Researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute have used online data to construct a map of zombie awareness across the world. The hope is that it could “offer an early warning into the geographies of the impending zombie apocalypse”.

Using Google’s database of media and other content stored around the globe, a team led by Dr Mark Graham was able to represent graphically the number of references to zombies in different areas. Part of the institute’s popular ‘Visualisations’ series, the map is interpreted as representing the level of public awareness about zombies.

Graham commented, “The maps shows where the most content/information containing the word zombie shows up in Google Maps.”

“Broadly speaking I am interested in the geography of information. I’m also a big fan of (or terrified of) zombies. So decided to combine the two interests in order to examine the geography of references to zombies on the Internet.”

Given the popularity of films such as ‘Shaun of the Dead’, the Western world unsurprisingly shows the most interest in the living dead.

What may be more shocking, however, is the complete lack of concern displayed by very large parts of the globe. Huge areas of Russia and China show absolutely no level of zombie awareness, while the entire continent of Africa has barely ten cities prepared for the chaos that the undead would undoubtedly bring.

The good news for Oxford is that the south east of England has a level of zombie awareness that rivals that of San Francisco and Hollywood, demonstrating a very high awareness of the threat that zombies pose to human civilisation.

Elliot Friedland, a third year student at Somerville, captured the spirit, commenting, “I’m glad that we’re zombie aware but remain concerned about the threat they pose.”

Ben Harris, a second year PPEist at St John’s, was also upbeat, saying, “I’m glad the zombie issue is no longer underground. I’ve always said we should get ahead of the undead. This is after all a grave threat.”

But there were also concerns about parts of the findings. Some students were dismayed at the level of global inequality of zombie awareness.

Ruth Evans, a second year psychologist at St John’s, said, “We should be doing more to send zombie busters to poorer countries. They could raise public consciousness of the issue and help them defend people against the outbreak when it comes.”

Friedland also pointed out that with such a high level of zombie awareness, “we could face massive congestion with everybody fleeing cities at the first sign of an uprising of the living dead”.

Controversy has however arisen over the validity of inferences from the map. One site user commented, “Is this not a map of places in the world which have a lot of Internet connections? If an entire population is obsessed with zombies, but they don’t have computers they will not show. For instance there is no big red blob over Haiti.”

However, another user stated, “I would point out South Korea, which has the highest internet penetration, yet a low zombie bloom. Which suggests that article is correct, it is English speakers who worry about Z attacks.”

Additional queries have arisen over whether the map is an accurate representation of information on zombie because only the English word “zombie” has been indexed.

One user commented, “They should include a search on Jiang Shi to get the rest of the world – of course not everyone calls them zombies… They should check with the guys in the language lab.”

Ben Harris noted the potential for distraction however, arguing, “I’m concerned that we’re getting away from the real threat – ghosts. The issue needs more transparency.”

Britain’s biggest exam board AQA has this week announced plans to change the way they award qualifications, by ranking pupils according to the schools they attended.

Under the new proposals students would be given points for their exam results as well as a score related to their school.

The ideas are contained in a research paper drawn up by Dr Neil Stringer, senior research associate at the AQA centre for education research and policy.

The paper claims that this will help universities identify students with potential who have been held back by their educational circumstances, with the assumption that good A level grades are harder to achieve at a failing comprehensive than a top private school.

The overhaul would see pupils receive one exam score based on their best three A-Level grades, and then a ranking, which awards or deducts ‘bonus points’, according to school. This could then be given to universities individually, or centrally coordinated by UCAS.

The report stresses that the aim is not to distort the achievements of students, giving far more weight to exam results than the school attended.

The proposals have nonetheless been contentious. Critics insist that they are fail to take into account other factors, and are discriminatory towards private school pupils.

The report has indeed caused a stir in many independent schools. Dr Hands, headmaster of Magdalen College School in Oxford noted, “It is extraordinary. It takes no account of home background or the amount of tutoring a pupil could have.”

Sarah Edwards, a second year Balliol PPEist, commented, “Marks aren’t just an indication of intelligence and work ethic… Say if someone from a poor school had their B grade inflated to an A. It may well be the case that at a better school, they would have gotten an A, but that doesn’t change the fact that they lacked whatever it is which would have gotten them an A. If they then start at university…they may get left behind, instead of getting the extra support they need.”

Students Ashley Cooke and Hannah Robertson saw the report as condescending, noting that “it seems a patronising measure which devalues the efforts of state school students.”

One undergraduate said that discrepancies in educational provision are an “important issue but this is not that way to tackle it, the government need to put more money into failing state schools.”

Despite only 7% of students being privately educated, they make up over 45% of students at Oxford. Such statistics have created increasing concern that state school pupils are getting left behind when it comes to gaining places at top universities.

Those in favour of the proposals believe such measures will broaden access to higher education and are a way to help disadvantaged students.

Second year historian Ryan Kahn argued, “if the specifics could be worked out, these measures would be a good way to iron out the obvious inequalities in the educational system.”

The University press office refused to comment at this time, as the proposals are not understood to be finalised at this stage, but the Admissions department noted that use of contextual data already plays a part in the admissions process and so any new measures were unlikely to have a major impact.

The regular viewing of “inappropriate” sites on a computer in the Corpus JCR has led to its temporary removal, following numerous malware and virus attacks.

In a complaint to the JCR about computer usage, Corpus Christi IT officer Gareth Langley wrote, “The JCR computer has been used in an inappropriate manner regularly in the recent past (I think you all know what that means).”

Despite this statement, the computer had been so seriously misused that, whilst fully protected by Sophos Antivirus software, the warnings triggered led to the PC being removed for cleaning by the college IT department.

Members of the JCR were sent an email over the vacation to inform them of the removal which was described as the “only course of action in light of the abuse”.

A second email was issued warning that if students could not use the computer in a “sensible, adult manner” there would be steps taken to protect the computer. These could include blocking sites or a password system to allow usage to be monitored. Currently, the computer requires no log-in, meaning the identity of the miscreants is unknown.

Langley added that all members of the JCR had been reminded of the OUCS usage policy, which states that users are not permitted to use university IT facilities for the “transmission, storage, downloading or display of any offensive, obscene, indecent or menacing images or material.”

Whilst some students expressed amusement at the situation, others were less impressed by the indiscretion of some users. One second year said, “I am quite thankful that I don’t use the computer often, as hearing about this has disturbed me a little. I am not bothered by the security restrictions and I see them as an unfortunate necessity to stop a practice which really should never have started.”

Another noted, “This incident might teach half of Corpus to browse responsibly…and remind the other half always to knock!”

It is unlikely that the JCR will be charged for the work done and there will be no punishment for the JCR as a whole. The email did warn that if required, disciplinary action would be carried out against individuals.

Langley said that there was “no risk” to other computers on the university network and that the PC would be returned to the JCR when the clearing was completed.

Recent proposals by St Hugh’s to ban students from bringing their own alcohol to formal hall have caused discontent among much of the student body. 88.8% of students who replied to a survey conducted by the JCR stated that the measures would damage their experience of formal hall.

The college asserted that the changes would “enhance the quality of the experience for everyone present, and address the issue created by a small number of students bringing excessive amounts of alcohol into Formal Hall and thereby creating difficulties for the serving staff.”

If the ban is enforced, hall staff will instead provide students with two glasses of wine or non-alcoholic fruit punch. To reflect this change, however, the college will have to raise the price of a formal hall ticket from £7.25 To £10.40.

Of the 170 students who replied to the JCR’s survey, the overwhelming majority were opposed to the changes. 91.4% replied that they were against the proposed measures, whilst 85% believed that the changes would not address poor behaviour effectively.

Incoming freshers are also unenthusiastic about the changes, with 80.8% of new students saying that they prefer the existing system. Overall 55.4% of those who replied to the survey went so far as to say that if the booze ban is implemented, they would not attend formal hall at all.

A third-year St Hugh’s student, speaking to Cherwell this week, said that the proposed changes to pricing are particularly unfair. He said, “The problem is that they’ve priced it at £9 for a bottle of wine, with no choice about the matter at all.”

The student also remarked that the proposed changes took him by surprise, saying, “Formal hall was sometimes rowdy before, but we never got any warning about it: if the college had made the situation clear, we might have changed our ways.”

When asked if he would stop attending formal hall in protest at the changes, the student said, “I probably will go, but not as often as before.”Another student condemned the proposal, saying, “It has annoyed almost everyone here. Far fewer people will go to formal hall as a result.”

St Anne’s College introduced a similar change last year, banning students from bringing their own alcohol to formal hall and limiting the amount they can buy from the college.

Andrew Mawer, a fourth year medic at St Anne’s, told Cherwell  that the change did not have a particularly negative effect, saying, “I didn’t really find any problems  with it myself: I’m a bit of a lightweight, and I find that three quarters of a bottle is enough.”

He added that there was an adverse reaction when the changes were introduced, but that this soon evaporated, saying, “We talked about boycotting formal, but nothing ever actually came of it.”

Katie Price, a.k.a. Jordan, will be speaking at the Oxford Union on Wednesday of 1st week.  The decision to invite the former glamour model and television celebrity has been received with mixed emotions from Union members and Oxford students.

Price will join the ranks of distinguished individuals invited to address the Union, who in the last year alone have included Sir Michael Parkinson and Sir Ian McKellen, and have previously included the Dalai Lama, Dame Judi Dench and Baroness Thatcher. 

The Oxford Union itself defends the invitation, describing Price on the Michaelmas term card as being “everywhere”, and adding, “You can’t help but know who she is.” The society also praises her resilience, claiming she has “consistently subverted the stereotype to which the media would have her conform”.

A Union spokesperson told Cherwell that the society is particularly interested in “the journey our speaker has made from being Jordan the glamour model to becoming Katie Price the brand”.  The spokesperson pointed out that the Union “welcomes entrepreneurs and people from the world of business”, and that “in the sense that she is a brand, Katie Price is no different”. 

One Union member, however, expressed his disappointment with the booking, telling Cherwell, “I don’t understand —  in the past the Union has delivered A-grade celebrities with real credit and worth attached to them. Bringing Katie Price to talk to us is distinctly underwhelming”. 

Another member stated ironically, “I want to know how she went about writing her book”. Price has produced a series of novels and autobiographies, the first of which, Being Jordan, was nominated for Biography of the Year in 2004. The member also expressed surprise at the choice of speaker, remarking that the decision to invite the celebrity wasn’t “very Union”. 

Others plan to treat the celebrity’s address to the Union next week as a joke. A second year historian from Pembroke announced her intention to attend the speech “for a laugh”. 

The Union has in the past hosted several celebrities who have spoken on areas outside of their careers. Pamela Anderson spoke in Michaelmas 2010 about vegetarianism on behalf on PETA, the animal rights organisation.

Several Union members have speculated that Ms Price would do the same, one stating that the society had “set a precedent” in inviting Ms Anderson.

Katie Price’s past experience as a glamour model for The Sun under the name of “Jordan” has stimulated more debate. The OUSU Vice-President for Women, Yuan Yang, stated that “It will be intriguing to hear about Ms Price’s experience of the glamour modelling industry, given that the vast majority of women within it have no platform or trade union protection.”

Emily Cousens, a member of a feminist discussion group at Wadham College, denied that Price can be called a female icon, commenting,  “Women who, in a sexist world, pander to sexism to make their fortune are Vichy France with tits. Are you a 32GG, waxed to within an inch of your life and faking orgasms? Then you’re doing business with a decadent and corrupt regime. Calling that a feminist icon is like giving an arms dealer the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Nevertheless, the Union claims that Katie Price “is seen as a role model for single mothers from all walks of life”, fitting with the celebrity’s description on her website as “a strong, realistic female icon for many ordinary girls and women”.

A second year law student from Pembroke defended Price, saying, “she deserves credit for what she does. She successfully branded herself: not everyone will agree with how she makes her money but ultimately there is no denying she is a household name and a successful businesswoman, and I doubt she will stop any time soon.”

The student added, “Behind all of TV shows, makeup and hair extensions, she is still a human, and she does a great job raising her children, which people are quick to overlook”.

Harriet Baker, another Union member, agreed, saying, “Regardless of how she works, she’s certainly a very astute businesswoman.”

Two JCR committee members at Queen’s College are understood to have been temporarily banned from the college after they were caught climbing on buildings.

The JCR Vice-President and Social Secretary were denied vacation residence in their college rooms during Freshers’ Week as punishment for being found on the roof of a building in Queen’s last week.

The responsibility attached to their positions is believed to have contributed to the level of the disciplinary measures.

Oxford University Press is holding a book fair across Pakistan throughout October, offering discounts on a wide variety of their titles, including both local books and imported textbooks.

During the fair, held at 13 of their bookshops, 60,000 OUP titles in English and Urdu are being offered with discounts ranging from 20% to 30%.

The OUP publishes many school textbooks in Pakistan and their popular range of bilingual dictionaries are also on offer.

As part of the book fair, OUP is organising a number of events and activities for children at the bookshops, with the intention of promoting literacy skills and creativity.

The book fair is also part of a larger effort by the OUP to encourage children’s literacy skills, and they have joined forces with a Pakistan-based NGO to organise a children’s literacy festival at the Children’s Library Complex in Lahore this November.

Mike Nicholson, Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Oxford explained, “The interviews are an important but often misunderstood part of Oxford’s admissions process. We want to show students as much as possible what they are really like so they aren’t put off  by what they might have heard.”

Questions revealed included, “Why do lions have manes?” for prospective biological sciences students, or “How hot does the air have to be in a hot air balloon if I wanted to use it to lift an elephant?” for those applying to do Materials Sciences.

Despite these seemingly unanswerable questions, Nicholson insists, “The interview is an academic conversation in a subject area between tutors and candidate, similar to an undergraduate tutorial. And like tutorials, the interviews are designed to push students to think, not recite specific facts or answers.”

An Oxford art historian is now “confident” that a portrait dismissed as an insignificant 19th century German piece was in fact drawn by Leonardo Da Vinci, in light of new evidence which emerged last week. 

A new Da Vinci has not been discovered for over a century.

Emeritus Professor Martin Kemp‘s book La Bella Principessa, which first outlined the claim, was published eighteen months ago. 

The initial argument relied on a host of scientific evidence, using techniques such as multispectral analysis. This seemed to show that the vellum the picture was drawn on was far older than the 19th century. 

It also found a fragment of a fingerprint which appeared to match up with that on another Da Vinci piece.Now a 15th century book has been found in Poland from which the drawing was allegedly removed.

The vellum of the portrait appears to match that of the book and the three stitch holes in the margin of the piece also seem to correspond with it.The book had been produced to celebrate the marriage of Bianca Sforza to Galeazzo Sansverino in 1496.

This would mean that the picture is of a young Sforza, eldest daughter of the Duke of Milan, who would have been about thirteen years old at the time.

However not all the art world is convinced, with the National Gallery declaring there is “no general agreement” that it is a lost Da Vinci.

Some art historians, particularly those who favour connoisseurship over sometimes unreliable technical analysis, claim the style simply is not that of Da Vinci, as well as noting that he produced no other art on vellum.

The piece was originally sold at auction in New York in 1998 for $21,850 as ‘Head of a Young Girl in Profile to the Left in Renaissance Dress’.

If it is in fact a lost Da Vinci it could now be worth a nine figure sum.

Treasures of the Bodleian, a major exhibition highlighting the rarest documents owned by the library, has just opened. 

Treasures of the Bodleian, a major exhibition highlighting the rarest documents owned by the library, has just opened. 

Highlights of the exhibition include the 14th-century manuscript, Marco Polo’s travels, an illuminated Hebrew Bible from 1476, the Laxton Map of the sole surviving open-field system in Britain, Shakespeare’s First Folio from 1623, and part of Jane Austen’s first draft of her novel The Watsons.

The exhibition also features twentieth-century items such as telegrams from the Titanic and the handwritten original of Wilfred Owen’s Anthem for Dead Youth (1917).

The chance to see so many unique documents is a draw for Oxford students.

Corpus Christi historian Joe Rolleston said, “I’m definitely planning on going. It’s almost surprising that something like the Magna Carta or Shakespeare’s First Folio, which are so influential and important that they’re almost legendary, actually exist. The possibility of actually seeing these things is incredibly exciting. For me it’s a dream come true!”

The items on display in the library will be complemented by a website launched in mid-October. Extra items online will include Handel’s conducting copy of Messiah and the only surviving poem by John Donne in his handwriting, with podcasts and video presentations bringing texts to life. 

Bodleian Librarian Sarah Thomas said, “We want our collections to be accessible to the public, for people to come and see them, admire, inspect and get close to them.”

Fred de Fossard, a Magdalen fresher, commented, “The sheer diversity of the exhibits being shown is what strikes me. It really helps to cement Oxford’s position not only in British history, but as a cornerstone of Western culture. I don’t think you could see the original foundations of the British constitution, the first concept of zero, or handwritten originals of modernism together in any other place. This will definitely be one of the first things I visit at Oxford.”

The exhibition will run until 23rd December. Admission is free.