Dissertation Proposal

DHTP Dissertation Proposal Part 1

We have produced a template for your dissertation proposal, a copy of which is reproduced below. The sections relate closely to the work you did in Level 2 where you investigated a topic by doing a literature search, and using primary research methods such as observations and experiments.

Submission deadline for the final proposal: 5 pm Wed 1 December 2010 - submit via email to your supervisor and to Safe Assignment on the VLE

Please download this form from the VLE.

Please save as a word.doc and change the title to your full name, e.g.: John Smith.doc - do not email the proposal without changing the file name.

Sample template

Student Name	Alan Rae
Course	HT30007_CAE_D65_201011 HT30007 - Design Futures And Professional Practice (10/11)
Supervisor name	Andrew Milligan
Email address	a.z.rae@dundee.ac.uk
Date	13 Nov 2010

Using the template

Enter your personal details in the box above. The email address will be used by your tutor and others to contact you. You must check this regularly for news on tutorial dates.

Read each heading carefully and type into the text box below.

Email your proposal to your supervisor and load it up on Safe Assignment of the VLE

Total word count: between 250-500 words (excluding bibliography).

Working title (max 25 words)

This should give an outline of your research topic. If appropriate use a title and a subtitle. You don’t have to be too specific at first and you don’t have to word it like a question - but you can if you want.

Memory Loss and Aids to Create Interaction (How Caregivers Can Assist Their Charges)

Summary (max 250 words)

Here you should indicate what you already know about the topic. You should already have done some reading around it. Summarise this reading with regards to the research topic and describe the research area.

Memory loss can be a very embarrassing situation that one finds oneself in, it happens all the time. Alzheimer's Disease is a degenerative one from which, at present, there is no cure. There are a number of drug treatments available which can slow the process down some, but none will cure it. Dementia is another condition which affects a person's memory, yet not quite as severe as Alzheimer's, it is still a great problem. The aged population are at most risk of developing some sort of memory loss. Alzheimer's Disease can be detected in individuals aged 65+ although it has materialised in people in their early 50s. As the population of the developed world are increases so too does the elderly. With new breakthroughs in medical techniques and the creation of enhanced drugs coupled with healthier lifestyles, people are living longer. This being the case, more people shall be diagnosed with some kind of memory loss. There are a number of electronic aids which are being pioneered in a number of European countries and also in America. They help the sufferer to recall objects, events, faces etc and thus aiding communication between them and the Caregiver, family and friends. It is my intention to investigate this topic further and hopefully contribute, in some small way, to developing an application for memory loss sufferers.

(Continued over)
Aims: Why are you doing this? (max 100 words)

These are a general statement on the intent or direction for the research – why are you doing this? Refer to theoretical aims and practical ones where relevant. For example: How might this improve your design practice? How does it contribute to the discourses within your discipline? Who else might benefit from your research? Is it aimed at an academic or a wider audience? What do you hope your research will achieve? State your aims concisely.

Members of my family have suffered from memory loss and I am now at an age where it may begin to affect me. I would like to know more about the illnesses which cause memory loss and how to alleviate some of the frustration they feel. As a Digital Interactive Design student I would like to produce an Interactive Device which will assist the sufferers. I am particularly interested in how the young people of today shall deal with memory deficiency and will they be able to use all the mobile interactive devices that they are accustomed to now.

Objectives: What will you produce? (max 100 words)

Objectives are the things you will produce in doing the dissertation, e.g. a review of the relevant literature, a collection and discussion of people’s experiences/opinions, an assessment of a debate or collection of work etc.

Like your aims, these will help your tutor (and you) assess your success. They may change over time but aims and objectives are useful to keep you focussed. Again be concise here – you may want to use bullet points.

·         Talk to family, friends and carers and produce a comparison document. ·         Observe suffers and record their reactions to questions and motivation. ·         Discover which products are available that interact between carers and suffer. ·         What and where further Research and Design is taking place ·         Create an interactive device that they may use?

Keywords (min 5 and max 10)

This should be a list of key terms that help us see if you are aware of where your research ‘sits’. For example, if you are writing on depictions of women in advertising your list might include ‘gender, feminism, representation, advertising, semiotics’. Keywords will help you when doing electronic searched for research materials.

Elderly, memory-loss, stimulus, visual-interaction, audio-interaction, recognition, communication, family, carers, future-development.

Annotated Bibliography (min of 12 books, articles, websites)

Place here alphabetically a list of materials which you intent to use for you dissertation. Format these according to the Harvard Method!

Please make sure you have critically assessed these as being appropriate for your topic and write a short paragraph for each one summarising the content and its relevance to your research area.

Bennett, G. Professor. And Jones, M. Dr. Alzheimer's Handbook (The). Revised ed. London: Ebony Press. Cognitive Coach: MemeXerciser [online] Available at: <http://www.cmu.edu/qolt/Research/projects/cognitive-coach.html>[Accessed 1 November 2010] Drug treatments for Alzheimer's disease [online] Available at: < http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/ site/scripts/documents_info. php?documentID=147 > [Accessed 1 November 2010] Genova, L., 2009. Still Alice. London: Simon & Schuster. Pullin,G. Design Meets Disability [no details as yet]. Sacks,O., 1985. The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat. London: Picador. Smith,D. Dr., 2004. Living with Alzheimer's Disease. 3rd ed. London: Sheldon Press.