Log in
Work by the University of Huddersfield's Archaeogenetics Research Group has been at the forefront of developing mitochondrial DNA as a tool for reconstructing the dispersal history of mankind, from a new model of the expansion of modern humans out of Africa to re-evaluations of the settlement history of Europe, Asia and the Pacific. Pivotal in the emergence of commercial genetic ancestry testing, this work generates immense public interest and creates many opportunities for broad engagement. It has provided an expert basis for TV and radio programmes, featured widely in the mainstream press and helped the Human Genetics Commission formulate guidelines for the genetic ancestry testing industry.
The Cardiff Osteological Research Group (CORG) has researched the complex relationship between animals and people, across Britain, Europe and beyond. CORG has taken its research as the basis for a programme of activities that seeks to challenge modern attitudes to animals through archaeological studies, and to provoke reflection on the present relevance and future development of animals. Their impact has built on relationships developed with artists and practitioners in creative industries who have been influenced by the issues researched. By encouraging a range of audiences to consider the economic, social, ritual and symbolic roles of animals, CORG has enriched, informed and changed the perspectives of individuals who do not normally engage with the archaeological past, including target groups traditionally excluded from, or not aware of, academic research.
This case study details the impact of Marvin's ethnographic anthropological research into human-animal relations, which places animals in cultural and historical context. This work has been foundational for the establishment of the new field of human-animal studies and has led to impact in three distinct areas. Through publications and direct public engagement, this work has had an impact on public understanding of the wolf, and on a body working for its conservation. The process of research and subsequent dissemination of publications on foxhunting has provoked debate and influenced the understanding of foxhunting groups. Finally, through a collaborative approach, research on the public exhibition of animals by taxidermists and in zoos has enhanced the preservation and creative presentation of cultural heritage.
Research in the School of Mathematics & Statistics in the University of Glasgow has been influential in answering a long-standing question: where do we come from? The fleshing-out of the 'out of Africa' theory has been the focus of two documentary series, The Incredible Human Journey and Meet the Izzards, and has generated income for DNA testing companies in the UK and US by enabling them to offer `deep DNA' tests revealing one's roots from far back in history. The Incredible Human Journey aired on BBC 2 in 2009, reaching 10.2 million viewers altogether, has been watched 100,000 times on YouTube and was broadcast in shorter format in Australia and Canada before being released as a DVD. Meet the Izzards was broadcast on BBC 1 in 2013 to over 3 million people.
Professor Hutchinson's team has pursued research into movement of large land animals, and how they have evolved under biomechanical constraints, such as gravity, which dominate their lifestyles. Their findings relating to elephants and to dinosaurs, applying physics, maths and computer science to study the natural world, have captured the public's imagination through a variety of engagement activities. The work has contributed to several major documentaries and interactive museum exhibits, (with Professor Hutchinson consulting), as well as featuring in a substantial number of print and online news stories. The research has had practical applications in foot health and welfare of elephants in captivity and, through examining constraints of growth on anatomy, has also led to applications in health of broiler chickens.
Transmission and control of parasitic zoonoses focuses on diagnostics development and epidemiological studies on zoonoses, developing approaches for the surveillance, prevention and control of non-vector borne zoonotic pathogens and demonstrating the following impact:
Research undertaken at Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) studied habitat enrichment in captive coyotes (with the National Wildlife Research Center in Utah), and herd composition of donkeys, horses and mules (with the Donkey Sanctuary). These studies observed social and environmental interactions, addressing important welfare indicators in gregarious species. The work identified welfare issues in both sites and provided the necessary evidence to allow improvements to be made.
Specifically, this research has:
1) led to changes in the husbandry practice and policy in both partner institutions that have improved animal welfare;
2) improved how the Donkey Sanctuary trains international partners and undertakes welfare education.
We have established a primate research centre (The Macaque Study Centre) in a zoo environment (Marwell Zoo) for research into primate social cognition. Visitors can watch the science taking place, which 1) significantly increases their perception of the zoo as a place of learning, 2) increases their knowledge about the specific research being conducted, and 3) improves children's attitudes to science as an exciting subject. Marwell Zoo integrate the research into their educational workshops, and similar facilities are now being established in other zoos in light of the demonstrable scientific, public engagement/involvement and animal welfare benefits.
This case study explores the impact of a University of Cambridge theoretically-informed programme on how the human body is understood in different historical settings. The major way the non-academic public encountered this research was through an exhibition `Assembling Bodies' at the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, seen by over 100,000 people. Visitor documentation and external reviews show that this exhibition successfully provoked its viewers to think in new ways about human bodies, including their own. It has also inspired new creative initiatives in art and writing.
Volker Sommer's research focuses on behavioural ecology of non-human primates. Field studies of the Gashaka Primate Project in Nigeria highlighted the importance of saving the world's most endangered chimpanzee from extinction and facilitated sponsors in Europe and Africa to invest and engage in joint protection measures. These include providing educational, economic and infrastructural benefits to local communities, and significant support for national park rangers and their policing activities in this secluded highland region.