Category / BU research

Workshop on Falls (Older People) 01/10/15 – Purpose to develop multidisciplinary bids!

BU research, Funding opportunities, Research Training

diagram fallsFrom recent discussions with BU colleagues it is clear that many staff across all four BU faculties are involved in research and practice that is connected to the prevention and reduction of falls occurring in the older population.

It is also recognised that communications between BU researchers in this subject area can be greatly improved and cross faculty, multi-disciplinary bids developed to meet future research challenges (RCUK and European Horizon 2020, UK Charities etc) and the improvement of falls services provided by the NHS.

RKEO is organising a 1 day Catalyst Workshop on Falls (older people) to be held on the 01/10/15 in the Executive Business Centre (EBC), Lansdowne. The workshop will be facilitated by an external company Knowinnovation.  This workshop is open to ALL BU academics whose research could be applied to falls, indeed emphasis is now on recruiting non-medical related academics to the workshop, to grow the multi-disciplinary content of future bids.

If you think that your research can add to a multidisciplinary approach and you are able to attend the full day workshop then please contact Mike Board or Dianne Goodman or Emily Cieciura for further information and book your place (dependent on remaining spaces!).

Research Toolkit holds a wealth of guidance

BU research, Guidance

The RKEO team aim to provide you with tools to writing a successful application.  As part of this, you can find all sorts of information in the Research Toolkit on this blog.  Just look up to the top-right hand corner of the blog and you will see the link on the menu bar.

research toolkit

As well as specific guidance on writing sections of research council applications, there is also advice in the form of quick guides for various activities, access to concordat information, as well as advice on ethics and outputs.  Do explore what is available to you and let us know if there is anything else that you would like to see included.

 

 

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

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

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.

sexualities in the social world

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.

ASA Eric Kleinenberg       ASA Keynote Modern Romanceaziz

 

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.

ASA Presidential addressASA Internet Dating

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

NIHR Research Design Service Grant Applications Workshop – now accepting applications

BU research

Are you thinking of applying for a research grant?

Would you like guidance on improving your chances of success at getting funded?

The Grant Applications Workshop, run by the RDS South West, is directed at researchers who are considering applying to peer-reviewed funding competitions for applied health or social care research and is designed to help you make your application as persuasive as possible. This free one-day workshop will next be held on Wednesday 4 November 2015 at Taunton Racecourse, Somerset.

The deadline for receipt of completed application forms and research proposals is 1pm Monday 5 October 2015. To find out more about the workshop and the application process visit their website, or contact them on rds.sw@nihr.ac.uk or 01823 342792.

Don’t forget, your local branch of the Research Design Service is based within the BU Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) on the 5th floor of Royal London House. Feel free to pop in and see us or send us an email.

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

BU research, Research Ethics, Research news

emily Emily Rosenorn-Lanng Research Assistant

FullSizeRender Rebecca Johnson Research Assistant

FullSizeRender[1] 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.

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To what extent is it a problem?

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

NERC update to submission rules

BU research, Funding opportunities, Guidance

Following feedback from the community NERC have strengthened the guidance on their submission rules. Please refer to the NERC website for more details.  In addition the research grants and fellowships handbook has also been updated.nerc-logo-50th

Please note that these rules will apply for all future closing dates including the forthcoming Highlight Topic, Independent Research Fellowship and Large Grant closing dates. This includes international calls where applicants might be based at an overseas organisation, so Principal Investigators should ensure that all component proposals are aware and meeting the requirements.

The main changes are:

Applicants to a standard, large or knowledge exchange grant call may submit up to one proposal as the Principal or as a Co-Investigator, and one further proposal as a non-lead Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator. Involvement of a UK investigator in a submission to NSF (under the NSF-NERC Lead Agency agreement) counts as a submission as non-lead PI/Co-I to the July NERC standard grant round.  However, the submission rules are also in line with the demand management cap on institutional submission numbers to the standard grant rounds and so you must contact the RKEO Funding Development Team if you are considering applying to this NERC call.

Large grant proposals will only be accepted if an outline proposal has previously been submitted and invited to proceed to the full proposal stage.

There is further information on the NERC website confirming submission deadlines, proposal attachments, font sizes and margins.

New journal RIO to publish research proposals

BU research

Research Ideas & Outcomes (RIO) is the latest scholarly journal seeking to fix the broken scientific publishing system. It has been created specifically to enable and encourage the entire research cycle to be published, including research proposals and ideas.

RIO journal will be open for submissions for any and all parts of your research cycle from 1st November 2015. Official Website: http://riojournal.com/ Twitter: @RIOJournal

This post originally appeared on the LSE Impact Blog. See here for the full post and more information on the RIO Journal.

BU academic awarded international collaborative research grant from the International Olympic Committee (IOC)

BU research

Dr Richard Shipway from the Department of Sport and Physical Activity in the Faculty of Management at Bournemouth University is part of an international collaborative research team that was recently awarded a highly prestigious IOC (International Olympic Committee) Advanced Olympic Research Grant to complete a project evaluating the volunteering infrastructure legacy of two previous Olympic Games, in Sydney 2000 and London 2012 respectively.

In only the second edition of the Advanced Olympic Research Grant Programme, for 2015/2016, the IOC Olympic Studies Centre (OSC) based in Lausanne, Switzerland selected seven research projects, based on their academic quality and significance with respect to the IOC priority fields of research. The main objective of the Advanced Olympic Research Grant Programme is to promote advanced research by established researchers with a humanities or social sciences perspective in priority fields of research, which are identified annually by the IOC. For this round of applications, 41 individual and collective candidature files were submitted from 25 countries, covering all the priority research themes proposed by the IOC.

The successful research team for this project comprises Leonie LOCKSTONE (Victoria University – Australia), Kristen  HOLMES (Curtin University – Australia), Karen SMITH (Victoria University of Wellington – New Zealand) and Richard SHIPWAY (Bournemouth University – UK). The project is entitled Evaluating the volunteering infrastructure legacy of the Olympic Games: Sydney 2000 and London 2012

The project commences in September 2015 and the results of the research must be submitted to the IOC Olympic Studies Centre in June 2016. For further information on either this project or other Olympic and International Sports Events related research at Bournemouth University, please contact Dr Richard Shipway at rshipway@bournemouth.ac.uk

Research Professional – all you need to know

BU research, Funding opportunities

Research-Professional-logoEvery BU academic has a Research Professional account which delivers weekly emails detailing funding opportunities in their broad subject area. To really make the most of your Research Professional account, you should tailor it further by establishing additional alerts based on your specific area of expertise. The Funding Development Team Officers can assist you with this, if required.

Research Professional have created several guides to help introduce users to ResearchProfessional. These can be downloaded here.

Quick Start Guide: Explains to users their first steps with the website, from creating an account to searching for content and setting up email alerts, all in the space of a single page.

User Guide: More detailed information covering all the key aspects of using ResearchProfessional.

Administrator Guide: A detailed description of the administrator functionality.

In addition to the above, there are a set of 2-3 minute videos online, designed to take a user through all the key features of ResearchProfessional. To access the videos, please use the following link: http://www.youtube.com/researchprofessional

Research Professional are running a series of online training broadcasts aimed at introducing users to the basics of creating and configuring their accounts on ResearchProfessional. They are holding monthly sessions, covering everything you need to get started with ResearchProfessional. The broadcast sessions will run for no more than 60 minutes, with the opportunity to ask questions via text chat. Each session will cover:

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

Each session will run between 10.00am and 11.00am (UK) on the fourth Tuesday of each month. You can register here for your preferred date:

22nd September 2015

27th October 2015

24th November 2015

26th January 2016

23rd February 2016

22nd March 2016

26th April 2016

24th May 2016

28th June 2016

These are free and comprehensive training sessions and so this is a good opportunity to get to grips with how Research Professional can work for you.

Fusion Investment Fund – Experience and socialisation in the events sector

BU research

Events have been a rapidly developing field of study in recent years, and a growing body of knowledge is consolidating around Event Management. This is a field where BU is a leading university both in terms of education and research.

Although many economic impact studies have been conducted on events, many other related areas of knowledge lack in-depth understanding. Both from the professional field and from academia, there is a clear need to better understand the experiential and sociological dimensions of events. This will allow for improved practices in the field, increasing competitiveness on the long-term.   Although experiential aspects of events are embedded in recent curricula, such as in the Events Management course at BU, the need to provide (future) professionals with update know-how is a pressing matter.

For more information about this project, please contact Lénia Marques (lmarques@bournemouth.ac.uk).

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

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).

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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

Building Roman Britain

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research

Photo_Fabric 2The Department of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Sciences is about to start a new project that uses a non-destructive method to examine museum specimens in order to determine their possible source.

The project will examine the stone and ceramic (brick and tile) industries of Roman Britain using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) to help us identify where the quarries and tile kilns were located. This work forms the centrepiece of a knowledge exchange network with two leading museums in southern Britain (Roman Bath Museum and Fishbourne Palace Museum) who will use our results in innovative interpretations, including new displays and museum learning centres. This will ensure maximum added value to blue-sky research that will quickly feed back into public engagement with science and technology. It is funded by a recently awarded HEIF5+1 grant.

The research supports knowledge exchange activity with SMEs by building on links established by BU over many years with archaeological museums in southern Britain. Museums are a vital component of our local economy. For instance, Roman Bath Museum attracts over 1 million visitors per annum, making it one of the most popular museums outside London. Its importance not only to Bath but to the wider regional economy is well recognised. But museums must constantly renew themselves and offer an exciting educational package to visitors of all ages, hence the Museum Association has made collaborations between universities and museums one of its key priorities, and as such this project should be seen as a model of best practice.

While XRF has been used for some time in archaeology, the recent development of portable XRF has added a whole new dimension. We no longer have to bring samples to the lab, but the lab can come to the museum, examining stone and ceramic samples that are on display. The Dept of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Sciences is at the leading edge of this development and has already made a reputation using pXRF on archaeological soils, metals and for forensic analyses. However, work by science-based archaeology departments into Roman building material (i.e. limestones in this case) and ceramic building material has been limited. This is therefore an opportunity to work up a methodology and to apply it to the early Roman settlement of Britain. Questions about how and where production (both quarrying and kiln-works) was organised can be addressed once answers to questions about the location of these production centres have been examined. This has impact beyond Roman Bath and Roman Fishbourne, as it has implications for the concept of ‘Romanisation’ of Britannia in the early years of the Roman Conquest of Britain.

For further details, please contact Professor Mark Brisbane.

Matt Bentley’s Fusion Fund Research – South Africa Final Update

BU research, Featured, Featured academics, Fusion, student research, Uncategorized

Daniel and Lee

The 2015 Fusion Fund research project has now come to an end. The last few months saw two BU students, Daniel Wirepa and Claudia O’Sullivan travel to Stellenbosch to undertake the research project examining the development of a novel slow-release technology for application in the treatment of pest infestations in the abalone aquaculture industry. Unfortunately, Claudia had to return to the UK in June for personal reasons but Daniel stayed working in Carol Simon’s labs alongside Lee, one of her research students.

 

Worm Culture Room

Daniel was working on the incorporation of a natural toxin, produced by microscopic algae, into a gel which acts to keep the toxin where it is required to act on the larvae of a shell-boring pest. The shell borer is a small marine worm that causes damage to the shells of cultured abalone (see previous blogs).

 

Bioassay

This pilot study will form the basis for a future research studentship which will link Bournemouth University, Stellenbosch University in South Africa and one of the world’s leading abalone farms in Hermanus, Abagold Pty, Ltd. The outputs of the research will be presented at next year’s International Polychaete Conference in Cardiff with Daniel as a co-author.

Introducing Rebecca Johnson: PQSW Research Assistant

BU research, Research news, staff profile pages

FullSizeRenderI have joined Bournemouth University as a Research Assistant for the National Centre of Post-Qualifying Social Work and Professional Practice. The Centre is very dynamic and has a wide range of interesting projects and professional development programmes to engage with. I am looking forward to becoming involved with research into financial scamming and mass marketing fraud.

I founded my research background with a Human and Physical Geography degree in which I was able to work with NASA’s Environment and Energy team on research into the economic and environmental impact of launching the space shuttle. I have previously worked in both the public and private sectors in public consultation and communication roles. Most recently I worked with Exeter International Airport as an Air Traffic Control Assistant, an intense role which has left me with a personal interest in aircraft; particularly those that are fast and red.

Outside of work I like to travel, principally North America, and keep active with running and dance. I have an interest in World War 2 history and take part in living history events in the UK and in France. After my second week I am enjoying life as a member of the University and am keen to embrace all that it offers.