Yearly Archives / 2013

Buzz around Rufus Stone continues to create academic, cinematic and community impact

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Fusion

“Anyone of any age and background can sit and watch this film, understand it, learn from it and emotionally connect to it”.— Dr Patricia Leavy in The Qualitative Report

The short film, Rufus Stone, (Kip Jones, Author and Executive Producer), seems to move from strength to strength. The movie was based on research as part of Research Councils UK funded research at Bournemouth University and a project of the national New Dynamics of Ageing programme.

                       Harry Kershaw, Martha Myers-Lowe &Tom Kane

Rufus Stone was screened as part of an ESRC Festival of Social Science event at BU in November for representatives of health and social care organisations. Participants went away from the day of activities with new knowledge about growing older as gay or lesbian in rural settings. Attendees each received a set of Method Deck cards produced by the research team to encourage their own groups in discussion and activities around these issues.

A Masterclass is in the planning stages for late April where representatives from both statutory and voluntary groups can come to Bournemouth for two days, learn about our research, view the film and take part in exercises drawn from the Method Deck. They then will be equipped to return to their groups with training in organising their own meaningful exercises around interfacing with older gay and lesbian citizens in their organisations. By partaking in the two days of activities, participants will receive copies of the Method Deck and the film. Stay tuned for details.

Freshers on HSC’s “Exploring Evidence to Guide Practice’ unit as well as Social Work students have had recent screenings as part of their learning experiences. There will be future opportunities for BU students to take advantage of this ‘home grown’ successful learning resource.

The film was screened in January at Birkbeck/University of London’s very modern Gordon Square cinema in Bloomsbury for their Doing Critical Social Research seminar series.  A lively discussion followed with what seemed a very appreciative audience.

Cambridge University welcomes Rufus to the Cambridge Arts Picturehouse cinema on the 22nd of February at 4 p.m. as part of their Arts and Science Researcher Forum. A Q&A with Jones and Rufus Stone’s director, Josh Appignanesi, will follow the screening, BU’s Trevor Hearing will moderate.

There will be a screening of Rufus Stone in March at Talbot campus hosted by BU Media School’s Narrative Group. Following the film, Jones will discuss the use of narrative research, biography and autobiography in creating the film’s story and script.  Great chance to catch the film if you haven’t seen it already. 18 March, Kimmeridge (KG03) at 1 p.m.

Community screenings at local cinemas in Poole and Wareham are set for the BU Festival of Learning on June 5th at the Lighthouse and June 12th at the Rex. Both start at 1 p.m. with refreshments and conversation to follow. We are particularly hoping to draw crowds of a range of ages and backgrounds from local communities.

                       William Gaunt, Lin Blakley & Niall Buggy

For information, registration and/or ticket details for all future screenings, check the sidebar on Rufus Stone the movie BU microsite.

Buzz around the film has also hit the net. The Sociological Imagination features the trailer for the film on its pages and discusses ‘Turning Research into Film’. The Qualitative Report frequently features updates about Rufus Stone in its Weekly Report and recently ran a review of the film by author and educator, Patricia Leavy.

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) “Impact of Social Science” web pages recently interviewed Kip Jones about Rufus Stone. Topics covered include: “How did Rufus Stone come about?” “What is the relationship between the research and the film?” and “What advice to you have for social scientists interested in using tools from the arts?” 5 Minutes with Kip Jones: “we engage in the creative process and open new doors for communication”.

As well as winning two awards at the prestigious Rhode Island International Film Festival last summer, the film has also recently featured in the Torin (Italy) Film Festival and the UK Jewish Film Festival in London.

An academic article by HSC’s Kip Jones, Lee-Ann Fenge, Rosie Read and Marilyn Cash goes live in Forum: Qualitative Social Research, an on-line journal, shortly. The paper outlines the research behind the film, then presents in-depth life stories of four of the research participants.

Jones has also recently published , “Connecting Research with Communities through Performative Social Science”, which makes a case for the potential of arts-based social science to reach audiences and engage communities.

FIF – The Poole & Purbeck Portal

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Fusion

The Poole and Purbeck Portal is a new inter-school collaboration between the School of Applied Sciences, the Media School and the National Centre for Computer Animation – made possible by the Fusion Investment Fund.

The Portal will be launching in February, creating a shop window to showcase excellence in research from both our Academics, and our Students – further cementing BU’s leadership in the region. The Portal will engage the key stakeholders in the area; and work with the local community to provide the answers to the big questions relating to the regions rich natural environment, heritage and future.

Through the engagement of key stakeholders, new partnerships will emerge – students will benefit from work placements, research projects, and potentially graduate employment. The university will benefit from these new collaborations by, for example, increased consultancy projects.

The Portal itself was constructed within the ethos of the Fusion Fund – 2nd year media students were recruited to design and build the website, Red Balloon & the VFX Hub were commissioned to create a film-integrated animation promotional video, opening up cross collaborative streams across the University.

Fusion Investment Funding – Devils and Dolls Reseach Project

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Fusion

Jim Pope and myself are extremely pleased to have gained Fusion Funding for our ‘Devils and Dolls’ research project.  This project will investigate children’s responses to Roald Dahl’s (anti)heroines, looking at Matilda and The Magic Finger. 

We have arranged to visit four local primary schools to conduct workshops with their current Year 6 students.  Our methodology will employ a qualitative approach through a range of activities to be conducted in-class with groups of Year Six children.  These hour-long sessions will revolve around discussing key scenes from the book and film and asking the children to give written and verbal opinions on whether these characters are heroic; how they are similar to/different from other heroes, and so forth. We currently estimate we will be running the session with around 100-200 children during the spring term.

We will be presenting our research as a conference paper (full abstract below) at the ‘Devils and Dolls’ conference (Bristol University, 27 March 2013) and intend to write our findings up into a full article over the summer.  We’re very excited about this project which we think is an excellent opportunity to engage in primary research into a severely under-represented area: the responses of child readers to children’s fiction and its uses in education.  We’re also especially delighted to have received this funding as it will enable us to make new networking contacts with local schools that will benefit BU in future research in this area.  The study will directly inform our future teaching on Children’s Literature unit (BA English Level I) and we hope the proposed outputs will also promote the research and media teaching being done here at BU at both a national and international level.

Lost little girls (with scary powers): how do children respond to Roald Dahl’s heroines?

Jim Pope and Julia Round

Bournemouth University

Depictions of the child in literature for children are often stereotyped and dichotomous: for every Dennis the Menace there is a Peter Perfect, and it often seems there is little in between the two poles. But the depiction of the individual child can contain a similar tension within itself and some child characters (Matilda, The Magic Finger) are shown to have the capability for innocence and destruction in equal measure. These children are neither saintly nor monstrous, and thus they don’t easily fit the stereotypes of children’s literature.  How do children interpret and respond to these characters?

This paper considers examples of the ‘little girl’ who, despite innocent appearance, can wreak great destruction.  It begins by summarising critical opinion on the subject and the narrative stances of Dahl (whose morals and messages are generally very clear and didactic).  Extracts, clips and theory are used to demonstrate that such characters cannot be clearly defined as a ‘devil’ or a ‘doll’ and that in fact there is a great deal of tension within each character.  These dichotomies are explored and reflected upon using relevant extracts and clips.

However, ‘lit crit’ like this all too often begins and ends with a point of view or an argument to be built. When critics talk authoritatively about the tones, styles, messages and impacts of children’s lit, they are writing from the perspective of an adult with things to say. The response of adult critics is itself in a multiply dichotomous position – the adult commenting on the child’s interpretation of the child character created by an adult. How far do we wish to go with such conflicted criticism? Should we not instead consider how modern child readers understand these modern heroines – are they pleased to see characters like these behaving badly (sometimes) yet still winning? 

The paper concludes with presentation of findings from a small reader-response study, in which we discussed extracts and clips from the books with groups of child readers.  Their responses and reactions to these characters are used to reflect upon the critics’ conclusions and the texts themselves.

Research Ethics training course coming soon!

BU research, Research Ethics

You asked, we delivered! That’s right, due to popular demand BU has invested in an online research ethics training course. The course is mainly for post graduate research (PGR) students and academic staff. The course covers standard practice and recent changes in universities’ ethics relating to research that investigates people and their data. The course applies, for example, to the healthcare disciplines, to natural and social sciences, education and welfare services, humanities, law and media studies. Ethics standards apply very generally across many topics, methods and disciplines of research. This course has used several health research examples, because the ethics questions tend to stand out clearly in health research. Viewers working in other disciplines are invited to consider how the same questions apply to their own research.

The aims of the course are to help you to:

  • understand and use the frameworks and basic tools in research ethics debates
  • explain and justify your decisions about research ethics
  • know about resources for extending and updating your knowledge of ethics.

Please keep an eye on the blog for more information regarding when the course will go live. The course will be accessible via myBU.

EU Networking Fund still open!

EU

The EU Networking Fund (EUNF) is open to any BU academics who want to network across Europe with a view to finding collaborators. We have a pot of money to support this scheme, and the fund will end when the pot is empty.
You can apply for support for a range of activities relating directly to networking, such as:
• Travel with the intent of networking
• Conference attendance with the intent of networking
• Attendance at external networking events leading to collaborative research proposals
• Meetings with external organisations to establish collaborations.

You can read more on this scheme in the EUNF Policy Document and make a submission using theEUNF Application Form; there is no deadline.

Fusion supports new PR research collaboration in Asia

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Featured, Featured academics, Fusion, REF Subjects, Research news, Research themes, Uncategorized

Prof Tom Watson teaching at Chulalongkorn University

For several years, the Media School (TMS) has been developing a relationship with Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Chula, as it is known, is rated as the No.1 university in the kingdom.

The SMN award allows the development of a collaborative project between TMS and the Faculty of Communication Arts at Chula to organise an academic conference on public relations in Asia in Bangkok on November 18-19.
The conference will provide a platform for academic research on public relations history, current theory and practice, and future trends. In particular, it will investigate Asian (i.e. non Anglo-American) perspectives of public relations and will be the first dedicated conference to do so.

Prof Tom Watson, who is a co-chair of the conference, says the SMN funding “will lead to the development of a sustainable academic and research partnership between the two universities. It will enable BU staff participation in cross-cultural research with Thai colleagues. The conference will also place BU in a leadership role on research into cross-cultural communications and international public relations.”

Dr Ana Adi is working with Prof Watson on the project. She taught at Chula in mid-2012 on a staff exchange. She and at least one other TMS academic will be attending the conference and presenting papers.

The conference collaboration started with attendance by Chula’s Dr Napawan Tantivejakul at the International History of Public Relations Conference 2011 at BU, which began a dialogue about a joint conference with an Asian focus. This was cemented when Prof Watson visited Chula in November last year as a visiting professor and negotiated the arrangements. It is hoped that there will be 16 speakers, plus two keynotes, and 50 delegates at the November event.

FIF – Staff Networking and Mobility Project- Visiting Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in South Korea

BU research, Fusion, Research news

The University’s Fusion Investment Fund (Staff Networking and Mobility) has provided an excellent opportunity for building up international cooperation in research, education and professional practice. Over the years we have developed many international links with China, US, France, Switzerland, Singapore, Turkey etc. These international links have played a significant role in our research activities through joint publications, developing research projects, submitting research proposal for external funding.

GIST is a world-class technical university which has recently started to focus on bridging art and technology, and is setting up a national research institute for art-technology fusion supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism of Korea. This matches extremely well with the ethos and practices of the NCCA that has been undertaking cutting edge research marrying art with technology.

Dr. Xiaosong Yang met Prof. Lee at SIGGRAPH2012 and had a long discussion exploring collaborative ideas. Prof. Lee has been working on physical simulation for many years, and has produced many quality publications on top journals, including SIGGRAPH (ACM Transactions on Computer Graphics). As we (Dr Yang and Prof Zhang) have been working on character animation for many years, both Prof Lee and us at the NCCA are strong players in our respective specialist subject fields and have complementary strengths. In order to consolidate our relationship and develop winning research projects, this proposed collaboration will start with joint research on physically based character animation.

Dr. Yang will give one week visit to Prof. Lee’s research lab at GIST around May/June 2013. The network activities, including guest lectures/talks, visits and meetings, will aim at promoting joint world-class research, exploring collaborations for joint-publications and future funding bids.

Researchers: Dr. Xiaosong Yang, Prof. Jian J Zhang (The Media School)

Xiaosong Yang   Jian J Zhang

Erasmus Mundus Call Open – INTERESTED?

EU, Funding opportunities

 

The Erasmus Mundus 2013 call for proposals is now open!  Full details of the call can be found here and please note that this year’s call is for Action 2 and 3 proposals only.

We need to assess the level of interest across BU in submitting applications to this call in order to ensure we meet the guidelines re multiple applications.

If interested in applying, please contact Paul Lynch asap! –  plynch@bournemouth.ac.uk

Innovation Vouchers – work with local businesses, receive EU funds and get funding within a couple of weeks

BU research, EU

The European Regional Development Fund ‘Innovation Vouchers’ provide funding for a business to work with an expert from BU, to gain new knowledge in order to help their business innovate, develop and grow.

There only conditions to obtaining this voucher is that the business:

  • Must not have worked with you previously
  • Must be a start-up, micro, small and medium-sized business (defined by the EC)
  • Must be located in the South West England Competitiveness Area
  • Must trade in an ERDF-eligible sector (i.e. not agri-food, textiles or retail)
  • Must have an innovative idea

The business will receive 40% support for projects ranging from £3,000 to £10,000 for the business to buy in external expertise from you to develop ideas and improve performance. The work must be undertaken between now and early 2015 and the best part is there is around a 2 week turnaround to tell you whether you have been successful. This truly is a great scheme.  

We have a visit from the ERDF representative who will give tips on applying and more details on the scheme in K101, 2-3 on Friday 1st February. There is also individual one to one time with the presenter 3-4pm. To book a place, simply email Emily Cieciura, RKE Operations.

 

 N.B. The Innovation Voucher  project is part financed by the Competitiveness European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme, which is one of the funds established by the European Commission to help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support local businesses and create jobs. For more information visit www.communities.gov.uk/erdf.

REF – Early Career Researcher

Research assessment

The University is currently preparing to take part in the first Research Excellence Framework (REF) assessment, which is a national exercise to assess the quality of research in UK higher education institutions.

As part of this preparation, all REF eligible staff have been encouraged to disclose individual circumstances to HR (please refer to previous ‘REF’ blogposts for more information).  The first round of data collection closed in October 2012 and the next round of data collection is due to take place in May 2013. 

To help you to decide if you qualify as an early career researcher, please find below the official definition given by the REF team, extracted from the ‘Assessment framework and guidance on submissions’ document.

Early career researchers are defined as members of staff who meet the criteria to be selected as Category A or Category C staff on the census date, and who started their careers as independent researchers on or after 1 August 2009. For the purposes of the REF, an individual is deemed to have started their career as an independent researcher from the point at which:

a. They held a contract of employment of 0.2 FTE or greater, which included a primary employment function of undertaking ‘research’ or ‘teaching and research’, with any HEI or other
organisation, whether in the UK or overseas, and
b. They undertook independent research, leading or acting as principal investigator or equivalent on a research grant or significant piece of research work. (A member of staff is not deemed to have undertaken independent research purely on the basis that they are named on one or more research outputs.)

For more information about the REF at BU, see the previous REF posts on the Blog by clicking on the ‘ref’ tag. You can also access additional information from the REF website.

Alternatively, you can contact myself or Rita Dugan in the Research and Knowledge Exchange Development and Operations Team or leave a comment below.

BU achieves European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research Award!

BU research, Research news

I am delighted to confirm that this week Vitae announced Bournemouth University is one of 11 UK universities that have achieved the HR Excellence in Research Award from the European Commission. This brings the total number of UK universities that have gained the Award to 72. Other universities gaining the Award at this time include the University of Warwick, the Open University and Imperial College London. David Willetts MP, Minister for Universities and Science has said: “Our world-class universities are once again leading the way. It is great news that another 11 UK universities have been awarded the HR Excellence in Research Award. It’s vital that the working conditions of researchers continue to improve because world-class science and research are the key to future economic growth.”

The Award recognizes the work BU has already undertaken to improve the working conditions and career development of all its staff undertaking research, and the University’s ongoing commitment to this agenda. Supporting the career development of all staff undertaking research is embedded in the BU2018 Strategic Plan and we now have an externally approved action plan for strengthening and improving existing practices to EU standards. Progress towards achieving the action plan will be overseen by the University R&KE Committee which is chaired by the PVC and attended by the Deputy Dean (R&KE)/equivalent, REF UOA Leaders, a researcher representative (Dr Marilyn Cash, HSC) and representatives from the R&KEO and other Professional Services. Updates will be posted regularly to the Research Blog.

We’re always open to receiving feedback from BU colleagues. If you have any comments on the proposed actions in the plan or suggestions for improving the research environment then please email these to me at jnortham@bournemouth.ac.uk.

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EC HR Excellence in Research Award: ‘A UK-wide process, incorporating the QAA UK Quality Code for Higher Education, Chapter B11: Research Degrees and the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, enables institutions to gain the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research Award, acknowledging alignment with the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for their Recruitment’.

Pain, perception and partner institutions

BU research, Featured academics

“Assessing agreement between kinaesthesis, visual perception and body imagery” is a collaborative study bringing together expertise from BU and AECC.

The project aims to assess whether there are differences in perception and body image between those with chronic low back pain and controls. To do this we are using a variety of measures (outlined below) and it is hoped that the insight we gain from a group of people with chronic pain we can expand the techniques to other populations where body image may become distorted. These include for example those with complex regional pain syndrome, or following an amputation and for those with eating disorders.

The project is being conducted by Dr. Carol Clark, Gill Glasgow (BU) and Dr. Neil Osborne (AECC) along with Dr. Sharon Docherty (AECC) in the AECC Experimental Research Facility. Professors Ahmed Khattab (BU) and Jeff Bagust (AECC & BU) are also involved.

The Kinaesthetic Assessment Bench (KAB)

Lumbar spine kinaesthesis is assessed by using an ultrasound motion analysis system to measure how accurately the subject can reposition their lower body on a motorised bench.

Lower body repositioning

The Computerised Rod and Frame Test (CRAFT)

CRAFT assesses an individual’s perception of vertical using a specialist computerised software system. The test has been employed in studies investigating the perception of vertical in those with acute and chronic neck pain.

The CRAFT in use

The Body Motor Imagery Test (Recognise TM)

The aim of this test is to assess the activation of cortical networks in relation to body laterality with minimal limb movement. This test employs simple computerised software and has been employed in studies to assess and treat body imagery impairments in those with pain.

The Assessment of Body Image Cognitive Distortions (ABCD)

The ABCD aims to assess cognitive distortions related to body image perception.

Seed corn funding was awarded from HSC in March 2012. This small grant has enabled us:-

–       To investigate new concepts in relation to body image and perception

–       To record data using the tools in order to establish published results. We are in the process of carrying out the initial data collection

–       To develop in-depth knowledge about body image and perception

–       To establish contact with researchers at the University of South Australia and Imperial College London.

–       To offer two undergraduate research dissertation projects

–       To establish interprofessional collaborative working between CC, GG, NO, SD, AK and JB.

–       To enable closer collaboration between BU and one of its partner organisations AECC.

For further information please do not hesitate to contact: Carol Clark (HSC), Neil Osborne (AECC) or Sharon Docherty (AECC)

Anyone wishing to take part in the study, please contact Dr Sharon Docherty (SDocherty@aecc.ac.uk) for more details.

Time for research? Or how I stopped worrying and learned to love writing

BU research, Research news

If I could just work out that perfect sentence I would start writing. Well, if I had the time to think of the perfect sentence that is, because I have emails to answer, and teaching (and emails) and marking (and emails) and meetings and students to see (and emails). But that’s ok, I’ve got a research day later this week, I’ll start writing then.

 With apologies to Jane Austen, it does seem to be a truth universally acknowledged, that there are (at least) 101 reasons why we don’t write. The biggest one perhaps for me, is that fundamentally I find writing hard.  That’s not to say I don’t do it. But there is definitely more (and better) that I would like to write if only I had the time. This blogpost itself is something that I may have put off until an absolute deadline, or until I’d worked out perfectly what I wanted to say (I don’t want to show myself up in front of my lovely new colleagues) but I am happily writing the first draft of this, without waiting for that perfect starting point, sat in the library with a couple of friends, who are also writing. So what’s happened?

I have been reading and thinking a lot about writing for quite a while. Indeed for a long time I have really enjoyed thinking about writing; I had a romantic Sartrean ideal of sitting round in a cafe, thinking wise things, smoking, drinking coffee, and producing works of utter brilliance. (That I wasn’t writing like de Beauvoir and friends was also another source of frustration!!).  Some of the reading and thinking I did was about style; how could I improve the quality of my writing? I came across this book by Helen Sword which has already been blogged about here. But I was also thinking about my motivation for writing and how I could improve it. I love George Orwell’s Why I Write but I felt he didn’t really give me any practical ‘top tips’

In my previous academic job, my ‘research day’ was often a Thursday.  Some Thursdays I was super productive. Fine and good. But some Thursdays I’d start the day listening to the Today programme, with a cup of coffee and mulling over what I was going to do that day. So I’d do my emails. And while doing that the radio would segue into In Our Time, and then of course Woman’s Hour (it should be said these were both programmes I was oblivious too until I had research days). I’d be doing emails, admin, dealing with students etc, so was technically working. I just wasn’t doing any research writing. I would get started maybe late morning, just before lunch. Or maybe I’d have a walk and then start after lunch. Or maybe I’d do a bit more reading first. Now don’t get me wrong, I do have publications, and I do get my writing done, but I’ve never really found it enjoyable.  Writing was something I could very easily procrastinate over (a friend sent this amusing video on procrastination) which of course would then mean I’d also then beat myself up at the end of the day.  This wasn’t every time I sat down to write, but it certainly did happen more often than I felt comfortable with. And then, during one of my research related procrastination detours, I was on a website when I came across this book called How To Write a Lot. Written by an academic, this book helped me rethink my working practices in respect of writing (and was probably the best £6 I have spent in a long time!).

And then a second stroke of luck.  Last week, supported by the Politics Research Group in the Media School, we ran a writing retreat. The first day was run by a facilitator. Now I have been on training sessions where I am feeling I already have too much to do, and that working time (and especially that elusive writing time) is being lost while I am in the session. Yet the beauty of the retreat was that we were encouraged to take along a piece of writing that we were working on.  What was important too was that it didn’t matter that in the session we had different research interests or that we were writing on different topics.  A colleague produced two book proposals and a grant proposal. In one day! Another colleague wrote 4200 words. And I managed just over 3000 words. And this wasn’t 7 or 8 hours solid writing. This was in less than 3 hours in total.  Now these weren’t perfect words, well mine certainly weren’t. And I also didn’t have my perfect opening sentence. But I did have something to work with. And now less than one week later, I have an 8000 or so word chapter that I have sent across to my co-editor. In short we all produced MORE on a training session than we would have done if we had been working in our offices for the day.

 I have written everyday since that retreat and am now starting an article and a research proposal.  I don’t feel daunted by the prospect; in fact I am really enjoying it. It’s just lovely typing away with my writing friends and I am also happy writing on my own. It’s a great combination. I have discovered that I actually like writing and a whole world has opened up to me.  I am not religious (apart from our census form on which all of my family are heavy metal), but it does feel strangely like some kind of Damascene conversion.

Heather Savigny

Senior lecturer in politics

Media School

How to network workshop – places available

Guidance, Research news

Networking is crucial in academic life and critical for participation in funded research. In today’s world, to develop a strong academic career, publications aren’t enough; network relations can play a huge role.  Being well connected and carrying out research in cooperative partnerships significantly increases your chances of attaining a professorship and will allow you to grow your research career by participating in a range of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary projects.

Networking can be daunting and exhausting. To help you identify key players and how best to approach them as well as learning  how to network effectively with a range of stakeholders, expert Dr Martin Pickard of Grantcraft will deliver 3 hours (9.30am-1.30pm, which includes an hour for lunch) of  fantastic guidance in this session on Lansdowne campus (Studland House), on Wednesday, 20th February.

Important booking information:

Booking is essential through the Staff Development website.

The link should be now be working correctly however if you have not received a reminder from Staff Development prior to the event please feel free to also email Dianne Goodman direct.

If you have already booked on to this session please note:

As you may be aware Staff Development encountered some problems with their main booking site around Oct – Nov 2012. So if you have previously booked onto this Networking session we recommend you email Dianne Goodman to check your name is on our current list.

The Graduate School invites all PGR Students at BU to our PGR FILM NIGHT!

PG research

 It is the first of this year’s film nights which will be held regularly as part of the Graduates School’s social events calendar for Postgraduate Research students.

On WEDNESDAY 30 JANUARY at 6pm the 1998 comedy hit ‘Rushmore’ will be screened in KG03.

 

For more details about the film please visit http://www.filmbank.co.uk/film_details.asp?id=55395

NUMBERS ARE RESTRICTED so if you’d like to come along please email graduateschool@bournemouth.ac.uk by midnight on Thursday 25 January

We hope to see you there!

Leverhulme Trust Programme Grants

Funding opportunities

The Leverhulme Trust invites proposals for its research programme grants. Proposals are invited for programme awards on one of the following two topics:

•the nature of knots, which includes uncovering the unifying and organising ideas that underpin knottedness in nature, establishing mathematical methods for quantifiying knottedness, measuring experimentally and developing techniques to control knottedness and identifying the scientific and technological consequences and implications of knottedness;

•innovation for sustainable living, which might involve disruptive science and engineering and their role in new energy, materials and transport, mathematics and statistics, public policy, economics and the complexities of trade-offs, psychology and determining the driers of behaviour change, lessons from history and comparative social analysis.

Grants are worth between £500,000 and £1.75 million each for a period of up to five years for each of the topics.

Closing date 4pm,03 Oct 13

The RKE Operations team can help you with your application. Please direct any enquiries to RKE Ops in the first instance.