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Citizens’ Inclusion in Public Services: a Systematic Review of the Public Administration Literature and Reflection on Future Research Avenues
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Data sharing not applicable—no new data generated.Despite a resurgence of interest in social equity, citizens' inclusion in public services has attracted limited attention in the public administration literature so far, having often remained in the background of studies focusing on citizens' participation and representative bureaucracy. To fully comprehend and enhance the role of public administration in promoting inclusive public services and building inclusive societies, it is necessary to prioritize citizens' inclusion in public services as a central phenomenon. A first step in this direction is assessing existing knowledge and identifying new research avenues. Drawing on the “name, blame, claim” framework, this systematic literature review of 119 studies extends public administration scholarship by mapping and analyzing knowledge of citizens' inclusion in public services and identifying ways forward to strengthen the research and practice in this area
Development of battery-supercapacitor management systems for electric vehicles
Get PDFThis thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonThe electric vehicle (EV) sector is rapidly advancing, representing a global shift toward sustainable, eco-friendly transportation. With an increasing focus on reducing carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels, EVs have become central to achieving environmental goals. However, widespread adoption is challenged by current limitations in energy storage, efficiency, and reliability. This thesis introduces an innovative hybrid energy storage system (HESS) tailored for EVs, integrating both batteries and supercapacitors to overcome these limitations. At the core of this HESS lies a battery management system (BMS) responsible for monitoring, optimising, and sustaining battery health and performance. The BMS is critical for ensuring safe operation, extending battery life, and maximising energy efficiency across a range of operational conditions.
This study tackles three principal difficulties in electric vehicle energy management: the efficient integration of HESS, operating stability, and improved efficiency under varying driving situations. The research examines various battery types, such as lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal-hydride, and lithium-ion, evaluating each for energy density, power output, lifespan, and charging efficiency. Lithium-ion batteries, commonly utilised in electric vehicles for their high energy density and consistent performance, are assessed for their compatibility with supercapacitors in hybrid energy storage systems. Supercapacitors, recognised for their quick charge-discharge capabilities and enhanced power density, augment lithium-ion batteries by alleviating stress during peak power demands. The resultant HESS design integrates the advantages of both components, providing a system that enhances efficiency while ensuring sustained performance and dependability in electric vehicles. A novel contribution of this research is the development of a fully active HESS topology, capable of dynamic energy allocation to reduce stress on the battery and SC.
Three common driving cycles were used in the simulations, including Artemis Rural, Artemis Motorway, and US06, to reflect varied driving situations. The simulations were performed using MATLAB/Simulink. In comparison with Proportional-Integral (PI) and Model Predictive Control (MPC) approaches, the results show that the Radial Basis Function (RBF) controller optimises energy flow and maintains system stability significantly. The RBF controller obtained a battery State of Charge (SOC) of 78.86% with the HESS in the Artemis Rural cycle, which is far higher than the 64.41% and 64.2% SOCs achieved by the MPC and PI controllers, respectively. In comparison to the MPC controller's 99.28% and the PI controller's 99.14% SOC, the RBF controller achieved a minimal SOC loss of 99.69% during the Artemis Motorway cycle. The RBF controller outperformed the MPC controller at 72.75% and the PI controller at 70.2% in the demanding US06 cycle, which is characterised by rapid acceleration and deceleration, by maintaining a SOC of 82.91%. Moreover, the RBF controller obtained a substantial energy savings of 3.09 kWh in the US06 cycle when contrasted with the PI controller. The RBF controller is the most effective strategy for optimising HESS performance across a variety of operating conditions, as these results demonstrate.
The findings emphasise the HESS's ability to mitigate battery stress, optimise energy recovery, and ensure stable performance across varied driving conditions. The HESS minimises energy losses, enhances energy recovery efficiency, and extends battery lifespan by dynamically allocating energy between the battery and supercapacitor. These results establish benchmarks for the integration of HESS in EVs, contributing to sustainable transportation solutions.EPSRC Doctoral Training Progra
Modelling of High-Velocity Impact on Woven Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Plastic Laminate
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The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.This paper describes a constitutive model for progressive damage in carbon fibre-reinforced composites (CFRPs), developed in the framework of thermodynamics and coupled with a vector equation of state. This made the constitutive model capable of modelling shock wave propagation within orthotropic materials. Damage is incorporated in the model by using reduction in the principal material stiffness based on the effective stress concept and the hypothesis of strain energy equivalence. Damage evolution was defined in terms of a modified Tuler–Bucher criteria. The constitutive model was implemented into Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) DYNA3D nonlinear hydrocode. Simulation results were validated against post-impact experimental data of spherical projectile impact on an aerospace-grade woven CFRP composite panel. Two plate thicknesses were considered and a range of impact velocities above the ballistic limit of the plates, ranging from 194 m/s to 1219 m/s. Other than for the size of the delamination zone in the minor material direction, the discrepancy between the experiments and numerical results for damage and delamination in the CFRP target plates was within 8%.This research received no external funding
Cybersecurity-Driven Quantum Digital Twin for Proactive Threat Reversal in Open RAN
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Researchers can use the framework easily because all the files needed to implement the cybersecurity-driven quantum digital twin (CQDT) simulation are openly available. Quantum state encoding, building quantum entanglements, using adversarial channels with complete positivity and trace preservation (CPTP) and reinforcement learning-guided defence policies are all part of the code [45]. GitHub Repository: https://github.com/Yassirameen22/cqdt-simulator. Zenodo Archive (DOI): https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15566309.A cybersecurity-driven quantum digital twin (CQDT) is introduced to protect networked control chains against adversarial completely positive trace preserving perturbations. The design maps O-RAN telemetry to amplitude-encoded registers, forms multipartite entanglement through GHZ and one-dimensional cluster states and injects bit flip, phase flip and amplitude damping channels tied to measurable indicators. System integrity is tracked using fidelity ₜ, von Neumann entropy \(S)\ₜ and trace distance \(D)\ₜ . A lightweight REINFORCE policy acts on these observables to preserve entanglement and limit decoherence within tight cycle-time budgets. Qiskit simulations maintain average fidelity above 0.91, entropy near 0.35 and trace distance below 0.18 under composite noise. Attack classification exceeds 87% with a software-loop latency of about 19.1 ms covering state preparation, entanglement, CPTP injection, measurement and policy inference. Compared with classical intrusion detection and thresholding over quantum observables, the framework improves detection while reducing false alarms and exposes quantum-state degradation in real time. The result is a reproducible and scalable basis for learning-based quantum-aware protection in disaggregated radio access networks and related systems.This work was supported in part by Brunel University London. No additional external funding was received
Leveraging digital capabilities for ESG performance: The mediating roles of innovativeness and resilience in the UK healthcare sector
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Data will be made available on request.This study examines the extent to which digital business capabilities (DBCs) influence B2B firms' environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, and explores the mediating roles of business model innovativeness (BMI) and organisational resilience (OR) in this relationship. In addition, it investigates the moderating effects of absorptive capacity (AC) and market dynamism (MD), offering insights into how internal and external conditions shape the DBC–ESG performance linkage. Drawing on empirical data from managers in the UK healthcare sector, the study finds that while DBCs may not directly impact ESG outcomes, they play a crucial enabling role by positively influencing internal capabilities such as innovativeness and resilience. The direct DBC–ESG link is not significant in the pooled sample, but does emerge in the B2B healthcare context, while the most consistent pathway is the indirect effect through resilience. Furthermore, firms with higher levels of AC are better positioned to leverage digital capabilities for innovation. However, the positive effect of resilience on ESG performance is weakened under conditions of high MD. This study contributes to the literature on the drivers of ESG performance by elucidating how firms can manage ESG practices through the interplay of digital capabilities, innovation, and resilience
Helicopter Noise Modelling in an Urban Setting: A NORAH2 Demonstration for Cannes, France
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Data available on request.Urban helicopter activity is intermittent and route-focused, yet most strategic mapping tools were developed for fixed-wing traffic and long-term averages, leaving urban rotorcraft noise under-represented. In the EU, the Environmental Noise Directive (2002/49/EC) and its CNOSSOS-EU methods require Member States to measure, map, and report aviation noise at major airports (using indicators such as Lden and Lnight), covering helicopter operations as part of overall aviation noise; yet current practice and tooling remain largely fixed-wing oriented. To the authors’ knowledge, no peer-reviewed real-case applications of NORAH2 to urban helicopter operations have yet been published. Therefore, this study demonstrates an end-to-end NORAH2 workflow using Cannes, France, as an urban case study, modelling 556 helicopter operations recorded between 12 and 25 May 2025 over an 8.3 km × 2.5 km analysis grid, and utilising openly available ADS-B/Mode-S trajectories to generate noise-related maps that can be used to support policy-making. Radar trajectories were conditioned to retain sampling while ensuring kinematic plausibility; environmental layers (terrain, land cover, basic meteorology) and rotorcraft representations were configured in NORAH2. Standard indicators were produced on a uniform grid, Lden (day–evening–night) and LAeq, 16 h, alongside event-count metrics (N60/N65/N70) and single-event LAmax footprints. Over a two-week window, outputs exhibited coherent corridor-level structure and event footprints consistent with observed operations, indicating that ADS-B-derived trajectories, after light conditioning, are suitable inputs for urban NORAH2 mapping. The period analysed is short; results are demonstrative for that window and not intended as statutory exposure assessments. The contribution is twofold: (i) the first published demonstration that connects open radar-like data to NORAH2 outputs in a dense urban setting, and (ii) evidence that NORAH2 can provide both energy-average and frequency-of-occurrence views useful for city noise management.This research received no external funding
Loneliness and Life Satisfaction in Older Ethnic Minority Couples in the UK: A Dyadic Analysis of UKHLS Data
Get PDFProgram Abstract from the GSA 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting, “Innovative Horizons in Gerontology”, Boston, MA, USA, 12-15 November, 2025.Loneliness is independently associated with a range of health outcomes including reduced life satisfaction. Although there is a substantial body of research about loneliness in older adults in the UK, there is a significant evidence gap reporting experiences of loneliness of older people from ethnic minorities and how this influences measures of wellbeing such as life satisfaction. Spouse/partner interpersonal relationships may result in the loneliness experienced by one member of the couple influencing their partner’s life satisfaction as well as their own. We investigate self and partner experiences of loneliness on life satisfaction in older couples from ethnic minority communities in the UK. We focus upon the experiences of loneliness for 611 heterosexual couples from ethnic minority communities from wave 13 (2021-23) of the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). Loneliness was measured using the 3-item UCLA scale and life satisfaction using a study specific item where higher scores indicate greater satisfaction with life. 58% of participants identified as Asian and around a third of couples were of mixed ethnicity. 24% of males and 29% of females were lonely (UCLA score of 6+) and 46% had high life satisfaction (mostly or completely satisfied with their life). Data were analysed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model framework. Loneliness was associated with poorer life satisfaction for both male and female partners. Male partners loneliness affected the life satisfaction of their partner. Interventions to combat loneliness in men may benefit both themselves and their partners
Distributionally Robust Chance-Constrained Unit Commitment for Power Systems Considering Wind Power Curtailment and Load Shedding Levels
Get PDFWith increasing wind power penetration, the inherent uncertainty of wind power poses significant challenges to dispatch decisions in power systems. To address this issue, this paper proposes a two-stage distributionally robust chance-constrained (TDRC) model for the unit commitment problem with wind power uncertainty. In this model, an ambiguity confidence set is developed to characterise wind power uncertainty with unknown probability distributions, and wind power curtailment and load shedding levels are modelled as chance constraints to balance wind power uncertainty and system security of dispatch decisions. A hybrid parallel solution (HPS) is proposed for efficient computation by integrating Benders decomposition (BD) and column-and-constraint generation (C&CG) methods. Case studies on the IEEE 24- and 118-bus systems demonstrate the rationality of the proposed approach, while experiments on a practical 126-bus system using the cyber-physical power system (CPPS) dispatch platform further validate the effectiveness and practical applicability of the proposed TDRC model.10.13039/100014013-UK Research and Innovation (Grant Number: UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship MR/W011360/2)
Evaluating Epidemic Scenarios with Agent-Based Simulation: A Case Study from UK Public Health Workshop
Get PDFThe growing complexity of public health emergencies requires modeling tools that are both scientifically robust and operationally scalable. As part of the EU Horizon 2020 STAMINA project, we deployed the Flu and Coronavirus Simulator (FACS), a geospatial agent-based model designed to simulate the spread of infectious diseases at local and regional levels. This paper presents a case study from a UK Public Health Workshop, where FACS supported the evaluation of epidemic response scenarios. We describe how FACS integrates demographic, spatial, and epidemiological data, and outline key enhancements, such as locationbased parallelization and FabSim3-enabled automation, which enable large-scale simulation. We detail the scenario designs and outcomes, highlighting the intersection of simulation projections and intervention planning. Finally, we reflect on communicating results to stakeholders and bridging the gap between modeling and policy. This work demonstrates how geospatially grounded, scalable agent-based simulations can provide meaningful insights into regional intervention planning within operational timeframes.This work has been supported by the SEAVEA ExCALIBUR project, which has received funding from EPSRC under grant agreement EP/W007711/1, as well as by the STAMINA project, which has received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no 883441
Evaluating Proposals for Taxation of Space Activities from the Perspective of Space as a Global Commons
Get PDF13 slides. Abstract available at: https://2025.iasc-commons.org/abstract_author/author-397/ .The term ‘commons’ has become widely used in recent years to convey shared or cooperative ownership or governance of natural resources, including more open access and global natural resources such as outer space. Governance of commons has a financial dimension to it, including the financing of governance institutions and processes, while also possibly entailing a system of taxation, e.g. applied to the income derived from the exploitation of natural resources. This paper first places taxation in the context of space as commons, i.e. in the context of the range and types of regulation of activities in space that currently exist, especially at international level. It assesses the issue of regulation of space in light of Ostrom’s institutional grammar and subsequent literature on regulating commons. In light of this discussion, it then surveys and evaluates several existing proposals for global taxes relating to space or proposals that are closely analogous to taxation of space activities, in particular: Brock & McMaster on global aviation taxes (2018), Savir’s proposal regarding space-related royalties (2021), and Caljuri on the OECD Model Convention relating to double taxation (2023). The paper concludes by considering the implications for taxation of understanding space within the framework of governance of a commons
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