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Book your place for the third BU Fusion event taking place on 22 February!

Fusion

The third event in the Fusion Seminar and Conference Series is on Wednesday 22 February and will focus on the Sharing aspect of the BU2018 strategy.

The February Seminar will take place between 12:00-1:30pm. Registration will open at 11:45 and the sessions will begin at 12:00. There will be one hour of short and focused presentations followed by 30 minutes of networking opportunities over lunch. The Seminar will be hosted by David Willey who will open the seminar with a 10 minute presentation. This will be followed by five brief and succinct presentations by invited speakers, with each presentation lasting no more than ten minutes including questions.

The Seminar will be held in the EBC (7th floor) and will start promptly at 12pm. Please arrive for registration from 11:45am, ready for the 12pm start.

To view the programme and to register your place, visit: http://fusionseminars.eventbrite.com/?ebtv=C

For an excellent summary of BU’s Fusion strategy, watch this short video from Professor John Vinney:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrUxINNWzjQ&

REF Team releases final panel criteria and working methods

The REF Team, working on behalf of the UK’s four main funding bodies, have now published the final version of the REF Panel criteria and working methods document. This document spells out the detail of how each of the four Main Panels and their relevant sub-panels have interpreted the assessment criteria for the first Research Execellence Framework exercise due to be held in 2014. There are some differences between the panels and we hope to be able to summarise these and disseminate them shortly via the blog, so watch this space.

In the meantime, for more information about the REF, see our previous blog posts by clicking on the ‘ref’ tag on the right-hand side of the blog. Alternatively, you can visit the HEFCE REF webpages.

Leverhulme session – slides available

Funding opportunities

Jean Cater, assistant director at the the Leverhulme Trust was at BU yesterday. 

At a well-attended event,  Jean talked about the range of funding opportunities available for academics, and outlined the Trust’s ethos and criteria.  She also fielded an hour’s worth of  questions.

Jean’s slides are now available – just click here to access them.

Please contact Caroline O’Kane if would like to find out more about the Leverhulme and their schemes, and to find out how we can support the development of your funding proposal.

Health & Humanities EU funding available over the next few weeks….

Sexual Transmission of HIV within Migrant Groups: The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has published a call for tenders regarding the sexual transmission of HIV within migrant groups and implications for effective interventions.The overall scope and objective of this call for tender is to undertake a systematic literature review complemented with a short survey to Member States, on the subject of sexual transmission of HIV in the EU/EEA in populations of migrants from countries with generalised HIV epidemics. Based on the data gathered, implications and recommendations for HIV prevention strategies and programmes within the EU/EEA should be discussed. The deadline for submitting tenders is 21 February.

Entrepreneurship Education: The European Commission has launched a call for proposals for entrepreneurship education. This call aims to support the implementation of principle 1 of the Small Business Act and the Oslo Agenda for Entrepreneurship Education in Europe.  The Small Business Act recommends stimulating innovative and entrepreneurial mindsets among young people by introducing entrepreneurship as a key competence in school curricula and ensuring that the importance of entrepreneurship is correctly reflected in teacher training. Consequently, the objective of this call is to promote projects with a high added value at European level in education for entrepreneurship.  Actions will target teachers and young people in primary, secondary and tertiary education. Applications must be sent to the Commission no later than 16 April 2012.

Systematic Reviews of Environmental Determinants of Infectious Diseases: The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has published a call for tenders for the provision of systematic reviews of environmental determinants of infectious diseases. The aim is to systematically review the evidence for environmental determinants of infectious diseases both on an ecologic as well as an individual level. The deadline for submitting tenders is 6 March 2012.

Attribution of Social Policies on the Infectious Disease Burden: The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has published a call for tenders for the attribution of social policies on the infectious disease burden. The objective of this study is to disentangle the different contributions of government policies on the infectious disease burden in society.  Specifically, the goal is to identify aetiologic pathways of socio-economic inequalities and their impact on infectious diseases.  Ultimately the aim is to inform policymakers about interventions that have a direct impact on infectious diseases. The deadline for submitting tenders is 6 March 2012.

 

Second showing of the PHD Movie on 15 February!

PG research

Love PHD Comics? Then come to the screening of The PHD Movie, hosted at BU on Wednesday 15 February!

BU first screened the movie in December but due to popular demand a second screening has now been arranged!

The PHD Movie is being shown at universities around the world and premiered at UCLA in Los Angeles in September. It has also been shown at Harvard University, Yale University, University of Sydney, CERN, and multiple screenings at the Max Planck Institute.

In the UK the movie is only scheduled to be screened at UCL, Oxford, Glasgow, Cranfield, Bristol, Imperial College, York, Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Brunel and Bournemouth!

The PHD Movie is a live-action adaptation of the popular online comic strip by Jorge Cham (PHD Comics). It was filmed on location at and was produced in partnership with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

The film introduces audiences to the unique and funny culture of Academia and follows four graduate students (Cecilia, Mike, Tajel and the “Nameless Grad Student”) as they struggle to find balance between research, teaching and their personal lives with humor and heart.

The Movie was produced and directed by and stars real PhD students and researchers.

The second Bournemouth screening will be held on Wednesday 15 February between 12:30-2pm in the Allesbrook Lecture Theatre on the Talbot Campus.

It is free to attend and lunch will be provided! 😀

Places at the screening are limited so complete the booking form below if you’d like to come along.

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Centre for Post Qualifying Social Work launch new Safeguarding frameworks

    Publishing

    National Competence for Safeguarding Adults front coverNational Competence Framework for Safeguarding Adults

    Learn to Care and Bournemouth University undertook this work in partnership to reflect the significant role that learning and developing plays in the delivery of high standards of social work and social care.

    The framework will be invaluable to Adult Safeguarding Boards, practitioners and learning and development personnel, both in managing performance and delivering quality outcomes for people who are made vulnerable by their circumstances.

     

    National Competence Framework for Safeguarding ChildrenNational Competence for Safeguarding Children front cover

    This document complies with legislation, statutory guidance and best practice in relation to the safeguarding of children. Local Safeguarding Boards should take account of local needs, including an assessment of the effectiveness of multi-agency training to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people (Munro, 2011).

    This document incorporates the recommendations from Professor Eileen Munro’s review into Child Protection in England and Wales.

    The aim of this Framework, as with the other publication in this series – National Competence Framework for Safeguarding Adults – is to provide a baseline for standards of competence that individuals can expect to receive from those professionals and organisations, who are tasked with Safeguarding Children. It also provides employees and employers with a benchmark for the minimum standard of competence required of those who work to safeguard children across a range of sectors.

    BU’s Richard Berger wins an AHRC grant!

    Awarded & submitted bids

    Congratulations to Dr Richard Berger, Associate Professor and Head of Postgraduate Research in the Media School, who has won an AHRC grant to research how the videogame L.A. Noire (which was released for Playstation 3 and XBOX 360 in May 2011) can be used to teach the English Literature curriculum. This is a collaborative grant led by Dr Julian McDougall at the University of Wolverhampton. Richard and Julian have collaborated previously on a number of journal papers, and are co-editors of the Media Education Research Journal.

    About the AHRC award: The diegesis is set in 1947, and the game appropriates conventions from American film noir texts of the 1940s and 1950s, as well as later texts such as Alphaville (Godard, 1965) and L.A. Confidential (Hanson, 1997). The novels of Elmore Leonard and James Ellroy also contribute to this sphere of influence. Unlike these novels and films, this videogame is an author / auteur-less digital text which is pre-designed but ‘written’, in narrative terms, only when read (played). However, its highly literary and filmic nature would seem to be useful for teaching / learning in the English Literature curriculum.

    As a research subject, L.A. Noire offers an opportunity to revisit ideas of adaptation and appropriation in the context of this digital transformation of the ‘hard-boiled detective novel’, and to further examine the relationship of exchange that exists between linear and digital texts. Videogames are still largely ignored in education as textual subjects but L.A. Noire is potentially transgressive, in terms of its potential to be taught / studied as a book (novel) in its digitally transformed state.

    This project will explore the ways in which gamer-students and teachers might work with L.A. Noire to reconfigure dynamics of expertise, begin a remediation of the English Literature curriculum and respond to the digital transformation of what we think it means to ‘read’ in order to think differently about the function of books and the nature of textual authority in the digital age.

    Congratulations Richard – this is an excellent achievement! 😀

    Richard is a peer reviewer for the AHRC which he believes directly informs his own bidding activity – you can read his review of the benefits of being a peer reviewer here: Life as an AHRC Peer Reviewer. He has also made use of our internal peer review service (the RPRS) to help to strengthen his proposals prior to submission – you can read his review of the RPRS here: One Man’s Experience of the Research Proposal Review Service

    Erasmus Mundus EM-iDEA events in March and July

    This is an announcement for the second and third conferences organised by the Erasmus Mundus (EM) Action 3 project EM-iDEA, which will take place in, Lund (Sweden) on March 27th 2012 and Vilnius (Lithuania) on July 13th 2012

    The aim of the EM-iDEA project is to bring together those working and interested in Erasmus Mundus projects to exchange and to prepare collective actions. These conferences are two of six regional conferences organised by the project. Three more will be held before July 2013 in Novi Sad, Valencia and Bordeaux. You will find information on the conference which was held in Ghent on the project’s website, where you will also find a newsletter.

    You should consider attending one of the sessions if you are working on an existing joint programme of Erasmus Mundus or if you are preparing a new one, if you wish to meet people involved in the implementation of joint programmes or if you would like to participate in the creation of a structured network of professionals with experience in the development and implementation of joint programmes. Have a look and book your place now 🙂

    Find out about Mixtape – the Media School’s excellent flexible CPD portfolio

    BU is committed to developing its Continuing Professional Development portoflio. One School that has already done some excellent work in this area is the Media School. They launched their provision two years ago and now have over 250 students on a variety of CPD pathways – some delivered by BU and some delivered in partnership with employers such as the BBC and Pearson. All of the courses are accredited by Skillset, the sector skills council for creative and media. To find out more about the short course offer in the Media School and to hear from current students and employers, watch this amazing short video: http://mixtape.bournemouth.ac.uk/overview.html

    Visit the Mixtape website here: http://mixtape.bournemouth.ac.uk/

    Find out about Max Lowenstein’s research into denunciation

    Dr Max Lowenstein, from the Law Department in the Business School, has a piece of research coming out in Criminology & Criminal Justice: An International Journal (rated A in the Excellence Research Australia journal ranking list) that explores the meaning of judicial denunciation. The article attempts to relate sentencing principle, policy and social theory to legal practice by comparing the perceptions of English and Danish lower Court judges when sentencing minor theft offenders. There is no coherent international academic agreement as to what judicial denunciation means. The qualitative data gathered by interviewing Danish and English judges commonly pointed to the ‘public condemnation of someone or something’ Oxford Dictionaries Online (World English). In other words, judges pointing out wrongful behavior in theft offenders during sentence summation and explaining how this impacts victims, themselves and wider society. Through a small comparison of judicial perceptions in two distinct legal cultures there were common hints provided as to what denunciation may mean and what it could achieve when applied to theft offenders. In England, the potentially negative repercussions of denouncing theft offenders in Court were the focus. As one English lay judge eloquently summed up;

    ‘There is little impact on hardened persistent theft offenders because they know full well what they have done is wrong. It is like water off a duck’s back to them. Public shaming only has an impact if the theft offender cares about what others think of him.’

     However, in Denmark, the potentially positive repercussions of denouncing theft offenders in Court were the focus. As one Danish professional judge confidently stated;

    ‘When you explain why conduct is unacceptable in society, particularly early on in a theft offender’s anti-social habits, it can act as an important wake up call.’

    Sadly comparative qualitative data on judicial denunciation is very rare due to the significant challenges it presents to the researcher. Indeed this research comparing such an important element of the sentencing approach had never been attempted before. By gathering more data across legal cultures it may be possible to align our theoretical understandings of judicial denunciation with the common perceptions in legal practice across Europe and beyond. In this way, comparative academics can contribute to the continuing future globalization of criminal justice. Much more research on judicial denunciation can and should be done. In so doing, how public condemnation of wrongful behavior is commonly perceived by judges in relation to similar criminal offences across different legal cultures will begin to emerge.

    Hello everybody!

    PG research

    I am Tiantian Zhang, the new Head of the Graduate School,  I started on 16 Jan and have enjoyed the first two weeks at BU! Just tell you a little bit about myself – I graduated from Liaoning University with a BSc in Environmental Biology and worked as a research scientist in the areas of Environmental Science for 5 years in China before obtaining a MPhil degree in Environmental Biology at Middlesex University and a PhD degree in Cryobiology at University of Bedfordshire. I worked as a post-doc and a senior research fellow before I was made Reader in 2003 and Professor in 2005. I was the Director of LIRANS Institute of Research in the Applied Natural Sciences at University of Bedfordshire before joining BU. My work at University of Bedfordshire also involved working closely with the Research Graduate School on developing frameworks for doctoral training and Personal Development Planning programs and other cross institutional initiatives.

    My research interests are in the areas of cryopreservation of gametes and reproductive cells and its applications in biomedicine, conservation and animal reproduction. The work has mainly been focused on cryopreservation of reproductive cells and embryos of aquatic species, effect of cryopreservation on genome and metabolic activities of reproductive cells and fish stem cell culture development and cryopreservation. My research also included ecotoxicology studies using fish cell lines and other biological materials. My cryobiology research was funded by funding bodies such as  the Wellcome Trust and the European Commission. The outcome of my research has led to 129 publications and 86 conference presentation. I have supervised 15 research students to completion and is currently the Director of Studies of  6 PhD students.

    I have enjoyed meeting many people during my first two weeks at BU and is looking forward to meeting  as many of you as possible in the near future! I am also looking forward to working with you all in taking the Graduate School forward.

    See you soon!

    Best wishes

    Tiantian

    Assessing societal impact of social work research

    REF Subjects, Research themes

    Edwin Van TeijingenREF logoJonathan Parker
    The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the new assessment method for publically funded research in universities. Its controversial new ‘impact’ element rates work based on evidence of social, economic or cultural benefits generated from it. But how easily can such things be quantified, particularly in applied academic subjects like social work?

    Professors Jonathan Parker and Edwin van Teijlingen from Bournemouth University have addressed these questions in their paper ‘The Research Excellence Framework (REF): Assessing the Impact of Social Work Research on Society’, published in Practice: Social Work in Action.

    They argue that ‘the framework raises doubts about whether it is possible to capture fully the impact of social work research at all, and social work itself for that matter’, and stress that some pathways need to be identified to do this.

    In suggesting ways to evidence impact, such as primary evaluative research, Parker and Van Teijlingen also outline the stumbling blocks. There are data protection laws and the expense and time of tying up research evaluation with another research project.

    The solution, they say, is for social work research to be built and undertaken in partnership with social care agencies; that impact is everybody’s concern and practitioners and those who use social work services and their carers have a role to play in its creation and identification.

    Parker and Van Teijlingen acknowledge that the REF will promote critical-thinking, engage practitioners and address the challenges of public spending restraint, but express a deep-seated concern that this new method of assessment will mark a loss of ‘conceptual, theoretical and critical’ research.

    Although assessing research through improved social, economic, health, and environmental aspects of life is unlikely to be questioned, Parker and Van Teijlingen strongly argue that it should not be the only set of research outcomes recognised.  They argue that if the REF approach becomes common currency, ‘society is likely to lose the deeper understandings and meanings that have permeated thinking and, no doubt practice and behaviour.’

    Both firmly believe BU’s research programme designed to enhance social work practice through continuing professional education has changed practice and influenced policy, as well as numerous other benefits to culture, public services, health, environment and quality of life.

    Read Parker and Van Teijlingen’s full paper.

    TheHorseCourse – changing behaviour in prisoners

    Dr Ann Hemingway from BU’s School of Health and Social Care is working with Dr Rosie Meek from the University of Southampton to work with prisons to deliver TheHorseCourse, where horses are used to challenge offending behaviour.

    The horses are trained to give clear and unbiased feedback on mental and emotional self control. Tasks are progressive and challenging, requiring the participants to remain calm and focused… or lose the plot! 

    Prisoners are coached to overcome frustration and failure by taking control over their thoughts and feelings. The horses provide both motivation and feedback, and reliably create positive change with even the most difficult individuals.

    Initial findings are extremely positive, with participants showing results such as:

    • better self control
    • greater engagement with available education
    • confidence as learners
    • stronger focus on positive goals
    • hope

    The horsemanship goal of the 7 sessions is to gain Parelli Level 1 accreditation, the more important goal is to have the skills to lead constructive and satisfying lives.

    One of the participants has commented: “”I’ve been on anger management courses, alcohol courses, things like that – this is much different, you’re learning it physical, not mental if you know what I mean. It’s helped me more, without a doubt. I don’t like talking. …Normally, with other courses you’re in a group of people… you have to talk about your issues and things like that, but here you get it out in a different way, you’re doing physical things not just talking. I’ve been doing that since I was 6 years of age and it’s never worked. I learnt a lot about myself. I can actually do things. I always say I can’t but I can.”

    ‎”From the video based evaluation undertaken so far it is clear to me that this intervention shows real innovation and promise and may indeed have the potential to reduce reoffending. To date there has been no published longitudinal evaluation focused on this type of intervention. It is for this reason that we have committed to undertaking a pilot evaluation.” Dr Ann Hemingway, Bournemouth University, (Public Health Interventions)
     
    Reliably changing behaviour in the most difficult prisoners, to donate please visit: https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/thehorsecourse
     
    Join TheHorseCourse Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/TheHorseCourse
     
    Dr Ann Hemingway is also the course lead for BU’s MSc Public Health course (part-time and full-time options). Read more about the course to see how you could bring about positive changes in health promotion and influence policies to improve public health and wellbeing locally, nationally and internationally.
     
     

    The Blog is 10 months old! Celebrate by finding out how you can get involved!

    Guidance

    To celebrate the Blog’s birthday we’re inviting all staff at BU who have an interest in Research to get more involved with the Blog to make it more exciting, interactive, collaborative and beneficial to academic staff. There are a number of ways you can get involved:

    • To subscribe to the Blog to receive the daily digest emails; this is the best way to keep up to date with research and knowledge exchange information at BU. Find out more here: Subscribe to the Blog!
    • To comment on Blog posts to share further information, resources, and perspectives, and to make connections with your colleagues. Find out more here: Interact with the Blog!
    • To add posts to the Blog to share information, experiences, successes, advice, news, etc with colleagues, and to promote your research both internally and externally. We’re strongly encouraging all staff involved in research at BU to sign up for access to add posts to the Blog and to start blogging! Using the Blog is really easy – you need no prior knowledge of blogs or websites, just an interest in research. Contact Susan Dowdle if you’d like to be set up with access to add posts.
    • To share Blog posts, either via Facebook, Twitter or email. Find out more here: Share posts from the Blog!

    The Research Blog is unique in the sector and in its first ten months of existence it has been a huge success in improving research communications at BU. Be part of something cool and get more involved in the Blog! 🙂

    Happy 10 month birthday, Research Blog!

    Come along to the next Fusion Seminar on 22 February!

    Fusion

    The third event in the Fusion Seminar and Conference Series is on Wednesday 22 February and will focus on the Sharing aspect of the BU2018 strategy.

    The February Seminar will take place between 12:00-1:30pm. Registration will open at 11:45 and the sessions will begin at 12:00. There will be one hour of short and focused presentations followed by 30 minutes of networking opportunities over lunch. The Seminar will be hosted by David Willey who will open the seminar with a 10 minute presentation. This will be followed by five brief and succinct presentations by invited speakers, with each presentation lasting no more than ten minutes including questions.

    The Seminar will be held in the EBC (7th floor) and will start promptly at 12pm. Please arrive for registration from 11:45am, ready for the 12pm start.

    To view the programme and to register your place, visit: http://fusionseminars.eventbrite.com/?ebtv=C

    For an excellent summary of BU’s Fusion strategy, watch this short video from Professor John Vinney:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrUxINNWzjQ&

    Leverhulme Trust visit – 1st February – venue change

    Funding opportunities

    This is a reminder that Jean Cater from the Leverhulme Trust  is coming to BU on 1st February.

    ** Venue change!!  The event will now take place in the Allesbrook Lecture Theatre **

     

    There are limited places available – if you would like book a place please click here.

    What’s happening?

    Jean Cater from the LT is coming to BU, and its a great opportunity to find out more about how the Leverhulme works,  what they are looking for in a proposal and what they fund.    

    The Leverhulme Trust offers a range of funding opportunities – across all disciplines.   This includes research grants, international networks, early career fellowships, research fellowships and more. 

    The session will cover:  

    • where the Leverhulme sits in the funding spectrum
    • schemes and application procedures
    • things to bear in mind if applying
    • plenty of time to ask questions too.  

    This session is for you if:

    • you have a research idea and wonder if the Leverhulme Trust might be an appropriate funder
    • you are developing a funding proposal for the Leverhulme Trust
    • you don’t know much about the Leverhulme Trust and would like to find out more

    Details:

    • Date:Wednesday, 1st February 2012
    • Time: 2-4pm
    • Place:  Allesbrook Lecture Theatre
    • Refreshments will be available.

    ** To book your place please click here. ** 

    If you have any questions please contact Caroline O’Kane