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New PhD publication on Caesarean Section

international, PG research, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing

Congratulations to Dr. Soluchana Dhakal-Rai whose latest research paper ‘Explaining rising caesarean section rates in urban Nepal: A mixed-methods study’ has been accepted today by the international journal PLOS One [1].  Sulochana graduated last November with a Ph.D. from Bournemouth University; photo shows her with the BU-based supervisors: Dr. Juliet Wood, Dr. Pramod Regmi and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. 

Sulochana has been very productive in terms of publications based on her Ph.D., as this is the seventh paper based on her research! She published six previous papers [1-6], in addition during her time as BU Ph.D. student Sulochana also contributed to a book chapter [8[ as part of the textbook Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

 

 

 

 

 

References:

  1. Dhakal Rai, S., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P.R., Wood, J., Dangal, G., Dhakal, K.B. 2025 Explaining rising caesarean section rates in urban Nepal: A mixed-methods study, PLOS One (Accepted).
  2. Dhakal-Rai, S, van Teijlingen E, Regmi,PR, Wood J, Dangal G, Dhakal KB. (2022) Factors contributing to rising cesarean section rates in South Asian countries: A systematic review, Asian J Med Sci 13(2): 143-174.
  3. Dhakal-Rai, S, van Teijlingen E, Regmi,PR, Wood J, Dangal G, Dhakal KB. (2021) Caesarean Section for Non-medical Reasons: A Rising Public Health Issue. J Karnali Acad Health Sci 2021;4(2)
  4. Dhakal-Rai, S., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P., Wood, J., Dangal, G., Dhakal, K.B. (2021) A brief history and indications for cesarean section. J Patan Acad Health Sci, 8: e1-e10.
  5. Dhakal-Rai, S., van Teijlingen, E, Regmi, P, Wood, J, Dangal, G, Dhakal, KB. (2021) Classification of Caesarean Section: A Scoping Review of the Robson classification. Nep J Obstet Gynecol. 16(32):2-9.
  6. Dhakal-Rai, S., Regmi, PR, van Teijlingen, E, Wood, J., Dangal G, Dhakal, KB. (2018) Rising Rate of Caesarean Section in Urban Nepal, J Nepal Health Res Council 16(41): 479-80.
  7. Dhakal Rai, S., Poobalan, A., Jan, R., Bogren, M., Wood, J., Dangal, G., Regmi, P., van Teijlingen, E., Dhakal, K.B., Badar, S.J., Shahid, F. (2019) Caesarean Section rates in South Asian cities: Can midwifery help stem the rise? J Asian Midwives, 6(2):4–22.
  8. van Teijlingen, E., Ireland, J., Hundley, V, Dhakal Rai, S., Simkhada, P., Sathian, B. (2022) Identifying an appropriate Title, In: Wasti, S.P., et al. (Eds.) Academic Writing and Publishing in Health & Social Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal: Himal Books: 39-47.

 

PhD Viva Success!

PG research, student research, Women's Academic Network

Congratulations to Dr. Assemgul Kozhabek on getting her Doctorate. She successfully passed her PhD Viva defense with the thesis entitled:

Complex Urban Road Networks: Static Structures and Dynamic Processes

The examiners commended her on her solid theoretical knowledge. Her PhD was match-funded by BCP and involved collaboration with University of Cambridge.

Over her PhD journey, besides publications, she has also been active; participating and presenting in different events (e.g., Alan Turing Institute Data Study Group, Dorset COP 2024), won multiple awards (including twice OpenBright awards and two consecutive BCS GreenIT competitions) and awarded Scholarship for Events on Complex Systems from the Young Researchers of the Complex Systems Society (yrC-SS).

Supervisors: Dr Wei Koong Chai and Prof. Vasilis Katos.

Congratulations!

 

Conversation article: Here – this mawkishly sentimental adaptation has lost the brilliance of Richard McGuire’s graphic novel

Dr Julia Round co-authors this article for The Conversation about a new film adaptation of comic strip turned graphic novel Here…

Here: this mawkishly sentimental adaptation has lost the brilliance of Richard McGuire’s graphic novel

Julia Round, Bournemouth University and Alex Fitch, University of Brighton

Director Robert Zemeckis’s new film Here is adapted from the comic strip turned graphic novel of the same name by Richard McGuire. It tells the non-linear story of the inhabitants of an American house throughout multiple time periods, from one fixed point of view – a corner of the living room.

Like the graphic novel, the film uses inset frames – small oblong windows of different moving images with a white border. They are placed over a larger main image to show the same physical location during different fragmentary moments in time. However this technique isn’t used nearly as frequently as in the book.

Paul Bettany, Tom Hanks and Robin Wright play the same characters – members of a family that have lived in the home since the 1940s – from their 20s through to old age. To show their lives progressing throughout the years, the film makes distracting use of digital ageing and de-ageing.

In the graphic novel, the intersecting and overlapping moments of different eras inhabit nearly all of the double page spreads of the 300-page book. This encourages the reader to make comparisons and connections between different time periods. But the film only shows these fragments of other times at the end of each scene, as a transition to the next.

This means the movie often focuses on scenes of romance and melodrama, rather than the intriguing moments of humanity in play and conflict found in the graphic novel’s panels. Memorable images and lines of dialogue from the graphic novel are kept occasionally, but the expansion of micro-vignettes into much longer scenes often drags the film into mawkish sentimentality.

Split-screen cinema

In our research, we’ve compared the book Here with other graphic novels – One Soul by Ray Fawkes (2011) and From Hell by Alan Moore (1998). In these books panels set in different periods act like a time machine for the reader.

In From Hell the act of reading these panels reinforces the novel’s claim that “time is a human illusion”, as readers jump instantly between images of Victorian London and the present day.

Films and TV shows that use similar split-screen effects to depict different time periods are rare. Some notable examples include The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), Sisters (1973), Dressed to Kill (1980), Kill Bill Part One (2003) and the second series of Squid Game (2024). The technique is usually used to create tension when moments in different locations play out simultaneously.

Even fewer films have used this technique for the entirety of their running time, as Here does. Some British directors experimented with it in the 1990s and 2000s in the films Timecode (2000), A.K.A. (2002), Prospero’s Books (1991), The Pillow Book (1996) and The Tulse Luper Suitcases trilogy (2003-4).

Through this technique, their directors aim the viewer’s attention at a particular image by letting the sound related to that image dominate. This prevents an assault on the audience by a cacophony of sounds from different periods as well as images.

At one point in Here, Zemeckis experiments with blending the sounds of multiple screens. A wedding scene is soundtracked by an insert of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan show, which continues from the preceding vignette.

For this scene, the inset image stays on screen much longer than any other example in the movie. This is closer than any other scene to the style of the original graphic novel. But in general the constant contrast of startling images which makes the book of Here so memorable is severely underused in the film adaptation.

When interviewed in 2015, McGuire noted how the book uses images in repetitive ways that are like melodies and leitmotifs found in jazz. As such, a soundtrack that also mimicked this kind of musicality could have worked well in the film.

Hauntings

One scene in Here shows the son of Hanks’ character Richard Young dressed as an old-fashioned ghost under a sheet with eye holes.

Ironically, a film which better exemplifies the theme and circular time frame of Here than Zemeckis’s adaptation is David Lowery’s A Ghost Story (2017). In it, a similarly attired character finds themselves trapped in both the future and past of a house after they die.

The film of Here, the graphic novel, and McGuire’s original 1989 short comic strip are all about fragments of time that are haunted by similar moments in the past, or which predict similar moments in the future.

In his graphic novel, McGuire suggests a futility to humanity’s existence by showing a Jurassic landscape that precedes us and the post-apocalyptic world that follows us.

Zemeckis’s film also shows dinosaurs and the ice age preceding the dawn of mankind – with the majority of the film set in the 20th century – but he omits the scenes set in the future. Despite this, his film’s eventual tragedy of lives that end, generation after generation, is ultimately more melancholic than the graphic novel.

In McGuire’s work, there is a joy in the minutiae. The repetitions of the house’s layout and inhabitants’ dialogue suggest communal experiences and shared meanings between our lives.

The film, however, rarely allows the viewer to see such a kaleidoscope of moments on screen at the same time. Ironically, the trailer does this more than the film itself, embracing the possibilities of the format, rather than just flirting with it.

Zemeckis mostly removes the playful multiplicity of overlaying moments that make the comic so unique. This prevents the film from presenting the same sort of uplifting tapestry of moments we see so beautifully on the graphic novel page.The Conversation

Julia Round, Associate Professor of English and Comics Studies, Bournemouth University and Alex Fitch, Lecturer and PhD Candidate in Comics and Architecture, University of Brighton

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

3MT Competition – Applications open

PG research

The Doctoral College is excited to host the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition at BU for the very first time! Originally developed by the University of Queensland in 2008, 3MT® is an internationally renowned research communication challenge. It challenges doctoral researchers to condense their thesis into a compelling three-minute presentation, communicating its originality and significance to a non-specialist audience.

On Wednesday 26 March we will have four parallel sessions, one for each Faculty, to select the 2 finalists to advance to the final round, which will take place in the afternoon. The winner will take part in the national competition run by Vitae.

More information about the history of 3MT® can be found on the Vitae and 3MT® websites.

Eligibility

Active PhD and Professional Doctorate Research candidates who have successfully passed their Probationary Review (including candidates whose thesis is under submission/examination) by the date of their presentation (26 March 2025) are eligible to participate. Graduates are not eligible.
Please Note: MRes/MPhil students and students on interruption are NOT ELIGIBLE to enter the 3MT Competition.

Competition Rules

Make sure you read the international 3MT® rules before applying.

In order to allow all our P/T and remote PGRs to take part, if unable to attend in-person a pre-recorded video will be accepted, in line with the 3MT® rules.

Prizes

  • 1st prize: £150 voucher
  • 2nd prize: £100 voucher
  • 3rd prize: £50 voucher
  • People’s Choice winner: £50 voucher

Key dates

  • Applications open 15 January 2025
  • Applications close 28 February 2025 (midnight)
  • 3MT Competition: 26 March (10:00-12:00: First round and 13:00-14:30: Final round – timing TBC)

Why should I take part?

  • Develop your presentation and public speaking skills.
  • Networking opportunities.
  • Raise your own researcher profile.
  • Prizes to be won.
  • The winner will represent Bournemouth University at the National Vitae 3MT competition.

Apply here

Further information available on Brightspace.

Registration to attend will open in March.

 

Best wishes,

The RDP Team

ECRN: Demonstrating research impact – 03/02/25

Are you hopeful that you research is going to make a difference? Have you considered the variety of ways your research can have an impact? This session will help you consider the ways in which you can demonstrate the impact your research is having and start you off on planning an impact strategy.

 

BU’s Impact Advisor, Adam Morris, will facilitate this online session on 03/02/25, 14:00-16:00.

Book your place here

UKCGE Recognised Research Supervision

Whether you are new to supervision or established in the role, you can apply for national recognition of your doctoral supervision from the UKCGE. Two levels of recognition are available, depending on your level of experience:

  • Recognised Supervisor (full award) — for those who have seen doctoral candidates through final examination and completion
  • Recognised Associate Supervisor – for those who have not seen doctoral candidates through final examination and completion and/​or are involved in research supervision ​‘informally’.

BU currently has over 25 recognised research supervisors and you can be one too! All you need to do is:

For further information, to register your interest or to have discuss an application, please email the Doctoral College (doctoralcollege@bournemouth.ac.uk). The Doctoral College will meet the cost of applications submitted by BU supervisors.

Deadline for applications:

BU Window Closes UKCGE Window Closes Expected Outcome
 14 March 2025 21 March 2025 June 2025
 13 June 2025 20 June 2025 September 2025

Complete applications should be submitted to Dr Fiona Knight (fknight@bournemouth.ac.uk) by the above deadlines.

It’s here! the latest PIER Partnership annual report

We are delighted to share our latest PIER Partnership annual report which shines a spotlight on our work to harness lived experience expertise in BU education and research. The evidence contained in the report, written by our members, academic colleagues and community partners demonstrates wide reaching impact. We would like to thank all of our BU colleagues for your continued support and collaboration. 

Please do share the report as appropriate.

Mel, Angela, Kate and Pete

BU ECRN Funding call NOW OPEN

Funding opportunities

The BU ECRN & RKEDF are delighted to offer funding to organise an event, roundtable, meeting, training, or workshop in support of research at BU. 

This funding supports BU Early Career Researcher Network members to organise and facilitate an event that can be thematic, subject/discipline based, foster community engagement, knowledge exchange or networking and does the following; 

 – Brings ECRs and others together to share ideas, knowledge and learning. 

– Provides a space for intellectual discussion. 

– Helps to facilitate collaboration and future opportunities.  

– Enables an opportunity for networking.  

 BU ECRN members can access up to £500 to organise and host an event, roundtable, meeting, training, or workshop at BU. Please see the requirements below.  

Read about past successful applicants here: BU Research Blog | Early Career Researcher networking funding outcomes: A Tabletop Discussion on Cyber Signatures in Human Trafficking | Bournemouth University

BU Research Blog | Early Career Researcher Network funding outcomes: Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) workshop | Bournemouth University

 – Please note all requests are subject to approval by the RKEDF Team and must be made at least 3 weeks in advance of the event date. No reimbursements for payments will be made without prior authorisation from the team. 

 – All expenses must be paid by the end of the BU financial year (July 2025) 

 – You will need to receive written confirmation from RKDEF that your request has been successful before you can proceed with organising the event.   

 – The event cannot have taken place prior to submitting your application. 

 Eligible costs  

  • Event space 
  • Travel bursaries for attendees 
  • Catering and refreshments (Tea, Coffee, Water, Light snacks, Lunch) 
  • Av (projector, screen, laptop, tech support on the day, microphones)  
  • Printing costs (meeting handouts) 
  • Speaker fee (up to £500) 

Ineligible Costs  

  • Software or hardware. 
  • International event, speaker, or travel costs.  
  • Costs for dependants or spouses to attend events.  
  • Research costs.   

How to apply: 

Please download and complete all of the sections of the EOI for BU ECRN Funding 2425 (500 words max per section) and email your completed application to: RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk by 10th March 2025. Successful applicants will be notified by 17th March 2025. 

If you have any questions or queries, please contact BU ECRN Academic Leads Ann Hemingway (aheming@bournemouth.ac.uk) and Sam Goodman (sgoodman@bournemouth.ac.uk) or RKEDF Advisor Joelle Fallows (jfallows@bournemouth.ac.uk).

Doctoral College PGR Research Culture and Community Grant – Apply Now!

PG research

The Doctoral College is delighted to launch the second round of funding for the PGR Research Culture and Community Grant (RCCG).

This grant is intended to support PGR-led activity across researcher development, research culture and research community building initiatives. It can be used to fund a social event, training activity, analysis workshop, digital skills session, writing session or other activity to enhance the PGR experience. In addition to community building, the purpose of the grant is to enable PGRs to gain transferable skills and experience in planning, organising, promoting and implementing such activities.

A successful event that took place during the first round of funding, was “Culture on a Plate”, organised by Bohan Liu from BUBS. Read on to learn about Bohan’s experience and how this event has had a positive impact on the PGR community:

On 11th December 2024, Bournemouth University’s PGR community came together for the much-anticipated “Culture on a Plate” event, a celebration of cultural diversity through food.

The event brought together over 40 attendees from various departments, showcasing a vibrant array of home-cooked dishes that reflected traditions from around the world. Each dish carried a unique story, sparking meaningful conversations and creating a deeper appreciation for the cultural richness within our community. The enthusiasm of participants was heartwarming, with many praising the event and suggesting it become a regular tradition at BU. A heartfelt thank you goes out to the 21 contributors who shared their culinary creations and the individuals who kindly provided recipes for everyone to try at home. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees expressing their gratitude for the opportunity to connect through shared meals and cultural stories.

For me, organising this event was an incredibly enriching experience. It helped me develop essential skills in event management, cross-cultural communication, and community building. It was both challenging and rewarding to see the joy and sense of belonging it brought to our PGR community.

I am deeply grateful to the BU Doctoral College for their support and funding, without which this event would not have been possible. Many thanks go to Enrica Conrotto and the staff from the Doctoral College, whose efforts were instrumental in bringing this event to life. I would also like to extend a special thank you to Professor Dimitrios, whose guidance and encouragement played a crucial role in shaping the success of this event.

This joyful gathering, held just before the Christmas holiday and New Year, was more than just a celebration of food. It was a spark of passion for inclusivity and connection, one that I hope will continue to grow and inspire the BU community into the coming year.

This experience has been immensely fulfilling and has reaffirmed the importance of fostering a collaborative PGR community. I hope this forum marks the beginning of more initiatives aimed at empowering BU researchers to achieve academic excellence and make meaningful contributions to their fields.

Bohan Liu (BUBS)

We hope this event has inspired you and perhaps has given you some ideas to submit an application for this second round of funding.

If you would like to apply, full details can be found on the Doctoral College Brightspace, including the application form.

  • Applications opened Monday 13 January 2025
  • Applications close Monday 24 February 2025

If you would like to discuss your ideas before submitting your application, please contact:

pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

 

Future Leaders Fellowship – meet a previous winner on 28th Jan!

The next round for the UKRI Future Leader Fellows (FLF) is coming up – see this post. A previous FLF leader, Professor Matt Ryan is visiting Bournemouth University to speak about applying to the FLF scheme and how it has impacted his career.

Professor Matt Ryan, Professor of Governance and Public Policy from Southampton University, will be visiting on 28 January 2025, 2-3pm for an ‘in person’ talk on the Talbot campus. His talk will focus on applying for the Future Leader Fellowship. Matt is the perfect speaker, having been a Future Leaders Fellow since January 2020 through his Rebooting Democracy project. This aims to understand which innovations in public participation restore and sustain democracy. Matt has held visiting positions at the University of Canberra, as JQYA International Fellow at Geothe University- Frankfurt, and as a Turing Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute. He is founding co-director of the Centre for Democratic Futures and Policy Director at the Web Science Institute.  His research crosses several disciplinary boundaries and focuses on democratic innovation, participation in politics and policymaking, as well as improving social research methods.

Book your place here

Research process seminar. Becoming the Imposter: Reframing Imposter Syndrome as Systemic Dysfunction. 21 Jan at 2pm on Zoom

You are warmly invited to next week’s research process seminar. Hosted by FMC but open to all.

Becoming the Imposter: Reframing Imposter Syndrome as Systemic Dysfunction

There is an existential discomfort that forms part of ‘becoming’ a researcher. Undertaking a doctorate is an inherently transformative process in which we negotiate with contributions to knowledge, what counts as such, and whether we are capable of making them. Indeed, the process of becoming a researcher necessitates a coming to terms with our own sense of imposterism. As my presentation will discuss, there is an element of this imposterism that we can find solace in. We are all imposters, or at least feel as such. Developing on this theme my presentation will reflect on my own experiences as an interdisciplinary researcher, or self-defined bricoleur ​(Kincheloe, 2005)​ and nomad ​(Guattari and Deleuze, 1987)​. The original intention for my doctoral research was to ‘transform’ educational practices through developing technology. I drew on my computer science background and entered the domain of educational research and practice positivistic and naive.  Ultimately, my thesis became a reflective, critical, autoethnographic unpacking of this naivety. Now, post-doctorate, as a practice-based educator-researcher moving between disciplines and research-contexts, I find myself in the same recursive state of (un)becoming.  From this experience I will argue that the feeling of never quite becoming, of being an imposter, should be embraced and discussed openly for two reasons. First, to view these feelings of discomfort as diagnostic, revealing affective intricacies and pressures in the work we do ​(Breeze, 2018)​. Second, in the spirit of Bourdieu, to provide comfort through reminding ourselves that “a good number of the difficulties that we attribute to our own idiosyncratic awkwardness or incompetence are universally shared” ​(Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992, p. 218)​.

About the speaker

Dr Phil Wilkinson is a Principal Academic in Communications at Bournemouth University, and a Researcher in Residence at the Digital Skills Hub, Boscombe. He is neurodivergent (ADHD), so his overall research profile is eclectic and interdisciplinary.

About the research process seminar series:

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

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

21 January at 2pm

Please register here: https://bournemouth-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpcuihpjMqGdMBsgAIetwLxoSYn0GqMylD

And if you can’t make it but want the recording, then please register and I will send it to you.

cheers

Dan

 

Pre-teens and Social Media: The Copyright Angle – by Marcella Favale

Made with Copilot

Image made with Copilot

Foreword

The use of digital platforms by teenagers is a well-documented phenomenon, characterized by two key trends: a significant increase in usage and the associated dangers, which have been addressed by various governments and organizations (OECD 2020; BIK 2020). These studies have also included pre-teens (aged 9 to 12) in their samples, revealing that pre-teens use platforms significantly less than their older counterparts—about 50% less. However, these findings only capture a fraction of the actual online behaviour of tweens and teens, as evidenced by the COX survey, which shows that 95% of tweens go online daily.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Digital Platform Usage

The data mentioned above were collected before the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, children from a very young age were thrust into a crash course in IT to cope with distance learning. This rapid adaptation has significantly advanced their IT skills and ingrained the use of digital platforms for staying in touch with friends and family. This shift is irreversible, making it reasonable to assume that the use of platforms by pre-teens, even those younger than nine years old, will continue to rise.

Addressing Child Protection in the Digital Age

Child protection has been a focal point in several projects within the realm of criminal law, particularly concerning issues like cyberbullying, sexting, sextortion, and hate speech. However, this research aims to address a less-explored issue: the creation of content by the youngest users of digital platforms. Surveys, such as those by Pew (2018), indicate that the most popular applications among young users are YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat. More recent studies have included apps like TikTok and messaging apps like WhatsApp, whose distinction from social media is increasingly blurred, and whose popularity is soaring (MessengerPeople 2020).

Copyright Concerns and Legal Accountability

All these apps enable users to create short videos or pictures to share within a private circle or the broader community of users. This content is protected by copyright, but who owns these rights? A review of the Terms of Use of these apps reveals that users must relinquish a significant amount of economic rights to the platform owner, who can share, modify, delete, etc., any content created by the user.
Even if these terms were legally enforceable (a point of contention due to potentially insufficient consent—Favale & Derclaye 2011), what happens when they are “signed” (i.e., downloaded) by a minor without legal capacity? Most platforms verify users’ ages by simply asking them to state their age, a method that is obviously ineffective.

Additionally, if the created content infringes copyright law, who is legally accountable? Copyright law is protected by both civil and criminal law across countries. The age for civil and criminal responsibility, for example in the EU, is not harmonized, with criminal responsibility ranging from 10 to 16 years old, while civil responsibility is usually linked to the age of majority. This raises questions about the numerous users who fall within or outside this age range.

Exploring Legal and Policy Gaps

My research work intends to explore the above issues. To this end, it reviews the most recent surveys, the legislation, and the policies of countries (initially, without specific geographical boundaries) regarding the protection of children online, and, most importantly, the legislation on “influencers” and “vloggers” (often defined as “content creators”).

I expect to find that this area of law is largely unexplored, likely due to the more pressing issues of child safety online. A substantial amount of policy/legislation is required to address these issues comprehensively.

This is a work-in-progress by nature, as most legislation is still at the proposal stage. Countries are beginning to address the issue of underage content creators (“influencers”) due to the staggering volume of their business. However, children with a large number of followers are not always “influencers.” This is just one of the legal distinctions that need to be made to guide forthcoming regulations on this matter.

In essence:

Pre-teens using social media are getting younger and younger (OFCOM: “a quarter of 3 to 7-year-olds own their own smartphone”). We cannot expect them to master copyright law, or any law, or even have a fully developed moral compass. Legislative action is imperative to protect these minors from the risks associated with modern technologies, as reliance on parental control (with parents mostly being Gen Z, native screen users themselves) is largely illusory.

Any input/ thoughts/comments are very welcome to mfavale@bournemouth.ac.uk

Grant reviewer for research funders

During 2024 I had the opportunity to continue to work as international expert for three research funding organisations from across Europe and Central Asia, reviewing research proposals in the fields of events, tourism and hospitality:

 

✍️ Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ)

✍️ Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia (SFRS)

✍️ Kazakhstan’s National Center of Science and Technology Evaluation (NCSTE)

 

While reviewing proposals is often time consuming, engaging as an external reviewer has been a very rewarding experience:

👉 It gives me insights into grant writing and review processes in contexts different from that of the UK. In particular, it teaches me that it is often important to consider the research context of those countries, and adapt expectations and assessment practices to it.

👉 Reviewing proposals from various institutions and countries keeps me aware of the latest developments and innovative methodologies in events, tourism and hospitality.

👉 Through my detailed feedback, I can contribute to help researchers in these countries improve the quality of their research projects and their grant writing skills.

👉 By influencing which projects receive funding, I also play a small part in directing research efforts toward areas of significant societal need and impact.

Dr. Miguel Moital

Principal Academic in Events Management

Dapartment of Sport & Events Management

BUBS

Opportunities in health and social care research

student research

We’re excited to share information about the NIHR INSIGHT (Inspiring Graduates and Early Career Professionals into Research) South West Central Collaboration, a programme aimed at fostering research engagement among early career health and social care practitioners in the South West of England.

This collaboration, funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), is led by University of the West of England (UWE) Bristol, and co-hosted by Bournemouth University (BU), with support from collaborators across the region.

UWE Website: Health and Care Research – MRes – UWE Bristol: Courses

BU Website: NIHR INSIGHT South West Central Programme | Bournemouth University

Find out about how one Current BU MRes student is using this programme to develop her clinical research career.

Key Opportunities:

  • Fully Funded MRes Studentships:These are available for early-career colleagues (within 5 years of registration/work) in fields such as nursing, midwifery, allied health professions, social work, public health, pharmacy, chiropractic, osteopathy, and healthcare sciences.
    • Applications Open:2nd January – 31st March 2025 for September 2025 entry.
  • Research Engagement Working Group:An opportunity for eligible colleagues to engage with research, whether they intend to apply for the studentship this year or not. Here is the link to join this group: https://forms.office.com/e/amdSpuBy6J?origin=lprLink

Further details on the programme website: NIHR Insight Programme for South West Central (insight-southwestcentral.net)

Please also find a shortened link to the website: https://tinyurl.com/yaus96fs

If you have any questions or need further information, feel free to contact the programme team at insight.swcentral@uwe.ac.uk.

 

Important announcement regarding publishing in PLOS journals

open access, Publishing

The decision has been made to not renew our subscription to the PLOS flat fee publishing deal in 2025. This means that authors of outputs accepted for publication in a PLOS journal after the previous agreement end date of 31st December 2024 will be required to pay an open access article processing charge (APC).

Any authors who have already submitted an article to a PLOS journal which is still under consideration should contact openaccess@bournemouth.ac.uk immediately.

Authors who were considering publishing in a PLOS journal, but have not yet submitted their manuscript, should explore the seven other transformative agreements which BU is signed up to, which enable BU authors to publish open access for free or at a discounted rate. Authors that still wish to publish with a PLOS journal must apply to the open access publication fund before submission of their manuscript.

For all related enquiries, please email openaccess@bournemouth.ac.uk