Yearly Archives / 2016

What is BU Research Staff Association?

BU Research Staff Association (RSA) is a forum to promote BU research culture. Research staff from across BU are encouraged to attend to network with others researchers, disseminate their work, discuss career opportunities, hear updates on how BU is implementing the Research Concordat, and give feedback or raise concerns that will help to develop and support the research community at BU.

Coffee mornings

BU RSA meets informally at a regular coffee morning which is open to all staff at BU. Each coffee morning has a research related theme and speakers are invited from across BU to share their experiences around this theme.

The programme for 2016/17 is as follows:

Date Time Venue Theme Speakers
28 September 2016 10-11am B420, Lansdowne Campus Ethics

 

Sarah Bell
Martin Hind
Carole Bond
Katarzyna Musial-Gabrys
30 November 2016 10-11am Global Hub, DG68, Talbot Campus Funding Ehren Milner
Emily Cieciura
Lisa Gale-Andrews
Sharon Docherty
25 January 2017 10-11am Wellbeing Centre, Bournemouth House, Lansdowne Campus Networking and collaboration Edwin van Teijlingen
29 March 2017 10-11am Global Hub, DG68, Talbot Campus Impact Zoe Sheppard
31 May 2017 10-11am Room TBC, Lansdowne Campus TBC TBC
26 July 2017 10-11am Global Hub, DG68, Talbot Campus TBC TBC

BU Research Staff Representatives

There are two BU Research Staff Representatives. Their role is to facilitate the BU RSA coffee mornings and attend the BU Research Concordat Steering Group and the University Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee to provide an update on the BU RSA and raise any feedback or concerns. This ensures that feedback and concerns raised by research staff are fed into the BU Research Concordat Action Plan, so that they are addressed going forwards.

The current BU Research Staff Representatives are:

Dr Michelle Heward
mheward@bournemouth.ac.uk

Bournemouth University Dementia Institute
Dr Marcellus Mbah mmbah@bournemouth.ac.uk
Centre for Excellence in Learning

Faculty Research Staff Representatives

Each Faculty also has a Research Staff Representative. Their role is to attend Faculty Research and Knowledge Exchange Meetings to provide an update on the BU RSA and feedback any comments or concerns.

The current Faculty Research Staff Representatives are:

Faculty of Health and Social Science Faculty of Management Faculty of Media and Communication Faculty of Science and Technology
Dr Pramod Regmi
pregmi@bournemouth.ac.uk
Dr Julia Hibbert
jhibbert@bournemouth.ac.uk
Post Vacant Sara Miellets
miellets@bournemouth.ac.uk

Have your say….

If you are a member of research staff and have any feedback or concerns that you would like to raise, please come along to the next coffee morning or contact any of the Research Staff Representatives to share your thoughts. All comments will be treated in confidence.

Physiotherapy in the ASEAN region hosted in Malaysia

I recently visited Malaysia – meeting with colleagues from INTI International University, attending a national academic conference and as an invited speaker to the 13th Asian Confederation of Physical Therapists in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

 

At INTI International University – I met with the VC, Deputy Dean of Faculty of Health

Professor Narasimman Swaminathan. Prof Nara and I collaborated in delivering a joint session for physiotherapy students to inspire their interest in public health initiatives. Professor Narasimman Swaminathan is a visiting professor in the FHSS at BU and is leading research initiatives at INTI which link closely to those in the Department of Human Sciences and Public Health at BU.

 

I was invited to attended a national academic conference on technology enhanced learning and contributed to the round table discussion about the implementation of technology into curriculums.

 

I had an opportunity to meet with all the presidents of the Physiotherapy Associations that make up the Asian Confederation: ( Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan and Macau). I also met up with Dr Gillian Webb the World Confederation of Physical Therapists ambassador for the ASEAN and Western Pacific Regions. I deivered a lecture aimed at inspiring Physiotherpaists to sue their dskills to increase engagement in physical activity as a method of combatting the non-communicable diseases. The importance of being pro-active in preventing the non-communicable diseases was the theme of the key note speach delivered by Malaysia’s  Deputy Minister of Health Dato’ Seri Dr. Hilmi Haji Yahaya.

I now have a better understanding of the education/research needs of colleagues in this region, which I have fed this back to the Faculty and ADGE.

One of the most interesting people I met was Professor Paul Hodges who holds a chair in Physiotherapy at the University of Queensland – his research findings have influenced my own research journey in the field of movement and pain.

RKE Development Framework: Pre-award Finances workshop on 2 November!

This informative session held in the Fusion Building will introduce researchers to Full Economic Costs (fEC), transparant approaches to costing (TRAC) and BU Financial Regulations. Guidance will be offered on how to cost projects in a way that funders will find acceptable. Training will be provided on producing the ‘Justificaton of Resources’ document required by many funders.

By the end of this session you will be able to:

  • Understand why costs are produced using fEC
  • Gain an understanding of what are reasonable costs on applications
  • Understand why costs must be fully justified.

Please book your place on the Organisational Development webpage here.

As this session starts at 12.00 noon to 1.00 pm, please feel free to bring your lunch.

rkeo-rke-pre-award-at-bu

Chapter on Ethics in Film by Kip Jones published by Routledge

Written by leading international scholars from the main contributing perspectives and disciplines, The Routledge International Handbook on Narrative and Life History seeks to capture the range and scope as well as the considerable complexity of the field of narrative study and life history work by situating these fields of study within the historical and contemporary context.

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Relishing the chance to cite not only C.E. Scott from The Question of Ethics Nietzsche, Foucault, Heidegger, but also Norma Desmond from Sunset Strip, Jones said, “The Handbook was a welcomed chance, once and for all, to sort the subtleties of ethical considerations in arts-based research approaches such as film”.  Jones is joined in the Handbook‘s discussion on Ethics  by such luminaries as Arthur Frank, Laurel Richardson, Caroline Ellis, and Norman Denzin.

Jones’ Chapter is available now on Brian and Academia.edu and the Handbook will shortly be in the BU Libraries.

 

PhD student visiting

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“[…] collaboration is more important than the competition.”

Bertrand Russell

 

Eduardo Martínez-Carbonell Guillamón is a PhD student from the faculty of Health and Sport Science at University Catholic of San Antonio in Murcia, a lovely city in the south of Spain.

Collaborating with Université Catholique de Louvain and School Top Trades Du Sport, Eduardo is developing a research named “Bone mineral density in a population of the region of Murcia and its relationship with physical exercise”.

His aim is to search for risk factors of osteoporosis and then find a prevention plan based on physical exercises.

From September Eduardo joined our University as a visiting PhD student collaborating with PGR Francesco Ferraro, on the relationship between trunk muscles training and balance, under the supervision of Professor Alison McConnell, Professor Tom Wainwright and Dr. James Gavin.

Working together at the Orthopedic Research Institute is being a gratifying experience.

We both are aware that falls prevention is a sensitive topic that required an interdisciplinary approach.

To accomplish and maintaining a high-quality standard for our volunteers, we are working side by side to get the best out of this experience and actively collaborate in the field of elderly health care.

From this collaboration we hope to improve our knowledge and networks for research to come.

HE Policy update

Posted a little late – I’ve missed a couple of blogs so catch up on the last few here.

Read the UUK evidence to the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee inquiry into industrial strategy.
This highlights the role of universities in:
• making long -term, sustainable contributions to productivity and growth,
• creating the best possible environment for businesses to thrive
• sustaining the world-class excellence of the UK’s research base to attract businesses from all over the world to locate and invest in the UK
• meeting the demands of business through a strong supply of higher-level skills

Research Professional have highlighted a sharp drop in H2020 participation from members that are not full or associate members – “Only 11.7 per cent of Horizon 2020 grant agreements were found include a partner who was not an EU member or Horizon 2020 associated country, the report said. Under Framework 7, 20.5 per cent of agreements included at least one non-European country.”

The Higher Education and Research Bill has finished its Commons committee stage and the amended legislation has now been returned to the Commons. A date for its third reading, when MPs will vote upon whether to pass the amended legislation, has yet to be set. Jo Johnson, the universities and science minister, batted away all opposition amendments at the final committee meeting on 18 October, which examined the bill’s research provisions. The opposition amendments sought to provide additional protections for the existing research councils and to ensure a closer relationship between research and teaching, which Johnson said were “unnecessary” since such powers will be developed in the framework documents, and would jeopardise the flexibility he wants for the legislation. He also confirmed that If the bill is passed into law in its present form, ministers would have powers to change the names and functions of the research councils without consulting the academic community. Meanwhile, peers are holding informal conversations about how to approach the bill when it enters the Lords.

Brexit speculation continues – this week there was a rumour that students would be excluded from immigration figures after all, squashed quickly by No 10:
“The Government objective is to reduce annual net migration to the tens of thousands, and in order to deliver this we are keeping all visa routes are under review.
“Our position on who is included in the figures has not changed, and we are categorically not reviewing whether or not students are included.”

A UUK task force has been looking at violence against women, harassment and hate crime affecting university students and has now reported. See the UUK press release here.
“The evidence showed that while many universities have already taken positive steps to address these issues, university responses are not always as joined-up as they could be. There is more work that can be done to share effective practice across the sector.

HESA published a report on the DLHE consultation – this is not the outcome of the consultation, just an analysis by HESA of the responses, but it gives a sense of direction. HESA will publish a proposal based on this feedback and run a second consultation on it towards the end of the year.

Two research reports were also published – these were commissioned by HESA to support the review.
CFE Research’s report on ‘What do good outcomes from HE look like’ considers what good outcomes are for a range of groups, including students and graduates, higher education providers, employers and society/the state.
Warwick Institute for Employment Research’s report on ‘Richer information on student views’.

And a reminder to engage in the “Schools that work for everyone” consultation – workshops on 4th and 17th November – e-mail policy@bournemouth.ac.uk for more information

NIHR-funded TACIT Trial: TAi ChI for people with demenTia.

Since the beginning of 2016, Dr Samuel Nyman (Psychology Department, and Bournemouth University Dementia Institute) has been funded 100% of his time for 3 years by the NIHR on a Career Development Fellowship. Part of the fellowship is to conduct a research project: “The TACIT Trial TAi ChI for people with demenTia”.

The first external presentation about this project was on the 11th November 2015 as part of an ESRC-funded seminar series, Physical activity among hard-to-reach groups: Issues of research, policy and practice. That presentation was noticed by Haringey Council who have charged a scrutiny panel with the task of reviewing their strategy for increasing physical activity among older people in their borough. As part of this review, last week on the 13th October, Haringey Council invited Samuel, along with other colleagues from across charitable / higher education / private sectors, to present about the project. The project was met with much interest and contributed to a roundtable discussion on how to implement the current evidence-base into practice.

tacit-trial-picture-oct-2016

 Dr Nyman and guests with the scrutiny panel, Haringey Council Chamber

The project is starting to recruit into its Pilot Intervention Phase, and will recruit into the randomised controlled trial phase in the spring of 2017. The trial results will be available in the autumn of 2018 before Samuel finishes his fellowship in December 2018.

For further information about the TACIT Trial, please see:

InsideBU – Out Now

insidebu-front-cover-useThe latest issue of InsideBU, the magazine for BU staff and students, is out now.

This issue brings the concept of Fusion to life through a range of features and articles including:

  • Celebrating undergraduate research through hosting the prestigious British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR) next year
  • National research into the scale and impact of financial scamming in the UK, headed by BU’s National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work and Professional Practice
  • The research stories behind the Fusion mural on Talbot Campus.

Hard copies are available across both campuses and you can also read it online – simply click the arrows on the bottom right of the screen to expand it to a full page size.

If you use a screen-reader, Word and PDF versions are also available. The current issue – and all back issues – can also now be found on the Staff Intranet, under ‘Find’ on the bottom right of the homepage.

Please email insidebu@bournemouth.ac.uk if you would like hard copies sent directly to you.

We appreciate all feedback and suggestions for future issues. If you have a story for the next issue of InsideBU, email insidebu@bournemouth.ac.uk.

How universities can work with creative industries

The University Alliance and the Arts Council England have published a guide for cultural institutions that want to work with universities along with a report on universities’ role in cultural leadership.

a-clearer-pictureThe guide encourages greater collaboration between cultural organisations and universities.  It supports small and medium sized arts and cultural organisations on partnering with universities. Matt Robinson has written a blog about the guide and its aims.

The report is a collection of case studies highlighting existing partnerships and the ways in which universities are acting as custodians and champions of the arts. You can find those case studies here – Making Places: universities, the arts and creative industries.making-places

 

NVivo workshop and surgery – 4 November

As part of the Graduate School’s Research Development Programme 2016/17, Jacqueline Priego from CEL will be delivering an NVivo workshop. Details below:

Date: 4 November 2016

Time: 9.00-11.00

Venue: S103

Bookings via myBU *

Audience: This workshop is suitable for PGRs with some knowledge of qualitative analysis approaches.

Intended learning outcomes. By the end of this workshop you should be able to:

• Confidently identify the main elements of the NVivo interface

• Open and create new NVivo projects

• Prepare and modify documents

• Create codes and code documents

• Rearrange the coding system

• Perform simple retrieval of coded documents

• Use annotation and linking tools.

If you are already using NVivo for your research, you might like to drop in for the last half an hour of the session, when an open surgery will be held.

Jacqueline Priego has been delivering CAQDAS workshops and training postgraduate students and researchers on qualitative analysis since 2010. She is also available for queries relating to MAXQDA (not supported at BU).

*Spaces are limited due to room capacity – please book through myBU to avoid disappointment.

Research & Knowledge Exchange Development Framework: Getting started on applying for research funding – Tomorrow 27 Oct at 12.00 noon!

The first session for the ‘Pre-Award at BU’ pathway called ‘Getting started on applying for research funding’ will be held tomorrow in Poole House, PG10!

This session will explore how best to adapt research in response to the changing external environment. The workshop will provide information on the best routes to funding based upon career stages and also introduce who in RKEO can support you.

By the end of this session you will:

  • Understand how best to access help with research proposals at BU
  • Identify appropriate funders for different areas of research.

Please book your place on the Organisational Development webpage here.

As this session starts at 12.00 noon to 1.00 pm, please feel free to bring your lunch.

rkeo-rke-pre-award-at-bu

UKRO Visit – Slides now available

UKRO logoRKEO were pleased to welcome UK Research Office’s BU account manager, Maribel Glogowski for our annual subscriber visit, on Tuesday 25th October. Maribel is based in Brussels, along with the rest of the UKRO team, so is BU’s perfect partner for keeping us up to date with funding developments in the EU.

UKRO is the European office of the UK Research Councils. It delivers a subscription-based advisory service for research organisations (in the main UK HEIs) and provides National Contact Point services on behalf of the UK Government. UKRO’s mission is to maximise UK engagement in EU-funded research, innovation and higher education activities. As a BU member of staff, you can sign up to receive email alerts direct to your inbox.

Maribel covered the following topics:

  • Updates on project management including post-referendum statements
  • Creative Europe
  • Erasmus+
  • Accessing the Horizon 2020 Societal Challenges

All the slides from the day are available in the MyBU Community for the Research & Knowledge Exchange Development Framework. Please select the International Pathway to access these slides – more resources are being added over the coming months.  All staff have been pre-enrolled into this community.

If you have any questions about this event or are considering applying to EU funding schemes, please contact Emily Cieciura (RKEO, Research Facilitator: EU & International)

 

Business collaboration & networking

gamechanger

Need help with networking? – why not book onto the business engagement and networking session on 2 November for some hints and tips that you can put into practice.

Date: Wednesday 16 November

Location: The Fusion Building, Bournemouth University

Event information:

Building on the successful Game Changer event held earlier in the year, Bournemouth University and NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group present The Game Changer Reloaded – promoting innovation and fostering collaboration across Dorset. Join Richard Dolan, Dr Phil Richardson and Professor Jim Roach and a diverse collection of speakers to learn more about the art of the possible and the power of innovation to transform health services within the region.

Places are going fast for both sessions so make sure you book your space. Academics are encouraged to attend both sessions but if you are looking for potential funding partners / research collaborators session 2 is a must.

It’s free: book now for sessions 1 and/or 2

Timings:

Session 1 – 9.00 am -3.00 pm: Speakers from BU and external organisations share their innovation journeys throughout the day providing inspiration and ideas to those attending as to how to get involved.

Session 2 – 3.15 pm  – 4.15 pm: Facilitation and networking: This session offers the opportunity to share ideas and develop future collaborations. There’s also the chance to begin to consider research ideas that could subsequently be progressed in order to obtain external funding in the future.

Each session will need to be booked separately.

Throughout the day there’s a pop-up innovation exhibition for guests to enjoy and to share and refine ideas.

It’s free: book now for The Game Changer Reloaded 

This event forms a number being run at the university as part of the Festival of Enterprise.

Need help with networking? – why not book onto the business engagement and networking session on 2 November.