Our EFI Research awards are currently managed in collaboration with colleagues in the CAHSS College Research Office, as a stream within the Challenge Investment Fund (CIF) call. CIF Awards are aimed to support broader College research objectives to further synergies and areas of cross-disciplinary expertise within CAHSS, across College boundaries and/or outside the institution. Applicants whose research projects had a focus on the challenges and opportunities posed by Data Driven Innovation in one of the EFI research themes (FinTech and financial services, Data Civics and the future of public services, Creative Tech, Tourism and Festivals, Ethics of Data and Artificial Intelligence, Critical Infrastructure), were invited to flag this in their application form.
The CIF review panel agreed to fund 6 projects focussing on EFI research priorities and aiming at generating new knowledge and contributing to the solution of significant and complex real-world cultural, societal, economic and environmental challenges. We supported projects exploring a wide range of issues such as the application of data mining and machine learning to study archival materials on Scottish pre-Reformation music, the impact of Covid19 on mental wellbeing, co-designing social security systems for single parents, and the challenges of implementing Virtual Reality faced by museums and tourism organisations. You can find out more about the individual projects below:
James Cook
Lecturer in Early Music, Reid School of Music, Edinburgh College of Art
Exploring Data Driven Approaches to Researching Ephemeral Cultural Heritage
[ap_toggle title=”Read more” status=”close”]Based on James’ previous work on Scottish pre-Reformation music, this project will focus on material in existence for Scotland which has been drastically underrepresented in the literature, simply because it is contained in often small, disparate, and complex sources. The project will pilot approaches through three case studies, exploring the application of data mining and machine learning techniques to the surviving archival material relating to music and musicians from three institutions in Historic Environment Scotland’s care. By applying DDI methodologies to the research, interpretation, and curation of important cultural heritage sites under the care of Historic Environment Scotland, the team will build a complete picture of each of the three case study institutions and will begin to develop public-facing data visualisation of the data collected, as well as working with Historic Environment Scotland on using this data for visitor interpretation.
Glenna Nightingale
Chancellor’s Research Fellow in Nursing Studies, School of Health in Social Science
Investigating mental wellbeing along the lifecourse (1991-2020) and during the COVID-19 pandemic
[ap_toggle title=”Read more” status=”close”] The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on multiple spheres in society, including the overall mental wellbeing in our society. This study will use the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) dataset (with ~30 years of data). The survey has been adapted to include COVID-19 related questions from early 2020. This study seeks to identify the factors which impact most on mental wellbeing, to determine the impact of the pandemic on the overall trend of mental health metrics over the years of the UKHLS and to make the findings easily accessible to relevant policymakers and researchers .The proposed research will generate findings that reflect the historical trend in mental wellbeing, investigate the impact of the pandemic on this trend, and identify and quantify the impact of key factors on overall mental wellbeing in the UK. One method of dissemination of findings is via a project dashboard.
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/glenna-nightingale” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Glenna Nightingale’s profile page [/ap_button]
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Patrick Errington
Early Career Teaching and Research Fellow, School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures
Difficulty and pleasure in comprehending novel extensions of verb-based metaphors assessed using fNIRS
[ap_toggle title=”Read more” status=”close”] The objective of this project is to examine how immersion and pleasure are affected by the anticipation of various post-reading tasks (including literary critical analysis), how these then affect reading habits, and how reading habits influence reader wellbeing. This study is at the forefront of emerging fields like neuro-aesthetics, cognitive humanities, and empirical literary studies. In addition to its immediate scientific outputs, this study will provide the basis for an interdisciplinary research programme and the impetus to build a network with external academic and public partners. The team will liaise with experts who are working near this intersection between literary studies, cognitive psychology, linguistics, phenomenology, and mental wellbeing, several of whom have already expressed interest in these projects.
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/dr-patrick-errington” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Patrick Errington’s profile page [/ap_button]
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Hayley Bennett
Lecturer in Social Policy, School of Social and Political Science
Hard to reach? Co-designing social security digital interfaces and automation processes with lone parents using creative and participatory methods
[ap_toggle title=”Read more” status=”close”] This project focuses on understanding the experience of lone parents of the complex, multi-level social security system in Scotland, which involves various administrative agencies, funds, and resources using different interfaces. Often designers work on a single agency interfaces (such as Universal Credit). However, this singular view fails to situate the digital and automated experience within the context of multiple benefits and various human and digital information sources. The team will engage with lone parents through our specific project partners, drawing on relationships with partners involved in related work (Poverty Alliance, Edinburgh Advice Bureaux for example) and will produce an engagement report about the suitability and success/limitations of the chosen deliberative and creative methods for engaging with lone parents as well as w creative booklet (such as a Zine) outlining the experiences about the system and how it could change.
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/staff/hayley-bennett” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Hayley Bennett’s profile page [/ap_button]
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Kirsten Cowan
Lecturer in Marketing, University of Edinburgh Business School
Integrating Virtual Reality (VR) into Tourist Organisations: Reproducing Museum Identity in Virtual Environments
[ap_toggle title=”Read more” status=”close”] The objective of this research is to consider the role of industry adoption of VR focussing on how museums construct narratives in VR. It also aims to investigate obstacles to VR channel adoption faced by tourism organisations, to understand how to strengthen impact. Research suggests VR is the new normal for tourism and the route forward for aiding decision-making. Yet, very few museums and tourist organisations have developed virtual content. Moreover, much research considers a consumer/tourist view rather than a museum view. The project will develop a toolkit for museums to understand the real and perceived challenges of implementing VR as well as what criteria they might consider in storytelling using VR.
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/staff/kirsten-cowan” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Kirsten Cowan’s profile page [/ap_button]
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Maria Cucciniello and Stephen Osborne
Maria Cucciniello – Senior Lecturer in Service Management, University of Edinburgh Business School; Stephen Osborne – Chair of International Public Management, University of Edinburgh Business School
What can we learn from the Covid-19 Pandemic? A Study of the Vaccination Programme in Scotland from a Service Perspective
[ap_toggle title=”Read more” status=”close”] The Covid-19 pandemic has radically challenged how we can best protect the health of the population at the societal and global levels. Vaccination has been generally agree to be the cornerstone of any effective protection programme. The vaccination programme, however, should be seen and analysed not as the logistical delivery of public health products but rather as a public service that is enacted within a complex and interactive public service ecosystem, at the institutional/societal, service and individual levels. This project will further our understanding of divergent policy designs of vaccination, revealing the underlying mechanisms about how different political, cultural and social backgrounds can influence policy designs and uncovering how different policies can influence collaboration and individual behaviours. Our ambition is to produce outputs with meaningful, sustained and measurable impact in society. In this regard, this project can enhance vaccination research vaccination significantly, rather than incrementally.
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/staff/maria-cucciniello” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Maria Cucciniello’s profile page [/ap_button][/ap_toggle]
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Research support
In addition to these research projects, we have also supported several events, workshops and initiatives with a focus on Data Driven Innovation, including:[/ap_column][/ap_column_wrap]
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Glenna Nightingale
Chancellor’s Research Fellow in Nursing Studies, School of Health in Social Science
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Modelling the spatial correlation in University of Edinburgh halls of residence COVID-19 reported positivity.
The proposed work is to estimate the spatial correlation of COVID-19 incidence across the University of Edinburgh halls of residence with the use of Log Gaussian Cox Process models. The study will also investigate the question of whether there is a higher reported incidence of COVID-19 positivity in University halls which are en-suite. This project will develop special models and use a data to generate knowledge on the spread of COVID-19 within the University residence context and will support public health policy and University Health and Safety policy UK wide
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/glenna-nightingale” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Glenna Nightingale’s profile page [/ap_button]
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Diana Paton and Rachel Scally
Diana Paton – William Robertson Professor of History, School of History, Classics and Archaeology; Rachel Scally – Daiches-Manning Memorial Fellow, IASH Edinburgh
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Building the New Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, c.1860-1879: Philanthropy and Legacies of Slavery in Nineteenth Century Scotland
The project will investigate the building of the new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, which first opened on Lauriston Place in 1879, and its potential financial links to the transatlantic slave trade. It will conduct a prosopographical analysis of the donors to the building in order to shed light on their wider commercial and family networks, their cultural and philanthropic activities and will analyze how significant these donations were for the new hospital. This project grows out of contemporary debates about how the legacies of empire and slavery should be addressed in Scotland, Britain, and elsewhere. In order to address these legacies it is critical to establish a solid evidentiary base from which to make public history claims. The project will involve biographical and bibliographic research and will utilize sources such as minute books, cash ledgers, correspondence and wills.
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.ed.ac.uk/history-classics-archaeology/history/about/staff-profiles/profile_tab1_academic.php?uun=dpaton3&search=5″ button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Diana Paton’s profile page [/ap_button]
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.iash.ed.ac.uk/profile/dr-rachael-scally” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Rachel Scally’s profile page [/ap_button]
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Seongsook Choi, Andrew Cross and David Overend
Seongsook Choi – Senior Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Studies, Moray House School of Education and Sport; Andrew Cross – Impact Coordinator, School of Geosciences; David Overend – Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Studies, Moray House School of Education and Sport
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Crossing the line: understanding the interdisciplinary classroom
In preparation for the launch of EFI’s undergraduate programme in September 2023, this project aims to initiate a long-term research strategy that will observe, document and critically reflect on the experience of learners and teachers in the interdisciplinary classroom. This research seeks to understand the experience of students and teachers as they ‘cross the line’ between disciplines. It explores (i) how students learn by making connections between ideas and concepts across different disciplines; (ii) how students apply the knowledge gained in one discipline to a different discipline as a way to deepen the learning experience; (iii) how teachers and professional partners collaborate to serve a common purpose helping students make the connections between different disciplines/subject areas.
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/seongsook-choi” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Seongsook Choi’s profile page [/ap_button]
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/persons/andy-cross” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Andrew Cross’s profile page [/ap_button]
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/david-overend” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]David Overend’s profile page [/ap_button]
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Liz McFall
Chancellor’s Fellow, School of Social and Political Science
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The Urban Sociology of Insurance
The project explores the changing relationship between city planning, insurance buildings, insurance brands, and capital and property investment strategies. It considers how the business of property investment propelled the work of big insurers in shaping urban environments through the twentieth century and traces how that began to change as the century closed. The ascendance of the tech industries and the emergence of ‘insurtech’ has been accompanied by a change in the role property and architecture plays in insurance. Architecture, and interior design, still play a central role in branding but insurtech start-ups, and the insurtech branches of legacy insurers, use it to convey lightness, agility, creativity and informality. The project will examine the role of Prudential and Standard Life in reimagining urban environments in the post war period.
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/staff/liz-mcfall” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Liz McFall’s profile page [/ap_button]
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Jamie Chambers
Lecturer in Design (Film), School of Design, Edinburgh College of Art
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Map of Stories
The proposed work is to develop an open-access, interactive website that will allow visitors (nationally and globally) to explore the strong connections to place within Scotland’s community oral storytelling heritage. The website will create a highly impactful platform for research into new, contemporary digital forms for traditional forms of folk culture and heritage, at a moment of considerable visibility for Scottish storytelling as part of VisitScotland’s global promotional campaign. The site will play a prominent role in encouraging responsible tourism as part of VisitScotland’s Year of Stories campaign, in mapping stories to particular places and locations across Scotland.
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.eca.ed.ac.uk/profile/jamie-chambers” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Jamie Chamber’s profile page [/ap_button]
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Josie Booth
Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology, Moray House School of Education and Sport
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BroSport Potential: Evaluation of a novel sports provision for school pupils from deprived areas.
Youth participation in sport and physical activity has a positive impact on a range of areas of development, as identified by the Positive Youth Development through Sport model. The BroSport Potential programme was developed by a PE teacher at Broughton High School in Edinburgh, and is being delivered in collaboration with UoE Sport and Exercise. This is a unique programme that provides access to sports outwith the school, and supports positive youth development in pupils from deprived areas. After contact from the school, the aim of this project is to evaluate the BroSport Potential programme and understand the development and feasibility of the programme and outcome measures. Data has, and is being, collected by the school for their own purposes. The project proposes to request retrospective access to this data for analysis, and undertake focus groups with pupils and teachers.
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/josie-booth” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Josie Booth’s profile page [/ap_button]
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Tracy Stewart, Gillean McCluskey, Lesley McAra, Debi Fry and Josie Booth
Tracy Stewart – Lecturer in Developmental Psychology, Developmental Psychology in Education group, Institute of Education, Community and Society, Moray House School of Education and Sport; Gillean McCluskey – Chair in School Exclusion and Restorative Practice in Education, Moray House School of Education and Sport; Lesley McAra – Professor of Penology, Criminology Subject Area, School of Law; Debi Fry – Senior Lecturer in Child Protection, Director of Data at the Global Data Institute for Child Safety, Institution of Education, Community and Society, Moray House School of Education and Sport; Josie Booth – Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology, Developmental Psychology in Education group, Institute of Education, Community and Society, Moray House School of Education and Sport.
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Co-production, multi-disciplinary and multi-industry partnerships: Covid-19, education and adolescent mental health.
The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated mental ill-health in adolescents and placed pressure on mental health services, with schools becoming a frontline service for the identification and treatment of mental health difficulties. Challenges implementing mental health efforts in schools range from practical and time resource difficulties, to stigma and challenges with programme fidelity. This project addresses these challenges by employing a multi-disciplinary, multi-industry co-production design to translate recent research findings on Covid-19, education and adolescent mental health into a resource for teachers to use in the classroom. Partnering with the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP), and hosting a series of professional learning workshops with teachers to disseminate recent Covid-19, education and adolescent mental health research findings, as well as co-production workshops with young people, will ensure tools created are of benefit to those they aim to serve.
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/tracy-stewart” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Tracy Stewart’s profile page [/ap_button]
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/gillean-mccluskey” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Gillean McCluskey’s profile page [/ap_button]
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.law.ed.ac.uk/people/professor-lesley-mcara” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Lesley McAra’s profile page [/ap_button]
[ap_button button_size=”ap-small-bttn” button_url=”https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/deborah-fry” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Debi Fry’s profile page [/ap_button]
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Karen Gregory
Senior Lecturer in Sociology, School of Social and Political Science
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How can data obtained by gig workers be ‘parsed’ to best advantage?
This project applies coding and data science to a real-world problem about workers’ power and information asymmetry in a digital economy. ‘Self-employed’ workers on platforms like Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber, lack basic information about their work and pay, and as such, workers are hindered from developing strategies to support their efforts for stable and sufficient pay, and from exercising their supposed right to flexibility. This project asks what data gig workers can access and use, and what questions they have about their work. Our project will create a bespoke digital programme that analyses fragmented data that is available to workers on payslips and invoices. Using methods of citizen science, workers in Edinburgh and Fife will both develop questions and help design a tool to answer them. This code-based programme will ‘parse’ information given by platforms, developing a prototype already created by couriers in Edinburgh. The project will build gig workers’ data skills and help them identify meaningful demands.
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Details of past research awards and projects can be found here:
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[ap_button button_size=”ap-medium-bttn” button_url=”https://efi.ed.ac.uk/research/” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”] EFI Research [/ap_button][ap_button button_size=”ap-medium-bttn” button_url=”https://efi.ed.ac.uk/research/student-support/” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”]Support for students [/ap_button][ap_button button_size=”ap-medium-bttn” button_url=”https://efi.ed.ac.uk/research/research-contact” button_type=”ap-bg-bttn” button_color=”ap-default-bttn” button_align=”ap-align-none”] Contact the team [/ap_button]
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