Impact Global Location: Iceland

REF impact found 48 Case Studies

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Automated assays for rapid mass screening and detection of bacteria and toxins in food, lead to economic and health benefits

Summary of the impact

Professor William Stimson has led research into rapid diagnostic tests for the food industry from 1996 to the present day. These tests reduce the time for microbiological testing of food pathogens from 2-5 days to within a working day. The new technology is fully automated, uses less material and involves fewer manipulations than previously available kits, leading to a reduction in cost and time. A spin out company, Solus Scientific Solutions Ltd., has attracted €1.36M EUROSTARS funding for further Research & Development, and has created 24 jobs. Sales of testing kits produced revenue of £3.4 million by year end 2012, and have increased since this date.

Submitting Institution

University of Strathclyde

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Technology: Medical Biotechnology
Medical and Health Sciences: Medical Microbiology

Automatic measurement of difficult solid objects in unstructured and challenging environments

Summary of the impact

Companies in the manufacturing, construction, courier, freight and airline industries have made use of Photometric Stereo based imaging technology, developed by the Centre for Machine Vision (CMV) at UWE Bristol, to capture 2D and 3D data simultaneously. This has enabled them to develop new products for large volumetric measurement, characterisation of aggregates, tile quality control and automotive wheel alignment. These examples have addressed hitherto challenging tasks or have extended functionality to new or poorly structured environments, for instance: (i) the robust capture of accurate 3D data from postal packages exhibiting complex shape and coloration; and (ii) a new capability for distinction between printing and moulding defects during fast moving tile quality control — previously impossible. In all cases ultra-low-cost equipment is used — underlining the attractiveness of the techniques developed by the CMV.

Submitting Institution

University of the West of England, Bristol

Unit of Assessment

General Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing
Medical and Health Sciences: Neurosciences

Bringing a science of behaviour to the community

Summary of the impact

We addressed a serious mismatch between increasing rates of autism diagnosis across Europe and the shortage of professionals skilled in effective treatment provided by Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA; www.bacb.com). A parent-lead charity (PEAT) was established in N. Ireland (www.peatni.org); teams from 7 European countries adapted our multimedia training resources (www.stamppp.com); Masters and Certificate level courses were established. Government documents informing policy in Scotland and New Zealand were corrected. Schools and charities in the Republic of Ireland, Poland, and Portugal, and other Masters level courses subsequently appeared in Ireland (http://tinyurl.com/cxpo66m). Simple Steps NI Ltd. was established involving PEAT and Manleys (http://www.manleys.co.uk).

Submitting Institution

University of Ulster

Unit of Assessment

Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Summary Impact Type

Health

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Clinical Sciences, Public Health and Health Services
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Bristol research helps reduce the threat to people and property from snow avalanches

Summary of the impact

Research carried out in the School of Mathematics at the University of Bristol between 1998 and 2005 has been instrumental in the development of structures that arrest or deflect the rapid flow of snow that characterises avalanches in mountainous regions of the world. The research has been embodied in a series of guidance documents for engineers on the design of such structures and many defence dams and barriers have been built across Europe since 2008. The guidance is now adopted as standard practice in many of the countries that experience avalanches. Investment in avalanche defence projects based on the design principles set out in the guidance runs into tens of millions of pounds. The Bristol research is also used internationally in the training of engineers who specialise in avalanche protection schemes. Given the scale of the threat to life and property from these potent natural hazards, the impact of the research is considerable in terms of the societal and economic benefits derived from the reduction of the risk posed by snow avalanches.

Submitting Institution

University of Bristol

Unit of Assessment

Mathematical Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Civil Engineering, Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy, Interdisciplinary Engineering

4. UK Government instigates contingency planning based on evidence of potential fatalities from Icelandic eruptions

Summary of the impact

The 2010 Eyjafjallajökull and 2011 Grímsvötn eruptions in Iceland were stark reminders that global society is increasingly vulnerable to volcanic hazards. Research at the University of Leeds has shown that volcanic gases and airborne particles could be a significant health hazard to humans — potentially more fatal than seasonal `flu. Leeds scientists used computer models to demonstrate that a long-lasting, gas-rich eruption in Iceland could degrade air quality and lead to well over 100,000 deaths across Europe. In January 2012, the number of potential fatalities was used as evidence by the UK government for the decision to add large-magnitude effusive Icelandic eruptions to the UK National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies as a high priority risk with potentially widespread effects on health, agriculture and transport. Leeds researchers continue to advise the UK government on the mitigation of potential volcanic hazards through the Civil Contingencies Secretariat.

Submitting Institution

University of Leeds

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Geology
Environmental Sciences: Environmental Science and Management

Citizen scientists and environmental volcanology

Summary of the impact

The longevity of volcano impact monitoring projects is a strong argument for the involvement of citizen scientists and volunteers. Professor Rymer and colleagues have run several long-term volcano projects in collaboration with the charity Earthwatch. Over 500 citizen scientists have collected geophysical and environmental data since 2000. The work has impacted on the lives of the volunteers, who are engaged and enthused by scientific research, park wardens in Nicaragua who continue to monitor long-term SO2 release, and authorities in Costa Rica, Iceland, Italy and Nicaragua who use the citizen science data to mitigate the environmental effects of persistent volcanism.

Submitting Institution

Open University

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Geochemistry, Geology, Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience

Contributing to the development of cultures of morally accountable practices for social transformation

Summary of the impact

This case study outlines the impact of Professor McNiff's career-long research programme aimed at supporting practitioners' action enquiries for social transformation, and finding ways collaboratively to:

  • Improve the quality of practitioner research so as to influence new forms of thinking, practice and policy formation;
  • Demonstrate quality and validity through methodologically robust accounts of practice;
  • Articulate the significance of this research programme for dialogical cultures of educational enquiry.

The research has been undertaken internationally across multiple settings and sectors, and supported through the production of associated resources. The collective accounts constitute a global knowledge base that links impact and validity through critical self-enquiry.

Submitting Institution

York St John University

Unit of Assessment

Education

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Curriculum and Pedagogy, Specialist Studies In Education
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Creating effective teamwork in obstetric emergencies

Summary of the impact

Maternity staff from hospitals in the UK and around the world have benefited from training to improve their communication and team-working skills in emergency situations. This has been achieved through input into a standard training manual now in wide use, and through the development of course content used in `train-the-trainer' sessions for consultant obstetricians, consultant anaesthetists and senior midwives who have in turn been able to train their colleagues. Research findings at UWE, Bristol, contributed to showing that clinically better results correlate with specific linguistic behaviours. The findings of the work made a direct contribution to this training content.

Submitting Institution

University of the West of England, Bristol

Unit of Assessment

Modern Languages and Linguistics

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Nursing, Public Health and Health Services

Design of a block cipher used in TETRA secure radio

Summary of the impact

Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) is a very well known, international specification for secure mobile radio and `walkie-talkie' communication, that is extensively used and relied upon by emergency and public safety services such as police, ambulance and fire services, as well as governmental and private bodies. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) began standardising TETRA in the 1990s and it is now widely used throughout the world. Foundations of its success include resilience and reliability, but security is a major feature, being underpinned by expert cryptographic design. In particular the authentication and key generation mechanisms in TETRA rely on a block cipher (HURDLE) which was designed by a team of cryptographers at Royal Holloway.

The work carried out at Royal Holloway underpins the integrity and security of TETRA safety- critical networks throughout the world to the present day. A secure design for emergency service communications minimises both the amount of disruption criminals can cause to service operations, and the amount of operational information such criminals can glean from eavesdropping, contributing to the safety and security of society as a whole as well as the economic benefits to manufacturers of TETRA-based equipment.

Submitting Institution

Royal Holloway, University of London

Unit of Assessment

Mathematical Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Information and Computing Sciences: Computation Theory and Mathematics, Data Format

'The Educational Turn': relocating sites of knowledge production

Summary of the impact

Irit Rogoff has shaped the emergence of an `educational turn' in the arts and humanities, arguing that contemporary artwork, together with its institutions and social platforms, transforms education practices in non-academic arenas such as museums, theatres, bookshops, art academies, and social and political occupations. This work started at the moment in which both the Bologna accord and neo-liberal impacts on education began pulling towards the professionalisation and homogenisation of Higher Education culture. All of the projects elaborated within this case study have aimed to expand the understanding of how cultural actors become educational stakeholders.

Rogoff's theoretical and curatorial research has taken diverse forms including scholarly publications, exhibitions and social forums, and she has brought these issues to audiences from the arts and public organisations beyond the university sector through advisory roles, public speaking, and social organising. Following numerous publications, exhibitions, and events, she founded freethought, an experimental platform for pedagogy, research and production. Launched in 2012 at the Austrian arts festival, Steirischer Herbst, freethought has subsequently developed a core project on `infrastructure' launched at Berlin's House of World Cultures in 2013. Her published research, exhibitions, and public forums have been widely influential in debates on education in the public sphere, as evidenced for example by her involvement as a funded partner in the establishment of a freethought laboratory in South Korea's new Asia Cultural Complex.

Submitting Institution

Goldsmiths' College

Unit of Assessment

Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration
Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies
History and Archaeology: Curatorial and Related Studies

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