Category / student research

New blog on Open Access publishing

international, open access, PG research, Publishing, student research, writing

authoraid-2016Some months ago Andy Nobes asked my colleague Prof. Padam Simkhada and I if we could write a blog about why we had so many papers in freely available online journals in Nepal.  Andy is the Programme Officer, Research Development & Support at INASP, which is an international development charity based in Oxford working with a global network of partners in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

We had a whole range of immediate answers to Andy’s question, including ones like: we both love Nepal; we are on the editorial board of a few journals that are part of the NepJOL group; and editors invite us to submit articles and/or editorials. Moreover, we feel reasons for Open Access publishing are very similar to our key reasons for working in a low-income country like Nepal. These principles are (a) conducting applied academic research in low-income countries for the greater good; (b) helping to build research-capacity; and (c) telling the world about our research through quality academic publications.  This week saw the publication of our blog ‘Publishing in journals of the NepJOL family’ on the AuthorAid website, click here to read the post.

Edwin van Teijlingen, Professor of Reproductive Health Research at Bournemouth University and Padam Simkhada, Professor of International Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University and BU Visiting Faculty.

The Research Photography Competition is Returning for its Third Year!

Student Engagement, student research

Want to submit to this years Research Photography Competition but not sure where to start? Need some inspiration?

Over the past two years the competition has seen some fantastic entries from both staff and students across the University. From photos of the heart of a fly, the monsoons in Nepal, to Napoleon looking over St Helena and photos which represent the fantastic work academics at Bournemouth University are doing to improve nutritional care for the elderly. You can submit an image for any area of your research and it can be as creative or as simple as you like. Take a look below at some of the entries we had last year.

calliphora-heart-comp_2

‘The heart of a fly- exploring cardiovascular disease’

Dr Paul Hartley

Faculty of Science and Technology

monsoon-nepal-2015-smaller-version

‘Monsoons in Nepal’

Professor Edwin Van Teijlingen

Faculty of Health and Social Sciences
img_5538

‘Napoleon looking over St Helena’

Dan Hogan

Faculty of Media and Communication

 dignity-in-care

‘Dignity in care: improving nutrition in people with dementia’

Professor Jane Murphy

Faculty of Health and Social Sciences

Want to submit? All you have to do is send an email to research@bournemouth.ac.uk with your image and a 100-200 word blurb about the research behind the image, by 5pm on Friday 27 January. 

If you’d like more information have a read through here or you can email Hannah Jones if you any questions.

Take a read through the terms and conditions here.

History and Biography in the Sociology of Welfare: The importance of student fieldwork

Fusion, student research

Sociology, as an emerging discipline, developed within the crucible of historical studies of changing lives, transforming events and a search for alternative ways to understand history. We see this in the works of such illustrious progenitors of sociology as Tocqueville, Marx, Durkheim and Weber but it has itself been marginalised, even hidden, as social, political and historical events have unfurled and a turn to biography has displaced the historical. Furthermore, historical sociology has taken something of a battering since John H Goldthorpe decried its relevance towards the end of the last century. However, it is perhaps this railing against the historical which has lent itself to a resurgence through such key figures as Barrington Moore, Charles Tilly, Theda Skocpol and Shmuel Eisenstadt amongst others. But what of its place within contemporary undergraduate sociological education?

In an attempt to introduce today’s BU undergraduates to the important interdisciplinary fusion of the social, the biographical and the historical we have developed an innovative exploration of the histories of social welfare that students take in their second year of full time study. This involves the broad study of social and political welfare initiatives through to the Poor Law, its reform and the implementation of the Welfare State, retrenchment and contemporary attacks on welfare and those who claim benefits. So what? You may say. This is similar to most programmes of study charting welfare policy. However, two specific aspects mark out this module. The first is the assessment, reported elsewhere, which requires groups to explore the experiences of characters in specific historical periods through the construction of a narrative. This allows students to enter into the social and political worlds of individuals in need of social welfare and support.

The second innovative aspect relates to the continuing strands running through our explorations – we take Richard Lachmann’s approach to historical sociology to understand how the present, and future, is contingent on the past. Throughout the course, we examine seemingly inconsequential events leading to change, and why ‘transformative’ events, such as the introduction of the British Welfare State in 1948, occur when they do. Moreover, we embed this learning in a hands-on fieldtrip to the historic market town of Sherborne. Though a visit to the historic St Johns’ (two of them) almshouses, the architecturally stunning abbey, students are exposed to the religious beginnings of charity and alms, the turn to the Parish and the body politic in dispensing poor relief and an appreciation of the overt discrimination between deserving and undeserving. Indeed, they experience that the ‘poor are always with us’ and also they are stratified in society by those with power. As one student stated:

The trip … showed us how throughout history policies have changed, yet some have remained the same as 600 years ago. It made us appreciate and value history more. We learned how the welfare state changed with time to adjust to the environment and the social conditions (war, economic state, health condition of people etc).

The students undertaking this trip have experienced the importance of an historical sociological approach to social welfare policy and application marrying this with the contemporary focus on biography and merging analytic thought, and an appreciation of the affective. This was particularly evident in discussion of the contemporary foodbank provision which religious and lay people undertake to offset some of the hardships experienced by those requiring benefits today:

I also found it interesting how the food bank is run. I think it is so lovely that the people of Sherborne deliver the food bags to the people who cannot come to collect them. I have never heard of anywhere else that does this before and think it shows just how close a community can be and that we should all work together to help each other.

This takes historical sociology into a contemporary arena in which the biographical is included, and offers the students a chance to bring in the personal and to reflect on experiences whilst acknowledging the historical and the structural:

I was really surprised to find out that there are people still living in the alms houses today! I was not expecting that. I found it really interesting how there are still so many similarities to how it was ran when it began to how it is ran now. Before the trip my understanding was that to live in the alms houses wouldn’t have been a nice experience but from the trip I was able to understand that it was actually built with the intention to help people and that is exactly what it did and still does today. I made connections with the histories of social policy and welfare when I understood that the people who came to live in the alms houses were the ‘deserving poor’.

Jonathan Parker (Department of Social Sciences and Social Work), Nezhat Habib and Bonnie Brown (students on BA Sociology and Social Policy programme)

Sherborne Abbey

Sherborne Abbey

British Conference of Undergraduate Research – abstract deadline extended

Student Engagement, student research

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.

Fundraising for the Hearts Milk Bank at BU

PG research, student research

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

cake-saleThe 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_logo2If you would like to learn more about donor milk visit the website of the UK Association for Milk Banking.

gkjo6pcssbgobqmecfa6If 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

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

Funding opportunities, student research

ahrcPlans 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.

British Pain Society Meeting – Headaches and Migraines

Awarded & submitted bids, student research

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

Winner of “The strength of young graduates contest”.

PG research, student research

 

screen-shot-2016-11-28-at-07-39-06

 

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:

screen-shot-2016-11-28-at-07-37-15using 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.
screen-shot-2016-11-28-at-07-37-59
  • 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.

screen-shot-2016-11-28-at-07-37-44Special 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.

Thrivership UK Convention 2017

Student Engagement, student research

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.

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

Knowledge Exchange, Student Engagement, student research

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

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

PG research, Student Engagement, student research

researchphotographycompetitionintranet1

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

Student Research Assistants – awarded projects

Fusion Investment Fund, Student Engagement, student research

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

British Conference of Undergraduate Research – encouraging students to apply

Student Engagement, student research

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.