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Brexit and Trade War in The Express

Professor Jens Holscher gave an interview on Brexit and Trade War in the Express:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/929542/brexit-news-eu-uk-trade-war-brexit-negotiations-liam-fox-theresa-may-brussels

 

Congratulations to the following winners of the Doctoral College 10th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference

conferences, PG research

On Wednesday 7 March 2018 the Doctoral College hosted the 10th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference which was a huge success with lots of positive feedback from students and staff alike. We are happy to announce the category winners below. Well done to everyone who took part!

Oral Presentations:

1st Prize Mark Stevens (Advancing a social identity approach to understanding physical activity: preliminary evidence from parkrun, Faculty of Management)

2nd Prize Stephen Allard (The intimate masses: poetry and emerging new concepts of ‘Netiquette’ in online environments, Faculty of Media and Communication)

3rd Prize Louise Oliver (Child-parent-violence and abuse: lifting the veil of secrecy, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences)

Poster Presentations:

1st Prize Giulia Levi (Between silence and agitation – coping strategies and third-party interventions in divided societies: a comparison between post-conflict Bosnia and post-referendum UK, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences)

2nd Prize Amal Musa Almoualed (Saudi women journalists – an exploration of their roles and practices in an age of social media, Faculty of Media and Communication)

3rd Prize Ejike T. Ezeh (Shared decision-making: web-based information tool to support treatment choices of people with advanced pancreatic cancer, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences)

Photography:

Winner Nurist S. Ulfa (The paradox of Muslim girl’s freedom of experimentation in girl games: when the digital virtual consumption practices and the religious norms are predominantly discordant, Faculty of Media and Communication)

 

 

We would also like to say a special thank you to the following people for their invaluable contribution to the day.

Opening Remarks
Professor John Fletcher, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research & Innovation (Office of the Vice-Chancellor)

Keynote Address
Professor Lee Miles, Professor of Crisis & Disaster Management (Faculty of Management)

Guest Speakers – Deputy Deans for Research & Professional Practice
Professor Vanora Hundley (Faculty of Health and Social Sciences)
Professor Michael Silk (Faculty of Management)
Professor Iain MacRury (Faculty of Media and Communication)
Professor Tiantian Zhang (Faculty of Science and Technology)

PGR Chairs
Clare Gordon (Faculty of Health and Social Sciences)
Sara Glithro (Faculty of Health and Social Sciences)
Ella Onyinye Ejime (Faculty of Management)
Duncan Ki-Aries (Faculty of Science and Technology)

Judging Panel – Oral Presentations
Professor Alison McConnell (Faculty of Health and Social Sciences)
Dr Sue Way (Faculty of Health and Social Sciences)
Dr Vanessa Heaslip (Faculty of Health and Social Sciences)
Professor Adam Blake (Faculty of Management)
Dr Daniel Lock (Faculty of Management)
Dr Einar Thorsen (Faculty of Media and Communication)
Professor Marcin Budka (Faculty of Science and Technology)

Judging Panel – Poster and Photography Exhibition
Jane Healy (Faculty of Health and Social Sciences)
Professor George Filis (Faculty of Management)
Professor Candida Yates (Faculty of Media and Communication)
Dr Christos Gatzidis (Faculty of Science and Technology)

Brexit and Financial Services

Professor Jens Holscher gave on interview on the effects of Brexit on Financial Services in the Bournemouth Echo:

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/16072967.Brexit__financial_services_jobs___39_going_abroad__39__as_chancellor_seeks_deal/

 

Why suicide rates among pregnant women in Nepal are rising

File 20180308 30989 ov7dje.jpg?ixlib=rb 1.1

Shutterstock/By KristinaSophie

By Bibha Simkhada, Liverpool John Moores University and Edwin van Teijlingen, Bournemouth University

Huge numbers of pregnant women and new mothers are taking their own lives in Nepal as they deal with extreme poverty, natural disasters, domestic violence and oppression. Research shows suicide represents 16% of all deaths in women of reproductive age. The rate is higher than previously recorded and there has been a considerable increase over the past few years. But a new project which trained midwives about mental health issues might hold the key to turning this around.

Suicide is primarily associated with unwanted pregnancy or the feeling of being trapped in poverty or situations of sexual and physical abuse. A study of 202 pregnant women (carried out between September and December 2014) found that 91% of them experienced some kind of physical, emotional or sexual abuse – mostly at the hands of their husbands and/or mother-in-laws.

The sad fact is that almost 40% of suicides in the world occur in South-East Asia. And one in three pregnant woman and new mothers are taking their own lives in low-income countries. In Nepal, 21% of the suicides among women aged 15-49 were in girls under 18 due to violence and being powerless in their families and communities.

Pregnancy is a known trigger for mental health problems. But gender discrimination and domestic violence are making matters worse. In addition to these issues, natural disasters are also a huge contributing factor to the spiralling mental health problems of young mothers.

A woman on a collapsed building in Kathmandu after the earthquake in May, 2015. Shutterstock/Somjin Klong-ugkara

Lack of control

In Nepal, making decisions about seeking maternity care is not in the hands of the pregnant woman but usually lies with her mother-in-law or husband. When young women marry they move in with their husbands’ family and their lives are ruled by their in-laws. These women often have little say in seeking health care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period.

In many poor families, husbands migrate for work leaving their young wives with family. Nepal has a real migrant workers economy with close to 50% of Nepalis relying on financial help from relatives abroad. Mental health problems can worsen for women who have been taken away from their own families. In other cases, young women face domestic violence due to their husbands’ drinking leading to mental health issues and suicide.

There is also a lack of understanding of pregnancy and childbirth-related mental health issues and husbands and mothers-in-law often fail to support these vulnerable young women. They in turn are reluctant to seek help due to the stigma associated with mental illness.

Cultural and social norms

Cultural practices and social norms, like gender inequalities and early marriage, hinder women who have a lack of choice when it comes to their role as mothers. There is also a preference for sons rather than daughters, who are seen as an “economic burden” in many families. If a woman is expecting a daughter, especially for the second or third time, this can also trigger mental health issues.

Depression and anxiety are common and affect ten to 15 out of every 100 pregnant women in the country. Postnatal depression is often reported, but less attention is given to more common and less obvious mental health issues.

Natural disasters and midwives

Recurrent earthquakes and floods exacerbate issues of depression and helplessness as women are forced to live in temporary shelters and have the burden of increased poverty.

For many rural Nepali women, the most qualified birth attendant they can expect to look after them is the Nepali Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs). But a study found that they received little or no formal training on perinatal mental health issues. Although there have been gradual improvements in health care for women during pregnancy, mental health support is leaving many women feeling that suicide is their only option.

As part of a Tropical Health and Education Trust project, funded by DFID, around 80 ANMs were trained on perinatal mental health issues. The project used UK-based volunteers in Nepal over two years.

The training helped raise awareness of mental health well-being and improved access to mental health care for pregnant women and new mothers. This is a vital first step towards improving community-based services for pregnant women in rural Nepal. But to offer hope to more young women there needs to be a significant increase in this type of training and awareness raising.

—

Bibha Simkhada, Postdoctoral Researcher in School of Nursing and Allied Health, Liverpool John Moores University and Edwin van Teijlingen, Professor of Reproductive Health Research, Bournemouth University

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

BU Briefing – Mii-vitaliSe: Using Nintendo Wii™ to increase activity levels, vitality and well-being in people with multiple sclerosis.

Our BU briefing papers are designed to make our research outputs accessible and easily digestible so that our research findings can quickly be applied – whether to society, culture, public policy, services, the environment or to improve quality of life. They have been created to highlight research findings and their potential impact within their field. 

The benefits of physical activity for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) have been recognised. Physical activity has been shown to be associated with improvements in mobility, muscle strength and physical fitness. Other secondary benefits might include reduced fatigue, depression and anxiety and improved sense of wellbeing.

This research team have developed a home-based physiotherapist supported Nintendo Wii™ intervention (‘Mii-vitaliSe’) for people with MS that uses commercial software. This is a pilot study to explore the feasibility of conducting a full scale clinical and cost-effectiveness trial of Mii-vitaliSe.

Click here to read the briefing paper.

For more information about the research, contact Sarah Thomas at saraht@bournemouth.ac.uk.
To find out how your research output could be turned into a BU Briefing, contact research@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Student Research Assistantships – recruiting now!

Fusion Investment Fund

The Student Research Assistantship Scheme is open to student applications until 18th March. Vacancies are open to all on-campus undergraduate and postgraduate taught students with an average grade of 70%+, please do encourage your students to apply!

The programme is funded by the Fusion Investment Fund and the scheme continues to focus on supporting departments to reach co-creation targets while supporting students to undertake research that is directly related to their career path and/or academic discipline under the guidance of an experienced academic.

This round of SRAs is for 120 hours work over four weeks between late May and 31st July 2018. Students can browse the full list of vacancies and apply via MyCareerHub.

If you have any questions about the SRA Scheme, please call Charlene Parrish on 61281 or email the SRA inbox.

Narrative Research Group Special Session – celebrating Dr Hywel Dix’s latest publication and showcasing the poetry of Dr Tom Masters.

On the 28th February, JEC’s Narrative Research Group was host to not one but two speakers; Dr Hywel Dix (Principal Academic in English, BU), and Dr Tom Masters (Lecturer in English & Communication, BU).

Hywel Dix introduces his research.

In the first half of the session, Hywel presented a short overview of his most recent publication, The Late-Career Novelist: Career Construction Theory, Authors and Autofiction (Bloomsbury, 2017). As Hywel explained, the book explores the ways in which bestselling contemporary novelists look back and respond to their earlier successes in their subsequent writings. Exploring the work of major novelists such as Angela Carter, V.S. Naipaul, Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, Julian Barnes, A.S. Byatt and Graham Swift, the book considers the self-reflexive process by which these writers ‘write back’ to their earlier works, as well as address their public personas and status as significant contemporary writers. Further, in its approach to these writers and their work, the book draws for the first time on social psychology and career construction theory in an interdisciplinary examination of how the dynamics of a literary career play out in the fictional worlds of these novelists.

Tom Masters performs his poetry.

Following Hywel’s presentation and discussion amongst the group, Tom Masters then gave a recital of a number of his poems, followed by discussion of their themes and imagery. At the centre of Tom’s performance was a work in progress that he is writing as part of the bicentenary celebrations of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus (1818). Drawing on a range of influences, including Joseph Wright’s 1768 painting An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump, and Henry Fuseli’s The Nightmare (1781), the poem explores the conjoined intellectual and artistic contexts of the Enlightenment period, and the resonance of their Gothic overtones. When completed, the poem will be exhibited alongside Shelley’s original manuscript as part of a collection of works commissioned to acknowledge the influence of Shelley’s work. For those of us who have taught and lectured with Tom across units within JEC, it was a pleasure to learn more about his creative work in this forum.

Our next meeting will be Wednesday 21st March when we will welcome Dr Maxine Gee (Lecturer in Sceenwriting, FMC), who will give a talk on her research into science fiction and Anime. A further event in May will see Alexandra Alberda and Stephen Allard, first year PhD researchers in JEC, introduce their respective work on graphic medicine and digital poetics.

The Narrative Research Group and its meetings are open to all (staff and students); if you are interested in joining the group, attending the seminars, or being added to the mailing list then please email its convener, Dr Sam Goodman (sgoodman@bournemouth.ac.uk).

 

Research & Knowledge Development Framework – give us your feedback

Guidance, Info Days

It’s been over 18 month since Bournemouth University launched its new Research & Knowledge Exchange Development Framework, which was designed to offer academics at all stages of their career opportunities to develop their skills, knowledge and capabilities.

 

Since its launch, over 150 sessions have taken place, including sandpits designed to develop solutions to key research challenges, workshops with funders such as the British Academy and the Medical Research Council and skills sessions to help researchers engage with the media and policy makers.

 

The Research & Knowledge Exchange Office is currently planning activities and sessions for next year’s training programme and would like your feedback about what’s worked well, areas for improvement and suggestions for new training sessions.

 

Tell us what you think via our survey and be in with a chance of winning a £30 Amazon voucher. The deadline date is Wednesday 28th March.

Congratulations to Professor Julian McDougall whose book has been shortlisted for the UKLA Academic Book Award 2018.

conferences

The UK Literacy Association (UKLA) has selected four books to be shortlisted for the 2018 Academic Book Award, including Dr John Potter (University College London) and BU Professor Julian McDougall’s book Digital Media, Culture and Education, Theorising Third Space Literacies (Palgrave Macmillan).

“We were delighted to be shortlisted,” says Professor McDougall, “The UKLA is an organisation we have both engaged with for many years and value highly. The award is really prestigious so it’s exciting and great to find out that the field you are writing with and for has received the book so well. And we’re in really good company in the shortlist!”

This book provides a critical commentary on key issues around learning in the digital age in both formal and informal educational settings, addressing the concept of third space literacies. It speaks to a range of readers, extending their knowledge and understanding of media literay and how technology can enhance educational practice and learner development.

“We wrote the book to address the lack of a meeting point between these fields – literacies, media and education, as this comes up again and again, especially when we look at PhDs in particular,” says McDougall. “Examiners often ask researchers where exactly their project sits in and across these areas, so we wanted to have a go at joining them up but also clearly come at this from two very established approaches – literacies and cultural studies.”

The winner of this year’s Academic Book Award will be announced at the UKLA International Conference in Cardiff which takes place on 6 July – 8 July 2018. The shortlist was chosen by UKLA Membership and Awards committee, and the final panel will be chaired by Professor Morag Styles (Homerton College, University of Cambridge).

Interdisciplinary Research Week 2018

innovation, Training

The third Interdisciplinary Research Week (IRW) is being held from 19th to 23rd March 2018. Join us to celebrate the breadth and excellence of Bournemouth University’s interdisciplinary research, and stimulate new collaborations and ideas amongst the University’s diverse research community.

The week-long event includes a programme of lectures, workshops, and discussions, aimed at promoting interdisciplinary workings; to provide an understanding of how to get involved in Interdisciplinary Research.

Programme

Inspirational Speaker – Professor Celia Lury

British Academy Visit – Interdisciplinary Research

Collaborating with Others: Becoming a Better Team worker

Networking: Making the Most of an Upcoming Event

New research realities and interdisciplinarity

Interdisciplinary research with industry

Speed Collaborations event

Lighting Talks: What can and should be achieved in Interdisciplinary Research

 

 

Doctoral College Researcher Development Programme

PG research

The Doctoral College would like to present the March monthly update.

This monthly update is for PGRs and their supervisors to outline upcoming research skills and development opportunities including events, workshops and networking opportunities supported by the Doctoral College. In this update we would like to promote the 3 Minute Thesis (3MT®) event, R.E.D talks, the Researcher Development Programme for 2017-18, and the 10th Annual Postgraduate Conference.

We are very happy to announce that 10th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference is taking place today. The conference will see PGR students, academics and other colleges from across BU come together to  celebrate the diverse and exciting research being undertaken. More information about the day will be sent over the next week.

Don’t forget to check out the Doctoral College Facebook page. 

Subjective Evaluation of High-Fidelity Virtual Environments for Driving Simulations

We would like to invite you to the latest research seminar of the Centre for Games and Music Technology Research.

Title: Subjective Evaluation of High-Fidelity Virtual Environments for Driving Simulations

Speaker: Dr Carlo Harvey
Birmingham City University

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM
Date: Wednesday 14 March 2018
Room: PG10 (Poole House)

Abstract:

Virtual environments (VEs) grant the ability to experience real-world scenarios, such as driving, in a virtual, safe, and reproducible context. However, to achieve their full potential, the fidelity of the VEs must provide confidence that it replicates the perception of the real-world experience. The computational cost of simulating real-world visuals accurately means that compromises to the fidelity of the visuals must be made. This talk presents a subjective evaluation of driving in a VE at different quality settings. Participants (n = 44) were driven around in the real world and in a purposely built representative VE and the fidelity of the graphics and overall experience at low-, medium-, and high-visual settings were analysed. Low quality corresponds to the illumination in many current traditional simulators, medium to a higher quality using accurate shadows and reflections, and high to the quality experienced in modern movies and simulations that require hours of computation. Results demonstrate that graphics quality affects the perceived fidelity of the visuals and the overall experience. When judging the overall experience, participants could tell the difference between the lower quality graphics and the rest but did not significantly discriminate between the medium and higher graphical settings. This indicates that future driving simulators should improve the quality, but once the equivalent of the presented medium quality is reached, they may not need to do so significantly.

We hope to see you there.

Innovate UK Open Sector Competition: DEADLINE 9/5/18

Business Engagement

Applications are now welcomed from businesses to Innovate UK’s Open competition for research and development for projects costing between £25k and £1m.  Projects may last a maximum of three years and must be led by a UK business.  An allocation of £19m has been made available for this fund but a further £10m is available for projects that are more suitable for a Knowledge Transfer Partnership.  Research organisations can be eligible for up to 30% of eligible project costs so this is a great opportunity to work in collaboration with a business.  If you are already working with a business on a novel/game-changing idea, and want to know more information, please contact Ehren Milner, Research Facilitator for Industrial Collaboration (emilner@bournemouth.ac.uk).

Catapult Researchers in Residence Programme

BU Challenges, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange

The Catapult centres are a network of world-leading centres designed to help transform the UK’s capability for innovation in specific areas and drive future economic growth. To find out more, please visit this link.

To encourage increase in the connections between the UK research base and the Catapults, RCUK is supporting the development of new collaborations through research visits/ residencies for university (and other eligible research organisations) academics to spend time embedded within the Catapult teams through the Catapult Researchers in Residence (RiR) Awards. Please see a summary below of what this scheme offers:

Aims:

  • Accelerate the impact of RC-funded research
  • Increase knowledge exchange and co-creation between academia and Catapult centres
  • Develop new collaborations between academia and Catapult centres
  • Expand the capabilities and knowledge of the Catapults
  • Nurturing talents and skills development of researchers and Catapult staff
  • Create a cohort of RiRs able to share their experiences with a wider network of academics.

Funding:

  • value of up to £50k (100% FEC); flexibly spread between one and four years.
  • Funding awarded directly to the host university and not the Catapult.
  • Funding to cover the salary costs for the visit of each RiR, travel and subsistence costs, and any consumables used at the Catapult.

Timeline:

The programme will run until March 2023, with two RiRs announcements of opportunity each year, with the last RiR opportunity announced in January 2019. 

Current closing deadline is 23 March 2018; 5pm.

Eligibility:

  • applicants must be employees of eligible organisation; must be resident in the UK
  • EPSRC eligibility criteria apply

Please visit this link for more information on how to apply or speak to your Funding Development Officers.

NERC announces funding opportunities

Funding opportunities

Two NERC funding calls have been released.  One is a pre-announcement so please do look out for the announcement if you’re interested in this call.

 

Pre-announcement: Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund 2018

NERC is launching a new annual scheme, the Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund, to support UK environmental science researchers to establish new collaborations with international partners. This scheme replaces NERC’s International Opportunities Fund (IOF).

The Global Partnerships Seedcorn Fund will support UK environmental science researchers to develop new, ‘best with best’ international partnerships and networks, which underpin the development of long-term collaborations.

Key features of the scheme are:

  • Standard NERC principal investigator eligibility rules apply. New investigators, who may not already have international research partners, are encouraged to apply.
  • A single level of grant up to £100,000 (100% full economic cost) over two years, with a total annual budget of £1 million.
  • One or more international project partners are mandatory.
  • Proposals will be directly evaluated by an assessment panel of independent academic experts.
  • An announcement of opportunity will be published annually in March and close in early May. Funding decisions will be made in July with awards to start from September.

Call for Open Knowledge Exchange (KE) Fellowships 

Proposal deadline: 16:00 on 17 April 2018

Interview dates: 12, 13 & 14 June 2018

NERC wishes to award a number of Open Knowledge Exchange (KE) Fellowships. The NERC Open Knowledge Exchange (KE) Fellowships are intended to enable the sharing and flow of knowledge and expertise between the NERC funded researchers and their user communities with the aim of generating impact from NERC funded research. KE Fellows work between 20% and 80% of their time on a work plan of their own choosing to generate impact from NERC-funded research in their host institution. The KE Fellowships will cover 100% of the Fellow’s salary on a pro-rata basis including superannuation, NI and specific allowances, plus up to £40,000 for travel and other associated costs. They cover direct costs only and do not include overheads. There is no budget limit for salary costs and applications are particularly welcomed from individuals who are working at a senior level within a department or school. The KE Fellow must be employed by their host institution for the duration of their fellowship.

If selected for interview, the applicant will be asked to give a 10 minute presentation followed by 35 minutes of questions from a panel of up to four people. In addition, the applicant’s head of department (or, if the head of department is the applicant, then a more senior individual) is expected to join the interview in person or by telephone to provide a strategic overview of the work. Success rates appear to be the same regardless of whether the supporter appears in person or telephones in.

Further information including supporting documentation can be found here.

If you are interested in applying, please inform your RKEO Funding Development Officer in the first instance.

SURE conference today – Student case study (Georgina Polius)

conferences, Student Engagement, student research

Georgina Polius is in her second year of BA Sociology and Anthropology in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, and is one of the students who has decided to participate in this year’s upcoming Showcasing Undergraduate Research Excellence (SURE) conference.

Georgina was encouraged to apply by her lecturer, Dr Rosie Read, who informed the entire class to participate in the SURE conference. “Initially, the word abstract scared me a bit because I would have to condense my work into a few lines but after further discussion with my family, I decided to go for it.”

Her assignment research looks at the underlying problem of food poverty within modern British society which was carried out within a foodbank in Bournemouth, working among the volunteers. “Having grown up in a volunteering culture, it has become for me a way of life,” says Georgina. “More specifically, my interest in the foodbank area was sparked by one of my course units I studied last semester where we were sent into the Bournemouth foodbanks to research the personal reasons behind the seemingly household phenomenon of volunteering.”

“I do believe that SURE is a good way to showcase our work as we, as students, have been given the opportunity for various academics and other students to see our work and receive unbiased feedback, which will help us to improve for the future. It also gives us a place to highlight real world issues.”

“I hope to use this exposure from SURE to improve my self-confidence and assertiveness in public speaking which would be an asset to me as I continue with my university studies and eventually into the world of research,” she says. “Most students would perhaps only get to publish their work or experience this type of exposure if they continued to a Master’s programme.”

The Showcasing Undergraduate Research Excellence conference will taking place on 7 March 2018. Many undergraduate students from across the university will be presenting their research throughout the conference in a variety of different ways, from presentations to posters and art installations. Please register via the Eventbrite page if you would like to attend.

For more details, visit the SURE website or email the SURE team.