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Pedro Zamora Biography Book Launch and Screening

3 October – 5pm – W240 Screening Room – Weymouth House Talbot Campus – held by Christopher Pullen

Researchers, students and staff at BU are invited to the UK book launch of the first biography of Pedro Zamora, an openly gay AIDS activist of Cuban descent, who became a worldwide media phenomenon for health education in the 1990s.  While he passed away in 1994 just a few months after his participation in The Real World television documentary series (set in San Francisco) his life story continues to offer an important contribution to debates on AIDS education, particularly with regards to cultural diversity and the need to address youth audiences.

Following on from the US book launch of Pedro Zamora, Sexuality and AIDS Education: The Autobiographical Self, Activism and The Real World which took place over summer in San Francisco and was reported on in The Bay Area Reporter and The Advocate, Dr Christopher Pullen will not only offer an intimate talk about the book including its methodological focus on self-reflexivity, but also the moving (yet rarely screened documentary) ‘A Tribute to Pedro Zamora’ will be presented (duration 50 mins approx.).

Christopher Pullen celebrates Zamora’s life, offering new insight into his story, his political goals, and his ability to reach audiences through his performance of the “mutable self,” where vulnerability, intimacy and strength are significant factors.  Zamora encouraged us to share our stories, stimulating the notion of a shared autobiographical project, in the dissemination of HIV/AIDS education.

Emeritus Professor Bill Nichols of the Cinema Department at San Francisco State University and The Documentary Film Institute affirms: “Christopher Pullen gives Pedro Zamora’s extraordinary life compelling form in this illuminating account. He urges to rethink our notions of self and identity. Our lives depend on them, and this book makes clear how very true that is.”

Please come along for the discussion and screening, including afternoon tea and refreshments.  A discounted price will be available for the book at the event.

Dr. Pullen who teaches in the faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University is the author of a number of books focusing on sexuality and the media. His recent books include Straight Girls and Queer Guys: The Hetero Media Gaze in Film and Television, Gay Identity, New Storytelling and the Media, and Documenting Gay Men: Identity and Performance in Reality Television and Documentary Film, and the edited collections Queer Youth and Media Cultures, LGBT Transnational Identity and the Media, LGBT Identity and Online New Media, and Queer Love in Television and Film.

13th Asian Confederation of Physical Therapists – Kuala Lumpur

Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund

Physical activity is one of the five priority interventions for the prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). NCDs include; cardio vascular diseases (strokes, dementia, heart disease), diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and some Cancers. NCDs account for almost two thirds of deaths globally and are major contributors to ill-health in the elderly. Physiotherapists are well placed to enable and empower people to initiate and sustain adequate levels of physical activity as they are aware of the challenges and opportunities throughout the life span. As an invited speaker this is one of the key messages that will be conveyed at the 13th Asian Confederation of Physical Therapists in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 7th-8th October.

 

I will also have an opportunity to attend an academic conference at INTI International University aimed at strengthening ties between INTI and BU. Professor Narasimman Swaminathan (Deputy Dean – faculty of Health) and I will collaborate in a joint session for physiotherapy students to inspire their interest in public health initiatives. Professor Narasimman Swaminathan is a visiting professor in the FHSS at BU and is leading research initiatives at INTI which link closely to those in the Department of Human Sciences and Public Health at BU.

Fusion funding and HSS faculty conference funding has contributed to making this trip possible.

HEFCE & RCUK report: Understanding the interdisciplinary research environment

HEFCE and Research Councils UK have published a review of the interdisciplinary research landscape in the UK, supported by a report examining 10 institutional case studies in English universities.

hefce-idr-reportThe studies complement work recently published by the British Academy, the Global Research Council and HEFCE with the Medical Research Council.

The reports will form part of the discussion at the conference: ‘Interdisciplinarity: Policy and Practice’ on Thursday 8 December 2016, co-hosted by HEFCE, the British Academy and Research Councils UK.

The reports provide an overview of the current interdisciplinary research landscape in the UK, drawing on a survey of over 2,000 participants, workshops, interviews and case studies.

The findings reflect researcher, strategic leader and funder perspectives, highlighting interdisciplinary research (IDR) as a crucial part of the UK research landscape.

A desire to achieve broader impact, the challenges associated with peer review and evaluation, the importance of institutional support and the value of flexible funds featured as common themes.

The case studies identified good practice in a range of institutions seeking to grow, sustain and embed interdisciplinary practice in their research cultures.

The importance of balancing top-down and bottom-up approaches, the role of flexible funding, and institutional infrastructure that prioritises high-quality research were identified as some potentially beneficial features in successful institutional IDR environments.

The reports also highlighted that:

  • Submitted outputs declared as interdisciplinary did as well as single discipline outputs in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF). This is despite the structure of the REF being perceived as a barrier by some researchers.
  • The measurement of impact in research assessment is seen by some as a showcase for interdisciplinary activity that has helped IDR to gain traction in universities.
  • Universities can and do use many models to support IDR. What works is contextual, but there are lessons to be learned from existing good practice.
  • IDR often requires more time for initial teams to develop and for projects to result in outcomes.

The evaluation of interdisciplinary research outputs, and their impact, were highlighted by Lord Stern’s Independent Review of the Research Excellence Framework as areas for further development.

Subject to the views of our respective Ministers, the UK higher education funding bodies intend to take this forward in a consultation, to be launched before the end of 2016.

Read the reports

UK Research Office training opportunties

Funding opportunities, Info Days

UKRO logoUKRO hold provides regular training events in their capacity as the UK National Contact Point for the European Research Council (ERC) and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions​ (MSCA).

Forthcoming events:

26th October 2016: ERC Consolidator Grants Information and Proposal Writing Event to be held at the University of Glasgow

Are you a researcher interested in applying for the 2017 ERC Consolidator Grants call?

The session is aimed at researchers based in, or moving to, the UK who are planning to submit a proposal to the ERC Consolidator Grants call. The 2017 Consolidator Grants call is expected to open on 20 October 2016 and close on 9 February 2017. Applicants are expected to be active researchers and to have a track record of excellent research. The scheme is designed to support Principal Investigators (PIs) at the stage at which they may still be consolidating their own independent research team or programme. To be eligible for the 2017 call, the PI must be 7-12 years from the date of award of their PhD on 1 January 2017, which is extendable in certain strict cases.

Another repeating event is being planned for a London location in November 2016.

 

12th October 2016: MSCA Innovative Training Networks (ITN) to be held at the University of West London

The ITN scheme supports joint research training and/or doctoral programmes, implemented by European partnerships of universities, research institutions, industry (incl. SMEs) and other non-academic organisations. The research training programmes are intended to provide doctoral students with excellent research skills, coupled with experience outside academia, hence developing their innovation capacities and employability prospects. The event aim to provide participants with an in-depth overview of the ITN scheme. Participants should gain a clear understanding of the proposal format for each scheme and the key issues relating to planning, writing and submitting proposals. There will also be ample opportunity to ask questions. Attendance will be free of charge, thanks to the support from the University of West London.

To attend staff should register, via BU’s subscription, on the UKRO website. Please ensure that you have approval within your Faculty to attend. You should also register with UKRO so that you receive announcements concerning EU funding direct to your own inbox – make sure that you hear first!

If you are considering applying, please contact Emily Cieciura, REKO’s Research Facilitator: EU & International, in the first instance.

AHRC GCRF Pre-call announcement

Funding opportunities

ahrcAs part of the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is intending to announce a call in October 2016 for large-scale, collaborative grants for international development. Funding will support multi-disciplinary, internationally collaborative programmes rooted in the arts and humanities that take an area-based approach to addressing global development challenges.

The intention is to make funding of £1.5-2 million and up to 3 years duration available per project through the ‘Network Plus’ funding model. This model provides opportunities to bring together arts and humanities area-based expertise across disciplines and research organisations to address a set of integrated development challenges in particular places, societies and development contexts. The AHRC anticipates funding up to 5 projects.

The application process is expected to be in two stages with the deadline for Expressions of Interest likely to be in January 2017. There will then be further engagement with those invited through to full submission stage, expected to be in early summer 2017.

In support of the anticipated launch of this call the AHRC is holding a Town Meeting / Networking event at The Studio in Birmingham on 4th November 2016. Further details of the event and how to apply for a place can be found on our Events pages.  RKEO strongly urges interested parties to attend the town meeting.  If you are interested in applying for this great opportunity then please contact Ehren Milner, RKEO Research Facilitator to see how he can support you.

Further information about the call will be announced on the AHRC website in due course.

Writing Academy Lunchbyte – Structuring your paper: looking at grammar, vocabulary and style

Publishing, writing

writing academy

Join us in this Writing Academy Lunchbyte session and have a better awareness of structuring your writing in terms of grammar,  vocabulary and style from Paul Barnes, who is the Lecturer in English For Academic Purposes.

Date : 5 October 2016 (Wednesday)

Time : 12.00 – 13.00 (presentation); 13:00 – 13:30 (lunch)

Venue : Talbot Campus

The following language aspects will be covered –

1. Grammar

  • Tense usage
  • Articles
  • Passive voice
  • Punctuation

2. Vocabulary

  • Signposting language
  • Linking words
  • Reporting verbs
  • Collocation

3. Style

  • Levels of formality
  • Objectivity
  • Language to avoid

Come and join us in this session and afterwards, there will be opportunities to have informal discussions with the presenter while having a bite to eat.

To ensure that we place the right catering order, please get in touch with Staff Development to book your place.

FMC-CMC’s Journal of Promotional of Communications Publishes New Volume

Fusion, student research

 

The editorial board of the Journal of Promotional Communications would like to announce that Volume 4 Number 1 is now available for download at: http://www.promotionalcommunications.org/index.php/pc/index.

Stephen Waddington, Partner and Chief Engagement Officer at Ketchum, writes the introductory commentary on the future of Public Relations. Seven papers follow, tackling pressing issues in promotional and political communication. The journal was launched in 2013 and is the first open-access, peer-review journal for the study of promotional cultures and communication to publish outstanding undergraduate and postgraduate work. This number includes seven outstanding papers penned by FMC-CMC students that had presented their research at CMC’s 6th Annual Promotional Communications Conference.

CMC students can choose to write a traditional dissertation of 10,000 words or write a research paper in the style of an 8,000-word journal article and deliver a 20-minute paper at the student conference.

Dr.Dan Jackson, Dr Richard Scullion, Dr Carrie Hodges, and Dr Janice Denegri-Knott received BU Fusion Funding to launch both the conference and the journal.

Last reminder for this Thursday 29th Sept ‘Coping with the new EU Landscape Workshop’

BU Challenges, international

eu_flagOur informative “Coping with the new EU Landscape” 2 workshops will be taking place this Thursday the 29th of September in the Octagon on Talbot Campus at:

10am – 11am (a few spaces available) and then a repeat of the session at 2pm – 3pm.

These introductory sessions will present, the now fairly stable, situation between the UK and the European Commission in respect of H2020; outlining the political and legal positions.

The key message is business as normal but there are many practical aspects that need to be taken into consideration. These will be explained together with strategies and tactics to optimise the bid approach; and even be advantageous in the short/medium term.

Martin Pickard, as WRG Europe Ltd, has had, along with many others, direct input at very senior level into the respective task forces and UK/Commission discussions and negotiations; enabling central insights into the requirements and opportunities to be successful.

There is still time, however don’t delay…. please email Dianne Goodman at dgoodman@bournemouth.ac.uk asap to book into one of these workshops.

 

RUFUS STONE to be Highlighted at ESRC Festival of Learning on the 7th November

esrc-fest

You are cordially invited to attend the gala 5th Anniversary Screening and Reception for the award-winning research based biopic, RUFUS STONE.

The Event will be held at the historic Shelley Theatre in Boscombe              

7 November from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m.

rufus-shelley

Over the past five years, RUFUS STONE has been viewed in academic, community and service provider settings throughout the U.K. Uploaded to the Internet for just over a year, the film was viewed on line by more that 12 thousand viewers in 150 countries. It has won serveral film festival awards and was shortlisted for the AHRC Anniversary Prize in 2015.

The three-year research project behind the film’s success was part of the New Dynamics Programme of ageing in 21st Century Britain, supported by Research Councils UK. This event will hallmark this achievement and continue the film’s impact in the wider community.

We expect the gala event to atract an audience of the film’s cast and crew members, past participants in the research project, community workers and service providers, and a range of citizens, young and old, gay and straight, with an interest in LGBT history and the contributions that the film has made to myriad diversity efforts. Whether you have seen the film before, or this will be the first time on a large theatre screen, you will enjoy the occasion.

R.S.V.P. Places are limited to 150 seats only! Please register on the Eventbrite site as soon as possible to avoid being disappointed.

skip-harry

RKEO Academic and Researcher Induction

Guidance

The Research and Knowledge Exchange Office (RKEO) invite all ‘new to BU’ academics and researchers to an induction.

Signpost with the words Help, Support, Advice, Guidance and Assistance on the direction arrows, against a bright blue cloudy sky.This event provides an overview of all the practical information staff need to begin developing their research plans at BU, using both internal and external networks; to develop and disseminate research outcomes; and maximising the available funding opportunities.

Objectives

  • The primary aim of this event is to raise participants’ awareness of how to get started in research at BU or, for more established staff, how to take their research to the next level
  • To provide participants with essential, practical information and orientation in key stages and processes of research and knowledge exchange at BU

Indicative content

  • An overview of research at BU and how R&KEO can help/support academic staff
  • The importance of horizon-scanning, signposting relevant internal and external funding opportunities and clarifying the applications process
  • How to grow a R&KE portfolio, including academic development schemes
  • How to develop internal and external research networks
  • Key points on research ethics and developing research outputs
  • Getting started with Knowledge Exchange and business engagement

For more information about the event, please see the following link: http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/research-lifecycle/developing-your-proposal/

The fifth induction will be held on Tuesday, 18th October 2016 on the 4th floor of Melbury House.

Title Date Time Location
Research & Knowledge Exchange Office (R&KEO) Research Induction Tuesday 18th October 2016 9.00 – 12.00 Lansdowne Campus

9.00-9.15 – Coffee/tea and cake/fruit will be available on arrival

9.15 – RKEO academic induction (with a break at 10.45)

11.25 – Organisational Development upcoming development opportunities

11.30 – Opportunity for one to one interaction with RKEO staff

12.00 – Close

There will also be literature and information packs available.

If you would like to attend the induction then please book your place through Organisational Development and you can also visit their pages here. We will directly contact those who have started at BU in the last five months.

We hope you can make it and look forward to seeing you.

Regards,

The RKEO teamRKEO

Research on digital consumption makes the Journal of Marketing Management Editor’s Choice List

Two papers on digital consumption co-authored by Dr Janice Denegri-Knott have been selected to appear in the Journal of Marketing Management’s new Editor’s Choice collection on digital consumption, and will be available free online until the end of November, 2016.

Redistributed consumer desire in digital virtual worlds of consumption

In this paper we discuss and illustrate how the use of software available in digital virtual worlds of consumption, including wish lists, watch lists and digital virtual goods (DVGs) interact with consumer desiring practices. We draw on a data set of three interpretative studies with technology users living in the South of England. We note the emergence of software-human desiring hybrids where various aspects of competence in and commitment to desire construction, maintenance and actualisation are distributed between subject and software, leading to new configurations of consumer desire. We bring to the fore the often neglected role of nonhuman agents in the practice of consumer desire and highlight the potential breaks caused in the assemblage of the practices unfolding in digital virtual worlds of consumption. Our study shows new ways in which consumer desire practices are re-assembled in software-human hybrids, thereby enhancing our understanding of the role of nonhuman agents (software) in consumer desire practices. It also contributes a finer understanding on how software used in the construction and actualization of desire ultimately reconfigure consumer desire practices into a management process, where the focus is not daydreaming activity or material commodities per se, but rather the software itself. Here, the software not only presents things to be desired, but also absorbs some of the skill and competence needed to conjure up desire. Ultimately these configurations appear to create breaks in the experience of desire that weaken the hold previously binding consumers to objects of desire.

The relationship between ownership and possession: observations from the context of digital virtual goods

This theoretical article highlights limitations in the current trend towards dichotomising full ownership and access-based consumption by recognising a broader, more complex array of ‘fragmented’ ownership configurations in the context of digital virtual goods (DVGs). In challenging this dichotomy, we recognise that the relationship between ownership and possession becomes particularly significant. We therefore consider how prominent DVG ownership configurations may shape the way in which possession is assembled, potentially reducing consumers’ scope of action relative to DVGs and leaving possession susceptible to disruption. Conversely, we acknowledge ways in which consumers’ continued attempts at possession may impinge upon the agency of ownership mechanisms within the market. Our analysis ultimately builds upon existing understandings of both ownership and possession, theorising their often overlooked relation in consumption.

New THET project paper published

international, open access, Publishing, Training

thet-needs-assessmentToday saw the latest publication on our BU-led THET in Nepal.  The paper ‘Needs assessment of mental health training for Auxiliary Nurse Midwives: a cross-sectional survey’ was published the Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences [1].   This paper reports on a quantitative survey with nearly all Auxiliary Nurse Midwives in Nawalparasi District in the southern part of Nepal. The findings illustrate the lack of training on mental health issues related to pregnancy and childbirth in this group of health workers. Thus the paper’s conclusions stress the need for dedicated training in this field.logo THET

This is the third publication linked to our mental health and maternity care project. In Nepal mental health is generally a difficult to topic to discuss. THET, a London-based organisation, funded Bournemouth University, and Liverpool John Moores University in the UK and Tribhuvan University in Nepal to train maternity workers on issues around mental health.  This latest paper and the previous two papers are all Open Access publications.  The previous two papers raised the issue of women and suicide [2] and outlined the THET project in detail [3].

np-thet-2916-jilly

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

 

References:

  1. Simkhada, B., Sharma, G., Pradhan, S., van Teijlingen, E., Ireland, J., Simkhada, P., Devkota, B. & the THET team. (2016) Needs assessment of mental health training for Auxiliary Nurse Midwives: a cross-sectional survey, Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences 2(1): 20-26. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JMMIHS/article/view/15793/12738
  2. Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen E., Winter, R.C., Fanning, C., Dhungel, A., Marahatta S.B. (2015) Why are so many Nepali women killing themselves? A review of key issues Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences 1(4): 43-49. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JMMIHS/article/view/12001
  3. van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Devkota, B., Fanning, P., Ireland, J., Simkhada, B., Sherchan, L., Silwal, R.C., Pradhan, S., Maharjan, S.K., Maharjan, R.K. (2015) Mental health issues in pregnant women in Nepal. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 5(3): 499-501. http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/NJE/article/view/13607/11007

Fair Access Project Fund

Funding opportunities

BU’s Fair Access Agreement includes a project fund to support Fair Access and Widening Participation projects. Faculties and Professional Services are invited to bid for funding for targeted projects which focus on one or more of the below listed BU’s Fair Access priorities. Please note that projects are expected to commence in January 2017.

Priorities

Projects must address one or more of the below priorities to bid for funds.

  1. Intersectional issues relating to race, alongside other WP Indicator Groups and Protected Characteristics in respect to access, student success and attainment.
  2. Innovative initiatives which contribute to the engagement of disadvantaged students outside of BU’s traditional target outreach geographic areas.
  3. Initiatives leading to successful employment or progression to post graduate study of undergraduate WP students. This can include working directly with employers.
  4. Initiatives improving the access, success or progression of white working class boys.

Projects that do not directly address a listed priority will be unsuccessful.

How to apply? To apply for funding, please complete the Project Proposal Grant Application form and email it to Lukasz Naglik by Friday 18 November 2016.

Please also contact Lukasz if you would like to discuss this opportunity further or if you would like to find out about current Fair Access and Widening Participation projects.

 

BU researcher speaking at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw

On 19th September, 2016 Dr Paweł Surowiec from the Faculty of Media and Communication’s Corporate and Marketing Communication Group delivered a guest lecture to diplomats and public diplomats at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw.

Following the publication of his research monograph entitled ‘Nation branding, public relations and soft power: corporatizing Poland’, this lecture was an excellent opportunity to share academic insights to Poland’s soft power, analysis emerging for this study, and to engage this key audience in the research produced by the Centre for Politics and Media Research.

Soft power and its communicative resources such as public diplomacy or nation branding continue to be of interest to diplomatic networks world-wide. Its local characteristics, however, the utilized media strategies, levels of professionalization as well as forces in global and regional politics shaping soft power capabilities are themes of professional discussions among diplomats.

The lecture session delivered by Paweł opened up a debate about the impact corporate resources have on Poland’s soft power as well as addressed questions concerning limitations of nation branding as a media strategy and a means to the advancement of influence in international relations.