Learning from older citizens’ research groups

ABSTRACT

This article adds to an ongoing conversation in gerontology about the importance of training and involving older people in research. Currently, the literature rarely distinguishes between the one-off involvement of older citizens in research projects and the development of research groups led by older people that sustain over time as well as the nature of educational initiatives that support their development. This article presents a case-study based on evaluative data from the WhyNot! Older Citizens’ Research Group that has been running independently for nearly eight years. Members’ evaluations of, and reflections on, the impact of the training program explore from their perspective: Why older people want to get involved in research training and research groups, what they value most in the training, and the types of impact their involvement has had. Creating an educational environment where participants were able to contribute their knowledge in a new context as well learn new skills through group-work based experiential learning were key. Regular role-modeling provided by inputs from successful established citizen research groups was also important. Of the many benefits members gained from being part of a research group, emphasis was given to the relational aspects of the experience. Likewise the benefits members’ accorded to taking part in training and research transcended individual benefits encompassing benefits to the collective and the wider community. Linking health, social care and educational policies is important in providing coherence and opportunity for older people’s voices to shape research, policy, and practice.     

Measuring the impact of child protection through Activation States

Child protection (CP) has risen to the top of the UK sports policy agenda in the past four years and the Football Association has invested in this major strategy as part of its commitment to ‘use the power of football to build a better future’ (Football Association, 2000a). Evidencing the impact of child protection is, however, a complex task, exacerbated by the dearth of measurement tools that exist for this purpose in sport. This article presents a new model of ‘Activation States’ that has been designed and used to measure shifts in football culture as child protection has begun to impact upon the sport. The model is used to map changes over time related to the knowledge, feelings, actions and discourses of key stakeholders in football. The research for which the model was designed is a longitudinal study, commissioned by the English Football (soccer) Association, on the impact of the organisation's child protection strategy on the culture of soccer. Sample data from the project are used to illustrate the model and to examine its potential and limitations as a tool for measuring impacts in child protection and other social inclusion themes.     

The impact of free entry to museums

The commitment of the then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to ensuring free entry for all visitors to national museums and galleries by the end of 2001 left many of MORI's clients in the national institutions somewhat uncertain about the future. What impact would ‘going free’ have? Would those who might be described as ‘sociallyexcluded’ be encouraged through the doors? Would the money visitors saved on entrance fees be spent in the shops and restaurants?

The first question was answered in spectacular fashion when, in earlysummer 2002, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced a 62% increase in ‘visitor numbers’ in the seven months since entry charges were scrapped. While it is known that DCMS tends to use the terms ‘visitors’, ‘people’ and ‘visitor numbers’ to refer to visits per se, as a researcher two questions sprang to mind:

• Did these figures mean there were actually a lot more people visiting museums and galleries, or were the same people visiting more frequently?

• Was the boost in visiting restricted to the national museums and galleries, or were more people visiting museums and galleries generally?

MORI decided to see what more could be discovered about these extra visits by placing four questions about the British public's museum‐going habits on its GB Omnibus study in August 2002.

The results of that survey form the basis of this chapter. They demonstrate that, although the numbers of people visiting museums has increased significantly since 2001, the increase is greatest among those groups who have traditionally always gone to museums and galleries, while the increase among groups who might be described as socially excluded is much lower.

The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications of MORI's findings for the future of the museums and galleries sector.     

The Stanford Instructional Television Network: A Partnership with Industry

The Stanford Instructional Television Network (SITN), the largest single university provider of live televised graduate level engineering courses in the world, partners with industry to address the issues of competitiveness and job productivity. For over 25 years, SITN has offered engineers, scientists and technical managers a means to extend their education without leaving the workplace. SITN uses microwave, tutored videotape instruction, satellite and two‐way video to deliver over 250 credit courses annually as well as non‐credit programmes, certificate offerings and research seminars to industry and government sites.