Tagged / BU research

Latest CMMPH publication by Dr. Alison Taylor

international, open access, Publishing, writing

Congratulations to Dr. Alison Taylor in the Centre for Midwifery,Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) whose third PhD paper  has just been accepted by the International Breastfeeding Journal.  Alison’s paper ‘Commercialisation and commodification of breastfeeding: video diaries by first-time mothers’ reminds us that many of aspects of our lives are increasingly commercialised in post-modern society.  Although breastfeeding is perhaps a late comer to this process in recent years, it too has seen significant commercialisation facilitated by social media and our obsession with celebrity culture.

This paper explores how the commercialisation and commodification of breastfeeding impacts mothers’ experiences of breastfeeding.  The paper highlights that women preparing for breastfeeding are exposed to increasing commercialisation.  When things do not go to plan, women are even more exposed to commercial solutions. The impact of online marketing strategies fuelled their need for paraphernalia so that their dependence on such items became important aspects of their parenting and breastfeeding experiences.   Dr. Taylor and her co-authors  offer new insights into how advertising influenced mothers’ need for specialist equipment and services. Observing mothers in their video diaries, provided valuable insights into their parenting styles and how this affected their breastfeeding experience.

The International Breastfeeding Journal is an Open Access journal owned by Springer.

 

References:

  1. Taylor, A.M., van Teijlingen, E., Alexander, J., Ryan, K. (2020) Commercialisation and commodification of breastfeeding: video diaries by first-time mothers, International Breastfeeding Journal (accepted).
  2. Taylor A, van Teijlingen, E.,Ryan K, Alexander J (2019) ‘Scrutinised, judged & sabotaged’: A qualitative video diary study of first-time breastfeeding mothers, Midwifery 75: 16-23.
  3. Taylor, A.M., van Teijlingen, E., Alexander, J., Ryan, K. (2019) The therapeutic role of video diaries: A qualitative study involving breastfeeding mothers, Women & Birth 32(3):276-83. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871519218300064

Donning the ‘Slow Professor’

Centre for Excellence in Learning, Fusion themes, international, open access, Publishing, Women's Academic Network, writing

Congratulations to the Bournemouth authors who published the paper ‘Donning the ‘Slow Professor’: A Feminist Action Research Project’ earlier this month [1].  This paper was published in the journal Radical Teacher.  The paper argues that the corporatisation of Higher Education has introduced new performance measurements as well as an acceleration of academic tasks creating working environments characterised by speed, pressure and stress. This paper discusses findings from a qualitative, feminist participatory action research (PAR) study undertaken by an interdisciplinary team of women academics at a modern, corporate university in England. The study illuminates how corporatized HE erodes faculty autonomy, degrades learning environments, damages professional satisfaction and health. Strategies for resistance and liberation developed through the PAR process are discussed.

The writing collective for this paper comprised: Sara Ashencaen Crabtree, Ann Hemingway, Sue Sudbury, Anne Quinney, Maggie Hutchings, Luciana Esteves, Shelley Thompson, Helen Jacey, Anita Diaz, Peri Bradley, Jenny Hall, Michele Board, Anna Feigenbaum, Lorraine Brown, Vanessa Heaslip,  and Liz Norton.

Reference: Ashencaen Crabtree, S., Hemingway, A., Sudbury, S., Quinney, A., Hutchings, M., Esteves, L., Thompson, S., Jacey, H., Diaz, A., Bradley, P., Hall, J., Board, M., Feigenbaum, A., Brown, L., Heaslip, V., Norton, L. (2020) Donning the ‘Slow Professor’: A Feminist Action Research Project , Radical Teacher, Vol. 116

Nepal reproductive health paper published yesterday

international, Publishing, student research, writing

Congratulations on the latest paper published yesterday by Dr. Preeti Mahato in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Reproductive Health (CMMPH) and colleagues.   This paper ‘Factors associated with contraceptive use in rural Nepal: Gender and decision-making’ [1], is freely available for the next 49 days through our personalized link: click here! 

 

This research paper in the journal Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare reports on a secondary analysis of pas a quantitative cross-sectional study in four villages of a hilly district in Nepal.  This authors found that gender was associated with current/ever use of contraceptives but decision-making was not found associated with current/eve use of contraceptives.  And, as perhaps was to be expected, socio-economic factors such as husband’s and wife’s education; and indicators showing sharing of childcare responsibilities were found to be associated with contraceptive use.   the paper concludes that educational, health promotional and family planning programmes involving husbands are needed to promote use of contraceptives.


Preeti’s co-authors are based at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester, at CMMPH and at Singapore Clinical Research Institute/Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore.

 

Reference:

  1. Mahato, P., van Teijlingen, E., De Souza, N., Sheppard, Z. (2020) Factors associated with contraceptive use in rural Nepal: gender and decision-making, Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare 24: 100507 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.srhc.2020.100507

 

BU Academic Targeted Research Scheme

In recognition of the important contribution that early career academics play in driving research for the future, we are delighted to continue the BU Academic Targeted Research scheme to attract and recruit talented individuals in targeted research areas. Following the successful recruitment of five new posts, we will employ one other new Senior Lecturer with significant postdoctoral expertise (or of comparable experience) with outstanding potential in alignment with the targeted research areas:

  • Health and Science Communication

We wish to recruit a diverse cohort of individuals with the motivation to become future academic leaders in their field. As an academic at BU, successful candidates will develop their career in exciting work environments, be provided with a high level of dedicated time to drive research activity and build capacity, and have the freedom to develop their research interests within the targeted areas. BU is committed to Fusion and as such successful candidates will also have the opportunity to contribute to the education and professional practice activities within their Department.

To support these roles and accelerate their careers, BU will provide three years of full-time salary (or part-time equivalent) and reasonable costs directly related to the proposed programme of research activities (up to £10k per year). The standard Academic Application Form must be completed and in all cases accompanied by the BU Academic Targeted Research scheme application form, which will propose the research activities and request funding.

To find out more about these exciting opportunities, please read the scheme guidance and visit the BU website.

The deadline for applications is Sunday 10 May 2020.

Any enquiries should be directed to researchfellowships@bournemouth.ac.uk.

COVID-19 guidance for clinical researchers

NHS, Research Ethics

The Health Research Authority have released guidance for clinical researchers, sponsors and sites with regard to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) – please read this guidance if you are currently conducting your project or are in the planning stages/set-up of the study (so you are aware of the current situation).

This guidance is subject to change and will be updated as and when required by the HRA.

You can read the guidance in the link provided above, but for convenience, these are the most likely situations BU clinical researchers may face. Please ensure that in planning amendments that these do not create additional burden to NHS staff or resources.

Amendments to existing studies impacted by wider COVID-19 response 

  • Example – Where changes to administrative arrangements are required to reduce burden or physical contact with sites – for example, changes to monitoring arrangements.

How this should be handled – these are non-substantial amendments that do not require HRA/HCRW approval or NHS R&D agreement. Where the study involves the NHS, they will be marked by the sponsor as a category C amendment not requiring assessment, and sent directly to the sites. The site should implement the amendment on the date specified by the sponsor.

  • Example – Where changes are made to how or when patients are seen to avoid exposing patients or to reduce burden on clinical services – for example, changing site visits to phone calls or postal questionnaires.

How this should be handled – these are non-substantial amendments that do not require HRA/HCRW approval or NHS R&D agreement. The same procedure as the first example should be followed.

  • Example – Where a temporary halt needs to be placed on some or all of the study, or the duration of the study needs to be extended.

How this should be handled – these are non-substantial amendments that do not require HRA/HCRW approval or NHS R&D agreement. The same procedure as above should be followed.

  • Example – studies that need to be closed.

How this should be handled – for studies not involving provision of treatment to participants, a notification to the REC or study-wide review (for non-REC studies) should be provided, and an end of study report should subsequently be provided.
For any studies involving provision of treatment to participants, careful consideration should be given to post-study care. If this cannot be in line with the information provided in the participant-information sheet, a substantial amendment should be submitted.

To support sites in implementing the amendments it is important that:

  • The changes and local implications are made clear
  • Any changes to documentation are provided in tracked changes
  • In England and Wales All correspondence to sites should be copied to R&D/I department and the PI and delivery teams
  • Where indicated above, the sponsor should include the category and confirm that no assessment is required.

There may be some instances in which the site may raise issues or changes that need to be made. If they do, please inform the Sponsor as soon as possible.

What to do next

If you think that you may need to implement any changes or amendments to your study due to COVID-19 please get in touch with us as soon as possible. If you have any concerns or queries then please also get in touch to discuss these.

Employing Researchers at BU

Notice for those who currently employ or who need to employ researchers on projects.

There is a new Code of Practice for the Employment of Researchers available on the staff intranet.

This document provides guidance on the University’s expectations for the recruitment, support, management and development of research staff in line with the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.

If you have any queries, please contact RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Pre-Call Announcement – GCRF Partnerships

Funding opportunities

GCRF ‘Conflict Intersections’ Global Partnership Development Awards: Prevention and Resilience at the Intersections between Conflict, Fragility and Wider Development Challenges and Risks

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), working in collaboration with other Research Councils within UKRI, is planning to announce a new funding call in early 2020 for Partnership Development awards under the Global Challenges Research Fund’s Collective Programme. This call will support the development of equitable partnerships and an interdisciplinary community to explore the intersections between conflict and fragility (SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions & GCRF Conflict portfolio) and wider development challenges (and other SDGs and GCRF portfolios) such as health, environmental resilience, sustainable cities and food systems, as well as cross-cutting development issues such as gender, inequalities, poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods.

The call will launch in early March 2020 with a closing date in late spring 2020 and projects expected to start from autumn 2020. Approximately 20 awards of varying sizes up to £200,000 (fEC) and between 12 and 24 months duration will be supported.

Further details can be found in this Pre-Call Announcement Document (PDF, 172KB)

Timescale

Call opens February/March 2020
Call Close May 2020
Panel July 2020
Expected grant start dates September/October 2020

If you require further information, please don’t hesitate to contact Alex Pekalski. She’s happy to have a chat with prospective applicants.

New Writing Academy to Develop Your Writing Skills

Post-award, Publishing, Training, writing

Tuesday 13th April – Thursday 15th April

The three-day Writing Academy will enable you to develop the skills required to improve the quantity and quality of your publications and to develop a publication strategy which best represents you as an academic.

The academy is a great opportunity for academics who are new to publishing or would benefit from some additional direction and coaching.

You’ll have access to an external consultant who will advise you on techniques and style. You will also have the opportunity to discuss your ideas and issues with your peers.

The program and objectives for Writing Academies are as follows:

  • Day 1. Planning and writing your research article
  • Day 2. Developing a Strategy for Getting Your Articles Published, Read and Cited
  • Day 3. Writing Day – to put into action everything discussed over the proceeding days

You will also have the opportunity to discuss your publishing goals and prepare a plan to accommodate writing within your day to day routines.

The trainer for the Writing Academy is Patrick Brindle.

Patrick divides his time between his training and consultancy business – Into Content – and his work for City, University of London. At City he is Programme Director on the Publishing MA and International Publishing MA. Patrick has a PhD in History from Cambridge University, and has worked in editorial positions across the social sciences at Pearson Education, Oxford University Press and SAGE Publications.  Patrick provides staff and PhD level training on book and research paper writing, and on general publishing strategy, to a range of universities, including Oxford, UCL, Leicester, Royal Holloway, the SRHE and the ESRC’s National Centre for Research Methods. He also has a specialism in helping academics in writing about methodology.

If you are interested in booking a place, please contact RKEDF@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Early Career Conference Grants 2020 – applications are now open

Funding opportunities, international

Early Career Conference Grants fund emerging researchers who have not yet had the opportunity to travel internationally beyond their region to present at overseas conferences. Applications for the Early Career Conference Grants are now open. 25 grants of up to £2000 are available in 2020.

To apply, researchers must:

  • Be employed as a lecturer, research fellow/associate or post-doctoral researcher (or equivalent) at an ACU member university
  • Be within 7 years of the start of their academic career – applicants who have taken a career break and returned to work will also be considered
  • Not have previously travelled for work beyond their home region
  • Already have submitted a proposal to present at an overseas conference

How to apply

Full details and the application form can be found on the ACU website

Applicants are required to complete four short personal statements, upload their conference proposal, and attach a letter of reference from their line manager or head of department.

The closing date is 23:59 GMT on Wednesday 25 March.

If you have any queries, please contact RKEDF@Bournemouth.ac.uk