Seminar 1: In Conversation with… Prof Dawn Edge – Embracing Equity

Dawn Edge is Professor of Mental Health and Inclusivity at the University of Manchester Academic Lead for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion on ‘race’, religion, and belief. She is the University of Manchester’s first Black woman professor.

Dawn is a member of the Board of Governors at The Health Foundation and Director of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Research Unit (EDI-RU) within Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust. She has previously served as a Non-Executive Director of NHS Mental Health Trusts and on the Board of Trustees of community organisations that work with marginalised communities. 

Currently, Dawn leads a national Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) to evaluate Culturally-adapted Family Intervention (CaFI) – a bespoke ‘talking treatment’ co-created with people of Sub-Saharan African and Caribbean descent diagnosed with schizophrenia and related psychoses and their families. She is also Principal Investigator on an MRC-funded study to determine the feasibility of co-creating ‘community dementia care hubs’ in Black Majority Churches (BMC) to promote early diagnosis and improve care of people from African-Caribbean backgrounds. Dawn is committed to creating opportunities for people from racialised and other marginalised groups to enter and thrive in research and academic environment.

You can watch this session here: In Conversation with… Prof. Dawn Edge

Seminar 2: Can We Use Fashion to Enhance and Embrace Equality? 

Dr Aurore Bardey is Associate Professor in Marketing at Psychology of Fashion Burgundy School of Business in France.

Having designed the BSc (Hons) Psychology of Fashion at the London College of Fashion in 2016, my expertise focuses on applying psychological concepts in the fashion context. My area of expertise focuses on Consumer Psychology in Fashion. The Fashion industry is one of the most unethical and polluting industries. More than ever, there is a need for this industry to be greener and more ethical. My research falls into three topics: (1) applying cognitive and experimental psychology concepts to enhance green consumer behaviour in fashion (Goal 12 from the United Nations sustainable development goals); (2) applying social psychology concepts to assess the impact of inclusive fashion on consumers (Goal 5 and Goal 10 from the United Nations sustainable development goals); (3) evaluating the impact of fashion on wellbeing and cognitive performance (Goal 3 from the United Nations sustainable development goals).

You can watch this session here: Can We Use Fashion to Enhance and Embrace Equality? 

Seminar 3: Responding to Domestic Abuse During Covid-19 – Innovation, Collaboration and Adaptation

Dr Helen Richardson Foster is a Research Fellow in the Connect Centre for International Research on Interpersonal Violence and Harm, School of Social Work, Care and Community, University of Central Lancashire where she works on a number of research projects exploring support for children and families affected by domestic abuse.  She has worked as resercher for over twenty years and her PhD explored child protection conferences in cases of neglect.

The Covid-pandemic 19 both reduced access to support and intensified entrapment for those experiencing domestic abuse, and there was particular concern about the potential impact for women and children. Support services had to adapt quickly to a changing landscape. The DAHLIA-19 (‘Domestic Abuse: Harnessing Learning Internationally from Covid-19’) study sought to explore responses to domestic abuse policy for survivors, children and perpetrators during the pandemic in four countries. It was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and led by Professor Nicky Stanley (PI), University of Central Lancashire, working with colleagues from the University of Melbourne, Trinity College, Dublin, the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and the University of Edinburgh. Methods included desk-based research, alongside individual interviews, consultations, and online workshops with a range of policy and practice stakeholders and experts. This presentation will provide an overview of key findings from the study and consider the learning from a developing area of innovative practice which was idenitifed in the UK. ‘Community touchpoints’ were an initiative that emerged during the pandemic, defined as safe spaces from which domestic abuse victims/survivors can seek information and access expert help. The presentation will consider the lessons that can be learned for future policy and practice in domestic abuse and pandemic response. 

www.uclan.ac.uk/connectcentre | Twitter @ConnectUClan | www.dahlia19study.com

You can watch it here: Responding to Domestic Abuse During Covid-19 – Innovation, Collaboration and Adaptation

Seminar 4: Putting our heads together: Insights from Auditory Research with the Autistic Community

Dr Hannah Guest is Research Fellow in the Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness at The University of Manchester. 

Autistic people have long reported hearing difficulties in noisy environments, like restaurants, classrooms, cafes, and social gatherings. Yet corresponding laboratory research has yielded inconsistent and inconclusive results. Our team of autistic and neurotypical researchers believes that one explanation is the lack of autistic voices shaping this research, limiting the utility of both research questions and research methods. Our project aims to build a new foundation for research in this field, progressing systematically from in-depth self-report to evidence-based hypotheses and data-collection tools. This presentation shares results of the first phase of the project, along with reflections on our team’s experience of participatory research.

You can watch it here: Putting our heads together: Insights form Auditory Research with the Autistic Community

You can join the UoM Neurodiversity Staff Network by emailing Matthew.Harrison (at) manchester.ac.uk

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