Category / BU research

ESRC Transformative Research Call: internal competition 2017

BU research, Funding opportunities

The ESRC expects universities to exercise demand management and pre-select applications for the ESRC Transformative Research Call 2017-18. The value of the grant is up to £250K (at 100% fEC) over a maximum of two years.

The aim of this call is to provide a stimulus for social science research that is novel, pioneering and genuinely transformative. Ideas should challenge current thinking and contain an element of academic risk.

Only two applications may be submitted by Bournemouth University and therefore a special panel has been convened.  Colleagues wishing to submit an application to this call should adhere to the following time scale:

July 18th Deadline- Send Intention to Bid form to the Funding Development Officer for your faculty
July 31st Call Opens- applicants must work with a Faculty peer reviewer and follow submission approval processes at the Faculty level as guided by your Funding Development Officer
August 29th Final draft application to be submitted to Dianne Goodman (dgoodman@bournemouth.ac.uk) for collating on behalf of the internal review panel
September 5th PVC (R&I) and other panel members to decide the two applications that may submit on behalf of BU. PVC to provide BU financial (Activity Proposal Form) sign off for two applications
October 23rd Final submission must be submitted via JeS for institutional checks and submission
October 31st at 16:00 ESRC deadline- Call closes – proposals meeting funder requirements submitted

 

If you have any queries, please contact Ehren Milner (emilner@bournemouth.ac.uk).

 

BU academics publish UK election report within 10 days of vote

BU research

We are very pleased to announce the publication of UK Election Analysis 2017: Media, Voters and the Campaign, edited by Einar Thorsen, Daniel Jackson and Darren Lilleker.
Featuring 92 contributions from over 100 leading academics and emerging scholars across the world, this free publication captures the immediate thoughts, reflections and early research insights on the 2017 UK General Election on from the cutting edge of media and politics research.
Published just 10 days after the election, these contributions are short and accessible. Authors provide authoritative analysis of the campaign, including research findings or new theoretical insights; to bring readers original ways of understanding the election and its consequences. Contributions also bring a rich range of disciplinary influences, from political science to cultural studies, journalism studies to geography.
The publication is available as a free downloadable PDF, as a website and as a paperback report.
Thanks to all of our contributors and production staff who helped make the quick turnaround possible. We hope it makes for a vibrant and engaging read!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction (Einar Thorsen, Dan Jackson, Darren Lilleker)
Context
1. Looking on the bright side for a change (Jay Blumler)
2. The performance of the electoral system (Alan Renwick)
3. Fixed-term parliaments and the electoral cycle (Richard Parry)
4. Institutions and nation building: there is such a thing as society (Matthew Johnson)
5. Global questions, parochial answers (Roman Gerodimos)
6. The future of illusions (Barry Richards)
Voters, Polls and Results
7. A glorious defeat: anti-politics and the funnelling of frustration (Matthew Flinders)
8. Younger voters politically energised, but the generational divide deepens (James Sloam)
9. Why the younger generation of Corbynistas? (Pippa Norris)
10. Young people and propaganda in the wake of the 2017 election (Shakuntala Banaji)
11. The generation election: youth electoral mobilisation at the 2017 General Election (Matt Henn and James Hart)
12. The 2017 General Election: How Votes were split between “open and closed” (Jonathan Wheatley)
13. Cartographic perspectives of the general election (Benjamin D. Hennig)
14. UKIP’s former supporters were crucial to the outcome – but not as generally expected (Ron Johnston and Charles Pattie)
15. Why did the Lib Dems fail to benefit from the anti-Brexit vote? (Panos Koliastasis)
16. Meeting the public: the perils and pitfalls of ‘walkabout’ questions to Theresa May in GE2017 (Sylvia Shaw)
17. Political participation in the UK: why might voters have voted? (Bruce Bimber, Shelley Boulianne, Karolina Koc-Michalska and Darren Lilleker)
18. Moments of accidental connection with the ‘Great British Public’: because Brenda et al know best! (Richard Scullion)
19. When democracy kicked back (Natalie Fenton)
News and Journalism
20. Conventional wisdom distorted TV news coverage of campaign (Stephen Cushion)
21. A tale of two leaders: news media coverage of the 2017 General Election (David Deacon, John Downey, David Smith, James Stanyer and Dominic Wring)
22. Did broadcast stage-management create a vacuum for social media? (Charlie Beckett)
23. Ducking the debate (Stephen Coleman)
24. Caught in the middle: the BBC’s impossible impartiality dilemma (Martin Moore and Gordon Ramsay)
25. Media policy: the curious incident of the dog in the night-time (Jonathan Hardy)
26. The use and abuse of the vox pop in the 2017 UK General Election television news coverage (Mark Wheeler)
27. Media bias hits a wall (Des Freedman)
28. Declining newspaper sales and the role of broadcast journalism in the 2017 general election (Guy Starkey)
29. Newspapers’ editorial opinions: stuck between a rock and a hard place (Julie Firmstone)
30. It’s the Sun wot lost it (Mick Temple)
31. From Brexit to Corbyn: agenda setting, framing and the UK media – a research agenda (Steve Schifferes)
32. Is our national press a fading dinosaur? Don’t bank on it (Steven Barnett)
33. A mixed mailbag: letters to the editor during the electoral campaign (Iñaki Garcia-Blanco)
34. Long live the wisdom of the phone-in crowd (Ivor Gaber)
35. Fact-checking the election (Jennifer Birks)
36. Should we worry about fake news? (Susan Banducci, Dan Stevens and Travis Coan)
37. Tweets, campaign speeches and dogs at polling stations: the election on live blogs (Marina Dekavalla)
38. Process, personalities and polls: online news coverage of the UK General Election 2017 (Emily Harmer and Rosalynd Southern)
39. Online election news can be bloody difficult (for a) woman (Emily Harmer)
40. Not just swearing and loathing on the internet: analysing BuzzFeed and VICE during #GE2017 (James Dennis and Susana Sampaio-Dias)
Parties and the Campaign
41. The battle for authenticity (Karin Wahl-Jorgensen)
42. Was it the Labour doorstep or the Labour smartphone that swung it for Jeremy? (Tim Bale)
43. The election at constituency level (Ralph Negrine)
44. Over-managing the media: how it all went wrong (Suzanne Franks)
45. Aristotle and persuasive copywriting in the 2017 General Election (Nigel Jackson)
46. Rhetoric of the 2017 General Election campaign (Andrew Crines)
47. When is an electoral ‘bribe’ not a bribe? (Chris Roberts)
48. PEBs in 2017: not gone, but largely forgotten? (Vincent Campbell)
49. ‘Strong and stable’ to ‘weak and wobbly’: Tory campaign, media reaction and GE2017 (Anthony Ridge-Newman)
50. The Greens and the “progressive alliance” (Jenny Alexander)
51. It’s the way I tell ‘em: car crash politics and the gendered turn (Karen Ross)
52. Dogwhistle sexism (Heather Savigny)
53. The Women’s Equality Party and the 2017 General Election (Elizabeth Evans and Meryl Kenny)
54. The resurrection of ethical foreign policy (Victoria Honeyman)
55. Why immigration faded from view in election 2017 (Thomas Brooks)
56. Invisible enemies, wars without winners: when ‘khaki elections’ fail (James Morrison)
57. The sobering reality of backdoors: cybersecurity and surveillance circumvention during GE2017 (Einar Thorsen)
The Digital Campaign
58. Corbyn, Labour, digital media, and the 2017 UK election (Andrew Chadwick)
59. Was it ‘AI wot won it’? Hyper-targeting and profiling emotions online (Vian Bakir and Andrew McStay)
60. Sharing is caring: Labour supporters use of social media #GE2017 (Anamaria Dutceac and Michael Bossetta)
61. Labour’s social media campaign: more posts, more video, and more interaction (Richard Fletcher)
62. Like me, share me: the people’s social media campaign (Darren Lilleker)
63. The alternate and influential world of the political parties’ Facebook feeds (Matt Walsh)
64. Social media and the Corbyn breakthrough (Mark Shephard)
65. The UK digisphere and the 2017 election (Aljosha Karim Schapals)
66. From voices to votes: how young people used social media to influence the General Election (Vyacheslav Polonski)
67. All LOLs and trolls (Alec Charles)
The Nations
68. Nasty, British and Short: an emotional election (Russell Foster)
69. Scotland in the 2017 UK General Election (Michael Higgins)
70. The General Election did little to solve Wales’ ‘democratic deficit’ (Morgan Jones)
71. GE2017 in Northern Ireland: total eclipse of the moderates (Neil Matthews)
72. Twitter, dual screening and the BBC Northern Ireland Leaders’ debate (Paul Reilly)
Brexit and European Perspectives
73. Brexit without Brexitland (Chris Gifford)
74. Why the General Election will make little difference to the Article 50 negotiations (Simon Usherwood)
75. Totem, taboo and trigger word: the dominance and obscurity of Brexit in the campaigns (Charlotte O’Brien)
76. The Conservatives and Brexit: the election and after (Philip Lynch)
77. The 2017 UK election: reflections from Norway (John Erik Fossum)
78. Partisan and plentiful: the 2017 UK election in the German press (Isabelle Hertner)
79. Expect the unexpected: French media perceptions of the 2017 UK General Election campaign (Emmanuelle Avril)
80. Poles apart: Polish perspectives of the 2017 UK ‘Brexit election’ (Paweł Surowiec)
81. Theresa and Jeremy: who is closer to Matteo? An Italian view of #GE2017 (Emiliana De Blasio and Michele Sorice)
Personality politics and popular culture
82. A tale of two leadership campaigns (Pete Dorey)
83. Seeing Jeremy Corbyn and not seeing Theresa May: the promise of civic spectatorship (Katy Parry)
84. Corbyn and his fans: post-truth, myth and Labour’s hollow defeat (Cornell Sandvoss)
85. It’s the stans wot (nearly) won it (Matt Hills)
86. Celebrities4Corbyn: continuity and change in Labour’s use of celebrities (Ellen Watts)
87. The othering and objectification of Diane Abbott MP (Deborah Gabriel)
88. “Theresa May for Britain”: a personal brand in search of personality (Margaret Scammell)
89. Maybot, Mummy or Iron Lady? Loving and loathing Theresa May (Shelley Thompson and Candida Yates)
90. Politics, charisma, and the celebrity spectre of Nigel Farage (Neil Ewen)
91. Mainstream broadcast comedy and satire (Kay Richardson)
92. Sound bites: the music of Election 2017 (John Street and Adam Behr)

Sandcastles, trivialising science?

BU research, Research communication

Most scientists agree that we have an image problem. This is serious at a time when research is at a premium to inform decision-making as argued so beautifully by Mark Henderson in The Geek Manifesto. We have a new generation of skilled science communicators on television today like Brian Cox, Jim Al Kalil, Alice Roberts and Iain Stewart to name but four and the quality and availability of science reporting has increased dramatically with the digital age. But the focus remains on discovery, the easy or sexy headline and therefore often on the trivial. Complex more nuanced, incremental stories are more often than not ignored. Every publically funded researcher is under pressure to engage the public and to increasingly justify what they do as part of the social contract with the public which funds them. For example, almost all funding in the UK requires statements now about pathways to engagement, but with this focus there is an ever present risk of simply pandering to the trivial and the easy as researchers seek publicity. It is something that I have been accused of myself.

The month of June is here which means for me the inevitable phone call to write something about building the perfect sandcastle. Professor Sandcastle, or the Sandcastle Boffin, was born in the summer of 2004 when I innocently became involved in a bit of summer ‘fluff’ for a holiday company. They wanted a formula for the perfect sandcastle. I obliged and the result caused a small unexpected media frenzy. The formula made it into the tabloids, was reported across the broadsheets and was a perfect regional story for radio and local television that summer. Much to my embarrassment I found myself portrayed as the Sandcastle Boffin. All was light hearted except for a barbed comment in the Independent, my newspaper of choice at the time, which cut deep: ‘haven’t they got anything better to do?’ ‘Yes of course I have, but you’re not interested in what I normally do’ I might have replied. The barb of triviality stuck fast.

The thing about the sandcastle story is that it would not die, despite the fact that the original research was never worthy in my view at least of publication. The following May I started to receive messages ‘we were so impressed by what you did for sandcastles last year can you . . .’ I was asked to create equations for love, happiness and luck. I turned most of them down but the idea of the ‘science equation as a’ tool was firmly embedded in a new generation of PR consultants. An appearance on the BBC Coasts programme with a linked session at the Cheltenham Science Festival helped cement the sandcastle connection, along with a slow but steady request for articles and radio interviews over the years. Most summers don’t pass without a request of some sort, nor has this one [http://theconversation.com/how-to-build-the-perfect-sandcastle-according-to-science-79600].

I have always delivered something when requested, seeing it as part of my remit as a modern academic to engage with the public slipping in messages about geology and earth history at every turn. I have resisted feelings of rancour when my real research has got less publicity remaining for the most part philosophical; if the public want fluff let them have it, better something than nothing, right? In truth it has done me no harm. The original interest gave me media training like no other and BU likes to remind people of its golden sands. It helped me as an academic appreciate the power and pitfalls of the media and the need for the sound bite and money shot in presenting more serious and challenging stories. Despite this the barb still twists; I am not just trivialising my academic discipline of sedimentology that I care deeply about? Is this not an ever present risk as we strive as academics for more public engagement? It is easy for us to write into funding pitches that we will do school events, give popular talks, create websites, attend and run festivals but does this really engage the public in the value and power of research? Are we not just feeding the media-machine with yet more trivia in lip-service to our funding aims? I have no idea whether my work on the perfect sandcastle over the years has made any real difference, it is impossible to quantify in terms of output. The truth is that measuring the consequences of engagement is hard and often undertaken post hoc. I am left without the answers but a gut feeling that is it better to show that science is all around us even in the humble sandcastle however trivial this may seem, than simply sit aloof concerned only about the more serious science stories that we may occasionally have to peddle.

Professor Matthew Bennett

 

How to build the perfect sandcastle – according to science

BU research, Research communication

Whether we prefer water sports or relaxing with a good book, the humble sandcastle is often a seaside must. But what’s the secret to building a majestic sandcastle that will withstand the tide of time? Luckily, there’s a scientific formula for that.

It all started back in 2004, when a holiday company asked us to investigate the question. As a sedimentologist, someone who studies fragments of rock, I began pondering what kind of beach would work best for castle building. To find out, I compared the sand from the ten most popular beaches in the UK at the time. Though in truth any sandy beach will do, Torquay came out top with its delightful red sand, closely followed by Bridlington, with Bournemouth, Great Yarmouth and Tenby tied in third. At the bottom of the league was Rhyl.

Having selected a beach one has to find the perfect spot. Now this is a question of taste rather than hard rules. Some might prefer a spot close to the car park with easy access when the rain arrives while others might want to stay next to a cafe. Others yet might hanker after the secluded fringes of the beach, perhaps sheltered by natural promontories of rock that keep the biting wind at bay.

Torquay harbour.
averoxus/wikipedia, CC BY-SA

Now a castle should be a symbol of military strength, but to stand proud one needs strong sand. The strength of sand depends on the properties of its individual grains and on the water between them. The more angular the grains, the better they will lock together. The more a grain is transported the more rounded it becomes. Microscopic shell fragments work well in this regard. The finer the grains the more they hold the water. And water matters.

Too much water and your sand will flow, too little and it will crumble. You need to get it just right and your castle will stand proud and last. It’s all down to the surface tension of water – the thing that gives the “meniscus”, or skin, to a glass of water and holds down that glass when placed on a wet bar top. The film of water between individual sand grains is what gives sand its strength, too much and it lubricates one grain over the other, but just right and it binds them strong.

The magic formula

Now the experimentation we did suggested that the perfect sandcastle requires one bucket of water to eight buckets of dry sand. Or if you want the magic formula: Water = 0.125 x Sand. So assuming that you don’t have any science gear with you, then you are looking for a spot close to the high tide line – usually marked by a line of seaweed and flotsam – and the low tide line where sand is still visibly wet and the waves are close. But remember that this will change as the tide comes and goes during the day.

High tide line.

My next tip refers to quality of your tools. In my experience there is a direct correlation between the age of the builder, spade size and the speed at which boredom sets in. Adult helpers find the smallest spade nothing but frustrating, and while young assistants might aspire to use the biggest spade, it is often too big to handle. A selection of tools will keep the workforce in harmony. The bucket also has to be the perfect size and shape. The best buckets are the simple round ones – not the ones with the fancy turrets which when turned out produce a castle in itself. A round bucket will allow you turn out countless towers and architectural features. A single bucket can be turned out several times to create a large mound from which you carve an amazing tower.

As you build, spare a thought to the story, not just of the castle one is building with its tales of derring-do, but also the story of the sand itself. Each grain is a fragment of rock and contains a story of relict mountains, ancient rivers, dinosaur-infested swamps and seas, of past climates and events which tell the amazing story of our planet. The red sand of Torquay once blew in giant sandstorms, as the area was once part of a desert far greater than that of the Sahara. The sand at Bridlington or Great Yarmouth tells a tale of giant ice sheets and drowned lands below the North Sea.

The ConversationMy next tip refers to size. Yes, size matters – at least in the game of sandcastles. The modest castle with perfect towers, battlements and moat is ok, but it is the huge castles which break the beach horizon that inspire awe and wonderment in people that pass by. Think big! Pebbles, shells, driftwood fragments and feathers all enhance a castle. And let’s face it: a castle is about being seen. And although there may be science behind the humble sandcastle, don’t forget to have fun building it.

Matthew Robert Bennett, Professor of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Bournemouth University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Photo of the Week: Cretan Sea Submarine 4236

BU research

Cretan Sea Submarine 4236

Cretan Sea Submarine 4236

Our next instalment of the ‘Photo of the Week’ series features Rutherford’s image from his ongoing project entitled Submarines. The series is a weekly instalment which features an image produced by our fantastic BU staff and students. The photos give a glimpse into some of the fascinating work our researchers have been doing across BU and the wider community.

“Over more than thirty years of commercial and fine art photographic practice, I have often noticed remarkable disparities between the scenes, objects, events or moments ‘out there’ I had attempted to record – and the content of the resulting photographs. These sometimes subtle, sometimes drastic, and often unanticipated disparities between what I had seen and what the photograph shows me seem to be the result of significant differences between the ways in which we experience time and space – and the way in which the camera renders them,”

“My research investigates two inter-related notions; Whether the camera sometimes records scenes, events and moments that did not exist ‘out there’ but which were instead created by the act of photographing them and, to what extent our ability to recognise this phenomenon is impeded by the ontological and epistemological assumptions inherent within the language we use to describe what photographs ‘are’ and what they show us – for example, by describing (and thereby reinforcing the idea that) photographs are ‘taken’ rather than ‘made’”, explains Rutherford.

If you’d like find out more about the research or the photo itself then please contact Rutherford.

Or please visit Rutherford’s website: http://www.theshadowofthephotographer.co.uk/

This photo was originally an entry to the 2017 Research Photography Competition. If you have any other questions about the Photo of the Week series or the competition please email research@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Grants Workshop 29th June – last chance to book

BU research, Events, RKE development framework

As part of the Research and Knowledge Exchange Development Framework, RKEO are hosting a Grants Workshop and follow-up Bid Writing Retreat.

This two day event will combine advice and guidance on writing grant applications, and will be delivered by external bid writing experts ThinkWrite.

Day one (Thursday, 29th June 2017) will comprise of a grants workshop which will give participants the opportunity to expand their ideas on available funding sources, and investigate what funders want to achieve when they hand over money. Participants will then develop a strategic approach to writing applications.

Day two (Monday, 24th July 2017) will consist of a follow-up bid writing retreat, where one-to-one support will be available to develop applications for funding.

All academics and researchers are welcome to attend.  Participants can attend either day, but must have a funding application they plan to submit within 12 months. The application can be to any funder.

Places are limited, so book now to avoid disappointment. For more information and to book your space please see the RKE Development Framework page for this event.

For any other queries please contact Lisa Gale-Andrews, RKEO Research Facilitator.

Approaching the Case for Support – Last chance to book

BU research, Events, RKE development framework

As part of the Research and Knowledge Exchange Development Framework, RKEO are hosting a session on ‘Approaching the Case for Support’.

This interactive morning session will provide an overview of RCUK funding, and an overview of the anatomy of a proposal before detailing approaches to tackling the case for support, with the aim of increasing the likelihood of receiving funding. There will be an opportunity to gain feedback from the external facilitator, on the day and subsequently.

All academics and researchers are welcome to attend, but as places are limited we ask that participants have a funding application they plan to submit within 12 months. The application can be to any funder.

Date: Tuesday 27th June 2017

Time: 09:30-12:30

Venue: Talbot Campus

For more information and to book your space please see the RKE Development Framework page for this event.

For any other queries please contact Lisa Gale-Andrews, RKEO Research Facilitator.

BU Senior Academic in Events Management Presents at Sussex Impact Day

BU research, Events, Impact, Research news

Images from the Capturing Event Impacts presented by Dr Nicole Ferdinand at the Sussex Impact Day

Dr Nicole Ferdinand, Senior Academic Events Management, was one of the presenters at the Sussex Impact Day, at University of Sussex, Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, Falmer, Brighton, June 13th 2017. Her presentation on Capturing Event Impacts by Developing an Event Profile was one of three sessions which were dedicated to Understanding Event Impacts. It was praised for providing useful “practical information” to University of Sussex Academics, who were increasingly “using events to accelerate the impacts of their research” by Megan McMichael, ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) Project Manager at Sussex University. Key insights from her presentation included: the need to have a dedicated budget to capture impact; the increasing importance of capturing social media impacts and incorporating automation or e-evaluation tools to make event impact capture easier. 

Images from the Plenary Session at the Sussex Impact Day

The University of Sussex Impact team also invited Dr Ferdinand to join other sessions at the Impact Day, including the plenary session featuring external organisations who have first hand experience of working with academics. The speakers were Mr Antonio Capillo, Senior Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager at The Fairtrade Foundation, Ms Tao-Tao Chang, Research Grants manager at The Victoria and Albert Museum, Dr Penny Hawkins, Head of Research Animals Department at the RSPCA and Dr Malcolm Skingle, Academic Liaison Director at GSK.

For more on the Sussex Impact Day have a look at a summary of the day’s events and Dr Ferdinand’s session on Capturing  Event Impacts on  Storify.

New BU publication in Public Health

BU research, Featured academics, international, open access, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing

This week the Oxford Encyclopaedia published our contribution on religious organisations and health promotion [1].  The paper in question ‘Faith Communities and the Potential for Health Promotion’ is co-authored by scholars based in England, Scotland and Canada. This new publication is part of a growing number of publications at Bournemouth University on the contribution of faith communities to public health.

Faith communities often have multiple resources, existing networks and an infrastructure that can be applied to health promotion programmes for their own membership or as an outreach to the wider community. Health programmes in a faith community in high-income countries may include targeted initiatives, ranging from walking groups or weight checks, health events, or health assessments, to diabetes self-management. These activities can be organised by charities and NHS organisation and held at local churches, synagogues or mosques which is referred to as faith-placed health promotion.  If the health promotion is part of the ministry of the religious organisation it is referred to as faith-based health promotion.

On top of this encyclopaedia entry, the Open Access journal African Health Sciences [Impact Factor 0.66] accepted our paper in the same field a few weeks ago.  This  paper ‘Influence of faith-based organisations on HIV prevention strategies in Africa: a systematic review’ formed part of the first author’s M.Sc. in Public Health [2]. Our previous papers reported on a study of faith-based and faith-placed health promotion in and around Dundee [3-4].

 

Professor Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Prenatal Health

 

References

  1. Kiger, A., Fagan, D., van Teijlingen, E. (2017) Faith Communities and the Potential for Health Promotion. In: Encyclopedia of Health and Risk Message Design & Processing, Parrott, R. (ed.) New York, Oxford University Press. (http://communication.oxfordre.com/).
  2. Ochillo, M., van Teijlingen, E., Hind, M. (2017) Influence of faith-based organisations on HIV prevention strategies in Africa: a systematic review. African Health Sciences (accepted June).
  3. Fagan, D., Kiger, A., van Teijlingen E. (2010) A survey of faith leaders concerning health promotion and the level of healthy living activities occurring in faith communities in Scotland. Global Health Promotion 17(4): 15-23.
  4. Fagan, D., Kiger, A., van Teijlingen, E. (2012) Faith communities and their assets for health promotion: The views from health professionals and faith leaders in Dundee, Scotland, Global Health Promotion 19(2): 27-36.

FMC will be a hosting a series of researcher skills development training in June

BU research, Events, Featured academics, PG research, Research news, Research Training, Training

The Faculty of Media and Communication will be welcoming Dr. John Willison from the University of Adelaide for a series of researcher development training open to all academic staff, PGR’s and colleagues in RKEO.

Dr Willison is a highly engaged and widely published academic whose expertise include the creative blending of teaching and research, researcher development and the evolution of research-oriented curricula. He is a senior lecturer in the Department of Higher Education, School of Education at the University of Adelaide, South Australia, where he coordinates the Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (GCHE) for academics from all faculties. He is currently leading a major initiative funded by the Office for Learning and Teaching considering Research Skill Development (RSD) and assessment in undergraduate and postgraduate degrees across disciplines from all faculties.

Dr Willison’s principal research interest centres on the ways that academics conceptualise and implement the development of their students’ research skills in content-rich courses. He examines the close conceptual connection between the skills associated with research in a discipline, and the skills required and developed in problem-solving, critical thinking, clinical reasoning and Work Integrated Learning. His research with graduates from various disciplinary contexts is pointing to the value graduates place on research skills once they are employed.

Click here for further details and a range of resources.

FMC have scheduled a series of tailored training events. The faculty are keen to hear the discussion and share new thinking widely across BU.

All events will take place in the Fusion Building, Talbot Campus – Room F201

The sessions are outlined below:

Thursday 29th June

Session 1: 10.00-12.00: Research Skill Development First Year to PhD

This workshop will be of interest to all academics at BU. It provides an introduction to the Research Skills Development (RSD) framework, which provides a systematic approach to the scaffolding of research into learning for students at all levels. The session will also look at how RSD can be integrated into and complement the Research Development Framework developed by Vitae, which is currently used at BU for PGT and PGR training

Session 2: 14.00 – 16.00 Enabling Research Skill Development for Higher Degree Researchers and Early Career Academics

This workshop will be of primary interest to Deputy and Associate Deans, Heads of Department, Heads of Research, Research Centre Directors, and colleagues in RKEO, amongst others who have a role in the support of postgraduate students and early career academics. It examines how the Research Skill Development (RSD) framework can be used to assist PGR students and ECRs to achieve successful outcomes at these most crucial stages in their academic careers.

Friday 30th June

Session 3: 10.00-12.00: Models for Engaged Learning and Teaching (MELT): MELT your students’ minds

This workshop will be of interest to all academics at BU. It provides an introduction to the Research Skills Development (RSD) framework, which provides a systematic approach to the scaffolding of research into learning for student at all levels. Its main focus is on the adaptation of the RSD framework to meet the particular needs of different disciplines. It will demonstrate how this adaptation can be carried out to enhance the student experience in different disciplines without losing the core strengths and consistency that the framework provides for scaffolding student learning.

Session 4: 14.00 – 16.00 Engaging teachers to enable dynamic student learning

This workshop will be of primary interest to Deputy and Associate Deans, Heads of Department, Heads of Education, Programme Leaders, and colleagues in CEL, amongst others, who have a role in the support of curriculum design, the enhancement of the student learning experience, and the conduct of research into university education. It examines how the Research Skill Development (RSD) framework can be used to scaffold learning and assessment design across curricula at all course levels. It will use data from a series of large-scale research projects that provide a critical analysis of the use of RSD in a wide range of disciplines.

Impact training – spaces avaliable

BU research

Over the course of the summer, RKEO has been running a number of training sessions with Vertigo Ventures aimed at supporting academics to develop the impact of their research.

The next two sessions are booked for Monday 3 July (one between 9am – 12:15pm and one between 1:15pm – 4:30pm) and will take place at an off campus location.  Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

The aims of the training as follows:

  • Attendees will have identified what their intended impact could be by 2020 and what knowledge exchange/impact acceleration activities they should be looking to do over the next year
  • Attendees will have developed a workable plan for their  potential (REF2021) impact case studies between now and 2020
  • Attendees will have identified what kind of evidence will be gathered and how this will be obtained.

The session is being run by Laura Fedorciow and Shireen Ali-Khan of Vertigo Ventures, one of the few established specialist firms operating in this arena.

Places are being offered on a first come, first serve basis.  Please email Rachel Bowen rbowen@bournemouth.ac.uk to book your place.

Next Vitae hangout event – 20/06/17 – ‘navigating your digital profile’

BU research, Events, Research Training, Vitae

We would encourage our BU academics to participate in this upcoming Vitae event and pick up useful tips and information. As part of their current Focus-on theme of ‘navigating the research environment’, the next #vitaehangout ‘navigating your digital profile’ will take place at 10.00am on Tuesday 20th June.

In this #vitaehangout  you will be able to learn more about what a digital identity is, the benefits of using your personal brand, and how to effectively use online platforms to promote your research, as well as the opportunity to shape the discussion by submitting your own questions.

Their panellists will join their moderator to take and discuss the audience questions and give expert advice and tips based on their own success.

Follow this link to find out more and to access the hangout.

Vitae is an organisation set up to promote career development in both postgraduate researchers and academic staff. Their Researcher Development Framework is intended to help people monitor their skills and plan their personal development. At BU we will be using this framework to format the training on offer for the postgraduate research students and academic staff.

The Vitae website is an excellent resource and the organisation regularly runs free training events for researchers, PGRs and those involved in research development.

The Researcher Development Framework (RDF) is the professional development framework to realise the potential of researchers. The RDF is a tool for planning, promoting and supporting the personal, professional and career development of researchers in higher education. It was designed following interviews with many successful researchers across the sector and articulates the knowledge, behaviours and attributes of a successful researcher.