BU Research Blog

February 18, 2015

Development of novel low noise Switch-mode power supply designs for high fidelity audio power amplifiers

BU research, Featured academics, PG research, Uncategorized djohn

We would like to invite you to the next research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre.

Speaker: Nasir

Title: Development of novel low noise Switch-mode power supply designs for high fidelity audio power amplifiers

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 25 February 2015

Room: P335, Poole House, Talbot Campus

Abstract:

Nowadays, linear power supplies are widely used to provide the supply voltage rail to an audio amplifier and are considered bulky, inefficient and expensive due to the presence of various components. In particular, the typical requirements of linear designs call for physically large mains transformers, energy storage/filtering inductors and capacitors. This imposes a practical limit to the reduction of size and weight in audio power systems. In order to overcome these problems, Switch-mode Power Supplies (SMPS) incorporate high speed switching transistors that allow for much smaller power conversion and energy storage components to be employed. In addition the low power dissipation of the transistors in the saturated and off states results in higher efficiency, improved voltage regulation and excellent power factor ratings. However, the use of SMPS in audio amplification is not novel in itself, the contribution will arise from design optimisation to achieve the lowest possible harmonic distortion in the audio output stage. Therefore, the primary aim of this research project is to develop the novel low noise switch mode power supply for an audio power amplifier. It will also strive to elevate the reliability of SMPS through stability analysis and enhance the efficiency of power supply through high speed switching transistors. As a result, the research will aim towards changing the way industrial manufacturing of power supplies for audio amplifiers are carried out. It will also provide a new path for researchers in this field to utilize the SMPS in all other audio devices by further enhancing its efficiency and reducing system noise.

We hope to see you there.

February 12, 2015

Cloud and Weather Simulation for computer graphics

BU research, Featured academics, PG research, Research news, student research djohn

We would like to invite you to the next research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre.

Speaker: Leigh McLoughlin

Title: Cloud and Weather Simulation for Computer Graphics

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 18^th February 2015

Room: P335, Poole House, Talbot Campus

Abstract:

In this talk I will discuss my work on cloud simulation for computer graphics. This work was designed to provide a means of simulating clouds and weather features, such as rain, using desktop graphics hardware. This involves elements of meteorology, numerical weather simulation and computational fluid dynamics, taken from the sciences and adapted to meet the more artistic requirements of computer graphics in which an element of control is required and the laws of physics may be wilfully disobeyed. The result is a lightweight physically-inspired cloud simulation scheme, capable of emulating the dynamic properties of cloud formation and weather effects.

We hope to see you there.

February 12, 2015

The editor is a !@#!

BU research, Featured academics, Publishing, Research Ethics, Research Integritiy Edwin van Teijlingen

Editors of academic journals are regularly cursed by academics worldwide. At universities across the globe we can regularly hear expression such as “Who does the editor think he is rejecting my paper?” or “Why does it have to take six months (or more) to find out my paper is rejected?” or “Why does the editor not understand how good/novel/innovative/… our paper is? These kinds of expression of dismay may or may not be accompanied by an expletive. Being both busy editors and well published authors we thought timely to put pen to paper and explain the work (role and limitations) of the typical editor of an international academic journal.

First, being an editor is not all bad, and is actually a privilege. It is an opportunity to nurture new authors, be at the forefront of your discipline and it is part of being a ‘serious’ scholar. However, we have been at the receiving end of the wrath of authors dissatisfied with something we did or didn’t do as an editor AND we have been disappointed as authors with what we perceived to be, poor editorial decisions!

We wrote a short outline of the proposed paper and send it to the editor of Women and Birth. The idea was readily accepted and resulted in a paper published this week in the scientific journal.

The paper includes little snippets of insight and advice to authors. For example, a reminder that the average editor of an academic journalist an unpaid volunteer, usually a full-time lecturer and/or researcher with a busy day job, who does most of her editorial work on Sunday morning when the kids are still in bed or Tuesday night after the second-year marking has been completed. We hope that knowledge of the editors’ role will help authors (a) understand the submission process better; and (b) be a little bit more patience with the editors. And, last but not least, we hope our article helps the development of editors of the future.

Jenny Hall, Vanora Hundley & Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Reference:

Hall, J., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E. (2015) The Journal editor: friend or foe? Women & Birth (accepted). http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871519215000104

January 25, 2015

Most cited article in MIDWIFERY

BU research, Featured academics, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

The scientific paper ‘Risk, Theory, Social & Medical Models: a critical analysis of the concept of risk in maternity care’ written by Dr. Helen MacKenzie Bryers (NHS Highland) and BU Professor of Reproductive Health Research is now listed on the website of the international journal Midwifery as its top most cited paper since 2010 (1). Midwifery, published by Elsevier, is one of the leading global journals in the field of midwifery and maternity care.

The paper provides a critical analysis of the risk concept, its development in modern society in general and UK maternity services in particular. Through the associated theory, the authors explore the origins of the current preoccupation with risk. Using Pickstone’s historical phases of modern health care, the paper explores the way maternity services changed from a social to a medical model over the twentieth century and suggests that the risk agenda was part of this process.

‘Risk, Theory, Social & Medical Models’ has been cited 40 times in SCOPUS, measured today Jan. 25th 2015. In Google Scholar the citation rate is even higher and stands at 69.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health

Faculty of Health & Social Sciences

Reference

MacKenzie Bryers, H., van Teijlingen, E. (2010) Risk, Theory, Social & Medical Models: a critical analysis of the concept of risk in maternity care, Midwifery 26(5): 488-496.

January 22, 2015

CIPPM Members present research co-funded by the UKIPO and ESRC on Copyright and the Public Domain

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Featured, Featured academics, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Research news cippm

The Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management’s Co-Director, Dr. Dinusha Mendis and CIPPM Member, Dr. Fabian Homberg presented their research on ‘Valuing the Public Domain’ – a collaboration with CREATe, University of Glasgow – on 5th December 2014, at Digital Catapult, London.

‘Valuing the Public Domain’ is a major research and knowledge exchange project carried out in collaboration with CREATe, University of Glasgow and is co-funded by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The purpose of the project is 1) to map the size of the public domain and frequency of its use; 2) analyse the role of public domain works in value creation for UK firms; and 3) assist UK media companies to identify business models that benefit from the public domain.

The half-day event brought together project researchers and transmedia businesses to explore and discuss the results of the study. During the discussions, a number of significant questions were addressed including (a) what does the availability and use of the rich tradition of public domain materials in this country mean for UK creative industries?; (b) how can SMEs and other businesses leverage the public domain effectively to generate value?; and (c) what are the emerging market trends and practices that will hinder or enable access to public domain materials in the future?

Following the event in December, the final report authored by Dr. Kris Erickson, Professor Paul Heald, Dr. Fabian Homberg, Professor Martin Kretschmer and Dr. Dinusha Mendis was published in March 2015 and can be accessed here..

January 21, 2015

Building Links between UK and China to further Copyright Research and Collaboration

BU research, Featured, Featured academics, Global engagement, Public engagement, Research news cippm

In November 2014, Dr. Dinusha Mendis, Co-Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property and Management (CIPPM) was invited as part of a UK delegation to the University of Nottingham Ningbo Campus (UNNC) in China.The one-day event which took place on 22 November 2014, included participants from both the UK and China. The representatives for the visit were drawn from academia, business and government backgrounds. Representatives from UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) were also in attendance including AHRC’s Chief Executive, Professor Rick Rylance.

The visit was organised as part of a joint enterprise between the AHRC, the Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute at University of Nottingham and UNNC.

The aim of the workshop was to identify projects and partners for future collaborative research and to discuss the potential for the establishment of a Centre for Digital Copyright Research in China at the Ningbo campus. The established Centre is expected to act as a Hub for research development between UK and China.

January 21, 2015

CIPPM Researchers launch Copyright Resource for A/AS Level Media Studies

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Featured, Featured academics, Post-award, Research news cippm

Researchers at the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management (CIPPM) in collaboration with CREATe, the RCUK Centre for Copyright and New Business Models in the Creative Economy at the University of Glasgow have launched an educational web resource aimed at A/AS Level Media Studies. The project, which was carried out during 2013-2014, was funded by RCUK under a contract with CREATe, University of Glasgow (Principal Investigator: Dr. Dinusha Mendis, Co-Director, CIPPM).

The Centre for Excellence in Media Practice (CEMP) at Bournemouth University is also part of the collaboration.

The web resource and downloadable PDF forms part of the already established Copyrightuser.org (initially funded by the Fusion Investment Fund, 2012-2013) and is titled, Contemporary Media Regulation: A Case Study in Copyright Law.

In particular, this educational web resource addresses Critical Perspectives in Media, Section B: Contemporary Media Issues and was approved by Oxford Cambridge and RSA (OCR) Examination Board at their Annual Conference on 21 March 2014.

The resource was disseminated to a large network of Schools in England and Wales in January 2015 and during 2015-2016, the researchers will map the impact of this educational resource by identifying how many Schools / students have opted to study Copyright Law as part of the Critical Perspectives in Media, Section B: Contemporary Media Issues.

The value of this educational resource has already been identified by the UK Government. In October 2014, Copyrightuser.org was mentioned by Mike Weatherley MP in his report Copyright Education and Awareness, in which he specifically mentioned this resource as an attempt to introduce copyright law into the AS/A Level Media Studies curriculum in schools in England and Wales. A write-up about it can be found here.

The content is shaped to enable teachers to explain the complexity and importance of copyright in media, and for the students to research copyright regulation and demonstrate their understanding within the Contemporary Media Regulation exam question.

This educational resource provides teachers with simple and straightforward information about copyright law. The focus is to bring together different perspectives on copyright issues. There is a consideration of the historical, contemporary and future copyright issues, with an emphasis on present.

The resource was formally launched in February 2015 by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the press release titled ‘What we Should Teach Students about Copyright Law’ can be accessed here.

The educational resource was produced by a team consisting of:

Authors: Ms. Hayleigh Bosher and Dr. Dinusha Mendis (CIPPM)

Illustrations: Mr. Davide Bonazzi

Editor: Professor Ronan Deazley (Professor of Copyright Law, CREATe, University of Glasgow)

Educational Resource Development: Dr. Julian McDougall (CEMP)

Production: Mr. Bartolomeo Meletti (CREATe, University of Glasgow)

Questionnaire Respondents: see here

January 12, 2015

BU academic honoured in Nepal

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, Public engagement Edwin van Teijlingen

BU Professor Edwin van Teijlingen was honoured by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Mahendra Bahadur Pandey yesterday in Kathmandu. Prof. van Teijlingen was honoured for “his contributions to capacity building and health research in Nepal.” In the presentation listing his achievements of over ten-years of research in Nepal it was highlighted that he has supervised eight Nepalese PhD students to completion in the UK as well as numerous MSc students from Nepal. Several of his former student attended the ceremony. Furthermore, Prof. van Teijlingen’s work include over 75 academic publications on Nepal and/or papers published in English-language journals in Nepal.

Prof. van Teijlingen is currently Visiting Professor at two higher education institutions in Nepal. He has been Visiting Professor since 2009 at Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, affiliated with Tribhuvan University, and Visiting Professor since 2012 at Nobel College, affiliated with Pokhara University. He is also on the editorial board of several health journals in Nepal, including the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology and Health Prospect.

Most recently he was co-editor of an edited volume under the title The Dynamics of Health in Nepal published for Social Science Baha by Himal Books in Kathmandu. His fellow editors Prof. Padam Simkhada (Liverpool John Moores University) and Dr. Sharada Prasad Wasti were also present in the audience.

Edwin van Teijlingen is Professor of Reproductive Health Research in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences and Director of the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health.

January 8, 2015

Transdisciplinary Arts Practice: Moving Sideways to Move Forward

BU research, Featured academics, Research news djohn

We would like to invite you to the next research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre.

Speaker: Bill Thompson (Video & Sound Artist, Lecturer in Music and Audio Technology, Bournemouth University)

Title: Transdisciplinary Arts Practice: Moving Sideways to Move Forward

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 14^th January 2015

Room: P335, Poole House, Talbot Campus

Abstract:

I’ll be discussing recent collaborative work with choreographer Ian Spink involving transdiciplinary practice across several projects in Scotland, as well as past work with choreographer Claire Pencak and archaeologists Antonia Thomas and Dan Lee at the Ness of Brodgar site in Orkney. I’ll also discuss some of my work with / against technology in my solo and sound art practice as well my experience leading collaborative arts practice workshops with Ian Spink ( fast + Dirty ) and individually ( Fail Again, Fail Better ) at Guildhall School of Music and Drama and elsewhere.

We hope to see you there.

January 7, 2015

Book launch in Kathmandu

BU research, Featured academics, PG research, Publishing, student research, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

This week sees the publication of a new book co-edited by BU Professor Edwin van Teijlingen. The book The Dynamics of Health in Nepal is published for Social Science Baha by Himal Books in Nepal. The lead editor Dr. Sharada Prasad Wasti was awarded his MSc from the University of Aberdeen and his PhD from the University of Sheffield. The second editor, Padam Simkhada is Professor of International health at Liverpool John Moores University as well as Visiting Faculty in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences.

This edited volume has 13 chapters written on various health-related topics that are topical in Nepal. Many of the authors are from Nepal who completed their postgraduate studies at a UK university. The chapters cover amongst other topics such as Maternity Care, Health of the Elderly, Road Traffic Accidents, HIV/AIDS and Non-Communicable Diseases. The book will be formally launched in a hotel in Kathmandu on the morning of Sunday 11^th January.

The book also includes a chapter by BU PhD student Sheetal Sharma. She co-authored the chapter ‘Customs and believes surrounding newborn babies in rural areas’. One of her collaborator was a PhD student registered at the University of Aberdeen and another at London Metropolitan University, whilst third collaborator is the founder of Green Tara Trust, a UK-based Buddhist charity.

Copies of the book are for sale from Himal Books in Kathmandu and all profits from the book will be donated to Green Tara Nepal.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health
Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, Bournemouth University

January 5, 2015

Sage Publishes Kip Jones’ Ten ‘Rules’ for Being Creative in Producing Research

BU research, Delicious links, Featured academics, PG research, Publishing Kip Jones

Sage Publications online presence, “Social Science Space” has published BU Kip Jones’ “Ten ‘Rules’ for Being Creative in Producing Research’ on its website.

Since the changing of the year seems to be the time for lists, top ten lists, etc., Jones decided to compile his about being creative whist producing cutting‐edge research. Jones warned, “Not for the faint‐hearted!” The list is available here.

Students and Academics with further interest in arts-based research and dissemination are welcome to join the Arts in Research (AiR) Collaborative. More information here.

January 3, 2015

First BU publication of 2015

Featured academics, Publishing, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

Those working in the reproductive health field or in local media will be familiar with the phenomenon of the reporting of the first baby born in the New Year. For example, you may have read a short item of the first baby of 2015 born just after midnight with a lovely picture of the baby with proud parents and/or midwife.

This BU Research Blog is the equivalent of the first publication for 2015. I contributed a chapter called ‘Sociology of Midwifery’ to the edited book Sociology for Midwives published by Polity Press (Jan. 2015) and edited by Ruth Deery, Elaine Denny & Gayle Letherby.

The Polity Press website lists three reviews of the book by eminent academics in the field of midwifery:

“What is the point of sociology for midwives and midwifery? A sociological perspective can give us a different understanding of reproduction and maternity care. It can help us challenge our ‘common sense’ assumptions about how people and the world tick. This new book provides midwives and midwifery students with a readable comprehensive and up to date review of the field of sociology applied to reproduction and maternity care. The editors bring together a very impressive amount of material and present it in an accessible and clear way. Their facility for handling complex theoretical and detailed empirical material is admirable.”

Jane Sandall, King’s College London

“The editors and authors of this fine volume have produced a wonderful introduction to the value of a sociological imagination in the practice of midwifery.”

Barbara Katz Rothman, City University of New York

“The authors set out to ‘stimulate the sociological imagination’ of their readers. The combination of theoretical analysis and application of sociological theory to specific practice situations provides extensive opportunities for this to take place. Readers who are new to the sociology of maternity care will find ample material to excite and engage them. Those who already have dipped into this vast and fascinating field will find new applications, angles and perspectives that can cast a fresh light on why we do what we do in maternity care, and that provide possible routes for positive change in the future.”

Soo Downe, University of Central Lancashire

For more details of Sociology for Midwives, see: http://www.politybooks.com/book.asp?ref=0745662803

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health

Bournemouth University

December 28, 2014

Capacity Building in Health Research is Focus of International Symposium in Nepal

BU research, Featured academics, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

On 3 January 2015, a day-long symposium dedicated to research capacity building in Nepal will feature mixed-methods research in health and health care. The event is jointly organised by Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal, two UK universities, namely Bournemouth University (BU) and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), and the Confederation of Epidemiological Associations (CEA). The International Symposium on Mixed-Methods Research will promote the use of mixed-methods research designs. International experts from various health and social disciplines will come together to present and discuss best practices in the field.

“We have been working for more than ten years to help Nepal build capacity in health research” said Edwin van Teijlingen, one of the symposium presenters and BU Reproductive Health Research Professor. “The symposium is a great opportunity to learn about mixed-methods research and its potential for research into public health, care provision or health promotion.”

Presenters include Dr. Rose Khatri from LJMU will introduce the background to qualitative and quantitative research. Dr. Bibha Simkhada will illustrate the use of mixed-methods as applied in a largely qualitative maternity care study in rural Nepal. Dr. Brijesh Sathian, editor of the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, will outline key quantitative issues in a mixed-methods approach. Dr. Padam Simkhada, Professor at Liverpool John Moores University will discuss some of the intricacies of mixed-methods approaches.

Dr. Sharada Prasad Wasti, Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor in Family Health International (FHI 360) Nepal on an HIV/AIDS (a programme funded project by the World Bank) will present some of the practical issues of working in the field of HIV research using mixed methods. BU professor Edwin van Teijlingen will discuss some of the more theoretical issues and offer some advice on writing up and publishing mixed-methods studies.

The symposium presenters have all conducted health research in Nepal and between them have more than one hundred scientific papers and book chapters on the country’s state of health and health care system. Both Prof. Padam Simkhada and Dr. Bibha Simkhada are Visiting Faculty at BU.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

December 15, 2014

Tired of Writing? Make a Map!

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Featured academics afeigenbaum

This spring semester, thanks to a Fusion CCCP grant, we’ll be turning our BU research into interactive media, designed for making an impact.

If you are like me, dishwashing, hanging laundry, answering emails and even updating your BRIAN profile are more fun than writing academic papers. Beyond the jargon, peer review terror and endless citations, there is something sad about paper writing. Like a farewell party for long-time friend, the paper is a bittersweet goodbye. It is when we send our research off, delivering its findings into the abyss of academic journals, hoping to eventually be discovered and read.

But increasingly, academic writing isn’t the only tool at our disposal for making our research heard. As the impact agenda expands, alongside it, interest in public engagement and social media grow. Unlike most academic journals, with strict limits on figures and black and white print, online platforms are hungry for colour and creativity. Online, image is king and curiosity brings clicks. If a picture was once worth 1,000 words, today a media interactive is worth 10,000.

With many online platforms freely available to visualise our data, making information beautiful has never been easier. So, why not make our own? That’s the question I asked myself last year. Rather than pulling out the drying rack or deleting the ‘pending’ neurological mice studies from BRIAN’s list, I decided to give google maps a go.

Mapping the Media

Bored of traditional content analysis in my field of Media Studies, and taken by the toys of Geographers, I began my very first research map. All it took was a google account, a google alert, and about five hours a month for data input. A year later, an interactive dataset was born.

With over 25,000 views and copied onto news articles and blogs around the world, this map tells a different story about my research and the world we live in, one that I could never capture in linear prose. It opens up new audiences to the data, and in an instant reveals insights into conflicts and communities–and the ways they are mediated. Click deeper and you’ve got a global sample of news coverage from around the world to explore as you wish, offering features no academic article alone could provide.

But, alas, it wasn’t very pretty. So I went in search of real map-makers. With the support of An AAG Enrichment Grant for interdisciplinary scholars, I presented my ragtag version at the American Association of Geographers in 2014, arriving with a plea for help. And as luck would have it, help sat in my audience. Matt Ellis, a geography student from Texas Christian University, came on board, teaching me about ‘coordinates’ and CVS files. Matt created a series of maps, designed and hosted for free at CartoDB. Making these media maps opened my eyes to the possibility of the ‘disciplinary mash-up.’ Digital technologies allow us take apart and reassemble our methodologies, sharing interdisciplinary work online to wide audiences.

From Google Maps to Fusion Grants

With a little imagination and a bit of collaboration, our research can be expressed in new and creative forms. What began as a temporary escape from the doldrums of peer review publishing, has turned into a new, cross-school research initiative here at BU. Supported by a Fusion CCCP Grant, between January and July 2015, myself, Nathan Farrell, Dan Jackson, Robert Munday, Shelley Thompson and Einar Thorsen from the Media School will be working with Hamid Bouchachia of the Data Science Institute, geographers Duncan Golicher and Phillipa Gillingham of the GIS lab, and Impact Manager Rebecca Edwards from RKEO to co-create a model for visualising research here at BU.

This project combines traditional approaches for understanding datasets in the social sciences and humanities with geospatial and artistic design practices. Working in co-production with our students, our project embraces digital techniques for orienting output toward public engagement. Bringing in international experts from the Tactical Technology Collective, the New Media Lab and Visualising Impact for a Masterclass in Visualising Data for Societal Impact, our Fusion project will connect up BU research with the growing fields of information design and data communications, putting BU’s innovations in digital humanities and digital social sciences on the academic map.

So next time you’re tired of writing, consider making a map. Or an infographic. A collage or a GIF. A comic strip or a meme. Don’t feel guilty for not writing that paper, take a break from typing and have a play.

November 22, 2014

Breastfeeding research presented in Cornwall

BU research, Featured academics, Knowledge Transfer, PG research, Research news, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Alison Taylor, senior lecturer in midwifery who presented preliminary findings of her PhD as keynote speaker last month at the Cornwall Real Baby Milk conference. Alison’s presentation ‘Women’s Breastfeeding Experiences – shared using video diaries’ was very well received. Alison’s fieldwork has been supported by the Iolanthe Midwifery Trust , she received the first Tricia Anderson award in 2008. Founded in 1983, the Trust supports midwives and student midwives to undertake further education and to carry out projects designed to improve the care of mothers and babies.

More details on the conference can be found at:

http://realbabymilk.org/couldnt-make-real-baby-milk-cornwall-conference-last-month/

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

November 5, 2014

What costs £15 and smells of spent fireworks?

Awarded & submitted bids, Featured academics, Fusion, Public engagement, R & KE Operations afeigenbaum

Tear gas is used around the world nearly everyday, yet major international organisations, including the World Medical Association and NATO, state that not enough is understood about the real-life impact and health effects of these technologies. Responding to this lack of accessible information, in 2013 Dr. Anna Feigenbaum won a Fusion Fund grant to form the Tear Gas Research Connection — a group of researchers, NGOs, investigative journalists and tactical technicians keen to get to the ‘truth behind the tears’.

Over the past year, Dr. Feigenbaum and John Horne have been collating data from humanitarian reports, medical journals, corporate correspondences, shipping documents, media reports and Freedom of Information requests in efforts to contribute to public debate and policymaking on this issue. With a year of research and networking behind us, this Tuesday we held our first stakeholder meeting at Birmingham City University. With support from BU Fusion and the Wellcome Trust, fifteen of our partners and advisors came together to strengthen the connections between our work and plan future projects.

As tear gas use has tripled since 2011, there is a pressing need to find new ways to understand and communicate information on its physical and mental health effects. However, data on sensitive topics like tear gas is often kept hidden, deemed too confidential to be made open. This makes it difficult to gather health and human rights information, particularly on vulnerable populations (prisoners, detainees, those living in conflict zones). Likewise, detailed health and medical information, beyond basic safety instructions, is not often available in accessible formats. This leaves many people who suffer tear gas exposure unable to get the treatment they need.

In response to these difficulties in data collection, two initiatives emerged at the Tear Gas Research Connection meeting. Plans are now underway to establish a medical team as part of the connection, bringing together toxicologists, GPs, Emergency responders, military medics and others with the newly formed tear gas task force of the European Respiratory Society. Coming together, this group will work to evaluate and re-issue an up-to-date field guide for dealing with the medical effects of tear gas. There were also discussions of how data mining and new archival methods might be used to help aggregate dispersed information, bringing global information together in one searchable place.

In addition to the significant gap in the communication of scientific knowledg, populations facing tear gas are often marginalised communities that have limited means of expressing their experiences in legitimated forums. To share these stories and raise awareness on tear gas deaths and injuries, our stakeholder group sketched out ideas for documentary projects, including an online memorial that told ‘3 layer stories’ providing the data, humanising those hurt or killed, and detailing the perpetrator that caused the harm. The aim of this project would be to create ‘grieve-able spaces’ and transnational connections around this under-documented and under-reported, global issue. To this effect, our team is currently putting together an AHRC Digital Transformations bid on ‘telling data stories.’

Any truly multidisciplinary issue like tear gas, demands a collaborative, multidisciplinary response. We saw this disciplinary diversity emerge across the other projects that came from our interactive workshop ‘idea stations’. Some of these fascinating proposals included:

Charting the advertising and PR history of tear gas sales
An A to Z critical guide to tear gas
Engaging citizen science and wearable technologies
Using GIS software to map export data

Central to all of our project ideas is an attention to the relationship between data and design. In this information age, it is crucial that we consider not just what the data shows us, but how we communicate those findings and insights to a variety of audiences. That is why our group is committed to holding face-to-face meetings with policymakers and making appearances in international media outlets. To date, our research has featured in newspapers, websites, broadcast radio and television including The Financial Times, The Guardian, Vice.com, Australian Broadcast Company radio, RT, SES Turkey and BBC Mundo, to name just a few.

Over the year we will be building up a number of these projects and we’re always on the look out for new collaborators. From advertising to animation to atmospheric chemistry — if you are interested in this research area and have skills or knowledge to share, please be in touch: afeigenbaum@bournemouth.ac.uk

Meet Our Partners & Advisors

Dima Saber (Birmingham City University); Graeme Hayes (Aston University); Marijin Nieuwenhuis (University of Warwick); Ion Maleas (Goldsmiths); Tara O’Grady (Human Rights Defender); Damian McCormack (Medical Doctor Dublin); Dan McQuillan (Goldsmiths); Noha Atef (Birmingham City University); Lucie Ryzova (University of Birmingham); Michael Crowley (Bradford)

October 31, 2014

Congratulations to Wendy Marsh

Awarded & submitted bids, Featured academics, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

BU lecturer-practitioner Wendy Marsh based in Portsmouth has just been awarded The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) Luke Zander Research Support Bursary. The prize of £500 and a year’s membership to the RSM was established to honour Dr. Luke Zander a founding member of the Forum and an innovator in maternity care.

Wendy Marsh will receive the prize on 25 November at a meeting entitled ‘Looking back to the future: Challenges and opportunities in maternity care’, which will mark the 30^th anniversary of the Maternity & the Newborn Forum.

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

October 29, 2014

Event – 3D Printing: A Selection of Stakeholder Perspectives

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Featured academics, Public engagement cippm

Friday 7th November 2014, Executive Business Centre

There has been much written on the latest developments relating to additive manufacturing or 3D printing as it is more commonly known. The recent rise of low-cost consumer 3D printers have also made the headlines and raised interesting and complex questions.

However, there is limited literature and debate on the implications of 3D printing surrounding intellectual property law, economics, policy, society and technology.

To understand these various implications, this event, co-sponsored by the ESRC and UKIPO and hosted by Dr. Dinusha Mendis Co-Director CIPPM, will bring together industry experts, social scientists, policy makers, lawyers, economists and manufacturers of 3D printing and as such will go beyond the developments in 3D printing in order to understand the implications for various stakeholders.
It will take place on Friday 7th November, 2014 at Bournemouth University’s Executive Business Centre, 89 Holdenhurst Road, BH8 8EB (close to the main railway station).

The event will also provide the platform for a discussion and peer-review of the UKIPO Commissioned Report on the Intellectual Property Implications of 3D printing carried out by researchers at Bournemouth University and Econolyst.

This multi-disciplinary event will be complemented by an exhibition of 3D printing facilities provided by Bournemouth University together with one of the world’s largest 3D printing open-source companies, Ultimaker (Winner of Best Consumer Product and Best Consumer Software at the 2014 3D Print Show Global Awards).

The event is free to attend, although spaces are limited and registration is required. Those with a research interest in 3D printing are welcome to engage in debate on the challenges and opportunities facing this latest emerging technology.

For further information about the event and programme, please visit the CIPPM website. For queries, please contact BU Events (buevents[at]bournemouth.ac.uk) or Dr. Dinusha Mendis (dmendis[at]bournemouth.ac.uk)

Category / Featured academics

Development of novel low noise Switch-mode power supply designs for high fidelity audio power amplifiers

Cloud and Weather Simulation for computer graphics

The editor is a !@#!

CIPPM Members present research co-funded by the UKIPO and ESRC on Copyright and the Public Domain

Building Links between UK and China to further Copyright Research and Collaboration

CIPPM Researchers launch Copyright Resource for A/AS Level Media Studies

Transdisciplinary Arts Practice: Moving Sideways to Move Forward

Breastfeeding research presented in Cornwall

What costs £15 and smells of spent fireworks?

Congratulations to Wendy Marsh

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Category / Featured academics

Sage Publications online presence, “Social Science Space” has published BU Kip Jones’ “Ten ‘Rules’ for Being Creative in Producing Research’ on its website.

Since the changing of the year seems to be the time for lists, top ten lists, etc., Jones decided to compile his about being creative whist producing cutting‐edge research. Jones warned, “Not for the faint‐hearted!” The list is available here.

Students and Academics with further interest in arts-based research and dissemination are welcome to join the Arts in Research (AiR) Collaborative. More information here.

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