Expert Comments

The University of Surrey Media Office provides the link between academic experts and journalists.

If you are a member of the media looking for interviews, or further comment, please contact T: 01483 686076 or E: mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk

• Summer-born pupils and exam scores

  A report into the performance of summer-born pupils claims that they should have their exam marks boosted to compensate for being a year younger than their peers. 

• Royal College of Nursing brands reforms as 'stupid'

  The President of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has described the Government's 'plan' to have potential student nurses spend one year as healthcare assistants as:  'stupid'.

• Should there be a right to die?

  It may be taken for granted that we have control over our life and death. Suicide is considered the ultimate choice and a matter of individual autonomy.

• Parkinson's sufferers 'face regular discrimination'

  Nearly half of those with Parkinson's face regular discrimination, such as having their symptoms mistaken for drunkenness, a survey suggests

  'These findings from Parkinson's UK are disturbing, but come as no surprise', says Professor Heather Gage of University of Surrey. ' In collaboration with health professionals, we have been  to conducting research into Parkinson's for nearly 20 years, and the social isolation and embarrassment experienced by people with Parkinson's on a daily basis is sadly well known to us'.

  The projects undertaken by the Guildford Parkinson's Disease Research Group focus on improving the quality of life of people with Parkinson's and their family carers www.gpdrg.org
  
   

• New benefits cap may mean "impossible position" for some says UK Politics expert

  Politics expert Dr Simon Usherwood said: "The introduction of a benefit payment cap is an important step in the government’s reform of welfare. If the pilot schemes in London go badly, then there will be a lot of pressure on the Department for Work and Pensions to reconsider their position."

• Web game extras get Office of Fair Trading scrutiny

  The OFT wants to find out if the games put undue pressure on children to pay for additional content.
  
  James Heather, Senior Lecturer, comments: "The trend towards charging for "extras" for web and mobile games is extremely concerning, because it's easy for developers to entice their audience with a nominally free game that then demands payment to keep playing once you're hooked. This is a particular worry for parents, because the developers will naturally want to make it simple for children to add on paid-for features when they are not being watched. It is welcome news that this has come to the attention of the OFT, because it is a tough problem to legislate against, and even tougher to police."

• Goal line technology set for Premier League

  The Premier League is expected to approve the use of goal line technology for next season.

• Subculture hate crime to be recorded

  Greater Manchester Police’s decision to record attacks on those involved in alternative subcultures as hate crimes connects to University of Surrey research being carried out by Jon Garland and Paul Hodkinson in the Department of Sociology. 

• Prime Minister's decision on EU vote "just kicking issue down the road"

  This long-awaited speech will not do anything more than kick the EU issue down the road a bit further, says UK Politics expert Dr Simon Usherwood.

• Men's cancer risk 'to climb to one in two'

  Hardev Pandha, professor of medical oncology, comments: "'The latest statistics highlight both the health consequences of increasing longevity, but also the potential dangers of waiting for screening programmes to become established. Cancer is a complex biological entity and despite enormous technological advances, few successful cancer screening strategies are proven, and most likely, due to this heterogeneity it is unlikely we will have cost effective screening for most cancers. A sharp focus on lifestyle and obvious risk factors, and an active long term working partnership with the food and alcohol industry is essential, with obvious overall health benefits for both men and women'