BU Research Blog

Category / Fusion

June 9, 2016

BU hosts public meeting on ‘radicalisation’

BU research, conferences, Events, Fusion, Global engagement, Impact, international, Public engagement brichards

The third BU ‘Dialogue in the Social Sciences’ will be held at 5.15 on Wednesday 22 June, in the EBC. This series of public meetings is bringing together social scientists and experts from outside academia to discuss social issues of pressing concern. Previous events have discussed the future of HE, and crime and the media. The title of this one is ‘Radicalisation: what is it and what threat does it pose?’ As with previous events in this series, there is an impressive panel. Professor Matthew Feldman of Teesside University is an expert on the Far Right; he will be joined by Emma el-Badawy of the University of Exeter and Dr Usama Hasan of the counter-radicalisation organisation the Quilliam Foundation, both experts on violent jihadism. Professor Barry Richards will be in the chair.

The ‘Dialogues’ series is organised by Profs Ann Brooks (FHSS), Candida Yates and Barry Richards (FMC).

To register for a free ticket: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dialogues-in-the-contemporary-social-sciences-22-june-tickets-25949415400

May 23, 2016

Scenarios, Murder, Mingling and Twitter

Awarded & submitted bids, conferences, EU, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Global engagement nferdinand

Dr Nicole Ferdinand, Senior Academic in Events Management, recently returned from a week-long Erasmus mobility teaching exchange to BU Erasmus Partner, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Porvoo, Finland. She had the opportunity to share some of her department’s cutting edge research and teaching practice. She led a series of workshops on scenario planning, inter-cultural communication and event evaluation using social media. Two of the sessions were based on research she had conducted whilst at BU. The approach used in the scenario planning workshop was based on Carnival Futures: Notting Hill Carnival 2020, a stakeholder-based approach to scenario planning which was funded by the King’s Cultural Institute. The methodology demonstrated in the event evaluation workshop was based on the Festival Impact Monitor (FestIM), which was funded by BU’s Fusion Fund. Nicole was joined for this workshop by her colleague, Dr Nigel Williams, FestIM’s Principal Investigator. As an added bonus, during her exchange she was allowed free entry to the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Spring Mingle, which was being hosted at Haaga-Helia that week.

Haaga-Helia Events Management students joined by their lectuer, Monika Birkle for the Porvoo Events in 2050 workshop

Haaga-Helia Events Management students joined by their lecturer, Monika Birkle for the Porvoo Events in 2050 workshop

Nicole’s week started with a scenario planning workshop entitled, Porvoo Events in 2050, in which students considered the future of events in Porvoo, given the uncertainties of the event and destination marketing skills of the industry and the yet to be formulated event development policy. Her second workshop, Improving Your Communication Skills by Killing the Russian Mafia, proved especially popular and was requested by three of Haaga-Helia’s lecturers for their student groups. Inter-cultural communication was a key skill that many Finnish students found especially challenging to acquire.

Students participating in the inter-cultural communications skills workshop

Students improving their communication skills by “Killing the Mafia”

Nicole was joined by her colleague Dr. Nigel Williams on the fourth day of her visit for the MPI Spring Mingle. Nigel was the event’s keynote speaker. Prior to the MPI event, Nicole and Nigel hosted a workshop for Haaga-Helia’s students who wanted to learn how to use social media data to undertake business and marketing research for events. Nicole also spent some of her remaining time promoting BU as an Erasmus destination and talking to staff and students planning Erasmus visits to BU next year.

Nicole and colleague Nigel meet Haaga-Helia staff and students and participate in the MPI Spring Mingle

Staff or students wishing to find out about going to Haaga-Helia for an Erasmus visit, please feel free to contact Nicole – nferdinand@bournemouth.ac.uk. She is happy to chat with you and has some helpful advice on preparing for a visit to Finland.

May 20, 2016

FIF Erasmus Mobility for professional support staff from BU to University of Bremen’s “International Staff Week”

Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Global engagement, Knowledge Exchange, Training Rachel Bowen

I have just returned from a 2 week Erasmus professional staff mobility to Bremen University’s “International Staff Week” and special admin training with the local coordinator of the Erasmus Mundus Fusion Project which we host at Bournemouth and where I work as a Project Administrator. It was an enjoyable and successful experience. It was an unusual type of mobility, which has been supported by the FIF Erasmus Fund throughout.

University of Bremen is similar to BU. It is a new University, but unlike Bournemouth University, it was built from scratch in the 1970s with a number of faculties and departments not unlike those at Bournemouth University today. Together with the newly built academic facilities a center for Technology and Innovation was established. Through this center a number of German and international industrial, tech and high tech companies and start-ups set up business which have grown over the decades.

Today this industrial environment provides practicums, placements and acts as source of third party funding and in research collaborations of which many involve international research guests. Bremen is a small university, thus needs to use its expertise as one of the most success German universities to finance their work via third party funding and international collaborations.

: Research Hall of Log Dynamics at University of Bremen, models and research arrangements

: Research Hall of Log Dynamics at University of Bremen, models and research arrangements

: Research Hall of Log Dynamics at University of Bremen, models and research arrangements

With 20 000 students (slightly more than BU) and an equivalent percentage of science and international students as Bournemouth University, Bremen follows a strategy of internationalisation and globalization not dissimilar to BU 2020. Administrating new collaborations are at the heart of many administrative arrangements and skill developments at university level. The International Office follows a “special care” professional development program annually, “The International Staff Week” for Erasmus and International services staff organised by Barbara Hasenmüller, its Deputy Director and Coordinator for EU-Higher Education Programs.

The International Staff week is also open for colleagues and guests from Erasmus partner Universities across Europe. Language issues were not a problem. Whenever a challenge occurred, a colleague who spoke the language was called and assisted in the generally warm and interesting exchange of practice and discussions of job related issues. This enabled a comfortable atmosphere for all participants.

I was invited to join this year’s ‘International Staff Week’ by Dr Ingrid Rügge who is the local coordinator of the Erasmus Mundus Fusion project which BU hosts at the University of Bremen. I benefited greatly from many work shadowing sessions, presentations, meetings, structured discussions with other involved colleagues and best practice exchange relevant to my role, which among others included:

financial administration and grant provision,
application and admission processes for international students from all projects spectrum,
accreditation procedures and arrangements, ECTs, Certificates,
status of guest students and researchers for incoming guests and students,
provision and services for outgoing Erasmus+ and Erasmus Mundus students and staff intending to go abroad,
an outlook into admin, legal and procedure changes of Erasmus+ to Erasmus 2020 transition processes were also part of discussions and a presentation by colleagues.

During this time and the intensive Fusion project week that followed I was based at Dr. Ingrid Rügge’s office and provided with a desk to work for my job as project admin at BU.

Ingrid and a Technician fitting the Bhutanese souvenir of “The four friends” which has similar symbolic valors like Bremen’s Town Musicians

She had just completed a staff mobility of the Erasmus Mundus Fusion Project herself to Bhutan’s Royal University, also a Fusion consortium partner. (For information about Dr. Rügge at her Research Cluster “Log Dynamics” please click for an overview of their activities http://www.logdynamics.de).

The multidisciplinary research cluster of 4 Applied Science departments host the Erasmus Mundus Fusion projects at University of Bremen and are active in collaborative projects with a number of Universities from the projects I am involved in.

Every day meetings were arranged with colleagues I was familiar with from email contact. There were also colleagues in wider EM Fusion activities and the directors’ office who indicated their interest in further cooperation with BU.

In “Log Dynamics” I finally met four of the current Erasmus Mundus grantees in person, who I only knew from data during the application process and who are now studying computer sciences, electronics and KTI projects during their mobility. We discussed features of their student experience, how they think they will benefit and what they would like to modify or suggestions they had in preparation of a wider project evaluation effort.

Dr. Rügge suggested an ongoing link strengthen the work of both Erasmus Mundus Fusion project partners in Bremen and Bournemouth and for the benefit of the involved project consortium.

Photo credit: Rehling, DH

As previously indicated the entire mobility was financed by FIF Erasmus and Internationals fund for which I would like to thank the colleagues who supported me during the application process.

Enquries to Karin Ermert kermert@bournemouth.ac.uk

May 19, 2016

There’s no ‘I’ in Team: My experience as a URA

BU research, Centre for Excellence in Learning, conferences, Fusion, Research communication jbranney

Blog post by Pippa Empson, Undergraduate Research Assistant (Innovative Pedagogy)

Following my application and interview earlier this year I was accepted for the Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) position on an ‘Innovative Pedagogy’ research project. Being part of the URA programme gave me an insight into the world of primary research which involved transcribing conversations from focus groups, collating data into spreadsheets and statistically analysing data using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences), and getting the opportunity to present our findings in the Bournemouth University conference SURE (Showcasing Undergraduate Research Excellence). It was a pleasure to work alongside academic staff Dr Jacqueline Priego and Dr Jonathan Branney who welcomed me and Jade Offer, the other URA, to the team and supported me in my position.

I learnt many new skills including analysing quantitative and qualitative data which the academic staff was happy to guide me in. I was initially daunted by the work I would be expected to do and whether I would be able to fit it around my undergraduate studies as a second year adult nursing student. However as I was able to fulfill some of the URA work at home on my own computer it meant I was able to be flexible with when I worked, so I could keep my other commitments. Being a URA was a great opportunity which I would recommend it to anyone interested in research or furthering their skills, be it computer skills or communication skills.

Pippa Empson, BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing, year two

May 14, 2016

Pedro Zamora, Sexuality and AIDS Education

BU research, Fusion Christopher Pullen

After researching the life of AIDS activist Pedro Zamora for some time (since my Phd in 2005 in fact), and having the opportunity more recently to work on an ‘educational biography’ of his life, partly funded by the Fusion Project a couple of years ago, I am delighted that the book is now coming out on 1 June, 2016. Pedro’s life story is inspiring, he was an immigrant from Cuba arriving in the United States in 1980, aged 8. He found out that he was HIV positive aged 17, and went on to become possibly the most well known HIV/AIDS educator who was able to reach youth audiences through his appearance on the reality television series The Real World: San Francisco in 1994. He died not long after the series was broadcast at aged 22, but he reached so many people, and his message is still so relevant, when we consider that HIV/AIDS is more than ever a worldwide concern, devastating in many places. Pedro’s message touches us deeply, and his message is not lost. I must sincerely thank not only John M Clum (Professor Emeritus of Theater Studies and English at Duke University) and Toni Tan at Cambria Press for commissioning the book, when I found it difficult to find anyone interested in an ‘educational biography’, but also to Bill Nichols and Christine Holmlund for such endorsements of the book.

May 6, 2016

BU research on Citizen Science featured on Countryfile

BU research, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, PG research, Public engagement, Research communication, student research adiaz

A recently screened and still available episode of the BBC programme Countryfile http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b079ywf9/countryfile-conservation-compilation features BU PhD student Gitte Kragh’s research on what motivates members of the public and students to volunteer as Citizen Scientists for wildlife conservation. The programme showcases the National Trust’s Cyril Diver project, a nationally important project that has measured how the stunning wildlife of Studland, South Haven Peninsula on Purbeck has changed since it was recorded in detail by Cyril Diver in the 1930’s Gitte’s work has shown that the main motivation for people to participate in projects like the Cyril Diver is that they want to do something they feel is worthwhile, in this case help to protect the environment to ensure it is there for future generations. Another important aspect that draws volunteers to the Cyril Diver project is the opportunity for volunteers to learn more about nature, both through specialist workshops and through training in the field with expert naturalists.

Bournemouth University has been a close partner on the Cyril Diver project resulting in the co-creation of research by three BU PhD students, three MSc students, a dozen UG students and over 40 Student Environment Research Team (SERT) students. This work is informing future wildlife conservation management planning for Studland. BU and the NT are building on the success of the FIF-funded SERT co-creation work to develop our partnership model into a long term project for co-creating research of impact for wildlife conservation management that intergrates student and general public citizen scientists. For more information please contact Dr Anita Diaz adiaz@bournemouth.ac.uk

April 28, 2016

Preparations are under way……

BU research, Festival of Learning, Fusion, Public engagement, Research news hcrossen

Image with kind permission of Hampshire Record Office

One of the events at this year’s BU Festival of Learning will highlight the research partnership between BU and the RSPB. For over two years members of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences have been working with Tom Clarke from the RSPB on various projects that explore how accessing the natural environment can improve personal health and wellbeing.
The Festival of Learning event that is being developed in partnership with the RSPB will focus upon one stretch of the River Stour between Muscliff and Throop Mill. An exhibition, at Bournemouth Council’s new Kingfisher Barn Visitor Centre, will show how previous generations have used the area. It is hoped that through this historical narrative members of the public who visit the event will be encouraged to think about how they could enjoy this beautiful rural stretch of the river with family and friends in the future. There will also be cultural heritage activities to try.
At present the project team are gathering information on the cultural heritage of the area. This has involved searching local archives as well as Hampshire Record Office, to find information about those who have lived, worked and had fun in and by the River. The Daily Echo is also supporting the search by including an article asking any members of the public with memories of the area to send them in – and we know there are lots of people with childhood links to the location following a number of Facebook posts to members of the project team. May be colleagues or students at BU have their own memories they’d like to share – we’d love to hear them!

April 22, 2016

FBU Workshop Overview

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Global engagement, international, Post-award ebolat

Better later than never. Finally, I found some time to write about our incredible time in Moscow.

Supported by Santander FIF fund, Dr Parisa Gilani and Dr Elvira Bolat (me) travelled to beautiful sunny Moscow (10 March -13 March) to run the “Digital momentum for SMEs” workshop. The workshop took place in Faculty of Management, Financial University (Moscow, Russia) and was well attended by students across different levels. In total 30 students were selected to engage with two master-classes, which aimed to promote academic strengths of Bournemouth University in the fields of digital marketing, leadership and SMEs management and marketing.

Two interactive master-classes covered the following topics:

“Digital marketing for SMEs” (delivered in Russian by Dr Elvira Bolat)

2. “Leadership in the context of SMEs” (delivered in English by Dr Parisa Gilani).

Following workshops, both BU academics have met Faculty of Management (Financial University) Executive Team to discuss joint research projects, prioritising EU research funding, joint publications and public engagement opportunities.

Source: international.fa.ru

Financial University is first formal partner of BU in the Russian Federation. Moreover Financial University is part of Santander Universities network. FBU workshop was a fantastic opportunity to strengthen BU and Financial University partnership resulting in increased visibility of BU in Russia, promotion of BU portfolio of undergraduate and postgraduate courses among our Russian partner’s students and, most importantly, increasing awareness of BU’s academic and professional expertise in the fields of digital marketing and leadership.

We are definitely looking forward to working further with Financial University and expecting their academic staff and group of students to visit BU in September/October 2016.

Source: chilingarov.viperson.ru

Second part of the visit involved meeting with well-established Professor of Law Marina Telukina whose academic expertise covers bankruptcy and commercial law. At the moment Professor Telukina is working across various Higher Education Institutions in the Russian Federation but is a full-time member of staff in the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA).

Professor Telukina is willing to strengthen her academic ties with BU (sharing her knowledge and practice of Russian Law) and work on collaborative projects between Faculty of Management (BU) and Graduate School of Management and Innovation in Lomonosov Moscow State University – something our team is really excited about. Professor Telukina has now planned visit to the UK in August 2016 and we are planning to meet in Bournemouth in order to discuss details of joint research projects.

That is all from me. Hope, you are now more open to expanding your academic networks. Santander Fusion Investment Fund is best option to support you in this. Full list of global Santander Universities partners can be found here: http://www.santander.com/csgs/Satellite?appID=santander.wc.CFWCSancomQP01&c=GSInformacion&canal=CSCORP&cid=1278679137354&empr=CFWCSancomQP01&leng=en_GB&pagename=CFWCSancomQP01%2FGSInformacion%2FCFQP01_GSInformacionDetalleSimple_PT08

Elvira Bolat

April 21, 2016

‘Re-Imagining Conflict-Transformation: Making Memory Meaningful’ – A one-day Workshop on 6th May 2016

BU research, conferences, Events, Fusion mklinkner

This one-day workshop explores interdisciplinary and innovative approaches to dealing with a country’s troubled past through memorialisation as a key aspect of transitional justice. It is organised by the Conflict Transformation Studies team as part of the Centre for Conflict, Rule of Law and Society (Bournemouth University).
Location: Executive Business Centre (7th Floor, EB706), 89 Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth, BH8 8EB

Programme:

9.00 Arrival and registration

9.30 Introduction and Welcome by Melanie Klinkner and Welcome by Sascha Bachmann (Director of the Centre for Conflict, Rule of Law and Society)

9.40 Key Note Address by Nora Ahmetaj, Co-founder of the Centre for Research, Documentation and Publication (Kosovo): ‘Critical approaches to ‘reconciliation’ and transitional justice in Kosovo’s post-war memory’

10.40 Coffee Break

11.00 Panel 1: Chair Avital Biran

Ellie Smith, Newcastle University Forum for Human Rights and Social Justice: ‘Commemoration and Memory: specific justice needs of victims in the aftermath of international crimes and gross violations’

Robyn Leslie, King’s College London: ‘Remember Marikana: apportioning blame or accepting complicity?’

Nina Fischer, University of Edinburgh: ‘National Memory of Trauma and the Perpetuation of Conflict: Israel/Palestine’

12.30 Lunch

13.15 Panel 2: Chair Melanie Klinkner

Denisa Kostovicova, London School of Economics: ‘War Crimes Talk: Transitional Justice and Communication’

Hanna Kienzler, School of Social Science and Public Policy, King’s College (London): ‘Embodied struggles for societal change’

Linda Gusia, University of Prishtina: ‘Breaking the Silence – Recognition of the survivors of wartime sexual violence in Kosovo’

Laura Grace and Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers, Bournemouth University: ‘Quests into post-war Kosovo’s memoryscapes: the interdisciplinary, anthropological and co-creative challenges of BU’s fusion project for a serious game’

15.15 Coffee Break

15.45 Roundtable discussion

What and/or who can make transitional justice initiatives work? How can contested memories be integrated to support conflict transformation? Reflections and insights from past, present and towards the future. Facilitated by Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers and Melanie Klinkner (Bournemouth University).

Confirmed panel Members include:

Nora Ahmetaj (Centre for Research, Documentation and Publication),

Nina Fischer (University of Edinburgh),

Eric Gordy (University College London),

Hanna Kienzler (King’s College London),

Denisa Kostovicova (London School of Economics), and

Christian Pfeifer (Forum Civil Peace Service).

17.00 Closing remarks

Tabled Paper(s): Vjollca Krasniqi, University of Prishtina: ‘War, Law, and Justice in Kosovo’.

Contact: For more information, please contact the organisers Melanie Klinkner (mklinkner@bournemouth.ac.uk) or Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers (sssievers@bournemouth.ac.uk). For urgent matters on the day, please contact Reception at the Executive Business Centre on 01202 968003

Registration: this event is free of charge. However, spaces are limited. For participation please register by 27 April 2016 with the organisers.

April 18, 2016

Seminar, Prof Edwin van Teijlingen, ‘Maternal Mortality in Nepal’, Wed 20th April, Royal London House, R303, 13:00-13:50.

BU Challenges, BU research, Centre for Excellence in Learning, conferences, EU, Events, Featured academics, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, international, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Knowledge Transfer, Knowledge Transfer Partnership, REF Subjects, Research assessment, Research communication, Research Ethics, Research Integritiy, Research news, Research themes, Uncategorized Mastoureh Fathi

Maternal Mortality in Nepal
Abstract: The session links various social and political factors that affect maternal mortality. Women dying in pregnancy and childbirth is very much a problem of and in low-income countries. This talk focuses on Nepal, one of the poorer countries of the world, to highlight a range of maternal health issues and wider influencing factors including globalisation and the influence of global organisations such as the World Health Organisation.

For further information regarding the Social Science seminar series, get in touch with Dr Mastoureh Fathi (mfathi@boutnemouth.ac.uk).

April 17, 2016

THET presentation at BNAC

BU research, Events, Fusion, Global engagement, international, Knowledge Exchange, Research news Edwin van Teijlingen

On Thursday 14th April Dr. Bibha Simkhada (Liverpool John Moores University & BU Visiting Faculty) and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen presented their education research in Liverpool. The work is part of a THET-funded project at the 14th Britain-Nepal Academic Council (BNAC) Nepal Study Days. The presentation ‘Mental Health Training and Education in Nepal‘ is part of an international project led by Bournemouth University. BU collaborates with Tribhuvan University (Nepal’s largest & oldest university) and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). The project receives funding from DFID, and is managed through THET and supported locally in Nepal by a non-governmental organisation called Green Tara Nepal. The project takes UK volunteers, people with experience in midwifery, mental health, higher education, nursing, health visiting, etc. to the southern part of Nepal.

Mental health is a difficult topic to discuss in Nepal (as it often is in the UK). This makes it hard for front-line health workers, especially non-mental health specialists, to start a discussion about mental health issues with patients.

As part of this THET-funded programme to train community health worker such as Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) on mental health issues related to pregnancy, we conducted a review of all relevant health curricula in Nepal. The key findings are that mental health issues in pregnancy and childbirth are often lacking in the curricula for both nurses and ANMs as a result community-based staff lack training in this topic. There is a great need for a curriculum to facilitate relevant training for ANMs.

We would like to repeat our call for volunteers. If you are a health or education professional with an interest in mental health and/or maternity care and you are interested in volunteering later this year for a week to ten days in Nepal please contact Edwin van Teijlingen (evteijlingen@bournemouth.ac.uk ).

April 12, 2016

Team-based Learning – want to give it a try? Find out about it (tomorrow) Wednesday 13th April!

BU research, Centre for Excellence in Learning, Events, Fusion, Research communication jbranney

An Evaluation of Team-based Learning – Wednesday 13th April 4pm in PG11 CELebrate 2016Please click here for previous blog post that explains what, where, why and when

April 7, 2016

Hello Haaga Helia

Awarded & submitted bids, EU, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Global engagement, Public engagement nferdinand

Following her successful Erasmus Fusion Investment Fund bid, Dr Nicole Ferdinand, Senior Academic in Events Management will be visiting the Haaga Helia University of Applied Sciences in Finland from May 9^th – 13^th 2016. During her visit Nicole with be showcasing BU’s excellence in research and teaching.

Nicole with Haaga Helia’s Mari Austin, International Coordinator and Kaija Lindroth, Director, Tourism Degree Programmes during a visit to Bournemouth University in November 2015

Professor Buhalis and Dr Inversini (pictured 2nd and 3rd from left) receiving the Second Place Best Journal Paper award from IFITT

Her activities will include demonstrating a new event evaluation methodology to Haaga Helia’s staff and students, as well as, members of the event association, Meeting Professionals International (MPI), who will be hosting its Spring Mingle at Haaga Helia on May 12^th. The research methodology which utilizes social media data was featured in an article Nicole co-authored with BU colleagues, Dr Nigel Williams, Dr Alessandro Inversini and Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, which recently received a best journal paper award from the International Federation for IT and Travel and Tourism (IFITT).

Haaga Helia’s staff and students will also be introduced to BU’s technology enhanced learning. Nicole will be using Xerte learning objects, which were featured in BU’s recently launched Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Toolkit video.

Xerte learning objects developed for Events Management teaching featured in BU’s TEL Toolkit video

Nicole will be hosted by Mrs. Kaija Lindroth, Director of Degree Programmes in Tourism at Haaga Helia’s Porvoo Campus.

April 7, 2016

Researching innovative pedagogy: An Evaluation of Team-based Learning

BU research, Centre for Excellence in Learning, conferences, Events, Fusion, innovation, Research communication jbranney

An Evaluation of Team-based Learning – 4-5pm in PG11, Wednesday 13th of April 2016

What is Team-based Learning?

Team-based Learning (TBL) is an example of the ‘flipped classroom’ concept whereby what might be described as traditional teaching content is accessed by students outside of the classroom while activities that might be termed ‘homework’ are conducted in class. In class, students have to answer questions as individuals to test them on their learning from the set pre-reading activities (termed the individual Readiness Assurance Test), then the same questions in allocated teams (team Readiness Assurance Test). Each team has a scratch card so that students can check if their agreed answer is correct (immediate feedback). Following that, teams then work on application exercises, where they have to apply their knowledge to problem-solving real-life scenarios.

Why bother with this approach?

TBL is thought to confer some advantages over traditional teaching methods in terms of student engagement and provides immediate feedback on student performance. While it does tend to mean some extra work for lecturers in terms of preparation activities, increased job satisfaction is commonly reported, and students report enjoying learning in this way. It is believed to improve critical thinking skills and in some cases improved exam performance has been reported. Further, this collaborative learning process promotes the importance of effective team-working, a skill desired of our graduates by many employers.

Do you want to find out more?

I am delivering a session on TBL at the CELebrate Conference 2016 next week. In this session, you will be introduced to TBL and get to experience a TBL session yourself! Quantitative (using the validated TBL-SAI instrument) and qualitative (focus group discussions) results from an evaluation of the implementation of TBL into a unit on the Adult Nursing degree programme will also be presented.

What to do now?

Click here to watch this video before the session (it’s less than four minutes) -it’s a snippet from my online lecture on circulatory shock. Don’t panic if you’ve little knowledge regarding human physiology, it’s only to help illustrate the TBL approach – hopefully you’ll enjoy it!
Then click here to book onto the session

Best wishes

Dr Jonny Branney

March 24, 2016

Conference report – “Embedding Citizen Science into Wildlife Conservation Management”

conferences, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Knowledge Transfer, Public engagement, Research communication, student research adiaz

This conference was co-hosted by BU and the National Trust (NT) on the 21st March and attended by over 150 delegates including conservation practitioners, citizen scientist members of the public, researchers and BU students.

Scroll down for pictures from the day

In the morning we heard from 16 speakers from a wide range of wildlife organisations including Natural England, the RSPB, Bioblitz, Field Studies Council and Dorset Wildlife Trust. We also presented our BU-NT collaborative FIF funded Purbeck Heath SERT (Student Environment Research Team) project.

In the afternoon we brain stormed ideas in energetic workshops that explored challenges and solutions to achieving impact of citizen science in wildlife conservation management. The outputs from the workshops will be posted soon after Easter here – Wessex Conservation Forum and video recordings of the morning talks will be available too later.

For more information please email – Anita Diaz adiaz@bournemouth.ac.uk

Thanks very much to inspiring speakers, a wonderfully warm and engaged audience and super support from the National Trust and BU students and staff. We are particularly grateful for the support from the Wessex Conservation Forum and the British Ecological Society and for excellent help from the following BU student volunteers: Adam Pickles, Kimberley Tickner, Melissa Howell and Melissa Stephens.

Conference Scientific Organising Committee – David Brown (National Trust), Michelle Brown (National Trust), Gitte Kragh (BU) & Anita Diaz (BU).

Here are some moments from the day! Also you can take a look here for more #CitSci4Wildlife

Some of the morning lectures

Networking and relaxing over coffee and lunch

Workshop participants identifying and theming challenges on postit-notes

Making it happen – some of the staff and student organisers

Some Tweets on tweets on #citsci4wildlife

tweets on #citsci4wildlife

March 21, 2016

Who are the World’s Heaviest Tear Gas Users?

BU research, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Public engagement afeigenbaum

Check out the interactive maps on our BU Civic Media Hub website to find out!

Everyday tear gas is used around the world, from Brazil to Bahrain, from Thailand to the Occupied Territories of Palestine. Yet, while journalists file news stories of tear gas deployments, there is no national or international data recorded on its use or its effects.

Researchers and campaign groups work hard to raise awareness of the true effects of tear gas, yet its health effects remain undetermined and its death toll ill-defined. Data on tear gas is dispersed across nations, suppressed by governments, and spun by corporate manufacturers with a vested interest in keeping sales figures high. Largely unregulated and unmonitored, the for-profit transnational trade in tear gas continues to raise legal questions, as people around the world face its repressive and often violent effects.

Our 2015 Mapping the Media project sought to aggregate news reports on tear gassing in efforts to make public the frequency and motivations for its use. The maps form part of a larger research project led by Dr. Anna Feigenbaum, Senior Lecturer in Digital Storytelling at Bournemouth University. The 2015 mapping was done by Dr. Feigenbaum and her Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) Laura McKenna with support from Dr. Pippa Gillingham and the BU Datalabs Team that came together through CCCP Fusion Grant in 2014.

Find out more about digital storytelling for impact from Dr. Feigenbaum’s blog post on the topic.

March 10, 2016

‘Voices of the Secret State’: Seminar presentation by Dr Hyun Joo Lim, 16th March, Studeland House, Room S206, 13:00-13:50

Awarded & submitted bids, BRIAN, BU Challenges, BU research, Centre for Excellence in Learning, Coffee Morning, conferences, EU, Events, Featured, Featured academics, Funding opportunities, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Grants Academy, Knowledge Transfer, Knowledge Transfer Partnership, Publishing, R & KE Operations, Research assessment, Research communication, Research Ethics, Research Integritiy, Research news, Research themes, Uncategorized, Women's Academic Network Mastoureh Fathi

All staff and students welcome. Please feel free to bring your lunch.

Voices of the Secret State: Human Rights Activism among North Korean

Defectors in the UK

Abstract: My paper aims to highlight the lived experiences and identity formation of North Korean defectors settled in the UK who are involved in human rights activism. Whilst violations of human rights in North Korea are well documented, human rights activism by its defectors is less well known. Since 2004, approximately 600 North Koreans have settled in the UK. Free NK, a human rights organisation born out of this settlement, has been active in illuminating the reality of North Korea whilst also working towards subverting the regime by informing its fellow remainders about the outside world through the distribution of newspapers. This paper is drawn from ongoing research on North Korean defectors living in the UK. The data is collected using life history interviews to capture their lived experiences and to identify a range of factors which have influenced their involvement in the activism whilst also seeking to find better ways of improving the wellbeing and quality of life for those activists. The presentation will focus on the in-depth story of a North Korean defector who has founded Free NK. Themes that will be addressed in this story include the reason why he has fled North Korea; the processes of getting to the UK; challenges he has faced in his human rights activism.
Dr Hyun-Joo Lim is a lecturer in Sociology and the programme leader for BA Sociology and Social Policy at BU. She is originally from South Korea and has been engaged in various research projects that explore issues around migration, ‘race’/ethnicity, gender and identity. Her previous research examined East Asian mothers in Britain.

For more information about Social Science seminar series please get in touch with Dr Mastoureh Fathi (mfathi@bournemouth.ac.uk).

March 9, 2016

Fusion in Action: Clinical Academic PhD scholarships jointly funded with NHS

BU research, Fusion, PG research, Research communication, Research Training, student research, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

Fusion Diagram Doing a PhD may appeal to midwives and other NHS health professionals, but it often involves having to make difficult choices. Undertaking a part-time PhD means studying on top of a busy clinical position, but starting full-time study involves stepping away from practice, which may lead to a loss of clinical skills and confidence. The Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) at Bournemouth University has come up with a novel solution making it easier for midwives to undertake a doctorate while still maintaining their clinical skills. This approach is highlighted in the latest publication by Dr. Susan Way and colleagues, describing a process where CMMPH collaborate with NHS partners to apply for a match-funded PhD. [1] The first partnership was with Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (PHT), with later partners expanded to cover the Isle of Wight and Southampton. Currently there are negotiations with Dorset Country Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Non NHS organisations have also showed an interest with the Anglo European Chiropractic College (AECC) our likely next collaborator.

This jointly funded clinical academic doctorate allows midwives to combine clinical practice with a research role, working across BU and their NHS Trust. The studentships runs for four years and PhD students will spend two days per week working as a midwife in clinical practice and three days per week working on their thesis. This set up facilitates the co-creation of knowledge. Anybody interested in developing a joint clinical academic PhD with us please contact Dr. Susan Way (sueway@bournemouth.ac.uk), Prof. Vanora Hundley (vhundley@bournemouth.ac.uk), or Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (evteijlingen@bournemouth.ac.uk) .

In addition to providing the individual midwives with excellent education, these studentships are designed to examine an area of clinical practice identified by the collaborating organisation where the evidence is lacking and research is needed. As a consequence the research studies will be directly relevant to practice and will have a demonstrable impact in the future. Hence BU will be able to show that its research and education have a direct benefit to the wider society. Moreover, the studentships currently benefit midwifery practice by building a critical mass of research-focus practitioners, who will translate research findings into practice and so create a culture of evidence-based practice. At BU the model has also been adopted by other professional groups such as nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy (OT).

The result is a clinical academic doctoral studentship is probably the best practical example of BU’s concept of FUSION, since it truly fuses research, education and practice.

Susan Way, Vanora Hundley & Edwin van Teijlingen.

CMMPH

References:

Way. S., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E., Walton, G., Westwood, G. (2016). Dr Know. Midwives (Spring Issue): 66-67.

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Fusion in Action: Clinical Academic PhD scholarships jointly funded with NHS

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