BU Research Blog

March 22, 2015

BU Academic’s Major International Engagement and Esteem

Featured academics, Fusion Zulfiqar Khan

Dr Zulfiqar Khan FIMechE, CEng, SFHEA

Dr Zulfiqar Khan (Associate Professor), Director Sustainable Design Research Centre SciTech has been invited to Chair Surface Engineering Track at the STLE (Society of Tribologists & Lubrication Engineers) 70^th Annual Meeting & Exhibition May 2015.

Zulfiqar is leading the Surface Engineering Technical Committee as Vice-Chair. He is also Technical Editor of Tribology & Lubrication Technology (TLT), STLE’s official membership publication. Around 126 STLE members were invited to submit a case for support to become technical editor, only 17 were selected, of whom Zulfiqar is the only non-US member of the technical committee.

He has been actively engaged and making significant contributions to the STLE since May of 2008, as conference track Chair, Vice-chair, Paper Solicitation Chair and is currently leading the selection process of the Surface Engineering 2015 best paper award.

SLTE mission is “to advance the science of tribology and the practice of lubrication engineering in order to foster innovation, improve the performance of equipment and products, conserve resources and protect the environment.” [STLE website].

STLE is serving the needs of more than 10, 000 members and over 150 industrial partners within the Tribology & Lubrication Engineering sector. STLE has a 24 member elected board with elected president (annual) who leads STLE as CEO and heads the board as Chair, 23 technical committees and councils and has an annual budget of around 2.25 million USD [STLE website].

If you would like to know more or have interests to get involved please contact Dr Zulfiqar Khan directly.

March 19, 2015

Brief Review of 3rd International Week Sport Management

BU research, Fusion, Global engagement, Knowledge Exchange, Research news tbreitbarth

Organized by Dr. Tim Breitbarth from the Sport Academic Group (FM) for the 3^rd time after October 2012 and 2013, the 3^rd International Week Sport Management saw international visitors contributing to the research culture, knowledge transfer and student experience on campus.

Beginning of March, Dr Christopher Huth (Senior Lecturer in Sport Events and Governance, Bayreuth University), Konstantin Druker (Lecturer in Sport Management at our Erasmus partner university SRH Heidelberg) and Kasper Roe Iversen (PhD researcher at University of Southern Denmark) provided guest presentations on Level C to Level M on sport fandom, turnaround management in sport organisations and sport sponsorship.

As part of the Business Research Seminar Series Research and the Roundtable International Sport Business, Dr Huth and Mr Druker presented their research projects on crowdfunding as a new means of financing professional/amateur sport organisations and a stakeholder analysis of the German Golf League.

In addition, Tim inspired the very strong PhD researcher audience at the Business Research Seminar Series with his assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the form of a PhD thesis, a shortened version of a conference keynote presentation he held in 2014, including reflections on how to keep your sanity and make progress.

Beyond the teaching and research spheres, much discussion on career and administrative aspects of higher education in different countries/at different universities was facilitated. Joint journal and special interest publications are in the pipeline.

Read about 2013 here:
http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2013/11/04/sport-students-learn-about-employability-of-their-european-peers-and-more/

Read about 2012 here:
http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2012/10/09/bournemouth-universitys-school-of-tourism-host-international-week-with-new-erasmus-partner-universities/

March 18, 2015

The second fusion funded GeoNet event

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Fusion, Global engagement, Public engagement pgillingham

For our second GeoNet seminar guest lecturers Paul Sochaczwski and David Hallmark joined us to discuss the work and contributions of scientist and activist Alfred Russell Wallace. Paul recounted Wallace’s heroic journey to Rio Negro and South-Asia where he collected over 125,000 species, including orang-utans, birds of paradise, butterflies and beetles. This epic journey was no mean feat for Wallace, self-financing his travels over a distance of over 22,000km. He had to overcome many obstacles including language barriers, identifying new species without taxonomy books, preserving and protecting his species collection and shipping them safely back to England.

David Hallmark carried on the interesting discoveries of Wallace by discussing the extent of his role in the development of the Theory of Selection from a legal perspective. The question of whether Charles Darwin outright stole Wallace’s idea or whether he ‘developed’ and ‘adapted’ it was discussed. Darwin became obsessed with losing priority after Wallace sent him his Ternate Paper in 1858 and thus published his own work (on the origin of species) a year later without acknowledging Wallace. David suggests that Darwin deliberately omitted Wallace, claiming the 600+ page book as an abstract to avoid having to provide attribution. After hearing the evidence provided by David from witnesses, Darwin’s personal quotes, diary edits, and the timeframe of each scientists published papers it appears that Darwin did commit plagiarism rather than just the mistaken performance of an academic.

I personally found it interesting that David considered how many academics felt that Darwin deserved to have priority due to classist attitudes at the time. However, Wallace may have agreed, and thus stepped aside in order for the more influential and powerful Darwin to establish the Theory of Natural Selection and to contradict religious beliefs at the time.

The controversial topic sparked up an interesting discussion amongst the audience, with Darwin’s integrity as a scientist and a man coming under critique. Interestingly the audience still felt empathy towards Darwin despite the evidence suggesting that he had ‘stolen’ Wallace’s idea. The conclusion seemed to be that Wallace was regarded as a ‘reluctant hero’ who himself accepted Darwinism as an ‘adopted’ idea.

However, perhaps the real question is whether the world could handle or accept Wallace as the originator of the Theory of Selection and what effects this would have on current attitudes towards scientists and societies already present mistrust.

So the next time you have a lecture in Bournemouth University’s Wallace lecture theatre you’ll know it’s named after Alfred Russel Wallace!

Charlotte Unwin (intern to GeoNet)

March 16, 2015

Bournemouth University Computer Human Interaction (BUCHI) talks by Microsoft (Seattle, US) and University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany)

BU research, Fusion hdogan

Bournemouth University Computer Human Interaction (BUCHI) initiative received funding from the Fusion Investment Fund (Staff Mobility and Networking) to host two prestigious researchers who will deliver a talk on Tuesday, 17th March, 1pm. These two talks will take place in the Executive Business Centre (EB708) and will be free and open to all.

Our first speaker will be Jürgen Ziegler who is a full professor in the Department of Computer Science and Applied Cognitive Science at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. Jürgen directs the Interactive Systems Research Group and will talk about “interactive recommending” i.e. increasing user control and transparency in recommender systems.

Our second speaker will be Stephen Giff who is the Head of User Experience (UX) Research and Design at Microsoft Advertising, Seattle, USA. Stephen will talk about “trust as a design problem”.

You can read the abstracts below for more details:

Interactive Recommending (Prof Jürgen Ziegler, University of Duisburg-Essen), 13.00-14.00

Recommender systems have come to play an important role in helping users search for information items or products of interest in very large information spaces. While algorithmic recommender techniques have reached a high level of maturity in recent years, they often fail to the support the situational needs of the user and typically lack user control and transparency, resulting in reduced effectiveness and trustworthiness. Interactive approaches to recommending aim at overcoming some of these issues, allowing users to express their preferences in a more flexible fashion and to control how recommendations are generated. In this talk, I will discuss the concept of interactive recommending and present some recent developments in our group that combine interactive filtering techniques with recommender algorithms.

Trust as a Design Problem (Stephen Giff, Microsoft), 14.00-15.00

To ensure anything more than superficial engagement with customers, an organization needs to establish and maintain trust. But trust is complex – it’s hard to build, and extremely easy to lose. In terms of trust in a software or online setting, there are three key factors that contribute to a decision to trust an organization, and decide to share data with them: (1) Role of Individual; (2) Role of Context; and Role of Experience. Designing for trust is a fairly straightforward problem if considered from an engineering and legal perspective – we need to protect user data, and notify what data is being gathered, and how it will be used. However, it is much more complex if considered from a human perspective – what data are users comfortable sharing, and in what context? When is the right moment to ask for data? What is the appropriate value exchange? How can we design experiences that are trustworthy? This talk will provide an overview of online trust factors as they relate to opt-in, and will recommend that instead of focusing on technological and legal aspects of trust, the industry needs to pivot to focus on the user – ultimately viewing trust as a design problem to be addressed by a rigorous design process.

You can contact Dr Huseyin Dogan (hdogan@bournemouth.ac.uk) for more information about these two talks.

March 13, 2015

Fusion Investment Fund (Study Leave Strand): Dr. Dinusha Mendis on Research Leave in Italy and Australia

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Featured academics, Fusion, Global engagement, Post-award, Public engagement, REF Subjects, Research news cippm

Dr. Dinusha Mendis, Associate Professor in Law and Co-Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management (CIPPM) in the Faculty of Media and Communications was awarded a period of research leave funded by the Fusion Investment Fund which commenced on 1 January 2015.

The research leave was granted for Dr. Mendis to further her research into the digital aspects of Copyright Law and the Intellectual Property (IP) Implications of 3D Printing.

During January-February 2015, Dr. Mendis spent time at the University of Bocconi, Milan in the capacity of a Visiting Fellow. During this time she collaborated with researchers at the Art, Science and Knowledge (ASK) Centre at Bocconi University, in particular with Professor Maria Lilla Montagni (currently Research Fellow at the Harvard Law School).

In February, Dr. Mendis travelled to the University of Tasmania (UTAS), Australia and is currently based there as Lord Provost Fellow involved in collaboration work with Professor Dianne Nicol and Dr. Jane Nielsen of the Faculty of Law, UTAS. The collaboration work involves considering the IP implications of 3D Printing.

The time has also been utilised to collaborate with colleagues at Melbourne University, Monash University and Swinburne University of Technology where Dr. Mendis was invited to present her recent research, which she carried out for the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO). The presentation formed part of the ‘Innovation Seminar Series’, organised by the Centre for Transformative Innovation at Swinburne University of Technology.

Dr. Mendis was also invited to present her research at a Staff Seminar at UTAS, in her capacity as Visiting Fellow. The presentation which showcased the findings, conclusions and recommendation of the UKIPO Commissioned Project on the IP Implications of 3D Printing, also provided an overview of Copyrightuser.org – a project which Dinusha has been involved in since 2012 and carried out in collaboration with CREATe, University of Glasgow and CEMP, Bournemouth University.

The Fellowship at UTAS, which began in February will be completed at the end of March 2015 and will further include collaboration meetings with Associate Professor Matthew Rimmer of the College of Law, Australian National University, Canberra.

The collaboration work which is currently being carried out as part of the Research Leave will culminate in a number of outputs, specifically peer-reviewed journal articles and an edited book.

In January 2015, Dr. Mendis’s Commissioned article, titled ‘Clone Wars Episode II – The Next Generation: The Copyright Implications of Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Files was published in a peer-reviewed academic journal Law, Innovation and Technology (Hart Publishing) (pp. 265-281).

March 12, 2015

Impact Lunchtime Seminar with Andrew Harding on 18th March

BU research, Fusion, PG research, Uncategorized rfreeman

Lunchtime Seminar on Wednesday 18th March in R207, 1 – 1.50pm

Research should make a difference, and as the Faculty’s strapline is ‘helping to make people’s lives better’, it is of relevance to us all. Our forthcoming Seminar series will showcase some of the excellent work of the Faculty to inspire other academics and PhD students.

No need to book, just turn up. Contact Zoe on zsheppard@bournemouth.ac.uk for more information.

Future Impact Seminar dates can be found by clicking on the link below.

Impact Seminar dates 2015

We look forward to seeing you there.

March 11, 2015

What do Wikileaks, MPs’ Expenses Scandals and Drone Strikes in Afghanistan have in common?

Fusion, Knowledge Exchange, Research news afeigenbaum

Data.

Big data, small data, everyday data. New technologies have reshaped what we know and how we find out about world events, conflicts and scandals. The collection, the aggregation, and later the manipulation and visualisation of open and shared datasets are now essential across many fields of research and public communication.

Next week at Bournemouth University we are hosting the first of three Fusion funded co-creation Datalabs. Datalabs are participatory workshops designed to enhance and share skills around working with data for civic and humanitarian research and public engagement. Datalabs involve students and staff from across BU’s faculties, as well as participating NGOs, journalists and digital designers.

Our first Datalab on Scraping and Cleaning combines a Masterclass and workshop to introduce participants to tools and techniques for scraping data from the web. We will go over how you format and organise data in spreadsheets. Discussing basic methods for data storytelling, the workshop will provide training in how to find data stories within datasets. We will also introduce geo-coding, making data ready for mapping.

To register to attend March 16th and March 17th Datalbs, email afeigenbaum@bournemouth.ac.uk

For more information on the project and future sessions see: http://www.civicmedia.io/datalabs/

To get the most out of the day we ask that you arrive promptly for the slotted programme sessions.

March 10, 2015

News from the Learning Research Group

BU research, Fusion, Publishing, REF Subjects jmcdougall

BU’s new Learning Research Group held its second workshop last week, so here is a quick update on activities so far since the group formed.

The group is convened by the Centre for Excellence in Learning and CEMP and meets in the CEL space with two objectives –

1. To bring people together for research into learning, pedagogy and education, related to the broader work of CEL;

2. To develop research strategically for a submission to the Unit of Assessment for Education in REF 2020.

Researchers in the group are working on projects and towards outputs in three related areas – Media and Digital Literacies; Practitioner Enquiry and (Higher) Education Dynamics. Impact case studies are in development in each of these areas and a strategy for capacity building, demonstrating impact and research environment has been produced.

In the first workshop, Professor Alex Kendall from Birmingham City University talked to the group about REF 2014 and gave advice for working across disciplines and faculty structures. In the second workshop, Julian shared sub-panel feedback with a focus on how BU’s research can be distinctive in the changing landscape, Isabella Rega ran a workshop activity to bring us together around research themes, methods and beneficiaries, and the group worked together to refine the plans for the group’s direction of travel, discussing development needs and targets for outputs and impact. The next time we meet, we will be guided by Professor Becky Francis from KCL.

The learning research group will continue to do two things in tandem – work towards a REF submission and support the research element of CEL’s work. To get involved, contact julian@cemp.ac.uk or just come along to the next workshop (after Easter, date will be circulated on the research blog).

March 5, 2015

Matt Bentley’s Fusion Fund Research – South Africa Final Update

BU research, Featured, Fusion, Global engagement, Research news, Uncategorized mbentley

Matt - having one last look!

This short spell in Stellenbosch is now drawing to a close. We have achieved much in developing the relationship with the abalone farm, Abagold and putting in place everything that is required to ensure a successful visit by the two BU students later this (N. Hemisphere) summer. Received congratulations from the host, Charlotte, at the guest house for being in Stellenbosch on the hottest day in over a hundred years. On Tuesday the temperature reached in excess of 41 degrees and it was reported as the hottest place on the planet. The report on the visit is just about complete so just tidying up loose ends now. I did manage to find time to do a little pond-dipping to get a water sample for Genoveva Esteban (hopefully it will contain the mini-beasts that she is looking for). I think it may take some patient microscope work! See you all soon.

March 5, 2015

An investigation into the importance of set plays within the Barclays Premier League

BU research, Fusion, Publishing, student research aharding

The interest in football goes well beyond the boundaries of it’s academic field. Such are the financial incentives and rewards in the modern game, professional football clubs now leave no stone unturned in their attempts to increase their performances on the field, win matches and increase their league position. This is the wider context for a recent submission to eBU: Online Journal, BU’s internal working paper journal designed around immediate publication and open peer review.

Based on an analysis of all 1,053 goals scored in the 2009/10 season, Jamie Osman, Andrew Callaway and Shelley Broomfield consider, ‘Just how important are set plays to teams competing in the Barclays Premier League?’.

The paper is open for wider comment and review from the BU community, and can be found here: http://ebu/index.php/ebu/article/view/36

March 2, 2015

Student-midwife-run postnatal clinic: FUSION example

BU research, Fusion, PG research, Publishing, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

FHSS staff and students published their latest article ‘Would a student midwife run postnatal clinic make a valuable addition to midwifery education in the UK? — A systematic review’ now out on line in Nurse Education Today 35 : 480-486. The paper is written by Wendy Marsh, Dana M. Colbourne, Susan Way & Vanora Hundley.

We are pleased to inform you that the final version of your article with full bibliographic details is now available online. The publishers are providing the following personal article link, which will provide free access to this article, and is valid for 50 days, until April 17, 2015: http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1QcG5xHa50bEa

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

March 2, 2015

BU Undergraduate Research featured in Houses of Parliament

BU research, Featured academics, Fusion, Public engagement, student research mgouthro

BU was well represented at BCUR’s Posters in Parliament Event in February. Karolina Tamauskaite of the Faculty of Management and Susan Girvan of the Faculty of Science and Technology presented their undergraduate research.

Sponsored by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Higher Education Academy (HEA), undergraduate students from 24 universities visited Westminster to unveil research findings from a wide range of fascinating subject areas. Among them uni’s included: London School of Economics, London Metropolitan University, Universities of: Aberdeen, Nottingham, Leeds, Reading, Sussex and Exeter. Research topics ranged from cyber-bullying, medicinal properties in wheatgrass juice, climate models, and deprivation in mixed communities, etc.

Susan Girvan is studying a BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences said “… it was great to meet other undergraduate students from from universities across the country about their research and to see such a wide range of subject matter being represented. Everyone at the event was really approachable and friendly and feedback on my own research was always encouragingly positive”. Susan’s dissertation supervisor Kevin McGhee, Senior Lecturer in Health Sciences was also on hand. Kevin notes that Susan was quizzed by 3 of the Posters in Parliament eminent judges, chaired by Sir Anthony Cleaver, on her research that is funded in part by the BU alumni fund, working with NUI Galway and within a larger international Fusion Project. Her poster on one specific gene, showed the methods employed by geneticists to identify how genes work together to make someone susceptible to schizophrenia.

Susan Girvan and Dr Kevin McGhee take questions from judging panel

Presenting these results at Parliament definitely has an impact nationally, as many MPs also attended the event.

For final year International Hospitality Management student Karolina Tarnauskaite from the Faculty of Management, “Posters in Parliament was a perfect external platform and opportunity for me to present my research, to the public. It was a great and very successful event as I had an opportunity not only to present the hospitality sector issues that I have interest in, but I had an opportunity to have an informed discussion with people from a variety of different backgrounds and disciplines”.

Karolina Tarnauskaite from the Faculty of Management presents her research on the adoption of tapas concept in other cuisines in the hospitality sector

The judging panel was led by UCLan Honorary Fellow Sir Anthony Cleaver, Chairman of the Natural Environment Research Council, and Professor Mick Healey, a leading expert of undergraduate research, and Professor Philippa Levy, Deputy CEO of the Higher Education Academy.

Deputy Vice Chancellor, Tim McIntyre-Bhatty was equally pleased to have BU’s presence in Parliament “It’s great for the students and staff involved, and for BU. Excellent to see all involved in such a high profile event and in good company”.

The event gives BU and other UK universities a stage to present high quality work being produced by undergraduates and also demonstrated how research-informed teaching can enhance the overall student experience. It also is a platform to promote student and staff collaboration on research outputs and publications, with links to BU Fusion.

BU’s presence is precursor to its involvement in the national BCUR (British Conference in Undergraduate Research) taking place at the University of Winchester in April, but also for BU’s inaugural SURE (Showcasing Undergraduate Research) conference being held on March 4^th. SURE is the product of a successful fusion bid and first showcase of its kind at BU where undergrad research and coursework is profiled and promoted to internal and external audiences.

BCUR has made a significant contribution to the success of undergraduate research and continues its work to promote it in all disciplines by providing students with an opportunity to share their research through poster presentations, spoken papers, or through creative outputs such as performances and film.

UCLan’s Professor Stuart Hampton-Reeves, Chair of the BCUR Steering Group, said: “This is our third Posters in Parliament and the event is clearly going from strength to strength demonstrating the vitality and quality of undergraduate research. MPs and other policy-makers have today had the opportunity to see the next generation of academics performing at a level that is already of an international standard.

Posters in Parliament in Jubilee Room - February 2015

“It shows that UK higher education is in good health. ‎We need to continue to protect and nurture our undergraduate research base. By providing more opportunities for our young researchers to develop through inquiry, ‎we can help them grow as academics to confront some challenging topics. The range of issues discussed here today shows that this generation of students is already making a real and valuable contribution to understanding the world around us.”

February 28, 2015

Matt Bentley’s Fusion Fund Research – South Africa Update

BU research, Featured, Fusion, Research news, Uncategorized mbentley

Friday marked a successful visit to Abagold in Hermanus. Hermanus is famous for whale watching where the Southern Right whales can been seen close to the shore from September to November. The visit to Abagold by Matt and Carol Simon was hosted by Stoffel van Dyk who is their Operational Director. Abagold is one of the world’s premier abalone aquaculture farms producing the highest quality abalone for the export market. Abagold’s operation is sustainable and helps protect the wild abalone population from poaching activity. Abagold is also the industrial partner in the Fusion Investment Fund project. The farm will offer facilities for BU students who will trialling novel technologies for controlling shell-boring pests of the molluscs.

: Abalone production unit at Abagold

: Abalone from the culture baskets

February 27, 2015

BU academic gives invited lecture at University College Leuven-Limburg

BU research, Fusion, Public engagement, Research news Jonathan Parker

Professor Jonathan Parker was invited to present a lecture on the paradoxical relationship between concepts of civil society and state-sponsored social work, calling for a radical departure from current neoliberal iterations and performances of social work across European societies, especially England, and mimicked elsewhere in the world.

Professor Nol Reverda from the University of Maastricht also presented a lecture concerning the need for critical and analytic thinking in contemporary welfare in the Netherlands as a means of count ring the uncritical acceptance of neoliberal agendas in Europe.

Professor Parker addressed a packed lecture theatre of academics from University of Leuven, University College Leuven-Limburg, student groups and workers from Belgian NGOs. He introduced the concept of the ‘Big Society’ as promoted by the Conservative Party prior to the 2010 election and quietly laid to rest in policy terms following the entrenchment of austerity methods within the Coalition Government. Rescuing some of the core concepts of civil and communitarian action from misguided ideas of ‘Big Society’, Professor Parker contrasted these with the increased surveillance, monitoring and control of social work in England underpinned by a restrictive and stultifying curriculum. He called for a reflexive criticality in which socially-minded academics, social workers and NGOs challenge the power structures that have led to disillusionment, a focus on social policing and a barren dehumanised approach that increasingly pervades European State social work.

The lecture added impetus to the development of a critical and radical challenge to social work education and practice in Belgium, and Professor Parker has ben invited to contribute to the development of analytic and critical thinking on social issues and civil society over future years.

February 26, 2015

Thought leadership on welfare information and advice

BU research, Fusion, PG research, Public engagement aharding

The charity Elderly Accommodation Counsel, who run the national FirstStop information and advice network (that enables older people to become informed about housing and care issues and whom my PhD research is with), are in the latter stages of designing a ‘thought leadership’ blog.

As I’m sure you can all imagine, welfare is an area defined by information asymmetries and imperfect levels of information. In other words, it can be hard to make choices around welfare! However, despite this, over the last two decades or more, successive UK governments have pursued consumerist welfare policies that position consumer like choices as the means to access and engage with welfare. However, a great deal of people are relatively or very flawed welfare consumers. On this basis, seeking and being imparted with information and advice is an important mechanism toward making good quality and informed choices. The importance of information and advice around welfare has been acknowledged in the recent Care Act, which has made it mandatory for local authorities to provide information and advice on welfare issues (including housing). Yet, although information and advice is being positioned centre stage, it is a policy area that is devoid of much discussion or debate.

The aim of the blog is for it to become a vibrant place and forum for discussion, comment and analysis around key information and advice issues. The site is still under construction, but if anyone would be interested in contributing short blog pieces, on areas that you think are important, please do get in touch. We hope to get contributions from all sorts of people including academics, policy makers, practitioners etc…

My email address is aharding@bournemouth.ac.uk

February 24, 2015

Lunchtime Seminar with Zoe Sheppard on 4th March

BU research, Fusion, PG research, Research news, student research, Uncategorized rfreeman

Lunchtime Seminar on the Findings from Research Impact Scoping Exercise, Wednesday 4th March in R302

Research should make a difference, and as the Faculty’s strapline is ‘helping to make people’s lives better’, it is of relevance to us all. Our forthcoming Seminar series will showcase some of the excellent work of the Faculty to inspire other academics and PhD students.

No need to book, just turn up. Contact Zoe on zsheppard@bournemouth.ac.uk for more information.

Future Impact Seminar dates can be found by clicking on the link below.

Impact Seminar dates 2015

We look forward to seeing you there.

February 23, 2015

GeoNet climate change event and next seminars

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Fusion, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, REF Subjects pgillingham

GeoNet, the fusion-funded interdisciplinary seminar project, held our first lunchtime session ‘A conversation about climate change’ recently. We were really pleased to see the Coyne so packed out (come early next time to be sure of getting a cookie!) with a wide range of students, PGRs and staff from across the university. Short talks to introduce the panel members (covering both the impacts of climate change and how these are communicated) were followed by a very interesting discussion. We considered how terms are often used out of context or incorrectly (for example the ‘Anthropocene’ in the geological sense of the word would be classified after the fact). It was also interesting for me personally to discover why there is often false balance in the media when climate change is discussed – the reporters have to use a political template (because climate change is a politicised subject) and this template calls for equal representation of the views of all sides. Of course this results in a poor representation of the state of scientific knowledge.

We also discussed the right of non-scientists to enter the debate – this is based on a democratic right to have an opinion but not necessarily on knowledge. The cult of celebrity was an interesting topic, not something that I expected to be discussing in the context of climate change, but perhaps we need more celebrities to support David Attenborough in representing environmental change. Leading on from this, we discussed whether scientists should have more media coverage. Whilst this might seem an obvious way of increasing public knowledge, it could backfire because scientists have a general lack of media training, lack of experience in delivering ‘soundbites’ and have to acknowledge uncertainty, which can negatively affect the public perception of them as experts. We decided that social media might be the answer, as it is not bound by the politicised template and can provide a platform for scientists to talk about their findings, as well as allowing discussions to enable understanding of what uncertainty actually means.

Our next two events are The Hero’s Journey of Alfred Russel Wallace in Southeast Asia from 18.00-19.30 on the 10^th March in Barnes Lecture Theatre and Low carbon cities: why and how from 12.00-13.00 on the 17^th March in TAG02. Tea, coffee and cookies will be provided at both and active participation is encouraged!

Booking is necessary for the 10^th March via http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-heros-journey-of-alfred-russel-wallace-in-southeast-asia-tickets-13409922439 (free to BU staff and students)

February 10, 2015

Seminar Postponed: Dancing with Parkinson’s

BU research, Fusion, PG research, Uncategorized rfreeman

Lunchtime Seminar POSTPONED on Thursday 12th February 2015 , 1-1.50pm

Dr Sara Houston, Principal Lecturer in Dance at the University of Roehampton

Against the backdrop of a five-year study into dance for people with Parkinson’s, Dr Houston will examine what it means to ‘live well’ with Parkinson’s through those who participate in a dance class. She will examine how participants’ aims to ‘stand tall and step boldly’ are embodied and shaped by their dancing experience. The seminar will highlight one woman’s claim that dancing makes her feel beautiful, and, as such, is fundamental to her wellbeing. She will debate the challenge that this claim poses to those who argue that beauty in dance is at best unimportant, at worst disenfranchising. In debating this challenge she will create a link between aesthetics and health through a reformulation of the value of beauty in the context of chronic illness and wellbeing. This link will then allow her to discuss how feeling lovely could become relevant and meaningful within the context of participating in dance.

The seminar will be followed by the BU Humanisation Special Interest Group meeting from 2 -4.30pm in EB708, Lansdowne Campus. All are welcome.

Category / Fusion