BU Research Blog

Following our first successful meeting earlier this year, the ADRC ‘Ageing and Dementia Friendly Design Advisory Board’ met for the second time in June 2017. The Advisory Board brings together internal staff and external members such as architects, designers and care home managers and developers (see previous article for a full list of membership*). The purpose of the Advisory Board is to exchange knowledge between academics and external stakeholder, to discuss findings from our research into the effects of typical and atypical ageing on wayfinding and navigation and – importantly – to translate research findings into practice-relevant design guidelines for the built environment that minimises spatial disorientation in later life.

In this meeting Prof Jan Wiener provided Advisory Board members with an overview of the relevant research findings and suggested new, improved design guidelines focusing on the use of landmarks to support orientation. The group discussed these findings and provided feedback about how these guidelines might be implemented, published and disseminated in the future. ADRC will continue discussions with the Advisory Board when they meet next in September 2017.

For more information about this research or the ADRC please contact Prof Jan Wiener jwiener@bournemouth.ac.uk

* http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2017/03/29/advisory-board-meet-to-discuss-dementia-friendly-design-guidelines/

Dr Miguel Moital, Principal Academic in Events Management within the Department of Events & Leisure, has recently returned from Brazil, where engaged in a number of activities at 5 universities.

The trip started with a visit to the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), in Natal, where Miguel delivered two presentations to tourism master students and staff. The first one was research related and focused on ‘How can research centres contribute to increase academic research and publication? BU’s experience’. In the afternoon Miguel shared one of the topics he teaches at BU with a presentation about ‘Events as a strategic marketing tool for city branding’.

The next stop was Recife (Pernambuco state) where Miguel attended the ATLAS Americas and ABRATUR conferences, organised by the Pernambuco Federal University (UFPE). At the ATLAS Americas conference Miguel delivered a paper co-authored with BA Events Management graduate Giulia Calcagno on ‘Photographic triggers of engagement with event pictures on Instagram’. At the ABRATUR (International Academy for the Development of Tourism Research in Brazil) Forum, he delivered a keynote on “My internationalisation story: challenges and strategies”. As a founding member of the Academy, Miguel also participated in a strategic meeting of the Academy .

At Parana Federal University (UFPR) Miguel was a member of the panel examining a post-doc report by Dr. Osiris Marques on “The impact of the Olympic Games 2016: an analysis of the tourist profile, of the economic impact and of the quality of the tourist experience in Rio de Janeiro”.

Miguel also visited the Fluminense Federal University (UFF, Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro) and Sao Saulo University (USP), where he led a half day workshops on writing dissertations and theses, attended by tourism master students and staff. Miguel is the author of an e-book on the topic.

Researchers from across Bournemouth University (BU) hosted the Curiosity Playground event on 8^th July 2017 as part of this year’s Festival of Learning. The aim of the event was to celebrate the diversity of research happening across BU and also included fun activities for children (and adults) to get them thinking.

We certainly entertained the crowds and had some thought provoking conversations about our research:

• Dr Viola Prifti from the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management got people’s attention with purple, orange and yellow carrots so that she could talk about food and intellectual property policy.
• Dr Henry Bang from the Disaster Management Centre discussed his work on the lessons learnt from the recent Grenfell Tower fire.
• Dr Marcellus Mbah from the Centre for Excellence in learning used a jigsaw puzzle to talk about the role of community engagement within a University.
• Dr Michelle Heward from the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre made life story sketch books with families to highlight the importance of knowing information about the person being cared for in health and social care settings.

Thanks to those who took part in the event which was organised by the BU Research Staff Association (RSA). To find out more about BU RSA please come along to our next coffee morning on Wednesday 26^th July 2017 at 10am in the Global Hub (DG68) at Talbot Campus.

Kind regards,

BU Research Staff Association

I have just spent the last month working with the team at the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre (ADRC) working on DEALTS 2, a training program commissioned by Health Education England that incorporates simulation, and aims to improve dementia training in acute settings at a national level.

This month has been eye-opening, insightful, and above all exciting. I was firstly amazed by the amount of responsibility I was given by Michele Board, Jane Murphy, and Michelle Heward, who set me to work with analysing the data collected from DEALTS 2 workshops. Indeed, it is often thought that Research Assistants deal with the ‘back end’ of the project, which I can understand would make the task mundane. Nevertheless, with the varied roles and responsibilities, I soon felt immersed into the project.

I was given the responsibility of putting together some preliminary findings to present at the Humanisation conference. Not only was I given role of creating the slides, but I had the pleasure to present the findings at the conference with Michelle Heward. This was a fantastic opportunity to not only feel part of the project, but to increase my confidence, network with likeminded professionals, and feel part of an academic community.

I was also lucky enough to travel to London to help deliver the DEALTS 2 train the trainer workshop to the dementia ‘trainers’. I was able to run through some simulations with the trainers, which again increased my passion and accountability for the project. The whole day was inspiring and highlighted the need for such a project from seeing its real world applicability. This has indeed supported my work in the office when conducting the literature review for the DEALTS 2 project, which we aim to publish in due course.

Overall, this project has exceeded my expectations, and not once have I felt like an RA, but rather a team member. Working in the ADRC office has opened opportunities to learn from others, attend seminars with colleagues, and have a glimpse of what academia can be like. It has been a pleasure to work alongside a team who are so clearly passionate about ageing and dementia, which has certainly consolidated my desire to work in this field. I would highly recommend fellow students to consider summer RA positions because it not only allows you to apply the knowledge you have learnt throughout your degree, but it enables you to increase these skills in new and invaluable ways. Although my contract is over, I am not finished with DEALTS, and intend to continue to help the team publish the paper.

I want to thank Jane, Michele, Michelle, and the rest of the team for giving me an insight into their world and providing me with such a fantastic experience. Although I am leaving Bournemouth University to do my masters in Occupational Therapy, I have no doubts I will work with the ADRC again in the future.

POST SCRIPT

Laurie has been an excellent student to work with, we were also fortunate to have her as part of our team. She’s been diligent and proactive, and its not a surprise that she secured a first in her degree in psychology.  We wish her every success in the future.

The Bournemouth Echo published a two page spread this week on the Older Carers Research Study. The user led study was conducted by a group of older male carers over the age of 85 in collaboration with the BU PIER partnership (Public Involvement in Education and Research), Bournemouth and Poole’s Carers Centre and the study’s funders: Dorset Healthwatch. The Echo’s article focuses on Jim and his experience of caring for his wife. To read the article, search for Bournemouth Echo carer, and to view the 11 minute film created by the carers and a group of BU Media Production students go to the BU PIER partnership website www.bournemouth.ac.uk\pier and look under ‘our resources’. Feedback and comments welcome.

We are living longer, but are we really healthier?

Join the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre for our growing up and getting old event (part of Bournemouth University Festival of Learning week) which is fun and interactive for all. Hear about good nutrition and lifestyle choices, innovative hospital care, developments in care home design guidelines, and why older people should take up graffiti and practice Tai Chi (with a free taster session of Tai Chi).

The event will take place on Wednesday 12th July 2017 between 10am and 1pm in the Student Hall at Talbot Campus.

Book your place now: https://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/festival-of-learning/events/growing-up-and-getting-old/