Alex, who is Lecturer in Modern European History in our School of Historical Studies has written In the Shadow of the World War: Mass violence by the Ustaša against Serbs, Jews and Roma in Croatia, 1941-45 which is set for publication next spring. In January, he delivered a lecture at the Wiener Library as a result of winning that organisation’s Fraenkel Prize in Contemporary History.

Now another award has come his way. The Irma Rosenberg Prize is awarded by the Institute for Contemporary History of the University of Vienna for “outstanding research of the history of the Holocaust, Nazi crimes, or resistance against Nazism”. For his manuscript, Alex receives €2,000 and the opportunity to deliver another lecture, in Vienna (on 30 November).

But who exactly were the Ustaša?

Yugoslavia invaded and partitioned

Ustaša leader Ante Pavelić with Benito Mussolini in 1941 (image: Wikipedia)

In March 1941, the Axis agreement between Germany and Italy was extended to include Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania, creating an extensive buffer zone that would keep the essential Romanian oilfields out of the reach of Allied bombers. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was at that time ruled by Prince Paul who gave in to Nazi pressure and agreed to also join the Axis Powers, in the face of stiff public and military opposition. Two days later he was removed by a military coup and replaced by King Peter II. This infuriated Hitler who promptly ordered a full-scale invasion of Yugoslavia, unsubtly code-named Operation Punishment.

German troops crossed the border on 6 April, followed by Italian and Hungarian forces, and the Royal Yugoslav Army unconditionally surrendered eleven days later. The former kingdom was carved up and the Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska – NDH) was established, incorporating all of Bosnia and Herzegovina and part of Serbia.

The Ustaša was a fascist revolutionary movement which had been established in 1930 with the aim of creating an independent Croatia, in pursuit of which their terrorist activities had included the assassination of King Alexander I in 1934. After the collapse and partition of Yugoslavia, the Ustaša were installed as the ruling party in Croatia (although on paper the NHD was an Italian protectorate and a monarchy ruled by a cousin of the Italian King).

Ustaša genocide policies

An Ustaša guard stands amid the bodies of executed prisoners at Jasenovac, Croatia's largest concentration camp (image: Wikipedia)

Croatia was one of the most multi-ethnic places in Hitler’s Europe, with a population that included Croats, Serbs, Bosnian Muslims, Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews and many other minorities. Within this diverse society the Ustaša was one of the most murderous wartime regimes, causing the deaths of nearly half a million people.

Traditionally, there have been two interpretations of the Ustaša genocide. Some historians view, the movement as a German puppet regime, with their violence the direct consequence of Nazi policies. To others the Ustaša themselves were monsters, with individuals taking great joy in persecuting Serbs and Jews. Alex challenges both interpretations, as the puppet-theory and monster-theory both stop before actually identifying the reasons why members of a nationalistic organisation would start using violence.

He examined Ustaša policies on a national and regional level, and found a very complex ethnic civil war that took place in the shade of the World War. German and Italian troops, Ustaša militias and their Serb counterparts, Tito’s partisans and other formations, all transformed Croatia into a violent space, in which internal rivalry was the order of the day.

Impact of this research

The 'Stone Flower' memorial to the victims of Jasenovac (image: Wikipedia)

The book is an in-depth analysis of the dynamics of an ethnicised civil war, during which violence could very quickly accelerate, but also slow down, depending on regional conditions. Alex analysed expulsions, massacres and camps, and found out that it is very often the micro-regional context that played a significant role, including the local geography or even such apparently innocuous factors as whether the crops were close to being harvested or not.

Studying wartime Croatia helps to complicate the picture of the Holocaust because it shows local variations within what is all too often perceived as a monolithic event. Alex argues that the Ustaša were by no means just a German puppet regime, as they were very committed agents of their own interests, skilfully playing Germans and Italians off against each other, and gaining a large amount of independence by inflicting a civil war beyond outside control. Their aim was to use the war for the creation of an ethnically homogenised greater Croatian state, cleansed of Serbs, Jews, Roma and other minorities.

This led him to realise that the genocides committed against these groups were very much intertwined. Alex concludes:

“We cannot study the Holocaust in Eastern and Southeastern Europe without simultaneously studying the persecution of other groups. The goal of many nationalistic militias in Eastern Europe was the ethnic cleansing of their homelands, and in that respect the Jews were only one out of several target groups.”

Im Schatten des Weltkriegs

Dr Korb’s book will be published next spring by Hamburger Edition, the publishing arm of the Hamburg Institute for Social Research. The German title is Im Schatten des Weltkriegs. Massengewalt der Ustaša gegen Serben, Juden und Roma in Kroatien, 1941-45.

Have you ever wondered about the non-verbal cues we give off in our facial expressions? If you were a doctor how could you tell from a patient’s face that they are angry or fearful? Have you ever been with a colleague and noticed that your comment has resulted in an expression of sadness?

Final-year student Graeme Pettifer from our Medical School produced these works as part of his elective project which examined interpreting facial expressions and focused on the work of psychologist Professor Paul Ekman. Through it, he has tried to explore an area central to the medical consultation and an essential element of good team working – needless to say, these are issues that go to the heart of being a good doctor.

‘Facial expressions: indicators of underlying emotion’ will be on display in the Maurice Shock Building, Room G26B, until 1 June.

The Jubilee Fête, which is being organised by members of St Mary’s Parish Church and Knighton Free Church, will be opened at 11.00am by local businesswoman/diet guru Rosemary Conley. At midday Mrs Conley will judge a children’s parade of home-made crowns and there will be a prize for the best, so get your foil and sticky tape out now.

Throughout the day there will be craft stalls, refreshments, and children’s games and activities (including the almost obligatory bouncy castle). Live music will be provided by KGB Jazz, Leicester High School Choir and the Simpletones barbershop quintet.

The fete runs from 11.00am to 4.00pm, entrance is just one pound (kids get in free) and all proceeds will be donated to Hope Against Cancer and sight loss charity Vista.

In the evening, after the stalls have been put away and the bouncy castle deflated, the Hall grounds will resound to the sounds of brass at the Jubilee Concert. Once again, everyone is welcome. Bring along your own food and drink and folding chairs, rugs or whatever else you need for a jolly summer evening picnic.

Gates open at 7.00pm and the music starts at half past, courtesy of nationally acclaimed all-ladies brass band Boobs and Brass.

Tickets cost £10.00 for adults, a fiver for children and must be purchased in advance from Knighton Parish Office (0116 270 2705) or Michael Kirk (0116 270 7843) or Carolyn Oldershaw (07885 089990). Proceeds to Hope Against Cancer, Vista and the Breast Cancer Campaign.

Knighton Hall is a 17th century manor house (with 18th century additions) which was owned by the Cradock family from 1720 until it was purchased by University College Leicester in 1931. Entrance to the grounds is from Carisbrooke Road or the corner of Knighton Road and Church Lane.

Responding to a report from the Government’s social mobility advisor Alan Milburn published today, they welcomed a call for leading professional employers to widen their graduate recruitment practices.

Richard Taylor, Director of Corporate Affairs.

Leicester is the only elite top-20 ranked university to meet national benchmarks for the recruitment of students from state schools and lower socio-economic groups. We submitted data to the Milburn inquiry which showed that the top 100 employers disproportionately target those universities with the poorest record for recruiting students from the lower socio-economic groups.

But universities also need to give employers a reason to consider their graduates by properly preparing them for the world of work, they said.

• University Press Release

In his talk, ‘Black Baudelaires, Bohemias and the Bronx: Experiences and Perceptions of South African Cities, 1940s to 1960s’, he will examine Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, and how identification with particular parts of each city - such as a particular township, informal settlement or suburb - underpinned group identities, including different ethnicities and nationalisms.

Professor Bickford-Smith, who is Visiting Professor of Comparative Metropolitan History at the Institute of Historical Studies, has written several books on South African history including Cape Town in the Twentieth Century and Black and White in Colour: African History on Screen.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public takes place in the Attenborough Seminar Block, Lecture Theatre 3, at 5.30pm on Wednesday 30 May 2012. It will be followed by a reception at 1 Salisbury Road. For further information please contact Lucy Byrne, lb77@le.ac.uk, 0116 252 2762.

Contact Student Volunteers and the Volunteering Team hosted a special guest on campus, Mr Richard Everard, to express their gratitude for his longstanding support for student volunteering.

For two decades, Mr Everard has paid an annual visit to Contact Student Volunteers to present a cheque from the Everard Foundation to enable new student projects to be established.  

As well as presenting a cheque, during his visit Mr Everard makes time to share his invaluable wisdom and experiences with student volunteers both as an employer and also as a keen volunteer himself.  On this occasion, University Registrar Dave Hall, Director of Student Welfare Clare Taylor and Director of the Careers Service Bob Athwal were also present to watch student volunteers give short presentations on their projects.

Here, they report on a very productive year for our busy student volunteers:

The money from the Everard Foundation goes to support student led projects in the local community and two projects in particular have successfully received such support this year, the International Women’s Day conference hosted by students and the Creative Writing In Primary Schools (CWIPS).

PhD student and Founder of the Eva Organization for Women (EoW), Sadiyo Siad illustrated her work for International Women’s Day where she and close to 80 students organised a conference with a variety of speakers including Wendi Momen, UN Women committee member. Sadiyo and the volunteers also organised a family festival that focused on wellbeing through sessions on Tai Chi, life coaching, Reiki and performances by Leicester Amika Choir and comedienne, Ishi Khan Jackson.

The CWIPS project doubled in size for its second year and a hundred and twenty year 5 children got the chance to work with teams of Leicester Volunteers.  Not only does it inspire the children to be creative and imaginative writers but volunteers are given the opportunity to share their knowledge and gain first hand teaching experience, creating a mutual opportunity for learning.  Laura Hollis and Layla Vania from the CWIPS project showed Mr Everard examples of creative writing children had done whilst explaining some of the workshops the volunteers designed over the 6 weeks the project lasted.

Daniel Tinkler, Ashni Haria, Alex Williams and Katherine Horrocks of the Contact Executive Committee showcased a range of different volunteering projects made possible through the support of the Everard Foundation, including SCAMP – a playgroup for children with disabilities, after-school clubs at Medway Primary School and a Christmas party for children at Menphys.

International students helping to clean up Victoria Park.

Gareth Hughes, Volunteering Events Co-ordinator, provided highlights of the Volunteering Team’s Community Challenges, a programme of events that take place twice a month during term time. These included environmental projects with Riverside Rangers, Christmas present wrapping for Rainbows and Toys on the Table, park clearing projects and much more.

The support of the Everard Foundation also enables Contact to organise large events such as ‘Make a Difference Day’ (MADD), a national event that takes place every October.  The annual ‘12 days of Christmas’ volunteering programme also benefits, enabling volunteers to engage in twelve different one-off volunteering activities during December.  One of the more rewarding and most successful events hosted by Contact last Christmas was the Age UK Christmas Party, which was held in the student Union and was attended by over 100 Age UK day centre users from across Leicester.

Students interested should visit the Volunteering website for more information.  There are a wide range of projects available all year, including the summer, so it’s not too late to volunteer this year! E-mail contact@le.ac.uk for any enquiries relating to CWIPS or other volunteering projects.

But if traditional investment models don’t work for SMEs, how is an entrepreneur to know whether their SME represents a sound business opportunity?

Now two academics in our Institute of Finance, part of our School of Management, have developed a mathematical model that solves this problem, which they will present at a major financial conference in Spain next month.

Dr Andrea Moro

Dr Andrea Moro and Dr Sandra Nolte point out in their paper, which is available online, that “it is essential for the entrepreneur to work out the return on their investment and thus the overall cost of capital and the capital structure. Traditionally, there are two possibilities to figure out the return of their investment: the accounting figures and the market.” They then go on to show why neither the accounting figures nor the market are appropriate in the case of SMEs.

In the standard models an investor has a ‘diversified portfolio’ of investments and by judiciously building this portfolio they can maximise the return by minimising the risk. But SMEs are very ‘illiquid’ and entrepreneurs can hardly sell up if the business is not doing well, because the entrepreneur is the business. In addition, entrepreneurs are ‘under-diversified’ because all their investment is concentrated in one business.

Dr Sandra Nolte

On top of these aspects, there are “psychological and social benefits uncorrelated with the amount of money invested in the venture [which] add an additional layer of complexity to working out the expected financial return on equity for the entrepreneur.” SMEs, by their nature, tend to be personal projects. The entrepreneur has much more ‘invested’ in the business than just money. There’s pride, passion, independence, dreams, determination, even love. You can’t show those on a balance sheet! And if the business does go belly-up, it will take with it more than just a (usually very large) slice of the entrepreneur’s personal wealth.

Based on these considerations, the Leicester academics worked out the minimum return on investment for an SME, approaching the issue from a completely different perspective:

Across several pages of mathematical formulae, Moro and Nolte then set out a model which is surprisingly simple, requiring as it does just two inputs, both of which are easily accessible to entrepreneurs (or other investors):

• The survival rate of SMEs in the appropriate ‘business cluster’
• The history of the entrepreneur’s previous success up to this point.

In other words, at the risk of gross over-simplification, the financial soundness of an SME venture is dependent on how well businesses of that sort normally do, and how well the individual entrepreneur’s previous businesses have done. Though there is, as the saying goes, a bit more to it than that.

Andrea and Sandra will present their paper 'Industry Survival Rate, Entrepreneur Historical Performance and Personal Wealth: A Probabilistic Model for Optimizing SMEs Capital Structure '(doi:10.2139/ssrn.2021011) at the 21st European Financial Management Association Meeting in Barcelona over 27-30 June 2012.

The event on 13 June 2012 will feature PhD students from Leicester and other universities presenting papers within three themes: ‘Media and Development’, ‘Production, Consumption and Representation’ and ‘Media and Politics’. The welcome address will be given by Professor Barrie Gunter, Head of Department.

The conference aims to celebrate the diverse research interests held by PhD research students in the Department and provide students with an opportunity to reach out and establish links with other researchers working in similar disciplines from other departments and universities.

Funding for the free event comes from the Graduate School Researcher Development Fund and the Department of Media and Communication. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

In 596AD, Pope Gregory sent a mission to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons. His plan was to establish two Archbishoprics: one in the south at Canterbury and one in the north at York. In the early 7th century another Pope, Honorius I, actually sent vestments to York for the investiture of an Archbishop, but more than a century after the original ‘Gregorian Plan’ there was still only one Archbishop in England.

Bede, the greatest of English Medieval scholars, knew of Pope Gregory’s original plan and lobbied hard for the establishment of an Archbishopric in North England. As evidence, he had original Papal documents concerning Honorius’ gift of the vestments, which had been found in the Vatican archives and conveyed to Bede by a diligent London priest, Nothhelm, who was himself named Archbishop of Canterbury in 735.

'The Venerable Bede Translates John' by James Doyle Penrose, exhibited in 1902 (image: Wikipedia)

On the way from Rome to Northumbria, Nothhelm stopped off in what is now Luxembourg to visit a bishop named Willibrord and showed him the old letters from Pope Honorius. Willibrord went to the trouble of copying the documents. And, more than 1,300 years later, those copies were discovered in a dusty archive, providing a unique insight into Bede’s world.

In her Professorial Inaugural Lecture tomorrow on Bede and the origins of the Archbishopric of York, Joanna Story, Professor of Early Medieval History in our School of Historical Studies will examine these amazing documents and what they tell us about not only Bede but also the knowledge networks which existed between Rome and the rest of Europe in the 7th and 8th centuries.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, takes place in the Ken Edwards Building, Lecture Theatre 1, at 5.30pm. For more information, please contact inaugural@le.ac.uk

Professor Story teaches a module on 'The Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon Northumbria' which was recently discussed by our student blogger Tom.

Bright Futures is “an industry-leading consultancy in the fields of graduate recruitment, graduate scheme implementation, on-campus engagement and improving graduate employability.” They have student-run societies in 45 British universities with a membership of 17,000 students, all working to help students land that ‘dream job’.

The Leicester branch won the Careers Collaboration Award which “represents the strong message that society collaboration with Careers Services is essential. Leicester scooped up this award with their fantastic and consistent relationship with Leicester Careers Service”. Our students were also shortlisted for the ‘Most Inclusive’ Award.

Arthur Odoom, President, and Josh Dade, Events Manager, received the award at a ceremony last month.

Soundbite

Free lunchtime entertainment from Soar Valley Music Centre.

• Embrace Arts, 12.45pm, free, More information

Bede and the origins of the Archbishopric of York

Public inaugural lecture by Professor Joanna Story (School of Historical Studies)

• Ken Edwards Building, Lecture Theatre 1, 5.30pm, free, More information

Wednesday 30 May 2012

National Conference in Medicine for the Elderly

Organised by the Stroke Research Group.

• Gilbert Murray Hall, More information

Geography Postgraduate Open Event

Find out about postgrad opportunities in the department.

• Bennett Building, 2.00pm, More information

Black Baudelaires, Bohemias and the Bronx: Experiences and Perceptions of South African Cities, 1940s to 1960s

Centre for Urban History Annual Lecture by Vivian Bickford-Smith (University of Cape Town)

• Attenborough Seminar Block, Lecture Theatre 3, 5.30pm, free, More information

Thursday 31 May 2012

CLEAPSS Chemical Safety

One-day CPD course for secondary teachers, at the Science Learning Centre East Midlands.

• School of Education, £95, More information

Collaborative Approaches to Science ITE

One-day conference organised by the Science Learning Centre East Midlands and the Association for Science Education.

• Science Learning Centre, More information

Sunday 3 June 2012

Writing Europe before 1450: A Colloquium

Three-day conference by School of English and University of Bergen's Medieval Research Centre

• University of Bergen, More information

Ongoing exhibitions

Games People Play

Sport-inspired media by East Midlands and Indian artists.

• Embrace Arts, 8 May - 29 June 2012, More information

Keeping the Peace: 650 years serving the community

Touring exhibition: a fascinating look at the ancient role of the magistrate and the history behind its firm foundation..

• School of Law, 16 April-30 May 2012, free, More information

The Order of Things

Material from Leicester Arts and Museum Service, curated by Museum Studies postgraduates.

• School of Museum Studies, 19 University Road, until 17 June, More information

Iris Tinto, who studied part-time at the University’s Institute of Lifelong Learning, last week won an Adult Learners' Week regional award for the East Midlands.

As Iris raised two children, providing them with opportunities that she had missed as a child, it made her realise that she wanted to fulfil her potential through education. Experiences from her own life, a passion for helping others and a real desire to learn, led Iris to embark on a part-time BA (Hons) degree in Counselling at our Institute of Lifelong Learning in 2005. Although her self-belief and confidence was low at the beginning, Iris had a wealth of life experience from which to draw, which helped in her learning. Iris gained a first class degree, her research has been put forward for publication and she will formally graduate this year.

Iris now co-runs a counselling partnership, and is working towards formal accreditation. She is also running therapy groups for disadvantaged parents at a Sure Start centre, as well as helping others through mental health charity, Mind, and in collaboration with Age UK.

The Adult Learners’ Week Awards celebrate the achievements of outstanding adults that have transformed their lives through learning.

• University Press Release
  

A student on this year’s Creative Writing certificate at Vaughan College is to pitch his first novel to a panel of leading agents this weekend. Mark Wright’s book 'Rock a Bye Baby Blues', originally workshopped as part of the course, is the first work in his proposed Detective J T Ellington series.

Tomorrow (26 May) he will be pitching his novel to three leading literary agents at the Bristol Crimefest, one of the country’s largest books festivals. He’ll be facing the experienced representatives of three of the foremost agencies in crime fiction: Darley Anderson Literary TV & Film Agency, Wade & Doherty Literary Agency and DHH Literary Agency.

Mark has already been on BBC Radio Leicester and in the Leicester Mercury to talk about his book and his experience at Vaughan College. The College’s Certificate of Higher Education in Creative Writing has produced several published writers and award-winning titles, and we hope that Mark will be added to these lists very soon. Keep an eye on his Twitter page to find out.

The centre brings together physical scientists, climate scientists, ecologists, hydrologists, social scientists, computer scientist and mathematicians in a unified research effort which will help government agencies, businesses and decision makers deal with the impact of climate change.

With its activities financially supported by the Royal Society, the European Commission, ESA, NERC and DEFRA as well as the University, the centre was established in January and will be formally launched with an event on 28 September 2012 that will include invited speakers and a poster competition.

The centre is already involved with a number of projects including GIONET, the European Centre of Excellence for Earth Observation Research Training, and G-STEP, the University’s space technology knowledge exchange programme.

Hope Against Cancer was established in 2002 to raise funds to support local cancer research at the universities and hospitals to directly benefit cancer patients in Leicestershire and Rutland.  Over the past decade it has raised more than £2.4 million and funded 29 research fellowships. Johnson, who famously led England to World Cup victory in 2003, is a patron of the charity.

The new Clinical Trials Unit, which has a treatment area for eight patients, two clinic rooms, a pharmacy area and a small laboratory, is a collaboration between the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

It will enable University and NHS cancer researchers to conduct specialised early phase clinical studies, providing cutting edge cancer research for the patients of Leicester and Rutland, and also receive referrals from the rest of the UK.

• Cancer research at the University of Leicester
• University press release