BU Research Blog

Sophie Bushell, Dr Fiona Kelly and I represented Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI) at the 25^th Annual Conference of Alzheimer Europe which took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia from 2-4 September 2015.

Sophie presented a poster showcasing her PhD research ‘Researching the wellbeing of people with dementia living in long term care: Ways forward’. Fiona discussed the findings from the Dementia Pathway Redesign project in her paper ‘Informing to improve: Exploring the views of people affected by dementia to develop better care pathways’. I presented a poster on the Dorset Dementia Friendly Community project evaluation and a paper on ‘Fire risks and safety strategies in the home of people with dementia’.

This years conference theme was ‘Dementia: putting strategies and research into practice’, aiming to identify how research results and research findings can be translated into concrete actions to improve the lives of people with dementia and their carers. The conference also provided an opportunity to celebrate Alzheimer Europe’s 25th anniversary and to look back on the many achievements of the organisation.

Dr Michelle Heward

I joined BU in June, shortly after my viva at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, and since my arrival I have understood that Bournemouth may be the ideal place where to refine my research and teaching, thanks to its stimulating and friendly environment.

From 1994 to 2010 I worked at the Italian creative industry, mainly TV, moving up the career ladder from Intern to TV Format Writer and Head of the TV Writers. I also wrote board games, short stories, commercials, comics, plays and word-game books. At the same time, I taught and did research at three Italian universities on television and format writing, semiotics, adaptation and other topics linked to my professional activity. Actually, I was applying Fusion without having visited Bournemouth…

In 2010 I decided to pursue a PhD, in order to devote more time to academia. My research focuses on how food habits reinforce or challenge ideologies and cultural perspectives in social and mediated contexts, and sometimes my studies exceed the boundaries of the media to ‘invade’ history and anthropology. In 2012 I was awarded the Santander Grant Fund for a study on Nazi propaganda and meat, and I’m a member and co-founder of FoodKom, a European research group on the mediatisation of food and the meal experience, based at the University of Orebrö.

In my teaching, I strive not to make the frequent mistake of teaching creativity uncreatively. In lectures and workshops, I always stimulate students’ imagination and facilitate learning through storytelling, creative writing and, why not, acrostics and limericks, as I’m a follower of game-based learning. By the way, find below a quiz on how creativity has been defined and send your answer to my email… No money for the winners, I’m afraid, only fame and glory!

Best wishes,

Francesco

Creativity is

A    b e _ _      i n       a         s _ _ a _ _ _ _          r _ _ _

For those of you who don’t know, FIF is the Fusion Investment Fund. Staff can apply to the fund for up to £75k in support of projects which will move BU towards its fusion goals. In the recent round, 30 projects have been approved, across all four faculties, utlising £280k of funding.

Congratulations to all successful applicants and we look forward to seeing your progress over the comming months!

Want to know more about the fund – click here!

The MADRIGAL research project  funded by FIF (Fusion Investment Fund) was successfully concluded on the 31^st of July. The project was led by Dr Marcella Favale, a Research Fellow from the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management (CIPPM), and Co investigated by Dr Christos Gatzidis, Principal Academic BSc Games Technology and Dr Shamal Faily, Lecturer in Systems Security Engineering, .

As an interdisciplinary research project, MADRIGAL aimed at understanding how game developers make sense of Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology when developing video games, and explored the complex perspectives of content producers, users and legislators. Copyright self-enforcement through the widespread use of DRM technology is one of the hottest issue of the digital age, expecially because DRM is found on most digital products, from computer games to coffee machines. The  difficult issues – both legal and technological -raised by the use of digital locks are not sufficiently explored.

The project recruited Neil McDonald, a mature undergraduate law student with a background in IT consultancy and network engineering on a work placement in the BU Cyber Security Unit. Neil carried out a critical analysis of the scholarly and practitioner literature in copyright law, rights management and game protection technologies. In April Neil attended the Centre for Digital Entertainment Celebration 2015 event hosted at the Assembly Rooms in Bath and networked with games industry professionals who agreed to participate in the interview stage of the project.

An interim working paper was produced after the first phase of the project. This was submitted and accepted for the 9th International Symposium on Human Aspects of Information Security & Assurance in Lesvos Greece and was presented by the Dr Shamal Faily on the 3^rd July. The paper was well received with the audience and has subsequently been published in the conference proceedings.

Within MADRIGAL, a number of UK-based game developers were interviewed on the subject of DRM deployment across a variety of gaming platforms. The interviews yielded some interesting and unexpected results. This data has led to the ongoing development of a qualitative model which will clarify the different factors that influence how video games developers appropriate content and rights protection.

Through the fusion of research, education and professional practice combining the fields of law, game technology and cyber security, MADRIGAL has given BU and the research centres involved an important track record in interdisciplinary research in content protection and human values, in line with the BU 2018 strategic plan. The data from the MADRIGAL project will also advance the development of a project proposal currently being drafted; this will target a Horizon 2020 Creative Industries call in late 2015.

The working paper is available here

Monday

Immigration

Theresa May has signalled that she would lead a cross-Whitehall crackdown this autumn to stop foreign students staying in the UK at the end of their courses, unless they have graduate-level jobs to go into. May demands ban on jobless EU migrants. (The Sunday Times).

Tuesday

Outreach

A survey has revealed that universities’ efforts to improve access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds are being weakened by over-reliance on data about where applicants live, rather than their individual circumstances. Focus on poor areas for outreach ‘may miss individuals’ (THE).

Wednesday

Drop-out rate

University drop-out rates fell sharply after tuition fees were increased, according to a report from Lancaster University Management School. It examined the impact of the 2006 round of fee increases, when they rose to about £3,000, indicating that drop-out rates had fallen by 16% with the biggest reduction in Russell Group universities. Higher fees ‘cut drop-out rate’ (BBC News).

Thursday

HEPI

A new report by HEPI that compares the UK and Germany’s higher education systems concludes that that the abolition of tuition fees in Germany cannot be a model for the UK because the two countries’ higher education systems are so different. German abolition of tuition fees ‘cannot be model for UK universities’ (THE).

NUS

The National Union of Students is calling for a boycott of the government’s counter-radicalisation strategy to monitor students. The NUS has launched a national tour (Students Not Suspects) in five cities to oppose it. NUS fights back against government’s ‘chilling’ counter-radicalisation strategy (The Guardian).

Friday

International Students

Max Conze, CEO of Dyson has said that the company would like more skilled foreign graduates who are educated at British universities, to be allowed to stay in the UK. Rugs to riches: Dyson announces record profits of £367m (The Guardian).

Monday

SNP

Scotland’s universities have warned that tens of millions of pounds of their funding is being put at risk by SNP plans giving ministers unprecedented political control over how they are run. SNP political control over universities ‘could cost millions’. (Telegraph).

Tuesday

Mature Students

Since the introduction of the higher tuition fees, the number of mature students has reduced in the UK. This article discusses the need for clearer communication around financial support for mature students as well as the importance of flexible learning spaces. ‘I was worried I wouldn’t fit in’ – how can universities support mature students? (The Guardian Higher Education Network).

Wednesday

University Advertising

A recent survey found that prospective students are most likely to trust information about universities that they perceive to be impartial. The survey also revealed that they place only limited weight on advertising and social media from universities themselves. Applicants put little trust in university advertising (THE).

Thursday

Graduate Unemployment

According to a HESA study, long-term graduate unemployment has returned to pre-recession levels, but more university leavers are working part-time or engaging in further study. Graduate unemployment back to pre-recession levels (THE).

USS Pensions

The prospect of further cuts to the sector’s largest pension scheme has been raised after its deficit rose sharply despite savings from the closure of final salary pensions. USS deficit rises despite savings from end of final salary pensions (THE).

Friday

HEA

The new chair of the Higher Education Academy (HEA), has announced that the HEA should become the professional body for university teaching in a shift that could lead to the introduction of individual subscription fees. New HEA chair: paying members could enshrine it as professional body (THE).

I’m delighted to have received funding from the fusion fund (staff mobility and networking) to set up a placement opportunity for our paramedic students. Through links with a level 1 trauma centre and university in Cape Town I will use the funding to travel to Cape Town to meet with academics and hospital managers to finalise the details of this exciting placement. It is hoped that paramedic students will be able to undertake a 3-4 week placement in a mixture of clinical settings: ambulances, A and E, and community in order to widen their experience and gain a better understanding of international healthcare systems. In time, it is hoped that this will lead to international knowledge exchange and collaborative research. I look forward to updating on progress early next year.

Peter Phillips

Fusion Investment Funds have been awarded under the Staff Mobility and Networking Strand to develop an interdisciplinary, cross-Faculty series of public/civic engagement ‘dialogues’ in the social sciences, drawing on national and international figures in the relevant fields. It will bring together leading academics and practitioners in a number of fields in the social sciences, building on areas already taught and researched at BU. It will be of contemporary relevance for the public and for students. Its contribution will be in the bringing together of non-academic experts, students, and members of the public, all in dialogue with academic experts.

The project team consists of a cross–Faculty team including Profs Ann Brooks (HSS) and Candida Yates (FMC), together with Professor Barry Richards (FMC). The team have already collaborated in bringing together a set of Research Degrees in the Social Sciences (MRes) and are committed to a broad based and civically engaged vision of social science at BU which gives prominence and visibility to student experience and public engagement. The title of the project is Distinguished Social Scientists Public Lecture Series – Dialogues in the Contemporary Social Sciences and builds on events held during Festival of Learning week at BU in July 2015, when two eminent UK social scientists shared their insights on how their research has contributed to an understanding of the social world.

The ‘Dialogues’ will cover the following areas:

• Crime and Criminology – Representation and Reality
• Education –Diversity and Opportunity
• Evaluating Emotional Well-Being
• Politics and the Media 

The project is about public/civic engagement and will have an immediate regional appeal in being the only high–profile series to be offered and well publicised in the region, one which combines experts from academia with senior figures from professional fields discussing issues of major public interest. The ‘dialogues’ will be filmed by BU students, and can have a national impact by being disseminated through both scholarly and professional websites, as well as attracting national media attention. The participation of internationally-known academics discussing issues which are debated across the world will give them some international reach and influence.

The series will involve students from HSS and FMC in the organisation, promotion and dissemination of the series and its ideas. The series will enable students to gain skills in event organisation, including liaising with speakers and delegates from different cultural groups. Alongside developing their social skills in that context, they will also contribute to the staging of the events as they happen and to the recording of the events through film and podcast. Students will also contribute to the actual content of the seminars as audience participants and hopefully in some cases be inspired to become researchers themselves.

The events will be organised in the period September 2015 to July 2016.

Posted by Profs Ann Brooks, Candida Yates and Barry Richards