Category / PG research

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

2016 BU PhD Studentship Competition

2016 BU PhD Studentship Competition

Call for submission of up to 20 matched funded Postgraduate Research Projects now OPEN

The Graduate School is delighted to announce the launch of the 2016 BU PhD Studentship Competition, with up to 20 matched funded projects available.

At this stage, Academic Staff are invited to submit proposals for studentship projects which, if successful, will be advertised to recruit PhD candidates for a September 2016 start.

Full details can be found on the Graduate School Staff Intranet where the following information can be found:

Submission Deadline:

Applications should be submitted on the Studentship Proposal Form to the Graduate School via email to phdstudentshipcompetition@bournemouth.ac.uk no later than 9am on Monday 22 February 2016.

The Graduate School will manage the recruitment process along the following timetable:

Date Action
Wednesday 13 January 2016 Launch PhD Studentships Internal Competition – development of proposals
Monday 22 February 2016 Closing date for submission of proposals
Tuesday 15 March 2016 Panel meeting
Late March 2016 Feedback to supervisors and preparation of adverts
March – June 2016 Launch PhD Studentships External Competition – recruitment of candidates
September 2016 Successful Candidates start

Human Body Decomposition in CGI: Simulating Livor Mortis

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

 

Speaker: Dhana Frerichs

Title:   Human Body Decomposition in CGI: Simulating Livor Mortis

Human Body Decomposition in CGI

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 20th January 2016

Room: P302 LT, Poole House, Talbot Campus

 

Abstract:

Creating realistic looking scenes is an important goal in computer graphics. In particular, in the real-time games industry, one can observe an increasing trend towards realism. Despite this, ageing effects, such as rotting, are often neglected. This is particularly noticeable in the way corpses are depicted in game worlds, which show no signs of decay and tend to simply disappear from the world after a while. We aim to simulate these post-mortem appearance changes.

There are a number of different processes that affect a body’s appearance after death. In this talk we concentrate on the simulation of skin discolouration after death caused by blood pooling, which is referred to as livor mortis. The skin colour is affected by the red chromophore haemoglobin that is found in red blood cells, and the brown chromophore melanin, found in the outer skin layer. The skin discoloration is due to the changes in the haemoglobin concentration and oxygen saturation in the body. Our approach consists of a simulation of post mortem blood dynamics in a volumetric mesh and a layered skin shader that is controlled by the haemoglobin and oxygen levels in blood.

 

 

We hope to see you there.

 

You can boil an egg in three minutes but can you….

Present your research in three minutes? On the 2nd December, 2015 nine Post Graduate students took the 3 minute presentation (3MP) challenge and presented their research in three minutes with an audience of 50 delegates from around BU.  This event was extremely successful and received positive feedback from both academics and students. If you would like the opportunity to share your research, practice your presentation skills, network and get up to date information on the latest research being conducted at BU you should take the 3MP challenge http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2015/12/08/the-3-minute-presentation-3mp-is-back-for-february/.

Also, keep your eyes open for the 8th Annual Post Graduate Conference taking place in March 2016. To find out more about the Graduate School and what we offer, find us on the BU website under postgraduate research.

Live Migration of Virtual Machines to the Cloud and its associated issues

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

 

Speaker: Ibrahim Mansour

 

Title:   Live Migration of Virtual Machines to the Cloud and its associated issues

 

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 6th January 2016

Room: P302 LT, Poole House, Talbot Campus

 

Abstract: Cloud computing provides users the ability to access shared, online computing resources. However, providers often offer their own proprietary applications, interfaces, APIs and infrastructures, resulting in a heterogeneous cloud environment. This heterogeneous environment makes it difficult for users to change cloud service providers; exploring capabilities to support the automated migration from one provider to another is an active, open research area. Many standards bodies (IEEE, NIST, DMTF and SNIA), industry (middleware) and academia have been pursuing approaches to reduce the impact of vendor lock-in by investigating the cloud migration problem at the level of the VM. However, the migration downtime, decoupling VM from underlying systems and security of live channels remain open issues. This talk focuses on analysing recently proposed live, cloud migration approaches for VMs at the infrastructure level in the cloud architecture.   The talk will highlight issues with flexibility, performance, and security of the approaches, including additional loads to the CPU and disk I/O drivers of the physical machine where the VM initially resides. Finally, the talk will introduce how a new approach, LibZam (Libya Zamzem) will be developed. LibZam is a tangible system that will work towards addressing the identified limitations.

 

We hope to see you there.

 

Santander Mobility Awards 8 x £1000 available

Dear all,

Just a gentle reminder that the Graduate School is offering 8 x £1000 Santander Mobility Awards. These mobility awards can be used for attending conferences, undertaking a specific piece of research or to build/develop links with international researchers. This call is open to applications from any BU PGR (including MRes & MPhil), irrespective of mode of study (fulltime/ part-time); nationality (Home, EU or International) or funding status (BUstudentships / externally funded / self-funded). Awards made will cover only direct costs (travel; subsistence; training or development costs).

To apply:

Before applying please read the terms and conditions of the competition here: Santander Mobility Awards policy and complete Santander Mobility Awards application form

All applications must be sent via email to: gsfunding@bournemouth.ac.uk

Deadline for applications: Monday 11th January 2016, 17:00 GMT
In addition, please note this is a highly competitive funding stream and all applicants will be informed of the panels decision shortly after the deadline date.
Season’s greetings and good luck!
Grad School Header 1Santander

New joint AECC and FHSS publication

journal 2015

Congratulations to Joyce Miller, Monica Beharie and Elisabeth Simmenes based at the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic (AECC) and FHSS’s Alison Taylor and Sue Way who just had their paper ‘Parent reports of exclusive breastfeeding after attending a combined midwifery and chiropractic feeding clinic in the UK: A cross sectional service evaluation’ accepted in the journal Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine.

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

 

Latest co-creation paper hot off the press! Study investigated the mechanism of spinal manipulation.

Does cervical lordosis change after spinal manipulation for non-specific neck pain? A prospective cohort study

C-spine QF image for Chiro and Man Therapies

The mechanism for spinal manipulation in the treatment of pain is unknown. One mechanism proposed in the literature is that neck pain might be alleviated by changing or ‘correcting’ the alignment of the cervical spine (normal is considered to be a lordosis or lordotic curve – curving in towards the body). We decided to put this idea to the test in an undergraduate student project at AECC. Mike Shilton, a third year chiropractic student at the time, measured the angle of the cervical spine on x-ray images taken of patients and healthy volunteers that I had recruited for my PhD research. In that research, briefly, patients received spinal manipulation over 4 weeks, while healthy volunteers did not. Both groups had motion x-rays taken at baseline and 4-week follow-up. By using the first static image of each motion sequence we were able to investigate whether the cervical spine alignment or lordosis changed in the patient group, and whether such changes were greater than that in the healthy group not receiving treatment.

For the statistical analysis Mike was assisted by another student, Bas Penning de Vries. After the study it was proposed to the two students, by me and Professor Alan Breen, that they have a go at writing up the study for publication, with our assistance of course. Happily, they decided to do so. It might have been at times a painful process for them (most worthwhile things seem to be!), but they persevered and now it is published in a peer-reviewed open access journal! A great achievement for them, a publication already as they begin their clinical careers.

This co-created paper was a valuable exercise for the two undergraduate students, getting to learn about the research process, statistical analysis, publication and dissemination. An obvious benefit of co-creation to academics is that the workload of a project is spread throughout a larger team, albeit the students require support -but the time invested in that support should pay off. For instance, Mike and Bas  brought a fresh perspective to the team, posing well considered questions and suggestions that could be taken on board to improve the robustness of my own work and lines of argument. And of course, we now have a publication that would have taken much longer to get to press had I not had their assistance in writing it. In other words, with co-creation, everyone stands to gain.

Dr Jonny Branney