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New avenues for diagnosis and treatment in a variety of psychotherapeutic settings were influenced by Hutto and Gallagher's innovative approach to social cognition, improving the quality of life of individuals. Their research has contributed to the development of diagnostic tools for the early detection and treatment of schizophrenia and new methodological guidelines for the clinical evaluation of Autism Spectrum Disorders. They developed the Embodied and Narrative Practices framework for understanding social cognition in terms of non-representational embodied interactions, enhanced and supported by highly contextualised socio-cultural, narrative practices. Pivotally, this approach offers an alternative to individualist and intellectualist mainstream cognitivist — e.g. `theory of mind' — approaches, reconceiving the status and importance of these practices in our capacity to relate to and understand others.
Since 2005 the Agriculture and Environment Research Unit has undertaken an extensive programme of research related to mitigating the climate change impacts arising from agricultural land management policies and practices. The research findings that identified the impact on climate change of various policies, schemes and farming initiatives have been instrumental since 2008 in providing UK policy makers, farmers and their advisors with data and tools that helped to formulate improved climate change mitigation policies. They also contributed to the development of key guidance materials that supported the implementation of these policies on the farm.
A body of research on migrant workers and trade unions, undertaken by the university's Global Economy and Business Research Unit from 2006 onwards, contributed to improving workplace equity, inclusion and societal cohesion following the mass and super-mobile migration to the United Kingdom from the European Union's New Member States, and Poland in particular. The impact occurred at regional, national and European level through influencing policy-making processes and forums. A range of stakeholders and practitioners benefited, principally large trade union organisations and their clients, including the Communication Workers Union, European Public Service Unions, and the Polish trade union bodies Solidarnosc and OPZZ.
Between 2010 and 2012, Professor Luciano Floridi transferred knowledge about epistemological issues in the philosophy of information to Sogeti, an international information technology consultancy; and, via Sogeti, to technology and business leaders in Europe and beyond, influencing their planning for and adaptation to technological change. In the realm of public policy, Floridi developed guidelines and protocols surrounding ethical problems concerning digital and online information. He chaired a European Commission group whose `manifesto' forms part of the EU's Digital Futures initiative; influenced thinking around IP and international trade agreements; and contributed to a UNESCO action plan on ensuring equitable access to information.
Since the 1990s, the threat from malevolent release of airborne pathogens has grown in military and civilian contexts. However, solid-state UV lasers, central to the preferred fluorescence detection technologies, were prohibitively expensive for use in `low-cost' detectors. In 2001, Hertfordshire researchers proposed an alternative based on inexpensive xenon flashlamp sources, commonly used in disposable cameras. Between 2001 and 2006, they developed and optimised this approach, with the resulting `WIBS' technology now a core part of the UK military's bioaerosol defence programme and patented worldwide. The technology's affordability also has led to its growing international use in areas such as atmospheric science, climate research, and occupational health. In 2012, a commercial licence was purchased by a leading US instrumentation company to exploit in the field of atmospheric and climate science; discussions with further licensees to exploit in other fields are continuing.
Human-computer usability research within the university's Sensory Disabilities Research Unit (1993-2002) led to the construction of accessibility guidelines that are widely used, with an estimated reach to a maximum of 30 million people in the EU. PAS 78: Guide to Good Practice in Commissioning Accessible Websites and BSI BS8788 Web Accessibility Code of Practice met 2010 web accessibility law in the UK and subsequent EU legislation. Similarly, BS EN 15823:2010: Braille on Packaging for Medicinal Products met UK, EU and International Standards for Braille on medicine packaging. Further research resulted in award-winning guides for blind users of Windows software that improves accessibility to work.
Dialysis has revolutionised the management of End Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD), but the benefits of this invasive, demanding treatment may not be clear-cut for elderly, frail patients with other serious comorbidities. University of Hertfordshire and East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust researchers have led the development of Conservative Management, an alternative to dialysis for some patients, providing multidisciplinary support and careful symptomatic management until death. The research shows that quality of life is maintained, survival may not be significantly compromised, and preferred place of death is more often achieved than for counterparts on dialysis. Conservative Management programmes have been adopted across the UK and elsewhere, influencing the care of many patients.
Professor Simeon Nelson's research into cancer from multiple perspectives led to the creation of a site-specific artwork, Anarchy in the Organism, a genuinely successful interdisciplinary project in which oncology, visual art, music, computer science, psychology and sociology came into enriching interaction. His artist's residency at University College Hospital London (2011—12) revolved around cancer patients and the fact of cancer, and was informed by patient-led discussions and interactions with carers, families, doctors, nurses, psychologists and research scientists. This consultative process, and the resulting public art installation, radically altered patient and clinician perceptions of the disease.
Plenum is an installation conceived by Simeon Nelson in 2010 as a collaborative art-music artwork. It was performed six times between 2010 and 2013 at sound and light festivals in Poland, Estonia and the UK, at the Cambridge Music Festival, and at an Australian contemporary arts venue. Audiences totalling over 240,000 saw the work, with website visitors extending its reach to over 300,000; the Durham Lumiere alone, of which Plenum formed an integral element, created an estimated £4.3 million for the local economy. Festival and arts curators have described Plenum as `thought provoking' and `inspiring'.
Plenum is an algorithmic work composed by Rob Godman in 2010 as part of a collaborative art-music installation. It was performed six times between 2010 and 2013 at sound and light festivals in Poland, Estonia and the UK, at the Cambridge Music Festival, and at an Australian contemporary arts venue. Audiences totalling over 240,000 heard the work, with website visitors extending its reach to over 300,000; the Durham Lumiere alone, of which Plenum formed an integral element, created an estimated £4.3 million for the local economy. Festival and arts curators have described Plenum as `thought provoking' and `inspiring'.