Category / PG research

This part of the blog features news and information for postgraduate research students and supervisors

Call for Presenters and Registration: Third Annual FMC Postgraduate Conference – Nov. 13th, 2019

BU research, conferences, humanities, PG research, Research communication

We are excited to announce that the Third Annual FMC postgraduate conference will be hosted on 13th November 2019 at the Share Lecture Theatre in the Fusion Building on Talbot Campus. This will be a fantastic opportunity for all postgraduate researchers to showcase their excellent research to the faculty, as well as providing a great experience to present in a conference setting. There will be a chance for staff and student conducting postgraduate research to receive feedback from staff and peers.

 

We are happy to receive the following submissions from all FMC PGRs:

– 15 minute presentation

– 30 minute workshop

 

Additionally, first year postgraduate researchers have the option to present a 3- minute thesis, a shorter presentation with just one slide, to introduce their research topic to the faculty. This year there is also the option for postgraduates based elsewhere to present virtually (please be aware that you will be asked to make a back up recorded presentation in case of technical difficulties). We want the conference to be inclusive of all FMC postgraduates.

 

If you would like to present, please submit your abstract of no more than 250 words, presentation title, presentation format, and no more than 75 word bio to byang@bournemouth.ac.uk by 17 October 2019. You will be notified within one week of the deadline as to whether your presentation has been accepted.

 

If you are interested in attending the conference free registration can be completed here: https://fmcpgconference.eventbrite.co.uk

 

We look forward to receiving your abstracts and registration!

Alex, Bing, Evgeniya, Jo and Mel

Conference Organisers Postgraduate Researchers

Faculty for Media and Communication

 

Submission Checklist

O Presentation Title

O c. 250 word abstract

O Presentation Format

O c. 75 word biography

BMC blog on latest HSS paper

BU research, Featured academics, international, open access, PG research, Publishing, Research news, Uncategorized, writing

Dr. Rachel Arnold’s recent paper in BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth was highlighted in a blog promoted by the publisher.  The paper ‘Villains or victims? An ethnography of Afghan maternity staff and the challenge of high quality respectful care‘ reports on the everyday lives of maternal healthcare providers working in a tertiary maternity hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan (1). BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth is an Open Access journal so the paper is available free of charge to anybody in Afghanistan (and elsewhere) with an internet connection.  The aim was to understand the staff’s notions of care, their varying levels of commitment to providing care for women in childbirth, and the obstacles and dilemmas that affected standards, and thereby gain insight into their contributions to respectful maternity care, whether as ‘villains’ or as ‘victims.’

Dr. Arnold is Postdoctoral Midwifery Researcher in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH).  This is the third paper from Rachel’s excellent PhD project, the previous two papers appeared in BJOG and Social Science & Medicine (2-3).

Click here for BMC Blog post:

Villains or victims? The role of maternity staff in decreasing or enhancing respectful care

Reference:

  1. Arnold, R., van Teijlingen, E., Ryan, K., Holloway, I. (2019) Villains or victims? An ethnography of Afghan maternity staff and the challenge of high quality respectful care, BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 19 :307 https://rdcu.be/bPqlj
  2. Arnold R., van Teijlingen E, Ryan K., Holloway I. (2015) Understanding Afghan health care providers: Qualitative study of culture of care in Kabul maternity hospital, BJOG 122: 260-267.
  3. Arnold, R., van Teijlingen, E., Ryan, K., Holloway, I. (2018) Parallel worlds: an ethnography of care in an Afghan maternity hospital, Social Science & Medicine 126:33-40.

 

Academic Publishing – Writing Days

BU research, ECR Network, PG research, Publishing, Research communication, Research Training, Training, writing

A series of writing days have been organised to help support BU authors work on their publications by providing some dedicated time and space, away from everyday distractions, supported by RDS staff.

The days will have a collaborative focus on productive writing with other BU authors and the RDS team will also be on hand to provide authors with help and guidance on all areas of the publication process. The objectives for the day are :

  • To give authors time and space with like minded individuals to produce publications
  • To gain some insights and tips into how to manage writing time within daily routine

Writing Days have been scheduled on the below dates:

  • Thursday 5th September
  • Wednesday 6th November
  • Monday 13th January
  • Friday 6th March
  • Thursday 14th May
  • Tuesday 14th July

See the page on the intranet to book

ECREA Doctoral Summer School 2019 | Report by FMC PGR Daniel Hills

BU research, Doctoral College, Events, Featured, PG research

Daniel Hills (FMC PGR) has recently returned from the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) European Media and Communication Doctoral Summer School. This year it was held at Tartu University, Estonia between 9th to 16th July. 

Taken from the ECREA website, the summer school brings together members of the European research community to this summer school in order to debate contemporary issues in media, communication and cultural studies. The summer school aims to provide a supportive international setting where doctoral students can present their ongoing work, receive feedback on their PhD-projects from international experts and meet students and academics from other countries, establishing valuable contacts for the future.

It is a full on conference including a variety of back-to-back workshops, lectures, group feedback sessions and consultation every day for 8 days, and is extremely intense. To qualify for this conference, I had to supply an initial 500 word abstract of my PhD, and following being successfully shortlisted for the next round, produce an expanded 3,000 word introduction and summary of my research project, as well as a 10 minute presentation summarising my research plans as they were prior to the summer school.

There were 40 delegates selected and I was lucky enough to be one of them. The conference commenced at 09:30 on the 8th with a half day meet and greet so we could all get to know one another and our personal areas of research. This was followed by lunch and then into an afternoon of interactive workshops taking us to 6PM. This was followed by a welcome drinks party where we could discuss our first day over a glass of wine and provided a great opportunity to bond with my new peers. Over the following days, we would cover a further 16 workshops, 5 lectures and most importantly for me, individual feedback sessions. Our large group was broken into 2 groups or 14 and 1 or 13, and over the course of the work were give an hour dedicated to presenting our research (10 minutes) maximum and then to receive a structured feedback from lecturers and peers whom had already read my 3,000 word paper. This delivered invaluable feedback for me and gave me a plethora of new perspectives which I had hitherto not considered.

I gained a great deal of insights, useful techniques and a re-ignition of enthusiasm towards my research throughout the 8 days, and would encourage anybody whom is more than a year into their research to apply for the 2020 version. I graduated with 10 ECTS points on the final day, but more importantly new-found knowledge and a new direction to progress with my PhD, and a whole lot of new friends and peers. I am planning on writing a paper with one of my new friends whom is interested in a similar field to my own. All in all, the ECREA European Media and Communication Doctoral Summer School has been one of the most useful academic experiences of my career to date.

Daniel Hills is a PhD researcher in the Faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University, and is focusing his research in advertising planning and practice theory, aiming to complete in 2020.

BU PhD student Peter Wolfensberger has article accepted in Brit J Mental Health Nursing

BU research, Centre for Excellence in Learning, international, PG research, Publishing, Research news, student research, Uncategorized, writing

Congratulations to FHSS PhD student Peter Wolfensberger whose article ‘Uncertainty in illness among people living with mental ill health – a mental health nursing perspective’ was accepted yesterday by the British Journal of Mental Health Nursing [1].   The paper introduces the concept of ‘uncertainty in illness’, which is a well-known concept in health care literature  and a considerable volume of research has investigated how people adapt to different health conditions and how the concept of uncertainty in illness relates to those populations. However, while there is substantial literature focusing on coping strategies and personal recovery, there is a paucity of research about uncertainty in illness among people living with mental ill health. 

This paper therefore, explores uncertainty in illness among mental health nurses and to provide an understanding of its relevance to people living with mental ill health.  The paper concludes that even though mental health nursing does not directly address uncertainty, the concept and its implications need to be considered and raised further among mental health professionals in order to improve support for people living with mental ill health in their process of personal recovery.

This paper originated from Peter’s PhD research on insights into mental health nursing in Switzerland, which has had input from Prof Fran Biley (before he passed away) and Dr. Zoe Sheppard (before she moved to her new job in Dorchester).  His current BU supervisors are: Dr. Sarah Thomas and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen and his Swiss supervisor is Prof. Sabine Hahn (Berner Fachhochschule/ Bern University of Applied Sciences).

 

Reference:

  1. Wolfensberger P. Thomas, S., Sheppard, Z., Hahn, S, van Teijlingen, E.  ‘Uncertainty in illness among people living with mental ill health – a mental health nursing perspective’  British Journal of Mental Health Nursing (Accepted)

 

 

 

 

Congratulations on academic paper by BU PhD student Orlanda Harvey

BU research, Featured academics, open access, PG research, Publishing, Research news, student research, Uncategorized, writing

Congratulations to Orlanda Harvey, PhD student in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences on her PhD publication “Support for people who use Anabolic Androgenic Steroids: A Systematic Scoping Review into what they want and what they access” in the Open Access journal BMC Public Health [1].  Since there is a paucity of research on support for people using Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS), this article searched and synthesised the available evidence in this field. Gaining an understanding of the support both accessed and wanted by recreational AAS users will be of use to professionals who provide services to intravenous substance users and also to those working in the fields of public health and social care, with the aim to increase engagement of those using AAS.

This systematic scoping review identified 23 papers and one report for review, which indicated that AAS users access a range of sources of information on: how to inject, substance effectiveness, dosages and side effects, suggesting this is the type of information users want. AAS users sought support from a range of sources including medical professionals, needle and syringe programmes, friends, dealers, and via the internet, suggesting that, different sources were used dependent on the information or support sought.

The authors argue that AAS users tended to prefer peer advice and support over that of professionals , and access information online/specialist fora, reflecting the stigma that is experienced by AAS  users. These tendencies can act as barriers to accessing services provided by professionals.  The paper concludes that support needs to be specific and targeted towards AAS users. Sensitivity to their perceptions of their drug-use and the associated stigma of being classified in the same sub-set as other illicit drug users is relevant to facilitating successful engagement.

 

Reference: 

  1. Harvey, O., Keen, S., Parrish, M., van Teijlingen, E. (2019) Support for people who use Anabolic Androgenic Steroids: A Systematic Literature Review into what they want and what they access. BMS Public Health 19: 1024      https://rdcu.be/bMFon

 

 

The British Academy Funding Call – Writing Workshops 2020

BU research, Funding opportunities, international, PG research, Research news, Training, writing

Funding Call: Writing Workshops 2020

 

The British Academy, as part of the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), is inviting proposals for writing workshops in developing countries. These workshops should aim to support early career academics, promote the uptake of research emanating from developing countries in international journals, and further intellectual interaction globally.

Aims
The intention of the Writing Workshops is to cultivate professional networks and mentorship and provide access for early career researchers in developing countries to the academic requirements of journals, including international journals, and to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to publish in these journals. This will support the progression of their academic careers and promote the visibility of their research.

Through the Writing Workshops programme, the British Academy aims to encourage and support early career researchers in developing countries to publish in high impact journals in the fields of the humanities and social sciences, and enable them to develop connections with academics and journal editors based nationally and internationally.

Eligibility Requirements
The lead applicant must be based at a UK university or eligible research institute, and be of postdoctoral or above status (or have equivalent research experience). The lead applicant must either be in a permanent position at the institution or have a fixed-term position for the duration of the award. Each application must have at least one co-applicant based in an ODA eligible country.

All proposals must be ODA-eligible: only projects that have a primary objective which is directly and primarily relevant to the problems of developing countries may be counted as ODA. ODA eligibility is an essential criterion – projects will only be deemed eligible for funding if they can demonstrate that they satisfy ODA eligibility criteria.

All workshops must take place in ODA eligible countries.

Value and Duration
Awards are set at a maximum of £20,000. Funding must be used in the direct delivery of the workshops, and can cover travel and related expenses, subsistence costs, clerical assistance and consumables, networking, meeting and / or conference costs.

All workshops must take place before 15 December 2020.

Application Process
Applications can only be submitted online using the British Academy’s online Flexi-Grant® Grant Management System (GMS) system.

Application deadline: Wednesday 6 November 2019, 17.00 UK time.

Please contact your Funding Development Officer in Research and Development Support (RDS) who will be able to assist you with your application.

Contact Us
Should you have any queries, please contact:
international@thebritishacademy.ac.uk
+44 (0) 207 969 5220

 

Dr. Rachel Arnold’s first paper as BU staff

BU research, Featured academics, international, open access, PG research, Publishing, Research news, student research, Uncategorized, writing

Congratulations to Dr. Rachel Arnold in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health who had her first paper accepted since she started working at BU two months ago. Her paper ‘Villains or victims? An ethnography of Afghan maternity staff and the challenge of high quality respectful care’ is co-authored with her former PhD supervisors Professor Kath Ryan (BU Visiting Faculy), Professor Emerita Immy Holloway and CMMPH’s Professor Edwin van Teijlingen [1].  The paper is Open Access funded by Bournemouth University’s Open Access Fund which will help promote the visibility of the paper before REF 2021.

I was tempted to head this blog ‘Dr. Arnold only two months at BU and first paper published’, but I decide this would perhaps send the wrong message to other new BU staff.  Rachel completed her PhD in CMMPH and this is paper is the third publication from her thesis.  The other academic publications by Dr. Arnold on Afghanistan have been in BJOG and Social Science & Medicine [2-3].

 

References:

  1. Arnold, R., van Teijlingen, E., Ryan, K., Holloway, I. (2019) Villains or victims? An ethnography of Afghan maternity staff and the challenge of high quality respectful care ,     BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (accepted).
  2. Arnold R., van Teijlingen E, Ryan K., Holloway I. (2015) Understanding Afghan health care providers: Qualitative study of culture of care in Kabul maternity hospital, BJOG 122: 260-267.
  3. Arnold, R., van Teijlingen, E., Ryan, K., Holloway, I. (2018) Parallel worlds: an ethnography of care in an Afghan maternity hospital, Social Science & Medicine 126:33-40.

Congratulations to PhD student Alice Ladur

BU research, open access, PG research, Publishing, Research news, student research, Uncategorized, writing

FHSS PhD student Alice Ladur has been awarded a small but very competitive grant by FfWG, the Funds for Women Graduates.  FfWG is the trading name of the BFWG Charitable Foundation and the BFWG (British Federation of Women Graduates), which is affiliated to the International Federation of University Women.

Alice is based in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH).  Her PhD research in Uganda is supervised by Prof. Vanora Hundley and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. Her thesis research has already resulted in an academic paper published in the international journal BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth, which Open Access.

British Academy Visit – Save the Date!

BU research, ECR Network, Events, Funding opportunities, PG research, pre-award, Research news, Research Training, RKE development framework, Training

September 10th 11:00 – 14:00 Talbot Campus

Members of the British Academy are visiting BU on Tuesday 10th September.

There will be a presentation late morning, looking at their portfolio of funding opportunities and providing useful information on their application and assessment processes, with some handy top tips. This will be followed by a networking lunch.

To book, please contact Theresa McManus.

Please put the date in your diaries!

Enhancing Postgraduate Research Cultures – UKCGE Annual Conference

conferences, Doctoral College, Featured, Knowledge Exchange, PG research, Research Training

The Doctoral College plays a central role in the development of the postgraduate research community, culture and environment here at BU. On 1st & 2nd July 2019, the Doctoral College Research Skills and Development Officer (Natalie Stewart) attended the UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) Annual Conference with this year’s theme ‘enhancing postgraduate research cultures’ hosted at the University of Salford, MediaCity, Manchester.

The conference had a strong focus on how institutions can support positive PGR cultures and communities in which students can realise their potential. We explored the value of PGR education, listened to experiences of PGR students and discussed what a thriving PGR culture looks like. We also heard from Dr Mark Bennett from FindAUniversity who surveyed prospective PGRs on their expectations of a research degree, findings of which could help inform future provisions.

Day 2 was filled with thought-provoking oral presentation and workshops facilitated by colleagues from Heriot-Watt University, Birmingham City University, Imperial College London and University of Bath. They had us discussing and reflecting on our institutional support for PGRs in particular the activities and events we offer and whether these are actually what students want, how we measure event success, how we support PGRs ‘writing up’ and those PGRs approaching their Viva Voce examination. (If you would like to know how the Doctoral College currently supports these areas please get in touch). For further conference highlights you can view the #UKCGE19 twitter feed.

I look forward to working closely with PGRs and colleagues to further enhance the PGR research culture here at BU.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any thoughts or ideas you would like to discuss regarding PGR support. PGRs can freely submit feedback and suggestions via the anonymous RDP Feedback Survey which remains open year round.

Image result for ukcge image

 

 

Impact Case Study Writing Retreat

BU research, ECR Network, Events, PG research, Research communication, Research news, Research Training, RKE development framework

Thursday 4th July 09:30 – 16:00

A whole day REF impact case study writing retreat, consisting of a two hour presentation on case study writing with the rest of the day spent writing. The trainer will be on hand the whole day to provide 1:1 support and guidance. Attendees are required to have an impact case study to write and work on; own laptop is required for the session.

The writing retreat will provide guidance on:

  • How to write and excellent impact case study
  • How to frame the writing
  • What a successful case study looks like
  • Other hints and tips towards successful impact case study writing
  • Guiding individual attendees during the personal writing elements

See here for more details and to book.

Reminder: Research Ethics Panel meetings in August

BU research, PG research, Research Ethics

A Reminder for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers

There are NO Research Ethics Panel (REP) meetings held during August, so if you’re hoping to start data collection activities over the summer and are in the process of completing your research ethics checklist, please keep this in mind when planning your research activities and submit your checklist in time for the final REP meetings to be held in July.  Checklists received during August which need to be reviewed by full Panel will be deferred until September (dates to be advised).

REPs review all staff projects and postgraduate research projects which have been identified as above minimal risk through the online ethics checklist.  Details on what constitutes high risk can be found on the research ethics blog.

There are two central REPs:

Science, Technology & Health
Social Sciences & Humanities
Staff/PGR ‘above minimal risk’ projects are reviewed by full REP and Researchers (including PGR Supervisors) are normally invited to Panel for discussions.

Staff Projects which are ‘low risk’

Reviews for low risk projects will continue as normal during August (via email), although turnaround may take longer than normal due to Reviewer availability during this month.

PGR Projects which are ‘low risk’

There are no changes to the review and approval process for low risk PGR projects and reviews will continues as normal throughout August, again subject to Reviewer (Ethics champions) availability.

More details about the review process and REP meeting dates can be found on the Research Ethics Blog.  Email enquiries should be sent to researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Changes to the Researcher Development Programme on Brightspace

Doctoral College, PG research, Training, Vitae

Information for Postgraduate Research Students & Supervisors

The Researcher Development Programme (RDP) Brightspace unit has been refreshed. This should make accessing resources and workshops quicker and easier. So what’s changed?

  • Content is no longer divided by Vitae RDF domains, instead all workshops are merged into one area and all online content has been merged into a separate area.
  • Some workshops have been combined in one content area, for example milestone preparation, research philosophy, research designs and research methods.
  • ‘Additional resources’ information will continue to be added to workshop contents to supplement workshop learning – so check these out.
  • These changes have been reflected in the quick links on the homepage.

The feedback form remains live. It is always valuable to hear your thoughts and views on all aspects of the RDP to ensure its meeting your needs.

The new RDP brochure is currently in design and will be available (in print and PDF) from early September; the new design will reflect these Brightspace updates. Workshop dates and times will also be released in early September and ready to book.

Although RDP workshops have finished for this academic year, you still have access to all online content including the 18 research skills masters programme online modules, the new Video Arts e-learning and videos and much more online content.

If you have any questions regarding your researcher development or the resources available to you, please contact me on pgrskillsdevelopment@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Best wishes, Natalie.

Reminder: Research Ethics Panel meetings in August

BU research, PG research, Research Ethics

A Reminder for Staff and Postgraduate Researchers

There are no Research Ethics Panel (REP) meetings held during August, so if you’re hoping to start data collection activities over the summer and are in the process of completing your research ethics checklist, please keep this in mind when planning your research activities and submit your checklist in time for the final REP meetings to be held in July.  Checklists received during August which need to be reviewed by full Panel will be deferred until September (dates to be advised).

REPs review all staff projects and postgraduate research projects which have been identified as above minimal risk through the online ethics checklist.  Details on what constitutes high risk can be found on the research ethics blog.

There are two central REPs:

  • Science, Technology & Health
  • Social Sciences & Humanities

Staff/PGR ‘above minimal risk’ projects are reviewed by full REP and Researchers (including PGR Supervisors) are normally invited to Panel for discussions.

Staff Projects which are ‘low risk’

Reviews for low risk projects will continue as normal during August (via email), although turnaround may take longer than normal due to Reviewer availability during this month.

PGR Projects which are ‘low risk’

There are no changes to the review and approval process for low risk PGR projects and reviews will continues as normal throughout August, again subject to Reviewer (Ethics champions) availability.

More details about the review process and REP meeting dates can be found on the Research Ethics Blog.  Email enquiries should be sent to researchethics@bournemouth.ac.uk.