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PGR Development Framework Programme – new workshops announced

PG research

An additional workshop – An Introduction to Case Studies – has been added to the March Programme:

An Introduction to Case Studies
This introductory session will provide a general overview of case methodology. Key questions to be discussed are: When should case studies be used? What characterises a convincing case study research? What criticisms are commonly put forward against case study research and how can they be addressed?”
Date: Wednesday 20 March 2013
Time: 14:00 – 17:00
Room: EB303, Executive Business Centre – Lansdowne
Facilitator: Dr Fabian Homberg
Booking: gsbookings@bournemouth.ac.uk

A full list of March workshops can be found here:  PGR Development Framework Prog _ March workshops

April Events

PGR induction (Repeat workshop)
Outline: Introduction to BU’s academic and professional support for your research degree.  The session will also include an introduction to the Research Development Framework and how to map your personal development.
Date: Wednesday 24 April 2013
Time: 10:00 – 13:00
Room: PG22 – Poole House – Talbot Campus
Facilitator: Graduate School
Booking: gsbookings@bournemouth.ac.uk

Research Philosophy
Outline: The aim of this workshop is to examine the meanings of some key terms in the philosophy of science, with the objective of enhancing understanding of, and stimulating reflection on, some basic issues in research philosophy.
Date: Wednesday 24 April 2013
Time: 14:00 – 16:00
Room: PG22 – Poole House – Talbot Campus
Facilitators: Professor Barry Richards
Booking: gsbookings@bournemouth.ac.uk


 

 

Women in academia and FIF SMN Funding

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion

 There are currently 18, 465 professors across British Academia; only 3,790 (20.5%) are female.  The number of female professors has increased by 1.5% since 2010[i]. At this rate of increase (0.75% per year) it will take 119 years for women to achieve equal numbers in the professoriate (and that is assuming the total number of professors stays the same!). At the same time the ratio of women to men is roughly equal at undergraduate level.  At Phd the number of women starts to decline, through to postdoctoral, to lecture, to SL to professor. We might imagine this as an inverted pyramid.

With these concerns in mind, I have recently been asked to edit a symposium in the journal European Political Science (which I will now co-edit with Stephen Bates [University of Birmingham]) about the status of women in political science.  While there are clearly issues which impact upon women’s careers across the academy (and I have written about this elsewhere),  the aim of our symposium is to map the way in which women are positioned in my own discipline, political science, across Europe.  Space and resources have meant that we are beginning with a ‘snapshot’ with contributions from Finland, Germany, Spain and the UK and authors will be asked to map the ‘state of play’ in political science in their own country.  From here the intention is to then move to a discussion about what possibilities and opportunities lie ahead for women.  While the symposium is about political science, there are clearly wider themes applicable beyond our discipline; about women in academia more generally their opportunities for entrance, engagement and progression.

 The FIF SMN networking grant gives me the opportunity to attend the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) Gender and Politics Conference in Barcelona.  Here I am hoping to meet with the ECPR Gender and Politics Group steering committee and discuss the ways in which European Political Science currently seeks to tackle this issue. We are also hoping to apply for funding for a full scale data collection project, looking at best practice elsewhere and developing tools and recommendations to support and promote women within the profession.

 

 

[i] 2012 data from Higher Education Statistics Agency; 2010 data from the Equality Challenge Unit

Funding for meetings and networking activity available through COST

A Call has been launched under the European Co-operation in Science and Technology (COST) programme. You will know from my previous posts, that COST covers the costs of networking  activities such as meetings (e.g. travel, subsistence, support for the  organiser), conferences, workshops, short-term scientific exchanges,  training schools, publications and dissemination activities. To apply, you  must register online by 15/2/13 and  then apply by 29/3/12.

FIF SMN strand accepting applications

The Fusion Investment Fund Staff Mobility & Networking (SMN) Strand has £45k to award from now until April 30th 2013.

The objectives , eligibility criteria and award limits are exactly as that found in the SMNPolicy document found on our  Fusion Investment Fund webpages.

Applications must be on this FIF Application Form and emailed to me when completed; as many people experienced problems with the online form, this format is no longer valid.

Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis by the Committee and the fund will close either when the fund expires or on April 30th 2013, whichever occurs first. You are encouraged to discuss your potential application with a member of the Committee to ensure it meets the remit of the scheme.

All vital information including policy documents, FAQs  etc can be found on the SMN webpage.

PhD Studentship Competition 2013 – 2nd Call for Matched Funded Studentships

Following the successful allocation of 39 PhD Studentships (fully and matched funded) under the 1st call, we are delighted to announce a 2nd call of the competition in which there are 5 matched funded studentships available for candidates starting in September 2013 as outlined below:

Matched-funding (50% equivalent to £24k over three years) may come from:

  • Industry/business partners,
  • Government and non-government organizations,
  • Academic Schools,
  • NHS,
  • Research Councils, or
  • Other external bodies.

Priority may be given to applications that involve supervisors from two or more Schools and/or those from early career researchers.

All proposals should match clearly to one of the eight BU Research Challenges:

  • Creative & Digital Economies
  • Culture & Society
  • Entrepreneurship & Economic Growth
  • Environmental Change & Biodiversity
  • Green Economy & Sustainability
  • Health, Wellbeing & Aging
  • Leisure & Recreation
  • Technology & Design.

Applicants are encouraged to discuss potential applications to this funding strand with their Deputy Dean Research or equivalent within their School.

As with the 1st call, the PhD Studentships will be awarded to Supervisory Teams on the basis of a competitive process across the whole of BU led by Professor Matthew Bennett (PVC Research, Enterprise & Internationalization) and managed by the Graduate School.

Applications will be assessed and awards made by a cross University Panel. In selecting proposals for funding, emphasis will be placed on the excellence of the research and quality of proposal in the first instance.  Strategic fit with the REF and Societal Impact will also be assessed. The panel will individually score each proposal and meet formally to select the successful projects.

Only the best projects will be funded and proceed to advert. Full details and criteria are set out in the BU-Studentship-Competition-2013-Final-Policy (Rd2).  Staff are asked to check the eligibility criteria carefully before applying.

Proposals should be submitted on the Studentship-Project-Proposal-2013 (Matched Funding) to the Graduate School (phdstudentshipcompetition@bournemouth.ac.uk) no later than 5pm on Monday 18th March 2013.

All proposals must be completed fully, include all appropriate signatures and be accompanied by a supporting document from the matched funder (letter, email, etc).

Good luck!

 

Fusion Investment Funding – An educational game for nursing student engagement in caring for people with dementia

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion

Dr Christos Gatzidis (DEC) and myself, along with BUDI colleagues Michele Board and Patricia McParland are delighted to have been awarded funding to develop an educational game for nursing students. Thanks to the funding we will be able to recruit a Research Assistant who will develop technical aspects of an interactive 3D virtual game which will respond to a European Union Directive for including dementia education in pre-registration nursing programmes.
Colleagues from HSC and BUDI will help in the preparation of detailed information to be incorporated in the game. Its veracity (and user-friendliness) will be assessed by people who have dementia and those who care for them. We will be presenting our developed game to a number of audiences, both in person and in print, once the project has reached completion in 2014 and will be offering updates along the way.

Rick Fisher, HSC

Buzz around Rufus Stone continues to create academic, cinematic and community impact

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion

“Anyone of any age and background can sit and watch this film, understand it, learn from it and emotionally connect to it”.— Dr Patricia Leavy in The Qualitative Report

The short film, Rufus Stone, (Kip Jones, Author and Executive Producer), seems to move from strength to strength. The movie was based on research as part of Research Councils UK funded research at Bournemouth University and a project of the national New Dynamics of Ageing programme.

                       Harry Kershaw, Martha Myers-Lowe &Tom Kane

Rufus Stone was screened as part of an ESRC Festival of Social Science event at BU in November for representatives of health and social care organisations. Participants went away from the day of activities with new knowledge about growing older as gay or lesbian in rural settings. Attendees each received a set of Method Deck cards produced by the research team to encourage their own groups in discussion and activities around these issues.

A Masterclass is in the planning stages for late April where representatives from both statutory and voluntary groups can come to Bournemouth for two days, learn about our research, view the film and take part in exercises drawn from the Method Deck. They then will be equipped to return to their groups with training in organising their own meaningful exercises around interfacing with older gay and lesbian citizens in their organisations. By partaking in the two days of activities, participants will receive copies of the Method Deck and the film. Stay tuned for details.

Freshers on HSC’s “Exploring Evidence to Guide Practice’ unit as well as Social Work students have had recent screenings as part of their learning experiences. There will be future opportunities for BU students to take advantage of this ‘home grown’ successful learning resource.

The film was screened in January at Birkbeck/University of London’s very modern Gordon Square cinema in Bloomsbury for their Doing Critical Social Research seminar series.  A lively discussion followed with what seemed a very appreciative audience.

Cambridge University welcomes Rufus to the Cambridge Arts Picturehouse cinema on the 22nd of February at 4 p.m. as part of their Arts and Science Researcher Forum. A Q&A with Jones and Rufus Stone’s director, Josh Appignanesi, will follow the screening, BU’s Trevor Hearing will moderate.

There will be a screening of Rufus Stone in March at Talbot campus hosted by BU Media School’s Narrative Group. Following the film, Jones will discuss the use of narrative research, biography and autobiography in creating the film’s story and script.  Great chance to catch the film if you haven’t seen it already. 18 March, Kimmeridge (KG03) at 1 p.m.

Community screenings at local cinemas in Poole and Wareham are set for the BU Festival of Learning on June 5th at the Lighthouse and June 12th at the Rex. Both start at 1 p.m. with refreshments and conversation to follow. We are particularly hoping to draw crowds of a range of ages and backgrounds from local communities.

                       William Gaunt, Lin Blakley & Niall Buggy

For information, registration and/or ticket details for all future screenings, check the sidebar on Rufus Stone the movie BU microsite.

Buzz around the film has also hit the net. The Sociological Imagination features the trailer for the film on its pages and discusses ‘Turning Research into Film’. The Qualitative Report frequently features updates about Rufus Stone in its Weekly Report and recently ran a review of the film by author and educator, Patricia Leavy.

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) “Impact of Social Science” web pages recently interviewed Kip Jones about Rufus Stone. Topics covered include: “How did Rufus Stone come about?” “What is the relationship between the research and the film?” and “What advice to you have for social scientists interested in using tools from the arts?” 5 Minutes with Kip Jones: “we engage in the creative process and open new doors for communication”.

As well as winning two awards at the prestigious Rhode Island International Film Festival last summer, the film has also recently featured in the Torin (Italy) Film Festival and the UK Jewish Film Festival in London.

An academic article by HSC’s Kip Jones, Lee-Ann Fenge, Rosie Read and Marilyn Cash goes live in Forum: Qualitative Social Research, an on-line journal, shortly. The paper outlines the research behind the film, then presents in-depth life stories of four of the research participants.

Jones has also recently published , “Connecting Research with Communities through Performative Social Science”, which makes a case for the potential of arts-based social science to reach audiences and engage communities.

FIF – The Poole & Purbeck Portal

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion

The Poole and Purbeck Portal is a new inter-school collaboration between the School of Applied Sciences, the Media School and the National Centre for Computer Animation – made possible by the Fusion Investment Fund.

The Portal will be launching in February, creating a shop window to showcase excellence in research from both our Academics, and our Students – further cementing BU’s leadership in the region. The Portal will engage the key stakeholders in the area; and work with the local community to provide the answers to the big questions relating to the regions rich natural environment, heritage and future.

Through the engagement of key stakeholders, new partnerships will emerge – students will benefit from work placements, research projects, and potentially graduate employment. The university will benefit from these new collaborations by, for example, increased consultancy projects.

The Portal itself was constructed within the ethos of the Fusion Fund – 2nd year media students were recruited to design and build the website, Red Balloon & the VFX Hub were commissioned to create a film-integrated animation promotional video, opening up cross collaborative streams across the University.

Fusion Investment Funding – Devils and Dolls Reseach Project

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion

Jim Pope and myself are extremely pleased to have gained Fusion Funding for our ‘Devils and Dolls’ research project.  This project will investigate children’s responses to Roald Dahl’s (anti)heroines, looking at Matilda and The Magic Finger. 

We have arranged to visit four local primary schools to conduct workshops with their current Year 6 students.  Our methodology will employ a qualitative approach through a range of activities to be conducted in-class with groups of Year Six children.  These hour-long sessions will revolve around discussing key scenes from the book and film and asking the children to give written and verbal opinions on whether these characters are heroic; how they are similar to/different from other heroes, and so forth. We currently estimate we will be running the session with around 100-200 children during the spring term.

We will be presenting our research as a conference paper (full abstract below) at the ‘Devils and Dolls’ conference (Bristol University, 27 March 2013) and intend to write our findings up into a full article over the summer.  We’re very excited about this project which we think is an excellent opportunity to engage in primary research into a severely under-represented area: the responses of child readers to children’s fiction and its uses in education.  We’re also especially delighted to have received this funding as it will enable us to make new networking contacts with local schools that will benefit BU in future research in this area.  The study will directly inform our future teaching on Children’s Literature unit (BA English Level I) and we hope the proposed outputs will also promote the research and media teaching being done here at BU at both a national and international level.

Lost little girls (with scary powers): how do children respond to Roald Dahl’s heroines?

Jim Pope and Julia Round

Bournemouth University

Depictions of the child in literature for children are often stereotyped and dichotomous: for every Dennis the Menace there is a Peter Perfect, and it often seems there is little in between the two poles. But the depiction of the individual child can contain a similar tension within itself and some child characters (Matilda, The Magic Finger) are shown to have the capability for innocence and destruction in equal measure. These children are neither saintly nor monstrous, and thus they don’t easily fit the stereotypes of children’s literature.  How do children interpret and respond to these characters?

This paper considers examples of the ‘little girl’ who, despite innocent appearance, can wreak great destruction.  It begins by summarising critical opinion on the subject and the narrative stances of Dahl (whose morals and messages are generally very clear and didactic).  Extracts, clips and theory are used to demonstrate that such characters cannot be clearly defined as a ‘devil’ or a ‘doll’ and that in fact there is a great deal of tension within each character.  These dichotomies are explored and reflected upon using relevant extracts and clips.

However, ‘lit crit’ like this all too often begins and ends with a point of view or an argument to be built. When critics talk authoritatively about the tones, styles, messages and impacts of children’s lit, they are writing from the perspective of an adult with things to say. The response of adult critics is itself in a multiply dichotomous position – the adult commenting on the child’s interpretation of the child character created by an adult. How far do we wish to go with such conflicted criticism? Should we not instead consider how modern child readers understand these modern heroines – are they pleased to see characters like these behaving badly (sometimes) yet still winning? 

The paper concludes with presentation of findings from a small reader-response study, in which we discussed extracts and clips from the books with groups of child readers.  Their responses and reactions to these characters are used to reflect upon the critics’ conclusions and the texts themselves.

Research Ethics training course coming soon!

Research Ethics

You asked, we delivered! That’s right, due to popular demand BU has invested in an online research ethics training course. The course is mainly for post graduate research (PGR) students and academic staff. The course covers standard practice and recent changes in universities’ ethics relating to research that investigates people and their data. The course applies, for example, to the healthcare disciplines, to natural and social sciences, education and welfare services, humanities, law and media studies. Ethics standards apply very generally across many topics, methods and disciplines of research. This course has used several health research examples, because the ethics questions tend to stand out clearly in health research. Viewers working in other disciplines are invited to consider how the same questions apply to their own research.

The aims of the course are to help you to:

  • understand and use the frameworks and basic tools in research ethics debates
  • explain and justify your decisions about research ethics
  • know about resources for extending and updating your knowledge of ethics.

Please keep an eye on the blog for more information regarding when the course will go live. The course will be accessible via myBU.

EU Networking Fund still open!

The EU Networking Fund (EUNF) is open to any BU academics who want to network across Europe with a view to finding collaborators. We have a pot of money to support this scheme, and the fund will end when the pot is empty.
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.

You can read more on this scheme in the EUNF Policy Document and make a submission using theEUNF Application Form; there is no deadline.

Fusion supports new PR research collaboration in Asia

Awarded & submitted bids, Fusion, REF Subjects, Research themes

Prof Tom Watson teaching at Chulalongkorn University

For several years, the Media School (TMS) has been developing a relationship with Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Chula, as it is known, is rated as the No.1 university in the kingdom.

The SMN award allows the development of a collaborative project between TMS and the Faculty of Communication Arts at Chula to organise an academic conference on public relations in Asia in Bangkok on November 18-19.
The conference will provide a platform for academic research on public relations history, current theory and practice, and future trends. In particular, it will investigate Asian (i.e. non Anglo-American) perspectives of public relations and will be the first dedicated conference to do so.

Prof Tom Watson, who is a co-chair of the conference, says the SMN funding “will lead to the development of a sustainable academic and research partnership between the two universities. It will enable BU staff participation in cross-cultural research with Thai colleagues. The conference will also place BU in a leadership role on research into cross-cultural communications and international public relations.”

Dr Ana Adi is working with Prof Watson on the project. She taught at Chula in mid-2012 on a staff exchange. She and at least one other TMS academic will be attending the conference and presenting papers.

The conference collaboration started with attendance by Chula’s Dr Napawan Tantivejakul at the International History of Public Relations Conference 2011 at BU, which began a dialogue about a joint conference with an Asian focus. This was cemented when Prof Watson visited Chula in November last year as a visiting professor and negotiated the arrangements. It is hoped that there will be 16 speakers, plus two keynotes, and 50 delegates at the November event.

FIF – Staff Networking and Mobility Project- Visiting Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in South Korea

Fusion

The University’s Fusion Investment Fund (Staff Networking and Mobility) has provided an excellent opportunity for building up international cooperation in research, education and professional practice. Over the years we have developed many international links with China, US, France, Switzerland, Singapore, Turkey etc. These international links have played a significant role in our research activities through joint publications, developing research projects, submitting research proposal for external funding.

GIST is a world-class technical university which has recently started to focus on bridging art and technology, and is setting up a national research institute for art-technology fusion supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism of Korea. This matches extremely well with the ethos and practices of the NCCA that has been undertaking cutting edge research marrying art with technology.

Dr. Xiaosong Yang met Prof. Lee at SIGGRAPH2012 and had a long discussion exploring collaborative ideas. Prof. Lee has been working on physical simulation for many years, and has produced many quality publications on top journals, including SIGGRAPH (ACM Transactions on Computer Graphics). As we (Dr Yang and Prof Zhang) have been working on character animation for many years, both Prof Lee and us at the NCCA are strong players in our respective specialist subject fields and have complementary strengths. In order to consolidate our relationship and develop winning research projects, this proposed collaboration will start with joint research on physically based character animation.

Dr. Yang will give one week visit to Prof. Lee’s research lab at GIST around May/June 2013. The network activities, including guest lectures/talks, visits and meetings, will aim at promoting joint world-class research, exploring collaborations for joint-publications and future funding bids.

Researchers: Dr. Xiaosong Yang, Prof. Jian J Zhang (The Media School)

Xiaosong Yang   Jian J Zhang

Erasmus Mundus Call Open – INTERESTED?

Funding opportunities

 

The Erasmus Mundus 2013 call for proposals is now open!  Full details of the call can be found here and please note that this year’s call is for Action 2 and 3 proposals only.

We need to assess the level of interest across BU in submitting applications to this call in order to ensure we meet the guidelines re multiple applications.

If interested in applying, please contact Paul Lynch asap! –  plynch@bournemouth.ac.uk

Innovation Vouchers – work with local businesses, receive EU funds and get funding within a couple of weeks

The European Regional Development Fund ‘Innovation Vouchers’ provide funding for a business to work with an expert from BU, to gain new knowledge in order to help their business innovate, develop and grow.

There only conditions to obtaining this voucher is that the business:

  • Must not have worked with you previously
  • Must be a start-up, micro, small and medium-sized business (defined by the EC)
  • Must be located in the South West England Competitiveness Area
  • Must trade in an ERDF-eligible sector (i.e. not agri-food, textiles or retail)
  • Must have an innovative idea

The business will receive 40% support for projects ranging from £3,000 to £10,000 for the business to buy in external expertise from you to develop ideas and improve performance. The work must be undertaken between now and early 2015 and the best part is there is around a 2 week turnaround to tell you whether you have been successful. This truly is a great scheme.  

We have a visit from the ERDF representative who will give tips on applying and more details on the scheme in K101, 2-3 on Friday 1st February. There is also individual one to one time with the presenter 3-4pm. To book a place, simply email Emily Cieciura, RKE Operations.

 

 N.B. The Innovation Voucher  project is part financed by the Competitiveness European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme, which is one of the funds established by the European Commission to help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support local businesses and create jobs. For more information visit www.communities.gov.uk/erdf.

REF – Early Career Researcher

Research assessment

The University is currently preparing to take part in the first Research Excellence Framework (REF) assessment, which is a national exercise to assess the quality of research in UK higher education institutions.

As part of this preparation, all REF eligible staff have been encouraged to disclose individual circumstances to HR (please refer to previous ‘REF’ blogposts for more information).  The first round of data collection closed in October 2012 and the next round of data collection is due to take place in May 2013. 

To help you to decide if you qualify as an early career researcher, please find below the official definition given by the REF team, extracted from the ‘Assessment framework and guidance on submissions’ document.

Early career researchers are defined as members of staff who meet the criteria to be selected as Category A or Category C staff on the census date, and who started their careers as independent researchers on or after 1 August 2009. For the purposes of the REF, an individual is deemed to have started their career as an independent researcher from the point at which:

a. They held a contract of employment of 0.2 FTE or greater, which included a primary employment function of undertaking ‘research’ or ‘teaching and research’, with any HEI or other
organisation, whether in the UK or overseas, and
b. They undertook independent research, leading or acting as principal investigator or equivalent on a research grant or significant piece of research work. (A member of staff is not deemed to have undertaken independent research purely on the basis that they are named on one or more research outputs.)

For more information about the REF at BU, see the previous REF posts on the Blog by clicking on the ‘ref’ tag. You can also access additional information from the REF website.

Alternatively, you can contact myself or Rita Dugan in the Research and Knowledge Exchange Development and Operations Team or leave a comment below.