This year I was fortunate enough to be awarded a bursary from the BSG to attend and present a paper at the 36th annual BSG conference held at Sheffield Hallam University in Sheffield. I found presenting the paper on the initial findings of my PhD study, which aims to explore the role of spirituality in successful ageing, to be an invaluable experience. It was only the second time I had given a conference paper during my studies, and I accepted the challenge of presenting a synthesis of the background to my mixed-method study and discussing some initial findings, within a 15 minute presentation slot. Having done so was a very useful experience. The process of preparing for my paper also allowed me to focus and reflect on the theoretical interpretation of some of my initial qualitative findings.

I enjoyed attending the BSG conference, and overall the range of paper and poster presentations given reflected a wide diversity of research topics in gerontology. Specifically, several points about the conference particularly stood out for me. The university was a pleasant and friendly setting, which facilitated useful networking, especially at lunch times, during poster sessions in the coffee breaks and during the evening meal social events. I met several other students and researchers who were undertaking or had conducted research related to my PhD topic. This included a fellow student who was currently undertaking her PhD study in Scotland, exploring the spiritual care needs of older people living within two care home settings. Furthermore, I enjoyed meeting and talking with several older people who had been invited to attend the conference on Friday, who expressed their interest and enthusiasm in the wide range of research studies being presented and discussed at this year’s conference.

I found several paper presentations particularly interesting. I enjoyed very much Professor Small’s initial key note lecture, where he took a philosophical approach to critically examine the notion of narrative continuity and change in relation to the care of older adults with dementia. Professor Germaine Greer’s keynote lecture on ‘gerontophobia’ was also very interesting. I especially liked the fact that she reflected often on her personal experience and status of being an older women in contemporary British society. I enjoyed attending the paper presentations, most notably on topics related to ‘ageing well’, policy implications around death and dying, and methodological considerations when conducting research in care home settings. Also, I particularly enjoyed attending the symposium on ‘spirituality, faith and dementia.’ Here a range of conceptual and theoretical considerations were discussed when researching the notion of spirituality and spiritual well-being within the context of older adults with dementia. Furthermore, the different presenters in the symposium also interestingly considered this topic from different faith-based, non-religious and cultural perspectives.

Overall I thought the conference was very interesting and relevant to my PhD study. I enjoyed attending it. I would definitely recommend that fellow PhD students and researchers working in the field of ageing attend future BSG conferences.

Jan Leece
Faculty of Health and Social Care
Open University

The conference at Sheffield Hallam was my second BSG conference, the first being at Stirling University some years ago, with both providing equally good networking opportunities. Certainly at Stirling, I met Sheila Peace for the first time, and she became one of my PhD supervisors. So a BSG conference was there at the beginning of my long journey towards a PhD, and by a strange coincidence the next BSG conference I would attend, was three weeks before the date of my viva.

In addition to networking the conference had a lot to offer. Away from the pressures of work and family life it was nice to be able to immerse myself in academia. I especially enjoyed the keynote speeches, which were all excellent. Kevin Morgan’s talk on the gerontology of sleep and insomnia was particularly interesting, especially the notion that insomnia can start in younger people and endure into old age, rather than simply being a problem of ageing. Germaine Greer’s presentation of Gerontophobia- a Real and Present Danger too was superb, extremely amusing and highly relevant.

The workshops I found generally very good, although those sessions which contained five papers, meant presenters often struggled to deliver their material in the allocated twenty-minute time slots. There was also no time to develop the discussion with questions after the presentation, though this did give me an excuse to approach presenters at coffee time. My PhD research is about direct payments, so I was very interested to listen to the evaluation of the individualised budget pilot projects by the PSSRU. I was surprised though that this was the only presentation relating to user-controlled or self-directed support in the entire conference. It seems that gerontology hasn’t yet acknowledged the implications of the governments’ determination to radically increase the numbers of people (including older people) accessing user-controlled support.

On the whole an excellent conference, nicely rounded off three weeks later, by a successful viva (subject to minor amendments).

Jane Robertson
University of Stirling

Being awarded a student bursary by the British Society of Gerontology to visit Sheffield for the Society’s 2007 Annual Conference Realities of Ageing: Research into Action provided an excellent opportunity to learn about a wide range of gerontological research being carried out across the United Kingdom and in countries as varied as Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, The Netherlands and The United States. This diversity was echoed in the content of posters and papers about issues including spirituality, dementia, caring, elder abuse, residential and community care, technology and the environment. The keynote papers were stimulating and encouraged critical reflection on the topics they addressed. Professor Neil Small drew on philosophical debates about the essence and form of ‘self’ in relation to dementia care, while Professor Kevin Morgan reviewed research evidence about the nature and management of insomnia in older age. The involvement of older people on the second afternoon was a welcome feature of the conference and later that day the theatre was packed for an entertaining presentation by Professor Germaine Greer about her perspective on “gerontophobia” – a fear of growing old or hatred for older people. The highlight of the social programme was an excellent reception and dinner at Cutler’s Hall in the centre of Sheffield. The delegates were very well fed and watered, with entertaining music provided by a jazz band and singer. A personal highlight of the conference was the final keynote paper presented by Professor John McKnight. Professor McKnight challenged us to consider why we tend to focus in our research on the deficits associated with ageing rather than the assets that older people can bring to their communities. The challenge to engage with older people’s assets and capacities was a fitting end to a conference themed around issues relating to older people’s involvement, social and community capital, inclusion and diversity, environment and technologies, ageing well and anti-ageing. This year’s conference in Sheffield was a great success and so I look forward to the next meeting at Bristol in 2008.

Kelly Fitzgerald
Gerontology Department
University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA

This year’s BSG conference at Sheffield was great. I felt the session I presented in was well organized and attended considering it was the last session of the day on Friday. It was nice to have a supportive audience who was genuinely interested in what I presented. As a student, there have been times that as I presented or saw other students present, the attendance was low and the audience was uninterested. This is one of the things I truly appreciate about the BSG conferences—the audience. Outside of the presentation room, people approached me and told me they liked my presentation and that it was ‘thought-provoking’….what a shocker! Someone thought my research was interesting! Even if they really didn’t, it was nice that they said it was. At larger conferences this never happens. BSG attendees are warm and welcoming to students and very supportive in many ways.

I have been attending BSG conferences almost every year since I started my doctoral program. Over the years I have had the opportunity to network with all kinds of people. Small organizations and small conferences lend to great networking opportunities. It has been nice each year to see the people I have met at previous conferences. The bursary has allowed me to financially afford to continue building my network by attending the conferences. I feel it is important to have international contacts in order to be able to have a solid understanding of ageing and ageing issues around the world. There are so many lessons to be learned from different cultures and it has been very beneficial to be able to attend the BSG so that I could build my international network. As a student from the United States, without the bursary, I would not have been able to attend as many BSG conferences as I have. Therefore, I truly appreciate the generous bursary that I received this year.

Finally, I hope that the bursary programme will continue, and possibly expand. It is almost next to impossible to obtain financial support to attend conferences. It is even harder for students to receive funding when they do not present at a conference. During my role as NOGS co-chair I discovered that most students who attended the conference did so because they were presenting. I would like to see more students attend, especially those in the initial years of their academic programs. Presentations at the BSG are so informative and students would significantly benefit from attending these sessions to learn more about their research interest or to discover what they are truly interested in. Many organizations are not able to support student travel to their conferences. Beyond all the other benefits of the BSG, I find the bursary program to be an outstanding added benefit which I would like to see grow so that more students may be able to attend the BSG conferences!!

Sally Richards
Coventry University

This year’s BSG annual conference, held at Sheffield Hallam, did not disappoint. Although I did not present this year, as a final year PhD student it is invaluable to be able to attend such an important conference. I have previously paid to attend the conference from my PhD budget but my funding ended in January and so if it wasn’t for the bursary scheme the BSG offer I wouldn’t have been able to attend. This is a brilliant scheme and I know many postgraduate students are very grateful for its existence.

Along with catching up with familiar faces it is always an excellent opportunity to meet new people and network. The Jobs board was also a very good idea and something that would be useful at future conference events.

The organisation of the conference was very smooth and the venue and meals were all well received. Any queries prior to the conference were dealt with efficiently and pleasantly by Jill Hitchenor. It was lovely to see Kate Davidson again and it’s nice to have such a welcoming and warm President who new members will find so approachable.

On the Thursday there was a very interesting keynote talk by Professor Neil Small and then an enjoyable reception and buffet provided by Help the Aged. This provided a good chance to mingle and chat to other delegates.

An aspect of the conference that I really enjoyed was having the opportunity on the Friday afternoon to talk to the older people that had been invited to the conference and to hear their ideas for future projects and how they feel they could assist the Society. It is extremely important to include older people in the conference proceedings and to hear their voices and gain from their knowledge and experience.

Along with a very interesting plenary from Professor Kevin Morgan, for many the highlight of the three days was to see Professor Germaine Greer who gave a talk that was impassioned, eloquent, candid, challenging, funny and insightful. Her declaration that “we’re going to have to be disgraceful and funny” was still ringing in my ears during the conference banquet, sponsored by Age Concern and held at the very fine venue of Cutlers Hall, as the delegates drank the free flowing wine and danced uninhibitedly to the jazz band.

It was particularly nice before we sat down to dinner to see Professor Alan Walker honoured by the Society with an outstanding achievement award along with the new annual award, the British Society of Gerontology Alan Walker Prize, which will be awarded in recognition of an individual’s outstanding contribution to gerontology.

The final day of the conference included the keynote talk by Professor John McKnight advising how ageing can be utilised as a community asset. As the conference was drawing to a close it was great to see the hard work that Kelly Fitzgerald and Karen Baker have put into the student body of the BSG the past two years acknowledged and to have Ian Sidney welcomed as the new student Convenor. Congratulations were also fondly felt for Vicky Vaughn for winning the prize for producing the best poster.

I always enjoy attending the BSG annual conference and compared to other Society conferences it always feels especially friendly and accessible. I am not based at Coventry University, where I am registered for my PhD, and so it’s great to be able to attend the conference once a year to engage in and enjoy the community spirit it evokes, which I always find re-energises my enthusiasm for the work I am doing.

I very much look forward to being able to attend next year’s conference at Bristol to continue to meet with other BSG members and to hear the eagerly anticipated plenary talk by the former Labour MP and Cabinet Minister Tony Benn.

Sister Andrea Gavin.
Department of Applied Social Science
University of Stirling

The BSG Conference held at Sheffield was excellent. A wide range of topics concerning Gerontology were presented in very interesting ways by the various speakers. I personally found the ‘spirituality’ seminar sessions to be most helpful for my area of research on ‘Meanings of Spiritual Care as perceived by managers, frontline workers and elderly residents in care homes’.

I presented a poster on meanings of spiritual care for the Conference. As a result I found a network of interested delegates from the UK and particularly from America who were also interested in this aspect of care. Addresses were exchanged for future contact to be made with them. One of the older visitors and his carer who came to join the delegates on one of the afternoons also showed interest in the poster and I spent some time talking with them about the pros and cons of living in a care home.

The conference was well organised and those responsible for its organisation certainly worked hard to ensure its success. The young students from the University were also exceedingly helpful throughout the Conference.

The meals provided were very good and it was interesting to meet with other delegates at these times and to share experiences.
It was most helpful also to meet with other PhD students and to share their experiences of undertaking research.

Attending the Conference was a very interesting and helpful experience for me. I am so pleased that I had the opportunity to attend through the generous means of the bursary award. Thank you.

For more information about the BSG Bursary scheme see: http://www.britishgerontology.org/index.asp?PageID=42