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The use and treatment of animals in the provision of our food, clothing and other raw materials, as well as in the areas of medical research, sport and entertainment, polarises public opinion and provokes extreme views. Research by Professor Robert Garner on the ethics and politics of animal protection has provided a springboard for political debate and decision making both in the UK and internationally. In particular, Garner's work has impacted upon the debate within the animal protection movement, and has helped to shape aspects of government policy on animal welfare issues in general, most notably on the UK Government's approach to the issue of whaling, and DEFRA's approach to the ethics of using wild animals in circuses.
This case is based on economic impact. It shows how research by Professor Michael Wooldridge at the University of Liverpool on the Gaia Methodology for agent-oriented software engineering improved the performance of the Swiss company Whitestein Technologies AG and of international users of its key product. Specifically, the research enabled Whitestein to develop its business process management system (BPM) Living Systems Process Suite which delivers several million pounds per year of revenues, corresponding to 50% of their total business revenues. Users of Whitestein's Living Systems Process Suite since 2008 include Daimler AG, Transcor Astra Group, Vienna Insurance Group, and the US Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2010 Gartner, the world's leading IT advisory company, recognized the impact and innovation of the Living Systems Process Suite by naming Whitestein a Cool Vendor in BPM.
Impact: Animal Health and Welfare, Economics: The BVD vaccine associated with emergence of BNP was withdrawn from sale.
Significance: BNP cases have been reported worldwide. On affected farms, the case fatality rate is very high, with losses of up to 5% of calves in a herd being reported. Despite the vaccine being withdrawn, cases continue to be found in some calves born to dams that have been historically vaccinated. In addition, reporting has increased due to increased awareness and Zoetis subsidising post-mortem examinations. However, as an indirect measure, the number of cases being diagnosed at post-mortem at SRUC fell by 42% between 2012 and 2013.
Beneficiaries: Livestock Industry, Animal Health Company, Farmers.
Attribution: Work performed by University of Edinburgh (Penny, Morrison, Sargison, Bell) and SRUC (Hosie, Howie, Kerr, Caldow) identified BNP as a new disease entity, elucidated the cause, and developed strategies to reduce the incidence. This also involved a collaboration with the Moredun Research Institute (Willoughby)
Reach: BNP is recognised world-wide (a peak of 4500 cases in 2011) including France, Germany, United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, and Spain. The disease is unknown in countries which do not vaccinate against BVD (Denmark, Austria, and Switzerland)
Between 2010 and 2012, Professor Luciano Floridi transferred knowledge about epistemological issues in the philosophy of information to Sogeti, an international information technology consultancy; and, via Sogeti, to technology and business leaders in Europe and beyond, influencing their planning for and adaptation to technological change. In the realm of public policy, Floridi developed guidelines and protocols surrounding ethical problems concerning digital and online information. He chaired a European Commission group whose `manifesto' forms part of the EU's Digital Futures initiative; influenced thinking around IP and international trade agreements; and contributed to a UNESCO action plan on ensuring equitable access to information.
Research by the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering (DoEng) on high-reliability micro-inverters for use in solar power systems was commercialised by DoEng spin-out company Enecsys Limited. Since 2008, Enecsys has attracted GBP34M in private investment, increased its number of employees from 7 to 75 people across three offices in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, and shipped more than 150,000 micro-inverter units. Its revenue in financial year 2012/13 was USD11.7M. Solar power installers have confirmed that Enecsys' products, in comparison with traditional string inverters, are: easier, cheaper and safer to install; more reliable; and able to extract more energy from an array of solar panels. Enecsys products are also changing the market for solar power with simple plug-in solutions that home owners buy from retailers and install themselves.
The Exhibiting Europe project has generated change in the museum world with a pan-European reach. It has had significant impact on museum organizations, by helping them to improve their networking and lobbying activities; museum professionals, by suggesting ways to `transnationalize' their activities and historical narratives; and policy-makers in the cultural and museum field, by contributing to a high level policy dialogue with the European Parliament, the European Commission and EU member-states about ways to `narrate' Europe and European integration.
Jackson has provided professional enhancement for directors and actors by bringing his research-led insight into the texts and acting traditions of Shakespearean theatre to bear on the preparation of scripts for performances. He has achieved this through collaboration during rehearsals, working at a detailed level of interpretation and performance. His research has also enhanced cultural enrichment for audiences through such forms of public engagement as essays in theatre programmes.
At Bangor there is an extensive tradition of empirical research addressing the long standing public-policy concern of balancing banking sector market power with regulation. The impact of Professor Molyneux's research during 2008-2013 has been to inform policy formulation surrounding the debate about bank monopoly behaviour and its links to industry efficiency. In particular, his empirical analysis has focused on the use of non-structural (price-cost or/and price-revenue relationships) and structural (concentration ratio) measures of competition (and their links to cost and profit efficiency and various risks). Evidence of the impact and scope of this research is found in the extensive use of these measures in publications by, and policy debate within, a variety of financial organizations at the national, European and international level.
Bournemouth University (BU) research by White (BU 2003 to present) focuses on the relationship between art, technology and culture. Exhibitions, workshops and presentations across the UK, Europe and in the USA have provoked societal reflection on critical topics such as genetics and germ warfare, among other controversial ethical issues. The work examines how sites, technologies and events shape our ideas of culture, political and personal life, whilst exposing audiences to ordinarily inaccessible information. Beneficiaries include the arts organisation with whom White has collaborated, and their participants, but more widely, those benefiting from his contribution to socially engaged art. The work has also furthered art-science discourse, providing impetus and critical breadth to the development of art and science as a cultural sector in the UK.