Impact Global Location: Sri Lanka

REF impact found 41 Case Studies

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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

Conflict Management and Resolution: Policy and Practice

Summary of the impact

This case study demonstrates the impact of historical research into conflict management and resolution on:

  • national and local government institutions (British, Australian and US armies; Local Democracy Agency; West Midlands Local Government Association; West Midlands Probation Service Trust; West Midlands Counter-Terrorism Unit)
    Impact: policy making; education; cultural life
  • NGOs (Peace Direct; the Peace Museum, Manchester; Preventing Violent Extremism Programme)
    Impact: civil society, cultural life, policy making
  • training and policy think-tanks (Royal United Services Institute; Joint Services Command and Staff College; RAF Cranwell)
    Impact: education; policy making; civil society

This case study is based on research into the history of conflict resolution/management, peace implementation and public diplomacy in Europe, North America, Sri Lanka and Australia.

Submitting Institution

University of Wolverhampton

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

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

Developing simulation software in order to improve technology enhanced learning of modern computer architecture.

Summary of the impact

Teaching and learning of computer architecture has been enhanced using highly interactive simulations with carefully constructed visualisations and animations. Computer scientists need to understand and observe how different parts of a modern computer system's architecture and organization fit together, interact and support each other. Unique educational simulation software has been designed, developed and evaluated with these requirements in mind. Since the software and teaching materials have been made public, numerous universities worldwide adopted it in their courses with claimed positive impact on student engagement, course popularity, grades, speed of delivery of curriculum, attendance and peer recognition of best practice.

Submitting Institution

Edge Hill University

Unit of Assessment

Computer Science and Informatics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Computation Theory and Mathematics
Education: Curriculum and Pedagogy, Specialist Studies In Education

Embedding computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in Modern Foreign Languages curricula, in industry and in the community

Summary of the impact

The impact of research in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) at Ulster is evidenced by the changes it has driven regarding the delivery of language teaching using ICT and multimedia language learning tools in a variety of environments. The production of internationally-recognised research to demonstrate effective motors for change led to the establishment of a key infrastructure, the Centre for Excellence in Multimedia Language Learning (CEMLL), funded by a CETL (Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning) grant of £825,000 from Department of Education and Learning (DEL). This has informed developments in language teaching in higher and secondary education and has provided language learning opportunities beyond traditional educational sectors into industrial and community settings.

Submitting Institution

University of Ulster

Unit of Assessment

Modern Languages and Linguistics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Specialist Studies In Education
Language, Communication and Culture: Linguistics

Enabling Transnational Artistic Exchanges on Gender and Conflict in South Asia

Summary of the impact

Ananya Kabir's pioneering research on how the visual arts in South Asia express trauma generated by conflict resulted in a major exhibition at Leeds and associated events nationwide, attracting over 130,000 visitors. Her focus on female artistic responses enabled long-term partnerships with South Asian cultural producers, whom she helped to connect with museums and galleries in the UK. Through both her research and direct involvement with impact, Kabir has facilitated transnational pathways of professional development whilst creating and interpreting South Asian cultural capital for British and South Asian heritage audiences.

Submitting Institution

University of Leeds

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

Fewer suicides worldwide following changes in policy and practice influenced by University of Bristol research

Summary of the impact

University of Bristol research has played an important role in shaping local, national and global suicide prevention initiatives. The consequent reductions in suicide rates have been substantial and many hundreds of lives have been saved thanks to this research.

The scope and scale of the impact has ranged from shaping World Health Organisation (WHO) strategy on preventing suicides by pesticide poisoning, informing national legislation on limiting access to the means of suicide in several countries (e.g. analgesics in the UK — 1000 fewer suicides between 2008 and 2013), informing guidelines on the responsible reporting of suicide for the UK media, and developing highly successful prevention measures at the Clifton Suspension Bridge, a suicide site in Bristol (30 fewer suicides between 2008 and 2013).

Submitting Institution

University of Bristol

Unit of Assessment

Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

General public, teachers, students and carers benefit from deeper understanding of Buddhist practice

Summary of the impact

Buddhists and non-Buddhists across the world, educators, students and chaplains are among those who have benefited personally, academically and professionally from the imaginative dissemination of Bristol's pioneering research into Buddhist Death Rituals in Southeast Asia and China. Exhibitions, talks, printed and online learning materials, image archives and websites have all been brought into play. These multiple approaches to the sharing of new knowledge have led to beneficial impacts on a wide variety of individuals, from schoolchildren on the brink of adulthood to people receiving comfort on their deathbed.

Submitting Institution

University of Bristol

Unit of Assessment

Theology and Religious Studies

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Religion and Religious Studies

Global Microfinance: Fighting against poverty in developing countries

Summary of the impact

This case study refers to the work of Professor Thankom Arun of the Institute of Global Finance and Development (IGFD) at UCLan, who has been working very closely with Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) and international development agencies to understand and tackle the critical issue of finance in the development process. The ingenuity and originality of this type of research has had a profound impact on national and international policy debates, challenging and disproving misunderstandings about the inability of the poor to engage effectively with financial services provision, such as savings and insurance. The research has had a significant direct impact on the functioning of microfinance institutions at the local and grassroots level and on the delivery of financial services to some of the most vulnerable communities around the world.

Submitting Institution

University of Central Lancashire

Unit of Assessment

Business and Management Studies

Summary Impact Type

Economic

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Economics: Applied Economics
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services: Banking, Finance and Investment

How many dentists does Sri Lanka need

Summary of the impact

Management science research that has evolved over two decades at Southampton Management School has provided the Sri Lankan government with the means to revolutionise its dental care system, and to devise new strategies for the more effective recruitment of health care professionals. A computer simulation model, based on Southampton's research, underpinned a government decision to limit dental student intake, create 400 new posts in under-resourced rural areas and grant access to dental care to an additional 1.5 million people. This in turn led to better use of taxpayers' money and improved career prospects for Sri Lankan dentists.

Submitting Institution

University of Southampton

Unit of Assessment

Business and Management Studies

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

Improving global efforts to reduce child poverty and deprivation: the impact of the Bristol Approach and its contribution to identification, measurement and monitoring.

Summary of the impact

Research conducted by the Centre for the Study of Poverty and Social Justice (CSPSJ) led to a new way of assessing child poverty in developing countries. This novel method (termed the Bristol Approach) resulted in the United Nations General Assembly's adoption, for the first time, of an international definition of child poverty (2006). It also underpinned UNICEFs Global Study on Child Poverty and Disparities (2008-10), which was run in over 50 countries. In the last ten years, the CSPSJ's work has put child poverty at the centre of international social and public policy debates. Its researchers have advised governments and international agencies on devising anti-poverty strategies and programmes that specifically meet the needs of children, and have significantly influenced the way child poverty is studied around the world. The Centre has developed academic and professional training courses for organisations like UNICEF on the issues of children's rights and child-poverty. Our work has also spurred NGOs such as Save the Children to develop their own child-development indices, and so has had a direct and profound impact on the lives of poor children around the planet.

Submitting Institution

University of Bristol

Unit of Assessment

Social Work and Social Policy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration, Sociology

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