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HE Policy Update

Monday

Inequality

A study has revealed that high-achieving children from privileged backgrounds in England have a 53 per cent chance of entering a Russell Group university, compared with a one in four chance for their disadvantaged peers. Affluent children reach top universities no matter the system (THE).

Tuesday

Learning Gain 

Soon, there will be new efforts to explore the ‘learning gain’ which is known as the skills and knowledge that students develop in higher education. HEFCE is soon to launch around a dozen pilot projects to look at ways to measure the learning gain. One attempt to answer this is the Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (Ahelo) run by the OCED. Earlier this month, however, it was announced that England would not be taking part in Ahelo, many have greeted the news with relief. Universities say no to new ranking (The Guardian).

UUK campaign for Europe

Universities UK have officially launched their Universities for Europe campaign. The aim of the campaign is to ensure that the significant benefits of EU membership to universities – and through them, to the British people – are properly explained. Higher education 

University leaders make the case for EU membership (UUK).

REF

James Wilsdon has written a blog in defence of the REF exercise following the attack by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). In a five-page briefing, the IEA calls for the REF to be abolished because it is too costly, distorts research priorities and can be gamed. “The UK universities need the REF. We benefit enormously from the stable and relatively unrestricted funding that it delivers each year to our research system. And that system has been strengthened by the REF’s emphasis on the wider impacts of UK research, which are now captured in a searchable database of almost 7,000 case studies.” In defence of the Research Excellence Framework (The Guardian).

Wednesday

Business-University Collaboration

A third of companies surveyed by the data firm Beauhurst, said that academics lack the commercial understanding needed to make a business-university collaboration work. Academics lack understanding to make business-university links work, says study (THE).

University Finances

An article looks at the likely impacts of the latest round of cuts on universities and discusses how institutions may manage their finances. Hard Evidence: are universities strapped for cash? (The Conversation).

Thursday

TEF

Madeleine Atkins, the Chief Executive of HEFCE has argued that new arrangements for quality assurance and the teaching excellence framework should form a single overall system to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy and duplication. Quality assurance and TEF should be ‘one system’, says Hefce head (THE).

Tuition Fees

A report by the Sutton Trust has revealed that poorer students in England may be put off university by funding changes that could leave them with higher debts than middle-class graduates helped by their parents.  Higher debts may deter poor students from university, says report (BBC).

UK interdisciplinary research

A report by Elsevier explored international comparisons with UK interdisciplinary research. The report highlights an increasing global trend towards interdisciplinarity and confirms the UK’s world-leading research performance. Review of the UK’s interdisciplinary research (HEFCE).

Friday

Widening Participation

Sixth-formers are more likely to go to university if they are told about the social benefits rather than shown the potential long-term financial gains, new research from the government’s nudge unit (Cabinet Office behavioural insights team) has found. Tales of social life are best advert for university (The Times).

Arjan Gosal one of our RKEO Research Reflections event presentation joint winners!

Festival of Learning

At our recent RKEO Research Reflections event at the Festival of Learning it was really interesting to hear about the amazing variety of research taking place at BU and to have them presented with such enthusiasm and different styles.

A big congratualtions to Arjan Gosal who was one of the joint winning presenters – please see below for a taste of his presentation – ‘Losing sight of the trees for the honey’.Arjan Gosal photo (2)

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment highlighted the importance of quantifying ecosystem services as being pivotal to the allocation of environmental resources though robust policy creation and implementation. Whilst biophysical and economic values are often used in conservation planning by decision makers, community ecosystem values are rarely quantified or defined clearly. Recreation, aesthetics and cultural ecosystem services are primary to this work.

 

Arjan Gosal Slide (2)A multifaceted approach using various techniques, including participatory GIS, spatial mapping, GPS tracking of visitors and use of existing data sets are explored in relation to the New Forest. Situated on the South Coast of England, it is a prime example of a historic natural landscape, from being a medieval hunting ground to a commoning system that survives to the current day. England’s most recently designated national park has over 34,000 residents and many more visitors each year. With a clear need to understand the dynamics of how people value the various habitats and areas of this national park; this work aims to provide a strong methodology for inclusion of peoples shifting views on habitats and changing landscapes.

Although a substantial amount of research has examined the connections between biodiversity, ecosystem processes and ecosystem services, much of this has been conducted at relatively Arjan Gosal Presenting at Research Reflections (2)small scales, and with a limited number of species. There is therefore a need to understand how these relationships translate to a landscape scale, at which environmental management decisions need to be undertaken. Thus it is important we don’t lose sight of the wider landscape when assessing cultural services, not just looking at the honeypot sights, so that we do not lose sight of the trees.

Please contact Arjan if you would like to receive further information relating to his research.

 

EC Info Day – Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy taking place on the 14th-15th Sept

Info Days

euflagEC Info days: relating to Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy are being held on the: 14th-15th September 2015 in Brussels   

Info days and brokerage events run by the EC are an opportunity to get an overview of work programmes covering the 2016 and 2017 calendar years, meet up and hear from others who are interested in the same programme and potentially form links and build consortia for future applications.

Please click on the link below to book or register your interest – bear in mind places are limited!

http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=events&eventcode=0B56FA95-AFE0-D63B-DD0527FE301EC26C

Please let Emily or myself know if you intend to go so we can co-ordinate if others also wish to attend.

 

ERC Starting Grants call launched

Funding opportunities

The 2016 CALL for ERC Starting Grants has been launched but note the deadline for submission is 17th November THIS YEAR.  ERC Starting Grants are designed to support excellent Principal Investigators at the career stage at which they are starting their own independent research team or programme (2 to 7 years of post-PhD experience).  An overview of the scheme is available here.

The newly-launched ERC work-programme is here and there is an Information Day at LSE on 8th September, details here.

If you are interested in applying please let myself or your Funding Development Officer know so we can help you with the application.

 

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EC Info Day – Health, Demographic Change and Well-being taking place on the 18th Sept 2015

Info Days

EC Info days: relating to Health, Demographic Change and Well-being are being held on the: 18th September 2015, Brussels, Belgium euflag

Info days and brokerage events run by the EC are an opportunity to get an overview of work programmes covering the 2016 and 2017 calendar years, meet up and hear from others who are interested in the same programme and potentially form links and build consortia for future applications.

Please click on the link below now to book or register you interest – this will definitely be a popular event!

http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=events&eventcode=7829B368-BCD2-7BA8-039C396F0C62FA5D

Please let Emily or myself know if you intend to go so we can co-ordinate if others also wish to attend.

Small Event Grants – Contemporary European Studies UACES

Funding opportunities

Are you a member of the University Association for Contemporary European Studies? Successful applicants for Small Event Grants will receive up to £1,000 of funding for one-off events, typically conferences or workshops. Closing date Friday 18th September 2015. Proposals are welcome on any aspect of contemporary European Studies, particularly interdisciplinary proposals which encourage the participation…

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Digital Project Grants – Awards up to £40,000

Digital Project Grants – Awards up to £40,000

The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art invites applications for its digital project grants. These provide institutions and individuals help to support a curator or research scholar undertaking a digital research project which will lead to a digital or online project. Closing date 30th September 2015. Projects may include: online exhibition or curation…

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ERC Starting Grants – Information and Proposal Writing Event LSE, London, 8 September, 13:30 – 16:30

Funding opportunities, Guidance

​​​​​In its capacity as UK National Contact Point for the European Research Council, the UK Research Office (UKRO), in partnership with the hosting institution, is holding an event at London School of Economics and Political Science for researchers who are interested in applying for the 2016 ERC Starting Grants call.   Details and registration are here.

Each session will provide participants with a detailed practical overview of the ERC Starting Grants scheme. Participants should gain a deeper understanding of the proposal format and the key issues they are required to address in planning, writing and costing a proposal as well as tips for preparing for interview. There will also be ample opportunity to ask questions. Attendance will be free of charge, thanks to the support from the organisations hosting the events.

 

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Funding Opportunities

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, GB

Silicon Photonics for Future Systems programme innovation fund

The EPSRC‐funded Programme Grant “Silicon Photonics for Future Systems (SPFS)” includes an innovation fund to enable the inclusion of additional partners to bring additional value to the programme.

Initial engagement will be via short research projects that support the aims of the programme. Therefore, proposals from UK‐based academic researchers are invited for projects valued up to £100k to support the research areas of the Programme Grant.

Closing Date: 26 August 2015 at 5pm

 

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, GB and other funders

Synthetic biology applications for protective materials

The EPSRC Engineering theme, in partnership with Dstl and the BBSRC, are inviting proposals that explore research in the area of Synthetic Biology applications for Protective Materials. Funds of up to £2.5 million are available. We expect to support between four and five research projects, up to three years in duration, subject to the quality of the proposals received. Under this partnership, funding is available to support cutting-edge, novel academic research on new applications for Synthetic Biology with regard to protective materials. Proposals will be assessed through external peer review followed by a panel meeting.

Applicants must complete the Intent to Submit survey on this page by 28 August 2015; applicants who do not do this will be ineligible for the call.

The closing time and date for full proposals is 16:00 on 01 October 2015.

By submitting a full application to this call you give Dstl, EPSRC and BBSRC the right to show it to other Government departments in confidence.

 

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, GB and other funders

High Value Manufacturing Catapult fellowships

High Value Manufacturing Catapult fellowships aim to strengthen relations between academics and manufacturers, and accelerate the transition of research from the laboratory to industry.

Funded by EPSRC and coordinated by the University of Sheffield AMRC, the fellowship programme aims to increase academic involvement in the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. Academic fellows will carry out research at one or more of the seven centres that form the HVM Catapult, a national network backed by Innovate UK.

The fellowships will enable academic staff to spend six-month research visits, spread over one to four years, in one or more of the HVM Catapult centres. The projects must be aligned to work previously funded by EPSRC.

EPSRC and Innovate UK are now inviting proposals for the third round of fellowships. For more information and to apply, please visit the High Value Manufacturing Catapult fellowships website, or email: catapultfellowships@sheffield.ac.uk

Closing Date: 28th August 2015

 

 

Arts and Humanities Research Council, GB and other funders

Cultural heritage and rapid urbanisation in India

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) are pleased to announce a joint call for Research Networking projects addressing the theme of ‘Cultural Heritage and Rapid Urbanisation in India’. Funding of between £30,000-£45,000 per project for UK applicants is available on a full economic cost (fEC) basis with AHRC meeting 80% of the fEC.  Matched resources are available from ICHR for Indian applicants. Awards should have a duration of up to 6 months and will be expected to start between 1st December 2015 and 1st February 2016. It is expected that 4-5 awards will be made under this call.

Awards will be funded through the Newton Fund – a 5 year programme that aims to strengthen research and innovation partnerships between the UK and emerging knowledge economies.​

Closing Date: 22 September 2015 at 4pm

Innovate UK, GB and other funders

Connected and autonomous vehicles

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is to invest up to £20 million* in collaborative R&D projects and feasibility studies (delivered by Innovate UK on behalf of BIS) to stimulate developments in autonomous vehicles and connected transport systems.

Building on the government’s ‘Introducing driverless cars to UK roads’ collaborative research initiative, this competition aims to encourage development of connected and autonomous vehicles, focusing on three themes – connectivity, autonomy and customer interaction – along with catalysing new business models. Proposals must be led by a business and be collaborative. We are primarily seeking to fund collaborative research and development (industrial research). Small business partners could receive up to 70% of their eligible project costs, medium-sized businesses 60% and large businesses 50%.
We welcome consortia led by any sized company and particularly encourage proposals from medium-sized companies. Research organisations may participate as collaborators in a consortium but business partners must incur at least 70% of the total eligible project costs. We expect collaborative R&D projects to range in size from total costs of £1 million to £5 million. We encourage overseas-based partners to participate in consortia by conducting their R&D in the UK. Up to £2.5 million of the total funding will be available for smaller-scale feasibility studies. These are open to companies working alone or collaboratively. Small businesses could receive up to 70% of their eligible project costs, medium-sized businesses 60% and large businesses 50%. We expect feasibility studies to range in size from £50,000 to £250,000.
The deadline for applications is at noon on 30 September 2015.
There will be a briefing in London for potential applicants on 4 August 2015.

Leverhulme Trust, GB

Research fellowships

Offering up to £50,000 over three to twenty-four months for experienced researchers to conduct a programme of research in any discipline. Research Fellowships are open to experienced researchers, particularly those who are or have been prevented by routine duties from completing a programme of original research. Awards are not limited to those holding appointments in higher education.

The maximum value of a Fellowship is £50,000. The awards provide research expenses over and above normal living costs and/or provide a contribution towards reasonable replacement costs or loss of earnings. Please ensure that applications do not include any ineligible costs.

Fellowships are tenable for between 3 and 24 months, and the current round of awards must commence between 1 June 2016 and 1 May 2017.

Closing Date: 12 November 2015

 

Leverhulme Trust, GB

International academic fellowships

Enabling established researchers based at a UK higher education institution to spend a period of time in overseas research centres, to develop new knowledge, skills and ideas. Up to £40,000 is available for a period of three to twelve months. 

International Academic Fellowships provide established researchers with a concentrated period based in one or more research centres outside the UK. The intention of the scheme is to provide opportunities to develop new knowledge, skills and ideas, and may for example be used for the following:

  • observing and learning ground-breaking techniques or practices
  • developing new lines of research through overseas collaboration
  • making “discipline-hopping excursions” into new areas of research
  • developing innovations in teaching
  • exchanging ideas

If you wish to dedicate a period abroad entirely to a research project you should apply to the Trust’s Research Fellowships scheme.

The maximum value of a Fellowship is £40,000. Eligible costs include: reasonable replacement cover whilst the Fellow is overseas; travel to and within the overseas country or countries; a maintenance grant to meet the increased expense of living overseas; and essential research costs.

Please ensure that applications do not include any ineligible costs.

Fellowships are tenable for between 3 and 12 months, and the current round of awards must commence between 1 June 2016 and 1 May 2017.

Closing Date: 12th of November 2015.

 

 

Medical Research Council, GB and other funders

Methodology for eliciting expert opinion

MRC and NIHR invite applications (through the Methodology Research Programme) to conduct research into methodology for expert opinion elicitation. A vignette (PDF, 206KB)commissioned by the Methodology Advisory Group provides more background information. Applications are particularly sought on the following:

  • A short project to compare the available expert elicitation protocols and software and to identify strengths and weaknesses with the aim of identification of the most important aspects of “good” expert elicitation. This could lead into a longer-term project to propose and validate an optimally efficient protocol and software.
  • Investigation of whether the mode of expert opinion elicitation affects results. It would be valuable to validate individual elicitation methods/protocols, and to conduct head to head comparisons of different elicitation methods/protocols. Are different/more reliable answers achieved with an elaborate, structured method versus a streamlined one?  E.g. comparison of face-to-face vs online methods.
  • Methodology to identify and understand the range of opinions that are being obtained from an elicitation exercise, particularly where they may be conflicting.
  • Methods for synthesis of elicited expert opinion with other strands of evidence, to inform e.g. HTA or diagnostic decision making.

Applications for projects are invited through the normal MRC funding grant schemes (research grant, new investigator research grant etc.) and will be considered at the regular Methodology Research Programme Panel meetings, to this competition’s usual deadlines. These will be in competition with other applications received, but the Panel will be mindful of the strategic importance of this area.

Closing date: 19 Nov 15

 

Leverhulme Trust, GB

Emeritus fellowships

Providing research expenses of up to £22,000 over up to two years to enable senior researchers who have retired from an academic post to complete a research project and prepare the results for publication. The 2016 round opens on 1 September 2015. The maximum value of a Fellowship is £22,000.

  • Travel and subsistence costs for periods away from home
  • The employment of a research, clerical or secretarial assistant to support (rather than conduct) the work of the applicant
  • Photocopies
  • Photographic expenses
  • Office or laboratory consumables.

There is no provision for a personal maintenance allowance or remuneration for the applicant under this scheme. Please ensure that applications do not include any ineligible costs.

Closing Date: 4th February 2016

 

 

HEFCE Open Access Policy – Adjustments and Qualifications

BRIAN, Guidance, Publishing, REF Subjects, Research assessment

hefce-logoOn Friday (24 July 2015), HEFCE announced a number of adjustments and qualifications to its policy for open access (OA) in the next REF following consultation with HEIs. The key adjustment is that:

 

  • From 1st April 2016, authors will have until 3 months after publication to deposit outputs in our Institutional Repository (BURO) via BRIAN.  This is a temporary measure for the first year of the policy, to allow time to transition to a new way of working.

 

  • From 1st April 2017, the transition period will end, and in order to comply with the Open Access policy, authors will be expected to deposit outputs in (BURO) via BRIAN within 3 months of acceptance.

 

In light of these adjustments, it is recommended that authors still deposit outputs as soon as possible after acceptance to ensure continued compliance with all OA policies.

The circular and updated policy are available through the links below, if you have any queries or require further information on Open Access at BU including the Open Access Publication Fund, please contact Peng Peng Hatch at pphatch@bournemouth.ac.uk.

View this circular letter on the HEFCE website at: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/year/2015/CL,202015/

View the full updated HEFCE policy at:  http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/Year/2014/201407/

Introducing Katie Breadmore: Event Organiser in the Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team

katieHi! My name is Katie Breadmore and I am currently working towards my degree in Events and Leisure Marketing. The third year of my course involves a yearlong work placement (until the end of July, 2016) in which I am working for the Knowledge Exchange and Impact team in the Research and Knowledge Exchange Office as an event organiser. My role involves the planning and co-coordinating of BU’s annual Festival of Learning as well as supporting a variety of other public engagement events over the course of the year. I am excited to see the events that I will be planning come to light and am ready for the challenge!

 

Women Innovators – EU Prize

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities, Women's Academic Network

Are you or do you know a Woman Innovator?

innovation_591With the EU Prize for Women Innovators, the European Commission wants to give public recognition to outstanding women entrepreneurs who brought their innovative ideas to the market. The aim is to inspire other women to follow in their footsteps.

After two successful editions in 2011 and 2014, the European Commission has launched the third edition of the prize.

Three prizes will be awarded in Spring 2016:

  • 1st prize: €100 000
  • 2nd prize: €50 000
  • 3rd prize: €30 000

Contestants will be able to submit their entries until 20 October 2015 (12:00 – Brussels time).

An independent panel of judges from business and academia will select the three winners who will be announced in 2016.

Who can participate in the contest?

The contest is open to all women who have founded or co-founded their company and who have at some point of their careers benefitted from the EU’s research framework programmes, the EURATOM Framework Programme, the Competitiveness and Innovation framework programme (CIP) or actions relating to research and innovation under the European Structural and Investment Funds (known as the Structural Funds prior to 2014).

The contestant must reside in an EU Member State or a country associated to Horizon 2020, the EU’s research and innovation programme.

The company must have been registered before 1 January 2013 and have had an annual turnover of at least EUR 100 000 in 2013 or 2014.

Apply via the website

EU Horizon 2020 Funding – Societal Challenges

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities

horizon 2020The following calls are being promoted on the Participant Portal:

Digital Security : Cybersecurity, Privacy and Trust : closing 27/8/15

Disaster-resilience: Safeguarding and Securing Society, including adapting to climate change: closing 27/8/15

Border Security and External Security: closing 27/8/15

Fight against Crime and Terrorism: closing 27/8/15

 FCH2 JU Call for proposals 2015 (Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking): closing 27/8/15

Bio Based Industries: closing 15/9/15

H2020-JTI-IMI2-2015-05-Two Stage (Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 (IMI2) Joint Undertaking): closing 13/10/15 (stage 1) and 15/3/16 (stage 2)

Green Vehicles: closing 15/10/15

Mobility for Growth (transport): closing 15/10/15

European Capital of Innovation Prize (plus dedicated website): closing 18/11/15

Horizon 2020 Dedicated SME Instrument Phase 1 and 2, 2014-2015 with specific themes (Company to apply): next closing dates – 17/9/15 and 25/11/15

Horizon Prize – Food Scanner: due to open in September 2015 with a closing date of 9/3/16

Horizon Prize – Better use of Antibiotics: closing 17/8/16horizon scanning

All closing dates are 17:00 (Brussels time)

If you are applying to any of these calls, be that as Lead or in collaboration with another organisation, please contact Paul Lynch or Emily Cieciura (Research Facilitators – EU and International) or contact your Faculty Funding Development Officer.

Horizon 2020 Information Day: 21 September 2015

Info Days

SOCIETAL CHALLENGE: Climate –  INFO DAY

The European Commission is organising an Information Day on 21 September in Brussels to present the 2016 work programme of Horizon 2020’s Societal Challenge “Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials”.

The Information Day will focus on the upcoming calls for proposals under Horizon 2020’s Societal Challenge “Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials” and related call topics in the “Blue Growth – Demonstrating an Ocean of Opportunities”, “Industry 2020 in the Circular Economy” and “Smart and Sustainable Cities” focus areas.

Representatives of the research community, SME associations, businesses, industry and European institutions are invited to join the event on Monday, 21 September 2015 in the Albert Borschette Conference Centre, rue Froissart 36, 1040 Brussels. We expect more than 500 participants.

Events are added regularly to the Horizon 2020 pages.

If you attend an external funder event of this type, please remember to let your RKEO Facilitator or Officer know. It may be that we can help share information that you obtain with others at BU with similar interests or alert you to others who might be potential partners.

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Impact case studies: what are they and why are they important?

Impact is fast becoming a new buzzword in higher education as demonstrating impact becomes more and more of priority in the context of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and requirements of funders. Precisely because of its associations with REF and funding bids, the term ‘impact’ can be off-putting, but really it means no more than showing how research is making a difference – something that many researchers do instinctively but perhaps wouldn’t think to classify as ‘impact’.

 

HEFCE defined impact as “an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia.”  Impact then, can be seen as the effect and research the catalyst for change. HEFCE have identified four particularly outstanding impact case studies from the last REF, which they believe represent all the different ways that research can make a difference. These are:

 

Under the 2014 REF, impact counted as 20% of a unit’s overall quality score and there have been suggestions that in the next REF it may count for even more.  Panels took into account the research’s ‘reach’ and ‘significance’ and gave a rating of between 4* and unclassified for each profile.  Last year’s results showed that 97% of BU’s research is having an outstanding, very considerable or considerable impact on society – a fantastic achievement. You can read examples of our REF case studies here.

 

As well as being an opportunity to show how our research is making a difference, impact case studies can influence the make-up of our overall REF submission profile.  For example, if two impact case studies were submitted to a unit each would count for 10% of the profile’s overall score – a significant part of each submission.  The number of case studies submitted also determined the number of staff that can be returned within each unit of assessment.  Up to 14.99 (FTE) staff required 2 impact case studies, with each additional case study allowing the inclusion of another 9.99 (FTE) staff.  The contribution of each case study author to the overall unit result was therefore very significant. Their contribution went beyond that of REF, as the materials gathered have also been used to highlight BU’s research excellence as part of a University Alliance project as well as being used to persuade future students to study at BU.

 

Although it seems only a short period of time since the last REF results were published, preparations for the next REF – thought to be in 2020 – are already underway.  The submission date is likely to be late 2019, which means that researchers who are currently working to connect their research results with people or organisations that could benefit from their knowledge are excellent candidates for future impact case studies. While research impact needs to take place within the specific REF timeframe, the underpinning research could be recent or date back several years, with impact building on years of previous work.

 

To find out more about research impact and the support on offer from BU, please contact the Knowledge Exchange and Impact Team in the Research Knowledge and Exchange Office.

 

To find out more about the impact element of the REF, you can read analysis reports of REF 2014 from King’s College London and RAND Europe.

Call for Papers: Media Representations of ‘Antisocial Personality Disorder’, 16th September.

Call for papers:

Media Representations of ‘Antisocial Personality Disorder’

Wednesday, 16th September 2015

Bournemouth University

ESRC Seminar Series: Cross Disciplinary Perspectives on ‘antisocial personality disorder

This day-event is being organised as part of the ESRC sponsored seminar series ‘Cross Disciplinary Perspectives on antisocial personality disorder’ (aspd-incontext.org) and is being run in association with the Faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University and the ‘Media and the Inner World’ research network.

We are using ‘Antisocial personality disorder’ as a shorthand for a range of labels used to describe individuals who seem to act in very antisocial ways but who otherwise appear to have a clear understanding of the world. A central thesis of this series is that the kinds of difficulties that are likely to involve the use of labels like ASPD need to be understood within broader historical, cultural and socio-political contexts than many psychological and psychiatric constructs allow.

This event is designed to explore the ways in which the meanings of ASPD have been shaped by the representations of ‘antisocial’ or ‘deviant’ identities in wider culture – in art, literature, film, television and news media. One can find such representations in classic literary depictions of antiheroes like Heathcliff in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights or Camus’s L’etranger. Lionel Shriver’s 2003 novel and later film adaptation, We Need to Talk about Kevin provides a more contemporary example of a portrayal of an antisocial individual that provoked discussion about the gendered dynamics of the family and maternal ambivalence. Cinematic representations of psychological disturbance can be found in the ‘outsider’ despair and destructiveness of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (Scorsese, 1976), or in representations of jealous women in films such as Fatal Attraction (Lyne, 1987) or Gone Girl (Fincher, 2014). On TV, the proliferation of forensic detective dramas such as CSI (CBS, 2000) or legal dramas such as Silk (BBC1, 2001), often trouble the boundaries of ASPD and its meanings as a psychological condition.In news media, representations of mental health are also widespread in efforts to understand the subcultural shaping of individuals such as Dylann Roof, Timothy McVeigh, Mohammad Sidique Khan and others committing acts of ‘terror’.

Whilst such images contribute to the cultural shaping of ASPD, they in turn can have influence on legal and psychiatric debates about the nature of dangerous individuals. As the role of Taxi Driver in the trial of John Hinckley (who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan) illustrated, the interaction of media, psychiatry and law can be very direct and can have powerful implications. It is important therefore to explore the ways in which images of ASPD in popular culture also influence the fields of forensic psychotherapy, psychiatry and the law.

We are therefore inviting submissions from people who have an interest in media representations of ‘antisocial personality disorder’ and their significance to psychiatry and socio-legal contexts.

As this is sponsored by the ESRC we be able to pay modest travel and accommodation costs for speakers.

If you are interested in contributing, please send a 300 word abstract to:

· Dr David W Jones, Reader in Psychosocial Studies, University of East London (d.jones@uel.ac.uk)

Closing Date: 7th August (we will let people know soon after)

The organisers

· Dr David W Jones, Reader in Psychosocial Studies, University of East London (d.jones@uel.ac.uk)
· Dr Chris Scanlon, Group Analyst and Principal Lecturer in Psychosocial Studies, University of East London. (c.scanlon@uel.ac.uk)
· Professor David Gadd (University of Manchester)
· Candida Yates, Professor of Culture and Communication, Faculty of Media and Communication, Bournemouth University (cyates@bournemouth.ac.uk).