RKEDF: Engaging with Parliament for Impact 26th January, 10:00-14:30, Fusion Building
Sign up for this practical training session led by Sarah Carter-Bell, Knowledge Exchange Manager at UK Parliament, which also provides the opportunity to network with colleagues from AECC University College and Arts University Bournemouth.
This is particularly suitable for those with little or no experience of engaging with Parliament. As well as providing insights and information on how to get your research in front of the right policymakers, the session will provide time for you to identify key committees or APPGs relevant to your research, start a list of key contacts and write an introduction to a Parliamentary team.
If you have any specific questions you would like addressed during the workshop, please email them to impact@bournemouth.ac.uk by 5pm, Thursday 4th January.
Lunch is provided. Please indicate if you have any dietary requirements.
For full details of the session and to book, click here.
Professor Andy Phippen answers some key questions for The Conversation about giving children mobile devices, based on his research into young people and the internet…
When to give your child their first mobile phone – and how to keep them safe
I spend my career researching young people and the internet: what they do online, what they think about it and how their views differ to those of their parents.
I often get questions from parents about their children’s internet use. One of the most common is when to get their child a mobile phone, as well as how to keep them safe when they have one. Here are my answers to some key questions.
How old should my child be when they get their first phone?
I’m afraid I often disappoint parents in my answer to this question by not giving them a definite number. But the key here is what your child is going to use the phone for – and when might be suitable for that individual child.
According to a 2023 report by UK communications regulator Ofcom, 20% of three year olds now own a mobile phone. But this phone may just be used for taking pictures, playing simple games and supervised video calls with family.
The more pertinent question is when children should have their own fully-connected phone, which they can use unsupervised to contact others online.
When a child is primary school age, it’s highly likely that they will be used to adult supervision in most aspects of their life. They will either be at school, at home, with friends and trusted adults or with other family members.
Their need to contact a distant adult may not be that great – but you will want to think about what the specific needs of your own child might be.
Typically the transition from primary school to secondary is when children might be more distant from home, or be involved in school activities or socialising with friends where being able to contact home becomes more important. I have spoken to plenty of young people who talk about starting secondary school as the point where they first had their own phone.
How do I make sure they use a phone safely?
First of all, it’s important that if your child is going online – at whatever age and regardless of the device they’re using – you have a conversation with them about online safety.
Parents have a role to play in educating their children and making them aware of the risks that come with being online, as well as being mindful that most online experiences are not harmful.
I have carried out extensive research with young people on online harms. As part of this research, I and colleagues developed a number of resources for parents, put together with the help of over 1,000 young people.
What these young people say the most is they want to know who to turn to when they need help. They want to be confident they will receive support, not a telling off or confiscation of their phone. This means that a key first step is to reassure your child that they can come to you with any problems they encounter and you will help them without judgment.
It’s also important to discuss with your child what they can and can’t do with their device. This could mean, for instance, setting ground rules about which apps they can have installed on their phone, and when they should stop using their phone at the end of the day.
You should also explore the privacy settings for the apps that your child uses, in order to ensure that they cannot be contacted by strangers or access inappropriate content. The NSPCC has resources for parents on how to use privacy settings.
Should I check my child’s phone?
Sometimes parents ask me about whether they should be able to check a child’s device – either by physically looking at the phone or by using “safetytech”, software on another device that can access the communications on the child’s phone.
I believe it’s important that this is also something you discuss with your child. Trust is important to ensure that your child comes to you with any online issues, so if you want to monitor their phone, talk to them about it rather than doing so covertly.
It seems reasonable parental supervision to be accessing a child’s device when they are of primary age, in the same way a parent would check with another child’s parent before agreeing to let them visit their home.
However, as your child gets older, they might not want their parent to see all of their messages and online interactions. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child clearly states that a child does have a right to privacy.
Should I track my child’s location through their phone?
I have spoken to some families that track each other’s devices in an open and transparent manner, and this is a decision for the family. However, I have also spoken to children who find it very creepy that a teenage friend is tracked by their parents.
The question here is whether parents are reassuring themselves that their child is safe – or whether they want to know what they are doing without them knowing. I had a particularly memorable conversation with someone who told me their friend was extremely upset because their daughter had changed device and so they could no longer track her. When I asked how old the daughter was, they said she was 22.
It’s also worth considering whether tech like this actually provides false reassurance. It may allow parents to know where their child is, but not necessarily whether they are safe.
As with monitoring a child’s phone, it is worth reflecting upon whether a surveillance approach creates the ideal conditions for them to come to you with problems, or whether this is more likely to be fostered by open conversations and an environment of mutual trust.
This workshop is aimed at researchers who would like to learn what an excellent REF impact case study looks like and how to start building your own case study from scratch.
– We will look at the different sections of a case study and what is required for each one, then examine impact case studies from previous REFs to establish what the panels are looking for. We will then move on to thinking about what you would need to do to start building your own impact case study.
– By the end of this session you will be familiar with the structure of an impact case study, what makes an excellent case study and what you will need in order to start building an impact case study from your own research.
Tuesday 12th December from 13.00 – 15.00 at Talbot Campus
Book your place here – under ‘impact essentials:Anatomy of an Impact Case Study’ in the drop-down menu
For any queries regarding this workshop, please contact RKE Dev Framework
The Research Excellence Framework (REF), is the UK’s system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions.
This introductory session is aimed at anyone who wants to know more about the REF and what is means for research and researchers at BU. It will provide an overview of the REF, it’s purpose and how it is carried out, as well as looking ahead to the next REF2028 assessment.
The Department of Sport and Event Management is advertising a match-funded PhD opportunity titled ‘Understanding marginalisation and experiences of Blue Spaces and water sports.’ This PhD is supported by the Royal Yachting Association, the UK’s national body for all forms of boating and watercraft. Additionally, it receives support from the Andrew Simpson Foundation, a charity committed to fostering inclusivity and accessibility in watersports, placing an emphasis on utilising the challenges inherent in watersports to develop young people. The deadline for applications is 22/01/2024. We kindly request staff to share this opportunity with interested networks.
The aims of this PhD are broad as the potential candidate should identify how they would approach the topic and how this might link to them as an individual or to their experiences and expertise. The project will:
Explore the experiences and relationship with Blue Spaces among social groups/communities experiencing overlapping forms of marginalisation;
Engage with community groups and policy actors to co-create toolkits/guidelines and inform programmes that can support and enhance access to and engagement with Blue Spaces;
Critically evaluate issues of access and relationship with Blue Spaces as vehicles for innovation in physical activity participation policy and identify the socio-cultural and policy shifts needed to successfully implement change.
BRIAN (Bournemouth Research Information And Networking) is BU’s publication management system.
This introductory session is aimed at those who are new to BU, or have not updated their staff profile for a while. It will cover the basics of BRIAN, including how to use BRIAN to manage your research outputs, biography and research interests, professional activities and more.
By the end of the session, attendees will have an understanding of BRIAN and how it relates to Staff Profile Pages, how to create and update items and activities, how to claim/create/import publications, as well as how to upload full text articles to BURO (Bournemouth University Research Online).
Wednesday 6th December, 10:00 – 11:00 at Talbot Campus
To book onto this session, please complete theBooking Form under “Introduction to BRIAN – 06/12/2023”
For any queries regarding this workshop, please contact Claire Fenton, REF Manager, cfenton@bournemouth.ac.uk
Congratulations to Dr. Rachel Arnold, whose paper ‘Parallel worlds: An ethnography of care in an Afghan maternity hospital‘ has been cited twenty times according to a message from ResearchGate. This is one of the paper originating from Rachel’s PhD in the Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health. Rachel’s has published several more papers from her PhD research [2-4] and she also co-authored a further paper on health management in Afghanistan with our former PhD student Dr. Shaqaieq Ashrafi [5].
References:
Arnold, R., van Teijlingen, E., Ryan, K. and Holloway, I., 2018. Parallel worlds: An ethnography of care in an Afghan maternity hospital. Social Science and Medicine, 216, 33-40.
Arnold, R., van Teijlingen, E., Ryan, K. and Holloway, I., 2015. Understanding Afghan healthcare providers: A qualitative study of the culture of care in a Kabul maternity hospital. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 122 (2), 260-267.
Arnold, R., van Teijlingen, E., Ryan, K. and Holloway, I., 2019. Villains or victims? An ethnography of Afghan maternity staff and the challenge of high quality respectful care. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 19 (1).
Ryan, K., Brown, S., Wilkins, C., Taylor, A., Arnold, R., Angell, C. and van Teijlingen, E., 2011. Which hat am I wearing today? Practising midwives doing research. Evidence Based Midwifery, 9 (1), 4-8
At Café Scientifique, you can explore the latest ideas in science and technology in a relaxed setting. Enjoy listening to a short talk before engaging in debate and discussion with our guest speaker and audience
We’ll be joined by Dr Matteo Toscani on Tuesday 5 December from 6:30 – 8:00pm.
Digital devices use technology based on scientific understanding of how we perceive colour to ensure images look as natural as possible. But the Dutch ‘Old Masters’ were doing something similar to enhance the realism of their paintings in the 17th-century.
Join psychologist Dr Matteo Toscani, from Bournemouth University, who will use examples of these masterpieces to demonstrate how artists used their knowledge of colour perception to create vividly realistic works of art.
This event will be held at The Black Cherry in Boscombe, Bournemouth. Although the talks start at 6:30pm, the café will be open early so we encourage you to arrive early for a drink and a bite to eat before the talk starts.
If you have any questions about this event, or if you’re interested in getting involved with a future Café Sci event, please email the Public Engagement with Research Team: publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk
Aralisa Sheddon writes about her research which found that big cats in southern Mexico are increasingly preying on endangered howler and spider monkeys…
Big cats eat more monkeys in a damaged tropical forest – and this could threaten their survival
Monkeys are not usually a popular menu item for big cats. Primates are, after all, hard to catch: living in the canopies of large trees and rarely coming down to the ground. Jaguar and puma have varied diets and will normally hunt the species that are most common where they live, such as deer, peccary (a type of wild pig) and armadillo.
But jaguar and puma living in southern Mexican forests with a high human footprint (where wood and other resources are regularly harvested and there are large clearings for farms or expanding settlements) seem to be changing their feeding preferences to include more monkeys, according to new research.
Other studies have already found that when there is less of their usual prey around, big cats turn to alternatives. The changes in jaguar and puma diets that my colleagues and I recorded may indicate that the populations of these normal prey are shrinking, or that something in the environment has changed to make catching and eating primates easier.
This change in the diet of large cats could make the disappearance of primate populations in tropical forests like this one in southern Mexico more likely. This would, in turn, make the disappearance of large cats themselves more likely due to a lack of food, threatening the stability of an entire ecosystem.
On the trail of big cats
When forests are cut down or altered by loggers and hunters, primates are particularly affected, as many species depend on tall trees for food, shelter and to chart paths through the forest. Globally, more than 60% of primate species are threatened with extinction.
These changes to forests have also put large predators at risk. Understanding what is happening in these areas can inform more effective conservation measures, which may prevent species from disappearing.
The Uxpanapa valley in southeastern Mexico is one of the last relicts of tall evergreen forest in the country, and is classified as one of the most biodiverse areas in both Mexico and the world. It is home to jaguar, puma and many other species, including two endangered primates: howler and spider monkeys.
I led a research team that studied the distribution of primates in the Uxpanapa Valley for the first time. We recorded the number of primates and where they were found, as well as the type of forest they preferred.
Another team looked for large cats with the help of a dog which could detect their faeces, otherwise known as scat. Scat was collected to obtain DNA and determine the species that left it, whether it had any parasites, and what its diet was like. The team found out what prey these large cats were eating by using microscopes to study the hairs left in each scat. Special identification guides can link each kind of animal to its hair – each has a particular colour, pattern and shape.
Large carnivores maintain biodiversity and the functioning of an ecosystem by controlling populations of certain species – for example, herbivores that might otherwise harm trees or prevent forests regrowing. The presence of such predators can indicate an ecosystem’s health. Knowing what top predators are eating can tell us even more about how an ecosystem is functioning.
What we found
When we combined the data and information we collected, we began to understand that something out of the ordinary was happening.
Primates were the most frequent prey found in jaguar and puma scats, making up nearly 35% of the remains. Primate remains were also more likely to be found in scats collected from areas with less forest. Spider monkey remains, for example, were more likely to be found in scats collected in areas with more villages, and in forest that was regrowing after being disturbed.
A possible explanation is that where there are more villages, it is likely that there is more hunting and tree-cutting taking place. Where there is more hunting, the prey that jaguar and puma usually prefer might not be as plentiful. And regrowing forests do not offer primates the same protection as tall, untouched forests. These two factors may explain why large cats are eating spider monkeys more often here.
Jaguar and puma will usually eat the prey that is more abundant. If their preferred prey is scarce, they will hunt the species they encounter most. Similar to what we observed with spider monkeys, in areas where there was less tall forest, howler monkey remains were more likely than non-primate prey to be found in the scats, possibly as big cats found it easier to reach primates.
Less tree cover and overhunting of other prey (combined with general habitat loss) could explain the high rates of primate predation we discovered. Nevertheless, we need to continue monitoring these sites to fully understand these changes in large cat diets.
Our results highlight the importance of maintaining tall forest cover to ensure primates and other forest-dependent species can survive. They also raise the urgent need for conservation, before the negative effects of human activities on both primate and large cat populations become irreversible, and the ecosystems they live in are lost.
Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
A talk by BUBS Professor Dr Davide Parrilli, member of BU University Senate and the external editorial board on “European Planning Studies.” Hosted at the Committee Room, Fifth Floor, Poole House, BU Talbot Campus, Fernbarrow, 2-3pm, Wednesday, 22 November, 2023. This important cross-disciplinary seminar welcomes all, being of high relevance to current global news.
“Local Economic Development and the Challenge of Critical Social Transformations”
Abstract
“Local economic/production systems have been a focus of actions and discussion for many years across Europe. Within an evolutionary perspective, these systems change and adapt to respond to new changing scenarios, challenges and demands of the wider social and economic community. It is the case of the challenges raised by climate change and 2016 Paris Agreement or the recent COP27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, or by exogenous shocks to supply and demand due to present international crises. In this presentation the discussion centres around the evolution of local economic systems and identifies a specific challenge and gap that could and should be addressed soon both theoretically and from a development policy perspective. This is the social capital linked to the important migration waves that have modified the social spectrum of European socio-economies and are producing a strong impact on the way local economic development works. Open discussions and dynamic and comprehensive actions are required to address these important transformations, whilst recognising the “social embeddedness of economic action” and promoting the social capital that ignites the competitive capacity of these local economic systems.”
Best wishes,
Davide
M. Davide Parrilli, PhD (Birmingham), MPhil (Sussex), SFHEA, FeRSA
Professor of Regional Economic Development
BUBS PhD Programme Coordinator
BUBS Output Champion
Professorial Member of University Senate
Bournemouth University Business School
AACSB Accredited; SBC Accredited; EFMD Member
& Associate Editor/Editorial Board of “European Planning Studies”
Posted by Fiona Vidler MBA MSc MLIBF – Note: For any further information or RSVP this Free Event, please do contact direct the esteemed BU Professor Dr Davide Parrilli dparrilli@bournemouth.ac.uk
Would you like to share your research with a public audience? Get involved with our Café Scientifique series
Café Scientifique is a public event that takes place at The Black Cherry in Boscombe on the first Tuesday evening of the month (excluding January & August), and is organised centrally by the BU Public Engagement with Research Team, part of Research Development and Support.
The format involves delivering a short talk, followed by the opportunity for discussion and questions from a varied public audience. It is a fantastic opportunity for you to gain experience in engaging with the public in a friendly relaxed atmosphere.
We welcome academics at all career stages, although this opportunity is particularly valuable for those getting started in engaging with the public. We encourage collaboration between less experienced and more experienced public speakers to help provide support and gain a rewarding learning experience.
The team will support you every step of the way. From developing your ideas to engage with a public audience, to setting up and promoting your event. We will also be on hand on the day to help your event run smoothly.
Please note: Completing this form does not guarantee you a space. We will be in touch with you to discuss your interest.
If you have any questions about getting involved with Café Sci, please get in touch with the Public Engagement with Research Team: publicengagement@bournemouth.ac.uk.
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.
The Doctoral College are delighted to launch the Supervisory Development Lunchbite Sessions for 2023/2024. More sessions will be added soon.
These one hour sessions are aimed at all academic staff who are new to, or experienced at, supervising research degree students and are interested in expanding their knowledge of a specific aspect or process in doctoral supervision. Session details and to book your place are available using the link below.
Each session will be led by a senior academic or service representative who will introduce and facilitate the topic. Staff will benefit from discussions aimed at sharing best practice.
Booking is via Eventbrite for Doctoral College sessions. Sessions also include UKCGE events. Bournemouth University is a member of UKCGE and the events listed are free to BU staff.
The UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) is the representative body for postgraduate education and research. As BU is a member of the UKCGE, staff can attend online events free of charge.
See below for details on next week’s online event and an upcoming event in December:
Session
Details
Date, Time & Book
Administrative Checks for Examiners of Vivas: Right to Work Checks and Other Challenges
This online discussion will examine some of the administrative issues faced by institutions in ensuring that examiners of vivas are appointed in an appropriate manner. For example a number of institutions have reported challenges with right to work checks for viva examiners. This discussion, led by the University of Westminster and held under the Chatham House rule, will allow colleagues from across the sector to share and discuss their own, and other institutions’, approaches in this area.
What is the impact of doctoral research in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences?
This online discussion, run in collaboration with The British Academy, will examine the impact of doctoral research in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
As part of their activities for this academic year, RSA is organised a Writing Day for Researchers.
This Writing Day aims to help support BU researchers work on their publications by providing some dedicated time and space, away from everyday distractions.
We’ll begin with some introductions – a chance to meet other researchers, make friends and support each other.
Then we’ll get down to business… writing!
Thursday 25th January 2024, 09:00 – 16:00 at Talbot Campus
Plenty of food and drink to fuel your writing!
Please sign up to attend via our booking form Booking Form under “RSA Writing Day 25/01/23”
Please note that this event is organised by BU’s Research Staff Association – an association run by BU researchers from all faculties who want to make BU a great place to work and do research.
We are currently recruiting to a number of roles to help support preparation for our next REF Submission to Social Work and Social Policy. The deadline for expressions of interest is the 4 December 2023. 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:Impact Champion –
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 4 December 2023.
Further detail on the roles, the process of recruitment and selection criteria can be found here:
Come along to BU’s “Research Café”: a twice-monthly informal and open-format online sessions for all things research (including practice-related research). These sessions are hosted and supported by BU academic staff members, for staff and research students.
The sessions are open to all—academic staff, student, professional support staff, ECRs, profs, whoever!
Each session will be a drop-in; no need to RSVP unless a special session has been announced. You can pop in for 5 minutes or the full hour, have your lunch and/or a cuppa, and talk about research at Bournemouth.
Where requested, we can set up dedicated sessions on topics of interest. Some suggested areas include (but are not limited to!):
Networking, making connections for collaborations
Sharing experiences on projects and committees
Exchanging support and advice
Applying for grants
Publication strategies
REF strategies
The Research Cafe is hosted by Lyle Skains and sponsored by the Centre for Science, Health, and Data Communications Research.
Applications are open for Award Lecture applications for the 2024 British Science Festival, hosted by the University of East London.
Call for Award Lecture applications
Are you, or do you know, an exceptional early career researcher?
Every year the British Science Association opens applications for the seven Award Lectureships available to early career academics who are skilled at engaging people with their research. These Award Lectures aim to promote open and informed discussion of science and related disciplines.
Awards are available in seven different areas:
Social sciences
Engineering, technology and industry
Environmental sciences
Agricultural, biological and medical sciences
Physical sciences and mathematics
Digital innovation
Science and the arts
As well as presenting your lecture at the British Science Festival, Award winners will also receive public speaking coaching and a £250 honorarium. There may also be other opportunities to present the Award Lecture at other science festivals in the UK.
More information, including the application process can be found here
The deadline for applications is 23.59 on Sunday 10 December 2023.