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PGR Development Fund Activity Report by Malik Almaliki: SciTech

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The International Working Conference on Requirements Engineering: Foundation for Software Quality (REFSQ) is one of the leading international forums in the area of Requirement Engineering for software systems. My main activity was to present a full research paper at this conference which was held in Essen, Germany, April 7-10, 2014. The paper was titled “Requirements-driven Social Adaptation: Expert Survey” and was collaboratively written with colleagues from University of Birmingham.

In this research paper I disseminated a part of my findings of the first year of my PhD. It reports on the results of a two-phase Expert Opinion study that was conducted to identify core benefits, domain areas, styles of use and challenges for the socially-adaptive software and users’ feedback acquisition. The study involved around 30 experts in Requirement Engineering and Adaptive Systems which also helped us to know how our vision in the area is perceived by the wider community.

The Graduate School PGR Fund provided me with a great opportunity to attend the REFSQ’14 conference and get my work published and recognized. Being able to participate in REFSQ’14 was one of the distinguished events in my PhD journey. It played a significant role in increasing my motivations and confidence and giving my research a visibility in such a well reputed venue. The  reviews of the paper and the feedback given by REFSQ’14 attendees were invaluable and, together with the constructive feedback and critiques,  helped me preparing well for the transfer exam which went very well.  This activity consolidated my presentation and communication skills.

I would like to thank the Graduate School for this PGR Development Fund which enabled me to have this great opportunity.  Participation at REFSQ’14 was a huge motive that pushed me step further towards a successful PhD journey.

PG Researcher Development Workshops

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WHAT’S ON in June 2014

  • Introduction to Bournemouth Research Information & Network (BRIAN) – 4 June
  • Managing Pressure Positively – 10 June
  • Nvivo (Day 1) Introduction – 16 June
  • Nvivo (Day 2) Advanced – 17 June (attendance Day 1 is mandatory – to register your interest in this workshop – please email pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk).  Numbers are restricted
  • Importance of Publishing – 18 June
  • Introduction to Case Studies – 24 June

Full details and sign up lists are available via myBU (Graduate School PGR Community).

Don’t forget that if you have both staff and student email accounts, you’ll need to log on with your student username and password.  Please check your student email account for email reminders.

Join us for a seminar on ‘Understanding Crowdsourcing and CCTV surveillance’

Staff and students are invited to join us for today’s Cyber Security Seminar…

‘Understanding Crowdsourcing and CCTV surveillance’

Tuesday, 27th May

Coyne Lecture Theatre 

4pm – 5pm

 

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) has many different uses but is often considered an archetypal surveillance technology. These infrastructures generate large amounts of data; so much so that the technique of crowdsourcing has recently been applied to the problem of searching for abnormalities in live surveillance video; the premise being that many inexpert watchers are cheaper but as efficient as a small number of experienced security experts. However, the merits of crowdsourcing watchers of surveillance video are largely unknown.

In this talk Dr. Paul Dunphy will describe exemplar infrastructures of this type, and two user studies that assess the performance of the watchers of CCTV video online. The results prompt a discussion regarding the effectiveness of using crowdsourcing in such contexts, and the role such infrastructures can play in society.

Speaker Bio: Paul is a postdoctoral researcher in the Culture Lab at Newcastle University. He is interested in multi-disciplinary approaches to understand and design security and privacy technologies.

 If you would like to join us for this presentation, please book your place via Eventbrite.

AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Awards Call: internal competition

Funding opportunities

The AHRC expect universities to exercise demand management for the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Awards call and therefore a special Research Proposal Review Service (RPRS) has been convened.

Therefore, colleagues wishing to submit an application to this call should adhere to the following time scale:

Colleagues are reminded of the following:

  • Throughout the development of their proposals, they should be liaising with RKE operations to ensure all the relevant costings and other bid information is developed in a timely manner.
  • Adherence to  AHRC guidance is crucial. In particular, colleagues should note that partnership working is especially important feature of this call. Notably from the guidance, the non-HEI partner is required to provide supervisory time and desk space as in-kind contributions. A written agreement is seen as essential for this partnership working alongside regularly reviewed project plans.

HSC postgraduate student speaks at Canadian Conference

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Pratik Adhikary spoke about his Ph.D. research at the American Canadian Conference for Academic Disciplines (Toronto: 19-22 May 2014).  Pratik presented the key findings from his thesis under the title ‘Health status and health risks to Nepalese migrant workers in the Middle East and Malaysia’.

Pratik is originally from Nepal and he conducted his research with male migrant workers who were returning to Nepal for definite or for a holiday/break.  He is supervised by Dr. Steve Keen and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen both in HSC.

 

Pratik’s study has been supported by Bournemouth University, the PGR Development Fund and the Open Society Foundations.

 

Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Sustentabilidade nas Universidades; Reflections on ERASMUS mobility – a personal and professional development opportunity

I have just returned from an ERASMUS training visit (to share and develop approaches for sustainable development) at the University of Beira Interior (UBI), Covilhã, Portugal. Such a rewarding experience!

Located on the slopes of Serra da Estrela, Covilhã looks out on a fertile valley, framed by mountains – a beautiful location, largely unfamiliar to people from the UK.

The city was once regarded as the ‘Portuguese Manchester’ for its long tradition in the wool industry and textile production, however like other textile towns production ceased, people moved away, and the social and economic consequences for the region were immense.

The University has brought new life to the area and is working towards enhancing the sustainability of the region. One of the most interesting characteristics of UBI is its focus on recovering the abandoned buildings that were formally part of the industrial production process and creating a better environment; retaining historical, cultural and architectural value, while developing sustainable educational facilities has been an important goal.

During my trip I had the opportunity to visit the various sites, give presentations and meet with colleagues. The University has five Faculties (Science, Engineering, Human & Social Sciences, Arts & Letters, and Health Sciences).

Particularly interesting was the tour of the University Wool Museum which is integrated into the science building, and reveals the archaeological structures of the early production process, sets out the historical development of technology, and provides insights on industrialisation. I came away from the tour, thinking of the various ways that this facility could be used to enhance learning for students on any course, not just those interested in science and technology. The motto of the museum “The Threads of the past weaving the future” left me thinking that when we focus on sustainable development, we often emphasise ‘future generations’ but we must also acknowledge and learn from the past.

My visit to the Rectory (housed in the former Convent of Santo António and their equivalent of OVC) also left me thinking. Firstly, they have made a fantastic job of restoration and conversion; they really could do with some students (as motivated as BU students) to reclaim the lovely terraces. Olive and fruit trees are largely over-grown; the space cries out to be developed as a sustainable garden. Secondly, they have made great use of space in the former chapel, however where the choir would formerly have sat, is now where doctoral candidates are judged – the jury type seating made it seem a really intimidating space compared to a room in Christchurch House, to defend a Thesis. And lastly, if I was a member of the senior team in such an idyllic spot, I would probably not be able to resist the urge to get out a hoe and create a vegetable plot – however the urge to just sit in the sun and admire the view, would also be strong!

It is always interesting to meet new colleagues, learn from their perspectives, and to talk with students. The students I presented to during my visit (on Sustentabilidade nas Universidades) were very impressed with what we are doing in the UK, and at BU, to address sustainability. They had lots of questions; later their tutor reported that not only were they were interested to know more but were also challenging her as to why BU students seemed to have a better experience. Some were very keen to come to Bournemouth.

Overall, I came away feeling enriched and with new perspectives. I would recommend an ERASMUS visit to others. Okay the paperwork can seem bureaucratic at first glance but don’t be put off, the rewards are high. I have published four co-authored papers as a result of my first ERASMUS visit; more collaborative outputs will follow. Further, the opportunity to develop broader cultural perspectives on research interests, enhance your language capability and to evaluate how higher education operates in another country is personally and professionally rewarding.

If you would like to make contacts at UBI please get in touch. I would be happy to help.

 

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Übersetzen: Translation of the MGI in German

Publishing

 

The Mother-Generated Index (MGI) is a validated tool to assess postnatal quality of life.  It was originally designed and tested by Dr. Andrew Symon (http://nursingmidwifery.dundee.ac.uk/staff-member/dr-andrew-symon) at the University of Dundee.    This instrument is usually administered several weeks or months after birth and correlates with indices of postpartum mood states and physical complaints. The instrument had not been translated into German before or validated for use among German-speaking women, nor have the results of the tool been assessed specifically for the administration directly after birth.  Our recent paper (Susanne Grylka-Baeschlin, Edwin van Teijlingen, Kathrin Stoll and Mechthild Gross) in Midwifery describes the systematic translation process of the MGI into German and to assess the convergent validity of the German version of the instrument directly after birth and seven weeks postpartum

Susanne Grylka-Baeschlin, as part of a European COST Action, has spent time at Bournemouth University’s Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health.  Susanne Grylka-Bäschlin is a Swiss midwife based at the Hannover Medical School, Germany, who studies cultural differences in postnatal quality of life among German-speaking women in Switzerland and Germany.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

 

CMMPH

Foot Lab: Call for Volunteers

How unique is a human footprint? What is the variability in a person’s footprint? How do human footprints vary with body mass?

These are just some of the questions that Professor Matthew Bennett is currently exploring and needs volunteers to help with his research.

He is looking for three types of volunteer:

  • Any adult – staff or student – who would be prepared to walk barefoot in a tray of sand leaving a dozen footprints and have their weight, height and age recorded. Some of you may remember doing this for a previous experiment back in 2007 and are encouraged to take part again. It takes no more than ten minutes and all the data, including digital scans or your footprints, are stored anonymously and cannot be traced back to you.
  • Any adult – staff or student – who is prepared to donate about an hour of their time to leave multiple barefoot tracks in the sand tray. We are looking for at least a hundred tracks per individual and this will involve you walking up and down the sand tray multiple times while we scan your tracks.
  • Any children accompanied by their parents (staff or student) of any age, from those that have just learnt to walk, to those that are approaching 17 years old. Some parents will have already seen that the Talbot Campus Nursery is involved and their children may be participating via that route.

The experiments have full ethical clearance from BU and you will receive full particulars and be asked to sign a consent form for yourself and for your children should they wish to get involved. All the data will be held anonymously and no individual will be identifiable from their data. The data will only be used to generate scientific results and publications.

The Foot Lab will be open to the public as part of the Festival of Learning 2014 on the 9 and 10 June, but the lab is open for BU staff and students from 27 May to 20 June.  It is located on the Talbot Campus in in CAG01a. Email Matthew Bennett to book a time for yourself, a group of colleagues, or for you and your children to come in.

Most times of the day (Monday to Friday) can be accommodated especially if you are bringing in children and may be able to open the Foot Lab for small groups at the weekend. For those studying or working on the campus the Foot Lab will normally open for two slots a day (Monday to Friday) between 10am and 11.30am and again in the afternoon between 3.30pm and 5pm.

SciTech postgraduate conference and poster presentation

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Yesterday the postgraduate researchers in the Faculty of Science and Technology (SciTech) held their annual showcase of their research projects. For the applied sciences students this took the form of 15 minutes presentations and the design, engineering and computing students presented posters.

Former PhD student Kathryn Ross opened the presentations in the Lawrence Lecture Theatre and likened the process of studying for a doctorate to taking part in a 100 mile walk. Kathryn was an inspiration to her peers, showing how hard work and persistence can get results. Her own PhD project investigating the effects of sea-level rise on the avocet population in Poole Harbour yielded new and interesting findings about the birds’ diet.

The subsequent presentations were outstanding, covering a wide variety of topics including how parasites impact eco-systems, volunteer engagement, the process of ageing fish and the spread of the domestic chicken through Europe.

The posters were equally impressive, featuring rescue robots, intelligent call routing and lie detector technology among others.

The work of the Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI) postgraduate researchers was strongly represented, including a remarkable project looking at adapted home environments for people living with dementia.

It was wonderful to see the amazing research being carried out by BU’s postgraduate community, with the support of their dedicated supervisors. I have no doubt many of them will make valuable contributions to their field in the future.

And to any postgraduate researchers reading this… If you would like to share your research more widely via the BU website or other channels, please do email me. I’d love to help you with that. Additionally, if you are interested in taking part in any public engagement activity, we have some great opportunities including a tent at Camp Bestival. If you like to find out more please email our Public Engagement Manager Barry Squires.

‘A Land of Wine and Beauty’

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion

A new Erasmus Fusion Investment Fund for staff mobility and networking was awarded to Dr Clive Hunt, Lead Academic – Design and Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology.  This follows a recent Erasmus partnership agreement between BU and the University of Applied Sciences (FHWS) in Schweinfurt, which is situated in Franconia, Germany – one of Europe’s oldest wine-growing regions and described as “a land of wine and beauty” by the Franconian Tourist Board.
As reported in a previous blog, the educational focus of FHWS is on design and engineering with a strong business/industrial focus.  Clive’s visit to Germany, which has now taken place, was for a period of five days and included six hours of teaching as well as networking with two of FHWS’s industrial partners – ZF and Bosch and Siemens Home appliances (BSH).  ZF is a worldwide leading supplier of dampers and clutches to the automotive industry and BSH’s product portfolio, which most will be familiar with, spans the spectrum of modern household appliances from stoves and ovens to small appliances like vacuum cleaners and coffee machines.
From visiting these companies, as well as talking to staff and students at the university, it became very clear that the mind-set of the German industrial sector was such that it saw an active role in undergraduate development.  Prof Dr Marcus Schulz of FHWS, explained that the German industrial sector saw placement students as being particularly valuable in helping to solve business problems and he commented that “the university’s industrial partners actually compete for students!”  Companies provide undergraduates with a five month placement opportunity as well as providing almost all students with a final year project (thesis).
To further the strategic partnership between our two institutions, Clive’s visit included meetings with the University’s Vice President, Prof Dr -Ing Bernhard Arndt as well as Prof Dr Uwe Sponholz, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Engineering.  Developing joint research projects as well as encouraging student mobility between our two institutions is clearly a priority of FHWS and this aligns to the Faculty of Science and Technology’s (SciTech) own interest in furthering research and academic collaboration. From the beginning of next academic year FHWS will be delivering its courses in English which will provide SciTech students with an opportunity to study part of their degree abroad, providing units at BU can be aligned with theirs and delivery problems in terms of timing, etc., can be overcome.
One area in which FHWS is keen to develop its research is around creativity and ideas generation by engineers and their managers and the university has recently developed one of its teaching spaces into a “Creative Cube” for this purpose.  This room consists of a 70” touch screen computer, webcams, video cameras, an ambience ceiling with 40,000 LED’s, iPads, notebooks, relaxing chairs, a device that changes the smell of the room as well as having walls that are magnetic and which can be written on.  If there are any colleagues, here at BU, who would like to get involved in a joint pedagogical research project between ourselves and FWHS, that considers how learning is impacted upon by the environmental conditions of a teaching space then please get in touch with Clive (chunt@bournemouth.ac.uk).

IT as a Utility Community conference

As part of the community, BUCSU is supporting Southampton University with this UK network.

IT as aUtility: Network+ community conference

                                             Thursday 19th – Friday 20th June 2014

This will be a two-day presentation and reflection on the achievements so far and the future plans of the RCUK-funded IT as a Utility Network+. The event will be an opportunity to further examine the role of IT utilities in the digital economy both now and in the future.

If you are interested in booking onto this event, please book your place via Eventbrite.

In addition to this, BU will be hosting a ‘Data as a utility and analytics as a service’ workshop at the Executive Business Centre on Monday 9th June from 12pm – 6pm.

Collaboration between BU and China!

Last week Dr Biao Zeng organised a seminar with guest speaker, Jianfang Cheng, Deputy Chief of the Zhongguancun Science Park London Office.  Zhongguancun Science Park is a consortium of hi-tech industry and is often referred to as China’s ‘Silicon Valley’.

Dr Zeng invited colleagues and students from across the Institution to attend this seminar and find out more about how we can build a partnership with various companies who are based at the Park.  Ms Cheng was keen to find out about the key areas of research at BU and to explore whether there were research and collaboration opportunities between BU and Zhongguancun Science Park.

Rachel Clarke – KTP Officer

clarker@bournemouth.ac.uk

Money Available for Open Access Publishing!

Publishing

Back in April 2011 we launched the BU Open Access Publication Fund. This is a dedicated central budget that has been launched in response to, and in support of, developments in research communication and publication trends. The fund is also to support research in complying with some of the major funding bodies who have introduced open access publishing requirements as a condition of their grants.

The fund is available for use by any BU author ready to submit a completed article for publication who wishes to make their output freely and openly accessible.

If you are interested in applying to the fund then you need to email Pengpeng Hatch in RKEO with the following information:

  • Name of the open access publication
  • Confirmation this will be a peer reviewed paper
  • A short justification (1 paragraph) of why it is beneficial for your research to be published in this particular open access publication
  • The cost of the open access publication
  • Likely publication date
  • Likely REF Unit of Assessment (UOA)
  • A copy of the paper

If you have any questions about the Fund then please direct them to Shelly via email.

Further information: BU Open Access Fund policy

PGR Development Fund Activity Report by Gail Ollis, SciTech

PG research

ACCU 2014

(ACCU 2014: The conference for developers. Bristol, April 2014. accu.org/index.php/conferences)

Introduction

ACCU is an organisation for software developers which champions professionalism in programming. Its members and conference delegates are exactly the kind of audience my research must reach to be relevant in influencing professional software development practice.

Funding from the Graduate School enabled me to attend the ACCU annual conference, an ideal place to discuss my research findings and their practical applications. I reached an even larger audience than I had hoped: to date, more than 50 have attended my presentations and I have talked to many others informally. Speaking for ACCU also generated an unforeseen bonus: a new student placement relationship.

Engagement and impact

In my session entitled “What programmers want” I presented themes that have emerged, in my research interviews, about how actions taken by peers make a software developer’s job harder or easier. I also included an audience activity to let people try for themselves a card-sorting technique I developed for use in the interviews.

The ‘buzz’ in the room during the activity was extraordinary; everyone engaged with discussing just how much they are affected by the various good or bad peer behaviours listed on the cards. In my research I used the cards to prompt individual participants to talk about a wide range of activities that their job involves. It was evident from the audience response that the cards also function very well as a catalyst for group discussion; several people have asked for a copy to use in this way at their workplace.

Research project benefits

The session finished with a discussion and the audience was keen to contribute by sharing thoughts and questions inspired by my presentation and the activity. It is encouraging to find that my work is meaningful, interesting and useful to the people whose profession it concerns. Their feedback will play an important role in shaping how the research proceeds from here.

Personal development

 

Being a speaker at ACCU 2014 also led to invitations to speak to the local ACCU groups in Oxford (February 2014) and Bath/Bristol (planned for June 2014).  Presenting the material a second time has been a fantastic opportunity to refine my presentation skills by exploring different approaches to the same material.

Other benefits

As a direct consequence of the Oxford talk, a new student placement relationship has been set up between BU’s computing department and a company in Abingdon.

Conclusion

This was a great opportunity to share my research with the professional community. Many software developers are now aware of this work at BU and find it relevant and useful to their workplace. It is a tremendous encouragement to have established that my research makes sense to the people it is for.

Photos – courtesy of Anna-Jayne Metcalfe, @annajayne

GS Santander Mobility Activity Report by Jonny Branney – HSC

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BRITSPINE 2014

Introduction

I was delighted to present the results of my PhD work in a presentation entitled “Does spinal manipulation change cervical inter-vertebral motion?” at BritSpine 2014. BritSpine is the largest and most prestigious spine research conference in the UK so it was a privilege to have had my abstract accepted for oral presentation. This provided the opportunity to experience presenting my work to some of the main spine researchers from around the world and promote myself as a researcher, and Bournemouth University.

Personal Development

I received valuable feedback on my presentation from the President of the Society for Back Pain research, and fielded audience questions from none less than the President of the British Association of Spine Surgeons, and the Chair of the United Kingdom Spine Societies Board who is Professor of Spinal Surgery, University of Oxford. My supervisor, who attended with me, was very pleased with how the presentation went and my competent answering of audience questions. This being my first large professional conference presentation, I feel much more confident in my presenting skills and in presenting at future conferences, an important part of being a researcher. The peer-review provided by this experience will also help as I finalise the writing-up of my thesis.

After finishing my presentation I was pleased to relax and enjoy the rest of the conference, attending presentations on the latest approaches to diagnosing and treating spinal problems. This allowed me to learn about (and critically evaluate) the methodologies used by other researchers, as well as staying up-to-date with developments in the spine research field.

Summary

The experience has been hugely worthwhile as I prepare to submit my thesis and embark on the next stage in my career. Many thanks to the Graduate School and Santander Universities for enabling me to attend BritSpine and gain this valuable experience.

 

Jonny Branney
PhD student, School of Health and Social Care
http://staffprofiles.bournemouth.ac.uk/display/jbranney