RIOevents@napier.ac.uk

2017 – Posters

Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to examine male carers of people with dementia perceptions of accessing support – Gwenne Mcintosh, School of Health and Social Care

This poster explores the use of an IPA approach to examine male carers perspectives of accessing respite and support services. IPA is an approach to qualitative research data analysis that offers insight into how an individual in a particular set of circumstances makes sense of the phenomena – in this case men caring for a spouse who has dementia. IPA provides a framework to examine human lived experience in detail (Smith et al., 2009) and as such offers the novice researcher a structured approach to data analysis. The poster will highlight both the preliminary findings of the initial analysis and the value of using IPA to illuminate peoples experiences and perceptions of support services.

Aims:

  1. To demonstrate and discuss the use of IPA to examine the perceptions of male carers.
  2. To explore the preliminary themes emerging from the data and its links to the mental health nursing role.

This presentation will detail the researchers experience of using this method to illuminate carers of people with dementia experiences and present the initial findings from the analysis of the initial interviews.

Interpersonal trauma, substance misuse and pregnancy– Naomi Waddell, School of Health and Social Care

The poster is a visual representation of how my study sheds new light on the lived experiences of a previously under-researched and largely misunderstood group of vulnerable women.  It reveals their ongoing struggle with trauma and addiction and the impact these have on their experiences and perceptions of pregnancy and motherhood.  It reveals some of the challenges faced by practicing midwives in supporting this client group and the difficulties they face as they try to negotiate the needs of this client group within their day-to-day clinical practice.

Exploring male identity in non-professional carers of someone with cancer – Jenny Young, School of Health and Social Care

In the UK approximately one million people provide unpaid care to someone due to their cancer diagnosis. Research in this field has predominately focused on female carers. Therefore, less is known about the male carer experience. The aim of this study is to explore what it is like to be a male and care for a partner with a diagnosis of breast cancer. Recruitment began in February 2017.

Each participant (n=10) will be interviewed three times over the course of a year. Analysis will focus on four elements within the narratives: personal, interpersonal, positional and ideological to understand how caring for someone with cancer is experienced and understood. Consequently, by understanding more about the relationship between masculine identity and caring it is step towards designing supportive strategies that men may be more likely to engage with.

Realistic and Appreciative: developing a dual model of evaluation of ‘Transforming Care after Treatment’ programme in Scotland – Lucy Johnston, Karen Campbell and Stephen Smith, School of Health and Social Care

The Transforming Care after Treatment programme in Scotland (TCAT),  aims to improve the after care for people living with and beyond cancer by focussing on improving patient experience/outcomes, enhancing service integration/coordination, increasing the patient voice and empowering practitioners with the skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours to support excellence in survivorship. Funded by Macmillan Cancer Support, TCAT established national and regional structures to support the implementation of 25 projects, each with different approaches.

The combination of realistic evaluation and appreciative inquiry has been adopted by the Edinburgh Napier National TCAT Evaluation Team to recognise and understand key findings relevant to the real world from numerous local multi-component interventions within a complex regional and national programme structure.  This poster presents the benefits and challenges of combining these theoretical approaches into our fieldwork over the last 3 years.

Understanding the evolutionary origins of institutions and leadership to develop cooperation in large distributed systems – Cedric Perret, School of Computing

Distributed systems such as online marketplace or smart cars network, require cooperation and coordination between the agents. Although easily imposed from the top at a small scale, many mechanisms break down in large systems. Following a bio-inspired approach, solutions can be found in human societies, which confront the same obstacles. At a large scale, humans maintain their cooperation and coordination thanks to crucial social structures such as institutions and leadership. In order to better understand the mechanisms involved, I investigate why these social structures have arisen in a first place. To do so, I use agent-based models to simulate how the evolution of human individual has led to emergence of institutions and leadership. Through this project, my goal is to contribute to the research on the evolution of cooperation, a central issue to develop our knowledge, our technology and our economy.

DAMS (Disaster Adaptation to Mitigate Storm Surge) – an economic and social analysis to resilient framework development – Anitha Karthik, School of Engineering and Built Environment

In most countries, population, poor management of water policies, infrastructure and coastal development together with poor disaster mitigation policies result in loss of lives and reduction of economic progress. Amongst all types of disasters (like flash flooding, hurricanes, tornados, typhoons, earthquakes, coastal and river flooding etc.), storm surge secures a unique perspective in developed and developing countries with respect to coastal defence. The reason being, understanding the complexity of storm surges and its sensitivity to slightest changes in any of its parameters.

Considering the occurrence of significant events in the past, a profound pressure has been exerted on industries and investors of coastal infrastructures whose assets are directly exposed. Although various industries are working toward finding a better solution, there is always a question for its durability over time and rate of resilience considering the amount of cost and time invested.

The main objective of the study is to investigate the storm surge characteristics, the disaster risk reduction & adaptation methodologies attempted during disaster phases and develop a resilient framework to mitigate storm surge. The research will also focus in making a significant step for the preparedness and adaptation of coastal cities and infrastructures bridging disparity between the present and future requirements by recommending policy change if any.

Sustainable HCI: Blending permaculture and user-experience – Callum Egan, School of Computing

For approximately 10 years the SIGCHI Sustainable HCI (sHCI) and Sustainable Interaction Design (SID) communities have debated the contribution that HCI can make to sustainability. However, there has been little real progress in the field with few, if any, methods arising that take the discipline further. In this paper we present an approach to sHCI and SID that involves doing. Building on approaches from the maker community we propose to blend aspects of permaculture — an approach to sustainable agriculture — and user experience (UX) design to produce gardens that demonstrate sustainable practice and deliver a good UX. By blending the constructs from UX with those from permaculture and expressing the blends through the “material anchor” of gardens we create novel design interventions. These lead to user experiences that invite people to reflect on what sustainability really means and how people can make a difference.

Automated code compliance checking to EC4 in BIM for structural timber connections – Andrew Livingstone, School of Engineering and Built Environment

Presenting a novel method for automating timber connections to the Eurocode 5 (EC5) within a Building Information Modelling (BIM) platform. Which enables the development of Automated Code Compliance (ACC), this method is using a mathematical process of Multi-Dimensional Data Fitting (MDDF). Demonstrating a simple connection of axial loaded timber connection and a more complicated example of lateral loading connection.

Factors influencing innovation across Europe: Analysis of the Community Innovation Survey – Lyndsey Jenkins, School of Computing

This poster explains part of an ESRC-funded research project on the theme of workplace learning and innovative work behaviours. It presents results of initial stages of the research by explaining findings from the analysis of secondary data collected across Europe. The poster explores factors that contribute to the development of innovation through the analysis of The Community Innovation Survey (2012) and other data accessed through the Eurostat database. The poster includes an explanation of: (1) the purpose of the study; (2) the research question addressed; (3) sources of secondary data; (4) statistical analyses carried out and results of such analyses and (5) value for the PhD project and the wider academic community.

Getting Unstuck: Information Problem Solving in High School STEM Students and Evidence of Metacognitive Knowledge – Todd Richter, School of Computing

The poster will visualize the initial findings from an on-going empirical study which aims to evaluate how students seek, use, and think about information when they encounter problems in the design, construction, and delivery of digital technology projects. It will provide details on how a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum, centred on improvisational problem solving, may have implications for student.

From fast food to a well-balanced diet: toward a programme focused approach to feedback – Kimberly Wilder, School of Applied Sciences

Feedback may be considered ‘good’ according to many of the criteria in the literature whilst still having little or no impact on students’ learning in the longer term. Here we argue for greater prominence for feedback in curriculum design. Clear principles for giving guidance on assessments and feedback at the programme level, which complement those already established and widely used for single assessments, would help curriculum designers consider communication to students about assessments in a broader context. These processes should create a dialogue that aids the students’ progression in their learning from one module to the next and encourages the development of autonomous learners. Based on a review of the literature on programme-focused approaches to teaching, assessment, and feedback, the current paper delineates the benefits of a programme level approach to communication around assessments and proffers a list of broad principles that will help academics achieve a coherent and developmental approach to feedback.

Digital Storytelling and City Cultural Organizations – Brian Detlor, School of Computing

This visual presentation describes a case study investigation of a city-wide digital storytelling initiative, called Love Your City, Share Your Stories (LYCSYS), led by two libraries and one municipal cultural department in Hamilton, Canada. Data collection comprised one-on-one interviews, document review, and participant observations. Using Activity Theory as a conceptual lens, data were analyzed using content analysis techniques. A variety of factors were found to shape digital storytelling outcomes. Congruencies – forces which promote stability and the carrying out of the digital storytelling activity – helped counterbalance contradictions that influenced change and the reshaping of the digital storytelling activity itself. Recommendations for practice are made. These recommendations emphasize the finding of a “sweet spot” in the development and implementation of a digital storytelling initiative led by city cultural organizations where congruencies mitigate any contradictions and tensions that may arise.

Young people as co-creators of digital culture: measuring the social impact – Alicja Pawluczuk, School of Computing

Youth-centered, participatory initiatives are increasingly incorporating digital technologies into their practice. However, there are currently no evaluation frameworks which aim to specifically examine and measure the social impact of youth engagement in the co-creation of the digital culture.

The purpose of this doctoral research project is to enrich the current understanding of social impact and social impact evaluation of youth digital culture co-creation. This study aims to 1) review digital youth practitioners understanding of social impact and social impact evaluation methodologies; 2) to work with young digital young participants as co-researchers, to understand their views of social impact and social impact evaluation practice; 3) to propose an alternative and youth co-created approach to measuring social impact.

Data Encryption from Classical Telecommunication Components: An Energy Efficient and Cost Effective Technique – Rameez Asif, School of Computing

There is current significant interest in Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) networks, i.e. end-to-end optical connectivity. Currently, it may be limited due to the presence of last-mile copper wire connections.  However, in near future it is envisaged that FTTH connections will exist, and a key offering would be the possibility of optical encryption that can best be implemented using quantum key distribution (QKD). However, it is very important that the QKD infrastructure is compatible with the already existing networks for a smooth transition and integration with the classical data traffic. In this presentation, we report the feasibility of using off-the-shelf telecommunication components to enable high performance Continuous-Variable Quantum Key Distribution (CV-QKD) systems that can yield secure key rates in the range of 100 Mbits/s under practical operating conditions. These detailed results will help the people from academics and industry to implement the QKD concept in real-time networks.

Counting on the census – Lynn Killick, School of Computing

This poster highlights the findings of a multi-method PhD study examining the place of the population census in the information society.

The idea for the study stemmed from an official review of census taking in the UK following the 2011 population census.  The suggestion being that the time of the census had passed as it was deemed to be costly, irrelevant and intrusive. The outcome of the review concluded that the need for census data remained and that a census should take place in 2021.  However, in an attempt to reduce costs and meet census data user needs the Census Office plans to implement significant changes.  Accordingly,  the population can expect the next population census to be conducted predominantly online, augmented by ‘big data’ and processed with significant private sector involvement.   These changes raise questions regarding information security as well as a range of ethical considerations.  Also, the scope of the census review suggests those decision makers in government doubt the value of census outputs.

Results obtained by the content analysis of policy documents, interviews with public policymakers and a survey of, and focus groups with, members of the public shed new light on the attitudes of the Scottish public about census taking as well as the utility of census data in Scottish Public Policy context.

Building identities online – Frances Ryan, School of Computing

This poster addresses the research question “How do individuals use information to build identities for themselves online?”. It is part of a larger doctoral investigation about the role of online information in reputation management. The findings shared here will consider (1) the creation and use of online personas and identities, (2) the use of anonymity and pseudonyms through information sharing practices, and (3) the ways in which the blurring or merging together private and professional selves, as well as online and offline environments, are used for building identity online. These themes are addressed with reference to the broader information science literature on information behaviour and use, including aspects of bibliometric research that focuses on citation practice and citation analysis and prior work on everyday life information seeking (ELIS). The research approach involves the use of participant diaries and in-depth, semi-structured interviews, as is common in ELIS studies.

Frances has blogged about the conference and her poster contribution here