Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
The article “Why suicide rate among pregnant women in Nepal is rising” written by BU academics was published in The Conversation last year. At the time this attracted Indian newspaper attention. Clearly it is still a relevant issue as it attracted national coverage in a Nepali newspaper this week.
Dr. Bibha Simkhada & Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
The British Academy is inviting proposals from UK-based researchers in the humanities and social sciences – active at any career stage – looking to develop and lead interdisciplinary projects on questions related to borders under our programme on The Humanities and Social Sciences Tackling the UK’s International Challenges.
Aims
We are keen to support research projects wishing to explore varying understandings of borders, and to shape thinking about both internal dynamics within borders and cross-border issues that have global significance. Borders are defined for this purpose in as broad a sense as possible, encompassing not only traditional borders that demarcate territory but also any boundary – whether articulated or hidden, formal or informal – drawn around or between peoples and experiences.
Eligibility Requirements
The lead applicant must be based at an eligible UK university or research institute, and be of postdoctoral or above status (or have equivalent research experience).
Collaboration between researchers in different disciplines and institutions is particularly encouraged, where appropriate, given the nature and aims of this programme, and applications may include named co-applicants and other participants from overseas.
Value and Duration
Awards of up to £50,000 and 18 months in duration are available. The awards are not offered on a full economic costing basis.
Application Process
Applications must be submitted online using the British Academy’s Grant Management System (GMS), Flexi-Grant®. The deadline for submissions and UK institutional approval is 15 May 2019 at 17.00 (UK time).
Contact Details
Please contact internationalchallenges@thebritishacademy.ac.uk or call 020 7969 5220 for further information.
If you are interested in applying to this call then please contact your RDS Funding Development Officer, in the first instance at least 3 weeks prior to the stated deadline.
Being Human festival 2019
A reminder that the Being Human festival is now inviting applications for 2019.
The sixth annual Being Human festival will run 14-23 November 2019. Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy, Being Human Is the UK’s only national festival of the humanities, and is one of the largest national platforms for public engagement with humanities research.
This year the festival theme is ‘Discoveries & Secrets’. This could involve anything from art historians uncovering painted-over masterpieces, archaeologists excavating ancient burial sites, historians making discoveries in archives, literary scholars discovering lost texts. More broadly it could include uncovering secret histories, or making new discoveries about seemingly familiar people, places, communities – the possibilities are endless. As ever the overarching aim of the festival is to take research in the humanities and share it in creative, fun and engaging ways with non-specialist audiences.
There are three main pathways to getting involved:
Further details, and answers to some Frequently Asked Questions are available on the Being Human website. The hashtag on Twitter is #BeingHuman19
The deadline for applications for funding is 5pm Monday 8 April.
If you would like some advice on developing ideas, feel free to contact Adam Morris (Engagement Officer).
One of the most common Internet threats is web tracking, which enables an entity to gain unauthorised access to a user’s personal data while the user is browsing the web, thus violating privacy. At Bournemouth University we have been researching whether popular browsers protect their users from trackers that use Web Storage, Web SQL, and Indexed Database.
Introducing his research to the Cafe Scientifique audience earlier this month, Dr Alexios Mylonas from the Department of Computing & Informatics highlighted the different tracking technologies currently being used on the World Wide Web that can compromise our privacy.
“We live in a ‘post Snowden ‘ era” he said, and ” there are many ways that malicious entities on the Web, such as trackers can violate our privacy”.
HTML 5.0 provides trackers with new options 
Alexios described his own findings regarding the usage of three technologies from the HTML 5.0 standard (Web Storage, Web SQL, and Indexed Database) on the Internet. He went on to explain the experiments that were conducted against some of the websites we use every day proved that the main use of these technologies is tracking.
“This is different to what the industry and academia believed before we started our analysis. We did not believe that this was the case when we started this research and this is why we conducted the experiments in the first place”.
In many ways web browsers cannot protect our privacy
The focus towards the end of the discussion was the ability of current popular web browsers to delete the data that is being left on browsers by trackers. The results uncovered many occasions where popular browsers such as Firefox and Opera in Android do not allow us to delete the tracking data resulting in our privacy being violated.
Dr Mylonas explained that “if the browser fails to delete tracking data stored by any of the aforementioned technologies then a malicious tracker could ‘resurrect tracking data’ that the user has previously deleted in a similar way as with cookie resurrection”.
After discussing the research, the demonstrations showed the inability of Firefox and Opera in Android to protect the privacy of their users.
The following tool has been developed for you to check your browser; https://bit.ly/2J1Di65
The recently published journal paper in IEEE Access provides more information into the research; Belloro, S., & Mylonas, A. (2018). I know what you did last summer: New persistent tracking mechanisms in the wild. IEEE Access, 6, 52779-52792
The next Café Scientifique will take place on Tuesday 2 April where we’ll be hearing from Associate Professor An Nguyen @anducnguyen who will be discussing science journalism.
If you have any questions, please do get in touch with the Public Engagement Team; publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk, you can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Plus, why not send us a request to be added to our Public Engagement mailing list and be the first to hear about our research events and activities.
Sascha Dov Bachmann (Associate Professor in International Law (Bournemouth University and Director of BU’S CROLS) and extraordinary Associate Professor in War Studies (Swedish Defence University, SWE) presented evidence on UK’s response to Hybrid Threats as part of his ongoing work on the subject with European, US and AUS partners.
Sascha Dov’s work is repeatedly referenced on the NATO legal virtual desktop, thereby demonstrating the high-impact and publicity which his research generates. His research on Hybrid Warfare and the role of Cyber and Lawfare has been identified as 3* plus impact in the last institutional stocktaking exercise at BU and is being developed further.
The submission titled UK Response to Hybrid Threats discusses the origin and examples of Hybrid Threats as part of an adversary’s full spectrum of operations. It can be viewed at the Defence Committee’s website and here.
Source Lawfas
As part of the ERASMUS+2017 project, Dr Ben Hicks and Irma Konovalova from the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre and Psychology department, hosted a three day meeting with their European partners from Slovenia, Turkey, Greece and Spain. The meetings were held in Brighton from the 11th-13th March 2019 and were the fourth in a series that have taken place over the past 1.5 years in the representative partner countries. During this time, the project has sought to collaborate alongside people with dementia and their care partners to explore how they seek to retain their autonomy throughout their journey with dementia, as well as develop an information portal that can support them with the challenges they may encounter. This fourth meeting presented an opportunity for the project partners to get together, view a prototype of the online information portal and discuss the training they will be delivering to the end-users during May-July 2019.
The fourth meeting is underway
The first day involved discussions about the training processes and the validation measures that could be used to explore its impact on the quality of life for people with dementia and their care partners. Given the varying professional backgrounds of the partners, with both academics and practitioners present, it was unsurprising that these were the liveliest discussions. However, by the end of the day an outcome was reached that satisfied everyone and so all partners headed off for a well-deserved dinner at a local tapas restaurant. Although the discussions had been long, and sometimes fairly heated, everyone remained excited and positive about the final stages of the project.
Experiencing some Spanish culture in Brighton
The concluding two days were a little less emotionally charged, as the partners discussed the implementation of the training program within the different countries as well as the dissemination of the final outputs. The project will conclude in September 2019 and plans are underway to present the findings through: setting up local events within the representative countries; writing one technical and one academic paper for the varied audiences; and delivering presentations at international conferences. So far two conferences have been targeted for 2019: the International MinD Conference “Designing with and for People with Dementia: Wellbeing, Empowerment and Happiness,” held in Germany, and the Open Living Lab Days “Co-creating innovation: scaling up from Local to Global” in Greece. However, given the positive feedback the project has received to date, it is likely that more opportunities for international dissemination will present themselves in the future.
Exciting times await!
By Irma Konovalova
Two Bournemouth University students, Matthew Dray and Amelia (Mimi) Simpson have presented their undergraduate research in Parliament last week, to parliamentarians, policy makers and fellow undergraduates at the annual ‘Posters in Parliament’ 2019 event.
This year’s event was organised by the University of Sussex and showcased more than 50 undergraduate students from around the UK. Now in its sixth year, BU has participated from the start. The annual event is an exhibition to allow MPs and policy makers learn more about the innovative undergraduate research being undertaken in various disciplines by undergraduates from a number of institutions. Other uni’s participating on the day were: Aberdeen, LSE, UCL, King’s College London, Newcastle, Nottingham Trent, Exeter, Plymouth, Sheffield, Reading and Portsmouth, etc.
Matthew Dray, a BSc (Hons) Computing student in Faculty of Science & Technology presented his research on IoT (The Internet of Things)-Enabled Landslide Monitoring System. Under the guidance of his tutor Dr Marios Angelopoulos, Matt offers up an innovative landslide monitoring system that combines state-of-the art Internet of Things and Data Analytics and an intuitive front end interface, with the main emphasis of his work on the latter. In collaboration with Bournemouth Borough Council, a pilot of the system has been deployed at East Cliff landslide. Matt says ‘the system was able to provide local authorities with a new means of efficient and remote monitoring, whilst also being a cost effective solution’. Speaking about taking part in Posters in Parliament, Matt said ‘it was an amazing experience to be apart of and was an honour to co-represent Bournemouth University at the event, even more so to be shortlisted for an award’.
‘It was great to see what other research was being done around the country and to hear about that research from other passionate students, and to talk to other students and MP’s about my own project and get their thoughts’. Matt found the experience to be an beneficial one, ‘I found it both educational and beneficial to me, and allowed me to develop key skills both professionally and personally’.
Mimi Simpson, a BA (Hons) Advertising student in Faculty of Media & Communication, shared her research on how Generation Y mothers participate in Online Mothering Communities (OMCs) as a Platform for Breastfeeding Information and Support.
‘My research developed from UNICEF declaring that improving breastfeeding rates was a national priority. As an Advertising student, I was interested in the influence that Facebook communities have on supporting and advising breastfeeding mothers. The research concluded that participating mothers have a more successful breastfeeding experience when supported by life-experienced mothers in social media communities’. Mimi also expressed the benefit of taking part in the event on the day ‘Speaking to other academics at Posters in Parliament helped me in considering future lines of research, specifically in the role social media communities play in supporting other medical areas and needs’.
Both Matt and Mimi will be presenting their research at the upcoming SURE 2019 conference in Fusion Building on March 20th. More information about BU’s undergraduate research conference can be found on the SURE website. Staff and students are welcome to take in the conference March 20th building and can book free tickets via Eventbrite.
Posters in Parliament is the prescursor event to the national BCUR 2019 conference, this year being held at University of South Wales, where a number of BU undergrads across all faculties are due to present and share their leading research.
Thank you to everyone who entered or voted for an image in this year’s Research Photography Competition. Hundreds of staff, students and members of the public have helped to select this year’s winner, which we will be announcing in the Poole House Art Gallery on Thursday 14 March at 10am.
Please do join us if you can. You can book your free tickets here.
All images will be on display in the Art Gallery until the end of March.
The Anatomical Society are offering grants of up to £500 to support public engagement and outreach activities in the field of Anatomy.
Applicants must be members who have been elected to membership by Council for at least a year.
Funding is awarded six times per year, with the following deadlines. You may only apply once per year.
If you would like advice on planning an activity or submitting your application, contact Adam Morris (Engagement Officer).
The British Pharmacological Society are offering public engagement grants to support innovative pharmacology outreach and public engagement activities. To be eligible you must have been a British Pharmacological Society member for at least 12 months.
There are two types of grant;
If you would like advice on planning an activity or submitting your application, contact Adam Morris (Engagement Officer).
‘Curiosity’ provides funding for organisations who want to run exciting and engaging science activities aimed at disadvantaged children and young people. Working and thinking in scientific ways can help them gain confidence and develop life skills, and spark their curiosity in science.
It is a partnership between BBC Children in Need and Wellcome.
Up to £10,000 a year for a small award. Up to £40,000 a year for a large award.
Up to 3 years
12 April 2019
If you have any questions, please contact BBC Children in Need. If you would like advice on planning an activity or submitting your application, contact Adam Morris (Engagement Officer).
The Biochemical Society are offering grants of up to £1,000 to support scientific outreach activities that communicate the excitement of molecular bioscience to young people and the community.
Grants are intended to assist with the direct costs associated with an event and expenses incurred (e.g. transport and/or teacher cover).
There are two round of applications per year, in September and April.
Applications for the current round are now open – deadline Tuesday 9 April 2019.
Stuck for ideas? Read about the work of previous outreach grant recipients.
If you would like advice on planning an event or submitting your application, contact Adam Morris (Engagement Officer).
British Ecological Society
You can now apply for outreach grants of up to £2,000 from the British Ecological Society.
Grants can support projects that:
The first grant round of 2019 is now OPEN, with a deadline of Wednesday 20 March 2019.
Please note awards will be made in May, the project start date should therefore be after May 2019.
If you would like advice on planning an event or submitting your application, contact Adam Morris (Engagement Officer).
The NCCPE’s Engage Researchers’ Academy is a year-long professional development programme for researchers with a passion for public engagement.
The programme creates a challenging but supportive environment for delegates to reflect upon what it means to be an engaged researcher, and to explore the quality and value of engagement. It also supports participants to develop the skills and experience to work with others and improve the impact and relevance of their research.
Applications close on Friday 15 March 2019.
The first Engage Researchers’ Academy cohort will meet in Bristol for three two-day sessions. Academy one focuses on Engaged People, Academy two looks at Engaged Practice, while Academy three explores Engaged Quality and Value.
Each Academy session offers a stimulating mix of presentations led by leading engaged academics, research funders and policy makers; practical workshops and masterclasses; debate and discussion; opportunities to practice skills; and peer-supported learning. Mentors with expertise in public engagement with research, impact, evaluation, and community engagement are available to provide one-to-one support.
“I didn’t convey very well to the facilitators how useful the course was, and how skilled their teaching is, it has really energised my relationship to research, shaken it up and made me realise how much I still have to learn…Just thank you – for being patient and witty and wise” – 2018-19 delegate
Bristol
The Academy is aimed primarily at early to mid-career researchers with experience of engaging the public with their research. It aims to equip participants with understanding, skills and practical experience to enhance the impact of their engagement and to become leaders in engaged research. It is suitable for academics based at higher education institutions or research institutes in the UK. In order to attend, you must have the support of your departmental, college or faculty lead.
£990
(Early bird places available for £800)
NB participants will need to cover their own travel and accommodation
Professor Jan Wiener will be giving a talk entitled Navigation, Ageing and Dementia: minimising spatial disorientation in the built environment at the Bournemouth Natural Science Society (BNSS), as part of their Science Week series of events.
Prof Wiener is Head of the Wayfinding Laboratory at Bournemouth University, and co-head of the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre (ADRC).
The talk will cover the perception and information processes involved in human navigation behaviour, how our environment and our age impact on this process and the different experiments used to investigate it.
The talk will be on Tuesday 19 March at 7.30pm at the Bournemouth Natural Science Society.
Also part of Science Week at BNSS will be talks on the Mysteries of Bird Migration by Dominic Couzens, and Plankton Journeys by Dr Anna Hickman from Southampton University.
Over the past decades interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary research has grown in popularity. REF2021 promises that all types of research shall be assessed on a fair and equal basis, including interdisciplinary and collaborative research. New to REF 2021 compared to REF2014 is the Interdisciplinary Research Advisory Panel (IDAP) which has been established to advise the REF team and panel chairs on interdisciplinary research. Furthermore, REF2021 will: (1) appoint at least two members to specifically oversee the assessment of interdisciplinary research in each UoA (Unit of Assessment) to ensure equitable assessment; (2) allow universities to flag-up outputs in the submission system with an ‘interdisciplinary identifier’; and (3) require an discrete section in the environment template on the submitting UoA’s structures to support interdisciplinary research.
Many academics from all disciplines can at some point benefit from working with other scholars from other disciplines. Interdisciplinary research can bring new insights and understanding across disciplinary boundaries. Novel interdisciplinary research can transcend disciplinary boundaries to address sophisticated and so-called wicked problems in society. We would argue that some disciplines are more open to interdisciplinary approaches, and we would argue that the discipline of Public Health as a multi-faceted discipline is probably the most interdisciplinary of all.
Having decades of research experience between us we also recognize that there can be difficulties arising from researchers trained in different individual disciplines trying to work together. We have highlighted some of these issues which interdisciplinary research in Public Health needs to consider and, where necessary, address before they become barriers in an article published this month in Health Prospect [1]. In this Open Access article we remind the reader that doing interdisciplinary research is not an easy option. Interdisciplinary research may involve a mixed-methods approach and could be underpinned by conflicting, and according to some incommensurable, research philosophies.
We argue, for example that in an interdisciplinary team topic specialists face potentially challenging demands on their range of skills and knowledge. For example, sociologists are required to have a broad knowledge at hand to represent the social science perspective in a study of a disease they know little about, designed by clinicians with a health services research outcome in mind. We also suggest that Public Health researchers have to be versed in both qualitative and quantitative methods. Working multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary means that they have to be able to understand the methods of the epidemiologists (e.g. ‘interrupted -time series’ or ‘nested-case control studies’) and those of health service researchers (e.g. ‘double-blind randomised controlled trials’) and have the whole range of qualitative methods at your command to improve the quality of the overall study.
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, Dr. Pramod Regmi & Dr. Nirmal Aryal
(all based in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences)
Dr. Pratik Adhikary &Prof. Padam Simkhada
(both BU Visiting Faculty)
Reference:
Predatory journals are those which charge fees without proper editorial and publishing services. In order to help you, library and learning support offer quite a lot of guidance on spotting predatory journals and conferences.
Familiarising oneself with journal rankings and bibliometrics is also a good way of recognising good-quality journals.
Remember that BU library subscribes to Web of Science and Scopus, two of the most important citation databases. These can be accessed through our alphabetical list of databases. Web of Science and Scopus index some of the most quality journals.
Scimago is another good source of information to confirm the quality of a journal. This resource contains additional indices of journals.
In case of doubt regarding a journal, please contact your faculty library team.
BU staff can login below:
April’s Café Scientifique – Should we help machines understand and respond to our emotions?
Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) 2024 – 2 WEEKS LEFT
Working with The Conversation: online training session – Wednesday 8th May Public Engagement Opportunity: Share your research with the public at Café Scientifique
Apply for up to £1,000 to deliver an event and take part in a national festival of public engagement with research
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024
Research Information Network
Horizon Europe News – December 2023