Tagged / BU research

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

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

Funding opportunities, PG research

 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)

#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

Funding opportunities, PG research

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

 

Launching the 2013 PhD Studentship Competition!

PG research

We are delighted to announce the launch of the 2013 BU PhD Studentship Competition for projects starting in October 2013, as part of the Fusion Investment Fund.

There will be 50 studentships available across two parallel strands:

(1)   Matched Funded projects

(2)   Fully Funded.

All proposals should match clearly to one of the eight BU Research Themes

Strand 1 – Matched Funded Studentships

  • A total of 45 matched funded studentships are available.
  • Matched-funding – 50% of the studentship costs which is equivalent to £24k (stipend of £7.5K pa plus research costs of £3k) over three years- may come from:
    • Industry/business partners,
    • Government and non-government organisations,
    • Other academic institutions
    • NHS,
    • Research Councils, or
    • Other external bodies. 
  • Priority may be given to applications that involve supervisors from two or more Schools and/or those from early career researchers.
  • Applicants are encouraged to discuss potential applications to this funding strand with Deputy Dean for Research or equivalent within their School.

Strand 2 – Fully-Funded Studentships

  • A total of 5 fully funded studentships are available.
  • These are exceptional awards for highly original, timely and non-applied or “blue-sky” research projects where there is no potential for match funding.  Priority will be given to those areas where there is a clear strategic driver for a particular REF Unit of Assessment and/or the applicant can demonstrate an immense societal impact.
  • Applicants are encouraged to discuss potential applications to this funding strand with Professor Matthew Bennett or Professor Tiantian Zhang in advance.

The studentships will be awarded to supervisory teams on the basis of a competitive process across the whole of BU led by Professor Matthew Bennett (PVC) and managed by the Graduate School.  Applications will be reviewed internally and assessed with awards made by a cross University Panel consisting of the academic members of UET and members of the BU Professoriate. In selecting proposals for funding emphasis will be placed on the excellence of the research and quality of proposal.  Strategic fit with one of the relevant UoA and potential for societal impact are key criteria.

Only the best projects in each strand will be funded and proceed to advert.  Full details and criteria are set out in the policy document BU Studentship Competition 2013 Policy 

Staff are asked to check the eligibility criteria carefully before applying.

To help applicants with their proposals John Wakeford, from the Missenden Centre will be running project proposals writing workshops on Tuesday 23 October and Friday 2 November 2012. Full details can be found here.

Applications on the Studentship Proposal form which can be downloaded here: Studentship Project Proposal 2013 should be submitted to the Dr Fiona Knight (Graduate School Academic Manager) via email to PhDStudentshipCompetition@bournemouth.ac.uk  no later than 5pm on 10 December 2012, who will circulate the proposals to two reviewers for evaluation and subsequently to the judging panel for decision making in early January 2013.

All general enquiries can be addressed to Dr Fiona Knight (Graduate School Academic Manager) via email to PhDStudentshipCompetition@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust – call for proposals

Funding opportunities

What is the Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust?   The Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of disease and the care of the sick and the disadvantaged.  The Charity makes grants to numerous charitable causes throughout the United Kingdom in support of medical research, medicine generally and charities engaged in humanitarian work.

What is the call?    To mark the 50th anniversary of the Trust’s founding by Sir Jules Thorn, the Trustees have decided to hold a competition for a substantial capital grant in support of translational research. Submissions have been invited from universities and from within the NHS.   

The criteria are set out in the “Call for Applications” guidelines.

Process for submission

The Trust are looking for one proposal per institution.  With this in mind BU has established a process for submissions to this call. All proposals must be submitted to a special version of our internal peer review scheme (the RPRS) first and must be signed off by Matthew Bennett as PVC (Research, Enterprise and Internationalisation) prior to submission.

Applicants will initially submit a one-page outline, which will be assessed by our panel of reviewers.  Based on feedback from the panel, applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal, which will also be assessed by the panel.  Final proposals will be sent to our PVC for his assessment and final approval over which proposal will be submitted to the Trust.

Key dates and deadlines

5th Oct – One page outlines submitted to the RPRS and sent for review

15th Oct – Panel feedback returned to applicants

 9th Nov – Full proposals submitted to the RPRS and sent for review

19th Nov – Applicants to finalise proposals based on revewier feedback

30th Nov – Proposals sent to PVC for review and approval

1st Dec – 31st Dec – Selected applicant finalised proposal based on PVC comments

14th Dec  – Final date for costings

31st Dec – Proposal submitted to Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust

 Would you like to apply?

 You can access the outline application form  by clicking here:  One page application form

All applications will need to be accompanied by your line manager (or equivalent) approval. Please forward an email with that approval to carolineo@bournemouth.ac.uk by the submission date.

If you have any questions about this call or the Resarch Proposal Review Service please contact Caroline O’Kane

Study China Winter Programme 2012!

Funding opportunities, PG research

The Study China Programme, managed by The University of Manchester, is currently recruiting 200 students for the Winter 2012/2013 programme!  Study China is financed by the UK government to provide a three week student experience of Chinese language, culture and business. This  unique opportunity allows you to  experience life as a student in this fascinating, diverse country.  There are a number of bursaries available to contribute towards your own costs which are airfare and spending money, all other costs are funded by the UK government. The three partnership universities participating in this programme are :

 1) Beijing Normal University

2) Fudan University ( Shanghai )

Dates:

Arrive   – Sunday 16th December 2012

Depart – Saturday 5th January 2013

 

3) Shanghai University of Finance and Economics

Dates:

Arrive –  Thursday 20th December 2012

Depart – Tuesday 8th January 2012

Eligibility: Open to Undergraduate, Masters (including PhD), Nursing Diploma, Foundation degree and HND students. You must be minimum of 18 years old at commencement of programme and holder of a valid EU/EEA passport.

Deadline: Applications will be processed on a rolling basis, it is anticipated that recruitment for this round will be completed by the end of October 2012 at the latest, so apply ASAP.

Further information & Apply:  Visit the Study China website

Read about previous BU students’ experiences on Study China here

 

School of Tourism’s Lorraine Brown on her upcoming Study Leave

Funding opportunities, Fusion, Guidance

I am very pleased to be able to to share the first blog post for Fusion Investment Fund Projects.

Our research has shown that posts by our academics sharing their projects are our most widely read posts.  So the coming weeks are set to be packed with stories our successful applicants will share in the lead up to and during their funded projects.  I hope this post will spark your interest in applying for Study Leave and in Dr Brown’s two trips abroad starting in November.    

Dr Lorraine Brown from the School of Tourism has won funding from the Fusion Investment Fund Study leave strand to do research on literary tourism in both Paris and Berlin, She has been invited to visit the prestigious Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University as a visiting researcher in France’s leading tourism research centre (IREST), where she will based to do her primary research and where she will also network with colleagues in IREST’s interdisciplinary research centre.

In Berlin, she will be based in the Geography Department of the world-leading Humboldt University. A qualitative approach will be undertaken, involving observation and interviews over a six-week period at key literary tourist sites in Berlin, one of the top three literary tourism destinations in the world. In line with the Fusion agenda, findings will be published in top tourism journals; they will be disseminated to practitioners; and will inform the syllabus of one of the MSc units that the proposer leads.

At both Universities, Lorraine will explore opportunities for ongoing research collaboration.

If you would like further information on the fund please do get in touch by email with me.

Best wishes,

Sam

The International Early Labour Research Group

Early labour Group

Photo (L to R): Dr Helen Cheyne (University of Stirling), Dr Mechthild Gross (Hannover Medical School), Dr Mary-Ann Davey (La Trobe University), Professor Patti Janssen (University of British Columbia), Professor Helen Spiby (University of Nottingham), and Professor Vanora Hundley (Bournemouth University). Not shown Gillian Hanley (University of British Columbia).

Researchers from across the globe met in Stirling last week to discuss early labour research and to plan an international collaborative study. The meeting was the result of a successful Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) planning grant to bring together researchers from Canada, Australia, Germany, England and Scotland. We have met on a number of occasions in the last couple of years, but usually at a conference when time is limited, so it was a real luxury to have two full days to discuss early labour care and to plan a possible intervention for women in the latent phase of labour. Although we have all conducted studies in this area, developing a complex intervention for use in five countries raises many novel challenges. Discussion focused on the varying models of care and current guidelines – the NICE and KCND guidelines used in the UK were much appreciated by our international colleagues. We left the meeting invigorated, but also aware that there is much to do. The first step will be a special issue of Midwifery later this year dedicated to early labour and guest edited by two of the team.

BUCRU – Seminar presenting Breaking News!

Post-award, Publishing

 

BREAKING  NEWS…

We would like to invite you to an afternoon seminar by one of our Visiting Faculty, Professor Mike Wee, presenting some exciting new research findings to come out of a recently completed Research for Patient Benefit funded study comparing two methods of pain relief during labour (abstract and biography below).  This paper was just voted best paper of the conference at the Obstetric Anaesthetists Association Annual Conference in Liverpool and was featured recently in the Bournemouth Echo http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/9770928.Pain_relief_in_labour__study_at_Poole_hospital_makes_important_discovery/

The seminar is scheduled for Thursday 19th July 2-3pm in BG10 Bournemouth House (after the HSC end of term lunch and next door for your convenience).

We hope you can make it and look forward to seeing you then.

BUCRU

Website: http://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/bucru/

Administrator: +44 (0)1202 961939 / wardl@bournemouth.ac.uk

Title: The IDvIP Trial: A two-centre double blind randomised controlled trial comparing i.m. diamorphine and i.m. pethidine for labour analgesia

Research team and affiliations: MYK Wee, JP Tuckey,* P Thomas,† S Burnard,* D Jackson.

Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Poole, UK, *Royal United Hospital, Bath, UK, †Bournemouth University Clinical Research Unit, Bournemouth, UK.

Abstract:

Background: Intramuscular pethidine, the commonest parenteral opioid analgesic used in obstetrics and more recently diamorphine usage has increased in the UK.  The maternal, fetal and neonatal side effects are well known for pethidine but there are no sufficiently powered large RCTs comparing pethidine with diamorphine. The aim of this trial is to address this.

Methods: After ethical approval, informed consent was obtained from 484 women randomised to receive either 7.5mg diamorphine i.m. or 150mg pethidine i.m. for labour analgesia. The sample size calculation derived from a small RCT giving 90% power (at the 5% significance level) is based upon the maternal primary outcome measure of pain relief at 60mins and the neonatal primary outcome measures of Apgar Score of <7 at 1min and neonatal resuscitation. Secondary outcome measures include verbal pain intensity at 60mins and over 3hrs post-analgesia, pain relief over first 3hrs, maternal oxygen saturation, sedation, nausea and vomiting and maternal satisfaction with analgesia. Fetal and neonatal secondary outcomes include CTG trace, meconium staining, UApH, UVpH, time of delivery to first breath, Apgar Score at 5mins, naloxone use, neonatal oxygen saturations, sedation and feeding behaviour for the first 2hrs after delivery.

Results: Reported using CONSORT guidelines. At 60mins post-administration and over a 3hr period, diamorphine is better at reducing pain scores than pethidine (p<0.001). There were no statistical differences between the two groups regarding Apgar Scores of <7 at 1min and the need for neonatal resuscitation.  The time between first dose administered and delivery is on average 82mins longer with the diamorphine group compared to pethidine (p<0.001). The vast majority of women experienced moderate to severe pain at all times. Women receiving diamorphine were more satisfied with their analgesia. There were no statistically significant differences in maternal sedation, nausea and vomiting or oxygen saturations over the 3hr period. There were no statistically significant differences in the fetal and neonatal outcomes including feeding behaviour between the two groups within 2hrs of birth but neonates in the pethidine group were more likely to be moderately or severely sedated at delivery.

Discussion: Intramuscular 7.5mg diamorphine gives significantly better analgesia than 150mg pethidine but prolongs delivery by approx. 82mins.  Women given diamorphine are more likely to be satisfied with their analgesia.  The mechanism for the prolongation of delivery time in the diamorphine group should be investigated further.

Acknowledgement: This research was funded by the NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Programme (PB-PG-0407-13170).

References

1. Tuckey JP, Prout RE, Wee MYK. Prescribing intramuscular opioids for labour analgesia in consultant-led maternity units: a survey of UK practice. International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia 2008, 17(1):3-8.

2. Fairlie FM, Marshall L, Walker JJ et al. Intramuscular opioids for maternal pain relief for labour: a randomised controlled trial comparing pethidine with diamorphine. British  Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 1999; 106(11): 1181 -1187.

Biography of speaker:

Michael Wee is a consultant anaesthetist from Poole Hospital and Royal Bournemouth Hospitals.  He has a special interest in obstetric anaesthesia and is the lead obstetric anaesthetist at Poole Hospital.  He is chair of the Research and Innovations Group at Poole Hospital and is a Board member of the Western Comprehensive Local Research Network.  He was awarded a visiting professorship at Bournemouth University in 2009.  He is a referee for several medical journals.  His research interests include patient information, safety in anaesthesia, maternal analgesia and simulation in epidural anaesthesia.  He is a co-supervisor of a PhD student at BU and chief investigator of the MObs study investigating early warning scores in obstetrics.

An Introduction to Research Administration & Management

Awarded & submitted bids, Guidance, Post-award, R & KE Operations, Training

The Research & Knowledge Exchange Operations (RKE Ops) team will be hosting a lunchtime staff development session on ‘An Introduction to Research Administration and Management’ geared towards professional and support staff on the 11th July 2012 at 12.30pm.

The session will explore the basics around research administration and management, including an overview of full Economic Costing (fEC), the prominent research funders and general good practice in research project management.

Further details can be found below:

  • What? Introduction to Research Administration & Management
  • When? Wednesday 11th July, 12.30 to 13.30pm
  • Where? The Octagon, Library, Talbot Campus
  • Who? Professional and support staff interested in research administration.
  • How?  To book a place please click here

The R & KE Operations Team Are Moving!

Guidance, Post-award, R & KE Operations

 Space at Talbot Campus is scarce, so to make room for more student focused activities the R & KE Operations Team will be moving to Melbury House at the end of July.

We are confirming availability of hotdesks in each school to ensure members of the team will continue to be as accessible to Talbot Campus colleagues as possible, we are also incorporating hotdesks in our office in Melbury House which colleagues will be welcome to use.

The move itself will take place between Thursday 26th and Monday 30th July. Access to the team will be limited during this time, so please bear this in mind if you have any pending application deadlines or project needs and make provisions for support in advance where possible.

Many thanks,

The R & KE Operations Team

 

 

 

The EU Pod is launched!

Guidance, Post-award

In response to feedback from across schools, the R & KE Operations team has been restructured to include a dedicated EU Pod headed up by Paul Lynch.

The pod will assume the post-award management of all current EU projects together with the pre-award management of  future EU applications across all schools and professional services.

 

So, if you’re interested in EU funding but don’t know how to get started with your application contact a member of the EU Pod:

Paul Lynch – Senior R & KE Officer (EU)

Alexandra Peirce – R & KE Officer (EU)

 

 

ESRC Social Science Festival

Funding opportunities

Professor Ruth Towse and Professor Martin Kretschmer have been awarded funding from the ESRC (RES-622-26-565) to organise an event as part of the Festival of Social Science 2012.

The symposium ‘What constitutes evidence for copyright policy?’ will be held on 8 November 2012 in the Executive Business Centre.

Professors Towse and Kretschmer write: “This interactive event offers the opportunity for discussion on evidence for copyright policy between social scientists, policy-makers and producers and users of copyright works. Copyright law is a topical and contentious area that affects a wide range of stakeholders with differing views on copyright policy. The need for evidence-based policy on copyright policy was emphasised in the Hargreaves Review and has led to several calls for evidence from stakeholders. The responses they provide to the Intellectual Policy Office are varied in nature and quality; the IPO has responded by issuing guidelines on what constitutes acceptable evidence (which itself is contested).

“Besides being a matter of pressing public concern, copyright also attracts the interest of a broad range of social science disciplines each with its own rules of evidence. The emphasis on economic growth as the objective of copyright policy has shifted the need for evidence in the direction of economics but economic evidence is not always easily available. Nor it is the case that only quantitative evidence is regarded as valid.”

The event will involve the following:

  1. Social scientists in a range of disciplines will explore their perceptions of evidence in non-technical terms and discuss their research findings on copyright. The aim is to develop a perspective on what evidence social scientists believe is relevant for copyright policy-making purposes.
  2. Representatives of stakeholder organisations that have responded with evidence to the IPO’s calls for evidence will explain what to them is relevant evidence.
  3. IPO staff responsible for assessing responses to calls for evidence have already committed to participate in this event. They will explain how they use the information they receive from stakeholder meetings and calls for evidence to develop policy measures.

If you are interested to participate, please contact Dr Rebecca Edwards (Research Development Officer, Public Engagement): redwards@bournemouth.ac.uk

Global accounting rules – an unfeasible aim?

Stella Fearnley, Professor of Accounting at BU, and Shyam Sunder, James L. Frank Professor of Accounting, Economics, and Finance at Yale School of Management, recently published their views on global accounting rules in the Financial Times financial markets online edition. The article outlines the authors’ concerns that the application of uniform financial processes or rules in diverse societies, such as the introduction of the euro and the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), does not yield uniform outcomes. They urge the Securities and Exchange Commission to abandon any plans to proceed with IFRS in the US, and encourage other countries that already employ IFRS to insist on a much less complex system.

Ultimately, the authors suggest the G20 drop its support for global accounting standards and recommend a system of accounting based on professional judgments and sound, prudent principles. At the end of the day, Anglo-American based accounting standards are not necessarily appropriate for the whole world.

To access a copy of the full article, you can sign up for free to the FT website and download a copy here.

Hefce’s purse strings may be tied to the proposed Concordat to Support Research Integrity

Research Integritiy

Universities could be forced to sign up to the proposed Concordat to Support Research Integrity as a condition of public funding under proposals being considered by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce).  The Concordat–drafted by Universities UK, Research Councils UK, among others–sets out the standards required of researchers, funders and universities, but makes clear that primary responsibility for policing misconduct rests with institutions.  Please see a previous blog post from 4 April which provides more detail on the Concordat.  Fortunately, Bournemouth University is already on track to implement the standards set out in the Concordat. 

If Hefce decides to require universities to sign up to (and effectively implement) the Concordat as a condition of public funding, this will be a huge first step towards funding being tied to research integrity principles.  As BU’s research conduct officer, it brings me great joy to see Hefce helping to ensure research is done to the highest degree of integrity by requiring compliance with the concordat as part of the financial memorandum universities sign with Hefce.  A paper prepared for Hefce’s board members said the move would “provide assurance to the government and the…public that public funding for research is used with integrity and that appropriate mechanisms are in place to identify and respond to…misconduct,”adding that “the other major UK funders” are also considering making compliance a condition of their grants.  A final decision on this plan will be made once the final version of the Concordat is published next month.