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16 Days of Action Against Gender-Based Violence

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(25th November 2023 – 10th December 2023)

The 16 days between 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and 10 December, Human Rights Day, are known as the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign, a time to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls around the world (UNESCO).

This international campaign aims tackle domestic abuse and raise awareness. Domestic violence and abuse disproportionately impacts women and girls and marginalised communities, therefore, this campaign seeks to address such issues as equality.

Why are well telling you about this?

Apart from raising awareness of this campaign. The Soroptimists have hired a space in The Avenue in Bournemouth Town Centre and invited Dr Olanda Harvey and Dr Louise Oliver to show case some of Bournemouth University’s research focusing on Domestic Abuse but also to conduct research. The exhibition will be open until 30th Nov.

We have put up a Problem Tree and Solution Tree for members of the public to write their views on about Violence Against Women and Girls. The Problem and Solutions Trees are a useful approach for this type of research because it is a visual method, in which one tree looks at the current challenges faced and the other looks at what could be done.

The Bournemouth Arts College also have some really interesting and hard-hitting artwork on the theme of VAWG, and the public are being invited to vote for their favourite.

Finally, the Soroptimists are running other events this week, for more information follow this link.

If you are in Bournemouth over the next week, please do join in.

Where to find the event: Bournemouth Town Centre, upstairs in the arcade about the Works and HMV.

 

Take a tour of the newly refurbished Sir Michael Cobham Library

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You’re invited to take a tour of our new student study spaces in the Sir Michael Cobham Library, following this summer’s refurbishment work. Students have been enjoying the fantastic new facilities this semester, which includes brand new group and individual study rooms and some really smart new collaborative furniture.

It’s been busier than ever in our libraries this academic year (certainly since pre-pandemic) and we’d love colleagues from across BU to see the facilities we offer to support our students’ independent learning. Whilst we still have our silent areas, you might be surprised at the buzzing and motivational atmosphere in many areas of the library!

Please do join us for a short 15-to-20-minute tour, meeting in front of the ground floor Helpdesk in The Sir Michael Cobham Library at the following times:

  • Thursday 30 November, 1.15pm
  • Friday 1 December, 1.15pm
  • Monday 4 December, 1.15pm
  • Tuesday 5 December, 1.15pm

If you’d like to take a tour but can’t make any of these times, please email librarysupport@bournemouth.ac.uk and the team will try to arrange a time that works for you.

New funding available for doctoral training studentships as BU joins the ESRC South West Doctoral Training Partnership

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The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has announced new investment in 15 doctoral training partnerships (DTPs) spanning 89 institutions over the next five years, providing professional development and training opportunities to enhance the capabilities of doctoral candidates.

BU was part of a successful £15.3m bid which now enables colleagues to bid for prestigious ESRC-funded doctoral studentships.

We have partnered with the University of Bristol, University of Bath, Bath Spa University, University of Exeter, University of Plymouth, University of St Mark and St John (Marjon), and University of the West of England as part of the South West Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP).

Students sat chatting outside the Doctoral College

The partnership will cover the breadth of social sciences, as well as areas of interdisciplinary research. The ESRC awards cover five years of PhD studentships, with the first intake beginning in October 2024. The ESRC aims to support 500 students a year nationwide across the partnerships.

The DTPs will also develop tailored training programmes for students and staff and support a wide variety of collaborative activities, including events and placement opportunities. 

Professor Mike Silk, Institutional Lead for BU and a member of the SWDTP Management Board, said: “This is a prestigious award which will fund over 170 studentships across the consortium of SWDTP partners and provides us with an exciting opportunity to further elevate our postgraduate provision in both disciplinary and interdisciplinary pathways aligned with the ESRC.

“It allows BU staff and students to benefit from the leadership and research knowledge across all eight institutions and for BU to enhance and extend its research environment, promote and support excellent, innovative, diverse and interdisciplinary research, and foster transferable research skills and the career development of our postgraduate researchers.”

He added that the partnership will also bring additional benefits, with all registered postgraduate research students at BU now having access to opportunities for additional training across partner institutions, sharing best practice, resources and academic knowledge, placements, and funding for staff projects and events.

Fiona Knight, Head of The Doctoral College at BU, said: “The Doctoral College is excited to be collaborating with our partners in the SWDTP and the opportunity to share best practice, resources and academic knowledge.

“This partnership will strengthen our support for all of our social science postgraduate researchers and enable access to a network of social scientists across the DTP.”

The funding means that BU will now be able to bid for ESRC-funded doctoral studentships across several areas of excellence that align to the ESRC’s funding priorities – including Health, Wellbeing, and Society; Psychology; and Climate change, Sustainability, and Society.

Stian Westlake, ESRC Executive Chair, said: “Our vision for postgraduate training is that it will develop globally competitive social science researchers who can operate in interdisciplinary, collaborative, and challenge-led environments across a range of sectors and who have a diversity of backgrounds and experiences.

“This redesigned and expanded doctoral training opportunity will enhance the experience for PhD students and boost the UK’s capability.”

Find out more about BU studentships and opportunities through the SWDTP

Visit the South West Doctoral Training Partnership website

Leverhulme Visiting Professor Lecture: The dynamics of audience engagement with journalistic roles. This Weds at 3pm

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Please feel invited to this week’s Centre for Comparative Politics and Media Research (CCPMR) speaker’s series, where we welcome our Leverhulme Visiting Professor Claudia Mellado on campus.

 

This is a hybrid event with a Teams link here for those who can’t make it in person

 

Date: Wednesday the 22 November

 

Place: F104

 

Time: 1500-16.30, followed by drinks reception

 

Speaker:

Claudia Mellado is Professor of Journalism at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile and Leverhulme Visiting Professor at Bournemouth University. She is the Principal Investigator of the Journalistic Role Performance cross-national project (www.journalisticperformance.org). Her research focuses on journalistic cultures, professional roles, social media performance, and comparative research. Her last two edited books are Journalistic Role Performance: Concept, Contexts, and Methods (Routledge, 2017), and Beyond Journalistic Norms. Role Performance and News in Comparative Perspective (Routledge, 2020).

 

The dynamics of audience engagement with journalistic roles

Over the past decade, the literature on journalistic roles and journalistic cultures has documented inevitable discrepancies between the professional ideals of journalists and the practice of the profession. At the same time, high levels of audience dissatisfaction with how journalism and the media do their work have been observed along with a decrease in audiences’ level of consumption of traditional platforms. Moreover, the data has shown that the business models of traditional media platforms are being challenged due to their inability to understand audiences’ needs and behaviors, which threatens their survival and profitability. Despite all of this, attempts to actively incorporate audiences into journalism studies have been limited and even non-existent in some parts of the world.

Based on survey conducted with 330 journalists and 4,615 news audience members in Chile, in this talk I will address the audiences as a relevant subject of study in the understanding of journalism as a social institution, analyzing the relationship and gaps that exist between the two groups in terms of their expectations of journalism and the degree to which their expectations align with their evaluations of journalistic work, looking at the sociodemographic and attitudinal factors that better explain the various in(congruencies) in the journalism-audience relationship, and the impact of these incongruencies on media trust.

Comparing audience perceptions of journalism to those of journalists is a crucial element for understanding the norms, rules and values that give life to and maintain the profession as a legitimate and viable social institution. Studying both journalism and audiences will thus reveal the paths journalists and the media can choose to recover their credibility and increase public interest in various formats and types of news media, representing an opportunity to rethink the ethos of the profession.

We hope to see you there

Unveiling Hidden Narratives: Dr. Panos Amelidis Premieres ‘The Voice of the Loom’ at Electroacoustic Music Days 2023

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We are excited to share that Dr. Panos Amelidis (Department of Creative Technology) has recently premiered his new electroacoustic piece, “The Voice of the Loom,” at the Electroacoustic Music Days 2023 Festival. This significant event took place in Rethymno, Crete, at the Hellenic Mediterranean University.

“The Voice of the Loom” was performed on Sunday, 5th November, contributing to a vibrant and innovative lineup at the festival. This year was especially notable as the festival was held in conjunction with the 41st General Assembly of the International Confederation of Electroacoustic Music, bringing together leading figures in the field from around the world.

Dr. Amelidis’s composition is an electroacoustic work that explores the theme of women’s oppression throughout history, with a unique focus on the loom’s inner sonic qualities. The loom, often a central object in traditional societies, becomes a symbol in this piece for the complex interplay of consent and denial, imposition, and the personal mythologies women weave along with their textiles.

In “The Voice of the Loom,” Dr. Amelidis creates an auditory narrative that reflects the intricate relationship between the weaver and their loom. This piece is an imaginative journey to uncover and listen to the ‘voice’ of the loom, representing the unspoken thoughts and emotions of women historically tied to this instrument. It’s a composition that not only demonstrates artistic and technical prowess but also brings to light significant social themes.

For more details about the festival: https://meres-icem2023.hmu.gr/

 

Now Booking! Supervisory Development Lunchbite Sessions 2023/2024

BU research, Doctoral College, ECR Network, Events, Featured, PG research, Postgraduate Research, Research Supervision, Uncategorized

The Doctoral College are delighted to launch the Supervisory Development Lunchbite Sessions for 2023/2024. More sessions will be added soon.

These one hour sessions are aimed at all academic staff who are new to, or experienced at, supervising research degree students and are interested in expanding their knowledge of a specific aspect or process in doctoral supervision. Session details and to book your place are available using the link below.

Each session will be led by a senior academic or service representative who will introduce and facilitate the topic. Staff will benefit from discussions aimed at sharing best practice.

Booking is via Eventbrite for Doctoral College sessions. Sessions also include UKCGE events. Bournemouth University is a member of UKCGE and the events listed are free to BU staff.

Please use your BU email address when booking.

Click here for further details and to book your place. For enquiries, please email doctoralcollege@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Event Date Time Location
Administrative Milestones to Support On-Time Completion 15 November 2023  

13:00-14:00

  

Online (UKCGE)
Administrative Checks for Examiners of Vivas: Right to Work Checks & Challenges  

22 November 2023

  

13:00-14:00

  

Online (UKCGE)
Chairing Viva Voces: What’s my Role? 22 November 2023 12:00 – 13:00 Online
What is the impact of Doctoral Research in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences 6 December 2023 13:00-14:00 Online (UKCGE)
Milestone Panel Member: What’s my Role? 6 December 2023 12:00 – 13:00 Online
Wellbeing Support for PGRs at BU 30 January 2024 12:00 – 13:00 Online
Managing Difficult Students 6 February 2024 12:00 – 13:00 Online
Supporting International PGRs: Key Factors 14 February 2024 12:00 – 13:00 Online
UKCGE Recognised Research Supervisor Scheme 15 February 2024 12:00 – 13:00 Online
Supporting PGRs Requiring ALS 21 February 2024 12:00 – 13:00 Online
A Practice Led Thesis: The Supervisors Guide 19 March 2024 12:00 – 13:00 Online
AI and the Research Degree 20 March 2024 12:00 – 13:00 Online

A “Writing Day” is organised by BU’s Research Staff Association

BU research, Events, Publishing, research staff, RKE development framework, Uncategorized, writing

As part of their activities for this academic year, RSA is organised a Writing Day for Researchers.

This Writing Day aims to help support BU researchers work on their publications by providing some dedicated time and space, away from everyday distractions.

We’ll begin with some introductions – a chance to meet other researchers, make friends and support each other.

Then we’ll get down to business… writing!

Thursday 25th January 2024, 09:00 – 16:00 at Talbot Campus

Plenty of food and drink to fuel your writing!

Please sign up to attend via our booking form Booking Form under “RSA Writing Day 25/01/23”

 

Please note that this event is organised by BU’s Research Staff Association – an association run by BU researchers from all faculties who want to make BU a great place to work and do research.

For more information, please contact RKE Dev Framework

 

Research process seminar. How to turn research into news: From academic findings to media sound bites. 31 Oct at 2pm on Zoom

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You are warmly invited to this week’s research process seminar. Hosted in FMC but open to all staff and research students

Summary of talk:

Whether explaining scientific details, introducing concepts from postcolonial politics or quoting archival texts, turning research into news is always a challenge. In this seminar I introduce my process for identifying ‘infobites’ and tailoring them for an intended audience to maximise the reach and impact of your academic research. I also offer tips on ‘what not to wear’ and how to deal with journalists’ questions that you don’t want to answer. This seminar draws from my extensive experience working with media outlets ranging from Vice News to the BBC, from Elle magazine to Business Insider. At the end of this seminar, you will know:
– How to identify ‘infobites’ that target a specific outlet and audience
– How to deal with difficult questions
– How to link research to impact via engagement with the media

Speaker bio:

Anna Feigenbaum is a Professor in Digital Storytelling here at BU where I also co-direct the Science, Health and Data Communications Research Centre. My research spans these fields of communication. I am the author of Tear Gas (Verso Books 2017) and an author of Protest Camps (Zed/Bloomsbury 2013), Protest Camps in International Context (Policy Press 2017) and The Data Storytelling Workbook (Routledge 2020). I am currently working on a monograph for Verso about infertility and the IVF marketplace and publishing findings from my UKRI/AHRC COVID-19 Rapid Response research project that investigated the use of webcomics on social media to share public health messages.

About the research process seminar series:
The purpose of this research seminar series is different to your typical research seminar and conference presentation. Instead of presenting the results and outcomes of research, we want to share good practices around the process of doing research. This might often involve a focus on research methods but it also includes aspects of publishing, writing, time management, career management etc.

The idea here is that the speaker takes us through the anatomy of the project or approach focussing particularly on the process – the challenges, the successes, and the failures. For the audience, we walk away with a practical application of a method or approach we may not be familiar with or may not have applied in this way before. Our ambition is to make us all better researchers as a result.

Tuesday 31 October at 2pm on Zoom

https://bournemouth-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/85099274751?pwd=TEhYU2VBSlBGU3oxMWRnUzU3V2E0UT09

Meeting ID: 850 9927 4751
Passcode: 4KegP$#Z

We hope to see you there!

Dan

 

BU model of work-simulated learning features in new research report

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Making the Creative Majority is a new report from the All-party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Creative Diversity launched at the House of Lords earlier this week. The report analyses ‘What Works’ to support diversity and inclusion in creative education and the talent pipeline with a focus on the 16+ age category.

I attended the event for two reasons. The research closely aligns to my own: the report’s focus is work in the creative industries generally; mine is on work in the media industries specifically, so there is much common ground. But my invitation was also prompted by having found myself in the unusual position (for me) of also being the subject of the research. One of my Level 5 units – Client & Audience – provides the report with its case-study for work-simulated learning (see pp 137-138 of report). It is a unit in which media production students work on a live brief for an external organisation, but within a safe and highly controlled University environment. The report suggests that this model can reach students for whom the offer of internships and other forms of work-integrated learning will simply not reach.

The new report has been produced by King’s College London, University of Manchester, University of the Arts London, YouTube, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and the Creative Policy and Evidence Centre. Key findings are: the creative workforce is dominated by graduates; there is huge inequality of gender, ethnicity and class across creative HE courses and employment outcomes; the Russell Group of Universities has the most work to do to support DEI in creative HE; and apprenticeships aren’t working for the creative industries.

The report also includes a series of evidence-informed recommendations for government and Higher Education.

Making the Creative Majority full report is available here.

 

Research by BU academic on NFTs, Blockchain and IP law cited in Parliamentary Report

BU research, Featured academics, Fusion themes, innovation, parliament, policy, REF Subjects, Research news, Uncategorized

A report on ‘NFTs and the Blockchain: the risks to sport and culture’ recently published by the Parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMSC) cites research by Bournemouth University’s (BU’s) Professor Dinusha Mendis.

The report follows the consultation that was conducted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in November 2022 and outlines how Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and blockchains should be tackled in the future, particularly in relation to art and culture; professional sport and advertising.

In relation to intellectual property rights (IPRs), the report cites copyright infringement, limited recourse and redress (for consumers and creators), the scale of infringement, consumer confusion and the inflexibility of transferring IP as the main issues that needs consideration.

In responding to these issues, the report cites the research by Prof. Mendis calling for more protection for consumers and creators as a result of rising IP infringements, scams and frauds. The report also identifies the unique nature of NFTs and blockchains and cites Prof. Mendis’ research in demonstrating how current laws – such as ‘notice and takedown’ or ‘the right to be forgotten’ – which apply in other circumstances relating to piracy and counterfeiting, may not necessarily apply to online marketplaces. As such, the report recommends a code of conduct to be adopted by online platforms dealing with NFTs.

The hype surrounding NFTs was short-lived and in mid-2022, investors saw a collapse in the NFT market. However, as the report states, “cryptoassets such as NFTs continue to have advocates … [and] even if NFTs never again reach the peak they achieved over the last few years, areas of concern [in relation to regulation] remain”.

As such, based on the research presented in this report relating to intellectual property, the CMSC recommends that the “Government engages with NFT marketplaces to address the scale of infringement and enable copyright holders to enforce their rights”. In relation to sports, the report identifies the financial risks and harm which NFTs present to fans and the reputational harm it presents to clubs and recommends that “any measurement of fan engagement in sports, including in the forthcoming regulation of football, should explicitly exclude the use of fan tokens”.

Finally, in relation to advertising, and once again citing the research by Prof. Mendis, the report recommends that the Government respond to misleading and/or fraudulent advertising for NFTs.

For further information and for the full report, please see here: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/41611/documents/205745/default/

BU MSc Student, Sarah Clark, gives a presentation at EDS ECHO Fatigue Summit 0n 21st October

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Sarah is giving a Community Voice presentation at the EDS ECHO Summit Series: Fatigue – Causes and Management at 4.32pm UK time in the “Exercise, Pacing and Diet” section, sharing some of her own tips and tricks for life managing several complex chronic health conditions.    This will be followed by participation in the live online Q&A session at approx 4.45 pm UK time.

 

Sarah, who has hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, is a Masters student at BU studying Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology.  Sarah sits as a patient expert in the EDS International Consortium, Psychiatric and Psychological Aspects Working Group.

Sarah presented her BMJ paper “Help me trust you after my misdiagnosis” at The EDS Global Learning Conference in Dublin in August.

Sarah was diagnosed in May 2022 with Autism spectrum condition, a realisation she only made thanks to attending the autism lectures on her MSc course here at BU!  She recently completed her qualitative MSc Research Project, supervised by Dr Emily Arden-Close, on “What are the daily experiences of autistic people living with hEDS?” and has just started working on writing her dissertation up for submission to a journal.

Sarah is studying part-time at BU due to the time-consuming nature of managing several complex conditions. But alongside managing her wellbeing, Sarah regularly engages in public awareness work, volunteering and charity fundraising work. She is also a keen photographer, writer and yogi and was featured in Hotpod Yoga’s Move with Purpose Campaign recently where she talked about her late-autism diagnosis: https://hotpodyoga.com/move-with-purpose/

Sarah is hugely grateful to the BU Community for the support and encouragement she’s had over the past few years which has allowed her to make great leaps in improving her own health and wellbeing, as well as giving others hope.  You can read more about Sarah’s inspirational journey on her website.