Knowledge Centre Team Blog
Writing about web page http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/knowledge/
 The opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games is happening on July 27th. Here at the Knowledge Centre we are planning lots of features to publish in the run up to - and during - the Games themselves.
Sports-related research at Warwick covers the sorts of subjects that you might expect: sports injuries, sports psychology and drug testing. We shall be covering many of these topical issues. Yet there are also a whole number of Olympics-themed features in the pipeline that may be unexpected. What’s the story behind the branding of the Olympics? Which Greek athletic pursuits took place in the Roman world? How are the authorities working to keep the Games safe from threats such as terrorism? And what does latest research into an athlete’s gait tell us?
To whet your appetite for these forthcoming features take a look this current Knowledge Centre article, Strategic planning: An Olympian task. Enjoy the features and do let us know what Olympic content you would like to see on the Knowledge Centre.
Penelope Jenkins, Online Writer.
Keywords:
Olympics,
Sport
09:58, Mon 30 Apr 2012
As my time on the Knowledge Centre will soon be coming to an end, it is my turn to answer the questions posed to departing team members as they reflect on their time here. Here goes...
 What has been your favourite piece of content on the Knowledge Centre in the past year?
There have been a few pieces of content that I have particularly enjoyed over the last year or so. I can’t name them all, but the first one that springs to mind is ‘Why I Don’t Have a Girlfriend’. It has also been one of the most popular with our audience. The light-hearted subject matter mixed with the use of the Drake equation makes this Peter Backus talk really entertaining.
There have been some events we have covered on the Knowledge Centre that have produced some great talks too. I particularly enjoyed Kevin Kallaugher’s talk from TEDxWarwick 2011 and Stelarc’s from Virtual Futures.
What has been the most interesting thing you have learnt whilst working on the Knowledge Centre?
At Virtual Futures, Prof Kevin Warwick spoke about some of his advances with robotics. Some of the work he is doing is really fascinating and could lead to amazing breakthroughs in the future.
With my background working for an environmental organisation, I have also enjoyed learning more about some of the issues in that field. Dr Kerry Kirwan’s work on a sustainable racing car was really interesting as was the article about Prof Kevin Anderson’s recent talk ‘Climate Change: Going Beyond Dangerous’.
What would you like to see more of on the Knowledge Centre in the future?
When we were producing content in themes, we featured a number of ‘live chats’ with experts in those particular fields (Some of the highlights are available to read). They were always exciting and created a real buzz. I’d like to see more of this sort of stuff in the future. I would also like to see more academic comment on current news stories. We have been doing a good amount of this, including examples like ‘The Political Fallout from the News of the World’ and ‘Two Cheers for AV’, but I think it is something that can be built on as the Knowledge Centre continues to develop.
Sean Howitt, Marketing Coordinator 11:02, Thu 2 Feb 2012
 To go alongside our piece on political leadership, we are giving away a pair of tickets for a screening of the new Margaret Thatcher film ‘The Iron Lady’ at Warwick Arts Centre on Friday 27th January. A trailer for the film can be seen on the Arts Centre website.
To be in with a chance of winning just answer the following question:
Which actor plays the young Denis Thatcher in the film?
Email us at knowledge@warwick.ac.uk with your answer, name and contact details. The competition will close at 12pm on Friday 13th January.
Good luck!
The Arts Centre will also soon be staging Out of Joint's brand new production of 'Top Girls', Caryl Churchill's play set in Thatcher's Britain. Directed by Max Stafford-Clark, who directed the premiere of the play in 1982, it's an imaginative study of leadership and success.
Photo Credit: Alex Bailey / Courtesy of Pathe Productions Ltd. 10:27, Fri 6 Jan 2012
 Merry Christmas to all from the Knowledge Centre team! We hope you’ve enjoyed the range of research we have brought you over the past year and hope to bring you more exciting articles in 2012!
As the festive season is well and truly underway, we thought we’d point you towards some of our Christmas and winter related content...
- Prof Ian Stewart explains how the formation of ice crystals in clouds results in infinitely symmetrical snowflakes. Fascinating stuff!
- On Warwick’s new Celebrating Dickens website, Prof Jon Mee gives an alternative Christmas speech that says "Bah, Humbug!" to the enduring link between Dickens and the festive period, made famous by A Christmas Carol.
- Plus, have you seen Warwick’s 2011 Christmas Greeting yet? It is a fun, festive look at Warwick’s research featuring the likes of recycling, Santa’s sleepless night and the future of Christmas dinner!
Next week we will be bringing you an article here on the KC about dating the birth of Jesus using a small coin. What does this mean for our dating system? And can the coin help us date Jesus' nativity more accurately?
Keywords:
Christmas
12:16, Wed 14 Dec 2011
The Knowledge Centre team were recently offered the opportunity to write a piece for the Guardian Higher Education Network’s website. Warwick’s Digital and Online Communications Manager, Ken Punter took up the task - describing the idea behind the Knowledge Centre as well as some of the challenges and successes. The article went live on the site last week and we have received some great comments in response via Twitter.
In the piece, Ken discusses the idea behind the Knowledge Centre and how it was developed with the aim to overcome a number of the challenges facing higher education institutions. He explains how the Knowledge Centre aims to ‘engage’ with its audience, rather than fulfilling the more ‘transactional’ function of a main university website. He also discusses some of the Knowledge Centre team’s hopes for the future of the site.
You can now read the article on the Guardian HE website.
Let us know what you think!
Keywords:
Guardian
15:15, Wed 30 Nov 2011
Writing about web page http://go.warwick.ac.uk/knowledge
The Warwick International Development Summit (WIDS) 2011 was held on 18-20 November here at Warwick with students and key speakers identifying and exploring some of the challenges facing the world.
WIDS is organised by the International Development Society, a student society at the University of Warwick that aims to engage students with global development and provide a platform to enable them to become actively involved.
Speakers at the event this year included Tim Gore - Climate Change Policy advisor for Oxfam UK, Owen Bennett Jones - BBC World Service, Syria and Lebanon Correspondent, Jon Sopel - BBC Television Presenter and Correspondent and host of the Politics Show, and Dr Branko Milanovic - Lead economist in the World Bank’s Research Department in the Unit dealing with Poverty and Inequality.
The Student Journals and Guardian Development both attended and were tweeting over the course of the weekend. Some of their tweets can be seen by searching for #WIDS. The Student Journals also live blogged the event.
Over the next few weeks we will be covering some of these talks with articles and accompanying audio. This will begin with Tim Gore’s lecture on Climate change which we will publish to coincide with the beginning of the COP17/CMP7 climate change talks in Durban starting on November 28th. Keep an eye on the site for more information.
Were you at WIDS 2011? Which was your favourite talk? What did you learn?
Keywords:
Development,
Wids
10:21, Thu 24 Nov 2011
As you may be aware, last week we featured a video of Warwick’s Prof Carol Rutter and Prof Stanley Wells of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. They were discussing Roland Emmerich’s new film ‘Anonymous’, a story exploring the theory that Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, wrote the plays that we attribute to Shakespeare. They address some of the claims made by the film. The video can be seen here.
We were delighted a couple of days later to discover Stephen Fry had recommended the article to his 3.3 million followers on Twitter!
The link below shows his tweet, along with just a few of the others linking to the article:
http://storify.com/warwicknowledge/shakespeare-anonymous-on-warwick-knowledge
Have you watched the video? Did you agree with Prof Rutter and Prof Wells? Have you seen ‘Anonymous’? What did you think? Please let us know...
Keywords:
Anonymous,
Shakespeare,
Stephenfry
14:15, Thu 10 Nov 2011
Writing about web page http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/knowledge/
 The University of Warwick has long enjoyed a connection with Venice; the University first put down roots in that city in 1967, when Sir John Hale, Founding Professor of History, took the first Warwick students to spend the autumn term at the Palazzo Brandolini. Over the last five years, Warwick has established a lively base at the Palazzo Pesaro Papafava, where it is now resident all year round, offering up to 80 students in History and History of Art an exciting opportunity to attend lectures while soaking up the atmosphere of the great city.
On October 20th 2011 the University of Warwick brings its Distinguished Lecture Series to the Palazzo Pesaro Papafava for the first time. The University’s guest of honour, Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, will deliver a lecture entitled: Objects of concern: some of the things that preoccupied Shakespeare’s public, and the event will be hosted by the Chancellor, Sir Richard Lambert, in the presence of, among others, the British Ambassador to Italy, Christopher Prentice.
At the Knowledge Centre we thought it was the ideal moment to celebrate Warwick’s ties with Venice by offering readers the chance to dip into a brand new book of essays, A Venetian Miscellany. This collection has been drawn from academic staff, students and friends of the University, and touches on many different themes, from the rowdy graduation ceremonies that began in 12th century Europe - and still continue in Venice today - to American novelists’ approaches to writing about Venice. From Friday Oct 21st Knowledge Centre will be running extracts from the book, and there will also be the opportunity to download it (perfect for reading on your Kindle!)
We will also be capturing Neil MacGregor’s lecture for the site, along with a round-table discussion on the subject of art, which are due to be published in November. Until then, you can still access Knowledge Centre content on former guests of the Distinguished Lecture series including a video of James Smith, Chairman of Shell UK, talking about the energy challenge and Professor Lord Robert Skidelsky's lecture How Much is Enough? The Economics of the Good Life.
Keywords:
Art,
Distinguished,
History,
Lecture,
Of,
Series,
Venice
04:00, Thu 20 Oct 2011
Writing about web page http://www.mylastcar.co.uk
Due to the effects of climate change and oil depletion, it is not unrealistic to think your current car may in fact be your last. Is there a future for cars in the environmentally aware world of the 21st century?
My Last Car is a gallery installation and theatre event taking place at Warwick Arts Centre between 1st - 8th October featuring commissioned video and a motor-soundscape. It takes place around a soft-top Rover 216 Cabriolet broken down into its component parts and explores our love affair with the motor car through stories, happy memories and disasters. Look out for our interview with the director - on the Knowledge Centre on Monday!
We have two pairs of tickets to give away to the performance on Tuesday 4th October (7.45pm). To be in with a chance of winning, just send us your favourite car story or memory (no more than a few lines) and we will pick out our two favourites! (Get your entry in by 5pm Tuesday).
Email us at knowledge@warwick.ac.uk or tweet us @WarwicKnowledge.
We look forward to hearing what you come up with! :)
Keywords:
Car,
Last,
My
11:09, Thu 29 Sep 2011
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