also allowing visitors to experience the collections and major exhibitions after hours.
The evening will involve performances from the Oxford University Classical Drama Society, working alongside other student societies. These will include a surtitled Latin comedy directed by Tim Foot of Merton College, a first for OCDS who have traditionally focused on Greek tragedy.
Veronica Shi, President of OCDS, told Cherwell, “What’s particularly special about the event is that, with some exceptions, it has been planned or implemented by student groups under the auspices of the Ashmolean. It’s a testament to the importance which both the Classics Faculty and the museum place on outreach and education. It’s not every day that a world-class museum like the Ashmolean allows students to spend an evening wandering around in togas and transforming its basement into a version of Tartarus!”
Actors dressed in classical costumes will give tours of the museum’s collections, and visitors will be encouraged to interact with performers as well as taking part in activities such as a balloon debate, and learning to tie a toga.
The evening has received some criticism, however. Rob Frome, a second-year classicist from Balliol, cautioned, “The content suggests that the driving desire to grab the interest of a wider audience has produced another unrealistic representation of the classical era, making it seem as exciting and fun as possible, at the cost of twisting the facts, and dressing people up as a Hollywood gladiator.”
A fourth-year Classicist agreed, saying, “Although the night sounds really interesting and lively, I’m less sure about the costumes. Hopefully they can carry it off – the Ashmolean is an incredible venue, one we’re lucky to have, and if anybody can stop this turning into ‘Carry on Classics’ then they can.”
Susan McCormack, Head of Public Engagement and Curator of LiveFridays, said, “We are really pleased to be working with the students from the University of Oxford Classics Society on the Ashmolean’s first LiveFriday event. We want to make the Ashmolean accessible to all and allow visitors to ‘do’ as well as ‘see’.
“Opening late on the last Friday of every month will bring the Museum alive and encourage students and others to make the most of our fantastic collections and facilities. Most of the LiveFriday events and performances are free. The rooftop Dining Room and vaulted café will be open, making the Ashmolean the ultimate centrally located place for Oxford’s cultural night out.”
Port Meadow skyline fears
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Oxford University and the City Council have come under new, sustained pressure to modify the graduate buildings currently under construction at Port Meadow.
Numerous complaints have been made both by the Oxford Green Party and in a recent online campaign which currently has over 1,500 signatures. The concern centres on the height and aesthetic value of the buildings, as well as the potential damage done to the Port Meadow area and Oxford skyline.
Toby Porter, a local resident, has spearheaded the campaign against the buildings. Porter has written to the Chancellor of the University, Lord Patten, to request that their complaints be addressed and the building design be suitably altered. He wrote that while he understood the challenge of providing affordable student housing, “People simply can’t comprehend the insensitivity and apparent greed of the University in erecting fourand five-storey buildings, that have totally spoiled the view of the ‘dreaming spires’.”
Among those who support the campaign is author Philip Pullman, who described the project as “destructive, brutal, ugly vandalism”. He added, “The City Council ought to be ashamed.”
A similar charge has been levelled by local Green Party chair Sushila Dhall, who said, “The original plans show a drawing of the projected height of the buildings which look to be about tree level. In fact it can be seen to be rising well above that, causing light pollution and ruining views from as far away as Wolvercote. Laypeople have been misled about the height of the buildings.
The plans have also caused worry amongst many Oxford students. One second year commented, “Having access to such a gorgeous meadow only a short walk away was a major factor in my choosing to live out in Jericho – it’s something that ought to be treasured and preserved.”
A University spokesperson stated, “We have noted the petition against the student accommodation development and we continue to urge opponents of the project to reserve their final judgement until the buildings have been finished and the trees between Castle Mill and Port Meadow have grown to full height.
The University held a very inclusive public consultation, advertising in and sending a press release to the Oxford Mail and the Oxford Times. The height of the buildings was discussed in the consultation, and the drawings of projected views were done by architects in good faith.”
A spokesman for Oxford City Council said, “A full report on the matter is being prepared following a Council Motion on 17 December.”
In accordance with the Council Petitions Scheme, once the campaign received 1,500 signatures it was debated in full council on 17th December 2012.As a result an investigation has been launched into the process of approving the Port Meadow construction.
St Anne’s encourages dryathlon for Cancer Research UK
St Anne’s students are being encouraged to give up alcohol throughout January to raise money for cancer research, building on the success of the college’s ‘Movember’ challenge last term, where 38 students raised £1,414.
The college’s JCR has contributed £50 toward prizes for the students who raise the most money through sponsorship.
The welfare reps at St Anne’s hope the scheme will raise thousands. One of the organisers, Isra Hale, told Cherwell, “If we could get a dozen people to sign up we’d be happy. When term starts and people are back in college, we’ll push to get students to try it for the first two weeks – show them that alcohol isn’t always necessary to have a good time.”
The Dryathlon, organised by Cancer Research UK, is a national fundraising campaign that started this year. Each ‘Dryathlete’ must take an oath, a “commitment to a month without alcohol, in the true spirit of do-gooding, for the glory of ‘Dryathletes’ and the honour of Cancer Research UK.” Participants then encourage their friends to sponsor them. A spokesperson from Dryathlon said that over 30,000 people are taking part, and each should raise around £100. Over 80 per cent of the money raised goes directly to research, with the rest funding Cancer Research’s campaigns and administration.
JCR President Oscar Boyd explained his college’s commitment to the Dryathlon: “St Anne’s JCR has a strong belief in supporting charities, and if fundraising can occur in a way that is both fun and beneficial, it would seem a wasted opportunity not to support a great charity such as Cancer Research UK.”
As well as raising money, the college welfare team wants to raise awareness about the health risks of alcohol. Hale stated, “When I first read about the project, I realised it could help raise awareness about drinking – apparently 65 per cent of university students are binge drinkers.
“Deaths from liver disease among under-65s in the UK rose 20 per cent in the past decade, while falling elsewhere in Europe. If students could learn to just reduce consumption, we could reduce the number of alcohol-related deaths.”
According to St Anne’s welfare reps, 12,500 students die of alcohol-related cancers every year.
The Dryathlon website states, “alcohol is linked to a variety of diseases, including cancer, as well as accidents and injuries”, and many people take part in the challenge for health reasons. According to Cancer Research UK, a causal link has been found between alcohol and seven types of cancer.
An Oxford University spokesperson expressed its support, telling Cherwell, “The university is very fortunate to have a student body that is so active in fundraising and volunteering.”
Toby Huelin, a second-year music student from St Anne’s, said, “I think it’s a great idea. I’m surprised more colleges don’t run it – it’s the new ‘Movember’!”
Oxford don criticises admissions policy
AN OXFORD PROFESSOR has questioned the effectiveness of Oxford in- terviews as this year’s application cycle comes to a close. He said further work was needed to ensure that the applications process is “as fair and comprehensive as possible.”
Writing in The Times Higher Education Magazine, Professor Miles Hewstone of New College asked, “Oxbridge admissions tutors are committed to interviewing all their best candidates. Should we be doing this – or would we be better off putting the shortlisted candidates’ names in a bowl and seeking the services of a blindfolded boy?”
He claimed that the effects of the tutors acquiring such extensive information during the interviews process had not been properly researched, and that it may affect final decisions.
In the article, he argued, “We can and must try to test how well all the different pieces of information at our disposal help us to predict final grades. Here science could help, if we could translate each piece of evidence into a numerical value and then decide how to combine them all to predict the outcome most effectively.”
He also considered several arguments put forward in support of the current interview process. He noted that interviews appear to be a good test of the authenticity of students’ work and their intellectual flexibility, and serve as a useful way to “give those from less privileged backgrounds, who may have weaker academic records on paper, an opportunity to show their potential.”
However he also alleged that it was difficult to account for factors such as future motivation, saying, “We still struggle to predict candidates’ attainment because we don’t know how motivated they will be and how likely they are to deviate from the true path of learning.”
A spokesperson for Oxford University said that “as a research university we are committed to an evidence-based approach for our selection procedures, and Profes- sor Hewstone’s suggestions are very much in line with what the Univer- sity and colleges strive to do.”
She added, “Aspects of the selection procedure are regularly reviewed and scrutinised. His article is indicative of the level of discussion, self-scrutiny and commitment within Oxford to getting the admission process right.”
David Messling, OUSU’s Access and Academic Affairs Officer, was similarly supportive of the interview pro- cess. He argued, “Predicting future performance is, as Professor Hewstone points out, a difficult task. Oxford puts itself in a better place than many universities by having not just the general UCAS information, but also submitted work and tests, so it’s never the case that everything hangs on the interview.”
Holly Quinlan, an Access Ambassador at Exeter College, was more scep- tical about Hewstone’s suggestions, opining, “Although I applaud taking a critical look at the interview process, I’m concerned that using any kind of ‘points system’ would lead to students from more advantaged schools being coached on what to do to get the highest score.” She continued, “This is a concern with the process as it stands, and I very much doubt that the system Professor Hewstone suggests would change that.”
Adam Crozier, a first-year at LMH, was also in favour of the interview process, arguing, “A-Levels test nothing but your ability to hit criteria from a mark scheme. I’m pretty sure I only got into Oxford based on my interview where I was able to show my true passion for the subject.”
Professor Hewstone was not available for comment.
Anger over Univ’s VIP Ball tickets
Univ students have complained about the selling of ‘VIP tickets’’ for University College’s black-tie ball in Trinity term.
VIP tickets, given to students who purchased tickets before the end of Michaelmas, work as a queue jump and grants the holder access to a VIP tent and a goodie bag with ball memorabilia. These VIP tickets are the same price as regular tickets, £80, but this has not prevented some accusing the Committee of elitism.
One Univ fourth-year claimed that the selling of VIP tickets “only serves to create some sort of divide in an event that is supposed to celebrate the college.” He continued, “It’s just pointless — a ball isn’t Park End and I don’t see any reason to differentiate between different types of tickets.”
He also added his feeling that the Ball President “has decided that there needs to be some sort of sense of exclusivity.”
Univ Ball Marketing Manager Joseph Saxby said that the VIP tickets have a practical role, explaining, “The purpose of the VIP ticketing scheme was to encourage those in Univ who were already planning to buy tickets to make their purchase before Christmas so that the Committee had the capital to begin signing contracts with production companies, etc.”
Saxby stated that their merit was proven by a 75% increase in ticket sales from the same time two years ago, when the last Univ Ball was held.
He added that some Cambridge balls charge more for similar extras. For its May Ball, Trinity College in Cambridge offers “VIP tickets for an exclusive champagne reception and early entry to the Ball”. These cost an additional £70 for two, and are a step down from dining tickets, which are an extra £130 per couple. A pair of basic tickets begins at £300.
Others claimed that, however practical the idea of awarding special tickets to early purchasers may be, the idea of creating a separate class of tickets, and the label VIP, are intrinsically elitist.
The Jekyll & Hyde-themed ball, scheduled for Friday 21st June, faces stiff competition, with Balliol and Queen’s both hosting their own balls that night.
Balliol’s white-tie 750th Anniversary Commemoration Ball, with regular tickets priced at £195 and dining tickets at £235, has already sold out.
Univ promises “a night of contrasts as the college is transformed into two areas inspired by the classic novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Aristocratic, prim, and proper Victorian society will be juxtaposed with the curious, the mysterious, and the bizarre.”
St Anne’s launches bike lending scheme
A pool of cycles, available to students for a termly fee, has been established at St Anne’s.
The new bike scheme will provide four unisex cycles for college members. Students will be charged a fee of £5 per term for use of the bikes, as well as lights, locks and helmets. The termly charge will be used to maintain the bikes and to purchase new ones when they are in need of replacement.
Similar schemes have already been introduced in a number of other colleges, and the JCR consulted its members in an online survey to decide on the specifics of the new system.
According to Oscar Boyd, JCR President, “The new St Anne’s bike scheme will offer those students without access to bicycles in Oxford an easy and affordable way to get around town. Visiting and international students in particular will benefit from the scheme, and it will mean future year groups will not have to scramble to snatch up second-hand bikes at the beginning of each year.”
Jonny Rix, JCR Treasurer, commented, “St Anne’s is known for having a high proportion of students who come from low-income backgrounds. This scheme might be of particular use to less well off students as it will mean that they won’t necessarily have to buy their own bikes.”
Helen Robb, ex-President of the JCR, was at the forefront of the motion to introduce the scheme. She told Cherwell, “The JCR were wonderful and really got behind the scheme – they supported the committee in putting the idea to the college and helped towards the funding for the bikes.
“The college also helped, with our bursar getting behind the idea and helping us to administer the scheme through the lodge.”
Robb added, “I’d absolutely encourage other JCRs to get involved with similar schemes. Oscar Boyd has done a great job helping to finally get the scheme up and running and I’m excited to see how it turns out when it gets started next term.”