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This case study describes the impact of the research activities of the University of Sheffield's Professor of Poetry, Simon Armitage. Armitage is one of the UK's best known and most highly acclaimed poets, a respected translator of medieval texts and a leading light for the public communication of arts research. His work is direct, emotionally powerful, and communicates strange, marginal, and extreme experiences in language which allows readers to re-experience those states: the impact of his poetry therefore derives from the communication of affect across time and space through the medium of the poem, on the page and in readings. This impact is felt by audiences on a global, national, and local level, through Armitage's work as a poet in different media (from broadcast to the material landscape), a teacher, a public intellectual, and a curator of poetry festivals. In these varied roles, Armitage champions the power of poetry and demonstrates its relevance to our lives today. Specifically, his work has had four major forms of impact:
(i) the power and accessibility of his poetry — and its rich explorations of mind, world and language — have created cultural capital for a wide readership, enriching the emotional and intellectual lives of individuals and groups of readers;
(ii) his work disseminating and encouraging poetry has led to an enhanced understanding and an increased appreciation of what poetry does in the world, fostering future generations of readers and poets both within the UK and internationally and thus contributing to the sustainability and vitality of this art form;
(iii) his investigation of topics such as trauma and victimization has illuminated cultural attitudes and changed perceptions, as well as directly helping those who have experienced such ordeals;
(iv) book sales and ticket sales have had economic impact for the arts organizations, venues and publishers involved.
Research undertaken at the University of East London has confronted the historical lack of documentation, representation and participation in the British theatre by ethnic minority communities, with particular reference to the British Asian community. This work has been used to create and shape the production of important new theatre pieces, as well as to engage and develop new young and diverse audiences for them. Workshops, post-show discussions and symposia relating to the production of these pieces have increased the engagement of these new audiences both with theatre generally, and with the often sensitive, contested, and politically-charged subject-matter of the specific pieces under review. The research has also been used as the basis for the development and delivery of professional development training for emerging theatre artists from minority community backgrounds.
The case study outlined here is concerned with how human behaviour and social practices can be shaped and guided by applying education for sustainability. Outreach for this work influences both policy and practice through advisory roles with international curriculum reforms (Australia-ACARA), national training and development consultancy in high-impact organisations (World Bank, Liverpool FC and Burnley FC, Mott MacDonald, Business In The Community), and practical applications including setting up for the DfE the first School of Sustainability / high school as an academy in Burnley, Lancashire and establishing other sites in urban and rural settings in various locations of the Pop-Up-Foundation project across the world.
This ICS exemplifies wide-reaching impact emanating from Morrison's creative outputs and his subsequent exploration of public reactions to it. Thus he has used different genres of writing to articulate the complexity of human relationships and emotions — for example via two critically acclaimed memoirs, an account of the Bulger trial, and, since being at Goldsmiths, a novel, South of the River (2007). Numerous readers described these books as resonating with them, highlighting the potential therapeutic benefits of reading serious literature (`bibliotherapy'). Morrison explored this idea systematically in a detailed review published as an essay in The Guardian (2008). The ensuing surge of public interest in bibliotherapy manifested in a transformative expansion of The Reader Organisation [TRO], which promotes and supports the establishment of community-based reading groups. In the UK these multiplied more than 5-fold over the following 3 years, and there was similar interest in Australia, the US, Denmark and Germany. Morrison subsequently became chair of TRO's Board of Trustees, and has promoted its activities to the public and policymakers internationally through public presentations, the media, and participation in policy fora.
Community cohesion emerged as a distinct policy agenda in the aftermath of the 2001 disturbances in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham and was subsequently shaped by events including the London bombings of 2005 and large-scale migration from the EU and beyond. Researchers in the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) have delivered a programme of research and evaluation exploring cohesion and the effectiveness of service responses. Beneficiaries have included government departments, devolved administrations and other local, regional and national public agencies. Awareness and understanding have been sensitised, lessons learnt have informed strategy, and guidance has directed improvements in practice.
This case study describes the impact of a ten-year programme of research, which has influenced attitudes to traditional crafts and cultural heritage in India, and created an ethical model of sustainable crafts practice, leading to economic and social benefits. Research has underpinned the creation of the Ahmedabad International Arts Festival (AIAF) that started in 2009 and with MMU's contribution has now grown into a major, multi-stranded international festival.
MMU researchers have worked with museums and cultural organisations in the UK and India to develop ways of engaging new audiences, widening the reach of craft-based practices and thereby creating cultural impact. The project has also drawn attention to an endangered area of Ahmedabad, and assisted in developing a plan for conserving cultural heritage there.
This case study focuses on impact achieved through the widely-seen performances by GW Theatre of Mike Harris' commissioned play about extremism, From One Extreme to Another, in schools in the UK. The project:
Moving Memories was a participatory research project which used BBC North West and other archive film footage to re-connect people of Caribbean, Sikh and Irish heritage in Moss Side and Hulme with the visual record of their settlement in Manchester from the 1950s to the 1980s. Local people enriched these visual histories with personal memories, interpreting, reflecting, linking across generations, and generating pride in their community's contribution to Manchester's broader historical narrative. The project is a model of exemplary practice for the applied use of archive material in BME contexts, demonstrating how shared story-telling challenges stereotypes of inner- city, multi-ethnic neighbourhoods and improves community cohesion.
Increasing immigration, the rise of the British National Party, and the London bombings put social cohesion firmly on the policy agenda. James Laurence and Anthony Heath's research (2008) on the predictors of social cohesion provided the key empirical foundation for policies implemented by the Department for Communities and Local Government from 2008 onwards. These policies in turn impacted the practices of local authorities in a variety of domains, including the allocation of social housing and the funding of community projects. The research was also cited by a number of organizations beyond government in their policy documents, from the Equality and Human Rights Commission to consultancies such as Ipsos MORI.
A unique aspect of the signal and image processing research at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) lies in exploitation of the synergies between non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of aerostructures in the aerospace manufacturing sector and non-invasive diagnosis (NID) of patients in the medical sector. For the former, through collaborative research with world leading aerospace companies, data processing technologies used in medical NID have been exploited to ensure structural safety of aircraft at reduced time and cost. For the latter, through collaborative research with the UCLan led Europe-wide network which includes top medical research centres and hospitals, sensing technologies used in aerospace NDE have been exploited to create new measurement modalities for quantitative medical diagnosis of major diseases. Furthermore, arising out the cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary research the Tele-immersive Digital Manufacturing facility (TiM) emerges as our vision for the factory of the future which has attracted investments from the world leading digital technology providers and made impacts on one of the most important manufacturing regions in the world.