Category / Research themes

September 9, 2015

Your most popular paper this week was ….

BRIAN, BU research, Global engagement, Publishing, Research communication, Research themes, Research Training, Training, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

Every week I receive an email telling me what my most accessed paper is on Academia.edu. As a research-active academic I would like this ‘top paper’ to be one of my research papers based on primary research or perhaps a systematic review. My second preference is that I would like it to be one of my few more theoretical papers and, if not that, then at least one of many methods papers I have published with colleagues over the past decade. But no, every single week a fairly basic ‘how-to-do’ paper is my most accessed paper. This week’s message is typical: “Your most popular paper for the week was Writing an academic paper for publication, which had 142 views.”

This how-to-write-an-academic editorial has been my most read paper for months now. It is a paper Prof. Vanora Hundley, Prof. Padam Simkhada (Liverpool John Moores University & BU Visiting Faculty) and I wrote in an attempt to help budding academics and postgraduate students in a low-income country to think about the process of drafting and writing a scientific paper.

Perhaps this paper is popular because there is a global need for it (Academia.edu also gives break down from where in the world the paper has been accessed). It is also possible that it is on course reading list or perhaps it is recommended on webpage somewhere. The paper is,of course, Open-Access which helps in terms of providing more people across the globe easy and free access!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Reference:

Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. (2013) Writing an academic paper for publication, Health Renaissance 11(1): 1-5. healthrenaissance.org.np/uploads/Pp_1_5_Guest_Editorial.pdf

September 7, 2015

American Sociological Association Annual Conference in Chicago, Puts Romance, Internet Dating and Relationships Center-Stage

BU research, Fusion, Research news, Women's Academic Network Lisa Andrews

By Professor Ann Brooks

The American Sociological Association (ASA) Annual Conference in August, set against the stunning backdrop of the city of Chicago and Lake Ontario, and the socio-cultural earthquakes of Ashley Madison and the political challenges of Donald Trump proved to be even more dynamic than usual. The theme this year was Sexualities in the Social World and attracted hundreds of iconic figures from the sociological world and global sociologists more generally. Iconic figures such as Sasskia Sassen, Sylvia Walby, Anne Swidler, Eva Illouz, Judy Wajcman, Eric Kleinenberg, Robert Sampson, Lynne Jamieson and many many more ….. a veritable whos who in the contemporary world of sociology, presented and contributed enormously to this major conference in sociology.

Plenary sessions included: The Politics of Same-Sex Marriage: Public Opinion and the Courts; Modern Romance: Dating, Mating and Marriage; The Rise of Nonmarital Births; Internet Dating; Abortion in America; and in addition a huge range of Presidental (ASA) Panels included : Birth Control in America; Women on the Battlefield: Integrating Women into the U.S. Military; Aging and Sexuality; Cohabitation; and many many more.

I chose sessions to reinforce the new undergraduate course I am offering in Sem 2, 2015-6 entitled Love and Intimacy in Contemporary Society and these major Plenary sessions did not disappoint. In fact they turned out to be real highpoints of the conference. A packed Saturday evening Plenary Panel entitled Romance Matters included Eric Kleinenberg (NYU), Azis Ansari (Comedian, Author, and TV Presenter), Helen Fisher (Rutgers, psychotherapist and Consultant to match.com), Christain Rudder (Ok Cupid) and Eli Finkel (Northwestern) enthralled the audience with serious and amusing presentations. This was followed by the signing of the Anzari and Kleinenberg new book …Romance Matters. I have to say the students will really enjoy this bringing together of research and teaching.

I convened a session on Gender, Sexuality and Work with 5 excellent papers, many of which are being published within books or journals.

The Presidential address by Paula England looked at the Changing Nature of Sexuality and and a further Presidential Panel looked at the advantages and disadvantages of Internet Dating also as an evening Keynote panel.

A truly inspiring conference with significant relevance for my new BU course. Thank you BU and HSS for supporting this.

Professor Ann Brooks September 7, 2015

September 4, 2015

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing

BU research, Research Ethics, Research news swincewicz

Emily Rosenorn-Lanng Research Assistant

Rebecca Johnson Research Assistant

Sarah Wincewicz Research Admin Assistant

Financial scamming is costing the UK public approximately £3.5 billion each year. It is a problem which has developed in recent years and has hit the press because of the relationship with charity mugging, or ‘chugging’ (charities coercing people to give money). Although both scamming and ‘chugging’ result in the coercion of money from donors, they differ in approach, perception and legality. Having a charity connection gives ‘chuggers’ a sense of morality, which gives them a sense of legality, allowing them to tug on the heartstrings of consumers and persuade them, sometimes by intimidation, to part with money. Once a donation has been made, and details have been obtained, charities feel they have the right to regularly hound their donors for further contributions, and have recently been discovered to sell their details on to non-charitable organisations.

The Daily Mail’s investigation into the story of former Army Colonel, Mr Rae, highlights the relationship between scamming and ‘chugging’. Charities who acquired Mr Rae’s personal details sold them up to 200 times to other charities and list brokers who then passed them to scammers who deceived £4,000 from him.

To what extent is it a problem?

The following figures, specific to Mr Rae, demonstrate the relationship that ‘chugging’ has with scamming:

The alarming figures demonstrate the impact of this relationship and raise plenty of questions. How valuable is personal information to a charity? Why are charities selling personal information to non-charities? Where are the moral boundaries in this? What part do charities play in the scamming of vulnerable people?

What are we doing about it?

Here at the National Centre for Post Qualifying Social Work and Professional Practice we are working with Trading Standards to tackle scamming and chugging. To do this we are looking into:

Early intervention
The cost to victims and the knock on effect of being scammed
Developing a sophisticated profile for a potential victim, allowing the creation of ethical mailing lists that charities and public bodies could use
Reviewing the understanding of the Data Protection Act to make it potentially easier to remove people from databases (mail, telesales and charity approach) for the most vulnerable
Developing good practice guides and advice for professionals working in this field and for vulnerable citizens and their families/carers.

We recognise that this will all take time, but there are steps that you can take today. You can help protect the most vulnerable members of society from this sort of exploitation. How? Have that conversation with Mum, Dad, Nan, Grandad, Aunt or an elderly neighbour. Keep an eye out for scam mail and an ear out for scam phone calls. Make them aware they have a choice as to whether to respond or not, or whether to donate or not.

Most of all, make sure they are not lonely. Time and time again, we hear how loneliness is a key factor in chugging and scamming. If we can ensure our friends and family are not so lonely, then we may be able to ensure they are less vulnerable.

September 3, 2015

Funding available to support R&D – science, engineering and technology

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team jcodling

SMART is a grant scheme which offers funding to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in R&D projects in the strategically important areas of science, engineering and technology, from which successful new products, processes and services could emerge.

The scheme supports SMEs carrying out R&D which offers potentially significant rewards and that could stimulate UK economic growth.

Three types of grant are available:

Proof of market
Proof of concept
Development of prototype.

Any UK SME undertaking research and development may apply; applications are accepted on a rolling basis for assessment by independent experts.

September 3, 2015

Fusion co-creation project involving BU students and partners in Kosovo: rethinking post-war reconciliation via ‘gaming’ technology

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Festival of Learning, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Global engagement, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Knowledge Transfer, Research news, Research themes sssievers

In post-war societies such as in the Western Balkans, war monuments may serve to preserve a single narrative of the past. Sometime the intention is to shape future generations’ understanding of conflict, thereby perpetuating militant potentials and societal divisions. But how do young visitors really experience such war monuments? Our fusion-funded project aims to foster conflict transformation (reconciliation) by facilitating young people’s engagement with a plurality of narratives while simultaneously nurturing empathy and recognition of the cultural heritage of war via contemporary gaming technology.

BU’s fusion approach encouraged me, a Balkan specialist and social anthropologist, to seek collaboration across faculties with Dr Avital Biran (‘dark tourism’/FM); Dr Melanie Klinkner (‘transitional justice’/ FMC); and Assoc. Prof. Feng Tian (‘gaming’/ FST). The new fusion-funded project is directly related to our Conflict Transformation Studies Team’s contribution to a major European Union Horizon 2020 bid: a working package on enhancing visitors’ perception and consumption of memorials via gamification, submitted in May 2015 (Reflective Societies, RED 8756).

The team presented its overarching research concept at BU’s Interdisciplinary Week on 12 May with our interactive session on Transforming conflict after war: memory, heritage and digital media. With support of two consecutive Undergraduate Research Assistants, a social anthropological spin-off exercise entitled Reconciliation-in-Practice was then conducted at the Festival of Learning. During the sessions, to which also Wendy Cutts (FHSS) contributed, we challenged participants’ assumptions about the ease with which reconciliation expectations can be exported to countries of Western geo-political interest after war and conflict.

This fusion-funded sequel aims to co-opt interested student from different disciplines into the process of story line development and game design based on post-war memory at selected sites in Kosovo. As part of FiF strand Co-creation and Co-production, collaborations will not just include students and staff from BU’s four faculties but also external stakeholders in post-war Kosovo. We hope to include local students and colleagues of University of Prishtina, Human Rights activists, the British Council, site managers and artists.

Pending ethics approval and faculty support, our aim is – with help of the creative abilities of all involved students and partners – to explore the potentials of ‘gaming’ for education and enhancing visitors’ experience at heritage sites. We plan to, firstly, research the challenges associated with contested memorials in Kosovo; secondly, develop ideas for a story-line for gaming to promote tolerance and understanding; thirdly, explore the possibilities of designing a ‘serious game’; and, finally, under the leadership of Feng Tian, devise a Game Development Document (GDD) which may serve as a blue print for the application of gaming at post-conflict sites.

Dr Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers
Faculty of Health & Social Sciences
sssievers@bournemouth.ac.uk

September 2, 2015

Visiting CsJCC Scholar from Huelva Reports on her Research

BU research, Global engagement bthomas

Since the findings in my last publication (Rodríguez Arrizabalaga 2014) have awakened in me, as a linguist, a new interest in the linguistic dimension of the English media, last February I applied for a three-week research visit at the Faculty of Media and Communication (and its Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community) due to its internationally recognised status in this particular field of study.

During my three-week research stay at the University of Bournemouth, I have spent my whole days from Monday to Friday in the Sir Michael Cobham Library, revising and reading a huge number of bibliographical references dealing basically with the topics listed below, which are going to be the main tenets of the Research Project which I would like to apply for to the Spanish Ministry for Science and Education next year:

English as the global language: namely, its distinguishing features and its infuence in other languages (mainly Spanish);
The phenomena of culture and identity (heterogeneity vs. homogeneity);
Transnational relationships.
The specific language of different media spaces (mainly, advertising).
I have brought to Spain with me a huge number of interesting ideas which are going to constitute the starting point for this new area of research in my academic career, which, as such, still require deeper investigation. There have been, however, too many bibliographic references that I have not had time enough to read which I would like to explore next year, if possible, in anoher research visit which I would like to apply for.

Apart from the time I have spent in the library, during my reasearch visit I have have some the opportunity of meeting really nice and interesting people from the Faculty of Media and Communication: Dr. Bronwen Thomas and Dr. Carrie Hodges are two cases in point. With the former I have had several talks about our projects and about the possibility of signing an Erasmus Agreement for Professors and Students between Huelva University and Bournemouth University; and with the latter I hope to co-work in the near future because our teaching and research interests are quite closely related. I really appreciate their time and their kindness with me.

To finish, I would also like to thank the administrative work carried out by Jan Lewis, without which my research visit would not have been possible.

September 1, 2015

Creative, Digital & Design Business Briefing – September 2015

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team jcodling

This is a monthly publication that provides a digest of useful information about funding, financing, support and events to assist creative, digital and design businesses with their innovation and growth strategies.

Highlights include:

European Funding Guide – Creative Industries

A short KTN guide to help you submit a proposal for the Horizon 2020 funding programme (H2020) & other European funding sources. It provides a brief overview of support, how to apply and useful links.

More information »

Internet of Things Cites Demonstrator

Up to £10 million funding competition to demonstrate the capability of the Internet of Things in a city region. Projects should involve at least one local authority, one local enterprise partnership and several businesses.

More information »

Digital forensics – up to £300K phase 1

The challenge from the Home Office, is to improve the speed, efficiency and effectiveness of recovering and automatically analysing data from the seized digital devices of suspects under investigation. Maximum value of £40K per project.

More information »

September 1, 2015

EU Stakeholder Partnership Event – Innovating Cities with Nature and Culture

EU, Info Days, Training Emily Cieciura

The European Commission is organising a Stakeholder Partnership event on 20 October 2015 to facilitate networking, information exchange and cross-border partnerships of actors interested in addressing urban challenges through inno vating with nature or by making innovative use of cultural heritage assets for regenerating cities. More information is available from the website.

In the autumn, under the Horizon 2020 work programme for 2016-17, the European Commission will launch new calls for large-scale demonstration projects in cities as living-labs for nature-based solutions to societal challenges and cultural heritage as a driver for sustainable development. These calls mark a shift from basic and applied research to a novel type of innovation actions based on a systemic approach to solve problems and promote a more resource efficient, greener and competitive economy. The calls will aim at engaging stakeholders in cross-sectoral partnerships and inter-disciplinary activities, which are deemed necessary for co-designing, co-developing and co-implementing innovative solutions, testing them in real-world conditions through demonstration activities and securing their market uptake.

The Stakeholder Partnership Event aims at presenting the strategic orientations and rationale behind the new approach for research and innovation in cities using nature and cultural heritage, and at offering an opportunity for information exchange and networking.

Representatives of public authorities and other stakeholders from cities and regions, industry and businesses, civil society organisations and from the research community are invited to join the event on Tuesday, 20 October 2015, at DG Research and Innovation, Rue du Champs de Mars 21, 1049, Brussels. Around 200 participants are expected.

September 1, 2015

Hackathon Challenge – It’s not too late!

cfarrance

I’m still trying to get a team together for the UK’s first sport hackathon. The challenge is to create an app that facilitates social change through sport at the Sport England Sport Technology Awards Hackathon. It will take place over 25 hours on 2-3 October 2015 (3pm start on the Friday) during which time teams will have just 24 hours to develop their concept that will help a particular demographic group become more physically active.

The winning team will be awarded a bursary of £10,000 to help them build the app.

If you’re interested can you please get in touch with me, Clare at: cfarrance@bournemouth.ac.uk

Team registration closes on 7^th September. Would be great to have a BU team there!

More details can be found at:

http://www.sportandrecreation.org.uk/news/06-08-2015/uk%E2%80%99s-first-sports-hackathon-launches

August 26, 2015

An Early-Career Academic’s Experiences: How Grants Academy supported me to supervise an Undergraduate Research Assistant?

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Featured academics, Grants Academy jgavin

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to enrol on the Grants Academy, working to develop a draft proposal for what would be my first research study at BU. Having been taught the art of ‘craftsmanship’, ‘free writing’, and then developing the proposal(s) over time, allowed me to reflect upon and begin realising my research idea. This led to a cross-faculty research partnership and a Grants Academy Small Grant award, to fund a preliminary study to determine whether leg position influences the effects of an electrostimulation device used to prevent deep-vein thrombosis. The pilot study aimed to monitor leg muscle activity and balance ability in healthy, older adults, to provide a foundation for the future study focusing on post-operative, older adults. Not only did the Grants Academy develop my proposal writing skills and an understanding of research funding acquisition, but also supported me to establish my research profile at BU. Shortly after the internal-award, I applied for the Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) scheme, which would allow me to supervise a student for six weeks during the research study. The project was successful in supporting a URA, who sadly finished earlier this month.

Once a URA myself (albeit at Manchester Metropolitan University), I felt was it important to involve the assistant throughout the research process, including: protocol design, recruitment, laboratory testing, as well as data collection, archiving and early analysis. The URA proved to be mature, diligent and self-motivated, and also a great laboratory partner. After an induction week, she quickly familiarised herself with the lab equipment and was soon able to contribute to refining the study protocol. Partly due to her enthusiasm, partly due to Grants Academy funding, the URA worked hard: achieving NHS Good Clinical Practice training, co-presenting findings at Festival of Learning (Research Reflections event) and co-authoring the study protocol for Clinical Trial Register recognition. She also worked closely with academics from the Faculty of Management, and Faculty of Health and Social Care. Based on the URA’s performance and commitment, my co-investigator and I have invited her to continue working on the project to disseminate the study findings (with conference abstracts and two articles in preparation).

Early data suggests healthy, older adults benefit more from electrostimulation with the leg bent (seated position), than having the leg straight (typical hospital-administered, lying position). These findings will provide the basis for the future study examining the impact of leg position in clinical patients recovering from surgery. So thanks to Grants Academy, BU and my URA, I’ve been able to establish a sustainable, cross-faculty research plan that will promote co-creation and co-production with students, end-users and research partners into the future. Regardless of where you are in your career, Grants Academy and the URA Scheme offer boundless opportunities for professional and personal development – much recommended!

Dr James Gavin

Lecturer (Exercise Physiology)

Department of Sport and Physical Activity

Faculty of Management

August 25, 2015

Fusion Investment Fund: International approaches to the investigation of juvenile crime – a comparative analysis to inform UK policy.

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Global engagement, Research news llaver

Thanks to Fusion Investment Funding, the developing Forensic Psychology group in SciTech will be working on an international project aimed at improving the UK’s management of child suspects of crime.

Of the 1 million arrests for criminal offences in the UK each year, around 12% are of children aged 10-17 (Youth Justice Annual Statistics: 2013/2014, Ministry of Justice). Most of these 126,809 juvenile arrests are followed by a police interview. Evidence taken from these interviews contributes to charging, prosecution and custody decisions for young people and plays a role in nearly 100,000 juvenile convictions and cautions a year. The police interview therefore plays a substantial role in a child’s criminal record, future inclusion in the criminal justice system and long-term well-being. However, there is little research or guidance informing the interview process for child suspects of crime. The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (1999) and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (1984) recognise that children have differing needs from adults when involved in criminal proceedings. However, most ‘Special Measures’ and interview guidance for children in the UK legal system pertains only to child witnesses or victims of crime.

A large body of psychological research into the communication abilities of child witnesses has indicated that children have different needs from adults in interviews because of their underdeveloped cognitive skills (such as decreased resistance to suggestion and difficulties with timeline recall). These findings form the basis of the Home Office (2007, 2011) ‘Achieving Best Evidence’ guidelines, which provide police with step-by-step instructions on interviewing child witnesses in accordance with their specific vulnerabilities. The guidance serves to ensure that evidence taken from child witness interviews is reliable enough for fair use in court. Child suspect interviews, however, are not considered by the guidance, despite juvenile arrestees being at higher risk of cognitive delays.

Young offenders have been shown to have increasingly delayed neuro and socio-cognitive development in comparison to their non-offending peers, leading to deficits in inhibition, attention, time-perception, perspective-taking and interpersonal abilities (Al-Attar, 2010). These additional developmental delays mean that the established age-related difficulties experienced by children in interview are likely to be greatly exaggerated in suspects. Without additional precautions to account for these extended (but often well-hidden) difficulties, evidence from child suspect interviews can be inaccurate or misleading, resulting in the potential for serious miscarriages of justice. With a suspect’s testimony often being key to their own prosecution, its reliability as evidence is central to a fair trial – a basic human right.

Working with policy makers in the UK, Norway, Belgium, Singapore and Israel, BU will initiate development of child suspect interview guidelines and work with the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group to improve management of child suspects worldwide.

Please contact Lesley Laver if you would like to learn more or get involved with this project.

August 24, 2015

Fancy working on a project with the RNLI?

HEIF, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Knowledge Transfer jcodling

Following recent HEIF funding, this project aims to develop an alternative solution by simulating and visualising the lifeboat launching with unmanned vehicles in an immersive virtual environment. Working with staff members at the RNLI and located within The National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) at Bournemouth University this role will offer an exciting opportunity to join the NCCA’s research team and be involved in the design of the next generation lifeboat launching system in order to enhance safety and efficiency.

This vacancy is advertised on BU’s website with a closing date of 20 September 2015.

August 24, 2015

300K funding for upcoming SBRI competition – Digital Forensics

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team jcodling

InnovateUK_LogoA_Interim_RGBx320govuk[1]

Now open – 24 August 2015 !

The Home Office has annnounced as SBRI call on the subject of digital forensics and how it is used to support serious crime and counter terrorism investigations.

The aim of this funding call is to seek innovative proposals to enhance the capability of law enforcement to quickly recover and thoroughly investigate information stored on the seized digital devices of suspects under investigation.

More information on this funding opportunity.

Competition briefing event, 14th September, London

The event, which is free to attend, is an excellent opportunity for you to receive first hand information about the competition- application process, key dates etc. as well as meet and network with peers, potential partners, market leaders & innovators in the industry.

More information on the briefing event.

August 23, 2015

Indonesian primate and elephant research programme: it started with FIF

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Fusion Investment Fund, Global engagement, student research akorstjens

Thanks to Fusion Investment Fund support in 2013 (sabbatical to myself that set things in motion) and 2014/2015 (SMN&CCCP for Ross Hill, Vijay Reddy and myself), we have managed to establish a well running training and research platform in Sumatra, Indonesia. The first students to benefit were MRes students Rosanna Consiglio and Helen Slater. They have written (more or less actively) about their experiences in their online blogs: Rosanna: http://indonesiasikundur.blogspot.co.uk/ and Helen: http://pisforprimate.blogspot.com/. Rosanna’s August post sums up the incredible experience she’s had during 8 months in Indonesia.

Ross and I also had a very productive time during our much shorter 2-week training and networking visit at the start of the fieldwork in January 2015 and we cannot wait to go back again in January 2016 thanks to a new FIF SMN grant to expand the network and training platform to include exciting new research and training opportunities in ecotourism and conservation of the critically endangered Sumatran elephant in a wider region throughout the iconic Leuser Ecosystem.

During our visit we started up a now well-established research and training programme on Landscape Ecology and Primatology, we call it LEAP. LeapLogoFinal_07

LEAP brings together a team of landscape ecologists, primatologists, biogeographers, and specialists in remote sensing, carbon stock assessment and forest inventory, led by myself and Ross Hill. Thanks to FIF funding and the impetus created by our visit to Indonesia we have presented several staff-student posters and papers at international conferences about LEAP research and had team meetings with other UK collaborators in Liverpool. We have now submitted several funding applications, of which our successful Marie S Curie Intra-European fellowship application is most notable because we will have a postdoc starting in October to analyse the data that our MRes students are returning with. SK2_0194_MadeleineFace

The aim of LEAP research is to develop methods for rapid assessment of forest structure and relate this to carbon stocks stored in tree biomass and habitat quality for keystone species. This research programme fits perfectly into the concept of FUSION as it includes a range of opportunities for students to get a global experience whilst contributing to world-leading new research with national and international scientists on applied conservation issues that are globally important. The programme is inter-disciplinary within life and environmental sciences but also includes colleagues from tourism Vijay Reddy and Susanna Curtin, to develop eco-tourism opportunities in the region and we welcome further collaborations.

Our personal visit to Indonesia has been instrumental in making Bournemouth University visible to the local stakeholders from the charity programme Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP), the university of North Sumatra (USU), forestry and wildlife departments, and the people at the Sikundur field site. IMG_1321_20150122_SikundurTeamOrangObs_SMall We could show the important skills we bring to this collaboration and are now well embedded into various research opportunities. We are the main primate community researchers at this field site (although Prof Wich from Liverpool John Moores and the SOCP remain the prime orang-utan researchers) and can truly call it a Bournemouth University field site.

The success of this developing international multi-disciplinary network has resulted in an opportunity to expand the focus to the critically endangered Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus). For that project we have been applying for several external funds with a Marie S Curie application for a postdoc fellowship due in on the 10th of September 2015 with a new collaborator, Dr Gaius Wilson from India.

We have been tweeting about the research, as have our students (e.g. #sikundur), and recently, a BU funded UG Research Assistant, Matthew Hammond, from the media school started up our new website. We plan to launch it fully at the start of this academic year. He also created the new logo you can see above give the research programme and learning platform a recognisable logo and to advertise all the exciting things that are happening at BU.

So what’s next for LEAP? The elephant conservation programme – work in progress.
Starting in September/ October: a PhD studentship, Kelly van Leeuwen, to study Ugandan savannah chimpanzees and their landscapes as part of the Institute for Landscape Studies and Human Evolution (ISLHE); a PhD studentship, Chris Marsh, to study the primate community of Sikundur; an MRes student, Emma Hankinson, to study the primates at Sikundur; Marie S Curie funded postdoc fellow, Cici Alexander, studying methods to assess carbon and analyse remote sensing data at Sikundur based on photographic data from drone-mounted cameras; and of course the launch of our website and various grant applications and conference submissions.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or Ross if you are keen to become involved in LEAP.

August 23, 2015

BU PhD student publishes in Huffington Post

Global engagement, PG research, Research communication, student research, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

From Aspirations to Reality: How to Effectively Measure the Sustainable Development Goals

PhD student Ms. Sheetal Sharma in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) published an article in online newspaper The Huffington Post this week. In the article argues in order that the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are achieved in 2030 we set out clear he measurable guidelines and targets as well as mechanisms to facilitate that measurement. The measuring progress in itself is important as transparent measurement stimulates a culture of accountability.

With co-authors Prof. Zoë Matthews and Dr. Sylvia Szabo both from the University of Southampton, Sheetal argues that we need a Call to Action. Now is not the time for weakness, neither in the implementation nor in tracking technical progress. They state: “We cannot be conservative in our measurement of progress in the post-2015 agenda. The measurement framework must empower the implementation of the SDGs and improve equity, welfare and environment for all for greatest and most inclusive developmental impact.”

The proposed two-track SDG indicator framework for 2030:
• Track 1 could monitor political goals (about 30 impact indicators) to assess overall progress regionally and globally.
• Track 2 could include a larger number of technical indicators to measure the means of implementation or processes towards each goal (300 indicators, or more).

Sheetal Sharma is currently writing up her PhD thesis on issues around evaluation of a maternity care intervention in Nepal. She has submitted several papers based on her PhD work for publications. Her PhD supervisory team comprises professors Vanora Hundley, Padam Simkhada (BU Visiting Faculty) & Edwin van Teijlingen and doctors Catherine Angell & Elisa Sicuri (BU Visiting Faculty).

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Twitter: @EvanTeijlingen

Follow Sheetal Sharma on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sheetale

August 22, 2015

What does Safety, Reliability & Durability mean to you?

BU research, innovation, PG research, Publishing Zulfiqar Khan

You must have heard about the recent tragic accident at Alton Towers. Unfortunately it involved one of the most popular rides, the Smiler. Accidents are bound to happen due to various reasons e.g. human error or faults in mechanical, electrical, electronics or control systems/components. Some of the accidents are catastrophic and involves the loss of human lives that includes today’s (Saturday August 22, 2015) vintage plane crash at the air show at Shoreham.

Among several reasons, corrosion is one of the major phenomena which plays an important role in structural deterioration and compromising reliability and durability of components, systems within petrochemical & process industries, automotive, locomotive and aircrafts.

Special attention to corrosion in terms of design, detection and prediction of failures is needed especially where human lives are involved. Here are some of the images from major international and home theme parks where there are visible signs of structural deterioration. Although corrosion initiation, its propagation and affects on structural deterioration may not be physically and visually very prominent, it needs full attention to avoid accidents.

A significant portfolio of research & development in corrosion has been developed at BU, which responds to structural integrity issues. Earlier work [15-17] in corrosion fatigue has led to a successful research portfolio in corrosion at BU [1-17]. We have developed a meso-mechanics based approach incorporating fracture mechanics and electrochemical processes to predict corrosion through a novel holistic modelling tool.

A PhD degree research in sustainable methodology of conserving historic military vehicles subject to structural deterioration due to corrosion [13, 14] has been successfully completed. This research was conducted in collaboration with The Tank Museum at Bovington. Controlled environment within the newly designed VCC (Vehicles Conservation Centre) is informed by the outcomes of this research. In addition NASA [13] has also been collaborating in corrosion research at BU along with BAE Systems and Analatom Inc. Discussions with Analatom are currently in progress for further collaboration in corrosion sensors technology.

A second project in corrosion monitoring techniques in collaboration with Defence Science & Technology Laboratory Ministry of Defence, through a match funded PhD is currently in progress [1-5]. Recent publications [2-4] from this research have made to the Taylor & Francis top 20 most read articles list. This is an evidence of novel contributions to corrosion and corrosion modelling techniques.

A third project in collaboration with Defence Science & Technology Laboratory Ministry of Defence through BU match funded PhD programme has been awarded to look into wireless corrosion monitoring techniques.

In addition nano coatings (in collaboration with Schaeffler, a major industrial partner) have been developed at BU incorporating corrosion issues to solve current corrosion problems within industrial applications.

A collaborative research project with National University of Science & Technology & Future Energy Source Ltd (the overall portfolio includes 2 x fully funded PhDs, 2 x match funded PhDs and 1 x Post Doctoral Research Assistant, PDRA) is currently underway to investigate corrosion issues within thermal storage applied in renewable technologies.

We have state of the art corrosion bench testing (environmental simulation) and modelling tools. We have micro LPRs (Linear Polarisation Resistors) & MEMS (Micro Electrical Mechanical Systems) based live corrosion monitoring stations for large stationary and moving vehicles.

Please contact Zulfiqar Khan (Associate Professor) if you would like to know more about the research activities or have interests in corrosion related issues,

Publications in Corrosion

Nazir, M. H., Khan, Z., & Stokes, K. (2015). A Holistic Mathematical Modelling and Simulation for Cathodic Delamination Mechanism – A Novel and an Efficient Approach. Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology. doi:10.1080/01694243.2015.1071023
Nazir, H., & Khan, Z. (2015). Maximising the interfacial toughness of thin coatings and substrate through optimisation of defined parapmeters. International Journal of Computational Methods & Experimental Measurements, 1-13. doi:10.2495/CMEM-V0-N0-1-13
Nazir, M., Khan, Z., & Stokes, K. (2015). Optimisation of Interface Roughness and Coating Thickness to Maximise Coating-Substrate Adhesion – A Failure Prediction and Reliability Assessment Modelling. Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology, 29(14), 1415-1445. doi:10.1080/01694243.2015.1026870
Nazir, H., Khan, Z., & Stokes, K. (2015). A Unified Mathematical Modelling and Simulation for Cathodic Blistering Mechanism incorporating diffusion and fracture mechanics concepts. Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology, 29(12), 1200-1228. doi:10.1080/01694243.2015.1022496
Nazir, H., Khan, Z., & Stokes, K. (2014). Modelling of Metal-Coating Delamination Incorporating Variable Environmental Parameters. Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology, 29(5), 392-423. doi:10.1080/01694243.2014.990200
Nugent, M., & Khan, Z. (2014). The effects of corrosion rate and manufacturing in the prevention of stress corrosion cracking on structural members of steel bridges. The Journal of Corrosion Science and Engineering JCSE, 17(16). Retrieved from http://www.jcse.org/
Wilton-Smith, K., Khan, Z., Saeed, A (2014). Accelerated Corrosion tests of Waste-gated Turbocharger’s Adjustable and Fixed End Links. In High Performance and Optimum Design of Structures and Materials Vol. 137 (pp. 501-508). Southampton: Wessex Institute of Technology, UK. doi:10.2495/HPSM140461
Ramesh, C. S., Khan, S., Sridhar, K. S., & Khan, Z. (2014). Slurry erosive wear behavior of hot extruded Al6061-Si3N4 composite. Materials Science Forum, 773-774, 454-460. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.773-774.454
Ramesh, C. S., Khan, S., Khan, Z., & Sridhar, K. S. (2013). Slurry Erosive Wear Behavior of Hot Extruded Al6061-Si3N4 Composite. Materials Science Forum, 773-774(2014), 462-468. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.773-774.462
Chinnakurli, R., Adarsha, H., Pramod, S., & Khan, Z. (2013). Tribological Characteristics of Innovative Al6061-Carbon Fibre Rod Metal Matrix Composites. Materials and Design, Volume 50(September 2013), 597-605. doi:10.1016/j.matdes.2013.03.031
Dobson, P., & Khan, Z. (2013). Design considerations for carbon steel pipes materials’ selection applied in fossil powered plants subjected to wet-steam flow accelerated- corrosion review paper. Journal of Corrosion Science and Engineering, 16, 1-13. Retrieved from http://www.scopus.com/source/sourceInfo.url?sourceId=12326&origin=recordpage
Denham, L., & Khan, Z. (2013). The prevention of corrosion and corrosion stress cracking on structural members of fixed deep sea oil rigs. The Journal of Corrosion Science and Engineering, 16, 1-13. Retrieved from http://www.jcse.org/
Saeed, A., Khan, Z., & Montgomery, E. L. (2013). Corrosion Damage Analysis and Material Characterization of Sherman and Centaur – The Historic Military Tanks. Materials Performance and Characterization, 2(1), 1-16. doi:10.1520/MPC20120016
Saeed, A., Khan, Z. A., Nel, M., & Smith, R. (2011). Non destructive material characterisation and material loss evaluation in large historic military vehicles. Insight – Non-Destructive Testing and Condition Monitoring, 53, 382-386. doi:10.1784/insi.2011.53.7.382
Khan, Z. A., & Zhen, P. J. (2001). Corrosion Fatigue & Remaining Life Assessment Techniques of 16MnR Pressure Vessel Steel (96-918-02-04). Shanghai: Ministry of Labour, Government of the Peoples’ Republic of China.
Khan, Z. A., & Zhen, P. J. (2000). Corrosion fatigue of 16Mn pressure vessel steel in H2S environment. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Pressure Vessels and Piping Division (Publication) PVP, 413, 49-54.
Zhen, P. J., & Khan, Z. A. (2000). Pressure Vessel Materials: Handbook (1 ed.). Beijing, PR China: Industrial Equipment and Information Engineering Centre.

August 21, 2015

BU Academic International Engagement

BU research, Fusion, PG research, Research news Zulfiqar Khan

Asia Conference on Power and Electrical Engineering (ACPEE 2016) has invited Dr Zulfiqar Khan (Associate Professor) to join as a Technical Committee Member. ACPEE is organised by Hong Kong Society of Mechanical Engineers. The conference will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 20-22 March 2016.

Renewable Energy Sources and Technology is one of the conference themes. This theme includes topics such as Solar Energy Systems, Wind Energy Systems, Marine Renewable Energy, Energy Management & Environmental issues, Hybrid Power Systems, Distributed & Co-Generation Systems, Biomass Energy and Geothermal Resources, Hydro Power Plants, Hydrogen Systems and Fuel Cells.

Dr Zulfiqar Khan is leading a significant research portfolio in renewable technologies in collaboration with Future Energy Source Ltd and National University of Science & Technology. This includes three PhD degree research projects: 1) Energy Recovery at Thermodynamic Expansion and Thermal Boosting Through Convection in Flat Plate Solar Thermal Systems (match funded by NUST), 2) Experimental investigation and mathematical modelling of dynamic equilibrium of novel thermo fluids for renewable technology applications (fully funded by Future Energy Source Ltd), 3) Research and development in novel alternative renewable energy technology (fully funded by Future Energy Source Ltd) and a recently awarded Post Doctoral Research Assistant PDRA, 3) Modelling & development of thermo-fluids incorporating nano-additives (funded by Future Energy Source Ltd).

ACPEE is an international forum for the dissemination of latest research findings in the fields of Power and Electrical Engineering. The conference will provide a forum for exchange of ideas, networking and initiating collaborations among world leading researchers, engineers and scientists from around the globe.

All submissions will be peer reviewed, accepted papers will be published in the ACPEE 2016 conference Proceedings and will be submitted to IEEE Xplore review.

If you have interests in renewable energy technologies or would like to know more please contact Zulfiqar Khan (Associate Professor)

August 21, 2015

£300K funding for upcoming SBRI competition – Digital Forensics

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The Home Office is planning an SBRI call on the subject of digital forensics and how it is used to support serious crime and counter terrorism investigations.

More information on this funding opportunity.

Competition briefing event, 14th September, London

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