Author Archives: samgregory

Older projects that we have been involved in

Below you will find a selection of the types of projects that we have been a part of

Fire Service Research and Training Trust (FSRTT) Grant

In January 2022 Dr Catherine Thompson began work on a 12-month research project funded by the FSRTT. The research (titled: In the heat of the moment: Investigating the impact of thermal stress on the cognitive functioning of fire fighters) explores the influence of extreme temperatures on basic cognitive processing and decision making in fire fighters. Catherine is joined on the project by two colleagues from Sports Rehabilitation, Martyn Matthews and Dr Steve Pearson, and we have recently welcomed two new members of staff, a Research Assistant (Lucy Ferrie) and a Project Officer (Brian Highlands). More details about the project can be found on our blog.

BPS Psychobiology Networking Award

This award was funded to members of our group in February 2020. Together Dr Robert Bendall, Dr Simon Cassidy, Dr Adam Galpin, and Dr Catherine Thompson have hosted a series of networking events to promote the work of the Visual Cognition research group. We have also been
supported by undergraduate students David Beevers and Eileen Quigley who have presented the work of the group to their fellow students. David has also been instrumental in the establishment of the Visual Cognition website and has written (and continues to write) many of our features items.

For information about this project and ongoing events associated with the award please contact Dr Robert Bendall – r.c.a.bendall@salford.ac.uk.

Salford Community for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (SCELT) Scholarship

This project is led by Dr Adam Galpin but involves many members (and past members) of our team (David Beevers, Dr Robert Bendall, Dr Simon Cassidy, Dr Maria Panagiotidi, Eileen Quigley, Dr Ben Short, and Dr Catherine Thompson). The SCELT is a University of Salford initiative that provides funding to a variety of projects to enhance teaching and learning. The aim of our project was to re-design the Cognitive Psychology modules on our undergraduate degree
programmes by working with our students and gaining their thoughts and insights via a series of co-creation workshops. We have identified key factors that students value with regard to their learning in general, and to cognitive psychology specifically and are using these to inform our curriculum design.

Contact Dr Adam Galpin for more details – a.j.galpin@salford.ac.uk.

North-West Visual Cognition Group BPS Research Seminar Series, Seminar 3: Visual cognition and Spectatorship

The visual cognition group at The University of Salford is part of a wider group of visual cognition researchers in the North West, known as the North-West Visual Cognition Group (NWVC)

From July 2022 until July 2023 the NWVC are hosting 4 research seminars across universities in the North West of England funded by the BPS. This week it’s Salfords turn!

On Friday 24th March we will host the third seminar at our Media City campus. The seminar will focus on how knowledge and expertise influence the way in which we represent the world. Topics include exploration of cognition and eye movements during spectatorship of the environment, improving perception and visuomotor control in elite sport, attention and eye movements in social interactions, and visual search during navigation. More details and full schedule on the NWVC site.

Funding to co-create research into improving the mental health of dads and their children

Dr Robert Bendall has recently received funding for an exciting project through The Ideas Fund. Rob will be working with Oldham-based organisation Men Behaving Dadly to co-create a research project aimed at maximising the positive impact of play. Additional project partners are Oldham Play Action Group and Greenacres Community Centre. Read more here.

Psychology Open Science Working Group

A key ethos of the research activity in the Visual Cognition Research group is the practice of open science. As part of this, a long with Salford’s local UK Reproducibility Network Lead, Dr Sharon Coen, the Co-Chairs of the Visual Cognition Research Group, Dr Samantha Gregory and Dr Robert Bendall, are also co-chairs of the University of Salford Psychology Open Science working group.

We promote open and reproducible research practice by working to create a community where open research practice is the norm. We offer workshops on open science practice as well as keeping this practice at the front of research discussion. We also practice what we preach by using the OSF to pre-register research studies, upload pre-prints of submitted work, and upload open data and resources related to our research.

As part of our activities, we are collaborating with other networks in the North of England, including being part of a joint ReproducibiliTea. ReproducabiliTea is a journal club where we discuss papers and ideas related to the Open Science movement. We are launching this initiative on December 15th with mince pies and festive cheer.

If you want to get involved, please contact us on local-salford@ukrn.org

For more information on UKRN, please visit https://www.ukrn.org/

Industry 4.0

Group members Dr Adam Galpin, Dr Maria Panagiotidi, and Dr Catherine Thompson presented the work of the Visual Cognition research group at the Industry 4.0 event, part of the annual Festival of Research. The audience was very different to that of the workshop in which we demonstrated the equipment, and it is great to share research with a wide range of individuals.