Proto-policy is a three month pilot project running from June to August 2015, which aims to investigate how 'design fictions' -provocative visual texts (artefacts, images, films) that materialise scenarios about, or provide clues to, future ways of living-can be used to help politicians and community groups imagine the future implications of policy initiatives in creative ways. Proto-policy is part of the Arts & Humanities Research Council-funded project ProtoPublics, which aims to support researchers and community partners to become active participants in 'crafting new services, experiences, projects and policies that address contemporary issues' (http://protopublics.org/). For the purposes of this pilot, Proto-policy will focus on issues of ageing in place (people remaining in their homes rather than move to institutional facilities) and isolation. Imagining alternative ways of living in old age has become a cultural preoccupation, hence the extraordinary popular success of the 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel', yet talking to older people about the future (particularly the 'older old', those aged 80+) is virtually taboo. This project uses design fictions to address that taboo by inviting older people to imagine and, with the assistance of a designer, create visual texts (artefacts, images, films) that materialise scenarios, or provide clues to, future ways of living in compelling ways. Proto-policy will run a series of creative workshops with residents in Miners Court, an assisted-care housing complex in Redruth Cornwall, and the second with elders living in their own homes in Lancaster (in conjunction with Age UK Lancaster), respond to the 'Ageing in Place' policy agenda by co-creating future design fictions that envisage what a future of 'flexible living' - a third space that has the benefits of independent living without the downsides of loneliness, fear and vulnerability - might look like. These would be shared with politicians in a 'design fiction provocation' event to be held in Westminster in order to help negotiate political questions. Through its project partners, the All-Party Parliamentary Design and Innovation Group (APDIG) and Age UK, this project seeks to build a shared understanding of the constraints and opportunities of political issues around Ageing in Place and loneliness through design fictions. The APDIG is a cross-party coalition of parliamentarians and design sector organisations that works to develop new design policy ideas and critique existing government decision-making around design.

This novel, speculative proposal aims to chart new territory of human interface with interiors, through sensory design interventions. Designers, architects, town planners, government authorities require research based evidence to support design specifications; we want to contribute to the guidance on public and private space design, by exploring responses to two environmental sensory factors, colour and odour, with a specific focus towards their joint impact on design.\n\nThe majority of building work in the UK (around 80%) comprises refurbishment rather than new build (The Building Centre, 2005). Many environments needing refurbishment, ranging from total refurbishment to simple repainting, are public buildings such as prisons, council premises, and long-term healthcare environments. These types of environments may never be able to disrupt their functionality or day-time patterns long enough to allow for changes to the environment. Kingston University London (KUL) and Oxford University (OU) intend to explore sensory design issues that can provide remedial, short-term or even emergency environmental solutions or modifications. The multisensory design focus will be specifically on the potential for colour and fragrance to enhance environments, and to assess whether a level of congruency between colours and fragrances used is of significance and importance.\n\nAn exploration of these sensory interventions requires the expertise of two centres of excellence, KUL and OU, who have been leading research of international status in their fields for some time. The KUL team have conducted a considerable amount of environmental and psychologically focused work regarding colour preference and environmental perception (Dalke, Cook, et al, 2003; Dalke, Littlefair, et al, 2004; Dalke & Matheson, In preparation). This has now revealed a need to collaborate with the experimental psychology group at OU, who are leaders in multisensory research. \n \nThe primary aim of this project is to assess whether certain environmental sensory design strategies can be employed to raise peoples' perceptions of the quality of interior spaces. Colour and fragrance, congruency and their combined impact on sense of well-being, as well as each one's impact on perception of the other, is the main focus. Multisensory research so far has shown that odour is an important mediator in the appraisal and interpretation of visual stimuli (Herz & Cupchik, 1993; Rotton, 1983; Laird, 1932), and this speculative program aims to apply this knowledge to the area of interior design so that we can explore how this may be of benefit to a variety of establishments. Neither of the centres has had the opportunity to work through ideas in the others' area before, so there is tremendous potential for this program to break new ground in combining Science and Design knowledge, and to create opportunities for future interdisciplinary research.\n\nThe secondary aim is to examine whether certain physical responses such as pulse rate and skin conductance, can be cross referenced with subjective verbal responses regarding one's perception of an environment. Although the scientific sector has been active in the area of psychophysical measurement, designers generally lack the knowledge and skills required to collect and interpret such results in order to confidently inform multisensory design implementations. This research hopes to combine the expertise of both science and design to inform and profit holistic interior design as well as inspire similar future collaborations. It is a unique opportunity for both research centres to work with our partner at AGE CONCERN, learn about methods of psychophysical and psychological measurement of colour and fragrance. It will advance the studies of both centres, and lead to useable mulitsensory design interventions for the improvement of environments with dissemination to key professionals in relevant public and private sector organisations.

Cognitive impairment can have a devastating impact on an individual's wellbeing across the lifespan, in both healthy individuals and patients. This is particularly true in age-related cognitive decline, which also has a large impact upon society and the economy. Fortunately, attempts to ameliorate such impairments with scientifically informed cognitive interventions have been promising. Cognitive training (practicing cognitive tasks) has produced improvements in children with developmental disorders, in older adults, and in patients with brain injury. Lifestyle changes, brain stimulation and the use of learned strategies and assistive technologies are extremely encouraging interventions but the time is right for a review and forward look. The field now faces several challenges. In order to develop useful cognitive interventions, they need to be tailored to individual needs to maximise transferable benefits, but also user-friendly to promote compliance. The proposed seminar series will meet this need by bringing together leading scientists to offer insights from neuroscience and psychology and AgeUK to offer insights into end-user needs. The seminar series will also foster collaboration among researchers in different disciplines, who adopt different approaches to cognitive intervention, and target different types of cognitive impairment. It is anticipated that this knowledge sharing will lead to demonstrable impact, for example, in changing guidelines regarding the role of multi-approach cognitive interventions that take advantage of the latest neuroscience methods.

Cognitive impairment can have a devastating impact on an individual's wellbeing across the lifespan, in both healthy individuals and patients. This is particularly true in age-related cognitive decline, which also has a large impact upon society and the economy. Fortunately, attempts to ameliorate such impairments with scientifically informed cognitive interventions have been promising. Cognitive training (practicing cognitive tasks) has produced improvements in children with developmental disorders, in older adults, and in patients with brain injury. Lifestyle changes, brain stimulation and the use of learned strategies and assistive technologies are extremely encouraging interventions but the time is right for a review and forward look. The field now faces several challenges. In order to develop useful cognitive interventions, they need to be tailored to individual needs to maximise transferable benefits, but also user-friendly to promote compliance. The proposed seminar series will meet this need by bringing together leading scientists to offer insights from neuroscience and psychology and AgeUK to offer insights into end-user needs. The seminar series will also foster collaboration among researchers in different disciplines, who adopt different approaches to cognitive intervention, and target different types of cognitive impairment. It is anticipated that this knowledge sharing will lead to demonstrable impact, for example, in changing guidelines regarding the role of multi-approach cognitive interventions that take advantage of the latest neuroscience methods.

A cross-cultural survey of adults around the world demonstrates the benefit of solitude to daily rest - an essential tool to mental health that modern society continues to ignore. My research during Ph.D. training showed that only 15 minutes of solitude can help us rid of rousing emotions and offer opportunities for quiet reflection. Yet, despite the well-documented benefits of solitude, we cannot seem to shake off the idea that solitude is negative and challenging. It is intuitive to attribute enjoyment of solitude to a matter of individual preference. This is reflected in the messages that we hear often that introverts enjoy solitude better. Modern society also continues to reinforce salient image of a sad loner. This narrow perspective on solitude creates two problems. First, it paints a negative light around our daily experiences of solitude. Second, it prevents us from considering environmental and social factors that might create barriers to pursue solitude and embrace this time for its regulatory benefits. Observations across adulthood suggest that the desire for solitude and the ability to benefit from it depend on life situations. For emerging adults, salient struggles around time spent alone emerge during transition into being independent from parental care, such as for those in their first year at university. For this group, new social environment creates pressure to socialise and fear of missing out, making time spent alone more isolating and intolerable. As a result, emerging adults have less desire for solitude despite that they find it beneficial for productivity and emotion regulation. On the other hand, as people grow older and acquire more responsibilities, they have less opportunities for time alone and solitude becomes a craved luxury. This is particularly true for working mothers with young children as women still disproportionally take on more care responsibilities while working full time. Many mothers report not being able to find time for themselves or to enjoy personal hobbies and activities. This struggle of not having enough time for oneself changes drastically at another transition phase when adults leave the workforce and have more time on their own. Not knowing what to do with increase in time alone is frequently reported by those in the earlier years of retirement. For this group, struggles of solitude manifest in the lack of strategies to struggle empty time in solitude meaningfully, risking increase in boredom and loneliness. Changes during life transitions create unique contexts for an investigation of how attitudes and norms shape ability to cope with solitude across an adult's lifespan. This proposed research will recruit participants at these three transition phases: transition to university, transition to motherhood, and transition to retirement. Identifying barriers around our solitary experiences will shed light on the question of why some people do not like to be alone or are unable to gain regulatory benefits from it, and will inform targeted interventions. Three studies will be conducted using a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Study 1 will use interviews with adults from three transition groups to understand how people often view solitude and whether their social environments or life circumstances allow them to engage meaningfully with solitude. Study 2 will track people's experiences with solitude in their daily life to identify activities that contribute to improved moods and well-being. Finally in , I will design and test an intervention to improve quality of time alone through tackling attitudes and norms and suggesting activities that allow adults at different stages of life enjoy their solitude better. The research findings will be of interest to mental health professionals, university counsellors, and organisations that work with parents and older adults, to foster positive uses of time alone for emotion regulation and psychological well-being.