Applied Research Competition

Bucks New University Coventry University University of Gloucestershire University of Worcester

Applied Research CompetitionProgramme and Book of Abstracts

Coventry/Worcester/ Gloucestershire/Bucks New Universities

Applied Research CompetitionWednesday 30th June at Coventry University, Jaguar Building, Room JA102

Programme and Book of Abstracts

5

Bucks New University Staff Entries

7 The effect of human judgement on company inventories ................................................................................................................ Professor John Boylan

8 Iodine deficiency among primary schoolchildren in Eastern Nepal .............................................................................................. Professor David A. Brodie

9 Artists into industry: Marl Hole ..........................................................................................................................................................Dr. Neil Brownsword

10 Developing confidence, capability and legitimate authority through simulated practice and feedback ............................................................. Ruth Clemow

11 Researching my own practice using story: creating a space for individual student learning from their stories .............................................. Sharon Edwards

12 Spoons and spoonness: A philosophical inquiry through creative practice .................................................................................................. Andreas Fabian

13 Inequalities experienced by gypsy and traveller communities: A review ............................................................. Dr. Margaret Greenfields and Sarah Cemlyn

14 Third Age, leisure and well-being: Yoga and older women ................................................................................................. Professor Barbara Humberstone

15 Well-being and outdoor pedagogies ..................................................................................................... ... Professor Barbara Humberstone and Dr. Ina Stan

16 ChilternChip.com ESCo .................................................................................................................................................................. Professor Florin Ioras

17 Reorganising the business education programme drawing on the UK experience .................................................................... Dr. Lorraine Watkins-Mathys

18 Diversity, marketing and management .......................................................................................................................................................... Gloria Moss

19 Complications following SCI during transfer to spinal centres during the Acute Phase ...................................................................................... Firas Saran

20 Reducing risk for sexual revictimisation: Potential intervention targets ...................................................................................................... Dr. Nadia Wager

21 English children, alcohol consumption and national alcohol policy ................................................................................................... Dr. Gwyn Weatherburn Bucks New University Student Entries

22 Driver drowsiness detection based on eye blink ........................................................................................................................... Dr. Indrachapa Bandara

23 Optimising video codecs for wired and wireless transcoding ..................................................................................................... Dr. Premkumar Elangovan

24 The effect of mechanical circulatory support on cardiac and exercise performance in patients with chronic heart failure ...................................................... ...................................................................................................................................................Dr. Djordje G. Jakovljevic and Professor David A. Brodie

25 Normalisation of autonomic dysfunction in patients following recovery using left ventricular assist device combination therapy .....................Dr. David Nunan Coventry University Staff Entries

26 Methods and advanced equipment for simulation and treatment in Radio-Oncology (MAESTRO) ................................................................. Dr. Olivier Haas

27 An exploration of the British labour market experiences of second-generation Irish: Still nursing & navvying? .............................. Dr. Geraldine Hammersley

28 Critical mass in research ....................................................................................................................................................................... Dr. Ralph Kenna

29 The governance of sexual violence in Northern Uganda ..................................................................... Dr. Helen Liebling-Kalifani and Professor Bruce Baker Coventry University Student Entry

30 Comparing the return of investment of search engine optimisation and pay per click campaign implemented for Trinity Expert Systems Ltd .......................... ...................................................................................................................................................................... Adam Grzywaczewski and Dr. Rahat Iqbal University of Gloucestershire Staff Entry

31 The virtual rocky shore ......................................................................................................................................................................Dr. Richard Stafford University of Worcester Staff Entries

32 Hedonomics and DIY: Does the ‘four pleasures’ model of product reactions apply in decorating tool design ................................................. Dr. Ann Bicknell

33 A needs & gaps analysis to support the development of a strategy on sexual violence & abuse to women and girls in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Ruth Jones

34 Enhancing regional engagement in knowledge transfer ................................................................................................................ Dr. Jan Francis-Smythe

35 Information Security - Using market research to inform course provision .................................................................................................... Dr. Jane Arthur

36 Agenda

38 Press Release/Competition winners

Contents

The research has resulted in the following journal outputs:1. Syntetos AA, Nikolopoulos K, Boylan JE, Fildes R & Goodwin P (2009a) The effects of integrating management judgment into intermittent demand forecasts. International Journal of Production Economics, 118, 72-81.2. Syntetos AA, Boylan JE & Disney SM (2009b) Inventory forecasting and planning: a 50-year review. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 60, S149-S160.3. Strijbosch LWG, Syntetos AA, Boylan JE & Janssen E (2010) On the interaction between forecasting and stock control: the case of non-stationary demand. International Journal of Production Economics. (Advanced On-Line, 12 pages, doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2009.10.032).4. Syntetos AA, Georgantzas NC, Boylan JE & Dangerfield BC (2010) Judgement and Supply Chain Dynamics. Journal of the Operational Research Society. (Advanced On-Line, 21 pages, doi:10.1057/jors.2010.56).The final paper has an electronic companion website, which shows simulation outputs and computer code for the models.(http://www.business.salford.ac.uk/research/ommss/projects/SD/electronic_companion.php).There were numerous contributed conference papers, including: Boylan JE, Syntetos AA & Sanders N (2008) Qualitative system dynamics and the bullwhip effect. 26th International Conference on System Dynamics.Kolassa S, Schütz W, Boylan JE & Syntetos AA (2008) Judgmental changes to forecasts: higher inventories, unchanged out-of-stocks. 28th International Symposium on Forecasting.

The effect of human judgement on company inventories

This research consists of two inter-linked projects, both funded by the EPSRC:

Forecasting and Inventory Management: Bridging the Gap (EP/F012632/1)

Cognitive Mapping, System Dynamics and the Bullwhip Effect (EP/G070369/1)

The second project followed on from the first and was completed in September 2009. The first project was conducted in collaboration with Salford University, and with SAF-AG and Ventana Systems Inc. The second project involved collaboration with Salford University, Fordham University (New York), and with Valves Instruments Plus and Brother International Europe.

The first objective of the research was to develop an understanding of how judgemental changes to forecasts and orders impact on stocks in the supply chain, and how these effects are magnified as we move away from the customer. The second objective of the research was to develop a computer-based model, which can be used by organisations to model their own inventories. To achieve these objectives, the following work was conducted:

1. Exploratory meetings were held with Ventana Systems, and a one–week study visit was held at SAF-AG. 2. A conceptual framework was developed, which incorporated some of the key factors identified by the collaborating companies (Boylan et al, 2008). 3. A case-study project was conducted with SAF-AG (Kolassa et al, 2008). 4. An empirical investigation of the effect of forecast adjustments on inventories was conducted (Syntetos et al, 2009a). 5. A framework was developed to model the interactions between statistical and judgemental forecasting and system dynamics was developed (Syntetos et al, 2009b). 6. New analytical results were obtained on the effect of forecasts on stock-control systems (Strijbosch et al, 2010). 7. A new System Dynamics model was developed, tested and implemented, incorporating real-world dimensions identified with the companies (Syntetos et al, 2010). 8. The full model code has been made available to researchers and practitioners to allow experimentation on their own data.

Professor John BoylanFaculty of Design, Media and Management - Bucks New University Other Staff Associated with the Project: Dr. Mohammad Ali (attended research meetings to inform his own research on a related topic)

ABSTRACTS Oral Presentations Bucks New University Staff Entries 7


Iodine deficiency among primary schoolchildren in Eastern Nepal

Background: Environmental iodine deficiency causes a wide spectrum of devastating mental and physical disabilities, collectively described as iodine deficiency disorders. These are the most common causes of preventable mental retardation and brain damage in the world today.

Objective: To assess the iodine status and salt iodine content among primary school children of Dhankuta and Dharan in Eastern Nepal.

Materials and methods: A population based cross sectional study was conducted in schools from Dhankuta and Dharan, in Eastern Nepal. Urine and salt samples were collected from 385 school children aged 6-11 years. Urinary iodine excretion (UIE) was measured in casual urine samples by the ammonium-persulphate digestion microplate (APDM) method and salt iodine content by using a semi quantitative rapid test kit.

Results: The median UIEs of school children of Dhankuta and Dharan were 157.1µg/L and 180.3µg/L respectively. This appears to be within the optimal range of 100-199µg/L, but the percentage of iodine deficient (UIE <100µg/L) children were 26.6% in Dhankuta and 15.6% in Dharan. In addition to this a further 20% of the children had excessive iodine levels (≥300µg/L), putting them at risk of iodine intake hypertrophy and of auto-immune disease of the thyroid. The majority of children consumed packet salt. The percentages of salt samples with adequately iodised salt (≥15 ppm) were 81.3% in Dhankuta and 89.6% in Dharan.

Conclusion: Eastern Nepal is continuously progressing towards the sustainable elimination of iodine deficiency disease as illustrated by a normal median UIE and the majority of households consuming adequately iodised packet salt. It is necessary to maintain and extend the programme continuously to ensure adequate iodine nutrition of the population, especially in the more remote regions of Nepal.

Funding: The work was funded by a Rotary District and International Grant and by a grant from the Coronary Prevention Group.

Collaboration: Bucks New University collaborated with the Department of Biochemistry at BP Koraila Institute of Health Sciences, based in Dharan, East Nepal.

Professor David A. Brodie Cardiovascular Health Research Group - Bucks New University Other Staff Associated with the Project: Professor Nirmal Baral

Artists into industry: Marl Hole

In 2009 a major new project The British Ceramics Biennial was launched to celebrate the city of Stoke-on-Trent as an international centre for excellence in contemporary ceramics. As part of the programme of events, the project I proposed, ‘Marl Hole’ very much drew upon my socio-historic associations with clay in the post-industrial context of North Staffordshire. Exposure to the daily eradication of once prevalent sites of historic manufacture prompted a desire to explore the potentials of the material beyond its dominant industrial connections. Stoke-on-Trent’s success as a world centre for ceramics was founded upon its mineral wealth - long flame coal (ideal for firing) and abundant outcrops of haematitic clay. Opencast pits where the latter is still excavated (known as ‘marl holes’) became sites of interest for artistic intervention.

Having gained consent to work within one of Ibstock Brick’s largest UK quarries, the project sought to interrogate the articulation of clay through a range of ephemeral interactions which fused making and performance with the site specific. To accompany me on this pursuit of ‘disrupting’ the confines of practice I invited three internationally renowned artists Alexandra Engelfriet (NL), Torbjørn Kvasbø (NO) and Pekka Paikkari (FI), whose relationship with clay continues to challenge existing parameters. A film maker Johnny Magee was also commissioned to capture the creative development and collaboration of works as they evolved. Each artist was to respond to this site during a five day period, and explore the material without a fixed ideology or prescriptive method in an attempt to liberate an almost primordial human curiosity into the innate properties of one of mankind’s oldest synthesised materials.

These visceral encounters were also determined by a new set of unpredictable factors - the weather; limitations of the material in its unprocessed state, alongside more self-inflicted measures, as participants were to only employ materials/implements gleaned from the immediate landscape. Here an abundance of clay could be easily accessed, offering a near unimaginable sense of scale to work.

As the project’s emphasis embraced the concepts of transience rather than end product, Johnny Magee’s role in the project was crucial in recording each artist’s creative response to the site. The resultant film output is shot in the style of a western epic, captures points of discovery, failure, the material knowledge of clay’s possibilities and limitations and penetrates with great sensitivity what is often considered the ineffable language of creativity.

Dr. Neil BrownswordFaculty of Design Media and Management - Bucks New University



Developing confidence, capability and legitimate authority through simulated practice and feedback

The simulation project was developed within a contemporary national policy context including the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC, 2007) principles of clinical simulation; UK Government (DH, 2008) emphasis on increasing care provision in the community; the Chief Medical Officer report on the importance of simulation for clinical learning (Donaldson, 2009); the World Health Organisation (2010) publication of ‘Framework for action on interprofessional education and collaborative practice’; and an eclectic pedagogy of simulation. Clinical practice constitutes fifty percent of the pre-registration nursing programme leading to academic award and preparedness for application to the NMC professional register.

A one week programme of simulated nursing practice involved practitioners, academics and pre-registration nursing students. It was collaboratively developed with practice partners in 2009 at Buckinghamshire New University, Faculty of Society and Health. Forty eight second year, pre-registration nursing students participated in primary care simulation (adult, child and mental health disciplines in three mixed groups).The development project involved ten actors in authentic, primary care scenarios with a focus on patient pathways, transitions of care involving interprofessional and collaborative practice, and making improvements in people’s health and the services they might receive.

A survey was completed by students and ten facilitators on completion of the intensive week-long programme. An external review was carried out of the pre-registration curriculum in March, 2010 by the NMC. The simulation experience was highly motivating and generated confidence, capability and legitimate authority in pre-registration nurses and other participants. In a comparative level of confidence measure of eighteen competencies, before and after the simulation experience, student’s level of confidence had increased in almost all areas. The experience represented a reality check for students through the involvement of patients and authentic scenarios. Pedagogy for simulated healthcare practice involved interprofessional and collaborative working as a measure of its success in the Higher Education Institution.

Ruth ClemowFaculty of Society and Health - Bucks New University Other Staff Associated with the Project: Jenny Bowden (Research Assistant)

Researching my own practice using story: creating a space for individual student learning from their stories

I am a member of lecturing staff, who as part of a professional doctorate researched my own practice, which grew from my personal process of learning from stories of clinical practice. The trigger for this work was found in my dissatisfaction with current nurse education curricula. The methodology is found in my own method of finding my own learning from practice (my pre-narrative, remembering stories, telling stories, writing stories and sharing stories), and then describing my own individual learning that emerged from it (emotional, intuition, personal, ethical, connected learning and learning through time). Therefore, articulating this style of learning from experience.

I set my own personal process alongside other theoretical methods of learning from story. These authors use reflection, and may not have fully uncovered the importance of story or searched beyond reflection to support learning. The literature advocates the benefit of using, sharing stories and experiences written by other nurses and patients, but generalises the use of story as only an extension to develop areas within the mainstream curriculum. This does not encapsulate story as a learning space.

I used my personal process of learning with participants in an attempt to see how it worked and what student nurses might learn from their own experiences when written as stories. I included the students in the research as participants as researchers. I collected forty six students written stories and their learning. The analysis of student stories used my own special learning from my stories and showed evidence of the themes of ethics, emotions, intuition and personal, and from these initial themes connections emerged between them as patterns and learning through time. Students identified other learning themes.

The students’ stories and learning seemed to initially capture the meanings, interpretations of what the essence of learning from story was all about and it helped me see learning from the students’ perspective. Yet, this initial analysis only gave a small insight into the search for learning from students written stories of clinical practice and as such called for a more thoughtful, meaningful analysis. I set out from here to explore the fundamentals of story and discover what was really concerning me, which was something essential to my role as a teacher. Is the student learning from their own stories predetermined by the curriculum and set out as learning outcomes, or by me as in my learning from stories, or more specifically is it the students’ individual learning from their own stories that is special.

My recommendation is to identify the value of including opportunities in nursing courses for students to learn to use their pre-narrative experiences and to gain insights from their stories of clinical practice experience. It is about the teachers’ working with students sharing and valuing story, creating a space for it. Core to this is my contribution to practice that story connects students with the nature and essence of nursing, the humanness which is essential in their personal role as a nurse.

Sharon EdwardsSchool of Pre-registration nursing - Bucks New University



Spoons and spoonness: A philosophical inquiry through creative practice

Born out of my own practice this research was framed within the idea of staff & personal development and supported by Bucks and other bodies (see below).

The objective was a philosophical inquiry through the making of objects into what I call spoonness. By spoonness I refer to the Platonic idea of the objects in our minds, the concept of an abstract quality or property we find in things. It also touches on Heidegger: “The true meaning of the thing is something we experience through the perception of its function”; Kant: “The thing in itself” and Socrates’ fundamental question “What is x?” - i.e.

What is the one thing common to all the many examples of x, where x = spoon?

To achieve its objective the work engaged in several fields:

• craft & design.

• the academic and the commercial.

• the work was presented at museums & galleries & Design Fairs across Europe (some work ultimately being marketed internationally).

• it engaged with a variety of media - including film, live events and print.

The outcome was varied and encompassed a broad range of artefacts in a variety of materials and expressions. These were presented, explored and “used” in diverse theoretical, visual and live contexts. These included:

• “Work in Progress”: a solo show at Galerie SO in Solothurn (Switzerland-2004) with accompanying Book ‘Form (…) Handlung’ (Galerie SO Edition with essays by Dr. Marjan Unger, Professor Werner Bünck. Dr. Helen Clifford, Elizabeth Callinicos & reviewed in Crafts Magazine by Kate McIntyre); subsequently exhibited at Collect (V&A - 2005 & 2007).

• “Soup at the V&A”: a symposium in collaboration with Dr.. Helen Clifford and 10 invited guests from different Colleges incl. Royal College of Art, London Metropolitan University and Bucks (2006).

• “Handle(s)”: a workshop delivered to students and graduates from ARCO (Centro de Arte & Communicação Visual), Lisbon - 2007.

• “Mo-Billy in Milan” (2008), “Much Depends on Dinner” (2007), & “Tea for Two” (2006), Milan Furniture Fair. These exhibitions resulted in two artefacts put into production for worldwide distribution by Innermost Ltd and Thorsten van Elten Ltd. and also sold through museum shops inc. Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.

• “1 part chef + 4 parts design”: a live event with Top chef Roberto Cortez (LA) and 4 designers (Andreas Fabian, Tomas Alonso, Katja Bremkamp, Elizabeth Callinicos) at the V&A ‘Home Sweet Home’ exhibition (reviewed by Corinne Julius, Crafts Magazine - ‘New food, new implements, new sensations.’ - February 2009). Also shown at Somerset House during London Fashion Week (reviewed by Shai Akram, Interni (Italy), World Design News - September 2009) A selection of my objects is now used by Roberto Cortez in ongoing food events in US (California, Santa Barbara) and Germany (Berlin).

• The research involved collaborations across departments within the faculty of DMM : film, ceramics & glass, VMC, CAD.

Andreas FabianDepartment of Design & Crafts, Faculty of Design, Media & Management - Bucks New University Other Staff Associated with the Project: Dr. Reg Winfield, Dr. Paul Springer, Elizabeth Callinicos and many more colleagues

Inequalities experienced by gypsy and traveller communities: A review

The Government Equalities and Human Rights Agency approached both Greenfields and Cemlyn directly asking them if they would tender for this significant piece of research which is the first (and to date only) explicit review of a range of topics which impact on Gypsies and Travellers inclusion status. Both of the named academics were selected to be members of a small pool of approximately 6 academics who were asked to bid for this project. The principal researchers have worked together on other projects relating to Gypsies and Travellers and moreover considered the volume of work expected in the available timeframe to be overwhelming for a single individual. We therefore agreed to tender in partnership. We had been identified by the EHRC on the basis of our expertise in specific policy areas relating to excluded BME communities and our national and international reputation for undertaking innovative community development/action research pertaining to the insectionalities of domains of exclusion. The project brief also envisaged that a key role existed for engaging with community groups/charities who have experience of working with the ethnic minority groups in question. Greenfields in particular has a long track record of undertaking partnership and collaborative research with FFT and Cemlyn has knowledge of their work and many personal contacts within the organisation. We therefore developed a collaborative bid with Cemlyn/Greenfields undertaking the majority of the research and FFT producing two short sections of the report and administering collection/return and inputting of questionnaires which were to be sent to a number of key agencies and individuals - e.g. Prison chaplains; Stonewall; Travellers Health Projects; national and local charities and voluntary sector agencies in order to explore perceptions, anecdotal experience and documentary evidence of the inequalities faced by Gypsies and Travellers

across all of the equalities domains. The study consisted of a literature review including grey literature (e.g. voluntary sector reports); administration of a questionnaire pertaining to the 8 equalities domains and 23 topic areas drawn from England, Scotland and Wales. Additional policy discussions which are Regionally variant (e.g. Scottish accommodation law) were treated to a separate discussion within discrete chapters on the situation in Wales and Scotland.

The objective of the study was to review all available literature pertaining to inequalities experienced by Gypsies and Travellers in Britain (excluding Northern Ireland); to highlight good practice and make a series of recommendations for policy change, required research and collaborative interagency working.

The research involved collaboration with the national charity FFT and the University of Bristol and consultation with in excess of 40 charities, voluntary sector agencies and individual Gypsies and Travellers.

The report has been published free of charge on the EHRC website and continues to be frequently cited in articles, policy documents and equalities studies including the recommendations of the National Equalities Framework review; the DH review of publications pertaining to well-being of Children etc.

Dr. Margaret Greenfields - Bucks New University, Faculty of Society and Health/Institute for DiversityResearch; Inclusivity, Communities and Society (IDRICS) and Sarah Cemlyn - University of Bristol Other Staff Associated with the Project: Chris Whitworth/Sally Burnett/Zoe Matthews (Friends, Families and Travellers FFT - Charitable organisation)



Third Age, leisure and well-being: Yoga and older women

Research was deemed to be of importance-no funding body was involved. Future funding is being sought to further research.

The ‘Baby Boomer’ generation born around the end of World War 11 (1945-1962) is retired or about to retire and is set to make up a significant proportion of Western civilisation. Yet society is still very much attuned to the younger generations, whose members may regard the older generation as without cultural, social, economic or political significance. Popular discourse on ageing is largely out of kilter with the experiences of many of the over- 60s population.

Aim: The aim of the research was to investigate the role that active leisure (physical activity-in this case yoga) can play in the lives of older women.

Objectives:

1. To investigate the impact of yoga upon the lives of older women. 2. To identify potential external factors that might have both effect and affect, positively and negatively, upon the impact of active leisure on older women. 3. To analyse the potential impact of active leisure on the well-being of older women.

Design methodologies and instrumentation

Qualitative methods, in the form of open-ended interviews, were embraced in order to gain insights into the meanings yoga experiences have for the older women. Individuals were recruited for the study with the assistance of Carol and Barbara’s yoga instructors. Both instructors taught many yoga classes, in a variety of settings, over a week’s period of time. These female instructors made a brief announcement of the study in their respectively taught classes. Female class members, who were age 55 years or older, who had been taking formal yoga classes for one or more years, and who were interested in participating as a key informant in the study, were asked to let the instructor know of their willingness to participate in the study.

In total, 21 women volunteered and completed a questionnaire for the study. Six of the 21 women were interviewed, during spring and summer 2009, for the qualitative part of the study reported. Three of these women were linked to Carol’s yoga instructor; and, the other three women were taught by the same person Barbara had as a yoga instructor.

The two authors collaborated and unilaterally agreed on the face validity of questions posed during the interview. The six women engaged in - 40-50 minute interviews, and all were agreeable to have their interview audio recorded. The interviews were free flowing; nevertheless, we asked similar questions. The transcribed conversations provided the opportunity to uncover the lived and interpretative experiences of older women in terms of the stories each had related to yoga.

Additionally, quantitative methods, in the form of a questionnaire, were adopted to be able to compare our findings with previous research that has been conducted using positivistic perspectives. The key informants were asked a series of demographic and yoga background questions as well as queried using instruments that had been designed to measure: affect (namely positive affect and tranquility affect) associated with participating in yoga, motivations for practicing yoga, interactions with yoga instructor, and finally, self-perceived competency and autonomy experienced with yoga involvement.

Ethical Issues: Ethical considerations are central to our research The project complied with the BERA and ESRC ethical guidelines.

The outcomes included the development of the edited book: Humberstone, B. (ed) Third Age and Leisure Research: Principles and Practice (2010) Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association, in which this research is a chapter. Work with Professor Riddick stimulated collaboration with local third age group and the Movers and Shakers initiative involving Caribbean elders and yoga (amongst other activities). There was also collaboration between the participants of the study ie. older woman practising yoga. It has been shared (and will be shared) with academic colleagues and practitioners in UK and overseas.

Professor Barbara HumberstoneDepartment of Sport Management - Bucks New University Other Staff Associated with the Project: Professor Carol Cutler-Riddick, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC


Professor Barbara Humberstone and Dr. Ina StanDepartment of Sport Management - Bucks New University

The outcomes include the following:PublicationsHumberstone B. & Stan I (2010) Outdoor Learning: Pupils’ experiences and teachers’ interaction in one outdoor residential centre, Education 3-13, International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years EducationHumberstone B. & Stan I (2010) Health, (Body) Image and Primary Schooling Or ‘Why do they have to be a certain weight’?, Sport, Education and SocietyHumberstone, B. & Stan, I. (2009) Well-being and Outdoor Pedagogies in Primary Schooling, The nexus of well-being and safety. Australian Journal Outdoor Education 13(2): 24-32Stan, I. (2010) Control as an Educational Tool and Its Impact on the Outdoor EducationalProcess. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education. Stan, I. (2009) Recontextualising the Role of the Facilitator in Group Interaction in the Outdoor Classroom, Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor learning 9(1), pp. 23-43 Stan I, & Humberstone, B. (in review) An Ethnography of the Outdoor Classroom - How Teachers Manage Risk in the Outdoors, Education and Ethnography

Conference presentationHumberstone , B. and Stan I (2010) Outdoor Learning: Authenticity or Performativity in Round Table- Cultural Navigation: intra/international intra/interpretations of learning in outdoor spaces, American Educational Research Association Annual Conference “Understanding Complex Ecologies in a Changing World” Denver, Colorado April 30 – May 4 2010 (invited to join round table with colleagues from Australia, Singapore, US, Plymouth University, Canada, Denmark) Humberstone, B and Stan I (2009) Well-being and Outdoor Pedagogies, 4th International Outdoor Education Research Conference: Outdoor Education Research and Theory: critical reflections, new directions, La Trobe University, Beechworth, Victoria, Australia, 14-18 April 2009

There was collaboration between the participants of the ethnographic study ie pupils, teachers, facilitators and parents. The work was shared with colleagues at Bucks through presentations at faculty scholarly days, research colloquia etc. It has been shared (and will be shared) with academic colleagues and practitioners in UK and overseas.

Well-being and outdoor pedagogies

This research project was a consequence of sports related submission in the 2001 RAE. Some funds were utilised to support a research assistant for the project led by Professor Humberstone. Dr. Ina Stan was appointed following her completion of her PhD.

This research project brings together two themes of government policy. These are its concerns and policies for the perceived ‘obesity’ crisis and its increasing awareness that children should not be ‘wrapped in cotton wool’. Whilst the UK government is implementing a variety of initiatives in schools to encourage pupils to lose weight and become more active and there is support for the ‘Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto’, an appreciation of formal and non-formal outdoor learning as a vehicle to well-being is missing. The aims of this research project was to examine outdoor learning and its implications for young people’s well-being, exploring how the body is schooled in outdoor learning, and to provide policy directions. This project links with and draws upon ‘well-being’ initiatives through the outdoors both in UK and Europe more broadly. It was a pilot project.

The research process took a qualitative stance, by adopting an ethnographic approach in its broadest sense. Ethnography is considered to be sensitive and can provide for a deep holistic understanding of the social phenomena explored (Davies, 1984; Fetterman, 1989; Griffin, 1985; Humberstone, 1986; Willis, 1977). It is both rigorous and flexible, as it is considered to require disciplined, intense observation and high levels of engagement within the culture explored (Walford, 2002) and is underpinned by a credible theoretical underpinning (Delamont, 2002; Malinowski, 1922), but it also requires for the researcher to act as a human instrument (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Thus, in

any ethnographic study the researcher becomes the research tool par excellence, capturing the intricacy, subtlety, and ever-changing situation of the human experience (Fetterman, 1989; Lincoln & Guba, 1985).

Participant observation and semi-structured interviews were the main methods of data collection, however a fieldwork diary was also kept and relevant documents were collected. Stan undertook the field research with the added advantage that she was familiar with the setting, a small outdoor education centre, having undertaken her PhD field work at the outdoor centre. Interview data, observational data and field notes were peer reviewed as Humberstone and Stan discussed and analysed the data. The interviews conducted were informal, but were based on a list of issues that the research intended to consider. The questions were open-ended and non-directive, and the interviewees were encouraged to speak freely, and the conversation was allowed to develop organically without too much researcher intervention.

Ethical Issues Ethical considerations are central to ethnographic research, particularly so when children are amongst the participants. The project complied with the BERA and ESRC ethical guidelines.

ReferencesDavies, L. (1984). Pupil power: Deviance and gender in school. London: Falmer Press.Delamont, S. (2002). Fieldwork in educational settings: Methods, pitfalls and perspectives (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.Denzin, N.K. (1989). Interpretive interactionism. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Fetterman, D. M. (1989). Ethnography: Step by step. London: Sage.Griffin, C. (1985). Typical girls? Young women from school to the job market. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Hammersley, M., & Atkinson, P. (1995). Ethnography: Principles in practice. London: Routledge.Humberstone, B. (1986). Outdoor education - The quality of the learning experience. An application of ethnographic research method. Trends and Developments in PE. Proceedings of the V111 Commonwealth and International Conference on PE, Dance, Recreation and Health (pp. 438-445). E & FN Spon. Lincoln, Y.S., & Guba, E.G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Malinowski, B. (1922). Argonauts of the Western Pacific. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.Walford, G. (Ed.) (2002). Doing a doctorate in educational ethnography, Vol. 7. Oxford: Elsevier. Willis, P. (1977). Learning to labour: How working class kids get working class jobs. Farnborough: Saxon House.


ChilternChip.com ESCo

This project set about defining the extent of the actual woodchip supply capacity within the Chilterns. The existing woodland resource within the Chilterns area (extending across into South Oxfordshire) is believed to contain sufficient biomass resource to provide localised wood fuel for heat. This project evaluated the actual, wood chip supply capacity as a pre-cursor to the formation of a biomass energy supply company (ESCo).

Local authorities and education and health providers are keen to use renewable energy supplies to progress their climate protection agendas. The Wycombe District Council’s draft Sustainable Energy Supply Strategy identifies the opportunity to increase the use of local biomass (e.g. wood chips, wood pellets) for heating and/or power production as a sustainable source of energy for the District.

The project was financed with a grant of £5,000 through Bucks New University’s Knowledge Transfer Lite programme. The aim was to assist Knowstone Creative Developers Ltd to research the opportunity to enter the energy market.

The objectives agreed with Knowstone Creative Developers Ltd, were: 1. Consolidate existing data on privately owned woodland stock (softwood and low quality hardwood) within the Chilterns and South Oxfordshire, and to assess its potential chipwood yield.

2. Plot the annual production capacity of the Forestry Commission woodland within the area and plot this on the projected supply matrix (and relate this to the availability of supplementary supply by ‘Spot Purchasing’ from major commercial forestry companies).

3. Assess the economics of small scale felling/ extraction/transportation/production and distribution of woodchip, based on ‘double handling’ ie removing chipwood after felling to a central store(s) and woodchip production plant.

4. Produce a five year Business Plan for ChilternChip.com (to establish this biomass heat ESCo).

This project was resourced through 18 days’ of university staff time (1 staff member) and achieved its stated objectives. It concluded that the idea of establishing an ESCo was viable. It also established the following: • a database of owners. Further funding would enable this database to be linked to a digital map, and this funding has been offered in principle by the Chilterns Conservation Board. • a financial model of woodchip production costs, showing break-even costs/value. More significantly, an innovative Finnish mini-combi harvester/ forwarder has been identified, as the basis for overcoming the poor economics of small scale harvesting. • logistics (roundwood transportation costs and woodchip distribution costs) are under review, based on a ‘hook & lift’ bin system, utilising spare capacity of an existing plant hire contractor. • the design and costings for a semi-automated woodfuel processing centre are the subject of discussion with VTT, the Finnish timber products research organisation, under their EU Woodheat Solutions programme.

Further outcomes include Knowstone Creative Developers Ltd becoming a partner in a INTEREG project submission entitled “Tools for Integrated Management of Biomass Energy Resources - TIMBER” with a total value of around €315,000.

Collaboration with colleagues from the University’s New Media and Technology department has made it possible to create an online supply/demand web-based management tool.

Professor Florin IorasCentre for Conservation and Sustainability - Bucks New University Other Staff Associated with the Project: Susan Jones

Reorganising the business education programme drawing on the UK experience

Project: EU-Turkey Civil Society DialoguePartners: Ankara University (lead organisation), Buckinghamshire New University and Warwick Business School Value of the project: Euros 330,000

The overarching aim of this project was to engage EU and Turkish parties in dialogue with each other about enterprise education and SME training within the context of the EU’s Civil Society Dialogue.

Against this background, the specific objectives were to: • Compare and exchange educational curricula between Turkish and EU universities on entrepreneurship education and training for SMEs. • Design and deliver training courses for SMEs in Turkey aimed at micro businesses and female entrepreneurs. • Organise an international conference in Turkey entitled ‘Market, Marketing & Entrepreneurship: Creating & Capturing Value in the 21st Century’ to promote exchange of views and ideas on SMEs and entrepreneurship. • Disseminate the results and outcomes.

The above aims and objectives were achieved by:• Holding regular team meetings between partners to deliver the project outcomes facilitate knowledge exchange and understanding between the partners. • Organising the international conference held in April 2009. This enabled exchanges between SME practitioners, academics and policy-makers to take place. • Two Turkish PhD students from Ankara University undertaking research at Buckinghamshire New University during a period of 3 months. The data collected from interviews with SMEs based in Buckinghamshire, SME networking sessions and secondary data focused on: finance, branding and issues for female entrepreneurs. • Using the ideas generated from the conference and the data collected by the PhD students to design and deliver training materials and training programmes to SMEs in Turkey.

Outcomes of the Project:1. Design and delivery of training programme for Turkish SMEs delivered in October-December 2009. 2. An international conference (April 2009) that facilitated the exchange of ideas and best practice and published conference proceedings (ISBN: 978-605-5782-06-1). 3. EU-conference in November 2009 that enabled all participants of the various EU-Turkey Civil Society Dialogue projects to share experiences and outcomes from the different projects.

4. Contribution to the PhD students’ learning about SMEs in the UK and how their experiences compared to those in Turkey (knowledge transfer).

5. An on-going dialogue formalised between Ankara University and Buckinghamshire New University through the setting up of a formal ERASMUS exchange agreement (with effect from 2010).

Collaboration across Faculties/Departments and Externally:The project involved the following departments: • Open4Business - Enterprise Directorate, Buckinghamshire New University • Business & Management School, Buckinghamshire New University • Ankara University Business & Economics Faculty • Warwick Business School • Local SMEs in Buckinghamshire • Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce • Wycombe District Council • Sponsors: EU, DenizBank, GarantiBank, Finansbank • Expert Advisers such as for example: Professor Michael Baker, University of Strathclyde, UK Professor Doğan Yaşar Ayhan, Başkent University, Turkey Professor Candida Brush, Babson College, USA Professor Nicolai J. Foss, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark Professor Claes M. Hultman, Orebro University, Sweden Professor Roger Mumby-Croft, University of Warwick, UK Associate Professor Minet Schindehute, Syracuse University, USA Professor Mithat Üner, Gazi University, Turkey Professor Paul Westhead, University of Durham, UK

Dr. Lorraine Watkins-MathysSchool of Applied Management & Law - Bucks New University Other Staff Associated with the Project: Susan Jones



Diversity, marketing and management

OverviewThe research was initiated by the Principal Investigator but two book commissions were the immediate prompt to production of two texts looking in-depth at the topics. The objectives were to produce definitive works on (i) the impacts of Diversity on Marketing (including Design) and Management and the difficulties in the way of introducing Diversity to organisations (ii) to bring attention to the findings in the wider world so that the research findings could be applied.

How these objectives were achievedThe Principal Investigator has been researching these topics for around fifteen years and published the outcomes in thirty refereed journal articles. This research has focused on the impact of segmentation variables (gender, personality and nationality) on management and marketing activities with a detailed focus on: (i) The impact of personality on graphic expression: the research emphasises how graphic expression, including design, varies in line with personality features. (ii) The impact of gender and nationality on design productions and preferences: the research reports on the way the dependent variable (design productions) can vary in accordance with gender and how preferences can also be segmented by gender. These findings have potentially enormous significance for the design of products for male or female-dominated markets; and by the same token, have implications for the staffing of design departments with these ideally being staffed by people whose gender matches that of the customer base. The complex issues involved in achieving this in the context of male-dominated Design departments are discussed in detail. (iii) The impact of nationality on marketing preferences: the research shows how Hofstede’s categorisation of management attitudes in the UK and France can be carried across to the analysis of the concepts in UK and French marketing. (iv) The impact of nationality on teamwork preferences: the research shows the greater propensity to teamwork in a collectivist society (Slovenia) than in an individualistic one (Australia). (v) The impact of gender on leadership style preferences: the shows how a tolerance of transformational leadership can favour the appointment of women to management and leadership positions.

Book commissions offered the opportunity to bring these research findings to a wider audience (see section immediately below)

Concrete outputsTwo books were published in 2009 /2010: (i) Gender, Design and Marketing April 2010 (Gower). This is a single-author work (245 pages) focusing on issues (i)-(iii) and (v) of those highlighted above. It has a forward by the CEO of the Chartered Society of Designers. (ii) Profiting from Diversity January 2010 (Palgrave Macmillan). This is an edited book (280 pages) with five chapters by the Principal Investigator. These focus on issues (ii) (iv) and (v) of those highlighted above. As further source of innovative thinking is the focus in the book on the factors that militate against the introduction of a diverse workforce.

CollaborationThe book Profiting from Diversity has chapters contributed by academics at Glasgow, Glamorgan, Keele and Portsmouth Universities as well as the University of Portsmouth, University of Wales and University of La Rochelle.

Gloria MossFaculty of Design, Media and Management - Bucks New University

Complications following SCI during transfer to spinal centres during the Acute Phase

Aim of Study: To explore the incidence of complications in 2 centres; explore the possible relation of complication development and the time lapse from injury to admission to a spinal unit; identify complications during the transfer from general hospitals to specialised centres; compare results in both centres and those in literature; and establish and develop recommendations and guidelines to improve our practice.

Material and Methods Retrospective study has been taken to determine complications following SCI during the acute phase, Random samples from the RNOH and Stoke Mandeville (25 patients from each hospital during their first admission post injury. Data collected is from patient’s medical records, Data collection tool designed to explore the following aspects: Completeness of the notes, Referrals forms/ outreach services, Aetiology and level of injury, Pre & post admission management, Time between injury and admission to spinal unit, Type of complications reviewed include skin, respiratory, urinary, bowels, cardiovascular/ DVT/PE, psychological, surgical, GI, Pre and post admission complications.

Results:Study suggested that early admissions to specialised spinal centres reduce the incidence of complication development. A high incidence of at least one complication on admission documented, the most common complications detected: skin, urinary, respiratory and psycho. The study findings highlighted the poor documentation of the multidisciplinary team. Other findings will be outline within poster presentation.

Conclusion It is evident from the finding of the study that a uniform standard of SCI treatment will soon be provided throughout the country As a result this will serve to improve the quality of care given to SCI patient groups, This will lead to diversion of resources to improve services of SCI management further, further recommendations will be outline within poster presentation.

Firas SaranFaculty of Society and Health - Bucks New University, Stoke Mandeville Hospital Other Staff Associated with the Project: Mofid Saif



Reducing risk for sexual revictimisation: potential intervention targets

This paper aims to discuss social-cognitive theoretical explanations for sexual revictimisation in relation to their potential for application in the development of empirically informed interventions. There are several problems with current interventions. Firstly, psychotherapeutic programmes which have been designed specifically to prevent sexual revictimisation can only be offered to individuals who are aware of and willing to disclose their child abuse history. Secondly, more generic psycho-educational interventions have met with limited success and thus it is the intention here to identify additional mechanisms that might contribute to the link between childhood sexual abuse and risk for adult sexual assault. A retrospective web-based survey design was employed which attracted an opportunistic sample of 210 community respondents. A snowballing method was utilised to include a diverse population. The majority of participants were female (74%) and their ages ranged from 16 to 65 years, mean age of 33 years. The findings highlighted the need for psychoeducational training for young people as young as 13/14 years as the group at greatest risk of revictimisation in adolescents were those who had experienced a period of dissociative amnesia for their memories of being a victim of child sexual abuse. Overall this group demonstrated an eight-fold risk for rape between the ages of 14 and 18 years. Additionally the analysis identified several potentially modifiable and as yet under explored contributors to risk including proclivity for experiencing shame, demonstrations of consideration and caring. These are classified as behaviours that signal to predatory sexual offenders that this individual is a particularly suitable and low-risk target, in that they will offer little by way of physical resistance and are unlikely to disclose any assault to the authorities. Additionally, the findings highlighted the risk associated with continued use of dissociation which appears to be associated with a compromised ability to decipher and respond to risky situations and may well place individuals at risk of unwanted sexual encounters with ‘well intentioned yet naïve men’. That is, a proportion of date rape scenarios where the man honestly feels that he had consensual sex, but the woman feels as though she has been raped. The implications for interventions will be discussed.

Dr. Nadia WagerDepartment of Social Sciences/ Faculty of Society and Health - Bucks New University


English children, alcohol consumption and national alcohol policy

The research was commissioned by the Local Education Authority and the Drugs & Alcohol Action Team in one English county. The aim of the commissioned research was to determine how the drinking habits of school children aged 11-15 years in this county compared to those of other children investigated in annual national surveys. The data were further analysed for all pupils aged 11 and over but younger than the legal age to purchase alcohol. The results were considered in the light of suggested national policies aimed at reducing levels of alcohol consumption. There were two parts of this work: a quantitative element which was an anonymous questionnaire survey and a qualitative element employing focus groups of the school children. The quantitative work only will be reported here. By agreement with the schools, the questionnaires were delivered to 24 of the 34 state schools in the county with the request that they be given to all pupils of all ages in each school. The S&H Ethics Committee gave approval for the study and letters were sent out to all parents with the option that their child should not take part. The pupils themselves could refuse to take part by placing the uncompleted questionnaire in the return envelope. Completed questionnaires were received from over 14,000 pupils. This was different from the national survey where only 35 pupils were surveyed in each school resulting in just over 8000 returns. The results for children aged 11-15 were similar to those in national surveys. Interesting results were obtained by analysing data for all children 11-17 inclusive. In this age group 63.4% of boys and 62.3% of girls had drunk alcohol with the most frequent age for starting drinking being 12 years and 94.2% of the drinking starting before 16 years. In this age group, the mean number of units consumed in the previous week was 16.2 (SD17.8, range 1-105) for boys and 10.6 (SD 10.4, range 1-63) for girls. Boys and girls drank similar types of alcohol and in similar quantities until the age of 13 after which boys drank more units of beer and cider. The data were reconsidered to determine the feasibility of children being able to purchase the units of alcohol they drank if the minimum price of 50p per unit is introduced. Data relating to pocket money were used. Additional data collected in the survey which asked where pupils obtained alcohol and whether they bought it themselves indicated that many children obtain alcohol from their family or friends with permission and some steal alcohol. These results suggest that the minimum pricing level will not affect the levels of alcohol consumed by most pupils surveyed.

Dr. Gwyn WeatherburnFaculty of Society & Health - Bucks New UniversityOther Staff Associated with the Project: Jane Wright, Michael Weatherburn, Joan Gandy and David Shaw

ABSTRACTS Oral Presentations Bucks New University Student Entries 22

Driver drowsiness detection based on eye blink

Introduction: The growing number of traffic accidents in recent years has become a serious concern to society. Accidents caused by drivers’ drowsiness behind the steering wheel have a high fatality rate because of the discernible decline in the driver’s abilities of perception, recognition, and vehicle control abilities while sleepy. Preventing such accidents caused by drowsiness is highly desirable but requires techniques for continuously detecting, estimating, and predicting the level of alertness of drivers and delivering effective feedback to maintain maximum performance.

Objectives: The main objectives of this research study is • To develop a reliable system for the detection of driver impairment due to drowsiness. • To describe a new method for monitoring the drowsiness of drivers continually using a new metric of drowsiness (New Drowsiness Scale or NDS).

Methods: • A computer vision system is designed to monitor the driver’s physiological eye blink behaviour. The NDS (range 1-to-10) is based on a combination of variables characterizing eye blink durations and the number of blinks or blink frequency. Analysis of the data revealed that eye blink duration and eye blink frequency were important parameters in detecting drowsiness. • The novel application of green LED illumination system (GLIS) overcame one of the major difficulties of environmental light changing problem on video detection systems. The use of the head mounted video sensor also reduced the problem regarding head movement interfering with eye blink detection. • Experimentation in a driving simulator revealed various visual cues, typically characterizing the level of alertness of the driver and was combined to infer the drowsiness level of the driver. The virtual reality driving simulator was designed to measure driver performance and the results were correlated against the human drowsiness performance indicators. The system was validated under real life drowsiness conditions with human subjects of different ethnic backgrounds, genders, ages, with/without glasses, and under different environmental illumination conditions.

Results: Main Findings: 1. Drowsiness Detection A new metric has been identified and for validating driver drowsiness. This metric relates to the eye blink duration and frequency. NDS uses a weighted combination of several variables to measure drowsiness that have not been used previously, particularly the correlation between eye blink frequency and durations. This method is highly reliable in detecting drowsiness comparing to the currently widely use methods (e.g. John’s Drowsiness Indexi and PERCLOSii) and only method be able to detect micro-sleeps.

2. Green Light Illumination System (GLIS) Environmental light changes were the main obstruction in the video based detection methods. The second most important finding in this research is the green light illumination system. This system can be used in situations with varied illumination conditions.

3. Eye Blink Detection Eye sclera (white area of eye) region analysis for blink detection was new and does not disturb the subject while detecting. Current Infrared (IR) systems will be harmful to eye cells, but this method is 100% safe to eye.

Research Funding: I have received the full research funding from the Buckinghamshire New University. Two external advisers involved in this research for driving simulator design (Professor Andrew Parkes, Transport Research Lab, TRL) and physiological behaviours of eye blink (Professor Scott Glickman, Queen Mary University & Aylesbury Hospital). Expert advice for data analysis (Professor John Boylan, Buckinghamshire New University).

i. Johns, M., & Tucker, A. (2005). The amplitude-velocity ratios for eyelid movements during blinks: Changes with drowsiness. Sleep, 28, A122ii. Knipling, R. (1998). “PERCLOS: A valid Psycho physiological Measure of Alertness as Assessed by Psychomotor Vigilances”. Washington: Federal Highways Administration - Office of Motor Carrier Research and Standards

Dr. Indrachapa BandaraFaculty of Design, Media and Management - Bucks New University Other Staff Associated with the Project: John Boylan


Optimising video codecs for wired and wireless transcoding

The company that requested the applied research was ‘Tektronix Plc’, which manufactures equipment for compressed video quality analysis for broadcasters like Google, MTV, Disney and Microsoft. The objective of the research was to investigate a persistent problem in the broadcasting industry, ‘field order error’ or ‘field reversal’, which results in a shaky display of the video. Video streams are coded in such a way that high fidelity is achieved in progressive displays. In third world countries, where usage of the progressive displays is less likely to penetrate the market in the near future, some serious artefacts were observed while viewing the same video stream on traditional analogue CRT interlaced displays. The root cause of the problem was found to be unskilled editing and coexistence of different video standards. Only solution that existed to rectify the problem was ‘eyeballing’ (quality control by manual viewing), an industrial term for visual inspection. An investigation into the current solution of visual inspection revealed that the process was very exhaustive and it is not a feasible solution due to the sheer volume of clips, time constraints and practicality. The outcome of research was some novel methods which were proven to emulate human eye with good precision and automate the image analysis with their performance as good as the manual visual inspection. The exhaustive process of manual inspection of hours and hours of video can now be replaced by the proposed system, which can restore the integrity of the video automatically. The field reversal error explained was a problem that was unknown to the broadcasting industry, as each broadcaster reported the problem with a different name leading to ambiguity in understanding the cause of the problem. The work undertaken in this research had resulted in the global name ‘field reversal’ being given to the problem and has led to the generation of documents detailing the cause, implications and solutions in a form understandable by commercial broadcasters. The ability of the proposed imaging methods to perform in real time has been proven by integrating the algorithms with ‘Cerify’, a video quality control manufactured by Tektronix and made commercially available.

Dr. Premkumar ElangovanBucks New University Other Staff Associated with the Project: Peter Harding


The effect of mechanical circulatory support on cardiac and exercise performance in patients with chronic heart failure

This study was funded by the Research Centre for Society and Health at Buckinghamshire New University. Dr. D Jakovljevic received a bursary to undertake this study as part of his PhD thesis.

Background: The traditional procedure for end-stage heart failure is heart transplantation. As the demand exceeds the availability of donor hearts, the use of heart pumps, specifically left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) has emerged as an ideal alternative form of treatment for such patients. Development of LVADs with improved design, additional features and durability is expected to expand its adoption across a wider patient population, including children.

The objectives of this project were threefold: 1) to assess and compare resting and peak exercise cardiac power output between patients a) implanted with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), b) those explanted due to sufficient myocardial recovery and c) patients with moderate to severe heart failure; 2) to evaluate and compare exercise performance among these three groups of patients; and 3) to investigate the effect of acute reduction of a continuous-flow LVAD support on cardiac and exercise performance in patients undergoing the ‘Harefield Recovery Protocol’.

In order to perform the above research there was a need to evaluate a non-invasive (re-breathing) cardiac output device. This “evaluation phase” of resting and exercise cardiac output measurements was performed as a sub-study on healthy subjects at the Cardiovascular Health Laboratory, Bucks New University, prior to starting clinical work in Harefield Hospital. The re-breathing cardiac output device was than implemented in the Harefield Laboratory and patients’ clinical and exercise data were collected in the period from August 2006 to December 2008.

This research has shown, for the first time, that complementary to reported prognostic benefits, non-pulsatile continuous-flow LVAD pumps can confer cardiac functional benefits to patients with end-stage heart failure. The procedure derives improved exercise capacity, while those who recovered sufficiently to allow explantation of LVADs, can even achieve cardiac and physical functional capacities nearly equivalent to those of healthy controls.

The research involved collaboration with Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust (Harefield Heart Science Centre and Magdi Yacoub Institute) and Leeds General Infirmary.

Dr. Djordje G. Jakovljevic and Professor David A. BrodieCardiovascular Health Research Group - Bucks New University Other Staff Associated with the Project: Dr. David Nunan, Gay Donovan, Dr. Keiran Henderson, Professor Sir Magdi Yacouband clinical colleagues at Harefield Hospital

Normalisation of autonomic dysfunction in patients following recovery using left ventricular assist device combination therapy

The following applied research was performed as part of a joint collaboration between The Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust and Buckinghamshire New University.

Background and objectives. The objective of this research was to assess the effects of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy in patients suffering from life threatening heart failure, with particular focus on the autonomic nervous system.

The clinical collaborators at Harefield hospital have developed a treatment strategy involving a combination of LVAD and pharmacological therapy that has demonstrated a recovery of symptoms and an improved survival of their patients. This has also resulted in less patients requiring heart transplantation. The Harefield team contribute their findings to a reversal of the initial remodelling of the heart that occurs as a result of the condition, including improvements to both structural and functional parameters of the previously failing heart. In severe heart failure, there is a displacement of the normal underlying autonomic conditions that often results in a heightened sympathetic and/or a lowered parasympathetic state. Such autonomic conditions are associated with an increased risk of adverse effects to the patient. Considering the positive effects of the Harefield LVAD combination therapy, the question does this treatment strategy result in favourable changes to the patients autonomic function was raised. If so, could autonomic assessments be added as an additional measure of positive effects of LVAD combination therapy?

How these objectives were met. Heart rate variability (HRV) was measured in six NYHA III-IV classified chronic heart failure (CHF) patients (4 men, age 39±10 years, 778±1148 days post diagnosis), 12 explanted LVAD patients (8 men, age 37±8 years, duration of CHF pre-device implantation 333 563 days, 766±476 days post explant), and 10 healthy, age and sex-matched controls (8 men, age 37 12). HRV was recorded when supine, standing (sympathetic stimulation) and supine with paced breathing at 0.25 Hz (vagal stimulation). Repeat measures ANOVA and post hoc analysis were used to analyse differences in high (HF) and low (LF) frequency log transformed spectral power and LF:HF.

OutcomesHRV was almost identical between explants and controls under the supine condition. Non-significant differences existed under standing and paced breathing conditions (P>0.05). HRV was significantly depressed in CHF compared to explants in supine condition (P<0.05) and to controls in supine and standing conditions (P<0.01). The above results: 1) Demonstrate the clinical utility of HRV assessments in current practice for the treatment of end stage heart failure in the UK. 2) Confirmed the autonomic displacement in severe heart failure patients, with poor values for known risk factors (HF, a measure of parasympathetic conditions) observed in the untreated group.

Revealed the novel findings of a normalisation of autonomic dysfunction with LVAD combination therapy which could have important mechanistic and prognostic implications.

Dr. David NunanFaculty of Society and Health - Bucks New UniversityOther Staff Associated with the Project: Professor David A. Brodie, Dr. Djordje Jakovljevic, Gay Donovan, Dr. Gavin Sandercock,Dr. Keiran Henderson, Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub and clinical colleagues at Harefield Hospital


ABSTRACTS Oral Presentations Coventry University Staff Entries 26

Methods and advanced equipment for simulation and treatment in Radio-Oncology (MAESTRO)

The only FP6 European project on technology for cancer The MAESTRO project was funded by the European commission as an integrated project (LSHC-CT-2004-503564) May 2004 - October 2009. The University was initially awarded €362k with an additional €30.1k provided in 2008-9. Coventry University was one of 10 out of 25 partners awarded additional funding based on previous performance.

Aim of the work The aim of the work package led by Dr. Haas was to develop adaptive radiation delivery, tracking and control system to increase radiotherapy treatment precision by taking patient and organ motions into account and compensating for them whilst the radiation were being delivered.

Project organisation and management I coordinated the work of Coventry University, UK, the University Hospital (Coventry, UK), the University of Warwick, UK, the University of East Anglia (UEA), UK and the University of Castilla la Mancha (UCLM), Spain. To ensure good progress, regular meetings were organised locally (in person, webcam and phone). In addition, Coventry University hosted two of the major quarterly project review meetings involving all the 25 partners and organised a workshop and a demonstration of the prototype system at the University Hospital, Coventry. I organised MSc and placement projects to support the work of research assistants and PhD students to develop: a video tracking system in LabVIEW, patient support system (PSS) non linear simulation models, and dSPACE real time implementation.

The scientific work organisation A systems approach was adopted where the equipments used in UK radiotherapy department were assessed at 4 different hospitals. Following the equipments evaluation, motion prediction algorithm were developed to accommodate for slow machine dynamics and delays introduced by the image tracking systems. The PSS was selected to perform the motion adaptation and thus a model of the system was developed for simulation purposes and a simplified version for control. A control system was designed on simulation and combined with the motion predictor developed concurrently. The predictor and controller were then implemented on a real time platform tested at the University and connected to the equipment at the hospital. Several iterations were required to design a safe and practical hardware connection between real time hardware and the PSS.

First UK demonstration of active motion management using a PSSTo evaluate the research CTAC and UHCW (Coventry, UK) developed a new computer controlled “breathing” thorax phantom able to replicate realistic external as well as internal organ motion. The thorax phantom motion was detected by

tracking external surrogate markers monitored by a video camera. The marker position was then sent to a Kalman filter motion predictor which provided to the controller a set of predicted marker position at different time interval in the future. A predictive controller exploited the measured and predicted position to calculate the control action required to move the PSS in real time to compensate for target movements.

YouTube video Videos of the experimental work entitled Fighting Cancer with Control Theory - Control Theory Applications Centre (CTAC) can be seen on YouTube and on the MAESTRO project web site: http://wwwm.coventry.ac.uk/researchnet/ctac/projects/maestro/Pages/MAESTROnewsandvideos.aspx

Feeding back research into teaching I fed back the experience gained in this multidisciplinary project into my teaching in the form of project work, coursework components and case studies. Movies of the experiments were used to demonstrate image processing algorithms. New motion prediction algorithms were investigated within MSc projects. Data collected from clinical equipment were used to illustrate the issues associated with modelling and control of ‘real’ systems as opposed to simulated systems. The team’s experience with the integration of dSPACE, Matlab, Simulink and LabVIEW was used to design new tutorials for MSc modules dealing with real time control, data acquisition and video tracking. I also coordinated the edition of a book, based on the work carried out in the work package 1. This research based textbook is aimed to illustrate theory with practical research applications: O. Haas, K. Burnham (Editors) (2008) Intelligent and Adaptive Systems in Medicine (Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering), Taylor & Francis; 1st edition (21 Feb 2008), ISBN-13: 978-0750309943.

Dr. Olivier HaasControl Theory and Applications Centre - Coventry UniversityOther Staff Associated with the Project: Professor Keith Burnham


An exploration of the British labour market experiences of second-generation Irish: Still nursing & navvying?

This doctoral research was funded by the Faculty of Business, Environment & Society.

The objective was to examine accounts of the labour market experiences of second-generation Irish to determine if their work histories replicate parental career patterns. For two centuries a narrow range of sectors absorbed waves of Irish migrants, with occupational patterns clustered in gendered and stereotyped roles in construction and nursing, yet their descendants careers have not been scrutinised in any depth. Despite being the largest ethnic minority group in Britain there has been no systematic collection of statistics for the Irish as a multi-generational ethnic group, hence the second-generation rarely figure in official data. Consequently, conceptions of ethnicity predicated on the black/white dualism of race and assumed assimilation have ignored the Irish experience.

This topic was chosen because there is little extant research on second-generation Irish at work in Britain (Hickman, 1995; Hickman et al, 2001). It is relatively straightforward to identify first generation Irish-born immigrants within the UK labour market, but more difficult to locate their offspring because of the paucity of official statistics. The work is original and distinctive because the career patterns and labour market experiences of second-generation migrants are a salient labour market issue. There is a gap in the literature so that the part the descendants of Irish immigrants have played in the British labour market is not fully documented.

Narrative accounts of individuals work histories provided a unique framework for examining working lives and the research design facilitated reflection on levels of ‘cultural persistence’ of Irishness (Diner, 1983: xvi). More importantly, mass emigration from Ireland is unlikely to happen again so the opportunity to capture such data is diminishing.

A biographical approach was used where life story interviewing methods were deployed to ensure ‘an unambiguous focus on the respondents’ views, opinions and experiences’ (Atkinson, 2004: 43) thus providing rich in-depth data. Personal narratives were deemed a suitable method to utilise for gathering data as according to Smith, (1998:210) the accounts that a life story approach reveals ‘often facilitates the inclusion of data for previously ignored groups’. This is particularly relevant for this group as they have been categorised as an under researched group who have been rendered invisible and inaudible due, inter alia, to their similarity in colour to the majority of the English population (Walls & Williams, 2003). Biographical research was an ideal approach to adopt as it facilitated exploration of each individual’s social construction of reality; thereby revealing individual lives in terms of their distinctiveness and social context. The biographical method was supplemented with photo-elicitation techniques which sought to provide ‘richer data’ by using participants photographs to acquire perspectives of their social existence (Harper, 2002).

Since completion, outcomes include an interview in the Irish Post, an article in Federation of Irish Societies Newsletter, invitation to speak at the National Irish Studies Conference (March 2010) and presentation at BES internal research conference. I have developed a dissemination plan and am currently preparing academic journal articles.

Dr. Geraldine HammersleyFaculty of Business, Environment & Society - Coventry University


Critical mass in research

There is a long-standing debate in academia regarding the optimal policy for funding research. On the one hand the Russell Group argues that bigger is better and the best policy is to concentrate support into large, research-intensive universities. On the other hand, advocates of competition argue for a more even spread of resources to support research excellence wherever it is found, also in smaller universities.

In support of its case, the Russell Group cites work, such as the recent Smith review of the postgraduate provision which states that “In some disciplines the ability to produce excellent research is highly dependent on there being a critical mass of research capability”. A report by Million+ claims “However, high quality support provision is not dependent on critical mass”. Similarly, University Alliance claims that excellence is not determined by volume alone, and “There is no direct correlation between volume and excellence outside some of the physical sciences”. Moreover, even in such cases, University Alliance claims “there is no identifiable ‘threshold’ or ‘critical mass’”.

Thus the notion of critical mass in research is intrinsic to this debate. However, while this notion has been around for a long time, it has been a subjective one - no quantitative definition of critical mass has been given, until now, and even the existence of a critical mass has been disputed. Now, our new research has clarified this issue.

We have established a mathematical model for the relationship between research quality and the quantity of researchers in a team. This model treats research groups as complex systems which self-organise into hierarchical structures. It turns out that collaboration between team members plays a crucial role and the strength of such a research community is greater than the sum of its parts. There are not one, but two discipline-dependent critical masses in research. The lower of these matches the heretofore loose notion of critical mass as that size below which research groups are vulnerable. The research quality of teams up to about twice this mass is strongly size dependent. However, once the quantity of researchers in a team exceeds an upper critical mass the dependency of research quality on team size reduces.

The model has been tested using data from the most recent RAE, and comparing it to the French equivalent. Using these data, we have determined the critical masses for a multitude of academic disciplines. This is the first quantification of the previously intuitive notion of critical mass in research.

The theory allows one to categorise research teams as “small” if they contain fewer staff than the lower critical mass, “large” if their number exceeds the upper critical mass and “medium” if they are in between. An important conclusion is that, to maximise the overall strength of a given discipline, it is best to prioritise support for medium sized teams – a continual policy of concentration is less effective above the upper critical mass. Thus the resolution to the above mentioned debate lies between the two extremes.

Dr. Ralph KennaApplied Mathematics Research Centre - Coventry University Other Staff Associated with the Project: The work is in collaboration with Professor Bertrand Berche, Université Nancy, France


The governance of sexual violence in Northern Uganda

The research was funded by the British Academy (Award Reference: SG-53937). Specific objectives were to: (1) examine the understanding of ‘survivor’ of sexual violence, in terms of gender and long-term impact (2) analyse health and policing needs of survivors from their own perspectives (3) evaluate responses to survivors by state policing, health services, local customary structures, community-based organisations and NGOs, and (4) identify the meaning of effective governance for sexual violence survivors.

In collaboration with Kitgum Women’s Peace Initiative, as our local partners, we interviewed 51 men and 41 women survivors of conflict-related violence, including sexual violence, in Orom sub-county; as well as 6 women survivors in Kitgum Town, as regards their experience of justice and health provision. Some of the interviews were conducted individually and others were held in focus groups. We also carried out 85 semi-structured interviews with police and health officials, and non-state providers that examined their training, facilities, interviewing techniques, use of women officials and success in bringing cases to a conclusion. We triangulated our findings by discussing the project’s themes with key informants within the health and legal profession, human rights organisations, local and government leaders. Overall we listened to over 200 people in individual interviews, focus groups and in three workshops.

The research found state health and justice systems failure with limited non-state policing and health services. Further, sexual violence had not stopped with the end of conflict. Regarding justice, a culture of responding to sexual violence through local negotiation between the families of the accused and survivor prevailed. The police were often only informed when this broke down. With respect to resilience, survivors reported several adaptive ways of handling their physical health problems and psychological trauma. There was evidence of sexual violence not only against women but against male LRA rebels.

An executive summary of the research was presented to UNIFEM, United Nations and the 2010 Global Forum for Women: Beijing +15 in New York. NGO Committee on the Status of Women. It was disseminated to policy makers, practitioners, DFID, Amnesty International, Sexual Violence Research Initiative, Johannesburg, WHO, and the UN police advisor. Helen Liebling was invited to present on the expert panel at a recent DFID workshop on violence against women, as part of their security and justice programming. The research was presented at the Africa @ WARWICK conference, Department of Psychology, Warwick University, and will be presented at the Psychological Recovery, Trauma and Growth Conference, University of Nottingham in June. A detailed research report was disseminated and discussed with stakeholders in Kitgum, Kampala and internationally. A book contract has been obtained, two articles submitted for publication and two are in preparation for peer-reviewed journals.

The research was carried out as a collaboration of researchers in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences and the Faculty of Business, Environment and Society, Coventry University. It involved extensive collaboration with Isis-Women’s International Cross-Cultural Exchange, a women’s NGO based in Kampala, Kitgum Women’s Peace Initiative and the Faculties of Law and Medicine, Makerere University, Uganda.

Dr. Helen Liebling-Kalifani and Professor Bruce BakerFaculty of Health and Life Sciences - Coventry University Other Staff Associated with the Project: Isis-Women’s International Cross-Cultural Exchange, Isis-WICCE,Kitgum Women’s Peace Initiative, KIWEPI and Makerere University

Comparing the return of investment of search engine optimisation and pay per click campaign implemented for Trinity Expert Systems Ltd

The research was requested by Trinity Expert Systems ltd.

The goal of the research was to identify the main investment path of the company web marketing. The main objective was to identify the expected level of return of investment from two main sources of web marketing: search engine optimisation and pay per click. To achieve this goal a number of objectives had to be met: 1. Perform search engine optimisation (Google and Bing) of the website, both content and back linkwise. 2. Perform the Pay Per Click campaign of the main products of the company. 3. Provide the company with a process of capturing the sources of sales. 4. Perform the comparison of the return of investment of both the methods.

To achieve the goals highlighted above the following actions were planned and performed: 1. A set of interviews were organised with the marketing department of the company to identify the main products and services. 2. Throughout the interviews, the baseline return of investment was identified. At this point, not only direct sales coming from the website had to be identified but more importantly sales just initiated through the internet and finalised through conventional media. This required setting up a manual data collection process in the customer service department, reconfiguring the website to capture more information and organising a set of meeting with marketing.

3. The structure, content and design of the website was amended to increase its web crawled mark. 4. The number of back links pointing at the web site was significantly increased. 5. After leaving some time for the search engine to re-index the site the process of capturing the sales and their sources was repeated. 6. The difference in sales was calculated and on top of that the return of investment.

The main outcome of the research was an observation that in this particular case (IT consultancy company with significant competition) the search engine optimisation provides significantly higher return of investment than the pay per click and more investment in this form of web marketing is justified. Secondly we have identified a positive impact of search engine optimisation on the information and product visibility of the company across the customers.

ABSTRACTS Oral Presentations Coventry University Student Entry 30

Adam Grzywaczewski and Dr. Rahat IqbalComputing and the Digital Environment - Coventry University

ABSTRACTS Oral Presentations University of Gloucestershire Staff Entry 31

The virtual rocky shore

The Virtual Rocky Shore (VRS) is a pedagogic computer simulation for teaching ecological experimental design, and is based on peer-reviewed research into computer simulations of foraging and grazing patterns of intertidal snails. It is an excellent example of where applied research has been developed directly from pure, curiosity-driven, research.

Funding for the research initially came from the University of Gloucestershire’s Centre for Active Learning, but the final year of the project (ending March 2010) was commissioned by the JISC as part of the Bioscience strand of the Open Educational Resources (OER) programme, which aims to release digital educational resources freely for use by other institutions, especially those in developing countries.

Many real ecological experiments need to be set up for several months before data can be collected, which makes teaching these concepts difficult. To address this, the objective of the research was to take existing computer simulations of the ecology of the rocky shore and convert them into a format suitable for conducting virtual ecological experiments within the confines of timetabled practical session (3h). This process would require the development of a simple to use graphical interface – similar to those used in computer games – to allow the simulation to be accessible to students. Furthermore, a companion website to the VRS was developed to guide students through concepts of experimental design, data analysis and methods of writing up experimental studies.

To ensure maximum compatibility with all operating systems and web-browsers the VRS was written in Java and released under the GNU license (allowing further modification by end users if required). The website was developed using the industry standard Adobe Dreamweaver, using some existing teaching resources on statistics, but developing other aspects from scratch. This work was greatly aided by an externally funded research assistant (Christina Catlin-Groves) who helped develop much of the content of the website.

The outcome of the research is a fully working OER, recently uploaded to the JorumOpen depository, but also available online at http://web.mac.com/richardstafford1/vrs. During March 2010, website visitors exceeded 150 from locations including the US, China and New Zealand. A peer-reviewed paper examining the effectiveness of the VRS as a teaching tool has been accepted

for publication and two further peer-reviewed conference abstracts have also been published or accepted for publication:

Stafford R., Goodenough A.E., Davies M.S. in press. Assessing the effectiveness of a computer simulation for teaching ecological experimental design. Bioscience Education.

Stafford R., Catlin-Groves C.L. in press. Open source e-learning in higher education. Problems, solutions and long-term sustainability of the approach. Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Society.

Stafford R., Davies M.S., Williams G.A. 2008. The Virtual Rocky Shore – Linking A-life with Ecological and Pedagogic Research. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference on Artificial Life. MIT press, Cambridge.

The project involved internal collaboration with the Centre for Active Learning, especially during the evaluation stage of the work. Furthermore, the work involved both national and international collaboration, with both rocky shore scientists and experts in higher education in Hong Kong and Sunderland.

Dr. Richard StaffordNatural and Social Sciences - University of Gloucestershire Others Staff Associated with the Project: Dr. Anne Goodenough, Ms.Julia Newberry, Ms.Christina Catlin-Groves,Dr. Adam Hart (University of Gloucestershire), Professor Mark Davies (University of Sunderland) and Professor Gray Williams (The University of Hong Kong)

Hedonomics and DIY: Does the ‘four pleasures’ model of product reactions apply in decorating tool design

The applied research was initiated in collaboration with an external regional organisation as part of a match-funded research project; L.G.Harris. The project sought to assess the relevance of looking at ‘hedonomic’ (pleasure-in-products) attributes of decorating tools. This would enable the client company to take an ‘evidence-based’ approach to developing new and innovative product concepts as compared to one which relied upon only anecdotal or industry experience.

Hedonomics is an extension of ergonomics; the latter focuses on functional aspects of tool design such as usability analysis. Hedonomics takes this further by making research foci of the other components which determine ‘pleasure in products’ (Jordan, 2006; Green & Jordan, 2002) see below:

1. Physiological or sensory pleasure (which might include tactile stimulation, smell, visual cues). 2. Social-psychological pleasure in relationships for and status of the user. 3. Psychological pleasure (cognitive and emotional reactions). 4. Ideological pleasure (from the values embodied in products e.g. environmental sustainability, re-cycling, fair-trade).

The methodological approach was to conduct a series of focus groups (five ‘product clinics’ with a total of 53 participants) on a selected range of L.G. Harris paintbrushes. Groups were led by an objective academic researcher; with self-ascribed ‘experienced’ and ‘novice’ DIY-ers as participants. The quantitative data measured three psychological aspects: Valence (liking - positive or negative); Activation (calm-excited) and Control (dominated-dominant). In addition, data on price point and gift status were gathered.

Findings demonstrated impact in the external organisation through showing qualitative construct validity for each of the four levels of the pleasure-in-products framework in a new applied market and for expecting consumer-reactions to decorating tools at each of these levels. Thus, designing-for these presents as an innovative strategy for product differentiation in a glutted market. It was also able to refine L.G.Harris’ customer segmentation criteria

and give valuable feedback on perceptions of value. In addition, evidence that different classes of user select tools based on different attributes was found and this was consistent with a well established theory of decision-making (Azjen & Fishbein, 1975) i.e. ‘novice and experienced users’ reported statistically significant differences in the types of brushes they a) liked and b) were excited by. Further this theory posits that consumers who class themselves as ‘novice users’ of a product or tool, never experience feelings of ‘control’ when purchasing it; This was supported by our research. As such, novice DIY-er purchase decision-making is influenced mostly by others (e.g. family) or by what the product ‘says it will do’. In this study there were no significant results for novice DIY-ers reporting a sense of ‘control’ when interacting with any of the paintbrushes used in the focus groups.

Outputs included a presentation to the marketing team of L.G.Harris, a research report is underway for a ‘trade’ publication and an opportunity to seek further applied research support through a product review presentation meeting planned for next month with the second largest UK retailer in the decorating industry. We were able to extend the collaboration to include another academic from Loughborough University for expert advice.

ABSTRACTS Oral Presentations University of Worcester Staff Entries 32

Dr. Ann Bicknell Worcester Business School - ‘Centre for People at Work’ - University of Worcester Other Staff Associated with the Project: Dr. Jan Francis-Smythe


A needs and gaps analysis to support the development of a strategy on sexual violence and abuse to women and girls in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin

This research was a response to national initiative recommending the investigation of the extent of sexual violence and abuse in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin in order to identify needs and gaps in service provision. It was funded by Telford and Wrekin Council.

The overall aim of the research was to inform the development of a Strategy on Sexual Violence and Abuse to Women and Girls in line Government recommendations. The objectives were as follows:

1. To identify current resources in Shropshire and Telford to support victims of sexual violence and abuse.

2. To identify current pathways for ‘victims’ of sexual violence and abuse in Shropshire and Telford.

3. To identify gaps in provision and pathways for victims of sexual violence and abuse.

4. To identify and recognise within the report current local good practice.

Due to the short time scale of the project, the methods used to gather data were desk based, with initial contact with representatives from statutory agencies and voluntary organisations made via the named contact at Telford and Wrekin Council; who forwarded an email request for data (via an attached questionnaire) from the researcher to representatives of these agencies/organisations. In addition, the web and local service directories were utilised to identify further services within the geographical boundaries of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin, and these were contacted by the researcher. Some organisations from outside the region were also contacted in an attempt to

ascertain the numbers of ‘victims’ going out of area out of preference or through lack of local service provision and requests for data was also submitted to both Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin Councils under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 An analysis of national and local secondary sources such as crime data, self report studies, and existing research and publications was undertaken while the researcher was waiting for questionnaires to be returned to give a holistic view of the issue of sexual violence nationally and locally.

The outcomes of the research found that services for women and girls were few and far between and uncovered a need to provide specific help for hard to reach groups, but also identified current good practice that should be built upon. The outcomes led to a list of recommendations in relation to the findings and these are currently being acted upon in the form of an implementation plan drawn up by the researcher in conjunction with Telford and Wrekin Council.

Ruth JonesInstitute of Health and Society - University of Worcester

Enhancing regional engagementin knowledge transfer

CONTACT Knowledge Exchange commisionned the research to provide guidance to regional HEIs on ways to enhance HEI engagement with knowledge transfer through the further development and motivation of Knowledge Transfer Professionals (KTPs). The research had two foci: (1) establishment of KTP knowledge and skills gaps, (2) identification of the motivators of KT engagement.

Objectives: 1. To integrate the existing literature on the professional development needs of KTPs to provide an analysis of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) needs of KTPs within the West Midlands Region.

2. To review current CPD provision available within the West Midlands Region and conduct a gap analysis to identify areas for attention.

3. To identify motivators and attractors of engagement in Knowledge Transfer (KT) and provide a critique of how these identified motivators and attractors can be used to raise awareness of, and to increase engagement in, Knowledge Transfer in West Midlands’Universities.

The methodology utilised a mixed-method approach involving an academic literature review, scrutiny of websites and publications, two e-surveys,15 unstructured interviews and attendance at a number of networking meetings. In total 91 individuals responded to e-surveys and 17+ hours of interviews were conducted with 15 individuals. Eleven of the thirteen West Midlands Universities contributed to the project which proceeded in two stages. Stage 1 reviewed current academic and practitioner literature on the training and development needs of KTPs to provide an integrated synopsis of the current perceived CPD needs. A regional e-survey of KTPs was conducted to establish current needs, sources of current provision within the region and ideal platforms for learning. Stage 2 used unstructured interviews with highly active knowledge transfer academics to elicit in-depth case stories of engagement.

Findings showed: a comprehensive account of KT CPD needs is available, a number of supporting bodies and resources exist which are disparate and inadequately publicised, technical knowledge and skills most frequently cited development need, induction to KT variable, face-to-face training preferred, in-house CPD most common, little proactive needs monitoring. Seven themes were elicited from the unstructured interviews with the academics highly active in KT: Values-in-Practice; Motivations and “Buzz Moments”; Purposive Activities; the Academic Context; The Journey of the Knowledge Transfer Academic (KTA); Pedagogy; and Perceptions of Risk. Those currently

engaging in KT find it to be exciting, fun, challenging, at times spontaneous, rewarding and job-enhancing placing them at the cutting-edge, enhancing their teaching, and allowing them to pursue their own interests in a practical way. Eleven recommendations were presented relating to future CPD provision and ways to stimulate motivation.

Outputs: Events: • Engage HEI conference, May 2009, Birmingham City University. Bicknell, A., Francis-Smythe, J. & Arthur, J. (2009). Case studies in knowledge transfer: De-constructing the entrepreneurial academic. • CONTACT KE event reviewing and reflecting on the work of the KE (JFS) – June 2009 – Birmingham. • 2009 Francis-Smythe.J. A. (2009) Engagement in Knowledge Transfer. Invited Keynote in ‘Puzzled by KT?’ Conference Canterbury Christchurch University.Dec.2009. • AURIL Conference – July 2010 – part of an invited panel to discuss how to move forward on the KT HEI agenda ‘Enthuse and Engage’ (JFS). Published Outputs: • Bicknell, A., Francis-Smythe, J. & Arthur, J. (in press). Case studies in knowledge transfer: De-constructing the entrepreneurial academic. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research Special Issue.

• Francis-Smythe,J.A. Bicknell,A. & Arthur,J.A. (2009) Enhancing Regional Engagement Through Further Developing Knowledge Transfer Professionals (KTPs). Report prepared for the CONTACT Knowledge Exchange - HEFCE. July 2009.

Collaboration: CONTACT KE, 11 West Midlands Universities.


Dr. Jan Francis-SmytheWorcester Business School - The Centre for People at Work - University of Worcester Other Staff Associated with the Project: Dr. Jane Arthur and Ann Bicknell


Information Security -Using market research to inform course provision

The applied research was a collaborative project requested by Worcester Business School utilising researchers from the Centre for People at Work, and involving Qinetiq as an external partner with industry expertise in the area. The project sought to assess the local Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) market need and interest in Information Security Training and/ or consultancy provided by the University. The initial proposal was to implement a three-day course with Qinetiq examining aspects of Information Security aimed at SMEs by way of preparation for their ISO27001 application. Objective market research was required to determine the market requirement and suitability of such a course prior to investment in design and development.

The methodological approach included an initial assessment of existing provision through a competitor analysis of current training providers in the field. In addition, an e-survey was distributed to an estimated 600 SMEs in the West Midlands region to collect information regarding their current awareness of standards; their interest in information security issues and feedback on desired provision in order to inform the design of provision. Thirteen alternative providers of information security were identified in England, with three of these based in the Midlands region. 43 responses were received to the e-survey, a response rate of approximately 9%. Whilst the response rate was disappointing, following analysis of results, it was felt that this was a reflection of the level of awareness and interest in information security issues amongst SMEs. Taking a holistic view of the results it was concluded that there is a low awareness of the information security controls and legislation and penalties for breech of these standards. In short, information security matters did not appear to be at the top of responding organisations’ agendas in terms of implementation and action, but it was recognised to be an issue of increasing importance. The time that organisations were prepared to spend on this issue was very limited (50% 1 day or less), with 50% of respondents looking for ongoing support over a longer period of time. These results provided useful information regarding the type of product to be developed, potentially suggesting that there was some merit in offering a ‘we’ll sort it for you’ consultancy service.

It was concluded that there was benefit in developing a more targeted product specifically for SMEs, who it is generally accepted have been omitted in the recent awareness-raising activities. As an outcome the initially proposed three-day training course was not deemed viable at the present time and university resources were not inappropriately deployed implementing a course for which there was no market demand. Rather, informed by the results generated in the current applied research, a formal bid was submitted to the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) in order to develop an innovative information security management process specifically for SMEs, a product initially branded as Information Assurance for SMEs (IASME). This application was successful and the research team’s services were re-employed to conduct the research element of this project in Winter 2009.

Dr. Jane ArthurWorcester Business School - ‘The Centre for People at Work’ - University of Worcester Other Staff Associated with the Project: Ann Bicknell, Richard Henson and Tim Maxfield

Coventry/Worcester/ Gloucestershire/Bucks New Universities

Applied Research CompetitionWednesday 30th June at Coventry University, Jaguar Building, Room JA102

09.30 – 10.00 Registration & Refreshments

10.00 – 10.15 Welcome and Introduction to the event (Ian Marshall)

10.15 – 12.45 Presentations by Applicants to the Panel (10mins allocated for each presentation)

Session 1 - Research Students

Time Presenter University Title of the Applied Research

10.15 Adam Grzywaczewsky Coventry University

Comparing the return of investment of search engine optimisation and pay per click campaign implemented for Trinity Expert Systems Ltd

10.30 Dr. Djordje Jakovljevic Bucks New University

The effect of mechanical circulatory support on cardiac and exercise performance in patients with chronic heart failure

10.45 COMFORT BREAK

Session 2 - Staff

Time Name University Title of the Applied Research

11.00 Dr. Ann Bicknell University of Worcester

Hedonomics and DIY: Does the ‘four pleasures’ model of product reactions apply in decorating tool design?

11.15 Professor John Boylan Bucks New University The effect of human judgement on company inventories

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Judges Professor Peter Childs, University of Gloucestershire Chair Professor Geoffrey Elliott, University of WorcesterProfessor Ian Marshall, Coventry University Professor Derek Godfrey, Bucks New University

Time Name University Title of the Applied Research

11.30Dr. Olivier Haas(Professor Keith Burnham to deliver the presentation)

Coventry UniversityMethods and advanced equipment for simulation and treatment in Radio-oncology (MAESTRO)

11:45 Professor Florin Ioras Bucks New University ChilternChip.com ESCo

12:00 Ruth Jones University of Worcester

A needs and gaps analysis to support the development of a strategy on sexual violence and abuse to women and girls in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin

12:15 Dr. Helen Liebling-Kalifani Coventry University The governance of sexual violence in northern Uganda

12:30Dr. Richard Stafford(Dr. Anne Goodenough to deliver the presentation)

University of Gloucestershire The virtual rocky shore

12:45 LUNCH

13:30 – 14:15 Attendees Networking Time

13:30 – 14:15 Judges to agree recipient of Award (all entries have been pre-judged. Judges will mark presentations and base decision on pre-judging and presentation information).

14:15 Feedback from the Judges and Presentation of the Award (media photos to be taken of award recipient and judges)

15.00 Close Event

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Press Release

Coventry University has hosted an inter-university applied research competition which shows the real-world impact of the institutions’ research.

The competition, between Coventry, Gloucestershire, Worcester and New Bucks universities is the latest in a series of activities which builds on a long-term relationship between the four HE institutions.

The competition was held in the Jaguar Building at Coventry University and a judging panel of expert academics had to pick two winners, one student and one academic, from a selection projects.

The winning student entry was from Djordje Jakovljevic a PhD Student from the Cardiovascular Health Research Group from Bucks New University who looked at the effect of mechanical circulatory support on cardiac and exercise performance in patients with chronic heart failure.

The winning academic entry was by Ruth Jones from the Institute of Health and Society at the University of Worcester. She presented a needs and gaps analysis to support the development of a strategy on sexual violence and abuse to women and girls in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin.

Professor Ian Marshall from Coventry University was the Chair of the judging panel.

Competition showcases research excellence at universities

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He said: “It was an extremely difficult task to choose two winners out of so many excellent entries. All four universities taking part are working on some amazing projects and this is a rare chance to showcase the wealth of knowledge and research activity going on in universities today.

“This year’s competition is the latest in a series of activities which builds on a long-term partnership between the four universities and I am sure that a number of joint-working projects will emerge from this event.”

The entries were judged on the success, innovation and impact of the research and the overall quality of the presentation.

For further information, contact Ali Bushnell, External Press and Media Relations Officer on 02 7688 8245.

Competition winners

(from left to right)

Professor Geoffrey Elliott (University of Worcester)

Professor Derek Godfrey (Bucks New University)

Ruth Jones (winning academic entry) from the Institute of Health and Society at the University of Worcester

Djordje Jakovljevic (winning student entry) from the Cardiovascular Health Research Group at Bucks New University

Professor Ian M Marshall (Coventry University)

Professor Peter Childs (University of Gloucestershire)

Documents

Applied Research Competition