University Reports Healthy Research Climate
7 August 2009
Researcher Richard Pope, Reader in Environmental Magnetism hopes his current work will enable his team to advise countries in southern Europe on how to tackle future droughts and water resource management.
Assessing the impacts of climate change over the past two millennia in southern Europe is one of the key research projects being undertaken at the University of Derby this year.
Dr Richard Pope, a University Reader in Environmental Magnetism, is conducting the work to establish how recent climate changes and human activity have impacted upon small river systems to predict future river behaviour in the Mediterranean.
Richard hopes his current work will enable his team to advise countries in the region on how to tackle future droughts and water resource management.
Dr Pope is just one of numerous University of Derby researchers profiled in this year's 2009 Research Review, which highlights the cream of academic research talent in the institution.
The review features research from a range of subject areas in arts, design and technology, tourism, education, health, science, business and computing.
The 32-page review is produced annually and provides a useful snapshot of current research activity in the University for stakeholder groups in the higher education sector.
Earlier this year, the University of Derby received more than £500,000 to support its research following the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) conducted by the national funding body Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
Dr Pope's research work, profiled as an example of current applied research, uses a range of proxy evidence to recreate palaeo-flow patterns and to establish whether there will be greater flooding and erosion in response to future climates, within Mediterranean environments.
Richard is particularly focusing on Italy and Greece and his work largely concerns coastal settings and former lake sites. He analyses soil properties and other materials to reconstruct the local-scale climatic histories (dating back 5,000 years) when the Minoan (Crete) and Mycenaeans (Greece) civilisations amongst others were interacting with the landscape.
The 2009 Research Review features case studies of current research from each of the University's current research centres and groups as well as a host of selected published works and staff profiles in each area.
Examples of the current topics explored in the review, are outlined below:
- Identity, Conflict and Representation Research Centre - includes research in the area of current conflicts across the globe.
- Signal Processing Applications Research Group - includes research about energy efficiency in relation to electric vehicles and heat loss of buildings.
- Open Studio Research Centre - includes research about an exciting artistic commission from the Arts Council, East Midlands.
- Systems Thinking and Organisational Behaviour Research Group - includes research about current management thinking and the way work is managed within organisations.
- Applied Mental Health Research Group - includes research around various aspects of mental health nursing.
- Biological Sciences Research Group - includes research around cross-pollination which has contributed to the new BSc (Hons) Behavioural Sciences degree exploring the interface between psychological and biological approaches to understanding behaviour.
- Human and Physical Environments Research Group - Includes paleoclimatic work, developmental geography and investigation of the Earth's earliest crust.
- The Centre for Education and Career Development - includes a study charting the professional journeys of nursery nurses and nursery assistants.
- The Centre for Psychological Research - includes work within the virtual reality platform Second Life to aid psychology students.
- Society, Religion and Belief Research Group - includes work to gauge the effectiveness in art therapy as a medium to help pregnant women and new mothers.
- Culture, Lifestyle and Landscape Research Group - includes research investigating the tourist trail and experiences in different areas of Derbyshire.
Professor Michael Gunn, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Learning, Teaching and Scholarship, said: "This Review shows how excellent research is helping to inform the taught curriculum for our undergraduate and postgraduate students. It reflects the commitment, dedication, talent and achievement of our academic colleagues."
University of Derby Head of Research Professor Paul Bridges said: "This has been an important and successful year for research at Derby. The external peer review Research Assessment Exercise 2008 identified significant international class research. As a result, new Quality Research funds from HEFCE in 2009/10 will enable us to invest for the future.
"All universities engage in research and for some it is their primary activity. At Derby research has a major role to play in informing and enriching the taught curriculum. We encourage all research that benefits the student learning experience by developing a deeper understanding at the forefront of the subject and improved pedagogy."
In recent years, Derby has established a resource to support those engaged in curriculum-related research. During 2008/09, £150,000 was channelled to researchers through small grants from the Teaching Informed by Research fund and a further £90,000 was provided from the Research Inspired Curriculum fund.
About 60 researchers have received grants to pursue projects that are expected to improve pedagogic practice or enliven the undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum.
Read more in the 2009 Research Review by downloading the pdf of the document at: www.derby.ac.uk/research-review
For more information about this news release, contact Deputy Head of Corporate Relations Simon Redfern on 01332 591942 or 07748 920038 or email: s.redfern@derby.ac.uk.
