Producing world-leading research

GCU research into media coverage and public perceptions of poverty, and measures to tackle poverty has had an impact on policy making, policy content and the public discourse of poverty.

Deprived communities have been the primary beneficiaries of this impact. GCU research helped secure pledges from all the main Scottish political parties to avoid stigmatising and socially divisive language in discussing poverty. Secondary beneficiaries have been campaigning organisations whose media engagement strategies have improved. Finally, GCU poverty research has informed the Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Strategy and the child poverty measures of Community Planning Partnerships.

A team of GCU researchers conducted two significant projects: ‘The Media, Poverty and Public Opinion’, funded by research and development charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), and ‘Tackling Child Poverty Locally’, funded by the Scottish Centre for Regeneration, which is now part of the Scottish Government.

The JRF study found that those directly experiencing poverty featured in only one in eight news media reports and were often portrayed as passive victims, even if the coverage was sympathetic. Soap operas did not contain enough realistic representations of poverty and few documentaries helped the public to understand the causes, or reality, of poverty.

The second project used original research and secondary data analysis to develop an integrated body of training resources, stakeholder dialogue events and advice workshops. This included an online child poverty toolkit, briefing papers and other resources to assist local practitioners in preparing and implementing child poverty strategies.

The projects, together with an associated body of commentary, community engagement and knowledge exchange activity, had a number of impacts on policy making, policy content and the public discourse on poverty.

Biological and Environmental Scientists at Stirling are leading research into bumblebees, with huge importance for their future survival.

Urgent action is required with current bumblebee populations too small to survive in the long-term. Research at Stirling, into everything from ecology, foraging range and dietary requirements of the bumblebee, to the damaging effects of agricultural pesticides, has enabled a clear picture to be emerged on how to conserve bumblebees.

Translating this bumblebee biology into conservation measures, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT) was established at Stirling and now has 8000 paying members and offices in Scotland, England and Wales. It has inspired more than 12,000 people to get involved in bumblebee conservation projects, providing education packs to primary schools and linking in with nationwide Garden Centres and supermarket chain Morrisons to create a flower-rich habitat.

The Trust set up the first ever Bumblebee nature reserve, created more than 2000 hectares of habitat and co-ordinated a project to reintroduce the extinct short-haired bumblebee to the UK. They also meet with the National Farmers’ Union to promote more bee-friendly farming and crucially their research played a key role in the European Union announcing a two-year moratorium on use of neonicotinoid insecticides on flowering crops.

The welfare of animals in transit is a major public and political concern. The emotive nature of the issues means it is especially important that welfare is assessed in a scientifically sound and objective way. It is also vital that we gain a full picture of the impact of transport on animals in order to provide practical solutions to the issues involved. This will ensure high standards of welfare in transport that are compatible with sustainable and efficient production.

Globally, 6.5 million cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry are slaughtered every hour. The vast majority are transported to centralised facilities for slaughter. Many young or breeding animals are transported from sites of birth or hatching to distant locations for finishing and breeding programmes.

Many other animals are routinely transported for purposes of sport, recreation, military activities and domestic use. Animals may be transported by road, sea, air and rail and journeys can last from a few minutes to many hours, days or even weeks in the case of long sea voyages. The stress factors to which animals are exposed in transit may compromise their welfare and health and result in poorer production and increased losses and waste.

SRUC’s animal transport research programme has made major contributions to improved animal welfare, vehicle design, codes of practice and legislation. The use of basic response modelling and integration of approaches from laboratory and climate chamber based studies and model evaluation and validation under commercial conditions was central to the success of this work. The studies resulted in the development of the Concept 2000 poultry transporter. This was the foundation of the development of fan ventilated animal transporters and the associated legislative requirements. The work has had an important influence upon European (e.g. EC 1/2005) and national legislation relating to animal transportation and has influenced commercial practice in a positive way, improving both animal welfare and production efficiency by reducing losses and improving product quality in meat animals.