Category / REF Subjects

BU research published in Science – footprint study changes our understanding of human migration

How and when humans first colonised North America is a question that has long puzzled researchers. A groundbreaking new study by BU academics has shed new light on patterns of migration and reveals that humans may have reached the Americas 7,000 years earlier than previously thought.

The study, written by Professor Matthew Bennett and Dr Sally Reynolds and published in Science today, reveals that human footprints discovered in New Mexico date from 23,000 and 21,000 years old. The discovery has the potential to radically change our understanding of when the continent was settled and suggests that there is much still to be discovered about migrations and earlier populations in this part of the world.

 

The footprints were left in soft mud on the shores of what was once a shallow lake which now forms part of Alkali Flat – a large playa (a dried desert lake) at White Sands, New Mexico with the tracks seeming to be left mainly by teenagers and younger children. Seeds found in layers of sediment above and below the footprints were radiocarbon dated by the US Geological Survey, providing the research team with very precise dates for the footprints themselves.

Professor Bennett said: “The footprints left at White Sands give a picture of what was taking place, teenagers interacting with younger children and adults. We can think of our ancestors as quite functional, hunting and surviving, but what we see here is also activity of play, and of different ages coming together.  A true insight into these early people.”

The pioneering research has been featured heavily in the media this morning with front page links on BBC News, The Times, The Guardian and many other media channels.

Science is viewed as one of the most prestigious academic journals with competition to be published so intense that less than 7% of submissions are accepted. Professor Bennett and Dr Reynold’s groundbreaking article highlights their decades of hard work and expertise in paleontology, human evolution and environmental & geographical sciences.

Dr. Ann Luce honoured in Malaysia on World Suicide Prevention Day

Fusion, Knowledge Exchange

Dr. Ann Luce, Associate Professor in Journalism and Communication in FMC and her colleague, Dr. Ravivarma Rao Panirselvam, a psychiatrist in the Ministry of Health at Hospital Miri were honoured by The Honorable Dato Sri Hajah Fatimah Abdullah, Minister of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development in Sarawak, Malaysia earlier today (September 10th) for their work in creating guidelines for police on how to speak with journalists about suicide deaths and suicide attempts.

The guidelines were launched at a World Suicide Prevention Day event where policy makers, Members of Parliament and the Sarawak State Assembly learned about suicide prevention and discussed the decriminalisation of suicide within the country.

The guidelines, and an accompanying Z-fold flyer for police duty belts, have been distributed to officers within the Royal Malaysia Police in Sarawak. The guidelines advise police to identify a single point of contact (spokesperson) to discuss suicides with journalists and advise them on what type of information they should share with journalists and how to do this safely and responsibly. The guidance also states that police should avoid talking about specific suicide methods and locations of deaths. The guidelines also advise police to provide helpline information so journalists can educate the general population that suicide is a public health issue and not a criminal one.

While Malaysia’s crude suicide rate is about 5.6 per 100,000 inhabitants and below the global crude rate of 10.6 per 100,000 people, suicide rates in Malaysia have been steadily climbing since 2010. With only one psychiatrist for every 200,000 residents in the country, Malaysia falls short of the World Health Organisation recommendation of one psychiatrist to 10,000 residents. Coupled with social stigma regarding mental health and growing mental health problems amongst young people, there is a push within the country to now decriminalise suicide.

Malaysia is believed to be one of about 20 countries around the world that still treats suicide as an illegal act. There are a further 20 countries which follow Islamic or Sharia Law where suicide or suicide attempts are illegal and can be punished with jail sentences.

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Funding opportunities, NHS

RDS NEWS

From the RDS desk – navigating the innovation pathway 
The RDS blog this month provides a few tips on putting together an i4i application Read the blog here

NIHR News

NIHR awards £12 million to artificial intelligence research to help understand multiple long-term conditions

Major new funding opportunity for local government based public health research collaborations

eBulletins and Newsletters

NIHR Funding and support news: September 2021

NHS England and NHS Improvement: In Touch

Events

HEE SW NIHR Integrated Clinical Academic Awards Showcase Event
Online – MS Teams: Monday 20th September 2021 1.30pm – 2.30pm.

The event is open to everyone interested in finding out more about the awards. It will include:

  • an introduction to the HEE-NIHR Integrated Clinical Academic programme and South West region awards from the HEE SW NIHR Programme Delivery Team
  • presentations from previous awardees including an intern, pre-doctoral and postdoctoral awardees in the region.
  • a Q&A session

Join on your computer or mobile app: Click here to join the meeting

Funding Opportunities

Latest NIHR funding calls
Transforming care and health at home and enabling independence

Public Health Research (PHR) Programme
NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaborations (HDRC)

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme
21/554 Health Technology Assessment Programme Researcher-led (primary research)
21/555 Health Technology Assessment Programme Researcher-led (evidence synthesis)
21/556 NIHR NICE Rolling Call – (HTA Programme)

 

Your local branch of the NIHR RDS (Research Design Service) is based within the BU Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) should you need help with your application. We advise on all aspects of developing an application and can review application drafts as well as put them to a mock funding panel (run by RDS South West) known as Project Review Committee, which is a fantastic opportunity for researchers to obtain a critical review of a proposed grant application before this is sent to a funding body.

Contact us as early as possible to benefit fully from the advice

Feel free to call us on 01202 961939 or send us an email.

Dr. Ann Luce at Mental Health Academy Suicide Prevention Summit

conferences, Knowledge Exchange, NHS, REF Subjects

Dr. Ann Luce, Associate Professor in Journalism and Communication in FMC is keynoting at the Mental Health Academy Suicide Prevention Summit on Saturday, 11th September in honour of World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10th).

In partnership with the British Psychological Society (BPS), the summit aims to equip practicing mental health professionals with the most up-to-date, advanced knowledge and treatment options on suicide prevention.

With suicide rates amongst medical professionals some of the highest in the UK, Dr. Luce will share early findings from her most recent research here in Dorset on how suicide is stigmatised amongst mental health professionals, the attitudes and barriers to seeking help within mental healthcare Trusts and what Trusts need to do to make the workplace safer for mental health staff.

Dr. Ann Luce to present at Public Health/NHS South West Regional Summit

conferences, Knowledge Exchange, NHS

Dr. Ann Luce, Associate Professor in Journalism and Communication in FMC will present at the Public Health England and NHS England South West Regional Suicide Prevention Summit tomorrow, 3rd September in honour of World Suicide Prevention Day which is on 10th September.

Dr. Luce will be presenting with Kirsty Hillier, Head of Communications for Dorset’s Integrated Care System on the communication and media strategy she created for the Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group, Public Health Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council to de-escalate a cluster of suicides at a local railway station in Bournemouth in 2019-2020.

The paper, “Online and Social Media: supporting communities to respond to suspected clusters” will cover how the strategy contributed to the saving of 20 lives between October and December 2019, led to the creation of five active working groups within the multi-agency partnership: 1. Real Time Surveillance and Suicide Attempts group, 2. Communication and Media group, 3. Suicide Bereavement group, 4. High Intensity Presenters group and 5. Training group, and also de-escalated the cluster by June 2020. The paper will also discuss the importance of educating and training local MPs, Councillors, Media and Community on the responsible way to discuss suicide in face-to-face conversations as well as online.

The work is being hailed as best practice by Public Health England and NHS England and is being disseminated across the country via Integrated Care Systems and the regional summits.

Risk of kidney problems in migrant workers

international, open access, writing

Congratulations to Dr. Pramod Regmi, Lecturer in International Health & Global Engagement Lead, Department of Nursing Sciences, and Dr. Nirmal Aryal, formerly of the Centre of Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH), whose editorial “Kidney health risk of migrant workers: An issue we can no longer overlook” has been published today in Health Prospect [1].  Further co-authors (Arun Sedhain, Radheshyam Krishna KC, Erwin Martinez Faller, Aney Rijal, and Edwin van Teijlingen) work in India, Nepal, the Philippines and at BU.  The study was funded by GCRF.

This editorial highlights that low-skilled migrant workers in the countries of the Gulf and Malaysia are at a disproportionately higher risk of kidney health problems. The working conditions are often Dirty, Dangerous and Difficult (referred at as the 3Ds) include physically demanding work, exposure to a hot environment, dehydration, chemical exposures, excessive use of pain killers, and lifestyle factors (such as restricted water intake and a high intake of alcohol/sugary drinks) which may precipitate them to acute kidney injuries and subsequent chronic kidney disease.  

References

  1. Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., Sedhain, A., KC, R.K., Martinez Faller, E., Rijal, A., van Teijlingen, E., (2021) Kidney health risk of migrant workers: An issue we can no longer overlook. Health Prospect 21(1): 15-17.

Structural abuse through the gendered performance of welfare

We are pleased to announce the publication of our paper demonstrating some of the problems with Universal Credit in perpetuating patriarchal assumptions and placing women at risk of domestic violence and abuse in danger, especially during lockdowns resulting from the pandemic. It is particularly pleasing that this is the second paper Prof Jonathan Parker has published with former BU student, Kelly Veasey, who now works as a researcher with Citizen’s Advice whilst completing a master’s degree in international social policy at the University of Kent.

The paper, ‘Universal Credit, Gender and Structural Abuse’, builds on Parker’s development of the concept of structural abuse as a hidden concern for care home staff and residents during the 2020-21 pandemic (also published in the Journal of Adult Protection), and on Veasey’s research exploring the negative impact of welfare conditionality on those at risk of homelessness, exacerbated through the inappropriately named Universal Credit, and published in the Journal of Humanities and Applied Social Sciences.

Inequalities are embedded within our social systems and those ostensibly designed to support and protect people in poverty. This paper adds to our understanding and calls for changes to an inequitable system based on differentiation rather than universality.

Jonathan Parker

Experience of work in the UK’s TV industry – full report

Industry collaboration

This week sees the publication of the Faculty of Media & Communication’s report State of Play 2021: Management Practices in UK Unscripted Television. Described by Marcus Ryder MBE as one of the most comprehensive industry assessments in years, the report is the culmination of eight months of qualitative data analysis from a survey of people working in the unscripted sector of the UK’s TV industry. A preliminary report, based on only the quantitative findings, was published in January. This week’s full report – a document of some 100-pages – gives context, colour and detail to the worrying statistics. The picture it paints is one of a troubled industry urgently in need of reform.

Welcoming the report, Philippa Childs, Head of the union Bectu said:

“The State of Play report details the underlying problems facing freelancers in the TV industry, which give rise to shocking rates of bullying and harassment and a continuing lack of diversity in the industry.”

Whilst in many ways, UK television has been a great national success story, this success has been at the expense of those who work in the industry. The report describes experiences that would not be tolerated in any other business. The casualisation of the workforce has devolved employer risk, ultimately, to individual freelancers who have little or no protection for their own livelihoods or wellbeing. Work is characterised by last minute job bookings and last-minute cancellations; extended hours without breaks or compensation; discrimination; nepotism; sexual harassment; and workplace bullying beside the prevailing precarity that makes it almost impossible for them to challenge any of these conditions. The report, which makes six major recommendations with implications for both government policy and structural change within the industry, will feature in a panel discussion at next week’s Edinburgh Television Festival.

The UK television industry’s Broadcast magazine covered the story on Monday 16 August 2021.

The full report can be downloaded from here:

van Raalte, C., Wallis, R. and Pekalski, D., 2021. State of Play 2021: Management Practices in UK Unscripted Television. Technical Report. Poole, UK: Bournemouth University.

 

NIHR Bulletin

Funding opportunities, innovation, NHS

RDS NEWS

From the RDS (Research Design Service) desk – raising the public involvement standards in the RDS.
Patient and public involvement has been an essential element of research funding applications for many years, and the RDS has been making it an essential element in how we work. Our blog this month shows how we’ve integrated our public contributor teams to our advice-giving service, and the resulting benefits. Read the blog here.

NIHR News

Good Clinical Trials Collaborative launches new guidance consultation

Professor Lucy Chappell begins role as NIHR Chief Executive

eBulletins and Newsletters

NIHR Funding and support round-up: August 2021

NIHR ARCs – August Newsletter

Funding Opportunities

Latest NIHR funding calls

Evidence Synthesis Programme
Incentive Awards Scheme 2021

Programme Development Grants
Competition 31

 

Your local branch of the NIHR RDS (Research Design Service) is based within the BU Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) should you need help with your application. We advise on all aspects of developing an application and can review application drafts as well as put them to a mock funding panel (run by RDS South West) known as Project Review Committee, which is a fantastic opportunity for researchers to obtain a critical review of a proposed grant application before this is sent to a funding body.

Contact us as early as possible to benefit fully from the advice

Feel free to call us on 01202 961939 or send us an email.