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Poland and the Eurozone Conference, 19th & 20th September 2013 – what a success!

The Bournemouth University Business School hosted the conference “Poland and Eurozone” on 19-20 September, 2013. The conference was the initiative of Professor Jens Hӧlscher, head of the department of Accounting, Finance and Economics of Bournemouth University (BU). 

The conference was opened by Professor Matthew Bennett, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at BU, who greeted the participants of the conference, wished them success and scientific achievements. He expressed the hope that the conference would provide a platform to discuss and address the relevant issues and to initiate new joint research projects.

Following a short welcoming speech by Professor Jens Hӧlscher, Professor Iraj Hashi from Staffordshire University was invited to briefly introduce Professor Leszek Balcerowicz’s biography to the participants of the conference. Professor Iraj Hashi highlighted that Professor Leszek Balcerowicz was the former Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance of Poland and the chairman of the National Bank of Poland, who is particularly famous for implementing the Polish economic transformation program in the 1990s, a shock therapy, which is commonly referred to as the Balcerowicz Plan.

In his keynote presentation Professor Leszek Balcerowicz focused on the issues relevant to the Euro problems and their possible solutions. Following the presentation Professor Victoria Chick from University College London initiated the discussion on the Professor Leszek Balcerowicz’s presentation and challenged his views.

The second day of the conference started with the keynote presentation of Professor Domenico Mario Nuti from La Sapie nza University (Rome) on The Euro Area: Premature, Diminished, Divergent, which was followed by the lead discussant Professor Steve Letza from BU.

Then the chair Professor Jenny Piesse from BU opened Session One on Income Developments. The session started with an interesting presentation by Professor Andy Mullineux from Bournemouth University on The ‘Eurozone’ Crisis: Escaping the Doom Loop.’ The session was continued by the presentation of Professor Horst Tomann from Free University of Berlin on External Imbalances in the European Monetary Union: the Case for Keynesian Income Policy and was finished by the presentation of Dr George Filis and Professor Steve Letza from BU on Business Cycles Synchronisation between the European Union and Poland.

Following the buffet lunch, where the participants of the conference discussed the presentations Professor Allan Webster (BU) opened Session Two on Monetary Aspects. Rob Hayward form the University of Brighton and Jens Hӧlscher started the session with their presentation on Crash Risk and the Carry Trade: An Analysis of Uncovered Interest Parity in CEE and CIS. The session was continued by the Professor Karsten Staehr from Tallin University of Technology & Estonia Eesti Bank on Beating the Maastricht Price Stability Criterion to Join the Eurozone: Challenges and Options. Following the presentation by Zbigniew Polanski from National Bank of Poland on Poland During the Global Crisis: “A Green Island” approaching the Eurozone the chair of the session Professor Allan Webster announced to start the discussions on the presentations of Session Two.

Following a short coffee and tea break Professor Steve Letza opened Session Three on Firms’ Behaviour. Malgorzata Pawlowska from National Bank of Poland presented her research on the Impact of Foreign Capital on Competition and Concentration in the Polish Banking Sector. The second presentation of the session was given by Professor Tomasz Mickiewicz from Aston University, where he introduced his research on Is Poland A Nation of Entrepreneurs?

A conference Gala Dinner at the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth, was a pleasant completion of the conference. In an informal atmosphere participants continued to discuss various interesting issues raised during the conference, made contacts and thanked the organisers for the well-planned scientific event.

Written by,

Khurshid Djalilov, kdjalilov@bournemouth.ac.uk, member of EACES

Students Reflect on Internationalisation Experience

In September, four sport students engaged in intensive extra-curricula internationalisation activities in order to enhance their study, professional and personal intercultural experience. This BU blog article combines their personal reflections.

Sport management and sport development students Luke Frary, John Bryson, Oliver Johnson and Stefan Ferencz significantly contributed to the Student Seminar and the main conference of the European Association for Sport Management (EASM) in Turkey from 7 to 14 September (http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2013/09/19/bu-sport-students-and-academic-succeed-at-european-association-for-sport-management-conference-in-istanbul).

 

The students’ key reflections and conclusions in short:

  • Oliver Johnson: “Upon first hearing about the opportunity to participate in the reputable European Association of Sports Management conference and Master Student Seminar in Istanbul, I was instantly attracted and impressed that my university was able to offer this to me. (…) Looking back, what I achieved over the course of the week has been astonishing, as I honestly believe that the experiences that I have gathered shall put me in a great stead for the future. I would recommend such an experience to anyone, it really is an opportunity not to be missed.”
  • Luke Frary: “Over the next few days we got to know the various individuals from all over Europe as we engaged in the Masters Student Seminar. The topics covered where not entirely different to those I had covered at Bournemouth, but through adding an international perspective, the approach becomes refreshingly different. (…) Later in the week we were divided into groups to work on a management game. I was grouped with students from Germany, Finland and Holland. Once again it was insightful to work with the addition of an international dimension. It became clear that when studying in just one country, it is easy to adopt a narrow approach to your studies.”
  • John Bryson: “I thoroughly enjoyed this international experience and the chance to stay in a foreign city and work collaboratively with people from such diverse backgrounds and cultures. This is an experience that I have gained many new skills form and will benefit me greatly going forward.”
  • Stefan Ferencz: “The main conference enabled me to learn about current issues and trends in the field of sports management, thus providing me with useful information that I will utilise in my final year. Having observed how speakers structure their presentations, I now feel more confident about speaking at the presentations required for some of my units during level H. (…) I would recommend any sports management student to attend an EASM conference as it will definitely have a positive impact on skills, knowledge and future career. Overall, I feel proud to have successfully represented Bournemouth University at an international stage.”

 

Please read about their reflections in more length below the pictures.

 

Part of the international student group during venue visit and on-site lecturing in Istanbul.

John Bryson (second from left) during team work.

Luke Frary in discussion with the NBA Europe Business Development Manager

International students mingling during coffee break. In the middle, BU students talking to retired UNICEF Partnership Director.

Stefan Ferencz (third from right) with his team, awarded for winning their case competition.

 

John Bryson

“I travelled to Istanbul along with three other Bournemouth University students to attend the European Association of Sports Management (EASM) Masters Student Seminar and EASM Conference. The seminar and conference provided me with some excellent experiences including presenting my dissertation research, working in a team with other international students in a sports management game, gaining an insight into cutting edge sports management research and issues and also making many professional and personal contacts.

With help and guidance from Dr Tim Breitbarth I was able to present my dissertation research at the corporate social responsibility workshop during the EASM Conference alongside many of the authors that I had referenced in my own work. This was a rewarding experience as I was able to make a contribution to the conference while showing off my dissertation that I had worked on throughout the previous academic year.

During the student seminar I also worked on a sports management game. I found this particularly interesting as it allowed me to work on a real life scenario to devise and implement solutions. During the management game I was required to work in a team with students from The Netherlands, Finland, Germany and Turkey. I really enjoyed the opportunity to work alongside other students from different countries and cultures and the challenge of combining many different ideas and perspectives into a successful end product. In the end our hard work paid off as we won our case competition and were able to work on the project further and present it our final solution at the main conference.

The seminar and conference also provided me with the opportunity to make many professional and personal contacts that will be very useful going forward in my career. The management game was especially useful for networking as we were devising solutions for industry professionals and it was a useful task to showcase your imagination, creativity and problem solving skills.

I thoroughly enjoyed this international experience and the chance to stay in a foreign city and work collaboratively with people from such diverse backgrounds and cultures. This is an experience that I have gained many new skills form and will benefit me greatly going forward.“

 

Luke Frary

“Upon leaving the arrivals lounge of Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport it was highly satisfying to be instantly reminded that we were visiting new territories when our non-English-speaking taxi driver some how managed to gesture that there would be a suspicious extra charge for our ‘over sized luggage.’

After a short ride we arrived with a warm welcome at the reception of our hotel (which clearly was going to exceed all expectations of accommodation at a student conference). Here we were informed that we would be separated and would be sharing rooms with students from other European Universities as a way of encouraging the ‘multicultural atmosphere’ that the conference programme alluded to. In hindsight, we were extremely naïve as we approached this with scepticism – one of the many valuable lessons we learnt during the conference.

After a short while we were escorted to the Sports campus of Mamara University for the opening of the Masters Student Seminar. Once again the scepticism set in when we heard the words ‘ice-breaker’ bellowed above the closed conversations taking place in small clusters of previously familiar friends.  We then proceeded to play a number of games that finished with holding hands and dancing around in a circle to a Turkish song. Little did we know that this song would become a regular during the conference and a very memorable part of the trip.

Over the next few days we got to know the various individuals from all over Europe as we engaged in the Masters Student Seminar. The days started with Key Note speeches on some highly engaging topics. The topics covered where not entirely different to those I had covered at Bournemouth, but through adding an international perspective, the approach becomes refreshingly different.

Later in the week we were divided into groups to work on a management game. I was grouped with students from Germany, Finland and Holland. Once again it was insightful to work with the addition of an international dimension. It became clear that when studying in just one country, it is easy to adopt a narrow approach to your studies.

In between the keynote speakers and the management game, we were able to select from a number of sports activities. For me the highlight was kayaking along the Bosphorus and mooring alongside a Turkish restaurant to sample a local snack.

The following week welcomed the main conference. There were some very interesting presentations and there were many great opportunities to generate ideas and inspirations to take into one’s own studies. In the evenings the hospitality the Turkish had arranged was phenomenal. It was great to share these moments with the large group of new friends we had made.

The conference came to its finale with a cruise around the Bosphorus in a yacht big enough to accommodate the entirety of the conference delegate list. As the   boat returned at the end of the evening and it was time to say goodbye to our new friends, it became clear how enriching the whole experience had been and how our expectations had been greatly exceeded in all areas.”

 

Stefan Ferencz

“The EASM 2013 conference in Istanbul has been a unique experience that has given me the opportunity to expand my knowledge in the field of sports management and also to create a network of sports management students from around Europe.

The adventure began with the Student Seminar held at one of the campuses of Marmara University. Presentations delivered by academics and professionals were soon followed by the Management Game. The Management Game focuses on a very engaging and challenging group activity which gave me the opportunity to work with students from different countries, to develop communication and decision making skills and to work effectively under time pressure. I feel that I have benefited from all the challenges that arose during group work, from the research required to deliver the presentation as well as from the reward of producing the best case study for the allocated subtheme.

The main conference enabled me to learn about current issues and trends in the field of sports management, thus providing me with useful information that I will utilise in my final year. Having observed how speakers structure their presentations, I now feel more confident about speaking at the presentations required for some of my units during level H. The conference has been an amazing source of information provided by well-known academics and professionals and has generated many ideas for my future dissertation. Along with great social and sporting activities organized by staff, the conference has ended in style, with a superb boat trip on the Bosporus.

I would recommend any sports management student to attend an EASM conference, as it will definitely have a positive impact on skills, knowledge and future career. Overall, I feel proud to have successfully represented Bournemouth University at an international stage and I would very much like to get involved in future EASM projects.”

 

Oliver Johnson

“Upon first hearing about the opportunity to participate in the reputable European Association of Sports Management conference and Master Student Seminar in Istanbul, I was instantly attracted and impressed that my university was able to offer this to me.  I applied in order to further my working experience, looking to participate in activities outside my comfort zone and within a foreign environment.  I believe this is crucial to any student’s development, as not only does such an activity like appealing on a CV to employers, it helps to develop key characteristics such as communication, team work and working under pressure within a foreign environment.

A factor that enabled me to participate in the conference was the backing of the Global Horizons Fund, as they seek to provide financial assistance to students, like myself, who are enthusiastic and eager to learn or participate in competitions abroad to further their education.  Organisations such as Global Horizons make such an opportunity all the more attainable, as there are often financial restrictions associated with learning abroad which often dissuade students from participating.

My week in Istanbul was split into two halves: the first half, as part of the Master Student Seminar, was based at Marmara University and the other half, in the heart of Istanbul, at the Istanbul Convention and Exhibition centre for the main conference. The structure of the Master Student Seminar was organised excellently, as there was balanced daily routine of informative, interesting speakers and leisure activities.

The main focus of the seminar was the Master Student Seminar competition, where students were randomly assigned to multi-national working groups. The aim was to put together a presentation and report on an assigned topic. I was assigned to the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility, whereby our group had to propose an idea, on behalf of a local company, in order to promote physical activity amongst the community. Initially, I did find the task challenging, as the groups were comprised of foreign students, it was occasionally difficult to communicate effectively. However, I believe that our group gelled remarkably and were able to collate a strong argument for our case. This was proven as we were selected as the winners of our topic, where we would progress to present at the main conference in front of a jury of astute professionals and conference attendees, competing against other student groups’ topics. Personally, I have very little experience in presenting in front of a large audience; therefore I initially felt the prospect of doing so very daunting. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic experience to showcase our hard work at such an esteemed event.  My group was eventually announced as winners of the overall competition, an achievement that I am extremely proud of.

Although the work involved was demanding, there was allocated time to see the sights of wonderful sights of Istanbul and to have fun. My personal highlight of the trip was kayaking up the river Bosporus and under the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, a spectacular sight. As mentioned previously, the organisation of the trip was excellent, with the assistance of several Marmara University students, who would often act as tour guides always willing to recommend places for us to visit and making sure everyone was looked after.

Looking back, what I achieved over the course of the week has been astonishing as I honestly believe that the experiences that I have gathered shall put me in a great stead for the future. I would recommend such an experience to anyone, it really is an opportunity not to be missed.”

 

Have you been involved with an event designed for the external community?

Guidance, Research assessment

Then we want to hear from you! 🙂

The University is currently compiling the data for the annual Higher Education – Business & Community Interaction survey (HE-BCI) due to be submitted to HESA in early December.

We are asked to submit details of social, cultural and community events designed for the external community (to include both free and chargeable events) which took place between 1 August 2012 and 31 July 2013.

Event types that should be returned include, but are not limited to:

  • public lectures
  • performance arts (dance, drama, music, etc)
  • exhibitions
  • museum education
  • events for schools and community groups
  • business breakfasts

We cannot return events such as open days, Student Union activity, commercial conferences, etc.

All events that we ran as part of the Festival of Learning in June 2013 are likely to be eligible for inclusion and we will collate this information on your behalf centrally.

If you have been involved with an event which could be returned (other than those run for the Festival of Learning), please could you let your contact (see below) know the event name and date, whether it was free or chargeable, the estimated number of attendees, and an estimate of how much academic time was spent preparing for (but not delivering) the event:

  • ApSci – Eva Ashford
  • BS – Julia Woodwock
  • DEC – Norman Stock
  • HSC – Andy Scott
  • MS – Avril Harrison
  • ST – Rob Hydon
  • Professional Service – please contact Julie Northam in the R&KEO

The data returned is used by HEFCE to allocate the HEIF funding so it is important that we return as accurate a picture as possible.

Santander and BU Research mobility link continues.

PG research, Post-award

As sponsors of Formula One, Santander were lucky enough to secure some time with the Formula One racing driver Jenson Button to meet some of the Formula Santander Scholars, along with Santander Chairman, Emilio Botin. Two research students from the Media School and one from HSC were able to travel for research purposes as recipients of the Santander Award and to a reception at the British Medical Association House on Tavistock Square, London on Wednesday 26th June for an address from the Chairman and some words from Jensen. The recipients received certificates and there was an opportunity for a Question and Answer session with Jensen.

http://www.santander.com/csgs/Satellite/CFWCSancomQP01/en_GB/Corporate/Press-Room/Santander-News/Emilio-Botin-y-Jenson-Button-entregan-100-Becas-Formula-Santander-a-universitarios-britanicos-Only-available-in-Spanish.html

 
Hai Chung said that “I came to know that the extensive Southeast Asia collection at Yale University is an impressive and influential resource for any researcher on South East Asia across the world. Thanks to Santander, I got a rare chance this year to visit Yale University where I was able to update myself on the latest research and discuss with professors there about my work. In relation to actual outputs, the trip gives me additional evidence and elaborates upon my analysis in my findings. I was impressed with the number of scholarships funded by the Santander this year and appreciated a chance to meet formula 1 driver Jenson Button yesterday in London. Thanks again Santander for their generosity in supporting and creating chances for researchers in UK.”
Marketa Zezulkova’s cross-cultural project explores how is children’s media literacy being formed during the first years of their compulsory education; in order to contribute to the international development and implementation of suitable media education for primary and elementary school children. Marketa was in the USA, collecting primary data and undertaking position of a Visiting Scholar at Emerson College (Boston, MA) and at Media Education Lab, the University of Rhode Island (Kingston, RI) as part of Santander?
Sheetal Sharma who this summer is again a Santander visiting PhD researcher at IsGlobal, Cresib – the Barcelona Centre for International Health Research (CRESIB) part of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, the University of Barcelona, and the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS); supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya. She is supervised in health economic evaluations by Dr. Elisa Sicuri aiming to use novel techniques in the evaluations of health programmes in Nepal: http://www.cresib.cat/en/page.asp?id=216
The suggestion from this event was to organize a BU Santander Scholars session with a representative from Santander Universities (UK) in the near future to try and give back in terms of lessons that can be learnt from research mobility.

Become an EC reviewer to gain experience, money and collaborators!

The EU’s  Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency is seeking external expertise in the Erasmus+ or Creative Europe (MEDIA, culture) programmes. Don’t worry, they don’t expect you to be an expert in the programme (which hasn’t been released yet) just the general subject areas of PhD student mobility, staff mobility, media, culture etc – the topics the funding calls cover.

Registering to be an expert has lots of value – you could get paid to evaluate and monitor projects or evaluate calls for proposals under the schemes. Indeed, becoming  an EC evaluator is a fantastic experience; it not only helps you learn what the EC are looking for in proposals, but also enables you to travel to Brussels and network with other reviewers to start forming collaborations yourself.

It’s really simple to sign up, you just pop your details in the form (which isn’t very long) and when an appropriate call or proposal comes up, they will ask if you can review it. If you can’t, you simply let them know and you are not obliged to. You also get until December 2020 to sign up to be a reviewer if you aren’t quite ready yet!

You will get paid a day rate to do the review plus travel and subsistence and you can also still apply for the funding scheme if you are registered as a reviewer (although for a specific call you apply to, you would have to declare a conflict of interest).

More info can be found here

Phenomenology Special Interest Group

Utrecht Reflections

Utrecht Reflections

Reflections from Utrecht…

…Heidegger by ice cream!                                                              

You are warmly invited to the fifth meeting of the Phenomenology Interest Group

Thursday 14th November 2013

1.00 – 2.30

Venue: EB303, Executive Business Centre

We are fortunate to host Vanessa Heaslip from HSC and Phil James from the School of Tourism who have freshly returned from a workshop in Holland. They will be sharing their thoughts and experiences. This will last about one hour including discussion and questions. You are also invited to stay on for a further half hour to participate in more general discussion of mutual interests and the planning of further directions.

Here is a more personal invitation from Vanessa:

Both Phil and I were lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to the Netherlands during the summer to attend the Utrecht summer school on the Phenomenology of Practice.

During this lunchtime session we plan to:

         present the main areas we studied in the programme

         outline our perspectives on the differences between the approaches of Hermeneutic Phenomenology (Max van Manen), Descriptive Phenomenology (Andy Giorgi) and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Jonathan Smith)

         present our reflections on the two week programme

         highlight the key lessons we learnt

         share the opportunities it has provided for us (and maybe you…) at an international level

We look forward to seeing you.

Vanessa Heaslip (HSC – Senior Lecturer and part time PhD student)

Phil James – (PGR at ST and proud of the fact that he has both a Student ID and a Bus Pass! Phil is a retired businessman who thought that studying for a PhD might be more fun than cruising in the Bahamas. He’s having second thoughts.)

The Cambodian Experience

Dr Melanie Klinkner shares her experience of undertaking research in Cambodia…

Perhaps it is due to a genetic predisposition to embrace the continental Kaffeehaus tradition of discussing matters for hours on end or simply because of an affinity to the Socratic dialogue, interviewing has been a key component of my research. It would be wrong to say that I am not nervous before each interview or don’t question my methodological approach, but, in general, interviews have been exciting, worthwhile and a superb way to network. I keep being amazed by the generosity of participants in giving up their time, going to the trouble of meeting me, sharing their experience and expertise, sending relevant information or answering follow-up questions.

The experiences from a fieldtrip to Cambodia epitomises the fun of qualitative research for me. On arrival at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia outside the capital Phnom Penh, I was met by the then head of PR who had not only organised an interview schedule with judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers but also offered me a tour of the (then not quite complete) building. Sure, this might have been part of their general public relations efforts, but it was me who benefitted from meeting these individuals. I was the lucky one sitting in the office of a Cambodian participant, with a translator present, conducting an interview whilst feeling strangely observed by the statue of an elusively smiling Khmer head on the top of a cupboard. I was similarly impressed with one interviewee who was on a business trip to Bangkok whilst I visited Phnom Penh, but was still happy to meet me in a Hotel lobby in the centre of Bangkok an hour after my plane from Phnom Penh touched down on Suvanarbhumi Airport. It would also be amiss to forget the other impressions gathered on this trip. The taxi driver who took me to the Extraordinary Chambers each day and dropped me at the Killing fields on the outskirts of Phnom Penh shared his experiences from the Khmer Rouge area. A young TukTuk driver and English language teacher practiced his English by telling me about the education system. Whilst not explicitly relevant to the research – implicitly this information is priceless.

It is with some sadness that I read of the difficulties the Extraordinary Chambers are facing with allegations of corruption, lack of funding, political meddling, the age and death of defendants hampering its progress. Surely Cambodia and the Cambodian people deserve better. Perhaps one day (when the children are older) I will be able to return to Cambodia for an interdisciplinary study to further our understanding as to the forensic, legal but also cultural significance the displayed human remains have within Cambodian Society – they are a fascinating substrate for research. For now, I have one small regret: I should have bought a sculpture of a Khmer head with its elusive smile to put on my book shelve at home.

Opportunities for BU Researchers in Ecuador

Funding opportunities, Fusion, PG research, Publishing

The Ecuadorian government has recently launched the Prometeo Project, an initiative designed to bring top scholars to the country to develop research and teaching for periods of 2-12 months.  Proposals in all areas of research and teaching are currently being accepted on a rolling basis and generally take a couple of months to process in total.  Once the application is submitted, assistance in adjusting the initial research proposal is available from the Prometeo office.

Prometeo fellows are assigned to public institutions. These generally include universities, government offices and research institutes. Although Spanish knowledge is recommended, it is not a pre-requisite for doing research in Ecuador.  Research grants range from $4000-6000 USD/month and teaching grants range from $2000-$4000/ month.  Return airfare and orientation sessions are also included as part of the Prometeo package.

 Applications are assessed according to the following criteria:

  • Publications (indexed papers, not indexed, books, articles)
  • Hirsch Index
  • Research projects (led or coordinated / assistant)
  • Academic experience / teaching
  • Conferences, seminars, workshops, discussion panels (speaker, moderator)
  • Consultancies
  • Scholarships, awards and recognitions
  • Letters of recommendation -optional (two letters in digital format)

For further information, visit the Prometeo website or email: prometeo@senescyt.gob.ec.

Save The Date: ESRC

Dementia in Dorset – What does this mean for you?

Saturday 9th November (1pm-5pm) Littledown Centre Bournemouth, Studio 1 –

Free event for all the family

Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI) are hosting a community engagement day as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science to showcase a range of their innovative projects which will bring dementia awareness to life through technology, maritime archaeology, exercise and tai chi, an art exhibition and many more fun hands-on-activities.

Visitors will have the chance to understand what it’s like to live with dementia through a talk by someone living with dementia and postcard stories, getting the chance to use technology which has the aim of improving the quality of life of those living with dementia, planting seeds to learn about dementia friendly environments, learning how to make healthy food more appetising to improve the mind and body, and experiencing how massage can reduce anxiety and enhance relaxation for both people living with dementia and their carers.

The BUDI team will be on-hand for a chat or to answer questions, and information from local organisations people living with dementia and carers will be available.

There is no need to register for this event, so just come along!

October is still EU-tastic!!

EU funding remains a bit of an enigma for most people and this month I have organised some sessions to help demystify this for you, especially as the calls are due to be released on December 11th!  Two have already been held and the slides from these can be found on our I drive.

Health in Horizon 2020: The European Commission National Contact Point for Health – Dr Octavio Pernas made a special trip to BU on October 7th to inform anyone interested in health research (from nursing care models to medical devices) of what to look out for under Horizon 2020 and expanding on other complementary funding programmes. The session detailed how you can make the most of the National Contact Points to help with your application. Slides from this presentation are available here: I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\European Related\Horizon 2020\Health in H2020 Presentation.  

All things Horizon 2020: Bournemouth subscribes to information services from the fabulous UK Research Office (UKRO) and for many years they have been providing us with the latest EU information on funding calls, policy and providing advice on how to make a great application. Their visit on October 9th told us in simple terms what is coming up in Horizon 2020 and how we can make the most of their subscription services. Slides from this presentation are available here: I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\European Related\Horizon 2020\UKRO H2020 presentation

Our remaining two sessions tell you how to write a successful grant – there are a couple of spaces left on each session, so if you are interested please do book on quickly to be guaranteed a place.

1. All things Marie Curie

You can’t fail to have heard me saying how wonderful these fellowships are and how pleased I am that they will feature in Horizon 2020. These grants are absolutely the best way to kick start your EU career and you only need one non-UK partner to apply. You can either apply to have an academic come to the university from another country or you can go to another country as part of the fellowship scheme. You can have a fellowship with an academic or with an industrial partner and you can even apply for entire departments to be involved in exchanges. I’m proud of how engaged BU colleagues are with Marie Curie and the grants we already hold from this scheme. The session is divided into two parts with both being held on October 16th. The first is a brief intro to the schemes and the second is a more detailed session on how to approach and structure your bid. You can book your place for either session here.

 

 2. The tricks of writing a winning Horizon 2020 proposal

Having already had sessions providing you with an overview of the various funding opportunities within Horizon 2020, you need to know the tricks of writing a winning bid. Writing bids for the European Commission is quite a different skill to writing for UK funders and this session on October 17th will guide you through the journey. We’ve had some fantastic feedback from this session in the past and attending will help get you on the right path to create your proposal. You can book your place for the information session here.

The Journal of Promotional Communication – Inaugural Issue and a Call to Action!

Fusion

We are delighted to launch the first edition of the Journal of Promotional Communication, an open-access; peer-reviewed, online journal edited by Corporate and Marketing Communications (CMC) academic group in the Media School, which publishes original research produced by undergraduate and postgraduate students. We welcome you to read the six papers selected for publication in the inaugural issue after a rigorous review process, and share them with your students, academic colleagues and practitioner contacts.

 http://promotionalcommunications.org/index.php/pc/issue/view/3

 Manuscripts published in Volume 1, Issue 1 of the Journal of Promotional Communication broadly speak to the theme of ‘People and Promotional Communication’, including an exciting mix of methodological and conceptual approaches which bring to the fore the humanness and everydayness in the production and consumption of promotional communications.

Our aim with this journal is to provide a platform for students from BU and other universities to publish work that demonstrates a critical understanding of their subject, whilst being creative, imaginative and interesting to read for academic and practitioner audiences alike. We are looking for examples of work which has the potential to challenge existing ideas and practices and seeks to inspire new ways of understanding and practising promotional communications.

The Journal of Promotional Communications is published two times per year (April, October) and the call is now open for papers for the next issue – deadline Friday March 7th, 2014. Submissions should be made online via http://promotionalcommunications.org/index.php/pc/about/submissions, where full ‘Author Instructions’ can also be found. If you have recently supervised work that you think should be considered for publication in the journal, why not encourage your students (UG, PG or PhD) to submit a manuscript for review? Diverse perspectives and approaches to the study of promotional communication are welcomed. Papers published in the Journal of Promotional Communication will draw on a variety of disciplinary areas covering, but not exclusive to, Marketing, Advertising and PR theory as well as Consumer Culture and Behaviour, Political Communications, Media Studies, Sociology, Cultural Studies and Management. From within BU, students submitting papers might come from a broad range of Academic Schools and subject areas; the Journal of Promotional Communication is not Media School exclusive!

We look forward to receiving submissions.

Dr Janice Denegri-Knott

Dr Carrie Hodges

Dr Dan Jackson

Dr Richard Scullion

 

 

‘I just don’t have time’: How to improve your work life balance, prioritisation skills and time management

This is a phrase I hear most often at work – we all have increasing pressures and often struggle to be as effective as possible in a shorter period of time to ensure we have a healthy work-life balance.

We have hired the services of an external facilitator to offer support in this for academic staff as part of the BRAD programme. Dr Margaret Collins has a 20+ year academic career background and uses her experience and subsequent training in theories such as Neuro-Linguistic Programming to deliver advice on how to increase personal effectiveness in these areas.

When I undertook the CROS and PIRLS surveys with staff back in the Summer and when consulting on what sessions would be most valuable for our academic community via the blog, the recurrent theme was better time management to improve work life balance.

You sometimes have to invest a little time to free up more later on – the session on Weds 16th October 1-5 on Talbot campus is a worthwhile investment. There are limited spaces so please do ensure you get one by booking on the Organisational and Staff Development webpages.

New Book Announcement: Protest Camps

Publishing

Protest Camps hits indie bookshops and digital shelves worldwide today. Co-authored by Bournemouth University’s Dr. Anna Feigenbaum, Fabian Frenzel (Leicester) and Patrick McCurdy (Ottawa), Protest Camps takes readers on a journey across different cultural, political and geographical landscapes of protest.

From Tahrir Square to Occupy, from the Red Shirts in Thailand to the Teachers in Oaxaca, Protest Camps covers over 50 different protest camps around the world over the past 50 years, offering a ground-breaking and detailed global investigation. Drawing on a wealth of original interview material, the authors argue that protest camps are unique spaces in which people enact new forms of democratic politics.

Protest Camps is now available at local booksellers and for online order  in the UK. To find out more on the broader Protest Camps Research Network visit protestcamps.org  and follow the project on twitter @protestcamps

 “Feigenbaum, Frenzel and McCurdy’s wonderful book brings a fresh perspective to our understanding of contemporary political action … A fine achievement.”

– Professor Nick Couldry, London School of Economics and Political Science

 “This book provides a captivating cartography that helps heal the chasm between how we live our everyday life and what our political ideas are, how we protest against the old world whilst proposing new ones.” 

 -John Jordan, co-founder of ‘Reclaim the Streets’ protest movement

To celebrate the launch of Protest Camps, the authors are participating in events across the UK and beyond:

October 19th – London Anarchist Bookfair, Queen Mary University of London
October 21st –The Organisation of the Organisationless – Talks in Digital Culture #1, King’s College London
October 26th – Edinburgh Independent Radical Book Fair 2013
October 29th –New Perspectives on Anarchism and Management, Centre for Philosophy and Political Economy at University of Leicester
October 30th –Protest Camps and Dissent PR Speaker Series at Bournemouth University
October 31st –Institute for Protest and Social Movement Studies at Technische Universitaet Berlin
November 2nd –ESRC Festival of Social Science event, Creating Worlds Together: A workshop on Experimentations and Protest Camps, Birkbeck, University of London
November 8th – tbc, Johannesburg, South Africa, Wits University
November 13th to 14th –PSA Media and Politics Group Conference, Bournemouth Univeristy
November 20th to 21st – Leicester, Generations of Protest Conference, DeMontford University

CEMP Bulletin

Awarded & submitted bids, Funding opportunities, PG research

 

Here is the latest CEMP Research & Innovation bulletin. CEMP bulletin 10.10.13

New for this year:


(1) A more targeted approach to identifying funding opportunities;

(2) Funding calls aligned to research themes;

(3) If you would like to come and chat about anything in this bulletin, your own research or other projects / ideas that CEMP can help with, our monthly ‘CEMP Coffee Morning’ is at 9.30-10.30 on Thursday October 17th in the new CEMP office (CAG02).

 

FIF-backed PR History network launched in Barcelona

Fusion

The European Public Relations History Network (EPRHN), which has been supported in its formation by FIF, was launched at European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA) Congress in Barcelona on October 3-5. The event, held on Friday October 4, was attended by 29 delegates from 12 countries.

“After more than a year’s planning, EPRHN is now in operation and has 50 active supporters from 18 countries across Europe”, said Prof Tom Watson of the Media School. “FIF has enabled it to get to the take-off stage and aided the very positive response found in Barcelona.”

Prof Watson also organised a panel session (the only one approved for the Congress) on developing the history of PR in Europe. It drew leading scholars from universities of Leipzig (Germany), Bucharest (Romania), Pompeu Fabra (Spain), as well as Prof Watson. It was chaired by the Italian practitioner/commentator Toni Muzi Falconi.

Refereed papers from Prof Watson and Drs Tasos Theofilou and Georgiana Grigore, also Media School, were presented at the Congress in well-attended sessions with several requests for copies of the papers afterwards, especially for the research on engaging employees with organisational Corporate Social Responsibility planning.

EUPRERA PR History Panel: (l-r) Toni Muzi Falconi (Italy); Prof Adela Rogojinaru (Romania); Prof Tom Watson (BU), Prof Jordi Xifra (Spain) and Prof Gunter Bentele (Germany)

Dr Tasos Theofilou (l), Dr Georgiana Grigore (c) and Prof Tom Watson (r) at EUPRERA Congress, Barcelona

NIHR seeks Research Funding Board members

This is a fantastic opportunity to be on a major funding review panel.  Benefits of being a member include meeting potential collaborators, learning how the assessment process works and discovering what makes a great proposal. BU’s Dr Richard Shipway is a peer reviewer for the ESRC and has written an excellent blog post on the benefits of being a peer reviewer. You can read Richard’s post here.

The NIHR Public Health Research (PHR) Programme funds research that evaluates public health interventions, providing new knowledge on the benefits, costs, acceptability and wider impacts of non-NHS interventions intended to improve the health of the public and reduce inequalities in health, including interventions in education, the built environment, transport, social care.

Members of the Research Funding Board are senior academics with a broad range of skills and experience.  The NIHR welcome applications from experts from a range of disciplines and fields, in particular:

• Impacts of the environment on health e.g. traffic/roads, housing, regeneration etc
• Statistics and trials methodology
• Older people
• Work place and health/employability
• Nutrition/obesity (adults and children)
• Mental health
• Systematic review/evidence synthesis

For further information on what the role involves and how to apply please see the PHR website. The deadline for applications is 1pm 15 November 2013.

BU is fully supportive of you becoming a reviewer, including helping with ensuring you have time to perform reviews for funding bodies.