REF

Units of Assesment- Research and Impact Case Studies

UOA4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Our psychological research centres around four research groupings: Security; Whitespace; Evolutionary and Biological Basis of Behaviour; Cognition and Language. Our groupings have a translational and multi-disciplinary approach to knowledge creation and embed end users in all stages of the research process. We work with the police, criminal justice sector, mental health charities, the aviation industry and a range of industrial partners.

Security - we explore: police interview procedures especially in the area of child witnesses; the treatment, evaluation, and management of offenders with an intellectual disability; the role of cognition and vision in understanding the demands of CCTV monitoring; and the role of individual differences in the ability of x-ray operatives. 

Whitespace - we have a multi-disciplinary grouping of psychologists, vision scientists, sociologists, and computer animators who work with industry partners to implement creative and animated solutions to problems associated with display technologies. We also have extensive expertise in the perception of shape from shading and camouflage.

Evolutionary and Biological Basis of Behaviour – we study a range of behaviours in humans and other animals examining the role hormones play in the expression of behaviour. Particular interests include: laterality; hand preference and personality; social skills in humans and primates; and the socio-cognitive responses that underpin adaptive social interactions with potential mates and rivals. 

Cognition and Language – we explore second language learning, language production, the cognitive neuropsychology of language, and the mechanisms and biases through which humans process information about the self and others.

UOA5 – Biological Sciences

Our Biological Sciences research is focused around four inter-disciplinary groups: SIMBIOS (Scottish Informatics, Mathematics, Biology and Statistics Centre); WhiteSpace (a cross-University research group integrating computer arts, computer science, psychology, sociology, biological and environmental sciences); CCSB (Centre for Cancer Systems Biology); and FIA (Food Innovation @Abertay).  Our two main areas of research are: Cancer Systems Biology; and Food and Drink Bioscience. 

Cancer Systems Biology – we have: characterized cell signalling network dynamics in response to therapeutic interventions and oncological mutations and linked network dynamics to patient profiles and gene transcription; characterised tumour morphology linked to tumour grading; developed a multi-scale modelling and simulation framework linking cell signalling behaviour to tumour morphology; demonstrated protein mutations linked to disease; developed new drug therapies; and designed, developed and commercialized new instrumentation for use in biopharmaceutical research and industry.

Food and Drink Bioscience - to ensure the sector relevance of our Food & Drink Bioscience research, we have: established industrial collaborations with major companies; developed interactive software for the industry; established ourselves as the University hub for Scotland Food & Drink Skills Academy; are a partner University for Interface Food & Drink and have supported innovation in approximately 150 Scottish Food & Drink SMEs.

UOA7 – Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

To counteract human activities that cause significant changes to the environment, endangering natural resources, the Abertay Centre for the Environment (ACE) works with knowledge exchange partnerships to identify solutions and create major economic opportunities to contribute to a more sustainable society.  ACE includes researchers from two multi- and interdisciplinary groups: SIMBIOS (the Scottish Informatics Mathematics Biology and Statistics Centre), and UWTC (Urban Water Technology Centre).  Our research focuses on two key areas: Soil Science and Environmental and Water Technologies.

Soil Science - we have expertise in: soil ecosystem modelling; soil biophysics; microbial ecology; modelling and visualisation; biogeochemistry; statistics and mathematics; soil physics; contaminant transport and mathematical modelling.  We have: developed novel methodologies to characterise soil structure, using the microscopic examination of the internal structure of soil and developed a systems approach to inform sustainable exploitation of soils.

Environmental and Water Technologies – we have expertise in: anaerobic digestion and biofuels; wastewater and waste treatment; sustainable urban drainage systems; sustainability research; and ecosystem value.  We have: examined environmental pollutants and advance bioenergy production; developed innovative technical solutions for water and waste management; developed an integrated framework to enable the assessment, visualisation and communication of the sustainability of technologies; and explored the transformation of waste into energy, leading to the use of new biomass pre-treatment methods.

UOA15 – General Engineering

Our research in Engineering, Interactive Media, Security and Modelling & Simulation combine to deliver engineered solutions to real-world problems. The research is integrated within five interdisciplinary groups: SIMBIOS (Scottish Informatics Mathematics Biology and Statistics centre), CCSB (Centre for Cancer Systems Biology), UWTC (Urban Water Technology Centre), WhiteSpace (interactive media, computer arts & games, psychology, sociology) and I-SPI (Investigation, Security, Policing and Intelligence).

Engineering - we undertake work in environmental and biological systems modelling to engineer sustainable urban systems (e.g. developed an interactive computational modelling and visualisation tool to support planning processes, and developed a hand-held, low cost protein aggregation monitor that has relevance in drug delivery and water pollution arenas).

Interactive Media - we integrate the disciplines of computer arts, interactive computer graphics and psychology to design, develop and evaluate computer-based solutions to industry problems (e.g. the development and evaluation of self-service checkouts, and the development of interactive software to support sensory analysis for testing in the food & drink sector).

Security - we translate our expertise in materials sciences to develop novel screening processes to recover forensic evidence such as fingermarks and shoe prints from surfaces that are difficult to work with such as soil and fabric. We also have a nascent cyber-security group with expertise in digital forensics and penetration testing.

Modelling & Simulation - we develop data- and process-driven mathematical and computational approaches to model a wide range of systems (e.g. simulation technologies for up-scaling in complex systems and artificial intelligence for mining large biological data sets).

UOA20 – Law

Our law research focuses on two main themes: Policing and Security Law; and Employment Law and Employment Rights.  Our themes map directly onto the University’s research themes of Security and Society.  

Policing and Security Law - supported by membership of the Scottish Institute of Policing Research and the Abertay I-SPI (Intelligence, Security, Policing and Investigation) multi and inter-disciplinary research network we work with colleagues to develop innovative solutions to societal problems. This strand of our research has developed two, interrelated, areas: a) EU policing, security, and criminal justice law and policy, and b) Inter-agency cooperation within Scotland and the UK, as it implements EU policing and criminal justice provisions.

Employment Law and Employment Rights – we focus on two parallel themes: a)"Family-friendly rights" at national and EU levels, in furtherance of domestic and EU social policy, with support of FAWN, Families and Work Network; and b) Inequality of bargaining power in the contract of employment, at UK, EU and comparative levels, and ways of addressing this issue, which is informed by practitioner experience in handling Employment Tribunal cases.

UOA23 – Sociology

Our sociological research focuses on two key research themes: Security, Identity and Policy; and Social Theory and Critique and contributes to the University’s Security and Society research themes. We work with a wide range of academic and non-academic groups including the Scottish Police Service, Criminal justice sector, Media, arts and cultural industries and work with relevant stakeholders to influence public policy, communities and professional practice.

Security, Identity and Policy – working as part of the University’s multidisciplinary research grouping ‘I-SPI’ (Investigation, Security, Police and Intelligence), we explore criminological and policy issues.  Our work includes: how to gather reliable evidence from victims of and witnesses to crimes; investigating crime and antisocial behaviour; exploring far-right movements into race and racism, terrorism and political violence; surveillance, cheating and punishment in digital worlds; policy-evaluations of youth, smoking and sex education; and discourses of policy and practice in the fields of higher education and health.

Social Theory and Critique – our research in this area contributes to the theory base of sociology.  We explore: the history of sociological theory; the sociology of literature; the role of social movements; tensions between competitive nationalism and welfare nationalism; relational sociology paradigms (including cultural sociology and European identity); radical social and political theory in political and historical contexts; social interactional theory; anti-social behaviour and moral panic theory; sociology of technology; and qualitative research paradigms in virtual networks.

UOA26 – Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism

Our sports research has developed around 3 central themes: Health and Wellbeing; Sports Performance; and Outdoor Activities and Coaching.  Our research aligns with the priorities of the key stakeholders in sport and exercise science and we work with a range of external agencies, Industry and third parties including Scottish Government, Dundee City Council, SportScotland and the Mountaineering Council of Scotland.  Our research contributes to the University’s Society research theme.

Health and Wellbeing – we undertake research which focuses on developing innovative training strategies and dietary supplementation to promote mental and physical wellbeing in ageing, mental illness and people living with chronic conditions.  We have examined a range of approaches to maintaining health including high intensity training, omega 3 supplementation and energy drinks.  Our research challenges traditional paradigms within health and wellbeing and we are actively engaged in changing public perception about exercise.

Sports Performance - we undertake research which focuses on: novel training strategies; the role of dietary supplementation to improve strength and endurance performance following muscle damaging; the role of self-regulation in limiting sports performance; skeletal muscle adaptation to nutrition and exercise in rugby players. 

Outdoor Activities and Coaching - we are exploring what makes people participate in outdoor sporting activities, how they manage the inherent risks and consider issues of self-identity and interpersonal factors associated with this.  Research into coaching looks at interpersonal relationships within sport and the psychological factors important in developing these relationships.  Our coaching research is informing governing bodies involved in outdoor education.