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Professor James and colleagues developed a comprehensive, multi-strand strategy for control of healthcare-associated infections caused by life-threatening bacterial superbugs Clostridium difficile (C.diff) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Founded on research to understand the transmission, virulence and antibiotic resistance of these species, their approach resulted in: (i) increased public awareness of healthcare associated infections; (ii) changed behaviours of the public and healthcare professionals to reduce transmission; (iii) improved national healthcare policies to control infections; and (iv) development of new antibiotic methods to tackle the rapidly-evolving resistance. The outcome is a nationwide decline in reported cases of C.diff and MRSA infections in patients since 2008, with consequent economic benefits to the NHS, Government and employers.
Between 25% and 33% of all perpetrators of sexual abuse in the UK are children or young people. Policy and practice in relation to this group has been under-developed. The research detailed in this case study constitutes a body of work that has identified gaps in service delivery and has significantly advanced policy, training, treatment services, and assessment and intervention practices for this group of children and their families. The research findings have led to a shift across key service providers, including Barnardo's and NSPCC, away from adult sex offender approaches towards more child-centred and holistic interventions.
Diverse audiences in locations including Bristol, Leeds, Bath and London benefited intellectually, culturally and spiritually in 2010 and 2011 from a series of public events and activities drawing on the University of Bristol's research into the Old Hispanic chant tradition. Public involvement in the exploration of this tradition was extended further through a YouTube channel. Members of the public gained or deepened their appreciation of aspects of Europe's aesthetic and spiritual heritage, whilst in many instances the religious and musical practices of audience members were enriched.
This research was initiated in 2003 in recognition of the neglect by museums and galleries across the UK of disability history, arts and culture. Before the research began, disabled people — comprising the UK's largest minority — were almost entirely absent from and/or misrepresented in the UK's cultural heritage institutions. Three distinct but sequential projects investigated this and, through a programme of action research:
- stimulated and supported experimentation in museum exhibition and learning practice in the UK and internationally, enabling museums and galleries to confidently engage visitors in debates surrounding disability, disability rights, hate crime and, more broadly, discrimination and societal attitudes towards physical and mental difference;
- developed new approaches to interpretation and audience engagement that have changed the ways in which general visitors and schoolchildren think about physical and mental differences and the rights and entitlements of disabled people;
- pioneered new approaches to museum practice that have informed policy and set standards for best practice not only in the UK but internationally.
University of Glasgow researchers have utilised cutting-edge 3D imaging techniques to enlarge miniature 4th century Greek theatre masks into life sized objects, transforming how these masks are displayed as museums artefacts and used in performance. Full-size reconstructions of the masks are now on permanent display in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow — seen by more than 1 million visitors annually — and exhibitions featuring the reconstructions have toured across the UK and Ireland. These masks are also now incorporated into the work of theatre groups in the UK and Italy, highlighting the influence of a lost European masked theatre practice on the foundation of modern drama.
Healing Heritage is a research programme led by Helen Chatterjee and focused on exploring the unique role of museums in improving mental and physical health, reducing social isolation and building social capital. It has had impacts on: 1) patients in healthcare settings, residents of care homes and disability/mental health service users who have demonstrated improved wellbeing; 2) museum practitioners and volunteers in museum settings whose skills have been enhanced; and 3) museums and healthcare professionals whose understanding of the benefits of this partnership has been expanded.
Research at the University of Edinburgh (UoE) by Crang and Addison since 1998 led to the co-edited volume Listening to Britain: Home Intelligence Reports on Britain's Finest Hour, May-September 1940, published in 2010 to much public and academic acclaim. This case study demonstrates three impacts: i) significant transformation of popular understanding in the UK of the Home Front experience in the Second World War through extensive book sales and media coverage; ii) influence on the work of a prominent film maker, who created a widely-praised documentary about the Blitz (drawing on the book's subject matter), broadcast across Europe, Africa and the Middle East; and iii) effect on contemporary policy debates regarding energy and resources.
The artist John Piper, and his wife, the editor, anthologist and librettist Myfanywy Piper were key figures within the cultural field of mid-twentieth-century Britain. The research on which this case study is based brought to public attention their reclaiming for British art a sense of place, national identity and belonging. Through her books, essays, public lectures, journalism, appearances at literary and arts festivals and on radio and television Frances Spalding's research on the Pipers and their contribution to British culture has made a major impact on public life. The research has influenced cultural, heritage, and media organisations, directly altered policy on conservation of heritage, and shaped the cultural understanding of informed audiences, both in Britain and abroad.
Performance brings Shakespeare alive and each performance reveals new contexts for, and meanings to his plays. Research on Shakespeare in Performance is a core departmental activity that encompasses complementary themes and leads to impacts across a wide range of strands and fields. Warwick's Shakespeare scholars have explored the relationship between text and performance to bring a new understanding of Shakespeare to professional theatre companies and a renewed enjoyment to public audiences. In particular, their research has impacted on theatre productions, exhibitions, and public understanding through screenings, workshops, talks, young people's theatre and schools.