News from departments around the University

Autistic kids have poorer sleep quality than their peers right up to their teens Children with autistic spectrum disorders have poorer sleep quality than their peers right up to their teens, reveals research conducted by an international team including researchers from Bristol. The findings, published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, show total sleep duration is shorter and punctuated by more frequent waking at night and this poor-quality sleep may affect daytime learning and behaviour. [01/10/2013]

Concerns over mercury levels in fish may be unfounded New research from the Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol suggests that fish accounts for only seven per cent of mercury levels in the human body. In an analysis of 103 food and drink items consumed by 4,484 women during pregnancy, researchers found that the 103 items together accounted for less than 17 per cent of total mercury levels in the body. [30/09/2013]

New research links individual animal behaviour with social spacing New research by the universities of Bristol and Princeton has found certain animal species are capable of co-ordinating their spatial behaviour to cover terrain by maintaining areas of exclusive use while sharing other regions of space with their neighbours. [30/09/2013]

Outstanding interest-only mortgages put older people at risk One in three over 70’s with mortgages have interest-only mortgages with no linked investment and 13 per cent of older people with mortgages are struggling to make repayments on their home. These are the findings from new research led by academics at the University of Bristol’s Personal Finance Research Centre and the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC–UK) – a leading think-tank on demographic change. [30/09/2013]

Study reveals dramatic fall in death rates after hip replacements Mortality rates in the first 90 days following hip replacement surgery have halved according to a study led by Professor Ashley Blom from the University of Bristol's School of Clinical Sciences. [26/09/2013]

Small changes can yield big results for workplace giving Charities are constantly searching for innovative, low cost ways to maximise their fundraising revenues. Insights from behavioural economics may offer some solutions. Small, seemingly trivial changes such as including a picture of a colleague on marketing material, asking donors to opt-out rather than opt-in to annual donation increases and giving sweets to potential donors have all proved to be successful methods to encourage workplace giving and to increase donor sign up. [26/09/2013]

Lottery funding plays an important role, helping charities to thrive New research from the Centre for Market and Public Organisation (CMPO) demonstrates the importance of grant income – in this case grants from the Community Fund (one of the predecessors to the Big Lottery Fund) – to many charities. [26/09/2013]

Study finds link between commonly prescribed statin and memory impairment New research that looked at whether two commonly prescribed statin medicines, used to lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or ‘bad cholesterol’ levels in the blood, can adversely affect cognitive function has found that one of the drugs tested caused memory impairment in rats. [25/09/2013]

Do anaesthetics trigger stress? [24/09/2013]

Law professor awarded accolade for excellence in social sciences research [20/09/2013]

Live demonstration of SDN-enabled optical circuit switching at ECOC 2013 [18/09/2013]

Why some parents think your partner isn’t good enough [18/09/2013]

Impact of 2008 global economic crisis on suicide: time trend study in 54 countries [17/09/2013]

Faculty Research Directors: new appointments [17/09/2013]

£1.2 million for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome research [16/09/2013]

Faculty Research Director [23/09/2013]

Achilles’ heel of ice shelves is beneath the water, scientists reveal [16/09/2013]

Bristol Nanomaterials Centre goes to China [16/09/2013]

Jurassic jaws: how ancient crocodiles flourished during the age of the dinosaurs [11/09/2013]

Quantum in the Cloud [05/09/2013]

Bristol academic awarded Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship [05/09/2013]

Building the Bristol Dinosaur [05/09/2013]

Robotic food helps scientists understand predators [03/09/2013]

Mega-canyon discovered beneath Greenland ice sheet [03/09/2013]

World-leading penguin experts come to Bristol [22/08/2013]

'Waiting strategy' helps street camera operators to judge suspicious events [22/08/2013]

Fossil fishes come to life in Ilminster [21/08/2013]

Melting water's lubricating effect on glaciers has only 'minor' role in future sea-level rise [15/08/2013]

Wildflowers sown across Bristol to encourage insect life [15/08/2013]

Anomodonts and mass extinction [15/08/2013]

Autistic kids have poorer sleep quality than their peers right up to their teens Children with autistic spectrum disorders have poorer sleep quality than their peers right up to their teens, reveals research conducted by an international team including researchers from Bristol. The findings, published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, show total sleep duration is shorter and punctuated by more frequent waking at night and this poor-quality sleep may affect daytime learning and behaviour. [01/10/2013]

Concerns over mercury levels in fish may be unfounded New research from the Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol suggests that fish accounts for only seven per cent of mercury levels in the human body. In an analysis of 103 food and drink items consumed by 4,484 women during pregnancy, researchers found that the 103 items together accounted for less than 17 per cent of total mercury levels in the body. [30/09/2013]

Study reveals dramatic fall in death rates after hip replacements Mortality rates in the first 90 days following hip replacement surgery have halved according to a study led by Professor Ashley Blom from the University of Bristol's School of Clinical Sciences. [26/09/2013]

Lottery funding plays an important role, helping charities to thrive New research from the Centre for Market and Public Organisation (CMPO) demonstrates the importance of grant income – in this case grants from the Community Fund (one of the predecessors to the Big Lottery Fund) – to many charities. [26/09/2013]

Celebrating Bristol’s brain power Ever wondered how your brain controls movement or creates memories? The wonders and complexities of the human brain are being explained at a free festival of neuroscience, organised by the University of Bristol to give a unique insight into the power of our cleverest organ. [25/09/2013]

Impact of 2008 global economic crisis on suicide: time trend study in 54 countries [17/09/2013]

£1.2 million for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome research [16/09/2013]

Stay healthy during pregnancy to keep lead levels low [06/09/2013]

UK’s leading dementia research charity invites you to meet the scientists [04/09/2013]

Professor Julian Hamilton Shield to feature on ITV programme about the UK's unhealthy generation [03/09/2013]

Study suggests chlamydia infection rates have changed over time but remains common among young women [21/08/2013]

Local health research to benefit from national investment to tackle major health challenges [09/08/2013]

Bristol researchers rewarded for excellence in psychopharmacology [06/08/2013]

Health and social care staff must look out for signs of domestic violence [02/08/2013]

Deeds and Words: Gender, Protest and Law Reform - Workshop, 24th Oct. Lois Bibbings and Gwen Seabourne have been awarded funding by the Institute for Advanced Studies, to hold a series of five research workshops on gender aspects of protest against legal rules, coinciding with the centenary of notable incidents in the history of the campaign for women’s suffrage. The first session, "Bristol: October 1913", is on Thursday 24th October at 5.45 in G 25 (Reynolds Lecture Theatre) in the Wills Memorial Building. [01/10/2013]

Innocence Network UK (INUK) 8th Annual Conference, 1-2 November 2013 The 8th Annual Innocence Project Training Conference will take place at the University of Sheffield on 1-2 November 2013. [30/09/2013]

Steven Greer elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts [20/09/2013]

Judith Masson awarded accolade for excellence in social sciences research [20/09/2013]

Issue 8 of INQUIRY, The Quarterly Newsletter of the Innocence Network UK available [19/08/2013]

Leverhulme Trust Award - “Shared Ownership: Crisis Moments” [15/08/2013]

Professor Achilles Skordas discusses the situation in Darfur, Sudan, on 'Voice of Russia' (VoR) radio [13/08/2013]

Dr Michael Naughton talks to BBC about Simon Hall's admission of murder after a decade of maintaining innocence [12/08/2013]

Chemistry Library refurbishment completion [20/09/2013]

Presentation prize for Aggarwal group at Euroboron 6 [19/09/2013]

BCFN goes to China [18/09/2013]

John Bower wins RSC/BMOS Young Investigator Award [10/09/2013]

A second poster prize for CDT student Megan Shaw [10/09/2013]

Bristol's new chemistry blog makes the Nature Chemistry blogroll [23/08/2013]

Bristol Chemical Synthesis CDT student wins Synfacts Poster Prize [15/08/2013]

Teaching Laboratory Fellow on stage at Science Showoff [15/08/2013]

PhD Student awarded 2013 Society of Chemical Industry Scholarship [02/08/2013]

Why some parents think your partner isn’t good enough [19/09/2013]

Professor Simon Hiscock elected Vice President of the Linnean Society [05/09/2013]

Where can coral reefs relocate to escape the heat? [29/08/2013]

Epic ocean voyages of baby corals revealed [21/08/2013]

InsideArts, Faculty of Arts festival, launches programme [24/09/2013]

Chaucer Conference awarded MHRA conference grant [18/09/2013]

Congratulations to new students of English [15/08/2013]

Early Modern Paratexts 2013 - registration and programme [06/06/2013]

InsideArts, Faculty of Arts festival, launches programme [24/09/2013]

Deems Taylor Award for Dr David Trippett [15/09/2013]

Autumn concerts and events brochure out now [04/09/2013]

Professor Katharine Ellis elected a Fellow of the British Academy [19/07/2013]

Bristol's Crypto Group Hosts the World Cryptographers [14/04/2012]

Bristol University to play pivotal role in protecting the country from cyber attack [02/04/2012]

Cryptographic attack highlights the importance of bug-free software [29/02/2012]

New EPSRC grant on Robust Integrated Verification of Autonomous Systems [27/02/2012]

A-Level results day [15/08/2013]

New study highlights the extent of physical activity disparities in England [01/08/2013]

Dr Matt Bamber wins University Teaching award [21/06/2013]

Bristol EFM team reaches final in the 2013 econometrics game [18/04/2013]

UBPAS September 2013 - Important Reminder [23/08/2013]

UBPAS August 2013 Communications Update [23/08/2013]

UBPAS 2013 Consultation Information [13/06/2013]

eRecruit: The University's new recruitment system [19/06/2012]

The Final Cohort of BSc Deaf Studies cordially invite you to the Deaf Studies Ball [17/06/2013]

MobileSign - our free British Sign Language lexicon app now available outside Apple App Store and Google Play [27/02/2013]

Centre for Deaf Studies launches its new Deaf awareness learning resource and mobile app - Deafworkmate [25/02/2013]

The Centre for Deaf Studies was shocked to hear of Hal Draper's untimely passing, a loss of national significance for the British Deaf community [11/01/2013]

Congratulations to new students of Humanities [15/08/2013]

History: Professor Ronald Hutton welcomed as Fellow of the British Academy. [19/07/2013]

£836,000 for collaborative environmental history project [07/06/2013]

Remembering Exhibitions at the RWA [23/05/2013]

Alasdair Miller appointed as President of BDA [17/09/2013]

Dr Jane Luker is appointed as the Dental Postgraduate Dean [09/09/2013]

Dental Hygiene Diploma Success [17/07/2013]

Dental Education Support Team wins University awards [18/06/2013]

M-Shed talk on portrait photography M-Shed Lunchtime Talk: 'Facing The Subject: Aspects Of Contemporary Portrait Photography', by Dr Dorothy Rowe, 25th October 1pm. [27/09/2013]

InsideArts, Faculty of Arts festival, launches programme [24/09/2013]

Exhibition of photographs of Shanghai past and present at The Island [24/09/2013]

Professor Catherine Speck (University of Adelaide) to talk on modern Australian artists in Europe [10/09/2013]

Congratulations to new students of History of Art [15/08/2013]

New donation to print collection [09/08/2013]

Personal Health Data [06/09/2013]

Immunisation sessions [06/08/2013]

Health Survey warning [06/08/2013]

SHS now on Twitter [06/06/2013]

Technicians' Away Day 2013 - stimulating, informative and challenging [16/09/2013]

New induction films for staff [26/04/2013]

2012 staff survey results available [03/12/2012]

Blackboard upgrade: summer 2012 - roadshows [29/05/2012]

CRICBristol Research Users Away Day, 19 November 2013 [03/09/2013]

Systems Approaches to Sleep Collaborative Workshop, 18th-19th March 2013 [18/02/2013]

CRICBristol Open Day, Mon 19th Nov 2012 [03/10/2012]

SuSTaIn workshop: High dimensional and dependent functional data [05/09/2012]

What will universities in 2030 be like? Our students' views. [25/03/2013]

Universities in 2030 - Student film competition (£50 prizes) [25/03/2013]

Video Footage of WUN Adapting to Climate Change Lectures Now Available [04/03/2013]

Bristol PVCR on International Research Collaborations [24/01/2013]

Blackboard running slowly – 1st October – Update Following on from the problems with the speed of the Blackboard Service today we will be switching off the Notification Dashboard from tonight. We will be monitoring the impact of this change and will provide updates via this blog. If you have any questions please email TEL-Help@bristol.ac.uk   [01/10/2013]

Blackboard running slowly – 01st October We are currently experiencing problems with Blackboard and as a result the service is running very slowly. Our colleagues in Information Services are working to fix the problem. Apologies for any inconvenience this may be causing you at this busy time of year. If you have any questions please email TEL-Help@bristol.ac.uk   [01/10/2013]

New academic year Blackboard activity The new academic year has begun, and many students are eagerly trying to access their courses on Blackboard. When we rolled the SITS-linked courses over from last year, we made them unavailable to students, so that staff could make any changes they wanted to before releasing them to a new cohort. Once a course is […] [30/09/2013]

Blackboard Mobile Log in Problems – Update [19/09/2013]

Blackboard Mobile Log in Problems [18/09/2013]

“Archiving” of 2012-13 courses [16/09/2013]

Critical Dates for 2013_14 [11/09/2013]

Blackboard Downtime – Tuesday 3rd September 2013 – 7 – 11am – Work Complete [03/09/2013]

Urgent Blackboard Downtime – Tuesday 3rd September 2013 – 7 – 11am [29/08/2013]

[22/08/2013]