Understanding the psychological, perceptual and emotional impact signage has on residents in a local community.
subject: signage, placemaking, community engagement, qualitative research, community reputation
description: The placement of signage, street furniture and advertisements can have a profound impact on the appearance of a built environment. They play a vital role in shaping the cultural, physical and social identities that impact the perceptions that residents and other stakeholders hold towards local communities, which in turn impacts on behaviours. Adopting a qualitative approach, this study will examine the impact of signage and other visual features that can contribute to the psychological, perceptual and emotional impact that these elements can have on residents in a local community. A number of semi-structured interviews were conducted amongst residents in One Manchester property areas, One Manchester place officers and residents near these areas. Participants were shown a variety of visual images of signage and were prompted to discuss their emotional response and thoughts, and propose suggestions to improve signage. A thematic analysis was conducted using the interview data and indicated the following four themes: signage design, reputation, community engagement and impact of signage. Reflecting upon these themes, the results suggested that existing signage was psychically ill-fitted and visually dull, lacking positive influential stimuli and evocative colours and that it lacked the authenticity and character needed to emotionally resonate with passers-by. This negatively impacted the reputation of the communities, leading them to be categorised as economically poor with high crime rates, resulting in stakeholders feeling alienated and some fearful. The results highlighted that the signage needs to be revitalised as a part of a wider placemaking strategy to rejuvenate local environments, perceived to be run down. This should support the ongoing evolution of these areas and engage community members to instal signage that is both influential and reflects an overall collective vision.
creator: Alexander Wootton
source: Design Due to the need to gain an in-depth understanding of the psychological, perceptual, and emotional impact signage has on residents in a community and factoring in the Covid-19 pandemic, a qualitative approach was adopted consisting of semi-structured interviews. This style of interviews was considered the most suitable method as they provide rich data on the participant’s thoughts which are not constrained by the bounds of tick box exercises or strict discussion guides. They enable researchers to “assess, confirm, validate, refute, or elaborate upon existing knowledge and the discovery of new knowledge” (Mcintosh & Morse, 2015, p. 1). This enables the discussion between the moderator and participant to flow more smoothly and naturally (Roulston et al., 2003) yet, a flexible guide at the moderators disposal keeps the conversation on topic. Interviews in the project were conducted using Microsoft Teams and telephone communication. The data was then assessed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six step thematic analysis. Braun & Clarke’s (2006) six-steps thematic analysis: Familiarisation: Getting to know the overall data collected through re-reads of transcripts. Coding: Reducing sentences and phrases into small fragments of meaning or “codes”. Generating themes: Identifying patterns among codes. Review themes: Assuring that the meanings identified are relevant to the representation of data collected (research objectives). Define themes: Refine themes developed by establishing their essence and significance. Analysing themes: Highlight the frequency of themes and meanings derived from qualitative data analysis. Generate conclusions agreed-upon by all researchers. Participants A sample of 24 participants was originally agreed, however, only 14 participants were interviewed for the project. Participants were either recruited by One Manchester or the lead researcher from areas across south, east and central Manchester. Participants were made up of the following: Eight …
publisher: Lancaster University
date: 2021
contributor: Reva Maria George
rights: Open
relation: Consultancy - Commercial report
format: Word doc.
language: English
type: Text
coverage: LA1 4YF

Understanding the psychological, perceptual and emotional impact signage has on residents in a local community.
subject: signage, placemaking, community engagement, qualitative research, community reputation
description: The placement of signage, street furniture and advertisements can have a profound impact on the appearance of a built environment. They play a vital role in shaping the cultural, physical and social identities that impact the perceptions that residents and other stakeholders hold towards local communities, which in turn impacts on behaviours. Adopting a qualitative approach, this study will examine the impact of signage and other visual features that can contribute to the psychological, perceptual and emotional impact that these elements can have on residents in a local community. A number of semi-structured interviews were conducted amongst residents in One Manchester property areas, One Manchester place officers and residents near these areas. Participants were shown a variety of visual images of signage and were prompted to discuss their emotional response and thoughts, and propose suggestions to improve signage. A thematic analysis was conducted using the interview data and indicated the following four themes: signage design, reputation, community engagement and impact of signage. Reflecting upon these themes, the results suggested that existing signage was psychically ill-fitted and visually dull, lacking positive influential stimuli and evocative colours and that it lacked the authenticity and character needed to emotionally resonate with passers-by. This negatively impacted the reputation of the communities, leading them to be categorised as economically poor with high crime rates, resulting in stakeholders feeling alienated and some fearful. The results highlighted that the signage needs to be revitalised as a part of a wider placemaking strategy to rejuvenate local environments, perceived to be run down. This should support the ongoing evolution of these areas and engage community members to instal signage that is both influential and reflects an overall collective vision.
creator: Alexander Wootton
source: Design Due to the need to gain an in-depth understanding of the psychological, perceptual, and emotional impact signage has on residents in a community and factoring in the Covid-19 pandemic, a qualitative approach was adopted consisting of semi-structured interviews. This style of interviews was considered the most suitable method as they provide rich data on the participant’s thoughts which are not constrained by the bounds of tick box exercises or strict discussion guides. They enable researchers to “assess, confirm, validate, refute, or elaborate upon existing knowledge and the discovery of new knowledge” (Mcintosh & Morse, 2015, p. 1). This enables the discussion between the moderator and participant to flow more smoothly and naturally (Roulston et al., 2003) yet, a flexible guide at the moderators disposal keeps the conversation on topic. Interviews in the project were conducted using Microsoft Teams and telephone communication. The data was then assessed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six step thematic analysis. Braun & Clarke’s (2006) six-steps thematic analysis: Familiarisation: Getting to know the overall data collected through re-reads of transcripts. Coding: Reducing sentences and phrases into small fragments of meaning or “codes”. Generating themes: Identifying patterns among codes. Review themes: Assuring that the meanings identified are relevant to the representation of data collected (research objectives). Define themes: Refine themes developed by establishing their essence and significance. Analysing themes: Highlight the frequency of themes and meanings derived from qualitative data analysis. Generate conclusions agreed-upon by all researchers. Participants A sample of 24 participants was originally agreed, however, only 14 participants were interviewed for the project. Participants were either recruited by One Manchester or the lead researcher from areas across south, east and central Manchester. Participants were made up of the following: Eight …
publisher: Lancaster University
date: 15/09/2021
contributor: Joel Fox
rights: open
relation: Consultancy - Commercial report
format: Word doc
language: English
type: Data

Understanding the Role of Academic Self-Efficacy, Social Support, and Anxiety in University Students’ Academic Resilience
subject: academic reselience, self-efficacy, social support, anxiety, university students, multiple linear regression
description: Academic resilience can refer to a student’s response when they are faced with academic hinderances, such as lower than expected grades. Those with a high ability to bounce back from hinderances have previously been shown to perform well during exams and have more positive mental health outcomes. Whilst a number of research studies have attempted to explain the academic resilience of primary and secondary school students, the factors that underpin university students’ academic resilience remain unclear. Therefore, the present study attempts to investigate the extent to which both protective and risk factors underpin university students’ academic resilience. The variables explored include academic self-efficacy; social support; and anxiety. Participants (N = 246) were all university students in the United Kingdom and they completed four self-report measures online via Qualtrics. In line with the hypotheses, a series of zero-order correlations showed a negative association between anxiety and academic resilience, while both academic self-efficacy and social support positively correlated with academic resilience. A multiple linear regression showed that the three predictor variables significantly predicted academic resilience and accounted for 41% of the variance. The findings lend support to a number of other recent studies that have explored characteristics of students’ resilience. Furthermore, the current study applied a context-specific resilience and despite the use of just three predictor variables, the most variance was explained in the present study. Whilst the study does have useful directions for both educators and future research, the use of self-report scales to measure a range of psychological concepts, that individuals tend to see themselves in a favourable manner in, does limit the study’s validity.
creator: Regan Kelly
source: Method Participants The sample consisted of 246 participants who were all students at universities in the U.K. After the exclusion of incomplete responses (N = 5); invalid responses to demographic questions (N = 1); and invalid ratings on scales (N = 7), the final sample consisted of 233 participants. There was 165 females and 68 males with ages ranging from 17 to 52 and the mean age was 24.3 years (SD = 4.8). Participants were primarily recruited through Facebook dissertation exchange groups and online participant recruiting software SONA was also used, thus a simple random sample was employed. To ensure the desired number of participants was reached, the chance to opt-in to a raffle draw for five £10 Amazon vouchers was offered to participants. Measures Academic Resilience. Consisting of 30 items and a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree), the Academic Resilience Scale (ARS-30; Cassidy, 2016) was used to measure academic resilience. On this measure, individuals read a short vignette and were asked to imagine themselves in the situation described. The vignette details how a student has recently received a number of poor grades and one fail and has subsequently received critical feedback. The items are presented as statements and these are grouped into three sub-scales (i.e., perseverance, reflecting and adaptive help-seeking, and negative affect), and consist of both positively (e.g., I would try to think of new solutions) and negatively phrased statements (e.g., I would just give up). A summed score of the three sub-scales was used as a measure of academic resilience in the present study and the scores can range from 30 to 150, with a high score reflecting a highly academically resilient individual. Academic Self-Efficacy. Owen and Froman’s (1988) College Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (CASES) was used to measure academic self-efficacy. This measure comprises of 33 items and individuals used a five-point Likert scale, rang…
publisher: Lancaster University
date: 2020
contributor: Aimee Fletcher Eleni Gkari
rights: Open
relation: None
format: RK Dissertation_August 8, 2020_07.57 inc. res reversed.csv
language: English
type: Data
coverage: LA14YF

Use This or You’ll Lose That: Investigating Appropriate Psychological Theories to Market the Bogallme Tracking System.
subject: Marketing/Advertising Qualitative (Thematic Analysis)
description: The Bogallme Tracking System is an anonymous ‘Lost and Found’ system which uses stickers with QR codes printed on them to facilitate the return of lost items. It is thought that the main motivations behind the purchasing of these stickers are fear appeal and loss aversion, as people fear losing their possessions and will do whatever they can to prevent this from occurring. This study aimed to investigate whether this is the case using focus groups consisting of primarily students - the target audience for this specific product. The research also explored Rogers’ (1962; 1976) Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DOI) in relation to this product as well as opinions regarding the product and brand. Findings suggested that all three of the above theories are relevant and useful in the development of this product and can be used to create an efficient marketing campaign whilst creating scope for further research which would benefit the development of the brand and product.
creator: Elizabeth Wardman
source: Methodology Participants. Sixteen participants took part in this study. Participants were recruited via opportunity sampling through various social media platforms and word of mouth. The age of participants ranged between 20 and 23. This age range was selected due to a market segmentation suggesting that over 50% of QR code users were aged between 18 and 34 and that 18 to 24 year olds were 36% more likely to scan them (14 Million Americans Scanned QR Codes on their Mobile Phones in June 2011., n.d.) Materials. The focus groups loosely followed a discussion guide (See Appendix D) which asked general questions corresponding to the product, brand and incentives as well as questions related to Fear, Loss Aversion and Diffusion of Innovations theory. The majority of questions within the Discussion Guide were open-ended as they encourage participants to express their views and opinions in full (Turner, 2010) and allow for any further elaboration. During the focus group participants were shown three potential names for the brand (Scannit, GlobalQR and the brand name Bogallme) and an example of the Diffusion of Innovations Model (Figure 1). Participants were each given prototypes of the product that they tested during the group and were allowed to keep these at the end of the study. Procedure. Focus Groups Focus groups were used as the method of data collection for this study. Although focus groups cannot provide data as rich as that of individual interviews, they can allow for group discussions. These group discussions and interactions allow for comparisons between participant experiences and opinions which could otherwise only be inferred after proceedings with individual interviews (Morgan, 1997). This study consisted of two focus groups which lasted approximately 60 minutes each. Within each focus group, eight participants sat facing one another around a circular table. After reading the information sheet and signing the consent forms, the focus group started with intro…
publisher: Lancaster University
date: 2015
contributor: Frances Jackson
rights: There is no license suggested for this work as far as the research is aware.
relation: Leslie Hallam
format: Results There were several overarching themes present in both focus groups which relate to the three discussed theories (Fear, Loss Aversion and DOI Theory) and the proposed areas for exploration, along with new themes which were not previously considered. In response to the second objective relating to participant motivations to buy and use the product, the main theme of ‘motivations’ was created to investigate motivations to buy and use the product. Under this theme came the categories ‘fear’, ‘loss aversion’ and ‘adoption’. Following this, further sub-categories were created for each category which each included ‘effective’ and ‘ineffective’. The ‘adoption’ category under this main theme also included the further sub-categories ‘explicit’ and ‘implicit’. The category ‘explicit’ was based on what participants said outright whereas the ‘implicit’ category was based on inferences and implications from the discussion. The next main theme was created in relation to the first objective which aimed to explore brand and product opinions and was named ‘brand ideas’ and contained the categories ‘name’, ‘product idea’, ‘incentives’ and ‘other opinions’. For the final and arguably most significant objective, the main theme of ‘development’ was created which contained the categories ‘audience’, ‘barriers’ and ‘ideas’ which aimed to assist in making informed suggestions as to how to proceed with product development. Brand Name The opinions relating to the brand name were very clear: participants did not like it. After being presented with three options of a possible brand name with no previous knowledge not one participant deemed ‘Bogallme’ appropriate for the product. Not one participant worked out that the word ‘Bogall’ was an anagram of the word ‘Global’ and the majority of participants chose the name ‘Scannit’ as the most appropriate for both the product and the brand. Many participants also had trouble in pronouncing the brand name correctly and it was pointed out in the …
language: English
type: Qualitative interview data
coverage: LA1 4YQ

Visual engagement with different animals
subject: Animals, dichotomization, eye-tracking, empathic gaze, guilt
description: People treat animals differently depending on how they are dichotomized.The present study tested the consequences of dichotomization on our visual engagement with still images of different animals. Fifty-seven participants took part in two identical image visualization tasks, the first preceded a short empathy inducing video,and the second followed. We used eye-tracking to study dwell time percentage oriented towards the eyes of companion, farmed and endangered animals. Eye-directed visual engagement was greatest for companion animals in the first image visualization task. This bias in visual engagement towards companion animals was attenuated in the second image visualization task.We hypothesised that the empathy inducing video would change gaze towards farmed animals, evidencing either increased attentional avoidance or increased engagement. Although mean averages suggest a slight increase in visual engagement following the video, this difference was not significant. Participants reported highest levels of negative emotion regarding the farmed animal’s videos. Empathic gaze with farmed animals correlated positively with participants’ level of meat consumption restriction. The findings support several pre-registered hypotheses but disconfirm others, and are discussed in terms of the extension of empathic gaze to animals.
creator: Rebecca Gregson
source: Participants Our pre-registered recruitment strategy was to collect fifty participants with complete data. Fifty participants were recruited through (1) Lancaster University’s research participation system, SONA or(2) poster advertisementand were paid £3for their involvement. Each participant saw 9 images, presented twice, each for 10 seconds, totaling 180 seconds of eye-tracking data. On first inspection of the data we were forced to exclude seven participants whose eyes had not been tracked for 50% of the experiment. To reach our pre-registered participant pool of 50 we recruited seven more participants, one of whom had to be excluded on the same grounds as previous. Our final data set was comprised of 49 participants, 36 females and 13 males. Age ranged between 18 and 30 (M= 21.10, SD= 2.13). Participants reported a range of nationalities, including: American (n=1), British (n=28), Bulgarian (n=3), Chinese (n=3), Croatian (n=2), German (n=2), Hungarian (n=2) Indian (n=3), Indonesian (n= 1), Latvian (n=1), Nigerian (n=1), Malaysian (n=1) and Slovakian (n =1). Participants dietary classifications were as follows:Meat lover(n =1), Omnivore (n =23), Semi-vegetarian (n =16), Pescatarian(n =3),Lacto-or Ovo-vegetarian(n =5), Strict vegetarian(n =0), Dietary vegan(n =0),andLifestyle vegan(n =1).Design The experiment employed a 3x2 fully within-subjects design. The independent variables were animal category and time. The variable animal category hadthree levels: farmed animals (sheep, cow, pig), companion animals (dog, cat), and endangered wild animals (chimpanzee, tiger, koala) and was operationalized using still images. Our main research interest was the distinction between farmed and companion animals, given the marginalized status of farmed animals in society and the privileged status of companion animals. Endangered animals are vulnerable to human interference and confer some value VISUAL ENGAGMENT WITH ANIMALS.4due to their endangered status, but they are not active…
publisher: Lancaster University
date: 2018
contributor: Rebecca James
format: SPSS data
language: English
type: SPSS.sav
coverage: LA1 4YF

What impact does the model statement have on future intentions for liars and truth tellers?
subject: liars manipulation model statement truth tellers veracity
description: Current literature states that there is a marked difference between statements given by truth tellers in comparison to liars. This difference is seemingly determined from when the cognitive load for participants is increased and liars struggle more. There is also evidence from distinctions in the linguistic make-up of the statements. Thirty-six undergraduate participants took part in a study exploring the effect of the model statement on truth tellers compared to liars when discussing a future event. All participants gave their first statement, then listened to the model statement before giving their second statement. Participants also filled out a questionnaire after completing the interview. All interviews were transcribed and analysed using CBCA, WMatrix and ANOVA. Results indicated that while there was a clear effect of the model statement, there was no significant effect of veracity from the CBCA and ANOVA analysis. On the other hand, WMatrix indicated differences in veracity. In conclusion, both truth tellers and liars were able to increase the amount of information between their first and second statements, thus providing an effect of the model statement. However, there were nevertheless distinct differences between the language used by participants under both conditions; suggesting that there are in fact marked differences between truth tellers and liars when discussing a future event.
creator: Eleanor Evans
source: The model statement (Appendix A) is a 734-word document and was replicated from Leal et al. (2015). It is known that the model statement had an effect in the Leal et al. (2015) experiment and therefore it seemed appropriate to remain consistent with using the exact same model statement for this study. The interview questions (Appendix B) were also adapted from the Leal et al. (2015) study. Questionnaires (Appendix C and Appendix D) were fashioned for each condition. The material for the questionnaires was largely developed for this experiment with the questions specifically tailored to relate to the interview. Both questionnaires contained a total of nine questions, a mix of Likert-scale and open-ended questions. A digirecorder was used to record all participant interviews. This study is a 2 (within factor: the manipulation through using the model statement) x 2 (between factor: the veracity, participants are either in the truth telling condition or the lying condition) mixed effects ANOVA. The experiment was carried out in two sections, the first being the interview and the second involving a questionnaire. Procedure Before completing the experiment, all participants were provided with an information sheet (Appendix E). Participants met with the researcher so that they could be briefed about their task: to discuss the day in which the participants would go and collect their degree results. In addition, the participants were given a consent form (Appendix F), which they were required to fill out in order to participate. Participants took part in the experiment individually. Once consent was given the participants were further briefed about which condition they would be participating in – either the truth telling condition or the lying condition. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the conditions. All participants were told as a baseline for the interview that the normality for collecting their degree results was that they would go to their subject departme…
publisher: Lancaster University
date: 2017
contributor: John Towse
rights: Open
format: data/SPSS.sav
language: English
type: Data
coverage: LA1 4YF

What person attributes influence the comprehension of written health information? A scoping review and critical appraisal
subject: health literacy, comprehension, person attributes, health outcomes.
description: Increasingly, individuals are required to be actively involved in their healthcare. To do so successfully, individuals need to possess the skills and resources to be able to access, understand, and apply health information. Health communication guidance proposes that health information is not understood due to the mismatch between adults average literacy skills and the literacy skills required to comprehend health information. To tackle this, the use of plain language, such as shortening sentences and removing jargon, is promoted. Policies, however, do not commonly consider the impact of person attributes, such as age, education, and gender, on the comprehension of health information. To understand the nature and scope of current research, and whether person attributes do have an impact, a scoping review was conducted. The search strategy yielded 5,459 articles which were then screened, resulting in a final sample of 99 studies. Quantitative analyses and a critical appraisal revealed three main findings: (1) the research is heterogenous and evolving; (2) person attributes are not commonly used in analyses; and (3) when person attributes are included, the effects on comprehension vary. The findings and implications of this review have the potential to influence how future research is conducted, and crucially inform policies about the importance of person attributes on the comprehension of health information.
creator: Charlotte Betts
source: Stage 1: Identify the Research Question The current research is an updated scoping review, building upon earlier work by Davies et al. (in preparation), which seeks to answer: What person attributes affect or can be predicted to affect the response of individuals to written health information? Table 2 Form Developer: Rebecca A. James Search strategy methods Strategy Method Bibliographic Searched the following: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL); PsycINFO; PubMed; and Web of Science (WoS). Journal Obtained all sources from the following journals between 2018-11-08 and 2023-05-05: Patient Education and Counselling; Health Communication; and Journal of Health Communication. Author Obtained sources from the following authors between the dates 2018-11-08 and 2023-05-05: TC Davis; Dan Morrow; Chiung-Ju Liu; Michael Paasche-Orlow; Lisa Soederberg Miller; Rima Rudd; and Michael Wolf. Reference Once the full text of the bibliographic, journal, and author searches were complete, the reference lists of the included items were examined to locate new and possibly relevant articles. Stage 2: Identifying Relevant Studies Sources were identified using four methods: (1) bibliographic search; (2) journal search; (3) author search; and (4) reference search. Grey literature was not searched due to concerns with the quality of the literature and possible time constraints. Excluding the reference search, all articles were published between 8th November 2018 to 5th May 2023. Details of each of the search methods are outlined in Table 2. Stage 3: Study Selection Once articles were imported to Rayyan, a free online software application for conducting reviews (Ouzzani et al., 2016), duplicate articles were identified and removed. Then articles went through a title and abstract screening whereby articles which did not include the following were excluded: (1) a measure of understanding, comprehension, or readability; (2) a quantitative outcome; (3) populations wh…
publisher: Lancaster University
date: 11/09/2023
contributor: Oliver Powell
rights: Unsure. Contact Dr. Rob Davies.
relation: In part, in collaboration with TM. Supervised by Dr. Rob Davies
format: Data.csv and Text.doc
language: English
type: Scoping Review
coverage: LA1 4YW