Category / BU research

Brush up yer BRIAN

BRIANRKEO will be delivering some ‘Brush up yer BRIAN’ training on 19th June 2014 1pm for Media School staff and students. The session will cover:

  • What is BRIAN and why is it important
  • How to set up and maintain your BRIAN profile
  • How to ensure your details are correct
  • How to request a photo is uploaded
  • How BRIAN links to your external staff profile
  • How BRIAN data is used towards BUs KPIs

 To book on please register here.

International Early Labour Research Group – 2014 meeting

Photo (L to R): Mechthild Gross (Germany), Marie Nott (UK), Tine Eri (Norway), Helen Spiby (UK)., Viola Nyman (Sweden), Vanora Hundley (UK), Patti Janssen (Canada), Mary-Ann Davey (Australia).

Researchers from across the globe met in Prague recently to discuss early labour research and to plan an international collaborative study. The group has been meeting regularly since 2008 and produced a number of collaborative papers, including a special issue of Midwifery dedicated to early labour and guest edited by two of the team. The meeting was timely given the recent ACOG guideline, related to re-framing established labour at 6cm cervical dilatation.

Presentations included:

  • Meta-synthesis on women’s experiences of early labour – Tine Eri (Vestfold University College, Norway)
  • Clinical midwives and early labour – Viola Nyman (University of Gotherberg, Sweden)
  • Role of media and women’s behaviours in early labour – Vanora Hundley (Bournemouth University, UK) also on behalf of Helen Cheyne (University of Stirling, UK)
  • Early labour triage service on the experiences of women, partners and midwives – Marie Nott (University of Southampton, UK)
  • Scoping Review of definitions of early labour onset and validation of the prediction tool – Patti Janssen  (University of British Colombia, Canada) 
  • Women’s perceptions of pre-hospital labour duration – Patti Janssen  (University of British Colombia, Canada) 

Opportunities for future collaboration were discussed and projects were identified that could involve a number of settings.  The potential for a fit with European Union funding will be explored.  Virtual collaboration will continue with the next face to face meeting to be held at Grange-over-Sands, immediately prior to the Normal Birth Conference 2015.

BU Learning and Teaching Fellowship Awards now open

We are pleased to announce the opportunity to apply for the new BU Learning and Teaching Fellowship (BU L&TF) Awards is now open.

These fellowships are an opportunity to recognise staff achievements by rewarding excellence, providing support to colleagues interested in becoming National Teaching Fellows as well as acknowledging individuals who are providing an exceptional and innovative student experience,  underpinned by research and professional practice.

For more information about the Fellowships or to apply for these awards, please head to Centre for Excellence in Learning website.  The closing date for applications is Monday 21 July.

Changing diet and exercise, offering men-only groups, and humour may be the recipe for tackling male obesity

Fewer men join weight loss programmes but are more likely than women to stick with them, according to analysis of international obesity studies by researchers from the Universities of Aberdeen, Bournemouth and Stirling.

Men also prefer the use of simple ‘business-like’ language, welcome humour used sensitively, and benefit from the moral support of other men in strategies to tackle obesity. The researchers suggest that obese men might be helped better if weight loss programmes were specifically designed for men.

Researchers from the Universities of Aberdeen, Bournemouth and Stirling analysed evidence from around the world, gathered from weight loss trials and studies that have also taken men’s views. The team particularly investigated what would make services more appealing for men.

From their systematic review (see: http://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/118180/FullReport-hta18350.pdf ) of the evidence on obesity management published by the NHS National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme, researchers also found:

 

  • Cutting calories together with exercise and following advice on changing behaviour are the best way for obese men to shed pounds. This can also help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and can help improve erectile dysfunction for some men.
  • Obese men who eat less lose more weight than those who take more exercise but don’t eat less.
  • In the long term, one calorie-reducing diet has not yet been found to better than another for weight loss for men.
  • Middle-aged men are motivated to lose weight once they perceive they have a health problem they want to tackle.
  • A desire to improve personal appearance without looking too thin is also a motivator for weight loss in men.
  • Men are likely to prefer weight-loss programmes delivered by the NHS rather than those run commercially.
  • Group-based weight management programmes run only for men provide moral support.
  • Obesity interventions in sports clubs, such as football clubs, have been very effective, with low dropout rates and very positive responses from men.

 

If you find yourself getting sick frequently or have a weakened immune system, adding greens powders to your diet can provide additional vitamins and antioxidants to support immune function. Find out more on https://www.outlookindia.com/outlook-spotlight/athletic-greens-ag1-review-is-it-worth-the-hype-or-superfood-don-t-buy-until-you-read-this-news-301982/.

Chief investigator Professor Alison Avenell, based at the University of Aberdeen, said: “More men than women are overweight or obese in the UK, but men are less likely to see their weight as a problem and engage with weight-loss services, even though obesity increases the risk of many serious illnesses such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and osteoarthritis. This could be because dieting and weight-loss programmes are perceived as being feminine activities.”

“We looked at the outcomes of obesity management trials and interventions as well as interviews with men in order to find out more about how to design services and inform health policy. While more research is needed into the effectiveness of new approaches to engage men with weight-loss, our findings suggest that men should be offered the opportunity to attend weight loss programmes that are different to programmes which are mainly attended by women.”

 

Dr Flora Douglas, from the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, said: “Men prefer more factual information on how to lose weight and more emphasis on physical activity in weight loss programmes. Interventions delivered in social settings were preferred to those delivered in health-care settings.   Group-based programmes showed benefits by facilitating support for men with similar health problems, and some individual tailoring of advice helped men.  Programmes which were situated in a sporting venue, where participants had a strong sense of affiliation, showed low drop-out rates and high satisfaction.”

University of Stirling Professor Pat Hoddinott said: “Men are much less likely to enrol in commercial weight loss schemes. Some men preferred weight loss programmes delivered in an NHS context. The difference between weight loss for men from NHS and commercial programmes is presently unclear”.

 

Professor Edwin van Teijlingen from Bournemouth University added: “This research project has benefited throughout from the input and insights offered by the Men’s Health Forum in Ireland, the Men’s Health Forum Scotland and the Men’s Health Forum England and Wales.”

This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research, Health Technology Assessment Programme (NIHR HTA Project 09/127/01; Systematic reviews of and integrated report on the quantitative, qualitative and economic evidence base for the management of obesity in men http://www.nets.nihr.ac.uk/projects/hta/0912701).  The views and opinions expressed therein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Health.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

Latest BU midwifery research newsletter

 

The latest edition of the newsletter of the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health has just been published online.  The editor for the latest edition was Dr. Jen Leamon.

The latest newsletter can be found online at:

ttp://research.bournemouth.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Volume-3-Summer-2014.pdf

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Successful BU Festival of Learning debate of media and fear in childbirth!

Yesterday saw the lively debate organised by Prof. Vanora Hundley on the motion: ‘The media is responsible for creating fear in childbirth.’

 

Elizabeth Duff from the NCT and HSC Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen affiliated with the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health and against the motion argued Joanne Dewberry (http://joannedewberry.co.uk/about-joanne/ ), independent blogger, journalist and successful business woman and Dr. Ann Luce from BU’s  Journalism and Communication Academic Group

The debate was part of BU’s Festival of Learning event to explore the role of the mass media in shaping such beliefs and identify whether media portrayals are responsible for rising rates of intervention.  The audience voted in favour of the motion, but the media team managed to get some people to reconsider their views on the impact of the mass media on women’s view of childbirth.

Professors Vanora Hundley and Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Success signThe following opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information:

Do you have BBSRC funding? Then think about the Standard Follow-on funding programme which is designed to support the translation of fundamental research funded by them into practical application, including commercialisation. The aim of the programme is to help researchers maximise the societal and economic benefits of their research. This programme is a proof-of-concept model where further work on an idea will take it through to the stage at which the route to application is clear, which may include a spin-out or licensing opportunity. The programme enables activities essential to preparing a robust business plan and secure, where appropriate, further funding and support to progress. Standard Follow-on Fund (FOF) provides for projects up to 12 months in duration and valued at under £250k (80% FEC). Super Follow-on funding is available by invitation only. Closing date: 25/06/14.

Are you thinking about applying for a Leverhulme International Academic Fellowship.  These provide established researchers with a concentrated period based in one or more research centres outside the UK. The intention of the scheme is to provide opportunities to develop new knowledge, skills and ideas. Or you may be considering a Research Fellowship, open to experienced researchers, particularly those who are or have been prevented by routine duties from completing a programme of original research. Click on the links to read about the previous calls as you prepare to apply for the next round, which is due to be announced in early November 2014.

The MRC Public Health Intervention Development scheme (PHIND) supports the early stages of development of public health interventions. Studies funded by the scheme will develop a solid theoretical framework and generate evidence on the design specification and feasibility of the intervention. Essential knowledge obtained from these preliminary studies will provide the foundation for future pilot testing and evaluation, with the ultimate aim of improving the effectiveness of public health interventions. Applicants can apply for up to £150K for a maximum of 18 months. Closing date: 12/09/14 and 30/01/15 by 4pm. 

The MRC, through the MRC-NIHR Methodology Research Programme (MRP), wishes to develop a portfolio of research aimed at improving the methodology underpinning the application and evaluation of Methodology underpinning patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) in health research and health care decision making. PROMs are an assessment of health status and health-related quality of life that comes directly from the patient. Lord Darzi’s NHS Next Stage Review indicates that they will be increasingly used in the evaluation of health care technologies and healthcare services, and they also contribute to regulatory decision making. Ensuring the validity and robustness of PROMs is therefore vital in enabling these measures to have maximum impact on research outcomes and health care decision making. This call will open on 08/10/14 with a closing date of 4pm on 19/11/14.

The MRC, through the MRC-NIHR Methodology Research Programme (MRP), wishes to fund high quality methods development research to support the use and evaluation of complex interventions in health research. The MRC has long recognised the unique methodological challenges posed by the development and evaluation of complex interventions and has championed the development of guidance both for researchers and research funders. The MRP therefore invites any high quality proposal which through generalisable methods development research seeks to strengthen the knowledge base or evaluation of the impact of complex interventions in health research. The MRP Panel is particularly keen to support applications for methods research which focus on: behavioural change interventions, psychological interventions and natural experiments i.e. assessments of policy interventions on health. This call will open on 08/10/14 with a closing date of 4pm on 19/11/14.

Following the first phase of the Multidisciplinary Synthetic Biology Research Centres (SBRCs) call in 2013, which established three SBRCs; the RCUK Synthetic Biology Working Group, and BBSRC and EPSRC have announced their call for proposals to the second phase. The SBRCs must focus on strategic areas relevant to one or more key industrial sectors that could include: fine and speciality chemicals; life science technologies; energy; environment; sensors (including diagnostics); agriculture and food; medicines and healthcare. Closing date: 24/07/14.

NERC, in collaboration with the BBSRC and the AHRC, organise internship placements for current NERC, BBSRC and AHRC funded PhD students to work in one of eight host organisations on a policy topic relevant to both the student and the host. The student will be expected to produce a briefing paper, participate in a policy inquiry and/or organise a policy event. Internships are awarded to both parliamentary and non-parliamentary organisations. Information on current host organisations can be found on the website. Internships are available to all current NERC, BBSRC and AHRC funded PhD students and the internship must start before the end of the funded period of the studentship. Closing date 4pm on 18/08/14

The Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award is for outstanding scientists who would benefit from a five year salary enhancement to help recruit them to or retain them in the UK. The scheme provides up to 5 years’ funding after which the award holder continues with the permanent post at the host university.The focus of the award is a salary enhancement, usually in the range of £10,000 to £30,000 per annum. Closing date: 08/07/14.

The Wellcome Trust currently support 31 Programmes based in centres of excellence throughout the UK with specialised training provided in a range of important biomedical research areas. The Biomedical PhD Studentship scheme provides support for four years and includes: a stipend, PhD registration fees at UK/EU student rate, contribution towards laboratory rotation expenses in the first year, research expenses for years two to four, contribution towards travel and a contribution towards transferable-skills training. Students are recruited annually by the individual Programmes for uptake in October each year. Recruitment begins in the preceding December. Alternatively, further funding is available from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

Please note that some funders specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKE Support Officer.

You can set up your own personalised alerts on ResearchProfessional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s RKE Officer in RKE Operations or see the recent post on this topic, which includes forthcoming training dates up to November 2014.

If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on ResearchProfessional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.

CEMP Research Bulletin

Here is the updated CEMP research bulletin:  CEMP bulletin June July 2014

Please contact Julian or Richard in CEMP or one of the CEMP Fellows:

Media School – Ashley Woodfall, Neal White, Richard Wallis, Anna Feigenbaum

CEL / cross-BU – Milena Bobeva

…. if you are interested in any of the funding opportunities here, or have other ideas for collaborative projects with CEMP.

BUDI presents at the 2014 meeting of the North Sea European dementia group

 

I recently had the pleasure of attending the 2014 meeting of the North Sea European dementia group, held in Dijon, France. This was an unusual meeting in that it was not a large formal scientific conference attracting only researchers, but a small and informal meeting that attracted researchers, practitioners, private care directors, and a research funder. Around 25 were in attendance and over three days we got to know each other, exchange ideas, and make important connections for potential future pan-European collaborations.

Days 1 and 2 – the meeting

The first two days was a series of presentations with discussion. This began with a representative of each European country providing an introduction of their organisation and an update on work in progress. We then had a series of presentations, and of note, some was of work that was just starting or half way through, and some presented service improvement initiatives yet to be evaluated using research methodology. This was good as it afforded the sharing of ideas at their initial stages when changes can be made, rather than at the end when already completed. I presented a qualitative paper on our NIHR-funded project on the social care and support needs of people with dementia and sight loss. This was well received and as suspected, not been given much consideration before. It led to an interesting discussion around diagnosis, given that tests to indicate dementia symptoms often rely on good vision (e.g. to the clock drawing task).

Perhaps the most useful aspect of these two days, during the presentations and informal discussions over meals, was the sharing of what current dementia care looks like in each other’s countries, the limitations to such care, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in driving forward improvement. The mix of researchers and those directly involved in managing services provided a useful forum for the identification of the challenges and opportunities to working together. In particular, to make sure that research is grounded in the real-world constraints practitioners work within, and to make sure that the novel initiatives practitioners try out are formally and systematically evaluated in order to demonstrate benefit to people with dementia and cost-effectiveness. In particular, fidelity of interventions was raised as an issue, in ensuring that those who claim to deliver best practice actually do deliver it and in the way specified.

Day 3 – the visits

Before heading back, we spent the last morning visiting local services for older people with dementia. I was with the group that visited a day care centre and an intergenerational area. The day centre was a relatively large space and so caters for up to 20 older people per day, much more than the average day centre. They had several rooms for different activities (rest room, computer room, physical activity room, etc.), along with a garden. This was on the same site as a care home, and so for those that eventually need to move into a care home, the day centre provides a nice source of continuity for those that become residents. It was pleasing to see a lot of the creative work that the older people there as this was on display all over. One display that caught my eye was one of the older people helping children with their art work.

We then went on to an initiative that is rare in France and one that I had not come across before. Over ten years ago a plot of land was allocated for providing services for people in the city. At the time it was decided that the same space be used not only for catering for older people to live independently but with support (like sheltered housing), but also to provide for children under five (pre-school) and social housing for the general adult population who need it. In this same plot we got to see the living spaces for older people with dementia, social housing, and could see the pre-school right next to it. I unfortunately had to cut this visit short to head back for my flight, but it was great to see an initiative that at its heart was trying to re-connect the generations. We know from classic theories of the psychology of ageing that intergenerational relationships provides benefits for all, whereby the older person shares their wisdom and perspective to the benefit of the younger person, let alone connection with everyday family life. It would be interesting to see what activities best bring these groups together to facilitate social interactions between the generations.

In sum, the meeting was a useful learning experience of what is happening in other European countries and provided an important set of connections for potential future collaborations. I can recommend attending such meetings, even if they do not have the prestige of large scientific conferences. The more intimate and informal environment was useful for learning about work in its early stages and to learn more about the contexts in which our European collaborators operate within.

Dr Samuel Nyman

BUDI and Psychology Department, SciTech

“Handsome young men and shoes I’ll never wear”

Lots of ‘creativity’ in academia to report, at least according to two articles in recent international blogs.

The Creativity Post reports a playful interchange between Kip Jones (RUFUS STONE) and Patricia Leavy (Method Meets Art). Each scholar asked the other 20 Questions. The only requirement was NOT to talk about their work. In an article written by Jones and Leavy elsewhere (The Qualitative Report), Jones advises ‘not to live and work in silos, but let all parts of your lives flow in and out of each other’. In this spirit, Leavy and Jones discuss the personal in the Creative Post article and how it contributes to their innovative endeavors.

In another article in the Creative Quarter, Jones is interviewed by Bournemouth University  Media School’s Trevor Hearing about the making of the research-based, award-winning short biopic, RUFUS STONE. Jones admits that here too the personal became central to solidifying the characters for the film and how auto-ethnography played a role in creating the story.

Those with an interest in ARTS in Research (AiR) are welcome to join the collaboration now forming across Schools at BU. Both faculty and postgrad students welcome!  More information or contact Kip Jones.

BU student Jib Acharya presents poster in Ethiopia

HSC Ph.D. student Mr. Jib Acharya presented a poster in Ethiopia on his thesis research.  His poster accepted by the scientific committee of the Micronutrient Forum Global Conference in Addis Adeba, the capital of Ethiopia.

 

Jib Acharya reported on his Ph.D. research which involves a mixed-methods study of to assess knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about nutritious food amongst rural and urban mothers in one district of Nepal.  The poster highlighted that both knowledge of and attitudes towards nutritious food of rural and urban mothers are still poor in both rural and urban populations.

Jib’s supervisors in the School of Health & Social Care are: Dr. Jane Murphy, Dr. Martin Hind and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.

 

Reference:

Acharya, J., van Teijlingen E., Murphy, J., Hind, M. (2014) A Comparative Study on Nutritional Problems in Preschool Aged Children of Nepal, poster presented at the Micronutrient Forum Global Conference in Addis Adeba, Ethiopia, June 2014.

 

 

Well done!

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, CMMPH

Ferndown & Uddens Business Improvement District collaborates with a multi-disciplinary team from BU

The Business Improvement District (BID) yesterday hosted their first breakfast meeting on business continuity and information assurance.

Staff from the Business School, The Disaster Management Centre and the Cyber Security Unit presented a knowledgeable insight to identify collective responsibilities of businesses within the district, giving examples where one business problem may affect other enterprises across the estate. The Dorset Fire & Rescue Service and Dorset Police further supported BU’s representations concerning crisis management; business resilience; disaster recovery and cybercrime. In addition, A&T Insurance Group provided a comprehensive study on insuring business resilience.

BUCSU introduced the availability of TSB Innovation Vouchers to meet the recently published ‘Cyber Essentials’ issued by the Information Commissioners Office.

Strong CMMPH presence at ICM conference in Prague!

Dr. Carol Wilkins

In the first week of June members of the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health presented BU’s midwifery research and education at the 30th ICM (International Confederation of Midwives) Congress in Prague (Czech Republic).

There were four oral presentations in total, one workshop and three poster presentations.  The oral presentations comprised:

  1. Dr. Carol Wilkins (see picture) presented from her Ph.D. work ‘Emotional processing in childbirth study: exploration of the relationship between maternal emotions in pregnancy and risk of postnatal depression’.
  2. HSC Professor Vanora Hundley presented her international work on clean birth kits.
  3. Senior Lecturer in Midwifery Alison Taylor gave a paper under the titleLetting off steam! Video diaries to share breastfeeding experiences Her Ph.D. thesis research uses a novel approach of giving hand-held cameras to make home video diaries about their ‘realities’ of breastfeeding.
  4. HSC student Sheetal Sharma presented her Ph.D. research ‘Getting women to care: mixed–methods evaluation of maternity care intervention in rural Nepal’.

Dr Susan Way led a workshop on escalating concerns in relation to poor clinical practice and disrespectful care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore, three HSC posters were displayed as part of a special session on Midwifery in South Asia, all three related to different CMMPH maternity care studies conducted in Nepal.

  1. Sharma, S.  Sicuri, E., Belizan, JM., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Stephens J.,  Hundley, V., Angell, C.,  Getting women to care in Nepal: A Difference in Difference analysis of a health promotion intervention
  2. Milne, L, Hundley, V, van Teijlingen, E, Ireland, J, Simkhada, P, Staff perspectives of barriers to women accessing birthing services in Nepal: A qualitative study,
  3. Sharma, S., van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. Simkhada, P., Angell, C. Pregnant & Dirty?

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Making a Difference with Music

I have to admit I was not having the best of weeks but being part of the BUDI Orchestra’s penultimate rehearsal yesterday was, as one of the participants said to me at the end the session, ‘better than therapy’. 

Some of the highlights for me of this week’s session were a couple celebrating their 59th wedding anniversary by bringing chocolates and biscuits to share with their orchestra friends and telling me this session was the ideal way to celebrate this pretty remarkable period of marriage; another couple who had told me they have been having difficulties communicating reaching out simultaneously for one another’s hands when Moon River was playing; and having people with dementia and their carers tell me that attending this group is the highlight of their week, indeed that they need no persuasion to get out of bed knowing they have their music group to come along to; and to hear that they consider the members of the group their friends. This all demonstrates the true achievement of the BSO musicians, BU students and my team members in rising to the deceptively simple challenge I set for this project: to create an atmosphere that was welcoming, fun, promoted equality between everyone, and where having dementia was not to be the guiding factor, rather for everyone to be part of a ‘normal’ group where people would learn and work together. And they have achieved this in spades!

Seeing for myself the progress and development in those with dementia who have participated over a 9 week period makes this project worthwhile. For example a man, who on week one who was having trouble remembering how to play his double bass (even though he didn’t need much encouragement to teach me some basic notes), now jamming with the professional musicians; how another man, who brought his mouth organ to the first session and began to recall how to play, now plays all the pieces by ear and is smiling from ear to ear after the session ends. Seeing the relaxation and concentration on participants’ faces who had been anxious about first week, but who are completely in the moment and whose verbal communication skills have, to me, taken an absolute upturn, and who now chat easily and at length during the break and at the session end. For example, one participant invited me to their previous home if I was ever passing, it doesn’t matter that they live in Dorset now and were talking about their old address, the important thing is they have increased their sense of social confidence and are reaching out and connecting with others, something that is, all too often, sadly lost by others failing to accommodate the communication needs of those with dementia.

 Have a look yourself at one of the items that will be performed by the BSO and BUDI Orchestra at the Winton life centre on Saturday 14 June, 11am, as part of the BU Festival of Learning programme. I’ve already shown this  to whomever I met yesterday afternoon, and the surprise on colleagues’ faces when they understood that this was a group of people with dementia who had only been rehearsing for 9 weeks and the majority of whom had never played an instrument before was fun to see! Moving from playing, to singing to body percussion in one piece is challenging and demonstrates the development in learning the musicians have enabled over the sessions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oscti3517ww

 To me, this project is a way to challenge the misconceptions and myths people hold about people with dementia not being able to learn and participate to a high level. I wish I could bottle the benefits that I observed in our participants, and, actually, the benefits that I have gained from being a small part of a truly special group that has created an amazing sense of community with acceptance, fun and friendship at its core.

 The group are already feeling the loss of these sessions as they know they only have one more rehearsal and then the performance and then our FIF funding stops. Yet this is what I would say is true impact: yes, we have the papers and other academic impact values, and we will seek to publish after the sessions end and the follow up period data is collected, but to see the development in how the professional musicians work with those with dementia, most who in the main had not worked with people with dementia before and their absolute engagement and commitment to creating a positive experience for the group; to see how our students have grown in confidence, and the relationships they have built with individuals with dementia is fantastic and demonstrates the impact of learning together. But most of all, to hear about, and see first-hand, the pleasure and benefits for those living with dementia and their carers makes this the best project I’ve ever had the pleasure of being part of, and if anyone has ideas about finding ways to fund this project beyond its research parameters as an on-going community engagement project, please do let me know!

Bournemouth-Utrecht: Fusion Project Workshop

We would like to invite you to the workshop of our BUUU project “Bournemouth University and Utrecht University Network on Empowering Software Production by Gamification and Crowdsourcing”. BUUU is funded by the Fusion Investment Fund of Bournemouth University.

   

Date: Thursday, 12 – Jun – 2014

Location: P302 LT, Poole House, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, BH12 4BB

Program:

14:00 – 14:15 — Social Software Engineering at Bournemouth University. Raian Ali, Bournemouth University

14:15 – 14:30 — Gamified Software Engineering at Utrecht University. Fabiano Dalpiaz, Utrecht University

14:30 – 14:45 — Crowdsourcing for Requirements Elicitation in Large-scale Dynamic Software Systems. Mahmood Hosseini, Bournemouth University

14:45 – 15:00 — On the Use of Gamification for Obtaining Software Feedback. Mats Hofman, Utrecht University

15:00 – 15:15 — Crowd-driven Evolution for Socio-technical Systems. Alimohammad Shahri, Bournemouth University

15:15 – 15:30 — Development Techniques for Feedback-aware Software. Nick Linakis, Utrecht University

15:30 – 15:45 — Developing Adaptive and Socially-aware Feedback Acquisition. Malik Almaliki, Bournemouth University

15:45 – 16:00 — Crowd-centric Requirements Engineering. Remco Snijders, Utrecht University

 

The room is booked till 17:00. The participants and audience are invited to engage in further discussions and networking.

All are welcome.

 

 

 

What happens next: can the future of tech-enabled crime ever be predicted?

Dr Christopher Richardson from the BUCSU delivered a thought provoking presentation at the CIFAS Fraud Conference, which was held at Dexter House London on the 3 June 2014. It was attended by the UK’s financial and insurance communities.

The conference was alerted to the fact that UK fraud is currently running at 25 incidents per hour; with an annual cost estimated above £52 billion.

Dr Richardson’s oversight expanded that through the continuance of pervasive technologies; increased crime wave and progressive skills shortage within the security industry, has all resulted in a perfect storm.

In forecasting the cyber threat landscape Dr Richardson projected the increase of insider threat, malicious software and human error, which if not corrected will bring the cost of fraud above £100 billion. The real question is, at what point will society, enterprise and individuals demand government action, and in particular a more determined approach to the investigation and prosecution of fraudulent activities? A characteristic of cybercrime is that it’s global, whereas policing is local.  In order to rescue our beleaguered and often under skilled law enforcement agencies, we need to tackle the issues from an international perspective, with global partnerships engaging business communities and overcoming their reluctance to breach reporting.

This conference follows on from the BUCSU’s strategic cyber policing conference in February, where cyber enabled and cyber dependent crimes were discussed. Please visit previous blog post for further info on the South West Police Cybercrime Conference.