first october 2014
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First is the newsletter of the Faculty of Science & Technology at Anglia Ruskin University highlighting some of our inspiring research.TRANSCRIPT
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October 2014 For inspiring research in science & technology
First_October’s edition_With the academic year off to a good start we have plenty of research news to report on.
We hear about a consumer psychology project funded by Unilever, our ongoing successes at conferences and in publication and considering a future career after a research degree. The outcome of REF2014 will be out in a few months. In the meantime, I’m sure that you will enjoy reading about the exciting research being undertaken in our Faculty of Science and Technology.
Prof Mike Cole Deputy Dean (Research and External Income), Faculty of Science and Technology, Anglia Ruskin University
India already experiences high levels of water stress in agriculturally important river basins and rapid economic and population growth means demand for water within the country is growing faster than the available supply.
India’s rivers are mainly fed by monsoons and glacial melts making them vulnerable to the impacts of climate change such as changes in seasonal rainfall and retreating glaciers.
The study, produced by our GSI and based on a dissertation by Julie-Anne Hogbin for the MSc Sustainability, looks at the specific socio-political, economic, cultural and environmental characteristics of the Cauvery and Indus catchments and the potential for both climate change and scarcity of natural resources to destabilise social and political systems.
In the report, the Arab Spring is referred to as an example of where climate change, drought, water mismanagement and food prices have contributed to the outbreak of civil unrest.
Water availability is closely tied to food production and with India’s population expected to reach 1.4 billion by 2050, the country could face a ‘perfect storm’ of challenges.
A potential ‘perfect storm’ of challenges for IndiaOur Global Sustainability Institute released a new report in late Sep-tember focusing on India’s vulnerability to ‘climate conflict’, due to climate change impacts on India’s already stressed water resources.
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Challenges of integrating sustainability and environmental design methodsSenior lecturer from Computing and Technology, Dr Ahmed Sarhan, submitted and presented a paper at the 32nd Association for Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) conference, held in September at Northumbria University.
Ahmed’s paper focused on the challenges and barriers of integrating sustainability and environmental design measures within the architectural design education process. These challenges are due to the increasing calls to develop an integrated design teaching framework, where sustainability is priority.
Design students tend to think visually with a solution-focused approach which suits the building performance analysis. Ahmed’s paper presented a proposed method for an approach to holistic integrated learning creating ‘inter-disciplinary dialogue between conventional cognitive domains’, and promoting the concept of ‘conjecture analysis’. This was achieved through multi-agent systems, data mining techniques and game engine’s technology to create an environmental design e-tutor, that presents the user with the extracted ‘knowledge’, and acts as a decision-support system.
Based on the findings from the experiments carried out within the research project, the paper also presented a set of guidelines that attempt to resolve the noted challenges. These guidelines can also support further development of the proposed method and tools, as well as
similar approaches aiming for developing effective integrated design teaching contexts.
For more information on his paper and research, email Ahmed: [email protected]
What to do with your PhD?
Research student, Javaid Butt, was supported by faculty to go to the Life after the PhD conference in August, organised by Cumberland Lodge. He talks us through his experience.
Cumberland Lodge has developed a unique celebration of the postgraduate research culture in the UK. Each year, PhD students from across the country exchange ideas and aspirations, experiences and practices and hear from experts in higher education policy, public engagement, career development and impact. Leading public figures also discuss the life decisions they made after their PhDs.
“This opportunity found its way to my inbox and I seized it by writing a précis as part of a competition to win the chance to attend this thought provoking week-long event. The whole conference was very well structured and included five-minute presentations from participants on their research pitched to a group of interdisciplinary colleagues. It was very helpful in understanding the dos and don’ts when it comes to presenting in front of people from different fields of research.
“The best thing about this event was making PhD students realise their potential irrespective of the career path they choose. It also provided a great opportunity for networking and I believe that I came out with plenty of knowledge and some really good friends.”
Javaid Butt is a postgraduate student from the Department of Engineering and the Built Environment. His thesis is entitled: ‘An investigation into the development of a rapid prototyping method for direct industrially tested prototypes.’
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Tour de Cycling Science Conference Research student, Oliver Caddy, went to the second World Congress of Cycling Science conference in Leeds in July. He shares his overview of the day.
“I was fortunate enough to attend the second World Congress of Cycling Science 2014 at Leeds Metropolitan University, hosted by the University of Kent and timed to coincide with the Leeds Grand Depart of the Tour de France.
“The conference took place over two days and included keynote speakers, Dr David Martin, sport scientist for the Australian Olympic cycling team, Ulrich Schoberer, founder of SRM PowerMeters, and Nicolas Roach, Irish professional cyclist. Topics included the use of power measuring devices, the modelling of cycling velocity and the control of performance enhancing substances. There was also the opportunity to meet fellow researchers and discuss my current findings and directions for future work.
“Perhaps the most valuable outcome from the conference was the opportunity to submit my latest manuscript, ‘The classification of cyclists in research literature: a systematic review’, to a special cycling specific edition of the Journal of Sport Sciences; fingers crossed!”
Oliver Caddy is one of our current Life Sciences research students. His thesis is entitled: ‘Influence of saddle position on kinetic and kinematic and physiological responses during cycling time trial performance’.
Left to right: Nicolas Roach and Ulrich Schoberer discuss the use of the SRM PowerMeter in competition and training.
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‘Britain’s beefy builders say bye-bye to baring bottoms’ The UK Department of Health’s Public Health Responsibility Deal (PHRD) for the Construction and Civil Engineering industries was recently launched through a press release titled ‘Britain’s beefy builders say bye-bye to baring bottoms’.
Welcoming your feedback and news
If you’d like to share an article or piece of news in First, have comments on our newsletter or would like to find out more about our faculty’s research pursuits, please send your email to the editor, Nickie Efford-Eliraz: [email protected]
Dr Fred Sherratt said: “Aside from the PR urge for alliteration, which may have resulted in this rather patronising label for the UK construction industry workforce, this document sought to bring public health management onto construction sites and was shared through many industry social media channels.”
But when Fred and her construction management students discussed it, their reaction raised concerns, not least around the mockery of the industry they were proud to be a part of. This led Fred to undertake a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of the press release to look at the agendas, issues, conflicts and interests behind it.
Fred revealed that the press release suggested a workforce of ignorant, unhealthy people with poor trouser skills, which was used to justify the need for corporate control of their health. The corporations were given more power by their close association with the government, as the other member of the ‘team’ delivering the pledge. Fred challenged the idea that this was simply down to the good nature of collective corporative hearts, but instead raised concerns around the health and wellbeing of construction workers in terms of the management of their health at work, their own personal freedoms of choice, and the increasingly controlled nature of
the relationship between production and power relations.
In early September, Fred presented her work in a paper at the Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM) annual conference, held in Portsmouth, and was awarded the Wiley-Blackwell best paper prize. She’s also been asked to submit a developed version of the paper for the ARCOM Conference Special Issue of the Journal of Construction Management and Economics.
Dr Fred Sherratt is a Senior Lecturer in Construction Management within Engineering and the Built Environment. She intends to continue to explore this avenue of research, as part of her wider research interests in health and safety management in the construction industry.
Any questions or thoughts on the subject, email Fred: [email protected]
Can tactile cues influence consumers in retail environments?
Dr Cathrine Jansson-Boyd has received funding from Unilever to explore links between our visual and tactile sensory systems. She explains a little about her research.
“This work will make use of previously established guidelines in psychology for how touch can guide consumer attention and decision making.
“Specifically, together with Unilever, we’ll look at whether tactile ‘cues’ can be used to guide consumers visual attention within retail settings. It’s then our intention to try to couple our findings to ‘feelings of ownership’ as it’s previously been identified that tactile cues can increase the likelihood of people thinking that an object is theirs. The latter is particularly important for product manufacturers as ‘feelings of ownership’ make people willing to pay more for an item.”
This new and highly exciting area of research will particularly benefit companies that trade in settings where many products are competing for the attention of the consumer.
Dr Cathrine Jansson-Boyd is a Reader in the Department of Psychology at our university. Her interests in research fall into two categories: Consumer Psychology and Aesthetic Research.
For further information, email Cathrine: [email protected]