BU Research Blog

Category / Fusion Investment Fund

May 20, 2015

Working creatively to explore abuse in young people’s relationships – the CATCAM project

BU research, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, student research swincewicz

There is increasing awareness of the risks that young people face in terms of abusive personal relationships and intimate partner violence (IPV), and the Home Office has recently widened the definition the government uses to include abuse against those aged 16-17 as well as adults

Intimate partner violence concerns physical violence directed against a partner and often includes sexual violence and psychological abuse (Jewkes, 2002). This is a global issue and increasing concern is now being expressed about IPV in teenage and young people’s relationships (Keenan-Miller et al. 2007). US research suggests that 66 % of college-aged dating students experience at least one incident of IVP (Smith et al. 2003).

The project which has received Fusion Funding from BU aims to:

Develop creative methodologies/animation to explore the nature of abuse in young people’s relationships;
Explore how such methods might be used in domestic abuse prevention education

To date we have had two creative workshops which have used a range of materials and motion capture to produce a short piece of animation visualising mood and emotion. Those involved have enjoyed trying newapproaches to express and visualise meaning associated with relationships and abuse. It is great to be a co-learner in this process and to be taken out of my comfort zone as we are encouraged to use ‘visualisation’ techniques in a co-produced piece of work. Here are some examples of some of our visualisation work to date.

For more information on the CATCAM project please contact:

Dr. Lee-Ann Fenge lfenge@bournemouth.ac.uk

May 19, 2015

GeoNet Seminar on Citizen Science

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement pgillingham

In this GeoNet seminar we were joined by Gitte Kragh (BU Life Sciences), Hayley Roberts (BU AAFS), Rick Stafford (BU Life Sciences) and Paola Palma (BU AAFS), to discuss their different experiences with volunteers and the challenges they faced during the process. Outsourcing of data collection to volunteers is becoming increasingly popular, allowing the time consuming task to become much more efficient. It also provides a beneficial experience for the volunteers, making unique topics and discoveries accessible to the public. For example, Hayley Roberts expressed the importance of sharing archaeological finds, which would usually be off limits to the public, in order to enrich learning and understanding of Britain’s past.

Similarly, Paola Palma discussed her maritime archaeology projects, including the M.A.D. About The Wreck project, which encouraged the wider community to get involved and learn about maritime heritage in Poole. She has made projects accessible to the entire community, providing opportunities for disabled people and even prisoners to get involved and learn.

Gitte Kragh continued the discussion delving deeper into the sociological aspect of citizen science. She has investigated the relationship between volunteer happiness, work ethic and the outcomes for conservation. It seems that the happier the volunteers the greater the efficiency of work. However, the social aspect of volunteering, making friends and socialising with other volunteers may also inhibit work output. This therefore suggests that management of the projects is highly important and should be specialised depending on the age, skill level and type of project, in order to balance volunteer experience and success of the project.

Public participation plays a key role in data collection as Rick Stafford went on to discuss. Rick has explored the use of social media to help with citizen science such as the collection of bee biodiversity data. Using smartphones and apps is a useful and easy way to collect data on a large scale. Engaging the public is a great way to simultaneously collect data whilst educating and encouraging the community to become actively involved in the conservation of our environment and ecosystems. There are challenges however, as the precision and accuracy of the data collected may be limited due to volunteers’ skill level.

All agreed that management of volunteers was crucial to provide successful outcomes for both the volunteers and the project. The extent of engagement from volunteers is dependent on both social and environmental factors. Hayley Roberts agreed that there are many challenges to overcome, particularly in the Archaeology field, where legislation is usually there to restrict access out of fear that unskilled volunteers will cause destruction to these finite resources. Overall though, it seems that citizen science has a fundamental role in collecting important data, whilst providing an invaluable learning experience for volunteers allowing them to actively participate in environmental conservation, raising public awareness in the process.

Charlotte Unwin, GeoNet Intern

Our next seminar is this Thursday the 21st May from 1-2 in PG19. We have a visit from Craig Young (Reader in Human Geography at Manchester Met University), joined by Tim Darville (BU SciTech AAFS) and Anne Luce (BU M & C)

Craig is currently organising a seminar series which will include the politics of (re)burial, trade in body parts, dark tourism, body donation, diaspora and bodily disposal, the ethics of excavation, ‘green’ burial and theological perspectives on the dead body. In this seminar he will give us a perspective on corpse geographies and deathscapes (places for death, dying, mourning and remembrance). He will be joined by Tim Darvill (BU SciTech AAFS) who has recently published on life, death, ritual and regional identity in Britain c. 1600 BC and by Ann Luce (BU M & C) who will bring a perspective from her research into suicide rates across the US and UK, discourses on suicide and suicide in the media.

May 14, 2015

Fusion Fund – Study Leave – Manuscript submitted

Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Post-award, Publishing, Research communication, Research news Christopher Pullen

A little while back (August 2014-Jan 2015) I had Fusion Investment study leave to work on my manuscript ‘Straight Girls and Queer Guys: the Hetero Media Gaze in Film and Television’. Just wanted to follow up from this, to advise that the manuscript has now been submitted to Edinburgh University Press, and its on its way for production. I expect it will be a few months before its eventually published, but its such a relief to actually finish it. The research process was most engaging, and as with all concepts it changes and modifies, as a ‘work in progress’.

Here is a taster of the agreed back cover:

“Exploring the archetypal representation of the straight girl with the queer guy in film and television culture from 1948 to the present day, Straight Girls and Queer Guys considers the process of the ‘hetero media gaze’ and the way it contextualizes sexual diversity and gender identity. Offering both an historical foundation and a rigorous conceptual framework, Christopher Pullen draws on a range of case studies, including the films of Doris Day and Rock Hudson, the performances of Kenneth Williams, televisions shows such as Glee, Sex and the City and Will and Grace, the work of Derek Jarman, and the role of the gay best friend in Hollywood film. Critiquing the representation of the straight girl and the queer guy for its relation to both power and otherness, this is a provocative study that frames a theoretical model which can be applied across diverse media forms.”

Now I am on to my next book project, the educational biography of Pedro Zamora.

April 30, 2015

GeoNet Human/Wildlife Conflict

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Knowledge Exchange, PG research, Public engagement, Research communication, student research pgillingham

For our most recent GeoNet event we were lucky enough to have a visit from Gaius Wilson all the way from Southern India. Gaius told us about his PhD research into elephant behaviour. Apparently there are 12-15,000 elephants in Southern India, and they commonly come into conflict with humans. Farmers try to protect their crops with deep ditches (elephants can’t jump!) and electric fences. However, elephants are clever, and have realised that their tusks don’t conduct electricity, so the males (females don’t have tusks) push over fences or use trees to break them. An emerging problem is the spread of a weed called Lantana, which was introduced from South America as an ornamental hedge plant. Lantana forms very high, dense stands which elephants can’t cross. It takes up space and so there is a loss of fodder, since elephants don’t eat Lantana, and the plant contains oils and can lead to more intense forest fires. This pushes elephants closer to villages to find food, and means that locals with captive working elephants have to travel further to find food. One thing the forest department can do to stop elephants being forced to use farmer’s resources is to remove Lantana where it appears. Employing villagers to do this could create work opportunities, with associated economic benefits.

After Gaius’ talk we had an interesting discussion (joined by Susanna Curtin and Mandy Korstjens) about the potential for wildlife tourism to mitigate human/wildlife conflict. The idea is that if farmers have another income stream provided by tourists, it becomes in their interest to protect the animals that the tourists pay to see. However, most wildlife tourism in India is domestic, so not much cash is generated. There are pitfalls with this type of tourism, in that guides and others employed are often not local people, hotels are usually some distance from wildlife sites and locals often don’t receive any benefit from tourist visits, which can lead to resentment. There are some success stories – in Peru all guides are local by law and receive training to fulfil the role. Small-scale tourism in Peru involving locals has spread as nearby villages see the benefits and follow the example of those who set up schemes. However, in India legislation prevents people from setting up such schemes in protected areas, and until this is allowed nature tourism won’t have a role in persuading locals to protect elephants.

Our next three events are;

7^th May 13.00-14.00 Lawrence LT (Talbot Campus)

Participatory Research – Gitte Kragh (BU Life Sciences) Hayley Roberts (BU AAFS) Rick Stafford (BU Life Sciences) Paola Palmer (BU AAFS)

14^th May 13.00-14.00 KG01 (Talbot Campus)

Storymaps and place-based storytelling – Anna Feigenbaum (BU M & C)

21^st May 13.00-14.00, PG19 (Talbot Campus)

Cultural heritage landscapes and deathscapes – Craig Young (Reader in Human Geography at Manchester Met University), Tim Darville (BU SciTech AAFS), Anne Luce (BU M & C)

April 30, 2015

Pars pro toto: Sports’ Cologne relationship as an example for a successful Erasmus+ partnership

Awarded & submitted bids, EU, Fusion Investment Fund, Global engagement tbreitbarth

Ever since BU has built relationships with German Sport University Cologne – arguably, the leading global sport university – in 2012 it has been an evolving partnership in terms of student exchange, teaching and research collaboration as well as other academic and industry-oriented work.

Recently, lead contact Dr Tim Breitbarth’s visit has further maintained and widened this link. Mainly, he taught on international sports marketing and management Masters courses; discussed potential future collaborative teaching formats (such as the already co-organized international student management games); met with current BU exchange students in Cologne; and outlined a joint paper on ‘sponsorships as B2B relationships’ based on empirical data from a student dissertation; and defined the direction for a submission to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellowship Programme.

Why Erasmus? Why Europe?

There is much going for strategically developing Erasmus links, especially if departments seek to extent relationships with European partners beyond student exchange only (arguably, both the core and a starting point). Firstly, it steers EU money towards BU (for both students and staff). Secondly, travel is usually much cheaper than to overseas destinations, so more interaction is likely (and: likely to be funded). Thirdly, there are lots of EU research funding opportunities that require/encourage collaboration within Europe. Fourthly, there is much intercultural learning available for students (and staff). Also, after all, 60% of UK trade is with Europe.

For a variety activities reported on this partnership see the following links on the BU Research Blog and the Faculty of Management Blog (may be search for ‘Cologne’):

http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/author/tbreitbarth/

https://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/tourism/category/sport-management/

April 21, 2015

GeoNet Low Carbon Cities

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund pgillingham

Luca D’Acci presented our third GeoNet seminar about the need for ‘Low Carbon Cities’. With cities accounting for 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, it is clear that something needs to change and low carbon cities could be the answer.

The benefits of low carbon cities can be seen in cities such as Copenhagen. Copenhagen has become one of the ‘greenest’ cities in Europe through its innovative use of energy efficient technology and design. Copenhagen is also a compact city. D’Acci suggests a key change to support the conversion to a low carbon city is reducing urban sprawl. Furthermore, a car-based transport model results in increased costs; for example, Houston spends 14% of its GDP on transport, versus only 4% in Copenhagen.

Therefore, remodelling a city’s shape and form could be the answer to a more energy efficient world. Containing urban sprawl, developing energy efficient buildings and encouraging ‘greener’ transport systems could contribute to establishing a successful low carbon city. Benefits of these changes have been predicted. Investments of $1.7 billion in domestic energy efficiency could generate annual savings of $626 million, which is a payback time of only 3 years. In addition, 2 million jobs would be created by the new low carbon technological industry. Furthermore, health benefits and a significant reduction in pollution related illnesses would result in a higher standard of living and a better quality of life.

Next we went on to discuss how these cities could be implemented. I personally found it interesting that we could look to the past for ideas to shape the future. The Greeks and Romans designed their central hubs around unity, variety, compactness and nature, all of which are characteristics that we want to emulate in our cities today. Futuristic transport using renewable energy sources, building multifunctioning, independent cellular cities, and simply changing to energy saving light bulbs are all ways of creating a low carbon city. However, it is evident that a change in attitude will be important to ensure success.

An interesting discussion with the audience followed with most agreeing that low carbon cities are necessary for sustainable development. However, many agreed that the changing of attitudes would be difficult to achieve in existing cities. Despite this, it is important that we find the best solution to regenerate cities, in order to create a sustainable future and provide a template for developing countries to model their new low carbon cities.

Charlotte Unwin, GeoNet Intern

April 20, 2015

Fusion Investment Fund

Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Uncategorized stownrow

The next round of the Fusion Investment Fund launches on 11th May.

The Fusion Investment Fund provides staff with the opportunity to develop and pursue their fusiongoals by bidding for and drawing on these ‘pump-priming’ resources. FIF is part of BU’s investment in intellectual capital.

Fusion is central to BU2018 and with this in mind we are embedding fusion within our Global Agenda as we enter the next exciting phase of shaping BU’s global footprint. Taking our internationally respected fusion of education, research and professional practice to a global audience increases BU’s global profile and underscores the excellent performance already achieved and recognised through the recent QAA and REF 2014 results. To drive our vision forward the competitive strands of Fusion (Co-creation and Co-production, and Staff Mobility and Networking) have been aligned to help staff (particularly those new to bidding, or new to BU) make BU become a truly global institution.

Watch out for more details soon about how the fund can support your work.

Category / Fusion Investment Fund

GeoNet Human/Wildlife Conflict

Pars pro toto: Sports’ Cologne relationship as an example for a successful Erasmus+ partnership

GeoNet Low Carbon Cities

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