Dr Holly Crossen-White has had a conference paper accepted for National Programmes Conference: Museums and Digital Memory Conference to be held at the British Museum in September. The paper will be presented with Dr Trudie Cole, Head of Access and Participation, The National Museum of the Royal Navy. Trudie and Holly have previously worked on several research projects related to the use of digital archives and this gives them opportunity to apply their findings within the context of collections held by the National Museum of the Royal Navy. Holly’s research interest in digital archives arose through her PhD which explored the hidden history of illicit drug taking during the early twentieth century. Holly has published on the ethical issues of undertaking research using digital archives and has been awarded Faculty Seedcorn Funding with her colleague Dr. Angela Turner-Wilson for some of this research work.
Category / Public engagement
BU’s PGR Isabell Nessel presenting at the 13th Congress of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids in Las Vegas

The International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL) www.ISSFAL.org held its 13th International Congress in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA at the end of May. After a very informative Satellite Symposium (Arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids in infant development), the Congress started with a welcome reception in the Tropicana Hotel. This was not only well attended by the approximately 500 delegates from all over the world, but also Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra made an appearance.
The following 3 days were packed with excellent and informative sessions about General Nutrition, Maternal and Infant Nutrition, Inflammation and Allergy, Clinical Trials Methodology and Ketoneurotherapeutics. In between, well-known researchers in the field presented their research in plenary talks. Dr Michael Crawford obtained an omega-3 research award and Dr Maria Makrides was awarded with the Alexander Leaf Award. Her presentation entitled “Standing on the shoulders of giants: great women role models, mentors and advocates” was really inspiring.
I would like to thank ISSFAL for the opportunity to present my PhD research. My presentation was entitled “Optimising LCPUFA content of donor human milk: A review of current milk banking practices and recommendations for improvement”, presenting the results of our UK Milk Bank survey, which is now extended internationally. Furthermore, I had two posters displaying our work on preterm formula milk storage conditions and lipid degradation; and the effects of lipid degradation products on intestinal cells in vitro. These presentations gave me the possibility to position myself in the fatty acid research world and to make valuable contacts.
ISSFAL was especially taking care of us New Investigators, providing New Investigator Awards, organising a New Investigator social at the Mob Museum for networking with other researchers at a similar stage, as well as organising a meet the professor breakfast to talk to the experts in the field. One of the none scientific highlights was of course our trip to the Grand Canyon on the free day.
I would also like to thank my supervisors Dr Simon Dyall and Prof Minesh Khashu for their ongoing support as well as Gillian Weaver and Dr Caroline Childs for the fantastic collaborations. Furthermore, I would like to thank Bournemouth University and Santander for making this trip possible.
If you would like to learn more about our research, please feel free to contact me at inessel@bournemouth.ac.uk
Isabell

SciTech PGR Aishah Selamat Discusses On Her Research Impact with UK Data Service
SciTech PGR Aishah Selamat from the Creative Technology Department is one of UK Data Service 2018 Data Impact Fellow. Here in this video, she discusses her research using machine learning to build an analytical model for SMEs in the private coach hire industry and the research impact using UK Data Service open data.
Would you like to know how AI works? Want to see it in practice and learn about the legal implications? Do join us at our Festival of Learning Event
Date: Monday 18th June 2018
Time: 6-8 pm
Venue: Fusion Building (F109)
Can an Artificial Intelligence (AI) bot ‘create’ a new work or invention, with the human creator, simply being a facilitator? If so, who owns the creative work or invention? As we move to the next stage of computing and AI, it raises a number of challenges in relation to intellectual property, data, privacy and ethics. Enter the world of robots, conversational human-computer interaction and AI with us.
We will be using devices such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home and AI based gaming and computer vision, powered by Twitter chatbots, to explore these important questions for the future, through interactive activities.
The event will be hosted by Professor Dinusha Mendis, Professor of Intellectual Property & Innovation Law and Co-Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property, Policy and Management (CIPPM) together with Mr. Nikolaos Maniatis, Managing Director of Catobot Ltd.
Do come and join us; the event promises to be exciting for technology, intellectual property and big data enthusiasts!
Demystifying Research – BUCRU Festival of Learning Event
Demystifying Research – helping us make a difference
Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit are running an interactive session to help de-mystify the idea of clinical research and illustrate how the public can get involved. It’s not all lab coats and scary machinery!
Come and join us on Monday 18th June 16.00-17.30 as part of BU’s Festival of Learning event and find out a bit more about the research process in a fun & friendly way. Book here
BU Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) are based on the 5th floor of Royal London House. Feel free to pop in and see us, call us on 61939 or send us an email.
Your vote is needed please!!
Over the last 3 years, Prof Jane Murphy from Faculty of Health & Social Sciences and The Ageing and Dementia Research Centre has been working with The Nutrition in Older people Programme team at the Wessex Academic Health Science Network as Clinical Lead. The team has been shortlisted in the ‘ Community Nutrition Professionals of the Year’ category for the Complete Nutrition awards in the Community Nutrition Professional of the Year category that recognises their contribution to support nutritional developments in the community.
Please click on below for further details and would be great if you can add your vote!
Just select Wessex Academic Health Science Network – Nutrition in Older People Programme Team ‘ Community Nutrition Professional of the Year’ and any other categories to suit.
https://www.nutrition2me.com/cn-awards/2018-cn-awards-voting-form
https://www.nutrition2me.com/cn-awards/2018-cn-awards-the-shortlist
DEADLINE 23rd July 2018



Health & migration research in Nepal & India #BUFoL18
Festival of Learning event 2018 with an international flavour: exploring recent research projects undertaken in Nepal by staff from the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences. The event focuses on Nepali migrant workers in India, women and migration and explores the health and social issues of transgender and the use of hormone therapy in male-to-female transitioning populations in Nepal.
Fusion Building: Create Lecture Theatre, Bournemouth University on Saturday 16 June 2018 from 5.00-6.00PM
Free tickets can be found here!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, Dr Pramod Regmi & Prof Padam Simkhada (BU Visiting Faculty)
ERDF funded research – VISTA AR won the best paper award in CASA 2018 Beijing, China
Bournemouth University’s research team have celebrated their success in an international conference in Beijing, China. Their paper, co-authored by Yinyu Nie, Jian Chang, Ehtzaz Chaudhry, Shihui Guo, Andi Smart (University of Exeter) and Jian Jun Zhang, titled “Semantic modelling of indoor scenes with support inference from a single photograph” was selected as the Best Paper in the 31st International Conference on Computer Animation and Social Agents (CASA 2018) held on May 21-23, 2018 in Beijing, China.
http://casa2018.ios.ac.cn/casa-2018-best-paper-award/


The award winning paper presented an automatic approach for semantic modelling of indoor scenes based on a single photograph. Without using hand-crafted features, the guide indoor scene modelling with feature maps extracted by Fully Convolutional Networks (FCNs). The modelling approach forms part of the development of a preliminary experimentation on modern technologies to enhance visitor experiences using digital innovation, a €7.8m EU funded project (VISTA AR).
The research leading to these results has been co-funded by European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) – VISTA AR project (the Interreg France (Channel) England), the China Scholarship Council and Bournemouth University. For more information about the project (VISTA AR), please visit project website (https://www.vista-ar.eu/)



BU researcher elected Chair of the Public Diplomacy Interest Group
Dr. Alina Dolea, who has joined BU’s Faculty of Media and Communication in September 2017, has been elected Chair of the Public Diplomacy Interest Group within the International Communication Association (ICA). ICA is the premier international academic association for scholars in communication research, gathering more than 4,500 members from 80 countries.
Alina is a founding member of the Interest Group established officially in 2016, following a collective effort of raising signatures that she co-ordinated as a volunteer. The Group has grown fast to over 100 members worldwide and brings together scholars investigating topics related to public diplomacy, nation branding, country image and reputation, public relations for and of nations, as well as political, global and cultural communication influencing international relations.
For the ICA annual conference 2018, Alina has coordinated, as the Vice-Chair elect, the submission process and planned the program that included a State of the art panel in Public Diplomacy with top scholars in the field. In addition, she organized a doctoral and postdoctoral pre-conference (“Emerging Research and Trends in Public Diplomacy and Nation Branding”) together with Diana Ingenhoff (University of Fribourg), James Pamment (Lund University), Rhonda Zaharna (American University), Jay Wang (USC Center on Public Diplomacy) and Steve Pike (Syracuse University). 12 papers out of 33 submissions were selected to be presented and discussed in a forum with established scholars from the field serving as mentors and giving feedback to each participant. The conference was sponsored by The Center on Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California & Rhonda Zaharna, Syracuse University and Lund University. It was a great success and brought new insights for both PhD students and established scholars.
Genarrator project for Bishop of Winchester Academy
Supported by staff and undergraduates from Bournemouth University and sixth formers from the school, 20 Year 10 students from Bishop of Winchester Academy in Bournemouth, created 4 individual narratives.
Genarrator project groups at Bishop of Winchester Academy – May 2018 photo ©Rutherford
BU research helping charities achieving sustainable privacy by design

Photo by Carl Heyerdahl on Unsplash
In November 2017, we were awarded funding through RKEO’s Charity Impact Acceleration fund to work help a local charity — StreetScene — prepare them for the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). At the time, many charities were well aware of what GDPR was and the penalties for non-compliance. However, the guidance made available to them by the ICO was general and costly to implement in terms of time and resources. Our thoughts summarising the dilemmas faced by charities facing GDPR were recently covered by The Conversation.
Using work from her doctoral research, Jane Henriksen-Bulmer has devised a customised Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) process for charities, which she is now putting into practice at StreetScene. This helps them evaluate how privacy impacts their business workflows, and the privacy risks they face.
To help other charities benefit from this work, we will be running a free GDPR for Charities workshop on June 11th at the EBC. The workshop will share the results of this work with around 50 participants who work for or with local charities, and provide hands-on training on the process and complementary design techniques and software tools that charities can put into immediate practice. We’ll also be running a panel with invited speakers to discuss the challenges that small charities face with GDPR.
Although this work is helping local charities, we hope our work leads to more debate on how everyone (and not just big business) can ‘build in’ sustainable security and privacy.
Grand Challenges – four missions and an opportunity to input ideas – and a Brexit promise
PM’s speech
This speech by the PM today was trailed in the press and here is the link to it as delivered. The Brexit bit is towards the end. [Selection of quotes below, my formatting and edited as otherwise it is a bit hard to follow, it was a long speech]
Government has always had a crucial role in supporting scientific research and the technological advancements that flow from it……from the founding of the learned societies under royal patronage in the seventeenth century to the expansion of state-funded research in universities through the twentieth century.
- In the last few years, government support has helped create new landmark institutions,…
- And in the Industrial Strategy, we have made a commitment to take our support for UK science and technology to another level. £7 billion in new public funding for science, research and innovation: the largest increase for 40 years.
But to truly succeed we will go even further.
- As a government, we have set the goal of research and development investment reaching 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027 – more than ever before. That could translate to an additional £80 billion investment in the ideas of the future over the next decade.
- But even that figure fails to capture the scale of the possibility this will create. Because science and technology have a dynamic relationship. The scientific breakthroughs of today will lead to technological advances which themselves open the door to further scientific discovery, the likes of which are beyond our imagination.
- And it won’t just be public funding – our R&D target covers the combined power of government and business alike. That is what the Industrial Strategy is all about – not just the state spending money but using smart public investment to harness private funding. Not government running enterprise, but a strategic state using its power and influence to create the right conditions to allow us to thrive in the long term. A strategic approach means ensuring we have an education system that gives young people the skills they need to contribute to the economy of the future.
- That means more free schools and academies providing great school places, a curriculum that sets the highest standards, and proper support for our teachers to deliver it…It means more rigorous science GCSEs preparing young people better for further study and work, and more young people going on to do sciences at A-level. And to attract talented science graduates into the teaching profession, we are offering tax-free bursaries worth up to £26,000 in priority subjects.
- And it means going even further in the future. Transforming technical education with new high-quality T-levels that are every bit as good as A-levels. New Institutes of Technology to provide higher-level education and training. And a national re-training scheme to help workers of all ages adapt their skills to the jobs of tomorrow.
This is action from a strategic state to drive policy changes that will benefit our economy, our society and the individuals we serve.
……
So today I am setting the first four missions of our Industrial Strategy – one in each Grand Challenge. If they are to be meaningful, they must be ambitious and stretching. That means that our success in them cannot be guaranteed. But I believe that by setting a high ambition, we can achieve more than we otherwise would. So these are the missions I am setting today.
AI and data
First, as part of the AI and Data Grand Challenge, the United Kingdom will use data, artificial intelligence and innovation to transform the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and dementia by 2030.
- Late diagnosis of otherwise treatable illnesses is one of the biggest causes of avoidable deaths.
- And the development of smart technologies to analyse great quantities of data quickly and with a higher degree of accuracy than is possible by human beings opens up a whole new field of medical research and gives us a new weapon in our armoury in the fight against disease.
- In cancer, our ambition is that within 15 years we will be able to diagnose at a much earlier stage the lung, bowel, prostate or ovarian cancer of at least 50,000 more people a year. Combined with the great treatment and care provided by our NHS, that will mean every year 22,000 fewer people will die within five years of their diagnosis compared to today.
- We will work with industry and the medical research community to announce specific ambitions in a range of other disease areas over the coming weeks and months. Achieving this mission will not only save thousands of lives.
- It will incubate a whole new industry around AI-in-healthcare, creating high-skilled science jobs across the country, drawing on existing centres of excellence in places like Edinburgh, Oxford and Leeds – and helping to grow new ones.
Healthy ageing
Second, through our healthy ageing grand challenge, we will ensure that people can enjoy five extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035, whilst narrowing the gap between the experience of the richest and poorest.….
- We can do that by supporting more people to stay happy, healthy and independent in their own homes for longer, instead of going into hospital. It will take a collective effort to achieve this.
- Employers can help, by meeting the needs of people who have caring responsibilities and by doing more to support older people to contribute in the workplace – and enjoy the emotional and physical benefits of having a job if they want one.
- Businesses can contribute, and benefit, by supplying the needs of a growing market.
- Innovative and well-designed products and services – from housing adaptations that make our homes safer for older people to live in, to smart technologies that help people continue to enjoy life if they have a health condition. These innovations can also be exported to a rapidly growing market around the world.
- And we can all play our part – by making healthier lifestyle choices ourselves, and by supporting our friends and neighbours as they get older.
- We can build a stronger society, where more people can contribute their talents for longer and fewer people face loneliness and isolation.
Future of mobility
Third, in the future of mobility grand challenge, we have a mission to put the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero emission vehicles and for all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2040. Technology is revolutionising how we power vehicles, how they are driven, how we navigate and how we access information about public transport.
- …We can make our towns and cities cleaner, safer and more productive places to live and work.
- We can set a global standard for managing technological change to maximise economic and environmental benefits.
- We will work with industry to achieve this ambition, and share the benefits this opportunity presents.
Clean growth
And fourth, in the clean growth grand challenge, we will use new technologies and modern construction practices to at least halve the energy usage of new buildings by 2030.
- Heating and powering buildings accounts for 40 per cent of our total energy usage. By making our buildings more energy efficient and embracing smart technologies, we can slash household energy bills, reduce demand for energy, and meet our targets for carbon reduction.
- By halving the energy use of new buildings – both commercial and residential – we could reduce the energy bills for their occupants by as much as 50 per cent. And we will aim to halve the costs of reaching the same standard in existing buildings too.
- Meeting this challenge will drive innovation and higher standards in the construction sector, helping it to meet our ambitious homebuilding targets and providing more jobs and opportunity to millions of workers across the country. It will be a catalyst for new technologies and more productive methods, which can be exported to a large and growing global market for clean technologies.
….These four missions are just the beginning – and in setting further missions across the four grand challenge areas, we will work closely with businesses and sectors. ….
Science is an international enterprise and discoveries know no borders. The United Kingdom today is at the centre of a web of international collaboration.
- Our immigration system supports this, with no cap on the number of the students who can come to our universities, and thousands coming every year, learning from some of the finest academics and contributing to the success of some of the best universities in the world. Indeed, since 2010 the number of overseas students coming to study at UK universities has increased by almost a quarter.
- The UK will always be open to the brightest and the best researchers to come and make their valued contribution. And today over half of the UK’s resident researcher population were born overseas.
When we leave the European Union, I will ensure that does not change.
- Indeed the Britain we build together in the decades ahead must be one in which scientific collaboration and the free exchange of ideas is increased and extended, both between the UK and the European Union and with partners around the world.
- I know how deeply British scientists value their collaboration with colleagues in other countries through EU-organised programmes. And the contribution which UK science makes to those programmes is immense.
- I have already said that I want the UK to have a deep science partnership with the European Union, because this is in the interests of scientists and industry right across Europe. And today I want to spell out that commitment even more clearly.
- The United Kingdom would like the option to fully associate ourselves with the excellence-based European science and innovation programmes – including the successor to Horizon 2020 and Euratom R&T. It is in the mutual interest of the UK and the EU that we should do so.
- Of course such an association would involve an appropriate UK financial contribution, which we would willingly make.
- In return, we would look to maintain a suitable level of influence in line with that contribution and the benefits we bring.
The UK is ready to discuss these details with the Commission as soon as possible.
Grand challenges
And to go with the speech, new Grand Challenges content.
- AI and data: “To begin, we have one question: Where can the use of AI and data transform our lives?”
- Ageing society: “To begin, we would like to hear your thoughts on the following: How can we best support people to have extra years of being healthy and independent?”
- Clean Growth: “To begin, we would like to hear your thoughts on the following: How can our construction industry use its existing strengths to halve energy use in buildings?”
- Future of mobility: “To begin, we have one question: How can we ensure that future transport technologies and services are developed in an inclusive manner?”
They want new ideas, case studies etc – please contact policy@bournemouth.ac.uk if you would like to be involved
Dr Alison Cronin submits evidence to Treasury Committee on Economic Crime
Dr Alison Cronin has submitted a reply to the government’s Treasury Committee in response to its call for evidence on Economic Crime. The inquiry has two strands: anti-money laundering / terrorist financing and consumer fraud. Alison’s submission refers to her existing body of research in this area and considers the scope of economic crime, the current legal and regulatory landscape, the problem of criminogenic organisations, and potential reforms. The Treasury Committee will be publishing the replies.
Policy impact – it’s about the what and the who – the how comes later
I presented a session today on engaging with policy makers, part of a regular series of workshops that we run at BU for academic and professional support staff. As it isn’t always easy for staff to find time to attend these sessions, here are some of the key points.
It is easy to start a session like this with links to the many excellent resources on engaging policy makers. I have put some at the end of this blog. But my main point was that actually engaging with policy makers is not the beginning of the policy impact journey – it comes later. And that’s not because you can only engage with them when you have published research – it’s because you need to engage with them when you are clear about what your message is and what the action is that you want them to take. And also you will be more successful when you have already done a lot of engagement with other people beforehand so that they are ready to listen and take that crucial next step.
Engagement with other people is important for another reason – policy makers really only have time for things that are directly relevant and current, or in which they have a deep and personal interest. And while there is lots of advice on how to find out what is relevant and current, that changes. Today’s priority may not be one tomorrow, when an issue blows up that no-one was expecting. Or when they change jobs – as happens a lot.
So timing is everything and policy engagement is a two track process – the long term plan to engage those with long term, deep or personal interests in the relevant area, and the short term opportunistic engagement. The most important thing is to start now, including by preparing for the opportunistic engagement. If your issue suddenly becomes topical it will be much easier if you have prepared and don’t have to start writing overnight. And you’re more likely to be heard if people have heard about you and your research before.
So today’s workshop included a planning process – not very exciting, perhaps – there are no press releases or Westminster events on here. And maybe it’s obvious – start at the beginning by defining what difference the work will make in the world and what the change is that you want to see, and then work out who else wants the same things and work from there. In the meantime, be flexible and make it easy. If a politician wanted to speak about your work in the House of Commons tomorrow, what would you want them to say?
And once you have defined the what and the who, we can talk about the how.
There are tools to help with this in BU’s BU’s RKEO Impact toolkit. Parliament’s website has a whole host of resources including some accessible how to guides and infographics. The LSE impact blog is an excellent source of advice and information, and there are others too (eg UCL’s public policy pages). There is guidance from the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement. Our BU press team and RKEO impact teams are brilliant and well informed.
If you are interested in a discussion about any of this, or perhaps to run our workshop, please contact the policy team.
Dr John Oliver joins Ofcom Expert Group
Dr John Oliver, from the Advances in Media Management (AiMM) research cluster has been invited to join one of Ofcom’s Expert Groups.
In 2017 Ofcom became the BBC’s first external regulator and have set the regulatory conditions required for the BBC to fulfil its Mission and promote the Public Purposes. Dr Oliver will contribute to the development of measuring the distinctiveness of the BBC (known as Public Purpose 4).
Ofcom will monitor the BBC’s performance over the course of the Royal Charter (2017-27) and will produce their first performance report later this year.
Exciting PhD studentship opportunity for an aspiring individual with an interest in older people’s health and wellbeing.
For further details and how to apply click here.
Concert at BU: 3rd Loudspeaker Orchestra Concert
The final BU Loudspeaker Orchestra concert of this academic year took place in the Student Hall, Talbot Campus on Wednesday 2nd May 2018. This concert featured a range of electroacoustic music including work from undergraduate students, postgraduate researchers and staff at BU. The concert was a great opportunity for students, researchers and staff to collaborate on and co-create a live music event, and to present their music in a professional context.
Students from the BSc Music and Sound Production Technology course (Creative Technology) contributed a range of high-quality compositions. Many of these pieces were composed from field recordings; some from Bournemouth and Poole, some from London, and others from locations as far afield as Pune, India. The students also rigged the loudspeaker system, and then took part in a diffusion workshop (co-delivered by Ambrose Seddon and Panos Amelides, Creative Technology), learning and rehearsing some fundamental concepts for live multi-channel sound spatialisation in preparation for the concert. The programme also featured music from FMC PGR composer Antonino Chiaramonte and BU lecturer and composer Ambrose Seddon.
The sun setting over the Talbot campus buildings made for a fitting backdrop to the concert. Thanks to all who attended!
1 Week Left – Call for Applications: Three Minute Thesis Competition
Do you want to share your research? All the hard work shouldn’t go unheard!
If you have any questions please contact Natalie or Clare
pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk
