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Influencing policy and practice for Open Access to scholarly and scientific publications

Summary of the impact

Research at LU carried out from 2003 to 2011 has made a significant impact on the practical realisation of Open Access (OA) to scholarly publications at an international level. Research into publisher's Copyright Transfer Agreements underpinned the development of the SHERPA/RoMEO service, widely used by repository managers across Europe [impact 4.1]; a cost-benefit model of scholarly publishing in relation to the main routes to OA influenced the publishing industry, and research strategy amongst UK funding agencies [impact 4.2]; further research influenced Research Councils UK (RCUK) policy in relation to mandates [impact 4.3], and the work of the European Commission in the development of its digital agenda [impact 4.4].

Submitting Institution

Loughborough University

Unit of Assessment

Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management 

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Data Format
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration
Law and Legal Studies: Law

Walk This Way: Leading the World in Gait Biometrics

Summary of the impact

Gait recognition research has produced impacts on public policy, on national security processes, on forensic service practice, on culture and society. The notion that people can be recognised by the way they walk was invented as a totally new means to identify people and has gained increasing popularity, reflected by its inclusion in an episode of BBC premier series Spooks. This followed considerable scientific development after its invention at Southampton in 1994, culminating in impacts that include its integration in a commercial system piloted by the National Physics Laboratory, novel forensic use in a criminal conviction, its take up by researchers at the Serious Organised Crime Agency and its focus by The Forensic Science Society. Southampton has retained its position at the forefront of gait biometrics research, collaborating nationally and internationally and driving prolific media engagement that has furthered this new technology and increased its global impact

Submitting Institution

University of Southampton

Unit of Assessment

Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing

Web Science: Designing a Pro-Human World Wide Web

Summary of the impact

Research over two decades at the University of Southampton into the structure and development of the World Wide Web has led to the establishment of a new scientific field, which has earned recognition — and direct funding — from governments and industry around the world. Web Science is the study of the Web as a sociotechnical system. Southampton's work has influenced the Web strategies of the world's biggest companies, including Microsoft, IBM and Google, informed international Web standards and government information policies, led to a network of international laboratories working with industry to advance the Web's development through the provision of highly skilled people taking up specialist roles that draw on their research training.

Submitting Institution

University of Southampton

Unit of Assessment

Computer Science and Informatics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing, Computation Theory and Mathematics, Information Systems

Hydrocarbon exploration using marine electromagnetic techniques

Summary of the impact

Resistivity anomalies resulting from hydrocarbon reservoirs can be located and measured using controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) techniques. The University of Southampton played a pivotal role in the first full-scale marine CSEM survey over a hydrocarbon target in late 2000. This survey and subsequent work spawned one of the greatest technological advances in the field of oil exploration since the development of 3D seismic techniques. By the end of 2012 over 650 commercial CSEM surveys had been completed worldwide, with annual survey revenues in excess of US$200 million. The University continues to develop impact through consultancy and industry-funded research projects.

Submitting Institution

University of Southampton

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Geophysics
Engineering: Environmental Engineering, Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy

ARC02 - Impact on Mesolithic heritage preservation, conservation and presentation

Summary of the impact

Founded in York in 1996, the Archaeology Data Service (ADS) has transformed how archaeological research is communicated in the UK, and impacted digital archiving throughout the world. Without the ADS, much of the fragile digital data (often the primary record of sites now destroyed) would have been lost. Instead, they are freely available to all. This impact extends across national heritage agencies, local government, commercial archaeology, and the public. Our resources are widely used with over two million page requests per month; almost half from beyond the HE sector. A recent study has concluded that the ADS is worth £5m per annum to the UK economy (Beagrie & Houghton 2013). The ADS has helped shape the digital preservation policy of English Heritage and informed practice in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany.

Submitting Institution

University of York

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Data Format
History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Curatorial and Related Studies

Improving the Management of Uncertainty on the Web: UncertML

Summary of the impact

Aston University researchers developed and maintain the Uncertainty Markup Language (UncertML) for quantitative specification and interoperable communication of uncertainty measures in the Web. It is the only complete mechanism for representation of uncertainty in a web context. UncertML has been:

- Used in policy and decision making by UK (Food and Environment Research Agency) and international (European Commission) government agencies, and many research / industrial institutes;

- Presented at industrial /technical workshops, leading to ongoing international collaborations with bodies such as national space agencies (ESA and NASA) and government data providers;

- Accepted as a discussion paper for formal standardisation by the Open Geospatial Consortium;

- Chosen by independent data providers for efficient sharing of complex information and rigorous risk analysis across scientific domains such as pharmacy, global soil mapping and air quality.

Submitting Institution

Aston University

Unit of Assessment

Computer Science and Informatics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Mathematical Sciences: Statistics
Information and Computing Sciences: Computation Theory and Mathematics, Information Systems

Improved Drug Development Using Supersaturated Experiments

Summary of the impact

Collaboration between the University of Southampton and scientists at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has resulted in the adoption of new statistical design of experiments and modelling methods for the confirmation of a robust operating region for the industrial production of new drugs. These methods have enabled larger numbers of factors to be investigated simultaneously than previously possible, improving scientific understanding of the chemical processes and producing savings of time, money and effort. Southampton's new methods were used in a key process required for the registration of a new skin cancer drug with the US Food and Drug Administration, where the research enabled the verification of a robust operating region to be completed in a third of the previous time.

Submitting Institution

University of Southampton

Unit of Assessment

Mathematical Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Mathematical Sciences: Statistics

Preservation management: informing and developing policy and strategy for practice

Summary of the impact

Since 1993, the outcomes of preservation management research at Loughborough University have:

  1. contributed to the content and development of international and national policies for preservation of materials and data in information collections and memory institutions
  2. led to the development of a method and tool which has been widely applied for assessing preservation needs in these collections
  3. significantly improved disaster management procedures in libraries and archives
  4. influenced changes in cultural heritage-related laws including international agreements to facilitate preservation of digital material
  5. enabled the creation of a registry tool to support collection managers in decision-making on the preservation of journals.

Submitting Institution

Loughborough University

Unit of Assessment

Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management 

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Library and Information Studies
Language, Communication and Culture: Communication and Media Studies

Dezineforce - pioneering cloud computing

Summary of the impact

Cloud computing is now used ubiquitously in consumer and commerce domains yielding unprecedented access to computing and data handling at affordable prices.

Work in this field was pioneered at the University of Southampton (UoS) from 1998 onwards and commercialised from 2008 through Dezineforce to enable companies to exploit cloud computing in engineering:

  • The technology was applied in industries including aerospace and defence, energy, civil engineering and automotive.
  • For small companies, we successfully demonstrated access to computing power and enhanced design tools delivered via the Cloud. e.g. Intelligent Flow Solutions used our tools to develop an innovative Wind Turbine Farm design with an increased lifetime return of over €55 million compared to alternative arrangements.
  • Large companies benefited from more efficient ways of collaborative working and advanced design search/optimisation technologies, which had not been possible before. For example Arup achieved a £1 million+ figure saving on a stadium design in the Middle East.
  • The IP was sold to Microsoft in 2011 with staff moving to roles in Microsoft's Azure Cloud/senior teams.

Throughout this period the team has also engaged in outreach to inspire and educate the next generation of scientists and engineers about High Performance and Cloud computing including a YouTube video with 485,000 hits and over 300 articles in media.

Submitting Institution

University of Southampton

Unit of Assessment

General Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing, Computer Software, Distributed Computing

Stimulating new exploration strategies for copper mining in Africa

Summary of the impact

The Zambian Copperbelt is the largest known repository of copper on Earth. Research at the University of Southampton has transformed the exploration landscape in the region, providing the world's mining companies with new opportunities for mineral exploration in Zambia and other sedimentary basins in Africa. This inward investment has contributed to rapid economic growth in Zambia and boosted local employment. Southampton's research model has contributed to the discovery of two world class copper deposits, impacted on the earnings of global mining companies, as well as ensuring a flow of highly skilled geologists from academia to industry.

Submitting Institution

University of Southampton

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Geochemistry, Geology

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