The Open University

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

As we confront the global sustainability challenges of our time, schools need to address modern culture's disassociation with the natural world. Our transformative vision is to bring to life naturalistic learning through touch experiences, thereby creating cognitive and affective connections between school students' science learning and their personal and societal relevance. We will co-design new pedagogies that include digital haptic experiences to engage students in the exploration of the natural world and help construct conceptual models. Science education has struggled to utilise touch adequately beyond early years, as concepts and models become more abstract, but even the arts emphasise the visual and in many contexts discourage touching. We explore how reclaiming the value of touch can bring significant innovation in the way young people come to learn, but also in how they can use technology to make sense of change in their urban and natural surroundings, the interface between the two, and connect their learning to today's global challenges. Observing and understanding qualitative perceptions of scale, density, texture and pattern crosscut topics in science and the arts. We will pursue a STEAM (STEM + the Arts) approach to education that also opens the way for schools to participate in emergent areas of radical citizen science, which advocate a more bottom-up and inclusive approach, allowing imaginative flexibility in responding to the new questions of a changing global environment. Our research objectives are to: 1. Develop the possibilities of science learning through haptic experiences across the primary and secondary school syllabus. Explore topics where students are expected to develop conceptual models of abstract concepts, e.g. topics involving fields, flows and currents, starting with Electric Circuits, where we will enable students to feel circuit diagrams shown on a screen to help construct conceptual models accounting for current, voltage, and resistance. Similarly explore concepts of flows and forces in geography and in ecology, where for example students can feel the effects of water currents on sand forming ripples, and air and water currents on the collective behaviours of fish and bird swarms. 2. Combine haptic experiences with imaginative and aesthetic thinking to foster affective connections to nature by, for instance, allowing students to sense an underground environment through touch as a mole, or enter a flower or hive as a bee. We will also co-design interfaces for sensing patterns and textures in art through touch, including interfaces to feel existing artworks, and a digital haptic sketching experience that allows students to feel drawn lines and textures as they draw them. 3. Co-design touch-centred Citizen Science methods for school grounds that use textures from nature to develop pattern-led thinking about underlying structures of natural artefacts. 4. Understand the impact of these digital and natural touch interventions on cognition, science learning, interest, creativity, artistic exploration and socialisation, including for students with sight impairments, for whom touch is central to sensing the world. We will thus probe the affective possibilities of a new sensing science, which turns abstract into concrete and distant into intimate, to effect attitudinal change and foster environmentally friendly behaviours. Outcomes, benefiting children, teachers and mobile interface designers and users include: 1. A transformative interaction design that utilises the properties of touch for creating more affective and inclusive user experiences, and 2. An integrated naturalistic learning pedagogical infrastructure that supports conceptual learning, integrating sensory exploration, scientific inquiry and artistic creativity.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

The aim of this fellowship is to transition from a governance professional to an academic researcher. The fellowship will further develop and disseminate key findings from my doctoral research to increase its impact. It will add two new peer-reviewed articles to my existing publication record. It will also permit me to develop professionally in the UK and globally as I build new networks, engage with practitioners, create a Policy Paper, and develop a viable proposal for further ESRC funding. My doctoral thesis and resulting publications presented key findings about the challenges in developing the Blue Economy (BE), analysing cases in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region. I investigated the drivers and challenges for international collaboration over a shared ocean space. I looked in detail at the role of security in enabling economic development in the ocean, and how BE spaces are created through instruments of governance. At the local level I considered how the BE is put into practice, looking at the nature of community-led initiatives and their role in achieving a just and sustainable BE. I now wish to disseminate my findings and insights to a wider audience, and to develop collaborative networks as a platform for future research on the blue economy, through the following activities: Publications (25%). I will write and submit two articles for publication in high-value peer-reviewed journals: 'Blue Carbon' and the financing of marine conservation: securing community benefit in a global economy. Journal: Marine Policy Who gains and who loses in fishery reform: how can the benefits of Blue Economy development be fairly allocated? Journal: Ecology and Society Additional fieldwork and data analysis (20%). I will undertake additional data gathering and analysis in Kenya filling gaps in my research data in support of new articles. Policy Paper, Networks and Dissemination (25%). I will co-produce a comprehensive Policy Paper. Taking my research findings as a starting point I will engage with regional policy makers (eg Kenya County Governments, thematic experts, Regional coordination bodies etc), using expert input from a Seminar, to make policy recommendations for sustainable BE development and governance. I will disseminate it widely through development and research institutions and practitioner networks: UNEP and Nairobi Convention Secretariat, Indian Ocean Commission secretariat, World Bank, the active regional economic commissions (IGAD, EAC, COMESA), UNECA, and African Union agencies (AU-IBAR, AUDA-NEPAD), WIOMSA, disseminating my work but also building networks and academic credibility. I will also attend UN Oceans conference 2025 and the annual Kenya BE conference. Seminar (15%). For public engagement, dissemination of research findings, and to build professional networks I will organise an international blue economy seminar at OU. This event will bring together researchers and practitioners to share perspectives on Blue Economy, Governance and Environment, informing the Policy Paper. Internal and external funding will be sought to support researchers from the WIO region to participate in the event. New proposal (15%). I will prepare a proposal for new ESRC (or ERC) research funding, building on my PhD research on the blue economy. I wish to investigate further the mechanisms and practices by which regional States collaborate over shared ocean space and resources. Of particular interest are issues of securitisation (so enabling economic development), and the allocation and benefit-sharing of natural resources at differing scales - internationally (eg tuna fish) and locally (e.g. mangrove forests).

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

During this Fellowship, I will conduct activities in support of my central aim to develop my innovative approach to the refugee crisis in Greece and to establish myself as academic researcher. My research documents, analyses and amplifies how young people (refugees, asylum seekers and locals) negotiate bordering, belonging and citizenship processes in Lesvos. Conducting the project online in times of Covid (2021-2023), I crafted an innovative design of creative and digital methods to contest borders that restricted accessibility to participants such as those of Moria camp. Lesvos is a Greek island on the border with Turkey crossed by millions of refugees on their way to Europe. The closure of the Balkan route in 2016 resulted in thousands of refugees being stranded in the island. Covid regulations amplified the repressive practices of state. The humanitarian and multiple social crises drove refugees and locals to despair, giving rise to xenophobic sentiments and nationalistic attacks. The human rights violations of refugees in Lesvos have been widely documented by media and researchers. However, little is known about the rights claims of the refugees, the lived experiences of the locals and the relationships among them. My research has become a stage to contest borders of segregation, to enable cultural encounters among refugees and locals and to craft opportunities for novel personal and collective representations. My findings show how creative and political acts land on (and often hide in) ordinary spaces of everyday life, addressing injustice through creating environments of care and solidarity. Through public events my interlocutors reached diverse international audiences, challenging stereotypical representations, mobilizing new affects and instigating political acts. They created new discourses about migration, reclaiming its contexts, bodies and lived relationships. In this Postdoctoral Fellowship, I will focus on producing publications to disseminate widely research findings and investigate deeper the interconnection between creative methods, public affects and political acts. First, I will secure a publishing contract and start preparing my manuscript with the title: 'Borders, Belongings and Creative Acts: Creating Stages with Refugee and Local Young People in Lesvos'. Second, I will publish an article with a top-ranking, peer-reviewed journal. It will document grassroots acts instigated among refugees and locals tracing the growth of a creative initiative that started in Moria camp and got established as a legal NGO in Lesvos. Third, I will create a website which will document the rights claims of my interlocutors and our public events, capturing and amplifying the impact of the research as it grows. Fourth, I will organize with my interlocutors two public events in Lesvos and London presenting their creative and political acts. Following the events, I will interview members of the audiences investigating the impact of their attendance on their affects and politics. I will research if and how lived experiences of the audience can challenge stereotypical representations of the refugee crisis instigating new political acts. A video will also be created documenting the performances. Fifth, I will conduct a series of research led lectures to international universities. The impact of my work is multi-faceted creating stages among young people, academia, practitioners and publics. Taking into consideration the escalating forced migration movements and the failures of integration policies, my work is time sensitive. It provides alternatives for cultural encounters among refugees and locals that ignite relationships and can inspire new political acts.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

In an increasingly digital world, the pivotal role of online learning platforms for education remains unchallenged, providing access to knowledge and learning opportunities for students worldwide. As any other technology, however, online learning settings face a significant issue that threatens its inclusivity and diversity: persistent ethnic bias embedded within educational content. Recent research shows how such bias can marginalise ethnic minority groups, negatively impacting their academic performance and engagement with the learning material. Identifying and addressing such bias is complex and challenging due to the very large volume of educational data and due to the subjective nature of ethnic bias, which varies across cultural and individual perceptions. This complexity renders manual identification impractical and necessitates innovative, technology-driven solutions. Aims Recognizing the urgency of this issue, this project aims at understanding and uncovering potential ethnic biases in text-based learning materials using AI-empowered technology. In particular, this fellowship has the following main objectives: Disseminate findings on ethnic bias in online learning to the academic community. Via peer-reviewed journals and conferences. Raise practitioners awareness about ethnic bias in learning materials. Via workshops and networking events. Advance professional skills in AI technologies for inclusive education. Refine existing bias detection models in educational content, using ethnic bias as a blue-print for quality assurance support at large. How will this be achieved? To achieve these objectives: Findings on ethnic bias will be shared via journal articles and conference presentations. Practitioner awareness will be raised through 3 workshops delivered to 100 stakeholders. Professional AI skills will be enhanced through online courses and workshops. Bias detection models will be refined through targeted research. Although it is anticipated that limited research will be conducted, this stage comprises updating the models with new data and assessing them against previous performance metrics. Why is this relevant? Manually reviewing educational content for biases is a daunting and time-consuming task, often impractical due to the vast amounts of material available online. By using an automated strategy, this project offers educators a proactive approach for authoring and revising content that reflects the diversity of learners, as a means to increase accessibility of educational content. Additionally, it raises awareness among educators about the importance of inclusivity. This dual approach - combining AI-driven technology with heightened awareness - serves as a powerful mechanism to reduce barriers to equity in education, ensuring that students from various ethnic backgrounds have access to inclusive learning opportunities. Expected Outcomes The key outcomes of this project include: Validated training process and AI models to identify and help reduce bias, creating validated tools and re-usable patterns for their validation for enhancing content quality. Boosted awareness among stakeholders (i.e., researchers, educators, and policymakers) and strengthened networks, sharing best practices for inclusivity. More equitable learning materials, improving access and accessibility to quality educational content for all ethnic backgrounds. Broader Impact This research's broader impact extends to shaping a globally-inclusive educational landscape, enhancing AI precision, scalability, awareness, and collaboration to ensure learning materials reflect societal diversity.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-07

For many school-aged students in areas of economic disadvantage, space research may appear irrelevant to their daily lives, with school and  “professional” science seemingly worlds apart. We will address this divergence by giving students (KS2 and KS3) the opportunity to study extraterrestrial materials collected in their local area. We will organize “urban” micrometeorite searches and provide a meteor camera to each participating school. Students will use a variety of techniques to identify extraterrestrial materials, both from their own collected samples and other “classic” sedimentary micrometeorite traps. They will then use electron microscopes, both in the classroom and remotely via the Open University's OpenSTEM lab, to analyze these particles. Students will also run their particles on the STFC Diamond DIAD beamline. This project will raise students’ science capital and also bring STFC science and funding to the attention of a wide and varied audience.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-07

The project aims to establish African-led equitable partnerships focusing on gender, conflict, and creative economies. Building on ten years of previous work in East and Southern Africa, it employs decolonial methodologies and participatory methods. The initiative spans Kenya, South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Rwanda, and Lesotho, engaging local communities, activists, grassroots organizations, and stakeholders for broad-based participation and impact. Key themes include digital humanities and the creative economy, women and girls, and conflict/post-conflict humanitarian protection and modern slavery. The project acknowledges the digital divide while promoting inclusivity, primarily focusing on the creative economy. It emphasizes gender equality, addressing challenges faced by women and girls in conflict settings, and explores initiatives to combat modern slavery and promote peacebuilding. The methodology involves comprehensive stakeholder and rights holders identification and engagement, using open calls and mapping to include disadvantaged groups and historically disadvantaged universities. Standards for decolonization ensure equitable management, ethics, data sovereignty, and dissemination. Risk mitigation addresses potential exploitation, inter-group dynamics, and controversial topics through active listening and transparency. The project is divided into four phases: workshop preparation (July - October 2024), two-day workshops (October-November 2024), co-producing outputs (December 2024 - March 2025), and ongoing meetings for future actions (April and May 2025). Gender equality is central, ensuring equal opportunities for participation, leadership, and decision-making. Targeted outreach and a gender-sensitive budget facilitate the involvement of women and underrepresented genders. The project promotes gender equality, reducing discrimination, and fostering solidarity among women. A comprehensive risk assessment and monitoring mechanisms address potential negative impacts on gender equality. The project aims to stimulate innovation, build local capacities, empower marginalized groups, and create sustainable impacts. By enhancing gender equality and fostering relationships between policymakers, decision-makers, civil society, and government officials, it contributes to Sustainable Development Goals like gender equality, decent work and economic growth, and partnerships for the goals.