Yearly Archives / 2018

NIHR call for peer reviewers

Knowledge Exchange, NHS, Research assessment, Training

The National Institute for Health Research are in urgent need of psychiatrists and psychologists to peer review funding applications.

See the original tweet here advertising this opportunity, and how to apply here*.

*The link takes you to how to apply as a professional peer reviewer, from any clinical speciality. You can review for the NIHR for professional development (amongst other initiatives), and they need a wide range of expertise:

  • Academics
  • Clinicians
  • Health service managers and clinicians
  • Practitioners
  • Public health and related professionals
  • Social care sector workers
  • Patients and the Public
  • Anyone whose work has a potential impact on health.

 

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis contribute to the African Tourism Leadership Forum and meets the Tourism Ministers of Seychelles and Ghana

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis contribute to the African Tourism Leadership Forum and meets the Tourism Ministers of Seychelles and Ghana

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis with Hon. Didier Dogley Seychelles Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marines

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis with Hon. Catherine Afeku Ghana Minister For Tourism, Arts & Culture

The link between loneliness and the rising number of elderly people suffering from malnutrition

Knowledge Exchange

Home Instead is launching the Stay Nourished initiative in consultation with Professor Jane Murphy from BU’s Ageing & Dementia Research Centre.

See full article below:

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/1000975/one-million-pensioners-summer-eating-every-meal-alone?platform=hootsuite

 

Updated HRA and HCRW Statement of Activities and Schedule of Events published

NHS, Post-award, Research Ethics

What is the significance of the Statement of Activities and Schedule of Events?

When the Health Research Authority (HRA) approval process was introduced in March 2016, the Statement of Activities (SoA) and Schedule of Events (SoE) documents were made mandatory for non-commercial studies – those initiated and managed by non-commercial organisations such as Universities, NHS Trusts, charities etc.
The two documents must be submitted alongside your study documents when seeking NHS Research Ethics Committee approval, and the approval of the HRA, as the ‘umbrella organisation’.

With the introduction of the new General Data Protection Regulations, the HRA and HCRW have amended the two documents. They may be found here.

Who is ‘HCRW’?

HCRW stands for Health and Care Research Wales, and they have recently aligned its processes and paperwork with the HRA’s, so as to streamline and make consistent the research application process within England and Wales. Until recently the HRA was the umbrella organisation in England only, and a separate process was required if you wished to include research sites in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland*.

*If you wish to include sites from Scotland and Ireland, then the ‘old process’ is still to be followed. Contact Research Ethics for guidance.

What do I need to do?

If you are currently awaiting your approvals from the REC and HRA/HCRW, you do not need to do anything unless otherwise instructed by the HRA/HCRW. If you are concerned please get in touch with your HRA assessor, or their queries line.

If you are simply thinking of introducing your research into the NHS, are at your beginning stages, or you are currently compiling your study documents, then please remember to use the new versions of the SoA and SoE.
Please get in touch with Research Ethics for guidance on any aspects of clinical research, guidance, and if not already obtained, to request sponsorship of your study. Guidance and useful documents may also be found on the Clinical Governance blog.

 

REGISTER NOW: 18th September 2018 – Sixth Annual Wessex CRN Research Meeting & Regional BGS

conferences, HSS Our 9 Research Entities, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, NHS, PG research

Click links for programme and registration form, spaces limited!

Programme for SIXTH Annual Wessex CRN and Regional BGS 18 Sept 2018 with sponsors v3

REGISTRATION FORM for 6th annual Wessex CRN Research BGS MEET

ING 18 09 2018

‘Research changed my life’ – NIHR stories

NHS, Research Ethics

The National Institute for Health Research have gathered some inspiring stories from people across England, whose lives have been transformed by clinical research. The stories cover a wide range of health conditions.

You can read them here.

Remember that support is on offer at BU if you are thinking of introducing your research ideas into the NHS – email Research Ethics and take a look at the Clinical Governance blog.

To Catch A Predatory Publisher

open access, Publishing, writing

Guest post by billsullivan 
ORCID: 0000-0003-1823-8642

I often wonder if other scientists wake up every morning to delete a deluge of spam messages from no-name journals and questionable conferences. Sometimes one of these emails will escape my extermination efforts and I end up reading it by accident. The invitations from so-called “predatory” publishers are so transparently fake and poorly written that a part of me finds their annoying overtures oddly amusing.

I realize that predatory publishing and phishing emails are not laughing matters. There has been an explosion of predatory publishers trying to con scientists out of their money. For a fee, these journals or books are just frothing at the mouth to publish your work collect your cash. Some may even invite you to serve on their “prestigious” editorial board, but this is just to lend an air of authenticity to their sham operation.

What separates a predatory publisher from a legitimate science publisher? Both charge you large sums of money for you to do all the work, but the latter employs a rigorous peer-review process that ensures the articles they publish have been properly vetted. Sting operations have revealed that predatory journals will publish absolute gibberish, proving they are phonies who just want to make fast cash. A recent sting operation involved the submission of a manuscript about midi-chlorians from Star Wars, written by Dr. Lucas McGeorge and Dr. Annette Kin. The fictional paper was accepted by four of these flimflam publications masquerading as a legitimate scientific journal.

In an effort to help root out some of these predatory publishers, I’ve compiled some of my favorite lines from the suspect emails I receive on a daily basis. I hope this helps people spot dubious publishers. The typos, spelling mistakes, and grammatical errors were left in place intentionally—exactly as they were sent to me. These types of errors represent a big red flag that a predatory publisher is stalking you. Please don’t take them as a sign that the PLOS editorial staff is sleeping on the job!

 

The Greeting That Proves They Have No Idea Who You Are

Fake journals will address you in unusual ways, or not at all! Some make no effort to conceal that they merely cut and paste your name into the slot of a form letter. Here are some examples I have received.

Dear Dr. WJ William J,

Dear ,

>Dear Dr.Jr WJ ,

Dear Dr. SULLIVAN,

Dear Dr. William J. Sullivan, Jr.1,2*,

Dear Dr. Jr,

Dear Dr. Jr William,

Dear Author,

Dear Researcher,

Dear Dr. Ferris (or someone else who is not me),

The opening is almost always followed by something like this:

“Greetings from the [PREDATORY] Journal!!!” or “Hope you are doing great!!” or “Hope our e-mail finds you well and in healthy mood.”

 

A New Type Of Sport:  Extreme Flattery

Reading these emails can be a big boost to your ego, but keep in mind that thousands of others received the same exact praise. I’ve been called “esteemed,” “brilliant,” “magnificent,” and the “leader in the field.” I should show these emails to my mom; fake or not, she’d be very proud to see her son put on such a high pedestal.

They also make our work out to be the greatest thing since the microscope:

“It’s your eminence and reputation for quality of research and trustworthiness in the field of [insert a field that usually has no relationship to mine whatsoever] and for which you have been invited to become an honourable editorial board member.”

“I am impressed by your quality work and I really value your contribution towards recent work.”

“We have gone through your papers and find it is a wonderful resource for upcoming works.”

“It would be our honour and great fortune if you will share your manuscript.”

“It is our immense pleasure to invite you and your research allies to submit manuscript.” (I call all of my collaborators my Research Allies now, and warn everyone that if you’re not with us, you’re against us).

Some of the spam even tries to reassure you that it is not spam. Although I don’t doubt the last sentence (in bold).

“This is not a spam message, and has been sent to you because of your eminence in the field. If, however, you do not want to receive any email in future then reply us with the subject remove /opt-out. We are concern for your privacy.”

 

Smell the Desperation?

There is a palpable urgency in these invitations to get their hands on your work cash before someone else does…

“We consider Mini Reviews, Original Research/ Review Article, Case Reports, Short Communication, Conference Proceedings, Commentaries, Book Reviews etc.”

“[Our journal] publishes all kinds of papers in all areas of this field.”

“It is our immense pleasure to invite you to submit Research, Review, Mini review, Short commentary, Commentary, Case Reports, Methodologies, Systematic Reviews (or any type of article) for the upcoming issue of our journal.”

“We necessitate your plate of stuff in the frame of article.”

“We are in a deadly need of an article.”

 

The Closing That Is Too Close For Comfort

Emails from predatory publishers often close with more friendly compliments, with the hope that you will continue to provide them a constant research revenue stream…

“We look forward to a close and lasting scientific relationship for the benefit of scientific community.”

“Anticipating for a positive response!”

“Thank you and have a great day doctor!”

“Our journey is effectively heading.” (whatever that means)

And here are some of the more amusing ways they describe my anticipated work:

“We await your adorable paper.”

“Your paper will serve as a wave maker.”

“We aspire you also to be a significant part of our team by publishing your magnificent article.”

And one that is just plain baffling:

“For future anticipation to reach out scientific community we want your support towards the success of Journal.”

They may even try to get you to do their dirty work for them. I take the following sentence to mean that they want me to spread the word about their predatory journal and invite my colleagues to be suckered into submitting work to them as well:

“As this is an invited submission request, you can also suggest your colleagues.”

 

Some Final Warning Signs

Be wary of any inaugural issues or invitations that ask you to submit your paper through an email address.

These predatory publishers may also try to give you a false sense of the importance of their “journal.” One of these invitations boasted that “email newsletters are being circulated to 90,000+ subscribers.” All this tells me is that 89,999 other people received their unsolicited spam.

I’ve also noticed they are often willing to discount their publication fees if you send them something – “anything at all” – within seven to ten days. No legitimate journal expects you to whip up a quality article in that short a time.

Oh, and one more thing:  many of these emails have an excessive number of exclamation points!!!

I hope that you are now better equipped to catch a predator. If you still aren’t sure if your email invitation describes a bona fide journal or not, you can check Beall’s List of Predatory Journals and Publishers or see if the journal is indexed on PubMed. Here’s hoping that you don’t get fooled!!!

Originally posted on the 4th October 2017 – https://blogs.plos.org/scicomm/2017/10/04/to-catch-a-predatory-publisher. Reposted here with permission.

Writing About Methods- 3rd October 2018

PG research, Training, writing

Join Dr Patrick Brindle from INTO Content  on the 3rd October 2018 9:30-16:30 for Writing about Methods course. To book click here

The session will talk about a range of practical approaches they can adopt when writing about methodology in the social sciences. The course focuses on 20 or so writing strategies and thought experiments designed to provide more clarity and power to the often-difficult challenge of writing about methods. The course also looks at common mistakes and how to avoid them when writing about methods. The focus throughout is on building confidence and increasing our repertoire of writing strategies and skills.

The course covers:

  • A range of practical writing strategies for handling methodology
  • The challenges of writing a PhD methodology chapter or a methods section in a research paper
  • Writing for qualitative and quantitative research approaches
  • Understanding different audiences and the needs of different academic markets

By the end of the course participants will:

  • Better understand who and what ‘methodology writing’ is for
  • Know the differences and similarities between PhD methods chapters, research paper methods sections and methods books
  • Understand and reflect on 21 principles (or starting points) of best practice in methodology writing
  • Focus writing on audience needs and expectations
  • Be aware of common mistakes and misunderstandings and so avoid them
  • Reflect on the relationship between methodology writing and other parts of your manuscript
  • To develop learning and best practice through exercises and examples

This course would be suitable for PhD students, post-docs and junior researchers in the social sciences. To book click here

Online Ethics Checklist is NOW OFFLINE

Research Ethics

REMINDER that the online ethics checklist is now offline and won’t be available until Monday 3rd September.  During this time students/staff will not be able to apply for ethical approval.  This is to allow for data migration.

The new online checklist will be available from Monday 3rd September 2018.

If you have any questions, please email researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Congratulations to FHSS Visiting Faculty

international, NHS, Publishing, writing

Congratulations to two members of Bournemouth University’s Visiting Faculty Minesh Khashu and Jillian Ireland on the publication of their paper ‘Fathers in neonatal units: Improving infant health by supporting the baby-father bond and mother-father co-parenting ‘ which has been accepted this week by the Journal of Neonatal Nursing. [1]  Prof. Minesh Khashu is the lead Consultant Neonatologist and Jillian Ireland is Professional Midwifery Advocate and both are based at Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

This position paper has been co-authored by a wide-range of international experts from The Family Initiative (based in London), Edith Cowan University in Australia, McGill University in Canada, Northwestern University in the United States of America, the University of Toulouse in France, Luleå University of Technology in Sweden, Lillebaelt Hospital in Denmark, the Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea in Italy, the University of Melbourne in Australia and Bournemouth University.

This is second paper in this field by these BU Visiting Faculty members after the 2016 publication of a literature review. [2]

 

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health

 

 

References:

  1. Fisher, D., Khashu, M., Adama, E., Feeley, N., Garfield, C., Ireland, J., Koliouli, F., Lindberg, B., Noergaard, B., Provenzi, L., Thomson-Salo, F., van Teijlingen, E. (2018) Fathers in neonatal units: Improving infant health by supporting the baby-father bond and mother-father co-parenting Journal of Neonatal Nursing (accepted).
  2. Ireland, J., Khashu, M., Cescutti-Butler, L., van Teijlingen, E., Hewitt-Taylor, J. (2016) Experiences of fathers with babies admitted to neonatal care units: A review of the literature, Journal of Neonatal Nursing 22(4): 171–176.

Online Ethics Checklist is NOW OFFLINE

Research Ethics

REMINDER that the online ethics checklist is now offline and won’t be available until Monday 3rd September.  During this time students/staff will not be able to apply for ethical approval.  This is to allow for data migration.

The new online checklist will be available from Monday 3rd September 2018.

If you have any questions, please email researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

The future of research at Bournemouth University

I hope you have enjoyed discovering more about the exciting and diverse research that has been undertaken at Bournemouth University (BU) over the last twenty five years. For me, the thread that runs through each of these research journeys is working with and making a difference to the world outside academia. From influencing midwifery practice, to helping the police and security forces make us safer, to working with governments around the world to improve their response to natural disasters, researchers at BU have long been exploring ways for their research to benefit others.

At the core of all our work at Bournemouth University is our aim to bring together research, education and professional practice in a model we call ‘Fusion’. This blend of elements helps us to ensure that our research makes a difference to professional practice and informs our teaching. Working with industry enables us to shape research that helps to tackle some of the pressing issues facing our society, while also ensuring that we produce graduates who have the skills they need to succeed in their chosen careers.

Looking to the future, as we launch our BU2025 strategic plan, we intend to build on our Fusion approach making Bournemouth University a place that inspires learning, advances knowledge and enriches society. As part of this, we are investing in two new gateway buildings in Bournemouth and Poole. These will equip us with state-of-the-art learning and research facilities, including high-quality media production studios which will enable us to build on our already outstanding international reputation for animation and media production, as well as providing a new home for health and social sciences.

We will also be responding to the ambitions set out in the Government’s Industrial Strategy through developing our existing research strengths in health and medicine, animation, sustainability and low carbon technology as well as assistive technology. Research will play a significant part in helping the UK to rise to societal challenges, such as an ageing population, the need for the development of clean energy and use of technology in driving economic growth. By building on our existing areas of research expertise, producing outstanding graduates and working with industry, Bournemouth University will help to ensure that the UK is well equipped to succeed in the future.

I am proud of the work of Bournemouth University’s researchers, students and professional support staff over the last twenty-five years and I look forward to seeing the difference that we make to the world around us in the coming years.

This article was featured in the 2018 Bournemouth Research Chronicle. To see the magazine in full, click here or pick up a copy in Poole House or Studland House reception.

 Vice Chancellor, 

Professor John Vinney             

Save the date – 10 October 2018 – UKRO Annual Visit to BU

Funding opportunities

RKEO will host annual UK Research Office visit on 10th October 2018. The event will take place provisionally in FG06 seminar room. All staff interested in EU funding are invited to attend. This session will be delivered by Dr Andreas Kontogeorgos, European Advisor of the UK Research Office.

We are preparing agenda which is expected to include such topics as Brexit and the next EU framework programme Horizon Europe. More information on agenda will be provided in September. Academics are kindly requested to submit any other EU funding related topics for discussion to Ainar Blaudums at RKEO by the end of August.

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 part of UKRO services, BU members of staff may sign up to receive personalised email alerts.

N.B. BU staff considering applying for EU and other international funding should contact Research Facilitator for EU and International funding Ainar Blaudums for further information and support.

Online Ethics Checklist – goes offline tomorrow!

Research Ethics

REMINDER that the online ethics checklist will not be available from tomorrow, Friday 24th August 2018 until Monday 3rd September.  During this time students/staff will not be able to apply for ethical approval.  This is to allow for data migration.

The new online checklist will be available from Monday 3rd September 2018.

If you currently have an ethics checklist in the system and you are in the process of seeking ethical approval you will need to make sure it’s approved today or you may find you’ll have additional questions to answers when the new checklist comes online!

If you have any questions, please email researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

 

Online Ethics Checklist – going offline this Friday 24th

Research Ethics

REMINDER that the online ethics checklist will not be available from Friday 24th August 2018 until Monday 3rd September.  During this time students/staff will not be able to apply for ethical approval.  This is to allow for data migration.

The new online checklist will be available from Monday 3rd September 2018.

If you currently have an ethics checklist in the system and you are in the process of seeking ethical approval you will need to make sure it’s approved today/23 August or you may find you’ll have additional questions to answers when the new checklist comes online!

If you have any questions, please email researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

 

The effect of large scale interventions on improving public health

Good nutrition and eating well are an important part of public health and can help stave off a number of age-related illnesses. Over the last twenty years, Bournemouth University’s Professor Heather Hartwell has been carrying out research into nutrition in the context of developing large-scale interventions to improve public health. Her work has taken her from prisons to hospitals to workplace canteens.

When Professor Hartwell began her research career in nutrition, much of the health policy focus was on one-to-one support for people who were struggling with associated health conditions. The idea that large scale interventions might be successful was only beginning to be recognised.

“One of the first projects I was involved in at Bournemouth University was a commission from the National Audit Office, exploring nutrition in prisons,” says Professor Hartwell, “We found that while prisoners did have healthy eating options, the catering on offer tended to over-rely on processed foods – bread, sausages and pasties, for example. This meant they were eating more salt than the general population, which can lead to high blood pressure and the risk of heart disease. Among other things, we recommended that they used the prison gardens to grow fresh produce, as it was a low-cost way of adding more vegetables to the food on offer.”

“Around the same time, we were also looking at nutrition in hospital catering. In this setting, we found that there were much fewer healthy food options on offer and that meal production and delivery were overseen by a number of different teams – caterers, porters and ward staff. This meant that there was no real consistency and making it easier for miscommunication to take place.”

“It was quite eye-opening working in two very different public sector contexts,” continues Professor Hartwell, “As researchers, it’s important to go into every situation with humility because until you’re fully immersed in the context in which you’re working, you can’t fully appreciate the barriers that staff might be facing. In the NHS, for example, catering managers are often providing three meals per day, drinks and snacks on a very low budget, which limits what they’re able to do. You can’t achieve perfection in any situation, but co-created research can significantly improve what was there before.”

Working in public sector settings and seeing the difference that larger scale interventions could make on people’s health then led Professor Hartwell to consider the difference that healthier eating options could make in workplace canteen environments.

“These settings are really important because they’re where people eat on a regular basis, not just one-off celebratory meals. If people are continually being offered unhealthy food choices, then it can have long-term implications for their health. We’re given very little information about what’s in our food when we eat out, so my starting point was to improve that.”

Over the last few years, Professor Hartwell has been working on a major European grant, FoodSMART, which has been addressing exactly that issue. The grant enabled Professor Hartwell and her team to develop an App, which uses data provided by catering companies to help consumers to make more informed choices about their meals.

“We wanted to create an IT solution for the contract catering industry which would both better inform their consumers and also give the companies an edge when competing for new contracts,” explains Professor Hartwell, “It was slightly ahead of its time when we first created it, but is gaining much more interest now as workplaces are increasingly concerned about employee wellbeing.  Nutrition can help contribute to better health, which helps to reduce sickness rates and can improve productivity too.”

Alongside FoodSMART, Professor Hartwell and her team were also leading on another European grant, which was looking at increasing our protein intake through vegetables. In the context of an increasing global population, it is important for the agricultural and catering sectors to consider more sustainable sources of food.

“The project was about encouraging people to get their protein through vegetables, rather than meat, which uses far more resources than arable farming,” says Professor Hartwell, “It’s a healthier way of meeting our protein requirements as vegetables contain less fat and are much more sustainable in the long run.”

Partly inspired by the issues of sustainability raised in this project, Professor Hartwell and her team have recently started working on a new research grant with partners in Brazil to consider how to improve our long term food security.

More information about VeggiEAT can be found here: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/veggieat 

More information about FoodSMART can be found here: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/foodsmart

This article was featured in the 2018 Bournemouth Research Chronicle. To see the magazine in full, click here or pick up a copy in Poole House or Studland House reception.

Early Career Researcher Network Launch on 12th September – Book Now!

Training

On Wednesday 12th September, BU will be launching its new network specifically for our Early Career Researchers (ECRs).

This initiative underlines the support that is being made available to ECRs as part of the Vitae Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.

During the day, attendees will have the opportunity to shape the future of the network and contribute to the activities that will take place during the year. Specifically, in the morning, the network’s academic leads (Ann Hemingway and Sam Goodman) will facilitate participative and exploratory sessions to make sure that the ECR Network works for you, the BU ECRs.

After a networking lunch, ECRs in receipt of Acorn Fund awards will present an overview of their research. This will be followed by a ‘showcase’ opportunity for other ECRs to promote and discuss their research with attendees.

By the end of the day, it is excepted that you will:

  • have been able to meet with ECRs from all faculties at BU
  • had the opportunity to share your research interests with others
  • been able to voice your opinions on the development of the ERC Network at BU

The morning sessions are open to ECRs and the lunch and afternoon open to all BU academic staff but especially ECRs.

To book your place, please email RKEDevFramework@bournemouth.ac.uk, stating if you wish to attend the morning, the afternoon or both, along with any dietary requirements.