Researchers create virtual tool to enable people to share messages of gratitude
Clapping for the NHS revealed the desire to express gratitude during the pandemic, and now researchers have created a virtual tool to enable people to say thank you more easily.
Launched as England’s Covid19 lockdown restrictions are lifting, the Gratitude Tree is a website where anyone can plant a virtual tree for any groups or themes - like thanking the NHS or their colleagues - and then add virtual leaves to the “tree” with their expression of thanks.
It was developed by researchers involved in the Citizen Forensics project based at The Open University, Lancaster University, and Lero - the Irish Software Research Centre - and is part of the £1M Citizen Forensics project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The Citizen Forensics team are investigating how digital technologies impact on, and have the potential to enhance, citizen collaboration with authoriti