Impact Global Location: Jordan

REF impact found 49 Case Studies

Currently displayed text from case study:

A benchmark tool for high performance computing

Summary of the impact

This case study describes the development, application and commercialisation of an open source tool, BSMBench that enables supercomputer vendors and computing centres to benchmark their system's performance. It comprehensively informs the design and testing of new computing architectures well beyond other benchmarking tools on the market, such as Linpack.

The significance of our code is that, unlike other benchmarking tools, it interpolates from a communication- to a computation-dominated regime simply by varying the (physics) parameters in the code, thus providing a perfect benchmark suite to test the response of modern multi-CPU systems along this axis. The impact of this work has great reach: a start-up company, BSMbench Ltd, has been founded to develop and commercialise the software; adopters have included IBM - one of the giants of the supercomputer world (where it uncovered errors in their compilers); it has been deployed by Fujitsu to validate its systems, by HPC Wales, a multi-site, commercially focussed national computer centre and by Transtec, an HPC company employing over 150 staff; and tutorial articles about BSMBench have appeared in magazines such as Linux Format.

This software tool spawned from our research into "Beyond the Standard Model" (BSM) physics which aims to understand the Higgs mechanism in particle physics at a fundamental level. This involved simulating quantum field theories using bespoke code on some of the fastest supercomputers on the planet.

Submitting Institution

Swansea University

Unit of Assessment

Physics

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Mathematical Sciences: Pure Mathematics
Information and Computing Sciences: Computation Theory and Mathematics

2) Intra-State Conflict

Summary of the impact

Research carried out by the Department of Sociology at the University of Aberdeen into the nature and extent of communal division in societies emerging from conflict — particularly in Northern Ireland — has directly benefitted policy makers and community leaders through personal briefings and exposure on influential electronic media. The research findings have also benefitted action groups, peace practitioners, churches and other civil society groups in Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka and elsewhere through workshops and training materials; and they have raised awareness and understanding and stimulated debate through the purposeful use of online media outlets.

Submitting Institution

University of Aberdeen

Unit of Assessment

Sociology

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Political Science
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Religion and Religious Studies

An X-ray tool for the prediction of catastrophic failure during semiconductor manufacture (Jordan Valley)

Summary of the impact

Semiconductor wafers are subject to damage from misaligned handling tools, leading to cracks. Most of these are benign, but a few propagate to cause silicon wafer breakage during high temperature processing, leading to losses in production time costing millions of dollars per year. Research in Durham showed that X-ray Diffraction Imaging can be used to identify which cracks will catastrophically fail. As a consequence, Jordan Valley UK Ltd has designed and already sold over £M [text removed for publication] worth of X-ray imaging tools to the semiconductor industry. The company identifies this product as being critical to its continuation, safeguarding more than 25 jobs, and growth over the past 2 years.

Submitting Institution

University of Durham

Unit of Assessment

Physics

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Materials Engineering

Bram Stoker, Dracula and the Gothic in Victorian Theatrical Culture

Summary of the impact

Bram Stoker (1847-1912), celebrated as author of Dracula (1897), was also business manager at Henry Irving's Royal Lyceum Theatre, London (1878-1902). Dr Wynne's innovative research on Stoker's life and writings establishes his importance as a drama critic and the impact of the theatre on his fiction. Dracula's melodramatic and visual dimensions may now be viewed in the context of a Victorian theatrical culture immersed in the Gothic. Wynne's landmark work on Stoker and Dracula has influenced school teachers and students by changing their approaches to teaching and learning and has engaged the attention of regional museums and literary societies. Disseminated worldwide through conferences and symposia, organised in Hull and Whitby, and in national and international radio, television and newspapers, Wynne's innovative perspectives are energising debates on Stoker in the twenty-first century.

Submitting Institution

University of Hull

Unit of Assessment

English Language and Literature

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Supporting the Monitoring and Provision of Safe Drinking Water to the Poorest Communities in the Developing World

Summary of the impact

The impact of research by the University of Southampton into global access to safe drinking water has: (i) provided important evidence for new policy initiatives by the World Health Organisation and UNICEF to promote home water treatment to reduce the 1.9 million deaths each year due to water- related infections, and (ii) stimulated debate among a range of stakeholders, including the media, advocacy groups and UN bodies, by challenging the accuracy of the assertion by the UN Secretary General that the UN Millennium Development Goal for safe water access has been met.

Submitting Institution

University of Southampton

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

Weller

Summary of the impact

This project, which commenced in 2000 and continues to this day, has addressed the settlement of conflicts within states. The project has yielded important findings in the areas of complex power-sharing, autonomy and self-governance, political participation mechanisms for non-dominant groups, peace-making and transitional arrangements in peace agreements. These findings have flowed into the policies and practices of major international actors (United Nations, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), and have been implemented in a number of sensitive contexts. The project findings were also applied directly in a significant number of international negotiations and settlements. This includes the independence of Kosovo and South Sudan, the peace negotiations on Darfur, UN planning for the transition in Libya, the United Nations-led negotiations on a settlement for the conflict in Syria, and the peace agreement and transitional arrangements addressing the deep crisis in Yemen.

Submitting Institution

University of Cambridge

Unit of Assessment

Politics and International Studies

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Political Science
Law and Legal Studies: Law

Championing linguistic rights and educational opportunities for sign language users around the world through Sign Language Typology research

Summary of the impact

The International Institute for Sign Languages and Deaf Studies (iSLanDS) is a world leader in the systematic comparative research on sign languages (Sign Language Typology), and conducts the world's largest typological projects on sign language structures, using a large international partnership network. The impact of this work, often in developing countries, is seen in the domains of:

a) improved educational attainment and professional development for marginalised groups (deaf sign language users); and

b) linguistic rights for sign language users through engagement with international policy makers, non-governmental organisations and professional bodies (in India, in Turkey and with international bodies).

Submitting Institution

University of Central Lancashire

Unit of Assessment

Modern Languages and Linguistics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Linguistics

Changing English Language Teaching in the Global Primary Sector

Summary of the impact

Research in Aston University on developing effective practices in teaching English to young learners (TEYL) has achieved the following key impacts:

  1. Findings from the research have informed international policy discussions on TEYL. For example, the TESOL-Italy mission statement on TEYL includes recommendations derived from the findings (TESOL = Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).
  2. The research project led to the publication of a book of teaching resources for primary school teachers distributed globally by the British Council. This book is used by both primary school teachers around the world and teacher educators in the UK.

Submitting Institution

Aston University

Unit of Assessment

Modern Languages and Linguistics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Curriculum and Pedagogy, Specialist Studies In Education

Changing Water Policy in the Republic of Ireland

Summary of the impact

Research undertaken by Professor Phil Jordan on nutrient pollution from land to waters has led to significant changes in government policy and in expectations for Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Waste Directive (WD) compliance in Ireland. The WFD is European wide legislation requiring that all water-bodies should be of at least good ecological status by 2015. His research has provided unequivocal scientific evidence that bio-physical lag times preclude the achievement of WFD water quality targets from diffuse source pollution by 2015. This has led to targets for good water quality in all River Basin Management Plans being extended without threat of European fines. Further, inclusion of Jordan's research on the specific environmental risk of rural point source pollution in assessments of septic tank system risk has resulted in the overturning of a European Court ruling under the Waste Directive, and the consequent lifting of daily fines of €19,000.

Submitting Institution

University of Ulster

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
Environmental Sciences: Environmental Science and Management, Soil Sciences

Children’s speech and literacy difficulties: influencing professional practice

Summary of the impact

The psycholinguistic framework for research and practice developed by Stackhouse and Wells is now a key component of the majority of UK speech and language therapy courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In addition to influencing the design and delivery of course curricula in the UK, Europe, Australia, South Africa and USA, the framework is used in continuing professional development for speech and language therapists (SLTs), special needs teachers, and with parents. The resultant impact on clinical and educational practice, the assessment of children and the planning of therapy interventions can be seen across the spectrum of persisting speech difficulties, including those related to dyspraxia, dysarthria, dyslexia, cleft palate, Down Syndrome, stammering, specific speech and language impairments.

Submitting Institution

University of Sheffield

Unit of Assessment

Modern Languages and Linguistics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Clinical Sciences
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology, Cognitive Sciences

Filter Impact Case Studies

Download Impact Case Studies