BU Research Blog

18 June 2021

VR Chillout Zone: Immersive virtual reality to distract from itch for children with moderate to severe eczema

(BU Nursing Students using VR Headsets)

The Team

Dr Heidi Singleton, Professor Steven Ersser and Professor Debbie Holley, Dr Xiaosong Yang, Dr Emily Arden-Close, Amanda Roberts (Nottingham Support Group for Carers of Children with Eczema), Professor Liz Falconer (Virtual Heritage) and Yaqing Cui (research assistant).

Background to the project

Atopic eczema, (atopic dermatitis (AD) is a long-term inflammatory skin condition and one of the commonest childhood illnesses. It is a debilitating disease with high levels of disease burden for the patient (Blakeway 2020). The main symptoms are itch and dryness. AD is the most common long-term disorder, affecting up to 20% of children in industrialised countries (Tsakok 2019).

Standard treatment is trigger/irritant avoidance and regular application of emollients and topical steroids/calcineurin inhibitors (Wollenberg 2020). There have been concerns around steroid withdrawal amongst some patients who have very severe AD. Hence, non-pharmacological treatments are being sort.

In addition to educational programmes, a range of psychological therapies are used to treat children. These include mindfulness, relaxation, and guided imagery techniques to distract children from the scratch itch cycle that contributes to insomnia and impacts on quality of life (LeBovidge 2021). The last Cochrane review of Psychological and Educational interventions revealed no robust interventions to enhance effective guided imagery in this context (Ersser et al 2014). Furthermore, virtual reality (VR) has not been sufficiently applied to intervention development in dermatology.

Traditionally, guided imagery has been used in the form of audio scripts spoken to the patient to guide their imagination away from any stress and the itching sensation (Vagnoli 2019). The use of VR works to focus attention, distracting the patients in relation to different environmental stimuli (Carrougher 2009). Whilst we have found no previous studies that have evaluated VR to treat eczema, it has been used to treat anxiety, burns and pain (Barros 2014; Scapin 2018). Since itch and pain can be triggered from the same receptive fields in the skin (Behrang 2020), it is proposed that VR could be used as a more sophisticated and immersive version of guided imagery. VR displaces a person to an imagined ‘other’ location, with complete immersion as the goal (Brigham 2017), physically blocking out the real world and replacing it with a computer-generated world which includes visual, auditory, and haptic stimuli. VR may potentiate the distractive effect, building on what would be the more limited reach of existing guided imagery interventions. Therefore, our hypothesis is that VR would provide immersive diversion from unpleasant symptoms of eczema. Singleton is leading a Cochrane review protocol of the evidence base, due for publication in August 2021.

Project Aim

To co-create immersive VR based on the guided imagery approach to treating eczema (Ersser 2014); targeted at children (aged between 7 and 11 years of age).

Bournemouth University would like to know what kind of VR game will help children with eczema relax and stop scratching.

Can I take part in the project?

If you are aged between 7 and 11 years old, and you have eczema, ask your grown up if you can take part in our research project.

What do I need to do?

If you want to take part, then you will need to complete an online questionnaire (your adult can help you read/type). Every child who completes a questionnaire will be entered into our prize draw with the chance to win a £50 Amazon voucher or one of five £10 Amazon vouchers (selected randomly by our computer). Each child can complete the questionnaire once (so if you have more than one eligible child then you can do more than one entry per household).

When you fill in the questionnaire it will give you the chance to volunteer to take part in an optional zoom session with Dr Heidi Singleton/ Professor Debbie Holley. The zoom session will allow you to view the virtual reality game/scene and then you can let us know what you think about it. We will send you a google cardboard headset in the post (which you can keep), you will be able to view the software via this headset. Every child who takes part in the zoom session will be sent a £20 Amazon voucher (to their adult’s email address).

Where can I find the online survey?

The questionnaire is now live, and we would love your replies by Wednesday 30^th June.

Link Here: https://bournemouth.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/chilloutvr

17 June 2021

Training from BU – getting started in public engagement with research

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement ballen

Sign up now for free training and tailored feedback on public engagement with research.

Getting started in public engagement with research

Thursday, 24th June 2021
11.00-12.30
Online

This workshop aims to get academics from zero or little PER experience to a position where they are confident carrying out activity with awareness of audience, delivery and evaluation.

This workshop will cover the status of public engagement in the research landscape; why it is important and what it can do for researchers. We’ll cover how to identify audiences and target their needs and expectations by designing public engagement activity around them. In addition, the workshop will go into the logistics of public engagement – from securing funding through planning, developing skills and the support offered at BU. Finally, we’ll discuss how to evaluate engagement activity to provide evidence for impact, insights into improving your activity and to provide further opportunity for engagement.

This 1.5 hour session consists of two parts;

30 minutes

A pre-recorded training video, recorded by BU Engagement Officer Adam Morris, covering all the content above.

You have a choice here on when you’d like to watch this session. You can choose to watch it at this time, immediately prior to the Q&A, combining both into a single session. Alternatively, you can watch the session at any time prior to the Q&A and allow yourself more time to develop questions, joining this workshop just for the Q&A.

Watch the training video on Brightspace at any time.

1 hour

A live Question and Answer session, hosted by BU Engagement Officer Adam Morris, providing an opportunity for you to ask your questions on public engagement with research and to hear from other attendees.

Find out more and book your place

15 June 2021

Café Sci – Tuesday 6 July: What has lockdown taught us about digital nature and wellbeing?

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement ballen

At Café Scientifique, you can explore the latest ideas in science and technology in a relaxed online setting. Enjoy listening to a short talk before engaging in debate and discussion with our guest speaker and audience.

We’ll be joined by Dr Sue Thomas and Dr Hiroko Oe on Tuesday 6 July, from 7.00pm until 8:30pm.

In 2013 Dr Sue Thomas spoke at Cafe Sci about her book “Technobiophilia”. At that time, when ‘digital detoxing’ was popular, the idea of using technology to experience nature seemed transgressive. But the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that experiencing the natural world via our computers, phones and TVs can contribute to wellbeing in many ways. Whether it’s watching animals on live-streaming webcams, sharing beautiful photos, or viewing nature programmes like Blue Planet, we have learned how to achieve a satisfying tech/nature balance. Dr Sue Thomas asks whether COVID-19 will change our view of digital nature and Dr Hiroko Oe reports from a Japanese perspective.

Attendance is free but booking is required

15 June 2021

EVENT: Returning to Sport Sustainably Post-Covid

Fusion, Fusion themes, Industry collaboration, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer rnicholson

The Sport and Physical Activity Research Centre (SPARC) invites you to join us at our lunchtime seminar, “Returning to Sport Sustainably Post-Covid”. The seminar is taking place on Wednesday 7 July, between midday and 1.30pm.

The event, which is being held in conjunction with BASIS (the British Association for Sustainable Sport), aims to bring together practitioners and academics working in sport & sustainability, to discuss key issues and best practice as we emerge from lockdown.

The seminar is an excellent opportunity for BU staff to engage with those working in industry, in one of BU’s Strategic Investment Areas – Sustainability.

Programme:

12.00 Introduction: Sport and Sustainability Research – Raf Nicholson (Bournemouth University)

12.10 Building Back Better: The BASIS White Paper – Russell Seymour (CEO of BASIS)

12.25 Strategies to Ensure the Sustainability of Women’s Sport – Beth Clarkson (University of Portsmouth) and Keith Parry (Bournemouth University)

12.40 Returning to Action – Leigh Thompson (Head of Policy, Sport and Recreation Alliance)

12.55 Roundtable Discussion: Returning to Sport Sustainably Post-Covid

The Zoom link for the seminar is here: https://bournemouth-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/89306375276?pwd=SWJSay80QTl3V256eWk2N3JhMUtmUT09

For any queries, contact Dr Raf Nicholson – rnicholson@bournemouth.ac.uk

14 June 2021

We can help promote your public engagement event or activity

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement ballen

At BU we promote and celebrate the work done to engage public audiences with BU research.

The public engagement with research team in Research Development and Support (RDS) can help promote your event to relevant audiences through our regular newsletter and social media channels. It also helps us to stay informed on the public engagement work being carried out by BU.

Please note: we are keen to promote BU public engagement with research activity wherever possible, but completing this form does not guarantee that we will be able to promote your event. To be considered for inclusion, your event or activity must be;

Focused on BU research, either solely or as part of a wider programme.
- Events or activities that do not involve BU research, such as marketing or recruitment events, will not be accepted.
Intended for and open to non-academic audiences, either entirely or as a portion of the audience.
Submitted, at the latest, in the first two weeks of the month preceding the event.
- For example, an event taking place in June should be submitted via the form any time before 14 May. This is due to lead times on producing and sending the newsletter.

Event descriptions may be edited for consistency in style with other content. If you have any questions about this process, please contact us.

We will re-share this form once a month.

14 June 2021

ReSpace Symposium: On Place, Memory and Histories – International Artist Talks

Awarded & submitted bids, conferences, Fusion, international, Knowledge Exchange pcallus

The ReSpace Symposium will take place this week at the InsideOut & OutsideIn – international AHRC-GCRF festival on arts-based, participatory learning. The international festival focuses on arts-based, participatory pedagogies aimed at dealing with difficult, silenced or contested pasts and presents; and for imagining new futures. It is co-organized by Nita Luci and Linda Gusia, University of Prishtina, and Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers, Bournemouth University, PIs on the the four-year multi-disciplinary AHRC-GCRF project ‘Changing the Story’. Registration is free; the full programme and registration link available here: https://changingthestory.leeds.ac.uk/.

The ReSpace Symposium sets out to present a discussion on how art and architecture engages with place and history and how we can use these methods to encourage young people to explore cultural heritage.

Chaired by Dr. Oliver Gingrich, post-doctoral researcher at the National Centre for Computer Animation, this symposium offers a chance to hear from a range of different stakeholders across Rwanda, Kosovo and the UK involved in the ReSpace project about their work.

This panel is structured into two parts and features artists and researchers who recontextualize space, place and memory in their practice: Bekim Raku recently featured his project Prishtina Public Archipelago at the Venice Biennale and will present this project at the ReSpace symposium here. Ayọ̀ Akínwándé is an artist, activist, researcher, curator and writer who will be presenting his projects Face-Me-I-Face-You, Ogoni Cleanup and Sacred Grove; Dr. Paula Callus, the ReSpace project lead, will provide an introduction of the ReSpace project, followed by Ntigulirwa Marie Amelie and the esteemed sociologist Assumpta Mugiraneza, who will discuss aspects of the ReSpace project in the context of architecture. The artists Susan Sloan and Alfred Muchilwa will discuss their creative practice working with students across three countries.

https://respace.bournemouth.ac.uk/events/

The international festival focuses on arts-based, participatory pedagogies aimed at dealing with difficult, silenced or contested pasts and presents; and for imagining new futures. Registration is free; the full programme and registration link available here: https://changingthestory.leeds.ac.uk/.

Students and project leaders at University of Prishtina, together with their global colleagues in Bournemouth, Rwanda and elsewhere, co-created, and experimented with innovative, arts- and research-based methods of learning, including animation, architecture, music, video, and poetry. The festival brings together project participants to explore some of the mutual learning and reflect on questions such as, why, and how, arts-based methods can enhance civic education and critical thinking.

Changing-the-Story is a four-year international, multi-disciplinary project which supports the building of inclusive civil societies with, and for, young people in post-conflict settings, now coming to its completion. It was a collaborative project between universities, INGOs, artists, grassroots civil society organisations and young people across the world. It asked ‘how the arts, heritage, and human rights education can support youth-centred approaches to civil society building in post-conflict settings across the world.’

7 June 2021

Take part in the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2021: The call closes on Friday 11 June

Funding opportunities, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement ballen

Internal support and funding available for your public engagement event/activity. Not just for social scientists/ ESRC funding recipients.

The call for event proposals is open for the Economic and Social Research Council’s Festival of Social Science 2021.

The call closes on Friday 11 June 2021.

At the time of running this call for proposals, it is not known for certain that in-person events will be possible or practical at the time of the festival in November. As a result, you may propose either;

An event/activity that is will be held online/remotely, or can otherwise be delivered within measures restricting events.

OR

An in-person event or activity, with an online/remote backup plan.

About the ESRC Festival of Social Science

When

For the first time, the Festival will run for the whole month of November 2021.

What

The festival offers a fascinating insight into some of the country’s leading social science research and how it influences our social, economic and political lives – both now and in the future. The website for the 2020 Festival shows the breadth and variety of activities that are possible.

This year represents the 19^th ESRC Festival of Social Science. Taking place over the whole month of November 2021, the festival is back at Bournemouth University for the tenth year running.

The celebration of the social sciences takes place across the UK – via public debates, conferences, workshops, interactive seminars, film screenings, exhibitions and much more.

Events can target a variety of non-academic audiences including young people, the public, third sector, business or government.

The festival provides an excellent opportunity for BU researchers to try their hand at public engagement with research. Support for events is provided by BU’s Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team and funding of up to £1,000 is available to deliver your event.

Environment/ COP26 Theme

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) takes place in November 2021. The ESRC are particularly keen to see participating institutions hold events that combine social science with an environmental theme. In particular;

inspiring action – what can be done to improve our environment and reduce climate change
individual or local changes that can make a difference with respect to climate change
relatable stories about individuals and climate change from around the world

Although encouraged, adhering to the environment/ COP26 theme is not mandatory for your proposal. Other social science themes are still welcome

How to apply

Bournemouth University is an official festival partner and will run several events as part of the festival. Applicants should apply directly to BU’s Public Engagement team, NOT to the ESRC.

1. Download and read the applicant guidelines

2. Download and complete the application form

3. Submit your form by email to publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk

The call closes on midnight Friday 11 June 2021.

If you would like to discuss your event idea, please contact the Public Engagement Team, who can support you to design your event.

Who can apply?

Applications are open to BU researchers based in the UK, and may involve any outside partners. Applicants need not be social science researchers, but the planned event/activity must feature BU social science research.

What’s involved in organising a festival event?

Deciding on the intended outcomes and audience for your event
Designing the format of your event
Investigating an appropriate venue for your event that will be appropriate to your audience
Identifying and inviting your attendees
Advertising your event via your networks, website and social media channels
Setting up and delivering your event on the day
Using your social media channels to create discussion at and around your event
Evaluating your event to see if you achieved your intended outcomes
Celebrating your event successes – perhaps with a BU research blog post

What support is available?

The Public Engagement Team can advise and support you on all aspects of your event – from proposal stage through to delivery. We can help you with identifying and addressing your audience, planning a successful event, marketing to the right people and maximising impact. We can advise on online engagement, including choosing a platform, measuring impact online, and finding an audience. For in-person events we can advise on venues, travel, catering, registration. We can also support your event on the day – online or in-person.

The ESRC will advertise your event on their website and social media. They will also provide banners and materials for your event, if possible, to brand it as part of the Festival

Find out more

Read the Applicant Guidelines for more detail and conditions. Contact publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk with any questions.

3 June 2021

Training from BU – getting started in public engagement with research

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement ballen

Sign up now for free training and tailored feedback on public engagement with research.

Getting started in public engagement with research

Thursday, 24th June 2021
11.00-12.30
Online

This workshop aims to get academics from zero or little PER experience to a position where they are confident carrying out activity with awareness of audience, delivery and evaluation.

This workshop will cover the status of public engagement in the research landscape; why it is important and what it can do for researchers. We’ll cover how to identify audiences and target their needs and expectations by designing public engagement activity around them. In addition, the workshop will go into the logistics of public engagement – from securing funding through planning, developing skills and the support offered at BU. Finally, we’ll discuss how to evaluate engagement activity to provide evidence for impact, insights into improving your activity and to provide further opportunity for engagement.

This 1.5 hour session consists of two parts;

30 minutes

A pre-recorded training video, recorded by BU Engagement Officer Adam Morris, covering all the content above.

You have a choice here on when you’d like to watch this session. You can choose to watch it at this time, immediately prior to the Q&A, combining both into a single session. Alternatively, you can watch the session at any time prior to the Q&A and allow yourself more time to develop questions, joining this workshop just for the Q&A.

Watch the training video on Brightspace at any time.

1 hour

A live Question and Answer session, hosted by BU Engagement Officer Adam Morris, providing an opportunity for you to ask your questions on public engagement with research and to hear from other attendees.

Find out more and book your place

3 June 2021

Global Challenges STEAMLab 6th of July 2021

BU Challenges, Knowledge Exchange emilner

On Tuesday, 6th July 2021, 9-11 AM, Bournemouth University will host a virtual STEAMLab event on Global Challenges, attended by staff from the Northeastern University (NEU) in China.

Which means…?

We’re seeking to come up with novel research that relates to UN Sustainable Development Goals, which underpin BU2025 strategy and much of the technological research at NEU.

So, who should attend?

We want anyone who thinks they might have something to contribute, to come along. We will also be inviting relevant external attendees to contribute to the day. We welcome academics, NGO/business/government representatives who wish to contribute to having a positive impact through addressing the world’s global challenges.

What do I need to prepare in advance? What will the sandpit entail?

Absolutely nothing in advance. During the STEAMLab, you’ll be guided through a process which results in the development of research ideas. The process facilitates creativity, potentially leading to innovative and interdisciplinary research ideas. These ideas will be explored with other attendees, and further developed based on the feedback received.

What if I don’t have time to think about ideas in advance?

You don’t need to do this. Some inspiring speakers with a range of backgrounds will be coming along to give you ideas…

What about afterwards? Do I need to go away and do loads of work?

Well… that depends! The STEAMLab will result in some novel research ideas. Some of these may be progressed immediately; others might need more time to think about. You may find common ground with other attendees which you choose to take forward in other ways, such as writing a paper or applying for research funding. Support will be available to progress project ideas after the day.

What if my topic area is really specific, such as health?

Your contribution will be very welcome! One of the main benefits of a STEAMlab event is to bring together individuals with a range of backgrounds and specialisms who are able to see things just that bit differently to one another.

So, is this just networking?

Definitely not! It is a facilitated session with the primary intention of developing innovative research ideas, which also enables the development of networks. It gives you the opportunity to explore research ideas which you may develop over time, together with the chance to find common ground with academics from across BU and beyond.

So, how do I book onto this event?

To take part in this exciting opportunity, all participants should complete the Global-challenges-STEAMLab-Application-Form_2021 and return this to GlobalBU@bournemouth.ac.uk. Places are strictly limited and you will be be contacted to confirm a place place on the STEAMLab with arrangements and meeting invitations nearer the time.

If you have any queries prior to submitting your application, please contact Dr. Sarah Price.

1 June 2021