iblog

Kayleigh: Several universities in the UK have announced they will be charging thousands of students as much of £7,000 a year for their tuition fees.

The news comes as several universities say government ministers have cut their funding.

Instead, the money that is due to be cut from universities will be used to provide an extra 20,000 full-time places for undergraduates who have not already studied for degrees.

The cuts of around 100m a year will affect about 170,000 part-time students, as well as many others studying shorter full-time courses. The government say they are also cutting funding for those studying for their second degree.

The universities which have been hit worst by the cuts, which are due to come into force in September 2008 are Oxford University, who will lose £4m, and the Open University, set to lose over £30m.

Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell said: ”For the tax payer, funding people for a first degree has to be a higher priority than supporting those studying for a second degree.

“We have however been consulting on the detail of implementation and a whole range of second degrees such as vocational foundation degrees to help people re-skill will be protected. No university will lose in cash terms.”

Universities claim they have no other option but to charge students £7000 for a year of tuition, the same as what overseas students pay. But not everyone agrees with their decision.

The University and College Union’s (UCU) general secretary Sally Hunt said: “We fully support initiatives to encourage new learners into higher education but we cannot support doors being slammed in the faces of others who wish to develop their skills. These cuts completely undermine the Government’s desire to provide the workforce with accessible part-time provision.”

As a student myself, I am against increasing tuition fees, I think they are already high enough. The government claims they would like 50% of young adults to go to university, but I think they are being hypocrits by increasing the fees and putting off those bright, poor students out there who simply can not afford the governments hefty fees.

Virgil: You’ve taken your dog for a walk on Poll Na Crann beach - known locally as Stinky Bay - and the worst you expect to find is the smell of fermenting seaweed. However it was a lot more fishy when such a dog-walker stumbled upon a huge unidentifiable metal container measuring 27 metres high. The tank, which is so large it can be seen as you pass in a car, was washed up on the west coast of Benbecula, in the Western Isles.

The huge object has been described as looking like a “silo”. It has no marks apart from two numbers, which experts are trying to use to identify the tank’s origin. It is thought that the object fell from a ship, and is probably a bulk storage tank containing liquids. However, despite this sordid diagnosis the incongruent object has been a source of intrigue among the local population. Alasdair MacEachen, assistant director of environmental services at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, commented that:

“It’s certainly generated a fair bit of interest with people walking on the beach or just travelling along the road, because you can actually see it from the main road along the west side of Benbecula. It’s a big object so you can’t miss it, and it’s not often you see something like that on the beach.”

The authorities are considering anchoring the object down - not to make it a permanent tourist attraction, but rather to avoid any tragedies. As it was so precariously brought to shore, it is likely to continue roll over as the tides wash by, and an object of that size could be fatal to anyone caught in the way of its movement. Furthermore, they want to avoid the silo from rolling back out to sea, where it could become a hazard to any closeby ships. MacEachen continues:

“Although it looks as if it’s empty and it’s been ruptured, my advice would be not to go too close to it. It’s a fairly light construction so you don’t want it rolling on top of someone, and with that sort of thing you can never tell. My advice would be to just observe it from a distance.”

One can only wonder how such a huge object managed to disappear from a ship without being noticed, and how it managed to get washed all the way back up to shore?

Virgil: It’s not a product from Apple, but perhaps the ‘i’ of the i-Snake is a homage to being yet another revolutionary gadget. The snake is a new surgical device hoping to decrease the amount of invasive surgery needed in hospitals; rather than cut people open, the long thin tube contains motors, sensors (the ‘eyes’ that surely also contribute to the moniker) and other imaging devices that will stand in for a surgeon’s hands. The snake is more flexible, dextrous and precise than any implement previously used, and will make it possible to more safely conduct operations that previously required very invasive techniques.

A team from Imperial College London has been granted 2.1 million pounds for the development of the i-Snake. They envisage the tool being used for heart bypass surgery, but also note that it could aid in any number of procedures, such as the diagnosis of problems in the guts and bowels. The ultimate aim for surgeons is to manage to conduct these procedures without any skin incisions at all. Such surgery can leave scars, keep patients in hospital far too long, and involve a much longer recovery time. Health Minister Lord Ara Dazi, who is on the development team, commented that:

“The unrivalled imaging and sensing capabilities coupled with the accessibility and sensitivity of i-Snake will enable more complex diagnostic and therapeutic procedures than are currently possible. The cost benefits that i-Snake will introduce include earlier, cheaper and less invasive treatment, faster recovery and procedure times and intangible benefits through an increase in patient care and quality of life.”

All of these procedures are to be tested in a lab before they are to be used on any real patients. However despite this caution, the innovation of the device is no doubt only the beginning of a whole range of smarter and more flexible surgery tools that are bringing us closer to the idea of an operation no longer being dangerous. Dr Ted Bianco, director of the Wellcome Trust, comments: “Gone are the days when the surgeon’s knife ruled in the operating theatre. The future of surgery is in smart devices like i-Snake.”

Kayleigh: More than 250,000 teachers have left their careers due to being unsatisfied with it, a government report has found.

The Conservative Party thinks the main reason for teachers wanting to leave their jobs is because of poor discipline in schools.

Almost 100,000 teachers quit between 2000 and 2005- which is double the amount that quit between 1995 and 2000.

The Tories are blaming the findings on Labour and believe that teachers cannot stand teaching under their rule.

Shadow schools secretary Michael Gove said “Not only are our children not achieving as they should, talented teachers are not where they should be - in the classroom, opening young minds to new horizons.

“With more than quarter of a million gifted professionals no longer in teaching, we have to ask why they’ve given up on education under Labour. I fear that classroom bureaucracy, Government micromanagement and poor discipline has encouraged a drift away from teaching.”

But not all believe Labour is to blame for this current trend. Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, said that Labour has supported teachers more than any other previous government.

He said “Recruitment into the profession has never been more buoyant, and teaching is now the career of choice for many highly qualified and talented individuals. Indeed, Ofsted has said this is the best generation of teachers ever.”

I am not so convinced however. I cannot blame teachers for wanting to leave their jobs. It was only recently I was speaking to an old teacher of mine and he told me how he had gone to teach abroad as he didn’t like the school system in the UK and thought discipline was poor. The fact is children are becoming more disobedient than ever, and the government aren’t helping by reducing the amount of punishment teachers can give. Something needs to be done soon so teaching can become an attractive profession again, like it should be.

Rushda: Today marks a terribly sad day for Pakistan and indeed much of the world as Benazir Bhutto, the leading Pakistani opponant and former Prime Minister, has been killed in a suicide bomb attack whilst doing an election rally for next month’s general election in the northern region of Rawalpindi near the capital Islamabad. This event marks a severe blow to any hope in the return of stable democracy in Pakistan as many believe that Bhutto’s liberal views and bid to counter terrorism have now been in vain.

The assassination was sudden as she spoke to thousands of people in the crowd. As Mohammad Zaman, a member of her PPP party, explains:

“The meeting went perfectly well. She delivered her speech, she came down the stage and got on the land-cruiser. She started coming out, we heard three [shots] fired, and after that the bomb blast went [off]. And when I came down the road I saw there was loads and loads of injured. And I really thought that her vehicle was safe and left the place safely. I was hoping she would be OK.”

Though Bhutto was taken swiftly to hospital, she died straight away. It is unclear at present who was involved in the attack and what the motive was, but it is strongly believed that the attack links with Al-Qaeda who, amongst others, were angry at her secular leadership and affinity to the West. The country is in shock and in many parts considered to be a danger after the attacks with curfews in main city areas. Many are understandably emotional and angry, with some blaming the current president Pervez Musharraf for not ensuring that Bhutto received adequate security.

Having studied at both Harvard and Oxford, Bhutto gave much hope to those in the West and in Pakistan who feel threatened by Islamic extremism. As the only woman to have been Prime Minister of Pakistan, she also represented women’s rights in Pakistan which are often suppressed due to Islamic practices. Major world leaders believe that her death has been an attempt to kill democracy in Pakistan, but as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said in his speech:

“Benazir Bhutto may have been killed by terrorists but the terrorists must not be allowed to kill democracy in Pakistan and this atrocity strengthens our resolve that terrorists will not win there, here or anywhere in the world. We will work with all in the Pakistani community in Britain and elsewhere in the world so that we can have a peaceful and safe and democratic Pakistan.”

My heart goes out to all of Bhutto’s family and supporters as we are reminded once again of the dangers extremists pose for those who wish to fight for tolerance. Who knows what lies in store for Pakistan now, and how safe it remains.

Rushda: Thousands of shoppers have crowded British shops early today in order to grab bargains in the end of year sales. With big brands making big cuts in prices, it seems that everyone would rather turn up outside shops in the early hours of the morning instead of traditionally celebrating Boxing Day with the family. Indeed, this year has been a record year as many shops have claimed that sales queues more than doubled from last year.

The huge queues started shortly after 4am this morning, focussing on Oxford Street in London. It is claimed that up to £1000 a minute was being spent at some shops today. The prices, naturally, were very attractive with stores such as Birmingham’s Selfridges offering up to 75% reduction in price of goods. In the Oxford Street branch, over 9,000 customers walked in in the first hour of sales in the morning, and it is estimated that “500,000 shoppers ventured into London’s West End” today.

The sale chaos wasn’t restricted to London, as Essex’s Lakeside shopping centre was also packed with thousands of shoppers, the quantity being a third higher than last year. It is thus clear that this year marks a record in sales and that the perks of Christmas are far from ending for shopowners. As Richard Dodd, from the British Retail Consortium, said:

“Today is much busier than Boxing Day last year as more stores have started their post-Christmas sales early, rather than waiting till tomorrow. It’s clear that retailers are going to have to offer bumper sales to tempt customers in, because finances are under strain this year. A lot of customers are reluctant to spend and there are worries about how their finances are going to stand up.”

What I don’t understand myself is why people go through all the bother to brave the crowds and spend hours sifting through items by hands so early after Christmas. In my experience online sales are much better because you can do it all from the comfort of your own room in half the time! Thankfully, other people have had this good sense too, as statistics show that “3.6 million people spent part of their Christmas Day searching for good deals via the internet”.

Rushda: It was strange enough when public figures such as Tony Blair and Oprah got their own YouTube channel but this is probably a whole new kettle of fish - the Queen on YouTube? No one would have ever expected it but she’s here in all her 81 years of glory on her very own new channel.

Her channel, which is naturally called The Royal Channel, will air the Queen’s Christmas day message together with other interesting footage about the monarchy. The launch of the channel also “marks the 50th anniversary of the Queen’s first televised festive address in 1957″. The palace is hoping that the channel will help the monarchy connect to young people who often miss out on the Queen’s yearly speech. The speech will be aired at 1500 GMT on Christmas Day.

The Queen has always admitted that some changes must be made in order to adapt to modern times. For example, back on her first television address in 1957 she said:

“I very much hope that this new medium will make my Christmas message more personal and direct. That it is possible for some of you to see me today is just another example of the speed at which things are changing all around us.”

A spokesperson from the palace said upon launching the channel that the Queen still wants to remain in touch with the times:

“She has always been aware of reaching more people and adapting the communication to suit. This will make the Christmas message more accessible to younger people and those in other countries.”

Personally I’m quite impressed with the layout of the channel. Only the royals could have managed to make even a channel on YouTube look elegant and classy! Something tells me, however, that the Queen won’t be an active and addicted YouTube member churning out her responses daily in text speak. Unfortunately her appearences will be probably be rare and with little affiliation with the site. However, it is certainly an odd concept that she is “on there”, especially considering the amount of abuse and spam the channel will get. Well, good luck to her! Maybe if she does something entertaining on YouTube, even I will tune in on Christmas day!

Rushda: A scientist has recently claimed that men are naturally more prone to have a sense of humour because of the hormone testosterone. Professor Sam Shuster, of Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital conducted and examined studies of the behaviour of men and women in humorous situations to come to the conclusion that men not only tell more jokes than women but that their humour is more “aggressive” as well.

Shuster, who is also a unicyclist, conducted an experiment whereby he examined how different genders reacted to him performing his activity in public. He noted that whilst women were polite and encouraging, men jeered, using humour in a way to humiliate the unicyclist. For example, many men were abusive and said mocking things like, “Lost your wheel?” with 75% of the men responding to the show verbally whereas most women remained quiet. As Shuster remarks:

“The idea that unicycling is intrinsically funny does not explain the findings. The difference between the men and women was absolutely remarkable and consistent. At 11-13 years, the boys began to get really aggressive. Into puberty, the aggression became more marked, then it changed into a form of joke. The men were snide.”

As a woman, naturally I feel snubbed by the results of the study and find it a little misleading. Whilst it may be true that men are more aggressive than women, I don’t understand how it follows that they have a better sense of humour - surely the link isn’t so obvious! I would never have thought humour is anything to do with aggression, unless of course we are talking about the jokes told by drunken pub louts… but then, that isn’t really humour is it? The study is showing not how men use and react to humour but how perhaps important it is for them to look cool in front of other men and women! As such, I think that it is difficult to say who is really more humorous.

Rushda: The Nintendo Wii is the most sought after present this Christmas, with stocks heavily running out by the hour and many distressed parents not able to secure one before the big day. Though like all novelty gadgets, the hype is often disproportionate to the product, but it is easy to see why the Wii is in so much demand. It marks a revolution in gaming as now players can feel truly involved in their games by being able to use the Wii in a variety of innovative ways. Whether you want to play tennis or bowl, fight or drive, all these things can be simulated with the Wii in more realistic ways than pressing buttons. Furthermore, an extra appeal is that the Wii has been marketed as an “active” console, with players no longer slumped motionless on the couch.

Though this may be true to some extent, it is very important to take this claim with a pinch of salt and understand that the Nintendo Wii cannot replace other forms of more strenuous exercise. Young people are at particular risk from obesity and require at least an hour of exercise a day which cannot be taken from playing on the console. Indeed a new British Medical Journal study has found that in fact Wii players only use 2% more energy than players of other consoles. This may promote an “every little help” image, they admit, but it is wrong thinking that it is enough. As a spokesperson for the study said:

“These increases were of insufficient intensity to contribute towards recommendations for children’s daily exercise. Although this figure is trivial it might contribute to weight management. New generation computer games stimulated positive activity behaviours - the children were on their feet and they moved in all directions. Given the current prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity, such positive behaviours should be encouraged.”

The obesity crisis in Britain has hit children the worst, with more than a third of twelve year olds overweight. Whilst the Wii may provide more activity than conventional consoles, it is perhaps still more dangerous to believe, and let children believe, that playing games on the Wii is enough. Well, so much for childrens’ hopeful dreams!

Rushda: Many avid followers of the X Factor on ITV will have been shocked at the result of the final last night as Leon Jackson has been crowned winner of the show, beating ten thousand contestants and winning a one million pound record deal for his singing.

The eighteen year old from Scotland was as surprised as everyone else when he was announced as the winner of the show. His new single, which he also sung on the show, is “When you believe” previously sung by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, and may well be number one this Christmas. Rhydian Roberts from Wales came second, even though he was the Bookies favourite to win by a long way, and cheery brother and sister duo Same Difference came third. More than 12 million people across Britain tuned in to watch what was one of the most tense finals of the X factor ever seen.

Bookmakers Ladbrokes were startled by the results. Speaking of Leon, spokesman Nick Weinberg said:

“[This was] the biggest shock in the history of reality TV betting. He saved us from a bumper payout. He’ll definitely be top of our Christmas card list.”

Leon, who broke down crying when the results were announced says:

“I decided to pursue this because I loved singing. Then, as it went along, I knew I could potentially change my mum’s life and I’ve just done it.”

Funnily enough, despite the fair voting it seems that most people seem to be upset by the results. Leon doesn’t have the smiles and personality of Same Difference nor does he have the incredible singing talent of Rhydian. How he scraped through to number one is beyond me, and like many other disappointing reality show wins in the past few years (Michelle McManus for example) I very much doubt that anyone will remember him and his mediocre personality in a few months time. Hopefully both Rhydian and Same Difference will be back on our screens in no time as they were both memorable and talented!