Log in
Southampton based research has demonstrated to policymakers the benefits of temporary migration through overseas savings and skill acquisition which contribute to the economic development of the home country. The research has challenged traditional notions about the adverse effects of the 'brain drain' and directly contributed to the design of international migration policy in labour sending countries. It has also proactively influenced the policy recommendations of international organisations (e.g. ILO, Worl Bank) regarding return migrants and their enterprise creation. The World Bank used Southampton researcher, Wahba's research and expertise when assisting the Egyptian Government in the preparation for "Mode 4" in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in 2010.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and World Health Organisation (WHO) regularly report estimates for the prevalence of HIV and associated metrics for almost every country in the world. These statistics are essential for tracking the scale and the impact of HIV epidemic and are used routinely in the policy decisions and funding allocation decisions of national governments and international donors and therefore have a major impact on international public health. The methods underlying those estimates were originally developed, and continue to be refined and updated, by an international group of researchers at Imperial College London.
This case study details the impact of a body of research exploring the effects of tourism on wild primates. Our findings have been communicated to a range of conservation organisations, government bodies, tourism associations and other parties, and used by them to promote wider public appreciation of tourism-related conservation issues, and to inform development of guidelines relating to primate tourism. In addition, we have engaged the public with this work through a range of traditional and online media. Through local, national and international consultation and collaboration, our research is having a significant impact on the wider approach to primate tourism.
Trachoma, caused by ocular infection with Chlamydia trachomatis, is the leading infectious cause of blindness. Research by Professors David Mabey and Robin Bailey, LSHTM, has shown that a single oral dose of azithromycin is an effective, feasible mass treatment and could eliminate trachoma from affected communities. As a result, the manufacturer Pfizer agreed to donate azithromycin to trachoma control programmes for as long as necessary and WHO established an Alliance for the Global Elimination of Blinding Trachoma by 2020. Since 2008, 205m azithromycin doses have been donated, and WHO elimination targets have been achieved in nine countries.
The study describes how the Unit's research underpinned a national exhibition that made an active contribution to the debate about immigration and integration — issues that dominate social, media and political discourses in France. The exhibition helped to confront the clichés, assumptions and tensions characterising the national debate on the place of North African immigrants in French society. The Unit's Dr Rabah Aissaoui was closely involved in defining the structure and content of a national exhibition entitled Generations: A Century of Maghrebi Cultural History in France, staged in Lyon, Paris and Caen between 2009 and 2011. The exhibition was the first of its kind to be staged in the country and brought the richness and variety of the cultural contribution made by North African immigrants to national attention. It was cited as a prime example of good practice in the fight against racism and prejudice in the Annual Report Fight against Racism, Antisemitism and Xenophobia presented to the French Prime Minister by the National Consultative Commission of Human Rights in 2010.
Research conducted by the Centre for the Study of Poverty and Social Justice (CSPSJ) led to a new way of assessing child poverty in developing countries. This novel method (termed the Bristol Approach) resulted in the United Nations General Assembly's adoption, for the first time, of an international definition of child poverty (2006). It also underpinned UNICEFs Global Study on Child Poverty and Disparities (2008-10), which was run in over 50 countries. In the last ten years, the CSPSJ's work has put child poverty at the centre of international social and public policy debates. Its researchers have advised governments and international agencies on devising anti-poverty strategies and programmes that specifically meet the needs of children, and have significantly influenced the way child poverty is studied around the world. The Centre has developed academic and professional training courses for organisations like UNICEF on the issues of children's rights and child-poverty. Our work has also spurred NGOs such as Save the Children to develop their own child-development indices, and so has had a direct and profound impact on the lives of poor children around the planet.
Internationally, immersion is a leading cause of accidental death and the leading cause of death of sportspeople (221 of the 635 UK immersion deaths in 2012 were sports-related). The Extreme Environmental Medicine & Science Research Group (EEMSRG) publishes widely, from scientific papers to specific reports for a wide range of international end-users, including various emergency services. Our research has had global impact on (i) The protection, rescue and treatment of immersion casualties, (ii) International standards, guidelines, policies, campaigns and training manuals of those responsible for the protection, rescue and resuscitation of casualties, (iii) Raised public awareness of immersion issues.
Communicable diseases are a major health burden in the developing world. Early detection and accurate identification of infectious agents is key to their management. However, the complex procedures and logistics of current diagnostic tests often make them unsuitable for use in developing countries. Two technology platforms have been developed that have led to a new generation of simple and inexpensive rapid tests that can be applied in resource-limited settings. A spinout company was set up to allow translation of these platforms into new products. Three tests (Chlamydia, Hepatitis B and HIV) were launched since 2008, with test kits marketed, allowing patients to receive treatment for infections which would have previously gone unnoticed and untreated. The spinout company has raised >$30 million, of which >$20million is since 2008.
Poor people define poverty to include a simultaneous lack of education, health, housing, mployment and income, among other factors. Recognising this, Sabina Alkire and James Foster developed an axiomatic methodology of measurement that incorporates multiple dimensions of poverty — the Alkire Foster method (AF). The AF method provides a robust, `open-source' measurement tool for policy-making. One key impact is an AF index covering 100+ countries, published annually in the UNDP's Human Development Reports. Another is national adoption by three governments and a multidimensional poverty peer network of 22 governments and agencies. The AF method is also incorporated into other internationally recognised well-being measures such as USAID's 19-country Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index, and Bhutan's Gross National Happiness index.
A facility for precision diamond machining of optical components arose from research at Durham University to produce instruments for large telescopes, including NASA's James Webb Space telescope. This now provides a specialist service to industry, with contracts worth over £2.0M from >20 companies over the past 5 years. The users span applications including ophthalmics, automotive optics, microstructures for backlit displays and IR optics. An emerging application is the use of high precision machine metal moulds to reproduce ophthalmic lenses for spectacles. Examples include PixelOptics (USA) who make high-end electronically corrective eyewear, which has won several ophthalmic industry R&D awards, and Eyejusters (UK), which employs complex surface slide lens technology to provide low cost spectacles aimed at improving the lives of people in the developing world.