A look back at some of our top news stories from 2016.
From ‘phubbing’ to homeless veterans, from Brexit to cyber security, the following are some of the top news stories produced by the University’s Press Office during 2016.
These stories and the media coverage they generated have enhanced Kent’s international reputation and profile in territories such as: Australia; Bangladesh; Belgium; Brazil; Canada; Chile; China; Cyprus; Denmark; France; Germany; Greece; Holland; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Malaysia; New Zealand; Poland; Portugal; Russia; South Africa; Spain; Sweden; Turkey; USA; Vietnam; and Zimbabwe.
This year:
• Kent was mentioned in almost 11,500 print and online news articles in 3031 unique publications
• Almost 300 academic experts and PhD students contributed to print and online news coverage
• 139 academic experts and PhD students gave interviews to more than 190 unique radio and television programmes
Kent’s experts also published 112 articles in The Conversation during 2016. These were read by 1.56 million people in territories that included Australia, Canada, Holland, India, Germany, Singapore, the UK and the USA.
Academic staff also continued to inform or, in several cases, set topical news agendas by contributing independent analysis, opinion and expertise to the media. These ranged from discussions around endurance and the use of Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) in sport, to the pension crisis in the UK and Castro, Cuba and Trump.
January
- Anxiety can impact people’s walking direction (Dr Mario Weick, School of Psychology)
- Social media technology rather than anonymity is the problem (Dr Vincent Miller, School of Social Research, Sociology and Social Policy [SSPSSR])
February
- 3D technology reveals diet of ‘Chaucer’s children’ (Dr Patrick Mahoney, School of Anthropology and Conservation)
- Parental pressure pushes young athletes to doping (Daniel Madigan, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences [SSES])
Professor Sally Sheldon (Kent Law School) interviewed by BBC NI at the Canterbury campus
March
At the beginning of March, the Press Office launched its Rolling news coverage: EU Referendum page to keep News Centre visitors, staff and students updated on its activities. This included daily reports on Kent’s referendum/EU experts as they provided new insights and perspectives on key referendum issues for UK and international media. Among them were Professor Matthew Goodwin, Professor Richard Whitman, Professor Elena Korosteleva, Professor Trine Flockhart, Dr Adrian Pabst, Dr Toni Haastrup, Dr Paolo Dardinelli and Professor Feargal Cochrane from the School of Politics and International Relations (POLIR).
During this period, the Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow, also represented both University and sector concerns to the media.
For the EU referendum, the University received (until mid-July) 1163 print and online mentions, with academic experts giving 231 broadcast interviews. Outlets included all UK national newspapers, many regional newspapers and international media such as USA Today, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Le Matin (France), Expatica Netherlands, MSB Germany, The Australian, EU Business, MSN Canada, La Repubblica (Italy) and Arab Times.
Professor Goodwin went on to provide world-wide analysis and comment on a range of post-Referendum issues including leadership elections and far-right political movements and parties, of which he is a leading expert.
Professor Matthew Goodwin (right) being interviewed live on Sky News
Other March news stories included:
- Call for statutory reform in abortion law (Professor Sally Sheldon, Kent Law School)
- Thrill of the hunt motivates some to buy counterfeit goods (Dr Xuemi Bian, Kent Business School)
April
- Designing peace – guidance for reaching durable settlements (Dr Neophytos Loizides, POLIR)
- Major art exhibition at The Historic Dockyard (Adam Chodzko, School of Music and Fine Art
The University’s outstanding research was also celebrated at a presentation of Kent’s annual Research Prizes
May
- New book shows how running makes us human (Dr Vybarr Cregan-Reid, School of English)
- Activism alone can’t alter human rights perceptions (Dr Mark Hurst, School of History)
- Clinical trials of robotic legs help patients walk again (Dr Matthew Pepper, School of Engineering and Digital Arts)
June
- How ignoring people for smartphones became the norm (Varoth Chotpitayasunondh/Professor Karen Douglas, School of Psychology)
- Artists working with autistic children change family life (Dr Melissa Trimingham/Professor Nicola Shaughnessy, School of Arts)
Dr Catherine Richardson, School of English
July
- Bacterial infection possible cause of bladder condition (Dr Scott Wildman, Medway School of Pharmacy)
- Elite cyclists are more resilient to mental fatigue (Professor Samuele Marcora, SSES)
- Researchers contribute to new superconductors (Dr Jorge Quintanilla, School of Physical Sciences)
August
- Flexitime works better for men than women (Dr Heejung Chung, SSPSSR)
September
- Research reveals trends behind Brexit vote (Professor Matthew Goodwin, POLIR)
- Architecture expert surveys Palace in £4bn repairs report (Dr Henrik Schoenefeldt, Kent School of Architecture)
- Trophy hunting of lions can conserve the species (Dr Henry Brink/Dr Bob Smith, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology)
- Cyber Security – darknet use higher in 18-24 year olds (Cyber Security Centre)
Dr Julio Hernandez-Castro, Centre for Cybercrime/School of Computing
October
- Computer experts identify 14 themes of creativity (Dr Anna Jordanous, School of Computing)
- Exhausted? Join the world’s oldest club (Dr Anna Katharina Schaffner, Comparative Literature – School of European Culture and Languages [SECL])
- Kent shortlisted for research and teaching excellence award
November
- New approach needed for Tourette’s Syndrome portrayal (Melina Malli/Professor Rachel Forrester-Jones, Tizard Centre/SSPSSR)
- Bioscientists help throat cancer patients speak again (Dr Campbell Gourlay, School of Biosciences)
- Kent research informs Coutts million pound donations report (Dr Beth Breeze, SSPSSR)
December
- Rethinking Santa – celebrating Christmas through the radio (Dr Chris Deacy, Religious Studies – SECL)
- Harmful effects of the ageing population on the economy (Dr Keisuke Otsu, School of Economics)
- Study: some London councils let down homeless veterans (Professor Helen/Dr Ed Kirton-Darling, Kent Law School)
Stephanie Astro, School of Physical Sciences
Colleagues who would like to engage with the media, learn more about writing for The Conversation or discuss media opportunities and media training for 2017 should contact the Press Office (part of Corporate Communications) on ext 3985 or email pressoffice@kent.ac.uk.