Latest news with #IanPace
Yahoo
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
UK sociologist explores Greenock through the lens of playwright Peter MacDougall
A LEADING UK sociologist is set to launch a new study exploring Inverclyde through the lens of famous playwright Peter MacDougall. Professor Ian Pace, from the City St George's, London University, is turning his attention to the town in the 1960s to the 1990s for his next project. As part of his research he is staying for 10 days in the Greenock with plans to talk to as many people as possible about what life looked like with housing, employment, education, crime, urban planning and culture. An international pianist, the 57-year-old from the north east of England is professor of music culture and society. Prof Ian Pace (Image: Duncan Bryceland) He is now combining all his passions, including film, as he takes a look at the influence of Peter MacDougall's The Elephant's Grave and Just A Boy's Game. Speaking to the Tele, Professor Ian Pace said: "I want to look at the way Inverclyde was portrayed by Peter MacDougall. "There are so many studies on Glasgow but not about Greenock. It is an unexplored area in terms of academia and yet Peter MacDougall here was an influential film maker. "There is a real difference between Glasgow and Greenock. But there has been very little done academically on Greenock. "But it would appear to be the roots of the way the area is portrayed in popular culture. This largely continued through to the 1990s when there was real shift and social change. "I am here because I want to speak to people about what their memories of Greenock were, what was it like. "Do they recognise Greenock in these productions? Was that what it was like?" 1960s Greenock (Image: contributed) Greenock in the 1960s (Image: contributed) He added: "In my work I am very interested in the way characters in television are portrayed. I remember the detective in Sweeney. "A Glasgow accent was used to portray a hardman, someone who was worse than what was already there in South London. "What is interesting is most of Peter MacDougall's work was produced by the BBC down south." Peter MacDougall (Image: contributed) The professor hopes to add to his own impressive body of work with 'Inventing Clydeside for wider consumption: social developments from the 1960s to the 1990s and their constructions in the work of Peter McDougall' with the potential for a book. He added: "I am a huge film buff and I am a massive fan of his work and his films. I always have been. "I am originally from Hartlepool and there are some similarities with the shipbuilding. I have always been interested in urban sociology." Professor Pace has lined up a number of local people to speak to as he begins his research as he explores Greenock and Inverclyde. Some of his past work and areas of expertise include German history, society, politics and music in the twentieth century and the impact of the Cold War on culture. He is also an internationally acclaimed pianist studying at the Juilliard School, New York, where he studied with the Hungarian pianist György Sándor. Professor Pace has featured as a soloist with the Orchestre de Paris under Christoph Eschenbach, the SWF Orchester Stuttgart under Rupert Huber, and the Dortmund Philharmonic under Bernhard Kontarsky.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Universities will be punished if they fail to champion diversity
Universities will be punished if they fail to champion diversity under a funding plan that critics warn will prioritise ideology over academic excellence. Under proposals to change the allocation of taxpayer funding for academic research, first reported in The Times, universities will have to show they are tackling inequalities and promoting diversity and inclusion. The changes are being proposed as part of a package of reforms to the research excellence framework (REF) which determines how government funding is allocated between different institutions. As part of the plans, universities will have to show the promotion success rate of underrepresented groups and the percentage of black, Asian and mixed-race academics eligible for funding. They will also have to provide evidence that diversity initiatives are being 'appropriately recognised', The Times reported. The REF is run by UK Research and Innovation, a quango of the department for science, innovation and technology. Currently, the REF ranks institutions and departments based on their research output and impact, as well as the environment in which the research takes place. Output and impact account for 85 per cent of marks whilst environment, which includes equality and diversity, account for 15 per cent. But under the new plans, the 'environment' element will be replaced by a 'people, culture and environment' framework. It would now make up 25 per cent of the assessment mark, as research output falls from 60 to 50 per cent. Julius Grower, a professor of law at the University of Oxford, told The Times that the changes were causing a 'great deal of angst among people who care about academic freedom and freedom of speech'. He said: 'The fear is the REF is becoming a portal to promoting compliance with a range of EDI policies with highly contestable content. 'People are increasingly concerned that it is losing sight of what it is supposed to be doing: promoting the pursuit of scholarly excellence.' Ian Pace, a professor of music, culture and society at the University of London, said the changes might reduce the emphasis on academic rigour in universities in favour of 'ideological conformity'. Research England, which runs the assessment on behalf of the UK's four higher education funding bodies, said the new scheme was intended to look beyond the 'narrow' focus on research alone when making funding decisions. Rebecca Fairbairn, director of the REF, insisted that equality and diversity indicators remained a 'small part' of the overall assessment process. She said: 'The aim is to change the narrow focus in the current REF on published output to look across the system at how you promote excellence using a much wider set of indicators. 'While people may feel nervous, our intention is to not to be prescriptive or impose a new system. We are working with the sector to create a framework that supports excellence across the broad range of high quality work being carried out in British universities.'
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Universities will be punished if they fail to champion diversity
Universities will be punished if they fail to champion diversity under a funding plan that critics warn will prioritise ideology over academic excellence. Under proposals to change the allocation of taxpayer funding for academic research, first reported in The Times, universities will have to show they are tackling inequalities and promoting diversity and inclusion. The changes are being proposed as part of a package of reforms to the research excellence framework (REF) which determines how government funding is allocated between different institutions. As part of the plans, universities will have to show the promotion success rate of underrepresented groups and the percentage of black, Asian and mixed-race academics eligible for funding. They will also have to provide evidence that diversity initiatives are being 'appropriately recognised', The Times reported. The REF is run by UK Research and Innovation, a quango of the department for science, innovation and technology. Currently, the REF ranks institutions and departments based on their research output and impact, as well as the environment in which the research takes place. Output and impact account for 85 per cent of marks whilst environment, which includes equality and diversity, account for 15 per cent. But under the new plans, the 'environment' element will be replaced by a 'people, culture and environment' framework. It would now make up 25 per cent of the assessment mark, as research output falls from 60 to 50 per cent. Julius Grower, a professor of law at the University of Oxford, told The Times that the changes were causing a 'great deal of angst among people who care about academic freedom and freedom of speech'. He said: 'The fear is the REF is becoming a portal to promoting compliance with a range of EDI policies with highly contestable content. 'People are increasingly concerned that it is losing sight of what it is supposed to be doing: promoting the pursuit of scholarly excellence.' Ian Pace, a professor of music, culture and society at the University of London, said the changes might reduce the emphasis on academic rigour in universities in favour of 'ideological conformity'. Research England, which runs the assessment on behalf of the UK's four higher education funding bodies, said the new scheme was intended to look beyond the 'narrow' focus on research alone when making funding decisions. Rebecca Fairbairn, director of the REF, insisted that equality and diversity indicators remained a 'small part' of the overall assessment process. She said: 'The aim is to change the narrow focus in the current REF on published output to look across the system at how you promote excellence using a much wider set of indicators. 'While people may feel nervous, our intention is to not to be prescriptive or impose a new system. We are working with the sector to create a framework that supports excellence across the broad range of high quality work being carried out in British universities.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
