BU Research Blog

24 July 2015

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Project – ENEFOR

We would like to welcome you to our Marie Sklodowska – Curie project “ENEFOR”. We proudly present you our website (http://enefor.eu) and we look forward for a live discussion on the project’s output!

This project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement (No 658494). The project started on April 2015 and it will be completed on April 2017.

This exciting and innovative project aims to develop new econometric model frameworks to forecast oil price and oil price volatility, which will be successful in enhancing internal consistency, forecasting accuracy and easiness to communicate extracting added-value (in terms of predictability) information from the ultra high sampling frequency. In addition, this project aims to use the forecasted oil price volatility to predict the economic policy uncertainty in Europe, given that oil price shocks exert significant impact on the effectiveness of economic policy.

23 July 2015

UK Nepali community research dissemination event

Public engagement, Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

BU and UKNFS jointly presented some of the key findings of their study into the UK’s Nepali community. The meeting (22 July) in the EBC was attended by local representatives of the NHS, the CCG and Healthwatch Dorset. BU Prof. Vanora Hundley, Deputy Dean for Research (FHSS), who herself has published several academic paper on Nepal or English-language academic journals in Nepal, welcomed the audience. She highlighted how the research fitted into the wider health and soial care research portfolio of the Faculty.

BU Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen’s presentation highlighted the issues of access the health and social services in growing Nepali community in the UK. The reports highlights health and lifestyle issues, help-seeking behaviour and the influence of culture on health-related decision making. He mentioned barriers such as language and knowledge about services (or lack thereof). The findings of this study relate to previous studies in the field of ethnic minority communities int he UK. Mr. Alan Mercel-Sanca, Chairperson of the UK Nepal Friendship Society thanked the key researchers Dr. Bibha Simkhada (BU VIsiting Faculty) and Dr. Rajeeb Kumar Sah for conducting this mixed-methods research to such a high standard. He also thanked the Big Lottery Fund for making this ground-breaking piece of work possible, and the NHS England Equality and Health Inequalities team for their interest in final report and advice on the research.

The Report offers a unique opportunity for local health crae providers and commissioners to improve their understanding of this particular ethnic minority group. In the long run the report may lead to more effectively service delivery, especially in terms of health and social services that are sensitive to the needs of the Nepali community. Moreover, the report’s findings have direct relevance to other South Asian and broader Black & Minority Ethnic (BME) communities in the UK.

Finally, the audience heard how the report has been widely reported among the Nepali-language media to the Nepali community in the UK as well as in Nepal. This include coverage by the BBC World Service in Nepali, who interviewed Dr. Bibha Simkhada about the study.

The report is available online here!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

22 July 2015

The Midwifery quilt online- URA scheme funded project

Fusion, Women's Academic Network jhall

As part of my EdD thesis on ‘The essence of the art of a midwife..’ http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/16560/ I created a reflexive textile quilt, with each of the squares representing an entry in my research diary. Whenever I have been to conferences with my quilt the question has always been asked ‘what do the squares mean’? Though I anticipate that anyone looking at it will gather their own interpretation of the squares my stories behind them are now accessible online. In the spring of this year I applied, and was pleased to receive, funding from the BU Undergraduate research assistantship scheme in order to create a web site for the quilt. For the past six weeks George Upson undergraduate student from the BA (Hons) Media Production course has been active in designing and creating the web site with me and learning about the world of academia in a small way. I am indebted to him for his creative abilities and to Garratt Lynch and Richard Wallis for their early support in the process, and also for the URA scheme!

The Midwifery quilt maybe accessed here http://www.midwiferyquilt.co.uk/

Dr Jenny Hall

21 July 2015

Improving Nepali’s health & social care in the UK: Presentation of key findings 22 July at BU

Public engagement, Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

Bournemouth University presents some of the key findings of the first study of its kind of the Nepali community in the UK. The report also shows the way forward for improved UK Nepali community NHS and social care provision. The research is a joint initiative between the UK Nepal Friendship Society, Bournemouth University in collaboration with the South East London Nepali community and funded by the Big Lottery Fund.

Key findings from the report suggest in particular that the elderly Nepali population struggle to access cultural appropriate health and social care. This results in people accessing health services too late. Further research is needed on mental health, especially on loneliness and social isolation in the elderly, but also on minorities within the broader community as well as those with limited English language skills. Its recommendations have potential transformational value for the relationship between this ethnic minority, most well-known for its Gurkha community, and the NHS and social care providers.

Many Nepali people evidenced that they struggle with accessing and navigating NHS services, and that there are significant confidence-building requirements that need to be addressed concerning a revealed need for experiencing more equitable NHS customer service provision. The lead author Dr. Bibha Simkhada is Visiting Faculty at BU.

Ruth Passman of NHS England, Head of Equality & Health Inequalities commented:

“This report and its findings indicate the scale of the need for the NHS to have a better understanding of the needs of the Nepali community accessing in an effective and equitable way, and through its profile of health and wellbeing seeking behaviour of the community for the NHS to have the opportunity to better address in partnership with the Nepali community, its particular needs.”
Prof. Gail Thomas the Dean of the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences added: “Bournemouth University has a long-standing history of health and health promotion research in Nepal. This study amongst the Nepali community in South London reminds us of the importance of addressing health and well-being issues in ethnic minority communities in the UK.”

Mr. Tej Bahadur Chhetri, the Acting Ambassador and Charge D’Affaires at the Embassy of Nepal sent the following message:

This report is a most helpful contribution, to promote much needed change in healthcare provision for the Nepali community, especially with the fast approaching 200 years of special friendship and diplomatic relations between Nepal and the UK. The link between the two countries started with the Gurkha regiments becoming part of the British Army, and having been so to this day. The UK Nepali community will clearly benefit from the report and its recommendations’

Alan Mercel-Sanca, the Chairperson of the UK Nepal friendship Society added: “We particularly appreciate Dr Bibha Simkhada and Dr Rajeeb Kumar Sah’s dedication and high quality research in the Nepali community. We would also like to thank the Big Lottery Fund for making this ground-breaking piece of work possible, and the NHS England Equality and Health Inequalities team for their great interest in the value of the research. The Report offers a unique opportunity for our evolving NHS and the Ministry of Health to better understand and more effectively meet the needs and hear the Voice of the Nepali community – it clearly has direct relevance to other South Asian and broader Black & Minority Ethnic communities using and seeking to access an NHS that is equitable and effective.”

The presentation will take place tomorrow Wednesday 22nd July at 15.00 in the Executive Business Centre on Holdenhurst Rd. The meeting will be introduced and opened by Prof. Vanora Hundley, Deputy Dean for Research & Professional Practice in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences. Prof. Hundley herself has published several academic paper on Nepal or English-language academic journals in Nepal.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

@EvanTeijlingen

20 July 2015

Festival of Learning event demonstrates pilot Seen But Seldom heard e learning tool

Festival of Learning, Fusion, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Research Ethics swincewicz

Dr Lee-Ann Fenge

During last week’s Bournemouth University Festival of Learning, the team (Dr. Carrie Hodges, Faculty of Media and Communication; Wendy Cutts and Dr Lee-Ann Fenge, Faculty of Health and Social Science) held a pilot session for a new e-learning tool which they have developed in collaboration with young people from the Seen but Seldom Heard project.

This e-learning tool has been developed with funding from the Big Lottery Fund, and builds on previous work which has used participatory performative research methodologies, including performance poetry to enable young people with disabilities (aged 14-20 years) to explore the nature of disability within society and their own experiences of being disabled. The previous outputs from this project have included live performances as part of the Cultural Olympiad 2012, local literary festivals, a performance at the House of Commons in December 2014, as well as a documentary film (CLICK HERE for a ‘taster’).

The e-learning tool aims to develop understanding of the needs and experiences of young people with disabilities, in particular, amongst their peers, schools and communities. It includes information and engaging activities, and has been made in collaboration with young people from the Seen but Seldom Heard project. Media representations of disability are largely negative due to the limited number of stereotypes used and these stereotypes contribute to the ‘invisibility’ of disabled people within society. This tool hopes to challenge this ‘invisibility’ by encouraging people to think differently about aspects of discrimination linked to disability. It is hoped that this will be used widely in educational settings, as well as in the wider community to change hearts and minds. It will facilitate learning either as a stand-alone tool, or as part of a wider approach towards diversity and inclusivity.

The pilot session for the tool was helpful in terms of gaining feedback on how it could be further refined, before it is officially launched during the Autumn 2015. CLICK HERE for more details on the Seen But Seldo m Heard project

16 July 2015

Festival of Enterprise this Saturday

Business Engagement, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement Sally Gates

Festival of Enterprise promotional postcard

On Saturday 18 July (this Saturday), BU hosts its first ever Festival of Enterprise – a free event designed to give help and advice to startups, SMEs, established businesses, budding business-minded teenagers or anyone wanting to turn a business idea into a reality.

The Festival is open to anyone and takes place in the Student Centre between 10am and 3pm. There will be four ‘sofa’ sessions – Marketing, Finance, Cyber Security and Creativity – with industry experts giving their advice and taking questions, all aimed at engaging with and supporting local businesses.

There are other activities taking place too – business ‘speed dating’ sessions, an Enterprise Den specifically for college-aged teens and a keynote presentation from local entrepreneur Steve Bolton.

If you’d like more information, visit the Festival of Enterprise webpages. And most importantly, please spread the word. If you know of anyone (colleagues, friends, family) who may benefit from talking about business and enterprise in Dorset then send them along.

16 July 2015

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities, Public engagement emilner

The following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information.

Arts and Humanities Research Council

PaCCS Conflict Theme (2 calls). The call for Interdisciplinary Innovation Awards (up to 18 months and up to £100,000 fEC) aims to support the development of innovative, adventurous, higher risk, interdisciplinary research, including projects at an earlier stage of interdisciplinary evolution and/or led by early career researchers. The call for Interdisciplinary Research Grants (up to 48 months and between £400,000 and £800,000 fEC) aims to support innovative interdisciplinary research proposals related to specific conflict themes. Closing Date: 22/10/15

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Highlight notice in novel tools and technologies for vaccinology. The BBSRC, MRC and EPSRC are working together on a scheme which aims to fund cutting edge technology across the Councils’ portfolios into vaccine development and early-stage manufacturing research, and foster research that may be applicable across different diseases.Expression of Interest Closing Date: 17/9/15 at 16:00

Economic and Social Research Council

Future Research Leaders 2016. The Future Research Leaders scheme aims to enable outstanding early-career social scientists, in partnership with their host organisation, to acquire the skills set to become the future world leaders in their field. Grants will be for a maximum of two years, with a pro-rata duration option for those employed part-time on a contract of 0.5 FTE or above. There is an overall limit of £230,000 (at 100 per cent full economic cost) although the actual amount you can apply for will vary depending on when you submitted your PhD and your level of academic experience. Closing Date: 29/9/15 at 16:00

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

Healthcare Impact Partnerships 2015/2016. This call is open to eligible UK academics who have held an EPSRC grant or portfolio of grants relevant to the capabilities of Disruptive Sensing and Analysis or Medical Device Design and Innovation. An overall budget of £5m is available. Intention to submit a proposal Closing Date: 27/8/15 at 16:00

The Health Foundation

Behavioural Insights Research Programme will make up to £1 million available to support a number of multidisciplinary research teams, consisting of psychology and behavioural economists, health care professionals, support-staff and managers, patients and those with design expertise. Awards will be between £200,000 and £350,000 for research completed over two to three years. Closing Date: 30/9/15 at Noon.

Innovate UK

Developing regenerative medicines and cell therapies. Innovate are to invest up to £8 million in collaborative R&D projects to stimulate the development of regenerative medicines and cell therapies in the UK. Proposals must be collaborative and led by a business and projects are expected to range in size from total costs of £500,000 to £2.5 million. Registration closes: 26/8/15 at Noon. Expression of Interest Closing Date: 2/9/15 at Noon.

Natural Environment Research Council

Green Infrastructure Innovation Projects. Proposals are invited that address the issues and opportunities around green infrastructure (GI) in the planning and investment decisions that are made by local policymakers, local planners and organisations responsible for developing the built environment. A maximum of £125k may be requested for projects lasting up to two years. Closing Date: 22/10/15 at 16:00

Independent Research Fellowship (IRF) Scheme is designed to develop scientific leadership among the most promising early-career environmental scientists, by giving all fellows five years’ support. Closing Date: 1/10/15

Science for Humanitarian Emergencies & Resilience (SHEAR) research programme Research Consortia Grants 2015. Outline proposals are invited for world-leading research into hydrological controls on landslide hazard in South Asia or flood and drought risk assessment, modelling and forecasting in Sub-Saharan Africa. Funding of up to £2m full economic cost (FEC) will be available per consortium with a total available budget of £8m. Closing Date: 1/9/15 at 16:00

Understanding the Value of the Natural Environment for Improving Human Health & Wellbeing. A funding pot of up to £3·96m (80% FEC) from NERC, AHRC and ESRC is available, which is expected to support between three and six interdisciplinary proposals of up to three years duration. This will provide an opportunity for natural and social scientists, arts and humanities researchers to form substantial interdisciplinary research collaborations. Closing Date: 22/9/15

Royal Society

Newton International Fellowship. The scheme provides the opportunity for the best early stage post-doctoral researchers from all over the world to work at UK research institutions. Newton Fellowships last for two years. Funding consists of £24,000 per annum for subsistence costs, and up to £8,000 per annum research expenses, as well as a one-off payment of up to £2,000 for relocation expenses and may also be eligible to receive up to £6,000 annually following the tenure of their Fellowship to support networking activities with UK-based researchers. Closing Date: 9/9/15

Wellcome Trust

Seed Awards in Science. Grants of of up to £100,000 for up to two years will be made available to help researchers develop original and innovative ideas which propose to carry out interdisciplinary research across our Science, Medical Humanities, Society and Ethics and Innovations funding. Closing Date: 22/10/15

Sustaining Excellence Awards. The fund is targeted towards organisations which have an excellent track record with the Wellcome Trust (at least 3 awards drawn from any of the Engaging Science schemes) and a desire to maintain best practice in public engagement. Sustaining Excellence awards will typically be in the range of £90,000 to £1,000,000, spread across three to five years. Expression of Interest Closing Date: 25/9/15

World Health Organisation, EDCTP and the UK Medical Research Council

Research and capacity development in support of the EVD response. Proposals is to build and strengthen regional, national, institutional and individual capacities to conduct high quality health research (e.g. clinical trials, operational and/or implementation research) during infectious disease outbreaks resulting in health emergencies. Up to €250k is available per proposal. Closing Date: 6/8/15

Please note that some funding bodies specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKEO Funding Development Officer

16 July 2015

Prof. Judy Wajcman LSE speaking this evening in FoL

Festival of Learning Edwin van Teijlingen

Prof Judy Wajcman will be the second speaker in the Distinguished Social Scientists Public Lectures Series tonight in Festival of Learning. The lecture is based on her new book Pressed for Time: The Acceleration of Life in Digital Capitalism.

Those who attended Prof. John Holmwood’s presentation on last Monday on ‘The University, Democracy and the Public Interest’ will agree that the Distinguished Social Scientists Public Lectures Series started with a great and challenging presentation.

Tonight’s session is free and will be in the Barnes Lecture theatre at Talbot Campus starting at 18.00.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

15 July 2015

FoL event and an opportunity to get involved in co-creating conservation research

Festival of Learning, Public engagement, student research adiaz

On Sunday Anita Diaz and Gitte Kragh joined with Michelle Brown and Darren Cook from the National Trust (NT) to run a joint BU-NT FoL workshop on the special species of Studland. We introduced our 70 guests to the amazing NT Cyril Diver project where Citizen Scientists and BU staff, BSc, MSc and PhD students have worked together to repeat a classic 1930’s survey of all the wildlife of Studland.

meeting the plants

Our guests learnt how these surveys help conservation by helping us understand how species respond to environmental change over time. Then we invited our guest to participate in lots of face-to-face opportunities to meet up-close some of the wonderful wildlife!

snakes

and spiders

Guests stroked snakes, stared spiders in their (8) eyes and squeezed spongy sphagnum mosses as they learnt about their ecology and how we can help conserve these and other wildlife.

If you would like to volunteer on the Cyril Diver project, or just find out more, then please contact Michelle on

Michelle.Brown1@nationaltrust.org.uk

No experience is needed as there are experts on hand and it’s a great way to learn and contribute to conservation while having fun!

15 July 2015

From Stour Valley to Silicon Valley-Dr. Dinusha Mendis on Research Leave in Stanford University California

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, PG research, Post-award, Public engagement cippm

In January 2015, Dr. Dinusha Mendis, Associate Professor in Law and Co-Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management (CIPPM) in the Faculty of Media and Communications was awarded a period of research leave funded by the Fusion Investment Fund which commenced on 1 January 2015. The study leave was granted to further Dr. Mendis’ research into the digital aspects of Copyright Law and the Intellectual Property (IP) Implications of 3D Printing.

Since 1 January 2015, Dr. Mendis has held appointments as Visiting Fellow at University of Bocconi in Italy and as Lord Provost Fellow at University of Tasmania in Australia. For further information about the collaborative work carried out by Dr. Mendis during this time, please see here (BU Research Blog post dated 13 March 2015).

Dr. Mendis will complete her research leave in July 2015 having spent two months as a Visiting Scholar at Stanford Law School, Stanford University California.

During her time as a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University, Dr. Mendis was involved in working with Professor Mark Lemley of Stanford Law School, to further her research into the intellectual property implications of 3D printing. Sponsored by Professor Lemley, Dr. Mendis utilised the time at Stanford to complete two research papers (to be published in Autumn 2015) and collaborate with IP experts from University of California, Berkeley; Emory University; Georgia Tech University and Indiana University in taking forward a project in the area of 3D printing and intellectual property implications.

The Research Leave was made possible by the generous support of Bournemouth University’s Fusion Investment Fund which in turn led to the Visiting appointments for which Dr. Mendis is very grateful.

The appointments have all proved to be very productive and rewarding in taking forward the research on the IP implications of 3D printing. The final appointment, which involved being a Visiting Scholar at Stanford Law School was a very positive experience – and will be an unforgettable one.

13 July 2015

Ethical fundraising : Protecting vulnerable adults from aggressive fundraising techniques

Festival of Learning, Research Ethics swincewicz

Dr Lee-Ann Fenge

There is growing awareness in the government and media of the importance of recognising and responding to the risks posed by financial abuse of vulnerable older people. My last two blogs have focused on financial scams and mass marketing fraud, but it is now becoming recognised that the charity sector are also employing dubious marketing techniques to elicit money from vulnerable individuals.

The marketing techniques and fundraising methods of charities have come under the spotlight since the death of Olive Cooke, 92, in May. Although her family insist that the numerous approaches she received from charities were not to blame for her death, the fact that she received 267 charity letters in one month alone started alarm bells ringing. Some charities working with emotionally upsetting issues (such as animal cruelty) sometimes employ shocking imagery which has been described as psychoactive advertising (Bennett, 2015). These types of marketing approaches seek to evoke a positive emotional response to fundraising, but can be upsetting for those who receive such material through the post.
As a result of governmental concern about the fundraising methods employed by some charities, changes will be
introduced as amendments to the Charities Bill. This new legislation will tighten rules on how fundraisers approach people who are vulnerable, and how vulnerable adults should be protected from high-pressure marketing tactics.

Some charities have already responded to these concerns by suspending operations with call centres which use
high pressure fundraising techniques.It is interesting to note that although the government is seeking to put a brake on aggressive fundraising techniques, this comes at a time when the remit of the Charity Commission to effectively regulate the sector has been reduced due to budget reductions following the UK Treasury’s Comprehensive Spending Review 2014–15. This has resulted in a reduction in the Commission’s regulatory engagement with charities. As part of the government response to concerns about unethical fundraising tactics, Sir Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), will chair an urgent review of fundraising self-regulation.

It is important that the charity sector develop good practice guidance which embraces the responsibility to safeguard vulnerable groups, and put an end to working with companies which use aggressive fundraising techniques.

The National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work at BU is currently working collaboratively with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) to develop good practice guides and advice for professionals working with vulnerable citizens and their families/carers about responding to the risks posed by financial scams. We will be hosting an event as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science on 10^th November to explore with the sector how we develop better responses to safeguarding those most at risk of financial exploitation. Details of how to book onto this event will be posted in the near future.

Reference:

Bennett, R. (2015) Individual characteristics and the arousal of mixed emotions: consequences for the effectiveness of charity fundraising advertisements, International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing 20: 188–209

12 July 2015

Reminder: Monday 13th July seminar by Prof. John Holmwood

Festival of Learning, Public engagement Edwin van Teijlingen

Tomorrow Prof. John Holmwood (University of Nottingham) will be the first speaker in the Distinguished Social Scientists Public Lectures Series at Bournemouth University. The topic of his presentation tomorrow at 18.00 at Talbot Campus will be ‘The University, Democracy and the Public Interest’. The Distinguished Social Scientists Public Lectures Series was idea of Prof. Ann Brooks. There are still places left for Monday 13th, click and book here!

#BUfest15 @bournemouthuni

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

FHSS

Twitter @EvanTeijlingen

10 July 2015

UK Nepali Community Equality in Health & Social Care Study

Public engagement, Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

Yesterday (July 9th) saw the launch of the report based on a study of the Nepali Community in the UK on Equality in Health & Social Care. The joint project between the UKNFS (UK-Nepal Friendship Society) and Bournemouth University was funded by the National Lottery and supported by The Embassy of Nepal in London, the Non Residential Nepali Association [NRNA UK], and NHS England. The presentation of the report ook place at the NRNA UK head office in Woolwich.

The Chief Guest of Honour at our launch was Mr Sushil Thapa from the Embassy of Nepal, representing His Excellency Mr Tej Bahadur Chhetri, Acting Ambassador of Nepal to the UK. The chief guest speaker was Dr. Habib Naqvi, NHS England Head of Equality, who highlighted the Report and its recommendations. The Principal Investigator Dr. Bibha Simkhada, who is also Visiting Faculty in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, presented the key findings to the audience. Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen gave a short presentation settign this report in the wider portfolio of resarch related to Nepal conducted at BU. Mr. Alan Mercel-Sanca, Chairperson of UKNFS commented:

‘We particularly appreciate Dr Bibha Simkhada and Dr Rajeeb Kumar Sah’s dedication and high quality research in the Nepali community. We would also like to thank the Big Lottery Fund for making this ground-breaking piece of work possible, and the NHS England Equality and Health Inequalities team for their great interest in the value of the research. The Report offers a unique opportunity for our evolving NHS and the Ministry of Health to better understand and more effectively meet the needs and hear the Voice of the Nepali community – it clearly has direct relevance to other South Asian and broader Black & Minority Ethnic communities using and seeking to access an NHS that is equitable and effective.’

The Report’s Executive Summary can be found here!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

8 July 2015

Do you need a KIC?

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities Emily Cieciura

The European Institute for Innovation and Technology (A European Commission body) has announced their Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KIC) calls for 2016:

EIT Food: Food4future: sustainable supply chain from resources to consumers
EIT Manufacturing: Added-value manufacturing

To find out more and how you can get involved, the first port of call is the dedicated website, which includes slides outlining the announcement and timeline. There is also specific information for potential partners in the HE sector.

If you are not sure what a KIC does, the EIT website details:

As new types of partnerships within the European innovation landscape, KICs are characterised by the following features:

High degree of integration: each KIC is organised around an independent legal entity, gathering world-class KIC partners from all the innovation dimensions. The specificity of the KICs is to integrate, for the first time at EU level, education and entrepreneurship with research and innovation. The EIT does not address education, research and innovation independently but instead simultaneously, as constitutive elements of a single innovation chain, to deliver incremental and disruptive innovation.
Long-term perspective: each KIC is set up for a minimum of seven years to contribute to overcoming fragmentation via world-class, long-term, integrated partnerships. This long-term perspective enables partners to commit to a strategic initiative for a longer time than in traditional innovation policy initiatives. It also ensures that the KIC is able to focus on short-, mid- and long-term objectives, remaining agile enough to adapt to emerging needs from the field in which they operate.
Efficient governance: strong leadership is a pre-requisite; each KIC is driven by a CEO and KIC partners are represented by single legal entities for more streamlined decision-making. KICs must produce annual business plans, including an ambitious portfolio of activities from education to business creation, with clear targets and deliverables, looking for both market and societal impact.
The co-location model: each KIC consists of five or six world-class innovation hotspots, building and leveraging on existing European capacities. A co-location centre brings together diverse teams of individuals from across the Knowledge Triangle together in one physical place (usually within partners’ universities or companies), acting as a hub for many KIC activities, and combining competences and skills developed in different areas of specialisation at a pan-European level.
KICs culture: Europe needs to embrace a true entrepreneurial culture, which is essential for capturing the value of research and innovation, for setting-up new ventures and actual market deployment of innovations in potential high-growth sectors. KICs are doing just this by integrating education and entrepreneurship with research and innovation and operating according to business logic and a results-oriented approach.

Still not sure? Take a look at the websites for the existing KICs: EIT Raw Materials, Climate-KIC, EIT Digital, EIT Health and KIC Innoenergy to see who is involved and what they have achieved.

6 July 2015

Workshop Metastable Dynamics of Neural Ensembles Underlying Cognition

ebballester

Is the traditional view on cortical activity dynamics, in which the cognitive flow of information wanders through multiple attractor states driven by task-dependent inputs, still a valid model? This picture has been recently challenged both empirically and from the modelling perspective.

The interpretation of the collective dynamics of neuronal assemblies underlying perception and cognitive processing is a very active debate, touching the essence of our understanding of neural computation, and hence one of the most exciting topics in neuroscience. This workshop will address a range of modelling and data analysis approaches which focus on metastable nonlinear dynamics underlying perceptual and cognitive functions in cortex.

The workshop will take Place in Prague, on the 23^rd of July of 2015 in the context of the 23^rd Computational Neuroscience Meeting; and will have the participation of some of the world-leading scientists in the area. Please find more information in the following link: https://research.bournemouth.ac.uk/2015/03/metastable-dynamics-of-neural-ensembles-underlying-cognition-workshop/

6 July 2015

Phone scams and ‘vishing’ on the rise – how to protect vulnerable older people

Public engagement swincewicz

Dr Lee-Ann Fenge

Following our blog last week on the work the NCPQSW is undertaking with staff from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) to respond to the risks posed by financial scams, the Financial Ombudsman Service has released a report to-day detailing the risks posed by phone scams and ‘vishing’.

Vishing is the way that criminals use the phone to defraud or mislead someone, and a particular threat identified by the Financial Ombudsman Service is the “no hang-up” scam. In this type of scam fraudsters pose as the police or a bank and then persuade individuals that their account is at immediate risk. Individuals may then be tricked into giving away their account and PIN details over the phone.

This study found that older people are disproportionately represented in those reporting phone scams to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), and 80% of those affected were aged over 55.

Many of those contacting the FOS had lost substantial sums of money, and the 185 complaints reviewed involved losses of up to £4.3 million.

It is important that those agencies and professionals working with vulnerable adults are alert to the risks posed by such scams, and that they are able to provide information and advice to those most at risk. Age UK provide useful advice about avoiding the risks posed by financial scams

This includes:

Never give out personal or banking information when answering an incoming call
Be wary of calls from companies you haven’t dealt with before. This is cold calling and it should always ring alarm bells. Don’t be afraid to hang up or end the call with a brief ‘no’
Avoid calling numbers that begin ‘09’ as these are charged are premium rates, costing up to £2 per minute
If you are in doubt about the identity of a caller claiming to be from the police or your bank, ring the number on your statement using a different phone, or wait at least five minutes before making the call to make sure you are not still speaking to the fraudsters
Remember that banks will never ask for your PIN or passwords in full on the phone or via email, or send someone to your home to collect bank cards, etc

It is important that older people are made aware of the risks posed by phone scams, and that professional remain vigilant to the signs so that appropriate support and help can be offered.

4 July 2015

Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Public engagement rherbert

BioBeach

The BU Bio-Beach Fusion Investment Fund project aims to increase biodiversity, public engagement and research on sustainable coastal development through design and build of novel structures that can be fixed to existing coastal defences on Bournemouth seafront. http://research.bournemouth.ac.uk/impact/bio-beach/

With so many ‘known unknowns’ in terms of materials that could withstand this extreme environment this proved extremely challenging. Several designs for features, including artificial rock pools were developed by BU staff, which involved UG and PG students in focus groups.

Bournemouth Borough Council Tourism and Coastal Management staff supported the design process throughout and commissioned public artists and designers Ecclestone George to build 12 concrete ‘artificial rock pools’ to be installed on the groynes at Boscombe.

On 17^th June 2015, small, medium and large pools were fixed across two groynes on Boscombe beach in an experimental array and will be monitored by BU staff and students. Prior to installation, the texture and roughness of the structures was recorded with a 3D laser scanner. Monitoring will include monthly assessments of the condition of the structures and the colonisation process.

Following successful field trips to Boscombe beach around 30 pupils at Avonbourne College and Harewood College from Years 7 – 9 worked on ideas and prototypes for the BioBeach project after school, supported by BU student ambassadors and the AspireBU outreach team. The pupils came up with designs inspired by everything from rubber ducks to scuba divers, which were made of sustainable and recycled materials including old rope and tyres.

Fay Lyon, Science Teacher at Avonbourne College, said: “I think it has been brilliant. They have really loved it”. “I think it’s the fact that it’s real world application of science – it’s really useful. These are genuine problems that need to be solved and they can contribute something for that. They have the chance to make a real difference.”

Several students gained the Bronze Crest Award from the British Association of Science.

http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/crest-bronze

In August 2014, BU STEM Outreach Team and BioBeach RA Ben Thornes took the project to the Green Man Festival Brecon Beacons, Einstein’s Garden – the largest Science public engagement event in BritainBioBeach to Einstein’s Garden

http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2014/08/08/a-summer-of-science/

BioBeach will feature at NERC public engagement event on Boscombe beach 4-5 July 2015.

BU Biobeach have provided materials for the new Seafront Visitor Centre displays and aquaria at Boscombe, that features interpretation of the Bay and its marine wildlife and BU Research

The project is on-going and we are seeking new opportunities to create new features and undertake further research and development.

4 July 2015

Paper published based on prestigious scholarship

Awarded & submitted bids, Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

BU academics Ms. Lesley Milne, Prof. Vanora Hundley and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in collaboration with BU Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam Simkhada (Liverpool John Moores University) and Ms. Jillian Ireland (Community midwife NHS Poole) published there latest paper yesterday in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. The paper ‘Staff perspectives of barriers to women accessing birthing services in Nepal: a qualitative study’ originated from research conducted in small maternity hospitals in Nepal.

The project was funded in 2013 through the first ever WellBeing of Women-Royal College of Midwives International Fellowship Award. This Fellowship was the first of its kind. It was established to enable midwives to further develop research interests in midwifery, maternity services, pregnancy, childbirth and women’s health from an international perspective.

The Scholarship competition was open to RCM midwives undertaking research in the UK or abroad which would address Millennium Development Goals 4 (Reduce Child Mortality) and 5 (Improve Maternal Health). Lesley Milne in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Heealth (CMMPH) was the first and very worthy recipient of this award.

Based on the fieldwork we published our paper in BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth an Open Access journal. The paper highlights that Nepal has made significant progress with regard to reducing the maternal mortality ratio but a major challenge remains the under-utilisation of skilled birth attendants. We found other studies had explored women’s views of the barriers to facility birth; however the voices of staff who offer services have not been studied in detail. This research explored the views of staff as to the key reasons why pregnant women do not give birth in a maternity-care facility when they exist.

This study highlights a multitude of barriers, not all of the same importance or occuring at the same time in the pregnancy journey. It is clear that staff are aware of many of the barriers for women in reaching the facility to give birth, and these fit with previous literature of women’s views. However, staff had limited insight into barriers occuring within the facility itself and were more likely to suggest that this was a problem for other institutions and not theirs.

Edwin van Teijlingen, Lesley Milne & Vanora Hundley

CMMPH

@EvanTeijlingen / @VanoraHundley

Reference:

Lesley Milne, Edwin van Teijlingen, Vanora Hundley, Padam Simkhada and Jillian Ireland, Staff perspectives of barriers to women accessing birthing services in Nepal: a qualitative study, BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 2015, 15:142 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2393/15/142

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