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The Midwifery quilt online- URA scheme funded project

Fusion, Women's Academic Network

As part of my EdD thesis on ‘The essence of the art of a midwife..’ http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/16560/    I created a reflexive textile quilt, with each of the squares representing an entry in my research diary. Whenever I have been to conferences with my quilt the question has always been asked ‘what do the squares mean’? Though I anticipate that anyone looking at it will gather their own interpretation of the squares my stories behind them are now accessible online. In the spring of this year I applied, and was pleased to receive, funding from the BU Undergraduate research assistantship scheme in order to create a web site for the quilt. For the past six weeks George Upson undergraduate student from the BA (Hons) Media Production course has been active in designing and creating the web site with me and learning about the world of academia in a small way. I am indebted to him for his creative abilities and to Garratt Lynch and Richard Wallis for their early support in the process, and also for the URA scheme!

The Midwifery quilt maybe accessed here http://www.midwiferyquilt.co.uk/

Dr Jenny Hall

Results of RKEO pre-award survey

Guidance

The RKEO restructured in September 2014 and part of this was the newly formed Funding Development Team (FDT), who administer all things pre-award.  As there was disruption to the team in the summer of 2014 and the majority of the team were new to RKEO (and some were new to BU), we recognised that our service levels needed improving.  As a result, we have asked academics who have submitted applications to complete surveys so that we can seek to improve our service and have a way of monitoring this.FDT

The last survey was run in June and the general response was positive and recognised that we were making great improvements.  There were recommendations on what we could do further and we will take these forward.  The academics were asked to score our performance on a variety of topics and the results are given below:

Scores on the doors (1 = poor and 5 = excellent)

Demonstrate a good knowledge of the funder/ client 4.47
Have a good understanding of the bidding/ contract process – 4.69
Generate the costings and explain how the costs were derived 4.71
Demonstrate a high level of expertise 4.47
Answer all of your questions 4.63
Provide timely information 4.38
Keep you informed of progress 4.5
Respond quickly to your calls and emails 4.35
Help you to submit your bid/proposal on time 4.69
How would you rate the service provided by RKEO 4.4
Overall, would you say that your expectations were met – All said ‘yes’
Were you aware of the internal processes and timescales when applying for funding before you approached RKEO? 13 out of 17 said yes

These are great results which were also backed up with positive comments about our service.  Some of these are given below:

General comments

‘Regarding RKEO I think the team works great; I can just say thank you very much and please keep it up. I do apologize for the time and complexity constraints which were out of my hands.’

‘When I was contacted by my colleagues I expected that it may be a bit complicated because the time frame was short, yet it was a unique chance I should not miss. I was concerned on that and I wasn’t sure if it would be possible at all in the end. Thanks to the RKEO team work, it was possible.’

‘We are really lucky to have colleagues here to help us in such a professional manner. Applying for funding can be really stressful so what you need is someone to guide you and explain the process to you. Jenny and Ehren were so good, I am indebted to them.’

‘Excellent –  Jason was very professional and knowledgeable’

‘Considerable improvement over the last nine months.’

‘ (A score of) 5 what else? They were there for me and couldn’t ask for more.‘

‘As a result of this experience of submitting a bid (and particularly because of the support offered by RKEO) I definitely feel more confident about submitting larger bids in the future. I’ve seen how much support RKEO will be able to give me.’

Timeframe for processing applications comments:

‘It was processed much quicker than I expected and the RKEO team work, in particular the work of Ms Kerri Jones was great; not only met my expectations but exceeded them by large margins. If the submission was successful it is primarily thanks to her.’

‘Extremely quickly – it exceeded my expectations.  I’d left everything to the last minute (I’d almost decided not to bother bidding) but Ehren was able to process my application extremely quickly to enable me to meet the deadline.’

 ‘It has been great and grateful that Dianne and her colleagues helped out with very short notice and handled the requests in a professional and efficient manner.‘

This feedback helps the team to know that what they are doing is appreciated and worthwhile and we thank the academics for their support and recognition.  We don’t rest on our laurels though and we will be making changes to the process over the summer.  These will aim to speed up the process and ensure that procedures are clearer.  More information will follow on this and so watch this space.

Signpost with the words Help, Support, Advice, Guidance and Assistance on the direction arrows, against a bright blue cloudy sky.

Health Research with Real Impact Conference, 24th-25th June 2015

On the 24th and 25th June, academics, clinicians, commissioners and public health officers gathered at the University of Central Lancashire for its second conference on Health Research with Impact organised by the UCLan’s Health Research Methodology and Implementation (HeRMI) hub.
This 2 day conference focused on evidence synthesis and implementation science, with presentations and workshops from national and international experts illustrated with examples from their research.

The conference started with several presentations of evidence synthesis: the constant challenge of keeping systematic reviews up-to date (Dr Maree Hackett, UCLan and The University of Sydney); improving accessibility of evidence for a specific clinical area through Cochrane Overviews (Dr Alex Pollock, Glasgow Caledonian University); and using qualitative evidence to inform global health care policy through improving their acceptability and feasibility for service users and practitioners (Professor Soo Downe, UCLan and Dr Claire Glenton, Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services). It was interesting that both Professor Downe and Dr Glenton highlighted that within global health policy the opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of qualitative evidence to inform policy arose when policy developed from quantitative data alone did not achieve the expected impact.

The first day finished with a workshop by Dr Alex Pollock on user involvement in systematic reviews where she described her experiences of involving physiotherapists and people with stroke to make decisions on which of the many different complex interventions should be included in a systematic review of stroke physiotherapy. This ensured that the review was relevant to both practitioners and patients. Dr Pollock demonstrated how practitioners and patients through a systematic process can be enabled to make key decisions in a systematic review traditionally performed by academics alone.

The conference then considered the context in which evidence is applied through two presentations and a workshop on Realist Evaluation (Professor Chris Burton, Bangor University and Dr Justin Jagosh, University of Liverpool). Dr Jagosh presented on the qualities of Realist methodology to help understand causation – what works, how and why? Professor Burton’s presentations focused on the context in which clinical practice occurs. The success of clinical practice/programme is determined by its interaction with the context in which it occurs and how participants (patients and practitioners) respond to them. Realist research makes theories more explicit by developing clear hypotheses about how, and for whom programmes might work.
Both Dr Lois Thomas (UCLan) and Dr Henna Hassan (Karolinska Institute, Stockholm) presented their experience of ensuring fidelity in the implementation of complex interventions. Professor Joy Duxbury (UCLan) continued the theme of implementing complex interventions in practice by presenting on reducing physical restraint in the North West NHS mental health in-patient settings. A theme throughout all of the presentations on the second day of the conference was the need to develop strong relationships between academia and practice to enable the co-production of evidence relevant to clinical practice.

Have you checked out the interactive Research Lifecycle diagram yet?

If you haven’t then you most definitely should! Our Research Lifecycle diagram is a jazzy new interactive part of the BU Research Blog that shows the support and initiatives that are available to staff and students at each stage of the research lifecycle. The information is general enough so as to apply to all disciplines and you can use it to organize and identify the many activities involved in your research. You can explore the Research Lifecycle to find information on how to get started with:

1. Developing your research strategy

2. Developing your proposal

3. The research process

4. Publication and dissemination

5. Impact

RKEO will be adding to the Research Lifecycle to ensure it always contains the most up to date information to support you with planning, organising and undertaking your research.

You can access the diagram from the links in this post or from the menu bar that appears on all screens in the Research Blog.

 

Know a SME who is looking to boost their Cyber Security? The Government is willing to help – up to £5000 is available!

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities

moneyA new scheme to protect small businesses from cyber-attacks was announced by the Government last week.

Speaking at the Reform “Cyber Security: assurance, resilience, response” conference in London, Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey has outlined how a new voucher scheme designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) will launch later this month.

The launch of the voucher scheme is part of a package of initiatives designed to increase the resilience of UK businesses to cyber-attacks. The package also includes a new online learning and careers hub to help ensure the UK has the cyber skills talent pool to protect both the public and private sectors as we face the reality of increasing cyber threats.

The new UK £1m cyber security innovation vouchers scheme will offer micro, small and medium sized businesses up to £5,000 for specialist advice to boost their cyber security and protect new business ideas and intellectual property. The scheme will be overseen by the Government’s innovation experts at Innovate UK.

As well as helping protect businesses from cyber-attacks, the vouchers enable firms to access services from the UK cyber security industry. This new scheme will also help businesses to adopt Cyber Essentials, Government’s flagship scheme to protect businesses online.

The UK cyber security industry is strong and growing – worth £17.6bn and employs over 40,000 people – but more skilled people are needed to help protect the nation as the UK goes digital and adopts new technologies.

For more information on how to apply, contact the Bournemouth University Cyber Security Unit on 01202 962 557 or email us at bucsu@bournemouth.ac.uk.

The full text of this article can be found here.

HE Policy Update

Monday

REF

A review – REF Accountability Review: Costs, Benefits and Burden, has looked at the institutional costs of the REF. The review revealed that institutions’ own total spend on the REF exceeds £230 million, of which £55 million went on preparing impact statements and £19 million for panellists’ time. REF 2014 cost almost £250 million (THE).

International Students

A Professor of international higher education at the UCL Institute of Education has spoken at the UK Council for International Student Affairs conference. He argued that universities must collect “hard evidence” to prove that the UK is no longer a welcoming place for international students if the sector is to effectively challenge government policies on immigration. Universities ‘must collect hard data’ on barriers to overseas students (THE).

NUS President

Megan Dunn, president of the National Union of Students, has spoken about the government’s plans to convert maintenance grants to loans. She has said the policy change is a calculated, regressive move by the government and that maintenance grants are a necessity, not a luxury. Maintenance grants are a necessity, not a luxury (THE).

Tuesday

Teaching Excellence Framework

A senior lecturer at Brighton University has written in the Guardian, critiquing the government’s plans to introduce a Teaching Excellence Framework. The piece suggests that evaluating universities for teaching will likely lead to a data driven culture where academics make decisions on the basis of whether it’s ‘good for the Tef’. What’s worse than a Ref for teaching? An Ofsted for universities (THE).

Wednesday

Access

Data published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills reveals that 85 per cent of English private school leavers who turned 19 in 2012-13 were in higher education, compared with 66 per cent of state school students. Access gap between private and state school pupils widens (THE).

Thursday

Disadvantaged Students

Universities in England have agreed to take more students from disadvantaged homes, fair access watchdog Offa says. Institutions have also agreed to spend £750m on outreach activities, bursaries and waiving fees for poorer youngsters. Universities agree to take more disadvantaged students (BBC News).

Tuition Fees

The number of universities charging £9,000 a year is growing, according to a published report by the universities’ access watchdog. The study by Offa shows the number has gone up from 130 to 139 in the past year. Number of universities charging £9,000 a year is growing, says watchdog (The Independent).

Friday

Student Visas

In a confidential letter to other ministers, Theresa May has apparently argued that universities should “develop sustainable funding models that are not so dependent on international students”. The letter is also reported to claim that students should be required to demonstrate a higher degree of financial backing as a condition for receipt of a higher education visa than is currently required. The Home Office has refused to comment on the leaked documents. Home Secretary proposes tougher rules for student visas (BBC News).

Faculty of Management academics win the Academy of Marketing Research Initiative Funding scheme 2015

PG research

Dr. Julie Robson and Samreen Ashraf from the Faculty of Management were announced as the successful recipients of the 2015 Academy of Marketing Research Initiative Funding Scheme for 2015 at the conference in Limerick, Ireland last week.

Their research, ‘Perceptions and use of pension savings: the case of South Asian consumers living in the UK’, examines how UK consumers originally from India, Pakistan and Bengal will use their pension savings following recent changes in the pension market.  Drawing on concepts developed within behavioural economics, specifically framing and mental accounting, this study will identify what has informed consumer perceptions of their pension savings and how this influences the way in which their pension money is used.  This research is both important and timely given recent pension changes, and government and societal concern that individuals (particularly ethnic groups such as those from South Asia) are not adequately prepared for their retirement.

The results of this research project will be presented at the Academy of Marketing conference next year.

Dr Julie Robson image2Samreen BU pic2

BUDI brings dementia awareness to life

On Monday 13th July 2015, BUDI welcomed more than 50 members of the public at their annual Festival of Learning event. The event was opened by the BUDI Orchestra (formed of people affected by dementia and musicians) with an energetic and fun performance that included a rendition of the Peter Gunn theme by the Blues Brothers (complete with trademark sunglasses) and the Jaws theme tune.

Photo orchestra

Attendees were able to participate in a number of hands on activities, from sharing their thoughts on what makes a garden dementia-friendly, to discussing what they are passionate about in the dementia field with members of the BUDI team in speaker’s corner.

Poet Jonny Fluffypunk closed the event by reading out a poem that he created from sentences that attendees had written throughout the event about dementia. The poem entitled ‘A New Beginning’ is too good not to share……

Photo Jonny

A New Beginning

Dementia is…
a misunderstood and badly defined term
a term people are labelled with;
a term that restricts their freedom.
Restricts their choices.
Restricts their self.

Dementia is an illness often observed,
an illness that splits families

It is thinking scattered thoughts of yesterday
that muddle your tomorrow

It is trying to remember the past
and not the present

Dementia is my nuisance;
It is me needing the support
of my wife and family
It is knowing your face so well
but your name escaping me

Dementia is living in a world that makes no sense;
it is remembering tastes from the past;
it is the problem of making decisions
it is feeling your way in the world
and not being able to put it in words

But sometimes…
Sometimes I think
we were all born with dementia;
as a tiny child I could remember nothing
and now I am old I find nothing has changed

And dementia is an interesting way
to relive my life; an unknown journey
a unique experience for patient and carer

Dementia is protecting and helping your husband
as he makes this journey

It is brilliant but fleeting perfect memories

It is a chance to grow

It is a chance to engage creatively

It is a chance to reach a new humanity

Dementia is learning not to give up:
I was thrown out of church choir age 7
and now at 77 I play violin with BUDI

Dementia is learning that music is a wonderful thing
That it makes you happy and sad-
long live music and song!

Dementia is emotional-
how I wish I could love in the way
I have seen love shared here today

Dementia is partnership,
it is learning to change life
with the one you love

Dementia can bring you together
with the most wonderful people

Dementia is just a different journey

Dementia is personal and shared

Dementia is not the end; it can be a new beginning

Dementia is not the end.

FoL event What can eye-tracking tell us about reading, writing and dyslexia?

Festival of Learning

Julie Kirkby and her team of PhD students delivered an interesting lecture combined with demonstrations for which the audience participated.

Using eye-tracking technology as ‘a window to the mind’, this allowed us to see the developmental differences of children with and without JKirkbydyslexia.  It was interesting to know that when reading we only take in (fovea) around eight letters, whereas our peripheral vision (parafovea) can take in around 15 letters.  There are also linguistic influences on our eye movements, such as how many letters, how often the word is read, and how much a word is expected.  If comprehension breaks down then our eye movements are directed back to previously read text.  Some, but not all, dyslexic people will have difficulty associating letters with speech sounds.  Also, some will have ‘visual attention deficit’.

We had two demonstrations.  The first was eye-linking to see where the eye looks when we’re reading.  The second was the mobile (Dikablis) eye-tracker which demonstrates how we encode and produce information and how information can be forgotten in between.  We were informed that it’s a myth that dyslexic children can’t copy from class boards.  Reading ability affects the working memory and vice versa.  There was a lot of great research shared and it was an engaging afternoon.

If you are interested in this then you may be interested in similar events going on tomorrow.  These include Media literacy in secondary schools taking place at 12.30pm and Third space digital learning in Dorset schools taking place at 3.30pm.threeMonitorEye-trackingVisual Search

Research Around Ageing and Later Life.

 

Michele Board with Sheila Peace, President of the BSG, Associate Dean (Research) Professor of Social Gerontology Faculty of Health & Social Care The Open University

Michele Board with Professor Sheila Peace, President of the BSG, Associate Dean (Research) Professor of Social Gerontology Faculty of Health & Social Care The Open University

Michele Board (HSS), Laura Reynolds and Sophie Bushell (BUDI) recently attended the BSG annual conference in Newcastle, 1st to 3rd July 2015.
Michele presented two papers from her PhD thesis, on the ‘Five Senses of Home Framework’, and ‘A Qualitative Approach to explore the meaning of Home for Six Baby Boomers’. Given the current debate around housing the presentations were topical leading to a good discussion on the importance of home and participatory research.

Laura Reynolds (BUDI Research Assistant) hosting one oral presentation (‘The BUDI Orchestra: evaluation of a novel music initiative for people with dementia and their carers’), and BUDI PhD student, Sophie Bushell, disseminating her research ‘Promoting well-being for residents with dementia living in a purpose built care environment’ via poster presentation.
Laura says:
“I couldn’t have asked for a better conference to present at for the first time, and I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to do so. It was insightful to see other institutions’ research and to share ideas with like-minded people from across the globe.”

The British Society of Gerontology was established in 1971. It provides a multidisciplinary forum for researchers and other individuals interested in the situations of older people, and in how knowledge about ageing and later life can be enhanced and improved. The annual conference is friendly and exciting and an excellent forum to disseminate current research about older people.

I think BU has a great deal to contribute to research about older people from across the University and I would recommend looking at the BSG website and consider becoming a member. http://www.britishgerontology.org/about-bsg.html

 

Next year’s BSG conference is in Stirling, if you’re interested in putting together an interdisciplinary symposium for the conference let Michele know it would be great to have a larger BU presence! Conference themes next year include, Health and Social Care, Quality of Life, Technology, Environment and Housing, Relationships and Intergenerational Work and Dementia.

It would be good to be able to host the BSG conference in a few years’ time!! If you are interested in research, practice, education about older people and would like to get together over a coffee do please get in contact with Michele Board, Senior Lecturer Nursing Older People, Joint programme lead BA/MA Care of the Older person, HSS. mboard@bournemouth.ac.uk