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98,735 unique visitors in one year! A review of the readership of the BU Research Blog

We regularly monitor engagement with our award-winning BU Research Blog using the fabulous Google Analytics tool. Over the past year engagement has been incredible. The stats below are based on the period 6 November 2013 to 5 November 2014 (1 year).

On average during this period the blog received 98,735  unique visitors, each spending approximately 3 minutes on the site. The blog is generally much busier on weekdays attracting between 250 and 1,200 unique visitors each day. In total there have been almost 200,000 page views.

The majority of our visitors came, unsurprisingly, from Bournemouth and Poole (23%), indicating that the blog is alive and well among BU colleagues. The next ten UK cities from which visitors most frequented the blog were:

  1. London
  2. Southampton
  3. Manchester
  4. Birmingham
  5. Edinburgh
  6. Sheffield
  7. Exeter
  8. Bristol
  9. Cambridge
  10. Bath

This map shows the locations of all the cities from where the blog has been accessed in the past year:

 

46% of all visitors are from outside of the UK and over the past year we have received visits from people based in 197 different countries. The top ten countries from which visitors most frequented the blog were:

  1. USA
  2. Philippines
  3. Spain
  4. India
  5. France
  6. Germany
  7. Canada
  8. Australia
  9. Italy
  10. Netherlands

Approximately 61% of visitors find us via internet search engines. The top search terms that led readers to our blog over the past year are:

  • sky
  • poverty
  • environment
  • Africa
  • USA
  • transport
  • Santander
  • help
  • good luck
  • jcr 2013 / journal citation reports 2013
  • BU Research Blog
  • welcome
  • sport
  • world poverty
  • tourism
  • Brazil
  • human resources
  • recommendation thesis
  • health and wellbeing
  • lay summary

29% of visitors are direct traffic, i.e. via the web address, the BU Staff Intranet, or the Daily Digest email. This is excellent as it shows that you lovely people who work at Bournemouth University are using the blog – hooray!

9% of visitors are referred to our blog by external sites. Our top referring sites are:

Over the year 25% of visits to the blog were made by returning visitors and 75% were made by new visitors.

Of those who access the blog direct (i.e. mainly BU staff) the 10 most accessed pages last year were:

This is all excellent news 🙂 We’re always open to receiving feedback about the blog – please email us at any time with any comments, suggestions, etc, or add a comment to this blog post.

If you would like access to add your own stories and posts to the blog then email Rhyannan Hurst (rhurst@bournemouth.ac.uk) and she’ll get you started!

Critical Review Of Vendor Lock-In And Its Impact On Adoption Of Cloud Computing

PG research

We would like to invite you to the next research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre for the new academic year, that will be delivered by Justice Opara-Martins.

 

Title: Critical Review Of Vendor Lock-In And Its Impact On Adoption Of Cloud Computing

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 19th November 2014

Room: P302, Poole House, Talbot Campus

 

Abstract:

Cloud computing offers an innovative business model for organizations to adopt IT services at a reduced cost with increased reliability and scalability. However organizations are slow in adopting the cloud model due to the prevalent vendor lock-in issue and challenges associated with it. While the existing cloud solutions for public and private companies are vendor locked-in by design, their existence is subject to limited possibility to interoperate with other cloud systems. In this seminar we will present a critical review of pertinent business, technical, and legal issues associated with vendor lock-in, and how it impacts on the widespread adoption of cloud computing. The talk in this seminar will reflect on the issues associated with interoperability and portability, but with a focus on vendor lock-in. Moreover, the talk will demonstrate the importance of interoperability, portability and standards applicable to cloud computing environments along with highlighting other corporate concerns due to the lock-in problem. The outcome of this seminar provides a foundation for future analysis and review regarding the impact of vendor neutrality for corporate cloud computing application and services. 

We hope to see you there.

Do you already have NERC funding? Then read on…..

Funding opportunities

This is a reminder that the Pilot Follow-on Fund closing date is 16.00 hrs on 18th December 2014. Panel interviews with applicants will be held in London on 26 February 2015.

This pilot round of the NERC Follow-on Fund has increased the previous maximum amount that could be applied for (£125k) to up to £250k (£200k at 80% FEC).  As part of the pilot, NERC has also introduced more flexible time scales, ie funding for projects lasting between 3 and 24 months.  These changes have been introduced to provide projects with the very best opportunity for commercial exploitation.

There is also an optional Pathfinder grant available to strengthen your market knowledge and make your Follow-on Fund application more persuasive for the Panel.

For further information go to the NERC website.

Please make sure that you contact your School’s Funding Development Officer for help and support.

 

 

NHS England – SBRI Healthcare Innovation Expo

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer

SPARK 2014 is a brand new opportunity to see the latest innovations developed to meet NHS needs alongside a national conference that brings together the Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs), industry partners and NHS leaders and clinicians.

The conference will be of interest to the following audience who are keen to know what the next innovations in healthcare are:

  • Clinicians
  • NHS Procurement and Research & Development Teams
  • NHS Senior Management Teams
  • Non NHS Providers of Health & Social Care
  • Local Enterprise Partnerships
  • Industry or companies who have a interest in the programme
  • Business Leaders
  • Academic Health Science Networks
  • Investors

The SBRI Healthcare programme  is an NHS England funded scheme to accelerate the development of new technologies for known health needs.  With over 100 companies in the SBRI Healthcare fold some of the key areas in which innovations are being developed are:

Cancer  : COPD : CVD : Diabetes : Dementia : End of Life : Hand hygiene  : Meds Adherence / Meds Optimisation : Mental Health : Long Term Conditions : Patient Safety : Patient Empowerment : Renal : Research Tools  : Telehealth / Telecare for People with Learning Disabilities.

Conference details: 10 December, QE II Conference Centre, London

Booking information including discounted rates for universities: click here

Proposed agenda: click here

 

User Experience (UX) Themed Call for KTPs

Funding opportunities, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, student research

 

The User Experience (or UX) KTP competition  has just opened .

The aim is to encourage new, enhanced forms of interaction between computing systems and the people who use them.   Proposals may address technologies that contribute to these new forms, such as sensing information about the user, or those that improve specific types of experience, such as mobile and wearable devices.

A launch event is being held in London on 14 November 2014. Registration is required.

 To find our more about this call and other KTP opportuntities please contact Rachel Clarke in R&KEO . Contact details are as follows: email: clarker@bournemouth.ac.uk or ring extension 61347.

Event for your students: How I Survived My First Year in Business: The Brutal Truth

The Centre for Entrepreneurship, in association with Business Mania the BU Student Society, is delighted to present How I Survived My First Year in Business:The Brutal Truth, a short talk by CfE entrepreneur, Robin Humphreyies.

Robin is one of the founding members of Static Games and White Pug and set up the business during his placement year with a team of seven.  Twelve months later, with £10,000 in equity-free funding and a successful trading record, Robin reflects upon his journey.  In his short talk, this student entrepreneur will consider the top 10 challenges faced during his immersion in the world of business and, more importantly, how he overcame them and what he learned. Audience members will then have the opportunity of asking Robin questions about his placement-year business.

When? 1pm Wednesday 26th November 2014

Where? Lawrence Lecture Theatre, Talbot Campus

Ever thought about becoming an entrepreneur?  Ever set up your own company?  Or just interested in business?  Then this snapshot session is for you.

Please note: this event is for BU students and members of staff only. Booking is essential. 

Book Now - How I Survived My First year in Business

About Robin Humphreyies and Static Games/White Pug

Robin Humphreyies is a final year student at Bournemouth University, on the Creative Technology course headed by Dr. Christos Gatzidis.  Static Games is the gaming arm of the student business, with White Pug being the trading arm for web and app development.  under the White Pug label, Robin and the team work directly with customers and white-label for local digital agencies.

Agenda

1:00pm:Arrival
1:15pm: How I Survived My First Year in Business:  The Brutal Truth by Robin Humphreyies, Founder of Static Games & White Pug
1:45pm: Q & A
2-3 pm: Coffee, Cake & Networking

 

RKEO Coffee Morning at the Retreat – Monday 17th November

The Research and Knowledge Exchange Office will be in the Retreat, Talbot Campus from 9.30 to 10.30am on Monday, 17th November.  Come and meet the team and discuss how we can help you.

Having recently restructured, RKEO have lots of new people for you to meet and you can also find out how the new teams within RKEO can support you.  Whilst you can come along and discuss any service that RKEO can support you with, we will have a particular focus on the Funding Development Team and how we can support your research applications.  This will include writing fantastic research proposals through our training initiatives; help improve the quality of your application through internal peer review; ensure the ethics of your proposal is sound; as well as cost the proposal for you, record it on RED and submit it to the funder.  We can also help you find the right funding opportunity for you and help you through the process for that funder, as well as identify potential collaborators and partners to strengthen your application.

Come along and get to know us and what we do and have a chat about your future research plans.

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.

 

RKE Ops and the RDU are no more – welcome the revamped Research and Knowledge Exchange Office

Two months ago we launched the revamped Research and Knowledge Exchange Office (RKEO). This signaled the end of the previous structure and with it the end of RKE Ops and the Research Development Unit (RDU). Going forth we are simply called RKEO.

RKEO is made up of three functional teams:

  • Funding Development Team
  • Project Delivery Team
  • Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team

This new structure mirrors the research life cycle and will ensure that academics get dedicated and high quality support throughout all parts of the research and knowledge exchange process. A summary of the remit of each of the new teams is provided below:

  • Funding Development Team: Support and advice with all pre-award activities, such as horizon-scanning, identifying funding opportunities, developing and submitting proposals, and development schemes such as the Grants Academy.
  • Project Delivery Team: Support and advice for all post-award activities, to include project and financial management of grants and contracts, ethics and outputs.
  • Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team: Support and advice for all corporate-level knowledge exchange initiatives, including business engagement, the Festival of Learning, research communications and research impact.

You can access information on the new structure, team members and the new structure chart here: http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/contact/

CfE Event this week! Mega Trends and Sustainability – an Insight from B&Q

Wednesday 12 November 2014
5:30pm arrival for a 6pm start
Executive Business Centre, 89 Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth, BH8 8EB

We are delighted to invite you to join us for a presentation by George Padelopoulos, Sustainability Manager for B&Q.  George will provide an insight into key challenges currently being addressed by B&Q around ‘Mega Trends’, ‘One Planet’ living, and global ethics.  What will be the impact of future consumer trends and climate change on our buying decisions? Will we still have BBQs and power drills sat in the shed all year round or will we simply ‘borrow’ them whenever we need them?

This is a free event for businesses, BU students and BU staff.  It is a great opportunity to network with colleagues and external businesses!  To book click here

 

Potential Changes to Horizon 2020 Priorities

The European Commission intends to introduce three major funding streams into Horizon 2020 and ditch six others, a draft plan obtained by Research Europe says.

The new focus areas for the 2016 and 2017 work programmes will be the Internet of Things, automated road transport and an approach to sustainable industrial production called “the circular economy”, according to the draft plan.

Work programmes for 2014-15 were built around 12 priorities, but only six of these—digital security, smart cities, energy efficiency, low-carbon energy, blue growth and food security—will remain for the next phase of the programme.

The six surviving priorities and three new ones will form the backbone for calls for proposals in pillars two and three, covering industrial leadership and the societal challenges. The document also promises a stronger role for the social sciences in 2016 and 2017.

The six areas to be downgraded are personalised healthcare, waste, water, mobility, disaster protection and tackling the financial crisis. They will no longer be considered as overarching focus areas, according to the plan. Instead, they are likely to be tackled through individual Horizon 2020 calls.

The 12-page draft has been developed on the basis of recommendations from about 20 advisory groups, as well as public consultations. It is still subject to alteration, but has been passed to member states’ representatives on the Horizon 2020 programme committee.

According to the document, the selected nine focus areas offer the best chance for Horizon 2020 to support EU policy goals, including economic growth and employment, the development of a digital single market and improved energy supply. They will also help the EU to raise its manufacturing success by developing emerging industries such as cyber-physical systems and 3-D printing, it says.

On the social sciences and humanities, the document says the Commission will include the disciplines as an “integral part in the conceptual design” of calls this time round. This follows a recommendation from the European Forum on Forward Looking Activities, or Effla, that non-technical solutions to problems should be given more emphasis. “A lot of the societal challenges are driven heavily by human behaviour, and that didn’t seem to be coming out sufficiently [in the last work programmes],” says advisory member Luke Georghiou, the vice-president for research and innovation at the University of Manchester.

The document also indicates that 2016-17 work programmes will more actively seek non-EU participation, as was recommended by member states. “Many topics will be flagged as being specifically relevant for international cooperation,” the document says, and specific funding will be offered “to ensure the right international partners are attracted”.

Other areas considered more important than before include public procurement to fund commercial R&D, the use of challenge prizes to solve particular problems, and gender studies. Measures will be taken to raise the participation of female researchers, it says.

The document is accompanied by 17 annexes setting out plans for each of the societal challenges and the enabling technologies for 2016-17, as well as the Future and Emerging Technologies, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and research infrastructures from the first pillar. These documents are the basis for the work programmes, due to be finalised in the second half of 2015.

But despite acknowledging that Horizon 2020 has more flexibility than Framework 7, Georghiou says the Commission could still do more to update its priorities, even after the work programmes are under way. “It’s an in-built problem, if you set out a programme that has a several-year horizon and is focused on societal challenges, that the nature of those challenges will evolve as the programme proceeds,” he says. “You can’t start with an initial list of topics and expect that to be unchanged, so you have to keep updating and revising it.”

BU subscribe to Research Europe, which is part of the many resources provided by ResearchResearch.  To find out more and to add Research Europe to your personal alerts, please see the recent post on Research Professional.

Apply for the Undergraduate Research Assistantship programme now!

Last week we announced the launch of the Undergraduate Research Assistantship (URA) programme and opened the call for applications for positions to run in semester 2 (see Launch of the BU URA programme). The deadline is fast approaching (14th November) so you will need to get your applications in soon (apply here).

Having a URA working with you has many benefits to both you and the student. These include:

  • Increased opportunity for co-creation between you and the student
  • Increased satisfaction for you and the student
  • Promotion of careers in academia and research to the student
  • Promotion of opportunities for postgraduate study to the student
  • The student will support you with your research

Picking up on this last point, this could include supporting you with undertaking a pilot study which could then be used to strengthen your application for external research funding. Typical duties of a URA include (but are not restricted to):

  • performing experiments and analysing the results
  • disseminating new knowledge orally or in written outputs
  • literature searches
  • presenting results at conferences
  • providing general research support to academics

You can apply for a URA position to run in semester 2 by competing this short application form and submitting it by 14th November.

BU Lecturer appointed CoE regional expert for media and reconciliation in South East Europe

The Council of Europe appointed Dr Argyro Karanasiou, Lecturer in Law and CIPPM member, as the regional expert for media and reconciliation in South-East Europe.

The conference “Media Impact in Reconciliation Process and Dialogue” held in Pristina, Kosovo in October brought together all project experts to discuss with the local community, journalists and civil society. Norway’s Ambassador to Kosovo and Albania, Jan Braathu opened the event, followed by Ambassador Rocco Antonio Cangelosi and Professor Nita Luci. Argyro delivered a keynote about the role of online media in reconciliation for post-conflict societies focusing on the potential new technologies hold for conflict transformation.

For more details see here 

Weekly HE Policy Update

Monday

Global competition

Key East Asian nations are emerging as ‘powerhouses’ in global higher education and research, leaving countries such as the UK, Canada and the US at risk. UK universities under increasing threat from Asian institutions  (The Financial Times)

Innovation and funding

An article by the BBC discusses how innovation is funded and how a mix of state and private funding is something academics should welcome, particularly to ensure that taxpayer funding research is able to translate into the commercial world.  Oxford’s robots and the funding of innovation (BBC News)

Tuesday

University Donations

The total value of donations worth £1 million or more to British universities fell last year, however, higher education remains the UK’s biggest recipient of major gifts. The annual Million Pound Donors Report from the bank Coutts, puts the total value of seven- and eight-figure donations to the sector during 2013 at £552.1 million, compared with £570 million during the previous year. The drop followed the end of the government’s three-year match-funding scheme for university donations. Overall value of big donations to universities falls (THE), Multi-million pound giving to universities increases (Telegraph)

Inequality

A study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies has found that pupils from less affluent backgrounds do not perform as well at universities compared to their peers from more affluent backgrounds, despite arriving at university with similar A-level grades. Institute for Fiscal Studies 

Wednesday

Fees

With “huge reluctance and regret”, the NUS has pulled its backing from this month’s ‘free education’ demonstration due to issues around access and liability insurance. NUS pulls support for ‘free education’ march (THE)

Thursday

Marking boycott

University lecturers have begun a marking boycott. The dispute is concentrated in 69 older institutions, where academics face having their pensions cut. Students may not see an immediate impact but the effect is likely to escalate, especially in universities that normally schedule end-of-term exams. Lecturers stop marking in pensions dispute (The Times), Universities warned over boycott pay docking (BBC News)

Friday

Student loans

Ministers have ruled out an urgent review of the sustainability of the student loans system despite being advised to do so by the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee. Government rules out student loans review (THE)

UCAS analysis

New analysis asserts that demand for studying at university is now at a record high. UCAS entry rates to higher education for 18 year-olds from the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in England have now reached 17 per cent.  One explanation for this is that a combination of the economic crisis and wider socioeconomic trends mean that young people believe it has never been more difficult to find a good job without a degree.  Additionally, the analysis shows that getting a place at a selective university has become around one A-level grade easier since the trebling of tuition fees. Rise in fees has made university entry easier (The Times) What’s behind the surprising success of raising tuition fees? (New Statesman)