Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
In August we shared the exciting news that the Emotional Processing Scale had been published by Hogrefe after over 12 years of development. Please see the previous post here.
Professor Roger Baker, Professor Peter Thomas, Dr Sarah Thomas and the team at Hogrefe have produced a video that introduces and further explains the Emotional Processing Scale, how to apply it, and gives an example of when it was used to support treatment of a patient with PTSD.
Watch the video here.
The following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information:
AHRC
Arts and Humanities Research Council and BBC Radio 3 invite applications for the New Generation Thinkers of 2016 scheme. The scheme aims to support early career researchers to communicate their research findings to those outside the academic community through BBC broadcasting. The scheme allows reseracers an opportunity to develop their own programme for BBC Radio 3 and a chance to regularly appear on air. Applications are welcomed in all areas of arts and humanities and those in social sciences and medical science whose work intersects with arts and humanities.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 07/01/16.
British Academy
British Academy invites applications for its International Partnership and Mobility Scheme, which aims to support the development of partnerships between the UK and other areas of the world where research excellence could be strengthened by new, innovative initiatives and links. Any branch of the humanities or social sciences is eligible and the intended focus is on collaborative research of a mutual interest, rather than purely establishing networks.
Maximum award: £30,000. Closing date: 10/02/16.
Economic and Social Research Council
Economic and Social Research Council invites proposals for its Secondary Data Alaysis Initiative (SDAI), which aims to deliver high quality, high impact research through the deeper exploitation of major data resources created by ESRC and other agencies. Funding is available for up to 18 months. Proposals should address the following core principles: maximising the use of key ESRC-funded data resources; developing the capacity of early career researchers to undertake research using complex data resource; working collaboratively with non-academic stakeholders and ensuring that the accumulated learning and ongoing research impacts from previous phases and projects is captured.
Maximum award: £200,000. Closing date: No deadline.
Medical Research Council
Medical Research Council in partnership with the Department of Health’s National Institute for Health Research invites proposals for the Methodology Research programme. Proposals may address: Research methods in disciplines underpinning health research including biomedical, behavioural and social science, experimental and stratified medicine, rendomised trials, cohorts and other research designs investigating health, healthcare, health services and health policy; Methods for effective regulation (including indices for decision making), approval, adaptation and reporting of new interventions (including behavioural); Research methods for valid measures of health, e.g. health outcomes, exposure and risk (including behaviour, cognition and emotion) and wellbeing.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 21/06/16.
Natural Environment Research Council
Natural Environment Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council invite applications for their Knowledge Exchange Fellowship in the area of aquaculture. The award will invest in a suitably qualified academic to broker links between academics and business within the UK aquaculture community and provide expert input and advice to the UK aquaculture network.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: 17/03/16.
Natural Environment Research Council’s British Antarctic Survey Institute invites applications for its Polar Ship Research Opportunities, which support scientists who have secured funding and require access to work onboard polar research ships. The marine facilities planning service allows scientists to apply for access to marine equipment and ship-time and there are two types of applications: ship-time and equipment; marine equipment only.
Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: No deadline.
Royal Society
Royal Society invites nominations for its Medals and Awards. Nominations can be made for excellent candidates from accross various disciplines and nominations for women, under-represented minorities and those undertaking research in industry are particularly encouraged, to increase diversity in awards. Please visit the award page for details of each award.
Maximum award: £10,000. Closing date: 01/02/16.
If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact RKEO with adequate notice before the deadline.
Please note that some funding bodies specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKEO Funding Development Officer
You can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in RKEO or view the recent blog post here.
If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on Research Professional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.
FMC Cross-Departmental Seminar Series 2015-16
Time: Wednesday, 9th December, 3-4 pm
Venue: The Screening Room W240, Weymouth House, Talbot Campus.
Adapting to dominant news narratives: tax ‘fairness’ as a Trojan horse for anti-austerity politics
Over the past five years the issue of tax avoidance has broken through into mainstream news media and public debate, after many years in which the campaigning efforts of NGOs, trade unions and a few investigative journalists were met largely with indifference. Protest group UK Uncut have been widely credited with increasing public engagement in the issue. News routines are less reliant on official and elite sources than in the past, and protesters less universally delegitimised in dominant news discourse, but the political claims of social movements still tend to be neglected or reduced to vague or naive opposition. UK Uncut were conscious of the common pitfalls and attempted to fit their own framing of the issue into existing news frames. In presenting a practical alternative to cuts, they hoped to substantiate an argument against the broadly accepted ‘necessity’ of public spending cuts, smuggling an oppositional claim inside a familiar narrative.
Their framing of the issue in terms of compromised political interests and ‘fairness to taxpayers’ fitted with dominant news narratives and was widely adopted by other sources, including the Public Accounts Committee, and by journalists, but generally in terms of individual and organisational wrongdoing and self-interest rather as a systemic critique. This did little to challenge or disrupt the overarching dominant narrative of fiscal crisis, necessary cuts, and even of fair tax as low tax. However, the playful performativity of the protests themselves – although part of an activist repertoire, risking distancing themselves from the mainstream – were successful in achieving some limited press coverage of the cuts that they claimed could be prevented by corporations paying their ‘fair share’, but those arguments were not picked up by other voices.
This paper analyses the extent to which this ‘adaptation’ approach to news framing (Rucht 2013) or intervention in dominant narratives (Hirschkop 1998) was successful in advancing political claims and objectives, and whether this case supports the contention that strategically performative and rhetorical interventions in the public sphere can compensate for marginality and lack of discursive power.
Jen Birks is an Assistant Professor in the department of Culture, Film and Media at the University of Nottingham, where she teaches political communication and public cultures. She is the author of News and Civil Society (Ashgate 2014).
All are welcome!!
About the series
This new seminar series showcases current research across different disciplines and approaches within the Faculty of Media and Communication at BU. The research seminars include invited speakers in the fields of journalism, politics, narrative studies, media, communication and marketing studies. The aim is to celebrate the diversity of research across departments in the faculty and also generate dialogue and discussion between those areas of research.
Contributions include speakers on behalf of
The Centre for Politics and Media Research
The Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community
Narrative Research Group
Journalism Research Group
Advances in Media Management Research Group
Emerging Consumer Cultures Research Group
Public Relations Research Group
CEMP’s Marketa Zezulkova has been awarded a COST “Short-Term Scientific Mission” grant to conduct field media literacy research with 4-7 year old disadvantaged children in the Czech Republic and to establish a Child Research and Impact Group (CRAIG) with Charles University, Prague. Together with a ‘Mapping Media Literacy in the Czech Republic’ grant Marketa was also awarded recently, this new project further establishes CEMP’s partnership with CU, following the Media Education Summit in Prague last year.
…and other lessons in #Dataviz were presented by our BU Datalabs team at the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement’s Engage 2015 event in Bristol last week. The annual Engage event brings together university leaders in public engagement from across the UK.
Tweets from @NCCPE #Engage_2015
At Engage 2015 we focused on how data visualisations of research processes, findings and outputs can be created to reach different kinds of audiences. Stressing the importance of combining storytelling techniques, design principles and communication strategies into data visualisation, we designed two hands-on exercises for participants to put their public engagement expertise to work.
Surge in social media sharing @smallmedia
Sharing the ‘aesthetics of research’ with participants, James looked at how a data visualisation approach—when embedded throughout the research process from data gathering to research promotion—can increase public engagement and build pathways to impact. He noted that without data visualisation, there was little audience for this data on Iran’s human rights records, but after it’s re-imagining it as a data visualisation project, engagement soared.
Last Wednesday 25th November, we hosted our project conference to the best part of 100 delegates entitled ‘Sharing best practice for delivering excellence in nutrition and dignity in dementia care’ at the Captain’s Club Hotel in Christchurch. We were delighted to listen to an inspiring presentation from Dame Christine Beasley, Trustee from The Burdett Trust for Nursing and would like to offer our sincere thanks for the generous support of The Burdett Trust for the project. We were lucky to have Hilda Hayo, Chief Admiral Nurse, Dementia UK as our keynote speaker who delivered an excellent presentation on the role of Admiral Nurses working with people living with dementia and some of the key nutritional issues encountered. A panel of engaging and thought-provoking presentations were provided by colleagues Dr Michele Board, Dr Janet Scammell around person-centred care and the importance of knowing the person and Professor Keith Brown around empowering staff to deliver organisational leadership.
Dr Jane Murphy and Joanne Holmes presented the project findings to reveal a number of insightful and innovative ways in which the nutritional and hydration needs of people living with dementia can be better supported. To illustrate the study findings and the relationship between sensory perception and memory, Malcolm Burgin, Alive Activities Ltd, invited the audience to participate in a number of sensory activities, demonstrating the powerful effects smell and touch can evoke in triggering memories and associated experiences.
Katie Bennett, Partners in Care and Dr Jane Murphy introduced the first open viewing of our training film and workbook made during the project and were delighted by the enthusiastic response received to both! Finally the afternoon was eloquently rounded off and brought to a close by Councillor and former Leader of Poole Borough Council, Elaine Atkinson OBE who provided a powerful presentation reiterating the importance of research to improving the delivery of nutritional care for those living with dementia, the key to success through partnership working and above all the next steps for implementation. The work doesn’t stop here!
We very pleased by the very positive and very supportive comments received, a few of which are pasted below. We would like offer a huge thank you to everyone involved for making the Conference such a lively, engaging and enormously successful day!
Conference presentation: 25th November
“Excellent day, great speakers one of the best Conferences I have been to. Fantastic video-so powerful and so true.”
“Great tools to improve practitioners approach to individuals with dementia and improving their experience of life and food.”
“This has been a great day and has made me look at nutrition from a different angle.”
“Loved the focus on the person-centred approach as this is a long held passion of mine… Found the expert lecturers very motivating and appreciated their understanding of the real world.”
“I thought the film was excellent-really helpful practical advice and a very professional production. Emphasis on the residents ‘back stories’ is really helpful too.”
“Excellent video…I can’t wait to try and implement some of this.. Today has been very informative-Thank you!”
Hilda Hayo, Chief Admiral Nurse with Joanne Holme
On 25th November, Dr Fiona Kelly attended the Cecily Saunders Institute at King’s College London as an invited guest speaker to present research on determining what aspects of the design of care environments might be important for people with dementia nearing the end of life. The key messages of her presentation were the importance of firstly assuming the ability of people with dementia to engage with the senses, whether through touch, sound, smell, sight or taste and then to provide the means of engaging with whatever sense was appropriate or possible. The presentation was followed by a panel discussion with the audience in which the practical application of design principles within hospital settings was debated. The consensus was that even small changes can make a big difference. Following the presentation and discussion, the panel made a commitment to include consideration of dementia design principles in staff education within the Institute.
Fleming, R., Kelly, F. and Stillfried, G. (2015) ‘I want to feel at home’: establishing what aspects of environmental design are important to people with dementia nearing the end of life, BMC Palliative Care. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-684X/14/26
The Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community will be holding a book launch on Wednesday 9 December between 5 and 7 in the Global Hub room (DG68) to celebrate the work of colleagues who have recently had books published. Refreshments will be on offer and all are welcome to drop by.
In April 2015, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) published three reports reflecting a legal and empirical study into the intellectual property (IP) implications of 3D printing. The project – commissioned by the UKIPO – was awarded to Bournemouth University and was led by Dr. Dinusha Mendis.
Together with Dr. Mendis, the research team consisted of Dr. Davide Secchi (Southern University, Denmark; previously Bournemouth University at the time of conducting the research) and Dr. Phil Reeves (Econolyst Ltd – now Stratasys Strategic Consulting Ltd).
All three reports can be found here and further information about the project, including research findings and recommendations for the UK Government, Industry and Intermediaries can be found here.
Since the publication of the reports, Dr. Dinusha Mendis, Co-Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management (CIPPM) has been invited to deliver a number of talks in UK and Abroad, thereby reflecting the impact of the research.
This blog-post, highlights the invited talks in EU. For the dissemination of research in UK, please see here.
34th ECTA Conference, Hamburg, Germany
On 12 June 2015, Dr. Mendis was invited to present the research at the European Communities Trade Mark Association 34th Annual Conference in Hamburg. The Conference took place from 10-13 June 2015 and Dr. Mendis spoke on the copyright implications of 3D printing based on the findings from the UKIPO project.
Dr. Mendis spoke on the topic as part of a Panel exploring the challenges to copyright law, which also included Professor Ian Hargreaves, Professor of Digital Economy, Cardiff University UK and author of the Hargreaves Review 2011.
For further information, please see here.
MAPPING Project, First General Assembly, Hannover, Germany
From 22-23 September 2015, the First General Assembly of the FP7-funded MAPPING Project was held in Hannover, Germany at the Hannover Congress Centrum.
MAPPING – Managing Alternatives for Privacy, Property and Internet Governance brought together stakeholders from three key areas including Internet Governance, Privacy and Intellectual Property.
Dr. Mendis was invited to speak in the Intellectual Property Panel titled ‘The EU IP Reform: Unlocking Culture, Stimulating Progress’. As part of the talk, Dr. Mendis was invited to speak on the UKIPO 3D Printing project.
Further information about the event can be found here.
OHIM Enforcement Conference, Alicante Spain
In November (18-20 November 2015) Dr. Mendis was invited by the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) in Alicante Spain. The 3-day event organised by OHIM, Europol and Eurojust explored issues on tackling enforcement in relation to the infringement of copyright and design law.
The event was attended by policy makers, law makers, customs and border protection officials, investigators, criminal analysts and industry experts amongst others.
Dr. Mendis presented at this conference together with with Dr. Davide Secchi (co-author of Study 1 of the UKIPO Project) and member of the research team which carried out the Commissioned work for the UKIPO.
Dr. Mendis and Dr. Secchi presented the research carried out particularly for Study 1 of the UKIPO project, but also took the opportunity to speak on next steps and future projects – in taking forward the UKIPO Project.
In this regard, Dr. Mendis spoke briefly about the work being carried out for the newly funded project considering a legal and empirical case study on 3D printing, 3D scanning and mass customisation of ancient and modern jewellery.
For more information about the new project, please see here. For further information about OHIM’s event, please see here.
FORUM Institut Management GmbH, 3D Printing and IP, Munich, Germany
On 1 December 2015, FORUM Institüt fur Management GmbH hosted an international conference exploring 3D Printing and IP Rights. The conference brochure including further details and speakers can be found here.
Dr. Mendis was invited to speak on the UKIPO Project with a particular focus on the implications for IP as a result of 3D online platforms as well as its impact on the industrial sector.
The presenters were drawn from industry, professional practice and academia thereby providing for a vibrant discussion.
In April 2015, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) published three reports reflecting a legal and empirical study into the intellectual property (IP) implications of 3D printing. The project – commissioned by the UKIPO – was awarded to Bournemouth University and was led by Dr. Dinusha Mendis.
Together with Dr. Mendis, the research team consisted of Dr. Davide Secchi (Southern University, Denmark; previously Bournemouth University at the time of conducting the research) and Dr. Phil Reeves (Econolyst Ltd – now Stratasys Strategic Consulting Ltd).
All three reports can be found here and further information about the project, including research findings and recommendations for the UK Government, Industry and Intermediaries can be found here.
Since the publication of the reports, Dr. Dinusha Mendis, Co-Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management (CIPPM) has been invited to deliver a number of invited talks in UK and Abroad, thereby reflecting the impact of the research.
This blog-post highlights the invited talks in UK. For dissemination of research in the EU, please see here.
Plymouth Law School, One Day Workshop on CSR
On 28 August 2015, Plymouth Law School held a one-day workshop, titled, ‘Valuing Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation: Relating Corporate Social Responsibility to Copyright Law’.
The workshop considered the prospect of practising Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in relation to copyright, where similar ideas of corporate social awareness have already applied to other areas of intellectual property protection.
Dr. Mendis explored the issue from the angle of emerging technologies and gave a presentation titled ‘Printing the Future: Is there a Need for Regulation? The Copyright Implications of 3D Printing’.
Other invited speakers on the day included, amongst others, Professor Charlotte Waelde, Professor of Intellectual Property, Exeter University and Dr. Abbe Brown, Reader and Deputy Head of the Law School, University of Aberdeen.
Please see here for further information.
EPIP Conference 2015, CREATe, University of Glasgow
From 2-3rd September 2015, CREATe, the RCUK Centre for Copyright and New Business Models in the Creative Economy at the University of Glasgow hosted the 10th Annual Conference of European Policy for Intellectual Property (EPIP). The event explored intellectual property from an economic, legal and political perspective considering its impact in the creative economy with a focus on copyright, data and the changing economics of the digital world.
Dr. Mendis presented and led a panel titled ‘A Legal and Empirical Study into the Intellectual Property Implications of 3D Printing – Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations’. The panel consisted of the research team, which carried out the research for the UKIPO Project, with a Panel member from the UKIPO outlining the next steps in relation to policy in the area of 3D printing and IP Law.
Together with Dr. Mendis, other Panel members included Dr. Davide Secchi (University of Southern Denmark), Ms. Sophie Jones (for Dr. Phil Reeves) (Stratasys Strategic Consulting) and Ms. Pippa Hall of the UK Intellectual Property Office.
Further information this event can be found here and further information about the conference including presentations from both days can be found here.
IPAN Event, London
On 11 November 2015, the Intellectual Property Awareness Network (IPAN) hosted an evening event, which explored 3D printing from an industry perspective as well as from a legal (IP) perspective. IPAN is a non-profit organisation working to improve understanding of patents, trademarks, designs, copyright and other IP rights and their value to society.
IPAN is chaired by CIPPM Associate Director, Professor Ruth Soetendorp.
Dr. Mendis was invited to deliver a talk highlighting the research findings, conclusions and recommendations of the UKIPO Project and its implications for IPAN’s membership. Dr. Mendis spoke alongside Mr. Paul Gately, EMEA Manager of 3D Systems.
3D Printing Panel and Poster Presentation at University of Liverpool
On 11 December 2015, Dr. Mendis will form part of a panel exploring the topic of 3D printing and its implications for IP law, from a broader perspective at the University of Liverpool.
The Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP) has recently been launched. Bournemouth University is a participating member.
The scheme, announced at WSD-U-2014, is led by Manchester Metropolitan University (UK). IUSDRP is not yet another network but conceptualised as a systematic programme to pursue and publish research on sustainability. It meets a perceived need for a university-based set-up, focusing on research projects, scientific publications and PhD training on matters related to sustainable development.
It has a special focus on developing countries, whose participation in such networks is very limited. Members of IUSDRP have already collaborated in various papers published in indexed journals, and are actively seeking further cooperation via externally-funded projects and joint PhD training. Further details can be seen at: http://iusdrp.mmu.ac.uk/
A new paper has just been published by: Chris Shiel, Walter Leal Filho Arminda Paco, Luciana Brandli (2016). Evaluating the Engagement of Universities in Capacity Building for Sustainable Development in Local Communities. Evaluation and Program Planning, 54 (2016) pp. 123-134.
You can download the article and other articles here:
http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1S6JtY2iclgdU
The paper reflects on the potential of universities to play a role in enabling communities to develop more sustainable ways of living and working, thereby addressing the paucity of studies that consider the evaluation of the work performed by universities in building capacity for sustainable development in local contexts. In order to achieve success in such initiatives, elements of programme planning and evaluation on the one hand, and capacity building on the other, are required. The assessment in this paper is based on evidence relating to community engagement activities obtained from a sample of universities in the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and Brazil. The extent to which capacity building in terms of sustainable development forms part of these initiatives is considered in depth, together with the different forms that this might take, as well as an evaluation of some of the benefits for local communities. The paper concludes by reinforcing that universities have a critical role to play in community development and that this role has to prioritise the sustainability agenda.
If you are interested in gaining further details about the network, please contact cshiel@bournemouth.ac.uk
The Faculty of Health and Social Sciences is holding a Writing Week between 4th-8th January 2016 aimed at supporting staff to find time in their busy academic diaries to prioritise writing grant applications and papers for publication.
The Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit offers methodological and statistical collaboration for all healthcare researchers in the area. It supports researchers in improving the quality, quantity and efficiency of research across Bournemouth University and local National Health Service (NHS) Trusts. It incorporates the Dorset office of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research Design Service who offer free methodological support to researchers who are developing research ideas in the field of health and social care.
BUCRU will be supporting Writing Week in HSS by holding two drop-in sessions on Tuesday 5th January and Thursday 7th January 12-2pm in R508 Royal London House. We would also like to extend the invitation across the other Faculties for anyone who feels we may be able to support them. For those unable to attend the drop-in sessions, we would be delighted to arrange an alternative appointment.
Please see further information here, contact our adminstrator Louise Ward on 01202 961939 / bucru@bournemouth.ac.uk or visit our website. We look forward to seeing you!
Congratulations to Dr Venky Dubey and Postdoctoral Researcher Dr Neil Vaughan for receive ‘highly commended’ in three categories at the Institution of Engineering and Technology awards. They and their collaborators – Bournemouth University, the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch NHS Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital Trust – were nominated for a smartphone device for monitoring sensation loss in patients with diabetes, which enables patients to self-monitor their symptoms and wirelessly transmit their results to their consultants.
Over time, people with diabetes can develop nerve damage, caused by prolonged exposure to high blood glucose levels. Sensation loss needs to be monitored by medical professionals to try and limit further damage. The severity of the nerve damage will dictate the frequency of hospital visits, but it can be as often as monthly which is quite time intensive for both patient and consultant.
The device, created by Dr Venky Dubey and his Postdoctoral Researcher Dr Neil Vaughan, involved the development of a smartphone app and a 3D probe fitted to the phone. The 3D probe is designed to vibrate, according to the intensity set by the app, which helps to analyse the levels of sensation loss in a patient. This data, along with basic details such as weight and height, are recorded by the app and can be transmitted to a GP or consultant who can monitor the need for further treatment or check-ups. As well as being a considerable time saver for both patients and medical professionals, the device also helps to give patients more control over their care.
Having their work recognised at an international level and placed in the same categories as organisations such as BT, Lockheed Martin and QinetiQ is a real achievement and is a tribute to the excellent work carried out by the research team involved.
Every BU academic has a Research Professional account which delivers weekly emails detailing funding opportunities in their broad subject area. To really make the most of your Research Professional account, you should tailor it further by establishing additional alerts based on your specific area of expertise. The Funding Development Team Officers can assist you with this, if required.
Research Professional have created several guides to help introduce users to ResearchProfessional. These can be downloaded here.
Quick Start Guide: Explains to users their first steps with the website, from creating an account to searching for content and setting up email alerts, all in the space of a single page.
User Guide: More detailed information covering all the key aspects of using ResearchProfessional.
Administrator Guide: A detailed description of the administrator functionality.
In addition to the above, there are a set of 2-3 minute videos online, designed to take a user through all the key features of ResearchProfessional. To access the videos, please use the following link: http://www.youtube.com/researchprofessional
Research Professional are running a series of online training broadcasts aimed at introducing users to the basics of creating and configuring their accounts on ResearchProfessional. They are holding monthly sessions, covering everything you need to get started with ResearchProfessional. The broadcast sessions will run for no more than 60 minutes, with the opportunity to ask questions via text chat. Each session will cover:
Each session will run between 10.00am and 11.00am (UK) on the fuorth Tuesday of each month. You can register here for your preferred date:
These are free and comprehensive training sessions and so this is a good opportunity to get to grips with how Research Professional can work for you.
This title was suggested by one of our collaborators Jeffery L Nicholas. Jeff is a scholar at Providence College in the USA who came to visit Bournemouth University recently. It is a great title, especially since many think about midwifery in terms of its long tradition. Some refer to midwifery as the ‘second oldest profession’. This blog post highlights some of the thinking generated through cross-national inter-disciplinary research.
Jeff (philosopher) and Edwin (medical sociologist) have been discussing the kind of political challenges midwives face today: struggles around the health of the mother and child, over costs (especially the underfunding of the NHS) and providers, and over the rights of women and families to choose. We both believe strongly that these struggles are inter-connected, and Jeff thinks a new approach is worthy of investigating for possible theoretical and practical aid in these struggles.
Specifically, Jeff looks at midwifery as a particular kind of practice with revolutionary potential. This question emerges from the work of Alasdair MacIntyre (1929—). MacIntyre condemns the bureaucratic society in which people become manipulators and manipulated. He also rejects large-scale, nation-state politics by which citizens might wrest control of their lives from those in charge. Rather, he focuses on the every day activities that comprise most of our lives. These activities—practices—come with their own ends that participants attempt to achieve, and they help teach individuals the virtues they need to act as agents in their lives, to participate in their communities, and to flourish. A strong community based around practices is one in which all can pursue the good life together, even if threatened by the state.
Having these discussions made us think about the substantive question, such as “Do some of the NHS free-standing midwife-led units, or some of the UK’s independent midwifery practices or The Farm Midwifery Center in Tennessee comprise such communities?” and “How can we best study this phenomenon?” Taking the discussion one of two steps further we brainstormed questions such as “How can midwifery education help an individual develop the virtues to live a flourishing life?” and “How does the student midwife learn to reason in her every day work?”
We hope these questions interest others, and that, together, we might pursue avenues of research to help us understand midwifery in the wider society, to support midwives and communities of midwives, to support human beings in their every day lives, and to birth a better world.
Prof. Jeffery L. Nicholas (Providence College)
&
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
The call for event proposals and Award Lecture nominations for the British Science Festival 2016 are now open.
The British Science Festival is Europe’s longest-standing national event which connects people with scientists, engineers, technologists and social scientists. Tens of thousands of people come together to celebrate the latest developments in science and to engage in open discussion about issues that affect our culture and society.
Each September the British Science Festival transforms a different UK city into a vibrant celebration of science, engineering and technology.
The British Science Festival will be returning to Swansea University from 6-9 September 2016. The Festival is a national platform to showcase cutting-edge science, celebrate the latest scientific developments and engage in open discussion about issues that affect our culture and society.
The British Science Association needs your help to curate a vibrant programme of events. Proposals should be aimed at non-specialist adults with a broad interest in science. Find out how to submit an event and nominate an Award Lecture on the British Science Festival website here: http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/british-science-festival
Specifically, they are looking for original, high quality science entertainments events for a wide range of audiences, including families, children, young adults, special interest groups and followers of the arts.
Anyone can propose an event – individuals, researchers, organisations or academic institutions from all over the UK. Events can be talks, debates or discussions for a public audience.
The call for proposals will close on 25 March 2016 and the deadline for Award Lecture nominations is 4 March 2016.
If you have any questions or want to discuss your ideas, please contact:
Rosie Waldron (Engagement Manager, British Science Association) T: +44 (0)20 7019 4941 E: rosie.waldron@britishscienceassociation.org
On 26th November 2015, BUDMC’s Professor of Crisis and Disaster Management, Lee Miles, gave a keynote presentation at a prestigious client forum examining ‘Cyber Resiliency – Protecting Your Business in an “Always On” World’, organised by IBM Resiliency Services and held at the IBM Client Centre at IBM UK’s headquarters in London.
Lee spoke on the subject of ‘Understanding Entrepreneurial Resilience and its Contribution to an ‘Always On’ World’. He discussed the need for senior business managers to value the entrepreneurial and innovative talents of staff in order to maximise the effectiveness of their resilience planning and processes in cyber security. Lee introduced the twin expectations of being ‘resilient about “always on”’ and ‘always on resilience’; two paradigms that successful resilience managers need to balance strategically and innovatively if they are to meet the challenges of handling future crises and disasters that have major implications for the business world.
IBM Client Forums bring together senior resilience, emergency and business continuity managers from some of the UK’s leading, and most prestigious, FTSE-indexed commercial and business interests. The forums provide key platforms for discussing the most contemporary issues in resilience. Lee joined a high profile list of speakers that included senior representation from the UK’s Cabinet Office, the Business Continuity Institute (BCI), Barclays Bank as well as experts from IBM’s own Resiliency Services Division.
Lee also participated in a major and lively panel discussion, debating the most cutting-edge issues in cyber resilience.
Lee’s invitation and participation represent further evidence of the BUDMC’s continuing profile in all aspects of disaster management. The substantial strategic cooperation that is developing between BUDMC and the University’s Cyber Security Unit (SCU) continues to attract external recognition. Considerable interest was also generated among members of the IBM Client Forum in the forthcoming BUDMC short course in ‘Entrepreneurial Resilience in Crisis and Disaster Management’ to be offered (in association with the BU Centre for Entrepreneurship) for the first time in May 2016.
Lee Miles Giving Keynote at IBM on ‘Entrepreneurial Resilience’
IBM Client Forum Panel in Action
Congratulations to the SHIVA Project team who won the Times Higher Education (THE) Award in the Outstanding Innovation in Teaching or Research category.
The SHIVA Project (Scuplture for Healthcare: Interaction and Visual Art in 3D) won the award at the THE Awards, one of the most prestigious awards in the Higher Education sector.
The team from BU’s National Centre for Comptuer Animation (NCCA) developed the SHIVA software system, working with Victoria Education Centre in Dorset – a local school for children with physical and learning disabilities.
The software enables students to bring art to life by creating objects using eye gaze or touchscreen technology, before 3D printing the finished result.
The winning team for the award included: Professor Alexander Pasko, Professor Peter Comninos, Dr Leigh McLoughlin, Dr Oleg Fryazinov, Dr Valery Adzhiev, PhD student Mathieu Sanchez and Mark Moseley, who worked for Victoria Educational Centre and is now a BU Doctoral student.
To view all the winners from the evening, visit the THE Awards website.
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April’s Café Scientifique – Should we help machines understand and respond to our emotions?
Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) 2024 – 2 WEEKS LEFT
Working with The Conversation: online training session – Wednesday 8th May Public Engagement Opportunity: Share your research with the public at Café Scientifique
Apply for up to £1,000 to deliver an event and take part in a national festival of public engagement with research
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024
Research Information Network
Horizon Europe News – December 2023