Impact UK Location: Chelmsford

REF impact found 7 Case Studies

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Creative writing and the professional development of aspiring authors

Summary of the impact

The creative writing produced at Leeds Trinity has led to, through numerous public engagement activities, a very considerable impact on the professional development of aspiring authors (both adults and young people). The English subject area has actively developed community links to foster creative writing locally, nationally and internationally. The research on which this is founded relates to two members of the UOA who have published fiction and poetry, respectively, and have engaged aspiring authors with their work through public readings, internet and broadcast media, workshops and readings in schools, Writers' Festivals, and residencies, as well as using their expertise in judging competitions. In doing so they have nurtured the joy and meaning of reading and creative writing amongst young people and adults, in the context of a contemporary culture that values technology/media and computer games.

Submitting Institution

Leeds Trinity University

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

Developing prototypes for natural-language interfaces in collaboration with BAE Systems

Summary of the impact

Essex research into the practical deployment of computational grammar theories, tools and techniques led to the expertise of Dr Doug Arnold being sought between 2009 and 2011 by BAE Systems, a leading UK manufacturer of advanced defence and security systems. Arnold advised the company on the design of two prototype natural-language interfaces for responding to emergency situations and sharing sensitive data across organisations. The projects' goals were met and his contribution enabled BAE Systems to develop feasibility-of-concept demonstration systems. His practical expertise in Natural Language Processing provided the company with an appreciation of the limits of particular tools and helped it to avoid undertaking over-ambitious projects.

Submitting Institution

University of Essex

Unit of Assessment

Modern Languages and Linguistics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing, Information Systems
Language, Communication and Culture: Linguistics

Development of High Performance Cameras for Imaging Applications with ANDOR technology

Summary of the impact

As standard commercially-available imaging systems were unable to deliver the performance necessary for our astronomy research programmes, we formed a partnership with Andor Technology to develop two new specifically-tailored novel imaging systems: one to allow high-speed, high cadence imaging over an array of detectors whose capture times were precisely synchronised (for solar research); one to combine large format CCD detectors with a thermoelectric deep cooling design, removing the need for a separate, expensive cooling system (for exoplanet research). This partnership contributed to the development of new imaging products within Andor Technology (2008 — present), for which the company estimates a current total revenue value of over £1.7M per year. It has also helped Andor to maintain a leading position in the scientific camera market on a global scale, via the press and industry coverage obtained for the new technology development.

Submitting Institution

Queen's University Belfast

Unit of Assessment

Physics

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Physical Sciences: Astronomical and Space Sciences, Atomic, Molecular, Nuclear, Particle and Plasma Physics, Other Physical Sciences

Applications of microwave and mm-wave sources and amplifiers for the defence, security and health sectors

Summary of the impact

Radiation sources and amplifiers, in the spectral region from microwave to terahertz, are extensively used in UK industry and public sectors such as security, defence, health and the environment. Companies, including e2v Technologies plc. (e2v) and TMD Technologies Ltd. (TMD), have developed and sold new radiation products based on post-1996 research undertaken at the University of Strathclyde. Their devices accessed new frequency ranges with considerable increases in power and bandwidth. The designs were transferred to industry, where devices have been constructed, jobs created, policy changed and considerable investments made. These sources have had extensive beneficial impact through applications in defence, surveillance, materials processing, health sciences and environmental monitoring.

Submitting Institution

University of Strathclyde

Unit of Assessment

Physics

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Physical Sciences: Atomic, Molecular, Nuclear, Particle and Plasma Physics, Other Physical Sciences
Technology: Communications Technologies

Enhancing National and International Spatial Planning Policies to Improve the Independence and Quality of Life for Older People

Summary of the impact

We have contributed, nationally and internationally, to a changing approach, content and implementation of planning policy by including the needs of our ageing society in streetscape design, to address the requirements of older people, benefitting their independence, welfare and quality of life. In the UK 23% of the population is projected to be aged over 65 by 2035, according to the Office of National Statistics (2010). Our focus upon the needs of an ageing society has been adopted as part of the skills and knowledge development agenda in sustainable planning through the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). Tools have been developed, policy informed and reformed, and our findings included in a House of Lords report on assistive technology for older people.

Submitting Institution

Anglia Ruskin University

Unit of Assessment

Architecture, Built Environment and Planning

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Clinical Sciences, Public Health and Health Services

Science_Fiction

Summary of the impact

Science fiction facilitates the exploration of pressing social, technological, cultural, ethical and philosophical issues, and our research engages with topics such as religious identity and what it means to be human, and also identifies and analyses changes in the way science, as a discourse and practice, has been defined and perceived. Our research, both critical and creative, has had impact through providing cultural enrichment to a range of individuals and groups, transferring the insights gained from this research to a wider audience. The dissemination of our research has challenged social assumptions, as well as created and interpreted cultural capital.

Submitting Institution

Anglia Ruskin University

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

Gypsy problem

Summary of the impact

Home's continuing research on planning and accommodation for Gypsies/Travellers originated as far back as 1980, and contributed key evidence to the Parliamentary Committee in 2004 leading to a statutory requirement on local authorities to undertake local Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Assessments (GTAAs). The research-based methodology pioneered in the Cambridge sub-region GTAA has become best practice for GTAAs in the current REF period, and in 2011 media coverage of the high-profile Dale Farm evictions drew upon his research through media contributions by him (in TV, radio and newspapers).

Submitting Institution

Anglia Ruskin University

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Law and Legal Studies: Law

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