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Systematic Review Masterclass – 15-16 February 2016

We are pleased to announce a two-day Systematic Review Masterclass at Bournemouth University.

One way of collating and assessing the best possible evidence is through a method called ‘systematic reviewing’. Systematic reviewing is a specific research method whereby a structured, rigorous, and objective approach is used to provide a critical synthesis of the available evidence on a particular topic. This masterclass will examine the rationale for systematic reviews and take participants through the various elements of a systematic review: selecting (electronic) databases; literature searching; data extraction; data synthesis; interpretation and reporting.

The Masterclass will be held in the Executive Business Centre, Holdenhurst Road on 15 & 16 February 2016.

Booking price and information:

The fee of £200 for this masterclass includes two full days with the course facilitators, all refreshments and all class materials. Accomodation and travel costs are not included.

See the flyer – Systematic Review masterclass 2016 – for more details or book your place now. Places must be booked by 1 February 2016.

For further information please contact:

Tel: 01202 962184

Email: epegrum@bournemouth.ac.uk

Congratulations to Prof. Brooks

Women's Academic Network

BU Professor Ann Brooks has been made a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS).

  Ann Brooks

Ann Brooks is Professor of Sociology at Bournemouth University since January 2015. Ann has held senior positions in universities in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand and has held visiting fellowships and scholarships in Singapore and the USA. She was a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Health and Community at Plymouth University in 2014 and was previously a Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore and a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. She is author of Academic Women (Open University Press, 1997); Postfeminisms: Feminism, Cultural Theory and Cultural Forms (Routledge, 1997); Gender and the Restructured University (Open University Press, 2001); Gendered Work in Asian Cities: The New Economy and Changing Labour Markets (Ashgate, 2006); Social Theory in Contemporary Asia (Routledge, 2010); Gender, Emotions and Labour Markets: Asian and Western Perspectives (Routledge, 2011) and Emotions in Transmigration: Transformation, Movement and Identity (Palgrave 2012) (with Ruth Simpson). Recent books include: Consumption, Cities and States: Comparing Singapore with Cities in Asia and the West (Anthem Press, 2014) (with Lionel Wee); Popular Culture, Global Intercultural Perspectives (Palgrave, 2014); and Emotions and Social Change: Historical and Sociological Perspectives (Routledge, New York, 2014) (edited with David Lemmings). Her latest book is: Genealogies of Emotions, Intimacies and Desire: Theories of Changes in Emotional Regimes from Medieval Society to Late Modernity (2016 Routledge, New York).

Further information on this year’s new Fellows can be found here!

 

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

 

Second Social Science Seminar Series, Dr Dan Jackson

All welcome. 28 October 2015
Room R301, 1-1:50.

Please feel free to bring your lunch.

Title: Journalism and Public Relations: Shifting Boundaries, Shifting Power Relations

Abstract:

There is widespread concern in both the professional and academic fields of journalism about the growing tide of churnalism (unfiltered PR or agency copy) in the news. Invariably, such accounts are written from within and about journalism studies. But this ignores another story which I examine in this presentation: that of the PR practitioner.
Based on interviews with 28 PR practitioners, I document their perspectives on:
– The latest developments in PR media relations practice aimed at getting PR material into the news
– The apparent power shift between PR and journalism implied in journalism studies literature
– Normative evaluations of churnalism; does it trouble them either professionally or personally?
With respect to PR practice the findings revealed a number of PR professionals who understand news in depth, and whose media relations practice goes beyond the classic information subsidy, to what we call a style subsidy: targeted, tailored, page-ready news copy. In terms of PR practitioner culture, this practice of developing media material that is ‘copy and paste’ ready for publication is a recognised sign of professional expertise.
PR practitioners see power relationships in complex and contradictory ways. Despite many circumstances (such as newsroom cuts and fewer specialist reporters) working in their favour, this does not mean they necessary feel emboldened in their everyday encounters with journalists.
Perhaps surprisingly, for the vast majority of practitioners, there were either professional or personal concerns about increasing churnalism. The professional concerns stem partly from a position of self-interest: that unfiltered PR raises credibility issues for the PR message. Secondly, churnalism represents an ethical dilemma expressed through an ongoing tension between their personal/ civic and professional identities. Very few observe the journalists’ recent travails with glee: most want to see a robust and independent journalism where PR input is balanced with other sources.

Citizenship and Education Conference, 3rd Nov, Bournemouth House, limited spaces

There are still some places left to attend this joint one-day BSA and BU conference, happening on 3rd November, in Bournemouth House. If you would like to register, please get in touch with Dr Mastoureh Fathi, mfathi@bournemouth.ac.uk or visit http://www.britsoc.co.uk/events/key-bsa-events.aspx

The conference programme can be viewed here:

9.00-9.30
Registration and Refreshments
Outside BG14

9.30-9.45
Welcome: Professor Jonathan Parker (Bournemouth University) Introduction and welcome to the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences

Welcome to the Citizenship Study Group: Dr Mastoureh Fathi (Bournemouth University) and Dr Kristoffer Halvorsrud (Knowledge Centre for Education, Norway)

9.45-10.45
Keynote: Dr Bridget Byrne (University of Manchester) ‘What is the Britishness in ‘British values’ and the citizenship process?’

10.45-11.00
Refreshment break

11.00-13.00
Policy and Politics Panel: Citizenship and Neo-Liberalism

Professor. Jonathan Parker (Bournemouth University): Students and Prevent: Implications for citizenship
Dr Lee Jerome (Middlesex University): England’s Citizenship Education Experiment: The First Ten Years
Rachel Lewis (University of Warwick): Testing Life in the UK, producing the desirable, neo-liberal subject
Dr Anisa Mustafa (University of Nottingham): Active citizenship and modes of resistance in the cultural politics of young adult British Muslims
Dr Nick Stevenson (University of Nottingham): Education, Democracy and its Alternatives: The Commons and the New Left

13.00-14-00
Lunch

14-00-15.15
Parallel Sessions

1. Comparative Contexts

Prof Trond Solhaug (Norwegian University of Science and Technology): Citizenship, diversity and antecedents of intercultural empathy among Norwegian pupils (Abstract)
Dr Shinichi Aizawa (Chukyo University): Citizenship, Social Problems, and Schooling in Japan
Caitríona Fitzgerald (Maynooth University): ‘Citizen Child; Hothouse Flower or Hardy Perennial? An exploration of contemporary debates about 21st century children’s ‘lived’ citizenship framed within the context of Irish and Swedish educational policy’

2.“Britishness” and Faith

Céline Benoit (Aston University): The role of secular state schools in the promotion of a White Christian sense of Britishness
Iro Konstantinou (University of Warwick):‘Promoting British values in an English, white, middle class context’
Iftikhar Ahmad (London School of Islamics Trust): Muslims faiths schools and the curriculum

15.15-15.30
Refreshment Break

15.30-16.45
Parallel Sessions

1. Faith and “Cohesion”

Donna Crossland (University of Kent): A rhetoric of social cohesion, tolerance and civility: A good lessen to learn?
Rachael Shillitoe (Institute of Education, University of Worcester): ‘Doing Good’: Understanding values and morality in collective worship
Shiva Zarabadi: ‘Crossing borders, changing faiths and the new organization of self and society’, The experiences of migrant Iranian converts to Christianity in the UK

2. Policy Processes and Relations

Dr Martin Myers (The Open University): Mobility, Citizens and Education: Are Gypsies supposed to be citizens?
Dr Kristoffer Halvorsrud (Knowledge Centre for Education, The Research Council of Norway): Student ‘Dropout’ in Upper Secondary Education: A Challenge to the Norwegian ‘Welfare State’?
Dr Tamsin Hinton-Smith (University of Sussex): Roma women in European Higher Education: Exploring Tensions of Individual and Shared Responsibility in Policy and Experience

16.45-17.00
Refreshment Break

17.00-18.00
Keynote: Professor David James (Cardiff University) ‘Bringing the local knowledge back in?

Lightning Talks Wednesday 11th Nov 1:45-2:45pm Poole House

Come and find out about the exciting research undertaken by BU staff and student researchers!

The first of our series of Lightning Talks will take place on Wednesday 11th November 1:45-2:45pm in the Refectory (next to Papa Johns pizza) on Talbot Campus.

We have six speakers presenting a five minute pitch about their research studies.  The aim is to encourage staff awareness of the exciting research being undertaken at BU and encourage cross Faculty working.

The spaces are limited so you will need to book on by emailing Rhyannan Hurst.  Pizza will be provided on a first come first served basis so please confirm your attendance no later than wed 4th Nov.

Also if you are keen to take part in the next Lightning Talks in 2016 then please do get in touch with Rhyannan Hurst in the Research and Knowledge Exchange Office (RKEO) on 61511.  We are hoping this will be a great event and look forward to seeing you there.

 

 

‘Wicked problems’ in adult social care – responding through collaborative leadership

The Care Quality Commission’s State of Care report for the Adult Social Care Sector offers both reassuring and worrying elements: reassuring in that 60% of adult services were providing good or outstanding care, but disturbing in that 7% of services were rated inadequate.

A key element related to good or outstanding ratings concerns leadership. Unsurprisingly inadequate leadership is linked to inadequate care, whilst good leadership supports an environment of high quality and continually improving care. According to the CQC report outstanding leaders are characterised by their ‘passion, excellence and integrity and collaboration with their staff.’

leadership-headerHow can leadership be improved across the adult care sector? This is a challenging question as the health and social care sectors are increasingly beset with ‘wicked problems’. Wicked problems are defined by complexity, may have long standing origins and for which there are no easy solutions. Wicked problems may be seen differently by different stakeholders, and this can be particularly challenging as services come together through integrated care.

This approach is informed by the work of Rittel and Webber (1973) who defined tame, crisis or wicked problems. Tame problems are often easily understood with clear causes and resolutions identified. Crisis problems require urgent responses but often respond to strong leadership and control during the crisis period. Wicked problems are much more complex, often with multiple contributory elements, are intractable and difficult to solve. Many of the issues within the adult social care sector are ‘wicked problems. These include a complex and challenging range of issues: an ageing population with increasingly complex needs; the impact of austerity measures on funding for the health and social care sectors; systems which are in a state of perpetual flux and change; the impact of concerns about quality of care; the need for an increasingly skilled workforce; and the problems of recruiting and retaining a suitably qualified social care workforce.  So what leadership approach would be better to deal with the challenges posed by ‘wicked problems’?

iStock_000019216251SmallTo cope with the ‘wicked’ nature of problems within adult social care it is important that leaders are able to think beyond usual leadership and management approaches. ‘Wicked problems’ require ‘wicked solutions’, a break with the constraints of the past and an approach which embraces creativity.  It requires individuals who can facilitate a collaborative approach to harness creativity across different stakeholders both internal and external to their organisation.  It requires a style of leadership which is focused on participation rather than top down direction – that is inclusive, and supports engagement with collective ideas.  Such leaders need to work with the resources within their own workforce by adopting ‘the moral resourcefulness’ to engage in challenging conversations (Hutchinson et al. 2015:3022). Only collective engagement within and across organisations can hope to address the ‘wicked problems’.

For further information on the event please contact

Dr Lee-Ann Fenge – Deputy Director NCPQSW
lfenge@bournemouth.ac.uk

References

Hutchinson , J. et al. (2015) Editorial,  Journal of Clinical Nursing, 24: 3021-3023

Rittel, H.W. and Webber, M.W. (1973) Dilemmas in a general theory of planning, Policy Science, 4: 155-169

UKRO – latest news

Funding opportunities, Info Days, international, Training

If ever there was a time to make use of BU’s subscription to UKRO, that time is now.

UKRO logoWith the new Work Programmes being released, UKRO have pulled out all the stops to ensure that their subscribers have the latest information. To access subscriber content, please register as a BU member of staff. You will then have access to all the latest EU news and can sign up for email updates direct to your inbox.

As this blog is open to external users who may not be UKRO subscribers, there is only a limited amount that can be placed on this blog.

Highlights include:

  • UKRO has provided a number of introductory articles to the new Horizon 2020 Work Programmes – please register to access these. The Work Programmes themselves are available via the Participant Portal
  • Consolidator Grants: Information and Proposal Writing – 3 November 2015, University of Sheffield and – 6 November 2015, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine*
  • MSCA European Researchers’ Night 2016-2017 call Info Day – Brussels on 10 November 2015*
  • The European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA), together with the European Commission, is organising the first workshop on eHealth systems security –  Brussels on 30 October 2015.
  • European Commission is organising an Information and Stakeholders’ Day on Smart Wearables workshop – Brussels on 11 December 2015
  • As part of the Societal Challenge 2 Info week, the EIP AGRI is running a workshop on the multi-actor approach under Horizon 2020 on 24 November 2015 in Brussels
  • The Erasmus+ Guide has been released by the European Commission
  • The United States Government and the European Commission –  Fulbright-Schuman Innovation Grants, under the auspices of the Fulbright-Schuman program, have been announced,

*If a link has not not been given to an event page, you will need to register with UKRO to access the booking form / further information.

If you have any queries concerning EU funding opportunities, please contact Emily Cieciura, RKEO Research Facilitator: EU and International for further assistance.

 

Further information on ‘Research Councils Together’

RCUKlogoFollowing on from my post last Thursday, Research Professional have published the email from the seven Research Councils Chief Executives, explaining what ‘Research Councils Together’ will mean.  RP have accompanied the email with a candid interpretation of what the content implies.

There is reference to the RC’s Operational Cost Reduction Programme (OCRP) which is aiming to maximise their efficiency and effectiveness and deliver savings in their operational costs of between 20% and 25% by April 2019.  The email is clear that unity does not lead to unifying, and the future of RCUK has a more reserved response.   Click here to read further.Research-Professional-logo

BU Represented at the 8th European Public Health Conference

international, student research

Ben and clare milanBU had two representatives from FHSS attending with over 1000 delegates at the European Public Health Conference in Milan last week. Ben Hayes, winner of the best oral presentation at SURE (Showcasing Undergraduate Research Excellence) BU Conference 2015 presented the results of his undergraduate dissertation entitled ‘Investigating the effect of lifestyle interventions to reduce risk factors for Metabolic Syndrome’. Clare Farrance shared the preliminary results of her PhD study around the area of older people’s adherence to exercise.

It was a great opportunity to learn from experienced researchers and hear about the current topics most relevant in the world of Public Health. Many thanks to Bournemouth University for their funding assistance which allowed us to attend.eph-logo

If you’d like to hear more about our research please feel free to get in touch with Ben at: benhayes01@gmail.com or Clare at: cfarrance@yahoo.co.uk

The impact of the enshrining of the research intensive university

teaching-vs-research-chartEarlier this year a large number of academics across the UK completed the biennial Principal Investigators and Research Leaders Survey (PIRLS) run by Vitae. Looking through the responses from BU academics I was interested to note a number of conflicting responses on the theme of research vs education and which is more valued at BU, as well as in the sector as a whole. Some respondents reported that the primary focus is education, enhancing the student experience, student administration, etc. whilst other felt that research activity is valued ahead of education and that institutional developments over the past ten years have been to the advantage of research.

From an internal perspective I found this interesting for two main reasons:

1. The BU strategy focuses on fusion – the equal importance of education, research and professional practice and how these support and strengthen each other.

2. Is it a case of research vs education, i.e. two separate activities each vying for time, or are these mutually supportive activities?

Looking externally, however, it is clear that over the past 50 or so years the sector at large has enshrined the research-oriented university and therefore the role of the research-oriented academic as an ideal model. We can see this in the way the majority of the league tables are constructed, with research metrics playing a dominant role. We can see it in the stratification of universities with the ‘elite’ institutions being those that are considered research-intensive. And we can see it in the concentration of funding and sponsorship for research that flows into these institutions, enabling them to remain research orientated.

But what are the consequences of this? How does this impact on the HE sector at large?

For starters, it has created a stratified hierarchy among institutions and within the academy where arguably none need exist. Academia has a multitude of different missions that need to be addressed by the profession as a whole. The focus on research as the holy grail devalues the breadth and diversity of universities and undermines the role they all play in advancing society.

Erving_Goffman_128x128Secondly there is a link between the rise of the importance of the research intensive university and the increased managerialism of higher education, i.e. that higher education and research must be efficient and productive and measurable. This as a policy in itself is not a bad thing – high quality teaching depends on research, reputation is built on scholarly output, and reputation influences an institution’s ability to attract students and staff. This favours research-intensive institutions that earn significant amounts of income and can ensure research activity forms a central part (and in some cases the majority) of academics’ roles. There are, however, few institutions where the research model fits and works and it becomes detrimental to those not in the top few as it causes greater tensions between teaching (the bulk of the work), research (usually a small portion of work) and time/energy. I don’t believe that life is rosy for those academics in the top tier of institutions – the pressures placed upon them to perform, bring in more and more funding, produce better quality papers in the top journals, etc. must be enormous. But that is a different type of pressure to that experienced in universities such as BU where the tension between teaching and research and time are very real. Goffman described this tension by stating that it makes an academic career “perhaps as complex and troubled as the moral career of the mental patient”.

Fusion glow edgeI’m not sure what the answer is that gives this a happy ending. It is likely there isn’t one and the tensions will remain, but BU’s fusion strategy and the new academic career framework should ensure that, internally at least, all activities are equally valued. None of the information in this post is new, however, sometimes it does us good to step back from the precipice and acknowledge the tensions before deciding the next step. We need to continue to play the game of the research-oriented university as this is what the sector is increasingly basing itself upon, but we must do it in a way that is right for BU and doesn’t tie us all up in knots. Any thoughts?

Hello from Michael O’ Regan, Phd – (new) Senior Lecturer In Events & Leisure Management

MOReganIt is now just over one month since I joined BU, after spending the last four years in China and Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (MSAR). First, I would like to say thanks to all those who helped answer questions, big and small as I settled into BU, Bournemouth and the UK. As my role will also focus on the departmental marketing and communications strategy, I will be reaching out to many of you within and outside the department for advice, tips and counsel.

Dissemination can be more than journal publications!

Join us for an ESRC Festival of Learning Event on Saturday 7 November at EBC!

Learn how in-depth research over time produced substantial findings.

Find out how these results were then turned into innovative dissemination tools.

Then learn how those tools were used by service providers (who will be attending!) and impacted on their communities.

ESRC FestAre you interested in LGBT and ageing issues?  We have tools to share to engage people about the discrimination experienced by older gay or lesbian service users and what to do about it.  These include the award-winning short film RUFUS STONE and Methods to Diversity, a deck of cards.

The aim of this event is to share our tools with you and hear the stories from others who have used them. We are inviting them to discuss how they have used the two learning tools within their organisations’ activities and get their take on our efforts.

Newcomers will received a copy of the Method Deck “Methods to Diversity” and the award-winning short biopic, RUFUS STONE.

Faculty and Students are welcome!

Facilitators Drs Lee-Ann Fenge & Kip Jones, HSS, Department of Social Work and Social Sciences

For more information and to register: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pathways-to-impact-part-deux-tickets-18205534243

 

HE Policy Update

Monday

Earnings Data

Students will be able to see how much they stand to earn in the future depending on which subjects they choose to study and where they choose to study them, under radical plans to open up Government data to the public. Students to assess earnings potential of different courses with Government data (The Independent).

Policy Exchange

In a new report, the thinktank Policy Exchange is urging the government to cut £532 million out of the higher education budget to safeguard the further education sector in the next spending review. The think tank says universities could offset the reduction in funding by drawing cash from their reserves. Cut HE funding to boost FE, says thinktank report (THE).

Tuesday

TEF

Leading academics have signed an open letter warning that it would be “completely inappropriate” to use data on student outcomes to measure university teaching standards. TEF metrics plan attacked by academics (THE).

Wednesday

Studying in the UK

According to Eurostat, the EU statistics organisation, Britain is the most popular place to study in the EU, allowing more people from outside the EU to enter for work or study than any other member state. One in four of the 2.3 million residency permits given to citizens from elsewhere in the world by EU countries last year was issued by Britain. Britain most popular place to study in EU. (The Times).

Thursday

Career Readiness

According to the study by the education technology company Instructure, students in the UK are “overly optimistic” about how skills and experience gained at university prepare them for the workplace. Student perceptions of career readiness not matched by reality (THE).

Friday

Consumer Law

A Which? report concludes that three in four universities are breaching consumer law by failing to tell students what their fees will buy them.  Its researchers compared the website of 50 universities offering psychology courses. Of those, 38 websites did not give all the details required under consumer laws including fees, contact hours, workload and teaching staff. Many universities ‘breach consumer law’, says Which? (BBC News).