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Research carried out by the Department of Sociology at the University of Aberdeen into the nature and extent of communal division in societies emerging from conflict — particularly in Northern Ireland — has directly benefitted policy makers and community leaders through personal briefings and exposure on influential electronic media. The research findings have also benefitted action groups, peace practitioners, churches and other civil society groups in Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka and elsewhere through workshops and training materials; and they have raised awareness and understanding and stimulated debate through the purposeful use of online media outlets.
Research undertaken at the Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities(CIDD), has significantly impacted upon:
Challenging simplistic depictions of Ireland's revolutionary past, Fearghal McGarry's research has facilitated greater public understanding of the causes and consequences of political violence in Ireland. Through impacts arising from an innovative collaboration with a documentary film-maker, as well as through the influence of his research on public discourse, cultural life, civil society and education, McGarry's work has enhanced public understanding by extending the range and quality of historical evidence, contributing to a more meaningful public engagement with both history and commemorative processes within the context of post-conflict Northern Ireland and the current `decade of centenaries'.
In a series of training studies on children between the ages of 5 and 12 years, a research team at the Department of Psychology successfully demonstrated that substantial improvements in roadside decision-making and behaviour can be achieved in children as young as 5 years. Based on their findings, the team developed and evaluated a training intervention (Kerbcraft) aimed at improving children's pedestrian skills through practical roadside activities which was formally adopted by the UK government. Since 2008, the majority of 5-7 year old children in the UK have received formal pedestrian skills training using Kerbcraft either in its full or adapted form. Kerbcraft now plays a key role in the UK Government's road safety strategy and has been cited as an example of best practice by the World Health Organisation and safety agencies across Europe, the US, Australia and in developing countries such as Ethiopia and Bangladesh.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a major cause of death in older men, in the UK and elsewhere. A large UK trial led by the University of Cambridge evaluated the long-term benefits of ultrasound screening for AAA in men aged 65-74 years. This provided the basis for the introduction of a UK national AAA screening programme in men aged 65; this was announced in 2008, initiated in 2009, and achieved full coverage of England in 2013. Similar screening has started in Sweden, New Zealand and in parts of Italy, and is being actively discussed in Denmark, Norway and Finland.
A new procedure for the measurement and characterisation of polycrystalline exchange bias systems has been developed which has impacted significantly the manufacture of computer hard drive read-heads by companies such as Seagate Inc and Western Digital Corp. The new measurement procedure has enabled a typical 40% increase in the thermal stability of the antiferromagnetic materials used in computer hard drive read heads. The procedure has also improved the manufacturing process of the read-heads giving increased material performance and has resulted in a ~25% improvement in the resolution of detecting a bit.
Research in robust speech enhancement and audio-visual processing has led to impact on a range of different fronts:
(i) Collaboration with CSR, a leading $1 billion consumer electronics company, has shaped its R&D research agenda in speech enhancement, has inspired ideas for new product improvements, and has helped establish Belfast as an audio research centre of excellence within the company.
(ii) Our technology has changed the strategic R&D direction of a company delivering healthcare monitoring systems, with potential for multi-million pound savings in NHS budgets.
(iii) Audio-visual speech processing research has led to a proof-of-concept biometric system, Liopa: a novel, robust and convenient person authentication and verification technology exploiting lip and facial movements (www.liopa.co.uk). A start-up company is in an advanced stage of being established to commercialise this product. The product and commercialisation strategy was awarded First Prize in the 2013 NISP Connect £25K entrepreneurship competition in the Digital Media and Software category. The first commercial partner for Liopa has been engaged.
(iv) A system-on-chip implementation of a version of our speech recognition engine, which was developed through an EPSRC project, was awarded first prize in the High Technology Award in the 2010 NISP £25K Awards competition, and contributed to the founding of a spin-out company, Analytics Engines (www.analyticsengines.com).
This case study assesses the impact of a series of knowledge exchange and public engagement projects undertaken in London and Northern Ireland between 2009 and 2013. These projects have made innovative applied use of a substantial body of research into modern British and Irish religious history conducted in the Unit.
This activity has:
The work of poetry critic, Professor Fran Brearton, has impacted upon the media (particularly BBC) representation of, and understanding of, modern poetry, in Ireland and Britain. Through shaping radio broadcasts, the research also impacts on educational resources at all levels (School and HEIs) as well as providing a general cultural benefit, to poetry readers specifically, and to a general audience, thereby bringing current trends in research out to a wider public. The research has also led to broadsheet newspaper writing on contemporary poetry which is then utilised by publishers and literary event organisers (as a PR/marketing resource and external authoritative critical validation of their product) to promote and enhance the work of living writers. It has enabled and facilitated literary events that have themselves had impact beyond the academic sphere, through collaborative initiatives with external organisations as well as with individual artists.
By ensuring the durability of notable concrete structures in China, such as the Bird's Nest National Stadium Beijing, Dayawan Nuclear Power Station, Harbin-Dalian Railway Bridges, Qingdao Bay Bridge and Beijing-Tianjin Railway Bridges using Autoclam Permeability System and Permit Ion Migration test, developed by Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and sold by a QUB spin-out Amphora Non-destructive Testing Ltd., the savings in future repair costs are estimated to be hundreds of millions of Chinese Yuan (RMB) (the repair expenditure for the three-year period 2009-'11 was RMB 10.2 billion).
Research on permeability and diffusivity testing of concrete on site since 1993 has led to the incorporation of both the Autoclam and the Permit in a corporation standard issued by the Central Research Institute of Building and Construction (CRIBC), China and the test protocol of Permit in a Chinese railway standard.
The training of construction professionals (including more than 200 senior managers from the Chinese construction industry) since 2008 has impacted on improved sales of Autoclam Permeability System and Permit Ion Migration Test, securing around £500k commercial income, and generating new employment in the UK. Since 2008 these test instruments have been sold to 12 countries.