Author: Ian Richards

Meet Linda the robot at The Collection

Visitors to The Collection in Lincoln can meet a very special robot during EU Robotics Week later this month.

Linda the robot, from the University of Lincoln, UK, will be guiding visitors to exhibitions in the museum as part of European Robotics Week from 24^th to 30^th November 2014.

Read more at : http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/news/2014/11/1003.asp

Three pioneering research projects involving scientists from the University of Lincoln will feature in a major public exhibition by The Royal Society.

The Royal Society’s prestigious Summer Science Exhibition, which runs from 1st July to 6th July 2014, is the organisation’s premier public engagement event of the year, showcasing cutting-edge science and technology research in accessible and exciting ways.

A trio of academics from the University of Lincoln will be part of this year’s event, revealing their ground-breaking work into cancer treatment, insect sensory biology and training of working dogs.

Professor Nigel Allinson, MBE, from the School of Computer Science, will be showcasing the PRaVDA consortium’s ground-breaking work into cancer treatment, revealing for the first time the new technology (patents pending) they are developing which will improve the range of treatment options available.

Dr Fernando Montealegre-Zapata, from the School of Life Sciences, will be revealing his research into the complex hearing mechanisms of insects.

Professor Daniel Mills and Helen Zulch, from the School of Life Sciences, with Dr Emile van der zee from the School of Psychology, are partners in a project with The Open University.  Their exhibit focusses on dog-friendly interactive technology used to support or enhance the performance of working dogs which help humans.

To find out more about the University of Lincoln’s involvement in the Royal Society’s Summer Science Exhibition, visit: http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/news/2014/06/915.asp

You can also read case studies and watch a series of short films about the projects on the Royal Society’s website: http://sse.royalsociety.org/2014

One of Britain’s foremost experts on constitutional law will deliver a public talk on the relevance of Magna Carta today as the Lincoln Law School celebrates its 20th anniversary.
 
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC is a member of the House of Lords and one of country’s most distinguished barristers.

On Wednesday 19th March 2014 she will deliver her guest lecture, The Power of the Magna Carta, as she helps the University of Lincoln to celebrate 20 years of Lincoln Law School.

Baroness Helena Kennedy has spent her professional life giving voice to those who have least power within society, championing civil liberties and promoting human rights.

In September 2010, she became an honorary graduate of the University of Lincoln, receiving a Doctorate of Laws at a ceremony in Lincoln Cathedral.

Next year marks 800 years since the signing of Magna Carta, the document which enshrined the rule of law in England.
 
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC will give her guest lecture at Lincoln Law School on Wednesday 19th March 2014, starting at 6pm (registration 5.30pm). Staff and students can register to attend by contacting the University of Lincoln Events Team on ext. 7100 or email events@lincoln.ac.uk

Admission is free but places are limited so early booking is advised.
 
To read more, visit: http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/news/2014/03/863.asp

One of the UK’s top economic forecasters will deliver a guest lecture for students and staff at the University of Lincoln next week on the topic “futures as part of strategy”.

Graeme Leach, who is a visiting Professor at the University of Lincoln and former Chief Economist at the Institute of Directors (IoD), will give the second in a series of guest lectures arranged by the IoD’s Lincolnshire branch with the Business School.

The event takes place on Tuesday 11^th March from 5.30pm-7pm at Lincoln Business School.

Annette Wood, IoD Lincolnshire Chairman, said: “This event is specifically organised to bring together both students and local business people. Our events are business and policy-focused and provide the opportunity to hear from experts and to share good practice.”

Futures studies is an academic discipline which spans a variety of subjects, including economics, sociology and political science, to examine possible and alternative medium and long-term futures for economies and societies.

The IoD is a non-party political organisation with approximately 38,000 members in the United Kingdom and overseas. Membership includes directors from right across the business spectrum – from media to manufacturing, e-business to the public and voluntary sectors. Members include CEOs of large corporations as well as entrepreneurial directors of start-up companies. The IoD provides an effective voice to represent the interests of its members to key opinion-formers at the highest levels.

Places at the guest lecture are limited. University of Lincoln students or staff interested in attending should contact Emma Jubbs at Lincoln Business School by emailing lbs@lincoln.ac.uk

An innovative collaboration between the University of Lincoln and the NHS aimed at reducing avoidable pressure ulcers has been shortlisted for a national award.

The University’s School of Health & Social Care and the Patient Safety Team at NHS Improving Quality, NHS England (Midlands and East), worked together to hold the first ever student nurse conference dedicated to pressure ulcer prevention.

The idea grew from a single tweet between Ruth May, Chief Nurse for NHS England (Midlands and East), and Lincoln student Charlotte Johnston, then in the first year of her course. The conference, named ‘Stop the Pressure-Lincoln’, took place in October 2013, and was attended by 500 students. The collaboration is now in the running to be named ‘Partnership of the Year’ at the Student Nursing Times Awards 2014.The award seeks to recognise an exceptional collaboration that uses innovative practice to enrich the learning experience for students, and equips them with the skills to put into practice what’s been learned.

To read more visit: http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/news/2014/03/859.asp

The introduction of checklists and better feedback for ambulance crews as part of a national quality improvement project led by Lincoln researchers has significantly improved the standard of care for heart attack and stroke patients across England, a major new study has shown.

Between them, heart attack and stroke are the most common cause of death in the UK. There are more than a quarter of a million heart attacks (acute myocardial infarction) in the UK each year and two fifths result in sudden death. There are another 150,000 incidences of stroke annually.

Timely treatment given by ambulance clinicians before a patient reaches hospital is a major factor in their chances of survival and recovery. Paramedics are using standardised packages of assessment and treatment known as ‘care bundles’ for these and other emergency conditions. A care bundle is a series of actions that are clinically recognised to improve a patient’s prognosis.

For heart attack, it involves: taking verbal pain scores; giving aspirin; administering a drug called glyceryl trinitrate (GTN); and offering pain relief. For stroke it includes: the FAST (face, arm, speech, time) assessment; a blood glucose reading; and a blood pressure reading.

Crucially, these care bundles should be followed in full whenever a heart attack or stroke is suspected. Until recently, there was widespread geographical variation between English regions in how consistently these steps were followed.

Researchers from the University of Lincoln, working with East Midlands Ambulance Service together with all English ambulance services, have led a national quality improvement programme, the Ambulance Services Cardiovascular Quality Initiative (ASCQI), to attempt to address these regional disparities.

This type of project – known as a Quality Improvement Collaborative (QIC) – has been used in some healthcare sectors for more than 25 years. However, this was the world’s first large-scale national QIC focussed on ambulance clinicians. It involved all 12 publicly funded English ambulance trusts, which between them employ more than 22,000 ambulance clinicians, and was funded by the Health Foundation.

It encouraged frontline staff, and their management, to introduce small procedural changes, such as checklists, aide memoires, and individual and group feedback. It also enabled sharing of information within and between different trusts.

The first full analysis of the project’s results (published January 2014) in the international online academic journal Implementation Science, shows statistically significant improvements in all 11 ambulance trusts who completed the project.

The study examined the period between January 2010 and February 2012. Across England overall, the percentage of emergency cases where care bundles were delivered in full increased from 43% to 79% for heart attack and from 83% to 96% for stroke.

Detailed analysis suggested the introduction of checklists and other aide memories, coupled with better mechanisms for feedback for frontline staff, had the most profound impact.

Professor Niro Siriwardena, from the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Lincoln, who led the ASCQI project, said: “We know that paramedics are good at making accurate diagnoses of heart attack and stroke. What we needed to understand better was how they actually manage emergency patients with suspected heart attack or stroke before they reach hospital. It is important that care bundles are followed in full for each case, even if an initial diagnosis is not clear-cut.
“Our analysis shows that this national quality improvement project – the first of its kind anywhere in the world – has led to significant increases in the use of care bundles by ambulance crews responding to heart attack and stroke patients. We found that frontline staff were willing to make small changes to the way they worked because they were able to see the benefits for patient care.”

Future research will investigate the impact of these improvements on patient outcomes, such as survival, and whether similar changes could benefit emergency patients with other conditions, such as asthma.

To learn more about the project, visit the website of the research team: http://www.cahru.org.uk/

Or read the research paper online: http://www.implementationscience.com/content/9/1/17

Are cats moral or amoral? Can a toad be sad? Take part in an academic survey which considers people’s attitudes towards animals.
 
Dr Emile van der Zee and Prof Todd Hogue from the School of Psychology at the University of Lincoln have developed a questionnaire that measures people’s views on whether animals can think, have emotions, or feel pain.

Our attitudes towards animals are an important predictor for our thinking about animal welfare (do pigs need to roam freely when farmed?), how we interact with them (why do we pet cats but rarely snakes?), and what effects animals have on us (e.g., petting a dog slows your heart rate, and increases your levels of oxytocin, making you feel good).

There is an opportunity for you to participate in this research.

The attitudes towards animals questionnaire is available online. Apart from asking your opinion about the characteristics of certain animals, the research is aimed at finding out how these opinions arise. Do we have our opinions because of our age, our gender, our religion, etc.?

Please click on the following link http://bit.ly/animal-feelings if you are interested in participating. Whether you like animals or do not like them, your opinion is important to the study.

The Deloitte Micro-Tyco University Challenge is designed to give entrepreneurial students an opportunity to stand out.

This is an exercise in resourcefulness, creativity and entrepreneurship, as well as realising the potential of networks, so business tactics are down to you. It’s an excellent chance to apply your entrepreneurial skills in a meaningful way.

Starting with £1 seed capital, teams of five students will have four weeks to generate as much profit as possible. As long as it’s legal, Deloitte have no qualms about how students raise that profit.

Outcomes
Deloitte are partnering with Wild Hearts In Action, who invest in entrepreneurs in developing countries. All profits will be used to fund projects abroad, with the winning team being invited to travel out and see the impact their profit has made.

Help from Deloitte
Each team will be allocated a Deloitte mentor who will provide support and encouragement throughout the challenge, along with access to online tools and resources.

Key dates
The challenge runs throughout February 2014, but students will need to complete an application form by Friday 24^th January. It is open to first and second year undergraduates.

To find out more, visit: www.deloitte.co.uk/microtyco

Students at the University of Lincoln will benefit from a new £2.7m project designed to encourage more undergraduates to progress to Masters degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Lincoln is part of a consortium of nine English universities which has been awarded a major grant by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

The government funding, worth £1.85m, is part of HEFCE’s new £25million Postgraduate Support Scheme that will provide work placements and financial and pastoral support to more than 2,800 students at 40 universities across England. A key aim of the scheme is to encourage students who would not otherwise progress to postgraduate level to take up Masters study.

The University of Lincoln is part of a consortium led by Kingston University which will examine the postgraduate student experience. The aim of the work is to encourage students to continue onto postgraduate study in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and then track how they fare after graduation. Researchers will investigate the expectations and experiences of students, universities and employers towards postgraduate programmes taught in the STEM subject areas.

Scholarships will be available to cover the fees of 40 postgraduate students at each of the universities involved and the partners will develop mechanisms to support the students.

Dr Andrea Abbas, a Reader in Education and Acting Head of the University of Lincoln’s Centre for Educational Research and Development, will oversee Lincoln’s part of the project. It gets underway in January 2014 and is expected to conclude in March 2016.

For more information, visit: http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/news/2013/12/820.asp