A UNIVERSITY IN BUSINESSn issue 2 n march 2012 n

inside:

A Brief New World:London 2012 in less than 140 characters

It’s All in the Mind:Converting aspiration to perspiration

The Olympic Interview:World of Work in action

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“There is likely tobe a ‘tipping point’in the viewers’ability to controlwhat they see...”

“mental readinessis absolutely asimportant asphysicalreadiness”

“I suppose I can’t domy top button up on myshirts, but no-one doesanymore anyway!”

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“students benefit from a real lifescenario”

MAIN FEATURES

a brief new world 4

it’s all in the mind 20

FEATURES

split second science 2hitler’s olympics 10playing it safe 12the olympic interview 14citius altius fortius 18completely drained 24after the party 26

SNAPSHOTS

100% me 8beth tweddle 9hannah whelan 9sport scholar gold medal 9BBC elite athlete tests 9arts thread 16success at international trade awards 16winning support 17PROTECT the networks 28BT big voice project 28evolution of kit creates a revolution in performance 28real-time monitoring of athlete water and blood constituents 29

An introduction from theVice Chancellor, Professor Nigel Weatherill

Welcome to the second edition ofthink magazine.

Much of this issue of think concernsaspects of this summer’s Olympicand Paralympic Games, andillustrates some of the myriad waysthat this University is contributing –directly and indirectly - to thespectacle.

The watchwords of the London2012 Games are inspiration andengagement, sustainability andimpact. These are also the coreelements of Liverpool John MooresUniversity’s approach to itsscholarship, research, business,societal and cultural contributions.

Whilst it is difficult to capture in asimple printed magazine, the wholerange of activities we undertake atthis University, I hope that this givesyou a flavour, or a brief insight intosome of our work.

Each article serves to provide anintroduction so please do contactus directly if you would like to knowmore about the individual projectshighlighted in this magazine ormore widely about the University.

I do hope you enjoy this edition andif you would like to give us anyfeedback on this issue, if you wouldlike more copies or would like acopy of the first edition pleasecontact Helen McCormack on0151 231 3531 (h.mccormack@ljmu.ac.uk)

Alternatively, each of these articles,and previous articles, appear as ablog on our website, where you canleave comments and feedback.

Thank you for yourcontinued interest in LJMU.

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FEATURE SPLIT SECOND SCIENCE

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In 1975, LJMU became the first universityto recognise sport as a science and is nowleading the field with a £25.5 million facility,which was opened by Liverpool FootballClub captain and LJMU Honorary FellowSteven Gerrard. The facility is named afterthe late Tom Reilly, known as the ‘Father ofthe Science of Football’ and the UK’s firstProfessor of Sports Science. This state-of-the-art building, offers some of the bestfacilities in the world, including appetite,psychology testing and neuroscience labs,an indoor 70-metre running track, physiologysuites, a DEXA scanner for measuring bodyfat, muscles and bone density, a drivingsimulator and a chronobiology lab.

Tim Cable, Director at the School of Sportand Exercise Sciences describes Tom as aman who was ‘profoundly interested in thedevelopment of others before himself witha motivation and dedication to acquire anddisseminate knowledge.’

LJMU Professor of Sports Science andformer Olympian modern pentathlete, GregWhyte, adds:

‘’I had the honor, and pleasure, of workingwith Tom Reilly as an athlete and a colleague.Tom was, and remains, a legendary figure ofSports Science nationally and internationally.Tom’s charm and wit was only surpassed byhis encyclopedic knowledge of human

performance. Rarely do we haveopportunity to tread in the footsteps ofgiants and yet I was privileged to do justthat for over a decade.’’

Tom Reilly’s legacy also lives on in the workof current academics who are deliveringprojects bringing the benefits of the London2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to theNorth West. The University’s ResearchInstitute of Sport and Exercise Sciences(RISES) has received a People Award fromthe Wellcome Trust and a Royal SocietyPartnership Grant to hold a series of eventsin museums and schools leading up to andduring the Olympics, capitalising onheightened interest in sport this year.

This Face to Face project, which has beenawarded the London 2012 Inspire Mark, isaimed specifically at raising awareness ofsports science. LJMU will host interactiveexhibits at National Museums Liverpool andthe Museum of Science and Industry, andalso conduct workshops with Merseyside,Cheshire and Greater Manchester schools.This incorporates the sub-disciplines of sports science - physiology, nutritionmotor control, biomechanics, performanceanalysis and psychology. These disciplinesare presented through a range of practicaltasks demonstrating the link between thepractices of elite athletes and the generalpublic.

LJMU's Dr John Dickinson, who is leadingthe project said: “The purpose of Face toFace with Sports Science is to exposestudents to key scientific and technologicaldevelopments in Sport and ExerciseScience in a hands-on and accessiblemanner. We can’t all be professionalfootballers or Olympic athletes but we canall have an interest in our own personal best,health and nutrition. Not only will visitors beable to compare themselves against eliteathletes but they will also receive feedbackas to how they can improve their ownexercise regime and incorporate morephysical activity into their day."

split secondscience When the difference between an Olympic Gold or Silvermedal can come down to less than 0.01%, everyperformance improvement an athlete can make counts.Through research and practice in the disciplines ofphysiology, nutrition, psychology and biomechanics, sportsscientists are assisting athletes to break performancebarriers and edge ahead of their competition.

The Tom Reilly Memorial FundThe University has established aMemorial Fund in Tom’s name. Inrecognition of Tom’s support for youngresearchers, this Fund aims to raise£150,000 over the next two years tosupport PhD studentships in Tom’s areasof research interest. For more informationplease contact Colette Glanvill,C.Glanvill@ljmu.ac.uk, 0151 231 3292.

For further information on Face to Facewith Sports Science please visitwww.ljmu.ac.uk/f2fss

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FEATUREA BRIEF NEW WORLD

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A BRIEF NEW WORLD

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FEATUREA BRIEF NEW WORLD

L ondon 2012 will be the firstsocial media Olympic andParalympic Games. Academics

from the Liverpool Screen School havelong been considering this changingface of broadcasting and what thismeans for students and the generalpublic in their research and teaching.But how do we get our news, lives andresearch into less than 140 characters?And what impact will this have onfuture global events and on sectorslike Higher Education?

Twitter's website alone records 100,000,000 +active users. As user numbers continuallyincrease, the social networking site isconsidered one of the best ways to followmajor sporting events.

Professor Andy Miah, Director at the CreativeFutures Research Centre, University of theWest of Scotland and Fellow at FACT Liverpool,leads #media2012, a project designed to getpeople in the UK and internationally involvedthrough social media. Having tracked the riseof citizen journalists at six Olympic Games, hisproject aims to unite Olympic citizen journalistsand create space for otherwise untold storiesof the Games to be heard.

"We can expect social media to dramaticallychange the experience of many people atLondon 2012. In addition to the 20,000journalists who are accredited to cover theGames, there will be at least as many non-accredited journalists and countless socialmedia journalists - or citizen journalists - whowill be tweeting, youtubing and facebookingcontent throughout. I think the 2012 Gameswill be the first to be experienced primarilyvia a mobile device for many people and thiswill change the community of people whoexperience the Games.”

Research by LJMU Senior Lecturer inJournalism Richard Rudin, also considers theeffect of citizen journalism.

“The increasingly sophisticated andubiquitous Smartphones in particular, areblurring the line between the professionaljournalist and the citizen. However, the crucialdistinction between the two is that ajournalist is usually expected to put storiesinto context, to provide a number of differentviews, and to mould the material into acoherent narrative.”

Social media is a major part of teaching andpractice in the Liverpool Screen School’sJournalism Department. Aside from the useof Twitter and Blogs for the ‘public face’which is at www.jmu-journalism.org.uk ,students are encouraged to integrate socialmedia into their daily practical work.

Richard, who has a background inbroadcasting as a producer, presenter andmanager, comments on the position forstudents within the media industry:

Twitter: stopping astudent slump? Students must be prepared to present newsin shorter formats. On Twitter, tweets maylink to longer stories, but the attentiongrabbing information must be in 140characters or less. LJMU is preparingstudents for this ‘brief new world’ by linkingin research and teaching.

Steve Harrison, LJMU Senior Lecturer inJournalism, explains:

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“Increasingly, entrants to the industry areexpected to be multi-platform and becompetent in a number of different media;accordingly we require students to producestories in a number of different ways. In turn,students need the judgement to both utiliseand assess content from the ‘citizen’.Additionally news organisations have takento employing Twitter correspondents. It isroutinely scanned as a source of news, andmedia professionals value it as an instantnetworking tool. We want our students to beready for this.”

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“We introduced a compulsory module toinclude social networking for journalismstudents in 2009. In first year, students learnhow to write for a Twitter audience and insecond year they summarise content like abook chapter or lecture in a Tweet. Third yearstake this to a more academic level byanalysing research papers and attendingseminars on social media. We encouragethem to use Twitter as their virtualcommunity. This has fed into research intostudent engagement and the ‘sophomoreslump.’”

The sophomore slump is a term commonlyused to refer to the apathy of students in theirsecond year of college or university. Ittherefore becomes a crucial time forengagement and retention.

Steve talks about the engagement potential ofthe research:

“The issue of student engagement is one ofthe most crucial in Higher Education, as it isintimately linked to both retention andlearning. The research aims to answer thequestion of how social media can be used tofoster retention and learning for journalismstudents.

“During the pilot research project we foundthat in addition to specific tasks they wereinstructed to do, students were using Twitterto talk amongst themselves about themodule, topics relevant to the overalljournalism programme, and journalism ingeneral.

“Without prompting, they were researching,collating and sharing links and informationwhich extended or supplemented the coursematerial. It became apparent that theobserved behaviour of the students onTwitter was exactly that of deep learners whowere aware that they were part of acommunity and hence sought to share ideaswith each other, contributing to theirengagement with the module.”

The Tipping Point? It is evident that London 2012 will have a socialmedia legacy that will touch all sectors.

Richard Rudin concludes:

“There is likely to be a ‘tipping point’ in theviewers’ ability to control what they see: notonly to choose between many differentevents at one time, but even specific cameraangles and commentaries. All of this has thecapacity to change the ‘consumer’ from apassive absorber of media to an activeparticipant. How much this will influence thenews agenda or the overall ‘power’relationship between media organisationsand the public, as well as with the political,economic and other forces in society, issomething that will be the subject of intenseacademic interest over the next few years!”

Find LJMUon Twitterwww.twitter.com/ljmu andFacebook www.facebook.com/liverpooljohnmooresuniversity

The #media2012 network isat www.media2012.org.uk

Richard Rudin’s new book‘Broadcasting in the 21stCentury’ (PalgraveMacmillan) is availablenow, www.palgrave.com

For further informationabout the Liverpool ScreenSchool please contact Mary Taylor, (ExternalRelations Manager) m: 07968 422568e:m.taylor@ljmu.ac.uk

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100% meSporting performance enhancement

can be traced back to the AncientOlympics, but remains a serious

issue. Athletes deserve to know that theyare competing on a level playing field. Thatsaid, sportspeople are as entitled as anyoneto treatment for an injury or medicalcondition, but failure to keep up-to-datewith substances banned in sport can haveserious consequences for both athlete anddoctor. One man who has a clear view ofthe issue is Professor David Mottram,Emeritus Professor of Pharmacy Practicein the School of Pharmacy andBiomolecular Sciences.

“The extent of drug misuse in sport is difficultto ascertain accurately, with official statisticaldata and media speculation differing widely”,Professor Mottram explains.

“There are many reasons why athletes usedrugs. In addition to therapeutic use, they aretaken recreationally and as ergogenicsupplements. The manufacture and supply ofsome supplements is poorly regulated, andcertain products have been shown to containunlabelled prohibited substances.

“The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)Prohibited List includes a wide spectrum ofpharmacological agents ranging from potent

androgenic anabolic steroids through to mildstimulants that can be purchased over-the-counter for the treatment of the common cold.”

Professor Mottram is a member of the LondonOrganising Committee for the London 2012Olympic and Paralympic Games’ ClinicalPharmacy Services Group (CPSG), which hasorganised comprehensive pharmacy servicesfor athletes and other accredited personnelattending the London 2012 Games andemergency services for spectators. Pharmacyservices will accommodate 26 Olympic sportswith 11,200 athletes from 205 countries,competing in 34 venues, followed by 20Paralympic sports with 4,200 athletes from 147countries competing at 21 venues and anestimated 9.2 million spectators.

Over the last three years, CPSG has beeninvolved in establishing pharmacies in threepolyclinics at Stratford (Olympic Park),Weymouth (sailing) and Eton Dorney (rowing);developing the Olympic Formulary; recruitingover 100 volunteer pharmacists to man thepharmacies for the duration of the Games; anddeveloping an online e-learning resource (inconjunction with the Centre for PharmacyPostgraduate Education) for pharmacy andother medical volunteers at the Games. As alegacy, post-Games, this e-learning package will

be available to any healthcare professional withan interest in sport and exercise, worldwide.

In the months leading up to the Games, theCPSG will be undertaking comprehensive face-to-face training for their volunteers. As anaccredited tutor to UK Anti-Doping’s ‘100%me’campaign, Professor Mottram hopes that thecomprehensive pharmacy services that will bein place for the London Games will result in amemorable Games for all the right reasons.

“the manufactureand supply of somesupplements is poorlyregulated, and certainproducts have beenshown to containunlabelled prohibitedsubstances.”

Former LJMU Sports Scholar and ‘100% me’Ambassador, Beth Tweddle.Reproduced with permission ©UK Anti-Doping

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Sport scholar gold medal LJMU Sport Scholarship student LauraMalcolm, helped England achieve theirfirst Gold Medal in the World NetballSeries. England Netball triumphed asWorld Netball Series Champions with aphenomenal win over New Zealand inthe final at the Liverpool Echo Arena.

BBC eliteathlete tests The School of Sport and ExerciseSciences has been working closely withthe BBC on a variety of programmesbringing sports science to the publicahead of the Olympics. Lindsey Prosser,Producer BBC TV, commented: "In therun up to the Olympics all of the athleteswe’ve spoken to have stressed howimportant sports science is to theirperformance. So we wanted to look athow sports scientists support our eliteathletes and what difference their workmakes to an athlete’s performance.Filming at LJMU was fascinating and Iknow our viewers will be impressed bythe work that goes on there.”

Beth Tweddleis arguably Great Britain's mostsuccessful gymnast of all time. Herglobal record now places her in the'greatest of all time' category within hersport. Beth graduated from LJMU in2007 with a 2:1 in Sports Science. Herattitude and approach to both herstudies and sport make her a prodigiousrole model to young individuals.

Hannah Whelanhas achieved national and internationalsuccess and selection for the BeijingOlympics in 2008. While studying aSports Development degree at LJMU,she also trains over 30 hours a weekalongside Beth. She praises the staff atthe Faculty of Education, Communityand Leisure for helping her to effectivelycombine training and studying.

Hugely popular with audiences all over the world,Gymnastics looks set to draw huge crowds to NorthGreenwich Arena during the Olympics. Two of the

gymnasts representing Great Britain are linked to LJMU.

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FEATUREHITLER’S OLYMPICS

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Professor of History, Frank McDonough, ofLJMU’s School of Humanities and SocialScience, explains the instant impact that the

1936 Berlin Olympic Games had on the world –and outlines some of the lasting effects it has hadon today’s society.

The most controversial Olympiad the world hasseen took place in Berlin in 1936, while Germanywas under Nazi control. Hitler’s regime thoughtthe event was an ideal place to showcase Naziideals of ‘racial superiority’ which thankfully haveno place in today’s society, but in several ways the1936 Games became the blueprint for themodern Olympics, with a new purpose-builtstadium, an athletes’ village and the first everOlympic flame highlighting the opening ceremony.

Hitler actually disliked the idea of the OlympicGames as it emphasised international co-operationand the idea of young people mixing together froma wide variety of backgrounds. It was JosephGoebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, whoconvinced him that the Games could be exploitedto showcase the efficiency of the Nazi regime andthe supposed superiority of his ‘Master Race.’ Thiswas the moment sport entered politics.

Hitler viewed sport as central to his drive tostrengthen the ‘Aryan Race,’ and to prepareGerman youth for war. The Hitler Youth laidenormous emphasis on sport and games. Adultswere encouraged to attain high levels of fitnessthrough a programme called ‘Strength through Joy’and hundreds of fitness clubs at workplaces werebuilt. Goebbels said in 1933: “German sport hasonly one task; to strengthen the character of theGerman people, imbuing it with the fighting spiritand steadfast camaraderie necessary in the strugglefor its existence.”

In the run up to the 1936 Games many people,especially in the Western democratic nations,questioned the morality of participating. Many felt bygoing they would offer an endorsement of the Naziregime. Avery Brundage, the President of the USOlympic Committee, warned that the modernOlympic revival would be ruined if the Nazisrestricted participation by any athlete, includingGermans, by reason of “class, creed, or race.” Onlyafter receiving an assurance from the Nazi regimethat no-one, Jewish people included, would beprevented from participating, did the InternationalOlympic Committee decide to allow the BerlinGames to go ahead.

In the end, there was no boycott of the NaziOlympics. The US Olympic Committee allowedindividual Jewish and Black athletes to make theirown decisions about attending. One of the startathletes on the US team, Milton Green, who tookfirst place in the 110-metre high hurdles in theOlympic trials, decided he could not attend due tothe anti-Semitism of the regime. Other Jewishathletes from a number of European countries alsoboycotted the Berlin Olympics. In the USA, African-American athletes discussed non-attendance. JesseOwens, the star of the US team, felt victories byBlack athletes would undermine the Nazi racialviews of Aryan supremacy and encourage a new

sense of Black pride in the USA and so theyagreed to go.

The Nazis promoted the Olympics with strikingposter and magazine spreads which compared NaziGermany with Ancient Greece. This propagandaused the image of ‘the body beautiful’ to promotethe myth of Aryan racial superiority and physicalpower. The stereotypes pushed were of tall men,with blonde hair, blue eyes and chiselled featuresand blonde, slender, beautiful women. These imagesreflected the high importance the Nazi regimeplaced on physical fitness and the message was clear- Nazi Germany was the rightful heir of an Aryanculture. In a cynical move, designed to appeaseinternational opinion, Hitler ordered that all anti-Semitic propaganda posters be removed fromBerlin for the duration of the Games.

In a lavish opening ceremony on 1 August 1936Adolf Hitler opened the 11th Olympic Games ofthe modern era. A total of 49 teams competed - ahigher total than at any previous Olympics. The twolargest teams were Nazi Germany, with 348athletes, and the USA with 312. The Soviet Uniondid not participate at the Berlin Games or at anyother Olympiad until the 1952 Helsinki Games.

The Nazis inaugurated a new Olympic ritual at theopening ceremony. A lone runner arrived bearinga torch carried by relay from the site of the ancientGames in Olympia, Greece. This Nazi innovationhas been followed ever since. Hundreds of athletesmarched into the stadium, team by team, inalphabetical order. The most tense moments camewhen athletes from the USA, Britain and Francemarched passed Hitler. The British and US athletesrefused to give Hitler the Nazi salute but theFrench team gave the salute in one of the mostshameful acts of appeasement in the run up to theSecond World War.

The Nazi idea of racial superiority also suffered amassive psychological blow. The undoubted star ofthe Berlin Olympics was not a blonde, blue-eyedGerman, but Jesse Owens, the US athlete whowon four gold medals in the 100 and 200 metressprint, the long jump and the 4x100 metres relay.

Yet in most other respects Hitler’s regime did makehuge propaganda capital from the 1936 OlympicGames. German athletes topped the medal tableand the Western press heaped lavish praise on theorganisation of the Games. The New York Timesclaimed the Games had “put Germany back in thefold of nations,” and some even thought the Gamesheralded a German desire for peace.

The US correspondent William Shirer wrote: “I'mafraid the Nazis have succeeded with theirpropaganda. First, the Nazis have run the Gameson a lavish scale never before experienced, and thishas appealed to the athletes. Second, the Nazishave put up a very good front for the generalvisitors, especially the big businessmen.”

Another of Hitler’s lasting legacies from the 1936Olympics is the prevailing concept of the ‘bodybeautiful’ and the myth that the body is moreimportant than the mind, two themes whichcontinue to permeate today’s media and society.

Hitler’sOlympics

//////////////////The Nazis inaugurated anew Olympic ritual atthe opening ceremony. A lone runner arrivedbearing a torch carriedby relay from the site ofthe ancient Games inOlympia, Greece. ThisNazi innovation has beenfollowed ever since.

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Professor Frank McDonough isresponsible for organising LJMU’sNational Identity Lecture Series. For more information, please contactf.x.mcdonough@ljmu.ac.uk

The security plan for theLondon 2012 Olympics wasreported as having full UK

confidence by the Home Office.LJMU Honorary Fellow andCommissioner of the MetropolitanPolice Bernard Hogan-Howe,explains how we are delivering asafe and secure Games eventacross the UK.

“The London 2012 Olympic and ParalympicGames are without doubt the greatest sportingshow on earth. The associated cultural andcelebratory events will make the capital anational and international magnet for visitorsand I want everyone to be able to come andenjoy themselves safely. I am proud to beleading the Met as we prepare to deliver thebiggest safety and security operation everconducted in peacetime.

“It will not be without challenges, from thesimple logistics of briefing and transporting the9,000 officers who will police the Games inLondon on peak days, (with 12,000 nationally)to keeping our City protected against thoseterrorists who may seek to do us harm. As wedeliver this massive undertaking we will alsomake sure that we are there for Londoners,patrolling the streets and tackling criminals inthe same way we are today.

“Whilst over 70% of the sporting events willtake place in London the Games will touchevery city in the country as the Olympic flamemakes its 70 day relay. Our officers will be thereto protect the flame and the local Liverpoolheroes nominated to bear this great symbolthrough Liverpool’s streets. To mobilise enoughofficers to deliver our Games time operation wewill draw on the support of police officers fromacross the country. Merseyside officers maywell be a part of that.

“To keep the Games safe and secure will notbe easy but I am confident that come London2012 when the eyes of the world turn toLondon my officers will be there doing whatthey do best - keeping London safe. This is alsoa national event spreading out to Scotland andManchester - with the Torch Run throughNorthern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.205 countries will each bring their ownchallenges and priorities to our operation. Theoperation will have succeeded if the peopleenjoy a great sporting event and do not noticethe security arrangements.”

Dr David Lowe, a Programme Leader atLJMU’s Law School, has 25 years experienceas an officer with Merseyside Police whichincluded work within the anti-terrorism unit.His academic research interests includeTerrorism, Policing, Transnational Crime andHuman Rights. He explains why a nation-wideapproach is of particular benefit.

“Of course there are a range of threatsassociated with the UK. The last Games atBeijing were different as China isn’t seen as athreat to jihadist groups and we also have

groups like the Real IRA which has recentlybeen reported to have experienced anincrease in membership. Despite the numberof potential threats, it is unlikely that thesegroups would ever work together and one ofthe reasons Al Qaeda have been quietrecently could be due to their weakenedstatus. The UK is also geared to protecting allresources and is not just focusing on securityin London. This wider outlook is essential inthe plans to keep the country safe. There arecounter terrorism units on a regional basis, setup after 9/11 which allow for more effectiveintelligence and responses.

“The experts within these units are awarethat terrorists only have to be lucky onceand the units know the nature of who theyare dealing with. Terrorists don’t seethemselves as criminals but freedomfighters or political warriors and consist ofexperienced operatives and young kidswho’ve been influenced after hearing warstories, which is certainly the case with theReal IRA membership. The message thatthe terrorists want is that ‘your countrycan’t keep you safe’. With a nationwideapproach to protection, we can secure theUK against this.”

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FEATURE PLAYING IT SAFE

“the gameswill touchevery city inthe country”

Dr David Lowe’s new book: ‘A Dirty Game: A David HurstStory’ is available on Amazonnow: www.amazon.co.uk

Commissioner of the MetropolitanPolice Bernard Hogan-Howe

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LJMU’s iTunes U website gives you access to download, watch and listen to premium educational content including lectures from Dr David Lowe www.ljmu.ac.uk/ljmutv

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FEATURE THE OLYMPIC INTERVIEW

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Its commitment to instilling theemployability factor in its students iswhat sets LJMU apart. The World of

Work™programme is both developedand delivered in conjunction with nationaland local employers, and ensures thatLJMU students possess both the workexperience and the graduate skills –additional to their degree – that definethem as being capable of hitting theground running when they start work.

As part of this programme, final yearjournalism students were given theopportunity to pen an article for this issueof think, the brief being an interview witha non-sporting figure associated withLondon 2012.

Third year journalism student RoannaPrice took up the challenge, andinterviewed LJMU graduate and Channel4 presenter Alex Brooker.

In less than 150 days the Olympic Games willarrive in London, spreading events across thecapital and showcasing the finest in sportingability.

It will be the first time the Olympics have beenheld in Britain since 1948 and arriving with theOlympic Games are the Paralympics. For 12 days,more athletes and teams are due to compete thanin any previous games, so 2012 is expected to bea momentous exhibition of Paralympic sport.

LJMU graduate 27-year-old Alex Brooker ishelping to lead TV coverage of the Paralympics aspart of a team of Channel 4 presenters.

Living with a disability himself, Alex admits heis very excited about the approaching display ofParalympic sport.

“Having the Paralympics in London, meansincreased coverage, more money being put intodisability sport and that can only be a good thing.The general public will see more disabledsportspeople and their understanding willincrease. As a society, I think we are veryaccepting towards disability, but there is still thatpart which doesn't quite understand whysomeone has a disability or what it is.”

Always wanting to work in sports journalism, Alexcompleted a journalism degree at LJMU,graduating in 2006. He said: “I always wanted towrite about football, so pretty much all throughschool I wanted to go into journalism.”

LJMU holds fond memories for Alex as doeshis time living as a student in Liverpool. He said:“I enjoyed studying at LJMU. It was good fun.I love Liverpool and still want to move back. Iloved my time training.”

After graduation Alex worked one day a week forthe Liverpool Echo and also at a call centre beforegetting fired for checking football scores. Alexthen found himself trawling across the internetfor jobs when he came across an advert forChannel 4 looking for presenters with disabilitiesto cover the Paralympics. Frustrated by a lack ofopportunities and the lacklustre pay sometimesoffered to young journalists, Alex was close tolooking for job in other areas. Fortunately hedecided to pursue this opportunity.

He said: “I wrote a three-minute script for myaudition video, my mate filmed it and fromthere I was picked for a five-day boot camp atthe National Film and Television School. We didreading off autocue and other screen tests. I

TheOlympic interview

was then picked to go onto the next stage andit's gone from there really.”

The world of Paralympic presenting is continuingto provide opportunities for Alex and his careeris going from strength to strength.

He has completed a three-month internship atITV sport, appeared on ‘That Paralympic Show’and also Channel 4’s coverage of the BTParalympic World Cup in May 2011. He recentlypresented a highlights package for the IBSAEuropean Judo Championships website. Alexdescribes his successes in TV presenting as asurprise, as he never originally aimed to work inthat medium.

Alex was born with a shortened arm and he hasa below right knee prosthesis, but does not citethese as any obstacle to his work as a journalist.

“I'm extremely lucky in the sense that mydisability has little bearing on my everyday life.Only one of my arms is fairly short really, so itdoesn't become an issue. I drive a completelyun-adapted normal car and have complete abilityto do everything I need to, so I'm extremelylucky. I suppose I can't do my top button up onmy shirts, but no-one does anymore anyway!”

Channel 4 has impressed Alex with its approachto the Paralympic presenting – he praises theirattitude to pushing boundaries and changingpeople’s perceptions, including the area ofdisabilities in the mainstream.

He said: “I know there is a stigma towardsdisabled presenters, but anyone who meets medoes not really notice my disability. That issomething I hope to portray on-screen too.”

There is a noticeable lack of disabled presentersworking today, which is something Alex hopeswill change, as he himself would not beworking as he is if he did not think he could bea success.

He said: “The last year has been ridiculous.Obviously I've not done this sort of work much,so I have a lot to improve on. I have a level I'dlike to be at, whether I get to that is yet to beseen. Firstly, I'd like to be in Channel 4'scoverage of next year's Paralympics, which is byno means a certainty yet. There is a lot ofcompetition.”

Covering Paralympic sport also means beingable to witness some of his favorite gamesplayed live. He said: “The 5-a-side visually

impaired football is one of my favourites,because those players possess an unbelievablelevel of skill and awareness and I'm fascinatedby it.”

Typical Paralympic training is highly intensive,with some athletes averaging six days a weekspent working out and training. Alex said:“These are top, top athletes who train andcompete at the highest level. It just so happensthey have a disability of some sort.”

Transport For London are makingimprovements, Londoners are preparing to renttheir houses and flights are being booked up.The UK and sports fans from all around theworld are gearing up for London to host thenext Paralympic and Olympic Games, which areeasily the most outstanding internationalevents of our time.

The future is uncertain, yet promising for Alex,as he looks to developing his career as a sportsjournalist: “I'd like to do football obviously, butI am also attracted to the more light-heartedentertainment side of TV. My presenting styleis quite fun, I mess about. So maybe comedy,who knows? I'm just looking to next year thenwhatever happens, happens.”

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LJMU graduate and Channel 4presenter Alex Brooker

ARTS THREAD

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LJMU Fashion Fellowship student Alena Kudera Johnson was named as one of onlyten graduates worldwide invited to show their collection at a prestigious fashiontradeshow in Paris. ARTS THREAD organised the competition in partnership

with leading fashion tradeshow "Who's Next/Prêt-à-Porter" to help launch the careers often graduate designers. To see Alena's profile on the ARTS THREAD website, pleasevisit: www.artsthread.com/p/alenakuderajohnson

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A prestigious new grant investigatingthe effects of alcohol education onschool children was awarded to anLJMU researcher. The team led byLJMU’s Dr Harry Sumnall andProfessor David Foxcroft (OxfordBrookes University) was awarded£1million by the NHS NationalInstitute for Health Research PublicHealth Research Programme. Theresearch project, STAMPP aims to findout whether classroom-basedintervention can reduce harmfulalcohol use in young people.*

STAMPP outunderagedrinking

The Liverpool Nursery NutritionProgramme was commissioned byLiverpool PCT as an educationalpackage with supporting resources fornursery staff in early years nutrition.LJMU was part of the multidisciplinarynursery nutrition steering group whichguided the content and wascommissioned to develop and deliverthe training course for the programme.The 'Food and Nutrition in Early Years'course was written by Hazel Cheung(nutrition coordinator for the Sportslinxresearch project), Dr Julie Abayomi,LJMU Senior Lecturer in Nutrition andCommunity Health and Dave Marsh,Senior Food Technician.

*PHR funding acknowledgement: 'This project was funded bythe National Institute for Health Research Public HealthResearch (NIHR PHR) programme (project number10/3002/09). Visit the PHR programme website for moreinformation.' Department of Health disclaimer: 'The views andopinions expressed therein are those of the authors and donot necessarily reflect those of the PHR programme, NIHR,NHS or the Department of Health.'

Nutrition programmewins BUPA NationalHealthy Lives Prize

Success atInternational Trade AwardsLJMU recently won a North West InsiderInternational Trade Award in theEducation category for its SummerSemester programme. The Awards weredesigned to acknowledge and celebrate thesuccess of companies involved in bothimport and export activity andinternational businesses investing in theNorth West. The Summer Semesterprogramme sees students from otherinstitutions around the globe undertaking a14-week academic programme at LJMUbetween June and September to top-uptheir current award to Honours Level.

SmokeFreeSports ClubPolicy launchedDr Lawrence Foweather, from theResearch Institute for Sport and ExerciseSciences (RISES), is leading aSmokeFree Sports Project askingvoluntary sports clubs across Liverpoolto sign up and introduce smoke free

environments throughout their facilities.This considers making indoor andoutdoor playing areas smoke free whenchildren and young people are presentbefore, during and after a match. Thisfollows research which revealed thatlimiting children's exposure to seeingadults smoke reduces the risk ofsmoking uptake amongst young peoplein the long term.

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Official supporters of the London 2012Olympic and Paralympic Gamesprovide a vital source of funding,

without which the UK would not be able tohost the Games. The supporters haveexclusive rights to associate their brands withthe Games, but what are the other long-termbenefits? Keith Thompson, Senior Lecturer inPublic Relations at LJMU’s Liverpool BusinessSchool, offers his views:

“Sponsorship is usually part of a branding strategyand not simply a philanthropic gesture.Enlightened companies realise that for everypound spent, it can be assured that theircorporate identity is going to be perceived in apositive light every time it is exposed on TV orsocial media. Mainly the associations with‘winning’ and ‘striving for success’ will reflect thecompany’s own mission. This has more of asubliminal effect than say advertising which ismore about ‘buy me.’ Sponsorship is moreconcerned with associating particular brandvalues with a positive lifestyle.”

Deloitte, which provides audit, consulting,corporate finance and tax services to its clients,was appointed official professional servicesprovider to London 2012. The deal has seenDeloitte provide over 400,000 hours of support tothe London Organising Committee of the Olympicand Paralympic Games.

Annabel Pritchard, London 2012 SponsorshipDirector at Deloitte comments:

“Our sponsorship has helped us to furtherdevelop relationships with clients by giving us anopportunity to demonstrate our expertise througha large scale event of such universal appeal. Weare not just sponsoring the event, but supportingthe delivery of the Games making this the

ultimate ‘super credential’ for our firm. This givesus something different and in highly competitiveand challenging markets, that is valuable to us.

“We have also seen a significant impact onrecruitment and retention. Our sponsorship hasgiven over 500 of our people the opportunity towork on the Games and over 130 people havebeen seconded into a variety of roles with theorganising committee. This has been a bigattraction for existing staff, but our sponsorshiphas also been a key appeal for people looking tojoin the firm. I’ve heard so many examples of oursponsorship being cited as a reason to join thefirm in job interviews.”

Keith Thompson adds how students are beingencouraged to monitor this:

“Students on our Public Relations degree coursesare encouraged to find case studies not just insponsorship and branding but also a range ofother PR functions such as Media Relations,Online PR and Strategy. While knowledge ofcommunications theory is important, we placeequal weighting to evidence of professionalpractice too.

“By bringing in professionals from the World ofWork to share their knowledge from ongoingcampaigns, students benefit from a real lifescenario, not simply ones extracted second handfrom a text book. Local PR companies like PaverSmith and Kenyon Fraser have been verygenerous with their time, along with regionalcorporates such as Merseytravel and the USbank, MBNA.”

For further information about the LiverpoolBusiness School please contact Mary Taylor,(External Relations Manager)m: 07968 422568 e:m.taylor@ljmu.ac.uk

“We have alsoseen a significantimpact on recruitment andretention.”

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FEATURECITIUS ALTIUS FORTIUS

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Citius Altius Fortius

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The Olympic motto (Swifter,Higher, Stronger) could wellbe applied to Liverpool John

Moores University’s approach toknowledge transfer.

As one of the UK’s leading research-activecontemporary universities, the Universityseeks to align its research activities to achievea positive benefit – be that economic, societalor cultural – and positive change.

The Government’s Knowledge TransferPartnerships (KTP) scheme has proved to beespecially productive in this regard. Headed bythe UK’s national innovation agency, theTechnology Strategy Board (TSB), KTPs areself-explanatory. They involve the formation ofa relationship between a UK company andacademic institution to work on a project ofstrategic importance to the business, involvingknowledge, technology and skills to which thecompany partner currently has no access.

LJMU has participated in over 115 partnershipprojects since 1995, which have resulted infour Business Leader of Tomorrow Awards,and Best Engineering and Physical SciencesResearch Council Funded Partnership. Mostrecently, the School of Engineering’spartnership with Risktec Solutions Limited hasbeen judged ‘outstanding’ by TSB assessorsand selected as the Best KTP in the NorthWest in the 2011 KTP Regional PartnershipAwards.

Headquartered in Warrington with offices inthe UK, Middle East and North America,Risktec Solutions Limited is a specialist riskmanagement consultancy. Working withmajor hazard industries, such as oil and gas,nuclear and defence, it helps clients manage

risks to health, safety and the environment. In2009, Risktec set up a training and educationservice. The KTP with LJMU helped thecompany to develop a Master of Sciencedegree in Risk and Safety Management,validated by LJMU and delivered by Risktec’steam of risk management consultants at acompany’s own premises.

Risktec director Steve Lewis, who was alsothe Industrial Supervisor for the KTP explainshow the project has exceeded theirexpectations:

“The original partnership proposal was todevelop five training courses for a singlemarket sector and deliver one of them. By the

time the KTP was finished we had gone wellbeyond this initial aim. We now have 30modules validated as an MSc programme inSafety and Risk Management, offered to fivediverse market sectors. We firmly believe thatwhat we can now offer is unique and wellahead of our competitors in the UK andinternationally. The relationship with LJMUcontinues to flourish – we meet regularly toreview current programmes and explore newopportunities together”.

Professor Ian Jenkinson, Director of the LJMUSchool of Engineering, Technology andMaritime Operations underlines the potentialfor a well-executed KTP to make a discerniblepositive impact:

“This recent KTP success adds to theSchool’s strong reputation for academicinnovation and industrial collaboration of which we are justifiably proud. Theprogramme has surpassed all initialexpectations, resulting in a strongpartnership for continuing collaboration.The School has a long pedigree of deliveringquality KTPs. Since 2005 the academicteam here have been involved in over 30successful KTPs, four of which havereceived national awards recognition.”

To find out more about KTPs atLJMU, please contact Susan Suttle(KTP Manager)

t: 0151 231 8056

m: 07968 422518

e: s.e.suttle@ljmu.ac.uk

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MAIN

FEATUREIT’S ALL IN THE MIND

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IT’SALL INTHE

MIND

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The physical and mental benefits of beingphysically active at all ages are widelyunderstood. The benefit of sport for peoplewith an impairment is less well-documented.Whether you’re an elite athlete preparing forParalympic competition, or just starting PE andsport in school, LJMU researchers are showingthe importance of mind-set when it comes toconverting aspiration to perspiration.

Jamie Burdekin

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FEATUREIT’S ALL IN THE MIND

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Chartered sports and exercisepsychologist and BASES Fellow Dr Zoe Knowles and Conditioning

Coach Dr. Peter Angell from the LJMUResearch Institute of Sport and ExerciseSciences are playing a major role in thepreparations of local wheelchair tennisplayer Jamie Burdekin’s preparations forLondon 2012.

One of the fastest-growing Paralympic sports,wheelchair tennis is fast, tough anddemanding, where the only concession isthat the ball may bounce twice before return.At this level, where the competitors are eliteathletes first and foremost, they rarely needthe second bounce.

Jamie took up the sport seven years ago,following serious injury in a car accident. A former Marine, he has both the disciplineand work ethic necessary for success.Following a bronze medal in the quad doublesevent at the Beijing Paralympics, he iscurrently number 6 in the World rankings andhas just returned from straight sets victory inthe final of the men’s quad singles event atthe Melbourne Open.

Jamie emphasises the importance ofmindset to him: “The psychological side ofthings in wheelchair tennis is especially

important, as it’s an individual sport. It's alldown to you what happens on court, thereare no team mates or coaches that can helpyou out once play has started. You shouldhave some kind of game plan for each match,as the pattern of play and shot selection isvital. You've got to be 100% mentally on itbecause playing at a world class professionallevel means every game is difficult, so mentalpreparation could make all the difference”.

Effective sports coaching involves much morethan identifying and rectifying areas of sportsperformance that need improving. The myriadpersonal, financial, economic, environmentaland even political factors that can combine toaffect an athlete’s focus and mental well-being from day-to-day must also be factoredin and managed. A sport psychologist formore than 15 years, Zoe’s research specialismis reflective practice, a mechanism to makesense of, and learn from experiences – in boththe sporting and personal arenas. She wasasked to work with Jamie last summer, asmost of the wheelchair tennis players areclustered around London and Aldershot andit was felt that Jamie was missing out onsports psychology support because he isbased in the North West.

Jamie explains: “Zoe understands what Ineed to help me achieve more, and pushes

Jamie’s tips:“There are so many Paralympians that theBritish public should look out for over thesummer. Here’s just a few that I think will bestand-out names”:

Athletes David Weir and Shelly Woods.David is Britain’s top wheelchair racer and thecurrent British record holder for all trackdistances up to 5000m and road distances at10K, half-and full marathon. London will behis fourth Paralympics. Blackpool-born Shellyis a rising star in the middle and longdistance track events. She’s the current worldrecord holder in the 1500m, and was a silverand bronze medallist in Beijing.

Wigan lad Jon Pollock has been playingwheelchair basketball for over 20 years nowand currently plays professional basketball inSpain. Hugely experienced, he’s aninspirational captain who has led the Britishteam to a bronze medal in Beijing and WorldCup success in 2010. London will be hisfourth Paralympics.

The GB wheelchair rugby team are thereigning European champions, and looking totake on the ‘big guns’ of the sport – reigningworld champions the USA, Australia andCanada. The London Games will be captainAndy Barrow’s third Paralympics andMandip Sehmi’s second. Both are greatcharacters and ambassadors for the sport.

International wheelchair tennis championsEsther Vergeer and Shingo Kunieda.Dutch-born Esther is a legend on the circuit,having been the world number one since1999, and (at the time of writing) unbeaten insingles competition since January 2003.Japanese number one Shingo has twelveGrand Slam wins to his name since 2007, andwill be one to watch in London.

Mandip Sehmi (left) and Andy Barrow by Finlay Mackay, 8 March 2011, Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire©Finlay Mackay - National Portrait Gallery/BT Road to 2012 Project

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me to the next level. She's a great listener andalso says the right things at the right times,which is important. Zoe has been giving mehabits and routines to help me out during play,and turned negative parts of my game intopositives. She has helped me with pre- andpost-match visualisation techniques that helpget my mind straight. Since she’s been partof my team my performances have gone upto another level, and the results speak forthemselves.”

“The pressure on athletes at this level, and atthis time in the Olympic/Paralympic cycle isimmense” adds Zoe.” Apart from achievingon the court, Jamie must also manage all theother aspects of his life. I support the entire‘Team Burdekin’, including his family. He is afather and partner, as well as everything thatcomes with being an elite athlete. He is oftenaway, travelling all over the world to compete,and needs to be organised and feel in control.This is particularly crucial during Olympic year,when there are going to be many demandson his time, from all quarters, so I will beworking with him all the way through. Mentalreadiness is absolutely as important asphysical readiness.”

It is fitting that the roots of the present-dayParalympics can be traced back to StokeMandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire andthe last time that London hosted an OlympicGames in 1948. The pioneering neurologist SirLudwig Guttmann had recognised therehabilitative power of sport for spinal-injuredWorld War II veterans and wanted to build

on this experience. The potential for well-organised PE and sport in schools to boostself-esteem and a sense of well-being inchildren with special educational needs isof great interest to Professor PhilVickerman, Professor of Inclusive Educationand Learning in the Faculty of Education,Community and Leisure.

Professor Vickerman works nationally andinternationally in the areas of PhysicalEducation, Sport, Special Educational Needs(SEN) and Disability. “Research has shownthat pre-planned, inclusive and integrated PElessons can enhance significantly thephysical, social, emotional and intellectualdevelopment of children with a disability.However, it’s definitely a case of a ‘game oftwo halves’.”

“On the one hand, these children are veryaware of what their needs are, and want tohave the opportunity to voice these. If theyhave a trained, experienced teacher who cantranslate this feedback into a personalisedregime that makes the children feel like theyare making a valuable contribution to lessons,the result is social, learning and physicalbenefits, as well as huge enjoyment.”

“If however, teachers make assumptionsabout their SEN pupils without any directconsultation, and don’t encourage toleranceand a genuinely inclusive attitude among thewider school body, the result isdisempowerment, leading to negative self-image and emotional distress.”

“TeamGB won five gold medals andParalympicsGB won 40 gold medals at the1992 Games in Barcelona. We all recallLinford Christie and Sally Gunnell, but howmany of us can name any of theParalympian champions from that year?The 2008 Beijing Games were a turningpoint, with Paralympian athletes such asEllie Simmonds, emerging as householdnames. We need many more positive rolemodels, like Ellie and Jamie, to inspire andencourage more children with SEN to takepart in physical activity and sport.”

Jamie agrees: “I definitely think it’simportant that kids with or withoutdisabilities should get involved in any typeof sport. It’s hugely enjoyable, gives you ahealthy lifestyle and brings peopletogether from all walks of life. It’s healthytoo having a competitive edge andsomething to aim for in life.”

The final word goes to Honorary Fellowand International Paralympic Committee(IPC) President Sir Philip Craven, whobelieves that the 2012 Games will prove tobe a tipping point for the Paralympicmovement: “The London 2012 ParalympicGames will quite simply be ‘sport likenever before’. Our elite athletes willcaptivate billions around the world, willinspire millions, and ultimately leadsocietal change and alter perceptions ofwhat can be achieved by a person with animpairment.”

To find out more about thework of the Research Instituteof Sport and ExerciseSciences, please contact:David Rutt (Business DevelopmentManager – Science)m: 07968 422498e: d.m.rutt@ljmu.ac.uk

To find out more about thework of the Faculty ofEducation, Community andLeisure, please contact:Gill Smylie (BusinessDevelopment Manager -Education, Community and Leisure)m: 07968 422588e: g.k.smylie@ljmu.ac.uk

24

FEATURECOMPLETELY DRAINED

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"…we are pleased that thework we have carried outin partnership withLiverpool John MooresUniversity has highlightedso effectively just howmuch water and energyour customers can save.” Ben Nadel, United Utilities' WaterResources Strategy Manager.

Collaboration between a multidisciplinaryresearch team at LJMU and UnitedUtilities plc results in a clean solution toa complex water conservation issue.

As if the organisers of the London 2012 Gamesdidn’t already have enough on their plates, inputting on the Games and managing theassociated transport and security issues, theDepartment for Environment, Food and RuralAffairs (DEFRA) confirmed on the 20th Februarythat much of eastern and southern England isofficially in a state of drought.

This is the earliest drought announcement sincerecords began, and just four months beforealmost 15,000 athletes and their entouragesconverge on east London, all requiring copiousshowers and constant rehydration.

As a consequence of two consecutive ‘dry’winters in 2010 and 2011, and 2011 being thedriest year in England and Wales for 90 years, theEnvironment Agency had forecast that rainfall of20% above average would be needed betweenDecember 2011 and April 2012 to replenishaquifers and reservoirs. In reality, winter rainfall inthe south and east has been a third below averageand the Met Office is predicting only a 15%chance of an abnormally wet spring in theseregions.

Although we cannot influence the weather, wecan influence our everyday ablutions. Waterusage has doubled over the last 25 years, withthe average Briton now using 150 litres of waterevery day. DEFRA is urging restraint in responseto the most recent drought announcement, andestimates daily consumption could be cut by atleast 20 litres, through simple actions like turningoff the tap when cleaning teeth and takingshorter showers.

Water management and conservation is a keyresearch theme exercising both the BuiltEnvironment and Sustainable TechnologiesResearch Institute (BEST) at LJMU and the NorthWest’s water supplier United Utilities plc, whohave worked collaboratively on this issue.

United Utilities wanted to develop anenvironmentally-friendly alternative to ‘powershowers’. A rapidly increasing number ofcustomers own showers that provide high flow-rate, and use them frequently, which has resultedin water and energy use by showers exceedingthat of baths. Water use for showers is projectedto double over the next 20 years.

LJMU researchers combined focus groups tostudy the public’s shower habits and attitudestowards water-saving devices, with a technological

study of shower performance characteristics anda home trial of water saving devices. The researchharnessed expertise from the Liverpool BusinessSchool, the School of Pharmacy and BiomolecularSciences as well as the School of BuiltEnvironment. This interdisciplinary approachsuccessfully determined that showers could beimproved through an appropriate choice of showerhead - to run more efficiently, yet save water andstill give excellent customer satisfaction.

Richard Critchley, United Utilities’ Water ResourcesPlanning Manager, said: “LJMU was chosen as theacademic partner for this piece of researchbecause we were impressed by the fact that theywere able to set up a single team that comprisedof expertise from a number of different disciplines.”

United Utilities estimated that 1.6 mega litres ofwater a year will be saved by the new low-flowshowerheads installed as part of the study. Inaddition 18.9 tonnes of CO2 emissions can beavoided, and 96,222 kWh of energy can be saved.Importantly, it has also allowed meteredcustomers to reduce their water bills by anaverage of £33 a year.

The research results have also informed both localand national strategies, and influencedinternational developments in water saving. Theresearch has been included in DEFRA’s MarketTransformation Programme, which producesGovernment Standard Briefing Notes. These arepublic consultation documents that allowstakeholders to examine the data andassumptions behind the proposed GovernmentStandards and related projections. The successof this project has also led BEST to file a patentcombining these results with the advance useof microwave technologies, as an innovative andunique heating source for domestic showers.

LJMU researchers have since tested a number ofshower heads for water efficiency as part ofUnited Utilities’ policy to provide meteredcustomers with an aerated shower head. It ishoped that the results will help United Utilitiesachieve their goal of reducing the daily waterconsumption in the North West to 120 litres per head.

To find out more, please contact KirstyBarr (Business Development Manager –Technology and Environment)

t: 0151 231 8451m: 07968 422451e: k.barr@ljmu.ac.ukw: www.ljmu.ac.uk/blt/best/

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26

FEATUREAFTER THE PARTY

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After the party£9.35 billion. That’s a lot of money. To give some sense of scale of just how much money, one million seconds would equate to 11.5 days. A billion seconds would be around 32 years.

£9.35 billion is the cost to the British public of London 2012. Legacy planning has been more central toLondon’s bid than any previous host city, but will the benefits of this significant injection of publicsector funding ripple out beyond East London and the capital? Senior academics from across theUniversity consider this question.

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A sporting legacyThe Government had hoped toencourage one million more people intoregular sport by 2012, but this hasproved to be more difficult thanenvisaged. Sport England figures showthat just 111,000 more people havebecome involved in sport since 2007.This reflects studies of the Atlanta,Sydney and Athens Games, which foundthat they encouraged only short-termincreases in sports participation amongstthe general public.

In response, the Government’s LegacyPlan has been revised to focus ondelivering a sporting legacy for youngpeople, by inspiring a new generation toplay sport and by reintroducing a cultureof competitive sport in schools.

Track Dinning of the Faculty forEducation, Community and Leisure (ECL)thinks this is no bad thing:

“The government’s new youth sportsstrategy has placed ‘creating a sportinghabit for life’ at its very centre, whichwill hopefully capture the sportingimagination of young people and givethem plenty of opportunities to continuesports beyond their school PE lessons.At a local level, our students can play akey role. ECL students are alreadyinvolved with both the management anddelivery side of many local projects withschools, the national governing body andlocal authority. This type of partnershipworking will be crucial if sports legacyplans are to succeed.”

A cultural legacyThe last time that London hosted theOlympics – in 1948 – was also the last timethat Olympic medals were awarded toartists and writers, as well as athletes.Both the Greeks and the founder of themodern Games – Pierre de Coubertin –believed that both sport and the arts havethe power to transform and enrich lives,and should be celebrated jointly, but it hasbeen the sporting spectacle that has cometo dominate the Games in living memory.

As such, the Cultural Olympiad is acomparatively new concept. Launched in2008, it has been a four-year period ofdiverse celebration of all that comprises UKculture, which will culminate in thesummer-long London 2012 Festival. This isset to be a smorgasbord of extraordinarycultural events happening the length andbreadth of the UK from June untilSeptember; but will it, as the organisershope, inspire us and lift collective spirits?And can we expect more overseas visitorsand a boost for our tourism industry as aresult?

“Not necessarily” and “yes, but notimmediately”, says Dr Louise Platt, Senior

Lecturer in Tourism and EventsManagement and a social anthropologist,who researches cultural events and localidentities:

“A mega event like the Olympic Gamescomes with an expectation that there willbe a legacy. Previous research into hostcities such as Barcelona tells us that for thelegacy to be sustainable, local ownershipneeds to be created.

“There needs to be a sustained investmentin cultural activity for there even to be‘legacy’. More importantly, people need totruly understand the purpose of the event.When local communities see their librariesclosing, the notion of the Cultural Olympiadneeds to mean something to them. Thekey here is effective communication.People in communities up and down thecountry need to see the legacy on theirdoorstep beyond 2012.

“Far simpler is the question of a tourismlegacy. There is a confidence that theGames will showcase Britain to greateffect, pique global interest and result in anincrease in overseas visitors in the yearsahead, even if the trend for Olympic hostcities is that they do not feel the benefitduring the Games themselves.”

An economiclegacyOptimistic Ministers are hoping thatLondon 2012 will have a stealth stimuluseffect on the economy. A 2011 study byVisa Europe has estimated that theOlympics could inject £5.1bn into the UKeconomy by 2015 and could account for upto 3.5% of all expected growth in theeconomy between 2013 and 2015.

As 2012 dawned, research by the FinancialTimes has shown that London haswidened the gap with other regions of theUK since the economic crisis began – the

capital and its hinterland has outperformedthe rest in terms of economic output,overall employment, population, houseprices and household financial stress.

The Olympic Delivery Authority is the bodyresponsible for building the venues andinfrastructure, and has overseen £7.3bn ofexpenditure. Of the direct ‘Tier 1’ supplycontracts, 99% are with UK-based groups,which is to be applauded. However, as theFinancial Times study concludes, in thesetimes of painful public spending cuts andwith a widening north-south divide, it isimportant that the benefits of such a vastamount of public expenditure should be feltacross the regions.

In reality, around 70% of these Tier 1contracts have been awarded tocompanies in London and the South East.More distant regions have fared less well –the North West accounted for 1.68% ofcontract awards, which in turn is more thanScotland, Wales and Northern Irelandcombined.

Professor Michael Parkinson, Director ofthe European Institute for Urban Affairs atLJMU, is Special Adviser to theCommunities and Local Government SelectCommittee. His view is that although theregeneration and transformation of theNorth has been one of the major successstories of the last fifteen years, there is stillthe sense of a job ‘half-done’.

“The North needs a costed long-termstrategic investment strategy thatemphasises and builds on the North’seconomic strengths, competitiveadvantages and unique selling points. Thisis in the interests of both the North and UKplc. The North has a huge amount to offerthe national economy.

“To this end, the geographical distributionof Olympics contracts – although expected– is disappointing. The Government isprimarily concerned about economicgrowth, and that will go to the moreprivileged parts of the country.”

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LJMU academicpresents at European UnionTejendra Pherali, Senior Lecturer at the Centrefor Education and Early Childhood Studies inthe Faculty of Education, Community andLeisure, was recently invited by the EuropeanUnion at Brussels to deliver a talk on the Inter-Agency Seminar on the Use of PoliticalEconomy Analysis for Education in FragileSituations. Tejendra Pherali presented thecountry case study drawing on his recentDFID-EU funded research into 'A PoliticalEconomy Analysis of Education in Nepal'.

LJMU is top ofthe class inNorthern IrishschoolsLJMU's popularity across the Irish Sea keepson growing, with enrolments from NorthernIrish students considerably higher than at anyother university in England, Scotland or Wales.

Evolution of kitcreates arevolution inperformanceNew research from Gillette and the School ofSport and Exercise Sciences has revealed thedramatic impact that the technological evolution ofkit and equipment has had on modern rugbyperformance.

The growing excitement surrounding the Olympic Games also bringssecurity concerns for the many thousands of people attending. Putting inplace processes for crisis management is therefore an essential part of

organising such a major event. The PROTECT Centre, led by Professor MadjidMerabti of the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences is developingmethods to make the computers and networks used in such situations moresecure and robust, creating ad-hoc networks, and combining real-world sensordata readings with modelled interactions to try to understand possible securityweaknesses.

PROTECTthe Networks

BT Big Voice ProjectMedia Professional Studies and FilmStudies students at LJMU are supportingpupils at South Cheshire College in Crewe,by turning their BT Big Voice ProjectCompetition winning entry into a film. Thiswill be screened during the build up to theopening ceremony of the London 2012Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Hush HushHappeningsThe Broadcast and Media Group within theSchool of Engineering, Technology andMaritime Operations was the hub for arecording of a secret drama ‘Romeo EchoDelta’. It was unleashed on the unsuspectingaudience of BBC Radio Merseyside onHalloween, in much the same way that thecelebrated Orson Welles version of ‘War ofthe Worlds’ was broadcast in 1938. The storyof this broadcast was featured in the NewScientist.

Diabetes ResearchSymposiumDr. Farath Arshad from the Centre forHealth and Social Care Informatics(CHaSCI) was successful in being selectedto participate in a British Council - PrimeMinister's Initiative 2 (PMI2) award whichled to the profiling of her research at theDiabetes Research Symposium in KuwaitCity. Dr Arshad’s contribution introducedhow technology could promote Patient SelfCare in Diabetes.

REWIREThe Liverpool School of Art and Designrecently hosted one of the most prestigious artconferences in the world at the Art and DesignAcademy. The fourth International Conferenceon the histories of Media Art, Science andTechnology was a collaborative projectbetween LJMU, Liverpool’s FACT and theUniversities of Sunderland, Lancaster, West ofScotland, Sussex and Amsterdam. Keynotespeakers included Professor AndrewPickering, internationally recognised as aleader in the field of science and technology.

http://www.protect-ci.org

Real-time monitoring of athleteswater and blood constituentsThe Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies Research Institute (BEST)have developed a device that allows for real-time monitoring of athlete waterand blood constituents. The device uses adjustable electromagnetic wavefrequency, and has a non-invasive sensor adapted to be placed in proximity tothe body. A signal measures the properties in the water or blood and providesinstantaneous test results. The key benefits are in the ability to detect a widevariety and the concentration levels of products in the athlete’s water or bloodsamples, including alcohol and illegal substances. It is also non-invasive, whicheliminates the considerable costs of time and consumable accessoriesassociated with taking invasive blood samples.

Our aim at Liverpool John Moores University is to assistand engage with our community, business and industry,but also to challenge, to stimulate debate and generatenew thinking and ideas.To tell us what you think, contact: E: think@ljmu.ac.uk T: 0151 231 3531© LJMUCorporate Communications March 2012