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Blog by the Vice-Chancellor – what next for the Teaching Excellence Framework

Fusion, policy, Research assessment, Research news, Research Training, RKE development framework, Uncategorized

The BBC 2 series “Meet the Lords” could not have been better timed. The House of Lords has flexed its muscles on the Article 50 Bill and this week’s episode coincided with them passing an amendment to the Higher Education and Research Bill (HE Bill) that breaks the link between the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and fees. Since then another amendment has been passed that would change the nature of the TEF, and bring it under Parliamentary scrutiny.

It would be easy to dismiss these (as some have done) as acts of rebellion by a non-elected chamber that is in the case of the HE Bill, representing vested interests in the face of a genuine government attempt to reform a sector that is badly in need of it. The Department for Education could be forgiven if they had thought that the HE Bill was nearly home and dry. They had published a long list of amendments which had been largely welcomed by the sector. The TEF does not require Parliamentary approval. Universities UK and GuildHE, amongst others, had expressed support for the HE bill as amended and expressed support for the TEF – opposing the addition of more detail as it would reduce flexibility in future negotiations on the detail. But the House of Lords did not agree – they have not sought to add more detail in the TEF, but to change its nature completely. Reading the debates, it is clear that members of the House of Lords, like most of the sector, generally support the objectives of TEF in bringing focus on the quality of education and student outcomes. They support the provision of more and better information about universities for applicants and others. They, like many in the sector, also generally support an inflationary increase in fees.

In the latest amendment, the provisions for the TEF in clause 26 have been removed and the new clause instead requires the Secretary of State to bring forward a scheme to identify whether an institution meets or fails to meet expectations based on quality standards but it “must not be used to create a single composite ranking of English higher education providers”.  The arguments are neatly summarised by Lord Lucas: “Bronze will be seen as failing because these universities will be marked out as the bottom 20%. This is just not necessary. We have succeeded, in our research rankings, in producing a measure of sufficient detail and sophistication for people to read it in detail. It produces quite marked differences between institutions, but nobody reads it as a mark of a failing institution. It is information, not ranking…”.

An earlier amendment removed the differentiation between fees based on different ratings. The speeches in the House of Lords demonstrate that they are opposed to this link for different reasons, for example:

  • Baroness Deech “If we detach fees from gold, silver and bronze, we stand a chance of increasing social mobility under the amendment. If we do not, social mobility will be frozen and ghettoisation will increase.”
  • Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: “I want to cite three groups of academics ….all of which feel, as do students, that in their current state the TEF metrics are not up to the job of determining fee levels and that, until we are sure that we have valid and reliable measures, we should not do this.”
  • Lord Lipsey : “… what seems knocking on bizarre is to plough on with bringing in this link between fees and the TEF before we have got the TEF right….The Government would give themselves the best chance of proving themselves right and the sceptics wrong if they gave time for the TEF to settle down before they brought in the fees link.”
  • Lord Kerslake: “My second reason for not making the link is that the TEF rating will relate to the university, not the subject or course. We will not see subject-level ratings until 2020 and yet we know that it is perfectly possible to have a mediocre course in an otherwise excellent university, and indeed vice versa. It can be argued that the TEF ranking gives an indication of the overall ​student experience at a particular institution, but the variation which so obviously exists within institutions makes that argument quite unconvincing.”

Except for the subject level fee point (which has not become a topic of debate yet), these are all arguments that were made by the sector in responding to the Green Paper and the TEF consultation. These are all things that we have continued to raise as we discuss the implications of subject-level TEF.

So as it stands, the TEF has lost both of its “incentives” – aka its carrot and its stick, which were both in the form of the impact on fees and reputation. It is not at all clear what will happen next – some ideas are given in this Wonkhe blog. In blogs on the Times Higher Education, Maddaleine Ansell of the University Alliance and Sorana Vieru gave very different perspectives.

So what compromise could there be to address all the concerns and yet still preserve the positive aspects of the TEF – i.e. the increasing focus on education and outcomes? I go back to BU’s response to the Green Paper, when we said that the TEF should model itself on the REF.. It should celebrate excellence wherever it is found, there should not be a link with tuition fees and there should be no forced ranking. To achieve that now, a remodelled TEF could include the following features:

  • no link to fees
  • have two rather than three levels of award – perhaps indicating good and outstanding. The last category is those who fail their quality assessment and don’t qualify for TEF.
  • take a different approach to benchmarking that does not force differentiation
  • include a place for commendations

I am not convinced by the argument that no-one would participate in the TEF without the direct financial incentive. That does not hold true for the REF. The REF has increased the focus on impact and had a beneficial impact on research. (We have some reservations about the changes proposed in the latest REF consultation, but that is a separate issue.) The concerns about the TEF would be mitigated substantially if the Olympic rating system and the link to fees were dropped. The sector would be able to engage in a much more constructive debate about subject-level TEF.

The TEF does not need to be thrown out completely – but this is an opportunity to go back to where this started from and ensure that the TEF brings focus on the quality of education and student outcomes.

Letting the Pigeons Fly Free!

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Professor Matthew Bennett, Professor Of Environmental & Geographical Sciences, will be presenting a ‘Leading Innovation’ masterclass on Wednesday 22nd March.

‘Silos destroy the collective power of innovation that comes with inter-disciplinary collaboration and an ability to seek research funding, impact and success flexibly both as individuals and as teams.  In this master class using personal examples and reflections we will discuss the concept of transferability of research skills, of how to create a sense of confidence and how to inspire a can-do spirit that conquers all.’

It will take place 10.00 – 11.30 on Talbot Campus.  Please email od@bournemouth.ac.uk to book a place

Future sessions in this series include:

  • An innovative approach to setting up a Research Hub
  • Developing Interdisciplinarity
  • The clinical doctorate model – enabling Practitioner Research

For more details please visit the Staff Intranet

Extended deadline! CFP: Psychosocial Reflections on a Half Century of Cultural Revolution

BU research, Uncategorized

Association for Psychosocial Studies Biennial Conference

Bournemouth University, 5th- 7th April 2018

Frank-Auerbach-Primrose-Hill-Summer-1968-1011x1024

Extended CALL FOR PAPERS!

Association for Psychosocial Studies Biennial Conference

Bournemouth University, 5th-7th April 2018

‘Psychosocial Reflections on a Half Century of Cultural Revolution:

The 50th anniversary of seasons of love and protest’

Join us to reflect on revolutionary relationships and revolutionary politics which challenged authority then and which influence us now.

The cultural forces and the political movements of 1967 and 1968 aimed to change the world, and did so. Recent development of some populist and protest politics could be seen as a continuation of the revolutionary movements in the 1960s. Hedonic themes that recall the summer of love suffuse contemporary life, and self-reflection and emotional literacy have also become prominent values, linked towards human diversity and the international community.

We invite you to offer psychosocial analyses of the development and legacy today of the ‘revolutions’ in love, sex and politics. This could be via explorations of contemporary issues in politics, culture and artistic expression, or through historical studies. All proposals for papers must indicate how they address both psychological and social dimensions of their topic.

 

Send your abstract of 250-300 words to: APS2018@bournemouth.ac.uk

Deadline: 1st October 2017. Confirmation of acceptance: 1st November.

We welcome contributions from academics and practitioners from different fields and disciplines and very much look forward to seeing you there!

 

BUDMC Panel at Prestigious International Studies Association (ISA) Convention in Baltimore

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Lee Miles (Professor of Crisis and Disaster Management) and the Bournemouth University Disaster Management Centre (BUDMC) convened a panel at the 58th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association (ISA) – widely regarded as the premier international conference for international studies/International Relations entitled ‘Policy Entrepreneurship and Political Change at Times of Crisis’, held in Baltimore in the USA (Friday 24 February 2017).

Not only did the panel include papers from leading academic authorities on the subject of policy entrepreneurship in the US (Professors Ralph Carter and James M. Scott), and Canada (Professor Charles-Philippe David) that examined policy entrepreneurship in handling crisis in the US Congress and US Presidency, but the panel also included contributions from leading members of the Disaster Management Centre. Alongside a sole-authored paper by Lee Miles on ‘Group Dynamics as Drivers of Political Change’, Lee and Dr Henry Bang (Research Fellow in Disaster Management) delivered key 2017 preliminary findings from the ‘Mini-AFRIGATE’ project on policy entrepreneurs in the African disaster management context in their paper: ‘A Glass of Crisis Management with a Foreign Policy Twist? Entrepreneurial Resilience in the Cameroon’. The paper and feedback acquired at the panel will also form the basis of a policy-oriented best practice workshop with African policy-makers scheduled to take place at Bournemouth University in late March 2017.

 

Professor Lee Miles and Dr Henry Bang at ISA in Baltimore

Professor Lee Miles and Dr Henry Bang at ISA in Baltimore

The final paper in the panel focused on the Ukrainian Crisis  and the role of policy entrepreneurs in handling longer term crisis and constitutes dissemination of an innovative project that brings together researchers from the UK (Lee Miles) and Sweden (Dr Viktoriia Panova). The panel was well received and highlighted how policy entrepreneurship represents a key area of interest that provides further insights into how the innovative skills of policy-makers, legislators, disaster managers and entrepreneurs may be a factor during times of crisis and turmoil. It also represents yet another major success for the BUDMC in competitively securing and convening a panel at one of the world’s premier IR conferences for the second year running.

Video features audience experience of 5th Anniversary screening of RUFUS STONE film

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Rufus Shelley waterA Gala Celebration of the 5th Anniversary of the Premiere of RUFUS STONE took place at the historic Shelley Theatre in Boscombe (Bournemouth) on the 7th of November,  as part of ESRC’s Festival of Social Science. The Event was organized at the Shelley by FH&SS’s Lee-Ann Fenge and Kip Jones.

Watching the film with theatre projection was a special treat. After the screening and Q & A led by FM&C’s Trevor Hearing interviewing the film’s Executive Producer and Author, Kip Jones, the audience retired to the renovated bar area for drinks and nibbles. It is here that they had the chance to meet and chat with each other, including representatives of educational, statutory and community organisations which have made an impact on their communities with their own screenings of RUFUS STONE over the past five years.

And this was in no way  a swan song!  Shortly after  the Shelley screening, Kip Jones presented the film and talked with the audience via Skype at University of Tampere in Finland  at their Social Psychology Conference.

The film was directed by FM&C’s Tom Stone. Watch it here:

RUFUS STONE Shelley Theatre Screening

CQR Narrative Group Welcomes a Student Research Assistant

BU research, Research news, Uncategorized

cof

Figure 1 Guste Kalanaviciute, Lee-Ann Fenge, Anne Quinney, Jen Leamon & Kip Jones

The Centre for Qualitative Research (CQR) Narrative group, a centre of the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS) is an interprofessional group, with representation from across social work, nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, education practice and media production. We have an interest in how stories and dialogue can be used to create meaning and understanding, and in particular how novel and creative methods can be used to support both the collection of data and the dissemination of findings. This includes the use of film as a method of sharing findings as well as public engagement

 

Over the last few years we have run numerous seminars, and public engagement events (as part of the HEA workshop series, Festival of Social Science and BU’s own Festival of Learning https://vimeo.com/174549052).

 

We are delighted to have a student research assistant, Guste, join us to help explore the mountains of narrative data we have accumulated over several years of community activities. As part of her work with us, we hope to develop a digital story around the meanings attached to health and well-being as well exploring opportunities for a publication.

 

Guste reports:

 

I am very grateful for this amazing opportunity to join such a friendly group of people and gain invaluable experience for my future career. At first I felt a bit overwhelmed with all the new information as I am only a first year Psychology student and do not yet have experience with qualitative data. However, Lee-Ann was very supportive, assured me that with time the skills will come and set me off to start my journey by reading around qualitative data and themes of health and well-being. So far I have read some papers around these topics, a few of Lee-Ann’s and Kip’s publications, watched clips of their past projects (Seen but Seldom Heard; Rufus Stone) and met the team in person to discuss our next steps. Everything is going well now, will start looking into some of the data they have collected, try to find emerging themes and report it for the feedback.

 

CQR Photo-elicitation “In Conversation” Seminar Wed 1pm

BU research, Research news, Uncategorized

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The Centre for Qualitative Research presents its First Wednesday Seminar,

Photo-elicitation, “In Conversation” with Michele Board and Jenny Hall.

This Wednesday, 1 March at 1 pm Royal London House 201

The two will present the research method as a CONVERSATION…first, between each other, and then with the audience.  We are also asking that no PowerPoint be used in order that it is truly a conversation and NOT a lecture. All are welcome!

The series has been very popular so far, playing to a jam packed room. Come and join in the conversation. Many of us go to Naked next door for coffee following to continue the conversations and networking.

Come along and join in the conversation!

Leading Innovation Masterclass – Research & Funded Interventions

BU research, Events, Funding opportunities, innovation, Research news, Training, Uncategorized

On Thursday 2nd March 2017 Professor Edwin van Teijlingen (CMMPH – Professor Of Reproductive Health, BU) will be presenting one of the ‘Leading Innovation Masterclasses’ on Research & Funded Interventions.

In a very competitive field, the chances of successfully gaining a research grant can be somewhere in the region of one in twelve.  In this session Professor van Teijlingen will explain how it may be possible to increase the chances of getting research funds through intervention grants.   It will take place at the Lansdowne Campus 14:00-15:30 and you can book a place by emailing od@bournemouth.ac.uk

Other sessions in the series include:

  • An innovative approach to setting up a Research Hub
  • The clinical doctorate model – Enabling Practitioner Research

Details of these can be found on the Staff Intranet

Eating out in Britain: the feeding habits of non-native pitcher plants

Research news, Uncategorized

Recent work from Bournemouth University indicates that these non-native pitcher plants are consuming bumblebees but their current impact is limited.

In a bog in Dorset grow a small patch of the strange, alien like forms of the invasive pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea. It is adapted to the poor soils of American wetlands and therefore supplements its diet with insect prey, luring them in with the promise of sweet nectar.

bog1

Photo by Anita Diaz

It is not every day that an invasive plant species also counts as predator and this can prove a challenge for management. The pitchers are one such case and a research team from Bournemouth University have been investigating the impact these invaders are having on the native bumblebees. They have done this by looking at the contents of the pitcher’s

traps.

Their results showed that no rare bumblebee species were found in the sampled pitchers from 2012-14. In 2013 the pitchers were found to be consuming a considerable amount of bumblebees (101 bees in the 170 pitchers sampled), however, very few bumblebees were caught in 2012 and 2014. Bumblebees also seem to be attracted to pitchers where the pitchers grow in higher density, suggesting that the bumblebees are treating the pitchers as they would another floral resource, despite individuals being trapped.

It is quite probable that the bumblebees feed off the flowers of the pitcher plants, as they do in the plant’s native America, as well as the nectar from traps. It is also likely you see flowers online due to the low capture rate of pitchers (around 1 in 100 insects get caught), and the majority of visiting bumblebees are getting a ‘free meal’ in a bog habitat with limited other resources.

‘It could very well be that the sugar rich solution produced by the pitchers, coupled with the low trapping rate of pitchers, is worth the risk to our native bees’ Dr Liz Franklin

bee in pitcher

Photo by Anita Diaz

It is important to prevent the spread of invasive plants like S. purpurea, as they can have a drastic impact on our native plant life and wildlife, however in a sensitive bog habitat with Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) status, removal could cause severe damage to the native habitat and risk the further spread of the invasive.  It is hoped that this work will help inform when and where management of S. purpurea is needed in its invasive populations around Europe

Although further work needs to be done on the interactions between invasive pitcher plants and their native prey, the pitchers might not be as bad for our bogs and their fauna as first thought, although it will be important to keep an eye on them.

 

Want to find out more, visit our open access article

Franklin E, Evans D, Thornton A, Moody C, Green I, Diaz A. Exploring the predation of UK bumblebees (Apidae, Bombus spp.) by the invasive pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea: examining the effects of annual variation, seasonal variation, plant density and bumblebee gender. Arthropod-Plant Interactions.:1-0.

 

 

FMC researcher speaks to UN on the impact of media on women in science

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Dr Shelley ThompsonOn 10 February, the Faculty of Media and Communication’s Dr Shelley Thompson gave an intervention to a UN event on the impact of media on gender and science.

The conference was held simultaneously in New York City at the UN Headquarters and Malta at the Ministry of Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties. Speaking from Malta, Shelley discussed some of the early findings of her research on the under representation in news of women scientists as experts on nanotechnology. She also linked her work to broader research on under representation of women’s voices in news and politics.

The event was part of the UN’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which aims to raise awareness of gender bias in the sciences. It was chaired by Malta’s Minister of Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties,  Dr Helena Dalli, MP, and featured speakers from around the world, including UN ambassadors, politicians, policymakers, NGOs, women scientists, and girls aspiring to be scientists.  ​

Shelley is a member of the Centre for Politics and Media Research, which engages in interdisciplinary research from a range of fields to consider pressing questions in 21st Century politics.

Latest Major Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities, Uncategorized

The following funding opportunities have been announced. Please follow the links for more information:

Arts and Humanities Research Council, GB

The AHRC invites applications for its Follow-on Funding for Impact and Engagement Scheme (FoF): Highlight Notice for AHRC’s Four Themes, which seeks to encourage innovative applications that explore new, unanticipated, pathways to impact which have emerged or evolved from research undertaken under AHRC’s four Themes: Science in Culture; Translating Cultures; Digital Transformations; and Care for the Future.

Maximum award: £100,000. Closing date: 4pm, 26/04/17.

Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council, GB

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council invites applications for the David Phillips fellowships, which provide support for researchers to establish their first independent research group. Applicants must show high potential and be able to demonstrate they are on an upward trajectory, with clear evidence of strong scientific outputs and leadership qualities required to establish their own fully independent programme of research. Awards are for five years, and include personal salary and a significant research support grant to enable fellows to establish their own independent research group. Please check call details for eligibility.

Maximum award: £1million. Closing date: 4pm, 11/05/17.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council invites applications for its Future Leader Fellowships, which will provide support for researchers wishing to undertake independent research and gain leadership skills. The Fellowship will support the transition of early stage researchers to fully independent research leaders.

Maximum award: £300,000. Closing date: 4PM, 11/05/17.

Medical Research Council, GB

The Department of Biotechnology DBT) in India, in collaboration with Department of International Development (DFID), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC), are pleased to announce a second joint call to fund global health research addressing the health needs of women and children globally. Research  will impact the ability to prevent, diagnose and manage prevalent chronic and infectious diseases facing women and their unborn children in low- and middle-income settings. Research addressing these health issues will aim to have a positive effect on the life-course of the mother and her unborn children. Proposals should only address the following issues; Anaemia (including Iron, Folate and B12 deficiency related conditions); Sexually transmitted diseases; Gestational diabetes mellitus and; Hypertensive disorders. To support the development of these trilateral partnerships a £4000 travel grant will be available to successful applicants after the concept proposal stage in order to support the full proposal development process. Interested parties must submit a concept proposal by 4pm, 12/04/17.

Maximum award: Not specified. Closing date: Invited full proposals by 4pm 14/09/17.

Natural  Environment Research Council, GB

NERC, the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) jointly invite proposals to a new three-year research programme to improve water quality. The programme aims to improve water quality by providing a better understanding of the sources and fate of different pollutants and by supporting the development of management strategies and technologies to reduce pollution levels. Proposals are sought for collaborative research projects involving researchers from both the UK and India. Interested parties must submit a notice of intent by 4pm, 30/03/17 to be eligible.

Maximum award: £450,000 (80% fEC) for UK component with equivalent in terms of research effort from DST for the Indian Component. Closing date: 4pm 26/04/17.

Royal Society, GB

The Royal Society offers Newton International Exchanges to international researchers with funding towards travel, subsistence and research expenses for either a one-off short visit to explore opportunities for building lasting networks, or for bilateral visits to strengthen emerging collaborations. Awards are currently available to researchers in Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey. Collaborations should focus on a single project with an overseas-based scientist (“the Applicant”) and UK-based scientist (“the Co-applicant”).

Maximum award: £12,000. Closing date: 15/03/17

If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact RKEO with adequate notice before the deadline. Please note that some funding bodies specify a time for submission as well as a date. Please confirm this with your RKEO Funding Development Officer . You can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in RKEO or view the blog post . If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on Research Professional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.