/ Full archive

PTHP advert for a Research Assistant ( TANGERINE)

Do you have experience in quantitative data analysis and analysing large datasets?

 

We have an exciting opportunity for a part-time research assistant role to undertake secondary data analysis of UK Biobank and Understanding Society data using statistics software (e.g. Stata, R).

We have secured prestigious funding from UKRI (MRC) for a project starting 30th September 2023. The project is a collaboration between Bournemouth University as lead, Loughborough University and University of Chester that aims to develop a food-based intervention to improve nutrition in UK South Asian and Black African and Caribbean older adults.

There is up to 240 hours of funded work to be delivered between a 6-12 month period and can be undertaken through secure remote working.

If you would like to know more about the opportunity, please send your CV and email (no later than 25th August 2023) to Professor Rebecca Hardy, Professor of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics r.j.hardy@lboro.ac.uk. or Professor Jane Murphy, Professor of Nutrition jmurphy@bournemouth.ac.uk. Please contact Professor Hardy if you have any queries about the skills required for the post.

 

We welcome expressions of interest from people from a Black, Asian or other Minority Ethnic background but accept applications from all groups.

 

How to talk to journalists – online workshop


Online workshop opportunity for PGRs at Bournemouth University


If you’re interested in having your work and research reported in the media, join this practical workshop – Impress the Press: How to talk to journalists.

This online workshop will run from 10am to 12.30pm on Thursday 5th October.

This will cover what makes a good news story and how to talk about your work, as well as tips and techniques for speaking with broadcast media (TV and radio) – followed by the chance to put it all into practice through some mock interviews. Engaging with the media can be a great way to raise your profile and share your research with a broad range of audiences, which can increase the reach and potential impact of your work. By the end of the session, you’ll feel confident in undertaking media interviews and talking to journalists about what you do.

This workshop will be facilitated by Stephen Bates (Senior Press Officer, Marketing & Communications) and Emma Matthews (Research Communications Adviser, Research & Development Support).

To sign up, complete this form: https://forms.office.com/e/TisHrnjbMT

UK Research Integrity Office – Free Webinar

UKRIO LogoJoin UKRIO for their latest free webinar “Correcting the scholarly record, and dispelling myths around corrections” on Wednesday 20th September from 10:00 – 11:00 BST. 

A core part of publication ethics is the correction of published research affected by errors or misconduct.

This webinar aims to explain both the process of fixing errors and misconceptions about corrections, focusing on journal articles, and to answer the questions:

  • Who decides what needs to be corrected?
  • What are the responsibilities of editors, journals, research institutions, and authors?
  • How are corrections done and what form do they take?
  • How do readers know when work has been corrected?
  • What are the barriers to correcting the scholarly literature – and, hopefully, the solutions to these problems?

Lead by expert speakers, this session will draw on their experience in handling corrections and developing editorial policies.

SPEAKERS

  • Lauren Flintoft, Research Integrity Officer, IOP Publishing
  • Gráinne McNamara, Research Integrity/Publication Ethics Manager, Karger Publishers

As BU subscribes to UKRIO services, UKRIO webinars are free and open to anyone who may be interested in research integrity and ethics, good research practice and improving research culture and misconduct.

To register – please click here (takes you to external website).

Conversation article: Fans are finding out just how disappointing merchandise for women’s football is

Dr Keith Parry co-authors this article for The Conversation about the choice and availability of kits for women’s football fans…

Fans are finding out just how disappointing merchandise for women’s football is

Keith Parry, Bournemouth University; Beth Clarkson, University of Portsmouth, and Katie Sveinson, UMass Amherst

England goalkeeper Mary Earps was named player of the match in England’s victory over Nigeria in the Fifa Women’s World Cup. She has played a key role in England’s recent successes, not just at the World Cup but in previous tournaments. Her performances have made her a hero to her fans.

But Earps’ fans are unable to emulate her by wearing a replica of her goalkeeper shirt: it is not being put up for sale by team kit manufacturer Nike. Earps has said that her goalkeeping shirt not being available to buy is “hurtful”, and a petition by fans calling for the shirt to be produced has reached over 35,000 signatures.

We are currently researching the availability of kits for women’s football fans, together with colleague Jess Richards. The merchandise and clothing available to female fans and male fans of women’s teams is often limited, undesirable or just not available.

Female fans have expressed dissatisfaction with merchandise offered in varying shades of pink. A women’s Manchester United shirt with a low neckline produced in 2015 was criticised for sexualising fans.

Or women may feel obliged to buy a shirt that doesn’t fit them if women’s cuts (shirts made to fit the shape of a female torso) of men’s team shirts are unavailable.

Here, we’ve looked at the kits women can buy on the official online stores for six teams to explore some of these issues.

World Cup clothing

The official online store for England football kits currently highlights the women’s home kit on their home page. Fans can buy a men’s cut – a shirt fitted to the shape of a male torso – of the Lionesses’ shirt, including personalised versions with player names on.

But female fans have fewer items available specifically for them in the store. There are no women’s fit versions of the men’s national team jersey.

The same is true for France – men can buy a men’s fit of the women’s team kit, but there is no women’s fit of the men’s team jersey currently available.

In their official online shop the Republic of Ireland offer women the women’s national team jersey in two different fits. They do also have the women’s national team goalkeeper kit for sale. However, the men’s team shirts are available in both long and short sleeved versions, but the women’s team shirts only come with short sleeves.

The online store for Canada Soccer also features the women’s kit prominently, but the high-end “authentic jersey” is only available for the men’s team, and only in men’s sizes. A women’s fit of the men’s jersey is not available at all.

US soccer fans hoping to emulate women’s team goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher are currently only able to buy outfield shirts with her name on it on the official kit website. The only goalkeeper jersey on offer is for the men’s national team and it is only available in a men’s fit. The store has many more items for men than for women, even for products replicating the women’s national team kit.

In 2020 in Australia the away version of the Matildas’ kit, produced by Nike, was not initially available in a women’s cut. Football Australia now has equal availability in terms of the replica jerseys and there are more items for women than for men. But the replica shirts that are currently available for the men’s team are only offered in men’s sizes.

Buying merchandise and especially replica shirts is important to fans. It is a way to show loyalty to a team and helps to develop a sense of identity.

The fan clothing worn by women can affect whether they feel they are considered as “authentic” fans. Sporting culture continues to be dominated by men.

Subtle differences in how women’s sport is treated, such as those we have found here, show that women are still disadvantaged. It is important that fans continue to push for equal opportunities on and off the pitch.The Conversation

Keith Parry, Head Of Department in Department of Sport & Event Management, Bournemouth University; Beth Clarkson, Senior Lecturer in Sports Management, University of Portsmouth, and Katie Sveinson, Assistant professor, UMass Amherst

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

 

An Appreciate Inquiry into NHS Maternity Services

 

 

Congratulation to Dr. Rachel Arnold and her Centre for Midwifery & Women’s Health research team on the publication yesterday of their paper ‘I might have cried in the changing room, but I still went to work’. Maternity staff balancing roles, responsibilities, and emotions of work and home during COVID-19: An appreciative inquiry [1].   This paper focuses on how to support staff and enhance their well-being in a small UK maternity service.  The underpinning methodological approach is appreciative inquiry using interviews with 39 maternity staff and four group discussions exploring meaningful experiences, values and factors that helped their well-being.

The key findings are that maternity staff members were highly motivated, managing a complex melee of emotions and responsibilities including challenges to professional confidence, mental health, family situation, and conflict between work-life roles. Despite staff shortages, a demanding workload, professional and personal turmoil, and the pandemic participants still found meaning in their work and relationships.  The authors go on to argue for a ‘whole person’ approach, since this approach provided insight into the multiple stressors and emotional demands staff faced. It also revealed staff resourcefulness in managing their professional and personal roles. They invested in relationships with women but were also aware of their limits – the need to be self-caring, employ strategies to switch-off, set boundaries or keep a protective distance.  Overall, the paper concludes hat staff’s well-being initiatives, and research into well-being, would benefit from adopting a holistic approach that incorporates home and family with work. Research on emotion regulation strategies could provide insights into managing roles, responsibilities, and the emotional demands of working in maternity services. Emotion regulation strategies could be included in midwifery and obstetric training.

This paper was proceeded by a more methodological paper on the application of Appreciative Inquiry in this study [2].

 

References:

  1. Arnold, R., Way, S., Mahato, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2023) “I might have cried in the changing room, but I still went to work”. Maternity staff managing roles, responsibilities, and emotions of work and home during COVID-19: an Appreciative Inquiry, Women & Birth (online first) 
  2. Arnold, R., Gordon, C., Way, S., Mahato, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2022) Why use Appreciative Inquiry? Lessons learned during COVID-19 in a UK maternity service, European Journal of Midwifery 6 (May): 1-7.

Dorset Serious Crime Project

Dorset Community Action has been commissioned by the Home Office to carry out interviews in support of their Serious Crime Project.

The aim is that this project will add valuable insight and context to wider research and analysis being undertaken to inform a local strategic needs assessment, and ultimately the Dorset Serious Violence Strategy.

The intended outcome from these case studies of victim/survivors of serious violence is to gain a greater understanding of their individual situations:

·       Were there certain conditions in place at the time the serious violence happened.

·       Was the serious violence a pattern of behaviour, possibly an escalation of behaviour and offending.

·       How had being a victim of serious violence impacted on the individual emotionally and physically.

·       What pre- and post-offence interventions from services were available, accepted, required;

(or what wasn’t available but needed/wanted)

·       How has the overall experience influenced both current and future behaviour.

The participants need to be Dorset residents and over 18.

Please, find more information in the flyer here: Serious Crime Request Flier

All final data will be shared with all stakeholders involved in the project.

Any support you can offer with this project will be very much appreciated.

Principal Investigation-13th September

 

 

Post Award for RKE – Principal Investigation

 

This session is aimed at any researcher who is, who plans to be, a Principal Investigator for an externally funded research or knowledge exchange project.

Topics covered include:

• What is post award?

• Roles and responsibilities
• Systems
• Key policies
• Starting your awarded project
• Making changes to your project and reporting

• Hints and tips

By the end of the session, attendees will have a strong foundation of what to expect when being responsible for their awarded projects.

The first session is on Talbot campus, on Wednesday 13th September, 14:00-15:00

 

You can find a suitable date and book your space here: Booking Form

For any queries regarding this workshop, please contact Alex Morrison, Post Award Programme Manager morrisona@bournemouth.ac.uk

Recruiting : FMC Reps for the Research Staff Association

The BU Research Staff Association (RSA) is a forum to promote research culture at BU. Research staff from across BU are encouraged to attend to network with others researchers, disseminate their work, discuss career opportunities, hear updates on how BU is implementing the Research Concordat, and give feedback or raise concerns that will help to develop and support the research community at BU.

The Association is run by three leaders, supported by at least two reps from each faculty.

Eligible research staff are those on research-only contracts – fixed-term or open-ended employment  (not PTHP/casual contracts).

If you are interested in the FMC rep role, please supply a few words to demonstrate your suitability, interest, availability in relation to the position to Researchdev@bournemouth.ac.uk by the 20/09/23.

Please contact your faculty RSA rep to chat about it if you have any queries.

RED-Research & Enterprise Database

 

This session is aimed at all academics to provide an overview of the Research & Enterprise Database, including how to access the system, the information available to view, budget management via RED, and how to use RED to identify your supporting pre and post award officers.

The first, online session is on Tuesday 12th September, 15:30-16:00 and it will be repeated on a monthly basis.

You can find a suitable date and book your space here Introduction to RED

 

For any queries regarding this workshop, please contact Alex Morrison Post Award Programme Manager morrisona@bournemouth.ac.uk

RKEDF Impact Planning Training 7th September

 

As part of the RKEDF Impact Essentials programme, booking is now open for the Impact Essentials: creating your impact development plan 2-hour in-person workshops. There are 4 dates to choose from and they will be delivered on both Talbot and Lansdowne campuses, so hopefully there will be a date and time that is convenient for everyone who would like to attend.

This workshop are for researchers at all career stages and at all stages of the project lifecycle – from formulating research questions and preparing grant applications to developing a potential impact case study. This practical workshop provides the tools, advice and time to start putting together your own plan to achieve impact. By the end of the session, you will have created a detailed impact development plan, tailored to your particular needs and stage of impact development.

The first session is on Talbot campus (room tbc) on 7th September, 13:00-15:00.

You can find a suitable date and book your space here: Impact Essentials – Bournemouth University Intranet.

Conversation article: How community markets for all could be a sustainable alternative to food banks

Dr Rounaq Nayak writes for The Conversation about his research into the value of community food banks…

How community markets for all could be a sustainable alternative to food banks

Troyan/Shutterstock

Rounaq Nayak, Bournemouth University

The number of people using food banks in the UK has increased from 26,000 in 2008-09 to more than 100 times that in 2023. Nearly one in five British households experienced moderate to severe food insecurity in September 2022.

In the financial year to April 2023, Trussell Trust, the largest (but not the only) network of food banks in the UK, distributed emergency food parcels to nearly three million people.

Food banks provide free, pre-prepared parcels of food to those most in need. They have provided a great deal of support for low-income families, especially during the cost of living crisis.

However, they are not perfect. Food banks offer people little choice, are dependent on unreliable supply chains. Research has also shown that people who use food banks often experience shame and stigma when doing so.

My research, with colleague Heather Hartwell at Bournemouth University, has found a viable alternative. Community markets selling food and household items at subsidised rates to all could be a sustainable solution to the problems with existing food support programmes.

Food banks rely heavily on donations. But rising food prices means even would-be donors are struggling to buy that extra can of beans and other items. Beneficiaries of food banks also told us that parcels were mostly made up of dried, tinned and processed foods.

While it is important that parcels have a long shelf life, people experiencing food poverty want a choice of fresh and frozen food items, including meat. The constraints in the range and quality of food available are also associated with health problems such as diabetes, asthma and obesity.

Food banks also do not empower people who use them to become self-sufficient. Rather, they often result in long-term reliance on food aid. Hence, food banks offer temporary relief from hunger without addressing the bigger issues that lead to food insecurity.

Community markets

Community markets operate differently to food banks. They are open to everyone in the local community, regardless of income level, and provide a range of food choices along with other items such as school uniforms and toiletries.

We interviewed 38 people who regularly used or were involved in the operation of these programmes in the UK. Through these discussions, we assessed how well community markets address the challenges of food security, and found that they are a possible solution to the limitations of food banks and parcel distribution.

Community markets do not solely rely on donations from the public or businesses. They pay a subscription to charity networks such as FareShare, which provide the market with items in bulk, which are sold to the community at a subsidised rate. All revenue from sales is reinvested to pay for future bulk purchases.

People with low incomes who shop at community markets told us they enjoyed having food at affordable food prices and felt a stronger sense of autonomy, and being part of the community. They did not feel their reliance on food support was a barrier to being part of society. As one person said:

I very much prefer being able to choose my food instead of being given parcels. … It just feels dignified to be able to pay for goods, even if it is at subsidised rates, and then being able to choose what I want based on what I would like to eat.

A middle-aged man wearing a face mask and carrying a shopping basket in front of refrigerator cases in a supermarket
People across social classes are struggling with high food prices.
Anna Nahabed/Shutterstock

Food for all

These markets can be used by people from across the community, including those on a higher income. People who were more well-off told us they wanted to shop at the markets because they felt they were giving back, spending their money to be reinvested in the programme:

I thought that people who would come to the market … would be very needy, not only financially but mentally as well but it isn’t like that … I like shopping here because the money I pay is invested back into the community.

Additionally, community markets serve as a hub, offering organised group activities and services for people, such as cooking and gardening classes, yoga and sewing. Through these activities, the community markets are tackling loneliness and other health issues – not just hunger.

Community markets are economically self-sufficient. They use revenue generated from selling products at subsidised rates to subscribe to charitable food surplus redistribution organisations. This financial independence sets them apart from food banks, which often rely on grants. They can also be environmentally sustainable, actively reducing food waste and their carbon footprint by redistributing surplus food to local emergency services and farms.

As more people rely on food aid, it’s important that local councils and national governments support alternatives to food banks. For the family struggling to fill the fridge or the student coping with higher rent, our findings show community markets could be of significant help, while allowing people to maintain their dignity and be part of their community.The Conversation

Rounaq Nayak, Lecturer in Sustainable Agri-Food Systems, Bournemouth University

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

Masterclass: Writing for Policy and Building your Online Profile – 7th September

This is a free online event for academics interested in policy engagement, run by Showrunner Communications on 7th September, 13:00-15:00. You can sign up via Eventbrite.

During this session, participants will learn to write for policy stakeholders, including advice on drafting comment articles and blogs, and Select Committee and Government consultation responses.

This session will also focus on building participants’ professional social media profiles and emphasising their expertise online.

Showrunner’s training workshops build the understanding and skills that academics need to effectively achieve policy impact throughout their careers.

This session will be delivered by Nicky Hobbs and Jennifer Harrison, who are communications, policy, and education specialists, in partnership with Showrunner Communications and the Future Leaders Fellows Development Network.

Jennifer Harrison

Jennifer has a distinctive track record within the fields of policy, public affairs, and communications, on behalf of national and local government, the voluntary and community sector, and higher education. Her work has been used by think tanks and policy institutes, directly influenced legislative and policy change, and has represented policy interests at the highest level, including meetings with ministers, in regional and national media, and at parliamentary inquiries.

Jennifer was Durham University’s first policy engagement lead, working with academics to successfully achieve REF and societal impact. This included helping to secure the first ever parliamentary inquiry into urban soil health, securing changes to criminal justice legislation, and campaigning to end irresponsible lending practices that exacerbate poverty. She has been Chair of the Russell Group Political Affairs Network and has contributed widely to thought leadership across the sector, including policy blogs and conference speaking engagements focusing on the nature of policy engagement and research impact.

Nicky Hobbs

Nicky is a communications and engagement leader with over two decades of experience, Nicky has run programmes and led teams for multiple private and public sector organisations.

Nicky has led award-winning communications departments in two Russell Group universities; UCL and Queen Mary and stakeholder engagement at a Government department. At Queen Mary, Nicky led communications for the ground-breaking City of London Institute of Technology which opened in 2022. As a consultant, she has led engagement campaigns for multiple social enterprises and charities and has significant expertise in developing high-impact digital content with a focus on higher and further education.

 

The Journal of Asian Midwives’ 10th anniversary

This week the Journal of Asian Midwives published its latest issue.  Celebrating a decade of publishing, this is the first issue of volume 10.  The journal is Open Access and freely available online for anybody who wants to read it (click here!).  In the editorial of this new issue the editors highlighted online events around the International Day of the Midwife, the ICM (International Confederation of Midwives) Triennial Congress in Bali, Indonesia in June, and the acceptance of the Journal of Asian Midwives by SCOPUS [1].  The editorial finishes by highlighting new additions to the journal, including the opportunity to submit short research proposals, or proposals for improvement in service or practice, blogs and from the next issue onwards, short view point articles.

 

Reference:

  1. van Teijlingen, E., Jan, R., Mubeen, K., Musaddique, A. (2023) Editorial – summer 2023. Journal of Asian Midwives, 10(1): 1–3.