#any use? What do we know about how teachers and doctors learn through social media use?

This scoping literature review describes the landscape of recent publications (2007-2016) about how teachers and doctors learn through social media to identify whether learning was being considered and, if so, how evidence was collected (N=162). Sixty-seven percent (N=108) were teacher-related and thirty-three percent (N=54) doctor-related, covering empirical studies, literature reviews, position articles and letters to academic journals. Empirical studies were dominant – ninety-one percent (N=98) of teacher-related and sixty-one percent (N=33) of doctor-related – with both fields dominated by in-course evaluations and use/attitude studies. Although doctor-related articles focused on professional online behaviour, rather than professional learning, conference communication and information evaluation were interesting areas of enquiry. Despite professional interest in social media in these professions, there is a dearth of academic studies about their benefits for teacher and doctor learning

iPads as digital platform for medical study: The SAMR model for mapping impact

Conventional educational wisdom would caution against technological innovation without having all pedagogical outcomes fully mapped out. Our experience introducing iPads into medical education at the undergraduate level demonstrates significant augmentation over the traditional learning medium and manifests a digital platform enabling previously-unforeseen learning benefits. This study uses Puentedura’s SAMR model of technological intervention to describe and categorise these benefits, as well as to illustrate the pleasing successes possible through an experimental and innovative approach

Multimedia resources for teaching chemistry

A series of short, focused multimedia resources was developed based on areas of the chemistry degree course with which students often have difficulty. The resources were generated by undergraduate project students using Microsoft PowerPoint and Adobe Connect. Incorporation of animations and other interactive elements was found to be difficult. Evaluation of student attitudes towards the resources revealed that they were appreciated by students and were particularly useful for distance learners and for examination revision. A number of improvements were suggested such as the inclusion of more in-depth content. The development of these types of resources can be carried out by final year undergraduate project students

The challenge to professionals of using social media: teachers in England negotiating personal-professional identities

Social media are a group of technologies such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn which offer people chances to interact with one another in new ways. Teachers, like other members of society, do not all use social media. Some avoid, some experiment with and others embrace social media enthusiastically. As a means of communication available to everyone in modern society, social media is challenging teachers, as other professionals in society, to decide whether to engage with these tools and, if so, on what basis – as an individual (personally), or as a teacher (professionally). Although teachers are guided by schools and codes of practice, teachers as individuals are left to decide whether and how to explore social media for either their own or their students' learning. This paper analyses evidence from interviews with 12 teachers from England about their use of social media as to the challenges they experience in relation to using the media as professional teachers.. Teachers are in society’s spotlight in terms of examples of inappropriate use of social media but also under peer pressure to connect. This paper explores their agency in responding. The paper focuses on how teachers deal with tensions between their personal and professional use of social media. These tensions are not always perceived as negative and some teachers' accounts revealed a unity in their identities when using social media. The paper reflects on the implications of such teachers' identities in relation to the future of social media use in education

Taking the pulse of Earth's tropical forests using networks of highly distributed plots

Tropical forests are the most diverse and productive ecosystems on Earth. While better understanding of these forests is critical for our collective future, until quite recently efforts to measure and monitor them have been largely disconnected. Networking is essential to discover the answers to questions that transcend borders and the horizons of funding agencies. Here we show how a global community is responding to the challenges of tropical ecosystem research with diverse teams measuring forests tree-by-tree in thousands of long-term plots. We review the major scientific discoveries of this work and show how this process is changing tropical forest science. Our core approach involves linking long-term grassroots initiatives with standardized protocols and data management to generate robust scaled-up results. By connecting tropical researchers and elevating their status, our Social Research Network model recognises the key role of the data originator in scientific discovery. Conceived in 1999 with RAINFOR (South America), our permanent plot networks have been adapted to Africa (AfriTRON) and Southeast Asia (T-FORCES) and widely emulated worldwide. Now these multiple initiatives are integrated via ForestPlots.net cyber-infrastructure, linking colleagues from 54 countries across 24 plot networks. Collectively these are transforming understanding of tropical forests and their biospheric role. Together we have discovered how, where and why forest carbon and biodiversity are responding to climate change, and how they feedback on it. This long-term pan-tropical collaboration has revealed a large long-term carbon sink and its trends, as well as making clear which drivers are most important, which forest processes are affected, where they are changing, what the lags are, and the likely future responses of tropical forests as the climate continues to change. By leveraging a remarkably old technology, plot networks are sparking a very modern revolution in tropical forest science. In the future, humanity can benefit greatly by nurturing the grassroots communities now collectively capable of generating unique, long-term understanding of Earth's most precious forests. Resumen Los bosques tropicales son los ecosistemas más diversos y productivos del mundo y entender su funcionamiento es crítico para nuestro futuro colectivo. Sin embargo, hasta hace muy poco, los esfuerzos para medirlos y monitorearlos han estado muy desconectados. El trabajo en redes es esencial para descubrir las respuestas a preguntas que trascienden las fronteras y los plazos de las agencias de financiamiento. Aquí mostramos cómo una comunidad global está respondiendo a los desafíos de la investigación en ecosistemas tropicales a través de diversos equipos realizando mediciones árbol por árbol en miles de parcelas permanentes de largo plazo. Revisamos los descubrimientos más importantes de este trabajo y discutimos cómo este proceso está cambiando la ciencia relacionada a los bosques tropicales. El enfoque central de nuestro esfuerzo implica la conexión de iniciativas locales de largo plazo con protocolos estandarizados y manejo de datos para producir resultados que se puedan trasladar a múltiples escalas. Conectando investigadores tropicales, elevando su posición y estatus, nuestro modelo de Red Social de Investigación reconoce el rol fundamental que tienen, para el descubrimiento científico, quienes generan o producen los datos. Concebida en 1999 con RAINFOR (Suramérica), nuestras redes de parcelas permanentes han sido adaptadas en África (AfriTRON) y el sureste asiático (T-FORCES) y ampliamente replicadas en el mundo. Actualmente todas estas iniciativas están integradas a través de la ciber-infraestructura de ForestPlots.net, conectando colegas de 54 países en 24 redes diferentes de parcelas. Colectivamente, estas redes están transformando nuestro conocimiento sobre los bosques tropicales y el rol de éstos en la biósfera. Juntos hemos descubierto cómo, dónde y porqué el carbono y la biodiversidad de los bosques tropicales está respondiendo al cambio climático y cómo se retroalimentan. Esta colaboración pan-tropical de largo plazo ha expuesto un gran sumidero de carbono y sus tendencias, mostrando claramente cuáles son los factores más importantes, qué procesos se ven afectados, dónde ocurren los cambios, los tiempos de reacción y las probables respuestas futuras mientras el clima continúa cambiando. Apalancando lo que realmente es una tecnología antigua, las redes de parcelas están generando una verdadera y moderna revolución en la ciencia tropical. En el futuro, la humanidad puede beneficiarse enormemente si se nutren y cultivan comunidades de investigadores de base, actualmente con la capacidad de generar información única y de largo plazo para entender los que probablemente son los bosques más preciados de la tierra. Resumo Florestas tropicais são os ecossistemas mais diversos e produtivos da Terra. Embora uma boa compreensão destas florestas seja crucial para o nosso futuro coletivo, até muito recentemente os esforços de medições e monitoramento foram amplamente desconexos. É essencial formarmos redes para obtermos respostas que transcendem fronteiras e horizontes de agências financiadoras. Neste estudo nós mostramos como uma comunidade global está respondendo aos desafios da pesquisa de ecossistemas tropicais, com equipes diversas medindo florestas, árvore por árvore, em milhares de parcelas monitoradas à longo prazo. Nós revisamos as maiores descobertas científicas deste trabalho, e mostramos também como este processo está mudando a ciência de florestas tropicais. Nossa abordagem principal envolve unir iniciativas de base a protocolos padronizados e gerenciamento de dados a fim de gerar resultados robustos em escalas ampliadas. Ao conectar pesquisadores tropicais e elevar seus status, nosso modelo de Rede de Pesquisa Social reconhece o papel-chave do produtor dos dados na descoberta científica. Concebida em 1999 com o RAINFOR (América do Sul), nossa rede de parcelas permanentes foi adaptada para África (AfriTRON) e Sudeste asiático (T-FORCES), e tem sido extensamente reproduzida em todo o mundo. Agora estas múltiplas iniciativas estão integradas através de uma infraestrutura cibernética do ForestPlots.net, conectando colegas de 54 países de 24 redes de parcelas. Estas iniciativas estão transformando coletivamente o entendimento das florestas tropicais e seus papéis na biosfera. Juntos nós descobrimos como, onde e por que o carbono e a biodiversidade da floresta estão respondendo às mudanças climáticas, e seus efeitos de retroalimentação. Esta duradoura colaboração pantropical revelou um grande sumidouro de carbono persistente e suas tendências, assim como tem evidenciado quais direcionadores são mais importantes, quais processos florestais são mais afetados, onde eles estão mudando, seus atrasos no tempo de resposta, e as prováveis respostas das florestas tropicais conforme o clima continua a mudar. Dessa forma, aproveitando uma notável tecnologia antiga, redes de parcelas acendem faíscas de uma moderna revolução na ciência das florestas tropicais. No futuro a humanidade pode se beneficiar incentivando estas comunidades basais que agora são coletivamente capazes de gerar conhecimentos únicos e duradouros sobre as florestas mais preciosas da Terra. Résume Les forêts tropicales sont les écosystèmes les plus diversifiés et les plus productifs de la planète. Si une meilleure compréhension de ces forêts est essentielle pour notre avenir collectif, jusqu'à tout récemment, les efforts déployés pour les mesurer et les surveiller ont été largement déconnectés. La mise en réseau est essentielle pour découvrir les réponses à des questions qui dépassent les frontières et les horizons des organismes de financement. Nous montrons ici comment une communauté mondiale relève les défis de la recherche sur les écosystèmes tropicaux avec diverses équipes qui mesurent les forêts arbre après arbre dans de milliers de parcelles permanentes. Nous passons en revue les principales découvertes scientifiques de ces travaux et montrons comment ce processus modifie la science des forêts tropicales. Notre approche principale consiste à relier les initiatives de base à long terme à des protocoles standardisés et une gestion de données afin de générer des résultats solides à grande échelle. En reliant les chercheurs tropicaux et en élevant leur statut, notre modèle de réseau de recherche sociale reconnaît le rôle clé de l'auteur des données dans la découverte scientifique. Conçus en 1999 avec RAINFOR (Amérique du Sud), nos réseaux de parcelles permanentes ont été adaptés à l'Afrique (AfriTRON) et à l'Asie du Sud-Est (T-FORCES) et largement imités dans le monde entier. Ces multiples initiatives sont désormais intégrées via l'infrastructure ForestPlots.net, qui relie des collègues de 54 pays à travers 24 réseaux de parcelles. Ensemble, elles transforment la compréhension des forêts tropicales et de leur rôle biosphérique. Ensemble, nous avons découvert comment, où et pourquoi le carbone forestier et la biodiversité réagissent au changement climatique, et comment ils y réagissent. Cette collaboration pan-tropicale à long terme a révélé un important puits de carbone à long terme et ses tendances, tout en mettant en évidence les facteurs les plus importants, les processus forestiers qui sont affectés, les endroits où ils changent, les décalages et les réactions futures probables des forêts tropicales à mesure que le climat continue de changer. En tirant parti d'une technologie remarquablement ancienne, les réseaux de parcelles déclenchent une révolution très moderne dans la science des forêts tropicales. À l'avenir, l'humanité pourra grandement bénéficier du soutien des communautés de base qui sont maintenant collectivement capables de générer une compréhension unique et à long terme des forêts les plus précieuses de la Terre. Abstrak Hutan tropika adalah di antara ekosistem yang paling produktif dan mempunyai kepelbagaian biodiversiti yang tinggi di seluruh dunia. Walaupun pemahaman mengenai hutan tropika amat penting untuk masa depan kita, usaha-usaha untuk mengkaji dan mengawas hutah-hutan tersebut baru sekarang menjadi lebih diperhubungkan. Perangkaian adalah sangat penting untuk mencari jawapan kepada soalan-soalan yang menjangkaui sempadan dan batasan agensi pendanaan. Di sini kami menunjukkan bagaimana sebuah komuniti global bertindak balas terhadap cabaran penyelidikan ekosistem tropika melalui penglibatan pelbagai kumpulan yang mengukur hutan secara pokok demi pokok dalam beribu-ribu plot jangka panjang. Kami meninjau semula penemuan saintifik utama daripada kerja ini dan menunjukkan bagaimana proses ini sedang mengubah bidang sains hutan tropika. Teras pendekatan kami memberi tumpuan terhadap penghubungan inisiatif akar umbi jangka panjang dengan protokol standar serta pengurusan data untuk mendapatkan hasil skala besar yang kukuh. Dengan menghubungkan penyelidik-penyelidik tropika dan meningkatkan status mereka, model Rangkaian Penyelidikan Sosial kami mengiktiraf kepentingan peranan pengasas data dalam penemuan saintifik. Bermula dengan pengasasan RAINFOR (Amerika Selatan) pada tahun 1999, rangkaian-rangkaian plot kekal kami kemudian disesuaikan untuk Afrika (AfriTRON) dan Asia Tenggara (T-FORCES) dan selanjutnya telah banyak dicontohi di seluruh dunia. Kini, inisiatif-inisiatif tersebut disepadukan melalui infrastruktur siber ForestPlots.net yang menghubungkan rakan sekerja dari 54 negara di 24 buah rangkaian plot. Secara kolektif, rangkaian ini sedang mengubah pemahaman tentang hutan tropika dan peranannya dalam biosfera. Kami telah bekerjasama untuk menemukan bagaimana, di mana dan mengapa karbon serta biodiversiti hutan bertindak balas terhadap perubahan iklim dan juga bagaimana mereka saling bermaklum balas. Kolaborasi pan-tropika jangka panjang ini telah mendedahkan sebuah sinki karbon jangka panjang serta arah alirannya dan juga menjelaskan pemandu-pemandu perubahan yang terpenting, di mana dan bagaimana proses hutan terjejas, masa susul yang ada dan kemungkinan tindakbalas hutan tropika pada perubahan iklim secara berterusan di masa depan. Dengan memanfaatkan pendekatan lama, rangkaian plot sedang menyalakan revolusi yang amat moden dalam sains hutan tropika. Pada masa akan datang, manusia sejagat akan banyak mendapat manfaat jika memupuk komuniti-komuniti akar umbi yang kini berkemampuan secara kolektif menghasilkan pemahaman unik dan jangka panjang mengenai hutan-hutan yang paling berharga di dunia

Change and Development in the West End, Leicester, from 1881 (iBooks)

The essay describes the development of the West End of Leicester from 1860 to 1900, and sets this against local and national contexts.CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE WEST END, LEICESTER FROM 1881 Sharon North MANUFACTURING PASTS www.le.ac.uk/manufacturingpasts Sharon North, University of Leicester This essay is part of the Manufacturing Pasts collection of open-access learning materials, available for download at http://www.le.ac.uk/manufacturingpasts Front page photo: Bruanstone Gate Leicester c. 1983 by chrisdpyrah, Flickr 1953 Ordnance Survey: Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland on MyLeicestershire.org Opposite: Westcotes Latimer St. Leicester 1988 by chrisdpyrah, Flickr CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE WEST END, LEICESTER FROM 1881 Prior to 1881 there was little development along the Narbor-ough Road, south of Braunstone Gate. The following essay de-scribes the development of the area from 1860 to 1900, sets this against local and national contexts and tests this against the ‘sub-urbanisation’ theme covered on the ‘Victorian Cities’ module. F.M.L. Thompson wrote in ‘The Rise of Suburbia’; ‘The nineteenth-century surburban dream was a middle-class dream; the nineteenth-century surburban reality was a social patchwork’ (Thompson 1982). His article gives an overview of contemporaneous research on suburbs. In it he describes the complex layers that determine how and what sort of suburb is created. Thompson twists and turns through the accepted theories of surburbanisation, draw-ing on examples to demonstrate that there is no single explana-tion for the creation of suburbs. He suggests that each suburb is a unique creation attributable to a differing mix of common fea-tures and occurrences. Furthermore he goes on to dispel the ac-cepted myth of a suburb as a single class entity; 1953 ORDNANCE MAP FEATURING WEST BRIDGE OVER RIVER SOAR from myleicestershire.org 2 Change and development in the West End, Leicester from 1881 ’The creation of a single class suburb was an illusion. In part this conclusion is an effect of the boundaries which are cho-sen to define the area of an individual suburb’ (Thompson 1982) This article began to answer some of the questions I had struggled with when researching the development of the West End in Leicester. In the early days of my research the social mix of the area and the pattern its development had taken confused me. Based on previous reading I perceived that there would be clear and obvious reasons for the develop-ment of this suburb, neatly replicating the ‘five important in-fluences’ described by H. J. Dyos in ‘Victorian Suburb’. I also had a mental image of a single class suburb of the type de-scribed by Rodger in ‘Slums and suburbs’, an idyllic setting of ‘semi-detached villas and enclosed gardens’ that ‘inocu-lated its middle-class residents against the harsh realities of downtown life’. I have attempted to work through theories presented by both Dyos (in his work on the development of Camberwell 1961) and Thompson (in his overview of research on suburbs in 1982) and blend this with the evidence I have found in my re-search to piece together the economic, social, geographical and political elements at play that have created the West End suburb. Taking a lead from Thompson, I have, for the pur-pose of the following narrative, defined the boundaries of this suburb myself, to include the an area formerly known as the Westcotes Estates. It is bounded by the Hinckley Road to the north, Narborough Road to the east, the Burton- Leicester Railway Line to the south and Fosse Road to the west. The ‘conditions of development’ described by Dyos are demographic (population growth); increasing ability and will-ingness of people to increase their journey to work and for businesses to move into the suburbs; the availability of capital to finance the suburbs; the quest for social exclusiveness, and finally; the force of local circumstances affecting develop-ment and land ownership (Dyos 1961). The ‘suburb’ I have focussed on is on the west side of the River Soar and the ‘local circumstances’ which apply are those which explain why development of the area in question started later than in other parts of the city. Expansion of the city of Leicester outside the historic city boundaries was not really an issue until 1840. Up to this time urban density sim-ply increased with infilling (Pritchard 1976). In 1841 the population of Leicester was just under 50,000. This is signifi-cant as Thompson notes; ‘..by mid-century it is likely that every place with more than 50,000 inhabitants thought of itself as possessing some sub-urbs’ (Thompson 1982). When from 1840 the city needed to expand it was held back by the river to the west. Access was limited although Braun-stone Gate had been a feature on maps since 1722 as an en-trance to the city. By the mid nineteenth century this area supported a number of residential properties, shops and workshops. Simmons described its hinterland thus; 3 ‘….the Bow Bridge Mills in the 1820s, West Bridge Mills about 1848; and in the fifties a few houses followed along the Hinckley Road and Watts Causeway, renamed King Richards Road. But the total area built up was small’. (Simmons 1974) The river crossing at West Bridge was described as ‘inconven-ient, unsafe and a contributing cause of periodic flooding’ (El-liot 1979) prior to its improvement in 1841. The more intrac-table problem of flooding brought not only its share of mis-ery to local residents but contributed to death and disease in the city. The flood prevention scheme began in 1876 and saw the widening and deepening of the river, cutting of a new mile long channel and rebuilding of West Bridge once more in 1891 (Simmons 1974). Along with the new sewerage sys-tem, this represented a great leap forward in terms of im-proved health and sanitation of the city. For the area west of the river it loosened the stranglehold of poor access enabling factories and commercial enterprises to open up along the Soar Valley. These were close to distribution routes provided by the canal and the Swannington railway that had opened in 1832 to bring coal to the area around the mills and wharves further to the northeast. The improvements were to pave the way for the opening of Great Central Railway in the valley creating employment but requiring the clearance of much working class housing in the area. There were other factors that held back development and ex-pansion into this area, particularly concerning land owner-ship. In the mid nineteenth century the land to the north of King Richards Road was owned by Danet’s Hall estate. This was sold in 1861 and bought by the Leicester Freehold Land Society (Simmons 1974). However, lack of local controls and regulations lead to plans for the ‘respectable’ development of the estate land soon to be thwarted; ‘The ample gardens thus provided for were soon, however, crammed in many cases with an intervening row of cottages, with no road frontage, and approached only through passage-ways built into rows of houses facing onto the street’ (Elliot 1979 p117). 4 Wooden lifting bridge which carried the Leicester and Swanning Rail-way over West Bridge. Photo c1980s by Ned Trifle on Flickr The Westcotes Estate had formerly been the home of the Ruding family but was bought in 1843 by Joseph Harris, a so-licitor from Worthington. The William and Mary mansion house, ‘Westcotes’, situated close to the junction of Hinckley Road, Narborough Road and Braunstone Gate was the only significant building on the estate at this time. These being the ‘local circumstances’, the issue to be addressed is what impact Dyos’s four other ‘important influences’ had on the develop-ment of this area over the next 60 years? Dyos describes population growth as ‘the first and most fun-damental stimulus to suburban development’. Dyos was de-scribing circumstances peculiar to London, which can be-cause of its size and organically different setting be described as sui generis. Provincial towns and cities across the country were, however, experiencing similar growth, albeit at differ-ing times and for differing reasons. In Leicester this growth has been well documented. The population increased rapidly in the period from 1861 to 1901 and in percentage terms most markedly at the beginning of this period in the 1860s (Simmons 1974). This was largely due to the rapid expansion of the boot and shoe industry and industrialisation of hosiery manufacture. Many immigrants to the city came from the sur-rounding countryside and specifically from Northampton and Coventry. Pritchard shows in his study of the spatial structure of the city that in the 1870s the area immediately to the north of Westcotes Estate was expanding rapidly in terms of new housing and that there was also a relatively large pro-portion of immigrants to the city in this area. Some of this growth could no doubt attributed to the development of the Danet’s Hall estate land. Census records from 1881 of Braun-stone Gate provide evidence of this expansion with 41 per-cent (152 of 374) residents in the street recorded as being born outside the city. 25 per cent of residents were employed directly in the shoe, hosiery and worsted yarntrades. How-ever, to what extent this expansion can be described as subur-ban is debatable. It seems more appropriate to use Thomp-son’s description; 5 Braunstone Gate, 9 March 2003. Photo by Colin Hyde on myleicestershire.org ‘..lateral expansion by simple accretion at the town edges of buildings and street patterns that reproduced and continued with the character of the established town, in new quarters with mixed residential, commercial, and industrial functions, and with intermixed residents from different social classes’ (Thompson 1982). As noted previously, Leicester had reached the threshold point at which a city needs to break out into suburbs back in 1841. In the 1860s, Stoneygate on the other side of the city was already emerging as a: ‘..truly suburban location, physically distinct from the main mass of the city’ (Pritchard 1976). At this point in time development of the Westcotes Estate had hardly begun. In 1867, West Leigh was built at the south east corner of the estate (on the Narborough Road and close to the railway line) for Archibald Turner, owner of the elastic web factory on King Richards Road. In the mid 1870s Sub-stantial new homes were built for the expanding Harris fam-ily - Westcotes Grange and Lodge and a few years later, Syke-field, on higher ground further away from the Narborough Road. This indicates that this family, three generations of so-licitors and two of clergymen, were making plans to stay along with many newer immigrants to the city from both the middle and working classes. In Camberwell, Dyos noted that the second stimulus to subur-ban development ‘..came,as it did elsewhere from improved transport facilities’ (Dyos 1961). Alongside ‘West Leigh’, the first group of houses appeared in the 1870s at the southern end of the estate. These are de-scribed by the City Council, in the Supplementary Planning Guidance for Ashleigh Road Conservation area as; ‘..built for the rising middle classes’ with ‘robustly detailed fa-cades reflecting their owners’ wealth and aspirations’. There is no record of omnibus services along the Narborough Road until close to the end of the century. Residents of these prop-erties would have had to make their own way to work by pri-vate or hired carriage. Indeed the Planning Guidance goes on further to note that there is evidence of ‘provision of some coach houses and stables’. The walk into the city centre would have been approximately a mile past fields and or-chards along the Narborough Road (an old roman road). The outskirts of the city were nearer by about half a mile at Hinckley Road and Braunstone Gate. Working class residents here could walk to work in the local mills and factories at Bow Bridge and near the Swannington Station. The presence of this residential housing created demand for local retail fa-cilities at the time concentrated along Braunstone Gate. Premises featured in the 1881 census and Kellys’ directories include greengrocers, dressmakers, bakers, confectioners, fish-mongers, butchers and even a bicycle agent. This would have in itself created a source of employment and have reduced the need for local residents to travel into the city for retail pur-poses. For those with jobs and business to attend to in the city this was, at less than a mile away, within walking distance. Horse drawn omnibus services began running along the Hinckley Road on their way to Fosse Road in the 1880s. How- 6 ever this form of mass transport (if it can be called mass transport) did not feature on Narborough Road until the very end of the nineteenth century (Kellys Directories). While transport may have had an impact in Dyos’s Camberwell, it appears not to be the case here. Thompsons’ explanation would appear to have more prevalence; ‘New transport ventures are rather more likely to be designed to cater for an established traffic than to create an entirely new one, even though once operating they have great poten-tial for stimulating large increases’ (Thompson 1982). From Kelly’s directories it can be seen that there are at the same time a number of services running from the Clock Tower to other parts of the city. There were plenty of compa-nies already in operation who could run their services into the West End when they perceived it was profitable to do so. If improved transport did facilitate the development of this ‘suburb’ then it was by attracting business to the area rather than transporting people to and from their place of work. It has been noted that improvements to West Bridge and the River Soar improved access but also provided new locations for factories and warehouses. There is a parallel here with Dyos’ observations in Camber-well; ‘It is more than probable for example, that one contribution of the Grand Surrey Canal to the suburban development was to confer special advantages on the factories, timber yards, coal wharves, and miscellaneous businesses which congre-gated its banks, and that their need to workers led to the populating of the neighbourhood’ (Dyos 1961). The occupation data from the Braunstone Gate census re-turn of 1881 would appear to support this theory, with a high percentage of residents involved in the hosiery and shoe trades which were expanding in this area. The ‘Age of build-ings’ map produced by the City Council Urban Design team shows that from the time of the completion of flood preven-tion scheme and widening of West Bridge, factories and ware-houses were being built along the River Soar. 7 Bow Bridge, 2005. Photo by Alun Salt on Flickr In conclusion it is difficult to be clear about the impact that transport had, as Dyos states; ‘..it is seldom possible to identify with certainty the precise contribution of such transport facilities to the development of particular neighbourhoods because there is no way of dis-criminating accurately between contemporaneous influences on suburban development which were not recorded at the time in some reliable statistical form’ (Dyos 1961). Dyos describes the rate of development of suburbs as being ‘powerfully influenced by the availability of capital with which to finance the process’. This theory is based on simple economics; houses will only be built when there is available capital to supply them at a profit and the demand to buy them. If a major programme of commercial building is needed, with the potential of a higher profit, then it will be at the expense of house building. The pattern of house building in the West End suburb follows three distinct phases. From mid 1860s to the end of 1870s, house building is limited to a small number of upper middle and middle class houses for the Harris family, Archibald Turner at West Leigh and a smattering of Houses in Westleigh Road. Westcotes Drive was developed with middle class houses very slowly from the mid 1880s to after the turn of the century. The next signifi-cant period of house building in the area is from 1885 to 1895 with terraces of flat fronted houses opening onto streets which themselves open onto Hinckley Road at the very north-ern end of the estate. From 1900, Upperton Road and ter-races of bay fronted houses, between here and Westcotes Drive are built. This follows the fluctuations in new house building in Leicester noted by Pritchard; ‘In the early 1870s, there was a high level of activity, followed by a slump in the 1880s, a recovery to a very high peak in the year around the turn of the century, again followed by a re-cession which continued through the First World War’ (Prit-chard 1976) Pritchard’s research also shows the number of empty houses in each year over the period as a means of demonstrating the relationship between supply and demand. This appears to in-dicate that supply exceeded demand. Working class tenants might therefore have had the option of moving out of less sat-isfactory accommodation in the centre. It is likely that the equilibrium of the housing market shifted resulting in re-duced rents and higher incomes due to the economy boom-ing. This would have influenced supply (due to availability of capital) and changed the nature of property demand. Prit-chard remarks that, ‘the peak year for new construction was 1898-9’, and only from this point did the rate of empty houses begin to rise. In effect to this point, supply, estimated by Pritchard to be at a 20% increase from 1896 to 1900, more than kept up with increased demand (Pritchard 1976). Despite apparent oversupply, housing must still have repre-sented a good investment of capital. It must be assumed there was plenty of new money in Leicester made by entre-preneurs in the hosiery boot and shoe and engineering indus-tries. It was an economically vibrant city with the corpora-tion putting money into public works and its residents were 8 largely enjoying steady employment. There was also a higher than national average number of women also in work contrib-uting to household incomes (Pritchard 1976). In addition, mechanisms were being put in place to mobilise the capital that was available. Pritchard notes that; ‘What became much more common in the last years of the century were partnerships and companies’ (Pritchard 1976). By 1900 in the West End Joseph, William and Henry Harris, grandsons of Joseph Harris had set up a limited company known as the ‘Westcotes Estate’ and had sold land for build-ing in small plots. William Harris has been credited with ‘planning, developing and improving a large part of the West End of the City’ (martyrs.org 2002). There were also lots of small building firms ready and willing to take on the work. It is known of Leicester building firms that; ‘in the second half of the nineteenth century, 70 per cent of house building was in projects of five or fewer units.’ (Rodger 1993). This is borne out by walking the streets of the West End and looking at the detail on the houses. Even in apparently homo-geneous streets there are often subtle differences between small groups of houses. Houses in Westleigh and Ashleigh Roads are built in pairs, threes or fours. In the rapidly built terraces of the ‘Martyrs’ (Cranmer, Tyndall etc) there are longer runs of houses clearly erected by the same firm but they never extend to the whole street. The building industry was buoyant and there was lots of competition, ‘The number of men employed in the building trades more than doubled in 1861-1881’ (Simmons 1974) and Kellys’ and Wrights direc-tories of the time have column inches of builders and crafts-men in their lists. The availability of capital is clearly signifi-cant here, as is equally the ability of the economy to respond by having the organisations in place to mobilise the capital, plan the development and build the houses. What motivated the Harris family to sell their estate is un-known. What seems evident is that with their history of phil-anthropic works and close links with the church (endowing the Westcotes library in 1899, the Church of the Martyrs in 1890 and its vicarage some years later), they took an active interest in the sale and development of their estate. Dyos notes that; ‘In the course of the nineteenth century,too, more and more manuals and handbooks were being written by surveyors and barristers to indicate the pitfalls and the opportunities of sub-urban estate development’. (Dyos 1961). There would have been plenty of advice and information available to the Harris’s, in the social circles they kept, to en-sure they made the most prudent and socially responsible use of land they inherited from their grandfather. Some of them were solicitors and indeed, Henry Harris was the Chairman of Directors of the first Garden City at Letchworth. It has to be assumed that profit was one of their motives. Yelling de-scribes how in Leeds, it was more profitable at the time to sell freehold plots directly to developers; 9 ‘The Brown Estate trustees selling freehold plots directly to builders achieved higher prices over the period 1883-1902 of £992 per acre’, while ‘Estates which sold land for subdivision to developers in the same period achieved rather less than half this price’ (Yelling 2000). There is evidence from the conveyance of land at Ashleigh Road in 1900 that similar freehold transactions are taking place on the Westcotes Estates land. There are indicators that the Harris’s had significant influence; Street names reflect their faith (e.g. Martyrs streets; Luther, Tyndall, Cranmer) and their family connections (e.g. Barclay). Conveyances have restrictive covenants covering buildings, fences and the laying of sewerage pipes. The sale of beer and liquor is also re

Frog Island, 2012 (powerpoint)

A collection of images relating to Frog Island in 2012.Frog Island 2012 Photos from the Manufacturing Pasts Collection of My Leicestershire History http://myleicestershire.org.uk http://www.le.ac.uk/manufacturingpasts Frog Island is located in the northwest of inner-city Leicester, and is so named because it lies between the River Soar and the Grand Union Canal. Frog Island was home to many prominent factories. After the decline of the manufacturing sector in the second half of the 20th century, Frog Island has been in the process of re-inventing itself. Ordnance Survey 1995 Building at junction of Great Central Street and Highcross Street 25 August 2012 Stratstone Triumph 45 Northgate Street, 25 August 2012 Looking toward Frog Island from Highcross and Cumberland Streets 25 August 2012 Looking northwest along Frog Island from Grand Union Canal 25 August 2012 Pat Keeling Modeling Agency John Bird Chartered Accountant 38 Northgate Street, 25 August 2012 Stayfree Music 2-4 Frog Island, 25 August, 2012 Northbridge Tavern (now private residence) 1 Frog Island, 25 August 2012 Looking northeast along Grand Union Canal from Frog Island, North Bridge Lock 25 August, 2012 Foresters Arms 17 Frog Island, 25 August 2012 Looking southwest along Grand Union Canal from Frog Island, 25 August 2012 Slater Primary School Slater Street, 25 August 2012 Frisby Jarvis Bldg, Farben Works 33 Frog Island, 25 August 2012 ‘changing lives, creating opportunities’ Slater Street, 25 August 2012 Crossfit Leicester Gym, The Old Arches/Slater Street 25 August 2012 Abbey Sports & Leisure Club 70 Slater Street 25 August 2012 Jersey-Lomax Ltd, Frog Island Mills 25 August 2012 Frisby Jarvis Building 33 Frog Island, 25 August 2012 Frog Island Mill, approx 32 Frog Island 25 August 2012 Frog Island Mill, approx 32 Frog Island 25 August 2012 Looking south across River Soar from Frog Island, toward Abbey Gate properties, 25 August 2012 Looking northeast over River Soar from Frog Island 25 August, 2012 Frisby Jarvis Building 33 Frog Island, 25 August 2012 Frisby Jarvis Building 33 Frog Island, 25 August 2012 Frisby Jarvis Building 33 Frog Island, 25 August 2012 Slater Primary School Slater Street, 25 August 2012 Kubek Furniture 47-55 Northgate Street 25 August 2012 References 1995 Ordnance Survey Map and Photos by Terese Bird; all available at http://myleicestershire.org.uk All images available under license: Created as part of the Manufacturing Pasts project www.le.ac.uk/manufacturingpasts www.le.ac.uk/manufacturingpast

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Gillian Murray (PhD student at the University of Leicester) talks about using visual resources in historical research, with particular reference to the N.Corah & Sons Ltd & Liberty Shoes Lt

Frog_Island_2012 (PDF)

A collection of images relating to Frog Island in 2012.Frog Island 2012 Photos from the Manufacturing Pasts Collection of My Leicestershire History http://myleicestershire.org.uk http://www.le.ac.uk/manufacturingpasts Frog Island is located in the northwest of inner-city Leicester, and is so named because it lies between the River Soar and the Grand Union Canal. Frog Island was home to many prominent factories. After the decline of the manufacturing sector in the second half of the 20th century, Frog Island has been in the process of re-inventing itself. Ordnance Survey 1995 Building at junction of Great Central Street and Highcross Street 25 August 2012 Stratstone Triumph 45 Northgate Street, 25 August 2012 Looking toward Frog Island from Highcross and Cumberland Streets 25 August 2012 Looking northwest along Frog Island from Grand Union Canal 25 August 2012 Pat Keeling Modeling Agency John Bird Chartered Accountant 38 Northgate Street, 25 August 2012 Stayfree Music 2-4 Frog Island, 25 August, 2012 Northbridge Tavern (now private residence) 1 Frog Island, 25 August 2012 Looking northeast along Grand Union Canal from Frog Island, North Bridge Lock 25 August, 2012 Foresters Arms 17 Frog Island, 25 August 2012 Looking southwest along Grand Union Canal from Frog Island, 25 August 2012 Slater Primary School Slater Street, 25 August 2012 Frisby Jarvis Bldg, Farben Works 33 Frog Island, 25 August 2012 ‘changing lives, creating opportunities’ Slater Street, 25 August 2012 Crossfit Leicester Gym, The Old Arches/Slater Street 25 August 2012 Abbey Sports & Leisure Club 70 Slater Street 25 August 2012 Jersey-Lomax Ltd, Frog Island Mills 25 August 2012 Frisby Jarvis Building 33 Frog Island, 25 August 2012 Frog Island Mill, approx 32 Frog Island 25 August 2012 Frog Island Mill, approx 32 Frog Island 25 August 2012 Looking south across River Soar from Frog Island, toward Abbey Gate properties, 25 August 2012 Looking northeast over River Soar from Frog Island 25 August, 2012 Frisby Jarvis Building 33 Frog Island, 25 August 2012 Frisby Jarvis Building 33 Frog Island, 25 August 2012 Frisby Jarvis Building 33 Frog Island, 25 August 2012 Slater Primary School Slater Street, 25 August 2012 Kubek Furniture 47-55 Northgate Street 25 August 2012 References 1995 Ordnance Survey Map and Photos by Terese Bird; all available at http://myleicestershire.org.uk All images available under license: Created as part of the Manufacturing Pasts project www.le.ac.uk/manufacturingpasts www.le.ac.uk/manufacturingpast

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