Yearly Archives / 2013

Epidural simulator wins Institution of Engineering and Technology Innovation Award

BU research, Research news

A medical device developed by Bournemouth University (BU) and Poole Hospital to make epidural injections safer and more effective has received a prestigious innovation award.
 
The epidural simulator uses software to predict where a patient’s epidural space will be, and helps doctors electronically measure the loss of pressure that occurs when they reach the space, to prevent errors.
 
The project won the Information Technology category at the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Innovation Awards, which received more than 400 entries from over 30 countries.
Dr Venky Dubey, PhD student Neil Vaughan, and awards host and former Apprentice winner Tim Campbell.

L-R: Dr Venky Dubey, PhD student Neil Vaughan, and awards host and former Apprentice winner Tim Campbell.

“We knew that our project is unique as it blends engineering expertise and knowledge of clinicians directly dealing with the problems in their day to day care,” said Dr Venky Dubey, Associate Professor in Research at BU, who is leading the epidural simulator project alongside PhD student Neil Vaughan and Dr Michael Wee and Dr Richard Isaacs from Poole Hospital.
 
“We have done this several times in the past, competing with international institutions of repute like MIT and Harvard, but what is unbelievable this time is that we have won it against giant companies vying for this coveted award.
 
“Honestly, we are shocked to have won this award. It’s like winning a Technological Oscar for our hard work”.  
 
He added: “This clearly shows that there is a technology gap in patient care for epidurals and the associated safety issues. This award recognises our innovative approach that has the potential to reduce patient injury and improve training experience of anaesthetists.”
 
The IET Innovation Awards celebrate the best innovations in science, technology and engineering. The ceremony took place at The Brewery, in London last week.
 
The judging panel for the Information Technology category, in which the epidural simulator was named winner, said: “The standard for the IT Category is always high and this year was no exception. The 2013 winning entry provides an innovative training solution to teach the epidural procedure to medical practitioners.”

How to get published in journals

BU research

Working in academia, you need to be published but knowing how to write a great article and where to send it can be challenging. The tricks to getting strong journal publication will be covered in this 2 hour session as part of the BRAD framework on December 6th. You will receive advice on how to publish and how to escalate your academics writing levels.

This is an interactive session where you can bring examples of your journal writings for constructive feedback and help in getting it fabulous. You can book your place via the Staff Development webpage.

 

Erasmus Mundus calls for proposals released!

EU

The first calls for Erasmus Mundus have been released. This call is for Action 2 of the Programme which is aimed at  fostering structured cooperation between EU and third-country higher education institutions through the promotion of mobility at all levels of studies for students (undergraduate and masters), doctoral and post-doctoral candidates, researchers, academic and administrative staff (not all regions and lots may include all types of mobility flow).

Action 2  of the Erasmus Mundus partnerships call is divided into two strands:

  • Erasmus Mundus Action 2 — STRAND 1 — Partnerships with countries covered by the ENPI, DCI, IPA and ICI (ICI +) instruments;
  • Erasmus Mundus Action 2 — STRAND 2 — Partnerships with countries and territories covered by the Industrialised Countries Instrument (ICI).

The countries to be targetted and the number of projects likely to be selected and the budget available can all be found in the Guidance Document. The deadline for proposals  is 3 March 2014. You may also recall that over the summer a new process to manage Erasmus Mundus submissions was implemented at BU whereby partners on these proposals must be approved by the International & UK Partnerships Committee (IUPC). To ensure the approval is a speedy process, a bespoke proposal form, template and process has been developed for Erasmus Mundus applications. Once approved by this committee, this will help ensure the Contract Agreement Form is produced much faster.
If you are approached to be part of an Erasmus Mundus proposal, or would like to coordinate one then you will need to complete a Partnership Development Proposal form a minimum of five weeks before the deadline – this will be the 27 January . The full process and timescale can be obtained by contacting Paul Lynch or Sarah Katon who will guide you through this.

 

 

 

Draft Work Programmes on Horizon 2020 now officially available!

EU

Most of the big draft Work Programmes for Horizon 2020 have now been made available!  These documents are critical to read if you are thinking of making a submission to Horizon 2020 as they give information on the the planned calls for proposals and deadlines. Remember that the official calls will be amde on December 11th, so this gives you a good head start!
 
Do let Paul Lynch or Sarah Katon know if you intend on making an EC submission as they can help guide you through this.
 
 

Latest major funding opportunities

BU research, Funding opportunities, Research news

The following opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information:

Please note that some funders specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKE Support Officer.

You can set up your own personalised alerts on ResearchProfessional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s RKE Officer in RKE Operations or see the recent post on this topic.

6th Annual PG Conference – 22 January and 23 January 2014 – CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

PG research

The Graduate SchoolCALL FOR ABSTRACTS. 

The Call for Abstracts from any BU registered postgraduate research student is now open and full details including the necessary forms and guidelines can be found on the Graduate School website or myBU (Graduate School PGR Community).  The deadline for submission is 5 pm on Monday 2nd December 2013.

We are still looking for PGR volunteers to help out over the two days (chairing oral presentations; setting up on the day (possibly evening before); signposting visitors on the day), so if you’re interested in putting your name forward, please email your PGR Rep Ashley Mitchell.

If you have any questions about the conference, please get in touch with the Graduate School Team by emailing : pgconference@bournemouth.ac.uk

‘How do I write a successful research grant?’

BU research

…is a question I hear all the time. It’s really tough to know how to do this if you haven’t ever received training in it so you are not alone if you too have asked this.  If you are curious as to how you can write a winning research proposal but haven’t been able to join the Grants Academy or EU Academic Development Scheme, then we have a session  aimed at you as part of the BRAD framework.

On the morning of Wednesday November 27th an external expert bid writer will give some fantastic tips in a condensed 3 hour session on how to write a research grant. You will learn some of the tricks involved in writing a proposal for any funding body and will get an invaluable insight into what reviewers look for.

Spaces for this session are limited, so you will need to book via the Staff Development webpage.

The BU Research Application Process – everything you need to know

BU research

As processes for submitting a research proposal change, it can be difficult to keep up with what the correct steps are. The expertise of your key R&KEO team contacts also can be overlooked – but we can make this process easier for you. From helping you through the ethics checklist to costing your proposal to helping you write your impact statement to ensuring your eligibility for particular schemes.

This session, held as part of the BRAD framework will cover all you need to know, have a Q&A session and also the opportunity for a 1-2-1 with one of the team to answer any questions you need answered. The session is taking place on the afternoon of 4 December and spaces for this session are limited, so you will need to book via the Staff Development webpage.

 

Get the dates for H2020 calls all this week!

EU

Another reason I am very grateful BU subscribes to Research Professional is that they really listen to what universities need. Starting this week, they will publish the Horizon 2020 calls on their database, based on the draft proposals. Make sure you don’t miss a single one, by customising your account – its takes one minute and you will receive one email a week. If you get stuck when trying to customise it, just give your RKE Operations Officer or Jo Garrad a call and we will talk you through it.

 

BU Professor at COST Action Training School (Malta)

BU research, EU, Publishing, Research Integritiy, Training, Uncategorized

Bournemouth University contributed to the successful Cost Action Training School 2013 earlier this month (see: www.um.edu.mt/events/costactiontraining2013/). The Training School ‘Writing for maternity services research, theory, policy and practice: Integrating new theoretical insights from the iR4B COST Action’ was held at the University of Malta.
The 24 trainees who were successful in their application came from a wide-range of European countries. At the Training School each trainee was linked to one of six experienced trainers, three from Ireland: Prof. Declan Devane, Dr. Valerie Smith, and Prof Cecily Begley, and three from the UK: Prof. Soo Downe, Dr. Lucy Firth, and BU Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. These trainers brought to the Training School not only their extensive experience as writers, but also that of scientific editors, reviewers for academic journals, and PhD supervisors.

(photo by Mário Santos, Portugal).

The Training School included presentations on how to incorporate notions of salutogenesis and complexity into maternity care and midwifery publications, issues around writing academic English as a non-native English speaker, plagiarism, how to start writing an academic paper for a MSc or PhD thesis, and many more related topics.
In their feedback some trainees stressed that this is the kind of helpful information every postgraduate student and budding academic should know about. Others said “I wish I had known that before as no one ever addresses these issues.” The trainees discussed the outlines of their papers, and they were given ample time to draft papers under the watchful eye of their trainer. All trainees have committed to submit a paper derived from the Training School by early Spring 2014.
COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is one of the longest-running European frameworks supporting cooperation among scientists and researchers across Europe. For further information on OST in general see: http://www.cost.eu/ ).

Bournemouth University was represented by Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen based at the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health in the School of Health & Social Care.

ENABLE: Establishing Sustainable Research Networks and Building Learning Environments

Women's Academic Network

As part of the Fusion Investment Fund, we (Prof Jonathan Parker & Dr Sara Ashencaen Crabtree) won a study leave grant throughout the current academic year.

Our project aims to create sustainable research and education opportunities across BU through the establishment of a social science research, education and professional practice network with Southeast Asian and Asian universities. An aim which also enhances and builds on our personal research agendas that will lead to the development of robust Research Council funding applications, and contribute to fusion and the BU 2018 vision.
The project will identify, scope and establish a sustainable social science research academic network across BU. This aim has been initiated through discussion with some key individuals in BU and the potential to develop, in 2014-15, research council bids in respect of:
a. gender relations and practices in the professions
b. understanding the ways in which conflict resolution is culturally specific and that learning can enhance our opportunities for establishing social cohesion and a reduction of conflict
c. examination of the neo-imperialism of research ethics scrutiny from Western perspectives
d. it may also lead to work in respect of sustainability in the lives of indigenous peoples.
The core part of the study leave will develop and conduct research and research collaboration in Southeast Asia, predominantly Malaysia but including Cambodia, and Hong Kong. As part of our study leave we have both been awarded visiting Professor status at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in Kuala Lumpur where we will spend January until April 2014, followed by visiting professorships at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in Penang from April until July. We will also be visiting universities in Hong Kong, Cambodia and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) in Kuching, East Malaysia.
Four core fusion and BU 2018 objectives underpin our project. These will result in funded research bids, increased student experience, and reputational enhancement for BU, and will be achieved through four workstreams:
Research:
1. establish a sustainable research network promoting social sciences and interdisciplinary research at BU (workstream 1).

2. develop research streams of locally specific or cross-cultural relevance (workstream 2).

Education:
3. engage and promote educational initiatives via guest lectures/research seminars, developing joint postgraduate research supervision and educational initiatives promoting student mobility, e.g. credit transfer (workstream 3).

Professional Practice:
4. engage in discipline-specific activities in relation to social work/development and welfare (workstream 4).

We have been invited to join the Tasik Chini Research Centre at UKM, a centre dedicated to research concerning the ravaged freshwater lake near Kuala Lumpur. As part of our research we will be undertaking an ethnography and conflict resolution narrative work with the Jakun tribe of the Orang Asli (the indigenous people of the region) with a view to promoting the marginalised voices of these people, disenfranchised by modernising agendas. We will also be researching approaches to unfair and wrongful discrimination in social welfare practices in the UK and Malaysia.

We look forward to keeping BU colleagues up-to-date with our work in Southeast Asia through our blogs. For those interested in developing research across these areas please contact us as we wish to ensure that social science research is highlighted across BU.

Professor Jonathan Parker & Dr Sara Ashencaen Crabtree

Protectors or Oppressors?: Welfare through the prism of Sherborne’s history

On a recent fieldtrip to Sherborne, our Sociology and Social Policy students, taking the ‘History of Social Welfare’ unit, explored the interconnections of past and present social movements and social policies. The mechanisms for the alleviation of poverty and disadvantage in Britain are reflected by Sherborne’s history, which represents a microcosm of historical trends.

Students and staff visited the almshouses (now St. Johns’ House), which is no past relic but instead has offered a remarkable six hundred years of unbroken community service, being set up in 1437 and continuing without interruption to the present time. St Johns’ Almhouse built on earlier charitable provision by the monks and we heard of its violent beginnings, of when townsfolk rioted and burned significant parts of the monastery church before gaining a voice in provision for the town’s poor folk. Students learned how the distinctions of ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ were applied then in similar ways to today, as a means of separating and distinguishing people and maintaining a particular social order.

Bringing their learning of social welfare in this case study town to the present day, we gained insight from the Rev Dr Ray Catchpole of how difficult it was in our current times of austerity to convince the people of Sherborne that people were again experiencing poverty even to the point of near starvation. He described the food bank that he now runs that has grown over six months to deliver over 200 food parcels each month.

Students reflected that the fieldtrip gave vibrancy to the classroom learning and demonstrated some of the pervading interconnections in British social policy thinking – the distinction between deserving and undeserving poor, the power relations between capital and the disenfranchised and the continuing political and moral struggles concerning how, as a society, we deal equitably and fairly with people in poverty and how we challenge normative thinking and tackle the disadvantages caused by prevailing social structures. Using the words of Sir Walter Raleigh, former resident of Sherborne and campaigner on behalf of a mistreated pauper, those with responsibility and power ‘should be protecters and not oppressers off poor pepill.’

Prof Jonathan Parker & Dr Sara Ashencaen Crabtree

Corrosion Experimental Techniques to Simulate Operating Conditions

BU research

Bournemouth University’s Sustainable Design Research Centre has recently added stat-of-the-art Temperate-Humidity Environmental Chamber (THEC) to its resources, which has the ability to configure the resistance capabilities of various materials and coatings against environmental influences of temperature combined with humidity.

THEC provides facility to conduct corrosion simulation to investigate the durability of coatings and metal alloys subject to extreme operating conditions, in addition the susceptibility of components to corrosion that will eventually lead to malfunction. These simulated corrosion experiments monitor effectiveness of various materials under varying environmental conditions at an early stage to avoid catastrophic failures. These results inform prediction techniques to deploy to assess failure mechanisms and useful life of various structures, components and systems.

THEC has a temperature range of -40°C (aerospace applications) to +180°C (process industries applications) and from 0 (dry) to 100 (wet) Relative Humidity (%age). The test chamber can accommodate test samples of 350(W) x 300(D) x 310(H) mm. The chamber has vast applications when it comes to analyse the durability of coatings and strength of materials not only for daily life domestic products but also in aerospace and automotive industries. The chamber can also be used to analyse the safe working conditions for various electronic components and in Renewable Technology applications.

Environmental simulation is analysed through a PC interface using specialist analytical tool which enables to further optimise the utilisation of environmental testing systems, e.g. deployed in various research & development programmes, production and quality assurance. The operation of both the chamber and analytical tool provides opportunities of time and cost savings for the industry. Evaluation and documentation of various test cycles helps to evaluate the performance of vast variety of industrial products and other applications.

SDRC capabilities in experimental and modelling techniques to predict useful life of components, structures & systems subject to corrosion has the potential to inform design for durability and reliability.

If you would like further or specific information in this subject please contact

 

Dr Zulfiqar Khan (Associate Professor)

Director SDRC

Email: zkhan@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

 

 

Masterclass: Systematic Reviews

BU research, PG research, Publishing

One way of collating and assessing the best possible evidence is through a method called ‘systematic reviewing’. Systematic reviewing is a specific research method whereby a structured, rigorous, and objective approach is used to provide a critical synthesis of the available evidence on a particular topic. This masterclass will examine the rationale for systematic reviews and take participants through the various elements of a systematic review: selecting (electronic) databases; literature searching; data extraction; data synthesis; interpretation and reporting.

Date: 9-10 January 2014
Time: 9.30am – 4:30pm
Venue: Executive Business Centre, Bournemouth University, 9 Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth,
BH8 8EB. View on map>>

The course will include:

  • Designing a review protocol
  • Formulating a question
  • Identifying and selecting relevant studies
  • Systematic data extraction and collection
  • Synthesis and analysis of the data
  • Writing up & reporting systematic reviews.

Masterclass facilitators
Prof. Vanora Hundley is a midwifery researcher who has conducted a number of reviews of interventions intended for use in low income countries. She is also a Faculty Fellow with the Cochrane Collaboration College for Policy at George Mason University, USA, which produces and disseminates reviews that are relevant to public policy.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen is a medical sociologist with extensive experience in conducting systematic reviews. He has run similar workshops on systematic reviews in Nepal, and has published on the importance of systematic reviews.  
The facilitators will be assisted by Dr. Marylin Cash is researcher in the School of Health & Social Care where she recently completed a review on the portrayal of childbirth in the media. 

 

Booking information
Cost: £200 (£150 for Bournemouth University students and staff)
Please book online by midday on 6 January 2014.

Find out more and book your place >>
Or contact wellbeing@bournemouth.ac.uk

“The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”

BU research

Oscar Wilde had his views on popularity, but he didn’t live long enough to see BU’s staff profile pages.

Since going live with the new staff profile pages on 2nd October, we have had 17,598 visits to the site.  Given below are some interesting statistics on who is looking at us and what they’re looking at:

Country / Territory  – Visits

1. United Kingdom – 54.02% 

2. United States – 7.56%

3. India – 2.94%

4. Germany – 2.03%

5. Canada –  2.13%

6. China – 1.64%

7. Australia – 1.97%

8. Malaysia – 1.53%

9. Netherlands – 1.18%

10. Greece – 0.77%

Rest of the World – 24.2%

Top 10 Pages (Based on page views)

1. People  –  9.69%   

2. Home  –  8.89%

3. Search Results  – 6.46%

4. Keywords  – 1.05%

5. Dr Hossein Hassani –  0.76%

6. Professor Stuart Allan – 0.58%

7. Dr George Filis –  0.51%

8. Professor Timothy Darvill – 0.48%

9. Dr Roman Gerodimos  –  0.39%

10. Professor Jens Holscher  – 0.38%

It is also useful for us to know how visitors found our pages and on what devices they are viewing the pages:

Channels             Visits

1. Organic Search  79.94%  – this is through Google, Bing, etc.

2.  Direct                    9.84% – they have a link set up to the page

3.  Referral                9.30% – from another web site but mainly BU’s web site, Research Blog, etc.

4.  Social                     0.87% – Twitter, Facebook, etc.

5.  (Other)                 0.02%

6.  Email                     0.02%

Usage across devices is as follows:

  • 85.64 % Desktop
  • 8.4% Mobile
  • 5.95% Tablet

The above shows that we are networking on a global scale and that the majority of visitors are searching the site rather than just viewing one individuals page.  It also demonstrates that the time taken to create our new profile pages has been worthwhile and highlights the importance of keeping your BRIAN account up to date.

If you have any queries about BRIAN or the Staff Profile Pages then please direct these to BRIAN@bournemouth.ac.uk