Category / BU research

Postgraduate Researcher Development Steering Group – Call for Members (Academics, PGRs and ECRs)

Do you want to contribute to a University Steering Group?

Last month, approval was provided by the University’s Research Degree Committee for a brand new Postgraduate Researcher Development Steering Group to provide direction to postgraduate researcher development at BU, and I am recruiting members.

There will be 2 meetings per academic year and ad-hoc if required. Some of the main responsibilities include:

  • Develop and enhance the strategic direction, nature, quality, development and delivery of the University’s provision of researcher development for postgraduate research students (PGRs) which reflect the needs of all PGRs.
  • Guide centrally and faculty provided researcher development provisions promoting complimentary support of both increasing the personalisation of support for PGRs.
  • Evaluate University-wide PGR researcher development provisions, to ensure all programme content is maintained at a high standard and aligns with the university strategic priorities under BU2025.
  • Promote the benefits of facilitation of researcher development to staff and the benefits of engaging with researcher development to PGRs.
  • Enhance the overall PGR student experience at BU.

See the full Terms of Reference for details on the Steering Group if you are interested in becoming a member.

Please submit your Expression of Interest, including a half-page as to why you are interested, the knowledge, skills and experience you can bring to the group, via email to Natalie at pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk by midday, Friday 1 November.

Membership available:
PGR Student Champion: 1 per Faculty (open to all PGRs)
Academic Champion: 1 per Faculty (ideally an active PGR supervisor)
Early Career Researcher: 1 representative

Expressions of Interest will be assessed by the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Steering Group, we look forward to receiving them.

Open Access Week – Fabulous Friday!!

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Lot’s of fabulous things have been going on across the sector to celebrate Open Access Week 2019. Here are a small selection…

 

 

The publishers have also been getting involved with numerous events, one of note is Royal Society Publishing who made all their content free to access this week. You can browse journals here.

Southampton University hosted a A Very Short Introduction to Open Access using Biscuits

Edge Hill University hosted as a webinar with Open Book Publishers. This non-profit organisation publishes academic books on an OA basis and doesn’t charge authors fees to use the service.

Open Access Week has been truly international with events across the globe:

To end, here is a lovely quote posted by University of Tennessee which reminds us why open access matters…

Last chance – RDS Academic and Researcher Induction

The Research Development and Support (RDS, formerly RKEO) invite all ‘new to BU’ academics and researchers to an induction.

Signpost with the words Help, Support, Advice, Guidance and Assistance on the direction arrows, against a bright blue cloudy sky.This event provides an overview of all the practical information staff need to begin developing their research plans at BU, using both internal and external networks; to develop and disseminate research outcomes; and maximising the available funding opportunities.Objectives

  • The primary aim of this event is to raise participants’ awareness of how to get started in research at BU or, for more established staff, how to take their research to the next level
  • To provide participants with essential, practical information and orientation in key stages and processes of research and knowledge exchange at BU

Indicative content

  • An overview of research at BU and how RDS can help/support academic staff
  • The importance of horizon-scanning, signposting relevant internal and external funding opportunities and clarifying the applications process
  • How to grow a R&KE portfolio, including academic development schemes
  • How to develop internal and external research networks
  • Key points on research ethics and developing research outputs
  • Getting started with Knowledge Exchange and business engagement

For more information about the event, please see the following link.  The eleventh induction will be held on Wednesday, 3oth October 2019 in Melbury House, 5th Floor, Garden Room.

Title Date Time Location
Research Development & Support (RDS) Research Induction Wednesday 30th October 2019 9.00 – 12.00 Lansdowne Campus

9.00-9.15 – Coffee/tea and cake/fruit will be available on arrival

9.15 – RDS academic induction (with a break at 10.45)

11.25 – Organisational Development upcoming development opportunities

11.30 – Opportunity for one to one interaction with RDS staff

12.00 – Close

There will also be literature and information packs available.

If you would like to attend the induction then please book your place through Organisational Development and you can also visit their pages here.

We hope you can make it and look forward to seeing you.

Regards,

The RDS team

5th International Conference for Marketing in the Insurance Industry

FOM academics from the department of Marketing, Strategy and Innovation presented their work at the  International Conference for Marketing in the Insurance Industry (ICMI) held in Paris. This conference attracted an international audience of insurance specialists including academics, practitioners and industry consultants.

Dr Julie Robson presented two joint papers. The first examined the negative impact of brand spillover in the  financial services sector on individual U.K. based insurance companies and was co-authored with Prof Jillian Farquhar from Solent University/University of Pretoria. The second paper detailed research conducted in France on how multi-channels can destroy (rather than create) customer value. This paper was co-authored with  Prof Illaria Dalla Pozza from IPAG, Paris and Prof Jillian Farquhar.

FoM doctoral student, Ella Ejime also presented her research on psychological distance. Her results compared consumer perceptions in the UK and Nigeria. Ella is a matched funded PhD student  funded by IPAG and BU.

This conference is now in its fifth year having been held at IPAG Paris, St Gallen Switzerland and BU England.   More details about ICMI and the Association for Insurance Marketing can be found here.

 

Royal Society Content for Free!!

For Open Access week, all of the The Royals Society’s content is free to access. Browse their journals: http://bit.ly/2W1pIac 

Dr Nasiru Taura – Keynote speaker at the Africa Logistics Conference

Digital innovations of the future in the field of flying robotics and drones technology are competing over the African Airspace. Few examples include: The UPS, Zipline, & GAVI partnership to begin aerial transport of healthcare supplies in Rwanda; The AfroTech Spin off Red/Blue testing of cargo drones capable of covering distances of up to 80km (50 miles) as well as the Flying donkeys (robotic flying vehicle) to deliver cargo across Africa?

While it is clear that these companies could benefit from scale economies due to humanitarian/development issues in Africa and save lives, it is unclear how Africa could make the most of this opportunity. Dr Nasiru Taura of the Faculty of Management – Department of Marketing, Strategy, and Innovation – was invited as one of the few world-leading experts on digital entrepreneurship in Sub Saharan Africa – to be a guest speaker at the recently held 7th Africa Logistics Conference. The annual Africa Logistics Conference (ALC) brings together local and regional researchers, business leaders and professionals from humanitarian, government, donor, academic and private sectors to share knowledge on issues, trends, and opportunities related to supply chain networks in the context of humanitarian & development logistics in Africa. The event was held from 2nd to 3rd October 2019  in Nairobi, Kenya.

Dr Taura draws from his research and professional practice expertise across a range of his publications on digital entrepreneurship to reflect on issues such as:

  • why Africa on one hand and drones/robotics companies on the other needs each other?;
  • why the 4th industrial revolution presents different sets of opportunities for actualizing African dreams?.

Dr Taura argues that Africa can become more prosperous by taking an active, instead of passive, role to co-create/co-produce body of knowledge that could underpin the development of the said futuristic technologies. However, he asserts that African governments need to engage in globalisation, improved absorptive capacity, & knowledge mapping of the humanitarian/development supply chains to be successful.

Should you be interested in Dr Taura’s work please see some of the favorites below or get in touch via email:

1) The digital entrepreneurship in Sub Saharan Africa (2019);
2) Accelerating Tech-enabled Entrepreneurship in Sub- Saharan Africa: A two-sector assessment – work presented  in 20th Annual International Academy of African Business and Development (IAABD) held at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (May 2019);
3) Feature in the Conversation Africa;
4) A recent paper titled ‘Intra-cluster knowledge exchange and frequency of product innovation in a digital cluster’ published in 3* (ABS ranked) Journal of Small Business Management.

 

Photo of the Week: ‘Cost-effective and energy-efficient solution for smart cities’

Telling a story of research through photography

The ‘photo of the week’ is a weekly series featuring photographs taken by BU academics and students for our Research Photography Competition which took place earlier this year.

These provide a snapshot into some of the incredible research taking place across the BU community. 

This week’s photo of the week was taken by Neetesh Saxena and is titled;

Cost-effective and energy-efficient solution for smart cities’

This image focuses on the solar and wind energy, which can be utilised in the upcoming smart cities to make the system more efficient, self-manageable, and optimised resourced, and also a cost-effective and mostly available energy resource for the smart devices.

Neetesh Saxena’s research focuses on the system’s efficiency and security aspects.

If you have any questions about the Photo of the Week series or the Research Photography Competition please email research@bournemouth.ac.uk

2020 BU PhD and MRes Matched Funded Studentship Competition – Call for Proposals

The BU Matched Funded Studentship Competition, which has run annually since 2006, provides an important role in growing PGR numbers, building and strengthening of a greater number of external relationships, providing a stronger Fusion learning experience for our PGRs.

Call for submission of up to 46 matched funded PhD studentships is now open and has been split into three strands:

  • PhD Studentship Strand 1 Allocative Matched Funding (up to 9 matched funded studentships)
  • PhD Studentship Strand 2 Competitive Matched Funding (up to 31 matched funded studentships)
  • PhD Studentship Strand 3 DTC Pump Priming (up to 6 matched funded studentships).

In addition, for the first time this year, BU is offering a limited number of MRes Studentship Competitive Matched Funding (up to 3 matched funded studentships).

Application Process

At this stage, academic staff are invited to submit proposals for matched funded Studentship projects which, if successful, will be advertised to recruit PhD candidates for a September 2020 start.

Full details, including the BU Studentship Allocative Process and Proposal Form, can be found on the Doctoral College Staff Intranet .

Submission Deadline:

Applications should be submitted to the Doctoral College via email to phdstudentshipcompetition@bournemouth.ac.uk no later than 5pm on Monday 13 January 2020.

If you have any questions about your application please speak with your Deputy Dean for Research and Professional Practice (DDRPP) or the Doctoral College Academic Managers: Dr Fiona Knight (for FST or FHSS enquiries) or Dr Julia Taylor (for FM or FMC enquiries).

Please ensure applications contain all relevant information (project proposal signed by Faculty DDRPP; letter of support from matched funder; due diligence form signed by Faculty DDRPP) as incomplete applications will not be considered.

BU’s Research Principles

Putting the BU Studentship Scheme into strategic context, under BU2025, the following funding Panels operate to prioritise applications for funding and make recommendations to the Research Performance and Management Committee (RPMC).

There are eight funding panels:

  • HEIF Funding Panel
  • GCRF Funding Panel
  • Research Impact Funding Panel
  • Doctoral Studentship Funding Panel
  • ACORN Funding Panel
  • Research Fellowships Funding Panel
  • Charity Support Funding Panel
  • SIA Funding Panel

Please see further announcements regarding each initiative.

These panels align with the BU2025 focus on research, including BU’s Research Principles. Specifically, but not exclusively, regarding the BU Studentship Funding Panel, please refer to:

Principle 1: encouraging the development of research team(s)

Principle 2: supporting research development, funding and impact that are both disciplinary and increasingly multi and inter-disciplinary as exemplified by the SIAs

Principle 3: focusing on the development of critical mass within the University, as per the honeycomb model

Principle 7: taking into account disciplinary norms when providing opportunities.

So…on Monday I was in the Kremlin!!

but no worries I’m out and back in the UK!!

I had the privilege of being invited to represent the British Geriatric Society (BGS) Nurses and AHP Council to talk about Dementia and the nurse’s role at the Scientific and Practical Conference Long Term Care Focus on Dementia in St Petersburg last week. What struck me most as I listened to the presentation interpreted from Russian or Hebrew into English is that when it comes to talking about dementia we have more in common than divides us. Nurses, academics, physicians, psychiatrists, and nutritionists all talked about wanting to provide a person centred approach to care, seeing the person not their diagnosis and in essence wanting to offer a humanised approach to care. They discussed the importance of preparing nurses to work with older people and people with dementia and the challenges this poses for the curriculum. They emphasised the need for more research into what is ‘living well with dementia’ and how we can provide it. The presenters spoke with a passion that was inspiring.

I was able to offer the UK perspective and highlight examples from the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre (ADRC) at BU about our innovative approaches to education, research and practical examples of enabling people with dementia to live richer lives. My talk was being translated from English to Russian so as I started my talk I invited everyone to stand up to relieve their pressure areas (we had been sitting still for 2 hours and I am a nurse after all), I do not know what was translated but everyone did stand up, looking a bit bemused. Fortunately when I said to sit down again they all did – hand gestures helped! I felt like I was at the UN with my earpiece carefully in place, but was in awe of the eagerness to learn from others. I was the only person from the UK, but there were speakers from Norway, Israel and of course Russia all presenting. We have so much in common that I hope our conversations will continue.

I was able to stay the weekend and did a mini tour, that included the Hermitage Museum, the ballet (wow!), an overnight sleeper train to Moscow (I felt like I was in a Agatha Christi film), and of course go in to the Kremlin.  It was a fascinating conference and trip.

UKRO Visit (and Brexit)

As usual, RDS will host an annual UK Research Office visit to BU in 2019. This year’s event has been scheduled for November; the reason is obvious – Brexit!

 

All academic staff interested in EU funding are invited to attend the event:

Monday 18th November Fusion Building – FG06 from 11:00 – 14:30. Lunch will be included.

Dr Andreas Kontogeorgos, European Advisor of the UK Research Office will be discussing with us the impact of Brexit on EU funding opportunities. Academics are welcome to submit any other EU funding related topics for discussion to Ainar Blaudums by the end of October.

UKRO delivers subscription-based advisory service for research organisations and provides MSCA and ERC National Contact Point services in the UK. As part of UKRO services, BU members of staff may sign up to receive personalised email alerts and get early access to EU funding related publications on UKRO portal.

Please contact Organisational Development to book a place.

Postgraduate Researcher Development Steering Group – Call for Members (Academics, PGRs and ECRs)

Do you want to contribute to a University Steering Group?

Last month, approval was provided by the University’s Research Degree Committee for a brand new Postgraduate Researcher Development Steering Group to provide direction to postgraduate researcher development at BU, and I am recruiting members.

There will be 2 meetings per academic year and ad-hoc if required. Some of the main responsibilities include:

  • Develop and enhance the strategic direction, nature, quality, development and delivery of the University’s provision of researcher development for postgraduate research students (PGRs) which reflect the needs of all PGRs.
  • Guide centrally and faculty provided researcher development provisions promoting complimentary support of both increasing the personalisation of support for PGRs.
  • Evaluate University-wide PGR researcher development provisions, to ensure all programme content is maintained at a high standard and aligns with the university strategic priorities under BU2025.
  • Promote the benefits of facilitation of researcher development to staff and the benefits of engaging with researcher development to PGRs.
  • Enhance the overall PGR student experience at BU.

See the full Terms of Reference for details on the Steering Group if you are interested in becoming a member.

Please submit your Expression of Interest, including a half-page as to why you are interested, the knowledge, skills and experience you can bring to the group, via email to Natalie at pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk by midday, Friday 1 November.

Membership available:
PGR Student Champion: 1 per Faculty (open to all PGRs)
Academic Champion: 1 per Faculty (ideally an active PGR supervisor)
Early Career Researcher: 1 representative

Expressions of Interest will be assessed by the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Steering Group, we look forward to receiving them.

 

 

BU researcher explores how people who have had a stroke can be supported to return to work

The 8th edition of BU’s annual research magazine – the Bournemouth Research Chronicle – has now been published.  This year’s edition focuses on the work of our Early Career Researchers (ECRs). Read on to find out more about research being undertaken in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences.

At least 100,000 people in the UK have a stroke each year and around a third of them are of working age. In 1990 only a quarter of strokes were experienced by people aged between 20-64 years old, meaning that the average age of stroke victims is falling. BU’s Dr Kathryn Collins, a Lecturer in Physiotherapy, noticed this trend emerging while working as a physiotherapist in Chicago and while undertaking her PhD at the University of East Anglia.

“My PhD explored neural plasticity, and the corticospinal tract which connects our brain to different muscle groups. I was really interested in the way our brains can change: whether from learning a new skill or from being damaged through a stroke,” explains Dr Collins, “For example, in someone who has had a stroke, we might see an undamaged area of the brain developing differently in order to compensate for an area that has been damaged.

“Through both my practice and my research, I noticed that my patients were becoming much younger. Not only were this group trying to recover from their strokes, they were also trying to get back to work. Working gave them a purpose as well as enabling them to provide for themselves and their families.”

There are a number of reasons why people are at risk of having a stroke at a younger age. Some may be more susceptible to blood clotting because of a pre-existing condition, such as sickle cell anaemia, while others may be at risk because of certain lifestyle factors. These could include stress, poor diet or lack of physical activity.

Now at Bournemouth University, Dr Collins has been continuing her research into the facilitators and barriers to returning to work. Her research was funded by BU’s Acceleration of Research & Networking (ACORN) grant scheme, which provides promising Early Career Researchers with the opportunity to lead and manage their own research project.

“The funding enabled me to carry out a systematic review with two of our physiotherapy students. It was a really good opportunity for them to get involved in research and for them to broaden their skills. Through this review, we have been exploring hidden impairments which were seen as a significant barrier to returning work.”

Dr Collins also worked with BU’s Public Involvement in Education and Research (PIER) Partnership to run a number of focus groups with stroke survivors. The PIER Partnership put her in touch with the local Stroke Association, who were keen to be involved. Through these focus groups Dr Collins was able to identify a number of barriers and facilitators to returning to work.

“Peer support was big factor in helping people back to work, as it gave stroke survivors the opportunity to learn from someone else who had been in the same position,” says Dr Collins. “Learning to listen to their bodies was also important. If they felt fatigued, for example, then they needed to learn that it was OK to take a break and rest.

“Workplace support made a big difference too. Being offered a phased return to work, having a flexible working pattern or having adjustments to help them carry out tasks they now found difficult were all examples of the kinds of support people found beneficial.”

In addition to this, training, longer rehabilitation, family support and returning to or learning new hobbies were seen as facilitators to help people return to work. The latter often helped to increase confidence which would then spill over into other areas of life“One of the biggest barriers to returning to work were hidden impairments, such as emotions. People experience a huge range of emotions after a stroke; anxiety about having another stroke, frustration at not being able to do things they could do before or guilt that they were no longer able to support their families in the same way. These emotions could then lead to changes in their behaviour or their personalities,” explains Dr Collins.

“Fatigue was also a significant barrier. Some people had returned to work, only to have to give it up altogether shortly afterwards as they hadn’t realised how fatigued they would be. In addition to this, some stroke survivors might face physical barriers such as finding it difficult to drive, climb stairs or get out of their chair easily.”

Changes in cognition were also recognised as a barrier. Some stroke survivors reported no longer being able to process information in the same way, finding that they felt overwhelmed or were facing ‘information overload’ if faced with too much to process at once.

“The final set of barriers centred on perceptions; both of their employers and colleagues. Some people found that there was a lack of understanding about the effects of a stroke, which meant they didn’t have the right support at work. It was felt that employers were better at making adaptations for people with visible, physical disabilities, but less so for people who might have hidden impairments.”

As the project draws to a close, Dr Collins is now considering what her next steps will be and how she can ensure that her research findings can make a difference to stroke survivors.

“I’d like to broaden my research to speak to more stroke survivors to make sure that I’ve correctly identified all the barriers and facilitators to returning to work. I’d also like to speak to employers to find out what their perceptions are,” says Dr Collins. “Ultimately, I want to be able to use my research findings to inform the support that physiotherapists and other health professionals provide to stroke survivors. My goal is to make sure that we’re providing the right kind of support and interventions to enable stroke survivors to get the most out of their lives.”

To find out more about the research of BU’s Early Career Researchers, visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/brc.

If you would like a printed copy of the magazine, please email research@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Understanding and improving media literacy among unaccompanied refugee youth

The 8th edition of BU’s annual research magazine – the Bournemouth Research Chronicle – has now been published.  This year’s edition focuses on the work of our Early Career Researchers (ECRs). Read on to find out more about research being undertaken in the Faculty of Management.

In 2018, according to UNICEF, European countries recorded the arrival of 602,920 new asylum seekers, a figure which includes 20,325 unaccompanied child refugees. The successful integration of refugee children poses a number of policy and practical challenges for both the child and host country. Research carried out at Bournemouth University suggests that providing children with media literacy education can help them learn to navigate their new media-centric environments and make decisions which protect their wellbeing.

While many refugee children have good IT skills, they often lack the skills needed to make critical choices and informed decisions about their wellbeing. Media literacy education can go some way to combat this. It can also help to provide them with the skills that will help them to find employment later in life, as well as protecting them from risks, such as identity theft or radicalisation.

In 2015, at the start of Europe’s migrant crisis, Dr Annamaria Neag was finishing her PhD research into media literacy education. Budapest’s Keleti Railway Station had become a de facto refugee camp, and among the chaos and squalor of the crowds Dr Neag noticed the importance of smart phones to people in this desperate situation.

“Their phones were their guide through Europe, their connection to home and their tool for building new relationships and a new life,” explains Dr Neag. “This was what sparked my idea to combine my research into media literacy with refugee studies.”

To bring this idea to fruition, Dr Neag teamed up with Bournemouth University’s Dr Richard Berger, to pursue funding for her research idea. Using the assistance of BU’s Research Development & Support team, Dr Neag and Dr Berger submitted a successful proposal for the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme funding. As a result of this funding, Dr Neag was appointed as a Marie-Curie Fellow at Bournemouth University’s Centre of Excellence in Media Practice (CEMP), where she began the research that had been inspired by her observations at Keleti Railway Station two years’ previously.

The aim of Dr Neag’s research is to provide an in-depth description of unaccompanied refugee children’s media use. This will enable her to design and develop educational tools that will support unaccompanied refugee children to develop their media literacy skills and become more connected to their new home countries.

Fieldwork has been carried out in the Netherlands, Sweden and Italy – the three countries with the highest number of refugee children at the time of grant application. Research consisted of informal semi-structured interviews with unaccompanied asylum seeking children, refugee mentors, participant observation, and digital ethnography (the study of online communities and cultures).

Dr Neag has also undertaken participatory action research in the UK. This was conducted with London based NGO ‘Young Roots’ who provide support and activities for young refugees. Here, data was collected about unaccompanied asylum seeking children’s knowledge of fake news, fake profiles and mental health risks associated with phone addiction.

Her research has found that access to smart phones has great benefits for unaccompanied asylum seeking children who are using their mobiles to check their bank balances, order online goods, or communicate using language translating tools or social media. However, research also shows the associated risks.

Though social media offers a route to meet new people, usage may also restrict someone to a particular community, thus creating an echo chamber of ideas. Additionally, the unintended consequences of exposure to phone addiction, fake news and online community pressures can expose vulnerable children to higher risks.

Dr Neag found that unaccompanied asylum seeking children were using social media applications, such as Facebook, Snapchat or Instagram, which were consistent with young people in their new host countries. However, Dr Neag discovered that these children were also downloading simplified versions of the same applications which worked in their home countries.

“Applications such as ‘imo’ or ‘Facebook Lite’ can be used with in areas with poor internet connections, which is often the case for their relatives living in their home countries,” says Dr Neag, “It was very interesting to see that some children, who were illiterate, were using these apps to communicate by using functions such as voice messages.

“My research also showed that there were similarities in the ways in which young Europeans and unaccompanied asylum seeking children use social media. It showed that there was a shared desire to present a beautified version of their lives on social media. For example, selfies were very popular with refugee children, who often enjoyed sharing photos of themselves in front of landmarks such as the Milan Cathedral.”

Dr Neag believes that educating the mentors and guardians of unaccompanied asylum seeking children may be the most effective way to improve media literacy skills among this large and hugely diverse group. Her findings are now being collated into an app called Mentor+Media which will offer help to refugee mentors and guardians about media literacy. The app development team consists of Dr Neag, Dr Berger and Kyle Goslan, a BU demonstrator in digital media design. NGO experts are also helping to inform the app’s content.

“The purpose of the app is to communicate the importance of being critical of various forms of media,” explains Dr Neag. “This knowledge can then be passed on to unaccompanied asylum seeking children on an individual basis – in a way that suits their needs.”

To find out more about the research of BU’s Early Career Researchers, visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/brc.

If you would like a printed copy of the magazine, please email research@bournemouth.ac.uk.

BU Academic Targeted Research Scheme

In recognition of the important contribution that early career academics play in driving research for the future, we are delighted to continue the BU Academic Targeted Research scheme to attract and recruit talented individuals in targeted research areas. Following the successful recruitment of three new posts, we will employ up to another three new Senior Lecturers with significant postdoctoral expertise (or of comparable experience) with outstanding potential in alignment with one of three targeted research areas:

  • Technology for behavioural change
  • Sustainability, consumption and impact
  • Sport and Sustainability

We wish to recruit a diverse cohort of individuals with the motivation to become future academic leaders in their field. As an academic at BU, successful candidates will develop their career in exciting work environments, be provided with a high level of dedicated time to drive research activity and build capacity, and have the freedom to develop their research interests within the targeted areas. BU is committed to Fusion and as such successful candidates will also have the opportunity to contribute to the education and professional practice activities within their Department.

To support these roles and accelerate their careers, BU will provide three years of full-time salary (or part-time equivalent) and reasonable costs directly related to the proposed programme of research activities (up to £10k per year). The standard Academic Application Form must be completed and in all cases accompanied by the BU Academic Targeted Research scheme application form, which will propose the research activities and request funding.

To find out more about these exciting opportunities, please read the scheme guidance and visit the BU website.

The deadline for applications is Monday 4 November.

Any enquiries should be directed to researchfellowships@bournemouth.ac.uk.

 

Reducing re-offending through hospitality training

The 8th edition of BU’s annual research magazine – the Bournemouth Research Chronicle – has now been published.  This year’s edition focuses on the work of our Early Career Researchers (ECRs). Read on to find out more about research being undertaken in the Faculty of Management.

There is a population of around 82,000 prisoners in the UK, according to the Ministry of Justice. Statistics from the Prison Reform Trust suggest that 48% of adult prisoners reoffend within one year after release, with rates rising to 64% for those serving sentences of less than 12 months.

The National Audit Office has estimated that crimes committed by recent offenders costs the economy £9.5 billion to £13 billion per year. However, evidence suggests that those who go into work after leaving prison are less likely to reoffend, but this can be difficult without the right training and support.

The Clink Charity aims to reduce reoffending rates by training prisoners in hospitality skills (predominantly in fine dining restaurants) which they will be able to use in meaningful employment on release. The charity offers prisoners the chance to achieve NVQ qualifications, with the added incentive of a job opportunity and accommodation upon release. They operate five training restaurants in partnership with Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. Since the Clink Charity initiative was launched in 2009, their programmes have helped to reduce reoffending by 50% among those who have graduated from their schemes.

As part of a team of researchers, BU’s Dr Charalampos Giousmpasoglou has been collaborating with the charity to critically assess the quality of training they provide. As well as being an active researcher in the area of hospitality and human resources management, Dr Giousmpasoglou has over 20 years’ experience as a hotelier in luxury hospitality and fine dining restaurant management.

“Training prisoners is always challenging. The Clink Charity is unique because there is no other fine dining training restaurant in a prison globally. As a concept, it’s very innovative, original and interesting, which is why I wanted to get involved,” says Dr Giousmpasoglou.

“My PhD research focused on people management in a luxury hospitality context, which gave me a better insight into a general manager’s job in luxury hotels. I’ve also explored the ways in which an individual’s cultural identity, occupational and organisational culture can affect their ability to succeed in the sector.

“It is really helpful to be able to use my industry experience in class, as it helps my students to develop a better understanding of the real world. It is also an advantage to be able to present myself as a former colleague to practitioners. Through carrying out research with those working in industry, I have found that even in very high-class establishments, poor management still exists.”

UK Hospitality estimates that around 6 million people are directly or indirectly employed through the hospitality industry, making it the third biggest sector in the UK economy. Although the industry faces challenges in terms of the uncertainty of Brexit and changes from the use of new technologies, it remains a thriving sector of the economy.

“I hope that my research will help to better inform staff selection and increase the standards of management within the sector, so that more staff can be better trained and retained,” explains Dr Giousmpasoglou. “By applying these insights to the challenges being addressed by The Clink Charity, I hope that we will be able to improve job retention and further reduce re-offending by former prisoners.”

The collaboration between Dr Giousmpasoglou’s research team and The Clink Charity began in early 2018, when he attended Hotelympia (a trade show), which included a presentation about the charity’s work. This gave Dr Giousmpasoglou the opportunity to discuss his research idea and potential for a collaboration with the charity’s Chief Executive, Christopher Moore.

Thanks to the Bournemouth University’s Acceleration of Research & Networking (ACORN) grant scheme, Dr Giousmpasoglou was able to carry out a pilot study with The Clink Charity to assess trainee prisoner satisfaction and their reasons for joining the skill building programme.

“The aim of the project was to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the programme and make recommendations regarding the programme curriculum and the participants’ wellbeing,” explains Dr Giousmpasoglou, “We focused on how the training has been implemented and received, rather than the way the restaurants are run.”

Initial results have been very positive, with the research team finding that participants reported increases in self-confidence (91.6%), in their desire to learn (83.3%), their chances of getting a job (80.6%) and their ability to cope with prison (75%).

“We found that participants wanted to take part in the programme because they were keen to usefully occupy their time, challenge themselves and increase their employment opportunities on release. As well as boosting their confidence in a number of ways, our research suggested that it was also changing their future plans. 91.7% of people reported wanting to get a job once they left prison, while 52.8% said they were interested in starting their own business or being self-employed.

“The project was only possible because of the ACORN fund and the support of the Research Development & Support team’s training and seminars. It’s given me an opportunity to test the waters, share knowledge with The Clink Charity and find out if a larger research project would be worthwhile,” concludes Dr Giousmpasoglou.

To find out more about the research of BU’s Early Career Researchers, visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/brc.

If you would like a printed copy of the magazine, please email research@bournemouth.ac.uk.