/ Full archive

SDRC PGRs’ Social Media Engagement

PG research

PGRs within BU Sustainable Design Research Centre have recently launched facebook page, for showcasing their research and professional practice engagement and activities.

The activities of SDRC include four areas 1; “Tribology”, 2; Renewable Technology & Sustainable Design 3; Structural Integrity and 4; Design Education. The Centre has extensive experimental and analytical resources to assess wear mechanisms of rolling and sliding contacts, corrosion simulation, renewable technology and surface analyses. These include rotary tribometer, micro-friction machine, corrosion simulation chamber, solar-thermal heat transfer & thermal expansion bench testing, 2D and 3D surface analysis techniques.

SDRC has formed strong partnerships with national and multinational companies such as SK&F (Netherlands), Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), Future Energy Source Ltd, Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) Ministry of Defence, Schaeffler, Energetix, The Tank Museum, Poole Tidal Energy Partnership, Balmain Trust and has secured funding for conducting collaborative research.

Collaborative work is also being carried out with other universities such as Oviedo University in Spain, County Carlow Institute of Technology in Ireland, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee USA, PES Institute of Technology Bangalore India and National Institute of Technology Srinagar India.

Current SDRC Research Projects

A Condition Based Approach to the Tribology of RNLI Marine Systems

A Market Driven Standard for a High Quality Graduate

Defect Tolerance Assessment of Silicon Nitride in Rolling Contact

Electroplated composite coatings with incorporated nano particles for tribological systems with the focus on water lubrication

Element, Use and Meaning: Between the Vernacular and Current Interiors in Saudi Arabia, Eastern Region.

Experimental investigation and mathematical modelling of dynamic equilibrium of novel thermo fluids for renewable technology applications

In-situ corrosion health monitoring and prediction in military vehicles

Optimisation of Braking Systems and Sustainable Design in Traction Drive Passenger and Goods Lifts

Practice Based Design Research: Development of research models, methodologies and evaluation criteria appropriate to its intellectual culture.

Research and development in novel alternative renewable energy technology

Sustainable Methodology of Conserving Historic Vehicles

Tribological Properties and Performance of Bio-fuels on Internal Combustion Engines: an application to the Life Cycle Analysis of Refined Palm Oil (RPO) Bio-diesel

 

For research, enterprise or professional practice inquiries within SDRC themes please contact

Dr Zulfiqar Khan (Associate Professor)

Director SDRC

zkhan@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

Fresher’s, midwifery students and photographs!

Fresher’s week for midwifery students started with a hard copy photograph. The image had to depict themselves and what midwifery meant to them.  This was used as an ice-breaker for the very first session and students had five minutes to share their photo with the person next to them, before that person fed back to the group the student’s name, and how the photo depicted their commitment to midwifery.  The students were wonderfully creative and inventive. Many had accessed the 6 C’s and based their image around the values of care, compassion,  commitment and communication, all important attributes that midwives bring to the profession. Some photographs depicted the students with midwifery related objects such as stethoscopes, pinards, and fob watches, whilst others were shown working with children/adults and one even washing an elephant on an international placement! All shared a common theme, enabling and facilitating others.  

As an ice-breaker it worked particularly well as the room hummed with animated conversation, but there was a secondary purpose to the activity. It was also a  ‘dummy’ run to see if it would work as an interview activity for the forthcoming 2013-2014 selection days for under-graduate pre-registration midwifery students. The interview process to select new students consists of a number of activities, one of which was a team activity. In previous years students were asked to participate in fictionalized scenarios, which consisted of survival on a lifeboat with limited provisions, being stranded in a forest in the snow after a plane crash and latterly a ‘real life dilemma’ based around prioritizing staff requests for holidays in August or having Xmas and New Year off.  Students had to work as a team and after a twenty minute discussion agree on priorities relating to the particular scenario. These activities enabled the interviewers to see which prospective students were team players, which students actively contributed and whether anybody in particular dominated proceedings. During the 1:1 interview which followed, students were asked about how they felt they had contributed. It was interesting to compare interviewer gradings with the student’s own insight into their participation.

This year the current admissions tutors were keen to try something new – hence the photograph activity.  Prospective candidates will be asked to bring along a photograph to their interview and will have been directed to draw links to one of the identified 6 C’s and to articulate it during their presentation. Each candidate will be partnered with one other during the activity and then asked to feedback each others’ thoughts to the whole group. Interviewers will score the candidates on the following: Communication (verbal & non verbal), how the particular ‘C ‘ was verbalized, creativity of the photograph, listening skills and how the role of the midwife is identified. Ultimately as the activity will be time restricted it is hoped that the candidates will be able, through their photographs to summarize, with reference to the 6 C’s, the values and attributes of a midwife. 

If anybody is interested to know more about the process, please contact Midwifery Admission tutors on the West campus: Susan Mant on smant@bournemouth.ac.uk, and Sarah Emberley on semberley@bournemouth.ac.uk and on the East Campus: Jan Stosiek on jstosiek@bournemouth.ac.uk and Jane Fry on jfry@bournemouth.ac.uk. 

 

 

Congratulations to Emily Norton – School of Applied Sciences!

PG research

 At the UK’s leading remote sensing and photogrammetry society’s annual conference Applied Sciences’ postgraduate researcher Emily Norton’s presentation was awarded the President’s Cup for the best oral presentation out of the 45 delivered over the course of the three day event.

The conference theme was ‘Earth Observation for Problem Solving’ and Emily’s paper “The Prospection for Mass Graves: A Multi-Platform Approach” looked at the role and her recent results of using remote sensing techniques to locate mass graves. Two other Applied Sciences’ postgraduate researchers, Heather Papworth and Matthew Sumnall, also presented papers at the conference. The Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc) conference was held at the Hilton Glasgow Grosvenor Hotel between the 4th-6th September 2013, and was hosted by the University of Glasgow. The cup, after being engraved with Emily’s name as the 2013 winner, will be officially awarded at next year’s conference dinner by former BU Vice-Chancellor, Paul Curran, who is President of the Society.

Well Done Emily!

Paul Cheetham
School of Applied Sciences

New Process for Erasmus Mundus Partner Approvals

Erasmus Mundus grants are a fantastic source of EU funding. It is important that BU ensures Partners we link with as part of these awards are aligned to our strategic objectives or have a strong rationale for linking with them. In summer 2013 the BU Policy 7A Partnership Definitions and Models was amended to include Erasmus Mundus Partnerships under the ‘student exchange’ definition. This amendment ensures that partnership agreements under Erasmus Mundus will follow existing policies and procedures for student exchange developments, including 7B Partnership Approval, and 7H Student Exchange.

This means for the next round of Erasmus Mundus calls (anticipated April 2013), partners on these proposals must be approved by the International & UK Partnerships Committee (IUPC). To ensure the approval is a speedy process, a bespoke proposal form, template and process has been developed for Erasmus Mundus applications. Once approved by this committee, this will help ensure the Contract Agreement Form is produced much faster.
If you are approached to be part of an Erasmus Mundus proposal, or would like to coordinate one then you will need to complete the Partnership Development Proposal form a minimum of five weeks before the deadline. The full process and timescale can be obtained by contacting your RKEO Operations Officer who will guide you through this.

If you wish to participate in an Erasmus Mundus and have not notified R&KEO a minimum of five weeks in advance of the deadline, then you must make an appeal to your Deputy Dean Research & Enterprise and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Matthew Bennett.

What is BUCRU and what can we do for you?

What is BUCRU?

Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) is a model for supporting and conducting health related research in Dorset. It supports researchers in improving the quality, quantity and efficiency of research across the University and local National Health Service (NHS) Trusts. It does this by:

  • helping researchers with developing high quality applications for external research funding (including small grants)
  • ongoing involvement in funded research projects
  • a “pay-as-you-go” consultation service

How can BUCRU help?

BUCRU can provide help in the following areas:

  • Study design
  • Quantitative and qualitative research methods
  • Statistics, data management and data analysis
  • Patient and public involvement in research
  • Trial management
  • Ethics, governance and other regulatory issues
  • Linking University and NHS researchers

BUCRU supports Bournemouth University staff and researchers working locally in the NHS. There are no restrictions on topic area or professional background of the researcher. However we do have special interests in areas such as chronic disease and complex interventions.

How is it funded?  

BUCRU is partly funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and incorporates the Dorset office of the NIHR Research Design Service (http://www.rds-sw.nihr.ac.uk). Further funding comes from a variety of research grants and contracts.

Contact us:

You can contact us by:

Or pop and see us on the 5th floor of Royal London House!

Sexual Harassment, Tourism and Education – Fusion Investment Fund

Fusion

Funding provided by the BU Fusion Investment Fund will allow us to present our research idea at an international conference.  The project addresses the “present- absent” paradox of sexual harassment in tourism and hospitality. The prevalence of sexual harassment in the tourism and hospitality industry and other related sectors (such as, cruise lines and airlines) is widely recognised.  Studies indicate that the rate of incidents reported (by both men and women) is twice as high in comparison to other service industries, and that in most cases managers and peers are the harassers.  In spite of this, the subject has been overlooked by tourism research and higher education alike.

The proposed project raises the need to explore the potential of higher education in generating social change, by providing students with the foundations for responsible and ethical management.  The research aims to provide an understanding of the current state of tourism higher education in relation sexual harassment issues and the manner in which higher education can contribute to mitigating this negative phenomenon. As such, it will contribute to shaping the higher education curriculum in a manner which will prepare students to “the real world”, as well as address the needs of the industry. In the long run, this project has implications for the wellbeing of tourism employees and providers.

To achieve this, we seek the collaboration of tourism practitioners, students and educators. We hope that with the help of the Fusion Fund and through this conference presentation we will establish a network of collaborators to advance this research and pursue a research grant. The FIF team were extremely helpful in the application process, and the Fusion Fund has provided a great “kick start” to our new project!

AiMM Research Series

The Advances in Media Management (AiMM) research group continue their series of research presentations on Wednesday 30th October between 1-2pm (CG09). Dr John Oliver will present the findings of his research into how media organisations BSkyB and ITV have adapted to the New Media Environment. 

Researchers interested in areas such as new media,organisational adaptation and dynamic capabilities will find this presentation of particular interest.

Early Career Researchers – interested in working with policymakers?

AHRC-funded Early Career Researchers (ECRs) now have the opportunity to apply to join a training programme on Engaging with Government. The three day course will take place in February 2014 and is intended to offer insights into the process of policy making, help ECRs make links with policymakers, and aid in the development of skills needed to engage with policy. Specifically, the course will:

* Help you to see where your research could impact on and contribute to public policy
* Challenge you to consider the policy making process in detail, and how research fits into it
* Improve your influencing and communication skills that are needed to contribute to policymaking.

Eligible researchers are invited to submit applications; further information is available at http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/Funding-Opportunities/Pages/Engaging-with-Government.aspx. Be quick though, the deadline for applications is 21 October 2013.

Have you encountered BRAD yet?

Last month in response to requests from staff, we launched the BU Researcher/Academic Development (BRAD) programme. This is a tailor made framework of development sessions based on the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF) which you can dip in and out of, undertaking only those sessions you would find helpful.

This holistic framework provides professional and personal development in the key areas of:

A. Knowledge & Intellectual Abilities

B. Personal Effectiveness

C. Research Governance & Organization

D. Engagement, Influence & Impact

The programme comprises of a wide range of facilitated development sessions held on campus (by internal and external presenters), online research modules from Epigeum (so you can learn in your own time) and the Vitae’s RDF. The facilitated sessions cover everything from research skills to personal effectiveness, from using SPSS to creating impact through your research. The online training covers a range of topics from getting published to managing your research career which you can undertake at your own time. On the 16th of this month, we have ‘Personal Effectiveness’ facilitated by Dr Margaret Collins, which will deliver development in work-life balance, keeping focused, prioritisation and time management.

Undertaking the ‘My Academic Development Needs: Self-Assessment’ (MADNSA) will allow you to se your strengths an any gaps in your skills which you need to address in order to get where you want to be in your career (you can also use Vitae’s jazzy Excel version which is more detailed). 

You can read case studies of real academics to see how using the planner based on this assessment has helped transform their careers if you still need a little convincing to complete this and also the top 10 tips from researchers on using the framework.

Why not take some time for yourself and complete the MADNSA and sign up for some facilitated sessions, through the Staff Development webpages and log into myBU  BRAD community to view the online sessions?

It’s not too late to register for CoPMRE’s Tenth Annual Symposium!

The Centre of Postgraduate Medical Research and Education (CoPMRE) is pleased to announce its tenth annual symposium ‘Innovation in Medical Education and Research, promoting change’. The symposium is suitable for clinicians, academics, healthcare professionals and industry people (Pharma and Medical Device) with an interest in medical research and education.

The research session will concentrate on design, assessment and implementation of novel medical devices and how to take technological innovations into practice.  The education session will explore changes in medical training from school to revalidation, now and in the future.

Date: Wednesday 16 October 2013
Venue: Bournemouth University, Executive Business Centre, 89 Holdenhurst Road, BH8 8EB
Time: 9:00am – 4:30pm

Please ensure that you register for this event in advance.

Speakers include:

Siamak Noroozi
Chair in Advanced Technology, Bournemouth University
Key performance enhancement potentials of running with blades

Ian Swain
Director of Clinical Science & Engineering, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust
The use of electrical stimulation in Neurological Rehabilitation

Robert Middleton
Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Visiting Fellow, Bournemouth University
Medical Device Trials – The Bournemouth Experience

Chris Pomfrett
Technical Adviser, Research Commissioning, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
NICE evaluation of devices and diagnostics

Mike McMillan
CEO of NHS Innovations South West (NISW)
How to make it happen and keep the day job

Chris Stephens
Associate Dean (Education & Student Experience) University of Southampton
Southampton Medical School, now and the future

Richard Marchant
Assistant Director, Regulations Policy, GMC
Regulating Medical Education and Training

Peter Hockey
Deputy Postgraduate Dean, Health Education Wessex
Higher Training and the LETB

For more details please visit our website or contact Audrey Dixon

Economic Downturn affecting wellbeing of “Asset Rich, Cash Poor Older People.”

 

Interesting press coverage of Bournemouth University Research on wellbeing of older people.

Older people who are asset rich but cash poor are turning to health and social care providers rather than accredited professionals for financial advice, new research has suggested.

Research commissioned by ICAS (a professional body of Chartered Accountants) which involved interviewing sample groups of retired homeowners on modest incomes, care professionals and financial advisers found that none of the older people surveyed had heard of the Money Advice Service (MAS) and that the lack of trust in financial advisers was widespread.

Instead, many of the older people participating in the research admitted to asking friends, family members and health and social care workers – rather than accredited financial advisers – for advice on managing their income, pensions, investments and savings.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/money/spend-save/elderly-left-struggling-by-financial-advice-swap-8831775.html#

http://www.ftadviser.com/2013/09/25/ifa-industry/your-business/pensioners-pick-carers-over-professionals-for-advice-icas-eSdC2DCLQ4E05Vfc2wj8sO/article.html

http://www.pensionsworld.co.uk/pw/article/concern-as-%E2%80%9Casset-rich-cash-poor%E2%80%9D-turn-to-carers-for-financial-advice-12327791

http://www.accountancylive.com/croner/jsp/Editorial.do?contentId=2766588&BV_SessionID=@@@@0978686327.1380531902@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceadfldhmfielcflgceggdfnfdgfg.0&channelId=-601049

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130430092425.htm

Horizon 2020 is coming early!

The EC has announced an indicative timetable for Horizon 2020, with the adoption of the work programme and publication of the first calls for proposals on the 11th December 2013. If all goes to plan, the European Council and the Parliament will formally approve the H2020 legislative package in November/December, allowing the adoption of H2020’s work programmes and publication of the first calls.

 

Don’t forget that we still have spaces on our EU training sessions this month to help you identify funding and write a super application!

 

We also have indicators of calls coming up in Horizon 2020 placed on our I drive as this is strictly confidential and not to be circulated outside of BU – I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\European Related\Horizon 2020\Draft Work Programmes 2013

October is EU-tastic! The four sessions which give you all the EU funding info you need!

EU funding remains a bit of an enigma for most people. I remember how overwhelming I found it when I first began to unpick the tangle of the different funding strands, rules of participation, deadlines and conditions.Thankfully you don’t need to suffer in the same way. Horizon 2020 will be released soon (the replacement for FP7 and worth tens of billions of Euros) and I am here to guide you through it. As well as a Simple Guide to Horizon 2020 funding which I will release in early 2014 to demystify the funding schemes for you, I have arranged for four sessions to be held at BU in October to give you all the resources you need for your EU journey.

1. Health in Horizon 2020 

The European Commission National Contact Point for Health – Dr Octavio Pernas madea special trip to BU on October 7th to inform anyone interested in health research (from nursing care models to medical devices) of what to look out for under Horizon 2020 and expanding on other complementary funding programmes. The session detailed how you can make the most of the National Contact Points to help with your application. Slides from this presentation are available here: I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\European Related\Horizon 2020\Health in H2020 Presentation.  

2. All things Horizon 2020 and 1-2-1s with UKRO

Bournemouth subscribes to information services from the fabulous UK Research Office (UKRO) and for many years they have been providing us with the latest EU information on funding calls, policy and providing advice on how to make a great application.

They will be visiting on October 9th to tell you in simple terms what Horizon 2020 is, the areas which will be funded within it and how you can make the most of UKRO by help with finding partners and gathering key bits of information. The two hour session will be followed by 1-2-1 appointments where you can get advice on your specific area of expertise and ask anything you want about EU policy making or funding. You can book your place for the information session here  and for the 1-2-1s by emailing Dianne Goodman.

 

3. All things Marie Curie

You can’t fail to have heard me banging on about how wonderful these fellowships are and how pleased I am that they will feature in Horizon 2020. These grants are absolutely the best way to kick start your EU career and you only need one non-UK partner to apply. You can either apply to have an academic come to the university from another country or you can go to another country as part of the fellowship scheme. You can have a fellowship with an academic or with an industrial partner and you can even apply for entire departments to be involved in exchanges. I’m proud of how engaged BU colleagues are with Marie Curie and the grants we already hold from this scheme.

The session is divided into two parts with both being held on October 16th. The first is a brief intro to the schemes and the second is a more detailed session on how to approach and structure your bid. You can book your place for either session here.

 

 4. The tricks of writing a winning Horizon 2020 proposal

Having already had sessions providing you with an overview of the various funding opportunities within Horizon 2020, you need to know the tricks of writing a winning bid. Writing bids for the European Commission is quite a different skill to writing for UK funders and this session on October 17th will guide you through the journey. We’ve had some fantastic feedback from this session in the past and attending will help get you on the right path to create your proposal. You can book your place for the information session here.

Festival Impact Monitor Needs Students

Fusion

The Festival Impact Monitor project is currently recruiting students wishing to get involved with this 18-month long project which seeks to harness data available in social media networks to evaluate festivals. Its most recent vacancy is for a Social Media Manager. Interested students are asked to e-mail Nicole Ferdinand at nferdinand@bournemouth.ac.uk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journalism: New Challenges, free eBook published by CJCR

Publishing

Journalism: New Challenges (book cover)The Centre for Journalism and Communication Research (CJCR) is pleased to announce the publication of Journalism: New Challenges, edited by Karen Fowler-Watt and Stuart Allan.

The free e-book is available to download as a PDF on the CJCR website, where you can also download each chapter as an individual PDF. We have also made the book available via Dropbox (http://j.mp/Journalism-New_Challenges).

Journalism: New Challenges contains 29 engaging chapters prepared by academics and journalists, in addition to an introduction by the co-editors Karen Fowler-Watt and Stuart Allan.

In seeking to identify and critique a range of the most pressing challenges confronting journalism today, this book examines topics such as:

  • the role of the journalist in a democratic society, including where questions of truth and free speech are concerned;
  • the changing priorities of newspaper, radio, television, magazine, photography, and online news organisations;
  • the political, economic and technological pressures on news and editorial independence;
  • the impact of digital convergence on the forms and practices of newsgathering and storytelling;
  • the dynamics of professionalism, such as the negotiation of impartiality and objectivity in news reports;
  • journalists’ relationships with their sources, not least where the ‘spin’ of public relations shapes what’s covered, how and why;
  • evolving genres of news reporting, including politics, business, sports, celebrity, documentary, war and peace journalism;
  • journalism’s influence on its audiences, from moral panics to the trauma of representing violence and tragedy;
  • the globalisation of news, including the role of international news agencies;
  • new approaches to investigative reporting in a digital era;
  • and the rise of citizen journalism, live-blogging and social media, amongst many others.

The chapters are written in a crisp, accessible style, with a sharp eye to the key ideas, concepts, issues and debates warranting critical attention. Each ends with a set of ‘Challenging Questions’ to explore as you develop your own perspective, as well as a list of ‘Recommended Reading’ to help push the conversation onwards.

May you discover much here that stimulates your thinking and, with luck, prompts you to participate in lively debate about the future of journalism.

Journalism: New Challenges

Edited by: Karen Fowler-Watt and Stuart Allan
Published by: Centre for Journalism & Communication Research, Bournemouth University

ISBN: 978-1-910042-01-4 [paperback]
ISBN: 978-1-910042-00-7 [ebook-PDF]
ISBN: 978-1-910042-02-1 [ebook-epub]

Copyright © 2013

Open access and the post-2014 REF – consultation open

Research assessment

HEFCE, on behalf of the four funding councils, has launched a formal consultation on open access in the post-2014 REF (likely to be REF 2020).  The deadline for responses is 30th October 2013 and BU will be submitting an institutional response that reflects the views of the majority of staff.

To facilitate the production of the institutional response the Deans of Schools have been invited to each submit a School-based response taking into account the views of academic colleagues.  It is of paramount importance that academic and research staff engage with this consultation because:

  1. The proposals would significantly change how academics record outputs and add full-text publications to BRIAN/BURO in future.
  2. Some of the proposals are discipline-based and/or have the potential to affect disciplines differently.

 

open access logo, Public Library of ScienceOverview of proposals

The funding bodies propose the following criteria for open access:

  • Outputs should be accessible through a UK higher education institution (HEI) repository, immediately upon either acceptance or publication, though the repository may provide access in a way that respects agreed embargo periods.
  • Outputs should be made available as the final peer-reviewed text, though not necessarily identical to the publisher’s edited and formatted version.
  • Outputs should be presented in a form allowing the reader to search for and re-use content (including by download and for text-mining), both manually and using automated tools, provided such re-use is subject to proper attribution under appropriate licensing.

We propose that outputs fulfilling the following definition must meet these criteria to be eligible for submission to the post-2014 REF:

  • The output is a journal article or conference proceeding.
  • The output is published after a two-year notice period (from 2016 onwards).
  • The output lists a UK HEI in the ‘address’ field.

We are seeking views on which of the following approaches to exceptions would be most appropriate:

  • universal compliance of outputs meeting the definition, with exceptions on a case-by-case basis
  • a specified percentage for compliance. 

The full consultation document can be accessed here: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/rsrch/rinfrastruct/openaccess/

The consultation refers to the RCUK Policy on Open Access which can be accessed here: http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/research/Pages/outputs.aspx

 

How to contribute

To contribute to the consultation please send your comments using this form (consultation template) to your School contact by 11th October as follows:

ApSci – Prof Jim Roach

BS – Prof Roger Palmer

DEC – Prof Jim Roach

HSC – Prof Gail Thomas

MS – Stephen Jukes

ST – Prof Adele Ladkin (on behalf of Prof Keith Wilkes)

 

Timeline

Early October      Launch consultation internally

11th October       All individual feedback to be sent to the Deans

18th October       Each Deans to send a School response to Julie Northam

23rd October       Julie Northam to send a draft institutional response to URKEC and Deans

28th October       All final feedback to be sent to Julie Northam

30th October       Deadline for submitting final institutional response to HEFCE

Early 2014            HEFCE to announce final plans regarding open access and REF 2020