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PerspectivesResearch and Enterprise at the University of SalfordVol. 1: Issue. 1 | May 2013ExploringsoundscapesCitizen scientists help mapthe auditory landscapeDesign tofight crimeCentre involves young peopleto find solutionsDigging GreaterManchesterLocal excavations engagethe communityWhat’s in yourfish dish?Mislabelling contributes tofisheries' declineHow to create adream teamThe stats behind the sports

Welcome from theVice-ChancellorWelcome to the first edition of Perspectivesmagazine, which sets out to demonstrate theimpact of the University of Salford’s research andenterprise activity on the communities we serve,while also highlighting our engagement with,and relevance to, issues of direct concern to you.It is named Perspectives because we are taking an evidence-informed view on current issues, and givingan insight into our work and those of fellow community members that you may not otherwise haveknown about. It does not set out to be a comprehensive overview of all our activity over the past sixmonths, but rather is simply a selection to show the breadth, and depth, of activity. Hopefully you willfind it interesting reading.The University’s research pedigree is a long one, arguably dating as far back as Joule’s research inthe basement of an unassuming Georgian redbrick terrace – what is now known as Joule house,pictured on the front cover and home to some of our enterprise units.At the heart of any university lies research; indeed some would argue that research defines whatdifferentiates a university from any other teaching and learning establishment. However, this is not azero-sum game: learning and teaching and research are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, theyreinforce each other, and in the best universities they are completely intertwined.Enterprise, or what was once called “third mission” activity, now also underlies so much of what wedo, whether it’s launching a new research-informed course for practitioners, or a Knowledge TransferPartnership to share research and expertise between the University and industry, or research anddevelopment commissioned by business – enterprise, research and innovation are seamless concepts here,and this is what the University is particularly well known and respected for.We are always eager to engage with you further on projects such as these, or through volunteeringto take part in a research study, or coming to the University for one of our free public lectures.Our doors are open and we hope that you will join us.Professor Martin HallSee the VC’s blog at: http://bit.ly/1I046

ContentsVol. 1: Issue. 1 | May 2013Features04 | Design to fight crimeCentre involves young peopleto find solutions10 | How to create adream teamThe stats behind the sports09 | Poetry in motionExamining the close linksbetween movement andlanguage16 | Exploring soundscapesCitizen scientists help map theauditory landscape24 | Joining forcesUniversity and the fire serviceteam up26 | Making small spacesseem biggerActivated carbon “air”finds new purpose30 | Digging GreaterManchesterLocal excavations engagethe community36 | Go global withsocial mediaHelping companies overcomethe challenges of working indifferent business cultures39 | What’s in yourfish dish?Mislabelling contributes tofisheries' decline40 | Optimal dartboardMaths makes traditional gamemore challenging54 | Campaigns inrude healthSocial media raiseshealth awarenessRegular features14 | ProfileEnterprise Pro-VC ProfessorNigel Mellors22 | Facilities focusTake a peek inside SalfordAnalytical Services28 | BooksRecent publications56 | EventsJoin us on campusSubscribe to PerspectivesWould you like to continue to receive a hardcopy of Perspectives magazine twice a year(spring and autumn)? Or would you ratherreceive an email notification when the newversion appears online? Are there particularareas of interest that you would like to receiveregular updates about? It’s always free,whichever way you want to get it.Visit www.salford.ac.uk/perspectives tosubscribe or email ri-magazine@salford.ac.ukNOTE: Copies of the autumn edition will notbe mailed automatically without subscribing.All attempts were made to ensure accuracy at the time ofpublication, however we will not be held responsible for anyerrors or omissions. Views contained herein are those of theauthors only, not those of the funding bodies.Online version can be found at: www.salford.ac.uk/research/magazine or email ri-magazine@salford.ac.uk to be added tothe mailing list or provide your feedback.May 2013 | 3

Perspectives Feature DesignResearchcentre hasdesigns oncrime andcommunitysolutionsIf good design can be described as maximising function with form, thenthe pioneering work taking place at the Design Against Crime Solution Centreis having a major impact on some of society’s biggest blights.4 | May 2013

Design Against Crimewas established at theUniversity ofSalford in 1999 via aproject funded by theUK Design Counciland the Home office,as part of a nationalprogramme of policy initiatives to embed crimeprevention in design practice and education.In 2003 the Design Against Crime SolutionCentre was established, which is a uniquepartnership with Greater Manchester Policeand the Dutch research and planningconsultancy, DSP-groep. The Solution Centreprovides leadership in design-led andsustainable practice to improve crimeprevention and community safety, and worksin partnership with police forces, governments,planning authorities, the voluntary sector,service users and communities.“The research cluster here at the DesignAgainst Crime Solution Centre offers adistinctive approach, and considers ‘design’as referring not simply to the physical designof environments or products, but includesresearch, analysis, evaluation and theformulation of integrated systems of deliveryand value adopted by stakeholders,” explainsDr Caroline Davey, Co-Director of the Centre.“Our approach is very much informed byhuman-centred design and systems design,and we adopt a focus on the constituentsystems of meaning, learning, delivery[practice] and value [impact]. The impact ofour work is underpinned by research that hastaken place in a number of key projects.”The youth of today…have got lots to sayOne of these projects is Youth Design AgainstCrime (YDAC), a programme to engageyoung people in design-led crime prevention,developed by the Design Against CrimeSolution Centre and national young people’scharity, Catch22. Supported by youth workersand teachers, and mentored by local policeofficers, the project sees multiple teams of upto nine young people challenged to addressissues of crime and community safety in theirneighbourhoods, and the ideas generatedare presented to senior local stakeholdersfrom agencies including the police, planningauthorities and local councils. YDAC is novelin its approach because it is aimed at youngpeople who have come to the attention ofschools or police authorities due to behaviouralproblems, and who may be excluded fromschool and following an alternative curriculum.Dr Caroline Davey and Andrew Wootton, Co-Directors ofthe Design Against Crime Solution CentreUsing these challenges really improvesyoung people’s confidence, knowledge,qualifications and skills, and fosters betterrelationships with the adult participants,including police mentors.“People are starting to realise the value inencouraging young people to participate inprojects that have a direct impact on decisionsabout environments and spaces, including thepublic realm of towns and cities,” says AndrewWootton, also Co-Director of the SolutionCentre. “YDAC challenges young peopleconsidered ‘at risk of offending’ to addressproblems in their neighbourhoods, using aprocess of research and design to helpgenerate innovative and evidence-basedsolutions to crime problems. Using thesedesign challenges really improves youngpeople’s confidence, knowledge, qualificationsand skills, and fosters better relationshipswith the adult participants, including policementors. The young people we work withdevelop creative solutions to problems,and are able to convince stakeholders involvedin policing, community safety and urbanplanning of the value of their ideas.”With YDAC structured to run over ten to12 weeks, young people completing theprogramme and associated workbook have theopportunity to gain an ASDAN Wider Skills Level2 problem-solving qualification, which in turncan be a springboard to further study.During the first three weeks of the programmethe participants undertake team-buildingactivities, including identifying individualstrengths and weaknesses, creating a teamname and choosing an area to focus on.The scanning and mapping stage (weeks fourto six) involves researching the focus area,considering why it is important to the teammembers, looking deeper into the issues andunderstanding how they can be addressed.A police mentor assists this process and workswith the teams to research problems in the area,as experienced by other users, and thena ‘problem profile’ is produced.During weeks six to ten the groups developdesign concepts in response to their research,which are then evaluated in terms of theirpotential impact on users, crime and antisocialbehaviour. A final design concept is thenselected and in weeks ten to 12 the youngpeople develop drawings, models, presentationmaterials and arguments to communicate to thejudging panel at the YDAC showcase evening.At this event each group is given ten minutesto present their finished design to the judgingpanel and an audience of friends, family andinvited stakeholders, before taking questions forfive minutes. One group is then selected by thejudging panel as the YDAC winner, and receivesa trophy, while all runners up are awardedmedals and certificates of completion.May 2013 | 5

PerspectivesDesignFive YDAC projects have been initiated todate: Greater Manchester (2009), the Londonborough of Southwark (2010), the Londonborough of Lambeth (2011), Salford (2011)and Bolton (2012). Together, these projectshave directly involved over 200 young peopleaged between 12 and 19 years from schoolsand youth groups, with the majority generallycoming from poor educational backgrounds,and some having been excluded from school orinvolved in anti-social behaviour and identifiedas ‘at risk of offending’.community members, the four teams of youngpeople participating in the Greater ManchesterYDAC identified four main problem areason which to focus their efforts. The first ofthese was an isolated subway close to theteam’s school that had become a magnet forrobbery, anti-social behaviour and seriouscrime; the second was a pedestrian route to alocal shopping precinct where groups of streetdrinkers congregated and created a climate offear; the third was an underused public parkand playground; while the fourth was the“It is so important to give young peoplethe chance to be involved in the decisionsthat affect their local community, especiallyas so often their voices are ignored,” GlenBarkworth, General Manager at ManchesterArndale and member of the GreaterManchester YDAC judging panel, said atthe time of the project. “We owe it to all ofthe groups who have been involved in thisproject to start making these really simple andrelatively inexpensive changes happen rightnow. It may only be the tip of the icebergwhen it comes to eradicating crime in theseareas, but changing a handful of youngpeople’s futures for the better is most certainlyworth the effort,” he added.“Designers and other stakeholders are awareof the power of creativity, but much of thecreativity possessed by young people oftengoes untapped,” adds Wootton. “Designdoesn’t necessarily mean art though, but ratheris focused on the intelligent use of creativethinking to solve problems and meet identifiedneeds in an elegant way, which means thatreally understanding problems and needs is keyto developing successful new designs. It is forthis reason that we believe that the researchprocess is central to the success of YDAC andits creative challenge nature in general is vital.The young people taking part develop a strongteam spirit, improve their communication skills,demonstrate their ability to help each otherand take responsibility for the decision-makingprocess. On top of that, because the processrequires the participants to consult with andunderstand the behaviour of all the users ofan area, both legitimate users and offenders,it helps to forge community cohesion andbuild bridges between these various groups.”As an example of the project proving acatalyst to address crucial issues that affect allThe panel reviews the students’ design ideasat the Southwark showcaseplaying field next to the team’s youth centre,which had become a hotspot for drug dealing.At the showcase evening, Kevin Mulligan,Chief Superintendent of Salford, pledged tosecure funding for the implementation ofthe winning team’s ideas, which was to dealwith the isolated subway close to Albion HighSchool. As a result, the team was invited to actas young advisers to Urban Vision EngineeringDesign, who met with the group to discuss theirideas to improve the Pendleton Roundaboutsubway. Staff at Urban Vision were stunnedwith the creativity of the ideas and very keento incorporate these into the new design ofthe subway. Money was made available formaking improvements to the subway and UrbanVision, appointed by the council, completed therenovations in summer 2010.“The young people demonstrated a clearunderstanding of the issues relating to theimprovement of the Pendleton subway,” MaxGriffiths, Structures Manager at Urban Vision,said at the time of the design work.This sense that something special had beenachieved, which would actually make a realdifference, was echoed by Nicola Wood, ayouth worker from North Manchester YouthInclusion Project, who said: “The young peoplehave developed and grown in their ability towork together as a team, learn about issuesthat affect their local community and grew inconfidence throughout the project, especiallythrough delivering the presentation."The success of the YDAC programme hasconvinced those involved that further researchis needed into developing the project to awider audience. In partnership with Catch22and partners in several EU states, staff at theSolution Centre are now exploring ways inwhich YDAC might be rolled out as a nationalprogramme in the UK, as well as consideringpilots in other European contexts.International impactOne of the main reasons why the successfulYDAC programme is being considered in aEuropean context is due to the impact otherprojects and research undertaken by theSolution Centre is having not only in the UK,but further afield in Europe and beyond.One example is the Design Against CrimeEvaluation Framework, which was createdin 2005 to support the implementationand evaluation of crime prevention indesign development. Providing designers,manufacturers and developers with detailedguidance on integrating crime preventionwithin the development cycle, it was validated6 | May 2013

against ten design development projects in theUK, Netherlands, Austria, Greece and Poland.“This framework is transferable betweendifferent contexts and design disciplines, andcovers the entire product lifecycle, includingmaintenance, monitoring and businesslearning when the development is in use.It enables researchers and crime preventionexperts to conduct rigorous evaluations ofdesign solutions within products, services andenvironment,” explains Wootton.More recently the Centre has also beencontributing to the development of a commonEuropean policy platform on urban security,leading to a policy position on the future ofcrime prevention, which was communicatedvia a manifesto arising from the EuropeanForum for Urban Security (EFUS) conferencein Paris – an event that was attended bydelegates from more than 180 cities in 40countries. EFUS is the oldest non-governmentalorganisation of local authorities working in thefield of urban security and acts as a focus forresearch, dialogue and co-operation betweenits 300 local authority members. It has inspirednumerous national forums throughoutEurope, Africa and Latin America, and theParis conference, held in December 2012, wasentitled Security, Democracy and Cities:The Future of Prevention.Caroline Davey was invited to speak at the‘Planning shared public space’ session andpresented scientific evidence on the linksbetween design and security, highlightingreductions in crime across Europe attributed toeffective design intervention. “I recommendedthat crime prevention be considered within theearly stages of the design process to increasethe cost-effectiveness of solutions and avoidthe retrofitting of unsightly security measures,”The Solution Centre evaluated Greater Manchester Police’sArchitectural Liaison Service, which resulted in there-branding of the service as Design for Security, and theembedding of crime prevention within urban design andplanning in Manchester.she explains. “I described approaches fromacross Europe that enable crime and relatedsocial issues to be integrated within urbanplanning, design and development, anddrew on findings from the Centre’s recentlycompleted EU Planning Urban Security (PLuS)project, which was led by the [the GermanFederal police.On the PLuS sideOver the past decade, the Solution Centrehas developed a network of partnersacross Europe that includes DSP-groep, theEuropean Designing Out Crime Organisation(Netherlands) and the University of AppliedSciences, Cologne.The PLuS project provided an opportunity tocontinue working with existing partners inAustria and Germany, as well as to establishnew police crime prevention contacts inPoland. Through these European partners,the Solution Centre has been able to examinethe effect of contextual factors on crimeprevention measures, and a strong presencein Germany has been developed throughparticipation in conferences and seminars ondesign and crime prevention.The PLuS project conducted empirical researchinto the urban context in partner countries,with a quantitative survey of the residents ineach PLuS study area carried out, followed byqualitative interviews with residents’ groupsand other stakeholders. The results revealedsignificant differences between residents ineach of the three European countries in termsof demographic details, lifestyles and attitudes.In 2007, the Solution Centre evaluated GreaterManchester Police’s Architectural LiaisonService, which resulted in the re-brandingof the service as Design for Security, and theembedding of crime prevention within urbandesign and planning in Manchester.This project resulted in the service beingawarded the 2010 Secured By DesignInnovation Award, as well as journalpublications, guidance materials and processmodels that have been disseminated acrossEurope.“Through the PLuS project, we have beenable to track the ongoing development ofthe Design for Security service and identifyaspects of their working process – what hasbecome called the ‘Manchester Model’ – thatmay act as examples of good practice forother European countries. In parallel, researchconducted by PLuS partners has revealedalternative approaches and examples of goodpractice from which organisations in the UKmight learn. This has also enabled us to reflecton the underpinning ideas, assumptions andparadigms that inform the UK approach tocrime prevention,” Andrew Wootton said.In a previous European project, the SolutionCentre developed a method to promote theexchange of best practice across Europe,and the PLuS project has allowed Salfordresearchers to progress this work and developthe ‘Planning Urban Security CapabilityMaturity Model’. This model is tailored to theEuropean approach to crime prevention, and isnow helping to guide efforts to improve crimeprevention delivery in Germany. Developmentof the model has benefited greatly from thefeedback of European partners who are alsopractitioners in the field and, together, thePLuS project team has been able to develop amodel that functions across different Europeancontexts and languages.Impact into the futureDue to the impact that the Solution Centre hashad so far, both at home and abroad, it is littlesurprise that their innovative work is leading tonew opportunities all the time. Several excitingnew initiatives are either underway or planned,which means that the future promises to beboth busy and varied.May 2013 | 7

PerspectivesDesignMuch currentactivity also relatesto addressingemerging nationaland Europeanpolicy imperativesof civil securityand communityresilience......“I have been nominated as the UKrepresentative on the Management Committeeof the European Commission COST ActionTU1203 Crime Prevention Through UrbanDesign and Planning, while Dr Davey will be arepresentative on one of the working groups,”says Wootton. “COST is an inter-governmentalframework for European Co-operation in Scienceand Technology, which allows the co-ordinationof nationally funded research at a European level,and so to represent the UK is a real privilegeand a very exciting opportunity. We are actuallyholding the first meeting of COST here in Salfordat MediaCityUK in May 2013, and the actionleaders specifically chose this venue because theywanted experts from across Europe to learn fromthe best practice that has already been developedand taken place in Greater Manchester. Incollaboration with this group of experts, hereat the Solution Centre we will support theimplementation of best practice in design-ledurban crime prevention and community safetythroughout Europe.”Much current activity also relates to addressingemerging national and European policyimperatives of civil security and communityresilience, and a priority for the immediatefuture is to grow doctoral research in the areaof design-led approaches to crime prevention,security and resilience.“This is an area we’re really keen to develop,”says Dr Davey. “While we are justifiably proudof all that has been achieved so far at theSolution Centre, as well as the ongoing workwe are undertaking, we know that there is stillso much more that can be done. Every impactwe make at the centre is underpinned by theresearch that has taken place, and so we needto encourage new and innovative activity inorder to continue to influence improvementsand enhance the capacity to deliver crimeprevention and community safety in the UKand Europe.”To find out more about the Design AgainstCrime Solution Centre, please contact:info@designagainstcrime.org8 | May 2013

ArtsWith experimental poetry becoming increasingly popular, and alternativedance classes springing up in church halls and community centresacross the country, new research is examining the close links betweenmovement and language.Poetry in motionMac Low's 40 dancers (© Ian Douglas, used with permission)Last September, Dr ScottThurston, a Senior Lecturer inEnglish and Creative Writing,visited New York as part of the50th anniversary celebrations ofthe Judson Dance Theater. Thispioneering studio championedthe concept of multi-disciplinary arts, includingwork by the likes of Yoko Ono and John Cage,who went on to become huge internationalartists.“The New York art scene in the 1960s wascharacterised by multi-generic work,” saysThurston, “with dancers, musicians, poets,artists and film-makers working in collaborationto produce films and performances.”Thurston, who is based at the School ofHumanities, Languages and Social Sciences, wasamazed to see such huge audiences watchingperformances of pieces like The Pronouns:A Collection of 40 Dances for the Dancers.The piece features a series of ‘dance-instruction’poems by the poet Jackson Mac Low (b.1922), which were composed algorithmicallyusing 56 index cards, each bearing one to fivedifferent actions. As befitting experimental art,says Thurston: “There were a wide range ofinterpretations, some of which were very closeto the words on the page, and some which werecompletely abstract responses to those pieces.They were written to be performed but it’svery open as to how you interpret them.” Andnow he believes we could see similar interest inBritain, too.“There was a period in the 60s and 70s whenexperimental poetry was more visible over here,”he explains, “but it’s been ‘underground’ for thelast 40 years.“Now, work that has previously been seenas more marginal is reaching a wider poetryaudience and people are beginning to take moreof an interest in non-traditional approaches,”he continues. “I think things are poised to goalmost mainstream in the UK too, so now seemsto be the perfect time to explore the connectionbetween postmodern dance and experimentalwriting.”Thurston’s research is part of a bigger enquiryinto genre and how different art forms oftenwork together, such as poetry and dance, poetryand visual art and dance and sculpture. It willfeed directly into the University as part of theMA Creative Writing: Innovation and Experimentcourse, and Thurston has also lectured on hisfindings at both Edinburgh and Bedfordshireuniversities, and performed his creative work atLiverpool’s famous Bluecoat Arts Centre.“The research is generating important newknowledge about the field, and furthers theUniversity’s reputation as a research-informedinstitution that produces original work,” heexplains. Thurston is also exploring ways inwhich writing and language can be linked to thepractice of movement therapy which, amongmany things, can be used to help people sufferingfrom depression and emotional problems.To find out more about research in thehumanities and the MA in Creative Writing,visit: www.salford.ac.uk/humanitiesMay 2013 | 9

PerspectivesSports businessHow to create adream teamWith the BBC and several major football teams on our doorstep,the University’s latest research centre, the Centre for SportsBusiness, is well positioned to help sporting organisations geta head start.And they’re off to anauspicious start withRick Parry, the formerChief Executive of thePremier League, kickingoff the proceedings at thelaunch, with a speech about how and why thePremier League was created.Research and consultancyThe Centre for Sports Business is particularlystrong in analysing the statistics of sport,which has led to a tie-in with global videogame company EA SPORTS. Several years ago,a call went out to universities asking aboutrating players in the Premier League. Therating system needed to be objective and themathematical model proposed by statisticiansin the Centre was accepted by the PremierLeague. The rating system now known as theEA SPORTS Performance Index (PPI) is theofficial player rating system for the BarclaysPremier League, the most-watched league inglobal football with an estimated TV audienceof 4.7 billion people. This is the kind of highprofilework that has made the new Centre aleader in its field.The PPI, which is also used for the second-tierleague in English football – The Championship– is cleverly constructed so that it can compareplayers from different positions, looking at thecontribution each player makes to the successof his team. The highest ranked player doesn’tneed to be a goal scorer or even be in the topteam. The best player is simply the player thatwould hurt any team the most if they were tolose him.The key to being able to set up successstories such as EA’s PPI is the revolution inthe mathematical analysis, or ‘analytics’, offootball. Several things have come together tomake this possible. Naturally, there has beenthe rise of computer processing power – ageneral trend in all data analysis. However, youmust have data in the first place to be able toprocess it. This is where the most significantchange has occurred. Companies such as Optaand Prozone now collect astonishing amountsof data for every Premier League match. Eachgame generates a 1,500 row by 200 columnspreadsheet of match facts and figures. Itlooks at the X-Y coordinates (position on pitch)The key to success storiessuch as EA’s PPI isthe revolution inmathematical analysis.of shots and passes, and their destination.Z coordinates even tell you how high theball travels. Everything imaginable is logged:from the position of the ball to recording if atackle is sliding or standing. There are evencompanies that now record the positions of all22 players four times a second, which meansyou can get data on not just the speed but alsothe acceleration of players. All this information,and the computers to handle it, means thatit is now possible to mathematically model acontinuous, fluid, dynamic game like football.The statisticians at the Centre take this data,feed it through their computer models andproduce analysis of games and players.The ‘stats’ are essentially the collection ofdata, perhaps given a very rudimentary levelof analysis; for example, the average numberof goals per game, but the real power comesfrom analytics – using the statistical modellingon large data sets to offer insights into teamsand the effect of individual players.Just how powerful this knowledge can be isshown by its impact on North American sport.It was first demonstrated successfully withan American baseball team called OaklandAthletics, which wasn’t very successful andrelatively speaking didn’t have much money.A statistician suggested to them that insteadof using old-fashioned scouting techniques foridentifying talent, they should use an analyticalmodel of baseball matches to find players whoare statistically undervalued by the market.They used the model, and with a fraction ofthe budget of the top-rated New York Yankees,beat them. The model looked at what attributesplayers bring that can have the biggest impacton the probability of being successful, andthen looked for gaps in the market to sign uppromising but ‘cheap’ players.The next stage in the evolution of sportsanalytics is to ensure UK sports managementget the buy-in of UK sports, like football,so that the owners and management canappreciate what analytics offer. It is far morethan just choosing new players. Devisingstrategies and working out which players ina team work well together are the kind ofproblems that analytics is good at helping tosolve. In Britain, football’s popularity makesit a big focus for the Centre’s work, butresearchers are also looking at other sports.Tennis and golf are amenable to similar models10 | May 2013

"The highest ranked player doesn’tneed to be a goal scorer or even bein the top team. The best player issimply the player that would hurtany team the most if they were tolose him."Dr Ian McHale, Director of the Centre for Sports BusinessMay 2013 | 11

PerspectivesSports Businessthat examine a player’s strengths and progressover time and work is ongoing in these sports.Rick Parry speaks at the opening of the CentreFighting corruption and match fixingAn area of growing interested is detecting andpreventing match fixing. One of the Centre’sresearchers is heavily involved with a Qatarbasedorganisation called the InternationalCentre for Sports Security. Qatar, havingrecently won the rights to host the World Cup,is serious about preventing corruption in sport.It’s not easy to spot a fixed match but oneapproach is to use models of match outcomesbased on what is going on in the match,and compare the predicted match outcomeswith betting market activity. The point is thatwhen a match is fixed, somebody somewhereputs a lot of money on a particular outcomethat the crooked better knows is more likelyto happen than the prediction model. Whenthis happens, bookmakers move the oddsto protect themselves. So, if you watch theodds, and know the probabilities inferredby the model, which is based only on what’sgoing on in the match, then it should bepossible to flag up an event that doesn’tring true, possibly by a large volume ofabnormal betting caused by dishonest insiderknowledge. This is not pointing the finger atbookies, rather highlighting red flag eventsrevealed by their reacting to betting levels.From there, depending on the circumstancesand the level of suspicion, a report to footballgoverning bodies such as UEFA or FIFA couldbe generated.That’s the analytical approach, but the Centreis also looking at other aspects of match fixing.The basic economics of crime say a player willchoose to commit a crime if it’s worth his while.In a sport like football it’s generally not worthit for a Premier League striker to fix a match.He’s paid very well, has excellent sponsorshipand would risk losing a fortune.On the otherhand, referees are not paid very much, so froman economic point of view, a referee could beoffered a ‘realistic’ amount of money and hemight start thinking about cheating.It’s not just football, other sports can beeven more vulnerable to match fixing.For example, in snooker some top players arenot paid a great deal of money.The first prize in an international snookercompetition is just a week’s wage for a topPremier League footballer. Couple that withthe enormous amounts of money involved inbetting on snooker in the Far East and the risksare serious. Last, but not least, it’s not difficultto hide cheating in snooker – a player just hasan ‘off day’.Analysing which sports and what formcorruption can take is an important aspectof the Centre’s research.Good analysis needs awhole season before it canstart to see what is reallyhappening.12 | May 2013

The National LotteryAnalytics can also be used to demonstrate thatmatch fixing or other forms of malpracticehave not been taking place. A good example isthe Centre’s work for the UK National Lotteryvia the Gambling Commission. Given the sizeof the lottery, it is not surprising that a smallnumber of people develop varying levels ofconspiracy theories about the appearance ofcertain numbers or combinations of numbers.Someone might call up and say ‘36 hasappeared three times in the last four weeks,this is clearly impossible and the lottery mustbe a fix’. So, the Lottery uses statisticians atthe Centre to run a series of tests to show itis random and nobody is cheating or beingcheated. People tend to think it’s extremelyunlikely that two consecutive balls will appearin the lottery and complain if this happens ona regular basis.It should be possible toflag up an event thatdoesn’t ring true, possiblycaused by a large volumeof abnormal betting.In fact, quite simple probability theoryreveals that the odds of consecutive numbersappearing is actually nearly 0.5 and so willhappen nearly every other week in thelong run.MBA in Sports BusinessThe intention of the new Centre is to bemore than a hub for research, however.From January 2014 it will offer an MBAin sports business, designed to producetomorrow’s leaders of the sporting world.While a few other British universities offer anMBA in sports management, no other Centreis able to offer the range and depth ofexpertise; for example, Salford was rankedsecond worldwide for sports economicsresearch in a 2009 review.The Centre is fortunate in that the reputationof its members has attracted prominentindustry figures right from the start. As well ashis launch lecture, Rick Parry has agreed to givea series of talks to MBA students. So, as wellas traditional lecturers drawn from academia,leading representatives from the sportingworld will teach modules and give lectures toMBA students. Perhaps the last word on thenew Centre for Sports Business should go toits director, Dr Ian McHale."You only have to look at the interest andexcitement last year’s Olympics brought to theUK to see how much sport matters to us. Andof course it is not just here that sport meansso much – sport is a global business and tome, there is no doubt about it, it is the mostexciting business there is."Here at Salford we are extremely fortunate inhaving a group of academics who, during thelast ten years and more, have earned a globalreputation for high-quality research in each ofour subject disciplines when applied to sport.This group of people now form the Centre forSports Business."So who are we? We have expertisein statistics, economics, business andmanagement and law. We already constitutewhat is arguably the leading collection ofresearchers into quantitative analysis in sportsfrom around the world."But it is not just research we do – we areheavily involved in consultancy projects withinthe sports and betting industry. From developingthe EA SPORTS Player Performance Index toadvising governments and sport’s governingbodies on strategies to detect and preventCentre for Sports BusinessThe Centre for Sports Business promotesresearch and consultancy in sportsstatistics and analytics, sport finance,sports law and the economics of sport.It boasts a continued record of worldrenownedresearch with its memberspublishing their work in top-ratedacademic journals.To discuss a PhD, business or studyproposal, please contact the Director,Dr Ian McHale on +44 (0)161 295 4765or i.mchale@salford.ac.uk.Co-Director Professor Chris Brady can becontacted on +44 (0)7956 575278.To receive research findings, reports andpapers, please send your details tosportsbusiness-sbs@salford.ac.ukwww.salford.ac.uk/sports-businessmatch fixing, the Centre for Sports Business isalready at the heart of the sports business."The primary concern of a university is itsstudents and teaching. We are currentlydeveloping an MBA in Sports Business –designed to produce tomorrow’s chiefexecutives and leaders in the sports industry."May 2013 | 13

PerspectivesProfileSolving the right problemsProfessor Nigel Mellors is the newly-appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellorof Enterprise at Salford, but he has a long history with theUniversity and in business, which dates back to even before hisundergraduate student days…Why did you choose Salford asa student?I began my career as an entrepreneurdeveloping my first enterprise venturefrom leaving high school, which I sold 10years later and took the opportunity tostudy at University. I visited several placesand considered my choice carefully beforedeciding to come to Salford for aphysics degree.What is your research about?I started out looking at nano-transmittersand the “Joule effect”– it was fascinating tobe studying what James Joule posited righthere at Salford, 150 years later. I’m currentlyvery interested in energy reduction and howto reduce the amount of waste. It’s a topicalissue and one which affects everyone on theplanet. Did you know we lose 2 kilowatts(kw) of energy for each kw used – so if yourkettle uses 3kw, it actually costs the system9kw because it takes 3kw of wasted energyto produce each kw used? We don’t needmore power if we can address this energyloss.When I started work in this area I thought itwas all about the technologies and improvingthose, but actually there is much more toconsider in terms of people’s behaviourand behaviour change . In effect, it’s theconnection between technology and peoplewhich matters – houses themselves don’t useenergy, people do.How does a business know where tostart in terms of working with theUniversity?It could feel like searching for a needle in ahaystack trying to find out who out of our800-strong academics would be the rightperson to approach. So we’re building agateway into the University and a responsiveteam behind that. It has to be a two-waypartnership between business and researchers– even “pure” research funding agencies areinterested in the impact research can haveand how technologies can be exploited andcommercialised for everyone’s benefit.We are keen to develop long termrelationships with key partners andstakeholder both at regional and nationallevel and a more integrated approach ofboth research and enterprise. I believe thisapproach will lead to a more meaningfullyand sustainable relationship for both theuniversity and our partners. We have anumber of great cases studies where thishas worked extremely well including thepartnership with Greater Manchester FireService where a number of academicsfrom across the University are engaged indeveloping and supporting the Fire Servicesgoals (see page 24).Tell me more about Energy HouseEnergy House is a unique facility for peopleto easily see how research and business cometogether and get industry in to the University.Right now some of the projects we haveunderway look at thin materials to insulatebuildings, particularly retrofitting old stoneor listed buildings with easily installed energysaving measures including double-glazing ornew external cladding and internal insulationsbecause of space restrictions or aesthetics.There are many disciplines needed to developnew technologies including nanotechnology,physics, engineering, the built environmentand architecture, but we need to also includeNigel Mellors outside the Energy Houseend users and installers. If these technologiesare not installed correctly then they can work10-20% less efficiently than predicted whichhas a significant impact when the UK has 26million houses to make more energy efficientwithin this decade if it is to meet its carbonreduction commitments.What’s your vision for the future ofenterprise at the University?I want the University to be a place businesscan connect with academics and real-worldresearch. To do this we need to understandacademics’ needs as well as what industryneeds. It should be a place where public,commercial, and contract research fundingcome together as the model for goingforward. We need to make sure all partiesunderstand their shared goals and howthey’re going to achieve them. Salford isin a really good position to capitalise on itsheritage in terms of real world research.We have a long history of connecting industryand public sector, and have been doing thisfor over 50 years. As a University, we’re verygood at solving problems, but we need towork with business to ensure we’re solvingthe right problems.To find out more about Energy House andsome of our consultancy work with industry,visit: www.salford.ac.uk/energy14 | May 2013

The Salford MBAOne of the most flexibleMBA programmes in the worldSalford Business School offers oneof the most flexible, enterprise-ledMBA programmes in the world;you can join the programme atany one of five starting datesthroughout the year, on a full-time,part-time, modular, in-company orinternational basis.Our MBA modules address time-criticalbusiness needs, developing innovativethinking and providing solutionsto tackle complex business issuesand leverage market opportunities.Whichever route to an MBA you take,you are guaranteed a degree of thehighest quality. The Salford BusinessSchool MBA is AMBA accredited – aninternationally recognised guaranteeof quality demanded by the highestcalibre management graduatesand employers.You will study at one of the mostexciting locations in the UK –MediaCityUK – where creativity,innovation and learning meet in astate-of-the-art facility next door tothe BBC at the thriving centre of theNorth West’s booming creative anddigital industries.For further informationabout our MBA, visit:www.salford.ac.uk/sbs/mbawww.business.salford.ac.uk

PerspectivesAcousticsExploringsoundscapesCutting-edge data collection by citizenscientists maps a world of sonic diversityConsider the following seemingly unconnected scenes: a slug eating a lettuce leaf,disposing of an unexploded bomb in Vietnam, and an office on an offshoreplatform in the North Sea. The chances are good that you imagined themvisually, you ‘pictured’ them. We live in a strongly visual culture, where visualinformation is the norm and the environment is often described in visual terms.Yet, we know that there is much more to our sensory capability than just vision.Exploring people’s auditory appreciation of our environment is the subject of apioneering project from the Acoustics Research Centre in the School of Computing,Science & Engineering. >16 | May 2013

“… the isle is full of noises,sounds, and sweet airs,that give delight…”May 2013 | 17

PerspectivesAcousticsThe “sound map of Britain”project is an interactiveexamination of soundscapesand the construction ofan online sound map. Theapparently random examplesmentioned earlier are just three of the 1,700soundscapes that have been uploaded to theproject. It has received high-profile coverage byparticipants from around the world includingthe BBC, Times2, The Daily Telegraph, TheGuardian and local papers.SoundscapesA soundscape is the aural equivalent of avisual landscape. It’s the sum of all sounds ata particular place and time. In some ways, it ismore all-embracing than a landscape, becauseit represents 360 degrees of stimulus, notjust the view ahead. You can turn away froma landscape, but a soundscape completelysurrounds you.When it started, the project was limited to justthe Manchester area, but the widespread useof smartphones and the all-pervasive reachof the Internet meant that the researchersreceived submissions from all around the UK.Then, as online publicity took off, the projectbecame global, with data coming in fromaround the world. This set the research apartfrom traditional sound data gathering, whichused to be highly localised.The project was careful not to beprescriptive about collecting a specific kindof sound because the aim was to gather asbroad a range as possible. A soundscapecould even be silence, although that is difficultto find outside an anechoic chamber.Terminology❚ Soundscape – the total sounds ofa location in time and space❚ Sound map – a graphical collectionof soundscapes❚ Citizen scientist – a non-professionalparticipant in scientific research❚ iPhone app – a computer programdesigned for a specific purpose thatruns on Apple’s smartphone – iPhoneA soundscape is the aural equivalent ofa visual landscape. It’s the sum of allsounds at a particular place and time.In some ways, it is more all-embracingthan a landscape.One word that was avoided in any publicityinviting people to submit soundscapes was‘noise’. If the project had been ‘noise’ orientedthen it would have biased submissions towardsnegative sounds and environments. The term‘soundscape’ is neutral; it reflects bothnegative and positive sound experiences.There was an important objective beyondcreating an interesting collection ofsoundscapes – a public engagement brief.The aim was to raise public awareness ofsoundscapes and the research potentialaround them. Participants not only capturedthe recording of the soundscape, but alsorated the soundscape using different semanticscales: from good to bad, how exciting,eventful, tranquil and other descriptors. Theywere also invited to explain why they chose torecord their particular soundscape.The impact of the smartphoneOne of the hallmarks of this project is thecollection of data by smartphones – in this caseApple’s iPhone. In fact, iPhones proved to beso useful that the project in its current formwould have been impossible just six or sevenyears ago.As early as 2006, Salford researchers werelooking at using smartphones to collectsoundscapes. Relatively simple mobilephone technology had already been used tocollect research data. Health workers hadimplemented schemes in countries withouta landline infrastructure, using SMS textingto transmit data. However, the collection ofsoundscapes was a more complicatedundertaking, which needed the power ofmore sophisticated smartphones. These havemany advantages for soundscape collection:they are widely used, include a microphone,are powerful in terms of processing powerand have the potential to record andupload research data.This approach was tried; the predecessor ofthe current iPhone app was written for theprevious generation of smartphones using aJava mobile edition. The problem was not atechnical failure to operate, but the numberof hoops users had to jump through tosuccessfully send a soundscape. In those ‘early’pre-iPhone days, the process of uploadingdirectly from many phones was greatlyhindered by a lack of bandwidth – peoplesimply didn’t have good enough datacontracts, so they had to go to a computer,plug in the phone, copy over the files andupload to the project’s website via theircomputer’s Internet connection. It was a realhassle, and the longwinded process killed thespontaneity of capturing a soundscape on thespur of the moment. It put off most peopleand only a few determined individuals sentin submissions.In 2009, PhD student Charlie Mydlarz neededa new mobile and bought himself an iPhone.He realised that the simple interface andincreased data allocation of iPhone subscribersmeant all the technical and human interfacepieces were now in place for aneasy-to-use system that enabled users toupload soundscapes straight from their phone.A worrying lack of submitted data for his thesiswas the final spur he needed to develop theiPhone app. Fortunately, it worked – before theiPhone and its app arrived there were about300 to 400 submissions, but at last count therewere over 1,700, thanks in no small way to theiPhone. To upload a soundscape, users nowneed an iPhone, the bespoke Salford recordingapp and a few taps on the screen.18 | May 2013

Apple operates a closed system for its iPhoneapps – all apps, even free ones, must besubmitted to them for approval before theycan become available for users to download.It can be a slow process, and the Salford app’sfirst submission took three weeks for approval.Any subsequent update, whether to iron outbugs or to simply add new functionality cantake another two weeks for each newiteration of the system.This was one of the few drawbacks with anotherwise vastly improved soundscape capturetool. If a fault develops, it can create realproblems. After the iPhone app was launched,the project was covered by BBC click, whichran a story focusing on the app. Unfortunately,there was a system fault. Although it wasa relatively small error, the effect wasdevastating for the project, because if an appis downloaded but doesn’t work first time thenonline feedback can be extremely negative,putting off potential new users.Fortunately for the project, the medium forthis feedback produced the ideal solutionto bypassing system problems andcommunicating easily and directly with users –social media.Social mediaIn terms of dissemination, social media playeda big part in the growth and continued successof the project. It’s not enough to have a gooddata collection tool, even one that is easy touse, you need to be able to engage with andrespond to your field ‘researchers’. The powerand flexibility of social media meant that it alsobecame a useful recruitment tool and helpedto reduce user attrition if there were problemsor glitches in the system.The soundscape project uses all the usual socialmedia outlets. There’s a Facebook page, whichis active as a discussion board for people todebate sounds and talk about soundscapes.In the app itself, you can click a button so thatwhen you upload the recorded soundscape, itwill automatically post to Facebook and Twitter.From a technical point of view, the socialmedia aspects of the project are pretty muchself-sustaining, requiring only occasionalsystem management. However, the key torunning a successful social media system, andultimately a responsive and successful publicengagement project, is you have to remainactive. You have to strike up conversationsand be very quick to respond to questions,suggestions for improvements and updates onany problems. Facebook became the officialproject discussion board, the social hub of thesystem. So even if there was an app problemthat might take a couple of weeks to sort out,users could be reassured and kept in the loopover progress.Soundscapes online❚ www.soundaroundyou.com –the Salford soundscape projectsound map❚ ‘cmydlarzSAY’ collection on YouTube– videos associated with the SoundAround You soundscape project❚ www.facebook.com/soundaroundyou– the Facebook page and social mediahub of the Salford soundscape project❚ https://twitter.com/say_project –updates and tweeting fromresearcher Charlie Mydlarz andsoundscape senders❚ ‘i-say’ iPhone app from SalfordUniversity – Search for ‘i-say’ in theiTunes store, or alternatively go to:www.soundaroundyou.com and clickon the App Store link at the bottom.The app lets users quickly and easilyrecord a soundscape, add a briefexplanation and upload it to theproject’s sound map. Facebook andTwitter options are included.Twitter also proved its worth for fault finding.Users tweeted about the project: ‘this doesn’tseem to work’, or ‘how do I do this?’ andhelpful replies often bounced back from otherusers in real time. Another useful aspect ofsocial media was providing positive feedback.It ‘opened my ears’ was one quote, whichhelped to keep up the morale of hard-pressedresearchers. It showed that users were startingto engage with the project and understandthe difference between hearing and listening,really appreciating and thinking about thesounds around them.Although it does not fit the conventionaldefinition of ‘social media’, the sound map letsusers listen to each other’s soundscapes andhelps to reinforce the shared community aspectof the project. The interface is easy to use, andis one that most Internet users are familiar with– Google Maps.Soundscape locations are precisely placed onthe sound map, thanks to the app includingthe phone’s GPS data. For the occasionalsubmissions that don’t use the smartphoneand instead opt for upload via the website,then you still have to enter the location of thesoundscape.The term ‘soundscape’ isneutral; it reflects bothnegative and positivesound experiences.Demographics – a trade offDespite the success of using the iPhone, itdid limit data submissions to people whouse the Apple device. This had two effects;the first was regular requests for a version ofthe soundscape app for people who don’tuse iPhones, in particular a version thatruns Google’s operating system – Android.Such enthusiasm from non-iPhone userswas encouraging, but expanding the systemwould have doubled the software element.Sticking with just iPhones meant that datawas submitted in a consistent manner,using essentially the same hardware anddistribution platform. That said, the team isconsidering writing an Android version, but it’sfundamentally a question of time and funding.The second effect was that just using iPhonesmeant users were a self-selecting demographic.The results were undoubtedly male biasedand the age range that took part in theproject closely mirrored that of smartphoneuse, roughly 24 to 34. It was essentially atrade off between the widest possible rangeof participant versus maximising the numberof people who can easily access the project.Groups who tended to miss out were the over65s and the under tens; those who tend not tohave smartphones.May 2013 | 19

PerspectivesAcousticsPlaces of interest on the sound mapand the comments submitted❚ Berlin – ‘People enjoying andexploring acoustics of large spherethat belonged to a former soviet radarstation. Now a famous ruin’❚ Mecca, the call to prayer – ‘Best soundin the world’❚ Tel Aviv – ‘Missile bomb siren’❚ Antarctic – ‘Colonies of Adelie andGentoo penguins, occupying the samephysical space; this is the sound of theedge of Antarctica.’❚ Stockport – ‘I can’t believe a kitten sosmall can make such a loud noise!’❚ Manchester – ‘At the opera housewaiting for panto to start ...’❚ Athens Georgia – ‘Football game dayin Athens!’❚ Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – ‘Religiouscelebration’❚ Vietnam – ‘In my first week of workin Vietnam, I went to my first bulkdemolition where a 750lb bomb wasdestroyed. I thought this would be aninteresting and unique contribution tothe project – and I think it’s importantfor people to understand the powerof unexploded ordnance, even 40years after it was originally dropped...Enjoy!’❚ Isle of Eigg, Scotland – ‘The SingingSands are famous on Eigg, but manydon’t know this phenomenon can beheard in Scotland. It’s a weird sound,but it doesn’t convey the physicality ofcreating it. You have to kick throughthe sand, or jump into it.’❚ Bermuda – ‘Unusual sound at first asthe tree frogs chirp every night, butafter a few nights you can’t sleepwithout their sound’Citizen scientistOne of the most successful aspects of theproject was a key requirement of funding –public engagement and the concept of the‘citizen scientist’. When the Salford teamrebid for funding, they included a publicengagement element to their proposal.They got the funding from the EPSRC, as partof a Partnerships for Public Engagement (PPE)grant and the remit was to produce researchwhose main aim was to raise public awarenessof the topic of soundscapes and the soundenvironment. Rather than talking about peoplewho take part as ‘subjects’, the Salford teamviewed them as participants – everyone whomakes a submission is a part of the researchteam. In some ways it is a little like amateurastronomy, where anyone can make a valuablecontribution. The data is ‘crowd-sourced’.This has three important advantages.First, it engages the public. People who mightotherwise have had no opportunity to takepart in a serious academic project at a leadingresearch centre can make a valid contribution.Second, submissions were received from all overthe world; from places a small research teamcould never have the time or resources to reach:from Antarctica to northern Norway, and fromKabul to Burkina Faso and Paraguay, peoplehave supplied soundscapes.Humans like to be aroundother people and prefer tobe in places where there ishuman sound.Unique access is not just a question of distancefrom Salford, but also privacy. One submissionfrom the Mid-West in the States is a familywatching television. You only get that kindof data from citizen scientists. The classicresearcher, with a microphone and recorderwould never get such intimate access topeople’s lives and the soundscapes they inhabit.Third, and perhaps most important, if a groupof paid researchers are used then you will onlyget what they are interested in. By using thepublic, you get a vast range of submissions,from the mundane to the truly extraordinary.Soundscape research is ultimately about people,so it makes sense for the collection of data to behuman centred. The project worked because it’sabout members of the public. You need to havethe public playing a central role, enfranchisingthem with choice. Normally, academics wouldchoose to focus narrowly or set the agendabut with the public taking part, they makethe decisions.SchoolsMany of the early submissions were fromschools, particularly ones that helped pilotthe project. Collecting soundscapes fitted innicely with their curricula because of the activeelement of going out and collecting data.Teachers bought into the project and gavetheir students iPads to map their school andsurrounding area.The project team also worked directly with localschools using ‘sound walks’. Participants walkaround a pre-set route in silence and activelylisten to their environment. There are stoppoints where the researchers record and writedown what they’ve heard. The walks rangefrom a 10-minute city stroll to a one-hour tour.The work with secondary schools proved toughbut useful. Some of the best beta testers wereschool students aged 14 to 16. If they didn’tlike an aspect of the pilot software they had areal no-nonsense attitude in expressing theirviews on usability and functionality. Quite afew changes were based on the feedback fromschool pilots.Charlie Mydlarz – background toa PhD researcher"While I was at school I becameinterested in audio equipment –designing and making small projectslike radio station speakers. When thetime came to choose a university courseacoustics looked perfect for my interests,so I studied audio technology at Salford.The course covered the mathematics andphysics of sounds, a lot of electroacousticand transducer design, psychoacoustics(human response to sound); and evenradio production.My main strength was psychoacousticsand programming, which led neatly tothe soundscape project and my PhD atSalford. My role started in 2007, andnow I’ve just handed in my thesis. I’mhoping to get follow-on funding to domore soundscape work."20 | May 2013

thereby raising awareness. Research can also beused to influence policy, building standards andlegislation, because it provides a firm body ofevidence.Charlie Mydlarz in the University’s anechonic chamberProject findingsNot surprisingly, when people are at a site ofrelaxation or taking part in recreation thengenerally they rate the soundscape higher. Onemight assume that people like to be surroundedby natural sounds, birdsong and waterfalls, butthe data and feedback from users of the soundmap show that it seems that humans like to bearound other people and prefer to be in placeswhere there is human sound. It seems ournatural disposition is to be social beings, even inour choice of environment.Taking part in the project also helped peoplediscover more about their sound environment.Participants tweeted or emailed that they wouldtake a different route to work because of amore pleasing soundscape.Mydlarz said: “It was fun watching thesoundscapes come in; you never knew whatwas going to turn up next. The slug eatinglettuce was good, totally unexpected and justbizarre. The bats in the basement of a palace inIndia are great. You can hear them chirp, sincenot all of their sounds are above the bandwidthof smartphone – I assume it’s just ‘bat chitchat’and not echo-location. Even the mundanesoundscapes can be fascinating; there’s a tattooparlour in Toronto, with background chatterand the sound of a needle. Last, but not least,I enjoyed the Antarctic penguins, but theneveryone likes a penguin.”As the world gets busier and ever moremechanised, there is a perception that urbansoundscapes are becoming increasinglydegraded, particularly with the phenomenalrise in car ownership. In the study, the mostcommon negative sound is car and trafficnoise. While this has certainly been true overthe past few decades, things may now beslowly changing. One of the major reasons foroptimism is the advent of electric cars. As moreand more electric cars displace the internalcombustion engine, the overall rise in noisepollution should reverse. This will increase thedynamic range of the soundscape because thegeneral background level will drop, allowingmore pleasant sound to come to the fore.However, it is not necessary to wait the decadesthat the electric car revolution will need toimprove the urban soundscape; positive stepscan be taken immediately. A good examplewhere the sound environment has beenfactored into design is by Sheffield train station.A large fountain was built into the square infront of the station and helped to create anattractive public space where people meetand sit. This square is by main roads, but theaddition of a positive soundscape helped tooffset the negative impact of traffic noise.In the longer term, as new built environmentsare constructed, the Salford researchteam wants to encourage the inclusion ofsoundscapes at all stages of urban design.Modern public spaces often look good, butthe soundscape is generally not considered asmuch as it could or should be. The hope is thatsoundscape projects will start to generate andpromote appreciation of the sound environmentso that it can become a driver and a factorin urban design. By engaging the public insoundscape research, you can get the public tocomment, discuss and talk about soundscapes;Acoustics Research Centre,University of SalfordThe Acoustics Research Centre at theUniversity of Salford is a world-renownedacoustics research centre funded byresearch councils, government bodiesand industry. Its specialities includeshuman response to vibration, vibrationresearch, low-frequency noise,environmental noise, soundreproduction, building and architecturalacoustics, outdoor sound propagationand the study of soundscapes.You can find out more about theiractivities at:www.acoustics.salford.ac.ukThe future of the soundscape projectSubject to time and funding, the next stagesof the soundscape project will look at morefocused studies. One of the strengths, butalso drawbacks, of the project so far is thatsubmissions were very varied. Such a wide rangeof place types and sounds made analysis ofsignificance difficult. The researchers are hopingto set ‘virtual fences’ around urban parks inmajor cities and focus on the soundscapesof sites of relaxation. This should give a morefocused approach and tone down the amazing,but hard-to-analyse variety generated so far.The virtual fences or ‘geo-fences’ let you triggersomeone’s phone to alert them when they walkinto a certain area. Again, the research willmake heavy use of the power of smartphonesto know their location thanks to in-built GPStechnology. The study of soundscapes offersa new and fascinating perspective on ourenvironment, both natural and manmade.The pioneering work at Salford has engaged ahuge range of contributors, from local schoolstudents to a penguin spotter in Antarctica. Ithas made an important contribution to raisingawareness of the opportunities that careful andconsiderate design can offer when building,inhabiting and using the world around us.May 2013 | 21

PerspectivesFacilities focusSalford Analytical ServicesTake a peek inside one of our enterprising labsSalford Analytical Services(SAS) is a unique facilityon the University campus.Located in the CockcroftBuilding, from the outsidethe SAS laboratories are veryunassuming but inside they are a showcaseof some of the most sophisticated scientificequipment the institution owns. Within theSAS laboratories there are a range of hightechmicroscopes and analytical instrumentsthat can examine materials at the ‘nano’scale. They have recently invested in a stateof-the-artTransmission Electron Microscope(TEM) that has a magnification range over1,000,000 and can produce images of atomicstructures down to a few nanometres (nm) insize. A nanometre is a millionth of a millimetreand, to give a sense of scale, a human hair isabout 60,000 nm thick and a single flu virus istypically about 100 nm in diametre.Kirit Amin demonstrates the operation of the high fieldNuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer.Other equipment in SAS includes a NuclearMagnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometerand an X-ray Diffractometer, which areused to accurately determine the chemicalcomposition of a wide variety of materialssuch as pharmaceuticals, paints, minerals andplastics. Not only does SAS provide a service tostudents, researchers and academics but theyalso undertake a large amount of commercialanalytical work for external companies. Forexample, they have recently been workingwith a car manufacturer to determine why theseat coverings were wearing out prematurely.Other projects have included the analysis ofpharmaceutical products to determine if theywere genuine or counterfeit.The highly sophisticated equipment and theextremely experienced technical staff withinSAS make for a very powerful combination.How samples are prepared has a hugeinfluence on the results; it takes a great dealof skill to prepare samples for the new TEMmachine, which requires very thin slices about50nm thick and samples for other microscopeshave to be coated with a thin layer of a metalsuch as palladium. There is a small close-knitteam at SAS comprising two analyticalchemists, Joe McMahon and Kirit Amin,with Geoff Parr managing the wholeoperation. All the SAS team have comefrom industry and between them they haveover 95 years' experience in materials andanalytical chemistry.Geoff Parr commented: “We are an unusuallaboratory in the University in that we don’thave researchers or academics. Our philosophyis very much about offering a professionalservice both internally to researchers andexternally to business. Our equipment isstate-of-the-art and expensive to run, so theincome from the external commercial work iscrucial since it makes a major contribution toour running costs. If it weren’t for thecommercial work, we would not be able tooperate much of this equipment and ourresearchers would lose out. The commercialwork is also a great challenge for us – we haveno idea what will come through the door next,but given our experience we have usually comeacross a similar problem before.”Much of the commercial work comes fromlocal companies, many of whom are small andcould not justify purchasing their ownanalytical equipment. One such company isManchester-based Lofrix, who manufactureadditives for use in lubricating oils. Ian Sibbick,a director at Lofrix, said: “I am very impressedwith the range of equipment, the knowledgeof the team and the set up at SAS. We arebased in Manchester and, as a small company,it’s really valuable to us to be able to access thistype of capability.”Professor Nigel Mellor, Pro-Vice-ChancellorEnterprise, concludes: “Since SAS establishedin 2009, Geoff and his team have achievedan excellent reputation within the College ofScience and Technology for their technicalexpertise and ability to solve problems. Theyalso have an impressive range of commercialclients and have established themselves asthe first choice for analytical services witha number of multinational medical devicemanufacturers. Moving forward, they willbe playing a key role in the development ofour innovation cluster, which will be workingclosely with business in the Bio Sector.”For more information about SAS, visit:www.analytical-services.salford.ac.ukt: + 44 (0) 161 295 3343 / 5703 ore: SAS@salford.ac.uk22 | May 2013

Wellness WorksOur “Total Wellbeing Approach” to your business’sworkplace healthWellness Works provides tailor-made solutions for the physical and mental health, as well as wellbeing needs,of businesses like yours.How can we help you?Our primary aim is to help you keep your workforce present, engaged,performing and resilient!Keeping skilled staff in place: avoiding unnecessary staff turnoverand reducing the overall cost of sickness absence for organisations.t: 0161 295 4124e: vocrehab@salford.ac.ukwww.salford.ac.uk/wellness-works

PerspectivesPartnershipsJoining forcesUniversity and the Greater Manchester Fire Serviceteam up to address challengesOverall, more than 20 potentialprojects are currently beingassessed in what Paul Sharples,the Fire Service’s Head ofIntelligence and Knowledge,describes as: “a groundbreaking,all encompassing partnership.”The Fire Service is the largest outsideLondon, with over 2,500 employees and 41fire stations, covering an area of nearly 500square miles and a culturally diversepopulation of 2.5 million people.“Our aim is to build this relationship intoa strategic partnership, underpinned by ourproven relationship managementmethodology,” explains Mike Taylor,a partnership consultant at the University.“The secret is really understanding what theydo and how they do it, what keeps themawake at night and what their strategic aimsand business objectives are.“Equally important is enabling the Fire Serviceto fully understand how the University’sfunding mechanisms work, what we do inthe laboratories and how this world-leadingscientific expertise can help their organisationbecome more efficient and effective.”Project controlCurrent projects include work with sportssscientists from the University’s College ofHealth & Social Care, who have developedfitness programmes specifically forfirefighters, as well as specialised rehabilitationand occupational health services.Continuous professional development isanother key element of the partnership.A new business within the University,Salford Professional Development, is creatingbespoke courses which include managementand leadership training, while the University’sEnergy Hub team will be teaching firefightershow to use thermal imaging cameras.“The technology was originally used to helpus assess and measure the impact of insulationon properties, as part of the Green Deal,” saysTaylor. “But we discovered that it can also beused by firefighters to help locatea fire’s hot-spot.”The partnership is also developing a virtualreality ‘City’ at the University’s facilities atMediaCityUK as part of a Knowledge TransferPartnership, which addresses another veryreal need, says Taylor. “The fire service isattending less and less house fire call outsdue to the success of its prevention strategy,so training fire fighters is becomingincreasingly difficult.”What these projectsshow is how theUniversity can apply thescientific research andideas developed by ouracademics for use in oneindustry to somethingcompletely new, inthis case helping theemergency services.The project is designed to embed the use ofmixed reality learning in the way in which bothincident management and firefighting aretaught. It also addresses the fact that futurebudgets require new and innovative ways ofdelivering training, which currently involveexercises with actual buildings and vehicles,which are both costly and resource heavy.What has particularly impressed Sharples isthat: “the University is able to develop a virtualGreater Manchester, with exact 3D replicastreet layouts, buildings and even firefightersand engines. If we were to buy an off-the-shelfvirtual reality system, it would be veryexpensive to tailor it to our exact needs.“So what we’re getting is a system that’s fit forpurpose, embedded within the organisationand, from the public’s perspective, is goodvalue for money.”The organisations are also looking at a possiblelink up around robotics and artificialintelligence, with the University working on adrone which could be used to give firefightersan aerial view and thermal images of anincident. They are also developing anautonomous robot called a 'Husky', whichis capable of independently entering andassessing the inside of a building, beforesending live 3D thermal images back toofficers to help improve decision making.The University is assisting with environmentalmanagement too, helping the fire service tomanage issues such as water use, urban diffusepollution and the effect on the watercourseof the chemical-based foam often used tofight fires.Innovative thinkingThe sheer breadth of the partnership is shownby one last initiative, involving the University’sSalford Housing and Urban Studies Unit,which is carrying out culture and communitymapping for the fire service.“We’re aware that certain communities acrossGreater Manchester have traditional culturalissues which could make them morevulnerable to the dangers of fire,” saysSharples. “By finding out exactly where thesecommunities are, we can develop a moretargeted campaign of prevention.” And Tayloradds: “What these projects show is how theUniversity can apply the scientific research andideas developed by our academics for use inone industry to something completely new, inthis case helping the emergency services.”Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Enterprise, Dr NigelMellors, said: "We are establishing a systemwhere we approach a business as a completeuniversity, rather than one department offeringone service."24 | May 2013

Chief Fire Officer Steve McGuirk with Vice-Chancellor Martin HallAre you interested in being involved in our healthand rehabilitation research?The School of Health Sciences at the University of Salford is thelargest of its kind in the country, and we are always looking forpeople to take part in our research.This often involves both people with the conditions we are studyingand ‘healthy’ people. By volunteering, you could play an importantpart in helping to improve the health and welfare ofyour community.To help us contact potential volunteers, we have established aregister of people who have expressed an interest in our work butwe are always looking for more participants.If you are interested in finding out more about joiningthe register please contact us for an information pack.Please note you must be aged 18 years or over.For more information contact:t: 0161 295 7016 e: hsresearch@salford.ac.ukwww.salford.ac.uk/health-sciences/researchMay 2013 | 25

PerspectivesCommercialising researchMaking small spacesseem biggerThe unique properties of activated carbon, a substance that hasbeen around for centuries, are central to the plans of a newspin-out company.Activated carbon iscommonly found inproducts such as odoureaters, gas masks and loudspeakers, and has also beenused for water filters.But now its ability to absorb noise, and toseemingly make smaller spaces appear muchbigger, is being harnessed for a whole newrange of uses.Carbon Air was set up on the back of a studyby the University’s Acoustic Research Group,explains the company’s ManagingDirector, John Coakley. The research group waschecking out some startling claims about theacoustic properties of activated carbon thathad been made by a loud speakermanufacturer. And although they set outto disprove them, they ended up provingthe ideas.Research councils thatfund R&D are increasinglylooking for impact.“The unique properties of activated carbonare its amazing ability to eat up low frequencynoise and to make small spaces behave asif they are much larger,” says Coakley.Activated carbon is created by drivingsteam through lumps of charcoal at hightemperatures and at high pressure.This removes all its impurities, leaving a‘scaffold’ of millions of pores and holes.“It’s like a sponge at a microscopic level”continues John. “It’s just riddled with holes,and each hole is riddled with holes, and so on.It’s got a huge surface area.”And it’s these properties which allow it tosoak up noise, and absorb gas and air,making smaller spaces seem bigger.The company’s Technical Director is Universityalumnus Dr Rodolfo Venegas, continuesCoakley. “He developed some amazingsoftware that can simulate the behaviour ofcarbon, both acoustically and mechanically,and it’s this magic algorithm that we arenow putting to use.”Carbon which has been activated by highpressure steam is like a sponge at microscopiclevels, and has a huge surface area.The company is in discussions with a range ofbusinesses to commercialise their findings, sospecifics are confidential. But Coakley says thatactivated carbon has a wide range of uses intransportation, with its ability to make smallspaces seem bigger, particularly useful whendeveloping air-spring suspension for cars,trucks and even trains. Components canalso be made lighter and smaller, whichappeals to the automotive sector, he adds.In construction, it will allow developers toinstall noise absorbers which are considerablythinner and more efficient than manycurrent solutions.“Carbon’s not just the future, it’s the past too,”says John. “Activated carbon has been knownabout for centuries and its behaviour too butno-one has ever done much commerciallywith its capacity to change the behaviour ofair. From all our patent searching, it wouldappear that we are now at the forefront ofa new technology.”The commercialisation processCarbon Air is the latest example of a successfulUniversity spin-out, a phenomenon which isbecoming increasingly important within highereducation, explains Dr Blake Prime,Commercialisation Associate at the University.“Research councils that fund a lot of R&D areincreasingly looking for impact,” he says.“And that means taking the research out of thelab and putting it into an industrial environment.”When the University decides not to take anidea forward alone, continues Prime, theyapproach investors. “We explain that we’vegot an opportunity and we want to take itout of the University so that it’s managedprofessionally in a commercial way. This iswhere spin-out companies come in. Theway the deal works is that in return for theintellectual property - the basis of the company- we will take a shareholding in it.”26 | May 2013

The University has a strong track record ofdeveloping spin-outs. Among them are coatingspecialists CVD Technologies, which wascreated in 2000, and Onco-NX, a far newerbusiness that is helping to commercialiseanti-cancer therapeutics developed at theUniversity.“The other way we work is to licencesomething ourselves,” continues Prime.For example, the University’s Spray ResearchGroup has developed a new valve designwhich could play an important role inhelping to phase out VOCs (Volatile OrganicCompounds), which were introduced duringthe 1980s to replace CFCs in aerosols. Thenew valve will allow manufacturers to usecompressed air as a propellant instead.“A good track record of spin-out companiesand licensing agreements makes theUniversity much more attractive to researchcouncils and makes them more likely to fundfurther research,” says Prime.Want to continue toreceive Perspectivestwice a year?Please fill in our subscriptionform online at:www.salford.ac.uk/perspectivesYou can choose to receive a hard copy,an electronic version, or both.You can also let us know what types ofprojects or issues you’d like to receivemore info about in the future.“If you can demonstrate that you are tryingto get research out there into society,via commercialisation, you’re more likely toget further research grants, too.“And it is also good for staff, as it gives themexperience of the real needs of industry, whichin turn helps to inform their future research.”The Technology Transfer team are alsoworking on a diverse range of otherprojects reflecting the breadth of researchat Salford, including:❚ A new type of biological microscope forreal-time imaging of live cells❚ New drug candidates for treatment ofcancer and vascular disease❚ Sports footwear designed to reduceplayer injuries❚ A welding torch that minimises theoperator’s exposure to hazardous fumes❚ An improved fabrication step in theproduction process for semiconductorsand solar cells.If you’re interested in finding out anymore about projects or technologiesthe University is looking to spin-out,visit: www.salford.ac.uk/business/technology or contact Dr Blake Primeat b.m.prime@salford.ac.uke: ri-magazine@salford.co.ukt: 0161 295 3122May 2013 | 27

PerspectivesBooksOn our reading list...This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but rather give you asense of the breadth of the published work being undertakenat the University.Professor of Criminology, Chris Birkbeck,wrote Collective Morality and Crime in theAmericas, which was published by Routledgein 2012. This study examines the ways inwhich the moral community is talked intobeing in relation to crime, and the objects ofconcern that typically occupy its attention. Healso published Comparative Criminology:Case studies of Crime, Social Control andMorality in Spanish, with Editorial Dykinsonin Madrid. This book brings together 15 of hisarticles on Criminology published since 2000,which deal with varied topics relating to crimeand criminal justice, many of them using datafrom Venezuela.Ralph Darlington, Professor of EmploymentRelations and Director of PostgraduateResearch in Salford Business School, wroteRadical Unionism, published by HaymarketBooks. It provides a comparative analysis ofthe dynamics and trajectory of the syndicalistmovement that swept the world during thefirst two decades of the twentieth century,which was committed to revolutionary tradeunion struggle and raised fundamentalquestions about the need for new democraticforms of power through which workers couldcollectively manage industry and society.Dr Ben Halligan also authored The MusicDocumentary, which offers a comprehensivediscussion of the history of musicdocumentaries, insights in their productionand promotion, close studies of documentariesrelating to favourite bands or performers, andapproaches to questions of music documentaryand form, from the celluloid to the digital age.Video Gamers by Professor Garry Crawfordis the first book to explicitly and comprehensivelyaddress how digital games are engaged with andexperienced in the everyday lives, social networksand consumer patterns of those who play them.He also wrote Online Gaming in Context:The social and cultural significance of onlinegames to explore the opportunities, challengesand patterns of gameplay and sociality affordedby the Internet and online gaming.28 | May 2013Reverberations by Ben Halligan andMichael Goddard, of the School of Arts andMedia, is the first of two books arising froma conference convened at Salford in Summer2010, called “Bigger than Words, Wider thanPictures: Noise, Affect, Politics”.It considers noise from political, sociological,architectural, legal and artistic perspectives. It isthe first such study to expand methodologicaland analytical approaches across a number offields. Its sister volume, Resonances: Noiseand Contemporary Music, will be publishedthis summer.Gill James, Programme Leader and Lecturerin English, had five titles published in 2012,including Otherwhere and Elsewhen:tales of alternative realities. If you weren’tconvinced before that there were other realities,you certainly will be after you’ve read thiscollection of stories that take place in anothertime and another space, light years from here.James also wrote two young adult novelsincluding Spooking and A Gallery for Nick.On This Day is a collection of short storiesabout everyday lives and how they are gentlyconnected with a day’s world shattering event,from President Kennedy’s assassination and thedeath of Princess Diana to 9/11. A percentageof the author’s royalties are being donated toInternational Rescue Training Centre Wales(IRTCW), who provide search and rescue dogsto the emergency services.

Along with Deb Hobz-Wyatt, James alsoco-edited Café Lit. Each story in this littlevolume is the right length and quality forenjoying as you sip the assigned drink in yourfavourite creative café. You need never feelalone again in a café. Also available as ane-book from Kindle.Family Interventions in Mental Health byNeil Withnell and Neil Murphy, lecturers inthe School of Nursing Midwifery and SocialWork, addresses the importance of workingwith families and staging effective familyinterventions as an important and logical aspectof promoting recovery in mental health nursing.and based on fieldwork conducted by theauthor and material in Sima it provides one ofthe first studies of any non-state language toinclude data from new technology.Photography & the Artist’s Book wasedited by Theresa Wilkie, JonathanCarson & Rosie Miller, all of the Schoolof Arts & Media, to highlight the renewedinterest in the relationship of photographyand the artist’s book, both as a work of artand as an alternative means of exhibitionand dissemination. The theorising of thephotographic essay, and notions of “conceptualdocumentary”, have become important areasof discourse for practitioners and theoristsalike who are interested in working with thephotograph in book form.Safeguarding children from abroad:refugee, asylum-seeking and traffickedchildren in the UK, co-edited by Emma Kelly,Lecturer in Social Work, examines the issues andproblems faced by ‘separated’ children, thatis children from abroad who are alone in theUK. With contributions from practitioners andacademics, the book considers the safeguardingneeds of separated children and how theseneeds should be met.Communication skills for Children’s Nurses,edited by Veronica Lambert, ProfessorTony Long and Deirdre Kelleher, willhelp children’s nurses to communicate withconfidence, sensitivity and effectiveness; tomeet the individual needs of children and theirfamilies. The book emphasises the importanceof listening to and respecting children’s viewsand rights, in addition to respecting parentresponsibility, rights and duty to act in the child’sbest interests.The results of a painstaking 15-year study intoone of Tameside’s most historic sites have beenpublished in a new book by University of Salfordarchaeologist Dr Michael Nevell. BucktonCastle, which overlooks Stalybridge, was builtin the 12th Century by the Earls of Chester toconsolidate their lands and protect them fromthe threat of incursion by the Scots. It wasoccupied for around a hundred years, but untilnow little has been known of it.The Structure of Mehri, by ProfessorJanet Watson, is a comprehensive linguisticdescription of two major Mehri dialect groups:Mahriyōt, the eastern Yemeni dialect of Mehrispoken in Ḥawf, and Mehreyyet, the Mehriof the Omani Najd. Mehri is the most widelyspoken of the six Modern South Arabianlanguages, with populations in eastern Yemen,western Oman, the southern fringes of SaudiArabia, and parts of the Gulf. The Structure ofMehri provides the first description of Mahriyōt,Professor Igor Shabalin published Ultra-High Temperature Materials as part of theSpringer Series in Material Science.The work is a thorough treatment of ultra-hightemperature materials with melting pointsover 2,500°C. The reader is provided with thefull qualitative and quantitative assessmentfor the materials, which could be applied invarious engineering devices and environmentalconditions at ultra-high temperatures, on thebasis of the latest updates in the field of physics,chemistry, materials science and engineering.Note: Only books published in the past 12months have been included. For an up-todatelist of all publication activities, includingconference proceedings, book chapters andreports, as well access to many peer-reviewedjournal articles, visit our open access onlinerepository at www.salford.ac.uk/usirMay 2013 | 29

PerspectivesArchaeologyEducational archaeologist Kirsty Whittall and a young volunteer30 | May 2013

Do you dig it?Dig Greater Manchester is a major community archaeology programmeled by Salford’s Centre for Applied Archaeology and is the largestproject of its kind in EnglandThe project, which began in 2011 and isfunded by the Association of GreaterManchester Authorities (AGMA) and theborough of Blackburn with Darwen, isbeing led by staff from the Centre forApplied Archaeology and managed by members of allproject partners. The overall aim is to involve thousandsof people from local communities in the investigationof their local history under the theme of: 'Accessing,Exploring and Celebrating your Heritage.'Over the course of the project to date more than6,000 people across Greater Manchester, ranging fromabsolute beginners and schoolchildren to experiencedarchaeology volunteers, have become involved in theirown history and heritage through taking part in anarchaeological excavation.This choice would be based on the most successfulevaluation results in terms of archaeological findings,schools participation and volunteer numbers.”Adding value through community cohesionFrom the outset, Dig Greater Manchester had to beabout far more than simply increasing numbers involvedin archaeological work; it had to have real, tangiblecommunity benefits.In October 2009 the Department of Communitiesand Local Government published its Building CohesiveCommunities: what frontline activities need to knowreport, which called on volunteer, charity and localgovernment bodies to ‘develop a shared story of placethat takes into account the history of the locality andits communities’......................................To find out more about theDig Greater Manchesterproject or to volunteer, contactSenior Archaeologist, BrianGrimsditch on 0161 2953821 or email b.grimsditch@salford.ac.ukAll of this contributes to the project’s three overarchingresearch aims, which are to examine the significanceof community archaeology, the practice of communityarchaeology and the archaeology of industrialisation inthe Manchester city region.“We finalised the detailed project design for DigGreater Manchester in March 2011,” explains DrMichael Nevell, Head of Archaeology at CfAA, the onlyuniversity-based archaeology organisation which isalso located within a School of the Built Environment.“This contained all of the detailed project activities,delivery outputs, milestones and added value for thewhole five-year project. Based on the initial pilot studylist of suitable archaeological sites we decided thateach local authority should have one evaluation ofthree weeks’ duration during the first three years andthen two flagship large-scale, five-week archaeologicalexcavations would be chosen for the final two years.It was with this inspiration to view the explorationof the past as an endless and significant quest whichempowers people that the project was founded, and anumber of themes and key target groups were adopted.At its heart the project aims to improve communitycohesion, increase youth participation, reduceworklessness, promote healthy living and increaselearning outside of the classroom. This is achievedthrough targeting volunteer archaeologists, local groupsand associations, local communities, schools, people notin employment and those with disabilities to becomeinvolved. Volunteers receive in-depth training in variousnon-intrusive archaeological techniques such as historicalresearch, geophysical surveys, archaeological buildingsurveys, graveyard surveys and finds processing.May 2013 | 31

PerspectivesArchaeologyWhile these in themselves are worthy aims, it isalso vital that the involvement of these groupsadds quantifiable value. It is expected, forinstance, that the number of volunteer days bythe time the project is complete will number over5,000, which in itself is estimated to be worthover £375,000 at Heritage Lottery Fund estimatesof £75 per volunteer day.To complement this, it is anticipated that theincreased participation and publicity created bythe project will also lead to a number of new localhistory and archaeology societies being created,which will be supported through the loaning ofequipment and provision of training.By the numbers❚ Over 6,000 local people involvedto date with over 10,000 expectedin totalIncluding:❚ 6,500 schoolchildren❚ 4,000 local volunteers puttingin 5,000 daysIndeed, proof of this aim has already beenprovided with the creation of the Bury LocalHistory Group, set up by one of the volunteerswhose interest in the subject was fuelled whilehelping out at the Bury excavation in Radcliffe’sClose Park.The enthusiasm of youth, meanwhile, is beingtapped through extensive work with localschools. “This is a key aspect of the programme,as archaeology is an excellent subject for bothformal and informal learning,” explains BrianGrimsditch, Senior Archaeologist at CfAA.Bury Council recently made a bid to the HeritageLottery Fund to undertake further work at thesite of Radcliffe Tower within Close Park. The DigGreater Manchester work already undertaken atthe site has uncovered a great deal of evidence,resulting in much local public interest, and soit is hoped that, if successful, the funds will beused to develop this, involve more communityvolunteers and conserve the remains. Thisapproach will be based on the Dig GreaterManchester methodology and should resultin the provision of greater public access to thetower, a listed building and Ancient ScheduledMonument.The project aims toimprove communitycohesion, increaseyouth participation,reduce worklessness,promote healthyliving and increaselearning outside ofthe classroom. Thisis achieved throughtargeting volunteerarchaeologists, localgroups and associations,local communities,schools, people not inemployment and thosewith disabilities tobecome involved.Evaluations to date❚ March 2012 – Etherstone Hall,Leigh – Wigan❚ July 2012 – Close Park,Radcliffe – Bury❚ September 2012 – ChaddertonPark – Oldham❚ October 2012 – Reddish ValeCountry Park, Reddish – Stockport❚ March 2013 – Moss Bank Park,Halliwell – Bolton❚ June 2013 – Balderstone Park,Rochdale❚ July 2013 – (Exact location to beconfirmed) – Manchester❚ October 2013 – Buile Hill Park,Salford❚ 2014 – Tameside Borough❚ 2014 – Trafford Borough❚ 2014 – Blackburn withDarwen Borough32 | May 2013

Great excavationsAt the time of writing, five excavation evaluationshave taken place, the first of which was atEtherstone Hall, Wigan in March 2012. The sameyear saw excavations completed near RadcliffeTower in Bury, Chadderton Hall in Oldham andWood Hall in Stockport.The Wigan evaluation explored the archaeologyof a medieval house, which was rebuilt by a localcotton merchant during the early 19th Century.After the house was demolished the site becameovergrown with woodland and was blighted byfly-tipping, vandalism and anti-social behaviour.As a direct result of the archaeological evaluationand community interest generated, the localcouncil cleared the area and made it safe, creatingfootpaths and a performance space for long-termcommunity use in the process.The second evaluation in Bury’s Close Parkexplored the area around the medieval RatcliffeTower and the later workers’ housing, whichwas built as part of a bleach works that occupiedthe site in the 19th and 20th centuries.This successful excavation uncovered muchevidence and generated a great deal of publicinterest, resulting in the creation of the Bury LocalHistory Group and the Heritage Lottery Fund biddue to be decided this summer. Meanwhile, theclose relationship that developed with the localcouncil as part of the Oldham project has resultedin the team being asked to design a projectfor further work on the site, and the Stockportevaluations saw park rangers working closelywith school groups which has led to further jointinitiatives between these two departments.“We are extremely pleased with the responsewe’ve had to the evaluations so far,” saysGrimsditch. "Seeing the community soenthusiastic at the first excavation in Wigan setthe tone for the rest of the year, and directlyresulted in the council taking an active interestin the site and making it fit again for public use.These are tangible outcomes on top of the targetswe have set internally for the project, and it is sopleasing to know that the work we are doing ismaking a real difference.“On site at Moss Bank Park in Bolton, which wasthe first dig of 2013, we identified the remains ofan 18th century mansion house belonging to theowner of the bleach works, and Higher Bank,a row of workers’ cottages.May 2013 | 33

PerspectivesArchaeology"Once again, we’ve had an excellent responsefrom the community and it was so pleasing tosee that all of the volunteer places were fullybooked more than four weeks prior to the startof the dig. While we are extremely sorry to haveto turn anyone away due to lack of places, butwe believe that this shows what interest there isout there in local heritage, and so hopefully thatinterest can be harnessed into the future.”With further excavations planned for 2013 inRochdale, Salford and Manchester, it certainlyseems that this sense of community enthusiasmfor local heritage is set to continue.Past and future come face-to-faceSince the very first excavation in Wigan, theproject has seen several undergraduate andpostgraduate students from local universitiesvolunteering on site, keen to improve theirfieldwork skills and boost their portfolios.Students from the nearby universities ofManchester and Bolton, Leicester andSheffield have also taken part, while from furtherafield students have travelled from Scotlandand even Australia and New Zealand to gainsome on-site experience.“As an archaeology student from another countrywho has not yet had the chance to participate inan archaeological excavation, my experience withthe Dig Greater Manchester project has beenfantastic,” said Ryna from Australia during thetime she took part in the Etherstone and NewtonHall excavations. “I received a tremendousamount of help, guidance, support and carefrom everyone on board. I was also allowed toparticipate in various tasks and learned quite alot about excavation methods and techniques,the methods of conducting an archaeologyresearch project and what is required in terms ofsurveying, gathering information and workingas a team. Dig Greater Manchester also gave memany opportunities to meet other like-mindedpeople and establish some useful contacts for myfuture endeavours in archaeology. I would highlyrecommend this volunteering opportunity tostudents of archaeology who are building up theirfieldwork experience, archaeology enthusiastsand all who have an interested in local heritage.I found it highly rewarding and enjoyable to bepart of this project."One of the schools that visited the Wiganexcavation in 2012 was St Joseph’s PrimarySchool in Leigh, and headteacher Anne McNally,who organised the activity, says that the childrenfound it extremely worthwhile. “Our childrenhave been inspired by the dig and the work theyhave been doing. During the warm weather justbefore we finished for Easter the children wereallowed on the school field. A number of themcame to me with handfuls of pottery that theyhad dug up from just below the surface of ourland and were talking about what they thoughtthey were and who had used them. The schoolis built on land where terraced houses and amill used to be, and these treasures are now ondisplay in class!”By accessing, exploringand celebrating the cityregion’s unique heritage, weare helping communitiesto understand and enjoytheir local history in a veryhands-on way, leading to itbeing cherished more and,therefore, protected bythose communities.Opening access to allTo complement this capturing of youthfulenthusiasm and to make the project accessibleto as many people as possible, opportunitiesto participate have also been made availableto people with learning disabilities and otherspecial needs.One example of how this has beenenthusiastically received is provided by the waythe Manchester Learning Difficulties Partnershiphas attended all five digs so far. “The partnershipdeal with people with learning difficulties andit has been wonderful to welcome them to allof our sites up to now,” says Brian. “There aretwo groups within the partnership: one thatuses art work to improve and create learningopportunities, and another that does morephysical work on the sites, including someexcavation. During their time with us thetherapists and supervisors said that they’veobserved improvements in their clients as a resultof the work they’ve been doing, which is anotherextremely worthwhile result that, while difficultto quantify in a report, is what Dig GreaterManchester is all about.“Related to this, and also less tangible in termsof quantifiable outputs, we have also had severalpeople work on site with us who have difficultiesmixing with others, including a keen archaeologystudent who was going to leave her course dueto these issues. We were contacted by her tutorand mentor and provided a placement for her onthe digs, which included further practical training,and we’re told that this has really contributedto her catching up with her coursework andrefocusing on her studies."We’ve also welcomed a local resident withdyslexia who has been unable to find permanentemployment, and who was noticeably reticentto talk or mix with other volunteers on the firstWigan dig. As a result of the satisfaction he gainsfrom being part of the project he has since beento every dig, and the vast improvement in hisconfidence is noticeable to the point where we’renow able to place inexperienced volunteers withhim for training,” he adds.Exploring, understanding, inspiringinto the futureWith further excavations in 2013 still to come inRochdale, Salford and Manchester, it also seemscertain that this good work will continue, and thebenefits will continue to be shared.“By accessing, exploring and celebrating thecity region’s unique heritage, we are helpingcommunities to understand and enjoy their localhistory in a very hands-on way, leading to itbeing cherished more and, therefore, protected.This definitely cultivates a sense of place anddistinctiveness,” explains Dr Nevell. “WhatDig Greater Manchester is doing is creating anopportunity for local communities to becomeinvolved in their own history and heritage ina number of ways. We are already seeing theproject act as a catalystto inspirefurther analysis,presentation and, most importantly, enjoyment,of local heritage.”34 | May 2013

Social Care newsStudy investigates welfareconditions and behaviouralchangeThe University of Salford is leading a majorresearch study into the conditions attached towelfare benefits and whether they are successfulin changing the behaviour of claimants.The Economic and Social Research Council(ESRC) is funding the five-year £2.5m projectwhich brings together leading researchersfrom the University of Salford, University ofSheffield, Sheffield Hallam University,Heriot-Watt University and the University ofStirling. The study will explore the ethics andefficacy of welfare conditionality which hasincreased over the last 20 years to encouragethe ‘positive’ behaviour of welfare recipients,for example undertaking a training or workprogramme in order to claim Job Seekers’Allowance or complying with conditions relatedto family intervention projects.In addition to influencing future welfare policyand practice, the study aims to contributetowards training the next generation ofsocial researchers by establishing eight PhDstudentships.Project to bring almost1,000 empty homes backinto useWorking with the Association of GreaterManchester Authorities, the University hopes tofind new ways to trace and communicate withthe owners of 930 empty homes across theregion. Experts from the University’s Housing andUrban Studies Unit and Salford Business Schoolwill be using innovative ways to trace absenteeowners and encourage them to bring theirproperty back into use.The problem of empty homes in GreaterManchester is a pressing one. There are 25,000empty properties in the region and if they wereall brought back into the market they wouldhelp address the 100,000-strong social housingwaiting list. However the reasons for being theowner of an empty home are diverse and evenmore difficult to address. Homeowners can belocated almost anywhere, be of any ethnic orage profile and may be unwilling or unable todo anything with the house due to finance,emotional attachment or family breakdown.The aim is to bring 930 homes back into useduring the project, but more importantly, to learnlessons that can be applied in Greater Manchesterand, eventually, further afield. To help solve theproblem the researchers will be working withofficers from Tameside Metropolitan BoroughCouncil to develop new techniques.This includes exploring how social media couldengage with empty home owners, as well aslinking owners to housing organisations that willbe able to manage the empty home ontheir behalf.Salford researchers securemajor EU Roma grant toreduce racismThe University is the lead research partner in aEurope-wide project to reduce discriminationagainst Roma and promote better integration ofthis marginalised group with the rest of society.Approximately six million Roma live within theEU and they make up the continent’s biggestethnic minority. However, they continue toface marginalisation, with the European RomaRights Centre recently reporting on issues suchas forced evictions in Romania and Italy andsegregated education in the Czech Republic.Led by Migration Yorkshire, the Roma MATRIXproject spans ten European countries andcomprises 19 partner organisations. Salford willbe conducting a number of research activitieswithin the project to meet the objective ofreducing discrimination against Roma.The University will conduct fieldworkacross Europe to evaluate and compare theeffectiveness of existing policies and structuresto reduce anti-Gypsyism.Closer to home, the Salford team (made upof Professor Peter Dwyer, Dr Philip Brown andDr Lisa Scullion) will develop a UK networkof interested policy makers, practitioners,academics and researchers, end users andother stakeholders to improve integration byinfluencing both policy and practice. A Romamentoring scheme will also be established bySalford, partnering with a public authority, toprovide training, support and experience aroundworking within this sector.The project is the second consecutive EU grantthat Salford will deliver in partnership withMigration Yorkshire, building on previous andongoing projects that focus on Central andEastern European Roma. Roma MATRIX is atwo-year project commencing in April 2013and will complete in early 2015.May 2013 | 35

PerspectivesBusinessGo global with social mediaCould social media be the key to helping companies and students overcome thechallenges of working in different business cultures? This is the premise behinda new body of research carried out at the University in conjunction with sevenEuropean partners, called Passport to Trade 2.0.The project has been designedto help small and medium-sizedbusinesses (SMEs) looking toexpand into foreign markets, aswell as students wanting to takework placements or jobs abroad. It providesan extensive and free guide to business culturein 31 European countries, and covers socialmedia etiquette, advice about online andface-to-face networking, and tips for trading inthese countries. By exploring the ways in whichbusiness is carried out in different countries,the guides are setting out to demystify businessetiquette and protocol, explains Dr AleksejHeinze, from the Centre for Digital Business atthe Salford Business School.“We want to give businesses and individualsthe knowledge and support they need tosucceed abroad,” he says.36 | May 2013The project has been funded by the EuropeanCommission and evolved from an earlierproject, which looked at business culture in 25European countries and offered online businesssupport for SMEs interested in developing linkswith companies in other EU countries. Theproject team is now working with universitiesand companies from around Europe toprecisely map out the use of global socialmedia networks in Europe.The research is based around interviews withover 240 SMEs and nearly 1,400 students,and focus groups with the survey covering theissues and obstacles they face when tryingto trade or work abroad. All country guidesproduced are peer reviewed by students andcompanies from the countries being studied.Based on this research, a European MobilityFramework structure has been developed,which highlights key elements to be consideredfor businesses and students who wish to besuccessful in other European countries.This Framework highlights country-specificattitudes to punctuality, business meetings,business negotiations, use of social medianetworks and student placements,amongst others.Free tradeMore than half the SMEs that responded to thesurvey reported using social media as a wayof generating leads and developing businesspartnerships, a figure which greatly encouragessocial media-based innovations and businessdevelopment. The predominant use of socialmedia networks across Europe is for increasingcustomer awareness of the business. A top tipfor any business is to set up basic social

media monitoring to survey comments that arepublished about their business. For example, anyestablishment that has reviews on TripAdvisorhas to reply to any negative comments and takeactions where needed.Top Tip: set up socialmedia monitoring to surveycomments that are publishedabout your business.Around 99% of business within the EU is carriedout by SMEs but just 8% of these companies areinvolved in the, often lucrative, export markets.The team suggest that harnessing the power ofsocial media could help to radically change thisbecause social networks increase the potentialfor international collaboration by making thewhole process faster and simpler. Their researchcan help SMEs to develop new social mediastrategies and provide them with the socialmedia marketing tools and techniques theyneed to effectively engage with new businessopportunities and expand into new markets.Social mobilityThe research also highlights that although thereare some common social networks amongstbusinesses, such as LinkedIn and Twitter, othercountry-specific networks are also popular, suchas Xing in Germany and Vladeo in France.The vast majority of students, on the otherhand, use Facebook. “Social media can help toplay an important role in fostering mobility andbreaking down cultural barriers,” says Aleksej.“For young people, traditional country bordersare no longer obstacles when it comes todeveloping their networks.”Further details about the project, includingthe social media guides and details about thevarious European partners, are available at:www.businessculture.org. Aleksej recentlypresented the project at the monthly Research,Innovation and Enterprise Exchange, powered byPechaKucha, and the slides are available onlineat: www.slideshare.net/unisalfordMeet Aleksej and other Salford Business Schoolcolleagues at the launch of the Centre for DigitalBusiness on 5 June at MediaCityUK (see Eventslisting on page 56 for more details).This project has been funded with supportfrom the European Commission. Thispublication reflects the views only of theauthor, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for anyuse which may be made of the information contained therein.Venue Hire at MediaCityUKSuitable for the most ambitiousand imaginative eventsCombining state-of-the-art technology, experiencedprofessionals and stunning views over The Quays,MediaCityUK is an excellent choice for your nextmeeting or event.The venue can accommodate:❚ Award ceremonies❚ Product launches❚ Exhibitions, conferences and break-out rooms❚ Networking events❚ Location filming❚ Creative studio spaceFor more information contact:t: 0161 295 5114 e: p.butlin@salford.ac.ukwww.salford.ac.uk/MediaCityUK/venue

PerspectivesNewsDigital newsSalford data-miningknowledge helpsnot-for-profit lendingA two-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), funded with the helpof the Economic and Social Research Council, as well as the Engineeringand Physical Sciences Research Council, has been helping people on lowincomes access finance more readily. East Lancashire Moneyline (IPS) Ltd,a not-for-profit industrial and provident society that provides access tocredit, savings and advice, is set to increase its lending by 50%, topping£10 million this year.“Benefit claimants and others on low incomes typically have difficultyin obtaining loans because they fall outside the lending criteria of highstreet banks and building societies,” explains Diane Burridge, ChiefFinancial Officer of Moneyline.“Our typical customer relies wholly or partially on benefits and has noalternative but to manage their finances from week to week, so whenan unexpected item of expenditure occurs they often have little or nodisposable income or savings to meet that need.” To help tackle thefinancial exclusion experienced by low income groups, as well as reducethe risk of bad debts, researchers from the University of Salford workedin partnership with Moneyline to develop a consistent and objectiveframework of risk assessment for use in the process of loan approval.Professor Sunil Vadera, from the School of Computing, Science andEngineering at the University of Salford, explains: “The main aim of theKTP was to create a framework to assist loan approval at East LancashireMoneyline by applying data mining methods to a real-world problemwhere success would have a positive impact on improving financialinclusion.”Data mining is the process of detecting patterns in data which can beused to inform decision-making models. “For this project we were ableto combine our expertise in data mining with Professor Karl Dayson’sknowledge of microfinance and Dr Jia Wu’s experience of data analysisto understand the socio-economic factors and personal circumstancesthat can influence loan approval for those on low incomes,”Professor Vadera concludes.Identifying patterns of data in, for example, cash machine use enabledresearchers to create a web-based Credit Risk Assessment Tool (CRET) foruse in the objective assessment of loan applications. Using this tool hasenabled East Lancashire Moneyline to move from a relatively simple andinformal means of assessing loan applications to a consistent frameworkfor risk management.Participants playing the Volcano Simulation GameTHINKlab developsVolcano SimulationGame for BBC LearningIn collaboration with the University’s THINKLAB, BBC Learning isexploring how interactive digital media could be used to introducescientific and nature subjects in a more exciting manner. As a first partof a series of interactive learning programmes, THINKLAB has beencommissioned by the BBC Learning team to produce an interactivelearning platform to introduce the science behind volcanic explosions.The novel platform produced by the THINKLab team allow two playersto enter into an volcanic island and, using body gestures, change theparameters such as gas content, crystal content, silica and magmaflow to affect the type and intensity of the volcano eruptions. The finalscore is calculated based on the time taken to complete the task andthe height of the eruption. The game has been successfully trialed by agroup of children invited by the BBC to experiment with the controls.This gaming platform will be part of the ‘tool kit’ for the BBC Learningevents run throughout the year. The audiences for these events varyfrom children to adults depending on the subject matter and THINKLABwill continue working with BBC Learning to modify this gesture-basedgaming platform to present suitable data for each audience.For more information on the THINKLAB, including how yourbusiness could use the venue and its technology, visit:www.thinklab.salford.ac.uk38 | May 2013

The mislabelling of fish is now amajor international concern.Fish stocks around the world arebeing over-exploited – in the last50 years nearly one in four of theworld’s fisheries has collapsed– and there has also been a dramatic rise inso-called IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated)fishing. Worth as much as €20 billion a year, it’san industry that is putting further pressure on thesustainability of our fisheries in part due tomislabelling.Led by Dr Stefano Mariani, a marine biologist fromthe School of Environment & Life Sciences, a teamis investigating how to optimise and standardisethe way in which seafood products are geneticallyidentified, and ultimately make it easier toprosecute mislabelling offenders. According toMariani, part of the problem stems from the factthat most fish are now processed at sea, wheremany of the features that set individual speciesapart are removed.As a result, fish is sold in such a processed statethat it’s hard to know exactly what type of fish itis. This can lead to product substitution, when lessvaluable, more common species are mislabelledas rarer and often more expensive fish. As well asbreaking quotas for certain species, and putting afurther strain on the sustainability of fish stocks,it’s a practice that also cheats the consumerand may also expose them to the risk of foodallergies. “But don’t blame the fisherman,” saysMariani. “It’s a complicated supply chain and it’sthe big processing plants, supermarket chainsand suppliers that will decide the fate of differentbatches and orders of fish.”A recent survey in Americashowed shocking levelsof mislabelling, with over50% of fish wronglymarked.Worldwide issueIt’s a problem that is rife all over the world.A recent survey in America showed shocking levelsof mislabelling, with over 50% of fish wronglymarked. And despite the strong regulationsintroduced by the EU, there’s evidence that tunaand swordfish caught in the Mediterranean, aswell as North Sea cod, are also being mislabelled.What Mariani believes is needed is a forensic testthat will enable investigators to check whetherfish have been caught illegally, or whether aproduct in a supermarket or restaurant has beenmislabelled. DNA testing is central to this, andoffers a quick, cost-effective and reliable method,which can distinguish between species andprovide the forensic evidence needed to take acase to court. However, at the moment, a varietyof different methods are being used.Dr Stefano Mariani of theSchool of Environment &Life SciencesFish mislabellingA team of researchers at the University ofSalford is working on a process to stop aninsidious practice that is contributing to themismanagement of fish stocks worldwide.“The ultimate aim of the research is to producea simple, standardised process that allows you totake a piece of fish, subject it to the extractionof the DNA, and then the sequencing of aparticular portion of the DNA that identifiesthe actual species that you are dealing with,”explains Mariani. “It’s a process that is verysimilar to that which has been used in the recenthorse meat scandal.”Mariani’s research is part of a European projectcalled LABELFISH, which includes partners inIreland, Portugal, Spain, France and Germany, andwill focus on eight of the most popular species- Atlantic cod, haddock, hake, monkfish, plaice,tuna, ling and sardine. The research will also testthe effectiveness of EU legislation.Mariani’s team, and those in the partnercountries, have been testing shop-boughtsamples of fish using a variety of different DNAtesting technologies.“Traditionally different countries and differentgovernments had different control labs that wereusing different techniques to achieve the sameresults, and there was a lot of inconsistency.This can be a problem with potential legal cases.“We are aiming to standardise this wholeprocess as much as possible and hopefully this willthen become a model used around the world.“We want to ensure that in terms of procedure,collecting, delivery and reproducibility of all theresults, regardless of what country or laboratoryyou’re in, it’s going to be 100% reliable.“Ultimately,” he adds, “I would love to seenational, compulsory and well-enforced genetictesting, and random spot checking of productsalong the production chain in every country.”Below: Dr Mariani performs ademonstration at the ManchesterScience Festival in October 2012May 2013 | 39

PerspectivesMathematicsTheOptimalDartboardTo many people, darts is already a fiendishly difficult game, but now DavidPercy, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Salford, has made it evenharder.He has created the ‘Optimal Dartboard’ by re-arranging the numbers in such away that they minimise the chances of a high-scoring random throw. As wellas alternating odd and even numbers, Percy’s board also groups the numbers insimilar scoring clusters.(1+2+1)/4 Dartboard Comparison13Normal dartboardRunning averages1211109OptimalNormalAverage80 5 10 15 20Position on dartboardOptimal dartboard40 | May 2013

“ People have been lookingat this problem for thelast 30 years, but only asa bit of fun,” ProfessorPercy explains.“ But theywere using the wrongoptimality measureand also ignored the importance of havingalternating odd and even numbers. The idea isto make the dartboard as hard as possible.It is easier for a lucky throw to scorehighly in the left-hand side of the board,where there is a section containing12-9-14, with an average of 11.7, as wellas 16-7-19, with an average score of 14.“What they were looking at was tryingto make the difference between adjacentnumbers as large as possible, so that if youmiss a big number, you get a small number.But what you actually need to do is look atthe total score of two adjacent numbers andtry and make that as similar as possible all theway around the board.”Percy analysed the traditional board by tottingup the average scores for different sectionsof the board and laid out the plans for thenew board in a paper published in the journalMathematics Today.“The average of all the numbers on adartboard is 10.5, so put simply, you can gainby targeting those sections where the averageis higher than that,” he explains. He showedthat it was easier for a lucky throw to scorehighly in the left-hand side of the board,where there is a section containing 12-9-14,with an average of 11.7, as well as 16-7-19,with an average score of 14.With players traditionally trying to get from301 or 501 down to zero, the layout of theoptimal board also makes a big difference atthe end of the game, when players have to goout on a double. If they’re on an odd number,they’ll need to hit another odd number beforebeing able to go for a double. On the oldboard, even the worst player had a goodchance of hitting one close to the bottom ofthe board, with its cluster of four adjacentodd numbers 7, 19, 3 and 17.Percy’s new alternating arrangements hasput pay to this, along with another favourite,double 16. On the traditional board 16 and 8are next to each other, so if you miss double16 and hit single 16 instead, you then requiredouble 8, theoretically making it easier to hitas you already have your sights set on thatpart of the board. Similarly, the 10 and 6 areno longer adjacent, which makes finishingharder when players are on an even number.The dartboard was trialled at the BDO WorldProfessional Darts Championships in Januaryby darts legend Bobby George, and severalprototypes have been developed by leadingdartboard manufacturer Winmau. However,there are no plans to replace the traditionalboard, the numbering of which is thought todate back to the 19th century.Modestly, Percy adds: “Maths is often aboutfinding the optimal solution to a problem andthis is the optimal solution to that particularproblem. I lay no further claims – it was justan interesting piece of work!”May 2013 | 41

PerspectivesNewsBuilt Environment newsFor the latest on the School of the Built Environment, visit: www.salford.ac.uk/built-environmentSalford develops guide forimplementation of Building InformationModelling and Lean ConstructionExpertise from the Universityof Salford’s School of the BuiltEnvironment has been used incompiling a definitive and freeguide to Building InformationModelling (BIM) and LeanConstruction for the industry.Five of the world’s leadingacademics in the developmentof the latest efficient and digitalmethods of construction havewritten a guide for CIRIA, theConstruction Industry Researchand Information Association.Designed for practical useby clients, designers andconstruction companies,the guide covers the entirelifecycle of implementing andembedding these more efficientmethods into a company orproject – resulting in lowercosts and quotes during hardeconomic times.In particular, the University isworking hard within the UK tomake the construction industryaware of the benefits of BIMahead of the Government’simminent requirement for thewhole industry to trial it andLean on public sector projects.As a result, the guide notonly contains advice but alsosuccessful examples sourcedfrom the authors’ experiencearound the world in countrieswhere BIM and Lean is muchmore firmly entrenched inthe sector. These examplesinclude facilities managementat Maryland General Hospitaland planning techniques forthe Skanska Headquarters inFinland.Professor Lauri Koskela from theSchool of the Built Environmentled the writing of the guidealong with colleagues ProfessorArto Kiviniemi, Bhargav Daveand Dr Patricia Tzortzopoulos,alongside former Salfordacademic Robert Owen fromthe Queensland University ofTechnology. The guides can bedownloaded from the CIRIAwebsite – www.ciria.orgBIM demonstrated at THINKlab, photo by Martin RieseIn search of innovationInnovation is one of the key drivers ofeconomic development and a key sourceof new employment opportunities. Indeed,the Regional Innovation Scoreboard showsthat 35% of the variation in regional percapita income (at the EU level) can beexplained by differences in innovativeperformance.Encouraging innovation is, therefore, a keypolicy objective at the regional level. Thescope for expansion in innovative activity isconsiderable in areas with a strong highereducation-based knowledge infrastructure.Innopolis is co-financed by the EuropeanRegional Development Fund (ERDF) and madepossible by the INTERREG IVC programme,which aims to identify and disseminate bestpractice in innovation policy in universitycity-regions. More specifically, the projectfocuses on regional policy that can facilitateknowledge transfer between universities andenterprises. It involves universities and regionalauthorities in four diverse European universitycity-regions: Greater Manchester, Helsinki,Lodz and Thessaloniki.This three-year project is led by the Universityof Salford. So far the project has mapped20 existing policies and identified 125 bestpractices in its four partner regions. The projectwill also study the US, where policies have beenparticularly successful in supporting knowledgetransfer, and Prague as the most innovativepost-socialist city region. Video case studies often such practices can be viewed on the projectwebsite at:http://knowledgecities.eu/intro42 | May 2013

Study proves classroomdesign really does matterIn a pilot study by the University of Salford and architects Nightingale Associates,it was found that the classroom environment can affect a child’s academic progressover a year by as much as 25%.The year-long pilot study was carried outin seven Blackpool LEA primary schools.34 classrooms with differing learningenvironments and age groups took part.The study took two lines of enquiry.The first was to collect data from 751pupils, such as their age, gender andperformance level in maths, readingand writing at the start and end of anacademic year.The second evaluated the holisticclassroom environment, taking intoaccount different design parameters suchas classroom orientation, natural light andnoise, temperature and air quality. Otherissues such as flexibility of space, storagefacilities and organisation, as well as useof colour, were evaluated.This holistic assessment includes bothclassroom design and use factors toidentify what constitutes an effectivelearning environment.Notably, 73% of the variation in pupilperformance driven at the class level canbe explained by the building environmentfactors measured in this study.Current findings suggest that placingan average pupil in the least effective,rather than the most effective, classroomenvironment could affect their learningprogress by as much as the averageimprovement across one year.Through these promising findings, thestudy will continue for a further 18months and cover another 20 schoolsin different areas of the UK. This studyis being funded by the Engineeringand Physical Sciences Research Council(EPSRC) and the Principal Investigator isProfessor Peter Barratt.73% of the variation in pupil performancedriven at the class level can be explainedby the building environment factorsmeasured in this study.May 2013 | 43

PerspectivesNewsFlooded small businesses relyingtoo much on insurance coverFloods in CockermouthNew University of Salford research carried outamong businesses in Cockermouth in Cumbriafollowing catastrophic floods in 2009 has foundthat very few have taken flood protectionmeasures – despite an average 1,750% rise ininsurance excesses being reported among thebusinesses surveyed.The research team from the University’sCentre for Disaster Resilience is now callingfor businesses to make greater use of trainedprofessionals such as chartered surveyorswho can recommend effective mitigation andprevention improvements to their facilities.In the study, of the businesses which hadimplemented at least one measure, the mostcommon action was to review insurance.Comparatively, only 11% had installed floodresilientwall finishes and a similarly lowpercentage had moved stock and equipmentabove floor level.In light of the current guidance, it is importantthat communities at risk of flooding learn tolive and adapt to flooding by implementingadjustments to their property and processesrather than totally relying on insurance.These issues are not only relevant toCockermouth. In 2009, the EnvironmentAgency identified that 5.2 million (or one insix) properties in England are at some risk offlooding, and in 2013 an agreement betweenthe government and insurance industry is setto expire – potentially resulting in muchhigher premiums.As a result, the researchers are keen for thereto be more surveyors who have knowledgeof flood prevention and resistance techniquesand more businesses taking up advice whichcan prevent significant costs, damageand disruption.Researchersare keen forthere to bemore surveyorswho haveknowledge offlood preventionand resistancetechniques.44 | May 2013

Conference ServicesA flexible planning, advisoryand management service forall your conferences and events.Need a venue or helpmanaging your next event?The University of Salford isconveniently located just overa mile (3 km) from Manchestercity centre, as well as a site atMediaCityUK.With a wide variety of venues wecan cater for events serving 10 to1,000 people. We pride ourselveson offering competitive pricingwith a friendly, professionaland flexible service, and inpartnership with Visit Manchestercan assist with everything frombids to logistics.Looking beyond conferences?The diversity of our venues allowsus to host a range of eventsin addition to conferences,including summer schools,football camps and use as afilming location.Let us know how we can help.e: conference-com@salford.ac.ukt: +44 (0) 161 295 5374www.salford.ac.uk/business/conferenceservices

PerspectivesNewsTechnology newsSalford PhD student developsrevolutionary elderly care robotA University of Salford doctoralresearcher has come up witha novel way of dealing withstretched resources causedby us all living longer – aninteractive care robot forelderly people.Antonio Espingardeiro, who isstudying in Salford Business Schooland the School of Computing,Science & Engineering, has createdthe P37 S65 robot, which has theAntonio and his robot prototype ability to remind elderly people totake their medication and exercise, and can even tell jokes. It can alsoprovide 24-hour emergency notifications and will directly connect tocarers or GPs through video conference or SMS. As resources to care forthe elderly become more strained, Antonio believes that his robot cansupplement the intensive care required by many care home residentsand conduct routine tasks without significantly reducing the humancontact that people need. Crucially, one person can monitor manyrobots – requiring fewer trained staff at each site.In fact, based on his earlier studies in care homes, he believes thathis robot can actually improve the quality of life for the elderly bypromoting exercise, playing games and acting as a video link to familyand loved ones. It will also support carers by following them aroundwith meals and alerting them to emergencies and regular appointments.His robot can be programmed with many routine health interventionsthat are designed for people with dementia – such as speech therapyand object recognition exercises. Through face recognition it can alsoremember the preferences and requirements of each patient,as programmed at the instruction of a human worker.Antonio conducted initial fieldwork with existing commerciallyavailable robots and discovered that residents found them to be highlystimulating and a break from their normal environment. He feels that,with his bespoke P37 S65, there is even more scope for the robot tosupport the work of human professionals in the exercise of care.Gamma invests millions inintelligent systemsResearch taking place at the University could help developthe use of intelligent and autonomous systems in small andmedium-sized enterprises (SMEs), potentially creating newjobs in the engineering sector.Growing Autonomous Mission Management Applications (GAMMA)is a three-year, £9.1m project, aimed at driving SME engagementand developing technology within the autonomous systems markets.Autonomous systems are technologies that replace humans in tasksthat are mundane, dirty or dangerous, or that require levels of detailand precision that are beyond direct human capabilities. You cansee this growing technology in the driverless trains such as in theDocklands Light Railway or the militarised drones we hear abouton the news, together with the almost automated processes thatproduce cars on production lines, for example.There is significant market growth forecast in autonomous systemsacross sectors including healthcare, transport, aerospace, nuclear,manufacturing and petrochemicals. These systems should provide asustainable business for SMEs in software upgrades, maintenanceand sensing technology. Salford is one of five universities in theNorth West to be involved in the project.Other partners include North West Aerospace Alliance (NWAA),BAE Systems and National Nuclear Laboratories. Salford will beleading work on Intelligent Tasking and Mission Management,which includes control systems applications for small-scale vehicledemos, onboard mission, collaborative planning and task allocation,optimisation, intelligent decision making and sensing systems, faultdiagnosis systems, and safety management and fault tolerance.Professor Samia Nefti-Meziani and her colleagues in the Schoolof Computing, Science & Engineering will be key contributors tothe programme. Samia said: “GAMMA will primarily focus onthe end users of autonomous and intelligent systems, ensuringthat the UK is in a strong position to capitalise on this developingmarket. The three key areas will be technology development andbusiness growth, job creation in SMEs and development of a futuregeneration supply chain.”Prosthetics study to improve mobility of amputeesWhen walking with a single prosthetic leg,above-knee amputees typically use up to60% more energy than people who areable-bodied, causing fatigue and a 40%slower walking speed. These difficultiescan hinder an amputee’s mobility and,as a result, affect their quality of life.The energy storage and return capabilitiesof prosthetic legs are crucial to improvingan amputee’s gait and mobility,but most prostheses only store and returnsignificant energy below the knee andin an uncontrolled way. To overcomethese problems, the team of engineers andprosthetists will explore the potential for usinghydraulic technology to harvest and storeenergy from the parts of the prosthesis thatabsorb power, and then return that energy tothe parts that do useful propulsive work. Theresults will be used to develop new prostheticleg designs which have increased functionalityand require less energy from the amputee.Salford is the only provider of prosthetics andorthotics higher education in England, focusingon teaching, research and enterprise. Many ofits graduates are now leaders in the profession,both nationally and internationally.The three-year study is supported by a grant of£672,000 from the Engineering and PhysicalSciences Research Council.46 | May 2013

Science newsFor up-to-the minute science news, follow our Twitter feed @SalfordScienceReverse swerve to blame forunpredictable modern footballsAspiring Premier League stars can gainjust as much from studying Wasim Akramas Gareth Bale, now that aeronauticsresearchers at the University havediscovered that cricket-style reverse swerveis an important factor in how modernfootballs behave in the air.The addition of rough surfaces intended tomake balls go faster has had the unintendedside-effect of creating the same aerodynamicsas a cricket ball that’s been used for 40 or moreovers, the researchers say in a study that haswon the Catherine Richards prize for the bestpaper published in journal Mathematics Todayin 2012.The researchers, led by Dr Edmund Chadwickfrom the School of Computing, Science &Engineering, found that if a high degree of spinis applied to the football which is similar to theforward velocity of the ball, then an unexpectedpressure difference will be created, leading tostrange movement in the air.Older footballs didn’t experience this kind ofissue since they had a more uneven surface,with seams and smooth surfaces creating a morecomplex flow of air. Instead the researcherscompare the new footballs to cricket balls whichgradually get rough on both sides, producingreverse swing, such as those originally used byPakistani cricketers such as Wasim Akram andWaqar Younis.Although the Salford team would requiresimulations to prove individual cases, they dobelieve that it might exonerate Robert Greenfrom his ‘howler’ against the USA in 2010.PhD student discovers new speciesof parasiteA postgraduate student from the University of Salford hasdiscovered a new species of parasite which infects voles.Kellyanne Boyce was studying the parasites affecting rodents in thecomplex ecosystem of Malham in the Yorkshire Dales when she found aparasite which could not be identified using traditional guides and papers.Following the collection of a large number of samples, carefulmeasurement of the parasites, characterisation using DNA-based forensictechniques and an exhaustive search of the scientific literature, Kellyannewas able to prove she had discovered a new species.“This is a unique experience for Kellyanne – very few biologists can claimto have discovered a new species in their careers!”Kellyanne said: “I was really excited when I discovered that I had found anew species. It’s amazing to think that my PhD has added a new speciesto our catalogue of the natural world and that my name will be associatedwith it in future scientific literature.’’The parasite has been named Notocotylus malhamensis and preserved typespecimens are housed at the University and the Natural History Museum inLondon. Its DNA has also been stored on international databases.Professor Geoff Hide of the School of Environment & Life Sciences said:“We have recorded knowledge of around one million species on theplanet, but there are probably nine million more in existence. Kellyanne’sdiscovery shows that it is possible to discover a new species in our localenvironment, despite our detailed knowledge of its biodiversity.Notcotylus malhamensisMay 2013 | 47

PerspectivesNewsArts newsLecturer wins internationalpoetry competitionEnglish professor Antony Rowland hastriumphed in a major poetry competition,which attracted over 1,500 entries, tosnatch a £10,000 prize.Antony’s portfolio of four poems won theManchester Poetry Competition – a biennialevent sponsored by Poet Laureate CarolAnn Duffy and organised by ManchesterMetropolitan University for an internationalaudience. Judges Ian Duhig, Frances Levistonand Adam O’Riordan selected a shortlist of sixpoets from the 1,500 entrants beforeannouncing Antony as the final winner at a galaevent in Manchester on Friday 19 October.Announcing the winner, chair of judgesAdam O’Riordan said: “In the end, the selectionof the winner felt very clear and natural andunanimous. We admired the dynamic intensemusicality of the winning poems, the poet’sevident relish for the vocabulary they wereemploying, how well the tone was controlled,and the ease with which the poems movedbetween the contemporary and the historical.”Fashion students’ designshit the high streetTwo graduates from the School of Art &Design will see their fashion designs andphotography in clothing stores nationwideafter scooping both first prizes in aprestigious fashion industry competition.Natalie O’Hare, who graduated with a BA (Hons)in Fashion Design, won the design award of thefourth Warehouse Design Competition, whileBA (Hons) Fashion Image Making and Stylinggraduate Rachel Hannaway was chosen aswinner of the photography category. Organisedby clothing label Warehouse and the BritishFashion Council (BFC), the competition was opento students from the 34 institutions across the UKwhich are members of the BFC’s Colleges Council,who were invited to submit their graduation yearportfolios.A judging panel, including representatives fromWarehouse, the BFC and Grazia magazine,chose the winners for their impressive designability and creativity, and Natalie and Racheljoined Warehouse for a six-month paid designplacement. Natalie will then see designs fromher collection produced and sold in selectedWarehouse stores across the UK, while Rachelwill be responsible for photography for thecollection’s campaign.Image: Natalie O’Hare and Rachel Hannaway48 | May 2013

Peter Kay launchesnew comedy courseOne of Salford’s most famous graduates, Peter Kay, returned to theUniversity in October to launch its new dedicated comedy course forbudding writers and performers.Household name Peter Kay first discovered a talent for stand-up comedy backin the 1990s when he studied for an HND in Media Performance at Salford.Since winning the North West Comedy Award in 1996, he has gone on toachieve huge popularity with That Peter Kay Thing, Phoenix Nights, Maxand Paddy’s Road to Nowhere and has sold out national stand-up tours.Peter was at the University’s MediaCityUK campus to launch its new comedypathways course for performance students who want to develop their skillsin sketch writing, physical comedy and clowning, sitcom and stand-up whileinvestigating the roots of what makes people laugh, the business of a careerin comedy and the cultural importance of the art form.May 2013 | 49

PerspectivesNewsCommercial newsUniversity and Key103 launch crisisand media training coursesSalford Professional Development (SPD) and Manchester’s No. 1commercial radio station – Key103 – have formed a partnership todeliver expert media training at the University’s MediaCityUK campusand Key103’s studios.SPD, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University, is working with Key103 tooffer bespoke crisis PR and media training to meet the needs of individualorganisations. The courses will be delivered by Key103’s award-winningjournalists who are also trained professionals in reputation management andcrisis PR. They will provide expert guidance, practical solutions and presentationskills so that organisations can shine in the glare of media attention and staycalm under pressure.SPD has already helped hundreds of people keep up with the changingdemands of the workplace with its continuing professional developmentprogrammes that draw upon over 100 years of educational excellence.Key103 is a market leader in commercial radio, part of the Bauer Media Group,whose portfolio of brands includes 42 radio stations in the UK’s largest cities,TV stations including Heat, Box, Kerrang! and magazines such as Heat,Closer and Grazia.The need for research into the pest industry sparks KTPToday’s pest management industry in theUK is changing. Traditional divisions aredisappearing. The services once offered bylocal authorities are increasingly shiftingto the private sector and the role of localauthorities may one day be restricted toserving enforcement notices.As a result, it is becoming ever more essential thatresearch is carried out into how this will affect theprovision of those services which protect publichealth and housing, as well as prevent inner cityareas from becoming degraded.The National Pest Advisory Panel (NPAP) of theChartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH)believes that many of today’s changes in urbanpest management will have an adverse effecton public health unless they are recognised andministers introduce or encourage measures tominimise them. This concern was set out in theCIEH publication The Perfect Storm.The body of evidence-based research is growingbut needs to be interpreted and presented in anaccessible form. To address this, Killgerm Groupformed a KTP with the University. KnowledgeTransfer Partnerships (KTPs) are joint projectsbetween companies and universities who worktogether to carry out research and, at the sametime, transfer their knowledge and expertise toeach other. Joanne Fozzard, who has an honoursdegree in environmental health from Salford,is employed by the university but works withKillgerm. The aim of this particular project isto ensure that research capacity is embeddedinto the work of the company and that theevidence-based information generated presentsa clear case to local and central governmentdepartments and agencies about the need forsound public health pest management.Killgerm’s strategic KTP aim is to develop thecollection of better data and present it in away which can be used to bring aboutchanges in the provision of publicand environmental health.This will allow Killgerm to leadin this area, gain recognitionand raise the profile of thepest industry, not just inthe UK but also withinEurope. Working ina commercialenvironment with a company such as Killgermprovided Joanne with a unique opportunity tocarry out her research. Killgerm is looking tostrengthen its future management team andviews this KTP as an excellent way of introducingnew expertise in the areas of research anddevelopment in the promotion of the publichealth pest control industry.For more information about the University’sleading KTP programme, visit:www.salford.ac.uk/ktp50 | May 2013

Energy newsStay up to date with the Energy at: www.salford.ac.uk/energyGovernment ministeropens leading Europeanresearch labBusiness and Enterprise Minister Michael Fallonopened Europe’s most advanced facility forcreating energy efficient glass. Mr Fallon metwith leaders of businesses working on lowcarbon technology during a visit to theUniversity in October.Mr Fallon, who is also the Minister for the lowcarbon economy and construction, officiallyopened the University’s new Wolfson ChemicalVapour Deposition (CVD) Laboratory, which hasbeen funded by a £250,000 Wolfson FoundationGrant from the Royal Society. The new labs willallow research and product development fordepositing thin coatings onto glass that reduceheat loss from windows.Michael Fallon, Minister for Business and Enterprise visits the Wolfson CVD LaboratoryNew solar power researchfacility produces first panelClean energy businesses in the North West areset to receive a major boost as the Universityopened a new £400k research facility forsolar power.Offering free consultancy and R&D based on theUniversity’s expertise in the energy sector, the newfacility will give businesses in the region a spacewhere they can test new designs, configurationsand installation methods for solar cells.The Salford-based site is fully equipped withindustry-standard production machinery importedfrom Italy, and is staffed by experienced academicsand technicians. While it is capable of turning outa production line of panels, the University believesthat it can be most effectively used in the samemanner as the Salford Energy House, where arebuilt terraced property has been installed inside aclimate-controlled lab and is used by businesses totest the latest in energy-efficient technology.For example, charity Solar Aid is working withSalford to provide solar lamps to help children inremote African communities study at night.May 2013 | 51

PerspectivesNewsHealth newsFor the latest news, visit: www.salford.ac.uk/chscAward for nurse’s contribution to organ donationA postgraduate student who works as a transplant co-ordinator was voted Best Nurse 2013by British Malayali (a group for South Indians living in the UK).Agimol Pradeep works at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the RenalTransplant Unit where she regularly witnesses the shortage of organs donated by people of SouthAsian descent. National figures show that South Asians wait three times longer than white people fora kidney transplant due to the difficulties in finding a successful match.Agimol’s PhD project aims to tackle the problem by exploring the views of South Asian people tounderstand why they are reluctant to become donors. She is working with community and religiousleaders, GPs and intensive care units to implement strategies to increase donation, educating Asianpeople about the benefits of organ donation and joining the donor register.For more information go to: www.southasianorgandonor.org.uk and www.facebook.com/southasianorgandonorBoxing championtests fitness at SalfordProfessional boxer Scott Quigg spent a day at our Human PerformanceLaboratory, testing his strength and fitness in the run-up to his world titlematch in November.Undefeated British champion Quigg, 24, from Bury, has been training for a rematchagainst Rendall Munroe for the interim WBA world super-bantamweight title. He was atSalford with his coach to undergo a series of strength and conditioning tests.Acute illness nursingcourse first of its kindCare of acutely ill patients being taught across Europe.The early recognition of an acute deterioration in patientsis crucial if they are to receive the best quality care andtimely admission to critical care areas. The award from theEuropean Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme willbe used to provide student nurses with the knowledge,skills and experience to recognise and respond appropriatelywhen a patient’s vital signs indicate that they are becomingacutely unwell.Students from partner universities in Finland, Germany,Spain, Cyprus, Slovakia and Winona in the USA attendedthe course, and each country’s academics will participate inteaching on the course as it moves around Europe on anannual basis.The programme engages Greater Manchester Critical CareSkills Institute to teach the management of acute illness,North West Ambulance Service for an exploration of theemergency services and the RAF for the treatment ofmilitary personnel in conflict zones.Students participated in clinical scenarios in the University’shi-tech Simulation Laboratory, which contains computercontrolledmannequins in a hospital ward environment.The simulation of human patients means that students candevelop their skills in a realistic environment before cominginto contact with real people.They also examined pertinent issues such as the useof physical or chemical restraining methods in rapidlydeteriorating patients.The Human Performance Laboratory is one of the best in the country with an extensiverange of biomechanical and physiological equipment. It is regularly used by professionalsports clubs, including Salford City Reds and Sale Sharks.Senior Lecturer in Health and Exercise, Paul Sindall, said: “We carried out a range of testswhich showed that Scott Quigg’s fitness is higher than most boxers and on a par withelite endurance athletes.” Quigg was recently named Young Boxer of the Year.52 | May 2013

International news & awardsSalford and RICS join forcesto launch Indian schoolThe University has signed an agreement to support research, course developmentand student exchanges with the newly established Royal Institution of CharteredSurveyors' (RICS) School of the Built Environment, Amity University in India.Under the memorandum of understanding signed by RICS, Amity University and Salford, theUniversity will bring its world-leading expertise in the construction and built environment toIndia alongside RICS in a venture which is the first of its kind.The new school will be part of Amity University and will be based at its campus in the NationalCapital Region of Delhi. It will teach subjects such as construction management, real estatemanagement and quantity surveying.Salford work praisedat Times HigherEducation andGuardian awardsThe University of Salford finishedrunner-up in the Guardian University andTimes Higher Education Awards for itsinternational work in post-war disasterrecovery efforts.Salford will contribute to a number of areas for the new school such as course development andcollaborative research. There will also be opportunities to conduct student and staff exchangesbetween the two institutions.Professor Mohammed Arif of the University’s School of the Built Environment has led a significantinitiative in India in the last five years. As part of this, Salford has conducted research andseveral industry outreach workshops and seminars on issues such as green construction, offsiteconstruction and low cost housing. More recently, the School of the Built Environment has beendeveloping and delivering continuous professional development courses in India with RICS.With rapid economic growth in India, and an estimated spending on infrastructure to be USD 1trillion, the country has a fast expanding construction sector and there is currently an acute skillsshortage which the RICS school will go some way to addressing when it starts enrolling studentsin September.In IraqSalford’s team, led by Professor MustafaAlshawi of the School of the BuiltEnvironment, worked closely with the Iraqisto set up a dynamic educational, multidisciplinaryresearch centre – the Basra Centrefor Development and Innovation (BCDI).Using Internet-based communications, Iraqistudents and academics interact, accessinternational expertise and participate inreal-time global collaboration, includinglive seminars. This success sparked thedevelopment of a Science and TechnologyPark in Basra working with global companiesArup and Lyle & Partners.In Sri LankaFollowing Sri Lanka’s ethnic war, which endedin May 2009, communities needed to berebuilt physically, socially and economically.The conflict had restricted the capacity ofuniversities in the North and East of thecountry to undertake essential research forthe reconstruction.The Salford-led Conflict Prevention throughInfrastructure Reconstruction project (www.reconstructionforpeace.org) brought togethera creative international collaboration whichimproved understanding of the relationshipsbetween physical infrastructure reconstructionprogrammes and social cohesion amongpeople affected by conflict, helping localstakeholders deliver conflict-sensitivereconstruction programmes.May 2013 | 53

PerspectivesHealth54 | May 2013

Campaigns in rude healththanks to social mediaUsing applications like Facebook and YouTube means we canprovide health promotion messages with humour, rather thanjust relying on static posters in GPs’ waiting rooms.”There really are massiveopportunities for increasingthe public’s engagementin health using socialmedia,” says ProfessorPaula Ormandy, from theUniversity’s School of Nursing, Midwifery& Social Work.” The University has a longhistory of promoting public health across theregion and Ormandy, along with her colleagueProfessor Ben Light from the College of Arts &Social Sciences, has recently been working onawareness campaigns that have harnessed thepower of social media.Their work with Brook Manchester, a charitythat provides free and confidential sexual healthservices and advice for young people under 25,was part of a wider campaign to help reduceManchester’s high youth pregnancy rates.It looked to change the way they deliveredhealth care education for young men andinstead of relying on practical demonstrationsto show young men how to use a condom, thecampaign used a mobile phone app instead.Developed in conjunction with Brook staff andservice users, it proved a huge success. “It’sallowed Brook staff to deliver the information ina much more sensitive way, taking away muchof the embarrassment,” says Light.The University has also been working withthe Lesbian and Gay Foundation (LGF) to raiseawareness about the importance of cervicalscreening for women in same sex relationshipsacross the North West of England. Suchwomen face a number of additional barriersto screening because of their sexuality, so afocused mixed media campaign was developedwith the LGF around a Hollywood ‘screen test’theme.“We found the site certainly increased people’sengagement,” says Light, “and the LGF hassince been asked to take the campaign forwardon a national basis.“Of course there are lots of digital campaignspromoting health but what’s innovative aboutthis project is that it embedded an evaluationmechanism into it so that we could constantlyaudit its performance, and change things if theyweren't working or became tired.”The University’s biggest, and current, campaignis The Cat That Got the Screen. Commissionedby the NHS Cervical Screening Quality AssuranceReference Centre in the North West, it aims toencourage 24-29 year olds to go for a cervicalscreen, and pushes the message that earlydetection is critical.What’s innovativeabout this project isthat it embedded anevaluation mechanisminto it so that we couldconstantly audit itsperformance.The campaign was developed in collaborationwith students from the School of Arts & Media,the project team and women in the campaign’starget age group.As Light explains, the ads are designed to getpeople talking about, and engaging with,cervical screening. It rests on the internet‘meme culture’ (a concept that spreads fromperson to person via the internet) and engagesseriously with ideas of user-generated contentand user participation.As the campaign moves forward it will, forexample, deploy short promotional videos,mash-ups of cat images (because funnycat pictures are some of the most viral andmost searched for on the internet), andan app to allow users to create their ownhealth education promotional materials –‘the Mogatron.’ The campaign also uses amonitoring system called Brandwatch alongsideother software such as Google Analytics tocollect real-time evaluation data.Maria Rossall-Allan, the campaign’s projectofficer, explains: “Such an approach allowsyou to see who’s talking about the topic youare campaigning about online and then followup those links, to push the campaign withintargeted groups.”And word has spread about the innovativenature of the projects, with extra fundingnow coming from Heywood, Middleton andRochdale Primary Care Trust, to create atargeted cervical screening campaign for ethnicminority communities.Ormandy can see many other applications forthe technology and is currently working withCristina Vasilica, a PhD student at the University,who is developing a new interactive patient hubfor people with chronic kidney disease.“Like the cervical campaigns, it places a hugeemphasis on interaction, encouraging peopleto leave their own comments about theirexperience so the site actually starts to generateits own content, rather than simply relying onthe words of health care professionals,”she adds.May 2013 | 55

PerspectivesEventsUpcomingeventsFinal Year Classical ElectivePerformers RecitalsWednesday 22 May 11.00am - 1.00pmPeel Hall, Peel BuildingPerformance elective students from within theUniversity’s Music Directorate present theirfinal recitals to an examination panel in anarena open to the public. Each programmewill represent the culmination of their timehere at Salford and their own personaldevelopment as performers. This free eventis the climax to the Repertoire Studies andPerformance Practice component of eachstudent’s academic profile and provides eachperformer with an open platform todemonstrate their musicianship.FascinatE Showcase: ImmersiveBroadcast TechnologyThursday 30 May from 10.15amMediaCityUKFascinatE (Format-Agnostic SCript-basedINterAcTive Experience) is a €9.35m EUfundedresearch project to examine thetechnologies for producing and deliveringultra-high resolution panoramic content of liveevents, to offer the viewer a more interactiveexperience tailored to different devices.FascinatE has developed a full system to allowend users to interactively view and navigatearound an ultra-high resolution videopanorama with accompanying audiochanging to match the selected view.Interaction methods are tailored to the device,e.g. hand gestures for big devices and touchgestures for the smaller ones – come see itin action!Register online at: http://fascinate.eventbrite.co.ukResearch, Innovation & EnterpriseExchange, Powered by PechaKuchaThursday 23 May 1.00pm - 2.00pmStaff, students and the public are invited tohear from three members of the Universitycommunity, speaking on a common themerelated to their area of expertise. They willeach give six-minute PechaKucha-stylepresentations (20 slides of 20 seconds each)aimed at stimulating discussion and promptingcollaboration and new ideas. Networking andinformal discussions will follow for the last halfan hour.The theme for May is Soundscapes.Admission: Free – register online at:http://uossoundexchange.eventbrite.comPrevious presentations are online at ourslideshare account at www.slideshare.com/unisalford, or videos can be found at our newResearch & Innovation Youtube channel.The Time and The Place Festivalof the HumanitiesThursday 30 May - Friday 1 June 2013Kings Place LondonProfessor Tony Whyton, Director of the SalfordMusic Research Centre, is working inpartnership with Serious (who run the LondonJazz Festival and delivered the BT River ofMusic for the Cultural Olympiad) to curate athree-day festival of the humanities in Londonat the end of May. The event, 'The Time andThe Place,' marks the end of the firstHumanities in the European Research Area’sJoint Research Programme and will beshowcasing the work of 15-19 fundedprojects.What is the connection between Bronze Ageartefacts, European jazz, medieval manuscriptsand photography which captures Europe’scomplex colonial past? And how do artistsas diverse as gipsy band Budapest Bár, orsaxophonist/MC/rapper Soweto Kinch, or thehauntingly beautiful Sami voice of Mari Boinefit into the picture? These seemingly disparatesubjects form part of a series of concerts andcreative interventions from a Europe-widechoice of artists whose music acts as acounterpoint to the themes of a wide-rangingand fascinating group of research projects thatreach their conclusion this year.Ticket prices start at £9.50 – for more detailsvisit: http://bit.ly/Y9Zf4gLaunch of Centre for Digital BusinessWednesday 5 June 5:30 - 7:30pmMediaCityUK Room 3.29Join us for the official launch of the Centre forDigital Business, with guest speaker Mike Ryan,a Digital Futurist (@mikemanchester and http://uk.linkedin.com/in/mikemanchester)Contact M.griffiths@salford.ac.uk for details orvisit www.salford.ac.uk/digital-businessCreate at Salford Festival 2013Wednesday 12 - Sunday 16 June 2013MediaCityUK and Salford QuaysCreate at Salford Festival brings together morethan 800 creative students in a number ofexclusive events taking place over a five-dayperiod at MediaCityUK and Salford Quays.The Festival will mark the launch of the newSchool of Arts & Media, celebrating individualand School successes, as well as showcasingwhy we are one of the UK’s most successfulhigher education providers in arts and media.56 | May 2013

Admission: Free. Full Festival programmeinformation will be announced soon – for thelatest news go to: www.salford.ac.uk/createNorth West Brass Band CollaborationWednesday 19 June 7.30 - 9.30pmMediaCityUK and Salford QuaysUndergraduate Open DayFriday 28 - Saturday 29 June10.00am - 4.00pmMaxwell Building, Allerton Buildingand MediaCityUKCome along to our university-wide open daysto learn more about the opportunities onoffer at Salford.These events are open to the generalpublic but are subject to change.Check www.salford.ac.uk/events for acomprehensive list of all events held inassociation with the university,including conferences.You will learn about the courses we have onoffer, view our specialist facilities and meetthe tutors from your subject area of interest.You can take a tour of the campus,accommodation and our brand new facilitiesat MediaCityUK, as well as attend a varietyof talks. Parking is available at the Irwell Placecar park.Royal Northern College of Music Brass Band,conducted by John Miller, together with theUniversity of Salford Brass Band, conductedby Dr Howard Evans. We are pleased to presenta follow up to last year’s collaboration with theRoyal Northern College of Music (RNCM) hereat the University of Salford. This will be thefirst visit to Salford by the RNCM Brass Band.This event provides a unique opportunity tohear the ensembles of both institutions cometogether to perform individually and as amassed ensemble. The concert will draw upontheir respective archival material, featuringsome of the early brass band arrangementsand transcriptions and putting this into acontemporary context.Admission: Free. For more information emailDuncan Winfield d.winfield@salford.ac.ukResearch, Innovation & EnterpriseExchange, Powered by PechaKuchaThursday 20 June 1.00 - 2.00pmMediaCityUK, Egg SuiteThe theme for June is Dementia DesignDigital Economy (DE) 2013: Open DigitalWednesday 6 November 2013MediaCityUK, SalfordAn event which brings together innovativethinkers and researchers to share ideas abouthow to transform society through thedesign and deployment of information andcommunications technologies. The two-and-a-half-day event will feature keynotes, themedsessions, paper presentations, workshops andtechnology demonstrators.Submissions are welcome from anyone in theresearch or industrial community whetherfunded by the RCUK Digital Economytheme or not; doctoral student submissionsare particularly welcome.Visit: www.de2013.orgAdmission: free – register online at:http://uosdementiadesignexchange.eventbrite.co.ukMay 2013 | 57

PerspectivesThe Editorial Board ofPerspectives magazine comprises:Prof Carl AbbottAssociate Head of Enterprise & Engagement,School of the Built EnvironmentNathalie Audren-HowarthScience & Technology Research & Innovation ManagerProf Amanda BroderickExecutive Dean of the College of Business & LawDr George BaxterDirector of Research and Innovation; EditorKelly BurgessResearch & Innovation Projects Officer, MediaCityUKTracie DaviesBusiness & Law Research & Innovation ManagerMike HessionResearch & Innovation Manager, MediaCityUKAnish KurienHealth & Social Care Research & Innovation ManagerChris LarkinDirector of CommunicationsProf Yiu LamAssociate Dean, Research & Innovation,College of Science & TechnologyProf Ben LightAssociate Dean, Research, College of Arts & Social ScienceProf Nigel MellorsPro-VC of Enterprise & EngagementSarah McAlenyHead of Corporate MarketingColin McCallumExecutive Director of AdvancementRosie MillerResearch Development Coordinator, School of Arts & MediaDr Victoria MoodyImpact CoordinatorDanielle PerigoeMarketing & Communications Manager; Managing EditorProf Judith SmithHead of School of Environment & Life SciencesProf Jim YipPro-VC of Research & Innovation; Editor-in-ChiefProf Tony WarneHead, School of Nursing, Midwifery & Social WorkIn addition, a huge thank you to all the colleagues – not already mentioned above – who suggested stories or submitted theirwork and engaged with writers to get their stories told, as well as any others we may have missed.Prof Chris BirkbeckProf Garry CrawfordJohn CroakleyCaroline DaveyProf Ralph DarlingtonDr John EcclesDr Brian GrimsditchDr Ben HalliganDr Aleksej HeinzeProf Geoff HideProf David HowardC. Emma KellyDr Angela LeeProf Gill JamesEric LouTony LongDr Stephano MarianiProf Nigel MellorsDr Ian McHaleJanet MoranaCharlie MydlarzPaula OrmandyDavid PerryGeoff ParrDr Blake PrimeMichael RoganProf Philip ScarfDr Scott ThurstonElena VasilievaAndrew WoottonNeil WithnellProf Janet WatsonWriters and copy editorsJamie BrownBrown CommunicationBen CawleyJoe FlanaganMatt HillsdenKaren ReevesDanielle PerigoeMatthew PulzerLaura JewkesSarah McAlenyGeorge BaxterDesignersLiam CurtisJohn ThorntonAde RichardsonPhotographersGreg HardingPaul BurrowsPlus others who submittedtheir own images, whichwere credited where possible.Our online communitiesKeep in touch by followingus on our social mediachannels:Twitter:@SalfordUni@SalfordImpactFacebook:www.facebook.com/universityofsalfordFlickr:www.flickr.com/photos/salforduniversityYouTube:www.youtube.com/SalfordUniversitywww.youtube.com/RIEUSalfordSlideshare:www.slideshare.net/unisalford58 | May 2013

SalfordProfessionalDevelopmentBuilding a skilled workforceHelping individuals to achievetheir career goalsSalford ProfessionalDevelopment helps individualsto achieve their career goalsthrough lifelong learning anddevelopment programmes thatdraw upon over 100 years ofeducational excellence.We also assist organisations withtraining to support their workforcedevelopment plans, with speciallydesigned training packages.To do this, we offer a comprehensiverange of CPD-Certified professionaldevelopment courses across manysectors, including:❚ Health and social care❚ Leadership and development❚ Education❚ Energy and the built environment❚ Media and digital❚ Business and lawWorking in partnership withorganisations such as the Instituteof Directors , Key103 and ThePacific Institute , Salford ProfessionalDevelopment is the one-stop-shopfor all your training needs.Contact us to find out moreor to book on our courses:t: 0161 295 3000e: cpd@salford.ac.ukwww.salford.ac.uk/spd

PerspectivesFeatureUniversity of SalfordThe CrescentSalford, M5 4WTt: +44 (0)161 295 5000e: RI-Magazine@salford.ac.ukwww.salford.ac.uk/perspectives60 | May 2013