How To Curate A Blog
In this blog post I have the inside scoop on how to articulate creative writing ideas, story and character development with the extremely talented yet humble Dr. Rachel Connor, Course Director for the English with Creative Writing degree at Leeds Beckett University and published novelist, radio scriptwriter and poet.
Writer in Residence: Jacob Ross
Course Director for English Literature and Lecturer in Postcolonial Literature at the School of Cultural Studies and Humanities, Dr Emily Zobel Marshall, reflects on the of role of their latest Writer in Residence, award-winning British-Caribbean author Jacob Ross.
Through The Pages: 250 Years Of The Leeds Library with Ruth Robbins
In this blog post, Professor Ruth Robbins discussed with current student Georgia McEneaney one of her most recent projects: working with the Leeds Library to create a book celebrating its 250th anniversary.
Brexit and the Politics of Aid
The politics of UK Aid and of Brexit are deeply intertwined.
How the traditional Sunday lunch could help decrease obesity
We are now not far into the New Year and it is National Obesity Awareness Week. If you have made a new year’s resolution to improve your health, here are a few small nudges that would have a true impact on your family meals. Some of the key components of a healthy meal for a family can be seen in the traditional Sunday meal, portion of potatoes (starchy carbohydrates), a portion of meat (protein), and a heap of veggies.
Research should be with rather than on service users
At some point near the end of many weight management programmes service-users are asked “Would you mind completing this short survey about the programme”? Questions usually focus on a range of issues such as the usefulness of the programme, staff support, facilities, communication, post-programme goals etc. A rating scale is often presented and instructions given to respond between 1 and 10, with 1 reflecting that you ‘strongly agree’ and 10 ‘strongly disagree’ with a particular statement. We believe it is important to gain the views and options of services-users about their programme experiences.
Whole systems approaches: what's the evidence in public health?
The concept of a whole systems approach has seen a dramatic rise in popularity in recent years. Five years ago, you would have struggled to find this terminology, yet today its use seems ubiquitous. Defined as a 'strategic integrated approach to planning and delivering services', a quick internet search demonstrates examples in patient safety, acute kidney injury, public financial management, active lifestyles, youth justice, asthma management, homelessness, dementia care and poverty, to name but a few.
What are the Government doing to tackle obesity?
The role of the government is to set and influence the public health agenda and, where relevant, set expectations and boundaries for associated actors that have a role in supporting healthy behaviours. As such, the government has a responsibility to act through evidence collation, and ultimately, by developing associated policies, campaigns and other work. In the UK, several public health policies have emerged specifically focused on or with reference to obesity.
Should obesity be recognised as a disease?
Currently there is a national debate about whether obesity should be recognised as a disease in the UK. Most people are unaware that obesity is already classified as a disease in the UK, however, is not recognised as a disease. The implications of this is that healthcare settings do not approach, measure or where appropriate treat obesity in the same way that they do other diseases, and healthcare professionals therefore are not mandated for their actions. This debate has been bubbling away for some time, and very recently the Royal College of Physicians announced their backing for obesity to be recognised as a disease.
Rising Mental Distress in Young Girls
The NHS report: Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, published recently indicates that ‘nearly one in four young women have a mental illness’ and found that young women aged 17 to 19 were twice as likely as young men to have problems. This statistic, may appear shocking, but when viewed through from a relational perspective and in light of recent research into similar questions surrounding mental health issues in children and young people it is a judgement that is not without precedent.
Dystopia, Apocalypse and Contemporary Women Writing Now
This month, Susan Watkins, Professor of Women’s Writing, and Dr Rachel Connor held a workshop for a group of Bradford schoolgirls at the Leeds Library, inviting them to explore the long tradition of women's dystopian and apocalyptic writing. In this blog post, they reflect on the success of the day.
Boosting participation in science and engineering
A series of events were held at Leeds Beckett’s University Business Centres to celebrate and explore the role of women in leadership. Ahead of her talk in Wakefield on Tuesday 13 November, Professor Dorothy Monekosso shared an insight into her research, which aims to boost the participation of women, and other under-represented groups, in science and engineering.
The benefits that trees can bring to our towns and cities: a response to the Budget
Environmental campaigners have condemned the Chancellor's budget plan to spend £60m on tree planting in contract to a staggering £30bn being pledged for roads. Here Alan Simson, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Forestry at Leeds Beckett University and member of the International Committee European Forum on Urban Forestry, highlights the importance of green space and tree planting to our wellbeing and wider society.
Review of Doctor Who: The Woman Who Fell to Earth
Well, was it worth the wait? Was all the fuss of having a woman playing Doctor Who (I’m old fashioned) all that it was cracked up to be?
Doctor Who aims to destroy from within
A new series of Doctor Who has begun, and it truly is the final straw, the end of the line. Over and out. Those unheeding fat-cat execs have made a terrible mistake, and I predict that the once loyal fanbase will soon turn against the show, the ratings will plummet and things will never be the same.
Monsters of the new millennium
In her 1995 study of the vampire in European and American fiction, Our Vampires, Ourselves, Nina Auerbach made the bold and, as it turns out, rather premature claim that, ‘at the end of the twentieth century, vampirism is wearing down.
Remembrance at Leeds Beckett
The university's Lead Chaplain, Reverend Melvyn Kelly, offers thoughts and reflections ahead of Remembrance Sunday on Sunday 11 November.
Reverend Melvyn Kelly
Living in a frantic world
‘Resilience’ is a term that has become more frequently adopted within our discipline – but what is it? What does this term mean and how can we as individuals, in our frantic day to day existences, benefit from it?
Wartime Lessons for Recycle Week
Dr Henry Irving is a senior lecturer in public history and is writing a book on the social history of recycling in the Second World War.
This week is Recycle Week. The campaign aims to encourage all of us to recycle more of our household waste and has been marked by various councils, waste management companies and a growing number of retailers.
There is No Escaping The Body: Bodily Metaphors and Technology
In this blog, joint lead for the CCA research strand on the Body Gender and Sexuality, Dr Melanie Chan, writes about her research into the connections between the body and technology.
Using research and education to respond to England’s shifting health profile
Dr James Woodall examines the Public Health England report which shows the changing landscape of health in England.
Windrush Bacchanal: Leeds West Indian Carnival Troupe Celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Arrival of Empire Windrush
As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush bringing Caribbean migrants to Britain, Dr Emily Zobel Marshall reflects on the history of Caribbean culture in Britain and how it has enriched our lives both here in Leeds and throughout the country.
Studying social sciences: the Dean's perspective
In this post, Professor John Craig, Dean of the Leeds School of Social Sciences, shares his thoughts on the skills of a social sciences graduate.
Arts degrees teach you much more than how to think
What is the 'value' of an arts degree? Here, Professor Phil Cardew, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), discusses why an arts degree goes beyond teaching students 'how to think'.
FiFA World Cup (1) - Wimbledon (Love): Sport fandom in a crowded marketplace
Is there room for two major sporting events on the same day? Kacy Mackreth, Senior Lecturer in Sport Marketing at Leeds Beckett University's Carnegie School of Sport, examines the sports market.
Three Lions roar: the mixed fortunes of England’s football anthems
Rio Goldhammer talks about football anthems and their influence.
Rio Goldhammer
Sport may be an opium of the people but it matters
Senior Lecturer Dr Jon Dart, from Leeds Beckett University's Carnegie School of Sport, talks about the importance sport.
Government’s LGBT Action plan
Professor Jonathan Glazzard, from the Carnegie School of Education, has written a response to the government's LGBT action plan, which was published earlier this week.
The Childhood Obesity Plan: Chapter 2
Pinki Sahota, Professor of Nutrition and Childhood Obesity, looks at the Childhood Obesity plan to mark National Childhood Obesity Week.
Professor Pinki Sahota
The NHS at 70 Years - Catherine Coates
Catherine Coates is Director of Practice Learning, Health and Social Care for the School of Clinical and Applied Sciences. Here she talks about her time working in the NHS and how it helps in her current role.
Sue Sherwin - the NHS at 70 Years
Sue Sherwin is the Dean of the School of Health and Community Studies at Leeds Beckett University. Here in celebration of 70 years of the NHS, she talks about her time working for them and how she came to join the university.
National Writing Day: celebrating the power and pleasure of writing
National Writing Day is an initiative that celebrates the life-enhancing potential of creative writing. The key message is that writing is a democratic act: everyone has a story to tell, and you don’t have to be a professional writer to enjoy it as a liberating form of self-expression.
Breaking the Waves: Practice as Research in the Creative Arts
Not all research involves a 100,000 word thesis - it can be a film, a drawing or a dance performance. Professors Simon Morris and Robert Shail show us how.
Why Write?
On National Writing Day Dr Nasser Hussain, from the School of Cultural Studies & Humanities, asks 'why write?
Why is the World Cup so hard on the knees?
Professor Nick London, Visiting Professor of Sports Medicine talks about the World Cup and how knee injuries happen.
Weight stigma and discrimination: finally at the top table
On the 15 May 2018, I attended the All Party Parliamentary Group on obesity’s launch of the “The Current Landscape of Obesity Services”. Within the report, the findings of a survey that amongst other topics explored patients’ perceptions and experiences of weight stigma and discrimination were disseminated.
The performance of Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and the Royal Wedding
In this blog, Oliver Bray, Head of Performing Arts at the university, looks at the performance of the Royal Wedding, the new Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry.
ECB Reaching Out to South Asian Communities
Four Leeds Beckett University academics have produced a report - South Asian Communities and Cricket (Bradford and Leeds) - on behalf of Yorkshire Cricket Partnership.
Social media users freely share personal data but fear highly-regulated Government ‘snooping’
Dr Simon Hale-Ross, law lecturer at Leeds Law School, Leeds Beckett University, writes on digital security.
DR Simon Hale-Ross
Technology, society and the Fourth Industrial Revolution
At a recent Leeds Beckett Innovation Network event, Jamie Morgan, Professor Economic Sociology, spoke about the opportunities – and challenges – of the rise of Artificial Intelligence. In this post, he considers the impact of the forthcoming ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’.
The Facebook privacy scandal proves that if it’s free online, you are the product
Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony to congress last week highlights one of the key issues of our time - Data acquisition by digital corporations and its lack of regulation.
Artificial Intelligence - the verge of a revolution?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its potential impact for businesses was the subject of a recent Leeds Beckett Innovation Network event at the Yorkshire Post. In this blog post, Dr Abdulrahman Altahhan – who spoke at the event - considers the opportunities and challenges of AI.
Challenging gender inequalities through research
This month, Leeds Beckett held its first annual Gender Research Conference, showcasing the wide range of research taking place across the University. In this post, Anne Flintoff, Professor of Physical Education, looks back on her career researching gender issues in sport and looks towards a positive future of gender equality.
Professor Anne Flintoff
In terms of discrimination in football we have a long way to go
In this post, Dr Dan Kilvingon, Senior Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies, looks at the misjudged comment of Football Association Chief Executive, Martin Glenn, who was forced to apologise for an offensive comment in relation to the FA’s rule banning political symbols.
More needs to change to tackle lack of housing
Today, Prime Minister Theresa May made a speech to the National Planning Conference in which she said the existing National Planning Policy Framework will be overhauled.
The Loneliness of Young Fathers
In this article Esmée Hanna, author of Supporting Young Men as Fathers, explores how groups can help young men who are fathers to become less isolated.
Dr Esmée Hanna
Ending weight stigma and discrimination in 2018
Stigmatisation and discrimination based on characteristics such as sex, ethnicity and mental health has become less acceptable in the UK.
Swedish death cleaning: how to declutter your home and life
There has been a trend in recent years, both in literature and in life, for Scandinavian concepts that are encapsulated in a single word. Hygge, for example – which is Danish for cosiness, contentment or well-being – dominated the publishing industry in 2016.
Where in the world!
Dr Alison Iredale , Course Director at Carnegie School of Education, talks about the success of the Distance Learning PGCE.
The importance of using a whole systems approach to obesity
In the last of our blogs to mark National Obesity Awareness Week, Dr Duncan Radley, Matt Butler and Joanna Saunders from Leeds Beckett University discuss why we need to use a whole systems approach to tackle obesity.
Obesogenic Environments: Does Proximity Matter?
In the fourth of our blogs to mark National Obesity Awareness Week, Dr Claire Griffiths, Adele Morrin and Alex Christensen from Leeds Beckett University discuss whether proximity matters when it comes to tackling obesity.
Public health policy and campaigns; health promotion, without the stigma
In the third of our blogs to mark National Obesity Awareness Week, Dr Stuart Flint, Rebecca Smith and Maddie Sweetman from Leeds Beckett University discuss eliminating weight stigma and discrimination in health promotion campaigns.
Lack of funding for weight management services
In the second of our blogs to mark National Obesity Awareness Week, James Nobles and Professor Paul Gately from Leeds Beckett University and Carol Weir from MoreLife discuss the lack of funding for weight management services
Importance of healthy nutrition in early childhood obesity prevention
In the first of our blogs to mark National Obesity Awareness Week, Professor Pinki Sahota and Dr Sara Ahern from Leeds Beckett University discuss the importance of healthy nutrition in childhood and how early adoption of good habits can set children up for life.
Will the lack of diversity in the events industry be addressed in 2018?
In today's Beckett Trends post, Dr Kate Dashper, Reader in the School of Events, Tourism and Hospitality Management, looks at the lack of diversity in the events industry and if diversity in senior positions will be addressed in 2018.
Poor retention = restless, agitated students: Discuss.
In today’s Beckett Trends post, Professor Jim McKenna, Professor of Sport at Carnegie School of Sport, looks at addiction and how it applies to our daily lives.
What impact will Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel have?
Here, Professor Dorina-Maria Buda, who is currently in Israel and Palestinian territories, reflects on how tourism has been affected in Jerusalem, following the USA President’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Five digital trends to look out for in Higher Education in 2018
In today's Beckett Trends post, Simon Thomson, Head of Digital Pedagogy in the Centre for Learning and Teaching, looks ahead to what digital trends we should look out for in Higher Education in 2018.
Simon Thomson
Is the party over? Local events and festivals in times of austerity
In today's Beckett Trends post, Professor Emma Wood looks forward to the future of the events industry in times of cuts and austerity. Is the party over?
What makes a terrible video game?
In this blog, Gamer and Senior Lecturer Lee Stocks, Course Leader of Games Design in the School of Computing, Creative Technologies and Engineering, looks at what makes a video game terrible.
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