

Peter has successfully defended his thesis and is currently writing up a few minor corrections. He has been supervised by Dr. Sarah Thomas, Prof. Sabine Hahn and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.
Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
Peter has successfully defended his thesis and is currently writing up a few minor corrections. He has been supervised by Dr. Sarah Thomas, Prof. Sabine Hahn and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.
Congratulations to Dr. Sarah Collard in the Department of Psychology, Dr. Pramod Regmi in the Department of Nursing Science and FHSS Visiting Professor Katherine Barnard-Kelly on their publication: ‘Exercising with an automated insulin delivery system: qualitative insight into the hopes and expectations of people with type 1 diabetes’ [1]. This paper in Practical Diabetes is a joint publication with several North American scholars.
The authors of this qualitative paper distilled three themes related to the benefits of automated insulin delivery systems: (a) more freedom and spontaneity in the individual’s ability to exercise; (b) relief
from worry of hypoglycaemia as a result of exercise; (c) removing the ‘guesswork’ of adjusting insulin for exercise, as well as two further themes relating to potential concerns with regard to safely exercising while wearing an automated insulin delivery system.
Well done!
Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen
CMMPH
Reference:
Congratulations to FHSS PhD student Peter Wolfensberger whose article ‘Uncertainty in illness among people living with mental ill health – a mental health nursing perspective’ was accepted yesterday by the British Journal of Mental Health Nursing [1]. The paper introduces the concept of ‘uncertainty in illness’, which is a well-known concept in health care literature and a considerable volume of research has investigated how people adapt to different health conditions and how the concept of uncertainty in illness relates to those populations. However, while there is substantial literature focusing on coping strategies and personal recovery, there is a paucity of research about uncertainty in illness among people living with mental ill health.
This paper therefore, explores uncertainty in illness among mental health nurses and to provide an understanding of its relevance to people living with mental ill health. The paper concludes that even though mental health nursing does not directly address uncertainty, the concept and its implications need to be considered and raised further among mental health professionals in order to improve support for people living with mental ill health in their process of personal recovery.
This paper originated from Peter’s PhD research on insights into mental health nursing in Switzerland, which has had input from Prof Fran Biley (before he passed away) and Dr. Zoe Sheppard (before she moved to her new job in Dorchester). His current BU supervisors are: Dr. Sarah Thomas and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen and his Swiss supervisor is Prof. Sabine Hahn (Berner Fachhochschule/ Bern University of Applied Sciences).
Reference:
Sam Gyimah responded to a parliamentary question quashing the notion that UK students might be able to access student loans to study in international destinations.
THAT interview: Greening on maintenance grants & fees
Justine Greening (former Secretary of State for Education) made big news this week during her interview on the Today programme on Monday. This was her first interview since leaving the Cabinet. Reporting of the interview implies she criticised Government policy, primarily the abolition of maintenance grants, and failed to deny she was sacked from Cabinet because she blocked the HE major review. Read this short Guardian live blog for the salient quotes from Greening’s interview to decide for yourself how critical she really was.
Meanwhile Research Professional (RP) interpret Justine’s thoughts on fees as proposing ‘a mostly unnoticed alternative way to fund universities’, culminating in a thought provoking article on fees: A third way. RP report that Justine felt the government should move away from talking about loans to selling the idea of “time-limited graduate contributions” a phrase first coined by Martin Lewis (MoneySavingExpert.com). RP report that Greening went on: we need to have a student finance system that is progressive”, and that money raised from TLGC [time-limited graduate contributions] should be ring-fenced and put into a higher education fund “so that graduates today know that their contribution is helping to pay for students to get the same opportunities they had at university”.
She also suggested that employers could contribute to such a fund and that all graduates should pay into it for the entire 30 years. In this way, better-off students would not be able to have their fees paid upfront or repay their loans early as a consequence of large salaries. RP go on to debate how this resembles a graduate tax and the problems associated with a graduate tax scheme, including:
Returning to social mobility and the maintenance grants RP write:
Wonkhe picked up on another element of the Greening interview: there were suggestions that some in government were pushing for variable fees by subject – Greening cautioned that this could encourage students from lower income backgrounds into non-STEM degrees.
Later on Sam Gyimah (Universities Minister) took part in the Today programme, to describe how living costs and value for money are of great concern to current students. Wonkhe report that he admitted that no change would be made by the next academic year (it would not be “credible” to do so), but was clear the review would have an independent element. There was the implication that fees would remain frozen until this was complete (as per Theresa May’s comments). See below for the OfS research into value for money launched last week.
Angela Rayner (Labour), Shadow Sec of State for Education) capitalised on Justine’s interview asking an oral parliamentary question:
Q – The Secretary of State’s predecessor this morning admitted that they were wrong to abolish maintenance grants, that the student finance system is regressive, that variable fees will punish the poorest and that their review is intended to kick the issue into the long grass, rather than make decisions. Apart from that, she is very supportive. But she is right, is she not?
A – Damian Hinds (Conservative, Sec of State for Education): We have a system of higher education finance in this country that means unprecedented levels of disadvantaged people can go to university and our universities are properly funded. In October the Prime Minister said that we would be taking quick action, raising the threshold for repayment and freezing the top fees for the next academic year. It is also right that we have a full review, looking at all aspects of value for money for young people and others going to university, and at the alternatives to university, such as taking a degree apprenticeship, as we discussed earlier.
The Office for Students confirmed they will run the TEF this year (as per timing and specifications already established by HEFCE). Chris Husbands (VC Sheffield Hallam) will remain as TEF Panel Chair (confirmed until August 2021).
Last week the OfS launched research into student perceptions of value for money. They state it will take forward its legal responsibilities to promote value for money. The research will cover:
Nicola Dandridge (Chief Executive of OfS) said: “This important research will be invaluable in understanding more about what value for money means for students. The OfS has a duty to promote value for money and it has been clear from my visits to students’ unions that these issues provoke significant discussion. This research will allow us to deepen our understanding of this important issue, and prepare the ground for future inquiry.”
Data and Quality – designated bodies: Following the OfS Regulatory consultations (December) DfE have confirmed that HESA (data) and the QAA (quality) were the only applicants for the designated bodies and the sector response was virtually unanimous in support for the two bodies to be reappointed. The OfS will consider the sector’s response in their recommendation DfE which a final decision on their appointment due in late March.
In the Lords there was question on safeguarding against plagiarism within alternative providers:
Q – Lord Storey: Whether there is clear guidance on the use of the plagiarism checker technology Turnitin by those universities that validate degrees from private and independent colleges.
A – Viscount Younger Of Leckie:
Within the Lords there was a question on nurse training:
Q – Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Whether they have any evidence that difficulties in recruiting UK nationals as nurses reflect changes in the UK’s higher education system in recent years.
A – Viscount Younger Of Leckie:
Locally, Richard Drax (Conservative, South Dorset) used PM question time to ask the Government to improve rail links within South Dorset.
UK-China Education Deals
The Prime Minister announced UK-China education deals on Wednesday. The package consists of exchange deals, partnerships and commercial contracts from pre-school to post-graduation. She said: “The close ties between the UK and China are reflected in our relationship on education. More than 150,000 Chinese students study at the UK’s world-leading institutions and make a significant contribution to our academic life.”
It’s well known that Chinese students are the largest group of overseas students within UK education. The Government notes that 9,000 young British are studying/interns in China (a 60% increase since 2013). The deal was reported in Professionals in International Education who cite HESA data to remind of the stagnation in HE international students studying in the UK over recent years. The HE sector has long been calling on Government to paint a more welcoming picture to overseas prospective students. However, so far Theresa May has stood firmly behind her plans to include students within the net migration targets. Could this be part of a softer, more welcoming, approach without her losing face over the target battleground (yet)?
The package:
The bill for the education deals is in excess of £550 million and is expected to create 800 UK jobs.
International Questions
At Prime Minister’s questions this week Daniel Zeichener (Labour) cited the value international students bring to the economy questioning why the PM’s policy continued to seek to reduce the number of international students. The Government responded that visa numbers were up since 2010.
In the House of Lords questions Lord Norton of Louth (Conservative) asked what plans the Government has to increase funding for promoting campaigns to encourage students in overseas countries to study in the UK.
Baroness Fairhead (Conservative) responded:
Lord Luce asked whether the purpose of the Commonwealth Education Ministers meeting would strengthen commonwealth cooperation between universities and schools for the benefit of young people.
Lord Agnew of Oulton responded: The purpose of the Conference is to strengthen cooperation across the Commonwealth for the benefit of young people of all ages. A key objective of this year’s conference is to address and define mechanisms through which education systems across the Commonwealth can enable sustainable development, and address major global challenges, such as climate change. This is a topic, which is of importance to young people across all member states.
Finally Chris Law (SNP) raised the reintroduction of the post-study work visa and asked if Scotland could tailor its own immigration policy for students.
Sam Gyimah (Conservative, HE Minister) responded: a lot of work is being done on international students by the Migration Advisory Committee. I am happy to consider the issue of Scottish visas specifically and come back to him on it.
Brexit – Policy Exchange have published Immigration After Brexit – What should post-Brexit immigration policy look like? They argue for a system limiting low skilled EU immigration but with more generous terms for high skilled professionals. There should be a customised “light touch” work permit system for EU professionals and — as Britain weans itself off low skilled migration — there should be priority for low skilled workers ready to work antisocial hours, thereby acting more as complements than direct competitors to the British workforce.
Brexit effect on the 2017 General Election – Kings College London has produced Voting in the 2017 general election: a Brexit election. A quick read for those interested in the voting surprises of the 2017 general election. The blog notes the slight tendency of those with degrees to vote Labour over Conservative. The article concludes:
You can read BU’s response to the Migration Advisory Committee on International Students – economic and social benefits
HEPI have published Major shifts in global HE: A perspective from Asia. It discusses the rapid shifts in Asian HE (massification, rise of liberal arts, research importance, and graduate under-employment). Eastwood (VC, Birmingham) states: Asian universities have changed the paradigm for developing a university. Many have achieved a standing, a stature and a maturity much more rapidly than had previously been thought possible. This…includes challenges that are very familiar to us: challenges of making our universities fit, not just for tomorrow, but for a generation of students who are going to live and work differently. Universities are going to have touchpoints with their graduates over a much longer period of their lives than traditionally has been the case. Professor Tan’s Lecture includes some challenging questions for us in the UK. It shows our present debate on higher education has become too narrow and is in danger of becoming quite old fashioned.
On driving innovation the report says:
The report goes on to discuss supporting students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset (read page 21 onwards).
Advance HE is the new name for all the sector organisations that have merged following the Bell Review. Wonkhe have produced a tree diagram which shows the predecessor organisations and their successors. Given its size it’s best viewed online.
Social Mobility League Table – A Wonkhe blogger discusses ranking social mobility as a method to incentivise better performance within universities. Andrew George (DVC, Brunel University) highlights that taking a broader range of students can cause a university to score lower in the traditional league table rankings. He argues that without including social mobility measures in league tables they will continue to reinforce social division. Recommendations of how this could occur and the benefits for diversity are discussed. The blog even mentions Bournemouth as within the top 10 for value added salaries 5 years after graduation.
PM Questions – The schools attainment gap between less and better off pupils was covered in PM questions this week. The Government responded that the 2011 reforms had improved school standards and the attainment gap has shrunk by 10% at GCSEs and Key stage 2.
HESA – WP data – HESA will release the UK performance indicators for widening participation at the end of the week. These will illustrate the proportion of UK-domiciled, full-time, first degree entrants from state schools and low-participation neighbourhoods at each HE provider.
The Sutton Trust, a social mobility organisation, has published Internships – unpaid, unadvertised, unfair. They state: For young people who cannot afford to work for free, and for those who do not have the networks with which to secure a placement informally, internships are acting as a barrier to the best careers – and to social mobility.
The Key findings (direct from the report):
Recommendations (from the report)
In the latter half of 2017 there was discussion of unpaid internships within the House of Lords. Currently Lord Holmes’ has launched a private members bill to limit unpaid work experience to four weeks in length. The Sutton Trust recommendations coincide with this.
Click here to view the updated consultation tracker. Email us on policy@bournemouth.ac.uk if you’d like to contribute to any of the current consultations.
There aren’t any new consultations and inquiries this week however you can read BU’s responses to
Resilience toolkit: Unite Students and AMOSSHE (student services) launched a new resilience toolkit on Thursday for Student Services HE professionals aiming to improve resilience through emotional control, self-management and social factors in the student response to stresses, anxieties and the daily barriers they encounter.
Apprenticeships: FE Week announced 15 more universities are now registered as apprenticeship training providers (taking the total to over 100 universities). The article goes on to discuss the inspection arrangements but never explicitly makes clear whether all 100 universities are offering degree level apprenticeships.
Mental Health: Student minds have published What’s the role of academics in supporting students’ mental health? The shorter 2 page summary is here. HEPI also have a blog on the report.
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Nurses are in a unique position on the frontline to see where the gaps are in delivering care and what questions need answering. Pursuing a clinical academic career can provide a stimulating and rewarding career pathway.
Training and career development awards from the National institute for Health Research (NIHR) range across all levels, are open to a wide range of professions and are designed to suit different working arrangements and career pathways.
This special one hour webinar, specifically for nurses, will explore the opportunities available to nurses from the NIHR to pursue a clinical academic career.
This webinar will cover:
The webinar will be presented by Dr Pete Thompson, Assistant Director at the NIHR Trainees Coordinating Centre and HEE/NIHR Senior Clinical Research Fellow Kirsty Winkley, Specialist Diabetes Nurse.
You can register for the webinar via the following link: http://bit.ly/researchcareersfornurses
If you have any issues when registering please email tcc@nihr.ac.uk.
Don’t forget, your local branch of the NIHR Research Design Service is based within the BU Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU) on the 5th floor of Royal London House. Feel free to pop in and see us, call us on 61939 or send us an email.