A Time for Honours

Posted in Education, Politics, Science Politics, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , , on June 15, 2013 by telescoper

The word “honour” provides a (tenuous) link between yesterday’s post and this one. After our recent preoccupation with the classification of honours for graduating students (i.e. first class, second class, and so on), today’s news included the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for 2013, which you can download in full here. To make up for the lack of recycling going on in Brighton these days because of the strike that started yesterday, I thought I’d recycle my thoughts from previous years.

The honours system must appear extremely curious to people from outside the United Kingdom. It certainly seems so to me. On the one hand, I am glad that the government has a mechanism for recognising the exceptional contributions made to society by certain individuals. Musicians, writers, sportsmen, entertainers and the like generally receive handsome financial rewards, of course, but that’s no reason to begrudge a medal or two in recognition of the special place they occupy in our cultural life.  It’s  good to see scientists recognized too, although they tend not to get noticed so much by the press.

The name that stood out for me in this year’s list is Professor Jim Hough, who gets an OBE. Jim is Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Glasgow, and his speciality is in the detection of gravitational waves.  Gravitational waves haven’t actually been detected yet, of course, but the experimental techniques designed to find them have increased their sensitivity by many orders of magnitude in recent years, Jim having played a large part in those improvements. I imagine he will be absolutely thrilled in February 2016, when gravitational waves are finally detected. Jim is also Chief Executive of the Scottish University Physics Alliance, which does so much to nurture Physics and Astronomy North of the Border.

Although I’m of course more than happy to see recognition given to such people, as I did  a couple of years ago I can’t resist stating my objections to the honours system again. One is that the list of recipients  of certain categories of award is overwhelmingly dominated by career civil servants, for whom an “honour”  goes automatically with a given rank. If an honour is considered an entitlement in this way then it is no honour at all, and in fact devalues those awards that are  given on merit to people outside the Civil Service. Civil servants get paid for doing their job, so they should have no more expectation of an additional reward than anyone else. There’s much more honour in a  student who earns a First Class degree than for a career civil servant who gets a knighthood.

Honours have relatively little monetary value on their own, of course so this is not question of financial corruption. An honour does, however, confer status and prestige on the recipient so what we have is a much more subtle form of sleaze. One wonders how many names listed in the current roll of honours are there because of political donations, for example.

I wouldn’t accept an honour myself, but that’s easy to say because I’m sure I’ll never be nominated for one; hopefully this post will dissuade anyone from even thinking of nominating me for a gong. However, I imagine that even people like me who are against the whole system are probably still tempted to accept such awards when offered, as they generate good publicity for one’s field, institution and colleagues.It’s a very personal decision and I have no criticism to make of people who think differently from me about whether to accept an honour.

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Brighton News

Posted in Brighton with tags , , , on June 15, 2013 by telescoper

As Brighton and Hove’s recycling, refuse and street-cleaning operatives begin their strike, the Evening Argus takes an unorthodox view of the dispute..

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Congratulations, here and there..

Posted in Biographical, Education with tags , , on June 14, 2013 by telescoper

Well, the academic year has finally come to an end at the University of Sussex. This afternoon we had another marathon meeting of Senate to round off the week and today was also the last day of the examination period; final-year students had their last exams earlier in the assessment period so their papers could be marked and scrutinized in time for yesterday’s meeting of the Progression and Awards Board. Although we were operating under new regulations this year, so there was some nervousness about how it would go, it all went pretty well in the end. The recommendations of the PAB were checked by the University authorities yesterday as I went up to London for an event at the Royal Society and when I returned to work this morning it was my (very pleasant) job to sign off the pass lists and also sign the certificates relating to prizes for outstanding students.

When all was done, the pass list was put up in the foyer of Pevensey 2 at which point a scrum of anxious students formed around it to find out how they’d done. 

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The vast majority of the faces I saw had very happy smiles on them, as I knew would be the case because I had seen the results beforehand and knew how well so many of them had done! Champagne corks popped and prizes were handed out. There then followed a celebratory BBQ outside the building, organized by staff and students. The weather didn’t look very promising, and it remained rather windy – threatening to blow smoke into the building and possibly set off the smoke alarms – but it was a nice occasion.

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Unfortunately I had to leave in mid-party to attend a Senate briefing meeting, followed by Senate itself, which went on from 2pm until almost 6 during which time the Sun came out. The weather thus looked favourably on similar celebrations going on around campus, but not on those couped up in Bramber House for the Senate meeting.

Anyway, as Head of School I’d just like to say congratulations to all this year’s graduating class on their achievement and wish them well as today’s celebrations no doubt continue into the evening and perhaps beyond. I’d also like to all staff in the School for working so hard to get everything done so the students got their results in time and in good order; to the lecturers and examiners for getting their marks in on time; to the PAB members for their diligence in following the procedures; and, above all, to the wonderful staff in the MPS office for their huge contribution to the administration of the process. It’s the first time I’ve been involved in examinations here and the support staff did a fantastic job, sometimes under very difficult circumstances.

Meanwhile, back in Cardiff, similar events will have unfolded there. I don’t know how many of the graduating class from Cardiff University School of Physics & Astronomy are likely to read this blog nowadays. A few did in the past, but have probably stopped now that I’ve left. Just in case, however, I’d like to congratulate them all on their success and express regret that I didn’t see the same kind of smiles on their faces as I did on the Sussex students!

Well, that was the week that was always going to be very busy. Now I’m going to head home, put my feet up and tackle the latest Private Eye crossword. Oh, and maybe a glass or two of wine…

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Hawking at BAFTA

Posted in Film, Television, The Universe and Stuff with tags , , , , on June 13, 2013 by telescoper

Having survived the chairing of our lengthy Progression and Award Board this morning here in Sussex, I thought I’d just spend a few minutes on the blog before going up to London for an event at the Royal Society this evening.

In fact I was in London for much of yesterday too, partly for a meeting relating to SEPNET but then later to attend a special Event for Fellows of the Institute of Physics at the plush premises of British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in Piccadilly:

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The event was a special preview screening of the a feature length documentary called Hawking, about the life and career of celebrated British cosmologist and theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, followed by a question-and-answer session with the producer and director. There have been many films about Hawking already, but the distinctive thing about this one is that Hawking himself contributed to the script so, to some extent, it’s “in his own words”. It’s quite clear that it wasn’t meant so much as a science documentary as an unflinching look at Hawking’s struggle against Motor Neurone Disease, with his scientific work merely serving as background to the human interest story. It is, of course, a very moving narrative not only because of the hardship he has been forced to endure but also because of what he has achieved as a scientist in the face of difficulties that would have defeated persons of lesser determination.

I found the film interesting but a little frustrating because, while it raised many interesting issues (such as the conflict between celebrity and privacy), it moved on so quickly that none of them were really explored in any depth. I did strike me, however, as a very honest film – the discussion of the break-up of his first marriage was very candid, but it was nice to discover that in recent years Stephen and Jane have are at least on speaking terms again. Hawking’s sense of humour, which is often concealed by his disability, also came across very well. I could give an example of this from my own experience, but given the nature of the prank he played I think it’s better not to!

Anyway, I won’t say anything more because I don’t want to colour anyone’s judgement about the film, which doesn’t go on general release in the UK until later in the year. Go to see it yourself, and make your own mind up! In the meantime, here is the official trailer:

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Replacement Plug

Posted in Biographical, Education, The Universe and Stuff with tags , on June 11, 2013 by telescoper

Time moves on. I just noticed that an advertisement has appeared for my old job at Cardiff University.

Faculty Position in Theoretical Astrophysics or Cosmology

(Senior Lecturer/Reader/Professor depending on experience)

The School of Physics and Astronomy at Cardiff University has an immediate vacancy for a permanent faculty position in Theoretical Astrophysics or Cosmology. Applications are particularly welcome from applicants who can work closely with existing observational astronomers in the School.  The position can be at any level from Senior Lecturer to full Professor depending on the experience of the appointed candidate.

 The appointee will be expected to strengthen further the existing programme and have demonstrated a world-class programme of research. The appointee will also be expected to teach theoretical astrophysics and physics courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

 Further information about the School may be found at http://www.astro.cf.ac.uk/ and further details about employment at Cardiff University as well as downloadable application forms may be found on the University website at http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/jobs/  under vacancy number 1046BR.

 Informal enquiries regarding this position may be made to Professor Walter Gear, Head of School (Walter.Gear@astro.cf.ac.uk).

If the person that eventually gets the job applies as a result of seeing the advert here it would be rather ironic! I’d consider applying for it myself, but it says the applicant  must “have demonstrated a world-class programme of research”, which clearly rules me out!

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Hang My Tears Out To Dry

Posted in Jazz with tags , , on June 11, 2013 by telescoper

Ever since Coleman Hawkins recorded his famous version of Body and Soul in 1939, the yardstick by which tenor saxophonists have come to be measured is by their playing on ballads. By that standard, and indeed by any other, Dexter Gordon must be right up there with all the greats. This is his lovely version of the Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn composition I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out To Dry, from the album Go, which is an object lesson in not trying too hard when you’ve got a great tune to work on.

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Intimations of Mortality

Posted in Biographical with tags on June 10, 2013 by telescoper

Life is full of such strange surprises, not all of them pleasant. This morning I received a letter from a well-known insurance company which had arrived at my Brighton address having apparently followed an extremely circuitous route.

The letter begins

We have been advised that Mr Alan Coles has sadly passed away. I am very sorry to hear about the death of Mr Coles. Please accept my sympathy at what must be a difficult time.

I was quite surprised by this, as Mr Alan Coles (my father) actually passed away in October 2007, i.e. almost 6 years ago. Although this was a long time ago, the letter brought back painful memories of that time and cast a dark shadow over the day.

I haven’t written much about this on here, as it happened before I started blogging, but perhaps its time to write something. Here is an excerpt from an earlier post about Benwell that refers to my father’s relocation to Dorset from his (and my) home town of Newcastle upon Tyne in the 1980s:

As time went on and the recession bit harder, the social and material fabric of Benwell gradually deteriorated. There were increasingly frequent burglaries and car thefts. It became a no-go zone at night. His business started to fail and debts began to mount. The stress of watching the neighbourhood falling apart and coping with the constant threat of break-ins at the shop and his flat eventually got too much for him. He packed everything he could into his van and fled to the South coast to live with his sister in Weymouth, leaving the dilapidated shop and all his debts behind. I’m sure there’s a similar story behind all the other empty shops in Benwell.

It was in Weymouth that he died. I had just moved to Cardiff at the time, and I had to go to Dorset by train to try to sort out his affairs and dispose of his meagre possessions, most of which were bundled off to charity shops. I remember the desolation that engulfed me as I sat in his bedroom amongst all that was left of the life of a father who was, in truth, always a stranger to me. Stacks of useless stuff, hoarded for no apparent reason like memories he couldn’t obliterate, now at last were going where they belonged: in the bin.

My parents separated when I was at School, at which point I went to live with my mother. My relationship with my father had never been close, but thereafter we kept only sporadic contact. I felt guilt. I had no right to that sense of loss.

As you do in such situations, I busied myself trying to tidy things up. I went through his papers, contacted banks and building societies to close a few accounts, arranged for his pension to be stopped, and informed various others about his death. He hadn’t written a will, but the net residue of his “estate” was rather small. Probate not being required, permission was quickly received to divide what remained, after paying for the funeral, between his next of kin, i.e. me and my brother.

Now, six years on, it seems there might be a bit more to divide between us. Though I doubt it will amount to very much, I’ve replied to the letter as best I could, and will wait and see what develops. Maybe this time the closure will be permanent.

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Brighton Council pay dispute

Posted in Politics with tags , , , on June 10, 2013 by telescoper

Here’s another blog about the Brighton refuse collection dispute (by an author whose twitter handle is @socialistgreen), also asking for explanations of the mysterious “allowances”…

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The current pay dispute at Brighton & Hove Council highlights all that is wrong about so many trade unions, who instead of looking at the bigger picture, concentrate on the needs of a small number of people, usually men.

As I understand it, the Council’s current plans to equalise pay will see many women earning more, but a small number of workers, mainly men, will be worse off. Why aren’t the unions scandalised that all those women have been underpaid for so many years, (and at least 4 years since most other councils sorted out ‘single status’), and why aren’t they seeking  compensation for all that pay that those women missed out on? Now that would be a good campaign!

Brighton Council are offering compensation to workers who will lose out, and maybe that could be raised or paid over a couple of years while they adjust to the change…

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The Week Ahead

Posted in Biographical, Education, Science Politics on June 9, 2013 by telescoper

Looking at my calendar I see a very busy few days coming up, so I have to knuckle down and finish a couple of jobs today, as I won’t get time later in the week.

The most important events of the week ahead are various meetings of various examination boards culminating in the PAB (Progression & Award Board) at which final degree classifications are determined. There is a new system in place this year, and it requires the Head of School (i.e. Muggins here) to chair this meeting, which a number of external examiners also attend and which covers Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy.

Of course the decisions made at this Board can have a huge effect on students’ lives and career prospects, so a huge amount of work goes on beforehand: not just checking and double-checking marks, but also ensuring we follow the regulations scrupulously; because I’m new and the regulations have recently been revised, that’s required quite a lot of behind-the-scenes activity. Some will no doubt be disappointed come the end of the week, but at least we do everything we can to make the process as fair as possible.

The PAB take place on Thursday and marks will be released on Friday (14th) at which point the suspense will be over for this year’s graduating students at Sussex and the celebrations can begin..

I suppose the timetable at universities elsewhere is similar. I know it is in Cardiff, where some students I have known for 4 years will also be getting their results next week. I’ll be thinking of them, though obviously I can’t’ be there in person to congratulate them.

Anyway, good luck to all those at Sussex, Cardiff and anywhere else who are eagerly anticipating or completely dreading news next week. Just remember that triumph and disaster are indeed both impostors..

In between all the exams stuff I also have to fit in trips to London for a meeting of SEPNET and a Royal Society event, as well as Senior Management Group and Senate at the University of Sussex.

Then the undergraduate teaching year will be over, though I don’t see fewer appointments my calendar!

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Brighton’s Rubbish Collections

Posted in Politics with tags , , , on June 8, 2013 by telescoper

Time for a quick post about a local difficulty in Brighton. A dispute over allowances that has been rumbling on for weeks has resulted in a vote for a strike by the city’s refuse collectors and street cleaners, due to start next Friday (14th June). Unless a deal is reached there will be no refuse or recycling collections or any street cleaning for a week. If the warm weather continues, a serious environmental hazard could ensue, as uncollected food waste will no doubt lead to a proliferation of vermin.

I’m not going to comment on the rights and wrongs of the dispute, and facts about what precisely is going on are difficult to come by. A webcast by the Council explaining the background can be found here. The issue is not about basic hourly pay, which isn’t changing under the Council’s proposals, but Cityclean workers are claiming that changes to the Council’s system of allowances will lead to some of them losing as much as £4000 per year in take home pay. I don’t however understand what these mysterious “allowances” are. If anyone can enlighten me through the comments box then I’d be very happy. Other than that all I’ll say is that I hope a settlement is reached before things get even more unbearable, but the atmosphere between workers and Council seems already to be so acrimonious that it is hard to see either backing down. I hope they don’t but things could get very nasty.

I will, however, comment on the state of the rubbish collection in Brighton even before the strike starts next week. A two-day wildcat strike in May led to a pile-up of rubbish beside the communal bins. In the weeks since then “targetted disruption” (the Council’s phrase) has meant that this backlog has never been cleared, despite the Council effectively cancelling recycling collections to concentrate on ordinary refuse.

In fact I haven’t had any paper or glass collected for recycling for a month, so I have given up and now take it on foot to one of the few recycling centres dotted around the place. That’s a bit inconvenient, but not too much of a problem in the grand scheme of things. In fact, it has surprised me a lot since moving to Brighton from Cardiff a few months ago, just how poor the recycling service in Brighton is. Home to the UK’s only Green MP, Caroline Lucas, and with a (minority) Green party controlling the Council I would have expected a much more comprehensive approach to recycling than is actually the case. As it is,  compared to Cardiff (which isn’t brilliant), Brighton’s recycling service is really hopeless. The Greens will probably argue that they inherited the system in a time of austerity and have been unable to improve it, but if they can’t improve something which represents one of their core values why bother having Green councillors? Brighton’s Green Party shows signs of going into meltdown over this issue anyway, with the resignation of a Councillor in Hanover ward triggering a by-election so their prospects in the next Council elections look pretty grim.

Anyway, the immediate problem is not the poor provision for recycling, but the regular refuse collection. Here’s a typical picture of St James Street (Kemptown):

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It’s extremely unpleasant to have to walk through or around piles of stinking garbage, but remember that this picture was taken before the official strike has even started! It seems to me that Cityclean workers, who are currently getting paid for not collecting garbage, will, when the strike begins, simply no longer get paid for not collecting the garbage. What this means about the likely duration of strike action remains to be seen.

I continue to hope that a settlement can be reached that averts industrial action, but that hope is fading fast, and so, unfortunately, is the prospect of Brighton having a decent refuse and recycling service in the foreseeable future.

And there’s another point. Councils have a statutory obligation to collect and dispose of domestic refuse. There’s no doubt in my mind that Brighton and Hove County Council is failing to meet that obligation, but what action can an ordinary person take? Answers on a postcard, or through the comments box….

UPDATE: I have invited @gmbcityclean to comment here on the nature of the allowances, but they have declined to do so.

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