Providing real-time assistance in disaster relief by leveraging crowdsourcing power

Crowdsourcing platforms for disaster management have drawn a lot of attention in recent years due to their efficiency in disaster relief tasks, especially for disaster data collection and analysis. Although the on-site rescue staff can largely benefit from these crowdsourcing data, due to the rapidly evolving situation at the disaster site, they usually encounter various difficulties and have requests, which need to be resolved in a short time. In this paper, aiming at efficiently harnessing crowdsourcing power to provide those on-site rescue staff with real-time remote assistance, we design and develop a crowdsourcing disaster support platform by considering three unique features, viz., selecting and notifying relevant off-site users for individual request according to their expertise; providing collaborative working functionalities to off-site users; improving answer credibility via “crowd voting.” To evaluate the platform, we conducted a series of experiments with three-round user trials and also a System Usability Scale survey after each trial. The results show that the platform can effectively support on-site rescue staff by leveraging crowdsourcing power and achieve good usability

A reflective account on becoming reflexive: the 7 Cs of caring conversations as a framework for reflexive questioning

Context: Some uncertainty surrounds both the definition and the application of reflexivity in participatory research and practice development. There is scope for further exploration of what reflexivity might look like in practice, and how the researcher/practice developer and participants might be involved. This paper does this in the context of a study that is using appreciative inquiry to explore the experience of inspection in care homes. Aims: I will explore my personal journey into the use of a relational constructionist approach to reflexivity and suggest that the 7 Cs of caring conversations provide a useful framework to inform reflexive practice. The 7 Cs will be used as a framework for the telling of this story. Implications for practice: Relational reflexivity has the potential to create the space for all those involved in research/practice development initiatives to voice their thoughts and feelings about the initiative and their involvement in it The 7 Cs of caring conversations can provide a framework for developing questions that may serve as a starting point for cultivating reflexive practic

Creatively exploring care home futures

BACKGROUND 'Creatively exploring care homes futures’ involved a collaboration with the University of the West of Scotland and Scottish Care to explore the image and vision of care homes in the near future. Involving the perspectives of care home providers, staff and residents, this project aimed to ensure that exploration of the future and opportunities to innovate were informed by lived experience. The project brought together the strengths of a design-led approach and Appreciative Inquiry to explore and illustrate dynamic ways of engaging with the breadth of priorities within care homes. PROJECT AIM Combining the expertise of The Innovation School and the LIFE programme at UWS, the project aimed to create a safe space for participants to share insights and creatively explore care homes in the future, supported by design tools and methods. The research focussed on three interlinked areas: Care home as community Care home experience of the workforce Care home experience of residents and familie