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Dr Anna Feigenbaum comments on use of teargas during Turkey protests

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Dr Anna Feigenbaum, Lecturer in Media and Politics at BU, has commented in several international publications on the use of tear gas during protests in Turkey.

Anna, whose research looks into communication and social justice, has spoken about the history, legality and effects of tear gas in the wake of its use on protestors by the Turkish police force.

“Tear gas was invented, in part, to shut people up,” she said, in a video interview with Russia Today.

“This is where communication meets politics. We’re talking about a technology, a weapon that actually inhibits people from being able to speak – that enters into the throat, that enters into the lungs, that forces people to disperse.

“So it is actually a weapon that is the complete opposite of what freedom of speech and freedom of assembly actually look like.”

She also wrote an opinion piece for the Comment is Free section on The Guardian website, where she talks about the history of teargas and its use – including the fact that sales have increased dramatically with the wave of uprisings in countries across the world.

She concludes: “More pressure must be put on governments to fund independent inquiries into the death rates and serious injuries from teargas abuses as well as the long-term health effects from exposure – both issues even the experts know little about.

“All import and export sales of teargas should also be made publicly available. It is time we held our governments accountable for their mass poisoning of people at home and abroad.”

Anna also contributed an opinion piece to website Salon.com, stating that tear gas has been used in over 40 countries since January 2013.

She says: “The vast majority of these uses were against nonviolent protesters. Yet as gas is used to suppress dissent around the world, questions about its design, deployment, health effects and legality remain largely unaddressed.”

Watch the Russia Today report

Read The Guardian article

Read Anna’s piece on Salon.com

BU gains ‘First Class’ honours in green university ranking

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Bournemouth University has been awarded a First Class Award and ranked 11th out of 143 universities in the People & Planet Green League 2013 – the UK’s only comprehensive and independent green ranking of universities unveiled today (11 June) in The Guardian.

The People & Planet Green League, an annual ranking by the UK’s largest national student campaign group, assesses the environmental and ethical performance of all universities, awarding First Class ‘degrees’ to the greenest and ‘Fails’ to those doing the least to address their environmental impacts. Bournemouth University is among 45 institutions to achieve a ‘First’ in 2013, for the fourth year running.

Key green initiatives at BU include:

  • Implementation of the EcoCampus environmental management system
  • a challenging carbon reduction target with over 30 carbon management plan projects completed to date
  • significant investment in a 500kW biomass boiler to provide space heating to the University’s Poole House complex using renewable carbon neutral woodchip
  • recycling 52 per cent of campus generated waste, including the roll out of a food waste recycling scheme; and zero waste to landfill with residual waste now going to produce refuse derived fuel
  • a wide ranging programme of behavioural change campaigns, from the annual Green Week celebrations to the Village Green inter-halls competition
  • Fairtrade University Status since 2006
  • initiatives to reduce the University’s impact across all areas, including energy management, travel, sustainable procurement, water consumption, sustainable construction, sustainable food and biodiversity management
  • a gold award for the Students’ Union at BU in the Green Impact Union Awards in 2013

Jim Andrews, Bournemouth University’s Chief Operating Officer said: “As part of our strategic plan, BU2018, we committed to reduce the impact BU has on the environment. I am delighted that the commitment both staff and students give to this agenda has been recognised once again and that as a result BU has achieved a ‘first’ for the 4th year in a row.”

Amanda Williams, Environment & Energy Manager, said: “We are delighted that our work to reduce the environmental impact of Bournemouth University has been recognised again by People & Planet in 2013. Our strong performance and good practice in this area is acknowledgement of the importance that we place on sustainability here at BU.

“With so many exciting projects already underway and many more to come, we look forward to making further improvements in our environmental performance over the coming year and would like to thank students and staff for their on-going support.”

Louise Hazan, who compiled the People & Planet Green League, said: “The first class award represents an incredible achievement by the staff, students and management at Bournemouth University. There’s a lot they can all be proud of in this year’s Green League scorecard, particularly the improvements in renewable energy and sustainable food. Bournemouth is among the few universities to be consistently in our top 20, and is setting a great example for the rest of the higher education sector in many areas.”

For further information, please visit: http://peopleandplanet.org/greenleague or email gfrog@bournemouth.ac.uk

Dr Sarah Bate explains face blindness in The Sun

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After Brad Pitt admitted he suffered from prosopagnosia – more commonly known as face blindness – the Sun featured the stories of two other people with the condition in its health pages.

They also called on BU’s Dr Sarah Bate, a Senior Lecturer in Psychology who specialises in face recognition, to explain the condition.

People with extreme forms of face blindness struggle to recognise their family, friends, and even their own reflections in the mirror.

Sarah, who has set up an e-petition to get the government to formally recognise prosopagnosia, said in the article: “While some sufferers find prosopagnosia can lead to occasional embarrassment, for others it affects their social aptitude and employment opportunities.

“They might withdraw from social events and choose to work in jobs that avoid the need for face-to-face interaction with colleagues. This can cause anxiety and depression.”

But, she said, some people cope remarkably well with the condition and develop strategies like focusing on non-facial clues – like hairstyles, gait or clothing – to recognise people.

She added: “These strategies might work some of the time but there are always occasions where a familiar person is met out of context and the strategy breaks down.”

Find out more about prosopagnosia and the work taking place at BU

BU crackdown on ‘contract cheating’ in Times Higher Education

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Schemes planned by BU’s Business School to avoid plagiarism and the use of essay-writing websites have been featured in the Times Higher Education.

Associate Dean (Student Experience) Mark Ridolfo told reporter Lizzie Gibney that ‘contract cheating’ – where websites write bespoke essays for students – was difficult to detect and prove.

To combat the use of such methods, Mark said that they were looking into alternative methods of assessment – including more exams rather than coursework, and personalising assignments to the course to make contract cheating more difficult.

He added that contract cheating was affecting many universities, and that companies offering the services had begun to market more aggressively.

He said: “I think all institutions are looking at how to deal with this problem and I suspect they will, like us, be looking at a combination of prevention, detection and penalties.”

Read the Times Higher Education article in full

Making Silicon Beach a reality

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MPs, businesses and council leaders have joined Bournemouth University and the Arts University Bournemouth in a pledge to enhance and encourage the creative and digital economy in Dorset.

They came together at a Digital Summit, hosted by BU, to sign a manifesto which set in place plans and commitments to make Dorset an international hub for the creative and digital industries.

Tobias Ellwood MP, Conor Burns MP and Tony Williams, chief executive of Bournemouth Borough Council, were among those who joined the vice-chancellors of both Bournemouth’s universities in signing the manifesto.

Professor John Vinney, Vice-Chancellor of Bournemouth University, said: “It will be after today that much of the hard work truly starts. Hopefully, this will be a powerful catalyst for us to take things forward.”

Dorset already has an established and growing creative and digital economy, supported by the world-leading universities.

The manifesto commits to encouraging and nurturing this through supporting start-up businesses, encouraging existing businesses to relocate to the area and raising the profile of the creative and digital industry in Dorset so graduates choose to stay.

Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns, who also sits on the government’s Culture, Media and Sport select committee, praised the idea of the manifesto.

He said: “It’s being focused on and driven by this that we have a huge opportunity to make this work,” he said.

“It’s a fantastic place to live and work. That’s the start of Bournemouth and Poole’s offering to those looking to relocate.”

Bournemouth University has committed up to £40,000 over the next 12 months to help raise the profile of Dorset as a hub for the creative and digital economy, through sponsoring events like the BFX animation and visual effects festival which takes place in September.

Bournemouth Borough Council also pledged to support the development of the digital hub in the area, through investing in infrastructure like super-fast broadband and offering small loans to creative companies.

Chief Executive Tony Williams said: “We recognise that Bournemouth will be a different place because of the digital economy, but we want it to be a better place, a thriving place.”

Representatives from established creative and digital businesses in the area, including Adido and Bright Blue Day, were also at the Digital Summit to offer their ideas and support.

David Ford, CEO of creative agency Bright Blue Day, will chair a working group which will work with the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership to help deliver the objectives of the manifesto.

He said: “There are a number of world class agencies now here doing work around the world, doing an amazing job and competing on that world stage.

“We need to put Dorset on the map and make it an international hub for digital, to make our own Silicon Beach.”

Dr Kate Murphy talks about suffragette on BBC Radio Solent

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On the centenary of suffragette Emily Wilding Davison being knocked down by the King’s horse at the Epsom Derby, BU’s Dr Kate Murphy spoke about the impact of the event on BBC Radio Solent.

Kate lectures in Radio Production and curated an exhibition in women’s history at the Women’s Library which included some of Emily Wilding Davison possessions, such as her prison diaries.

She told Drivetime presenter Steve Harris that the act had a profound effect on getting women the right to vote.

“I think the suffragettes were so iconic and important and they really did progress and start that whole movement going.

“Emily Wilding Davison was force fed 49 times and she was an incredibly brave and heroic woman I think and she died for the cause of the vote, which is quite extraordinary to think about.”

She added, however, that she did not believe that Emily intended to throw herself under the King’s horse – ultimately dying of her injuries – but that she meant to attach a protest scarf to it.

“There was a thought that she might be pinning something on the King’s Horse or the bridle, and they think now that it was a Votes for Women scarf she was going to attach, so when the horse went over the finish line it would have the sash on it, which would have been a very profound statement to have made.”

She added that there were not many more higher profile events than the Epsom at that time.

“To petition the King in that way would have been a very profound act on her behalf,” Kate said.

“But she’d done some very brave acts already – she’d been arrested many, many times, been to prison many times.”

Kate also explained that at the time of the incident 100 years ago opinion was divided on women getting the vote, and that she still didn’t think women had true equality in Parliament.

“It was a very, very contentious issue but it was the right thing – although it did take until 1928 for women to get the full vote, and even now there’s great inequality in the Houses of Parliament with MPs, so there’s still a long way to go before there’s that full political equality.”

Kate also appeared on BBC Radio Solent on Sunday morning – 100 years to the day that Emily Wilding Davison died.

Listen to the full interview

BU students win national midwifery award

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Two student midwives from Bournemouth University have been jointly named Student Midwife of the Year, after raising more than £4,500 to help bereaved mothers.

Third year BSc (Hons) Midwifery students Emma Knott and Jo Mockler received the honour at the British Journal of Midwifery Practice Awards 2013.

Emma, 36, of Dorchester, said: “We were really proud and exciting just to be nominated, let alone to win.

“Just going to the awards ceremony was amazing and it was a great event.

“The judges told us it was a really difficult category, with lots of nominations.”

The Student Midwife of The Year award is open to all student midwives and recognises the enthusiasm and willingness to question practice that students bring to midwifery.

The pair were nominated for the accolade by Jo Hartley, Head of Midwifery at Dorset County Hospital, after raising more than £4,500 for the maternity unit there over the past two years.

While Emma raised money for a cold cot in the hospital’s maternity bereavement suite, which allows grieving parents to keep their baby with them for longer, Jo designed and produced 700 Forget-Me-Not memory books for families who have lost their babies.

The books feature poems and space for families to write down their memories and place photos of scans.

Emma, 36, of Dorchester, said: “We started the course together and became friends quite quickly. I wanted to get the money for the cold cot and she did the books.

“The Forget Me Not books really help parents because they have got something concrete to keep going back to, particularly on memorable days like anniversaries.”

They each received a glass trophy and framed certificate at the awards ceremony, which took place on May 16 at Le Meridien hotel in London.

“Our friends and family have been really supportive,” said Emma, who plans to work in hospitals in India for a few months when she finishes her degree.

“They are really proud of us.”

Portrait and postcard exhibition at BU to give voice to people with dementia

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An innovative exhibition created by the Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI) and artist Derek Eland will give a voice to people with dementia.

(Don’t) Mention Dementia is an immersive pictorial exhibition, featuring hand–written postcards and portrait pictures.

A diary room approach was used to capture the honest and emotional stories of nearly 600 Dorset residents about dementia, and the views of those living with dementia about their experiences.

The exhibition follows on from Derek’s ground–breaking work with soldiers and civilians on the front line in Afghanistan, and reveals the gap in perception between those who live with dementia and the general public.

Professor Anthea Innes, Director of BUDI, said: “Whilst the work was undertaken in Dorset, the response and the messages is universal from those living with dementia, family members, carers and members of the general public, with the postcards and pictures acting as an innovative voice to express their fears, their concerns and their hopes for the future.”

(Don’t) Mention Dementia will be on display at Kimmeridge House, on Bournemouth University’s Talbot Campus, from 10am on Monday 3 June.

The exhibition will be closed by broadcaster and Alzheimer’s Society ambassador Angela Rippon on Thursday 13 June at 12.30pm.

She said she was looking forward to seeing it.

“As an Alzheimer’s Society ambassador, I know how important it is to challenge the stereotypes surrounding dementia,” she said.

“That’s why projects like this are so important in showing the public the real face of dementia, the person behind the diagnosis.”

(Don’t) Mention Dementia has received support from The Alzheimer’s Society, Age UK, Brandon Care Homes and local community groups and businesses in Dorset.

It has already attracted international interest, and is also due to be displayed in Malta in October 2013.

The (Don’t) Mention Dementia exhibition is free to visit, and takes place as part of BU’s Festival of Learning. To find out more visit the Festival of Learning page.

Find out more about Bournemouth University Dementia Institute

Bryce Dyer to be honoured at British Science Festival

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Bryce Dyer, Senior Lecturer in Product Design at Bournemouth Univesity, has been selected for the prestigious honour of delivering an Award Lecture, at the 2013 British Science Festival, which will be taking place in Newcastle from 7-12 September.

Bryce Dyer will deliver the Isambard Kingdom Brunel Award Lecture, and joins the ranks of previous award lecturers such as Professor Brian Cox, Professor Richard Wiseman, and Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock.

Each year, five academics from across the UK are selected to take part in the Award Lecture series, with each lecture encompassing a different area of science.

The Isambard Kingdom Brunel Award focuses on the fields of engineering, technology and industry. Mr Dyer will present “Prosthesis, disability and the role of technology in elite sport”.

The lecture will reveal the colourful history of limb prostheses, and progress into how they have been engineered to not only complete, but also to compete in physical challenges today.

Mr Dyer will examine the controversy surrounding the use of such technology in competitive sport, following the debates off the back the London 2012 Games, and look at what could be done to address such problems in the future.

Finally, the lecture will examine how such technology attempts to restore the function of amputated limbs to people like elite athletes or the armed forces and ultimately how such innovations may change the face of both disability and sport as we currently recognise it in the very near future.

The British Science Festival is one of Europe’s largest celebrations of science, engineering and technology, with over 250 events, activities, exhibitions and trips taking place over a week in September, in a different location every year.

The programme of events offers something for everyone, with activities for families and schools groups, teens, adults, and stimulating debate for anyone interested in the latest research.

Mr Dyer said, “I am delighted to have this opportunity, and am looking forward to presenting this research. The British Science Festival is a unique opportunity to share scientific findings with the public, and it is an honour to be selected to give the Award Lecture.”

BU Dementia Institute meeting looks at care homes and dementia

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Issues around care homes and dementia were explored at an open meeting held by the Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI).

BUDI aims to support those providing care, through research, service evaluation and education, and the meeting was attended by key stakeholders from across the area – including health professionals and care home providers.

http://youtu.be/cIq3igunfkQ

Titled Care Homes: Raising the Standards, the meeting discussed the difficulties faced by many care homes, and considered ways to improve care practices and the quality of life for people with dementia.

Around 70 per cent of those living in care homes will have dementia, and around one third of people with dementia will need to live in a care home at some point.

Professor Anthea Innes, Director of BUDI, said that the idea for the topic came from requests following the Institute’s launch event last year.

She said: “Dementia causes some distinct challenges to care home providers because of the complexity of the care needs, so the idea is to bring people together who are interested in improving their care provision.

“It’s really encouraging to see people wanting to improve the services that they offer to people with dementia.”

She added: “We’ve got a long way to go – there’s lots of training and development work that needs to be done and general awareness-raising about good dementia care, but hopefully we’ve kick-started a discussion.”

Speakers at the meeting included Associate Director of BUDI Michelle Board, who talked about the importance of staff development in care homes, and Dr Jane Murphy, Framework Leader for Health Sciences at BU, who discussed the nutritional needs of dementia patients.

She said: “Food is a very powerful way of understanding that person and using that to provide the best quality of care and ensure that their nutritional needs are met.

“It has a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of people living with dementia.”

Janet Pitt, a compliance inspector from the Care Quality Commission spoke about standards and the inspection of care homes, before a panel discussion which featured representatives from care homes and dementia charities.

Professor Gail Thomas, Dean of the School of Health and Social Care, opened the meeting.

She said: “In the School of Health and Social Care, our mission is to make people’s lives better and the work of BUDI is instrumental in helping us to achieve that.”

Find out more about Bournemouth University Dementia Institute