11370 research outputs found
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Tokenized assets in a decentralized economy: Balancing efficiency, value, and risks
Full text linkThe emergence of blockchain technology is compelling firms to rethink traditional operations and management strategies, with asset tokenization presenting a transformative potential to optimize transaction processes and redefine value chains. This study explores how blockchain-enabled asset tokenization influences transaction efficiency, value creation, and risk distribution across different market contexts. Utilizing a multiple-case study design, this research analyzes four asset tokenization business cases in multiple sectors —real estate, gold, gaming assets, and carbon credits—through 30 semi-structured interviews with participants from each case. Our research findings indicate that while tokenization significantly enhances transaction efficiency and creates new value propositions, it also introduces complexities in governance and risk distribution, which may challenge market stability. This study contributes to the contemporary blockchain literature by empirically illustrating how asset tokenization alters traditional asset management and investment models, highlighting the importance of tailored regulatory frameworks to address this emerging blockchain-enabled business models. Additionally, the research offers practical insights for business practitioners, suggesting that a balanced approach is necessary to leverage the benefits of asset tokenization while safeguarding market trust and sustainability
Student development survey 2025
No full textThis report sets out the findings of the ISE Development Survey 2025. The survey ran during January and March 2025 and received 148 responses from employers across a range of sectors and organisation types. It describes the current trends in development programmes for graduates and school and college leavers and discusses how employers are developing their early career hires. It also examines how employers retain and progress their early career hires and their future development programme plans
A study of the response dynamics of a Helmholtz resonator and its application in acoustic energy harvesting
Full text linkA thorough understanding of the behaviour of Helmholtz resonators is required for their application in noise attenuation and energy harvesting systems. This paper proposes an efficient low-frequency acoustic energy harvester (AEH) designed as a Helmholtz resonator (HR) integrated with a piezoelectric film. A straightforward continuity equation that describes the compression of air molecules in the HR's cavity was used to represent the restoring force, thus allowing us to describe the dynamics of the air molecules as a classical particle of the Duffing-type oscillator. The variation of the resonant frequency of the HR device, with its geometry, was studied, which facilitated the investigation of the response dynamics of the system, using numerical, analytical, and experimental methods. It was demonstrated that an acoustically-driven HR can also exhibit jump or hysteresis behaviour at higher acoustic pressure. The system amplifies the sound pressure within the cavity, enhancing the vibration of the piezoelectric film, thereby improving the efficiency of the energy harvesting system. A significant amount of energy was generated with the HR, about four times the value obtained without the resonator. At resonance, the acoustic energy harvester generated a maximum voltage of 84.2mV under a sound pressure level of 95dB. The results confirm the capability, efficiency, and potential of the acoustic energy harvester as a sustainable energy solution for powering low-voltage devices in various applications
Printing orientation effects on microstructure in LPBF-manufactured SS316L subjected to fatigue
Full text linkIn this paper, printing orientation effects on the microstructure and fatigue behavior of SS316L produced via Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) were studied. Specimens printed in Z (vertical), XY (horizontal), and ZX (45°) orientations were subjected to cyclic loading in the range from ± 300 to ± 500 MPa. EBSD analysis revealed that XY-oriented samples had superior fatigue resistance due to low-angle grain boundaries, while Z-oriented samples showed increased high-angle grain boundaries, leading to early crack initiation
Civic and Place: framing the role of cultural development in Art and Design
Full text linkThe vitality of a high street, the resonance of a heritage site, or the presence of a local arts initiative can all profoundly influence how people feel about where they live and about themselves.
The Council for Higher Education in Art and Design (CHEAD) event Civic and Place:Exploring the Role of the Civic in Art and Design, held on 29 April 2025, brought together researchers, educators, practitioners and community stakeholders to examine how art and design can shape, sustain, and animate civic life. At a time when towns and cities across the UK are navigating economic, social, and cultural pressures, the role of arts and culture in our daily lives feels more urgent than ever.
Places are not simply physical environments, they are lived, relational and symbolic spaces where people negotiate identity, belonging and community.
The event focused on three interlinking themes that are central to shaping vibrant,place-based cultural ecologies: lifelong learning on the high street, creative health, and inclusivity in heritage settings. These themes highlight the transformative potential of creativity when it is rooted in place, while also underscoring the importance of collaboration between universities, local authorities, cultural organisations and creative communities. When civic engagement is genuinely co-created, cultural practice becomes more than enrichment; it becomes a place-based infrastructure for social resilience, wellbeing and equity
Theorising intention to buy second hand wedding dresses: a ZMET study
Full text linkThis study contributes to the limited literature on second-hand purchasing in the bridalwear context by examining the emotionally charged, high-involvement nature of wedding dress shopping. Despite environmental benefits and lower costs, many brides remain hesitant to choose second-hand options. Using the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) with 18 UK brides, we identify how sustainability orientation, second-hand market knowledge, bridal identity, and shopping experience shape purchase intentions. While sustainability plays a role, the symbolic and emotional significance of the dress, alongside expectations around convenience, service, presentation, and sensory experience, emerge as central influences. Our findings highlight the importance of emotional and experiential alignment in sustainable consumption and suggest that second-hand bridal wear retailers should offer boutique-style experiences to meet expectations and enhance the appeal of second-hand options
Exploring factors associated with dual harm among young adult men in prison
Full text linkDual harm (coexisting self-harm and violence) is more frequently exhibited by people in prison than community populations. No research has solely investigated dual harm by young adults in prison. Using national, routinely collected data from His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (n = 20,403), this study explored whether young men (aged 18–21) who dual harmed in prison could be distinguished from young men who either sole harmed or did not engage in either harmful behaviour, based on demographic, developmental, criminological and clinical factors. Twelve per cent of the sample dual harmed in prison. Exploratory analyses revealed that for young men who dual harmed, poor education skills related more strongly to early police contact, and drug misuse was more strongly related to having a history of harm to self, compared to those who did not dual harm. Confirmatory analyses found that young men who dual harmed were younger when first in contact with the police and admitted to prison, spent longer in custody aged 18–21, and had fewer qualifications than the comparison groups. This study reports that young men who dual harm in prison have unique profiles that can be identified using prison data, and highlights the importance of upstream, preventative interventions
Mindfulness and Buddhist principles in oncology: Risks, misconceptions and recommendations forethical integration
Full text linkMindfulness-based interventions are gaining recognition as effective therapeutic tools for psychological distress in oncology. However, the widespread adoption of mindfulness in Western clinical contexts has raised ethical and philosophical concerns, particularly regarding the Westernisation and cultural appropriation of Buddhist wisdom. this paper examines the ethical implications of employing Buddhist-informed mindful-ness in cancer care, focusing on issues affecting patients, practitioners, and researchers. We propose modifications to Westernised MBIs to ensure practitioners are knowledgeable about Buddhist philosophy and equipped to communicate the tradition’s origins transparently to oncology patients. Recommendations include ethically and compassionately introducing Buddhist principles into oncology treatment, emphasising clinician education on the philosophical foundations of mindfulness, especially “Right Mindfulness.” By fostering under-standing that mindfulness is a long-standing ethically informed practice, practitioners can better support patients in addressing existential questions. We advocate for shared decision-making and trauma-informed adaptations, while respecting the cultural origins and philosophical depth of this ancient practice
Investigating ageing effects on bored pile shaft resistance in cohesionless soil through field testing
Full text linkThis study investigates the influence of time (ageing) on the uplift capacity of bored piles in cohesionless silty sand through a full-scale field testing programme. Four reinforced concrete piles, two shorter (16 m) and two longer (21 m), were installed and tested under axial tension at two different ageing intervals: 35 days and 165 days post-construction. The load-displacement behaviour, load transfer characteristics, and shaft friction mobilisation were monitored using load cells and embedded strain gauges. Results showed that while all piles exhibited similar ultimate capacities, the aged piles consistently demonstrated stiffer responses and earlier mobilisation of shaft resistance. Extrapolated estimates showed modest increases in estimated ultimate uplift capacity, ranging from 2% to 7%, with ageing. Strain gauge data also indicated more uniform load transfer in the aged piles, suggesting time-dependent improvements in pile-soil interface behaviour. The findings confirm that even in cohesionless silty sand, moderate ageing effects can enhance uplift performance, but the extent of improvement is small and variable. These findings provide a valuable reference for evaluating uplift design assumptions and interpreting field test behaviour in similar soil environments