Hft is a national charity that supports people with learning difficulties. They have deployed two forms of technology to help them provide improved support for their clients. Lincus provides easy to use tablet interfaces that enable people with limited language capability to communicate their needs and it can also capture a wide range of information […]
The Institute has begun an evaluation of a system that is able to monitor the extent and form of activity in the home of an older person on a 24-hour basis. The activity monitor can be used to raise an alarm if activity differs radically from the norm and can also provide insights that might […]
VIDEO-CONFERENCING SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES People with learning disabilities often have problems sustaining contact with their families and accessing health and other services when they need them. This project provided video-conferencing facilities that people with learning disabilities and their carers could use to ease these communication problems. The technology was deployed across five […]
The Institute has evaluated a system on trial in Darlington in which patients in drug rehabilitation are provided with mobile phones by which they can receive tailored supportive messages and that they can use to seek help. A study has also been undertaken of the same mobile phone application being used in five alcohol rehabilitation […]
Government actions to combat the coronavirus keep having unexpected consequences: students returning to University spread the virus, an examination algorithm leads to school children from disadvantaged backgrounds having their grades downgraded, and closing bars at 10 pm leads to people not socially distancing in the streets. We should not be surprised about these unexpected consequences […]
When you travel to work there are things that shape the day and help you focus on getting the job done: the daily timetable (arrive, go home, lunch breaks etc), the enclosed work spaces, the meetings and appointments, the deadlines to meet and so on. When we are working from home many of these ways […]
During the Covid-19 epidemic many GP practices have been offering patients video or telephone consultations. The Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, is so delighted by this development that he wants GP practices to make telemedicine their primary means of serving patients. We have been researching telemedicine for over 20 years and the evidence is very clear: […]
As the Covid-19 crisis has deepened relations between politicians and their scientific advisers have become increasingly frayed. Politicians want to hear we are making progress and that the actions they are taking are being effective. They may want to highlight statistics that point in this direction. The scientists however must stay true to their data […]
This book provides a new and innovative approach to mindfulness using short stories. Written for individuals and for groups, the book encourages readers to examine their lives, past, present and future. The 100 stories, written in 25 quartets, ascend from the ‘Base Camp’ of self-awareness, through the various levels of the ‘Slope’, and the ‘Crest’, to the ‘Summit’ of a new […]
The Government process for dealing with the Covid-19 crisis has revealed many of the issues at the heart of creating an effective action research strategy. The Government is responsible for policy making and they have SAGE (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) to provide scientific and technical advice. SAGE assesses the data on the progress […]