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Environmental design specialist Terri Preece visits BUDI!

PG research

Terri Preece Wayfinding Lab resized

In May 2016 environmental design specialist, Terri Preece, from Richard Fleming’s group at the University of Wollongong, Australia, came to visit BUDI and the Wayfinding Lab, following on from a conversation made with PhD Student Mary O’Malley during her Poster session at the ADI 2016 conference. Terri, who consults care-homes and hospitals on how they can be more user friendly for people with dementia was particularly interested in the work BUDI does surrounding designing environments to support orientation, including our eye-tracking (see picture below). PhD student Chris Hilton showed Terri a demo of his virtual reality eye-tracking study which looks at what aspects of the environment people attend to when learning routes, whilst  Mary O’Malley showed Terri her study which investigates how older adults interpret “you-are-here” maps.

Report by Mary O’Malley, PhD Student

Digital entertainment students in ‘Research Jam’ to aid the work of Dementia Institute

conferences

Students from the Centre for Digital Entertainment (CDE) took part in a two-day Research Jam to put their skills to the test to create apps or games with the purpose of enhancing the work of Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI).

The Centre for Digital Entertainment is a centre for doctoral training and collaboration between the universities of Bournemouth and Bath, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The intention of this year’s CDE annual event, also attended by academics and industry professionals, was to bring the focus back to the skills and knowledge the CDE Research Engineers are gaining during the four year programme, and inputting it into a creative process that could benefit society.

CDE Research Engineers During ResJamProfessor Jian Jun Zhang, Deputy Director of CDE at Bournemouth University, said, “This year we wanted to push our students a little harder and by using their expertise and teaming up with BUDI, we hope to have a societal impact through the work we are doing”.

The two day event, which took place in the beautiful Italian Villa, included a talk from the BBC’s Research and Development department and Dementia Friends training from BUDI, before students were split into groups and each asked to create an app, game or interface that would either raise awareness for, or assist people with dementia.

An integral part of the programme is the three year industrial placement.  Ian Stephenson, a Senior Lecturer in Computer Animation and part of the CDE, said, “These postgraduate students have been working in companies like the BBC and Double Negative, once a year we bring them together. This year we have partnered with BUDI to look at the topic of dementia. We want these young engineers to build something that addresses the issue of dementia in society – to put their technical skills to use for the benefit of society.”

The event started with presentations from the BBC’s Research and Development (R&D) department and Bournemouth-based company 3 Sided Cube, giving the students an insight into work processes around digital content creation before the teams got to work.  After seeing the presentations and collating information, the teams had a little under 24 hours to research, create and present their ideas.

The teams were asked to work on one of three main areas within the theme of dementia; physical stimulation to keep people with dementia active; social stimulation to increase interaction, and generational interaction, for people with dementia; or a piece of technology to challenge public view of dementia.

Becky Gregory-Clarke BBC R &DBecky Gregory-Clarke (pictured) from the BBC’s R&D team said, “The BBC R&D team has a strong link with the CDE through student placements and we’ve been ‘workshopping’ around the idea of dementia too, so it was great to come along and see these students at work. It’s really great for students to get involved in events like this because at the BBC we do things like this as a part of our work day too, so if you can get used to brainstorming and working like this now it can really hold you in good stead for your career in the future too.”

Claire Cutler, a member of Bournemouth University Dementia Institute said, “BUDI has a long history working with technology, and dementia is a massive issue in our culture at the moment, it is great to bring our understanding about dementia together with technology to develop something that could address real world problems.”The teams were given the opportunity to pitch their idea to a panel of experts, giving technical demonstrations to support their idea.  The pitches were assessed and awards were given in three categories, Best Pitch, Best Team Work and Best Product.  The winning team of ‘Best Product’ created a game to challenge the public perception of dementia and discussions are now taking place to see how this idea can be developed further into something for public use.

Zoe Leonard, CDE Research Events Co-ordinator said “The event has been a great success and there is much excitement around the outcomes.  It was a great cohort building exercise, whilst at the same time encouraging team building, communication, project management and presentation skills.  Not to mention the possible impact the ideas generated by the CDE Research Engineers, could have for those living with or dealing with dementia.

“We are all looking forward to seeing how these ideas can be developed and we hope to be able to run similar events in the future”.

For more information about the Centre for Digital Entertainment, visit their website, www.digital-entertainment.org or for information about Bournemouth University Dementia Institute visit http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/dementia-institute/.

Reminder: BUDI lunch time research seminar open to all BU staff and students

student research

You are cordially invited to a BUDI research seminar which is open to all students and staff.
Please feel free to bring your lunch.

 

“Fire safety in the home: local lessons – global reach”

By Dr Michelle Heward

 Tuesday 8 March 2016

13.00 – 13.50pm

EB202, Executive Business Centre

 

Abstract
Objectives: Impairment, disability and dementia are substantial factors in increasing the risk of injury or death from fire in the home. There is, therefore, a concern that the number of people with dementia injured or dying in fires in the home will increase, in relation to the rising number of people living with dementia internationally.

Methods: Mixed methods study. Online survey sent to all Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) in the United Kingdom (UK) (n=55) to establish provision of guidance and resources for people affected by dementia.  Four focus groups: fire service professionals; other professionals; and two with people with dementia and family carers in UK (South West). Explored experiences of home safety risks (including fire risks) and risk reduction strategies, alongside ideas for project outputs such as resources.

Findings: 20 FRSs responded to the survey giving a response rate of 36.4%. A descriptive analysis showed that the provision of guidance and resources for people affected by dementia varies widely across the UK, with few providing dementia-specific information leaflets and resources. During the focus groups, people affected by dementia identified different fire risks and risk reduction strategies to those outlined by professionals. However, a need to understand each person and their individual situation came across in each of the focus groups. This was considered a vital part in determining the individual risks within each home environment. Participants also felt that a range of resources that reflect individual needs would be a useful prevention strategy.

Conclusions: For communities to be truly dementia-friendly there is a need to ensure equity in how services respond to the needs of people affected by dementia. Dementia-specific guidance and resources developed as an output from this project could be shared nationally and internationally to address potential consequences of fire safety inequality in the home. However, there remains a need for cross disciplinary working across all sectors to enable people with dementia and their families, practitioners, policy makers, and the general public to understand and contribute towards effective dementia-friendly communities. This case study of fire safety in the home demonstrates the potential impact of local level studies to improving quality of life of people affected by dementia across the globe.

 

We hope you can join us.

ESRC funded project: “Dementia Friendly Architecture – Reducing Spatial Disorientation in Dementia Care”

ESRC logo New ESRC-funded project in Psychology and BUDI

This week saw the start of a two year ESRC-funded project entitled “Dementia Friendly Architecture: Reducing Spatial Disorientation in Dementia Care Homes”. The project, which has been awarded to Dr Jan Wiener (Psychology/BUDI), aims to develop design guidelines for dementia-friendly architecture that minimise spatial disorientation, one of the earliest signs of dementia.

Post-Doctoral researcher Dr Ramona Grzeschik, who started on the first of December, and Chris Hilton (PhD student) will test how different aspects of build environments affect orientation and navigation abilities in people with dementia. In order to do so, they will use cutting-edge virtual environments and eye-tracking technology (https://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/wayfinding/) which allows for systematic manipulations of environmental properties.

This international multidisciplinary project brings together researchers from cognitive psychology, dementia research and architecture. It is a collaboration between Bournemouth University’s Wayfinding Lab, BUDI (Bournemouth University Dementia Institute), Northumbria University (Prof Ruth Dalton, Co-I), UWS (Prof Anthea Innes, Co-I) and the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (Prof Wolbers, Prof Nestor, both project-partners).

 

Dr. Fiona Kelly invited guest speaker at Cecily Saunders Institute, King’s College London

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fiona Cecily SaundersOn 25th November, Dr Fiona Kelly attended the Cecily Saunders Institute at King’s College London as an invited guest speaker to present research on determining what aspects of the design of care environments might be important for people with dementia nearing the end of life. The key messages of her presentation were the importance of firstly assuming the ability of people with dementia to engage with the senses, whether through touch, sound, smell, sight or taste and then to provide the means of engaging with whatever sense was appropriate or possible. The presentation was followed by a panel discussion with the audience in which the practical application of design principles within hospital settings was debated. The consensus was that even small changes can make a big difference. Following the presentation and discussion, the panel made a commitment to include consideration of dementia design principles in staff education within the Institute.

Fleming, R., Kelly, F. and Stillfried, G. (2015) ‘I want to feel at home’: establishing what aspects of environmental design are important to people with dementia nearing the end of life, BMC Palliative Care. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-684X/14/26

BUDI at the Care and Dementia Show, Birmingham 2-4 November 2015

Dr Fiona Kelly, Dr Suyu Liu and Dr Michelle Heward represented Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI) at the Care and Dementia Show held at the NEC in Birmingham from 2-4th November 2015. The Care and Dementia Show is designed to provide education, products and services to any organisation responsible for the care of older people.
Blog piece photo

This show attracted over 300 national exhibitors from many sectors of the care industry, including care home providers. This was a fantastic opportunity for BUDI to network and meet a range of potential collaborators. During the event we met over 200 delegates, many were interested in BUDI’s research and education services, including the MSc Applied Dementia Studies programme.

The show was a good opportunity to meet practitioners in the field of dementia care, and to see first-hand the range of products and services on offer to people affected by dementia.

BU very well represented in this year’s ERCS Festival!

Awarded & submitted bids, Festival of Learning, Fusion, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Transfer, PG research, Publishing

escrThe ESRC website lists its Festival events for 2015 and amongst the interetsing events is a record number of BU events! The full list can be found on the ESRC webpages, click here!

Pathways to impact: part deux!

7 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

This event aims to engage participants who attended a previous one-day ESRC Festival of Science event which took place in 2012 entitled, “Pathways to Impact: ageing, diversity, connectivity and community”.

Creatively mapping the coast

9 November 2015 | Bournemouth| Event

Festival of Social Science

Children will have the chance to take part in a creative mapping exercise using coastal artefacts and pictures to create their own sensory and emotional maps of the topic, starting with the question of ‘how does it make me feel to be here?’

Safeguarding vulnerable adults from financial scamming

10 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

Older people are increasingly at risk of falling victim to financial scams that target vulnerable people, including mass marketing fraud via post, telephone or email and doorstep fraud.

This event will give practitioners, agencies and members of the public, the opportunity to come together to learn more about the threats posed.

Church as place: ethnography

11 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

This event asked the question:

  • what meanings of place and space are constructed by secular or non-specifically religious and religious visiting of church buildings?

Creativity and dementia: making a connection

11 November 2015 | Poole | Event

Festival of Social Science

Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI) will bring dementia awareness to life through running creative activities including a performance from the BUDI Orchestra – made up of people affected by dementia and musicians – poetry and technology such as IPads and Nintendo Wii.

Child deaths and poverty: disadvantaged British children!

12 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

Are British children disadvantaged compared to children in other Western countries? An analysis of data from global sources compares the standards of mortality, poverty and health funding for children and adults in Britain vs. those in 20 other Western countries.

Copyright reform: the implications one year on

12 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

One year ago, in October 2014, the UK Government introduced major changes to the Copyright Law with the aim of promoting innovation and creativity. These included a range of exceptions and limitations benefiting users as well as educational and cultural institutions.

Enhancing social life through global social research – event 1

12 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

These exhibitions run over the course of three days presenting a showcase of Bournemouth University research projects demonstrating our research impacts on social and community wellbeing and our concern for diverse groups and work with a wide variety of stakeholders.

Fused all ways: transdisciplinary insider research

12 November 2015 | Poole | Event

Festival of Social Science

A group of researchers from Bournemouth University are researching the lived experience of students entering higher education from and in ‘non traditional’ contexts. By bringing together research, educational practice and students as research co-creators, a unique lens is created through which to observe the question.

Increasing fruit and vegetable intakes: Why? How? – Event 3

12 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

The 5-a-day campaign went global after a recommendation from the World Health Organisation that we should all be eating a least 400g of fruit and vegetables per day. Variations on this message are repeated in countries all across the world. But does the message cause more confusion than good?

Enhancing social life through global social research – event 2

13 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

These exhibitions run over the course of three days presenting a showcase of Bournemouth University research projects demonstrating our research impacts on social and community wellbeing and our concern for diverse groups and work with a wide variety of stakeholders.

Enhancing social life through global social research – event 3

14 November 2015 | Bournemouth | Event

Festival of Social Science

These exhibitions run over the course of three days presenting a showcase of Bournemouth University research projects demonstrating our research impacts on social and community wellbeing and our concern for diverse groups and work with a wide variety of stakeholders.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

FREE – Places for BU Staff and PhD Students for Creative Approaches in Dementia Masterclass

Research themes, Training

BUDI have a few free places available for BU staff and PhD Students to attend its masterclass entitled “Creative Approaches in Dementia” being held on Wednesday 30 September. This masterclass will be an interactive session which will be exploring the power and potential of creativity in supporting good practice and positive experiences of living with dementia.

Our speakers are:

Derek Eland, artist; Jonny Fluffypunk, poet; Andrew Baker, musician and Sharon Muiruri, drama specialist.

To read the flyer please click here . To book your free place please contact Dr Samuel Nyman at snyman@bournemouth.ac.uk

Research Around Ageing and Later Life.

 

Michele Board with Sheila Peace, President of the BSG, Associate Dean (Research) Professor of Social Gerontology Faculty of Health & Social Care The Open University

Michele Board with Professor Sheila Peace, President of the BSG, Associate Dean (Research) Professor of Social Gerontology Faculty of Health & Social Care The Open University

Michele Board (HSS), Laura Reynolds and Sophie Bushell (BUDI) recently attended the BSG annual conference in Newcastle, 1st to 3rd July 2015.
Michele presented two papers from her PhD thesis, on the ‘Five Senses of Home Framework’, and ‘A Qualitative Approach to explore the meaning of Home for Six Baby Boomers’. Given the current debate around housing the presentations were topical leading to a good discussion on the importance of home and participatory research.

Laura Reynolds (BUDI Research Assistant) hosting one oral presentation (‘The BUDI Orchestra: evaluation of a novel music initiative for people with dementia and their carers’), and BUDI PhD student, Sophie Bushell, disseminating her research ‘Promoting well-being for residents with dementia living in a purpose built care environment’ via poster presentation.
Laura says:
“I couldn’t have asked for a better conference to present at for the first time, and I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to do so. It was insightful to see other institutions’ research and to share ideas with like-minded people from across the globe.”

The British Society of Gerontology was established in 1971. It provides a multidisciplinary forum for researchers and other individuals interested in the situations of older people, and in how knowledge about ageing and later life can be enhanced and improved. The annual conference is friendly and exciting and an excellent forum to disseminate current research about older people.

I think BU has a great deal to contribute to research about older people from across the University and I would recommend looking at the BSG website and consider becoming a member. http://www.britishgerontology.org/about-bsg.html

 

Next year’s BSG conference is in Stirling, if you’re interested in putting together an interdisciplinary symposium for the conference let Michele know it would be great to have a larger BU presence! Conference themes next year include, Health and Social Care, Quality of Life, Technology, Environment and Housing, Relationships and Intergenerational Work and Dementia.

It would be good to be able to host the BSG conference in a few years’ time!! If you are interested in research, practice, education about older people and would like to get together over a coffee do please get in contact with Michele Board, Senior Lecturer Nursing Older People, Joint programme lead BA/MA Care of the Older person, HSS. mboard@bournemouth.ac.uk

BUDI Financial & Legal Masterclass – 17 June

There are still places left for BUDI’s upcoming one day Masterclass on the Financial and Legal aspects of Dementia, to be held at the EBC, Landsdowne Campus this Wednesday 17th June.

We have a number of different speakers including Stuart Bradford from Coles Miller solicitors, Esther Donald from Bournemouth Borough Council, Malcolm Skinner, a legal writer for LexisNexis and Vivien Zarucki, an Independent Financial Advisor. It looks set to be an interesting and informative day with plenty of opportunity for participation and discussion.

Should you wish to book a place, please see the link below:-

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/budi-masterclass-financial-legal-aspects-of-dementia-care-tickets-15779535014