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Since its formation in 2005, the Interaction Research Studio (IRS or `the Studio') has developed distinctive practice-based research into new interactional possibilities afforded by digital technologies. Over the course of eight externally-funded projects the Studio has worked on during this time, it has made methodological and conceptual contributions in the course of producing exemplary research products.
There is growing evidence that official population statistics based on the decennial UK Census are inaccurate at the local authority level, the fundamental administrative unit of the UK. The use of locally-available administrative data sets for counting populations can result in more timely and geographically more flexible data which are more cost-effective to produce than the survey-based Census. Professor Mayhew of City University London has spent the last 13 years conducting research on administrative data and their application to counting populations at local level. This work has focused particularly on linking population estimates to specific applications in health and social care, education and crime. Professor Mayhew developed a methodology that is now used as an alternative to the decennial UK Census by a large number of local councils and health care providers. They have thereby gained access to more accurate, detailed and relevant data which have helped local government officials and communities make better policy decisions and save money. The success of this work has helped to shape thinking on statistics in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and has contributed to the debate over whether the decennial UK Census should be discontinued.
Successful planning in Scotland requires a set of geographical units for which data can be collected and analysed. Researchers at St Andrews have developed a new `small area' geography for Scotland. `Data zones' (DZs) provide a scientifically-based template for data mapping and has been adopted as the default geography used by public and private organisations to display and analyse data on topics as diverse as economic planning, health, education and transport, thus impacting how and where policy is enacted. To be statistically appropriate these units have to be compact, homogenous, with approximately the same size population and publically acceptable. This is not a trivial task, involving millions of potentially different solutions. In 2001, Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics (SNS) commissioned St Andrews to study how such units should be defined and to develop a methodology for creating them. Using the experience and skills developed over many years working in this area, the team developed a methodology and established the official small area geography of Scotland.
Since 2002, the highly-invasive horse-chestnut leaf-miner moth has caused significant damage to horse-chestnut trees as it spread rapidly across the whole of England and Wales. It is unclear how this species has spread so quickly and so successfully. This case study outlines `Conker Tree Science', a project that addressed this question and, in so doing, had impact of significance and genuine reach on the public's understanding of, and engagement with, our changing environment.
The impact of `Conker Tree Science' encompassed three main elements. First, it produced a cohort of citizen scientists undertaking useful field-observations for genuine, hypothesis-led science. Second, the success of this project was so notable that `Conker Tree Science' was used as evidence of best practice for `citizen science' by RCUK. By extension, this process will help to produce further citizen scientists. Third, the project was also celebrated widely in the national media and as such, the project's reach was substantial as it informed the public about environmental issues and challenges. In addition, the project's data also contributed to Forestry Research (the Forestry Commission research institute) in its understanding of the diffusion of this invasive species.
Over one quarter of the estimated 886 million undernourished people in the world live in sub-Saharan Africa and their lives and livelihoods depend critically on rain-fed agriculture. However this region has lacked the equipment and the infrastructure to monitor rainfall. Over the past 20 years, the Unit's TAMSAT (Tropical Applications of Meteorology using SATellite Data and Ground-Based Observations) research group has developed a reliable and robust means for monitoring rainfall, appropriate for use in Africa. In addition, the Unit pioneered the use of such data to predict crop yields over large areas. TAMSAT data and methods are now used in food security (to anticipate drought and predict crop and livestock yields); in health planning (to predict outbreaks of rain-promoted diseases such as malaria); in aid (to guide the allocation and distribution of relief food and water); and in economic planning (to plan mitigation activities and investment in infrastructure). The Unit's programme of development and validation has extended the method to all of Africa, at all times of year. Our work with national meteorological services in Africa has helped them to build their own capabilities and to both contribute to TAMSAT and exploit it. The data provided by TAMSAT has had major impact in increasing the resilience of African populations to weather and climate, saving and improving the quality of lives, and strengthening economies in developing nations.
Over the last 15 years the Medical Applications Group (MAG) has engaged in applied research into the use of product design techniques and technologies in medical procedures. Their work has directly led to better, safer, faster, more accurate and less intrusive surgical procedures. The group has worked with surgeons at NHS hospitals all over the UK to deliver well over 2,000 medical models for surgical use during the period. A number of hospitals have adopted MAG's techniques, meaning that the Group's research has improved the dignity, comfort and quality of life of around two and a half thousand people since 2008 whilst saving the UK tax payer many thousands of pounds.
[Throughout this template, references to underpinning research are numbered 1-6; sources to corroborate are numbered 7-15]
Researchers in Cambridge have developed a data standard for storing and exchanging data between different programs in the field of macromolecular NMR spectroscopy. The standard has been used as the foundation for the development of an open source software suite for NMR data analysis, leading to improved research tools which have been widely adopted by both industrial and academic research groups, who benefit from faster drug development times and lower development costs. The CCPN data standard is an integral part of major European collaborative efforts for NMR software integration, and is being used by the major public databases for protein structures and NMR data, namely Protein Data Bank in Europe (PDBe) and BioMagResBank.
Targeted Projection Pursuit (TPP) — developed at Northumbria University — is a novel method for interactive exploration of high-dimension data sets without loss of information. The TPP method performs better than current dimension-reduction methods since it finds projections that best approximate a target view enhanced by certain prior knowledge about the data. "Valley Care" provides a Telecare service to over 5,000 customers as part of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and delivers a core service for vulnerable and elderly people (receiving an estimated 129,000 calls per annum) that allows them to live independently and remain in their homes longer. The service informs a wider UK ageing community as part of the NHS Foundation Trust.
Applying our research enabled the managers of Valley Care to establish the volume, type and frequency of calls, identify users at high risk, and to inform the manufacturers of the equipment how to update the database software. This enabled Valley Care managers and staff to analyse the information quickly in order to plan efficiently the work of call operators and social care workers. Our study also provided knowledge about usage patterns of the technology and valuably identified clients at high risk of falls. This is the first time that mathematical and statistical analysis of data sets of this type has been done in the UK and Europe.
As a result of applying the TPP method to its Call Centre multivariate data, Valley Care has been able to transform the quality and efficiency of its service, while operating within the same budget.
Open Data has lowered barriers to data access, increased government transparency and delivered significant economic, social and environmental benefits. Southampton research and leadership has led to the UK Public Data Principles, which were enshrined in the UK Government Open Data White Paper, and has led to data.gov.uk, which provides access to 10,000 government datasets. The open datasets are proving means for strong citizen engagement and are delivering economic benefit through the £10 million Open Data Institute. These in turn have placed the UK at the forefront of the global data revolution: the UK experience has informed open data initiatives in the USA, EU and G8.
OMELETTE was a project funded under the EC Framework 7 programme under the Future Services theme. The project developed the state of the art for combining web mashups with telecommunications services, building on and contributing towards existing open-source technologies. By combining voice, data, and specialised telecommunications capabilities with web standards, new applications were made possible for both enterprise and consumer users, particularly as these mashups could be created by non-programmers.
The impact of the project from both an industry and scientific point of view was recognised by the reviewers from the EC, who rated the project as "Excellent".