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Monthly Archives: November 2013
November Workshop: Assessment Centre
As part of an employability module i attended a mock interview and assessment center day.
The mock interview was assessed by three fellow students who asked four predetermined questions. The interviewee was then graded by the fellow students on how well they performed.
The aim of this mock interview was to experience an interview from both sides of the table, as both the interviewer and interviewee. By doing this mistakes made by other students becomes clear when you interview them, therefore increasing your knowledge of how to be successful in an interview.
The drawbacks of this were that there was not a specific job we were applying for meaning it wasn’t a very realistic interview. This is because a large part of many interviews is explaining your knowledge of the company and why you want to work there. Perhaps in next years class they could tie in the job they target their CV for and interview for that position. It also would have been useful to get interview feedback from a lecturer who had interviewing experience.
The second part of the day was the assessment center. we completed the Belbin Self-perception tests to decipher which role we would play in a team. This was a useful piece of information to have as it told you a lot about yourself.
The final task was to organise a set of emails in order of importance. This was an interesting team task as it required convincing other team mates why you think certain emails were more important. the true goal behind this task wasn’t to achieve specific order of emails, but rather how you presented your reasoning behind your thinking.
Overall it was an interesting day in which i gained useful knowledge that will help me in my future career prospects. Practicing for an interview is always beneficial as it allows for mistakes to be made and learnt from without detriment to job opportunities. I think that understanding which role you play in a team is also very beneficial as you can focus on your strengths allowing an employer to visualize how you would fit into their company.
Return of The Beaver
The Eurasian beaver (C. fiber) was once widespread throughout Eurasia. It was hunted to the brink of extinction for its pelt, (which is water proof and was an ideal material for medieval hats) its meat and castoreum (the scent gland at the end of the tail which was historically used for general remedies). The effect of this extensive hunting over centuries led to a population of only 1200 across Europe and Asia by the year 1900.
Adrian Jones of the North Wales Wildlife trust gave a talk on the prospect of beaver reintroduction to Wales – The Welsh Beaver Project.
Why reintroduce the beaver after so many centuries without this water loving mammal?
Well, for a start there is a legal obligation under article 22 of the European legislation ‘Habitats Directive’ which states we have a responsibility to maintain the biodiversity of wildlife.
The beaver has a vast number of environmental benefits:
They slow water flow rate by building dams, this reduces flooding, improves water quality by allowing sediment to settle and also creates ponds
They are a ‘keystone’ species, increasing biodiversity through creation of habitats. By felling trees they produce dead wood. Dead wood in water is an ideal habitat for fungi and invertebrates. It is also an important habitat in fish communities for nursery grounds, and creating cover from predators. Beavers also copus woodland when gnawing for food and building materials, which creates ideal habitats for insects and new plant life.
As Adrain put it “it’s not habitat destruction, it’s habitat change”.
They bring socio-economic benefits: with a high public desire to see wild beavers, wild life tourism could improve the economy in areas of beaver reintroduction.
Of course, there are always negative impacts that come with the positives these include:
- feeding on crops – this is limited to 20m of the waters edge as beavers feel unsafe any further away
- felling trees – wire around the base of the tree can prevent this
- burrowing underneath farm land could result in land collapse and localised flooding
it seems that the benefits of beaver reintroduction outweigh the negatives. Oxford wildlife department analysed this and found a 20:1 ratio in favour of beaver reintroduction. In addition to this there have been 90 beaver reintroductions in 24 countries over the past 40 years.
If the Welsh Beaver Project get approved by Welsh government they will begin in spring/summer 2014. The first reintroduction will take place in the River Rheidol consisting of 15-20 pairs of Eurasian beavers.
Adrian had a vast knowledge of the Eurasian beaver, I learnt many facts about the biology of the Eurasian beaver and fully support their reintroduction into Wales.
As a Biology student with interests in Molecular biology an interesting molecular ecology paper on beaver reintroduction can be found at:
Graham Pardoe 