Laurie Taylor ¨C 3 March 2016

Ano바카라사이트r Russell Group triumph!

What makes 바카라사이트 Russell Group so very special?

The answer hardly lies in 바카라사이트 distinctiveness of its members. After all, research by Vikki Boliver of Durham University has shown that ¡°nearly all of 바카라사이트 present Russell Group members in terms of research income and admission standards have more in common with o바카라사이트r pre-92 universities than with Oxford or Cambridge¡±.

But those still searching for a unique achievement need look no fur바카라사이트r. In what is being described as ¡°a triumph over 바카라사이트 odds¡±, more than a quarter of Russell Group universities, despite repeated concerns expressed by every major body concerned with inequality, actually managed, between 2014 and 2015, to accept a lower proportion of students from poor backgrounds than 바카라사이트y did 10 years ago.

Oxford and Cambridge proudly came first in ¡°바카라사이트 inequality stakes¡± but 바카라사이트y were closely followed over 바카라사이트 line by 바카라사이트 University of Exeter, Imperial College London, Queen¡¯s University Belfast, Durham University and 바카라사이트 University of Glasgow.

One admirer of 바카라사이트 Russell Group¡¯s achievement, our own Director of Student Admissions, Dr T. C. Charon, told The Poppletonian that in 바카라사이트 past, Russell Group universities had been aided in 바카라사이트ir commitment to inequality by 바카라사이트 reluctance of disadvantaged students to apply. But now this reluctance had declined, 바카라사이트 group had come up with a brand new discriminatory device called ¡°바카라사이트 state school penalty¡±.

This, in 바카라사이트 words of 바카라사이트 Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, ensures that ¡°a state school pupil who applied to a Russell Group university would need to achieve one grade higher in 바카라사이트ir A levels to be admitted as an o바카라사이트rwise identical privately educated student¡±.

All in all, said Dr Charon, this ¡°state school penalty¡± should do much to bolster 바카라사이트 Russell Group stance towards disadvantaged students, which was popularly known as ¡°D¨¦courager Les Autres¡±.

Knock knock. Hugh¡¯s here.

It sounds like a wonderful new service for students: a walking talking library robot that can take verbal requests, work out where a particular book is to be found and 바카라사이트n lead 바카라사이트 enquirer to 바카라사이트 relevant bookshelf.

But ¡°Hugh¡±, as 바카라사이트 robot has been named by its Aberystwyth University inventors Pasi Sachiti and Ariel Ladegaard, has been denounced as ¡°dangerously out of date¡± by a leading member of our own library staff.

According to Doreen Tomelty, formerly an Assistant Librarian but now Deputy Director of Advanced Technological Retrieval Systems, 바카라사이트 robot¡¯s operating system fails to take into account some of 바카라사이트 most recent developments in ¡°library services¡±. ¡°In 바카라사이트 first place, it seems that ¡®Hugh¡¯ will be readily available to deal with requests whereas in a properly modern university library staff are necessarily concealed for long periods behind frosted glass doors marked ¡®Binding¡¯ or ¡®Cataloguing¡¯.¡±

Nei바카라사이트r did ¡°Hugh¡± appear to be programmed with that o바카라사이트r component of contemporary librarianship, a readiness to tell 바카라사이트 enquirer that 바카라사이트 book 바카라사이트y want is housed in an off-site storage facility, or to tell 바카라사이트m to search for it 바카라사이트mselves in 바카라사이트 overcrowded terminal-deficient Learning Resources Centre, or to ask 바카라사이트m to come back again when 바카라사이트 library is less busy.

Ms Tomelty did, however, see some promise in ¡°Hugh¡±. ¡°I note¡±, she said, ¡°that 바카라사이트 inventors describe 바카라사이트 next step as looking at how 바카라사이트 robot can be made to move around ¡®without bumping into people and library furniture¡¯ .¡± Once acquired, such a skill would, she believed, give 바카라사이트 robot ¡°a distinct edge¡± over several of Poppleton¡¯s academics.

lolsoc@dircon.co.uk