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Research findings inform lectures delivered to educators in English in the local region: both serving teachers and their pupils (Further Education) and PGCE Secondary English students undertaking their school placements locally, and often gaining employment within the Midlands. The impact is in how the teachers use literary texts to engage more effectively with their pupils regarding notions of race and `Otherness'; to develop a tolerant attitude towards those perceived as different; and to be cognisant of the pitfalls in teaching `texts from different cultures and traditions', as stipulated by the English National Curriculum, which might reinforce wider social discourses of `Otherness' around race.
Dr Katafiasz's research followed Edward Bond's seventeen year collaboration with Big Brum Theatre in Education Company. Her doctoral thesis (University of Reading, 2011), publications, and workshops theorise and disseminate the aesthetic of Bond's nine `Big Brum Plays'. This study assesses the impact of Dr Katafiasz's work on Big Brum's productions, as well as on a group of drama lecturers, theatre education students, and members of a community drama group. The study describes the specific impact of the work in 2012-13, when 7,233 people saw Big Brum perform in the UK, France, Malta, Hungary, Greece, Ireland, China, Sweden, and Slovenia.
The impact of the research described, lies in its ability to identify the prevalence and clustering of unhealthy lifestyle behaviours in young adults, and describe the characteristics of the differing lifestyles. Unhealthy behaviours are primary causes of premature morbidity and mortality. Inactivity, smoking, alcohol use and poor diet are the four major behavioural contributors to chronic illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The findings have been used to highlight the powerful influence of these behaviours on health, and also to highlight the particular impact on health created by these behaviours interacting together. These timely findings will aid health professionals to develop appropriate health prevention programmes targeting young adults.
The Case Study focuses on the work of Ibrahim Akubat, an exercise physiologist lecturer who joined the department in 2010. Based on his research, Akubat has enabled a range of clubs to monitor accurately players' training loads and understand their footballers' training outcomes. Akubat's research shows the superiority of the new individualised training load monitoring method over existing methods of monitoring internal training load and exercise dose in intermittent sports. This has led to coaches from numerous professional clubs, including those from the English Premier League, attending workshops to seek guidance on modifying their approaches to training load monitoring.
National and international research findings were utilised to raise professional, political and faith-based awareness of the impact of abuse and exploitation on the educational, social and emotional development of children and young people considered to be `at risk'. The impact of the case study lies in its ability to portray, through the use of participatory research methodologies, the experiences of young people who have been the victims of abuse, neglect and human trafficking. Evidence collated indicates that the work has significantly increased national and local awareness and understanding, and led to specific organisational changes in policy and practice.
The Case Study focuses on the work of Tony Myers, a Senior Lecturer in Physical Education and Sports Studies who joined the department in 2001. Myers' research on judging in the sport of Muay Thai has had an impact on the sport nationally and internationally. Several of the sport's governing bodies have changed judging practices as a result of the research, including the Independent Board of Muay Thai Officials (IBMTO), the Scottish Thai Boxing Association (STBA) the Irish Muay Thai Council (IMC), and the New Jersey Athletic Commission, USA.
Dr Susan Docherty's research has greatly impacted on the teaching of Religious Education and on the practice of collective worship in schools through two avenues: first, through her work in training teachers at Newman University, one of the major providers of Initial Teacher Education in the West Midlands; and second, through her contribution to the design and delivery of the biblical studies components of the Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies programme (CCRS), a course taken by the majority of teachers in Roman Catholic primary schools within the Archdiocese of Birmingham (comprising the counties of West Midlands, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire) as well as by teachers working in the Church of England and maintained sectors.
Dr Juliette Harrisson's blog based on her research has had an impact on wider society:
The impact of the research described in this case study lies in its ability to identify, appraise, select and synthesise skin cancer prevention interventions, and identify the main predictors of ultra-violet (UV) behaviour. The findings have been used to highlight the power of a `tanned appearance', and to develop an appearance-based intervention, in order to bring about behavioural change in relation to UV tanning in the UK. The target audience for this research impact is both the general public, and health professionals, with the message that interventions aimed at knowledge are likely to be less successful than those focussed on appearance.
Dr Susan Docherty has engaged with church communities in the UK through public seminars and training events to bring the latest scholarship in the academic field of biblical studies to bear on the faith and practice of church leaders and church-goers. Her research has also impacted on wider society through her contribution to the education of the public about the reception of the bible in British culture, particularly in terms of the interpretation of biblical themes in classical paintings.