Two days ago Bournemouth University Visiting Professor Padam Simkhada presented our paper ‘Problems faced by Nepalese female migrants workers in the Gulf Countries: A quantitative survey’ at the International Conference on Migration Health in Rome, Italy [1]. The study reports on the health and other problems experienced by Nepali women migrants at their work place during foreign employment in Gulf Countries. The paper is building on earlier research with the charity Pourakhi in Kathmandu which helps women who return from working abroad in trouble. The first paper was publish earlier this year in the journal BMC International Health & Human Rights [2].
The conference presentation was co-authored with BU’s Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, Ms. Manju Gurung from Pourakhi, Ms. Samjhana Bhujel from Green Tara Nepal, and Padam Simkhada, who is professor in the Public Health Institute at Liverpool John Moores University.
Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen, E.R., Gurung, M., Wasti, S. (2018) A survey of health problems of Nepalese female migrants workers in the Middle-East and Malaysia, BMC International Health & Human Rights 18(4): 1-7. http://rdcu.be/E3Ro
I recently presented my multichannel electroacoustic composition ‘Traces of Play’ in two international concerts. The first was at the esteemed music computing conference SMC 2018 (Sound and Music Computing) in Limassol, Cyprus. The programme featured a range of music encompassing fixed media, instruments + electronics, improvised, and mixed media works. Held in Limassol’s Rialto Theatre, this was the first ever multichannel loudspeaker concert to be staged in Cyprus. It was an honour to be involved.
The second concert was at the NYCEMF 2018 (New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival). The festival programme, scheduled over a number of days at the Abrons Arts Centre, New York, featured many established names alongside emerging artists, and this was a great opportunity to share and promote BU practice-based research. As well as diffusing (spatialising) my own work, I presented music on behalf of two composers: Antonino Chiaramonte, a doctoral researcher in the Faculty of Media and Communication here at BU; and David Berezan, Professor of Composition at the University of Manchester.
If you would like to experience surround-sound electroacoustic music in concert, we have four experimental music concerts running this year as part of the University Music programme. The first takes place on Wednesday 17th October at 7pm in the Allsebrook Lecture Theatre, Talbot Campus, and features Owen Green from the University of Huddersfield. Owen’s research focuses on improvising and composing with computers.
The scale and importance of international students to the UK higher education sector is now well established. Yet we know very little about how students from non-UK countries experience and interact with the heavy drinking culture that predominates on and near many universities.
Many international students often come from cultures marked by moderation or abstinence around alcohol. And concerns have been raised that activities centred on alcohol may exclude international students.
We’ve conducted new research to reveal the perceptions of British drinking cultures held by international students studying on postgraduate courses at a UK university. In focus groups and interviews, students from countries including Nigeria, the US, China, Turkey, Poland, Germany and Greece told us of their experiences of drinking culture at university.
The British ‘like to drink’
The British Council, and many city and university marketing teams, often promote the British pub as a safe and friendly leisure space in their bid to market studying in the UK to international students. The students we spoke to were aware of the iconic image of the British pub. They spoke of their desire to participate in what they saw as being an important part of British culture. Others spoke with excitement of being able to try British real ale and craft beer as a part of their experience of living and studying in Britain.
Having seen depictions of British pubs in television, film and, increasingly, social media, most international students were aware of alcohol consumption being important to British culture before they came to the UK. This prior perception was confirmed by their initial experiences on arrival. Our interviewees felt that getting drunk was an important part of British cultural life and reported being initially surprised that drinking to excess was an expected part of university life.
Despite these concerns, drinking alcohol was an important part of the social lives of many international students. Many had enjoyed their experiences of socialising in bars and pubs. For others, whose degree programme cohorts were predominantly fellow international students, the pub was a space in which they could view and interact with British culture and British people – such as non-student locals.
Drinking cultures in contrast
International students made ready comparisons with the drinking habits and attitudes of their own cultures. Many told us about how people drink alcohol and get drunk in their own cultures. But they contrasted this with the tendency of “going too far” and of “not knowing when to stop” that was perceived to be a major characteristic of British drinking culture.
That said, many interviewees had enjoyed learning about the practice of buying “rounds” of drinks, using “cheers” before drinking and the lack of table service in Britain. They saw this as a fun and a pleasurable part of getting to know local culture.
International students say they are shocked at the amount of booze consumed by Brits at university. Shutterstock
As identified in other research, gender is an important feature of how students view drinking and drunkenness. Concern was expressed in our study about a perceived lack of control among some British women when drinking alcohol. Words such as embarrassment and shame were used by both male and female interviewees to define the boundary between fun, sociable drinking and excessive drunkenness.
Interviewees expressed surprise that public vomiting and urination or collapsing in the street were so widely tolerated and even in some cases expected and celebrated by British students.
Finding the balance
Most students felt capable of negotiating their involvement with student drinking culture by choosing times, spaces and styles of drinking that suited their own tastes. This involved a clear preference for drinking as part of other events such as eating a meal out with friends or watching televised sport in pubs. At social events where heavy drinking was the main activity, some would try to enjoy “one or two” drinks but leave once other people became noticeably drunk.
But while many students spoke of the pub as a welcoming and relaxed space for socialising with friends, bars and nightclubs were said to be intimidating places where they felt at risk of violence or harassment. Many students witnessed fights.
Female international students had particular concerns – several spoke of their strategies to stay safe when out at night. The avoidance of the streets at night due to a fear of potential violence or aggression was also highlighted in a previous study that looked at levels of racism experienced by international students.
That said, UK drinking culture is changing. More than a quarter of young adults in the UK do not drink alcohol.
“Sober campuses” during fresher’s week are becoming more prevalent, as are teetotal university halls. And many students are eager for advice on avoiding or moderating the pressure to drink heavily while at university. But only time will tell whether this is a trend that is set to remain.
Sharing ideas and contextualising the historical and contemporary represents one of the ways in which we can broaden our understanding of international democratic ideals. We can recognise our place-in-environment as agents and the wider place of structures in forming, moulding and continuing policies that work for good or ill and choose to resist, adapt, or not, accordingly – not historicism but an agentic appreciation of the intertwining of the historical and biographical in shaping society and cultures. In this context, it was with great pleasure that we were able to welcome esteemed friend and colleague Professor Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria to speak to staff and students about the changing democratic face of Malaysia.
Prof Denison is principal researcher in the Institute of Ethnic Studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Co-Chair of the Malaysian CSO-SDG Alliance. He has undertaken a great deal of work with SUHAKAM, the Malaysian Commission on Human Rights, and with the United Nations in Malaysia in establishing a trajectory towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.
Prof Denison rehearsed the formation of Malaysia and its history in colonial times, considering the ethnic composition mixed to provide jobs, administration and infrastructure in Malaya and the constitution promoted at independence that privileged one group to be ‘more equal than others’. He provided a post-colonial analysis of the contemporary issues facing modern-day Malaysia.
A fascinating insight into future possibilities, democratic change and development, with respect set firmly as the bedrock for such discussions, was articulated through four-arm model of the next few years. This model examined the various power structures in relation to Malaysia’s constitution and the various interpretations made of it:
An Islamic Malaysia
A secular Malaysia
A Malay Malaysia
A Malaysian Malaysia
Each model was seen to have some claim, whilst there is a need for inclusion, participation and human rights focus as Malaysia moves forward. The constitution formed the basis for discussion of the different types of Malaysia envisaged and indicates an area that is ripe for further study and analysis.
It was good to see staff and students from a range of social science disciplines, from the pure to the applied, who engaged vigorously with the ideas promoted. As the UK stumbles into an uncertain and dangerous future and its democratic claims become increasingly under attack, it is good to be reminded of the need for resistance to marginalisation, discrimination and exclusion but also respect for or engagement with the ‘other person’s view’. Prof Denison showed how by engaging with a range of different perspectives new ways of thinking about and doing politics can emerge. Of course, the human rights bedrock must be there for this to work, and Prof Denison clearly highlighted this need.
Our very own Professor Roger Baker is facilitating a one day workshop on Emotional Processing Therapy for PTSD in Leeds on 26th October 2018.
The workshop will explore what an emotional processing style is and how this is relevant to the development and presentation of PTSD, there will be a range of teaching, skills training, role play, discussion and exploring case studies.
Please see flyer here for more information or book online here.
Don’t forget, BUCRU can provide FREE methodological advice and support in designing your research project. We’re based on the 5th floor of Royal London House so feel free to pop in and see us, call us on 61939 orsend us an email.
We were pleased to announce earlier in the year that the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has awarded us a further five years of funding to continue our work as the RDS South West. Today marks the beginning of our third five-year contract.
This NIHR funding allows RDS advisers in the South West to continue offering free and confidential advice, drawing on a unique breadth of experience and established track record in improving funding applications.
Please see our latest BUCRU/CoPMRE newsletter or find out more about how we could help you by visiting RDS SW website or contacting the RDS South West Bournemouth Office hosted within BUCRU (Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit):
A Bournemouth University team from the Faculty of Science and Technology visited University of Groningen for FIRST mid-term review. It was a very productive meeting with a lot of effective outcomes for research and knowledge exchange. Dr. Lai Xu and Dr. Paul de Vrieze are FIRST coordinators representing Bournemouth University and the team is pleased to announce that FIRST will continue to move towards a factory of the future for European Union.
If you want to know more about the project and get involved, please contact Dr. Lai Xu or Dr. Paul de Vrieze. You can also follow our social medial links on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Channel.
During the mid-term review meeting, the FIRST EU project advisor Irina Elena Tiron giving a talk on RISE projects. A useful instrument for researchers in EU (and beyond).
One of the first rules of drafting a scientific paper is that one cites the key literature in the respective field. So as someone who teaches people how to write and publish in this week’s experience of getting a paper rejected was not great, if not disheartening! Earlier this week we submitted a research paper to the Journal of Travel Medicine on a study of the health and well-being of female migrant workers in Nepal. This is high quality journal in which we have published before, including one paper on migrants’ health [1-3].
Two days later the journal editor emailed us to say: “”We feel that the scope of your paper would not justify a full original article in the Journal of Travel Medicine”, which is, in our opinion, a fair judgement. My co-authors and I between us have over 300 papers published and most have been rejected or at least we have been asked for a resubmission, so nothing new here. What was more upsetting than the rejection itself was the additional comment. The editor added:
“The authors should ideally include the two following references:
……(first reference omitted) …. +
Identifying the gaps in Nepalese migrant workers’ health and well-being: a review of the literature.
Simkhada PP, Regmi PR, van Teijlingen E, Aryal N. J Travel Med. 2017 Jul 1;24(4). doi: 10.1093/jtm/tax021. Review.
We agree with the editor that we should have included the two listed key papers. Crucially, it is more than a little mistake to have missed the second paper since we wrote it ourselves. There are many lessons to be learnt from this: (a) check you have covered the key literature in your paper, either in the Background section and/or the Discussion; (b) don’t underestimate the importance of your own work; (c) you’re never too old to make mistakes (and to learn from them); (d) be thankful for good editors and reviewers; (e) do what you advise others to do; (f) etc. ………………
In shame,
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
References:
Hind, C., Bond, C.M., Lee, A., van Teijlingen E. (2008) Needs assessment study for community pharmacy travel medicine services, Journal of Travel Medicine 15(5): 328-334.
Bhatta, P., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E., Maybin, S. (2009) A questionnaire study of VSO volunteers: Health risk & problems encountered. Journal of Travel Medicine16(5): 332-337.
Simkhada, P.P., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Aryal, N. (2017) Identifying the gaps in Nepalese migrant workers’ health and well-being: A review of the literature, Journal of Travel Medicine24 (4): 1-9.
Earlier this month the Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences published a paper co-authored by Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) staff. The paper ‘Health consequences of sex trafficking: A systematic review’[1]. The Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences is part of the Open Access publishing of Nepal Journals OnLine (NepJOL) supported by INASP.
The review reminds us that sex trafficking is one of the most common forms of human trafficking globally. It is associated with health, emotional, social, moral and legal problems. The victims of sex trafficking when returned home are often ignored. This review explored the health consequences of sex trafficking among women and children. A total of 15 articles were included covering health risks and well-being related to sex trafficking. Sexual and physical violence among victims such as rape and repetitive stress and physical injuries were common. The prevalence of STI (sexually transmitted infections) and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) was also reported as high. Being trafficked at a young age, having been in brothels for a longer period and sexual violence and forced prostitution were linked with a higher risk for HIV infection. Physical health problems reported included headaches, fatigue, dizziness, back pain, memory problem, stomach pain, pelvic pain, gynaecological infections, weight loss, lesions or warts, unwanted pregnancies and abortions. The studies on mental health reported that depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were commonly reported health consequences among sex trafficking victims.
The authors of the review concluded that there is a compelling need for interventions raising awareness about sex trafficking among young girls and women most at risk of being trafficked. Most studies in this review have focussed on the physical health problems of the trafficked victims although there is also remarkable mental burden amongst those victims. Key policy makers, government officials, public health officials, health care providers, legal authorities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should be made aware about the health risks and consequences of trafficking. Trafficking consequences should be recognised as a health issue and all the sectors involved including regulating bodies should collaborate to fight against sex trafficking
Related research in this field at Bournemouth University include the Sexual Spaces Project by Prof. Mike Silk and Dr. Amanda De Lisio on ‘Rio’s sex workers after the Olympics’ and the The Gay and Grey Project, funded through a Big Lottery Grant and led by Prof. Lee Ann Fenge.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)
With the forthcoming REF 2021 in mind we would like to encourage both staff and postgraduate students to consider writing up their literature reviews as journal articles. Systematic and scoping reviews are a great way of publishing quality publications. They are highly valued as REF submissions, especially, but not only, in the health field.
There is plenty of support at Bournemouth University: from academic colleagues, with vast experience in writing reviews, to the library team, who can advise on, for example, developing your systematic search strategy and which databases to search.
You might like to have a look at reviews published by Bournemouth University staff, which can be found by searching BURO, our institutional repository of research outputs. Moreover, BU academics have published several methods papers on the doing and writing systematic reviews [2-4].
Information about searching the literature for systematic reviews is available on this guide by the library team.
Other pages with useful information include:
Guidance from the Centre for Review and Dissemination
Hopefully we have encouraged you to think about publishing your literature reviews as separate articles, and to seek help early in that process!
José López Blanco & Edwin van Teijlingen
For further information, please contact:
José López Blanco, Faculty Librarian (Health and Social Sciences), Library & Learning Support, Academic Services at tel 67350 or email: hsslibteam@bournemouth.ac.uk
References:
Harvey, O., Parrish, M., van Teijlingen, E., Keen., S. (2017) Support for people who use anabolic androgenic steroids: an investigation into what they want and what they currently access. PROSPERO 2017 CRD42017075199 Available from: http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?ID=CRD42017075199
van Teijlingen E., Napper, M., Bruce, J., Ireland. J. (2006) Systematic reviews in midwifery, RCM MidwivesJournal 9(5): 186-188.
van Teijlingen, ER, Simkhada, B., Ireland J., Simkhada P., Bruce J. (2012) Evidence-based health care in Nepal: The importance of systematic reviews, Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 1(4): 114-118.
Stewart, F., Fraser, C., Robertson, C., Avenell, A., Archibald, D., Douglas, F., Hoddinott, P., van Teijlingen, E., Boyers, D. (2014) Are men difficult to find? Identifying male-specific studies in MEDLINE and Embase, Systematics Reviews 3,78.
The Ball Assisted Latent Labour (BALL) trial has just recruited their 200th participant. The pragmatic randomised controlled trial is the highest recruiting trial in the Wessex Clinical Research Network for reproductive health. Clinical Doctorate midwife Dominique Mylod is researching whether using a birth ball at home in latent labour reduces pain perception. Dominique recently welcomed BU final year student midwife Alice Lovell to the island for a week’s research elective. The photo shows them sampling island life!
Congratulations to both on achieving such fantastic recruitment!
Congratulations to FHSS academics Dr. Pramod Regmi and Dr. Nirmal Ayral who published an editorial yesterday in a scientific journal in Nepal. The paper ‘Experts warn Nepal Government not to reduce local Public Health spending’ [1] was co-authored by Dr. Bibha Simkhada who has just been offered a post as Lecturer in Nursing in the Department of Nursing & Clinical Sciences, she shall be starting with us on November 1st. Further co-authors include FHSS Visiting Professor Padam Simkhada and Dr . Sujan Marahatta, the journal’s editor. He is based at Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Kathmandu, Nepal. Bournemouth University has a long-standing research collaboration with MMIHS.
The editorial warns about the risks of losing the focus on public health and its wider national and global perspective in the recently changed political arena of Nepal. Since 2015 Nepal has moved from a central state to a federal republic, whereby the seven new Provinces have gained much more power and control in the decentralisation process. Moreover the first local elections for two decades in 2017 meant a lot of new and inexperienced local politicians were voted in. Many of these local people had little prior experience of political processes, governing health systems, the notion of priority setting, running sub-committees of elected representatives, political decision-making at local level, etc. The paper argues that Public Health can easily disappear of the radar. The untrained newly elected representatives with no political experience are most likely to be drawn into proposing and supporting popular measures including developing new buildings, black-top roads, hospitals, etc., rather than measures that increase the local or regional budget for teachers, Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for community health workers, and preventative public health measures in general. Buildings and roads are immediate demonstration to voters that politicians have done something useful, reducing maternal mortality by 2.6% or employing two additional health workers doesn’t give politicians neither the same publicity, nor do such policies have immediate signs of success, and hence are unlikely to be vote winners.
The Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences is part of the Open Access publishing of Nepal Journals OnLine (NepJOL) supported by INASP. The editorial also illustrates the kind of work conducted in Bournemouth University’s Integrative Wellbeing Research Centre (iWell).
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)
Reference:
Simkhada, P., Teijlingen van, E., Simkhada, B., Regmi, P., Aryal, N., Marahatta, S.B. (2018) Experts warn Nepal Government not to reduce local Public Health spending, Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 4(1): 1-3.
Michael O’ Regan , Phd has been visiting Peru under a researcher links grant, exploring tourism’s role in protecting and restoring natural capital.
This work was supported by a Researcher Links grant, ID [360558625], under the Newton Fund partnership. The grant is funded by the UK Department for Business, Energy and the (Peruvian) National Council on Science, Technology and Technological Innovation (CONCYTEC) and delivered by the British Council. For further information, please visit www.newtonfund.ac.uk/ and https://www.britishcouncil.pe/en/newton-fund/researcher-links
UPC
My trip has been facilitated and enabled by the host institution in Peru – the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC).UPC is a private university in Lima, Perú, founded on January 5, 1994. Currently, it offers 39 career programs categorized in 12 faculties. I was located at the principal campus at distrito de Santiago de Surco in Lima, and was particularly interested in the tourism and hospitality programmes, given my research interests and position within the Department of Events & Leisure, Faculty of Management at Bournemouth.
While for-profit higher education is a controversial issue in the UK, the educational sector in still developing in Peru. Despite, having over 150 universities, the majority are fee-paying private institutions and are not research active. While Peru is home to the oldest university in the Western Hemisphere, National University of San Marcos (chartered by Charles V in 1551), there has been a lack of investment in infrastructure with only 3 out of 10 young people going to university.
That is why I was so pleased with the investment at UPC into technology, labs, kitchens and facilities for its hospitality and tourism programmes. From mock hotel rooms to teaching kitchens, it was great to see a university, staff and students recognise tourism, hospitality and events as an important pillar for a career and Peru’s development. The boom in tourism in Peru and the global recognition of Peruvian food culture requires practical as well as management skills.
While UPC has links with many parts of the world are excellent, institutional links with the UK show potential, at a group, departmental or institutional level. The newton fund in particular has/is seeking new Peru-UK linkages. I hope to follow this up.
It was a great base to begin my research trip in Peru, as I spoke to staff teaching and studying tourism. I also learned about the role of tourism and hospitality in the country, and the growing recognition of its importance. My own presentation/lecture was centred on “Event Tourism: trends and opportunists” in Peru.
I want to thank all the staff and students at UPC, and in particular, Marizoila Fontana Roos, Directora Facultad de Administración en Hotelería y Turismo at UPC.
The work, which was based on Bianca’s Innovations Project unit results extends and improves existing methods for procedurally simulating decaying fruit for use in computer graphics and visual effects, focusing on artist directability and visual fidelity. As the resulting visuals are quite impressive, this project was also one of the ten submissions featured in the SIGGRAPH’18 posters preview video.
Of the 74 posters presented at this year’s SIGGRAPH conference, 16 submitted posters, including Bianca’s contribution (poster 74), were invited to the first round of the prestigious ACM Student Research Competition (SRC) sponsored by Microsoft. Bianca’s submission was one of only four European semi-finalists and of those the only one from a UK institution. After presenting the work to a panel of experts, the submission made it into the second round and after the ACM Student Research Competition Final Presentation it won first place in the undergraduate category.
The work will now progress to the next stage of the competition, the Grand Finals in 2019, in which the first placed entries from almost 30 major ACM conferences will compete with one another.
We are all too familiar with images of flooding in low lying areas after heavy rainfall or houses destroyed by coastal erosion after a storm. For an increasing number of people, coastal flooding and erosion is a real threat to property, the local economy and, in some cases, life. Hurricane Florence, for example, is forcing more than a million people on the US East Coast to flee from their homes.
Coasts support important industries (such as ports and tourism) and their populations are growing faster than inland areas. But coastal areas are also particularly sensitive to impacts of climate change, which are likely to increase the extent, intensity and frequency of coastal flooding and erosion.
Traditional hard engineering approaches of coastal protection (such as groynes, revetments and seawalls) are known to cause detrimental effects, which in the longer term can aggravate the problem they were supposed to solve. The impact of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans was a stark reminder that engineering structures are not effective against all events at all times. They are built based on trade-offs between the level of protection needed and the costs of construction and maintenance.
Soft engineering, such as beach nourishment (where sediment, usually sand, is added to the shore), can offer a level of protection and beach amenity – but these reduce through time, as erosion continues. Meanwhile, “protection” gives a false sense of safety and enables occupation of risk areas, increasing the number of people and assets in risk areas.
Climate change has forced a paradigm shift in the way coastal flooding and erosion risks are managed. In areas of lower risk, adaptation plans are being devised, often with provisions to make properties and infrastructure more resilient. Adaptation may involve requiring raised foundations in flood-prone areas or the installation of mitigating measures, such as sustainable drainage systems. Building codes may also be established to make structures more disaster-proof and to control the types of constructions within risk zones.
But such adaptation options are often of limited use or unsuitable for high-risk areas. In such areas relocation is the only safe climate-proof response.
Planning for relocation is problematic. There are large uncertainties concerning the predictions of climate change impacts – and this makes planning a difficult task. Uncertainty is not an easy concept to incorporate in planning and coastal management. In some places, effects of sea level rise are already evident, but it’s still difficult to be sure how fast and how much it will rise.
Similarly, there is still great uncertainty about when and where the next “super storm” will happen and how intense it will be. Inevitably, areas that have already been affected by flooding or erosion will be affected again – the question is when and how badly.
Relocated
Despite these issues, relocation is increasingly being adopted as a strategy. There have been some successes at the local level. One such example is the Twin Streams project in Auckland (New Zealand), where relocation (through the purchase of 81 properties) has provided space to create community gardens and cycleways where 800,000 native vegetation plants were planted. This was made possible by engaging over 60,000 volunteer hours.
Although not on the coast, the town of Kiruna in Sweden shows that, when risks are high, forward thinking and long-term planning can make large-scale relocation possible. Kiruna is at risk of ground collapse due to mining. Over a 20-year period, more than 18,000 residents will be relocated to a new city centre 3km away. The layout of the new city centre has been designed to be more sustainable, energy efficient and have better options for cultural activities and socialising. Local residents were engaged and helped identifying 21 heritage buildings they want relocated to the new area.
The French, meanwhile, have instigated the first ever national strategy focused on relocation from high-risk areas. French policy places a duty on local authorities to develop plans by 2020, identifying the areas at serious risk of coastal flooding or erosion, what needs to be relocated and how (including sources of funding). Five pilot areas have been selected to test how the strategy might be implemented at the local level. Two of these areas have contrasting approaches and outcomes.
In Lacanau (a top surfing stop in the Bay of Biscay) coastal erosion threatens the tourism-based economy. Although public opposition was initially high, the development of a local plan has generally been positive, mainly due to the inclusive community involvement in the project. A local committee was created to act as a consultation body and decisions were informed by open discussions based on clear communication of technical, legal, financial and sociological issues.
In Ault (northern France) the experience was less positive. the risk reduction plan identified a high-risk zone within 70 metres of the cliff edge. It was decided that no new construction would be allowed here and restrictions to improvements on the existing 240 houses were imposed. This would force relocation if the properties were damaged by flooding or erosion. In May 2018 a residents group won a court case which considered the plan illegal, lifting the restrictions imposed on renovation of existing properties until a new plan is drafted.
These examples demonstrate that engaging with local communities from the inception of any such project is essential. Unfortunately, people instinctively resist change – and relocation is a complete shift from the centuries-old approach of fixing coastlines and fighting against coastal dynamics. Our current legal and management frameworks are too geared up for maintaining the status quo. Funding and legal aid to support purchase of properties and removal of infrastructure that are not imminently deemed inhabitable are limited.
But open and inclusive debate about the need for relocation and the consequences and benefits of it can change people’s perceptions. The “Nimby” (not in my backyard) attitude is strong in coastal communities, but can subside after personal experiences of severe flooding or erosion. The environment around us is changing and we cannot continue living the way we did in the past.
Prevention is always less costly and more effective than remediation, particularly when involving people’s safety. The earlier we accept the need to change, the less damaged is the legacy we leave to the next generations.
PalaeoGo! is a project funded by Bournemouth University (BU) via its Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) that aims to show how augmented reality (AR) can be used as an educational tool at natural history museums, national parks and in any open space or landscape. We have developed a test app to explore different ways of delivering AR content focused on extinct megafauna, everything from Jurassic dinosaurs to Ice Age mammoths. Augmented reality uses the camera feed in a smartphone and overlays it with information, in our case to bring extinct megafauna to life! Take your selfie with a T-Rex, swim with a Mosasaur and Megalodon, or if you prefer walk with an Ice Age mammoth.
The PalaeoGo! Team is running a major user trial in the autumn of 2018. Over eight weeks this autumn we are seeking your help to both test and develop our ideas. Our aim is to give you access to our test app and with it the resources for you to use with your friends and family. The beasts are coming, and you can join in the fun!
To join the trial, you need to visit our website and leave details of your phone and a live email address. You will also find a Participant Information Sheet and Participant Agreement Form which gives you more details on the study. We seek your consent to use your feedback anonymously in our work, and to keep on file your email for the duration of the trial. We will contact you directly with everything you need for your smartphone. This will be either via our own PalaeoGo! Test App or via the commercial App Zappar depending on the make and model of your phone. We may ask some ‘super-users’ to explore both.
Register by the 21 September 2018 and you will receive the app during the week of the 24 September 2018. We will be on hand during Fresher fair and Induction to sign you up and show you how.
The first update will roll on the 1 November 2018 and the trial will end on the 30 November 2018 when we will ask you for feedback.
We ask you to link your selfies and images and tweets using @Palaeo_Go – no need to wait till the end of the test to tell us what you think and to help shape our ideas.
This project is an interdisciplinary collaboration between computer animators, computer scientists and natural scientists. The project is led by Peter Truckel, Marcin Budka and Matthew Bennett.
Dr. Andrew Harding and his BU PhD supervisors just published a new paper from his Ph.D. research [1]. This interesting paper ‘Suppy-side review of the UK specialist housing market and why it is failing older people’ reviews the supply-side of policies and practices that impact on the shortage of supply in the contemporary specialist housing market for older people in the UK. Andrew is currently based at Lancaster University.
Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
Reference:
Harding, Andrew,Parker, Jonathan,Hean, Sarah & Hemingway, Ann (2018) Supply-side review of the UK specialist housing market and why it is failing older people. Housing, Care and Support
Congratulations to Dr. Rachel Arnold on the acceptance by Social Science & Medicine (published by Elsevier) of the second paper based on her PhD on maternity care in Afghanistan [1]. This interesting ethnography explores the experiences, motivations and constraints of healthcare providers in a large public Afghan maternity hospital. Arnold and colleagues identify barriers and facilitators in the delivery of care. Under the surface of this maternity hospital, social norms were in conflict with the principles of biomedicine. Contested areas included the control of knowledge, equity and the primary goal of work. The institutional culture was further complicated by pressure from powerful elites. These unseen values and pressures explain much of the disconnection between policy and implementation, education and the everyday behaviours of healthcare providers.
Improving the quality of care and equity in Afghan public maternity hospitals will require political will from all stakeholders to acknowledge these issues and find culturally attuned ways to address them. The authors argue that this notion of parallel and competing world-views on healthcare has relevance beyond Afghanistan. The paper co-authored by (a) Prof. Kath Ryan, Professor of Social Pharmacy at the University of Reading and Visiting Professor in FHSS, and BU’s Professors Immy Holloway and Edwin van Teijlingen.
Two days ago Bournemouth University Visiting Professor Padam Simkhada presented our paper ‘Problems faced by Nepalese female migrants workers in the Gulf Countries: A quantitative survey’ at the International Conference on Migration Health in Rome, Italy [1]. The study reports on the health and other problems experienced by Nepali women migrants at their work place during foreign employment in Gulf Countries. The paper is building on earlier research with the charity Pourakhi in Kathmandu which helps women who return from working abroad in trouble. The first paper was publish earlier this year in the journal BMC International Health & Human Rights [2]. 
The PalaeoGo! Team is running a major user trial in the autumn of 2018. Over eight weeks this autumn we are seeking your help to both test and develop our ideas. Our aim is to give you access to our test app and with it the resources for you to use with your friends and family. The beasts are coming, and you can join in the fun!
Register by the 21 September 2018 and you will receive the app during the week of the 24 September 2018. We will be on hand during Fresher fair and Induction to sign you up and show you how.
Read and sign up to BU’s Policy Influence Digest
Upcoming opportunities for PGRs – collaborate externally
BU involved in new MRF dissemination grant
New COVID-19 publication
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024
Horizon Europe News – December 2023