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Professor Phil Ellis' research is focused on developing therapies for children with special needs (including autism), and the elderly in residential homes, sheltered accommodation and day care. He has been involved in establishing iMUSE rooms in a range of institutions, such as special schools, specialist institutions for autism, day care centres, and an NHS intensive care centre. His work has also involved knowledge transfer to enable partner organizations to use the techniques he has developed, along with appropriate supporting technology.
Public understanding of the brain and key concepts in cognitive development was improved through the Royal Institution (RI) Christmas Lecture series, "Meet Your Brain", which was delivered in 2011 by Bruce Hood, Professor of Developmental Psychology in Society at the University of Bristol and was based on research conducted at the Bristol Cognitive Development Centre. The series was broadcast twice in the UK on the BBC, reaching 4 million viewers in total. The success of the series subsequently led to Hood giving invited lectures in Asia in 2012 and 2013, which were broadcast on national television, reaching over 7 million viewers over the two years.
In 2012, young people between the ages of 9 and 14 participated in a live version of the lecture series and were tested on their knowledge before and after the series; average test score went from 40% to 75%, showing an increased understanding and further testing showed a 73% retention rate of this knowledge 2 months after the lecture.
The content of Hood's lectures forms the basis of The Brain Bank - a website about basic cognitive neuroscience, which provides tools and resources for educators. The website is distributed through the RI, Society of Biology, and UK Association for Science Centres and has received over 22,000 visits since its launch in January 2013.
Research by the University of Huddersfield has made a significant contribution through the development of state-of-the-art, modular, open-source software used in the creation and enhancement of electronic music. The HISSTools Impulse Response Toolbox allows users to deploy custom convolution-related solutions specific to their needs rather than having to rely on fixed and therefore inherently limited options, as was commonly the case previously. Its deliberately musician-centric approach has been acknowledged via international commercial adoption, including integration into a world-leading product with a user base of 1.7m and a crucial role in the design of concert halls by a global firm of engineering consultants.
Our research on the clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of cochlear implantation has had two impacts. First, the research informed the decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to issue guidance to the effect that the National Health Service (NHS) in England and Wales should provide cochlear implants to both ears of deaf children, but to only one ear of deaf adults. Those recommendations are binding on the NHS in England and Wales and have also been adopted in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Second, we translated tests of spatial hearing, which were developed in the course of the research, for use by clinicians. We incorporated the tests in a unique apparatus which is being produced commercially and used in clinics to monitor candidacy for, and outcomes from, cochlear implantation and other treatments.
The University of York's research in surround sound production, conducted over twenty years, has in recent years been implemented and further developed in The Morning Line, a huge, transportable sculpture by Matthew Ritchie, produced by Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (T-B A21). T-B A21 have to date commissioned thirty professional composers and sound artists of international standing to create new works of sound art for the structure, all realised with software systems developed at York. The installation has been exhibited in large public outdoor spaces in European cities between 2008 and 2012. The Morning Line (TML) integrates into contemporary artistic practice the long-term, York-based research uniting sound reproduction technologies and human spatial perception. The research has, in this way, generated new forms of creative practice, transforming the work of a large number of sound artists and, through repeated, open, long-term public exhibition, contributed to public experience and understanding of sound art and audio perception.
The development of a new compositional tool for electroacoustic music (using technology to explore, create and perform sounds not limited to traditional instrumental sources) based on visual shapes has generated new ways of thinking that influence creative practice, and has inspired and supported new forms of artistic expression. New musical outputs composed by Dr Manuella Blackburn, generated from using the tool, have enriched the lives, imaginations and sensibilities of individuals and groups, locally and internationally. Parallel to this, the tool has been implemented in a number of educational situations (including workshops and textbooks) ranging from school-aged learners (11-18) to university undergraduate students, beyond Liverpool Hope University as the submitting HEI.
Research (2003-12) by Osborne at the Reid School of Music (RSM) revealed a need for a new musical instrument for disabled users. Under the direction of Osborne, between 2006-8 an interdisciplinary team across Music, Psychology and Physics, including RSM-based Schögler, developed a new musical `object', the Skoog, which allowed people with a wide range of disabilities accessible expressive control of sound. A spin-off company, Skoog Music, was formed in 2010, which now employs six staff, and has sold more than 1,000 units in 16 countries, generating an income of around £600k. The Skoog is widely used by schools and education services and in clinical music therapy by institutions such as Drake Music. It featured in the Best of the Best 2010 in Able Magazine. It was one of three instruments to inspire the composition Technophonia by Oliver Searle, performed at the South Bank as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad and short-listed for a 2013 British Composer Award.
Wood and Plester conducted the first empirical research into the impact of text messaging on children's literacy abilities, the results of which have impacted on:
The reduction of spatial variation in the quality of reproduced sound within a defined space using varied loudspeaker placements is a significant challenge for sound engineers. Dr Bruce Wiggins has conducted research into encoding, decoding and processing algorithms using Ambisonics, a system based around full-sphere sound reproduction. The outcomes of the research have been made accessible to the wider community by the creation of a suite of software plug-ins (WigWare), a production workflow, and associated teaching materials which can enable commercial audio workstations to benefit from Ambisonics. There are numerous recorded instances of successful use.
Research at the University of Portsmouth (UoP) has created new user-friendly control, navigation and communication systems for powered-wheelchairs that have made a significant and positive impact on the lives of users. These have given many disabled children and adults an opportunity for independent mobility, some for the first time.
The systems have been used in six special schools and institutions (including RNIB and NHS) and many private homes. Economic impact in reducing the need for carers alone has been estimated at more than £250,000 p.a and the devices have also changed some professional services.