Palaeontologist Dr Steve Sweetman will be accompanying journalists down from London and around the Isle of Wight, known as Dinosaur Island, on the launch day of a new dinosaur experience.

Dr Steve Sweetman

A Dinosaur Island Trail will use exciting new technology to give visitors the chance to see themselves standing alongside dinosaurs in the very place they were discovered.

The app will be available to download from anywhere in the world, but will only come to life at six coastal locations on the Isle of Wight.

Using the new augmented reality app, visitors can use their smart phones and tablets to take a picture of their family and friends walking alongside the dinosaurs that roamed the Isle of Wight 130 million years ago. The experience links the dinosaur characters in the Walking with Dinosaurs movie, due to be released this year, to the dinosaurs that lived on the Isle of Wight.

Multimedia company Appshaker, who have worked with National Geographic, have developed the app, which interacts with electronic chips embedded in posts at various points along the trail.

Dr Sweetman said: “I am thrilled to be involved in such an exciting project. As a resident of the Island I do a lot of my work here, and have found many new species on the Island. These include eight new dinosaurs, one of which was a very large and fearsome relative of Velociraptor.

“To be able to share my knowledge of the dinosaurs and other creatures that lived here millions of years ago is always very rewarding.”

Dr Sweetman is a member of the Palaeobiology Research Group at the University of Portsmouth, and has discovered more than 50 new species of vertebrates that lived in the shadows of the dinosaurs. He recently discovered one of the smallest four-legged creatures ever to have walked with the dinosaurs, a tiny amphibian nicknamed ‘Wessie’, and is an international leading expert on Early Cretaceous microvertebrates.

The Dinosaur Island Trail will be launched to the public on Friday June 21.

The experience is part of a programme of events co-ordinated by Visit Isle of Wight to celebrate the countdown to the release of Walking with Dinosaurs: The 3D Movie this December.

Master’s student Alan Bryce

Social housing providers need to target tenancy fraud if they want to save money, a recent study has found.

Figures released last week show that in 2013 the National Fraud Authority identified housing tenancy fraud as the second largest single drain on local government coffers caused by fraud in England, with an annual cost of £845 million. In addition there is a further £919 million annual loss to the public purse as a result of tenancy fraud committed against housing associations.

This combined annual loss to housing tenancy fraud of £1,764 million dwarfs housing benefit fraud, which is estimated to cost the UK taxpayer £350 million per annum.

The study, by University of Portsmouth Master’s student and Head of Counter Fraud at the Audit Commission, Alan Bryce, is the first to identify the true scale of the problem, and to suggest ways to combat it.

Housing tenancy fraud occurs when a tenant unlawfully sublets a council or housing association-owned property to someone else, when a family abandons a house or does not occupy that property as their principal home.

Almost 100,000 people in England are committing tenancy fraud, equivalent to a community the size of Woking, Rugby or Eastbourne.

Councils reclaimed nearly 1,800 homes from housing tenancy fraudsters last year. To build an equivalent number of homes from scratch would have cost the public purse over £265 million.

Social housing providers are getting better at detecting tenancy fraud, as long as they look in the correct way, says Alan.

Londoners are less likely to get away with committing tenancy fraud, as councils in London have been addressing the issue for longer and many already employ specialised fraud detection investigators.

Housing associations also have an important role to play. They now account for over half of the total social housing stock in England. Unlike councils, there is no national information on the numbers of housing association properties recovered from tenancy fraudsters.

“These figures are only starting to make a dent in the problem,” says Alan.

Currently over half of all non-London councils with housing stock did not detect even a single housing tenancy fraud in 2012. Although non-London councils are increasingly taking action against tenancy fraudsters, there is still considerable scope to do more to save some of the millions lost to fraud.

Dr Graham Brooks, of the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies at the University, said: “This is a very timely study, we are hoping social housing providers will take heed of the advice given in the report.”

The study makes several suggestions, including hiring specialist fraud investigators to track down tenancy fraud.

In addition, social housing providers are encouraged to work with each other to unmask the tenancy fraudsters.

Alan says: “There is a lot of good practice happening in non-London social housing providers, what these people need to do is share their knowledge with each other.”

The study highlights the role members of the public play in tackling such fraud, and encourages people to raise their concerns with the council or housing associations when they suspect tenancy fraud is occurring within their neighbourhood.

The findings are published in ‘Protecting the Public Purse 2012′, an annual national publication produced by the Audit Commission .

Expert in missing people Dr Karen Shalev Greene

The first international conference on missing people opens at the University of Portsmouth tomorrow.

Held over three days, the academic and multi-agency conference aims to explore ways to reduce the number of preventable disappearances.

Millions of people go missing around the world every year.  In Britain in 2010-2011, police recorded 327,000 missing people – one every two minutes. Children and young people make up two thirds of all missing people in the UK, with more than 140,000 children reported missing every year – more than one every five minutes.

The conference, from June 18-20, is being organised by the University’s Centre for the Study of Missing Persons in partnership with the charity Missing People, the Serious Organised Crime Agency’s Missing Persons Bureau and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP).

Jeremy Browne, Home Office Crime Prevention Minister, will be speaking via video at the beginning of the conference. He said: “The government is working hard to tackle the issue of missing people and child sexual exploitation.

“In the past these incidents were largely hidden and now child sexual exploitation is rightly centre stage as an issue we must tackle. That is why a new Home Office led national group has been set up to tackle sexual violence against children and vulnerable people.

“This conference is an excellent opportunity for charities, law enforcement agencies, Parliamentarians and academics to come together to forge ways of better protecting and safeguarding missing people.”

The conference will be opened by Ann Coffey MP, Chair of the All-party Parliamentary Group on Runaway and Missing Children and Adults, and speakers will include: Patrick Geenty, Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police and lead on missing people for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, Professor John Craven.

Conference organiser Director of the Centre for the Study of Missing Persons, Dr Karen Shalev Greene, said: “The level of expertise in the room is extremely high. The subject of missing is complex but, until now, the entire spectrum of experts and interested parties have not been together in one place at one conference to debate, discuss and inform others of their work and the challenges and breakthroughs they have encountered.

“The combined efforts of this broad group have the power to influence policy and police practice here and abroad, but the absolute top priority for all of us is to save lives.”

Jo Youle, Missing People Chief Executive said: “We are very pleased to partner with Portsmouth University for this event; it is rare to be able to draw expertise from academia, family support, law enforcement and parliament to better serve people affected by a disappearance.

“The research presented at the conference will allow us to truly explore the nuances of issues which families and missing people regularly face, and we intend to build on this year-on-year.”

Among the subjects discussed are child abduction, child exploitation, autism, dementia, suicide, people who go missing in international disasters, the accuracy of age-progression drawings of missing children, and the ability of people to recognise someone from a drawing.

For more information please visit www.port.ac.uk/departments/academic/icjs/csmp/conference/

Professor John Craven, CBE

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, Professor John Craven, has been awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Professor Craven received the award for his services to higher education and to the community in Portsmouth.

Professor Craven will retire from the University next month after 16 years as Vice-Chancellor. He has led the University through the many changes that have transformed it into the large, modern, teaching and research institution it is today, recognised as a major player in the city and region with a strong international profile.

“I feel very privileged to receive this award from the Queen.   We have seen a lot of changes in university education during the last 16 years, and it has been a great pleasure and privilege to work with many very talented people to ensure that our University has continued to grow and thrive.  I would also pay tribute to the strong support received for the University from many people in the city and beyond.“

Professor Craven was the founding chair in 2006 of the University Alliance, the mission group that represents 23 of the UK’s leading business-engaged universities. He is a member of the Archbishop’s Council of the Church of England, the Board of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, and of the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership.  Previously he was chair of the Board at St Luke’s School, Portsmouth, of the New Theatre Royal and has served on the Cathedral Councils of Portsmouth and Canterbury.

He received the Lifetime Achievement Award at The News Business Excellence Awards 2013 (Portsmouth) for his dedication in linking education with business, locally, nationally and internationally.

Professor Craven spent 25 years at the University of Kent in Canterbury in a variety of roles, becoming Deputy Vice-Chancellor in 1993. Professor Craven has published three books including a well-known text-book on introductory economics which has been widely used in schools, colleges and universities. His main academic interests are theoretical economics and the theory of social science.

He read mathematics and economics at Cambridge University and in 1970 was awarded a Kennedy Memorial Scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Professor Catherine Harper

The University has appointed a new Dean for the Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries.

Professor Catherine Harper is currently Dean of the School of Arts and Digital Industries at the University of East London. She will join the Faculty at the beginning of September.

Professor Harper said: “I am delighted to be joining such a dynamic and inspiring institution. I will be proud to be part of a university that is looking to the future in such a positive manner.”

Originally a visual arts and textiles practitioner, she has specialised in public commissions, installation and performance, and has undertaken artist residencies in Ireland, Canada and the Czech Republic.

Before joining the University of East London in 2011, Professor Harper led Architecture and Design at the University of Brighton for five years, with previous academic, research and management experience at the University for the Creative Arts, the University of the Arts, Goldsmiths College and the University of Ulster.

Rebecca Bunting, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth said: “Catherine joins us at an exciting time for the faculty. We are looking forward to the new ideas and leadership that she will bring to the creative and cultural industry subject areas.”

A member of the Arts and Humanities Research Council Peer Review College and an Arts Council Advisor, Professor Harper is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and sits on the International Committee for Fashion in Fiction.

Professor Les Ebdon with some children from Year 6.

Professor Les Ebdon, director of the Office for Fair Access (OFFA), visited the University of Portsmouth this week.

Professor Ebdon watched an UP for It Juniors graduation ceremony, which involved Year 6 children from St Thomas More’s Catholic Primary School, and met many of the staff who organise the work the University does with local schools.

He said: “I’m thrilled to have had the chance to see the excellent work the University carries out with Year 6 children.

“It’s great to see how enthusiastic the children are about attending university and how their aspirations have been raised.”

The Office for Fair Access is an independent public body that helps safeguard and promote fair access to higher education.

Christine Martin, Education Liaison and Outreach Manager at the University of Portsmouth said: “We appreciated being able to demonstrate the our continued efforts to change perceptions and encourage pupils from a range of backgrounds to see higher education as an attractive and accessible option.”

UP for it Juniors is a scheme run by the University of Portsmouth and provides a free service for children and schools in the local area, encouraging them to think about their futures and their wider community through a series of activities and resources.

The main aim is to increase children’s confidence and aspirations alongside the National Curriculum and Government Agendas and to aid their transition from Primary to Secondary School.

Find out more here http://www.upforitjuniors.co.uk

CCi TV Presents: ADM & CT Summer Show 2013 from CCi TV on Vimeo.

The University of Portsmouth’s CCI TV channel broadcast live original content to the Portsmouth Big Screen and over the internet. Produced by 60 television and broadcasting students and staff, this is the longest live student broadcast of wholly original content ever produced as part of a degree course in this country, with six completely new programmes.

The broadcast allowed the Eldon summer show, which showcases final-year student work from the School of Art, Design and Media and the School of Creative Technologies, to be viewed by thousands.

Course leader Charlie Watts said: “This is what my course is ultimately designed to do, to broadcast live original content far and wide, for as long as entertainingly possible.”

The broadcast included two live simultaneous transmissions. The first started at 2pm with a magazine-style show from the CCI TV studios. At 6pm the students’ fashion show went live on the internet and the BBC Big Screen in the Guildhall Square, and the two shows then aired at the same time meaning viewers online could choose which show they wanted to watch.

Gary Bown, principal lecturer in creative technologies, who oversaw the transmission of the fashion show, said: “We were surprised and impressed when the students came up with the idea of doing two broadcasts at the same time. Their enterprising spirit inspired everyone.”

Television and broadcasting students in front of the Portsmouth Big Screen, where their work was broadcast live to the public

Last year over 50 undergraduate students produced a live four-hour TV event for the CCI TV Channel. The event was recognised as a significant achievement by the television and video industry around the world, and this year staff and students in the University’s Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries wanted to make it even better.

Portsmouth City Council helped to put the show on this year. Charlie said: “Their enthusiasm to help get the entire broadcast transmitted on the Portsmouth Big Screen proved to be infectious, and helped inspire everyone to produce their best work.”

Charlie said: “Anyone can plug in a webcam and broadcast content to the web for hours on end, but to create a six-hour show of specially commissioned and wholly original TV programmes, while delivering TV pictures and sound to multiple platforms, is something that can only happen with collaboration.

“I am extremely proud of the students and staff who offered their services from all over the university, coupled with the city council who clearly understood all the benefits of showing the programme to the citizens of Portsmouth. It’s amazing what can be achieved when people work together.”

To view a teaser video of the broadcast, click on the video above or go to http://vimeo.com/67626709.

The full broadcast will be available on demand at www.vimeo.com/ccitv.

The preliminary study, by researchers at the University of Portsmouth and Down Syndrome Education International, found that memory training on computers in schools improved the visual short term memory of over half a group of 21 children with Down syndrome. It also found this improvement was sustained four months after the training had stopped.

Lead researcher Dr Stephanie Bennett

People with Down syndrome tend to have a limited short term memory, which mean they struggle to store and manipulate information over short periods of time. This can impact on many areas of learning, including learning words, grammar and reading.

Past studies have shown that memory in people with Down syndrome can be improved through training, but these improvements are not usually long-term.

The preliminary study was conducted with a small sample, but could prompt further research in the area. Lead researcher, Dr Stephanie Bennett of the University of Portsmouth, said: “We are really excited about the findings.

“We were unsure whether it would be feasible to deliver this kind of training in a school setting, but now we know that it is, researchers can go forward and explore it further.”

“As is often the case in these kinds of studies, some children made lots of progress and other children less so, and so research that explores this finding in more detail is a further area we wish to look at.”

Dr Bennett said: “What is really positive about this initial study is that the children who took part really enjoyed it. The programme is set up to be really fun and rewarding.

“The children all worked really hard to complete the training activities, and each child’s dedicated teaching assistant was key to making this happen, as they provided excellent support and encouragement throughout the study.”

Cogmed JM software. Image courtesy of Pearson Education. Cogmed is a trademark of Pearson Education Inc.

The study involved 21 children with Down syndrome aged between seven and 12 and took place in 19 different schools over 10 to 12 weeks.  The children used a computer program called Cogmed JM, designed for pre-school children, which includes seven different activities presented as games. They spent 15 to 30 minutes a day on the programme, three times a week.

The children completed up to 25 training sessions, each of which included three activities. Every few weeks a new activity was introduced and one activity removed to maintain interest.

The children were split into two groups. During the first part of the study, only the first group received the memory training. In the second part, the first group stopped their training and the second group were trained. All children’s memory skills were measured before and after training.

In the first memory test, 60 per cent of the children in the first group showed an improvement in visual short term memory. In the test at the end of the second part of the study, the second group of children showed a similar improvement, but more significantly, the first group had sustained their improvement, even though four months had elapsed since they had been trained.

The study found no improvement in the children’s verbal memory skills, an area people with Down syndrome have specific difficulty in.

Dr Bennett led the study while she was a research psychologist at Down Syndrome Education International, working in collaboration with Dr Joni Holmes from the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge and Professor Sue Buckley, director of science and research at Down Syndrome Education International.

The study was funded by The Baily Thomas Charitable Fund and Down Syndrome Education International.

Cogmed JM software was provided free of charge for use in the trial by Pearson Education.

The study is published in the American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Bernard Davis won the award for most outstanding positive impact.

A lecturer who uses colourful anecdotes to teach law students has won the highest award at the University of Portsmouth teaching awards.

Bernard Davis, of the School of Law, has won Portsmouth Students’ Union Teaching Awards for having the most outstanding positive impact on students.

Some 430 staff members were nominated to honour and recognise excellent teaching and support across the University, and these were cut and shortlisted to 80 members of staff in six categories. A panel of students from each faculty selected their favourite.

Bernard said: “Portsmouth is a great university with some immensely talented people in it. I feel very honoured to have my contribution singled out in this way.”

Dr Damien Carney, principal lecturer in the School of Law said: “Bernard is a very enthusiastic teacher whose practical experience gives him a wealth of stories which entertain and educate his students. It is not surprising they appreciate his different take on the teaching of law.”

The six winners with members of the Student’s Union, Vice-Chancellor Professor John Craven and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Ms Rebecca Bunting

The awards were announced by Enzo Nicolas Rossi, the Student’s Union Vice President for Education and Democracy.

Enzo said: “The most obvious purpose of Student Led teaching awards is to recognise and reward amazing Learning and Teaching practice within the institution and give a chance to students to thank outstanding lecturers for their hard work, which is an amazing thing.

“We are hoping that these awards will have influence well beyond the awards ceremony, both for the University’s teaching culture and for the individual staff members’ career progression.

“This year we have placed a lot more emphasis on receiving quality nominations so that we can have a map of what students consider to be good teaching, and we hope that this goes well beyond the event itself and that the efforts of outstanding staff can be recognised and emulated.”

Runners up for the Outstanding Impact award were Mark Frost (English Literature) and Gillian Gronow (SLAS).

The award for best feedback went to Martin Pearce (Architecture), with the runners-up being Jonathan Evans (SLAS) and Mark Frost (SSHLS).

The award for best personal tutor was David Franklin (SEES), with Kevin Curtis (Creative Technologies) and Phillip Soar (Geography) coming second.

The winner of the award for outstanding learner support was Walid Benkhaled (Creative Arts) and the runners up were Paul Carter (Geography) and Sharon Bittner, librarian for Criminology and Law.

The award for most innovative teacher went to Chris Hughes (Sport Science) with Gareth Owen and Richard Boakes, both from Computing, taking second place.

Postgraduate choice winner was Stephanie Bennett (ICJS) with runners up Allen Jennings (CCI) and Jon Evans (SLAS).

Social Work, and Nursing and Paramedical Studies have also been placed in the top five in the country of the subject specific tables.  Sports Science was ranked eighth.

The University has risen 30 places to be placed at number 48 in the 2014 guide.

The University has risen 30 places to be placed at number 48 in the guide, up from 78 last year. This is the second largest rise of all the universities in the table.

The guide is published annually and ranks all UK universities according to teaching excellence. Together with other national guides, it is used by potential undergraduate students, both national and international, to help select their future university.

The marked rise in the rankings was due to an improvement across all eight indicators assessed by the Guide, including expenditure per student and graduate career prospects.

Particular increases were reflected in the quality of teaching and an increased score for ‘added value’ which, according to the Guardian, means teaching has a bigger impact with more students achieving a better class of degree than might have been expected given their entry qualifications.

“I am very pleased with this increase in our position in the league table which reflects solid improvement across all areas of assessment. It is a clear indication of the high standards of our teaching and of all that we do to give our students an excellent experience”, said Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Craven.

The ranking of fifth in the country for Nursing and Paramedical Studies includes both the teaching of dental nurses, hygienists and therapists carried out within the University’s Dental Academy, as well as paramedic students.

Last year the University of Portsmouth was placed among the top 400 universities in the world and the top modern university in the United Kingdom by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings

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