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Predictive Analysis of Complex Social Networks – here we come!

Awarded & submitted bids

I am delighted to share with you good news about the small grant that I was awarded from the Grants Academy at BU. It will help me to develop my research in the area of predictive analysis of complex networks.
The main goal of the project that will be a result of this small grant is to develop a robust and adaptive framework for Predictive Analysis of Complex Social Networks. Sound mysterious and you are probably asking so what?
Let me give you some background. For the first time in history, we have the possibility to process big social data about the interactions and activities of millions of individuals that can be represented as a social network. It represents an increasingly important resource yet is underutilised due to the scale, complexity and dynamics of these structures which makes them extremely difficult to model and analyse. As only recently the development of ICT technology has made collecting this data feasible, there is no coherent and comprehensive approach to analyse such networks and their dynamics which is crucial to advance our understanding of continuously changing people’s behaviour. It means that we need new approaches that will enable us to analyse and predict the future of social networks.

And now the next question that you are asking is probably: so why is it important?
Again, let me give you some examples that shed a little bit of light onto importance of my study:
a) Improving national security
The outcomes of this project will be applied in a collaborative research, with a visiting researcher, Prof. De Meo from the University of Messina, Italy, focused on Cosa Nostra analytics, for understanding of the organisation of Mafia syndicates. Application of my framework for Predictive Analysis of Complex Social Networks will contribute to the improvement of well-being and security of citizens. Results of this joint cross-disciplinary research will help law enforcement agencies and policy makers to more efficiently allocate resources in the fight against Mafia
b) Improving health and well-being
The results will also be applied in the cross-disciplinary collaborative research with a visiting researcher, Dr De Ruddere from the Ghent University, Belgium, to understand the social exclusion of patients with chronic pain. Application of my framework will facilitate the understanding of how the social networks of people with chronic pain evolve over time contributing to the improvement of the patients’ quality of life and social well-being.

If you would like to have a chat and hear more about my research please keep in touch: kmusialgabrys@bournemouth.ac.uk

Latest Funding Opportunities

Funding opportunities

fifty-pound-note-money

The following is a snap-shot of funding opportunities that have been announced. Please follow the links for more information:

NERC

UK aquaculture initiative – innovation projects call

NERC and Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council are inviting proposals for innovation projects to the UK Aquaculture Initiative, which builds on the 2014 Sustainable Aquaculture capacity-building call. Approximately £1·2m of funding is available for this call for projects that meet the needs of the UK aquaculture industry and create sustainable, tangible economic or societal benefits.

Maximum Award: £1.2m available
Deadline: 1st stage application by 26 April 2016

International opportunities fund

NERC is inviting proposals for Pump Priming and Pump Priming Plus grants to its International Opportunities Fund (IOF). The IOF scheme provides resources to NERC-supported researchers to allow them to forge long-term partnerships with overseas scientists that add value to current NERC-funded science. IOF grants are pump-priming, to help stimulate novel research collaborations.

Maximum Award: £40,000
Deadline: 19 May 2016

ESRC

ESRC/NRF Newton call – higher education in Africa

The ESRC and National Research Foundation (NRF) invite collaborative projects between the UK and South Africa which can offer additional value to existing programmes of education research. Some themes are:

  • Organisation of higher education systems, higher education institutions (HEIs) and alternative providers
  • Equity in higher education access and participation
  • Curriculum, pedagogy and modes and levels of provision

Maximum Award: £630,000
Deadline: 3 May 2016

BBSRC

Future Leader Fellowship

The Future Leader Fellowship (FLF) will provide support for researchers wishing to undertake independent research and gain leadership skills. The FLF will support the transition of early stage researchers to fully independent research leaders.

Maximum Award: £300,000
Deadline: 12 May 2016

NIHR

Health technology assessment programme – commissioned call for proposal 15/167

Proposals are sought on the topic of management of knee braces in the management of knee osteoarthritis, with the specific research question: What is the clinical and cost-effectiveness of knee braces in the management of knee ostearthritis.

Maximum Award: Unspecified
Deadline: 19 May 2016

Arthritis Research UK

Career development fellowship

Career development fellowships aim to attract and retain talented postdoctoral basic scientists and allied health professionals in research relevant to arthritis and related musculoskeletal conditions, and provide them with the opportunity to develop an independent research career and progress towards higher-level appointments.

Maximum Award: Salary and research expenses
Deadline: 1 June 2016

EPSRC

Human dimensions of cybersecurity

The funder is inviting proposals which address the challenges identified at the ‘Human Dimensions of Cyber Security’ (HDoCS) workshop in 2014. The challenges are titled:

  1. Design, build and measure
  2. A theory of everyone
  3. Risk, trust and response
  4. Understanding people
  5. Evolution of cybercrime

Maximum Award: up to £5 million available
Deadline: 8 June 2016

eFutures Facility award

This award is intended for researchers who have a current or recent cross-disciplinary project and require additional resources to take their idea towards commercialisation or require further investment to bridge the gap with follow-on funding.

Maximum Award: £20,000
Deadline: Unspecified

Trans-Atlantic Platform Social Sciences & Humanities

T-AP Digging into Data Challenge

This funding opportunity is open to international projects that consist of teams from at least three member countries, and must include partners from both sides of the Atlantic. Projects must address any research question in humanities and/or social sciences disciplines by using large-scale, digital data analysis techniques, and show how these techniques can lead to new insights.

Maximum Award: Unspecified
Deadline: 29 June 2016

If you are interested in submitting to any of the above calls you must contact your  RKEO Funding Development Officer with adequate notice before the deadline.

For more funding opportunities that are most relevant to you, you can set up your own personalised alerts on Research Professional. If you need help setting these up, just ask your School’s/Faculty’s Funding Development Officer in  RKEO or view the recent blog post here.

If thinking of applying, why not add notification of your interest on Research Professional’s record of the bid so that BU colleagues can see your intention to bid and contact you to collaborate.

‘Voices of the Secret State’: Seminar presentation by Dr Hyun Joo Lim, 16th March, Studeland House, Room S206, 13:00-13:50

Awarded & submitted bids, BRIAN, BU Challenges, Centre for Excellence in Learning, Coffee Morning, conferences, Funding opportunities, Fusion, Fusion Investment Fund, Grants Academy, Knowledge Transfer, Publishing, R & KE Operations, Research assessment, Research Ethics, Research Integritiy, Research themes, Women's Academic Network

All staff and students welcome. Please feel free to bring your lunch.

 

Voices of the Secret State: Human Rights Activism among North Korean

Defectors in the UK

 

Abstract: My paper aims to highlight the lived experiences and identity formation of North Korean defectors settled in the UK who are involved in human rights activism. Whilst violations of human rights in North Korea are well documented, human rights activism by its defectors is less well known. Since 2004, approximately 600 North Koreans have settled in the UK. Free NK, a human rights organisation born out of this settlement, has been active in illuminating the reality of North Korea whilst also working towards subverting the regime by informing its fellow remainders about the outside world through the distribution of newspapers. This paper is drawn from ongoing research on North Korean defectors living in the UK. The data is collected using life history interviews to capture their lived experiences and to identify a range of factors which have influenced their involvement in the activism whilst also seeking to find better ways of improving the wellbeing and quality of life for those activists. The presentation will focus on the in-depth story of a North Korean defector who has founded Free NK. Themes that will be addressed in this story include the reason why he has fled North Korea; the processes of getting to the UK; challenges he has faced in his human rights activism.
Dr Hyun-Joo Lim is a lecturer in Sociology and the programme leader for BA Sociology and Social Policy at BU. She is originally from South Korea and has been engaged in various research projects that explore issues around migration, ‘race’/ethnicity, gender and identity. Her previous research examined East Asian mothers in Britain.

For more information about Social Science seminar series please get in touch with Dr Mastoureh Fathi (mfathi@bournemouth.ac.uk).

 

BRAD 2016 starts in April – don’t miss out – get yourself booked in!

The BU Researcher/Academic Development (BRAD) events programme will run 4th of April – 11th of April 2016.BRAD

With less than one month to go until our BRAD events programme begins – there is still time to book yourself into one or more of our exciting events through Organisational Development under the following themes.

Introduction and Basics

BRAD wordle

Terrain Generation Using A Voxel Grammar-based Approach

PG research

We would like to invite you to the latest research seminar of the Creative Technology Research Centre.

 

Title: Terrain Generation Using A Voxel Grammar-based ApproachVoxel

 

Speaker: Rahul Dey (a BU research engineer based at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)

 

Time: 2:00PM-3:00PM

Date: Wednesday 16th March 2016

Room: P302 LT, Poole House, Talbot Campus

 

Abstract:

 

As computational power has increased, so has the fidelity of computer graphics for real time simulations and video games. Terrain is a feature that is ubiquitous in any game that needs to represent an outdoor environment. The creation of larger landscapes for such simulations now requires some automated assistance in the form of Procedural Content Generation (PCG). Many procedural methods forego user design and interaction in favour of complete automation.

This research introduces a novel method to construct terrains by utilising user-designed rulesets. Terrains are represented using a volumetric approach which is a more powerful and flexible way of creating features such as caves, naturally formed arches and overhanging cliffs. Terrains are generated by using the provided ruleset as a grammar to parse the volumetric grid and transform voxels in sections of the grid.

 

This presentation will focus on the method that has been developed to generate these terrains, and detail some of the future work to be carried out during the rest of the course of the research.

 

 

We hope to see you there.

Lightning Talks at Cafe Scientifique Bournemouth- Interested in presenting?

Cafe Sci runs every first Tuesday of the Month from 7.30pm – 9pm and takes place at Cafe Boscanova in Boscombe.DSC_7906

You can find out more about Cafe Sci here: https://cafescibournemouth.wordpress.com/

We are looking for BU Academics, Researchers, PGR students and URA students to present a Lightning Talk on their Research as part of Cafe Scientifique on Tuesday 5th April.

What is a Lightning Talk; In essence it is a short, to the point talk on a particular subject.

If you are interested in taking part in this event and sharing your research in an enganing and lively manner then please contact Rhyannan Hurst in RKEO on 61511

Case for Support with Dr. Andrew Derrington

Funding opportunities

BRADAs part of BRAD week, Dr. Andrew Derrington has been brought in to run a “Case for Support” workshop on Monday 4th of April 2016.

The workshop is designed to start you working on an extremely efficient ’recipe’ for a research project grant, such as research council standard grant, that makes it possible to produce a case for support in 2 weeks. The case for support is the central component of a grant application. All the rest of the information in the application should derive from the case for support.

If you have a fundable project in mind at the start of the workshop, you should have a rough draft of the skeleton of the case for support, in the form of 10 key sentences, by the end of the day. If you don’t have a fundable project in mind at the start of the day you will practise the skills of writing the 10 key sentences with a dummy project.

For those who are interested in booking onto this training, please follow the link here to book through Organisational Development.

Fusion in Action: Clinical Academic PhD scholarships jointly funded with NHS

Fusion, PG research, student research

Fusion Diagram Doing a PhD may appeal to midwives and other NHS health professionals, but it often involves having to make difficult choices. Undertaking a part-time PhD means studying on top of a busy clinical position, but starting full-time study involves stepping away from practice, which may lead to a loss of clinical skills and confidence. The Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) at Bournemouth University has come up with a novel solution making it easier for midwives to undertake a doctorate while still maintaining their clinical skills. This approach is highlighted in the latest publication by Dr. Susan Way and colleagues, describing a process where CMMPH collaborate with NHS partners to apply for a match-funded PhD. [1]  The first partnership was with Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (PHT), with later partners expanded to cover the Isle of Wight and Southampton. Currently there are negotiations with Dorset Country Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Non NHS organisations have also showed an interest with the Anglo European Chiropractic College (AECC) our likely next collaborator.

Dr. Know 2016

This jointly funded clinical academic doctorate allows midwives to combine clinical practice with a research role, working across BU and their NHS Trust. The studentships runs for four years and PhD students will spend two days per week working as a midwife in clinical practice and three days per week working on their thesis. This set up facilitates the co-creation of knowledge. Anybody interested in developing a joint clinical academic PhD with us please contact Dr. Susan Way (sueway@bournemouth.ac.uk), Prof. Vanora Hundley (vhundley@bournemouth.ac.uk), or Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen (evteijlingen@bournemouth.ac.uk) .

In addition to providing the individual midwives with excellent education, these studentships are designed to examine an area of clinical practice identified by the collaborating organisation where the evidence is lacking and research is needed. As a consequence the research studies will be directly relevant to practice and will have a demonstrable impact in the future. Hence BU will be able to show that its research and education have a direct benefit to the wider society. Moreover, the studentships currently benefit midwifery practice by building a critical mass of research-focus practitioners, who will translate research findings into practice and so create a culture of evidence-based practice. At BU the model has also been adopted by other professional groups such as nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy (OT).

 

The result is a clinical academic doctoral studentship is probably the best practical example of BU’s concept of FUSION, since it truly fuses research, education and practice.

 

Susan Way, Vanora Hundley & Edwin van Teijlingen.

CMMPH

 

 

References:

  1. Way. S., Hundley, V., van Teijlingen, E., Walton, G., Westwood, G. (2016). Dr Know. Midwives (Spring Issue): 66-67.

NERC Valuing Nature programme: Understanding ecosystem stocks and tipping points

Funding opportunities

nerc-logo-50thNERC is inviting proposals to contribute to addressing the goals of the Valuing Nature programme through a broader understanding of the tipping points of ecosystem services.

This NERC supported call is for UK focused research proposals to further understand:

  • the links between ecosystem stocks, ecosystem service flows and benefits that are delivered as a result, to enable identification of critical levels of ecosystem stocks that avoid abrupt and damaging change in the delivery of benefits (tipping points); and
  • how the values (including those broader than economics) of ecosystem services and the benefits they deliver change as tipping points are reached and exceeded.

A funding pot of up to £1·1m (80%FEC) is available from NERC, which is expected to support three proposals of up to 30 months duration, and up to £370K (80% FEC).

Applicants should refer to the full Announcement of Opportunity for further details.

Announcement of Opportunity (PDF, 247KB)

Call closes: 16:00 BST 6 May 2016

Contacts: For further information about this Announcement of Opportunity, please contact:

Rachel Leader   01793 411595  

General Valuing Nature Programme Coordination Team enquiries should be directed to:

If you are interested in applying to this call then please contact your RKEO Funding Development Officer in the first instance.

Join RKEO and Fundraising and Alumni for coffee and cake (and fruit) tomorrow

Coffee Morning, Guidance

cupcakeRKEO have teamed up with Fundraising and Alumni to hold a joint coffee morning which will be taking place on Thursday, 10th March. Members of the RKEO and Fundraising and Alumni will be in the Retreat, Talbot Campus from 9.30 to 10.30am.

Come along and find out what Fundraising and Alumni do and how they can help you, and/or discuss your research plans with the RKEO team and check out how they can support you through the whole research funding process from applying through to successful project management and delivery. We can help with public engagement, knowledge transfer opportunities and much, much more…

Do pop in for a chat with us and see how we can help you, or just pop by and enjoy a coffee and a cake (and fruit).  As it’s Fairtrade Fortnight, all tea, coffee, sugar and chocolate will be Fairtrade, as will most of the fruit.  Why not go for breakfast in the Atrium beforehand for the Sit down for breakfast, Stand up for farmers event and come along to see us afterwards?

We look forward to seeing you!

Erasmus Mundus Fusion Call for the third cohort

Dear All

Would you like to spend a few months in the Asia partner institutions of our Erasmus Mundus FUSION project to further strengthen your education and research capacity and enrich your experiences? If yes, please open the link below.

Fusion Call for the third cohort for EU to Asia Mobility

You will have an opportunity to gain a full scholarship to support you for your mobility study/research to the FUSION Asia partner institutions from the project.

The deadline is 15 March 2016.

Science and Innovation Network Japan

Funding opportunities

Academics in the UK have co-authored over 15,000 journal papers with academics in Japan between 2010-2014.  Could your research lead to the next co-authored paper with researchers inetworkingn Japan?  In order to facilitate this, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, through the jointly funded UK Science and Innovation Network (SIN), have compiled a list of 40 funds here where academics in the UK can submit proposals to foster research networks with academics in Japan.

If you are considering working with an international partner in your bid, please contact Emily Cieciura, RKEO’s Research Facilitator: EU & International or the relevant Funding Development Officer for you Faculty.

FMC Cross-Departmental Seminar Series 9 March 2016

Communicating Research 

FMC Cross-Departmental Seminar Series 2015-16 

The Faculty of Media and Communication at BU

Venue: CG17, Christchurch House, Talbot Campus, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB 

Wednesday 9 March 2016, 3pm, CG17

A Corporate Marketing Communication – Politics and Media Guest Lecture

John Steel, University of Sheffield 

Free Speech and the British Left

This presentation examines how British radical Left and progressive political movements have engaged with the contested concept of freedom of speech in the course of their radical politics. The principle of freedom of speech and the associated principles of freedom of the press and freedom of expression have of played a significant role in political struggles from the 17th century to the present day, yet little work has been done on the relationship between the principle of free speech and radical and progressive movements of the Left, particularly in the 20th century. Ostensibly a concept emanating from liberal political theory that emphasises individual autonomy, the principle of free speech sits uncomfortably within the radical Left tradition in theory and in practice. Within the classical Marxist tradition, free speech is indicative of a form of atomistic false consciousness that pervades capitalist society. It is a figment of our imagination as we succumb to the shackles of capitalist domination whilst under the illusion that we are free. In practice, free speech is also abused by fascists and extremists who mock the democratic rights that progressives have fought for, whilst simultaneously attempting to exploit these freedoms in order to peddle hatred and ultimately deny us these very same freedoms. The ‘No Platform’ stance of the Anti Nazi League during the 1980s and 1990s epitomises the difficult relationship that the progressive Left have had with the principle. As a right to be fought for in the struggle for equality, yet seemingly a right that can impede equality and ‘freedom’, the British Left’s relationship with free speech is a complex one. This presentation outlines the author’s current research as he examines the ways in which the idea and principle of free speech has figured in the broad progressive and radical Left in Britain both conceptually and in terms of specific political movements and currents of thought and political praxis.

John Steel has published a number of books and articles on politics, journalism and media. He is the author of Journalism and Free Speech (2012) and is co-editor, with Martin Conboy, of The Routledge Companion to British Media History (2015), and with Marcel Broersma, Redefining Journalism in the Era of the Mass Press 1880-1920 (2016). He is currently writing a monograph on free speech and the British Left.

About the series

This new seminar series showcases current research across different disciplines and approaches within the Faculty of Media and Communication at BU. The research seminars include invited speakers in the fields of journalism, politics, narrative studies, media, communication and marketing studies.  The aim is to celebrate the diversity of research across departments in the faculty and also generate dialogue and discussion between those areas of research. 

Contributions include speakers on behalf of 

The Centre for Politics and Media Research

The Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community

Promotional Cultures & Communication Centre

Public Relations Research Centre

Narrative Research Group 

Journalism Research Group

Advances in Media Management Research Group

Centre for Qualitative Research Partners with Publisher

CQR TQR logosBournemouth University’s Centre for Qualitative Research (CQR) is proud to announce its developing association with the online, qualitative journal, The Qualitative Report (TQR). Electronically published from Nova-Southeastern University in Florida, the journal was the first of its kind in both qualitative research and open-access publication solely on the Internet. The journal also publishes The Weekly Qualitative Report to subscribers.

CQR is envisioned as a resource for qualitative research across departments and faculties at Bournemouth University. TQR is particularly well placed to support CQR in these efforts, with its cross-discipline approach in leading-edge, qualitative publication.

CQR is particularly interested in participation in a specific TQR editorship rubric. The scheme will offer BU academics and postgrad students the opportunity to develop their editorial skills through a three-tier process of Assistant, Associate and then finally, full Editor of the journal. Further details will follow shortly.

Additional developments are also in the pipeline: possible publication in TQR Books; participation in TQR’s Annual Qualitative Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, either in person or virtually; participation in Nova’s qualitative webinar series; joint research grant applications with Nova; and participation in the Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research.

The Qualitative Report Editor-in-Chief Dr. Ron Chenail stated, “I see a future for Bournemouth and TQR supporting each other, particularly in innovation and forward-looking education, research and publication.”

Dr. Kip Jones, Director of CQR, remarked: “TQR was one of the first journals to publish my work postdoc. Rather than simply reject my early attempt at a submission, the editors worked with me to construct the best possible version of my paper on systematic review of qualitative data. It was published by TQR in 2004 and is the most frequently cited paper of all of my publications to date.”

TQR Editorial Statement

The Qualitative Report (ISSN 1052-0147) is a peer-reviewed, on-line monthly journal devoted to writing and discussion of and about qualitative, critical, action, and collaborative inquiry and research. The Qualitative Report, the oldest multidisciplinary qualitative research journal in the world, serves as a forum and sounding board for researchers, scholars, practitioners, and other reflective-minded individuals who are passionate about ideas, methods, and analyses permeating qualitative, action, collaborative, and critical study. These pages are open to a variety of forms: original, scholarly activity such as qualitative research studies, critical commentaries, editorials, or debates concerning pertinent issues and topics; news of networking and research possibilities; and other sorts of journalistic and literary shapes which may interest and pique readers.

The Qualitative Report is published by Nova Southeastern University. Its Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is http://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/

TQR Index and Listing Information

The Qualitative Report is indexed in Scopus, Google Scholar, ERIC, Cambridge Scientific Abstract‘s (CSA) Web Resources Database (WRD) for the Social Sciences, Gale’s Academic OneFile, EBSCO Open Access Journals, Open Science Directory, SocioSite, and All Academic. (Abbreviated list)

Update:

Nova Southeastern University, the home of The Qualitative Report, has been listed by Times Higher Education of one of the 20 ‘Rising Stars’ amongst global universities. The Times said that those listed are “globally aware and outward-looking … and focus on innovation including harnessing new partnerships”. CQR at Bournemouth University is proud to be one of Nova’s partners!

Keep in touch with further developments in this exciting association on the CQR webpages, HSS blog or follow CQR on Twitter: @BUQualitative

RKEO Drop-in Session 23rd March

Guidance

As previously posted, RKEO will be holding monthly drop-in sessions throughout 2016. The full schedule of sessions can be found here.research lifecycle

The second session will be held on 23 March 2016 between 2-4pm in the Atrium Cafe on Talbot. Anyone can attend with any queries for RKEO. The following RKEO staff will be available for the session:

You don’t need to be from these faculties as staff will help with any queries they have and if they’re not able to answer your query then and there, they’ll ensure you receive a timely response from RKEO. Basically, come along and have a chat. These are also great opportunities for us to gather feedback from you on the service that we deliver to you.

RKEO look forward to seeing you.