Submitting Institution: Liverpool (University of)

REF impact found 96 Case Studies

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Advertising Obesity? TV Marketing, Food Promotion, Diet and Body Weight in Children.

Summary of the impact

Research conducted by the University of Liverpool (UoL) has convincingly shown that there are strong links between the exposure of children to food advertising, brand recognition and being overweight or obese. This work consistently informs the policies of regulators and health agencies, nationally and internationally. In this specific example, work by Halford and Boyland to characterize the effects of food advertising on children's diet, food preferences, intake and body weight has had a direct effect on UK and overseas policy development. Notably this includes informing WHO guidelines to national governments on introducing effective regulatory frameworks and for monitoring their effectiveness.

Submitting Institution

University of Liverpool

Unit of Assessment

Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Nutrition and Dietetics, Public Health and Health Services

Agent-Oriented Software Engineering: The Gaia Methodology

Summary of the impact

This case is based on economic impact. It shows how research by Professor Michael Wooldridge at the University of Liverpool on the Gaia Methodology for agent-oriented software engineering improved the performance of the Swiss company Whitestein Technologies AG and of international users of its key product. Specifically, the research enabled Whitestein to develop its business process management system (BPM) Living Systems Process Suite which delivers several million pounds per year of revenues, corresponding to 50% of their total business revenues. Users of Whitestein's Living Systems Process Suite since 2008 include Daimler AG, Transcor Astra Group, Vienna Insurance Group, and the US Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2010 Gartner, the world's leading IT advisory company, recognized the impact and innovation of the Living Systems Process Suite by naming Whitestein a Cool Vendor in BPM.

Submitting Institution

University of Liverpool

Unit of Assessment

Computer Science and Informatics

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Computation Theory and Mathematics, Computer Software, Information Systems

Ancient History Beyond the Academy: Herodotus, Persia and the Greeks

Summary of the impact

Research on the historian Herodotus, the history of the Achaemenid Persian empire, and the complex relationship between Greek and Persian worlds in the Classical period has had an impact in two main ways:

  1. Teaching and learning of Ancient History in UK Classrooms
    Working with partner institutions, such as the Oxford Cambridge and RSA awarding body (OCR), the Historical Association and the Reading Odyssey project, it has:
  • contributed to the professional development of secondary teachers of Ancient History;
  • improved the educational experience of secondary students (indirectly through CPD, and directly through the provision of resources),
  • shaped the awarding body's thinking on future changes to the curriculum,
  • increased the uptake of Ancient History as a school subject in the UK.
  1. Public understanding of Ancient History outside the Classroom
    Through popular publications, exhibitions, webinars, and through influence on popular historians, it has:
  • extended and deepened public understanding of the ancient world and its interfaces with the present.

Submitting Institution

University of Liverpool

Unit of Assessment

Classics

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

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

Applications of Singularity Theory and 3D Modelling in Arts and Retail

Summary of the impact

Professor Peter Giblin (Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Liverpool), together with collaborators, used methods from singularity theory to develop an approach for recovering 3-d information from 2-d images, such as photos. In the past decade, these have been implemented and built upon by software engineers, leading to significant cultural, economic and societal impacts. These include the creation of an innovative 25m high sculpture of the human body in the Netherlands by the sculptor Antony Gormley and the virtual modelling of clothing on online clothing websites such as Tesco's (Virtual Changing Room by Tesco/F&F). These have reached thousands of consumers worldwide and represent a significant commercial success for the company which developed the software.

Submitting Institution

University of Liverpool

Unit of Assessment

Mathematical Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Mathematical Sciences: Pure Mathematics
Information and Computing Sciences: Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing

Architecture and the Moving Image: City, Culture and Identity

Summary of the impact

Interdisciplinary research by the Centre for Architecture and the Visual Arts (CAVA), based in the School of Architecture, is on the role of the moving image in the culture and identity of cities. By examining historic film, current trends and future developments in city branding and digital imaging, a new field of research has developed with three types of beneficiary: (1) institutions (museums and galleries); (2) municipal authorities (planning/urban development departments); (3) inhabitants of and visitors to cities. Liverpool's European Capital of Culture programme (2008) formed the basis of the research, which has spread nationally (London/Battersea) and internationally (China).

Submitting Institution

University of Liverpool

Unit of Assessment

Architecture, Built Environment and Planning

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration
Studies In Creative Arts and Writing: Film, Television and Digital Media
Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies

Avian Metapneumovirus Research Leading to Improved Disease Control in Global Poultry

Summary of the impact

Since its discovery in the 1980s, avian metapneumovirus (AMPV) has spread in poultry populations worldwide with major adverse health and food security implications for commercial chickens and turkeys. Research at the University of Liverpool (UoL) led to the registration of a live vaccine in 1994 which has played a global role in AMPV control, thereby safeguarding the supply of poultry meat and eggs. Recent research and development at the UoL has identified key control measures, relating to vaccine application, vaccine selection, efficacy and safety, which have had a significant impact on poultry health and consequently, poultry producers and consumers. In particular, demonstration that live AMPV vaccines can revert to virulence, that vaccine type applied influences field protection and that continuous use of a single vaccine can influence circulating field strains, has resulted in UoL leading policy making with regard to current AMPV vaccine protocols.

Submitting Institution

University of Liverpool

Unit of Assessment

Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences: Veterinary Sciences
Medical and Health Sciences: Immunology, Medical Microbiology

British art and tradition: exploring an eclectic cultural heritage

Summary of the impact

This study outlines the ways in which Alexandra Harris, Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Liverpool, has engaged public interest in modern British art and literature.
Harris has demonstrably encouraged both art-world professionals and members of the public to appreciate more fully the rich variety of modern British art, and to realise its contemporary relevance in exploring British landscapes and identities. Between September 2010 and July 2013, her books, radio programmes, literary festival appearances, and collaborations with art galleries have had a major impact on cultural life. They have helped to raise the profile of British painting, and brought diverse audiences to challenging literature (especially the work of Virginia Woolf). They have heightened public consciousness of the ways in which contemporary debates and indeed the habits of daily life can be informed by cultural history, giving `the long view' on national identity, notions of `home' and tradition, and particularly the potent relationships between art and place.

Submitting Institution

University of Liverpool

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

Building acoustics - contributions to European and International Standardisation

Summary of the impact

The impact of building acoustics research by the Acoustics Research Unit at Liverpool has been through knowledge transfer into Standardisation, guidance to industry and take-up by test laboratories. This is evidenced by the active and leading participation of Professor Gibbs and Dr Hopkins on International and European Standards committees, developing measurement and prediction methods for noise in buildings. The research provides the scientific basis of new test codes used by accredited test laboratories and acoustic consultants. It is also feeding into new test procedures developed by R&D teams of Boeing, Seattle, for the control of vibration-induced noise in aircraft.

Submitting Institution

University of Liverpool

Unit of Assessment

Architecture, Built Environment and Planning

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Aerospace Engineering, Civil Engineering
Built Environment and Design: Building

Building and Implementing a Replicable Model for HIV Testing and Counselling

Summary of the impact

Research at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) has developed a successful approach to the rapid scale-up of HIV Testing and Counselling (HTC) services in high prevalence countries, a vital component of the global HIV response. The model combines comprehensive quality assurance with operational research and has led to HTC expansion in mobile, home and facility-based settings. It has also allowed for responsiveness to local needs leading to post rape care services linked to HTC, services for the deaf and HTC for men who have sex with men (MSM) and other hidden populations in Africa. The global impact of this model is reflected in WHO policy, Ministry of Health HTC guidelines in numerous countries in Africa, the on-going work of an indigenous Kenyan NGO and expansion of HTC through community outreach in the UK.

Submitting Institutions

University of Liverpool,Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Unit of Assessment

Clinical Medicine

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

Castell Henllys and the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

Summary of the impact

Mytum's research excavation and extensive reconstructions at the Iron Age archaeological site at Castell Henllys benefitted Pembrokeshire Coast National Park through integration of the research results into their visitor resources, educational programmes and management plans, developed with the Castell Henllys project's guidance. In particular, because the `Celts' are a key part of the Welsh National Curriculum at Key Stage 2, Castell Henllys features both on the National Park website provision and as an important element of their schools visit programme. This previously unvisited site has become a major educational centre and significant local tourist attraction only because of the project's long-term excavations and reconstruction.

Submitting Institution

University of Liverpool

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

History and Archaeology: Archaeology

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