Sustainability in fashion is much debated and there is no 'one size fits all' solution. Researchers at the Centre for Fashion Science at London College of Fashion and The Open University are one step closer to defining what it is to be sustainable to help the fashion industry revolutionise the way it designs through a new model of Considerate Design.

Clothes are well travelled commodities with brief lives, never before has fashion been so fast and so disposable, a situation that cannot be sustained. Despite being one of the most complex supply chains in modern manufacturing, fashion has proved itself to be highly responsive to the need for change and has the potential to move quickly towards becoming one of the worlds most ecologically aware and transparent industries – it just needs some help getting there.

The Considerate Design development team is led by Professor Sandy Black, Director of the Centre for Fashion Science at London College of Fashion in collaboration with Dr Claudia Eckert of The Open University, and Dr David Wynn of the Engineering Design Centre, Cambridge University with expert help from fashion and materials researchers at London College of Fashion. Considerate Design makes sustainability accessible to fashion designers, empowering them to make informed decisions as part of their design process. It examines new methods of manufacturing for personalised fashion with long lasting appeal to consumers, aiming to reduce consumption and enhance delight.

It has done this by recognising the power of the designer to influence the end product by developing a tool kit. The Considerate Design approach enables the designer to visualise the potential environmental footprint of their product in relation to factors such as materials, method of manufacturing and disposal using a simple visual tool. Through making better design decisions the designer is able to edit out the 'bad choices' for the consumer before the product even hits the shelves.

One of the strengths of Considerate Design has been the collaboration between subjects groups that rarely work together. By fusing fashion, science and engineering Considerate Design has developed new ways of creating personalised fashion products. Through 'process modelling,' (developed by the Cambridge University Engineering Design Centre) as used in the British aerospace industry, designers of bespoke fashion products can predict the real cost of their design, time and labour.

Dr Claudia Eckert, Senior Lecturer in Design at The Open University said: "By using a design modelling tool, we can ensure that designers are in control of their processes when offering customisation of their designs. Designers are often under pressure to offer designs at a particular price, and because of the time investment customisation requires, they can end up making no profit on commissions. Personalisation needs to be economically viable for both the producer and customers and by applying engineering techniques like design modelling, designers will be able to better assess the risk associated with customisation."

Three case-studies (detailed below) bring the research alive and examine the design processes behind producing a considerate product that puts the individual, the environment and the entire life cycle of the product at the forefront. Each item focuses on reducing waste, using locally sourced and manufactured raw materials (less fashion miles), utilising new technology and bespoke products tailored to the individual which increases the life span of the product and promotes the ethos of buying less but buying better:

• Knit to Fit® (Prof. Sandy Black and Dr. Penelope Watkins) Seamless garment knitting for comfort and personalised fit utilising advanced knitting technology.
• Bespoke Bags (Dr. Frances Geesin and Steven Harkin) Luxury bespoke functional bags using novel materials and ergonomically designed to fit the body.
• Evolving Textiles (Philip Delamore and industry partners Freedom Of Creation, Complex Matters and EOS with Warwick University) Rapid 3D manufacturing for textile like structures which conform to the body.

To see first hand how Considerate Design can revolutionise the fashion industry, please join us for a breakfast briefing on Thursday 25 March 2010 from 9.30am at London College of Fashion.

For further information or to attend the event, please contact Rebecca Munro, Media Relations Manager at London College of Fashion (details right)

Editor's Notes
Considerate Design for Personalised Fashion
The Considerate Design for Personalised Fashion project is part of the Designing for the 21st Century initiative jointly funded by the UK research councils AHRC (Arts and Humanities) and EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences). The Considerate Design development team is led by Prof Sandy Black, director of the Centre for Fashion Science at LCF in collaboration with Dr Claudia Eckert of The Open University, and Dr David Wynn of the Engineering Design Centre, Cambridge University.

Find out about the beetle with shotgun holes in its wings, which was found in the Museum's collections.

A new African fish that was unveiled at Commonwealth celebrations yesterday, goes on display at the Natural History Museum later this week.

The dramatic, pioneering and often surprising scientific work of the Natural History Museum, UK, will be revealed to all in a new BBC television series, Museum of Life, starting on Thursday 18 March 2010.

The global search for this year’s best wildlife photos ends this week when entries to the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition close on Monday 8 March 2010.

The first images of live individuals of 4 new spiny eels are revealed by a Natural History Museum scientist today.

The Natural History Museum’s Darwin Centre has been nominated for the Art Fund Prize.

Today is the start of the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese New Year, and the South China tiger is the Natural History Museum's Species of the day.

Is that a fang or a goat horn you found on the beech? Find out with the help of the Natural History Museum’s new online identification forums, launched today.

The world’s smallest species of eel-loach fish has been discovered by a Natural History Museum scientist and his colleague this month and is featured on the Museum's Species of the day today.

Today is World Wetlands Day, and the Natural History Museum’s Species of the day highlights a species whose survival is so closely linked to a specific wetland that changes in its habitat mean it is now extinct in the wild.

It is now possible to work out the colour of dinosaurs and ancient birds as the first evidence of their colour-causing structures is revealed. Dr Paul Barrett, dinosaur and fossil expert at the Natural History Museum, comments on the research.

A press statement from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition office at the Natural History Museum regarding the disqualification of the image, the storybook wolf, the 2009 overall competition winner

The Cretaceous–Tertiary mass extinction, which wiped out the dinosaurs and more than half of species on Earth, was caused by an asteroid colliding with Earth and not massive volcanic activity, according to a comprehensive review of all the available evidence, published today in the journal Science.

A panel of 41 international experts, including UK researchers from Imperial College London, the University of Cambridge, University College London and the Open University reviewed 20 years' worth of research to determine the cause of the Cretaceous–Tertiary (KT) extinction, which happened around 65 million years ago. The extinction wiped out more than half of all species on the planet, including the dinosaurs, bird-like pterosaurs and large marine reptiles, clearing the way for mammals to become the dominant species on Earth.

Today's review of the evidence shows that the extinction was caused by a massive asteroid slamming into Earth at Chicxulub (pronounced chick- shoo-loob) in Mexico. The asteroid, which was around 15 kilometres wide, is believed to have hit Earth with a force one billion times more powerful than the atomic bomb at Hiroshima. It would have blasted material at high velocity into the atmosphere, triggering a chain of events that caused a global winter, wiping out much of life on Earth in a matter of days.

Scientists have previously argued about whether the extinction was caused by the asteroid or by volcanic activity in the Deccan Traps in India, where there were a series of super volcanic eruptions that lasted approximately 1.5 million years. These eruptions spewed 1,100,000 km3 of basalt lava across the Deccan Traps, which would have been enough to fill the Black Sea twice, and were thought to have caused a cooling of the atmosphere and acid rain on a global scale.

In the new study, scientists analysed the work of palaeontologists, geochemists, climate modellers, geophysicists and sedimentologists who have been collecting evidence about the KT extinction over the last 20 years. Geological records show that the event that triggered the extinction destroyed marine and land ecosystems rapidly, according to the researchers, who conclude that the Chicxulub asteroid impact is the only plausible explanation for this.

Despite evidence for relatively active volcanism in Deccan Traps at the time, marine and land ecosystems showed only minor changes within the 500,000 years before the time of the KT extinction. Furthermore, computer models and observational data suggest that the release of gases such as sulphur into the atmosphere after each volcanic eruption in the Deccan Traps would have had a short lived effect on the planet. These would not cause enough damage to create a rapid mass extinction of land and marine species.

Dr Joanna Morgan, co-author of the review from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London, said: “We now have great confidence that an asteroid was the cause of the KT extinction. This triggered large-scale fires, earthquakes measuring more than 10 on the Richter scale, and continental landslides, which created tsunamis. However, the final nail in the coffin for the dinosaurs happened when blasted material was ejected at high velocity into the atmosphere. This shrouded the planet in darkness and caused a global winter, killing off many species that couldn't adapt to this hellish environment.”

Dr Gareth Collins, another co-author from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London, added: “The asteroid was about the size of the Isle of Wight and hit Earth 20 times faster than a speeding bullet. The explosion of hot rock and gas would have looked like a huge ball of fire on the horizon, grilling any living creature in the immediate vicinity that couldn't find shelter. Ironically, while this hellish day signalled the end of the 160 million year reign of the dinosaurs, it turned out to be a great day for mammals, who had lived in the shadow of the dinosaurs prior to this event. The KT extinction was a pivotal moment in Earth's history, which ultimately paved the way for humans to become the dominant species on Earth.”

In the review, the panel sifted through past studies to analyse the evidence that linked the asteroid impact and volcanic activity with the KT extinction. One key piece of evidence was the abundance of iridium in geological samples around the world from the time of the extinction. Iridium is very rare in Earth's crust and very common in asteroids. Immediately after the iridium layer, there is a dramatic decline in fossil abundance and species, indicating that the KT extinction followed very soon after the asteroid hit.

Another direct link between the asteroid impact and the extinction is evidence of 'shocked' quartz in geological records. Quartz is shocked when hit very quickly by a massive force and these minerals are only found at nuclear explosion sites and at meteorite impacts sites. The team say that an abundance of shocked quartz in rock layers all around the world at the KT boundary lends further weight to their conclusions that a massive meteorite impact happened at the time of the mass extinction.

The Open University (OU) and UNISON this week (2 March) formally renewed their partnership to increase participation in education among public sector workers.

The OU and UNISON have been working together since 1997, and the signing today of a Memorandum of Understanding by Martin Bean, Vice-Chancellor of the OU, and Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, at the union's headquarters in London recognises the success of the partnership and the continued commitment of both organisations to widen access to education and encourage lifelong learning.

Martin Bean said: “The Open University offers higher education that fits around working peoples' lives. We are really proud of our innovative partnership with the UK's largest public sector union and with 4,500 UNISON members studying with us to date, it's clearly a success. We look forward to continuing this relationship for many years to come.”

Working together, the OU and UNISON negotiate with employers to encourage sponsorship of staff for education and development opportunities, identify workforce trends to inform and update course curriculums, invest in research and development to improve education in the sector and have successfully developed partnerships with local authorities to provide tailored education programmes for staff.

Dave Prentis said: “Dave Prentis, UNISON's General Secretary, said: “Thousands of public sector workers, many without formal qualifications, are already improving their prospects by studying online with The Open University. This is the sort of investment we need to help public sector workers build a better future.

"Everyone is entitled to an education and it is proven that OU courses lead to a boost in performance and morale. We have the opportunity to create a new generation of web-based workers' education opportunities during a time of economic difficulty, when workers need it most. The OU offers a flexible, high quality, value for money alternative for those who do not want, or who are unable to, go to college or university.”

So far over 4,500 UNISON members have studied through the partnership. Benefits to UNISON members include a 10% discount on all OU health and social care courses as well as many others across the OU, access to additional study support and advice on career and progression routes. Information about the partnership and what it offers can be found on the new UNISON/OU website, which has been developed for members to provide information about funding, courses, free learning resources and different ways to learn: www.open.ac.uk/choose/unison

ENDS

Research into the impact of technology on language learning has found that the growing use of English in social networking sites is creating a threat to the learning of other languages, of more formal English and even to learners' first languages. The researchers, from across Europe, also found that the use of gaming holds great promise, but is to date largely unexploited in language learning. The European Commission initiated study investigated the impact of ICT and new media on language learning, across eight European countries.

The study found that the rise of virtual worlds and of massive multiplayer role playing games hold great potential for the use of different languages and learning in this informal environment. The study also recommends further research into the development of Personalised Learning Environments (PLEs), where users generate content, use informal learning models and environments and control their own learning.

The researchers make recommendations to strengthen language teachers' professional development and ICT literacy; to innovate pedagogy through technology; to work on cross-sectoral initiatives; and to strengthen communication in creating awareness of successful initiatives and best practice.

Anne Stevens, Senior Lecturer in Modern Languages at The Open University, was the UK academic lead and says that language teaching practices are not yet fully integrated into technological innovation and change: “Many language teachers are daunted by the speed of technological development and the popularity of new social networking sites, but strengthening knowledge and confidence in this area through training – and integrating ICT into language learning best practice – will bring benefits for both the learner and the teacher.”

Presenting an overview of formal and informal language learning, the research found that, in spite of large geographical differences in the take-up of new technologies for language learning and the attitudes to its use, there are some universal tendencies. Through increased awareness about the benefits of innovative methods and concerted measures on national and regional levels, more people could be involved in language learning and make faster progress with the help of tailor-made technological support.

Notes to Editors
The ownership and the copyright of this study belong to the European Commission.

More than 300 children spent a night at the Museum last weekend in the Natural History Museum's first ever sleepover event, Dino Snores.

Open University academic Dr Nigel Warburton has been appointed match referee for the 2010 re-staging of the classic Monty Python 'Philosophers' Football' clash of 'Greeks' versus 'Germans'.

'Socrates Wanderers' versus 'Nietzsche Albion,' is scheduled to take place on Sunday, 9 May 2010 at Wingate & Finchley's Harry Abrahams Stadium in North London. Inspired by the famous 1972 Monty Python sketch, and with the full backing of the surviving Pythons, this tribute/replay will bring together a range of well-known UK intellectuals, comedians, broadcasters, writers and journalists in aid of the theme of 'More reasoning and creative thinking for our children'.

Dr Nigel Warburton, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at The Open University, said: “Philosophy isn't a spectator sport: in order to study it you have to do it - it's no use sitting on the sidelines and clapping politely.”

So far the team sheet includes comedians Mark Steel, Tony Hawks, Arthur Smith, Andy Hamilton and Ariane Sherine, as well as assorted footballers, sorry, philosopher! Julian Baggini, Nigel Warburton, Simon Glendinning, Dr Stephen Law, Angie Hobbs and Mark Vernon. Supporters on the touchlines include sociologist and Radio 4 Thinking Allowed presenter Laurie Taylor, the BBC's John Humphrys, footballing legend Gary Lineker and educationalist and author Anthony Seldon.

Nigel continues: “I was more of a rugby league player than a footballer (GB students and Cambridge University), so it's probably just as well I'm refereeing rather than playing. I'm hoping I can rely on reason and argument to control the game. But philosophers and comedians specialise in being difficult, so I'm anticipating dissent. I'm extremely grateful Alex Ferguson hasn't yet committed to this match.”

Former England manager Graham Taylor will be managing the 'Socrates Wanderers' First XI side, while professional Philosopher AC Grayling, a man who cheerfully admits to never even managing the kids in his playground side, will be his rival on the opposing 'Nietzsche Albion' team.

Speaking from the touchline as he put his squad through a strenuous regime of calisthenics and anti-Sophist argumentation, Graham Taylor comments: “As the sole genuine footballer in the Greek team, I'm definitely a surprise appointment. I'm well versed in tactical worries, but need to hone my approach to metaphysical concerns, clearly.”

Meanwhile, AC Grayling, claims to be unphased by the appointment of the famous England Manager. “The German squad have experienced team problems but I'm not worried,” he reports from his study, knee-deep in unwashed kit and copies of Also Sprach Zarathustra. “Having already beaten England's famous midfield trio, Bentham, Locke and Hobbes, I feel confident in their forthcoming performance. We Moderns expect to give those Ancients a good kicking – Taylor at the helm or no.”

The Philosophy Shop, who arranged the match, helps philosophy graduates conduct practical philosophy sessions for primary school children as part of a drive to boost their critical reasoning skills from a very early age. This is in order to better support young people's learning and development and also enable kids from all backgrounds to enjoy the intellectual excitement that comes from doing philosophy.

Supporters' messages just in
"A great footballer achieves that status as much through his ability to think on his feet and read a game as it does from training or innate ability. How could anyone not agree that teaching children to think about everything in their lives wouldn't be just as useful?"
- Gary Lineker, Broadcaster, English Football Hall Of Fame Inductee. Reported to be planning move to top Brazilian team. Top Brazilian team as yet unaware of this.

“I didn't think I would ever be managing the Socrates Wanderers. But the project is an important one, as well as being a fun event.”
- Former Watford, Aston Villa And England Gaffer Graham Taylor. Manager.

"Children are philosophers by nature and should be given every opportunity to think and enquire and become little Socrates in their own rights."
– Philosopher AC Grayling. Manager. Reported To Be Banned From The Touchline For Barracking The Fourth Official For Crass Determinism.

Further information and interview requests
Former England manager Graham Taylor is available for interview about the upcoming Philosophy Match. For further information and for interviews, please contact Amanda Jane PR (details right).

Electric cars, vans and buses could be on the streets in Milton Keynes thanks to a £4.9m award from the Office of Low Emission Vehicles to develop a charging infrastructure for electric cars. The Open University is a partner in the programme and part of the Milton Keynes Council Consortium.

The programme, Plugged in Places, will help create a national charging network for electric cars and vans. Milton Keynes has also recently obtained funds for the introduction of nine electric buses. These initiatives link closely to the University's energy and sustainability research and enterprise agenda and its work to support the local community.

Stephen Potter, Professor of Transport Strategy at The Open University said: “The Plugged in Places programme will provide an advance wave of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. The Open University's contribution will be to engage with the local community, distribute information about the project and find out if it has changed their behaviour.

During the first stage, a core grid of charging points will be installed across the city centre. The second stage will see the introduction of fast charge points and additional standard charge points beyond the city centre, while the final stage will involve a roll out across the borough.

The consortium will work closely with local businesses, organisations, public and community groups to support the installation of charge points on their premises, integrating the provision with workplace travel plans, employer pool cars and low carbon car clubs.

This project is part of an overall Low Carbon Living Agenda for Milton Keynes, which also encompasses buildings, energy, and waste. The overall vision is to make Milton Keynes a national and international exemplar for low carbon living.

Editor's Notes:
The Open University's partners are the Milton Keynes Economy and Learning Partnership, Milton Keynes Council, Invest Milton Keynes, the South East England Development Agency and Cranfield University.

The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning. Since it began in 1969, the OU has taught more than two million students and currently has more than 229,000 current students, including more than 25,000 overseas, learning in their own time using course materials, online activities and content, web-based forums and tutorials and through tutor groups and residential schools.

The OU has been consistently highly rated for teaching quality, and has been at the top of student satisfaction rankings in the National Student Survey since it was introduced in 2005. 70% of students are in full-time or part-time employment, and three out of four FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff to take OU courses.

The OU supports a vibrant research portfolio and in the UK's latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008), the University climbed 23 places to 43rd, securing a place in the UK's top 50 higher education institutions.

Regarded as Britain's major e-learning institution, the OU is a world leader in developing technology to increase access to education on a global scale. Its vast 'open content portfolio' includes free study units on OpenLearn, the Open University's free learning website, which has had more than 10 million unique visitors, and materials on iTunes U, which now has 13 million downloads. The OU has a 40 year partnership with the BBC which has moved from late-night lectures in the 1970s to prime-time programmes such as Life, Coast, James May's Big Ideas and The Money Programme.

New research by The Open University, King's College London, the University of Cambridge and Birkbeck College suggests that the causes of autism and intellectual disability are mostly distinct.

The researchers found that behavioural and personality characteristics related to autism (also called 'autistic traits') are strongly genetic. Most importantly, they found that the genetic influences on autistic traits were largely distinct from the genetic influences on intellectual difficulties. This fits with the finding that although autism runs in families, relatives of children with autism do not tend to have intellectual disability.

“Autism and intellectual disability often occur together, and this has made many researchers think that the conditions must share the same genetic causes. Our research challenges this assumption,” says Dr Rosa Hoekstra, Lecturer in Psychology at The Open University, who led the study.

Autism can be diagnosed in people with all types of intellectual ability: some have profound learning difficulties, but others are extremely intelligent. The findings indicate that the characteristics of autism and intellectual disability are largely independent of each other. This contrasts with figures from clinics, which suggest that intellectual disability is common in people with an autism diagnosis. This may be because autism in very able children is going undetected.

”Diagnosis in able children is often late, after a long referral process,” says Dr Hoekstra. ”It is important that teachers and health workers are alert to the signs of autism in able children, so that problems can be detected early and appropriate services can be provided for the children and their families.”

It remains a puzzle why intellectual impairment is so common in people with autism, and whether this in part reflects a bias to diagnose autism in lower functioning individuals more readily than in intellectually able people.

Dr Hoekstra teamed up with two world-leading autism experts Professor Simon Baron-Cohen and Professor Francesca Happé from the University of Cambridge and King's College London, respectively; and Dr Angelica Ronald from Birkbeck College – well-known for her study of twins and autism – to investigate the association between extreme autistic traits and intellectual disability, and to see if both traits share the same causes.

Rather than studying the association in children with diagnosed autism, in which the results may be biased, the scientists looked at the association between autistic traits and intelligence in a group of approximately 8,000 community-based twin pairs. Parents and teachers of the twins taking part in King's College's Twins Early Development Study were asked to rate the autistic traits of their children using a specially devised questionnaire, and the twins also completed intelligence tests. Hoekstra and her colleagues found that these two measures only showed a modest overlap, even in the children who showed many autistic traits or in the children who struggled most with the intelligence test.

Because the study focussed on twins, the researchers could also examine whether autistic traits and intelligence shared the same causes. Identical twins share all their genetic code, whilst non-identical twins, on average, share half of their genes, just like ordinary brothers and sisters. If identical twins resemble each other more closely than non-identical twins, this provides evidence for genetic influences. The researchers found that the strong genetic influences on autistic traits were largely distinct from the genetic influences on intellectual difficulties.

Notes to Editors
Full references to the relevant research papers:

Hoekstra, R.A., Happé, F., Baron-Cohen, S., Ronald, A., 2009. Association between extreme autistic traits and intellectual disability: insights from a general population twin study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 195, pp 531-536. See: http://oro.open.ac.uk/19204

Hoekstra, R.A., Happé, F., Baron-Cohen, S., Ronald, A., In press. Limited genetic covariance between autistic traits and intelligence: findings from a longitudinal twin study. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics. Published online, DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.31066.

For anyone wishing to find out more about autism:

The OU offers a science course Understanding The Autism Spectrum (SK124), which has already attracted many students, including parents of a child with autism as well as people on the autism spectrum themselves.

About research at The Open University:

- The Open University climbed 23 places to 43rd in the UK's latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008), securing a place in the UK's top 50 higher education institutions. Results showed that more than 50% of the University's research is internationally excellent (3*), with a significant proportion world-leading (4*).

- The Open University is the UK's largest university and the world leader in distance education, and is last year celebrated its 40th anniversary. It has more than 200,000 students in over 40 countries. Of these, more than 1,100 are postgraduate research students.