Circles of Emotion
Participant Information Sheet
If you are in an exhibition hut in the Langtang Valley and have clicked on the QR code, you are on this page because the University of York would like to invite you to take part in the following research project: The sacred valley of Langtang, Nepal: landscape of risk, precarity and affect
Please read this information sheet carefully.
Thank you for considering being part of this research. We appreciate your time.
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Project Title: The sacred valley of Langtang, Nepal: landscape of risk, precarity and affect
Project Team: Dr Hayley Saul and Professor Emma Waterton (University of York)
Project Summary: The aim of the project, Sacred Valley of Langtang, is to explore how disasters have shaped heritage in the valley, how these heritage practices mediate feelings of security, risk and care, and how cultural flourishing is enmeshed with histories of precarity.
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What will I be asked to do and how long will it take?
You will be asked to participate in a short digital survey. This survey is administered through an ‘app’ called Circles of Emotion. The survey invites you to respond to places in the valley according to four classes of emotion: bright, heavy, sombre and quiet. Each class is divided into seven emotional prompt words, e.g., hopeful, loving, happy etc., (for bright), thoughtful, caring, humble etc., (for quiet). You will be asked to rate your feelings against these prompts on a rating scale of 1-10. Upon completion of the survey, a Circle of Emotion (see image) is produced that maps the overall intensity and complexity of your emotional responses to the place and its stories.
The survey is likely to take 15-20 minutes of your time.
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2. What benefits will I, and/or the broader community, receive from participating?
It is intended that this research will map culturally-specific notions of risk, care, security and precarity spatially, through their association with places and articulation through stories. By systematically recording emotional responses to place in the valley, with both members of the community and visitors, it will be possible to map the affective landscape. This could be used to support generational knowledge-transfer within the community, and will be made available after completion of the research.
​3. Why have I been invited to take part?
You have been invited to take part either because you are an adult visiting the Langtang Valley as a tourist, or because you are an adult member of the Langtang community.
4. Will the study involve any risk or discomfort for me? If so, what will be done to rectify it?
There is no foreseeable risk involved in participation and you can withdraw your consent at any time. Should you become distressed for any reason during the survey you can take a break or, if you wish, end the survey.
​5. Do I have to take part?
Participation is entirely voluntary. You are not obliged to participate. If you do decide to be involved in the face-to-face survey, a copy of this information sheet will be available to you for your records and you will be asked to complete a participant consent form.
You can withdraw at any time from the face-to-face without giving a reason, simply by telling the researcher that you wish to withdraw. If you do choose to withdraw, any information that you have supplied will be electronically deleted and any hard copy information disposed of securely. To withdraw from the remote survey attached to the LHT exhibition, simply close the app.
6. On what basis will you process my data?
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the University has to identify a legal basis for processing personal data and, where appropriate, an additional condition for processing special category data.
In line with our charter, which states that we advance learning and knowledge by teaching and research, the University processes personal data for research purposes under Article 6 (1) (e) of the GDPR: Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.
Research will only be undertaken where ethical approval has been obtained, where there is a clear public interest and where appropriate safeguards have been put in place to protect data.
In line with ethical expectations and in order to comply with common law duty of confidentiality, we will seek your consent to participate where appropriate. This consent will not, however, be our legal basis for processing your data under the GDPR.
​7. How will you use my data?
Data will be processed for the purposes outlined in this information sheet. Please be assured that only the named researchers will have access to the raw data you provide. However, your anonymised data may be used in other related projects for an extended period of time, such as other projects focused on visitor responses to British colonial heritage.
​8. Will you share my data with 3rd parties?
Your raw data will only be accessible to the project team at York [Dr Hayley Saul and Professor Emma Waterton]. As noted above (see Question 7), anonymized data may be reused by the research team or other third parties for secondary research purposes.
​9. How will you keep my data secure?
The University will put in place appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data. Hard copy material will be retained only on a temporary basis before being scanned and stored electronically. Once anonymised, your data will be stored electronically on the University’s Google Drive, which is protected by two-factor authentication. No datasets associated with the project will contain identifiers.
Information will be treated confidentially and shared on a need-to-know basis only. The University is committed to the principle of data protection by design and default and will collect the minimum amount of data necessary for the project. In all cases, survey participants will be de-identified and assigned a participant code or pseudonym, with all research data written up in a way that renders participants non-identifiable.
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10. Will you transfer my data internationally?
Possibly. The University’s cloud storage solution is provided by Google which means that data can be located at any of Google’s globally spread data centres. The University has data protection complaint arrangements in place with this provider. For further information see, https://www.york.ac.uk/it-services/google/policy/privacy/.
​11. How will results of this study be published and disseminated?
It is anticipated that the results of this project will be published and promoted in a variety of forums. We intend to produce academic articles as well as presenting this research at academic conferences. To increase public access to the results, we will also publish plain-language summaries of this research on our Centre website (Heritage for Global Challenges Research Centre [www.hgc.hosting.york.ac.uk]), and on platforms such as The Conversation. Where possible, we also aim to promote the research via news media channels.
​12. Will I be identified in any research outputs?
Any data that is used in publications, presentations or any other form of dissemination will be provided in such a way that participants cannot be identified.
​13. How long will you keep my data?
Data will be retained in line with legal requirements or where there is a business need. Retention timeframes will be determined in line with the University’s Records Retention Schedule. The default period for research data retention is 10 years from the date of last requested access.
Non-identifiable data will be available to be used in future research of a similar nature and for this reason an extended consent form will be used for participant recruitment (see Q.7).
​14. What rights do I have in relation to my data?
Under the GDPR, you have a general right of access to your data, a right to rectification, erasure, restriction, objection or portability. You also have a right to withdrawal. Please note, not all rights apply where data is processed purely for research purposes. For further information see, https://www.york.ac.uk/records-management/generaldataprotectionregulation/individualsrights/.
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Questions or concerns
If you have any questions about this participant information sheet or concerns about how your data is being processed, please contact Professor Jonathan Finch, Chair of the Arts and Humanities Ethics Committee (jonathan.finch@york.ac.uk) in the first instance. If you are still dissatisfied, please contact the University’s Acting Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@york.ac.uk.
Right to complain
If you are unhappy with the way in which the University has handled your personal data, you have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. For information on reporting a concern to the Information Commissioner’s Office, see www.ico.org.uk/concerns.