Tagged / Europe

New international midwifery paper

Today the editor of the European Journal of Midwifery emailed to announce the acceptance of the paper ‘Slovenian midwifery professionalisation: Perception of midwives and related health professions’ [1].   The first author from Slovenia, Dr. Polona Mivšek, has a long working relationship with BU’s Prof. Vanora Hundley (Professor of Midwifery) in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH).  The paper is the result of an international collaboration between the University of Ljubljana and Bournemouth University as well as an interdisciplinary collaboration between midwifery and sociology.

 

 

Reference:

  1. Mivšek, A.P., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E., Pahor, M., Hlebec, V. (2021) Slovenian midwifery professionalisation: Perception of midwives and related health professions, European Journal of Midwifery (forthcoming)

RKEDF: Research Training Events in November

 

The following events are coming up this month. These are all online events.

Wednesday 11th November 10:00 – 11:00

British Academy Newton International Fellowships – Information Session

This session provides support for preparing an application to the British Academy Newton International Fellowships. Potential BU mentors and international candidates are welcomed.

You will gain an understanding of the Newton International Fellowship Scheme, and it’s aims and objectives. Support will be provided for those considering applying, but this is also suitable for those who are not sure if this is the right fund to apply to.

Wednesday 11th November 15:00 – 16:00 – ECR Network Meeting

 Calling all ECRs, this is an opportunity to meet other Early Career Researchers and to get advice and support for any research-related queries and concerns. 

Monday 16th November 10:00 – 12:00

Enhancing research impact: understanding and navigating bibliometrics

 Bibliometric analysis uses data to measure the “output” of individuals, research teams, institutions etc., and it is increasingly being used to assess the “impact” of research in order to evaluate and quantify it. This session will cover how research impact is measured, how you can maximise it, and the role of social media in promoting research. 

Tuesday 17th November 10:00 – 12:00 – Navigating the Ethics Checklist

This workshop is designed to assist Researchers in the process of obtaining ethical approval.

The review and approval process will be discussed, including how risk is identified. What makes a good an application and how to create and submit an online ethics checklist.

Wednesday 18th November 10:30 – 15:00 – UK Research Office Update

 This event is comprised of a number of sessions:

·         UK Participation in Horizon 2020. An update on Horizon Europe developments

·         H2020 Evaluation process and proposal writing hints and tips – session for PIs involved in the Green Deal Call proposal submission

·         H2020 implementation matters – informal session with post-award team (based on questions submitted in advance)

·         1-1 sessions if time allows

For further information and to book, contact Ablaudums@bournemouth.ac.uk

Thursday 19th November 10:00 – 11:00 – Royal Society Overview

 This workshop will provide important information for potential applicants applying to the Royal Society, including tips on applying that will increase the likelihood of success.

Wednesday 25th November 10:00 – 11:00

Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships Information Session

This workshop will provide important information for potential applicants applying to this external funding call, including tips on applying that will increase the likelihood of success.

To book, please email OD@bournemouth.ac.uk with evidence of approval from your Head of Department or Deputy Head of Department.

You can see all the Organisational Development and Research Knowledge Development Framework (RKEDF) events in one place on the handy calendar of events.

If you have any queries, please get in touch!

BU PhD student presenting at European Sigma Nursing Conference

Bournemouth University Ph.D. student Peter Wolfensberger presented today at the 5th Sigma European Conference in Coimbra, Portugal.  This is probably the first major global online conference in nursing!  The title of Peter’s presentation was Creating Meaning – People Living with Mental Illness in Switzerland. In true COVID-19 style he gave his presentation life online.  Consequently, this workshop session was well attended by nurses from across Europe, and it had the added benefit that all his Ph.D. supervisors could attend online too.  The World Health Organisations (WHO) has designated the year 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse and Midwife”, in honour of the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale.  This  Sigma European  Conference focused very much on importance of nurses and nursing in health care provision.

Peter has successfully defended his thesis and is currently writing up a few minor corrections.  He has been supervised by Dr. Sarah Thomas, Prof. Sabine Hahn and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.

BU professor visiting University of West Bohemia

The University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (Plzeň in the Czech Republic) invited Bournemouth University’s Professor Edwin van Teijlingen for an academic exchange visit with BU Visiting Faculty Ms Jillian Ireland (Professional Midwifery Advocate at Poole Maternity Hospital) .  Yesterday he presented a session about academic publishing to staff and students in the health faculty.  This afternoon his audience comprised sociology students in a session on ‘The medical/social model of childbirth’.  The two guests from Dorset were also shown round the obstetric wards of the two main maternity hospitals in the city of Pilsen.  The international visit was funded by the European Union!

Ms Ireland has shared two presentations with student midwives and staff sharing the development of maternity services in partnership with families in Dorset using the ‘Maternity Matters’ website (developed as early adopters of ‘Better Births’ –  Improving outcomes of maternity services in England – A five year forward view for maternity care). A particular focus on birth trauma was complemented with discussion of care and self-care of midwives. 

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.

Midwifery education article by Prof. Hundley

Congratulations to Prof. Vanora Hundley of FHSS on the publication of her ‘Editorial midwifery special issue on education: A call to all the world’s midwife educators!’ in Midwifery (Elsevier).  This editorial is co-authored by midwives Franka Cadée of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and Mervi Jokinen of European Midwives Association (EMA).  The editorial was written to accompany a Special Issue of the journal  focussing on midwifery education.  The Midwifery Special Issue addresses a wide range of topics from across the globe.  Whilst the editorial explores the challenges for midwifery educators from three different midwifery perspectives: (1) political; (2) academic ; and (3) professional association.

Congratulations to all three authors!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)
Reference:
  1. Hundley, V., Cadée, F., Jokinen, M. (2018) Editorial midwifery special issue on education: A call to all the world’s midwife educators!, Midwifery 64: 122-123  

Apply for LIFE funding

The LIFE programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action. The general objective of LIFE is to contribute to the implementation, updating and development of EU environmental and climate policy and legislation by co-financing projects with European added value.

In April 2018, The LIFE programme has launched its 2018 call for project proposals. This year, they are investing close to €400 million in nature conservation, environmental protection and climate action. They are also introducing a streamlined application process to make it easier to request LIFE funds.

As a bottom-up funding instrument, LIFE provides applicants with flexibility to truly innovate. The LIFE Programme supports projects that are either tackling climate change, or protecting nature and the environment.

See more funding information – “Traditional Projects” under the LIFE sub-programme for Environment and the LIFE sub-programme for Climate Action – various calls with concept note closing dates of 12th / 14th June and 12th September, depending on the call guidance.

LIFE are also hosting an Information Day in Brussels on 4/5/18, with registrations open until 2/45/18.

For the UK perspective, please go to the UK LIFE website.

BU staff wishing to apply should contact the relevant member of RKEO for their faculty.

Hungary elections: it’s the most popular party on Facebook, so why haven’t you heard of the Two-Tailed Dog?

File 20180409 114084 uo115m.jpg?ixlib=rb 1.1

EPA/Tibor Illyes

By Annamaria Neag, Bournemouth University and Richard Berger, Bournemouth University

With more than 278,000 followers on Facebook, Hungary’s Two-Tailed Dog Party was the the most popular party on social media to stand in the country’s 2018 election. However, its online popularity did not help win seats in the vote which delivered Viktor Orbán a third term as prime minister by a landslide. In an anti-establishment approach, the Dogs’ campaign was carried out entirely by volunteers and official campaign funds were used to support community projects.

Despite only coming away with 1.71% of the votes, however, the party has pushed an important boundary in Hungarian politics.

Puppy training

The Two-Tailed Dog Party was founded in 2006, although formal recognition didn’t come until 2014. It defined itself as a joke party from the start, becoming famous for making fun of other political groups – mainly the mainstream Fidesz, led by Orbán.

Its activities range from street art to graffiti to urban gardening. It even smuggles soap and toilet paper into hospitals in order to highlight the dire state of some healthcare facilities. In 2016, the party crowdfunded €100,000 to cover the country in satirical posters mocking the government’s call to vote against EU refugee quotas in an impending referendum.

Then in 2018, just a couple of weeks before the deadline, the party managed to get enough signatures to be able to participate in the national parliamentary elections. The jokers were getting serious.

A Two-Tailed Dog sticker appears on a Budapest lamp post.

In an election campaign dominated by the supposed “threat” posed by immigration and the perceived influx of migrants to Hungary, the Two-Tailed Dog party used social media to draw attention to a statistic published on the national police website showing that one migrant had been “caught” in the last 30 days. Its satirical response to this shocking figure read: “There is an enormous interest in our country. But we cannot rest assured: The migrant entered our country.”

Domestication

All political parties use emotions to persuade people to vote for them. The Two-Tailed Dog party and its kind are trying to undermine establishment organisations by turning humour into political action.

In a process social scientists call “kynicism”, the Two-Tailed Dog party borrowed and remixed government messages for its own aims. The idea is to mock the government’s rhetoric in order to disperse fear and anxiety.

In Hungary, it’s unclear what the future holds for the Two-Tailed Dog party, or these joke parties more broadly. There is a fundamental mismatch between the way everyday politics works and the vision of the party.

Party leader Gergő Kovács told us:

I can’t really tell how many of our Facebook fans would vote for us … To be honest, for me the parliamentary elections are not important. For me, it’s much more important to see what we can do … I have to confess: my aim is to create something creative and funny, and yet meaningful … I think it is useless to have one more opposition party that has a serious programme. I have no interest to do politics in the traditional way.

If the case of Iceland’s Pirate party shows us anything, it is that parties like the Two-Tailed Dog have a tendency to lose their edge once they gain political influence. In 2016 the pirates topped opinion polls, and seemed to become a real political force by winning ten seats in the parliament. However, in the latest elections, they won only six seats.

Alternative parties, like the Two-Tailed Dog exist to mock from outside the mainstream. But what’s the point of a political party if it doesn’t really want to get elected and to introduce its policies?

For now, that’s not a question the Two-Tailed dogs need to answer, since they failed to make it into parliament.

But the group has nonetheless radically re-energised young people. It has tested the limits of convention in Hungary’s political process. Kovács told us that when it comes to larger campaigns, “two thirds, or three quarters, of our ideas come from the people … For instance, we write an economic programme, post it to Facebook and in a couple of minutes, there are three to four better ideas in the comments, so we take it down and add these ideas. So, in fact it really comes from the people”. The next step is for the group to translate those likes on social media into actual votes.


Annamaria Neag, Marie Curie Research Fellow, Bournemouth University and Richard Berger, Associate Professor, Head of Research and Professional Practice, Department of Media Production, Bournemouth University

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

Interreg – Find out about the new calls in webinar

Do you want to know more about our fourth call for project proposals?
Are you looking for project partners or do you have a project idea to share?
Would you like to network and build new contacts?

Then join the Interreg Europe team on Friday 13 April 2018 at 10am (Paris time) a two-hour online event dedicated to networking, partner search, and information about their new project call.

During #europecooperates online, you will:

  • Hear the latest news about the fourth call and ask any questions you might have;
  • Get tips for project development and learn about the already ongoing projects;
  • Have a chance to network, find partners and share inspiration in an online chat.

The event is fully online, so you can participate from wherever you are. The event will be streamed live on the #europecooperates website as well as on Facebook.

Furthermore, you can start sharing your ideas and send them your questions already before the event. To help you connect with the other participants, they will open the online chat rooms on Wednesday 11 April, two days ahead of the live stream.

See the programme for more information, register now and get ready to network!

The Interreg Europe team is looking forward to seeing you online!

If you wish to apply for this call or other European funding calls, please contact your Faculty’s Research Facilitator – FMC & FM: Alex Pekalski or for FHSS and FST: Rachel Clarke

 

 

Brexit – UK Government position regarding access to Horizon 2020

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has released the report: UK Participation in Horizon 2020, based on the EU/UK Joint Report published on 8 December 2017.

The key message for UK-based researchers seeking to apply for Horizon 2020 funding is:

The UK Government encourages the UK research and innovation (R&I) community to continue applying for Horizon 2020 funding and participating in Horizon 2020 projects because:

● Until our departure from the EU, we remain a Member State, with all the rights and obligations that entails. This means that UK entities are eligible to participate in all aspects of the Horizon 2020 programme while we remain a member of the EU.

● The UK and the EU fully intend UK entities’ eligibility in Horizon 2020 to remain unchanged for the duration of the programme, as set out in the Joint Report. This includes eligibility to participate in all Horizon 2020 projects and to receive Horizon 2020 funding for the lifetime of projects.

● The Government’s underwrite guarantee remains in place in the event that commitments made in the Joint Report are not met.

This report also considers the UK’s involvement in the next Framework Programme, the Underwrite Guarantee and mobility of researchers in the Q&A section.

The UK Research Office (UKRO), to which BU subscribes, worked closely with BEIS in the preparation of this report and is updating their own FAQs and related documents. If you have not already registered to access their services and to receive UKRO announcements, you are encouraged to do so, to keep fully up to date with developments. UKRO also invites queries and comments from subscribers, as these are vital to inform the development of future guidance.

If you are considering developing your international research portfolio, please contact your faculty’s research facilitator.

Two papers on health & migration in Nepal

This last week two separate papers have been accepted on aspects of health and well-being among migrants workers from Nepal.  The first in the International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care is based on a completed PhD project in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences with Dr. Pratik Adhikary as first author [1].  This paper ‘Health and well-being of Nepalese migrant workers abroad’ is co-authored by two former FHSS staff Dr. Zoe Sheppard and Dr. Steve Keen, and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen of the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH).

 

The second paper ‘A study of Health Problems of Nepalese Female Migrants Workers in the Middle-East and Malaysia’ was accepted by the Open Access journal BMC International Health & Human Rights [2].  The lead author of this paper is Bournemouth University (BU) Visiting Faculty Prof. Padam Simkhada (based at Liverpool John Moores University) and two of his co-authors are based in Nepal: Manju Gurung (chair of Pourakhi Nepal) and Dr. Sharada Prasad Wasti and one at BU: Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen .

There is  a growing momentum in migration research at BU with further academic papers being published related to studies on migrant workers from Nepal [4-8], relatives of migrant workers [9], migration into the UK [10-12], Eastern European migration issues [13-15], migration and tourism [16], migration and the media [17] as well as migration in the past [18].

 

References:

  1. Adhikary P, Sheppard, Z., Keen S., van Teijlingen E. (2018) Health and well-being of Nepalese migrant workers abroad, International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care (accepted). https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-12-2015-0052
  2. Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen, E.R., Gurung, M., Wasti, S. (2018) A study of Health Problems of Nepalese Female Migrants Workers in the Middle-East and Malaysia, BMC International Health & Human Rights (accepted Jan.).
  3. Adhikary, P., Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen E., Raja, AE. (2008) Health & Lifestyle of Nepalese Migrants in the UK BMC International Health & Human Rights 8(6). Web address: www.biomedcentral.com/1472-698X/8/6.
  4. van Teijlingen E, Simkhada, P., Adhikary, P. (2009) Alcohol use among the Nepalese in the UK BMJ Rapid Response: www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/339/oct20_1/b4028#223451
  5. Adhikary P., Keen S., van Teijlingen, E. (2011) Health Issues among Nepalese migrant workers in Middle East. Health Science Journal 5: 169-175. www.hsj.gr/volume5/issue3/532.pdf
  6. Adhikary, P., Sheppard, Z., Keen, S., van Teijlingen, E. (2017) Risky work: Accidents among Nepalese migrant workers in Malaysia, Qatar and Saudi, Health Prospect 16(2): 3-10.
  7. Aryal, N., Regmi, PR., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Adhikary, P., Bhatta, YKD., Mann, S. (2016) Injury and Mortality in Young Nepalese Migrant Workers: A Call for Public Health Action. Asian-Pacific Journal of Public Health 28(8): 703-705.
  8. Simkhada, PP., Regmi, PR., van Teijlingen, E., Aryal, N. (2017) Identifying the gaps in Nepalese migrant workers’ health & well-being: A review of the literature, Journal of Travel Medicine 24 (4): 1-9.
  9. Aryal, N., Regmi, PR., van Teijlingen, E., Dhungel, D., Ghale, G., Bhatta, GK. (2016) Knowing is not enough: Migrant workers’ spouses vulnerability to HIV SAARC Journal of Tuberculosis, Lung Diseases & HIV/AIDS 8(1):9-15.
  10. Scammell, J., 2016. Nurse migration and the EU: how are UK nurses prepared? British Journal of Nursing, 25 (13), p. 764.
  11. Holscher, J., 2017. The effects of Brexit on the EU, the UK and Dorset – a migrant’s account. BAFES Working Papers, 1-11.
  12. Sapkota, T., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2014) Nepalese health workers’ migration to United Kingdom: A qualitative study. Health Science Journal 8(1):57-74.
  13. Filimonau, V., Mika, M. (2017) Return labour migration: an exploratory study of Polish migrant workers from the UK hospitality industry. Current Issues in Tourism, 1-22.
  14. Janta, H., Ladkin, A., Brown, L., Lugosi, P., 2011. Employment experiences of Polish migrant workers in the UK hospitality sector. Tourism Management, 32 (5): 1006-1019.
  15. Mai, N., Schwandner-Sievers, S. (2003) Albanian migration and new transnationalisms, Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies 29(6): 939-948.
  16. Dwyer, L., Seetaram, N., Forsyth, P., Brian, K. (2014) Is the Migration-Tourism Relationship only about VFR? Annals of Tourism Research, 46: 130-143.
  17. Marino, S., Dawes, S. (2016). Fortress Europe: Media, Migration and Borders. Networking Knowledge, 9 (4).
  18. Parker Pearson, M., Richards, C., Allen, M., Payne, A., Welham, K. (2004) The Stonehenge Riverside project Research design and initial results Journal of Nordic Archaeological Science 14: 45–60.