BU Research Blog

Category / Research communication

August 25, 2017

REF & TEF: the connections – 11th October 2017

BU Challenges, BU research, Centre for Excellence in Learning, conferences, Events, Guidance, Info Days, Publishing, REF Subjects, Research assessment, Research communication, Research news, Training sastringer

The outcomes of this year’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and the direction for the Research Excellence Framework (REF) as set out in the 2017 consultation response are likely to have significant implications for the higher education sector. The links between research and teaching are likely to become ever more important, but set against the context of increasing emphasis on student experience, how should the sector respond and where should it focus?

REF & TEF: the connections will be hosted at Bournemouth University and will bring together some of the leading experts in higher education in both research and teaching policy. During the morning, attendees will have the opportunity hear from experts from across the higher education sector, as they share their insights into the importance of the links between teaching and research. The afternoon will feature a number of case studies with speakers from universities with a particularly good record of linking research and teaching.

Speakers confirmed to date include Kim Hackett, REF Manager and Head of Research Assessment, HEFCE and John Vinney Bournemouth University, William Locke University College London, Professor Sally Brown Higher Education Academy.

For more information or to book on visit: https://reftef.eventbrite.co.uk

August 21, 2017

FHSS Research Seminars 2017-2018

BU research, Knowledge Exchange, PG research, Research communication ckillingback

The Faculty of Health and Social Sciences Research Seminar Series will be starting again in the coming academic year.

But first I’d like to say a big thank you again to all those who contributed to the seminars last year. We had a wonderful mixture of presentations and it was great to see the range of research going on in the faculty.

We noted that the best attended were those involving a range of presentations in a one hour slot. These bite-size selections of research topics were great in attracting an audience from across disciplines and created a fun, friendly atmosphere.

To build on this in the coming year we will be moving to monthly Research Seminars with 2-3 presenters at each session. These seminars are open to everyone, so whether this is your first venture into research or you are a veteran researcher please feel free to come along and share your experiences.

Seminars will be held on the first Wednesday of every month (second Wednesday in October) between 1 and 2pm at the Lansdowne Campus.

If you are interested in presenting please get in touch with Clare at: ckillingback@bournemouth.ac.uk

August 8, 2017

BU’s PhD student Juan Camilo Avendaño Diaz and Dr. Xun He presented their research at the 7th Joint Action Meeting.

BU research, conferences, Research communication javendanodiaz

On July 22-26, Dr. Xun He and Juan Camilo Avendaño Diaz (PhD student) attended the 7^th bi-annual Joint Action Meeting (JAM), held at Queen Mary University of London. This meeting brought together researchers from many different fields (psychologists, philosophers, physicists, musicians, engineers and neuroscientists, just to name a few), interested in studying people’s ability to act together (they had a full day covering human-robot interaction as well!).

Dr. Xun He gave a talk titled “A dual-EEG study of the shared attention effect in dyads: Sensory processing or top-down control?”, examining the information processing in the brain when people co-attend to the same spatial locations. Juan Camilo presented the poster “Visual attention in dyads: The role of group membership”, suggesting that co-attending with members of the same vs. different social group could have distinct effects on visual attention.

Attending JAM 2017 was a great opportunity to meet some key figures in the field, and to hear and discuss about the research that is been performed worldwide, including the research carried out at BU.

If you would like to learn more about our research, please do not hesitate to contact me at javendanodiaz@bournemouth.ac.uk

August 7, 2017

NERC Early Career Researcher evaluation survey

BU research, PG research, Research communication Jo Garrad

NERC is undertaking an evaluation of its support for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to be completed in 2017. This evaluation is the first of its kind to be undertaken by NERC to gain a better understanding of the challenges and issues facing ECRs during this crucial period for their career development.

The outcomes of this evaluation will determine whether current NERC strategy and activities are effective at maintaining a healthy research base for the environmental sciences, and ensuring the training and opportunities available for NERC ECRs are appropriate for facilitating success in the broad range of careers they enter.

The evidence to inform this evaluation will be collected through an online survey developed by market research specialists, DJS Research, NERC, and its advisory boards. The audience for this survey is primarily ECRs within NERC’s remit but it also provides the opportunity for employers of ECRs and other key stakeholders to provide feedback. This survey will be complemented by case study interviews to provide further information concerning the insights arising from the survey and explore in greater depth the challenges facing ECRs.

The online survey will run from 3 August to 2 October 2017 and NERC intends to publish the findings of this evaluation in December 2017.

If you have any queries concerning the ECR Evaluation, please contact researchcareers@nerc.ac.uk

August 4, 2017

BU’s Centre for Conflict,Rule of Law and Society’s Sascha Dov Bachmann visited the Centre for Military Studies – Faculty of Military Science at Stellenbosch University, South Africa

BU research, Featured, Global engagement, Impact, international, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, Knowledge Transfer Partnership, Public engagement, Research communication, Research news sbachmann

Dr Sascha Dov Bachmann, Associate Professor in International Law (BU) and War Studies (Swedish Defence University – FHS) and Director of BU’s Centre for Conflict,Rule of Law and Society just returned from a research visit as Visiting Researcher to the Centre for Military Studies – Faculty of Military Science at Stellenbosch University .

The Centre for Military Studies (CEMIS) was established in 1990 under the aegis of Stellenbosch University and the SANDF as an integral part of the contractual agreement between Stellenbosch University and the South African National Defence (SANDF) as approved by the US Senate and Board since 1996. CEMIS is housed within the Faculty of Military Science at Saldanha.

Sascha was invited to share the findings of his ongoing work (see BU Research News) on Hybrid Warfare (see Interview in Remote Control Project by Oxford Research Group: Sascha Dov Bachmann) and to work on a Southern African approach to Hybrid Threats/Warfare (such as human trafficking, poaching and terrorism).

The relevance of his work has been recognised in South Africa and was highlighted by his invitation to address the military audience at the The 1st International Conference on Military Law in South Africa, hosted by the South African National Defence Force and the Defence Legal Services Division over the period 31 October to 4 November 2016 in Pretoria.

The overall aim is to strenghten the existing collaborative ties between BU and Stellenbosch University in conjunction with the Swedish Defence University with the further goal of joint research bids, publications and exchange of personnel.

Dr Beukes (CEMIS, US), Dr S Bachmann (BU) and Prof Liebenberg (CEMIS, US)

August 3, 2017

BU Researcher publishes chapter in forthcoming book, “Role of the Mediterranean Diet in the Brain and Neurodegenerative Diseases”

BU research, Impact, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Publishing, Research communication, Research news, Research themes, staff profile pages, writing sdyall

The chapter is called, “Interplay between lipid mediators and the immune system in the promotion of brain repair”, and looks at the interactions of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids with endocannabinoids in neuroinflammation, neurogenesis and brain aging.

The brain is highly enriched in docosahexaenoic (DHA) and arachidonic (ARA) acids, omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), respectively. DHA and other long-chain omega-3 PUFAs are precursors of anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving mediators, whereas ARA is precursor of inflammatory eicosanoids, but also pro-resolving mediators. The endocannabinoid system comprises a group of bioactive lipids, receptors and enzymes involved in their synthesis and degradation. 2-archidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and anandamide (AEA) are the primary agonists of cannabinoid receptors in the brain, substrate for enzymes such as cyclooxygenases, lipoxygenases and cytochrome P450 mixed function oxygenases, which release ARA upon hydrolysis. The aging brain has impaired ability to balance protective and detrimental effects of the immune system and chronic low-grade neuroinflammation is a contributor to cognitive impairment and development of neurodegenerative diseases. There is a complex interplay between omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs, the endocannabinoid system and the immune system. This chapter summarises current evidence of this interplay and discusses the therapeutic potential in the promotion of brain self-repair.

Dr Simon Dyall’s Bioactive Lipids Research Lab conducts research investigating the role of bioactive lipid mediators in brain protection and repair across the lifespan and following neurotrauma.

The book, Role of the Mediterranean Diet in the Brain and Neurodegenerative Disease” is edited by Farooqui T. and Farooqui A., and is due for publication 1^st November 2017 by Academic Press. Paperback ISBN: 9780128119594

https://www.elsevier.com/books/role-of-the-mediterranean-diet-in-the-brain-and-neurodegenerative-diseases/farooqui/978-0-12-811959-4

July 29, 2017

New research ethics paper Faculty of Health & Social Sciences

BU research, Featured academics, Global engagement, international, Publishing, Research communication, Research Ethics, Research news, Research Training, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Next months sees the publication of our latest article on research ethics in developing countries [1]. Our paper argues that despite a significant increase in health research activity in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) in recent years, only limited work has been done to address ethical concerns. Most ethics committees in LMICs lack the authority and/or the capacity to monitor research in the field. This is important since not all research, particularly in LMICs region, complies with ethical principles, sometimes this is inadvertently or due to a lack of awareness of their importance in assuring proper research governance. With several examples from Nepal, this paper reflects on the steps required to obtain informed consents and highlights some of the major challenges and barriers to seeking informed consent from research participants. At the end of this paper, we also offer some recommendations around how can we can promote and implement optimal informed consent taking process.

The paper is co-written by six authors, and interestingly five are graduates of the University of Aberdeen. These Aberdeen University graduates are currently affiliated with five different universities. Four of who are based in the UK at: the University of Liverpool, the University of the West of England, the University of Oxford, and in Bournemouth University’s Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) and one in the USA: Georgetown University. The sixth co-author, Nirmal Aryal, is currently a PhD student at the University of Otago in Dunedin (New Zealand). Whilst Liverpool-based researcher Dr. Pramod Regmi is heading back for Bournemouth University to become a lecturer in International Health in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences this autumn.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Reference:

Regmi, P.R., Aryal, N., Kurmi, O., Pant, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Wasti, P.P. (2017) Informed consent in health research: challenges and barriers in low-and middle-income countries with specific reference to Nepal, Developing World Bioethics 17(2):84-89

July 27, 2017

Final call for Bournemouth Air Show Science Tent participants: Sign up!

Events, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Public engagement, Research communication, Student Engagement Natt Day

August is almost upon us and that means before you know it the Bournemouth Air Festival will be upon us.

We are still looking for hands-on activities to come join us at the Air Festival as we run their first ever Science Tent with support from the British Science Association and Siemens UK.

We’re looking for interactive and engaging activities or exhibits that:

Have a strong emphasis on science and technology
Highlights some of the exciting research happening at BU
Can join us for at least two consecutive days
And are suitable for the diverse audiences that are going to visit the Air Festival

If you have an activity that fits this criteria– or even an idea for an activity that would fit this criteria and would like advice and support to design and deliver it– then contact Natt (nday@bournemouth.ac.uk) to express your interest.

We are also still recruiting individuals to try their hand at Science Busking for the Air Festival. No previous experience is required as we will be providing full training and busking activities for you. You just have to be a friendly, approachable individual who wants to engage with the public at the Festival. If this sounds like you– again, contact Natt (nday@bournemouth.ac.uk)

July 25, 2017

HSS Research Priority Areas

BU research, Research communication, Research news, Research themes epegrum

Following a process of consultation the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences has identified three research priority areas that will guide our research investment for 2017-18. The research entities (centres and clusters) listed below sit within these areas. You can read more about each research entity and its members by clicking on the link.

Long term health challenges

Marginalised voices

Clinical Research

July 24, 2017

Collaborative BU research highlighted in Clin Serv J

BU research, Featured academics, international, open access, Public engagement, Publishing, Research communication, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Clinical Services Journal highlighted our recent research report on Community Hospitals, see article here!. The NIHR research has been conducted by RAND Europe, the European Observatory on Health Systems & Policies, and Bournemouth University [1].

Our report concluded that community hospitals could play a more active role in meeting the challenges facing the NHS, in particular in larger hospitals. The notion of a Community Hospital in the UK is evolving from the traditional model of a local hospital staffed by general practitioners and nurses and serving mainly rural populations. Along with the diversification of models, there is a renewed policy interest in Community Hospitals and their potential to improve integrated care. However, there is a need to better understand the role of different models of Community Hospitals within the wider health economy and an opportunity to learn from experiences of other countries to inform this potential.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Reference:

Pitchforth, E., Nolte, E., Corbett, J., Miani., C, Winpenny., E, van Teijlingen, E., Elmore, N,, King, S,, Ball, S,, Miler, J,, Ling, T. (2017) Community hospitals and their services in the NHS: identifying transferable learning from international developments – scoping review, systematic review, country reports and case studies Health Services & Delivery Research 5(19): 1-248.

July 21, 2017

Good month for BU reproductive health publications

Centre for Excellence in Learning, Featured academics, international, Knowledge Transfer, PG research, Publishing, Research communication, Research news, student research, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

This month has been exceptionally good for BU publications in the field of midwifery and maternity care. Two PhD students has their articles published in international academic journals, one member of staff had a textbook chapter published, an interdisciplinary team has been accepted for publication in the British Journal of Midwifery, and a member of the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) co-authored this month’s editorial in the Journal of Asian Midwives as well as an epidemiology paper on the HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) in Nepal.

The first of this success story was CMMP PhD student Preeti Mahato whose her latest paper ‘Factors related to choice of place of birth in a district in Nepal’ appeared in the Elsevier journal Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare [1]. The second PhD paper was also based on research in Nepal this time by Sheetal Sharma whose paper ‘Evaluation a Community Maternal Health Programme: Lessons Learnt’ appeared in Journal of Asian Midwives [2]. The textbook chapter was by Dr. Jenny Hall who contributed a chapter to the latest edition of Mayes Midwifery , which is the classic midwifery textbook and now in its 15th edition [3]. The interdisciplinary paper is by Angela Warren, service user and carer coordinator PIER partnership, Dr Mel Hughes, principal academic in social work, academic lead for PIER partnership, and Dr Jane Fry and Dr Luisa Cescutti-Butler who are both senior lecturers in midwifery in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) [4]. The latest issue of the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology carried a CMMPH co-authored paper on the HPV in young women in Nepal [5]. The final piece, an editorial, appeared yesterday in the latest issue of the Journal of Asian Midwives [6].

Congratulations to all authors!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

References:

Mahato, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Sheppard, Z., Silwal, R.C. (2017) Factors related to choice of place of birth in a district in Nepal, Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare 13 : 91-96.
Sharma, S., Simkhada, P., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E., Stephens, J., Silwal, R.C., Angell, C. (2017) Evaluation a Community Maternal Health Programme: Lessons Learnt. Journal of Asian Midwives. 4 (1): 3–20.
Hall, J. (2017) ‘Fertility and it’s control’ In: Macdonald, S. & Johnson, G. Mayes’ Midwifery, 15th Edition, London: Elsevier.
Warren, A., Hughes, M., Fry, J., Cescutti-Butler, L. (2017) ‘Involvement in midwifery education: experiences from a university service user and carer partnership’ British Journal of Midwifery (forthcoming).
Sathian, B., Babu, MGR., van Teijlingen, E.R., Banerjee, I., Subramanya, H.S., Roy, B., Subramanya, H., Rajesh, E., Devkota, S. (2017) Ethnic variation in perception of Human Papillomavirus and its Vaccination among young women in Nepal, Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 7 (1): 647-658. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/17757
Jan, R., van Teijlingen, E. (2017) Exciting Times in South-Asian Midwifery, Journal of Asian Midwives 4 (1):1

July 19, 2017

Guest talk by Prof. Marina L. Gavrilova from University of Calgary on Biometric Recognition to be held Wednesday 26th of July at 14:30PM in CREATE LT, Fusion Building.

BU research, Events, Fusion, Global engagement, international, PG research, Research communication, Research news xyang

We have the honor to have Prof. Marina L. Gavrilova here on our campus to deliver a talk on Biometric Recognition, recognizing a person by determining the authenticity of a specific characteristic – biometric features, such as Physiological Biometrics (face, fingerprint, hand, ear, Iris, palm print, hand vein, tooth, retina etc.), Behavioural Biometrics (voice, gait, signature, key-stroke dynamics, etc) and Social Biometrics (Twitter, Flickr, etc). The talk will discuss various problems in biometric data acquisition, feature matching, multi-modal fusion, pattern recognition, etc.

Title: The Social Aspects of Biometric Recognition through Human Perception

Speaker: Prof. Marina L. Gavrilova, Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary

Venue: CREATE LT, Fusion Building, Talbot Campus, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB

Time: 14:30-15:30 Wednesday 26th July 2017

Abstract: Our society continues to undergo tremendous growth with respect to all aspects of information access and sharing. It had a profound effect on the way we, humans, and the whole society lives, works and interacts in business and social settings. The information being shared through social networks, on-line communities, games, software development tools, e-mails, blogs, posts, etc. is enormous. It also ranges in type: text, images, hyperlinks, likes, network connections, etc. What’s more, human social, behavioral and even cognitive traits are becoming more and more visible through interlinking of heterogeneous communications in on-line and off-line settings and even in our visual preferences. This phenomenon gave rise to the rise of a new concept: Social Biometrics, that attempts to understand and extrapolate trends related to all aspects of human social activities. The talk is devoted to definitions, examples, case studies and very recent research trends in this domain. The introduced concepts will be further illustrated through two case studies: establishing identity of Twitter users through social networks analysis, and gender recognition of Flickr users based on human aesthetic preferences.

Marina L. Gavrilova is a Full Professor in the Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary. Dr. Gavrilova’s research interests lie in the areas of biometric security, cognitive sciences, pattern recognition, social networks, and cyberworlds. Prof. Gavrilova is the founder and co-director of the Biometric Technologies Laboratory and SPARCS lab, with over 200 publications, including the World Scientific Bestseller (2007): Image Pattern Recognition: Synthesis and Analysis in Biometrics and IGI (2013) book Multimodal Biometrics and Intelligent Image Processing for Security System. She is a Founding Editor-in-Chief of Transactions on Computational Science journal, Springer, and an Associate Editor of the Visual Computer and the International Journal of Biometrics. Prof. Gavrilova has given invited lectures at leading international conferences (3AI, CW, WSCG, GRAPHICON, PSC, ICCI*CC, MIT, ICBAKE, etc), and appeared as guest at DIMACS Rutgers University/Bell Labs, USA; Microsoft Research, Redmond, USA; Samsung Research, South Korea; SERIAS Purdue University, USA, among other universities.

http://pages.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/~marina/HomePHP/index.php

Thanks.

Dr. Xiaosong Yang

http://staffprofiles.bournemouth.ac.uk/display/xyang

July 16, 2017

Dr Tim Breitbarth presents social responsibility and social media research to UEFA

BU research, Business Engagement, Fusion, Global engagement, Impact, international, Knowledge Exchange, REF Subjects, Research communication, Research news tbreitbarth

Sport management researcher Dr Tim Breitbarth (Department of Sport & Physical Activity) was one of only six awardees of the prestigious UEFA Research Grant Programme 2016/17, which supports all 55 UEFA member associations to further develop their own activities and projects. Tim’s project entitled “#SocialResponsibility in #Football: Mapping Perceptions and Expectations through Social Media Conversations across Europe”, is a longitudinal, large-scale analysis of social media across ten languages.

Besides delivery of interim and final reports, Tim was invited to the House of European Football (UEFA’s headquarter) in Nyon, Lake Geneva to present his project’s findings to the UEFA Research Grant Jury chaired by Dr Michel D’Hooghe (amongst other, current chairman of the Medical Committee of FIFA and UEFA and an ex-member of the FIFA Council). The audience comprised of renowned academics, UEFA managers interested in the topic and representatives of the European football federations, so that Tim – for example – has been invited to present to the Croatian Football Association.

Creating more impact

Next will be to promote the new knowledge throughout academia and practice, and to create further impact on the level of international and national federations as well as club level. Set avenues include:

Providing a synopsis of his research and managerial implications to be sent to all 55 national federations;
Contributing an article in UEFA’s official magazine UEFAdirect, a monthly magazine which gets distributed all across Europe and online;
Convening a special workshop and presenting own research findings at the 25^th European Association for Sport Management Conference in September;
Delivering a full-day CSR workshop to Bundesliga managers in November;
Discussing findings with individual national associations throughout the upcoming months/year, such as the German Football Association (the single largest sports federation in the world) since they officially supported his grant application building on earlier reported engagement:
- “Impacting on policy and process: BU Corporate Social Responsibility expert informs discussions at German Football Association’s annual congress”, http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2015/12/17/impacting-on-policy-and-process-bu-corporate-social-responsibility-expert-informs-discussions-at-german-football-associations-annual-congress
- “BU management academic advises German Football Association on CSR”, http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2015/10/26/bu-management-academic-advises-german-football-association-on-csr-2

Tim is a leading expert in corporate social responsibility in sport and, amongst other, the lead guest editor of the European Sport Management Quarterly (ABS 3***) upcoming 2019 special issue “Social Responsibility and the European Sport Context” (http://explore.tandfonline.com/pages/cfp/resm-cfp-social-responsibility-and-the-european-sport-context )

Dr Tim Breitbarth (Principal Academic and Global Engagement Lead, Department of Sport & Physical Activity) is available at tbreitbarth@bournemouth.ac.uk

July 8, 2017

Tenth anniversary PLOS ONE

BRIAN, Featured academics, international, open access, Publishing, Research communication, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

On the tenth anniversary of the international Open Access journal PLOS ONE we received an email to inform us that one of our articles was among the top ten per cent of most cited articles in this journal. The email referred to our paper ‘Factors influencing adherence to antiretroviral treatment in Nepal: A mixed-methods study’ [1]. Not bad considering that PLOS ONE has published over 4,300 articles since its inception.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

July 7, 2017

Festival of Learning 2017- starts on Saturday!

BU research, Events, Research communication, Student Engagement hjones

Bournemouth University Festival of Learning 2016

The Festival of Learning starts this Saturday for 5 days jam-packed with over 140 free activities and events for all the family.

Running in its fifth year, the festival has returned from the Global Festival of Learning which took place in ASEAN, China and India earlier in the year. Throughout the week we have different events taking place, with the festival kicking off on our Talbot Campus for a fun-filled day of activities and events for all the family on the Saturday. We’re then taking the festival off campus on the Sunday to Poole Quay, before returning to BU in the week with exciting events and activities running through the day and evening.

Saturday 8 July

Join us for a day packed with family-fun, as we transform the campus into a hub of creativity and innovation. Everyone from toddlers, to grandparents will find something for them, with events ranging from dinosaurs, to 3D printing and microbiology.

As well as this, we have a special guest speaker Anna McNuff. Anna is an inspirational speaker, endurance athlete, adventurer and self confessed mischief maker. She’ll be joining us for the day to share tales from her adventures. Book to find out why she believes passions and dreams should be embraced and explored.

You can view and book tickets for our Saturday events here.

Sunday 9 July

We’ll be heading off campus to Poole Quay on the Sunday. You can stroll along the quay, grab an ice cream and pop over to our Festival of Learning tent. We’ve got activities for all the family including healthy eating, a pop up hospital and a visual representation of Dorset’s past.

You can view and book tickets for our Sunday events here.

Monday 10 July to Wednesday 12 July

The festival will be returning to BU with a host of events taking place day and night Monday to Wednesday. There’s a whole array of events for everyone from families, to adults, students and professionals. So why not explore the campus and take advantage of our fantastic facilities?

You’ll find events ranging from exercise classes, to coding classes and a chance to explore one our TV studios.

Wednesday will be our global day to celebrate the Global Festival of Learning and the close of the festival for 2017. With events ranging from an international food festival, tales from our BU staff and students from ASEAN, China and India, as well looking at the region’s growing digital impact.

You can view and book tickets for events on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday here.

For more information about the Festival of Learning, please click here.

July 6, 2017

Why Yawning is Important in Studying Multiple Sclerosis by Dr Simon Thompson

BRIAN, BU research, conferences, Events, Featured academics, Fusion, innovation, international, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, Public engagement, Research communication, Research news, Research themes, staff profile pages, Vitae Simon Thompson

What is MS?

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic debilitating and progressive condition that affects the fatty tissue sheath surrounding nerves. Loss of the myelin sheath is largely responsible for uncoordinated movements because the nerves cannot transmit signals smoothly across the complex neural circuitry. A common symptom of MS is excessive yawning together with fatigue.

Research study

Following recent completion of a study at the Osborne Centre, West Parley, we found that people with MS had higher cortisol levels when yawning compared with healthy participants.

Previous research at Bournemouth University

This research follows several years of research by the author at Bournemouth University with the first report on the “yawning envelope”, identifying the electrical trace during yawning (Refs. 1-2), and the first report on the association between yawning and cortisol levels following provoked yawning (Refs. 3-6).

Yawning “envelope”

“Contagious” yawning is seen in animals as well humans; it may involve empathy to perceived social cues in humans.

Yawning: (clockwise) Fox, Pig, Human, Hippopotamus

A series of 3 Q and A events with talks about findings was held at the MS Society local branch which facilitated an interesting and lively debate among participants, researchers and staff at the Centre.

Further research planned

We believe that threshold levels of cortisol trigger the yawn response which lowers brain temperature, particularly important in MS where brain temperatures can be elevated considerably following fatigue. A funding bid is in preparation to examine early detection of MS using these findings.

About the author

Simon B N Thompson is Associate Professor, Bournemouth University; and Visiting Professor, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, France. He has presented to His Excellency Bernard Emié, the French Ambassador at the French Embassy, signalling formation of the Anglo-French International Scientific Council for Research into Multiple Sclerosis.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to all volunteers; Alister Coleman and Nicola Williams for assisting in data collection and analysis; Rod Slip, Group Co-ordinator and Kay Bundy, Fundraising Co-ordinator of the MS Society Osborne Centre for providing free facilities.

References

1. Thompson, S.B.N., 2013. How to catch a yawn: initial observations of a randomised controlled trial. WMC Neurology, 4(8), doi: 10.9754/journal.wmc.2013.004371.
2. Thompson, S.B.N., Frankham, C., & Bishop, P., 2014. The art of capturing a yawn using the science of nerve impulses and cortisol levels in a randomized controlled trial. Thompson Cortisol Hypothesis as a potential predictor of neurological impairment. International Journal of Arts & Sciences, 7(3), 529-543.
3. Thompson, S.B.N., 2011. Born to yawn? Cortisol linked to yawning: a new hypothesis. Medical Hypotheses, 77, 861-862.
4. Thompson, S.B.N., & Bishop, P., 2012. Born to yawn? Understanding yawning as a warning of the rise in cortisol levels: randomized trial. Interactive Journal of Medical Research, 1(2), e4, 1-9, doi: 10.2196/ijmr.2241.
5. Thompson, S. B. N., Daly, S., Le Blanche, A., Adibi, M., Belkhiria, C., Driss, T., de Marco, G., 2016. fMRI randomized study of mental and motor task performance and cortisol levels to potentiate cortisol as a new diagnostic biomarker. Journal of Neurology & Neuroscience, 7(2); 92: 1-8.
6. Thompson, S.B.N., 2017. Hypothesis to explain yawning, cortisol rise, brain cooling and motor cortex involvement of involuntary arm movement in neurologically impaired patients. Journal of Neurology & Neuroscience, 8(1); 167: 1-5.

June 30, 2017

‘Working Across Boundaries’: National MUPI Match Event

conferences, Events, Funding opportunities, Fusion, Impact, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Research communication, Student Engagement Natt Day

Are you interested in getting involved in a museum and university partnership? Do you want to meet and develop potential collaborators in museums, or other institutions and organisations across the UK? Then why not look at signing up for the final Museum-University Partnership Initiative (MUPI) Match Event in London.

There are many benefits to museums and universities working together, from improving audience understanding to developing more effective collections knowledge or interpretation; from inspiring museum audiences with cutting edge research to developing new exhibits and exhibitions; the opportunities are endless.

However, finding a partner and having the resources to explore how you might work together can be challenging. This final MUPI match event draws upon a tried and tested methodology to bring people together to develop new partnerships. Each session involves museum staff, volunteers, and academics working together to find mutually beneficial ideas that they would like to develop together.

This event focuses specifically on some of the most popular themes from our regional Matches that explore the idea of ‘Working Across Boundaries’ in different ways:

Using new technologies in cultural heritage settings e.g. mapping, 3D modelling, big data, innovative ways to animate and rethink collections
Engaging new audiences – from student placements to non-traditional specialist audiences
Migration, politics, activism

Details:

The Cinema Museum, London

26 July 2017, 11am-4.30pm

Registration link: https://www.publicengagement.ac.uk/national-mupi-sandpit-working-across-boundaries-london-26-july-2017

Open to: postgraduate students, postdoctoral and established researchers from any discipline; all museums which are Accredited, Provisionally Accredited, or Working Towards Accreditation; across England.

Funding:

MUPI Match events provide an opportunity for teams formed at the event to bid for funding (of between £500-£1500) from the MUPI Match fund. A pot of £6000 is available for this event. This ‘thinking funding’ will enable people to do desk research; have conversations; travel and attend site visits/meetings; test ideas; and work together to plan their potential project. This thinking funding provides a critical part of the process, helping people to work out if and how to work together and refine their ideas. Teams will be supported to develop their partnership, and find effective ways to fund their project in the future.

How to get involved:

If you work or volunteer in an ACE Accredited museum, or if you are an academic who is keen to develop new partnerships with museums then a MUPI Match event is just what you are looking for! The event is focused on bringing together museums and academics from across England; it is free to participate in; and interactive. Bring your ideas, your energy, and your expertise and prepare to be challenged and inspired. Who knows this could be the beginning of something very special!

MUPI Match events are delivered through the Museum University Partnership Initiative, funded by Arts Council England’s Museum Resilience Fund and developed in partnership with the Share Academy project and Paddy McNulty Associates.

June 29, 2017

Public Engagement Opportunity at Bournemouth Air Festival: get involved!

Events, Impact, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team, Public engagement, Research communication Natt Day

Do you have exciting research or expertise that you’d like to take out in to the world and share with other people? Or are you keen to get involved with public engagement but have no idea how to get started?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, then we have an opportunity coming up that you cannot miss at Bournemouth Air Festival 2017 as we run our very own Science Tent on the promenade in association with the British Science Association and Siemens UK.

We’re looking for a number of hands-on activities and exhibits to join us on the seafront between the 31st August and 3rd September. We are primarily looking for activities that:

Have a strong emphasis on science and technology
Can join us for a of minimum of 2 consecutive days
Are suitable for the diverse audiences that are going to visit Bournemouth

If you think you have an activity—or even an idea—that fits this criteria please drop an email to nday@bournemouth.ac.uk to express your interest and we will be able to discuss it further. If your activity doesn’t necessarily meet these criteria, then we’d still love to hear from you to see if it could be suitable for this event, or get you involved with another of our forthcoming public engagement activities.

In addition to looking for activities, we are also looking for passionate individuals from all academic disciplines who would like to try a bit of Science Busking! No previous experience is required as we will be providing full training and be supplying you with the busking materials—all we ask is that you’re a friendly, approachable individual who wants to engage with the public at the Festival. If this sounds like you, again drop an email to nday@bournemouth.ac.uk to register your interest.

Category / Research communication

REF & TEF: the connections – 11th October 2017

FHSS Research Seminars 2017-2018

BU’s PhD student Juan Camilo Avendaño Diaz and Dr. Xun He presented their research at the 7th Joint Action Meeting.

NERC Early Career Researcher evaluation survey

BU’s Centre for Conflict,Rule of Law and Society’s Sascha Dov Bachmann visited the Centre for Military Studies – Faculty of Military Science at Stellenbosch University, South Africa

BU Researcher publishes chapter in forthcoming book, “Role of the Mediterranean Diet in the Brain and Neurodegenerative Diseases”

Final call for Bournemouth Air Show Science Tent participants: Sign up!

HSS Research Priority Areas

Collaborative BU research highlighted in Clin Serv J

Guest talk by Prof. Marina L. Gavrilova from University of Calgary on Biometric Recognition to be held Wednesday 26th of July at 14:30PM in CREATE LT, Fusion Building.

Dr Tim Breitbarth presents social responsibility and social media research to UEFA

Festival of Learning 2017- starts on Saturday!

‘Working Across Boundaries’: National MUPI Match Event

Public Engagement Opportunity at Bournemouth Air Festival: get involved!

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