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Providing intelligence on Cuba to shape policy and to inform governmental, business, journalistic and diplomatic communities

Summary of the impact

Research undertaken by Professor Antoni Kapcia has had far-reaching influences on policy formation (internationally) and has improved the intelligence base on Cuba for journalists, business organisations and diplomatic missions. It has:

  • Helped to inform and shape UK government policy towards Cuba through a sustained advisory relationship between Kapcia and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office;
  • Influenced the policy community (including U.S. government officials and foreign diplomats) in Washington and internationally through the provision of intelligence to the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.;
  • Contributed new knowledge and insights to a broad-based audience of journalists, business organisations and diplomatic missions (worldwide) through the Economist Intelligence Unit, furthering their understanding of Cuba and informing their approaches and practice.

Submitting Institution

University of Nottingham

Unit of Assessment

Modern Languages and Linguistics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Political Science
Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Transforming Classical Sparta and Influencing Modern Audiences

Summary of the impact

Revision of standard views of Sparta towards a less exceptional, more civic-oriented, society has:

  • transformed curricula, teaching and student learning on Sparta in HEIs worldwide
  • enriched teaching and inspired pupils' educational ambitions in UK schools and FE colleges
  • altered the modern Municipality of Sparti's depiction of its ancient legacy and enhanced its cultural heritage policies
  • helped a comics author respond to 300 with a more authentic depiction of Spartan-helot relations
  • enabled a U.S. gun control activist to counteract Sparta's appropriation by the pro-gun lobby.

Submitting Institution

University of Nottingham

Unit of Assessment

Classics

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Refugees in modern history: enhancing the school curriculum and raising public awareness

Summary of the impact

Historical research on refugees specifically in post-1945 Europe conducted at UoM has been incorporated in the design and delivery of the school curriculum (Key Stage 3, Citizenship and History) to encourage children to consider the responses of refugees to the challenges they faced, the role of humanitarian relief organisations, and the responsibilities of citizens. In addition, a series of exhibitions, including one on behalf of the Quaker Service Memorial Trust, has improved public understanding of refugee crises and humanitarian responses. Finally this research has instilled in NGOs a better understanding of the history of humanitarianism.

Submitting Institution

University of Manchester

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration, Political Science
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Shaping Public Understanding of the Knights Templar

Summary of the impact

The Knights Templar are famous for their involvement in the Medieval crusades but the myths surrounding them and popular representations, as seen in The Da Vinci Code, have created an inaccurate view of the Templars' historical significance. Nicholson's research on (a) the Templars and their estates, (b) her collaborations with museum and heritage organizations, and (c) her advice on Templar properties, has challenged misconceptions about the Templars and informed professional practice in presenting heritage sites, benefiting individuals, authors, archaeologists and museum practitioners. Her research has equipped non-academic audiences with a clearer understanding of the Templars, generating new interpretations and cultural artefacts by diverse groups worldwide.

Submitting Institution

Cardiff University

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Countess Donhoff

Summary of the impact

Research by Haase underpinned the successful renaming of one of the central sites of the new Germany — the Marion-Countess-Dönhoff-Platz in Berlin — in 2010/11. Haase's research informed the politically sensitive consultation process between politicians and local communities, and within the communities themselves, and provided research that helped deliver broad-based community support for the new name. The research-informed community engagement approach facilitated by Haase's research set a national standard of excellence in renaming processes. A permanent interpretation board contributes historical depth to locals' and tourists' experience of the Square.

Submitting Institution

University of Nottingham

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Political Science
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

HIS04 - The City of York

Summary of the impact

The City of York enjoys a rich heritage of historic buildings, museums and archives which attract 7.1 million visitors p.a (12% overseas) (5.10). Between 2008 and 2013 members of the Department of History have transformed the public interpretation and conservation of this heritage by: i) developing better professional practice within heritage; ii) working in partnership with heritage organisations to develop learning resources; iii) contributing to the development of exhibitions, community events and publications in the heritage sector; iv) developing greater understanding of the full chronological range of York's history and bringing hitherto neglected issues to public prominence. In sum, these have contributed to a deeper public understanding of the richness and value of York's past.

Submitting Institution

University of York

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Curatorial and Related Studies, Historical Studies

Radical Distrust: Rethinking Radicalisation for Policy Formation and Public Debate

Summary of the impact

Caroline Rooney's `Radical Distrust' research has generated policy advice for government officials, stimulated and informed public debate through international cultural activism and media channels of international reach, and launched trust-building initiatives to counter the effects of sectarian conflict in the Middle East. `Radical Distrust' anticipated the Arab Spring, serving to enhance the visibility and significance of the pro-democracy momentum linked to the arts in the period just prior to the uprisings. The programme generated data of historical importance for this key moment, and brought the cultural self-analyses of regional intellectuals to new audiences. It has been and continues to be a catalyst for multiple audiences in coming to terms with a new Middle East in the making.

Submitting Institution

University of Kent

Unit of Assessment

English Language and Literature

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the ‘first English Empire’

Summary of the impact

Rees Davies (1938-2005) was one of the most significant British medieval historians of the post-war period, the most distinguished historian of medieval Wales, and a leading figure in the movement for British (as opposed to English) history as a staple of undergraduate teaching. While his vision of medieval Wales and Britain evolved over a forty-year career in universities and public service, it entered a distinctive phase in its final decade, when Davies wrote the definitive study of the revolt of Owain Glyn Dŵr and coined the notion of `the first English Empire'. The research of these years, when Davies was Chichele Professor of Medieval History at the University of Oxford, has had a lasting impact on the public understanding of history in Wales, on the management and presentation of Welsh heritage, and on the teaching of undergraduate history across the British Isles.

Submitting Institution

University of Oxford

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Increasing the profile and availability of effective psychological therapy for bipolar disorder

Summary of the impact

Lancaster research has changed the understanding and treatment of bipolar disorder (BD) from biological models and pharmacological treatments to integrated psychosocial interventions complementary to routine medication and matched to user needs. We have developed novel psychological interventions (individual, family and group approaches), and reliable and valid ways to assess valued outcomes and underlying mechanisms of change. This research has delivered 3 major impacts. It has: fundamentally changed understanding of the condition in professional and lay audiences; changed treatment in terms of policy and practice, including NICE clinical guidelines; changed professional training delivered both nationally and internationally.

Submitting Institution

Lancaster University

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

Changing education policy and practice through challenging the link between social and educational disadvantage.

Summary of the impact

The research impacted on both public policy and professional practice. Specifically the research has enabled the development of an overarching framework for linking interventions in social structures, families and schools, particularly at area level. This in turn has impacted principally (a) on organisational strategy and professional practice at local level; but also (b) on national policymaker decisions and processes involved in the transformation of the `Extended Schools' agenda; and (c) on thinking and strategy by policymakers in Europe and other countries internationally. Crucial to the impact process have been partnership relationships using a development and research (D&R) methodology with a wide range of local initiatives, together with support for change in national and trans-national policy in this field.

Submitting Institution

University of Manchester

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration, Sociology

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