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The 2013 Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition in Durham was a major cultural event in the North East, receiving national media attention. It was sponsored and publicised by numerous public, cultural and business bodies, and it brought educational benefits to schools, stimulation to artistic workshops and economic benefits through the promotion of tourism. Richard Gameson's research expertise was central to the design of the exhibition, to the interpretative themes adopted in its educational outreach and public presentation, and to the selection and borrowing of many of the exhibits.
The history of cartography research group at Queen Mary have exploited their research on the cultural history of maps in the early modern period to enhance public understanding of mapmaking and the knowledge that maps create. They have taken their academic research to a wider audience through authored television and radio programmes, research council-funded books, public lectures and reviews across a range of media. In this way, their research has generated significant economic impact, contributing to the economic prosperity of the creative sector, including trade publishing, print media journalism, television, and literary festivals, and improving the quality of evidence, argument and expression in public discourse on contemporary map-making.
This case study relates to cultural life. Mark Connelly's research into the development of the modern Christmas has been accessed by a wide range of users for an equally wide range of purposes. Of particular importance are his contributions to the heritage sector and media designed to enhance, nuance and challenge public understandings of Christmas. This has been achieved through:
During Connelly's association with the Geffrye Museum, total visitor numbers have exceeded 35,000 and the online catalogue entries have received over 550,000 hits. Viewing and listening figures for the radio and television broadcasts totalled more than 3.5 million, and the total circulation of the magazines was over 110,000. Positive reviews and responses to these outputs have indicated the significance of the impact.
The Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) actively promotes cross-sector collaboration and exchange with cultural institutions outside Higher Education. Through these partnerships, MEMS research in material culture and spatial studies by Catherine Richardson and Bernhard Klein has delivered public benefits by changing curatorial practices in the heritage sector and by influencing the content and the form of the education of doctoral students in the Humanities beyond the University of Kent. This research has been used by cultural providers, engaged wide public audiences, significantly enriched the experience of a large number of individuals, and changed the policies of several institutions within and outside the UK.
This case study in the history of British regional and urban culture demonstrates research impact that is an extension of the unit's longstanding commitment to benefitting regional and local constituencies. The impact extends to non-academic audiences locally, regionally and nationally. It has formed the basis of local collaborations with organisations that are prominent in curating Teesside's industrial and post-industrial heritage. Its local impact has also exemplified the unit's strong interaction with local and community history groups. The findings of Vall's underpinning research into the history of British regional and urban culture has also engaged local and national audiences through radio and television features and documentaries addressing regional identity and industrial heritage. This research has helped to raise public awareness of the specific challenges attached to the promotion of creative economies in industrial regions. Moreover, it has benefitted local people by revealing and contextualising the complexity and diversity of contemporary regional industrial heritage.
The historical emergence of sexual identities is a conceptual frame with which academic historians have long been familiar. It is in the practical applications of this conceptual framing that the distinctiveness of Alison Oram's research is located. Her work on the development and change in accounts of lesbian and gay sexuality has led to invitations to give public lectures at both regional and national institutions. Her research has increased the understanding of the context of interpreting under-represented themes in heritage. In addition, her consultative work with English Heritage has also informed and influenced policy debate and practice.
Stefan Collini's research on the character of universities and their relations to their host societies has had a major impact on public discourse in Britain. Grounded in historical evidence concerning the growth of institutions and disciplines, and on the ways public debate about the functions of universities has evolved since the mid-nineteenth century, it has influenced political argument about legislation, the content of reporting on higher education, and public understanding of universities more generally. There is extensive evidence for the uptake of these ideas in documents produced by public bodies, citations in the media, and other published reports on policy debates.
Newcastle research has informed public perceptions of marriage as an institution in Britain and abroad by: (i) challenging cultural values and social assumptions about marriage; (ii) expanding the sensibilities of individuals on this subject; and (iii) extending the range and improving the quality of evidence pertaining to the history of marriage and through this enhancing public understanding of sexual health issues and informed marriage equality debates.
Joan Beal's research on dialect and identity has had far-reaching educational impact. Her publications are widely used in other HEIs (both in the UK and abroad) and in secondary school teaching, with economic benefits for publishers. She has also influenced curriculum reform through her consultancy for AQA, the largest provider of academic qualifications for 14-19 year olds in the UK. Beyond education, her role as a media commentator and as a consultant for the British Library Sociolinguistics & Education department has led to greater public understanding of the significance, and persistence, of dialect as a means of constructing and expressing identity.
An archaeological research project that led to the discovery of a buried and forgotten 17th-century town of international importance adjacent to Dunluce Castle on the north coast of Ireland has led to the development of school and community based archaeological initiatives in Northern Ireland and Scotland, changes in school curricula in NI, and significant investment in heritage preservation and tourism by the NI government and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Specifically, the HLF has provided £300k of funding to develop a £5m bid for development of the site, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) have invested £208k for new interpretation and improved facilities, and the NIEA has spent £200k to buy the adjacent land beside the castle which contain the buried town and associated structures and to facilitate the expansion of a major research project led by the University of Ulster. Additionally, to date 27 schools and 18 different community groups have participated in an archaeological excavation program based at Dunluce; as a consequence 4 of the latter have received AHRC funding to continue their community based archaeological work.