Category / Fusion themes

Congratulations to Prof. Parker on his latest publication

Congratulations to Sociology Prof. Jonathan Parker on the publication of his book review of Society of Fear This book is written by Jessica Spengler & Heinz Bude and published by Polity Press.  The book review is published by the international journal Sociological Research Online (published by SAGE).  

Books  are major tools of the trade in the social sciences, not just in the discipline of sociology.  Book reviews give social scientists an insight in one particular book in the wide array of books published in one’s research domain.  Book reviews are a bit of a rarity in online journals, but Sociological Research Online has been publishing book review since its inception 24 years ago.

 

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH & Book Review Editor Sociological Research Online

FM Food and Health research team awarded the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Seal of Excellence

The Food and Health research team in the Faculty of Management are delighted that their research into encouraging consumption of plant based dishes has been recognised by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions ‘Seal of Excellence’.

Their research VeggiEAT and Veg+ has led the way to providing an evidence based body of activity of which VegMAX was part. Plant based eating leads to a large net economic gain for society, as well as improved health outcomes for the population.

We are thrilled and proud with this recognition.

 

 

PCCC thought leadership underpins Government report on Digital Competition

Dr. Sevil Yesiloglu, from the Promotional Cultures & Communication Centre (PCCC), formed part of the Digital Competition Expert Panel established by Phillip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

As a contributor of the Panel, she examined the impact of the emergence of small number of big players in digital markets such as social media, e-commerce, search and online advertising and opportunities to enhance competition. This document makes valuable recommendations for changes to the UK’s competition framework.

Dr. Yesiloglu said “with the rise of digital economy, to understand the opportunities and challenges is crucial to strengthen the competition that can drive innovation and create great opportunities for start sups as well as big digital firms”. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/digital-competition-expert-panel

 

As if 15 years of oil price volatility was not enough… energy markets now need to deal with Brexit

The next in our series of Fusion inaugural lectures will take place on Tuesday 26 March in the Executive Business Centre on Lansdowne campus.  Professor George Filis from the Faculty of Management will be speaking.

During the course of this inaugural lecture, Professor George Filis will present recent developments relating to energy markets (with particular focus on the oil market). This will include some of the potential drivers behind the increase in oil price volatility over the last 15 years. Professor Filis will also look at the political economy of the oil market, with particular emphasis on the current status of the “petrodollar system”, the developments in Venezuela and whether Brexit could signal the onset of another turbulent period for the oil market.

Professor George Filis is a specialist in energy and financial economics. Currently, he is working towards the development of new modelling frameworks for forecasting energy prices. In particular, he looks at the predictive information of different asset classes on oil prices and oil price volatility. Professor Filis has also served as a consultant for the US Energy Information Administration and the Bank of Greece.

You can book your free tickets here.

Descent or dissent? Social work education in post-Brexit UK

Congratulations to Prof. Jonathan Parker on the publication of his article ‘Descent or dissent? A future of social work education in the UK post-Brexit‘ in the European Journal of Social Work. In true European style the journal also gives the title in Italian: Discesa o dissenso? Il futuro dell’istruzione nel settore dei servizi sociali nel Regno Unito dopo la Brexit.

 

Audio-Visual-Olfactory Resource Allocation for Tri-modal Virtual Environments

We would like to invite you to the next research seminar for the Centre for Games and Music Technology Research.

Title: Audio-Visual-Olfactory Resource Allocation for Tri-modal Virtual Environments

Speaker: Dr Carlo Harvey

Birmingham City University

 

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

 

Date: Wednesday 27 February 2019

 

Room: TAG02 (Tolpuddle Annex)

 

Abstract:

 

Virtual Environments (VEs) provide the opportunity to simulate a wide range of applications, from training to entertainment, in a safe and controlled manner. For applications which require realistic representations of real world environments, the VEs need to provide multiple, physically accurate sensory stimuli. However, simulating all the senses that comprise the human sensory system (HSS) is a task that requires significant computational resources. Since it is intractable to deliver all senses at the highest quality, we propose a resource distribution scheme in order to achieve an optimal perceptual experience within the given computational budgets. This talk investigates resource balancing for multi-modal scenarios composed of aural, visual and olfactory stimuli. Three experimental studies were conducted. The first experiment identified perceptual boundaries for olfactory computation. In the second experiment, participants (N = 25) were asked, across a fixed number of budgets (M = 5), to identify what they perceived to be the best visual, acoustic and olfactory stimulus quality for a given computational budget. Results demonstrate that participants tend to prioritise visual quality compared to other sensory stimuli. However, as the budget size is increased, users prefer a balanced distribution of resources with an increased preference for having smell impulses in the VE. Based on the collected data, a quality prediction model is

proposed and its accuracy is validated against previously unused budgets and an untested scenario in a third and final experiment.

 

We hope to see you there!

 

My Science – what the committee may investigate

The Science and Technology Committee heard suggestions for areas of inquiry that could be undertaken by the committee. Below are the ideas that were pitched to the Committee for further investigation.  (more…)