News

Proposals are sought for Innovation Awards which will expand and explore the AHRC Science in Culture Theme in new and innovative ways. 

Proposals may address any aspect of the theme as outlined in the call document.

Funding of up to £80,000 (fEC) over a period of 12 months will be awarded to successful grants.  Up to 10 Innovation Awards are expected to be funded under the Science in Culture theme.

The deadline for applications is 4.00pm on Thursday 27th February 2014.

More information about the Call and the Application process is available on the AHRC Website. A copy of the Call document is available here.

Food, The Brain and Us: Exploring our historical, cultural and sensory perceptions of food

Tasting food and drinks is a familiar, everyday experience. But how much do we really know about taste?

Barry Smith, Founding Director of the Centre for the Study of the Senses, is joined by a historian, a neuroscientist, an artist and a chef in order to explore the many dimensions of food and taste. Together they reveal how our experience of flavours is shaped not only by taste and smell, but also by our environment, the context of the meal we are eating, and even visual cues such as the shape and colour of our plate. Through this we discover how tastes are developed and acquired and why we like some foods more than others.

The event begins with four short talks by Chris Woolgar, Charles Spence, Caroline Hobkinson and Charles Michel, after which the audience sampled a six course experimental tasting menu for the senses.

The AHRC Science in Culture Theme event was held in partnership with the Royal Institution, an independent charity dedicated to connecting people with the world of science and with a mission of encouraging people to think further about the wonders and applications of science.

A film of the event produced by the Royal Institution is available below:

https://storify.com/AHRCSciCulture/food-the-brain-and-us.html

An updated leaflet about the AHRC Science in Culture Theme is available to download here.
AHRC Science in Culture Theme Leaflet

The third conference of the AHRC Science in Culture Theme Mathematical Cultures Research Network (10-12 April 2014) will discuss the relations between mathematics and non-mathematical public cultures.  Amongst other topics, it will explore the question “why should I study mathematics?”–from perspectives within and outside mathematical cultures. This third meeting will aim to build on the first conference by identifying the contributions from and audiences in the various mathematical cultures.  It will build on the second conference by drawing on the articulations and explorations of mathematical values there explored.

Confirmed Speakers include: 

Michael Harris
Tony Mann
Heather Mendick
Madeline Muntersbjorn

Call for Papers

Abstracts of about 300 words are invited on the place and reception of mathematics in non-mathematical cultures, relations between mathematical and non-mathematical cultures, and especially the cultural significance of mathematics for school pupils, their parents and other advisers at the points when they decide whether or not to study it.  Historical analyses are welcome, especially if they offer insight (possibly through contrast) into the experiences and conditions of present-day developed societies.

The deadline is 30 November 2013.  Authors will be advised of the outcome in early January 2014. More information about the application process is available here.

After spending time setting up the South East Asian branch of the Memory Network earlier this year, the Principal Investigator of the Memory Network, Dr Sebastian Groes, has received a research grant from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) of RM 37,000 (roughly £10,000) to organise a conference that explores memory in a contemporary Malaysian context.

Groes will be working in partnership with Professor Ruzy Hashim, Head of Department of Language Studies and Linguistics of UKM. The grant has been made available as part of the ‘Understanding the Contemporary Malay Culture’ research project.

The conference will explore Malaysia’s rapid economic growth since the 1980s, which has triggered enormous economic and cultural changes, and has led to urgent questions about the changing nature of the country and the lives of its citizens, as well as the condition of local and national history, identity and cultural memory and heritage. Not only has there been a radical renegotiation of the nature-city balance, but, just as in the West, one of the main health issues in Malaysia today is obesity. The conference will explore memory both at the level of the individual, subjective self as well as our sense of collective and cultural memory. Keynote speaker include Professor of Psycholinguistics Asifa Majid (Radboud University, the Netherlands), writers and broadcaster Sharaad Kuttan, and the novelist Tash Aw.  Paul Antick from the University of Roehampton will deliver a paper on his experience of the ever-changing Kuala Lumpur, and deliver visual work to a joint exhibition.

The conference will lead to the second book published by the Memory Network, edited by Groes and Hashim. For more information, please see the Conference Poster or email Nick Lavery on memorynetwork@roehampton.ac.uk

The AHRC will be announcing a new call under the Science in Culture theme for Innovation Awards in November 2013.

Successful proposals to the Innovation Awards call are expected to expand and explore the Science in Culture theme in new and innovative ways.  In the context of this call, innovation can take a number of forms:

In most cases, successful proposals will be expected to be innovative on a number of levels in order to expand the Science in Culture theme , but they are not expected necessarily to be innovative in each of the areas listed above.  For example, a project may fall within a field of collaborative research enquiry that has already been addressed by other projects, but may be utilising new methodologies or collaborating with other disciplines (from the arts and humanities or the sciences) that may not have previously been involved in cross disciplinary research on the given research topic.  Ultimately, it is up to the applicant to make a strong case to the panel for the innovativeness of the project and the ways in which it will contribute to and expand the Science in Culture theme.

It has been noted by the AHRC, the Science in Culture Theme Leadership Fellow and the Science in Culture Theme Advisory Group that there are a number of disciplines which have either not yet applied for funding under the Science in Culture theme or which have not been successful under the theme.  We would like to encourage applicants from the full range of the AHRC remit to consider applying to this and future Science in Culture calls.  While an application that is from a previously unfunded discipline under Science in Culture would not be considered innovative in and of itself, there is a very strong opportunity for disciplines which have not previously been funded under the theme to develop highly innovative projects and contribute to the theme in new and exciting ways.

In considering applications under this call we will be particularly looking for proposals which develop reciprocal relationships between researchers in the arts and humanities and the sciences and which demonstrate the potential to lead to benefits and advances in both the arts and humanities and in the sciences.

Whilst developing new insights and areas of enquiry, projects should also outline, where appropriate, how they will build on, and connect with, the existing portfolio of research in the Science in Culture theme. All projects will be expected to show how they will enhance the current portfolio of research under the Theme and contribute to the broader development of the Theme, for example by addressing issues of cross-cutting interest within the theme.

Funding of up to £80K is available on a full economic costs basis with AHRC meeting 80% of the fEC.  Awards should last for a maximum of 12 months and are expected to start between October 2014 and April 2015.  Approximately 10 awards are expected to be funded through this call.

Timings: 9.30 – 16:45 Venue: Avonmouth House, 6 Avonmouth Street, London SE1 6NX Directions: http://www.etcvenues.co.uk/files/download/avonmouth-directions/30

The AHRC are running a media training session for their researchers funded through the Science in Culture Theme on 26th November.

The aim of the session is to build confidence to better understand and engage with journalists. The media training will be all-day event, covering how to work with your press office, tips for tailoring messages to non-academic audiences, identifying key messages, and involve media interview practice for radio.

These media training sessions are aimed at both principle investigators and co-investigators, perhaps people who have had some, experience in dealing with the media but would like to develop these skills or have not yet had much experience. We are organising under themes and it is easier to have a discussion on research of a similar topic. You do not have to be formally assigned to the theme but you research should be broadly aligned. Any questions about the themed session please email our Communications Manager, Danielle d.moore-chick@ahrc.ac.uk.

The AHRC will pay for the full cost of the course, but participants will have to pay their own travel.

Spaces are very limited. Places will be allocated on first-come-first served basis. To hold a place please email events@ahrc.ac.uk with the following details with a subject line of ‘Media training’.

6-10 January 2014 (Cranage Hall, Cheshire)

The AHRC is working in partnership with ESRC, EPSRC, Dstl and CPNI, to commission new research to develop a greater understanding of how empathy and trust are developed, maintained, transformed and lost in social media interactions.

Expressions of interest are now invited from arts and humanities researchers, along with researchers from other disciplines, interested in taking part in an intensive, five-day interactive, inter-disciplinary, commissioning workshop (sandpit) on 6-10 January 2014, to be held at Cranage Hall in Cheshire.

The ESRC is leading on the call for expressions of interests, the organisation of the sandpit and associated funding opportunity in close partnership with the AHRC and other funder partners. This initiative is linked into the cross-Council Connected Communities, Global Uncertainties and Digital Economy Programmes and also connects with a number of AHRC themes including Digital Transformations and Translating Cultures.

In order to develop innovative approaches and stimulate genuinely transdisciplinary collaborations, the funding partners are commissioning projects via a sandpit. The aim of the sandpit is to bring together researchers and other partners to create projects that will develop theoretically-informed and empirically-derived understandings of the workings of empathy and trust in online contexts and communities.

This call is intended to attract participants from across the full range of social sciences, arts and humanities, and engineering and physical sciences. The call for expressions of interest is particularly looking for people with particular personal attributes – creativity, openness, and the ability to work effectively as part of a team. A willingness to engage with policymakers, community organisations, government agencies, businesses and other key stakeholders is also essential.

Full-time and part-time scholars at UK-based research organisations (ROs) can apply. A mix of researchers at different career stages is also sought. The sandpit is aimed at early- and mid-career researchers as well as those in senior academic posts. We regret that, on this occasion, PhD students and scholars based overseas are not eligible to participate in the sandpit.

The sandpit is an intensive residential event and participants must attend all five days of the event. By submitting an application form, you are confirming that you are available for the full five days of the sandpit.

The full specification can be accessed from ESRC’s website at http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/28443/empathy-and-trust-in-communicating-online-(emoticon)-sandpit.aspx

The closing date for the submission of expressions of interest to the ESRC is 11.00 on 11 November 2013. Applications from interested candidates should be submitted to ESRC via the electronic application form available from the ESRC website at http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/28443/empathy-and-trust-in-communicating-online-(emoticon)-sandpit.aspx

On 27 September 2013, as part of her AHRC Fellowship ‘Judging the Medics’ Science‘ Dr. Marie-Andree Jacob hosted a stakeholders workshop on research integrity and misconduct, at the headquarters of the Medical Research Council in London.

Participants included representatives from the Medical Research Council (MRC) the Health Research Authority (HRA), the charity Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the General Medical Council (GMC), the UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO), the Wellcome Trust, and Medico-Legal Investigations Ltd.

They discussed current problems in the prevention of and responses to research misconduct, provided feedback on the findings of Marie’s project, a historical study of the GMC adjudication of research misconduct cases between 1990 and 2012.

The Fellowship, awarded under the Science in Culture AHRC Scheme, concludes on 31 October. Marie is working on expanding the dissemination of the research findings, in collaboration with contemporary artist Anna MacDonald (Manchester Metropolitan University, Forecast).

More information about Dr Anne-Marie Jacob’s Fellowship ‘Judging the Medics Science’ is available here.