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Fusion Investment Surgery Sessions – Gain some valuable advice and be inspired!

Awarded & submitted bids, Funding opportunities, Fusion

 As part of the Fusion in Action conference on Thursday 18 April, the Fusion Investment Surgery drop-in sessions will provide an excellent opportunity to talk about your potential applications to the Fusion Investment Fund (FIF). The FIF scheme reopens in April/May with an application deadline of 3 June, so why not take the opportunity to discuss your ideas and get advice about eligibility and assessment criteria now, as well as gaining inspiration from the showcase of the best of Fusion in Action at BU over the last 12 months!

The conference features a range of engaging presenters and two of these will be discussing their successful FIF bids so it’s a fantastic opportunity to find out more from those with the knowledge.

The following committee members will be on-hand with advice about the different funding schemes and how to ensure your applications have the best possible chance of being successful:

Study Leave – Debbie Sadd

Staff Mobility & Networking – Feng Tian

Co-Creation and Co-Production – Hong Bui and Richard Scullion

Book now to attend the conference (via the Staff Development Webpage) and come along for this great opportunity to learn more about how you can get involved and secure funding for activities that matter to you!

Fusion in Action Conference:

On Thursday 18 April, Kimmeridge House

Begins at 12pm with a networking lunch

Ends at 5pm with wine and nibbles

Presentations, posters, drop-in sessions and a Q&A Panel

Hosted by Deputy Vice-Chancellor Tim McIntyre-Bhatty and Chief Operating Officer Jim Andrews

Bookings are essential

Adido Presents…

The Centre for Entrepreneurship is delighted to invite you to a series of FREE digital marketing related seminars presented by Adido, one of the South’s fastest growing digital agencies.

Please see below for further details – we hope you can join us!

 The Digital Trends of 2013 – Monday 11th March 2013

What will businesses need to know about to get ahead in digital in 2013? This seminar will cover the most important areas to invest in to make sure your business maximises the opportunities available.

Maximising Mobile – Thursday 18th April 2013

Mobile internet traffic set to overtake desktop at the end of this year and more mobile devices are being sold every day. As mobile devices become even more pervasive in our day to day lives the opportunities engage with audiences increases dramatically.

SEO in 2013 – Thursday 27th June 2013

Of all the digital marketing channels used by marketers, none has changed more than SEO in the last few years. This seminar will highlight some of the major issues facing the industry along with how to get ahead of your competition in 2013.

To find out more or to book your place please visit www.bucfe.com/events

BU REF Individual Staff Circumstances Disclosure

Research assessment

Back in Autumn 2012, the Research and Knowledge Exchange Development and Operations Team(RKEDO) conducted the first round of the BU REF Individual Staff Circumstances data collection (please see link for more information) on a large scale, with a submission deadline of the 31 October 2012. Since then, data collection has been on-going and all new and existing REF eligible staff have been actively encouraged to disclose relevant individual circumstances.

The BU REF Circumstances Board first met last December to consider the following categories:

1. Early Career Researchers – 38 applicants

2. Maternity, paternity or adoption – 7 applicants

3. Part-time and/or career break – 3 applicants

4. More than two circumstances – 7 applicants

5. Complex circumstances – 3 applicants

There were also 11 applicants where staff had wanted their individual circumstances known but were not seeking a reduction in outputs.

The BU REF Circumstances Board will  meet again in Spring/Summer 2013 to consider any new cases or existing cases with changed circumstances.

How is this relevant to you?

If you are planning on submitting to the REF2014 assessment, there is a possibility that you might be eligible for a reduction of outputs, depending on your individual circumstances (please see link for more information).

What action do I need to take?

To find out if you are eligible for REF submission, please see section 3.1 of the BU REF 2014 Code of Practice and ‘Staff eligibility’ in the BU REF FAQs. You are then encouraged to complete the disclosure form. If further information is required about any circumstances disclosed, you will be contacted by a member of the HR team involved in the REF. You should print out, sign and return your completed form marked ‘REF Confidential’ to Judith Wilson, HR Manager, M601, Melbury House, 1-3 Oxford Road, Bournemouth, BH8 8ES. Alternatively, you can also email your completed form to refcircumstances@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Further information

For more information on BU REF2014, please click on ‘ref’ on the right-hand tab, which will take you to all previous blog posts on all things REF.

Please feel free to get in touch with me or Rita Dugan (rdugan@bournemouth.ac.uk) if you wish to speak to someone about your REF eligibility. 

Seminar on Autonomous Systems & Robotics for Future Cities

We would like to invite you to our next Software Systems Research Centre seminar given by Prof. Carsten Maple on “Autonomous Systems & Robotics for Future Cities”

Room: P410 (Poole House, Talbot Campus)

Time: 14:00 – 15:00

Date: Friday, 15-March-2013

Title: Autonomous Systems & Robotics for Future Cities

Abstract. Autonomous and robotic systems provide technical aids in the modern living environment. Considerable effort and investment have been made in blending sensing, control and feedback, user interfaces, information processing and hardware for such systems. This talk will present an overview of the current development. Examples will be demonstrated from research conducted at the University of Bedfordshire through EU funded projects (e.g. shadow robot systems to assist the elderly / disabled at home). Discussions will be made on future perspectives of these systems for modern city life.

Biography.  Professor Carsten Maple is Pro Vice Chancellor – Research and Enterprise, University of Bedfordshire, UK. He graduated with a BSc in mathematics and a PhD in numerical analysis from the University of Leicester. He is a Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS) and a Chartered IT Practitioner (CITP).  Professor Maple is editor / guest editor for several international journals such as International Journal of Grid Computing, International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control. He has been chairman for a number of international conferences such as IEEE International Conference on Parallel Computing, International Conference on Information Visualisation, and International Symposium on Applications of Graph Theory. He has been invited to present keynote speeches to various international conferences. He has published over 150 papers internationally. He has been invited to talk on security, syberstalking, robotics and applied computing on UK Parliament, radio and TVs.

 

New tool for professionals working with adults at risk of harm

Safe tool LogoFor many staying out of harm’s way is a matter of locking doors and windows and avoiding dangerous places, people and situations; however for some vulnerable people it is not quite so easy. The threat of abuse is behind those closed doors, well hidden from public view and for those living in the midst of adult abuse violence and fear permeates many aspects of their lives, frequently perpetrated against them by those charged with providing their care.

Recent media reports on the abuse of vulnerable patients at Winterbourne View and Mid Staffordshire Hospital have highlighted failures in the system where professional social workers and nurses have failed to protect those most vulnerable.

Di Galpin, Lucy Morrison and Emily Rosenorn Lanng from National Centre for Post Qualifying Social Work(NCPQSW) have developed an on-line tool to help practitioners evaluate and reflect on their practice when working with adults at risk of harm to ensure those who are most vulnerable are protected and do not live in fear.

The Safeguarding Adults Framework Evaluation (SAFE) tool  is used to support professionals working in the health and social care sector to improve their practice in keeping adults safe from harm. The on-line SAFE tool encourages practitioners to evaluate and reflect on their practice and offers a framework to help support the development of skills and knowledge in safeguarding adults at risk for the future.

Protecting adults at risk of harm is at the heart of professional practice in health and social care and the NCPQSW at BU is committed to supporting this to the highest level. Di, Lucy and Emily have worked together to produce a number of resources which can be used with the on-line SAFE tool, including the development of the first National Capabilities Framework for professionals protecting vulnerable adults which is being used by a number of local authorities across the country and the Safeguarding Adults at Risk of Harm staff group B workbook for qualified health and social care professionals.

For more information please visit the SAFE tool.

EUNF award enables research with the University of Ljubljana

An EU Networking Fund (EUNF) award made to Vanora Hundley will enable research collaboration between Bournemouth University and the University of Ljubljana. Established in 1918 the University of Ljubljana is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia.

University of LlubljanaThe EUNF award will enable Vanora to travel to Ljubljana to discuss research on the topic of intervention in childbirth; an issue that is challenging many high income countries. The University of Ljubljana has run a midwifery programme since 1996 and currently admits 30 students a year. Research is a core component of midwifery education, as it is in other European institutions including Bournemouth University. However, postgraduate research in midwifery is less common there and it is hoped that this collaboration can strengthen midwifery research in Slovenia.

SILVER – Active ageing: Open call for robotic based pre-commercial solutions

Funding opportunities

In the European Union, countries are facing tough times in the health and elderly care sector: while populations age and require more care services, countries are under pressure to make these services more cost efficient and effective. The pan-European SILVER project (Supporting Independent LiVing for the Elderly through Robotics) aims to demonstrate how public services can be rejuvenated by procuring R&D services that will develop higher quality and more sustainable elderly care solutions.   

The SILVER project searches for new, innovative ways to acquire public sector health services by utilizing a Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) process designed for optimally matching R&D with procurers’ needs. The goal is to find new technologies to assist elderly people’s ability to continue living independently at home. By the use of robotics or other related technologies, the elderly are able to enjoy homelife even if they have physical or cognitive disabilities.

 Registrations for the competition can be made via the SILVER webpage at www.silverpcp.eu/call-for-tender/registration

 SILVER (Supporting Independent LiVing for the Elderly through Robotics) is a research and development project to establish and to execute a Pre-Commercial Procurement process suitable for the conditions for cross-border project implementation across several EU countries. It is funded by the European Union under the ICT cooperation part of the Seventh Framework Programme for research and technological development (FP7). The project started in January 2012 and will run for 51 months. SILVER has partners in Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and United Kingdom.

 Status: OPEN

Open Date: 1st March 2013

Registration Close Date: 5th June 2013

Close Date: 12th June 2013

Website: www.silverpcp.eu/

e-mail: competitions@silverpcp.eu

Phone number: +44(0) 300 321 4357

Vice-Chancellor Doctoral (Fee Waive) Scholarships 2013 – now available

Funding opportunities, PG research

We are delighted to announce the launch of the 2013 Vice-Chancellor Doctoral (Fee Waive) Scholarships which will offer support to up to 25 outstanding postgraduate research students.  The VC PhD Scholarships will provide a full fee waive for up to 36 months in the case of full-time students and exceptionally 48 months in the case of part-time students.  Stipends (to cover living expenses) are not included in the scholarships and these must be provided by the student themselves or by a sponsor. 

This Scholarship programme will open on 4 March 2013 and will roll until 31 July 2013.  There are up to 25 scholarships available, which are nominally split between the 6 Academic Schools and Schools can take up more or less than their allotted share.  There is no requirement for a School to accept candidates.

The focus of the VC PhD Scholarships is on the outstanding nature of the candidate who must meet the following eligibility criteria:

  • All candidates must demonstrate truly outstanding qualities and be motivated to complete a PhD in 3 years full-time or 4 years part-time.
  • All candidates must satisfy the University’s minimum doctoral entry criteria for studentships of an honors degree at Upper Second Class (2:1) and/or an appropriate Masters degree or equivalent.
  • An IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 minimum (or equivalent) is essential for candidates for whom English is not their first language.

In addition to satisfying basic entry criteria, BU will look closely at the qualities, skills and background of each candidate and what they can bring to their chosen research project in order to ensure successful and timely completion.  It is important to consider that in most cases the interpretation of ‘truly outstanding’ is likely to be those candidates with a First Class (Hons) degrees and/or a distinction at Masters, with clear documented evidence of drive, commitment and relevant skills.

Only the most outstanding candidates will be supported.  Full details and criteria are set out in the BU VC Scholarship 2013 Policy. Staff are asked to check the eligibility criteria carefully before nominating. 

The VC PhD Scholarship process will be managed and overseen by the Graduate School but administered through the Academic Schools.

The VC PhD Scholarships applications (available on the Graduate School website from Monday 4 March 2013) should be submitted to the relevant School Research Administrator at any time but no later than 31 July 2013.

Media School team wins US grant for CSR research

Awarded & submitted bids, REF Subjects, Research themes

A three-member Media School research team has been awarded a grant for research into Corporate Social Responsibility communication amongst employees.

Dr Tasos Theofilou, Dr Georgiana Grigore and Prof Tom Watson (L-R) gained the grant from the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication, a research center at the Penn State College of Communications.

They will be conducting a study in the UK and Romania to link with a previous study undertaken in Greece by Dr Theofilou. The study supports travel and the employment of research assistants for research in summer this year. Prof Watson, the project PI, has been named as a Page Legacy Scholar for 2013.

“Within the Media School’s Public Relations Research Group (the PRRes Gang), there is considerable expertise in CSR,” said Prof Watson.

“Dr Grigore is an organiser of an international CSR conference to be held at BU in the autumn, whilst Dr Theofilou is pioneering research into harnessing ‘scepticism’ as a factor in developing effective CSR communication within corporate organisations.

“This grant is very positive recognition of BU’s standing internationally within public relations and corporate communications research.”

# Arthur W. Page was a highly respected pioneer of public relations and corporate communications in the US from the late 1920s to the late 1940s at the telecoms giant, AT&T.

(L-R) Dr Tasos Theofilou, Dr Georgiana Grigore and Prof Tom Watson

 

Global trends reports: environmental concerns at record lows

This is a disappointing global trend which shows a decreasing concern for the environment.
http://www.globescan.com/commentary-and-analysis/press-releases/press-releases-2013/261-environmental-concerns-at-record-lows-global-poll.html
We need to debate what is behind this – is it a reflection of a society that is becoming apathetic, is it because governments have not been doing enough, is it a reflection of the financial situation? At a time when the earth faces so many challenges and people need to be engaged to secure sustainable development, these issues merit further exploration.
On a more positive note I have had a sly preview of NUS data on students perceptions of the role of universitites and SD – students generally believe (and expect) universitites should do more. The NUS results will suggest a much more positive picture.

In relation to the role of universities, I have just contributed the ‘leadership’ chapter to a new book  The Sustainable University: progress and prospects. The Chair of our Board at Bournemouth University has contributed a ‘vignette’ about the role of Chairs. The book offers some explanations of why progress to date has hardly been transformational.  Details available at

http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415627740/

Chris

Dr. Peter Bridgewater, Chairman of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, is coming to BU tomorrow!

Research themes

The Environmental Change & Biodiversity Research Theme would like to invite you to their seminar tomorrow from 11am to 1pm in the Coyne Lecture Theatre. Dr. Peter Bridgewater, Chairman of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, will lead the seminar and discuss “Biodiversity governance in the Anthropocene”.

Peter has had a glittering career in the science-policy interface. He currently holds a position as the chairman of the JNCC and has held many reputable positions in the past, including but not limited to: chair of the International Whaling Commission, Secretary General of the RAMSAR convention of wetlands, Chief Scientist UK Nature Conservancy Council and a position on the Board of the Millenium Assessment.

The seminar will be held in the Coyne Lecture Theatre from 11am to 1pm . All are welcome, so please come by if you’re interested in hearing more from Peter!

Research Professional

Guidance

Every BU academic has a Research Professional account which delivers weekly emails detailing funding opportunities in their broad subject area. To really make the most of your Research Professional account, you should tailor it further by establishing additional alerts based on your specific area of expertise.

Research Professional have created several guides to help introduce users to ResearchProfessional. These can be downloaded here.

Quick Start Guide: Explains to users their first steps with the website, from creating an account to searching for content and setting up email alerts, all in the space of a single page.

User Guide: More detailed information covering all the key aspects of using ResearchProfessional.

Administrator Guide: A detailed description of the administrator functionality.

In addition to the above, there are a set of 2-3 minute videos online, designed to take a user through all the key features of ResearchProfessional.  To access the videos, please use the following link: http://www.youtube.com/researchprofessional 

Research Professional are running a series of online training broadcasts aimed at introducing users to the basics of creating and configuring their accounts on ResearchProfessional.  They are holding monthly sessions, covering everything you need to get started with ResearchProfessional.  The broadcast sessions will run for no more than 60 minutes, with the opportunity to ask questions via text chat.  Each session will cover:

  • Self registration and logging in
  • Building searches
  • Setting personalised alerts
  • Saving and bookmarking items
  • Subscribing to news alerts
  • Configuring your personal profile

Each session will run between 10.00am and 11.00am (UK) on the fourth Tuesday of each month.  You can register here for your preferred date:

26th March 2013: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/518275168 

23rd April 2013: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/255287520 

28th May 2013: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/806064201 

25th June 2013: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/492839664 

23rd July 2013: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/771246561 

27th August 2013: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/398714217 

24th September 2013: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/882372120 

These are free and comprehensive training sessions and so this is a good opportunity to get to grips with how Research Professional can work for you.

A range of funding at BU still available

There are still a number of funding opportunities up for grabs at BU whether you want to meet up with potential collaborators or have Open Access privileges added to your publication.

 

EU Networking Fund: open to any BU academics who want to network across Europe with a view to finding collaborators.  You can apply for support for a range of activities relating directly to networking, such as:
• Travel with the intent of networking
• Conference attendance with the intent of networking
• Attendance at external networking events leading to collaborative research proposals
• Meetings with external organisations to establish collaborations.

 

FIF Staff Mobility & Networking: this provides support for staff to support UK or overseas travel and subsistence in pursuit of any aspect of Fusion – research, education, and/or professional practice.

 

 

open access logo, Public Library of ScienceOpen Access Fund: his is available for use by any BU author ready to submit a completed article for publication who wishes to make their output freely and openly accessible.

 

These funds all have limited budgets so make your submission sooner rather than later!

The Ethics of Fame

I was idly flicking between TV channels last night, as you do, desperate to find something to watch for a few minutes before bed.  I eventually latched in a frenzy of button pushing – the batteries in the remote need changing – on yet another programme about Richard III, this time the ‘untold story’.  There has been some discussion amongst my peers about the ethics of this whole saga; not the ethics of digging up a king, but the ethics around how this discovery was presented to the world.  There is no doubt that presenting it via a series of news conferences and documentaries has maximised the publicity for the University of Leicester but is this the most ethical way for research to be presented?

 Research is dependent on the process of ‘peer review’ as the gate keeper of quality.  Nothing without peer review should be accepted by anyone as accurate and without flaw, at least so the doctrine goes.  I would probably go as far as to argue that it is unethical and damaging to the reputation of researchers for work to be published that has not undergone rigorous peer review, receiving that quality stamp.  If we take an extreme case I am sure you will agree with me.  A research lab has new results which claim that child vaccination is dangerous; should they be allowed to publicise their claim, causing public hysteria, until their work has been rigorously peer reviewed and the faults and limitations exposed critically?  I am sure you would agree that peer review prior to disclosure has an essential role here?  What if the science was flawed?  But is this not the same, at least in principle, as the case of Richard III?  The quest for the media stories and for the associated glory is not always a positive attribute within academia, being simply an extension of the ‘fame cult’ which seems to haunt modern society were everyone apparently wants to be the latest one hit wonder! 

 I know this bitterly from first hand.  In 2005 I was part of a research team which believed that it had discovered a series of footprints in Mexico which due to their age challenged early colonisation doctrine for the Americas.  The ideas were first subject to protracted review in the journal Nature and in parallel we were successful in being chosen to exhibit at the Summer Exhibition of the Royal Society in 2005.  Our desire to publically launch the work at the exhibition became progressively out of sync with our plans to publish it; the exhibition was an immovable date and the review process fluid and on-going.  In fact by that stage we had abandoned Nature and submitted elsewhere.  At the time of the exhibition the new paper was only just under review and was not actually published until January of the following year, 2006.  Our opponents had a rebuttal published in Nature in December before the publication of the paper they were rebutting!  I went on to prove that these footprints were not in fact footprints at all, a paper four years later that took courage and cost me the friendship of my former collaborators.  It was the right thing to do however.  I view the publicity back in 2005 now with some mild embarrassment; the idea was simply wrong and a more cautious approach would have served better.  It did raise the profile of optical laser scanning and lead to the invitation that took me to Kenya in 2007 and some very real footprints, in fact the second oldest in the world.  But in my heart, and with the benefit of hindsight, I know that the quest for publicity before ensuring the rigorous foundations of the claim was wrong and I learnt a hard lesson about the power of patience and of peer review as the great gate keeper.  Yes peer review may inhibit some of our more creative and innovative ideas and encourages conformism to existing research doctrine, but despite these faults it does stand as a bulwark against bad research.

 I am in no way criticising those involved in the Richard III story, they choose to break their story in the way they did for good reason no doubt; it was after all a huge secret to keep.  But I do believe that in most situations there is an ethical issue of good practice here and a principle that needs upholding.  It is a question that BU has faced quite recently with respect to some of its research on prosthetics at the time of the Paralympics and we held the line at the time that no disclosure should be made until work had been rigorously peer reviewed.  It is a line that I am proud of, founded on personal experience and basic common sense.