Log in
This impact case study describes the benefits realised from research and practice within the network radio broadcast environment. The impact arises from four examples of Harrison's broadcast outputs, and the case study reports audience impact and critical review within a highly demanding and competitive broadcast environment — that of the United Kingdom's national speech radio broadcaster — BBC Radio 4.
Recent research through the Applied Psychology Research Centre into sports officiating at Glyndŵr University has helped to create a national level referee performance model that is being used to identify and train emerging talent. The model is currently being used with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) English national panel of referee coaches.
Glyndŵr researchers designed and developed ambient user interface devices and middleware (known as the `E-servant'), and evaluated the completed system, on an FP6 project developing near-to-market-ready prototypes of advanced kitchen appliances. Functionality included sensors in refrigerators that communicated if the door had been accidentally left open; in washing machines, RFID chips identified laundry and automatically selected correct programmes; other appliances, along with further sensors (e.g. smoke alarms) communicated their status via the E-servant to personalised user interfaces. Users could control the appliances, monitor them, and receive timely notifications. Impact relates to benefits to industrial partners and public engagement with research.
A unique UK national capability for large optics manufacture and associated technologies has been exploited. This case study describes the benefits realised from research into high precision surface-removal processes plus metrology, applied to large area functional surfaces producing precisions down to nanometres. Research into metrology for optical manufacturing, into increasing the dynamic range of a CNC polishing machine and into the issues associated with scaling up from prototype to commercial mass production of large off-axis aspheric mirror-segments for future extremely large telescopes has made a significant contribution to the progress of the ESO European Extremely Large Telescope project and has brought commercial benefits to Zeeko Ltd.
Research into the characterisation, functional properties and applications of hydrocolloids which improves the stability of beverage products has been transferred to end users through the University's Phillips Hydrocolloids Research Centre. The associated development of industry standards for acacia gum supply has resulted in more than 44 companies since 2008 directly using the University's analytical services or adopting its methodologies, enabling improvements in productivity, product stability and costs. The Gum Arabic Board of Sudan invited the University to assist in improving gum arabic industry practices and methodologies for processing, storage and traceability from source in supply of consistent and quality materials, producing benefits in terms of volume of business.
Research was undertaken into practical methodologies for integrating disparate engineering design software packages, including techniques for managing data in different formats and package functionality available through varying programming models. There was an emphasis on usability for end users allowing a complex solution to be built without advanced programming experience or technical understanding of the underlying packages. The results were made available through a commercial software package marketed by an SME, successfully contributing to a significant increase in company profile, modified internal working procedures and an expanded portfolio of services available to customers. The final product has only recently appeared on the market, but to good review, promising early sales and projections of significant sales and increased turnover.
Research into the psychology of prayer aids the Church of England in one of its key areas of mission, to engage with and to promote the spiritual health of the nation. This research promotes the engagement of those who do not necessarily attend church to engage with their spiritual development. The research conducted into the analysis of prayer cards left in churches and cathedrals has influenced: the development of a Church of England prayer website; the reconceptualization and reorganisation of the Bangor Cathedral prayer request area; and integration of prayer card analyses in larger research projects initiated by Church of England dioceses exploring church growth.
Academic staff (who are also artist practitioners) and clinical colleagues have engaged in a collaborative project which has explored the effects of anti-depressant medications. The collaborative arts/science practice explored these interests through creative, patient led, artistic expressions of change alongside conventional, reductionist measures of changing depressive symptoms. Early findings suggest that this work can make a useful contribution to the range of support available to mental health service users, and may also have a contribution to offer in the field of public health, reducing demands on acute services. The initial outcomes led to an invitation to bid for further funding in FACT's Healthy Spaces programme.