Spring 2012 Issue - University of Central Lancashire

Excellence in Research and Knowledge Transfer at the University of Central Lancashire
Spring 2012
Breaking News
Features
Conferences & Events
Book Launches

2
Introduction
With the Research Excellence Framework (REF) fast approaching, research impact has
become a key issue in research communities across the United Kingdom. The REF will be
using the impact that research has outside of academia as a partial measure of research
excellence. Whatever one may think about this approach, it certainly has researchers
thinking about how their research improves the world in which we live. UCLan’s
strategic objective is to engage in “World leading research with real world impact”.
In this Spring Issue of BreakThrough we are highlighting how we are doing this.
For example, we look at the research of fire scientist Anna Stec, who is working to
improve the fire safety standards of every day materials in say our buildings, ships or
planes. Then if they catch fire they will not poison the people living and working within
them. Our engineering professor, Lik Kwan Shark is applying digital and image
processing to such diverse fields of aircraft manufacture through to diagnosing early
onset of knee joint problems.
Each in their own way illustrates not only original and innovative research but also
research that impacts upon the community by producing better, safer materials and
products or by helping to improve people’s health.
Dr Robert Walsh
University Director of Research
At UCLan we have an obligation to make sure that our graduates are equipped with
the tools, experience and support they need to help them realise their dreams and
aspirations both on a local and global platform. A critical component in helping them
realise these ambitions is by ensuring that we build close links and relationships with
industry. UCLan is rooted in this region and we believe we have an important duty to
contribute to its workforce and future entrepreneurs. As a University, we are extremely
proud of our partnerships with large organisations such a BAE Systems, Cisco and Sony
Computer Entertainment Europe but equally, we take great pride in the work that we
do with locally-based businesses.
We must also remember the value of practical university research which has a true
impact on the real-world. Such work adds value, not only to the Higher Education
experience, but to the economy as a whole. An example of this is EvoFIT, a facial
recognition system that helps victims and witnesses of crime generate an image of a
criminal’s face. Due to this innovative technology EvoFIT won the University Excellence
Competition at London’s TechWorld event in 2011.
Bede Mullen
Director of Knowledge Transfer Service

3
Contents
Breaking News 4
Feature Articles
> Toxicology – Burning Questions 6
> Finding Faults in Aircraft Wings and Human Knees 10
> Promoting Normal Childbirth 12
6
> Protecting Your Identity 14
> Detecting Deception: Researching the Lies 16
Funding, Awards and Recognition
> UCLan’s Innovation Voucher Scheme
Inspires Next Generation Running Shoe 18
> Lancashire Crime Case Aide Wins UKTI Award 19
10
> UCLan Secures £1.4m ERDF Support to Help Local
Industry Embrace Advanced Technology 20
> UCLan Receives Funding to Help Rejuvenate North West SMEs 21
Professors in Profile
> A Career in Catalysis: Exceptions That Prove Dowden’s Rule 22
14
Conferences - Up and Coming
> The Dark Tourism Symposium 2012 26
Conference Reviews
> An Astounding Success for UCLan:
The International Astronomical Union Symposium 284 28
22
Events - Up and Coming
> Forthcoming Events and Conferences 29
Book Launches 30
Editorial Team 35
26

4
Breaking News
A Truly International Experience
UCLan has not only announced exciting plans to establish the UK’s first private
university campus in Bangkok, Thailand, but it has also revealed plans to open the
first UK-led university in Cyprus.
In an official agreement between the University and Thai-based entrepreneur Mr Sitichai
Charoenkajonkul both parties pledge to work in close collaboration to create a full-scale
university campus, located within the Bangkok metropolitan area, and in which UCLan will
invest £7.5 million in the venture. Built to an exacting UCLan specification, and subject to the
granting of an educational licence, the new facility plans to open the doors to its first cohort
of students in June 2014.
The development in Cyprus has been officially sanctioned by the Cypriot Ministry of Education
and Culture through the awarding of an educational licence. The building of the UK-style
campus will start immediately and is due to open in October 2012.
The Thailand campus will offer full-time and part-time undergraduate, postgraduate and
foundation degree courses in subject areas that include business, built and natural
environment, engineering, creative and performing arts and languages. The Cyprus campus will
offer a broad range of academic subjects, taught in English and building on UCLan’s strengths
and local demand. Initially, these will be clustered in three groupings: Business and
Management, Law, Computing and Mathematics.
Heritage Lottery Fund Support for Temperance History Project
Dr Annemarie McAllister has been
successful in securing £50,000 in funding
from the Heritage Lottery Fund for an
exciting project, ‘Temperance and the
Working Class’, working with the
People’s History Museum in Manchester.
Preston is often considered the birthplace of
the Temperance Movement and this project
will involve volunteers from local
communities in collecting memories about
Temperance and then help to mount
exhibitions on this movement which sought
to persuade people to abstain from alcohol.
The major exhibition will be at the People’s
History Museum in Manchester from July
2012 - February 2013. Accompanied by
an online public access virtual exhibition,
public lectures, family activities, debates,
and recreations of Temperance evenings.
A local exhibition will be held in Preston’s
St George’s Shopping Centre from the
24 August - 8 September and will form part
of the Preston Guild celebrations.
What is Freight Crime:
Changing Attitudes
Freight crime is a serious problem
which has proven to significantly affect
the UK economy. The theft of large
goods vehicles and their loads causes
substantial economic and logistical
harm to manufacturers, operators and
retailers alike.
Funding secured from the Economic
and Social Research Council (ESRC) has
enabled UCLan’s Crime Reduction Unit
to bring together a wide range of
organisations to tackle the problem of
road freight crime. Workshops have
been held throughout the UK,
including locations such as Bristol
and Kent, to cover four key themes;
recognising, reporting, recording and
reducing freight crime.
The workshops have helped to drive
forward knowledge exchange through
the facilitation of dialogue between
stakeholders in and beyond the social
science community. In addition it has
further developed the connections and
understanding of security issues within
the road freight industry whilst also
identifying and sharing good practice.
The findings from these events and
subsequent activities will widen the
debate with the results feeding into
policy and practice at a national level.
The latest event is part of the bigger
Truckwatch North West scheme
co-ordinated by UCLan’s Crime
Reduction Unit. The next event, entitled
CSI TruckwatchNW, will be opened by
Lord Henley, Minister for Crime
Prevention and Anti-Social Behaviour,
and will further assist in the reduction
of impact and incidence of freight
crime in the North West.

5
Sony Computer Entertainment
Europe Teams Up With UCLan
Digital Manufacturing Innovation
UCLan and IT company, Cisco Systems
have teamed up to deliver cutting edge
digital technology to manufacturers.
Cisco has invested in the provision of
specialist equipment and expertise to
enhance the industrial networking
environment in the world’s first
Tele-immersive Digital Manufacturing
(TiM) Laboratory, developed by UCLan’s
Centre for Advanced Digital Manufacturing
Technology (ADMT) at the University’s
Burnley Campus.
As a distinctive lab-based miniature factory
of the future, TiM represents UCLan’s
vision to improve manufacturing
competitiveness. It utilises digital sensing
technologies to acquire a range of
manufacturing data such as process
performance, product deviation and energy
consumption. Its digital data processing
technologies execute manufacturing
adaptively based on data and its digital
communication technologies means that
manufacturing can be controlled remotely.
The investment will enable UCLan to work
more closely with companies across a range
of sectors, including aerospace, automotive
and energy, which can use the Digital
Manufacturing Lab to improve their
competitiveness.
UCLan is also a Cisco Academy and aligns
some of its teaching with the training arm
of the organisation that provides industry
training courses for networking
professionals. This activity will also expose
students to industrial networking to give
them a broader experience of networking
scenarios and technologies. A number of
students were lucky enough to shadow
Cisco Systems engineers during the
installation of the equipment in order to
maximise the learning opportunities.
UCLan is one of the only UK universities
to incorporate 3D technology into its
games development and teaching
through a unique industry partnership
with the Stereoscopic 3D group at Sony
Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE).
Three recent UCLan games
development graduates included 3D
stereoscopic rendering in their final year
project and returned to the University to
present their work to senior developers
from the technology giant.
They worked closely with the
PlayStation® 3D technology experts to
incorporate the latest gaming
developments into their work with
resounding success. All of the projects
used stereoscopic techniques to enhance
the realism of graphics within a game.
UCLan’s relationship with Sony
Computer Entertainment Europe has
also enabled 40 games development
students from the University to take part
in a stereoscopic user trial looking into
the 3D gaming experience. Sony
Computer Entertainment Europe will
present the students’ findings at the 3D
Entertainment Summit in Los Angeles.
Entrepreneur in Residence Appointed
Philip Dyer, chairman of NXO and regional president of Lancashire’s Chartered Institute
of Marketing, has been appointed as the first ever entrepreneur in residence at UCLan.
The voluntary role has been created to further enhance the University’s strong links with UK industry and to
support and encourage entrepreneurial education to students, with Philip becoming a key student mentor.
Philip started his first business in 1986 and has since founded NXO, the UK’s first strategic marketing
franchise with offices across the UK. Philip is an excellent choice for this role as he has had close links with
UCLan since starting his further education there in 1981. He has since gone on to study for an HNC in
Business and Finance and post-graduate diploma, all at UCLan.
In the role, he will provide students and start-up businesses with support sessions, seminars and
one-to-one advice clinics, working closely with UCLan’s Lancashire Business School.
.

6 Feature Articles

Feature Articles 7
Toxicology –
Burning Questions
An interview with Dr Anna Stec
School of Forensic & Investigative Sciences
Professor Mike Holmes, Head of the Graduate Research School,
and Emma Sandon-Hesketh went to meet with Dr Anna Stec, to talk
about her research and work internationally in the field of toxicology.

8 Feature Articles
Could you give a brief outline of
what your research is about?
My research is about combustion and fire
toxicology, which is a multi-disciplinary area. It
starts from the physical aspects of combustion
such as how much heat is released in fires. It is
then about understanding how different
materials, such as polymers burn under
different fire conditions. A polyurethane foam
sofa will burn differently to a plastic coated
cable, with different combustion products
being released. We use analytical chemistry to
identify and quantify fire products or effluents
released. Using existing hazard assessment
models, it is possible to estimate the main
hazards to humans, incapacitation or lethality,
which can prevent a safe escape. Although
my research focuses on the whole cycle, the
main question I am always trying to answer is,
“What is released from fires and how
hazardous is it to humans?”. Many people
believe that the biggest killer in a fire is carbon
monoxide. In fact, it is more likely, particularly
if nitrogen containing materials are being
burnt, to be hydrogen cyanide, which is 25
times more toxic than carbon monoxide.
Do the chemicals released depend upon
the temperature of the burning?
Fire toxicity is closely related to the material,
which is being burnt, and to the ventilation
conditions such as temperature and oxygen.
Smouldering or oxidative pyrolysis i.e.
decomposition or transformation of a
compound caused by heat in an oxygen
containing atmosphere, is a non-flaming fire
scenario related to a gradual increase in the
local concentrations of smoke and toxic
gases over a long period, such as carbon
monoxide from smouldering furnishings .
Once flaming starts, the effluent toxicity of a
well-ventilated fire decreases briefly, until the
fire grows rapidly to consume the available
oxygen. If we look at the fire statistics, which
are very well established in the UK, most fire
deaths are from under-ventilated fires in the
room of fire origin. In the US, there are more
fire deaths outside the room of fire origin or
on a different floor as the homes tend to be
bigger with more open layouts, hence the
fire can spread more easily. Under-ventilated
fires are the most dangerous for humans
because the fires are usually large, and the
toxicity is very high. If we look at the yield of
toxic products such as carbon monoxide,
hydrogen cyanide, organo-irritants, and
smoke, they increase by a factor between
10 and 50 as the fire changes from well
ventilated to under ventilated.
Has this changed the way in which we
design and build buildings?
I am a UK Principal Expert with the
International Standards Organisation (ISO)
"Fire Threat to Human and Environment"
group, which gives me insight into what is
happening with the regulations. What we are
trying to change are the regulations regarding
the flammability and the toxicity of materials
used in buildings. A problem for the fire safety
engineer is that whilst all fire stages need to
be considered to address different scenarios
for fire hazard analysis, well-ventilated flaming
is well understood and quantified, whilst the
more toxicologically significant underventilated
flaming is often oversimplified or
ignored. Although no bench-scale test can recreate
exactly the decomposition conditions in
a full-scale fire, we have been developing,
over the last five years, in the fire laboratory at
UCLan, an ISO standard to generate and
quantify fire effluents under the full range of
fire conditions. The steady state tube furnace
method has been developed specifically to
replicate a range of large scale fire stages,
characterising the fire behaviour of materials
under controlled and well-defined laboratory
conditions. The other standard that I am
Stages of fire growth.
leading now is for the analytical measurement
of fire toxicity and the analysis of gases and
vapours in fire effluents. This involves six
countries, and around 52 participants. I am
also taking forward a standard for the
characterisation of nano-particles in fires.
So nano-particles are things like smoke
particles, are they?
Fire smoke is associated with visual
obscuration, and with the toxicity of the gases
and particles. Nano-particles are the particles,
which have the size smaller than 100nm.
There are three threats to humans from
particles. First they are the major source of
heat radiation from flames, resulting in flame
spread and fire growth. Second when inhaled
they are transported into the respiratory tract
and depending on their shape or size, can
damage the lungs. Finally, they can act as
vehicles for the transport of other noxious
substances into the lungs, e.g. acid gases.
Can you tell from an autopsy from
someone who has died in a fire, whether
it is nano-particles that have killed them?
If you look at the fire statistics, most of the
people who die in a fire do so through
inhalation of toxic gases. In the UK and
elsewhere, the remit of the forensic
pathologist does not extend to consideration
of the toxicants present in a fire. It is to
establish the cause of death, and not the
agents responsible. At present, it is almost
impossible for the pathologist to form any
useful opinion about the effects of individual
components of fire effluents, since the only
analysis carried out is the examination of the
airways and lung and blood-carbon monoxide
levels. We have a very strong collaboration
with Warsaw Medical University where they
are doing post mortem analysis and looking at
what the toxicants are. If you have particles or
smoke found in the respiratory tract, then it

Feature Articles
9
will be visible, demonstrating the person was
inhaling the particles during the fire.
So hopefully, I will have soon more results to
provide a better answer.
Can I go back to a point you made earlier
about your research changing some of
the standards for buildings. What sort of
changes are they?
We have a large diversity in the testing of
materials and products commonly found in
houses or used in transportation such as
those used on ships, or trains or planes. Once
we set the standard, it becomes a regulation
that has to be met. A major example of this is
the heat release rate standard, which
indicates material flammability. The argument
I am having now, is that if a material does not
ignite, it does not mean it cannot be toxic; it
can still produce high levels of toxicants.
Twenty years ago there were few publications
on fire toxicity. Now there is a big increase in
the topic and, through the standards we are
making, people are becoming aware that this
topic is important.
I know there are things like fire retardant
paints, that when heated, bubble,
protecting the under-lying surface from
the fire. Can you tell me about these?
China is extremely good in terms of
developing new fire retardants and creating
new products, but they do not check their
flammability and toxicity. For fire retardants,
there is starting to be a change because the
most common flame retardants are
chlorinated or brominated which generate
corrosive gases when heated. Now, they are
going for an approach based on alumina,
silica or phosphorus, which is a much more
expensive approach.
That brings us nicely to China. Could we
explore your involvement in the new
Institute for Nano-technology and
Bioengineering based there?
We have established a collaboration with the
University of Science and Technology of China
(USTC) in Hefei, which has the only Chinese
national laboratory of fire science. The good
thing is that they have six different
departments, including Fire Chemistry,
Fire Analysis, Fire Building and Computer
Modelling Section. They have around 250
post graduate students, and are
internationally leading in terms of fire
chemistry. The project started in November
2011 with six professors there; each is head of
a different department: Fire Combustion and
Chemistry, Fire Retardancy, Analytical
Chemistry, Large Scale Testing, Fire Modelling,
“Many people believe that the biggest killer in a
fire is carbon monoxide. In fact, it is more likely,
particularly if nitrogen containing materials are
being burnt, to be hydrogen cyanide, which is
25 times more toxic than carbon monoxide.”
and High Altitude Low Pressure Test Methods
located in Lhasa. Therefore, given their
productivity, and these facilities, it is a
wonderful opportunity to exploit the unique
expertise of UCLan in fire toxicity and
mechanisms of fire retardancy, with the
complementary expertise of China’s leading
fire laboratory.
In terms of testing, do they have large
scale facilities?
They have a lot of large scale test methods
that we are not able to have here because of
the space and the cost. They have a full-scale
room connected with a corridor, which is the
standard test method for testing the
flammability and toxicity of any product. They
also have a five-floor building where we can
look at the smoke, fire gases and particle
distribution, and how this relates to aspects of
toxicity. They also have a high altitude, low
pressure test environment to enable testing
Centre for Fire and Hazards Science.
for fires in such things as aircraft. We have
two post doctoral research fellows, and four
research assistants each of whom work on an
individual project within the team. One of the
aspects of the collaboration is to correlate
small-scale tests, which we have in UCLan,
with the large scale burning at USTC. The
other aspects are the analytical measurements
and particle assessments on a large scale with
the particle size distribution and identification
of toxicants present on nanoparticles. This
collaborative research will establish fire toxicity
as a key requirement in fire safety, develop
new products of low fire toxicity and develop
models to predict the fire behaviour of
materials. This places UCLan in a unique
position to lead on rapid prototyping of new
fire safe materials. In addition, it will increase
the fire safety of general consumer and
building products, and provide industries with
the know-how to meet the new stringent
environmental and fire hazard regulations.

10 Feature Articles
Finding Faults in Aircraft Wings
and Human Knees
An interview with Professor Lik-Kwan Shark
School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences
Professor Mike Holmes, Head of the Graduate
Research School, and Alison Naylor went to
meet with Professor Lik-Kwan Shark to talk
about the work currently going on in the
Applied Digital Signal and Image Processing
Research Centre & the Centre for Advanced
Digital Manufacturing Technology.
Can you give me a brief outline of your
area of research?
My area of work is very much crossdisciplinary;
mainly applying signal and image
processing for different disciplines, sectors and
domains. Lancashire is one of the most
important high value manufacturing regions
in the UK and therefore we are working on
signal and image processing with
manufacturing industry. In addition, we have
a number of leading hospitals in the area –
Christies, Blackpool and Preston hospitals –
with whom we work on new medical
diagnostic methods, derived from signal and
image processing. Essentially the problems of
signal and image processing are the same in
both areas because it is all data. These two
areas are our main source of funding.
It is data from a variety of different
sources and then processing it to extract
information about that system or process?
It could be processing, or it could be the
visualisation of the data and then making
intelligent decisions based on the data.
The other area is more on the interactive and
immersive digital environment using our 3-D
visualisation cave display technology. This is
particularly useful for environmental
monitoring, and remote sensing, because
they are all dealing with huge data sets that
require processing.
Can you illustrate this by some
examples; maybe from the industrial
engineering side?
On the manufacturing side, my research has
a strong focus on ‘non-destructive testing’,
which means evaluating and analysing a
structure's integrity without destroying it in
the process. You cannot cut through a
component to see if it has any holes because
it will no longer function as a serviceable
component. The whole idea is to “see”
inside the structure without destroying it so
that it is still usable after testing. This is
important in high value manufacturing
where the parts are safety critical. For
example in industries such as aerospace,
submarines, nuclear, or even in the food
industry. It is to do with the quality control
of the product that will go on to be used.
If you take, for example, an aircraft
frame where you want to see whether
there are any cracks in the frame; would
you be using X-rays, ultrasonics or
combination?
The aircraft frame is a primary structure of an
aircraft and its integrity is critical! Typically,
ultrasonics, X-rays and a variety of inspection
methods are used in order to detect defects.
Obviously, such a structure is huge. You need
to be able to examine it in a rapid manner
otherwise, the manufacturing process will be
slowed down. For example you make a wing
and it takes you maybe a week, to go
through each pixel of the ultrasound image
or each pixel of the X-ray image to say
whether it is sound or not. That is too long,
because by this time another aircraft wing
will be in line and it might have the same
manufacturing error. You not only need to
know the quality of the finished product but
you also want to feedback to the production
line so you can refine of the process and
make the next one better.

Feature Articles
11
Are you interested then in taking a wing
and applying algorithms that can identify
things like cracks or defects in the frame,
so you don’t have to search through pixel
by pixel? The algorithm is doing the
analysis for you.
That is correct. This is automatic analysis.
The other thing is to do what we call data
fusion; mixing data from several different
techniques or modalities. For example we
might acquire an X-ray and a ultrasound
image of a component, apply our algorithm
to overlay the two images and to compare
the two images and from that you could
identify more easily and quickly a defect in
the structure.
Another technology we use is called
shearography. When you examine a
component there are two ways you can
examine it. The “unloaded situation” means
that you take an image of the component but
it is not under load or stress. Shearography
puts the component under load or stress. An
optical interference pattern is then taken of
the surface deformation of the component.
So you are looking for surface rather
than volume defects?
No, it can pick up sub-surface defects as well,
because some materials such as composite
materials have known elasticities and it is
possible to identify sub-surface defects. We
can also look at the temperature distribution
on the surface of the component. Regions
containing a defect will have non-uniform
distributions and can be detected.
You can essentially overlay data from a
variety of modalities and use your
algorithm to identify areas where there
are potential failures or problems?
Yes. We can also use CAD (Computer Aided
Design) data. CAD data is another modality
because CAD data also tells us what the ideal
component should be like. The whole idea is
that different data sets can be superimposed
on top of each other to reveal defects..
So somebody presses a button and a lot
of analysis and comparison happens
automatically and then you are looking
at an image of an aircraft wing and it
could be highlighting where there is
something wrong?
Yes. That is the whole idea. The inspection
process is speeded up, so manufacturers can
have a higher throughput and identify if
there are problems in the component
manufacture. This also reduces
environmental impact by eliminating scraps.
“Previously people thought that hospitals and aircraft
manufacturing were two totally different businesses but
from my point of view they have a lot of similarities.”
Moving on to your work in medical
research, how does signal and image
processing improve medical treatment?
Most people think that hospitals and aircraft
manufacturing are two totally different
businesses but from my point of view they
have a lot of similarities. One is looking at
components in aircraft and the other is
looking at components of the peoples'
bodies. They are both trying to identify
structural problems. Some of the equipment
used is very similar, in terms of modality;
manufacturers and hospitals both use
ultrasound and X-rays. For us dealing with
these two sectors together whilst unique,
results in cross fertilisation, not just in signal
and image processing but even in inspection
methods, the processes involved, and the
regulatory aspects.
We have applied our techniques to the
monitoring of human knee joints. The idea
came from a technique used generally in the
engineering industry, called acoustic emission.
Acoustic emission uses a microphone-like
sensor attached to the structure you want to
investigate and when the structure is loaded it
will generate sound. The sound generated is
in the ultrasound range. In the engineering
sector it has been used for monitoring
structures such as bridges, water tanks,
buildings, aircraft engines, etc. We are trying
to translate this particular technology for use
in humans. The idea is that you mount the
same sensor on a joint and, when the joint is
loaded by moving, sounds are generated. We
did some trials comparing the healthy knee
joints of students with those of OA
(osteoarthritis) patients. We observed the
differences between a very young knee and
a very old OA knee based on the amount of
sound emitted. We can now track the
deterioration of knee health with age.
If you know knees are degenerating then
treatment can start at an earlier stage.
I want to ask you about the Centre for
Advanced Digital Manufacturing
Technology – what is happening there and
how is your expertise feeding into that?
Our advanced manufacturing research
focuses on data-driven digital manufacturing
execution. By working with the local
manufacturing sector, we have established
the world first Tele-immersive Digital
Manufacturing platform at the Burnley
campus. It consists of reconfigurable plugand-play
work cells linked by conveyer belts,
it is equipped with various digital tracking
and sensing technologies to provide multiple
data threads such as process performance,
product deviation and energy consumption,
and it is supported by Cisco industrial
network to allow remote control and
monitoring. It represents our vision for the
affordable factory of the future.
Tele-immersive digital manufacturing
execution stems from my research in applying
signal and image processing to aerospace and
medical sectors and development of
immersive and interactive digital
environments. It provides a new and exciting
arena for us to explore the power of data
processing by dealing with much more data
modalities and much larger data sets.

12 Feature Articles
Promoting Normal Childbirth
An interview with Professor Soo Downe
School of Health
Professor Stuart Hampton-Reeves, Head of
the Graduate Research School, and Alison
Naylor went to meet with Professor Soo
Downe to talk about her research and recent
international collaborations in the area of
normal childbirth.
What is the focus of your research?
There is a lot of research on the pathology of
childbirth (as there is in health in general) but
very little on how things go well. I have
become really interested in how the normal
physiology of labour and birth can be
promoted. The main genesis of this research
was a study conducted by a group of
research midwives in 5 different hospitals in
the Trent region, which was published in
2001. We looked at births that were called
“normal” in the notes, and at what actually
happened to those women during those
births. We found that, conservatively, only
about 25% of women overall actually had
normal births without technical interventions.
The response rate to the survey was nearly
100%, and we had over 1000 participants.
The hospitals covered the whole range of
maternity care provision available at the time,
so we were fairly sure that the findings could
be generalised across the country. This
research generated a lot of professional and
political interest, as there are important
health consequences for mother and baby
consequent on how childbirth takes place.
The work led directly to the foundation of the
Royal College of Midwives Campaign for
Normal Birth (for which I was the
foundational chair). That was really about
promoting the concept of, and skills in,
normal birth among midwives. The
Campaign has been taken up internationally,
partly because there is international concern
about rising rates of Caesarean Section. For
example in China, in some hospitals the
caesarean section rate is 80%, and across
Europe it ranges from 13% approximately in
Demark to 35% Italy. This variation cannot be
justified by case mix, and it has important
clinical and psychosocial consequences, for
the mother, baby, and family.
What brought you into research in the
first place – what got you started off on a
research career?
I had a degree before I came into midwifery
(in literature and linguistics) so I came with an
enquiring mind. In the middle of my degree,
I spent some time in Bophuthatswana,
South Africa, when apartheid was still active.
I happened to end up on a mission station
where there were white nuns who were
acting as midwives to black African women in
the homelands. It was at that point that I
thought, if we get birth right we get the
world right. I knew then that midwifery was
my vocation. Although I then practised
clinically for about 15 years after I qualified as
a midwife, I started undertaking research
alongside that clinical practice, as I felt
strongly that maternity care was not
supporting women effectively in achieving
the optimum birth for them, their babies, and
their future health and wellbeing.
So there is a political dimension to your
work then?
Absolutely – definitely. That’s right. I am not
a neutral scientist. I have a definite agenda.
I get invited across the world to talk about
normal birth, because this is also an agenda
that resonates internationally: for example,
this year, I have been invited to talk about
normal birth and the importance of
midwifery, or planning/running related
Soo (far right) in Hawaii with colleagues
from the epigenetic group.
research studies with colleagues, in the US
(Hawaii, California and Michigan), The
Sudan, China, Sweden, Switzerland, and
Malta. There is not country in the world
where this does not matter!. Locally, we
have also been working to maximise normal
childbirth, most recently in supporting the
development of the new birth centre that
has been set up in Blackburn, which is
probably the biggest birth centre in the
country at the moment.
What specific projects are you involved
in now?
We’ve been awarded €400,000 from the EU
for a project called Childbirth Concerns,
Consequences & Challenges, which is looking
at what could make child birth better across
Europe. There are 21 countries engaged in
this and over 50 people, mostly in Europe but
also in South Africa, China, Israel and
Australia. We are also being funded by the
Department of Health NIHR to do a
randomised control trial, teaching women to
hypnotise themselves when they are pregnant
so that they can use that in labour to help
them with labour pain. We are about half
way through that project at the moment.
We also have funding (from Wellbeing of
Women) for a midwife, Jo Holleran, who is
based in the East Lancashire Hospitals’ Trust.
She is undertaking an ethnography of
computerisation on a specific labour ward,
and the consequent social dynamics between
the midwife, the mother/partner, and
obstetric and anaesthetic colleagues, to see
how this supports or hinders optimal
childbirth. Internationally, I am doing some
work with Professor Hannah Dahlen in
Australia looking at how woman in labour
use different spaces and places, and I am
co-supervising a PhD student with Professor
Marie Berg at the University of Gothenburg,
as part of an Action Researc h study that is
examining the social interactions that occur
when women first enter a hospital in labour.
Naturally your work involves the NHS –
could you comment on the impact of
your work on the way that NHS
midwives work?

Feature Articles
13
I run a masters module, titled ‘normal birth,
evidence and debate’, which is based on our
research programme. It is usually local
midwives who attend the face-to-face
sessions, but we also have students from
across the UK, and (by distance learning)
international students. The primary focus of
learning for that module is around story
telling. As well as direct teaching on theory
and evidence, each midwife has to tell a critical
story of a birth they were involved in. As they
tell it in front of the rest of group we write it
on the board and at each point the rest of
students or myself can ask questions like:
“OK, how did you feel here?”; “how do you
think the obstetrician/partner felt?”; “what is
the evidence for this procedure or approach”;
“what kind of theoretical framework might
explain this”. As these various layers are
unpacked, the students re-engage with
emotions and values as well as with evidence
and theory. The student evaluations suggest
that they go away with a much more
comprehensive understanding of why people
behave the way that they do, particularly
around normalising or not normalising
childbirth. It is a reflexive module which helps
them to think through the consequences of
how things are. Some students have also
reported that they believe the module has
equipped them to argue the case for changing
the service for the better where they work.
Are there any other ways in which your
research feeds into your teaching?
All the undergraduate teaching I do is based
on elements of our research programme.
Apart from our normal birth research
findings, which is the basis of a session that I
teach to all the undergraduate students, and
of the masters module described above, we
have also developed and published a new
methodological approach to metasynthesis of
qualitative evidence, so I teach a session on
systematic review and meta-synthesis to the
masters and PhD students. I also introduce
the undergraduates to the science of
knowledge – why we know what we know,
why positivism is currently supervalued, and
how to get beyond ‘normal science’ thinking.
I am fascinated by the different disciplines
that underpin your work including science,
social policy, psychology and even cultural
politics. How do you think of yourself and as
academic, where do you place yourself?
I’m a polyglot! The great thing about being a
clinical academic is you don’t necessarily have
to have a specific methodological allegiance.
For example, we have just written a book on
phenomenology, but we are also conducting
randomised trials, ethnographies, surveys,
and basic interview and focus group studies.
I believe in integrating all of these particular
ways of looking at the world. I suppose at
heart I am an interpretivist: I think that you
can accommodate all these various ways of
seeing to get at a good enough version of
the truth through different lenses. This view is
borne out in the composition of our research
team: across mine and Fiona Dykes’ group
(the midwifery research cluster) there are
currently 2 midwives (Fiona and I) a historian,
two psychologists, a physiologist, a
biochemist, a complimentary therapist,
and a social scientist.
Last year saw the Sixth Normal Labour
and Birth Research Conference - can you
tell us about that & what future events
are planned?
We held the first one here at UCLan in 2001
and since then we’ve held it biennially at
Grange-over- Sands, because we wanted to
bring people right out of academia, right out
of cities and have an event which was almost
suspended in time. The conference provides
an opportunity for junior and senior
researchers (midwives and others) from across
the world to talk together. It is very informal.
We mix art and science – so we have drama
and we have music, but we also have really
high level science as well. By request from
overseas midwives and others involved in
midwifery practice and research, we now hold
it internationally on alternate years, so in 2010
it was held in Vancouver; this year it is in Hang
Zhou in China; in 2014 it will be in Brazil.
I understand you have recently returned
from a trip to Honolulu to work with a
team on childbirth and epigenetics –
can you tell me about this work?
We are increasingly aware that just saying,
‘routine intervention childbirth is
economically a problem and women don’t
like it, and it causes some morbidity’ is not
enough. We have begun to look at
something much more profound. There is
increasing evidence that there is an
association between the mode of birth
and autoimmune diseases such as Type
1 Diabetes in the under 5’s, multiple
sclerosis, bronchiolitis, asthma and
eczema. We don't yet know why
this might be. Our hypothesis is that
child birth affects the epigenetics of
DNA and that is passed down through
generations. So there could potentially
be damage caused by different ways of
doing child birth and different interventions
in child birth that not only might affect the
infant of that mother but might then be
passed down to that infant’s child. If our
research supports our hypothesis, we think
that health policy makers will sit up and take
a bit more notice. However, I also
acknowledge that we may find that our
hypothesis is disproved, or even that
intervention in childbirth has long-term
benefits for some mothers and babies, and,
if this is the case, I will be very happy to
promote these interventions for the specific
groups that need them.

14 Feature Articles
Protecting Your Identity
An interview with Dr Mahmood Shah
Lancashire Business School
Identity theft costs the UK economy an estimated £1.7bn per year according to the
Home Office Identity Fraud Steering Committee and there is no denying that it is one
of the fastest growing crimes in the UK. Identity theft can be described as the theft
and use of personal identifying information of an actual person, as opposed to the
use of a fictitious identity.
“Consumers are overloaded with having to
remember too many passwords and pin
numbers that many don’t take the safety of
their personal data seriously….as we have
seen, no one is immune to identity fraud.”
Identity theft can range from somebody
using someone else’s credit card details
illegally to make purchases over the internet
or telephone; from having an entire business
identity assumed by another person; to
opening bank accounts and taking out loans;
from making tax returns to conducting other
business illegally in a company name.
Anyone can be a victim of identity theft and
the people committing the crimes can be
located anywhere across the globe.
Both identity theft and identity fraud can
pose a real threat to the financial health of
an organisation and its business reputation.
Unfortunately many smaller organisations fail
to fully recover from this type of fraud and a
number cease trading altogether.

Feature Articles
15
Crime Prevention
UCLan has been working in the field of crime
prevention since 2004 when the Crime
Solutions initiative was launched to provide
knowledge, support and expertise for those
fighting crime in the business community.
Co-ordinated by UCLan and in partnership
with the University of Portsmouth, the
initiative received funding from the former
North West Regional Development Agency,
the Higher Education Funding Council for
England (HEFCE), and Government Office
North West. As a result, 50 business-led
projects were funded and the Crime
Solutions initiative was designated a HEFCE
Centre for Knowledge Exchange for the anticrime
sector.
This initiative led on to a European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF) project which
partnered UCLan and Bolton Metropolitan
Council to support small businesses in the
North West in reducing the impact of crime
on their business and future development.
Businesses were assisted in low-cost and easy
to apply methods of crime prevention
together with the development of several
business-watch groups and cluster networks.
As a result, more than 120 regional jobs
were reported to be safeguarded, along with
£13m worth of increased sales and more
than £9m sales.
UCLan’s Crime Reduction Unit continues to
lead the way and has recently delivered a
number of UK-wide workshops on freight
crime (see page 4), a problem which is
estimated to cost the UK economy up to an
additional £250 million per year. Supported by
funding from the Economic and Social
Research Council (ESRC), organisations have
been brought together to discuss the range
and scope of road freight crime, culminating in
an inaugural conference held in January 2012.
Research at UCLan
Dr Mahmood Shah, a Senior Lecturer in
Business Systems at UCLan, is an expert in
the field of identity theft and fraud. He took
his PhD in e-banking and security and he has
advised many businesses, consumers and
policy makers about the impact of identity
fraud and prevention strategies, not only on
the individual or the business, but on the UK
as a whole.
Research at UCLan began with identifying the
extent of the problem and losses, not only in
the UK but worldwide. This was followed
with a review into common methods and
approaches businesses use to address and
reduce the impact of the problem. Much of
the fraud in recent years has taken place
within the on-line retail sector, with
businesses and individuals becoming more
reliant, and seemingly more confident with
e-commerce and on-line communication.
However, as technology becomes more
sophisticated, so too do the fraudsters.
Dr Shah has been investigating how seriously
companies are taking consumer safety. He
doesn’t feel it is top of the agenda: many
organisations bury their heads, or rather their
policies, in the sand, perhaps feeling that if
they inform customers too much about their
policies on identity fraud, consumers will lose
confidence and stop doing business with
them. This is a risk in the current climate that
organisations are not willing to take. However,
Dr Shah argues, being open about this issue
can actually help increase buyer confidence
and educate the consumer in the part they
need to play in protecting their identity.
Working with one of the largest UK-based
on-line retailers Dr Shah’s research team has
investigated the issue of consumer
carelessness. He comments, “Consumers are
so overloaded with having to remember too
many different passwords and pin numbers
that many don’t take their personal data
seriously. They use information close to them
such as a spouse or child’s name, and with
the increase of social media this information
can be easily found out. As we have seen,
no one is immune to identity fraud.”
By working with UCLan, on-line retailers and
other companies who handle sensitive data
can implement strategies and policies to
inform the consumer of the issues. This is
one way of tacking the fraudsters. Dr Shah
has also seen evidence of organisations
working together to look at best practice
models across sectors.
The research team has also been studying
what is happening internationally, as this gives
UK businesses collateral to manage the
situation and minimise losses as best they can.
Dr Shah adds, “This issue is not going to go
away, and in some cases it is getting worse
through the issue of internal fraud and the
selling of data. This is an area which we are
currently working on. Businesses that handle
sensitive data need to ensure recruitment and
monitoring policies are in place to prevent and
tackle this growing issue.”
Research has shown that in countries such as
France and Germany, businesses frequently
use third-party interventions that are better
equipped to handle secure information.
Dr Shah understands that this may not be an
option for some UK companies as it may
deprive them of the data they use to sell
more products and services. However, Dr
Shah feels strongly that “the very existence of
e-communications is under threat if we don’t
control this issue. Businesses need to take
identify theft as seriously as they are taking
other Corporate Social Responsibility issues.”
Research team includes:
Dr Matthias Meckel, Dr Marion Schulz,
Romanus Okeke, Ahmed Usman and
Sandeep Sadyamarayan.

16 Feature Articles
Detecting Deception:
Researching the Lies
An interview with Dr Sandi Mann and Dr Paul Seager
School of Psychology
Times are tough for everyone, not just
for businesses but individuals as well.
People are finding more inventive ways
to try and make money and sometimes,
unfortunately, it crosses the line into
fraudulent behaviour.
Take the infamous ‘crash for cash’ scandal as
an example, believed to cost the insurance
industry approximately £2 billion every single
year, with 1,500 new claims submitted per
day. ‘Crash for cash’ is just one area of many
where deception is a growing trend. This is
leaving the legal profession with a real
headache with more and more solicitors
concerned that detecting lies is a big part of
the job and one that is becoming more and
more important.
Sandi Mann
With this in mind, UCLan has worked in
partnership with North West-based law firm,
Birchall Blackburn, to develop an accredited
legal course called: ‘Managing Deception in
the Legal Profession’.
It all started with senior psychology lecturers
at UCLan, Sandi Mann and Paul Seager, who
used their knowledge and expertise to write
a book in 2008 entitled: Would I Lie To You:
Deception detection in relationships at work
and in life. They saw this growing trend at an
early stage and quickly pinpointed the
potential effect it would have on a number
of professions, not least the legal sector.
Sandi used her existing relationships with
Birchall Blackburn to create a jointly
developed course that could help the
Paul Seager
industry detect deception. Through
consultation, the course decided to focus on
legal professionals that deal with family &
matrimonial law, property and personal
injury compensation claims.
It was trialled to over 100 Birchall Blackburn
employees first to gauge feedback and help
make enhancements to the course, before
being accredited and rolled out to the industry.
Feedback from industry representatives proved
a priceless source, with additions made to
include interactive aspects such as video and
group discussions. What has been developed
is one four-hour session that involves video
role play presentations, questionnaires, group
discussions and practical seminars based on
the issues raised by employees who are
concerned by possible money-laundering,
fraudulent claims or how to manage the client
relationship whilst trying to detect deception
Commenting on the course, senior lecturer
at UCLan, Sandi Mann, said: “Detecting
deception in the legal profession is a real worry
and with the trial, we saw first hand how
difficult the professionals found it to spot.”
“The course is much more than simply
pointing out ways of detecting deception;
it covers how to maintain the client
relationship throughout this process and
gives solicitors confidence to cope with
issues of deception management.”
“About 100 of Birchall Blackburn's staff, including myself,
have attended this course and I highly recommend it to other
law firms. We learned useful techniques to help detect when
a client may not be being truthful and, as well as being
educational, the course is highly interactive and entertaining."

Feature Articles
17
“We’ve known the employees at Birchall Blackburn
for a number of years and found their input
invaluable. It’s great to be in a position where we
have a course which has been fully accredited by
the Law Society and where we can offer the service
to other legal firms throughout the UK.”
Research and findings
Interestingly, the very basis of the course was
confirmed after reviewing the questionnaires that
were given to the employees at Birchall Blackburn
at the start of the course. The vast majority, 95 per
cent of those questioned, stated they were better
at detecting lies than they actually were.
The questionnaire asked them to indicate on a
scale of 0 – 100 how good they thought they
were at lie detection at the start of the courses,
with 95 per cent rating themselves at 60 per cent
or higher. The actual figure, after being tested,
was that most of them, again 95 per cent, scored
50 per cent or below.
Further revealing statistics were identified from the
questionnaires when asked, as legal professionals,
when do they need to detect deception at work.
The most popular answer, given by 40 per cent of
respondents, was when dealing with claims for
personal injury, when people could be exaggerating
injuries or lying about how they got injured.
Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) also stated
that they needed deception detection
skills when first meeting a new client,
while 18 per cent needed to detect
lies when dealing with potential
money laundering cases,
emphasising how important
the training would be and
how the skills are vital in their
day-to-day roles.
Paul Pickering, Partner and at
Birchall Blackburn, gave his view on the
course: “About 100 of Birchall Blackburn's
staff, including myself, have attended this course
and I highly recommend it to other law firms.
We learned useful techniques to help detect when
a client may not be being truthful and, as well as
being educational, the course is highly interactive
and entertaining."
Feedback from other employees at Birchall
Blackburn was unanimously positive, with
comments praising the format of the course and
revealing how eye-opening the course has been
in identifying their weaknesses in spotting
deception. After receiving accreditation in March,
the next step is for more and more legal firms to
take advantage of the knowledge and expertise
gained at the course, while helping employees
spot this deception.

18 Funding, Awards and Recognition
UCLan’s Innovation Voucher Scheme
Inspires Next Generation Running Shoe
A scheme designed to promote engagement and innovation between the knowledge base found at
UCLan and business, has recently seen Spinks Springs, part of the Harrison Spinks family of businesses,
working closely with UCLan academics to complete biomechanical testing of a prototype running shoe.
Yorkshire-based Spinks Springs have a long
history of manufacturing their unique low
height pocket springs; Posturfil, Flexecore
and HD Micro Pocket Springs for products
ranging from bedding to automotive seating.
When progressing into exploring the latest in
footwear technology, Spinks Springs realised
the potential of partnering with leading
academics in biomechanics at UCLan.
Since embarking on the scheme the
company has benefited from the abundance
of knowledge and expertise from the
academic community at the University.
UCLan’s Professor Jim Richards and Steven
Lindley have worked closely with the
manufacturing company to extensively test
the prototype running shoe that incorporates
Spinks Springs most advanced spring
technology into its design.
The research conducted by UCLan experts
aimed to illuminate biomechanical questions
around the product such as whether the
modified shoe reduced the impact on the
foot during heel strike running and the shoes
potential to reduce sports injury and improve
running performance.
By working with UCLan the company has
received the independent scientific data
needed to move to the next stage of
development. This data will also help push
future evidence based purchasing, greatly
improving the market potential of the product.
Spinks Springs believe that the joint project has
given them a fresh direction into the area of
sport footwear and protective equipment.
As a result of working with UCLan a
Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) has
been secured between Harrison Spinks and
UCLan, aiming to continue the innovative
research and successful relationship formed
from the Innovation Voucher Scheme.
Spinks Springs commented that the
Innovation Voucher funding was extremely
valuable as it allowed them to explore this
relationship with UCLan that was ultimately
instrumental in developing and improving
their product.
By working with UCLan the company has
received the independent scientific data needed
to move to the next stage of development.

Funding, Awards and Recognition
19
Lancashire Crime Case
Aide Wins UKTI Award
A revolutionary facial composite system developed in Lancashire and used
by police forces around the world has won global acclaim after picking up
a prestigious award at a UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) event in London
and finalist in the Times Higher Education Awards 2011.
EvoFIT, which helps victims and witnesses of
crime generate an image of a criminal’s face,
unanimously won the University Excellence
Competition category at the TechWorld
event after competing against 15 other
shortlisted universities from around the UK.
The software system, created by the
University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and
the University of Stirling, requires witnesses
and victims to repeatedly select from screens
of complete faces, with breeding, to evolve a
composite of the criminal’s face and is
helping to solve crime investigations
throughout the world.
The TechWorld event focused on the
international technology market, welcoming
over 400 industry leaders from over 50
countries, as well as the UK’s Secretary of
State for Business, Innovation and Skills,
Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP.
The EvoFIT team developed an information
poster which was judged by a panel made up
of four professors from universities in Oxford,
Nottingham, Southampton and Sheffield.
They commented on the enormous potential
of the project and the impact it could have
on solving crime around the world.
Research and development of EvoFIT has
spanned over 12 years, evolving as computer
software updates occur. Latest laboratory
research indicates that the correct naming
rate of an EvoFIT composite is 45 per cent,
following the construction of a two day old
memory of a face.
This compares to 5 per cent for the widelyused
traditional E-FIT system, where people
select features such as eyes, nose and
mouth type.
EvoFIT is currently being used by 11 police
forces around the UK including Lancashire,
Manchester, Derbyshire and Cumbria, as well
internationally in forces in Romania, Israel and
the United States of America. One of the
most recent cases was in Manchester, where
a serial rapist was arrested and convicted
following two attacks in 2009 and 2010,
following an appeal using an EvoFIT image.
The current arrest rate for forces that use
EvoFIT is approximately 50 per cent, following
construction of a criminal face image.
“Police forces around the world are
starting to use our system to help solve
crimes and it’s a great achievement for the
region that something built in Lancashire is
having such a dramatic affect globally.
This is fantastic recognition and really
extends the reach of the EvoFIT system to
a much wider audience.”
Dr Charlie Frowd, School of Psychology at UCLan

20 Funding, Awards and Recognition
UCLan Secures £1.4m ERDF
Support to Help Local Industry
Embrace Advanced Technology
With the increase of global competition
there is some evidence to suggest that a
number of small to medium enterprises
(SMEs) in the North West are struggling
to grow due to a lack of understanding,
and in some cases reluctance on how to
embrace advanced technology.
There is a perception that higher value
manufacturing technologies such as digital
manufacturing is solely for larger companies
and this perception is hampering growth
within the regional economy.
Supported by the European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF), the UCLan-led
Digital Integrated Manufacturing Execution
(DigitME) initiative will help demystify new
manufacturing technologies for SMEs by
providing in-depth intelligence. The initiative
will enable organisations to investigate how
to incorporate these new technologies
allowing them to make informed decisions
on future growth through innovation.
More than 120 regional SMEs will be assisted
through personalised advice and support
enabling them to gain an insight into their
own potential to adopt specific digital
technologies, and therefore helping boost the
manufacturing sector in the region.
There is a perception
that higher value
manufacturing
technologies such as
digital manufacturing is
solely for larger
companies and this
perception is hampering
growth within the
regional economy.

Funding, Awards and Recognition
21
UCLan Receives Funding to Help
Rejuvenate North West SMEs
Through £2.3M of funding support from
the European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF), UCLan will assist SMEs in
the North West region to embrace new
approaches in the use of creative design,
new media and ICT technology.
Taking advantage of UCLan’s expertise in
nurturing entrepreneurship and aiding
established SMEs to grow and develop,
the initiative will help organisations realise
the potential in adopting these approaches
to further develop their business.
Businesses will be assisted in reviewing and
auditing their current use of digital design
and technology, followed by investigation
into the possibility of attracting new business
through the deployment of innovative
solutions such as cross-platform mobile
phone solutions, virtual learning
environments, search engine optimisation,
viral marketing and on-line communications
including social media networks.
By developing these higher education to
business connections the North West will not
only benefit from an increased skill base but
also from the retention of creative industries
graduates in the region.
Businesses will
be assisted in
reviewing and
auditing their
current use of
digital design
and technology.

22 Professors in Profile
A Career in Catalysis:
Exceptions That
Prove Dowden’s Rule
An interview with Professor Gary Bond
School of Forensic & Investigative Sciences
Gary Bond is Professor of Materials Chemistry in the School of Forensic & Investigative
Sciences at UCLan. Gary joined the academic staff at the University of Central
Lancashire in 1995 after having spent a brief period at Leeds Metropolitan University.
He is the Academic Lead & Principal Lecturer in Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry.
Following Gary’s Inaugural Professorial Lecture which was based around “Dowden’s rule” –
Dennis Dowden is commonly regarded as being one of the most eminent catalytic chemists of
the 20th Century, his observation led him to suggest that the greater the activity that a catalyst
displays then the lower will be its selectivity towards the desired product. Professor Bond’s work
has centred on a range of catalytic reactions that do not obey Dowden’s rule; the exceptions
that prove the rule. Mike Holmes joined Gary in his office in JB Firth Building to find out more.

Professors in Profile 23

24 Professors in Profile
Can I start by asking you what your
research is about? I know it is about
catalysis, but can you tell me in a bit
more detail.
Since the start of my research career, I have
been interested in catalysis, which is the
acceleration of a chemical reaction or
enabling a chemical reaction to take place at
a lower temperature. Catalysis is of huge
commercial and environmental importance,
not only providing financial savings to the
chemical industry but also enabling the
clean-up of environmental pollutants in, for
example, vehicle exhaust emissions. Initially
I worked with ICI Polymers Division on the
hydrogenation of nitriles (a nitrile is a
compound that contains the chemical group
-CN), which is important industrially in the
production of nylon and a variety of other
common chemical products.
Can I interrupt and clarify what happens
in catalysis? For catalysis to occur you
need a material, such as platinum to be
present, to enable the reaction to go
faster or take place at a lower
temperature?
That is right. The active catalyst, we are
talking generally about metal catalysts such
as platinum, needs to be present but you
don’t have a big solid piece of platinum. It is
just not effective. The catalyst is produced by
dispersing the metal in atomic or very small
ensembles of atoms on the surface of an
inert substrate, such as silica or alumina.
By dispersing them, you increase the surface
area and the effectiveness of the catalyst.
How did your interest in microwave
catalysis develop?
It was through our work with ICI that I
developed an interest in microwave catalysis.
There was a lot of early work, and early
reports in the literature, of microwaves being
used to give rapid reactions and vastly
enhanced rates. There appeared to be this
wonderful microwave effect! Therefore, we
set about a programme of work involving
ICI and EPSRC to look at the possible
advantageous effects of microwaves on
catalysts. Since those initial studies, I have
had a number of EPSRC awards in the area
of microwaves. I have developed the
technique of microwave thermal analysis in
conjunction with Professor Phil Barnes from
the University of Huddersfield, and have
worked with groups throughout the UK.
I have had visiting professorship at the
University of Technology of Compiègne
where we have developed specialised
reactors for studying catalysts under
microwave conditions. Currently I am a
member of the AMPERE Committee –
the Association for Microwave Power in
Education and Research in Europe.
I know a few years ago you were
working with companies like Jaguar on
microwave catalysis of exhaust fumes.
Can you tell me about that?
We have a strong track record of working
with industry. With Jaguar we had an
extensive research and development
programme. What we were looking at were
systems for the removal of diesel particulate
matter from vehicle exhaust streams. This
material is mainly made up of carbon, which
is deposited in the exhaust filter leading to
the filter eventually becoming ineffective.
The idea was to design a system, which used
microwaves to oxidise the carbon particles to
carbon dioxide and water so the filter had a
much longer life. Whilst allowing
combustion, it could not produce any back
pressure in the exhaust system, and had to
have a very minimum size in terms of the
effect on the floor pan of the vehicle. We
started developing a microwave induced
plasma to perform the oxidation reaction.
While we took this to vehicle trials, it was
apparent at a relatively early stage that the
exhaust velocities required and the available
power on board the vehicle were
incompatible. We therefore changed tactic
slightly, and started to look at systems for
the re-generation of diesel particulate filters.
We developed two patents on a prototype
system, which Jaguar currently holds. These
have been vehicle tested but given the
current legislation, it is not cost effective for
them to change the system they have.
Microwaves give a clean and efficient
alternative, but it is a case of whether or not
the consumer will pay the extra cost that is
required. Currently manufacturers can stay
within current EU legislation for emissions
using existing technologies. It is all based on
finance, and not always using the best
technology that is available.
What is currently engaging you in
your research?
Currently I am looking at microwave induced
plasma. I am part of a European partnership,
which is looking at its beneficial effects in
the production, and regeneration of
heterogeneous catalysts. A microwave
induced plasma is what is known as a
“cold” plasma; it has a high energy but low
thermal temperature. You can produce very
reactive species in that plasma, so in terms of
preparing catalysts, we can de-compose
catalyst pre-cursors at very low thermal
temperatures. This means that effects such
as the sintering of catalytic particles into
larger clumps is reduced. Usually you want
to keep your active particles as far apart as
possible giving the maximum catalytic
surface area. We already have companies
interested in this process.
For efficient catalysis to occur, you want
the catalytic surfaces to be separated
from each other?
The very small particles of catalytic material
such as platinum are active and can migrate
across the surface of the substrate, the
support, very easily. Therefore, you want to
expose your catalyst to the lowest possible
temperature during preparation to reduce
sintering or clumping. A cold plasma allows
you to do that.
“Since the start of my research career,
I have been interested in catalysis,
which is the acceleration of a chemical
reaction or enabling a chemical reaction
to take place at a lower temperature.”
Can I ask you about a cold plasma,
because it won’t be a concept that
many people are familiar with.
What is a cold plasma?
Most people describe plasma as probably the
fourth state of matter. In a plasma, generated
from a gas, the atoms have been ionised into
their component charges i.e. electrons and
atoms carrying an electric charge. Argon is
an easily ionised gas so it is a good base, but
then we also need a reactive component, so

Professors in Profile
25
we would put some oxygen in there, to
make oxygen radicals. These will effectively
oxidise the organic component at a very low
temperature leaving us our single atom of
metal on the support.
What other projects do you have active
at the moment?
I am working with Professor Harry Eccles in
the John Tyndall centre. We have projects
looking at irradiated graphite, both in terms
of the radioactive C14 content, and its
selective removal from the radioactive
graphite. If we succeed, then we can
probably have that graphite changed from
being an intermediate level waste, which
needs deep repository disposal, into a low
level waste which could be in a shallow
deposit. We are also interested in developing
some technology for the separation of
metals, metal ions, and particularly radio
nuclides which has potential applications for
nuclear clean up, and de-commissioning.
“We have a strong track record of
working with industry. With Jaguar
we had an extensive research and
development programme.”

26 Conferences - Up and Coming
The Dark Tourism Symposium 2012
The first ever dedicated academic centre to dark tourism research will
soon open at the University of Central Lancashire.
Dark tourism (or thanatourism) can be referred to as travel to sites of death, disaster or the
seemingly macabre. It is a subject that has received increasingly academic and media attention
over the past decade so. Yet, despite this increased attention, the subject area remains eclectic
and theoretically fragile.
The Institute for Dark Tourism Research (iDTR) aims to become the global hub for dark tourism
scholarship, and will be made up with a number of national and international partners.
The iDTR will be based at the University of Central Lancashire. The iDTR aims to advance
knowledge about the contemporary nature and consequences of visitation to tourist sites of
death, disaster or the seemingly macabre. It will bring together scholars who seek to deliver
internationally recognised research that contributes to the ethical and social scientific
understanding of dark tourism and heritage, as well as to the appropriate development,
management, interpretation and promotion of dark tourism sites, attractions and exhibitions.
The iDTR has several key objectives:
> Build research capacity in the area of
dark tourism in order to publish high
quality outputs.
> Enhance, influence and inform industry
practitioners to ensure the ethical
implementation and management of
dark tourism/heritage sites, attractions
and exhibitions.
> Establish a global reputation as a centre
of excellence for developing innovative
interdisciplinary approaches to dark
tourism research.
> Increase the level of local, national and
international research collaborations with
industry, academia and the media.
> Update and improve knowledge that
informs the curriculum and the teaching of
dark tourism as well as research methods.

Conferences - Up and Coming
27
To formally launch the iDTR, the University of Central Lancashire will host a special
one-day symposium on 24 April 2012 in Preston.
The event will also provide an excellent opportunity to showcase recent dark tourism research,
as well as providing a supportive forum in which to discuss current themes, issues and
consequences of dark tourism.
The event will comprise of seven internationally renowned keynote speakers on dark tourism:
Dr Philip Stone (University of Central Lancashire, UK)
"Mediating Mortality: Dark Tourism and the Significant Other Dead at Ground Zero"
Dr Gilly Carr (The University of Cambridge, UK)
"Self and Other: neglected dark legacies and accepted dark heritage in the Channel Islands"
Dr Tony Johnston (Kings College, London)
"The Dominion of the Dead: Thanatourism and (Other) Worldly Encounters"
Dark tourism
(or thanatourism)
can be referred to as
travel to sites of
death, disaster or the
seemingly macabre.
Prof. Tony Seaton (University of Limerick, Ireland / University of Bedfordshire, UK)
"Flags of Convenience, Rocks of Reification, and Quicksands of Theory:
Charting Thanatourism in 2012"
Prof. Richard Sharpley (University of Central Lancashire, UK)
"Shining Light on Dark Tourism: an introduction of themes, issues and consequences"
Major and Mrs Holt (Major and Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guides and Maps)
"Pioneering the Modern Battlefield Tour"
Tony Openshaw (Director of Marketing - Lancashire & Blackpool Tourist Board)
"Dark Tourism: a visitor economy perspective"
This event is aimed at academics and researchers, the media, students, as well as industry
practitioners who have an interest in dark tourism concepts and practices.

28 Conference Reviews
An Astounding Success for UCLan:
The International Astronomical
Union Symposium 284
In September 2011, UCLan hosted the
prestigious International Astronomical
Union (IAU) Symposium 284. Members
of the IAU attended the four-day event,
which was called "The spectral energy
distribution of galaxies (SED2011)".
The symposium was chaired by UCLan’s
Dr Cristina Popescu, from the Jeremiah
Horrocks Institute (JHI) for Astrophysics
and Supercomputing, and Dr Richard
Tuffs from the Max Planck Institute for
Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany.
The IAU Symposium 284 was one of 10
Symposia held around the world and
sponsored each year by the IAU. It was a
great privilege for UCLan to have been
selected to run this event, which it won in
the face of fierce international competition.
Scientists from all over the world attended,
many of them from world-leading
institutions such as Oxford, Harvard and
Stanford. The conference committee was
truly international: its 14 members included
representatives from Europe, Asia, North and
South America, and Australasia.
For Professor Gordon Bromage, director of JHI,
the conference was an “astounding success”
because it brought together “researchers from
a number of different sub-disciplines, and
fulfilling the interdisciplinary aims and worldlinking
mission objectives of the IAU."
Professor Jay Gallagher, from the University
of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, and a member
of the Scientific Organising Committee of
the conference, said: "This conference had
the ambitious goal of bringing together
astrophysicists working on all spectral ranges,
from gamma-rays to radio wavelengths.
There was actually a high risk that the
concept would not work, as it is so difficult
to bring together specialists working in so
many different fields and make them share
their views and interact in a constructive way.
But the chairs of the conference, Dr Cristina
Popescu and Dr Richard Tuffs managed to
achieve this goal and the conference was a
great success. Everybody was intellectually
enhanced. It was not only a forum for the
top specialists, but also a major opportunity
for the PhD students and young scientists
that were brought from all over the world,
thanks to the IAU grants. I was delighted to
hear from the three PhD students from the
University of Wisconsin that their
participation had given them a new
perspective and understanding of how each
others' work fitted together. This is due to
this symposium."
Enthusiastic comments regarding the IAU
Symposium 284 came from all the participants
to the conference: professors, senior
astronomers and physicists and also earlycareer
researchers, from all over the world.
PhD student, Noelia Jimenez, from the
University of La Plata, Argentina, remarked:
"This wonderful symposium has been a very
enriching experience in all senses. It has
made me think in a completely different way
about galaxies themselves. At the moment I
am finishing my PhD, working in the field of
galaxy formation with numerical methods.
The interaction with colleagues doing
observational work, as well as modellers,
is crucial for the understanding of all the
processes involved in the formation and
evolution of galaxies. For the wise vision and
enormous work of the organisers that
brought to life such a scientific congress,
I am in deep debt."
Professor Gordon Bromage concluded, "I know
that the JHI's and indeed UCLan's reputation
and visibility were greatly enhanced by the
great scientific impact of the symposium."
“This conference had
the ambitious goal
of bringing together
astrophysicists
working on all
spectral ranges,
from gamma-rays to
radio wavelengths.”
Participants of the IAU Symposium 284 gather for the conference photograph.

Events - Up and Coming
29
Forthcoming Events and Conferences
Small Firms’ Summit
16th May 2012
UCLan Burnley Campus, Princess Way, Burnley, BB12 0EQ
This event will address some of the key issues facing small
businesses today. A range of guest speakers and workshop sessions
will enable participants to identify ways to implement best practice
within their organisation.
Undergraduate Research Conference
29th May 2012
UCLan campus, Preston
The multidisciplinary conference will provide final year students the
opportunity to present their dissertation, final year project or any other
original research they have developed through the course of their studies.
International Institute of Nutritional
Sciences & Applied Food Safety Studies
31st May 2012
UCLan campus, Preston (launch event)
This new teaching and research centre will provide undergraduate
courses in Nutrition and Exercise Sciences, Postgraduate courses in
HACC and Food Safety Management, Nutrition and Food Science,
Maternal and Infant Nutrition. Research will cover a range of
nutritional and food safety topics including international nutrition
support, micronutrient deficiencies, effectiveness of food safety
management systems.
Creative Focus Week
15th - 22nd June 2012
UCLan campus, Preston
A series of events to celebrate the achievements of UCLan’s final year
students who are ready to embark on their careers in art, design,
performance, fashion, architecture, film and media.
Lancashire Science Festival
28th - 30th June 2012
UCLan campus, Preston
The inaugural three-day Lancashire Science Festival will feature
stand-up mathematician Matt Parker, Titan the Robot, Dr Mark
Lewney, ‘the rock doctor’ and a science show-floor of interactive
exhibits. Open to the public on 30th June this event will enable
people to share real-world applications of science, technology,
engineering and maths.
Business Enterprise Day,
in conjunction with UK Corporate Games
Friday 13th July 2012
Darwin Building, UCLan campus, Preston
UCLan’s Business Enterprise Day will showcase innovative,
practical products developed by the University. This includes
biomechanical facilities, 3D games development work in partnership
with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and EvoFIT; a revolutionary
facial composite system used by police forces around the world to
catch criminals.
Supporting Internationalisation
through Languages and Culture
in the 21st Century University
19th - 20th July 2012
Greenbank Building, UCLan campus, Preston
This conference, sponsored by UCLan’s School of Languages and
International Studies, aims to explore how language teaching and
learning strategies and cross-cultural understanding support the
cause of internationalisation in the modern Higher Education arena.
This will be of interest to a wide audience of practitioners working in
Higher Education Languages Departments whose work embraces
institutional strategies of internationalisation.
Survive and Thrive: Maximising Opportunities
in the Health and Social Care Sector
26th June 2012
Westleigh Conference Centre, Lea Road, Preston, PR4 0RB
The NHS is changing rapidly and the challenge for all operating in
this new environment is how to adapt, how to survive, and most
important of all, how to thrive. This event will offer practical,
commercially-focused support and services to social enterprises and
Third Sector organisations.

30 Book Launches
Book Launches
Examination of the Newborn: An Evidence Based Guide
Examination of the Newborn: An Evidence Based Guide is a practical and comprehensive
guide for practitioners to enable them to undertake physical examination of neonates safely
and competently. Incorporating the current UK Screening Committee NIPE Standards and
Competencies, this book brings into focus what 'good practice' should look like against
current national standards.
Author
Anne Lomax
University of Central Lancashire
Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN 978-1-4051-9774-8
Year 2011
A valuable resource for midwives, advanced neonatal nurse practitioners, and health visitors, as
well as all other health professionals involved in the examination of the newborn, this text covers:
> Neonatal examination and history taking
> Development of the heart and lungs and transition to extrauterine life
> Cardiovascular and respiratory assessment of the baby
> Assessment of the neonatal skin and jaundice
> Examination of the eyes head and neck
> Examination of the abdomen and genitalia
> Abnormalities of the lower extremities including developmental dysplasia of the hip
> The dysmorphic infant and common congenital abnormalities
> Behavioural issues
> Professional issues in practice
> Safeguarding Children
Examination of the Newborn provides essential reading for all health care professionals who are
continually striving to update their knowledge and contribute to the standardisation of care on
a national scale.
"The approach of clearly describing the development processes of the Heart and Lungs and
Transition to Extrauterine Life followed by the Cardiovascular and Respiratory Assessment is
excellent and really enhances knowledge and understanding... The book is very well illustrated
with tables, graphs, photographs and competencies."
(Nursing Times.net, 12 December 2011)

Book Launches
31
Woody Guthrie, American Radical
Woody Guthrie, American Radical reclaims the politically radical profile of America's greatest
balladeer. Although he achieved a host of national honors and adorns U.S. postage stamps,
and although his song "This Land Is Your Land" is often considered the nation's second
national anthem, Woody Guthrie committed his life to the radical struggle.
Author
Professor William Kaufman
University of Central Lancashire
University of Illinois Press
ISBN 978-0-252-03602-6
Year 2011
Will Kaufman traces Guthrie's political awakening and activism throughout the Great Depression,
World War II, the Cold War, the Korean War, the Civil Rights struggle, and the poison of
McCarthyism. He examines Guthrie's role in the development of a workers' culture in the context
of radical activism spearheaded by the Communist Party of the USA, the Popular Front, and the
Congress of Industrial Organizations. Kaufman also establishes Guthrie's significance in the
perpetuation of cultural front objectives into the era of the "New Left" and beyond, particularly
through his influence on the American and international protest song movement.
Utilizing a wealth of previously unseen archival materials such as letters, song lyrics, essays,
personal reflections, photos, and other manuscripts, Woody Guthrie, American Radical
introduces a heretofore unknown Woody Guthrie: the canny political strategist, fitful thinker,
and cultural front activist practically buried in the general public's romantic celebration of the
"Dust Bowl Troubadour."
"Overdue rediscovery of folk music’s great agitator."
Kirkus Reviews
"As Will Kaufman argues in his wonderful and uncompromising book, Woody Guthrie,
American Radical, the folksinger was not driven by some abstract commitment to justice alone,
but by the vision of a cooperative planned economy, one that could meet people’s needs
directly and foster meaningful social, economic, and racial equality."
Monthly Review
“Guthrie committed himself to radical political struggle. Discover more in this handsome,
innovatively compiled tome.”
NME
“I cannot deny that in my search for the radical Guthrie I learned
some things that I would rather not have learned; but they never
obliterated what I still consider to be the core of his being and the
reason why I continue to broadcast his voice as the representative
voice of my America ….”
Extract from Introduction [pg xxv] of Woody Guthrie, American Radical

32 Book Launches
The Textbook of Non-medical Prescribing
The Textbook of Non-medical Prescribing addresses all the key issues relevant to non-medical
prescribing, bringing together essential knowledge, key issues, and skills in a single text.
Authors
Dilyse Nuttall & Jane Rutt-Howard
University of Central Lancashire
Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN 978-14051-9935-3
This accessible, engaging and comprehensive resource explores: the history of non-medical
prescribing; prescribing in context; ethical, legal and professional issues in relation to prescribing
practice; factors influencing prescribing; effective consultations; essential pharmacology; the
role of the multi-disciplinary team; clinical skills; prescribing for specific groups; and the future
of nurse prescribing. With case studies throughout, The Textbook of Non-medical Prescribing
will be essential reading for all students on non-medical prescribing courses. It will also be of
use to qualified health professionals, be they prescribers themselves or interested in the
concepts of non-medical prescribing.
Key features:
> An essential core text for students on non-medical prescribing courses
> Accessible, lively and interactive in style
> Student-friendly, including learning objectives, activities, and case studies,
enabling readers to apply prescribing principles to practice
Year 2011
Doing Your Qualitative Psychology Project
This book is for students who are about to embark on a qualitative research project as part of
their psychology degree. While there are a number of books on qualitative psychological
research, this book is unique as it leads you step-by-step through the process of doing your
project and writing your report. The book will be of use to students using qualitative methods
for their dissertation project, as well as for those carrying out smaller scale projects. The focus
throughout is on how to make your project excellent!
The book focuses on the steps involved in completing a qualitative dissertation and on the
decisions that you'll need to make as you go along. The book will lead you through:
Author
Dr Cath Sullivan
University of Central Lancashire
Sage
ISBN 978-0857027450
Year 2012
> designing your project
> ethical considerations
> collecting your data
> analysing your data
> writing your dissertation.
In addition, the book will help you with time management and working with your supervisor,
as well as providing guidance on how you can use your projects as the basis for publication or
further study.
[extract from Sage Publications website]

Book Launches
33
Media Psychology
This edited textbook brings together broad and cutting-edge coverage of the core areas in
media psychology for undergraduate, introductory-level students. Covering persuasion and
influence, interaction with the media, and representation, the authors draw on specific
campaigns and studies to introduce readers to key issues in this fascinating field.
The text was edited by Gayle Brewer, Senior Lecturer in Psychology. In addition to contributions
from authors outside UCLan, Media Psychology features a number of chapters authored or
co-authored by members of the School of Psychology (Dr Sarita Robinson, Dr Jo Bryce).
Author
Dr Gayle Brewer
University of Central Lancashire
Palgrave MacMillan
ISBN 978-0230279209
Year 2011
Cover reproduced with permission
of Palgrave Macmillan
‘This is a much-needed and integrative introductory
textbook. It provides a succinct overview of the
different psychological theories that ground media
psychology research, without sacrificing the
complexity of the field or the many questions that
arise in a rapidly evolving media landscape. I will
definitely incorporate it into my Introduction to
Media Psychology courses.’
Dr Pamela Rutledge, Fielding Graduate University and
Director of the Media Psychology Research Center, USA
The Archaeology of Post-Medieval Religion
Editors
Dr Chris King
University of Nottingham
Dr Duncan Sayer
University of Central Lancashire
The post-medieval period was one of profound religious and cultural change, of sometimes
violent religious conflict and of a dramatic growth in religious pluralism. The essays collected
here, in what is the first book to focus on the material evidence, demonstrate the significant
contribution that archaeology can make to a deeper understanding of religion. They take a
broad interdisciplinary approach to the spatial and material context of religious life, using
buildings and landscapes, religious objects and excavated cemeteries, alongside cartographic
and documentary sources, to reveal the complexity of religious practices and identities in
varied regions of post-medieval Britain, Europe and the wider world. Topics covered include
the transformation of religious buildings and landscapes in the centuries after the European
Reformation, the role of religious minorities and immigrant groups in early modern cities,
the architectural and landscape context of eighteenth and nineteenth-century nonconformity,
and the development of post-medieval burial practices and funerary customs. Offering a
unique perspective on the material remains of the post-medieval period, this volume will be
of significant value to archaeologists and historians interested in the religious and cultural
transformation of the early modern world.
Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN 978-1-8438-3693-3
Year 2011

34 Book Launches
Political Discourse Analysis.
A Method for Advanced Students
Political Discourse Analysis integrates analysis of arguments into critical discourse analysis and
political discourse analysis. The book is grounded in a view of politics in which deliberation,
decision and action are crucial concepts: politics is about arriving cooperatively at decisions about
what to do in the context of disagreement, conflict of interests and values, power inequalities,
uncertainty and risk.
Authors
Dr Isobel Fairclough
University of Central Lancashire
Emeritus Professor Norman Fairclough
Lancaster University
Routledge
ISBN 978-0-415-49922-4
Year 2012
The first half of the book introduces the authors’ new approach to the analysis and evaluation of
practical arguments, while the second half explores how it can be applied by looking at examples
such as government reports, parliamentary debates, political speeches and online discussion
forums on political issues. Through the analysis of current events, including a particular focus on
the economic crisis and political responses to it, the authors provide a systematic and rigorous
analytical framework that can be adopted and used for students’ own research.
This exciting new text, co-written by bestselling author Norman Fairclough, is essential reading for
researchers, upper undergraduate and postgraduate students of discourse analysis, within English
language, linguistics, communication studies, politics and other social sciences.
'This is exactly the book we were waiting for: a clear and thorough method for analysing political
discourse, written from a critical perspective and paying due attention to practical arguments.
Isabela and Norman Fairclough have done a great job.'
Frans H. van Eemeren, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
'An innovative and important extension of the reach of research into political language and
discourse. Sure to become an essential reference point, this book will make possible new
collaborations (not to mention arguments) involving scholars of linguistics, political theorists of
deliberation, discourse or ideology, and political scientists.'
Alan Finlayson, Swansea University, UK
Qualitative Research in Midwifery and Childbirth:
Phenomenological Approaches
Authors
Dr Gillian Thomson,
Professor Fiona Dykes
& Professor Soo Downe
University of Central Lancashire
Routledge Press
ISBN 978-0-415-57501-0
Year 2011
Qualitative research, particularly phenomenology, is increasingly popular as a method for
midwifery and health-related research. These approaches enable rich and detailed explanations
to be uncovered and bring experience to life. Important recommendations and practice- based
implications may then be raised and debated for future use. This book brings together a range
of phenomenological methods and insights into one accessible text. Illustrated with plenty of
examples of successful phenomenological research, Qualitative Research in Midwifery and
Childbirth keeps the focus applied to midwifery and childbirth and makes clear the links to
practice throughout. The book introduces three key phenomenological approaches –
descriptive, interpretive and the life world – and includes a comparative chapter which discusses
the differences between these varied perspectives and methods. Each chapter focuses on how
these approaches are used within midwifery research. The remaining chapters present a
number of different research projects. These demonstrate how different phenomenological
approaches have been used to explore and uncover experiences of childbirth and midwifery
care as well as offering important insights into how women experience different facets of the
birth experience during the antenatal, intra-partum and postnatal period.
Designed for researchers and students undertaking research projects on midwifery and
childbirth, this text includes contributions from a range of international and highly regarded
phenomenological authors and researchers.

35
Editorial Team
Professor Mike Holmes
Head of Graduate Research School/Co-Editor
MCHolmes@uclan.ac.uk
01772 893561
Emma Sandon-Hesketh
Research Development Manager/Co-Editor
Graduate Research School
EHesketh@uclan.ac.uk
01772 892735
Professor Stuart Hampton-Reeves
Head of Graduate Research School
SHampton-reeves@uclan.ac.uk
01772 894280
Alison Naylor
Senior Administrative Assistant – Research
Graduate Research School
AZNaylor@uclan.ac.uk
01772 892728
Sarah Warren
Communications Manager
Knowledge Transfer Service
SWarren@uclan.ac.uk
01772 895377
Carolyn Stanley
Marketing Manager - PR and Alumni
Advancement
CStanley@uclan.ac.uk
01772 894441
Maggie Maclean
Senior Advancement Officer
Advancement: Alumni & Stakeholder
MMaclean1@uclan.ac.uk
01772 894107
Clare Suttie
Graphic Designer
Advancement: Marketing Communications
CLSuttie@uclan.ac.uk
01772 894119

University of Central Lancashire, Preston, PR1 2HE
Tel: 01772 892735 Email: breakthrough@uclan.ac.uk www.uclan.ac.uk/research
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