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Undertaking sensitive and challenging research- free workshop 11th July

The research into sensitive topics (RIST) project has been designed to explore the impact of researching sensitive topics on the researcher. This project, funded by BU pump priming, has interviewed researchers who have undertaken research on sensitive or challenging topics such as child abuse, sex work, and domestic abuse.

The aim is to develop insights into the impact of such research on the researcher, as well as exploring the types of support required when undertaking such research. On Wednesday 11th July Bournemouth University are hosting a free event for researchers to hear the team present their preliminary findings of this project. This event will also be an opportunity to discuss the types of support institutions offer to researchers, as well as explore the future direction of this project.

Lead researchers Professor Lee-Ann Fenge (Bournemouth University) and Dr Lisa Oakley (University of  Chester) are looking forward to sharing the data they have so far collected, which raises issues such as researcher positionality; conflicts around the representation of vulnerable and/or marginalised voices, and insights into how concepts of power and privilege can be both a gift and a burden when it comes to researching sensitive topics.

Though the RIST team share a background in the social sciences, they feel that the findings of this study have implications beyond this field, to any whose profession involves interacting with subjects that might be considered sensitive or disturbing. All are welcome to the event, but there are a limited number of spaces.

For more information, or to book your space on the workshop, visit the Eventbrite page

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/research-into-sensitive-topics-rist-workshop-tickets-46794351164

 

Experiences of an early career researcher: developing international collaborations

Fusion themes, international

Saturday 9th June, 17.00. Standing at Platform 1 in Southampton Central station waiting for the 16.30 to Heathrow Airport. 17.10. Begin to panic and call the UK co-ordinator. 17.28. Begin to panic and call my wife. Taxi number on stand-by. 17.29. My train arrives.

So began my week-long sojourn to Sao Paulo for a British Council international Researcher Links workshop.Two hours later and safely through security, I begin to relax and meet a group of the UK delegates. Sunday arrived at 05.00 with a sense of excitement and exhaustion, as our mini-bus took us to the hotel. 11.10. Arrived at the hotel. It felt like 15.10. The OPAL workshop (a.k.a. ‘Identifying and addressing shared challenges in conducting health and social care research for older people’)  was an international collaborative ECR ‘sandpit’ between the UK and Brazil, with the aim of developing international research projects in ageing healthcare between the countries. OPAL was so much more than this; here is some of what I learnt:

1. Coming to an understanding

Otherwise known as ‘breaking down international barriers’. It is important that as you group-work, particularly with new partners, you listen to what they have to say, their perspectives, and adopt an open-mind. Consider their priorities, current research commitments and their personality. It is a skill in itself to recognise and motivate different individual personalities towards a common goal. But also respect that your colleagues will have other work (and life) commitments outside the project.

2. Identifying the problem

My group comprised a: physiologist, geriatrician, physiotherapist and clinician. Our topic: healthcare in frailty. On larger multidisciplinary projects, put aside your specific research interests and focus on identifying a worthy research question. This will allow you to build the project on current knowledge and challenge a ‘real world’ problem worth answering. ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’. Keep in mind, there will always be ample opportunity for you to flex your specific technical abilities in a project; there may be a sub-study, a related side-study or an opening up of subsequent opportunities.

3. Benefits of teamwork

As always some of the most impactful and lasting partnerships are built after hours. Class-based activities lay foundations in knowledge; group work builds relationships; socialising (or networking) develops understanding and empathy. I’m no socialite, but be present, listen and give your potential partners your undivided attention. Not only is this crucial when building partnerships, but also professionally good etiquette. This may seem difficult with other deadlines/priorities looming, but DO NOT get out your phone/laptop/mobile device in social situations. This shows disinterest and poor manners.

4. Be realistic

…and be patient. ‘He who knows only his side of the case, knows little’ (John Stuart Mill). Appreciate the workload demands of others; by the time Monday comes you will all have a fresh list of priorities. For collaborations beyond your institution think what platforms you can use to keep momentum. For example: Dropbox, webinars, educational partnerships and/or Skype meetings. Also use collaboration-working as an excuse to write travel grant proposals.

5. How to create momentum and impact

Keeping things moving is a must, I think. Commit and schedule time into your diary, as you would for your teaching. Similar to research writing, if you do not prioritise the time, it will quickly be filled with other duties. Our group created a Dropbox folder (containing a new systematic review on our project idea), circulated a Doodle poll, and then arranged for a follow-up Skype call to share our independent reviews and discuss funding opportunities. Relationships are always more important than the project; there will be many opportunities for projects, not always for trusted and like minded research partners. Oh, and understand that each member has the right to withdraw from the group at any point. Our group began the week with seven, and by Friday’s Dragon Den presentation we had four (looking glamorous below). Oh well.

What next?

It’s now one week since I returned, and keeping momentum with the FIBULA project (a.k.a. ‘Frailty in the Brazil and the UK: Learning across Borders’) I have arranged to visit my UK partner and senior researchers at the University of Nottingham in July-August to begin a scoping review. Later in Autumn, through RKEO Acorn funding I will host our other group partner(s) from the University of Sao Paulo at BU to conduct a systematic review and develop our partnership, and proposal further.

These suggestions are based merely on a research neophyte’s experiences in exercise physiology, partnering with the healthcare sciences. Although I impart advice, for everything I have discussed, I am still striving to master these skills. After all, the research process is learning from knowledge of what came before and evaluation of what we find out.

Dr James Gavin

Department of Sport & Physical Activity

Email jgavin@bournemouth.ac.uk

Twitter @JGavin85

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgavin1

New BU mental health publication

international, open access, Publishing, Student Engagement, student research, writing

Congratulations to Faloshade Alloh (PhD student in Faculty of Health and Social Science), Dr. Pramod Regmi (Lecturer in International Health), Abe (Igoche) Onche (BU  graduate MSc in Public Health) and Dr. Stephen Trenoweth (Principal Academic and Leaded for BU iWell Research Centre) on the timely publication of their paper on mental health in developing countries [1]. 

Despite being globally recognised as an important public health issue, mental health is still less prioritised as a disease burden in many Low-and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). More than 70% of the global mental health burden occurs in poorer countries. The paper addresses mental health issues in LMICs under themes such as abuse and mental illness, cultural influence on mental health, need for dignity in care, meeting financial and workforce gaps and the need for national health policy for the mental health sector.  This exciting paper has 51 references including several linking to BU publications on research in Africa [2-3] and several papers related to South Asia [4-6], particularly highlighting the recently completed THET project that was led by BU [4-5].

The authors highlight that although mental health education and health care services in most LMICs are poorly resourced; there is an urgent need to address issues beyond funding that contribute to poor mental health. In order to meet the increasing challenge of mental health illness in LMICs, there is a need for effort to address cultural and professional challenges that contribute to poor mental health among individuals. The authors suggest that mental health should be integrated into primary health care in LMICs. Creating awareness on the impact of some cultural attitudes/practices will encourage better uptake of mental health services and increase the ease when discussing mental health issues in these countries which can contribute to reducing the poor mental health in LMICs.

 

Well done!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

 

Click here to view the full publication.

 

References:

  1. Alloh, F.T., Regmi, P., Onche, I., van Teijlingen E., Trenoweth, S. (2018) Mental health in low- and middle income countries (LMICs): Going beyond the need for funding, Health Prospect 17 (1): 12-17.
  2. Alloh F, Regmi P, Hemingway A, Turner-Wilson A. (2018) Increasing suicide rates in Nigeria. African Health Journal  [In Press].
  3. Alloh FT, Regmi PR. (2017) Effect of economic and security challenges on the Nigerian health sector. African Health Sciences. 17 (2):591-2.
  4. Acharya DR, Bell JS, Simkhada P, van Teijlingen ER, Regmi PR. (2010) Women’s autonomy in household decision-making: a demographic study in Nepal. Reproductive Health. 7 (1):15.
  5. Simkhada B, Sharma G, Pradhan S, Van Teijlingen E, Ireland J, Simkhada P, et al. (2016) Needs assessment of mental health training for Auxiliary Nurse Midwives: a cross-sectional survey. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences. 2:20-6.
  6. Mahato, P., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Angell, C., Ireland, J. on behalf of THET team (2018) Qualitative evaluation of mental health training of Auxiliary Nurse Midwives in rural Nepal. Nurse Education Today 66: 44-50. https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1Wu2axHa5G~S-
  7. Regmi PR, Alloh F, Pant PR, Simkhada P, van Teijlingen E. (2017) Mental health in BME groups with diabetes: an overlooked issue? The Lancet.  389 (10072):904-5.

Photo of the Week: The TACIT Trial

The TACIT Trial: TAi ChI for people with demenTia

This week’s photo of the week is Dr Samuel Nyman‘s entry of a Tai Chi class in action. This weekly series features photo entries from our annual Research Photography Competition taken by BU academics, students and professional staff, which gives a glimpse into some of the fantastic research undertaken across the BU community.

The TACIT Trial is all about people. The study is undertaken by a team of researchers led by Dr Samuel Nyman at BU who are looking into the benefits of Tai Chi for people with dementia.  Qualified Tai Chi instructors, such as senior instructor Robert Joyce from Elemental Tai Chi (photographed), lead the classes.  The classes are attended by people with dementia and their informal carers.  The classes involve slow, gentle, fluid body movements and slow breathing that leave you feeling relaxed and yet you have exercised your core muscles.  In this randomised controlled trial, we are following up for six months people who have taken part in the classes and practiced at home and are comparing them to others who have not done Tai Chi.  This will provide initial evidence for the first time in the UK as to the benefits of Tai Chi for the health and well-being of people with dementia and their informal carers.  This photo is taken from a workshop for Solent NHS led the the chief investigator Dr Samuel Nyman and Robert Joyce.

You can find out more about the TACIT Trial here:

Webpage: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/tai-chi/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheTACITTrial/

—

Dr Samuel Nyman is a Principal Academic at Bournemouth University. For more information about this research, please contact Samuel here.

 

Music of Creative Technology lecturer receives international prize

A recent music composition created by Dr Ambrose Seddon (Creative Technology; EMERGE) has been awarded 2nd prize in the 11th Destellos Competition of Electroacoustic Composition and Video-music, Argentina.

The Destellos competition is one of the most well-established international competitions within the field of electroacoustic music, and has links with various institutions around the world. The 2nd prize was granted by GRM, France; Musiques & Recherches, Belgium; Motus, France; and Fundación Phonos, Spain. The awarded work, Traces of Play, is a 4-channel ‘surround sound’ composition, which received it’s premier in June 2017, and was performed here at BU in the Loudspeaker Orchestra Concert on 28th February 2018.

Health Research Authority – ‘helping student researchers get it right first time’

NHS, Research Ethics

Project-based research taking part in the NHS requires Health Research Authority (HRA) approval, and BU will act as the ‘Sponsor‘ for studies undertaken by its students, postgraduate researchers, or staff.

The HRA realise that the process of applying for your approvals can be daunting, so they have created a working group, with the main goal of considering how best they can support student researchers, and ensure that the process is done correctly, the first time round.

Locally, you can email Suzy, Clinical Governance Advisor, on researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk if you have any queries or need any advice.

 

Funding news for culture and creative industries in England

BU Challenges, Funding opportunities

Image from https://ec.europa.eu/culture/news/20170606-new-study-creative-value-chains_en

As part of the government’s commitment in the Industrial Strategy. towns and cities across the country will benefit from a new £20million fund for culture, heritage and creative industries, launched by Minister of Arts, Heritage and Tourism, Michael Ellis.

Areas will be able to bid for up to £7 million for a number of projects in a certain area to help regeneration, create jobs and maximise the impact of investment. This could be for new spaces for creative businesses, bringing historic buildings back into use or redeveloping museums and art galleries.

Call summary

Expression of interest : 3 July to 15 August

Full applications: 9 September to 19 September

Please see this link for more information.

MRC research staff announcement

MRC announced yesterday their new grant application status to recognise research staff contributions.

To support the development of researchers across different career stages, the MRC will introduce a new status to recognise the contributions of research staff as researcher co-investigators on grant applications from July 2018.

Currently many research staff do not receive the formal recognition they deserve for their contributions to writing grant applications, designing and carrying out funded research. By introducing the new status of researcher co-investigator, we are aiming to help provide them with the recognition needed for career progression.

For the full announcement, please visit the following link.

 

BU PGR Paul Fairbairn presents at the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids Congress in Las Vegas

I was recently fortunate enough to be given the unique opportunity to attend the 13th Congress for the International Society for Study of Fatty Acids (ISSFAL) and Lipids in Las Vegas Nevada. My experience started with an interesting satellite symposium entitled “An Update on the Role of EPA and DHA for Brain Health”. During this satellite experts such as Dr. Karin Yurko-Mauro gave an excellent insight into the current research on a topic which strongly relates to my PhD.

On the first day of the conference I was given the opportunity to present some of the work I have done during my PhD with an oral presentation entitled “Preliminary analysis suggests a high DHA multi-nutrient supplementation and aerobic exercise produce similar improvements in verbal memory in older females”. This was an amazing and rather surreal experience, as presenting research I had conducted at an international conference is not something I would have envisioned being able to achieve just a short time ago. As well as my oral presentation I also had a poster entitled “Circulating DHA levels as a predictor of gait performance under single and dual-task conditions in older females”.

During the conference there were a series of plenary lectures, as well as sessions covering a breadth of topics including general nutrition, aging and neurodegenerative diseases, brain fatty acid uptake, inflammation and allergy and clinical trial methodology. In between sessions leading pioneers within fatty acid research Professor Michael Crawford and Dr Maria Makrides were each given awards with Professor Crawford being given the omega-3 research award and Dr. Makrides the Alexander Leaf Award.

The ISSFAL committee were very accommodating of the younger researchers attending the event. organising a young investigators social to the mob museum and putting together a “meet the professors” breakfast to allow us to pick the minds of some of the leaders in the field. Furthermore I won a young investigators award by ISSFAL, which is given to recognise and encourage excellent abstract submissions, and in turn allowed me to register for the conference at no cost.

I would firstly like to the thank the ISSFAL organisers for allowing me the opportunity to present my work at such a respected conference and my PhD supervisors Dr. Simon Dyall and Dr. Fotini Tsofliou for supporting me through the research process. I am also grateful for being awarded a full Santander mobility award and for my BU studentship funding, which has allowed me to make the trip to Las Vegas possible.

If you would like to learn more about our research, please feel free to contact me at pfairbairn@bournemouthac.uk

Paul

 

Useful resources for those involved in clinical research

NHS, Post-award, Research Ethics

If you are involved in, or wish to be involved in clinical research, then take a look at this link, where you will find useful resources to support colleagues in getting involved with research, to find out more for yourself, and to help you to encourage more patients to take part too.

If your study will recruit NHS patients or staff, then BU must ‘sponsor’ your project, so remember to involve the Research Ethics team within R&KEO on researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk as early as possible in your study planning.

‘Clinical Research is Everyone’s Future’

NHS, Post-award, Research Ethics

If you are interested in clinical research, or interested in working within this field, either on your own project, or as a future career, then take a look at the National Institute for Health Research’s short video about what clinical research is, and how to support it.

Watch the video to find out:

  • Why clinical research is at the core of the NHS
  • How to respond to patient questions about clinical research
  • How to help patients get involved in clinical research

Remember that the Research Ethics mailbox (researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk) is available if you have any queries about your own plans to embark on clinical research within the NHS.

‘Science Playground’ at Festival of Learning

Researchers from across Bournemouth University (BU) hosted the ‘Science Playground’ event on 16th July as part of this year’s Festival of Learning. The aim of the event was to showcase the diversity of research happening across BU, with fun activities for children (and adults) to start conversations about the different research projects.

This included simulation activities and virtual reality experiences putting people into the shoes of a person with dementia, as Dr Michelle Heward from the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre showcased the Dementia Education And Learning Through Simulation 2 (DEALTS 2) programme which has been developed for Health Education England.

Hunting for jelly ‘lamprey’ worms in plastic mud as Dr Miguel Baltazar Soares from the Faculty of Science and Technology discussed his sea lamprey monitoring campaign in the River Frome.

Whilst, Dr Huiwen Zhao from the Faculty of Media and Communications used arts and crafts to get feedback on her mass customization website design research.

Thanks to those who took part in the event which was organised by the BU Research Staff Association (RSA). To find out more about BU RSA please come along to our next coffee morning on Wednesday 25th July at 10am in F105, Fusion Building, Talbot Campus.

BU Research Staff Association

 

Plastics UKRI call – funding available

Funding opportunities

Further to the Plastics Research and Innovation Fund details posted here yesterday, the following £8m call has been announced.

Up to £8m is available for institutional awards for up to 18 months to research organisations to bridge the gaps between UK Research and Innovation research disciplines and respond creatively to the challenge of creating new circular economy approaches to eliminating future plastic waste. The programme should focus on novel ideas and solutions that include consideration of sustainable feedstocks and materials, manufacturing and recycling processes, consumer behaviour and systems (for example legal, fiscal and policy systems) set within a context of environmental and health benefits. This competition is being run on behalf of all UK Research and Innovation Research Councils by EPSRC. UK Research and Innovation welcome applications that includes the remits of any of the UKRI Research Councils, and is not limited to the Engineering and Physical Sciences communities.

Call details are available here.

Closing Date for EOI Submissions 10 July 2018 at 16:00 Hours

Closing Date for Full Proposals 16 August 2018 at 16:00 Hours

 

If you are interested in applying to this call, please contact your RKEO Funding Development Officer in the first instance.

Victorian pleasure piers are unique to Britain, but they are under threat

File 20180618 85819 1086tff.jpg?ixlib=rb 1.1

Edmond Holland/Shutterstock.com

 

By Dr Anya Chapman, Bournemouth University.

A stroll along a pier remains the most popular activity for visitors to the British seaside, with 70% of them enjoying a walk over the waves.

For many, the seaside pier is perhaps the most iconic symbol of the British seaside holiday and the epitome of excursions to the coast. Piers have always provided holidaymakers with entertainment, from the grand pavilions and theatres of the Victorian era, to the amusement arcades of the 1980s. For two centuries, piers have been the place to see and be seen at the seaside.

Victorian pleasure piers are unique to the UK, but they are under threat: in the early 20th century nearly 100 piers graced the UK coastline, but almost half of of these have now gone.

By their very nature, seaside piers are risky structures. When piers were constructed, British seaside resorts were at the height of their popularity. The Victorians wanted to demonstrate engineering prowess and their ability to master the force of the sea. Some lasted longer than others, with Aldeburgh pier in Suffolk lasting just less than a decade before it was swept away by a drifting vessel. At the other end of the spectrum is the Isle of Wight’s Ryde pier, which at over 200 years is the oldest pleasure pier in the UK.

Yet the longevity of such piers presents them with new risks: fire, maintenance issues, rising costs, and climate change. Piers face an uncertain future. The National Piers Society estimates that 20% of today’s piers are at risk of being lost.

Piers at risk

Over the last 40 years, many notable piers have succumbed to time and tide. Perhaps the most iconic of these losses is Brighton West Pier, which has suffered multiple storms and fires since closure in 1975, leaving an isolated skeleton as a haunting reminder. Now there is growing recognition that seaside piers are vital to coastal communities in terms of resort identity, heritage, employment, community pride, and tourism. In fact, the UK government now offers funding to enable the revival of piers and other seaside heritage.

Brighton West Pier. National Piers Society

Despite the sea change in the perceived importance of seaside piers, many remain derelict and in a state of decay. One such pier is Weston-Super-Mare’s Birnbeck Pier, on the west coast, which has been closed for over three decades. Birnbeck Pier is unusual in that it is the only pier which links to an island, but as time has passed, parts of the structure have crumbled into the sea. Despite the endeavours of the local community and groups such as The Birnbeck Regeneration Trust, the owner of the pier refuses to sell or regenerate the pier.

This is in stark contrast to nearby Clevedon Pier, which was deemed “the most beautiful pier in England” by the poet Sir John Betjeman. After partial collapse and subsequent closure of the pier in 1970 there were calls for its demolition. Clevedon Pier was saved and reopened in 1998, and is now the UK’s only Grade I listed seaside pier. Today it stands as a testament to The Clevedon Pier Heritage Trust who continue to develop the pier with a new visitor centre, wedding venue, and conferencing space. Recently, the pier gained a new group of fans as it featured as a backdrop to a One Direction music video.

Thriving piers

Despite their advancing years, since the turn of the 21st century many piers have found a new lease of life. The high-profile regeneration of Hastings Pier, led by a local community trust and backed by Heritage Lottery Funding, has spearheaded the revitalisation of many seaside piers (although the pier, controversially, was recently sold to a commercial investor). Nevertheless, a number of coastal communities have successfully regenerated their piers through the formation of pier trusts, including those at Swanage and Herne Bay. Other seaside towns are being even more ambitious and hoping to rebuild their piers or to build brand new piers.

Swanage Pier. National Piers Society

Local authorities within seaside resorts are also promoting their piers as flagship tourist attractions and investing in their refurbishment and new facilities. Southport Pier, which narrowly escaped demolition during the 1990s, is now at the heart of the resort’s development strategy and is currently undergoing a £2.9m refurbishment which includes the addition of new catering and retail facilities.

The piers that are thriving in the 21st century are those that provide a unique selling point. Bournemouth Pier now features the only pier-to-beach zip line, and its former theatre now houses adrenaline-packed activities such as climbing walls, an aerial assault course, and a vertical drop slide. In Folkestone, the Harbour Arm, which was redeveloped as a pleasure pier in 2016, provides a range of pop-up bars and restaurants and its very own champagne bar. Weston’s Grand Pier offers family fun with a modern twist and even boasts an indoor suspended go-kart track. Southwold Pier boasts a novelty automaton arcade.

Weston-Super Mare Grand Pier. National Piers Society

By staying tuned to modern desires as well as a sense of nostalgia, piers will continue to adapt to changing tastes and provide entertainment and pleasure for seaside visitors.

But perhaps the biggest threat they face today is climate change, and the attendant rising sea levels and increasingly frequent storm surges. Cromer, Saltburn, and Blackpool North Pier have all recently been significantly damaged by storms. The World Monuments Fund has recognised the threat of extreme weather events to seaside piers by adding Blackpool’s three piers to their 2018 Watch List. With seaside piers regaining their popularity, their next big challenge will literally be finding a way to weather the storm.

Anya Chapman, Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management, Bournemouth University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.