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Rewilding Dorset

conferences

A very successful meeting with 140 delegates from was held in May 2016 at Charlton Down Village Hall, near Dorchester to discuss and explore the application of rewilding concepts to Dorset co-hosted by Bournemouth University and the Dorset Wildlife Trust.

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In recent years, rewilding has become a major theme in conservation, stimulated by publications such as George Monbiot’s Feral and the launch of rewilding organisations both in the UK and at the European scale. While a number of rewilding initiatives have been launched in the UK, most of these are predominantly located in upland areas in the north and west of the country. Elsewhere in Europe, many rewilding initiatives are seeking to encourage ecological recovery on agricultural land that has been abandoned. This raises the question of whether rewilding concepts are applicable to intensive agricultural landscapes such as Dorset, and if so, how they might best be implemented.

We were delighted to be able to welcome a number of speakers who presented at the meeting, including leading researchers with expertise in rewilding, and practitioners with experience in implementing rewilding projects. The meeting also involved representatives from a number of conservation organisations in Dorset.

Speakers included:

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Dr Paul Jepson, Oxford University – “Rewilding policy: risk and opportunities”

 

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Dr Christopher Sandom, University of Sussex – “Putting rewilding into practice”

 

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Dr Matthew Heard, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology – “Ecological impacts of rewilding using extensive grazing: the case of Knepp Estate”

 

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Fiona Bowles, Poole Harbour Catchment Initiative – “Is there space for Dorset Rivers to run wild?”

 

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Helen Meech, Rewilding Britain – “Why Rewild Britain?”

 

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Professor Richard Brazier, Exeter University – “Quantifying the ecohydrological impacts of reintroducing Eurasian Beaver to intensively managed, lowland agricultural landscapes”

 

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Alison Turnock, Dorset AONB – “The Wild Purbeck Nature Improvement Area – towards bigger, better, more, joined”

 

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The day was rounded off with a lively and positive discussion with  Jonathan Spencer (Forestry Commission), Ian Alexander (Natural England), Mark Robbins (RSPB), David Brown (National Trust), Imogen Davenport (Dorset Wildlife Trust) and chaired by Prof. James Bullock (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology).

 

This meeting was held as part of the Modelling Natural Capital in Dorset Project (funded under the Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) initiative). Any questions can be addressed to Research Assistant Arjan Gosal.

Interdisciplinary Research HE Sector Day 21st June 2016 – more speakers confirmed

Please see all the details of BU’s Interdisciplinary Research HE Sector Day on 21st June 2016, dedicated to exploring the benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary research.

With the majority of speakers now confirmed, this is shaping up to be a busy and inspirational day.

Don’t miss out – book now via Eventbrite.

FMC Cross-Departmental Seminar Series 11 May 2016

Communicating Research

FMC Cross-Departmental Seminar Series 2015-16

The Faculty of Media and Communication at BU

Venue: W240, Weymouth House, Talbot Campus, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB

Wednesday 11 May 2016, 3pm, W240

A Centre for Politics and Media Research Guest Lecture

Maria Rovisco, Department of Media and Communication, University of Leicester

Picturing the Square: the Indignados Social Movement, Pop-up Democracy and the Occupied Square

This paper is concerned with how the indignados social movement (also known as M15) used particular forms of symbolic communication to articulate their collective self-representation as a movement of global citizens. Using a cultural sociology approach, I argue that in their public communication the indignados use the image of the ‘occupied square’ as a symbol of democracy ‘from below’ to transcend the local and address a global public of equally disaffected ordinary citizens. City squares became a stage for a political theatre in which the indignados go on to articulate their democratic struggles and a new way of doing politics outside formal politics, which is highly performative, and constitutive of their collective identity. Drawing upon Hariman and Lucaites’s (2007) conception of iconic image, we will see that the image of the occupied square resonates with global audiences because its meanings tap on a repertoire of culturally shared representations of non-violent occupations of urban space in the twentieth-century (e.g., Tiananmen Square, the civil rights sit-ins) that is powerfully embedded in western public memory. Through semiotic analysis of visual material (maps, photos, posters, image memes) and discourse analysis of public documentation (e.g., pamphlets, manifestos) available in the blogs of the encampments of Lisbon, Barcelona and Madrid, I will show how the occupied square can be understood both as a model of dissent and democratic participation, which becomes available for global circulation when it is picked up and amplified by the media.

About the series

This new seminar series showcases current research across different disciplines and approaches within the Faculty of Media and Communication at BU. The research seminars include invited speakers in the fields of journalism, politics, narrative studies, media, communication and marketing studies. The aim is to celebrate the diversity of research across departments in the faculty and also generate dialogue and discussion between those areas of research.

Contributions include speakers on behalf of

The Centre for Politics and Media Research

The Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community

Promotional Cultures & Communication Centre

Public Relations Research Centre

Narrative Research Group

Journalism Research Group

Advances in Media Management Research Group

Kind Regards,

Brian

Brian McNulty

Research Development Co-ordinator

Faculty of Media & Communication

The Loft (P181), Poole House, Talbot Campus

Fernbarrow, Poole

BH12 5BB

bmcnulty@bournemouth.ac.uk

(+44 (0)7834 154984

Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00-16:30

Web: www.bournemouth.ac.uk

Join us on: Facebook |Twitter |YouTube |LinkedIn

Final 3 Minute presentation (3MP) event for the 2015/16 academic year

PG research, student research

Dear all,

3MP is back for the final time for this academic year. This event challenges postgraduate researchers to talk about their research in 3 minutes and is designed to expose the audience to a variety of ideas from different disciplines in a bitesize way. There will be plenty opportunities to meet like-minded individuals and to create new connections among staff and colleagues across the University.

Just to give you a small sample of what to expect we have talks about:

  • Midwifery
  • Diabetes & lifestyle
  • Hacking & Gaming Technology
  • Corporate governance
  • Nature Conservation
  • and much more!!

The event will commence on Thursday 19th May from 18:00 on Talbot Campus.

To attend – book your 3MP ticket here

We hope to see you there!

3MP May promo

Opportunity to receive updates on knowledge exchange and innovation (AURIL Membership)

Business Engagement, innovation, Knowledge Exchange

AURIL

 

Association for University and Research Links  (AURIL) is the professional association representing all practitioners involved in knowledge creation, development and exchange in the UK and Ireland who work to ensure that new ideas, technologies and innovations flow from their institution into the market place. AURIL has more than 1600 members from universities and public sector research establishments across Europe.

The Association enjoys widespread international recognition through its success in influencing UK government policy. It has strong working relations with the Confederation of British Industry, Universities UK, the UKIPO, the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), HM Treasury and Higher Education Funding Councils.

Bournemouth University is a member of this association with a number of academic and professional services support staff members of AURIL.

A number of events are co-ordinated by AURIL during the year including the annual conference – a good way of keeping up-to-date with  what is happening within the sector aswell as a chance to network and meet industry contacts. For more information on this association click here.

You can also opt in to receive regular updates on topics such as EU funding, Local Economic Partnerships (LEP), Student Enterprise & Employability, CPD, Knowledge Exchange. To check out the full list of topics and to be added or to  update your current listing please contact Jayne Codling in RKEO.

The next series of updates will be sent by the end of the month so get your request in soon!

Brownsea Marine and Coastal Observatory

In the pioneering spirit that has characterised previous endeavours on Brownsea Island, a group of seven BU Environmental Science students and staff have been carrying out surveys and studies that will contribute to the creation of a Marine and Coastal Observatory for Poole Harbour. In a partnership that includes the National Trust, Dorset Wildlife Trust and Poole Harbour Study Group, the observatory will create a fusion of coastal research and teaching and provide student placement opportunities.

During this past week, students have been carrying out plankton surveys with Dr Dan Franklin, establishing intertidal monitoring stations and recording nesting bird behaviour on the lagoon with Dr Roger Herbert and Dr Rick Stafford and fieldwork linked to coastal sediment movements and cliff erosion with BU geomorphologists Andy Ford and Dr Luciana Esteves. We were grateful for excellent accommodation at the Dorset Wildlife Trust ‘Villa’ and boat and equipment logistics and transportation using the National Trust vessel Enterprise.   bvuvguer

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Students on board Sea Rush sampling plankton with BU marine biologists Dr. Dan Franklin and visiting Prof. John Humphreys (jhc Research and Poole Port Commissioner).

 

Examining the catch in the National Trust ‘Sail Loft’.

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View down the microscope showing copepods. On hand was BU Alumni and local plankton expert Andrew Powell from Poole Harbour Study Group.

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Surveying beach profiles on the south-west coast.

Important aims of the Observatory are to create a web-based an inventory of marine life of the harbour and to publish reports and papers that record and interpret environmental change.

For further information contact Dr. Roger Herbert, Department of Life and Environmental Sciences.

rherbert@bournemouth.ac.uk

Research Councils publish Delivery Plans for 2016-2020

Funding opportunities, Guidance

RCUKlogoThe UK Research Councils have published their Delivery Plans for the period 2016-2020.

The plans outline how the Research Councils individually and collectively will use their allocations from the Science and Research Budget announced in March to meet their strategic aims and to support the research base to benefit the economy and wider society.

Each Research Council plan is available on their individual websites:

The RCUK Executive Directorate has published a Delivery Plan for the first time which is available here . The Executive Directorate was established a year ago from the former RCUK Strategy Unit to give leadership for the collective activities across the Research Councils and to support the individual Councils to focus on their disciplines and communities. The Directorate’s Delivery Plan outlines future plans for policy and analysis, international, communications and public engagement, the Global Challenges Research Fund and the RCUK Change Programme.

In addition to outlining individual priorities for this period the Research Council Delivery Plans provide information on collective commitments to reform of the Research Councils, equality and diversity, partnership with Innovate UK and the Global Challenges Research Fund.

A helpful summary of each councils delivery plan is provided by Research Professional.

Business networking session – virtual and augmented reality

Business Engagement, innovation, Knowledge Exchange

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A networking session will take place on 23 May as part of “Impact Week, with the aim of to taking  a closer look at how research can have an impact and make a difference beyond academia, and the ways in which this can be achieved. Developing relationships with external organisations in order to form partnerships and collaborations are just one such way in which to recognise potential “need” for  research.

This is a themed networking session: H2H – bringing research to life (Human2Human). A business networking event on the topic of virtual and augmented reality

Time: 14.30-16.00

Location: PG10 – Talbot campus

Event description:

Virtual and augmented reality offers users new ways of perceiving and interacting with the digital world.  Not limited to the entertainment sectors, this approach can be adopted for both technical and industrial contexts.

This drop in session provides an opportunity to find out more about the topic and approaches currently being undertaken both within and outside the university.  Attendees will have the opportunity to network with academics from BU and local industry partners that may already be involved in projects or are keen to develop collaborations within this area.

Find out more and book now via Eventbrite

 

 

 

 

Lots to celebrate with RUFUS STONE

Excitement as anniversaries loom and RUFUS STONE is involved in all of it!

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  • Excitement as anniversaries loom and RUFUS STONE is involved in all of it! 10th Anniversary of the LGBT tent at Glastonbury this summer where our film will feature.
  • Next, a proposal for a 5th Anniversary of the premiere of RUFUS STONE is in the mix for next November at the Shelley Theatre in Bournemouth.
  • Finally, BBC will be using our research to inform a new BBC Two film marking 50 years since the passage of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act (making homosexuality in the UK no longer punishable as a crime).

Stay tuned for further details about these events!

RUFUS STONE the movie website

International launch of ERC Hyksos Enigma project at ICAANE conference

Awarded & submitted bids

Last week, the Austrian Academy of Science hosted the 10th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (ICAANE) on its magnificent premises in the heart of Vienna. A whole day was dedicated to the international launch of the ERC advanced grant The Hyksos Enigma, for which the Austrian Academy and Bournemouth University are co-beneficiaries, combined with a state-of-the-art review of research on the most significant site of the Hyksos, their capital Avaris/Tell el-Dab’a in the eastern Nile Delta. This was an important day to show Bournemouth’s presence and to promulgate its research in the bioarchaeology of the Hyksos, engage in extensive networking with associates and partners of the project, and to establish new links in support of Bournemouth’s role in the project. Regular updates will now appear on the new project website (http://thehyksosenigma.oeaw.ac.at/).

Prof Manfred Bietak (left), project lead, Institue for Oriental and European Archaeology at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and Prof Holger Schutkowski, Co-PI, Department of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Science.

Prof Manfred Bietak (left), project lead, Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and Prof Holger Schutkowski, Co-PI, Department of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Science.

New frontiers on tech – big data, the cloud and Internet of Things

Knowledge Exchange

Technology in the hands
IT giant, Intel Corporation, is undergoing a massive shift in strategy. While jobs fall by the wayside, Intel has its eye firmly on what analysts are calling ‘new frontiers in technology’, and there are signs that the other tech behemoths are set to follow suit.
Last week, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich outlined his strategy for the chip giant in the years ahead, as it struggles to move away from its dependence on the waning PC market.
The thrust of the new strategy is: ‘transforming Intel from a PC company to a company that powers the cloud and billions of smart, connected computing devices’ and this, says Krzanich, encompasses five core beliefs:
• The cloud is the most important trend shaping the future of the smart, connected world – and thus Intel’s future.
• The many “things” that make up the PC Client business and the internet of things are made much more valuable by their connection to the cloud.
• Memory and programmable solutions such as FPGAs will deliver entirely new classes of products for the data centre and the internet of things.
• 5G will become the key technology for access to the cloud  as we move toward an always-connected world.
• Moore’s Law will continue to progress and Intel will continue to lead in delivering its true economic impact.
For companies, these core beliefs form a clear virtuous cycle – the cloud and data center, the internet of things, and memory are all bound together by connectivity and enhanced by the economics of Moore’s Law. (Gordon Moore was an Intel co-founder so Moore’s Law is ingrained in the company’s psyche.)
Key to this is the “internet of things,” every device, sensor and console that has potential to connect to the cloud. This means that everything that a “thing” does can be captured as a piece of data, measured in real-time, and becomes accessible from anywhere. With this, cybersecurity is needed more than ever. Visit sites like https://privacera.com/platform/ for additional guidance or you can check out this site for additional reading on how companies like NetBrain are increasing the efficiency of network operation teams. You may also get expert advice from a crm consultant if you need help with crm cloud service.
Krzanich believes that: “the biggest opportunity in the internet of things is that it encompasses just about everything in our lives today – it’s ubiquitous. For most areas of industry and retail – from our shoes and clothes to our homes and cars – the internet of things is transforming everything and every experience. At Intel, we will focus on autonomous vehicles, industrial and retail as our primary growth drivers of the internet of things.”
In a time when technology is valued not just for the devices it produces, but for the experiences it makes possible, Intel is banking on the fact that a broader focus, and sharper execution will enable the company to take a lead in a smart, connected world.
Several major corporations have already taken the initiative to push frontier technology, such as Google with its Google Cardboard and Apple’s eventual (maybe?) 3D printer. Layoffs are the inevitable result and, in many cases, are already happening, as more and more companies find themselves having to look in new directions.
With Apple’s iPhone production on the decline comes more evidence that companies’ defining products won’t be what sustains them into the future and that Intel and Krzanich’s new focus on experiences rather than the devices that make these possible is the way to go.

Horizon 2020 – Health – 7th & 8th July 2016, Brussels

conferences, Info Days

Health, Demographic Change & Wellbeing

Challenge in Horizon 2020

Do you intend to prepare a proposal for the 2017 call in Horizon 2020 for Health?

On the 8th of July 2016, the European Commission is organizing an Open Info Day dedicated to “Health, Demographic Change & Wellbeing (SC1)” challenge in Horizon 2020 and focusing on the 2017 call.

One day before, on the 7th of July 2016, Health NCP Net 2.0 and Fit for Health 2.0 are organizing a free of charge Partnering event meant to assist you in finding the right partners for the upcoming 2017 calls. The launch of the 2017 call is planned for the 29th of July 2016, having the first deadline on the 4th of October 2016, therefore this would be a good opportunity for your institution to identify the proper consortium partners.

Priority in participation, on 7th July, will be granted to entrepreneurs and research organizations with identified expertise profiles and project applications initiatives. As participation is limited to 2 persons representing the same department/organization, please contact RKEO so that we can co-ordinate registration on this event.

If you are attending both days, separate registration will be needed  As far as we are aware, there is no restriction on numbers from each organisation for the Info Day on 8/7/16.

BROKERAGE EVENT

M2M + Symposium

Find cooperation partners for the upcoming H2020 health calls.

PRESENT YOUR PROJECT

M2M + Symposium

Present your project in a 5 min flash presentation to a highly commited audience

7 July 2016 – Fit for Health 2.0 and Health-NCP-Net 2.0

Horizon 2020 Health Partnering Day

This Partnering event will be dedicated to consortium building. The main part of the day is dedicated to bilateral meetings between persons interested in the same call area.
A surrounding programme will provide information on support measures for Health projects and give researchers and entrepreneurs from the Health and ICT areas a platform to present their project ideas in 5-minute presentations.
Bilateral meetings will be arranged automatically by a sophisticated, user-friendly match-making tool following indication of interests in specific call areas by participants. Additionally, to bilateral meetings among potential project partners, participants will have the option to meet with representatives of support initiatives and members of the organizing projects for personalized support and information.

Focus

This Partnering event will target a wide spectrum of companies, universities and researchers from Europe and beyond interested in sharing new project ideas and finding collaboration partners and will be focused on the following challenge of the Horizon 2020 Health Call.

Main topics

  • Understanding health, well-being & disease
  • Preventing disease
  • Treating and managing diseases
  • Active ageing and self-management of health
  • Methods and data
  • Coordination activities
  • Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) in health projects
  • Sustainable food security – health aspects

Why to participate

  • to facilitate the setup of Horizon 2020 project consortia
  • to present, discuss and develop new project ideas on Health at an international level
  • to initiate cross-border contacts

 

 

 

EURAXESS – Marie Skłodowska-Curie

Please see the following announcement just received from EURAXESS:
Euraxess

Dear researchers,

As you know, the Marie Skłodowska Curie Action-Individual Fellowships (MSCA-IF) call was launched on the 12th April. With the collaboration of SRUK/CERU (Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK), at RUVID we have organised a webinar on Friday 6th May between 9 am and 11 am to present 12 research groups from our Valencian universities as potential host institutions for young researchers and candidates for this MSCA-IF call.

Each of the 12 researchers will give a ten minute presentation on their research group, main research area(s) and the profile of the candidate they are looking for.

These groups cover different fields: Physics, Life Sciences, Information Science & Engineering, and Social Sciences. Please see the detailed programme of the webinar – Webinar Presentation of Host Institutions inValencia_06-05-2016

This is a unique opportunity for you to find your host institution.

If you have completed your PhD or have 4 years full-time experience as a researcher, this webinar is for you.

Don’t miss it and register at: bit.ly/1Y2NvQN

We are also promoting this event on social media, using the following hastags: #MSCA #IF #MarieCurieFellowship

For more information, feel free to contact Joumana at jsweiss@ruvid.org

Dating one of the oldest settlements in the world-new results from WF16, Jordan

Last week saw the publication of a new paper entitled: Dating WF16: Exploring the Chronology of a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Settlement in the Southern Levant in the Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society (LondonFigure 4). This was published by BU staff member Emma Jenkins who is a Senior Lecturer in Archaeology and colleagues from the University of Reading and Oxford Brookes University. This is a significant paper which presents 46 AMS Radiocarbon dates from the site and utilizes Bayesian methods to try and establish a chronology for WF16, one of the earliest settlements in the world which is located in southern Jordan. The excavation was unique in its size and scope for a site of this time period and in the number of AMS dates obtained. This paper makes an important contribution to our understanding of the Neolithic in the Levant-a time and place which saw the transition from mobile hunter-gatherers to settled farming communities. The paper is published Gold Open access and is available here: http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/23519/