Tradition and Humour: the Academic Dress of the University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow was founded in 1451. It is the second oldest university in Scotland and the fourth oldest in the UK (after Oxford, Cambridge and St Andrews). By the end of the sixteenth century Scotland had five universities, compared with England’s two. This situation continued for more than two hundred years: it was only in the nineteenth century that England finally caught up with Scotland. So perhaps one might expect that Scotland would have a long, continuous and colourful history of academic dress. However, as we shall see, that is not the case. The reason can be expressed in two words: the Reformation. The presbyterian Church of Scotland that emerged from the Reformation was much more austere than the episcopalian Church of England, and exerted its influence over many aspects of Scottish life. [Excerpt]

Glasgow Gown with Three Bands on Each Sleeve

In my history of the academic dress of the University of Glasgow I recorded that major changes to gowns and hoods took place in 1893. When the proposals for the various degrees were under consideration by a committee, the University Court instructed the committee to design a gown for its members. However no design appeared. In 1901 a new committee was appointed with the result that in 1902 the following design was approved: ‘a black doctor’s gown with collar and yoke and faced all with MA silk and with three bands of MA silk on each sleeve’. [Excerpt]

Robust Parameter Selection for Parallel Tempering

This paper describes an algorithm for selecting parameter values (e.g. temperature values) at which to measure equilibrium properties with Parallel Tempering Monte Carlo simulation. Simple approaches to choosing parameter values can lead to poor equilibration of the simulation, especially for Ising spin systems that undergo $1^st$-order phase transitions. However, starting from an initial set of parameter values, the careful, iterative respacing of these values based on results with the previous set of values greatly improves equilibration. Example spin systems presented here appear in the context of Quantum Monte Carlo.Comment: Accepted in International Journal of Modern Physics C 2010, http://www.worldscinet.com/ijmp

The use of aero-magnetics to enhance a numerical groundwater model of the Lagan Valley aquifer, Northern Ireland

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Degrees of Degrees

This article looks at the types of degrees that can be awarded by universities and colleges, discussing the rights and privileges that go with a degree such as the right to wear academic dress and to put letters after your name. The focus is on current and historical practice in Britain, and most of the examples are from British universities

The history of the Open Brethren in Scotland 1838-1999

The thesis is a history of the Open Brethren in Scotland. Its aim is to analyse the development of the movement incorporating its social history. A sequence of chapters traces the expansion and contraction of the movement and its internal development from its inception in 1838 until 1999. After an introductory chapter in which the aims and methods of the work will be set out, Chapter 2 examines the largely Bowesite movement of the 1840s and 1850s. Chapter 3 analyses the crucial decade which followed the 1859 Revival. In these chapters external growth and internal development are studied in conjunction with each other. The period of greatest increase for the movement was the late Victorian period and Chapter 4 analyses expansion until the outbreak of World War I. The Brethren were in their most developed form in the inter-war period of the twentieth century and this phase had an after-life until the mid-1960s. Chapter 6 examines patterns of growth and decline from 1914 until 1965 with, in addition, an investigation of the ethos of the movement when it was in its mature form. Complementary to Chapters 4 and 6 are Chapters 5 and 7 in which the internal development of the movement is examined for the respective periods. The classic era of the Brethren might be said to have ceased in the mid-1960s. Chapter 8 is devoted to an investigation of the spirituality of the movement from the 1830s until that decade and Chapter 9 to the relationship of the Brethren to culture and society for the same period. Chapter 10 examines the contemporary movement from the mid-1960s, analysing internal development and changes in membership size, spirituality, and attitudes to culture and society. The conclusion, Chapter 11, draws together the central themes of the thesis and presents some assessment