BU Research Blog

Professor Debbie Holley and Dr. Ann Luce recently visited University of Salento, in Lecce, in the Puglia region of Italy as part of the BU ERASMUS exchange programme. This is a follow on from a  pedagogy/ technology and statistical exchange that started a number of years ago with Prof. Holley’s previous institution. A part of of the exchange is building capacity, and FMC Principal Academic, Dr. Luce was invited to come and share her significant body of work on suicide and its reporting in the media. Italian sociologists, Prof. Ferdinando Spina and Prof. Marta Vignola invited Dr. Luce to deliver a research symposium to Masters of Sociology students, so they could better understand the role of the media in suicide representations and framing for society at large.

Prof. Spina and Dr. Luce exchanged their most recent books and began scoping a research collaboration into looking at cross-cultural representations in British and Italian media.

Prof. Debbie Holley led an interactive seminar around creating narratives in healthcare, using building blocks similar to Lego. Using creative methods, she challenged the students to consider how to work with vulnerable groups discussing sensitive topics. The underlying philosophy was originally developed by Head of Service Excellence, Susanne Clarke and Dr. Curie Scott, programme leader for the PGCert.

Prof. Holley and Dr. Luce led a workshop for Masters in Psychology, Sociology and Statistics students entitled: “Technology Enhanced Learning: Ideas for 21st Century Learners”, which discussed the future of technology and the accelerated speed of change and the implications for students and their future employment. As part of this session, students were invited to interact with google cardboard and to consider co-creation as part of their future learning plan.

The podcast team hard at work! From L-R: Prof. Enrico Ciavolino, PhD candidate, Paola Pascoe, Prof. Debbie Holley and Dr. Ann Luce

In addition to their teaching activities, Prof. Holley and Dr. Luce spent time writing and creating materials for podcasts in collaboration with PhD candidate, Paola Pascoe, who translated and narrated the podcasts in Italian. The podcasts focused on Prof. Holley’s work in augmented reality, and Dr. Luce’s focused on the creation of her new “Responsible Suicide Reporting” model. Both podcasts will be disseminated widely through professional Italian networks by our hosts.

Podcast 1: Prof. Debbie Holley on Augmented Reality

(Italian) available here

(English) is available here

Podcast 2: Dr. Ann Luce on her “Responsible Suicide Reporting” model

(Italian) available here

(English)  is available here

For further information about ERASMUS exchanges, please talk to the BU Global Engagement team.