Latest news with #UniversityofKent
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Elite cyclists sought to take part in drugs study
Elite cyclists are being sought to take part in trials into whether two over-the-counter painkillers should added to the sport's banned list. The University of Kent in Canterbury is conducting the research on behalf of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) into tarpentadol and dihyracodeine. The drugs are available on prescription. The team said they needed elite cyclists, and particularly women, to test their effects on performance. Prof Lex Mauger, from the University of Kent, said: "It's illegal in the UK to drive or operate heavy machinery, having taken these drugs. "Because of that, and because someone who is riding a bike, at very high speeds and in close proximity to a competitor, that impact of motor control could have quite significant effects on the safety of the athlete." The trial began on 1 March and will run for a year, with some subjects given the drugs and others a placebo. Three-dimensional cameras focused on markers on the bike will be used to track the effects on their motor skills as they ride. The university also conducted the study which lead to tramadol being banned by WADA in 2024, although it was banned in cycling in 2019. Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Millar to mentor young cyclists Ukad let British Cycling test own riders Tramadol banned in cycling from March I wouldn't change a thing - Armstrong University of Kent
The Hindu
26-04-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Why we need the Humanities
There has been some bad news for the Humanities. A year ago, the University of Kent, the U.K., confirmed that it would phase out Art History, Anthropology, Health and Social Care, Journalism, Music and Audio Technology, and Philosophy and Religious Studies. Citing financial reasons, Canterbury Christ Church University in Kent announced in November 2024 that it would stop offering English Literature programmes from September 2025. Cardiff University does not want to continue with the Ancient Language modules due to a huge financial deficit. Goldsmiths, University of London, has also decided to scrap a few Arts and Humanities modules. In India too, certain Arts departments are not secure about their future and some Humanities programmes have already been staggered. During the Renaissance, the focus in educational institutions was on studia humanitatis or 'studies of humanity,' especially Greek and Latin classics, Grammar and Rhetoric and Languages, Literature, Philosophy and History. The Humanities refer to those academic disciplines that focus on human beings and rely on hermeneutics or theories of interpretation as their predominant methodology. They differ from Pure Sciences because of their content and pedagogy. Subjects like Physics and Chemistry focus on matter and depend on laboratory experiments for their data. Sociology, Anthropology and Psychology deal with human beings but their insistence on positivistic and empirical methodology differentiates them from the Humanities and categorises them as Social Sciences. Why are the Humanities being side-lined? We need to realise that the neglect of the Humanities is not a recent phenomenon, for as early as the 19th century, German philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey classified all academic disciplines into two groups: the Human Sciences and the Natural Sciences. What is appalling is that even the Humanities were forcibly brought under the sciences. Dilthey went a step further and proclaimed that, to survive, the Humanities should adopt the empirical methodology. Challenges What are the problems that plague the Humanities departments? First, it is a fact that there are not many takers for certain Arts programmes. In India, very few applications are received for programmes like History and Philosophy, making them financially unviable. In the West too, not many students are enthusiastic about the Humanities. Second, in the job market all over the world, STEM students pocket most of the placements. Humanities students are increasingly ignored by recruiting companies. Third, Sciences depend on laboratory experiments and deal with facts, and believe that truth is singular. But the Humanities, especially from a postmodern perspective that has called for an 'incredulity towards metanarratives', speak of truths in the plural. This has unnerved not only the hard sciences but also the Social Sciences that rely predominantly on quantitative data. Fourth, there is sometimes a feeling that Humanities students are not quite as diligent and hard-working as their Science counterparts who spend long hours in their labs. Put differently, poetry, novels and films are considered subjects that do not rigorous classroom teaching. Last and most important, today's digital world is heavily data-based and everything is worked out in terms of numbers, percentages and ratios. Such a world has deepened the divide between the Sciences and the Humanities. Pressing need The world certainly needs the Humanities, which talk about transcendence while the Sciences are confined to immanence. This is one of its strengths. Second, a study of the Humanities ingrains a sense of empathy, which is vital to the survival of the humankind. Aristotle talked about pity and terror and the resultant catharsis. Only because the learners are empathetic to the tragic protagonists do they experience pity and fear. Third, the Humanities help enhance the learners' emotional intelligence. Fourth, the Humanities promote hermeneutics, the theory of interpretation. The Social Sciences — and Pure Sciences too to some extent — need hermeneutics to interpret data, both quantitative and qualitative. Finally, the Humanities teach us to look at the world aesthetically and appreciate even 'the meanest flower that blows'. C.P. Snow in his Rede Lecture (1959) remarked that 'the intellectual life of western society is increasingly being split into two polar groups ... literary intellectuals at one pole — and at the other scientists' ('Two Cultures'). Ultimately, there should be a rapprochement between the two and we should strive to bridge the gap, making the Humanities incrementally scientific/systematic as in the case of Digital Humanities, and the Sciences more humanistic, especially in terms of methodology. Without ethics, aesthetics and hermeneutics that constitute the soul of the Humanities, the world will not be an ideal place for human beings. The writer is Emeritus Professor, Gandhigram Rural Institute-Deemed to be University.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
University funding 'not working'
The vice chancellor of Canterbury Christ Church University has called for the government to increase tuition fees in line with inflation. Professor Rama Thirunamachandran told the BBC the "funding model for higher education is not working", citing changes in student visa rules and rising costs as reasons why his institution is having to cut costs. The university is planning to axe up to 400 jobs, and has already cut 148 through a voluntary redundancy scheme. "This government inherited a sector facing serious financial risk and has taken tough decisions to fix the foundations of higher education," the Department of Education said. Prof Thirunamachandran said: "The tuition fees which were set in 2013 have only been slightly upgraded. They are worth two thirds of what they were." Canterbury Christ Church University is also phasing out its English Literature degree after current students graduate. The vice chancellor said this was necessary because of a lack of student demand, adding "not every university can run every subject when the demand has fallen". Freya Hodge, a second year English literature and history student, said: "In Canterbury, you've got an abundance of literary legends, like Chaucer, Aphra Benn." She added: "To now actually get rid of the subject is just a betrayal of the city's legacy." Craig Potter, the chair of the local branch of the University and Colleges Union (UCU) said the cuts have taken an emotional toll on staff. "To be under threat of losing their jobs is incredibly hard for everybody," he said. "I have people come to me at the beginning of the day, at the end of the day in tears, and people having to go off sick at the stress of it all," he said. The University of Kent is aiming to save nearly £20m this year, mostly through a voluntary redundancy scheme and not filling vacant roles. It is also phasing out six courses, including health and social care, art history, and philosophy. Dr Taymaz Azimi, a philosophy lecturer at the University of Kent, said he will be entering a sparse job market when his course ends in 2026. "Not only do new positions not open, we are losing the existing positions every year," he said. "So losing your job means really struggling." In a statement, the University of Kent said: "Sector finances are under severe pressure and, like many other institutions, we have been making wide-ranging changes to our operation to address this and reflect what students and government are looking for from universities." Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Canterbury university axes literature degrees University of Kent confirms six courses to be axed University of Kent Canterbury Christ Church University
BBC News
23-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
University funding model 'not working'
The vice chancellor of Canterbury Christ Church University has called for the government to increase tuition fees in line with inflation. Professor Rama Thirunamachandran told the BBC the "funding model for higher education is not working", citing changes in student visa rules and rising costs as reasons why his institution is having to cut university is planning to axe up to 400 jobs, and has already cut 148 through a voluntary redundancy scheme."This government inherited a sector facing serious financial risk and has taken tough decisions to fix the foundations of higher education," the Department of Education said. Prof Thirunamachandran said: "The tuition fees which were set in 2013 have only been slightly upgraded. They are worth two thirds of what they were." Canterbury Christ Church University is also phasing out its English Literature degree after current students graduate. The vice chancellor said this was necessary because of a lack of student demand, adding "not every university can run every subject when the demand has fallen". Freya Hodge, a second year English literature and history student, said: "In Canterbury, you've got an abundance of literary legends, like Chaucer, Aphra Benn."She added: "To now actually get rid of the subject is just a betrayal of the city's legacy." Craig Potter, the chair of the local branch of the University and Colleges Union (UCU) said the cuts have taken an emotional toll on staff."To be under threat of losing their jobs is incredibly hard for everybody," he said. "I have people come to me at the beginning of the day, at the end of the day in tears, and people having to go off sick at the stress of it all," he said. The University of Kent is aiming to save nearly £20m this year, mostly through a voluntary redundancy scheme and not filling vacant roles. It is also phasing out six courses, including health and social care, art history, and Taymaz Azimi, a philosophy lecturer at the University of Kent, said he will be entering a sparse job market when his course ends in 2026."Not only do new positions not open, we are losing the existing positions every year," he said. "So losing your job means really struggling." In a statement, the University of Kent said: "Sector finances are under severe pressure and, like many other institutions, we have been making wide-ranging changes to our operation to address this and reflect what students and government are looking for from universities."
CNN
09-04-2025
- Health
- CNN
Pets could boost wellbeing as much as a wife or husband, study suggests
Having a cat or a dog to keep you company could boost your wellbeing as much as being married or meeting up regularly with friends and relatives, new research suggests. The study, which was published on March 31 in the journal Social Indicators Research, concludes that having an animal companion is worth up to £70,000 ($90,000) a year in life satisfaction – a metric economists use to quantify the 'implicit price' of otherwise intangible things. That figure is roughly the same as the theoretical boost in income you would get from having a spouse or meeting up with friends and relatives regularly, researchers said, comparing their findings with other studies that have used the same statistical method. The results surprised even the researchers. 'First when I obtained the values I was surprised; I was thinking that is a lot of money even for me who loves (pets),' said Adelina Gschwandtner, an economics professor at the University of Kent, who co-authored the paper. Then, she thought, 'most people claim that their pets are like friends or family members to them, so that is comparable,' she told CNN. 'If pets are indeed like friends and family, why shouldn't that measure be comparable to talking to friends and family once a week? You have your pet every day.' Although the mental and physical health benefits of having a dog, in particular, are well known, there is more debate among scientists surrounding the overall impact of pets on their owners' wellbeing. '(It's) a little bit more complex than people think,' says Megan Mueller, an associate professor at Tufts University, who studies the relationship between people and animals and wasn't involved in this study. 'A lot of us perceive our pets as contributing to our life satisfaction but depending on how you measure that in the research it comes out different ways,' she told CNN, adding that she was unfamiliar with the specific statistical analysis Gschwandtner used in this study. In their study, Gschwandtner and her co-author Michael Gmeiner, an assistant profes sor of economics at the London School of Economics, used data collected in a long-running survey of 2,500 British households. Rather than simply comparing life satisfaction and pet ownership, which would reveal little except a correlation between the two variables, the economists then set about proving a causal link. To do this, they used a complicated statistical tool known as an instrumental variables approach. This works by finding 'a third variable which is correlated with … in our case the pets but is not correlated with life satisfaction,' Gschwandtner explained. 'And so what this variable tries to capture is potential omitted variables, potential reverse causation.' For example, the authors wrote, 'It could be that happy and healthy people decide to take a pet as a companion rather than pets making people happy and healthy.' So, in their research, they used survey data on personality types as well as pet ownership and life satisfaction, to control for this factor. If pets improve life satisfaction as much as the study suggests, Gschwandtner called on policymakers to make it easier for people to own them, for example by relaxing regulations that restrict renters' access to them. However, Mueller cautioned against 'anthropomorphizing pets too much' and equating our relationships with them to our relationships with other humans. 'There's some elements that are similar,' she said. 'And we know that social support and emotional support are really key aspects of human-pet relationships that are also the same types of support we get from our human social connections… While animals are connected to us in powerful ways, they are not the same as humans.'
