Tagged / BU research

Assistive Technology Symposium 2019

conferences

Dr Huseyin Dogan and Dr Paul Whittington from the BU Human Computing Interaction Research Group, hosted the second Assistive Technology Symposium at Talbot Campus in support of the BU2025 Strategic Investment Area of Assistive Technology. The Symposium was a fusion of research domains, including digital health, education technologies and user experience.

The Symposium was opened by a keynote presentation by Steve Tyler, Assistive Technology Director at Leonard Cheshire, who discussed the current developments in Assistive Technologies and the potential challenges. Steve also described the Leonard Cheshire projects, including MySense, a Predictive Health Analytics system that non-intrusively monitors to provide a holistic view of the person.

Other presentations during the day included the current BU research projects of SmartAbility and FACETS, as well as by the BU Additional Learning Support department, who discussed learning strategies through metacognition. We also welcomed speakers from the Dorset Integrated Care System, London Grid for Learning and Diversity and Ability. The Symposium was concluded by a panel discussion with the speakers, to discuss the developments and challenges of assistive technology.

The Symposium delegates have expressed positive feedback from the event, including “a number of very useful and insightful presentations”, “the Symposium was beneficial because it was an opportunity to meet like-minded people” and “good to know what is going on at BU”.

BUHCI would like to thank all of the speakers and delegates for a successful Assistive Technology Symposium and we will host the third Symposium in 2020.

The presentations from the Symposium can be downloaded here.

Update to HRA’s data transparency wording for Participant Information Sheets

Guidance, NHS, Research Ethics

Following the implementation of GDPR in May of this year, the Health Research Authority released transparency wording for use in Participant Information Sheets.

The recommended wording for data transparency has been updated following consultation with various stakeholders and public involvement and feedback on the initial published wording to provide a clearer more layered approach.

The user group developed a short summary text for the Participant Information Sheet which is supplemented by a generic leaflet. The text for both is now live on the HRA website.

What information should be used in my PI Sheet?

The HRA website section is here. Click on ‘Transparency wording for all sponsors’ – this will take you to this page which contains the information to be used.

To access the text to be used in preparing the leaflet to accompany your PI Sheet, click here. If you are on the HRA website section, the text appears once you click the heading ‘Template wording for generic information document’.

What does the revision in text mean for me?

  • If you have already updated your information sheets with the previous wording, you do not need to do anything.
  • The revised wording can be uses for new studies, but the HRA will accept the previous wording if you have already submitted your application or prepared your information sheet for submission.
  • If you do wish to change your wording to the new text, please email Research Ethics so that your participating sites can be contacted.

 

If you have any queries or concerns please email Research Ethics.

Photo of the week: ‘A place of meeting and reflection’

Telling a story of research through photography

The ‘photo of the week’ is a weekly series featuring photographs taken by BU academics and students for our Research Photography Competition which took place earlier this year.

These provide a snapshot into some of the incredible research taking place across the BU community. 

This week’s photo of the week was taken by Catherine Guttman and is titled;

‘A place of meeting and reflection’

This drone image of the confluence is the meeting place of the River Teme and River Severn, an area I worked across during my PhD at BU. I tagged freshwater fish, barbel, and followed their movements up and down these two rivers using hydro acoustic transmitters and receivers. Now that I’ve graduated from my PhD I take a moment to reflect upon how the research will help to inform management and conservation. I have disseminated the findings to the environmental charity, environmental regulator and the stakeholders, the barbel fishing clubs over the last few months.

We are lucky that we have another PhD student now following up this work, looking at how movements may change once some of the river barriers are removed. The image shows the water from the two rivers mixing together as they run alongside each other, but despite their differences in temperature, turbidity and flow, the barbel were able to regularly move between these two rivers, potentially to exploit different feeding or refuge habitats.

If you have any questions about the photo of the week series or the competition please email research@bournemouth.ac.uk

NERC standard grants (January 2020 deadline) – internal competition launched

Funding opportunities

NERC introduced demand management measures in 2012. These were revised in 2015 to reduce the number and size of applications from research organisations for NERC’s discovery science standard grant scheme. Full details can be found in the BU policy document for NERC demand management measures available here.

As at January 2019, BU has been capped at one application per standard grant round. The measures only apply to NERC standard grants (including new investigators). An application counts towards an organisation, where the organisation is applying as the grant holding organisation (of the lead or component grant). This will be the organisation of the Principal Investigator of the lead or component grant.

BU process

As a result, BU has introduced a process for determining which application will be submitted to each NERC Standard Grant round. This will take the form of an internal competition, which will include peer review. The next available standard grant round is 14th January 2020. The deadline for internal Expressions of Interest (EoI) which will be used to determine which application will be submitted is 27th September 2019.  The EoI form, BU policy for NERC Demand Management Measures and process for selecting an application can be found here: I:\RDS\Public\NERC Demand Management 2020.

NERC have advised that where a research organisation submits more applications to any round than allowed under the cap, NERC will office-reject any excess applications, based purely on the time of submission through the Je-S system (last submitted = first rejected). However, as RDS submit applications through Je-S on behalf of applicants, RDS will not submit any applications that do not have prior agreement from the internal competition.

Following the internal competition, the Principal Investigator will have access to support from RDS, and will work closely with Research Facilitators and Funding Development Officers to develop the application. Access to external bid writers will also be available.

Appeals process

If an EoI is not selected to be submitted as an application, the Principal Investigator can appeal to Professor Tim McIntyre-Bhatty, Deputy Vice-Chancellor. Any appeals must be submitted within ten working days of the original decision. All appeals will be considered within ten working days of receipt.

RDS Contacts

Please contact Lisa Andrews, RDS Research Facilitator – andrewsl@bournemouth.ac.uk or Jo Garrad, RDS Funding Development Manager – jgarrad@bournemouth.ac.uk if you wish to submit an expression of interest.

BMC blog on latest HSS paper

international, open access, PG research, Publishing, writing

Dr. Rachel Arnold’s recent paper in BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth was highlighted in a blog promoted by the publisher.  The paper ‘Villains or victims? An ethnography of Afghan maternity staff and the challenge of high quality respectful care‘ reports on the everyday lives of maternal healthcare providers working in a tertiary maternity hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan (1). BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth is an Open Access journal so the paper is available free of charge to anybody in Afghanistan (and elsewhere) with an internet connection.  The aim was to understand the staff’s notions of care, their varying levels of commitment to providing care for women in childbirth, and the obstacles and dilemmas that affected standards, and thereby gain insight into their contributions to respectful maternity care, whether as ‘villains’ or as ‘victims.’

Dr. Arnold is Postdoctoral Midwifery Researcher in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH).  This is the third paper from Rachel’s excellent PhD project, the previous two papers appeared in BJOG and Social Science & Medicine (2-3).

Click here for BMC Blog post:

Villains or victims? The role of maternity staff in decreasing or enhancing respectful care

Reference:

  1. Arnold, R., van Teijlingen, E., Ryan, K., Holloway, I. (2019) Villains or victims? An ethnography of Afghan maternity staff and the challenge of high quality respectful care, BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 19 :307 https://rdcu.be/bPqlj
  2. Arnold R., van Teijlingen E, Ryan K., Holloway I. (2015) Understanding Afghan health care providers: Qualitative study of culture of care in Kabul maternity hospital, BJOG 122: 260-267.
  3. Arnold, R., van Teijlingen, E., Ryan, K., Holloway, I. (2018) Parallel worlds: an ethnography of care in an Afghan maternity hospital, Social Science & Medicine 126:33-40.

 

Academic Publishing – Writing Days

PG research, Publishing, Training, writing

A series of writing days have been organised to help support BU authors work on their publications by providing some dedicated time and space, away from everyday distractions, supported by RDS staff.

The days will have a collaborative focus on productive writing with other BU authors and the RDS team will also be on hand to provide authors with help and guidance on all areas of the publication process. The objectives for the day are :

  • To give authors time and space with like minded individuals to produce publications
  • To gain some insights and tips into how to manage writing time within daily routine

Writing Days have been scheduled on the below dates:

  • Thursday 5th September
  • Wednesday 6th November
  • Monday 13th January
  • Friday 6th March
  • Thursday 14th May
  • Tuesday 14th July

See the page on the intranet to book

RKEDF: Research Training and Events in September 2019

Funding opportunities, Publishing, Training, writing

We have some great events coming up over the next few weeks to help support you in your research activities. These events are delivered as part of the overarching Research and Knowledge Exchange Development Framework –  RKEDF.

Wednesday 4th September:

Introduction to Research Data Management and Open Data,

11:00 – 13:00 on the Talbot Campus

For any academic or PGR who wishes to develop their Research Data Management (RDM) best practice.

Booking and more information.

 

Thursday 5th September:

Research Output Writing Day

09:00 – 17:00 at a Bournemouth venue

For BU authors to work on their research outputs, free from everyday distractions and with a collaborative focus on productive writing with other BU authors.

Booking and more information.

 

Tuesday 10th September:

British Academy Visit

11:00 – 14:00, Talbot Campus, Fusion Building, FG04

Members from the British Academy will provide an overview of the British Academy, the type of funding offered, their grant-awarding processes, key considerations and short presentations from current award holders.

Booking and more information.

 

Thursday 12th September:

GCRF Best Practice Workshop

09:30 – 16:00, Talbot Campus, Fusion Building, FG04

The GCRF Panel invites academics involved, or wishing to be involved in ODA related research projects to a one–day workshop/’wash-up’ to review best practice, identify future synergies and to highlight common issues and challenges confronting GCRF projects at the University.

For booking and more information contact RKEDF.

 

On the RKEDF intranet page, training events have been grouped around your needs, so if, for example, you are an Early Career Researcher or need to know about external funding, you can click on the link to find a tailored list of all the RKEDF sessions that may assist you. You can also find related events by using the link on each session’s page.

You can also see all the Organisational Development and RKEDF events in one place on the handy calendar of events.

Please note that all sessions are now targeted, so look closely at the event page to ensure that the event is suitable for you. In addition, many RKEDF events now require the approval of your Head of Department (or other nominated approver). Please follow the instructions given on the event page and the template email for you to initiate the booking request.

If you have any queries, please get in touch!

 

 

Book a 1-1 with the British Academy

Senior members from the British Academy are visiting on

10th September, 11:00 – 14:00 (FG04)

They will provide an overview of the British Academy and its remit, the type of funding offered, their grant-awarding processes, and some key considerations. Then a selection of BU award-holders will give short presentations on their experience of the application and project management processes. There will be opportunities for questions and discussion. The event will be followed by a networking lunch. See the intranet page for more information and how to book.

During the lunch period, 8 one-to-one sessions will be available to be booked with the British Academy staff. If you are interested in booking one of these slots, please contact the RKEDF team with details of the particular scheme you wish to apply for or topic you wish to discuss.

 

STEM for Britain 2020 – Call for Posters

STEM for Britain, hosted by the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, is a poster competition for early-career researchers, and will take place in the Houses of Parliament on Monday 9th March 2020.

Applications for posters will open on Monday 23rd September 2019 to early career research scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians to exhibit posters in one of the following five areas:

  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Chemistry
  • Engineering
  • Mathematical Sciences
  • Physics

Prizes will be awarded for the posters presented in each discipline which best communicate high level science, engineering or mathematics to a lay audience.

BU is inviting expressions of interest from those who would like to apply. Please email Lisa Andrews, RDS Research Facilitator with two sentences on what your poster would cover.

Full details of the competition and exhibition, including the application form will be made available on www.stemforbritain.org.uk from 23rd September.

Training opportunity – completing and submitting your IRAS application

Guidance, NHS, Research Ethics, Training

Are you currently in the process of designing, setting up or planning your research study, and would like to extend your project into the NHS?

Yes? Then you may want to take advantage of this training opportunity.

Oliver Hopper (Research & Development Coordinator, Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital) and Suzy Wignall (Clinical Governance Advisor, RDS)  will be running a training session on how to use, and complete your own application within the IRAS system.

IRAS (Integrated Research Application System) is the system used to gain approvals from the NHS Research Ethics Committee and Health Research Authority, before rolling out your study to NHS Trusts. To support this, the session will include the background to research ethics and the approvals required for NHS research.

The session will also be interactive, and so as participants, you will have the opportunity to go through the form itself and complete the sections, with guidance on what the reviewers are expecting to see in your answers, and tips on how to best use the system.

The training will take place in Studland House – Lansdowne Campus, room 103, Tuesday 20th August at 09:30am – 12:30pm.

Get in touch with Research Ethics if you would like to register your interest and book a place.

Newton and GCRF funding opportunities

Funding opportunities

The UUKi International Partnerships team have recently launched a new GCRF funding bulletin which sits alongside the existing Newton Funding bulletin.

If you haven’t already signed up to receive the GCRF funding bulletin, you can do so here: GCRF bulletin sign up.

Please also feel free to share the link to subscribe with your collaborators and partners in GCRF countries of focus too.

UUKi sub-Saharan Africa Policy Network update

Funding opportunities, international

UUKi sub-Saharan Africa Policy Network

The next UUKi sub-Saharan Policy Network will take place at Woburn House, London on Wednesday 18 September, 1400 – 1630. The meeting will include a focus upon student recruitment in the region and will also include an update from the HMG cross Whitehall Africa Strategy team. Other speakers will be confirmed over the next couple of weeks. If you haven’t already, please do sign up via Eventbrite. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/uuki-sub-saharan-africa-network-tickets-63104694841

 

BU Research Showcase

Fusion

Flourishing with Fusion is the theme for this year’s research showcase for Mid-Career Academics.

This event will explore how fusion works in practice, and how engaging with research at BU can enhance your career. It will showcase the exciting work of a number of BU academics, and there will be a panel for Q & A.

POSTPONED from Wednesday 4th September  – a new date will be announced shortly. Contact RKEDF for more information.