BU Research Blog

2 November 2016

BU research presented at the 10th International Conference on Toxic Cyanobacteria (ICTC), Wuhan, China

Fusion, international, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, student research dfranklin

BU academic Dan Franklin and PhD student David Hartnell presented research in Wuhan, China during the 10^th ICTC last week. Attracting about 350 delegates, and sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the conference was concerned with the growing problem of toxic cyanobacteria in freshwater resources and the ways in which ecological and health consequences can be reduced. Toxic cyanobacteria are a particular problem in China, where they have contaminated public drinking water supplies creating a serious public health issue. Dan and Dave gave 4 presentations at the conference on work carried out with BU colleagues Ian Chapman, Su Chern Foo, Eddie McCarthy and Prof. Genoveva Esteban. Dr. Andy Turner from the government biotoxin labs at CEFAS, Weymouth, an important collaborator on the BU work, also presented at the conference. The conference was a great success and enabled meetings with important researchers in the field from around the world. Dan and Dave would like to thank BU for funding some of the expenses of the trip.

Dave Hartnell, Dan Franklin and Andy Turner at conference venue

Dan Franklin with colleague Dr Zhou Yang at Yellow Crane Tower

Giving presentation at ICTC 10

2 November 2016

Interested in helping bees and other pollinators thrive in our towns and cities?

Business Engagement, HEIF, Knowledge Exchange jcodling

The newly launched Pollinator Exchange is your one-stop resource

With pollinator numbers in decline in rural areas, there has been increasing focus on the many ways in which towns and cities can be made more pollinator-friendly. Urban green spaces such as amenity grassland in parks, gardens, verges or roundabouts offer plenty of opportunities for pollinators, provided they are managed correctly.

While much academic research has gone into this field in recent years, this is not always readily available to the people in charge of managing urban green spaces. Local councils, highway agencies and other authorities need clear, evidence-based practical advice to turn our towns and cities into places abuzz with pollinators.

The Pollinator Exchange website, www.pollinatorexchange.org developed by Bournemouth University, fulfils this role. It provides an interactive database of the latest research, practical guidance and projects connected to pollinators in urban areas. All resources come with a brief summary of their main points, allowing those with limited time to follow recent developments and implement key recommendations. Website users can browse the existing catalogue and also add their own resources, thereby contributing to ongoing knowledge exchange on this important topic.

Gill Perkins, Chief Executive at the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, was one of many staff from conservation and land management organisations who generously gave their time to help test and develop the website. She said: ‘Bumblebee Conservation Trust recognises that urban environments are becoming crucially important to reverse the decline in pollinators. The Pollinator Exchange site will facilitate communication and knowledge exchange between groundsmen and contractors, biodiversity officers and everyone who influences decisions on what to grow, making it a vital resource for all to learn best techniques.’

The Pollinator Exchange was funded through the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s knowledge exchange programme: the Higher Education Innovation Funding scheme. (HEIF 5+1 August 2015 – July 2016.)

Please visit www.pollinatorexchange.org for a closer view.

For more information on this project please contact the Project Lead Kathy Hodder.

31 October 2016

Researching Talbot Campus Biodiversity

Fusion, Student Engagement, student research adiaz

Ever wondered what wildlife we have on campus? Volunteer students and staff from the Dept. of Life & Environmental Science Green team are initiating a series of Student Environment Research Team (SERT) projects to find out and you can join in. We will help monitor the successful use wildlife is making of the habitats, nesting boxes and wild food resources that are being created on campus. The wildlife- friendly work is being spearheaded by the Estates Team, led by Dr Neil Smith and supported by the Biodiversity Action Plan Group.

There is a chance to get involved in a bit of campus habitat creation yourself this week if you like – join us this Friday at noon to help plant flower bulbs around the Fusion building. The bulbs have been chosen for both their wildlife and aesthetic value. Estates have bought the bulb and the planting design has been developed by a SERT of six students for Ecology & Wildlife Conservation BSc mentored by Damian Evans and Anita Diaz. See which bulbs here – bulbs-for-fusion-building-planting

Join us if you can and if you’d like to get involved with campus biodiversity creation and monitoring in some other way please contact Damian Evans devans@bournemouth.ac.uk

28 October 2016

Physiotherapy in the ASEAN region hosted in Malaysia

Fusion Investment Fund, staff profile pages cclark

I recently visited Malaysia – meeting with colleagues from INTI International University, attending a national academic conference and as an invited speaker to the 13^th Asian Confederation of Physical Therapists in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

At INTI International University – I met with the VC, Deputy Dean of Faculty of Health

Professor Narasimman Swaminathan. Prof Nara and I collaborated in delivering a joint session for physiotherapy students to inspire their interest in public health initiatives. Professor Narasimman Swaminathan is a visiting professor in the FHSS at BU and is leading research initiatives at INTI which link closely to those in the Department of Human Sciences and Public Health at BU.

I was invited to attended a national academic conference on technology enhanced learning and contributed to the round table discussion about the implementation of technology into curriculums.

I had an opportunity to meet with all the presidents of the Physiotherapy Associations that make up the Asian Confederation: ( Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan and Macau). I also met up with Dr Gillian Webb the World Confederation of Physical Therapists ambassador for the ASEAN and Western Pacific Regions. I deivered a lecture aimed at inspiring Physiotherpaists to sue their dskills to increase engagement in physical activity as a method of combatting the non-communicable diseases. The importance of being pro-active in preventing the non-communicable diseases was the theme of the key note speach delivered by Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Health Dato’ Seri Dr. Hilmi Haji Yahaya.

I now have a better understanding of the education/research needs of colleagues in this region, which I have fed this back to the Faculty and ADGE.

One of the most interesting people I met was Professor Paul Hodges who holds a chair in Physiotherapy at the University of Queensland – his research findings have influenced my own research journey in the field of movement and pain.

27 October 2016

NIHR-funded TACIT Trial: TAi ChI for people with demenTia.

Research themes mobrien

Since the beginning of 2016, Dr Samuel Nyman (Psychology Department, and Bournemouth University Dementia Institute) has been funded 100% of his time for 3 years by the NIHR on a Career Development Fellowship. Part of the fellowship is to conduct a research project: “The TACIT Trial TAi ChI for people with demenTia”.

The first external presentation about this project was on the 11^th November 2015 as part of an ESRC-funded seminar series, Physical activity among hard-to-reach groups: Issues of research, policy and practice. That presentation was noticed by Haringey Council who have charged a scrutiny panel with the task of reviewing their strategy for increasing physical activity among older people in their borough. As part of this review, last week on the 13^th October, Haringey Council invited Samuel, along with other colleagues from across charitable / higher education / private sectors, to present about the project. The project was met with much interest and contributed to a roundtable discussion on how to implement the current evidence-base into practice.

Dr Nyman and guests with the scrutiny panel, Haringey Council Chamber

The project is starting to recruit into its Pilot Intervention Phase, and will recruit into the randomised controlled trial phase in the spring of 2017. The trial results will be available in the autumn of 2018 before Samuel finishes his fellowship in December 2018.

For further information about the TACIT Trial, please see:

Summary of the project on the NIHR’s blog: http://www.nihr.ac.uk/newsroom/blog/why-tai-chi-may-be-a-great-activity-for-people-with-dementia.htm
Short piece giving a rationale for promoting Tai Chi to prevent falls, to be published in Perspectives in Public Health (in press): http://staffprofiles.bournemouth.ac.uk/display/journal-article/216768
International Clinical Trials registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02864056

27 October 2016

InsideBU – Out Now

Student Engagement, student research Sally Gates

The latest issue of InsideBU, the magazine for BU staff and students, is out now.

This issue brings the concept of Fusion to life through a range of features and articles including:

Celebrating undergraduate research through hosting the prestigious British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR) next year
National research into the scale and impact of financial scamming in the UK, headed by BU’s National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work and Professional Practice
The research stories behind the Fusion mural on Talbot Campus.

Hard copies are available across both campuses and you can also read it online – simply click the arrows on the bottom right of the screen to expand it to a full page size.

If you use a screen-reader, Word and PDF versions are also available. The current issue – and all back issues – can also now be found on the Staff Intranet, under ‘Find’ on the bottom right of the homepage.

Please email insidebu@bournemouth.ac.uk if you would like hard copies sent directly to you.

We appreciate all feedback and suggestions for future issues. If you have a story for the next issue of InsideBU, email insidebu@bournemouth.ac.uk.

26 October 2016

BU’s Dr.Sascha Dov Bachmann to speak at conference convened by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF)

conferences, Fusion, international, Public engagement sbachmann

Dr Sascha Dov Bachmann, Associate Professor in International Law and Extraordinary Associate Professor in War Studies (Swedish Defence University) will present his work on Hybrid War and law fare in the 21st Century at SANDF’s First International Conference on Military Law, in Pretoria from 1 to 3 November.

The objective of the conference is to expose and bring awareness to the South African public in general and academia in particular on the importance of Military Law within a country’s legal system.

South Africa is among the leading countries in contributing military personnel and major equipment for peace missions in pursuance of its policy to promote peace and stability in the continent. The country’s important role in mediation to end conflicts, has earned it a good standing, reputation and respect among the community of nations.

As an active participant in international structures, South Africa raises the interests of the African continent and other developing countries. Since it plays a meaningful role for the success of the region and the continent, it is incumbent that it stays afloat in every spectrum possible including the development and application of Military Law.

Furthermore here at home, the community at large; to some extent the Military community; academia and jurors alike seem not to be aware of the relevance, extent and application of Military Law.

The Conference will be opened by the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans the Honourable Minister N.N. Mapisa-Nqakula. The Key Note Speaker will be our former Chief Justice, Justice Sandile Ngcobo.

Dr Sascha Dov Bachmann will present the findings on an ongoing project on Hybrid War and lawfare and how it impacts on AU states and their operational capacities and abilities.

25 October 2016

New Publication: Businesses and mobile social media capability

Publishing ebolat

Bournemouth University’s, Dr Elvira Bolat and Dr Kaouther Kooli, and Professor Len Tiu Wright from University of Huddersfield have published new article in Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing.

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“The study is amongst the first to provide insights into B2B firms’ practices of using mobile social media. This paper found that marketing and advertising firms use mobile social media for branding, sensing market, managing relationships and developing content. Mobile social media is treated by businesses as a strategic firm-specific capability that drives firms’ competitiveness, where imitation of such capability by competitors is limited because mobile social media skills are specific to individuals within organisations and mobile social media routines are manifested as a result of firm-specific mobile social media skills’ interactions.”

Access full article by clicking on the image below.

25 October 2016

Festival of Learning 2017 – What could you do?

Festival of Learning, Knowledge Exchange Joanna Pawlik

With the call for proposals being open for Festival of Learning 2017, today we have for you another post to give you some inspiration for the type of the event that could be your own! Planning your event can be difficult and time consuming, especially if you have never done anything quite like that before and because of that we are here to help!

Make sure to come to one of our drop-in ‘Support for developing your idea sessions’ and talk to us.

Next session is on Friday 11 November, 12:30pm-1:30pm at EB204, Executive Business Centre. Additionally we also offer bookable training session for you to learn all about ‘Developing a public engagement event’.

What you research often determines how you will engage with the public and who your work will impact, but there are ways to broaden your impact. This can be done by bringing different academics into one room. Anything can happen when two separate disciplines are being combined together and quite often this can be a simple recipe for an effective public engagement event too!

Making Science Graphic

British Science Festival in Swansea featured many creative and fun events and one of them was an interactive drawing workshop Making Science Graphic. The event used graphic novels, which can capture the imagination with imaginative narrative and vivid drawings, as a useful vehicle for talking about science. Neuroscience is not the easiest discipline to be sharing with the public without having to use too many scientific terms but two neuroscientists Uta Frith and Chris Frith managed to do just that in a fun way. They first explained what the mirror neurons are and took their audience on fascinating journey through human brain to then let graphic novel enthusiast Adam Rutherford and artist Daniel Locke translate it into graphic novel. Spoiled for choice by a wide variety of drawing mediums, the audience was encouraged to put their skills into practice and design their own little graphic novel about mirror neurons. Both artists observed the process, talked to the attendees and offered some guidance. Probably the only reason why I still remember what mirror neurons are is because I got to draw them and this was actually a very first novel graphic I ever designed.

This event took place as part of the British Science Festival in Swansea, 2016.

25 October 2016

Are you Slacktivist? – read story of student-academic co-creation journey

Centre for Excellence in Learning, conferences, Festival of Learning, Fusion, Student Engagement, student research ebolat

For me last academic year (2015-16) was amazing in terms of fantastic things I have been working on with UG and PG students. One of these projects was study on Slacktivists’ behaviour – study initiated and conducted by brilliant BA (Hons) Business Studies with Marketing student (about to graduate), Freya Samuelson-Cramp.

Results of Freya’s study have been extensively shared with external audiences, i.e. at ‘Parallel worlds: real life vs digital personalities‘ BU Festival of Learning event organised in partnership with Barclays Digital Eagle Labs and at ‘Digital Planet and its People’ BU Global Festival of Learning in Sias Internationa, China. ‘Slacktivism’ is a term that combines the words “slacker” and “activism“, it is most commonly associated with actions like signing online petitions, copying social network statuses or changing a profile photo in aid of a cause. Freya’s study, under my supervision, haa examined how slacktivists are behaving when it comes to charity-related content and what personality traits as well influencing factors drive slacktivist behaviour.

This topic in actual fact deserves recognition in other contexts of studies as slacktivism is a norm behaviour in online, social media, context and is exercised in relation to any type of social media content.

However, the reason for this post was primarily to communicate latest recognition and progress events that both Freya and I were part of.

Firstly, Freya’s final year research project was shorlisted for the ‘Best Bachelor’ thesis category at the Digital Communications Awards (DCA) 2016. The DCAs exclusively honour achievements in the field of digital communication throughout Europe and welcomes practitioners from various industries! It is prestigious event judged and attended by world-known pioneers in the field of digital communications. Freya has defended her work and was praised for rigorous methodological approach as well as topic that has interest and relevance to all businesses involved in use of social media channels.

Secondly, on 6-7 October 2016 I have presented joint conference paper titled ‘Helping the world one ‘like’ at a time – The rise of the Slacktivist‘ at the 5th International CSR Conference which took place in Bocconi University, Milan – fantastic conference, organised and chaired by BU academic Dr Georgiana Grigore. Once again, the paper has received enormous interest with follow-up controversial discussions around the notion of slacktivism and we are now working on submission of full paper as the book chapter.

Freya now works as account executive at Good Agency and about to graduate with First-class honours degree. In contradiction to all stories of UG student-academic collaborations, which end at the graduation point, I and Freya are planning to continue working together on understanding further what constitutes stacktivism behaviour. Apart from that we invite to Digital Me photo gallery event, part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science, which takes place on 5th November at the Sovereign Shopping Center.

Finally, hope this positive story can inspire you to co-create with students. We also would love to thank CEL for funding the project through Co-creation fund, GlobalBU team, Department of Marketing (Faculty of Management) and Department of Leadership, Strategy and Organisational Behaviour (Faculty of Management) for ongoing support in conducting research and disseminating results of our study.

Any questions about our story, mentioned conference paper or Digital Me event, email at ebolat@bournemouth.ac.uk

25 October 2016

RUFUS STONE to screen at historic Shelley Theatre, in Boscombe, as part of ESRC Festival of Social Science

hjones

RUFUS STONE gay short biopic to screen at historic Shelley Theatre in Boscombe

A gala 5^th Anniversary Screening and Reception for the award-winning research based biopic, RUFUS STONE will be held at the historic Shelley Theatre in Boscombe (Bournemouth) on 7 November from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. The screening is free but registration is necessary as seating is limited.

BREAKING NEWS! Lin Blakley, who played Abigail in RUFUS STONE and is known for her work as Pam Coker on EastEnders, will be attending the gala.

The film is the story of Rufus, an ‘out’ older gay man who was exiled from his village as a youth and reluctantly returns from London to sell his dead parents’ cottage, where he is forced to confront the faces of his estranged past.

RUFUS STONE, is part of wider research from ‘The Gay and Pleasant Land? Project’ that took place at Bournemouth University as part of the New Dynamics of Ageing Programme (a unique collaboration between five UK Research Councils on ageing in 21st Century Britain).

Over the past five years, RUFUS STONE has been viewed in academic, community and service provider settings throughout the U.K. Uploaded to the Internet for just over a year, the film was viewed on line by more that 12 thousand viewers in 150 countries. It has won several film festival awards and was shortlisted for the AHRC Anniversary Prize in 2015.

The gala event is expected to attract an audience of the film’s cast and crew members, past participants in the research project, community workers and service providers, and a range of citizens, young and old, gay and straight, with an interest in LGBT history and the contributions that the film has made to myriad diversity efforts.

“Whether you have seen the film before, or this will be the first time on a large theatre screen, you will enjoy the occasion,” says Dr Kip Jones, Exec Producer.

The screening is presented by Bournemouth University as part of the Economic and Social Research Council’s Festival of Social Science – a week-long festival that celebrates some of the country’s leading social science research, giving an exciting opportunity to showcase the valuable work of the UK’s social scientists and demonstrate how their work has an impact on all our lives.

To find out more information about the film or the research behind it, please visit the website.

Click here to view the trailer

If you have any questions for Dr Jones, then please get in contact.

To find out more about the ESRC Festival of Social Science and all the events taking place please visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/esrc-fss you can also email Joanna Pawlik or Naomi Kay to find out more.

Notes to editor

The 14th annual Festival of Social Science takes place from 5-12 November 2016 with more than 250 free events nationwide. Run by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Festival provides an opportunity for anyone to meet with some of the country’s leading social scientists and discover, discuss and debate the role that research plays in everyday life. With a whole range of creative and engaging events there’s something for everyone including businesses, charities, schools and government agencies. A full programme is available at esrc.ac.uk/festival. You can also join the discussion on Twitter using #esrcfestival

25 October 2016

ESRC’s Festival of Social Science- What is the Internet Hiding from you?

Public engagement hjones

Date: Tuesday 8 November 2016

Time: 2:30pm-5pm

Location: Executive Business Centre (EBC), Bournemouth University, 89 Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth, BH8 8EB

As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science, BU’s Dr Nava Tintarev and Dr Paolo Palmieri will host an information session and focus group to talk about their research into digital privacy and discuss people’s opinions on the use of their personal data

As many of us may be aware our personal data is used to filter our Facebook timeline and that Amazon personalises our suggestions. With an exponential growth of information, many online systems filter and adapt what information we are exposed to. However as users, we have not always agreed to this personalisation and we’re often left unaware whether our personal data is being used to benefit us. There is also a risk that if personalisation gets ‘too good’; this can narrow down our exposure to new things. We’re left to wonder how our personal information is being used.

Imagine a tourist visiting a city and looking for new places to explore. A recommender system would suggest several places to visit and a certain sequence to visit them in. To give good recommendations, the system needs to consider the relationship between suggested items. For example, the tourist may not want to visit more than two museums in a day, and they would not want to go from one museum straight to another one, so there should be something else to visit in-between.

Working together with adults of different backgrounds and degrees of technological experience Dr Nava Tintarev hopes to understand what factors influence a good explanation for these sequences, through the focus group and better understand how people feel about this personalisation.

One scenario is when there is no best option and the sequences have taken into account trade-offs. For example, someone travelling in a group may not see their top preference within the sequence, because the system took into account the preference of others in the group.

The second scenario in which explanations can really help is when the recommendations contain unexpected, but risky items. Often recommender systems suggest safe items, for example suggesting the latest Star Wars movie to a Star Wars fan, or inferring from a user’s consumption habits that they are similar to users that like the newly released Jurassic World movie. The problem is that even though these systems suggest novel items, these recommendations are predictable. They miss out on what potentially could be the greatest strength of recommender systems: helping users discover new items and new interests they didn’t realise they had.

It is vital to understand people’s concerns. Dr Nava Tintarev’s research looks specifically at the use of explanations to help users make good decisions about recommendations of sequences of items. It is important that they are confident that they can trust these systems. Through her research, she hopes to help users gain a better sense of how their personal data is being used. This event will help you gather a better understanding of how big data companies use personal data and the challenges they face.

The 14th annual Festival of Social Science takes place from 5-12 November 2016 with more than 250 free events nationwide. Run by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Festival provides an opportunity for anyone to meet with some of the country’s leading social scientists and discover, discuss and debate the role that research plays in everyday life. With a whole range of creative and engaging events there’s something for everyone including businesses, charities, schools and government agencies. A full programme is available at www.esrc.ac.uk/festival You can also join the discussion on Twitter using #esrcfestival.

This event is running twice on Tuesday 8 November to allow as many people as possible to attend. I if you would like to attend the 14:30-17:00 session please book your free place here. If you would prefer to attend in the evening there is a session running 18:00-20:30 for which you can book your free place here.

To find out more about the ESRC Festival of Social Science and all the events taking place please visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/esrc-fss you can also email Joanna Pawlik or Naomi Kay to find out more.

25 October 2016

Visitors from Nepal at FHSS

Centre for Excellence in Learning, international, open access, Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

As part of FHSS’s sustained research in Nepal Dr. Sujan Marahatta and Mr. Jiwan Sharma from Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) came to the UK to discuss further future collaborations. The Nepali visitors met with our Dean Prof. Steve Tee and Dr. Malcolm McIver FHSS’s Associate Dean for Global Engagement as well with Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Pramod Regmi and BU PhD student Mr. Jib Acharya.

BU academics have been collaborating with MMIHS for over seven years. Currently, we have three projects in Nepal with MMIHS: one funded by the Centre for Excellence in Learning on introducing CPD (Continuous Professional Development) in nursing in Nepal and coordinated by Dr. Catherine Angell; and project designed by Dr. Regmi on transgender issues in Nepal which is funded by FHSS monies, and study on returned trafficked women in Nepal which has received a small small amount of money from both FHSS and Liverpool John Moores University. Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH), has been a Visiting Professor at Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences for nine years so it is a long-standing working relationship. MMIHS publishes its own journal the Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences which is part of Nepal Journals Online (NepJOL) and Open Access. Apart from Prof. van Teijlingen, CMMPH Prof. Hundley, Dr. Regmi, or our BU media colleague Dr. Luce (Faculty of Media & Communication) and various members of FHSS’s Visiting Faculty have published in this journal.

FHSS and MMIHS are now working towards a more formal academic relationship.

24 October 2016

ESRC’s Festival of Social Science- Innovations in Hospitality and Travel

Public engagement hjones

Date: Thursday 10 November 2016

Time: 10am-1pm

Location: Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, BH12 5BB

Register Here

The International Centre of Tourism and Hospitality Research will be running an event as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science. Tourism plays a major part in Bournemouth’s economy, attracting millions of visitors to the seaside town every year. In 2011 alone, the town saw 5.6 million visitors, who spent £460 million between them. BU’s Dr Giampaolo Viglia will be presenting to the audience the innovations that have been introduced to the travel and hospitality industry, via cutting edge social science research.

The workshops aim to provide some evidence on the actual behaviour of operators in the hotel and aviation industry and to ask: How much do they use dynamic pricing strategies? When is the best time to book? How should they react to the seller’s pricing strategies? What are the main drivers behind the price trend structure? What additional profit can the revenue management techniques in the hospitality industry offer? Is delegating the price decision to the consumers in restaurants appropriate?

BU’s Dr Giampaolo Viglia will be joined by Professor Claudio Piga, from Keele University and the staff from HOTS Business game to discuss dynamic pricing, the best time to book and new pricing mechanisms. This will be followed by a tea/coffee break, to recharge your batteries. We will then hear from BU researchers Dr Viachaslau Filimonau, Professor Adele Ladkin, Professor Heather Hartwell and Dr Sean Beer who will discuss innovations in food, technology and menu labeling. The event has been designed to engage professionals and consumers in discussion and to showcase the growing research agenda on the impact of innovation on the travel and hospitality industry.

Innovations are influencing the travel and hospitality industries offering more flexibility on the supply side and driving informed decisions on the consumer side. The rapid growth of online bookings has had a massive impact on the industry. The internet encourages greater price scrutiny since the relevant information is both easier to obtain and transparent, given that any party can compare the prices of several alternatives with very little effort. This is bound to have an impact on how operators set prices since they too can easily obtain this information and rapidly respond accordingly. There will also be an opportunity for debate between professionals and consumers.

The 14th annual Festival of Social Science takes place from 5-12 November 2016 with more than 250 free events nationwide. Run by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Festival provides an opportunity for anyone to meet with some of the country’s leading social scientist and discover, discuss and debate the role that research plays in everyday life. With a whole range of creative and engaging events there’s something for everyone including businesses, charities, schools and government agencies. A full programme is available at www.esrc.ac.uk/festival. You can also join the discussion on Twitter using #esrcfestival.

To find out more about the ESRC Festival of Social Science and all the events taking place please visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/esrc-fss you can also email Joanna Pawlik or Naomi Kay to find out more.

24 October 2016

Event: The Game Changer: Reloaded

Business Engagement, innovation, Knowledge Exchange jcodling

Date: Wednesday 16 November

Location: The Fusion Building, Bournemouth University

Event information:

Building on the successful Game Changer event held earlier in the year, Bournemouth University and NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group present The Game Changer Reloaded – promoting innovation and fostering collaboration across Dorset. Join Richard Dolan, Dr Phil Richardson and Professor Jim Roach and a diverse collection of speakers to learn more about the art of the possible and the power of innovation to transform health services within the region.

Timings:

Session 1 – 9.00 am -3.00 pm: Speakers from BU and external organisations share their innovation journeys throughout the day providing inspiration and ideas to those attending as to how to get involved.

Session 2 – 3.15 pm – 4.15 pm: Facilitation and networking: This session offers the opportunity to share ideas and develop future collaborations. There’s also the chance to begin to consider research ideas that could subsequently be progressed in order to obtain external funding in the future.

Each session will need to be booked separately.

Throughout the day there’s a pop-up innovation exhibition for guests to enjoy and to share and refine ideas.

It’s free: book now for The Game Changer Reloaded

This event forms a number being run at the university as part of the Festival of Enterprise.

Need help with networking? – why not book onto the business engagement and networking session on 2 November for some hints and tips that you can put into practice.

23 October 2016

BU Sociology graduate invited speaker at the World Youth Buddhist Symposium

international, Student Engagement, student research Sara Ashencaen Crabtree

Alexandra Jarrett is a former BU student who is graduating this year from the BA (Hons) Sociology & Anthropology programme in HSS. Prior to taking up her MA studies at the highly prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Alex was invited to the beautiful northern Thai city of Chiang Mai to present aspects of her final-year dissertation on Buddhist death rituals and beliefs.
Alex’s contribution was very warmly welcomed beyond our hopes and expectations. As her supervisor I was delighted to hear her accounts of how this experience deepened her understanding of her chosen area of interest: the anthropology of relgioun and spiritual belief systems, which she started exploring moredeeply in the Soc+ unit ‘Seekers, Believers & Iconoclasts: Sociology of Thought’. Participation in the Symposium also elevated Alex’s awareness of how much bright, energetic and keen UK students have to offer on the world stage at a dismal time when Britain seems to be wilfully stepping away from the limelight and heading out of the backdoor. Enough of the doleful thoughts – over now to Alex:
‘This summer, I was delighted to be asked to deliver a guest speech at the World Youth Buddhist Symposium in Thailand. The theme of the symposium was “The way of Peace” and I delivered a talk entitled “consumerism and the false self”. When I arrived at the university in Chiang Mai, I was overwhelmed by the setting of the symposium. The ceiling was lit up by giant lanterns and the front of the stage full of flowers. I was very impressed with the organisation of and the pride that was taken in holding this symposium.
The first day of the symposium was magnificent – the opening show began with traditional Thai dances and a flag ceremony (where I was chosen to represent Britain). Each day of the symposium began with the introduction of the honourable guests, which included Khenpo Sydogye (a famous Tibetan teacher). Over the course of four days, I learnt about different religious perspectives towards peace and how this should be achieved worldwide. As well as this, I took part in meditation and a life release ceremony involving releasing fish into the lake whilst singing and chanting mantras.

My speech was ten minutes long and discussed the influence of consumerism, social media and technology on achieving peace. I discussed the idea of how wealth can often contribute towards selfishness and how technology creates an idea of a false self where consumers become obsessed with projecting a certain image of themselves online. As well as delivering this speech, I was asked to perform a song on the final day of the symposium during the closing ceremony.
My experience at this symposium was amazing and I learnt a lot about Buddhism and different religious perspectives towards peace. The symposium was predominantly run by the Chinese so I also learnt a lot about the Chinese culture and their pride in running an organised, impressive conference.’
The entire Soc+ team is very proud of Alex and her achievements, which were featured in the BU news. We hope she will stay in touch and return to BU one day to address junior Sociology+ students as one of our most excellent and inspiring alumnae. Well done Alex!

Alexandra Jarrett and Sara Ashencaen Crabtree

20 October 2016

BU THET Nepal project presented at RCM conference

conferences, international, Publishing, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Our THET (Tropical Health & Education Trust) funded project which trains community health worker such as Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) on mental health issues related to pregnancy was presented at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) conference today by FHSS Visiting Faculty Jillian Ireland (photo). Jillian is also a community midwife at Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Mental health is poorly covered in the training of health care providers in Nepal. This all the more worrying as it is also culturally a difficult sensitive topic to discuss. This makes it difficult for front-line health workers, especially generalists or non-mental health specialists, to start a discussion about mental health issues with pregnant women, new mothers and their wider families.

Our THET partnership includes the Department of Health, Physical & Population Education at Nepal’s oldest and largest university Tribhuvan University’s (TU), Bournemouth University and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). This project is funded under the Health Partnership Scheme (HPS). HPS funds to carry out training and capacity-building projects in low-income countries, such as Nepal. HPS itself is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DfID) and managed by THET (Tropical Health and Education Trust).

The partnership working has resulted in several publications on mental health and maternity care in Nepal. [1-3]

References:

Simkhada, B., Sharma, G., Pradhan, S., van Teijlingen, E., Ireland, J., Simkhada, P., Devkota, B. & the THET team. (2016) Needs assessment of mental health training for Auxiliary Nurse Midwives: a cross-sectional survey, Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences 2(1): 20-26. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JMMIHS/article/view/15793/12738
van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Devkota, B., Fanning, P., Ireland, J., Simkhada, B., Sherchan, L., Silwal, R.C., Pradhan, S., Maharjan, S.K., Maharjan, R.K. (2015) Mental health issues in pregnant women in Nepal. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 5(3): 499-501. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/13607/11007
Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E., Winter, R.C., Fanning, C., Dhungel, A., Marahatta S.B. (2015) Why are so many Nepali women killing themselves? A review of key issues Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences 1(4): 43-49. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JMMIHS/article/view/12001

19 October 2016

A Cloud Based Intelligent Safety Transport Framework for Schools

PG research djohn

We would like to invite you to the latest research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre.

Speaker: Manoharan Ramachandran (PhD student within the Creative Technology Department).

Title: A Cloud Based Intelligent Safety Transport Framework for Schools

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 26^th October 2016

Room: PG11, Poole House, Talbot Campus

Abstract: Safety in school transportation systems is a critical issue which involves children who are the most vulnerable users of them. Statistics show that in Great Britain (GB) alone 1191 children were injured in 371 coach crashes between 2005 and 2015. Though coach journeys are considered as the safest mode of transport for children, the coach accidents are the one which resulted in a high number of fatalities per accident. England has more than 25000 schools and each school at least make 2 trips per year which is equivalent to 50000+ trips made every year. Schools rely on coach operators to provide vehicles for school trips and home to school services. In the last eight months alone (Jan – Sept 2016), 102 coach operators’ licenses have been revoked without public inquiry in England due to operator’s non compliance. Around 8.3 million pupils are enrolled in England schools. There are no specific safety models available to ensure the safety of children who travelling through coaches. Parents have to spend a considerable amount of time on the streets and making phone calls seeking information about the coach whilst waiting for it, due to the unpredictable nature of the traffic, particularly during the winter months. Proper selection of coach operator, vehicle and real time vehicle tracking & monitoring can considerably mitigate safety risks and the problems of school transport. Most of the existing literature so far has focused on the economy and the shortest routes to transport children, but they do not consider the safety aspects of the coach operator, vehicle and the driver. In this research, two case studies have been conducted in four sectors of stakeholders to identify their problems and needs in school transportation. The outcome will be discussed at this seminar.

We hope to see you there.

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A Cloud Based Intelligent Safety Transport Framework for Schools

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