Gareth Loudon – Page 2 – About my work and interests

September 3, 2015

Innovate UK funding for feasibility study to track attention levels

I recently started a new project at the Centre for Creativity to design, develop and evaluate a new way of using biofeedback of a person’s heart rate to track their own attention and relaxation levels and to help train and improve their levels of relaxed focus, sometimes referred to as ‘flow’ and ‘mindfulness’. The hope is that such a solution could be used to help children suffering from attention deficit disorders, but could have applications in much wider areas of use.

The project will run from September 2015 to March 2016 and is funded by Innovate UK.

February 13, 2015February 13, 2015

Press coverage of People’s Journeys project

We (Spencer Jordan and I) had some nice press coverage on the recent location-based mobile app that we developed showcasing eight World War 1 stories from Grangetown, Cardiff.

December 8, 2014December 8, 2014

WISE KIDS launches research on digital literacy of 13/14 year olds in Wales

Sangeet Bhullar launched the findings of a large scale research project undertaken by WISE KIDS, called Generation 2000 that studied the online and digital media habits and digital literacy of over 2000 Year 9 pupils 13 and 14) from across Wales.

“The research led by WISE KIDS and co-funded by the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Logicalis and S4C explored young people’s online experiences in a social and educational context.”

My role was to help in the research planning and data analysis.

November 12, 2014November 12, 2014

Rikoset granted patent for limb shield (shin guard)

Congratulations to Baz Dhaliwal and the Rikoset team for getting the limb shield patent granted – patent number GB2484570

Details of the patent can be found on the Intellectual Property Office website

September 25, 2014October 16, 2014

People’s Journeys – CEWN Funded Project

People’s Journeys is a new collaborative project being undertaken by Gareth Loudon and Dr. Spencer Jordan from Cardiff Met exploring how mobile technology can address issues of alienation and estrangement within our cities, specifically through the spatial mapping of community ‘teithiau’ or ‘journeys’. The project is funded by the Creative Exchange Wales Network.

You can see more details on the project and Spencer’s other work at:

http://spencerkjordan14.wordpress.com/2014/08/31/peoples-journeys-cewn-funded-project/

August 19, 2014August 19, 2014

Research Planning Course in Lesbos, Greece

Some photos from the weeklong course I recently ran for Norwegian PhD students on research planning at the Metochi Study Centre in Lesbos, Greece.

Lesbos1

July 8, 2014July 8, 2014

Presentation of new creativity model at R&D Management Conference

I presented a new model for supporting creativity called our LCD (Listen, Connect, Do) Model at the R&D Management Conference in Stuttgart in June 2014. The model builds on the ideas of Design Thinking by Kelley et al at IDEO and on Theory U by Scharmer at MIT. You can find more details on these ideas at: http://www.centreforcreativity.co.uk/project/lcd-model/

June 15, 2014July 8, 2014

WISE KIDS Research on digital media habits for year 9 pupils in Wales

Sangeet Bhullar from WISE KIDS presented the initial findings from research I was involved in that explored the digital media habits and digital literacy of Year 9 pupils (13/14 year olds) across Wales – at Digital Wales 2014. The full research findings will be presented at the end of September.

August 28, 2013July 8, 2014

Rikoset Launch limited edition Elite Shin Guards

One of the ventures I am involved with is Rikoset – and Rikoset has just launched a limited-edition Elite Shin Guard.

“Designed in collaboration with a number of Premier League players, every pair of Rikoset Elite shin guards has been beautifully handcrafted. At only 4mm thick they are one of the thinnest shin guards on the planet, while the Kevlar shell definitely makes them the toughest. The scientifically developed shape is designed to fit close to the leg to allow extra freedom of movement while maximising protection.”

For press coverage – see:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2387699/Bullet-proof-shin-pads-launched-Rikoset.html

For details on Rikoset – visit www.rikoset.co.uk

July 12, 2013July 8, 2014

Workshops for Samsung’s design students and staff

I spent the first week of July in Seoul, South Korea running a 3-day summer school programme on creativity with design students at Samsung’s Art and Design Institute (SADI) as well as running a seminar on creativity for designers at Samsung Electronics. The aim of the three-day summer school programme was to introduce the students to the factors and processes that affect creativity and to highlight tools that can be used to help improve creativity and problem solving abilities. The three-day programme culminated in an egg race design challenge. The seminar to design staff at Samsung Electronics focused on how organisational culture affects creativity and what can be done to further support creativity at an individual and organisational level.