Category / REF Subjects

Congratulations to Dr. Tsofliou

open access, PG research, writing

Earlier this month the scientific journal Psychology & Health published the paper ‘Effectiveness of client-centred counselling on weight management among Black African women with overweight and obesity in high-income countries: a systematic review’ [1].   This paper is based on the work of Itse Olaoye, a PhD student at St Mary’s University, London.  Bournemouth University’s Dr Fotini Tsofliou is part of the student’s interdisciplinary supervisory team together with academics from the Faculty of Sport, Allied Health and Performance Science at St Mary’s University, London.
The message in the paper is that client-centred counselling appears promising for weight management in Black African women with overweight or obesity. Long-term follow-up studies are needed to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of these interventions in this population over time.
Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health
Reference:
  1. Olaoye, I., Myrissa, K., Kelaiditi, E., Tsofliou, F., & Brown, N. (2025). Effectiveness of client-centred counselling on weight management among Black African women with overweight and obesity in high-income countries: a systematic review. Psychology & Health, 1–32. [Published online: 11 Mar 2025]  https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2025.2475161

 

Promoting South-South collaboration and learning

international

The Sonamoni Project is working with communities in rural Bangladesh utilizing human-centered design (HCD) techniques. These design principles have been applied for many years in designing consumer products and, more recently, in the fields of health and social systems. The research project is identifying solutions to reduce the number of drowning deaths in newly mobile children (6-24 months), developing prototype, and assessing the acceptability and usability of potential  interventions. This interdisciplinary project is coordinated by Bournemouth University in collaboration with the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB), the University of the West of England, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), the University of Southampton, and Design without Borders Africa (DwB) from Uganda. Our Sonamoni project has been made possible thanks to a grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) through their Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme.

As part of the Sonamoni project we arranged some serious South-South learning by facilitating a visit to DwB in Uganda in early march by two of our Bangladesh-based team, namely Notan Chandra Dutta, Research Manager and Mirza Shibat Rowshan, HCD Specialist.  DwB applies HCD approaches to complex challenges faced by communities in low and middle-income countries. To gain greater insights into HCD activities the researchers from Bangladesh visited one site near Lake Victoria to observe data collection with fishermen, transporters, and local leaders. Notan and Shibat co-facilitated a four-day long Design Community Advisory Board (DCAB) workshop on the “Enhancing Fisherfolk Safety” project where fishermen, boat owners, transporters, traditional weather forecasters, health workers were the participants. To prevent drowning, HCD was applied in the workshop to generate ideas and share solutions of the lake site community from Lake Victoria of Mayuge district. Lessons learnt from the visit by two staff of CIPRB can further enrich the Sonamoni Project implementation in Bangladesh.  The NIHR really values research capacity building and South-South learning in its funded projects, as well as North-South leaning, of course.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

The order of things: Starting an M.Sc. after your Ph.D.

PG research

In the 1990s after I had completed my Ph.D. in Medical Sociology my first lectureship was in Public Health at the University of Aberdeen where my job title included that of coordinator of the B.Sc. Health Sciences.  At the time I was required to do a variety of training modules and workshops on education at university level. Since there was the option to register for the Master of Education (M.Ed.) in the Department of Education at the University of Aberdeen, I thought I might as well gain more insight into education and learning than the required basic training and get a degree out of it at the same time.  For a long time, I considered myself as odd, starting a lower degree after having completed a higher one.  I bit like the guy I met thirty years ago who had completed to Ph.D.’s, one in Chemistry and then afterwards one in Divinity.

My view changed a few years ago when a colleague (with a Ph.D.) commenced an M.Sc. for a different reason.  On this occasion to become a qualified practitioner, through the completion of a practice-based M.Sc. in Mental Health Nursing.  The M.Sc. programme started a decade after the completion of a Ph.D. in Public Health.

And the idea for this blog sprang on me this morning when a colleague with a Ph.D. in Statistics and Epidemiology asked me for a reference to support his application for a place on an M.Sc. in Neuroscience.  His argument for starting such M.Sc. is that he is actively involved in several neuro-psychology research projects and as a quantitative researcher he wants to have a greater understanding of the underpinning science and the wider topic area.

Having successfully passed your Ph.D. viva is evidence that you study and learn effectively on your own, the subsequent M.Sc. can offer licensure (the right to practice) or greater insight into an academic field different from your Ph.D. one.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health

Presenting HSRI results at Nepal Dialogue UK

international, Publishing, writing

Today, Saturday morning, BU Visiting Professor Padam Simkhada from the University of Huddersfield was guest speaker at the third Nepal Dialogue UK webinar series of the Centre for Nepal Studies UK (CNSIK).   His presentation was titled Is Nepal’s Health System fit for Purpose? Reflections on Transformations, Maladies and Future Needs.  He outlined the state of health (epidemiology) as well as that of the health system.  He presented a lot of change in the health of the population, in the health system, as well as issues around human resources, including the high rate of migration of health workers.  He highlight that there is in Nepal insufficient investment in health, unethical practices,

He introduced some the key findings from our recently completed study on the effects of the federalisation process on Nepal’s health system.  Padam was one of the co-applications on this study together with academics from the University of  Sheffield, Canterbury Christ Church University and Bournemouth University in the UK, and colleagues in Nepal from Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) and PHASE Nepal.  The project was funded by the UK Health Systems Research Initiative (Grant ref MR/T023554/1). For more information on the Nepal Federal Health System Team, see: https://www.nepalfederalhealthsystem.com/.  This interdisciplinary study has been disseminated in the form of eight published papers [1-8].

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMWH

 

References:

  1. Koirala, B., Rushton, S., Adhikary, P., Balen, J., et al. (2024) COVID-19 as a challenge to Nepal’s newly federalised health system: capacities, responsibilities, and mindsets, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health (online first) https://doi.org/10.1177/1010539524125012.
  2. Sapkota, S., Rushton, S., van Teijlingen, E., et al. (2024) Participatory policy analysis in health policy and systems research: reflections from a study in Nepal. Health Research & Policy Systems, 22 (No.7) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-023-01092-5 .
  3. Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., et al. (2023) Selection of Study Sites and Participants for Research into Nepal’s Federal Health System, WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health 12(2):116-119.
  4. Sapkota, S., Dhakal, A., Rushton S., et al. (2023) The impact of decentralisation on health systems: a systematic review of reviews. BMJ Global Health 8:e013317. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2023-013317.
  5. Wasti, S.P., van Teijlingen, E., Rushton, S., et al. (2023) Overcoming the Challenges Facing Nepal’s Health System During Federalisation: An Analysis of Health System Building Blocks, Health Research Policy & Systems 21(117) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-023-01033-2
  6. Sapkota, S., Panday, S., Wasti, S.P., et al. (2022) Health System Strengthening: The Role of Public Health in Federal Nepal, Journal of the Nepal Public Health Association 7(1):36-42.
  7. Adhikary, P., Balen, J., Gautam, S., et al. (2020) The COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal: Emerging evidence on the effectiveness of action by, and cooperation between, different levels of government in a federal system, Journal of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences 3 (3): 1-11.
  8. Rushton, S., Pandey, S., van Teijlingen, E., et al. (2021) An Investigation into the Impact of Decentralization on the Health System of Nepal. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 7(1): 3–14. https://doi.org/10.3126/jmmihs.v7i1.43146

 

 

 

Nepal maternity care paper online yesterday

international, open access, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing

Yesterday the international journal PLoS ONE published the latest paper of former Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) PhD student Dr. Sulochana Dhakal-Rai [1].  As in many countries, Caesarean Section (CS) rates are rising in urban hospitals in Nepal. However, the reasons behind these rising rates are poorly understood. Therefore, this study explores factors contributing to rising CS rates in two urban hospitals as well as strategies to make a more rational use of CS.  Dr. Dhakal-Rai was supervised by Dr. Juliet Wood, Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen all based in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences.

The paper highlights that high CS rates in the private hospital reflects the medicalisation of childbirth, a public health issue which needs to be urgently addressed for the health benefits of both mother and baby. Multiple factors affecting rising CS rates were identified in urban hospitals. This study provides insights into factors affecting the rising CS rate and suggests that multiple strategies are required to stem the rise of CS rates and to make rational use of CS in urban hospitals.

The journal is Open Access and the paper is freely available to read in Nepal (and elsewhere) for anyone with internet access.

 

Reference:

  1. Dhakal Rai S, van Teijlingen E, Regmi PR, Wood J, Dangal G, Dhakal KB (2025) Explaining rising caesarean section rates in urban Nepal: A mixed-methods study. PLoS ONE 20(2): e0318489. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318489

BU-Lush Cosmetics Ltd collaboration to Develop Renewable Zero Carbon Emissions Energy Technology

Awarded & submitted bids, conferences, Industry collaboration, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, PG research, REF Subjects, Student Engagement, student research

This is a landmark collaborative initiative between BU’s NanoCorr, Energy and Modelling (NCEM) Research Group led by Professor Zulfiqar Khan and team members including Dr Adil Saeed, Dr Mayank Anand and Aerk Dimri and Lush Cosmetics Ltd a major stakeholder in the conurbation. “Born in Poole, Lush offers a range of quirky and unique handmade bathing and cosmetic products with signature ‘Lush’ scents. The brand boasts an extremely ethical promise to consumers with all products being cruelty free, vegetarian and ethically sourced.” [Source]. “Lush Limited is a British cosmetics retailer which is headquartered in Poole, England. It was founded in 1995 by trichologist Mark Constantine, his wife Mo Constantine and five other founders.” [Source].

 

“We laid the foundation for capitalising on tidal energy sources and providing clean energy solutions for local and regional domestic and commercial applications through Community Interest Company (CIC) / Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), Poole Tidal Energy Partnership (PTEP), more than a decade ago, said Professor Zulfiqar Khan, one of the founding directors of PTEP.

This work led to UK based energy company collaboration in BU’s energy research: capture, conversion and storage through full funding of two PhDs, two Post Docs, one PhD in-kind support, industrial labs resources and funding patent applications, a three quarter of a million pound sterling research portfolio led by Professor Zulfiqar Khan. This has yielded in commercial patents in the US and GB, covering novel nano fluids, energy systems (capture, conversion and storage).

“This recent collaboration with LUSH is a testament of our full commitments to UNSDGs, UK and EU clean energy directives, initiatives which has led to emergence of BU as a global leader in Clean Energy Systems,” Professor Zulfiqar Khan added.

Dr Saeed said, “we provide opportunities for our UG/PGT courses to benefits from our research collaborations to enhance students learning and teaching experience through research informed educational provisions.” Dr Saeed, the Programme Leader of Mechanical Engineering course, said, we currently have three final year projects in energy systems which have been inspired and are linked to BU-LUSH collaborative project.

LUSH Creative Technologist Jim Woodward said, “We look forward to starting this journey with Professor Khan, his colleagues and students at Bournemouth University, researching the potential tidal energy in our beautiful Poole Harbour. We welcome the newly appointed PGR and wish him good luck in this exciting PhD project with us. What a force – Lush a local Poole company working with a fantastic local University.”

Consider starting M.Res. at Bournemouth University

NHS, PG research, student research

Bournemouth University is delighted to be working with UWE Bristol as one of the NIHR INSIGHT hosts providing funded postgraduate M.Res. research training for health and social care professionals.  BU provides excellent training, development, and teaching for the postgraduate community across disciplinary and interdisciplinary research fields.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) INSIGHT programme is a unique opportunity designed to inspire and equip the next generation of health and social care researchers. As part of its commitment to fostering a world-class research workforce, the NIHR INSIGHT programme offers a transformative experience with numerous benefits:

  • Exposure to Research Opportunities: Gain invaluable insight into health and social care research.
  • Hands-On Experience: Engage directly with researchers and practitioners, acquiring real-world skills.
  • Mentorship: Receive guidance from experienced professionals, helping to shape your research career and development.
If you are health or social care professional you may want to have a look at the experience of midwifery researcher and current M.Res. student Susara Blunden (click here!).   For a more informal discussion email INSIGHTSWCC@bournemouth.ac.uk
Applications Open until 31st March 2025 (for September 2025 entry).
Links: – NIHR INSIGHT Programme for the South West Central Collaboration

Pilot studies methods paper cited 500 times

Publishing, writing

This morning ResearchGate alerted us that our paper ‘The importance of pilot studies’ [1] had reached 500 citations.  Profs. Vanora Hundley and Edwin van Teijlingen, both in BU’s Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH) have published several methods papers [1-6] on the importance of (a) conducting pilot studies, but also (b) reporting on their outcomes and lessons learnt.  It started more than two decades ago with lessons learnt from the Scottish Birth study [2]. Followed by a methods paper in a sociology journal [3], one in a midwifery journal [4] and one in a family planning journal [5].  The icing on the pudding was an encyclopedia entry in 2003 [6].

 

References:

  1. van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V. (2002) ‘The importance of pilot studies’ Nursing Standard 16(40): 33-36. Web: nursing-standard.co.uk/archives/vol16-40/pdfs/vol16w40p3336.pdf
  2. van Teijlingen, E., Rennie, AM., Hundley, V., Graham, W. (2001) The importance of conducting & reporting pilot studies: example of Scottish Births Survey, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 34: 289-95.
  3. van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. (2001) The importance of pilot studies, Social Research Update Issue 35, (Editor N. Gilbert), Guildford: University of Surrey. Web:  http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk/sru/SRU35.html
  4. Hundley, V., van Teijlingen E. (2002) The role of pilot studies in midwifery research RCM Midwives Journal 5(11): 372-74.
  5. van Teijlingen, E, Hundley, V. (2005) Pilot studies in family planning & reproductive health care, Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health Care 31(3): 219-21.
  6. van Teijlingen E, Hundley, V. (2003) Pilot study, In: Encyclopaedia of Social Science Research Methods, Vol. 2, Lewis-Beck, M., Bryman, A. & Liao, T. (eds.), Orego, Sage: 823-24.

 

Congratulations on new paper by BU PhD graduate

Guidance, PG research, Publishing, Research Ethics, writing

Congratulations to Dr. Karim Khaled on the latest paper from his BU Ph.D. research.  This article ‘Ethical Issues and Challenges Regarding the Use of Mental Health Questionnaires in Public Health Nutrition Research‘ [1] was published earlier this month in the international journal Nutrients. 

Karim is currently based at Birmingham City University, and the paper is co-authored with his  Ph.D. supervisors Dr. Fotini Tsofliou and Prof. Vanora Hundley in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences.  This paper addresses the potential burden of completing mental health questionnaires on (a) participants and (b) researchers. This examines ethical issues and challenges of using such scales and questionnaires, providing a real-life case study where the Beck’s Depression Inventory-II was used.
The ethical considerations raised by using mental health questionnaires in epidemiological research include incorrectly identifying participants as depressed or non-depressed; inability to identify participants for referral procedures due to the anonymous nature of some research studies; an increased burden on participants through depression and suicidal questions; and the high expectation of participants towards the researcher. Preventative measures to reduce these challenges include choosing appropriate cut-off scores for correctly identifying participants; highlighting whether mental health questionnaires used may elicit negative emotional or psychological reactions related to suicide ideation; specifying the criteria for referral to clinical services; detailing the intended referral processes; including approaches where the researcher directly connects participants with a psychological service provider; and including a passive referral method such as contact details for participants to initiate their own referrals to clinical care.  The authors offer a guide for researchers aiming to collect data on mental health through questionnaires, and they conclude that ethical challenges should be considered and reviewed at all stages of the research project.

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

 

Reference:

  1. Khaled, K., Tsofliou, F., Hundley, V. (2025). Ethical Issues and Challenges Regarding the Use of Mental Health Questionnaires in Public Health Nutrition Research Nutrients 17 (4): 715. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17040715

 

 

ZOOM Academic Writing & Publishing Workshop for Bangladesh

international, Publishing, Training, writing

Colleagues are invited to our Bangladesh Midwifery Academic Writing & Publishing Workshop

This online workshop is an introduction to the world of academic writing and publishing.  The workshop organisers, Professors Hundley and van Teijlingen will introduce the basic structure of an academic article, highlight the importance of selecting the most appropriate journal, reading and following the author instructions, understanding the role of the journal editor and that of peer reviewers.  The authors will use the submission requirements of the Journal of Asian Midwives as an example.

The ZOOM event will be held this Tuesday 18 February 14.00-16.00 UK time.  FHSS colleagues who are interested in joining this introductory workshop with midwives and midwifery researchers from Bangladesh can use the following link:

Image preview

 

BU student’s M.Res. paper read 500 times

international, open access, Publishing, student research, Women's Academic Network, writing

Yesterday ResearchGate alerted us that our paper ‘The importance of positionality for qualitative researchers‘ [1] has been read 500 times. This methods paper was only written last year by Bournemouth University M.Res. student Hannah Gurr, her M.Res. supervisors Dr. Orlanda Harvey, Dr. Louise Oliver and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in collaboration with Prof. Madhusudan Subedi from Patan Academy of Health Sciences in Nepal.

In the paper we remind qualitative researchers about the importance of critical reflection, and why they need to explain their positionality to readers of their work. This account can be relatively straightforward, but there are occasions when this process of reflection and outlining one’s positionality is much more complicated. This method-paper explains this process. It outlines, using examples of different occasions and situations, where and why such complications may arise, for example, around values and personal experiences. It concludes with further practical advice on writing the section on positionality for novice social scientists.

Well done Hannah!

Dr. Lou Oliver, Dr. Orlanda Harvey & Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

 

Reference:

  1. Gurr, H., Oliver, L., Harvey, O., Subedi, M., & van Teijlingen, E. (2024). The Importance of Positionality for Qualitative Researchers. Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 18(1): 48–54. https://doi.org/10.3126/dsaj.v18i01.67553

Free Research Event – Wednesday 26th February – A Celebration of Sustainable Consumption Related Research

BU Research Centre CSSRC is celebrating its interdisciplinary and intersectoral research around Sustainable Consumption on Wednesday 26th February 2025, 3.15-5.00pm.

The Centre for Sustainable & Socially Responsible Consumption (CSSRC) invites you to attend its research event on Wednesday 26th February 2025 to celebrate its interdisciplinary and intersectoral research around sustainable consumption. After a welcome refreshment this interesting and informative event will comprise of two topical presentation sessions, each lead by a member of CSSRC, as outlined below. Opportunity for discussions and networking over refreshments after the talks will round off the event.

Session 1: Sustainability, Place Brands and congruence- how important are they in student choice? 

Professor of Societal Marketing, Chris Chapleo will discuss his current research in relation to two core projects: the first of these concerns the role of sustainability in university communications and branding, and whether sustainability league tables really matter to key stakeholders. He is also looking at sustainable city brands and how this links to universities in these cities. This is a joint project between BU and Pannonia, Hungary.  The second, related project is looking at how students choose a university and their ‘congruence’ with city/ university brands. This project is a collaboration between Bournemouth University, University of the West of England, and University of Plymouth.

Session 2: Understanding and encouraging the consumption of pulses

Professor of Psychology Katherine Appleton will present this session and introduce her work in this area. Pulses, including beans, chickpeas and lentils, are healthy, sustainable, low-cost foods, but consumption is low and increased consumption would benefit the health of the population and the planet. I have a programme of work looking at trying to understand why pulse consumption is low, and how we can increase this. I will speak about two studies that were completed last year looking at barriers and facilitators to pulse consumption, with specific foci on the use of recipes, enjoyment and cooking skills in increasing consumption. I will finish by considering our current ongoing study, and where we might be going next.

Provisional Timetable:

3.15-3.30pm – Welcome refreshment

3.30-4.30pm – Presentation sessions

4.30-5.00pm – Discussion, networking and refreshments

This is a free event, but you must register to attend via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-celebration-of-sustainable-consumption-related-research-tickets-1224716332519?aff=oddtdtcreator

About CSSRC

The Centre for Sustainable & Socially Responsible Consumption (CSSRC) aims to promote and advance the understanding of sustainable consumption and socially responsible consumption through developing and delivering internationally renowned research. It provides a hub to explore and address topics that are currently globally relevant, through utilising a strong interdisciplinary focus. Webpage: https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/centres-institutes/centre-sustainable-socially-responsible-consumption

Group-mediated exercise for chronic conditions: an urgent need for implementation and scale-up

This week, Professor Tim Rees and colleagues from the Orthopaedic Research Institute published, in the prestigious British Journal of Sports Medicine, their position on the use of group exercise rehabilitation for those with chronic conditions. Supported by a UKRI Healthy Aging Catalyst Award, this followed their work using group exercise for people with hip osteoarthritis, and is inspired both by their research into group exercise and their training of physiotherapists with University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust.

Part of a wider collaboration with colleagues at University of British Columbia and Australian National University, this work is addressing the fact that an aging population and growing NHS waiting lists are leaving an increasing number of people with chronic conditions needing treatment. At the same time, there is compelling evidence for the use of exercise in the treatment of 26 conditions, but when exercise is prescribed, rates of adherence are typically poor.

Professor Rees and colleagues show meta-analytical evidence that people are more likely to sustain their involvement in exercise programmes if they are given the opportunity to exercise with others in social, or group-based, settings rather than individually. Such group-mediated exercise is not only effective for getting people to adhere to their exercise rehabilitation, but groups are a convenient and cost-effective mode of delivery of exercise for rehabilitation, because many people can receive help at the same time and often via a single delivery agent. But current practice does not train health and exercise professionals to lead effective exercise groups. Professor Rees and colleagues make several recommendations for practitioners, organisations, and researchers.

New BU health publication in Portuguese

international, Publishing, writing

Congratulations to Dr. Debbie Almeida in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, who published her latest article late last month colleagues and students.  This article SKIN TEARS: FRICTION INJURIES IN THE ELDERLY AND NURSING DIAGNOSES is in Portuguese and addresses the decline in organic functioning predisposes to a reduction in the human body’s response capacity, increasing the state of vulnerability and fragility of the elderly, especially in relation to the skin. This work aimed to organize nursing diagnoses to support nurses in proposing intervention and care for elderly people with friction injuries or skin tears. Exploratory study, carried out in two stages, with a literature review from December/2022 to March/2023, and structuring of nursing diagnoses. Eleven studies published in the last ten years on skin tears in elderly people were analyzed and 14 nursing diagnoses were structured. Preventive, care and therapeutic measures for skin tears were addressed, as aspects to structure nursing diagnoses for elderly people. Assertive diagnoses are fundamental for the correct planning and implementation of committed and safe assistance, influencing the quality of life of the person assisted

 

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

 

Reference:

Tobse, L., Santos, dos Santos, B.B., Costa da Cruz, D.M.O., de Paulo, J.G., Almeida, D.G. (2025). SKIN TEARS: LESÕES POR FRICÇÃO EM PESSOA IDOSA E OS DIAGNÓSTICOS DE ENFERMAGEM. Arquivos de Ciências da Saúde da UNIPAR, 28(3):914–933, https://doi.org/10.25110/arqsaude.v28i3.2024-11494

Research seminar and tech showcase 12.02.25: ICONIC (Intergenerational Co-design Of Novel technologies In Coastal communities) project

Fusion, innovation, PG research, Research themes

The Ageing and Dementia Research Centre are welcoming colleagues from Plymouth University to talk about the ICONIC project (see more details below) and showcase some of the technologies they have created.

 The team are interested in talking to any BU colleagues who work on co-design/digital health or immersive technologies and AI so please do come along (and let Michelle mheward@bournemouth.ac.uk know if would like to give a short presentation about your research).

 12th February 2025

11-1pm (presentations will be first and then tech showcase)

P222, Poole House, Talbot Campus

ICONIC Project

The ICONIC (Intergenerational Co-design Of Novel technologies In Coastal communities) project is exploring how co-design of novel technologies can support digital inclusion in Cornwall and Devon. The project recruited 99 participants to join intergenerational co-design workshops to create technologies that support access to environment, heritage, and community resources. The technologies include a social game, immersive heritage and underwater experiences, and a voice AI system accessed via a telephone call. The research team will be sharing their insights from the co-design process for each technology and discuss the effects of participation on digital inclusion.

  • Dr Rory Baxter is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Technology, University of Plymouth, working on the EPSRC funded Intergenerational Codesign Of Novel technologies In Coastal communities (ICONIC) project to address digital exclusion in Cornwall and Devon. The project involves the intergenerational co-design of technologies for supporting access to heritage, environment, and community resources. His previous work includes the ESRC funded GOALD and ERDF funded EPIC projects, which focused on digital health innovation co-design and evaluation to support healthy ageing. Prior to that he completed an EPSRC funded iCASE PhD, exploring human navigation and search behaviour, during which Rory developed VR-based experimental tasks using Unity, which were adapted for online platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Dr Oksana Hagen earned a BSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering from NCTU (Taiwan), MSc in Computer Vision and Robotics through the Erasmus Mundus ViBOT program, and a PhD in Computing at the University of Plymouth. After a brief period in industry, Oksana joined Aldebaran AI Lab (France) under a Marie Curie Fellowship to focus on research in machine learning. She subsequently contributed to social robotics research for AgeIn project at the University of Plymouth. Currently, she is part of the ICONIC project, developing VoiceAI and underwater telepresence applications through co-design. Her research interests include machine learning, robotics and HCI.
  • Dr Marius Varga’s expertise sits at the intersection of game technology and user experience, with a focus on serious games and immersive experiences. Currently, a Research Fellow part of the ICONIC project, using a co-design approach, Marius leads the development of a multiplayer Social Game focused on seagrass conservation and for Extended Reality (XR), he is developing an immersive heritage experience in partnership with National Trust. Marius is also involved in digital health projects such part of Bridging project – focused on using XR training with autistic employees and employers and Glider project – addressing challenges in frailty through robotics, play and immersive technology.
  • Dr Linan Zhang holds an MA in East Asian Studies (Japanese) and an MSc in International Development from the University of Edinburgh. She later earned a PhD with Transtechnology Research at the University of Plymouth, where she developed a philosophical framework to ease the paradigm conflicts in knowledge sharing, drawing inspiration from an international health collaboration, a global health crisis, and the development discourse. She is currently an Associate Lecturer for i-DAT, a Research Fellow in Orbital Science, and the Media and Admin officer for the ICONIC Project at the University of Plymouth. Additionally, she serves as an Associate Editor for Leonardo Review.

Thinking about interdisciplinary research

international, PG research, Publishing, writing

Thank you very much for all those who attended last Wednesday’s monthly online session organised by BU’s Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health (CMWH).  This event featured PhD student Mr. Shafkat Hossein who spoke about his thesis research ‘Using Human-Centred Design (HCD) to develop community-led interventions to prevent drowning among children under the age of 2 in rural Bangladesh’.  His work is part of an interdisciplinary study called ‘Sonamoni’ in which BU collaborates with CIPRB (Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh), the University of the West of England (in Bristol), the University of Southampton, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), and Design Without Borders (DWB) in Uganda.  Sonamoni aims to design and develop interventions to reduce the number of  young children drowning in Bangladesh.

This public health project is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) through its Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation programme. For more information, visit the NIHR website.

The second speaker at the CMWH event was Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, who spoke about trials and tribulations of conducting, running and managing interdisciplinary studies.  His talk was largely based on three three published papers co-written with BU academic and Faculty of Health & Social Sciences Visiting Faculty members on interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary working [1-3].  There are, of course, differences between multidisciplinary, and interdisciplinary and the even more integrated level of working called transdisciplinary.  At the same time the individual member of an interdisciplinary team needs to have individual field-based expertise in their own discipline, e.g. sociology, nursing, chemistry or law to bring required knowledge and skills to that team.

 

 

References:

  1. Shanker, S., Wasti, S.P., Ireland, J., Regmi, P., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2021) The Interdisciplinary Team Not the Interdisciplinarist: Reflections on Interdisciplinary Research, Europasian Journal of Medical Sciences 3(2): 1-5. https://doi.org/10.46405/ejms.v3i2.317
  2. Wasti, S. P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P. (2020) Public Health is truly interdisciplinary. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 6(1):21-22.
  3. van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P., Adhikary, P., Aryal, N., Simkhada, P. (2019). Interdisciplinary Research in Public Health: Not quite straightforward. Health Prospect, 18(1), 4-7. https://doi.org/10.3126/hprospect.v18i1.19337