Grant winners – 21 April 2016

A round-up of recent recipients of research council cash

April 21, 2016

THE reporters

Leverhulme Trust

Research Project Grants
Sciences

Award winner: Karl Hale
Institution: Queen’s University Belfast
Value: £245,468

Towards a new total synthesis of (+)-Acutiphycin via O-Directed Hydrostannation

Award winner: Louis Morrill
Institution: Cardiff University
Value: £175,992

The productive merger of organocatalysis and frustrated Lewis pairs

Award winner: Shuzo Sakata
Institution: University of Strathclyde
Value: £232,495

The function of sub-second brainwaves in REM sleep

Humanities

Award winner: Jackson Armstrong
Institution: University of Aberdeen
Value: £310,455

Law in the Aberdeen council registers 1398-1511: concepts, practices, geographies

Social sciences

Award winner: Mitchell Callan
Institution: University of Essex
Value: £103,128

Rejecting innocent victims: the roles of relative judgments and emotional impact

National Institute for Health Research

Health Technology Assessment programme

Award winner: Joe Kai
Institution: University of Nottingham
Value: £198,788

Medical treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding in primary care: Long-term follow-up of ECLIPSE trial cohort

Public Health Research programme

Award winner: Caroline Free
Institution: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London
Value: £1,413,918

Safetxt: A randomised controlled trial of an intervention delivered by mobile phone messaging to reduce sexually transmitted infections (STI) by increasing sexual health precaution behaviours in young people

Award winner: Kate Jolly
Institution: University of Birmingham
Value: £446,793

Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids UK: a cultural adaptation and feasibility study of a weight management programme for fathers of younger children

In detail

Paladin Capital
Academics supported by Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre

Award winners: Principal investigators: Julia Davidson, Mary Aiken and Steve Chan
Institutions: Middlesex University and Hawaii Pacific University
Value: $100,000

Young people and pathways into cybercrime

“This project aims to draw together existing evidence on online behaviour and associations to criminal behaviour among young people,” Julia Davidson, professor of criminology at Middlesex University, said. “Specifically, it intends to explore the trajectories and pathways that lead to ‘cyber-criminality’ through a series of mixed-methodological endeavours and the integration of theoretical frameworks across criminology and psychology and computer science.” Professor Davidson added that they were focusing on the potential path from cyber juvenile delinquency to lone cybercriminal, to organised cybercrime. “Law enforcement have commented that…particularly IT-literate boys, are increasingly committing cybercrime offences ranging from money laundering for criminal gangs to hacking,” she said. “Unfortunately, many of these young people are ignorant about the severe custodial sentences such crimes carry as well as the possibility of extradition to the US to stand trial where crimes are committed against a US company or agency. This is an international problem.” Among other things, the project aims to inform professionals within key infrastructures under threat from cybercriminality, and help schools and colleges educate vulnerable young people as to the dangers of cybercrime.