7 May 2024

The Month in Research: April 2024

A cartoon image of black and white hands clapping on a yellow background

The Month in Research

The Month in Research is our monthly round-up sharing research and knowledge exchange successes from across the previous month, showcasing the amazing work taking place across BU.

Your achievements

Thank you to everyone who has used the online form to put forward their achievements, or those of colleagues, this month.

Dr Ellie Jennings (Business School) has had a new publication in the International Journal of Adolescence and Youth: E Gennings, J Batten & H Brown (2024) Development and validation of the Winchester Adolescent Wellbeing Scale: a holistic measure of children’s wellbeing, International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 29:1, DOI: 10.1080/02673843.2024.2331569

Funding

Congratulations to all those who have had funding for research and knowledge exchange projects and activities awarded in April. Highlights include:

Professor Jane Murphy (Faculty of Health and Social Sciences) has been awarded c.£140,000 by the National Institute for Health Research for their project Stage 2 – The clinical and cost-effectiveness of oral nutritional supplements compared to routine practice, fortified menus and dietetic supported nutritional care on the quality of life and functional outcomes in older people living in care homes in partnership with Plymouth University (lead institution)
Dr Dominique Mylod (Faculty of Health and Social Sciences) has been awarded c.15,000 by the National Institute for Health Research for their project Early Labour App.

Publications

Congratulations to all those who have had work published across the last month. Below is a selection of publications from throughout February:

Fry, A., 2024. Wellbeing and religious community participation: Exploring resources for wellbeing in areas of socio-economic deprivation in the United Kingdom. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 34 (3), e2796.
Dawson, E., Bista, R., Colborne, A., McCubbin, B-J., Godec, S., Patel, U., Archer, L.and Mau, A., 2024. Inclusion for STEM, the institution, or minoritized youth? Exploring how educators navigate the discourses that shape social justice in informal science learning practices. Science Education, 108 (3), 792-819.
Oleo, D. D. D., Manning, L., McIntyre, L., Randall, N.and Nayak, R., 2024. The application of systematic accident analysis tools to investigate food safety incidents. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 23 (3), e13344.
Markostamou, I., Morrissey, S.and Hornberger, M., 2024. Imagery and verbal strategies in spatial memory for route and survey descriptions. Brain Sciences, 14 (4), 403.
Kavanagh, E.and Mountjoy, M., 2024. CyberAbuse in sport: beware and be aware! British Journal of Sports Medicine (April), 1-3.

Content for The Month in Research has been collected using the research and knowledge exchange database (RED), the Bournemouth University Research Online (BURO) repository and submissions via The Month in Research online form. It is by no means intended to be an exhaustive list. All information is correct as of 1.5.24.

Please use The Month in Research online form to share your highlights and achievements, or those of colleagues, for the next monthly round-up.

5 May 2024

BU Professor has been invited to a series of plenary and invited lectures.

conferences, Industry collaboration, innovation, international, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, Public engagement, Publishing, REF Subjects, Research assessment, writing Zulfiqar Khan

BU Professor Zulfiqar A Khan has been invited to the 12^th International Conference KOD 2024, Machine and Industrial Design in Mechanical Engineering to deliver a plenary talk to disseminate and discuss, the latest work on numerical simulation and modelling in interacting machines and systems conducted in NanoCorr, Energy and Modelling (NCEM) Research Group led by Professor Khan. This talk is also aimed to provide an overview of Professor Khan’s work in terms of Nanoengineering & Energy Systems (NES®).

System and Design – © Z Khan 2024.

The overall relation of interacting systems, durability and reliability will be discussed by Professor Khan in the following invited lecture, entitled “an overview of research: numerical modelling and simulation for predictive condition monitoring,” invited by Professor Aleksandar Marinković, Head of Machine Design Department, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering University of Belgrade, and Prof. DR Vladimir Popović, Dean of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Belgrade, the Republic of Serbia. Professor Popović has extended this invitation to include Professor Khan’s meetings with Faculty Management and Chairs of Laboratories for exploring to pursue mutual interests’ initiatives and common goals in Nanoengineering & Energy Systems (NES®).

Interacting System © Z A Khan 2024.

Contact mechanics and nanomaterials – IC © Z Khan 2024.

Professor Khan will then deliver an invited lecture in Mathematical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia to discuss the latest developed mathematical models, Khan-Nazir I, Khan-Nazir II and Khan-Nazir III, these are BU’s ground breaking and globally leading contributions to knowledge in terms of developing impactful design solutions to aid safety, cost savings, energy efficiency and reliability applied in complex interacting and energy systems. These novel models are linked to recently awarded GB, US, PR China, Singapore, Hong Kong (notice of allowance) and EU/EPO (pending) patents in mechanistic, nanofluidics and energy systems developed at BU by NCEM team led by Professor Khan. This lecture is invited by DR Ivana Atanasovska, seminar leader and Stepa Paunović, secretary of the seminar. This lecture will be live streamed on Tuesday, 28 May 2024, you are invited to join.

Interacting System 2 © Z Khan 2024.

This will be followed by invited meetings with key researchers and academics in the Institute of General and Physical Chemistry, Studentski try 12/V, Belgrade to explore collaborative initiatives in Clean Energy Systems.

If you are interested in any of the above topics, events and would like to know more then please get in touch through this link.

5 May 2024

Research reaching non-academic audiences

international, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, Public engagement, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Most grant awarding bodies expect a well thought through communications and dissemination plan. As Research Culture Champion in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS) I thought it might be useful to outline some of the kind of dissemination processes we have employed in the past. Sometimes funding agencies’ requests for a communications and dissemination plan are framed in terms of knowledge transfer and engagement with end users. In a typical research communication plans, apart from excellent scientific publications, we outline our experience of publishing research finding in practitioners journals, online sites, and pressure groups. Depending on the research topic, population and country we may include the production of a short research summary in lay language [see picture Research Brief Migration & Health Jan 2019] and/or organising a dissemination meeting to national stakeholders. In addition we may highlight our experience in writing press releases and some of the subsequent media interest/coverage we have generated.

When writing articles for practitioners’ journals remember: First, do not to publish in practitioners’ journals before your scientific papers in academic journals, as some high-quality journals will not accept papers with findings that have been published/publicized elsewhere. Secondly, aim your paper at the target professional audience and stress the practical implications of your work. For example, BU Visiting Faculty Dr. Emma Pitchforth and I wrote an article from our NIHR-funded study on the role and place of community hospitals in the NHS in HRJ, a professional journal for health service managers [1], this had a very different slant than papers our team in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) we has written for, for example, practical midwifery journals [2-8]. Of course, articles in practitioners’ journals don’t have to be published in English [9-11].

Apart from practitioners’ journals there is growing array of online sites interesting in publishing research findings to a wider audience. The first one that comes to mind is The Conversation; for example, some CMWH contributions on aspects of midwifery and maternity care [12-13], the latter article on Nepal was duplicated in several Indian online newspapers [14-16]. There are plenty of other online outlets available, such as research institutions’ websites [17-19], as well as websites of pressure groups. When writing press releases it is useful to put the actual press release online, for example one on NIHR-funded drowning prevention project in Bangladesh, or write a blog about the press event, for example one in Nepal, all this adds to your overall dissemination plan (and profile).

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH

References:

Pitchforth, E., van Teijlingen, E., Nolte, E. (2017) Community hospitals: a traditional solution to help today’s NHS? HSJ (11 July) hsj.co.uk/community-services/community-hospitals-a-traditional-solution-to-help-todays-nhs/7020019.article#/scientific-summary
Way, S, Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E, et al. (2016) Dr Know. Midwives 19: 66-7.
Ireland, J., van Teijlingen, E. (2013) Normal birth: social-medical model, The Practising Midwife 16(11): 17-20.
van Teijlingen E., Ireland, J.C. (2014) Community midwives on the go. Midwives 1: 54-55.
Hundley, V., Duff, E., Dewberry, J., Luce, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2014) Fear in childbirth: are the media responsible? MIDIRS Midwifery Digest 24(4): 444-447.
van Teijlingen E., Pitchforth, E (2011) One-stop shop, Midwives (The official magazine of the Royal College of Midwives) issue 1: 30-32.
Pitchforth, E, van Teijlingen E, Ireland, J. (2007) Focusing the group, RCM Midwives Journal 10(2): 78-80.
Eboh, W., Pitchforth, E., van Teijlingen E (2007) Lost words: research via translation, RCM Midwives Journal 10(8): 374-377.
van Teijlingen, E., De Vries, R., Luce, A., Hundley, V. (2017) Meer bemoeien met media (In Dutch: more engagement with media). Tijdschrift voor Verloskundigen (in Dutch: J. for Midwives), 41 (6):28-29.
Grylka-Baeschlin, S., van Teijlingen, E., Gross, M.M. (2017) Postpartale Lebensqualität beurteilen (in German: Assessing postnatal well-being), ch (April): 20-23.
Nieuwenhuijze, M., van Teijlingen, E., Mackenzie-Bryers, H. (2019) In risiko’s denken is niet zonder risiko (In Dutch: Thinking in terms of risk, it not with its risk). Tijdschrift voor Verloskundigen (in Dutch: Journal for Midwives), 43 (4): 6-9.
Hundley, V., van Teijlingen E (2017) Why UK midwives stopped the campaign for ‘normal birth’, The Conversation [31 Aug.] https://theconversation.com/why-uk-midwives-stopped-the-campaign-for-normal-birth-82779 Re-printed in UK newspaper The Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/healthy-living/why-uk-midwives-stopped-the-campaign-for-normal-birth-a7925496.html
Simkhada, B., van Teijlingen E (2018) Why suicide rates among pregnant women in Nepal are rising , The Conversation [8 Mar.] https://theconversation.com/why-suicide-rates-among-pregnant-women-in-nepal-are-rising-86252
Simkhada, B., van Teijlingen E (2018) ‘A project is training midwives in Nepal to stem rising suicides of pregnant women’ Scroll.in
Simkhada, B., van Teijlingen E (2018) Why Suicide Rates Among Pregnant Women in Nepal Are on the Rise The Wire
Simkhada, B., van Teijlingen E (2018) Why suicide rates among pregnant women in Nepal are rising MedicalXpress (18 March) .
Pitchforth E., van Teijlingen E, Nolte E. (2017) Community Hospitals: Traditional Solution to Help Today’s NHS? RAND website https://www.rand.org/blog/2017/07/community-hospitals-a-traditional-solution-to-help.html
Sheppard Z, Hundley V, van Teijlingen E, Thompson P. (2014) Collaborative ‘science of science’ needed to ensure research & education make a difference to practice. LSE Impact Blog http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2014/12/15/the-impact-agenda-in-healthcare/
van Teijlingen E, Simkhada P (2016) Publishing in journals of the NepJOL family. INASP website http://blog.inasp.info/publishing-journals-nepjol-family/
Tamang, P., Mahato, P., van Teijlingen E, Simkhada, P. (2020) Pregnancy & COVID-19: Lessons so far, Healthy Newborn Network [14 April] healthynewbornnetwork.org/blog/pregnancy-and-covid-19-lessons-so-far/
van Teijlingen, E. (1992) ‘The Organisation of Maternity Care in the Netherlands’, The Association for Community-based Maternity Care Newsletter, No.5:2-4.

3 May 2024

Studying for M.Res. in CMWH

international, PG research, Student Engagement, student research Edwin van Teijlingen

Now accepting research students in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH)

A Master’s by Research (M.Res.) is a great introduction to the research process, enabling the student to explore a specific area under the supervision of experienced researchers. It contains little or no formal taught component. This type of study gives you the chance to explore a research topic over a shorter time than a more in-depth Ph.D. M.Res. students can undertake a one year full-time or two years part-time Master’s degree. For more details see here.

CMWH is currently accepting MRes (and PhD) applications in the following areas:

Early / latent phase labour (Prof. Vanora Hundley)

Infant feeding (Asso. Prof. Catherine Angell)

Pain management, pain education, musculoskeletal and pelvic pain, pelvic floor muscle dysfunction, women’s health (Prof. Carol Clark)

Women’s health in a changing global climate (Dr. Becky Neall)

Drowning prevention in low-and-middle-income countries (Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen)

Cardiometabolic health during pre-conception and pregnancy (Dr. Sumanto Haldar)

Exercise and pregnancy (Dr. Malika Felton)

Chronic musculoskeletal pain, lifestyle factors, human metabolism, and the use of data science in the pain field (Dr. Omer Elma)

Women’s alcohol consumption and nutritional status (Dr. Chloe Casey)

Nutrition in women’s health (including LGBT+ populations) (Dr. Sarah Hillier)

2 May 2024

April’s Café Scientifique – Should we help machines understand and respond to our emotions?

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement ballen

Dr Roya Haratian at Café Scientifique

In April, a full house at Café Scientifique welcomed Dr Roya Haratian, Principal Academic in Electronic Science and Engineering at the Department of Design and Engineering at BU, to share her research with a public audience.

Bournemouth University’s Café Scientifique events take place at The Black Cherry Café in Boscombe on the first Tuesday of the month. Over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, people can hear about the latest research developments in science and technology.

Dr Haratian explains her research and shares her experience of being involved with Café Scientifique;

Can you give us a brief introduction about your research?

Assistive technology in the home is increasingly part of everyday life. To improve the experience for people who use it, an approach is investigated to adapt machines functionality to the user experience during interaction. As user experience is reflected in physiological signals, body area sensing systems can be utilised to enable the machines to recognise the user experience and provide feedback in real-time. Ethical justifications and concerns in the development of such assistive technologies were the subject of discussion in this Café Scientifique.

Why did you agree to participate in Café Scientifique?

The talk for Café Scientifique was designed to share some part of my research with public to introduce the topic and have their opinion and thoughts on it as potential stakeholders of future products and services.

Can you tell us more about your talk?

Café Scientifique audience at The Black Cherry

In this session I introduced an approach for real-time user experience recognition for assistive technologies. The reflection of user experience in physiological signals was investigated through different psychological models along with how to collect the signals and mathematically model the mapping of physiological signal changes. Using machine learning and artificial intelligent techniques, I could show how such signals have the potential to be mapped into the basis of the user’s psychological space model; therefore, predicting the user experience and enabling adaptation of the machine functionality based on the prediction during the interaction.

The ethical justification of the development of such assistive technologies discussed which includes minimising the need for assistance and enhancing the wellbeing or quality of life of people needing care. However, there are ethical concerns including a reductionist view of emotions which could potentially ignore the widely recognised psychological, cultural, and social dimensions of emotions. Solutionism is another concern and addresses whether technical fixes can be applied to genuinely social or political problems. Furthermore, the privacy and autonomy of users and their experiences is another concern. The tendency of machine learning techniques to normalise and generalise human behaviour and emotional reactions was the last ethical concern discussed and I presented potential solutions.

Dr Roya Haratian speaking at Café Scientifique

How do you feel your event went?

I am always passionate to talk about my research and found it quite interesting that the venue was fully booked. It demonstrated the public’s interest in the topic and during the presentation I could feel that interest in the audience’s questions. I am glad that BU provided me with this opportunity to share my research with the public and have their thoughts taken onboard for the next stages of my research development.

Dr Roya Haratian speaking at Café Scientifique

What did you get from your event?

The ethical justifications and concerns opened a series of questions and discussions which helped me to better understand the view of potential stakeholders while discussing potential solutions for the raised concerns. For further development of research, it is very important to be engaged with potential users and Café Scientifique provided me with this opportunity to hear from them to consider their viewpoints. At the end I shared a survey about the research to better collect their opinion and thoughts.

If you are interested, please feel free to take part in this survey which would be open till mid May 2024.

If you would like to find out more about our Café Scientifique series, or if you’re interested in getting involved in sharing your research with the public at future events, please read our blog post and register your interest.

2 May 2024

Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) 2024 – 2 WEEKS LEFT

PG research amoyse

The Advance HE Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) has launched

Have your say – 2 weeks till the deadline!

Thank you to everyone who has completed the survey so far. If you have not already completed it, we would really appreciate if you could find a few minutes to respond and tell us about your experience this year.

We are keen to make sure our PGRs have the best possible experience while studying with us. To do this, we need to know what you think works well and what as a university we could do better. This is your chance to tell us about your experience as a PGR at Bournemouth University. We also kindly ask that all supervisors encourage their PGRs to participate in the survey.

Thank you to all PGRs who completed the 2023 PRES survey – we listened to you and your feedback has helped us to enhance your PGR experience in a range of areas.

The survey will close on Thursday 16 May 2024. Upon completing the survey, PGRs will automatically entered into a free prize draw. Four winners will be able to claim a £50 shopping voucher. Terms and conditions apply.

In addition, we will be making a £1 donation for every survey completed to the student mental health wellbeing charity, Student Minds.

Once you have completed the survey, you are entitled to claim a voucher worth £3.20, from the Doctoral College to use at any BU Chartwells outlet. Please come to the Doctoral College (DLG08, Talbot Campus) to collect your voucher. You will need to show a screen shot of the final page of the survey in order to claim your voucher.

How do I take part?

PGRs should have received an email from the Doctoral College on Monday 15 April 2024 containing a unique link which will allow you to access and complete the survey. If you can’t find this email, contact PRES@bournemouth.ac.uk and we’ll help you to get access.

What will I be asked?

The survey will take around 15 minutes to complete. Your response is confidential, and any reporting will be entirely anonymous. The survey is your chance to tell us about your experience as a PGR at BU. It will ask you to share your views on supervision, resources, research community, progress and assessment, skills and professional development and wellbeing.

Why should I take part?

Your feedback is important. The Postgraduate Research Experience Survey is the only national survey of PGRs and so is the only way for us to compare how we are doing with other institutions and to make changes that will improve your experience in the future.

More information

If you would like to know more about the survey, please visit: PRES 2024.

We hope you take the opportunity to get involved this year and help us make improvements to your experience.

Best wishes,

The Doctoral College

For any PRES related queries, please email: PRES@bournemouth.ac.uk

2 May 2024

Working with The Conversation: online training session – Wednesday 8th May

ematthews

Would you like to build a media profile and take your research to a global audience?

Find out more about writing for The Conversation and hear directly from one of their editors in an online training session from 2-4pm, Wednesday 8^th May.

The Conversation is a news analysis and opinion website with content written by academics working with professional journalists. Since we first partnered with The Conversation, articles by BU authors have had over 10 million reads and been republished by news outlets across the world.

In this interactive session, you’ll find out more about communicating your research to the public, what The Conversation is looking for, and have the chance to discuss your research with a Conversation editor and pitch potential story ideas.

It is open to all BU researchers and PhD candidates who are interested in finding out more about working with The Conversation.

Sign up now via Eventbrite

2 May 2024

ADR UK Event – Better Data-Better Research-Better Policy

msimmons

University of the West of England, Bristol–Tuesday May 21st 2024-10:00-16:00

Administrative Data Research UK (ADR UK) is transforming the way researchers access the UK’s
wealth of public sector data.

By joining up the abundance of administrative data being created by government and public bodies across the UK, and making it available to approved researchers in a safe and secure way, ADR UK is enabling vital research. These datasets are already supporting the production of world-class academic studies, while leading to better informed policy decisions and more effective public services in areas such as education, healthcare, and crime.

There is no fee for attending.

You can register for the event via this link

Contact details: For further information, please contact damian2.whittard@uwe.ac.uk

2 May 2024

RKEDF May Digest – Training opportunities for YOU!

R & KE Operations, Training msimmons

Have you you heard the news????

We are excited to share some great RKEDF training opportunities coming up in May 2024! 

Click on the titles to find further details and book your place!!!! 

Innovate UK Marine and Maritime Launchpad Future Funding

Wednesday May 8, 8:00 – 12:00 – DG06, Dorset House, Talbot Campus

This event is a must-attend for Dorset-based marine and maritime businesses looking to innovate and grow, if your business involves Clean Maritime, Digital Oceans, and Marine Autonomy, this event is tailored just for you.

Early Career Researchers Network (ECRN) Surgeries 

Wednesday, May 8, 13:00 – 14:00 – Hybrid: Talbot Campus & MS Teams 

This is an open session for all BU ECRs and PGRs, to discuss any issues around career development, or the ECR experience with the peer network, and receive advice and guidance from the network’s academic leads. 

 Principal Investigation – Post Award for RKE                                                              

Wednesday, May 8, 14:00 – 15:00 – Lansdowne Campus  

This session is aimed at any researcher who is, who plans to be, a Principal Investigator for an externally funded research or knowledge exchange project.  

ECRN – The Conversation Media Training  

Wednesday, May 8, 14:00 – 16:00 – Zoom – link provided on sign up  

Are you an academic, researcher or PhD candidate who would like to build a media profile and take your research to a global public audience by writing for The Conversation?  

Introduction to RED – The Research & Enterprise Database  

Thursday, May 9, 10:00 am – 10:30 am – Online  

This session is aimed at all academics to provide an overview of the Research & Enterprise Database, including how to access the system, the information available to view, budget management via RED, and how to use RED to identify your supporting pre and post award officers. 

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Please assist us in avoiding any waste of resources; make sure you can attend or cancel your booking prior to the session.

For any further information, please contact RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk  

2 May 2024

Public Engagement Opportunity: Share your research with the public at Café Scientifique

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement ballen

Would you like to share your research with a public audience? Get involved with our Café Scientifique series 2024/2025

Café Scientifique is a public event that takes place at The Black Cherry in Boscombe on the first Tuesday evening of the month (excluding January & August), and is organised by BU’s Public Engagement with Research Team, part of Research Development and Support.

The format involves delivering a short talk, followed by the opportunity for discussion and questions from a varied public audience. It is a fantastic opportunity for you to gain experience in engaging with the public in a friendly relaxed atmosphere.

We welcome academics at all career stages, although this opportunity is particularly valuable for those getting started in engaging with the public. We encourage collaboration between less experienced and more experienced public speakers to help provide support and gain a rewarding learning experience.

The team will support you every step of the way. From developing your ideas to engage with a public audience, to setting up and promoting your event. We will also be on hand on the day to help your event run smoothly.

Complete our form to Register your interest

Please note: Completing this form does not guarantee you a space. We will be in touch with you to discuss your interest.

If you have any questions about getting involved with Café Scientifique, please get in touch with the Public Engagement with Research Team: publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk.

2 May 2024

Apply for up to £1,000 to deliver an event and take part in a national festival of public engagement with research

Funding opportunities, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement ballen

Funding of up to £1,000 per event is available, and BU’s Public Engagement with Research team offers continuing advice and support on all areas of event development, planning, delivery and evaluation.

The 22nd annual ESRC Festival of Social Science will take place this year Saturday 19 October – Saturday 9 November, with the theme ‘Our Digital Lives’

This national festival offers the chance to create an inspiring event to connect your research in an engaging way with a broad public audience and take your research off campus.

For the second year, BU is partnering with the University of Southampton (UoS) and we are particularly keen to hear from researchers who have already established collaborations with UoS colleagues and may wish to run a joint event. This collaboration enables us to run an extended programme of events, broadening our impact reach and expanding our networks across Dorset and Hampshire.

About the Festival of Social Science

The Festival of Social Science is an annual celebration of research and knowledge about humans and society. It is an opportunity for anyone to explore topics relating to social science – from health and wellbeing to crime, equality, education and identity – through events run by researchers from UK universities. There’s no cost to attend, and most are open to everyone, though some are aimed at specific groups.

What if I’ve never done public engagement before?

Everyone has to start somewhere, and this is the ideal place. You’ll have access to support, advice and training throughout. If you’re unsure, seek out a more experienced colleague to collaborate with.

Explore previous events from BU and examples from around the country
Start brushing up on how to make public engagement work for you. A great place to start is BU’s own video guide to getting started in public engagement with research (Brightspace). You can also browse guidance and case studies from the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE)

Can I apply if I’m not a social scientist?

The ESRC says that events must “feature social science (ideally with a social scientist involved in the event)”. If this doesn’t clearly apply to you, consider these options;

Does your research have clear implications for society that could be explored from a social science perspective?
Could you collaborate with a social scientist, combining your resources and creativity to explore the impact of your research? If you’re looking for a collaborator, the Research Blog or BU website are great places to start or contact us for help

What support will I get?

Being part of this festival means a higher level of support and reach than we usually provide.

Before applying, you’ll have access to:

Advice on request from BU’s Public Engagement Team
The ESRC’s Festival Event Leader pack

When your application is successful, you’ll get:

Funding of up to £1,000 managed by RDS
Training provided by the ESRC Festival of Social Science
Continuing advice and support from BU’s public engagement team on all areas of planning, delivering, evaluating your activity
Wide-scale promotion and marketing of your event by BU, UoS and the ESRC

How to Apply

Apply to take part in the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2024 by completing the online application form,

Deadline for applications: midnight at the end of Thursday 16 May 2024.

ESRC’s Festival Event Leader pack

Apply here

Should you require any more information, or if you would like to arrange a chat with the Public Engagement Team to discuss your application, please contact: publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk.

1 May 2024

Fifteen years at BU

international, PG research, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Fifteen years ago I started as a professor in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences. I have had three different job titles without moving jobs, starting in 2009 with ‘Professor of Maternal & Perinatal Health Research’, which, after a few years, changed to ‘Professor of Reproductive Health Research,’ and again then a few years later dropping the ‘Research’ to my current title of ‘Professor of Reproductive Health’. During these 15 years there have been major changes especially in terms of research in our Faculty. There has been a growth in quantity as well as quality as reflected in our REF scores in 2014 and 2021! We also have a much higher proportion of staff with a PhD then when I started. Currently, I am the Research Culture Champion for our Faculty, tasked with a small team to strengthen our research culture and profile even further.

At a personal level, I have supervised 17 PhD students to completion at BU in the past 15 years, plus an additional nine students registered elsewhere. The latter were mainly PhD students from the University of Aberdeen whom I continued to supervise. Interestingly, two of these Aberdeen PhD students ended up working for BU. I counted 42 PhD viva as external examiner in this period as well as five as internal BU examiner. Some of my experiences at BU were captured last year when I was interviewed by the editors of a sociology journal based in Nepal. [1]

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH (Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health)

References:

Subedi, M., & Khattri, M. B. (2023). Interview with Professor Edwin van Teijlingen. Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 17(01), 79–88. https://doi.org/10.3126/dsaj.v17i01.61149

1 May 2024

New Nature paper by IMSET researchers

BRIAN, Fusion, open accecss, open access IMSET

An internationally significant and ground-breaking paper has appeared in the journal Nature, led by Dr Phil Riris of the Institute for the Modelling of Socio-Environmental Transitions.

The work investigates 30,000 years of population resilience, with contributions from collaborating scholars from 14 institutions in 7 countries. The paper marks a watershed in our understanding of how people in the past adapted to, and overcame, disturbances. It is available in open access.

A schematic diagram of disturbances and population responses

Left: A sketch of an archaeological population time series with downturns and metrics obtained during the analysis. Right: Example types and groups of disturbances noted in the literature.

The key finding of the paper is that land use – the kinds of subsistence practices, mobility regimes, and extent of infrastructure investments – enhanced both how often a population experienced downturns and their ability to recover from them. In particular, agricultural and agropastoral societies in prehistory were especially likely to suffer demographic busts. However, they also displayed an improved ability over time to “bounce back”.

This result has wide-ranging implications for the development of sustainable land use practices, as traditional lifeways may have intrinsic rates of failure “baked into” their function and operation. The paper speculates that, similar to resilient ecosystems or ecological communities, such localised, small-scale, or short-term failures in human socio-environmental systems may contribute to building improved long-term resilience for the system as a whole.

Artistic impression of some of the types of disturbances experienced by ancient societies.

Importantly, these patterns only reveal themselves in the macro-scale comparison of independent case studies, and take multiple decades or even centuries to unfold. Archaeology is the only field able to tackle these timescales systematically, and underscores the value and contribution of the historical sciences to resilience-building and sustainability challenges in the present.

URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07354-8

The research was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AH/X002217/1).

30 April 2024

New eBook published in April

international Edwin van Teijlingen

Two weeks ago our eBook Evidence-based approaches in aging and public health was published online by Frontiers Media [1]. This ebook is co-edited by BU Visiting Faculty Dr. Brijesh Sathian (based in Qatar), Prof. Padam Simkhada (based at the University of Huddersfield) and Prof. Edwin van Teijingen in the Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) as well as Drs. Russell Kabir and Hanadi Al Hamad. This eBook started life as a Special Issue for the journal Frontiers in Public Health. We wrote the accompanying editorial for 15 selected articles in this Special Issue [2]. This publication raises the interesting question when does a Special Issue become an eBook.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH

References:

Sathian, B., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Al Hamad, H., Kabir, R., eds. (2024). Evidence-based approaches in aging and public health. Lausanne: Frontiers Media SA. doi: 10.3389/978-2-8325-4780-9
Sathian, B., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Kabir, R., Al Hamad, H. (2024) Editorial: Evidence-based approaches in Aging and Public Health, Frontier in Public Health 12 2024 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1391432

30 April 2024

RKEDF: Innovate UK Marine and Maritime Launchpad Future Funding

msimmons

Join us on Wednesday 8th May – 8am – 12pm – DG06, Dorset House, Talbot Campus.

For the Innovate UK Marine and Maritime Launchpad Future Funding event, tailored specifically for Dorset’s marine and maritime businesses. The event will delve into the latest funding opportunities and initiatives aimed at businesses involved in Clean Maritime, Digital Oceans and Marine Autonomy in Dorset.

Who should attend?

This event is a must-attend for Dorset-based marine and maritime businesses looking to innovate and grow. Whether you’re a seasoned industry player, a start-up or a support organisation looking to collaborate on projects, if your business involves Clean Maritime, Digital Oceans, and Marine Autonomy, this event is tailored just for you. Connect with like-minded peers, industry and academic experts plus funding specialists to explore the opportunities available.

Why should I attend?

Discover opportunities to secure funding and support for your innovative projects.

Gain invaluable insights into future funding opportunities and learn how to navigate the funding landscape effectively.

Forge strategic partnerships, access tailored guidance and position your business for accelerated growth.

Don’t miss out on this chance to drive innovation, sustainability, and success in Dorset’s marine and maritime sectors.

Spaces are limited so reserve your spot here

30 April 2024

RKEDF: Introduction to RED – The Research and Enterprise Database

Post-award, Training msimmons

This 30-minute session is aimed at all academics to provide an overview of the Research & Enterprise Database, including how to access the system, the information available to view, budget management via RED, and how to use RED to identify your supporting pre and post award officers.

Wednesday 9th May 2024 – 10:00-10:30 Online session

Book your place here under ‘Introduction to RED – The Research & Enterprise Database – 09/05/2024 – in the drop-down menu.

30 April 2024

RKEDF: Principal Investigation – Post Award for RKE

Post-award msimmons

Principal Investigation – Post Award for RKE – Wednesday 8th May – 14:00 – 15:00

This session is aimed at any researcher who is, who plans to be, a Principal Investigator for an externally funded research or knowledge exchange project. Topics covered include:

• What is post award?
• Roles and responsibilities
• Systems
• Key policies
• Starting your awarded project
• Making changes to your project and reporting
• Hints and tips

By the end of the session, attendees will have a strong foundation of what to expect when being responsible for their awarded projects.

Book your place here – under “Principal Investigation – Post Award for RKE – 08/05/2024 – in the drop-down menu

For any queries regarding this workshop, please contact Alex Morrison, Post Award Programme Manager RDS morrisona@bournemouth.ac.uk

30 April 2024

RKEDF: ECRN – Drop in session – May

PG research msimmons

Early Career Researchers Network (ECRN) Surgeries – Wednesday 8th May – 13:00-14:00

This is an open session for all BU ECRs and PGRs, to discuss any issues around career development, or the ECR experience with the peer network, and receive advice and guidance from the network’s academic leads.

BU Research Blog

/ Full archive

The Month in Research: April 2024

BU Professor has been invited to a series of plenary and invited lectures.

Studying for M.Res. in CMWH

April’s Café Scientifique – Should we help machines understand and respond to our emotions?

Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) 2024 – 2 WEEKS LEFT

Working with The Conversation: online training session – Wednesday 8th May

ADR UK Event – Better Data-Better Research-Better Policy

RKEDF May Digest – Training opportunities for YOU!

Public Engagement Opportunity: Share your research with the public at Café Scientifique

Complete our form to Register your interest

What support will I get?

How to Apply

Deadline for applications: midnight at the end of Thursday 16 May 2024.

ESRC’s Festival Event Leader pack

Apply here

New Nature paper by IMSET researchers

RKEDF: Innovate UK Marine and Maritime Launchpad Future Funding

Spaces are limited so reserve your spot here

RKEDF: Introduction to RED – The Research and Enterprise Database

Book your place here under ‘Introduction to RED – The Research & Enterprise Database – 09/05/2024 – in the drop-down menu.

RKEDF: Principal Investigation – Post Award for RKE

Book your place here – under “Principal Investigation – Post Award for RKE – 08/05/2024 – in the drop-down menu

For any queries regarding this workshop, please contact Alex Morrison, Post Award Programme Manager RDS morrisona@bournemouth.ac.uk

RKEDF: ECRN – Drop in session – May

Early Career Researchers Network (ECRN) Surgeries – Wednesday 8th May – 13:00-14:00

Book your place here – under “ECRN Surgeries” in the drop-down menu

For any queries regarding this workshop, please contact RKE Development Framework

Other services

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Research Information Network

UKRI

/ Full archive

Complete our form to Register your interest

About the Festival of Social Science

What if I’ve never done public engagement before?

Can I apply if I’m not a social scientist?

What support will I get?

How to Apply

Deadline for applications: midnight at the end of Thursday 16 May 2024.

Spaces are limited so reserve your spot here

Book your place here under ‘Introduction to RED – The Research & Enterprise Database – 09/05/2024 – in the drop-down menu.

Book your place here – under “Principal Investigation – Post Award for RKE – 08/05/2024 – in the drop-down menu

For any queries regarding this workshop, please contact Alex Morrison, Post Award Programme Manager RDS morrisona@bournemouth.ac.uk

Early Career Researchers Network (ECRN) Surgeries – Wednesday 8th May – 13:00-14:00

Book your place here – under “ECRN Surgeries” in the drop-down menu

For any queries regarding this workshop, please contact RKE Development Framework

Other services

Don’t miss a post!

Recent posts

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