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Based in the School of English, the Research and Development Unit for English Studies (RDUES) conducts research in the field of corpus linguistics and develops innovative software tools to allow a wide range of external audiences to locate, annotate and use electronic data more effectively. This case study details work carried out by the RDUES team (Matt Gee, Andrew Kehoe, Antoinette Renouf) in building large-scale corpora of web texts, from which examples of language use have been extracted, analysed, and presented in a form suitable for teaching and research across and beyond HE, including collaboration with commercial partners.
This case study presents a dynamic development framework route-map (the Precinct Planning Design Standard, PPDS) that enhances sustainability and the delivery of a development's goals, aims, and objectives for medium-large mixed-use precinct developments and tourist resorts in developing countries. The standard shortens pre-planning timescales, achieves greater certainty in actual performance delivery and reduces environmental impact for developers, developments, and their infrastructure.
Through Earthcheck Pty PPDS is now commercially available and has been used to benchmark and certify ecological performance improvements of 30 Asia Pacific projects (US$ 25 billion development value). These range from 8,000 person community projects to medium sized tourism resorts and island developments. Our research has challenged existing standards and consequently influenced practitioners to rethink and improve the efficacy of their development processes.
Spatial models developed from research in the School of Geography about population movements in cities are informing commercial planning and public policy analysis. The conduit for this impact is GMAP Ltd., a spin-out company established by the University of Leeds, which has used the models as the basis for its MicroVision and RetailVision software. Companies including Ford, Exxon, HBoS and Asda-Walmart have used this software for a range of purposes including maximizing individual stores' profitability and reconfiguring entire networks to fit changing market conditions. Government agencies have also used the software to optimize resource allocation in policing, education and healthcare.
This longstanding research and development programme on teaching and learning conceptual scientific content has resulted in beneficial impacts on the day-to-day teaching practices of secondary school science teachers within and beyond the UK. The programme has resulted in three broad areas of impact:
Our research on the economics of low carbon cities has impacted on energy and low carbon strategies and on investment decision-making in major UK cities including Leeds, Sheffield and Birmingham. It has also influenced guidance issued to local authorities by the Committee on Climate Change and the Department for Communities and Local Government, and has helped to embed strategies and targets for green growth in the next five-year plan for China. The research was voted one of the most transformative ideas to be presented at the UN climate negotiations in Durban in December 2011, and the approach is now being replicated in cities in India, Peru, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Research disseminated through the Gender and Disaster Network (GDN) has played a pivotal role in changing attitudes and increasing recognition of the importance of gender-insensitive disaster policy and practice. GDN is an international collaboration between Northumbria University, UN agencies and US and Swiss government agencies that distributes research-led resources through an open access website (www.gdnonline.org) co-ordinated by Dr Maureen Fordham at Northumbria. GDN resources are used internationally by practitioners in the United Nations, national and local governments, and non-government and corporate business organisations. Gender analysis is now routinely incorporated in training for disaster management and risk reduction and this is seen in official UN documents, for example the guidance published in 2009 `Making Disaster Risk Reduction Gender-Sensitive: Policy and Practical Guidelines' for which Fordham was a contributor.
Kim's research has had significant impact on global discourse on theology of mission across the world's churches mainly through the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Edinburgh 2010 project. In particular her research helped to establish the pneumatological framework for mission theology evident in the Common Call of Edinburgh 2010 (6 June 2010) and the new World Council of Churches' statement on mission and evangelism, Together Towards Life (5 September 2012), which may be summarised as `finding out where the Holy Spirit is at work and joining in'.
The innovative Cognitive Load (CL) technique, based on cognitive theory, yields significantly superior lie detection results by capitalising on the fact that interviews can be devised that are more difficult for liars than truth-tellers. This CL technique, pioneered by Vrij, is used for ethical information-gathering interviewing and undercover and interrogation purposes by police, military and intelligence agencies worldwide. Training of these law enforcement professionals as a result of our research has been implemented. An insurance company has adopted a revised protocol as a result of applying our research and has implemented an industry-leading product for reducing fraudulent insurance claims.
Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) is an evidence-based, brief, group therapy for people with mild to moderate dementia. It was developed and evaluated by UCL in collaboration with Bangor University. Our research showed significant benefits in cognition and quality of life plus cost-effectiveness. Cognitive Stimulation for people with mild/moderate dementia of all types is recommended by NICE and is now in widespread use across the UK and the rest of the world in a variety of settings including care homes, hospitals and the community. A recent audit by the Memory Services National Accreditation Programme reported that 66% of UK memory clinics surveyed were using CST.
Newcastle University research has made significant contributions to international best practice guidelines used to restore coral reefs. Coral reefs are the most biologically diverse eco-systems on earth, directly and indirectly providing an estimated $375 billion per year in ecosystem services. Despite their importance, very little work had been undertaken to assess the strategies used to rehabilitate damaged reefs prior to the Newcastle research. Research findings have subsequently been incorporated into international best practice guidelines which are used by a diverse group of users including reef managers who use them to plan more ecologically robust reefs and maritime insurers who use them to assess insurance claims related to reef damage by grounded ships.