BU Research Blog

January 8, 2015

Presenting BU research in Kathmandu

Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

SOCIAL SCIENCE BAHA

invites you to its

Lecture Series LXXXIII

Edwin van Teijlingen
on

PARI: Strengthening Health Research in Nepal

5:30 pm • 6 April, 2015 (Thursday) • Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Nepal has limited capacity in health research. As a result, it leads to a restriction in the ability to implement evidence-based health care. PARI (Partnership on Improving Access to Research Literature for Higher Education Institutions in Nepal), a partnership between Tribhuvan University, three UK universities (Bournemouth, Sheffield and Aberdeen), and the Development Resource Centre, Kathmandu, is a project aimed at supporting and enhancing health research in Nepal. The main objective of PARI is to move university lecturers away from textbook teaching and make them more critical of the academic literature available on the Internet. This lecture will dwell on the experience of PARI so far as it conducts workshops in Nepalis universities introducing the foundations of evidence-based practice and outline key electronic databases of health care and health service literature available to Nepali academics. These workshops were informed by: i) a curriculum review of all health-related courses at the major universities in Nepal; and ii) a needs assessment with lecturers, librarians and students of the major universities. Learning from this experience, the lecture will suggest how best we can move away from textbook teaching in health care and teach health-care discipline students how to find the most appropriate evidence-based treatment for each patient.

Edwin van Teijlingen is Professor of Reproductive Health Research at Bournemouth University, UK. He is trained as a sociologist and his interests lie in mixed methods research, qualitative and evaluation research. A large share of his academic work has been in the field of public health and the organisation of maternity care with publications of more than 200 papers, book chapters and books. He is Visiting Professor at two universities in Nepal: Nobel College affiliated with Pokhara University and Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences affiliated with Tribhuvan University. He is book review editor of Sociological Research Online.

Professor van Teijlingen has co-edited several books, including Midwifery and Medicalization of Childbirth: Comparative Perspectives (2004); Birth by Design: Pregnancy, Midwifery Care and Midwifery in North America and Europe (2001), which was short-listed for the 2004 BSA Medical Sociology Book Prize. Most recently he is co-editor of The Dynamics of Health in Nepal, published recently by Social Science Baha.

This is a public lecture and admission is free and open to all. Seating is first-come-first-served.
Please direct queries to Kathmandu: 4472807.

January 7, 2015

Book launch in Kathmandu

PG research, Publishing, student research Edwin van Teijlingen

This week sees the publication of a new book co-edited by BU Professor Edwin van Teijlingen. The book The Dynamics of Health in Nepal is published for Social Science Baha by Himal Books in Nepal. The lead editor Dr. Sharada Prasad Wasti was awarded his MSc from the University of Aberdeen and his PhD from the University of Sheffield. The second editor, Padam Simkhada is Professor of International health at Liverpool John Moores University as well as Visiting Faculty in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences.

This edited volume has 13 chapters written on various health-related topics that are topical in Nepal. Many of the authors are from Nepal who completed their postgraduate studies at a UK university. The chapters cover amongst other topics such as Maternity Care, Health of the Elderly, Road Traffic Accidents, HIV/AIDS and Non-Communicable Diseases. The book will be formally launched in a hotel in Kathmandu on the morning of Sunday 11^th January.

The book also includes a chapter by BU PhD student Sheetal Sharma. She co-authored the chapter ‘Customs and believes surrounding newborn babies in rural areas’. One of her collaborator was a PhD student registered at the University of Aberdeen and another at London Metropolitan University, whilst third collaborator is the founder of Green Tara Trust, a UK-based Buddhist charity.

Copies of the book are for sale from Himal Books in Kathmandu and all profits from the book will be donated to Green Tara Nepal.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health
Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, Bournemouth University

January 3, 2015

Maternity research in Afghanistan

PG research, Publishing, student research Edwin van Teijlingen

Just after I blogged about the first publication for 2015, I was informed by BU PhD student Rachel Arnold that our article: “Understanding Afghan health care providers: A qualitative study of the culture of care in a Kabul maternity hospital” is included in the first issue of 2015 of the journal BJOG.

BU has provided Open Access funding to make this paper freely available, which is especially important for readers in low-income countries such as Afghanistan or Nepal. The paper can be found at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1471-0528.13179/pdf

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health , Bournemouth University

Reference

Arnold R, van Teijlingen E, Ryan K, Holloway I. Understanding Afghan healthcare providers: a qualitative study of the culture of care in a Kabul maternity hospital. BJOG 2015; 122: 260-267.

January 3, 2015

First BU publication of 2015

Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

Those working in the reproductive health field or in local media will be familiar with the phenomenon of the reporting of the first baby born in the New Year. For example, you may have read a short item of the first baby of 2015 born just after midnight with a lovely picture of the baby with proud parents and/or midwife.

This BU Research Blog is the equivalent of the first publication for 2015. I contributed a chapter called ‘Sociology of Midwifery’ to the edited book Sociology for Midwives published by Polity Press (Jan. 2015) and edited by Ruth Deery, Elaine Denny & Gayle Letherby.

The Polity Press website lists three reviews of the book by eminent academics in the field of midwifery:

“What is the point of sociology for midwives and midwifery? A sociological perspective can give us a different understanding of reproduction and maternity care. It can help us challenge our ‘common sense’ assumptions about how people and the world tick. This new book provides midwives and midwifery students with a readable comprehensive and up to date review of the field of sociology applied to reproduction and maternity care. The editors bring together a very impressive amount of material and present it in an accessible and clear way. Their facility for handling complex theoretical and detailed empirical material is admirable.”

Jane Sandall, King’s College London

“The editors and authors of this fine volume have produced a wonderful introduction to the value of a sociological imagination in the practice of midwifery.”

Barbara Katz Rothman, City University of New York

“The authors set out to ‘stimulate the sociological imagination’ of their readers. The combination of theoretical analysis and application of sociological theory to specific practice situations provides extensive opportunities for this to take place. Readers who are new to the sociology of maternity care will find ample material to excite and engage them. Those who already have dipped into this vast and fascinating field will find new applications, angles and perspectives that can cast a fresh light on why we do what we do in maternity care, and that provide possible routes for positive change in the future.”

Soo Downe, University of Central Lancashire

For more details of Sociology for Midwives, see: http://www.politybooks.com/book.asp?ref=0745662803

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health

Bournemouth University

December 28, 2014

Capacity Building in Health Research is Focus of International Symposium in Nepal

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

On 3 January 2015, a day-long symposium dedicated to research capacity building in Nepal will feature mixed-methods research in health and health care. The event is jointly organised by Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal, two UK universities, namely Bournemouth University (BU) and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), and the Confederation of Epidemiological Associations (CEA). The International Symposium on Mixed-Methods Research will promote the use of mixed-methods research designs. International experts from various health and social disciplines will come together to present and discuss best practices in the field.

“We have been working for more than ten years to help Nepal build capacity in health research” said Edwin van Teijlingen, one of the symposium presenters and BU Reproductive Health Research Professor. “The symposium is a great opportunity to learn about mixed-methods research and its potential for research into public health, care provision or health promotion.”

Presenters include Dr. Rose Khatri from LJMU will introduce the background to qualitative and quantitative research. Dr. Bibha Simkhada will illustrate the use of mixed-methods as applied in a largely qualitative maternity care study in rural Nepal. Dr. Brijesh Sathian, editor of the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology, will outline key quantitative issues in a mixed-methods approach. Dr. Padam Simkhada, Professor at Liverpool John Moores University will discuss some of the intricacies of mixed-methods approaches.

Dr. Sharada Prasad Wasti, Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor in Family Health International (FHI 360) Nepal on an HIV/AIDS (a programme funded project by the World Bank) will present some of the practical issues of working in the field of HIV research using mixed methods. BU professor Edwin van Teijlingen will discuss some of the more theoretical issues and offer some advice on writing up and publishing mixed-methods studies.

The symposium presenters have all conducted health research in Nepal and between them have more than one hundred scientific papers and book chapters on the country’s state of health and health care system. Both Prof. Padam Simkhada and Dr. Bibha Simkhada are Visiting Faculty at BU.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

December 23, 2014

FIF Erasmus award – Relationship continues with Leipzig University

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion, REF Subjects Tom Watson

Since 2010, Professor Tom Watson of the Faculty of Media & Communication has been developing a productive teaching and research association with Leipzig University in Germany. Following a successful application to the FIF Erasmus fund, he will be making his fourth visit in June 2015.

As Leipzig’s research on communication management is Europe-leading, headed by Professor Dr Ansgar Zerfass, research-based material for teaching to BA (Hons) Public Relations and MA Corporate Communication students will result from the visit. Professor Watson will also gain insights on the teaching of communication management for BU’s new MA Corporate Communication.

Working with Emeritus Professor Dr Günter Bentele on the history of PR in Western Europe will lead to publications and conference papers, and development of new archival resources. The visit will also aid the objectives of the European Public Relations History Network (EPRHN), which was formed by Professor Watson and Professor Dr Bentele and others, through investigation of archives at Leipzig. New research publications which will result from the two researchers’ joint work on the history of European public relations in the three decades after World War II.

This research will also assist preparation of material and lectures for the forthcoming BA (Hons) History. During the visit, Professor Watson’s teaching commitments will include:

Lectures on the history of public relations to BA students
Lectures and seminars on corporate social responsibility, management of communication performance, and quantitative research methods for MA and PhD students.
A seminar for MA students regarding the history of PR is western Europe since WW2

December 18, 2014

BU academics appointed as dual editors-in-chief

Women's Academic Network Jonathan Parker

Dr Sara Ashencaen Crabtree and Professor Jonathan Parker of the Centre for Social Work, Sociology & Social Policy have been appointed as joint editors-in-chief for a journal published by UK publishing house Whiting & Birch and the Tbilisi SState University in Georgia: Social Policy & Social Work in Transition.

The journal stemmed from an earlier EU-funded Tempus project between Sheffield Hallam University and post-Soviet Eastern European states, including Georgia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and has recently negotiated a bipartite arrangement with Whiting & Birch to ensure its sustainability.

The journal aims to provide a platform for developing insight and research into transitions in social policy and social work predominantly in Eastern European countries, and this remains its primary focus. However, the new editors-in-chief will also expand the journal’s reach into Asia, the Asia Pacific region, Africa and the Americas especially in countries moving through complex socio-political, economic, historical and post-colonial transitions.

This important position was confirmed on the basis of the new editors’ international research links and reputations and adds to the strengths of the Centre for Social Work, Sociology and Social Policy at BU. Dr Ashencaen Crabtree and Professor Parker will lead a multinational editorial board assisted by continuing editors Professor Iago Kachkachishvili of Tbilisi State University, Georgia and Dr Tetyana Semigina of National University ‘Kyiv-Mohyla Academy’, Ukraine (current Secretary of the International Association of Schools of Social Work). Outgoing editor, Professor Emeritus Mark Doel, Sheffield Hallam University, will also remain on the board.

The position offers a springboard to further collaborative social science research in Eastern European and Balkan states, something which the journal is committed to developing.

Prof Jonathan Parker & Dr Sara Ashencaen Crabtree

December 17, 2014

BUDI at the Launch of Visions in Advocacy for BME Carers Project in Dorchester

Public engagement Ahmed Romouzy Ali

On 5th December, I went to Dorchester to attend the launch of a new project- “Visions in Advocacy for BME Carers”. It is an advocacy service for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Carers across West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland areas. This is a Unity in Vision project– which is a member of the Bournemouth Council for Voluntary Service. Their focus is to bring diverse communities together to share a common goal and celebrate their own diversity. This project is funded by the NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Dorset Council to run an advocacy service for a year. The launch event was attended by delegates from local BME communities, and the Mayor of Dorchester, Councillor Peter Man.

I wore three hats at this event. One as a team member of Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI); one as the Visions in Advocacy for BME Carers- Project Coordinator and one as the Chair of the BME Community Engagement Panel in Dorset. In my speech I explained the work of BUDI, the goal of the project (which is to ensure that all carers are supported by a system which understands their needs, promotes their wellbeing and assists them in their caring role) and in addition informed the audience about the BME Community Engagement Panel. I welcomed and encouraged all to take part in the panel meetings to help them integrate better. It should be noted that the BME Panel is currently supported by the Access and Equalities Development Team at Dorset HealthCare University Foundation Trust (DHUFT) and Bournemouth University Carer & Service User Partnership.

The Mayor said to me upon his departure- “Thank you for everything you are doing”. I would like to extend his thanks to all staff in BUDI; all the project volunteers; and all the BME Panel members.

If you are interested in any of the above or would like to join the BME Community Engagement panel, please do not hesitate to contact me Dr Ahmed Romouzy Ali on 01202 962788 or email arali@bournemouth.ac.uk

December 14, 2014

Wanted: Book reviewers

PG research, Publishing, student research Edwin van Teijlingen

Sociological Research Online one of the four BSA journals is constantly looking for new reviewers of books for its section on book reviews. Every issue of Sociological Research Online lists the recently received books from a range of publishers. Please spread this message to (junior) sociology colleagues and Ph.D. students in the discipline. For many social science postgraduate students a book review can be a nice first publication, with the added benefit that reading the book can be helpful in their Ph.D. journey. For the budding book reviewer we have written a short ‘how-to-do-a-book-review piece’ which can be found on the Sociological Research Online webpages: http://www.socresonline.org.uk/info/bookreviews.html

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH, Bournemouth University

Book review editor Sociological Research Online

December 13, 2014

BU collaborates in International Symposium in Nepal on Mixed-Methods Research

Training Edwin van Teijlingen

This international symposium introduces researchers and academics in Nepal to the basics of mixed-methods research. The symposium will be held on 3^rd January 2015 at Manipal Medical College in Pokhara, Nepal.

The symposium is jointly organised by Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal, Liverpool John Moores University, UK, Bournemouth University, UK & CEA (Confederation of Epidemiological Associations). Bournemouth University will be represented in Nepal by Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. Prof. van Teijlingen is a medical sociologist in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health. He has conducted mixed-methods research for over two decades and he has published more than 200 papers and book chapters. Many of his publications are based on research that uses mixed-methods. Two of the other four symposium presenters at the symposium are Visiting Faculty at Bournemouth University (Prof. Padam Simkhada based at Liverpool John Moores University and Dr. Bibha Simkhada).

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health
Faculty of Health & Social Sciences

December 4, 2014

Showcasing Undergraduate Research Excellence – SUREBU 2015: call for submissions

Fusion, student research Rachel Bowen

SUREBU is a Fusion funded project aimed at showcasing the best of BU’s undergraduate research. Research is broadly defined and could include work towards an undergraduate essay or dissertation, work carried out as part of a volunteer or work placement, or activities for an academic society. Not only are research skills a central part of undergraduate study and academic life, but they are also vital skills for any future career. By encouraging undergraduate students to think critically and develop their skills, research will help to enhance their student experience and increase their employability upon graduation.

The call for submissions is now open, and all BU undergraduate students – from all schools and courses – are eligible to apply. Examples of research could be anything from preparing for a dissertation or an essay to work carried out during a placement year to volunteering or work with academic societies. The main criteria is that evidence of the student’s own critical thinking can be demonstrated. As well as developing new skills, this is a good opportunity to enhance their CVs through a conference presentation, publication of abstract or even being the winner of awards and prizes.

To get involved, register on SUREBU’s website and submit an abstract. Abstracts should be a maximum of 300 words, with a title no longer than 150 characters. The deadline for submission is 5th January 2015. If you know of a student or recent graduate who would be eligible to submit, do encourage them to apply!

December 1, 2014

CEMP Bulletin December 2014

Funding opportunities, Fusion, PG research, Publishing Mark Readman

Here’s the new CEMP research bulletin – several projects underway and some new opportunities included.

CEMP bulletin December 2014

Usual terms apply, contact Julian or Richard in CEMP or the CEMP Fellow in your group or CEL to chat about anything here.

November 27, 2014

Reminder For All Consumer Researchers – December Meeting of Consumer Research @ BU

smcdougall

Just over a month ago we held a very successful meeting bringing together consumer researchers from a wide range of disciplines across the University. Our ‘Hands-On Information Sharing Session’ made it clear that there was tremendous potential for cross-disciplinary research and that as a united group we could not only act as a forum for research and ideas but also to provide a platform for interaction with industry.

This is a reminder that our next meeting is going to be held on:-

Wednesday, 3^rd December in CG01, Christchurch House between 3-5pm. [Please note the change in venue.]

Anyone who is doing consumer research of any description is welcome (e.g. consumer behaviour, retail, marketing, advertising, psychology, consumer neuroscience …) and there will be coffee and mince pies to help our consumer thinking along.

At this meeting we will be begin to identify groups or clusters of researchers, to discuss potential collaborations, and discuss plans for the future.

So if you think this might be of interest, please do come along next Wednesday. If you are unable to make this meeting but are interested in being involved please email us to let us know and we will keep you informed about future events.

Jeff Bray (Tourism; jbray@bournemouth.ac.uk)

Juliet Memery (Business School; jmemery@bournemouth.ac.uk)

Janice Denegri-Knott (Media School; JDKnott@bournemouth.ac.uk)

Siné McDougall (SciTech; smcdougall@bournemouth.ac.uk)

November 18, 2014

BU Collaborative Research Seen and Heard

Fusion, Public engagement chodges

The impact of a collaborative research project between the Media School, the School of Health and Social Care, and Victoria Education Centre in Poole, was showcased on ITV Meridian early evening news on Thursday Oct 2^nd.

The five-minute film followed Dave Young’s story. Dave participated in the first two phases of the ‘Seen but Seldom Heard’ project aimed at challenging dominant perceptions of disability through poetry and performance. Dave is now putting into action what he learned in order to launch his own campaign – ‘Don’t Write Me Off’, to raise awareness of disability (in particular, Cerebral Palsy) through performance poetry and other creative arts.

The short film can be viewed here:

http://www.fixers.org.uk/news/10702-11208/mute-not-dumb-fix-on-itv.php

To find out more about the Seen but Seldom Heard project visit: http://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/seen-but-seldom-heard/

November 15, 2014

Congratulations to PhD student Rachel Arnold

PG research, Publishing, student research Edwin van Teijlingen

HSC postgraduate student Rachel Arnold just had the first paper from her research in Afghanistan accepted by the scientific journal BJOG. Her paper analyses the culture of a Kabul maternity hospital to understand its impact on the care of perinatal women and their babies. A heavy workload, too many complicated cases and poor staff organisation lead to a low quality of maternity care. Cultural values, social and family pressures influenced the motivation and priorities of healthcare providers.

The centrality of the family and family obligations in Afghan society has emerged as a major theme. Another theme is the struggle for survival – as health care providers work to support their families, to maintain the power that they have, and to survive within a hospital system where fear rather than compassion appears to drive and motivate. Rachel presented some of the key issues at the 2013 GLOW conference in Birmingham. Rachel is supervised by Professors Immy Holloway, Kath Ryan (LaTrobe University, Australia) and Edwin van Teijlingen.

Rachel’s paper Understanding ‘Afghan healthcare providers: a qualitative study of the culture of care in a Kabul maternity hospital’ can be found here. The paper is Gold Open Access.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health

November 13, 2014

Helping men to lose weight

Fusion, Knowledge Transfer, Public engagement, Publishing, Research assessment Edwin van Teijlingen

High quality research from a collaboration of three UK universities has been turned into practical advice. The ROMEO project (Review Of Men and Obesity) by the University of Aberdeen, the University of Stirling and Bournemouth University found that men are more likely than women to benefit if physical activity is part of a weight-loss programme. Also although fewer men joined weight-loss programmes, once recruited they were less likely to drop out than women. The perception of having a health problem, the impact of weight loss on health problems, and the desire to improve personal appearance without looking too thin were motivators for weight loss amongst men. However, the type of reducing diet did not appear to affect long-term weight loss.

The charity Men’s Health Forum linked up with Public Health England and published a ‘How to’ guide based on the evidence of our ROMEO study. This ‘How to make weight-loss services work for men’ guide offers advice for local authorities, commissioners and weight management providers, who are trying to attract men to weight-loss programmes. The guide highlights, for example that:

Programmes that include exercise and behaviour change components as well as dieting are more successful in helping men to lose weight.
Men respond well to programmes that have a higher degree of personalisation, such as setting individual goals, as it increases their sense of control.
Weight-loss programmes based in the workplace or associated with professional sports clubs have been particularly successful.
Using humour and encouraging camaraderie makes programmes more attractive to men as does knowing that there will be other men there.

Furthermore, this ‘How to’ guide includes, amongst other advice, a list of Ten Top Tips.

This is an excellent example how research conducted between three different universities has been turned into easy to understand advice for man who are overweight. The past decade or so has seen an increasing interest in making academic research ‘useful’ to society. Creating and measuring the impact of research conducted at universities has been introduced as key element on the REF, the Research Excellence Framework. The REF assesses the quality of research in, and affects the amount of government money each university in the UK receives.

For a traditional academic publishing the HTA report would be a success in itself. Which, of course, it is to culmination of a large-scale and extensive review, well conducted, published through Open Access, which also attracted considerable media attention from across the globe when it came out. However, ROMEO did not stop there. Due to the involvement of the Men’s Health Fora right from the start of ROMEO, the Men’s Health Forum in England linked up with Public Health England to create and publish ‘How to make weight-loss services work for men’ guide is published today.

The ROMEO project, led by Prof. Alison Avenell (University of Aberdeen), examined the evidence for managing obesity in men and investigated how to engage men with obesity services. The evidence came from trials, interviews with men, reports of studies from the UK, and economic studies. ROMEO was funded by the National Institute for Health Research, Health Technology Assessment Programme (NIHR HTA Project 09/127/01). Our full report is Open Access and can be freely downloaded here.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

School of Health & Social Care

Bournemouth University

November 12, 2014

Congratulations to Dr Sarah Hean & colleagues!

Publishing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to Dr. Sarah Hean in the School of Health & Social Care and her colleagues Staddon, Clapper, Fenge, Heaslip and Jack on the acceptance of their article: ‘Improving Collaborative Practice to Address Offender Mental Health: Criminal Justice and Mental Health Service Professionals’ Attitudes Towards Interagency Training, Current Training Needs and Constraints’ by the Journal of Research in Interprofessional Practice and Education.

The paper is Open Access funded by BU! A copy is available in BU’s repository BURO: http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/21462/

Well done

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

November 5, 2014

What costs £15 and smells of spent fireworks?

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion, Public engagement, R & KE Operations afeigenbaum

Tear gas is used around the world nearly everyday, yet major international organisations, including the World Medical Association and NATO, state that not enough is understood about the real-life impact and health effects of these technologies. Responding to this lack of accessible information, in 2013 Dr. Anna Feigenbaum won a Fusion Fund grant to form the Tear Gas Research Connection — a group of researchers, NGOs, investigative journalists and tactical technicians keen to get to the ‘truth behind the tears’.

Over the past year, Dr. Feigenbaum and John Horne have been collating data from humanitarian reports, medical journals, corporate correspondences, shipping documents, media reports and Freedom of Information requests in efforts to contribute to public debate and policymaking on this issue. With a year of research and networking behind us, this Tuesday we held our first stakeholder meeting at Birmingham City University. With support from BU Fusion and the Wellcome Trust, fifteen of our partners and advisors came together to strengthen the connections between our work and plan future projects.

As tear gas use has tripled since 2011, there is a pressing need to find new ways to understand and communicate information on its physical and mental health effects. However, data on sensitive topics like tear gas is often kept hidden, deemed too confidential to be made open. This makes it difficult to gather health and human rights information, particularly on vulnerable populations (prisoners, detainees, those living in conflict zones). Likewise, detailed health and medical information, beyond basic safety instructions, is not often available in accessible formats. This leaves many people who suffer tear gas exposure unable to get the treatment they need.

In response to these difficulties in data collection, two initiatives emerged at the Tear Gas Research Connection meeting. Plans are now underway to establish a medical team as part of the connection, bringing together toxicologists, GPs, Emergency responders, military medics and others with the newly formed tear gas task force of the European Respiratory Society. Coming together, this group will work to evaluate and re-issue an up-to-date field guide for dealing with the medical effects of tear gas. There were also discussions of how data mining and new archival methods might be used to help aggregate dispersed information, bringing global information together in one searchable place.

In addition to the significant gap in the communication of scientific knowledg, populations facing tear gas are often marginalised communities that have limited means of expressing their experiences in legitimated forums. To share these stories and raise awareness on tear gas deaths and injuries, our stakeholder group sketched out ideas for documentary projects, including an online memorial that told ‘3 layer stories’ providing the data, humanising those hurt or killed, and detailing the perpetrator that caused the harm. The aim of this project would be to create ‘grieve-able spaces’ and transnational connections around this under-documented and under-reported, global issue. To this effect, our team is currently putting together an AHRC Digital Transformations bid on ‘telling data stories.’

Any truly multidisciplinary issue like tear gas, demands a collaborative, multidisciplinary response. We saw this disciplinary diversity emerge across the other projects that came from our interactive workshop ‘idea stations’. Some of these fascinating proposals included:

Charting the advertising and PR history of tear gas sales
An A to Z critical guide to tear gas
Engaging citizen science and wearable technologies
Using GIS software to map export data

Central to all of our project ideas is an attention to the relationship between data and design. In this information age, it is crucial that we consider not just what the data shows us, but how we communicate those findings and insights to a variety of audiences. That is why our group is committed to holding face-to-face meetings with policymakers and making appearances in international media outlets. To date, our research has featured in newspapers, websites, broadcast radio and television including The Financial Times, The Guardian, Vice.com, Australian Broadcast Company radio, RT, SES Turkey and BBC Mundo, to name just a few.

Over the year we will be building up a number of these projects and we’re always on the look out for new collaborators. From advertising to animation to atmospheric chemistry — if you are interested in this research area and have skills or knowledge to share, please be in touch: afeigenbaum@bournemouth.ac.uk

Meet Our Partners & Advisors

Dima Saber (Birmingham City University); Graeme Hayes (Aston University); Marijin Nieuwenhuis (University of Warwick); Ion Maleas (Goldsmiths); Tara O’Grady (Human Rights Defender); Damian McCormack (Medical Doctor Dublin); Dan McQuillan (Goldsmiths); Noha Atef (Birmingham City University); Lucie Ryzova (University of Birmingham); Michael Crowley (Bradford)

Category / Communities, Cultures and Conflicts

FIF Erasmus award – Relationship continues with Leipzig University

BUDI at the Launch of Visions in Advocacy for BME Carers Project in Dorchester

BU collaborates in International Symposium in Nepal on Mixed-Methods Research

Showcasing Undergraduate Research Excellence – SUREBU 2015: call for submissions

CEMP Bulletin December 2014

Reminder For All Consumer Researchers – December Meeting of Consumer Research @ BU

BU Collaborative Research Seen and Heard

What costs £15 and smells of spent fireworks?

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