A project confronting customer abuse in the UK hospitality industry during the pandemic is one of five Strathclyde projects to receive funding from the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE).
The RSE awarded a total of £836,000 funding for 48 research projects across science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine, arts, humanities and social sciences.
Around half of the recipients will benefit from a RSE Small Research Grant, supporting personally conducted high-quality research.
Human rights
Dr Elaine Webster, Senior Lecturer in the Law School and Director of the Centre for the Study of Human Rights Law, received a research workshops grant of £8803.50 to lead a collaborative series. The workshops will examine how Scottish public authorities can achieve effective, integrated policy implementation at the intersections of human rights and equality law within Scotland’s changing human rights framework.
Lecturer and Chancellor's Fellow at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at Strathclyde Business Schoo, Dr Nadia Zahoor, received an RSE small research grant award for her work to examine the role of business Incubators and accelerators in the scaling up of women start-ups Pakistan.
Customer abuse
Dr Anastasios Hadjisolomou, a lecturer in Work, Employment & Organisation, was another recipient of an RSE Small Research Grant. His project examines customer misbehaviour, a long-standing problem in the hospitality industry that has worsened during the pandemic. Dr Hadjisolomou said: “This award will allow colleagues and I to expand our research on customer misbehaviour in the hospitality industry and investigate these social issues in-depth, to inform management practice and policy to support workers who experience abuse and harassment.
Dr Jie Yuan from Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering was awarded funding for his Multi-Scale thermomechanIcal analysis of friction involved complex dynamic systems project.
The SIREN engineering project outcomes aim to improve the reliability and efficiency of future aerospace and space systems.
Modelling driven
Professor Apala Majumdar from Mathematics and Statistics received an award based on research into Nematic-Based Materials for the Next Generation of Applications. The network focuses on modelling-driven approaches to the design and testing of novel liquid crystal-based devices, and their applications in the physical sciences and engineering. The project involves researchers from the universities of Glasgow, Aberdeen Edinburgh and Birmingham.
Launched in spring 2021, the revised RSE Research Awards programme runs twice a year in spring and autumn. The funding programme aims to support Scotland's academic researchers, nurture promising talent, stimulate research in Scotland, and promote international collaboration, which will be of lasting benefit to the individuals and communities concerned and to broader society.
Stimulate research
Professor Emerita Anne Anderson OBE FRSE, Chair of the RSE Research Awards Committee, Royal Society of Edinburgh said: "The RSE Research Awards programme is vital for sustaining the knowledge and talent pipeline in our vibrant research and innovation sector across the length and breadth of Scotland.
“Funding enables awardees to deepen their research into significant global challenges, to support career development, and to make significant benefits to society and the economy.”