/ Full archive

*Book Now* The BU Protocol of academics engaging with business- 18/10/17

If you are interested in working with local industry stakeholders, and don’t know how best to approach communication, please attend “The BU Protocol of academics engaging with business” on 18/10/17.

BU has many partnerships and established relationships with local and national stakeholders. This short session, run by Ian Jones, Head Of Regional Community Partnerships within the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, will cover the route of communication and protocol for approaching and working with these stakeholders. Examples of best practice will be presented along with details on how to understand when institutional commitments are being made.

The intended learning outcomes of this session are:

  • Attendees will learn who they need to speak to before contacting some of our partners
  • Attendees will learn the protocols expected by some stakeholders
  • Attendees will gain insight into when they are making “institutional commitments”

You book through the link here. For any questions about how this course may be useful to you, please contact Ehren Milner (emilner@bournemouth.ac.uk)

 

 

My personal experience at Café Scientific

Café scientific was one of the best public engagement activities that I have done in the past years, and I do recommend going there and deliver your talk to the public.

In all my past experiences (including pint of science, the festival of learning, U3A, the Air Show and others) I have always met great people who were interested to know and learn more about what we are doing here at BU, and at Café Scientific, it was no different.

I arrived there 1h before the talk, the café (vintage/steampunk style), was already set up for the event, thanks to the great work of the Public Engagement Team. So I had all the time to calm down and get ready.

At about 19:30 the place was packed, and few people had to listen to the talk standing up.

A sample of the presentation is available on Youtube:

Even if the room was fully booked, the audience was very quiet and focused on listening to the 40 minutes presentation.

However, the best part was at the end, and I am not referring to the delicious brownie cake that Boscanova Café made for celebrating the 5th birthday of Café Scientific, but for the questions.

I was happily surprised to have so many interesting questions, which made me think again about my projects.

There were questions about: the effect of singing and yoga exercises on balance; why not make a POWERbreathe that instead of a mouthpiece has a nosepiece; how much the improvement in balance was due to the strength of the muscles trained and not just the ability to breathe deeper; why not test the effects of meditation, and others very intelligent questions.

Finally, it was challenging and I hope that all the audience received the right message: research can be fascinating and fun, especially if you can share it with others.

If you are interested in know more about how to breathe your way into balance, contact me at fferraro@bournemouth.ac.uk

Thank you for reading.

Francesco.

CMMPH student wins prestigious Iolanthe Midwifery Trust award

Congratulations to Dominique Mylod, clinical doctoral student in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health , Faculty of Health and Social Sciences.

Dominique was awarded a Midwives Award from the Iolanthe Midwifery Trust for her research into early labour, which explores whether using a birth ball at home in early labour improves birth outcomes. She is supervised by Professor Vanora Hundley, Dr Sue Way, and Dr Carol Clark.

The picture shows Dominique receiving her award from Baroness Julia Cumberlege CBE, Patron of the Trust.

 

Business School Staff Research Seminar Series 2017-18

We are pleased to announce the commencement of the Business School Staff Research Seminar Series organised by the Faculty of Management.

The seminars give a great opportunity to showcase the research activities of the Business School. We encourage all to come and participate. For further information email to mchowdhury@bournemouth.ac.uk.  The schedule of this year is given below:

Business School Staff Seminar Series 2017-18, Faculty of Management, Bournemouth University
Date Speaker Affiliation Presentation Topic Time and Venue
04/10/2017 Dr Lucy Lu Associate Dean (Global Engagement), Faculty of Management, Bournemouth University Innovation in Chinese Firms: Strategies and Challenges 16:00-17:30, BARNES
18/10/2017 Dr Sabine Graschitz and Jörg Hering Assistant Professor, University of Innsbruck and PhD Candidate, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (i) Competency-based Learning in Accounting, and (ii) Form 10-K Textual Analysis and Future Stock Returns. 16:00-17:30, CREATE LT
25/10/2017 Dr Dermot McCarthy Principal Lecturer, Department of AFE, Bournemouth University The Role of Person-Organisation Fit in Understanding the Impact of Public Service Motivation on Organisational Commitment: A Co-Created Paper 16:00-17:30, BARNES
01/11/2017 Dr Geoff Pugh Professor of Applied Economics, Business School, Staffordshire University Separate and policy mix effects from regional and national innovation subsidies on the cooperative behaviour of Spanish manufacturing firms 16:00-17:30, BARNES
15/11/2017 Samreen Ashraf Lecturer, Department of Marketing, Bournemouth University Who am I or who I maybe? Identity conflict and bank choice in the context of Pakistani banking sector 16:00-17:30, BARNES
29/11/2017 Dr Peter Case Professor of Organization Studies, Business School, University of the West of England (Un)assuming Leadership: An Anthropological Perspective on Leadership Phenomena 16:00-17:30, BARNES
06/12/2017 Dr Todd Bridgman Senior Lecturer, School of Management, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand A new history of management: Why rethinking our past has relevance for today 16:00-17:30, BARNES
07/02/2018 Dr Sangeeta Khorana Professor of Economics. Department of AFE, Bournemouth University Trade Agreements: Costly Distractions for Developing Countries 16:00-17:30, BARNES
14/02/2018 Dr Elvira Bolat Senior Lecturer, Department of Marketing, Bournemouth University From Compassion to Defence: Exploring Brands’ Trust Repair Mechanisms across Traditional and Digital Media 16:00-17:30, CREATE LT
28/02/2018 Dr Steve McCorriston Professor of Agricultural Economics, Business School, Exeter University What drives alternative forms of Cross Border Acquisitions 16:00-17:30, BARNES
07/03/2018 Dr Peter Erdelyi Senior Lecturer, Department of LSO, Bournemouth University Entrepreneurship Theory and Market Studies: Parallels and Disconnects 16:00-17:30, BARNES
14/03/2018 Dr Phyllis Alexander Principal Lecturer and Interim HoD of AFE, Bournemouth University Determinants of Tax Morale 16:00-17:30, BARNES
18/04/2018 Dr David Jones Associate Professor and Interim HoD of LSO, Bournemouth University Academic leisure crafting: Individual respite or collective transformation 16:00-17:30, BARNES
25/04/2018 Dr Juliet Memery Professor of Marketing, Department of Marketing, Bournemouth University Trust repair in the service sector 16:00-17:30, BARNES
09/05/2018 Dr Parisa Gilani Lecturer, Department of LSO, Bournemouth University The Shadow Side of Leadership Development 16:00-17:30, CREATE LT

Human rights study day in maternity care

On 26th September the branch of the RCM in Southampton held a study day dedicated to considering human rights concerns in maternity care. It was attended by over 50 practitioners from across the region. Topics covered included a workshop by the human rights in maternity charity, Birthrights, and speakers from Barnados and Stop the Traffik. These latter presenters provided thought provoking, and somewhat harrowing, evidence for the need for awareness of sexual exploitation in young people, and trafficking of humans in our areas of practice. In addition Dr Jenny Hall (pictured right) from CEL and Jillian Ireland, visiting researcher in CMMPH, discussed the human rights of women with disability, based on current research partially funded by Birthrights, undertaken with colleagues Professor Vanora Hundley and Dr Bethan Collins from Liverpool University.
It was an intense event that demonstrated the importance of discussing and researching these aspects of current midwifery care.

Perceptually-Motivated Rendering – Frame Rate Vs. Resolution

We would like to invite you to the first of a new series of research seminars of the Creative Technology Research Centre featuring external speakers.

 

Speaker: Dr Kurt Debattista

Dr Debattista is an Associate Professor at the University of Warwick specialising in Visualisation Research. His research interests include Interacting rendering, High-fidelity graphics, Perceptually-based rendering, High Dynamic Range Imaging, Parallel Computing, and Serious Games.

https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/people/profile/?wmgid=518

 

Title: Perceptually-Motivated Rendering – Frame Rate Vs. Resolution

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

 

Date: Wednesday 18th October 2017

 

Room: Lawrence LT, Poole House, Talbot Campus

 

Abstract: High-fidelity graphics permit the visualisation of complex scenarios for applications such as simulation, engineering, archaeology, entertainment etc. Unfortunately, high-fidelity graphics can be computationally expensive and therefore scenarios cannot always be rendered to their highest fidelity. However, the human visual system (HVS) is not infallible and if well understood could be used to develop and implement rendering systems that best exploit its characteristics resulting in perceptually better graphics. Maximising performance for rendered content requires making compromises on quality parameters depending on the computational resources available. Yet, it is currently unclear which parameters best maximise perceived quality. In this talk this is illustrated by recent work attempting to harness the relationship between frame rate and resolution on perceived quality to obtain more cost-effective virtual experiences.

 

We hope to see you there.

BU Physiotherapy Programme Co-Creation Publication Success

Congratulations to Taylor Cooper (BU Physiotherapy Graduate 2017) and Dr Jonathan Williams for their successful publication in Physical Therapy Reviews.

Their article entitled ‘Does an exercise programme integrating the Nintendo Wii Fit Balance Board improve balance in ambulatory children with Cerebral Palsy?’ was accepted this week. This was based on work carried out through the Level 6 unit, Research for Physiotherapy Practice.

Well done to you both – it’s great to see our students publishing so early in their career.

Clare Killingback

 

Call for Abstracts Now Open – 10th Annual Postgraduate Conference


The Annual Postgraduate Conference showcases some of Bournemouth University’s best postgraduate research, providing PGRs the opportunity to present and disseminate their research to their peers, colleagues and the wider BU community.

Applications Now Open

Abstracts are invited for oral, poster and photograph presentations. To submit an abstract, download and complete the Application Form following the How to Apply Guidance.

Please note the selection process is competitive. Oral abstracts will be shortlisted by an academic panel and you will be advised if you have been successful after the closing date.

Call for abstracts is now open and closes at midnight, Thursday 4 January 2018.

Email your fully completed application form to: pgconference@bournemouth.ac.uk

Coming soon! Building a low-carbon, climate resilient future – 18/10/17

Don’t miss out – some places are still available at this event:

On Wednesday, 18th October 2017, the National Contact Points for two of the Horizon 2020 Societal Challenges will be visiting BU.

With the pre-publication release of the draft Horizon 2020 2018-2020 Work Programmes for Transport  and that for Food Security hotly anticipated, if you are considering applying to these funding calls, there has never been a better moment to spend time with the UK’s National Contact Points for these calls.

Topics will include:

  • Mobility for Growth
  • Autonomous Road Transport
  • Green Vehicles
  • Sustainable Food Security
  • Rural Renaissance
  • Blue Growth

UPDATE: The day also now includes research show-case presentations of  relevant local research

Arrival will be 10:00 for 10:15 and the event is scheduled to close at 16:15. The venue will be at the Lansdowne Campus, Bournemouth, with the room location confirmed after booking.

The day is open to all within both the academic and non-academic sectors, with an interest in applying for calls forthcoming in Horizon 2020, with a particular emphasis on those from the South East and South West.

To book your place – BU staff and external attendees should contact Dianne Goodman via our RKEDF email account. To ensure a balanced audience, registrations will be assessed and places confirmed by 11th October 2017.

About the National Contact Points:

Ian Holmes is the National Contact Point for Societal Challenge 2:  Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Marine, Maritime and Inland Water Research and the Bioeconomy

Louise Mothersole is the Horizon 2020 UK National Contact Point for Societal Challenge 4: Smart, Green and Integrated Transport

Helen Fairbairn is the National Contact Point for Societal Challenge 3Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy    (N.B. Helen is unable to attend this event but is providing materials for attendees and is happy to be contacted by attendees wishing to apply for SC3 calls).

National Contact Points (NCPs) provide impartial advice regarding EU Funding within their specialist area of Horizon 2020. The advice is free and confidential and tailored to your needs.  This is an excellent service for drawing on the experience and knowledge of someone who deals exclusively with a particular scheme or work programme.  If you are interested in testing out project ideas, checking scheme eligibility, discussing the direction of travel of a particular funding stream or just asking some questions on the practicalities of applications they are a great source of help. You can find all of them listed here along with their contact details.

FHSS Research Seminars 2017-2018

The Faculty of Health and Social Sciences Research Seminar Series will be starting again soon.

We noted that the best attended seminars last year were those involving a range of presentations in a one hour slot. These bite-size selections of research topics were great in attracting an audience from across disciplines and created a fun, friendly atmosphere.

To build on this we will be running monthly Research Seminars with 2-3 presenters at each session. These seminars are open to everyone, so whether this is your first venture into research or you are a veteran researcher please feel free to come along and share your experiences.

Seminars will be held between 1 and 2pm at the Lansdowne Campus on the following dates:

18th October 2017

15 November 2017

17 January 2018

21 February 2018

21 March 2018

18 April 2018

16 May 2018

20 June 2018

Details of presenters will be announced via the blog.

Any questions please feel free to email me at: ckillingback@bournemouth.ac.uk

NIHR Fellowship Information Event – November 2017 – Book Now!

Are you interested in applying for an NIHR Fellowship?  Do you have questions? Need more info?

Information Event – 24 November 2017 – University of Exeter

There are many types of NIHR Fellowship award on offer, so how do you know which one is the best for you? When and how do you apply? What makes a good application? If you want to know more about NIHR Fellowships – and other NIHR training and career development awards – then this event is for you.

The morning session is open to anyone to come and hear from a number of speakers – from NIHR as well as existing panel members and award holders.

The afternoon support session of one-to-one appointments is for those who would like to discuss their own proposal with an RDS adviser.

See here for more information.
This event is FREE and refreshments and lunch will be provided. Places are limited and will be allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. In order to secure your place please register using the online form by 1pm, 10 November 2017.

 

Your local branch of the NIHR Research Design Service is based within the BU Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) on the 5th floor of Royal London House. Feel free to pop in and see us, call us on 61939 or send us an email.

Student interns aren’t entitled to the minimum wage and it’s costing them big time

For university students, work placements are heralded as a highly valuable opportunity. Taking a year out from studying to work in their chosen industry gives students a chance to learn more about their sector and get real life experience. Placements also allow students time to make contacts and network and prove themselves in a working role.

Shutterstock

Research has found that students are twelve times more likely to get higher grades after a placement. And that after a placement, student employability increases as many return to the same company for their first job.

Placements also allow universities to strengthen their reputation by building robust relationships with employers. And placement employers have the opportunity to try before they buy – assessing prospective employers in a real work situation without the drawbacks of interview. Other employers also gain from student placements, as they increasingly want graduates who can make an immediate impact on their organisation, and students who have completed a placement are able to offer this as evidence of their experience and skills.

There’s just one catch though – a lot of these placement years are unpaid. And this is perfectly legal – provided these placements are attached to a university course and last no more than one year.

Placement pressures

Students required to do an internship for less than one year as part of a UK-based further or higher education course aren’t entitled to the national minimum wage. And our new research shows that because of this, doing a placement can mean that many students get into debt and other financial difficulties.

The placement year is a time when students may have higher travel costs in actually getting to work, as well as additional expense of socialising in establishments that are more costly that the student union bar. Then there is also the work clothing to think about – students have to look smart when they are in the working world. Students are also liable for university fees during their placement – albeit at a lower rate than a tuition year. All of which can add up.

Placements can be a great opportunity for students but they can also end up being very costly. Shutterstock

The irony is of course that most interns are entitled to be paid the national minimum wage – but this doesn’t apply to so called “student internships”. So you could have an intern and a student on placement working side by side, doing the same job, and the same hours, with one entitled to the minimum wage and the other entitled to nothing.

This is something that impacts a lot of students – with more and more courses now offering an optional or even compulsory placement for students. It isn’t just smaller companies who aren’t paying people on placement either, even well-known, large companies have been found to be using unpaid interns.

Universities to some extent have acknowledged these extra outgoings and do provide small amounts of funding – for example to purchase an interview suit.
They can also provide grants to help offset these costs and may also grant bursaries to help students. But other sources of funding are limited, and student loans are only available up to £1,850 for the placement year.

Financial headaches

But for students with savings, or those from wealthier families, the picture is quite different. These students are often better placed to do unpaid placements – and through connections can sometimes even find ones that pay quite well.

This is creating a two tired system, and means that those students from less fortunate backgrounds may opt out of the work placement simply because they can’t afford it. It also means that firms also miss out on the unique talents and skills students from diverse but poorer backgrounds may offer.

Students should be paid for their work, not paying to work. Shutterstock

Going back into your final year of university with a load of debt and financial worries on your mind is of course not a great place to be – and will undoubtedly impact students in their critical year of study.

It’s not surprising then that studies into student well-being have shown poor mental health is often linked to financial problems. And in some cases, these financial problems can even result in students abandoning their university study altogether. It is clear then that this is something that needs to change, because ultimately during placement, students should be working to develop their careers, and not simply working up their debt.

Julie Robson, Senior Principal Acdemic (Marketing), Bournemouth University and Jillian Dawes Farquhar, Professor of Marketing, Southampton Solent University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Dr. Miguel Moital’s Iberian trip

Dr. Miguel Moital, Principal Academic in Events Management, Faculty of Management, recently traveled to Portugal and Spain to present his work.

In Portugal, Miguel talked to students from the Masters in Tourism Management at the UCP – Portuguese Catholic University (Braga Campus). BU has an Erasmus agreement with UCP for staff exchange. Miguel talked about key issues in academic writing, presenting material from his e-book on the topic.

In Spain, Miguel delivered a presentation about ‘Managing Prestige in Spa & Thermal Experiences” to 35 participants of a pre-TERMATALIA course, attended by industry and institutional participants from countries such as Argentina, Costa Rica, and Colombia.

The course received coverage in the regional media, including a report by TV Channel Telemino (see after 2 minutes) and newspaper La Region.

The presentation was based on his research around the consumption of prestigious experiences, part of it co-created with Undergraduate Students through their dissertations.

TERMATALIA – 17th International Exhibition of Thermal Tourism, Health and Wellness is “the only specialized fair in the world that represents a thermal bridge between Europe and Latin America, bringing together professionals from more than 25 countries”. TERMATALIA alternates between Ourense (Galicia), where it originates, and a Latin -American country (next year it will take place in Iguaçu, Brazil).

Ourense features many thermal baths which feed off from the natural hot springs, with a number of both public pools (free to use) and private pools (fee paying, tough €6 will pay for 2 hours on the best one) scattered along and around the Miño river.

Outariz Thermal Baths, Ourense

 

Association for Psychosocial Studies Biennial Conference

Association for Psychosocial Studies Biennial Conference

Bournemouth University, 5th-7th April 2018

 

 

‘Psychosocial Reflections on a Half Century of Cultural Revolution:

The 50th anniversary of seasons of love and protest’ 

Now with new Open Stream on “ New Directions in Psychosocial Studies” 

 

Join us to reflect on revolutionary relationships and politics which challenged authority then and which influence us now. The cultural forces and the political movements of 1967 and 1968 aimed to change the world, and did so. Where are we now? Recent developments of some populist and protest politics could be seen as a continuation of the revolutionary movements in the 1960s. Hedonic themes that recall the summer of love suffuse contemporary life, and self-reflection and emotional literacy have also become prominent values, along with more positive attitudes towards human diversity and the international community. We invite you to offer psychosocial analyses of the development and legacy today of the ‘revolutions’ in sex, personal life and politics. This could be via explorations of contemporary issues in politics, culture and artistic expression, or through historical studies. All proposals for papers must indicate how they address both psychological and social dimensions of their topic.

 

Due to popular demand, we have added a new open stream, for those who wish to submit proposals for papers, panels or visual art presentations on

“Current and New Directions in Psychosocial Studies”

Further details: http://aps2018.bournemouth.ac.uk/call-for-papers/

Send your abstract of 250-300 words to APS2018@bournemouth.ac.uk

Final deadline: 1st December 2017. Confirmation of acceptance: 1st Jan

(existing submissions, notified by 1st. November).

We welcome contributions from academics and practitioners from different fields and disciplines and very much look forward to seeing you there!

BU RSA – get involved!

BU Research Staff Association (RSA) meets informally at a regular coffee morning which is open to all staff and PhD Students 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 next three coffee mornings will focus on:

Date Time Venue Theme Speakers
25 October 2017 10-11am S107, Studland House, Lansdowne Campus Introduction to Project Management Dr Roger Atkinson,
Senior Lecturer in Project Management
29 November 2017 10-11am F105, Fusion Building, Talbot Campus Career pathways for researchers within and outside of academia Penny Ballyntyne,
Careers Adviser, BU Careers Service
31 January 2018 10-11am S107, Studland House, Lansdowne Campus Developing your research ideas and where to look for funding Lisa Gale-Andrews and Emily Cieciura, Research Facilitators, Research and Knowledge Exchange Office

To ensure we have enough cake please email mheward@bournemouth.ac.uk to confirm attendance.

Further coffee mornings will also take place on 28 March,30 May, and 25 July 2018 – themes and speakers to be confirmed!!!!!

See you there!

BU Research Staff Association

FoM academic publishes article on student debt in The Conversation

Julie Robson from the Department of Marketing (FoM) has co-authored an article published today in The Conversation about unpaid student placements and debt.

The piece is loosely based on earlier research that examined students as vulnerable consumers where debt is concerned. This project was made possible following a successful application to the BU Undergraduate Research Assistant Programme (URAP) in 2015. Results from the research will be published in November 2017 in the Journal of Marketing for Higher Education. The article is entitled Working up a debt: Students as vulnerable consumers. The authors are Julie Robson (BU), Jillian Dawes Farquhar (Southampton Solent) and Christopher Hindle (BU URAP).

The article in The Conversation is entitled – Student interns are not entitled to the minimum wage and its costing them big time and can be accessed here.