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The pedagogic research undertaken by the School of Law has produced an ambitious and innovative model of clinical legal education: the in-house live client model, which offers a university-based free legal service offering full representation to private clients and NGOs in the form of the Student Law Office. The Student Law Office integrates supervised legal service in the law curriculum, thereby delivering free access to justice to the wider community whilst benefiting the learning environment. Impact is three-fold:
Exeter Drama's research in Applied Theatre has had impact in the improvement of community understandings of mental health, providing professional development for medics and teachers, and providing and informing training in applied and community theatre. This case study outlines the impact of last twenty years of research and performance practice in applied theatre, developed by Honorary Research Fellow (2005-) and former senior lecturer (1990-2005) John Somers, and continued in the work of Fiona MacBeth, Kerrie Schaefer, Sarah Goldingay, Anna Harpin, and Jane Milling. Somers developed new approaches to community theatre and has given presentations on this work internationally. Impact has also been achieved through Somers' founding of the applied theatre company Exstream (Exeter, 2001) and under his direction Exstream achieved a reputation for excellence through the development of interactive theatre, raising awareness of issues related to wellbeing, mental health, and creativity within the community.
The demise of Lehman Brothers in 2008 marked the start of the current financial crisis and illustrated some of the adverse consequences of linkages between banks. The prospect of systemic crises has concerned bank regulators and monetary policy authorities for many years. Research by Professor Altunbaş at Bangor Business School, in close collaboration with the European Central Bank (ECB), has had substantial impact over 2008-2013 by influencing priorities in the international policy debate on how bank innovation can influence the conduct of monetary policy. It shows that the effectiveness of traditional monetary policy transmission mechanisms (such as the bank lending channel) is reduced by securitization activity and this also exacerbates the risk-taking channel of monetary policy. Evidence of the impact and overall scope of Professor Altunbaş' research is reflected in reference to his research at the highest monetary policy levels in Europe as well as widespread recognition in official central bank and international organization publications.
The Cambridge University Centre for Risk in the Built Environment (CURBE) investigates techniques to identify, monitor and assess risk. Since 1997, CURBE's research contributed to real- world applications that reduce detrimental impacts of natural and manmade hazards, including the recent Haiti earthquake. Collaborators and users of the underpinning research include the British Council, the Government Office for Science, the US Geological Survey and Federal Emergency Management Agency in the USA, UN Habitat and private modellers and insurance companies involved in risk such as Risk Management Solutions and Willis Re.
Research at Cardiff University is underpinning the abandonment of the 100-year-old surgical practice of removing all axillary lymph nodes in cases of breast cancer. Such surgery frequently caused arm lymphoedema, loss of arm mobility and lymphatic system damage. Cardiff led the seminal ALMANAC trial which showed that full node clearance was unnecessary if a biopsy of the first draining `sentinel' node was cancer-free. Cardiff then spearheaded the impact on practice through a training and awareness programme for surgeons, primarily in the UK, but also in China, India, Brazil and Turkey. By 2010 these efforts had established the Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB) procedure as standard in the UK, while the study was also cited in USA guidelines. The main beneficiaries of the impact are the 50-75% of breast cancer patients who now enjoy lower levels of pain, shoulder disability and arm lymphoedema. Healthcare providers also benefit financially from a reduced need for extensive surgery.
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:
The International Institute for Sign Languages and Deaf Studies (iSLanDS) is a world leader in the systematic comparative research on sign languages (Sign Language Typology), and conducts the world's largest typological projects on sign language structures, using a large international partnership network. The impact of this work, often in developing countries, is seen in the domains of:
a) improved educational attainment and professional development for marginalised groups (deaf sign language users); and
b) linguistic rights for sign language users through engagement with international policy makers, non-governmental organisations and professional bodies (in India, in Turkey and with international bodies).
This case study details the impact of a pioneering theoretical approach to English language testing. Recognised as the most influential test validation theory in modern assessment, the socio-cognitive framework, conceived by Weir and O'Sullivan, and operationalized and developed further by O'Sullivan at the University of Roehampton, focuses on three key elements: the test taker (social), the test system (cognitive), and the scoring system (evaluative). This framework is applied to give a meaningful measure of a candidate's performance, appropriate to the underlying traits or abilities being assessed. This research has had a significant impact in two distinct phases: 1) through a series of commissioned projects since 2008, the research has had a significant impact on testing bodies, organisations and test takers internationally, and 2) it has underpinned the development of innovative new business products by a leading international educational and cultural organisation since 2012.
Pioneering research at Essex developed an innovative mathematical method for determining the chlorophyll fluorescence parameter Fo', as well as novel LED lighting technology and a multi-plant imaging system. This instrument is marketed by Technologica. Originally an Essex spinout, the company has sold 42 units across Europe, Asia and South America since 2006, recording its highest ever profits over the past three years (totalling ~£115k). Essex's mathematical method for determining Fo' is also used by other manufacturers, who have since developed their own imaging systems. This research has helped to establish chlorophyll fluorescence imaging as a mainstream screening tool, now used globally to inform a range of crop production and handling strategies.
The research conducted through the C.Ind.Le project, between 2002 and 2006, was the first to reveal and catalogue the metacognitive and self-regulatory abilities of children in the 3-5 age range. The project outcomes included an observation instrument, now widely used by teachers in early years educational settings, and a training course on pedagogies supporting development of these abilities in young children. This research has had direct regional impact on practice at the Foundation Stage in Cambridgeshire, national impact through its influence on the 2012 revision of the DfE framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, and international impact through consultancy to the LEGO Foundation and other collaborations.