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Applications are now open for 2025 ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowships!

Funding opportunities, PG research

The ESRC invites applications for postdoctoral fellowships (PDF) to be based at the SWDTP institutions of University of Bath, University of Bristol, University of Exeter, Plymouth University, University of West of England, Bath Spa University, Bournemouth University and Plymouth Marjon University.

Fellowships are aimed at providing a development opportunity for social science researchers in the immediate postdoctoral stage of their career, to consolidate their PhD through developing publications, their networks, and their research and professional skills.

At Bournemouth University, we run a dual stage application process. Candidates must be aligned to one of the pathways to which BU belong. For BU, this means that we would be able to support applicants in one of three pathways:

In the first instance we ask potential candidates to complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) and an Equal Opportunities form. The deadline for submitting the EOI & Equal Opportunities forms is January 31 2025. Both forms are available from the pathway leads.

Prior to submission of your EOI it is a good idea to have identified a mentor who will support you to develop your application. If you are uncertain on how to identify a mentor, then please contact one of the pathway leads listed above.

Following review of all EOI received, we will nominate successful applicants and support the development of a full application to the ESRC (via the SWDTP). The full application is due on 25 May, 2025. Only nominated applicants are able to complete this second stage.

For further information, please take a look at the SWDTP web pages dedicated to the postdoctoral fellowships award. Note that this includes important Eligibility criteria.

Please also note that you can register for an online information event hosted by the SWDTP. This takes place at 2-3 pm on Wednesday 20 November 2024. Register here. (A recording will be available from 25 November).

 

Seventh edition of Social Work textbook

Publishing, writing

Congratulations to Bournemouth University’s  Emeritus Professor Jonathan Parker who has just published the 7th edition of his best-selling Social Work Practice. This latest edition of Social Work Practice comes with updated content and case studies.  First published in 2004, this textbook has guided social work students through the processes of working with people, groups and communities looking at the politics of assessment, planning, intervention and review and negotiating a value-based approach to practice that acknowledged the centrality of relationships and respect for the people with whom social workers practice.
Well done!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Next week! 3C Event – PGR Culture, Community & Cake

PG research

All PGRs and Supervisors are warmly invited to attend next week’s Doctoral College 3C event! 

The 3C events are a perfect opportunity to catch up and network with the PGR community in a social setting. Don’t miss out on the chance to make new connections whilst enjoying some coffee and cake!

Following feedback from the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES), we will be hosting this 3C event on the Lansdowne Campus.

Join us Wednesday 13 November 10:00-11:00 in room BG-302.

Let’s foster collaboration, support and networking!

Book now

REDCap – Recommended tools for Data Management in Research Projects

Training

Recommended tools for Data Management in Research Projects

4 December 2024, 09:00 -13:00 Book here

Learn about data collection and management best practices in research and why REDCap is better that MS Excel or Qualtrics for almost every type of data collection, either through online surveys or direct entry into a database.

Our REDCap expert (Will Crocombe) will show you why this tool has been used in 2.2 million research projects worldwide to date, and with no prior knowledge, you will learn to use REDCap and be ready to use it in your next investigation at the end of this course.

Attendees on the basic course will learn:

What is REDCap and why is it important?

  • What can REDCap do and who uses it. Data management expectations, data integrity and quality, safety and security.

Data collection forms and data entry – the basics

  • Understand basics of field types and form design, build a simple study and add some data. Review form status and dashboard.

Improving usability

  • Data range checks, action tags, field skipping, option lists, calculated fields.
  • Use of Data Quality Rules, inbuilt and custom, calculations.

Data import and export

  • Data export options and format. Import features and use as data editor.
  • Data Dictionary and metadata.

So why use REDCap?

REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure, web-based software platform designed for building and managing online surveys and databases. Originally developed at Vanderbilt University, it has become widely used all over the world in academic, non-profit, and government institutions, particularly for research and clinical data management.

REDCap is considered better than Microsoft Excel for data collection and management because it is more secure, offers better data quality, and is easier to use.

Qualtrics and REDCap are both easy to use, but REDCap is more customisable and supports data entry workflows, including multiple user roles and permissions, which are particularly useful in collaborative research teams. Additionally, REDCap supports audit trails for data entries and changes, critical for research reproducibility. Qualtrics can be expensive, especially to access advanced features, while all features in REDCap are free.

For further information on this event please contact RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk

Book here

REDCap Key Features:

  1. Data Collection: REDCap allows users to easily create and manage data collection forms, which can be used for various purposes like surveys, longitudinal studies, or clinical trials.
  2. User-Friendly Interface: It provides an intuitive, web-based interface for project setup and data entry, allowing non-technical users to create complex projects without needing programming skills.
    1. Easy to Design Forms: REDCap provides a user-friendly interface for creating and designing online surveys and databases without needing advanced programming skills.
    2. Drag-and-Drop Interface: Allows for easy form building and question arrangement.
  3. Secure and Compliant: REDCap supports HIPAA compliance and other data security standards as GDPR and FISMA, making it suitable for handling sensitive or protected health information (PHI).
  4. Customisability: Users can customize forms, surveys, and workflows to suit their project needs, and it supports branching logic, validation, and automated alerts.
    1. Flexible Form Design: You can create complex branching logic, calculated fields, and use piping to personalize questions.
    2. Autonomy for Researchers: Users can independently design and manage their projects without needing IT support.
  5. Collaboration: It enables collaboration across institutions, allowing multiple users with different permission levels to work on the same project.
  6. Longitudinal Data Collection: It supports collecting data over time from the same participants, which is important for research projects that involve repeated measurements.
  7. Shared Library: REDCap’s Shared Library allows users to browse and search for data entry forms that other users have uploaded.
  8. Data Export: Data collected in REDCap can be exported to various statistical software formats (e.g., SPSS, SAS, Stata, R) for analysis

CfACTs Workshop @ BFX-2024: Advances in Marking Medical Images with Natural Language Processing

On Wednessday 30’th of October, The Centre for Applied Creative Technologies (CfACTs)  arranged a workshop for AI Research Academics as part of the BFX-2024 Festival in Bournemouth.

BFX Festival is an annual conference that takes place in Bournemouth and Hilton Bournemouth through this week and since 28’th of October until 2nd of November.

Among the works presented during that session, the most-recent advances in Natural Language Processing application for marking medical images, presented by Dr. Nicolay Rusnachenko.

The purpose and keypont of the talk were as follows:

✅ Showcase the potentials of NLP appliaction in processing textual narratives ✍ via GenAI ChatGPT and other systems capable for the detailed explanation, necessary for High Quality data collection and further development the domain-oriented LLM. The following figure below showcases the importance on NLP application for processing medical narratives of liver-related MRI/CT scan series, such as one mentioned in "Series Descriptions" of the DICOM metadata.

✅ Propose the concept of the end-to-end solution for uniting automatic series understanding and assessing manually written narratives by novice practitioners ‍⚕️ using the GenAI as the Core Framework. The figure below illustrates the back-end and front-end components of the related system that serve with individual direction of scientific studies dedicated for enhancing domain oriented GenAI framework.

These advances were achieved while at Centre for Applied Creative Technologies CfACTs+ by working on “Marking Medical Image Reports Automatically with Natural Language Processing (NLP-MMI)” project.

Dr. Nicolay Rusnachenko
Research Fellow at Centre For Applied Creative Technologies PLUS (CFACT+)
Bournemouth University

BU PhD Candidate Shares Transportation Expertise at Dorset COP 24

conferences, Knowledge Exchange

🌍🚗 Thrilled to Have Participated in Dorset COP 24! 🚗🌍

Today, I had the incredible opportunity to contribute to the “Future Transport System in Dorset” workshop at Dorset COP 24. As an expert speaker, I joined Dorset and BCP Council representatives, local Transport Action Groups, the General Manager of More Bus, the Lead Director of Great British Railways and engaged community members to reimagine what Dorset’s transport landscape could look like over the next decade—and how we can achieve these changes sustainably.

During the session, I presented my research on complex urban road networks and traffic congestion spread, sparking insightful conversations on innovative, eco-friendly strategies that could reshape our local transport systems. After a dynamic Q&A with experts, I was invited to share my findings with the BCP Council’s Transportation Team and the Dorchester Transport Action Group in their upcoming meetings—a fantastic opportunity to see these ideas reach even wider audiences!

I’m feeling inspired and energized by the collaboration, insights, and shared commitment to a greener future for Dorset. Thank you, Lois Betts (BU Sustainability Manager), Joseph McMullen (BU Lecturer) for the invitation and support. Let’s keep pushing for sustainable progress! 🌱

Assemgul, PhD candidate, SciTech, Computing Department. Research title: “Complex Urban Road Networks: Static Structures and Dynamic Processes.”

SUNRISE: collaborative project with Universiti Sains Malaysia supporting sustainability research

A project being run in partnership with a Malaysian university aims to inspire and build capacity for sustainability research

The SUNRISE project (Supporting University Network for Research in Sustainability Engagement) is a collaborative initiative between Bournemouth University (BU) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

The SUNRISE project team holding a Malaysian flagSome of the SUNRISE project team

Funded by the British Council’s UK-Malaysia Going Global Partnerships Grant for Student Mobility, the project focuses on building capacity for research on sustainability and supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As part of the project, a series of events have been held for students and staff at both BU and USM, developing stronger links between the two universities and facilitating collaboration on sustainability research around shared areas of expertise.

The first event, held in April, showcased BU and USM staff’s sustainability research to an audience of staff and students from across the two universities.

The second event was a conference covering student research on sustainability, which took place in May. It was organised, promoted and managed by a team of 4 students from the BU MSc (Hons) Event Management course as part of their final year project.

The third and final event took place in October and celebrated project on sustainability by Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs) from BU and USM. Presentations included topics such as sustainable duckweed production, tourists’ use of public transportation, and the impact of coastal erosion on socio-economic activities.

There were also presentations around enhancing diversity and inclusivity in research, as well as discussions around ways to build capacity for sustainability research.

The event saw the launch of the BU Student Sustainability Champion Award, in partnership with BU’s Sustainability team.

Associate Professor Dr Milena Bobeva, who has led the project for BU, said: I am incredibly proud with everyone who made the final SUNRISE forum another successful event: the doctoral students presenting their work; the Disability Services colleagues who shared valuable insight on how to present our work for greater inclusivity and diversity; the visiting researchers from our project partner, Universiti Sains Malaysia; and the engaging online and in-person audience.

“It has been a true privilege to work with the SUNRISE team and I am looking forward to sharing our experiences and enhancing the capacity for sustainability research.”

Find out more about the SUNRISE project

Check out the artwork from the ESRC funded project, Communities of wellbeing: the digital lives of LGBTQ+ young people.

This year’s ESRC-funded Festival of Social Sciences includes the project: Communities of wellbeing: the digital lives of LGBTQ+ young people. Jayne Caudwell and Frankie Gaunt secured a small amount of funding from ESRC and BU research Centre for Seldon Heard Voices (CSHV) to run workshops, have artwork designed and displayed at the Lighthouse, Poole.

The workshops involved  discussions about on-line spaces that make LGBTQ+ young people feel safe, happy and provide them with a sense of belonging. Three workshops took place in August and October. Six themes emerged from group discussion at the workshops: 

  1. Types of social media, especially social media platforms that allow participants to have control over who sees their content. This made them feel safer, and Snap Chat was the most popular because content is short-term.
  1. Coming Out as LGBTQ+ on social media was seen as positive for people who come out and for people who see someone coming out. This was important for diasporic people who are unable to be openly LGBTQ+ in countries where it is illegal. Coming out on Tik Tok and Snap Chat felt safer compared with other social media sites.
  1. Participants did not like what they called ‘love to hate’ algorithms. It was mentioned that transgender people in the UK experience a lot of hate on social media. However, by being on platforms where they are able to control who sees their content, participants felt they were able to influence algorithms. They said they saw content that was affirming, positive, and joyful.
  1. Away from the popular social media sites, specialised groups were talked about. These groups were referred to as ‘secret groups’ and viewed as trustworthy. To enter these groups involved a long process of screening, but participants understood that this was needed to make the groups safe.
  1. Some social media sites were seen to help educate people about LGBTQ+ issues. For example, terms such as ‘non binary’ are explained by non-binary people in posts on websites. This education aspect was considered very important for people in communities where LGBTQ+ people are silenced and marginalised. Social media can help raise awareness and normalise LGBTQ+ for them. Also, social media can be used to seek advise about LGBTQ+ issues and to learn more about things like transitioning for transgender people.
  1. Workshop participants felt that social media websites can be positive, inspiring, educational, fun, enjoyable and safe because of the posts that are posted not always because of the site. It is the actual posts that are the important thing.

A final point, from the workshops, was that meeting other LGBTQ+ people in-person and doing something together in physical space would be nice.

The above themes were handed over to an artist who composed a series of six picture boards. These picture boards are on display at The Lighthouse in Poole from Friday 25th October to 16th November. The Lighthouse have publicised the project. Go to: Communities of wellbeing: the digital lives of LGBTQ+ young people – Lighthouse

BU Public Engagement have set up ways for people to provide feedback on the exhibition.

The artwork will also be on display at the ESRC event at University of  Southampton on Saturday 9th November as part of Arts and Humanities Day.

AFE seminar 31st October – Streamlining finance for SMEs: the solution of automated pre-filled VAT returns

Join us for the Accounting, Finance and Economics (AFE) seminar, taking place on Thursday 31st October at 2pm.

The AFE seminar for this semester will be delivered by BU’s Dr Siamand Hesami on the topic of Streamlining finance for SMEs: the solution of automated prefilled VAT returns. 

Digital transformation in tax administrations has gained global momentum as governments seek to enhance efficiency and service delivery. The seminar will examine the financial and economic impacts of a key digital innovation: prefilling value-added tax (VAT) returns.

Using Chile as a case study, the analysis evaluates the net benefits and costs from both government and taxpayer perspectives. The results demonstrate that prefilling VAT returns can significantly reduce taxpayer compliance costs, presenting a strong case for its adoption.

For Chile, this initiative’s economic net present value is estimated at US$5.66 billion, with US$1.729 billion in benefits to the private sector and US$3.391 billion in positive budgetary impact for the government. Sensitivity analyses confirm the robustness of these findings, except in scenarios where changes in taxpayer compliance significantly affect government revenues.

This research highlights prefilling VAT returns as an effective strategy to reduce compliance costs, close the tax gap, and minimise the risk of audits and tax evasion, offering valuable insights for broader applications in tax administration.

The seminar takes place in F108 (Fusion Building) from 2pm.

BU policy influence digest newsletter – 29/10/2024

Read the latest edition of the BU policy influence digest newsletter. It is drawn from several sources including directly from UK central and devolved administrations, newsletters from Parliament Knowledge Exchange Unit, UPEN and others.

Items this week include;

  • Respond to new consultations and inquiries for policy impact – 29/10/2024

Explore new opportunities to respond to consultations and inquiries from the UK and globally.

  • Upcoming webinar – Policy Engagement in the Context of Political Shifts

This masterclass will explore the multiple challenges that researchers and knowledge brokers face in a complex political landscape.

  • KEU – What makes an MP tick? Inside the mind of a Member of Parliament

The below has been reproduced from the UK Parliament Knowledge Exchange Unit. There are a number of places you can look to work out which issues an MP intends to focus on.

  • The gap between policymakers and academics can be bridged. Here’s how. (Free login required)

Civil servants appreciate a relational approach that responds to their needs and convenes evidence they will actually find useful, says Sally Hogg.

  • UPEN blog – How does Arts and Humanities research influence public policymaking?

If you’d like to receive future editions of this digest by email, sign up in two clicks (BU login required).

New Generation thinkers 2025 – call now open – AHRC and BBC Radio4

Funding opportunities

This scheme offers five early career researchers the opportunity to be ‘researchers in residence’ where they will work with programme makers at BBC Radio 4 and produce a piece of writing to be recorded for radio.

If selected, you’ll also take part in learning and development opportunities with AHRC around working with the media, engaging the public with research and how to work with policy makers.

You’ll be an up-and-coming early career researcher with a passion for sharing ideas with the largest possible audience.

 

 

 

 

Full info on the scheme can be found here

Scope

AHRC are looking for applications from a diversity of backgrounds, research disciplines and institutions, particularly candidates who can demonstrate:

  • how one area of their research could make a strong, clearly expressed and engaging piece of writing for BBC radio. The scheme will match researchers with programmes or BBC units, so we are looking for discussion ideas for those programmes which draw upon your own research or your knowledge of trends in your subject area
  • how this research could have the potential to either change public opinion or influence policy
  • creativity, originality and the potential to talk and write about other areas within the arts and humanities in an accessible and interesting manner, particularly to a wider audience
  • that they are comfortable talking and writing about ideas from beyond their own research area in an accessible and interesting way
  • a wide range of interests through their review and description of their current research
  • high standards of scholarship: clear explanations in interesting, well-written, jargon-free language, that is editorially and stylistically suitable for a BBC audience

To get a good idea of what we’re looking for, we recommend you listen to work by previous New Generation Thinkers on the BBC website before you apply.

Who is eligible to apply

To apply for the New Generation Thinkers scheme, you must be:

  • a UK resident
  • over the age of 18
  • currently working or studying at a UK research organisation that is eligible to receive funding from UKRI. See Eligibility of your organisation
  • studying a relevant area of research. See ‘Your research history’

You must also be either:

  • currently studying for your first PhD and having made considerable progress on your research, for example within one year of submission
  • within eight years of the award of your first PhD, excluding any period of career break such as parental leave, caring responsibilities, health reasons, or reasons consequent upon the COVID-19 pandemic
  • within six years of your first academic appointment at an organisation that is eligible to receive funding from UKRI, excluding any period of career break such as parental leave, caring responsibilities, health reasons, or reasons consequent upon the COVID-19 pandemic. This must be a paid contract of employment, either full-time or part-time, which lists research or teaching as the primary function, including research assistantships

You do not need to have a permanent contract of employment to be eligible, provided you meet the conditions at the time of your application.

If you have applied to the scheme before, you may apply again provided you have never been selected as a new generation thinker in any given year.

Each person is allowed to submit only one application. The application will ask how your research aligns with one of the programmes or units. The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and BBC may then match you to any one of the five programmes or units.

Who is not eligible to apply

You cannot apply if:

  • you work for the BBC, AHRC or UKRI
  • you are a senior academic

 

Webinar for potential applicants

AHRC will hold webinars on:

These will provide more information about the funding opportunity and a chance to ask questions.

 

We ran a workshop at BU late last academic year, slides available- give us a shout and if needed, we can run this workshop again at BU.

Let Eva Papadopoulou know if you are interested via email please.

 

 

Research committee vacancies – help shape research at BU

R & KE Operations, Research Ethics Panels

We are currently seeking expressions of interest from academics at all career stages to be part of several key research and knowledge exchange committees.  

The positions offer the chance to have your voice heard in an institutional committee at an exciting time while we are developing our BU2035 strategy – helping to shape and deliver research and knowledge exchange activity across BU.  

The available positions are:  

Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee 

There are two vacancies, one for an early career Academic and one for a mid-career Academic. 

This committee is responsible for monitoring and enhancing research and knowledge exchange at BU, helping to support the quality, visibility and impact of Research and Knowledge Exchange (RKE) activities. It reports into Senate and normally meets four times per year.  

Research Degrees Committee: Supervisor representative

There is a vacancy for an academic at any grade who is currently supervising Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs). 

The committee takes responsibility for the strategic direction, nature, quality, development and delivery of the university’s research degree provision. It reports into the Education Committee with strong links to the Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee and normally meets five times per year. 

Research and Knowledge Exchange Concordat Steering Group

There are three vacancies for this steering group, a Researcher (typically a Postdoctoral Research Assistant), an early career Academic, and a mid-career Academic.

The steering group is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of a coherent and robust action plan to embed the principles of the Research and Knowledge Exchange Concordats that BU has signed up to. It reports into the Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee and normally meets four times a year.  

Research Ethics Committee

There are two vacancies for this committee, Chair (member of the Professoriate) and Deputy Chair (member of the Professoriate).

The committee is responsible for promoting best ethical practice in relation to research activities, including overseeing the Research Ethics Panels and arbitrating in cases of dispute over ethical best practice and misconduct. It reports into Senate and normally meets four times a year.  

If you are interested in any of the roles, please submit an Expression of Interest (no longer than one page of A4) to research@bournemouth.ac.uk outlining which position you are applying for, why you are interested in the role, and the knowledge, skills and experience you think you could bring. This will be followed by an interview process.  

The Terms of Reference for these committees are available on request by emailing research@bournemouth.ac.uk.

The closing date for submitting Expressions of Interest is Friday 15 November.