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Armed Forces personnel are twice as likely to die on the road as civilians, and around 2.5 times more likely to report alcohol misuse. Evidence from King's College London (KCL) has helped highlight these issues and led to the development of specific post-deployment interventions for service personnel in order to mitigate the impact of deployment on driving behaviour and alcohol use. Delivered during post-deployment decompression, as a result of KCL research these interventions have been mandatorily provided to up to 20,000 service personnel returning from deployment and have led to a significant reduction in road-traffic deaths.
The promotion of innovation adoption in high-tech small firms (HTSFs) has long been a European priority, but despite decades of attention, there is still a dearth of innovative HTSFs and, worryingly low participation levels of HTSFs in European R&D and innovation funding programmes. To capitalise on emerging high-tech markets it is imperative that HTSFs have the capacity to exploit these new opportunities and crucially, to contribute to the development of a modern economy. This multidisciplinary impact case investigates how to encourage the involvement of HTSFs in European funding projects. The impact of this research includes; methods for promoting the adoption of high-tech innovation across Europe and the development of European HTSF innovation and R&D funding policy recommendations that feed into the European Parliament, Horizon 2020 and numerous national and European high-tech associations and influential EC innovation networks.
The research conducted through the C.Ind.Le project, between 2002 and 2006, was the first to reveal and catalogue the metacognitive and self-regulatory abilities of children in the 3-5 age range. The project outcomes included an observation instrument, now widely used by teachers in early years educational settings, and a training course on pedagogies supporting development of these abilities in young children. This research has had direct regional impact on practice at the Foundation Stage in Cambridgeshire, national impact through its influence on the 2012 revision of the DfE framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, and international impact through consultancy to the LEGO Foundation and other collaborations.
Research on mediation practice and conflict regulation contributed to the development of resources to enhance professional training standards and democratic participation in conflict-ridden societies. The researchers' work has focused on: a) post-genocide diaspora groups emphasizing the transformative effects of new social networking facilities; b) professional standards in conflict resolution practice; and c) power-sharing arrangements addressing gaps in minority-group representation. Scholarly work on conflict resolution capacity has had an impact on intergovernmental bodies, the media and transnational communities and has demonstrably produced innovative training methods for NGOs and conflict practitioners as well as resources to safeguard inclusivity in divided societies.
Research carried out in the International Observatory on End of Life Care (IOELC) at Lancaster University led by Professor Payne has played a major role in influencing the strategic direction of service and policy development globally. IOELC initiated the systematic collation of development data and delivered the first research-based international analysis of the development of palliative care. For example, research on access to opioids in 12 resource poor countries in central and eastern Europe via the ATOME project has delivered major impact, leading to significant changes in legislation and policy and improved access to pain medication, and palliative and end of life care for millions of people around the world.
Systematic quantitative reviews of epidemiological evidence linking parental smoking with adverse respiratory health effects in childhood were published in 1997-1999 in Thorax. These meta-analyses were updated as a contribution to the US Surgeon-General's report on Secondhand Smoking, published in 2006, and the UK Royal College of Physicians' report on Passive Smoking and Children, published in 2010.
Over this period the adverse health effects of environmental tobacco smoke achieved prominence in public health policy, through campaigns for smoke-free workplaces (including pubs and restaurants) and publicity against parental smoking in the presence of children, both in cars and in the home.
The development of a cardiac magnetic resonance technique at Imperial College and Royal Brompton Hospital to quantify myocardial iron concentration has resulted in the early identification of thalassaemia major patients at risk of heart failure and targeted cardiac treatment with a hitherto little used iron chelator, deferiprone, following randomised controlled trials of efficacy. Since 2008 these advances have resulted in a 71% reduction in cardiac death from myocardial siderosis in thalassemia major in the UK.
The Arediou Vouppes project has been examining a Late Bronze Age settlement in the Cypriot rural hinterland, specifically focusing on the archaeological characterisation of a little-known type of agricultural site. A key aspect of the project has been to promote a wider understanding of the value and relevance of the past (both recent and ancient) as a means of safeguarding the archaeological record for future generations through the encouragement of local engagement in the construction of narratives of cultural heritage. Our primary beneficiaries have been identified as members of the local Cypriot community at Arediou, although we have also sought to foster an improved sensitivity to community perspectives of `the past' from heritage custodians in Cyprus which will inform their practice.
Our work on children's agency in research has had three impacts:
This approach has been replicated in Australia, Turkey, New Zealand, Norway and Qatar. The CRC website hosts 150 successful projects by children and young people, and through the Diana Award more than 1500 children were supported in their research on cyberbullying.
Research at the University of Leeds led to the development of UltraCane — an ultrasonic cane for people who are visually-impaired that gives tactile feedback to the user's hand with progressive non-contact warning of obstacles (ground-to-head) up to 4 m. [text removed for publication]. Testimonials from users describe its transformative nature on their quality of life, giving `a true feeling of independence', whilst healthcare professionals commend `the simplicity of operation and ease of use'. Furthermore, with a technology mimicking bat echolocation, the UltraCane has informed and engaged the wider public in science and engineering through, for example, the BBC `Miracles of Nature' series. The technology has also been developed to allow people who are visually-impaired to cycle independently and safely around a cycle track — the `UltraBike'.