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SIR ALEC TURNBULL TRAVELLING SCHOLARSHIP 1999
The Prize has been awarded jointly to DR FRANCES MOORE and DR PAUL
PLESTED.
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GIBBS PRIZES IN LAW 1999
The Gibbs Prize has been awarded jointly to CHRISTOPHER A.K. SALZ, Lincoln
College, and PAUL J. TOMS, Brasenose College.
A Book Prize has been awarded to MS AMY C. STREET, New College.
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PETER BEACONSFIELD PRIZE 1999
The Prize has been awarded to MISS LUISA BETTS, Brasenose College.
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CAR PARKING AND TRANSPORT POLICY WORKING
PARTY
At its meeting on 12 October 1999, the working party agreed to postpone
implementation of the new parking regime until 1 January
2000. All new restrictions and arrangements described in Supplement
(2) to Gazette No. 4512 (paras. 27–52 and the appendix; Vol.
129, pp. 1290–3) will become effective from that date.
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PROCTORS' REGULATIONS CONCERNING CONDUCT AT
EXAMINATIONS
The Proctors hereby inform members of the University that, with immediate
effect, they have introduced amendments to their Regulations concerning
conduct at Examinations. The purpose of the amendments is to prevent taught-
course candidates from withdrawing from Examinations by deliberately failing
to attend for viva voce examination after completing their written papers. The
Regulations involved are those numbered (iii) and (v) on pages 1068–9 of
Examination Decrees and Regulations, 1999 edition. The new Regulations are
reproduced below, with the amended provisions indicated in italics:
(iii) A candidate may not withdraw from an examination after the written
part of the examination is complete. The point of completion shall be deemed
to be the conclusion of the last paper for which the candidate has entered,
or the time by which a dissertation or other written material is due to be
submitted, whichever is the later. However, a candidate who fails to
appear for a viva voce examination subsequent to the completion of the
written examination will be deemed to have failed the entire examination unless
he or she can, through his or her college, satisfy the Vice-Chancellor and
Proctors that his or her absence was due to illness or other urgent and
reasonable cause.
(v) A candidate who fails to appear for any part of an examination
other than a viva voce as specified in cl. (iii) above, will be
deemed to have withdrawn from the entire examination unless he or she can,
through his or her college, satisfy the Vice-Chancellor and Proctors that his
or her absence was due to illness or other urgent and reasonable cause.
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COMPUTING SERVICES
Use of Cache for World Wide Web
Oxford University generates more incoming Web traffic than any other
university in the country. Taking note of the fact that the University is now
being charged pro rata for this traffic, the IT Committee has expressed grave
concern at the relatively slow take-up of the Web Cache system installed at
OUCS, usage of which has hitherto been voluntary. Use of this cache ensures
that multiple copies of the same page are not fetched independently. The
cache also uses the national Web cache. Currently, no charge is made to the
University for traffic that passes through the national cache, so all calls made
to the local Cache are accordingly free of charge.
The committee has therefore concluded that use of the OUCS cache should be
made compulsory at the earliest possible date, and has agreed that this should
be 1 December 1999. Any attempt after that date to access Web pages without
using the cache may be rejected. A suitable Web page will be returned instead
of the one sought, informing the user what has happened, and providing
instructions on how to use the cache.
This change will not affect access to local Web pages in any way, and will
greatly reduce the cost to the University of accessing pages outside
Oxford.
OUCS will continue to develop techniques that make caching transparent to
users, but for the time being the only reliable method of doing so is to
require users to change the configuration parameters of their Web browser
(the software such as Netscape or Explorer used to access the Web). This is
a simple change, and details of how to effect it are already available from the
Web page http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/proxies/ and from IT Support Officers.
Further details of this arrangement and the background to the decision can
be seen at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/proxies/compulsory.html.
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WIDOWS OF FORMER MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY'S
PENSION SCHEMES
From time to time the attention of the University is drawn to individual cases
of financial hardship among widows of former members of the Federated
Superannuation System for Universities (FSSU) and the University of Oxford
Employees Pension Scheme (EPS). Limited resources are available to alleviate
proven cases of hardship and any enquiry should be addressed to the
Superannuation Officer, University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD.
All cases are dealt with in the strictest confidence.
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CIRCULATION OF THE Gazette TO
RETIRED SENIOR MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY
It has been decided that any former member of Congregation over the age of
seventy-five who is resident in Oxford may continue to receive the
Gazette, if he or she so wishes, on application in writing to the
Information Office, University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD.
Such applications must be renewed at the beginning of each academic year.
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ISIS INNOVATION LIMITED
2 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3UB
Isis Innovation, a wholly-owned company of the University, was established in
1988. The company has been formed to exploit know-how arising out of
research funded by the UK Government through the Research Councils and
funded by other bodies where the rights are not tied. The function of the
company is to ensure that the results of research bring rewards to Oxford,
and to the inventors, who are given a financial incentive for exploitation.
Isis seeks licensees willing to pay lump sums and/or royalties for the
use
of know-how arising out of research. Isis also exploits the intellectual
property of the University by setting up individual companies using venture
capital or development capital funds.
Isis' services are also available to individuals who wish to exploit the
results of research supported by non-Research Council sources, when there
are no prior conditions on the handling of the intellectual property rights.
Isis Innovation has at its disposal a small pre-seedcorn fund for paying the
costs of protecting intellectual property rights and for taking work to a stage
where its potential can be assessed.
Isis finds industrial partners to ensure that new ideas can be developed
for market requirements. The company has established the Oxford Innovation
Society for major industrial companies, so that they can have a window on
Oxford technology and an opportunity to license and invest where appropriate.
A brochure explaining Isis' activities is available. Please contact the
above address, or the telephone and fax numbers given below.
Members of the University should contact the Managing Director if they
wish to take advantage of the services that Isis provides. (Telephone:
(2)72411; fax: (2)72412.)
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CONCERT
Faculty of Music
The Dramatic Music of Judith Weir
`The Dramatic Music of Judith Weir' will be performed by the FACULTY OF
MUSIC ENSEMBLE, conducted by Roger Montgomery, with Jane Manning,
soprano, at 8 p.m. on Thursday, 18 November, in the Jacqueline du Pré
Music Building, St Hilda's College. Tickets, costing £10 (£6
concessions) are available from the Playhouse Box Office, Beaumont Street
(telephone: Oxford 798600), or at the door. Further details are available from
the Jacqueline du Pré Music Building (telephone: Oxford (2)76821).
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COMMITTEE FOR THE MUSEUMS AND SCIENTIFIC
COLLECTIONS (CMSC)
The CMSC considers matters of mutual interest to the museums and scientific
collections, and reports to the General Board of the Faculties. The CMSC's
newsletter, which is aimed at staff in the museums and collections, is now
available on the Web at http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/oxonly/cmsc.
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OxTALENT WEB COMPETITION AWARDS CEREMONY
OxTALENT's annual Web competition was run over the summer to find the best
Web sites in Oxford supporting staff and students. OxTALENT (Oxford Teaching
and Learning Enhanced by New Technology) is an informal group committed
to promoting understanding and best practice in the use of IT in teaching and
learning at Oxford.
The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 10 November, at 2 p.m.,
in the Computing Laboratory Lecture Theatre, Wolfson Building, Parks Road.
Prizes will be presented by the Vice-Chancellor.
The presentation of prizes will be followed by demonstrations from the four
prize-winners (Biochemistry Web pages for Undergraduates, Earth Sciences
Web pages for First Year Undergraduates, the Oxford Clinical Intranet, and
the Bodleian Broadside Ballads).
Details of the competition, including information on entrants and winners, may
be found at http://info.ox.ac.uk/oxford/seminars/webaward.html.
Note: gowns should be worn at this ceremony.
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