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Reporting back from the BSA Auto/Biography Christmas Conference!

conferences

“I say tomato, You say tomato”. Is Autoethnography Auto/Biography by any other name?

Prior to our holiday break, Dr Judith Chapman and Dr Sarah Collard presented their research at the recent British Sociological Association (BSA) Auto/Biography Conference in London. This was a novel presentation, not limited to following a power point, but involving discussions with one other and the audience about the differences between the two research methods of autoethnography and auto/biography.

As they recently presented on this topic at the Centre for Qualitative Research lunchtime seminar, Judith and Sarah felt warmed up for the conversation and debates that occurred when presenting and discussing the topic in front of an audience of methodological experts within this area! After each shared their own experiences of conducting either authethnography or auto/biography, they opened it up to the audience to debate the merits of the two methods. An exciting and interesting dialogue with the audience ensued, with the ethical considerations of each method being fervently discussed, as well as the challenges of deciding what can be classified as autoethnography or auto/biography. There was no lull in the exchange of views and conference members applauded the informative and interactive element of our presentation.

After our presentation, we were able to forge links with others at the conference and were requested to share our work even more! It was very exciting to be so well received and have such a positive response to the presentation. However, there was no overall consensus and we agreed to differ on the syllabic emphasis of “tomato”!

FMC Associate Professor delivers plenary at Style and Response Conference

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It was my great pleasure to take part last week in a conference organised by the Stylistics Research Group at Sheffield Hallam Style and Response. My paper reported on the activities of our two BU based AHRC funded projects, and on the ethical and methodological challenges of researching readers and reading online.  The conference was an important opportunity to disseminate the work of the existing projects and to further extend our network of scholars researching reading in the digital age. It was also an opportunity to discuss what will hopefully be the next stage of this research, as our application for Follow on Funding to the AHRC is currently being finalised….

 

The first day included a fascinating panel on Digital Fiction, particularly focusing on immersion and showcasing different methodologies including the Think Aloud protocol and participant interviews. The case studies discussed in this session included Dreaming Methods’ Wallpaper (Alice Bell), videogame Zero Time Dilemma (Jess Norledge and Richard Finn) and The Princess Murderer (Isabelle Van der Bom). After lunch, I switched between panels to catch Sam Browse’s entertaining paper presenting an ethnographic study of a group of local Labour party activists, followed by Lyle Skains’ paper reporting on how her creative writing students responded to reading digital or ‘ergodic’ fiction, and how they felt this influenced their own creative practice.

 

It was great to see diversity throughout the programme both in terms of methods and case studies.  One of the takeaways from day one was a strong preference for mixed methods, and there was a very lively discussion following the closing plenary (presented in absentia by Ranjana Das) about the extent to which exploring new approaches and methods from different disciplines can be managed without diluting or compromising the skills and expertise that we have as researchers primarily trained in critical analysis and close reading.

 

I delivered the opening plenary on day 2, followed by a fascinating panel on Attention, with an insightful paper on cognitive approaches to re-reading from Chloe Harrison and Louise Nuttall, and a very informative and interesting paper on eyetracking and onomatopoeia in manga from Olivia Dohan.

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The afternoon sessions provided further innovative approaches to media and new media texts and cultures.  Isabelle van der Bom and Laura Paterson reported on a corpus linguistic study of live tweeting of Benefits Street, which provided depressing but fascinating evidence of the ways in which the ‘echo chamber’ of social media is nevertheless shaped in interaction with other media (tv, the tabloid press).  It also raised questions about the extent to which empirical and particularly quantitative approaches can tell the ‘whole story’ when it comes to a discourse where there may be just as many silent witnesses as participants.

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Alison Gibbons’ paper on JJ Abrams’ S offered a fascinating account of the novel as part of a transmedia universe, and reported on her attempts to get ‘real readers’ to create and insert their own marginalia alongside that provided by the novel’s creators.  The closing plenary was an energetic and engaging discussion of persuasion and transportation by Melanie Green.  As well as transporting us to another world by reading us a story, Melanie’s paper left us with some important insights into the power of stories to change minds for good and ill.

Many congratulations to the organisers of this event for producing such a stimulating couple of days. It was wonderful to see that the study of readers and reading is attracting some innovative work from within the field of stylistics, drawing on a long tradition of focusing on the empirical, but also demonstrating breadth of engagement with terms and methods from multiple disciplines.

Faculty of Management academics are keynote speakers at MEAconf

conferences, international

Two Faculty of Management academics, Dr Mohamed Haffar and Dr Elvira Bolat, are selected as keynote speakers for the 6th International Conference on Modern Research in Management, Economics and Accounting, which is held on 15th November at London South Bank University.

Dr Haffar from the Department of Leadership, Strategy and Organisational Behaviour is presenting on the following topic, ‘Guidelines for organisational sustainability in an era of radical change: The vital role of employees readiness and commitment to change’. Dr Bolat from the Department of Marketing is talking about ‘Digital transformation and its implications for academia and practice’.

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The MEAConference aims to pave an international way for leading academics, active researchers, experts, industry leaders and interested scholars to communicate and exchange their viewpoints on latest scientific findings and practical experiences in the fields of Management, Economics and Accounting. Besides, the Conference attempts to examine the scientific and practical challenges in their application process across all geographical regions as well as at diverse local, national, regional and international levels.

 

Subtropical Florida – an excellent place to study microbes.

conferences

Ph.D. Student Hunter Hines, supervised by Prof Genoveva Esteban of SciTech’s Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, presented their research earlier this month in USA: Florida’s tropical ciliates; novel records and new species. The conference, American Society of Microbiology (Florida Branch) was attended by about 200 scientists, covering all aspects of microbiology. Hosted by Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS), University of Miami, the meeting took place on beautiful Key Biscayne, an island off the coast of the city of Miami. Hunter presented the highlights of his PhD project thus far; including the discovery of several first records for the Americas of some (unicellular) ciliated protozoan species.  Also included was a species Hunter discovered recently which is likely new to science, and the focus of current research.  These novel single-celled organisms help to advance theories of microbial ecology and dispersal, and the presentation received excellent feedback.  Prof Peter McCarthy (Hunter’s co-supervisor in USA) of Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) was also in attendance for the conference, along with his HBOI lab group.

 

ORI presentation at RCN Society of Orthopaedic and Trauma Nursing International Conference and Exhibition

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RCN Society of Orthopaedic and Trauma Nursing International Conference and Exhibition, 8-9th  September 2016, Cardiff

Nice poster, but can't say the same thing for the poster board...

Nice poster, but can’t say the same thing for the poster board…

The theme for this conference was ‘Valuing the past, embracing the future‘ and it was great to be able to represent BU’s Orthopaedic Research Institute (ORI) whose work is firmly on the ’embracing the future’ side of the theme. I was there to deliver a poster presentation entitled:

‘A review of the literature related to the role of nutritional supplementation for an enhanced recovery pathway for hip and knee replacement’

This was produced through work with Associate Professor Tom Wainwright (Deputy Head) and Professor Rob Middleton (Head) of ORI, and Dr Simon Dyall of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences. There was good interest in the poster from orthopaedic nurses and fellow academics, and I had a great chat about nutrition with the one medical doctor in attendance – the first time I’ve heard of an orthogeriatrician!

Headline? At present, the evidence base does not support the use of nutritional supplementation in enhanced recovery after surgery pathways for hip/knee replacement. However, that’s not to say that nutrition does not play a role. More high quality research is required particularly to explore the role of zinc, vitamin D and omega fatty acids, and possibly other nutrients that have been overlooked too. If you’d like to find out more you can get a full size version of the poster here. Any comments on this most welcome.

For those interested in orthopaedics in general, the opening presentation included learning about Norman, aged 90, who can apparently lay claim to having had the longest lasting hip replacement. He had his first replacement in 1948 and it only needed revising this year! (if I remember correctly)! Far, far longer than most hip replacements last.

Norman, 90 years young, had first hip replacement in 1948!

Norman, 90 years young, had first hip replacement in 1948!

 Other presentations included work on fracture prevention (increasingly important for our aging and increasingly frail population), developing post-graduate education in orthopaedic nursing, recognition of delirium, and the latest on the timely identification of compartment syndrome (a life-threatening complication).

Having a couple of hours to spare before returning to Bournemouth I took a look at some of the beautiful architecture in Cardiff. It had the feeling of a city that values its past:

The clock tower of Cardiff Castle

The clock tower of Cardiff Castle

but is also embracing the future…

Wales Millenium Centre

Wales Millenium Centre

Many thanks to the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences for supporting my attendance.

 

Call for abstracts – Marine Protected Areas: Science, Policy & Management

conferences

Climate change, policy developments such as Brexit and progress in marine science all contribute to a fast changing context for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This conference aims to examine the current issues from a variety of perspectives at a time when questions on the future approaches to MPA’s are the subject of policy development. Contributions are welcome from individual practitioners, NGOs, statutory and governmental organisations as well as from academia.

Abstracts of papers and posters are invited ranging from original scientific research reports through reviews to policy analyses, critiques and management practice innovations. Both UK and comparative international perspectives are welcome on all forms of Marine Protected Area.

While abstracts may focus on specific MPAs, especially when the subject matter is of wider relevance, submissions which examine or exemplify general issues such as the relationship between scientific evidence, policy and management, or the balance between conservation and socio-economics are also encouraged. The conference will result in a published proceedings volume with the prospect also of themed journal publication for suitable peer reviewed papers.

The Estuarine & Coastal Sciences Association and Poole Harbour Study Group are jointly organising the conference on ‘Marine Protected Areas: Science, Policy & Management’ from Monday 15th – Wednesday 17th May 2017 in Poole. This will also coincide with a week of European Maritime Port festivities and culminate in Poole Boat Show.

Full details about abstract submission can be found here.

Conference themes

  • The science of Marine Protected Areas
  • MPA’s and fisheries: Policy & practice
  • Climate change, non-indigenous species and marine conservation
  • Post Brexit UK policy and European Marine Sites
  • Recreational & commercial pressures: Impacts & solutions
  • Water quality, nutrients, and eutrophication

For more details, contact Dr Roger Herbert.