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Month: April 2012

New technique to determine source of greenhouse gasses

To determine the human impact on the Earth’s climate is a persistent concern for scientists and world leaders alike. There has long been an issue over distinguishing between man-made and natural biological sources of the carbon dioxide in the air.

University of Colorado researchers John Miller and Scott Lehman led a study that aimed to discover a difference between carbon dioxide present in the air from burning fossil fuels, and carbon dioxide from natural sources such as plant respiration.

The report’s lead author, Lehman, was positive about the study’s potential impact: “We think the approach offered by this study can increase the accuracy of emissions detection and verification for fossil fuel combustion and a host of other man-made gases.”

According to Miller, emissions from burning fossil fuels have inflated the Earth’s atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) from 280 parts per million at the beginning of the 1800s, to modern day levels of 390 parts per million. The current prevailing opinion amongst climate scientists is that this concentration of greenhouse gases leads to rising global temperatures. The greenhouse effect is a natural process necessary to maintain life by trapping some of the sun’s energy in the atmosphere. However the belief is that rising temperatures are caused by a human-driven increase in this effect through an increased presence of certain ‘greenhouse gases’ in the atmosphere such as CO2.

The method tested uses the rare radioactive isotope Carbon-14. It is produced when cosmic rays hit nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere. Atoms of the same element can be made of different numbers of sub-atomic neutrons, each of these possibilities is a different isotope, and the report found that this concentration of the Carbon-14 (carbon with 14 neutrons) isotope can be measured to determine the CO2 source.

Fossil fuels buried underground for millions of years contain limited amounts of the radioactive isotope since every 5,700 years the concentration of the isotope in the substance halves. The fossil fuels, which are the remains of ancient plants and animals buried under the ground millions of years ago, no longer contain significant amounts of the decayed radioactive carbon, so neither does the CO2 emissions from when the fuel is burnt. Whilst carbon dioxide in the atmosphere produced by living biological organism is rich in Carbon-14.

Miller believes that this method will be useful to test and compliment the current regulatory system in which countries provide data on fossil fuels burnt and emissions: “While the accounting-based approach is probably accurate at global scales, the uncertainties rise for smaller-scale regions.

“And as CO2 emissions targets become more widespread, there may be a greater temptation to under-report. But we’ll be able to see through that.”

In such a critical field of science and policy, so vehemently debated and a source of imminent fear for humanity’s survival, any new techniques available to understand carbon dioxide release and distribution are welcome. Jane Burston, head of the Centre for Carbon Measurement at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory, recognised “The more measurements we have from different sources, the more accurate we can make them all.”

Diabetes caused by dieting during pregnancy

It is estimated that by 2030, 26 million people in the UK will be obese. This staggering burden will have effects on diseases such as diabetes. Type-2 diabetes in particular is largely attributable to obesity, and will be responsible for the majority of the estimated 4 million additional diabetes cases by 2030. Researchers at the University of Manchester, along with colleagues in Canada and New Zealand, may have shed light on how being a twin could be a cause of this disease.

Their studies, led by Professor of Endocrine Sciences Anne White, monitored the pregnancies of sheep- both those expecting twins, and those consuming insufficient amounts of food around the time of conception. Samples of the unborn lambs’ brain tissue were examined for the possible occurrence of changes in certain genes.

As predicted, it was observed that twin lambs had experienced changes in DNA structure. These occurred in regions of the brain associated with food intake, including within the genes that regulate glucose levels. These changes resulted in an increased likelihood of type-2 diabetes and obesity in the lambs’ later lives.

The findings also implied an increased likelihood of such diseases in lambs whose mothers were eating insufficiently during their pregnancy.

The significance of these results lies in the fact that such DNA alterations are not hereditary, but a far more infrequent form of non-genetic alteration. For this reason it is possible that these same changes could occur in humans, giving a new understanding of how twins may develop type-2 diabetes.

If, indeed, humans can undergo this same process, as the researchers believe, expectant mothers who diet during pregnancy could well be risking their unborn child’s future health and quality of life.

By reinforcing the need for dietary advice during family planning, these findings may prove invaluable as part of today’s essential preventive approach to healthcare.

‘Revenge porn’ website shut down

The creator of controversial revenge site isanyoneup.com has closed the site and sold the domain to an anti-bullying group.

Hunter Moore, described as “the Net’s most hated man” made £12,400 a month using his website which hosted pictures of sexual partners someone wanted revenge on. The photos were often accompanied by links to the victim’s social networking pages, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Neither Moore, nor the vengeful partners had permission to post the intimate images which caused the victims embarrassment and distress. Requests for the images to be taken down were ignored by Moore who was described by the site’s new owner, James McGibney, as “the No. 1 internet bully out there”. The website led to Moore being beaten up and even stabbed by one of the women shown on the site.

The site, which received 300,000 hits a day, made its money through advertising nightclubs and merchandise. Moore had plans to expand the site with a mobile app and by introducing a social networking element.

Moore ignored any legal action taken against him, including a cease and desist letter from Facebook. During the time the site was live, only one legal request to take down photos was successful. Many victims felt legal action would only draw unwanted attention to the photos they wanted taken off the website.

To prevent lawyers and affected parties from finding where the site is hosted to either start legal action or to hack it, Moore moved the site to over 40 different hosts. Despite this, Moore has now taken down the site claiming the number of photos of underage people he received as the main factor. In an interview with the BBC, he said: “A lot of under-age content comes out of your end of the world. We almost had to black out the UK from accessing the site at one point because we were getting so much under-age content. We usually just flag it and try and report it.”

The web address now redirects to a page on the site of the new owner, BullyVill.com, with statements from Moore and McGibney.

Manchester research finds hope for bipolar treatment

Everyone has shifts in mood throughout the day, but for people suffering from bipolar disorder some days the shift can be from manic highs to depressing lows. Treatment of the disorder is very patient-specific and involves a wide range of psychotherapy, social therapy and intervention with medication. The best-established class of drugs for treating people who suffer from the disorder are lithium salts. But they aren’t without their side effects; these include nausea, acne, muscle weakness and tremors. Such side effects are experienced because the lithium salts have a wide range of targets within a cell and this lack of specificity has many knock-on effects in the body.

Patients using the salts treatment show reduced erratic behaviour associated with the manic highs, but the treatment is less effective at reducing the depression side of the disorder. With few other drugs to treat people with bipolar disorder, there is a gap that is waiting to be filled with more specific therapeutic targets.

The mechanism by which lithium salts aid bipolar sufferers was not well characterised, but research in the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Manchester has helped shed light onto a previously grey area. Dr. Qing-Jun Meng and his research team have found a link between bipolar disorder and a disruption of the circadian rhythms- the daily rhythms controlled by our body clock. Lithium salts work by inhibiting an enzyme that is involved in the disruption, leading to a three-fold increase in the stability of the rhythm.

Dr Meng’s research has opened a door towards the development of more targeted therapies that could give rise to drugs that are even more effective than lithium salts, with the advantage of reduced side effects. Promisingly, drugs to target the implicated enzyme are currently in development in other research laboratories.

Final year dissertation students faced absent supervisors

Students claim they did not have access to regular supervision from lecturers

 

History students who expressed concerns about absent dissertation supervisors have criticised the handling of their complaints by staff at the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures.

The complaints have emerged following the submission of final year theses, which one student, who wishes to remain nameless, said he managed “in spite of” his supervisor.

This student, originally under the supervision of Dr. Ana Carden-Coyne, was passed between Undergraduate Programme Director Max Jones and Dr. Hughes throughout the year, whilst Ana Carden-Coyne took sick leave and then maternity leave.

Dr. Carden-Coyne had told him on their first meeting that she had “no knowledge or interest in my subject,” even though his choice “had been ratified by Max [Jones]”.

He says he was “completely left in limbo” for semester two when he found out “through word of mouth” that she was pregnant. She never informed this student directly that she would be taking leave.

The student says it was a “few weeks” before he found out in semester two that he was reassigned to Dr. Anne Marie Hughes. It was a process which “felt like starting again six weeks before deadline” with another tutor who had “no knowledge or interest In my subject”. He insists that without the dedication of Dr. Max Jones: “I doubt I’d have finished.”

Angela Ballone, a lecturer drafted in from Liverpool to teach the First Hundred Years of Spanish America course following the sick leave of Glyn Redworth, has been accused by another student of being particularly difficult to contact.

She was only available to fill the minimum requirement of five meetings during the second semester. One of those times was on the dissertation hand-in date, the 24th April. This was amended. Students were required to choose between two other dates, the 17th and 20th Feb, meaning that they could see Prof. Ballone only four times in the final months before submission of their work.

One student, who had a work shift during one of those meetings, asked for an alternative date, even going so far as to offer to travel to Liverpool to discuss their thesis. Professor Ballone said she was “not happy” to do that.

Responding to The Mancunion about these claims Max Jones insisted that: “Students were all given the opportunity to have at least five supervisory meetings with Dr. Ballone across the year. Dr. Ballone thus fully met the department’s requirements for BA Dissertation supervision.” This claim was backed up by comments from the Head of Department, Dr Paul Fouracre.

The student was re-assured by Dr. Jones that office hours, in his experience, “do not provide the most satisfactory environment for dissertation supervision” and was encouraged to speak to Dr. Ballone over the phone and to see Dr. Jones in person if he needed to.

There is no suggestion that Dr. Ballone did not meet teaching requirements. In fact the quality of teaching has been praised by students in her module. But the fact that she was asked by Manchester staff to reach only the minimum level of student contact is cause for concern.

Commenting on their experience, the student said it “feels like the university was not giving me support”.

It is important to note that both Dr. Jones and Dr. Fouracre worked hard personally and with the wider department to uphold the standard of teaching in circumstances made difficult through illness and absence.

Dr. Fouracre personally moderated every piece of work submitted to Dr. Ballone. Dr. Jones also personally tutored students under Dr. Ballone and Dr. Carden-Coyne.

In a recent table published by The Guardian measuring student satisfaction, the History department at the University of Manchester was ranked at number 45, below Teesside University.

The History department has sought to make a series of improvements to student satisfaction over the past few years, with eight new members of staff to join in September as part of these changes. But it is clear that staffing problems have caused serious issues in the final year experience of some students.

 

The Deep South: Memphis

Nestled in the heart of the American Mid-South, Memphis is known as the birthplace of blues, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll. Most visitors come here for Graceland, and the chance to nosy around the mansion of Memphis’ most famous former resident, Elvis. But if Mr Presley isn’t your sort of thing, and you’re not looking for guidance on hideous ways to decorate your house, the city provides plenty more to do.

Memphis played an important role in the American Civil Rights movement, and a visit to the Lorraine Motel, where you can see the balcony Martin Luther King Jr was standing on when he was assassinated in 1968, is a must. Now converted into the National Civil Rights Museum, the motel has been a subject of criticism due to its expensive rejuvenation in a low-income, predominantly black area of the city. Jacqueline Smith, the motel’s former housekeeper, has protested outside the museum for the last 30 years, arguing that Martin Luther King would not approve of $9 million being spent on a building for him. She is more than happy to speak to passing tourists!

Beale Street is the party hub of Memphis: a road lined with bars, clubs and music venues. Drinking on the street itself is practically encouraged, and bars are happy to let you come in with a drink already in hand. Start your night at BB King’s – owned by the blues legend himself, this place serves great Southern food accompanied by live musicians, and a long cocktail list.

The Deep South: South Carolina

Last academic year I had the privilege of spending a semester studying at NCSU in Raleigh, North Carolina. Whilst I was there, I took every opportunity my timetable, and bank account, would allow to explore my surrounding states. And so, on a sunny February afternoon, myself and four other girls bundled into a Ford Focus and began the 5 hour journey to Charleston, South Carolina, which sits about halfway down the state’s coast.

Founded in 1670 as Charles Towne, this small peninsula has more than its fair share of U.S. history. Arguably the capital of the south prior to the Civil War that began 1861, it is home to slave auction houses, trap rides and extravagant homes, previously owned by plantation masters who wanted to escape the sweltering, swampy heat that the state is characteristically known for.  Situated at the tip of the bay is the area know as The Battery, which faces Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired; the history boffin inside me was all-of-a-fluster when I found this out.

Less of a personal highlight was found on a wander downtown: the theatre from The Notebook. It meant absolutely nothing to me, as I’m a soulless creature and have never seen, nor plan to watch, it but it was a gorgeous, art deco-esque building that inspired us to jump in the road and try to recreate that famous scene. Traffic conspired against us that day.

We dined at Hyman’s Seafood Restaurant. Yep, you read it correctly. It has fed many, many credible celebrities and some not so notable. One of it’s more charming quirks is the small bronze plaques with names of said celebrities that are placed at the table they sat at. However, the deal-breaker for me was not the D-list celebrity who’s bottom had warmed the same spot as mine, it was the legendary hush puppies; deep fried balls of maize served with honey mustard, a staple of the southern diet.

When considering a place to visit on the sprawling coastlines of the States, it may not spring straight to mind, but the beautiful, historical hub of Charleston really is one of the shining gems buried in the depths of the Deep South.

Eastern Europe: Serbia

As far as great value holiday destinations go, Serbia is very much coming into it’s own right now. A boost in profile thanks to the annual EXIT Festival and the final casting off of its post-war vibes make the time right for a fantastic holiday.

 

To start, head to Belgrade, with flights from Luton starting as low as £24 via WizzAir. Once there, soak up the rich history of the capital with a walk around the old fortress of Kalemegdan, offering fantastic views of the city and the rivers (pictured). As the sun sets, head to Skadarlija, the heart of the bohemian quarter and the ‘Old Town’, with restaurants that genuinely rival some of the best in Europe in both taste and value (helped by a great exchange rate and low prices in general), and an atmosphere likened to the Parisian district of Montmartre. Great nightlife is on offer to those who can find it, with the River Danube and Sava lined with floating bars in the summer. While there are some top nights to be had for the discerning raver, these are tricky to find without good local knowledge (if in doubt, stick to the centre).

 

To escape the capital, head to Novi Sad. Coaches from Belgrade cost less than £10, and a visit will let you delve deeper into the culture and the remnants of the Ottoman empire, including the stunning Petrovardin Fortress that hosts the aforementioned EXIT Festival. Relax afterwards on the banks of the River Danube, with great sandy beaches and bars a stones-throw from the main city.

 

Either as the main attraction of your travels, or as part of a jolly around Eastern Europe, overall Serbia is a great value, emerging tourist destination, with plenty on offer to satisfy city-breakers and cultural explorers alike.

Eastern Europe: Hungary

Budget city breaks are hard to come by. Even if you’ve nabbed a cheap Eurostar ticket to Paris or been enticed by some supposedly inexpensive EasyJet flights to Barcelona or Berlin once you’ve arrived things don’t seem to stay quite so within the comfort of your purse strings.

Budapest, however, poses a solution. Cheap to get to and even cheaper when you’re there. With pints of beer for less than a quid you could happily reside in one of the riverside bars for your entire trip and remain content. Don’t, however, as there is much to see and do.

On the Buda side of the Danube river visit the Royal Palace at the top of Castle Hill for impressive architecture and the Citadella for an almost aerial view of the entire city. Downtown Pest hosts some striking architecture of its own with the Parliament Building, St. Stephen’s Basilica and the Great Synagogue. It is most famous though for the its range of thermal baths. Szechenyi bath and spa present a whole range of indoor and outdoors baths with various medicinal purposes – a must all year round.

Quirky bars and restaurants scatter the city to cater to your hipster needs. When eating out  you must try some traditional Hungarian goulash, a good meal out will cost you less than a tenner all washed down with a pint of 50p beer.

Budapest is, of course, not all Hungary has to offer. Lake Balaton in the west is the largest freshwater lake in Central Europe and serves as the perfect spot for an activity filled adventure.

Ask Keir: Whooping cough

Ask Keir is a column aiming to answer all your health questions. If you want to know about that funny looking lump that won’t go away, why that student doctor keeps poking you or anything at all to do with health get in touch at: [email protected]

All questions will of course be kept confidential and anonymous.

Question of the Week

Hi, I’ve been hearing on the news about a disease going round called whooping cough and at the moment I’ve got a hacking cough. I’m concerend I have it what should I do?

Whooping cough has been in the news recently because there has been an upsurge in the number of cases being seen by doctors. Its caused by a bacteria called Bordetella pertussis and classically affects babies and children but can also infect adults although less commonly. The news has centered on the rising number of adults in the last year developing the disease. In the young it can be serious however in adults it is generally less so.

The ‘whooping’ part of whooping cough comes from the noise made by sufferers. When having a coughing fit they struggle to breathe and on taking a breath in make a characteristic sound similar to that if you held your breath under water and came up gasping for air. Slightly strangely not everyone with the whooping cough necessarily whoops especially young children who can end up not breathing which is obviously very serious and needs immediate medical attention.

The symptoms start out very similar to the common cold (runny nose, sore throat, watery eyes etc.) and then progress to more serious symptoms including coughing fits which can last as long as three minutes bringing up thick phlegm and can cause vomiting.

Most people are vaccinated as a child against the whooping cough but there are several boosters required to give complete immunity and children can end up missing them leaving them open to the infection. As for the treatment if its in the early stages your doctor will most likely give you antibiotics however if its in the later stages he/she will probably not give you anything as the body’s own defence systems will have almost fought off the infection.

Otherwise they’ll advise you just to have bed rest, drink plenty of fluids and stay away for others until it’s passed.  Remember if you are worried or want to know anything more seek advice from your GP.

 

Kony and the iPod generation

I woke up on March the 7th to see many Facebook friends had shared a link-  ‘Stop Kony 2012’- an appeal to capture ‘Joseph Kony’, leader of a rebel movement in Central Africa who has been guilty of abducting children and using them as soldiers. I liked I. I shared it. I was moved by the video. Since then, and 70 million views later, the video, and organisation behind the video ‘Invisible Children’, have come under much criticism.

Many are cynical about any kind of humanitarian project, suspecting ulterior motives from those involved. I agree that we shouldn’t blindly encourage action- in supporting someone like Ugandan President Museveni, more harm may be done than good-so we should always retain a degree of scepticism. We should ask why nothing has been done in Darfur or Zimbabwe. But instead of saying ‘Well you didn’t go there, why go here?’, we should be saying ‘we went here, now let’s go there’; using this case as a blueprint to encourage further humanitarian work rather than crying foul for past shortcomings.

We live in a world which is characterised by surplus food where some starve in which there is a surplus of food but millions starve or go hungry; where we spend money on plastic surgery when millions can’t afford life-saving drugs; where more than 20,000 people die of extreme poverty every day and the mass media doesn’t blink an eye preferring to screen omnibuses of Celebrity Big Brother.  As American economist Sachs notes, “Currently more than 8 million people around the world die each year because they are too poor to stay alive”

Now, I’m not claiming that every individual has to become a revolutionary [which is not to belittle the concept]. All I am saying is that we are able and should do what we can to help those who are suffering in the world. Donate money to those starving. Give your old clothes to Oxfam. Ask corporations if they comply with the demands of the International Labour Organisation. Continue to research the struggles of Sub-Saharan Africans, of Indian peasants and indigenous Mexicans and then think if in any way, no matter how small, you can help your fellow human.

I don’t actually think the majority of people were ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ so to speak- I genuinely think people were touched. Although it is true that liking a Facebook status won’t necessarily change the world, social media can be used as a force for good.

There are more people on Facebook now than there are people in the United States of America. I think the Kony video hits the nail on the head when it says “this connection is changing the way the world works”.

We can use social media to inspire change. Twitter is a prime example. If we can get #tearsforpiers    trending, why can’t we get #apoundtounicef going now and again? We can now mobilise demonstrations, coordinate campaigns and show solidarity with people who live thousands of miles away from us and who we may never meet.

Maybe we are the ‘iPod generation’. But our iPods have wireless internet, video cameras and instant access to millions of other people. Social media can be a force for global change.

There is a difference between Stop Kony and what the effort embodies- an effort to alleviate suffering, to ‘send the child soldiers back to their parents’ and to send a clear message to other Warlords: “There are new rules”. If Kony was to be apprehended, it would be a major deterrent to other warlords.

Maybe the money Invisible Children raises could be more effectively spent- on preventing and combating disease, famine and other mass sufferings that we as a race can change. But they are an organisation designed to raise awareness- an essential prerequisite for prompting governments into action. The video has hopefully opened many people’s eyes to one of the world’s major problems, whether they agree with the campaign or not.

People really did empathise with the plight of the “Invisible Children”. Which is why I really don’t buy into the argument that we,  ‘the ipod generation’, do not care as individuals. Maybe in a society of mass consumerism we have become desensitised to global injustices, but surely we still have compassionate dispositions? Personally, I was glad to see such an overwhelming response to the video. For me, it reaffirmed my belief that we are not all inherently selfish and egoistic- the beliefs that some political parties are founded on. It’s not that we don’t care; it’s just that we aren’t exposed as regularly enough to global problems as we should be.

This is why awareness campaigns can be used for good, why charities can become more dynamic and effective with widespread support. However, whilst it may indeed be used as a force for good, propaganda can also be instantly accessed by millions and can hence be a dangerous force as much as a positive one. This is why value of education and the ability to critically analyse information is more important than ever- so that we are not brainwashed into blindly following one view or another.

The video has, then, harnessed the hope many of us have that people do care and aren’t all purely self interested individuals. When we combine this with effective education and an ability to think logically, this compassion can be used to good effect.

Passionate Barnes offers fresh perspective on racism

Last Wednesday saw John Barnes launch a new initiative against racism in an impassioned talk entitled The Beautiful Game: An Ugly Culture delivered to the Union’s Academy 2. The former England star spoke alongside Manchester Village FC manager Matt Hall and offered an unorthodox take on the problem of racism in football.

Despite his previous involvement with campaigns such as Kick It Out!, Barnes was surprisingly dismissive of recent government attempts to introduce new legislation against racism in the game, labeling David Cameron’s recent meeting with black footballers as an “attempt to win votes”. Furthermore, the Liverpool and Watford legend called the prospect of punishments made against John Terry and Luis Suarez for racial abuse a case of “slapping people on the wrists after they’ve been caught being naughty”.

Instead, the Jamaica-born former winger proposed that the government, along with the game’s governing bodies, should focus on deconstructing “the myth of race” within wider society. Dominant cultural perceptions, Barnes argues, must be tackled in order to enact changes that are more than superficial. Punishments for indiscretions on match day, he insists, will do nothing to stop people from expressing racist opinions “the other six days of the week”. By understanding the way in which the discourse of racial difference was imposed in the past, and confronting the “pervasive legacy of colonialism”, Barnes argues that the problem of racism can be effectively tackled.

Startlingly, the 48-year-old called for a wholesale program of “truth and reconciliation”, similar to those seen in South Africa and Rwanda, such is the extent of residual prejudice within the sporting community. Indeed, it was claimed that “any Premier League manager or player over the age of forty” was likely to have harbored racial prejudices. However, Barnes again reiterated that “it’s not football’s fault, it’s society’s fault”, and that singling out individuals for criticism was pointless.

Barnes, who now works as a pundit for ESPN sports, was nevertheless critical of a number of high-profile figures within the press and the footballing establishment. One such figure is Sir Alex Ferguson, who he accuses of hypocrisy in the Suarez affair, considering the manager’s unwavering support of Peter Schmeichel when the Danish goalkeeper was embroiled in a similar scandal. The BBC, Barnes alleges, turned down his proposal for a documentary discussing racism from a sociological perspective, as he was unwilling to compare the Premier League favorably to leagues in Poland and the Ukraine. The Football Association, meanwhile, were characterised as a cast of “60-year-old, white men”. Former Liverpool team-mate Alan Hansen’s recent gaffe of referring to “coloured players”, however, was dismissed as an innocent mistake.

Throughout the talk, Barnes downplayed the shocking racial abuse he received during the early years of his playing career with a disarming humility. The abuse, he claims, never affected him because he “was totally empowered”. He also insisted that the worst aspects of racism were felt by “the black man on the street who can’t get a job in a shop”, rather than by professional sportsmen. However, he has taken his status as an Anfield legend with a pinch of salt, claiming that “they never loved me, they loved John Barnes number ten”.

Bold statements such as this made the opening address of Barnes’ tour of universities a provocative spectacle. However, the former winger’s passion, good humour and impressive understanding of history ensured that the audience left with a new insight into a hotly debated subject.

In Conversation with John Barnes

Obviously you’re a Liverpool legend – what did you make of Liverpool’s struggle this season?
Slightly disappointing. They put a performance in, but just looking at modern football now… before I went to Liverpool, I put in 6 years at Watford. The pressures on clubs now are much higher towards signing unknown players. Henderson is a perfect example of this – just one year at the club and young players are thrust into the limelight. Next year Liverpool will hopefully improve, but the quality they have shown this year has been good. The dedication shown at Cup matches has been of top quality. They will have to adapt their game, but the attitude and commitment they have shown means they can go forward. They have desire and dedication, and I will continue to support them next year.
David Seaman has stated recently that he has no interest in representing Team GB at the Olympics…
John: I’m exactly the same. Culturally, the Olympics are, alongside the World Cup, the world’s most important sporting event. It should not be belittled by sports that don’t take it seriously, by a sport that doesn’t see it as the epitome of its success. Many in Team GB would rather win the World Cup or even the F.A Cup than the Olympics. Even if they win a gold medal, for me it would mean nothing. Football for me is nothing like beach volleyball, swimming, or other sports that would consider this to be their top achievement; that is what the Olympics are all about.
Would you be interested in a return to managing or coaching?

John: Potentially managing. Except for Fergie nowadays, is there any manager now that would definitely be given three years to do the job? Secondly, from a black perspective, what is it to be a black coach or a black manager? Is it an opportunity to be given a job where people are going to help you, support you, give you time? I lamented the fact that the positive response I got from the players in Jamaica was because they saw me as British, while a lot of black coaches get a response from many who think, ‘is he really up to the job?’ Under the right circumstances, I would try it. As for coaching, I’d rather manage a League 2 side than coach a Premier League club. As a coach you would have to believe in everything the manager was saying, and I couldn’t just believe that. I wouldn’t be able to.

I was trawling through YouTube and came across something shocking – it was Michael Barrymore performing an intensely racist ‘impersonation’ of you on the BBC, with the implication that you shouldn’t be playing for England.
John: I haven’t seen it, no. Back then on the Cup final day you had a comedian with you, and we had Michael Barrymore with us at Wembley – we thought he was really funny in a Watford kit jumping on the coach with us. That very much reminds me of, around the same period, Jimmy Greaves wrote an article about me, saying that as I wasn’t born in England, I wasn’t as committed as other players. And when it comes to football, this is nonsense. Consider people like Stuart Pierce, who you’d consider as English as St George – who is incidentally a Turk. I know Stuart well, and I can guarantee you, if he would have to play for France against England, he would give it his 100%. Think of John Aldridge playing his best for Ireland. Because born there or not, it’s who you play for!

Village Manchester tackle Prejudice

Matt Hall, manager of Village Manchester FC’s 2nd team, provided an excellent compliment to John Barnes at the Beautiful Football: An Ugly Culture event, illustrating how his side looks to tackle homophobia in sport at a grassroots level.

Village Manchester FC are Manchester’s only gay men’s football club, plying their trade in the Manchester Accountants League. They are unique in the gay football community however as alongside London side Stonewall they choose to play in local football leagues rather than take part in the Gay Football Supporters Network organized league for gay teams which operates on a national level.

For Hall it is crucial that teams such as Village Manchester compete in ordinary league football, commenting that ‘Homophobia in football is better fought by playing at a grassroots level’. Village Manchester are setting out to dispel any stereotypes and myths that cross their path, aiming to ‘show teams that gay men we can play football just as well they can’. Indeed they have been exceptionally successful with the Village Manchester side now established as one of the best sides in their league, with their second team also going from strength to strength.

It appears that Village Manchester’s aim is being reached, with Hall stating that his experiences have seen very little active homophobia from opposition sides. Indeed a recent Sky Sports News report into Homophobia secretly filmed a Village match in order to try and catch Homophobic attitudes in action. ‘ They didn’t see much’ says Hall with a smile, ‘ apart from that we lost!’

The young manager did state however that not all footballers within the gay community were ready to take such a step as he and his teammates have. Indeed there are players who have felt ostracized playing football. That is where the GFSN comes in providing for gay players to play with ‘likeminded individuals’, a place where gay men to do not feel the need to hide their sexuality in fear of experiencing sexual prejudice from fellow players.

In the professional game meanwhile the situation experienced by Village Manchester is perhaps not reflected with homophobic chanting a regular occurrence on the terraces. Indeed a survey by Stonewall last year stated that 70 percent of football fans had experienced homophobic chanting. For Hall this is partly down to the ‘herd mentality of fans’ that can happen at some grounds. Such prejudice according to the young manager cannot be tackled by the Gay Football community and must be led from a top down level, it is an area that the FA has ‘seriously neglected’, leaving the Gay Community ‘playing catch up in order to end homophobia in the professional game’. The natural progression is for a high profile Premier League player to come out publicly as being gay, as the likes of Gareth Thomas and Steven Davies have in Rugby and Cricket respectively. Such a move is ‘the next step towards inclusion’.

However while the footballing authorities look to eradicate homophobia on the terraces and change long-term attitudes towards gay footballers, Village Manchester will continue to take on any prejudice that comes their way by doing their talking on the field.

University of Manchester reclaim Christie Cup

Forget London 2012. The highlight of sporting excellence this year has already been and gone as the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester fought to knock Leeds off its perch in the ultimate battle of the north: The Christie Cup. This year it was Liverpool’s turn to host the oldest inter-university competition after the Oxbridge boat race, and over 1500 eager students descended upon the City of Scouse for what would be a day of champagne performances across the board.
The day didn’t exactly get off to an ideal start – the weather clearly didn’t get the memo that Christie day is traditionally blessed with glorious sunshine – and so wetter than a sock in a puddle but not to be deterred, coach loads of Manchester’s finest athletes made the journey down the M62 to reclaim the prize that we all know is rightfully ours. Manchester has won this tremendous accolade more times than either of the other universities since the competition was founded in the 1880s, and so after our shock defeat in 2011, we were hungrier than ever for success. With exams looming in the not-so-distant future, the day is notoriously one of laughs and debaunchery, but following stern words of warning from the feisty Athletic Union Chair, we knew we all had to get our heads in the game.
Amongst the first up were women’s hockey, and with Manchester undefeated all season and promoted to the Premiership, we were pretty confident it was in the bag. The competition was fierce, particularly from newly-relegated Leeds. However it was not enough to stop both Manchester teams from being crowned outright winners. Some might say that the men were even cockier, sporting little more than an attractive set of purple wife-beaters in the icy cold and rain, yet they too emerged champions. The tone was then set for the rest of the day and team after team, Manchester upped their game and clocked up the points.
Those not lucky enough to compete on the artificial pitches were in for a real treat, and men’s football thought up many a new goal celebration which involved sliding around in the mud-bath that the pitches had all become. The colour of both our men’s and women’s rugby kits were similar evidence of the amount of celebrating Manchester had earned, with the only remaining traces of purple to be found in the war-stripes painted on our faces! Both lacrosse teams retained their respective undefeated titles, and when team members are subsequently found asleep during their victory night out, you can’t deny that they must have played hard!
One team that certainly wasn’t bothered by the April showers was the swimming squad, who capped off a great BUCS season with another clean sweep of wins for Manchester. By the midway point of the competition, we were feeling quietly confident that the prestigious Christie Cup would be coming back home with us. Obviously that would never have been good enough for us, and when we win, we like to win by a country mile. After some words of encouragement from our wonderful AU Chair had been bellowed down a shiny new megaphone (saved only for occasions such as this), our remaining athletes kicked, smashed, shot, and ran to countless more victories across the entire spectrum of sports.
Then we played the waiting game. We had tried harder than ever but anything could have happened in those final few fixtures. While every point was being counted up and checked, our freezing, exhausted competitors had found renewed vigour in the thought of their traditional ‘Purple and Proud’ fancy dress costumes for the presentation ceremony. Team by team we filed into the main sports hall dressed as Barney the Dinosaur, purple Avatars, and everything in between, in order to find out whether we had done ourselves proud or whether it had all been in vain. As the individual successes were read out we sensed a pattern emerging, and if the overall victory wasn’t ours then something must definitely have gone wrong. Liverpool must have known they were out of the title race as they slowly started sidling off like part-time supporters at a football match. Nevertheless, Leeds still had high hopes and didn’t seem to fancy the prospect of handing over the cup after just one measly season. The big moment arrived. There was an eerie hush in the room and the tension was thick. Eventually it was announced that Manchester had regained its title as Christie Cup Champion and some even say the cheers were so loud they could be heard all down Oxford Road. Roaring with excitement, we all piled back on to our coaches – medals swinging all over the place – and had a night we’ll never remember to celebrate the day we’ll never forget.

One Hell of an ISSL

Way out south in the gloomy dearth of deepest Wythenshawe, propped up alongside the M60 you’ll find a collection of football pitches which play host to some of the university’s finest footballing talent every Wednesday, and most Saturdays. Incorporating teams from subject areas, halls of residence, and all things University of Manchester, the Inter Society Soccer League (ISSL) plays host to fifty teams across five divisions, and saw the final day of league action on Wednesday gone.
Created over half a century ago, the league went from strength to strength under the stewardship of former Manchester City right back Roy Little. Taking over at the Wythenshawe Sports Ground in 1967, Little worked tirelessly until his retirement in 1994. His fine work is memorialised in the form of the Roy Little Cup, this year claimed by AC Medics, defeating their counterparts Dynamo Medics 3-1 after extra time. The other knockout tournament bears the name of John Hadwin, the former league chairman, which saw Allen Hall face a team of Maths Old Boys on Saturday.

As is true to most campus sports leagues, year in year out the Manchester Medics exercised their monopoly over the top division. The Medics are renowned for their domination of all things ISSL, with this year being no different, as the first team were once more crowned the champions of the Premier League, whilst AC Medics, found themselves finishing third, behind Oak House FC.

Away from the much lauded medical students, a glance at the five league tables will, if nothing else, provide you with some sniggers at the variety of team names on show, with ‘Pamela Anderlecht’ and ‘Remember the Titus Bramble’ being some of the highlights.

By far and away the most hotly contested league this year has been Division 1, with many permutations still possible on the eve of the last game of the season. Any two of the top five still held a mathematical chance of being promoted to the Premier League, and with second-placed Chemical Engineering playing host to Atletico Hulme in third, there were sure to be some twists and turns. In spite of a hard fought 1-0 victory, Hulme were undone by a miraculous seven goal swing, with Owens Park FC coming out 9-1 victors over Dynamo Medics, to take second place by one goal, and join their fellow campus residents, Owens Park Wanderers, in gaining promotion to the top division.

Below the nail-biting second tier, Oak House Rangers were runaway victors in Division 2, amassing an imperious goal difference of +60, and went up along with Chemistry FC. MUPS FC held out to gain promotion from Division 3 along with ISOC’cer United, just ahead of Sporting CS. It also went down to the last game of the season in Division 4, with Fallowfield FC defeating Courts United in the second-place showdown, to join Pamela Anderlecht in moving up.

Special mention must go to Andy Ellison who, along with the help of current dental student Tom Hampson, so diligently carries out all preparation for the league, including the booking of referees, acquiring of equipment, organisation of fixture lists, amongst many other tasks the five-hundred – or more players – take for granted every week.

The Presentation evening for all league and cup winners and runners-up will be held on May 9th, with a fine selection of silverware being awarded to the victors.

Any students are welcome to enter a team and registration for next seasons league opened last week. All teams can register via the online store http://www.sport.manchester.ac.uk/iss-eleven-a-side-football-league , the cost is £370 per team for the season. For more information please contact [email protected]

Club Profile – UMCC

For most, the University sporting season comes to an end in April, when attention turns abruptly to the exam season. However, for the University of Manchester Cricket Club, this is when the season begins. Dissertation deadlines and the exam timetable are a huge hindrance on student cricketers but this fails to dampen the tremendous enthusiasm for the sport. The club boasts over 120 members, 7 playing sides and a first team that compete in the Northern Premier league taking on University cricket heavyweights such as Loughborough and Leeds. It is most definitely a club on the rise after being granted tier one status by the AU at the beginning of the year.
The 1st team’s season kicked off last with a Twenty20 tournament at Liverpool for the Christie Cup. A few early morning alarms not being set due to heavy downpours the night before were replaced by phone calls from the skipper convinced that play was possible. The team arrived at a sodden Sefton Park ground, where the groundsman insisted that Liverpool hadn’t seen any rain whilst players avoided a minefield of puddles in the car park. It was a miserable looking changing room when skipper Adil Dewan lost the toss and the UMCC were sent out to field in a drizzly nine degrees. After underlayers and extra jumpers were dug out of the kit bags, the umpires decided to reduce the game to a 15 over match due to the rain.
In the first game, Liverpool got off to a flyer scoring 10 runs an over, but thanks to the disciplined bowling of Phil Murgatroyd and Matt Spells their score was limited to 119 from their 15. Jobson and Wilson opened the batting, showing no respect to the opening bowlers with boundaries dispatched all around the field. The arrival of Liverpool’s spin attack could not stop them with the openers taking 35 from one over with two sixes and a four from Wilson and two fours and a six from Jobson as the bowler’s confidence collapsed in a flurry of no balls. With their partnership of 80 from 47 balls providing the majority of the runs, Jack Langley and Skipper Dewan brought the game home solidly.
The second game was against a far stronger outfit in the form of Leeds University. The toss was won and Jobson and Wilson went back out to the crease. More sixes and fours were hit as they flew to 50 from 5 overs before Wilson lost his off stump. Jobson, however, went into overdrive smashing a quick fire 69 whilst Dewan played a useful role at the other end. With the help of an explosive final over from Matt Spells, the UMCC finished on a massive 140 from 15 overs. Despite a few scares in the field, the victory was relatively comfortable thanks to a disciplined spell from Tom Ward and James Popplewell. Manchester won by 20 runs to secure the Cricket element of the Christie Cup.
The league season got under way when the 1st team faced they travelled to Bishop Auckland to face Northumbria last Tuesday. Manchester posted a competitive score of 217 from their 50 overs. Skipper Dewan led the way with a composed 60, ably supported by Ben Watkin who went agonisingly close to a half century, scoring 49. In the opposition innings, Watkin was again effective alongside Wilson and Indraneel who claimed two wickets apiece. However it proved to be in vain as Northumbria hit the winning runs off the final ball. Despite many positives coming from the game indiscipline with the bat and ball proved frustrating for the 1st XI. Future fixtures however will allow them to address these issues in future matches as they look to succeed in their short but exciting season.

Where Are They Now? – Benito Carbone

A popular journeyman of the Premier League era, Benito Carbone’s career was defined by one memorable performance against Leeds United back in January 2000. In a televised fifth-round FA Cup tie, Carbone almost single-handedly guided Aston Villa to a 3-2 victory, scoring all three goals as he tormented Michael Duberry and Jonathan Woodgate, two of the finest centre-backs in the country at that time.

The performance was capped by one particularly memorable moment. With Villa trailing 2-1 midway through the second half, a routine clearance fell to the feet of Alan Wright on the left wing, who laid the ball on to Carbone, standing 35 yards from the Leeds goal. The little Italian looked up, and, seeing that goalkeeper Nigel Martyn had strayed slightly away from his near post, briefly assessed his options before unleashing an extraordinary, curling effort right into the top left-hand corner.

To an impressionable six year-old, watching at home on television, the goal was audacious enough, but it was the celebration that was most captivating – the confident demeanour, head down, arms raised aloft, an expression of complete control as he gnawed away furiously on his chewing gum. It never occurred to me that this self-indulgent, ‘look at me’ attitude may have been perceived as being arrogant; I was simply in awe of his belief that a 35-yard screamer deserved to be celebrated with an effortless swagger, rather than the customary mindless sprint. Watching it back now, it reminds me of that classic Eric Cantona pose after his chip against Sunderland; composed, self-righteous, seemingly baffled by the euphoria of the crowd.

Once touted as one of the leading youngsters in Italian football, Carbone never really fulfilled his potential. Spells at Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford, Derby and Middlesbrough did little to enhance his international prospects, yet affirmed his cult-hero status among many English fans. He eventually returned to play in Italy, before completing an unsuccessful stint as manager of Varese, where he was sacked after less than three months in charge.

A likeable and charismatic professional, Carbone’s tale is, in many ways, a typical story of hard luck and missed opportunities. Perhaps he might take some solace in knowing that, despite never having graced the biggest stages of the European game, there is still one nostalgia-junkie out there who remembers scoring in the playground and raising his arms aloft, bowing his head and chewing away on his imaginary gum in celebration.

Feature: The Haçienda: 30 Years On

It’s almost thirty years ago that Tony Wilson, New Order and Rob Gretton gave birth to an idea that would eventually be considered the definitive brainchild of Factory Records. It was originally Gretton, Factory-band-manager-supreme, who realised that Manchester lacked a venue that catered to the label’s particular musical tastes. Following New Order’s booming record sales and their developing interest in electronic music, Gretton’s concept was afforded the necessary funding and cooperation required to turn his vision into a reality. And so, in May 1982, the Haçienda was born.

In all fairness, it didn’t come kicking and screaming into the world. The early years were slightly subdued, and although it hosted the likes of The Smiths, Echo & the Bunnymen, Happy Mondays and even Madonna, yes, Madonna, it wasn’t until Mike Pickering and Graeme Park started the pioneering ‘Nude’ night on Fridays that the Haçienda started building the reputation it has today. Pickering went on to team up with Jon Da Silva to host ‘Hot’, an acid house night which, if you watch a clip of it on Youtube, is a pretty funny chunk of nostalgia. There’s quite a few decent tunes, interesting hairdos, and everybody seems to be dancing around in some sort of tribal procession, like they’ve just discovered fire.

The actual interior of the club also broke the mould in terms of its design. Peter Saville and Ben Kelly’s simple, industrial style was miles away from the usual soggy carpets and artificial plants found in most clubs at the time and its influence on modern music venues is obvious. As well as the main stage area and balcony, there was also a cafe and a bar downstairs called ‘The Gay Traitor’, named after Anthony Blunt, a British historian and professor who spied for the Soviet Union during the Second World War. Unfortunately, the original site was demolished and reconstructed into a block of apartments in 2002, imaginatively named, that’s right, the Haçienda apartments. Not quite as impressive as ‘The Gay Traitor’ if you ask me.

There was simply no other club in Manchester at the time that could match what the club had to offer. However, the Haçienda’s success also proved to be its own undoing. Popularity brought money, status, and lots of drugs. ‘Madchester’ was in full swing and by the early 90s, the music scene had taken off completely. The feel-good mentality that emerged in this, the so-called ‘Second Summer of Love’, was an ideal target for seedy characters looking to intertwine the club with the city’s criminal underbelly. There were several shootings inside and outside of the venue, overdoses, various problems with security and an abundance of dealers which quickly fuelled the emergence of drug syndicates. The club became a hotbed of illegal activity, and because it never made enough money from the sale of alcohol in order to fund further improvements, its closure in 1997 came as little surprise. Peter Hook, bassist for New Order and Wilson’s co-director, stated that the club recorded losses in excess of £18 million during its final years. He also claims that it would have been better to have given £10 to everyone who ever went to the Haçienda, sent them home, and not bothered with the club at all.

You can’t really put a price on what the Haçienda had to offer though. Its creation gave the house movement a home in Manchester, and its legacy remains to this day. There’s talk of a rave in the car park of the apartments next month to celebrate the 30th anniversary, so yeah, fingers crossed Hooky pulls that one out of the bag.

But even if that fails, you can always go to FAC251 at midnight, stand in front of the picture of Tony Wilson in the entrance foyer, close your eyes, click your heels three times and wait for Bez to appear. I hear it only works if you take a maraca with you.

The deceit of the sunny prospectus

Etched in the tomes of academic law is a passage that reads “And in the time of the great essays, arbitrary reports and exams on content that will be immediately forgotten, a curse of golden sunlight and azure skies shall smite the campus grounds. Then, the meek, the sinners and the pseudo-academics shall gaze from the darkness of their document editing prisons at the startling Eden flourishing outside and long for a merciful end to their studious penance.”

However the belief that the hat only sits on Mr. Sun’s head during days of hard studying is in direct conflict with what is written in another, perhaps more real and concrete publication: The University of Manchester Prospectus. The little purple book that brought us here, bursting with visual propaganda of young people sitting in the sunshine smiling – the smarmy slackers. Who the blazes do they think they are laying around outside? The few days of shorts weather we receive should be spent indoors revising never-ending lecture slides.

I imagine that opportunities to take these golden prospective photographs are rare. Most likely the vanguard of the university administration lurch in the spire of Whitworth tower, patiently waiting to spot a gathering of students on the only speck of green grass on campus, hastily summoning an able photographer whenever they spot next year’s front cover. The snapper is then deployed to take carefully angled, shallow-depth-of-field shots of the basking undergraduates as they pretend to look at books.

Everyone experiments with outdoor study at least once. It’s a perfectly natural thing to do, but it’s pointless. It begins with good intentions, a group of friends get out their notes on a soft patch of grass, but as soon the midday sun soaks in, the studious attentiveness wanes and someone caves in to the monotony and announces to their companions that they are bored of studying. Everyone else then agrees and work is replaced by an afternoon of nattering and ice creams.

It is up to the individual to adapt to end-second-semester life. One must become an indoors enthusiasts, a person who thrives in environments where the screen glare is minimal, the work surfaces are consistently level and the stuffy heat cooks up healthy collections of sweat in every fold of your body.

Perhaps the gods of academic life will be kind this exam season and cast a grey blanket of dank misery across the sky, making it bearable to be tucked safely inside looking up references. Although I’m almost certain it will be as always: six weeks spent enviously glaring out the window at those sods frolocking in beer gardens who have finished their one exam.

Summer is waiting at the end apparently. How wonderful. Finally one will be at liberty to sample exotic substances at relatively different geographical coordinate, serve cold meats to neurotic middle class mothers at Waitrose and hibernate in a den of video games. But if you are really lucky, you will have just finished your degree and get to look forward to compromising everything you once cared about for an income to sustain your miraculous existence as a sentient clump of atoms.