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Have you checked out the interactive Research Lifecycle diagram yet?

If you haven’t then you most definitely should! Our Research Lifecycle diagram is a jazzy new interactive part of the BU Research Blog that shows the support and initiatives that are available to staff and students at each stage of the research lifecycle. The information is general enough so as to apply to all disciplines and you can use it to organize and identify the many activities involved in your research. You can explore the Research Lifecycle to find information on how to get started with:

1. Developing your research strategy

2. Developing your proposal

3. The research process

4. Publication and dissemination

5. Impact

RKEO will be adding to the Research Lifecycle to ensure it always contains the most up to date information to support you with planning, organising and undertaking your research.

You can access the diagram from the links in this post or from the menu bar that appears on all screens in the Research Blog.

 

Know a SME who is looking to boost their Cyber Security? The Government is willing to help – up to £5000 is available!

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities

moneyA new scheme to protect small businesses from cyber-attacks was announced by the Government last week.

Speaking at the Reform “Cyber Security: assurance, resilience, response” conference in London, Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey has outlined how a new voucher scheme designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) will launch later this month.

The launch of the voucher scheme is part of a package of initiatives designed to increase the resilience of UK businesses to cyber-attacks. The package also includes a new online learning and careers hub to help ensure the UK has the cyber skills talent pool to protect both the public and private sectors as we face the reality of increasing cyber threats.

The new UK £1m cyber security innovation vouchers scheme will offer micro, small and medium sized businesses up to £5,000 for specialist advice to boost their cyber security and protect new business ideas and intellectual property. The scheme will be overseen by the Government’s innovation experts at Innovate UK.

As well as helping protect businesses from cyber-attacks, the vouchers enable firms to access services from the UK cyber security industry. This new scheme will also help businesses to adopt Cyber Essentials, Government’s flagship scheme to protect businesses online.

The UK cyber security industry is strong and growing – worth £17.6bn and employs over 40,000 people – but more skilled people are needed to help protect the nation as the UK goes digital and adopts new technologies.

For more information on how to apply, contact the Bournemouth University Cyber Security Unit on 01202 962 557 or email us at bucsu@bournemouth.ac.uk.

The full text of this article can be found here.

HE Policy Update

Monday

REF

A review – REF Accountability Review: Costs, Benefits and Burden, has looked at the institutional costs of the REF. The review revealed that institutions’ own total spend on the REF exceeds £230 million, of which £55 million went on preparing impact statements and £19 million for panellists’ time. REF 2014 cost almost £250 million (THE).

International Students

A Professor of international higher education at the UCL Institute of Education has spoken at the UK Council for International Student Affairs conference. He argued that universities must collect “hard evidence” to prove that the UK is no longer a welcoming place for international students if the sector is to effectively challenge government policies on immigration. Universities ‘must collect hard data’ on barriers to overseas students (THE).

NUS President

Megan Dunn, president of the National Union of Students, has spoken about the government’s plans to convert maintenance grants to loans. She has said the policy change is a calculated, regressive move by the government and that maintenance grants are a necessity, not a luxury. Maintenance grants are a necessity, not a luxury (THE).

Tuesday

Teaching Excellence Framework

A senior lecturer at Brighton University has written in the Guardian, critiquing the government’s plans to introduce a Teaching Excellence Framework. The piece suggests that evaluating universities for teaching will likely lead to a data driven culture where academics make decisions on the basis of whether it’s ‘good for the Tef’. What’s worse than a Ref for teaching? An Ofsted for universities (THE).

Wednesday

Access

Data published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills reveals that 85 per cent of English private school leavers who turned 19 in 2012-13 were in higher education, compared with 66 per cent of state school students. Access gap between private and state school pupils widens (THE).

Thursday

Disadvantaged Students

Universities in England have agreed to take more students from disadvantaged homes, fair access watchdog Offa says. Institutions have also agreed to spend £750m on outreach activities, bursaries and waiving fees for poorer youngsters. Universities agree to take more disadvantaged students (BBC News).

Tuition Fees

The number of universities charging £9,000 a year is growing, according to a published report by the universities’ access watchdog. The study by Offa shows the number has gone up from 130 to 139 in the past year. Number of universities charging £9,000 a year is growing, says watchdog (The Independent).

Friday

Student Visas

In a confidential letter to other ministers, Theresa May has apparently argued that universities should “develop sustainable funding models that are not so dependent on international students”. The letter is also reported to claim that students should be required to demonstrate a higher degree of financial backing as a condition for receipt of a higher education visa than is currently required. The Home Office has refused to comment on the leaked documents. Home Secretary proposes tougher rules for student visas (BBC News).

Faculty of Management academics win the Academy of Marketing Research Initiative Funding scheme 2015

PG research

Dr. Julie Robson and Samreen Ashraf from the Faculty of Management were announced as the successful recipients of the 2015 Academy of Marketing Research Initiative Funding Scheme for 2015 at the conference in Limerick, Ireland last week.

Their research, ‘Perceptions and use of pension savings: the case of South Asian consumers living in the UK’, examines how UK consumers originally from India, Pakistan and Bengal will use their pension savings following recent changes in the pension market.  Drawing on concepts developed within behavioural economics, specifically framing and mental accounting, this study will identify what has informed consumer perceptions of their pension savings and how this influences the way in which their pension money is used.  This research is both important and timely given recent pension changes, and government and societal concern that individuals (particularly ethnic groups such as those from South Asia) are not adequately prepared for their retirement.

The results of this research project will be presented at the Academy of Marketing conference next year.

Dr Julie Robson image2Samreen BU pic2

BUDI brings dementia awareness to life

On Monday 13th July 2015, BUDI welcomed more than 50 members of the public at their annual Festival of Learning event. The event was opened by the BUDI Orchestra (formed of people affected by dementia and musicians) with an energetic and fun performance that included a rendition of the Peter Gunn theme by the Blues Brothers (complete with trademark sunglasses) and the Jaws theme tune.

Photo orchestra

Attendees were able to participate in a number of hands on activities, from sharing their thoughts on what makes a garden dementia-friendly, to discussing what they are passionate about in the dementia field with members of the BUDI team in speaker’s corner.

Poet Jonny Fluffypunk closed the event by reading out a poem that he created from sentences that attendees had written throughout the event about dementia. The poem entitled ‘A New Beginning’ is too good not to share……

Photo Jonny

A New Beginning

Dementia is…
a misunderstood and badly defined term
a term people are labelled with;
a term that restricts their freedom.
Restricts their choices.
Restricts their self.

Dementia is an illness often observed,
an illness that splits families

It is thinking scattered thoughts of yesterday
that muddle your tomorrow

It is trying to remember the past
and not the present

Dementia is my nuisance;
It is me needing the support
of my wife and family
It is knowing your face so well
but your name escaping me

Dementia is living in a world that makes no sense;
it is remembering tastes from the past;
it is the problem of making decisions
it is feeling your way in the world
and not being able to put it in words

But sometimes…
Sometimes I think
we were all born with dementia;
as a tiny child I could remember nothing
and now I am old I find nothing has changed

And dementia is an interesting way
to relive my life; an unknown journey
a unique experience for patient and carer

Dementia is protecting and helping your husband
as he makes this journey

It is brilliant but fleeting perfect memories

It is a chance to grow

It is a chance to engage creatively

It is a chance to reach a new humanity

Dementia is learning not to give up:
I was thrown out of church choir age 7
and now at 77 I play violin with BUDI

Dementia is learning that music is a wonderful thing
That it makes you happy and sad-
long live music and song!

Dementia is emotional-
how I wish I could love in the way
I have seen love shared here today

Dementia is partnership,
it is learning to change life
with the one you love

Dementia can bring you together
with the most wonderful people

Dementia is just a different journey

Dementia is personal and shared

Dementia is not the end; it can be a new beginning

Dementia is not the end.

FoL event What can eye-tracking tell us about reading, writing and dyslexia?

Festival of Learning

Julie Kirkby and her team of PhD students delivered an interesting lecture combined with demonstrations for which the audience participated.

Using eye-tracking technology as ‘a window to the mind’, this allowed us to see the developmental differences of children with and without JKirkbydyslexia.  It was interesting to know that when reading we only take in (fovea) around eight letters, whereas our peripheral vision (parafovea) can take in around 15 letters.  There are also linguistic influences on our eye movements, such as how many letters, how often the word is read, and how much a word is expected.  If comprehension breaks down then our eye movements are directed back to previously read text.  Some, but not all, dyslexic people will have difficulty associating letters with speech sounds.  Also, some will have ‘visual attention deficit’.

We had two demonstrations.  The first was eye-linking to see where the eye looks when we’re reading.  The second was the mobile (Dikablis) eye-tracker which demonstrates how we encode and produce information and how information can be forgotten in between.  We were informed that it’s a myth that dyslexic children can’t copy from class boards.  Reading ability affects the working memory and vice versa.  There was a lot of great research shared and it was an engaging afternoon.

If you are interested in this then you may be interested in similar events going on tomorrow.  These include Media literacy in secondary schools taking place at 12.30pm and Third space digital learning in Dorset schools taking place at 3.30pm.threeMonitorEye-trackingVisual Search

Research Around Ageing and Later Life.

 

Michele Board with Sheila Peace, President of the BSG, Associate Dean (Research) Professor of Social Gerontology Faculty of Health & Social Care The Open University

Michele Board with Professor Sheila Peace, President of the BSG, Associate Dean (Research) Professor of Social Gerontology Faculty of Health & Social Care The Open University

Michele Board (HSS), Laura Reynolds and Sophie Bushell (BUDI) recently attended the BSG annual conference in Newcastle, 1st to 3rd July 2015.
Michele presented two papers from her PhD thesis, on the ‘Five Senses of Home Framework’, and ‘A Qualitative Approach to explore the meaning of Home for Six Baby Boomers’. Given the current debate around housing the presentations were topical leading to a good discussion on the importance of home and participatory research.

Laura Reynolds (BUDI Research Assistant) hosting one oral presentation (‘The BUDI Orchestra: evaluation of a novel music initiative for people with dementia and their carers’), and BUDI PhD student, Sophie Bushell, disseminating her research ‘Promoting well-being for residents with dementia living in a purpose built care environment’ via poster presentation.
Laura says:
“I couldn’t have asked for a better conference to present at for the first time, and I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to do so. It was insightful to see other institutions’ research and to share ideas with like-minded people from across the globe.”

The British Society of Gerontology was established in 1971. It provides a multidisciplinary forum for researchers and other individuals interested in the situations of older people, and in how knowledge about ageing and later life can be enhanced and improved. The annual conference is friendly and exciting and an excellent forum to disseminate current research about older people.

I think BU has a great deal to contribute to research about older people from across the University and I would recommend looking at the BSG website and consider becoming a member. http://www.britishgerontology.org/about-bsg.html

 

Next year’s BSG conference is in Stirling, if you’re interested in putting together an interdisciplinary symposium for the conference let Michele know it would be great to have a larger BU presence! Conference themes next year include, Health and Social Care, Quality of Life, Technology, Environment and Housing, Relationships and Intergenerational Work and Dementia.

It would be good to be able to host the BSG conference in a few years’ time!! If you are interested in research, practice, education about older people and would like to get together over a coffee do please get in contact with Michele Board, Senior Lecturer Nursing Older People, Joint programme lead BA/MA Care of the Older person, HSS. mboard@bournemouth.ac.uk

BIS annual report 2014-15

Funding opportunities

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have published their Annual Report and Accounts for 2014-15.BIS logo

The report highlights key acheivements, how they performed, and consolidated accounts.  The accounts show that the department’s spending on science and innovation in 2014-15 was around £500m, with £561m planned for 2015-16, including the budget for Innovate UK. Spending through the research councils remains stable at around £4.6 billion.

 

 

FoL event Building Learning Power

Festival of Learning

careerKeith Williamson from Avonbourne College provided an inspirational lecture on how they are changing the way their pupils learn.  This involves programmes such as ELLI (Effective LifeLong Inventory).

Keith explained how research has shown that those with fixed mindsets tend to underachieve, can be afraid of failure, and tend not to put the effort in, ignoring feedback and feeling threatened by others achievements.  Whereas those with a growth mindset recognise that intelligence is malleable.

Keith explained the theory is based around five learning dispositions: resilience (emotional), resourcefulness (cognitive), reflectiveness (strategic), relationships (social), and risk (engaging).  The lecture finished on a positive note with a video of a pupil talking about how the programme had changed the way she learnt and had improved her grades.

Other events that might interest you are: ‘Seen but Seldom Heard: challenging perceptions of discibility within secondary schools with e-learning’ which is being held at 10.30am and ‘Gender performance in school: media vs. bullying’ which is being at 4.30pm both on Thursday, as well as ‘Media literacy in secondary schools, which is being held at 12.30pm on Friday.

Introducing Jo George, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Fusion, REF Subjects, Research assessment, student research

Hello, I will be working within the Health and Social Sciences Faculty with Impact Champion, Zoe Sheppard, over the next six weeks on the endeavour to monitor and measure the impact of research.

My work will involve:

  • Exploring methods of dissemination
  • Conducting literature searches to investigate the demonstration of impact
  • Working on two research case studies from the Health and Social Social Sciences Faculty

I can be found in R613 and contacted at jgeorge@bournemouth.ac.uk if you have any ideas or challenges you’d like to discuss. I will be sharing my findings towards the end of my six weeks here.

I look forward to meeting you,

Jo

Support and Celebrate our Research Success at the FoL – come along!

Festival of Learning, Info Days

Support and Celebrate our Research Success at the FoL – come along!logo

We would love to see you at our Drop-in event ‘Research Reflections’ on the 16 July – feel free to attend for a session or two, or the whole day. Come along and hear about the huge range of Research taking place across the University, and support your fellow academics talking about their Research.

When: Taking place on Thursday the 16th of JULY in The Coyne Lecture Theatre in the Thomas Hardy Suite from 10am – 4pm.
Book now

Our confirmed speakers include:

10am Heather Hartwell, discussing the VeggiEAT project

10.40am Jamie Matthews discussing the international news coverage of the Japanese earthquake and consequent tsunami

10.55am Helen Farasat discussing her research with parents of children with eczema

11.10am Arjan Gosal – losing sight of trees for the honey

11.45am Angie Gosling

12.00 midday Sine McDougall on participating in Research

12.15pm Yeganeh Morakabati will speak about her experiences of teaching in Afghanistan

12:30pm Dan Weissmann, Anna Feigenbaum, Dan Jackson and Einar Thorsen exploring challenges that arise when working with data that is hidden, sensitive or obscured

12:45pm Elizabeth Rosser discussing her Marie Curie experiences

1.00pm Lunch

1.45pm Neil Vaughan, discussing his research into developing an epidural simulator

2.00pm Ashley Woodfall reflecting on the core conceptual struggle with a recently completed research project with children and those that make media for children

2.15pm Fabian Homberg will be observing and explaining petty corruption: An analysis of the “$20 sandwich trick”

3.00pm Carrie Hodges, Lee-Ann Fenge and Wendy Cutts speaking about their project which focuses on young people with disabilities.

3.15pm James Gavin will talk about his project looking at whether technology can be used to increase strength and balance in older adults

More speakers to be confirmed – please check our Blog posts for updates!

Book now