BU Research Blog

December 4, 2016

British Conference of Undergraduate Research – abstract deadline extended

Student Engagement, student research Rachel Bowen

The deadline for students to submit abstracts to the British Conference of Undergraduate Research has been extended to Sunday 15 January 2017.

We have already seen a number of entries from Bournemouth University students, but it would be great to encourage more students to apply. It’s a brilliant opportunity for them to share research that they’re undertaking or have undertaken as part of their dissertation, placement or a Student Research Assistantship, as well as developing their communication and presentation skills which will be helpful in any career.

Further information about BCUR, including guidance for submitting and abstract and how to submit a finished abstract can be found here: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/bcur17.

Stories from students who have taken part in previous undergraduate research conferences can be found here.

December 1, 2016

Fundraising for the Hearts Milk Bank at BU

PG research, student research inessel

On the 17^th of November, The World Prematurity Day, there was a fundraising cake sale for the Hearts Milk Bank.

cake-sale The amount raised will help to either

– feed 14 babies for a day

– or feed 3 babies for 5 days, the average time they need donor milk

– or buy enough containers for 55 mums to start donating milk

– or buy almost 3 transportation bags.

The Hearts Milk Bank is therefore 1 step closer to provide donor milk for babies born too soon or too sick!

I would like to thank anyone who has made this cake sale possible, the bakers and the buyers, the great people who donated money, SUBU, and the people helping me on the day. You are awesome!

Gillian Weaver, co-founder of the bank contacted me to say “We are so grateful to you Isabell and to everyone who supported your cake sale on World Prematurity Day. You raised a fantastic amount and we will put it to very good use helping to ensure that all premature and sick babies get access to safe and assured supplies of donor milk irrespective of where they are born in the UK. We know that this not only helps to prevent tiny babies from life threatening illnesses but also supports their mothers whilst they build up their own breastmilk supply. The Hearts Milk Bank (the bank with a difference) will also be a biobank of breastmilk samples for much needed research into breast cancer so your support for us is doubly valuable!”

ukamb_logo2 If you would like to learn more about donor milk visit the website of the UK Association for Milk Banking.

gkjo6pcssbgobqmecfa6 If you would like to learn more about the Hearts Milk Bank or would like to donate, please click here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hearts-milk-bank-saving-tiny-babies-helping-mums-cancer

I learned about donor milk as part of my PhD thesis at BU, focusing on the effects of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the perinatal period. If you are interested in our research please contact me at inessel@bournemouth.ac.uk

Many thanks, Isabell

November 29, 2016

AHRC – Securing the future of arts and humanities research in the UK

Funding opportunities, student research Jo Garrad

ahrc Plans for a new round of Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) have been launched by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Designed to provide world-class training opportunities for arts and humanities doctoral students in the UK, this new round of DTPs will commence in 2018 and provide studentships that begin in October 2019.

Research organisations, based in the UK, that are interested in helping to deliver the scheme should look to form a consortium of at least two organisations. To meet the key criteria for DTP2, organisations will be required to focus on excellent training, championing inter-disciplinarity and deepening collaboration with the voluntary, public and commercial sectors.

The Arts and Humanities Research Council is the largest UK funder of postgraduate training in the arts and humanities.

Research organisations delivering the Doctoral Training Partnerships will make the decisions about tailored studentship awards based on the needs of each student.

Any consortium of research organisations that are interested in applying for a Doctoral Training Partnership need to submit a statement of intent by the 13th April 2017. Early in 2017, the AHRC will be running a series of town hall meetings and surgeries to discuss the schemes in more detail. A research organisation can only be involved in one application. Therefore, if you’re forming a consortium or have been asked to join one then you must inform RKEO by 31st January 2017. Please contact Jo Garrad, RKEO Funding Development Manager.

More information and guidelines on the Doctoral Training Partnerships 2 Call can be found on the AHRC website.

November 28, 2016

British Pain Society Meeting – Headaches and Migraines

Awarded & submitted bids, student research cclark

Headache Special Interest Group Meeting 16th November 2016

I was supported to attend the above workshop as part of the development of my PhD which is entitled: Identifying subgroups of migraine patients who could benefit from physical therapy.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that between 50% and 75% of adults aged 18–65 years globally have had at least one headache in the last year with more than 10% reporting migraines. Migraines/severe headaches are a debilitating condition often requiring time off which has huge social, economic and personal consequences.

Approximately 35- 50% of those who suffer migraines achieve some sort of relief through medication. It is important that those who do not respond to medication find pain relief through other means for example physical therapy. The aim of my study will be a 2 arm RCT aimed at identifying migraine effect moderators, comparing physical therapy with usual medication in a tertiary migraine clinic.

The work shop run by the British Pain Society on migraines/severe headaches involved presentations from colleagues nationally who discussed; pathophysiology, comorbidities, new pharmacological and non pharmacological approaches for the treatment of migraine.

The issues of peripheral and central sensitisation were addressed and are two common areas for discussion in the pathophysiology of migraine and other pain conditions. One of the peripheral triggers to migraines that was considered were temporomandibular disorders. This raised issues around comorbidities that contribute to migraine (of which there are many) and how these may be managed using physical therapy such as physical therapy Cary.

One of the interesting aspects I took away from the day was the concept that the development of migraines may be as a result of an impairment of homeostasis and the involvement of contributory stressors. I believe this is an important development and will form part of my study.

What is clear is that the treatment and management of migraines/severe headaches are still a major challenge and my research project will aim to address a very relevant topic.

Jim Odell PhD Student and supervision team Dr Carol Clark, Dr Damian Fay and Dr Jonny Branney

November 28, 2016

Winner of “The strength of young graduates contest”.

PG research, student research Francesco Ferraro

Last Friday a postman knocked at my parent’s house in Italy.

He carried a parchment, from The National Strength and Condition Association.

On it is written that my Master Degree Thesis won “The strength of young graduates contest” as second best Italian research in its field.

The study of 2015, is titled: “THE BIOMECHANICS EVALUATION IN STUDYING THE MOTION – COGNITION RELATIONSHIP” and can be summarised as follow:

using a system of 8 QTM cameras and a force plate, I measured the effect of different tasks upon the static balance in 20 young volunteers.

To do so, I asked them to perform four tasks in a randomised order, while I was recording their centre of pressure (with force plate) and centre of mass (with 3D motion capture system).

Tasks were:

Open Eyes (OE). The participants were instructed to hold a steady position, standing up with their feet together, for 30s.

Closed Eyes (CE). Same position as OE, but participants were instructed to keep their eyes closed for 30s.

Cognitive Dual Task (COGN-DT). Holding the same steady position, I asked them to countdown aloud, backwards in threes from a number that I randomly chose.

Motor Dual Task (MOT-DT). Same position, but for this task volunteers were instructed to move their fingers (of the right hand) and touch their thumb alternately, for 30s.

What the result told us was that the COGN-DT was causing more perturbation, followed by the CE task.

Special thanks go to the people who helped me at the MotionLab in Naples (Giuseppe Sorrentino, Laura Mandolesi and Pasquale Varriale), and to my current supervisors (Alison McConnell, Tom Wainwright and James Gavin) who believed in me by giving me the opportunity to be here today.

Looking forward, with hope to collect more milestones.

Thanks.

November 24, 2016

Thrivership UK Convention 2017

Student Engagement, student research csteele

Join us for a Q&A session with the founder of Life Changing Events on 6 December to find out more.

In partnership with Life Changing Events, we are inviting staff and students to help shape and run one of the largest cancer survivorship events of 2017 – Thrivership UK Convention.

As part of the Festival of Learning, Bournemouth University will bring together leading organisations representing cancer related charities and survivorship projects, sport and physical activity, NHS and local governments to share best practice, research and innovative ideas to improve the services, experience and outcomes for people living with a cancer diagnosis. This event will also host a health and wellbeing clinic for 200 people living with cancer.

In order to make this event a success, Life Changing Events needs support with:

Event development, management, marketing and administration
Branding and marketing materials design
Website development
Social media development and promotion
Media capture of event (film/photography)
Interviewing participants in the event
Event impact evaluation
Literature review around improving cancer survivorship
Event day support/management

We would like to make these opportunities available to staff and students. This is a great opportunity for BU students to gain real-world project experience, enhance their CVs and contribute to people’s potential to live active and happy lives with and beyond cancer.

Interested in taking part?

Then join us for a Q&A session with the founder of Life Changing Events, Layne Hamerston, on 6 December at 11:00am in the Lawrence Lecture Theatre, Talbot Campus.

Please register to attend by Friday 2 December.

Refreshments will be provided.

November 21, 2016

Sharing undergraduate research: how SURE led one student to Norway and beyond

Knowledge Exchange, Student Engagement, student research Rachel Bowen

Next year Bournemouth University will be hosting the British Conference of Undergraduate Research, an international showcase of research from undergraduates of all disciplines. Students submit an abstract and if accepted to the conference, have the chance to share their work through a poster, oral presentation or art displays. It’s a great opportunity to get an insight into academic life and develop key skills that will be of benefit no matter which career they end up in.

Charlotte Fodor, a recent graduate from the Faculty of Media & Communication took part in this year’s Showcasing Undergraduate Research Excellence (SURE) – BU’s internal research conference. Below she shares her experience of taking part and how it’s helped her career to develop.

I am recent graduate who took part in this year’s SURE conference. I presented my research, which explores the representation of disabled people in literature, and was delighted to be awarded a prize for the best presentation.

My prize enabled me to attend a conference related to my research interests. This led to me applying and being accepted as a speaker at a conference in Bergen, Norway. I used the funding I won through taking part in SURE to pay for my travel costs.

It was my first time in Norway and I stayed in Bergen for three days. It was a beautiful, welcoming place; with rolling mountains, intricate sculptures, and pastel coloured buildings.

The conference, known as “Gender, Body, and Health”, was organised by the Nordic Network and hosted by the University of Bergen. I met a variety of academics and speakers from all over the world: from America, to India, to Sweden, to Germany, who introduced me to exciting ideas and perspectives that I had never considered before. These are just a few examples of the fantastic topics that I had the chance to learn about. Discussions on whether or not Literature could evoke a DeafBlind experience; Universal Design and Disability; the Female, Disabled body in India; Disability and the Art of Quiet Protest…

SURE was the first conference that I spoke at and it led me to Norway. I sincerely consider SURE to be a stepping stone towards my aims for the future.

Taking part in opportunities like SURE will stretch your mind. You will have to think on the spot during the Q&A, and figure out your time management (you can only talk for a limited amount of time. I had to condense my 10,000-word dissertation into a paper that lasted for 10 minutes). It will also help you to develop as an independent researcher and enrich your C.V.

Whether, like me, you want to pursue academia further; or, you are preparing for the job market, taking part in SURE will cement the skills you need for the future and has the potential to open more doors for you that you may not have considered.

Visiting Bergen and networking was an exciting adventure, and it was a great kick-starter for my Postgraduate research, which I’m now underway with at the University of Southampton!

To find out more about taking part in the British Conference of Undergraduate Research or to find out how your students can submit an abstract, visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/bcur17

November 21, 2016

The Research Photography Competition is back for 2017 and set to be the best one yet!

PG research, Student Engagement, student research hjones

Following on from the success of the previous two years, we’re delighted to announce that the Research Photography Competition will be returning for its third year. The competition is part of our activities to engage BU students with research.

Over the past two years we’ve set BU academics the challenge of telling the story of their research, through a single image. This year we want to focus on the impact that your research can have or will have outside of academia. Not only this, we want both our staff and student researchers getting involved, from across the university. Whether you’re at the early stages of your research or it has come to the end, we want you to get involved and showcase the impact your research has had or will have through a single image.

How do I enter?

It’s easy! Pick up a camera and capture an image or use one you already have. You can be as creative as you like with your images and capture any area of your research, in relation to its impact.

Once you have, all you have to do is submit it to us via email (research@bournemouth.ac.uk) by Wednesday 25 January 2017, along with a 100 – 200 word description of your research behind the image.

Voting will then go live in February. Staff, students and the general public will be able to vote for their favourite image. The competition winners will then be presented with a small prize by Professor John Fletcher in the Atrium Art Gallery, in March 2017. You’ll get a chance to view all the competition entries in the Atrium Art Gallery and online after the event too!

Taking part is a great way to showcase your research and grow your academic profile both in and outside the university. As well as raising awareness of your research, you’ll be in for the chance of winning some Amazon vouchers!

Each image will need to be:

300ppi (pixels per inch)
with physical dimensions equivalent to an A3 size piece of paper

	Millimetres	Inches
Portrait (width x height)	297 x 420 mm	11.7 x 16.5 in
Landscape (width x height)	420 x 297 mm	16.5 x 11.7 in

Need Inspiration?

Then take a look at our Photo of the Week, where you can read about the research behind the images.

Should you have any queries about the competition, then get in contact with Hannah Jones in the Research and Knowledge Exchange Office.

For more information, take a look at the Research Website.

Please read through the Terms and Conditions

November 18, 2016

Digital Me pop-up exhibition (ESRC Festival of Social Science)

Public engagement, Student Engagement, student research ebolat

The Digital Me pop-up photo exhibition took place on 5th November. The event was part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science and took place at Sovereign Shopping Centre.

Dr Elvira Bolat and Dr Parisa Gilani were lead organisers of the event with the help of incredible Knowledge Exchange & Impact Team made the event an absolute hit: over 243 people engaged with the event and learnt about Bournemouth University’s research into digital. In particular, visitors were interested in the following three topics: digital addition, slacktivist behaviour, and age difference in consumption of mobile social media.

Famous and incredible Howard Potter visited us. Do you know who Howard Potter is? Check this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYpeVBV

Rb3E

Check photos, full research behind each photo as well as photo commentary of the day on https://digitalmebu.wordpress.com/

Research featured on the microsite and via images was a collection of studies conducted by staff and students from the Faculty of Management, Faculty of Science and Technology and Faculty of Media and Communications.

November 18, 2016

Student Research Assistants – awarded projects

Fusion Investment Fund, Student Engagement, student research Rachel

All assessments are now in and the awarded Student Research Assistantships (SRA) are as follows:

Prof Adele Ladkin – Exploring Work-life Balance in the Hospitality Industry

Prof Alan Breen – Spinal image Processing Assistant

Prof Alison McConnell – Modelling the effect of slow breathing on the human cardiovascular system

Dr Anita Diaz – Enhancing public engagement with co-creating science through our science co-creation website

Dr Ann Luce – Student Research Assistant

Dr Anna Feigenbaum – Data Journalism, Policing and Human Rights

Dr Ben Thomas – Hydropower Test Rig Student Research Assistant

Dr Caroline Jackson – Professionalisation of Events Researcher

Dr David John – 3D developer: Reconstruction of Skorba Prehistoric Temple, Malta

Dr Elena Cantarello – Engaging staff and students in pro-environmental behaviours in the UK higher education sector

Dr Emma Jenkins – Research Assistant: Understanding Early Communities in the Near East

Prof Genoveva F. Esteban – Student Research Assistant

Dr Isabella Rega – Mobile Technologies and Telecentres in Latin America: Investigating Synergies and Convergence

Dr Ishmael Tingbani & Dr David Botchie – Student Research Assistant

Dr James Gavin – Daily Activities as Training Exercises for Orthopaedic Patients

Dr Jamie Matthews/ Dr Nael Jebril – Societies in Flux

Joyce Costello – Investigating Pro-Social Behavior of Media Employees

Dr Karina Gerdau-Radonic – Identifying individual and group identities through mortuary treatment

Prof Kerstin Stutterheim – Media history research & Assistance for curating a scientific film program + publication

Dr Lee-Ann Fenge – Collecting stories about health and well-being

Dr Luciana S. Esteves – Coastal Sediment Database

Dr Mel Hughes – Older male carers research assistant

Dr Melanie Klinkner – Between Science and Human Rights: forensic excavation and their value for Truth Commissions

Dr Nigel Williams – Network Analysis of Destination discourse

Dr Peter Hills – Development of the Facespan

Dr Richard Wallis – Becoming A Media Worker

Dr Rosie Read – Creating online resources to showcase BU students’ ethnographic research

Dr Salvatore Scifo – Delivering Community Radio

Dr Samuel Nyman – NHS Quality Improvement

Dr Shamal Faily – CAIRIS

Dr Sue Sudbury – Participatory Filmmaking

Dr Tim Breitbarth – Sport and Society: Public Perceptions and Social Media Conversations about the Social Value of Sport

Dr Viachaslau Filimonau – Food donations in the UK grocery retail sector – The role of local charities

Prof Wen Tang – Data Game – Location-based Story Generation and Guidance

Please promote these vacancies to students where applicable. All jobs are live on MyCareerHub, our Careers & Employability online careers tool. You will need to use your staff/student credentials to login.

There will be another round of applications for academics to apply for funding for an SRA in February. Please do look out for updates on the BU Research Blog.

If you have any questions about this scheme, please contact Rachel Clarke, KE Adviser (KTP and Student Projects) on 61347 or email sra@bournemouth.ac.uk

November 17, 2016

British Conference of Undergraduate Research – encouraging students to apply

Student Engagement, student research Rachel Bowen

Next spring, Bournemouth University (BU) will be welcoming undergraduates from all over the country to present their research as part of the British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR). The prestigious annual conference is a chance to celebrate the valuable contribution of research from undergraduate students across a vast array of disciplines and subject areas.

Undergraduates from all disciplines will be invited to submit papers, posters, workshops and performances as part of the conference. Abstracts will be peer-reviewed and those accepted will be invited to attend the conference, which is taking place in Bournemouth 25 – 26 April 2017.

Abstract submission is currently open and we’d like to see plenty of entries from BU students – it’s a great opportunity for them to share their work and develop confidence in their presentation skills. Please do encourage your students to submit an abstract. The deadline is 10 December.

Guidance about abstract submission can be found here and a drop session will take place in PG30a on Monday 5 December 1pm – 2pm for any students who want to talk through their ideas with someone from BU’s BCUR organising committee.

For more information about the conference and details of how to submit abstracts, please visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/bcur17 or email bcur17@bournemouth.ac.uk.

November 15, 2016

BU highly represented at the 4th international SIGNEC Conference in London

PG research, Public engagement, student research inessel

SIGNEC U.K. is a special interest group for NEC set up by Prof Minesh Khashu, Consultant in Neonatal Medicine, Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Visiting Professor at Bournemouth University. NEC or Necrotising Enterocolitis is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in preterm newborns. We do not understand well what causes NEC and unfortunately there has not been much progress in this area of clinical care in the last couple of decades. This led Prof. Khashu to set up this group.

The aim of SIGNEC U.K. is to facilitate knowledge sharing, networking and collaboration to optimise research and improvements in practice.

SIGNEC U.K. includes neonatologists, paediatricians, surgeons, dieticians, transfusion medicine specialists, epidemiologists, basic science researchers, nurses, trainees and other healthcare professionals with an interest in NEC and health improvement.

The group and its conferences attract the best researchers in the field from all over the world to share recent advances and improvements in practice. The conferences are unique in terms of scientific meetings as they have very strong involvement from parents/families. The work of this group has been very well received by clinicians, researchers and parents and it has become an important part of the global academic neonatal/prematurity/NEC calendar.– Prof Minesh Khashu

Recently, the 4^th international SIGNEK UK conference in London brought together all these specialists in the field, as well as parents, to discuss the latest basic and clinical research findings and improvements in practice.

My supervisor Dr Simon Dyall and I were delighted to be invited to attend this event, since, together with Minesh, we are looking at the role of essential fatty acids in perinatal health. As stated above, NEC is a major health concern in the perinatal period, which potentially benefits from essential fatty acids. Furthermore, the event was a perfect opportunity to network with people working in the field of perinatal health and to get more ideas for future research.

One of my personal highlights was the panel discussion on laboratory models of NEC, which was the first in the world to happen at SIGNEC UK 2016. Furthermore, I was impressed by the active involvement of parents, some of them who have lost a child to NEC, in the conference.

One of the non-scientific/clinical highlights was of course the tour through Chelsea Football Stadium during the lunch break.

Many thanks to Prof Minesh Khashu for organising the event and for the invitation and to Bournemouth University for the funding which made my attendance possible.

If you would like to learn more about SIGNEC UK or attend next year’s conference, please contact Prof Minesh Khashu at mineshkhashu@gmail.com

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

Isabell

November 13, 2016

Midwifery Graduation: Honours & Awards

international, PG research, student research Edwin van Teijlingen

Alongside Bournemouth University’s midwifery and other health and social care students who graduated in last Friday’s ceremony, BU honoured prominent midwife Sheena Byrom OBE with an Honorary Doctorate for her services to the profession. Sheena Byrom gave an inspiring speech at Friday’s Graduation. Sheena said, “If they can keep in their hearts the passion and the drive they had when they first came to the university, it will help them to be more resilient and keep them motivated towards what they want to do. Healthcare is a blend between love and science and both are equally important. In practice, it is key that they have the skills, but the things that makes the difference are love and compassion.”

Alongside Sheena two students from the Centre of Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health(CMMPH) graduated with a PhD in Midwifery. Dr. Alison Taylor received her PhD for her qualitative research on breastfeeding. Her thesis is entitled ‘It’s a relief to talk ….’: Mothers’ experiences of breastfeeding recorded on video diaries. Dr. Rachel Arnold was awarded her PhD for her research Afghan women and the culture of care in a Kabul maternity hospital.

Congratulations to all BU undergraduates and Rachel, Alison and Sheena!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

November 9, 2016

World Prematurity Day – 17th November – Cake Sale

PG research, student research inessel

Would you donate a cake/cupcakes?

Date: 17th November

Time: 11.30-13.30

Venue: BoHo Lounge, Ground floor, Bournemouth House

Cake drop off on the morning of the 17th in R304 or B112a

Preterm born babies are at high risk to develop a wide range of complications.

Some of these complications can be prevented by feeding babies with human breast milk.

Therefore, the WHO recommends human donor milk as best alternative if mother’s own milk is not available!

The HEARTS MILK BANK is currently crowd funding to buy the needed equipment to start providing donor milk for babies born too soon or too sick, to improve their chance of survival and health!

All money from the cake sale will be directly donated to the Hearts Milk Bank!

If you want to donate a cake or receive more information please contact

Isabell Nessel inessel@bournemouth.ac.uk

November 2, 2016

BU research presented at the 10th International Conference on Toxic Cyanobacteria (ICTC), Wuhan, China

Fusion, international, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, student research dfranklin

BU academic Dan Franklin and PhD student David Hartnell presented research in Wuhan, China during the 10^th ICTC last week. Attracting about 350 delegates, and sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the conference was concerned with the growing problem of toxic cyanobacteria in freshwater resources and the ways in which ecological and health consequences can be reduced. Toxic cyanobacteria are a particular problem in China, where they have contaminated public drinking water supplies creating a serious public health issue. Dan and Dave gave 4 presentations at the conference on work carried out with BU colleagues Ian Chapman, Su Chern Foo, Eddie McCarthy and Prof. Genoveva Esteban. Dr. Andy Turner from the government biotoxin labs at CEFAS, Weymouth, an important collaborator on the BU work, also presented at the conference. The conference was a great success and enabled meetings with important researchers in the field from around the world. Dan and Dave would like to thank BU for funding some of the expenses of the trip.

Dave Hartnell, Dan Franklin and Andy Turner at conference venue

Dan Franklin with colleague Dr Zhou Yang at Yellow Crane Tower

Giving presentation at ICTC 10

October 31, 2016

Researching Talbot Campus Biodiversity

Fusion, Student Engagement, student research adiaz

Ever wondered what wildlife we have on campus? Volunteer students and staff from the Dept. of Life & Environmental Science Green team are initiating a series of Student Environment Research Team (SERT) projects to find out and you can join in. We will help monitor the successful use wildlife is making of the habitats, nesting boxes and wild food resources that are being created on campus. The wildlife- friendly work is being spearheaded by the Estates Team, led by Dr Neil Smith and supported by the Biodiversity Action Plan Group.

There is a chance to get involved in a bit of campus habitat creation yourself this week if you like – join us this Friday at noon to help plant flower bulbs around the Fusion building. The bulbs have been chosen for both their wildlife and aesthetic value. Estates have bought the bulb and the planting design has been developed by a SERT of six students for Ecology & Wildlife Conservation BSc mentored by Damian Evans and Anita Diaz. See which bulbs here – bulbs-for-fusion-building-planting

Join us if you can and if you’d like to get involved with campus biodiversity creation and monitoring in some other way please contact Damian Evans devans@bournemouth.ac.uk

October 27, 2016

InsideBU – Out Now

Student Engagement, student research Sally Gates

The latest issue of InsideBU, the magazine for BU staff and students, is out now.

This issue brings the concept of Fusion to life through a range of features and articles including:

Celebrating undergraduate research through hosting the prestigious British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR) next year
National research into the scale and impact of financial scamming in the UK, headed by BU’s National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work and Professional Practice
The research stories behind the Fusion mural on Talbot Campus.

Hard copies are available across both campuses and you can also read it online – simply click the arrows on the bottom right of the screen to expand it to a full page size.

If you use a screen-reader, Word and PDF versions are also available. The current issue – and all back issues – can also now be found on the Staff Intranet, under ‘Find’ on the bottom right of the homepage.

Please email insidebu@bournemouth.ac.uk if you would like hard copies sent directly to you.

We appreciate all feedback and suggestions for future issues. If you have a story for the next issue of InsideBU, email insidebu@bournemouth.ac.uk.

October 25, 2016

Are you Slacktivist? – read story of student-academic co-creation journey

Centre for Excellence in Learning, conferences, Festival of Learning, Fusion, Student Engagement, student research ebolat

For me last academic year (2015-16) was amazing in terms of fantastic things I have been working on with UG and PG students. One of these projects was study on Slacktivists’ behaviour – study initiated and conducted by brilliant BA (Hons) Business Studies with Marketing student (about to graduate), Freya Samuelson-Cramp.

Results of Freya’s study have been extensively shared with external audiences, i.e. at ‘Parallel worlds: real life vs digital personalities‘ BU Festival of Learning event organised in partnership with Barclays Digital Eagle Labs and at ‘Digital Planet and its People’ BU Global Festival of Learning in Sias Internationa, China. ‘Slacktivism’ is a term that combines the words “slacker” and “activism“, it is most commonly associated with actions like signing online petitions, copying social network statuses or changing a profile photo in aid of a cause. Freya’s study, under my supervision, haa examined how slacktivists are behaving when it comes to charity-related content and what personality traits as well influencing factors drive slacktivist behaviour.

This topic in actual fact deserves recognition in other contexts of studies as slacktivism is a norm behaviour in online, social media, context and is exercised in relation to any type of social media content.

However, the reason for this post was primarily to communicate latest recognition and progress events that both Freya and I were part of.

Firstly, Freya’s final year research project was shorlisted for the ‘Best Bachelor’ thesis category at the Digital Communications Awards (DCA) 2016. The DCAs exclusively honour achievements in the field of digital communication throughout Europe and welcomes practitioners from various industries! It is prestigious event judged and attended by world-known pioneers in the field of digital communications. Freya has defended her work and was praised for rigorous methodological approach as well as topic that has interest and relevance to all businesses involved in use of social media channels.

Secondly, on 6-7 October 2016 I have presented joint conference paper titled ‘Helping the world one ‘like’ at a time – The rise of the Slacktivist‘ at the 5th International CSR Conference which took place in Bocconi University, Milan – fantastic conference, organised and chaired by BU academic Dr Georgiana Grigore. Once again, the paper has received enormous interest with follow-up controversial discussions around the notion of slacktivism and we are now working on submission of full paper as the book chapter.

Freya now works as account executive at Good Agency and about to graduate with First-class honours degree. In contradiction to all stories of UG student-academic collaborations, which end at the graduation point, I and Freya are planning to continue working together on understanding further what constitutes stacktivism behaviour. Apart from that we invite to Digital Me photo gallery event, part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science, which takes place on 5th November at the Sovereign Shopping Center.

Finally, hope this positive story can inspire you to co-create with students. We also would love to thank CEL for funding the project through Co-creation fund, GlobalBU team, Department of Marketing (Faculty of Management) and Department of Leadership, Strategy and Organisational Behaviour (Faculty of Management) for ongoing support in conducting research and disseminating results of our study.

Any questions about our story, mentioned conference paper or Digital Me event, email at ebolat@bournemouth.ac.uk

Category / student research