Tagged / BU research

EUNF award enables research with the University of Ljubljana

BU research, EU

An EU Networking Fund (EUNF) award made to Vanora Hundley will enable research collaboration between Bournemouth University and the University of Ljubljana. Established in 1918 the University of Ljubljana is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia.

University of LlubljanaThe EUNF award will enable Vanora to travel to Ljubljana to discuss research on the topic of intervention in childbirth; an issue that is challenging many high income countries. The University of Ljubljana has run a midwifery programme since 1996 and currently admits 30 students a year. Research is a core component of midwifery education, as it is in other European institutions including Bournemouth University. However, postgraduate research in midwifery is less common there and it is hoped that this collaboration can strengthen midwifery research in Slovenia.

CIPPM Spring Lecture Series 2013

BU research, Featured academics, Uncategorized

The annual series of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management’s (CIPPM) http://www.cippm.org.uk/ Spring Lectures starts on Thursday 21 February 2013 at 6 pm.

Professor Hector MacQueen, Professor of Private Law at the University of Edinburgh will deliver the first lecture, titled “Ae fond kiss: A Private Matter?” on Thursday 21 February 2013.

Professor MacQueen has written extensively on Intellectual Property law and is author, co-author and editor of a number of books on Intellectual Property law. He was the Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Edinburgh (1999-2003) and Director of the AHRC Centre for Studies in Intellectual Property and Technology Law (SCRIPT) (2002-2007). In 2010 Professor MacQueen took up an appointment as Scottish Law Commissioner (2010-2014).

CIPPM Spring Lectures take place at 18:00, in the Executive Business Centre, close to the Bournemouth Travel Interchange (89 Holdenhurst Road, BH8 8EB). The lectures are free to attend, but places are limited, and admission to the building closes at 18:15. If you wish to reserve a place, please contact Mandy Lenihan at ALenihan@bournemouth.ac.uk

For further information on forthcoming CIPPM Spring Lectures and for booking information see http://business.bournemouth.ac.uk/news/2013/jan/ne001-cippm-lectures-2013.html

At an early stage in your research career? Then come to one of our ECR Forums!

BU research, Training

Last year we ran a series of forums for academic colleagues who are at an early stage in their research career.  You can find out more about the September session here

The forums are an open, informal sessions where you can meet with experienced academics and members of R&KEO to discuss anything you like to do with research. From publications to projects to funding to research strategy we will be on hand to help and advise.  Going forward we plan to hold these forums on a School by School basis.  If you would be interested in attending one of these events, please contact Nikki Gloyns here.

The next forum will be a Media School event and will be held on 27 March 2013 from 12:30 – 15:00 on Talbot Campus.  If you wish to attend the Media School forum, please contact Nikki Gloyns to book. Lunch will be provided so booking is essential.

Euro PR history network backed by Fusion

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, EU, Featured academics, Fusion, Uncategorized

IHPRC at EBC - Scene for first EPRHN meeting

A proposal to develop an innovative Europe-wide network of researchers in the history of public relations field has been supported by the Fusion Investment Fund (FIF).

The European Public Relations History Network (EPRHN) was formed in mid-2012 by Prof Tom Watson and backed by EUPRERA (European Public Relations Education & Research Association) as a priority project for the next three years. It was set up to identify archives and resources, undertake collaborative research, and prepare bids to European research bodies and PR industry organisations.

The field of public relations history has been developed at BU over the past four years, mainly through the establishment of the International History of Public Relations Conference (IHPRC).

Prof Watson said: “there has been increasing interest in the conference and PR historical research in Europe over the past 3-4 years but it has largely focused on national histories, personalities or phenomena. Collaborative research, across national boundaries, has yet to emerge. There is little shared knowledge of archival resources, where they exist or can be created.”

So far, 35 academics and practitioners from 12 countries have shown their interest in EPRHN. Its first publication, a catalogue of archives and resources in seven countries has just been published.  A EPRHN planning meeting will be held at BU after IHPRC in June.

Within The Media School, the network will also help develop European aspects of the Centre for Media History (CMH). CMH is already developing relationships with universities in Sweden and northern Germany. CMH and EPRHN will, it is hoped, foster the recruitment of PGR students interested in media and communication historical research.

The Fusion funding will allow EPRHN to hold a planning event at BU after IHPRC in late June and for Prof Watson and Dr Tasos Theofilou, who is working with him on both PR history projects, to attend EUPRERA’s annual conference in Barcelona in October. At EUPRERA, they will hold the network’s first formal meeting and workshop. [Photos by Minna-Liisa Nurmilaasko, PROCOM Finland].

IHPRC 2012

Fusion supports new PR research collaboration in Asia

Awarded & submitted bids, BU research, Featured, Featured academics, Fusion, REF Subjects, Research news, Research themes, Uncategorized

Prof Tom Watson teaching at Chulalongkorn University

For several years, the Media School (TMS) has been developing a relationship with Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Chula, as it is known, is rated as the No.1 university in the kingdom.

The SMN award allows the development of a collaborative project between TMS and the Faculty of Communication Arts at Chula to organise an academic conference on public relations in Asia in Bangkok on November 18-19.
The conference will provide a platform for academic research on public relations history, current theory and practice, and future trends. In particular, it will investigate Asian (i.e. non Anglo-American) perspectives of public relations and will be the first dedicated conference to do so.

Prof Tom Watson, who is a co-chair of the conference, says the SMN funding “will lead to the development of a sustainable academic and research partnership between the two universities. It will enable BU staff participation in cross-cultural research with Thai colleagues. The conference will also place BU in a leadership role on research into cross-cultural communications and international public relations.”

Dr Ana Adi is working with Prof Watson on the project. She taught at Chula in mid-2012 on a staff exchange. She and at least one other TMS academic will be attending the conference and presenting papers.

The conference collaboration started with attendance by Chula’s Dr Napawan Tantivejakul at the International History of Public Relations Conference 2011 at BU, which began a dialogue about a joint conference with an Asian focus. This was cemented when Prof Watson visited Chula in November last year as a visiting professor and negotiated the arrangements. It is hoped that there will be 16 speakers, plus two keynotes, and 50 delegates at the November event.

FIF – Staff Networking and Mobility Project- Visiting Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in South Korea

BU research, Fusion, Research news

The University’s Fusion Investment Fund (Staff Networking and Mobility) has provided an excellent opportunity for building up international cooperation in research, education and professional practice. Over the years we have developed many international links with China, US, France, Switzerland, Singapore, Turkey etc. These international links have played a significant role in our research activities through joint publications, developing research projects, submitting research proposal for external funding.

GIST is a world-class technical university which has recently started to focus on bridging art and technology, and is setting up a national research institute for art-technology fusion supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism of Korea. This matches extremely well with the ethos and practices of the NCCA that has been undertaking cutting edge research marrying art with technology.

Dr. Xiaosong Yang met Prof. Lee at SIGGRAPH2012 and had a long discussion exploring collaborative ideas. Prof. Lee has been working on physical simulation for many years, and has produced many quality publications on top journals, including SIGGRAPH (ACM Transactions on Computer Graphics). As we (Dr Yang and Prof Zhang) have been working on character animation for many years, both Prof Lee and us at the NCCA are strong players in our respective specialist subject fields and have complementary strengths. In order to consolidate our relationship and develop winning research projects, this proposed collaboration will start with joint research on physically based character animation.

Dr. Yang will give one week visit to Prof. Lee’s research lab at GIST around May/June 2013. The network activities, including guest lectures/talks, visits and meetings, will aim at promoting joint world-class research, exploring collaborations for joint-publications and future funding bids.

Researchers: Dr. Xiaosong Yang, Prof. Jian J Zhang (The Media School)

Xiaosong Yang   Jian J Zhang

British Library’s Doctoral Open Days

BU research, PG research, Research news

Some free events are being held by the Bristish Library for the chance to discover their unique research materials. From newspapers to maps, datasets to manuscripts, ships’ logs to websites, their collections cover every format and language and span the last 3,000 years. The events are aimed at first year PhD students who are new to the Library. At the events you will learn about their collections, find out how to access them and meet the the Library’s expert staff and other researchers in your field.

Event dates:

18 January History

25 January History 2

1 February Social Sciences

11 February Social Sciences 2

18 February Media, Cultural Studies & Journalism

22 February Art & Design

 The main focus of these events is towards the arts, humanities and social sciences, however, science students can of course apply for a free Reader Pass – useful if you’re already planning a research trip to London. 

To find out more please visit their website.

 

How to win British Academy funding

Funding opportunities, Research news

On 21st November, Dr Ken Emond (Head of Research Awards) and Kate Kenyon (International Officer) from the British Academy are coming to BU.  

What will they be doing?  

  • Giving participants an understanding of the British Academy and its range of activities
  • Increasing awareness of the Academy’s research funding opportunities
  • Giving some insight into evaluation criteria and what assessors are looking for in funding applications.

Why should you attend?

  • The second round of the BA Small Research Grants competition will be opened in February 2013 (deadline April 2013).   If you are thinking of applying you should definately come along, and find out what the BA is looking for
  • The BA may fund your research:  their remit is broad – covering the humanities and social sciences
  • Ask specific questions about your research and BA funding

Important info:

  • Day: Wednesday, 21st November
  • Time: 1pm – 2pm
  • Place:  TAG22, Tolpuddle Annex, Talbot campus
  • How to book:  Please click here to book your place.

 

Speaker profiles:

Dr Emond is the Head of Research Awards at the British Academy. Ken is a graduate of the University of St Andrews with a doctorate in Scottish History, for a thesis on the Minority of King James V, 1513-1528. After working in the Department of Transport, Ken joined the Academy in 1992. As Head of Research Awards since 2008, Ken is responsible for the administration of all of the Academy’s UK grants and fellowship schemes, and he has extensive experience in advising on research funding matters.

Kate Kenyon is an International Officer within the International Department of the British Academy. Kate is a Modern Languages graduate of University College London, and joined the Academy in 2011 following periods at the Italian Chamber of Commerce and the London Deanery. Kate is responsible for the administration of the International Department’s International Partnership and Mobility Scheme and the Academy’s involvement in the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa route.  

Information about funding opportunities with the British Academy:  http://www.britac.ac.uk/funding/index.cfm

For more information please contact Caroline O’Kane

Global Women’s (GLOW) Research Conference

BU research, Research news

The first Global Women’s (GLOW) Research Conference was held in Liverpool this week. The conference brought together 150 researchers and clinicians from across the globe to discuss women’s health in both low and high resource countries. Keynote speakers included France Donnay from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Beverly Winikoff from Gynuity Health Projects.

BU was well represented with poster presentations from Vanora Hundley, Professor of Midwifery, and Emma Pitchforth, Visiting Fellow.

Vanora’s presentation examined the Use of oral misoprostol to prevent postpartum haemorrhage in home birth settings in low resource countries; a topic that has been the subject of considerable controversy in recent weeks. Emma’s presentation looked at Evidence response mechanisms in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health in Asia and the Pacific.

One of the unique features of this conference was the mix of presentations. Presenters came from a variety of disciplines and alongside the well known international speakers were oral presentations from undergraduate students and early career researchers. This was a great opportunity to share experiences and build collaborations, and I would recommend that both staff and students look out for next year’s call for abstracts.

FIF Launch Week – Focus on Co-Creation and Co-Production strand

BU research, Funding opportunities, Fusion, Guidance

 The popular Co-Creation and Co-Production (CCCP) strand is open to applications.  This strand was most popular of the three open to staff in the July round with 38 applications.

 A total of £246, 102.96 was awarded to successful applicants, to get ahead of the competition please note an important addition to the strand policy:

Successful bids will need to have benefits to the student experience at the core – and be able to demonstrate how this will occur, so hitting the Education point in the BU Fusion triangle is now more important than before.

Applications that do not satisfy how education at BU will be improved will not be looked at favourably by the panel.   To review the full strand developments and how this has affected the policy, you can view the updated FIF CCCP policy sept.

Our successful CCCP applicants have been blogging about their activity on our Research Blog, I hope that you will be successful in securing funds in this round and will join them!  Read their blogs below:

Sarah Bate who has used Fusion Investment funds to develop the Centre for Face Processing Disorders at BU – Watch out for the Centre’s regular updates on the Research Blog, and also check out www.prosopagnosiaresearch.org for more information.

Hossein Hassani is leading an inter-disciplinary project to characterize the socio-economic drivers underpinning change in freshwater host biodiversity that lead to the emergence of immuno-suppressant related human disease.

Don’t forget to take advantage of the intervention programmes running this October and November!

For further details about the fund please see www.bournemouth.ac.uk/FIF

Best of luck!

Adele Ladkin secures Fusion Investment Funding to visit the United Nations World Tourism Organisation in Andorra

BU research, Funding opportunities, Fusion, Guidance

Professor Adele Ladkin has received funding from the FIF staff mobility strand to undertake two week long visits to the UNWTO Themis Foundation Headquarters in Andorra.

As part of its Capacity Building Programme, the UNWTO.Themis Foundation provides educational courses and workshops for tourism industry experts.  These are in a range of subjects, for example tourism marketing, adventure tourism and sustainable tourism.  Because of the nature of these courses and the demand for different topics, subject experts from the tourism industry and public sectors are recruited as tutors to deliver the courses.

Adele and Ms Sònia Figueras, the UNWTO. Capacity Programme manager at the UNWTO Themis Foundation are engaged in collaborative work to produce a teaching guide and intensive training course for tutors responsible for delivering tourism capacity building courses and workshops as part of the UNWTO. Capacity Programme.  The Themis Foundation enables UNWTO Member States to devise and implement education, training and capacity building policies, plans and tools that fully harness the employment potential of their tourism sector and effectively enhance its competitiveness and sustainability. Working with Ms Figueras, Adele will provide input into teaching methodologies commonly used in tourism programmes.

The collaboration has arisen as the School of Tourism is part of the Themis TedQual Network and aims to support activities undertaken in the areas of education, training and tourism capacity building. The impact of the collaboration will be practical through the dissemination and use of the teachers guide and the training course by highly experienced tourism subject experts. The collaboration and pedagogic approach will also be presented at an appropriate tourism educator’s conference. This knowledge exchange opportunity demonstrates the Schools commitment to supporting tourism education initiatives.

Adele will be spending time in Andorra at the headquarters of the Themis Foundation to work directly on the course materials as well as on-line collaborative working. The visits will enable Adele to spend a concentrated period of time working on the project, and will also give her further insight into the activities of the Themis Foundation.  She plans to undertake the first visit later this year – weather permitting as the mountain roads into Andorra are often covered in snow!

Update: PGR Development Fund – additional competition deadline

BU research, Funding opportunities, PG research, Research news

 In response to feedback from PGRs, there will now be two competitions this year for the Scheme to allow for activities taking place later in the academic year. PGRs wishing to apply must submit an application form (below) to the Graduate School by the scheme deadlines:

  • 2 November 2012 – primarily for activity taking place between October 2012 and March 2013
  • 28 February 2013 – for activity taking place between March 2013 and July 2013.

The Graduate School PGR Development Scheme is open to all BU postgraduate researchers (PGRs) irrespective of the mode of study (full-time / part-time) or funding status (BU studentships / externally funded / self funded).

Individual awards will provide financial support of normally up to £2,000 (and exceptionally £5,000) for research activities related to an individual PGR’s research project or personal development.  It is envisaged that this year approximately 15 awards will be made.

Examples of research activities covered by the Scheme include:

  • Research Activities
    • Conference attendance
    • Additional fieldwork
    • Other activities required to advance research e.g. visiting major libraries, museums, other research institutions (UK, EU or International)
    • Preparation of specialist material or data
    • Research consumables and equipment (providing it is clear these would not normally be purchased by the School as part of the research degree)
  • Developmental Activities
    • Research development e.g. attending external training events specific to research activity
    • Personal development e.g. attending external personal development training events
  • Networking
    • Organisation of an academic conference at BU with external participants
    • Attendance at external networking events leading to advance of the research
    • Publications or dissemination of research

You should also map the proposed activity onto the relevant sub-domains of the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF):

Knowledge & Intellectual Abilities A1 – Knowledge base A2 – Cognitive abilities A3 – Creativity
Personal Effectiveness B1 – Personal qualities B2 – Self-management B3 – Professional & career development
Research Governance C1 – Professional conduct C2 – Research management C3 – Finance, funding & resources
Engagement, Influence & Impact D1 – Working with others D2 – Communication & dissemination D3 – Engagement & impact

 Awards will only cover direct costs including travel; subsistence; training or development costs and all applications will need to include a precise breakdown of costs.  Applications should be supported by the Supervisory Team and the relevant Deputy Dean (Research & Enterprise) of the relevant Academic School.

 PGRs wishing to apply must submit a completed  GS PGR Development Fund Scheme – Application Form to the Graduate School   (graduateschool@bournemouth.ac.uk) by the following deadlines:

  • 2 November 2012 – primarily for activity taking place between October 2012 and March 2013
  • 28 February 2013 – for activity taking place between March 2013 and July 2013.

Applications to the Scheme will be reviewed independently and all decisions on funding will be made by the Graduate School. 

 For further information please read the GS Researcher Scholarships Scheme – Policy.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation – visit next week!

Funding opportunities

This is a reminder that on 10th October,  Tony Stoller,  Chair of Trustees for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and of the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust is coming to BU.

Tony will be hosting a lunchtime session all about the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and how best to apply for JRF funds.

Tony will be talking about:

  • What is the JRF?
  • What kind of work does JRF fund? 
  • What does JRF look for in a proposal ?  
  • What can you do to maximise your success when you are applying to JRF?
  • How do you apply for JRF funds?

Why should you attend?  If your work is broadly concerned with poverty in the UK, communities and our aging society, then JRF will be  worth knowing about.  Come along and find out more about research funding opportunities.   

The detail:

  • Time:  1-2pm
  • Date: 10th October 2012
  • Place: PG146, Talbot campus

To attend: click here

For more information please contact Caroline O’Kane

#hwbbu – Health and Wellbeing Community Hashtag (and biscuits)

BU research

#hwbbu – Twitter hashtags

As Carol Bond indicated in the comments to the recent blog post about the successful HSC Health and Wellbeing Community Conference the community agreed to select a twitter hashtag in order to collect information from any tweets relevant to the activities of the community.

I was tasked with organising this, being familiar with the concept, and after a wait for the registration to come through I can confirm that the hashtag is #hwbbu (Health and Wellbeing at Bournemouth University). The hashtag is registered with the Healthcare Hashtags Project here. This project maintains a date-searchable archive of the tweets of healthcare relevant hashtags as well as allowing analysis of activity and reach.

We went for a short hashtag because this is good practice with Twitter being limited to only 140 characters for each tweet.

Biscuits – Light is alright

As you’ll see from the rather fetching picture from the conference post, I took part in the biscuit taste test organised by Dr Heather Hartwell who was talking to us about the concept of ‘Health by Stealth’. We tried two Rich Tea biscuits from the same company and, despite what the picture shows, most people preferred biscuit A. This was actually the ‘Light’ version! Less fat, less calories, slightly more sugar needed to bond it but crunchier (less claggy) and the same price. The problem is we tend to think of ‘healthy’ versions as not being as tasty. I did manage to guess by sight which was the healthiest so was therefore surprised to prefer its taste. As someone who likes a sweet snack I think it’s definitely worth trying out lighter versions in future.

 

BU Studentships Competition 2013 – Project Proposal Writing Workshop

BU research, Funding opportunities, PG research, Research news

The 2013 BU Studentships internal competition is open with opportunities for up to 50 matched funded PhD projects.

To support academics in seeking matched funding and in preparation of their project proposals, the Graduate School will be following up on the two workshops run over the summer with a further two one day project proposal writing workshops delivered by John Wakeford, Director of the Missenden Centre

There will be two workshops to help supervisors to develop and strengthen their project proposal applications to the internal competition on:

 

  •  Tuesday 23 October (9:15am – 16:30pm, in Studland House – S217 + S219)
  • Friday 2 November (9:15am – 16:30pm, in Tolpuddle Annexe – TAG20)

 It is an excellent chance to glean some expert advice from John on bid writing in general as well as honing your application for the 2013 Studentships Competition. Participants will be expected to submit a draft proposal to the Graduate School one week in advance of the workshops in order to get bespoke feedback as part of the workshop.

 A provisional programme for both days will be as follows: 

9:15 Coffee and Registration
9:30 Institutional context – information on the studentships and the support of the Graduate School. Questions. Prof Tiantian Zhang – new Head of Graduate SchoolDr Fiona Knight – Graduate School Manager
10:00 Agenda sharing (participant introductions and identifying concerns and priorities to be covered).
10:30 Introduction – National policy and recent developments. Questions and discussion.
10:45 Coffee break
11:00 Reviewing good research bid.  Teams act as reviewers and prepare outline of comments.  Plenary feedback from John Wakeford and teams.
12.00 What to do before applying.
12:30 Lunch. (Groups discuss bidding narrative)
13:15 Plenary discussion of points arising from narrative.
13:30 Advising colleagues on draft applications.  Teams act as critical colleagues and prepare advice on drafts direct at different agencies.  Plenary feedback.     Questions and discussion.
14:30 Coffee break
14:45 Writing a good application.
15:30 Reflecting after having an application turned down.
16:00 Action planning: individual participants draw up plans for progressing own research.  Participants make suggestions to the university to help those bidding for funds.
16:25 Evaluation
16:30 Close

 Similar sessions have been very well attended previously and spaces are limited. To book a place on either session, please email the Graduate School: graduateschool@bournemouth.ac.uk