Category / PG research

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

PGR Development Fund Activity Report by Gail Ollis, SciTech

PG research

ACCU 2014

(ACCU 2014: The conference for developers. Bristol, April 2014. accu.org/index.php/conferences)

Introduction

ACCU is an organisation for software developers which champions professionalism in programming. Its members and conference delegates are exactly the kind of audience my research must reach to be relevant in influencing professional software development practice.

Funding from the Graduate School enabled me to attend the ACCU annual conference, an ideal place to discuss my research findings and their practical applications. I reached an even larger audience than I had hoped: to date, more than 50 have attended my presentations and I have talked to many others informally. Speaking for ACCU also generated an unforeseen bonus: a new student placement relationship.

Engagement and impact

In my session entitled “What programmers want” I presented themes that have emerged, in my research interviews, about how actions taken by peers make a software developer’s job harder or easier. I also included an audience activity to let people try for themselves a card-sorting technique I developed for use in the interviews.

The ‘buzz’ in the room during the activity was extraordinary; everyone engaged with discussing just how much they are affected by the various good or bad peer behaviours listed on the cards. In my research I used the cards to prompt individual participants to talk about a wide range of activities that their job involves. It was evident from the audience response that the cards also function very well as a catalyst for group discussion; several people have asked for a copy to use in this way at their workplace.

Research project benefits

The session finished with a discussion and the audience was keen to contribute by sharing thoughts and questions inspired by my presentation and the activity. It is encouraging to find that my work is meaningful, interesting and useful to the people whose profession it concerns. Their feedback will play an important role in shaping how the research proceeds from here.

Personal development

 

Being a speaker at ACCU 2014 also led to invitations to speak to the local ACCU groups in Oxford (February 2014) and Bath/Bristol (planned for June 2014).  Presenting the material a second time has been a fantastic opportunity to refine my presentation skills by exploring different approaches to the same material.

Other benefits

As a direct consequence of the Oxford talk, a new student placement relationship has been set up between BU’s computing department and a company in Abingdon.

Conclusion

This was a great opportunity to share my research with the professional community. Many software developers are now aware of this work at BU and find it relevant and useful to their workplace. It is a tremendous encouragement to have established that my research makes sense to the people it is for.

Photos – courtesy of Anna-Jayne Metcalfe, @annajayne

GS Santander Mobility Activity Report by Jonny Branney – HSC

PG research

BRITSPINE 2014

Introduction

I was delighted to present the results of my PhD work in a presentation entitled “Does spinal manipulation change cervical inter-vertebral motion?” at BritSpine 2014. BritSpine is the largest and most prestigious spine research conference in the UK so it was a privilege to have had my abstract accepted for oral presentation. This provided the opportunity to experience presenting my work to some of the main spine researchers from around the world and promote myself as a researcher, and Bournemouth University.

Personal Development

I received valuable feedback on my presentation from the President of the Society for Back Pain research, and fielded audience questions from none less than the President of the British Association of Spine Surgeons, and the Chair of the United Kingdom Spine Societies Board who is Professor of Spinal Surgery, University of Oxford. My supervisor, who attended with me, was very pleased with how the presentation went and my competent answering of audience questions. This being my first large professional conference presentation, I feel much more confident in my presenting skills and in presenting at future conferences, an important part of being a researcher. The peer-review provided by this experience will also help as I finalise the writing-up of my thesis.

After finishing my presentation I was pleased to relax and enjoy the rest of the conference, attending presentations on the latest approaches to diagnosing and treating spinal problems. This allowed me to learn about (and critically evaluate) the methodologies used by other researchers, as well as staying up-to-date with developments in the spine research field.

Summary

The experience has been hugely worthwhile as I prepare to submit my thesis and embark on the next stage in my career. Many thanks to the Graduate School and Santander Universities for enabling me to attend BritSpine and gain this valuable experience.

 

Jonny Branney
PhD student, School of Health and Social Care
http://staffprofiles.bournemouth.ac.uk/display/jbranney

 

Facebook User Interface to suit Saudi Arabian culture

PG research

We would like to invite you to the next research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre that will be delivered by Hana Almakky.

 

Title: Facebook User Interface to suit Saudi Arabian culture

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 28th May 2014

Room: P302 (Poole House, Talbot Campus)

 

Abstract: Social media has continued growing in Saudi Arabia. Millions of businesses and trades are now using social media for entertainment, advertisement and promoting themselves internationally. Social networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc., have gained huge popularity at personal as well as professional scale. Therefore, work is being done to evolve the modes of communication over these platforms, extensively. My research explores the effect of Saudi cultures on the design of social media site of Facebook. The expected outcome of this research will be a theoretical framework that guides the design of a user interface for Facebook to meet the Saudi’s expectations.

We hope to see you there,

 

Dr. David John

 

Dragons’ Den: Pitch to the Editors

PG research

Do you have a science news story worthy of appearing in Nature, The Times or Research Fortnight?

Organisers of the UK Conference of Science Journalists are running a ‘Dragons’ Den: Pitch to the Editors’ session, open to students, recent graduates or scientists with a great story.

This is your chance to stand up in front of top journalists and ‘sell’ your story idea. It can be about any aspect of science, as long as it is suitable for Nature, the Times or Research Fortnight. (Do make sure you research the publications before submitting)!

Successful applicants will pitch their story idea to Helen Pearson (Nature), Ehsan Masood (Research Fortnight) and Hannah Devlin (The Times) in front of a live audience at the conference on Wednesday 18th June in London.  

For more information and details of how to apply, visit http://www.ukcsj.org/dragons-den.html. Applications are open until 23rd May.

If you would like to discuss your pitch, email Sally Gates (Research Communications Manager).

Delivering healthcare in prisons

PG research, Research Ethics

A special event has been arranged at BU that will focus on health care within prisons. The session to be held on 28th May will be led by Jane Senior from the University of Manchester. Jane is a clinician-researcher and Research Project Manager for the Offender Health Research Network. Jane is a qualified mental health nurse with over 20 years of post qualification experience of working in prison and secure mental health settings.

Jane’s session will be of great value to anyone :

  • thinking about undertaking research within UK prisons
  • wanting to know more about health care delivery in prisons
  • thinking of working with or in a prison health care team

During the session Jane will outline findings from her recent prison research projects. These include studies into how to manage the health and wellbeing of older prisoners and her recent work in developing the Older Prisoner Health and Social Care Assessment and Plan (OHSCAP). She will also highlight some of the specific issues that can arise when undertaking research within a prison environment.

Staff and students are welcome to attend the session. If you would like to attend please email Holly Crossen-White (hcrossen@Bournemouth.ac.uk).

PG Researcher Development Workshops available in May

PG research

WHAT’S ON in May 2014 – revised

 

  • Finding Information and Using Researcher Tools – 19 May
  • Managing your Citations using Endnote and Endnote Web – 21 May
  • Interviewing in Semi-Structured Interviews – 21 May
  • The Art of Facilitation – 28 May
  • An Introduction to Public Engagement – 29 May – new addition

The advanced workshop on Public Engagement (7th May 2014) has been postponed and will be rearranged at a later date.

Full details and sign up lists are available via myBU (Graduate School PGR Community).

Don’t forget that if you have both staff and student email accounts, you’ll need to log on with your student username and password.  Please check your student email account for email reminders for PGR workshops.

 

Additional PGR workshops added to the PG Researcher Programme for June

PG research

Additional PGR workshops have been organised for June:

The Importance of Publishing

Outline: Publishing is an integral part of a researcher’s professional life and this workshop aims to guide you through the process of writing and publishing research papers in journals and conference proceedings.

  • Date: 18 June 2014
  • Time: 09:30 – 12:45
  • Venue: P403 – Poole House
  • Facilitators: see below
  • 09:30 – 10:15  – Introduction to the Importance of Publishing and how it will impact on your future – Professor John Fletcher, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation)
  • 10:15 – 11:30 – How to get a paper published – Dr Feng Tian
  • 11:45 – 12:45 – Meet the Editor(s) – Dr Anne Quinney

Introduction to ‘Observation as social science research method’

Outline:  Observation is a key research methods in academic disciplines such as Anthropology, Sociology, Education, Development Studies, Psychology and Management Studies, to name but a few. This introduction of observation outlines the two methods of observation: participant and non-participant. With participant observation, the researcher becomes a part of the social group being studied in order to get a true understanding of the participants. On the other end of the spectrum, non-participant observation involves a researcher taking a step back and ‘passively’ watching the participants in action.

The session will also address the so-called Hawthorne Effect as well as questions such as: ‘How do you present yourself as the observing researcher?’ and ‘What are the main ethical considerations for someone undertaking observational research?”

  • Date: 25 June 2014
  • Time: 14:00 – 16:00
  • Venue: S217 – Studland House – Lansdowne Campus
  • Facilitator: Prof Edwin van Teijlingen

To sign up, please visit myBU – Graduate School PGR Community and remember to log on with your student username and password

Getting to grips with Creative Commons Licensing

PG research, Publishing

What is it?

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools.

“The free, easy-to-use copyright licenses provide a simple, standardized way to give the public permission to share and use your creative work — on conditions of your choice. CC licenses let you easily change your copyright terms from the default of ‘all rights reserved’ to ‘some rights reserved’.

Creative Commons licenses are not an alternative to copyright. They work alongside copyright and enable you to modify your copyright terms to best suit your needs.

Creative Commons offers licenses and tools to the public free of charge and does not require that creators or other rights holders register with CC in order to apply a CC license to a work. This means that CC does not have special knowledge of who uses the licenses and for what purposes, nor does CC have a way to contact creators beyond means generally available to the public. CC has no authority to grant permission on behalf of those persons, nor does CC manage those rights on behalf of others.

If you would like to obtain additional permissions to use the work beyond those granted by the license that has been applied, or if you’re not sure if your intended use is permitted by the license, you should contact the rights holder.” (Creative Commons 2014)

Why do we need it?

New ways of publishing on the internet require different licensing arrangements, so that work can be freely shared and reconfigured to advance research. Creative Commons allows this flexibility.

  • Creators can retain their copyright and allow specified re-use depending on the licence chosen.
  • Users can see immediately what they are allowed to do with a work without the time-consuming need to contact the author for permission.

 

How does this work?

Source: http://foter.com/blog/files/2012/11/Foter.com_infographic_CC.jpg

How do I use it in my own work?

Where the RCUK OA block grant is used to pay Article Processing Charges for a paper, the paper must be made Open Access immediately at the time of on-line publication, using the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence. Find out more in the RCUK OA Policy.

For all other material: Use the Creative Commons tool to choose your licence.

How do I use it with other people’s work?

When you come across work that uses Creative Commons you will see the distinctive Creative Commons logo (as below) and there will be a link to the licence under which it has been released. This tells you exactly what you are allowed to do with it.

Finding Creative Commons works

The Creative Commons website has a search engine that searches the Web for Creative Commons works, and Google (under its Advanced Search facility) has an option to search for materials that use Creative Commons.  Select usage rights and from drop down menu:  free to share or modify, even commercially.

PGR Workshop – Developing Professional Researcher Networks

PG research

There are places still available on this workshop……..

Developing Professional Researcher Networks – Facilitated by Margaret Collins

The aim of this workshop is to give PhD students skills to conduct effective professional networking conversations and to use networking as a tool for developing their professional networks. Networking is recognised by established researchers and Academics as an essential tool for career development and professional advancement.  In contrast, research reveals that many Early Career Researchers feel very uncertain about networking, in respect to both the practical “how to do it” issues and the underlying, often values-based questions “Why it is important ?” and “Should I be doing this?”.

We will address various aspects of networking and develop the appropriate physical and mental skills necessary to improve our skill set in confident networking techniques.

Progress will be made through discussions and group exercises to develop essential skills, build confidence and overcome anxiety or blocks to performance.

As a result of this workshop participants will:

  • Increase their understanding of the professional importance of networking
  • Improve their ability to communicate confidently in networking conversations
  • Understand the importance of body language in effective communication
  • Have tools to deal with stress or anxiety related to networking
  • Have strategies to develop collaborations or increase visibility

WHEN: Tuesday 29 April 2014 : WHERE: K103 – Kimmeridge House, Talbot Campus

Registration is via myBU – Graduate School PGR Community – Please remember that you will need to log on with your student username and password.

Does spinal manipulation change cervical inter-vertebral motion? – BritSpine 2014 conference presentation by Jonathan Branney

Awarded & submitted bids, PG research

Jonny, an HSC PhD student based at AECC has recently returned from the University of Warwick where he gave an oral presentation of his PhD findings, at the BritSpine conference. This was an opportunity to present his research on spinal manipulation and neck pain to eminent clinicians and researchers, and field questions from none less than the President of the British Association of Spinal Surgeons and the Chair of the United Kingdom Spine Societies Board – sigh of relief when they appeared to be happy with his answers!

This is the first time Jonny has presented his findings to a spine-research expert audience and this resulted in invaluable feedback that will inform not only future presentations, but his thesis too. It was only through the award of a Santander Mobility Award that Jonny was able to attend this prestigious conference – many thanks to the Graduate School and Santander Universities for making this attendance possible.

Jonny’s thesis is entitled, “An observational study of changes in cervical inter-vertebral motion and the relationship with patient-reported outcomes in patients undergoing spinal manipulative therapy for neck pain”. He is supervised by Professors Alan Breen and Jenni Bolton, (AECC) and Dr Sarah Hean at BU, and the thesis is due for completion in the summer.

In the meantime, if you’re interested in whether spinal manipulation changes inter-vertebral motion, you might like to check out the conference abstract which was published in the European Spine Journal 23(Suppl 1): S128.

 

Congratulations to Dr. Joyce Miller (PhD by Publication)

PG research, Publishing

Congratulations to HSC postgraduate student Joyce Miller who has just completed her PhD by Publication.  Joyce Miller is a chiropractic practitioner and lecturer with over 25 years private practice experience. She is Associate Professor at Anglo-European Chiropractic College in Bournemouth.  Her thesis Effects of Musculoskeletal Dysfunction in Excessive Crying Syndromes of Infancy presents research spanning more than a decade.  Joyce studied the relevance of chiropractic manual therapy to excessive crying in infancy through a unique series of eight clinical academic papers.

 

The eight separate studies used a range of different research methods:

  1. a demographic survey of paediatric patients attending a chiropractic clinic;
  2. a record study to determine the prevalence of side effects or adverse events;
  3. a cohort study to substantiate sub-groups of excessively crying infants;
  4. a prospective observational study to develop a predictive model using likelihood ratios to forecast the presence of infant colic in a clinical population;
  5. validation of a one-page instrument to assess clinical outcomes against the gold standard crying diary;
  6. a randomised comparison trial of two types of chiropractic manual therapy for infant colic;
  7. a randomised controlled single blind trial to determine efficacy of blinding as well as chiropractic manual therapy in management of infant colic;
  8. a case-control study to investigate  long-term effects of chiropractic manual therapy into toddlerhood.

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

HSC

Low-Power High-Quality Interactive Digital Media: The Challenges

PG research

Dear all,

We would like to invite you to an additional guest talk for the Creative Technology Research Centre that will be delivered by Professor Edmond C. Prakash from the University of Bedfordshire.

Title: Low-Power High-Quality Interactive Digital Media: The Challenges

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Thursday 3rd April 2014

Room: P302 (Poole House, Talbot Campus)

Abstract: Traditional GPUs have super graphics performance and have been extremely utilised for media rich applications. However, they are not suitable for low-power mobile devices. Digital media research and development are at the crossroads. This talk looks at some of the key challenges faced in Embedded GPUs for next generation media rich applications (interactive 3D graphics and games) on low-power mobile devices. Graphics programmers, 3D modellers, animators and game developers will benefit from this talk.

Biography:  Edmond is a Professor in Computer Games Technology and the Director for the Institute for Research in Applicable Computing at the University of Bedfordshire. He is the founding editor of the International Journal of Computer Games Technology.  Edmond has worked at top institutions across the globe including MIT, UIUC, BNU, NTU, MMU, PUJ and IISc. Edmond’s research interests are in volume graphics, real-time visualisation, game based learning and game engines.

We hope to see you there,

Dr. David John

PG Researcher Development Workshops

PG research

WHAT’S ON in April 2014

  • Research Philosophy – 1 April 2014
  • Statistics: Sample Size Estimation – 2 April 2014
  • An Introduction to Public Engagement – 2 April 2014
  • Statistics: Time Series Analysis – 7 April 2014
  • Statistics: Principal Component Analysis – 10  April 2014

Full details and sign up lists are available via myBU (Graduate School PGR Community).

Don’t forget that if you have both staff and student email accounts, you’ll need to log on with your student username and regularly check your student email account for email reminders.

 

Sustainable Design Research Centre New Experimental Resources for Research & Education

Fusion, PG research

Sustainable Design Research Centre

Faculty of Science & Technology

Newly Added and Commissioned Experimental Resources for Research & Education

The following new equipment have been recently added to the lab resources for both research & education. Two PhD research projects in Renewable Technology (Heat Transfer and Thermodynamic Expansion) and one Research Assistant within SDRC are fully funded by industrial partner FES Ltd [Dr Zulfiqar Khan, PI]. This research informs education within the Design & Engineering Framework, MEng Programme, through Level I Thermo-fluids & Heat Transfer (20 Credit) unit led by Dr Zulfiqar Khan.

These equipment are significant addition for enhancing students’ experience and providing a vehicle for realising BU Fusion initiative.

PIPE FRICTION APPARATUS

The experimentation stand can be used to investigate pipe frictional losses with laminar and turbulent flows. The pipe section is a brass pipe with an internal diameter of 3 mm. The distance between the pressure measuring fittings and thus the length of the experimental pipe section is 400 mm.

The pressure losses for laminar flow are measured using a water manometer. The static pressure difference is displayed. A head tank is available to create a laminar flow and ensures a constant water inlet pressure in the pipe section at a constant water level.

For turbulent flow, the pressure difference is measured using a dial manometer. The head tank is not used to create a turbulent flow. The water is fed directly into the pipe section from the water supply via a bypass. The flow is adjusted using shut-off valves at the beginning and end of the pipe. The water supply is provided either by the Basic Hydraulics Module or from the mains supply in the laboratory.

BERNOULLI’S PRINCIPLE DEMONSTRATOR

The equipment is used to investigate Bernoulli’s law. The measurement object is a Venturi nozzle with six pressure measurement points. The six static pressures are displayed on a board with six water pressure gauges. The overall pressure can also be measured at various locations in the Venturi nozzle and indicated on a second water pressure gauge. Measurement is by way of a probe which can be moved axially with respect to the Venturi nozzle. The probe is sealed by way of a compression gland. Water is supplied either from the Fluid Mechanics Basic Module or from the laboratory mains.

The equipment enables a closed water circuit to be constructed.

Possible experiments:

  1. Demonstration of Bernoulli’s law
  2. Pressure measurements along Venturi nozzle
  3. Determination of flow rate factor K

[The above information are provided by GUNT Publication-no.: 917.000 01 A 150 12 (A) Experiment instructions HM 150.01 Pipe Friction Apparatus & Experiment Instructions HM 150.07 Bernoulli’s Principle Demonstrator].

If you have interest in Renewable Technology research & education and would like to find more about the activities within the Sustainable Design Research Centre, then please contact.

Dr Zulfiqar Khan (Associate Professor)

Director SDRC

Dash7 for remote patient monitoring via mobile phone

PG research

We would like to invite you to the next research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre that will be delivered by Andrew Yearp.

TitleDash7 for remote patient monitoring via mobile phone

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 26th March 2014

Room: P302 (Poole House, Talbot Campus)

Abstract: Wireless Remote patient monitoring systems provide an improved environment for hospital patients while expanding the range physiological information available to medical personnel. With these developments patients are now free from wires, but are still contained within the range of the wireless monitoring system. This seminar explores the application of Dash7 and mobile phone technologies in patient monitoring, particularly in hospital wards. The functionality of a prototype system which has been developed so far will be demonstrated during this seminar.

We hope to see you there,

 Dr. David John