Category / PG research

This part of the blog features news and information for postgraduate research students and supervisors

New paper BU PhD student Sheetal Sharma

BU research, open access, PG research, Publishing, writing

Plos ONE Sheetal 2016Congratulations to FHSS PhD student Sheetal Sharma on her latest paper [1].  The paper ‘Measuring What Works: An impact evaluation of women’s groups on maternal health uptake in rural Nepal’ appeared this week in the journal PLOS One.  Sheetal’s innovative mixed-methods approach was applied to a long-running maternity intervention in rural Nepal.  The paper concludes that community-based health promotion in Sheetal’s study had a greater affect on the uptake of antenatal care and less so on delivery care. Other factors not easily resolved through health promotion interventions may influence these outcomes, such as costs or geographical constraints. The evaluation has implications for policy and practice in public health, especially maternal health promotion.

Reference:

  1. Sharma, S., van Teijlingen, E., Belizán, J.M., Hundley, V., Simkhada, P., Sicuri, E. (2016) Measuring What Works: An impact evaluation of women’s groups on maternal health uptake in rural Nepal, PLOS One 11(5): e0155144 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0155144

Accessible Gaming for Stroke Rehab

PG research

We would like to invite you to the last research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre for this academic year.Techstroke

 

Title: Insights into the use of technology for upper limb stroke rehabilitation

 

Speaker: Owen O’Neil (Bournemouth University PhD student, funded by the Centre for Digital Entertainment)

 

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 1st June 2016

Room: P302 LT, Poole House, Talbot Campus

 

Abstract: Stroke is a global pandemic and the largest cause of severe adult disability in the world. Incidence rates in the UK suggest that over 150,000 suffer a first time stroke, and over 80% of survivors will suffer some form of motor disability. Rehabilitation typically consists of high volumes of motor practice to engage the mechanism of neural plasticity, a form of cortical rewiring that allows the brain to adapt after damage. Meeting the rehabilitation needs for this population through one-to-one physiotherapy care is currently not possible.  There is a growing impetus on research institutions to explore cost-effective methods for increasing access to rehabilitation that may promote improved functional recovery for patients at home and in the clinic. Recent approaches include the use of video game technology as a method of increasing patient engagement and upkeep to rehabilitation programs. Of particular interest is the emergence of low cost commercial off-the-shelf devices such as the Nintendo Wii and Xbox Kinect.

In this presentation we offer some insights and opportunities to introduce low cost off the shelf media technology as a modality of stroke therapy. Provide an overview of the current project, including some preliminary data and discuss what might come next.

 

 

We hope to see you there.

 

What makes good evidence of research impact?

BU research, Events, Featured, Knowledge Exchange, PG research, Research communication, Research news, Research Training, Training

Bokani Tshidzu

Bokani Tshidzu

Join us on Friday 27 May at 12.00 to find out how to evidence impact from research in a session by Bokani Tshidzu, Chief Operating Officer of impact consultancy Vertigo Ventures.

The session will outline the types of impact evidence that researchers can collect and online tools that can be used to gather this data. Attendees have an opportunity to consider the stakeholders involved in their research and find out how best to collect evidence of impact from different groups. There will also be a chance to find out more about the types of high-scoring evidence that was used in each panel during the last REF.

Book your place via Eventbrite

The session will take place in Kimmeridge House (KG03) Talbot campus from 12.00 – 14.00.  Light refreshments will be provided but please feel free to bring your lunch along.

impact wordle 3
This session forms part of a series of research impact seminars and workshops, organised by RKEO to explore the various pathways to achieving societal and economic impact.  Within the series, attendees will explore methods for effectively engaging a variety of research users throughout the research process, and develop new ways to plan, deliver and evidence impact.

 

View the other events in the series or email Genna West for further information.

Celebrating research impact at Bournemouth University

BU research, Events, Featured, Knowledge Exchange, PG research, Research communication, Research news, Research Training

Join us on Friday 27 May at 14.30 for a series of lightening talks from BU academics, to find out how their research is making a difference.

The short talks will highlight some key impact case studies that were submitted to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2014 and others that are currently in development. This is an excellent opportunity to hear about a wide range of inspiring research from across BU, presenting key insights into all stages of the impact pathway.

Book your place via Eventbrite

Speakers will include;

  • Peter Thomas (Health and Social Sciences)
  • Dinusha Mendis (Management)
  • Mark Hadfield (Science & Technology)
  • Ian Stephenson (Media & Communication)
  • Chindu Sreedharan (Media & Communication)
  • Raian Ali and Keith Phalp (Science & Technology)
  • Heather Hartwell (Management)
  • Richard Stillman (Science & Technology)
  • Einar Thorsen (Media & Communication)
  • Sarah Bate (Science & Technology)

The session will take place in Kimmeridge House (KG03) Talbot campus from 14.30 – 15.30, with networking and refreshments until 16.00. 

impact wordle 3

 

This session forms part of a series of research impact seminars and workshops, organised by RKEO to explore the various pathways to achieving societal and economic impact.  Within the series, attendees will explore methods for effectively engaging a variety of research users throughout the research process, and develop new ways to plan, deliver and evidence impact.

View the other events in the series or email Genna West for further information.

How does research influence public policy?

BU research, Events, Featured, Knowledge Exchange, PG research, Research communication, Research news, Research Training

Informing government policy was the most commonly cited impact in REF 2014.  Join us on Wednesday 25 May or Thursday 26 May to find out how government policy is developed, and explore the ways in which policy can be influenced and informed by research.

In bitesize hour-long seminars, Jane Forster (Policy Adviser to the Vice-Chancellor) and Emma Bambury-Whitton (Policy and Public Affairs Officer) will explore successful routes to impact through policy engagement.  From giving evidence at Select Committee inquiries and creating policy briefing papers, to engaging in direct correspondence with MPs and Peers, this session will give practical tips and examples of how research filters into policy discussions.

The session will also outline the opportunities and resources available within BU and externally to support academic and support staff to engage decision-makers with research.

Book your place via Eventbrite:
Wednesday 25 May – Talbot
Thursday 26 May – Lansdowne

The session will take place on Wednesday 25 May in Kimmeridge House (KG03) Talbot campus from 13.30 – 14.30 and will be repeated on Thursday 26 May at 12.30 – 13.30 in the Executive Business Centre (EB708) Lansdowne campus.  Please feel free to bring your lunch along to the sessions.

impact wordle 3

This session forms part of a series of research impact seminars and workshops, organised by RKEO to explore the various pathways to achieving societal and economic impact.  Within the series, attendees will explore methods for effectively engaging a variety of research users throughout the research process, and develop new ways to plan, deliver and evidence impact.

 

View the other events in the series or email Genna West for further information.

 

How can working with the media help generate impact from your research?

BU research, Events, Featured, Knowledge Exchange, PG research, Research communication, Research news, Research Training

Join us on Tuesday 24 May and Thursday 26 May to find out how researchers can reach a wider audience and effectively use the media to increase the impact of their research.

The PR Team here at BU will take you through traditional and social media channels that can be used to communicate your research findings to both the general public and more specialised audiences. You will receive tips on how to work effectively with the media and find out how BU can support this process.

Dr Sarah Bate will then talk you through her experiences of engaging with the media, presenting a key impact case study that has extensively used the media to generate and evidence impact.

Book your place via Eventbrite:
Tuesday 24 May – Lansdowne
Thursday 26 May – Talbot

The session will take place on Tuesday 24 May in the Executive Business Centre (EB306) Lansdowne campus from 12.30 – 14.00, and will be repeated on Thursday 26 May in Kimmeridge House (KG03) Talbot campus from 13.30 – 15.00. 

 

impact wordle 3

This session forms part of a series of research impact seminars and workshops, organised by RKEO to explore the various pathways to achieving societal and economic impact.  Within the series, attendees will explore methods for effectively engaging a variety of research users throughout the research process, and develop new ways to plan, deliver and evidence impact.

 

View the other events in the series or email Genna West for further information.

Touch Gesture for Smartphone

PG research

We would like to invite you to the latest research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre.Gestures

 

Title: Touch Gesture for Smartphone

 

Speaker: Chi Zhang (Bournemouth University PhD student)

 

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 18th May 2016

Room: P302 LT, Poole House, Talbot Campus

 

Abstract:

The number of smart device users is over one-quarter of the global population for the first time in 2015 and there will be 2 billion smart device users over the world by 2016. Increasingly the number of intelligent apps available to access is also one reason for its popularity. However, as a result it becomes challenging to locate and launch an app easily and quickly. In this seminar Chi Zhang will talk about her research on how a user defined gesture may enhance user’s experience on locating an app. The talk will present the results of an initial experiment. Participants are first asked to create a gesture for 15 often used apps (such as Chrome, Gmail, Facebook, etc.), based on apps’ function, and their icons’ textural or visual information. Then the next day the participants tried recalling their defined gestures and use a gesture to locate and launch the corresponding app. The experiment aims to find out what information the user applies to create a gesture and how it’s related to the recalling of the gesture.

 

We hope to see you there.

Freshwater advanced training course open to PhD students

Events, PG research

Professor Genoveva Esteban and Dr Daniel Franklin, Faculty of Science and Technology, are running a Freshwater Taxonomy and Field Identification skills short course for PhD students, in collaboration with the Freshwater Biological Association.

The course has been funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and has a maximum of 20 funded places available for UK-based applicants. It is based in Dorset and will run for five days from 27 June – 1 July 2016.

To find out more and to apply visit the Freshwater Biological Association website. The deadline for applications is Sunday 15 May 2016.

Final 3 Minute presentation (3MP) event for the 2015/16 academic year

PG research, Research communication, Research Training, student research

Dear all,

3MP is back for the final time for this academic year. This event challenges postgraduate researchers to talk about their research in 3 minutes and is designed to expose the audience to a variety of ideas from different disciplines in a bitesize way. There will be plenty opportunities to meet like-minded individuals and to create new connections among staff and colleagues across the University.

Just to give you a small sample of what to expect we have talks about:

  • Midwifery
  • Diabetes & lifestyle
  • Hacking & Gaming Technology
  • Corporate governance
  • Nature Conservation
  • and much more!!

The event will commence on Thursday 19th May from 18:00 on Talbot Campus.

To attend – book your 3MP ticket here

We hope to see you there!

3MP May promo

Critical Review Of Vendor Lock-In And Its Impact On Adoption Of Cloud Computing

BU research, PG research, Research communication, Research news

Vendor_Lock-InWe would like to invite you to the latest research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre.

 

Title: Critical Review of Vendor Lock-In and Its Impact on Adoption of Cloud Computing

 

Speaker: Justice Opara-Martins (Bournemouth University PhD student)

 

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 11th May 2016

Room: P302 LT, Poole House, Talbot Campus

 

Abstract:

Vendor lock-in is a major barrier to the adoption of cloud computing, due to the lack of standardization. Current solutions and efforts tackling the vendor lock-in problem are predominantly technology-oriented. Limited studies exist to analyse and highlight the complexity of vendor lock-in problem in the cloud environment. Consequently, most customers are unaware of proprietary standards which inhibit interoperability and portability of applications when taking services from vendors. In this seminar, I will provide a critical analysis of the vendor lock-in problem, from a business perspective. A survey based on qualitative and quantitative approaches conducted in this study has identified the main risk factors that give rise to lock-in situations. The survey analysis of 114 UK IT practitioners shows that, as computing resources migrate from on-premise to the cloud, the vendor lock-in problem is exacerbated. Furthermore, the findings exemplify the importance of interoperability, portability and standards in cloud computing. A number of strategies are proposed on how to avoid and mitigate lock-in risks when migrating to cloud computing. The strategies relate to contracts, selection of vendors that support standardised formats and protocols regarding standard data structures and APIs, developing awareness of commonalities and dependencies among cloud-based solutions. We strongly believe that the implementation of these strategies has a great potential to reduce the risks of vendor lock-in.

 

We hope to see you there.