23rd March 1998

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The University of Ulster has received more than stlg2 million for its latest research projects - which will cover issues as varied as community relations, Osteoporosis and even migrating swans.

In total it has received stlg2,347,400 from various funding agencies to carry out more than fifty research projects across a variety of disciplines.

Peace

It has received more than stlg140,000 from the European Union Structural Fund to look at the strategy of the Department of Education's Community Relations Branch. The project will be led by Dr Alan Smith:

"The funding will allow us to develop the programme of social, political and civil education in the Northern Ireland Curriculum. It will involve looking at issues such as teacher training.

"We will also be working with a small number of schools which wish to develop their own community relations strategies."

Parades

The University has also confirmed that it will monitor parades during this year's marching season in Northern Ireland. Its previous reports on parading are widely thought to have been one of the main factors in the establishment of the North Commission.

Osteoporosis

The Wellcome Trust has given the University a grant of more than stlg100,000 to look at the issue of the health of human bones in relation to conditions such as Osteoporosis.

Professor Colin Boreham says the project will involve a large random sample of young adults in Northern Ireland:

"Even though Osteoporosis does not occur until later years in life, it is thought the key to help preventing it is to help ensure a person's bone mass is as good as possible by the time they are in their late twenties. There are three factors which are thought to be important: our genes, which we cannot do anything about; our diet, especially the consumption of dairy foods and certain types of exercise," he explained.

Swans

One of the research projects will look at the issue of Whooper swans which migrate to Ireland from Iceland. On their arrival around Lough Foyle they cause a lot of damage to the agricultural land where they feed. Dr Keith Day will look at methods of protecting both the birds and the crops:

"These birds are of a high conservation interest but on the other hand they also cause a high level of damage to winter grasslands when they feed off the young shoots which are beginning to appear. The solution is to gauge the damage they cause so that an informed rate of compensation can be drawn up for the farmers.

"Having done that, we will be able to help establish where and when farmers can sow crops from which the swans can feed."

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk