Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
Sascha Dov Bachmann, Associate Professor in International Law, FMC, has been made Extraordinary Visiting Professor (AP) in War Studies at the Swedish Defence University (FHS). This appointment recognizes his contribution to the work of the Department of Military Studies at FHS on the subject of Hybrid War and Hybrid Threats. He continues to collaborate with colleagues from Sweden, Germany and NATO on the subject.
HRA Approval is the new process for the NHS in England that simplifies the approvals process for research, making it easier for research studies to be set up. It replaces the need for local checks of legal compliance and related matters by each participating organisation in England. This allows participating organisations to focus their resources on assessing, arranging and confirming their capacity and capability to deliver the study.
Laura Purandare, Research Monitor RBCH, has kindly agreed to run a seminar on 4th May at 2pm in BG14 to explain the changes.
The session will cover:
The session will last approximately an hour, and Laura will be available for questions following the session. We hope to see you there.
Blog post by Jade Offer, Undergraduate Research Assistant (Innovative Pedagogy)
I applied to become an Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) as I believed it would help me develop and learn new skills, and it did! As an accounting student, I enjoy working with numbers and that is why I initially applied. The field I choose was unrelated to my degree course and was something I knew little about: the teaching of pathophysiology to student nurses. Despite this I was fully immersed within the research and have really enjoyed my experience.
Fortunately enough I was chosen alongside a fellow student to work on a research project entitled: An Evaluation of Team-based Learning (TBL) in teaching Applied Pathophysiology to Student Nurses. Working with a fellow research assistant made the job even more fun, and was extremely helpful as we could talk and meet with each other to analyse the data, and to aid each other in inputting the data efficiently. We were welcomed into a team with the research leads; Dr Jonathan Branney and Dr Jacqueline Priego, both of whom provided amazing support for us both as we analysed and organised the research they had previously conducted. They both took time out of their schedules to teach us how to use the new research software we needed to use and made regular contact to assist us, which was greatly appreciated.
My involvement in the project
I also had the opportunity to be involved in SUREBU 2016, which is a showcase of research carried out by Bournemouth University students. We were both given the opportunity to present at national conferences, which we hope to attend, as it is an amazing opportunity and privilege. We have also been given the amazing opportunity to be involved in writing a professional research paper that our team hopes to get published, which is very exciting!
What I have gained
I would highly recommend applying for a URA job, it has been such a beneficial experience for me; acquiring new skills, developing existing ones and meeting and working along side motivated and friendly individuals. Immerse yourself in the research job and you will find it an invaluable experience alongside your studies.
Jade Offer, BA (Hons) Accounting and Business student, year one
Dr. Jenny Hall in CMMPH published her latest article ‘Facilitating learning of spirituality in midwifery’ in the academic journal Spiritual Care [1]. She highlights that there has been considerable discussion in the literature around spirituality at the end of life but little relating to childbirth. Perhaps because of this facilitation of learning around the subject is limited. The aim of this article is to raise awareness of these issues and promote future discussion and research.
Congratulations
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
Reference:
Hall, J. (2016) Facilitating learning of spirituality in midwifery, Spiritual Care 5(2): 81–88. DOI: 10.1515/spircare-2016-0021,
Maternal Mortality in Nepal
Abstract: The session links various social and political factors that affect maternal mortality. Women dying in pregnancy and childbirth is very much a problem of and in low-income countries. This talk focuses on Nepal, one of the poorer countries of the world, to highlight a range of maternal health issues and wider influencing factors including globalisation and the influence of global organisations such as the World Health Organisation.
For further information regarding the Social Science seminar series, get in touch with Dr Mastoureh Fathi (mfathi@boutnemouth.ac.uk).
On Thursday 14th April Dr. Bibha Simkhada (Liverpool John Moores University & BU Visiting Faculty) and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen presented their education research in Liverpool. The work is part of a THET-funded project at the 14th Britain-Nepal Academic Council (BNAC) Nepal Study Days. The presentation ‘Mental Health Training and Education in Nepal‘ is part of an international project led by Bournemouth University. BU collaborates with Tribhuvan University (Nepal’s largest & oldest university) and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). The project receives funding from DFID, and is managed through THET and supported locally in Nepal by a non-governmental organisation called Green Tara Nepal. The project takes UK volunteers, people with experience in midwifery, mental health, higher education, nursing, health visiting, etc. to the southern part of Nepal.
Mental health is a difficult topic to discuss in Nepal (as it often is in the UK). This makes it hard for front-line health workers, especially non-mental health specialists, to start a discussion about mental health issues with patients.
As part of this THET-funded programme to train community health worker such as Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) on mental health issues related to pregnancy, we conducted a review of all relevant health curricula in Nepal. The key findings are that mental health issues in pregnancy and childbirth are often lacking in the curricula for both nurses and ANMs as a result community-based staff lack training in this topic. There is a great need for a curriculum to facilitate relevant training for ANMs.
We would like to repeat our call for volunteers. If you are a health or education professional with an interest in mental health and/or maternity care and you are interested in volunteering later this year for a week to ten days in Nepal please contact Edwin van Teijlingen (evteijlingen@bournemouth.ac.uk ).
FHSS PhD student Jib Acharya presented a poster from his thesis research at last week’s BNAC (Britain-Nepal Academic Council) Study Days in Liverpool.[1] Jib’s PhD research focused on the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of poor women about nutritious food and the study also identify major food barriers. He used a mixed-methods approached comprising a survey and qualitative research. The poster at BNAC focused on findings related to mothers’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about nutritious food. Jib’s research is supervised by Dr. Jane Murphy, Dr. Martin Hind and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. Some of the preliminary findings of this FHSS thesis have recently been published in two academic journals. [2-3]
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
References:
Following the CEL-ebrate events this week, an update on learning research projects currently in progress across BU, supported by UoA25 REF development funding.
This funding is distributed across BU to researchers working with CEL and CEMP on activities with clear potential for REF outputs in this new unit of assessment for BU.
The funding is supporting research development in three themes, aligned to CEL’s themes – Digital Media Literacies, Practitioner Enquiry and Education Dynamics. We’ve committed £100,000 this year to supporting a wide range of activities, all aligned to the themes and with a clear output plan, including the following –
Fair Access Research Writing Retreat / Impact Development Work;
Impact case study developments in CEMP (Research Assistant time) – Football Association (Reflective Coaching) – National FA (Burton) and AFC Bournemouth Youth Academy; Samsung (Digital Capabilities), United Kingdom Literacy Association (cross-curricular media literacy resources for secondary schools);
Digital Toolkit and Social Media Development;
Resources for ESRC workshop (‘Fused All Ways’) on creative methods for participative social science research with academics and undergraduates;
Third Space Learning and Co-creating design visualisations for enhancing public engagement and impact;
Educational Materials on Policing & Protest – an impact-oriented output of the #RiotID civic media project;
An analysis of the role of gratitude within the student experience;
Quantitative Analysis of User Generated Contents: A Study on Informal Learning and Slum Tourism in South Africa
Society for Research into Higher Education workshop;
Graduated Scenarios research;
Empires of Economy – CEMP research with Matt Locke (Storythings);
Cross- HEI bid writing workshops and pilot study (Nottingham, Surrey, Northumbria);
There may be others that we’ve missed off this list – apologies if so, not intended!
The criteria for providing funding are that the activity leads to the development of new educational research at BU with the potential to meet REF criteria for UoA25 and the enhancement of the research environment across CEMP and CEL, which could not be facilitated without this support. The funding supports a range of ‘levels’ of activity – from travelling to initiate new collaborations to growing a network through to the implementation of full projects and support for ‘writing up’ outputs. Projects planned – and activities leading to the development of projects – should be methodologically robust, rigorous in their intentions to generate new knowledge in the field and distinctive by research design. Where possible, priority is given to interdisciplinary / fused approaches and leading to a REF output relevant to UoA25 and, where possible, the intention to generate external funding.
For more information about UoA25 research at BU drop us an email or call in to CEL or CEMP.
Debbie Holley and Julian McDougall | UoA25 Leads
‘Increasing inequality? Widening opportunity? Debating higher education reforms’
Wednesday 27th April sees the first of a series of high profile public events at BU, called Dialogues in the Social Sciences. Organised by Profs. Ann Brooks, Candida Yates and Barry Richards, their aim is to bring insights from the social sciences to bear on major areas of current concern: higher education, crime, violent extremism, and psychological well-being. In the first, two speakers from the Institute of Education in London offer their views on the Green Paper and where the HE sector may be heading. Professor Sir Peter Scott has been editor of the Times Higher and V-C of Kingston University; he is an authoritative commentator on key issues facing universities today. He is joined in this event by Professor Ann Phoenix, psychologist and leading researcher on education and identity. BU’s Dr Mastoureh Fathi (HSS) and Ellie Mayo-Ward (SUBU V-P) will be discussants. Professor Iain MacRury of FMC will chair what promises to be a highly informative and potentially controversial session, starting at 5.15 in the EBC (EB206). Refreshment available. Book your seat now, here: Eventbrite
On 12th April, Dr Jane Murphy and Joanne Holmes presented alongside Professor Alistair Burns CBE (National Clinical Director for Dementia, NHS England), Lorraine Jackson (Deputy Director – Dementia Policy, Department of Health) and Andrea Sutcliffe (Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, Care Quality Commission) at the National Dementia 2020 Conference. Jane and Joanne discussed key findings from the Understanding Nutrition and Dementia research project as well as sharing the recently launched training Workbook and DVD ‘Eating and Drinking Well: Supporting People Living with Dementia’ developed from the project. The presentation was very well received and generated lots of positive response as reflected in the following tweets!
At the 14th BNAC (Britain-Nepal Academic Council) Nepal Study Days starting tomorrow (14th April 2016) FHSS’s PhD student Jib Acharya will presenting his poster on ‘A Comparative Study on Nutritional Problems in Preschool Aged Children of Kaski district of Nepal’. Jib’s PhD project is supervised by FHSS’s Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, Dr. Jane Murphy and Dr. Martin Hind. Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen is also joint supervisor of Sarita Pandey (based at the University of Sheffield) whose poster ‘Factors that promote and hinder provision of maternal health services by Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHV) in rural Nepal’ will also be on display.
BU Visiting Faculty Dr. Bibha Simkhada (based at Liverpool John Moores University) will be presenting on the on-going THET-funded project ‘Mental Health Training and Education in Nepal’. This paper is part of the education stream of the conference,and its acceptance is a reflection of BU’s reputation in Educational Research. This paper has co-authors based in the UK and Nepal: Bibha Simkhada, Edwin van Teijlingen, Jillian Ireland, Padam Simkhada, Bhimsen Devkota, Lokendra Sherchan, Ram Chandra Silwal, Shyam K. Maharjan, Ram K. Maharjan, Geeta Sharma, and Samridhi Pradhan. Both Prof. Padam Simkhada and Ms. Jillian Ireland are BU Visiting Faculty.
The first Study Day tomorrow starts with an invited Skills-building session on Focus Group Research by Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. The final day includes a paper on ‘Impacts of Migration in Nepal’ by Prof. Padam Simkhada and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.
We are hoping to get the 15th BNAC Study Days to Bournemouth University for this time next year!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
Professor Edwin van Teijlingen will be running a Skills Building Workshop at the 14th national Nepal Study Days of the Britain-Nepal Academic Council (BNAC) in Liverpool. FHSS Professor van Teijlingen is a long-standing member of BNAC. Registration for this year’s Nepal Study Days is open now, if you are interested click here! Edwin van Teijlingen has conducted many qualitative studies and supervised many postgraduate students doing focus group research. He has published widely on qualitative methods, including research papers on Focus Group Research.1-3
Anybody interested in learning more about Focus Group Discussions as a research method should consider signing up for up for Bournemouth University’s two-day Masterclass ‘Focus Group Research‘ to be held next week Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th April in Bournemouth. Over a two-day period this Masterclass will cover the journey for a research project on focus group research. Basic previous knowledge on qualitative research will be assumed.
References:
This month a team of FHSS staff published their editorial in the latest issue of the academic journal Health Prospect [1]. The lead author is Dr. Pramod Regmi working in collaboration with CMMPH’s Professor Vanora Hundley, FHSS PhD students Preeti Mahato and Sheetal Sharma, and Professor Padam Simkhada from Liverpool John Moores University who is also Visiting Faculty at BU. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the new guidance for nations and international organisations worldwide following the completion of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which run from 2000 to 2015. We wrote about the MDGs and their relevance to midwifery and maternity care in a previous article [2].
Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
References:
HRA Approval is the new process for the NHS in England that simplifies the approvals process for research, making it easier for research studies to be set up. It replaces the need for local checks of legal compliance and related matters by each participating organisation in England. This allows participating organisations to focus their resources on assessing, arranging and confirming their capacity and capability to deliver the study.
Laura Purandare, Research Monitor RBCH, has kindly agreed to run a seminar on 4th May at 2pm in BG14 to explain the changes.
The session will cover:
The session will last approximately an hour, and Laura will be available for questions following the session. We hope to see you there.
An Evaluation of Team-based Learning – 4-5pm in PG11, Wednesday 13th of April 2016
What is Team-based Learning?
Team-based Learning (TBL) is an example of the ‘flipped classroom’ concept whereby what might be described as traditional teaching content is accessed by students outside of the classroom while activities that might be termed ‘homework’ are conducted in class. In class, students have to answer questions as individuals to test them on their learning from the set pre-reading activities (termed the individual Readiness Assurance Test), then the same questions in allocated teams (team Readiness Assurance Test). Each team has a scratch card so that students can check if their agreed answer is correct (immediate feedback). Following that, teams then work on application exercises, where they have to apply their knowledge to problem-solving real-life scenarios.
Why bother with this approach?
TBL is thought to confer some advantages over traditional teaching methods in terms of student engagement and provides immediate feedback on student performance. While it does tend to mean some extra work for lecturers in terms of preparation activities, increased job satisfaction is commonly reported, and students report enjoying learning in this way. It is believed to improve critical thinking skills and in some cases improved exam performance has been reported. Further, this collaborative learning process promotes the importance of effective team-working, a skill desired of our graduates by many employers.
Do you want to find out more?
I am delivering a session on TBL at the CELebrate Conference 2016 next week. In this session, you will be introduced to TBL and get to experience a TBL session yourself! Quantitative (using the validated TBL-SAI instrument) and qualitative (focus group discussions) results from an evaluation of the implementation of TBL into a unit on the Adult Nursing degree programme will also be presented.
What to do now?
Best wishes
Dr Jonny Branney
This week Professor Vanora Hundley in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) published a systematic review form with her international collaborators working on early labour. The paper is called ‘Diagnosing onset of labor: A systematic review of definitions in the research literature‘ and can be found it the Open Access journal BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth. [1]
Congratulations!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Reference:
The latest newsletter from the Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) is available to download here. Take a look at the successful grant applications we supported/won last year, and what else we got up to in 2015. There is also an update from our colleagues in the Centre of Post Graduate Medical Research and Education (CoPMRE).
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 or send us an email.
BU staff can login below:
FHSS academics teaching in Nepal
New weight change BU paper
One week to go! | The 16th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference
Geography and Environmental Studies academics – would you like to get more involved in preparing our next REF submission?
Congratulations to three former BU staff
MSCA Staff Exchanges 2024 Call – internal deadline
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Horizon Europe – ERC CoG and MSCA SE webinars MSCA Staff Exchanges 2024 Call – internal deadline Horizon Europe – ERC CoG and MSCA SE webinars
MaGMap: Mass Grave Mapping
ERC grants – series of webinars Last reminder – MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 internal deadline next week
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