Impact UK Location: Shetland

REF impact found 21 Case Studies

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A novel Geochemical Toolbox for the Petroleum and Mineral Industries

Summary of the impact

Innovative geochemical research led by Selby at Durham has permitted savings of up to $70M in global mineral and petroleum exploration programmes (e.g., Andes of S. America; West of Shetlands oilfields). Selby's research has developed a unique geochemical toolbox using rhenium, osmium, platinum and palladium that constrain more accurate geological models leading to better reserve predictions. The toolbox provides previously unavailable geological time constraints and source identification of resources (e.g., copper, gold, crude oil) that gives mineral and/or petroleum companies an enhanced economic advantage by improving reserve estimates and/or reducing exploration budgets and/or minimising the environmental impacts of exploration.

Submitting Institution

University of Durham

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Analytical Chemistry
Earth Sciences: Geochemistry, Geology

1n. Control of bovine viral diarrhoea virus in livestock through evidence-driven behaviour changes on farms and through veterinarians

Summary of the impact

Impact: Economic / animal health and welfare: Established health schemes to control Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) on Scottish farms and subsequently underpinned the rationale for cost-effective control strategies that have been adopted in health schemes around the UK. The farm-level savings to the industry from future eradication are estimated by Scottish Government to be £50- £80m.

Significance: BVD is a major endemic disease of cattle in Scotland costing the dairy industry about £38M per year and an additional £11M to consumers.

Beneficiaries: Farmers, cattle, animal health authorities.

Attribution: Professors Gunn and Stott (SRUC).

Reach: The associated health schemes began in Scotland (HI Health) and now operate throughout Britain (UK CHeCS (Cattle Health Certification Standards) Health Scheme). The research underpins BVD control schemes in Ireland and other EU Member States resulting in an avoided output loss of between €500 to €4,000 per dairy farm per year.

Submitting Institutions

University of Edinburgh,SRUC

Unit of Assessment

Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences: Animal Production

Implementing telehealthcare for older people and people with dementia

Summary of the impact

Research on telehealthcare at the University of Stirling has guided the delivery of telehealthcare at home in West Lothian Scotland in the first instance, subsequently influencing decisions to adopt and implement telehealthcare in communities in Norway, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Sweden, the Western Isles and Shetland. Research was translated into the MAST (Methodology for the ASessment of Telemedicine) manual, a practical tool which has been used across Europe by decision makers considering telehealthcare implementation. Through the DSDC (Dementia Services Development Centre) at the University, telehealthcare information and guidance has been provided to thousands of service providers and family care givers.

Submitting Institution

University of Stirling

Unit of Assessment

Social Work and Social Policy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

2) North Sea Oil and Gas Taxation and Activity Levels

Summary of the impact

Research at the University of Aberdeen on the economics of North Sea oil and gas activity levels and the potential effects of tax changes on exploration and development decisions — and thus on total investment — have informed government and the oil industry of the virtues of ensuring that the tax system produces the appropriate balance between investment incentives and tax revenues.

In particular this work demonstrated the need to accommodate the differential impact of the tax system across offshore fields located in different geographic regions of the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) which have varying cost characteristics, and the consequent need for tax allowances to avoid investment disincentives and to promote maximum economic recovery.

Submitting Institution

University of Aberdeen

Unit of Assessment

Economics and Econometrics

Summary Impact Type

Economic

Research Subject Area(s)

Economics: Applied Economics, Econometrics
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services: Banking, Finance and Investment

Old Scatness: the past providing a sustainable future

Summary of the impact

The University of Bradford's internationally renowned research in North Atlantic archaeology at Old Scatness, Shetland has provided a sustainable legacy for the region, enhancing awareness of Shetland's past. This innovative heritage project is a partnership between the University and the Shetland Amenity Trust and has been critical to new developments in heritage presentation on the islands. The heritage project at Old Scatness pioneered a blend of site preservation and reconstructed buildings combined with an interpretive approach that provides visitors with a stimulating and interactive experience. The consideration of what was a hitherto unknown archaeological area as a World Heritage Site demonstrates the international significance of the research and its impact.

Submitting Institution

University of Bradford

Unit of Assessment

Geography, Environmental Studies and Archaeology

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Geology
History and Archaeology: Archaeology

Recovering American radicalism: Woody Guthrie through text and performance

Summary of the impact

The primary object has been to reify the buried American radical tradition through text- and performance-based focus on the US songwriter Woody Guthrie. Kaufman seeks to establish and broadcast Guthrie's role in the development of a radical sphere that has been largely airbrushed out of post-McCarthyite American history and culture. The research is not to be disseminated solely through the book Woody Guthrie, American Radical (2011) and scholarly essays but also through a series of public performances foregrounding Guthrie's political activism. Impact has been at least twofold: (1) on cultural and historical awareness, establishing through attention to Guthrie a (re)awakened sense of radical American culture and history; (2) economic, in terms of revenues brought to charities, organisations and venues hosting Kaufman's performances.

Submitting Institution

University of Central Lancashire

Unit of Assessment

English Language and Literature

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Building performance simulation with computational modelling software enables practitioners to realise a low carbon built environment.

Summary of the impact

Research by staff of the Energy Systems Research Unit (ESRU) at Strathclyde has resulted in advances in the state-of-the-art in dynamic building energy modelling as encapsulated within the Open Source ESP-r program. This new capability enabled practitioners to analyse phenomena and technologies hitherto not capable of being modelled in building simulation tools. The impact stems from the embedding of ESP-r within companies resulting in service improvement and job creation, and applications of ESP-r resulting in energy demand reduction, low carbon energy systems integration and environmental impact mitigation.

Submitting Institution

University of Strathclyde

Unit of Assessment

Architecture, Built Environment and Planning

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Interdisciplinary Engineering
Built Environment and Design: Building, Other Built Environment and Design

Carbon-calculating: the development of Scottish Windfarms

Summary of the impact

The Scottish Government is aiming to generate all of its electricity through renewable energy sources by 2020. Research by the University of Aberdeen has produced a freely available tool - the Windfarm Carbon Calculator - that has overhauled the planning process for windfarm developments in Scotland. In changing public policy and planning regulations, and informing the public debate, Aberdeen's calculator is helping the Government fulfil its pledge to become "the green energy powerhouse of Europe" while protecting some of the country's most environmentally fragile areas. It continues to guide the actions of politicians, planners, the wind industry, NGOs and community groups.

The claimed impact therefore is on: the environment, economy and commerce, public policies and services, practitioners and services.

Submitting Institution

University of Aberdeen

Unit of Assessment

Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Environmental Sciences: Soil Sciences
Engineering: Environmental Engineering

Communities, climate change, culture and the coast

Summary of the impact

Shorewatch community excavation of a sixteenth century saltpan in
        north-east Scotland (2011).

Shorewatch community excavation of a sixteenth century saltpan in north-east Scotland (2011).

Same site, destroyed by a storm in 2012 but preserved by record —
        including 3D modelling.
Same site, destroyed by a storm in 2012 but preserved by record — including 3D modelling.

Dawson's research into climate-driven threats to coastal heritage has established a practical methodology for prioritising action and engaging communities in recording vulnerable sites. The work has been described as having `a major impact on international archaeology, heritage, public engagement, and education for sustainability' by the North Atlantic Biocultural Organisation (NABO), while the US National Parks Service has said that his work has been an invaluable source of `both inspiration and practical how-to research in the analysis and protection of coastal cultural heritage'. Dawson's research is cited in Scottish Government heritage policy and his commissioned reports have informed national archaeological frameworks. His collaborative community projects (Shorewatch and SCHARP) have directly impacted upon hundreds of participants throughout Scotland, often in distant and inaccessible places. Dawson's frequent public talks, use of mobile technology & video, and press and broadcast interviews mean that many thousands of people globally are more aware of the richness of coastal heritage and its vulnerability to climate change.

Submitting Institution

University of St Andrews

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

History and Archaeology: Archaeology

Defining and sustaining healthy seas

Summary of the impact

Managing and conserving the marine environment requires defining what constitutes healthy ecosystems and understanding the effects of pollution. Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) research defining `undesirable disturbance' allowed the United Kingdom (UK) to mount a successful defence at the European Court of Justice in 2009 against alleged infraction of UK obligations under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. This saved UK taxpayers £6 billion in estimated additional costs. The European Union (EU) Marine Strategy Framework Directive uses a definition of good status for pelagic habitats derived from work at ENU, which benefits policy makers and marine stakeholders by facilitating the establishment of Marine Protected Areas.

Submitting Institution

Edinburgh Napier University

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Oceanography
Environmental Sciences: Environmental Science and Management
Biological Sciences: Ecology

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