The Research and Knowledge Exchange Office, together with the Service Excellence team, have put together a half-day development event for academic colleagues who wish to engage with organisations.
This activity takes place daily across the Institution, however if you are interested in learning about how to communicate and network with a business audience including developing relationships, this half-day development event will provide you with tools to
Refreshments and lunch is included.
Venue: Fusion Building, Talbot Campus
Date: Thursday 1st June
Time: 9am-1pm
For further information, please contact Rachel Clarke, Knowledge Exchange Adviser (KTP and Student Projects) on 61347 or email clarker@bournemouth.ac.uk
Higher Education and Research Act 2017 – the final text has now been published online and in a pdf version. The next step will be implementation of the many changes in the Act, which cannot move on substantially until after the election – and of course in the unlikely event of a Labour victory, implementation might look rather different, as well as their much publicised promises on fees and loans (see below) – although.
The TEF is in place (being run by HEFCE until the OfS takes over). It will be reviewed later this summer after the year 2 results are announced on 14th June. We are also looking forward to announcements on subject level TEF. There have been hints that there will be a structure for this that works alongside REF UoAs.
Research structures – It was announced that David Sweeney (currently Director of Research, Education and Knowledge Exchange at HEFCE) will be the Executive Chair of Research England in April 2018 when UKRI is established.
As a reminder, the new research structure (from the White Paper) is set out below. Research England will: “oversee the England-only functions in relation to research and knowledge exchange, including:
providing grant funding to English universities for research and knowledge exchange activities,
developing and implementing the Research Excellence Framework in partnership with the UK Higher Education (HE) funding bodies,
oversight of sustainability of the HE research base in England and
overseeing the £900 million UK Research Partnership Investment Fund”.
Implementation of the OfS – one appointment was made earlier this year, Sir Michael Barber – Chair of the Office for Students (Education committee scrutiny here). The Chief Executive of the OfS has not been announced yet. There is a vacancy open until 14th June 2017 for the Director of Fair Access and Participation, OfS. There will be a consultation on the OfS regulatory framework later in 2017 and the new bodies will be established in Spring 2018 (source: HEFCE, Feb 2017).
Regulatory structure and alternative providers – HEFCE have already published the first iteration of the new register of providers – part of the White Paper changes. It includes alternative providers.
General Election – GE2017
Have you registered to vote – and do you know where you will be on 8th June? There is a renewed push for voter registration –especially as many students may not be at their usual address for this election. It is easy to register (with your National Insurance number), check or register for a postal vote if you will not be at home or wherever you usually vote.
Labour’s leaked manifesto includes a pledge to abolish tuition fees, as well as reintroduce maintenance grants (as noted last week). This has been covered widely as part of a wider story about affordability of the manifesto commitments. Apart from cost, concerns have been raised that this policy, although it might increase participation amongst lower income families, would in the end mainly help high and middle-income families and those students who go on to earn higher wages (and repay their loans).
With this week’s focus on fees, a blog on Wonkhe by the President of the SU of the University of Central Lancashire emphasises the non-financial benefits of a university education
ITV News have the whole draft manifesto as leaked – there is a lot about schools and further and adult education but the fees and grants pledge is the only reference to HE.
There is a paragraph about Industrial strategy too – but it doesn’t say much that is specific apart from a change to business rates for plant and machinery, superfast broadband, Wi-Fi and mobile coverage and appointing a Digital Ambassador.
In the Brexit section it talks about rights for EU nationals in the UK, seeking to stay in Horizon 2020, Euratom, Erasmus etc.
For more general coverage on the election, the BBC have a “pledge tracker”.
HEPI published a speech by Nick Hillman at an event this week which mentions outward mobility (see next item) and makes a number of calls for change:
a tougher regime for recouping student loans from those abroad;
better support for students’ mental health, which is less good than among the population as a whole and young people in general; and
a focus on the underachievement of young men, who are less likely to enter higher education, more likely to drop out and less likely to get a First or 2:i.
Sarah was at the event and noted that Jo Johnson repeated that there is no cap on international student numbers, referred to an ongoing focus on social mobility if the Conservatives win the election. The speech has not been published yet. Meanwhile it seems that the conservative Manifesto will include a repeat of the target for immigration in the 10s of 1000s (see the FT for some of the coverage). There is an interesting article from the Institute for Government on how this might have to work in practice – it does seem likely that there will need to be a work permit or visa arrangement for all, including (new) EU citizens if this is to be achieved. And there will be lots of lobbying from all the sectors who want their needs to be prioritised. Bloomberg have a story about a “brickie visa” reporting comments from Migration Watch UK.
The Herald Scotland report Tim Farron pledging the return of post study work visas if the Lib Dems are elected.
Student Mobility – UUK published their UK Strategy for Outward Student Mobility for 2017-2020. This calls for more students to have an international experience and sets out a number of strategic objectives:
Promote the benefits of study and work abroad
Monitor trends in student mobility
Build capacity in UK higher education to facilitate outward mobility
Share best practice in UK higher education
Provide a collective voice for UK higher education
Influence government for UK higher education
Most of these are about communication, information and lobbying. The third, on building capacity, is the most hard-edged, and the strategy proposes that UUK will work with the sector and others to do a range of things, including:
Secure major investment to support outward mobility, including mobility grants.
Secure new mobility opportunities for the UK sector, either directly or through strategic partnerships.
Work with the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and university representative bodies including the Association for UK Higher Education European Officers (HEURO) and British Universities Transatlantic Exchange Association (BUTEX) to provide guidance on interpreting and applying quality assurance frameworks related to student placements overseas.
Brexit – Peter Mason, policy manager for UUKi, has written a blog for Wonkhe on the Swiss experiences with EU research and mobility programmes following their own referendum. The Swiss example – they were suspended from H2020 and Erasmus following their own vote on freedom of movement – was widely cited in the referendum campaigns as a warning that leaving the EU would mean the UK would not be able to stay in those programmes. The Swiss are still not in Erasmus, and they are back into H2020 following a compromise on freedom of movement. The most interesting lesson is that the Swiss tried to replace H202 with their own scheme “it lacked prestige and was not seen as a sustainable long-term substitute. Moreover, the damaging impact of the uncertainty created through the process was clear, with a significant drop-off in the number of Swiss participations in Horizon 2020 compared to the previous framework programme, particularly in collaborative projects.”
The vibrant city of Rio de Janiero has played host to some of the world’s best parties – from Carnival, to the 2016 Olympic Games and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Authorities have spent billions to ready the city, and each time tourists flocked in, local businesses braced for a bumper season. But these high expectations weren’t limited to legal businesses: those working within Rio’s semi-legal, underground economies thought they would benefit too.
Nowhere is this clearer than in Centro, the downtown area of Rio, tucked in the shadow of the newly-constructed Olympic Boulevard. Once home to the historic red light district, Centro has since become the beating heart of big business, with towering office blocks bearing the names of major corporations such as Petrobras, BG, Total, Chevron, Electrobras, BNDES and Vale.
And yet, a closer look at the shop fronts suggests the presence of another kind of commerce. Here, the “termas” – saunas, complete with bar and discotheque – can be spotted near the brothels and love hotels, alongside the “privés” – massage parlours operating in rented, high-rise apartment space – that comprise the infamous commercial sex industry of Brazil. In reality, the seemingly demure finance district of the nation’s former capital has never ceased to be a hub for commercial sex.
A hidden venture. Amanda De Lisio, Bournemouth University, Author provided
The Rose Without Thorn is nestled in a quiet lane, not far from the Saara – a street market that is usually crammed with pedestrians. It was built in 2010, shortly after Rio won the bid for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in 2007, and the bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics in 2009. As an illegal brothel operating within the financial district, it survived, even thrived, alongside the decade-long Olympic facelift. It was here that we – an international research collective, partnered with Observatório da Prostituição (Prostitution Policy Watch) – came to understand the impact of event-led urban reform on Rio’s sex workers.
Rose Without Thorn
From the outside, the house has a nondescript colonial façade. But the music, which ricochets down the narrow staircase entrance and into the street, hints at something more. Inside, working-class men perch on stools, often alone with chopp (Brazilian draft beer) in hand, while women move throughout the house in barely-there lingerie and high-heeled shoes.
One of these women is Thayna (this is her “nome da batalha”, her “battle” or work name), who has worked in the house since the age of 21. Now 24, her work is the sole source of income for her and her two children. As Pedro the manager says: “She is the breadwinner for her family, if she does not work, they do not eat”.
Behind closed doors. Amanda De Lisio, Bournemouth University
In Brazil, sex work has forever existed as a semi-legal, entrepreneurial pursuit for those in search of financial stability and social security. The profession is officially recognised by the Brazilian Ministry of Labour and Employment’s classification of occupations, which can guarantee certain social securities to those registered as a “profissionais do sexo” (sex professionals). Although the adult, consensual exchange of sex for money has never been criminalised, “houses of prostitution” are still considered illegal.
As such, places such as Rose Without Thorn operate at the discretion of law enforcement and a local elite. As Rafael, a civil servant, explained: “Prostitution in Rio de Janeiro has never occurred without the involvement of police.”
Inside the cubicle-sized office space on the third floor of the brothel, the bass of the funk music is muffled by chatter. Each “programa” (a private session) is recorded in a notebook (35 a page) by a madam perched at a desk, near the top stair. On the Thursday before carnival, she had filled a page and a half by two o’clock in the afternoon, and was hopeful for at least five more.
Post-Olympic crisis
At the time, Brazil was named as the first Latin American host of an internationally-recognised sporting mega-event, and it was on the brink of economic boom. The Lula oil field (formerly, Tupi old field) was found in 2006, off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, and with it came the promise of economic prosperity. But the nation continued to rely upon the export of raw material commodities – a temporary solution, much like the sporting mega-event – instead of establishing a more sustainable, internal economy.
The ongoing Petrobras corruption scandal deflated political-economic optimism for the future, and by 2016, the state government of Rio de Janeiro was paralysed with possibly its worst recession in history. Amid halted salaries, political tumult and severe economic debt, the promise of the boom has since been long lost.
Military police on patrol outside an Olympic venue in Copacabana, near a major prostitution zone. Amanda De Lisio, Bournemouth University
But people still need to earn to survive, and for some, sex work serves as a viable option for survival. And so, the economies and social networks created around commercial sex have so far survived the fall. As Simone, 54, widower, mother of five, and madam of the house expressed: “We are family too. We live together everyday. I live more with them than my own children.” She is proud yet honest about business, during this tense time:
Rose Without Thorn is famous. It is not very fancy but it is certainly well known. It is the heart of downtown! But after the [Olympic] Games, even we started to feel the crisis. No one has the money to come like before.
Before the bust, the Olympic Games was a highly anticipated business opportunity in Brazil – a time for entrepreneurial creativity and innovation. Yet many of the sex workers who anxiously awaited the boon from foreign clientele found that it did not materialise. Only a few benefited financially from the event, while well-intentioned campaigns urged authorities to crack down on “sex tourism”. The Rose Without Thorn’s manager Pedro said:
Listen, it is an illusion that FIFA or the Olympics are good for business. This is a myth. Some of the biggest [sex-related] businesses in Ipanema went bankrupt during the games. And now it is worse. The economy is a mess, so too is the government. And it all started around the games. The Olympics did not improve the situation. It only furthered the fall.
Don’t believe the hype. Amanda De Lisio, Bournemouth University
Instead, what surfaced was a heightened security presence in the street, provided in part by Centro Presente – a quasi-public police force, partially funded by the local commercial and business association. Thayna explained:
Look, it was good. The city was beautiful. The party was fun. I really liked that Centro Presente provided more security in the street. But business here was not great. I expected more. I prepared for more. A lot of money was spent in a city where too many people starve. I work today to give my children a better future, not to leave my daughter in public school. Healthcare is the same. I pay for education and health insurance otherwise my daughter would be without them. To spend our money on tourist fun is hypocrisy.
During the mid-afternoon lull, Thayna ate her lunch on a twin bed. As she kicked through white rice in the foil container in search of another cut of red meat, she was bored with Olympic talk, and excited about the post-carnival time. It was the first week of the unofficial Brazilian new year, and she wanted to see her brothel with a queue. She was confident that, amid Olympic dust and carnival debris, the political-economic crisis that devalued urban land and stunted police salaries will only further cement the presence of sex workers within the city’s financial core.
Names and places have been changed to protect anonymity. The authors would like to especially acknowledge the insightful contributions of Thaddeus Blanchette (Professor, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro/Observatório da Prostituição), Thayane Brêtas (Research Affiliate, Observatório da Prostituição), and João Gabriel R. Sodré (Civil Servant, Defensoria Pública do Estado do Rio de Janeiro).
Everyone experiences conflict in life. How we deal about it is different, however. Various forms of conflict and strategies of facing them was the topic of a recent workshop organised by Professor Gabriel Schäfer, from University of Applied Sciences, Bremen in Germany. Her talk and workshop on conflict and conflict resolution has been organised over three days by Professsor Jonathan Parker of the Department of Social Sciences and Social Work.
Professor Schäfer argued that conflict resolution happens in different ways because conflict is related to aggression and as human beings we have different ways of expressing our aggression. What we need to remember in resolving the conflicts is to acknowledge that firstly our individual personalities are different (some face conflict and some want to let it go), and secondly there are cultural differences that may cause these conflicts go deeper. As it happens, relationships between couples from different cultures break up more often than those where partners have shared history, background and cultural attributes. However, in the workshop, we tried and tested different strategies that help us to not to diminish but to manage these personal and cultural differences.
Professor Schäfer presented three excellent workshops to staff and students on professionally qualifying and pure academic programmes. At a time of heightened tensions across the world learning effective ways of dealing with conflict is, of course, very important. It is central to working and living in our increasingly diverse and multi-cultural world and allows us to disagree, argue and resolve differences in constructive rather than destructive ways.
The future of transport appears full of fun and flashy possibilities. From super-fast hyperloop transport systems, to self-driving cars and hovering taxis, new technology promises to move us further and faster than ever before. Yet for cities facing everyday problems such as congestion, air pollution and under capacity, the most effective solution could be the humble bus – coupled with the power of data.
Of course, in many cities, technology has already begun replacing printed timetables with live departure boards, using real-time data about buses’ locations sourced from GPS monitoring. But this is just the beginning. There’s one source of data which could offer a live overview of a city’s entire transport network without a single penny of investment. And you’ve probably got it on you right now.
Modern mobile phones contain an array of sensors, including GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, digital compass and more, which are capable of producing a constant stream of data. Individual units of movement, tracked by a phone’s GPS and processed on mass, can give detailed information on journey times, speed and destinations.
Fair trade
Of course, using this data without compromising users’ privacy is a challenge. When dealing with location information, anonymisation can only take you so far. But there is a neat solution. In exchange for their data, passengers could receive a wealth of benefits, including more flexible routes and timetables, predictive of need at any given hour. The level of service could be directly linked to the amount of data a passenger chooses to share.
By combining these data with efficient ticketing across a range of transport modes, including bus, tram, train, taxi and others, it would be possible to create a flexible and responsive system, which can tailor transport solutions to every person’s needs.
Individuals would be able to dial in their destination as they leave home, to be guided by the fastest, cheapest, healthiest or most environmentally friendly route to their destination on a given day, by whatever means, at a standard unit of price per distance. The routes would be responsive to changing weather and road closures, with flexible timetables and services, to cater for a wet Tuesday when everyone wants to take the bus rather than walk or cycle. Overcrowding could be reduced by balancing the load of commuters across different modes of transport.
The best thing is, the system would constantly be learning and improving. It is relatively straightforward to automatically schedule extra services in real time if, say, there’s an unusually large number of people waiting at a particular stop. But, with sophisticated machine learning, which processes large amounts of historical data to detect patterns, slumps and hikes in demand could be preempted. Allowing a transport network to self-learn using data from its consumers can help it to evolve a better service, while maintaining the modest margins of the provider.
The transport system can also be used as a tool to promote social good. For one thing, price can be used as a powerful influence for positive behavioural change: discounts could be offered for getting off a stop earlier and walking the remaining distance. The bus or tram itself can also be enhanced by making it a place for culture, education and information. Advertising could be complemented or even replaced by community television, public art and educational information, which offer a more positive experience for the captive audience.
Here today?
All of this potential can be unlocked today: not in the future, but in the here and now. The main challenges are overcoming tradition, using a single ticket across various transport modes and apportioning revenue between a complex tapestry of transport providers within the domain of a single transport authority.
Alongside Bournemouth University, a small digital technology company, We Are Base, is attempting to do exactly that. Together, we are finding ways to leverage data to make public transport a better option than private vehicles in terms of punctuality, flexibility and comfort. We are also collecting and analysing real-time data to demonstrate how a transport network could use machine learning to optimise its customer transport efficiency.
The technology is the relatively easy part; negotiating local politics often proves more difficult. For instance, finding a fair way of distributing ticket revenues among operators involved in a journey which uses more than one mode of transport, potentially across a number of zones and boroughs. Gaining consumer trust is also essential. For such systems to work, the consumer must choose to follow journey suggestions, even though they might not seem to be optimal at the time. This is particularly difficult; after all, how many of us can say that we trust our local bus companies when some still struggle to run the services to a static timetable?
The opportunity for a transport revolution is here – but for it to work it must be aspired to. This starts with consumers and local authorities understanding and seeing the benefits of a self-learning, adaptable and truly flexible local transport system. And given that it’s within reach, they shouldn’t put up with anything less. So, next time someone proposes a flashy new solution to transport woes, just remember that true innovation lies in the hands of the commuters themselves – locked inside their mobile phones.
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week (#MHAW17), which is an opportunity both to increase our knowledge about mental health and learn about ways to improve our well being. Professor Roger Baker, a clinical psychologist and researcher in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences has carried out extensive research into emotional processing, which includes work to help people overcome trauma and understand panic attacks. Around 10% of people will experience a panic attack in their lives and understanding what’s happening can help in coping with and overcoming them. Below he explains what happens during a panic attack and why it’s not a mental illness.
For more information, see Professor Baker’s website.
The Physiological Society is offering grants of up to £5000 to support public engagement. The grants, which are available to both members and non-members, are designed to fund innovative and creative projects on any aspect of physiology. They particularly encourage collaborations between science communicators, artists, facilitators of public engagement, and their members.
The society is open to any ideas from you as to how physiologists can engage with the public and are especially keen to receive project applications which fit under their 2017 focus, ‘Making Sense of Stress’, and our 2018 focus, sleep and circadian rhythm.
The grant scheme aims to:
Inspire creative public engagement with physiology
Stimulate physiologists to share their stories, passion and expertise in innovative ways with wider audiences, particularly those that are traditionally hard to reach
Increase dialogue between researchers and the public, in particular on topics such as the relevance of research to health, medicine and performance.
Produce materials and resources which can be used for further public engagement and outreach work.
The scheme is open year-round with two funding rounds. The next deadline for applications is Wednesday 14 June. The review period will take 6-8 weeks.
On Monday May 1st, the Bank Holiday Monday, we were invited to give three separate training sessions for the Nepal Nursing Council and (hosted by) the Nursing Association of Nepal. The three separate topics were (a) maternal mental health and its relevance to nursing in Nepal; (b) conducting focus group research in nursing; and (c) publishing for nurses in international journals. The international team presenting these three sessions comprised Dr. Andrew Lee from the University of Sheffield (photo top), Dr. Bibha Simkhada (photo bottom) from Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) who is also Visiting Faculty in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences. Further members of the teaching team comprised LJMU Prof. Padam Simkhada and also BU Visiting Professor and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH).
The presentations were well received and the practical part of the focus group training generated a lively discussion. In their teaching the presenters used a range of papers they had published in the three areas: maternal mental health based on a recently funded THET project, [1-3] writing for publication, [4-11] and focus group research. [12-14] The session was concluded with the inevitable certificate of attendance.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
References:
Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E., Winter, RC., Fanning, C., Dhungel, A., Marahatta SB. (2015) Why are so many Nepali women killing themselves? Review of key issues Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences1(4): 43-49. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JMMIHS/article/view/12001
Simkhada, B., Sharma, G., Pradhan, S., van Teijlingen, E., Ireland, J., Simkhada, P., Devkota, B. & the THET team. (2016) Needs assessment of mental health training for Auxiliary Nurse Midwives: a cross-sectional survey, Journal ofManmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences2(1): 20-26. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JMMIHS/article/view/15793/12738
Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen, E., Marahatta, S.B. (2015) Mental health services in Nepal: Is it too late? (editorial) Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences 1(4): 1-2.
van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V. (2002) Getting your paper to the right journal: a case study of an academic paper, Journal of Advanced Nursing 37(6): 506-511.
Pitchforth, E, Porter, M, van Teijlingen, ER, Forrest Keenan K. (2005) Writing up and presenting qualitative research in family planning & reproductive health care, Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health Care 31(2): 132-35. http://jfprhc.bmj.com/content/31/2/132.full.pdf+html
van Teijlingen, E., Ireland, J., Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., Sathian, B. (2014) Finding the right title for your article: Advice for academic authors, Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 4(1): 344-347. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/10138/8265
van Teijlingen, E., Hundley, V., Bick, D. (2014) Who should be an author on your academic paper? Midwifery30: 385-386.
Hall, J., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E. (2015) The journal editor: friend or foe? Women & Birth28(2): e26-e29.
van Teijlingen E., Pitchforth, E. (2006) Focus Group Research in Family Planning & Reproductive Health Care, Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health Care 32(1): 30-32.
BU research will be prominent at UK Kidney Week this summer in Liverpool. The conference is led by the Renal Association with the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the British Transplant Society (BTS). We’re delighted to have been invited to speak at the conference, which is a great opportunity to showcase our research as well as BU’s commitment to developing biomedical research themes. We’re also contributing several abstracts, detailing collaborations with the Universities of Bristol, Oxford and Osnabruck, Germany. The work focuses on the molecular cell biology of human podocytes, cells critical for our kidney’s role in blood filtration. When podocytes ‘fail’, kidney failure ensues.
We use Drosophila (fruit fly) genetics and molecular cell biology to address intractable problems associated with podocyte aging, podocyte dysfunction in diabetic nephropathy and several rare genetic mutations affecting podocytes that cause kidney failure in the young.
The work, was primarily funded by a Kidney Research UK Innovation Award and a British Heart Foundation Fellowship.
On the last day of April we presented our key findings from the THET-funded project on Mental Health Training for Rural Community-based Maternity Care Workers in Nepal. The session in Hotel Yak & Yeti in central Kathmandu was jointly organised by Tribhuvan University with Bournemouth University and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). Mental health is high on the global agenda and increasingly so in Nepal. Mental health in pregnant women and new mothers is increasing recognised across the world. However, for many people in Nepal mental health problems are still difficult topics to discuss.
The team presented slides on mental health in maternity care issue, the curriculum review, the intervention and the volunteers and various aspects of the evaluation. The slide (below) highlighting a few mishaps with UK volunteers definitely got the most laughs.
The three universities have been working together training Auxiliary Nurse Midwives in Nawalparasi on key aspects of mental health and mental health promotion. The project led by Bournemouth University was funded under the Health Partnership Scheme (HPS) which is managed by a London-based organisation called THET (Tropical Health & Education Trust).
Prof. Vanora Hundley from FHSS was one of the key speakers commenting on the intervention, the research and its findings. The audience also heard from two of the ANMs who had been in the training and the chief nurse in the district about there views on the UK volunteers and their training sessions. To date the work has resulted in three academic publications, all are Open Access journals. [1-3]
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
References:
Simkhada, B., Sharma, G., Pradhan, S., van Teijlingen, E., Ireland, J., Simkhada, P., Devkota, B. & the THET team. (2016) Needs assessment of mental health training for Auxiliary Nurse Midwives: a cross-sectional survey, Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences 2(1): 20-26. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JMMIHS/article/view/15793/12738
Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E., Winter, R.C., Fanning, C., Dhungel, A., Marahatta S.B. (2015) Why are so many Nepali women killing themselves? A review of key issues Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences 1(4): 43-49. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JMMIHS/article/view/12001
van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Devkota, B., Fanning, P., Ireland, J., Simkhada, B., Sherchan, L., Silwal, R.C., Pradhan, S., Maharjan, S.K., Maharjan, R.K. (2015) Mental health issues in pregnant women in Nepal. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 5(3): 499-501. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/13607/11007
Former host cities include Brussels, Rome, Gothenburg, Athens and Bremen – it is great to have this event right on our doorstep this year. RKEO are delighted to have been awarded the opportuntity to host a workshop at this this prestigious conference:
Maritime Ideas Café
Introduction and objectives:
The Maritime Ideas Café will bring interested delegates together to promote collective thinking on key issues around the maritime agenda. With several relevant funding calls currently live, the workshop will generate ideas for shared research projects, ultimately aiming to develop into a proposal for funding.
The workshop will open with a short introduction to a range of current funding opportunities, followed by an overview from Bournemouth University researchers to outline key areas of interest. Delegates will then have the chance to discuss their own ideas in the context of the expertise in the room, explore common interests and create an action plan for future collaboration.
What’s it all about?
The aim of this ideas café is to bring interested people together to promote collective thinking on key issues around the maritime agenda. With several relevant funding calls currently live, the workshop will generate ideas for shared research projects, ultimately aiming to develop into a proposal for funding.
The workshop will open with a short introduction to a range of current funding opportunities, followed by an overview from Bournemouth University researchers to outline key areas of interest. Delegates will then have the chance to discuss their own ideas in the context of the expertise in the room, explore common interests and create an action plan for future collaboration.
If you would like to attend this event, you will need to register on the external site (includes requirement for passport details).
You are most welcome to come along to the BU workshop – so that we can look out for you, please let Genna or Emily in RKEO know that you plan to be there!
Why get involved in the ESRC Festival of Social Science this year?
Benefits: Fantastic for your academic profile
Activities can range from engaging people with social science concepts through staging debates to involving key stakeholders in shaping research priorities and directions. Done well, public engagement can build trust and understanding between the social science research community and a wide range of groups, from policymakers through to school children.
Public engagement can help you strengthen your research questions or improve the response rate to data collection methods. It can also build on and support the wider activities of your strategy. One of the most profound joys of public engagement is its unpredictability: fresh perspectives, challenging questions, lateral insights – all can help to sharpen thinking, release precious energy and creativity and unlock new collaborations and resources.
Universities UK have published regional briefings to examine how and why universities have an important link to the UK’s industrial strategy.
The briefings show that at the local and regional level, universities support growth by providing and creating jobs, and lead on local economic and social issues. Areas of focus include local businesses, big businesses, communities, school leavers and local services.
Discuss the role of peer review for scientists and the public.
Friday 12th May, 2pm– 6pm
Workshop to be held at Informa’s Offices, 5 Howick Place, London
Peer Review: The nuts and bolts is a free half-day workshop for early career researchers and will explore how peer review works, how to get involved, the challenges to the system, and the role of peer review in helping the public to evaluate research claims.
Should peer review detect plagiarism, bias or fraud? What does peer review do for science and what does the scientific community want it to do for them? Should reviewers remain anonymous? Does it illuminate good ideas or shut them down?
To apply to attend this workshop, please fill out the application form by 9am on Tuesday 25 April: http://bit.ly/2mCFsyr
Professor Heather Hartwell will be delivering a workshop on April 27th 2017 that will help participants gain insight into how it is possible to build resilience in the area of Research and Knowledge Exchange.
This session will explore how it may be possible to build resilience in the area of research and knowledge exchange, where rejection for funding and from publishers is common. The speaker will offer their views of how resilience can be built and how to overcome obstacles. There will be the opportunity for discussion around the topic.
For those interested in booking onto the course, please follow the link here.
If you would like further information about the workshop, please contact Ehren Milner (emilner@bournemouth.ac.uk)
Prisoners eat better than hospital patients in Britain. Our research found that prisoners consume around three times more calories than patients and their diet is more in line with government nutritional recommendations.
Eating more isn’t always healthier, but when you consider that malnutrition is a big problem in hospitals, it can be. We found that the average male hospital patient consumes just 1,184 calories a day – even though the NHS recommends 2,500. Male prisoners, however, consume an average of 3,042 calories. The situation is similar for women. Female patients consume on average 1,134 calories (the recommended amount is 1,940). But female prisoners consume 3,007 calories, on average.
The patients’ food intake was measured three days before they were discharged from hospital, so we can be fairly sure that they weren’t consuming less due to ill health. And they weren’t consuming less because they were served fewer calories. All menus could provide for dietary recommendations, but it simply wasn’t eaten.
Hospitals face a number of difficulties in providing high-quality food. Dishes are prepared on a tight budget. They are cooked at a central hospital kitchen and often have to travel a considerable distance to the wards. But prison food is also prepared on a tight budget and often has to travel considerable distances from the kitchen to the prison wing.
Four years of data gathering
During our four-year study, we visited four prisons for men and two for women. In each, we carefully noted how food was prepared, delivered to the prison wing and served to the prisoners. We analysed the menu and interviewed prisoners and catering staff. We conducted four hospital studies with a similar method of data collection, which helped us to assess and compare the dietary intakes of hospital patients and prisoners. Through this we were able to identify the main differences in catering.
In hospitals, kitchen staff prepare the meals and hand them to porters who complete the delivery when they have time, between doing other tasks. Once the food reaches the ward, the responsibility for serving the food is handed to nurses. The various teams have to cooperate to ensure that food is delivered while it’s still fresh. However, providing food is not the main priority of a hospital. We noted tension between catering staff, who cared about food quality, and medical staff, who didn’t consider it a priority.
We found that the food prepared by hospital and prison kitchens – although not fine dining – has a similar nutritional quality and is presented in a similar manner. (Typical fare might include meat and two veg, a pudding or yogurt, and a piece of fruit.) In prison, food was transported quickly and food quality was maintained up to the point of service to the prisoners. The food arrived hot, comparatively fresh and could be consumed immediately without distractions. By contrast, hospital food was delayed between kitchen and patient.
A fragmented process
In the hospitals that we studied, getting food from the kitchen to the patient was a fragmented and badly coordinated process. Meals were often delayed and disrupted by medical ward rounds, tests and treatments.
The result of these delays? Food was left for too long in warming trolleys prior to being served. Hot food cools down and cold food warms up to the temperature of the ward. Food dries out and discolours. Meat curls and gravy congeals. Compared with prisons, the temperature, texture and appearance of food were all worse in hospitals by the time the food was served. Nutrients may also have diminished and the food became less palatable. Differences that are likely to account, at least in part, for the marked difference in intake between prisoners and patients.
But this is not inevitable. Delays could be reduced. Hospitals could adopt a more coordinated approach and have a dedicated team responsible for the preparation, delivery to the ward and service to the patient. The team responsible for catering would not have the conflicting priorities that clinical teams have. Although a few hospitals do have a dedicated catering team that delivers food directly to the patient, this is the exception, not the rule.
In many hospitals, nutrition is often an afterthought. Priority is given to medical tests and treatments and often ignores the role that food plays in improving the patient’s health. One governor told us that if meals were delayed or missed in prison there would be a riot.
The Physiological Society is offering grants of up to £5000 to support public engagement. The grants, which are available to both members and non-members, are designed to fund innovative and creative projects on any aspect of physiology. They particularly encourage collaborations between science communicators, artists, facilitators of public engagement, and their members.
We’re waiting for your applications for ESRC Festival of Social Science until 5 pm on Friday 5th May.
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