MICRA PhD conference goes virtual

The conference: 'Ageing Population & Lifecourse Trajectories' aims to showcase the range of research among postgraduate and early career researchers from across disciplines taking ageing as its focus. It had been scheduled to take place on campus on 21^st May as a full-day event, following the overwhelming success of the 2019 PhD Conference.

Unfortunately, the unprecedented situation of COVID-19, lockdown and campus closure have halted the preparation for the event in its planned format. So we’ve decided to chop the conference in two halves, and host our student presentations online, as MICRAs very first “virtual conference”.

Students presenting will be recording themselves, and we’ll put this together into a conference that viewers will be able to watch on the School of Social Sciences YouTube channel. This will be live by the start of June and in the meantime, there are plenty of historic MICRA seminars and events available to view on this channel!

The ageing population has been rapidly increasing all around the world. Since then, multiple disciplines have been trying to achieve insights into it. Yet frequently, studies were only conducted in one area with little consideration for the transitions or patterns over time. In this context, the search for understanding it in a longitudinal perspective is essential.

This conference aim is to create a space to share research about the ageing population and life course trajectories, considering the diversity of disciplines and perspectives available. It aims to welcome and foster research trying to understand ageing populations and demographic change, active ageing in place, health and wellbeing, age stratification and inequalities in later life.

Student presentations which will feature include the following:

• Louise Mitchell, University of Salford. "Improving the health of older people through community-based environmental projects"
• Siobhán Kelly, The University of Salford. "From the Community to the Commercial: The Lived Experiences of Older Volunteers Within the Charity Retail Sector"
• Nisha Dhanda, Aston University. "Exploring the role of social isolation in people living with hearing loss and dementia, in residential care settings"
• Mohammad Nazmul Hussain, University of Salford. "Understanding the Support Needs of People with Dementia in the Bangladeshi Community in Oldham"
• Molly Browne, Coventry University. "Exploring the impact of outdoor, horticultural and nature-based activity for people living with dementia and cognitive impairment"
• Matthew Ford, University of Salford. "An exploratory study into the views and experiences of individuals living with dementia and their care partners on ‘off-the-shelf’ GPS tracking technology"
• Francisca Ortiz, The University of Manchester. "Surviving the Chilean pension system: exploring its consequences from a mixed-methods perspective"
• Lucy Smout Szablewska, Durham University. "Making sense of pension injustice in Poland"
• Kathryn Waldegrave, University of Leeds. "Older prisoners – a hidden ageing population"
• Altug Didikoglu, Asri Maharani, Antony Payton, Maria Mercè Canal, Neil Pendleton. The University of Manchester. "Longitudinal change of sleep in the elderly and its associations with health"
• April R. Foster, Cecile El Chami, Rachel E.B. Watson, Catherine A. O’Neill.Centre for Dermatology Research, University of Manchester & Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. "Ageing and UV exposure dysregulate osmolyte-mediated cell volume regulation in human skin"
• Samuel Andersen, University of Manchester. "Is the housing crisis making us ill? The effects of housing unaffordability and economic insecurity on health over time"
• Caity Roleston, Aston University. "We’re dropping like flies...It’s a fact!”: Preliminary findings from a public-health approach to bereavement support within extra care housing."
• Aura Di Febo, The University of Manchester/University of Leeds. "Aging like a bodhisattva. Religiously-inspired volunteering and active ageing in contemporary Japan"
• Paulina Kolata, The University of Manchester. "Proactive (after)life: the politics of belonging and memory in ageing Buddhist temple communities"

As for our Keynote speakers, we plan to hold the second half of the conference on the 6^th October, on campus if the situation permits. You can register for a free place here.