The School of Design, Engineering and Computing is holding its 5th Annual Post Graduate Research Student Poster Competition Conference on Wednesday 23rd May 2012 in the Thomas Hardy Suite. This event showcases the School’s current PhD research. Judging will take place in the morning and then the display will be open to all at 14:00 hours. Bournemouth University Board Member, Dr Peter Barnwell MBE will officially open the conference at 14:30 p.m. and will be awarding the prizes for the best posters at approximately 15:00 pm. Students will be there to discuss their research until 16:00 hours. All staff are welcome.
Category / REF Subjects
International placements deemed priceless
Bournemouth University’s Professor Jonathan Parker and Dr Sara Crabtree have been examining the true benefits an international placement has on a student’s learning experience, employability and future career.
The study, conducted alongside Parker and Crabtree’s BU colleague Clare Cutler, examined a range of aspects of inter-cultural learning arising from placements. Current students and graduates were questioned about their confidence, cultural attitudes, employer feedback and other factors arising from the international placement experience.
Professor Parker explained: “This research has shown how working in totally different and sometimes physically inhospitable cultural environments, develops students’ confidence to practice in varied, challenging and unknown situations. This is so important when they come back to work in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic country like the UK.”
While the study has primarily focused on international placements in Parker’s own research area of social work, it is already being applied to other disciplines. “We are now surveying students taking international placements in our School of Tourism and these research findings are equally positive,” he explained. “But the concept can be much more widely applied to encompass any career working with the general public.”
But there’s one big problem holding many UK students back: “As a general rule, UK students are very poor at languages, which are so important in so many aspects of life.”
This apparent ‘failing’ of the school system, whereby languages are not compulsory at GCSE level, needs to be addressed if students are going to reap the rewards of international placement schemes such as Erasmus. “Students need a basic degree of language skill,” Parker concluded. “It should be compulsory”.
This international placements research project is supported through BU’s Fusion fund, promoting projects which create a unique academic experience through the powerful fusion of research, education and professional practice.
More information about Professor Jonathan Parker’s and Dr Sara Crabtree’s research can be viewed on BURO.
NERC announce first round of the 2012/13 Follow-on Fund
Applications are invited to NERC’s first round of the 2012/13 Follow-on Fund.
The aim of this scheme is to develop outcomes from previous funding to a stage where commercial opportunities are possible. The fund is open to researchers in UK universities and research council institutes with current or past research council funding.
Funds are typically requested to further develop the scientific or technical aspects of an idea. This may be to strengthen the intellectual property position, carry out further market research or investigate possible licensees.
Applications must be made through the JeS system (https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/).
The closing date for applications is 4pm, 6 June 2012.
NERC also funds a Follow-on Fund ‘Pathfinder’ scheme to support small-scale, specific activities that can help develop a better understanding of future work needs and may be beneficial when submitting a full Follow-on Fund application.
For more information and contact details go to http://www.nerc.ac.uk/using/schemes/followonfund.asp
The RKE Operations team can help you with your application.
Useful documents
To find out more, please download the documents you need from the list below.
Eligibility and assessment criteria
Specific guidance – ‘Full’ Follow-on Fund
EPSRC announce call: Working together in ICT
Summary
EPSRC’s ICT Theme intends to commit around £5M of funding for research projects which will directly address its Working Together priority.
Projects submitted in response to this call should comprise two or more ‘streams’ of research which run concurrently and show significant mutual benefit. These streams may include ICT researchers working with researchers in areas outside ICT, as long as the potential benefit to ICT research is the main driver for the project.
Full call document including background, funding available, aims and scope of call, eligibilty, how to apply and assessment can be found here.
Closing date: 16:00 on 10 July 2012
Submitting application
You should prepare and submit your proposal using the Research Councils’ Joint electronic Submission (Je-S) System (https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/).
When adding a new proposal, you should select: Council ‘EPSRC’; Document type ‘Standard Proposal’; Scheme ‘Standard Research’; On the Project Details page you should select the ‘Working Together in ICT’ call.
The RKE Operations team can help you with your application.
BSG Calls in Geomorphology
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The British Society for Geomorphology has issued three calls in Geomorphological research.
The first is Innovative and Emerging Techniques in Geomorphology.
Up to £10,000 (ideally £5,000) is available to support the development of new technology and/or analytical techniques in geomorphology as stated in the BSG Mission, Sections 1.5 and 1.6. It is envisaged that the pump-priming of new techniques in geomorphology will support applications to the RCUK. Applications must have a geomorphological focus.
Deadline: 30 September 2012
The second is Early Career Researcher.
Up to £10,000 (ideally £5,000) is available to pump-prime geomorphological research undertaken by an Early-Career Researcher (ECR). We define an ECR as a member of staff who holds an employment contract of 0.2FTE or greater and who started their academic career within four years of the closing date of applications. Note that to be eligible for this scheme, the primary employment function of applicants must be in ‘research’ or ‘teaching and research’, within any HEI or other organisation, whether in the UK or overseas.
PLEASE NOTE: Applicants should state the start date of their career on the application form.
There is no restriction on the type of support eligible for funding (e.g. conference, workshop, field visit, data purchase, lab costs), although consistent with other BSG grant schemes, they will not support salaries. Applications will be evaluated both for the quality of the research, and for its potential to pump-prime subsequent work.
Applicants to the ECR scheme cannot be a Principal Investigator on any other grant bids to the BSG in the same funding round.
Deadline(s): 30 September and 1 February
The third is in Research Networks in SE Asia and China.
Up to £10,000 (ideally £5,000) is available to support development of research networks in SE Asia and China. The purpose of this grant is to bring together global partners with a research interest in the SE Asia or China region. It is envisaged the £10,000 may support one or more workshops or conferences hosted within the region by SE Asia or China colleagues. The region supported by these awards includes India but excludes Japan.
Deadline: 30 September 2012
All applications should be applied for Online through the BSG’s site.
The RKE Operations team can help you with your application.
Special Seminar next Thursday: Metalearning Made Easy –not to miss-
Dear Colleagues
I would like to kindly draw your attention to the Special Seminar taking place next Thursday, 10 th of May in P335 LT at 16:20 h organized by the STRC.
I strongly encourage you to do not miss this talk; particularly those of you interested in how to transfer algorithmical solutions into the real, practical world of business in which customer loyalty is a major goal.
Dr Kassler performed his PhD in Theoretical Physics; he is also Senior Researcher and Project Leader in EVONIK industries AG; with over twenty years of experience in Industrial projects characterized by highly non-stationary underlying dynamical systems.
He was leading strategic projects in Chemical Industry among others (for instance about gas pipeline transport or chemical products processing and logistics). The projects involved enormous economic resources therefore targeting strategic sectors at a country dimension.
Dr Kassler will present his personal research on Adaptative Metalearning for beginners. Metalearning is one of the hottest topics in machine learning and probably the future of it. In simple words, Metalearning consist of substituting human analysts by machines which can perform data analyses instead of us.
I recommend to those of you with zero background in machine learning and interested in Industrial Partners or in the possibilities of this topic for Business to attend; because he will provide us a comprehensive description accessible to everybody; we just have to sit down and relax.
Best Wishes, Emili
(ToK Coordinator STRC)
How Martin Kretschmer’s research impacted the proposed plan to extend copyright term
Watch this excellent short video from BU’s Prof Martin Kretschmer on how a BU conference and signed statement resulted in the European Union amending a proposed plan on copyright law.
To see other BU videos on YouTube go to the BU YouTube page!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGZZ4SrrzSI
View Martin Kretschmer’s publications in our institutional repository.
EPSRC/ESRC Invitation for Outlines: Consortia for Exploratory Research in Security
As part of their contribution to the RCUK Global Uncertainties Programme, EPSRC and ESRC are jointly inviting proposals for research consortia (PDF 79KB) to explore current and future cyber security challenges.
CEReS consortia are encouraged to work across or between established disciplines and to draw on expertise from multiple research organisations wherever necessary. They particularly welcome proposals with significant novel mathematics and/or social science content.
Initially, outline proposals will be assessed for their novelty and fit to the aims of the call. Successful outline applicants will be invited to submit full proposals later in 2012.
EPSRC and ESRC have made available up to £4M available to fund full proposals funded through the CEReS call. They expect to support a range of projects which is broad in terms of scale (likely to be between £500k and £1M for each consortium), duration (two to four years), mix of disciplines (with single discipline proposals being the exception rather than the norm) and subject matter (although all must focus on cyber security-related challenges in the broadest sense). Activities funded through CEReS are limited to those currently allowed on EPSRC grants. As a result they will not be able to accept applications which request funding for PhD studentships, even if they are outside EPSRC’s remit.
CEReS is a call for exploratory research. Consortia should identify ambitious goals with far-reaching impacts on future research and, potentially at least, practice in cyber security. Projects which continue or extend current work in a straightforward or obvious way will not be supported. Collaboration between disciplines is strongly encouraged. Although it is not essential that all projects include cross- or intra-disciplinary working it is likely that the assessment process will select positively for consortia which adopt this approach.
Although it is being managed by EPSRC the CEReS call is also open to researchers eligible to apply for targeted funding from ESRC. There is no quota of applications or funding based on Research Council remits. It is possible for the same researcher(s) to be associated with more than one consortium application.
For further information visit the call website: http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/calls/open/Pages/ceres.aspx and read the call documentation: http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Calls/2012/CEReSCall.pdf. Outline proposals should be prepared and submitted using the Research Councils’ Joint electronic Submission (JeS) System (https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/).
The RKE Operations team can help you with your application.
The closing date is 14 June 2012.
ECOSAL-Atlantis: An ecotourism project
Bournemouth University (BU) hosted a visit from the national co-ordinators of ECOSAL-Atlantis last week; an EU ecotourism project recording and promoting the heritage of salt production around the Atlantic Coasts of the UK, France, Spain and Portugal.
The ECOSAL-Atlantis project goal is to create a traditional salt-working route to highlight the fascinating archaeological and ecologically characteristics of these historic landscapes, thereby encouraging economic success of small-scale salt production and tourism development.
BU is the sole UK partner in this project, providing invaluable archaeological and ecological expertise. Researchers are also helping to develop ‘Traditional Salt-working: The Atlantic Route’ and are working with heritage consultants A&A Fielding Ltd to encourage other organisations and sites to join in the creation of the Route.
Other partners have been busy completing the heritage inventory of salt working sites, as well as collecting environmental data from coastal lagoons. This last aspect includes work on the eco-system of these fragile landscapes, producing guidelines that will protect them.
UK national co-ordinator Mark Brisbane, Professor in the School of Applied Sciences at BU said: “This is a highly innovative and original project that brings together archaeology and heritage, ecology and biodiversity, tourism and economic development and forces them to work together in a novel way for the long-term good of these fragile and precious landscapes”.
During their stay the ECOSAL team visited Poole Museums and Poole Harbour, including Brownsea Island, where they witnessed work taking place in the lagoon, recorded bird species and analyzed factors encouraging breeding and length of stay.
Poole Harbour has been an area of salt production from the late Iron Age period (if not before) carrying on into the Roman period, with sites making salt excavated at Ower and Hamworthy. Salt production must have continued into the medieval period around the harbour area but by the 18th century the salt-works were at Lilliput, where they used peat-fired boiling houses crystallising salt from seawater drawn from ponds in what is now known as the Blue Lagoon.
The ECOSAL team also visited the salt marshes in the Lymington-Keyhaven nature reserve, where Hampshire County Council and St Barbe Museum are creating the Lymington Salt Walk.
Now a tranquil wildlife haven, 200 years ago this area was the centre of the second most important site for salt production after Liverpool. The land would have been covered by salt pans where brine was concentrated, windmills would have pumped it into storage tanks and boiling houses which then used coal to bring the brine to a low boil in large iron or copper pans, producing salt as the water boiled away. There was also a network of inlets with docks for boats to deliver the coal and collect the salt. The success of this industry directly contributed to the wealth of the town of Lymington and helped to build many of its important 18th and early 19th century buildings.
There are 13 organizations involved in the ECOSAL project, from four countries (Spain, France, Portugal and the United Kingdom) as follows: Diputación Foral de Alava, Spain (project leader), Ecomuseé du Marais Salant, France, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France, Communauté de comunes Océan – Marais de Monts, France, Communauté de comunes de l’ile d’Oléron, France, Cap Atlantique, France, Asociación Cultural Amigos de las Salinas de Interior, Spain, Fundación Espacios Naturales Protegidos de Andalucía (Andanatura), Spain, , Bournemouth University, UK, University of Aveiro, Portugal, Aveiro Municipality, Portugal, Rio Maior Municipality, Portugal and Municipality of Figueira da Foz, Portugal.
More information can be found on the Bournemouth University website.
Seminar on Software Design and Research Tomorrow
It is my pleasure to announce the next seminar of the STRC tomorrow, 2nd of May in Lawrence Lecture Theatre at 16:00 h
The program for tomorrow evening is particularly attractive for those of you connected with software research and design in varied industrial settings.
Our speaker this time will be Ms Monika Bedersen, a highly experience Project Manager and developer in EVONIK industries AG since 1986; where she was responsible for the successful completion of very challenging projects; and a nice colleague.
Please feel free to show up any time on your convenience,
Best Wishes, Emili
(ToK Coordinator STRC)
Grounded Theory Masterclass 18-19 June 2012
The Centre for Qualitative Research at Bournemouth University is pleased to announce its next Masterclass in Grounded Theory.Date: 18-19 June 2012
Venue:Bournemouth University, Executive Business Centre, 2nd FloorBook your place online now.This masterclass will focus on grounded theory – theory developed from data. We shall examine the origins of the approach and the way it has developed over time. Key writers such as Strauss, Glaser and Charmaz will be discussed and their specific approaches described with examples from grounded theory work. Who should attend Masterclass facilitators Cost To book your place please use our online booking form. For more details please visit our masterclass event page. Best wishes, Caroline Ellis-Hill |
Virgin Media Shorts Competition Opens to Entries (UK)
The Virgin Media Shorts, which is a short film competition that champions undiscovered talent, has announced that its 2012 competition is now open to entries.
The competition is open to filmmakers and gives them the chance to show their work in cinemas, on TV, online and on mobile (via the mobile internet). Prizes include: 13 film makers win a chance to show their work on 214 cinema screens nationwide; one winner will receive £30,000 to make their next film; and a People’s Choice winner will receive £5,000 of film funding and BFI mentoring. Films must be in English or subtitled in English and be of a duration of up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds. The deadline for entries is 12 noon on the 12th July 2012.
4th World Business Ethics Forum – 16-18 December 2012, Hong Kong
The 4th World Business Ethics Forum (WBEF) will be held from 16 to 18 December 2012 by the School of Business of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). BU have received an invitation to submit papers for presentation at the Conference.
The theme for this 4th WBEF is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability. HKBU welcome research papers related to this broad theme. Suggested topics include:
Dimensions and theories of CSR; CSR and risk management; CSR and business ethics; CSR and strategic management; CSR and corporate sustainability; CSR and corporate governance; CSR reporting and capital market; Corporate sustainability management; Legal issues of CSR; CSR in Asia; CSR in China; CSR education; CSR case studies; CSR in western perspectives; and other related issues.
They anticipate that over 150 scholars and professionals across the world will attend the Conference. Selected papers from the Conference will be published in a special issue of Journal of Business Ethics.
The deadline for paper submission is 30th June 2012. Please submit the full paper and enquiries to the Conference Secretariat at wbef@hkbu.edu.hk. Email submissions in Word format are strongly preferred. Submission of full paper for review indicates that it or a similar version has not been previously published or is not simultaneously under review elsewhere. Each submission should include FULL contact details, including the author(s)’ brief bio, institution affiliation, mailing address, telephone and fax number, e-mail address, topic area (up to three topics selected from the above). Full paper should not be more than 40 pages in double-line spacing (all inclusive) and must follow the style guidelines of the Journal of Business Ethics (JBE).
For more details of the Conference, please visit the web site at http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~wbef. The Conference Committee will select full papers on a competitive basis, and author(s) will be notified by September 2012.
Co-Director of CIPPM, Dr Dinusha Mendis, elected to the Executive Committee of the British and Irish Law Education and Technology Association (BILETA)
Dr Dinusha Mendis, Senior Lecturer in Law, and Co-Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management http://www.cippm.org.uk/ was elected to the Executive Committee of the long-standing British and Irish Law Education and Technology Association (BILETA) in March 2012 http://www.bileta.ac.uk/Membership/Executive%20Committee
Formed in April 1986 BILETA exists to promote the use of technology in legal education throughout the UK and Ireland. The Association liaises with academic organisations and professional organisations such as the Higher Education Academy http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/disciplines/law and British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILI) http://www.bailii.org/ Dr. Mendis also represents Bournemouth University on the Society of Legal Scholars (SLS) Council http://www1.legalscholars.ac.uk/about/council/index.cfm which was founded in 1908 and celebrates 104 years in 2012.
At the 2012 BILETA Annual Conference in Newcastle (http://www.numyspace.co.uk/~unn_mlif1/school_of_law/bileta/) Dr. Mendis presented a paper analysing the UK Digital Economy Act 2010. This Act attempts to enforce copyright law in the online environment, for example against downloading and file-sharing. Infringing users will be given three warnings after which they can potentially be disconnected from the Internet, also known as ‘three-strikes-and-you’re-out’. The law is controversial, and still to be implemented. Dr Mendis considers the proportionality of the measure and its effectiveness in the context of fast moving technology.
A new text linking tourism and retail
Progress in Retail and Tourism Research: The psychogeography of liminal consumption is a new text published by Routledge that links the areas of Tourism and Retailing.
This book offers new perspectives on the intersection between tourism and retail research that is liminal to both fields yet central to the tourist experience, standing as an important and illuminating realm of consumer behaviour.
The Book was edited by Charles McIntyre (School of Tourism) and amongst the contributing authors in addition to Charles were BU Lecturers Christine Harris (Retailing within towns and city centres as a tourist retail attraction), Corinna Budnarowska (Fashion retail formats as tourist retail destinations and attractions) and Sean Beer (Co-author Food and farmers’ markets.)
All credit must go to Charles who as an editor was tireless and dogged in his determination. Sometimes it just doesn’t only take time, it takes a lot more besides.
BBSRC – Raising awareness of commercialisation in postgraduate and postdoctoral scientists
Closing Date for Applications: 25th May 2012
This is an exciting opportunity available to postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers* within the plant, microbial and environmental science disciplines, or those with an interest in these fields.
Building on last year’s success, Syngenta, the world’s largest agribusiness company, are again hosting a Plant, Microbial and Environmental sciences workshop, at their world-class Jealott’s Hill research facility as part of the wider Biotechnology YES programme.
We are particularly keen to attract teams from the plant, microbial and environmental sciences to this high profile workshop that will provide a unique opportunity for the participants to spend time at a world-class research facility, with the chance to have a look around and meet world-leading scientists. The workshop will have an emphasis on challenges such as:
- food security and production in a sustainable environment and using lower levels of inputs such as water, phosphorus and nitrogen;
- the effects of climate change on food production;
- the effects of global biodiversity collapse on ecosystem services;
- the production of liquid fuels without impacting on the environment, more effective strategies to control organisms such as crop pests, pathogenic bacteria and disease;
- making technology and marketing concepts to integrate crop protection with seeds more attractive to growers.
YES is an innovative competition aimed at raising awareness of the commercialisation of bioscience research. It is co-organised by the Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the University of Nottingham Institute for Enterprise & Innovation (UNIEI). As part of the wider national YES programme, we are also currently encouraging applications from teams of bioscientists who wish to enter the 2012 Biotechnology YES and Environment YES competitions.
Entrants form imaginary companies and bid for funding to commercialise their ideas. Through 3-day workshops taking place across the UK this autumn, participants receive training from entrepreneurs, patent lawyers and industry representatives in the business skills necessary to recognise, protect and harness the commercial potential of scientific research outputs.
The culmination of the competition is the preparation and presentation, by each team, of a hypothetical business plan for a new start-up company. The competition is therefore fully in line with the government’s objective of encouraging economic and social impact and the competition is endorsed by a number of bio-based industries through their sponsorship. In addition, the winning team of the national Biotechnology YES competition will receive a prize of £1000 and an invitation to the Rice Business Plan Competition in the United States.
Since its launch seventeen years ago, Biotechnology YES has provided entrepreneurial business training for over 3000 researchers from across the UK. In 2010, an independent review of the scheme highlighted that many former participants found YES to be influential in developing their careers, with several starting their own companies and many more becoming business professionals within the bioscience sector. (Review of Biotechnology YES).
The closing date for entries into this year’s competition is 25 May 2012.
More information may be found at the website: www.biotechnologyYES.co.uk or those interested in participating may wish to contact Tracey Hassall-Jones (tracey@biotechnologyyes.co.uk).
Portugal & Spain EcoSal Research Trip 24th–31st March 2012
The last week in March, Dr Roger Herbert and Prof Richard Stillman led a research team to collect samples of mud and benthic invertebrates from salinas (saltworking sites) along the Atlantic coast of Portugal and Spain. The BU team comprised five Applied Sciences undergraduates – Caitriona Shannon, Jemma Fowler, Karen Saunders, David Hartnell, and Rebecca Brown – plus research assistant Chris Moody and PhD student Kathryn Ross. The team assisted with mud sampling, sieving, data logging and recording.
The trip was organised as part of the EcoSal Atlantis project – a European Interreg IVb project which is gathering information about the heritage and biodiversity of saltworking sites along the Atlantic Coast of Europe, to inform and promote sustainable management of the sites (http://ecosal-atlantis.ua.pt). The project has partners in Portugal, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom. Prof. Mark Brisbane at Bournemouth University is the UK national co-ordinator.
(http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/applied-sciences/research/ecosal-atlantis/uk-project.html)
The sites we visited varied from small-scale commercial enterprises to those more focused on tourism and biodiversity conservation, but all sites provided some interesting insights into how management can improve the quality of a site for certain bird species.
The purpose of our trip was to collect information on the diversity and abundance of benthic invertebrate fauna in salinas. At each salina, 3 mud cores were taken from 5 sites within the reservoirs and evaporation ponds to examine the invertebrates and a further core was taken to determine the sediment composition. Samples for benthic invertebrates were sieved on-site and preserved, and further processing and species identification will be done at Bournemouth University. At each site the depth, temperature and salinity were recorded to determine the effect of these factors on invertebrate distributions. Results from the analysis combined with data obtained from other sites sampled in north Portugal, France and in the UK, will help to characterise the benthic fauna of lagoons and salinas and contribute to understanding of the ecological value of the sites.
![](http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/files/2012/04/crystlisation-ponds-ecosal-300x190.jpg)
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Below is a short summary of the trip, including photographs from each of the sites visited and a list of bird species observed.
We arrived at Lisbon at 19.00 on Saturday 24th, and were greeted at the airport by the EcoSal national coordinator for Portugal, Renato Neves, who accompanied us to our first study site, Salinas dos Samaouco (http://www.salinasdosamouco.pt/), on the Tagus estuary, where we stayed the night at the field centre. Within the first few minutes of waking up in the morning we got spectacular views of black-winged stilts, avocets and an osprey. Butterflies such as the swallowtail were abundant at the site. A flock of juvenile flamingos were feeding in one of the reservoirs.
From Sunday 25th – Tuesday 27th we stayed at the Arocha Trust field centre ‘Cruzhina’, (http://www.arocha.org/pt-en/index.html), where we were warmly welcomed by the Felgueiras family and other staff . Arocha is an international environmental charity that does a lot of bird ringing and other field survey work in the Algarve.
![](http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/files/2012/04/stilts-ecosal-300x264.jpg)
While based at Arocha, we sampled the nearby abandoned Salinas at Odiáxere, where we found Kentish plovers displaying at a potential nesting sites. Black-winged stilts and redshank were also present at the site. Crested lark and corn bunting were also observed close by.
The Salinas at Castro Marim, close to the Portuguese/Spanish border were particularly good for bird life. We observed spoonbills, black-winged stilts, avocets, little stints, dunlin, common and spotted redshank and common sandpiper feeding in the Salinas. Birds of prey were very common and we were treated to some great views of marsh harrier, Bonelli’s eagle and short-toed eagle.
For the remainder of the trip, we stayed at the Los Gallos Hotel in Cadiz. Unfortunately the Spanish weather was not quite as obliging as the Portuguese weather had been, and we spent much of the next few days making sure the wind did not blow away our equipment or the smaller members of the team.
Our first Spanish Salina, San Vicente, in Cadiz http://www.salinasanvicente.es/, was probably the most active site we visited, with mountains of salt and machinery dotted around the site. Slender-billed gulls were common at the site. The site was also a good example of how diversification is important for making Salinas commercially successful – the main building housed a function room that is used for wedding receptions, and a restaurant where the various mixtures of flavoured salt are showcased in the recipes. The premium product, ‘Flor de Sal’ is sold internationally, with Harrods in the UK being a major customer.
![](http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/files/2012/04/Artemia-ecosal-300x211.jpg)
![](http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/files/2012/04/cockles-ecosal-300x169.jpg)
It was furiously windy when we did our sampling, but the site manager’s father still assisted us in gathering some samples of Artemia, the small saltwater crustacean that forms an important part of many birds, and is responsible for the pink colour of flamingos.
That same windy afternoon, we were offered a tour of a very different type of salina from Dr. Alejandro Pérez Hurtado from Cadiz University. La Esperanza Grande salina is partly owned and managed by Cadiz University, and is intensely managed for the benefit of the birds and rigourously monitored to determine the effects of various factors such as water levels, vegetation density, and height of the walls of the ponds, on the birds foraging behaviour and breeding success. From this year it will also be involved with various community projects to tackle the issue of high youth unemployment in Cadiz.
The final site we surveyed, Salina de Chiclana http://www.salinasdechiclana.com/, was also predominantly focussed on education and conservation. There was a marvellous visitor’s centre explaining the process of saltmaking with a lot of information on birds. Like the previous site, Chiclana puts much effort into managing the site for birds. We were lucky enough to have some bee-eaters fly past us as we took our final mud samples for the trip – a perfect end to a memorable week.
Bird list for the trip.
While the Salinas provided us with some excellent views of various waders, wildfowl and gulls, we also took advantage of the time between fieldwork to explore some of the other local avifauna. A few of the species observed on the trip, such as the great and little bustards were ‘life ticks’, even for Richard and Roger, so it was an exciting and educational experience for all of us. The entire list of species observed on the trip is detailed below.
Acknowledgements
Renato Neves , Portugal National co-ordinator;
Márcia Pinto and staff at Samouco Salinas Foundation, Lisbon;
Marcial Felgueiras, Arocha Portugal;
Anabela Resende and Filipe Moniz at Castro Marim;
Manuel Ruiz and staff at Salinas de San Vicente, Cadiz;
Dr. Alejandro Pérez Hurtado from Cadiz University;
Inmaculada Saludo at Salinas de Chiclana, Cadiz;
Lola Alcon Mestre, Fundacion Andanatura, Seville.
Table 1. Bird list for Eco Sal Portugal/Spain trip March 24-31st, 2012.
Common name | Latin name | Group |
Bee-eater | Merops Apiaster | Bee-eater |
Black-winged kite | Elanus caeruleus | Birds of prey |
Bonelli’s Eagle | Aquila fasciata | Birds of prey |
Kestrel | Falco tinnunculus | Birds of prey |
Lesser kestrel | Falco naumanni | Birds of prey |
Marsh harrier | Circus aeruginosus | Birds of prey |
Montagu’s harrier | Circus pygargus | Birds of prey |
Osprey | Pandion haliaetus | Birds of prey |
Red kite | Milvus milvus | Birds of prey |
Short-toed eagle | Circaetus gallicus | Birds of prey |
Corn bunting | Emberiza calandra | Buntings |
Great bustard | Otis tarda | Bustards |
Little bustard | Tetrax tetrax | Bustards |
Cormorant | Phalacrocorax carbo | Cormorants |
Azure-winged magpie | Cyanopica cyanus | Crows |
Carrion crow | Corvus corone | Crows |
Magpie | Pica pica | Crows |
Goldfinch | Carduelis carduelis | Finches |
Greenfinch | Chloris chloris | Finches |
Linnet | Carduelis cannabina | Finches |
Serin | Serinus serinus | Finches |
Black-headed gull | Chroicocephalus ridibundus | Gulls |
Great black-backed gull | Larus marinus | Gulls |
Slender-billed gull | Chroicocephalus genei | Gulls |
Yellow-legged gull | Larus michahellis | Gulls |
Cattle egret | Bubulcus ibis | Herons, storks, flamingos, spoonbills |
Flamingo | Phoenicopterus roseus | Herons, storks, flamingos, spoonbills |
Grey heron | Ardea cinerea | Herons, storks, flamingos, spoonbills |
Little egret | Egretta garzetta | Herons, storks, flamingos, spoonbills |
Spoonbill | Platalea leucorodia | Herons, storks, flamingos, spoonbills |
White stork | Ciconia ciconia | Herons, storks, flamingos, spoonbills |
Hoopoe | Upupa epops | Hoopoe |
Common waxbill | Estrilda astrild | Introduced & escapees |
Rose-ringed parakeet | Psitticula krameri | Introduced & escapees |
Crested lark | Galerida cristata | Larks |
Short-toed lark | Calandrella brachydactyla | Larks |
Thekla lark | Galerida theklae | Larks |
Barn owl | Tyto alba | Owls |
Pheasant | Phasianus colchicus | Partridges & Pheasants |
Quail* | Cotumix coturnix | Partridges & Pheasants |
Red-legged partridge | Alectoris rufa | Partridges & Pheasants |
Feral pigeon | Columba livia | Pigeons & Doves |
Stock dove | Columba oenas | Pigeons & Doves |
Wood pigeon | Columba polumbus | Pigeons & Doves |
Coot | Fulica atra | Rails & Crakes |
Moorhen | Gallinula chloropus | Rails & Crakes |
House sparrow | Passer domesticus | Sparrows |
Spotless starling | Sturnus unicolor | Starlings |
Starling | Sturnus vulgaris | Starlings |
Barn swallow | Hirundo rustica | Swallows and martins |
House martin | Delichon urbicum | Swallows and martins |
Swift | Apus apus | Swifts |
Sandwich tern | Sterna sandvicensis | Terns |
Blackbird | Turdus merula | Thrushes |
Stonechat | Saxicola torquatus | Thrushes |
Wheatear | Oenanthe oenanthe | Thrushes |
Great tit | Parus major | Tits |
Avocet (pied) | Recurvirostra avocetta | Waders |
Black-tailed godwit | Limosa limosa | Waders |
Black-winged stilt | Himantopus himantopus | Waders |
Common sandpiper | Actitis hypoleucos | Waders |
Dunlin | Calidris alpina | Waders |
Greenshank | Tringa nebularia | Waders |
Grey plover | Pluvialis squatorola | Waders |
Kentish plover | Charadrius alexandrinus | Waders |
Little ringed plover | Charadrius dubius | Waders |
Little stint | Calidris minuta | Waders |
Redshank | Tringa totanus | Waders |
Ringed plover | Charadrius hiaticula | Waders |
Spotted redshank | Tringa erythropus | Waders |
Turnstone | Arenaria interpres | Waders |
White (pied) wagtail | Motacilla alba | Wagtails |
Yellow wagtail | Motacilla flava | Wagtails |
Cetti’s warbler* | Cettia cetti | Warblers |
Fan-tailed warbler | Cisticola juncidis | Warblers |
Sardinian warbler | Sylvia melanocephala | Warblers |
Gadwall | Anas strepera | Wildfowl |
Garganey | Anas querquedula | Wildfowl |
Mallard | Anas platyrhynchos | Wildfowl |
Shoveler | Anas clypeata | Wildfowl |
Wren | Troglodytes troglodytes | Wren |
*heard only
This repoirt was written by BU PhD student Kathryn Ross. All photos are courtesy of Kathryn Ross and Chris Moody.
Two new copyright papers by Business School Professors
Professor Ruth Towse’s article What we know, what we don’t know, and what policy-makers would like us to know about the economics of copyright, published in the Review of Economic Research on Copyright Issues (2011, vol. 8(2), pp.101-120) was recently listed on Social Science Research Network’s (SSRN) Top Ten Download list for: Intellectual Property: Copyright Law eJournal.
Ruth Towse is Professor of Economics of Creative Industries in the Business School, and is Centre for Intellectual Property and Policy Management (CIPPM) co-director (economics).
Professor Paul Heald’s ongoing study exploring the public domain effects of copyright law was reported on The Atlantic, among other places. It shows there are twice as many newly published books available on Amazon from 1850 as there are from 1950.
Paul Heald is Professor of Law at the University of Illinois and Professorial Fellow at the CIPPM, Bournemouth University. You can read more about Professor Heald’s work here.