Category / Law

MaGPIE Publishes Collaborative Paper in the IRRC

international

The MaGPIE (Mass Grave Protection, Investigation and Engagement) team, run out of the Humanities and Law department, have recently had their first collaborative paper published in the International Review of the Red Cross.

 

The paper entitled ‘Mass grave mapping and the protection of the dead gives’ insight into the current research being undertaken within the project, including the ongoing mapping of mass graves globally. It also asks, to what extent mapping can be considered a preventative process.

 

To read the full paper follow the link in the image below:

 

 

Student Research Opportunity

Fusion, international, Knowledge Exchange, Research Integritiy, Student Engagement, student research

As the new academic year begins, so does the recruitment process for a new cohort of Missing Persons Indicator Project researchers. This year, as well as recruiting law students to the project, we are presenting this opportunity to budding researchers across the university. Notably, a new collaboration between the FMC and BUBS has emerged, enhancing the interdisciplinary approach of the project.

 

In collaboration with the International Commission on Missing Persons, students have begun the process of collating indicators to capture the way States engage with, and seek to solve, missing persons cases. These indicators range from understanding contextual factors that could have contributed to a surge of missing persons cases, such as conflict or natural disasters, to international treaty ratification, to domestic legislation.

 

In light of recent headlines concerning conflicts across the globe, students have likely been exposed to stories that highlight the pressing issues of our time, such as missing persons. This voluntary research project offers them a unique opportunity to engage with work that has real-world significance, showing how research can extend beyond the university to make a meaningful impact.

 

Our expectations:

  • Dedicate approximately 8 hours a month to the project (flexible around university commitments).
  • Attend in-person meetings, skills workshops and data collating sessions.
  • Be keen to develop research skills.
  • Work respectfully within a diverse team.

 

 

Student experience:

  • Support into real-world research with lasting impact.
  • Assist in articulating the project into written form to enhance employability.
  • Optional research skills workshops.
  • Inter-disciplinary learning.
  • Feedback opportunities.
  • A well-stocked snack cupboard.

 

If you feel this opportunity would benefit students in your faculty, discipline, or program, please email indicators@bournemouth.ac.uk to request the necessary recruitment paperwork or to arrange a drop-in talk for your students.

 

MaGMap: Mass Grave Mapping

conferences, international

Mapping projects related to mass atrocities and human rights violations are prevalent across the globe. Despite their often well-intentioned origins, there has been minimal practical research and subsequent output focused on what constitutes effective mapping. Furthermore, there is a lack of guidance on how to balance the pursuit of justice with the need to protect victims and affected communities. This raised an essential question: where, when and under what circumstances should mapping of mass graves be avoided or kept secret so that protection is not jeopardised?

 

In 2022, Professor Melanie Klinkner and Dr Ellie Smith secured Leverhulme funding to address this critical question. As of August 30th, 2024, the project’s output has been completed and is now available as an open-access resource for global use. The output is accessible both online and in a physical format, consisting of a comprehensive workbook accompanied by a set of removable tools designed to guide practitioners through the mapping process. These tools include:

 

  • Mapping Process Flowchart: The flowchart illustrates the life cycle of a mass grave, highlighting the key stages and considerations at each step, all guided by the protection of rights.

 

  • Mapping Decision Tree: Accompanying the flowchart, the decision tree highlights concerns and necessary actions that must be addressed before progressing with mapping at each stage.

 

  • Risk Register: This element assists in decision-making processes by enabling logging and evaluations of risks and subsequent mitigation strategies.

 

Upon completion of the research Dr Ellie Smith outlines that:

“Mapping mass graves in an open-source format has the potential to provide longer-term protection of the site, as well as a means of countering revisionism, but is not without risks. The aim of our MaGMap tools is to enable anyone involved in mass grave mapping to do so in a way that is safe for survivors, witnesses and the families of victims, and preserves the integrity of the site as a crime scene”.

 

For Professor Melanie Klinkner the finalisation of these resources means that:

“Theoretical, transferable foundations have been laid to inform continued research and current mapping of atrocity practices. In fact, much of what we have learned during the course of the project now guides our own approach to building a regularised global mass grave map. This is significant: it will enable us to fully appraise the scale and magnitude of mass graves across the world in a rights-compliant and safe manner”.

 

Dr Ellie Smith will be presenting the findings of MaGMap this week at the European Society of International Law Conference in Lithuania.

 

The Missing Persons Indicator Project: Research Collaboration for Knowledge Exchange

HEIF, Industry collaboration, international, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, Research Integritiy, student research

The Missing Persons Indicator Project, initiated several years ago by Professor Melanie Klinkner and Andreas Kleiser from the ICMP, has recently been enhanced by a visit to the ICMP, aimed at optimising knowledge exchange. Its goal is to showcase each state’s relationship with missing persons through comprehensive data analysis. This initiative began as a collaborative effort, with data gathering undertaken by undergraduate students at Bournemouth University, engaging students in real-world research and ensuring the project’s sustainability by welcoming new students each September.

Since its inception, the project has been fortunate to work with many enthusiastic students who have completed the first round of Structural Indicator 1. This indicator demonstrates the commitment of states to international legal instruments. The table below outlines the current indicators involved in our data collection process:

Context Indicator A qualitative assessment as to whether the state has experienced extraordinary events that may be correlated to a rise in missing persons cases.
Structural Indicator 1 The commitment shown by states to international legal instruments is an indicator of their duties and obligation in relation to missing persons.
Structural Indicator 2 Domestic legislation by states as an indicator of their duties and obligation in relation to missing persons.
Structural Indicator 3 Institutional framework(s) established by states as an indicator of their duties, obligation, and enactment of legislation in relation to missing persons.

Thanks to HEIF funding, the Missing Persons Indicator Project recently had the opportunity to employ four student volunteers over the past two weeks. Their task was to accelerate the data collation for these indicators. By working through each indicator on a state-by-state basis, they developed a comprehensive understanding of each state’s unique situation. This method also allowed them to recognise and utilise specific details that might recur across the different indicators.

Every day, a designated “data-checker” reviewed previously inputted data to identify and correct any anomalies. This rigorous review process ensures the data’s accuracy, ethical integrity, and suitability for international dissemination.

Throughout this process, the students have been deeply engaged, asking insightful questions that challenged our perspectives and prompted us to consider aspects we might have overlooked. The atmosphere has been a hub of activity and intellectual growth.

We are extremely grateful for the hard work and dedication of our student researchers. Their contributions have demonstrated that a student ‘data-lab’ is an excellent model for conducting research and achieving meaningful results.

As this term draws to a close, we are keen to alert teaching staff to the potential for their students to join the Missing Person Indicator project in September as we recruit a new cohort for the new academic year. To learn more about the project please visit our website!

MaGPIE has taken flight!

Awarded & submitted bids, international, REF Subjects

“There is not one region in the world, not one historical period, that has not seen mass graves”.

(UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial summary or arbitrary executions, 2020)

 

Wednesday 13th December marked the launch of MaGPIE, the pioneering £1.6 million ERC selected UKRI funded research project, run out of the Humanities & Law department in the Faculty of Media and Communication.

 

MaGPIE stands for Mass Grave Protection, Investigation and Engagement and asks: how can a comprehensive and universally applicable human rights framework for mass graves can be developed and achieved?

 

To answer such a magnitudinous question, MaGPIE has strategically organised its research into three interconnected pillars:

Pillar 1 asserts that comprehending the scale of global mass graves is paramount to understanding the nature of the problem. Consequently, pillar 1 will result in an open-source map of mass grave sites and ancillary outputs that have the potential to strengthen protection, forensic investigation, justice efforts, commemoration and remembrance for the benefits of survivors.

 

Pillar 2 identifies and seeks to remedy human rights blindspots that persist within present practices surrounding mass graves. These blindspots will be addressed through researching: cultural and Indigenous rights; issues of access, consent and data protection; participatory rights and vulnerabilities due to climate change.

 

Bournemouth Protocol on Mass Grave Protection and Investigation land and sea migratory routes and to what extent they might contain mass graves and hence warrant protection through a concerted human rights framework and policy.

 

The launch of MaGPIE was a momentous occasion for Professor Melanie Klinkner and her growing team. Professor Scott Wright, Deputy Dean for Research and Professional Practice, kindly introduced the MaGPIE team members: Dr David Biggins, project management and data specialist in BUBS; Emily Fisher the Research Assistant and HSS prize winning graduate; Dr Ellie Smith and Dr Ian Hanson Senior Research Fellows, and newly appointed data researchers Diego Nunez and Ellen Donovan. Internal stakeholders were invited to raise a toast—of non-alcoholic mulled wine—not only to celebrate the project’s launch but also to acknowledge the collaborative efforts that brought MaGPIE to the starting line.

If you are interested in following the work of MaGPIE stay updated by following our LinkedIn and Twitter profiles for the latest developments over the coming years.

2023-24 Missing Persons Indicator Cohort begins work

Awarded & submitted bids, Student Engagement, student research

A team of 10 LLB Law students from across all levels is collating data on a pro bono basis on international, knowledge exchange project.

 

The Missing Persons Indicator Project is a collaboration between the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and Bournemouth University, with students at the heart of the project. Through students’ voluntary extra-curricular engagement, they are gathering data for sustained, high quality indicators and analysis. At the same time, participation equips students with a plethora of transferable skills and valuable research experience while contributing to a real-life societal problem with the overarching aim of alleviating missing persons cases.

So here’s a massive thank you to our student researcher cohort of 2023-24:

  • Angel Beaumont
  • Arman Ali
  • Maisie Lee
  • Lola Jones
  • Suzie Moore
  • Jazz White
  • Poppy Holland
  • Jasmin Sidhu-Bansal
  • Lydia Gee
  • Siobhan McClatchey

The data collated will help better understand the way states engage with, and seek to solve, missing persons cases, thereby assisting those involved in missing persons efforts. The collation and analysis of data will have a dual purpose: (1) to highlight missing persons protection and investigation mechanisms for improved implementation but also to (2) assist in prevention efforts. The development of indicators offers a way to capture the necessary data whilst facilitating analysis and comparison.

Findings to date will form part of the forthcoming ICMP Global Report and we will present the project rationale, methodology, data analysis and visualisation at the online Social Data School in December as part of the University of Cambridge Digital Humanities initiatives. Over the past two academic years and through the help of dedicated students on staff (Dr David Biggins from BUBS; Melissa Bowden from the Library and Dr Jonathan Whittle in H&L), on structural indicator 1 alone, some 12,288 data entry points have been populated.

The missing persons indicator project team has developed a robust platform and methodology for continued data collation. We are really pleased and grateful to continue on this path to complete the data set for structural and context indicators.

Research by BU academic on NFTs, Blockchain and IP law cited in Parliamentary Report

Fusion themes, innovation, REF Subjects

A report on ‘NFTs and the Blockchain: the risks to sport and culture’ recently published by the Parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMSC) cites research by Bournemouth University’s (BU’s) Professor Dinusha Mendis.

The report follows the consultation that was conducted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in November 2022 and outlines how Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and blockchains should be tackled in the future, particularly in relation to art and culture; professional sport and advertising.

In relation to intellectual property rights (IPRs), the report cites copyright infringement, limited recourse and redress (for consumers and creators), the scale of infringement, consumer confusion and the inflexibility of transferring IP as the main issues that needs consideration.

In responding to these issues, the report cites the research by Prof. Mendis calling for more protection for consumers and creators as a result of rising IP infringements, scams and frauds. The report also identifies the unique nature of NFTs and blockchains and cites Prof. Mendis’ research in demonstrating how current laws – such as ‘notice and takedown’ or ‘the right to be forgotten’ – which apply in other circumstances relating to piracy and counterfeiting, may not necessarily apply to online marketplaces. As such, the report recommends a code of conduct to be adopted by online platforms dealing with NFTs.

The hype surrounding NFTs was short-lived and in mid-2022, investors saw a collapse in the NFT market. However, as the report states, “cryptoassets such as NFTs continue to have advocates … [and] even if NFTs never again reach the peak they achieved over the last few years, areas of concern [in relation to regulation] remain”.

As such, based on the research presented in this report relating to intellectual property, the CMSC recommends that the “Government engages with NFT marketplaces to address the scale of infringement and enable copyright holders to enforce their rights”. In relation to sports, the report identifies the financial risks and harm which NFTs present to fans and the reputational harm it presents to clubs and recommends that “any measurement of fan engagement in sports, including in the forthcoming regulation of football, should explicitly exclude the use of fan tokens”.

Finally, in relation to advertising, and once again citing the research by Prof. Mendis, the report recommends that the Government respond to misleading and/or fraudulent advertising for NFTs.

For further information and for the full report, please see here: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/41611/documents/205745/default/

Reminder – REF Roles expressions of interest deadline fast approaching!

REF Subjects, Research assessment

We are currently recruiting to a number of roles to help support preparation for our next REF submission. The deadline for expressions of interest is the 11th October 2022.

We are also now welcoming expressions of interest for REF UOA 18 Lead for Law.

Further information is outlined below…

The roles are recruited through an open and transparent process, which gives all academic staff the opportunity to put themselves forward. Applications from underrepresented groups (e.g. minority ethnic, declared disability) are particularly welcome.

We are currently preparing submissions to thirteen units (otherwise known as UOAs). Each unit has a leadership team with at least one leader, an output and impact champion. The leadership team are supported by a panel of reviewers who assess the research from the unit. This includes research outputs (journal articles, book chapters, digital artefacts and conference proceedings) and impact case studies.

We currently have vacancies in the following roles:

UOA Leads – Review Panel Members –
4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience 3 – Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy
11 – Computer Science and Informatics 4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
18 – Law 11 – Computer Science and Informatics
27 – English Language and Literature 12 – Engineering
Output Champion – 14 – Geography and Environmental Studies
11 – Computer Science and Informatics 15 – Archaeology
14 – Geography and Environmental Studies 17 – Business and Management Studies
Impact Champion –  18 – Law
4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience 20 – Social Work and Social Policy
11 – Computer Science and Informatics 24 – Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism
12 – Engineering 27 – English Language and Literature
14 – Geography and Environmental Studies 32 – Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
24 – Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism 34 – Communication, Culture and Media Studies, Library and Information Management

All roles require a level of commitment which is recognised accordingly with time to review, attend meetings, and take responsibility for tasks.

Undertaking a UOA role can be enjoyable and rewarding as two of our current champions testify:

“As UOA Outputs Champion you develop a detailed knowledge of all the great work that colleagues are doing related to the subject, and the different outlets used for disseminating their work.  As an outputs committee member, you also get to know what research is going on across BU, and it’s interesting to see the differences between disciplines.  It’s a good way develop your knowledge of the bigger picture of BU’s research, and also to understand the importance of REF and how it works in practice.  You do spend quite a bit of time chasing colleagues to put their outputs on BRIAN for REF compliance but hopefully they forgive you!”

Professor Adele Ladkin – UOA 24 Output Champion

“As a UoA 17 impact champion, I work closely with the UoA 17 impact team to encourage the development of a culture of impact across BUBS. I try to pop into Department / research group meetings when I can to discuss impact, and I’ve enjoyed meeting people with a whole range of research interests. Sometimes it can be tough to engage people with impact – understandably; everyone is busy – so it’s important to be enthusiastic about the need for our BU research to reach the public. Overall, the role is about planting the seeds to get researchers thinking about the impact their work might have in the future (as well as the impact they have already had, sometimes without realising!)”

Dr Rafaelle Nicholson – UOA 17 Impact Champion

 How to apply

All those interested should put forward a short case (suggested length of one paragraph) as to why they are interested in the role and what they think they could bring to it. These should be clearly marked with the relevant role and unit and emailed to ref@bournemouth.ac.uk by 11th October 2022.

Further detail on the roles, the process of recruitment and selection criteria can be found here:

UOA Leader Output Champion Impact Champion Panel Reviewer
Role Descriptor Role Descriptor Role Descriptor Role Descriptor
Process and criteria for selection Process and criteria for selection Process and criteria for selection Process and criteria for selection

For further information please contact ref@bournemouth.ac.uk, a member of current UOA Team or your Deputy Dean Research and Professional Practice with queries.

Would you like to get more involved in preparing our next REF submission?

REF Subjects, Research assessment

We are recruiting to a number of roles to help support preparation for our next REF submission. The roles are recruited through an open and transparent process, which gives all academic staff the opportunity to put themselves forward. Applications from underrepresented groups (e.g. minority ethnic, declared disability) are particularly welcome.

We are currently preparing submissions to thirteen units (otherwise known as UOAs). Each unit has a leadership team with at least one leader, an output and impact champion. The leadership team are supported by a panel of reviewers who assess the research from the unit. This includes research outputs (journal articles, book chapters, digital artefacts and conference proceedings) and impact case studies.

We currently have vacancies in the following roles:

UOA Leads – Review Panel Members –
4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience 3 – Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy
11 – Computer Science and Informatics 4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
27 – English Language and Literature 11 – Computer Science and Informatics
Output Champion – 12 – Engineering
11 – Computer Science and Informatics 14 – Geography and Environmental Studies
14 – Geography and Environmental Studies 15 – Archaeology
Impact Champion – 17 – Business and Management Studies
4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience 18 – Law
11 – Computer Science and Informatics 20 – Social Work and Social Policy
12 – Engineering 24 – Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism
14 – Geography and Environmental Studies 27 – English Language and Literature
18 – Law 32 – Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
24 – Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism 34 – Communication, Culture and Media Studies, Library and Information Management

All roles require a level of commitment which is recognised accordingly with time to review, attend meetings, and take responsibility for tasks.

Undertaking a UOA role can be enjoyable and rewarding as two of our current champions testify:

“As UOA Outputs Champion you develop a detailed knowledge of all the great work that colleagues are doing related to the subject, and the different outlets used for disseminating their work.  As an outputs committee member, you also get to know what research is going on across BU, and it’s interesting to see the differences between disciplines.  It’s a good way develop your knowledge of the bigger picture of BU’s research, and also to understand the importance of REF and how it works in practice.  You do spend quite a bit of time chasing colleagues to put their outputs on BRIAN for REF compliance but hopefully they forgive you!”

Professor Adele Ladkin – UOA 24 Output Champion

“As a UoA 17 impact champion, I work closely with the UoA 17 impact team to encourage the development of a culture of impact across BUBS. I try to pop into Department / research group meetings when I can to discuss impact, and I’ve enjoyed meeting people with a whole range of research interests. Sometimes it can be tough to engage people with impact – understandably; everyone is busy – so it’s important to be enthusiastic about the need for our BU research to reach the public. Overall, the role is about planting the seeds to get researchers thinking about the impact their work might have in the future (as well as the impact they have already had, sometimes without realising!)”

Dr Rafaelle Nicholson – UOA 17 Impact Champion

 How to apply

All those interested should put forward a short case (suggested length of one paragraph) as to why they are interested in the role and what they think they could bring to it. These should be clearly marked with the relevant role and unit and emailed to ref@bournemouth.ac.uk by 11th October 2022.

Further detail on the roles, the process of recruitment and selection criteria can be found here:

UOA Leader Output Champion Impact Champion Panel Reviewer
Role Descriptor Role Descriptor Role Descriptor Role Descriptor
Process and criteria for selection Process and criteria for selection Process and criteria for selection Process and criteria for selection

For further information please contact ref@bournemouth.ac.uk, a member of current UOA Team or your Deputy Dean Research and Professional Practice with queries.

Sexual Violence Staff and Student Conference at BU

conferences, Student Engagement, student research

Sexual Violence Student Conference: Legislation, Policy and Opinion

On 27 April staff and students from across BU came together in the new Bournemouth Gateway Building to share research and ideas on the topic of sexual violence.  The event was organised by Jane Healy, a criminologist in the Department of Social Sciences and Social Work in FHSS, in collaboration with Jamie Fletcher from Law, FMC, and Kari Davies from Psychology, FST.  The combination of social sciences, social work, psychology and law created a dynamic and exciting environment as students from all four disciplines were exposed to intriguing and engaging presentations on this broad topic.

From Law, second year student Teodora Nizirova, alongside lecturers Jamie Fletcher and Karolina Szopa, presented a fascinating paper on the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which at present distinguishes rape (as penile penetration) from sexual assault (which includes penetration from other sources). They proposed a gender-neutral definition of rape as an alternative to the current non-penile sexual assault charge, as a method of recognising the extent of the harm caused to those individuals who identify as non-binary or who are not in heteronormative relationships. Their presentation sparked a flourish of comments and debate from students and staff in attendance, and more about their proposal can be read here 

Jamie followed up by leading a discussion on R v Lawrence [2020] EWCA Crim 971, a recent case in the Court of Appeal, which held that lying about having a vasectomy did not negate consent in sexual intercourse, something which again produced much thought and debate from those in attendance.

Not to be outdone by the stimulating presentations from our Law Department, Psychology colleagues were quick to showcase the breadth of research they are currently undertaking on sexual violence. This included papers from Rachel Skinner, Psychology lecturer, on the relationships between rape myths and sexism/misogyny and an appeal from Rachel for those interested in this topic to collaborate with her on future work.  Two online papers swiftly followed: Ioana Crivatu, postdoctoral research assistant, presented on her qualitative study on group participation in sexual offences, and Ellie Reid, research assistant, shared findings on consistency and coincidence factors in sexual offences cases.  Kari Davies, lecturer in Psychology, concluded Psychology’s input by providing a whistle-stop tour of the variety of different work she and her colleagues are collaborating on, including BU’s contribution to “Project Bluestone” (which is a large project exploring rape and serious sexual offence investigations alongside colleagues from other institutions across the UK – more info here) as well as collaborative work on crime and policing in Switzerland with Maggie Hardiman.

Arguably saving the best for last (in my opinion), the Social Sciences and Social Work team finished off the afternoon with two and a bit papers from HSS.  BA Sociology student Sam Cheshire provided a confident and theoretically informed paper on his final year dissertation study, which involved interviewing survivors of domestic abuse and social services professionals. He emphasised the interlocations of power, violence and agency in his interpretation of the data, positioned within Foucauldian and neoliberalist concepts and structures. Orlanda Harvey, Lecturer in Social Work, then presented on her own project working with women survivors of domestic violence and highlighted the continuing taboo of disclosing sexual violence within relationships, providing strategies that she and Louise Oliver are using to engage with participants in a safe and supportive environment.

Finally, with only minutes remaining, Jane Healy concluded the afternoon with a very brief overview of her research into disabled women’s experiences of sexual violence, and shamelessly plugged her contribution to a book on “Misogyny as Hate Crime” which is available here (and will soon be available in the library collection).

The afternoon drew to a close with a rallying cry for more cross-faculty events for students and greater collaboration for staff on this topic.  The combination of distinct yet intersecting disciplinary work created an eclectic and refreshing mix of papers that provided much food for thought for staff and students alike. Students Teodora and Sam are to be particularly applauded for presenting for the first time to an audience of peers and academic staff.

Kari is keen to expand on collaborative expertise across BU in the fields of criminal justice, policing and sexual violence and is putting together a Sexual Violence working group. Please get in touch with her if you’d like to join.

Many thanks also to Kari for funding the tea and biscuits that kept us going through the afternoon! We are already looking forward to the next event.