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INKYTEXT 283: Threat to IELE
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Semaine de la langue francaise et de la francophonie
also Science and Technology Week
THREAT TO OUR WORLD-FAMOUS IELE
Issue No 283 Monday 15th March 1999
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Editorial correspondence should be sent to InkyText@lancaster.ac.uk
Subscription requests to Inkytext-distribution-request@lists.lancaster.ac.uk
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AGENDA
Minutes, Amendments, Matters arising
1. Editorial: Semaine de la Francophonie
2. News: Births, IELE, Cando, Corporate Plan, Budget setting, Promotions,
Independent Studies, Yemen, Rents, Overseas applications.
3. Guest Contribution: Bob Bliss, General Education in Missouri
4. Small Ads: Mountain Bike, Houses and flats for sale and to let,
Rooms, Patience, Eurodancing.
5. Readers' Letters: Planning Officer, Standards, Mark Elkins, Misprints,
Bentham lift-shares, Concert website, Apple users, Anagrams.
MINUTES, AMENDMENTS, MATTERS ARISING
------------------------------------
For 'medecine' (passim) read 'medicine' (Apologies for yet another
gallicism. Call it professional deformation - comes from a lifetime of
living with anglicisms in learners' French).
Numerous other typos, even a 'their' for a 'there'. Cringe. Sorry.
Brain sometimes works faster than fingers: sometimes not.
Only TWO candidates (one internal, the other a female from an older
institution) were interviewed for the post of University Secretary on
Saturday.
25 percent of all students and 35 percent of undergraduates voted in
last week's Student Union elections. Steps are being taken to try to
increase the graduate voting turn out.
1. EDITORIAL: SEMAINE DE LA FRANCOPHONIE
----------------------------------------
Last week was International Women's Week. This week is the Semaine de
la langue francaise and de la Francophonie, for so the French Ministry
of Culture and Ministry of Foreign Affairs have decreed, in conjunction
with their oppos in Quebec, Belgium, Switzerland and 47 other lands
most of us would be hard put to name.
As befits the home of metrication, it is a decimal week of ten days,
and ten words are chosen to mark the occasion. This year's words are
'Reve' (dream), Multicolore (many-coloured), Pays (land), Secret
(secret), Cite' (citadel), Temps (time), Toile (web), Ribambelle (a
swarm, a long string of...), Transparence (transparency), Ambigu
(ambiguous).
These words have been chosen because of their historical resonance and
their significance today - so the blurb says. The event is intended to
pay homage to the richness and diversity of French as well as to
promote multi-lingualism - especially in the age of the Internet.
Hear, hear!
Francophonia was a concept inspired by the British Commonwealth,
keenly promoted by de Gaulle and Pompidou and passionately supported
from the start by Quebec separatists.
More than merely a geo-political bloc geared to commercial interests,
it also has parallels with the English Speaking Union in its desire to
infuse the language with life rather than merely 'preserve' it. Of
course revivification may not be compatible with 'maintaining
standards' but that's because life is preferable to fossilization.
One hopes that even Francophobes can recognize the value of
maintaining mother tongues.
2. NEWS
-------
CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES to Alicia Pinedo (Spanish), who gave
birth to Marta on 10 March, and Sally Johnson (Linguistics) whose son
Ben arrived on 12 March.
CONGRATULATIONS TO BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES on getting 21 in their TQA,
which equates to an 'excellent' under the old system, though inflation
in scoring has led tables like that recently appearing in the Daily
Telegraph to be impressed by 22 and upwards only. Absurd, agreed. As
usual some dissatisfaction with this, and justified doubts about the
consistency of this and all other TQA panels.
THE FUTURE OF IELE: AN OPTIONS APPRAISAL is a cautious and typically
thorough paper by Mr McGovern dated 3.3.99. It is not quite clear
whether he is writing in his capacity as IELE director or acting Team A
head. His thoughts have clearly been informed by both roles.
The paper explains the myriad benefits IELE has brought to the
university over the past 22 years, and outlines the current
difficulties caused by the Malaysian government's decision no longer to
fund courses held overseas, the financial crisis in the far east, and
changes in British Council policy. Three future options are considered:
closure, continuation of the status quo, or a via media, which would
nonetheless involve the redundancy of a number of staff, viz. the
reduction of academic staff from 14 to 7, the loss of the deputy
director and area coordinator posts and changes from full to part-time
status for some support staff.
THE CASE FOR GIVING IELE AN EXTENDED BREATHING SPACE TO RECOVER is the
title of a response to the above document, signed by the AUT members of
the IELE academic staff. It highlights a certain lack of consultation
by the university, and points out that the new role of director over
the past 9 months has prevented him from devoting himslef full-time to
the Institute. The document stresses the length of service of staff
affected (7 here for over 12 years, including 1 for 21). It outlines
possible new developments and claims business is picking up again,
arguing for a long-term approach to development.
[NOTE: The case for holding on is so strong that it would be easily
won in a place with some spare cash. As things are, the Director of
Resources is likely to ask from which budget the requisite funds will
be taken if the income to cover them isn't immediately there. It
remains a touch paradoxical that we have reserved large sums with which
to pay staff severance money, yet claim not to have the more modest
sums required to maintain their current employment. (Ed.)]
CANDO (Careers for the Disabled): CANDO staff contracts have been
extended to the end of May 1999 by which time the assessment of two
possible relocation venues (Leeds, London) may be complete. Future
funding support is still being sought from Lottery sources and the
University has been asked to provide a supporting statement without
financial commitment. UMAG agreed to this, while making it clear that
Lancaster could not provide financial support beyond the end of May
unless there was confirmation that this was limited and would enable a
successful transfer of the unit in the short term.
CORPORATE PLAN: Professor Abercrombie is to redraft Section 5
(Teaching and Learning). The Pro-VCs are to provide additional
commentary for the sections on widening access, collaboration and our
regional role. The Planning Officer is to provide redrafts of Section
11 (Academic Support Services). The whole thing is to be circulated to
Deans for the joint meeting with UMAG on 17th March. A second public
(web) consultation round will take place following a special UMAG
session on April 15th.
RENT NEGOTIATIONS began on Friday with Pro-VC Whitaker in the chair.
All very amicable so far, prolly because no percentage figures have
been mentioned. It seems likely that more students will be asked to pay
for their rooms over vacation periods.
OVERSEAS APPLICATION UP: serious implications for residence
allocations if reports that overseas student applications are showing a
marked increase on last year are true. Still too early to know whether
this will convert into a pro rata increase in admissions.
INDEPENDENT STUDIES: Discussions between the deputy VC and the Dean of
Humanities on whether IS Part I numbers should be 'capped'. There are
some 81 FTEs currently enrolled for Part I IS. Some (unnamed)
departments are claimed to have complained about this in high places
and seem to have found a sympathetic ear. Or two, but not more. Yet
Senate's decision on the preservation of IS despite removal of its
admissions quota seemed clear enough.
EXCELLENT PIECE ON THE YEMEN in a recent THES (26.2.99) by Gerd
Nonneman (Politics) then freshly returned from his pre-Christmas trip
to that beautiful but troubled mountainous land.
THE NEW BUDGET SETTING PROCESS was outlined in a report from Mr
McGregor to the 19 February F&GP meeting. It includes built in
incentives and an explanation of how the overall salary 'cap' for each
deparment will function. This may involve competitive decisions about
spending money on fee payments to casual staff as against additional
increments and promotions (which will presumably have to be treated
separately). It confirms assumptions to be built in (3.5 percent salary
rise, 3 percent the following year, 1 percent incremental drift).
STOP PRESS: rumour the 'incentive' proposals have been removed.
PROMOTIONS COMMITTEE decisions were due to be distributed last Friday
(12 Mar). Notice of this was given in the Head of Department guidelines
circulated in August 1998. At the last meeting of the Promotions
Committee it was decided to defer ALL notifications until Monday 22
March 1999 because of the need to seek further guidance from Council.
(Increasing the number of new senior lectureships from 10 to 14.) A
note to that effect from the Personnel Office was sent to HoDs on
Friday.
3. GUEST CONTRIBUTION: BOB BLISS, GENERAL EDUCATION IN MISSOURI
---------------------------------------------------------------
[What follows is, after comments from colleagues across the state, the
seventh draft of the document referrred to in Bob Bliss's letter (see
below). It highlights a rather more liberal approach to 'standards'
than our own and is a reminder of how much more than ourselves American
educationists have kept their eye on the the concept of 'general
education'.
Our own 'bench-marking' approach and funding changes are more likely
to drive us to into the protective ghettos of our own disciplines
rather than promote the cross-disciplinary studies long recognized as
necessary by all but dullards. Comments, which are welcomed, to
<<rmbliss@umsl.edu>> (Ed.)]
A PROSPECTUS OFFERED TO MISSOURI HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
AND FACULTIES BY THE GENERAL EDUCATION STEERING COMMITTEE
Aims: General Education is the core curriculum of the American
academy. It provides students with the intellectual tools, knowledge,
and creative capacities necessary to discern the world as it is, as it
has been understood, and as it might be imagined. It also furnishes
them with skills which enable them to deepen that understanding and to
communicate it to others. Through General Education, the academy equips
its students with an essential foundation for success in their
specialized areas of study and for fulfilled lives as educated persons,
as active citizens, and as effective contributors to their own
prosperity and to the general welfare.
Goals: As the academy's knowledge of the world is structured, so must
General Education be constructed to introduce students to the
traditional disciplines of the arts and sciences. As that knowledge is
ever changing, so must General Education be designed to alert students
to dynamic interfaces between the traditional disciplines and to the
potential for interaction among all branches of knowing, ordering, and
imagining the real world. As the real world is diverse, so must General
Education inform students that the world is understood in different
ways and provide them with the means to value, evaluate, and, where
appropriate, to resolve that diversity. As diversities of knowing and
understanding must be made open and accessible, so students must
acquire an appropriate range of investigative, interpretative, and
communicative competencies.
Responsibilities: The academy is not the only place where these high
aims can be imagined and these challenging goals achieved, but more
than any other place it receives public and private support for just
these ends. General Education is thus a core responsibility of the
academy as well as a core curriculum for students.
* To discharge that trust, each academic institution must deliver
appropriate resources to its faculty, and faculties must design and
transmit to students effective means and inducing rationales for
achieving General Education aims and goals. Both institutions and
faculties must satisfy their constituents that these ends are being
achieved satisfactorily and in ways consistent with each institution's
mission.
* Students have a right to expect their academic institutions and
faculties to fulfill these responsibilities, but students also incur
the obligation to act as partners in the processes of teaching and
learning in order to become agents in, not merely receivers of, their
own General Education.
* In the state of Missouri, all academic institutions signatory to the
Statewide Agreement on Transfer and Articulation must ensure that the
General Education achievements of all students who succeed in
discharging their obligations are wholly transferable in terms both of
graduation credit and of real competencies.
4. SMALL ADS
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MOUNTAIN BIKE FOR SALE. One year old, ridden twice, cost ?200 accept
90 pounds ono. Phone Nikki on Lancaster 61776.
---------------
MY HOUSE, 17 PORTLAND ST IS UP FOR SALE. Large quiet garden with big
ash tree, blackcurrant bushes, cherry tree, and ponds with fish and
frogs. Four bedrooms, three reception rooms, good kitchen, large
bathroom, two cellars equipped for laundry room and workshop, CH,
windows facing the sun, open fire, 'original features', and friendly
neighbours. Contact me direct Simon (32351) or via
s.pardoe@lancaster.ac.uk, or the agents Irvine Taylor (opposite
Waterstones) (60524).
------------
ROOM AVAILABLE in women-only household close to the city centre. Must
be a non-smoker. The house will be shared with one other. 150 pounds
per month. Telephone Paula on 01524 37417
-----------------
FLAT FOR RENT OR SALE. Close to city centre with ground floor access
and lovely views of the city. 2 good sized bedrooms, lounge-diner,
separate fitted kitchen, bathroom with shower. Will rent either
furnished or unfurnished. Tel: Louise 01524 792367 or email:
l.chippendale@lancaster.ac.uk
---------------
HORNBY OCCASIONALS
will be presenting
GILBERT AND SULLIVAN'S "PATIENCE"
Hornby Institute
17th to 20th March every evening at 7.30 p.m.
Tickets from Lamb's Garage, Hornby (telephone 015242 22450), 4.00 for
adults and 1.50 for children. Patrons are asked to take their seats by
7.20 p.m. Latecomers will not be admitted to the auditorium until the
interval.
In the original production, Patience was conceived by W.S. Gilbert as
a satire on the aesthetic movement of the 1870's typified by Oscar
Wilde and the Pre-Raphaelites. Lampooning the excesses and affectations
of any cultural fad or self-important artistic movement it translates
very effectively, as in Marie Bullen's production at Hornby, into a wry
look at the 1960's era of "Flower Power" and the hippie movement and at
the pseudo-hippies who "tagged along" with it. With some of the
dialogue and some of the songs updated into a more contemporary idiom,
Gilbert's satire is none the less effective and many "ageing hippies"
may well be able to look back with some pleasure on memories of a
gone-but-not-forgotten time.
Rodger McPhail's delightful sets highlighting a couple of well-known
local landmarks provide a perfect backdrop to a joyful, melodious and
very colourful evening's entertainment. (And don't miss Peter Silvester
(Engineering) as Archibald Grosvenor, aesthetic poet.)
----------------
EURODANCE FOR SPRING!
or, if you don't want to dance,
music good enough to listen to anyway.
ZIMZIN
(dance music of Central France)
and
TRIO RAT
(European/Scandinavian music)
Don't panic! Dances will be explained!
Friday 26th March, at 8pm
The Gregson Centre, Moorgate, Lancaster
Cost: 4.00 / 3.00 on the door
towards this end and possibly for people to arrange lift shares whatever
I have added a commuters discussion board to
------------
HOUSE FOR RENT, WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT: Very pretty one-bedroomed house
available for rent on St. George's quay overlooking the river. Large
kitchen /dining room; Lounge; Bedroom; Bathroom. Suit single person or
couple; mature students, staff or postgrads. =A3350.00 per calender
month. Please contact Anne ext 92406 or 01524 69653
------------------
FOR RENT: 2 bedroom modern terraced house in Scotforth (South
Lancaster). Fitted kitchen, gas central heating, double glazed. Back
garden - accessed via patio doors from lounge. Partially furnished /
unfurnished depending on requirements. Private parking space. Suit
post-graduates / staff. No smokers / no pets. Available June. 400
pounds per month + bills. Tel: Sandra 93548 / 388919 (evenings).
-------------------
5. READERS' LETTERS
-------------------
RE: your reference to 'scores of documents from the Planning Office'
from Inkytext 282.
It behoves some in University media management, meretriciously
following in the circulation-motivated slipstream of less than
reputable national tabloid idols whom they imitate, and thereby
betraying the intellectual rigour in which they were themselves
trained, to take care that they do not devalue the strength today of
the jawbone that once stood Samson in such stead.
Obliquity, economic veracity and on occasion gross exaggeration, are
disreputable tools to create a desired intention or impression without
the need for the author to be encumbered by the facts. (Apologies for
the language but when in Rome (Inkytext)....follow the leader!)
The "scores of documents" from the Planning Office totalled four;
rather a low "score" even for the numerately challenged. These were
respectively a summary analysis of year on year changes in R funding;
in T funding; an analysis of the new Widening Participation funding;
and a comparison table of the 94 group Universities' funding since
1997/98.
Dull yes, but all things everyone has a right to know the facts about
without, or at least before, management spin?
Colin Adams
[NOTE: Forgive the hyperbole, which I'm sure is recognized by most
readers. In the speech of today's youth the term 'scores' normally
denotes merely an unexpected plurality. There were indeed an unusually
large number of documents listed to accompany that item, and even in
the published Notes of the meeting there appear to be seven. Congrats
on the pastiche though. (Ed.)]
-----------------------------
Users of the 'Lynx' page of Lancaster Concerts's web site
(http://lancs.ac.uk/users/concerts/links.html) were horrified/amused to
discover that my link to the New Grove Dictionary of Music led to a
pornographic 'teenage sex' page. The URL was quite correct originally.
Presumably someone hi-jacked this quite innocent address and used it
for their own purposes. I have since deleted it.
Stella Birchall, Lancaster Concerts
PS The original URL was http://www.groveartmusic.com but it's not as
interesting as the Grove.....
---------------------------------
The Pheasant
A pheasant was standing in a field chatting with a bull, "I would love
to be able to get to the top of yonder tree", sighed the pheasant,
"but I haven't got the energy."
"Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the
bull. "They're packed with nutrients."
The pheasant pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave
him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree.
The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second
branch. And so on. Finally, after a forth night, he was proudly perched
at the top of the tree. Where upon he was spotted by a farmer, who
dashed into his farmhouse, emerged with a shotgun, and shot the
pheasant right out of the tree.
Moral of the Story: Bull shit might get you to the top, but it won't
keep you there.
----------------------------
As a member of Senate, I thinks I remember officers being asked to
clearly indicate where changes in the draft Corporate Plan have taken
place. But...
--------------------------
I write to offer you thanks. Your editorial attempts to highlight a
fact that escapes most in the HE sector: Students are people not
numbers. Something I feel still hasn't been taken on board by all
across the square.
On another note, the election turnout was fantastic, and a big thank
you to all that took part: the candidates, the voters, the counters,
the staff...etc. you might wish to note that 29% of FTEs turnout isn't
bad at all. That should give the Sabbaticals-elect a strong mandate for
the coming year. Now, where did I put my UB40?
Mark Elkins
President, LU Students' Union
PS- Not everyone with cropped hair is an axe murderer- I hitch too!
------------------------------
Among other things, I have been serving on a statewide committee which
is redesigning 'General Education' for all public and most private
higher education institutions in Missouri. 'General Education', as you
probably know, is that package of knowledge and/or skills which, at a
minimum, American university graduates are supposed to possess no
matter what they major in. It lies at the heart of the ideal of a
'liberal education'.
I was assigned the task of drafting the 'statement of purpose' for
General Education in Missouri. It was supposed to be very short
(friends will know what a strain this was for me), fresh in its
language, reasoned in itself, and was to contain a section on 'aims',
another on 'goals' (the American distinction between aims and goals is
interesting and pervasive, but needs another long essay to explain),
and finally (at my insistence) a section on responsibilities.
One of our aims (and the reason I write, really) was to create a model
of general education which did not need to be standardized as to
content, which might in fact free up institutions to experiment with
the resources they actually possess (including their often peculiar mix
of students) and to figure out how best to organize those resources to
meet a set of agreed, statewide goals.
There were calls for standardization of content, etc., and some of the
centralizers and standardizers here make your folks look like rank
amateurs, but so far they have been successfully resisted and I am
optimistic about the future. In that sense, I am sorry to hear that
Britain seems at the moment to be headed in a different direction from
Missouri.
Bob Bliss
St Louis, Missouri
-------------------------
Your correspondent asks me whether perspirational and inspirational
are mutually exclusive attributes.
Far from it, under certain circumstances the company of a perspiration
covered, red faced individual, in a room strewn with discarded clothing,
can be most uplifting.
She refers to 'a classic chicken and egg coupling.' Does she want me
to put them in one basket ? Bus companies are renowned for eliminating
competion then racking up prices, and nineteen years here on campus
have, for me, brought sticks and no carrots.
She has been 'pleasantly surprised at the adequacy of the bus
service.' I was pleasantly surprised by the provision of the cycle
track -many Lancaster residents have expressed different views of the
bus service.
Strangely I don't have to consider increases as a percentage of
present budgets but only on the basis of how overdrawn I will be. I
wrote 'poorer' not 'poor'. Globably obviously not poor, however as a
member of the assistant staff I find my family is very close to a
position where we would be better off if I took a part time job
stacking shelves and claimed family income supplements, free school
meals, prescriptions etc.
I am not so much an anonymous correspondent as an anonymised one.
A Bentham resident, like her, "I don't want to be a car driver.
What I would really like is a train link from Bentham to the
University. Or even a bus link that didn't take twice as long and cost
twice as much as driving".
However all the university provides for me as a commuting car driver
that would not otherwise be required for its operation is a piece of
land for parking on. So the only interest I'm interested in the
university protecting is approx. 15 sq.m - how much per acre for
non-agricultural land mebbe 3000 - 4000 ish sq.m in an acre - work it
out - doesn't need any more surfacing than a few buckets of chippings.
It would make a splendid parable of talents - each person on campus
could be given say 20 sq.m of land to use for car parking or for use
as an allotment. After five years most of the assistant staff will still
be here, some tending burgeoning plots, some just sitting in their sheds
and then there'd be many overgrown patches left by the rest of you who'll
have left for better paid jobs.
In my 32 years commuting, 27 years have been by cycle, motorcycle,
hitching and bus. In the interests of reconciliation and car-sharing,
try the site
http://www.ednet.lancs.ac.uk/LowBentham/
At present it is open but could be made passworded.
---------------------------
In best academic nit-picking mode, I must point out to our worthy and
seemingly indefatigable editor (Paris Diary -Inky 282 part II) that the
acronym for Ligne 14 stems from METro Est-Ouest Rapide, rather than his
anti-clockwise orientation.
Incidentally, I was charmed with the serendipitous typo in Saturday's
entry - it seems quite right that cheese should have a "high
price-weight ration".
Hilary Walklett, DCE
----------------------------------
Just how is "the University" (whoever that may mean) intending to
"move everyone to the Windows platform" as your correspondent asserts?
Physically, kicking and screaming? Will "they" physically hurl the Mac
you already have from the Window and buy you a shiny new PC and force
you to type at its keyboard? I suspect not....
While it is true that ISS are unable to provide technical support for
campus Mac users (and ISS are currently so understaffed and
overstretched, there is no prospect that that will ever change) and
administrative applications are not being developed cross-platform (a
very narrow-sighted view, imho) I can assure your readers that a corpus
of Mac users is still alive and well on campus and likely to remain so
for the foreseeable future. The user-base is no doubt dwindling but it
is unlikely ever to be purged completely.
I hear that there are increasing numbers of students turning up with
their own iMacs these days, too. There is even a mailing list for
campus mac users to communicate with each other over issues that
concern them and to request help with Mac-related problems: to
subscribe send the word
subscribe
in the body of an email message to macusers-request@lists.lancs.ac.uk.
------------------------------------
A few more anagrams:
Dormitory Dirty Room
Evangelist Evil's Agent
The Morse Code Here Come Dots
Slot Machines Cash Lost in 'em
Mother-in-law Woman Hitler
Semolina Is No Meal
A Decimal Point I'm a Dot in Place
plus....
"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
(Neil Armstrong, on the moon)
ANAGRAM:
"A thin man ran; makes a large stride, left planet, pins flag on moon!
On to Mars!"
And you're not going to believe this one: "President Clinton, of the
USA"
ANAGRAM: "To copulate, he finds interns"
-----------------------------
DEFINITELY FEELING MORE SPRING-LIKE