Tag Archives: steve harris

Head of BU’s Cyber Security Unit interviewed on BBC Radio Solent

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With Dorset Police commissioning online courses to help their officers investigate cyber crime and online fraud, Head of BU’s Cyber Security Unit Dr Christopher Richardson gave his thoughts to BBC Radio Solent.

Dr Richardson was interviewed on the Breakfast in Dorset show and told presenter Steve Harris that police force training at a local and national level was key.

“Training helps,” he said.  “It’s done across all the police forces and at a regional level as well. We are involved with the Regional Organised Crime Unit which is one of the agencies that are trying to tackle this problem.”

Highlighting some of the barriers towards fighting the crimes, Dr Richardson said:

“A vast majority of these crimes go unreported. The police are only touching the top of the iceberg when it comes to cyber-crime.

“The biggest problem, of course, is the individuals themselves. They need to be better aware of what’s going on when they are online. A lot of it is good cyber-hygiene; basic ideas like making sure you have an antivirus package on your system helps a lot.

“This will be reinforced by Dorset’s Police and Crime Commissioner  Martyn Underhill, who is sending leaflets about cyber crime to households across Dorset.”

Dr Richardson added: “If you get an email from someone you have never heard of before, and if you click on, it makes them very easy to get in your machine.

“Most of the crimes are very simple ideas of impersonation and basic fraud and have been around in society for hundreds of years.”

He added that the global nature of cyber crime made it more difficult to police.

“We are now connected to two to three billion people,” he said.

“So there is an escalation process within the police itself to tackle a problem that may be seen to be local, when in reality is on a more global scale.”

Find out more about BU’s Cyber Security Unit by visiting the website, Facebook page or following @bucybersecurity on Twitter.

 

 

Dr Ana Adi discusses 10 years of Facebook on BBC Radio Solent

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Dr Ana Adi, Lecturer in Corporate Marketing Communications at BU, was interviewed on BBC Radio Solent’s Drivetime programme on the 10th anniversary of Facebook.

Ana, who specialises in digital and social media, spoke to presenter Steve Harris about how the social networking site has influenced our lives, and what might happen to it in the future.

“Whether they’ll be around in the form that we know, ten years from now with the rapid change of the internet, that’s very tough to answer,” she said.

The site currently has over 1 billion users of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities, and when asked by Steve if the site could be all things to all people, Ana said: “If we look at the numbers last year, Facebook’s popularity with a younger demographic has been decreasing, it’s only this year that they somehow seem to have got back on trend with the youth.

“There are a lot of issues there – of course, Facebook is trying in this attempt to be popular for a lot of people, and at the same time trying to make money out of the business model.

“They are trying to be many things for many people and that’s very challenging.”

She added that she believed young people would, however, continue to sign up to the site – often because they have no choice in the matter.

“Most young people, very young people actually, have a Facebook account because their parents create one for them,” said Ana.

Listen to the BBC Radio Solent interview (55 minutes into the programme)

Miles Russell discusses Piltdown Man hoax on BBC Radio Solent

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Miles Russell, programme leader of the BSc Archaeology course at Bournemouth University appeared on Steve Harris’ Drivetime show on BBC Radio Solent, discussing the 60 year anniversary since the discovery of the Piltdown Man was uncovered as a hoax.

Russell suggested archaeologists have learned from the hoax saying, “We have all become more cynical. If a find is too good to be true, it often is”.

Piltdown Man was said to be the biggest archaeological discovery of the century in 1912 when fossils of a human braincase and an ape like jaw were discovered, marking the midpoint in evolution between apes and humans.

In the 1950’s further research was carried out on Piltdown and, 60 years ago, the discovery was exposed as a hoax.

“People were so worried about proving Piltdown as a hoax that they wanted to make sure every last test was complete,” said Russell. “Before the hoax was uncovered, children had always been taught that civilization began in the south east”. However the science behind Piltdown didn’t align with other scientists discoveries over the years.

Dr Jeff Bray appears on BBC Radio Solent

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Dr Jeff Bray, a Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Retail management, appeared on Steve Harris’ Drivetime show on BBC Radio Solent, discussing the marketisation of Christmas and whether the popularity of adverts translates into sales.

Bray suggested advertising is money well spent saying “advertising helps to build retailers brand value and it subtly influences our purchase decisions”.

“Talkability is the important thing… Spending a lot on a creating a decent advert means businesses don’t have to spend that much showing it” said Bray, suggesting that YouTube and other online video outlets are the perfect place to watch a good advert.

Although he went on to suggest that advertising is hard to quantify as it is “difficult to know what is having influence on the customer”.

Anthea Innes talks to BBC Radio Solent about carers

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The Director of the Bournemouth University Dementia Institute Professor Anthea Innes discussed on the Steve Harris show on BBC Radio Solent, the issue of overstretched carers providing 15 minute visits to patients.

Innes suggested 15 minutes would not even provide enough communication and social contact time between carers and patients and by doing so people’s basic care needs are not being taken into account.

Steve Harris highlighted the increasing drive for people to be treated at home. Innes replied saying “most people would rather stay in their own homes for as long as possible which is still a cheaper option than hospital or nursing home treatments.”

Innes implied change is needed by describing the situation as “a square peg in a round hole. There isn’t the supply of carers to give people what they want and need”.

By Peter Blackhall
2nd Year Student at Bournemouth University, BA Public Relations

Darren Lilleker on TUC conference to BBC Radio Solent

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Darren Lilleker, a senior lecturer in Politics and Media at BU, spoke to BBC Radio Solent to give his thoughts on Ed Miliband’s speech at the TUC conference.

Speaking to Steve Harris on Solent’s Drivetime show, Darren gave his thoughts on Miliband’s comments, on Labour’s changing relationship with trade unions and what the decision, and indeed Miliband’s speech, will have on the future of the Labour Party.

Darren said of the speech, “It was cautious, it appealed to the unions’ anti-Conservatism.”

The conversation then progressed to look at Labour’s membership, and whether they were leaving themselves financially short by making this step. Darren continued, “What Labour has to do is reach out to a broader swathe of people and not rely on the trade unions as a supplier of membership and think about how it is going to get people to join the Party and, obviously, to donate to the Party. That is the big issue for the Party, losing the money that it relies on for its campaigns. But how do you get people to join political Parties and to engage with them?”

But where should the Party turn, again Darren explained how difficult it can be for Parties to find funding, “The whole party funding issue is very complex. How do you make sure that Parties are not being funded through businesses with vested interest? That is a huge debate that needs to be had!”

Darren was then asked how much damage could be done by Labour in making this decision, “I’m not sure how big an issue it is for the average voter. I don’t think the average man in the street is concerned about the relationships with [Labour and] the trade unions. For most it is an automatic association they make in their heads – Labour has always had a trade union link.”

Professor Edwin van Teijlingen talks patient safety on BBC Radio Solent

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By Dean Eastmond

Bournemouth University’s Professor Edwin van Teijlingen featured on BBC Radio Solent, explaining his views on a new report looking at the NHS and patient safety.

The major report by Professor Don Berwick into the NHS suggested the introduction of a lawful offence if a nurse, doctor or medical worker is found to willfully neglect a patient.

Professor van Teijlingen, who researches public health, was interviewed on the BBC Radio Solent Drivetime show about the report.

“Lots of the mistakes the NHS makes that have been in the news in the past ten years or so are mistakes of the system not an individual,” he told presenter Steve Harris.

“They are not bad nurses or doctors or healthcare professionals doing things wrong. They are problems in the system.”

He continued: “I would agree that we need a minimum of nurses on a particular kind of ward for the staff to be available for proper care,”

But he added that, just as important as the number of staff were the jobs that they were having to fulfil, saying: “more and more of the staff time is spent on filling in forms and bureaucracy.”

Dean is a student at Budmouth College in Weymouth, who is working at Bournemouth University in the Press and PR Department. He joined BU on a Sir Samuel Mico Scholarship, which provides 10 students from his college with essential work experience for four weeks over the summer.

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.

Dr Jeff Bray comments on Tesco trading figures

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Dr Jeff Bray, Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Retail Management at BU, was interviewed on BBC Radio Solent about Tesco’s dip in profits.

The retail giant had recorded a fall in its annual profits for the first time in 20 years, and announced that it was planning to pull out of its stores in the USA.

Jeff told Solent’s Drivetime presenter Steve Harris that he thought the latest figures were “absolutely appalling”.

“Their actual profits, after tax has been taken into consideration, are down some 95 per cent, so frankly, those who have invested into Tesco in the last 12 months have seen barely any return on their investment,” Jeff said.

He added that because Tesco was such a huge company, it would take a long time to turn things around.

“Essentially, in the UK, they took their eye off the ball, and didn’t refurbish their stores in a regular process, so their whole store estate is a little dated now.

“Of course, they’ve got so many stores spread all over the country that it’s going to take a great deal of time – and money – to update the stores and bring them up to the standard that actually some Waitrose and Sainsbury’s stores are now at.

Jeff explained that one of the key reasons Tesco took their eye off the ball in the UK was because it had been expanding internationally.

While that has been successful in countries such as Thailand, they have struggled in more developed markets like the USA – where there are already a large number of established grocery retailers.

“It’s in those markets where they have lost their way and, in the case of America, are going to withdraw – having lost £1.2 billion, which is a staggering figure.” said Jeff.

You can listen to the interview in full here.

Dr Max Lowenstein talks about high profile sentencing case on BBC Radio Solent

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Dr Max Lowenstein, a Lecturer in Law at BU, was interviewed on BBC Radio Solent’s drivetime programme about high profile sentencing cases taking place that day.

Mick and Mairead Philpott had been sentenced for the manslaughter of their six children in a house fire, alongside friend Paul Mosley, earlier that day.

Mick Philpott received a life sentence, but could be released after 15 years, while Mairead and Mosley could be released after serving half of their 17 year prison term.

Presenter Steve Harris said that many listeners believed that it was not a long enough sentence but Dr Lowenstein explained that judge’s hands could sometimes be tied by the law in terms of the punishment they could hand out.

“What would be interesting is what sort of emotions the judge is picking up on and what sort of perspectives the judge is picking up on, because we have the offender, the victim and the public,” said Dr Lowenstein, who specialises in criminal law and sentencing.

“Within the remarks that the judge makes, they will be referring to different perspectives in order to justify the sentence.”

He added: “The range of sentencing [for manslaughter] is also extremely wide – manslaughter has a discretionary life sentence, as opposed to the mandatory life sentence for murder, and can range from conditional discharge to life in prison, which is a huge range for judicial discretion.

“In this particular case, the Philpott case, you can see that the judge has taken the highest possible sentence for manslaughter.”

You can hear the interview in full here.