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In the fast changing era of digital technology this cluster's research impacts upon audiences locally and internationally. Through experimental films and videos, interactive media and performances its outputs engage and challenges audiences in cinemas, galleries and on the worldwide web. As well as galvanizing public consciousness on climate change (Franny Armstrong) and engendering greater understanding of synaesthesia (Sam Moore), a significant dimension to the impact focuses upon the transition from analogue to digital technology. While the moving image and performance work (Guy Sherwin and Paul Harrison) also expands the boundaries of moving image technology in the spatialised context of galleries.
Ysanne Holt was Academic Advisor and Commissioning Editor for Tate's Camden Town Group in Context project, funded through the Getty Foundation's Online Scholarly Catalogue Initiative which aims to transform how museums disseminate information about their collections. Holt undertook and commissioned new research into the Group's artworks and their broader contexts. Impacts derived from the project's online catalogue include increased awareness for national and international public and specialists; and improved access to the art and its contexts via a multi-platform open access facility. In addition, the project has influenced the Tate's Digital Strategy and led to the creation of the new post of Digital Editor within Tate's Research Department.
This study details the impact of the first British Library exhibition on science fiction, produced in partnership with the Discovery Channel. The exhibition attracted 114,878 visitors (target attendance was 100,000), far beyond any "core" readership, and featured over 200 books, films, recordings, manuscripts, magazines and objects. Exploring sometimes conflicting ideas of how science fiction developed over 2000 years, and what it does, the exhibition gave a cultural and historical context for science fiction as an international and historically rich form of speculative literature. It also generated new interest amongst diverse audiences — including in libraries, the media, and in schools — and transformed popular perceptions (of both core fans and literary disparagers) of science fiction as a genre, and the role of women in the genre.
Deborah Cameron's research focuses on the relationship between gender and language, using sociolinguistic evidence and contemporary theories of gender and identity to examine and challenge widespread beliefs about the differing verbal abilities and behaviour of men and women. Through broadcasting, public speaking and engagement with non-academic professional groups, including secondary school English teachers, Cameron communicates the results of her (and others') research to a broad audience in Britain and internationally. She has raised awareness of sociolinguistic approaches to gender, has provided resources for professionals concerned with issues of equality and diversity, and has contributed to the public understanding of science.
We have worked as media and cultural historians, archive experts and media producers, and collaborated with a variety of public institutions and communities of interest, to draw attention to neglected histories, to respond to the opportunities afforded by new digital technologies, to disseminate archived material, and to interpret it for wide audiences. Through our work we have contributed to an improvement in the understanding and practice of media history, in particular the exploration and archiving of, and engagement with, the popular cultural artefacts which index its lived experience. Most noteworthy has been our contributions to the development of online and offline communities of interest by integrating processes of knowledge exchange into our research, in order to promote co-curation, and discussion about cultural value, memory and collecting. Our impact is measured in the development of popular practices of preservation, in the circulation of media products we have created from archive material, and in our engagements in public projects and with cultural institutions, audiences and policy makers. This work has regional, national and international reach.
The primacy of oral poetry to Somali culture cannot be overstated: It is the primary form of cultural communication and the foremost vehicle through which Somali history, cultural values and contemporary concerns are expressed and transmitted. Through his pioneering analysis and sensitive translation into English of classical and contemporary Somali poems, Dr Martin Orwin has brought Somali poetry to the attention of Anglophone audiences, participating in web-accessible poetry projects and prominent events such as `Sonnet Sunday` and `Poetry Parnassus`. Working with Somali poets and cultural organisations, Orwin`s work has contributed to a more positive understanding of Somali culture and its place in world literature.
Through a partnership forged with the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh, Briony Fer developed international exhibitions building on research into the materials and processes underlying art's making and thinking. This reached both general and specialist publics, including artists and conservators in the UK and beyond. The exhibition Eva Hesse: Studiowork from 2009 travelled across Europe and North America over two years, attracting over 200,000 visitors. It provided cultural enrichment and raised public awareness about how art is made; deepened specialist knowledge of fragile materials crucial to the conservation of modern sculpture; brought previously unknown artworks into the public domain and contributed to the tourist and heritage industry as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival.
This case study describes impact arising from research into designing constructionist tools that provide personalisation, support and guidance to learners and teachers, resulting in software used in several schools, FE colleges and universities world-wide. Constructionist learning is founded on the principle of constructionism which argues for the pedagogical importance of building artefacts as a way of building mental representations. A key computational challenge in the design of tools that foster constructionist learning is to provide intelligent support that guides users towards productive interaction with the tool without constraining its creative potential.
Based on knowledge exchange with international agencies and think-tanks, briefings to politicians, workshops with local government and police authorities, and a full-time secondment within central (UK) government, Dr Matthew Goodwin's distinctive work has become a crucial part of changing attitudes and influencing policy for dealing with the rise of right-wing extremism in the UK, and elsewhere. As one of the most-followed political scientists in the UK, Goodwin has used extensive social and traditional media engagement to bring this ground-breaking work to the attention of the wider public. One senior Government Minister reflects that Goodwin has `helped to develop government policy to counter the far right', and `provided government with a substantial evidence base which continues to change and inform policy'.[source 1]