Category: Uncategorized

Commuting has Multiple Impacts on Employee Wellbeing

Blog originally posted on www.whatworkswellbeing.org. 

A study of Commuting and Wellbeing undertaken by Dr Kiron Chatterjee and Dr Ben Clark of the Centre for Transport & Society at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) shows how different modes of transport for commuting affect our wellbeing.   

Many of us spend longer commuting to work than we would like and find our journeys stressful, but how detrimental is commuting to our wellbeing?

The journey to and from work is a routine activity undertaken on about 160 days of the year by those who are full-time employed in England. The average one-way commute time is 30 minutes, hence commuting consumes about one hour per day for the average commuter. However, one in seven travellers has a commute time of one hour or more, spending at least two hours per day going to and from work.

lyon-cycle-laneThe impact of this travelling on our wellbeing has been studied before, but results have been inconclusive and we do not have a complete picture of how commuting affects different aspects of wellbeing.

Chatterjee and Clark’s study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), took advantage of Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study, which tracks the lives of a large, representative sample of households in England. The data set allowed them to examine how changes in different aspects of wellbeing from one year to the next were related to changing commuting circumstances for more than 26,000 workers in England over a five-year period.

As set out in their summary report, they found that, all else being equal, every extra minute of commuting time reduces job satisfaction, reduces leisure time satisfaction, increases strain in people’s lives and worsens mental health.

Job satisfaction (as measured on a 7-point scale) declines with commute time (the exception being the small proportion of workers with extreme commutes of over 90 minutes each way)

The effects of commuting on employee wellbeing were found to vary depending on the mode of transport used to get to work:

  1. Those who walk or cycle to work do not report reductions in leisure time satisfaction in the same way as other commuters, even with the same duration of commute. Presumably, active commuting is seen as a beneficial use of time.
  2. Bus commuters feel the negative impacts of longer journey times more strongly than users of other modes of transport. This could relate to the complexity of longer journeys by bus.
  3. Meanwhile, longer duration commutes by rail are associated with less strain than shorter commutes by rail. The researchers believe this is explained by those on longer train journeys being more likely to get a seat and to have comfortable conditions to relax or even to work.
  4. Those who work from home are found to have higher job satisfaction and leisure time satisfaction, but working from home is clearly not possible for everyone on a daily basis.

Their findings have particularly important implications for employers.  An additional 20 minutes of commuting each day was found (on average) to have the equivalent effect on job satisfaction as a 19% reduction in income – this is a loss of £4,080 per annum for someone earning £21,600 (the median value for our sample).  They found a gender difference for this result with longer commute times having a more negative impact on women’s job satisfaction than men’s. This is likely to be related to the greater household and family responsibilities that women tend to have. They also found that employees with longer commute times are more likely to change job, and this has implications for employee retention.

The overall message for employers is that job satisfaction can be improved if workers have opportunities to reduce their time spent commuting, to work from home, and/or to walk or cycle to work – such commuting opportunities are likely to be good news for employee wellbeing and retention and hence reduce costs to businesses.

Whilst Chatterjee and Clark found that longer commute times have adverse wellbeing effects for job satisfaction, and even more markedly for leisure time satisfaction, they were not found to have a large impact on life satisfaction overall. Their analysis showed that this is because longer commute times are taken on for jobs which provide higher salaries and other benefits which serve to increase life satisfaction.

This does not mean that the negative wellbeing impacts of longer commutes can be disregarded. It is important to recognise the negative impacts on job satisfaction, leisure time satisfaction and mental health. People are only likely to continue to accept that a long commute is a price to pay if it is unavoidable and a social norm.

The Commuting & Wellbeing study was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) (Grant Number ES/N012429/1). The project was led by Dr Kiron Chatterjee at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) and ran for eighteen months from February 2016 to July 2017. A summary report from the study is available at https://travelbehaviour.com/outputs-commuting-wellbeing/

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How to prepare for flooding: a guide

flood1This year has seen gargantuan hurricanes roaring across the Caribbean, with storms also making landfall in the UK, which can increase instances of flooding. Experts from organisations like the Met Office and the Environment Agency tell us that global warming will most likely lead to the UK experiencing increased flooding in the years to come. But don’t despair: there is help and advice at hand and the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol)’s Centre for Floods, Communities and Resilience is a hive of information. 

Dr Jessica Lamond is Associate Professor in flood risk management and works within the research centre. Below are some of her tips on how best to prepare for inundation in the UK, as well as ideas on how to mitigate the impact of water if it enters our homes:

– When renting or buying a house, visit the Environment Agency’s (EA) website to check if the property is in a flood plain. The EA provides maps showing zones susceptible to flooding. However, view these with caution as they are still somewhat imprecise, and a house that sits in a high risk zone can still be at very low risk of flooding due to its elevation. Another source of information is Know Your Flood Risk.

– Make sure you take out building and household insurance. Most policies in the UK include flood damage, but check with your insurer to be sure that this is included in the policy.

– If you receive a flood warning in your area, put in place a plan of action in advance i.e. work out how you will take the kids to school, how to protect your belongings in your house (i.e. move them upstairs), where to put your car, and where to put your pets etc.

– It sounds obvious, but keep all documents upstairs or, if living in a bungalow, keep a copy of them in another safe place, such as a friend’s home.

– If your home is at risk of flooding or is actually flooded, don’t despair. There is a lot of help out there from organisations such as the National Flood Forum.

– When taking out your next household insurance policy, find out about Flood Re, a flood re-insurance scheme that enables you to keep your premiums down, even if you have already claimed for flood damage.

– Once your home has been flooded, watch out for access to government funding. Sometimes you can access money to help guard your house’s structure against further flooding.

– You can modify your home to make it more flood resilient. Such measures include buying a flood resistant front door that fully seals when closed, smart ventilation bricks (these contain small balls that rise up when in contact with water and seal the air holes), and water-resistant wall coatings on the outside of the house.  There are also ways of protecting the inside of your house.

Of course the above tips are for those susceptible to flooding. However, UWE Bristol’s Centre for Floods, Communities and Resilience also assesses the causes of flooding, some of which are man-made. For more information on how the Centre is addressing this and many other issues around flood risk management, click here.

Enterprise network helps creatives develop ideas into sustainable businesses

Creative entrepreneurs and small companies in the West of England looking to develop their ideas into a sustainable business are invited have the opportunity to join the Network for Creative Enterprise.

This tailored programme of SME support is designed to help creative practitioners access knowledge, expand their network and benefit from invaluable business support to help their venture gain momentum.

Funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Arts Council England, the scheme is a partnership between the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) and the Watershed. It also incorporates incubation ‘hubs’ operated by Knowle West Media Centre, Spike Island, and Pervasive Media Studio – all based in Bristol – and The Guild, located in Bath.

ArtfulInnovationExports_shamphat_photography-logo-gradientThese creative hubs offer tailored events, workshops and mentoring for individuals and small enterprises to support their business development from the idea stage through to start-up and on to growth.

“I am delighted that UWE Bristol is working with partners to support entrepreneurs in the creative industries sector through this project and helping to drive innovation and growth,” said Professor Martin Boddy, UWE Bristol’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Business Engagement. “The Cultural Industries across the UK are a very significant and fast-expanding sector, with Bristol a key centre of national and international importance. We will be working hard to help the sector innovate and expand, with a number of further important initiatives already in the pipeline,” he said.

The four creative hubs provide unique opportunities for creative entrepreneurs. While The Factory at Knowle West Media Centre offers facilities such as product design and prototyping services, Spike Island is an international centre for the development of contemporary art and design with opportunities for artists to take up residency. The Guild is a co-working space for start-ups – not just creative – and the Pervasive Media Studio hosts a community of people exploring creative technology as they work in a collaborative studio where they can explore and test out new ideas.

Whichever hub individuals are associated with, they can attend any of the workshops and mentoring sessions that take place across the four locations throughout the year. These sessions cover useful topics such as how to build a brand, writing good design briefs, business models, and mapping business growth.

The Network for Creative Enterprise is delivered by a team of producers. Their role is to spot creative potential, make connections across the region, deliver one-to-one support for the resident businesses and nurture the development of their creative ideas.

Watershed Managing Director Dick Penny said, “Growth in the cultural and creative industries relies on a constant supply of talented people with great ideas, often working freelance. Network for Creative Enterprise will build on the work of the consortium partners to create an innovative networked incubation approach, developing and growing creative micro enterprises which are often the invisible engine of the creative economy.”

The programme runs until June 2019. To apply for one of the residency opportunities, click here.

Network for Creative Enterprise is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Arts Council England. It will be receiving up to £500,000 of funding from the ERDF, as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) Growth Programme 2014-2020. Established by the European Union and Managed in the UK by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), the ERDF helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects that support innovation, businesses, job creation and local community regeneration.

Pro Bono work: a win-win for students, businesses and society

Bristol Business School and Bristol Law School at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) are involved in Pro Bono work as far afield as Kenya and Uganda, the United States, as well as in the UK. Law and business students – both undergraduates and postgraduates – provide all manner of unpaid assistance to businesses, and individuals who have limited access to legal help. This is a win-win for companies, students, and some individuals who have limited access to help. 

“In this day and age, with the lack of governmental help, Universities who can assist are expected to do so,” explains Marcus Keppel-Palmer, who is Associate Head of Department – Pro Bono, and a Law lecturer. “We have a repository of knowledge, expertise, and students who are keen to acquire experience,” he adds. The numerous voluntary activities, which are led and developed by the students themselves, include the following:

Courts

Offered to individuals with no legal representation, the Law Court Clinics involve Bar students providing on-the-spot assistance to those with no prior knowledge of court proceedings. For two days a week, the postgraduates provide the service alongside a charity at the Bristol Civil Justice Centre. In the same vein, LIP Service (referring to ‘litigants in person’), which UWE Bristol is a part of, raises awareness for those representing themselves, in advance of their hearing. Undergraduates offer training on what to expect in court, what defendants can and cannot ask/do during proceedings, and how to present a case.

Welfare/ Benefits support

Such volunteering also assists those making disability claims. In collaboration with a number of charities and organisations, student volunteers help individuals with the wording in their claims forms to maximise success in receiving or retaining benefits. Legal advice is also provided if an appeal is required,  following an unsuccessful claim. “If your disability benefits are cut, then you can’t afford a lawyer to challenge that, let alone access legal aid because it’s been cut in this area,” says Keppel-Palmer. This work on appeal claims yields almost 100% successful.

Mentoring and Street Law

With a view to helping school pupils learn more about studying Law, first year students from the Law department provide mentoring at schools and colleges in the Bristol area. Pupils can also attend mock trials held at the Bristol Business School’s court rooms. “This Pro Bono activity provides UWE students with additional skills such as public speaking or team work,” says Keppel-Palmer.

Private clients – Elder Law

Teaming up with charities such as Paul’s Place, undergraduate students from Bristol Business School’s law department offer assistance on matters concerning wills, probate and power of attorney.

Businesses

The business school’s Business Advice Clinics involves students providing basic one-to-one accountancy, marketing and legal support for graduate start-ups in Launch Space, UWE Bristol’s graduate incubation space. One accountancy and four law firms assist with this activity. “This provides top quality advice to the Launch Space incubators and, for students, networking opportunities with the firms,” says Keppel-Palmer.

Pro Bono business activities also extend to helping musicians get a foothold in the music industry, where legal knowledge carries weight. BMAS is a system of clinics and one-to-ones run by law students who meet with budding musicians and other creatives from all over the world. The free legal service includes advice on publishing deals, contracts etc.

Crime

Pro Bono work has also enabled volunteers to work with countries in East Africa. With a focus on Kenya and Uganda, the African Prisons Project encourages prisoners to study Law to understand their legal rights. The service enables inmates to be in a stronger position to challenge their cases.

The Anti Death-Penalty Group is aimed at students interested in crime and criminology. This activity enables them to raise awareness about death row by working with a law firm in Virginia (US), where undergraduates can also attend a five-week summer placement. Some have worked on cases involving Guantanamo Bay. “They often come back transformed after meeting death row inmates,” says Keppel-Palmer.

Community Asset Transfer

Closer to home, postgraduate law students offer free legal assistance in projects involving the takeover of public assets by charities. These are long-running projects and the University usually takes on one a year.

Win-win

Bristol Business School’s Pro Bono work provides multiple benefits for all involved. “All these activities provide incalculable benefits for students,” says Keppel-Palmer. “Many find themselves more confident and find that they get jobs out of them. There are also massive amounts of good will generated through the work that is done and that makes people feel good in themselves.”

Linking iconic British writer Angela Carter to Bristol by way of an art exhibition

It comes as no surprise that Dr Marie Mulvey-Roberts’ shelves house an abundance of books, given that she is a Professor in English Literature at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), and specialises in Gothic literature. Included in the works nestled on her bookshelf are many books by a star of contemporary British literature: Angela Carter.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Carter’s death and earlier in 2017, Mulvey-Roberts co-curated an exhibition at Bristol’s Royal West of England Academy (RWA) art gallery entitled ‘Strange Worlds: The Vision of Angela Carter.’ The exhibition proved extremely popular and highlighted through the display of a variety of art exhibits, Angela Carter’s links with Bristol.

“This was important because I wanted to identify Angela Carter with Bristol, as she is often seen as a London writer,” says Mulvey-Roberts. Carter’s most productive time as an author, says the Professor, was when she lived in Bristol for a decade in the 1960s, where she wrote best part of five of her nine books. Three of the novels are set in the city and it is still possible to visit sites frequented by characters appearing in Carter’s works.

PIC1

Co-curated by artist and writer Fiona Robinson, the exhibition featured film, illustrations from Carter’s books and paintings that related to Angela Carter’s ethos or writings. Other exhibits included historically significant works by William Holman Hunt, Paula Rego, Dame Laura Knight, Leonora Carrington and John Bellany, on loan from major national collections.

A Marc Chagall painting was borrowed from London’s Tate Gallery. The work, entitled The Blue Circus features a trapeze artist surrounded by animals. “Angela Carter said she wanted her writing to be like Chagall’s paintings as she writes visually,” says Mulvey-Roberts. “In her book The Nights at the Circus, there is a trapeze artist called Feathers who has real wings, so this painting seemed to evoke that.”
One of the particularly striking sculptures featured was The Banquet by Ana Maria Pacheco, depicting four dark-suited men around a dining table on which lies a nude man.

Impact

Critics have often described Angela Carter as one of Britain’s finest writers. The Times has ranked the novelist, short story writer and journalist tenth in their list of the 50 greatest writers since 1945. The Telegraph described her as “one of the most important writers at work in the English language.”

The three-month exhibition at the RWA was therefore crucially important to raise awareness about Carter. It had a lasting impact on visitors, of which there were over 11,000, and cemented recognition of her links to Bristol. Marie Mulvey-Roberts took part in a number of interviews for the media, including on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row show.

The exhibition also had a huge impact on the local community. School children came in to undertake creative writing exercises, inspired by the paintings. The exhibition also attracted young composers from the New Music in the South West (NMSW), a Bristol based non-profit organisation running a music and education project serving the south-west of England. The sixth formers attended the exhibition and wrote music, inspired from the works on display.

But Angela Carter’s influence is not limited to Bristol and the UK. The author still has a huge following around the world and interest in and awareness about her increased thanks to the exhibition.

Mulvey-Roberts has received many enquiries about Angela Carter from universities and art galleries around the world. She was invited to attend a special event at the Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies, based some 25km outside of Lisbon, where a banquet was prepared by students in gastronomy. “The university’s MA students in culinary design organised a gastronomic experience: a banquet around the theme of Angela Carter,” says Mulvey-Roberts.

As a result of the exhibition, the academic was also invited to the Universities of Lausanne and Bern in Switzerland, as well as the Light house Media Centre for an event organised by the University of Wolverhampton, where she gave presentations showcasing the Bristol exhibition. Her talks in Switzerland were arranged through Angela Carter scholar Professor Martine Hennard Dutheil de la Rochère, who is contributing to Mulvey-Roberts’s next book called The Arts of Angela Carter: A Cabinet of Curiosities.

Along with Charlotte Crofts, Associate Professor in Filmmaking and Caleb Sivyer, visiting lecturer in English at UWE Bristol, Mulvey-Roberts is founding an International Angela Carter Society, dedicated to the promotion of the study and appreciation of her work and life, which will involve a newsletter and bi-annual conferences.

Top UWE Bristol marketing graduate to explore new markets for award-winning engineering firm

A graduate from the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) who worked on the Bloodhound Supersonic Car project while studying at the University has secured a job as Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Associate with Viper Innovations. Kim Mahoney, who graduated top of her year in 2017 with a first class degree in Marketing Communications, will help the engineering company to take its technology to new markets.

Viper Innovations was named West of England Business of the Year 2017 (for a business with a turnover of less than £30m) at a ceremony organised by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in September.

The engineering firm develops fault detection systems that can monitor structural defects in cables and their insulation. Historically, it has worked with the oil and gas industries, but saw opportunities to transfer the highly sought-after technology to other sectors. To pave the way for this diversification, in 2016 it underwent a re-branding, changing its name from Viper Subsea to Viper Innovations.

Part-funded by Innovate UK (the UK’s innovation agency), a KTP is a three-way partnership between a business, an academic institution and a high-calibre graduate (called an ‘Associate’) with technical expertise.

Although UWE Bristol is one of the partners on the KTP with Viper Innovations, the job was advertised nationwide and Kim Mahoney was selected from 30 candidates, following a series of interviews.

Viper Innovations, based in Portishead, has already started working with Network Rail and its supply chain partners to develop and apply its technology to the rail signalling power systems. Kim will support the engineering company identify, screen and evaluate additional new markets where its technology can be applied, before ranking them in order of best rate of return.

5717While studying for her degree, Kim directly applied her learning and honed the skills gained on the course by working as a Sponsorship Manager on the Bloodhound project. Her work supported the team working on the car, who are aiming for a land speed record of 800mph.

Kim said the KTP is providing her with invaluable experience, “This KTP presents not only a high-tech marketing opportunity, but also the experience to work with different cultures and practices, and truly shape my global marketing skills.”

Tracy Hunt-Fraisse is UWE Bristol’s academic supervisor on the project and is overseeing Kim’s work. Tracy has previously worked as Global Head of Marketing for Speedo and as Planning Director at Levi’s Europe. She said, “We will bring business development expertise and apply tried and tested marketing methods to help Viper with their client in the rail industry to help them learn how best to approach other new markets. We will then look at markets where power outage or downtime is potentially very expensive, like hospitals or airports, for instance.”

“It’s not very often you have a marketing communications student who is interested in engineering. Kim’s background with Bloodhound has placed her in a strong position and she has a passion for finding out how things work.”

Peter Alexander, Marketing and Business Acquisition Manager at Viper Innovations, said the company aims to enter two new markets by the end of the KTP, “The University’s knowledge and experience of entering new markets with new products in different parts of the world will lead us to having a toolkit to verify and validate our ideas, and make us think differently.” We now have the essential ingredients: the right associate and a team in place to achieve what is a challenging target.”

For more information about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships at UWE Bristol, please visit: www.uwe.ac.uk/business.

 

Accelerating the way to clean fuel with the help of I4G

An electrochemical materials company based in Cornwall has developed a catalyst to fill a gap in the market in the water electrolysis industry and help customers make hydrogen more cost-effectively – and quicker. An Innovation4Growth (I4G) fund through the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) provided PV3 Technologies with the boost it needed to research and develop the product.

Hydrogen is considered a clean fuel, as when it burns it produces water vapour as the only by-product. One way of making the gas is through water electrolysis, whereby hydrogen (and oxygen) is produced when electricity passes through two electrodes (the positive anode and negative cathode) immersed in water. This hydrogen provides fuel for hydrogen cars, energy storage and metal treatment.

Based in Launceston, PV3 Technologies develops catalysts that help speed up the electrolysis process. The company found that although the industry mainly uses iridium oxide, there is a strong demand for a novel catalyst that is more durable and operates with lower energy consumption.

PV3_team_members
Members of the PV3 team

In 2015, it therefore set out to develop a powder used in the scientific process, but first it needed funding. This came after it applied for an I4G grant provided through UWE Bristol. The fund currently provides applicants with a maximum of £75,000 to cover up to 35% of the cost of an R&D project and is financed by the UK government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF).

“The I4G funding enabled us to undertake an innovation programme that we probably wouldn’t have been able to do on our own,” says PV3 CEO David Hodgson. “It was also a grant that gave us the freedom to channel the money into an internal project,” he adds.
The funding allowed PV3 to secure existing jobs within the team and recruit two highly-qualified staff members (one a material scientist, the other an expert in catalysis) to bring the total head count to six. The money also went into consumables, scientific hardware and testing equipment.

During the 18-month R&D period, the scientists developed the product’s synthesis, working to make it pure enough to meet customer demands, before undergoing evaluations to check that the catalyst performed well.

It then supplied samples of the powder to customers for testing. “A major impact of the I4G is that it gave us the confidence to move forward with the project,” says Hodgson, “and has allowed us to cement existing relationships and go out to new customers.”

Hodgson says UWE Bristol was on hand to provide support throughout the project. “UWE was particularly helpful in assisting us with the claiming procedure and we were later awarded an extension of the fund, which shows that our project went well.”

The company is now scaling up the product and hopes its new catalyst will make the industry’s life easier when trying to produce clean fuel such as hydrogen.

 

The post-Brexit silver lining: how working with SMEs could provide a springboard to export

Originally posted in Business Leader Magazine

Far from Brexit creating a sense of doom and gloom for SMEs wanting to export, leaving the EU could provide opportunities to sell to emerging markets. That, at least is the view of two economists who are setting up a project to bridge the gap between SMEs and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), which provide a link between local authorities and businesses.

Catherine Cai, who is senior lecturer in Strategy and International Management at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) said: “We are trying to see the silver lining of Brexit and there a lot of opportunities for SMEs to export to non-EU countries, but they need support.

“The LEPs provide a network for SMEs to meet and learn from each other and this is very important, because most of these firms don’t have experience of exporting to countries like China or India.”

Export_pic

Along with colleague Dr Rekha Nicholson from Newcastle University London, which is leading the project, Cai is in the planning stages of an activity involving work with two LEPs.

Cai says SMEs in the UK often think locally and either tend not to think about exporting or, if they do, invariably consider European countries. Exporting to emerging markets like the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) is still quite a new idea.

By developing working practices with the LEPs and providing workshops in the South West, the economists plan to help businesses think about how to penetrate and position themselves in these new markets. Their knowledge will also help companies understand the logistics of exporting and how to protect their intellectual property rights.

The project is set to begin at the end of 2017 and, initially lasting one year, will focus on two industries: creative and manufacturing.

Telling the story of UWE Bristol’s research and links to innovative businesses

Telling the story of UWE Bristol’s research and links to innovative businesses

Welcome to the UWE Bristol Research, Business and Innovation (RBI) blog. Through these posts we will attempt to convey the magic of the research taking place across the University by telling and retelling some of the great stories coming out of our faculties. We will also write about some of UWE Bristol’s partnerships with business, showcasing a selection of innovative companies that, thanks to their collaboration with the University, are able to achieve great things. We welcome your comments and contribution to this blog.