Falmouth’s awards for UG
Falmouth University, UK, has announced scholarships for BA (Hons) Fashion Design, BA (Hons) Fashion Photography and BA (Hons) Interior Design. The awards worth £7,500 (`7, 70,000 approx) each are jointly funded by Falmouth and the British Council’s GREAT scheme. The scholarships are designed to encourage cultural collaboration between the UK and overseas. The awards are available to students beginning their undergraduate degree in Autumn 2014. Interested students can apply by writing a 500-word statement explaining how they hope to use their study at Falmouth to influence their work, practice and future ambitions. The awards can be in the form of reduction in tuition fee or a cheque payment. Apply by May 30. Details at www.falmouth.ac.uk/international/scholarship.
Making Faces
Researchers at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK, have found out that faces deemed to be untrustworthy, dominant or unattractive because of their shape, can be made to appear the opposite by making specific facial expressions. Dr Daniel Gill of the Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University, who conducted the research, was quoted to have said: “Humans communicate a lot through their facial expressions when negotiating various social situations. But whether we like it or not, previous well-documented research has shown that people tend to perceive certain personality characteristics or traits in individuals based on the structure of their face. This means some people can be judged to be untrustworthy or domineering simply by how they look — a square jaw and large brow conveying dominance, for example. It can have implications for things like mate selection and job opportunities. However, there are also basic facial movements that people identify with specific social traits and these movements can override the default impression people have of another person’s face.”
The researchers used software to generate three-dimensional animated images of faces which can be programmed to move one or more of 42 individual facial groups of muscles — or action units, as they call them – to form a facial expression. Details at www.pss.sagepub.com/content/25/5/1079.full.pdf+html.
Edinburgh’s honour for APJ Abdul Kalam
University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, conferred an honorary degree on Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam at a dinner held in his honour at the University’s Playfair Library recently. The award was presented by University Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea in recognition of Kalam’s outstanding contribution to science and technology, and his commitment to helping transform India into a developed nation by 2020. Kalam who served India from 2002 to 2007 provided the keynote address at the inaugural conference of the University’s Edinburgh India Institute. The Institute will help coordinate the work of Edinburgh academics working with a wide range of partners from India.