Category / BU research

BU Represented at the 8th European Public Health Conference

BU research, international, Research communication, student research

Ben and clare milanBU had two representatives from FHSS attending with over 1000 delegates at the European Public Health Conference in Milan last week. Ben Hayes, winner of the best oral presentation at SURE (Showcasing Undergraduate Research Excellence) BU Conference 2015 presented the results of his undergraduate dissertation entitled ‘Investigating the effect of lifestyle interventions to reduce risk factors for Metabolic Syndrome’. Clare Farrance shared the preliminary results of her PhD study around the area of older people’s adherence to exercise.

It was a great opportunity to learn from experienced researchers and hear about the current topics most relevant in the world of Public Health. Many thanks to Bournemouth University for their funding assistance which allowed us to attend.eph-logo

If you’d like to hear more about our research please feel free to get in touch with Ben at: benhayes01@gmail.com or Clare at: cfarrance@yahoo.co.uk

Open Access publishing does not have to be expensive!

BRIAN, BU research, open access, Publishing, Research Ethics, Research news, Uncategorized, writing

Nepal J Epid Open AccessAs it is Open Access Week I would like to clarify one of the Open Access publishing myths.  One of the common replies I receive from academics colleagues when raising Open Access publishing is that it is (too) expensive. This is, of course, true for many academic journals, but not all are expensive.  Some don’t even charge a processing fee at all.  Infamously, The Lancet Global Health charges an article processing fee of US $4750 upon acceptance of submitted research articles.  More moderately priced scientific journals still charge anything up to about £1,500 per article.

Open-Access-logoAcademic publishing has been big business for decades, and Open Access has rapidly become part of that business.  While traditional book and magazine publishers struggle to stay afloat, research publishing houses have typical profit margins of nearly 40%, according CBCNEWS who quote Vincent Larivière from the University of Montreal’s School of Library & Information Science.

At the same time we see a sharp increase in so-called Predatory Publishers who have set up business for the sole reason to make money from Open Access publishing.  They have not established or taken over academic journal for the greater good of the discipline or the dissemination of research findings to the widest possible audience.  Unscrupulous publishers jump on the Open-Access bandwagon BU librarian Jean Harris recently shared an interesting article about Predatory Publishers (click here to read this!).

J Asian MidwHowever, there are other format of Open Access. One of our more recent papers on research ethics was published in the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology which is an online Open Access journal that does not charge authors for publishing!  Also the Journal of Asian Midwives, where FHSS PhD student Preeti Mahato recently had her article accepted, is hosted in Pakistan by Aga Khan University through its institutional repository eCommons.  Publishing in this Open Access online journal is also free of charge.  In other words, Open Access publishing does not have to be expensive!

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

Undergraduate Research Assistantship Programme – staff application deadline this Sunday.

BU research, Funding opportunities, Research news, student research

The current round of applications for the Undergraduate Research Assistantship (URA) programme is closing on Sunday 25th October.

To apply for funding to recruit a URA, please email your application to urap@bournemouth.ac.uk

If you have any questions about the scheme, please contact Rachel Clarke, KE Adviser (KTP) on 01202 961347 or email clarker@bournemouth.ac.uk 

Vitae invites you to their first live online vitaechat in conjunction with International Open Access Week

BU research, open access, Publishing

Open Access 2015 blog banner 1

vitae invites you to join the first live online #vitaechat this Friday 23rd October between 1-2pm UK time, to coincide with the International Open Access Week.

Early career researchers need to be familiar with many forms of ‘open’ – from open access, to open data, to open education – but what does it mean to be a researcher in this open environment?

During this live Twitter chat, the host will lead participants through a discussion of the potential career benefits and opportunities associated with open research, as well as the steps researchers need to take to prepare themselves to be effective in an open research environment, both within an academic career and beyond.

JOIN THE LIVECHAT ON THE #VITAECHAT CHANNEL, 23 OCTOBER AT 1 PM (UK TIME)

Open Access Success Story #4

BU research, open access, Publishing

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The Faculty of Media and Communication Open Access Lunch and Networking event will take place today at 12noon, PG19 Lecture Theatre, at Poole House ground floor in Talbot.

Professor Tom Watson will share with the audience his experience of Open Access.

Professor Tom Watson has applied a range of open access methods in developing collaboration with international researchers, rapidly expanding scholarship in the history of public relations and for his own research. He is an active supporter of open access journals and conference proceedings, as well as placing most of his research publications on BURO and other online platforms. He will discuss the methods and share his experience about the pros and cons of the Green open access route.

 

Dynamics and Thresholds of Ecosystem Services in Wooded Landscapes website

BU research, Research communication

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Reaching the end of a research project is always a time of diligence. Though it is important to keep an eye on impact. It was in this light that the recent project spear-headed by Prof Adrian Newton invested resources updating its website ‘Dynamics and Thresholds of Ecosystem Services in Wooded Landscapes’.

The project aims to identify the form of the quantitative relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem functions and services at the landscape scale, as well as establishing whether there are critical levels of biodiversity that are required in wooded landscapes for provision of such services.

The site features an outline of the study area, to methods including long-term modelling techniques. It is envisaged this will aid impact of the project. Any questions regarding the site can be addressed to Research Technician and Postgraduate Researcher Arjan Gosal.

Open Access Success Story #3

BU research, open access, Publishing

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The Faculty of Health and Social Sciences Open Access Lunch and Networking event will take place today at 12noon, EB206, the Executive Business Centre, in Lansdowne.

Dr. Carol Bond will share with the audience her experience of open access from the perspective of somebody who publishes with open access journals; as well as from the perspective of somebody who edits for the Journal of Innovation in Health Informatics and Journal of Medical Internet Research, both of which are open access journals.

To find out more about Dr. Carol Bond and her research, please visit this link – http://staffprofiles.bournemouth.ac.uk/display/cbond

Reminder for the 03/11/15 Research Professional visit – Book in now!

BU research, Funding opportunities, Research communication, Research news, Research Training

Research-Professional-logoAttend our Research Professional visit taking place on the 3rd Nov and get expert help with setting up your personal account and searches!

Every BU academic has a Research Professional account which delivers weekly emails detailing funding opportunities in their broad subject area. Jordan Graham from Research Professional is visiting BU on the 3rd of November 2015 to demonstrate to academics and staff how to make the most of their Research Professional account.

This will include:

  • Building searches
  • Setting personalised alerts
  • Saving and bookmarking items
  • Subscribing to news alerts
  • Configuring your personal profile

Location and the session timings are:

Talbot campus P424

10.15 – 11.15 – Research Professional presentation

11.15 – 11.45 – RKEO interactive session setting up searches

Lansdowne campus S103

13.30 – 14.30 – Research Professional presentation

14.30 – 15.00 – RKEO interactive session setting up searches

After the presentation, the RKEO Funding Development Team will be on hand for an interactive session where they will help you set up your Research Professional account, searches and offer advice from a BU perspective.

This is a great opportunity to learn more about funding opportunities and to meet the Funding Development Team, particularly if you are new to BU.

Please reserve your place now at a BU Campus to suit through Organisational Development.

Open Access Success Story #2

BU research, open access, Publishing

Open Access 2015 blog banner 1

The Faculty of Science and Technology Open Access Lunch and Networking event will take place today at 12noon, Shelly Lecture Theatre, at Poole House ground floor in Talbot.

In conjunction with the International Open Access week, Dr. Zulfiqar Khan shares his experience of Open Access.

Dr Zulfiqar Khan has led the University Sustainable Design Research Centre (now cluster) since 2007. The centre has grown its research and professional practice portfolio with significant international collaborations.

SDRC received its REF14 Panel Feedback as, “Sustainable Design Research Group had the highest proportion of outputs judged to be internationally excellent”. He is current lead/champion of REF 2020 UoA 12.

SDRC currently has thirteen PGRs (3 to be recruited soon), two postdoctoral research assistants (one to be recruited soon), three visiting professors, five visiting fellows and twelve academic staff. Majority of research is externally funded/match funded. Some of major funders include Ministry of Defence, Schaeffler, Future Energy Source ltd, National University of Science & Technology, SKF and WIT etc. for more information please visit SDRC.

Dr Zulfiqar Khan has established a significant research portfolio in corrosion, corrosion condition monitoring & simulation in collaboration with The Tank Museum and Ministry of Defence.

Recent publications from current research have been published in open access. Open access provides an opportunity of making research findings available to a wider audience especially those who do not necessarily subscribe to the journal itself or the database which include (the) specific journal(s).

HEFCE sets out post 2014 REF open access policy as, that in order for certain research to be eligible for submission to REF, their outputs should be made open access. There are several identified routes, e.g. gold open access or uploading to institutional repository where the material should be freely available for downloading or reading for anyone with an internet access. The output should also be easily discoverable.

The open access also works as a PR vehicle for research activity. Dr Zulfiqar Khan and his PhD student (Hammad Nazir) recently published in the Journal of Adhesion Science & Technology, Taylor & Francis, an SCI indexed journal. Taylor & Francis publish a list of twenty most read articles. Majority of top twenty most read publications are available since 2012. A recent paper which was published through the open access route entitled “Modelling of metal-coating delamination incorporating variable environmental parameters” is now the top most read paper in the list with 1620 views/downloads. This paper was available since December 2014.

Similarly “Optimisation of interface roughness and coating thickness to maximise coating–substrate adhesion – a failure prediction and reliability assessment modelling” was available since April 2015, has made it to the top most read publications with 586 views/downloads and is placed 8th (dated 18/09/2015).

While a third, recently published paper “A unified mathematical modelling and simulation for cathodic blistering mechanism incorporating diffusion and fracture mechanics concepts” which was available from Mar 2015 is now the 12th (dated 18/09/2015) most read publication with 496 views/downloads.

Dr Zulfiqar Khan said, that open access is an efficient vehicle to make our research outputs more widely available to bring significant benefits in terms academic, industrial and societal impacts.

 

Open Access Success Story #1

BU research, open access, Publishing

Open Access 2015 blog banner 1

The Faculty of Management Open Access Lunch and Networking event will take place today at 12noon, EB708, at the Executive Business Centre in Lansdowne.

Dr. Fabian Homberg will share with the audience his experience of Open Access especially in dealing with various publishers, his personal thoughts on advantages of open access and the long term sustainability of open access publishing.

 

I am back – Kaska Musial-Gabrys

BU research, Uncategorized

K Musial-GabrysOver a month has passed since I re-joined Bournemouth University. As some of you may remember, I first joined BU in 2010 but then went to King’s College London for almost four years. Now I am back in my new role of Principal Academic in Computing (what a mystery that job title is!). Living at the sea side cannot be overrated!

Main areas of my research are complex networked systems, and analysis of their dynamics and evolution, as well as predictive, adaptive modelling of networked systems. I have recently started research in a new direction – the application of machine learning approaches to networked, dynamical systems. So, if you have some data for analysis, please keep in touch.

As for my experience, I received my MSc in Computer Science from Wroclaw University of Technology (WrUT), Poland, and an MSc in Software Engineering from the Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden, both in 2006. I was awarded my PhD in November 2009 from WrUT, and in the same year I was appointed a Senior Visiting Research Fellow at Bournemouth University (BU), where from 2010 I was a Lecturer in Informatics. I joined King’s College London in November 2011 as a Lecturer in Computer Science and I worked there till the end of August 2015. At Bournemouth I work in the Faculty of Science and Technology and together with my colleagues we try to develop Data Science Institute that is a cross-disciplinary initiative at BU.

I hope that I will be able to meet you in the future, maybe over a cup of coffee? Please do let me know if you think that my research work may be relevant to what you do.

Best,
Kaska

Conference on Citizenship and Education – 3 November

BU research, international, Research communication

In association with the British Sociological Association, BU is hosting the conference “Citizenship and Education“. The event will take place in Bournemouth House on the 3rd of November, and is organized by the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences.

The program includes a Policy and Politics: Citizenship and Neo-Liberalism panel, and sessions on Comparative Contexts, “Britishness” and Faith, Faith and “Cohesion” and Policy Processes and Relations where experts from around the world will present and discuss their most recent results. Dr Bridget Byrne and Professor David James will open and conclude the event with keynote speeches.

The complete program is available here.

For more information or to book to attend the conference, please visit the British Sociological Association website.

02/11/15 Reminder for our next- European IPR Helpdesk Webinar

BU research, EU, Funding opportunities, Info Days, Research Training

European IPR webinarsThe European IPR Helpdesk is running a number of webinars over the next few months and RKEO are promoting those relevant to EU Horizon 2020 activities. Coming up we are holding the following webinar events:

02/11/15 IP Management in H2020 – with a special focus on MSCA Casterbridge – Talbot Campus

02/12/15 Impact and Innovation in H2020 – a Guide for Proposers The Octagon – Talbot Campus

16/12/15 Maximising the impact of H2020 projects B325 – Bournemouth House – Lansdowne Campus

Please arrive at 9:15am for a prompt 9:30 start with the webinar duration being one hour (45 minutes presentation with 15 minutes for questions). We have the room booked for a longer time so that we can have a post-webinar discussion afterwards, if appropriate. Please only register on the European IPR Helpdesk link if you will be joining the webinar(s) from your own desk rather than joining us. You can also check the European IPR Helpdesk Calendar for all their events.

If you would like to attend any of these, please email Dianne Goodman stating which webinars you will attend. If they prove very popular, we may need to change the room, so pre-booking is essential.