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FoL event A conversation about Climate Change

Festival of Learning

climateChangePippa Gillingham, John Stewart, Andy Ford, Einar Thorsen and Shelley Thompson led a lively ‘conversation’ about climate change in a well-attended event on Tuesday.  The audience led the discussion and there were many topics covered.

These focused on how some species are effected, how and when the media engage with the subject, and what impact do scientists have in reporting on climate change.  Pippa described how species move out of protected areas and what impact that has. Einar asked how do you connect ordinary people with the research taking place.  Andy explained that humans strive to increase quality of life but there is a disconnect from the consequences of ones actions.  Shelley added that we are exceptional at rationalising our behaviour.  John debated with the audience the role of the academic in remaining impartial and being a describer, an observer and being objective.

Other events that may interest you are ‘Recycling cooking oil’ at 12.30pm and ‘Earthenders: A global soap opera’ at 6pm both on Wednesday.

Support and Celebrate our Research Success at the FoL – come along!

Festival of Learning

General-banner-for-digital-use-NEWWe would love to see you at our Drop-in event ‘Research Reflections’ on the 16 July – feel free to attend for a session or two, or the whole day. Come along and hear about the huge range of Research taking place across the University, and support your fellow academics talking about their Research.

When: Taking place on Thursday the 16th of JULY in The Coyne Lecture Theatre in the Thomas Hardy Suite from 10am – 4pm.
Book now

Our confirmed speakers include:

10am  Heather Hartwell, discussing the VeggiEAT project

10.40am  Jamie Matthews discussing the international news coverage of the Japanese earthquake and consequent tsunami

10.55am  Helen Farasat discussing her research with parents of children with eczema

11.45am  Sine McDougall on participating in Research

12.15pm  Yeganeh Morakabati will speak about her experiences of teaching in Afghanistan

12:30pm Dan Weissmann, Anna Feigenbaum, Dan Jackson and Einar Thorsen exploring challenges that arise when working with data that is hidden, sensitive or obscured

12:45pm Elizabeth Rosser discussing her Marie Curie experiences

1.00pm Lunch

1.45pm  Neil Vaughan, discussing his research into developing an epidural simulator

2.00pm Ashley Woodfall reflecting on the core conceptual struggle with a recently completed research project with children and those that make media for children

2.15pm Fabian Homberg  will be observing and explaining petty corruption: An analysis of the “$20 sandwich trick”

3.00pm  Carrie Hodges, Lee-Ann Fenge and Wendy Cutts speaking about their project which focuses on young people with disabilities.

3.15pm James Gavin will talk about his project looking at whether technology can be used to increase strength and balance in older adults

More speakers to be confirmed – please check our Blog posts for updates!

Book now

COST Workshop taking place on Tuesday July 21st

COSTIf you are thinking of making a COST application then make sure you attend our COST workshop from 9:30 – 11:30am on Tuesday the 21st of July in the Octagon on Talbot campus.

To book a place please please contact:

dgoodman@bournemouth.ac.uk

The closing closing date for COST applications is: 8/9/15.

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Please click on the following link for more information  http://www.cost.eu/.

 

EPSRC Annual Report and Funding Rates 2014-2015

Funding opportunities

EPSRC logoThe EPSRC have issued their annual report where they are focussing on securing better value for money and investing in skills training and research.  You can read Research Professionals article on the EPSRC’s annual report here.

EPSRC have also issued a report of their funding rates for last year.  In this period, EPSRC considered 2,386 research grant proposals through peer review and provided funding for 914, giving a funding rate of 38%.  This amounted to a demand of £1,823M, with funding for £713M and funding rate by value of 39%.

 

FoL Reconciliation in Practice

Festival of Learning

SSchwanderSieversStephanie Schwandner-Sievers, Melanie Klinkner, Wendy Cutts and Elina Kuusio delivered a fantastic Festival of Learning event yesterday.  The event focused on how to reconcile social communities, for which the team had carried out research in the Balkans and many other places where conflict has arisen in communities.

We looked into the pre-conditions of reconciliation, such as willingness/desire, forgiveness, benefit/interest, understanding, apology/sincerity and recognition, truth, and how time, peace and safety are crucial to the process beginning.  A trusted mediator is essential for such an arena, as is eating and drinking together.Dr Melanie Klinkner

The audience role played two warring Italian families (no, not the Montague’s and Capulet’s) with some being mediators of the process.  It was a fun afternoon as we really got into character and it was fascinating to see how we found common ground and interest and eventually, a way forward.

You can find similar events taking place at the FoL with ‘Anthropology in the World’ taking place each day at 11am, and Wendy Cutts will be delivering ‘Seen but seldom Heard: Challenging Perceptions of Disability within Secondary Schools through E-learning’ on Thursday at 10.30am.WCutts

Managing low EU grant success rates

Funding opportunities

Science BusinessAccording to Science|Business, the EU is considering mechanisms to manage the increasingly low EU grant success rates before research universities shy away from the EU calls.

“It’s more popular than ever before. But with our success rates we’re heading to a situation where we have to be very careful not to scare away top researchers,” Robert-Jan Smits, the European Commission’s Director-General for Research and Innovation, told Science|Business.

Apparently, the Commission is considering three approaches:

  • Two-stage applications – As a rule of thumb, 80 per cent of proposals – those not considered strong enough to meet competition requirements – should be rejected in a short-form, stage one evaluation, Smits said. In stage two, where a longer application is required, at least 35 per cent of proposals should have a chance of success.
  • Greater emphasis on impact – Brendan Hawdon, Head of Horizon 2020 Policy in Smit’s directorate-general, elaborated. “It’s all about the outcome,” he said. An applicant should say clearly: “Here’s what we want to come out of the project.”
  • Non-starters – making the call documents clearer so that potential applicants can work out for themselves that they will not be funded alongside, potentially, some element of demand management

To read this article in full, please go to Science|Business, where you can also register for newsletter updates.

Funding available to support the commercialisation of ideas arising from that NERC-funded research

Funding opportunities, Knowledge Exchange

Fund now open !

 The Follow-on Fund is a ‘proof of concept’ fund to support the commercialisation of ideas arising from that NERC-funded research.

This funding picks up where research programme and discovery science (responsive mode) grants leave off and enables those research outputs to be further developed so their commercial potential can be realised.

Examples of activities funded include technology licensing, launching technology-based products or services, selling know-how based consultancy services, and the commercialisation of NERC-funded datasets. Proposals are invited for projects pursuing any of these approaches or, indeed, others.

The Follow-on Fund will opens today – 14 July 2015 and close on 22 October 2015.  This call will allow proposals for up to £125k at 100% FEC (£100k NERC contribution at 80% FEC) for up to 12 months, starting in April 2016.

For further information: http://www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/available/schemes/followon/

 

Ethical fundraising : Protecting vulnerable adults from aggressive fundraising techniques

Festival of Learning, Research Ethics

Dr Lee-Ann Fenge

Dr Lee-Ann Fenge

There is growing awareness in the government and media of the importance of recognising and responding to the risks posed by financial abuse of vulnerable older people. My last two blogs have focused on financial scams and mass marketing fraud, but it is now becoming recognised that the charity sector are also employing dubious marketing techniques to elicit money from vulnerable individuals.

The marketing techniques and fundraising methods of charities have come under the spotlight since the death of Olive Cooke, 92, in May. Although her family insist that the numerous approaches she received from charities were not to blame for her death, the fact that she received 267 charity letters in one month alone started alarm bells ringing. Some charities working with emotionally upsetting issues (such as animal cruelty) sometimes employ shocking imagery which has been described as psychoactive advertising (Bennett, 2015). These types of marketing approaches seek to evoke a positive emotional response to fundraising, but can be upsetting for those who receive such material through the post.
As a result of governmental concern about the fundraising methods employed by some charities, changes will be
introduced as amendments to the Charities Bill. This new legislation will tighten rules on how fundraisers approach people who are vulnerable, and how vulnerable adults should be protected from high-pressure marketing tactics.

Some charities have already responded to these concerns by suspending operations with call centres which use
high pressure fundraising techniques.It is interesting to note that although the government is seeking to put a brake on aggressive fundraising techniques, this comes at a time when the remit of the Charity Commission to effectively regulate the sector has been reduced due to budget reductions following the UK Treasury’s Comprehensive Spending Review 2014–15. This has resulted in a reduction in the Commission’s regulatory engagement with charities. As part of the government response to concerns about unethical fundraising tactics, Sir Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), will chair an urgent review of fundraising self-regulation.

It is important that the charity sector develop good practice guidance which embraces the responsibility to safeguard vulnerable groups, and put an end to working with companies which use aggressive fundraising techniques.

The National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work at BU is currently working collaboratively with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) to develop good practice guides and advice for professionals working with vulnerable citizens and their families/carers about responding to the risks posed by financial scams. We will be hosting an event as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science on 10th November to explore with the sector how we develop better responses to safeguarding those most at risk of financial exploitation. Details of how to book onto this event will be posted in the near future.

Reference:

Bennett, R. (2015) Individual characteristics and the arousal of mixed emotions: consequences for the effectiveness of charity fundraising advertisements, International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing 20: 188–209

Access government data for research through the ADRN

The Administrative Data Research Network (ADRN) is “a UK-wide partnership between universities, government departments and agencies, national statistics authorities, the third sector, funders and researchers.” It works with researchers and government departments to provide access to administrative data on a case-by-case basis. Examples of the records they have previously provided include Child Benefit dataset, Road Accident data, Citizens Advice dataset and the General Practitioner Patient Register. In order to access data through the network, research team members are required to confirm that the data cannot be easily accessed through other routes, that there is clear scientific merit to the study, and to undergo accreditation through the ADRN.

So, if your next research study requires administrative data, it could be worth considering whether the ADRN may be able to provide it. Their website can be found at http://adrn.ac.uk/.

“Now that’s what I call research!” – a user’s guide

Festival of Learning

bucru identity

“Now that’s what I call research!”

July 15th 3.30-5 pm Lees Lecture Theatre, Talbot Campus

As part of BU’s Festival of Learning, our event aims to show how members of the public play an important part in shaping research and making sure the research we do is on track to make a difference to NHS service users.

Based on BBC’s Dragons Den, 3 local researchers will pitch a research idea to a panel of dragons who will quiz them about their project and why it should be funded. We will discuss:

  • Inflatable boot or plaster of Paris – what’s the best way to treat a broken ankle?
  • Epidural simulation – can technology help doctors practice their skills?
  • Cancer treatment and damage to the nervous system – what’s the link?

You don’t need any specialised knowledge to attend – just an interest in how good research ideas get off the ground and get funded. As a member of the audience you will be given an opportunity to ask your own questions and you will have a vote too so you can help decide which idea should be funded.

The event is free of charge but you do need to register https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/167522 or call the Festival of Learning Box office on: 01202 962362

Please forward to those who may be interested in attending.

What you need to know if you are updating your Staff Profile Pages

BRIAN, staff profile pages, Training

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In order to update your Staff Profile Pages, you will need to update information on your BRIAN account.

By keeping up-to-date information of your publications including journal articles, books, book chapters, conference papers, reports, etc also means that all publication information on your external facing Staff Profile Pages are kept up to date.

The same applies to other types of information including grant and award information, professional activities which include your qualifications, teaching profile, public engagement and outreach activities, memberships, external responsibilities, and many more.

One thing worth noting – The “Overview” page under the ‘Profile’ tab on BRIAN is the latest feature introduced in the latest BRIAN upgrade. All information populated on this “Overview” page WILL NOT be extracted across to your Staff Profile Pages to avoid duplication with similar type information under ‘My Professional Activities’. If you wish to update your academic profile, you will find all relevant items under ‘My Professional Activities’

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If you have further queries, please email them to BRIAN@bournemouth.ac.uk.

*BRIAN training sessions are currently taking place once a month so do look out for future training dates for further training!

 

Let’s Debate Higher Education

Wednesday 15th July 7.30-9.00pm, KG01, Talbot Campus.

As part of the Festival of Learning, this event gives you the chance to have your say and voice your opinions on key issues facing the higher education sector. You’re welcome to join us for the evening to hear what our panel members have to say and to participate in the discussion. Led by a diverse panel including: students, sabbatical officers and people in industry, the debate will be focused around 3 questions.

Should students be leaving university with upwards of £40k of debt? Have too many people got degrees nowadays? Do students add value to the local community?

We hope you can join us for this event with light refreshments, which will see lively debates and discussions. To confirm your attendance, please register for the event here. On the evening, please make your way to KG01 on Talbot Campus.

If you have any questions about this event, please contact Emma Bambury-Whitton

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