Yearly Archives / 2016

The Impact of Virtual Reality and Games Technologies to Our Everyday Life: Dr Wen Tang on Radio Wimborne ‘Geek Week’

On Monday the 14th of March 2016, Dr Wen Tang of Creative Technology Department, Faculty of Science and Technology has given an interview on Radio Wimborne  talking about Virtual Reality and Games. The interview was a featured programme in Tammy and Ben’s Wimborne Magazine programme featuring ‘Geek Week’.

The 18 minutes interview discussed the impact of virtual reality and games technologies to our everyday life.  The fast advent of technological development in computer graphics hardware and software technologies has led the rapid expansion and acceptance of virtual reality and computer games into our everyday lives. Dr Tang has also discussed the use of digital gaming in non-leisure contexts such as military training and education.

 

 

 

 

HE Policy Update

Monday

Graduate Earnings

The Bank of England has said that those leaving university could expect to earn more over their working lives than people without academic qualifications, but that the wage premium had been cut from 45% to 34% between 1995 and 2015. Growth in university education is affecting graduate earning power (Guardian).

Tuesday

Degree Apprenticeships

A new report published by UUK encourages universities, government and employers to develop degree apprenticeships. The report finds that degree apprenticeships are particularly attractive to non-traditional students, providing an opportunity for universities to support widening participation goals. You can download the report here.

Wednesday

Budget

The Chancellor, George Osborne delivered the budget which revealed the following for higher education:

  • Direct government support will be available to adults wishing to study at any qualification level, from basic skills right the way up to PhD. During this parliament, loans will be introduced for level 3 to level 6 training in further education, part-time second degrees in STEM, and postgraduate taught master’s courses.
  • From 2018-19, loans of up to £25,000 will be available to any English student without a Research Council living allowance who can win a place for doctoral study at a UK university- a consultation will follow.
  • The government will also extend the eligibility of master’s loans to include three-year part-time courses with no full-time equivalent.
  • The government will continue to free up student number controls for alternative providers predominantly offering degree level courses for the 2017-18 academic year.
  • The government will bring together information about the wages of graduates of different courses and the financial support available across further and higher education to ensure that people can make informed decisions about the right courses for them.

You can view an article in the THE on the implications of the 2016 budget for HE here.

Thursday

UK and China

Organisations in the UK and China have developed a statement of principles aimed at enhancing the quality of transnational education (TNE) programmes between the countries. UK and China agree deal on ‘high-quality’ cross-border education. (THE).

Department of Education

The Education white paper has confirmed a shift to school-led teacher training. The paper revealed that Universities can support teacher training by conducting excellent research but new teachers are best trained in schools. Back to Schools (Research Professional).

Friday

Sexual Violence

A taskforce set up to crack down on sexual violence on campus has recommended the overhaul of much-criticised rules governing how universities deal with allegations. University leaders call for new rules on sexual violence allegations. (The Guardian).  

Quality

HEFCE has today published its new model and framework for quality assessment in the UK. The proposals introduce a two-track assurance process for new and established providers which will apply as of 2017/18, with piloting to take place in 2016/17. The framework will apply to England and Northern Ireland, with the high-level proposals to be taken forward in Wales subject to further consultation. You can view the new model here.

Team KEIT for the Win!

This month the Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team (based in the Research and Knowledge Exchange Office in Melbury House – do come say hello!) have been working hard to support BU – here are just a few of the things we’re proud to be supporting!

– The fifth Bournemouth Research Chronicle has been published featuring interdisciplinary research from across BU, copies have been posted to all academic members of staff (we had a delightful afternoon of envelope stuffing to achieve that one!) and you can also view it online here.

– The latest round of Undergraduate Research Assistantships received 37 applications of which 21 have been awarded – congratulations to all successful applicants

– The Faculty of Media and Communications have just submitted thier first Knowledge Transfer Partnership application of the year (one of around 6 applications we put in each year from BU)

– HEIF has been reciving excellent media coverage recently  as HEFCE research has shown that Knowledge exchange funding delivers £9.70 for every pound invested

– We have two upcoming events for the University of the Third Age, the first is taking place Monday 21st March at the Bournemouth Sewage Works, exploring the Microbiology of Sewage as part of a SFAM funded series of events.  The second is happening on Wednesday 30th March in the EBC with a series of health related lectures taking place throguhout the day.

– Heather Hartwell’s FoodSMART event is coming up on Wednesday 18 May.  The event is for businesses and organisations in a range of sectors: food, tourism, hospitality and organisations with a nutrition/health focus to include sport organisations and healthcare professionals; as well as to technology companies due to the innovative nature of the new app, delivering personalised advice when eating out. Please can you circulate to your networks. In particular, Alumni are encouraged to come along for the day and an additional drinks reception will be available following the main event for them. Due to limited numbers, we ask staff members to contact Carmen if they would like to join us on the day – Carmen Palhau Martins – cmartins@bournemouth.ac.uk   instead of booking through Eventbrite.

Contact, Help, Advice and Information Network (CHAIN) Demonstration THIS COMING WEDNESDAY 23rd March 2016

CHAIN – Contact, Help, Advice and Information Network – is an online mutual support network for people working in health and social care. It gives people a simple and informal way of contacting each other to exchange ideas and share knowledge.

The online Directory can be used to identify and communicate with other members. You might wish to do this to draw from their experience, or to elicit an opinion on an issue or something you are doing. Or you might wish to find collaborators or liaise with fellow-travellers or people with specific skills or interests for a wide range of purposes. You can do this quickly and easily with CHAIN, and part of the advantage is that the people you find will usually be happy to help you if they can.

We are delighted to welcome a representative from CHAIN to BU on 23rd March at 2:30pm in Wollstone Lecture Theatre, Bournemouth House (BG10) to demonstrate how to make the most of being part of the network. All staff are welcome to attend, and please pass the invitation on to students who may be interested in learning more about what CHAIN has to offer.

Contact Lisa Gale-Andrews at lgaleandrews@bournemouth.ac.uk for more information.

Thinking about the next REF?

BRIAN, open access, Publishing, REF Subjects, Research assessment

153px-Open_Access_logo_PLoS.svgHEFCE’s policy for open access states that all new peer-reviewed journal articles and papers from published conference proceedings (with ISSN) should be deposited in our institutional repository BURO (through BRIAN), in full text form. Full compliance with this policy is now crucial, as HEFCE’s requirements for the next REF include the condition that outputs can only be submitted to the REF if they are published as open access at the point of acceptance.

All researchers need to follow these three steps, to ensure that all your articles can be considered for the next REF.

1. Keep your Authors’ Accepted Manuscript1

  • Keep this version for journal articles and conference proceedings (with an ISSN).  This is not necessary for books, chapters or other output types.
  • This is necessary even if the publisher will make the article Open Access on publication.
  • Whether you are the sole author, a co-author, a postgraduate or a professor, you need to keep this version of your paper.

 

2. Upload the Authors’ Accepted Manuscript to BRIAN as soon as it is accepted for publication2

  • When your publisher sends you an acceptance notification, log into BRIAN to add the basic publication details and upload the document.
  • The Library will ensure compliance with any embargo date.
  • You are now compliant!

 

3. Contact the BRIAN or BURO team for help or advice

All researchers must follow this for their work to be considered for the REF, in line with the HEFCE’s policy for open access. A comprehensive list of FAQs on the policy is available.

RKEO and the Library will be available to provide relevant support during these drop-in sessions:

11 April – 12.30pm to 1.30pm – S117, Studland House

12 April – 12.30pm to 1.30pm – S117, Studland House

13 April – 12.30pm to 1.30pm – S117, Studland House

No booking is necessary, just turn up!

1 Authors’ Accepted Manuscript – this is the final peer-reviewed manuscript, before the proof reading starts for the published version.  It is often a Word document, publisher template, LaTeX file or PDF.

2 This is when the publisher confirms to you that your article has been accepted.

(Post adapted from University of Bath, Library resources)

RKEO Drop-in session 23rd March 2016

Guidance

As previously posted, RKEO will be holding monthly drop-in sessions throughout 2016. The full schedule of sessions can be found here. research lifecycle

The second session will be held on 23 March 2016 between 2-4pm in the Atrium Cafe on Talbot. Anyone can attend with any queries for RKEO.  Come and find out about upcoming calls such as the British Academy’s small grants scheme, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships, KTPs, and the upcoming Festival of Learning and all the other public engagement activities that are available.  The following RKEO staff will be available for the session:

Ehren Milner – Funding Development Officer for Management

Kerri Jones and Alice Brown– Funding Development Officers for SciTech

Philip Leahy-Harland – Project Delivery Officer for Management

Nimisha Prajapati and Sara Mundy – Project Delivery Officers for Health and Social Sciences

Rachel Clarke – Knowledge Exchange Advisor

Naomi Kay – Public Engagement Officer

You don’t need to be from these faculties as staff will help with any queries you have and if they’re not able to answer your query then and there, they’ll ensure you receive a timely response from RKEO. Basically, come along and have a chat. These are also great opportunities for us to gather feedback from you on the service that we deliver to you.

RKEO look forward to seeing you.

BU BMC paper followed up by BMC Series Blog

international, open access, Publishing, writing

media childbirthOur latest paper in the international journal BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth published late last month was highlighted yesterday in a BMC Series Blog.[1]  The blog post reminds us that the media plays an important role in providing the general public with information about a range of issues, including pregnancy and childbirth. The visual media, such as television, can provide planned information (education), for example in documentaries, advertising and the news.  Our paper “Is it realistic?” the portrayal of pregnancy and childbirth in the media’ looked into how the representation of childbirth in the mass media affects childbirth in society as there is evidence to suggest that it can have a negative effect.  BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth is an Open Access journal therefore the paper is freely available for anybody across the globe with an internet connection, for access click here.

interdisciplinary-1Our paper is great example of interdisciplinary research, as celebrated at the forthcoming Interdisciplinary Research Sector Day on June 21st (see here).  The authors of our paper combine expertise in media studies, midwifery, sociology and health services research.   Moreover, it involved collaborations across universities (Bournemouth and Stirling) and within BU across faculties, namely the Faculty of Media & Communcation and the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences.

 

Ann Luce, Marilyn Cash, Vanora Hundley, Helen Cheyne, Edwin van Teijlingen & Catherine Angell

 

Reference:

  1. Luce, A., Cash, M., Hundley, V., Cheyne, H., van Teijlingen, E., Angell, C., (2016) “Is it realistic?” the portrayal of pregnancy and childbirth in the media BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 16: 40 http://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-016-0827-x

 

Digital vision of future local government – connecting our lives in 2025

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, innovation, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, Research themes

nesta_logo

The report , Connected Councils, explores how councils can use digital tools to transform the way they work and save a potential £14.7 billion every year.

Digital technologies, from apps to online platforms, can help councils provide better services for their residents and mobilise communities to work alongside these services, as well as find new ways of collecting and analysing data, which could have a significant impact on the quality of future services.

Through a series of case studies the report imagines what life might be like in 2025 for ‘digital by default’ councils and their citizens – from retirees to young graduates and new parents.

Key Findings

Local government has made huge progress in enabling residents to carry out basic transactions online. But most councils have a long way to go to deliver smooth, frictionless services and fully digitise their back offices. Digitisation isn’t just about developing digital services; depending on the level of ambition, digital tools can help:

  • Save money and deliver better outcomes by intervening earlier and helping people manage their own conditions.
  • Transform the way that councils work internally, commission services and partners, diagnose and solve problems, use public space, and attract talent.
  • Make services smoother and easier to access, more personalised and user-responsive.
  • Put residents at the heart of local problem-solving and decision-making and create an environment which supports businesses to startup and scale.

The 2025 vision

Like the best tech companies, future councils will be lean, agile and data-driven. Siloed services will be replaced with multi-agency teams that form around specific local challenges. A truly mobile workforce has freed up public space. Almost all transactions take place online. Instead of two-dimensional council websites, interactive platforms connect users with third-party apps and services, and stream personalised content on local democracy, jobs and services.

Relational services (such as social care) still rely heavily on face-to-face contact. But digital tools help people to manage their own long-term conditions and connect to a broader network of support, such as peer mentors, health coaches, friends and family, volunteers and group-based activities. Digital technologies have helped councils take a more ambitious approach to place-shaping. A larger share of public contracts go to high-growth SMEs. Councils systematically engage residents in decisions about how services are commissioned, delivered and evaluated.

Read the report in full.

 

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International Summer School on Global Greenhouse Gases, 2-12 August 2016

Funding opportunities

Greenhouse Gases UK is running an intensive 10 day course aimed at advanced PhD students and post-doctoral researchers in the natural sciences, who want to develop a solid understanding of the role of key greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the Earth system and the processes that govern their dynamics in the atmosphere, ocean and biosphere.

This residential course for 20-25 participants will be based at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton and there will be a combination of lectures, practical exercise, seminars and field/lab work. Organised by international experts in oceanography, atmospheric science and terrestrial biogeochemistry, the course will provide:

  • theoretical background on the role of greenhouse gases in the Earth System
  • practical training in how to measure and model fluxes
  • interaction with leading experts in the field
  • the opportunity to network with other early-career scientists with similar interests.

Topics will include:

  • Greenhouse gases in ocean, atmosphere and biosphere, with a focus on carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O)
  • Instrumentation for measuring GHGs: theory and practice
  • Process modelling of GHG fluxes
  • Satellite observations of GHGs
  • Measuring and up-scaling fluxes in the terrestrial biosphere

Staff will be drawn from the UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Feedback Programme, including researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh, Exeter, Bristol, York, Leicester, Manchester, and dedicated UK research centres including Forest Research, Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and others.

All participants will be expected to present a poster on their research during the summer school.

The course will start after lunch on Tuesday, 2 August, and finish at noon on Friday, 12 August; students can travel on those days. There will be some teaching and social activities on the weekend (6-7 August).

Course fee

There is a course fee of £200 per student. This will contribute approximately 20% towards the real cost of accommodation, lunches and field trips, which will be provided by the summer school. Accommodation is in single standard (non-ensuite) rooms. Students are expected to fund their own travel to and from the summer school.

In exceptional cases, we can exempt some students from the course fee, so that your participation is free, for example if your grant and your institute do not cover the fee. Please explain the reasons in the relevant box in the application form.

Contact

If you have any questions about the summer school or if the application form does not work for you, please contact Stephan Matthiesen ( Stephan.Matthiesen@ed.ac.uk This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).

Application form

To apply, please fill in the application form. The application deadline is 25 April 2016. Places are limited to 25. We will select the most suitable candidates among all applications after the deadline and inform you by mid May whether you have been accepted.

Interdisciplinary Research Sector Day – 21st June 2016

conferences

Save the date for REKO’s forthcoming Interdisciplinary Research Sector Day!

interdisciplinary-1It will take place on Tuesday, 21st June 2016 in the Executive Business Centre.

There will be speakers from BU and other organisations plus plenty of opportunity to network with academic and professional research administration colleagues from other universities. Already confirmed are speakers from HEFCE, Sussex and BU.

The event will be advertised to colleagues in other institutions so, if you would like to help promote this event to people in your professional network, keep an eye on this blog for further information in the coming weeks.

If you or someone in your network would like to contribute on the day, please contact Emily Cieciura in REKO to discuss this further.

Love & Intimacy – inaugural lecture by Prof Ann Brooks – 12th April

Love and intimacy in contemporary society – Prof Ann Brooks hi res

Love and intimacy in contemporary society

Inaugural public lecture by Professor Ann Brooks, Professor of Sociology at Bournemouth University

About the lecture

The history of love and intimacy shows a fascinating interweaving of social, economic and cultural influences. Perhaps surprisingly the traditional meaning of love does not relate to passion or intimacy. Love and intimacy in contemporary society can only be understood by charting love and intimacy historically.

Ann’s lecture will explore changes in emotional regimes from medieval society to the present day. She will be asking the questions: How can we distinguish between romantic and passionate love? Why did courtly love highlight the significance of “dangerous liaisons”? What is the role of popular and literary fiction in promoting love? What role did bohemian love play in challenging marriage? Is love and marriage characterised by more social diversity that previously?

Drawing on research for her latest book, Ann will be showing how love and intimacy meant different things at different times. Her research also indicates that the history of emotional regimes shows that intimacy in the form of desire, passion, and sex largely exist outside marriage. The key question for today’s society is: “What’s love got to do with it?”

There could be complex matters involved in the divorce, such as prenuptial agreements, alimony, and child custody and support. You should hire a Utah family attorney who has a deep understanding of divorce law to protect your interests.

Bournemouth University’s (BU) Inaugural Lecture Series aims to celebrate new professorial appointments and the depth and breadth of research produced by the university. For further information on the Inaugural Lecture Series please visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/public-lecture-series

Event information

Venue: Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, East Cliff Promenade, Bournemouth, BH1 3AA

Time & Date: Tuesday 12 April 2016, 6.30pm for a 7pm start.

Refreshments will be provided at the event.

Parking is available at the Pay & Display car park on Bath Road and along the East Cliff.

For more information about this event please contact Sarah Gorman at sgorman@bournemouth.ac.uk

‘Venus Verticordia’ by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1864-68). Image reproduced with kind permission of the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth.

Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/love-and-intimacy-in-contemporary-society-tickets-22790800899

 

FMC Research seminar: ‘Collective action and digital media: the case of Occupy’: 3pm room CG17 Wednesday, 16 March

Communicating Research
FMC Departmental Seminar Series 2015-16

Venue: CG17, Christchurch House, Talbot Campus, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB

Wednesday 16 March 2016, 3pm, CG17

Politics and Media Research Centre event:

Guest Lecture

Anastasia Kavada, Westminster Faculty of Media, Arts & Design at the University of Westminster

Social movements can be considered as communication phenomena, as actors emerging from conversations amongst groups and individuals which become codified in ‘texts’ of various kinds: common statements and manifestos, training resources and new ‘scripts’ that ritualize common ways of behaving, as well as new digital artefacts whose design reflects the values of the movement. This talk outlines a communication perspective on social movements by focusing on the case study of the Occupy movement. The empirical material is drawn from 75 in-depth interviews with Occupy activists in London, New York, Seattle and Boston. The talk investigates digital media as part of Occupy’s communication ecology, focusing on their use to create spaces for conversation, to delineate the boundaries between the movement and its environment, and to develop ‘texts’ that embody the shared values and codes of the movement. Examining social movements as communication phenomena also provides an insight into how power relations, both within the movement and between the movement and its allies, targets and adversaries, are shaped by communication practices. More specifically, this talk identifies six types of communication power that shaped the power relations of Occupy. Overall, in this talk I argue that viewing social movements as phenomena emerging in and through communication allows us a grounded perspective on their processes and their capacity to effect change.

Anastasia Kavada is Senior Lecturer in the Westminster Faculty of Media, Arts & Design at the University of Westminster. She is Co-leader of the MA in Media, Campaigning and Social Change and Deputy Director of the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI). Her research focuses on the links between online tools and decentralized organizing practices, democratic decision-making, and the development of solidarity among participants in collective action. Anastasia’s case studies include, among others, the Global Justice Movement, Avaaz, and the Occupy movement. Her work has appeared in a variety of edited books and academic journals, including Media, Culture & Society and Information, Communication & Society.

About the series
This new seminar series showcases current research across different disciplines and approaches within the Faculty of Media and Communication at BU. The research seminars include invited speakers in the fields of journalism, politics, narrative studies, media, communication and marketing studies. The aim is to celebrate the diversity of research across departments in the faculty and also generate dialogue and discussion between those areas of research.

Contributions include speakers on behalf of
The Centre for Politics and Media Research
The Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community
Promotional Cultures & Communication Centre
Public Relations Research Centre
Narrative Research Group
Journalism Research Group
Advances in Media Management Research Group

Happy World Social Work Day!

This year the theme of World Social Work Day is ‘Promoting the Dignity and Worth of Peoples’

This relates to the second pillar of the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development which was launched in 2012. Each of the five Global Agenda themes runs for
two years and 2016 is the second year for Promoting the Dignity and Worth of Peoples.

WSWDThe theme is particularly poignant this year as we have witnessed unprecedented levels of mass migration around the world, levels of which we have not experienced since the Second World War. Images of desperate families risking their lives in an attempt to flee conflict and persecution are reported daily in the media. Many are traumatised by their experiences and face uncertain futures. In this context of human suffering it is essential to uphold the commitment to value every human life and embrace shared human experience, and social work is ideally placed to champion this approach.

Social work as a profession is underpinned by a commitment to human rights, and the current president of the International Federation of Social Work, Ruth Stark, has suggested that “Social work is a human rights discipline. It’s not just an element of it- it is the core principle.” 

Such a stance requires social workers to respect the inherent dignity and worth of every IMG_7386person, and this includes respect for human rights as expressed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Such an approach is underpinned by five core notions of human rights: human dignity; non-discrimination; civil and political rights; economic, social and cultural rights; and solidarity rights (Wronka, 2007).

It has been argued that social work has often blurred the line between a focus on human needs and human rights (Healy, 2008), however there is an opportunity for social work to grasp a central role in upholding the rights of all peoples across the world. If this opportunity is taken ‘ human rights provide the profession with a clear direction for a presence at the international level, while also bridging local and national issues with global concerns’ (Healy 2008:745).

World Social Work Day provides an opportunity for the global community of social work to come together through cross-national dialogue, to promote a human rights approach which is rooted in social action as a means to uphold the dignity and worth of all peoples across the global world. We therefore should not just ‘talk the talk’ about upholding the dignity and rights of all, but more importantly ‘walk the walk’ by implementing these principles into action in everyday practice.

References

Healy, L.M. (2008) Exploring the history of social work as a human rights profession, International Social Work, 51, 735-748.

Wronka, J. (2007) Human Rights and Social Justice: Social Action and Service for the Helping and Health Professions, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage.

Guide to develop understanding of financial scamming launched at recent Parliamentary event

A recent awareness raising event at the House of Commons, hosted by Conor Burns MP, discussed the problem of financial scamming and mass marketing fraud in the UK and highlighted the work being undertaken by the NCPQSW at Bournemouth University.

The event included an address from Bournemouth University’s Professor Keith Brown, and explored some of the work of the NCPQSW around financial scam prevention and at risk groups. Bournemouth University, in partnership with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, National Trading Standards Scams Team, North Yorkshire Trading Standards, and City of London Trading Standards, has created a Financial Scamming Guide to offer advice and guidance on what to watch for and how to avoid falling foul of scamming techniques and schemes.

This guide includes a campaign to raise awareness of the risks of financial scamming, as well as calling for a more integrated approach to tackling the issues from the financial sectors. In particular the campaign asks that …..

  1. All agencies, especially financial institutions, should:
  • Recognise that consumers/clients with dementia are by definition more at risk of chair
    being scammed. Therefore measures to protect this population group are required
    as part of a ‘duty to care, and those with a diagnosis of dementia have by definition a cognitive impairment which means that their potential ‘unwise decision’ is a result of their cognitive state rather than simply an unwise decision.
  1. All organisations that hold personal data should:
  • Only share or pass on personal details to other organisations via a clear ‘opt in’ as opposed to an ‘opt out’ process. Data should only be allowed for a maximum of 12 months before permission needs to be sought again.
  • Recognise that the normal default position should be that charities do not share, pass on or sell personal details to help prevent ‘Suckers Lists’. The exception being to report a safeguarding concern to statutory agencies where there is a suspicion that the person(s) is/are at risk of harm or scamming and this information should be used in accordance to The Care Act (2014).
  1. Citizens who feel at risk of financial scamming should be able to:
  • Formally notify their bank/building society stating that they feel at risk, requesting that all transactions above a defined threshold (say £1,000) have a 24 hour delay before being processed.
  • At the start of the 24 hour delay period, an email/text alert is automatically sent to the customer’s nominated representative (relative/friend) stating that the customer is attempting to make a large transaction. This will give the opportunity for the proposed transaction to be challenged with a view to potentially stop it leaving consumers account.

To find out more about the work of the NCPQSW in relation to financial scamming, please CLICK HERE.

 

European Research Council- Starting Grant and Consolidator Grant figures

Funding opportunities

ercHave you thought about applying to the European Research Council (ERC) for funding?  Although the funding calls are not yet open, it may be worth starting on your proposal now as calls are published every year.

Starting Grants: For 2015, a combined total of €429 million was given to 291 early-career researchers, with the greatest number (48) being awarded the UK and an overall success rate of 12%. For 2016, the ERC received 2935 applications (an increase of (+0.5%).  The highest number of applications were from Physical Sciences and Engineering (1299), followed by Life Sciences (854, a decrease of -3%), and Social Science and Humanities (782, an increase of +3%).

Starting Grants are for researchers who have 2-7 years of experience since the completion of a PhD and a track record of excellence, you may be eligible for up to €1.5 million for projects lasting up to five years.

Consolidator Grant: For 2015, the ERC gave a combined €585 million to 302 successful applicants for an overall sucess rate of 15%.  For 2016, the number of applicants increase by 12% from the previous call with the highest number of applications was submitted from Physical Sciences and Engineering (1075), followed by Life Sciences (713), and Social Science and Humanities (516).

The Consolidator Grant is a fund with up to €2 million available for researchers with 7-12 years of experience since the completion of a PhD who also have a demonstrable record showing scientific talent and excellence.

As part of the first phase of a two phase application process, evaluators will first judge the synopsis and CV of the applicant to see if the work is ground-breaking in nature, ambitious and feasible.  The evaluators will also judge the track record of the applicant to see if they have the proven intellectual capacity (through publication), creativity (novelty) and commitment (through a track record of managing previous projects).

If you are interested in applying to these funds, please contact Emily Cieciura, the Research Facilitator for EU & International funding or your relevant faculty Funding Development Officer.

Contemporary Thought in Higher Education Colloquium.

The Academy of Marketing SIG Marketing in Higher Education.

Bournemouth University

Wednesday 27 April, 2016.

Faculty of Management academics, Dr Chris Chapleo and Helen O’Sullivan (both from the Department of Marketing) are organising a one day colloquium titled ‘Contemporary Thought in Higher Education’. This colloquium will initiate discussion, drive collaboration and grow networks amongst marketing academics and HE marketers, which will promote, advance and disseminate current practices and developments in HE marketing.

Professor Jane Hemsley-Brown, from the University of Surrey, and Professor Felix Maringe, from the University of the Witwatersrand have been confirmed as keynote speakers

There will be an associated special edition of ‘The Journal of Marketing in Higher Education’.

Find out more To register interest and for more details, go to http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/academy-of-marketing