Dr Sascha Dov Bachmann, Associate Professor in International Law, FMC, and Extraordinary Associate Professor in War Studies, FHS, will present on Russian Information Operations in Ukraine during NATO’s EUCOM/SHAPE International Legal Conference (2016)
“The Legal Aspects of the National Security Response to Russian Aggression”. The event brings together 100 experts who are to dicsuss the legal aspects of Russia’s aggressive politics in Eastern Europe. Sascha will reflect on his ongoing work on Hybrid Warfare, http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/defence-committee/russia-implications-for-uk-defence-and-security/written/28402.html, http://www.ajol.info/index.php/smsajms/article/view/117421 and https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277953401_RUSSIA’S_HYBRID_WARFARE_IN_THE_EAST_USING_THE_INFORMATION_SPHERE_AS_INTEGRAL_TO_HYBRID_WARFARE?_iepl[viewId]=5SEnEq26z9n23PZ8z1IVu0EN&_iepl[contexts][0]=timeline&_iepl[data][activityData][activityId]=277953401&_iepl[data][activityData][activityType]=Publication&_iepl[data][activityData][activityTimestamp]=1434326400&_iepl[data][viewType]=self&_iepl[interactionType]=publicationClickThrough.
Tagged / public engagement
BU Academic appointed as Extraordinary Visiting Professor (AP) at Swedish Defence University
Sascha Dov Bachmann, Associate Professor in International Law, FMC, has been made Extraordinary Visiting Professor (AP) in War Studies at the Swedish Defence University (FHS). This appointment recognizes his contribution to the work of the Department of Military Studies at FHS on the subject of Hybrid War and Hybrid Threats. He continues to collaborate with colleagues from Sweden, Germany and NATO on the subject.
Canadian science museums to provide open access to data
Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation have just released a statement announcing they will be making their data freely available to both researchers and the public via a new platform called Open Heritage.
Read more via research professional here
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BU hosts public debate on the future of universities
‘Increasing inequality? Widening opportunity? Debating higher education reforms’
Wednesday 27th April sees the first of a series of high profile public events at BU, called Dialogues in the Social Sciences. Organised by Profs. Ann Brooks, Candida Yates and Barry Richards, their aim is to bring insights from the social sciences to bear on major areas of current concern: higher education, crime, violent extremism, and psychological well-being. In the first, two speakers from the Institute of Education in London offer their views on the Green Paper and where the HE sector may be heading. Professor Sir Peter Scott has been editor of the Times Higher and V-C of Kingston University; he is an authoritative commentator on key issues facing universities today. He is joined in this event by Professor Ann Phoenix, psychologist and leading researcher on education and identity. BU’s Dr Mastoureh Fathi (HSS) and Ellie Mayo-Ward (SUBU V-P) will be discussants. Professor Iain MacRury of FMC will chair what promises to be a highly informative and potentially controversial session, starting at 5.15 in the EBC (EB206). Refreshment available. Book your seat now, here: Eventbrite
Festival of Learning goes on tour – Saturday 16 April
One of several peppers grown from a seedling from last years event!
If you’re looking for something to do with the family next weekend then look no further than the Bournemouth Natural Science Societies Open Day, running at 39 Christchurch Road from 10am – 4pm. Among the many things to do, you’ll also find the Festival of Learning team who will be there with Dr Dorothy Fox of the Faculty of Management, and Jennifer Mark and Paul Evans, PGRs from the Faculty of Science and Technology. We’ll be running several activities to tell people about the impact of our society on soils across the globe, as well as helping children understand what difference soil acidity makes to different plants and giving people the opportunity to plant their own seeds to take away and nurture.
Cafe Scientifique 5 April – Speaker needed
Unfortunately our planned event for April’s Cafe Scientifique has not been able to go ahead. This means we have an open slot for April and we’re looking for a speaker who could step in for us – if you think you’d be interested please drop me an email for further information. This is a great opportunity to speak at Cafe Scientifique as our next available slot to give a talk is quite a few months down the line.
In case you’re not familiar with Cafe Scientifique, it’s a place where, for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology. Speakers give a short presentation around a topic (roughly 30 minutes), before engaging in debate and discussion with the audience to really explore the issues. It takes place at Cafe Boscanova in Boscombe on the first Tuesday of every month from 7:30-9pm and we usually have around 20-30 people in attendance. Previous talks and more information about Cafe Sci can be found on our website.
Who are the World’s Heaviest Tear Gas Users?
Check out the interactive maps on our BU Civic Media Hub website to find out!
Everyday tear gas is used around the world, from Brazil to Bahrain, from Thailand to the Occupied Territories of Palestine. Yet, while journalists file news stories of tear gas deployments, there is no national or international data recorded on its use or its effects.
Researchers and campaign groups work hard to raise awareness of the true effects of tear gas, yet its health effects remain undetermined and its death toll ill-defined. Data on tear gas is dispersed across nations, suppressed by governments, and spun by corporate manufacturers with a vested interest in keeping sales figures high. Largely unregulated and unmonitored, the for-profit transnational trade in tear gas continues to raise legal questions, as people around the world face its repressive and often violent effects.
Our 2015 Mapping the Media project sought to aggregate news reports on tear gassing in efforts to make public the frequency and motivations for its use. The maps form part of a larger research project led by Dr. Anna Feigenbaum, Senior Lecturer in Digital Storytelling at Bournemouth University. The 2015 mapping was done by Dr. Feigenbaum and her Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) Laura McKenna with support from Dr. Pippa Gillingham and the BU Datalabs Team that came together through CCCP Fusion Grant in 2014.
Find out more about digital storytelling for impact from Dr. Feigenbaum’s blog post on the topic.
Faculty of Management students attend high profile industry event
Students and staff from the Department of Events & Leisure in the Faculty of Management recently attended an exclusive charity reception hosted by the Fastforward15 mentor programme at Basement at The London Edition, where more than £3,500 was raised, with proceeds going to Newlife Foundation, The Prince’s Trust and The Clink.
The Fast Forward 15 mentoring programme is a not for profit initiative spanning the events, hospitality and related industry providers, giving access to and insight from some of the leaders in these fields; an inspiring portfolio of influential and select talent who are willing to share their knowledge and experience with budding stars of the future. Fastforward15 founder and MD of Zibrant Fay Sharpe was on hand to support the charity event and took the time to meet with the students and encourage applications from our students.
Final year events management students Kateryna Spivek, Kathleen McLoughlin, Daisy Collins and Freya Hill attended along with Department of Events & Leisure staff Dr Debbie Sadd & Dr Mary Beth Gouthro. The students were impressed to not only meet course alumni as FastForward15 mentees, Hannah Coleman and Lauren Glynn, but got to network with other course graduates who are currently established in the industry, eg Chris Middleton of Cievents, Katie Frettingham of Live Union and Laura Dennett of Zibrant.
Freya Hill, final year student said ‘a Night of Sparkle was a fantastic chance to meet people in all areas of the events industry – be it agency or in house. Each person I spoke to had a different perspective on the importance of events education – a topic also relevant to my dissertation. It was particularly inspiring to speak to BU grads and current Fast Forward 15 mentees and to hear of the many opportunities they have been given thanks to their degree as well as the fast forward 15 programme and their mentors’.
Student Kathleen McLoughlin also added ‘…from what we saw and from who I had a chance to speak to, the scheme has opened many doors for the mentees and they have accomplished so much in their year with their mentors. It was an honour to speak to Fay Sharpe herself, a very influential woman who has inspired me to apply for the scheme to aim for success!’
Fundraising activities on the night included a jewellery sale courtesy of Newlife, while raffle prizes were donated by firms including All About Flights, Green Route Africa, One & Only Cape Town, MICEBOOK and The Savoy. Following the success of its inaugural year, Fast Forward 15 is returning for 2016, offering 15 new mentees the opportunity to be 
of the programme. Applications recently closed and the events management course in the Faculty of Management has some hopeful applications in the mix. The Fastforward15 graduation and instalment of new mentees takes place at the Langham Hotel in London at the end of April.
British Science Week – events running in Bournemouth
British Science Week takes place in March this year. Events are being run at the Bournemouth Natural Science Society (BNSS) during this time. Dates and times of presentations do vary.
Location: Bournemouth Natural Science Society (BNSS)
Speakers:
Date: Saturday 12th March
Time: 2.30pm
Brendan McNamara will give a talk entitled Plutonium: the stellar element for our future energy needs. Brendan is a fusion scientist and a regular speaker at BNSS. He will give an introduction to this important element.
Date: Tuesday 15th March
Time: 7.30pm
Prof. Lindy Holden-Dye will give a talk entitled How clever is a nematode? Prof. Holden-Dye holds a Chair in Neuroscience at the Univ. of Southampton. She will talk about nematode worms which are often parasites but also used as model organism to study the nervous system.
Date: Saturday 19th March
Time: 2.30pm
Dr Sarah Bate from BU on Face Recognition: an individual differences approach. Dr Bate directs the Centre for Face Processing Disorders at Bournemouth University. She will talk about the features we use to distinguish faces and about people with ‘face blindness a condition which may affect up to 2% of the population.
Dr Lenia Marques nominated to the World Leisure Organization Board of Directors
The Board o
f Directors of World Leisure Organization (WLO) just welcomed Dr Lenia Marques as a member for the mandate 2016-2018.
“Founded in 1952, World Leisure, is a world-wide, non-governmental association of persons and organizations dedicated to discovering and fostering those conditions best permitting leisure to serve as a force for human growth, development and well-being.” (WLO, 2016)
Among different partners and collaborators, WLO has been working with universities, industry and international bodies, such as the United Nations.
One of the highlights of WLO forthcoming activities is the congress in Durban (South Africa), on which Dr Lenia Marques is member of the scientific committee. In this congress she will also present part of her ongoing research on online and offline leisure practices within events studies.
There are still opportunities for UG and PG students to participate both in the congress (speakers, posters or volunteers) and in the international fieldschool in Durban (24 June – 2 July 2016). This is a very exciting opportunity for students, in particular in the areas of Leisure, Events, Tourism, Sports and Recreation.
For more information on the WLO, the WLO congress or student opportunities, please contact Dr Lenia Marques, lmarques@bournemouth.ac.uk.
BU Undergraduate Research on show in Parliament
The UK’s best undergraduate research has been on show in Westminster earlier this month. The annual Posters in Parliament exhibition, hosted by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), saw 53 students from 27 universities display their research to a range of MPs and higher education policymakers, among them two BU undergraduates.
Final year undergrad student Eleanor Green of the Faculty of Management, presented her research on the sustainable relationship between animals and tourism. ‘Posters in Parliament was a great event to be involved in, it provided me with a valuable insight into people’s opinions on my topic area … thanks to the in depth questions and conversations held with various attendees throughout the day. Seeing other undergraduate research was extremely eye-opening and the quality of everyone’s projects made me proud to be invited along to such an event and represent BU’. Eleanor is supervised by Susanna Curtain, Senior Lecturer in Tourism in the Faculty of Management and joined by Neelu Seetaram, Head of Research for Tourism & Hospitality.
Daniel Whitford, of the Faculty of Science and Technology presented his research on Deriving effective network security monitoring rules from attacker personas. ‘Parliament was a great setting for this event. As the sole cyber security exhibitor the biggest challenge was explaining the purpose of my project to people from other disciplines, though being forced to do so definitely sharpened my thinking. I would definitely recommend to other student s that they apply next year’. Daniel is supervised by Dr Shamal Faily, Senior Lecturer in Systems Security Engineering.
The 2 BU students presented their research among other UK undergrads and spanned topics that ranged from: brain trauma rehabilitation to decoding the national computing curriculum; the discourse of masculinity in children’s books to change management success factors in the NHS. BU is hosting its own undergraduate research event on March 2nd, as part of SURE (Showcasing Undergraduate Research Excellence). Research from all faculties will be on display and presented at this second annual event.
Influential government and sector leading dignitaries were in attendance in Westminster and included former Chair of the House of Commons Education Committee Barry Sheerman MP; Professor Les Ebdon, Director of OFFA; Madalaine Ansell, Chief Executive of University Alliance; and John Redwood MP.
UCLan’s Professor Stuart Hampton- Reeves, Chair of the British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR) Steering Group, said: “This event gave MPs the opportunity to see that our students are at the cutting edge of their respective fields, and are making gains that can lead policy making in the future. Many of the students at the event have already been published or co-published and are going above and beyond the expectations of undergraduate capabilities.”
The undergrad student posters where led by judging panel Sir Anthony Cleaver, Chairman of Natural Environment Research Council; Professor Sir Colin Berry, Professor Emeritus at Queen Mary University; and Nick Hillman, Director of Higher Education Policy Institute.
The best poster prize was awarded to Amanda Campbell, from University College London, whose interdisciplinary research centred on finding biodegradable solutions to temporary structures like festival tents.
Established by UCLan four years ago, Posters in Parliament is the precursor event to the national BCUR (British Conference of Undergraduate Research) and held in March this year at Manchester Met University. BU Staff member, Dr Mary Beth Gouthro sits on the steering committee for the BCUR national conference. BU plans to host the follow on BCUR in April 2017. Any questions, do email mgouthro@bournemouth.ac.uk.
Public Engagement Opportunity – Boscombe and Southborne Rotary Club
If you’re interested in engaging with the local retired community this could be a great opportunity for you. Boscombe and Southborne Rotary Club are hosting an evening meeting on Thursday 3 March and are looking for a speaker to come and talk to them about their research. The evening runs from 6:30pm – 9pm with a talk from 8:15-9pm, allowing some time for questions, with around 50-60 members of the club in attendance. They’re open to all topics so any faculty is welcome.
If you’d be interested in taking part please email me, nkay@bournemouth.ac.uk, at your earliest convenience, they’ve asked me to let me know if we have anyone who’d be interested by the end of the week.
THET Mental Health Training for Maternity Providers started in Nepal
Today, after months of delay, UK volunteers managed to deliver the first THET-funded training as part of the BU-led project ‘Mental Health Training for Community-based Maternity Providers in Nepal’. The first serious delays occurred due to the devastating earthquake in April 2015 when we are just about to start our project. Then more delays happened due to the political unrest in the country after the signing of the new Constitution of Nepal in September 2015. Whilst there are still plenty of people living in make-shift shelters today in some of the more remote districts affected by the earthquake and there is still a serious shortage of petrol and cooking gas due to politically-driven blockages at the Indian-Nepali border, the situation is now safe enough to start bringing UK volunteers to Nepal.
MIDSON
Today’s first training was delivered in Kathmandu to our friends and colleagues at MIDSON, the Midwifery Society of Nepal (the equivalent of the Royal College of Midwives in the UK). Joining Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen to deliver the first training session to Nepali midwives is Dr. Bibha Simkhada from Liverpool John Moores University. Bibha is a nurse in Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust as well as BU Visiting Faculty. The audience at MIDSON was very helpful in giving feedback on the planned training in the southern district of Nawalparasi (starting Sunday 10th January). The agreement is to run a one-day training session for ANMs (Auxiliary Nurse Midwives), and run this three day in a row for one-third of all the birthing centre staff from across the district. This means that the government birthing centres can stay open with the other two-thirds on the staff on any one day. Further detail on this BU-led THET project can be found in our recent academic article, which is available through Open Access: click here.
Professor Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
Research Photography Competition
Hello !
The entries to this year’s Research Photography Competition are now open!
Can you convey your research through an image?
We are looking for academics and postgraduates to tell the story of their research through a photograph, which can be used to inspire current BU undergraduates.
All submitted images will be showcased on the BU website late 2015, where staff and students will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite image/s. An exhibition will also be displayed in the Atrium Art Gallery during February 2016. Winners will then be announced during an Awards Ceremony which will take place on Thursday 4 February 2016.
How to enter the competition:
Step 1: Take your photo!
You can be as creative as you like in capturing the essence of your research. You could take a photo of your research in progress, showing how it is developed. Or you could focus on the people involved – the people behind the research, or the people benefitting from it. Unusual or artistic images are encouraged!
Step 2: Submit your photo
Submit your photo to the research email inbox, along with a 100–200 word description of your research by Friday 11 December 2015.
Need inspiration?
Then take a look at our regular ‘Photo of the Week’, where you can read about the research behind the images or visit the Research Photography Competition 2015 webpages which highlight last year’s Research Photography Competition entries.
Always Show Cute Elephants
…and other lessons in #Dataviz were presented by our BU Datalabs team at the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement’s Engage 2015 event in Bristol last week. The annual Engage event brings together university leaders in public engagement from across the UK.Representing BU Datalabs, Dr. Anna Feigenbaum and community partner James Marchant from Small Media, led an interactive sessions on Data Visualisation for Impact:
We kicked things off with an introduction to the BU Datalabs initiative. Our BU Datalabs, which started with the support of a Fusion CCCP grant in Jan 2015, works with NGOs, journalists and digital designers to run hands-on data aggregation, visualisation and digital storytelling workshops designed for addressing civic and humanitarian issues.
Since our team’s inception last January, we have hosted over a dozen workshops and events, and given presentations across the UK, in Italy and the US, with a spring lineup including invited talks in Brighton, Sheffield, London and Japan.
Tweets from @NCCPE #Engage_2015
At Engage 2015 we focused on how data visualisations of research processes, findings and outputs can be created to reach different kinds of audiences. Stressing the importance of combining storytelling techniques, design principles and communication strategies into data visualisation, we designed two hands-on exercises for participants to put their public engagement expertise to work.
Our partner, Research Manager James Marchant from Small Media, presented two of his NGO’s projects Writer’s Block on book censorship in Iran and UPR IRAN.
Surge in social media sharing @smallmedia
Sharing the ‘aesthetics of research’ with participants, James looked at how a data visualisation approach—when embedded throughout the research process from data gathering to research promotion—can increase public engagement and build pathways to impact. He noted that without data visualisation, there was little audience for this data on Iran’s human rights records, but after it’s re-imagining it as a data visualisation project, engagement soared.
To get involved in the BU Datalabs project, please contact afeigenbaum@bournemouth.ac.uk or ethorsen@bournemouth.ac.uk.
Our CCCP Fusion report ’Telling Data Stories Together’ is now available to download.
Ethnographies of West Howe: student research projects and community collaboration
BASA students at West Howe’s Henry Brown Centre.
Over the past few weeks, students on BA Sociology and Anthropology (Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at BU) have been carrying out ethnographic studies in West Howe, Bournemouth. As part of a focus on expanding undergraduate opportunities to conduct first hand research, students have designed their research projects collaboratively with local groups and organisations based in West Howe.
A short drive from Talbot campus, West Howe comprises a large post-war council estate, and faces a number of contemporary challenges in terms of employment, education, health and well being. It is also a green, spacious and welcoming community, with many active local initiatives aiming to improve quality of life for people in the area. Some aspects of its pre-World War Two history as a rural farming community remain present in its contemporary physical environment, combining with the modernist 1950s vision of suburban public space expressed in the architecture and street design. Local people’s experiences of the transition of the area from a largely rural hamlet to a modern housing estate, involving rapid population increase and large scale construction, was captured beautifully in two oral history books published in the 1980s – West Howe Proper and West Howe Too!
From an early point in their research projects, BU students invested time in building relationships with people in West Howe, working collaboratively with local schools, churches, children’s centres and volunteer groups to identify their key research questions, think through issues of research ethics, and use appropriate methods to gather relevant data, including participant observation, interviews, surveys and focus groups. Many student projects were inspired by the activities of local organisations, residents and volunteers, and the possibilities of engaged ethnography to produce findings that are locally useful and make a difference to people’s lives.
Next Thursday 3rd December students will be presenting their research findings to the community and inviting their engagement, comment and discussion. Themes of the research projects include: primary school education, children’s play and recreation, access to employment, perceptions of addiction, wellbeing and social support, social mobility and transport. Interested BU colleagues are also welcome to attend – please email Dr Rosie Read know if you plan to come (email: rread@bournemouth.ac.uk).
Event details:
Thursday 3rd December, 10am-1pm. Fernhealth Play, Verney Road, Bournemouth BH11 8DA.
Fear in childbirth: is the media responsible?
The media are often blamed for influencing society’s attitudes and views. In this month’s Café Scientific we will debate the impact of the mass media on women’s views of childbirth. The motion is: “Fear in childbirth: is the media responsible?”
Café Scientific is being hosted at Café Boscanova in Bournemouth on November 3rd at 19.30. The debate is open to the general public. It will be chaired by Prof. Vanora Hundley, Professor of Midwifery and the two proponents on either side of the debate are Dr. Ann Luce and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. Ann Luce is a well recognised media researcher and a Senior Lecturer in Journalism and Communication. Edwin van Teijlingen is a medical sociologist and Professor of Reproductive Health Research.
The debate will touch upon social perceptions and beliefs about childbirth can increase women’s requests for interventions, such as caesarean section, with long-term health implications for mothers and babies. This month’s Café Scientific will explore the role of the mass media in shaping these beliefs and identify whether media portrayals are responsible for rising rates of intervention.
Join us for an interactive debate on the impact of the mass media on women’s views of childbirth. The audience will be given the opportunity to vote on the motion before and after the debate.
These academics have written a paper on the topic of debate, a copy of which can be found here!
Public Engagement Opportunity: University of the Third Age Public Lectures – Speakers Needed
The University of the Third Age, commonly referred to as the U3A, are a community of retired/ semi retired people who enjoy the reward of learning and take part in regular groups and sessions to expand their skills and life experiences. BU is supporting this community by organising bi-annual public lecture days where members of the U3A, as well as anyone else from the community who may be interested, can come onto campus and hear about the latest developments in the academic world.
I’m looking for speakers for the next two talks, taking place in the EBC on Wednesday 16 December 2015 and Wednesday 30 March 2016. Ideally presentations will be around 40 minutes long followed by a Q&A session and can be on any topic that would be of interest to a general audience.
If you’d be interested in taking part please drop me an email for further information. 
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