Poster Exhibition | The 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference
Katie Thompson, PhD student in the Faculty of Science & Technology with this poster entitled:
Impacts of African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) on large trees within a small, fenced reserve in South Africa.
Click the poster below to enlarge.
African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) can have detrimental impacts on trees due to their feeding habits including debarking, uprooting, and breaking branches off trees. The aim of this study is to assess whether introduced elephants have caused significant damage on various tree species in the small fenced Karongwe Private Game Reserve (KPGR). Thirty-two different tree species were recorded, with 5 species accounting for 80% of the total dataset and used for further analysis. Tree height was not shown to correlate with the overall level of damage. Trees close to the fence line were not more damaged than trees near the centre of the reserve. However, trees in highly used areas had a higher level of damage; these damaged trees showed low levels of recovery. We suggest exclusion areas for Combretum apiculatum and Sclerocarya birrea in high use areas, to reduce damage and enable recovery on these highly damaged species.
Poster Exhibition | The 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference
Kelsie Fletcher, PhD student in the Faculty of Haealth & Social Sciences with this poster entitled:
The history of disaster nursing: developments from Nightingale to the 21st century.
Click the poster below to enlarge.
Background: Nurses have a rich history in performing their duty both domestically and internationally in response to a disaster. Comprising the largest proportion of the healthcare workforce, nurses can inform disaster planning and management. With continuing conflict, humanitarian and natural disasters, epidemics and ongoing threat from covid-19, nurses’ roles and capacity to respond to global health needs is critical. Aims: The aim of this poster is to demonstrate key developments in the field of disaster nursing. Methods: A qualitative historical review was conducted to examine core developments in the history of disaster nursing. Results: A total of 10 articles refer to disaster nursing specifically, of which 4 of these are reports/policy. Conclusions: The complex but rich history of disaster nursing is interwoven throughout the historical literature. Understanding the developments of this newly recognised specialty field can inform future research agendas and this can inform the mitigation, prevention, response and recovery phases of disaster management.
Poster Exhibition | The 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference
Madhu Sapkota, PhD student in the Faculty of Science & Technology with this poster entitled:
Adaptive Simulation Modelling using the Digital Twin Paradigm.
Click the poster below to enlarge.
The simulation model used while undertaking the Structural Health Management (SHM) task to predict the response of the system/structure(s) to disturbances, got phase-out when the real system/structure material properties changes in non-uniform and complex way. In order to accurately predict future states of a system/ structure, which can change its behaviour to a large degree in response to environmental influences, the existence of precise models of the system and its surroundings is demandable. For this, simulation modelling within DT paradigm concept is proposed, with DT encompassing continuous and automatic model updating framework, reducing the computational (parametric) uncertainties that arises with time in the process and ultimately having a lifetime reliable prognosis tool for the structural behaviour. The solver (algorithm/framework) will be tested with a real-world problem by setting a DT environment integrated with an ultra-high-fidelity simulation model (for eg: cathodic protection (CP) model built for the prediction of the corrosion status of a seastructure).
Poster Exhibition | The 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference
Jessica Doherty, PhD student in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences with this poster entitled:
A Pilot Study to Improve emotional well-being of Early Career Midwives: A Modified Dialectical Behavioural Therapy Skills Training Group Intervention.
Click the poster below to enlarge.
Early career midwives are at the highest risk of leaving the profession in the first 5 years of practice. Targeting the emotional labour and burnout relationship may alter this trajectory by equipping them with emotional toolkit and skills to manage their relationships in practice and improve their resilience to workplace-adversity. This pilot is a non-randomised two-phased sequential mixed-method design comprising of pre, post-test and three-month follow-up to explore the preliminary effectiveness of the intervention via standardised-measures of emotional labour, difficulties of emotional regulation, Mayer, Salovey and Caruso’s emotional intelligence, resilience at work and Maslach’s Burnout Inventory in the first phase. Qualitative semi-structured interviews will be conducted in the second phase to explore the feasibility, acceptability, applicability of the intervention and DBT skills in practice. This study is the first to test DBT Skills training in the midwifery profession.
Poster Exhibition | The 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference
Chloe Casey, PhD student in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences with this poster entitled:
Initiatives to promote the wellbeing of postgraduate researchers at Bournemouth University.
Click the poster below to enlarge.
In relation to wellbeing support, in the past there has been the assumption that what works for undergraduate students will also work for postgraduate researchers (PGRs). As a result, a lack of interventions published in the literature have been designed and evaluated specifically with PGRs in mind. Due to this, universities have previously embedded support provisions that may not have been relevant for PGRs. There is a need to investigate the type of interventions that will be best aligned to the specific needs of PGRs. Therefore, this Doctoral College supported PhD project aims to design, trial, and evaluate evidence-based initiatives that are co-produced with PGRs. This poster provides an overview of the initiatives that have been trialled as part of this project, including a peer-support area on Brightspace and a series of workshops (project planning, mindfulness and mentoring) focusing on methods to help PGRs cope with the stresses of research.
Poster Exhibition | The 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference
Natalie Stewart, PhD student in the BU Business School with this poster entitled:
Promoting a positive and cohesive research culture for postgraduate researchers.
Click the poster below to enlarge.
Research culture is thought to be a substantive influencer in the overall student experience for postgraduate researchers (PGRs) in the UK Higher Education sector. In consecutive AdvanceHE Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES), findings highlight over a third of responding PGRs are expressing dissatisfaction with their experience of the research culture at their own university (AdvanceHE 2019). Research culture is reported to be less positively experienced in seven core areas measured which includes, supervision, resources, progress and assessment, responsibilities, research skills and professional development. The aim of this research is to explore ways in which higher education institutions can actively create and influence more positive research cultures for their PGRs, who are working across a wide range of potential discipline areas. This poster outlines the rationale for this research and anticipated approach.
Poster Exhibition | The 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference
Sulochanan Dhakal-Rai, PhD student in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences with this poster entitled:
Factors contributing to rising caesarean section rates in South Asian Countries: a systematic review.
Click the poster below to enlarge.
Background: Caesarean Sections (CS) can save a mother’s life in childbirth but can also be an unnecessary medical intervention in a natural process. This systematic review investigates factors/indicators affecting increasing Caesarean Section rates in South Asia. Methods: Quantitative studies published from 2010 to 2018 were found on electronic databases. Critical Appraisal Skill Programme checklists were used for assessing the quality. Narrative synthesis of the indications/factors associated with CS was divided into distinct categories using content analysis. Results: Sixty-eight studies were included and both CS indications and significant associated factors were explored. The most common medical indications of CS were foetal distress and previous CS. Higher maternal age was the most common associated factor followed by higher education and urban residency. Maternal request was the most common non-medical indication of CS. Conclusion: Modifiable indicators/factors reflect global trends, suggesting we need a global strategy to stem the rise of unnecessary CS.
Poster Exhibition | The 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference
Greg Tansil, MRes student in the Faculty of Science & Technology with this poster entitled:
Study to identify risk factors that predict which children will repeatedly go missing.
Click the poster below to enlarge.
Missing children face significant risks and those who frequently go missing are particularly vulnerable to dangers such as abuse and sexual exploitation. Using data from one UK police force from June 2018 to July 2019 (N = 909), the research found; (1) over 80% of all missing child reports are repeat disappearances; (2) a small proportion of children who go missing repeatedly (8.3%) account for over half of all missing person episodes; (3) the likelihood of a child going missing on multiple occasions is associated with being criminally exploited, being a perpetrator of violence, adverse childhood experiences, being arrested and being in care; and (4) by combining these factors it is possible to predict the probability of a child going missing repeatedly. Understanding of the correlates of repeat disappearances allows the police and partner agencies to target preventative resources to those individuals most at risk of going missing again.
Poster Exhibition | The 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference
Raysa El Zein, PhD student in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences with this poster entitled:
Feasibility study: effect of vegetable oil on memory in older-adults and those with MCI.
Click the poster below to enlarge.
Associations between diet and cognitive impairments in older-adults have been demonstrated in some studies. Inducing ketosis to provide an alternative energy source (ketones) by modifying the amount and type of dietary fat could reduce neuro-degeneration in older-adults. The aim of this feasibility study was to use a dietary intervention to investigate the effect of coconut oil intake (compared with sunflower oil) on cognition and quality of life in older-adults and those with Mild Cognitive Impairment. The study followed a randomized clinical trial design and participants were allocated either coconut oil or sunflower oil for 6 months. To date, data has been collected from 18 participants using questionnaires, interviews, food records, cognitive tests and blood ketone tests. Preliminary results from this study demonstrate the ability of participants to adhere to the dietary intervention and the potential effect of coconut oil intake in improving verbal memory in older-adults and those with MCI.
Poster Exhibition | The 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference
Debora Almedia, PhD student in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences with this poster entitled:
Is there a difference between dominant and non-dominant hand performance during simulated infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (iCPR)?
Click the poster below to enlarge.
Randomised study to compare two-finger technique (TFT) using dominant (DH) and non-dominant hand (NH) during simulated iCPR. Materials/methods: 24 participants performed 3-minute iCPR using the TFT with DH or NH followed by 3-minute iCPR with their other hand. Perceived fatigue rated using visual analogue scale (VAS). Results: No significant difference between DH and NH. However, perception of fatigue for NH (76.8 ±13.4) was significantly higher (p <.001) compared to DH (62.8 ±12.5). No significant difference between first and last 30 seconds of iCPR for DH and NH. No significant correlations between iCPR and perception of fatigue for DH. However, significant correlation for CR (r=0.43; p=0.040) and RL (r=-0.48; p=0.021) for the NH. Conclusion: No difference in performance of iCPR with DH versus NH. However, perception of fatigue is higher in NH for CR and RL. Guidelines could recommend rescuers to change hands every 2 min to reduce effects of fatigue on
performance.
Poster Exhibition | The 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference
Rachel Clarke, MRes student in the BU Business School with this poster entitled:
Leadership as a means of cultivating innovation: analogue people in a digital future.
Click the poster below to enlarge.
This research study considers how innovation is successfully nurtured within the UK small and medium sized business (SME) environment, and if leadership styles have a role to play when successfully cultivating an innovative culture within such SMEs. Furthermore, the research is investigating the tools that UK SMEs need to adopt to be able to successfully innovate. The research is a two-stage qualitative interview-based study in which data is collected from professional employees of identified SMEs within specific sectors. The participants are interviewed on their own, and then as part of a larger focus group, to enable the expansion of ideas and concepts presented. This research forms part of an emerging field of leadership within a practical context and contributes to the emerging knowledge of leadership, leadership styles, and innovation.
Poster Exhibition | The 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference
Carrie Tbaily, MRes student in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences with this poster entitled:
Exploring caregiver perspectives of adults with Severe or Profound and multiple Learning Disabilities Accessing Sedentary Hydrotherapy (SPLASH study)
Click the poster below to enlarge.
The term Learning Disability (LD) defines people with significant impairment in cognition and social functioning. Physical disability in LD is largely neurological. Previous neuro-hydrotherapy studies have adopted a medical model of disability. Taking a singular medical/social approach to LD research omits significant elements of impairment that these adults experience. The biopsychosocial model is therefore the most appropriate approach in regards to LD research. Through asking how caregivers perceive hydrotherapy to impact on the needs of adults with severe/profound LD, this mixed-methods pragmatist study seeks to explore caregiver experience, and identify any health/social care impacts. Using component design, caregiver experiences will be explored through thematic analysis of data gathered from in-depth semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The themes explored through this study may help to better inform caregiver decision making in relation to hydrotherapy care-plans, and any biopsychosocial impacts highlighted could form the foundation for future studies to further explore/quantitatively measure.
Poster Exhibition | The 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference
Karim Khaled, PhD student in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences with this poster entitled:
Validation of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC) Food Frequency Questionnaire for use among Adults in Lebanon
Click the poster below to enlarge.
The aim of this study was to validate the EPIC food frequency questionnaire in Lebanon. The validation was done by comparing data collected from the EPIC FFQ with that collected from three 24-hour recalls. Unadjusted and energy adjusted correlations, Bland Altman plots, and weighed kappa statistics were used to assess the agreement between the two methods. Unadjusted and energy-adjusted correlation coefficients ranged from -0.002 (vitamin A) to 0.337 (carbohydrates) and were all statistically significant except for vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin A, selenium, and niacin. The weighed kappa estimates for unadjusted data ranged from -0.05 (vitamin C) to 0.248 (magnesium). Weighed kappa for energy-adjusted data ranged from -0.034 (vitamin A) to 0.203 (phosphorus). The visual inspection of the Bland-Altman plots revealed over-estimation of energy, carbohydrates, protein, and fat intakes by the FFQ method. This validation study demonstrated an overall acceptable agreement compared to the 24-h recall method.
Tomorrow kicks off the PGR Virtual Poster Exhibition. Over the next two weeks we will be highlighting the PGR posters submitted as part of the 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference across the research and faculty blogs.
You’re welcome to join us at Café Scientifique, a free online public event where you can explore the latest ideas in science and technology in a relaxed setting. Enjoy listening to a short talk before engaging in debate and discussion with our guest speaker and audience.
We’ll be joined by Dr Sarah Elliott on Tuesday 1 December from 7.00pm until 8.30pm.
Around twelve thousand years ago in the Middle East, the course of human civilisation changed forever – human hunter-gatherers became fully-fledged farmers, trading their small campsites for settled villages. But why? Why did it happen there and why then? Archaeological evidence is often limited or poorly preserved, so researcher Dr Sarah Elliott is looking closer, studying the microscopic traces people and animals left behind to try to solve one of the great mysteries of human history.
The 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference Brochure
I am delighted to be able to share the full conference brochure for The 12th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference.
The oral presentations are taking place virtually on Wednesday 2 November and there is still plenty of time to register to attend. We will also be joined by Professor Edwin van Teijlingen as our keynote speaker.
All posters will be available for viewing on the conference webpage from Monday 30 November, with wider coverage across the research and Faculty blogs highlighting individual posters over the course of a few weeks.
I look forward to sharing the day with many of you.
Alarm bells are ringing in sport about the risk of a group of chronic, neuro-degenerative diseases, commonly understood as dementia. There is an increasingly large body of evidence which has identified that small, repetitive collisions of the brain inside the skull cause this disease.
More high-profile players from England’s 1966 World Cup-winning squad are getting dementia and heading the football is to blame. It is now time for a blanket ban on heading until the age of 18, and from then on it should be closely monitored and reduced.
It is not just the big collisions that end with players being carried off the pitch or taken to hospital for tests that appear to be causing the problem. It is the small, daily collisions – the ones which happen with routine. Research has found that one particular form of dementia (known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE) seems to only exist among those who, as part of routine activities, incur these regular assaults to the brain.
What is CTE? Dr. Ann McKee explains.
This issue was touched upon in the improperly titled Will Smith movie Concussion (because the disease is located in thousands of small hits, not one big one) and the Netflix Documentary, Killer Inside, about the NFL player, Aaron Hernandez who suffered from CTE. Indeed, recent research on American football has shown that 3.5 years of play doubles the chances of dementia.
This issue is now gaining attention in the UK, with research showing a shift in attitudes in rugby union, and within the “Beautiful Game” as well.
Repetitive impacts
Jeff Astle, a member of England’s 1970 World Cup squad, became the first British footballer confirmed to have died from CTE – classed as an industrial injury. Astle’s family had long claimed it was heading the ball that was to blame. But it was only when England’s 1966 World Cup-winning heroes began to be diagnosed with dementia that the football world really took notice.
This link cannot be dismissed as a result of older, heavy balls that were replaced by lighter balls in recent years. This is a myth, as both older and new balls weigh 14-16oz. And while older balls got heavier when wet, they travelled slower and were less likely to be kicked to head height in games.
Recent studies show that heading the ball, even just 20 times in practice, causes immediate and measurable alterations to brain functioning. These results have been confirmed in other heading studies and are consistent with research on repetitive impacts that occur from other sports such as downhill mountain biking, resulting from riding over rough terrain.
More worryingly, in a large study of former professional footballers in Scotland, when compared to matched controls, players were significantly more likely to both be prescribed dementia medications and to die from dementia – with a 500% increase in Alzheimer’s.
These findings finally pressured the FA into changing the rules for youth football. In February 2020, the FA denied direct causation but followed what America had done five years earlier and changed its guidelines concerning heading the ball.
The current guidelines don’t stop children from heading the ball in matches, but they do forbid heading the ball as part of training until the age of 12 – when it is gradually introduced. These measures do not go far enough.
A new campaign, called Enough is Enough, and an accompanying seven-point charter was launched in November which calls for a radical intervention into heading in football. Former England captains, Wayne Rooney and David Beckham have supported it, while 1966 legend Sir Geoff Hurst has also backed a ban on kids heading the ball.
And the players union, the PFA, has now called for heading in training by professional players to be reduced and monitored.
The demands in this charter will be costly, as they concern aftercare for those with dementia and more expensive research into the issue. But the most significant demand they make is to protect professional players from dementia by severely limiting header training to no more than 20 headers in any training session with at minimum of 48 hours between sessions involving heading.
These progressive policies should not be delayed by those in the sport, such as the medical head of world players’ union Fifpro, Dr Vincent Gouttebarge, who claimed that more research is required. Governing bodies can no longer take half measures or call for further discussion. This discussion has been taking place for 50 years.
Bring in the ban
Brain trauma in sport is not a medical question, it is a public health crisis. If the evidence is strong enough that the PFA has advocated “urgent action” to reduce heading in training for adult athletes, then heading policies for children – in both training and matches – need to be drastically revised as a matter of urgency.
While media attention focuses largely on the tragedy of lost football heroes, this is a much larger problem for youth players. Less than .01% of the people who play football in this country play at the professional level – but almost half of all children aged 11-15 play the game.
If children are permitted to head the ball between the ages of 12 and 18, this means six years of damaging behaviour. Children are not able to make informed decisions and need to be protected. There is no logical reason for the ban on heading footballs in training to stop at the age 12. Headers can wait until 18. The sport will survive just fine without them.
New weight change BU paper
One week to go! | The 16th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference
Geography and Environmental Studies academics – would you like to get more involved in preparing our next REF submission?
Congratulations to three former BU staff
MSCA Staff Exchanges 2024 Call – internal deadline
Applications are now open for 2025 ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowships!
Horizon Europe – ERC CoG and MSCA SE webinars
MaGMap: Mass Grave Mapping
ERC grants – series of webinars