Workshop notice - Economic Psychology: New Methods and Findings

A one-day workshop will be hosted by the Economic Psychology and Decision research| group on 26th March 2010. Papers should present recent findings on any topic within Economic Psychology, preferably with novel empirical methods; posters may present work in progress or proposals for new empirical studies. The meeting is intended to provide an opportunity for researchers in Economic Psychology to network in between IAREP-SABE annual colloquia. Further details will be available soon, but we would like to gauge interest in the workshop, and invite those thinking of submitting an abstract to e-mail Nicola Dunn at: n.g.dunn@bolton.ac.uk|

Conference Notice - CyComP2010

The University of Bolton Computer and Cyberpsychology Research Unit (UBCCRU|) announce a one-day conference on cyberpsychology and computer psychology|. This will be held on Wednesday 7th July 2010. Registration is now open, or for enquires email: CyComP@bolton.ac.uk|

Success for Health and Social Care Foundation degree student

Pearl Burgess, a former student on the Health and Social Care Foundation degree| has recently been promoted to a band 6 job within Bolton PCT. Pearl is puts her success down to hard work and the skills she learnt at Bolton, suggesting:

"I would never have got to were I am today without the foundation degree, in fact, four months after I qualified I got a band 5 job, which was an achievement in itself. I am eternally grateful for the chance to develop, the course was great and gave me a new found confidence."

More on this story.|

Cognitive Appraisal and Emotion in Consumer Decisions

Rob Ranyard and Sandie McHugh received support from the University of Bolton's Strategic Research Investment Fund earlier this year for a new study concerning consumer credit and payment protection insurance. Postal questionnaires were issued requiring participants to work through credit card and mortgage loan scenarios deciding how much they would repay each month. They went on to consider the extent to which they perceived a risk of future repayment difficulty, how much this worried them and whether they would take out a payment protection insurance policy. A report of the findings will be posted on this webpage later in the year.

An incentive for returning the completed questionnaire was a prize draw for cash prizes of £75 and £25. The winners, John of Sheffield and Sharon from South East London were drawn out of the hat on 2^nd April.

Citation of Excellence for HSS Professor

A research paper by Rob Ranyard, Professor of Psychology in the School of Health and Social Sciences, has been recognized in the 2008 Citation of Excellence Awards by Emerald Management Reviews. More on this story.|

Conference Notice - Recording Leisure Lives

Following the success of the 2nd Leisure Histories| conference in March 2009 which was presented by the University in partnership with Bolton Museum and Archive Service and the Leisure Studies Association, we are pleased to announce a third conference scheduled for 30th March 2010 which focuses on Holidays and Tourism in 20th Century Britain. This conference will connect to the several photographs taken by Humphrey Spender of Worktowners on holiday in Blackpool. Further details will be publicised on the University's website as they become available; in the meantime any enquiries may be sent to Dr. Bob Snape at r.snape@bolton.ac.uk|.

Foundation Degree Health and Social Care

The first group of health trainers graduated in July 2009. The students have worked in Bolton carrying out health checks and supporting people in the local community to gain a healthier lifestyle. Some of the students are shown in the picture on the right. More on this story|.

RAE results

Research activity in the School of Health and Social Sciences has been judged to be amongst the best in the world according to the results of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.  75% of research activity in Social Policy (which includes research activity in health, physical activity and social history) has been judged to be of international standard or better – with a proportion of research activity in this field judged to be 'world-leading', in terms of quality, significance and rigour.  In addition to the School's profile in Social Policy, 90% of research activity in Psychology has been judged to be of national or international standing with a proportion of Psychology research judged to be 'internationally excellent'. 

Colleagues in the School are very proud of the recognition achieved by our growing research environment. For further information about research activity within the School of Health and Social Sciences, please contact Professor Carole Truman at C.Truman@Bolton.ac.uk|