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2) 10 Minute Puzzle Podcasts

Summary of the impact

Promoting public diffusion of philosophical research via new and online media, The 10-Minute Puzzle podcast series seeks to engage lay audiences with some of the central puzzles driving contemporary research in analytic philosophy. As of September 19th, 2013, there had been over 63,000 downloads.

The series has two interrelated aims: to provide an innovative springboard for listeners (who may have had no previous exposure to philosophy) to engage with these puzzles on their own, and to provide a new, free resource for educators at all levels to stimulate interest in contemporary philosophy at any age.

As of September 19th, 2013, the three episodes of The 10-Minute Puzzle described in this case study had been downloaded 14,418 times, with downloads continuing steadily.

Submitting Institution

University of Aberdeen

Unit of Assessment

Philosophy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration, Sociology
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Philosophy

Scientific facts and public knowledge: ensuring quality and integrity

Summary of the impact

In February 2010, the Dutch government and parliament were rocked by a serious factual mis- reporting from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) about the danger of flooding in the Netherlands. The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, faced with the immense task of checking that there were no more errors in the report, came to LSE researchers for advice. Academics working on LSE's How Well Do Facts Travel? project helped the Agency to establish a process to ensure the integrity of climate-science facts in an efficient and effective manner. That Agency has now extended the method to ensure the integrity of the facts reported in the next generation of IPCC reports (one completed, others forthcoming).

Thus the LSE research, which investigated the histories of how, why and when facts travel with integrity, has been used to improve the quality of scientific evidence in public policy formation about one of the major challenges facing society, that of climate change.

Submitting Institution

London School of Economics & Political Science

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Cognitive Sciences
Language, Communication and Culture: Linguistics

2: Improving Engagement with Involuntary Service Users in Social Work

Summary of the impact

This collaboration between the UoE and six local authorities developed social work interventions to improve engagement with `involuntary' services users. The impact of the research is seen in the sharing and implementation of knowledge about `what worked' within and across the participating local authorities and in gradually shifting practice cultures within these authorities. The impact is evident at several levels:

  • practitioners changing how they work with service users, including greater ability to challenge risk averse practice in, for example, working with young adults with learning difficulties;
  • three participating local authorities incorporating project findings into policy and staff induction and training;
  • knowledge exchange activity via a thriving practice panel with representation from one local authority and UoE. This has led directly to six events each attracting around 60 practitioners;
  • use of findings in wider academic, policy and practice communities through distribution and uptake of 500 `Good Practice' booklets;
  • practitioners pursuing further study, one enrolling for a PhD, another writing a book and others going on to participate in a subsequent KE project following on from this one.

Submitting Institution

University of Edinburgh

Unit of Assessment

Social Work and Social Policy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration

General public, teachers, students and carers benefit from deeper understanding of Buddhist practice

Summary of the impact

Buddhists and non-Buddhists across the world, educators, students and chaplains are among those who have benefited personally, academically and professionally from the imaginative dissemination of Bristol's pioneering research into Buddhist Death Rituals in Southeast Asia and China. Exhibitions, talks, printed and online learning materials, image archives and websites have all been brought into play. These multiple approaches to the sharing of new knowledge have led to beneficial impacts on a wide variety of individuals, from schoolchildren on the brink of adulthood to people receiving comfort on their deathbed.

Submitting Institution

University of Bristol

Unit of Assessment

Theology and Religious Studies

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Religion and Religious Studies

Stonehenge and its landscape; changing perceptions, informing the next generation and benefitting the local economy

Summary of the impact

The Stonehenge Riverside Project was carried out between 2003 and 2010, to determine the purpose of Stonehenge by investigating both the monument and the surrounding landscape. The project's reach and importance have been considerable, from training and inspiring the next generation of professional archaeologists to stimulating people worldwide with new knowledge about Stonehenge, providing artistic inspiration and changing perceptions and beliefs about the use of the site, leading to significant economic, cultural and technological benefits.

Submitting Institution

University of Sheffield

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Geology
History and Archaeology: Archaeology, Historical Studies

Philosophical Dialogue and Rhetoric Creating an Alternative Space for Thinking Together

Summary of the impact

This case study demonstrates the impact of research on Philosophical Dialogue and Rhetoric in the context of the marketisation of Higher Education. In this context, impact was (and is) created through the facilitation of Socratic dialogues, and the dissemination of reflections on the pedagogical nature of these dialogues against the increasing marketisation of Higher Education. This case study aims to show a change in awareness, attitude and understanding of individual participants, especially a (philosophical) revaluation of their own experience. It also aims to change the pedagogical attitudes and practices of participating teachers and lecturers.

Submitting Institution

St Mary's University, Twickenham

Unit of Assessment

Philosophy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Literary Studies
Philosophy and Religious Studies: History and Philosophy of Specific Fields, Philosophy

Schopenhauer and Nietzsche on the Value of Existence

Summary of the impact

In recent years, few institutions have contributed more intensively than Southampton to the wider appreciation of two of the 19th Century's most influential thinkers, Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche. By way of a determined campaign of public engagement, we have shared our research on Schopenhauer and Nietzsche with over three million members of several different publics. This has resulted in genuine cultural enrichment: our interlocutors have encountered new approaches to topics that they find intrinsically compelling, and have been prompted to think and feel differently about issues that are — or that have come to be — of real significance for them.

Submitting Institution

University of Southampton

Unit of Assessment

Philosophy

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

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

Enhancing Learner Development by Influencing PDP policy and Changing PDP Practice

Summary of the impact

The research described below has impacted on policy and practice relating to Personal Development Planning (PDP) - the structured and supported process by which learners reflect upon their own development and plan their future development. The impact has primarily been on the UK Higher Education (HE) sector, but has also extended beyond the UK and into other types of organisation (e.g. graduate recruitment networks). More specifically, the research has: shaped the guidance offered to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) on implementing and developing PDP policies and processes for students; enhanced the practice of PDP practitioners; stimulated debate among these practitioners; and informed the development of resources for these practitioners. This has had an overarching positive effect on learner development in educational settings and beyond.

Submitting Institution

University of Worcester

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Curriculum and Pedagogy, Specialist Studies In Education

Transforming the Built Environment through Building Information Management (BIM)

Summary of the impact

Building Information Management (BIM) involves the creation and use of digital information about built assets. Mandated by UK and other governments because of its potential to reduce waste and optimise efficiency, its successful exploitation requires changes in construction technology and process. This research has had a transformational impact on both. Our technical research forms the basis of the National Library of BIM objects, as well as technological solutions and product developments for many organisations. Our work with UK and overseas governments has shaped industry's uptake of BIM. We have founded a centre of excellence to introduce BIM to practitioners and organisations, and created a commercial joint-venture consultancy company.

Submitting Institution

Northumbria University Newcastle

Unit of Assessment

Architecture, Built Environment and Planning

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Information Systems
Built Environment and Design: Building
Economics: Applied Economics

SME Promotion: The Case of Small Breweries

Summary of the impact

Research published by Pugh, Wyld and Tyrrall (2001) was adopted by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) to provide the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of their lobbying campaign for a sliding scale of excise duty for small breweries (also known as "progressive beer duty"; henceforth, PBD). This campaign led to the introduction of PBD in the 2002 Budget. Subsequent evaluation (Wyld, Pugh and Tyrrall, 2010) established that PBD has helped to generate new businesses (well over 100) and new jobs (at least several hundred) that otherwise would not have been brought into existence.

Submitting Institution

Staffordshire University

Unit of Assessment

Business and Management Studies

Summary Impact Type

Economic

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Information Systems
Economics: Applied Economics
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services: Business and Management

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