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Issue No 279 Tuesday 16th February 1999
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Editorial Correspondence to InkyText@lancaster.ac.uk
Subscription Requests to Inkytext-Distribution-Request@lists.lancs.ac.uk
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This issue was delayed until the MsExchange mailserver became
operational. There will be no further Inkytext this week.
Next issue (MsExchange permitting) Wednesday 24th February.
The editor has gone to Paris. Savour the sight and sound of silence.
AGENDA
Minutes and Amendments
1. News: Mail failure, Catering Review, Hefce research award, Court,
Varsity, UMAG, Statutes, Emily Lomax, Secretary.
2. Small Ads: House wanted, Beds, Cooker, Washing machine, Bathroom suite,
Hifi, Portable CD-radio-cassette, Free Lunchtime Concert, Music Seminar,
Direct Action Seminar, Rooms to let, House, Translations, Beer Tasting
Trip, Children's Ceilidh, Ford Ka, Free Proof-reading, Temp jobs,
House for rent, Host family wanted, Graphics card, Sponsored Walk.
3. Readers' Letters: Environmentally unfriendly suffixes, Paper papers,
Traffic and planning, Piano Tuning, Grizedale Hall PoWs, etc.
MINUTES AND AMENDMENTS
----------------------
Continuing best wishes to Francesca Gibson (Italian), recently
hospitalized but now back home.
The Careers Service falls within the purview of the Information
Services committee, which is now responsible for all three academic
services (Library, Computing, Careers).
1. NEWS
-------
CAMPUS EMAIL: MSExchange e-mail, to which most academic staff are
being 'migrated' failed on Tuesday 9th February. The mail database was
corrupted and attempts to restore it failed. On the advice of Microsoft
Technical Support a second server was set up and over the weekend all
user mailboxes were restored from backups and transferred to it. Most
users were reconnected for internal communication by yesterday (Monday)
however no mail was being sent off-site. Incoming mail has been queued
and will be fed through to Exchange mailboxes once the Internet
connectivity is re-established. No queued incoming mail will be lost.
There was no network problem. This was purely a Microsoft Exchange
Server problem. ISS apologizes for the break in service which is beyond
its immediate control.
[NOTE: Unix and Eudora users continued to send and receive mail
throughout, however.... and some doubts have been expressed about the
wisdom of the decision to make Exchange the preferred standard mailer
campus-wide. (Ed.)
CATERING REVIEW: Consultants commissioned by the Resources Division
recently submitted their review and recommendations, thought to be
highly critical oif decisions made in the recent past. Numerous short
and longer term suggestions have been made, but these are being kept
confidential by the new catering review group until discussion at
Finance. This is causing understandable disquiet to Catering staff.
UNIVERSITY SECRETARY: further disquieting silence surrounding the
drawing up of the short-list, which is believed to have happened the
week before last. Interviews were intially thought to have been
scheduled for March 9th but it is understood this date may have been
changed.
JOINT RESEARCH EQUIPMENT INITIATIVE 1998: the latest HEFCE bulletin
announces the award of around 12 million of such grants. Only one came
to each of Lancaster, Warwick and York. No idea how many applicants
there were. Ours was 193,185 to Dr S Rimmer (Chemistry) for
Macromolecular mass spectrometry. Congratulations.
THE UNIVERSITY COURT MEETING ON SATURDAY 6 FEB was exceptionally
poorly attended. Slight bathos in the fact that the only motion for
debate was a call for a cheaper lunch to be offered next year. (We
charged lunchers 10 quid.)
The VC and Mr McGregor had of course 'good' financial news to report but
remained cautious. Mr McGregor regretted that some kind of 'hedging'
measure had not been adopted at the time the debenture was launched to
minimize the effect of falling interest rates. The Students' Union had
even better news of their business successes and won wide praise. MP
Hilton Dawson delivered traditional flattery in best Dame Elaine
Kellet-Bowman style, seeing the university as a motor for the local
economy. (Gulp!)
Nominations for cooption to Court did not equal the places available
so no election was necessary. This brings back to Court Stephen Lamley,
Prof Shennan and.... former SCAN editor Nick Bardsley.
HANGOVERS IN THE SU this morning after last night's official opening
of the HUGE and splendid new VARSITY student pub in George St. This
million pound investment geared to the student market is causing some
anxiety in other city centre establishments, and in Bars circles on
campus.
LAST WEEK'S UMAG MEETING on Wednesday was confronted with requests for
more 'resources' (which usually means money or personnel): for Graduate
Studies from Prof Deem, for HEDEC, and for a webmaster (from the
Information Services committee). Members are thought to wish that
persons requesting extra funds should at the same time indicate where
in the university they think savings might be made in order to release
those funds. Usually they prefer those nastier implications to be
decided elsewhere and by someone else. This is what Sarte calls bad
faith.
THE STATUTES REVISION group, after discussion, asked Professor
Abercrombie, Professor Rowe and Mr Whitaker to convene a meeting of
representative assistant staff, in order that the debate so far could
be fully explained. The group also noted that, separately, ideas should
be sought about what improvements to the standing of assistant staff in
the university might be proposed, including, if possible, a different
generic term.
At its 25 January meeting the group received a paper by the
Pro-Chancellor, setting out proposals for the size, membership of and
methods of appointment to, lay majority and quoracy, periods of office,
and chairmanship, of the Council, together with a tabled paper prepared
by Mr Martin, commenting on the proposals.
The group discussed the proposals at its meeting last week. Still no
news. It deferred its discussion of the Court's composition and
membership to the meeting already scheduled for 16 March 1999.
EMILY LOMAX AND MOHAMMED AL FAYED: English PhD student and former
Union General Secretary Emily Lomax is contributing a chapter on the
Islamic dimension of the late Princess Diana's iconicity to the
forthcoming volume on Diana being edited by Scott Wilson and Linda
Woodhead. At last week's Fulham-Northampton Town match she found
herself in the director's box (courtesy of her dad) and in close
presence to the owner of Harrod's and Fulham. She had a message passed
to Al Fayed via his heavies asking if he would give her an interview on
the subject. He has agreed, subject to first seeing her (excellent but
no doubt controversial) chapter.
2. SMALL ADS
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SPONSORED COAST TO COAST WALK: Peter Lund (County CRO) and John
Bradshaw (Buildings and Estates) are to walk from St Bees to Robin
Hood's Bay (190 miles) between May 26 and July 6. They are seeking
sponsorship in aid of much needed funds for St John's Hospice amd the
Macmillan Unit (RLI). Sponsorship forms and further information from
the sponsorship co-ordinator, John Adams, Catering, Bowland College,
Lancaster LA1 4YT. Tel ext. 94631.
---------------
WANTED: House/bungalow to rent, preferably furnished, and preferably
rural or semi-rural, within driving distance of the University.
Lancaster location considered if in quiet area and with garage/safe
parking. Central heating preferred. No children, no dogs, no cats and
no bad habits involved. Required from March 1999. Please contact Dr.
Alan Warburton by E-mail at Lancaster, or ring History Dept. on 92796,
or Politics Dept. on 94250
------------
CAN ANYONE HELP: Hungarian girl, 16 years old, about to attend
bi-lingual college in Hungary, would like to spend 3/4 weeks
July/August 1999 with UK family to improve fluency in English. Willing
to help with housework or children (not babies). For further details
please contact Margaret Ives, via Dept of European Languages -
o1524-592467 or 2468
----------------
MUSIC RESEARCH SEMINAR
Stephen Walsh (Cardiff)
STRAVINSKY: ANTISEMITISM AND ANTISEMITES
Dalton Room (Dept of Music)
Friday 12 February 2.00 p.m.
ALL WELCOME
-----------
Lancaster University Music Department
-------------------------------------
CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Tuesday 16th February (Week 6)
Great Hall, Lancaster University, 1:10pm
Andrew Morley - Conductor
Gerry Carleston - Leader
Ariane Reid - Piano
Elgar - Chanson de nuit, op.15(1)
Mozart - Piano Concerto No.20 in D Minor K466
Mendelssohn - Symphony No.4 in A Major op.90 (Italian)
ADMISSION FREE
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VARIOUS ITEMS FOR SALE, DUE TO HOUSE MOVE: All one careful lady owner:
ZANUSSI AUTO WASHING MACHINE (less than three years old) - very good
condition, 175 pounds ono; FUTON-STYLE SOFA BED, large, tubular black
metal with attractive blue-grey print upholstery - makes full size
double bed, 80 pounds; COMBINATION ELECTRIC OVEN AND GAS HOB (needs to
be built in) 20 pounds; ATTRACTIVE TWYFORDS BATHROOM SUITE, peach, no
reasonable offer refused; SINGLE BED, 'Slumbalux' brand, only used in
spare room, 40 pounds; NARROW SINGLE BED (2'6"), old but very comfy, 10
pounds; PORTABLE CD/RADIO/CASSETTE - unwanted gift, still in box - 35
pounds; MINI HIFI SYSTEM - CD/Radio/Cassette/speakers; 45 pounds. Ring
Helen Woodruffe-Burton (Marketing Dept.) on ex. 93918 e-mail
H.Woodruffe@lancaster.ac.uk Delivery can be arranged on all items if
necessary.
-------------------
'Proofreader/Copyeditor-in-training will read your first drafts or
first proofs free to get practice. Sound grammar, spelling and
punctuation, good general and cultural knowledge, fluency in French.
Not specialised maths or science. Sorry, but this offer does not
include correcting English. Ext (5)92669 e-mail r.anderson@lancs.ac.uk.
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HOUSE FOR SALE: Derwent Road, Freehold, Lancaster. 3 bedrooms
(including large attic bedroom which could be converted into 2 rooms),
large bathroom, 2 reception rooms, kitchen/morning room,
cellar/workshop. Original features throughout including fireplaces,
doors windows, kitchen range etc. Spectacular views over Lancaster and
Morecambe Bay. Front and back gardens. Offers around 115,000.
Contact Juliet 01524 69877 (answerphone)
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ROOM AVAILABLE IN NICE HOUSE (with off-road parking), Greaves area.
Sharing with one female postgraduate. Ideally suit postgraduate or
staff. Contact andy@comp.lancs.ac.uk for further details
----------------
ROOM AVAILABLE in women-only household close to the city centre. A
Non-smoking vegetarian is preferred, to share with one other. Very
reasonable rent of 170 per month inclusive of bills (except telephone),
Deposit required. Telephone Paula on 01524 37417
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TRANSLATION, TRANSCRIBING, PROOFREADING, WORDPROCESSING ( and CV
design as well): full-time all-the-year-round professional service.
Contact Lynda Burke at CASTLE TRANSLATIONS, tel. 841169, e-mail
Castlecomm@compuserve.com
---------------------
KIDS CEILIDHS IN LANCASTER: Coming up: Sunday 7th March: Kids Ceilidh,
2-4, The Gregson Community Centre. (1.50 per child, adults free). Also
LETS Trading Event upstairs, free, on the same day: come and see what
Lancaster LETS (Local Exchange Trading Scheme) is all about - you can
join on the day and start trading! Info: Fiona Frank
f.frank@lancaster.ac.uk OR home tel 381263.
----------------
TEMP JOBS: Independent studies is currently negotiating with Lancaster
City Council who want a keen graduate to work for 3-4 months
researching for an application to establish a case for the Objective 2
designation of Lancaster with the EU. Pay about 850 pounds per month.
Would be excellent experience for someone available April- July. Anyone
interested?
We are also working with Lancashire Enterprise and may need a graduate
to work in Brussels from 1 April for six or more months. Accommodation
and allowance to be agreed. Training provided. Let us know if you want
details when they are available. Please contact
j.wakeford@lancaster.ac.uk or phone 592657.
---------------
A BEER-SAMPLING EVENING
A coach trip to the CARTFORD ARMS near Great Ecclestone has been
arranged. 5th March, 1999 - leaving Lancaster 6.30pm. The Cartford, a
free house, serves a wide range of excellent "real ales", and also has
a micro-brewery in its back yard, around which John Smith, the brewer,
is delighted to show interested guests. The ales brewed there, under
the label "Hart", are on sale in the pub, which also provides a range
of "pub food" which is unpretentious but of good quality.
There is a choice of activity for the evening - you can go on the
trip, with a party of twenty-two like-minded souls, to eat and drink
only; OR, for 5.00 more, you can have a trip round the brewery, then
have an equal share of a firkin of ale (9 gallons, to save you finding
your ready-reckoner.) This will be served in a commemorative glass,
which you can take away with you, all included in the 5.00
The COST of the trip: Coach only:- 3.50; Coach plus trip round brewery
plus souvenir glass plus a share of the firkin of ale:- 8.50
To book for this trip, or for more details, please ring JULIAN HOLT
01524 - 67405
PLACES ARE LIMITED TO 22 - GET YOUR BOOKING IN SOON
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FOR SALE: FORD KA 1.3, P reg (March 1997) Amparo Blue, 21 000 miles,
lady owner, recent service, full dealer service history, taxed,
excellent condition. Planning to buy a new Ka. 5250 pounds ono. Contact
015395 - 61646 or gg@kencomp.net
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HOUSE FOR RENT - 4/5 bedroomed house for rent on Hinde Street. Student
area 5 mins from town and Sugar House. Newly decorated, available from
next year. For further details contact Mr V Essa on 07977 820193 or
01524 388699.
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FOR SALE: COMPUTER GRAPHICS CARD. ATI all in wonder.......8mb AGP
Video card Built in tuner - 2D 3D graphics chip Features advanced TV
and Video capturing facilities. Complete with software on 3 CD roms.
MGI Video Wave - ATI soft DVD player - ATI video player Bargain at 75
pounds ono. Tel. (01524) 771720
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3. READERS' LETTERS
-------------------
In Inkytext 278 a letter was published concerning the University's
electrical testing programme. The letter contains a number of factual
inaccuracies which, as the writer's name was not published, I am unable
to discuss directly with the writer. If the writer would like to
contact the Safety Office I would be happy to discuss the writer's
concerns and hopefully allay them.
Tony Madeley
University Safety & Radiation Protection Officer
-------------------------------------
MILLENNIUM COMPUTERS claim to be 'running an environmentally
orientated new scheme for used printer cartridges...' ARGHHH! this is
not linguistic environmentally oriented.
[NOTE: Agreed. Suffixes do have their uses and can almost always be
convey some particular nuance. However there is rampant inflation in
their unnecessary use by people unaware of the nuances. Thus simple
becomes both 'simplist' and simplistic, often needlessly or wrongly,
lingual or linguistic becomes 'linguistical', perhaps by false analogy
with 'statistical', educationist become 'educationalist', etc. Q.: can
'statistic' be used as an adjective, on the model of 'stochastic'.
(Ed.)]
G.R. Steele, Dept of Economics,
---------------------------
Good exhibition of paintings for sale in Lancaster City Museum at
present. a bit pricey at 250 - 350 pounds. Some neat paintings such as a
colossal hedgehog crushing a car and giving the driver a good kick,
fish on a river bank with rod and line catching humans from the stream,
slugs chewing up humans.
And for those who like photos of plants and animals, there is an exhibition
of wildlife photograph of the year there too. A bit twee in my view.
-----------------------
Did anyone from Applied Sciences mail you a copy of the message about
documents for the last faculty board? Apparently, because of problems
caused by different depts using different hardware, ie Psychology use
Macintosh, papers for the meeting were distributed on paper rather than
electronically! Now, can someone remind why html was developed?
----------------------------
I have a slightly different version of Lily Tomlin's comment: 'The
problem with the rat race is that even if you win you're still a rat'.
------------------------------
When there was a Transport sub committee, we did manage car parking,
built a cycle track and tried to sort out other modes of transport too.
Since we've been abolished in the new wave of 'I can manage it better
without any input from the lower orders' regime, all is not
transparent. We used to publish minutes of our heated debates.
Paul Mullineaux
PS Keep Inkytext unix based and save hours of network time. All you
need is Ascii!
--------------------------------
How dare Mr Vic Crumley pontificate about traffic when he and the City
Council are proposing to fill virtually the entire area south of
Scotforth between the A6 and Ashton Road (up to the powerlines) with
thousands of houses in a huge dormitory suburb!
This unwanted development will create a huge increase in commuter
traffic - and overrides all local objections. There is virtually no
employment base for the expansion; the green belt will go; and an
outstanding stretch of drumlin countryside will disappear for ever.
At least the University creates employment unlike the huge Whinney
Carr and Albert housing developments.
Richard Roberts (Religious Studies).
-----------------------------------
My great piano tuner, Shelley Duncan (MA CMIT) who singlehandedly
restored an old school piano for me into a brilliant instrument last
year, has now moved to Ingleton but will be in Lancaster on Wednesday
10th March and is able to fit in some other tunings that day: contact
him directly on 015242 42408. Cost for a straightforward job: ?35.00.
(He didn't pay me to say this!)
Fiona Frank
----------------------
Having arrived back from another lunch in Cartmel bar to find I stink
of smoke again I was wondering if anyone knows if anything can be done
about this? I wasn't sitting with anyone who was smoking but all the
available tables were next to smoking groups. In any normal bar I would
see this as quite ordinary but not only does that bar seem even smokier
than other campus bars, it is now serving proper cooked food.
Does anyone know of any laws or anything about smoking near food
preparation? Or if there was a designated no-smoking area, could it
only be a suggestion or could it be enforced by anything other than
someone going round stubbing out people's cigarettes? Just wondering,
coz i hate smoke, even more so when I am eating.
------------------------------
When are motorists going to stand up and be counted? We are constantly
harangued about the pollution caused by our vehicles and the roads
required to accommodate them. What God-given right have the authorities
got to take strips of our roads and allocate them to selfish cyclists?
How often does one see a cyclist, unless they are riding on the
pavement, riding in darkness without lights, or travelling the wrong
way along a one-way street.
It is a fact that pollution caused by car exhausts has been reduced,
in spite of an increase in the number of vehicles on our roads. The
outrageous taxation paid by motorists gives us a right to use our
vehicles. The 84% tax on petrol is due to increase by 6% above
inflation for some years to come. This is on top of the 150 pound
yearly excise licence and VAT on the purchase of your vehicle.
Have a look around the university after 6.00 p.m. and see how much
support the student population give with regard to car ownership. As
far as staff are concerned they are drawn from a radius of some 20
miles. I 'car share' purely as an economic measure. I travel six miles
to work and back between 7am and 7.30 am and 7.30 pm and 8.00pm each
working day. I am lucky if I see one cyclist during these times. So why
is all this money being spent on providing facilities for non-existent
cyclists?
As an almost senior citizen I look at the fact that many thousands of
people depend on the car and oil industry for a living. If you want to
help the environment, try to make similar strides to those of the motor
industry in reducing pollution.
Lastly, take a look at the amount of resources routinely destroyed or
discarded around this university, for which most of us are guilty, and
which with a little effort could be reduced.
[NOTE: Certainly agree with your concluding paragraph. I seem to see
many more cyclists than you. Two possible reasons: the first that years
of police practice have led you to not only the cyclist as
transgressor. The second that I sometimes walk up the cycle path which
is largely obscured from motorists' view. This acquaints one with the
hundreds of regular cyclists, including Peter Noble (County College
Office), John Wakeford (Ind Studs), Barry Rowlingson (Maths), Vicky
Mears, Shelley Willson, Sarah Casy, and endless others. True their
working hours may be different, but the cycle track is the one building
success of the Hanham Years (thanks to Vernon Pratt) that I am willing
to concede as an unalloyed success. (Ed.)]
------------------------------------
Second week into this job and I've already been interviewed by BBC
Radio Devon on the economic impact on the county's universities of the
SE Asian crisis. Appointed first of my two new international officers
yesterday. Hard work but enjoying it all so far.
John Withrington
Exeter
-----------------------------
I received this e-mail requesting information about Grizedale Hall and
its use as a WW2 POW camp. Can anyone help? You could reply direct to
IFDCAPT64@aol.com or via InkyText.
Chris Bowdery (C.Bowdery@lancs.ac.uk)
Grizedale Vice Principal & Physics
"Hello, My name is Glenn Sytko and I am researching WWll. A prisoner of
war camp for German Officers was located at Grizedale Hall and I was
wondering if you could send me any information (if possible), or direct
me as to where I might get some info. Thanks for any help
Captain Glenn Sytko
Irvington Fire Dept.
Irvington NJ, 07111
USA"
---------------------------------------------
I hear that University of Newcastle has refused to invite QAA in for
their continuation audit - like Glasgow, Edinburgh, Oxford and
Cambridge. This is apparently quite legal. We have to submit to
assessment visits but not audits. Have UMAG discussed this possibility
for Lancaster?
--------------------------