21649 research outputs found
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Adoption of Circular Economy Within the UK Construction Industry: Particular Analysis of One of the UK top-5 Contractor Companies
Full text linkThe construction industry is the major contributor to waste generation in the world. Construction and demolition waste comprised more than 60% of the total UK waste generation in 2020. This presents challenges to material resource efficiency, sustainable development and fundamentally a transition from a linear to circular economy. The analysis of circular economy implementation in the construction industry can help identify strategies and design action plans to improve performance towards net zero carbon and zero avoidable waste targets. The aim of this article was to identify current circular practices in the construction activity in the UK, as well as challenges and drivers for its application, and make recommendations for accelerating circularity performance. As a particular case study, this paper analysed the results of a survey about this implementation by the companies linked to Morgan Sindall supply chain in the Northwest branch. A total of 60 responses were collected from companies ranging from micro to large enterprises, as well as different stakeholders participating in the construction process, corresponding to manufacturers/suppliers, designers, and contractors/subcontractors. The results obtained showed the perception of the participants’ companies and helped identify main recommendations to support a common strategic plan for collaboration and implementation of practices towards circular economy. The findings of this research can contribute to the transition of construction companies to a circular economy at a wider scale
Video Games in/as Culture: The Evolving Cultural Significance of Video Games
No full textThis article explores the cultural significance of video games through a workshop that brought together academics and leading industry professionals representing the cultural, media, sport and games industries. The workshop was not only used for its traditional role of dissemination, but also as a methodological tool to review and examine the current state of the video game industry. The workshop focused on highlighting the crossover of video games with other cultural industries, such as film, fashion, and sports, and discussed the industry’s role in shaping and reflecting our cultural fabric. Despite video games’ growing cultural impact, the workshop participants also identified significant barriers — referred to as the “playwall” — that limit wider engagement with gaming. These include persistent stigma, exclusionary language, lack of diversity, and media literacy challenges. The panelists emphasized the need for greater inclusivity and the importance of showcasing diverse narratives within games to broaden their appeal and cultural relevance. Thus, this article sheds light on the evolving role of video games in contemporary culture and underscores the necessity of addressing barriers to make the industry more inclusive and accessible
Build your blood
No full text“Build your blood” is a hands-on activity which can be easily adapted for public engagement and outreach events.In this activity, children create their own blood sample using beads, glitter/confetti, and tissue paper to represent red and white blood cells, platelets, and plasma. The twist is that they first draw a “disease card”, describing for example a clotting disorder or mild anaemia. From this, the blood sample can be built accordingly.This activity is highly visual, interactive, and adaptable to different age groups. This activity also works very well alongside other blood activities, e.g. making a blood clot (red slime).For this activity, the following materials are required:Test tubes/falcons to make the 'blood sample'Red beads (representing red blood cells)White beads (representing white blood cells)Silver confetti (representing platelets)Yellow tissue (representing plasma)Disease cards (attached, along with an accessible text-only Word document
D4.3 Systematic review and framework for testing unmanned aircraft systems noise impact on humans and wildlife
No full textThis report documents systematic reviews of research evidence on the effects of exposure to sound from Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) on humans and wildlife (specifically birds).The reviews have been undertaken according to methodologies based on the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), as set out in review protocols developed according to the 2015 PRISMA for Protocols (PRISMA-P) extension to PRISMA.A two-phase review process was adopted: a pilot phase was used to develop, test and refine the methodology and protocol, the search strategies, and the screening tools. A final phase executed the developed methodology.Review of evidence for effects on humans:The review identified 39 eligible publications with relevant evidence for UAS noise effects on humans, from a total of 2,171 records screened. The majority of the reviewed publications described experimental laboratory studies.The review highlighted several key findings from the evidence, alongside research gaps. The key research gaps identified are: (1) Lack of field studies (initially from flight trials) allowing the development of UAS noise exposure-response functions, (2) understanding of the perception and response to multiple UAS vehicle events, (3) understanding of the audio-visual interactions and contextual influences on human response to UAS noise, (4) understanding of the sound quality interactions with loudness and the links between noticeability and annoyance (and how this is affected by varying ambient acoustic environments), and (5) understanding of the links between subjective judgements and physiological responses.The analysis has been used to support the development of a framework for experimental testing, which addresses important aspects identified. Review of evidence for effects on birds:The evidence for the impact of UAS noise on birds was reviewed separately for effects on (i) populations and (ii) behaviour. The review of population effects identified 79 eligible publications, from a total of 3170 screened. Of the eligible publications, 20 studies were identified with relevant evidence of the impact of non-UAS anthropogenic noise on bird populations. The review of effects on behaviour identified 12 eligible publications with evidence for impacts of UAS noise on bird behaviour, from 4146 records screened. A further 52 eligible publications were identified with relevant evidence of the impact of non-UAS anthropogenic noise on bird behaviour.Both reviews highlighted clear research gaps, along with several key findings. The primary research gaps identified by the reviews of UAS noise impacts on bird populations and their behaviour are: (1) Evidence directly relating to the noise impact of UAS on birds, (2) how birds will respond to the large UAS that are associated with commercial operations, (3) the effects of chronic exposure to UAS noise, (4) research to assess specific impacts of UAS noise exposure, such as foraging behaviour and parental care, rather than a broad assessment of disturbance, (5) whether the responses of birds differ among taxonomic groups, especially those that could be more sensitive to UAS noise exposure (e.g., auditory hunters, such as owls).Together, these reviews have informed the development of an experimental testing framework, which aims to address the key research gaps identified by our analyses
The impact of AI feedback on the accuracy of diagnosis, decision switching and trust in radiography
Full text linkArtificial intelligence decision support systems have been proposed to assist a struggling National Health Service (NHS) workforce in the United Kingdom. Its implementation in UK healthcare systems has been identified as a priority for deployment. Few studies have investigated the impact of the feedback from such systems on the end user. This study investigated the impact of two forms of AI feedback (saliency/heatmaps and AI diagnosis with percentage confidence) on student and qualified diagnostic radiographers’ accuracy when determining binary diagnosis on skeletal radiographs. The AI feedback proved beneficial to accuracy in all cases except when the AI was incorrect and for pathological cases in the student group. The self-reported trust of all participants decreased from the beginning to the end of the study. The findings of this study should guide developers in the provision of the most advantageous forms of AI feedback and direct educators in tailoring education to highlight weaknesses in human interaction with AI-based clinical decision support systems
Scoping review of methods of monitoring acute changes in lower body neuromuscular function via force plates
Full text linkForce plates are amongst the most utilised technological apparatus for monitoring acute changes in neuromuscular function in sports. Practitioners apply monitoring strategies to manage neuromuscular fatigue and physical preparedness with valid, reliable, and sensitive measures. The aim of this scoping review was to identify, map, and describe the variety of monitoring procedures which have been previously applied in research (e.g., test and metric selection, data collection, study design, and data analysis procedures). Searches were completed by 24th June 2024. One thousand, nine hundred, and seventy-eight studies were identified across four databases (PubMed, EBSCO, Clarivate web of science, and Ovid). After removing duplicates, applying the inclusion criteria, and scouring the reference lists of remaining studies, a final total of thirty studies of within-group repeated measures design were used in this review. Major differences were identified across all aspects of studies methodologies, such as in subject demographics (e.g., sex, sport, and competitive level), data collection protocols (e.g., force plate hardware utilised, test and metric selection, verbal cues, and provision of information regarding testing surface, familiarisation and warm-up provided, the process of zeroing force plates between trials, and weighing of subjects during trials), and study design (e.g., reference physical activity investigated, time of season, testing timepoints, and training load determination). A general lack of reporting and uniformity in metric definitions, metric calculations, and phase terminology was identified across studies. For example, two separate calculations were reported for “peak force” across studies, as either “the maximum force achieved throughout the entirety of the trial”, or as “the maximum force achieved during the propulsion phase”. The latter calculation was also utilised for “peak concentric force” in a separate study. Thus, an accurate comparison of results across studies (e.g., via meta-analysis) and forming any generalized conclusions about the application of specific tests and metrics for monitoring acute changes in neuromuscular function using force plates was premature at this time. The information presented in this review will contribute towards forming a rationale for the data collection, study design, and data analysis protocols for future research on monitoring acute changes in neuromuscular function using force plates
Editorial: Community series in novel biomarkers in tumor immunity and immunotherapy, volume II
Full text linkBioTIME 2.0: Expanding and Improving a Database of Biodiversity Time Series
Full text linkMotivation: Here, we make available a second version of the BioTIME database, which compiles records of abundance estimates for species in sample events of ecological assemblages through time. The updated version expands version 1.0 of the database by doubling the number of studies and includes substantial additional curation to the taxonomic accuracy of the records, as well as the metadata. Moreover, we now provide an R package (BioTIMEr) to facilitate use of the database. Main Types of Variables Included: The database is composed of one main data table containing the abundance records and 11 metadata tables. The data are organised in a hierarchy of scales where 11,989,233 records are nested in 1,603,067 sample events, from 553,253 sampling locations, which are nested in 708 studies. A study is defined as a sampling methodology applied to an assemblage for a minimum of 2 years. Spatial Location and Grain: Sampling locations in BioTIME are distributed across the planet, including marine, terrestrial and freshwater realms. Spatial grain size and extent vary across studies depending on sampling methodology. We recommend gridding of sampling locations into areas of consistent size. Time Period and Grain: The earliest time series in BioTIME start in 1874, and the most recent records are from 2023. Temporal grain and duration vary across studies. We recommend doing sample‐level rarefaction to ensure consistent sampling effort through time before calculating any diversity metric. Major Taxa and Level of Measurement: The database includes any eukaryotic taxa, with a combined total of 56,400 taxa. Software Format: csv and. SQL
Improving microgrid frequency stability through PI-PIDA-driven STATCOM optimization using a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm
Full text linkFrequency instability caused by symmetrical and asymmetrical faults in a microgrid can cause significant oscillations and deviations from the nominal frequency. Therefore, there is a need to develop new control methods to ensure the rapid stabilization and recovery of the system. This research presents a novel approach to improving the primary frequency regulation in microgrids with a proportional–integral–proportional–integral–derivative–acceleration (PI-PIDA)-driven static synchronous compensator (STATCOM). In this innovation, the control of newly developed PI-PIDA is optimized through a combination of the artificial hummingbird algorithm (AHA) and the marine predator algorithm (MPA). The approach has been tested using a 20 MW wind-assisted microgrid on the MATLAB-SIMULINK platform under both symmetrical and asymmetrical fault scenarios. The study results show that, for symmetrical and asymmetrical faults, the hybrid MPA-AHA optimized PI-PIDA-STATCOM is the most effective due to the observed minimum frequency overshoot, best steady-state frequency, and ability to give the maximum reactive power support in both transient and steady states. Moreover, the proposed approach performed better than the other approaches under symmetrical and asymmetrical faults. The study provides sufficient evidence that the hybrid meta-heuristic algorithm provides an effective alternative for power system management
Benefits Conditionality in the United Kingdom: Is It Common, and Is It Perceived to Be Reasonable?
Full text linkProgramme‐level data suggest that increasing numbers of claimants are subject to work‐related behavioural requirements in countries like the United Kingdom. Likewise, academic qualitative research has suggested that conditionality is pervasive within the benefits system, and is often felt to be unreasonable. However, there is little quantitative evidence on the extent or experience of conditionality from claimants' perspectives. We fill this gap by drawing on a purpose‐collected survey of UK benefit claimants (n = 3801). We find that the stated application of conditionality was evident for a surprisingly small proportion of survey participants—even lower than programme‐level data suggest. Unreasonable conditionality was perceived by many of those subject to conditionality, but not a majority, with, for example, 26.2% believing that work coaches do not fully take health/care‐related barriers into account. Yet, alongside this, a substantial minority of claimants not currently subject to conditionality (22.4%) report that conditionality has negatively affected their mental health. We argue that reconciling this complex set of evidence requires a more nuanced understanding of conditionality, which is sensitive to methodological assumptions, the role of time and implementation and the need to go beyond explicit requirements to consider implicit forms of conditionality. In conclusion, we recommend a deeper mixed‐methods agenda for conditionality research
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