Yearly Archives / 2011

New Horizon 2020 website launched

To celebrate the planned developments in Horizon 2020, the EC have launched a brand spanking new set of webpages. I’m not going to lie, visually it’s not the most attractive site I’ve ever been on, but it does have a FAQ section, a timeline for Horizon 2020, a calendar of events, and a new video will be added each day until the launch from various stakeholders providing their views on the plans.

EU funding available for higher education and training between the EU, Australia and Korea

Industrialised Countries Instrument Call for Proposals: Co-operation in higher education and training between the EU and Australia and The Republic of Korea
The ICI-ECP Education Cooperation Programme refers to EU cooperation with Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the Republic of Korea in the field of higher education and vocational education and training. The programme includes regional and bilateral cooperation projects based on joint EU – Partner Countries funding and mutual agreement on the selection of higher education partnerships.

This 2011 ICI-ECP Call for Proposals supports co-operation with Australia and the Republic of Korea by means of Joint Degree and Joint Mobility projects. Such projects focus on structured exchanges of students and faculty members; and on the joint development of joint, or shared curricula and joint study programmes, as well as on the award of joint or double degrees in the case of Joint Degree projects.

All Joint Degree and Joint Mobility projects must address: development of innovative international curricula; student services, language and cultural preparation; organisational frameworks for student mobility and faculty members’ mobility; evaluation; sustainability and dissemination.

The Call is open to consortia of higher education institutions in the case of Joint Degree Projects or vocational and training institutions in the case of Joint Mobility Projects. The total budget available amounts to approximately EUR 2.3 million.

 You can contact the dedicated Industrialised Countries Selection team for further information.

New Belgian Marie Curie Fellowships available

The Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) has launched the first call for its new funding programme for postdoctoral researchers: PEGASUS Marie Curie Fellowships. These fellowships are co-funded by the FP7 Marie Curie Programme. The goals of PEGASUS are:

  • to attract excellent postdoctoral researchers to Flanders in order to contribute to the advancement of Flemish science
  • to provide the selected fellows with optimal conditions to further develop their research career in Flanders or abroad

PEGASUS aims at incoming mobility and/or reintegration of researchers working abroad. Candidates have to hold a PhD and should not have carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Belgium for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the start of the fellowship.

Within PEGASUS two options are possible:

  • Pegasus-long: Postdoctoral fellowships of 3 years at a Flemish university. The fellowship is renewable once in open competition with the regular FWO postdoctoral fellows. 30 Pegasus-long fellowships are available, to be granted in a single call.
  • Pegasus-short: Postdoctoral fellowships of 1 year at a Flemish university. The fellowship is not renewable, but candidates can apply afterwards in the open competition for a regular postdoctoral fellowship. This short fellowship is available under the form of an employment contract (standard option) or a stipend (exceptional cases).
  • More information on this programme and on the submission of proposals are available from the FWO Pegasus Programme Website. 

PGR Development Scheme 2011/12

PG research

The Graduate School PGR Development Scheme is open to all BU postgraduate researchers (PGRs) irrespective of mode of study (full-time / part-time) or funding status (BU studentships / externally funded / self funded).

Individual awards will provide financial support of normally up to £2,000 (and exceptionally £5,000) for research activities related to an individual PGR’s research project or personal development.  It is envisaged that each year approximately 15 awards will be made.

Examples of research activities covered by the Scheme include:

  • Research Activities
    • Conference attendance
    • Additional fieldwork
    • Other activities required to advance research e.g. visiting major libraries, museums, other research institutions (UK, EU or International)
    • Preparation of specialist material or data
    • Research consumables and equipment (providing it is clear these would not normally be purchased by the School as part of the research degree)
  • Developmental Activities
    • Research development e.g. attending external training events specific to research activity
    • Personal development e.g. attending external personal development training events
  • Networking
    • Organisation of an academic conference at BU with external participants;
    • Attendance at external networking events leading to advance of the research
    • Publications or dissemination of research

You should also map the proposed activity onto the relevant sub-domains of the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF):

Knowledge & Intellectual Abilities A1 – Knowledge base A2 – Cognitive abilities A3 – Creativity
Personal Effectiveness B1 – Personal qualities B2 – Self-management B3 – Professional & career development
Research Governance C1 – Professional conduct C2 – Research management C3 – Finance, funding & resources
Engagement, Influence & Impact D1 – Working with others D2 – Communication & dissemination D3 – Engagement & impact

 Awards will only cover direct costs including travel; subsistence; training or development costs) and all applications will need to include a precise breakdown of costs.  Applications should be supported by the Supervisory Team and the relevant Deputy Dean (Research & Enterprise) of the relevant AcademicSchool.

 There will be two competitions per annum.  PGRs wishing to apply must submit a completed GS PGR Development Scheme – Application Form to the Graduate School Academic Manager by the following deadlines:

  • 29 February 2012
  • 31 October 2012

Applications to the Scheme will be reviewed independently and all decisions on funding will be made by the Graduate School. 

 For further information please read the GS PGR Development Scheme – Policy.

Fusion event 14 December – final agenda now available!

On the afternoon of the 14 December 2011 we will be launching the Fusion Seminar and Conference Series with an event focused around launching the eight BU Research Themes.

The event will combine time for cross-BU networking within these themes, with sessions led by theme champions focusing on defining the challenges in education, research & practice within each theme.

The FINAL programme is now available here: Fusion event 14/12/11 FINAL programme

You can still register for the event and sign-up for the themes most relevant to you using the form below.

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Your School / Professional Service (required)

    Staff or PGR student? (required)

    StaffPGR

    Please select the themes that you are interested in (required)

     

    Swedes spend tenth of research time applying for funding

    How long do you spend writing funding proposals and how does this compare elsewhere in Europe? According to a recent analysis by the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education, Swedish researchers spend 10% of their research time applying for funding. Based on data from 2009, lecturers spend 40 per cent of their time on research and of this, 10% is spent applying for external funds, which makes up roughly half of the research funding at Sweden’s universities.

    Critical thinking and professional judgement for social work

    Professional judgement, communication and critical reflection are vital aspects of a social worker’s role and a new book, ‘Critical thinking and professional judgement for social work’, aims to empower post-qualifying students to develop these skills.

    The front cover of 'Critical Thinking and Professional Judgement for Social Work'Author Lynne Rutter from the Centre for Post Qualifying Social Work at Bournemouth University explains more about professional learning, a new way of thinking and her own research.

    “I am intrigued by the psychology associated with learning. It is obviously an emotional and very personal experience, especially for qualified practitioners, but it should also be an empowering experience.

    “For me, professional higher education is about developing more complex thinking which has practical, reflective, personal, moral, as well as objective, conceptual and theoretical aspects. All these aspects are part of professional reasoning and judgement and ultimately professional understanding and knowledge, and so are equally important.

    “My journey has led me to understand that there is a productive and empowering synergy here if no one aspect is privileged over the others and if a professional perspective becomes a focus. These were very important elements within the professional doctorate which made it very meaningful and useful for my own practice. The book brings much of this work together and aims to highlight and develop the complex thinking associated with professional learning as a key part of developing confidence and authority in a professional role.”

    Order a copy of ‘Critical thinking and professional judgement for social work’.

    Murphy’s Law – Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

    Post-award

    The good news is that some changes to a project are commonly accepted by many sponsors and funders, providing that they don’t breach a signed contract and, most importantly, are communicated in good time. Last minute notifications can damage your and the University’s reputation, and compromise your project.

    Most changes will fall under one of the following categories:  contracts, staffing, expenditure and budgets. Below you will find a list of common changes you should anticipate and communicate to your project and Research & Knowledge Transfer Operations (RKE Ops) teams as soon as they occur:

    • A project team member (Administrator, Researcher Assistant, PI, Co-I or external consultant) stops working on the project, leaves the university, is off on long term sick leave or on maternity leave;
    • A new team member joins the project;
    • The sponsor or funder asks or grants an extension to the current contract;
    • A collaborative project lead partner asks for reports or other kind of information not covered on the main contract or not requested by the sponsor or funder;
    • The sponsor or funder objects to you publishing a piece of work, and you notice that Intellectual Property issues haven’t been covered in the main contract;
    • If a contract is terminated for any reason before the end date;
    • If there are delays of any sort, for example, submission of reports, delivery of services or consultancy  work;
    • You need to spend time or money on some item or service which hasn’t been budgeted for;
    • You notice that the sponsor or funder has been inappropriately invoiced, or not invoiced  at all;
    • Your know that there have been changes to the claims schedule;
    • Your project is completed before the planned end date.

     These are only some examples of common changes that may affect your research or enterprise project and you will probably encounter many others.  Make sure you maintain good communication with your project team and seek advice from the Research & Knowledge Transfer Operations team (RKE Ops) as soon as something unexpected happens. Anything that can go wrong in a project generally does go wrong sooner or later. However, it can be put right if anticipated and properly dealt with.

    Good news – Parliament supports 10% rise in EU research budget

    The budget committee of the European Parliament has said it wants to maintain a planned increase of 10 per cent in the EU research budget for 2012. Under the committee’s proposal, research would obtain the largest increase of any major category of spending, as envisaged in the framework already agreed for spending from 2007 to 2013. However, in response to the financial crisis, the Council of Ministers has requested that research spending in 2012 be cut from the planned €12.56 billion to €11.43bn, in effect remaining the same as last year.

    Google Under-the-Earth: Seeing Beneath Stonehenge

    Google Under-the-Earth: Seeing Beneath Stonehenge is the first application of its kind to transport users around a virtual prehistoric landscape, exploring the magnificent and internationally important monument, Stonehenge.

    The application was developed by Bournemouth University archaeologists, using new field data gathered during their work with colleagues from the universities of Sheffield, Manchester, Bristol, Southampton and London as part of the Stonehenge Riverside Project.  Google Under-the-Earth works by adding layers of archaeological information to Google Earth technology.Snapshot of the 360 degree view from the Stone Circle

    The unique visual experience lets users interact with the past like never before. Highlights include taking a visit to the Neolithic village of Durrington Walls, a trip inside a prehistoric house and the opportunity to see reconstructions of Bluestonehenge at the end of the Stonehenge Avenue and of the great timber monument called the Southern Circle, as they would have looked more than four thousand years ago.

     

    The project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Google Research Awards, a program which fosters relationships between Google and the academic world as Google fulfils its mission to ‘organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.’

    But this fabulous educational and cultural tool does not end with Stonehenge. Archaeological scientist Dr Kate Welham, project leader at Bournemouth University, explained that it is the start of something much bigger.

    “It is envisaged that Google Under-the-Earth: Seeing Beneath Stonehenge could be the start of a new layer in Google Earth. Many of the world’s great archaeological sites could be added, incorporating details of centuries’ worth of excavations as well as technical data from geophysical and remote sensing surveys in the last 20 years,” she said.

    Dr Nick Snashall, National Trust Archaeologist for Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site, said: “The National Trust cares for over 2000 acres of the Stonehenge Landscape. Seeing Beneath Stonehenge offers exciting and innovative ways for people to explore that landscape. It will allow people across the globe, many of whom may never otherwise have the chance to visit the sites, to share in the thrill of the discoveries made by the Stonehenge Riverside team and to appreciate the remarkable achievements of the people who built and used the monuments.”

    You can download the application from the Google Under-the-Earth: Seeing Beneath Stonehenge site. The tool is easy to use and requires Google Earth to be installed on your computer.

    The Royal Society Wolfson Laboratory Refurbishment Grants Scheme 2012

    Funding opportunities

    The Wolfson Foundation has announced a further call for proposals under the Laboratory Refurbishment Grants Scheme. It aims to improve the existing physical infrastructure in UK universities to promote high quality scientific research. Up to £1.5m in funds will be available for the 2012 round.

    The scheme has been running for 13 years. To limit the number of applications – and thereby reduce the effort involved in submissions, the scheme has focused on specific research topics, usually for two years at a time. The present focus is on imaging – interpreted widely to include astronomy, materials science, nano structures, biological and medical applications. We are looking for novel research projects which can include both image capture and subsequent interpretation, coupled with an identified opportunity to locate the work in space recovered from previous usage.

    This scheme does not support:

    – Research on existing imaging equipments for the same application;

    – Commercialisation of a proven-concept/prototype into a near-market product;

    – Refurbishment of laboratories housing established imaging equipment(s) for research purposes.

    – Research into labelling of ‘samples’ including luminescence, chromophore, radio-labelling etc. and ‘sample’ preparation

    The scheme note contains more details of the scheme and how to apply. They cannot accept more than one proposal from any department in this round. A statement of support for applications will need to be provided by the PVC.

    To discuss this opportunity further, please contact RKE Operations.

    BU screening of The PHD Movie goes down a treat!

    Last night was the BU premiere of The PHD Movie, a film based on the popular comic strip PHD Comics.

    The event was attended by approximately 50 BU staff and students, plus a couple of local residents. Despite running out of popcorn early on, everyone had a good time and there was lots of laughter! This was a fantastic opportunity for our PGR students and supervisors to get together socially and have fun 🙂

    We’re hoping to hold another screening of The PHD Movie one lunchtime in January – watch this space for further information!

    You can always catch up with the latest comic strip from PHD Comics on the PG Research page of the BU Research Blog!

     

    Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission (Digital Agenda), reads BU research, but…

    Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, made her annual set piece speech at the Media Forum in Avignon, France on 19 November: Who feeds the artist?

    Speaking of economic reward: if that is the aim of our current copyright system, we’re failing here too. [then follows a paragraph summarising the BU studies in the area, but without reference] 1000 euros a month is not much to live off. Often less than the minimum wage. But most artists, and not only the young ones at the early stages of their career, have to do so. Half the fine artists in the UK, half the “professional” authors in Germany, and, I am told, an incredible 97.5% of one of the biggest collecting society’s members in Europe, receive less than that paltry payment of 1000 euros a month for their copyright works. Of course, the best-paid in this sector earn a lot, and well done to them. But at the bottom of the pyramid are a whole mass of people who need independent means or a second job just to survive.

    [before indicating a change in policy direction] Let’s not wait for a financial crisis in the creative sector to happen to finally adopt the right tools to tackle it.

    —

    The data is clearly from:

    AUTHORS’ EARNINGS FROM COPYRIGHT AND NON-COPYRIGHT SOURCES: A SURVEY OF 25,000 BRITISH AND GERMAN WRITERS (ALCS Study 2007) http://www.cippm.org.uk/alcs_study.html

    COPYRIGHT CONTRACTS AND EARNINGS OF VISUAL CREATORS: A SURVEY OF 5,800 BRITISH DESIGNERS, FINE ARTISTS, ILLUSTRATORS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS (DACS Study 2011) http://www.cippm.org.uk/publications/dacs-report.html

    A possible source is my contribution to a Hearing in the European Parliament last June. http://www.cippm.org.uk/news/2011/jun/ne001-future-of-copyright-in-the-digital-era.html

    So there is a challenge… I could blog: “European Commission Vice-President reads BU research”.

    But no source is cited. Did our studies matter? Is there a causal link to a change in the direction of copyright policy?

    In REF terms, was there Impact of research?

    Howard Davis publishes in the highly rated journal – Public Law

    Dr Howard Davis, from the Law Department in the Business School, has a piece coming out in Public Law (A* in the Excellence Research Australia journal ranking list) on the right to an open hearing in the context of mental health law. Courts and tribunals dealing with the affairs of those with serious mental health problems normally conduct their affairs in private with no access of the public or the media. This is to protect confidentiality and privacy. But private hearings go against the fundamental principle of open justice. The article explores recent developments in which mental health tribunals (which deal with questions whether someone detained in a mental hospital ought to be released) and the Court of Protection (whose concerns include sorting out the property etc of those unable to look after themselves) have both allowed some degree of publicity to their proceedings. In the tribunal case it was a patient who had been detained in Broadmore for 23 years who successfully sort a public hearing in order, he hoped, to publicise his position and his criticisms of the regime. In the COP case the application came from the media. The patient is a renowned pianist who is also autistic and there is signicant public interest in his position. The media had a limited right to publicise information gleaned from the proceedings.

    Academic Writing Workshop 13th December

    Guidance

    Have you a paper to write?  Do you want to write it well?  Do you need space to focus on developing academic writing skills?  This full-day course is designed for staff at an early stage of their academic careers who write papers or reports as part of their research work. The course consists of intensive tuition and gives participants immediate, useable methods of improving style, developing arguments, strengthening organisation and avoiding common errors, all with the aim of producing succinct and informative prose in a well-organised academic framework. 

    The day itself involves instruction, group exercises and discussion, all designed to enable participants to increase the quality of their writing and to develop their confidence and critical thinking.  In addition, there is advice on how to successfully communicate the subject matter.  You can view an outline of the day.

    This will be a full day workshop taking place on Tuesday 13th December.  If you would like to attend please email Susan Dowdle asap as there are only a few places remaining.

    Consumer behaviour in virtual worlds

    A prestigious journal has awarded two Bournemouth University (BU) academics the ‘Best Paper’ accolade for their work in the largely unstudied domain of consumer behaviour in digital virtual spaces, including video games, virtual communities and the web.

    ‘Concepts and practices of digital virtual consumption’, by BU’s Dr Janice Denegri-Knottand Dr Mike Molesworth, was among the most downloaded work published by Consumption Markets and Culture last year.

    The paper examines digital virtual consumption (such as owning luxury cars in a video game), the relationship it has within the real material world and the appeal of consumption that is deprived of a material, physically tangible form.

    Flying planes in a computer gameDenegri-Knott and Molesworth think of consumption on spaces like eBay, Amazon and World of Warcraft as somewhere between the consumers’ imagination and material consumption, and believe it is charged with transformative potential for its users.

    Consumers can fulfil all sorts of daydreams, such as finding a designer dress on eBay, or performing the fantasy of being a powerful wizard. They don’t just look and ask ‘what might it be like’, but may ‘try on’ being an entrepreneur, someone with wealth, a collector, a trader, an advertiser, a criminal, a hero, a warrior, or many other ways of being.

    Their roles are enhanced as the scripts available to them expand and can be tested within relatively small timescales. The digital virtual individual may be an avid collector one year, a warrior hero the next, and a successful entrepreneur the year after that. The video game player may be a successful criminal one week and a racing driver the next.

    Denegri-Knott and Molesworth believe more emphasis is needed on the relationship between the virtual realm and the real-world and, as digital virtual consumption is largely unstudied, they propose an integrative view for further research.

    “The paper was written in the spirit of mapping out potential avenues for research, and also to give us some kind of conceptual frame to make sense of consumption in emerging digital virtual spaces,” said Dr Denegri-Knott.  “We now have a body of work that looks at the way in which users consume through eBay, from which we have been able to draw some insights on the acceleration of consumer desire and the problems this creates. We now would like to develop the theme of transformative potential in digital virtual consumption; that is to see how consumers make sense of their experiences and how they integrate these into their everyday lives.”

    The pair are also now researching the experience of owning digital virtual goods, in particular the ways in which consumers become attached to certain goods, and how they maintain their preferential stature.

    Dr Denegri-Knott concluded: “We were both delighted and surprised to hear that our paper was so well received by the readers of the journal and by the judging panel.  This is a real achievement for the Emerging Consumer Cultures Group (ECCG).”

    PGR Training Workshops – Dec 2011

    PG research

    Sessions for the BU Researcher Development Programme in  December 2011 are as follows:

    Research Ethics Professor Holger Schutkowski

    • Date: Wednesday 7 December
    • Time: 10:30-12:30
    • Room: PG22
    • Prior booking essential by emailing graduateschool@bournemouth.ac.uk
    • Please include one line about your research ethics issues or concerns

     Researchers must Write Professor Matthew Bennett

    • Date: Wednesday 7 December
    • Time: 14:00 – 15:30
    • Room: PG22
    • Prior booking essential by emailing graduateschool@bournemouth.ac.uk
    • Basic introduction to the importance of writing in research

    Academic Writing Sue Mitchell (external)

    • Date: Both the Tuesday and Wednesday sessions are now full
    • Time: 09:oo  – 17:00
    • Room: PG22
    • Prior booking essential by emailing graduateschool@bournemouth.ac.uk
    • Academic Writing Skills: improving your publications; grants

    These sessions are primarily aimed at new PGRs however all PGRs and ECRs are welcome.  Prior booking is essential on some sessions where places are limited.