BU Research Blog

Category / Research news

May 15, 2017

NERC Science Board – membership vacancies

BU research, Guidance, Research news Jo Garrad

NERC is inviting applications from across the NERC science remit to join its key scientific advisory board, the Science Board (SB). NERC is seeking to recruit for up to three vacancies, to commence appointment in October 2017. SB is the key source of advice to NERC Council on science related issues.

For further information about SB and what is required to be a member, please see the document below.

Member profile and attributes (PDF, 72KB)

Further information and details of how to apply are available at: http://www.nerc.ac.uk/about/organisation/boards/science/nomination/

The closing date for applications is noon on Friday 16 June 2017.

Interviews will be held in London on Tuesday 25 July 2017.

May 15, 2017

HE policy update w/e 12th May 2017

EU, Global engagement, Knowledge Exchange, policy, Research assessment, Research news, Research Training, Student Engagement jforster

Higher Education and Research Act 2017 – the final text has now been published online and in a pdf version. The next step will be implementation of the many changes in the Act, which cannot move on substantially until after the election – and of course in the unlikely event of a Labour victory, implementation might look rather different, as well as their much publicised promises on fees and loans (see below) – although.

The TEF is in place (being run by HEFCE until the OfS takes over). It will be reviewed later this summer after the year 2 results are announced on 14^th June. We are also looking forward to announcements on subject level TEF. There have been hints that there will be a structure for this that works alongside REF UoAs.
Research structures – It was announced that David Sweeney (currently Director of Research, Education and Knowledge Exchange at HEFCE) will be the Executive Chair of Research England in April 2018 when UKRI is established.
As a reminder, the new research structure (from the White Paper) is set out below. Research England will: “oversee the England-only functions in relation to research and knowledge exchange, including:
- providing grant funding to English universities for research and knowledge exchange activities,
- developing and implementing the Research Excellence Framework in partnership with the UK Higher Education (HE) funding bodies,
- oversight of sustainability of the HE research base in England and
- overseeing the £900 million UK Research Partnership Investment Fund”.

This appointment follows two more:
- Sir Mark Walport, UKRI Chief Executive Designate
- Sir John Kingman as Chair of UKRI

Implementation of the OfS – one appointment was made earlier this year, Sir Michael Barber – Chair of the Office for Students (Education committee scrutiny here). The Chief Executive of the OfS has not been announced yet. There is a vacancy open until 14^th June 2017 for the Director of Fair Access and Participation, OfS. There will be a consultation on the OfS regulatory framework later in 2017 and the new bodies will be established in Spring 2018 (source: HEFCE, Feb 2017).
Regulatory structure and alternative providers – HEFCE have already published the first iteration of the new register of providers – part of the White Paper changes. It includes alternative providers.

General Election – GE2017

Have you registered to vote – and do you know where you will be on 8^th June? There is a renewed push for voter registration –especially as many students may not be at their usual address for this election. It is easy to register (with your National Insurance number), check or register for a postal vote if you will not be at home or wherever you usually vote.

Labour’s leaked manifesto includes a pledge to abolish tuition fees, as well as reintroduce maintenance grants (as noted last week). This has been covered widely as part of a wider story about affordability of the manifesto commitments. Apart from cost, concerns have been raised that this policy, although it might increase participation amongst lower income families, would in the end mainly help high and middle-income families and those students who go on to earn higher wages (and repay their loans).

Wonkhe have an article on the costs of this by Dr Gavan Conlon of London Economics
HEPI blog here that highlights the risks of the Labour policy
Here is a BBC story and a link to their Reality Check
Guardian coverage here
With this week’s focus on fees, a blog on Wonkhe by the President of the SU of the University of Central Lancashire emphasises the non-financial benefits of a university education

ITV News have the whole draft manifesto as leaked – there is a lot about schools and further and adult education but the fees and grants pledge is the only reference to HE.

There is a paragraph about Industrial strategy too – but it doesn’t say much that is specific apart from a change to business rates for plant and machinery, superfast broadband, Wi-Fi and mobile coverage and appointing a Digital Ambassador.
In the Brexit section it talks about rights for EU nationals in the UK, seeking to stay in Horizon 2020, Euratom, Erasmus etc.

For more general coverage on the election, the BBC have a “pledge tracker”.

HEPI published a speech by Nick Hillman at an event this week which mentions outward mobility (see next item) and makes a number of calls for change:

better information for students on where their fees go;
renewed support for university-based teacher training to tackle the recruitment crisis in our schools;
a tougher regime for recouping student loans from those abroad;
better support for students’ mental health, which is less good than among the population as a whole and young people in general; and
a focus on the underachievement of young men, who are less likely to enter higher education, more likely to drop out and less likely to get a First or 2:i.

Sarah was at the event and noted that Jo Johnson repeated that there is no cap on international student numbers, referred to an ongoing focus on social mobility if the Conservatives win the election. The speech has not been published yet. Meanwhile it seems that the conservative Manifesto will include a repeat of the target for immigration in the 10s of 1000s (see the FT for some of the coverage). There is an interesting article from the Institute for Government on how this might have to work in practice – it does seem likely that there will need to be a work permit or visa arrangement for all, including (new) EU citizens if this is to be achieved. And there will be lots of lobbying from all the sectors who want their needs to be prioritised. Bloomberg have a story about a “brickie visa” reporting comments from Migration Watch UK.

The Herald Scotland report Tim Farron pledging the return of post study work visas if the Lib Dems are elected.

Student Mobility – UUK published their UK Strategy for Outward Student Mobility for 2017-2020. This calls for more students to have an international experience and sets out a number of strategic objectives:

Promote the benefits of study and work abroad
Monitor trends in student mobility
Build capacity in UK higher education to facilitate outward mobility
Share best practice in UK higher education
Provide a collective voice for UK higher education
Influence government for UK higher education

Most of these are about communication, information and lobbying. The third, on building capacity, is the most hard-edged, and the strategy proposes that UUK will work with the sector and others to do a range of things, including:

Secure major investment to support outward mobility, including mobility grants.
Secure new mobility opportunities for the UK sector, either directly or through strategic partnerships.
Work with the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and university representative bodies including the Association for UK Higher Education European Officers (HEURO) and British Universities Transatlantic Exchange Association (BUTEX) to provide guidance on interpreting and applying quality assurance frameworks related to student placements overseas.

Brexit – Peter Mason, policy manager for UUKi, has written a blog for Wonkhe on the Swiss experiences with EU research and mobility programmes following their own referendum. The Swiss example – they were suspended from H2020 and Erasmus following their own vote on freedom of movement – was widely cited in the referendum campaigns as a warning that leaving the EU would mean the UK would not be able to stay in those programmes. The Swiss are still not in Erasmus, and they are back into H2020 following a compromise on freedom of movement. The most interesting lesson is that the Swiss tried to replace H202 with their own scheme “it lacked prestige and was not seen as a sustainable long-term substitute. Moreover, the damaging impact of the uncertainty created through the process was clear, with a significant drop-off in the number of Swiss participations in Horizon 2020 compared to the previous framework programme, particularly in collaborative projects.”

May 8, 2017

AiMM Awarded Doctoral Summer School!

Research news John Oliver

The Advances in Media Management (AiMM) research cluster have been awarded the European Media Management Association’s Doctoral Summer School 2018.

AiMM is a cross faculty research collaboration between the Faculty of Media & Communications and the Faculty of Management and this award follows on from AiMMs success in hosting the association’s annual conference at BU in 2013.The Doctoral Summer School will be held at BU between the 2-4th July 2018 and is targeted at PhD students at all stages of their research, as well as early-stage post-docs.

Congratulations go to the bid team: Dr John Oliver, Dr Chris Chapleo, Dr Joyce Costello, Graham Goode, Melanie Gray and Conor O’Kane.

May 8, 2017

HE Policy update w/e 5th May 2017

EU, Global engagement, international, policy, Research news, Student Engagement jforster

GE2017: The Prime Minister, Theresa May, used her dissolution speech to focus on the challenge of Brexit in the face of hard lining from Brussels.

The release dates of the parties’ manifestos have not been officially announced, however they are expected:

Conservatives – during week commencing 8 May
Labour – Monday 15 May
Lib Dems – “within a fortnight” (so by 18 May)
Green Party – unconfirmed
UKIP – end of May

Conservatives: The Conservatives have closed ranks during the manifesto preparation period with Theresa May directly overseeing manifesto policy whilst on the campaign trail. There has been little in the way of leaked policy and the Conservatives campaigning to date has barely featured the HE agenda (unsurprising given that the Bill has passed and there has been so much discussion in recent months).

Conservative manifesto pledges that are already announced focus on foreign aid, an energy price cap, a promise to help ‘ordinary working families’ and leading Britain successfully through Brexit.
Also expected are commitments on grammar schools, encouraging a selective stream within comprehensive schools, addressing the social care funding crisis, and Britain’s industrial innovation and competitiveness.
It is expected that the manifesto will support apprenticeships aiming to create 3 million apprenticeships funded by benefit cuts and enforce that NEETS (young people out of work, education or training for six months) will have to do unpaid community work to get benefits (this is c.50,000 18 to 21-year-olds).

Jo Johnson has been active and continues to reiterate the key policies from the last Parliament.

While the Conservatives continue to include students within net migration figures Johnson informed THE that vice-chancellors should concentrate their attention elsewhere: “I think the sector should focus on selling the positive message, which is that…there is no better country in the world in which to study than the UK… [Otherwise] we risk creating exactly the situation which we’re trying to avoid, which is deterring students from coming to study here – by endlessly saying that we’re closed for business. We’re not. We’re open for business, and there’s no limit on the number who can come and study here.”
The THE article also sees Jo Johnson nod to the debate about students as consumers. He states the Office for Students will put “the student interest and the interests of the taxpayer underwriting the system and the interests of employers getting graduates at the other end of it really at the heart of everything that it does… In that sense, we’re moving towards a system in which we have a classic regulated market… since tuition fees replaced direct public funding as the primary source of higher education funding …students are effectively taking on the liabilities as consumers”

Jo Johnson’s response to two parliamentary questions reiterates the already known research commitment:

“The Government is fully committed to maintaining the UK’s world-leading science, research and higher education base” (parliamentary question)
“The Autumn Statement 2016 announcement of an extra £2 billion a year in research and development by 2020-21 underlines the place of science and innovation at the heart of this Government’s industrial strategy” (parliamentary question)

Labour: Labour have shared more of their forthcoming manifesto than the Conservatives, and education, across all ages, is a central tenet of Labour’s campaigning.

Labour has committed to restore university maintenance grants and the FE Educational Maintenance Allowance. However, they have sidestepped recent questions on HE fees prior to their manifesto release.
Previously both Corbyn and John McDonnell stated they wished to abolish tuition fees. Interestingly, a recent HEPI poll highlighted only 35% of students believe Labour would follow through on fee abolition and reintroduction of grants if they gained power.
Labour have also stated they will refuse to grant business rate relief to independent schools unless they can show a “meaningful impact” on state schools through a new School Partnership Standard, for example by lending teaching staff or assisting in university admissions procedures.
Corbyn also focuses on the mental health of young people, social care funding and the NHS.
On immigration the BBC report Labour plan ‘smarter targets to reduce low-skilled migration but ensure university students and high-skilled workers are not deterred’. Regarding apprenticeships Labour aim to equal the numbers of young people on apprenticeships as currently go to university, by 2025.

Jeremy Corbyn in a speech to the National Association of Head Teachers:

“Labour is making our children’s education one of the cornerstones of our General Election campaign… Labour will introduce a National Education Service, ensuring excellent learning opportunities for all from early years to adult education …we set out in no uncertain terms our opposition to the expansion of grammar schools in this country…The task is clear: we must build an education system that suits the needs of our children and the opportunities they will have in the jobs market of tomorrow…. We are also committed to restoring maintenance grants for university students so that no one is held back from realising their ambitions and so that every schoolchild knows that the options of further and higher Education are available to them. We must not be ashamed to value education, for education’s own sake.”

Lib Dems: The Lib Dems are committed to and push for national debate on the key issues, yet seem to feature less in media coverage. While they have currently not declared their position on students and immigration status they do state: “We reject the isolationist and intolerant policies of the Tory Brexit government, and will fight to make Britain a more open and tolerant player on the global stage.” On apprenticeships they plan to create a million more jobs, with higher pay for the lowest paid apprentices.

UKIP: UKIP policy aims to scrap tuition fees for students from poorer backgrounds who take degree courses in the sciences, technology, maths or engineering. It places greater emphasis on vocational education through a new Apprenticeship Qualification Option. Lastly, they would permit universities to charge same amount for EU students as non-EU students

Green Party: The Green party is expected to campaign for free education, a higher universal living wage and increased investment in mental health services. So far they have declared a student-friendly set of policies including abolishing tuition fees and bringing back maintenance grants.

Brexit: Brexit is the key topic for GE2017. Last week’s Education Select Committee report into Brexit and HE highlights the pivotal issues for HE as:

Regional Growth Fund negotiations
Horizon 2020 and research frameworks
Erasmus+ programme
EU staff residency rights and an easier non-Tier 2 route for academics from around the world
EU student visa free access

Student voting: In the news this week is HEPI’s poll of 1,000 full time undergraduate students on their voting preferences.

The poll demonstrates considerable support for the Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn, yet, of those planning to vote, a majority will consider voting tactically
93% of students say they are registered to vote. Most students expect to vote at home rather than at university
the most important issues to students are the EU and the NHS
students have not forgiven the Liberal Democrats for breaking their promise on tuition fees (in the past Lib Dems were the most popular party for students)
students are distrustful of the Labour leadership’s support for abolishing tuition fees and bringing back maintenance grants

“Labour, Coalition and Conservative Governments have all backed tuition fees in recent times. The challenge for Labour is whether to include the end of fees and the return of grants in their manifesto when half of students regard such pledges as worthless.” (Nick Hillman, Director of HEPI)

Universities UK have published their priorities for the general election. They ask all political parties to continue to support universities by adopting policies to facilitate and enhance their economic, social and cultural benefits alongside their global competitiveness and post-Brexit impact.

The five priorities are:

Securing an effective post-Brexit settlement for universities
1. Confirm rights to reside and work for EU national currently within the sector; minimal barriers for EU staff and students in post-Brexit immigration
2. Horizon 2020 continued participation
3. Influence and access to 9^th Framework Programme
4. Continued access to Erasmus+ and other mobility programmes
Supporting universities in their role as anchors for growth in local economies
1. Increase Higher Education Innovation Fund investment to min £250 million pa
2. Develop collaborative institutes (local collaboration between universities, FE and schools particularly focusing on high-level technical education skills)
3. Replace the European Structural Investment Funds
4. Sustainable funding for growing higher-level apprenticeships demand
5. Improved careers support for young people
Increasing funding for science, research and innovation to match our competitors
1. Real terms increase in research funding (aim – 3% of GDP), ring fenced.
2. Enhance support and funding for international research collaboration through a cross-government strategy
3. Maintain 0.7% commitment for research, innovation and capacity building projects for developing countries
Supporting world-leading teaching, student experience, and improving outcomes
1. Students access good quality information, including TEF
2. Maintain real terms funding for high-cost subjects, e.g. STEM
3. Social mobility supported through data coherence between schools and universities
4. Funding to improve student mental health
An effective immigration system
1. Simplified and improved visa regimes
2. Robust, reliable, published data on the number of international students and overstaying
3. Reclassify so international students are not considered long-term migrants
4. Invest in an international student growth strategy supporting international marketing, mobility and partnerships
5. Enhance opportunities for qualified international graduates to stay in the UK
6. Consistently communicate a welcoming message to international students and staff

Other policy news

The Lords Science and Technology Committee wrote to Greg Clark to urge for clarity within a strong Industrial Strategy rather than the current green paper, which “resembles a portfolio of tactics rather than a coherent strategy”. The letter frequently references the role of universities in the delivery of a good industrial strategy.

“The strategy should set out pathways of practical steps to a more productive, environmentally sustainable, regionally disperse economy in the UK, building on existing research excellence at every opportunity. The Green Paper provides some long term aspirations but lacks detail on how to reach them and on how success will be measured.”
The letter continues:
“The Committee was particularly surprised to see little emphasis, and no coherent approach, to tax and regulation for industry and science. These dimensions, together with the availability of “patient” finance and appropriate skills, are key elements of the relationship between government, businesses and universities. … The government must create a new partnership with industry and universities in order for the industrial strategy to be effective. This cannot be a partnership with only the usual suspects from industry. This partnership must also include new and emerging sectors.”
It also calls on government to address the VAT disincentive which, when universities and business co-locate, leaves the university with a large tax bill.

The Sutton Trust have published their 2017 Mobility Manifesto

Finally, on 27 April the Lords rejected the motion to regret the change to student loans from NHS bursaries for nursing, midwifery and allied health profession students. The motion was disagreed by 38 votes. (Content: 121; Not Content 159)

May 6, 2017

Public lecture on ‘Getting the message across about Zika’

BU research, PG research, Research news Kip Jones

Public Lecture by Professor Jane Noyes, Bangor University

Date: Friday 12 May 2017
Time: 10.50 -12:00
Venue: B321, Bournemouth House

Getting the message across about Zika: using qualitative evidence to inform the global WHO risk communication guidelines for public health emergencies, and lessons learned for intervention development.

Jane is the Professor of Health and Social Services Research and Child Health at Bangor University. She specialises in child health and social care research. She is also an expert in methodology, including complex intervention development and evaluation, and qualitative and mixed method systematic review methodology. Jane is Lead Convenor of the Cochrane Qualitative and Implementation Methods Group and Editor of the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Jane’s talk will be followed by a short lecture by of Queen’s University Belfast on ‘Social technology solutions to postnatal care in Brazil’.

Fiona is a Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery and the Centre for Evidence and Social Innovation, Queen’s University Belfast. Her research focuses on enhancing maternal and child health and wellbeing. Her expertise includes conducting economic evaluations alongside intervention-based studies.

Complimentary lunch will be served at 12.30pm

Please RSVP to Sam Porter at porters@bournemouth.ac.uk

This lecture is part of the ‘Social technology solutions to postnatal care in Brazil’ project funded by the British Council through the Newton Fund.

Please share with your networks, this Flyer is available to send out.

May 5, 2017

CEMP research published by Samsung

BU research, Post-award, Research news jmcdougall

CEMP’s Digital Capability study has now been published by Samsung.

ABOUT THIS RESEARCH

In 2015, Samsung funded a six-month research project on the Isle of Portland in Weymouth, exploring the

impact of technology on participants’ engagement with community services, schools and family learning.

We partnered with the Centre for Excellence in Media Practice (CEMP) at Bournemouth University.

The project has given us a rich set of findings on which to build further work, and we hope this summary will be

of help to schools, community organisations, policy makers, employers and even parents – anybody

who shares our interest in enabling communities to benefit from the power of digital technology.

May 4, 2017

PCCC study in collaboration with the University of Southampton sheds light on new brand relationships

Research news, Uncategorized jdknott

A Promotional Cultures and Communication Centre (PCCC) study in collaboration with the University of Southampton using Transactional Analysis (TA) to shed light on new brand relationships has been published in a high-ranking journal.

The paper titled ‘Games people play with brands: An application of transactional analysis to marketplace relationships’ authored by Georgiana Grigore and Becky Jenkins with Mike Molesworth (University of Southampton) is now available online in Marketing Theory: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1470593117706530.

In this paper, the authors use TA as an analytic to understand the complexity of marketplace relationships, and consumer-brand relationships in particular. The article shows how TA can be applied to the relations between different market actors to reveal underlying psychological structures that produce emotional ‘payoffs’, including dysfunctional ones. The benefits of such an approach are threefold. First, TA is more accessible than other psychoanalytic approaches, although it retains a biographical explanation of human motivations that are made absent in cognitive, or behavioural approaches. Second, the focus on ‘transactions’ allows us to examine specific exchanges between market actors that explain dysfunctional aspects of marketplace relationships. Finally, TA can provide both new and critical perspectives, and the possibility of transformation of relationship forms. The authors therefore explain the structural basis of marketplace relationships from a TA perspective, illustrate how TA Game Analysis can be applied to marketplace relationships, and discuss the implications of such an approach for transforming market practices.

Abstract

Relationships have been normalized in marketing theory as mutually beneficial, long-term dyads. This obscures their emotional content, ignores critical conceptualizations of corporate exploitation and fails to capture the range of possible marketplace relationship forms, including those that may result from individuals’ biographical psychology and that lead to repeated dysfunctional exchanges. In this article, we offer Berne’s (1964) transactional analysis (TA) as a way to uncover the biographical psychology that informs marketplace relationship structures and their accompanying emotions and to provide a critique of such arrangements. We first explain TA, its origins, its relationship with psychoanalysis, its limitations and contemporary extensions beyond therapy. We then present the structural basis of marketplace relationships from a TA perspective, before illustrating how a game in TA can be applied through an analysis of the iPhone and related mobile phone contracts and the Games If I didn’t Love Apple and Smallprint. Finally, we discuss the implications of such an approach for transforming market practices based on recognition of marketplace Games and their modification.

May 2, 2017

Strong Presence of BU at UK Kidney Week

BU research, conferences, Impact, Knowledge Exchange, Public engagement, Research communication, Research news phartley

BU research will be prominent at UK Kidney Week this summer in Liverpool. The conference is led by the Renal Association with the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the British Transplant Society (BTS). We’re delighted to have been invited to speak at the conference, which is a great opportunity to showcase our research as well as BU’s commitment to developing biomedical research themes. We’re also contributing several abstracts, detailing collaborations with the Universities of Bristol, Oxford and Osnabruck, Germany. The work focuses on the molecular cell biology of human podocytes, cells critical for our kidney’s role in blood filtration. When podocytes ‘fail’, kidney failure ensues.

We use Drosophila (fruit fly) genetics and molecular cell biology to address intractable problems associated with podocyte aging, podocyte dysfunction in diabetic nephropathy and several rare genetic mutations affecting podocytes that cause kidney failure in the young.

The work, was primarily funded by a Kidney Research UK Innovation Award and a British Heart Foundation Fellowship.

Dr. Paul Hartley.

May 2, 2017

HE policy update w/e 28th April 2017

EU, Global engagement, international, policy, Research communication, Research news jforster

The Higher Education and Research Bill – now the Higher Education and Research Act 2017– was finally passed on Thursday. As expected, the House of Commons rejected the Lords amendments, including those relating to the TEF and international students. The government did propose a number of amendments to address some of the issues raised in the Lords, and having been approved in the Commons, these were approved by the Lords, after some discussion.

Although the Lords amendment removing the link between TEF and fees was rejected, the new amendment postpones the differentiated fee arrangements (which would have taken effect in 2019/20, using TEF year 3 ratings) until at least 2020/21.
Another amendment has changed the approval process for inflation raised increases to fees, which will now need approval by both Houses of Parliament (instead of the current “negative” procedure).
TEF year 2 will be subject to a formal and independent review, which will go beyond the “lessons learned” exercise that had been announced before. This will include a review of the ratings and the public interest benefit of the TEF – so may result in substantial changes.
The Office for Students (OfS) can require cooperation between higher education providers and electoral officers a condition of registration – this was to address the amendment inserted by the Lords.

The OfS must take advice from the designated quality assurance body when awarding degree awarding powers (DAPs) and must notify the Secretary of State when granting DAPs to institutions that haven’t previously had a validation agreement with another higher education provider or the OfS.
When authorising use of ‘university’ title, the Secretary of State and OfS must consult with the representative bodies of higher education providers and students.
The grounds for appealing a registration decision by the OfS have been broadened to address a rather woolly amendment in the Lords about appealing decisions because they were “wrong”.
The new transparency duties will now include information that will be “helpful” for prospective international students.

Universities UK and GuildHE wrote a joint letter which generally supported the amendments and the Bill.

Teaching Excellence Framework: So despite hopes that the Lords amendments might result in more sweeping changes to the TEF, we will need to wait until the review, and an opportunity to provide feedback in the summer once the year 2 results have been published.

No more announcements have been made about subject level TEF which was due to be piloted over 2 years – starting with year 3, with submissions due in January 2018. With the general election holding up the year 2 results, timing for the review and guidance for year 3 will be very tight.

Subject to approval in each year, it seems likely now that all universities in the TEF will be able to raise fees by inflation in 2018/19 and 2019/20. It is important to remember that any university that does not qualify for TEF or chooses not to participate will have its fees capped at £9000 – the rises from previous years cannot be banked.

It was originally proposed that year 2 ratings (now due in June 2017) would last for three years – so unless there is a radical overhaul and everyone is required to resubmit in year 3, it seems likely that in year 3 participation may be restricted to those universities who choose to resubmit in the hope of increasing their ratings. So it will be interesting to see what happens to the pilot for subject level, whether more than one model is tested and whether participation is optional.

Universities UK published a blog clarifying the impact on fees after some sensational headlines linked to the Bill.

EU and International Students: The biggest issue in the Bill for UUK and GuildHE, and the issue most debated in the Lords on Thursday was international students. The long awaited consultation won’t happen now until after the election, we’ll see how quickly it will happen then – and what is said in the manifesto.

The House of Commons Education select committee report on the impact of Brexit on HE which recommended an immigration system that facilitates the needs of higher education, including a specialist route for academics other than Tier 2.

UUK have published a report on International Research Collaboration After the UK Leaves the European Union.

Benefits of Research Collaboration:

Cross-nation collaboration increases citations and combined talents produce more innovative and useful outcome.
The paper emphasises that the researchers themselves need to drive the collaboration. Sectors have different needs and Britain needs to collaborate with the countries with the richest talent and expertise. Funding needs to be well-structured and flexible to allow this.
The paper says that the government should seek to access and influence the 9^th Framework Programme (the Horizon successor), alongside new funding sources to incentivise collaborations with high-quality research partners beyond the EU.
UUK call for a cross-government approach to supporting international research and the drawing together of the current disparate funding mechanisms.

Collaborative Partners

The report notes that “Research undertaken with EU partners like Germany and France is growing faster than with other countries – hence while it is vital that the UK takes every opportunity to be truly global in their outlook, the importance of collaboration with EU partners should not be underestimated”.
Almost all the growth in research output in the last 30 years has been brought about by international partnership.

Addressing Collaborative Barriers

Addressing the barriers to research collaboration is more than just funding, the report calls for:

Better information on capabilities and strength of UK researchers
National policy frameworks of all partners must be flexible enough to support international exchange, enabling critical human resources – including technical expertise – to flow between systems.
The report highlights South Korea and Taiwan as attractive collaborators because of their research-intensive economies, strong technology investment, excellent university system, and high-English speaking rate. However, collaboration is challenged by geography, proximity and cultural differences. UUK report that communication problems are a key barrier alongside the uncertainty about research profiles of UK universities and significant differences in research governance.
Policy and funding stability is essential – partners need to have confidence that the policy and funding environment will not be subject to unexpected or dramatic change after they have invested the time and resources necessary to develop productive and beneficial partnerships. Stability and certainty in both policy and funding environment is a key facilitator.
Bilateral agreements with defined funding facilitated by a coordinated application process – the report effectively highlights the difficulties of ‘double jeopardy’ (Roberts, 2006) whereby all partners need to individually secure funding across a sustaining period to both commence and fully complete. Individuals make research choices that further their career and are fundable.
Furthermore, UK research funding beyond the EU is highly dependent on the ODA budget which limits research themes and fundable countries. Post Brexit the UK needs new money without ODA type restrictions to support collaborations with partners not eligible for EU funds.

Note: UUK have also released a second report on whether free trade agreements can enhance opportunities for UK higher education post Brexit.

May 2, 2017

BRIAN Unavailable Today

BRIAN, BU research, Research news sastringer

BRIAN is being upgraded and will be unavailable for use on Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd May.

The main improvements from this upgrade include:

New Impact Tracking Module
New Homepage
More User Friendly Navigation

The new and improved features will make BRIAN easier and simplier to use for everyone, whilst also providing a valuable tool to academics helping them record the impact of their research

All relevant guidance notes and video guides on the Staff Intranet will be updated in due course. If you need any help using the new system or if you encounter any problems after the upgrade, please do send an email to BRIAN@bournemouth.ac.uk and a member of staff will be able to assist you.

BRIAN training sessions are also available:

Thursday 15^th June 2017

With further dates planned. If you are interested to book on to any of these training sessions, please click here to book on!

In the meantime, if you do have queries relating to the upgrade, please get in touch with BRIAN@bournemouth.ac.uk

May 1, 2017

Recent Writing from Kip Jones Available on the Internet

BU research, PG research, Research news, Uncategorized Kip Jones

“Kyle’s photo-montage of black and white clippings, mostly from fashion magazines, Bailey and Avedon, etc., glued to the walls surrounding his bed”.

Kip Jones is pleased to announce that the tripartite story, “True confessions: why I left a traditional liberal arts college for the sins of the big city”, first published in Qualitative Research Journal, is available on Academia.edu. Jones is particularly pleased that what is now called ‘auto-fiction’ has been accepted for publication by such a major qualitative journal. The three stories in the article conclude with a scene from Jones’ ongoing development of the feature film script for “Copacetica”. All three stories portray aspects of the sexual fumbling and romantic insecurities typical in youth.

“Dirty Frank’s” bar, Philadelphia, where the main characters of “Copacetica” frequently meet.

The second piece of writing consists of the bar scene from “Copacetica”. This is the scene in which all the major characters are introduced and the story sets up the conundrum that the main character will face in the film.

“Copacetica” tells the tale of a gullible youth on a roller coaster ride of loss of innocence and coming out in the flux and instability of 1960s hippy America. Often seen as a period of revolution in social norms, Copacetica’s themes include being different, the celebration of being an outsider, seeing oneself from outside of the “norm”, and the interior conflicts of “coming out” within a continuum as a (gay) male in a straight world. These observations are set within the flux and instability of a period of great social change, but which are often viewed in retrospect as consistent and definable. Being straight or being gay can also be viewed in a similar way within the wider culture’s need to set up a sexual binary and force sexual “choice” decision-making for the benefit of the majority culture, or ‘heteronormativity’. Through the device of the fleeting moment, the story interrogates the certainties and uncertainties of the “norms” of modernity.

In the later gallery scene (not yet published), a minor character explains the meaning of the word, “copacetic”:

VISITOR TWO
What d’he say?

VISTOR ONE
“Everything’s copacetic”! (Beat) 
What does that mean, anyway?

VISITOR THREE
Everything’s cool. Everything’s okay. 
Or “Groovy” as they like to say.

Asked what he enjoyed about writing the script for this film, Jones said, “Definitely revisiting the slang used by youth of the 1960s! It’s virtually its own language. And writing the sex scenes. Exciting and very tiring. Almost like the real thing”.

You can read the opening scene planned for the film on KIPWORLD: “Copacetica” Scene 1. EXT SUBURBAN HOUSE POOL NIGHT

April 28, 2017

Primary Healthcare Workshop in Nepal

conferences, Events, Featured academics, Global engagement, policy, Research communication, Research news, Uncategorized Edwin van Teijlingen

This week professors Vanora Hundley and Edwin van Teijlingen from the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) were invited to the Primary Healthcare Workshop in Kathmandu. This Primary Healthcare Workshop ‘Delivering Primary Health Care in hard-to-reach areas of Nepal: Opportunities & Challenges’ was organised by the non-governmental organisation PHASE and the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC). Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen and BU Visiting Professor Padam Simkhada (who is based at Liverpool John Moores University) were invited to offer an international perspective on this workshop held in coordination with the Ministry of Health, Nepal.

Edwin made a comparison between the difficulties in access to primary care, recruiting and retention of staff in remote Nepal and his previous work on maternity care in remote and rural Scotland. He argued that some of these issues are universal, but more difficult to deal with in low-income countries like Nepal. The workshop took place at the Nepal Health Research Council.

April 27, 2017

BRIAN OFFLINE – 2nd & 3rd May 2017

BRIAN, BU research, Impact, Publishing, Research assessment, Research news, staff profile pages sastringer

BRIAN is being upgraded and will be unavailable for use on Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd May.

The main improvements from this upgrade include:

New Impact Tracking Module
New Homepage
More User Friendly Navigation

The new and improved features will make BRIAN easier and simplier to use for everyone, whilst also providing a valuable tool to academics helping them record the impact of their research

BRIAN training sessions are also available:

Thursday 15^th June 2017

With further dates planned. If you are interested to book on to any of these training sessions, please click here to book on!

In the meantime, if you do have queries relating to the upgrade, please get in touch with BRIAN@bournemouth.ac.uk

April 26, 2017

UUK – International Research Collaboration After the UK Leaves the European Union

EU, Impact, international, policy, Research news, Uncategorized carters

UUK have published International Research Collaboration After the UK Leaves the European Union. The information below summarises the main thrust of the document.

Benefits of Research Collaboration

International collaboration is vital as it enables individual academics to increase their impact through pooling expertise and resources with other nations to tackle global challenges that no one country can tackle alone. Cross-nation collaboration increases citations and combined talents produce more innovative and useful outcomes.

The paper emphasises that the researchers themselves need to drive the collaboration and have choice. Selecting ‘Britain’s best new research partners’ is infeasible as sectors have different needs and Britain needs to collaborate with the countries with the richest talent and expertise. Funding needs to be well-structured and flexible to allow this.

The foreword on page 2 states “We should look to developing new networks and funding arrangements that support collaboration with major research powers” both within Europe and internationally. “The primary focus should be on delivering excellent research”, the government should seek to access and influence the 9^th Framework Programme (Horizon successor), alongside new funding sources to incentivise collaborations with high-quality research partners beyond the EU. UUK call for a cross-government approach to supporting international research and the drawing together of the current disparate funding mechanisms, including “promoting research collaboration opportunities as a central pillar of the UK’s offer to overseas governments and businesses.”

Collaborative Partners

While its important to work with both EU and non-EU partners the report notes that research with other EU member states collectively makes up the largest pool of collaborators. “Research undertaken with EU partners like Germany and France is growing faster than with other countries – hence while it is vital that the UK takes every opportunity to be truly global in their outlook, the importance of collaboration with EU partners should not be underestimated.”

Almost all the growth in research output in the last 30 years has been brought about by international partnership. In 1981 less than 5% of UK research publications had an overseas co-author. Whereas Figure 1 below demonstrates how collaboration has changed, illustrating how domestic output has plateaued and non-UK collaborations accounts for recent growth.

Figure 1: The trajectory of international co-authorship on research publications from Imperial, UCL, Cambridge and Oxford. (Data: source, Web of Science; analysis, King’s College Policy Institute).

Table 1 below highlights the UK’s major collaborative partners demonstrating a mix of EU and non-EU partners (non-EU partner in bold).

Table 1: Countries co-authoring UK output (2007-2016).

The UUK report reminds that research is a form of diplomacy leading to alliances and memoranda between national academies. The international links create esteem and demonstrate the wider engagement and status of an institution which is attractive to international students and staff.

Addressing Collaborative Barriers

Addressing the barriers to research collaboration is more than just funding, the report calls for:

Better information on capabilities and strength of UK researchers

The report states there needs to be better understanding and matching of research and innovation strengths between partners and potential collaborators, with clearer articulation of these and provision of contact points at the research organisation, funding agency and sector levels.

The circulation of people and ideas is fundamental to international research collaborations: National policy frameworks of all partners must be flexible enough to support international exchange, enabling critical human resources – including technical expertise – to flow between systems.

Cultural barriers need better understanding

The report highlights South Korea and Taiwan as attractive collaborators because of their research-intensive economies, strong technology investment, excellent university system, and high-English speaking rate. However collaboration is challenged by geography, proximity and cultural differences. UUK report that communication problems are a key barrier alongside the uncertainty about research profiles of UK universities and significant differences in research governance.

Researchers working within different national contexts will have experience of different research cultures. These can be a source of strength and innovation, but also create challenges that must be understood, acknowledged and addressed. This requires time, but can be mitigated by the development of shared understandings, priorities and policy frameworks.

Policy and funding stability is essential

Stability, certainty and trust are required if successful international research collaborations are to be fostered. Partners need to have confidence that the policy and funding environment will not be subject to unexpected or dramatic change after they have invested the time and resources necessary to develop productive and beneficial partnerships. Stability and certainty in both policy and funding environment is a key facilitator.

Bilateral agreements with defined funding facilitated by a coordinated application process

The report effectively highlights the difficulties of ‘double jeopardy’ (Roberts, 2006) whereby all partners need to individually secure funding across a sustaining period to both commence and fully complete. Furthermore while countries commission and pay for the research it depends on individual motivation for success. Individuals make research choices that further their career and are fundable. EU links exist because researchers at well-funded institutions saw mutual net benefits, however EU collaboration proliferated because mutually assured Framework Programme funding supported it.

The report suggests a mechanism for effective research collaboration is to create more flexible agency-level bilateral agreements with associated secure funding. A Memorandum of Understanding should identify common priorities and mutual research standards yet this should be backed up by a research fund. Page 6 describes collaboration with Brazil as an example of this.

Furthermore, UK research funding beyond the EU is highly dependent on the ODA budget which limits research themes and fundable countries. Post Brexit the UK needs new money without ODA type restrictions to support collaborations with partners not eligible for EU funds.

Note: UUK have also released a second report on whether free trade agreements can enhance opportunities for UK higher education post Brexit.

References

Roberts, Sir Gareth. (2006). International partnerships of research excellence.

April 26, 2017

NERC Call for ideas for highlight topics

BU research, Research communication, Research news Jo Garrad

NERC is inviting the environmental science community to submit new ideas for highlight topics. NERC would welcome ideas from both researchers and those who use environmental science research. For more information please click here.

Ideas for highlight topics should be submitted by 16 May 2017.

If you have any queries, please contact idea@nerc.ac.uk.

April 24, 2017

New publication Dr Jenny Hall

BU research, international, Public engagement, Publishing, Research Integritiy, Research news, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

Congratulations to CMMPH’s Dr. Jenny Hall, Senior Midwifery Lecturer, on the publication of her scientific paper ‘The Spiritual Journey of Infertile Couples: Discussing the Opportunity for Spiritual Care‘ in the journal Religions, see further details here! Jenny has co-authored this paper with academics from Portugal and Ireland.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

April 22, 2017

Nepali migrant workers in India #GlobalFoL17 presentation in Delhi

BU research, conferences, Events, Festival of Learning, Global engagement, international, PG research, Publishing, Research communication, Research news, student research, Uncategorized, writing Edwin van Teijlingen

On the last day of BU’s Global Festival of Learning-India 2017 Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen presented the following paper: ‘Nepali migrant workers: trials & tribulations’. The Global Festival of Learning-India 2017 took place at Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts in Pune and at the India Habitat Centre in the capital Delhi. The session offered insight from various studies on Nepali migrant workers conducted by Bournemouth University staff and students.[1-3] It included preliminary results from an on-going study of Nepali migrant workers in India. The latter study is a close collaboration between Pramod Regmi and Edwin van Teijlingen) in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, Indian colleagues at Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Deemed University in India (Quazi Syed Zahiruddin, Abhay M. Gaidhane), and Padam Simkhada at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU).

The presentation also highlighted some of the key findings form our recently published paper ‘Identifying the gaps in Nepalese migrant workers’ health and well-being: A review of the literature’ in the Journal of Travel Medicine.[1] The paper is co-authored by BU’s Pramod Regmi and Edwin van Teijlingen, and Padam Simkhada (LJMU) and our Nepali colleague Nirmal Aryal based in New Zealand.

Dr. Shweta Sinda Deshpande, who chaired the session, originated from an Indian village a few miles from the Nepali border. Moreover, she is also an anthropologist who had done fieldwork with Nepali migrant workers in India. Her informed contribution was very much welcomed by the audience.

References:

Simkhada, P.P., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Aryal, N. (2017) Identifying the gaps in Nepalese migrant workers’ health and well-being: A review of the literature, Journal of Travel Medicine 24(4): 1-9.
Adhikary, P., Simkhada, P.P., van Teijlingen, E., Raja, AE. (2008) Health & Lifestyle of Nepalese Migrants in the UK BMC International Health & Human Rights 8(6). Web address: www.biomedcentral.com/1472-698X/8/6.
Adhikary, P., Keen, S., van Teijlingen, E. (2011) Health Issues among Nepalese migrant workers in Middle East. Health Science Journal 5: 169-175. www.hsj.gr/volume5/issue3/532.pdf
Aryal, N., Regmi, P.R., van Teijlingen, E., Simkhada, P., Adhikary, P., Bhatta, Y.K.D., Mann, S. (2016) Injury and Mortality in Young Nepalese Migrant Workers: A Call for Public Health Action. Asian-Pacific Journal of Public Health 28(8): 703-705.

April 21, 2017

Policy update for w/e Friday 21 April

EU, policy, Research communication, Research news carters

General Election: The general election (#GE2017) has been announced for Thursday 8 June meaning Parliament will dissolve on 3 May. In local news Oliver Letwin (West Dorset) was reported as announcing he will stand down and not contest the next election; however this related to 2020 and he has confirmed he will contest 2017.

Current bills must receive Royal Assent before Parliament dissolves or fail; therefore a ‘wash-up’ period will likely take place to hurry key bills through. The ‘wash-up’ business must be agreed between the Government and the Opposition. Its a time when deals can be made, although its likely the Government may tighten ranks to push through a bill with the main thrust of its intent intact.

Select committees are wrapping up their business with several inquiries prematurely closing their requests for evidence. The chairmanship of several select committees will also change as Members can only chair a committee for the maximum of two parliaments or 8 years (Standing Order 122A).

Purdah, commencing at midnight tonight, will impact and delay the TEF year 2 results, the release of the full LEO (Longitudinal Education Outcomes) data, the Schools that Work for Everyone white paper, and other announcements including the appointment of the Chief Executive for the Office for Students.

HERB: The next stage for the Higher Education and Research Bill is ping pong, where the Commons respond to the Lords Third Reading amendments. Currently, no date is scheduled for ping pong and the bill is absent from next week’s published parliamentary business. With Parliament’s dissolution looming speculation abounds on the bill’s fate, its likely it will be considered on Thursday where the parliamentary business has been left unspecified. Opinion divides on whether the Government will concede or hard line to push the bill through. The House of Commons Library has published a useful briefing paper summarising the Lords Amendments. Furthermore, Research Professional report “the amendment to widen the grounds for appeal of Office for Students decisions is understood to have been accepted by government”, no authoritative source is provided to confirm this, although as one of least controversial Lords amendments it seems plausible.

Student migration: Frequent in the press this week (Times, Huff Post, Wonkhe, Reuters) was Theresa May’s rumoured U-turn on counting overseas students within the net migration figures However, there are no firm commitments and the position is neatly summarised by THE: May is “offering to change the way that student numbers are calculated, with the promise of further concessions”; the government is likely to offer a “regulatory compromise” in how overseas student numbers in Britain are calculated. On Thursday Theresa May told the BBC: “We want to see sustainable net migration in this country, I believe that sustainable net migration is in the tens of thousands.” A recent UUK ComRes poll highlights that only a quarter of the public consider students to be immigrants. We wait to see how migratory targets are tackled in the Conservatives election manifesto.

2018/19 EU Students: The government has confirmed that 2018/19 EU students will remain eligible for undergraduate and masters student loans and retain their home fees status even if the course concludes after Brexit. EU students can also apply for Research Council PhD studentships for the duration of their study.

Industrial Strategy – HE research commercialisation: HEFCE have launching the Connecting Capability Fund (£100 million) as part of the government’s Industrial Strategy to support university collaborations and research commercialisation. It is intended to help universities to deliver the industrial priorities, forge external technological, industrial and regional partnerships, and share good practice and capacity internally across the higher education sector. It is expected to be channelled through the Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) programme with the first round deadline set as 10 July.

Other news:

The Common’s Science and Technology select committee have published: Industrial Strategy; Science and STEM skills. It urges government to increase the R&D investment and make up net shortfall for international collaborative research lost through Brexit, alongside stepping-up measures to increase children and students STEM skills.

Research Councils UK have launched the £700k Strategic Support to Expedite Embedding Public Engagement with Research (SEE-PER) call aiming to better embed support for public engagement with research in higher education institutions The call will be open for a limited time, assessed by panel over summer 2017, with activity commencing no later than 1 October 2017.

British businesses winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise (2017) have been announced, the winning product/service for each business is listed in the Gazette. Among the winners is Poole based BOFA International Ltd (fume extraction).

Rachel Hewitt, HESA, writes for Wonkhe to provide feedback on the new DLHE consultation. HESA report 80% support for the proposed survey design and a mixed response to the financial model mainly due to lack of information. A final version of the model is earmarked for publication later in June. Hewitt states: “We now want to ensure that HE providers have certainty over the implications of the review outcomes, and to enable them to start reviewing their systems and processes”, and commits to sharing information through the rolling FAQs.

HEA and Action on Access have published: What works? Supporting student success: strategies for institutional change.

Category / Research news

NERC Science Board – membership vacancies

HE policy update w/e 12th May 2017

AiMM Awarded Doctoral Summer School!

Public lecture on ‘Getting the message across about Zika’

Public Lecture by Professor Jane Noyes, Bangor University

Date: Friday 12 May 2017
Time: 10.50 -12:00
Venue: B321, Bournemouth House

Getting the message across about Zika: using qualitative evidence to inform the global WHO risk communication guidelines for public health emergencies, and lessons learned for intervention development.

Complimentary lunch will be served at 12.30pm

Please RSVP to Sam Porter at porters@bournemouth.ac.uk

CEMP research published by Samsung

PCCC study in collaboration with the University of Southampton sheds light on new brand relationships

Strong Presence of BU at UK Kidney Week

HE policy update w/e 28th April 2017

BRIAN Unavailable Today

Recent Writing from Kip Jones Available on the Internet

The second piece of writing consists of the bar scene from “Copacetica”. This is the scene in which all the major characters are introduced and the story sets up the conundrum that the main character will face in the film.

You can read the opening scene planned for the film on KIPWORLD: “Copacetica” Scene 1. EXT SUBURBAN HOUSE POOL NIGHT

BRIAN OFFLINE – 2nd & 3rd May 2017

UUK – International Research Collaboration After the UK Leaves the European Union

NERC Call for ideas for highlight topics

Policy update for w/e Friday 21 April

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Public Lecture by Professor Jane Noyes, Bangor University

Date: Friday 12 May 2017 Time: 10.50 -12:00 Venue: B321, Bournemouth House

Getting the message across about Zika: using qualitative evidence to inform the global WHO risk communication guidelines for public health emergencies, and lessons learned for intervention development.

Complimentary lunch will be served at 12.30pm

Please RSVP to Sam Porter at porters@bournemouth.ac.uk

The second piece of writing consists of the bar scene from “Copacetica”. This is the scene in which all the major characters are introduced and the story sets up the conundrum that the main character will face in the film.

You can read the opening scene planned for the film on KIPWORLD: “Copacetica” Scene 1. EXT SUBURBAN HOUSE POOL NIGHT

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Date: Friday 12 May 2017
Time: 10.50 -12:00
Venue: B321, Bournemouth House