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Research at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) has developed a successful approach to the rapid scale-up of HIV Testing and Counselling (HTC) services in high prevalence countries, a vital component of the global HIV response. The model combines comprehensive quality assurance with operational research and has led to HTC expansion in mobile, home and facility-based settings. It has also allowed for responsiveness to local needs leading to post rape care services linked to HTC, services for the deaf and HTC for men who have sex with men (MSM) and other hidden populations in Africa. The global impact of this model is reflected in WHO policy, Ministry of Health HTC guidelines in numerous countries in Africa, the on-going work of an indigenous Kenyan NGO and expansion of HTC through community outreach in the UK.
The global pledge of achieving Education For All by 2015 is compromised by providers' reliance on education services that are designed for sedentary users and exclude nomadic pastoralists. Dr Caroline Dyer (University of Leeds; Senior Lecturer in Development Practice, 2004-2011; Reader in Education in Development, 2011- present) has re-visioned approaches to education for nomadic groups through her analysis of how public policy perpetuates pastoralists' educational marginalisation and design of research-based models of service provision that can deliver pastoralists' right to education inclusion without compromising their mobile livelihoods. Her research led to changes in national policy strategy and re-designed service delivery in Kenya in 2010, shaped policy debate in Afghanistan from 2012, and has supported community and NGO advocacy in India since 2008.
Science has guided national dryland policy in Africa through approaches that have omitted local knowledge, and has informed international policy through implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), previously developed by a Roster of Experts. Our national and district-level research in Botswana has identified routes to increase community involvement in degradation monitoring, and our strategies have been rolled out nationally via agricultural extension workers, allowing knowledge to inform farming practices and land policy. Our analysis of the wider international context has led us to propose new science-to-policy pathways that have allowed the UNCCD to draw more effectively upon both local and scientific evidence.
Our work with the World Health Organisation (WHO) had a major impact on global HIV treatment priorities at a critical time in the roll-out of anti-retroviral treatment (ART) worldwide. Concern had been expressed that if ART was provided without simultaneous monitoring of HIV viral load to determine switch in treatment, this would lead to an epidemic of drug resistant HIV. It was argued that viral load monitoring should be introduced as a priority, despite the fact that this was expensive and would inevitably divert resources from ART provision. We used a simulation model to predict the impact of lack of viral load monitoring and showed that while development of viral load assays was important, ART should be prioritised. As a result, the roll out of ART continued despite continued lack of viral load monitoring, and there are now over 9 million people on ART.
An atomistic modelling program developed at Exeter University has been used to make a significant, recognised contribution to the strong business performance of the De Beers Group, the world's leading diamond company. It gave De Beers the confidence to fund the successful development of new methods to identify synthetic and treated diamonds, which the company says has minimised the impact of fraudulent behaviour on consumer confidence, supported jobs in the global diamond trade, contributed to sales of $7.4bn in one year alone and was a factor in its decision to invest £20m in new research facilities in the UK.
Research carried out at Cardiff University refined an addiction counselling method, motivational interviewing, co-founded previously by Rollnick, to improve the consultation for changing health behaviour (e.g. diet, exercise, smoking and drinking). Their published findings and resulting method are now used in health care worldwide, with good evidence for effectiveness. The impact of this work has been described as `immeasurable' and is reflected in industry guidelines and policy documents, and diverse clinical efforts that include the treatment of children with HIV-AIDS in Africa.
Work undertaken by the Centre for Transnational Art, Identity and Nation (TrAIN) at the University of the Arts London (UAL) focuses on the role of identity and nation in the production and consumption of artwork and artefacts. This has resulted in an increased awareness and critical understanding of transnational art and design, to the benefit of the Museums and Galleries sector, arts organisations, and the artistic community.
Rotavirus is the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide, causing 500,000 deaths annually. Prof Cunliffe at the University of Liverpool (UoL) has conducted rotavirus studies in Malawi since 1997, including descriptive epidemiology and the first clinical trial of a human rotavirus vaccine in Africa. Based upon the results of this clinical trial in Malawi, where vaccination was shown to reduce severe rotavirus disease caused by diverse strains by 50%, a global recommendation for rotavirus vaccine use was issued by WHO in 2009. African countries are now introducing rotavirus vaccines into their childhood immunization schedules with introduction in Malawi in 2012.
Globally, the impact of loss of goods within organisations is highly significant in economic terms, with estimates suggesting the retail sector alone loses approximately $232 billion a year. This can take the form of internal and external theft, inter-company fraud and a whole range of process-related losses. Traditional approaches have typically focused on responding to the symptoms of these losses through the adoption of a range of short-term technological fixes such as product tags and CCTV.
The research undertaken by Beck has focused on helping organisations to better understand the root causes of these losses, which can be found in a range of operational failures embedded within business practices. His work has provided retail organisations across the globe with new insights, tools and techniques to more effectively measure, monitor and control the problem of loss, which has enabled them to make multi-billion pound savings.
The Department has worked proactively to bring creative writing out from the institutional sphere and into the public domain. While creative writing is often perceived as a niche activity largely confined to university writing programmes, Warwick's writers have broken new ground with their approach that writing can take all forms, that creativity is open to everyone, and that writing has the power to intervene meaningfully in the world. This commitment is demonstrated through a range of activities that include active involvement in campaigns for the freedom of expression, the foundation of distinctive literary prizes, widespread communication of interactive material through social media, and the establishment of new publishing houses and literary magazines.