Interested in all things defence? Take a peek inside our
Monthly Members' Newsletter
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For new friends, welcome! We are an interdisciplinary network of Masters, PhD and Early Career Researchers focused on defence, security and military topics concerning policy, strategy, history, culture and society. We hope you find our network interesting, exciting, informative, and supportive.
For old friends, thanks for your continued involvement. It is always worth remembering that we would be nothing without you! For our May newsletter we are all about academic publishing. We have lots of perspectives from authors, editors and reviewers to share this month on this theme alongside our usual features!
Scroll down to get up to date with the news, opinions, events and opportunities from our members...
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Welcome to the Defence Research Network Newsletter!
Hello everyone! I'm delighted to be able to share with you another packed newsletter on the subject of academic publishing. We have pooled our knowledge and are sharing with you all the things we wished we'd found out about earlier or were not confident enough to ask about. It has been a learning process for us all and I think we have all picked up some tips along the way. Thank you to all those who have contributed, from the journal editors, book authors and to you, our network, for all you have contributed to this edition.
And do sign up below for our "Demystifying academic publishing workshop' being hosted by Dr Natalie Jester on Wednesday 28th June from 1000-1200. We are delighted that Natalie has kindly offered to share this with us and look forward to seeing you there.
Take care,
Hannah West
Chair of the Defence Research Network
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This is a fantastic opportunity to learn about the academic publishing process, what to expect, how to prepare and culminating in a Q&A. Thank you to Dr Natalie Jester for offering to share her experience with the Defence Research Network. To register to join us please sign up here.
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Perspectives on publishing
Edited by Hannah West
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Dr Baris Celik, our Committee's Teaching Lead, shared with us his reflections on publishing as an ECR.
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Publish or perish: The harsh reality
Publishing is one of the key standards that ECRs (as well as more senior academics) need to meet in a fiercely competitive landscape of the academic job market, especially in the UK context. For early career researchers, there are particular challenges about publishing such as selecting the right outlet, having a place in the discipline and forging an identity as an academic.
ECRs’ employability is assessed by how they disseminate their research through publishing in academic journals. Having publications by widely-recognised publishers is also a key metric that plays a significant role in employers' hiring decisions.
Rejection, but not the end
Getting used to rejection is an informal requirement of the publication process. It is easy to have a sense of not being ‘good enough’, but resilience is key. Reflection is of course demotivating, but in the past I found that I also let the rejection damage my self confidence by focusing on the underdeveloped aspects of my research and thereby failing to take a step to improve it. When I had conversations with experienced colleagues, they highlighted one important point to maintain resilience in the publication process as an ECR: Don’t forget that most activities lead to rejection, which is a normal and repeated outcome in this process. So it is important to accept rejection, and try to make the most of the constructive criticism.
Alternatives
Our DRN Twitter hour last week showed the different publishing approaches adopted by ECRs. As the Twitter discussion reflected, there is a plurality of ways to go about how and where to publish as an ECR. A key consideration to me as an ECR is whether my publication targets are suitable for my career goals. I chose to go down the journal articles route, so I used my PhD research to make sure that I have publications when I am in the job market after my PhD. Others have chosen to use their dissertation as a book publication, or use their research as a springboard for a grant application.
Furthermore, academic journals are not the only platforms for ECRs to share their research. Social media and wider platforms such as The Conversation are seen as valuable alternatives by many ECRs. These alternatives do not only provide publicity to research, but also an opportunity to tailor the academic jargon into a more accessible language that could be read by the practitioners as well as the wider public (this is also seen as a key ingredient of a grant application).
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Aditi Malhotra, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Army Journal and working at the Canadian Army Land Warfare Centre (CALWC) has kindly shared her top tips to ECRs as a Journal Editor.
'Academic publishing remains a tricky business, especially for students of defence and security studies. To increase the chances of getting published in relevant journals, I offer two tips that seem like a no-brainer but are not always followed. First, align and customize your research to the specific interests, format, and scope of the chosen journal. Second, use simple language and expand on concepts. Our niche specializations make us immune to esoteric jargon and terminologies, and we forget they may not be common knowledge for other defence and security enthusiasts/readers. The best way to communicate your argument is to keep it simple.'
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Journal Editorial Board experience
Don't forget that being on an Editorial Board is not just for more established academics. Megghi Pengili from our DRN Committee is Assistant Editor with the Civil Wars Journal and Dr Hannah West is the Social Media Editor with the Journal of War and Culture Studies. These posts offer a great way to understand the workings of a journal from the inside and may be a stepping stone to future journal positions.
Another fantastic way to get an insight into editing and the academic publishing process is as a Guest Editor for a Special Issue. Teaming up with a more experienced co-editor will give you someone to sound out ideas with and the experience of reviewing early drafts and working with authors towards the publication of their article through navigating the peer review process is really helpful in improving your own writing (and resilience to review feedback as it is helpful to be involved in the feedback to others).
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We had a chat with Dr Jennifer Greenburg from the University of Sheffield who shared her reflections on the 'PhD to book' experience. We are delighted to share a link to her free open access book too (just click on the book image)!
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- Don't be afraid to write to and meet with acquisition editors at conferences. This is part of the job of an Acquisitions Editor and by all accounts they enjoy meeting early career scholars and hearing more about their book proposals. They can also direct you to the right press if they are not the right fit.
- You will get conflicting advice on this, but a PhD thesis is not a book. A book needs a narrative arc in a way that few PhD theses have. A PhD thesis is also for a much smaller audience than a book (at times just one's PhD committee!). When moving from PhD to book, consider what your audience is. Apply for fellowships and postdocs to give yourself the time to write YOUR book.
- Workshop your proposal to different trusted colleagues. The book proposal is an important document in catching the interest of a press and, ideally, requesting sample materials. It may be that you have to write a good part of your book before you can articulate the proposal.
- Do a manuscript workshop if you can, asking more senior colleagues to read and comment on your manuscript before it is submitted to the press. If there aren't funds to do this, you can do it informally by asking folks to read and give comment. Writing a book is (mis)understood as a solitary and individual process, where most books are actually the product of a discussion.
- Enjoy the writing process if you can! It's a unique, painstaking, and transformative process to write a book. Try to get lost in it and relish this unique opportunity. And use citation software. I like zotero.
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Dr Huw Bennett from Cardiff University has kindly shared his experience of writing his second book, 'Uncivil War: The British Army and the Troubles, 1966–1975', which will be published this September (and you can pre-order here).
'Like the famed difficult second album, second books typically pose a different set of challenges to the first time around. There is often a need to build upon your existing expertise, whilst also proving an ability to do something more ambitious than Book 1. Even if only to sustain one’s curiosity, moving beyond the doctoral topic is a good idea. There is likely to be less external guidance on a second book project, making planning the timeframe an uncertain business. But there is an over-riding pleasure to all this in seeing yourself get better at researching and writing. Give yourself time, ask for help at every stage, and above all, draft, draft and draft again.'
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We chatted to Dr Alice Cree, NUAcT Fellow at the Department of Geography, Politics and Sociology at Newcastle University about her forthcoming edited collection, 'Creative Methods in Military Studies' to hear more about what it was like to lead an edited collection.
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Why did you decide to write an edited collection, especially as a first book?
The 'Creative Methods in Military Studies' book emerged out of a workshop that I held at Newcastle University all the way back in June 2019. This was part of my ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship programme of work, and was originally just an opportunity to get together and talk about our experiences doing creative projects on military phenomena. It seemed like lots of people were doing interesting work in this area, but we had never been able to get together and chat about it before. I got an absolute TON of interest in the workshop, way more than I had originally anticipated, and afterwards it seemed like there was so much more we could do with those conversations (we had only just scratched the surface!) So a few months after the event I got in touch with everyone who attended and asked if people would be interested in contributing to a book. I think doing an edited collection worked well for me as my first book because I enjoy working with other people so much, and you can learn so much more when you bring lots of people from different backgrounds together. Also, to me, 'creativity' is collaborative!
How involved were you in the individual chapters?
This varied a lot from chapter to chapter (and it was definitely a learning curve for me!) Some chapters only had one round of suggested revisions from me, while others went through four, five, or six rounds of revision where I obviously had a much more significant role. This was mostly just about teasing out threads that would run between different chapters, but also about helping authors feel confident in their 'creative voice' as this is not really your average military research related book. I was keen to have people involved from different career stages, and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to give ECR authors encouragement about how interesting and valuable their research is, and to help highlight that in their chapter. Ultimately though, the amazing work in each of the chapters belongs entirely to the authors! I learned so much from all of them.
What was it like bringing the whole thing together in an introduction?
...Hard! It was definitely difficult to try and bring together so much 'stuff', and in an interesting way that makes sense. I spent a lot of time thinking about what it was that I wanted the book to say and do, but eventually came to the conclusion that I was overthinking it massively and putting too much pressure on myself. So the final introduction is quite stripped back. No single piece of writing can say everything!!
What was it like coordinating the authors?
At times a bit stressful, but I was lucky because all of the contributing authors are brilliant and wanted to do the best job of their chapter that they could. The process of putting the book together did sometimes feel like it would never end though, so it is kind of amazing (but also terrifying...) to see it all finally come together and get published!
How did you decide on a publisher to work with and what has that experience been like?
I think the 'Creative Interventions in Global Politics' series at Rowman & Littlefield was originally suggested to me by one of the series editors (Shine Choi, Cristina Masters, Swati Parashar, and Marysia Zalewski), on Twitter! I had posted the call for abstracts, I think, and Marysia commented that we should keep the series in mind for the book. It seemed like the perfect fit, and all the way through I've had such great feedback and encouragement from the editors (thank you Shine, Cristina, Swati, and Marysia!) Michael and Elizabeth at Rowman & Littlefield have also been brilliant, and very understanding about my (repeated) requests to push the submission deadline back. It has been a lovely experience, and given that the book was proposed and written all in the context of a global pandemic (!) working with such supportive editors was a real privilege.
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Publishing resources
Edited by Lucy Robinson
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Below are a selection of resources that our committee have recommended to support their academic writing, from writing style to abstracts. If we've missed any that you found particularly useful, let us know via email or Twitter and we can share them with our community!
On writing style:
Examples of (what we consider!) well written articles with clear arguments or a different writing style:
- Bulmer, Sarah & Jackson, D. (2015). “You do not live in my skin”: embodiment, voice and the veteran. Critical Military Studies, 2(1–2), 25–40. https://doi.org/DOI: 10.1080/23337486.2015.1118799
- Mac Ginty, R., & Firchow, P. (2016). Top-down and bottom-up narratives of peace and conflict. Politics, 36(3), 308–323. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263395715622967
- Cohn, C. (1987). Sex and death in the rational world of defense intellectuals. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 12(4), 687. https://doi.org/10.1086/494362
Journal abstracts and articles:
General academic writing support:
In addition to the work of Dr Pacheco-Vega and Dr Calarco (check out their websites using the links above), we recommend Dr Pat Thomson's blog 'Patter' for all things academic writing and the book, 'Stylish Academic Writing' by Helen Sword!
If you fancy taking a break from reading, here's a recommended list of podcasts for academic writers:
Taylor & Francis have also collated a range of downloadable resources to support the process of publishing in a journal. SAGE also run a blog, 'SAGE Perspectives' , which includes a useful blog post on how to promote your published article! |
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Publishing Platforms
Edited by Lucy Robinson
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As part of this month's feature, we're taking a closer look at some of the platforms you can use to support your academic publications.
PURE
Portsmouth Research Portal showcases University of Portsmouth teaching and research personnel's projects, outputs and outcomes. It provides a publicly accessible, fully searchable and navigable interface, with information drawn directly from the University's Current Research Information System, Pure.
'I use PURE as an academic platform because it is the University of Portsmouth’s official depository of different types of research of academic staff and research students. PURE also allows you to manage your profile and include research and innovation content, such as participation in a conference, details of research projects, membership in organization and so on. It also integrates all your academic publications from several external repositories.' Ann Bajo
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ORCID
ORCID, which stands for Open Researcher and Contributor ID, is a free, unique, persistent identifier (PID) for individuals to use as they engage in research, scholarship, and innovation activities.
'I've recently created an ORCID ID and added a short biography, my educational background, membership details and linked my ID to my doctoral funding grant. The platform also has the capacity to link your account to your social media and add keywords to help people find you when searching the ORCID registry. It was a really straightforward process and I'd definitely recommend setting one up!' Lucy Robinson
"Orcid is vital to people being able to track my stuff and also for the ALCS to find £ by their magic system." Community member
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Academia
This is an open repository for registered users to upload their academic papers which are then free to view by visitors to the site.
'My experience of Academia has been that it sends a lot of emails out but they do occasionally prompt me to read a paper I wouldn't have found otherwise so I haven't yet adjusted the notifications. In preparing this for the newsletter I have realised that many do not like using it because of all the notifications and I can see why but so far I have found some utility in it'. Hannah West, Chair of the Defence Research Network.
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Author's Licensing and Collecting Society
ALCS is a not-for-profit organisation, open to all types of writer, and owned by their members. They collect money for ‘secondary uses’ of work – such as photocopies, cable retransmission, digital reproduction and educational recording - and pay it back to writers.
Our committee have found out about this in researching for this newsletter and although we haven't joined yet we are all about to!
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Thoughts from our community...
"l quite like Researchgate as I fairly often both request papers and get requests for my own, both processes seem to work easily. I use GoogleScholar when looking for materials, as another route in parallel with WorldCat and the British Library."
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News from our community
Edited by Tegan Harrison
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A Negotiated Gender Order: British Army Control of Servicewomen in ‘Front Line’ Counterinsurgency, 1948–2014
This conceptual paper critically analyses how the British Army exercises control over the production of knowledge about women’s war labour in ‘front line combat’ and how women exert agency to resist this. 2018 saw all British military roles opened to women, yet it is a myth to say that women are only now able to serve in ‘front line combat’. The paper reveals a complex negotiated gender order or ‘bargain’ between the British Army and servicewomen seeing the latter controlled through their co-option, embodied by compliant military femininities, whilst permitting them some agency to resist. Driven by military need, sustaining this ordering has repeatedly seen women exposed to unnecessary risk. This critical feminist history contributes to conceptual development through deconstructing gendered knowledge systems, arguing that foregrounding women’s voices is central to furthering the cultural turn in war studies.
This article is authored by Hannah West and is published in the Journal of War & Culture Studies. To read click here.
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Beyond the buzzwords: some thoughts on interoperability and military change challenges in Brazil.
Innovation spreads not only through new technologies but also through new processes and concepts populating international and security studies. Consequently, the popularity of these concepts, extensively diffused across defence documents worldwide, does not emerge alone. Difficulties in estimating how much of them became tacit knowledge and how successfully these new processes and concepts were adopted come as a plus. That scene depicts the diffusion of “interoperability,” quickly aggregated to the defence vocabulary but arguably translated into practice, particularly from an organisational standpoint. Provided that significant challenges lie ahead of regions where the debate still requires a more solid groundwork, this study addressed Brazil’s interoperability state of the art. We performed a qualitative analysis based on the very same referential used in the country’s latest CONOPS in this regard – Tolk’s Measures of Merit in Coalition Operations Model. By doing so, we aimed to establish a dialogue with the current perspective of the country whilst showing that neglecting the organisational aspects of interoperability poses practical consequences, undermining a complete translation of this central capability into practice. We argue that interoperability adoption stands for far more than its reproduction across the defence metier, comprising organisational change underpinned by reforms in civil-military relations.
This article is authored by Tamiris Pereira Dos Santos & Maria Eduarda Laryssa Silva Freire. It is published in the journal of Defence Studies. To read click here.
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How does the portrayal of civilian teacher training schemes affect the appeal of them for military personnel?
The dominant public discourse regarding the recruitment and retention of teachers is one that is often framed in terms such as ‘crisis’. Data from the Department for Education, the National Audit Office and bodies such as the Education and Training Foundation highlight challenges in filling vacancies across each part of the education sector. This is particularly acute in subject areas relating to Science, Engineering and Technology (SET). This paper analyses discourses relating to teacher training amongst tri-service personnel in the English context. Sources from publications such as FE Week and CTP (Career Transition Partnership) are addressed. In doing so, the paper compares educational and military sources in order to examine how the representation of a civilian teaching career varies between the two. This is about adding to the wider societal narrative regarding the ways in which military to civilian transition can be aided by the reframing of skills and experience acquired during military service.
This article is authored by David Mather and is published in the journal of Research in Post-Compulsory Education. To read click here.
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Freeman’s 1940: The Curious Story of Freeman’s Resignation Attempts
The Freeman Air and Space Institute is named after Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Freeman (1888–1953), who was crucially influential in British air capability development in the late 1930s and during the Second World War, making an important contribution to the Allied victory. This paper marks the 70th anniversary of his death on 15 May.
This paper is authored by Dr Sophy Antrobus as part of the Freeman Air and Space Institute from Kings College London.
Dr Sophy Antrobus researches contemporary air power in the context of the institutional, cultural and organisational barriers to innovation in modern air forces, in particular the Royal Air Force. She joined the Freeman Air and Space Institute from Portsmouth Business School at the University of Portsmouth where she was a Teaching Fellow in Strategic Studies. She completed her PhD at the University of Exeter in 2019. Her thesis researched the early politics of air power and networks in Whitehall in the inter-war years.
Prior to her PhD, Sophy served in the Royal Air Force for twenty years including in Iraq and Afghanistan and a tour with the Royal Navy. She is a Fellow and elected member of the Council of the Royal Aeronautical Society; she also chairs its Learned Society Board. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and co-founder of the Defence Research Network for postgraduate and early career researchers.
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What we have been listening to
Edited by Tegan Harrison
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A 'behind the wire' view of the Royal Air Force, its people, technology and operations. Official podcast of the RAF in the UK.
See below for the latest episodes we have been listening to!
63. Wings for the Prince
64. Agile Combat Employment (ACE)
65. Chief of the Air Staff
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Brought to you by the University of Portsmouth's Military Education Team (PME), this show aims to develop understandings of the use of air and space power in the contemporary world.
See below for the latest episodes we have been listening to!
23. Space Law
24. UK Air Mobility
25. The Rise of ISIS
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Do get in touch if you have heard a fascinating podcast or you have been involved in one, we'd love to include it in a future newsletter.
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May Twitter Hour: 'Academic publishing'
Edited by Lucy Robinson
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April's #TwitterHour on the theme of 'academic publishing' happened on Wednesday 17th May. Thank you very much to all who took part by sharing their reflections and top tips! Below, we share the highlights to the four questions. #DefResChat
Q1: What are you working towards publishing (first article or 10th book!)? What are your worries about this and what are your top tips for those less experienced at having their work published?
- I'm working on an article about British servicewomen on conventional operations during the conflict in Northern Ireland as part of my #ESRC postdoc @CardiffPolitics and to present at #BISA2023 for this panel.
Q2: How much did you publish during your PhD and then afterwards using your PhD research? How do you reflect on this now: not enough or too much to juggle alongside writing your PhD?
- Not the same field but a long time ago (late 1980s) when publishing during the PhD was not expected, I did publish 3 paper afterwards but pretty sure no one ever read them.
- I had a couple of articles published by the end of my PhD, one methodological and the other empirical. It's a bit early for me to reflect on this but now I'm writing a book proposal I'm interested to see how the balance of already published content plays out.
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During my PhD I focused on publishing journal articles using my ongoing work. To survive in the job market I wanted to have a couple of papers out by the time I finished my PhD. And I think writing the thesis with a book in sight is a very good alternative to this approach.
- I worked full time alongside my PhD - so I focused on post-PhD publications. (Working on articles, book and book chapter). Had I had the time, I would have published as I went along.
- Publication is not mandatory in our institute. However, publication helps you a lot in writing PhD. I always suggest to publish if u can.
Q3: What are your top tips for dealing with rejection in academic publishing?
- Ask your supervisors/mentors/colleagues about their experiences of rejection, it helps to hear it from those you admire that they experience this too. Also, try and get on the other side of the process, by editing, maybe a Special Issue, I found this super helpful.
- Know that you are not alone and maybe that journal just wasn't the home for your article. Try again and keep trying and you will find the place for it. My first article was rejected but it found its home and was published on the next attempt.
- Just relax and accept it. I've had 3 papers rejected in less than 12 months. The first was indeed a blow, but when the third refusal came, I felt like "ok, move on"
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Rejection can hurt but I thin how it is delivered is really important. A journal I really enjoy reading gave me a desk reject but provided great (succinct) feedback on the why and what I would need to do in the future.
- I read somewhere a long time ago to see all article writing as collaborative even if single author. By viewing the reviewers as collaborators in the writing process it feels more positive. It helps me to think of it like that.
- I think doing a bit on the other side of the process made me see why you would recommend a rejection. I now try to imagine that the reviewers don't really want to reject and try and work on their feedback. At least, this makes me less bitter!
- Remember that academic publishing works on a weird business model. It doesn't aim to maximise readership, and the purpose of writing something should be that others read it.
Q4: With which journals or publishers have you had a great experience of publishing? Tag them in and tell us what was so good about it!
- @JournalofCW We’ve halved the time from submission to publication, we’ve got a special process of support for global south scholars, we’re a broad church in terms of theory/methods and we’ve got the best editorial team, what more could you want?! Editorial Vision here: Full article: A New Era for Civil Wars: An Editorial Vision (tandfonline.com)
- @IAJournal_CH has been excellent, both for book reviews and for the article I do-published there (and as peer reviewer). Great editors, good communication, prompt review process, and excellent formatting/copy editing. Plus, good promotion afterwards. I thoroughly recommend.
Thank you to all who took part! #DefResChat
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What we're reading
Edited by Veronika Poniscjakova
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Ukraine, Russia and the West: When Value Promotion Met Hard Power
Stefan Hedlund
This new book looks at the origins of the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine, using a hard and soft power approach to explain Russia’s and the West’s actions, respectively. It argues that whilst Russia had become obsessed with using hard power to restore the Cold War security architecture in Europe, the West had become equally obsessed with promotion of the Western universal values thus leading to no common ground, no constructive communication, and no common understanding between the two blocs.
You can get a copy here.
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China, Russia and New Eurasian Order
Emil Avdaliani
This new book focuses on the relationship between China and Russia. It highlights the competition between the two countries, as well as Russia’s increasing reliance and dependence on China, especially in the wake of the former’s invasion of Ukraine, and its impact on Russia’s prospects as a major geopolitical power. Furthermore, the book presents both countries’ visions of the world order they would like to create, which includes the concepts of regionalism and spheres of influence.
You can get a copy here.
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Events...
Edited by Andre Carvalho
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Spykman Center Hybrid Summer School
The Spykman Center was born around a specific mission: to teach how to do geopolitical analysis. The Spykman Center’s first annual hybrid Summer School follows this path and aims to teach students how to build a geopolitical analysis and is divided into two sections concluding with an assessment.
Section I will consist of a series of lectures on methodological points (geopolitical analysis as research of the factors conditioning political action), on the stylistic construction of an article addressed to the general public (explained by a journalist from The Economist), and on the possible destinations of the article or essay to an increasingly saturated market but at the same time increasingly in need of serious, accurate and understandable analyses.
Section II will involve interactive workshops between students and experienced Spykman Center’s analysts who have already published their work with the Center. It will be a way to move from theory to practice, in a horizontal exchange among students.
Assessment: The participating students will be involved in writing a short geopolitical analysis on a topic of their choice.
For more information and how to apply, check this link.
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Postgraduate and Early-Career Development Day
(Date 20th June 2023)
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A one-day mini conference for postgraduate and early-career colleagues. The event will focus on career planning, research and publication, and beginning to teach, amongst other topics.
BISA members pay a reduced fee of £12.50pp to help cover some of the costs. Non-members are welcome to attend for a fee of £48pp. All places include refreshments and lunch.
For more information and to register, click this link.
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Develop an Armed Forces Suicide Bereavement Pack
(Date 28th September 2023)
A study in collaboration with SSAFA, The Armed Forces Charity
Dr Sharon McDonnell is the Founder and Managing Director of Suicide Bereavement UK and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Manchester. She has specialised in suicide bereavement research and support for over 20 years and is a recognised international leader in this field. She has been commissioned to Develop an Armed Forces Suicide Bereavement Pack, funded by NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Armed Forces Commissioning team. The study has MoD Ethical Approval which has been obtained from MoD Research Ethics Committee (MODREC).
For more information about the project, click here.
Dr McDonnell will also be talking about the study (Suicide bereavement in the UK Armed Forces Community) at the Suicide Bereavement UK’s 12th International Conference. See below for more details.
Suicide Bereavement UK’s 12th International Conference
(Date 28th September 2023)
This is a hybrid conference with over 400 people expected to attend from over 14 different countries. The conference is happening in Manchester (UK) on September 28th 2023. The conference has previously been over-subscribed so early registration is recommended.
For more information and to register, click here.
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Opportunities...
If you would like to advertise any upcoming opportunities, please let us know via email.
Edited by Andre Carvalho
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Dealine: Rolling Publication - submit anytime
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Do you have any Second World War-related stories or objects passed down to you by your family members? Would you like to preserve these stories and objects before they are lost to history?
Their Finest Hour, a University of Oxford project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, aims to digitally preserve the stories and objects of the wartime generation and make them available via a free-to-access online archive.
We are looking for all stories and objects, from the extraordinary to the seemingly 'ordinary'. We want our archive to reflect the diverse experiences of all those affected by the war - men, women and children across the British Empire and Commonwealth who worked in various roles, experienced evacuation, ran households, or served in the armed forces.
To share your stories and objects with us, you can:
- Upload stories and photos of objects directly via our website.
- Attend a Digital Collection Day, where volunteers will record the stories and digitise the objects for you (c. 100 events will take place in 2023).
- Organise a Digital Collection Day in your community (free training and support provided).
For further information, please visit theirfinesthour.org or click the icons below.
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Lecturer in Intelligence Studies at Department of War Studies - King's College London
Dealine: 13 June 2023
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The Department of War Studies at King's College London seeks to recruit a Lecturer in Intelligence Studies, to support the BA teaching, the MA programme in Intelligence and International Security (IIS), and to undertake high-quality research. The successful candidate will contribute by planning, organising, and delivering core as well as elective modules at BA and MA-level. The successful candidate will be expected to design and develop new modules in line with their research expertise and in support of the expansion of our research profile in this area. They will understand and develop a variety of methods to deliver these modules and to assess students learning and provide feedback. Beyond teaching and administrative duties, the successful candidate, upon completion of their probation, will be expected to supervise PhD students.
Click here to see more details about the application process.
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Call for Expressions of Interest: Teaching International Relations and Security Studies Workshop
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The Department of War Studies will be hosting a one-day workshop on Tuesday, 11 July 2023, bringing together participants who occupy teaching and education-focused academic roles in Higher Education within the disciplines of IR and Sec. Studies. The intention is to provide ECRs on educational pathways at their respective institutions the chance to network with peers of other universities, develop and refine pedagogical skills, and share best practices. If you are interested in participating, send an email by Monday 19 June 2023 copying both Hillary.briffa@kcl.ac.uk and Anna.plunkett@kcl.ac.uk.
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Call for Participants
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Are you a military veteran who has been medically discharged from the UK Armed Forces (Regular or Reserve)? Would you be willing to participate in a research study focused on aspects of your physical activity, health and wellbeing?
LSBU is looking for military veterans who have been medically discharged from the UK Armed Forces (Regular or Reserve), to take part in small (n=4) Focus Groups centred on your participation in team sport since your medical discharge. The term “team sport” includes adapted and non adapted sport, some examples are football, rugby (league or union), volleyball, basketball etc.
Focus groups comprise four veterans and one researcher and are expected to last a maximum of 1-1 ½ hours but may be less. Since they are online they can be organised at times to suit, so weekends or evenings if needed.
The focus groups are online (via Microsoft Teams), anonymous and will centre on the meaning of team sport for you, why you chose it over other forms of physical activity and what it is about team sport that made you engage in it.
If you would like to find out more about the research, or be willing to be a participant in a focus group please contact Clare Pope on popec3@lsbu.ac.uk
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Call for Papers: Centre for Port and Maritime History Annual Conference 2023
(Deadline: 6th June 2023)
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The 2023 Centre for Port and Maritime History (CPMH) Conference is calling for papers on its theme “Security & the Sea” to explore how maritime risks have been navigated in the past and how they continue to be navigated in the present (and with a view to understanding future challenges).
The conference looks to explore the full range and scope of port and maritime risks (not limited to a single disciplinary boundary). As a result, papers are encouraged that speak to a variety of themes and research fields.
For more information click here.
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Select Committee Area of Research Interest: Artificial Intelligence in Weapon Systems
(Deadline: 31st July 2023)
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UK Parliament Call for Research Evidence: An ‘Area of Research Interest’ has been launched by the House of Lords select committee on Artificial Intelligence in Weapon Systems alongside the Call for Evidence. Academics, research institutions and experts with technical and other expertise concerning AI in Weapon Systems are invited to complete a short survey about their research.
Areas of interest include definitions of autonomous weapon systems (AWS), human involvement in the use of AWS, the technical capabilities and limitations of the AI models underpinning AWS, the impact might AWS have on warfare, and the role of international humanitarian law in governing the use of AWS.
Researchers at all career stages are invited to share their research and insights, highlight any evidence gaps and how these could be addressed, and suggest scrutiny questions for the Committee. Those who respond to the ARI survey will be entered onto a database of experts who may be contacted by parliamentary staff in order to help them scrutinise this area of interest.
Click this link to access the survey.
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Call for Papers: Centre for Port and Maritime History Annual Conference 2023
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A hybrid event with physical hosting in central Liverpool (precise venue TBC), Thursday & Friday, 7 & 8 September 2023.
The idea is to explore the full range and scope of port and maritime risks (not limited to a single disciplinary boundary). As a result, it is encouraged the submission of papers which may speak to the following themes:
• Material cultures, stories, and biographical studies exploring the navigation of risk at sea from merchant and/or military naval perspectives.
• Unpacking the significance of maritime security artefacts (vessel design, maps, practices, and tools) past and present. • Governing port and maritime security; the International Ship and Port Security Code (ISPS), International Ship Management (ISM) Code, Best Management Practice (BMP) Series, and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
• Theorising the navigation of maritime risks in port and at sea (past and present).
• Studies of modern and historical maritime risks, including naval operations, piracy, Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, privateers, armed robbery, theft, migration, securing infrastructure, drones, and water-borne incendiary devices (WBIEDs).
• Investigations of food trade patterns and disruption to the global supply chain past and present (studies on the maritime impact of the Russian War in Ukraine are particularly welcome).
• The intersection of navigating human/ecological risks at sea.
• The role of private maritime security companies (PMSCs) past, present and future.
• Learning from the past and creating future solutions; solving maritime (in)security.
Registration is £10 for waged and free for unwaged.
The best abstract and presentation by a postgraduate student will receive the Mike Stammers Memorial Prize, entitling them to a small monetary award courtesy of Liverpool University Press. The best abstract and presentation by an Early-Career Researcher will receive a prize courtesy of LJMU’s Department of International Relations & Politics. Please indicate if you are PGR or ECR in your abstract submission.
Maritime industry who wish to engage with the conference to maximise the richness of perspectives and opportunities that may emerge is also encouraged to participate.
To submit an abstract for this year’s conference, or to enquire about industry participation, please email a 250-word abstract to Dr Jess Simonds, Visiting Research Fellow LJMU/CPMH (j.k.simonds@ljmu.ac.uk) by Tuesday 6 June 2023.
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As always, keep an eye on our Twitter for new events and opportunities posted/retweeted every day!
Planning a future event?
If you are planning a defence-related event and you would like to reach an audience of like-minded researchers, we'd love to come along! Drop us an email and we can include it in our next newsletter.
If you are interested in any of our events but don't want to go alone, or simply want to expand your network, please reach out on Twitter or drop us an email and we can connect you with fellow DRN members who may be planning to attend.
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June theme: Military history and museums
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We hope you've enjoyed our news, tips and recommendations so far. In case you missed our previous newsletter editions, check out our archive section here!
As usual, we will be looking to showcase some early-career researchers in research spotlights in the newsletter so don't be shy! And we welcome any suggestions for 'in conversation with' pieces with more established academics. And let us know about any relevant events, from book launches to webinars. We'll keep an eye on our Twitter account to keep you posted!
Keep an eye on @DefenceResNet for more information and check out the website for a preview of the questions for the next #DefResChat. You can also find all our previous #DefResChats on the Archive section of our website. Make sure to tag @DefenceResNet and hashtag #DefResChat to join the conversation.
See you soon and many thanks for being part of our network!
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Do you have a blog or publication you would like to promote? Don't hesitate to share it with us via email and we can add it to our newlsetter.
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Thank you so much for joining our network.
Have you recently won an award, had your paper published, launched a book or are you organising an event? We want to hear from you! We are always looking for new content for our newsletter and would love to showcase the great work of our members.
For queries, more information, or just to tell us about yourself, don't hesitate to contact us on Twitter @DefenceResNet or at defenceresearchnetwork@gmail.com
The DRN team
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