The Statistical Research Centre at Bournemouth University (BU) and the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC) in Brazil have an MoU for research collaboration, knowledge exchange and student exchange. The MoU was a product of the connection established between BU’s world renowned experts in Singular Spectrum Analysis; Dr. Hossein Hassani and Dr. Mansi Ghodsi, and PUC’s world renowned researcher in utility forecasting Prof. Reinaldo Castro Souza. The team from BU which involves Dr. Hassani, Dr. Ghodsi and their PhD student, Emmanuel Sirimal Silva is involved in an ongoing Brazilian national project which has been outsourced to PUC under the care of Prof. Souza. The project aims at producing 5-year-monthly scenarios for artificial natural energy (water available for hydroelectricity generation) in Brazil where 70% of the electricity relies solely on hydro power plants which in turn are largely dependent on rainfall. Given the high volatility and uncertainty associated with the problem, it is not viable to generate a single forecast in this case. Instead the problem requires a more complex approach which is where BU’s expertise in the time series analysis and forecasting method of Singular Spectrum Analysis comes into play. The project relies on Singular Spectrum Analysis for decomposing Brazil’s artificial natural energy and extracting the signal and noise for each of the four Brazilian sub-systems. The team from BU and PUC have exchanged several visits including a research stay of Emmanuel in Rio de Janeiro, whereby there has been considerable knowledge exchange via workshops and research collaboration. Professors Souza and Cyrino were in Bournemouth for a three-day visit to discuss developments and complications which required BU’s input. There was also an informal request to further engage with the BU team on a second Brazilian national project which could benefit from BU’s expertise in Singular Spectrum Analysis. The Head of the Accounting, Finance and Economics Department at BU, Prof. Jens Hӧlscher hosted the guests to exchange views on expanding the existing connection between the two Universities further in the future.
Category / BU research
Dragons’ Den a Roaring Success for BUCRU: ‘Now That’s What I Call Research!’
Last week the team from BUCRU hosted a Festival of Learning event to demonstrate their commitment to service user involvement in the research process. Using the BBC’s Dragons’ Den format, 4 local colleagues (Mr Bob Sangar, Dr Venky Dubey and Dr Neil Vaughan and Dr Steve Perring) showcased their research ideas to a panel of 5 dragons (who represented NHS service users) including Professor Ann Hemingway (HSS), Mark Mould (Chief Operating Officer, Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust) Peter Atkins (Carer and Service User Partnership, HSS), carer Eileen Hayward and service user Alan Lindsay. The event was expertly and humourously compered by Dave O’Loughlin from the HSS Mental Health Nursing team.
An audience of over 30 were entertained and informed about studying the best treatment for fractured ankles (Bob Sangar), a method for providing anaesthetists with the opportunity to practice siting obstetric epidurals (Venky Dubey and Neil Vaughan), and how the effect of cancer treatment on the central nervous system can be explored (Steve Perring). The afternoon was light hearted, fun and informative, with Peter Atkins kindly agreeing to be booted and plastered in the interests of science…
Audience participation resulted in Steve Perring’s project walking off with the dragons’ money, and Bob Sangar and Venky Dubey vowing to return next year for another bite of the cherry.
The Midwifery quilt online- URA scheme funded project
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
Newton Advanced Fellowships 2015 announced
The Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Academy and the Royal Society have announced the first round of recipients of their new research funding scheme, the Newton Advanced Fellowships. The scheme provides established international researchers with an opportunity to develop the research strengths and capabilities of their research groups through training, collaboration and reciprocal visits with a partner in the UK.
Researchers in Brazil, China, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey will collaborate with research partners in the UK. It is anticipated the skills and knowledge gained through these partnerships should lead to changes in the well-being of communities and increased economic benefits for partner countries. Partner agencies in participating countries are also offering their own schemes which UK researchers can apply for.
The recipients receive funding for diverse research projects which include studying the anthropogenic pollution effects on clouds in the Amazon; evaluating the role of youth employability programmes in South Africa; understanding how risk behaviour shapes foreign capital flows to Turkey; designing photocatalysts for solar fuels; working on child obesity in Mexico; examining the effects of affirmative action in college admission on social mobility in Brazil; and a study on antibiotic resistance.
See the full list of recipients and their areas of research via the webpage. Non-Russell Group recipients include Northumbria University, Heriot-Watt University, University of Greenwich and Edge Hill University.
Applications for the next round of Academy of Medical Sciences, Royal Society and British Academy Newton Advanced Fellowships closes on 16 September 2015. The Royal Society also has a LinkedIn group to facilitate finding partners.
If you intend to apply for a Newton Advanced Fellowship in this or future rounds, please contact Emily Cieciura as soon as possible.
Results of RKEO pre-award survey
The RKEO restructured in September 2014 and part of this was the newly formed Funding Development Team (FDT), who administer all things pre-award. As there was disruption to the team in the summer of 2014 and the majority of the team were new to RKEO (and some were new to BU), we recognised that our service levels needed improving. As a result, we have asked academics who have submitted applications to complete surveys so that we can seek to improve our service and have a way of monitoring this.
The last survey was run in June and the general response was positive and recognised that we were making great improvements. There were recommendations on what we could do further and we will take these forward. The academics were asked to score our performance on a variety of topics and the results are given below:
Scores on the doors (1 = poor and 5 = excellent)
Demonstrate a good knowledge of the funder/ client | 4.47 |
Have a good understanding of the bidding/ contract process – | 4.69 |
Generate the costings and explain how the costs were derived | 4.71 |
Demonstrate a high level of expertise | 4.47 |
Answer all of your questions | 4.63 |
Provide timely information | 4.38 |
Keep you informed of progress | 4.5 |
Respond quickly to your calls and emails | 4.35 |
Help you to submit your bid/proposal on time | 4.69 |
How would you rate the service provided by RKEO | 4.4 |
Overall, would you say that your expectations were met – | All said ‘yes’ |
Were you aware of the internal processes and timescales when applying for funding before you approached RKEO? | 13 out of 17 said yes |
These are great results which were also backed up with positive comments about our service. Some of these are given below:
General comments
‘Regarding RKEO I think the team works great; I can just say thank you very much and please keep it up. I do apologize for the time and complexity constraints which were out of my hands.’
‘When I was contacted by my colleagues I expected that it may be a bit complicated because the time frame was short, yet it was a unique chance I should not miss. I was concerned on that and I wasn’t sure if it would be possible at all in the end. Thanks to the RKEO team work, it was possible.’
‘We are really lucky to have colleagues here to help us in such a professional manner. Applying for funding can be really stressful so what you need is someone to guide you and explain the process to you. Jenny and Ehren were so good, I am indebted to them.’
‘Excellent – Jason was very professional and knowledgeable’
‘Considerable improvement over the last nine months.’
‘ (A score of) 5 what else? They were there for me and couldn’t ask for more.‘
‘As a result of this experience of submitting a bid (and particularly because of the support offered by RKEO) I definitely feel more confident about submitting larger bids in the future. I’ve seen how much support RKEO will be able to give me.’
Timeframe for processing applications comments:
‘It was processed much quicker than I expected and the RKEO team work, in particular the work of Ms Kerri Jones was great; not only met my expectations but exceeded them by large margins. If the submission was successful it is primarily thanks to her.’
‘Extremely quickly – it exceeded my expectations. I’d left everything to the last minute (I’d almost decided not to bother bidding) but Ehren was able to process my application extremely quickly to enable me to meet the deadline.’
‘It has been great and grateful that Dianne and her colleagues helped out with very short notice and handled the requests in a professional and efficient manner.‘
This feedback helps the team to know that what they are doing is appreciated and worthwhile and we thank the academics for their support and recognition. We don’t rest on our laurels though and we will be making changes to the process over the summer. These will aim to speed up the process and ensure that procedures are clearer. More information will follow on this and so watch this space.
Improving Nepali’s health & social care in the UK: Presentation of key findings 22 July at BU
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
Festival of Learning event demonstrates pilot Seen But Seldom heard e learning tool
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 Seldom Heard project
Have you checked out the interactive Research Lifecycle diagram yet?
If you haven’t then you most definitely should! Our Research Lifecycle diagram is a jazzy new interactive part of the BU Research Blog that shows the support and initiatives that are available to staff and students at each stage of the research lifecycle. The information is general enough so as to apply to all disciplines and you can use it to organize and identify the many activities involved in your research. You can explore the Research Lifecycle to find information on how to get started with:
1. Developing your research strategy
2. Developing your proposal
3. The research process
4. Publication and dissemination
5. Impact
RKEO will be adding to the Research Lifecycle to ensure it always contains the most up to date information to support you with planning, organising and undertaking your research.
You can access the diagram from the links in this post or from the menu bar that appears on all screens in the Research Blog.
Know a SME who is looking to boost their Cyber Security? The Government is willing to help – up to £5000 is available!
A new scheme to protect small businesses from cyber-attacks was announced by the Government last week.
Speaking at the Reform “Cyber Security: assurance, resilience, response” conference in London, Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey has outlined how a new voucher scheme designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) will launch later this month.
The launch of the voucher scheme is part of a package of initiatives designed to increase the resilience of UK businesses to cyber-attacks. The package also includes a new online learning and careers hub to help ensure the UK has the cyber skills talent pool to protect both the public and private sectors as we face the reality of increasing cyber threats.
The new UK £1m cyber security innovation vouchers scheme will offer micro, small and medium sized businesses up to £5,000 for specialist advice to boost their cyber security and protect new business ideas and intellectual property. The scheme will be overseen by the Government’s innovation experts at Innovate UK.
As well as helping protect businesses from cyber-attacks, the vouchers enable firms to access services from the UK cyber security industry. This new scheme will also help businesses to adopt Cyber Essentials, Government’s flagship scheme to protect businesses online.
The UK cyber security industry is strong and growing – worth £17.6bn and employs over 40,000 people – but more skilled people are needed to help protect the nation as the UK goes digital and adopts new technologies.
For more information on how to apply, contact the Bournemouth University Cyber Security Unit on 01202 962 557 or email us at bucsu@bournemouth.ac.uk.
The full text of this article can be found here.
FoL event What can eye-tracking tell us about reading, writing and dyslexia?
Julie Kirkby and her team of PhD students delivered an interesting lecture combined with demonstrations for which the audience participated.
Using eye-tracking technology as ‘a window to the mind’, this allowed us to see the developmental differences of children with and without dyslexia. It was interesting to know that when reading we only take in (fovea) around eight letters, whereas our peripheral vision (parafovea) can take in around 15 letters. There are also linguistic influences on our eye movements, such as how many letters, how often the word is read, and how much a word is expected. If comprehension breaks down then our eye movements are directed back to previously read text. Some, but not all, dyslexic people will have difficulty associating letters with speech sounds. Also, some will have ‘visual attention deficit’.
We had two demonstrations. The first was eye-linking to see where the eye looks when we’re reading. The second was the mobile (Dikablis) eye-tracker which demonstrates how we encode and produce information and how information can be forgotten in between. We were informed that it’s a myth that dyslexic children can’t copy from class boards. Reading ability affects the working memory and vice versa. There was a lot of great research shared and it was an engaging afternoon.
If you are interested in this then you may be interested in similar events going on tomorrow. These include Media literacy in secondary schools taking place at 12.30pm and Third space digital learning in Dorset schools taking place at 3.30pm.
Research Around Ageing and Later Life.
Michele Board (HSS), Laura Reynolds and Sophie Bushell (BUDI) recently attended the BSG annual conference in Newcastle, 1st to 3rd July 2015.
Michele presented two papers from her PhD thesis, on the ‘Five Senses of Home Framework’, and ‘A Qualitative Approach to explore the meaning of Home for Six Baby Boomers’. Given the current debate around housing the presentations were topical leading to a good discussion on the importance of home and participatory research.
Laura Reynolds (BUDI Research Assistant) hosting one oral presentation (‘The BUDI Orchestra: evaluation of a novel music initiative for people with dementia and their carers’), and BUDI PhD student, Sophie Bushell, disseminating her research ‘Promoting well-being for residents with dementia living in a purpose built care environment’ via poster presentation.
Laura says:
“I couldn’t have asked for a better conference to present at for the first time, and I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to do so. It was insightful to see other institutions’ research and to share ideas with like-minded people from across the globe.”
The British Society of Gerontology was established in 1971. It provides a multidisciplinary forum for researchers and other individuals interested in the situations of older people, and in how knowledge about ageing and later life can be enhanced and improved. The annual conference is friendly and exciting and an excellent forum to disseminate current research about older people.
I think BU has a great deal to contribute to research about older people from across the University and I would recommend looking at the BSG website and consider becoming a member. http://www.britishgerontology.org/about-bsg.html
Next year’s BSG conference is in Stirling, if you’re interested in putting together an interdisciplinary symposium for the conference let Michele know it would be great to have a larger BU presence! Conference themes next year include, Health and Social Care, Quality of Life, Technology, Environment and Housing, Relationships and Intergenerational Work and Dementia.
It would be good to be able to host the BSG conference in a few years’ time!! If you are interested in research, practice, education about older people and would like to get together over a coffee do please get in contact with Michele Board, Senior Lecturer Nursing Older People, Joint programme lead BA/MA Care of the Older person, HSS. mboard@bournemouth.ac.uk
Prof. Judy Wajcman LSE speaking this evening in FoL
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
From Stour Valley to Silicon Valley-Dr. Dinusha Mendis on Research Leave in Stanford University California
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.
Introducing Jo George, Undergraduate Research Assistant
Hello, I will be working within the Health and Social Sciences Faculty with Impact Champion, Zoe Sheppard, over the next six weeks on the endeavour to monitor and measure the impact of research.
My work will involve:
- Exploring methods of dissemination
- Conducting literature searches to investigate the demonstration of impact
- Working on two research case studies from the Health and Social Social Sciences Faculty
I can be found in R613 and contacted at jgeorge@bournemouth.ac.uk if you have any ideas or challenges you’d like to discuss. I will be sharing my findings towards the end of my six weeks here.
I look forward to meeting you,
Jo
Support and Celebrate our Research Success at the FoL – come along!
Support and Celebrate our Research Success at the FoL – come along!
We would love to see you at our Drop-in event ‘Research Reflections’ on the 16 July – feel free to attend for a session or two, or the whole day. Come along and hear about the huge range of Research taking place across the University, and support your fellow academics talking about their Research.
When: Taking place on Thursday the 16th of JULY in The Coyne Lecture Theatre in the Thomas Hardy Suite from 10am – 4pm.
Book now
Our confirmed speakers include:
10am Heather Hartwell, discussing the VeggiEAT project
10.40am Jamie Matthews discussing the international news coverage of the Japanese earthquake and consequent tsunami
10.55am Helen Farasat discussing her research with parents of children with eczema
11.10am Arjan Gosal – losing sight of trees for the honey
11.45am Angie Gosling
12.00 midday Sine McDougall on participating in Research
12.15pm Yeganeh Morakabati will speak about her experiences of teaching in Afghanistan
12:30pm Dan Weissmann, Anna Feigenbaum, Dan Jackson and Einar Thorsen exploring challenges that arise when working with data that is hidden, sensitive or obscured
12:45pm Elizabeth Rosser discussing her Marie Curie experiences
1.00pm Lunch
1.45pm Neil Vaughan, discussing his research into developing an epidural simulator
2.00pm Ashley Woodfall reflecting on the core conceptual struggle with a recently completed research project with children and those that make media for children
2.15pm Fabian Homberg will be observing and explaining petty corruption: An analysis of the “$20 sandwich trick”
3.00pm Carrie Hodges, Lee-Ann Fenge and Wendy Cutts speaking about their project which focuses on young people with disabilities.
3.15pm James Gavin will talk about his project looking at whether technology can be used to increase strength and balance in older adults
More speakers to be confirmed – please check our Blog posts for updates!
Fusing news and views on fish genetics and population restoration
We reported recently on this blog that work on our fusion-funded co-creation and co-production project on fish population restoration was progressing strongly in July. Yesterday, we held our workshop to disseminate our initial findings and discuss their implications with a wide range of external stakeholders.
Held at the Environment Agency’s National Fisheries Technical Centre in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, the 30 participants included representatives from the Environment Agency, Angling Trust, Rivers Trusts, Natural England and Barbel Society. We presented our very recent and on-going data analyses on the genetic structure of fish populations in the UK that are being completed at the moment by our FiF funded project students at the University of Insubria, Italy. Their work is proving to be fascinating, revealing unexpectedly strong genetic patterns at the river catchment level that we suggest require preserving in an era where habitat loss and fish stocking activities are having major impacts on the genetic integrity of many fish populations.
The workshop also included presentations from other relevant BU projects and by a number of the external participants, and concluded with open discussions on how our work could be driven forward through increased utilization of co-creation and co-production opportunities across the different stakeholder groups.
Some workshop participants: (clockwise, starting front left) Rob Britton (BU), Pete Reading (Barbel Society), Martin Salter (Angling Trust), Nigel Hewlett (Environment Agency) and Karen Twine (Environment Agency).
Adrian Pinder of BU presenting work on the importance of larval fish in understanding fish population restoration.
Overall, the workshop was a fantastic opportunity to showcase our Fusion funded work and has provided us with great feedback from a range of end users on how to build on this excellent Fusion investment Fund project.
FoL event A conversation about Climate Change
Pippa Gillingham, John Stewart, Andy Ford, Einar Thorsen and Shelley Thompson led a lively ‘conversation’ about climate change in a well-attended event on Tuesday. The audience led the discussion and there were many topics covered.
These focused on how some species are effected, how and when the media engage with the subject, and what impact do scientists have in reporting on climate change. Pippa described how species move out of protected areas and what impact that has. Einar asked how do you connect ordinary people with the research taking place. Andy explained that humans strive to increase quality of life but there is a disconnect from the consequences of ones actions. Shelley added that we are exceptional at rationalising our behaviour. John debated with the audience the role of the academic in remaining impartial and being a describer, an observer and being objective.
Other events that may interest you are ‘Recycling cooking oil’ at 12.30pm and ‘Earthenders: A global soap opera’ at 6pm both on Wednesday.
Support and Celebrate our Research Success at the FoL – come along!
We would love to see you at our Drop-in event ‘Research Reflections’ on the 16 July – feel free to attend for a session or two, or the whole day. Come along and hear about the huge range of Research taking place across the University, and support your fellow academics talking about their Research.
When: Taking place on Thursday the 16th of JULY in The Coyne Lecture Theatre in the Thomas Hardy Suite from 10am – 4pm.
Book now
Our confirmed speakers include:
10am Heather Hartwell, discussing the VeggiEAT project
10.40am Jamie Matthews discussing the international news coverage of the Japanese earthquake and consequent tsunami
10.55am Helen Farasat discussing her research with parents of children with eczema
11.45am Sine McDougall on participating in Research
12.15pm Yeganeh Morakabati will speak about her experiences of teaching in Afghanistan
12:30pm Dan Weissmann, Anna Feigenbaum, Dan Jackson and Einar Thorsen exploring challenges that arise when working with data that is hidden, sensitive or obscured
12:45pm Elizabeth Rosser discussing her Marie Curie experiences
1.00pm Lunch
1.45pm Neil Vaughan, discussing his research into developing an epidural simulator
2.00pm Ashley Woodfall reflecting on the core conceptual struggle with a recently completed research project with children and those that make media for children
2.15pm Fabian Homberg will be observing and explaining petty corruption: An analysis of the “$20 sandwich trick”
3.00pm Carrie Hodges, Lee-Ann Fenge and Wendy Cutts speaking about their project which focuses on young people with disabilities.
3.15pm James Gavin will talk about his project looking at whether technology can be used to increase strength and balance in older adults
More speakers to be confirmed – please check our Blog posts for updates!