BU Research Blog

May 30, 2022

Raise the profile of your research in the media – join the next Public Engagement with Research Network meeting

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Training Adam Morris

We’re pleased to announce our first in-person meeting of the network for over two years! Come along to enjoy refreshments and meet colleagues also interested in public engagement.

The Public Engagement with Research (PER) Network is a place for BU staff to learn, network, share best practice and collaborate. In this meeting we’ll look at how you can engage with the media to boost the profile, reach and impact of your research.

We’ll hear from Nathaniel Hobby (BU PR And Corporate Communications Manager) on how to attract media coverage for your research, and how to handle the media to ensure they understand your key messages.

You’ll have the opportunity for questions and discussion. The room is open for half an hour both before and after the meeting, for refreshments and networking.

This meeting will be held in F310, Fusion Building, Talbot Campus at 2-3pm on 22 June.

The meeting is open for anyone to turn up, but for catering purposes it’s really useful if you register ahead, just sign up in two clicks below and you’ll be invited to the meeting. You can also join the network.

May 29, 2022

Learn how to evaluate your public engagement

Public engagement, Training Adam Morris

Evaluation is important for measuring success, reporting to funders, assessing impact and improving your work. Join this training session to learn how.

Evaluation is about proving and improving. It can help you better understand your audience and ensure that you are making a difference.

We’ve organised an interactive session with industry leaders the NCCPE, to look at why evaluation is important, ways to get started, exploring different techniques, and to consider what evaluation can tell you, your organisation and funder.

We’ll also focus on how to conduct evaluation, participating in practical activities and discussion to demystify evaluation and find the fun in revealing the effectiveness of your work.

These sessions are aimed at people with some experience or awareness of public engagement with research; however, the session will be open to all experience levels.

This session will take place online Tuesday 28th June 09:30 – 12:00.

Sign up now

March 14, 2022

Take part in a national festival of public engagement with research

Festival of Learning, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement Adam Morris

We will shortly be launching the call for applications for this year’s ESRC Festival of Social Science.

What is the ESRC Festival of Social Science?

The ESRC Festival of Social Science is an annual, UK-wide, free celebration of the social sciences, usually taking place during November. BU have been involved in the festival for over a decade, running our own internal selection process and delivering up to ten activities per year.

The festival aims to encourage, support and create opportunities for social science researchers to engage with non-academic audiences.

Why should I take part?

The festival is a prestigious initiative by a major research funder, and BU’s continued involvement is justified by the quality of our events and activities. Being part of this festival is an achievement worth citing and celebrating.

It is an excellent opportunity to engage people outside of academia with your research and with the benefit of co-ordinated support and promotion from RDS and the ESRC.

You can apply for up to £1000 to deliver your project.

What if I’ve never done any public engagement before?

Everyone has to start somewhere, and this is the ideal place. You’ll have access to comprehensive support, advice and training throughout. If you’re unsure, seek out a more experienced colleague to collaborate with.

Can I apply if I’m not a social scientist?

The ESRC says that events must “feature social science (ideally with a social scientist involved in the event)”. If this doesn’t clearly apply to you, consider these options;

Does your research have clear implications for society that could be explored from a social science perspective?
Could you collaborate with a social scientist, combining your resources and creativity to explore the impact of your research? If you’re looking for a collaborator, the Research Blog or BU website are great places to start or contact us for help.

What will I be expected to do?

You’ll be expected to;

Familiarise yourself with best practice for public engagement with research. Whether you’re new to this or experienced, there’s always room to improve.
Apply to our internal panel
If successful, attend an initial training session to start out right
Plan, deliver and evaluate your activity or event, working with the public engagement team to shape your project into an impactful, professional and fascinating experience.

What support will I get?

Being part of this festival means a higher level of support and reach than we are normally able to provide.

Before applying, you’ll have access to:

A dedicated session of the Public Engagement with Research (PER) Network, featuring previous event holders.
Bookable one-on-one advice slots with BU’s Engagement Officer.
Detailed applicant guidance to help you apply.

When your application is successful, you’ll get:

A half-day training session from an expert external public engagement trainer
Continuing advice and support from BU’s public engagement team on all areas of planning, promoting delivering, evaluating your activity.
The promotional boost from being part of a huge national festival.

What next?

If you’re interested in applying, here’s what to do next;

Look out for the next PER Network session. It’ll be promoted here on the blog, or join the Network now in a couple of clicks to stay up to date.
Explore previous events from BU and examples from around the country.
Start brushing up on how to make public engagement work for you. A great place to start is BU’s own video guide to getting started in public engagement with research (Brightspace). You can also browse guidance and case studies from the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE).
Book an advice slot – once available.

We’ll provide more information on applying to the ESRC Festival of Social Science on this blog and the PER Network over the coming weeks. If you have a question in the meantime, please email the team.

November 23, 2021

Join the next meeting of the Public Engagement with Research Network

Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Training Adam Morris

We’ll hear from Dr Mel Hughes and colleagues about PPI (Public and Patient Involvement in Research) and a new internal funding stream for public engagement.

Public engagement with research intersects with a number of other ways of communicating your research or involving people in it. At our next PER Network meeting we’ll look at one of those other ways, welcoming Dr Mel Hughes, Academic Lead for the BU PIER (Public Involvement in Education and Research) Partnership, Rachel Jury, PIER member, and Angela Warren, PIER coordinator who will provide a brief introduction to the what, why and how of public involvement in research, or PPI.

This is an opportunity to learn about different approaches to public involvement, the benefits to your research and the pitfalls to avoid. This session is co-designed and facilitated with a representative from the PIER partnership (Public Involvement in Education and Research), who has extensive experience of sharing their lived experience expertise in research studies. There will be opportunity at the end to ask your questions about public involvement.

We’ll also other news on public engagement from BU, including a new internal funding stream for public engagement and how you can apply.

The meeting will take place 1-2pm on Thursday 25 November, on Teams.

To join this meeting and find out about future ones, join our BU Public Engagement with Research Network. Check under ‘Meetings’ for upcoming sessions.

November 1, 2021

Events coming up this week in the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2021

Public engagement Adam Morris

Free events for the public, organised by BU researchers, taking place online and in person throughout November. Book your places below.

ESRC Festival of Social Science 2021 banner

The ESRC Festival of Social Science 2021

Coming up this week

Digital exclusion and inclusion in health and social care

Wednesday, 3 November
Online

This half-day workshop will bring together people working in health, social care and community services to discuss and explore the impact of digital exclusion on the public’s access to services and support. It will focus particularly on the context of West Dorset but with lessons and discussions relevant across the country.

Book now

How can faith-based organisations address climate change?

Saturday, 6 November
LOVECHURCH @ St Swithun’s Bournemouth

Join us to hear different perspectives from faith-based organisations on how faith, religion and organisations might view and address climate change, as well as from researchers working on solutions.

Faith and climate change awareness are both important factors in how many people think and live. However, despite some efforts from faith-based organisations (FBO) such as Christian Aid, Tearfund, there is more that could be done to tackle climate change from a faith perspective.

Book now

Later this month

The science of suicide – addressing myths and misconceptions

Saturday, 13 November
Bournemouth Gateway Building, Bournemouth University

In this talk, Dr Moseley will explore common myths and misunderstandings about suicide, and what contemporary psychological theories about suicide can tell us about why and how people end their own lives.

Through scientific research, we’ll explore themes of loneliness and social connectedness, as well as what research tells us about groups who are especially at risk, such as autistic people. We’ll also consider what we can do, including the language we use, to support people at risk of suicide.

Book now

Connecting with nature: for wellbeing, sustainability and the environment

Monday, 15 November & Wednesday, 17 November
Online

Connecting with nature can have benefits not only for our own wellbeing, but for the environment too. Join BU researchers and local nature organisations for a selection of talks over two days, to learn more about forest bathing, volunteering for nature, sustainable living and other ways to engage with and protect the natural environment.

We’ll also discover what social science research tells us about the sustainable choices people make throughout their life. Set against the backdrop of COP26, this event will explore how the choices we make could address the climate and ecological crises, and how Bournemouth University targets and supports these.

Book now

Storytelling for communicating climate science

Monday, 15 November
Online

In a time of information overload, it can be hard to break through the noise to tell evidence-based stories that inform and inspire. In this interactive workshop our team of Science, Health and Data Communications experts will investigate the uses—and misuses of storytelling about climate change.

Through a ‘playable communications’ workshop we will explore how play, in the form of choice-based games and text adventures, can be used for myth-busting and misinformation spotting, as well as for constructing imaginative and inspiring evidence-based narratives.

Book now

Demystifying ‘mental capacity’ – what you should know

Tuesday, 16 November
Online

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is relevant to everyone working with individuals aged 16 or over who have difficulty in making informed decisions. However, many are unsure of how it is used in practice, for example in making ‘best interest’ decisions, or in relation to end of life care and Advance Decisions to Refuse Treatment.

This online event will provide an opportunity for members of the public (including experts by experience) and health and social care practitioners to learn from one another about how to best support vulnerable members of society who lack capacity.

Book now

Collaboration for better outcomes in criminal justice

Thursday, 18 November
Online

Many of the people who offend most frequently are also some of the most vulnerable, who need support from a number of different local agencies. There is huge potential for these criminal justice, health and social care services to work together for better outcomes across the board.

Join us to learn about how integrating these services is done around the world, including Nordic models, and how BU research is improving collaboration between correctional and mental health services.

Book now

Nursing in times of crisis: Covid-19 & WW2

Wednesday, 24 November
Bournemouth Gateway Building, Bournemouth University

This event will look at nursing during Covid-19 and during another period of crisis in which nurses played a key role – World War II.

We’ll explore personal stories of nursing during WW2 and from Bournemouth University’s own student nurses who worked during the pandemic, as well as considering what objects and uniforms from these different eras can tell us. This event is also an opportunity to share your own thoughts and experiences.

Book now

The face under the mask: what Covid-19 has taught us about face perception

Thursday, 25 November
Online

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed a great deal about how humans communicate and interact with each other, part of which is the wearing of face masks. But faces are our most important social clues and provide a great amount of information, so what happens when they are partially covered? We’ll discover how masks affect how we perceive faces, but also what this effect can tell us about how face perception works.

Book now

Interested in holding your own public event to share research? Join our training session on getting started in public engagement with research. Online, Thursday 4 November 11-12:30.

February 19, 2020

Cafe Scientifique Tuesday 3 March: The Dark Side of Personalisation

Public engagement ballen

Café Scientifique takes place on the first Tuesday evening of the month at Café Boscanova

Enjoy listening to a short talk from our guest speaker before engaging in debate and discussion around that topic.

We’ll be joined by Ediz Akcay on Tuesday 3 March 7:30-9pm (doors open at 6:30pm)

No need to book, make sure you get there early though as seats fill up fast!

The Dark Side of Personalisation: AI, Voice Recognition and Beyond

“I’m afraid I can’t do that…” – a famous line from 2001: A Space Odyssey, in which the AI software HAL rebels to take control of the spaceship. We are now far beyond the year 2001 and we already have our own AI-supported voice recognition devices in our pockets, houses, and cars, used by adults and children alike. Luckily, they do not rebel against our commands – yet. These devices bring advantages in convenience and accessibility, playing a song has never been easier, but at what cost? Join us to discuss the ethics of the many new ways that companies listen to, track and store information about us using voice recognition and AI.

If you have any questions please do get in touch

Find out more about Café Scientifique and sign up to our mailing list to hear about other research events: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/cafe-sci

You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter

February 18, 2020

Cafe Scientifique: Crooked picture frames and ageing of perception

Public engagement ballen

How we experience the environment around us involves the brain combining information from our different sensory systems. For example, signals from our inner ears and joints tell us how we are positioned compared to gravity. The brain then combines this with what we see around us to help us maintain an upright position (i.e. prevent us falling over). Our perception of upright changes throughout our lifetime and different medical conditions can affect this which may make you reconsider whether your picture frames are straight.

For our first Café Scientifique of 2020, Dr Sharon Docherty switched roles from Cafe Sci’s regular host to this month’s speaker. Outlining some of the research she has conducted in the area of perception of visual vertical, Sharon presented findings from a range of studies to illustrate how our perception changes from childhood through to older age as well as how conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and neck pain can affect this.

How is perception of vertical measured?

Sharon has spent years developing a computerised test along with her colleague, Jeff Bagust. The test involves moving a line from an angle of 20 degrees into a position you think is vertical. In some presentations within the test, only the line is on the screen, testing your ability to make the judgement without any visual cues from your environment. In others, there is a square frame surrounding the line providing visual cues for both vertical and horizontal. This is known as the Rod and Frame Test. As well as presenting the frame in an upright position, in some of the tasks the frame is tilted by 18 degrees. Tilting the frame provides a confusing visual signal to your brain that affects people’s perception in different ways. It is a measure of how well your brain can adapt to relying on the other sources of information (inner ears, muscles and joints). All of this is conducted viewing the test through video glasses eliminating clues from the external environment. This means the test can be carried out almost anywhere.

As well as measuring the effect of tilting the frame in terms of degrees of error from true vertical, the system also records the amount of time it takes the participant to make the adjustment. Again, the difference between when the frame is tilted and when it isn’t can be quite remarkable for some people. It doesn’t necessarily mean those who take longer are more accurate in either younger or older adults (see graph). Another important aspect that is measured is the consistency with which people are able to judge the vertical position. A review of studies of different clinical conditions that Sharon and Jeff have conducted show that those participants with possible neurological complications had higher individual variability of error than healthy controls.

What does this mean?

The occurrence of above normal errors and high individual variability in those people with possible neurological complications suggests that the test may be a useful screening tool in other conditions such as falls in older adults.

Where to from here?

“We have recently completed a study comparing a group of 20-35 year old’s with a group 60 years and older. The results showed an increase of 2 degrees or more error in the older group. We plan on looking at how the results of the rod and frame test compare with the purely visual task of detecting contrast between an object and its background. This should help us better understand the part deterioration of the visual system plays in perception of vertical.”

“Another phenomenon we have observed is that some people do not seem to understand the task as soon as the frame is tilted, even after a practice run when they have completed it correctly. Instead of aligning to vertical, they carefully move the line to match the angle of the frame. We are able to distinguish these people from those that have genuinely high errors as they consistently position the line within a few degrees of the frame angle. The plan is to combine this with tests of cognitive function to try to explain what is happening.”

Dr Sharon Docherty reflects on her experience of speaking at Café Scientifique: “Following the talk we had a really interesting discussion around the subject. It certainly left me with lots to think about and quite a few new research ideas. It’s not just the audience who have a great time, presenters have left smiling and commenting on how much they enjoyed the experience… often with a few new research ideas courtesy of the audience!”

Audience members share their comments; “It is a really interesting topic and great location.” “Marvellous & stimulating.”

The next Café Scientifique will take place at Café Boscanova on Tuesday 3 March from 7:30-9pm (doors open at 6:30pm)

We’ll be joined by Ediz Akcay who will be discussing;

‘The Dark Side of Personalisation: AI, Voice Recognition and Beyond’

“I’m afraid I can’t do that…” – a famous line from 2001: A Space Odyssey, in which the AI software HAL rebels to take control of the spaceship. We are now far beyond the year 2001 and we already have our own AI-supported voice recognition devices in our pockets, houses, and cars, used by adults and children alike. Luckily, they do not rebel against our commands – yet. These devices bring advantages in convenience and accessibility, playing a song has never been easier, but at what cost? Join us to discuss the ethics of the many new ways that companies listen to, track and store information about us using voice recognition and AI.

There’s no need to register, make sure you get there early though as seats fill up fast!

If you have any questions please do get in touch

Find out more about Café Scientifique and sign up to our newsletter to hear about our exciting programme of research events for the public; www.bournemouth.ac.uk/cafe-sci

You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter

February 3, 2020

Catch up on the first meeting of the BU Public Engagement with Research Network

Fusion, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement Adam Morris

The first meeting of the Public Engagement with Research Network (PER Network) was held in Fusion building on Tuesday 28 January, facilitated by the Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team.

The network will focus on BU staff sharing their experiences of public engagement activities, facilitating networking and collaboration, and developing skills and knowledge of public engagement with research in a BU context.

The first meeting aimed to establish the network and start an ongoing discussion on the content and opportunities that the network could provide.

We started with an introduction to the network and an overview of support for public engagement with research at BU.

Dr Emma Kavanagh and Dr Adi Adams then joined us to share their experiences of using an arts-based installation to engage a public audience with the topic of violence in sports coaching.

Impact Officer Matt Fancy wrote about their event shortly after it was held as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2019.

At the meeting, they talked about their art-based inspiration for the project, and how it brought to life research data that might otherwise have gone unnoticed outside of academia. The project successfully involved students throughout the process, from recording the spoken words to helping run the event. Terri Harvey, a student on the BSc Sport Development and Coaching Sciences, was involved from the start and is using the process as the basis for her undergraduate project.

The session was popular with network members on social media;

We also used this meeting to discuss the future of the network; what content people wanted to see at future meetings, how to make the meetings convenient to attend, and what people would like from a public engagement with research newsletter.

This valuable feedback was collected and has informed a survey, which aims to investigate deeper, as well as including those not in attendance, to ensure the data we have is representative and accurate.

We would like as much feedback as possible in order to align this network to the priorities of its members. Whether you attended the meeting, were unable to attend, or are discovering it for the first time through this post, if you are interested in the network then we would appreciate you taking 5-10 mins to complete our survey.

Share your thoughts

If you’d like to sign up as a Public Engagement with Research Network member, to receive the new newsletter and details of future meetings, use the link below.

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Raise the profile of your research in the media – join the next Public Engagement with Research Network meeting

Learn how to evaluate your public engagement

Sign up now

Join the next meeting of the Public Engagement with Research Network

Cafe Scientifique Tuesday 3 March: The Dark Side of Personalisation

Cafe Scientifique: Crooked picture frames and ageing of perception

Catch up on the first meeting of the BU Public Engagement with Research Network

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What is the ESRC Festival of Social Science?

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What if I’ve never done any public engagement before?

Can I apply if I’m not a social scientist?

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What support will I get?

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The ESRC Festival of Social Science 2021

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