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RKEO first drop-in session of the year

Guidance

research lifecycleAs previously posted, RKEO will be holding monthly drop-in sessions throughout 2016.  The full schedule of sessions can be found here.

The first session will be held on 24 February 2016 between 2-4pm in Bournemouth House Cafe.  Anyone can attend with any queries for RKEO. The following RKEO staff will be available for the session:

You don’t need to be from these faculties as staff will help with any queries they have and if they’re not able to answer your query then and there, they’ll ensure you receive a timely response from RKEO.  Basically, come along and have a chat. These are also great opportunities for us to gather feedback from you on the service that we deliver to you.

RKEO look forward to seeing you.

New paper by Dr Julie Robson in the Journal of Business Research

Research themes

JRobson1

Dr Julie Robson (based in FoM) has had her article ‘ Senior management perceptions of aspirational groups: A study of the UK general insurance market’ published in the Journal of Business Research. The paper, co-authored by Professor Hans van der Heijden at the University of Sussex, draws insight from consumer marketing on aspirational groups to explore the composition and structure of aspirational groups compared to strategic groups in a market setting. The findings contribute to knowledge on strategy formation by highlighting the important role aspirational groups play in understanding competitive market movements.

Update your ORCID ID on HRCore

Guidance

@Pengpeng Hatch. All copyrights reserved.

@Pengpeng Hatch. All copyrights reserved.

ORCID ID will soon be made mandatory in our HESA return so if you have not yet obtained an ORCID ID, it is recommended that you do so as soon as possible. Please refer to this blog post for information on how to do so. In the coming mock REF internal outputs light-touch review, ORCID ID is also a mandatory field.

As soon as you have obtained your ORCID ID, this is how you can update your HRCore with the information.

Step 1:

Log in to the staff intranet

Step 2:

Locate ‘HR Portal’ in the scroll bar at the bottom. You will be directed to the CORE Portal. Log in with your usual BU credentials. Click on ‘My Personnel Services’ and you will be able to see the ORCID field under ‘Additional options’. Click on the option and enter your 16 digits ORCID ID and click save. Please note that the HR Portal is only accessible on-campus.

Your ORCID ID is now recorded on HR Core.

For queries about this, please direct them to pphatch@bournemouth.ac.uk.

RKEO – It’s good to talk

Guidance

flyingIn response to positive feedback from academics about how much you benefit from face-to-face meetings with staff from RKEO, we have set up drop-in sessions for 2016.

These sessions will be held on a monthly basis and anyone can attend with any queries for RKEO.  RKEO staff will be available for two hours each session and so come along and have a chat.  These are also great opportunities for us to gather feedback from you on the service that we deliver for you.

The planned sessions for this year are as follows:

Date Time Where
Wed. 24/02/2016 2-4pm Bournemouth House café
Wed. 23/03/2016 2-4pm Talbot – Atrium café
Wed. 20/04/2016 2-4pm Talbot – Atrium café
Tues. 17/05/2016 2-4pm Bournemouth House café
Wed. 15/06/2016 2-4pm Talbot – Atrium café
Thurs. 14/07/2016 2-4pm Bournemouth House café
Wed. 10/08/2016 2-4pm Talbot – Atrium café
Thurs. 08/09/2016 2-4pm Talbot – Atrium café
Wed. 05/10/2016 2-4pm Bournemouth House café
Thurs. 03/11/2016 2-4pm Talbot – Atrium café
Wed. 07/12/2016 2-4pm Talbot – Atrium café

Blog posts will be issued for each session, reminding you of the date, time and place and also informing you of who will be at the session from RKEO.  If there is a specific member of RKEO that you would like to meet with at the sessions then please contact them in advance and see if they are available for a chat.

RKEO look forward to seeing you.

An Update on EPSRC Delivery Plan

EPSRC_logoThe Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council put out its 2016-20 delivery plan to consultation at the end of 2015. On 2nd February EPSRC published an update to the draft plan, which sets out four areas that it intends to focus on over the next five years:

• Productivity
• Connectedness
• Resilience
• Health

 

Ambitions have been developed within each area, which will form the framework for its Delivery Plan. These ambitions will help determine the challenge-led aspect of its portfolio. EPSRC funding will still be accessed through the usual entry points of its capability disciplines, which include Mathematics, Physical Sciences, ICT and Engineering and decisions will still be taken on excellence.

A brief definition of each area and associated ambitions can be found here. These ambitions are provisional and will remain so until EPSRC receives its budget allocation for 2016-2020, when it can definitively prioritise its plans.

An Artistic Stippling Technique for Animated 3D Models

We would like to invite you to a visiting scholar research seminar by Dr. Dongwann Kang next Tuesday afternoon.

ArtisticStippling

Title:         An Artistic Stippling Technique for Animated 3D Models

Date:         Tuesday 9th February 2016

Time:         3-4PM

Location: P302

Biography

Dongwann Kang received his Ph.D. degree in Chung-Ang University, South Korea in 2013. He also received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science and Engineering from Chung-Ang University in 2006 and 2008. He was the research fellow in Chung-Ang University from Mar. 2013 to Jun. 2015. Now, he is a visiting researcher in the SciTech, Bournemouth University, UK. His research interests include artistic stylization, emotional computing, image manipulation and GPU processing.

Abstract

Stippling is the creation of a pattern simulating varying degrees of solidity or shading by using small dots. Such a pattern may occur in nature and these effects are frequently emulated by artists. ‘Hedcut’ is a stippling style for newspaper illustrations. Specifically, this technique, which combines stippling and line drawing, employs a directional stipple pattern similar to cross- hatching. Unlike traditional stippling methods that represent the tone of a subject by the density of the stipples, hedcut evenly distributes stipples with such a directional pattern and adjusts the size and tone of the stipples. In this presentation, I present a hedcut rendering method for animated 3D models that satisfies these characteristics. To maintain frame-to-frame coherency in animations, I introduce a texture mapping-based stippling method. I execute a quadrangulation that captures the geometric structure of the surface, and obtain directional stipples by mapping a two-directional patterned texture onto each quad mesh. For even distribution of texture-mapped stipples on screen space, I propose a texture generation and mapping method that adjusts the number of stipples on the texture depending on the viewpoint.

RCUK response to the HE Green Paper and the Nurse Review

RCUKlogoResearch Councils UK (RCUK) has published a full response to the Higher Education Green Paper and the Nurse Review, which sets out key principles that the Research Councils collectively consider should be the basis on which reform of the research funding landscape should take place.

The response relates to Part D of the Green Paper relating to the research landscape and to the broad direction of travel recommended by Sir Paul Nurse. It does not address individual questions specifically.  Their overriding priority is to ensure that the UK’s world-class research is supported through the most effective and efficient means possible.

Research Councils demonstrate the impact of their investments in latest impact reports

RCUKlogoYesterday, the Research Councils published their impact reports for the 2014/2015 financial year, demonstrating the impact their investments have made on the economy, on policy and for society.

Each Research Council has produced its own report, showcasing specific examples of the impact of investment through their various awards, programmes and collaborations. The wide-ranging nature of the impact extends from furthering technological advances to combatting disease.

Collectively, the seven Research Councils invest £3 billion in research each year covering all disciplines and sectors, to meet tomorrow’s challenges today and provide the world-class research and skills that are the foundation of a strong and productive UK economy. This helps to achieve balanced growth as well as contributing to a healthy society and a sustainable world. It ensures the UK builds capacity, safeguards the long-term sustainability of research and remains a global leader in research and innovation. Additionally, by working in partnership, the Research Councils combine investments in a multitude of global societal and economic challenge areas to achieve even greater impact.

Highlights from the reports – particularly in boosting the economy, shaping policy and contributing to society – include:

  • Improving family lives and saving the taxpayer £1.2 billion: Secondary analysis of ESRC-funded survey data has helped local authorities in England to target interventions that support families with long-standing problems, turning around their lives and improving the life chances of children. The Troubled Families programme, praised by the Prime Minister after helping an estimated 116,000 families and saving the taxpayer £1.2 billion, was extended for five years from 2015.
  • Shaping international policy making and supporting vulnerable deaf communities: AHRC-funded research has supported the status of endangered sign languages in communities in India, new legislation in Finland, and increased transnational awareness of sign languages risk of endangerment.
  • Improving the UK’s resilience to environmental hazards by informing effective risk management: NERC’s annual investment of £12.8 million generates up to £127 million pa benefit from protecting properties, farmland and infrastructure through earlier warning of floods. Plus further health and cost-saving benefits from forecasting seasonal extremes, extreme weather, effects of volcanic ash on aircraft, protecting fisheries and preparing for climate change.
  • Informing Defra’s National Pollinator Strategy: Results from the Urban Pollinators Project informed Defra’s recommendations linked to the UK’s National Pollinator Strategy; a ten-year plan to tackle the decline in pollinator numbers. The city of Bristol is now developing a local Pollinator Strategy as an exemplar for UK and European cities. The project received £1.2 million in investment from the Insect Pollinators Initiative (funded by BBSRC, NERC, Defra, the Wellcome Trust and the Scottish Government).

The Impact Reports for each Research Council can be accessed from the following links:impact

 

The Graduate School in the Netherlands

conferences, international, PG research

Professor Tiantian Zhang attended the 9th EUA Council for Doctoral Education (CDE) in the Netherlands on the 20th – 21st January, 2016. The EUA CDE is dedicated to improving and developing doctoral education. This event was attended by approximately 110 international delegates who represented numerous Universities from across Europe. Representing the Graduate School from Bournemouth University, Professor Zhang was able to network and develop international contacts with other UniversitiEUAes. This was a wonderful opportunity for a representative from BU to learn and exchange good practices with others who are dedicated to enhancing the Doctoral Education experience.

Optimal 3D surface reconstruction from few 2D images

staff profile pages

We would like to invite you to the latest research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre.

 

Speaker: Dr Simant Prakoonwit (Associate Professor Of Games Technology at BU)

Title: Optimal 3D surface reconstruction from few 2D images

 

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PMOptimal 3D surface reconstruction from few 2D images

Date: Wednesday 3rd February 2016

Room: P302 LT, Poole House, Talbot Campus

 

Abstract:

The talk will discuss a possible method to use a small number, e.g. 5, of conventional 2D images to reconstruct multiple 3D object surfaces. Each object’s edge contours in images are automatically identified. Sparse optimal 3D landmark points of each bone are automatically reconstructed by pairing the 2D images. The reconstructed landmark point distribution on a surface is approximately optimal covering main characteristics of the surface. A surface growing method or a statistical shape model, dense point distribution model can then be used to fit the reconstructed optimal landmarks vertices to reconstruct a full surface of each object separately.

 

 

We hope to see you there.

 

National Archives – online survey

Help The National Archives develop services for academics and researchers

Dr Matt Greenhall, Head of Academic Engagement at the National Archives has advised us that they are running an online survey to find out more about the needs of academics and researchers, the ways in which they might work more closely with the academic and scholarly communities, and to help inform the development of our services.

If you are an academic, early career researcher, postgraduate student or independent researcher, they would like to hear from you. The survey takes around 10-15 minutes to complete and will cover, amongst other things:

  • Key changes and challenges in the research and academic landscapes in the next five years
  • Ways in which The National Archives might support and work more closely with academics, research students, research bodies, and the scholarly community
  • Identification of perceptions of The National Archives and its role

This project is part of their wider commitment to advancing knowledge through academic liaison and interdisciplinary research, as set out in their four-year business plan, Archives Inspire 2015-19.

DJS Research, a market research company, has created the survey and will be analysing the results. As an independent market research company, abiding by the Market Research Society Code of Conduct, DJS Research ensures all data and personal details collected remain protected, confidential and unattributed.

Please complete the survey by 12 February.

Pizza, Planning and Postgraduate Research

PG research

The Graduate School would like to welcome 310 new students to BU. Over four days last week, we welcomed these students through a series of inductions. This included 40 new PhD, 15 MRes, 235 Masters and 20 exchange students.  The four days covIMG_1387ered a huge amount of information including how to plan and prepare for your studies, research and what to expect as a student at BU.  In order to help some of the students relax after these busy first few days, the Graduate School invited the PhD and MRes students for pizza and refreshments at Dylan’s Kitchen and Bar. Some students even got involved with a bit of karaoke, although I don’t think there were any Mariah Carey’s amongst us.

To find out more about the Graduate School and what we offer, find us on the BU website under postgraduate research. Also, keep your eyes open for the 8th Annual Postgraduate Conference taking place in March 2016.

 

NERC-Valuing Nature Programme. An opportunity for early stage researchers

Funding opportunities

The Valuing Nature Programme is running a three-day Business Impact School to provide early career researchers with an opportunity to gain insight into producing research with business impact. There will be a number of business speakers, which include Willis Towers Watson, Nestle, United Utilities, National Grid, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Aldersgate Group, Intelligent Health and Satellite Communications Catapult. There will be plenty of opportunity for participants to interact with speakers, including a ‘hands-on’ session on designing research for business impact.

The programme will offer around 25 fully-funded places (school, travel, accommodation, meals and a field trip). Participants must be registered for a PhD at the closing date, or employed as a post-doc researcher and awarded a PhD on or after 1 January 2014.

Deadline: 05/02/16