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Born with spina bifida, Tanni Grey-Thompson is a wheelchair user, one of the UK’s most successful disabled athletes and three times BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year. In 2004 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from The Open University. In an interview in 2010 she talks to Platform’s Robyn Slingsby about London 2012, the challenges of being a mother, discrimination, her heroes and skiing.

She’s just turned 40 and although she no longer trains to compete at world-class level, Paralympian Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson certainly has her hands full. While she admits that not having to watch her weight anymore is a huge relief, she’s a huge advocate of the fact that exercise fuels the brain. She still does a lot for sport since retiring in 2008 – with 16 Paralympic medals to her name - but confesses that her biggest challenge yet is being a mum.

“Winning the 100 metres in Athens for me, as an athlete, was the best thing I did. It was probably the closest thing to perfection in terms of any race I did, technically and in terms of my preparation. The trouble with me is I’m never ever  happy with what I’ve done, I’m really self critical so for most of my athletics career I didn’t think I’d done enough, and then at the point I didn’t think I could do any more, I retired.

“But, to be honest, having Carys, my daughter, has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Being a mother is way harder than any of the work stuff I do because it changes every day. One day she eats peas, the next day she refuses to eat peas and she’ll sit there and say she’s never eaten peas in her life. We’ll be in a shop and I’ll buy her an outfit she says she likes and then you get home and she won’t wear it. It changes every day.

“I was in Beijing for two months last year and before we went, Carys went into school and told the teacher that I was making her going to the Olympics . We had tickets to the opening ceremony and she asked if there would be fireworks, that’s all she was interested in. But once she was there she loved it.”

Permanent state of chaos

Tanni juggles a lot of commitments and has to manage her diary carefully so she spends enough quality time with her husband Dr Ian Thompson and daughter Carys, seven, at their home in Eaglescliffe. How does she do it?

“We live in permanent state of chaos, and that’s fine. There’s a lot of guilt put onto mothers that you have to be perfect mother who cooks, cleans, washes and can hold down a job. I just think that’s nonsense, it’s about not beating yourself up over things and I don’t feel guilty if I give my daughter cheese on toast for tea, even though my own mother would have thought it was dreadful. It’s about not feeling guilty about the stuff you can’t change.

“I really enjoy my work and do lots of different things and I love it, and that has consequences on my husband and daughter but you try and balance it the best you can.

“When I was little my mum stopped working when my sister was born – she’s two years older than me – and went back to work when I was 19, and the world’s not like that anymore. Very occasionally Carys will ask me why I’m away – usually because she wants something out of me. I’ve learned from right back when she was really little that children are amazing at making you feel guilty.

As well as her charity work, Dame Tanni has been involved in the bidding for and planning of the Olympics in London in 2012 – and she’s very excited about it.

Tall poppy syndrome

“London will do an amazing job, when you look at the bid process the team were really professional and did their homework. There’s a bit of a tall poppy syndrome within UK culture, we do sometimes see the negative. This is the best opportunity in sport to showcase what we do and show the world what we’re good at.”

What about disabled access?

“I joined the board at Transport For London (TFL) last year, and going into it my view was why can’t we make all underground stations accessible? But then you look at putting a lift into a tube station and find out you don’t get much change out of £150 million. A lot of work has gone into making the newer stations accessible, but there are issues about air conditioning on the tubes, line upgrades, platform rebuilds, health and safety, and access is one part of it so it all has to go in the melting pot that is the TFL budget and it’s a hard balancing act.

“Every single London bus is wheelchair accessible, every taxi is, so we’re starting off at a much stronger point than any other Olympic or Paralympic city has for quite a while and, for me, the key is educating people. Not a lot of people will know this but there’s a really cool underground map which shows the accessible stations, so the ones I can’t use are in pale grey so they don’t cloud my view of where I can travel. So for me the key is education and we’ll have amazingly well trained volunteers at Games times to help people get to where they want to go. Education is key.

“2012 can be a platform to try and make London more accessible in a wider sense to everyone - mums with prams, wheelchairs, blind people.”

Discrimination

Dame Tanni has no problem getting around but says disabled people do suffer discrimination and things like access to higher education are more challenging.

“The reality for disabled people is that education is harder. So whether they miss school time because of illness or they’re in hospital of if they’ve missed things because of their impairment, I sometimes think that higher education isn’t seen as an option.

“When I was in school I’d just sat my O Levels and the careers teacher told me he could get me a nice job answering phones. I said I wanted to go to uni and he basically said ‘Don’t be so silly, what do you want a degree for, it’ll be difficult and won’t help you because you’ll probably end up answering phones anyway.’”

As it turned out my first job was working for British Athletics and part of my job was in fact answering phones, and I really enjoyed it. But lots of people look at impairment and it starts off as inherently negative and if someone tells you that you can’t do something then it’s very easy to believe that. The beauty of the OU is that people come back when they feel they’re ready to but they also have the flexibility, which makes a real difference.”

So, if Dame Tanni could study an OU course, what would it be?

“Law, I always wanted to do law. I went to Loughborough University, which didn’t offer law so I did politics. It was something I was interested in and actually it’s been incredibly useful. I always thought there wasn’t politics in sport and then you get involved and realise there’s loads.”

Self belief

And what about trying a new sport, what she go for?

“Skiing, but I hate the cold and the wet and being out and going downhill doesn’t appeal to me. I like the concept of skiing and saying that I will ski one day, but I don’t think Ill ever actually go skiing.”

Dame Tanni is an inspiration in her own right, but who does she admire?

“I was at the Young Sport conference, to look at what you can do beyond sport to help people, and Desmond Tutu was there and he was just so cool. His charisma and his personality and the way he talked about Africa was just incredible, so I’m a huge fan of his.

“My mum, who has passed away now, was stroppy and stubborn but just an amazingly strong person to have around, she was really cool. We used to argue a lot but she brought me up to have a lot of self belief.

“And Gareth Edwards. I was brought up by mother to believe that he is the closest thing to perfection that will ever walk this earth and it was the way he played, he knew he was good but he wasn’t arrogant and you listen to some of his stories and he was a really cool bloke. I still get awe struck when ever I meet him.”


 

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The information security industry has critical shortage of employees, which could threaten the UK's infrastructure, an industry expert has warned.

Kevin Streater, executive director of IT and telecoms at the Open University (OU) believes there are a large number of high-paid security vacancies in the IT jobs market but no suitable candidates to fill them.

Kevin Streater, who is also chair of the Cyber Security Challenge Talent Management committee, said: "The importance of IT to the UK's infrastructure has been underestimated."

"We need security professionals to protect the UK's global internet connection. For example, if a UK bank's infrastructure goes down, there will be huge damage to the UK economy," he said.

"Only a small number of people are addressing the skills needed," he added, saying the IT industry needs to work out how to develop graduates' skills to address the security skills gap.

A recent report by the OU shows that, despite increased demand for IT staff in the past year, IT graduate candidates with technical know-how lack the necessary business skills.

Streater believes businesses must engage with higher education institutions to address the skills gap. According to a study by analyst Frost & Sullivan, there is a gap in security skills needed to protect organisations.

The 2011 (ISC)2 Global Information Security Workforce Study (GISWS) showed the profession as a whole appears to be resistant to adapting to new trends in technology, such as social media and cloud computing.

Useful links:

• Cyber Security Challenge
• Information security management (M886)
• Computer forensics and investigations (M889)
   

A new Computing project module is available from February 2012. TM470 The computing and IT project replaces M450 The computing project which is in its last presentation this year. TM470 is a compulsory module in a number of Computing degrees and an optional module in the Bachelor of Engineering (Honours).
 

Dr Aleks Krotoski puts the glamour into technology. She’s an academic, a journalist and the presenter of the BBC/Open University co-production of The Virtual Revolution. She takes time out of her hectic schedule to chat via Skype to Platform's Robyn Slingsby…

Talking about her most prized possession, Aleks Krotoski’s iPhone shoots out of her hands and onto the floor. “You see, you really can’t break technology!“ she says over the computer monitor, laughing as she retrieves her smart phone.

“The thing that freaks people out about technology is they’re afraid they’re going to break it,” she says. And with just 20 per cent of the world’s population online, there are huge numbers out there without access to or knowledge of the internet, something a lot of us take for granted. “We need to be aware that we’re in a very connected country. We live in an environment in which we have this extraordinary access and we’re blinded by this and think everyone’s got it, and not everyone in the world has,” she adds.

Not everyone is as confident with technology as Aleks either. She’s studied it, has a PhD in it and is the face of BBC2’s The Virtual Revolution, a four-part series exploring the social history of the world wide web. But even Aleks can’t keep up with it all.

“That’s why I’ve ended up remaining a journalist because you have to be, by the very nature of your job, at the leading edge of technology. In terms of how to manage one’s social environment, it’s very difficult and I literally I don’t know how to do everything. At the moment I’m only on Twitter and Flickr and occasionally I go to  Facebook, and the reason for that is because that’s where my different networks are. If my networks went to different technologies then so would I, I’m a sheep. As we all are, we have our social flocking because these are social technologies. The only way I can recommend that people keep up is just by getting a sense of where people are. My favourite thing that’s come out over the past couple of years, the thing I’ve really engaged with, is the smart phone. It allows me to tweet on the road, it allows me to check emails, allows me to use Facebook, allows me to upload my Flickr pics and it’s all there, it’s with me. The smart phone industry‘s going to love me when I say I’m a big promoter of the technology. I mean, it looks like a science fiction/Star Trek kind of thing but ultimately allows you to remain connected, which for some people isn’t the right thing but for me it really is.

Afraid of breaking technology
“This thing has changed my life,” she adds, pointing to her iPhone. “It really is the thing that allows me to maintain my connections with friends, in every possible way. This thing is my brain, a little distributed piece of technology, like in Harry Potter; I feel I should be able to pull out my memory and stick it in there.

“The thing that freaks people out about technology is they’re afraid they’re going to break it – and I just threw mine across the room! – but I think that stops a lot of people from using the web the and really engaging with it; not the fear of losing themselves and becoming an anti-social creature, it’s more a fear they’ll break the internet. But this phone did the most incredible thing I have ever seen with a new piece of technology… as soon as it comes out of the box you’re forced to confront the thing you fear the most. You don’t have a manual, you don’t have anything, so you have to touch the screen. In order to turn in on, in order to do anything with it the first thing you have to do is touch the screen and that breaks down the boundaries instantly.”

Aleks Krotoski is the face of The Virtual Revolution, a four-part series on BBC2 which delves into the world wide web, and she started filming just two weeks after finishing her PhD thesis examining how information spreads around social networks on the internet. But being a TV presenter isn’t something she’d ever imagined pursuing.

“It was a crazy adventure, “she says. “The team approached me, they kinda stalked me a little bit on the web and discovered who I was and what I was doing and that I was writing about technology and studying it too. They got in touch and it was just completely accidental perfect timing. The making of the series was incredible, because filming came two weeks after I submitted my PhD, literally. So I had two weeks of recovery time before I started interviewing all the people I referenced in my PhD thesis. It’s been quite frenetic, I don’t actually remember 2009, so I’m glad I incessantly took photographs and tweeted so I have a record of this extraordinary opportunity and extraordinary time.”

Aleks worked with academics from the OU on the finalised script for the series but, if given the choice, she’d choose an OU course which takes her away from the computer screen. “Do you do under water botany?“ she asks. “I’d like something that’s not in front of my machine actually. I could really use something that uses my physicality and forces me out and away from all of my connections. I’ve been thinking for the last five years, very academically and very hard about the web, and could really use an OU course that sends me out. I want something practical so I can get my hands dirty – like under water basket weaving,” she laughs.

Under water basket weaving?
While under water basket weaving isn’t on the OU prospectus Aleks is a fan of the OU’s development and international relations courses which she describes as “fascinating”. But she’s unlikely to drag herself away from the computer screen anytime soon.  So, social media or anti-social media? While the internet helps create relationships, it’s also been blamed for breaking them. What’s Aleks’ take on this?

“I often invoke John Humphreys when asked this question. I listen to Today programme when I wake up in the morning and any time there’s anything about the internet he presents this extraordinarily black or white scenario. If you use the web then that’s it, that’s all you do; if you use Facebook then that’s it, that’s all you do; and there’s nothing else in your entire life. The problem with looking at it in black and white, like any social psychology and media affect, it’s difficult because you don’t see the entire context, you don’t understand what is it about the social system that’s creating the bullying, you know, you can’t just blame Facebook for that kind of thing. Now on a more meta level my PhD was premised on the idea that in fact these communities do exist and they’re very powerful and they’re very influential communities. For good or for ill, literally, for good or for ill.

“I am extremely passionate about the power of online community to bring people together, whether it’s single interest groups, whether it’s communities at practice, these are environments where people are able to come and in many ways ascend to a higher understanding when it comes to identity, when it comes to who one believes one is, through the very nature of meeting people with other viewpoints.

“But at the same time it also creates what’s called cyber balkanisation; this vast environment of communication and community, of potential interaction, with all of the people in the world, is too difficult for individuals to parse so ultimately they end up creating very small groups and communities, where you can ascend to your higher sense of your identity and who you are, which can ultimately antagonise other groups of people because as there’s no real way nor reason for these communities to interact.

The glamour factor
“In one sense, yeah these online communities are awesome because they bring people together but the online communities can also be bad, like any other kind of interaction could be bad. So there’s a nice woolly answer for you… It’s an agnostic tool, it is a tool, and what people bring to it is their own agenda and some don’t even realise they have an agenda and that’s the most exciting thing. It’s simply another media channel, it’s simply another communication platform and what’s most exciting about it at the moment is that it’s utterly uncontrolled, so you have all these stakeholders really rallying around, realty jostling to see who can control this information and how they can manipulate, ultimately, people’s thoughts and what they believe and how they believe.”

Aleks certainly knows what she’s talking about when it comes to the world wide web. In a comment on one of her technology-themed blog posts for The Guardian it’s suggested that Aleks has done for technology what Nigella Lawson has done for cooking - added the glamour factor. She’s not only embarrassed by this, she’s also very proud. “I’m honoured and I think one of the reasons why I signed up for the programme is because I was told that the BBC was looking for new expert female presenters and that was the most compelling, powerful and moving reason for me to do it. Being a woman in technology, I often hang out with other women in technology, so for me it’s normal that there are beautiful, powerful, enthusiastic and intelligent women in this space, but it’s not the common perception. For me, to be a representative of the clever female person who isn’t afraid of technology and can see the bigger picture is very moving and exciting. It makes me feel very proud because just by the very nature of being a woman talking about this stuff, it says to other women that this is an option, you can do this.”

It’s been a busy year for Aleks. So, what’s next? “This year is all about writing. 2009 just didn’t happen and this is my articulation point. Everything ended at the same time, my PhD, the TV programme and now it’s like woah, what now? Continuing with the status quo, this year is all about writing but I don’t really know what will happen next. There’s the book, which I aim to have out by November and which will touch on the themes of the series; I want to write two articles accepted by periodical review journals; I’m special editing two peer review journals and I aim, in terms of media stuff, to extend some of the themes and questions raised from the series and do a longitudinal study that looks at the development that may befall the continent of Africa as it gets highspeed broadband.”