News
Rachel Lumley of GIAH Ltd
Joyce Longcake may not have green fingers, but her computing skills have given a real boost to one new local company. Joyce graduated with first-class honours in applied computing and has just completed a ten-week placement with GIAH—Grow it at Home Limited, implementing a portal for their new online ‘growing encyclopedia’
www.giahpedia.com
The company is the brainchild of Longtown-based novice grower Rachel Lumley, who has ambitions to promote and encourage sustainability in food production. When she couldn’t easily find the appropriate growing information to begin ‘growing it at home’ last year, she identified the need for an ‘online growing community’ where experts in each field could add articles and share expertise for the benefit of keen, time-scarce inexperienced growers. However, she lacked the computing expertise necessary to build such a complex website—and that’s where Joyce and Charles Dobson, her lecturer, came in.
Joyce Longcake with Rachel’s dog ‘Ratty’
With support from the university’s Innovation Project and the NWDA’s Innovation Voucher schemes, Rachel found that a recent graduate could
be recruited to complete the web development for her budding company, working under the expert supervision of a university tutor.
She says: “Joyce has done a fantastic job to deliver the
giahpedia.com portal to the vast brief set. She has worked tirelessly to an extremely high standard and is a great ambassador for the University of Cumbria.
“I hope I have rightly identified that there is a growing community out there who want to see an interactive encyclopedia of their experience, trials, tribulations, hints and tips flourish.”
The outcome has been a win-win situation, also allowing Joyce to further her practical experience. She explains: “When I completed my degree, I applied to the university’s Innovation Project as I was keen to use my new-found skills and expand my portfolio. I think, at first, none of us realised how complex this brief was going to become. Rachel had a vision of how she wanted the website to perform and I was happy to work hard to bring it to fruition. I’m very proud of the result!”
Cite them right!
Graham Shields, University of Cumbria LISS Learning Advisor, and his co-author Richard Pears, signed copies of a new edition of their book Cite them right: The essential referencing guide at an event in the Gateway building, Lancaster campus on 30 September. The book is renowned as the most comprehensive yet easy-to-use guide to referencing available and tutors rely on the advice to guide their students in the skills of identifying and referencing information sources and avoiding plagiarism.
(left to right): Suzanne Burywood, Richard Pears, Jean Nicholson (University of Cumbria bookshop manager) and Graham Shields
This new edition has new and expanded content, especially in relation to latest electronic sources. Over the years it has grown both in size and popularity and is currently in the Amazon list of top 100 books.
Co-author Richard Pears has worked in public and academic libraries for over 15 years and is an academic liaison librarian at Durham University.
Graham said, “It was a great opportunity to meet the students and staff and get some first-hand feedback. This is the eighth edition of the book to be printed and it seems to be going from strength to strength.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24