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Rufus Stone featured on BBC Radio Solent

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Rufus Stone, a film based on research conducted by BU’s Dr Kip Jones, was featured on Julian Clegg’s BBC Radio Solent Breakfast Show.

The research project looked at homosexuality and ageing in rural communities and Dr Kip Jones, Reader in Qualitative Research at BU, spoke to Julian about the project and explained its importance and discussed why the findings were turned into a film.

Kip said about the making of the film, “It took about six years [to make the film], it was a large project of research all over the country. There were three years of gathering research of older lesbian and gay men’s stories who lived mainly in rural areas in the south of England and Wales.”

Continuing the conversation to talk about how it is being used to train and teach communities, Kip said, “We recently held a two day ‘train the trainers’ event where we brought together local councils and service providers and community organisers from all over the country and we worked with them, showing them the film and showing how they can lead discussion groups afterwards.”

Talking on future showings of the film, Kip said, “Bournemouth University is having its Festival of Learning in June and Rufus Stone has two showings, in Poole and Wareham.”

The interview ended with Julian and Kip discussing whether the culture in these rural communities has changed and whether this film represents current rural culture.

You can listen to the interview again for the next seven days on the BBC website.

For more information about Bournemouth University’s Festival of Learning, including the showing of Rufus Stone, on the Festival of Learning website.

New films will raise awareness of mental health issues in Bournemouth

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A set of films created by Bournemouth University and Dorset Healthcare will help to reduce the stigma around talking about mental health issues, it is hoped.

Three films have been made, featuring BU staff, students and members of the local community talking about their experience of mental health problems and overcoming them.

They are available to watch on the Bournemouth University YouTube channel and are the latest in a series of awareness-raising activities organised by BU and Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust.

The films are part of the national Time to Change anti-stigma campaign, being run by leading charities to encourage people to talk about mental health issues and reduce discrimination.

Dr James Palfreman-Kay, Equality and Diversity Adviser at BU, said: “We thought about how we could bring something to life where we have got students, staff and members of the community talking about their own experiences.

“I’m hoping that it will start conversations around mental health and continue these discussions.”

BU and Dorset Healthcare have been working together to combat stigma around mental health for the past three years, holding regular talks and events.

Key achievements include a 150 per cent increase in attendance at mental health events, a poster campaign, an institutional pledge, and activities like quizzes and football tournaments to help raise awareness.

The videos were premiered at a Mental Health Awareness @ BU event, which took place on the university’s Talbot Campus and was attended by around 100 people.

Carer and Service User Co-ordinator at BU Angela Warren is featured in the videos, and spoke about her own experiences with depression and self-harm.

She said: “I want to help raise awareness of the issues and help people understand what it is really like.

“My hope is that we keep on talking about mental health and we don’t shy away from it.

“We need to constantly challenge that stigma and treat people with mental health problems with the same understanding and compassion that we do any other illness.”

Gail Taylor, Patient Experience Facilitator at Dorset Healthcare, said that the events raising awareness of mental health issues had been well-received.

“We have had a huge amount of positive feedback, both anecdotally and written.

“It has allowed us to reach a much younger audience and helped them to connect with the health community locally, which has been really important as well.

Watch the Time to Change videos

BU and Osteoporosis Dorset join forces to prevent falls in older people

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Bournemouth University and Osteoporosis Dorset have launched a new alliance to help prevent falls in older people living in Dorset.

The Dorset Alliance to Prevent Falls and Promote Independence (Dorset APP) will bring together a number of complementary organisations in the Dorset area to work more effectively to prevent falls in older people.

It is hoped the Alliance will help to reduce the NHS costs associated with falls among older people by reducing hospital admissions, and will enable members to be better informed of what initiatives are already in place within the region.

David Rhys Jones, Health Communications Manager at Osteoporosis Dorset, said that the alliance will drive forward the common goals of preventing falls and fractures among older people across Dorset.

He said: “The Dorset Alliance will promote the importance of exercise to prevent falls, increase health related quality of life and the ability of older people to live independently.”

Organisations who have already signed up to the Dorset APP include all of the main hospitals in the region, Age UK Bournemouth and Dorchester, Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust and Bournemouth Older People’s Forum.

Members will be able to work together to share ideas of how to improve best practice, and evaluate and research the effectiveness of care older people receive after a fall, particularly with respect to regaining fitness and confidence.

The Alliance also aims to ensure older people have easy access to the best information possible about exercise and improving balance through a variety of sources, to maintain and enhance their quality of life by ensuring they are fitter and less worried about falling.

It will also listen to older people to find out more about the difficulties they face in maintaining fitness – with a view to improving services and information.

Dr Samuel Nyman, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Bournemouth University, said that the alliance will help drive research forward and put evidence into practice.

“The Dorset Falls Alliance will provide a forum in which new ideas for future research can emerge and be tested, and for research evidence to be more effectively applied in the local region,” he said.

He added this could include initiatives such as a new BU website ( Fresh Balance ) to encourage older people to do strength and balance training to prevent falls.

More information about the Dorset APP can be found on the Osteoporosis Dorset website or by contacting Dr Samuel Nyman on 01202 968179.

BU’s Andy Ford explains Lulworth landslide on BBC national news

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Andy Ford, Lecturer in Geoinformatics at BU, was on the national BBC News at 6pm talking about landslides near Lulworth Cove in Dorset.

A large section of the coastline had collapsed, leaving the beach below covered in thousands of tons of rock, and more than 30 landslips have occurred across the South Coast over the past few weeks.

Andy took to a boat with reporter Jon Kay to explain why the landslides had occurred.

“We’ve had an awful lot of excessive rain over the last year and this spring as well, and what we are looking at here is a very tall chalk cliff,” he said.

“It is very porous and a lot of rainwater will permeate into that rock and will make it a lot heavier than it is normally.

“The water will also get into the little joints and the cracks in the rock, and will promote large, catastrophic events such as this, which are very, very dramatic.”

He said that the coastline had been actively eroding for the last 10,000 years since sea levels rose, but that the levels of erosion varied from day to day.

“Some days you get very little erosion and some days you get very dramatic events like this,” he said, adding that the landslide was the largest he’d seen on the Jurassic Coast.

He said that the landslides can also happen without warning.

“This can happen very suddenly, without much warning at all – particularly in these kind of chalk cliffs,” he said.

“It’s very, very difficult to predict and the coastal path does tend to run very close to the cliff line, so it can be very dangerous.”

Watch Andy’s interview in full

Who Cares? BU students do!

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Students from Bournemouth University have staged a topical comedy panel show to try and get young people interested in politics.

The Who Cares? show was organised by first year students on the BA (Hons) Politics and Media course, and featured up-and-coming comedians Chris Turner and James Loveridge alongside a student host and panellists.

It was filmed in front of a live audience of around 100 people on Talbot Campus and featured rounds where panellists had to decide whether headlines were real or fake, and had 15 seconds to come up with solutions to problems like binge drinking and the North Korean nuclear threat.

The aim of the show was to present politics in a more accessible and exciting way to increase interest and engagement in 18-25 year olds.

“The brief was to put on an event that appealed to younger people and we could do whatever we wanted from that,” said Robbie Gavin, who was one of the team captains for Who Cares?

“We ended up with a comedy show as we thought it would engage people who might not normally be interested in politics or think politics is that funny.”

Robbie, 18, who is in the first year of the BA (Hons) Politics and Media course, added that he felt they had learnt a lot through organising the show.

“I think that we have learnt how to work as a team very well,” he said.

“We did a lot of things that might not have done before – like producing, getting the set together and making contacts. It was a really good life experience.”

Award-winning comedian James Loveridge said he was happy to get involved with the project.

“The students got in touch and I thought it sounded like a really fun project, and something really different.

“You can tell that they have worked really hard on it. I had an amazing time.”

The panel show was filmed for a DVD and the students will be assessed on the project for the Experiencing Politics unit of their course.

BA (Hons) Politics and Media Course Leader Dr David McQueen said: “The unit is about looking at links to everyday life and the ways in which people are turned off politics.

“Something like this is a way of connecting and it shows that people are more interested in politics than they even know.”

He added: “I’m really proud of what they have done. It had a level of professionalism you’d expect from final year or Master’s students and they have utilised the resources of the Media School.

“All of the first year students were involved in different aspects of it and had to work as a team. They have picked up so many skills, like problem-solving, and worked really hard through the holidays to make sure it was the success it was.

“I hope they will look back on it and be really proud.”

BU Psychology lecturer gives top tips for improving memory

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Psychology lecturer Dr Andy Johnson contributed his top tips for a features in a number of newspapers about ‘turbo-charging’ your memory.

The articles featured 25 ways to improve memory, following comedian Billy Connelly’s confession that he suffers from bouts of memory loss while on stage – sometimes forgetting the punchlines to his jokes.

Andy’s top tips for improving memory, among those from other experts, were featured in the Daily Mirror, the Scottish Daily Record and The Times of India.

His suggestions include associating a memory with an environment, using things like a particular smell or aroma to help trigger the memory.

He added: “More simply, when in an exam, I advise my students to visualise the place in which they were revising as a cue to memory.”

Other advice from Andy included learning things before you go to bed.

“The best way to ‘consolidate a memory’ is to go through the information just before going to sleep,” he explained.

“This is because there are fewer ‘new’ interfering memories so you will remember it better the next day.”

Read the article in full.

Economic downturn affecting wellbeing of older people, BU research finds

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The economic downturn is having a marked impact on the wellbeing of ‘asset rich, cash poor’ older people, Bournemouth University researchers have found.

The study looked at the financial challenges facing retired older people, who are often considered to be asset rich but cash poor – owning property but not receiving a large monthly income.

As well as the economic downturn affecting their social, mental and physical wellbeing, researchers found that the income many older people expected when planning for retirement had not come to fruition, and they felt poor in relation to their previous lifestyle and expectations.

Lead researcher Dr Sarah Hean, Associate Professor in Health, Wellbeing and Ageing at BU, said: “It’s really frightening. They have done everything right – saved, got pensions, taken out policies and ISAs and put money into property.

“But the return on investments at the moment is nothing – there is no interest on savings, and they can’t sell their houses. They are just in a terrible place.”

Academics from BU’s School of Health and Social Care and Business School studied the experiences of retired home-owners from across Dorset, who were over the age of 65 and were not in receipt of a means-tested state pension.

They also conducted focus groups with service providers for older people – including health and social care professionals, financial advisors and professionals from the not-for-profit sector.

The research found that older people tended to manage their money carefully, and had an aversion to debt.

But this meant they were sacrificing non-essential activities like holidays, hobbies, and socialising, and worried about unexpected and potentially costly events, like large heating bills and repairs to their homes.

Many interviewees spoke of worry and stress about their financial situation, and the fear of debt and future ability to cope financially.

The study also found that, in order to make ends meet, older people may take greater financial risks or be more vulnerable to abuse.

“There was concern about how vulnerable older people are to exploitation, and they talked a lot about how the economic downturn was stopping people going out, exacerbating their isolation,” said Dr Hean.

“The austerity cuts could have a real impact on services relied on by older people for their social and physical wellbeing – there was one woman who kept going to the library because it was warm and it saved her on heating bills.”

The researchers conducted interviews with 28 older people from both rural areas and urban conurbations within Dorset, and held focus groups with 20 service providers.

They found that older people preferred to go to friends, charities and the media for financial advice, rather than professionals – suggesting a need for more appropriate financial information and support for older people.

“Trust is huge for older people, and a lot of them don’t really trust financial advisers,” Dr Hean said.

“We would like to see greater communication and collaboration between charities, health and social care services and providers from the financial advice sector. Perhaps charities and trusted sources could direct queries to financial services that they had vetted.”

She added: “We have also got to target young people and people mid-career who can still do something about it, as well as those who are about to retire. They need information about how to budget, how to invest and how to make money work for them.”

The research was published by the Research Committee of The Institute for Chartered Accountants, and was funded by the Scottish Accountancy Trust for Education and Research (SATER) and the BU Foundation.

You can read the report in full here

Benefits of studying part-time at BU featured in The Guardian

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A Guardian article looking at the benefits of studying part-time featured Bournemouth University.

The article, by Sarah Jewell, discussed the career benefits of doing a part-time degree alongside working.

It quoted 50-year-old Peter Elliot, who is doing a part-time BA (Hons) degree course in International Business and Management at BU alongside working full-time as a deputy director of operations in the sports industry.

He said he chose the course at BU because it offered “great flexibility” and that communication with the university was “impressive from the start”.

He does the course online, and added that he hoped that it will benefit his current job and “open doors” in the future.

He added that, while it can be hard work, he would recommend part-time learning to others.

“You do need to have time management skills – you need to have the dedication to be able to really apply yourself – but it’s worth it,” he said.

Milena Bobeva, programme coordinator for the online Business and Management courses at BU, was also quoted in the article.

She said that the courses were geared to offer maximum support to students, and that unit tutors were always on hand “to help sort out any problems.”

She added: “All our learning is done online through a virtual learning environment with online discussion forums, video recordings and electronic books, and there is a strong online peer-to-peer support network.”

Read the article in full.

Graduate part of scheme to inspire and help budding student entrepreneurs

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A Bournemouth University graduate who set up a charity which helps unemployed young people gain experience is now part of a project encouraging students to start up their own businesses.

Guy Watts, who graduated from a BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance degree at BU in 2005, founded Streetscape – a charity which provides unemployed 18-25 year olds apprenticeships in landscape gardening.

He is now encouraging other students and graduates to think about setting up their own businesses, through the Start-up: A Story scheme, run by University Alliance to celebrate and support graduates who are turning their business ideas into reality.

Guy, 29, said: “As soon as I heard about Start-up: A Story, I jumped at it straight away because it is based around the young group like those that we are helping.

“I am particularly passionate about young entrepreneurs and people setting up their own businesses. I think they are the future of the country.”

Guy came up with the idea for Streetscape in 2009, while taking part in a world record attempt to row across the Indian Ocean.

“I spent 102 days at sea. I had a lot of time on my hands and came up with the basic idea,” he said.

“I’m very passionate about landscape gardening – I was self-taught and loved it and I could see the values that you learn from it.

“It is very hard work, but there is something really tangible about it, which is very positive mentally for people doing it. It struck me as something that would be great for someone who had been out of work for a while.”

With friend James Gubb, who Guy knew from their hometown of Horsham, they set about establishing Streetscape, which became a registered charity in 2011.

Based in South London, it offers year-long apprenticeships in landscape gardening, alongside teaching other skills and qualifications participants may need, such as maths and how to search for jobs.

The apprentices work to design, landscape and maintain gardens and community spaces, and gain NVQ diplomas at the end.

“Everyone told us it wouldn’t work, because we were charging for our services, which was unheard of,” said Guy, who lives in South London.

“But we knew that our passions are getting people into work and providing a high quality service, and we knew those two things together would lead to success, and they have done.”

He added that his time at BU and the things that he learnt on his course had helped.

“I understand the basic principles of business from my course,” he said.

“There was a unit I did about small businesses that I really enjoyed as it was very practical. I use the skills that I learnt in all of the things that I have done.

“Our logo was designed by one of my friends from BU, so I don’t think it is always just about the course. The group of friends that I made helped and supported us through the difficult times when we were starting out.”

His advice to budding entrepreneurs includes finding a good business partner and not being afraid to fail.

“Failing doesn’t really worry us, as it can make you improve what you do,” he said.

“James and I work incredibly well together – we are very close but very different, and have very different skillsets so we challenge each other to do things differently. It is really important to have that support.

“Also, have a mentor – make sure that you quickly find someone who you look up to or aspire to and can give you advice in certain areas.”

Streetscape website

Find out more about Start Up: A Story here

Professor Elizabeth Rosser gives her opinion on proposed changes to nurse training

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Professor Elizabeth Rosser, Deputy Dean in Education in BU’s School of Health and Social Care has given her views on the government’s proposed changes to nurse training.

She spoke to BBC Radio Solent’s Drivetime presenter Steve Harris on the day that the Royal College of Nursing branded the proposals as “stupid” – in particular, plans to make trainee nurses spent a year as healthcare assistants before beginning a degree course.

The government says the proposals will help to improve health care, following the Mid-Stafford Hospital scandal and the Francis Report which made recommendations as a result.

But Professor Rosser, herself a Registered Nurse, said that she believed nurses already received enough training.

“Much has already been done to ensure that students are prepared with the underpinning values that were exposed as problems in the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.

“All the programmes leading to qualification as a registered nurse have for quite some considerable time met EU requirements to have 50 per cent theory and 50 per cent practice. That’s 2,300 hours delivered in practice and each is accounted for, working hands-on with qualified members of staff and delivering patient care.”

She added that the proposals to have potential trainee nurses working in wards for a year worried her greatly.

“It’s putting additional pressure on the mentors who are currently supporting and assisting our students out in practice,” she said.

Professor Rosser went on to say that she believed the greater issue lay with the number of nurses on wards, and under-staffing.

“The focus of the 290 recommendations by the Francis Report was very much on the staffing levels, and getting the correct staffing levels to support the dependency on patient care.”

You can hear her comments in full here.