Yearly Archives / 2012

Fusion Investment Fund to award £11,736 to Business School / ApSci project

BU research, Funding opportunities, Fusion, Uncategorized

Mapping the socioeconomic drivers of human disease emergence: Implications for AIDS and tuberculosis.

The tropical air was charged with hope and despair as the world’s leaders descended on Rio de Janeiro in 1992[1]. Twenty years later, the situation has not changed significantly and key targets for the reduction of biodiversity loss have not been met[1]. With the world’s population expected to grow from 6.8 billion today to 9.1 billion by 2050, how will all these extra mouths be fed at an acceptable cost to the planet? The world’s population more than doubled from 3 billion between 1961 and 2007, yet agricultural output kept pace — and current projections suggest it will continue to do so. However, Colin Chartres, director of the International Water Management Institute, has stated that “agriculture is the biggest user of fresh water, making up 70–90% of the annual water demand for many countries”[2]. The worldwide pattern of river threats offers the most comprehensive explanation so far of why freshwater biodiversity is considered to be in a state of crisis. Estimates suggest that at least 10,000–20,000 freshwater species are extinct or at risk, with loss rates rivalling those of previous transitions between geological epochs like the Pleistocene-to-Holocene.  

Along with the change of freshwater biodiversity expected as a result of environmental change and increased demand on ecosystem services, change in disease risk is also expected. It is forecasted that complex interactions between host type diversity and community of pathogens will be modified along with change of community structures. However, our current understanding of how change in biodiversity affects transmission and emergence of disease has been overlooked.

A group of researchers from different BU departments aim to characterise the socio-economic drivers underpinning change in freshwater host biodiversity that lead to the emergence of immuno-suppressant related human disease.  Specifically they are going to

1-to establish the worldwide distribution of microsporidian parasites and their fish hosts

2-to establish levels of host extinction risk

3-to model the links between freshwater biodiversity threats and a range of socio-economic parameters

4-to develop a set of risk maps of freshwater immuno-suppressant human disease emergence.

5-to relate our risk maps to current global distribution of AIDS and tuberculosis cases.

6- To establish a dynamical stochastic forecasting system based on a learning technique as a predictive epidemiology technique. The technique represents the state-of-the-art in epidemiology, linking socio-economic drivers and emerging infectious diseases.

The project would be conducting mostly based at the Business school but with regular meeting between the three supervisor, including skype meeting for the day to day supervision.

The outcomes of the on-going research will be of great interest to the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Development Programme  and public health NGOs (e.g. Project Hope, Oxfam).

 The FIF has been used to recruit a research assistant for a period of six months to help us with the meta-data collection, modelling and data analysis. This was key in initiating the first phase of the cross school collaboration.

Researchers: Dr Hossein Hassani (Business School), Dr Demetra Andreou (Applied Sciences) and Prof. Rudy Gozlan (Applied Science).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Editorial. Return toRio: Second chance for the planet Nature 486, 19 (07 June 2012) doi:10.1038/486019a

[2] http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101004/full/news.2010.490.html

Good luck & Congratulations!

Awarded & submitted bids

It’s been a great fortnight for the School of Applied Sciences! Congratulations to Richard Stillman (ApSci) for his matched funding from Natural England and his funding from The British Association for Shooting and Conservation, Paul Cheetham (ApSci) for his funding from Inforce, Adrian Newton (ApSci) for his funding from Forestry Commission, Bronwen Russell and Jonathan Monteith (ApSci) for their funding from Dorset County Council and CgMs Consulting and Genoveva Esteban (ApSci) for her funding from SembCorp.

Good luck to Anthea Innes, Patricia McParland, Samuel Nyman and Stephen Page (BUDI, HSC) for their application to ESRC – Dementia Initiative, David Secchi and Fabian Homberg (BS) for their application for a Leverhulme Research Grant, Vanora Hundley (HSC), Edwin Van Teijlingen (HSC) and Ann Luce (Media School) for their cross-School application for a Leverhulme Research Grant, Sarah Hean and Will Haydock (HSC) with their application to Offender Health South West, Anthea Innes (HSC) for her application to NHS Bournemouth and Poole, Lesley Milne, Vanora Hundley and Edwin Van Teijlingen (HSC) for their application to the Wellbeing of Women – Midwives International Fellowship Award, Anthea Innes, Patricia McParland and Clare Cutler for their applications to South West Dementia Partnership – Dementia Challenge Fund, Amanda Korstjens (ApSci) for their application to Primate Conservation Incorporated and to Dave Parham (ApSci) for his applications to English Heritage,

Best wishes

Matthew

Exciting new ‘BU in Brussels’ fund launching soon!

EU

 

For the last year, many of the events I have attended have emphasised the value of face to face meetings with those in Europe to getting ahead in EU funding. And many BU staff I have met with, have said how they would love to find out more from policy makers and key industry leaders in their field in Brussels.

Over the summer I designed a funding scheme which would help achieve just that and I am delighted to announce that the BU in Brussels fund will be officially launched on October 1st.

More details will be available on the blog on the 1st but to whet your appetite, this fund offers a group of BU academics an invaluable experience. The prearranged trip to Brussels will include meeting relevant MEPs at the European Parliament and key groups such as the UK Representation to the EU will help you get an insight into relevant EU policy to your research area.

You will also have a personal meeting the relevant Programme officers at the European Commission which will help give you the insight in to what funding you can bid for.  

Finally, you can select 2 key industry/ organisations you want to work with who have offices in Brussels and you will have a private, facilitated meeting with them to discuss potential collaborative areas.

RKE Development and Operations is launched!

Research news

We’ve had a team name change over the summer by merging the RKE Operations team with the Research Development Unit. The new team is called RKE Development and Operations, with each sub-team called RKE Operations and RKE Development respectively. The new team will be managed by me as Head of Research and Knowledge Exchange, with Julia Taylor heading up RKE Operations and Corrina Dickson heading up RKE Development.

There are many benefits to be gained from a much closer working relationship, some of which have already been realised through the co-location of the teams in Melbury House. We already have posts which straddle both teams and there are efficiency gains to be made from linking our work up more effectively as well as improving communication about initiatives, bids, projects, etc and providing a more joined up level of service to academic colleagues.

There have also been some significant changes to the RKE Operations team. Five new colleagues have joined us this month – Brian McNulty, Eva Papadopoulou, Teresa Coffin and Sarah Katon have joined us as RKE Officers, and Gary Cowen has joined us as Assistant Management Accountant. A temporary structure has been put in place to cover the period from now until next summer. Rather than having three Senior RKE Officers we will have in place two – Paul Lynch will head up the pod responsible for all EU and KTP bids and awards, ApSci and BS; Jenny Roddis will head up the pod responsible for ST, MS, DEC and HSC. Thank you for all your patience over the summer whilst the team has been short staffed; we are now offering a full service again going forward.

You can access information on all the team members here: RKE Development and Operations

And can access a structure chart here: R&KEO structure chart

 

LEPs given core Government funding

Local Enterprise Partnerships are to be given core funding by the Government following complaints that the new regional growth bodies are being run “on a shoestring”.  The Business Department and the Department for Communities and Local Government will provide combined funds of up to £24m to allow LEPs “to drive forward their growth priorities”, the Government said.  The announcement follows an inquiry by an all-party group which found that the independence of LEPs, which replaced Regional Development Agencies, was being compromised by a lack of funds.  The organisations are supposed to be voluntary, self-funded partnerships between businesses and local authorities but participants have warned that they have been over-reliant on a small number of core donors, putting their impartiality at risk.

An interim £5m will be made available immediately for all LEPs to use for the remainder of this financial year, the Government said.  This will be followed by up to £250,000 per LEP per year for the next two years – provided they can source matched funding of equal value.  Business minister Michael Fallon said: “This funding will help LEPs plan for the long term and ensure they can remain locally-led instead of dependent on central government support. We need to ensure LEPs remain voluntary business and civic partnerships so they are in the best possible position to deliver sustainable growth and job creation in their areas.”  John Walker, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, welcomed the move. “Funding for the LEP is vital if it is to give the local support that small firms need. We have been pushing for basic dedicated funding at this level from the outset.”

BRIAN Changes

BU research, Guidance

BRIAN and the external staff profile pages have been amended so that they now only show your first name and surname.  If you have a ‘known as’ name within the HR database then this will be displayed instead of your first name.  If you would prefer a ‘known as’ name to be displayed then you will need to contact HR through HREnquiries@bournemouth.ac.uk to request a change to your ‘known as’ name.

Within the external staff profile pages the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) link on individual publications is now active as a hyperlink and will open the publication.  Also, when searching for a staff member the URL displayed at the top of the staff profile pages has been shortened to ‘http://staffprofiles.bournemouth.ac.uk/display/username’  and this address will also appear in the ‘link’ icon displayed under that persons photo.

The Professional Activity ‘Job Title’ has been removed from BRIAN as this information is pulled through from the ‘staff details changer’.  All job titles that were added into BRIAN have been updated in the staff details changer to ensure that your correct job title is displayed.

Discourses of Inclusion and Exclusion Conference – new sustainability symposium theme

BU research, Research news

I am co-ordinating a symposium on Issues of Inclusivity in the Sustainable University at the DPR annual conference to be held at the University of Greenwich, 9-11 April, 2013. The link is here.

If DPR (Discourse, Power Resistance) is new to you, it is worth saying that DPR is an annual conference, now in its thirteenth year, with an established and increasing international reputation: in 2012 41 nations were represented at the conference. Perhaps the simplest way to tell you about the conference is to give you some links. The conference website is here. You can find a list of DPR publications here together with a link to the conference journal: Power and Education.

Please consider submitting an abstract.

Chris Shiel

Public Health: Knowledge into Action

BU research

1 day conference  – 26th June 2012

Jointly hosted by BU and the NHS

Public health is at a crossroads … moving back into local authorities where it began with the appointment of the first medical officers for health.  This move presents opportunities to improve health and wellbeing by taking a more integrated approach. The purpose of this one day conference was to discuss these opportunities and identify action that can be taken to improve health and wellbeing using the best available evidence.  The event was very successful and well attended and included local public health practitioners, local councillors and BU staff.

For further information please contact: Ann Hemingway, Public Health Academic at Bournemouth University – ahemingway@bournemouth.ac.uk or Lindley Owen Consultant in Public Health NHS Bournemouth and Poole – Lindley.Owen@bp-pct.nhs.uk

Presentations

Study China Winter Programme 2012!

BU research, Funding opportunities, PG research, Research news

The Study China Programme, managed by The University of Manchester, is currently recruiting 200 students for the Winter 2012/2013 programme!  Study China is financed by the UK government to provide a three week student experience of Chinese language, culture and business. This  unique opportunity allows you to  experience life as a student in this fascinating, diverse country.  There are a number of bursaries available to contribute towards your own costs which are airfare and spending money, all other costs are funded by the UK government. The three partnership universities participating in this programme are :

 1) Beijing Normal University

2) Fudan University ( Shanghai )

Dates:

Arrive   – Sunday 16th December 2012

Depart – Saturday 5th January 2013

 

3) Shanghai University of Finance and Economics

Dates:

Arrive –  Thursday 20th December 2012

Depart – Tuesday 8th January 2012

Eligibility: Open to Undergraduate, Masters (including PhD), Nursing Diploma, Foundation degree and HND students. You must be minimum of 18 years old at commencement of programme and holder of a valid EU/EEA passport.

Deadline: Applications will be processed on a rolling basis, it is anticipated that recruitment for this round will be completed by the end of October 2012 at the latest, so apply ASAP.

Further information & Apply:  Visit the Study China website

Read about previous BU students’ experiences on Study China here

 

EC proposes to clamp down on funding to Brazil, China and India in Horizon 2020

EU

The EC has proposed to restrict the number of non-EU countries which will be automatically eligible for funding under Horizon 2020. They published a strategy document yesterday, which said that like FP7, Horizon 2020 will have similar general conditions with regards to eligibility however the list of countries eligible for automatic funding will be restricted by introducing a new threshold on total GDP. This has been proposed in order to exclude large, emerging economies including, perhaps, China, India and Brazil. Funding for participants from these countries will still be possible in some cases. such as those where a reciprocal agreement is in place.

Want to find out about how BU will shape submissions for the REF? Then come to one of our open forums!

Research assessment

Back in July we posted a copy of the BU REF 2014 Code of Practice on the Research Blog (BU REF Code of Practice gets the green light!). The Code of Practice sets out the process that the University will take in shaping submissions for REF 2014, including how outputs, staff and UOAs will be selected for submission and is available from the BU Staff Intranet: BU REF 2014 Code of Practice.

Peng Peng has recently emailed all academic staff with a copy of the Code of Practice, as well as the procedure for raising individual staff circumstances which may have affected an individual’s ability to undertake research to their full potential during the assessment period (such as being part-time, maternity leave, or being an early career researcher).

We are holding a couple of open forums for staff to engage with the Code of Practice and the procedure for raising individual staff circumstances, and these are open to all staff to attend. You can ask questions to a select panel from the internal REF management team, including Prof Matthew Bennett, Julie Northam, Peng Peng Ooi, James Palfreman-Kay, Judith Wilson and a number of the UOA Leaders.

This is an excellent opportunity to ask any questions you have regarding the REF!

Two open forums are planned, details are: 

 

Talbot Campus

Date: 27 September 2012

Time : 11.30am to 1.00pm

Venue: The Wallace Lecture Theatre, Weymouth House

 

Lansdowne Campus

Date: 11 October 2012

Time: 3.00pm to 4.30pm

Venue: EB306, Executive Business Centre

 

There is no need to book – simply turn up!

Would you like to learn more about Scopus and BRIAN? Then come along to one of our workshops!

BU research, Guidance

The aim of these workshops is to support academic colleagues to learn more about Scopus and BRIAN, and how they can use these systems to monitor their publication impact, identify where to publish, identify potential collaborators and also to help them to ensure their Scopus and BRIAN profiles are up to date and optimised.  Matthew Bennett will do an initial presentation about the two systems and this will be followed with the opportunity for participants to look through their own Scopus and BRIAN profiles together with Library and RKEDO (formerly RDU) staff.

They will take place on both the Lansdowne and Talbot Campuses on the following dates:

1 October 10am – 11am CG21 Talbot Campus

10 October 2:30pm – 3:30pm S102 Lansdowne Campus

15 October 10am – 11am CG21 Talbot Campus

23 October 2:30pm – 3:30pm S102 Lansdowne Campus

31 October 9am – 10am S102 Lansdowne Campus

Please book a place if you would like to attend by following this link

Forthcoming event on Older People and one on Bioeconomy in the EU

EU

Older People in an Inclusive Europe Event: Coventry University is organising an event entitled ‘Older People in an Inclusive Europe’, which will take place in Brussels on 8 October 2012.The event will include presentations and debates within the broad context of research related to the ageing society, including a presentation from the European Commission on ‘Horizon 2020: Delivering a Better Society for Older People in Europe’. The event will also launch Coventry University’s Age Research Centre and its Ageing Society initiative.
Conference on Partnering for the Bioeconomy in European Regions: The EC is hosting a conference on the role of EU regions in implementing the EU’s Bioeconomy Strategy (published in February 2012). This will take place in Brussels on 12 October 2012. The event is intended to provide information and highlight the opportunities for regional stakeholders on the local initiatives and investment possibilities in the EU bioeconomy research and innovation areas.

Bells, Offices & Rejection

News from the PVC

I can’t admit to having had a good morning so far; the fire alarm was being test continuously for over 30 minutes when I first got in, my emails are down and I have a long day of meetings in front of me!  Anyway, I hear you all asking about the great ‘office-less experiment’, well I would if it was not for the bells ringing in my head!

In fact it is going very well.  I had three productive days last week working in the various coffee shops around campus and met a lot of people I wouldn’t normally have and performed a few introductions to connect people up afterwards.  The feedback has also been very positive and the support fantastic.  On a personal level I have found it quite hard work and have to admit to being a bit tired at the end last week.  The laptop screen is a bit small, our IT systems did not cover themselves in glory and the phone reception in the atrium is frustrating, but despite these slight irritations I had a very productive week.  So far this week I had a day solid of meetings Monday and a ULT away day in Christchurch, but the atrium beckons again later today.

On a different note, yesterday was not the greatest of days – the away day was fine, but then I got the news that a paper I had submitted a couple of weeks ago to Science had been bounced.  Rejection is never easy to deal with, even when you are half expecting it and is the norm with the most prestigious journal of them all.  Somehow I had convinced myself that this paper stood a chance, but no it was dammed by the phrase ‘most suitable for a specialist journal’.  I shouldn’t be that surprised, to stand a chance in Nature or Science one has to have something that is truly headline grabbing – goldfish eats boy!  But still rejection is not great and I thought I would share my feeling on it.

I used to do these sessions on the Releasing Research & Enterprise Potential on dealing with paper rejection in which I used to say that the true test is ‘how one deals with things in adversity’.  I do believe that this is true and within half an hour of circulating the rejection letter to my co-authors we had agreed a new destination for the paper and I will start the task of re-formatting the paper this evening.  Despite this I must admit to having a bit less bounce today than usual even if the set back in the greater scale of things is trivial.  Perhaps it is the prospect of the having to do more work to re-cast it for the new destination, or the memory of the early mornings and late evenings (working around the day-job) at the end of August spent shaping the paper.  No doubt by lunch time when the bells have stopped ringing in my ears I will feel more positive.  Rejection is part of academic life, you win some and you lose some, but let’s be honest it is the bit that sucks!

ApSci’s Genoveva Esteban and Andrea Galotti get ‘stuck in’ with their research fieldwork!

BU research, Featured academics

Dr Genoveva Esteban collecting water samples at East Stoke Fen (Wareham).  This research is in partnership with the Dorset Wildlife Trust to link science with conservation. Dr Esteban’s investigates ‘cryptic’ biodiversity, i.e. the biological diversity that is invisible to the naked eye, which includes microbes and other small-sized organisms that constitute the basis of food chains.

 

Dr Andréa Galotti is investigating a new biological tool to control nuisance insects (e.g. midges) that grow in drinking and other water systems.  The research in is partnership with SembCorp Bournemouth Water.

Book your place on the BU EU Showcase Event

EU

I am really looking forward to the forthcoming EU Showcase Event; last year’s event was a tremendous success and this year’s will be even bigger and better!

We all know the importance of getting involved in EU funding as national funds dwindle, greater importance is placed on international collaborations and of BUs strategic focus on internationalisation. This event will celebrate our successful EU award holders who will share their tips for engaging in EU funding.

We have presentations on schemes to help you start your EU career (Christos Gatzidis on the Leonardo scheme of the Lifelong Learning Programme and Bogdan Gabrys and Rob Britton on Marie Curie schemes) and schemes for those already engaged (Anthea Innes on applying for an FP7 grant and Adrian Newton on being a Partner in an FP7 consortium). We also have top tips on how to network effectively to become involved in EU funding (from the very experienced Dimitrios Buhalis and Cornelius Ncube). Finally I will be launching 3 very exciting internal EU focused funding competitions at this event to help you engage in EU funding and we have presentations from those who won funding through 2 of these schemes last year.

The informal and informative event will be opened by Matthew Bennett in Kimmeridge House  on 14th November. Plenty of coffee, tea, lunch and cake provided and due to the restriction of room size, registration is essential. This takes only 10 seconds on the Staff Development website.

The event will be finished in plenty of time for you to drive/ catch the uni bus to the Executive Business Centre (EBC) to hear the Inaugural Lecture Dementia: personal journey to policy priority by HSC’s Prof. Anthea Innes.